London Calling

Hello from London!

I hope you all enjoyed my last post on Rome because I truly miss it a lot! London has been fantastic so far though. I arrived on Friday via Austrian Airlines. Let me tell you, I LOVED THAT PLANE. The flight attendants were the most pleasant people I've ever met in that business and when I walked on they were like speaking German. It was great. They had funny all red outfits on though and the food they gave us was interesting...but it was fun.

When I got off the plane I went through customs (yay new passport stamps), collected my luggage, and went on my first tube experience. Now when people say the London metro is the nicest thing ever, they aren't kidding. It is so clean! I feel like I'm on the monorail at Disney, it's great. Also the "Mind the Gap" thing is precious too.

When I finally arrived at my destination I had some difficulty carrying my luggage. Thankfully the Brits are really nice people and helped me carry it up the stairs. I got to my hostel/dorm room place at the University of Westminster. It's actually like really nice here, just a little far out from the city. After I got here I went and met up with Jess which was good.

The next day we went to Oxford Circus. It's really cool a lot of shopping and such, reminded me of Via del Corso in Rome. We ended up getting lunch at Pizza Hut, because it's like a legit restaurant in London (who knew!) and we went to Topshop of course. But I'm broke from these pounds and didn't buy anything. After our day there that night we went to watch the US game...such a disappointment, freaking Ghana! Then we went to Camden Town, which I compared to Trastevere of London, a lot of bars and cool clubs and such. We went to a club called Gilgamesh and met up with her friends. It was a lot of fun, despite the old ass people in the club.

Today I went and explored a little bit. I ended up at Piccadilly Circus and watched the England game. Talk about another disappointment. After that I went to Covent Garden and explored and got some dinner at Marks and Spencer. It was a nice day.
Now I am back at my room. Tomorrow I'll be going to Jess' and Oxford for the day!

Toodeloo!

me

And I'm Out...

Alright so I haven't written in awhile and I apologize, yet again things got crazy with class and what not.

Sardegna, of course was beautiful and it was a really nice, relaxing weekend. It was nice to see Nonna and eat some delicious food!

Since then we have been to Parolaccia, a restaurant in Trastevere where they curse at you in Italian, like Dirty Dick's...it was a lot of fun and some random Italian local bought us roses!

World cup fever has also gotten the best of us! Yesterday we watched the US win their GROUP AND MOVE ON TO THE TOP 16. First time since 1930...incredible!

Today was our last day at AUR. Crazy how fast this month has flown. I have seriously met some amazing people here and have learned so much about Rome, my Italian heritage, and a lot about myself. Cliche I know.

This trip has made me realize that there is so much more to life than just what us American's have in our little bubble. Sure I complained about central AC, public transportation, and gypsies, but this lifestyle and this country has so much history that the United States doesn't. I have touched ruins that are from before Christ and during the times of great emperor's like Marcus Aurelius and Julius Ceasar, I have walked on the grounds that Christian martyrs where killed at, and stared at a beautiful building everyday that Mussolini funded apparently (which is the irony!).

During this trip I have interacted with some amazing people and professors. My art history professor and my archaeology teacher have taught me so much. It's been awhile since I had professors that really connected with their students on such a level. They have brought me to a new level of viewing things.

Coming to Rome isn't about the karaoke nights, the pub crawls, the pizza, or the sexy Italian men...it's about the education and life experience. This trip seriously has changed me in more ways than one and I have really discovered myself as a person more so. You can learn from the Italians and this life style...seriously. We worry so much in the states about everyone else's business but our own,we always are in a rush, and just never give ourselves a chance to sit back and enjoy life. Here that's what I've done, enjoyed life. I've gotten my cappucino everyday from the nice man at "Er Pozzo per Gelato" the cafe downstairs and have taken my time while drinking it. I've taken strolls through the city. I've had many apertivos after class, just to relax and really enjoy life and everyone's company that i'm in. Life is too short to worry about the bullshit, why bother?

