Hey Everyone!

How are you all? Good I do hope =)

Before I begin this post I need to say that I happen to have some of THE best grandparents in the world -- who not only read this blog but have figured out how to post comments on it!! How very impressive is that?!? So I just needed to tell everyone that they are awesome. =)

So I've been away for 19 days now and standing in Meish's kitchen just then we figured out that I've also been to 19 cities in the last 19 days!! How crazy is that! I'm happy to be staying in Florence for the next 5 days because I'm completely exhausted!!

Mum and Dad are back in Jersey now which is sad but we had a wonderful few days wandering around Tuscany. We stayed in a small town on the side of a hill which had one restaurant, it was so incredibly pretty!! We saw lots of tiny pretty towns, most of them founded in medieval times...including one that still had the wall surrounding the town that had been built in the 1200's! Went to the Baci chocolate factory, saw two (really smelly) thermal springs, ate LOTS of yummy food, tried some wines and then to cap it all off stayed the night in San Gimignano, a small town with 11 towers which, even in the pouring rain was stunning.

Yesterday we came back to Florence and climbed all 400 and something stairs to the top of the Duomo, it was a lovely clear day and when we got to the top you could see everything, even pictures don't do it justice. It was such a lovely view, well worth all those bloody stairs!

Tomorrow is Sunday and Meish and I are going to go to a service at the Duomo, then have some brunch and depending on the weather cross the river and visit the Pitti Palace. Should be good fun!

So thats it for now, as always I'll put some pics bellow.
Hope alls well,

love

jess xox

ps. HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL 21st DIANA!! SORRY FOR NOT SAYING IT WAS ME ON THE PHONE ;) I'll email soon. xoxo

Me with the 800 year old town wall in the background...

The town were we stayed, Rocca D'Orcia or something like that. We stayed just under the big fort on the top of the hill.

Meish and I in Montalpucino...this city was also on a hill (most common as it was easiest to protect from the enemy on a hill), everything was bellow the main square and very exhausting to walk around!!

Mum and Meish at the top of the Duomo looking cute

Mum, Dad and Meish in Florence!

Hi Everyone!

How are you all? Good I do hope! Happy Easter to all! =)

So I have spent the last few days here in Florence with Meish, Mum, Dad and our favorite Swiss peoples Raphi and Sandro! The weather has not been so nice, rainy and quite cold but we have all had a great time!!

This morning we stood in the square outside the Duomo and saw the traditional exploding cart! It was really quite a show! Very impressive! I'll put some pictures bellow. Yesterday we lined up for 2.5 hours to go into the Uffizi Gallery which wasn't much fun but it was great once we were inside! Saw some of Michelangelo's works, as well as Botticelli and other awesome masters. We have walked across the Pointe Vechio, been to the markets, ate LOTS of chocolate (I'm blaming Raphi!) and basically had fun being together again!

Tomorrow Raphi and Sandro are heading back to Switzerland (sad =( ) and Mum, Dad, Meish and I are heading out to explore Tuscany. So i will post some fun pictures bellow, I hope everyone's Easter was good and that all is well.

Lots of love

jess xoxo

Us three girls! Woohoo!!

The exploding cart outside the Duomo as celebration for easter...turns out exploding actually means fireworks...!

Raphi, Meish, Me and Sandro (please note our lovely new scarfs!)

The Duomo, there is no good way to take a photo of this building...it just cannot do it justice. Simply amazing.

Group shot with the Pointe Vechio in the background!

SO I had to catch a shuttle, a plane, a bus and then a train for a total of 11 hours traveling with a horrid cold but i made it to Florence!! woohoo!!

SEE...

I got here yesterday and today Meish went to school, I wandered around and we did some shopping and eating type things! =)

It was actually really quite a warm day which was nice, while Meish was at school I went and had a look at the Duomo, San Lorenzo, the fake David and Pizazza de Croce (which I realllllly cannot pronounce!) which was fun. She has a cute little apartment with three of her friends, Meish is at night class now and so Sara is cooking dinner. How sweet!

