there's no place like home.

So I just got back to the United States and this entire experience feels like a dream.

Castel Sant'Angelo and the Tiber

Last gelato in Piazza Navona

After I got back to Rome from Florence, I spent the rest of the week packing up, going to the sights one last time, and hanging out with my friends a little more. I spent Thursday walking around Vatican City one last time. I went to Old Bridge Gelateria, the best gelato place in Rome. It was so gorgeous being able to walk around one last time during the sunset. I headed from the Vatican past Castel Sant'Angelo over the bridge. I walked down by the Tiber River a little then headed to Piazza Navona before going back to my apartment to pack up my suitcase.

At the Trevs

Friday was my last day in Rome. I spent the morning cleaning up the apartment and making final preparations to leave. After that I headed out with Alex and Katie to go see the sights one last time. We started at the Pantheon then worked our way through Rome to Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. That night we headed to an amazing restaurant by the Spanish Steps for dinner. It was down a tiny alley and was SO GOOD. The pasta was all freshly made, and it was the perfect last meal in Rome.

Once we got done with dinner Alex and I took bottles of wine and sat on the Spanish Steps for awhile just enjoying the night. We worked our way through the sights again at night to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona before meeting up with our friends in Campo dei Fiori. We spent that night getting a couple last drinks and saying bye to everyone from our program.

Last Supper

We headed back to our apartments around 2:30 to finish up any last minute packing and cleaning we had left. I had to leave for my flight at 5:30, so I ended up just staying up until I headed to the bus. The bus ride to the airport was one of the hardest things I've had to go through. I had such torn feelings while leaving Rome. I've been so anxious to get back, but I had the most incredible, amazing experience abroad with a really awesome group of new friends. I can't believe that the experience is actually over.

Nicole, Monet, Sally and I in Campo

Once I got to the airport I checked in and got some food. While I was waiting for my flight, Monet actually walked up. We ended up being on the same flight and sitting 2 rows apart! It was awesome to have someone with me from my program on our way back. Once we got on our flight we both completely passed out for the entire flight. I tried to watch a movie and couldn't even make it through the opening credits. I only woke up two times - once for each meal. The first meal I woke up to a plate of pasta on my tray as everyone else was giving back their empty trays. It was awesome because it made the flight only seem like it lasted around 2 hours instead of 11 hours.

After getting through the customs in Atlanta, I FINALLY got to see my dad! It had been four months since I had even heard his voice, so I was so happy to see him. We headed home from the airport and went to get MEXICAN!!! YUM. Mexican was the thing that I definitely missed the most while abroad.

REUNITED in CLEMSON :)

Now I'm finally back in Clemson, and loving it. I've missed everyone SO much and it's been great being back. This has been the trip of a lifetime, and I've loved every minute of it. I feel like I've grown so much as a person and experienced more than I ever thought possible. I am SO GRATEFUL for this experience... especially to my grandparents, my mom, and my dad for making it possible for me to live in Italy for the past four months. It has been an incredible rollercoaster and an absolutely life changing experience.

Now it's just time to unpack...

last minute trip to firenze

So I have somehow actually gotten really bored recently in Rome (who would've thought...). After 4 months of constant sightseeing, visiting museums, and soaking up the history of this city, I'm pretty burnt out. The museums no longer interest me and my feet are bordering on deformed from all the walking.

I was talking about this with my friend Sarah, who is studying in Florence. She was originally supposed to go to Croatia this past weekend, but like all of us studying in Europe she's out of money as well. I was talking about how I didn't know what I was going to do for the next week considering I only had one exam left to take. She came up with the brilliant idea for me to come to Florence for a few days! So, I hopped on the next train an hour later and was on my way. Oh Europe, how I'm going to miss the ease of traveling here.