I just am tearing up writing this, because this trip really has been incredible. I never thought that it'd have such an impact on me. I just want to thank my parents everyday for giving me this experience because it has really been one of the best summers of my life so far and it's not even over. This trip has just made me realize take nothing for granted and seriously live life to the fullest. I've woken up so early here everyday, and I complained, but secretly, it was the best thing because I saw everything. I saw SO MUCH. I'm really going to miss this a lot, and I see why my father loves his country so much now. It took me to the age of 20 to really appreciate Italy like I think my papa does (except for the soccer team, they suck this year...sore subject).

So Roma, as we have been saying this whole trip "DEUCES" or "Arrivederci!" I'll be back soon, as a matter of fact I need to get to the Trevi Fountain tonight...

As for the rest of my travels...I will be going to London tomorrow till the 30th then back to Milano and Varese till July 8th! I'll write then no worries.

A presto.

Gabbie

Rule #67 of Rome: Don't Do Bruce at Karaoke

Haven't written a real post in a while sooo quick overview of what has happened in my life since Tuscany:

1) Amelia and I found ourselves at a gay bar called "Coming Out". It was actually a lot of fun, but we were late to class...oops

2) I went to the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel again, it never ceases to amaze me. Art is truly incredible and something that I have always really enjoyed. In addition I got to see the Raphael room! It was sick...I wish I had sweet skills like that.

3) We needed American food...so where did we go? The Hard Rock Cafe of course! I spent a shit ton of money and it was kind of expensive, but it was a lot of fun and we got some drinks and overall good times. However it made me realize how gross American food makes you feel after you eat it...yucky

4) Went to the Ara Pacis of Augustus which was really cool and then Amelia and I had to go find the Villa Borghese, which was kind of a pain to get to, but none the less it was beautiful, just like everything here in Roma!

5) I went to the Ice Bar! It was 15 euros for entrance and you got a drink with that. Not a bad deal for a really cool experience. The whole bar is made of ice...even the cups! It is at -5 degrees celsius, which is 23 degrees Fahrenheit, needless to say they give you a cool looking thermal coat thing and some gloves. The place was sick and that night was overall not too bad.

6) We love Breezys, the US needs to get some of those.

7) The World Cup has officially started! We started it off right by going to the Bulldog Inn near Piazza Navona to watch the England vs. US game...things got reallll rowdy, but the US tied which was pretty good. On Sunday I met up with Mike Keenan (friend from high school!) and we went to Trastevere to watch the game of Italy vs. Paraguay, unfortunately Italy sucked that night and only scored. Kind of a disappointment, but whatever hopefully they'll win SUNDAY!! FORZA AZZURI

8) I went on a tour of the Jewish Ghetto of Rome with my family from Georgia! It was absolutely amazing and really really fun! Definitely suggest going there if you're ever in Rome! However the only thing that stunk is that they wouldn't give me cheese to put on my pasta with some meat sauce because they are all Kosher restaurants there.

9) We did karaoke again and sang "Like a Virgin" and Bruce's "Jersey Girl"...a lot of fun, but the Bruce was a fail. Sorry to all my NJ friends but Italy does not like the Boss...they do love Madonna though!

10) Last but not least. Tonight we had an amazing dinner at the Thai Restaurant here! We each an entree, bottle of water, two sodas, all had an appetizer, all had a dessert and they gave us complimentary peanut dipping sauce and a bottle of dessert wine and fries...it was all 70 dollars. Definitely going back there and they did Thai food better than I've ever had!

I'll leave you with this though. Last night at Karaoke night I met this guy. Someone was singing Aerosmith, and this guy tried to convince me that he was pretty much Steven Tyler and he wrote this song just for me. People are crazy. Going to Sardegna tomorrow! Peace

A presto.

Gabbie

Top 10 Frustrations While Here

I had inspiration to right this while in class the other day...so here we go:

10) Strikes

-For some reason Italians believe that strikes are effective. They strike for transportation which is inconvenient for me to get to class. Workers will even strike at some of Rome's main tourist attractions like the Colosseum, which is hard to believe since so much money goes through there every day. All in all, strikes=inconvenience.

9) The concept of no "right of way"

-Every time I cross the street here, my life is literally on the line. Instead of a car stopping for you they just keep going or will swerve around you. I have seen death flash before my eyes a gazillion times already. It's ridiculous, especially people and their Vespa gangs.

