Spring Break: Rome

On Wednesday night Elliot and I arrived in Rome from Florence. Rome is a large city with a lot going on everywhere. My first impression of Rome was dirty and smelly. Then again we arrived the main transport hub, which is hard to keep from getting dirty and smelly. By the time we left, Rome was really growing on me and I liked the city. Our first order of business was finding our hostel. It was only about 6 blocks from the train station in a fairly nice area. There were a lot of little Italian restaurants in the area. At all of the restaurants they had a guy outside trying to get you to eat at the restaurant. One of the guys asked Elliot and I if we were from the States or Germany. We laughed at this and said the States. Then he guessed Chicago and we said close enough. It is so interesting how well the locals can spot out tourists. All over Rome there were scooters, similar to the mo-ped Sam drives around town, whizzing all over. Rome was different than any other city I have ever visited. After checking into our hotel we were led a few blocks to another building with about 8 rooms and 2 bathrooms. The building was on the same block as the Russian Embassy, so the hotel receptionist told us we were in a safe neighborhood. I doubt that the Russian soldiers standing outside the embassy would have cared less if some weirdo came into our building, but nice selling point. This was our least favorite hostel, mainly because we had to share 2 bathrooms with 14 other people. It wasn't too big of a problem, but sometimes we had to wait to use the restrooms and showers. The beds were clean and it suited us just fine since we were hardly in the room. I did spot a spider in our room which didn't really appeal to me either. Amazingly enough, that was only the 2nd spider I have seen since being abroad. As far as I have noticed I don't think they have the bugs and insects like we do in the States. We talked about going out for some gelato this night, but we were too tired from the long day walking all over Florence.

On Thursday we really explored Rome. We started with breakfast in a cafe near our hostel. Then we headed in the direction of the Trevi Fountain. On the way we ran into the Quirinal Palace, which is the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. There were a lot of guards and security, but a pretty nice Palace. It seemed like every block in Rome had some piece of history to admire. We never had to walk to far before we spotted something interesting. Next, we discovered the very impressive Trevi Fountain. The Fontana de Trevi, as it is called in Rome, is the most famous and largest fountain in Rome. It is claimed to be filled with Rome's sweetest waters because the fountain was first supplied water by one of the ancient aqueducts. It is a traditional legend that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain they are sure to return. Of course, Elliot and I threw a coin in and got some pictures. I was surprised by how busy the fountain was. There were tourists everywhere. Below pictures at the fountain.


After the fountain we continued on to the Spanish Steps. Yet another amazing sight to see, also loaded with visitors. We found most of Rome was packed with tourists from all over the world; it is a very popular and exciting city. The Spanish Steps are the longest and widest staircase in Europe. Despite the name, the steps were built by the French to connect the Spanish Square, at the base of the hill, to the French-owned church, Trinita dei Monti, at the top of the hill. At the time the staircase was built, the Spanish Square was home to the Spanish Embassy, headquarters of the Spanish ambassador to the Holy See, hence the name of the steps and square. Now that I gave you a little history lesson, on with our day! Elliot and I climbed to the top of the steps for a legendary view of Rome. Below picture at the Spanish Steps.

Our next stop was Pincian Hill, which overlooks the Piazza del Popolo. The Piazza del Popolo is a large square that literally means the People's Square. There were some nice statues and fountains in the square. We enjoyed the view of the square from Pincian Hill before going to check it out. Italy is famous for all their piazzas or squares. They are always grand areas with impressive statues and fountains. We browsed around this area for awhile until we found a sandwich store for lunch. Below picture of Piazza dei Popolo.

The weather in Rome was incredible. I wore jeans and short sleeves most days; Elliot even wore shorts a couple times. The weather in London is just downright cold, which is probably why Britons are a culture known to complain about the weather. It is most always overcast and hasn't gotten too far above 50 degrees yet. So I was really enjoying the Italian sunshine. Later that afternoon we walked down to the Pantheon, which is the greatest surviving complete Roman structure. Previously a temple, then a church; it is now a shrine to Italy's immortals. The Pantheon was free to enter and a lot more impressive on the interior. We then walked about a block to the Piazza Navona. This square used to be an arena that held athletic competitions and games, which is why it is rectangular shaped. Today there is a prominent statue in the center and fountains on either side. The whole square is surrounded by Italian restaurants. There were tons of vendors in the square selling their artwork, which was interesting to look at. From here we walked to the Piazza Campo de Fiori, which literally means field of flowers. This square obtains this name because it used to actually be a meadow. Today the square holds a large fruit, vegetable and fish market. Normally I am all about the markets, but by this time it was about 3:00 and the market was pretty much over except for smelly fish scraps, so we got out of there pretty quick. Below pictures of the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.


Next we walked down to the Ancient City of Rome. The very first thing we ran into was a large impressive museum. Here the Colosseum came into view. Seeing it for the first time was very impressive and exciting. I have seen hundreds of pictures of the Colosseum, but it was completely different to be standing next to it. We walked all the way around the Colosseum taking pictures and admiring its pure size and history, the whole time marveling in the fact that we were actually there. We decided to try to buy tickets for the next day because I had read in my Rome travel book that lines can be horrendous at this sight. Since it was later in the day the line only took us about 15 minutes and we were able to buy next day tickets. Then we walked up a small little street where a guy suckered us into eating at his restaurant. Since we had been eating sandwiches or pizza by the slice to go the whole trip we decided some Italian pasta would be tasteful. Eating at a sit down restaurant in Italy can be expensive because they charge you just to sit down. Most people were having wine with their meals, which didn't really appeal to us, but even water cost too. Elliot and I both ordered pasta. It was very good, as was the bread we got with it. We headed on our long journey home with full bellies. We got a little lost and ended up walking the wrong way for a little bit. However, we ran into a great cathedral. We also found some gelato for dessert. It ended up taking us an hour and a half to get home from the restaurant by the Colosseum, but we were getting some excellent Rome culture and sight seeing in. Finally we ran into the train station from the night before. I stopped into a little shop to get some Cokes. The clerk asked me where I was from when I was checking out. I told him the States and he then told me he was from Bangladesh. What interesting people you meet traveling! Speaking of getting Cokes. Coke is the cola brand of Europe. Pepsi is hardly sold anywhere. I have yet to see a mountain dew here either. It is all Coke or Diet Coke, which is fine with me because I like Coke the best anyways. Sorry Grandma Debbie! Below pictures of us at the Colosseum.


