quickie

Jen is eating her feelings away with a mound of gelato. She misses her friends. If it convinces you girls to come... I'll introduce you to our "hot gelato man" downstairs. For the guys, I'm sure we can find you a hot pizzeria woman that is in this vicinity.

.. I'm out of gelato. eff.

Pienza and Montepulciano

My first taste of the Tuscan sun began today. My morning started at 5:30am and as I got ready, I slammed a closet door on my forehead. Yes it hurt. My excuse was because it was so early. I now have a bump on my forehead lol. On the brighter side...After hoping that I wouldn't rain today,  it didn't!!! It did while we were on our bus but after that... not at all! Sunny and a bit windy was the new weather forecast. This trip was pretty sweet in the sense that it was so different than the other trips that I've taken. Everywhere else I've been had the same winding streets and tourists running through traffic. This place was just what a I hoped for. Peaceful, quiet and full of color. Our first stop: Pienza!

Pienza is this little city that started off as a pretty as poop, but after Pope Pius II decided to work with an architect named Bernardo Rossellino, they soon made the city really nice. I believe it took them 4 years but it was well worth it I'm sure. I know that a lot of things weren't fully completed to the degree it was intended to be made in but so far, it's still intact. There is a duomo that was built upon weak foundations and unfortunately that building is now cracked and looks like it's going to crumble off. I'm sure the city do what they can to keep it together. As for the rest of the city, it has this symmetry to it that is based on a grid. You can never really get lost in this city. Everything leads back to the center which is also the palace where Pope Pius II's fam bam lived until 1968.  Even decor on all these massive buildings are symmetrical! Here are some other things that stood out to me in this little city...

This was the first picture perfect spot we got to see and I think I might have been the only one to notice this heart that was randomly there on the ledge. I think it started off the photo spree very well. 

This bench definitely caught my eyes. I love the orange uneven stones that make up this wall. The colors are so vivid and the turquoise off the side of this old bench worked so well. The bench had some writing on it and it really stood out to me. I felt the stories that had been told and the memories that were made here. 

Check out these walls. These types of walls always blow me away. I feel like a painter just took a palette knife and scraped away at their painting. 

The perspective from the clouds blew me away. This city really does draw you in for such a tiny place.

I decided to take a pic of these three older men. There really weren't that many people out and about because of the cold but I felt fortunately to be able to see them joke and laugh. I know it sounds silly but it's because I get to see how they interact everyday. I hear that when it's warmer, the older men sit on one side of the street and the women on the other as they chat away all day and enjoy each other's company.

Our next stop was a quick 5 minute one where our guide took us into the Tempio di San Biagio. It looks way bigger outside. Inside is kind of cool though. It's perfectly symmetrical and would be perfect for a wedding.. everyone would be able to see the whole thing!

The next and last destination was Montepulciano! Yet another small city that didn't have too much or too many people out but it was still awesome to see. Apparently this is where "new moon" was filmed. I don't really have an interest in this film but for those of you that do, the movie was made here! 

Just a little view down the mountain =]

After walking around for a bit we found out where we'd be doing wine tasting. The wine was great, the cellar totally smelled of wine because some oak barrels were being scraped for residue, and the cheese they gave us was delicious. One cheese was aged on Laurel leaves, another on spices (my favorite one), and another on oak ashes. They also made olive oil and OMG it was fantastic with the bread and salami they gave us. I believe that with their olive oil they mixed dried chilies, garlic, italian parsley and some salt. Try it at home! It's addicting. Apparently this wine cellar was supposed to be in New Moon but after saying no to moving out all of their wine barrels, they regretted not saying yes. Especially when they found out what movie was being filmed. The bar down the street was where it was filmed instead. bummmerrr. They don't like to talk about it...

This cat was wandering around by us as we were leaving the wine cellar. It sure was chill for being around a bunch of strangers. I'm personally a dog person but I couldn't help but take a picture of this Montepulcianian.

After wine tasting, we had to hike up to the top of Montepulciano. We did stop to check out how high these building go up. Our guide told us about how many parts of this city were build just on top of another thing. There are layers and layers in this city and even in the wine cellars. Things are always being added to fit as if they had been there forever. 

