4th of July!

Happy 4th of July
Today was amazing!!
Shea and I headed to the ferry to travel 45 minutes to the island of Capri! I slept the whole way because I have been so exhausted, and I take every chance I get to sleep, haha. When I woke up, we were pulling up to the island. Let me tell you, it was beautiful!! It was just like the postcards (you’ll hear me say that a lot). There was the crystal clear, bright blue water, leading up to big rocks with small boats tied to docks. There were shops and houses that climbed up the hill that were painted bright colors! It was sunny and hot, and you could see the clouds surrounding the top of mountains on Capri! We got on a bus that took us up to the very top of Capri, known as Anacapri. The bus ride up was the scariest thing of my life! It was a one-lane street, a crazy man driving super fast, cars coming head on and slamming their breaks, honking, steep edges, and sharp curves. The trip back down was just as scary. When we got to the top, there were a few cafés and shops, and mainly tourists. Capri is muchhhh nicer and cleaner than Naples. We got on a chairlift (one at a time) and rode 12 minutes up to the top. You could almost see the entire side of the island from the lift, along with boats far away in the ocean and the tops of houses and buildings below. It was breathtaking and I got some great pictures! Once we got off at the top, it was incredible. It’s not like a huge mountain top where you walk everywhere with no steep ledges or anything. No, it was a small mountain top about half the size of a football field, with rails around the edge, dropping off straight into the deep blue Tyrrhenian Sea! There were some tall mountain points of Capri that were covered by clouds, which made it look so much cooler! There was a small bar that served lemon cello (which they are known for on Capri, and we tried some and it was great!) and gelato and other snacks/drinks. We sat and hung out, took pictures, and then got back on the lift down and headed to lunch. Half way down we stopped by a random set of stairs. When we walked up, there was an outdoor restaurant full of people! The view was amazing and the food was great! We had cokes in bottles (always tastes better), ravioli and pasta with basil and tomato sauce, then fish with a salad, and then sweet cream gelato! It was very filling and relaxing. We took the bus back down to the bottom, and decided to take a boat tour. It was about 15 Euros and 10 of us piled on a hydrofoil. We toured around the island and just soaked up the sun. After rocking on waves and going at a fun speed, we went under an arch formed from the rocks, went in a cave, and saw people jumping off of cliffs. We stopped for a little while and jumped off the boat and swam! The water was such a different feeling than any water that I’ve been in. It was really salty and much easier to float. It was so clear and smooth! It was also refreshing from being in the heat. We went back, shopped around and hung out. In one of the stores, there were samples of these delicious almonds covered in toffee and chocolate. I took a handful and then later we went back and snacked on them some more. I saw a small bag of them for sale and it was 10 Euros!! I think I ate about 15 Euro worth in samples… Hehe. Then we hoped on the ferry around 4:30 and headed back to muggy Naples.

After resting a little in the cabin, we went to a restaurant close to the ship. We didn’t want to walk very far and we were starving! It was called Trattoria Medina. We had the Caprese pizza again, and it was just as good as the other place! Italy’s pizza truly tastes better than pizza from anywhere else I’ve gone! I wish I could share some to those who haven’t experienced it! We aren’t allowed to bring leftovers onto the ship, only prepackaged and sealed items :(

This is the hardest experience of my life. The way I am treated is definitely nothing I’m used to or have experienced. This is all worth every penny and minute of it, but I can’t wait to get back to America and be in my comfort zone. This trip gets you completely out of your comfort zone, even if you attempt to stay in it. I miss everyone so much! This is so hard to do and it’s only the second country. It’s only going to get harder and I hope I’m ready for it. It goes by too fast to take in!! All of these changes in clothes, food, communication, money, and the general lifestyle just shake me up and make me so scared and uncomfortable sometimes. It’s an experience that I will never forget, and the things I learn on this trip will never leave me, and I will always be grateful for what I have in America. It’s like when you go to camp, with new friends and a new schedule, you adapt to a new life and you are on your own etc., but 100 times bigger and more realistic. You get a glimpse of what the world could possible be like in other countries that we won’t even be traveling to. I can’t imagine (literally, it’s impossible) what it’s like to know what’s out there in this world unless I go and experience it for myself. Thanks Mom and Dad for making this amazing opportunity possible! It has already been a learning and growing experience and it’s only the second country!

