Stonehenge, where the demons dwell...

4/27/11:
Sonya has been staying with me since Monday the 25th and she is going to be staying with me for the week! :D

So, we got up early (around 7:30am) and met James, Mike, and Fabian to go see Stonehenge! I had to peer pressure James to drive us to Stonehenge because he and Fabian didn't want to go because it is "a boring pile of rocks" but we told them that it was a boring pile of rocks to them, but to us it is something neat and interesting. :) James and Fabian waited in the car while Mike, Sonya, and I went to go take some pictures and walk around the ruins. :) It took us all of about 15 minutes  to walk around it and take all the pictures we wanted to take and then we were back into the car. From Stonehenge we drove to Salisbury to see the Cathedral because it is old or something like that. It was such a beautiful day and we laid on the grass for a bit and just chilled out and did nothing. Mike and Fabs raced while the rest of us watched and laughed. :) People watched and judged us as we played with James' crutches...because it is kind of not approved to play with a handicapped person's crutches. :P But James actually told us to and what to do with them. I love my British friend! :D

After a bit more play we went into the cathedral and saw some really pretty architecture and paintings, but we also saw a copy or piece of the original Magna Carta...I don't know exactly what it was but I could tell that it was significant because we couldn't take pictures of it. :P From the cathedral we went back to the car and drove home. :) James, Fabian, Mike, and Sonya came back up to my room. Fabian left shortly after because he hates us and James passed out on my bed. :P While James was flopping around on my bed he saw that I had mac 'n' cheese and he wanted to try some American mac 'n' cheese, so I made him some. :D He liked it but thought that his arteries would clog from eating two spoonfuls. But James did pass out in my bed for a good chunk of time while Mike, Sonya, and I just did our own thing. Oh, I also introduced Jake to James because I talk about them a lot so I figured it would be good to have them meet, even if it is over the internet! :)

In a nutshell, that was my Wednesday! :D

Rome if you want to! ♫♪ Part 3 **Sorry this is so long**

Day 5: 04/04/11


We dedicated the entire day to the Vatican and the museum pretty much. We went early in the morning so that Avery and Sara could see mass while Mike, Brooke, and I kind of meandered around St. Peter's Basilica. When we were going there the girls made a friend with an older gentleman, Dave, that was staying in the same room as them and he wanted to tag along with us because he didn't know how to get there, so we had an old man with us! It was not that bad because Dave was a cool old man and he was just like the average 20 something traveler, but he was like 50 years older than us. He had the same amount of enthusiasm and energy as we did and it was really nice to have someone like my grandfather with us. :) So, when we did get into Vatican City and through security we entered the Basilica and it was so gorgeous and that is when Dave and the group split up! I could not stop looking around because I have read so much about the sculptures and the art work in there. The thing that really struck me was seeing the bronze altar that Bernini did because I have read so much about Bernini and that altar. :) We wandered around the Basilica for probably about an hour or so...probably more!

From the Basilica we went to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel, and that was like a 5 minute walk to get there. Once we were in the museum it took forever to finally get into the Sistine Chapel because we were being herded around all this amazing art but we were all focused on seeing the Sistine Chapel and didn't really have much time to see anything else. Once we got into the Sistine Chapel it was kind of overwhelming because there was so much to see and I started looking for the Creation of Man because that is very iconic and it was right above my head!! :) I was most impressed with  Michaelangelo's paintings that seemed like they were three dimensional, they impressed me more than anything else. :) It was super funny because when we got in there people were snapping pictures and talking but when walking in there was a sign that said no photography or talking...clearly that rule went out the window! :D We kind of had to hurry out of the Sistine Chapel because Avery had to get on a train and she really wanted to see the Pantheon before she left, so Avery and Sara hurried to the Pantheon and Mike, Brooke, and I staggered around the museum a bit more. I recall Brooke saying "Get me the hell out of here" and then a few minutes later I blurted out "Get me out of this hell hole!" because we could not find a way out! Literally every exit we went for was closed and we were lost for a good 10 minutes just swearing up a storm...in the Vatican Museum...I am a classy lady.

After we left the Vatican we went to the Pantheon to meet Sara because Avery was already heading back to the hostel and Sara was going to wait for us. :) We got to the Pantheon and went inside and took pictures and I taught Mike and Brooke all about it, because again, I know a lot of random facts. :P I never thought the Pantheon was so big! But it is ! I am was impressed. :) After wandering in the Pantheon for like 30 minutes we went back to Piazza Navona to get some paintings for Sara because she wanted to get some for her grandparents. I helped her pick out a trio of like 4 x 6 prints of iconic Rome scenes, I forget which ones specifically. After that we headed back to the hostel and were on a mission to grab food before...and Brooke and I got the best gelato that could ever be gotten. We were making sounds that only a lover should hear, needless to say, we made Mike uncomfortable with out food-gasm. :P

Brooke's photo

When we got back to the hostel Mike and I came back to an Argentinian guy about 20 or so also in the hostel, which was nice to have someone to speak Spanish to! It turns out he is also a photographer, but he was AMAZING! He pulled out a little portfolio and I was literally gawking at the pictures...he was simply amazing...I totally had a crush on Gaston. :P So, Mike and I talked to Gaston some more while Brooke and Sara showered and we invited him to dinner with Verde (Brooke's roommate at RHUL) because Verde lives in Rome! *I don't know if I mentioned that or not* But Verde wanted to talk us out to a cute little Roman dinner of pizza, so that is what we did! We just walked around trying to find something to eat and chatting as we were walking along. At one point there was a crazy man running after us bellowing "I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU" and everyone thought that was quite funny. :) We finally sat down to eat and talked some more and it was so nice to be there with someone from Rome because she ordered for us, she knew what was good and all that fun jazz. :P

