Ciao ciao!!! Hmm I always find myself at a loss of what to write at first because I can't remember where I last left off! Well I last left off at Capri, so that means the school week which was of course uneventful. Got an A in Italian (stick that in your pipe and smoke it bitchy italian teacher that made me cry last semester!!!) which is always exciting! On Tuesday we got dinner at a restaurant that our Italian friends took us to (they "know someone" everywhere!!!! =big di$$$count!) and there was an Italian celebrity there! No clue who she was but it is very "unItalian" to go say something but it was pretty weird! We had cooking class on Wednesday night and made palenta, frittata, beef stew, and roasted bell peppers with anchovi sauce! The cooking teacher's husband is American and describes his 20 years in Italy as "mezzo una condanna a vita," or "half a life sentence" haha. Then he tells us about how Italians will complain about Italian life everyday, but if he ever chimes in it's like WHO ARE YOU TO INSULT MY COUNTRY??? He says the only thing he has no complaints about is his wife's cooking! Friday morning we left for Rome! Our flight was at 7:30, which meant waking up at 4, leaving at 4:45, getting to the airport at 6:00, getting my shampoo and conditioner taken at 6:25 (I mean come on, I get security measures and all but look at me...how creative do you think a 20 year old is gonna get with John Frieda brilliant brunette????) and arriving in room around 8:30!!! We took a shuttle to our hostel, and the entire shuttle was not only filled with Americans, but was filled with PARENTS VISITING THEIR KIDS STUDYING ABROAD! One of the dads got out and said "bye girls, have fun and remember you love your parents and check in!" hahahaha. oooh parents, so silly! We got to our hostel which was kind of on the outskirts of the city center. But they overbooked so they upgraded us for free to an apartment which was right by the Spanish Steps which is where you wanna be if you're a young girl on the town like ME!! so that was really nice and it was nice to have a big space and not just a tiny room! the first day we went to the trevi fountain and made our wishes, and walked around Rome and explored, but then it started pouring and we were exhuasted from waking up so early so we went back to the apt and napped and stayed in so we could sightsee all day Saturday. Saturday morning we woke up and walked down Via Del Corso which had all the shopping (Mom would be proud, didnt make any purchases although I was tempted!) and went to the Panthenon (sp?) which was REALLY cool. Huge and the interior is gorgeous! Then we thought we were walking to the Colosseum, but we ended up in Vatican City! The Basilica is beautiful, literally breath taking and so intricate--pictures do not do justice! Then we walked down and saw the tombs of the Popes--saw John Paul II's tomb, very weird experience! THEN we made our way to the Colosseum which was HUGE! It was really cool to walk around and also to see Ancient Rome! It is so weird that this big city exists that has so much new and so much old! And also that nothing in the US is close to being that old--truly crazy! Saturday night at around 4 in the morning we hear this SUPER loud banging from outside and screaming. MONICAAAAA. OPEN THE DOOR MONICA. MONICA IM GONNA KILL YOU OPEN THE DOOR!!! Obviously our American Idiot neighbors had gotten locked out, but it was literally so obnoxious! After about 15 minutes Sarah walks outside and sees too girls banging on the walls and screaming. So she is like "Girls, obviously you are locked out and I'm really sorry about that, but it's 4:15 and we are the only Americans in this building. Everyone's sleeping, obviously your roommate isn't there or is passed out, maybe you should figure out another way to get in." The girls: "I AM SO SORRY, OUR ROOMMATE IS HOME AND WE ARE LOCKED OUT. We're sorry we're gonna be quiet so sorry to wake you!" 15 minutes goes by, MONICA!!!!! ANSWER THE DOOR! ANNSWER THE DOOR MONICA!!! BOOOM. BOOOM. BOOOM. MONICA!!!!!!!!! So Sarah goes BACK OUT, "Honestly, we're trying to sleep and so is everyone in this building. Monica obviously can't hear you and I'm sorry but you're being obnoxious figure out another way to figure this out." "We're so sorry, okay, we're so sorry." 