October 27th, 2013This week has been one of the most hectic and tiring weeks of my life. Talk about nonstop walking! However, I was able to see sooo much in Italy, and I will remember this experience forever. Natalie, Taylor, and I flew into Rome last Friday and stayed at a pretty nice hostel with a super nice Mexican guy who was also exploring the city. We woke up early and were able to see the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. We also walked through a beautiful park and ended up watching dogs run around the park for about two hours. It was really relaxing and peaceful. We also had our first real Italian dinner that night, and I of course ordered pasta and wine. Yum! And, of course gelato had to be included on our first day (caramel cream and black cherry are my favorites). On Sunday, we met up with our Bus 2 Alps tour group at the Yellow Hostel in Rome. This hostel wasn't my favorite and was right above a bar that raged all night. Oh well, Rome was definitely worth it. We took a walking tour on our first day with the group where we visited the Colosseum, which was a lot bigger than I imagined. Our tour guide in Rome was hilarious and would say the most random things, but he made the tour very enjoyable. We also went to a group dinner where we had unlimited wine, appetizers, and pasta. It was the best meal we had there! Monday, we had another day to explore Rome. We went to Vatican City on this day and saw St. Peter's Basilica as well as the Sistine Chapel. I was so excited to see Michaelangelo's famous painting in the chapel. It was absolutely breathtaking! After this long walk, we decided to relax in the evening. We went to dinner and went to see the Trevi Fountain at night. It was completely lit up and magical in so many ways. Tuesday, we woke up early and departed for Florence at about 9 a.m. Florence was a lot different than I was expecting. The streets were a lot nicer than Rome, but there wasn't a lot to do there. On the firs day, Natalie and I went to a museum to see Michaelangelo's David statue, but there wasn't much else to see. We explored a hill that overlooked a city and found a nice view as well. It was quite the trek, and our feet were killing us by the end. That night, we were a bit tired of pizza and pasta, so we decided to check out a local Mexican joint where we had margaritas and nachos. So yummy! Wednesday was my favorite day by far. This day we drove by bus up to the Tuscany area of Italy. We stopped briefly in Siena and a couple other towns before having lunch at a vineyard. We got to sample all kinds of wines and had a full wine, but that didn't stop us from having the world's best gelato (which I actually didn't think was that great) in another small town. Our last stop of the day was Pisa, and we got several pics with the leaning tower and even lost one of our group members. LOL! Thursday, we left for Venice! Venice was my absolute favorite place in Italy. I don't even know how to describe its beauty. We went to Murano, an island off the coast of Venice, which is known for its glass blowing. I spent quite a lot of money on this island, but it was all so beautiful. Afterwards, we went back to Venice and took a gondola ride. I had no idea it would be 80 euros, but we had to do it!!! Too bad our guide didn't sing to us. He claimed that only happened in movies sadly. I wish we could have stayed in this city longer since we only had one day there. That evening, I went out with Kristine, and we walked to the center of the city to check out some bars. We met some kind of creepy and rude Italian guys and left fairly soon after that. Our last three days were spent in Milan. Word of advice: don't go there. We couldn't find anything to do in this city at all. We ended up walking around aimlessly and checking out a park and aquarium. Also, we saw the Duomo and shopping district. It was pretty boring to be honest, but our last meal in Milan was pretty good. We saw some pizza acrobats who performed for us. Milan is also a very sketchy and unsafe city. Our hotel was far from the metro, and I didn't feel safe walking there in the day time, so we never really went out at night due to this. I loved every city, but Milan. I don't understand how it is the fashion capital since everything is pretty run down, but whatever. Over all, though, I loved my week in Italy. I'm ready to get back into the swing of things this week and enjoy some more time in London. I'm pretty exhausted from my trip, but I know that I will always remember it. I still can't believe I have been to so many countries this semester. Heading to France next weekend. <3 I'm living the dream.
