And I will walk 500 miles...

"...& I will walk 500 more... BECAUSE WE ARE LOST AND HAVE NO CHOICE!"

This was the motto of my trip to Rome.  It sounds negative, I went to bed at 9:30 both nights, and I was sore afterwards, but I would never have seen some of the things I did if I didn't get lost, and it was one of the COOLEST places ever!

Here's what went down, yo!

Court and I woke up at 5 30 AM after only a couple hours of sleep to take the 4 hour slow train to Roma. (The fast train takes about an hour, but we are cheap-os/poor.) We check into our hostel, have to leave our  shiz in lockers, & set out for il Collessio!  We got a map and decided to walk, even though every true Roman demanded we use the Metro.  We found out why when it took us over an hour to walk a usually 20 minute walk.  On a side note, it turned out being 75 degrees and sunny in Rome & Court and I wore leather jackets (We were obviously looking sexy during all of this).

So here's a thing you should know in case you ever go to Rome.  The streets are terrible!  If you walk more than a minute or so on a street the name will change &/or the street you're walking on makes a 90 degree turn without any notice and you walk 20 minutes on the wrong street.  These are just little tid bits to keep in mind.

So after that hour, we wound up stumbling upon the Colosseum.   This really is one of the coolest things you could ever see.  It looks like a picture.  It's also hard to believe that ancient people chilled in there and watched thousands of people and animals die in there for fun.  

Court & I then proceeded to have way to much fun with the statues.

After we exited, we realized our ticket included the Palatino and the Roman Form, as well - SCORE!  We decided to see the Palatino first, because we never heard of it before.  We followed the arrows & walked... & walked.. & walked.  It was a beautiful walk, but when were we going to see the Palatino!  We came to the conclusion that the grassy knoll areas we walked through were the Palatino, & thank you, Google, for confirming our conclusion.  

  I decided to have some "Where's Waldo?" moments during the walk.

This one came out the best.  Look very closely! (hehee)

The Roman Form is the crazy area filled with Roman ruins and statues.  It, too, was unreal.

This is the part of the trip where I started to get artsy.

After all of this ancient excitement, we went back to the hostel to freshen up and go to dinner.  As we arrived at our room, we were greeted by two roommates.  Roommates!? We have never had stranger roommates before.  It was a little odd, but it is an experience one needs to have while backpacking through Europe.  Frank from California and a girl from Brazil were both traveling Europe for 5 weeks, ALONE.  I can't imagine traveling alone, but so many people seem to do it.  That was Frank's last night, and he was replaced by ZeZu a hot asian guy who is in his last year in medical school at Columbia University who was also traveling alone.  I wish we exchanged numbers or facebook info.  With the amount of money I am spending here in Europe, I need a rich hubby by the end of this.  (Can I get an Amen?)

Dinner that night was FANTASTIC!  We ate at a place where the menu was really select, but all of its ingredients come from local areas.  The menu tells the name of the farm the food came from and how many miles away it is from the restaurant.  I had spinach and cheese ravioli with a lamb crumb sauce and ricotta cake for dessert.  I think about this meal EVER DAY.

We went to bed at 930 that night... & again the next night as well.

The next day we woke up early, scavenged and stole from the free breakfast, and attempted to go on a tour of the Vatican that was supposed to be hysterical, yet informative.  Our tour guide didn't show up, even though I called the company multiple time and they said he was there.  WHATEVS, tour company! We can see the Vatican on our own!  We got metro passes, and easily found our way to Vatican City.  We went to the square and then saw St. Peter's Basilica.  The amount of detail put into this is ridiculous.  Everything was gorgeous.  I am Catholic, but even for a non-believer, it is mesmerizing.

I made my way to the gift shop (obviously, I have to go to the gift shop in every location I visit).  I wound up spending 40 euro! This is def how the Vatican gets all its money to look superb!  Since I bought the whole store, it is only natural that I bought little containers for holy water.  It turns out that the sanctity to get the holy water closed 5 minutes before I got there.  A man working as cashier told me to try to sneak some from the fountains in the Basilica.  I asked if that was allowed, and he said he wasn't sure, but I should try.  WELL, I almost got escorted out of the Basilica and excommunicated from the Catholic Church! So now I have three lovely holy water containers, with no holy water to give to relatives.  I hope they appreciate the struggles I went through.