Dear Long Lost Friend (=air conditioning)

Ah so glad to be back in the air-conditioned, clean room. I’m watching Slumdog Millionaire and Monster Inc. Lovin’ it.

This is why I love Semester at Sea: Shea and I went to breakfast on the upper deck and we sat with a random guy and girl that we have never met! Now we are all going out around Naples today! I love making new friends and getting to know everyone! Along with us, our neighbors are coming, Trevor and Ryan, from Boulder. It will be a fun group! I decide my outfit based on whom we are going with. If there are guys in the group, I can dress cuter because I won’t be afraid of being approached by creeps on the street. If guys are with us, we get left alone. If it’s just me and Shea, I try to blend in and wear stuff that is neutral-colored, because I don’t want anyone following Shea and me without guys protecting us! In Rome, two guys followed us for quite a while, so we stayed on the main street and just walked back and forth. They finally left us alone.

So this afternoon we just wandered around Naples, and checked everything out! It was a free day so we made no plans, just adventured. First, it started off with about 7 people. We walked around and found our way to town (away from the cruise ships’ port). While we were randomly walking around, probably looking lost, an old man, with really nice clothes on, walked up to us and started speaking bits of English. He was telling us to go to the top of Naples to a castle where you can see everything including Pompeii and Capri etc. He was so nice and friendly! We were thinking that he might ask for a tip once he showed us where to go, because that seems to be the expectation from everyone for us. He walked with us for about 15 minutes, all the way up to the lift that takes us to the top! He showed us where to get the tickets and explained where to get off and where to go. Right before we got onto the lift (he walked us up directly to it), we handed him a tip we gathered. He refused it and said, “No my friends, I help you!” He was so nice and we would have never found out about this or have known what to do without him! It cost 1.10 Euros, so cheap for what we saw today! We rode the lift in a little tunnel all the way to the top of the mountain, but we couldn’t see anything yet. Once we got to the top, we hoped off, and saw tons of people, cafes, and shops! It was much more of what we were looking for, unlike the base by the port. We followed some signs that led us to the entrance of Castle Elmo. Once we went through a little art museum, we went up a lot of stairs and walked the entire edge of this huge castle! We were the only ones there and we could see for miles! I could see all of Naples, the beaches, the ocean, and Mount Vesuvius! It was breathtaking, and pretty hot. We hung out on the top for an hour or so, and then headed back to the lift to take us down (the ticket was valid for 90 minutes). That was definitely the highlight of the day. The pictures we took look like the view on postcards showing the view of Naples! I wonder if any of our friends knew how to get up there or even knew it was there! If it weren’t for the kind Italian man, we would’ve missed the best view of Italy that I’ve ever seen! At one point, Shea asked him to draw his house structure (it was for a class) and I don’t think he understood. He took the paper she handed him, folded it, put it in his pocket, and said, “Niiiiice,” while smiling. We laughed so hard but we let him keep it. I wonder what he was thinking we were trying to tell him or show him… Haha.

