cheers...

this past weekend was my last weekend...can you believe it? it is so weird that this is all coming to an end...but, that didn't stop us from going all the way to ireland! and the travel part wasn't nearly as bad as our previous trips, because we flew both ways...we spent the first night in dublin...explored the popular temple bar area and a traditional irish pub...it was probably the happiest place on earth...there was live music and tons of people just smiling and saying nice things to each other in accents...it was so fun...our first stop the next morning was ofcourse, the guiness factory, a must-see in dublin...which i highly recommend going to if you are in dublin...it was really cool...and there was even this thing that let you take a picture and email it to yourself...here's the link...i think there is someway to get a discount on the museum or something...click here...anyway, after we had spent the day in dublin, we took the train to galway...i listened to my 5 favorite christmas songs the entire way there...it was glorious...our first night in galway was incredible...for several reasons...one of which being eli...yep...that's right...as fate would have it, eli and i booked the same weekend to go to ireland! she was staying with one of her friends from wake forest...so they came and got us from our hostel and then her friend molly showed us around town...we ended up at another "old people" pub as molly liked to put it...but it was still so much fun...irish people are so kind...i can't really think of another way to put it...they are just all so happy...pretty much the opposite of italians...but pubs are just full of really happy to be alive people...they even let me sing "sweet home alabama" on stage...which was slightly awkward since i forgot the words...the next morning eli went with us on a bus tour to the cliffs of moher...beautiful...everything was green...and the weather was perfect, with the exception of the finger-freezing winds at the edge of the cliffs...but the tour lasted all day so was saw a good chunk of the southwest of ireland...to call the cliffs impressive would be an understatement...mesmerizing maybe...just go...except not right now...because you'd get frost bite...and walking was sort of difficult at times...because the wind was out of control and it kept blowing my hair in my eyes...which is sort of scary when you are trying to walk along the edge of a 400 foot drop off...but ofcourse, the bus tour would not have been nearly as wonderful if it hadn't come with the funniest old man in ireland (a.k.a. desmond the tour guide)...he was pretty cute...but uncomfortably forward at times...he kept telling us about the aphrodisiac properties of oysters and how he had just eaten three dozen...but anyway, after that lovely adventure, we headed back to galway...we went to a pub that was in my guide book as THE place to see bands before they make it big...however, to actually here the band you had to pay 30 euro...no thankyou...but the pub was still cool...except irish girls are not at all what i had pictured...they aren't as down to earth as i had imagined...but they still are the nicest people...i can't say this enough...we did however keep forgetting that people could understand us in ireland...we are so use to just talking about anything and everything in public places because it doesn't matter in italy or in any other country we've been in...i'm also so use to just ignoring people on the streets, because in italy you have to...our program told us from the very beginning to ignore anyone who talks to you on the street (especially the men) because that's how italian women act...it sounds terrible but you really just have to...so, i'm kind of glad ireland was my last weekend trip...it was kind of a refresher about how to act appropriately in the states...anyway, on sunday we pretty much traveled all day...which was kind of dumb...we had booked a flight out of belfast because it was a lot cheaper than flying out of dublin...however all the money we saved on the flight we spent on buses trying to get there...it really wasn't that bad...especially because we had already been in galway for two nights, but just some poor planning on our part...well...i like ireland...a lot...probably one of our best trips...which are now over...and my heart just sank...wow...but hey, i'm coming home in 4 days...well, 5 depending on how you look at it...and i am so excited about it being christmas when i come home! but it's pretty christmasy here too...they just put up this huge christmas tree in st. peter's square...it's apparently from sweeden and is quite impressive...amy and i saw the pope today...upclose...he was driving around town in this glass box thing...it was weird seeing the pope in something so modern...and yesterday was an italian holiday so there were people everywhere and children with balloons on every corner...ok, well...my last week in rome...gotta go...peace


and happy belated birthday elizabeth (sandner)! i have presents! see you soon...

