every trip must come to an end

I made it safely back to Sicily and Gene :) I had a wonderful time in California with family and friends. I realized how nice it is to have people around you who speak English and care about you! I had about 13 burritos, some tacos, flautas, and other really good Mexican food. Now I am ready to have some Italian food again, but I will definitely miss that yummy food back at home. My flight home was direct which was nice, but definitely long. I slept the whole night when I got back and then somehow I ended up sleeping again from 8am to 5:30pm! wow!! I guess sleeping is not a problem for me :)

getting some last minute hugs from Amelia! <3

the 3 sisters!

Wyatt getting ready to go surfing on a board his size :)

celebrating Wyatt's birthday a little early

Wyatt sharing his new soccer ball with GG

Amelia trying out Wyatt's new guitar

Happy 2nd Birthday

Me and Mom <3

San Diego and more...

lunch at Mario's with the old gang in San Diego

best friends :)

Seared Ahi cooked by Clint, it was delicious!

a nice visit with Ember

Wyatt being very helpful

A stop by the house I grew up in Long Beach

dinner at PF Chang in Bakersfield

<3

Home Sweet Home

Well I have been in California for almost 2 weeks now and it feels like I never left! Poor Gene and Mr. Stripes are back in Sicily...it is definitely hard being away that long :( I spent the first weekend in Seal Beach with the family reuniting and then spent some time in Tehachapi and now I am in San Diego. I have literally eaten Mexican  food every day that I have been here! I have 1 week left until I go home to see my hubby :)

first night here with the family!!!!! (Natalie's photo)

aww good old Starbucks (Natalie's photo)

doing a foot bath for the kids :)

meeting up with my friend Taylor

Dad and Bo hanging out in Tehachapi

(Natalie's photo) Family buying some chickens....gotta love Tehachapi!

the new baby chicks

Nick and Clint BBQing in San Diego

Emily, me, Sara 

Nick and I at dinner 

me, Natalie, Sara at dinner

Me and Sara at Casa Guadalajara, the best Mexican food ever

My burrito!!!

the group :)

family :)

a friendly visit

My friend Ana and her friend flew from Spain to Sicily for a visit :) We mostly relaxed and caught up on old times while sitting on the beach and going to yummy dinners. It was really nice having another familiar face here to keep us company. While they were here I was able to meet some really nice girls, one was Italian and said she can teach me Italian!

Aci Trezza

Pizza at Rosso Pomodoro

dinner in Catania

Siracusa

relaxing at the beach

Favignana - Egadi Islands

Gene and I took Nick over to Palermo for a night where we were able to go inside the Massimo Opera House. They were doing tours for a charge, but the doors were open so we snuck inside for a peak :) The next day we drove an hour to Trapani where we took an 8 Euro ferry to the island of Favignana. Favignana is part of the Egadi islands which are part of Sicily. We were absolutely amazed by its beauty. The islands water is so blue that it looks fake. We rented 3 scooters and spent 3 days motoring around the island which was second best to the beautiful water. The first day I took a fall on the scooter which bruised my hand and knee pretty good. After I got the hang of it we had a blast and went from beach to beach all day every day (the hard life). Spring flowers were in full bloom which made the scenery even more breathtaking, but the water was a little chilly. It was hard saying goodbye, but we came home with a lot more sun and some good memories.

Teatro Massimo - Palermo

inside the opera house

going to dinner in Palermo

arriving to the island!

our hotel

renting scooters :)

first stop on the scooters

Blue Marino, the prettiest beach on the island

Blue Marino

Blue Marino

stopping for directions

first day, a little cloudy

my very own scooter!

already needed some gas

the castle of Favignana

getting some sun at Blue Marino

first time in the water

"tunnel beach" the most comfortable to lay out at

"tunnel beach" not sure what the name of this beach is, but there is a tunnel next to it :)