Kaitrin, Sarah, and I in Florence

Anyway, 3 hours later I was in Florence. Florence is the city that Clemson really pushes for study abroad, and I can see why. I got to see so many people I know from Clemson and be in such a more comfortable environment considering Florence is actually incredibly similar to an American college town as opposed to the giant city of Rome. When I got there Sarah was finishing up writing a paper, then we headed out to one of the bars where their friends were playing. Yes, a real life band in Europe. Insanity coming from Rome, considering the only live band I've seen all semester was in Paris. I felt like I had walked right back into Loose Change in Clemson. After hanging out there for awhile, we headed back to Sarah's apartment.

Duomo

Ponte Vecchio

The next day Sarah had class, so I walked around Florence to see all the sights. It was so weird being able to walk around and see everything in just a couple of hours. Although Rome has been an eye opening experience, it was definitely comforting being able to get everywhere without the hassle of buses. Once Sarah got out of class, it started pouring so we headed back to her apartment to escape the rain.

Crowds for Notte Bianca

That night Florence surprisingly had an Italian labor day celebration called Notte Bianca. It's this celebration where there are bands and events in every piazza and all the museums stay open all night. Florence was absolutely PACKED. It was insane, and I'm so glad I got to experience it (even if it was on accident). Everyone wore white and stayed out really late. It was SO much fun. We just walked around the piazzas with some wine then went to a couple of the bars in Florence. We got to see so many people and it was such a unique experience.

Notte Bianca

On Tuesday we had been planning on going sightseeing some more, but we woke up and it was absolutely pouring outside...... and continued all day. Luckily this was my third time in Florence and I covered pretty much everything the day before. We ended up just laying around her apartment all day. That night it FINALLY stopped raining, so we headed to meet some friends for a little bit. I got to see even more Clemson people too.

Wednesday I had to get up to head back to Rome... and of course it was gorgeous out. Story of my life. I went to the train station and for some reason neither of my credit cards would run in the machine. The lines were forever long for the ticket machines, so I ended up missing my train even though I got to the train station 20 minutes early. It was SO frustrating. I ended up having to pay for a ticket with my cash I had left and take the 1:15 train instead of the 11am train. It was AWFUL because that night I had my statistics final at 7pm and I didn't get back into Rome until 4:45. I only had time to run home, eat dinner, and get to my final. Then to top it off, I walk into the classroom at 7pm only to find out the final actually started at 6pm AND I realized I forgot my calculator. Luckily I still had plenty of time though and was able to finish the final, despite being flustered beyond belief. After that we headed back to our main stomping grounds of Campo dei Fiori for Christina's last night in Rome. I seriously still can't believe we're leaving the day after tomorrow.

Now I'm off to do some last minute souvenir shopping and see some of the sights for one last time. Ciao!

When in Rome.... get piercings???

This week is the most dreaded week of the semester: finals. I had my first, and most difficult, on Monday morning at 10am. It was Italian and it went.... okay. I guess we'll have to wait and see. After class I went home and slept because I was still exhausted from the weekend. On Tuesday I just hung out around the apartment and relaxed because I didn't have any exams.

Last night at Gilda with Reza, Dana, Nicole, and our favorite promoter Mike

Tuesday night we had our CEA farewell dinner for our program. It is so weird that we're at that stage considering I keep thinking we're taking midterms right now, not finals. Anyway, CEA did NOT want us to leave Rome with any chance of forgetting about the amazing pasta here. In fact, after the bread and appetizer of fresh cheese and meats, they served us not one... not two.. but FOUR servings of pasta. Then gelato, of course. There goes any progress I had made on losing any sort of weight in the past couple of weeks. After our ridiculously large dinner, a bunch of us headed out to celebrate Italian Liberation Day, considering we had a break from exams and classes the next day. We headed to good ol' Campo dei Fiori for awhile before going to Gilda. It was so much fun having everyone together for one of our last nights in Rome.