czech mate

it's december!! there a lot of emotions associated with it already being december...but, i'll save those for some other blog entry...for now, let me tell you about Prague! our original plan was to go from rome to some place called klagenfurt, to then change trains and go to salzburg, austria so we could do the sound of music tour...which would have been amazing i'm sure if our train hadn't been delayed 2 hours...causing us to miss the connecting train and our tour...so, at 4:30 a.m. when the train lady came to tell us we were the next stop, we asked her if we could just stay on until the train reached vienna (because we had missed all the connecting trains to salzburg and prague from klagenfurt)...she kind of panicked...and then ran off saying she was going to talk to the "team chef"...we figured she meant chief...but she was gone for a while...long enough for us to stop at the klagenfurt station, and pull away...luckily, when she came back, she said that it was ok for us to stay...so instead we got 4 more hours of an incredible snow covered train ride...and on saturday we arrived...and it was cold...but, honestly not that bad...except at night...or when the wind blows...

well, let's see...i'm going to sum this up and hit the highlights...prague is beautiful...we walked around, did a free tour, learned a whole lot about czech history that i probably won't be able to repeat back to anyone, and ate meat...the best part were the christmas markets...in almost every square there were little huts set up and trees and lights everywhere...it really was a wonderland...so great...and the smell...it was amazing...the whole city smelled like cinnamon...but on sunday we met up with some of our friends in our program who were visiting prague as well...but, they had just woken up...and it was like 3 in the afternoon...so, we just said hey, and then parted ways while they did other things...i had found this brochure for an english speaking church in our hostel...and since i haven't been able to go to church (minus mass at St. Peter's) we were really excited...and for good reason...because it was so wonderful...the power went out too...so the whole thing was done by candle light in this little room...there weren't more than 25 people there...and the connections were just off the charts...the first person we met was the mckenzie butler's (a girl in my sorority) 5th grade teacher...and the next guy grew up in greenville...basically, it was just way to much goodness to put into words...but just so refreshing...and afterwards all i could think was "how have i been without church for so long?"...it is so critical as christians to be "fed" spiritually...it just is...and i don't think i fully understood why until now...it is so different living in a world surrounded by christians, and friends, and engage, and FCA and just so many places and ways to see God and hear about Him...and then trying to live as a christian surrounded by so many other influences...i think it has had more of an effect on me than i realized...anyway...back to prague...

we went to some local bar with the group of people in our program and one of their friends who is studying in prague...amy and i ended up probably as far from our hostel as possible within the prague city limits...and it took us 2 hours to get back to our hostel in the freezing cold...but, that wasn't the most exciting part...some deranged man spat on our feet...yay...on our last night, amy and i ended up in the pub in the basement of our hostel because we had been told that the food was amazing...well, apparently it's not...so, it was just amy, me and the little czech boy who baked banana bread and brought us the best dark beer in europe...but, he didn't really talk to us until he interrupted our intense game of chess by awkwardly saying "check mate"...and then kind of standing there...conclusion, czech boys are goobers...

shout outs...
frances and elizabeth...dec. 18th...get ready to have the best night of your lives!! aunt s-unit comes to babysit!
kimmy...i fear the longer i wait to reply to your facebook message, the funnier it has to be...i don't think i can handle the pressure...i'll try...just be patient...
liz...i miss talking to you...and coming to your house and not really doing anything...soon, so soon
rebecca...i bet you are just dying to know what i wanted to tell you...ha...kinda fun
eli...ireland! you're finally going to fit in

we wear furry jackets...

so, guess what...Riley and Elizabeth are here! and have been since last wednesday...we've been trying to keep them busy as best we can...last saturday we went to Assisi just to get them out of the city...and Sunday we went to Mass at the Vatican...and then watched the Pope give his 12 oclock prayer on his balcony...there were a ton of people...and his window is really far away, so now i just automatically picture the Pope as this very tiny man...anyway...this is more of just and update post, since I'm supposed to be working on my final paper right now...but i couldn't stand the thought of Addison checking my blog every day and not having anything to comment on...

it has been pretty funny having the four of us together...i feel like we all scream tourist...and furman...we really are furman kids and you can tell...for example, we had fajitas one night, but the rice failed...so we had rice sculpting competitions...we also dressed up a column in Assisi to look like a person and took pictures with it...and to top it all off, we dress completely different than anyone here...even the other tourists...all 4 of us have those furry mtn. hardware jackets...all in different colors...so, we don't exactly blend...

