hooommeee...and prague, berlin and amsterdam...

Because an upward shift of distraction and laziness I have not been able to update this blog, but it's 5:30 in the morning and I'm completely jetlagged so I think I should do something useful.

Prague will be the only Eastern European country I will visit I think for a long time. it was gorgeous and old and was classic in a way that many other cities couldn't pull off. but there is something about being able to read your own alphabet that makes me crave for the comforts of Western Europe. Also...people in the other countries smile. The first time we got on a metro there wasn't one person smiling or even talking, not that the metro is always the most lively of places, it's just not as depressing. we did however walk around the palace and charles bridge that, despite the whole tourist thing, took my breath away. The nightlife also took my breath away. We ended up, going to a sort of underground cave/wine cellaresque club that was filled with beautiful women and men wearing iron maiden t-shirts with mullets or shaved heads. very odd sight...

Then we moved onto Berlin and to be honest I didn't see much of it. the first day I waited around the hostel waiting for my friend Rachel who was meeting me there while the rest of the group went to a concentration camp. That night emily and I got a hotel room for my birthday and basically just relaxed. and the next day(my birthday) we hung out more with Rachel in a little neighborhood. In the evening though we went to a fun mexican restaurant with everyone and ate our hearts out. Afterwords we went to my only real berlin experience: a biergarten. it was great. our last day was started late and all we saw was a museum on museum island and the parliament building(which has a glass dome to signify that the government should be open for everyone to see and it shouldn't hide anything).

Our next and final stop was Amsterdam. Since I only had a day there before my flight back home we ended up only seeing the area around our hostel. and trust me, it was enough. Our hostel ended up being in the redlightdistrict and had an all night bar below it. the streets were cosy and filled with partiers and tourists and fun music blasted out of every "coffeeshop" we passed. i spent most of the time taking it all in and frequenting a DELICIOUS chinese restaurant a block away. I hear there's a lot more to see than the red light district, but that was enough to convince me to come back any time.

Then at 7 yesterday morning I boarded my plane with many tears of good bye. and 15 hours later I arrived here to see my beautiful parents, friends, and puppy.

Final thoughts on the trip will come, but until then I can only look forward to what Rome brings in September...

Italia.

Today is the end of my first week in Italy...tonight we are in Milan before our flight into Prague and though we know Milan has a lot to offer, our only activity on our agenda is to recover.

Our time in Rome got progressively more fantastic and more like I imagined Rome. Though I started out with less than satisfactory thoughts about the place I ended with an optimistic view on my next semester. for example, our last day was spent wandering around Campo di Fiori, the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona which was nice and touristy but as we walked back to our bus stop we heard happened to look inside an old courtyard only to hear Vivaldi being played by the international baroque symphany orchestra in Rome. they were practicing for a show later that night in the courtyard and for a price 4 of us went. it was fantastic being in a hundreds year old courtyard, surrounded by italians listening to the 4 seasons. to me, it was Rome saying "dont worry, we're actually pretty cool and we'll be waiting for you when you get back."

then we arrived in Venice, only to find that our lodgings were about 30 min.away...in a corn field...when we first got off of the train station there were only a few closed buildings, fields, and chickens to meet us. But when we arrived at our country cottage we found a charming perfect place for us to play card games, drink, and eat pizza (at the pizzeria that was conveniently attached to our home). venice was venice...thats pretty much all i can say. it was beautiful and it has canals and squares but nothing really out of the ordinary. oh! except for the fact that i can haggle like a pro. and have bought my friends some classy frauda and Cucci. and we now know how to navigate the at first charming but then stifling water buses.

more to come...in PRAGUE!!! YAY EASTERN EUROPE...

yeah. holy. crap.

I'm freaking out a bit here. We just arrived in Rome about 2 hours ago only to find oppressive heat and burnt, fish paste covered pizza. ok, yeah, we've only seen the street our hotel is on but still...I know I am being overly observant but given that i will be living in this city for the next few months, wouldn't you? However, I will not be so stupid as to judge too early. however expect more observations in a few days.

i'm actually pretty sad to be out of Madrid, I really enjoyed our slow pace and the beautiful sights Spain had to offer. I also enjoyed being able to slightly converse with people with my classroom spanish. Rome will not be that easy. I am extremely excited to see the old ruins however, already we have seen ancient walls randomly throughout the city, as if they still serve a purpose. it's fantastic.

let me know how you all are doing! being apart and out of touch is getting to me.

