ITALY!

This past week we had the privilege to go to Italy! We traveled for one week along the west coast which was filled with plenty of amazing and terrifying adventures!

Milan!

We flew into Milan, and stayed one day in the bustling, high fashion city. We milled the streets admiring the incredible shopfronts and euro pop fashionistas :) The best stop of the day was the Duomo, a stunning site to behold with hundreds of spires reaching into the sky. Also, the place where St. Augustine was baptized, a point of great interest for Ross :)

The Duomo

Beautiful buildings

Shopping district

Beautiful storefronts

Covered shopping district next to the Duomo

Ross drooling over the Italian leather shoes all over 150 euros... the same brand of the ones he found in a thrift store in SD for $3!

MMMMMM! Our first gelato experience of the week!

Assisi!

And here is where the drama of the trip ensued... a story much better suited for an in person re-enactment, but unfortunately a written account will have to suffice. Our train journey from Milan to Assisi was about 5 hours and we were to be getting into the quiet town of Assisi about 12am. With our Interrail tickets in hand, we boarded the train. Upon finding our seats we realized that that we had accidentally reserved 1st class seats instead of 2nd class seats and would have to pay the difference in the cost of the tickets. Since we had spent so much already on travel, I asked Ross to find someone to see if there were any 2nd class seats available that we could switch to. Ross, being the wonderful husband that he is, leaves everything (including me) behind with our tickets in hand to inquire about the switch. He stepped off the train for literally 2 seconds, and right when he did the train doors closed behind him. As Ross realized this, he attempts to pry the doors open and is banging on the doors and screaming at the top of his lungs. I am hearing this from inside the train and then I feel the train start to move. As the train begins to leave the platform, Ross starts sprinting with the train banging on it for it to stop. At one point both of us are pounding on the glass looking at each other with complete and utter terror on our faces... truly a Hollywood moment. As the train pulls completely out of the station, leaving Ross on the platform without luggage or a passport, we are both in complete panic. I am freaking out to everyone in my car, where no one of course speaks English and everyone is staring at Ross having a complete meltdown in the terminal station. Cell phone communication was not functioning... To make a very long and traumatic story short, with the help of the train conductor on the train (who was contacted by a fellow passenger who came to my beckoning screams) and the customer service desk in the train station who Ross finally convinced to help, Ross was quickly put on a speedier train to meet up with me in Bologna, a town 2 1/2 hours away from Milan. When I pulled into Bologna and saw Ross standing on that platform, I was the happiest girl in the world. We honestly didn't care where the heck we were going as long as we were together! A terrifying way to start our holiday, but made the "togetherness" of the rest of it that much sweeter!!!!

So after a very long evening, we finally made it to Assisi, a charming ancient village with incredible history to match the magical feel of walking the streets. A highlight for sure was visiting the Basilica of Francis of Assisi, a famous pilgrimage site for Christians. Unfortunately, we only had a really short time here, but would love to come back for a longer stay.

Our Hotel: Hotel Hermitage

The Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Inside the Basilica

St. Francis' tomb

Misty morning

Stone buildings

Main square in Assisi

Capri

Off on another train ride we went (repeatedly uttering to each other, "Don't you dare get off this train without me!!!") to Naples where we caught a ferry to the Island of Capri. And what a relaxing two days we had! We arrived while it was still dark, so it was a glorious surprise and delight when we woke up to the sound of crashing waves and the sunrise glistening over the Mediterranean Sea! The view from our balcony was spectacular! The entire first day, we simply laid by the beach and swam in the BLUE water, something that truly delights Ross' heart! The towns of Capri and Anicapri were charming with their winding roads and shops. Our hotel was the absolute best part of the island, being a short 2 minute walk to one of the 3 beaches on the island. It was exactly what we needed after the crazy train ride incident! Before we left, we took a chair lift ride up to the top of the highest peak to get a 360 degree view of the island. Breathtaking!

Capri shops

The view we woke up to from bed :)

View from our balcony

To the right of our hotel

The sound of the ocean from our balcony

Hotel Weber Ambassador

View from our balcony

The AQUA water!

A dream to swim in!

Our own free blue grotto

View of Capri bay from Anicapri

The blue, blue water never ceases to amaze

Ready for dinner

The main square at night

Limoncello!!!!!! Tart, sweet, kickin' yumminess!

Chair lift to the top!

Sorrento!

With only a speedy 20 minute ferry ride, we were soon in Sorrento, a precious seaside town. Arriving by water at sunset was the perfect way to catch a first glimpse of this lovely town. As you pull into the port, stunning buildings dominate the cliff. The center square has a bustling feel to it as people and mopeds whizz by. This and Capri is also where Limoncello is from, a new found *favorite* lemon liquor of mine! So yummy and tangy! Gelato was a staple of our diet during this week, but Sorrento had some of the best! So many flavors to choose from!!! We had a fantastic hotel tucked up into the hills over looking all of Sorrento. That night we had the yummiest gorgonzola gnocchi and fresh ravioli. MMMM!

View of Sorrento from our ferry

A hotel on the Sorrento cliffs

Sorrento cliffs

View of Sorrento coast

Sorrento's Main Square

Our hotel: Hotel Prestige

All the yummy gelato flavors! I swear we didn't gain any weight!

Complimentary Limoncello is served after the meal :)

Pompeii!

