For those of you that know me, I love being spontaneous but there are plenty of times that call for planning ( which I love to do as well) . :) This is one of those times. So here is my game plan that I've figured out as I travel Italy before Hai arrives in Roma on the 28th.
1. Leave Roma on the 20 or 21->Levanto
-arrive in the bigger town of Levanto and take hikes through the famous cinque terre region of italy. It's a bigger place so it'll be easier to find a place to stay apparently. The hiking trails are amazing and you even have to pay to go on them . Insane! I'll just be hanging out at the beach and chilling with locals.
2. Leave Levanto on the 24th ->Bologna
-I have no idea what to do yet. This is where the spontaneous side comes out. I'll probably ask for some recommendations from my buddy Josh who has family out there! Maybe I'll meet his nonna lol! I would love that!
3. Leave Bologna on the 27th-> Tivoli
- Check out the famous villas that are amazing I hear and witness the blooming of the city that is also known for its fountains. I'm sure the gardens are going to be great by then.
4. Leave Tivoli on the 28th -> Roma
- Pick up my suitcase, meet Hai at the FCO airport, and shuttle our bums to the center of Roma where we will find our hostel!
I definitely still have to figure out where I'll be staying in each of these cities but I think this is a good start. So much can be done in just an hour. AMAZING!
I'll keep you all posted!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I love sunny Rome!
If you couldn't guess by the title, Rome is officially sunny again!! wahoo!! It's absolutely beautiful out and if weather keeps up, I'll be doing some major exploring tomorrow in a dress! I can't wait! I finally got to go on a run since it wasn't raining today, and boy did I work up a nice sweat.
Lately I've been watching some movies as the rain has been coming down, and I got to finally watch all of "Wedding Crashers" till the very end! What a fun movie! So I suppose some good came out of the rain. I've also been cooking at the apartment. Josh and I annihilated a bunch of pasta last night since one of our buds didn't come over till later that night. It was gooood! I'm pretty stoked to get some recipes from him though. Apparently he has some up his sleeve that he learned over the years. Italian recipes + italian dude = legit stuff! I hear we have to hit up some of the local markets to get some ingredients. Hopefully those will be ones I can find in California so I can make it when I get back home. We'll seeee!
Now that tourist season is kicking in, so many parts of Italy are now done with their restoration process, and they also have more music and shows going on around the city. Buildings that were nicely lit are now even more lit, and I can't wait to get lost in the eternal city. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful summer! I'll soon be planning the rest of my travels in Italy before Hai comes. It looks like.. cinque terre will be on the list, as well as Bologna since I live with one Bolognese right now. I figured he could give me some good recommendations and I could possibly meet his friends/family while I'm there. For now, I get to enjoy some random parts of Roma I haven't seen yet, and I'll be brushing up on some Italian until the 21st comes along :).
Anywho, Jen is off to get some more stamps to send out post cards! Hope you all are doing well! I hear California is nice and warm right now! Have some avocados for me and get a nice tan!
LOve love love love LOVE,
Jen
Lately I've been watching some movies as the rain has been coming down, and I got to finally watch all of "Wedding Crashers" till the very end! What a fun movie! So I suppose some good came out of the rain. I've also been cooking at the apartment. Josh and I annihilated a bunch of pasta last night since one of our buds didn't come over till later that night. It was gooood! I'm pretty stoked to get some recipes from him though. Apparently he has some up his sleeve that he learned over the years. Italian recipes + italian dude = legit stuff! I hear we have to hit up some of the local markets to get some ingredients. Hopefully those will be ones I can find in California so I can make it when I get back home. We'll seeee!
Now that tourist season is kicking in, so many parts of Italy are now done with their restoration process, and they also have more music and shows going on around the city. Buildings that were nicely lit are now even more lit, and I can't wait to get lost in the eternal city. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful summer! I'll soon be planning the rest of my travels in Italy before Hai comes. It looks like.. cinque terre will be on the list, as well as Bologna since I live with one Bolognese right now. I figured he could give me some good recommendations and I could possibly meet his friends/family while I'm there. For now, I get to enjoy some random parts of Roma I haven't seen yet, and I'll be brushing up on some Italian until the 21st comes along :).