The two apartments above the walkway were added later on. Can you tell? lol

The hike up to the top was a bit tiring but after we were told what the old men do in hot August we were like.. oh we're out of shape lol. During the hot summer days of August, the older men of this city race and roll up wine barrels to the top of Montepulciano... WOW is what I have to say to that. Either way, we made it ! (same route as those in New Moon ran up in the movie) After reaching the top we came back down and proceeded to our lovely lunch that was a 4 course meal and dessert. It was homemade from the same family that owned the wine cellar. Lunch was great and we were all ready to roll back down to the bus afterwards. Needless to say, we all basically napped on the way back. I did get a few shots though and they're all on the album on facebook along with the rest of the photos!

I hope I can continue to explore the rest of Tuscany sometime soon. =D

Music to my Heart

Although I really should be asleep, I'm waiting for a few emails to be sent out for a scholarship application I just finished filling out. Woooweee! I'm pretty pooped after my workout today. The actual day time of today was awesome though, and I wish you all could have been here to run around with me in the sun. It was beautiful out!

I had my usual classes in the morning and a quiz in Italian today. Right after I was able to explore a new cafe that I normally pass up every morning. It's amazing what little treasures you'll find even after a month of walking right by it! They had wonderful service and I tried their pastry that was heavenly. I'll have to go back for the name and a picture but omg it was delicious! 

Afterwards I headed over to the Trajan Markets (or where they used to be) for my next class. It's pretty amazing what is still left standing. You kind of have to use your imagination though in order to really appreciate these ruins. Thankfully we had a great view from up top in a museum that also featured Caravaggio's  masterpieces. I'll be sure to take some photos the next time I'm in that area =]. On the way home I did encounter a friendly surprise. Upon waiting for my bus' arrival, there was a man playing a sax. He was playing a familiar French song. I loved it. He reminded me of France. The music in the street and the music that was played on the Metro by random strangers. It really does change the way a city looks when music is enveloping you and the people around you. This by far was the best part of my day.

Just like any other Tuesday or Thursday I also had practice at 8pm. Tonight I decided to run there, practice for two hours, and then run back. It sure did feel good to finally work out again even with a Euro flying around in my shoe. I brought it just incase. It's a little awkward sometimes in Rome because not that many people go running outside but oh well. I'd rather be in shape. I know round is a shape but I prefer the coke bottle kind of a shape =D. 

As far as how the rest of my night went, I just filled out my application. I basically have to get up in 5 hours for my trip to Tuscany. Don't worry, I'll remember to bring my camera haha! Look out for some pictures. I hope it won't be too rainy out, but either way I'm sure I'll still enjoy the wine tasting! Maybe I'll be back to experience the Tuscan sun. The city I'll be in is called Pienza, and I'll also be in  a neighboring city called Montepulciano. I'll be sure to tell you all about it. I might just want to pick up an umbrella tomorrow too haha. Have a great night everyone!! I need some beauty rest =D

Ciao,

Jen

Parisian for 2 and a half days

Horrahhhh! I finally have time and energy to blog!! I've been pretty exhausted for the past few days but I'm basically back on track with life. =] I spent the majority of my day today chit chatting with HD in the morning, and reworking my new room, going to another museum for class, and running to avoid the pouring rain that came out of no where.

My roommate came this morning to get all of her things and now I have the room to myself! I have a single yay! I ended up combining our beds together and I actually have a table to do work on now =D

Yes I know there is a little bump lol.

yay for a desk!! =D

I was pretty distracted with wanting to start a new set up for the room that I ended up being late for class. As always, I got lost going to my on-site class but I got there eventually. Unfortunately no one was there so I just drew a statue on my own. I don't mind getting lost too much anymore. It's kind of inevitable when you're exploring unknown parts of the city. At least I know how to ask for directions in Italian. I'll just consider it as practice!

Alrighty well to back track a few days, I did promise to tell you all about Paris!! First off, here is the facebook album for those that haven't seen it yet! After my visit, I basically decided that I want to move to Europe and open a yogurtland there lol! There's no frozen yogurt and this would enable me to live here for as long as I want. (and afford it haha)

Day One:

You can already tell how amazing our trip was going to be from the view out the airplane window. No photoshop everyone!