After than incident, we had Burger King.  It was my first fast food since America, and it was DIVINE (I'm in a religious mood).   

After my scrumptious chicken sandwich and onion rings, Court and I wound up walking for hours over a bridge, up a mountain to the Medici villas thats overlook all of Rome, and wound up at the Spanish steps unintentionally.  We then stumbled upon The Hard Rock Cafe' perfectly in time for happy our, and then the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon.  The entire trip we just a stumbled upon famous monuments!  

I am now tired of writing.  This is a long post.  I walked every square inch of Rome in 2 days, and there is too much to say about how cool everything is.  I'm just going to post some pictures, because that is probably the only thing you care about anyway.  You probably didn't even read everything that I typed.  Don't worry; I'm not offended. I wouldn't either.

Medici Estate

location UNKNOWN, we stumbled upon it

but it was awesome!

Hipster on the Spanish Steps

Coin Toss - Trevi Fountain !

Portrait for sale on the street.

I am mad at myself EVERYDAY, because I did not buy this.

Is this a Furry Festival?

If you don't know what a Furry is, I will give you a brief definition.  I am currently an expert, because of the television show My Strange Addiction (It's addicting).  A furry is a person who loves to spend his or her days frolicking in an animal suit similar to a mascot outfit.  Some are even sexually aroused by this experience.  The reason I am bringing this up is because I think I accidentally stumbled upon a furry festival while trying to enjoy Carnivale in Viareggio, Italia.

When one hears the word Carnivale, Venice is brought to mind as well as masks and masquerade balls.  Venice is usually packed with tourists and is quite far from Florence, so we decided to try out Viareggio, an awesome beach town on the coast of Tuscany which has the 2nd largest Carnivale in Italy and is usually more local than touristic.  We bought masks to make sure we "fit in" with the crowd. 

As we paid the 15 euro fee and enter the gates, I was in utter shock at what I was seeing.  Grown adults, as well as children, were rocking furry suits and dancing in the streets!  Most families even matched their ensembles.  NO ONE was wearing a mask.  I felt like a Carnivale failure, but I sucked it up, put my mask on anyway, and had a good time.

 

Viareggio for Carnivale was one of the coolest and most interesting experiences ever!  It is the month long, Italian Halloween that lasts from 3 PM to around midnight every Sunday.  Everyone is dancing, singing, throwing confetti, and shooting each other with silly string and foam.  A man in a furry flower suit from one the floats jumped down and started twirling me in the street (sooo freaken fun!).  The floats were out of this world huge and intricate.  Most of them have political meanings, and I really wish I was informed enough to know what they mean.  

This is a lovely piece of an older woman with nipple chains straddling a canon. I desperately need to start reading il giornale to figure this one out!

Brot, Court, Katie, & I chilling on the Mediterranean Sea after the most bizarre day of our lives.  Things can't get much better than this.

On a side note: The 4 of us went to Pisa two days before.  Here are some of the results.

PS: This is so much harder than it looks, and it left us sore.

If your friends told you to jump off a bridge, would you?

The answer to this question is obviously NO, but there is 1 exception.  If a Swiss stranger tells you to jump off a mountain and/or canyon, YOU DO IT!   This past weekend I stayed at the Funny Farm (yes, haha, laugh it up) in Interlaken, Switzerland, and I had the best time of my entire life.  I pre-apologize for the length of this post, because too much happened, and it needs to be told.  My goal of this is to inspire you to travel to Switzerland.... And to express my love for Interlaken and Grindelwald, so that my parents are not surprised when I move there after college.  

Day 1: Paragliding over the Swiss Alps

I love this man.  His name is Peach, and he's the best flier in all of Switzerland.  

Reasons why I love him:

1) He told me I'm "pute", have pretty eyes, & could be on TV. (He could tell my dreams from just looking at me!)

2) He gave me this sexy suit to wear, when all the other biddies got black or grey ensembles.

3) He called me Amanda Panda (I got a nickname, so obviously that means I'm special.)

