27 November 2010

We No Speak Americano - Yolanda Be Cool and Dcup

Saturday - After my exhausting night you would think I would sleep in, but that was not the case. I didn't want to miss my friends who were in the room I was supposed to be in first (also I didn't have their phone numbers) so I woke up early and took a quick shower and went down there hoping I didn't miss them and as soon as I walked down the stairs I saw Mayra and was super relieved to find her because then I could get access to the room and leave my stuff there and hang out with them. After a joyful reunion with Liz, Mayra, and Maureen, we went up and ate the free breakfast which wasn't the best but tasted good because I hadn't eaten alot since I got there. Then Liz and I took off and went sightseeing. We rode the tube into town and saw Big Ben, The London Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and lots of other stuff. For lunch we ate at a pub where I got "real" fish and chips and a beer. It tasted so good and for dessert we split a chocolate bread pudding which was amazing.

Then we did even more sightseeing as we saw Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station, St. Paul's Cathedral and Tower Bridge. It got really dark and cold early so at 5 we went to this mall where we got our tickets for the Harry Potter movie and ate sushi for dinner as we waited the two hours before it started. Finally we went and saw the movie. It was good and I can't wait for the last one! Then we went back and went to bed because it was past midnight when we finally got back.

Sunday - Started by saying goodbye to the girls studying abroad in Spain and rolling back over to sleep for another hour. I got up at 9 so I could take a shower, eat the free breakfast, pack up and checkout before 11. Then I took the tube into town and went to Buckingham Palace where I saw the changing of the guard. When I was there I listened to conversations around me and heard so many different languages it was crazy! It was really cool but really strange to be in a country that speaks English but since I was at all the touristy spots it was mostly other languages.



Then I got cold so I went to Hard Rock Cafe to warm up. It was kind of busy and I didn't feel like waiting so I went and ate a quick lunch at McDonalds (since I had already spent alot of money in London). Then I walked around and walked the Millennium Bridge and London Bridge (which did not fall down when I was on it). Then since it was getting dark and late I took the tube to Victoria Station, took a slower train to the airport (since it was cheaper and I had time), and bought a cheap dinner and a book to read. It was the second book in the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series and was really good. I read all 500 pages instead of sleeping that night since I was spending the night at the airport (I didn't want to pay an extra night just to leave at 3 am to get to the airport and then catch my plane at 7).

In the morning I had breakfast and went to get on my plane. As I was waiting to get on I saw Joanne so we talked some and sat on the plane together. Then when we got off we tried to get through customs to make our train back to Clermont. We finally got past customs, took the express to the train station but by the time we got there we had just barely missed our train. So we went and got our tickets changed for a later time and relaxed for two hours until we finally got on the train and back. By the time we got back we couldn't go to school because we had missed our classes so we said goodbye and I went home and took a nap until dinner. Then I ate dinner, did some homework and went back to sleep.

All Time Low - The Wanted

All Time Low - oh yeah I left you hanging from that last post didn't I...well here you go:

So I was on the plane when the pilot comes on the intercom and says that we are getting really close and should be in in less than 20 minutes...lies. So we are in line behind two planes. The first one apparently was coming in for an emergency landing because something was wrong with the undercarriage which had debris falling from it. They landed safely but the runway had to be cleared of all debris before the other plane or my plane could land so we circled the airport for about 20 minutes until the pilot came back on the intercom and said that we were going to the other airport because we were having "technical difficulties" (running out of gas). So after about half an hour we were at the airport. After we landed and taxied for what seemed like forever we were at the gate. I was unsure how to get to my hostel from there so I called my hostel and got directions and told them I would be running late. As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off everyone got up and got their stuff to leave. The door opened but we were told we couldn't get off until we got the OK from the officials so we waited as they ran some paperwork back and forth. After waiting what felt like ages we were finally told that we couldn't get off, they were just going to refuel the plane and then we would go to our original airport. I was super angry (but wasn't the only one).

