Perugia

Ciao all!

It's been busy here in Italy! Last time I left off, I think it was Thursday evening. The next day, I went to the Vatican again and saw some more artwork which was nice but I wasn't really feeling a hundred percent. I have had a cold this past weekend which has not been pleasant to say the least.

Later in the day, Melissa and I went to the train station, got our tickets, and were off to Perugia, a small town in central Italy. We arrived there later in the evening, and accidentally got off on the wrong stop! We were one stop away, but we ran into a lady who was really helpful and showed us the way to get to the hostel.

Perugia is hilly! We had to climb a lot of hills and take a lots of steps (and escalators!) to get there, but we did in fact make it. After settling in, we found out we got a room to ourselves and went and had dinner. We ordered mixed bruschette and got pasta. I ordered some penne with tomato sauce (it was better than how I'm describing it) and Melissa got some sort of pesto pasta which looked delicious as well. Afterwards, we were beat and went to bed.

The next day, we got some hot drinks (me, hot chocolate, her, cappuccino) and some croissants with nutella in the middle and had a traditional Italian breakfast. Afterwards, we wandered around the city. For lunch, we got falafels and then explored some more. After taking a break in the late afternoon, we went again to the same place to eat. This time, I got pizza and Melissa got risotto, a rice dish of sorts. We went out to a bar, had a few drinks, then called it a night; both of us were beat.

The next morning, we woke up, and I felt even worse. After getting some sandwiches from a cafe, we made our way back to the train station and headed home. It was a lot of fun walking around, looking at the sights and was a nice break from hectic school.

Next weekend, we're all going with our program to see Naples which should be really neat! The weekend after that is Paris, and after that, I plan on sleeping! Also possibly doing some homework! ;)

Ciao for now!

 View from our hostel!

 Not yet ready to face the day.

 View at night!

 A church we found.

 It was very windy that day!

 She took a lot of pictures of being outside the window...

 A fountain in the piazza.

Ready to leave! Stupid cold.

More Pics from Barcelona!

Here's just a quick update on my day today. I woke up at 7 to go to class, and we visited Sant' Agostino Church and another one I have forgotten the name of which housed works from Raphael, Michelangelo, Lippi, and Romano. No big deal. After class, I studied a little with some friends for my Italian quiz which I thought I did pretty well on. We got some pizza for lunch and later had gelato afterwards- I had chocolate fondente ofcourse. I decided even though it was overcast, I'd walk home since it takes just as long to walk back in rush hour as it does to take the bus or metro. Now I'm back in my apartment chilling!

Tomorrow I have my classes and am planning to hang out with a friend! Hopefully gelato will be in the picture.

Ciao!

BTW, Here are some pictures from my trip to look at for your pleasure.

 We walked around A LOT.

 Going out!

 Palm trees are everywhere in Spain!

 Barcelona's Arch

 A gothic church in the city

 My salad... I gave them my eggs lol.

 Enjoying our meal out!

 All gone!

 There's always room for dessert.

 Side effects notwithstanding

 The city was very beautiful at night, all of the fountains being lit up.

 The next day we went to a crepe place.

 Chocolate is the only way to go. I like how everyone here knows I'm addicted to chocolate and soda.

 Another Cathedral

 One with me in it to my mother's request

 In the park

 A cool fountain we found in the park

Barcelona

Ciao,

I thought I'd write a little bit about my trip this past weekend. After going to the Vatican, I headed over to my friend's apartment where the six of us met up to leave. We left and took a taxi to Rome termini which is the train and bus station in Rome. Afterwards, we took a bus to the airport and got dinner there, which wasn't too expensive considering it was airport food in Europe. I got a chicken sandwich which was nice considering I hadn't had chicken in awhile. We then waited for a bit to board and were soon on our way to Spain!

We didn't land until close to midnight, and had to take a taxi to the hotel. It was a really nice one, and it had 2 beds and a rollout bed as well and was stocked with a minifridge and a nice bathroom. My friend Lydia's mom works at a Marriot and got a discount on the room so we didn't have to pay as much... always a plus!

The next day, we woke up and ended up at a pita place where we all had a delicious chicken pita with fries and a drink. It was very tastey and VERY filling. We then walked around the city, looking at tourist spots, cathedrals and whatnot. We ended up at the dock where we chilled for a bit, taking in the rays and the beautiful sights. Overall, it was a very relaxing trip, which was a nice break from hectic Rome.

