October!

Ahhh I can’t believe it is already the month of October!!! The time is just flying by and is getting closer and closer to me getting to meet up with my grandparents and mom and step dad.
On Tuesday October 2nd my study abroad program put together an event of attending the Sleeping Beauty Ballet. Ally, Diana, Emily, and I all went and loved it. I was the only one out of the 4 that hadn’t had at least 6 years of Ballet dancing experience. We all got done up and headed over to the Teatro dell’Opera where the ballet took place, 8:30-12 a.m.
On Wednesday night my friend Rachelle put on a Mexican Dinner night. Ahh it was soo amazing… we had chips and salsa, followed by rice and beans and chicken fajitas. In addition, for dessert we had chocolate chip cookies that were bought from the International Supermercato.
Thursday was an intense day. I spent all morning writing a paper that was due that evening and then I last minute decided to go to Venice with Emily, Ally, and Diana. Originally my plan for the weekend was to go to Florence and stay with a friend till Sunday when my grandparents were supposed to arrive. However, my friend forgot and wasn’t going to be home so I decided to go to Venice and then go to Florence Saturday night and figure something out.
Weekend in Venice
We had a great time in Venice. We did a lot of walking around the first day and getting acquainted with the island. We walked around San Marco’s square with the pigeons, took the boat taxi around to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum which was full of various famous artists’ works. We decided that we weren’t going to pay the 70 euros or whatever to take a gondola ride around the canals so instead we took the .50 euro gondola that taxied you across the canal. We didn’t make it to the island of ma… where they are famous for glass blowing, but we did watch a man in his shop make a glass necklace which was pretty amazing. Although I do remember being in Venice 10 years ago, I don’t remember much so I was glad that I went on this short trip with the girls. The next morning it was raining and San Marco Church was closed so we spent the entire afternoon at the Bienale. The Bienale is a huge art exhibit that is done every other year from June to November. This art exhibit was Emily’s whole purpose for going and her day was made when she found out that we could go to it. It was a whole day event with about 100 rooms all dedicated to different artists from all over the world, United States, Russia, Switzerland, New Zealand, etc. Some of it was a little weird for me, but majority of it was very interesting and enjoyable. At closing I ran to the boat taxi to get to the train station because I heard back from my friend Jessie who is studying abroad in Florence and she said she would love for me to come and stay with her. It was quite an adventure; first I missed my train, then I got on the wrong one and was told I had to get off, and then I was in this station alone and had to figure out what train to get on in order to get to Florence for the night. It all worked out and this man helped my locate the last train from Minestra to Florence.
Sunday morning woke up and met with grandma and grandpa at their hotel. It was so nice getting to spend all Sunday, Monday, and half of Tuesday with them. We checked out Piazza del Duomo, walked down to Piazza della Signoria, and to Palazzo Vecchio. We also walked over the Arno River via PonteVecchio, built in 1220. This is the oldest bridge in Florence after being the only one to survive the German army during World War II. The rest of the trip we spent on the double décor bus sight seeing tour. We had a wonderful time but had to board a train Tuesday morning and head back to Rome.
Mom and Brad arrive in Rome!
I spent the rest of the afternoon at school but then planned on meeting my grandparents and mom and Brad at their hotel. To my excitement I received an email that afternoon from my brother letting me know that he proposed to Sarah and that they are getting married! Congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law to be! I met up with the family and we had a nice pizza dinner on the roof of the Campo Di’ Fiori Hotel.
Wednesday I had my accounting class and then spent the rest of the afternoon with the family venturing around various sites in Rome. We met in the Vatican City at San Pietro’s to see and hear Pope Benedict give the Wednesday morning mass. We stayed and watched for a little but then got on the Rome sight seeing tour bus and ventured around the city till we got to the Colosseum stop which is one touristy thing I haven’t experienced yet. From there I went to check out the Palantine and then to class. I met up with the family after class and we had dinner in campo di’fiori at this restaurant that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. After dinner my mom, Brad, and I took a walk to get gelato, walk through Piazza Navona, see the Pantheon, and the famous Trevi Fountain which is based on Nicolo Salvi’s design and completed in 1762 (famous scene in Three Coins in the Fountain and the Italian classic La Dolce Vita).
Thursday morning woke up early and met the family and went to the San Pietro Basilica. The line was really long but moved along quite quickly. We went in and headed straight for the Copula which took you up a huge flight of stairs to the inside of the dome to look down into the church. From there you could take another 320 steps to the outer top of the dome. At the top was a spectacular view of all of Rome. I had to leave for class while my family stayed to check out more of the church and then head to the Vatican Museums and see the Sistine Chapel. I told the family to meet me at my apartment around 6:30 for dinner that Emily and I wanted to prepare for them. It was a really nice dinner; we had my family, Emily’s mom, and the twins over. We had bruscetti as an anitpasta, followed by dinner which consisted of salad, ravioli, and the famous Yogurt Torta.