After we came back down to the hustle and bustle (and dirtiness) of Naples, we went to a café that was outdoors, in the center of everything. It probably wasn’t the ideal place for me to eat, because no one was in it, and it was in the middle of everything (usually meaning it’s expensive, and it was). The pizzas were little round pieces of bread with tomato sauce smeared on top with a 1’ by 1’ square of mozzarella… Not my kind of pizza. The service wasn’t that great either. You can easily tell if you are unwanted, regardless of the language barrier. After that, Shea and I decided to venture on our own because the group we were with was interested in touristy things, and we just don’t like doing the normal activities. We started walking down random alleys (full of people and stores, don’t worry Mom), and walked passed fruit stands, fish markets, and cafes. There was no room for cars, just mopeds and people. We stopped at one and read the menu outside. It looked pretty good! Then, we saw a big family of locals walk in, and then some more locals. That was the deciding factor to go in; locals were flowing! Even though we were stared at by everyone, and talked about in mean tones, we sat down and tried to act like we didn’t notice. It can get so frustrating when you are absolutely sure that the people next to you are talking about you and staring at you from 5 feet away, laughing and giving mean looks, it’s still really hard to get used to, and I don’t think I’ll get used to it anyways. We just smile and try to be as nice as possible, and the nice people respond back and treat you well. We ordered the Caprese pizza (same as margarita) and it was the same price as the tiny one we had for lunch (this was our second lunch because the first one was merely a snack).  When he brought it out to us, it was HUGE!! But, I ate all of mine again, to my surprise… again. It was the best pizza I’ve had so far, and I wish I could tell others how to get there, or give them samples of what a delicious pizza this was! Shea and I sat and chatted for a while and then asked for the check. I think we are getting used to this hang out-and-chill-then-get-the-bill thing! Usually, we rush and ask for the check as we finish, but today we really took it on differently, and not intentionally! It made me feel like I was living in their lifestyle a little bit, and it was a nice change of pace! After that, we went to a lot of shops and just wandered around some more, and got yummy gelato. We started walking back to the ship and we thought we were going the right way, but we weren’t positively sure. Luckily, there were these 2 dogs sleeping on the side of a building that were in the exact same spot from when we walked away from the ship! Basically, the dogs lead us home, haha. As soon as I got back, I had to shower. Naples is very muggy, humid, hot, and your feet get covered with dirt! It’s just a gross feeling. Today was really fun and I’m sure we will go out tonight!

Premonition Dream

I had another premonition dream! It's starting to happen so frequently, I don't understand what it all means, and I have no control over it!!
Last night I had a dream that my friend was giving away puppy golden retrievers. I got one, and it was big for it's age and fluffy, but still a puppy. I played with it, showed all my friends, and it loved to play with other dogs! It was a fun dream.
When I woke up, I thought about getting a golden retriever one day. I told Shea about it (because she has like 3 golden retrievers) and she said that Susan emailed her yesterday with a picture of a new foster dog that was a half-grown golden retriever puppy!! How strange! I have no explanation, and I'm a little freaked out! This is random but I just felt like sharing.

Cheapest Hotel? Prison.