-L
October 13th, 2013
I came into this weekend thinking I would finally have some time to relax in London before embarking for Italy next week, but that was far from the truth. I am literally so exhausted that I can barely function, but will try to attempt to journal for a little bit. Thursday night, a big group of us went out to the Walkabout, which is my favorite bar in London, although it is technically an Australian bar. The drinks were half price, and we managed to conquer the fish bowls! I also got to sing karaoke, which is something I have been wanting to do for quite some time. The night was lots of fun, and I'm so glad we got the chance to have fun in London. Friday was a busy day exploring the Westminster area of London. Natalie and I went up in the London Eye and toured the Houses of Parliament. The day would have been a bit more enjoyable if it hadn't been pouring all day, and of course, we forgot our umbrellas and rain boots. However, I really enjoyed the Parliament tour. We were so tired on Friday night, that we decided to stay in for the night, which was much needed. Saturday, I finally got to sleep in for a little bit, and eventually I got up and went to St. Paul's. I went by myself, and this was the first time I took the tube and explored the city alone, but I quite enjoyed it. Being around people constantly is not something that I am used to, so it felt so nice to be able to be on my own. I climbed all the way to the very top of the cathedral: all 500 plus steps, but the view was beautiful, and I got some great shots. The trek down was a lot easier, but I still felt worn out, so I treated myself to a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks before doing some light shopping and coming back to Regent's. That evening, Natalie and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical. It was very well done, and the sets were elaborate. We decided afterwards to go out to the Walkabout again and stayed out dancing until very early in the morning. Perhaps that is the reason I am so tired today considering I got up at 9:30 a.m. this morning to go to Kensington Palace. I mostly went to stalk Prince Harry, but I learned that he lives in a completely different wing of the palace so no such luck. Rachel, Natalie, and I also went to Covent Gardens, where we had lunch, milkshakes, and cookies. Yes, we are pigs... and I came back to school after that. It was a very enjoyable weekend, despite the fact that I'm drifting to sleep while typing this out. I wish I had more time to explore this wonderful city, but it's off to Italy on Friday.
-L
October 7th, 2013
This weekend was a very relaxing one in Scotland. Instead of the feeling of rushing to get everything done in just two days, we spent lots of time walking around the cobblestone streets and listening to the many bagpipe performers. We arrived in Edinburgh at 2 p.m., which means we left London at 9 a.m. (yes, it was a five hour train ride). I tried to sleep some on the train, but it was so bumpy, that it proved to be difficult. We were met at the train station by a man in a kilt (typical, I know), and he proceeded to take us on a short bus tour to see some of the many sights in the city. We were all so exhausted, but that didn't stop us from grabbing a nice pub dinner and going on a haunted ghost and ghouls walk. It wasn't too scary, but we did end up going deep underground to some old vaults where our guide told us of all the paranormal encounters. The fact that it was almost pitch black didn't help too much either. On Saturday, we slept in a little bit because our original tour to Loch Ness was canceled. For some reason, the Anderson tour company forgot to reserve seats for us, and every tour was already filled. I was very upset about this because Loch Ness was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Scotland. However, we still had a busy day in the city. I ended up touring Edinburgh Castle and seeing the crown jewels, which are not as stunning as the England ones. Then, we walked around and shopped in the city. I bought quite a few souvenirs during this trip. In the evening, we went on a Harry Potter walk where our guide took us to some of JK Rowling's inspirations. We walked through a real life Diagon Alley and even saw the real Tom Riddle's grave. For dinner that evening, we went to The Elephant House, which is where Rowling wrote much of Harry Potter at a table overlooking the castle. It had delicious food, and it was so cool to be at a place famous for the development of Harry Potter since I am such a fan! Sunday, we got up early to climb a volcano. Yes, that's right, a real volcano. It was much more difficult than I thought, especially since I was wearing heeled boots. However, the view from it was absolutely stunning. You could see the beautiful water surrounding Edinburgh as well as the rolling hills and many buildings. Natalie and I decided to stay up on the mountain a little longer, so after that, we had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant and headed back to the train station. We didn't get in to London until after 10 p.m. last night, but the weekend was definitely worth it!
-L