Anywho, Jen is off to get some more stamps to send out post cards! Hope you all are doing well! I hear California is nice and warm right now! Have some avocados for me and get a nice tan!
LOve love love love LOVE,
Jen
Monday, May 17, 2010
Rainy Roma
For the past three days in Roma, it's been rainy on and off. Earlier as I was walking to school, on the way to use some internet, I heard thunder I thought oh crap. Next thing you know, it's pouring. I kind of just giggle to myself as I scramble to get inside the school. I saw a bunch of people all dressed up. Today is graduation day for the little grad class of 2010 at JCU. I was told a large class for them would be 50. Hot dog! That's small. Sometimes I forget that this school is mainly made up of study abroad students. Hopefully things run smoothly even with the rain.
Lately, I've just been relaxing in Rome as I hang out with two of some of the funniest people I've met in Roma. Josh and Anthony who both were kind enough to let me stay with them for the next week. I'm hoping we'll get to see our friends from the play perform again. If you haven't heard yet, they're kinda awesome and their group is called "Qunita Giusta". Look them up! They performed on x-factor dun dun dunnnnn!!!
I can't wait to post up these pictures from London and Dublin but I can't really do so just yet without my camera, which is stationed at Anthony's pad. I'm also crossing my fingers for internet so I don't have to keep roaming onto campus for the next few days as I conjure up my game plan as I travel Italy by myself in a few days. I'll definitely let you know when I know though!
Till later gator!!
Lately, I've just been relaxing in Rome as I hang out with two of some of the funniest people I've met in Roma. Josh and Anthony who both were kind enough to let me stay with them for the next week. I'm hoping we'll get to see our friends from the play perform again. If you haven't heard yet, they're kinda awesome and their group is called "Qunita Giusta". Look them up! They performed on x-factor dun dun dunnnnn!!!
I can't wait to post up these pictures from London and Dublin but I can't really do so just yet without my camera, which is stationed at Anthony's pad. I'm also crossing my fingers for internet so I don't have to keep roaming onto campus for the next few days as I conjure up my game plan as I travel Italy by myself in a few days. I'll definitely let you know when I know though!
Till later gator!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
London and a bit more of adventure... story time!! caution.. it's long
Okay so to fill you in I only have limited time to type this because I'm in my hostel in Dublin and I have a time limit on this internet access. I just figured that this part of my trip was just that interesting and I HAD to fill you in on it..
First off,... London was great and I learned how good I was at navigating in general now after exploring so many new places in the past new months. wahoO! I'm no longer map challenged! I ended up staying at a cute place called Ashford, Middlesex? hahah I know it doesn't sound too cute but the city was adorable and the houses looked like gingerbread houses ! It was beautiful in the morning too. So nice I had to go out and take a run! I'm pretty sure running in Roma messed up my body though. I felt like an old person running with leg pains. Perhaps the uneven cobblestones in Roma ? iono. hopefully that gets better.
London sure was chilly but nothing I couldn't handle after my experience in Paris. The metro system thankfully was awesome and we avoided the cold by using our day passes. Josh and I definitely found out how expensive things were but we still found ways to explore and have a great time. We basically hit up all of central London: soho, oxford circus, the south side of the river like shakespeare's globe theatre, the tower bridges, the london bridge, the columbian district, and also the east in Notting Hill. anywhoo.. to go on with the limited time...they love elephants there, the parks are awesome, shopping is wonderful yet expensive, they have MEXICAN FOOD YUM!, the double decker buses are cool, and day passes rocked my world.