After making our way home, Elliot and I were pretty worn out and sunburned from walking all over for the entire day. Elliot estimated we walked 6 miles. Wow. We both crashed at 10:00. Another good thing about traveling with Elliot is that we both aren't into the party or nightlife scene. I don't think we would have been able to get up early every day and see all the sights if we would have been out late partying every night.

On Friday we got a Metro pass, which is Rome's underground train transportation system. I wasn't overly impressed with this system as it only had two lines, but it was better than walking all over since we were going to further sights this day. The pass only cost 4 euros too. We started off at the Colosseum, which is a huge, ancient stadium where arched combat went on for 500 years. Criminals, slaves and gladiators fought each other or wild animals, often to death. Since we had gotten tickets the night before we just walked straight past the huge line of people. The inside of the Colosseum was interesting. There were a ton of posters with tidbits of ancient Roman history all over. We spent a good deal of time reading about the history. I learned that some 5,000 animals were slaughtered in a day for 100 days in a continuous gala in 72 AD. By the end of this gala many animals around the area were nearly extinct. We then walked all around the inside of the Colosseum on the top level and bottom level. The Colosseum felt a lot smaller from the inside and I was pretty surprised how much of it had deteriorated. After the Colosseum we visited the Roman Forum, which was the political and civic heart of the empire with the biggest and most important forums in the world. Today it is basically a mishmash of old pillars and jumbled stones which don't make much sense. Elliot and I didn't spend much time here. However we did enjoy the orange trees, cypresses, wild flowers that grew within the remains. More pictures of the Colosseum below.


After some pizza for lunch, we were of to the Vatican City! The Vatican City is a separate sovereign state within Rome, and home to the great basilica of St. Peter's and a series of museums with some of the world's richest and most varied collection of art and objects. St Peter's basilica was by far the most impressive thing we saw on the entire trip. It was absolutely massive with an overwhelming sense of scale and decorative glory. The basilica is located in St. Peter's square with 284 large white columns surrounding it. You can't get a better historic sight either, the basilica was actually built on the site where St. Peter was buried after his crucifixion. Not to mention this is home to the one and only Pope. We had to wait in a long line to get in and go through security first. The first thing we saw were the Swiss Guards. The official guards in charge of protecting the Pope are recruited from Switzerland's four predominantly Catholic schools. Each must be between 19 and 25, at least 5ft 8in. tall and remain unmarried during their tour of duty. Their distinctive red, yellow and blue uniforms that they still wear today were designed by Michelangelo. The interior of the basilica was quite astonishing. Elliot and I spent a good deal of time in the basilica and outside around St. Peter's Square. Pictures below of St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Pope's Guards.






Next we saw the Vatican Museums. There were huge gated walls all around the Vatican Museum. After this we got some great Gelato at a really popular gelateria. They gave you the biggest scoops; it was delicious! After our gelato break we headed to Castel Sant'Angelo. This used to be a fortress and castle, but today it is another museum. We didn't go inside the museum, but the area around it was quite nice to explore. The castle sat right on the river and featured two main bridges with statues lined across them. We actually ran into my roommate here, who was also visiting Rome. Small world. After this we headed home for a little rest before supper. Below pictures of the Catel Sant'Angelo and bridge.


That night we went out to a nice little restaurant in our area. The food was great! We had some really good bruschetta. Elliot order some kind of pasta and encouraged me to try something new. I got this dish that had sausage rolled up inside big noodles with cheese. A little surprising because I didn't realize the dish even contained meat, but it was good. We went to the Trevi Fountain after supper as we had heard it was nice to see this site at night too. The water all lit up, flowing down the statue was pretty cool. However, the fountain was more packed with people at night then in the daylight. I couldn't believe it. Below the Trevi Fountain at night.


Saturday was our last day in Rome. We had pretty much seen everything we wanted to already so we had just planned on hitting up some markets and getting some souvenirs. While we were walking around shopping we saw a scooter rental place. Elliot was intrigued to say the least. We checked into the prices and ended up renting a scooter for a few hours. When in Rome... It was only 35 euros for 3 hours, which is about 50 dollars. I didn't really feel comfortable driving one by myself around the crazy city of Rome, so we just got one and I hopped on the back. The guy gave us helmets and a quick lesson and we were off! It was a pretty crazy, exciting adventure. We started just cruising, but by the end of our time Elliot was driving like a Roman. It was a great way to see all the sights one last time. We went all over. It is amazing how quick we could get around on the little motorized thing! Actually Elliot did a pretty good job driving the entire time and I just sat on the back taking pictures and giving directions. We only had one moment when I freaked out because Elliot went under a tunnel going pretty fast. There were no other scooters in the tunnel, just really fast cars; I thought we were for sure bound for the freeway or something. Ha ha good times. After 3 hours on the scooter we were starving and grabbed our last meal of pizza. We also had some last gelato. By then it was time to get our suitcase and get to the airport. Below pictures of us on the scooter and a picture I got while riding around.


