Fall Break

I apologize for not updating the blog in a while, so I shall now write the longest one yet to make up for it. Midterms consumed a large part of my life up until break. They were killer, not for being uber hard, but for just being so time consuming. I mean all of the studying and for a test that takes less than 2 hours? Cruel isn’t it. But as a reward for getting through the first half of the semester and memorizing the titles and dates of papal bulls in Latin and way too much art I got fall break.

Friday, October 26th
Well it all started with a 445 am taxi ride from my house to the train station because no buses run at that time, lame. So I get to the train station to catch a special bus that will take me to the Florence Airport, and chill outside the gate and eat breakfast. I think I would have looked super sketchy if I did not look so nerdy (I was reading some of the Iliad while I waited for the place to open up). Then involved some running around in my kitten-heeled boots, which just resulted in me winding up in the same spot, I was earlier. So the bus depot finally opened and they said the bus I needed wasn’t going to get there in time for me to get on my plane. Right, not good. They flyers totally lied to me. So small bit of a panic because the airport is unwalkable, and I have only been there once, ie the day we flew in. But then as luck would have it there were two other students at he depot with the same problem as me. One was this younger girl who was from Santa Cruz and studying in London, and the other was this cute guy who’s in the NYU program in Florence. Me being the crafty one that I am took charge and decided that we should spit a cab. Thus we all made it to the airport in time to make all of our flights.
I arrived in Gatwick Airport and after a long time is customs and passport checking I made my way to the train station and rode to Brighton where I met Norm! Despite the muggy, semi-rainy ride, the English countryside looked amazing! I was also watching Pride and Prejudice on my computer and pretending I was in the movie as I traveled in England. So Norm and me went to Lewis and played in a castle that reminded me of one from Lord of the Rings. And because we’re basically 7 we lucked out and found a dress up room, meant for children but whatev. Which meant medieval photo shoot. Then her, her friend Mark, and I ate yummy traditional cornwall pasties and milkshakes.
I stayed at her flat while I was in Brighton/Sussex and met her flat mates. One of them was an American student named Christine who is really cool and she helped show me around England.

Saturday, October 27th
Norm, Christine, and I went with their school on a tour of the Sussex countryside. First we saw the chalk cliffs, which is wear they filmed a few scenes from the recent Pride and Prejudice with Kira Knightly. Then we went to another town that was a beach resort, very different yet similar to Coronado by San Diego. It reminded me of that quote from Austin Powers, “It’s remarkable how much the English countryside looks in no way like southern California.” Then we went to Pevensey Castle, which sis oh only 1,500 years old. And to honor this very old and historical site it was only fitting that we did cartwheels and unexpected piggyback rides. To class it up, afterwards we went to tea. It was a really cute place in a very nice garden. But I felt bad because I am just not a fan of tea. I did try a cup but I was more a fan of the scones. Scones with clotted cream and jam made my day. You think oh those things are jus tiny muffins, so prob. Yeah 2 scones equals a meal that makes you full for days. But they were so worth it.

Sunday, October 28th
Girls in any city and no school means one thing, shopping! So we headed to the local mall (which I miss because we do not have malls in Florence, or really in Italy at all). There were antics and fun to be had in the toy store and the Virgin Mega store. If I had any doubt to where I was, the toy store made sure I knew. Oh England, only you would have soccer team versions of Monopoly! Then the three of us went to a pub for fish and chips. Well they had fish and chips, but since I do not eat much fish, I had a potpie and chips (still very traditional). Then we tried Banofie pie! Seriously, if you ever have a chance to try it you should. It’s the pie that Kira Knightly is eating in Love Actually when she goes to the guy’s apartment to get the wedding tape. Yes we are nerds but it made us try it and it was so worth it.

Monday, October 29th
School was in session for them today, so it was a chill at the flat day. Catch up on sleep and movie trailers on apple.com. But there was a lovely bonding time over Wayne’s World (crazy Americanz).

Tuesday, October 30th
I left Brighton and headed off to Oxford. It was actually really simple, because I ended up taking a different train than I had planned on taking, and it went straight without any changing of trains. Hurray no connecting! So I met up with my friend Hilary and stayed with her in her flat. We then walked around Oxford’s center and saw some of the many colleges, and we were able to go in and see Exeter. Then we decided to climb Oxford’s Oldest Building-the Saxon Tower of St. Michael at North Gate. From outside it seriously didn’t look that bad. But to climb the sucker you have to go up this creaky wrapping stairs inside the tower and once I got higher than the bells I started to freak out a bit. But I did it! And the view at the top was great. We could see around the entire city and got to see the sun setting.
Later I met up with Maxwell and we went out for pub food. Let’s just say that my bread was the best part of my dinner. But after we explored some more of Oxford. I got to see the Pomona room and where they all were going to school. Then Maxwell and I tried to get into Christ’s Church but it was closed. So then we pretended to be juvenile delinquents and break into the gates. For those of you who do not know, the campus of Christ’s Church is where they film parts of the Harry Potter movies and have some nice rugby fields as well.