End of Madrid, Beginning of Holy Crap

hola mis amigos!!
We have about 2 more hours of awake time in madrid before we hurry off to Rome on a 6:25 am flight to Rome. Today has been excellent, we started off late, around 1 and took themetro to the gay area of Rome where we found the first ever "gay" restaurant in Madrid which blasted 90s R&B. it was delicious(if you closed your eyes). then we went to the Madrid park, for the life of me I can´t remember the name, where we rented row boats and paddled around trying to find shade on the hot lake. after, we took naps in the shade and chugged huge bottles of water. very very relaxing.

since then I have been relaxing at the hostel, eating pringles, and reading my new book titled ¨the monster of florence¨ which outlines a 40 year investigation of 14 murders. it´s interesting in that it delves deep into the old italian culture and history and it´s getting me really excited about living in rome. I really can´t wait to see my future home tomorrow, but I´m also really nervous. I really hope I like it...

"Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting." --Robert Thomas Allen

I think for the first time in 3 days I can finally take a moment for myself. we started on our journey to Madrrid 2 days ago, and due to train reservations, a faulty engine and general nonsense we ended up taking 20 hours getting here(the latter 4 were in 1st class, it was our only choice). it was a terrifying amount of traveling, but I´ve got to say, Madrid was worth it.

Last night we did(my very first) pub crawl through 4 clubs where we all proceeded to get wasted, dance, and meet other international students. Definetely a great night for everyone. (I even managed to find our way home with more than a few "flags of Spain" in me. yep yep, be impressed)

So far my time in Europe has been surreal. from the moment we stepped into our shabby hotel in france, to right now as we all recover from last night in our smallest clothing(it´s freaking hot). All in all I think so far it´s everything I was looking for in this trip, but it freaks me out in the best way possible to think that we have 3 more weeks of this.

Tip #1: When you feel culture shock just think "it´s only Epcot center".

paris!!!

sorry guys, this post will be short as i am working with a horrible french keyboard.

but just to keep you updated, i am in paris, the dirtiest, most grungy part of paris and it's wonderul. heads up, if you are trveling on a budget no one speaks english. we have become very good at sign language. but other than that paris has been relatively painless. after our flight(which lost our baggage for a ouple days) and flurried running around airports, it has been beautiul. wehave climbed notre dame and eaten crepes staring out at the eiffel tower at midnight.

thankfully everyone has gotten along, so i am pretty happy.

tomorrow, MADRID!!!!

quiet before the storm(final packing)

Helloooo ladies and gentlemen,
I am extremely flattered by all of your comments! I can't believe so many people care about this trip. I think I'm going to have to keep this travel blog a bit more updated to keep you all entertained. the pressure!!!!

Right now I am attending our final meeting for the Europe trip. All the others of which I was on webcam in which my face was passed around on a screen are long gone and now it's crunch time. We are weighing all of our bags and making everything as efficient as possible...it's not easy. it seems like everyone is giving up something they don't want to(I luckily did this process before I left for Kansas City so my dramatics were saved for my bedroom walls).

it's 4:51 pm in Kansas City right now and it is officially the quiet before the storm. Everyone is retreating to their respective families after perfectly stowing away their luggage and all the communication between everyone has been silenced. But when 6:20 hits tomorrow morning(when the first 2 people of our party take off) the storm will begin. thundering, we will be transported along with our 30 lb bags across the world. to Europe!!!!

and now a homage to Jack London(since I am missing Oakland already...): "It is so quiet and peaceful, and I sit here, and ponder, and am restless. It is the quiet that makes me restless. It seems unreal. All the world is quiet, but it is the quiet before the storm. I strain my ears, and all my senses, for some betrayal of that impending storm."

Next post will be in Paris...