well, Assisi was beautiful...Rome is getting really cold...the birds are crazy here (see pictures)...and we are going to a jazz festival tonight! should be fun...

love you all
peace

when lava strikes...

this past weekend amy and i went to sicily! thankfully, the man at the ticket office understood about dangerous trains...so he booked us a couchette (room with beds) for only women...yay! amazingly, we got some sleep...and at 8 a.m. friday morning we were in Giarre waiting for the owner of the bed and breakfast we were staying at to come pick us up...his name is Aldo...and he and his wife have this really nice (and surprisingly cheap) bed and breakfast...and they were no other guests either...so, we basically had this nice apartment all to ourselves...no complaints here...

we spent friday in the nearby town of Taormina...we had some minor train issues, and ended up hiking a good ways to get to this island called Isobella...by the time we finally got down to the beach, we were sweating! crazy...hot in november...anyway, the beach was really entertaining...there was this not so little lady in a bikini having the time of her life playing in the waves...she would go stand on the end of this pier, and when the waves would come she would let out these wild shrieks of joy...the highpoint was when she convinced her man (who was clothed) to come join her on the pier...as a monstrous wave approached, she ofcourse screamed, and the wave completely owned this man...laughter...so much laughter...the town of taormina was really really great...probably one of my favorite towns...maybe...i donno...that's a tough one to decide, but it's up there...it was so quiet...such a nice break from the constant noise of rome...

saturday morning Aldo came over bright and early to prepare our breakfast...but then the train we were supposed to take that morning to go to Catania, to then catch the bus to Mt. Etna, was late...so Aldo panicked...but there was a train leaving in 10 minutes...so he put our breakfast in a bag...and drove us like a madman to the train station...we bought our tickets while he stalled the train...and then he made us run across the tracks...it was all very exciting...then we got on the bus to Etna...for those of you who don't know, Mt. Etna is an active volcano...so we are driving...still driving...the weather is getting worse and worse...it starts to hail...then snow...and as we get closer and closer to the top, the roads keep getting worse...we passed a wrecked car on the way up...and a house buried in lava rock...when we got to the top, we took a cable car up to the very top...and then a jeep to the crater...there was lava everywhere...my arm hair is gone and my eyebrows got singed because we were so close to the heat...then came this huge explosion which sent lava spewing all over the place...we had to run back to the jeep to take cover...we are so lucky we didn't get hurt...except, really we aren't that lucky because we never made it to the top...the weather was apparently too bad...the cable cars weren't even working...so, Amy and i ended up sitting in this restaurant on top of Etna for about 6 hours...there was only one bus...once the weather let up, we walked around some...saw lots of craters, which was just crazy...craters!...by the time the bus was ready to go, the snow on the roads had melted...which made me happy...i was really nervous about a bus driving down a snowy mountain...all in all, i'm really glad we got to go as far as we did...the view was still amazing...and, it is kinda funny that now Amy and i have been to Mt. Vesuvius and Mt. Etna, but due to the weather, have yet to actually see either of them...

sunday was mostly just the train ride home...amy and i did synchronize our ipods at one point so we could have a dance party...i have to write two papers this week...something i haven't done in months...but Riley and Elizabeth are coming to stay with us for a whole week! they get here tomorrow night...friends are great...

peace

oh and the waves at Isobella made the most amazing sound because of the pebbles on the shore...the video doesn't do it justice...but at least you can kinda hear it...


ok and one more thing...when you take the train from the mainland to sicily, they roll the train onto a barge and then cross the straight...so, you don't have to get off or anything...they put an entire train into a boat...way to be italy...way to be

my life needs more eli...

this past weekend was my first true "solo" experience...amy and i parted ways for 3 whole days...crazy, i know...amy went to france to visit one of her friends from home, and i made my way to granada to visit the one and only eli...and honestly, it was probably the smoothest trip i've had yet...no hiccups really at all...i was never short on time and no trains were delayed or canceled or anything! there was no way God wasn't taking care of me...because, a whole lot of things could have gone wrong...

