Spring Break aka Rallies

If I could send you a picture of my butt you would see a giant footprint from Rome. The place literally kicked my ass.

But it was awesome and Spring Break was so much fun. Absolutely exhausting and possibly permanently damaging to my feet.. but so much fun.

Let's see if I can give you a quick recap.

Friday through Wednesday were spent here in Florence.
We did, what we thought, was a lot of walking. Seeing the Duomo, climbing the Duomo. Walking through the Boboli Gardens, seeing Michelangelo's David, missed the Uffizi (woops.) We took a little day trip to Siena, went to a fail of a wine tasting, but soaked up the sun in the Campo which is their big square. I's really cool, holds the Palio, which is there big traditional horse race. Google it, it's nuts. Florence overall was pleasant. Found a Neapolitan-style pizza which made Dana very happy. Until we ate the whole thing and felt miserable. Dana got gnocchi with prawns, whole prawns were given so I tried to help and get them out of the shell, ended up making a very unappetizing prawn graveyard. We went to an Irish pub one night. Ordered "hot nachos" got some concoction of doritos with cheesy salsa and a bunch of jalepenos. The last night we went to this popular apperitivo place and Dana got the worst cocktail of her life. Pure nasty vodka.

Wednesday after climbing the Duomo, we left for our train to Rome. Were almost late, couldn't figure out which train it was since Rome wasn't the headliner but a stop on the way to Naples. Figured it out just in time and were off to a week of beatings!

Thinking back that Dana and I were a little bit tired from our walking Florence makes me laugh. Cause we had NOOOO idea what we were in for. Rome is just so much bigger than Florence. And not just bigger, but confusing as f***.  Our trip is pretty much best summarized as mapping out a place of interest and then getting lost for hours but eventually finding our original destination.

So the bnb that we stayed at was great. Well the first room was.. It was essentially a converted apartment with five rooms. Each room was painted to represent one of the big attractions and was thus named after that monument. For the first three nights Dana and I were in the Colluseo room, painted after the Colosseum. It was the master bedroom with a big room, big bathroom, and this giant bed that was our savior. You literally just sank into it and it engulfed you with its down comforter, it was a slice of heaven. Unfortunately the last night we were moved into a janky room and I slept on a converted sofa chair. Not a slice of heaven. Needless to say, we really really missed the Colluseo.
Marco, the owner of the bnb was an Italian probably in his late 30's. He was precious. Picked out great places for us to eat and go at night. Brought cakes and yummy treats from his grandma. Talked about the growth on his "man parts" and that he had to go in for surgery on Friday, and last time he had to get this done he was 17 and he was really embarrassed because the doctor looked like a porn star with big boobs so he got excited. But when we saw him on Friday he gladly told us that he didn't have to get surgery because it had reduced but the doctors didn't decide until after he was completely naked and all the interns had examined him. See, I didn't ask for the details, just initially what his surgery was for. He had no problem sharing the details, so I share with you. :) Growth and all, I liked him a lot.

When we weren't busy having breakfast and light conversation about growths, Dana and I headed out to the center every day around 11. Thursday we saw all the monuments like the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Victor Emannuele monument, Piazza Novona and Fuori, other casual ruins, and the freaking Pantheon that we couldn't find to save our lives even though we knew it was right at our fingertips. Friday we went to a popular "park" that overlooks Rome and the Vatican. And by park we mean rocks and a few benches for the view. This too took us about two hours to find even though we were literally right below it just couldn't find the official entrance. Saturday we went back to the Vatican to go into the Basilica. We were hurting so decided to take the regional train to the St. Peter's Square. Found the train, went the wrong way. Had to wait 25 minutes to head back the other way. After the Basilica, we made our way towards the Colosseum. Stumbled into a bad pizzeria, only to discover a poppin' amazing place full of Italians four stores down. Bought lots of desserts instead. :)
The Colosseum was easy. Except that it rained. But we got to see it pretty empty because everyone was underneath little caves so they didn't get wet. We then walked through the Palatine which is just an amazing amount of ruins.
So after all our meandering throughout the city, we would hop onto the tram that would take us back into Trestavere, where our hotel was, around 6. Back in the room we would nap on our amazing bed and just rest our poor, beaten bodies. Around 8 we would force ourselves to rally, drink some espresso, and head out. We ate in Trestavere twice, both were absolutely amazing dinners. Had one fail dinner in the historical center, and the last night was at a cool tavern looking place in the center. We really only went there cause it was called Old Bear and I had just coincidentally spent an hour watching YouTube videos of bears, so it only seemed fitting. It was good, but we were both just so tired and fat from our week of eating out.
Sunday we woke up, left the money for Marco in the room since he's not there Sunday mornings, packed up and left. We had directions where to go from Marco. He was drunk texting Saturday night. I love broken English and when mixed with a drunk Italian, it really only gets better. Dana had to go to the station right down the street to get to the airport and my stop was across the street, but we thought it was by the station too. Not by the station, so we said our goodbyes and parted. I think Dana had a successful trip. My stop on the other hand, wasn't running because there was a big market in front of it on Sundays. Lucky mee.. So I literally had no idea where to go and was about to call Marco when a gentleman came up to me and in Italian told me that the line wasn't working because of the market and pointed me to some general direction. Which I found and all went well. Got to my train five minutes before departure. So all was good.