After that announcement everyone went back to their seats and waited 15 minutes for them to finish fueling then the door was shut and we were back on their way. Funny note, the flight attendants still had to do their pre-flight safety demonstration on how to put a seat belt on and everything (seriously, we were just on this plane, do they think they forgot? it's probably some sort of government regulation or something though). Finally we were up in the air and after what seemed like an eternity we were at the other airport getting off. Then there was customs. Apparently another international plane had just landed so the line was super long, it took me over a half  hour to get through and when I finally was through I realized it was 1:05, I was supposed to be in and at my hostel before 11:30. Anyways, then I went and caught the last express train to Victoria Station and then went outside to find my bus (because I needed to take two buses to get to my hostel). I went outside and  looked but since it was so dark I didn't see anything but some construction so I went away from the construction (to the left) and, after I turned the corner of the block, found a bus stop. I looked at the sheet but it wasn't for the bus that I needed. I looked up the road and saw at least 5 more bus stops, that's when I realized I was in for a long night.

I looked at every single stop and walked over two blocks but couldn't find the right stop. Finally, I asked a bus driver who was on break and he told me to walk back to the station and keep going past the construction. So I went back and as soon as I got past the little bit of construction found a bunch of buses, awesome. I found the right one pretty quickly and got on. I knew that I needed to get off at the second stop so I sat down and at the second stop got off. Apparently in London they have scheduled stops and intermediate request stops. Furthermore, someone had requested an intermediate stop so the stop that I got off which was the second stop was actually the first scheduled stop and not where I wanted to be. Realizing this, I looked around and found another bus to take me to where I needed to be. After waiting a bit I got on and got off at the right stop. Now to find my "second" bus. I started looking around and couldn't find it so I asked some people (it's so nice that there is no language barrier but sometimes their accent makes it hard to understand) and they showed me on a map how to find it so I had to cross the plaza and go down a certain road. So I went across and went down a street but I didn't see any bus stops so I went over to the next street and promptly found it.

Then as I was waiting and studying the map, I realized that this one was going the wrong way (I had forgotten to take into account that they drive on the wrong side of the road). So I crossed the road, found the stop, and waited for half an hour. Finally the bus came. When it came I asked the driver if it goes to Sidmouth Road, the stop I needed to get off at, he said no. Not to be discouraged I walked back and took a seat. Then this guy came and took a seat next to me so I asked him if he knew where it was, he said he didn't but pulled out his iphone and tried to find it for me. He said that I could just get off the same stop as him and it shouldn't be far from there so I said ok and got off at the same stop. We started walking and then I realized that we were in the 100 block and I needed the 200 block. I told him I could find it from there but he insisted on walking me all the way there which kind of annoying and creepy. Finally I got there at 5am, and went in as he left. I got all checked in and went downstairs to my room thinking I could finally tumble into bed but not quite yet...

So I opened the door and got out my phone so that I could find bed number 8. I was looking all around and couldn't find it so I went upstairs and asked the night manager who told me that the numbers were on the sides of the bunks, of course. I looked and found number 8 but there was someone sleeping in it. I went back upstairs and asked what I should do, he said it was probably the person form number 10 who took that one mistakenly. I went back down and looked but there was someone in 10 too. So I checked all the bunks on the bottom and they were all full. I went up and told him this and he said maybe one of the top ones is open. I checked every single bed and they were all full. I went back up yet again and told him this and he frowned and gave me a different bed in a guys room because it was the only open bed. I went to the bathroom, changed into my pjs, went to the room, found my bed easily, and went to sleep at 5:30 am.

24 November 2010

Any Way You Want It - Journey

It's been a while since I have had an update or an update with a song title so here we go... Any Way You Want It by Journey. Ok, I certainly don't get to have my life quite like how I want it but I can get pretty close.

Monday - Woke up late and then studied for Russian. After doing some other homework I went to lunch, sent my boyfriend's birthday present, and studied some more. Then I went to go to Pepiniere and met with one of the members of my group. We couldn't find anyone else so we just decided to cancel. Then I had my Russian dictation exam. It wasn't that bad but later when we went over stuff I realized that I missed alot of stuff. Anyways, I was kind of shocked because I thought oh we get to take the exam and then leave..not so. We took a 20 min exam and then learned over 100 new vocab words! I was rather shocked and overwhelmed but it wasn't that bad. After school I went back home and chilled, had dinner, did some homework and went to bed.

