My Recent Travels

Hello Family and Friends!

It has been so long since my last post due to me being insanely busy! It seems like the studying part of studying abroad has come into reality.

Two weekends was our Bing Trip. As you all know this was entirely free for us except for meals. We had one meal on the Bings and it was amazing. We traveled to Naples,
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. All in all it was a great time since it was basically FREE. However, I think I had a better time when I went to Cinque Terre. Probably because I did not have to deal with a huge group traveling around and always having to be places at certain times. I like to be a bit more independent. We had a great guide who showed us all these interesting things in those cities but it was all in Italian! At first, I approached it as a learning experience and exciting but learned quickly that it is hard to listen to hours of history in another language. I can only understand so much and then I get distracted. Pompeii was by far the most interesting and amazing to see. However, my favorite
place was Amalfi. It is a small city on the water. They have this church that is absolutely breathtaking. There was a wedding going on at the time we were there so it made it even more spectacular since there were white flowers everywhere. If I had all the money in the
world, I would want to get married in that church. Below is a picture of the insides with the wedding going on (they allowed people to walk around in the church during the wedding! I felt that was awful!)



The week following the Bing trip was Halloween. However, I had nothing to wear and it was the week of midterms. I found out from my host mom that there is a Halloween shindig that happens on the street that we basically live on. It ended up being all these shops were open late with candy outside and a few kids trick-or-treated. I would have wanted to be a mime this year but it didn’t work out. It would have been really easy and pretty funny, if I do say so myself. I can act like I am in a box better than real mimes.

This past weekend I went to Rome with a group of my friends. I do not think I have been so exhausted as I was after returning from this trip. We did basically everything there is to do in Rome! The reason for us all going to Rome in the first place was because our Sociology of Immigration class professor invited us to an Immigration Conference at the Italian Parliament. This was on Monday morning so I headed south on Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. It was a very long trip.

We stayed in my first REAL hostel. We shared a room with three girls from Quebec, Canada. I have never associated Canada with really annoying people. They would get very drunk every night and stumble in at around 4 am and continue to giggle and laugh for an hour. One was involved in a very controversial relationship within the hostel – with a guy in the room where our other friends from the Stanford program were sleeping! What a horrific time. I am glad that it was just a place to sleep. Therefore, we did not spend more than nights at our hostel. During the day we traveled (by foot or metro) all throughout Rome! I have to admit that Rome is by far one of the most stunning places I have been. The Coliseum was amazing and even better at night. In my opinion, the best part of the whole trip was spending time at the Vatican. I have never stepped foot into a church (or anywhere for that matter) that literally made my jaw drop. St. Peter’s Basilica was breathtaking. I think that St. Peter’s was more moving than even Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. However, it was worth the 2 hours of waiting, 12 euro and the trek through acres of the Vatican museum to see it. I was also able to see the good ole pope! He addressed the masses from his window and it was as if I was at a rock concert. People cheered, screamed, clapped, chanted. It was quite the event. I also had a chance to climb the Duomo and look over all of Rome! After that, we went below the Basilica to take a look at the crypts. It was a surprisingly emotional event. Seeing the pile of letters, pictures, flowers and people kneeling in deep prayer in front of Pope John Paul II grave made the entire scene very emotional. Not to mention being in a room with centuries of Popes was a bit eerie.

I really had a great time in Rome despite my feet feeling as if they were bruised everyday! I loved how everything was lit up at night and how you can stumble upon the most magnificent roman structures! I had a great time walking through the Roman Forum and reading along with my Rick Steves book. I saw where Julius Caesar was burned after being assassinated. People still put flowers on his grave to commemorate all he did for Rome. Che interessante!

I was able to visit Parco del Celio and the Celio* store! I took about 15 pictures in front of them! Also, Celio* had NO clothes with Celio on the front or anywhere visible! Darn. Pictures are below!