The flight from Rome to London was really nice. It took a little over 2 hours. British Airways treats their passengers just lovely. We got chicken salad sandwiches and drinks. Food and drink on airplanes is a luxury after flying budget airlines that give you nothing at all. Elliot ordered just a bloody mary mix and got a little tiny bottle of vodka to go with it for free. We really couldn't believe that! We got into London at about 10:00 and just had to take the tube journey home.

Overall I really enjoyed Rome. There was so much to see there. I had been warned that it was a pretty dangerous city with a lot of pickpockets and creepy men. I didn't have trouble with either. The men would look at you and didn't care who noticed, but they never said anything or made me feel in danger. However, it probably helped I was with Elliot the whole trip! Hopefully, the fountain legend holds true and I go back some day. The whole Spring Break trip was wonderful. It was a life changing experience that really made me realize how big the world is. I can't wait to return to all of the wonderful places I visited.

Spring Break: Florence

On Wednesday morning Elliot and I left Venice to go to Florence, Italy. It was about a 2 ½ hour train ride to Florence. The country side between Venice and Florence was jaw dropping. The landscape was so green, lush and hilly. There were pastel colored stucco homes with clay tiled roofs spread all over the country side as well. Florence was just as beautiful. I noticed a lot more English speaking tourists here; I am not for sure why.

The first thing we did when we arrived at the train station in Florence was to store our luggage and buy a book on what to do in Florence. We were not for sure if we would go straight to Rome from Venice or stop in Florence, so we hadn’t done much reading up on the city. Florence was full of history and art. We first visited 2 of the main Cathedral’s. First we saw the Santa Maria del Fiore. The Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world including its main feature, the massive dome that sits atop the church. The church was quite impressive along with the dome. Across from the Cathedral was the Florence Baptistery of St. John. Elliot was interested in seeing this basilica after learning about the doors in Art class. The artistically important bronze doors, called the Gates of Paradise by Michelangelo, took about 25 years to create and depict stories from the Old Testament. These doors were quite the attraction and very intriguing. All of these ancient sights come with so much history and meaning that it is hard to grasp in one view. Below pictures of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral and the bronze doors from the basilica.



While we were in Florence we did a lot of wondering around too. We just walked and walked as we bumped into famous sights. We went to the most famous square in Florence, Piazza della Signoria. This political square held multiple statues, including the famous copy of Micelangelo’s David. The statues were all naked (or starkers as they say in London). However, everyone was taking pictures and acting like they were amazing, so we did too. We were glad we bought a travel book on Florence so we could learn about the history as we saw each sight. For lunch we grabbed some sandwiches. It was very good, but more expensive than Venice. The bridge, Ponte Vecchio (meaning old bridge) going across the Arno River in Florence was my favorite. The bridge is the only surviving bridge from Florence’s medieval days and still lined with shops across the bridge. From the side it just looked like homes or buildings in a row along the bridge. They were all stucco, painted in colors of yellow, orange, and terracotta. It was wonderful. Below pictures of the Ponte Vecchio and the David statue.


We continued our walk across the Arno River and found the Pitti Palace. It was massive and quite a sight to see. The Pitti Palace is an ancient, mainly Renaissance palace. Today the Palace houses a vast collection of art and serves as a gallery. Elliot decided to take the map this day and lead us around Florence, since I am usually quite controlling about that. He took us on quite the trek around the Pitti Palace. The day we were in Florence it was quite warm. I had some excellent strawberry gelato here. Even though Elliot normally isn’t a dessert fan, he enjoyed the gelato in Italy! We ended up wondering around an area outside of town and I was starting to get worried because I didn’t see any other tourists around and we didn’t know which way to go. However after about an hour of walking, Elliot led us to a busy highway which we followed back into town. We came upon this absolutely wonderful terrace overlooking Florence with the best view of the countryside and the town. We found out this was Piazzale Michelangelo, renowned for its panoramic views over Florence and the Arno Valley. There were many other tourists here admiring the view. We got some great pictures shown below.



Then we walked back into town and over the old bridge I liked so much. The majority of the shops on the bridge were gold and silver jewelry stores. Over the bridge there were many designer stores, which Florence is known for. We found an awesome street market and browsed in there for a while. Silk and leather goods were extremely popular in Florence and there were many stalls selling these items. I bought a lovely pink, silk scarf for 5 euros and a small leather bracelet for 2 euros. We found the street market to be very reasonably priced, but you had to search for good quality sometimes. Elliot was thinking about purchasing and Italian football jersey. He bargained with at a lot of stalls, but never got one. I think he just likes to bargain! I was considering buying a small leather handbag, but we couldn’t get an offer lower than 15 euro, so I passed. The vendors in Italy were not as easy to bargain with as France, bust still fun. We ordered another pizza for supper and ate it in a nice park. One would think that Elliot and I would have gotten sick of pizza, but we never did. It was just that good! Then it was time to catch our 18:30 train to Rome. We got our luggage from storage and headed to the platform when we saw that our train was delayed a half hour. Our Venice friend, Francesca, warned us about the transportation in Italy being slow and late. The train ride to Rome was only about 2 hours. Elliot must have been tired because he slept the entire way. I enjoyed the sunset and some last views of the countryside on the trip. Below are a couple more pictures of Florence!


I really enjoyed Florence. I was glad we took a little day trip there. However, I was also glad we only spent 1 day there because I felt we covered everything there was to see in a day. I guess if you were really into Art and wanted to pay money and spend a lot of time in the Museums and Galleries, it may take longer. My friends, Carissa and Allison, took a cooking class in Florence, which they greatly enjoyed too.
The best thing about traveling with Elliot instead of girls is less drama. When girls go to pick out a restaurant or activity it is a process and takes forever. It always seems like every girl wants something different. Traveling with Elliot is easy because we pretty much like to do the same things and know each other well enough to make decisions without too much hassle. We have learned to compromise and let each other do what we like too. For instance, Elliot tags along while I shop a bit and I tag along with him to look at fancy cars and relax in parks.

