I have the Monday blues. We just got back from Cinque Terre, 5 towns on the Northwest Coast of Italy, late last night. Brittany, Cassandra, and I left early Friday morning to catch the train. We were running slightly late, and the H Bus was running late also- no surprise there- so when a taxi driver spotted our distress, he gae us a flat 10 euro rate to get to Termini. It was like a taxi ride rollercoaster, so I guess we got our moneys' worth- and never got to the train station faster. With all our spare time, we chose to enojy a good ole American Mickey D's breakfast. On the train, we had issues with assigned seats- there was a lot of moving around invoved, angry nuns, too much luggage, etc. I discovered that the seats layed out, so when the opportunity presented itself, I made a little seat bed and took a pretty nice nap. We finally arrived in Vernazza, found our rooms, and went exploring. All of the 5 towns are tiny with small bakeries, wine shops, bar/restuarants, and tourist shops. The girls and I bought tribal headbands that we thought were cool. The kindof made me feel like I was on Survivor. We hiked up the city and found a lookout point that was pretty stunning. [The only downfall of the weekend was the weather. Granted, it didnt pour rain- but it was mostly overcast or drizzling the whole time. So sunbathing was definitely out of the picture.] Anyway, a few hours later our friends from Arkansas- Ryan, Casey, and Matt- met us in Vernazza. We went to the local hotspot- the Blue Marlin- for some pizza and beer. the nightlife in these towns are not quite existent, but we found fun in the playground and with some old 90s music and a deck of cards.
On Saturday, we got up and went to breakfast at the Blue Marlin- obviously our favorite Vernazza establishment. We got a trian to Riomaggiore where we started our hiking adventure- actually it wasn't quite hiking..maybe a more intense walk along the coast. We frequently stopped for pictures- photoshoots or cliche. The next town was Manarola, where we found a restuarant deemed "great" by Rick Steve's.. therefore we ate lunch there. So good! I had swordfish pasta. We sat out on rocks and watched the water crash on the coast. It was beautiful. The towns were clustred and colorful. Small boats were everywhere.. so were cats. We loved that. There were more English speaking people there than we would have thought. So obviously a touristy place. Out of Manarola we found a pebble beach.. stones rolled around over and over again that were perfect with patterns and color. We stayed there for a while, put our feet in the cold water, and took lots of fun pictures. The next town was called Corniglia. It was on our way home and didn't seem as interesting to us, so we got te train there and took it back to Vernazza. We ate dinner- I tried out the seafood pizza- and to my surprise, a small baby octopus was adorned on top of my pizza. Hmm. Well I decided it couldn't taste much different than squid, so I went for it. The little octopus didn't fully make it in my mouth, so there were a couple tentacles trailing behind. Cassandra was freaking out and everyone was cracking up- so much pressure that I couldn't bite through that stupid thing, so I just had octopus tentacles all over my chin. It was bizarre. After dinner we met an American couple that had been sitting next to us. They were from te Northeast but had moved to Milan because the husband worked for the US Consulate. They told us of all their travels and about their 3 year old daughter who was probably just as electronically savvy as me. She had a portable tv or dvd player or something and apparently loved a good cell phone. They were funny and nice and made us all very jealous of the life they had. So, maybe I should switch to international affairs?
Sunday, Casey had to leave early (poor thing), so the other 5 of us visited Monterosso- the last of the 5 towns. It was rainy so the town was less thrilling than the others. After deliberating about day plans- we decided to train to Pisa- see the Leaning Tower, take the cliche pictures, and from there, head on to Rome. The tower is very confusing and astonishing. I don't understand how it hasn't fallen. So that was neat.
Train ride back to Rome: bizarre. Started out fine- then went downhill fast. First, a German family sat behind us. The kids had musical toys or books and were so loud. There were diaper changes involved and possibly a breastfeeding session- awkward. Then, the loudest human on the face of the planet sat near us- literally yelling at someone on skype or some kind of commuication device. Everyone in train car turned around.. some people left. We found the humor in it and mocked everything that went on.. taking videos and being obnoxious. Longest train ride ever.
We ended the trip at Ci Lin in Rome- our favorite Chinese place. Exhausted and hungry we enjoyed our fried rice and called it a night.
Cinque Terre conquered. 1.5 weeks left in Rome. :( Let the crazyness begin.

