Day 2: Arrival

It's hard to believe that I'm actually here. The Charlotte to Munich airplane trip went off without a hitch and man let me tell you... That Lufthansa plane had amazing bathrooms. The seats were all on one level and you took stairs done to a second level where about ten of the cleanest bathrooms awaited you. The best part was the fact that they didn't murder your ears when you flushed. Some other things to note (and reasons to fly Lufthansa are as followed:

1) Their walls are polka doted.
2) The staff is German and the nicest people you will ever come in contact with.
3) They have the Les Mis soundtrack and Hobbit movie FOR FREE.
4) The food. Seriously... As far as crappy airplane food comes this was the best






5) Although the seats are ill suited for sleeping, the are amazing for watching movies.

I dutifully took sleeping medicine as soon as dinner was over but thanks to several snorers and bright movie screens I only managed to net in a couple of 20 minute naps every so often, always jarred awake by my newest uncomfortable sleeping position.


However once I awoke for the final time I was blissfully surprised by one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever chanced upon (I'm really proud of this picture so...)



AND it happened that we were flying over my FAVORITE CONTRY EVER when the sun came up.



Landing and navigating Munich was easy. The Germans have superb signs that tell you exactly where you need to go. Bonus: they were in English. Quinn and I had to pass through customs before entering the next terminal and it went by super fast even with the women checking Quinn in thinking he was on the run and did our parents know we were out? questions.










I used my debit card for the first time and purchased a $5 muffin for Quinn to snack on. I myself was already feeling the effects of jet lag as my hyped system began to close down.

We took a bus to get to our Catania connecting flight and stepping outside in Germany was like stepping into heaven. It was a gorgeous 60 degrees.









Boarding our flight took longer than necessary so our flight was delayed a bit. I did manage to snag a picture of the alps while in the air, though.



If you squint really closely you can see the mountain peaks.

Snoozing the whole way to Catania, the flight passed really quickly, and when I woke up I knew that I had finally contacted the dreaded jet lag for good. The only- and I mean only- plane to land at the Catania airport, we didn't have to go through customs before collecting our baggage. Transported to a special baggage claim for "suspicious goods", we finally met up with Federico, Giancarlo, and Sofia. Unfortunately my phone died just as the plane landed so have a landing picture.



In case you were wondering, it is true what they say about Italians and driving. I watched the odometer reach 110 before laughing and looking out of the window at the passing city. My first thought was that it was all brown but looking closer you can see the history in everything.

After settling down in the house (pics to come!), Mariella prepared a special meal of pasta and chicken but at that time I felt ready to burst and couldn't eat anything. After a much needed shower we sat down to Skype with my mom and I felt it coming...

One trip to the porcelain goddess later, I felt a little better and had a good talk with my mom who turned out to get even less sleep than I did.

After an exploration of the house, the "kids" (Mattia, Federico, Sofia, Quinn, and I) lounged about and attempted to communicate with each other which turns out be Mattia and I signaling a lot to each other and Federico translating as much as he can. It results in a lot of chuckles and fun times. I promise.

Feeling increasingly more ill as the day went on, I followed the boys to watch then play sports at a neighboring friends house. Davide's sister Sara and I just sort of smiled and giggled because we had no way to talk and it was way freaking hot outside to not have air conditioning.

About an hour later, we found ourselves back at the house with fully charged phones and a great need to occupy ourselves. A couple of card games later and two Skype calls with Zaneta and Mom (again), Giancarlo took us out to pick up dinner. I felt well enough to perk up and take photos and even eat some dinner. Since its midnight and I'm tired, here they are will small explanations:



Mount Etna- active volcano




Produce Market




Guy on moped



Italy!



Police man talking to other man



Sweets shop where we bought dinner



Gelato counter



Cherry sugar candy I ate



Dinner (bread filled with meats and cheeses- absolutely delicious)



AaaNnnnd an assortment of pastries for dessert.

Davide and Sara came to dinner and the evening passed quite quickly in a blur of ping pong, water pong, coloring, dancing, and talking. An exciting match took place between Giancarlo and Quinn where Quinn took the victory by one point.



I managed to color this nifty drawing whilst this was happening.



The night was concluded by hanging out and doing random stuff outside such as using water to draw on the ping pong table.



We heard a delightful (not really) Italian singer serenading the night just like in the movies in one brief quiet spell. I gathered the group together for a picture before everyone departed for the night.


Federico, Davide, Sara, Me, Mattia, Sofia, and Quinn.