What I miss/not

It's been a week since I left Italy. Italy has been good to me. I explained it to a friend this way: "I love the U.S. The United States is the love of my life, my home, but damn Italy is good in bed." It's the only way I could describe it. haha.

The things I miss:

my friends

my old apartment (oddly enough)

train transportation

walking everywhere

Aurora and Chico

Blooms and Davide

Costanti, the cute guy who works there, their aperitivi, and their Bloody Marys

close distance to Florence

clapping after a Ryan Air flight

Europe in general

riposa

loud chanting

good food

H&M

"bee boop (british accent) the train arriving from (Italian)Firenze Santa Maria Novella (British Accent) will be arriving on platform four.

rocking out in Santa Prisca (grocery store)

Things I don't miss:

My ten lbs I gained in Italy (seriously looks like I got a boob job and a j-lo ass)

slow internet

squeaky beds

non diverse food

my landlord

running out of water

not having a dryer

not having a dishwasher

So far at home, I've been fascinated with my television since I haven't watched it in months, other than online shows. Houston is hot and humid, so staying inside is a must. I was carded for the first time as a 21 year old the other day, so I was excited about that. Other than that not much going on. I'll be in Baltimore this weekend for a wedding, which I'm very excited about. My cousin graduates this weekend as well. And I move to Norman the following weekend, where I'll be until I graduate this December. It's going to be interesting. Not really sure if I want this to be the last entry or not. We'll see. Until then Arrivederci e ciao!

Getting ready to go home/ the trek home

Equals finishing papers, having fun with friends, and packing.

Paper got done.

Saying bye to friends was hard. I know I'll see them in Norman but it's not the same. I made some Italian friends too and I miss them already.

Packing was better than I thought, though I had to ship a ton of clothes. They are now on a nave(boat) and I won't see my stuff until mid to end June.

I left Arezzo with a bang. We did our ritual stops at Aurora and Mr. Blooms and we had a blast. That's all I wanted.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I said ciao to Arezzo. We arrived in Rome, dropped off our tons of luggage, and went to the Spanish steps where I said bye to Sam and Steven. They were so nice to help us with our luggage, and I'll be forever grateful, because my crap was heavy. Sarah and I decided to get dinner, where I ordered my favorite meal which is Caprese and Spaghetti con vongole (clams). We then had to get gelato and sit at the Trevi Fountain, my favorite location in Rome. The next morning we got up, got on the Leonardo da Vinci express and showed up at Fiumincino.

Jesus American customs are crazy in foreign countries. Don't get me wrong, I think that's great because the last thing we need is another terrorist attack, but damn. Some bus took us to a remote terminal, where we did customs, checked in, did security, did passport check, and then got on another bus that took us to the actual terminal where our plane was. My plane was delayed for two hours which means I would miss my flight from Chicago to Dallas. I tried explaining this to the check in dude, who was just like "I thought you told me your connecting flight was at 7 pm!" "No my flight from DFW to IAH leaves at 7, I'll miss my connecting flight to Dallas." He then wouldn't even make eye contact with me which really pissed me off. So I was like "Look I'd just like to be in Houston tonight, can you get me on a flight?" He ignored me! So then I was rude. "Fine. I guess I'll talk to the people in Chicago when flights are full and I'll be jet lagged and confused! Thanks you've been super!" So during the flight I spent 10 and a half hours twiddling my thumbs, because I was so antsy, and couldn't sleep, or read, or pay attention to the tv. (We didn't have our own on this flight) We landed in Chicago, and I got a text from my mom saying I had a flight right from Chicago to Houston. I was thanking Jesus, because I heard so many people were being stranded in Chicago from our flight.

As I stepped off, I went through another customs and passport check, and picked up my luggage. I tried explaining to the lady that I had a different flight plan, and if there was something I could do to change my luggage tags. She responded with "We're professionals, we know what we're doing." Clearly not, my luggage wasn't in Houston when I landed.