Tuesday - Woke up early so I could do some more homework. Then I ate breakfast (Nutella on toast and chocolate milk, what could be better?), showered, realized that I was gonna be late to class and left really quickly walking the fastest to school making it 12 minutes to school (averaging about 2 min per block or less). Then we had classes, and during lunch I ran back to my room to get some stuff I forgot, grabbed a quick lunch and went to my ICRP. My ICRP was good, I can tell the kids are starting to get more comfortable with me because they talked to me more and more even though I couldn't understand them all the time. Then I went back to school for my last class, had a test which didn't go too well because I didn't realize some of that stuff would be on there. Then I went home and watched some megavideo, ate dinner, did a bunch of homework and went to bed early because I was so worn out.

Wednesday - Woke up early again to finish my homework and left after eating breakfast and getting a shower. Then after my least favorite class, I had a quick lunch, had some more classes and finally got home at 7pm like usual. I didn't do much except homework for the next day, eat dinner with my host family, and go to bed.

Thursday - Woke up late and ran around to get to class on time. When I got there we had alot of work to do and it wasn't super fun. For lunch I ate pasta outside since it was nice enough and then caught the tram and went to the school. My ICRP was pretty fun except the kids were pretty rowdy and I had a headache. Nevertheless, I taught them some English words and the numbers 1-10. Then I went back home and had a quiet night of homework, naping, megavideo, and chilling.

Friday - Woke up and got around for what I thought was gonna be a day of classes, traveling and getting to see my friends at the hostel before midnight. I was partly right... the day started out with getting ready and going to class. After class I raced around, got lunch and packed my bags for London. Then I got on the train and to the airport with no problems. While waiting at the airport I got some Russian homework done and got on the plane once again with no problems but that was where the problems began...

17 November 2010

Switzerland

Thursday

Woke up and packed my backpack and new purse. After a shower and some breakfast I went to the store and bought some groceries so I wouldn't have to buy as much food when in Switzerland. After I came back and packed those, I chilled for a bit and then got everything around to leave. I picked up my lunch my host mom made and was out the door. About two blocks later I realized I had forgotten my keys so I went back, got buzzed in and picked up both my keys and my phone. Then I left for the train station. Once I got there, I ate lunch and went and got on my train. That was my first of three legs to get to Basel, Switzerland. Once I got to Lyon I tried to figure out which train I was on but didn't realize that I had to look at the number not where I was going to figure out which train I was on. Finally I figured it out and got on the right train in time. That train was a little bit late getting into Mulhouse Ville so I had to rush to get to my last train but I made it with two minutes to spare. Then finally, I was in Basel.

I left the train station to find it pouring. After walking around I finally found the right place and got in. Once inside, I got all checked in without a problem and went to the second floor. However, there were no door numbers on the doors so I didn't know which one was mine. After asking for some help I finally got in my room. There were only two of us in a room that was for 8 people. We each got to pick where we wanted to sleep so I choose a comfy loft that was a bed big enough for two people. After talking with the other girl a bit (she's Canadian), I ate dinner, did some homework (yes on vacation) and went to bed.

Friday -
Woke up to see it was pouring. After sleeping in a bit I finally got up, got all of my stuff around and left. I started my tour of the city but it was kind of hard without a map and with all the rain. I still had some fun and got to see some cool stuff. However, my shoes and socks were completely soaked which was really annoying. For lunch I ate at McDonald's in order to get out of the rain. Finally, I went to the train station where I took a short train to Bern.

Once in Bern I was excited to see that it was only drizzling, not pouring. I wandered around and enjoyed walking through the covered shopping area which happens to be the main street. After a bite to eat I found my hostel. I got in and went up to my room. After I put all of the sheets on my bed I unpacked and went out to see some of the town. I stumbled upon a random band playing in one of the squares. They were pretty good and fun to listen to. Then I walked around some more and after a while went back to the hostel. Once back at the hostel, I took a shower and did some homework. I also ate some dinner and went to bed reasonably early.

Saturday - Woke up late, got up and left to see the city. I got to see alot of cool things starting with an old church and a Bear Park. The city's mascot is the bear so they have a park with four bears located next to the river. It was pretty cool to see and offered some nice views of the city (since it wasn't raining). Then I wandered about the city and some Saturday markets. Then I went to the Munster (big church) and climbed the tower. The view was incredible although the 300 plus steps were a bit much. Then I went back down and got some lunch. After lunch I visited Einstein's house and did some shopping. After a while I went back to the hostel, took a shower, did some more homework, ate dinner, and went to bed early because I had a really bad headache. However, the 5 other girls staying in that room were so loud they kept me up until midnight.

