Friday, October 28, 2011
here i am!
Okay, so I think I have been listening to "Rock You Like a Hurricane" too much... Anyways, I realize it has been a while since I have posted anything so I decided now is a good time! It is 5:30am here and I am just about to leave my house to go to Barcelona for four days! I am so excited! Leaving Spain is getting close (less than six weeks!) and I am getting a little anxious to be home. I know I am going to miss Spain and my host family, but it is going to be SO nice to be able to hang out with my own family again... People just don't have humor like my family does. I can't wait for this trip because it gets me that much closer to being home, and I get to go to an awesome city with the added bonus of not having class on Monday or Tuesday! I can't wait to tell you all about my adventures in Barca! I miss you all! Love ya, Liz
Monday, October 17, 2011
over the ocean and through the streets
10.16.2011
I am now on the first flight of my day! We are on our way to the Milan airport from Greece. Today has been pretty uneventful. I woke up "late" at 10am, ate breakfast, watched it rain for only 15 minutes, packed my stuff in my backpack (which is now extremely full!), washed my hair, checked out of the hotel, and waited by the pool for a while. The others came soon after and then we went to a restaurant called Kavos so that people could use the WiFi on their iPods and stayed there for a while. When we got back, we waited for about 15 minutes and then our Taxi driver showed up and we headed to the airport. It didn't take long to get through security or wait to board the plane and now I have no idea how much longer we have on our flight. Hopefully not much. When we get to Italy, we have to go through security a second time because we need to get our passports checked and find our gate. It should be interesting. The sunsets in the sky are the best by the way.... They have such intense colors above the clouds!
10.17.2011
It is a little past midnight and we are finally in the Madrid airport to "sleep" for the night. I am so tired and cold and hungry so I doubt I will be getting much sleep. I am so excited to be in "my own" bed! And have meals provided for me. That trip was definitely more expensive than I thought it was going to be. But it was fun (mostly)! Let's hope tomorrow goes as smoothly as the rest of the trip has because I have class at 9am and I really hope I don't miss it! We are all going to be so tired tomorrow! I am going to attempt to get some sleep laying across three chairs...
10.17.2011
Well it's 5am and we are still at the airport because the Metro doesn't start until 6 and we all thought that it started at 4 but who knows. My back is killing me because of how I was sleeping and I got a total of about 20 minutes of sleep. I kind of hope that we are back in time for my class but none of us know when the buses leave so its basically a wait and see kind of thing. If I make it to class, I bet it is going to be so hard to stay awake! On another note, my sunburn is so itchy! it is finally turning into a tan but it is so freakin itchy! It's at the stage where it still hurts but it itches like crazy. It's not as bad as it was before though! So thats good. The blisters are now scabs and it is SUPER attractive. It's actually probably not as bad as I think it is but I just don't like it. My left eye has swollen every time I have slept for long periods of time and then it doesn't fully open for about an hour.I am just so excited to take a nice nap after classes and lunch!
Ah! So Celine Dion just came on the radio in the airport and I wish I was in a car so that I could sing obnoxiously along with it. She has a great voice. Speaking of singing, I might audition for Glee because you can submit a video of yourself singing online so it would be easy for me to do. I am undecided though because I have a huge fear of singing in front of people alone, but this is on my bucket list, as well as trying out for American Idol. I want to not have any stupid regrets in life. No regrets, no fear. (remember my no fear shirt dad? I think I need a new one)
Alrighty, so it is now 6pm and everything today went incredibly smooth! I got to class on time and I even got to eat breakfast! I haven't had time to take a nap yet and I think at this point it isn't worth it cause I won't get to sleep when I want to later tonight. I have had a really good day and it was so much fun catching up with people and hearing some of their stories from their vacations! I was reminded today that tomorrow is the halfway point with school which is so exciting! AND I even got charms for Greece and Italy (Andrea, Amanda, Mom!) yayy!!
I am now on the first flight of my day! We are on our way to the Milan airport from Greece. Today has been pretty uneventful. I woke up "late" at 10am, ate breakfast, watched it rain for only 15 minutes, packed my stuff in my backpack (which is now extremely full!), washed my hair, checked out of the hotel, and waited by the pool for a while. The others came soon after and then we went to a restaurant called Kavos so that people could use the WiFi on their iPods and stayed there for a while. When we got back, we waited for about 15 minutes and then our Taxi driver showed up and we headed to the airport. It didn't take long to get through security or wait to board the plane and now I have no idea how much longer we have on our flight. Hopefully not much. When we get to Italy, we have to go through security a second time because we need to get our passports checked and find our gate. It should be interesting. The sunsets in the sky are the best by the way.... They have such intense colors above the clouds!
10.17.2011
It is a little past midnight and we are finally in the Madrid airport to "sleep" for the night. I am so tired and cold and hungry so I doubt I will be getting much sleep. I am so excited to be in "my own" bed! And have meals provided for me. That trip was definitely more expensive than I thought it was going to be. But it was fun (mostly)! Let's hope tomorrow goes as smoothly as the rest of the trip has because I have class at 9am and I really hope I don't miss it! We are all going to be so tired tomorrow! I am going to attempt to get some sleep laying across three chairs...