After arriving before noon, the three of us had to figure out how to get to the actual city of Paris. Our choices were... 150 ish Euro taxi ride or a 14 Euro bus ride ... hmm I'm sure you figured out which one we took LOL. It was just Paris and the 3 of us for 2.5 days and we wanted to explore as much as possible just incase it rained. We figured that our best bet in doing so would be do get a weekend metro pass. This was THE best decision we made all weekend. If anyone wants to go to Paris pleaseee get a metro pass. It's amazing and if you miss one then another will literally come in like 3 minutes. 

Right as we entered our hostel we loved it right away. The people were kind, the place was sooo modern and chic, and although check-in was at 4pm they let us put our luggage somewhere. Bonus! They have 3 computers and free wifi for you to utilize! Our room was pretty nice too and everything was basically brand new. It was also in a great location so I highly recommend this place.

 

The first place that ended up going to was the Eiffel Tower and yes we paid the 9,90 Euro fee to get to the top. It was a little scary but it was fun! Totally windy though but you really could see all of Paris from up top. There were also little flags around the top that signified where each country was and how far it was from the Eiffel Tower. =] Paris is such a romantic city, so when we got down, we took a "couple" shot lol !

Thereafter, we went to get some french fries! lol. It was pretty good! Afterwards we saw the Triumphant Arch. It really is in the middle of no where though haha. I just remember thinking, "How do you get across?" It was in the middle of traffic. 

The rest of the night was filled with exploring the shopping area of Champs Elysee and trying out the bars in Bastille. The bar we ended up going to was called, "Que Pasa?" where they played latin music. There we met two French guys that were really fun! They spoke english and some spanish too! That worked out perfect for us. Lucky us because you'll find that if Parisians don't know English, they definitely won't know any other language than French. Before we knew it, it was 4:30am and we realized that we should head on out. So we said au revoir and headed to Oops for just a few hours of sleep.

Day two:

Omg this was great! The first thing we did was head off to one of Paris' parks. It's pretty huge and nothing was in bloom yet. It totally makes me excited to see it when it does have flowers all over the place. It was a very nice place to relax though. I actually saw people running! That never happens in Italy! 

After getting some breakfast we called a friend that was studying in Paris named Makini. We met up with her at the Pantheon and boy was she awesome. Down a nearby street we did some awesome shopping where we found great sales! *fist pump* lol! Afterwards, Makini took us to this restaurant on a hill called Chez Eugene. It was great and the desserts were heavenly. The chocolate mousse was to die for! We also found some interesting artwork on the way. 

 

 We then got to overlook the city as the sun was setting. It was great and after that we did some more walking around towards a few museums. Unfortunately a few were closed and we decided to go get crepes! Not too bad of an alternative. =] 

As far as the rest of the night goes, we did a little bit of pre - partying and then headed off to meet with another friend that wanted to take us dancing at a club. On the way to the club we did happened to see a man walking around in a little coat, pantyhose, and boots... Yes, we were confused. After having a conversation with him, we found out that he dressed that way because he was a woman. What a scandalous man that guy ended up being. We walked along side him for a little while joking back and forth in French, and before we leave he tells us that he's naked underneath. We kind of didn't believe him, but not too long after he decides to Flash us!! OMG. he definitely didn't have womanly parts. But we cracked up the rest of the way to the club, and our friend turns to us and says, "Welcome to Paris."  *smiles*

The club ended up looking closed but after going downstairs we found that it was definitely happening. We danced all night until 5am and eventually found our way home. I found that although many don't speak English there, they sure do know a lot of american songs!

Day three:

 This would only be a half day due to our flight and how far away it was from the city. Nonetheless we did get to go and see the Lourve! It was hugeeeee I tell you! I could spend an entire day in there but unfortunately we couldn't. There is even a mall inside! Thankfully we were able to get in free after showing them our VISAs and our student ID's. =D After a while at the Lourve we decided to go check out the Chinese new years Parade that was happening in Chinatown. It was loaded with people and it's bummer we couldn't see much but we had fun for the short time we were there. I must say, it is really interesting to see all of those asian people speaking French lol! 