i arrived in barcelona around 10 in the morning...i dropped my bag off at the train station, bought my overnight train ticket to granada, and then spent the day in barcelona by myself...it really was great...the weather was wonderful...i walked up and down Las Ramblas about 6 times...it was so entertaining...there were tons of street performers that i thought were just hysterical...i did some shopping and bought some artwork (probably my favorite thus far)...i also went on a bus tour, just so i could cover all the main attractions in one day...i must admit though...there is no way i could travel all by myself in a place where i can't communicate...i was more than fine with it for one day...but, i know it would be difficult to live so disconnected for a long period of time...i mean, i couldn't even buy a coke without some major issues...it was interesting...

that night i got on my train with no problems...and it was a like a hotel compared to my previous night trains...i was in the very first car (which is great, because i'm closest to the exit when we arrive at the final platform), there were 4 beds, which i shared with 3 other women, and there was even a sink! about 30 minutes in, i was sound asleep...i didn't hear a thing until 8 the next morning with some woman came in , tapped me on the forehead and said "hola!"...quite a wakeup call...then less than an hour later, i was running towards eli along the platform...so good...we spent the morning just walking around granada...the town is so beautiful...it is sort of like the Florence of spain...my hostel was really cool too...i couldn't stay with eli because she is living with a host family...anyway, that afternoon we rented these motorized bicycles...they propelled you as you pedaled so there is really no effort involved...they were so amazing...we ate some great kebabs (still second to poland's kebabs though) and did some more biking...after eli had slammed her bike pedals into free standing poles a few times, and the locals had a good laugh at her, we returned the bikes and headed up to the muslim part of town to watch the sun set...the muslim side of town is so cool...all of the buildings are white, and from the top of it, you can watch the sun set on the Alhambra (which is the main tourist attraction of Grananda...a palace/fortress)...it was absolutely wonderful, and there were lots of fun gypsies...

we finished the night off at a tapas bar...a very spanish tradition...and a very cheap one too...then we went to eli's favorite cafe and had cafe con leche and churros...delicious...but, the best part of the day was the conversation that followed...it is such a blessing to have a friend like eli...just being able so sit together, with someone who already knows me, and with someone i already know...and just share...talk about God and where we each are in our walks with Him...but not have to worry about back stories etc...it is such a blessing to really know someone...and i thank God for reminding me of that this weekend...

life in rome is great...amy and i just made dinner for our two roomies...turned out quite well i think...it's starting to get pretty chilly here...and we are now facing the dilemma of drying clothes outside when there is no warmth...let me know if you have any ideas...amy and i also unclogged the pipe in our sink...we are officially growing up...and last night we heard a choir of italians practicing "jingle bells" in a building near our apartment...i almost burst into tears for some reason...i just love christmas and everything that goes with it...and we heard a rumor that St. Peter's puts up a huge christmas tree in the piazza every year!

the people you meet in hostels...

so budapest...great great city...Amy and i both loved it...from the beginning? ok...so we left on another overnight train on thursday night...we were both a little nervous about being the only women again and having to sleep sitting up, but i had just asked my italian teacher if traveling at night was dangerous and she said it really just depends...thankfully, the train we took was full of women and children...such a blessing...we met some nice italian kids and some canadians...and managed to get a few hours of sleep...but we awoke to gorgeous fall leaves all around us...beautiful train ride...we eventually got to budapest after changing trains in vienna...but this train station we ended up in was ridiculously small...there was no bank anywhere nearby so we had no money...we only had like 1.80 euros on us actually...we had printed off directions to our hostel, but the tram they told us to take wasn't running...and neither was the bus...but we couldnt buy tickets anyway...no one spoke english...and no one seemed to really care that we were stranded...eventually we approached this younger looking guy (hoping he'd speak a little english) and said "bankomat?" then he kinda made an awkward expression and pulled out his wallet! ha...he was going to give us money...we told him no ofcourse...instead he said "uh, tip...you can, uh, cheat"...so we hopped on some random bus without tickets (which we are dreadfully afraid of doing ever since we got caught in Rome)...we ended up getting really lost...and took a taxi...we finally arrived at our asian/hindu/buddhist/eco-friendly/incense smelling
hostel...showered, and then went out to celebrate amy's birthday! yep, she's a halloween baby...sadly, there were no costumes in budapest...but there was great food...and really cheap too...when we came back to the hostel that night, all the lights were off in our room...we figured other people were sleeping...but when we walked in, there was a little hooded man standing in the corner holding a lighter...he immediately broke out into this wild, throaty laughter that made me think he was not supposed to be there...creepy...but he just kept laughing...so then we started laughing...when amy asked him what he was laughing at, he said "it's just romantic (laughter)...me and my candle"...then he left...it was so funny...then 2 minutes later, he came back in pretending to be a ghost...we decided that this guy was too weird for us not to get to know, so we went and hung out with him and his girlfriend for a while...his name is Roland...he's from norway...and he and his girlfriend are beyond psycho...good times...

