Last Day in Italia

 Our last day in Italy was a pretty mellow one. We were both tired and sore from all of the sight-seeing, so we did a little shopping for those final Italian necessities and then packed everything up into our suitcases. Whatever couldn't fit was shipped home. (We mailed three boxes of gifts and souvenirs!) Our big purchase that day was some Italian leather shoes. James got some nice black leather loafers (which will be a good option for dressing up in Japan because they slip on and off fairly easily.) I have never had a good pair of leather boots before and couldn't leave Italy without a pair so - voila! I feel so grown up now!

We were starving after all the shopping we did so we went out to lunch with Corrie. I couldn't help taking pictures of my last couple meals in Italy. Below is a penne with fresh veggies.

For dinner we met all of our friends at one of the Cienski's favorite restaurants in Sacile. It has a very extensive pizza menu. I got one topped with a bunch of roasted veggies.

Our friend Corrie, on the other hand, went all out with the pizza American - topped with french fries and sliced sausages (or hot dogs.) haha!

The next morning, Caleb and Jordan were leaving for a New Year's trip to London so we all spent the evening packing - said a quick but sweet good night - and went to bed. They had to leave really early in the morning, so they let us sleep in and lock up on our way out. Dave and Lynn graciously offered to drive us to the airport in Venice so we didn't have to bother with trains and busses. We really appreciated having an extra hour of conversation with beloved friends before beginning our 28 hour trek back to Japan.

We flew from Venice to Frankfurt where we had a six hour lay-over before our twelve hour flight to Tokyo. Thankfully we both had some good books loaded onto our kindles to help the time pass. For lunch, I broke down and ordered a little snack from McDonald's. (I know, I know - so shameful!) But honestly, it was worth standing in line just to check out the German McDonald's menu. They have many of the normal items. But then they had some unique things too - like burgers with sausages and horse radish on them.

Near our gate we ate dinner at a nice European restaurant. I had one final delicious pasta dish while James sampled the local fare. Below is a picture of him with his fried turkey schnitzel and a glass of German beer.

The flight back was uneventful - but rough for me because my cold was getting worse. I didn't realize it at the time but I had a full-fledged sinus infection and a mild fever. Thankfully not many Germans were interested in traveling to Japan so we had a row to ourselves and I didn't need to worry about brushing elbows with a stranger and grossing them out with my mucus-related issues. haha. The flight attendants gave me several glasses of orange juice though, which helped (I think.)

Thankfully we had no issues getting through customs and immigration in Tokyo and were able to make an earlier train back to Misawa than expected. So we arrived around 9:30 pm on New Year's Eve. Some of our friends were nice enough to drop our car off at the train station earlier that afternoon so we could drive straight home.

Over all our trip to Italy was wonderful. It was everything we were hoping for and more - a fantastic introduction to Europe, a magical Christmas holiday, a heart-felt reunion with dear friends, and a perfect playground for a girl and her camera. =^)