So this Spring Break was quite the adventure. So many fails but we rallied and conquered Rome.. Maybe not conquered... survived with enthusiasm!

Today I made it a point to do nothing but blog and not leave my apartment. So here I am. Going to watch a Disney movie.
Tomorrow I'm going on a giant run because I've gained a FUPA from all my eating out. Don't know what it means, ask mom. And Michael comes tomorrow!

So the rallying continues...


Here's just a few pictures. Dana has some on her phone too.

Arriving in Siena

Il Campo in Siena

Inside Siena's Church

Climbing up the Duomo

Thinking how much Mom would have hated it.. Way too claustrophobic

The view from the top. Wishing we were flying squirrels..

Enjoying the sun and the view of the Ponte Vecchio

Our Colluseo room

Finally finding the Pantheon

Laying/ dying in the "park"

Our way of avoiding the rain

Notice Dana miserable on the left..

All of the Palatine

So many ruins

Typical..

Yoga pose in Florence

Lots of Study Breaks :)

This week is Midterms week. So I'm taking another break from my studying and going to write one more post.

We all stayed in town this weekend because we had midterms this week so we needed to study study study. Naturally, the weather was beautifulllll, like 72 degrees beautiful. So I pretty much did everything but studying.   :)

I took Eliza on a run along the river to the park where I usually do Michael's body weight workout. It was so nice out. So many people were walking their dogs, and by walking I mean their dogs were just running around everywhere and their owners were just walking and would every now and then check to see where their dog was. I absolutely love it. I barely see dogs on leashes and I've only seen one possible dog fight/tension. And that wasn't even on one of my runs..

I'm going to go on a walk there some day and bring my camera so I can take pictures and show you guys where I run. I absolutely love it.

Let's see the rest of the weekend Eliza and I went walking through Florence. We found this really pretty park that is stupid close to our apartment, just in a direction that we never walk. So we sat there for a long time and watched this lady who had a giant bag of bread and was throwing crumbs out for the birds, not caring one bit if there were people around or not. A whole flock of pigeons, ducks, and geese just followed her around. She even hand fed one goose. Reminded me of Mary Poppins / Home Alone. And then as we were sitting there, we heard some weird music/radio and after five minutes this giant protest walked down the street next to the park. I think it was the Anarchist party and they were protesting against the police and racism. It was a really random and huge group of people led by a truck with a big speaker system and a guy yelling through it with some occasional flares that people set off. The carabinieri closed off the road and stopped traffic for them and had a big group walking behind them and a bunch of vans. It was pretty crazy. We were talking to one of our Italian friends about it and he said protests (actually he called it a parade) are a common occurrence in an Italian weekend when the weather is nice. So I guess I might be stumbling upon more..

Eliza and I left the protest/parade and continued our strolling/delaying in studying. We ran into a live streaming of a concerto in Piazza Signoria, super random. And then found a big crowd in Piazza Republicca. So of course we joined and it just ended up being a performer who was playing the guitar and singing. But he was actually really good and was playing awesome 90 songs. So we stayed and listened for probably around an hour. And then

Monday was another beautiful day so Eliza and I went to the park to study. I read a book for half an hour and then fell asleep for an hour.  :)
Quite the successful weekend of studying if you ask me..

But no worries, of course I got some studying in and four of my finals went really well. I just have Italian left today and will continue studying for that after I'm done writing to you.

