General Annoucement 3

my sincerest apologies,
i have not updated for the following reasons:
A. really busy w/ school
B. really busy w/ traveling
C. too lazy
D. all of the above

so i have yet to update about barcelona/granada; venice; and milan is this coming weekend. promise to have juicy details and pictures up afterwards.
soooorry. BUT no one updates me on themselves so i don't feel tooo guilty :/

General Annoucement 2

Hey guys,
i'm glad i haven't lost ALL my readers (thanks for reading tina and sarah...and anyone else who don't leave comments)

i SERIOUSLY wish that everyone gets "skype" so we can talk without spending any money :)

also wanted to share a random compliment: two of my 5 roomies are vegetarian. one of them, gloria, told me that out of all the non-vegetarians she knows, she's seen me eat the most veggies! wooot!

So on saturday, i'm going to Barcelona and Granada for a WEEEEK! while i'm there, i'll be sure to document my trip. but unfortunately, that means that i won't be updating at all. so no reason to check unless you just want to see some pretty pictures or leave more fun comments :)

9/9 Da Vinci; Popolo; Spanish Steps

9/9

• Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibition: well we (GG) stumbled upon a Leonard Da Vinci Exhibition of his various creations and ideas. Getting in cost 6 euros but it was pretty awesome because they have on display his original drawings and plans for lots and lots of inventions.
  
• Da Vinci was an absolute genius: he drew early designs of airplanes, found a way to eliminate friction in machines, and there was just a bunch of things- clock mechanisms, portable piano, etc.
  
• this picture is to pay homage to "ever after"- for those who remember the plot, drew barrymore is floating in the water when Da Vinci is walking on water. well the thing in the film wasn't quite accurate since this is what his actual drawing looked like and this is the model of the plan. it looks like a dude on floatable skis.
  
• Piazza Del Popolo: this is a famous piazza. it's pretty huge and there's about 3 churches here. there's an Obelisk of Rameses II in the middle. it's on the edge of the park and really near the spanish steps. there's supposed to be works of art here...but i failed to find it :(
  
• Spanish Steps: i finally made it to one of the most famous places in rome! there's a church on the top of the steps. but i was sad that i wasn't here in spring when the steps would be covered in flowers. but it was still an impressive site.
• i thought it would be a lot longer too.
  
• well down the street from the spanish steps is a road famous for very very expensive brands like Gucci, Versace, Ferragamo, etc.
• All the stores have these guards right in front so i was waaay too afraid to even go into one since i looked poor and touristy
  
• on that note, i want to mention that on 9/10 i went to an Indian restaurant- ordered an entree and naan. as did gloria. and was then told that we were ordering too little and that the server could not bring our order back. the indian girl said that takeaway was downstairs and that it was much cheaper. that's what sucks about eating here- they expect you to order an appetizer, first course, second course, AND dessert. and they look down on people who can't afford to eat that much or just simply can't eat that much. yeah...made me feel real inferior but went to a really good pizza place instead and got a BEER! yum peroni...
  

9/8 Villa Farnesina; Botanical Gardens

9/8

• The picture above is the Villa Farnesina- apparently one of the richest men in Rome built this house and he would have wild house parties and then tell his guests to throw the gold silverware into the river after dinner just to show how rich he was. but he always had a net at the bottom to catch it.
  
• well it was 4 euros to get in for students. and there was an upstairs and downstairs w/ lots of frescoes. but we weren't supposed to take any pictures! alley (one of the roomies) took a pic of the hallway which was really pretty- something out of a fancy hotel. but i don't have the pic in my possession.
  
• also, i think most of the place was being renovated so some things were closed off which kinda sucks.
  
• Having some time before school, we went to the Botanical Gardens which was only like a block away. 4 euros.
  
• most of the pretty plants weren't in bloom- orchids, roses, and lilies. but it was nice walk and on top of the garden, near the japanese garden part, there was a really good view. but i would only recommend coming here in late spring when flowers are actually in bloom.
  

9/7 Flea market; Zara; Park

9/7

• went to Porta Portese AGAIN...for those who don't remember what that was, it's the biggest flea market here in Rome
• tons of stuff- old typewriters, statues, socks, bras...basically anything you want
• well i was recycling my shirts way too often- i barely brought any clothes
  
• so i bought 4 tops for about 9 euros altogether which is about 13.5 dollars so pretty damn good
  
• but THEN gloria and i (we're called "gg" btw cuz our initials are EXACTLY the same- GH) decided it was too hot to go home and went to a big shopping center for AC.
  