saturday we woke up and ate a great hungarian breakfast at a little cafe...then we headed to our new hostel...we decided to stay at two different ones, just because we can...our first night was in Buda, and the second was in Pest...just nice to see different parts of the city...and i just love hostels...the second hostel was really cool...and it was flooded with girls from vanderbilt...who knew a bunch of our friends...crazy...anyway, we spent the rest of saturday at the baths! we went to the Szechenyi baths which the second oldest one in Budapest (i think)...the most popular is the Gellert spa, but we thought we'd go for a smaller one...after we walked through the gate, the ticket guy stopped us and nervously said "go downstairs, turn left, walk straight, and don't look around"...apparently we were in the men section...oops...luckily, we managed to find the women's locker room without any real awkwardness...but let me tell you, hungarian women have never heard of modesty...and they must love food, because they were large...i saw enough naked to last me a long long time...once we had changed we went to the outdoor pools...it was so much fun...there is this whirlpool thing in the middle of one of the pools...it spins you around and around, sort of ripping your swimsuit off as you knock into all the people surrounding you...we did that for a while, then did some wandering...found a really hot pool and sat and people watched for a long time...people watching at a spa in budapest is hilarious...please go now...then we went and got massages which was a wonderful treat...amy's masseuse only had one working eye...that night we went out for some traditional hungarian food...we basically got an entire leg of a cow...it was all very good though...

we spent sunday walking around the city...we did a little shopping...walked like halfway up to the Citadel, then decided we really didn't know what it was...and we didn't want to walk uphill anymore...so we just played in the leaves...we went in one church that was having a service and listened to the choir...the feeling of God was beautifully overwhelming...the music just floods over everything and there is just no denying his presence...so good...it's just all so cool! to top the weekend off, we got to fly home! what a luxury...

this week i have two midterms...i took the first one this morning...and i have italian tomorrow...Obama is everywhere...whenever we walk into a store the italians say something about him...italians really like Obama...really...people have been asking us about the elections ever since we got here...anyway, friday morning i'm going to spain to visit Eli (my friend from home) and i am so excited! should be fun...deuces

just roll with it...

so, ever since i got to florence, i have felt like my trip in europe has yet to slow down...and these last few weeks have been no exception...Amy's Dad and stepmom were here at the end of last week...they took us to an extremely italian dinner,where the food looked anything but appetizing, yet tasted divine...and on friday they went with us to Perugia to the world's largest chocolate festival...that night i met up with my friend Jodi from Australia that i met in Mongolia last summer...it was so weird/amazing to see her...and so cool that we have been in two different countries together...she brought along her friend Peter...and all throughout i couldn't get over how great it was to be sitting in italy, eating truffle pasta, with two australians, listening to them give me advice on life...life is good...anyway, i said goodbye to Jodi, and Peter, and promised Jodi i'd come to Australia...it is such a blessing to be able to say goodbye to someone who comes from a completely different world and know (or know that it is possible) that you are going to see them again...