8) Usage of restrooms

-In any US city if you have to use a bathroom while walking you can simply slip into your local Mickey D's or Dunkin Donuts and just use the bathroom and get out. Here if you do that, they scream at you and get extremely angry and make you buy something. Now I drink a lot of water every day here as it is hot as hell, so naturally I have to pee, and this is annoying.

7) Tourists

-Now not to say that I'm not one but...the tourists are getting really annoying at this time of year. They make me late to class, frustrated while walking in the city, and really make me realize how ignorant some people really are. I guess living here makes me see things that I've never seen before just as a brief visitor. Now I see why other countries may have poor views on Americans...for example, I saw a lady at the Borghese museum almost start a fight with the security because she was confused on their policies about bringing bags in...just obnoxious, read the sign woman it's right there!

6) No air conditioning

-Now this one is a HUGE deal for me. I like my bedroom at night to be FREEZING cold, instead here it's hot as hell. I do not understand why there is no air conditioner here, it's just frustrating. First thing I'm doing when getting back to the States...laying against our central air vents for 4 days straight...just saying.

5) Getting ripped off

-So everyday between my two on site classes I am forced to get lunch in the center of the city. Let's just say this is a huge rip off for me. All these restaurants have set "tourist menus", which sound awesome but really are rip offs. It costs me 10+ euros everyday to eat lunch. However, if I wanted to eat around my apartment it only will cost 4-6 euros. It's ridiculous. Plus, why can't Europe get the concept of free refills...that is one of America's finest ideas ever.

4) People trying to sell my stuff

-I am sick of street people trying to sell me fake bags and sunglasses. Not going to lie I've bought two things, but I wanted them. Other than that they are obnoxious and need to leave me alone. No I do not want your heart shaped sunglasses, I am not a 6 year old.

3) Gypsies and Beggars

-To go along with three, I am sick of "bums" asking me for money. All they are is a bunch of gypsy travelers trying to get my money...and maybe steal my tears or do some weird voodoo on me, I don't know. You can literally be eating dinner or getting a drink outside at a table, and they will come up to you and ask you for money. Straight up inconsiderate. Maybe I'd feel bad for you if you didn't bother me while I'm enjoying my nice glass of wine, thanks. Not to mention half the time they are fakes as they lay on the side of the road with their faces covered with scarves so you can't see that they are perfectly fine. Sorry if I sound ignorant, but it's true.

2) Language Barrier

-Enough said, I try to speak Italian and I can't get across what I want to. It's frustrating. Hopefully one day I will grow out of this.

And my number one, biggest frustration ever is....

1) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

-Public transportation here is so annoying. You get squeezed onto a bus like a sardine with a bunch of sweaty, clammy people because it's hot outside, it smells, and you have no air to breathe. The bus driver drives like a manic and school children are screaming. It is a nightmare. Not to mention sometimes when your waiting minutes, to half hours, to hours for this bus, it will drive right past you even though you are in the middle of their bus station. Also Italians do not care if there is clearly no room on the bus, they make their way on and do not care if they have to sit in your lap. Public transportation all in all, is a pain in the ass for a lack of a better term. I hate it in DC...but Rome has made me hate it oh so much more.

Tuscany, Hard Rock Cafe, and More!

Sorry I haven't written in awhile life got quite busy!

This past weekend we went to Pisa, Florence, Montecatini and a town in the Siena province for wine tasting! We left bright and early on Friday morning and made our way to Pisa. Once we got there we were immediately bombarded off the bus by people trying to sell us fake ray bans, fake rolexs, and more crap like that. At one point I was surrounded by three. These people do not understand no means no. I'll be nice to you but once you start to persist I will curse you out...which I did, and I probably sounded like an ignorant American but I don't even care. I do not like being bothered once I say no. It's harassment dude, you get arrested for stuff like that in the States!