Sunday - Woke up, ate some breakfast and checked my emails. Then I checked out and went to the part of town with all of the museums. I decided to go to the Natural History Museum and ended up spending almost all of my morning there. There was alot of neat exhibits to see and, even though it was all in German, I still feel like I learned something. Anyways, the museum also had lockers that I could put my stuff in while I went around so I didn't have to lug around my heavy back pack and bags which was a plus. Around noon I left to go to the train station. Once there I had a delicious pretzel for lunch. Then I got on my first train back. This train went to Geneva and passed by some of the most amazing country side. It was like every beautiful country side photo you have ever seen of Switzerland was in there. It was amazing. Then I got to Geneva, got on my other train and was back in France. Once in Lyon, I ate some dinner but it was hard to find a place to sit since everywhere was crowded since alot of people went away for the four day weekend. Finally, I got on my train and was back in Clermont. After a short walk in the rain I was home and ready to go to bed.

16 November 2010

Between the vacations

My time between my Italy trip and going to Switzerland was a blur of papers, homework, classes, eating, and minimal sleeping. I wish there was anything interesting to say but other than a Marketing exam, an European Civilizations paper, lots of homework and my ICRP, I didn't do much else.

Italy - take 3

Phew, I'm so behind. Here we go:

Nov 5 - Day 7
Woke up on the boat as it was pulling into Palermo. Got everything together and back in my bag and after waiting half an hour after we got in I stepped foot in Sicily. I didn't have very much money on me, needed to find a Western Union, wanted to find my hostel so I could put down my very heavy backpack, and was super excited. First, I decided to find my hostel so I walked halfway across town and found it. I was pretty excited that I found it so easily and walked the three flights of stairs to ring the doorbell and get no answer. That's when I realized it was only 8 am and probably no one is awake. Since I was hungry I used the 10 euros that I had gotten the night before and got a super cheap yet delicious breakfast of espresso and chocolate croissant. Then, I decided it would be best to do some sightseeing until the Western Unions opened (because nothing opens until 10 usually). I started walking around and saw a cool fountain, a huge church, and a nice garden. Then I decided to start looking for a Western Union. I walked for over half an hour with all of my bags and stuff so my back was hurting and I was nervous because I needed the money to pay for my hostel when all of a sudden I found one.

I went inside and got everything squared away and felt much better. I then went to the hostel and this time a girl who works there opened the door so she got me all checked in, showed me to my bed and gave me a map with sites to see and everything. After a bit of relaxing and a shower, I headed out for some sightseeing for a bit and got some lunch. After walking around a bit more (this is the area with all of the stores because it's more touristy) I window shopped some and found a good purse for half off. Then I got some gelatto, went back, and took a short nap. Once I was done I decided to look around the hostel some and found a girl playing cards with the owner. So I sat down and chatted with them a bit which was fun. The girl was from Denmark and was really nice. While playing she started talking about Backgammon which I said I had never played so after she lost to the owner, she asked if I wanted to learn Backgammon, I said sure. We got our purses and headed down to a tabacco store nearby and bought a cheap set. Then we returned and I learned how to play the game.

I had alot of fun and hope to play backgammon some more but I will have to improve because even though I won one of the 6 games we played, I'm still not that good. Anyways, after we played backgammon the owner said that everyone was going out to dinner together so we got our stuff and left. As we were walking to the restaurant (there was about 15 of us - the girl that I played with, a girl from Australia, a couple from Argentina, and a group of girls from the states who were studying in Rome) the owner kept pointing out interesting sights like places that were bombed in the world war that weren't rebuilt and stuff. Once we got there we had a delicious sea food feast! We had beer, wine, and water to drink and ate sooo much. The dinner started with a salad and for the main course we had shrimp, sword fish, calamari, and some other types of fish. It was all really good, and a little pricey but worth it. Then half of our group was going to go out to a club but the other half and I went back because we were tired. Once I got back I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Nov 6 - Day 8

Woke up well rested and got a shower. Then I got everything packed up and left for the day. I got some breakfast at the same place as the day before and walked down to the beach. It was super warm and sunny and beautiful. I found a spot to get close to the water and took off my shoes and socks so I could put my feet in the Mediterranean. The water was cool but it still felt good. Then, I put my shoes and socks back on and wandered around a bit. Then I got lunch (Bomba - a regional food that is more Arabic it has rice, cheese, and meat) and ate it on a rock by the beach. I love the sea and could have spent all afternoon there, however I had to catch a bus to the airport and then go to Venice. So I went back to the hostel and got my bag and caught a bus for the airport. It took a while to figure out which bus it was and when I finally got on there were some guys from my hostel who were also going to the airport so I sat and talked with them.