Unfortunately.. here's where story turns. I definitely had quite the evening and .. here's what I sat down and wrote that night in the airport:
It's 11pm here in London and moments closer to 11:11pm when i secretly hoped this silly wishing game of "it's 11:11, make a wish" really worked. Update: Jen missed her flight to Dublin even after leaving 4 hours in advanced. She then searches frantically on an internet site in the airport while paying 1 pound (1.5 dollars) for ever 10 minutes. After about 1 hour she finds a flight (this includes time spent assisting 4 other families that for some reason decided to ask me for assistance). I suppose at least someone got some good out of this chaotic time. I then find that I can't pay for my flight because my credit card company decided to finally do their job and put my credit card on hold. Two nights ago, I emailed them about my itunes situation again, specifically telling them that I was overseas and they still put my card on hold. Thankfully my awesome boyfriend graciously helps me so that I can continue on this trip. yes, he's my angel. I then get asked for helped again by Italians! I was secretly thrilled to hear the language. It was comforting for some reason. Maybe because for once in that past hour , I was able to understand people. Even though we all speak English in America, how come things like this happen?oy miscommunication.. I don't know.. boh!?
So after this little adventure, I attempt to withdrawal money from "Barclays" to see if it would let me pull out cash even if I couldn't use it online like a credit card. Little did I know the damn machine would retain my card. My heart sank and I felt like all of the water in my body ran up to my eyes as my eyes started to water. The only sympathy that ATM machine could give me was "you should try contacting your bank". The next two people that were supposed to help me turned out to be just like that machine saying, " you should try contacting your bank." Too bad I can't, seeing you how my source of income was gone!
I thankfully had my discover card, that I assumed wasn't accepted in many parts of Europe. The pay phone nearby had "discover" written on it. I thought *fist pump* my luck is turning around. I called my credit card company (LBSFCU) and although the rep found that she couldn't do anything for me , she was so kind I would have just blamed her for my next cavity because she gave me a toothache! She was so sweet! The next call was to discover and that rep was equally as awesome. His questionaire to verify my ID was like a game show. He was extremely helpful and informed me that I could withdrawal 300 dollars from my card at ATMs labeled "link". I was so pumped because that would have been perfect for my time in Dublin. I'd be set until I got back to Rome where I could get money from my school account.
I grabbed my things and head on over to an ATM where I try to withdrawal money. Accidentally asking for more than 300 dollars in pounds, I had to try again. The bloody machine took my card AGAIN!
So... I have a backpack, a suitcase, tickets to Dublin, 20 euros, no cards, and a headache. I try to once again go to the info desk and the woman just could care less really. I tried figuring out what to do as I walked away. I start crying unwillingly.I wipe my tears and go to her again to ask what the code to call collect was. I could tell she was starting to feel a bit bad for me. Finally a real person came out from her eyes. She didn't say anything but "100". I thanked her for the third time and went back to the pay phone. I call the first person that came to mind, Hai. My parents would have been if not for my pride ,and my foreshadowing conversation of confusion and worry on their part because their baby was stuck in the UK without any money.
I must admit, I didn't call him for anything but to hear his voice. I didn't need money. (well I did but that's besides the point) I just needed comfort and someone familiar to calm me, and someone to keep me from crying. I just needed some love. I know he said it sounded like I was disappointed in him for not figuring out what I should do, but I was just upset in general. I know I 'd find a way but like I said.I just wanted to hear his voice. Unfortunately he had to hear mine after this fellow that embarrassingly enough connected my collect call. I can only imagine what he was thinking then. Or now at this moment...