10.17.2011
Well it's 5am and we are still at the airport because the Metro doesn't start until 6 and we all thought that it started at 4 but who knows. My back is killing me because of how I was sleeping and I got a total of about 20 minutes of sleep. I kind of hope that we are back in time for my class but none of us know when the buses leave so its basically a wait and see kind of thing. If I make it to class, I bet it is going to be so hard to stay awake! On another note, my sunburn is so itchy! it is finally turning into a tan but it is so freakin itchy! It's at the stage where it still hurts but it itches like crazy. It's not as bad as it was before though! So thats good. The blisters are now scabs and it is SUPER attractive. It's actually probably not as bad as I think it is but I just don't like it. My left eye has swollen every time I have slept for long periods of time and then it doesn't fully open for about an hour.I am just so excited to take a nice nap after classes and lunch!
Ah! So Celine Dion just came on the radio in the airport and I wish I was in a car so that I could sing obnoxiously along with it. She has a great voice. Speaking of singing, I might audition for Glee because you can submit a video of yourself singing online so it would be easy for me to do. I am undecided though because I have a huge fear of singing in front of people alone, but this is on my bucket list, as well as trying out for American Idol. I want to not have any stupid regrets in life. No regrets, no fear. (remember my no fear shirt dad? I think I need a new one)
Alrighty, so it is now 6pm and everything today went incredibly smooth! I got to class on time and I even got to eat breakfast! I haven't had time to take a nap yet and I think at this point it isn't worth it cause I won't get to sleep when I want to later tonight. I have had a really good day and it was so much fun catching up with people and hearing some of their stories from their vacations! I was reminded today that tomorrow is the halfway point with school which is so exciting! AND I even got charms for Greece and Italy (Andrea, Amanda, Mom!) yayy!!
crossrhodes
10.13.2011
Well we arrived in Greece today!
and this donkey proves it! Cause you can only find donkey's in Greece YEAH! (isn't he cute though??)
Europe is not fond of signs pointing anything out, at least not obvious signs. We were waiting for a bus at the Greece airport after having been up since 3am and we left the bus stop for about 2 seconds and it came and left early. So a cab driver came by and said he would take all six of us in his cab for 13 euros per person and he took us on an hour long ride to our hotel. When we got here, we all got settled and then walked to the "supermarket" which is just a teeny store with a little bit of everything in it. We bought food for lunch and dinner and some snacks. I think I found Amanda's bland crackers but I can't remember the name of them so I don't know for sure... After getting back from the supermarket, we went to our rooms, got a snack, and while Emma and I were eating, a stray cat (Europe has about a million of them) came to our porch and wouldn't leave! And then we went to the pool for about an hour and a half. When we got back another cat came INTO our room. They just won't leave us alone! Anyways, there isn't a ton to do around here without walking quite a ways. I have no idea what we are going to do tonight but hopefully it won't include more cats!
10.14.2011
So last night was interesting and yes, it did indeed involve more cats trying to get into our room. We just chilled around the hotel but there wasn't really a ton to do, so Emma and I just walked over to the other girls' room and hung out there for a bit and came back and talked for a while, played cards, and tried to sleep. It didn't work so well so we talked more about a ton of random stuff. Oh the things you talk about when you are tired... I had some really weird dreams and then I woke up with 'Flying High Again' by Ozzy Osborne stuck in my head, and it won't get out! I am so excited for today because we are going to find a beach and stay there hopefully all day. I got sunburned yesterday but not too bad, it was just uncomfortable, but today it will probably be worse.
I am actually getting excited to get back to Spain because I just miss being able to communicate with people and having a place that is close to being "home" in a way. I mean I love the traveling but I am a little sick of planes and trying to figure everything else out and spending money on food, transportation, hostels, and stuff like that. It is really stressful for me and I feel like I am going to run out but I am pretty sure that I won't. Anyway, on this vacation I have definitely gotten more homesick, especially in Rome because all of the history stuff reminded me of Dad, Andrea, and Amanda. If I ever have any questions on vacations about history, they would always answer them (after an "are you kidding me?" look). I had so many questions in Rome but they weren't there! Let's hope I remember them when I get home! It was kind of sad. Anyways hopefully today will be amazing! Hopefully.
10.14.2011
Oh mylanta. I have the WORST sunburn ever right now. Look at that defined line of sunburn! I know you guys are jealous!
Today we went to the beach in Lindos and there are some awesome ancient ruins there and the beach is beautiful! But we got there at about 1:15ish and were there until about 4:15 just laying on the beach relaxing/sleeping. It was so amazing except the European women who decided to walk around topless and lay on their chairs topless. Gross. It made taking pictures very difficult! I did manage to get a couple of good ones!
Lindos:
Lindos and the Acropolis at the very top:
Anywho, I have a super bad sunburn from laying in the sun for 3 hours without sunscreen, because I couldn't take mine with since I only had a carry-on bag. Plus, I didn't think to use any except for on my scars. I have no idea what I was thinking. After laying on the beach, we all got really hungry and decided to get Gyros. We found this cute little whole in the wall place with Gyros for only 2.50 euros and they were so delicious!