From Sorrento, we took a day trip to the incredible city of Pompeii where we hired Sasha, an AWESOME guide! He was hilarious and such an Italian fashionista! He made our trip to Pompeii so memorable and informative. I would highly recommend him as a tour guide for anyone who wants history to come alive! His accent, Georgio Armani murse, Euro pop glasses, detest for the huge Asian tour groups, and zest for history made the 2 1/2 hours fly by!

Our awesome guide Sasha!

Plaster cast of man covering his nose

Beautifully preserved 2,000 year old Roman bath fountain

Pizzeria kitchen

Pompeii Sunset

Amalfi Coast-Positano!

So off to our last stop of the trip traveled by a hairpin road that curves along the mountainside to your left and the sea to your right. Positano! By far our FAVORITE city of the trip! We LOVE Positano! If you are looking for a charming, romantic Italian coastal town with tons of character... this is it!!!!! Oh my word...amazing! It was the perfect way to end the trip and we wished we could have been there an entire week! With colorful hotels and homes clustering the hill which comes down straight into the sea, and the tiny windy streets dotted with adorable shops and venders, there is just nothing like it! Our hotel room had a spectacular view of the sea and colorful hill. We arrived early enough in the day that we were able to relax for hours on the beach with the most beautiful view we have ever seen. The only thing that could have made it any better was a Pina Colada, but don't worry Ross took care of that! To end off our trip, we had one of the best meals... tomato cream gnocchi, calzone, local wine, limoncello and tiramisu. Oh my goodness I'm going to miss the yummy food!

Amalfi Coast Drive

Glorious!

Positano!

Charming narrow streets

Mopeds everywhere!

Loafers of every color!

Colorful buildings

Cathedral right on the beach

Yes, he made the moment that much more perfect with a pina :)

Relaxing on the beach

On the beach

View from our balcony

View from our balcony at night

Our last dinner

At our hotel right before our taxi ride home :(

The next morning we had a few hours to relax until the crazy travel day began... 1/2 hour taxi from Positano to Sorrento, 2 hour train to Naples, 1 hour train to Rome, 1 hour bus ride to the airport, 3 hour plane ride to Dublin, and lastly a mad dash through the airport to the Aircoach to make it just in the nick of time for the 40 minute bus ride home... After a long 12 hour travel day... we were back home safe with memories aplenty :) Oh Italy how we love you! Can't wait to go back!

A quick work visa update

So it is really obvious that we haven't updated our blog in absolutely forever! A quick recap since a new post is long overdue. After turning in our final appeal in July, and after a year of fervent prayer, in late August we finally received positive news that my work permit was approved. Amazingly, we heard this news the first day that my school started. Thankfully, I was able to tell my principal to hold my teaching position for me and once I received my visa in the post I hurried back to Ireland to start back to school immediately. Unbeknownst to me, there was a teacher lined up to take my spot, so literally it was in the knick of time that my work visa came through! Being back at St. Andrew's has been an absolute blessing and joy.

Throughout this year, God has graciously held us as we learned to rest in the midst of great uncertainty. We have become firm believers in the power and persistence of prayer and see this as nothing short of a miracle. So many times this year we felt like this great opportunity to live abroad was slipping through our fingers, and now having the gift restored to us we feel as though we have been given new eyes for Dublin. We truly see each day here as a gift, one to be treasured and rejoiced over. We appreciate everyone who has journeyed with us this past year!

Because of job uncertainty these past two years, we hadn't gone on a proper holiday, which was driving us crazy since we are so close to so many amazing European cities that we had been dying to travel to! So to celebrate a huge work visa victory after a year of rough going, this past week we were blessed to go on our first long awaited holiday to Italy!

Bummer news on the Inman front :(

Unfortunately, this week we received news that we have been dreading to hear. My second attempt at a work permit was once again denied. After all the frustration we have faced these past two years, it doesn't surprise us that it was once again denied, and emotionally we took the news much better than last time! We are trying to remain hopeful as we try our last attempt at an appeal. I have attempted to contact my employer who applied for the work permit on my behalf, but he is on vacation for 10 days! Of course!!! From the date the letter was written on June 23, we have 21 days to respond and request for the decision to be appealed. We have a little less than 2 weeks left to respond to the denial. I have been in contact with my school trying to see if there is someone else who would be able to submit the letter of response I drafted addressing the 5 reasons they listed for why they refused my application. In the denial letter, they addressed one legitimate reason for denying it, that my school did not advertise the post for the full 8 weeks, a reason which I attempted to clarify was a result of miscommunication between my school and the advertising company. But besides this one legitimate reason, the other 4 were completely ungrounded and some blatantly contradictory to the official document on their website.

Please join Ross and I in prayer this one last time as we go through the appeals process. We truly feel that this is a spiritual battle and would covet your prayers! First, pray that I would be able to get in contact with the appropriate person at work who could turn in the appeal for me within the time constraint. Also, we would love to have it approved and processed before school starts for me on August 31. Lastly, pray that if it is denied that Ross and I would have wisdom in the next steps that we take. If it were denied the next phase of our journey is dependent on a few factors: whether or not Ross gets a lecturing post at Trinity next year to allow us to stay in Ireland without me working or whether or not Ross would be able to finish his PhD from a distance.

Although, we are frustrated that we are once again in this place of uncertainty, we feel at peace that we are in the Lord's hands and that regardless of where we are in September and in whatever capacity that looks like, we will be okay. Our journey is far from over. We would ask you to join us in praying that we would continue to abide in the Lord's peace and that we would not be overcome with discouragement or fear.

Thank you to everyone who has walked with us through this long and tiresome process. I know we aren't the only ones who will be greatly disappointed at this news! Hopefully better news will follow!