One more test and then it is Spring Break! Yayyy! Dana is already en route and I am so excited. Of course the weather decided to poop on us and start raining but today is another 70 degree day and there is not a single cloud in the sky, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
So we're here in Florence 'till Wednesday and then we are in Rome until Sunday. Should be a relaxing break, I'm really excited to have her here.
And then on Monday Michael shows up! Crazy crazy. I'm one lucky girl.

Well here's to the next two weeks!
Ciao Ciao!!



A few pics..

The pretty park we found

The protest/parade

A little video of the protest. You can hear the guy yelling. Please excuse my poor filming..

 

You can kind of see the streaming of concerto on that screen in the background

The crowd of people listening to the performer

And the gypsy/prostitute that shoved me in Rome!!!

Venice Venice

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Who thought blogging would be such a time consuming task..

So let me tell you about Venice two weekends ago.. Wow, I am really sorry.

Well it was just the trip needed after the long, drama-filled week we had before. 

We left at six on Saturday morning, which was rough but I ended up sleeping on the bus ride there, which was another 3.5 hour drive. I actually really like the bus drives cause you get to see Italy outside of the big tourist cities. And it is absolutely beautiful. It’s the stereotypical rural fields and houses and it is just so pretty. I actually looked to study in small towns but they obviously didn’t have study abroad schools and the few towns that did, didn’t offer psychology. My study abroad experience would have been completely different. But okay, Venice!

So we got off our bus and got on to a boat that took us to Venice where we had a little tour. The tour guide was muchhhh better than the one in Rome, I could actually here what she was saying. Venice was beautiful. The sun was out and it wasn't packed with tourists which is always nice. The whole concept of the island was just crazy. It was just a big marshy swamp mush and in order to build the city they had to take logs that floated down and hammer them down. And then they put like planks and then concrete and bricks and built buildings. So if you flipped it, there would be a giant forrest underneath Venice. So many logs!! 

So after our tour we had a few hours to wander and get lunch. We got seafood cause that's Venice's regional dish, obviously. It was this seafood melody that had a bunch of shit and little fishes like the one that Mom made for Christmas eve. I did the same tactic and just didn't look just chewed and then chased with the white wine that came with it. :) We spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering. We found a cat that ended up following us for two islands but then got scared when we went onto a busy street and left us. Saw a protest by the Communist party. And of course, sat by the water and just soaked up the sun..

Our hotel wasn't on the island cause it's so expensive so we had to get back on the boat and bus. The hotel this time was really nice. The sheets were blood-free, the bathroom was made for a regular person, and as you know, the wifi worked. Yayy. So we recollected ourselves and then took a ten minute train ride back into Venice for dinner. We were told to go to this certain area where a lot of students are. But we got completelyyyy lost. Venice is literally just a bunch of little bridges and little allies and I am seriously impressed by anyone that knows how to navigate it. We ended up eating at this random restaraunt we obviously just stumbled upon. It was pretty crowded and everyone was eating pizza. So we ordered pizza. It was really good. And then we decided to go on a night gondola ride. It was so beautiful. We found out later that going at night is the only way to do it. The crowds of tourists are gone and the city is so quiet. Our gondolier took us on side canals, it was surreal. I couldn't help but think it felt like I was on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but on steroids. It was so beautiful. 

The next day we went to the neighboring islands Murano and Burano. Murano is known for its glassblowing and Burano is known for its production of lace like table clothes and things. But the even cooler thing about Burano were the colors of the houses. Apparently the fishermen wouldn't be able to keep track of which house was theirs when they were out fishing. (Reminded me of being in the ocean and then losing track of where your towel was.) Anyways so they painted their houses bright colors so they could see it from out at sea. The whole island was so bright! I loved it! 

And I think that was about it for Venice. It was a really short trip but was so peaceful. I really liked it. 

Picture time

Random protest 

Hanging out on a bridge..

The cat we named Casanova..

Our night ride

Burano

Awkwarddd..

Eliza, Elaine, and myself in front of a house

We sat at the front of the boat for the two hour ride while all the other people sat inside. Ballersss

The repercussions of a gypsy spell..

So this week has been full of drama, hence why it has taken me almost a week to tell you about Rome.

And I believe it all starts from the gypsy curse.