friday night, Amy and i boarded yet another overnight train to Brindisi, Italy...where we took a ferry to Corfu, Greece...the train ride, sadly, wasn't uneventful...first of all, we weren't in beds this time...chairs...that "recline" simply by thrusting your knees into the person across from you...we switched carts three times...first, because the window wouldn't shut...in the second car, this man listened to us talk for a while and then said "you like italian trains"...we told him yes, but that we thought it was weird that there were no women...seriously, there was not a single woman on board...he responded with "that's because this is a dangerous train"...super...eventually we all sort of maneuvered around to get semi-comfortable...none of us could really sleep though...and the man across from us kept staring...so, we moved again into a cart with only one other person...we were so happy...but just as we were about to fall into a deep slumber, this crazy man came in talking incredibly too loud...apparently we had taken his seat...so after much confusion, and a very rough translation from the other man in the car, amy and somehow positioned ourselves across two seats...the crazy man talked about his basket of mushrooms for about 30 more minutes...then got up and left...i have no idea what he did for the next 6 hours, but we didn't see him until about 8 when he came back for his mushrooms...amy and i decided that he probably had been out with his pig looking for truffles, when they stumbled upon a huge pile of them...they were both (the crazy man and the pig) so happy that they rolled around in the dirt (because the man was filthy) and immediately got on the train, only to realize that his truffles were sadly just typical mushrooms, which is why he was so obnoxious...anyway, we survived the train ride...and then got on our ferry to Corfu...which was great...lots of space to move around...i began my the first harry potter book...and am now helplessly addicted...

now let me preface the rest of my weekend with this...amy and i went to Corfu because four of our friends were already there...they found some spectacular deal at this hostel called the Pink Palace...which is the most widely known hostel this side of the Atlantic...i should have been more weary just going along with it, and not checking it out on my own...but, we arrived to ofcourse, a bright pink building...about 30 minutes outside of Corfu...they took all of the new arrivals down to the "palladium" for dinner...right when i walked through the doors, i was taken back to the summer after 6th grade at Camp McDowell...after dinner, we found our friends and the palladium transformed into a night club basically...and they don't serve water so that you'll buy drinks...it was ridiculous...and there was nothing we could do, but dance...the next day was already sunday...we woke up and saw Corfu for the first time in daylight from our incredible ocean side balcony...sweet...then we opted out of the popular "Booze Cruise" and instead Amy, Caitlin and i went kayaking...so beautiful...since it was october, the weather was a little chilly...as was the water...no swimming...but we walked on the beach a lot...and picked oranges from a random tree...the booze cruise eventually returned...Cathy, Steph and Chandler informed us that we missed out on the naked cliff jumping...darn...

the pink palace is not just famous for its booze cruises though...every week they have a toga party...complete with pink togas...so before dinner, i helped everyone with their togas (thanks to my 3 years at camp desoto) and we went to dinner/party...amy and i people watched for a long while...we especially enjoyed this one guy who we nicknamed "dancing sneakers"...but i couldn't stop wandering how we had ended up here...wearing pink togas, watching people who think they can dance pop, lock and drop it, and feeling completely out of place...we couldn't figure out how so many people would be so excited about putting on pink togas...but ya know, sometimes you have just got to roll with it...and so we did...for the second night in a row, just with togas this time...anyway, i don't want to sound like i had a bad weekend...it wasn't bad at all...if anything, it was relaxing...just really not how i had imagined my greece trip going...i wanted to meet grecians, and eat food i can't pronounce and get really lost...so, we left the pink palace early and spent monday in the town of corfu before we caught our ferry back...

we made it home fine...thankfully, without having to ride an overnight train...but good news...we are going to budapest tomorrow on another overnight train...i can't wait to sleep upright again...peace

shout outs...
kimmy...practice hugging me on caspian
becca...BURLEY TOBACCA'
addi...you win the "most excited about a postcard" award...congrats
liz...pa-pardon me...did you just say berries? berries and what else? WUAHHHAA
eli...do the race car, ow ow ow...see you soon

Roma, Roma, Roma, core de sta città

so, last sunday night i had the privilege of going to a Roma calcio game...calcio means soccer, fyi...it was so much fun! even though we lost 4-0 to inner milan...still great though...it made me miss football games though...anyway, my parents were here this past weekend...they fed me well...we went to this one restaurant that the concierge at their hotel recommended and we were the ONLY customers there...weird...the food was good...i found this great little book on the bookshelf in my apartment that has a bunch of restaurants in it, so we went to a place called Maccheroni on Friday night...which is where i found my new obsession...truffle pasta (becca, truffle pasta is homemade pasta in a cream based truffle sauce...truffles are a rare type of fungus that grow underground)...it was amazing...go eat some...now...on their last night here we went to eat with Father Donahoe...that was really great...he kinda gave us his own little tour of the Pantheon area...i learned a lot...