I think I found my new favorite food. They even put french fries in them!Ah, I was in culinary heaven... okay that's a bit of an over-exaggeration but they were so good! I really hope I get one tomorrow, but there is this Chinese place here and I have been craving Chinese food for the past month so maybe that. Anyways, after the Gyros we walked up the mountain and looked in some shops and stuff and made our way to the Acropolis which was closed but there were some amazingly gorgeous views of the sunset over Lindos, between two mountains. It was so beautiful!
Then we made our way back to the hotel and on the way we got some Baklava and that was so good!I have never had it before but it was delicious! Now we are all in our rooms just kind of chillin' for the night. Hopefully my sunburn won't keep me awake!
10.15.2011
So I woke up this morning and my face was, and still is, super swollen because of the sunburn. Only one of my eyes opens all the way, it's actually kind of funny looking. I can't open my left eye all the way and yesterday I found these weird bumps on my right cheek and this morning I realized that they were blisters from the sunburn. Fun right?
I am getting really excited to get back to Spain on Monday! The deal is that our plane gets to Madrid at 11:30pm and that is exactly when the last bus to Segovia is, so we have to sleep in the airport again and atch an early bus to Segovia so we can get there before my 9am class. It should be interesting! I'm really hoping to hang out by the pool for a bit today but probably not too long because I don't want to get too much more sunburned. Also, there is this place farther in town that has the "natural pedicure" whee there are 150 fish in a tank and it's supposed to be like a massage and to get the dead skin off of your feet. I am really curious as to what that feels like and everyone thought that it looked interesting so maybe we will go. It's only 5 euros so it's not expensive either.
10.15.2011
Well, so far today we got up, chilled at the pool waiting for the others to come out but they had already left on a walk or something and we were getting hungry. So we went back to the room and I took a nap after eating breakfast. When I woke up, I ate a banana and I headed for the "supermarket" to get a sandwich for lunch and one for dinner and then met up with Emma, Anna, and Allison at the beach. It was so beautiful out! There were fluffy cotton ball clouds, sun in the sky, and a great view of mountains and the sea! So relaxing!
At one point, there was rain from a cloud that was not there. Like there was literally no cloud near us and it started to rain while it was completely sunny. It was so confusing! After a while on the beach I could feel myself burning even more and we came back to our rooms to relax before going into town later tonight. I hope it's super fun! Nap time!
After my wonderful nap today, I ate dinner and then we went over to Shanna, Brianna, Anna, and Allison's room. We basically talked about everything from self-defense to childhood and swapped stories from our childhoods and stuff. It was so much fun because we all got to know each other so much better! I am so happy that I came on this trip to Italy and Greece, but it definitely made me more homesick. I just miss having somewhere to relax and just hang out and not worry about offending someone and being self-sufficient. I am really excited o get back to Spain to have some sense of "normal" but I am counting down the weeks until I get home to the States and get to see my family again. I only have 7 weeks left in Spain so I am almost exactly halfway through the trip! It is so weird to think that it has already been 7 weeks. Studying abroad has definitely been a great experience and I have already learned so much from living in Spain, but I am about ready to seep in my own bed or cuddle up on the couch with a blanket and watch a movie... Anyway, tomorrow we leave for Madrid and we seep in the airport that night and leave on an early bus in the morning for Segovia and then directly to class. It's going to be a busy couple of days! Let's pray everything goes smoothly!
Well we arrived in Greece today!
Europe is not fond of signs pointing anything out, at least not obvious signs. We were waiting for a bus at the Greece airport after having been up since 3am and we left the bus stop for about 2 seconds and it came and left early. So a cab driver came by and said he would take all six of us in his cab for 13 euros per person and he took us on an hour long ride to our hotel. When we got here, we all got settled and then walked to the "supermarket" which is just a teeny store with a little bit of everything in it. We bought food for lunch and dinner and some snacks. I think I found Amanda's bland crackers but I can't remember the name of them so I don't know for sure... After getting back from the supermarket, we went to our rooms, got a snack, and while Emma and I were eating, a stray cat (Europe has about a million of them) came to our porch and wouldn't leave! And then we went to the pool for about an hour and a half. When we got back another cat came INTO our room. They just won't leave us alone! Anyways, there isn't a ton to do around here without walking quite a ways. I have no idea what we are going to do tonight but hopefully it won't include more cats!
10.14.2011
So last night was interesting and yes, it did indeed involve more cats trying to get into our room. We just chilled around the hotel but there wasn't really a ton to do, so Emma and I just walked over to the other girls' room and hung out there for a bit and came back and talked for a while, played cards, and tried to sleep. It didn't work so well so we talked more about a ton of random stuff. Oh the things you talk about when you are tired... I had some really weird dreams and then I woke up with 'Flying High Again' by Ozzy Osborne stuck in my head, and it won't get out! I am so excited for today because we are going to find a beach and stay there hopefully all day. I got sunburned yesterday but not too bad, it was just uncomfortable, but today it will probably be worse.
I am actually getting excited to get back to Spain because I just miss being able to communicate with people and having a place that is close to being "home" in a way. I mean I love the traveling but I am a little sick of planes and trying to figure everything else out and spending money on food, transportation, hostels, and stuff like that. It is really stressful for me and I feel like I am going to run out but I am pretty sure that I won't. Anyway, on this vacation I have definitely gotten more homesick, especially in Rome because all of the history stuff reminded me of Dad, Andrea, and Amanda. If I ever have any questions on vacations about history, they would always answer them (after an "are you kidding me?" look). I had so many questions in Rome but they weren't there! Let's hope I remember them when I get home! It was kind of sad. Anyways hopefully today will be amazing! Hopefully.