Meish and I went and brought some tissues (because I have a sucky cold) and accidental brought strawberry scented tissues!! They are insanely gross, good thing I can't smell them...but I have been told my hands and face now smell like fake strawberries! Haha. Just a little story for you all!

I will upload some photos from my adventures from the last week now since I can put them on Meish's computer!

Me being excited about going out in Rotterdam, the view is from Kim's balcony

A canal in Delft

The old town hall in Den Haag

The view from the plane window as we went over the moutains above Milano, Italy

So thats about it!! Mum and Dad fly in tomorrow, so we are staying in Florence for Easter (stay tuned for stories of the exploding cart and dove cake) and then going down to a wine area in Tuscany of which i have completely forgotten the name!! Starts with an M and has an L in it...ummm OH montalchino! Snap! haha.

Hope alls well with everyone! Miss you,
Lovvvvve,
jess!

Keeping Rotterdam Real...

So I've spent the last few days here in Rotterdam with the Kyme which has been loads of fun although she has since abandoned me to go on a business trip to Miami! How sad...

It was decided we would get a car and drive around so that is what we did! We went to De Hoge Veluwe, which turned out (I had no idea where we were going!) to be a national park! We hired bikes and cycled around which was fun although we did get a tad lost..hehe...AND in the middle of the park is the Koller-Muller museum so we had a look through that! So there are some photos of that adventure bellow!! (They are Kim's photos -- thanks mate!!) 

We also drove along the longest dyke in the Netherlands, experienced a high quality dutch traffic jam, went to watch Kim play soccer, had dinner/drinks with some of Kim's friends, played guitar hero, wandered through the markets, went to the opening of the canal on which Rotterdam sits on -- we went right on dusk and it was quite the pretty! 

So Kim left for Miami today and I went up to Den Haag and to the Mauritshuis to see Vermeer's Girl With The Pearl Earring. It was raining though which took a bit of the fun out of wandering around the city! There was a protest on, Ive no idea what they were protesting...I was being amused by it until the riot police turned up and i figured it was time to high-tail it out of there!! haha, SO I headed to Delft which was amazingly pretty with all its canals and old buildings! =)

This is Kim and I in the reflection of a statue..

Kim with another saute at the museum...
Me being super excited to be riding my bike!! 

Tomorrow I'm heading back to Amsterdam before I fly out Tuesday to GO SEE MEISH!! YAY.

Hope alls well with everyone, 

lots of love -- miss you all! 

j xxx

Hi Everyone!!

Just to let you know I made it to Rotterdam safe and sound, met Kim at work and we are now back at her apartment! I didn't sleep much....well at all, on the plane so I'm exhausted!! Contemplating a nap but not sure...its only 2pm here. 

Kim's place is super nice, over looks a canal with lots of house boats. I'm just happy to be back in Europe!!

Okay that's it, hope everyone is well!

j

xxx

SO before I set off I thought I should provide everyone with the details of where I will be! Here is the plan as it stands at the moment

TOMORROW (March 12): Leave Jersey

March 13 - March 18: Rotterdam with Kim, well road trip with Kim!

March 18 - April 3rd: Tuscany
- March 20: Mum and Dad arrive
- March 21: Raphi and Sandro arrive
- March 24: Raphi and Sandro go home
- March 24 - 27: Montalchino
- March 28: San Gimigano
- March 29: Mum and Dad go home

April 3rd - 6th: Belgium

April 6th - 11th: Florence

April 11th - 14th: Berlin

April 14th - 17th: Prague

April 18th - 19th: Vienna

April 19th - 22nd: Budapest

April 22nd - 24th: Florence

April 24th - 28: Amalfi Coast

April 29th - May 2nd: Switzerland with Raphi and Sandro!

MAY 2nd HOME TO JERSEYYY