Summer '09: Part Three, with present day extras.

So before I get carried away with my summer memories again, it's time to update on today.

Today is the day I have been working towards for the past two years: GCSE results day.

I got quite a shock, but a good one! I got 4 A*s, 6 As and 1 B. It took me a while to let it sink in, but 12 hours later, I think it finally has! All of my friends did really well, and I'm so happy for everyone! Yay ^_^

Now back to the story... Where was I..?

Sun 26/07/09

We spent our second day in Venice a bit differently. We decided to buy day passes so that we could use any of the water buses to, from, and around the island. The water buses are exactly what it says on the tin: buses, but that go on the canals. I hate boats, so I really wasn't looking forward to it.

The boat we got across to the island made me feel very sick, so it wasn't a great start to the day. But then we got on a water bus down the grand canal, which was much calmer, and by the time we got off at our stop, I had relaxed about it. We then walked around the non- touristy parts for a bit. It's really nice to get away from the main attractions, as many of the streets we were walking down were completely empty apart from us, and they were just as beautiful.

We ended up on the other side of the island, where we decided to get a waterbus across to another, smaller island: Murano.

Murano is where they make all of the famous Venetian glass. It's pretty much the same as Venice, apart from it has even more glass shops, which I didn't think was possible! Unfortunately, as it was a Sunday, we didn't get to see any glass making, but it was still nice to see all of the finished products.

Two boat trips later, and we found ourselves on the Lido, a long, thin island next to Venice. We went there because there was a beach, so, as usual, I just sat there with a towel wrapped around me.

We accidentally took the wrong boat back to Venice, so we had to take a very long boat trip around the island, but it was nice to see the island in the evening. We got to see a lot more of Venice, and I kinda tackled my hatred of boats a bit, so it was good. I absolutely love Venice, and would love to go back there one day...

Mon 27/07/09

The day of pain. After a sleepless night, a 7 am start and a three and a half hour drive, we finally arrived at our campsite in the hills, 12 km from Florence. It was a scorching hot day, which just made me feel worse, especially since I was COVERED in bites. One bite was half the size of my calf. To take my mind off it all, I read 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' whilst sitting in the small patch of shade. The campsite had a free pool, so we didn't see much of Dora and my sister Becca...

Tues 28/07/09

We had a nice lazy day: a long lie in, and then we left Dora and Becca at the pool to drive around the hills for a bit and to explore the local towns. We eventually managed to find a supermarket, in which we ending up spending more time than we expected because it was air conditioned. Then we went back to the campsite and just did nothing for the rest of the afternoon! A nice break...


And back to today, it is time for some sleep, methinks...