From dinner we went to go see the Colosseum at night because we had yet to see it at night and it was beautiful! I think it was prettier than the Eiffel Tower, but that is just me! :)












Day 6: 05/04/11


This was my last day in Rome sadly! :( So, Sara spent the morning going to mass while Brooke, Mike, Verde, and I went walking around Rome. We went  to a park and saw the city-scape and it was so pretty! It was also very hot out that day, so walking around was kind of hell. :P But we did get to drive around Rome with Verde and she is so adorable! It was one of the best feelings to just drive around Rome with the windows down and one of our friends driving around their home city...it was really nice. :) We went to see a Caravaggio's painting is Santa Maria del Popolo in the Piazza del Popolo and it was amazing seeing something that I studied in my art history class. :) From Piazza del Popolo we were going to get some gelato and then go back to the hostel...but I requested that we stop off at Santa Maria della Vittorio because I wanted to see "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" but we missed seeing it by like 10 minutes and it closed and it made me sad...I wanted to see it so badly, but I did get to see the building that it was in! *positive note* :) I will go back someday and see it so I am not too worried about it. :) So, my last day in Rome was pretty chill and quiet, but really nice because we got to walk around with Verde and have fun. :) Sorry about it being so long!! :P

Rome if you want to! ♫♪ Part 2

Day 3: 2/4/11

This day was a very lazy day around Rome because the first hour consisted of us getting kind of lost and taking a nice walk and seeing nothing really significant. We went to go see the Colosseum that morning and I bought a piggy that you can throw at the ground and it will splatter but then go back to it's original shape. :) I didn't want to pay the €3 that they were charging, so I gave Brooke €1 to haggle with them and she got my piggy for me!! :D I swiftly named him Piggeotto and it was done! :D I had my rubber piggy and I was happy! :P While walking around we stopped at the Maximus Circus and looked at that for a bit...well Mike and I took a nap on a wall of the Maximus Circus because we are not people who like being in the sun and that day was one of the hottest days that we were in Rome. After meandering some more (we did a lot of meandering, I would say that our entire time in Rome was a huge meander fest because we had no plans to see anything other than the big things) we went and got some lunch! We had a pretty good lunch but they kind of scammed us on the bread, but oh well! :P After lunch we walked for literally a minute and we saw the Pantheon...we ate a minute from the Pantheon...seriously? We only looked at the outside and then walked to the Piazza Navona where Bernini's famous "Four Rivers" sculpture is! :D It was the "water" preferiti was going to be killed in Angels & Demons AND it was by Bernini, who is my favorite sculptor of all time...even before the Angels & Demons came out! The Piazza was so neat because there were all sorts of artists around and there was a lot of beautiful work and really talented people there. :)

We eventually made our way to El Foro Romano and went in. Walking around El Foro was really neat because there was ruins everywhere and later Brooke got a book that has pictures of what it probably looked like in it's prime and what it looks like now and it is TOTALLY different!! I would have never imagined it to be what it was based on the ruins. But, we walked around El Foro for about a good three or so hours and it was a good three or so hours of looking for shade because it was HOT AS BALLS outside. So whenever Avery, Sara, and Brooke wanted to take a a picture or stop to read something, Mike and I would survey the land and look for shade because there is only so much sun us pale kids could take. El Foro Romano summed up = meandering around ruins.

Day 4: 3/4/11

We saw sheep when we were walking to the catacombs. :)

We started this day thinking that we were going to go to the Vatican and go to mass at St. Peter's Basilica, but that dream was swiftly shattered when the woman at the front desk of our hostel told us that the museum was going to be closed because it was Sunday...another avenue in my life where religion has let me down. So, we quickly devised a plan to go to the catacombs and specifically we went to Callisto Catacombs. Before we were let into the catacombs we had to wait about 45 minutes before the ticket booth was open again. I laid in Mike's lap as Mike and Brooke did some form of drawing competition. I was just tired and wanted to lay in the grass and I did just so. When it was time to go in, I was fully rested and we got into our tour group which was full of old people...I said that they are just going down there to take a look at the real estate because they are going to be in the position to buy quite soon...I know, I am a terrible person! But, we learned a whole shit ton of information about these catacombs and it was super neat. The tour guide even made fun of Brooke, Avery, and I because we were taking notes as he was talking. :P 
The Callisto Catacombs are the biggest of all of the catacombs in Rome. It covers 15 hectares and has four levels of burials. There are only 6 catacombs left in Rome that are open to the public. Around 1/2 a million people are buried in the Callisto catacombs and nearly 40% of those people are children. Every time we passed a small hole in the wall I would say "baby...toddler....baby....fetus....baby..." because again, I am a bad person. :P There were also 16 Popes buried here, but they were then moved to the Vatican. During the persecution, the Christians would use these catacombs as places of worship because they were not allowed to have churches above ground but the people who would go there to worship could not stay down there too long because of the shitty ventilation, high humidity, and there was also sulfur in the soil. We couldn't take pictures in there...so no pictures other than sheep... :( 


ONLY ONE MORE ROME POST TO GO!! :)