I’ve been a terrible updater lately. I really hope it hasn’t been since spring break, maybe it was Segovia… that I updated, but I fear that may be the case. So to be briefly caught up:
I’ve been traveling every weekend since my parents left and this is my first weekend at home. It feels wonderful to not have anything to do, especially since the weather has finally decided to cooperate. Hot. 80 degrees, I’m going to the park after I write. School on the other hand has finally decided to be work. It’s felt like high school the whole time I’ve been here, mainly because there isn’t a true campus feel and I must commute to school each day, but now I have a college workload. That’s what it should be I guess, but it hinders my after school activities of shopping and laying out… J
Alright. Rome: April 10-12. It was short and sweet and we managed to see everything in slightly less then two days. Flying budget airlines equals true discomfort. We spent Wednesday night in the airport waiting to check in for our flight and then to board. I slept wherever I could find a spot, whenever I had at least 30 minutes to sit. So Matt, Leah, and I arrived safely but slightly tired. Our hostel was nice, the shower lacked water pressure and hot water, but breakfast was included. I ate gelato everyday as well as the most delicious meatballs and pasta I’ve ever had. And tiramisu. Yum!
Besides the food (I seriously think all I did was eat that weekend…) we saw:
- The Vatican
- St. Peter’s
- Coliseum
- Roman Forum
- Trevi Fountain
- Termini Station
- Lots of churches
- The Pantheon
- Bernini’s fountains/ sculptures…
- And a good variety of other monuments that I don’t recall the name
The city is soooo old. It is amazing to see how old some of the ruins are. The Pantheon for instance used to sit on a hill, but the ground around it is flat now. It has been there for so long that all of the dust and dirt that has settled has caused the hill to completely disappear. That is a lot of time. The Vatican has a great collection of art, almost to the point where it is overwhelming. I enjoyed the Sistine Chapel, just sitting there and taking it all in. And I like the Swiss Guard. J
This past weekend was one of my favorites too. I took the Ave train to Barcelona. HIGH SPEED! We averaged 300 km an hour making it to Barcelona in 2.5 hours. I met Molly (my roommate from Drake) there. She is studying in Ireland and had flown to Barcelona for the weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday wandering the streets of Barcelona; with little to no agenda it was very relaxing. The beach was beautiful, although it was still a little too cold to go swimming. We ate some delicious food and tried out some cute hole-in-the-wall restaurants that were amazing. Sunday night we took the bus back to Madrid arriving at 6:00 a.m., and I somehow made it to school by 10:00.
Molly stayed until Wednesday afternoon. She explored the city while I had school, after which we would meet, tour, and hit all of my favorite spots. Great weekend, great week.
My homework is starting to pile up, but once I write my American History paper I think I’ll be okay! It’s relays this weekend at Drake, and I wish I were home to enjoy that. Next year. At least the weather is gorgeous here. Next weekend I’m going to Andalucia to see Seville (and Erin I hope!), Cadiz, and Cordoba. Grenada the weekend after, and then Germany. Following that I will have two weeks left. This past month has sped by and I’m sure the next one will too. I will miss Madrid and Spain when the time comes, but right now I’m excited to be home too.