This morning I had the lovely chance to wake up at noon!! I got a full 12 hours of sleep :) The most sleep I’ve gotten this entire trip has been about 5-6 hours, so this was a major benefit!! My feet were starting to hurt, and I was a little sick. But this massive amount of sleep made me feel incredibly better this morning. We have gone to just about every famous sight here in Rome and we’ve seen all of the buildings that we had planned! I also got all of the shopping done that I wanted, and picked up a few gifts! I don’t feel guilty for sleeping in and missing a half-day in Rome, it was needed and I feel SO much better. Shea’s cooking class was this morning, and mine wasn’t until 3. It was really nice getting to sleep in, wake up slowly, sit around and listen to music, then start getting ready at a slow pace. I liked not being rushed for time! But I’m sure this probably won’t happen much… I left around 2:45 to meet with my group to go to a family-run farm in Tarquinia!
After the 30-minute drive through hills and valleys, we arrived at one of the biggest farms in Tarquinia! It began about 200 years ago, and is still going today. There were vineyards and fields everywhere! The tour lady said each word like it was supposed to be, “vine… yards,” instead of the way it sounds- vin-yerds. Haha do you get what I mean? It was funny. We walked into a beautiful villa and a huge covered patio full of tables with cooking supplies on them. The patio overlooked a valley and there was a great view of a really cool swimming pool! After taking some picture, we washed our hands, and went two to a table. The instructor at the front spoke no English so there was a translator next to her. She demonstrated how to make ravioli, linguini, tortellini, fettuccini, and many more! We then went to our tables and started making fettuccini. I put corn-flour (not sure what it was, but it was coarse and less refined) in the shape of a circle with a hole in the middle. Then, I put one egg in the middle and the flour acted as a wall so it wouldn’t run everywhere (one egg per person eating the pasta is the rule we learned). Then, I slowly mixed the flour into the egg in a circular motion with a fork. After it was evenly dispersed, I kneaded it with my hand until it was pretty firm. It was bright yellow and looked like a handful of play dough! Next, I rolled it with a huge roller into a big circle. I rolled it up like a hotdog, without pressing it down, and then cut it into sections as wide as my fingernail is across. Then, when I finished cutting, I unrolled the sections and it made fettuccini strands! After that, we went on a walking tour of the farm. We picked sage, rosemary, and lavender; it smelt so good! I brought some back to the cabin on the ship to make it smell nice. We walked for quite a while and saw plum trees, grapes, blackberries, olives, watermelons, flowers, and many more things you’d find in a garden! Everything that this place grows does not receive any chemicals or pesticides, so it was safe to try a bite here and there! The olives off of the tree didn’t taste good at all but the grapes and blackberries did! They have a little store by the entrance that sells marmalade, jams, cookies, crackers, olive oil, olives, carrots, mushrooms, wine, rum and so much more! It was so fresh and smelt wonderful so I bought some jam and hazelnut cookies to take back! Actually, I’ll probably eat it before this trip ends… It is so tempting! We walked by some pigs (saw a cute baby one!) on the way up the hill to the villa. The reason we had picked lavender before was to smell it when we walked by the pigs. Yucky smelling, but so cute! Then, it was time to swim and hang out! We played Uno and then jumped into the pool. It was one of those pools where the edge drops off and there is no ledge! I want a pool like that one day, I always have. The view was beautiful! It was almost sunset and we were sitting in an awesome, refreshing pool in the high heat, drinking wine and about to eat a big, healthy dinner.  Once we got out and stared some more into the gorgeous countryside of Italy, we headed back to the top to make dessert! There was an elderly man who showed us how he makes tiramisu. I’m guessing it was his family’s farm. First, you take egg whites and make them all foamy in a blender, and then you add sugar, the egg yolks, and some mascarpone. Then, you get the biscuits and dip them in coffee, and line the bottom of the pan. Pour a layer of the mixture, another layer of coffee-dipped biscuits, and so on until you reach the top! Lastly, sprinkle cocoa on top and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours, yum. We then sat down on the patio for dinner time! They brought us wine, sparkling water, and regular water. In Europe, they seem to be obsessed with sparkling water. You have to specifically order “water, no gas,” then they understand haha. To begin, we had a big bowl of chicken liver, on top of a candle, surrounded by pieces of bread. I tried it just so I knew what it tasted like, and I can say that I will never eat that again. We had pieces of bite-sized bread, with tomato slices and prosciutto on top! The prosciutto was amazing, very full of flavor, salty and fresh. Next, we were served the fettuccini we made, but they added tomato sauce and chicken. You could tell by the noodle hardness and shapes that they definitely served us what we cut and made... haha but it still tasted great! Most people ate it all and thought that it was the main dish. I knew not to get full from it because Shea came back and told me that there was so much food! After that, we had chicken (from their farm) and a really good mixed salad with the olive oil that they make. The salad leaves were the best I’ve ever tasted and were dark green/perfect. I was definitely full by this time! Lastly, we had incredible tiramisu. We were each served a very generous piece, and I ate all of mine! You could easily tell the difference from this kind we ate compared to all the other kinds I’ve had in America, Spain, and restaurants in Italy. We had a great time just talking, meeting each other (the meeting never ends!) and just looking around at the amazing view! After dinner and hanging out, we headed back to Civitavecchia. On they way back Luisiana (tour lady) said, “Look to the right at the cheapest hotel in Rome.” It was the prison, haha. When we got back, I got on the ship and we had that emergency drill thing and now we are sailing to Naples! We will be there in the morning.
Today was such a great change of pace. It was so different than anything I’ve done so far. Being in the busy city in Barcelona and Rome has been a blast, but it can get pretty exhausting. Dealing with mopeds, buses, cars, honking, people everywhere, and crossing streets can be very stressful and it’s hard to find time to take a break. That’s what this day did; it gave me a much needed quite, relaxing break. It was in the middle of the nowhere, no pickpocketers, no tourists and vendors, no cop whistles and car horns, just nature and a small group. I didn’t have to wash my hands constantly, and my feet stayed dirt-free. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that I did this today. I didn’t have to wear a money belt, didn’t have to lock my backpack, and I didn’t have to pay attention to my surroundings :) It was so refreshing!!! It was such a great experience seeing the busy city of Rome, and then venturing into the countryside of Tarquinia, Italy. Naples in the morning!