Monday I spent all day in the library catching up on homework that I didn't do in Rome. I came back to the house around 4 and was beginning to blog my trip. Eliza and her friend, Aeri who is visiting on her spring break came in shortly after. Around 4:30 Cierra came out of her room and told us that she is missing money. The next few hours and then the following five days have been centered around her missing 400 euro-which then was changed to a missing minimum 200 euro. We let her search all our bodies, bags, and rooms. We checked the house for a possible break in, for her possibly losing it, the whole nine-yards.
After a stressful five days, two meetings with API directors, a number of emails to API, a dozen explanations, and countless tears, nothing has happened except the dynamic of our house is now terrible and so awkward. At first nobody trusted each other, now one roommate, Rachel, is the ostracized one. It's very sad. But her reaction to the possibly stolen money was really odd and the most alarming. She pretty much has just said all the wrong things and acted completely different. But who am I, who are we to point a finger and say she stole the money. But the house is very very awkward when she is here. Nobody, including myself is comfortable with her around. It's really terrible and sad.
So that's where I've been and what I've been doing for the past week. Some side plots, Elaine had her wallet with 200 euro, her debit card, keys, and school ID stolen at a club. And this morning she just found out that a family friend's dad died from a heart attack. So she was a wreck crying in my bed. Eliza had her friend staying on the couch in the living room for the first few nights, which is illegal, and had to find her a room to stay in since all this missing money and meetings with API went down. She also found a weird lump on her body and was crying about that. And everyone is just exhausted. I feel like no matter how much I sleep, I am always tired.
It has just been an absolutely dreadful, dreadful week. Coincidentally, we got a notice on our door to the street that a priest is coming to bless the building tonight at 6 if we want him to bless our apartment. We're doing it.


So amongst all this crap, I have still had class and indoor soccer. I joined the team with API and we have had three games this week. Besides myself there are two other people that know how to play soccer. Out of a team of 12. On the sidelines, one of the girls asked me about the rules on how to cross the half line.. I don't even know. Needless to say, it is really interesting. But between the three of us that know how to play and some sheer luck we are 3-0. And I am having an absolute blast. I've scored and gotten into tackles, may or may not have accidentally hit some guy in the crotch.. Whatever it takes. :) But I am really happy I joined. Exercise is what is keeping me sane.  Yesterday the sun was out and it was a BEAUTIFUL 70 DEGREES!!! So I went for a two hour run and did the body weight circuit Michael gave me. Today my body is a little sore and I have a bruise on my shin from getting kicked in soccer. Mmmm the simple things that put you to ease..

So there's a glimpse to my life. I'm going to do some hw, and hopefully the fog will burn off and today will be another warm day so I can go to a park and soak up some Vitamin D.

I love you. And miss my relatively-free drama family and friends.   <3

A picture up on API's facebook talking about our team. I'm just casually stretching. Oh I forgot to mention!! We got free t-shirts as uniforms.   :)

Roma

Wow. Well this week has been an absolute whirlwind to say the least. So much has happened so I have so much to tell you!