Our visit to Parliament was interesting but nothing to write home about. That’s a joke. Actually, there were representatives from all over Europe and Africa to discuss the major problem of immigration. My teacher gave a presentation and it was actually very interesting. We were able to listen to a translator through the use of headphones. I finally was able to fully understand my teacher! I would write all I learned but really that is too much work for this blog☺

We returned just in time for me to get to my Art History class and turn in my Midterm Paper. I ended up falling asleep at 10 pm. I was SO tired. I will be returning to Rome in the following two weeks with Bryce. If anyone has suggestions of something to do that I did not mention, let me know! I would like to see even more of such an amazing city!

This weekend I have NOTHING on tap. And boy does it feel good! I am either going to go to Siena on Saturday or spend the day hiking through the hills of Florence. I still have to make the most of my weekend even if I am not doing a big trip. I have to save up my energy because the following weekend/weeks will be AMAZING. One of my closest friends from life, Jeanne will be visiting Florence for the weekend with her program (based in Macerata). I will be returning from a day trip with my Art History class in Venice to see her! The next day is when Bryce arrives (18th)! I am very excited. We plan to see all we can of Florence, Rome and Venice. Sounds like a great plan to me ☺
Then, after Bryce leaves, my close friends Caitlin Elsner (&parents), Michael Grohman and Chris Baker will be spending two days in Florence. THEN the following weekend I am going to take a trip for 3 days to PARIS. Thank you cheap air tickets! I will be meeting up with 3 other girls from Stanford who are studying in Spain and with other kids in the Paris program.

I love life. But I look forward to Christmas at home so much!

I love you all. I hope you are all happy and healthy. Send me updates of your lives!

My Recent Travels

Hello Family and Friends!

It has been so long since my last post due to me being insanely busy! It seems like the studying part of studying abroad has come into reality.

Two weekends was our Bing Trip. As you all know this was entirely free for us except for meals. We had one meal on the Bings and it was amazing. We traveled to Naples,
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. All in all it was a great time since it was basically FREE. However, I think I had a better time when I went to Cinque Terre. Probably because I did not have to deal with a huge group traveling around and always having to be places at certain times. I like to be a bit more independent. We had a great guide who showed us all these interesting things in those cities but it was all in Italian! At first, I approached it as a learning experience and exciting but learned quickly that it is hard to listen to hours of history in another language. I can only understand so much and then I get distracted. Pompeii was by far the most interesting and amazing to see. However, my favorite
place was Amalfi. It is a small city on the water. They have this church that is absolutely breathtaking. There was a wedding going on at the time we were there so it made it even more spectacular since there were white flowers everywhere. If I had all the money in the
world, I would want to get married in that church. Below is a picture of the insides with the wedding going on (they allowed people to walk around in the church during the wedding! I felt that was awful!)



The week following the Bing trip was Halloween. However, I had nothing to wear and it was the week of midterms. I found out from my host mom that there is a Halloween shindig that happens on the street that we basically live on. It ended up being all these shops were open late with candy outside and a few kids trick-or-treated. I would have wanted to be a mime this year but it didn’t work out. It would have been really easy and pretty funny, if I do say so myself. I can act like I am in a box better than real mimes.

This past weekend I went to Rome with a group of my friends. I do not think I have been so exhausted as I was after returning from this trip. We did basically everything there is to do in Rome! The reason for us all going to Rome in the first place was because our Sociology of Immigration class professor invited us to an Immigration Conference at the Italian Parliament. This was on Monday morning so I headed south on Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. It was a very long trip.

We stayed in my first REAL hostel. We shared a room with three girls from Quebec, Canada. I have never associated Canada with really annoying people. They would get very drunk every night and stumble in at around 4 am and continue to giggle and laugh for an hour. One was involved in a very controversial relationship within the hostel – with a guy in the room where our other friends from the Stanford program were sleeping! What a horrific time. I am glad that it was just a place to sleep. Therefore, we did not spend more than nights at our hostel. During the day we traveled (by foot or metro) all throughout Rome! I have to admit that Rome is by far one of the most stunning places I have been. The Coliseum was amazing and even better at night. In my opinion, the best part of the whole trip was spending time at the Vatican. I have never stepped foot into a church (or anywhere for that matter) that literally made my jaw drop. St. Peter’s Basilica was breathtaking. I think that St. Peter’s was more moving than even Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. However, it was worth the 2 hours of waiting, 12 euro and the trek through acres of the Vatican museum to see it. I was also able to see the good ole pope! He addressed the masses from his window and it was as if I was at a rock concert. People cheered, screamed, clapped, chanted. It was quite the event. I also had a chance to climb the Duomo and look over all of Rome! After that, we went below the Basilica to take a look at the crypts. It was a surprisingly emotional event. Seeing the pile of letters, pictures, flowers and people kneeling in deep prayer in front of Pope John Paul II grave made the entire scene very emotional. Not to mention being in a room with centuries of Popes was a bit eerie.