Later on we found out that our flight was delayed and we ended up getting home around midnight. It was a long day and I thankfully didn't have class the next day. I slept until 2pm that Monday haha. 

I think my favorite part of Paris was seeing such a diversity there, and at the same time.. there didn't seem to be a racial divide at all. There were only Parisians that resided there. =] I love that. Everyone we met was more than kind and we had a wonderful time experiencing the city. It was so clean and so spacious. I'm definitely stoked to go back in June. I don't think I can even express how much I loved the city. I've heard that so many people hated it and Parisians but I'm glad I had such a experience there. Perhaps the next time will be even better!

Anywho, it's time for me to get to some studying. I have an italian quiz tomorrow and I must say, after leaving France, I realize how much more I should take these language classes. It's extremely helpful and it helps you feel like less of a jerk for not knowing their language in their own country. lol. Thanks for reading this extremely long post! Love you all! 

PS.. they have AVOCADOS in Paris for cheap!! =D  

back at home =]

Hey there everyone! Today was my first official day back in Rome and it was just as I left it. It was pretty warm out and drizzled later on in the day. I did some shopping when I got back home. OMG Sephora is the biggest rip off ever here in Rome. Note to you girls, either bring your own facial supplies or find a smaller place called Kiko. They have make up made in Milan and are so nice there. Either way, I did invest in some facial care products. Someone once said to me.. Hey, Skin is important, and after that day my view on facial care items have never been the same. Such a simple set of words, yet so important to know. Do what's necessary for your body, and besides, when you look good, you feel good right? haha.

  After looking through pictures I realized that I didn't get to post up my adventure that I had last Thursday! I went to the colosseum and here are some pictures on facebook : Colosseum Trip!

The inside of the Colosseum was unreal and you really did have to use your imagination to figure out where things used to be. Of course I had to be a goofball and climb on things. Here are a few shots that stood out to me on this class field trip...

I climbed an empty pillar and showed you what should be there!   

I think this picture on the right also is pretty cool. Everything is blurry except for the Colosseum!

The Arch of Constantine!

"yeah, that just happened." lol!

Cheese!! I was so stoked inside and totally was in the mood to go home and watch Gladiator.

I think one other thing that stood out in the colosseum were the steps inside. They had narrow passageways but the steps where so high ! It was their way of efficiently getting spectators to their seats back in the day. I think one step went from the bottom of my shoes to the top of my calves. =O. I'm so glad we were able to visit on such a nice day. It made the trip that much better. 

Alrighty, I am sorry to disappoint but I'm so exhausted and have to get to bed soon. I didn't manage to post up my pictures from Paris though on facebook because it's acting up again. I'll definitely spend some time to talk about my adventures tomorrow. I'm so excited to let you all know about my amazing trip, and I'd like to whole heartedly give you an explanation about how I felt about this paradise of a city. Besides it being clean, everything is beautiful. There is so much to do in the city. I feel that even after a few days there, I had fallen in love for the world and all of it's people. There was so much diversity in Paris. Everyone was so unique and there never seemed to be this racial divide between people. They were all just Parisians. I wish it was always like this all over the world. All I can say for now is that I can't wait to return in June when everything is in bloom. It's going to be beautiful! For now, enjoy the pictures of the colosseum! I promise I'll post up Paris pictures when facebook decides to start functioning properly lol! Au Revoir!

Bonjour from Paris!

Good Morning everyone! I'm just sitting in front of a computer in Paris, France at the moment! I'm waiting for a friend to wing by to my hostel called Oops! If you ever are looking for a great hostel, check this place out. It's hip, beautiful, modern, the people are so nice, things are really clean, the door handles are awesome (google it =D), and it's next to the metro which means you can get anywhere by it. My friends and I have become metro pros and we can get just about anywhere in, at most, 30 minutes. lol By the way.. I'm typing on a Parisian keyboard and I must say, it's a lot more similar to and American one than an Italian one. haha. Anywho, I just wanted to drop by and say that if you haven't been to Paris... please do try and come sometime in your life. It's amazing here!! I can't even put it into words how much I love this city!! I'll be leaving for my flight back to Rome around 8:30 tonight and I'll be sure to put up some pictures so you can see them too.