10.14.2011
Oh mylanta. I have the WORST sunburn ever right now. Look at that defined line of sunburn! I know you guys are jealous!
Today we went to the beach in Lindos and there are some awesome ancient ruins there and the beach is beautiful! But we got there at about 1:15ish and were there until about 4:15 just laying on the beach relaxing/sleeping. It was so amazing except the European women who decided to walk around topless and lay on their chairs topless. Gross. It made taking pictures very difficult! I did manage to get a couple of good ones!
Lindos:
Anywho, I have a super bad sunburn from laying in the sun for 3 hours without sunscreen, because I couldn't take mine with since I only had a carry-on bag. Plus, I didn't think to use any except for on my scars. I have no idea what I was thinking. After laying on the beach, we all got really hungry and decided to get Gyros. We found this cute little whole in the wall place with Gyros for only 2.50 euros and they were so delicious!
I think I found my new favorite food. They even put french fries in them!Ah, I was in culinary heaven... okay that's a bit of an over-exaggeration but they were so good! I really hope I get one tomorrow, but there is this Chinese place here and I have been craving Chinese food for the past month so maybe that. Anyways, after the Gyros we walked up the mountain and looked in some shops and stuff and made our way to the Acropolis which was closed but there were some amazingly gorgeous views of the sunset over Lindos, between two mountains. It was so beautiful!
Then we made our way back to the hotel and on the way we got some Baklava and that was so good!I have never had it before but it was delicious! Now we are all in our rooms just kind of chillin' for the night. Hopefully my sunburn won't keep me awake!
10.15.2011
So I woke up this morning and my face was, and still is, super swollen because of the sunburn. Only one of my eyes opens all the way, it's actually kind of funny looking. I can't open my left eye all the way and yesterday I found these weird bumps on my right cheek and this morning I realized that they were blisters from the sunburn. Fun right?
I am getting really excited to get back to Spain on Monday! The deal is that our plane gets to Madrid at 11:30pm and that is exactly when the last bus to Segovia is, so we have to sleep in the airport again and atch an early bus to Segovia so we can get there before my 9am class. It should be interesting! I'm really hoping to hang out by the pool for a bit today but probably not too long because I don't want to get too much more sunburned. Also, there is this place farther in town that has the "natural pedicure" whee there are 150 fish in a tank and it's supposed to be like a massage and to get the dead skin off of your feet. I am really curious as to what that feels like and everyone thought that it looked interesting so maybe we will go. It's only 5 euros so it's not expensive either.
10.15.2011
Well, so far today we got up, chilled at the pool waiting for the others to come out but they had already left on a walk or something and we were getting hungry. So we went back to the room and I took a nap after eating breakfast. When I woke up, I ate a banana and I headed for the "supermarket" to get a sandwich for lunch and one for dinner and then met up with Emma, Anna, and Allison at the beach. It was so beautiful out! There were fluffy cotton ball clouds, sun in the sky, and a great view of mountains and the sea! So relaxing!
At one point, there was rain from a cloud that was not there. Like there was literally no cloud near us and it started to rain while it was completely sunny. It was so confusing! After a while on the beach I could feel myself burning even more and we came back to our rooms to relax before going into town later tonight. I hope it's super fun! Nap time!
After my wonderful nap today, I ate dinner and then we went over to Shanna, Brianna, Anna, and Allison's room. We basically talked about everything from self-defense to childhood and swapped stories from our childhoods and stuff. It was so much fun because we all got to know each other so much better! I am so happy that I came on this trip to Italy and Greece, but it definitely made me more homesick. I just miss having somewhere to relax and just hang out and not worry about offending someone and being self-sufficient. I am really excited o get back to Spain to have some sense of "normal" but I am counting down the weeks until I get home to the States and get to see my family again. I only have 7 weeks left in Spain so I am almost exactly halfway through the trip! It is so weird to think that it has already been 7 weeks. Studying abroad has definitely been a great experience and I have already learned so much from living in Spain, but I am about ready to seep in my own bed or cuddle up on the couch with a blanket and watch a movie... Anyway, tomorrow we leave for Madrid and we seep in the airport that night and leave on an early bus in the morning for Segovia and then directly to class. It's going to be a busy couple of days! Let's pray everything goes smoothly!
when in rome...
10.11.2011
Well today had been amazing! But let's start with the rest of yesterday... I have had such a great time in Rome so far! Yesterday when Emma and I got here we got to our hostel, which is great! The other people are so nice here! We walked around a bit and then went to a cafe for lunch. We ordered a pizza to share, but the waiter came over with 2 pizzas. Right when he got to our table, he told us that the guy who ordered the pizza left and asked if we wanted a free pizza. Of course we said yes! It was really good! I am actually surprised that they don't put basil on their Margherita pizzas. After that, we came back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit and then went out wandering. We saw a bunch of cool buildings but we have no idea what they are. After that, we came back and went to bed.