I really had a great time in Rome despite my feet feeling as if they were bruised everyday! I loved how everything was lit up at night and how you can stumble upon the most magnificent roman structures! I had a great time walking through the Roman Forum and reading along with my Rick Steves book. I saw where Julius Caesar was burned after being assassinated. People still put flowers on his grave to commemorate all he did for Rome. Che interessante!

I was able to visit Parco del Celio and the Celio* store! I took about 15 pictures in front of them! Also, Celio* had NO clothes with Celio on the front or anywhere visible! Darn. Pictures are below!

Our visit to Parliament was interesting but nothing to write home about. That’s a joke. Actually, there were representatives from all over Europe and Africa to discuss the major problem of immigration. My teacher gave a presentation and it was actually very interesting. We were able to listen to a translator through the use of headphones. I finally was able to fully understand my teacher! I would write all I learned but really that is too much work for this blog☺

We returned just in time for me to get to my Art History class and turn in my Midterm Paper. I ended up falling asleep at 10 pm. I was SO tired. I will be returning to Rome in the following two weeks with Bryce. If anyone has suggestions of something to do that I did not mention, let me know! I would like to see even more of such an amazing city!

This weekend I have NOTHING on tap. And boy does it feel good! I am either going to go to Siena on Saturday or spend the day hiking through the hills of Florence. I still have to make the most of my weekend even if I am not doing a big trip. I have to save up my energy because the following weekend/weeks will be AMAZING. One of my closest friends from life, Jeanne will be visiting Florence for the weekend with her program (based in Macerata). I will be returning from a day trip with my Art History class in Venice to see her! The next day is when Bryce arrives (18th)! I am very excited. We plan to see all we can of Florence, Rome and Venice. Sounds like a great plan to me ☺
Then, after Bryce leaves, my close friends Caitlin Elsner (&parents), Michael Grohman and Chris Baker will be spending two days in Florence. THEN the following weekend I am going to take a trip for 3 days to PARIS. Thank you cheap air tickets! I will be meeting up with 3 other girls from Stanford who are studying in Spain and with other kids in the Paris program.

I love life. But I look forward to Christmas at home so much!

I love you all. I hope you are all happy and healthy. Send me updates of your lives!

Hello Family and Friends!

It has been so long since my last post due to me being insanely busy! It seems like the studying part of studying abroad has come into reality.

Two weekends was our Bing Trip. As you all know this was entirely free for us except for meals. We had one meal on the Bings and it was amazing. We traveled to Naples,
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. All in all it was a great time since it was basically FREE. However, I think I had a better time when I went to Cinque Terre. Probably because I did not have to deal with a huge group traveling around and always having to be places at certain times. I like to be a bit more independent. We had a great guide who showed us all these interesting things in those cities but it was all in Italian! At first, I approached it as a learning experience and exciting but learned quickly that it is hard to listen to hours of history in another language. I can only understand so much and then I get distracted. Pompeii was by far the most interesting and amazing to see. However, my favorite
place was Amalfi. It is a small city on the water. They have this church that is absolutely breathtaking. There was a wedding going on at the time we were there so it made it even more spectacular since there were white flowers everywhere. If I had all the money in the
world, I would want to get married in that church. Below is a picture of the insides with the wedding going on (they allowed people to walk around in the church during the wedding! I felt that was awful!)



The week following the Bing trip was Halloween. However, I had nothing to wear and it was the week of midterms. I found out from my host mom that there is a Halloween shindig that happens on the street that we basically live on. It ended up being all these shops were open late with candy outside and a few kids trick-or-treated. I would have wanted to be a mime this year but it didn’t work out. It would have been really easy and pretty funny, if I do say so myself. I can act like I am in a box better than real mimes.