Let's begin with Rome. Our theory is that API packs these excursions full of tours and activities so that the students are exhausted and don't get wasted. Which of course, doesn't work. API, like I said is full of drunk fucktards, as I like to call them.
So we had lot of guided tours. The program was broken down so that there were around 20 students to one tour guide. Naturally, our tour guide whispered. So we saw the Spanish steps, the Pantheon, and a bunch of other important old ass buildings. I can't tell you much about them since I had no idea what the guide was saying. The girls and I made a joke that since she whispered it made everything seem really really important and secretive. Bummer we never heard the secrets.
The hotel was not kosher. Eliza, Elaine, and myself were in one room together so that was cool. But the room was miniscule. The beds were like our beds in Florence, made for midget babies. Our one little window opened up to a lovely view of a wall of the neighboring window. The bathroom was also designed for small people And all of our towels had at least one blood stain on it. Mmm so yummy! So needless to say, we spent as much time as possible outside wandering around Rome.
During these wanders we found this really funny mime/clown man that was an entertainer and was damn good at it. We just sat at the steps facing the Pantheon and watched him mess with people, it was great. The weather was beautiful so we went and got gelato and soaked in the sun. Saw an old gypsy/drunk prostitute sunbathing her boobs.
That night we roamed around and stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain which looked beautiful at night. It's a big landmark where you throw in coins for goodluck. One to return to Rome, two for relationships, and three for any wish you want. Apparently every night they rake in the money and put it towards some good charity, I don't know. But anyways, we just sat there for hours watching people throw in their money and take pictures and be all lovey dovey it was really nice. During our hour or two there we were asked to be in four different groups of people's pictures. One was this elderly couple that were taking pictures of each other throwing the coins in so we offered to take a picture for both of them. They were so precious just kissing and being super cute. They left all smiley, only to come back a minute later and tell us they had been married for 40 years and then asked to take a picture of us. Too cute.. We then continued our meandering and stumbled upon more ruins and this huge memorial for Victor Emmanuelle, the guy who united Italy.
Saturday we had a guided tour of the Vatican. This time we had ear pieces so we could hear her. I listened for a while, but the Vatican was too powerful and emotional to be listening to this lady talk about the history of a statue so I just roamed around by myself. It was honestly breathtaking. Afterwards we sat near a fountain in front of the Vatican and just soaked in the sun and the amazing presence of this building and everything it represents. So that was really peaceful. Eliza, Elaine, and myself then went to lunch and spent around two hours just enjoying our delicioussss pizza and again, the sun. In front of where we ate, there is a piazza, known as the painter's square. It's just filled with a bunch of artists and their sketches and paintings and stuff. It was here that I was just standing with Elaine and that the gypsy/old prostitute that I mentioned earlier was causing a bit of scene at a restaurant near us. The ordeal was in Italian, but I think it was along the lines of her saying some shit to one of the waiters and then he was just like ehhh get out of here you crazy gypsy, something like that. Well on her path out she stops in front of Elaine and myself and says some gypsy curse and is pointing her finger and going off. She then walks up to us and stops right by me and yells some more abracadabra at my face and then shoves me. I was so shocked, I honestly didn't think she would touch me. But it was terrible. I was literally just cast a spell on. So Elaine takes her water bottle and sprits it on me like it was holy water. I said I need to go back to the Vatican, it was seriously fuckin weird!!
So to make me feel better we got some gelato and sat on the spanish steps and photo-bombed for hours. In case you don't know what that means, any photo that we may have been in the background of we made weird/fugly faces so it would be forever captured on their camera. :)
That night AC Milan and Juventas was playing, Number 1 and 2 soccer teams in the Italian league. So we went to an Irish pub. After some non-discrete shit talking about the girls sitting at the bar, they left and we claimed our spots on the bar. The first half was awesome, second half sucked. Ended up in a tie, but still was so much fun. The bartender ended up being really cool. Born in Berlin, lived in Chicago, studied in Fullerton and before he came here on a work visa, was living in good ol' Santa Monica. So as girls do, we got two glasses, two pitchers of beer, two shots, two orders of fries, and an order of nachos, for free. We topped off the night with drunk gelato and had a swell evening.
Sunday morning we went on a tour of the Colosseum. You have to use your imagination to see what it must have been like back then, since it is now reduced to pretty primal ruins. But it was still really awesome, for however long ago that was, a stadium of that size is remarkable. Eliza was so excited and wanted to just quote "Are you not entertained" from the Gladiator. But she was too nervous, so I said I would help her. Apparently, I thought she wanted to scream it so naturally, at the bottom of the Colosseum I scream at the top of my lungs, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!!" echo and all. The entire Colosseum goes silent. And I got embarrassed. But hey, whatever.
So that was more or less our trip to Rome. We hopped on our API buses and drove the four hour ride back home.
Rome is great. It's a big city so there is so much to do and see. I'm really excited to go back with Dana. But it was nice to come back to our little Florence. I love it so much. It actually reminds me of my school situation. Redlands is small, and there isn't as much to do as a big school, but I feel at home there.
So overall the trip was awesome. I didn't take that many pictures on my camera cause I know I'll be back with Dana. And the pictures that do have me and my roomies are on different cameras. I'll get them eventually. But for now here's just a few snapshots I took.

At the Trevi Fountain

Looking real good tossin in my coin..

Some ruins we stumbled upon...

... which are really just a home to cats now.

The Pantheon

The clown guy we watched in front of the Pantheon

The painters square where we got gelato, lunch, and cursed by a gypsy. 

A pretty view of Rome and the Vatican

The Vatican

The Spanish Steps where we photo-bombed the night away

And the Colosseum