But anyway, paragliding was amazing.  We had to drive 20 minutes up a mountain, and then hike 10 minutes to the top of a hill.  Once attached to the pilot and the parachute, you both have to run down the hill until the wind picks you up, & you FLY!  Now, try and picture the action of running down the hill in that puffy suit, attached to a stranger, with a large butt pouch hanging from your rear.  It was a quick waddle that I wish I had on camera.  My friend Britni went before me and had a false start.  Her pilot and her waddled down, got picked up a foot, and then dropped by the wind.  After the incident, her pilot dragged her in her marshmallow outfit and butt pouch up the hill.  I almost peed my pants. 

Let's talk about the flying! Once Peach and I got into the air it was UNREAL.  Everything looked like a picture, and I didn't even feel like I was moving.  We got close to the mountain to where we could almost touch the trees, and as we did that a few mountain GOATS starting hopping along.  I love goats.  It was so precious.  We did spiral tricks when we landed, and I tripped on the ground.  It was a breathtaking experience that everyone should try.  Even for those who are afraid of heights, you don't feel like anything is real or like you're even in the air.  It's just like you're floating through a painting. (Deep stuff, right?)

Day 1 night: Bonfire with the Swiss

Everyone was being ultra-LAME the first night, but not Britni & me!  We went to the bar in the lobby of the Funny Farm called the Lounge (it was so sophisticated), to grab a nice tall, blonde, Swiss German ale.  In the process, we became besties with the bartenders Johnny (a Denmark-ian, or Danish, whichever your prefer) and Roger (South Afrika!).  Johnny is so nice and signed postcards for us, and Roger is a sassy South African with a crazy laugh.  They refilled our brews for free and made fun of the other people staying in the hostel with us (so it was only natural we'd become friends).  The Lounge closed at 1 A, and Roger invited us to a bonfire in the back of the Funny Farm.  

I can honestly say this was one of the most fun nights of my entire life.  There were only 7 of us, and we built a huge bonfire in the middle of 6 inches of snow.  They taught us how to say some words in Sveess German like "Arss"(ass), "Shizah"(the s word), and "ape-al joo-oose" (apple juice).  We made fun of the fact that How I Met Your Mother and Spongebob are in dubbed in Swiss German on he TV, and we played a log game that resembled something from MXC.  I fell in the snow 4 times, because it was so dang slippery, but the fire was so toasty I was never cold.  

As we said our farewells and headed back inside, I had my first extreme intercultural communication experience.  Rog said goodbye and then added "you guys are a bunch of good see you next tuesdays".  Yeah, what the hey!  Brit and I were like OH NO HE DIDN'T (snap, snap, arms folded).  Then he apologized when he remembered that is not an appropriate word for Americans.  Apparently in South Africa and Australia, a good see you next tuesday is a good friend.  We didn't really believe him, but according to Google it's true (& if Google says it's true, it must be, der).  

  That night I made soo many memories I will never forget.  Who else goes to Switzerland, and actually chills with Swiss people (don't acknowledge the fact that Johnny & Roger are not Swiss).  This is the first place in Europe where I feel I could actually belong, and I don't feel scared to say I'm American, because of the discrimination that usually comes along with it.  Viva La Switzerland!

Day 2: Canyon Jumping

Before I tell you my experience, I will inform you on what canyon jumping actually is.  It resembles bungie jumping, but you can only canyon jump in two canyons in the world: one in Interlaken, Switzerland and one in New Zealand (of course they said Interlaken has the scarier one, because the canyon is so narrow).  You are attached to a rope and harness at your midsection and then jump and free fall over 300 ft.  When you think you are about to hit the stream and rocks below you, you turn into a backstroke position and swing hundreds of feet horizontally within the canyon.

To get to the canyon, Marc (the awesome instructor man) had to drive us 25 minutes up a mountain before we had to to hike 20 minutes to the top.  It's supposed to take 10 to 15 minutes, but I wore the slipperiest shoes in the world!  Marc and Ziggy (the harness man) had to literally carry me and piggy back me up the mountain.