Spring Break: Venice

Monday started with another very early morning. Elliot and I had to be at the train station in Paris by 5:00. We left our hotel at 4:30 in the morning to allow plenty of time to walk to the large train station where our train to the airport departed from. This time the train to the airport was on time so it wasn't too stressful. On the train I was reading my travel book on Venice. As we were getting off at the airport stop, a girl about our age approached us. She said she saw me reading the Venice book and that she was from Venice. We figured out we are on the same flight and she asked us if we minded if she followed us to the correct gate in the airport. She also told us that we could ask her any questions we had on Venice. Her English was very good. The checking of our luggage, security and finding the correct gate were all easy and stress free this time. The girl from Venice was named Francesca. She was in her first year at University, studying engineering (don't ask me why she needed our help finding the right gate). She was very helpful with questions about transportation, directions and etc. Francesca was quite comical too. She warned us that no one in Italy would speak English. I thought this was strange since she was so good at it and said it was her favorite subject in school. The flight from Paris to Venice took a little over an hour. Francesca offered to help us get on the correct public bus to the island, which was cheaper than the coach services. I didn't want her to have to wait for us to get our luggage and go through customs and told her so. However, she insisted that she didn't mind because the only thing waiting for her at home was studying for physics. She thought Paris was freezing too and told us that Venice would be a lot warmer. Unfortunately when we stepped outside it was chilly. Francesca said that the weather was not normal, as 5 days prior she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It was nicer than Paris though and NO rain! I asked her if the cold streak would last long or if the the next day would be warm. She told me she didn't know, this weather was not normal so maybe it would snow the next day. Elliot thought her comedy was hilarious, especially making fun of my questions! Francesca got us tickets from the desk in Italian. Although Italian is a lot like Spanish I didn't understand any of what she said. The bus ride to Venice was interesting. Francesca rode with us about halfway before she got off on her stop to head home. We thanked her greatly and she instructed us to just stay on the bus until the last stop. After Francesca's stop the bus started to get really full. There were so many locals squeezing on the bus. Everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder and more people kept getting on the bus. Elliot even told me he didn't think it was safe, but I wasn't getting off at this point. I bet there were more than 50 people on the small bus. Elliot and I were the only tourists on the bus too. I started to wonder about Francesca's directions. Eventually we made it to the last stop and everyone poured out. Here we began to see Venice, other tourists and the grand canal.

We walked across a huge foot bridge to the actual island of Venice. It was gorgeous. I instantly fell in love with this place. Right in front of us was the grand canal that runs through Venice. All along the canal were wonderful little buildings, shops, restaurants and more. There were lots of boats and gondolas cruising down the canal in every direction. Our first order of business was to find our hostel. It took us a few minutes to find the entrance, but it was really close to the area where we were dropped off and crossed to the main island. The entrance to our hostel was right on the grand canal. As typical in Italy, we already knew our room would be a few minutes walk from the entrance in another location near by. Again it was too early to check in , but at least we could leave our luggage and go explore. Below pictures in Venice of the Grand Canal and side canals.


We started off wondering along the grand canal. Everything in Venice is based around the canal, as it is the only way of transportation on the island. We actually saw an ambulance boat, police boat, and food and linen being delivered by boat. There were absolutely no cars after we crossed the huge foot bridge, only boats. I loved this aspect as did Elliot. The first thing we did was buy some pizza for lunch. There were pizzerias all over. Welcome to Italy! The slices of pizza were huge, delicious and cheap. We continued to walk along the grand canal. There were many side canals off the grand canal with small foot bridges to cross them. It seemed like there were a million opportunities for a great picture. Everything was so picturesque. I can't explain how original and beautiful this place is. Venice easily became my favorite place that I have ever been to in my life. There are only 3 main bridges that cross the grand canal, so if you want to cross the canal you need to walk to one of the bridges or go across by boat. Elliot and I had crossed one of the main bridges on our walk. A gondola ride across the grand canal only cost a half of a Euro. Elliot and I decided to try this out since we needed to get back across to go to our hostel and it was cheap. They fit about 10 people on the gondola and 2 gondoliers/oarsmen rowed us across. It only took about 2 minutes to cross the canal, but it was fun. Below pictures of gondolas along the canal and one in action!


After we got back across the canal we walked back to our hostel and checked in. The woman at the receptionist desk led us about a block to another building with about 5 rooms and bathrooms. This was our nicest room with a refrigerator and television. It was nice to freshen up after traveling for so long. Next we set out to explore the side of the island that our hostel was on. Again we got lost among all the alleys and canals. We would often come upon a stream of tourists and follow them in the direction toward a cathedral or plaza. There were tons of little plazas all over Venice. We decided to try some gelato, which is famous Italian ice cream. It is slightly different than American ice cream because it isn't kept frozen, just cooled. There are other differences that give it an amazing taste too. Gelato comes in all sorts of different flavors. My favorite flavors were fragola, which is strawberry, and caramel. Elliot enjoyed the chocolate, nut and mint flavors. It was so delicious. We walked around for quite a while eating gelato and exploring the island. We found the Santa Maria Gloriosa church. It was very grand and impressive. When we asked Francesca what the best thing to do in Venice, she told us to just get lost. We found out that it is impossible not to get lost on all the side canals and streets in Venice, but it is also very easy to find out which way to go. There are little yellow signs everywhere pointing the way toward the main plazas, canal, and attractions. Venice is very small too, so before you walk too far you will run into water, which is either the canal or the edge of the island. We got pizza again for supper as we explored all over. We called it an early night again this night as we were tired from getting up at 4:00 and there is not a whole lot of night life in Venice. Below pictures of Elliot and I on a side bridge in Venice.