They were from Greece and we passed the time by talking about different phrases such as "...fart a fence." which actually means something in Greek. I can't remember what though but I thought it was funny. Then when we got to the airport we parted out separate ways. I went to the bathroom and put on multiple layers of clothes. For ryanair they have a certain weight limit for bags and I didn't want to be over so I wore three layers of socks, three layers of pants, three shirts, a dress, two sweatshirts and my coat. I must have looked really strange but my bag was light enough so that's all that mattered. So I got everything set, ate dinner and got on the plane. When we landed in Venice I got on the bus and got off, then a short walk later I was at my hostel. After getting checked in I walked upstairs and woke up my roommate and after a short talk got everything around, took a shower and went to bed.

Nov 7 - Day 9

Last day of my trip, how sad. Started off early, got out and went to the bus stop. Except I wasn't sure which bus stop so I wandered around until I saw the bus I needed pulling away. So I went to the stop I was supposed to be at and waited 15 minutes for another bus. Finally I got on and was on my way to Venice. When we got there I was super excited. As I started walking along the route outlined on a map I had, I fell in love with the city. I have always loved the water and the city feel and all of it together in one was an amazing experience. I saw some really cool churches and had alot of fun walking around and seeing everything even though it was kinda misting. I got to the Doges Palace and was a little sad I couldn't go in the church because it was kinda expensive and didn't accept people with big bags which I had two of them. So I wandered about, got my feet soaked because parts of the city were under water. I found the Hard Rock Cafe and promised to return when it opened. After sightseeing alot of really cool stuff I went back to the Hard Rock.

At the Hard Rock I bought some presents for my parents and a shirt for myself. Then I walked around and got some lunch. After eating my sandwich on the Rialito Bridge, I wandered around, got some gelatto and sadly walked back to the bus area. After I got a ticket to the airport I rode a bus in, went through all the lines and got on my plane. Once in Lyon, I took a shuttle to the train station where I took the train back to Clermont. It was really interesting coming back to Clermont because I kept thinking how happy I was to be going home. The fact that I called Clermont home was a strange feeling yet kind of exciting because I truly feel like I am becoming a little bit French.

11 November 2010

Italy - take two

Nov 2 - Day 4
Started off waking up early and showering in a sketchy shower. I wanted to go to Veseuvias but wasn't exactly sure how to get there since I was super tired the night before when Giovanni had explained it so I asked a girl who explained it and then mentioned that there are two other girls going to do that today as well. So I met up with them (a German girl who works in Milan and a traveler from California) and we were off. We had alot of fun that day. It started off with a pastry and expresso, then we went to Ercolano which is like Pompeii but smaller and better preserved. Then we found the shuttle to Veseuvias and went to the old volcano and hiked up. It was really chilly up there but the views were amazing!



Then we went back down and went back to Ercolano where we caught the train (again) to Pompeii.
Once at Pompeii we got some lunch since we were all starved. We went to this little shop where everything was made to order (meat sliced and everything) and it was super yummy (and cheap!). Then we went to the Pompeii site. It was really cool, there is so much to see and do there it is really something to see. Then it was getting dark so we left for home. After a 40 minute train ride and some walking we were back. We got to relax some and then we had dinner. Giovanni made us a traditional Italian dinner. It was so good and so much food! It started out with pasta and shrimp and then we had sausage (the sausage was the best I have ever had) and potatoes. Then for dessert we had some pastry thing. After dinner Giovanni played the guitar and sang for us. It was alot of fun and really cool to hear all of the Italian songs. After that I got my stuff around for the next day and went to bed because i was exhausted!