Pasta, and more pasta!

7/1
This morning we woke up at about 6:30 am and went to the lobby for a great breakfast! They had little packets of nutella-like stuff that I put on my bagel! (Haha, bagel… hi Jared) We checked out, put our luggage on the coach bus, and headed to the Vatican! The line at the Vatican was really, really long, but the good thing about big tour groups is that we get to cut everyone!
I wish I could use the perfect words to describe everything we saw today in the Vatican City. It was incredible and nothing like anything on this earth! We saw the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and everything else in the little city, except for the Pope himself! In the Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo's original paintings were everywhere, including The Last Supper. It was so amazing and unbelievable. In this particular part of the Vatican, there was no talking, no pictures, and a dress attire. We saw the window that the Pope pops out of every Wednesday and the place where he sits. In one part (there were so many I can't remember which it was), there were letters made of gold surrounding the huge, massive ceiling. Each letter was taller than 6 feet!! I wish I could describe more so you could understand the detail and incredible artwork, but it's so hard to do. After the amazing adventure in the Vatican, we went shopping and sightseeing around Rome! We had about 5 hours. There were some girls on the trip with us that are from Baylor. They are really sweet and we all stuck together today! Yes, we got gelato. Then we all met back at the Vatican and took the coach bus back to Civitavecchia! When we got back, Shea and I ate our free dinner, which was more pasta. Now we are sitting in the room, blogging, charging cameras and laptops, and watching a movie! Time to sleep!! Tomorrow I have a cooking class on a farm! I can’t wait!

Penguins.. in Rome?

6/30
We (usually meaning me and Shea haha) woke up pretty early, picked up our passports on the lower deck, and boarded a coach bus. We had a 2-day tour thing (this post is day 1) that was awesome! We drove about 90 minutes to Rome (train was way faster) on the bus while our guide went around chatting with everyone. Her name was Daniela and she was so funny! Her accent was pretty heavy but she was very animated and hyper, which helped us wake up at 8am. She said it was really sunny outside and that she hoped we were wearing “sunshine lotion”.

When we got to Rome, we had a guided tour of the Coliseum, the greatest Roman amphitheatre and place for gladiator fights! We saw it from the outside the day before, but I was even more excited that we actually got to go in and wander around. This thing was huge, I mean massive. The pictures make it seem smaller, but what can I do! The Coliseum held 80,000 people and today, only 40% is missing. Interesting fact that I remember: ‘arena’ in Italian means ‘sand on top’. It was called this because the sand would soak up the blood from the gladiator battles and animal fights.

The tour guide for the Coliseum was another hilarious Italian woman, friends with Dani. Her name was Paula. She definitely sounded like she’d been smoking every day of her life. When we were all hot and tired, she said, “Imagine those people in front of you are penguins! Brrr! Aren’t you cold now?!” Haha she was great, and luckily the next day she toured us in the Vatican! After the Coliseum, we went the Roman Forum, the marketplace of ancient Rome, as well as the business district. It is so hard to put into words what I saw and experienced. It’s all fresh in my head and the pictures will help me remember it forever! So will this blog, I’m so glad I decided to make one!