This past weekend I went to Rome with a group of my friends. I do not think I have been so exhausted as I was after returning from this trip. We did basically everything there is to do in Rome! The reason for us all going to Rome in the first place was because our Sociology of Immigration class professor invited us to an Immigration Conference at the Italian Parliament. This was on Monday morning so I headed south on Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. It was a very long trip.

We stayed in my first REAL hostel. We shared a room with three girls from Quebec, Canada. I have never associated Canada with really annoying people. They would get very drunk every night and stumble in at around 4 am and continue to giggle and laugh for an hour. One was involved in a very controversial relationship within the hostel – with a guy in the room where our other friends from the Stanford program were sleeping! What a horrific time. I am glad that it was just a place to sleep. Therefore, we did not spend more than nights at our hostel. During the day we traveled (by foot or metro) all throughout Rome! I have to admit that Rome is by far one of the most stunning places I have been. The Coliseum was amazing and even better at night. In my opinion, the best part of the whole trip was spending time at the Vatican. I have never stepped foot into a church (or anywhere for that matter) that literally made my jaw drop. St. Peter’s Basilica was breathtaking. I think that St. Peter’s was more moving than even Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. However, it was worth the 2 hours of waiting, 12 euro and the trek through acres of the Vatican museum to see it. I was also able to see the good ole pope! He addressed the masses from his window and it was as if I was at a rock concert. People cheered, screamed, clapped, chanted. It was quite the event. I also had a chance to climb the Duomo and look over all of Rome! After that, we went below the Basilica to take a look at the crypts. It was a surprisingly emotional event. Seeing the pile of letters, pictures, flowers and people kneeling in deep prayer in front of Pope John Paul II grave made the entire scene very emotional. Not to mention being in a room with centuries of Popes was a bit eerie.

I really had a great time in Rome despite my feet feeling as if they were bruised everyday! I loved how everything was lit up at night and how you can stumble upon the most magnificent roman structures! I had a great time walking through the Roman Forum and reading along with my Rick Steves book. I saw where Julius Caesar was burned after being assassinated. People still put flowers on his grave to commemorate all he did for Rome. Che interessante!

I was able to visit Parco del Celio and the Celio* store! I took about 15 pictures in front of them! Also, Celio* had NO clothes with Celio on the front or anywhere visible! Darn. Pictures are below!

Our visit to Parliament was interesting but nothing to write home about. That’s a joke. Actually, there were representatives from all over Europe and Africa to discuss the major problem of immigration. My teacher gave a presentation and it was actually very interesting. We were able to listen to a translator through the use of headphones. I finally was able to fully understand my teacher! I would write all I learned but really that is too much work for this blog☺

We returned just in time for me to get to my Art History class and turn in my Midterm Paper. I ended up falling asleep at 10 pm. I was SO tired. I will be returning to Rome in the following two weeks with Bryce. If anyone has suggestions of something to do that I did not mention, let me know! I would like to see even more of such an amazing city!

This weekend I have NOTHING on tap. And boy does it feel good! I am either going to go to Siena on Saturday or spend the day hiking through the hills of Florence. I still have to make the most of my weekend even if I am not doing a big trip. I have to save up my energy because the following weekend/weeks will be AMAZING. One of my closest friends from life, Jeanne will be visiting Florence for the weekend with her program (based in Macerata). I will be returning from a day trip with my Art History class in Venice to see her! The next day is when Bryce arrives (18th)! I am very excited. We plan to see all we can of Florence, Rome and Venice. Sounds like a great plan to me ☺
Then, after Bryce leaves, my close friends Caitlin Elsner (&parents), Michael Grohman and Chris Baker will be spending two days in Florence. THEN the following weekend I am going to take a trip for 3 days to PARIS. Thank you cheap air tickets! I will be meeting up with 3 other girls from Stanford who are studying in Spain and with other kids in the Paris program.

I love life. But I look forward to Christmas at home so much!

I love you all. I hope you are all happy and healthy. Send me updates of your lives!