my parents did three guided tours while they were here...i went on two of them...one of which was the Vatican Museum...i had already been there for 3 hours that morning for art history class...and then went again for another two hours in one day...that was intense...the tours were great though...especially because i haven't really seen many of the touristy places...by the way, i've fallen in love with raphael...and truffles...Amy's mom was here this weekend too...so we had a little mother-daughter outing to the catacombs...and got to see a modern day shepard boy...

the mosquitoes are insane...Amy is being eaten alive...and for a while she was convinced she had chicken pox...but, we went to Borghese Park the other day and got mutilated...so, we have concluded that we are getting bitten in our sleep...atleast it's not bed bugs...we went to Hard Rock Cafe the other night for one of our friends birthdays...i split a burger (because it was way too expensive) and felt like an uber-american...other than that i don't have much to report...we are headed to Greece this weekend! peace

strange men tickling me in my sleep...

sorry i haven't updated yet this week, but that was the longest weekend of my life...and our internet has been on the fritz...let me begin with friday...we had an art history field trip to Orvieto which is a small town outside of Rome...the fresh air was incredible as always...we went to see the frescoes in the cathedral, which was built to house the Corporal of Bolsena...here's a little history for ya...in the early 1200's a priest was doubting the whole transubstantiation and started making his way towards the Vatican to talk to someone about it...on the way there he stopped in the town of Bolsena and during the mass the host started bleeding...obviously, the priest dismissed his doubts and brought the altar cloth to the Vatican...eventually, they decided that a church should be built in honor of this miracle, which is the Duomo of Orvieto...you can't actually see the altar cloth (except on the anniversary of the miracle) but it was still cool...

amy and i left early in order to get back to rome, and then get to the airport in time for our flight that left at 9...basically, we had more than enough time to make our flight...but do to buses never showing, and the fine print of RyanAirlines, we missed our flight...so frustrating...but hey, life is bigger than all of that...so, we rebooked our flight for the next morning...except there was only one seat left so Amy was on standby...i don't know why we keep messing up...but anyway, we got to the airport extra early the next morning...and Amy was able to get on the flight! That one goes up to the big guy...i was really nervous about us having to split up...thankfully He kept us together...eventually after struggling to navigate the metrobustramtrain mess of a place Brussels, we found Bailey (Jeff) and Cary! For those of you who don' know them, they go to Furman with us and are studying abroad in Brussels...it was so good to see some familiar faces...the original plans were for us to spend a night in Brussels, but do to recent developments, we could only stay for lunch...they took us around the main area of town and had a little taste of everything belgium...including fries and the best waffle on planet earth...then we took a train to amsterdam to meet Riley and Elizabeth (also friends form Furman)...but the two hour train ride ended up taking about 3 1/2 because of a train wreck...we finally got to our hostel at about 9 p.m...but Riley and Elizabeth were no where in sight! we sort of expected that since we told them we'd be there around 2 and had no way to contact them...by the way, we found out upon arrival that our hostel was a christian hostel...boasting a large sign in the red light district that says "jesus loves you"...amazing...we wandered up and down our street for about 20 minutes and then the crowds parted and we saw blazing red and blonde hair...it was miraculous...we ran towards each other...it was quite a glorious event...we had orginally told Riley and Elizabeth that we had to leave on Sunday afternoon, and since it was already saturday night, we stayed up talking, catching up, and planning our only day together...then right before we went to bed we told them that we were actually staying until monday! it was so exciting...so, we slept in and then toured the city...we went to the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, and then walked forever...there isnt a whole lot to do in Amersterdam besides museums...and pot...so we just wandered...did a lot of people watching in the park...amsterdam was beautiful though...the leaves were all changing colors and the weather was perfect...it was so good to spend time with friends...so good...just good to have real conversation...with someone who already knows me...ya know?