I'm pretty exhausted because I've only had 3 nights of sleep for each of the 3 days that have passed by. It was so worth it though. I met so many amazing Parisians, and I'm sure I can just sleep later right? I totally will be coming back in June and I have a few more places that I'd like to see. As far as how my time went here, I'll fill you in when I head on over back to Rome. I'm so tired right now but I'm so excited to tell you all about it! For now I'm going to continue my Parisian explorations!!!  Ttys! (type to you soon :])

Je'taime <3

Angels in Rome

It's bed time for me but before I call it a night, I wanted to pay you all a visit. Today was a pretty good day! I was feeling better. Sure I was still coughing, but not as much, and it didn't hurt as much throughout the day. I made sure to keep warm in the rain today and take my medicine which has made a great difference.

I tried to sleep in today but I couldn't help but get up and say hi to HD for our 2 and a half anniversary! yay! Afterwards I immediately went back to bed until about 1:15pm. Rushing to get out to class I found out that we'd be drawing some of my favorite styles of artwork. Baroque art! Here's an example of one of the angels we had to draw...

Beautiful huh? So much of this art is all over Rome. I always seem to get lost in their eyes. 

We were stationed on a bridge in front of Castel S. Angelo's today. So many tourists. The guy in front cracks me up. =]

Unfortunately we had to do it outside and it was a bit cold. Not to mention the fact that it ended up raining on us. It wasn't too bad though since we called it a day after an hour and were able to leave earlier than normal. It only took me about a half and hour to get back to school thereafter. This includes the time it took me to stop by my favorite cappuccino place called "Bar del Cappuccino". Lol I know.. original right? =D They're so sweet and I'm certain that they know what I want when I come in. After about 2 seconds of walking in, the manager came to me and pulled out some gloves that looked very familiar. No wonder.. they were my gloves that I left the last time I was there!! How sweet of them to save the pair for me! Just after I thought I couldn't like them more =].

The rest of my day was filled with a group meeting for my marketing class and getting back home after about and hour and a half. I saw my roomie who had been missing for 5 nights now, and she had some pleasant news for me. She's planning on moving into a friend's apartment which means she'll get a single room and so will I ! How cool right? I'll miss her but she's always out anyways. I'm sure I'll see her around school too.

Dinner was lovely because I got to chit chat with some of my roommates and I just waited for some laundry to be done. I must admit, one thing that I think I'll miss the most about our apartment is our washing machine. It makes me smile every time because it always sounds like it's going to explode. You may recall that I was worried the first time doing laundry, but now it would be awkward without our crazy little washer. It's amazing how little things like that make home feel like your home. hehe.

The weekend is right around the corner and this time tonight I won't be at home. I'll be sleeping over at a friend's place due to the fact that we'll be leaving for Paris early in the morning on Friday. I seems like it'll be rainy there for this weekend but hopefully things won't be too bad. I'll let you know how things go but if you don't see a post this weekend it's because I'm off getting some baguettes and kicking it by the Eiffel tower! YAY!

Being sick is a bummer

It's Monday which means that I don't have class but I did have to meet up with a few classmates to do a project together. It didn't take too long but on the way home it started raining. I ended up going grocery shopping regardless of the rain simply because I need to eat. Being sick has definitely made me lose weight but on the bright side, the exchange rate is going down so I happily went grocery shopping. =]


It's 4:19 in the afternoon and I've been coughing since 10am. Sure I'm getting a great ab work out but coughing fits are the worst. Tea and honey don't seem to be helping too much right now. At this rate I hope that I'll make it back home alive. Iol I'm so over all this 2 week long insane coughing. I'm so glad my roomie hasn't been home for the past few nights. She'd never be able to sleep. Oh well..I'm making some more tea. Wish me luck.