Anyhow we finally met our tour guides and proceeded on to our hour (way too long) tour of Pisa. It was kind of interesting...but it was stuff I had already knew thanks to Art History senior year of high school. When we were done with our tour we took the cliche pictures of pretending to be pushing the Leaning Tower. I also took a video for the STA Travel Internship video application. Long story short...I ended up busting ass and busting my knee up pretty bad because I wanted to jump...it still hurts and it's Wednesday. We then ate lunch, which was okay and we split an amazing crepe as well (my obsession). I love them so much that I bought Italy's version of Shake and Pour Bisquick, which is Shake and Pour Crepes and I made them the other day with Nutella and strawberries...so good. Anyhow let me stop digressing. After lunch the other girls went to lay out and I went to see the Baptistery and Pisa's "Duomo" church. Both were beautiful and I got to see the artist Pisano's famous pulpit! I learned about this in high school art history and was extremely excited to see it! Finally when we were done we made our way back to the bus and to Montecatini to our hotel.

When we got there we split up into rooms, Danielle and I stayed together. It was really nice and the beds were super comfortable. That night we ate dinner at the hotel and got some wine. After dinner we all walked downtown to the outdoor bar where there was a band playing. It was funny because they were singing songs like Bob Marley "Is This Love" and the Italian accents just made it sooo much better! After that Danielle and I went to back and to bed. We watched CNN which for some reason was amazing considering it was in english! We woke up nice and early the next morning for our adventure to Firenze!

Our day in Florence was great! I did a lot of shopping for friends and family + myself at the Puma store for some great World Cup apparel which is in TWO DAYS! It's going to be amazing. Also in Florence we went to Ben + Jerry's, which tasted like the stuff from home mixed with gelato..it was delicious. Naturally I got Phish Phood. We also climbed up the Campanile (over 400 steps through narrow hallways!) and went to the leather market. I also went to the Ponte Vecchio and saw the statue of Dante in Piazza della Maria Croce. Overall the day was successful. That night we went back, ate a crappy dinner the hotel provided us, and had some fun in the hotel.

Our last day of the trip we woke up even earlier to go wine tasting. The day started off great in a beautiful vineyard known for producing Brunello, Chianti, Grappa, and some other wines. We got to see how it's done and where it's done. It was pretty interesting. Did you know you can go to college to learn how to make wine? Dropping out of Mason sounds like a good idea...After that we watched a pasta demonstration on how to make pinche pasta. It was fun. We then ate an amazing four course meal and drank some of the wine. We were stuffed and walked around the vineyard. Talk about an amazing place...I would so get married at a place like that! The view was great and everything. When we were all in our wine comas we walked back to the bus, passed out, watched "Inglorious Bastards" and ended up back at school.

This week has been alright so far. On Monday we were all extremely exhausted. I woke up bright and early for archaeology and ended up at the Foro Romano yet again...let's just say the Palatine Hill isn't as interesting the 6th time around as it is the first time around. After that class we met for art history at the "Arch of Constantine" and then proceeded towards the 2nd oldest Christian mosaic in Rome at Santa Maria Maggiore. It was beautiful and I had seen this image before in high school as well.
On Tuesday I was up bright and early yet again to go to the Colosseum for class..again. But this time the workers (as this happens quite often in Italy) were on strike so it was closed. I was happy and we got to leave early. During this time I wandered around my neighborhood to find that there is a MUCH closer grocery story than the one we had been going to. I bought a ton of groceries for dinner, lunch, and just snack wise. Also I got another cappucino as I always do...the barista pretty much knows my order all the time and has it ready. I then went to my second class for Art History were we just had a lecture on Raphael and Michelangelo, but I already knew it all from high school as well...who knew that would all help?!

Today was a pretty good day, I took a midterm that I know I so rocked in archaeology. I knew everything like the back of my hand. I then came back to the apartment, watched "Glee" season finale (so good!), made lunch, got my cappucino and headed towards the Vatican for Art History. When we got there it was amazing yet again. It's so hard to believe these artists (Michelangelo, Raphael, etc.) did such kind of work like that at that time period. Also the fact that it's all in pretty good condition. The whole Sistine Chapel was just amazing and I stood there in awe.

After that Alexis, Sarah and myself met our other roommates for a nice American dinner at the "Hard Rock Cafe". We have been craving it like no other and decided to go there. We ordered Pina Coladas, some burgers, and bought shirts. I blew a lot of money, but it was a one time thing and so worth it. I also got my Papa a shirt I know he's going to love! It was a fun time.