Tuesday was our full day in Venice. We decided we were going to really discover the island this day. It was a wonderful day outside and the sun was shining. We started off the morning by crossing one of the main bridges over the canal. We got some very good fruit pastries for breakfast. Elliot also had a piece of pizza. Then we went to the train station and ordered our tickets for the following day to go to Florence. Next we bought an all day pass on the Vaporetto, which is Venice's water bus. It is the main form of transportation around Venice. It is very similar to a bus system with routes and stops, except these are boats on water. An all day pass cost 16 euros, which was kind of expensive, but definitely worth it. There were different boats that took different routes and stopped at various places along the grand canal. After a little studying, the vaporetto system was very easy to figure out. We got on the boat that made all the stops along the grand canal first. It was great. The boat ride was smooth and the stops were efficient and fast. We got to see all along the grand canal. We got off at the San Marco district. This district is the most popular area in Venice and overloaded with tourists. All of the biggest tourist attractions in Venice are within the San Marco district. We saw the San Marco Basilica, a great medieval building which was constructed in 832 to house the body of St. Mark. Everything on the basilica was over the top. Elliot and I were greatly impressed. Right beside the basilica was the Palazzo Ducale, which is a beautiful gothic building home to Venice's various offices of state for almost a thousand years. Another great sight in this area was the Civico Correr Museum. All of these famous sights were located in the San Marco plaza. In the middle of this plaza was the giant, detached belltower from the San Marco Basilica called the Campanile. There were lots of shops and places to explore all around this area too. We did find this part of Venice to be more expensive than the 15 minute vaporetto ride to our part of Venice. We headed back to our side to get some lunch. Then we rode the vaporetto to the final stop. This actually took us to the other side the island where we came from on the bus to the airport. We walked in this area for a while before heading back. Next we went to the big market in Venice. Although this didn't compare in size to the markets in London, it was still very interesting. There were an excellent selection of bright red tomatoes and strawberries. Elliot and I got a bundle of strawberries to share. The fish portion of this market was quite smelly so we didn't hang around too long. A lot of people asked me when I got home if Venice smelled, being on the canal and all. However, Elliot and I didn't think it smelled bad at all. I am sure much consideration goes into keeping the canal clean and fresh smelling. Below pictures of the San Marco Basilica and Palazzo Ducale. In the last picture is one of the walking bridges that crosses the grand canal. You can also see a gondola going under the bridge. On the right side there is a boat, which is a vaparetto, the water bus we took all around.



This day was full of a lot of exploring again. It was so fun to just walk around until we ran into something exciting. We visited the two other bridges that cross the grand canal. We also rode the vaporetto all around the island, taking everything in. We ate even more pizza and gelato. Venice had Kit-Kat gelato, which was another of Elliot and my favorites. We also did a little souvenir shopping. Murano glass is extremely popular in Venice. Elliot got a Murano glass clock and I got a little gondola figure made of glass. There were also a ton of glass beads and jewelry. Surprisingly, the small pieces and figures of glass were not very expensive at all. After supper we went back out and rode the vaparetto at night. It was fun to see the entire island lit up. The weather stayed wonderful all day and we both got a little sun burnt. Francesca said we had to try a Spritz, which is a typical Venetian drink. I can't even tell you all the things that were inside, but we found a local pub and Elliot tried one. I thought it was awful and I don't think Elliot was too fond of it either. However, we were glad we tried it and got to experience a little Venice nightlife. A lot of the locals just sat outside the pub with their dog while they had a drink beside the waters of the canal. Below picture of the amazing pizza!

Venice was mine and Elliot's favorite place. We were talking to a Brazilian couple in our hostel and they said they loved it too because it was like no other place in the world. It was so true. Venice is like one of those place you read about or see in movies and think you will never go to. If you have some spare time and some extra cash, I highly recommend Venice. It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences.

I apologize for being so far behind on my blogs. I went to Ireland this weekend and have just been so busy (I do have schoolwork too!) I am going to try to update all of them this week as well as one about Ireland. So check regularly! There is an interesting thing taking place in the UK and Europe right now, for those of you that haven't heard. Iceland's volcano that is erupting has caused all of the UK and much of the rest of Europe to ground all flights since Thursday evening because of volcanic ash in the atmosphere. It is quite the situation over here and people that are stranded are going absolutely nuts. My program director is currently stranded in the States, as he was there visiting Central College. Due to all the backlog he doesn't even know if he will make it home in the next week! I was supposed to go to Spain this coming weekend, but I doubt that will happen now. I just hope this all gets cleared up before my Mom and Aunt Karen come! I will keep you posted on all the events!

Spring Break: Paris

Okay, I have decided to split up my blogs for Spring Break by destination. So this is the first part of my Spring Break in Paris! This blog is bound to be really long because I saw and experienced so much. Plus lots of great pictures!

Elliot and I had to wake up very early on Friday morning to be at the Tube station by 5:00 am. I had looked up the Tube routes to the airport online and it said that the first train running to the airport left at 5:05. Well something went wrong with scheduling or what not because Elliot and I waited until 5:38 before the first train came to take us to the airport. We were officially behind schedule and we were pretty sure we would miss our flight as it takes an hour to get to the airport by Tube, plus checking our bag, going through security, and finding our gate. We got to the airport at 6:38 and had to be through security by 6:50 and boarded by 7:05. We literally got off the tube running. Thankfully we had done online check in the night before, so we just had to check our suitcase. The clerk checking our suitcase told us that we were probably too late for our luggage to make our flight. He said to check for it on the carousel in Paris just in case, but we would probably have to file a missing baggage claim and then have it delivered to our hotel when it arrived in Paris. At this point I didn't care I was worried about making the plane. Then we ran to security. We got through fairly quickly, except I kind of tried to cut someone in line and a very nasty airport security guy caught me and made me wait twice as long. I was not a happy camper. However, we made it to our gate and everyone was just starting to board. It was such a relief to sit down on the plane after quite a stressful morning. The trip to Paris was only about 50 minutes and we got some breakfast on the plane which really pleased Elliot. This trip we didn't fly through the budget airlines because I booked the trip with a student travel agent to ensure everything went smoothly!