anyway, the funny part of the whole trip was the train ride back...Amy and i took the 15 hour train home...and the first 6 hours were wonderful because we had a car for 6 by ourselves...but at 11 p.m. the train stopped and 4 Chilian men became our roomies...this was the biggest language barrier i've experienced yet...they didnt speak any english, and we spoke no spanish...we finally got the point across that we wanted to sleep, so i started to climb up to the top bunk...but then one of the men started making this weird noise and tickling my feet! really? i mean really? it was so weird...then he started reaching up through the cracks against the wall to try and get my feet again...i eventually started beating him with my crossword puzzle, but he just laughed...he did it again in the morning when i got down...and then proceeded to smell my shoes before he let me put them on...
well, this weekend is my second weekend to stay in rome...my parents just got here this morning and i'm about to go meet them at their hotel...peace

shout outs...
julie...do you think this will fit Elizabeth? i had a minor laundry issue...

the pizza man

last weekend was our final trip with AIFS...remember we all went to Venice together...this weekend we went to Pompeii, Naples, and Capri! and ofcourse, the forecast for friday and saturday was rain...hooray...so, with raingear in hand we left friday morning at 9 and arrived in Pompeii around 1...we toured a very small part of Pompeii...it is much bigger than i imagined...we saw a temple to Apollo, a bath, and some of the "bodies" they recovered from the eruption...just to clarify, most people think Pompeii was covered with lava, but actually the dust/ash from the volcano combined with humidity in the air and formed some type of unbreathable atmosphere, thus trapping the entire city underneath the ash...the amazing thing is that because of this, when human bodies decayed, they left air pockets in the layers of ash...so, archaeologists came up with a way to fill the space with sand (i think) and create a mold of that person...that's why i say "bodies"...the actual bodies are long gone but they positions of the people are on display...see parents, this wasn't a total waste...i learned something...

our tour was cut short though when it began to down pour...after getting completely drenched we got back on the bus and headed to our hotel just outside of Naples...the hotel was really nice...several steps up from our hotel in Venice...after bathing for the first time in a long time (remember, our hot water has been missing) we went to a restaurant that our concierge recommended...it was right next door to the hotel and was the best and cheapest food i've had in italy...the best part of the night though was the karaoke...i sang a selection of songs from mamma mia and it was magical...

the next morning we woke up and spent the day in naples at some Pompeii museum...honestly, it was sort of the same stuff as the day before...so we treated ourselves to some fabulous pizza...afterall, Napoli is the home of the pizza...for some reason, we thought it was a great idea to try two of the best pizza places we'd heard about and thus ate two lunches...bad idea...anyway, the weather wasn't too bad so we headed to the top of Mount Vesuvius...we were so excited! and after the crazy bus ride up, we were about to head into the park and it closed...why? because of the massive hail storm that hit 5 minutes later...sadly, a few people in our group got lost in the scurry and got stuck outside...one girl had to go to the hospital...all is well though...no worries...

sunday was perfect...we took a ferry to the island of capri...then we decided to not do the touristy boat ride and instead we found a nice little fisherman who offered to take us on a ride for a special price! his son ended up being out boat guide and is probably the most random italian person i've met thus far...he said "ciao, hello, how are you" to every seagull we passed, shot birds out of the sky with the rudder, pretended to be a bat, yelled "konichiwa" to a boatload of japanese tourists/mocked them, and then pulled out some weed for us to smell...and to top it all off, the name of the boat was "pizza man"...probably some of the best money i've spent in italy...and the views were incredible...the water was so blue! the rest of capri is pretty much just a bunch of expensive shops...so we just wandered about for a while...the perfect ending to our rainy weekend...

amy and i just got done with classes a few hours ago and have spent the bulk of the afternoon reading our art history homework, talking to the landlord to try and get our hot water back on, baking a chocolate cake with limited ingredients, and creatively constructing enough lines to dry our clothes on...we are about to head to a wine tasting and then we are off to a cooking class with Lorenzo! Ciao

Shout Outs:
Madi...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i love you so much...thank you for rooming with me freshman year...i'm so glad i awkwardly asked you...and that i told you i dont like pink...because i know you do...and i wish i could watch you flex your muscles right now...or eat reese's eggs...or pick up dead chipmunks with me...but, don't worry...there will be plenty of time for that...have a wonderful 21st! see you soon
Liz...par is huge
Becca...i miss your comments
Joe Joe...have you gotten your 5 poops in the potty yet?