5 minutes later it happens again! Finally Kelly and I go out there and we're like "I don't know where you're studying, (London) but in Italy a.) not only is it a law that you HAVE to be quiet in your apartment past 10, but b.) if someone calls the cops it's not like America, they wont stop by, tell you to keep i tdown and leave. Its a really big deal and you'll probably get deported." Finally an old lady comes down and threatens to call the cops which we took as our cue to exit haha. Oooooh girls! On Sunday we walked around a little bit then took the train to Florence, but it was just Becky and I because our class on Tuesday was cancelled. We got in late and just slept then woke up early and saw the Duomo, the Fashion Museum, the Boboli Gardens, and the Ufizzi Museum and the Galleria dell'Arte where David is! The Duomo is amazing--huge! The dome at the top is really cool it is Hell at the bottom and Heaven at the top. The art is so intricate and paints such an amazing scene, Earth in the middle with people going their different ways, people trying to escape from hell and demons grabbing them in, angels leading people up to the pearly gates, Jesus Christ at the top and a huge satan at the bottom eating people:( Crazy, but the art was really amazing! At the duomo you can walk to the top, 467 STEPS!!!! There is a sign at the bottom that reads WARNING: THERE IS NO LIFT. THIS HAS 467 STEPS. So we prepare ourselves with some water and start climbing! We get to a level with all of these cool statues and we're like oh this is cool, wow 467 steps isn't bad! That's not even the first part of the DOME, we are fools! So we keep walking more and start feeling the burn, then get to the dome and see it up close. Wow, this is cool! So glad we got to see this, time to go back down! WRONG!!! The next part is the tiniest, curviest, steepest, most enclosed and terrifying walk up for this claustrophobic girl! I actually didn't do bad but the winding staircases that are so narrow and tiny and completely cemented all around you freaked me out a little, especially when the asians in front of me stopped every 3 steps to take pictures of the WALLS. (I do NOT get it!) But when we got to the top it was SO worth it! Amazing view of the city, Firenze is gorgeous! Then we looked at the Fashion Museum which was cool and the Boboli gardens were gorgeous! The Uffizi was really cool and it was exciting to see David up close and personal. Becky's friend Ali (who actually goes to Chapman) is studying in Florence through the program there. So at the end of the day we got to see her and go to her apartment. RIDICULOUS. Such a cute apartment with a huge living room, an even bigger kitchen, 2 BATHROOMS and 3 bedrooms! Hardwood floors, arches, the whole shebang! She is loving living in Florence and having so much fun! We also went to an open market that day that had leather jackets, Italia merchandise, leather everything, hand painted stuff, so many amazing things! Got some good gifts:) Then this morning we woke up and got on the train to go back to Torino! We stopped in Pisa then again in Genova for our transfers. On the train from Pisa to Genova we sat with a 51 year old sailor who spoke English very well (always exciting!). We told him we were from San Francisco and he talked about how much he loved it, everybody says that about the city, and nobody likes LA! He has been everywhere around the world, really cool guy! He talked about traveling from Alcupulco (sp?) all the way up to Anchorage, all over the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, he has literally been all over the world! ("saltwater runs through his veins") Next to us was a group of Sicilians 2 old men who were little cuties, then a young girl and guy. The guy was the only one who couldn't speak English as well as the others, so he came and sat with us and he would speak in English then I would speak in Italian and the sailor would translate when things got confusing. BUT I must say I was told my Italian was better than his English! It was a really funny experience! Then in an effort to be a suave Italian, he tries to practice his English and flirt. He looks at me and says, "you are boy?" I said "EXCUSE ME??? I'M A BOY???" And he looks at me wondering why I am mad and says "Yes, you are boy!" Becky and the sailor are cracking up and the sailor finally tells him what he said, all of a sudden he looks shocked "NOOO NOOO NOO! MI DISPIACE!!! (im sorry!)" Then talks to the guy and looks back and says "Do you have boyfriend??" Oooh the joys of the language barriers! Am back in Torino for a couple of days and then its Spring Break! Am headed to Amsterdam to see Anne Frank's house, the Rijks Museum, the windmills, and Brussels and Bruges (YES MOM I WILL BE CAREFUL I PROMISE!!!). Then we are flying to Sicily to meet our friends who are traveling the island all of break. To give you guys a visual of my group of friends, the black and white picture is the group of us who is always together. Clockwise from bottom left: Michaela (Micki), Me, Becky, Katherine, Sarah and Kelly. Ciao ciao belli!!!
xooxoxox
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