Double day blog.. since I've been such a slacker. I found the park today! I hiked up the gianicolo hill today, trying to find some interesting things to sketch. I had heard about this greenspace, so I decided that would be a good destnation for me today. With all the people, cars, vendors, stresses of city life.. it was good for me to find a break from all that and to be alone for a little while. Although, consequence for being outside this afternoon: allergiieeess! woo hoo! I've been sniffling all day. Anyway- about this park.. it's HUGE. There are walking/bike trails all over the place; grass with people playing ball, picnikking, sleeping, laying, reading, pda ... had it all. Lots of couples on strolls- depressing. I ventured fairly far and still didn't reach the end.I sat every so often and did some sketching. Then walked back down the hill to the apt where the girls and I then went to a little craft market. So many fun things! I wanted to buy it all .. of course. We're relaxing for now. Cassandra is making stuffed pasta shells. I have more schoolwork to do later, but if anything interesting happens tonight, maybe i'll blog thrice in one day!!

Rob- I've been catching up on friday night lights some ... soooo good.

CIAO!

Ok, I know I've said this, but I'm seriously going to blog better for the rest of my time here. I hope all of you haven't been dying to read these posts/live vicariously through me. :P Anyway, it has officially sunk in that time here is flying. We have 2.5 weeks left. I'm pretty upset about this concept. This weekend was a huge one for Rome because of Easter. Pilgrims from all over swormed the streets, causing transportation in the city to be so slow. On Saturday, we explored the area around Piazza del Popolo. Brit and Cassandra got their hair cut, we had lunch, shopped some, and walked all over that side of the city. For Easter Sunday, we went to Santa Maria in Trastevere. It's the closest church to us and is the highlight of our favorite piazza that we hang out in frequently. I wanted to see the Vatican on Easter, but judging from the amount of people and the fact that tickets were needed to that service, we decided to stay close to home. Either way, the experience was awesome. Even though we couldn't translate the service very well, we understood the overall meaning and appreciated being a part of a Catholic mass in Rome. Last week, our class took a tour of St. Peter's underground. We saw the old crypts and St. Peter's relics. Then we went into St. Peter's with the rest of the masses. I cannot even begin to describe how big that church is. The scale of it is absolutely mind blowing. It's beautiful, and pictures can't really do it justice.

This week is going to be hectic. We have to get alot done on projects, and we're planning on going to Cinque Terre this weekend, so wandering around Rome is probably not going to happen. I'm starting to get a little stressed out knowing that I'll be leaving soon, and also knowing how crazy May is going to be once I get back. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Ha.

I know I've been a terrible blogger! So sorry! I'll try to do better! Things have been busy as usual. Here is the run down on the past week:
Wednesday: went on a field trip to 2 small hill towns; saw 2 very old monasteries- one that was built into the side of the mountain- pretty awesome.
Thursday: dinner party with our new arkansas guy friends- i played chef; had wine/lemon chicken and sausage pasta. mmmm
Friday: went to Sorrento, a town in southern Italy on the west coast with 8 other friends. It was beautiful; stayed in a new hostel.
Saturday: ferry ride to Capri- island. One of the most picturesque places I've ever been; went to the very tip top via chairlift, went to the very bottom and nap on a beach right next to the water; had one of the best days of my life.. it was perfect.
Sunday: headed to Naples to catch a train back to Rome; I assume we were in a sketchy part of town; not very attractive or interesting. bummer.
Today: earthquake! i'm sure everyone saw it on the news. we woke up to tremores last night shaking our building. I thought I was dreaming. Some of the devastation looks terrible. I'm so thankful Rome was not heavily affected. I guess I can say I lived through an earthquake. we dreaded going to class today; we have a new professor come in for the 2 week period to teach a course; it was a rough monday.
Tomorrow: going to St. Peters to see the excavation underground!

I'll elaborate more tomorrow..

Rob- saw a gladiator/sword/torture looking device/armor store yesterday. Might have to go check that out soon. Also, is there something you should tellll meeeeee?

Mom- don't get too used to spring break. not retired yet! :) give mi mi a kiss for me.

Al- cute bridesmaid dress! hope i can fit in it!
and dont scare me like that again. i'm not mentally prepared for you to be hitched just yet.