Wednesday, October 31st
Hilary and me took a day trip and went into London. It was weird to be back in the city so soon. I had traveled there about 4 years ago and I didn’t think I would be back to London so soon. We walked around and I took photos of all the theaters and went into musical theater heaven. So we decided to see a show, thank you discount ticket booth! We got tickets to see We Will Rock You (a musical set to the music of Queen). It was seriously great. On Halloween I saw a musical about rock and roll with a bunch of people in crazy costumes. Plus I knew most of the songs and rocked out in my seat. And the lead guy, named Galileo Figaro (haha Bohemian Rhapsody), was such a good singer and very cute. I also saw London’s replica of the Cheers bar (based on the tv show) but we didn’t have time to go in, so I just took a quick photo. When the show was over, Hil and I decided that no trip to London was complete without a stop at Harrods’s. Plus she had never been there before. I know it’s super touristy, but when I went before it was blast. So we walked around the huge store and got lost trying to find the ice cream place. But once we did I laughed because I didn’t remember it was a gelateria. I felt like I was home with all the workers there speaking Italian. Our server was hitting on Hilary and it was just like I was back in Italy. A great dinner, she had a malted milkshake and I had a banana split. Our server made fun of us and called us Americans, and then I sassed him in Italian. It was a very good Halloween. Plus we saw little kids in costumes around the store – super cute.

Thursday, November 1st
So this is the story you all have been waiting for you, and you were all right. I mean come on, it’s me and my life. Of course I have to have a ridiculous travel story-everything was going way too well for my won luck. So I got up really early and caught this special bus that took me from Oxford to Gatwick airport. So I get on the bus and try to pay my 18 pound like it said on the website. But the driver says it’s more and I didn’t have enough money. Well he drove one stop and then told me to get off and get some money from the atm., which I was glad about because I thought he was going to just kick me off the bus. So once that was all settles a slept because that’s what I like to do at 5 am. Then we arrived at Gatwick and I made my way to the terminal, only to discover there are 2 really big ones and I didn’t know which one I was supposed to be at. Upon realizing this I flagged down the first official looking person I saw and asked him where I was supposed to be. And of course it was the other terminal, which required me to get on a train to get to it. Now in the correct terminal, I make my way to the check in desk of my airline only to find out that my flight has been delayed, oh until…they were not sure yet. What?! Yes. They told me to check back in a few hours, which brought about a small panic attack. But then I decided why bother freaking out, and to just enjoy the time I had. So I treated myself to a nice sit down breakfast in the airport, and tried slow food. But it was breakfast and you really can’t drag that meal out too long without multiple coffees, which I don’t drink. Afterwards, I walked around the terminal for a few hours. Did the usual stuff, window shopped at the nine west shoe store, contemplated buying some duty free Hugo Boss fragrance, really just cause Jonathan Rice Myers was advertising it. Then came post card writing time and then book reading time. Honestly I just wanted to sleep but I was too afraid to cause I was alone. After more time had passed, I tried again and was finally able to check in. But that took forever, as well as security, because it’s London, and I was going to Spain, which apparently means I need extra screening? Seriously people, how threatening do I really look? I’m a sleep deprived college kid on vacation, just let me get on the plane. And at this point marks the beginning of my brain hurting due to the use of 3 languages.
After I do not want to think about how many hours I got on the plane and I was ready to just get out of there. And then my heart broke when I heard that due to heavy congestion, we’re just going to have to chill in the plane for another 30 to 45 minutes before we can actually take off. Thankfully, I bought the latest COSMO and distracted myself in the glory that is COSMO (which I truly appreciate now that I have been without it, Calli you win). But on a bright note, I now know the safety measures for plane travel in three languages. Well we finally land in Spain and I think, great. My ridic story is over. And as if on cue, God goes, OH NO, NOT SO FAST.
Well I get off the plane and into the terminal where I almost gag. Apparently there are smoking sections of the Madrid Airport and I came out right into it. So gross. Next up, find the metro to get to Iris. Seems simple enough. I mean, I can read the signs in Spanish, I understand what people are saying, and am only fumbling my words a bit, speaking Spaniano (Spanish and Italian). I’m trying to find an atm to get euro to get a ticket so I can get on the metro. But the atm that accepts my visa and non-Spain card, is broken. So I have to go to another terminal and once again, huge airports. Finally find atm and get cash, but am so turned around that I don’t know where I am. Which begets me having to find information people and ask where I am and how to get to the metro. Well I finally get to the metro, and get all my ticket stuff taken care of and get on the train. I do a pretty good job of getting to Avenida de America without getting turned around too much, and then set out to find Iris at the station. Well the station is multi leveled and I wasn’t quite sure where to meet her. The main problem was I had her wrong number and she didn’t get the message that my flight was delayed, so we’re quite off on our meeting times. Needless to say, I’m freaking out cause I have no idea where I am or she is and I wander around the station for about an hour and a half. To make a long story short, we eventually get in touch with each other and I make my way to her apartment. This was seriously the most ridiculous travel day of my life! From there we chill at her apartment and rest until Kayla comes in later that night.