• there was a Zara store there so OF COURSE we went in to take a gander. and i fell in love with this plaid dress- i struggled for a very long time but in the end, i bought it- 40 euros
• mann....things here look so much chic-er and more fashionable but i PROMISE to wear it here and in the US. but right now, my legs looked disease because the bug bites left like brown marks
  
• then near our apartment, there's this park on top of the hill- Gianicolo Park. there's an impressive fountain, a good view, and really pretty buildings.
  

• on bottom: it's a fountain but in the back, there are apartments
  

• we found out that the street we live on- Via Goffredo Mameli is named after the dude that wrote the national anthem for Italy.
• here's the statue of his head

9/6: Day trip to Sperlonga

9/6

• Today was our THIRD try to go to the beach. the other two times failed because we left the house too late. but this time, i woke up and then asked each person if they wanted to go with me or another housemate later in the day. so it ended up being Caroline, Gloria, and me going at like 11am.
• there's another beach closer to the city but it's supposed to be dirty so we decided to go to one that's an hour and a half away by train- Sperlonga
• kind of a difficult process to get there- you have to buy a regional pass for the day (10.5 euro) then catch the train at 49 minutes past the hour. and then when you get to the Fondi station (1 hour and 10 minutes away), you got to get on this tiny bus for 15 minutes. but we were rewarded for all our hard work cuz it was beautiful. this beach is supposed to be one of the prettiest ones and the water is so blue that it's won some kind of award for clear water.

• there was even this little stream of fresh water that was FREAKIN' cold. like i was shaking just from standing in it.
  
• we just lounged around the beach and i tried to swim but the waves were so strong that i could try to swim and not go anywhere. according to Gloria, it was weird to see.
  
• there was a grotto that we could see behind gates but i didn't know how to get in. but most likely we would have to pay to get a tour. it was built by emperor tiberius and supposed to be really beautiful.
  
• getting home was just as difficult- the little bus back to the train station only came every hour. so we were packed into the bus like sardines. the bus driver kept letting other people on and the italians on the bus were yelling at the driver "basta!" meaning "enough!"

• but while i was waiting at the bus stop, this marching band came down the street. i thought it was really cute and reminded me of the good ole times in high school.
  

9/3- Aventine Hill; Bocca Della Verita; Clubbing

Day Adventure- Bocca della verita e Aventine Hill

• This morning i decided to go to "Bocca della verita" and aventine hill. for all of you "roman holiday" fans, this is the actual one!
• of course, there was a line but it was pretty short since it was pretty early in the morning.
  
• you're only allowed to take one picture. but i doubt anyone really follows that rule.
  
• and since i'm such an honest person, my hand is still intact ;)
  

• Then we went onto Aventine Hill which is one of the seven (i think) hills of rome. on each of the hills, u're supposed to get a spectacular view of the city.
  

• pictures really don't do it justice tho...so i have tried to include a video (on the bottom)
  
• there was this weird half naked dude who was trying to convince us to go have a coffee with him and asking us how long we're going to be in Rome. of course we lied! and then later we had to take detour to avoid him cuz he was so persistent
• on aventine hill, there's this keyhole (the knight's keyhole) that u can look through- you have the perfect view of a specific dome (i forgot which one). sadly, the camera cannot take it because it's way too far. but i have very good picture of me looking at it

• after all this, we still had about two hours before school so we decided to go to Santa Maria Maggiore. a huge church. churches here are strict about showing your shoulders and legs but sometimes they have pieces of cloth that let u cover up.
  

• it was very pretty in there- lots of details and paintings and statues and going in the early day is really nice cuz there's a lot of natural light
  

Avenue

• Tonight, i went out for the first time at night. usually the partying scene doesn't start till 12 and by that time, i'm dead tired. but tonight was supposed to be really fun because it was a welcome back party for all the Italian and international college students. so i was more than prepared to meet a smart, hot, nice Italian dude (i'm starting to think he doesn't exist tho)
• BUT it ended up being just alot of American students so it was kinda lame at first until ppl started dancing
  
• my drink of choice in my hand: red bull and vodka. cuz i need something to keep me awake :( i'm such a grandma here. but that's cuz i like to wake up early to go site seeing so unfortunately i get tired at like midnite
  

• so our entire apartment went to the club called "Avenue" that's next to the Colosseum.

• well i didn't take my camera so most pics are up on facebook...so feel free to browse and stalk me
• the club played like contemporary hip hop music but also lots of oldies. i can't remember any specific ones but i'll admit that i got a little drunk (2 shots before i left, then 1 beer, then 1 and 1/2 drinks)
  
• also, it's impossible to wear heels in Rome, especially if u're a clumsy person. cobblestones here will kill me!