Later, we went out to dinner at a buffet where there was a salad bar, pasta, pizza, woks, and dessert. I took advantage of the soft serve icecream for sure, which tasted so different from gelato. It was good nevertheless. A little later, Jocelyn and I went out to see the nightlife in Barcelona. Apparently we left too early though --- a lot of people don't go out until 2 or 3 in the morning! I don't know how they do it.

The next day, we had Mcdonalds, which I hadn't had since London. Every once in awhile it's nice to have french fries and chicken nuggets, even though they're terrible for you! Afterwards we wandered around some more, exploring the city. By the time dinner rolled around, the group split up and three of us went out to a more traditional Spanish restaurant where I had a mediterrenean salad and bread. Since that wasn't filling enough, we stopped for gelato which was nowhere near as good as it is here in Italy!

On our last day in Spain, we ended up at a crepe place where I had a chocolate crepe with chocolate ice cream--- all in all, amazing. I think that was everyone's favorite place. We tried going to the Picasso museum, but it was closed! So instead we went to a park and hung out. Soon, it was already time to go and we headed back to the airport and flew to Rome. We got back around 10:30, and I took a bus and got home 45 minutes later.

It was a really fun trip and I am glad I got to see Spain! Something weird was the fact that a lot of the stuff there was in Portuguese, and the city is pretty far from that country. Apparently Spain has five different dialects, so it gets a little confusing. I really liked Barcelona, it felt like a more modern city, with wider streets and newer buildings and lots of cool sculptures. I tried using a little Spanish, and two of the girls I went with spoke it, so we got around alright.

I have another trip planned as well... Paris! I'll be leaving March 22nd and staying there for three days. I think this weekend I will be staying in Italy, and next weekend the whole AIFS group is going to Naples. I'm sure before I know it, March will be over with and spring break will be upon us!

Ciao for now!

More pictures coming soon!

Barcelona Preview

Hi everyone!

I just got back from Barcelona and am exhausted! I will write about it more tomorrow, but here are some pictures to satisfy your curiosity!

 Out on the streets of Barcelona!

 We're not sure where we're going...

 Group pic!

 Interesting sculpture.

 Another monument in Barcelona.

 Down by the sea

 It was a beautiful day...

 ... for a siesta on the dock of the bay.

 At the beach... too cold for us sane people to go in!

Vatican Trip

Ciao!

Just a quick summary of yesterday: I got to sleep in a little, and ended up going to school early. I met up with a girl and we decided to get gelato (what a surprise!). Afterwards, I was still hungry and got a slice of pizza. I then had my Italian class (which I often want to call my Spanish class!) and headed back to my home-stay. My friend and I decided not to go out so I basically hung out at my place, made myself dinner, and caught up on some American tv.

Today, I woke up at 7 am, had my biscuits (chocolate cookies, really, I don't know how the Italians get away with calling it breakfast!) and headed out the door. After the bus ride, it took me 45 minutes to walk to the Vatican. Once there, our professor gave us a tour of the museum which houses much of the world's most famous art, such as Michelangelo's Sistene Chapel and Raphael's School of Athens. No pictures were allowed in the Chapel ofcourse, but I took them everywhere else. Down below I'll include a few.

She told us about some of the Popes and what they'd commissioned and went into a little bit about the Borgias, which rang a bell. I soon realized my dad watched some show about them, and sure enough the professor said a lot of people know about them from a television show. Go figure.

Anyways, I walked back around 11:30, found a grocery store to get some sandwich fixings, and headed back for lunch on the terrace of my apartment. As of now, I am packing for Spain and doing some homework before I go. By tonight, I'll have been in three countries in one day (the Vatican is the smallest country in the world, by the way!).

Ci vediamo!

 St. Peter's

 Famous Pine Cone

 Ancient statues in the halls of the museum

 Even the floors of the museum are beautiful.

 This statue still has it eyes, which were usually made of ivory or bones. All the statues used to have them.

 A tapestry of Jesus rising from the dead.

 Raphael's the School of Athens

 The Pope's room which had a ceiling decorated with the Zodiac.

Outside the Vatican