I went to the terminal to wait for the plane, and stopped at the nearest Hudson News to pick up a magazine, sprite, and starbursts. I then sat at the gate, realized it was a small plane, and decided to take dramamine. Mistakes! I immediately felt drowsy from the jet lag and the dramamine and started to drift off. People probably thought I was on drugs, I was trying so hard to stay awake. I then heard the guy announce boarding, so I got up, boarded the plane, found my seat, and passed out. The only time I woke up was when I heard the guy said "It is now safe to use portable electronic devices," which I take as put down the tray table and pass out again. I then woke up a bit during a lightening storm, then I realized we were landing. I power walked to baggage claim where I first saw my mom, then my dad, then Tori! I greeted her drowsily saying "Oh look it's Tori...I knew you'd be here." We stood at baggage where I was like "it's not going to be here, the professional idiots lost it." So we went to baggage lost and found, filed a report thing, and then went home. I don't remember what I said I just remember not shutting up. I went to my room and passed out. Luckily I barely had jet lag because of that day, but I did wake up at 8 bright eyed and ready to go that next morning. And recently I haven't been able to sleep in. Hopefully that won't change.

Ibiza

Ok so here's what went down:

As ya'll know, there is a pesky volcano in Iceland that has been enjoying ruining European travel plans. I was in Florence with Brittany when I received a call from Kayla saying, "our flight has been cancelled." I responded to this statement with a certain favorite f word. So when I got home from Florence, I checked the computer and sure enough it was cancelled. Later that night, my roommate Halie and I decided to trade songs on the computer and stay up until 4 am. Before we went to bed we thought it would be a good idea to check the flight just in case. Next to our flight it said ON TIME. We looked at eachother and were like "ahhhh it's not cancelled!!....SHIT WE NEED TO BE AT THE TRAIN STATION IN THREE HOURS AND WE HAVE TO PACK!" So we slept for an hour, and got ready.

The original count for this trip was nine...three showed up. Halie, Kayla, and I are troopers! As we got on the plane Halie said, "You smell that? That's the smell of volcanic ash." I was like "Halie that's not funny!" So Ryanair flew us to beautiful Ibiza. We got to the hostel, and then headed to the "Rubbish beach" as the Brits told us. We passed out pretty early. We woke up the next morning and went to another beach. The day was spent relaxing with a book. The water was freezing but we decided to test it out anyways. Apparently Halie hates jelly fish, and we saw a few in the water. I told her it would be fine because I was on jelly fish duty, and that "I got this." Well ok so I got distracted, there were cute Irish boys in the water. When I look down there's a jelly fish extremely close to me, so I scream "JELLY FISH AHHH" and haul ass to shore. Halie is still in the water screaming "WHERE WHERE" as she's running towards it. As I'm screaming to her where it is she sees it and proceeds to run to shore. Eventful part of the day. Cute Irish boys spoke to us later, and mentioned they heard us screaming earlier. oops.

Fun trip! Kayla got a bit too much sun, Halie got tan, and I'm still pale. Story of my life.

Paris

Paris was absolutely stunning! I felt there was so much to do and that I only did a small portion of it. I flew in on a Monday evening during a beautiful sunset. Paris Beauvais is in the middle of nowhere, and it took about two hours to get into actual Paris. The Italians and I bonded during the bus trip because none of us spoke French, so we stuck together. Paris, to me, felt like an American city. Other than London, Paris was the only place where I saw a lot of skyscrapers, and a freeway system with lots of lanes of traffic.

I will say this now because I'm home safe and sound, so my parents can't scold me, but I totally did the subway system by myself at midnight to get to the hostel. It was slightly scary, but I held my own and looked confident. There was a group of gypsies eyeing me and then pointed at me to their friends, but I just stared them down, and then they backed off. Nothing got stolen so success!!

Ok so I only came across one asshole Parisian. This guy was in charge of the hostel. Other Parisians were actually really nice to me. But this guy, forget it. I can't remember the stuff he said but he was rude.

Ok so Robyn, Mason, and I woke up and took the metro to Versailles. Versailles is sooo pretty. The Hall of Mirrors was absolutely beautiful. Everything was so lavish, and awesome. I went through a Marie Antoinette phase when I was younger because I read a few books in 5th grade, so it was pretty awesome to see a palace I've been wanting to see for ten years.

Later that day, we decided to go to Notre Dame. Beautiful stain glass windows. Ridiculously huge. Freaking sweet.

The next day was dedicated to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. Louvre=most overwhelming museum since the National Gallery of London. I can't believe how many pieces are in there. The Eiffel Tower was my favorite part though. Sitting with a glass of wine, a chocolate banana crepe, with good friends made this ideal. We got to see it sparkle and then went to the third level to see the view.