Today, Emma and I woke up at 10 and started our adventure. We left the hostel at about 10:30 and started walking towards the Colosseum. We stopped along the way at touristy shops and to take pictures, etc. and there were a ton of beautiful buildings and fountains. We finally got to the Colosseum and took pictures of the outside.
I didn't really want to go in but Emma did so I spent 12 euros to get in. Oh well. It was okay. It was cool, but not really worth 12 euros... I would have probably liked it more if I remembered what they taught me in history....
After the Colosseum, we went to McDonalds for lunch which tasted SO good! We came back to the hostel and met up with Stephanie, Anna, and Allison and then they went off to the Colosseum. Emma and I stayed there for a bit and rested. At 3:30 we wandered around until we found the Trevi Fountain, definitely got lost a few times, but we eventually found it. It was the most amazing and beautiful fountain I have ever seen! It was so gorgeous and it was HUGE!
I loved it! After the fountain, we decided to get dinner and come back to the hostel. We went to the grocery store and bought frozen pasta to share and I bought peach tea (it tasted like peach-o's! so good!) and orange juice. Now I have FINALLY showered and it feels so good because it's the first time in 2 days (I know that's gross, get over it but I didn't have a towel so not all my fault) and I feel so clean! Now I am off to bed because I have an early start tomorrow to the Vatican! Can't wait!!!
10.12.2011
Well, today I would say was a success! We went to so many amazing places! On our way to the Vatican, we stopped at breakfast (the hostel provides it) which was a really good croissant with some sort of jelly filling and powdered sugar on tom and a Cappuccino.
We sat there and woke up a bit and headed out. We ended up going to the Spanish stairs first, which was really cool, but it had a really depressing fountain in front of it. It was cool to see AND it was on a street with Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc.
I wish I could go back there and shop but i'm pretty sure I don't have enough money for that. After the Spanish steps we just walked up a street and found the Piazza del Popolo. It was so pretty! It was also very symmetrical and for some reason I found that to be relaxing. I know that's weird too but I don't care. We walked down another street and saw Piazza Navona, which has a ton of cute little shops and restaurants and a great little fountain (after the Trevi Fountain, every fountain is little). It was such a charming place and so cute! After a while, we headed for the Vatican. We walked along the river and saw Piazza dei Tribunali and Castel Sant Angelo and finally we were in Vatican City.
I saw the Pope give mass which was so cool! He spoke English for part of it and I thought that that was really interesting. It made me start thinking about how many languages he knows, and also what does he wear when he is not in a crowd? Is it always robes? cause that would suck. Just sayin'. We went into the Vatican Museum and that was actually really cool! I liked seeing all of the paintings and they were so elaborate! They had so many colors and were gold framed. Then, at last, we say the Sistine Chapel. It was so amazing, but definitely not what I had expected. I expected it to have a dome and tons of gold and lots of color, but there was no gold in the paintings, very dim, dark colors and it was essentially a flat ceiling. I wasn't disappointed, just shocked a little at how different it was compared to what I thought. After several hours of being herded like cattle, we were starving and went out for food with everyone. Then we went to the Pantheon which also surprised me because the buildings we have seen have been very white, but this was dark grey and kind of gloomy. It kind of had a cold feeling, but otherwise it was very cool! Lastly, we decided to get gelato and eat it in from of the Trevi Fountain. It was so relaxing and so beautiful. I swear this fountain has ruined all other fountains for me. So incredible. On our way back, we stopped at the grocery store for dinner and just relaxed, ate, and talked for hours about everything. It was so much fun! And I got a shower which was great! Now tomorrow I have to wake up at 3:15 so that I can catch my 8 o'clock flight to GREECE! I am just so excited! I can't wait to tell you about it!
Well today had been amazing! But let's start with the rest of yesterday... I have had such a great time in Rome so far! Yesterday when Emma and I got here we got to our hostel, which is great! The other people are so nice here! We walked around a bit and then went to a cafe for lunch. We ordered a pizza to share, but the waiter came over with 2 pizzas. Right when he got to our table, he told us that the guy who ordered the pizza left and asked if we wanted a free pizza. Of course we said yes! It was really good! I am actually surprised that they don't put basil on their Margherita pizzas. After that, we came back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit and then went out wandering. We saw a bunch of cool buildings but we have no idea what they are. After that, we came back and went to bed.
Today, Emma and I woke up at 10 and started our adventure. We left the hostel at about 10:30 and started walking towards the Colosseum. We stopped along the way at touristy shops and to take pictures, etc. and there were a ton of beautiful buildings and fountains. We finally got to the Colosseum and took pictures of the outside.
I didn't really want to go in but Emma did so I spent 12 euros to get in. Oh well. It was okay. It was cool, but not really worth 12 euros... I would have probably liked it more if I remembered what they taught me in history....
After the Colosseum, we went to McDonalds for lunch which tasted SO good! We came back to the hostel and met up with Stephanie, Anna, and Allison and then they went off to the Colosseum. Emma and I stayed there for a bit and rested. At 3:30 we wandered around until we found the Trevi Fountain, definitely got lost a few times, but we eventually found it. It was the most amazing and beautiful fountain I have ever seen! It was so gorgeous and it was HUGE!