I now find myself sitting on a cold stone floor on the airport floor with my luggage to keep me company. My tears have subsided and I'm now merely the narrator rewinding the past few hours in my book. What a night and it's not over yet. My flight leaves at 6:30am and I'll be pulling an all nighter. I suppose I could sit here thinking about who to blame. Was it the server that was super slow? The late underground that took forever to get me to the station? Or the shuttle that took 2 hours to get me to the airport instead of 1 hr and 10 min? Or was it the damn ATM that had no mercy on me? The help desk that wasn't so helpful? Meh, what's the point? Finding out that answer would take up a lot of time that wouldn't be able to be given back to me. Much like that ATM machine. I'd be shredding something important, precious time. Time as a person with adventure, aspirations, joy, feelings, friends to think about and all that other mushy stuff. I refuse to be a machine... so here I come Dublin with nothing but 20 euros and my camera. .. that I'll use to zoom across a rainbow and find a pot of gold!!! haha Or at least a four leaf clover. =]
.. To end this story (for now) I ended up making friends with some Russians that were super sweet and fun. They made my night better and even taught me some Russian along the way. The rest of the morning went smoothly and I ran into Californians too who made me super excited to hear "my dialect" of the english language. haha . As for the rest of my trip to Dublin.. I'll fill you in later because I'm running out of time on this internet timer!!
PEACE!
First off,... London was great and I learned how good I was at navigating in general now after exploring so many new places in the past new months. wahoO! I'm no longer map challenged! I ended up staying at a cute place called Ashford, Middlesex? hahah I know it doesn't sound too cute but the city was adorable and the houses looked like gingerbread houses ! It was beautiful in the morning too. So nice I had to go out and take a run! I'm pretty sure running in Roma messed up my body though. I felt like an old person running with leg pains. Perhaps the uneven cobblestones in Roma ? iono. hopefully that gets better.
London sure was chilly but nothing I couldn't handle after my experience in Paris. The metro system thankfully was awesome and we avoided the cold by using our day passes. Josh and I definitely found out how expensive things were but we still found ways to explore and have a great time. We basically hit up all of central London: soho, oxford circus, the south side of the river like shakespeare's globe theatre, the tower bridges, the london bridge, the columbian district, and also the east in Notting Hill. anywhoo.. to go on with the limited time...they love elephants there, the parks are awesome, shopping is wonderful yet expensive, they have MEXICAN FOOD YUM!, the double decker buses are cool, and day passes rocked my world.
Unfortunately.. here's where story turns. I definitely had quite the evening and .. here's what I sat down and wrote that night in the airport:
It's 11pm here in London and moments closer to 11:11pm when i secretly hoped this silly wishing game of "it's 11:11, make a wish" really worked. Update: Jen missed her flight to Dublin even after leaving 4 hours in advanced. She then searches frantically on an internet site in the airport while paying 1 pound (1.5 dollars) for ever 10 minutes. After about 1 hour she finds a flight (this includes time spent assisting 4 other families that for some reason decided to ask me for assistance). I suppose at least someone got some good out of this chaotic time. I then find that I can't pay for my flight because my credit card company decided to finally do their job and put my credit card on hold. Two nights ago, I emailed them about my itunes situation again, specifically telling them that I was overseas and they still put my card on hold. Thankfully my awesome boyfriend graciously helps me so that I can continue on this trip. yes, he's my angel. I then get asked for helped again by Italians! I was secretly thrilled to hear the language. It was comforting for some reason. Maybe because for once in that past hour , I was able to understand people. Even though we all speak English in America, how come things like this happen?oy miscommunication.. I don't know.. boh!?
So after this little adventure, I attempt to withdrawal money from "Barclays" to see if it would let me pull out cash even if I couldn't use it online like a credit card. Little did I know the damn machine would retain my card. My heart sank and I felt like all of the water in my body ran up to my eyes as my eyes started to water. The only sympathy that ATM machine could give me was "you should try contacting your bank". The next two people that were supposed to help me turned out to be just like that machine saying, " you should try contacting your bank." Too bad I can't, seeing you how my source of income was gone!
I thankfully had my discover card, that I assumed wasn't accepted in many parts of Europe. The pay phone nearby had "discover" written on it. I thought *fist pump* my luck is turning around. I called my credit card company (LBSFCU) and although the rep found that she couldn't do anything for me , she was so kind I would have just blamed her for my next cavity because she gave me a toothache! She was so sweet! The next call was to discover and that rep was equally as awesome. His questionaire to verify my ID was like a game show. He was extremely helpful and informed me that I could withdrawal 300 dollars from my card at ATMs labeled "link". I was so pumped because that would have been perfect for my time in Dublin. I'd be set until I got back to Rome where I could get money from my school account.