Things to do when I go back:

1. If I don't get one here, I will be purchasing a Longchamp bag. I meant to do it in Paris but didn't come across a store. I saw some in Nordstrom, but I would need to save 98$. Unfortunately that'll probably be needed for an ipod shuffle since my classic died.

2. Musee de orse (spelling?) So sad I didn't go.

3. San Chapelle.

4. Moulin Rouge

Disclaimer

I'm back in the states, but completely forgot that this existed and I still haven't written about Paris, Ibiza, the preparation for home, and then the going home part. So just pretend I wrote about all these things the instant it happened or something like that.

The Hills are Alive!!!

Yes I went to Vienna for the weekend to see my friends Eva and Kathrin. I have known Eva and Kathrin since eighth grade. Their dad worked with my dad for about six months, and I lived in their pool for a summer. Chair races were a popular game at the time haha.

So I got to spend the night in Florence on Friday night because my flight left the next morning at 6:45 am. Che schifo! Luckily for me, the hostel put me in a room with a gorgeous view of the Duomo and the Campanile. So the next morning I woke up and walked to Santa Maria Novella, caught a cab, and went to the airport. Let me tell you about Austrian Air. I will forever love them because instead of giving out peanuts, they gave out Austrian chocolate bars. Chocolate bars!! So delicious. The plane ride was super short, and we had to stop in Bologna, which was a joke because the plane literally took off from Florence, then we leveled out for a minute, then the plane went back down.

When I got to the Vienna airport Eva, Kathrin, and Irmagard were there to greet me and Kathrin's boyfriend Lorenz was super nice to drive us around. The first thing we did was get breakfast. This was an exciting moment because Italy's breakfast equals a croissant and coffee. Breakfast fail! Austria's breakfast equals eggs and ham. Breakfast win! Actually Austria's food in general is a win. There was nothing gross in that country. After breakfast, we walked around and did some sightseeing. Then we did some shopping at H&M, my weakest link. We got a tour of Kathrin's cute apartment and then Peter came over and we went to dinner where I had Wienerschnitzel and potatoes, and this kick ass soup. Oh and I saw the Austrian president on the street. Bawlin!

The next morning, Kathrin and I woke up, had a nice breakfast, went to a place where she could vote for their president, and then we met up with Eva and went to Schonbrun palace (the summer home of Maria Therese, Marie Antoinette when she was little, and Sissi who had ankle length hair). Touring houses and palaces is a favorite of mine so clearly I had a lot of fun. We also went through some mazes and took a stroll along the gardens. I saw this little boy with an OU hat and I almost freaked out, but luckily I didn't go over and scream and scare him and his mom. Success. We then had lunch where I got a caesar salad (hey dressing doesn't exist in Italy). We then had an early night. The next morning I got up and met Kathrin who works at the Belvedere museum, and we looked through the whole museum chatting about art. There was this one room that reminded me of the Ballroom where Beauty and the Beast danced in. It was a good day. Then I had to fly back to Florence, spent the night, and then went back to Arezzo.

Good times. I really want to go back to see Graz and Salzburg. This will be my next trip to Europe.

Cinque Terre

Ok so about three weeks ago, I decided to go to Cinque Terre with two of my friends for the weekend. So far it is the most beautiful place that I have ever been to I believe in my life. As some of you may know, I am a beach person. I love the water, love being around it, and I love good seafood. Cinque Terre for the win! We arrived Saturday night, and found a decent restauraunt with my favorite: spaghetti con vongole (clams), along with a glass of wine and chocolate cake. This dinner was followed by bedtime, however we instead talked about ghost stories, then couldn't sleep, so we talked about random stuff and fell asleep four hours later than we wanted to. We got up at a decent hour, and decided that after breakfast, we wanted to hike to all of the islands, and then go to the beach if we had time. It was a beautiful day. We could not have asked for better weather. Our hike was really awesome, but very very intense. If we weren't surrounded by beautiful scenery, it would have been hell. It was very uphill downhill, and my legs were rock hard by the time we were through. It was so worth it and I would do it again. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go to the beach, so we hopped on a train home. Good weekend trip!

I really fail

At this whole updating thing. I have two trips to update on so stay tuned!