Brit and I were hysterically laughing from this experience; it made us forget we were even jumping to our possible deaths.  Once at the platform, I signed my life alway and prepared to jump.  I was not really nervous until I slipped on the snow of the platform and almost fell off of it.  Ziggy caught me just in time. As I caught my footing, I looked down for about 45 seconds.  That is the WORST thing you could do in this situation.  Staring down over 300ft, I almost pooped myself!  As a raging panic attack erupted inside of me, I bunny hopped off the platform.  

The free fall was intense!  I cannot even describe the feeling it gave me; there are no words.  It was just AMAZING.  The swinging back and forth after the fall was so peaceful.  You lay on your back, swing hundreds of feet, and take in everything around you.  There were hundreds of icicles on the canyon walls that looked between 30 and 50 ft long.  The Swiss Alps and sunshine were poking through the top of the canyon.  The snow covered stream below was breathtaking.  It has been almost a week, & I still cannot get over the fact that I did this and the feeling it gave me.

The rest of Switzerland:

Since I completely fell in love with Switzerland, it is only natural that I fell in love with a Swiss person, right?  The second night I met a guy named Dom.  He is 22, in the Swiss Army, had some of the best teeth in all of Switzerland (that is the country's one downfall), and spoke funny English.  Unfortunately, I will never see this fellow again, as I may never see Switzerland again.

I am not high on life.  I am high on Switzerland.  I stalk my pictures everyday, and wish I was still there. There are so many things to do, and if you don't want to do anything, you can just sit on a bench for hours staring in amazement at the Alps all around you.  I advise anyone who reads this to go once in your life.  Even if you can't afford it (It is the most ridiculously expensive place!  It's minimum wage is 20 Swiss Francs, and that's like $23.), go.  There are no words to describe it, and no pictures can give it justice.  

This is supposed to be the honeymoon phase?

Ciao, Bella!

So, according to this "culture shock" graph, I am in a state of euphoria at this moment in time of my excursion.  EHHHH- WRONG! Honeymoon is not even close to the feelings I have right now.  Don't get me wrong, Firenze is absolutely gorgeous! The view from my balcony looks like a painting, but that doesn't compare to my first few hours in this place.  Let me break it down for you.

Arrivo:

After an 8 hour flight, a 3 hour layover, a second flight on a tiny plane for an hour, and waiting 3 hours for half of the students to report lost luggage (Not me, thank goodness!), it was finally time for me to go to my brand new - I use the word "new" lightly - apartment! "Wow! My university is so organized, having cabs waiting for us and arranging for our landlord to greet us at the door with our keys," I thought. Speedy Gonzales, our taxi driver, dropped us off at a lovely building with graffiti on the walls.  Victor, the name we assigned our non-English speaking landlord, was nowhere to be found.  I rang every door bell (ps: doorbells in Italy don't look like doorbells in America) in the complex and I called multiple university phone numbers until and lovely Signora opened the front door for us.  Unfortunately, Signora, did not speak a word of English either.  "Non capisco," she exclaimed repeatedly.  (I mean, not for nothing, but shouldn't everyone hear speak English.  This is Europe? Right?)  Anyway, we attempted to chat with her for about a half hour or so.  There was a lot of "stop & stare" action going on, but then she led us to a woman who works in a foreign language school.  If we didn't find this woman, I don't think I would have ever come in contact with Victor and got my keys! She had me running up and down staircases and yelling for Victor out windows, but God bless this woman!

Entro it apartamento:

To enter our house, one must climb 100 steps (we counted), and then spin a key multiple times and shove one's body into the door to open it.  Finally here! Woo hoo! I only cried a little bit, so this journey seems to be a success.  It was about time to take a nice hot shower, & relax.  Boy, was I wrong again.  It is currently day 3, and the place still does not have hot water. In fact, the water is ice.  My lovely 7 housemates and I are, frankly, disgusting.  The hot water issue is just the icing on the cake to the other problems we are facing.  The house smells like weird broccoli, one fridge is broken, dishwasher is broken, 3 out of 4 stove burners are also broken... oh, and the toaster oven doesn't toast.  

So in response to the little graph above, there is no honeymoon phase! At least for me, there is not. 