Friday, November 2nd
The three of us head out to get some culture, so we decided to go to the Reina Sofia. The lines to get into the museum were so long because it was discounted at some and free at others. And as we are waiting in line this news crew comes up and starts interviewing these ladies in front of us. They were visiting from Portugal and he was just asking them questions, and then guess what? He asks if he can interview us! So Iris mainly talks in Spanish about what the painting Guernica is about, and she sounded awesome for the record. Then he asked me how I liked Madrid, and I said how it was very different from Italy and what I liked about it. I think I spoke mostly in Spanish, I know I did fumble a bit in my prepositions, but oh well. It was really cool to be on the news, but we didn’t get to see it on air cause we missed it. I enjoyed seeing the museum thought. Lots of cool works like Picasso’s Gernica, La Bouteille d’Anis by Juan Gris, and Dali’s El Gran Masturbador. So much art and so little time. We had some delicious Cuban food for lunch. I know Cuban food in Spain? But it was worth it and it inspired us for something we did tomorrow. Then we went to the Royal Palace of Madrid and wished we were rich and lived there. I’d have to say the best part was naming the rooms that we went though. They were so lavish and over the top it was ridiculous.
For dinner that night it was tapa night. So all of us students from all over the globe, made lots of tapas. I swear I felt like I was in the movie L’Auberge Espagnole. We had so many different people there and so many languages going on, like Spanish, French, Italian, German, on and a bit of English as well, lol. Well making tapas was so fun, even though me and one of the guys were chopping potatoes while on our knees in the entry room (yeah Iris I brought it up again). Then all of us ate and watched youtube. Amazing and mature of us. Despues, we went to a club/bar thing. Yes, my first club/bar thingy!! But it was crowded and kind of a bust, but now I can say I have gone.

Saturday, November 3rd
So because the lines were so long, we didn’t make it to all of the museums we wanted to go to the other day. We woke up early and made a big old picnic lunch, and went to the Prado to stand in line. It was seriously a smart idea because we were in a huge line and having our food kept us from buying from those savvy venders. The Prado had so many exhibits that I was just overwhelmed. We saw the famous works from Goya, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, and so many more. I won’t bother to name all the works I saw, but they were great and I’m glad we had a trusty handheld guide. Some shopping, which brought about me finally getting my very own Spanish National Team Soccer Jersey, personalized with Torres’ name and number on it. Goal met!
And then, heaven. We made fried plantains! Thank you Cuban restaurant. But then we rolled ours in cinnamon and sugar, and had some gelato and nutella as well. Oh so fat and so much eating of our feelings, but so worth it. Then we did the other thing I knew I had to do before I left Spain, SNAGRIA. It was good, but sad to say had not actual fruit pieces in it and wasn’t really that that good. But hey I did it, and that’s all that counts. After we went to some clubs, but I was a bit of a downer cause I just can’t function with all of that smoke and in hot non-ventilated rooms. I just hate smoke and I reeked of it. We caught the partita on the tv: Real Madrid v. Sevilla. It was cool to be around all the fans, but sadly Madrid lost.

Sunday, November 4th
Last day of break, and so tired. We went to a huge outdoor market and walked around for a while. We ended up buying the soccer scarves for our teams. Iris and Kayla bought Atletico Madrid ones because they went to the game Sunday night. Sadly I had already booked my flight and I wasn’t able to go. Instead I bought myself a Spanish National Team scarf to match my jersey, so I’m set for games from now on. I still need to get them for Italy as well, it’s all on my to do list. After the market I headed out on the train and made my way to the airport. I was quite proud that I made it from the apartment to the airport without getting lost. Hey it was a big accomplishment for me. Then it was just getting on a plane and getting back home to Italy.
I truly enjoyed traveling around and thanks to all of you who hosted me and let me stay with you. I am truly thankful for you showing me around and I had a blast! This break really taught me that I am fine on my own, and despite certain setbacks, things work out in the end: this is my new life motto. Yes it’s worrisome and stressful or scary at times, but the memories made make it all worth it.
I also learned that I made the right choice in studying in Italy. As great as all the other places have been, Italy has become my second home. I began to miss it while I was visiting other places, and just the way of life here. It was very nice to hear Italian being spoken when I got off the last plane, like that relief you get when you hear familiar voices.
Also, now know that my brain can function in 3 languages, and am ready to go back to school and take Italian and Spanish at the same time. It was frustrating to know the word in one language and not the other, so I really just want to get better at both of them. Plus they both came in really handy while I was traveling.
School is back in session and that means, more school trips! This weekend is the longer trip to Rome. We’re going to the more famous sites this time, like the Coliseum, and wait for it…The Vatican! You know I am excited for this trip. Well I would be more excited if I was going into the Vatican Archives (which is my life’s goal), but I’m saving that for another trip. Alla Prossima.