I grabbed my things and head on over to an ATM where I try to withdrawal money. Accidentally asking for more than 300 dollars in pounds, I had to try again. The bloody machine took my card AGAIN!
So... I have a backpack, a suitcase, tickets to Dublin, 20 euros, no cards, and a headache. I try to once again go to the info desk and the woman just could care less really. I tried figuring out what to do as I walked away. I start crying unwillingly.I wipe my tears and go to her again to ask what the code to call collect was. I could tell she was starting to feel a bit bad for me. Finally a real person came out from her eyes. She didn't say anything but "100". I thanked her for the third time and went back to the pay phone. I call the first person that came to mind, Hai. My parents would have been if not for my pride ,and my foreshadowing conversation of confusion and worry on their part because their baby was stuck in the UK without any money.
I must admit, I didn't call him for anything but to hear his voice. I didn't need money. (well I did but that's besides the point) I just needed comfort and someone familiar to calm me, and someone to keep me from crying. I just needed some love. I know he said it sounded like I was disappointed in him for not figuring out what I should do, but I was just upset in general. I know I 'd find a way but like I said.I just wanted to hear his voice. Unfortunately he had to hear mine after this fellow that embarrassingly enough connected my collect call. I can only imagine what he was thinking then. Or now at this moment...
I now find myself sitting on a cold stone floor on the airport floor with my luggage to keep me company. My tears have subsided and I'm now merely the narrator rewinding the past few hours in my book. What a night and it's not over yet. My flight leaves at 6:30am and I'll be pulling an all nighter. I suppose I could sit here thinking about who to blame. Was it the server that was super slow? The late underground that took forever to get me to the station? Or the shuttle that took 2 hours to get me to the airport instead of 1 hr and 10 min? Or was it the damn ATM that had no mercy on me? The help desk that wasn't so helpful? Meh, what's the point? Finding out that answer would take up a lot of time that wouldn't be able to be given back to me. Much like that ATM machine. I'd be shredding something important, precious time. Time as a person with adventure, aspirations, joy, feelings, friends to think about and all that other mushy stuff. I refuse to be a machine... so here I come Dublin with nothing but 20 euros and my camera. .. that I'll use to zoom across a rainbow and find a pot of gold!!! haha Or at least a four leaf clover. =]
.. To end this story (for now) I ended up making friends with some Russians that were super sweet and fun. They made my night better and even taught me some Russian along the way. The rest of the morning went smoothly and I ran into Californians too who made me super excited to hear "my dialect" of the english language. haha . As for the rest of my trip to Dublin.. I'll fill you in later because I'm running out of time on this internet timer!!
PEACE!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Time to say goodbye.
I know it's a disgusting habit but I have to admit... I have been biting my nails. Yes , not the first thing you'd want to read in a while but I am really nervous that this trip is coming to an end. I have to go back home soon? I have to move back to a fast paced life? I don't get gelato anymore? No more fun old people to talk to in Italian? No random 3am strolls to the Trevi fountain? No more RENT cast outings? I have no idea how to feel right now and a lot of thinking is all I've been doing.
I realize that I won't be going home for another month, but all this business with my roommates leaving, us all packing, and cleaning... makes me so sad. I've been giving final hugs to some people that I've grown so close to this semester. It's rough. I even got my recording of RENT..I totally cried while watching it. I'm going to miss falling in love for 1.5 hrs and living for "no day but today". I absolutely can't wait to see people I haven't seen at home for the past half of a year, but I think the saddest part for me is that I know I won't be returning for a while. There are so many things that have happened here that would never happen at home and it's going to be weird to adjust to another style of living.
