Vatican City

(Me and Janeane at the Vatican)

Things are good here!

We explored the other side of Rome and went to the Vatican, which was neat, although I've seen things that I thought were more impressive (minus the size of St. Peters, that is). It was a good way to spend three hours, though.

From there, we walked along the Trevere River, and saw the Piazza Polopo, did some shopping (Janeane sprang for some Italian leather shoes, I went with a coin purse), had lunch and gelato, and saw the Patheneon again. Nothing too exciting to report, other than tomorrow John and I are going to Florence and Janeane is going back to Oxford.

Miss you all terribly!!

Pompeii

(Me and the Roman Forum)


We took a train from Rome to Naples today (2.5 hours - Italian trains are cheap but dirty, although the view was great), and then from Naples to Pompeii (half an hour) after having pizza in Naples (that's where it was invented, you know).

Pompeii was neat - it's really large, which I guess I didn't expect, even though I knew it was a city. This is the city that was destroyed when a volcano blew up in AD 79, killing almost everyone, but preserving a lot of the city and people. The city ruins are pretty well preserved, considering they are thousands of years old, but the streets are made up of these huge cobblestones that are painful to walk on. We spent about three hours there, and then made our way back to the train station. It was a long day, but pretty neat.

We're going to the Vatican tomorrow, and hopefully seeing the catacombs. Me and John leave Friday for Florence, and Janeane is leaving Friday night for the UK, so we have a lot to fit in still - including some shopping. I hear the call of Italian leather, perhaps in the form of a new, chic purse? 

Love!

Rome!

Well, it's day three in Rome, and I have to say - it is a neat city, but you HAVE to be on your guard.

We've encountered lots of persistent street vendors and beggars, and Rick Steves warned us about pickpockets. It was good advice, albeit unheeded, because I WAS pick-pocketed. And I'm so angry about it.

We made some friends at our hostel, and they invited John, Janeane and I to join them downtown to celebrate New Year's Eve. I will say, the atmosphere in downtown Rome is great - really chaotic, but pretty amazing. Everyone is speaking different languages, and popping champagne bottles, and setting off fireworks (However, no bathrooms - when in Rome, use an alley!). 

Once we got to the main piazza, it was very crowded. Nonetheless, we were in a large group, and circled up, so everyone felt safe. I transferred my camera from the front pocket of my purse to the main pocket, thinking it would be safer, and only took two pictures downtown - those photos were not worth it! When we were trying to leave, a fight broke out on the street, and the crowed started to exit, and it got a little (and then a lot) pushy. Once we were out of the crowd, I realized that my purse had been opened, and my camera was gone -

With all 200 Rome photos on it.

It is so terrible, because my photos were REALLY wonderful - we had done a ton of sightseeing on New Year's Eve, and the lighting was fantastic. The thieves didn't even get a good deal out of it, because without the recharger, the camera will be worthless in 30 minutes, and one of the buttons didn't even work anymore! So it's not even like they will make money off of it - so pretty much, its a crap deal for all involved.

To make the day worse, a bird also pooped on my head. Icky.

So until I can replace it, John is letting me drive him crazy by borrowing his camera every few minutes. And today, we backtracked a bit to "replace" some of the photos, but everything was closed.

Other than that - Rome is a neat city, and the food is delish. We think we're going off to Pompeii tomorrow, which will require an early morning, and the Vatican Thursday.

Mucho Love!
Chao!

pastapastapasta

Ok, I am leaving.
Dec 29th - I'll see you in Rome.

home!

I'm home.
It's amazing.
I'm never leaving.

Berlin ist super cool ja! Ich wunsche ein Berliner war!

I wish my German language skills were better. I've maintained enough to understand snippets of strangers conversations, but when I talk to Germans in German, they switch to English. Bad sign, right?

(Yours truly at the Brandenburg Gate).

Berlin is amazing. Best city so far, I believe. We had the most wonderful 7-hour walking tour that introduced us to all of the main sights, and all of the history and controversy that goes along with them. (Such as: terrible irony: the gloss that covers the Memorial to the Murdered Jews is made by the same company that made the gas that killed millions of them in WWII -it wasn't known when they were choosing the contract. Also, did you know that Hitler's bunker is right in front of a boring apartment complex these days? It's an eerie sight).

It was a long day, but our tour guide had some treats along the way. His girlfriend left the city, forever, the night before, and he was easing his sorrow with Jaegarmister - which he shared with everyone so we could "keep warm". Gross alcohol, but a funny story. We made some good friends on the tour and afterwards, we all went out to celebrate the spirit of Berlin and scooped out a wine bar that operates on the basis of humanity's general goodness. You can drink as much as you want, and they only ask that you pay what you think you owe. Apparently I need some more practice before "Ich bin ein Berliner, stimmitlich," for in a city that comes alive at 2 AM and doesn't stop until morning, I only lasted until 12:45 AM. I am so Midwestern.

Today we visited the Pergamon and Egyptian museum, and went up in the big dome in the Parliament building, and then strolled along the Christmas markets. More Christmas shopping . . . expect small gifts, meine familie.

We catch a night train tonight (in . . . 2 hours or so) to Munich, where we meet up with Trisha, Lea, Janeane and Ryan. Jewell reunion in Germany - should be a good time.

THEN home. :)

Words from the Road

Free WiFi in the Berlin Hostel = my favorite.

Traveling is going well, minus continental Europe's  crappy weather.
It feels as though we have been following the same thunderstorm throughout the continent.
Boo.


(Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, and more rain in Brugge, Belgium)

But the sights are good.

(Right: Famous Food Street in Brussels, Belgium.)

And the hostels are getting better.

This one in Berlin is really nice (so CLEAN!) but the first one in Brussels was not satisfactory.

I'm not sure what else to say other than we're having fun, although backpacking through Europe seems like more work than I was expecting it to be. And so far, we have escaped major disaster, minus a frantic backtrack this morning when John forgot something at the hotel in Amsterdam after we were at the train station.

No worries - we made the train in enough time. Mainly because I'm a hugely nervous traveler and we were a the train station mucho early.

I think my nerves are strung much tighter than your average backpacker.
But what are you going to do?

My last nights in Cambridge were really great too, although I was out MUCH too late on Friday and only got an hour of sleep before I caught a bus to go to the airport to go to Brussels. Whoops!

I'm not sure how Homerton W1 and W2 Novices fared in comparison to other colleges in the Fairbarins race, but I had a lot of fun! W1 had a rough race and were pretty disappointed by the end of their race. Frankly, that worried the W2 crew but we rowed really really well. and fast!

And speed is important and good.
Unless you have a lot of speed when you crash . . . into a houseboat.

Our boat is called Bad Tempered Cyril for a reason - she has bad luck. We finished the race, despite our broken boat. Half of the Cam came out of it, however, when we turned it over to put it away. Bad news bears.

But still - it was good fun. And we look good. :)



I come home in less than a week. I can't wait - you don't KNOW how excited I am to be heading back to the States. I half want to cancel my Italy leg and stay home until Term, but I'm not sure if that's really an option.

Much love!