Next, we had some free time (=shopping) and ate lunch in Piazza Navona. We ate at another small café. I got a small margarita pizza and a wonderful Greek salad! The shopping here in Rome is significantly better than Barcelona! After all of this touring, walking around, and shopping/more eating, we went to the hotel to check in. The rooms were huge and the bathrooms were too! This was definitely a nice change from the ship cabins. Shea and I had a cute little balcony that overlooked the part of Rome where we stayed. It was much nicer, cleaner, and quieter than the busy areas. We had about 2 hours to get ready for dinner/a walking night tour of Rome. The restaurant where we had dinner was just like a postcard! It was in a big courtyard, surrounded by tall walls, covered in vines and flowers! There were also lanterns everywhere on the brick walls with fire torches; very memorable. The dinner was delicioso, as always. We had some kind of pasta with some more pasta. Then, when we thought dinner was over, they brought out this beige square with bread crumbs on top. No one knew what it was and we were thinking it might be dessert! It ended up beaing baked potates mixed with ham and mozzorella. It was incredible, and I want some right now! Then for dessert we had Neapolitan gelato with yellow cake, and a cookie in the shape of a heart stuck in the middle. There was a band that walked around with an accordion, guitar, and a few singers. It was such a great night! After dinner, we went to the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. These were both very beautiful structures.

Then we went to the Trevi Fountain. I can’t even describe how massive and beautiful it was. In the movie When In Rome, they used the fountain where we were!  That gives you an idea of how beautiful and famous it is. We stood in front of it (along with hundreds of other people) and just stared. Then we walked down towards the water and threw a coin over our right shoulder. Apparently that is what you do and then you make a wish! But I can’t tell you my wish or it might not come true :) After that, we walked some more and got more gelato of course! Then we went back to the comfy, big hotel for about 5 hours of sleep!
That’s basically the day in a nutshell! In the morning… the Vatican!!

"Barbie!"

Even thought I'm posting this today, it all happened on 6/29! I've been so busy that I am 3 days behind on blogging! Tonight I have a little free time, thankfully, so I'll try to catch up!

I just want to say that I miss Barcelona SO much. It was amazing and I hope to go back to Spain one day!

Rome, Italy, Day 1:

Today Shea and I went with a totally different group out in Rome! We are trying not to stay with the same exact people every time, but still remain close friends with the ones we make! It’s an awesome experience, not really comparable to college. We woke up in Civitavecchia, and there wasn’t much to see. This is probably because it’s where all of the cruise ships port and it’s 45 minutes away from Rome! We walked about 10 minutes to the train station, and it was packed! There was graffiti everywhere (not as pretty or as skilled as Barcelona’s graffiti…). We went in a little convenient store to buy the train ticket and we saw a HUGE jar of Nutella. Picture the little jar, but about 1 foot tall, proportional to the little jar! So cool. Trying to get a two-way ticket to Rome and back for the same day was nearly impossible because the cashier didn’t speak an ounce of English, and we knew no Italian. It was much easier in Spain because I can communicate a lot easier and get by. Italian is very different, and I can’t imagine how hard it will be in other countries when they do not use the alphabet like ours!

After getting our tickets, we walked down to the restroom. There was a long line and a guy letting people in one at a time, asking for money! Then someone told us that here in Italy, there are custodians who clean the bathroom every time one person uses it and they expect a tip! We didn’t go :)
It was a massive panic (to say the least) getting onto the train. It would make loud noises as if it was about to leave, and we were still trying to decide if it was going to the right place! There were people running everywhere, and we had a huge group. I had to keep an eye on my group so I wouldn’t get separated, hold onto my purse, watch out for creeps who say weird things, and hop on and off about 10 times getting hit by the door trying to stick together. Once we decided it was the right one and all piled on, forcing the doors open, we started to head to Rome! It was a beautiful view (through the nasty train windows) of the hills and valleys of Italy! To the other side was water, which was very blue! 45 minutes later, we arrived in Rome and walked with our friends to the hostel where they were staying at for the night. It was a funny place because it was called the “Pop Inn”... haha poppin’… Anyways. From the outside it looked a little strange and creepy, but inside it was beautifully painted, colorful, and decorated! We rode a little elevator lift where you open and close the doors yourself. Only 3 could fit snuggly at a time, but it was fun!