PHEW that was a lot and I have another midterm to study for and bed on top of that! Buona notte Stati Uniti e Italia!

A presto.

Gabbie

Exhibitions Should Be Kept in Museums...ahem

Sorry I haven't updated in a bit, life and school got kind of busy recently but I will fill you all in!

On Tuesday in archaeology class we visited a tomb and some more of the Roman Forum. In addition we learned a lot about the Roman Republic and Empire...did you know George Lucas based Star Wars off this form of government? Interesting huh?
After class Amelia and I started heading over towards the Colosseum (originally known as the "Flavian Amphitheater") for our art history class. As we were finishing up taking beautiful pictures over looking the Colosseum, I noticed something strange...very strange...

This man look really creepy by a railing and long story short...he decided he wanted to be a bit of an exhibitionist and low and behold I certainly saw some "salsiccia"..needless to say we ran. It was disgusting. Then while we were looking for a place to eat lunch of course the first place we saw was "Mr. Hot Dog"...ew.

Finally we got some lunch, I had pizza with proscuitto, artichokes, and olive oil, it was delicious but of course overpriced since we were near the Colosseum. We also went to this amazing gelateria...best I have had to date! After lunch we went to class...the Colosseum is truly amazing. Do you know that it is called the Colosseum today based off of association with a Colossal statue that used to be there from a previous emperor? Crazy stuff. When we bought our tickets I also received a discount for being a citizen of the European Union...thank you Papa. Seeing the Colosseum again inspired me to watch "Gladiator"...ya know Russel Crowe...really inspiring. This day too we also climbed the top of the Palantine Hill and got a beautiful view overlooking the Colosseum, truly breath taking.

After this we went home and cooked dinner. We had fresh gnocchi and they were delicious. After dinner it was time for karaoke night at the "Scholar's Lounge" pub in Rome. It is owned and ran by Irish men, so of course it was going to be a great time! We walked in, grabbed our drinks, and put our names on the list! Amy, Sarah, and myself started off the night with a rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody"....the video is amazing and it looks like a vein is going to pop out of my forehead from my passion in the line "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME AND SPIT IN MY EYEEE"...I then proceeded to get on my knees and play the air guitar...I certainly enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame and when I got off the stage we got high fives left and right....but that wasn't the end for us. We did not have enough, so in honor of one of Roberta's favorite singers and songs of all time, we got up and did a rendition of "Bennie and the Jets"...my high pitched line for "You know I read it in a magazINEEEEE oh oh"...flawless. Sir Elton would have been proud. The night was ridiculously fun and we are certainly going to go back for another night.

The next morning (err afternoon) we got up...slowly. Danielle, Alexis, and I decided to venture to Piazza Navona. It was a great walk and we saw some local art. On the way we also saw this amazing like area of vending machines, like a store of vending machines...it was crazy, I got a Lemon Soda. We then came across a little Spanish restaurant which was great because believe it or not we're getting sick of Italian food! It's too much! So we had a little tapas and entrees, it was delicious and inexpensive!
On our way back to the bus stop, we ran into a group of very attractive athletes...I couldn't tell who they were but I observed their jerseys and heard them speaking French. One of them tapped my shoulders and I was in awe...after researching when I got back we found out it was actually the French National Rugby Team, because there is a tournament in Rome this week! AH! I should have made moves and then I would have a valid reason to not return home...

We also saw a bunch of cops about escort Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi out of a building...I forgot to mention the reason why he was in Rome is because it was a national holiday (Festival for the Republic, their 4th of July) and we had no school!
That night we came back, I caught up on Glee and went to bed.

Today not much happened, I went to the Capitoline Museum and saw the original Marcus Aruelius on Equestrian statue, in addition to the original Romulus and Remus with She Wolf statue..very interesting. Then I went to another museum (I don't know the name!) at Piazza del Repubblica and saw the original "Seated Boxer" and "Discobolos" by Myron...being an art history buff I was in awe. I love that stuff..

PHEW after that long post, I'm exhausted and need to go to bed! We are going to Tuscany very early tomorrow morning. I will post when I get back Sunday!

A presto!

Gabbie