Despite all the problems and tears, I really do love it here in Firenze so far.  Where else can you go where you have a chance of being run over by a Segway any time you leave the house?! The food is great, the bars are fun, my house is ginormous (its the only apartment with a rooftop balcony!), and its just crazy and exciting how different everything is.  

I was not expecting this much chance.  I assumed Europe was equivalent to America.  It's not, but it's a good thing.  I'm really thankful I get the chance to experience all this place has to offer! If that means, it offers sucky plumbing and broken appliances.. then I'll just have to embrace it.

That is all for now! I'll update you if I can ever bathe again.  CIAO :)

Our living room decor.

Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme...

Cool Runnings is by far one of the best movies of all time!  However, that isn't the reason for this blog post.  If you are a true Jamaican bobsled connoissuer, you would know that "cool runnings" is a phrase that means "PEACE BE THE JOURNEY."  I am stealing it as the motto for my trip.  

There has been some drama in preparation for my departure, as you may have read in my previous posts regarding the hell that some people call packing, but I'm finally ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride!  Tomorrow is my last full day in America, and I'm much calmer than I thought I would be.  A couple of weeks ago I was so nervous about everything: what to bring, not knowing my housing assignment, waiting for my Visa, missing out on things at Marist, ect.  I guess I freaked myself the freak out (Shout out to Victorious), and now I feel pretty good!

I hope this isn't just a phase.  The first few days are supposed to be rough, and I need the strength to endure it.  According to the 20/20 special about the Costa Concordia that aired last Friday, only 1 in 10 people have survival mode instilled in their brain, and they are able to function during stressful times.  I am definitely part of the 9ers in this statistic, and so I pray "peace be the journey" (for the sake of everyone around me lolz).

 Well my candy and coloring books are all set for the 17 hours of travel- which is Amanda code for: I am ready to get this party started! The next time you hear from me I will be in Italia, baby!  Cool Runnings!

(I hope my new housemates don't get annoyed when I say it ever other sentence.)

Luggage Happiness

Holla! I get to bring a second 50 lb bag! 

Well, its 70 extra bucks, but its a bargain compared to what I would be paying if I didn't bring it.  I weighted my bag, and it was 53 pounds instead of the 50.7 lbs allotted for free.  I figured it would only be a few dollars extra, but Momma T told me to check the website.  Oh it is not only a few dollars.   Apparently it doesn't matter if it is .1 lbs overweight or 20 pounds overweight; they will charge you $150.  Absurd!

Lessons Learned: 

1. Never assume anything.

2. Momma's always right.

Whatever, it is a blessing in disguise, because now I can bring two bags, and my clothes will be able to breath.  I can sleep a little easier now :

Packing - What is a Girl to Do?

          Time is flying, I'm starting to get anxious, and I need to vent.  In exactly two weeks from this moment, I will be in flight.  I'm so antsy I started packing already.  Yeah, I know what your thinking; this girl is kind of a freak... and I am.  Get used to it, because you will be reading a lot about my strange antics over the next four months.  This post is a minor panic attack, but I promise most of my future weirdness will be amusing... well, I think I'm amusing.

Venting Sesh:

1. Is Italy is a third world country?

I heard Europe does not have the same daily essentials in which Americans are blessed, and that freaks me out.  No fresh scented deodorants! Unusual hairsprays! Nonexistent gentle glide feminine products! What is a girl to do?  There is only one solution: Pack mule it!  But there's a problem...

2. Only 1 Bag?!

Did you hear that? I am only allowed to check one 50 lb bag for a four month excursion.  All of my daily essentials *as noted above* plus my garments are not fitting in this one bag.  

*Deep breath, Amanda* 

Okay, I'm better now.  I just had to utter my innermost concerns about the journey on which I'm about to embark.  I'm sure I'll be able to whittle down my belongings (I don't really have a choice), and I probably won't even realize I don't have my Betty White "she's golden" tee shirt when I'm having the experience of a lifetime.

If you've gotten this far, THANK YOU for not falling asleep!

Everything else should be meatballs, canolis, vino, and frisky Italian men stories.  I hope you continue with me on this magical adventure :)

(I'm cheesy, but it's true.)