When they checked in, we asked for a recommendation of a place to eat. The receptionist gave us directions to a place about 2 blocks away, tucked into the side of a little street! It was called Trattoria dell Omo. She said that if we see a restaurant with ‘trattoria’ written on it, go inside. It basically means family-owned and fresh, daily baked meals! When we went in, a little old couple (both under 5’5’’) was shuffling around with huge plates full of green beans, sausages, meats, rice stuffed tomatoes, and so many other delicious looking things! Their son sat us down and took our orders because he spoke a little English. Shea and I each got this amazing ravioli. Picture the little ravioli squares, but ones the size of your plate! It took a while to come out, but that is because it was definitely home made! Oh and the bread was to die for. Hot and fresh. Molto bueno! Another strange thing that is very hard to get used to is ordering water. You have to order a bottle, which is usually about 2 Euros, and then save it to last the whole meal! It will definitely be a change going back to America and getting water served as you sit down to eat, unlimited supply. I do miss that! And meals in Italy, and in Spain too, are considered more of a social event, more so than in America. You can sit for 30 minutes before anyone walks up to you, and it’s not offensive because it’s their way of life. Every time we eat, it takes a good 30 minutes after we are completely finished to get the bill. Also, everyone gets an espresso shot after they eat, especially old men!
After our first meal in Italy, we walked through the busy streets all the way to the Coliseum. It was everything I imagined, and more. When you are up close and in person, it just makes you admire the determination. The group we were with decided to go in and tour it, but Shea and I had a tour the next day, so we waited so the surprise wasn’t ruined. :)

We walked down the main street by the Coliseum. There were stands everywhere selling fruit, shirts, souvenirs, hats, sunglasses, and whatever else you can think of. One man walked by and yelled, “Barbie!” to me and Shea. We were laughing pretty hard because these people come up with the funniest things to say to us. There were 4 guys on a bike-car and they yelled, “Cheese!” as they tried to turn around and come towards us, but they almost flipped. It was pretty funny. Ten minutes later were standing next to a family and the mother asked me to take a picture of her and her family, I thought. Turns out she wanted us in the picture. Yep, I got one too, a photo of a big Italian family, with Shea and me in the middle. They seemed pretty happy to have a picture with us. Maybe we will start charging like the gladiators do when you take a picture with them!

While we were walking around, we saw a huge building with a sign on the side that said Monet Exhibit. We looked at the dates and it was the last day! We were really hot, and tired of the sun, so we were like hey let’s go check it out! I think it’s funny how we had no idea it was there or that it was so cheap to go in, we just randomly stumbled upon it! It was incredible. My favorite part was the end, where we could walk up directly to the huge Lilly Pad painting and many more just as beautiful. I’m usually not interested in art museums, but I definitely wanted to see Monet’s! Now I’ve been to the Picasso one, and the Monet exhibit! I’m starting to like it more and more, plus it’s in a different country so it makes it a little more exciting!

After that, we went and got more gelato, of course. I can honestly say I’ve gotten gelato every day so far… and it is much better than in Spain. The place we went to was very small and colorful. The guy who gave us our gelato said, “Bye, see you tomorrow!” It was funny because we thought maybe he didn’t know what he was saying, because people don’t usually say that. Maybe he thought it just meant “see you later” or something. Coincidentally, the next day, we went back! He was right, he saw us “tomorrow”. Haha. After that, we went back to the girls’ hostel and napped, checked Internet stuff, and got ready to go to dinner. Yes, it’s one meal on to the next! We kept walking past the main street, and went off on a little side one. They are usually less expensive, and less touristy when you go off the busy streets. It was precious! I ordered a pizza called Pizza Baba (Baba was the name of the restaurant). It had fresh mozzarella, yummy tomato sauce, pear slices all over it, and roasted walnuts. Best pizza invention ever. I would never think to put that on a pizza but I decided to try it and I loved it! We had fun at dinner, just a big group of us talking and relaxing, and then they walked Shea and me to the train station because we had to get up early the next day!

At the station we asked a family where to find the train because it was overwhelming and chaotic. There were about 10 trains in a row, and no English anywhere. The family we picked to ask knew no English, but they looked totally American and were wearing clothes like us! Then we asked another man who spoke better English, which helped! Right as we started to try to find the other train, which was really far away, we saw some of our classmates! I think every time we get into a situation where we may get lost or miss something, God grants our wishes and it always works out safely! We all RAN to the train because the last one was in 20 minutes and the next one was at 5am the next morning… Rode train home and slept, got back to ship, packed for the next day’s overnight stay!!