I loved it! After the fountain, we decided to get dinner and come back to the hostel. We went to the grocery store and bought frozen pasta to share and I bought peach tea (it tasted like peach-o's! so good!) and orange juice. Now I have FINALLY showered and it feels so good because it's the first time in 2 days (I know that's gross, get over it but I didn't have a towel so not all my fault) and I feel so clean! Now I am off to bed because I have an early start tomorrow to the Vatican! Can't wait!!!
10.12.2011
Well, today I would say was a success! We went to so many amazing places! On our way to the Vatican, we stopped at breakfast (the hostel provides it) which was a really good croissant with some sort of jelly filling and powdered sugar on tom and a Cappuccino.
We sat there and woke up a bit and headed out. We ended up going to the Spanish stairs first, which was really cool, but it had a really depressing fountain in front of it. It was cool to see AND it was on a street with Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc.
I wish I could go back there and shop but i'm pretty sure I don't have enough money for that. After the Spanish steps we just walked up a street and found the Piazza del Popolo. It was so pretty! It was also very symmetrical and for some reason I found that to be relaxing. I know that's weird too but I don't care. We walked down another street and saw Piazza Navona, which has a ton of cute little shops and restaurants and a great little fountain (after the Trevi Fountain, every fountain is little). It was such a charming place and so cute! After a while, we headed for the Vatican. We walked along the river and saw Piazza dei Tribunali and Castel Sant Angelo and finally we were in Vatican City.
I saw the Pope give mass which was so cool! He spoke English for part of it and I thought that that was really interesting. It made me start thinking about how many languages he knows, and also what does he wear when he is not in a crowd? Is it always robes? cause that would suck. Just sayin'. We went into the Vatican Museum and that was actually really cool! I liked seeing all of the paintings and they were so elaborate! They had so many colors and were gold framed. Then, at last, we say the Sistine Chapel. It was so amazing, but definitely not what I had expected. I expected it to have a dome and tons of gold and lots of color, but there was no gold in the paintings, very dim, dark colors and it was essentially a flat ceiling. I wasn't disappointed, just shocked a little at how different it was compared to what I thought. After several hours of being herded like cattle, we were starving and went out for food with everyone. Then we went to the Pantheon which also surprised me because the buildings we have seen have been very white, but this was dark grey and kind of gloomy. It kind of had a cold feeling, but otherwise it was very cool! Lastly, we decided to get gelato and eat it in from of the Trevi Fountain. It was so relaxing and so beautiful. I swear this fountain has ruined all other fountains for me. So incredible. On our way back, we stopped at the grocery store for dinner and just relaxed, ate, and talked for hours about everything. It was so much fun! And I got a shower which was great! Now tomorrow I have to wake up at 3:15 so that I can catch my 8 o'clock flight to GREECE! I am just so excited! I can't wait to tell you about it!
pesto pizza
10.07.2011
The first day of vacation is today!!! I may have skipped a class and gotten coffee instead but hey, i'm on vacation now! Today about 11 of us took a bus to Madrid at 9pm and got there at 10. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the airport from the bus station because we were all confused about how exactly to get there and how to get the supplementary ticket that we needed to get to the airport...
We eventually found our way to the check in desk but it was closed so we had to sleep on the floor by it. And by sleep, I mean lay on the ground with our backpacks as our pillows and freeze our butts off cause it was a concrete floor. And maybe got about 30 minutes of sleep. Right when we got to the airport (at about 1am) we all sat around a table and talked and then decided to attempt to sleep. We "woke up" at about 4am and hopped on the plane to Milan!
10.08.2011
We finally got to Italy! It took us from 6am (our flight) until 4pm to get to Cinque Terre. When we finally got here, we found the office to the hostel pretty fast and then the owner showed us to our rooms. We had to climb about a million stairs with our heavy backpacks to get here and it was SO tiring! After that we went for a walk around the city we are staying in called Riomaggiore and we sat at a little bay where you can rent row boats. We sat there for a good hour and decided that we were hungry so we went to a pizza place with the most amazing pesto pizza ever!!! I found out later today that pesto was actually created in Cinque Terre so that explains it. After dinner we got Gelato for dessert and decided that tomorrow we are going to walk all day through the 5 cities that make up Cinque Terre and back. We are going to have lunch and possibly dinner on the way back looking over the sea. I can not wait to take more pictures!!!
10.09.2011
Today was AMAZING! Prepare yourselves for this next sentence... We got up EARLY and went HIKING! ALL DAY! We hiked a ton and I am absolutely positive tat I would be completely fine if I never did it again.
In Cinque Terre we are staying in Riomaggiore, which is the farthest south of the 5 cities. We hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola, then took the train to Corniglia because there was construction on the pathway. We stayed there for a bit then took the train to Vernazza and wandered around there for a while. We went to Monterosso al Mare and walked on the beach and took awesome pictures and then we ate at this little place near the beach. Let me just say AMAZING lasagna! But I think I like Dad's better...
Anyways, we took the train back to Vernazza and hiked to Corniglia, which took about and hour and a half. It was so tiring because about half of it was up hill and climbing stairs and bleh it was gross. All of the paths have a ton of steps and hills and stuff but I think the pathway to Corniglia from Vernazza was the worst one. Anywho, we took the train back to Riomaggiore, got gelato and watched the sunset over the water.
