Roman Holiday

Brief update since it has been a while since i wrote a full length blog. For those of you who don't know the story, got my wallet lost and/or stolen in the train station on my way to Cinque Terre. (This city, by the way, is the most beautiful and satisfying lifestyle i have ever seen. ) Kind of had an emotional break down, gave up, and said europe had gotten the best of me. i wanted to come home as soon as the program was over. My mother was wonderful and took care of everything and of me as best as she knew how from thousands of miles away. No luck with coming home early, but plans changed. The wallet deal was the last straw for me and i couldn't take Europe's ill-fated plan to break and make me, let alone the trains with a far too full pack. Milan and a new suitcase became the plan, taking the trip the day after classes with my roommates, staying in Milan, then flying to London to stay the remainding days until my flight. Sounded much better and things settled down.

Cinque Terre is a city carved out of rock on the Mediterranean Sea and i may not witness a more beautiful place ever again. Despite the meltdown, the trip was quite relaxing, and Columbia and the staff and everyone on the trip were more than supportive and helpful during this situation.

Came back on wednesday night, class thursday, shoot shoot shoot, saturday at 3:30 am departure for Rome.

LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED Rome and i could have spent at least a week there. Unfortunately, Stefano and Franco, our tour guides and comedic duo, would not have it and instead we went through a painfully long and slightly miserable tour through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Pauls Cathederal on little to no sleep. Then eat for 30 min and back on the bus to stop once again at another church. It's beautiful and it's awesome architecture, get it, now get back on the bus. Check in to four star hotel where we all experienced the luxury of air conditioning and a real pillow (europe believes in pillows similar to pancakes). Meanwhile, our fourth roomate, Alanna, who had gotten to Rome the day before with her mother that just decided to fly in with her friend for 5 days, experienced confusion on where to meet up with the group and was lost in Rome with a dead phone and no way to contact us. We were frantic trying to figure out how to rectify the situation which involved Alanna's father contacting us from the states, Alanna taking four train rides back and forth to Rome, and a very large beer when she finally arrived. Sleep Eat Sleep.

Next morning: And we're off! 8:30 am departure to Spanish steps (dont ask me what these are, i will give you no other answer than that they are important, pictures were taken, and it was too early). Walking tour to Italy's most famous fountain built on the facade of someone's private palace. Pretty righteous, threw a penny over my shoulder, made a wish, keep walking. PANTHEON! amazing, and we actually got there justs in time to be able to go inside before mass. Then some hideous Roman building that even Romans hate and call it the birthday cake. Next to it? Ancient Roman ruins. ahh so cool! But no time to actually step foot on them and walked were people of one of the greatest empires ever in existence walked. Get on the bus, time for lunch. Here's a great idea: Take 48 exhausted Americans that are dehydrated and burning from Rome's brutal sun and take them to a lunch where there are five courses, two of them being pasta, give them multiple glasses of wine, in a room with no air conditioning and one window cracked, make it take two and a half hours, then make them go back out in the sun to do a marathon tour of the colluseum and the forum while slightly tipsy. Good job Franco and Stefano! I love you for your comedic quirk, but your planning must seriously improve. We had an hour to see the colluseum and forum. Coloseum (which i apparently can not figure out how to spell) blew my mind. ahhh it was soooo cool and i just wanted to be there with Jason acting out all the gory events that took place. I could have spent at least 2 hours just there. The forum right across the street? Literally ran threw it to see as much as i could haphazardly shutter happy and just barely making it back just in time to get my Kodak instamatic shot of the colluseum and meet up with the rest of my group. sleep on the bus back home.

I heart Roma.


More updates soon to come on my last whirlwind week in Florence. But I am in Milan now and very very sleepy. g'night kids.