Our bag ended up making it to Paris on our flight and I was so happy when I saw it cruising down the carousel with its little American Tourist logo on the front! We had to take a train from the airport to the center of Paris. I was really tired from everything that had already taken place in the morning, but so excited to be in Paris. The first thing we did was to find our hotel. We were both surprised when we found it right away. We were not able to check in right away, but we could at least drop off our luggage. I found the Metro (Paris' public transportation system)really easy to use. I had heard that it is less confusing than the Tube here in London, but I also think it was easier because I have mastered the Tube and have to use it to get around every day. The first thing we did in Paris was go to Place de la Concorde. This is Paris' largest square. From here we could see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre Museum. It was the first stop on the tour of Paris that our travel book recommended. It was a great start to our weekend. From here we walked through the Garden of Tuileries to the Louvre Museum. The garden was lined with Chestnut trees and there were statues all over. It was so wonderful, but the weather was not. It started to rain fairly hard as we were walking through the garden. When we came upon the Louvre Museum we were both amazed by the pure size of the building. This Museum is larger than any Museum I have been to in London and houses some very famous pieces of artwork. We hadn't planned on going to the Museum until later on, but since it was raining we just dove right in. I actually got in free with my visa for my internship. Finally the $250 I had to pay to get it paid off a bit. The Louvre was so immense; we didn't know where to start. Elliot and I walked around like lost kids just admiring the different pieces of artwork. Finally we found the famous Mona Lisa. Yes, I actually saw the original copy of the Mona Lisa. I couldn't believe it. However, it wasn't as impressive as I had imagined. The painting was actually quite small and dark, plus the area around it was crowded with tourists. Some of my favorite things in the Museum were the huge paintings that covered an entire wall. We didn't even make it through the whole place before we were exhausted and starving. I don't know if it would be possible to get through the entire Museum in one day. Below is a picture of the Lourve Museum.

Afterwards we went back to our hotel to check in. We stopped at a super market across the street from our hotel and got some supplies to make sandwiches. Our hotel room turned out to be pretty nice. The building and furnishings were old, but it was clean, which is all that matters to me! After a little nap and freshening up, we were ready to hit the city for the night. Of course we headed to the Eiffel Tower. What an amazing place. I loved the Eiffel Tower. It was so impressive. I never got tired of looking at it. It had stopped raining at this point, so we really enjoyed the view and the area. While we were taking pictures all of the sudden the Tower stated to light up all over. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. The Tower looked like it was sparkling! This lasted for about 5 minutes. It turns out that this happens every hour on the hour at night, but Elliot and I had no idea and it was a great surprise. We enjoyed the area for a while before heading home. On the way home I decided I needed a crepe. Crepes are the famous food in Paris and there are crepe stands all over. Crepes are just really thin pancakes wrapped up with delicious food inside. My Granny used to make pancakes similar to crepes and my Grandma made them all the time for me when I was little. My mom has even mastered these thin pancakes. Normally on my pancakes I use sugar or syrup. There are many toppings for crepes though. The most popular is nutella, a hazelnut chocolate, famous in Paris. The first night I got a crepe with nutella and carmel. It was amazing, definitely one of my favorite foods. However, I ended up spilling all down my coat and it was a little bit of an ordeal. I was just hoping that I could get the stains out. The hotel manager saw me scrubbing my coat in the kitchen back at the hotel. He offered me some detergent and it did the trick. This gave me a very pleasant impression of the French people, after previously hearing that they were rude and snotty. Once my spillage was taken care of we crashed after a long day!Below are pictures of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night and a crepe stand.


Saturday was a very busy day. We really dominated the city. We started off back at the gardens and the Louvre, just to take pictures of the outside since it was raining the previous day. Then we walked along the Siene River, the main river that runs through Paris, to the Notre Dame Cathedral. We saw a lot of great sights on the way to the Cathedral and the walk ended up taking a while as we took our time taking everything in. The weather was a quite brisk and I wished I had brought my mittens. For some reason I thought Paris would be warmer than London. I was wrong. Elliot and I were both very impressed when we eventually arrived at the Notre Dame Cathedral. The architecture was incredible. There was so much detail on the building. We looked around for a while and got some pictures. We considered going inside to see the interior, but the line was horrendous. At this point it started to pour rain anyways. We both got soaked even though we had umbrellas. This made for a cold rest of the day, but there was so much to see that we didn't mind. After the Cathedral we walked around the area for a while. We visited a quaint little park nearby. Then we headed down a busy little street and I got my second crepe. This time I had sugar and bananas. It was delicious as well. Elliot doesn't like crepes and I couldn't even get him to try one with meat and cheese. So I basically indulged in these tasty treats for the both of us! Below pictures of Notre Dame Cathedral.


Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe, which is a monument to Napoleon's conquests. The Arc is in the middle of a huge roundabout which cars drive ferociously around. Elliot and I couldn't figure out how to get to the middle where the Arc was without crossing this incredible traffic hazard. There were no stoplights or cross walks and cars were coming from what seemed like every direction. So we waited about 5 minutes until there was a clearing, then we ran as fast as we could. We made it and it was actually a thrilling experience. The Arc was massive. We spent a little bit of time admiring the monument and getting some pictures. Then we saw people near the Arc taking steps going underground. There was a walking subway that went beneath the crazy roundabout. Apparently we totally missed this on the other side and wouldn't have had to almost kill ourselves crossing the first time. We used this to get back across and found it was a much safer option. Next we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it in the daylight and get some pictures. It was still just as impressive. The sun even came out for a while. We got some great pictures. I am so glad I had my new camera for this trip. Below pictures of Elliot and I at the Eiffel Tower and the Arc.


Next we headed to a district in Paris called Montmarte. This was recommended by our travel book and by the French student in my London program. The area was full of steep hills and staircase streets, but the views were fabulous. There were a lot of restaurant and food stalls, as well as souvenir shops. There were small paintings of the Eiffel Tower for sale all over. At the top of this districts' hills sat Scare Coeur, a white basilica that hoovers over Paris. The views from the Church were incredible. We could see all over Paris. There were music performers and artists all around. It was lovely. This was my favorite thing in Paris, besides watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle. We spent a while here just taking it all in. On the way home Elliot got a hot dog that he had been craving and I stopped in a bakery for some bread. The bread in Paris was wonderful. We returned to our hotel for a little bit to regroup after the long day of sightseeing. We went back out that night to the Eiffel Tower. We watched it sparkle again. We also bought some souvenirs this night. There were a lot of guys all over the the Eiffel Tower area selling little Eiffel Tower souvenirs. They had silver, gold, rustic, light up, key chains and every thing you could think of Eiffel Towers. Elliot and I thought it was very strange that all the men selling these souvenirs were black. There was not a single white guy doing this. We also noticed that most of the people with the dirtier jobs in Paris, like cleaning the Metro, were black as well. This was very different from London where I feel like the lower jobs are equally shared by different races. It was very easy to bargain with the sellers and we got some good deals on souvenirs. We would learn more about these sellers later on. On the way home I got my third crepe, nutella and carmel again. Yum! Below picture of the basilica.


The third day we were in Paris, Easter, we took a train outside of Paris to Versailles. Versailles is the former palace of King Louis XIII. It was here that the French royalty lived their decadent life until their excesses spurred a revolution. The palace was extremely extravagant and the grounds surrounding the palace were as well. Elliot and I had to wait in line to get into the palace. Everything inside was over the top. Statues, gold trim, chandeliers, paintings, mirrors, and more decorated the interior of the palace. Nothing was left undone or skimped on. The gardens were my favorite. There were fountains, blooming trees, shaped ponds, sculpted bushes and more. It was nice to walk around in gardens, until it started raining again. Our weather in Paris was terrible, but we still had an amazing time. After returning to Paris form Versailles, we walked along the Siene River again. There were a lot of little vendors selling their paintings, as well as other souvenirs. I got my fourth crepe on the long walk and some paintings. Next we went to the cemetery in Paris where Jim Morrison is buried. Elliot is a big fan and really wanted to see his grave site. Unfortunately we got there right at 6 and the cemetery was already closed. There were huge walls all around the cemetery, so we couldn't even see inside. This was a little disappointing, since it was one of Elliot's important sights to see. On our way home from the cemetery we stopped at the main train station in Paris and bought our train tickets to the airport for the following morning. Below pictures at Versailles.


Our last night in Paris we visited the Eiffel Tower one last time. I was pretty excited that I got to witness it sparkle all 3 nights. Elliot even enjoyed it for the third time. I got my fifth crepe this night with just plain sugar. We decided to buy a couple more Eiffel Tower souvenirs. A seller approached us and we started chatting with him. He asked us where we were from. Then we asked him the same. He was from Africa. Elliot then asked him why he moved to Paris and he started telling us his story. He came from Africa to Paris in 2004 when he was twenty years old. He has a wife and a child that he has never seen. He has to stay in Paris for 10 years to get what he called papers (I am assuming these papers are citizenship). In 2014, after he gets his papers, he can go back to Africa and then move his wife and child back with him to France. He asked us what we were studying and we just stood there talking for a long time. His name was Samba. Elliot asked him if he had friends in Paris and he said no. He explained that it was lonely. Samba said he came with no friends and has only made a few that also sell the souvenirs. He sleeps in the Metro every night for €6, providing he sells enough stuff to pay to sleep there. He explained that he has to send money back to his family in Africa too. Wow! This was quite a humbling experience. Here I was eating a crepe and he probably didn't have anything to eat. We ended up buying a couple Eiffel Towers from him. We didn't bargain down very far because we both felt so bad for him. He gave us two little key chains for free too. Before we left, he wanted our cell phone numbers and email address. He was so happy to meet us. I think he was just incredibly lonely. He gave us great big hugs as we started to say goodbye. I gave him a couple euros for food because I felt really terrible for him. He said that he is happy because he is helping his family and he only had 4 more years until he can make it better for them. I couldn't even imagine being in his position. He was 26 and so lonely. I wanted to get a picture of him and Elliot and he was pretty excited about that. He put down his hood and wanted to look good for the picture. Then he wanted a picture with me too. He wants us to send him the pictures. So after some more hugs we said goodbye to our new friend Samba. Elliot and I both left him feeling pretty fortunate for everything we had. As we were walking away we heard someone yelling our names. We turned around and there was Samba. He wanted to give us a gift. He gave us the largest Eiffel Tower he had for sale. It was over a foot tall. We didn't want to accept the gift, knowing how much it probably cost him. However, he genuinely wanted us to have it. It was an incredible experience that made a lot of things come into perspective. Below pictures of us with Samba.