As we were walking back, we bought fruit, yogurt, and potato chips for dinner. Healthy, I know. After that, we walked back to the hostel and I took a shower. The views from everywhere on the trails and the cities were so gorgeous and looked like a postcard. I loved it! So amazing I just can't get over it!
10.10.2011
So, it is about 9am right now and Emma and I are at the train station. We caught the train to La Spezia at 8:37 and it took about 10 minutes to get here from Cinque Terre. We bought our tickets to Rome and it doesn't come until 10:06 and it's direct! Yay! We don't get there until about 2:16 so it should be pretty easy to find the hostel in the daylight.
I am so excited to see the Spanish steps and all of the amazing things in Rome. Cinque Terre was so beautiful and so surreal because everything looked perfect. It just didn't seem like it could be real. It just reminded me how small we really are! I cannot believe that I am in Italy right now! It's just so gorgeous and I can't get over it! I am going to be so sad to leave Italy but hopefully I will be able to come back at some point in my life.
The first day of vacation is today!!! I may have skipped a class and gotten coffee instead but hey, i'm on vacation now! Today about 11 of us took a bus to Madrid at 9pm and got there at 10. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the airport from the bus station because we were all confused about how exactly to get there and how to get the supplementary ticket that we needed to get to the airport...
We eventually found our way to the check in desk but it was closed so we had to sleep on the floor by it. And by sleep, I mean lay on the ground with our backpacks as our pillows and freeze our butts off cause it was a concrete floor. And maybe got about 30 minutes of sleep. Right when we got to the airport (at about 1am) we all sat around a table and talked and then decided to attempt to sleep. We "woke up" at about 4am and hopped on the plane to Milan!
10.08.2011
We finally got to Italy! It took us from 6am (our flight) until 4pm to get to Cinque Terre. When we finally got here, we found the office to the hostel pretty fast and then the owner showed us to our rooms. We had to climb about a million stairs with our heavy backpacks to get here and it was SO tiring! After that we went for a walk around the city we are staying in called Riomaggiore and we sat at a little bay where you can rent row boats. We sat there for a good hour and decided that we were hungry so we went to a pizza place with the most amazing pesto pizza ever!!! I found out later today that pesto was actually created in Cinque Terre so that explains it. After dinner we got Gelato for dessert and decided that tomorrow we are going to walk all day through the 5 cities that make up Cinque Terre and back. We are going to have lunch and possibly dinner on the way back looking over the sea. I can not wait to take more pictures!!!
10.09.2011
Today was AMAZING! Prepare yourselves for this next sentence... We got up EARLY and went HIKING! ALL DAY! We hiked a ton and I am absolutely positive tat I would be completely fine if I never did it again.
In Cinque Terre we are staying in Riomaggiore, which is the farthest south of the 5 cities. We hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola, then took the train to Corniglia because there was construction on the pathway. We stayed there for a bit then took the train to Vernazza and wandered around there for a while. We went to Monterosso al Mare and walked on the beach and took awesome pictures and then we ate at this little place near the beach. Let me just say AMAZING lasagna! But I think I like Dad's better...
Anyways, we took the train back to Vernazza and hiked to Corniglia, which took about and hour and a half. It was so tiring because about half of it was up hill and climbing stairs and bleh it was gross. All of the paths have a ton of steps and hills and stuff but I think the pathway to Corniglia from Vernazza was the worst one. Anywho, we took the train back to Riomaggiore, got gelato and watched the sunset over the water.
As we were walking back, we bought fruit, yogurt, and potato chips for dinner. Healthy, I know. After that, we walked back to the hostel and I took a shower. The views from everywhere on the trails and the cities were so gorgeous and looked like a postcard. I loved it! So amazing I just can't get over it!
10.10.2011
So, it is about 9am right now and Emma and I are at the train station. We caught the train to La Spezia at 8:37 and it took about 10 minutes to get here from Cinque Terre. We bought our tickets to Rome and it doesn't come until 10:06 and it's direct! Yay! We don't get there until about 2:16 so it should be pretty easy to find the hostel in the daylight.
I am so excited to see the Spanish steps and all of the amazing things in Rome. Cinque Terre was so beautiful and so surreal because everything looked perfect. It just didn't seem like it could be real. It just reminded me how small we really are! I cannot believe that I am in Italy right now! It's just so gorgeous and I can't get over it! I am going to be so sad to leave Italy but hopefully I will be able to come back at some point in my life.
planes, trains, taxis, and donkeys
Alrighty! So I just got back from my amazing trip to Italy and Greece and let me just tell you, it was SO worth however much I spent. I don't even remember and I do not care to know... So I kept a journal during my whole trip so that I could let all of you guys know what I did and I took 500+ pictures in a week. It was such a great experience even though it took a lot of money and traveling and sleeping in airports and whatever. It was so great and I was definitely wishing that Andrea, Amanda, Dad, and Mom were there if only to tell me the history of certain things, tell me stupid jokes, ask the questions that I probably wouldn't want to, and just make fun of people doing stupid stuff. So I am going to split this up into a couple of different blogs because there is a LOT to tell! So here goes!
P.S. I DIDN'T GET PICK-POCKETED!!! SUCCESS!