Nov 3 - Day 5

Started out with sleeping in. Then I got up, showered and went out. I got some espresso and a croissant filled with chocolate cream. FYI I really dig the breakfasts in Italy, so good. Then decided to do the tour of the city with my American friends from yesterday. Started at the archeological museum then wandered and got a little lost. We finally found the right path after we passed this cool square and saw some churches. The churches in Italy are so amazing and unique, I have never seen anything like them. Then we wandered through the Christmas market and met up with the German friend from yesterday.  The German girl and I went to this church to see a life sized statue of Jesus that is so amazing.  It was super detailed. Then we headed to Gino’s pizza to meet up with the other girl (who went  to see the sea because she went to a lot of churches recently) and had the best pizza ever. OMG it was so good but I could barely finish it! I thought I was going to burst, but with a little encouragement I finished the whole thing. After pizza we all went our separate ways because the other two girls were leaving. 

I continued my tour of the city and saw some cool plazas, a  gorgeous gallery, the theater, and two castles. It was a lot of fun and the sea was gorgeous. You had a perfect view of the harbor and mount Vesuvius, it was so picture perfect I took loads of photos, lol. Anyways, after exploring the castles I checked my watch and saw that it was 3:30. I raced back to one of the streets because I wanted to take the tour of the underground. I made the 4 o clock tour which was pretty fun. It was me and some Germans who were all in their 50s and then our tour guide in English.  The underground was really cool, we got to see the old aqueducts that had been used for multiple purposes (first for water, then waste disposal, then shelters for bombs during the world wars).  After a neat hour and a half tour (we even went down narrow passageways with candles at some points, it was super cool) I grabbed a sandwich as I headed back to the hostel since it was getting dark. I was told that as long as I don’t go into certain areas at night I will be fine but I didn’t feel like taking any chances. Anyways, when I got back I talked with some of the people there, figured out everything for going to the island of Capri the next day and went to bed. 

Nov 4 - Day 6
Woke up really excited about going to the island. The weather had been super nice and I could not wait for a  day of exploring an island and being on the beaches. However, fate or my debit card had something else in store for me. I didn’t take a lot of cash with me so I needed to use my debit card to get some but it didn’t work when I tried it that morning. I was freaking out, I tried some other places and still no luck. I tried to use a pay phone to call home but I couldn’t figure it out and my cell phone wouldn’t work in that part of Italy. Finally I went back to the hostel and used the internet to get in contact with my dad who helped me figure out what was going on. Basically in order for me to use my debit card I need to clear it for use in Europe which I did, however Italy was blocked apparently because of the mafia activity or something. So Italy has to be cleared separately and they couldn't get it to clear. Finally my parents decided to send me money using Western Union so they sent it but less than an hour later I went to go get it, eat dinner and catch my boat to Palermo.

So this guy from my hostel was taking the same ferry so we decided to walk together (safety in numbers), but when we got to the Western Union place they had closed already (even though it was only 6pm). Silly Italians. Anyways, so we went and ate dinner at a nice restaurant so I could use my credit card. Then we went and caught the boat. It was so cool watching Naples sink away into the night, and all I kept thinking was that song "I'm on a Boat". Lol, good stuff.


Anyways, so then to go to sleep there were only chairs so I took out all of my clothes and put them on (because it was cold) laid my towel on the floor, used my jacket as a blanket/head cover because the lights didn't turn off and used my backpack as a pillow. Amazingly I was so tired I slept pretty good although I was so sore the next morning.

Italy, take one

Oct 30 - Day 1
Started off with going to the train station early. I got there over 40 minutes before my train but when I looked on the departures board it wasn’t there. I went and asked the lady at the counter and she told me that, due to a social action thing going on right now, the train was canceled. However she did switch me over to a bus for the first of my two legs in getting to Lyon. So I waited and caught the bus which wasn’t that bad. Then when I got to St. Etienne Chateureux. I walked from the bus to the train area and realized how different this was from any French city I have seen. It was really industrialized which I thought was interesting. Anyways, then I was able to go to the bathroom and catch my train.

The train was pretty quick and before I knew it I was in Lyon. Once there I needed to get to my hotel so I took a taxi (since it was late at night) and when I got to the hotel he helped me arrange a wakeup call with the hotel manager so that he could come pick me up to take me to the airport for my flight. After I got that all settled (it took awhile since there was the time change) I took me key and found my room. When I went up to my room I realized how true the saying “you get what you pay for” is. Whatever, it worked for what I needed it... a place to crash before I woke up early the next day for my flight. So I chilled and went to bed.