Overall I loved Paris. The language barrier wasn't that difficult. The food was great. The weather was unfortunate, but didn't hold us back. I thought the city was dirtier than London, but not horrible. It didn't find the city to be as fashionable as it is proclaimed to be, but still impressive. I was worried that I had too high of expectations for the city, as some people in the program told me that it wasn't what they expected it to be. However, I thought it was great. I can't wait to go back again!

The Week before Spring Break

Before I blog all about Spring Break I have to blog about the week prior to break, since I didn’t have time before I left! Besides it could take me a little while to write about all my adventures from the past week!

The Sunday after arriving home from Switzerland I went to Palm Sunday Service at St Paul’s Cathedral with Carissa, Allison and my roommate. Normally it costs to view the inside of the Cathedral, but if you go for a service it is free. We went early to ensure we would get a seat. However, when we arrived we were instructed to go to the square/courtyard across from the Cathedral. Here we were given a palm and a ceremony bulletin. Quite a lot of people were gathered in the square, many of them tourists. I have learned in class that the British people are not very religious and therefore do not attend church regularly. After a little while a processional was lead into the square by 2 donkeys. There were priests, a choir, and many people waving palms that followed. A priest addressed the crowd and the choir sang a song. Then everyone in the square followed the processional into the Cathedral. Walking through the Cathedral’s huge doors was neat and the interior was incredible. The architecture and detail was excellent. Once everyone got settled the service continued. It was quite a long service, but really interesting. Then it was time for communion. Even though I am not Catholic I was able to take communion because I have been baptized. I was sure communion would take forever since the church was packed with hundreds of people. To my surprise, there were many elders serving and it went quite quickly. The process was interesting. Instead of bread, they used the really thin wafers (didn’t taste very good), which an elder handed to you. Then there was another elder holding a large cup of wine, which everyone was drinking out of! I was very surprised that with all the diseases and stuff going around today that there was just a community cup. The elder holding the large cup would just tip it a bit for the person to get a little sip. Then he had a cloth to wipe away drips and the next person in line would take their sip. Most people were sipping from the cup, but I did see some people just dipping their wafer in the wine. I was in line behind Carissa and Allison. They must have thought the process was a little unsanitary too because they both just took a wafer and skipped the entire wine part! After seeing the looks they got from the elders, I just decided to dip my wafer in the wine (also not very tasteful). Seeing the inside of St. Paul’s Cathedral was great and I was very glad I went to the service for the experience. The rest of Sunday I spent unpacking and recovering from my Switzerland trip. Below picture of St Paul's Cathedral.

On Monday I spent the majority of the day working on a Midterm paper for my Advertising class, as well as, getting ready for Spring Break, registering for next semester’s classes at home and journaling for my British Experience class. I also had to get my camera situation figured out because mine died after the trauma in Switzerland. With Spring Break coming up, I didn’t want to go to Paris, Venice and Rome without a camera to document my trip! Instead of buying an expensive UK camera here, my lovely Mother and Jon helped me out. I picked out the camera I wanted online through the Target website and my Mom went and picked it up for me. The biggest problem was shipping the camera across the pond in 3 days so I would have it for my trip. The 3 day shipping charges were pretty outrageous, but my Mom sent it anyways. That is why I love her.

Tuesday I had my internship. Not too much exciting happened this day. I worked on the April newsletter for the organization the entire day. After a lot of editing and multiple drafts, I finally perfected it. For lunch we went to the Turkish café again. I had a ham and cheese omelet with chips. The waitress told me I had a nice accent! Ha ha! My supervisor gave me an Easter treat before I left and told me to enjoy break. Right after I got off work I had to go pick Elliot up at the train station. Even though we didn’t leave for Spring Break until Friday morning, he was already on Spring Break and decided that he would explore some more of London for a few days.

On Wednesday morning I sent Elliot to the Natural History Museum while I had my Advertising class. Then I met up with him and we headed to the Science Museum. For lunch I introduced Elliot to pasties, my favorite food here (I believe I explained these previously). We also went to Leister Square and Covent Garden later in the afternoon to walk around and browse. In Leister Square, home to all the theatre productions in London, we checked on tickets for a show. We had both heard that Avenue Q was really funny so we ended up getting tickets for 20 pounds each to go that night. We browsed around the markets at Covent Garden and did a little window shopping. For supper we made grilled cheeses and then headed to the show. It was interesting. I did laugh quite a bit, but the show was different than I expected. Some of the actors were puppets, which was interesting to watch as the actors tried to perform through a puppet. Elliot really enjoyed the show. My camera also came this day! Expensive, but fast! I love it. It is a lot better camera then my old one and I can’t wait to take lots of new pictures.

Thursday I had class in the morning. Then Elliot and I went to Oxford Street to do a little last minute shopping for our trip. Elliot got a very nice Wales shirt at one of the stores and I got some new walking shoes. I brought my running shoes with me to London, but I am walking in them so much that they are starting to get worn out. So I found a great pair of pink Nike’s that were only 25 pounds! They are loud, bright pink shoes, but I am a trendy girl and can pull them off. They made their big debut in Paris and I love them. The rest of the day was spent packing and getting ready for our trip. We were going to try to just fit everything in our backpacks for the whole week so we didn’t have to check a bag. However, packing one backpack for an entire week turned out to be a disaster for me. So we ended up sharing a big suitcase with plenty of room for clothes and extra room to bring souvenirs home!

Best Spring Break Ever

To all my wonderful blog followers -

I am sorry I didn't have a chance to blog this week, but I have been a busy girl. Now I am currently leaving for Spring Break. Elliot and I are going to Paris, Venice and Rome! I am so excited and can't wait to update you all with my new endeavours. However, I won't be able to until I return back to London next Sunday!

Kiley