P.S. I DIDN'T GET PICK-POCKETED!!! SUCCESS!
Monday, October 3, 2011
where the road meets the sun
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about home and how I miss my family, the food, understanding everything everyone says, and just being close to everything. How I can't just go downstairs and play with Sammy, or drive a short ways to hang out with friends, or even work. I miss it all a ton and I think about it a lot, which probably makes it worse, but I have also been thinking about how great this trip is! I keep thinking about how different my life here is from my life in the States. I have been needing to remind myself that I am going to learn so much more by being here in Spain than if I was just in a classroom in Minnesota at Bethel. I am in Spain! What better place to learn Spanish than in Spain? There is so much that you can't really learn from a book or a lecture, you just have to experience it to actually understand it. At first, I thought it was weird that people didn't allow friends in their houses, but now I get that it is just an extra opportunity to learn more about the culture (at least for me), and learn more about what goes on at every time of the day. In the mornings, no one is out until about 9 and the streets are flowing with seas of people, but if you were to walk around the city just 30 minutes earlier, there would be a total of about 2 people on the street, you and some random person (probably a tourist) wandering the streets. From 2 until 4 shops close for lunch and there is basically nothing to do but sleep or do homework (guess which one I choose!). At 4 on the dot, people just mozy around like they have all day to get to whatever they have to do. No one walks fast, no one is on a mission, they just walk slowly and take in the day, something I should probably learn how to do, but it's difficult because I HATE slow-walkers! The streets are busy until about 9 or 10 when people go to their houses for dinner (my dinner is always at about 10:30) and don't go out dancing or to bars until about midnight and they don't go home until about 5 or 6 in the morning.
Enough of my thinking for the day...... So this weekend I got to go to La Granja on Saturday to see the Royal Palace and a place where they make crystal everything. I got to see a guy make two blown glass bottles but that was about as interesting as it got, besides the amazing chandelier that we couldn't take pictures of. It was a replica of many chandeliers in the Palace in La Granja and was made entirely of glass and just a little bit of metal to hold all the pieces together. When we went to the Palace after lunch, we got to see people arriving to the wedding that was in the chapel attached to the Palace. I got my little wedding fix for the week and I loved it! I did take some creeper pictures of the bride because I love weddings and her dress was so unique and GORGEOUS! It was so amazing because you could tell that she was so happy and she was anxious to get in there and start her life with the man waiting in there for her. The wind was blowing her veil around and she barely stopped long enough to let her personal attendant fix it. I know, random tangent... but look how pretty her dress is!
I am starting to get really excited for this coming week because I am leaving for Italy and Greece on Saturday! I have to sleep in the airport on Friday night because there aren't any buses that leave Segovia really early in the morning and my flight leaves at 6am on Saturday. I am going to Cinque Terre from Saturday until Monday, and then I am going to Rome from Monday until Thursday. Then we leave on Thursday morning for Greece! and we are staying there until Sunday. I am staying on the island of Rhodes, which from the pictures I have seen I am gonna have awesome pictures to show you all when I get home! I can't wait to go! But, unfortunately, I will not be bringing my computer with so I won't be able to blog while I am over there (Sorry Amanda)!
I think that is all for now but I will write before I leave for fall break! I love you all!!!
Enough of my thinking for the day...... So this weekend I got to go to La Granja on Saturday to see the Royal Palace and a place where they make crystal everything. I got to see a guy make two blown glass bottles but that was about as interesting as it got, besides the amazing chandelier that we couldn't take pictures of. It was a replica of many chandeliers in the Palace in La Granja and was made entirely of glass and just a little bit of metal to hold all the pieces together. When we went to the Palace after lunch, we got to see people arriving to the wedding that was in the chapel attached to the Palace. I got my little wedding fix for the week and I loved it! I did take some creeper pictures of the bride because I love weddings and her dress was so unique and GORGEOUS! It was so amazing because you could tell that she was so happy and she was anxious to get in there and start her life with the man waiting in there for her. The wind was blowing her veil around and she barely stopped long enough to let her personal attendant fix it. I know, random tangent... but look how pretty her dress is!
Anyway, back to the Palace. The inside of the Palace was amazing. It was so colorful and the ceilings were almost all painted and the chandeliers in the rooms were so beautiful. But my favorite part was walking around the royal gardens for an hour and a half. The fountains were so interesting and there was so much detail and thought put into everything. It was so calm and it just kind of makes you forget everything and you just take in everything around you. It was so much fun and I think I got some good pictures.
I am starting to get really excited for this coming week because I am leaving for Italy and Greece on Saturday! I have to sleep in the airport on Friday night because there aren't any buses that leave Segovia really early in the morning and my flight leaves at 6am on Saturday. I am going to Cinque Terre from Saturday until Monday, and then I am going to Rome from Monday until Thursday. Then we leave on Thursday morning for Greece! and we are staying there until Sunday. I am staying on the island of Rhodes, which from the pictures I have seen I am gonna have awesome pictures to show you all when I get home! I can't wait to go! But, unfortunately, I will not be bringing my computer with so I won't be able to blog while I am over there (Sorry Amanda)!
I think that is all for now but I will write before I leave for fall break! I love you all!!!
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