Besides tea I have been making myself eat. I did buy some asiago cheese to use in my lunch... omg it's so good! I don't think I've disliked any cheese that I've had here yet. I don't know what kind of cows they have here but they must be really happy. Just like that California cheese commercial... Happy cows make happy cheese. I can only hope that when I go back home I won't be disappointed with not being able to get great cheese at the neighborhood grocery store. Mmm cheese. I love it!

As far as updates go, I'm going to be booking another flight soon. Hopefully I'll be able to go to switzerland in March. If not, I'm sure it won't be too bad. I know I'll be in Florence then. I'm hoping I can bike ride though the entire city. After that, Tuscany will be the next thing on my list to go to. Hopefully I'll feel better before my trip to Paris this weekend. I'm a little nervous. I hear that people aren't as friendly as they are here. They apparently really don't like it when you don't speak french. *shrugs* I don't speak a lick of it. Lol I think the funniest part of our trip will be where we're staying. Our hostel's name is "Oops". haha priceless. =] Look out for pictures because there will be plenty! Till then I'll be taking pictures at the colosseum. I'm pretty sure one of my art history classes will be going there this week. =D

Hope everyone's New Year was awesome!! Thanks for reading as always!

Coooorrnnyyy

Boy I wish Valentine's day wasn't the way I figured it was going to be. lol. Even though it isn't a huge holiday here, I still saw people walking around together holding hands. Guys with roses and dates going on left and right. I suppose it's a good thing I went out clubbing last night at a gay club. It was a blast. It made me pretty tired so I basically stayed at home all day today. It was 20 euro to get it but we stayed till 5:25 in the morning. I ended up going to bed later on when the sun came up and woke up at about 1pm to my own coughing.

Night life in Rome is pretty fun! I think the only reason why it was 20 euro to get in was because of this Carnevale craze that is going on in Italy right now. At least we got a free drink inside. At another club called Vogue, they charge 15 euro for a drink. Makes you wish you were in the states again just to get a bigger drink lol. But if you're looking for some pretty good looking people out to have fun, make sure you head on over to Alibi in Monte Testaccio. Girls, just be smart cause some italians are extremely touchy and may ask where you live. Monte Testaccio is a street that's basically covered with bars and club after club. It's a ton of fun and the food that is sold near these clubs .... DELICIOUS! They must be making bank when people get out of the clubs too. I basically danced still I couldn't dance anymore. Unfortunately it's filled with people smoking and that didn't help with  me getting over my coughing. Yuk . I smelled like smoke after but it sure was a blast. After getting back I plopped onto the couch, chatted with Hai for a little, and fell asleep as the sun came up. 

I can't believe my 2 and a half year anniversary is coming up. I can't wait. I know it's not like 3 years and my mom always makes fun of me for counting but I'd rather be excited than not right? 

For those of you that did get to see your valentine I hope you had a great time. I was thinking today how sometimes people say that with men you have to tell them what you want instead of letting them figure it out on their own because they won't. Well I think when it comes to holidays like these, I this whole idea should be thrown out the window. I think days like these, we should hope that our significant other should be a bit more creative and think of a surprise before their other has to tell them. I guess go big or go home is what I mean. If you love, love whole heartedly. Not that anyone has to spend tons of money but something from the heart will always be good enough. Someone asked me recently what my biggest weakness was and I said Love. But I also believe it's my biggest strength. I believe there's always time that can be made for people that matter to you. So please do make time to show someone how much you care. How much you would keep walking for them even when your feet are tired. 

Alrighty, enough of my sappy mumbo jumbo.. it's time for bed. lol After spending the evening drawing, I think my eyes need some rest. =] Take care and Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!

Going out on the town

My roomates are gone once again for the weekend. I have the place to myself and for those of you that know me well. I danced everywhere in the whole apartment lol! At least with everyone out I can practice for the RENT musical. I ended up spending the night at a friend's house after running out and about at a friend's birthday party, Scholars, and then Campo di Fiori. The night came to an end around 2 am and I made sure to drink some tea before knocking out on the couch. Tonight will hopefully be filled with some dancing may it be at a normal or gay club. We'll see how that goes! =D 

Oh wow.. my roommate just got home! lol scratch the whole I have the place to myself thing... I'm going to catch up with her and ask her trip went! see ya!!

wierd weather =P

For those of you that read the previous posts... the weather here is pretty crazy. It's now super sunny after a morning of white powder. lol!