One thing that reminds me that reality bites sometimes is the fact that I'm still dealing with this Itunes issue. If you weren't aware, someone hacked into my itunes account and ordered about 375 dollars worth of useless games and applications. Sucks. I'm stills trying to work it out through email and skype between my bank and itunes. I definitely did some retail therapy after this mess. It happened during finals week so that just wasn't fun to think about either while studying. Thankfully I feel like finals still turned out well, but we'll see when I get my final grades.
On the plus side, I've been going on outings with friends and taking some more pictures. =] Getting lost in the city has been fun and I can't wait to continue the insane picture snap shots once again. I figured that no matter where I go, I'm always going to look like a tourist. I should just go big and go nuts with my camera hahah.
Alrighty well it's about 2am over here. I should get some sleep since my roomies are leaving in the early hours of the morning. I should be up to say goodbye. Until my next blog I hope everyone is doing well and has warmed up hugs for me! Feel free to practice on others too before hand =] . Here are some pictures I've taken lately...
I realize that I won't be going home for another month, but all this business with my roommates leaving, us all packing, and cleaning... makes me so sad. I've been giving final hugs to some people that I've grown so close to this semester. It's rough. I even got my recording of RENT..I totally cried while watching it. I'm going to miss falling in love for 1.5 hrs and living for "no day but today". I absolutely can't wait to see people I haven't seen at home for the past half of a year, but I think the saddest part for me is that I know I won't be returning for a while. There are so many things that have happened here that would never happen at home and it's going to be weird to adjust to another style of living.
One thing that reminds me that reality bites sometimes is the fact that I'm still dealing with this Itunes issue. If you weren't aware, someone hacked into my itunes account and ordered about 375 dollars worth of useless games and applications. Sucks. I'm stills trying to work it out through email and skype between my bank and itunes. I definitely did some retail therapy after this mess. It happened during finals week so that just wasn't fun to think about either while studying. Thankfully I feel like finals still turned out well, but we'll see when I get my final grades.
On the plus side, I've been going on outings with friends and taking some more pictures. =] Getting lost in the city has been fun and I can't wait to continue the insane picture snap shots once again. I figured that no matter where I go, I'm always going to look like a tourist. I should just go big and go nuts with my camera hahah.
Alrighty well it's about 2am over here. I should get some sleep since my roomies are leaving in the early hours of the morning. I should be up to say goodbye. Until my next blog I hope everyone is doing well and has warmed up hugs for me! Feel free to practice on others too before hand =] . Here are some pictures I've taken lately...
for more.. just venture on over to facebook =D
Love.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
It's time.. to go back to a real school.
Once again, it's that time of the semester that everyone dreads-fInals week. Most schools normally wouldn't have finals on Sunday. Unfortunately JCU isn't one of those normal schools.. well actually let's just call it an institution. We do have finals on Sunday and I have my first one today at 6pm.
Not going to lie, I have no idea what to study for. Our study session for the marketing class consisted with the professor talking about two slides on her powerpoint. Just 2 slides.. I'm definitely ready to go back to a real school where professors don't give you final study guides until 2 days before your final exam and where they have reasonable requirements for when assignments are due. No way should a 19 page project and presentation be ready in 2 days.
Enough of my little rant. I need to get back to studying, but I have a new found appreciation for CSULB . I just want my amazing art professors back and on the plus side, I'll get to see them all next semester. =]
GO BEACH!
Not going to lie, I have no idea what to study for. Our study session for the marketing class consisted with the professor talking about two slides on her powerpoint. Just 2 slides.. I'm definitely ready to go back to a real school where professors don't give you final study guides until 2 days before your final exam and where they have reasonable requirements for when assignments are due. No way should a 19 page project and presentation be ready in 2 days.
Enough of my little rant. I need to get back to studying, but I have a new found appreciation for CSULB . I just want my amazing art professors back and on the plus side, I'll get to see them all next semester. =]
GO BEACH!
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