Travel Journal...part 1

　
I am officially a world-traveler. Woo-hoo!
I have done so many different things in these short 3 weeks and it’s insane to think of all the places I’ve gone that I only once dreamed of going to.
Since there’s so many places and things I’ve done, I’ll break it up in a few blog posts just to keep you hooked ;)

Part 1: Work week
It was a hard goodbye, and this was only for 3 weeks! Most of the castle emptied out that December 16^th and left us with a quiet, large, cold, home. Corinne, Nicole, Emily and I stayed and worked on Housekeeping staff for the week to save money and we had so much fun! Since I’ve worked S.S before and my dad’s a pretty awesome toilet-cleaner-teacher, I didn’t freak out as much over the work as some people did. :P We made beds, we washed sheets, we vacuumed, (and yes Dad, I even edged!), we decorated for Christmas, and we had a fun time doing it. Being on staff was so great because we didn’t have a curfew, we could basically do whatever we wanted, the food was better, and the Internet was….gasp! Fast! Who knew? ;)
With a giant castle at our disposal, we would regularly play cut-throat mafia and sardines throughout the giant rooms. We’d also stay up until 3 in the morning watching movies in front of the fireplace in the lounge while drinking lots and lots of left-over students’ teas. It was really just a great time to relax, work, and get to know different people.
After a week we headed out. Me, with my giant backpack strapped on my shoulders, excited for the next adventure, hopped on a train and then broke off with my traveling buddies to spend Christmas with my 2^nd cousins, Debbie and Rich Sheldon, and their 4 kids. I had a blast! Their kids are so crazy and fun and I loved spending time with them. I walked into their cute little English house to see a Christmas tree and a mantle with my own stocking hanging there. I basically almost lost it, (but don’t tell my mom, she can’t know she almost made me cry ;)
It was so nice just to be able to relax and enjoy being in a home for Christmas. It was weird not being with my family but I was so blessed to be able to share someone else’s. Christmas was just a great time of eating, (lots and lots of eating), getting to know different guests, reading one of my cousin’s new books, and calling my family 5,000 miles away.
So that’s Christmas. Next, we’ll travel to the faraway land of……Bergamo, Milan. Da da daaaa!