Wahh? This happens?

Around 11am I was trying to get some extra sleep to get better today. I was pretty much woken up by people screaming and shouting outside. Although I tried to just ignore these people that sounded like they were shouting in the rain, I couldn't. Right after getting up, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. It wasn't raining... I was snowing!!! 

  

I was totally surprised! I didn't think it would ever snow in Italy! Does this ever happen? It wasn't even light snow. I was coming down pretty fast and the flakes were so big! I decided to take some pictures immediately to share with you all as people started taking chucks of snow off cars to throw at each other. I don't even know if these Italians even would know what to do with themselves if this continues lol! Oh boy what a big surprise.

An "Oh Well" Day

Alrighty well today wasn't exactly the BEST day ever.. I did almost get hit by a taxi, got stalked on the way home, couldn't stop coughing for hours at a time, and waited 3 hours at school for a practice that was cancelled. Oh well...I'm over it.heh.  I just want to get better. I'm pretty excited that it's Thursday because this will be the beginning to another weekend! yay!

A good thing about today was that I did stumble onto the Pantheon. I was in the area... it's pretty huge! I'll definitely be returning again sometime soon for class. Then I'll be sure to take some more photos for you all to see. For now, here are a few of the pantheon, the plazza it's in, and the nearby fountain that was pretty interesting...

 

 

I basically did a good load of walking, but like what I've told many, you do stumble on some really cool stuff when you do. Here in Rome, sometimes the plan is to just have a few hours to get lost, try new food, and find new things to admire. There's always something new. Probably because some stores open at different hours, and that causes you to miss things even if you walk down that way everyday. 

Something that we've all heard is... when in Rome, do as the romans do. It's kind of open ended as far as what that means. I think I'm doing as the Romans do though. I'll just try to not get hit by a car as I do this. Now I must go and get better. This cough is pretty bad and it needs to say bye-bye by tomorrow. *crosses fingers*

PS. you'll see these signs everywhere...There is one by the Pantheon!

 oh McDonalds... they even have coconut shrimp and a McItaly burger. =O

*CoUgh CoUgh*

It's 2:34am and I suppose I should be asleep but I really was excited to tell you that I booked two flights tonight. One to London and one to Dublin. YAY! Oh and last night I booked a flight for 5 Euro (plus 15 for one bag boo..) for a flight to beautiful Barcelona!! I'm pretty excited and I'm looking forward to my trip to Paris for next weekend on the 19th. I think one of the things I'm pretty excited to see is our hostel. It's called Oops! LOL! Even the door handles at this colorful and modern place say Oops on them. How awesome is that?

As far as today went, it rained again but it wasn't too cold. I spent the day just doing a photo shoot with a classmate at Piazza Navona. We came up with some funny shots! Here are just a few:

 

the dance you'll never see cause he doesn't dance

the hairflippp classic! 

 

Candid smile :D

Christmas lights on a nearby cafe

  

yes he actually did a back flip. no photoshop =]

 

Not a quite a backflip but fun nonetheless

 

secretly he was laying on the street. We were hoping for a "falling" scene 

 

Aw. The naked baby pose we made when we were little.

 

Dolci vita no? nom nom nom!

Yes that tiramisu was just as good as it looked. It was 4 Euros of heaven with milk chocolate drizzled on top. yum yum YUMMMM.

After this fun photo shoot we headed back onto campus. I had a group meeting and then practice at 8pm. I finally got to act with my partner in the musical and it was pretty fun! I got to be sassy, sexy and fun .. just like Mimi in the musical! =D Of course I also had to be going through cocaine withdrawals but that's a minor detail =]. I must head to bed now before I get even more sick. I've been coughing a lot lately. My roommate and I chowed down on soup I made last night. It was good! 

(garlic, onions, chicken, fusillini, celery, corn, tomatoes, lemon juice, salt, pepper. A new take on chicken noodle soup I suppose)

Buonanotte!!