Friday morning I met my mom and Brad at the airport for Greece. We had a great weekend in Athens and fun on the Island Aegina where we took a short day trip. We did a lot of sleeping while in Athens. Our bodies were pretty much worn out every evening from all our exploring during the day. On our first day there we went to the Plaka and had a fabulous Greek lunch/dinner. I had a gyro which was absolutely amazing especially since my stomach hasn’t had much of anything besides pastas and breads. We spent the remainder of our first day walking around and planning what we were going to do the next day. That night we got to experience Athen’s first rain after 4 months, I think my mom and Brad brought the cold rainy weather to both Rome and Athens.
Saturday morning we did most of our sight seeing by going to: the Acropolis where we saw the Partheon, the temple of Athena Nike remains. Then we walked around ancient Agora, the plaka which is full of small stores, and then took a public bus to Glyfada (a coastal city where we had dinner/ lunch). The water was amazing and we got to watch the sun set over the ocean. The hardest thing for me in Athens was the Greek writing and not having even the slightest idea of what things said unless they were written in English. On our last full day, we took a ferry to a nearby Island called Aegina. We took a 45 minute ferry ride over and walked around the quaint island. We had lunch and returned to Athens with just enough time to take a walk for dessert and to the 1st Olympic Stadium built in 1895 for the 1898 Summer Olympics. The stadium was made entirely of marble and was absolutely breath taking.
Monday we took a taxi to the Athen Airport to fly back to Rome and then up to Cinque Terre for a couple of days. On our way to the coast we stopped in Pisa for an hour which only gave us enough time to run to the leaning tower of Pisa, snap a picture, and run back. Tuesday we spent the entire day hiking along the 5 various little villages which make up Cinque Terre (The five Villages). The hike took you all along the ocean and that connected all the villages. For lunch we ate a pesto pizza and then headed back to Manarola where we stayed so that I could shower and get to the train station. It was time to say good bye to my mom and Brad as we headed our separate ways. It was a blessing that my family was able to come and visit me while I’m in another country and wouldn’t have changed it for anything else (no not even to have my camera back).
Wednesday night (after my big accounting Mid-term) we had dinner at Ally and Diana’s house. Ally and I went to their house together and did the cooking while Emily and Diana did some last minute things at school.
Thursday made for another travel adventure. This time we were headed for Barcelona, Spain. We had a little trouble getting to the Ciampino airport and I thought for sure Emily wasn’t going to make it to check in on time. However, to my amazement she arrived just in time and we flew to Barcelona. I stayed in my first hostel ever called Gothic Point and it was absolutely wonderful. We met a lot of very interesting people and everyone was so nice.
Friday we spent the entire day walking all around the city. We walked to the National Art Museum of Catalunya, down to the Olympic Stadium, took a bus over to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church, and then down to his Casa Batiló (fish house). After returning to our hostel and having dinner we meet three boys who are studying abroad in Germany and ended up going out with them to a club called The Catwalk. Saturday was not such a good day, I seemed to have caught a 24 hr. flu and felt horrible for the whole day but still got in some sight seeing. We went to the Picasso Museum for a couple of hours, then walked to the Parco de Ciutadella, to the beach, and then to our cooking class. On the first day these girls told us about a cooking class where you can learn to make: Sangria, an appetizer, and paella. I am really glad that we decided to do it because it was really good in spite of me not having much of an appetite.
Tuesday October 23rd was the most depressing day thus far. I had bought a plane ticket to London with the twins to stay with their cousin who is going to school in Oxford, however my merciless, stubborn, and annoying social psychology teacher wouldn’t let me take my test before I left so I had to cancel and rebook my flight for the weekend of November 15th. I still can’t believe that my teacher was being so ridiculous especially when the only reason I bought the ticket for that day was because she said the test was going to be today on this Tuesday. 
Wednesday night I went with my friend Rachelle to JCU’s first soccer game of the season. We got there after half time but got to celebrate in our 2-1 win.
Weekend in Rome
Saturday the entire apartment, Kassandra, Alex, Emily, and I took a trip to Piazza Argentina to have lunch at Insalata Rica where we each got a nice big salad. We then walked around and went to the various vintage stores around the area in search of boots for the cold rainy season to come. Emily and I went to this boot store and each found a pair that we liked. Now I have my very own Italian Leather Boots which I bought for 59 euro. That night Emily and I got ready, dressed in our boots, and went to the 2007 Rome Film Festival to watch the Premier showing of the American film Juno. As we were entering we saw one of the actresses from the movie, Olivia Thirlby, who played Leah. The movie was great and very entertaining.
Sunday I woke up and took the longest running adventure around Rome. I didn’t intend on being gone for 1 hr. 22 minutes but I took a road that took me in a big loop all the way around the outer wall of the Vatican City. It was such a beautiful day though so I didn’t mind being outside running at all. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and not getting any studying done for the next days test.