October 31 - Day 2
Woke up early and got all around to go to the airport. After eating a small breakfast, I went downstairs, got in the taxi, rode what felt like forever to the airport, paid, got out of the taxi, and went into the terminal. Well, at least I thought it was my terminal. On my boarding pass it said something about number 2 which I took to be the terminal number. When I walked into terminal two I was super confused and it didn’t look like I was where I should be. So I asked a guy at the help desk in English because it was 5 am and French at 5 am just doesn’t happen.  He showed me where to go and once I got there I got checked in really easily. I was really worried that my bag would be overweight or too big but luckily it wasn’t (although I still have to watch how much stuff I bring back with me). So the plane came and I got on and it took off.

I was super excited because this is the first time I have ever been to Italy! However, on the plane I was really tired so I slept most of the way. When it came closer to the end there was a lot of turbulence which made me sick but other than that it wasn’t bad at all. Once I got out of the plane I took a quick stop at the bathroom, passed customs, and got tickets to get to the main station where I was meeting Claire. I got on the bus and then a metro and finally was at the main station. I called Claire who said she would be a little late so I wandered around until she got there. Then we got on the bus and went to her apartment. Before we went up to her apartment we stopped at the pizza shop right next door and got pizza for everyone since it was lunch time. Once in the apartment, I greeted everybody and relaxed for a little bit.  After eating, seeing the apartment, and chilling, Ada (who was also visiting) and I went out and saw a bunch of cool stuff like the Pantheon. Then we ate dinner (which included Calamari or Squid! – a first for me but very good) and when we returned the others had changed into their Halloween outfits.

Ada had already planned on going as Medusa but I told Claire to pick me up something from the market and I would wear it. I had this bright pink snowsuit, so I went as a skier from the 80’s. That night was a lot of fun because there ended up being like 14 of us or something. Thankfully most of the girls had to take public transit back home so I was able to sleep by 12:15.
November 1 - Day 3
Started out by waking up, getting around and taking a shower. Then Ada and I went out and saw a bunch of things such as the inside of the Colosseum. The Colosseum was really cool and fun even though it was raining and icky.



Even though it was raining we made it to the Hard Rock Cafe but it was too busy to go inside so we just left. After that we went to the Spanish Steps and got a really cool view of the city and this neat fountain at the bottom.  Overall we had alot of fun and then went back, hung out with Claire, and then I went to catch the bus so that I could go to the train station. The bus was half an hour late (because Italians are never on time) and then when I finally got to the station my train had already left! In my mind I was freaking out but I just wanted to get everything sorted out so I went to the ticket booth and got my train changed free of charge for a later one. I stayed in the station and waited the two hours in between for my train. However, this second train was late... by 45 minutes (oh Italians). Finally I got on the train, in the right compartment (which took forever because the seats are assigned and some people have problems reading their tickets), and on my way to Naples.

After a while I noticed that everyone else in my car was getting ready to leave so I thought we were there. When they all left I got out too but then I realized that something was amiss. Nowhere did it say Naples. Uh oh. I asked one of the women who was in my car if this was the Naples stop and she said no, it's the next one. I was like "Oh fuck!" and raced back up the platform to the train but as soon as I got there the doors were closed. I pressed on the button to open them but no luck. I started banging on the door just as the train started pulling out from the station! There I was, all by myself, in a strange country, not able to speak the language, at the wrong stop. Frustrated but hopeful that there was a ticket agent who could help me I went to the ticket area but there were no agents. The helpful woman saw me and told me that there is a train in 12 minutes that goes to Naples and I can just get on that one. I said thank you and went back up to the platform. 12 minutes later a train came and I got on it. One stop later I was in Naples. Then I got a call from my hostel.

It was the hostel owner who was worried because I wasn't there yet and I said I would be getting in earlier. He said no problem and sent a cab for me because I didn't know my way around yet or anything. So I got to the hostel and was introduced to the owner, Giovanni, who is a super nice 50 year old Italian. He then proceeded to talk to me for an hour and a half about everything from the hostel to safety in Naples to how to get to Veseuvias and Pompeii and other areas. It was really nice and i was really glad to know all of the information about what to see and safety and everything. However, it was late at night and I was super tired so I went to bed.