Wednesday we all spent the day sleeping and studying all day. I had an Art History final this morning, so I spent the time writing a paper for that and studying the 50 different paintings, sculptures, and architecture we needed to know for that. It was exhausting, to say the least, but now I know all about Bernini and can probably give a personal tour of Galleria Borghese. I stayed at my friend's house until 3am studying before realizing I couldn't walk home alone that late and had to sleep on the floor. So comfy, not. The next morning I woke up at 7am freezing and walked home to my own bed before getting back up at 9:30 to start studying. Luckily, it all paid off because I'm pretty sure I passed my exam with flying colors.

new ear piercing

Sally, Monet, Liza, and I with our piercer

After our exam, we decided we need another break from finals (I never get this many breaks during finals week in Clemson...) and headed to the tattoo parlor. Don't worry mom and dad, I didn't get a tattoo! Monet got a tattoo she had been wanting for awhile, and Liza, Sally, and I got ear piercings. We wanted to get something to remember our time here, and we thought getting a piercing together would be a good way to do that. After all, I got my nose pierced in Barcelona and my second holes done in Destin... might as well continue the tradition ;). The piercing place was really good about sterilization and the piercer spoke English, which was a change from when I got my nose done in Barcelona.

Liza and I on our rooftop terrace

When we finished with our piercings/tattoos we headed home to start studying again. On our way home, we had heard that we actually had rooftop terraces on our apartments so we went up to check. Um, wish I would've found out about these before my last week here. It was GORGEOUS. There are these huge terraces that overlook most of Rome. You can even see the mountains in the background. Now I can tell you where I'm going to be for the entire next week while it is high 70s here.

Anyway, it's time for me to get back to studying. I have my last final at CEA tomorrow, international marketing. It's so weird to think that this is going to be the last time I ever step in our humble CEA villa, and in a little over a week I'll be heading back to reality in the United States.

Speaking of reality, I just found out I'm working a double the day after I get home. Hellooooo culture shock of fried food and responsibility.

Prost to Frühlingsfest!

Christina, Monet, Sally, Liza, and I at Springfest

This past weekend Christina, Sally, Monet, Liza, and I packed up our bags and headed on our last trip of the semester - Munich, Germany for Frühlingsfest. Frühlingsfest is Munich's Springfest, which is basically a smaller version of Oktoberfest because the Germans didn't want to have to wait a full year for Oktoberfest to come again. And now I can see exactly why.


We left Rome at 8:00pm for our 12 hour bus ride to the land of beer and bratwurst. When we were in Austria, about two hours away from Munich, we had a little delay. By this I mean our bus completely broke down at a rest stop. The electric box blew, and we had to wait for two hours at 6am in the Austria morning cold for a new bus to come. Since it was the electric box, we weren't able to close the door so the bus was freezing and, worst of all, we couldn't get our bags out from underneath the bus. After waiting on a new bus to arrive, we boarded that one to continue our trip to Munich. 

Sally, Christina, and I on our bike tour

After a quick hostel breakfast of.... salad (?!??!) we headed out to our bike tour, despite the lack of clothes, jackets, or toothbrushes. 
The bike tour was actually one of my favorite things I've done so far in Europe. After a very struggle-filled start, considering I haven't ridden a bike in at least 6 years, and almost getting hit by 5 or 6 cabs, I absolutely fell IN LOVE with Munich during the tour. I've been to Munich before, but I was in 7th grade and don't really remember much of it. I had no idea that Munich was such a pretty place with so much personality. I could honestly see myself living there eventually. I am absolutely obsessed. We biked around the major sites of Munich, which Christina, Sally, and I were basically just more interested in biking than the sights. Oops. Then we headed to a beer garden for our first Maß (of many) and a german meal. I got a bratwarst with some kind of sauce and french fries. It was delicious, and such a nice change from pasta all the time. 

Surfers

German meal

Rides

Once we finished our beers, we got back on our bikes to continue our bike tour (not sure why this is allowed..?). It started to rain and was freezing outside, so we just stopped at one last stop to see the surfers in Germany. In the park there is a stream where surfers come and can take turns 'surfing' the river. It is actually really cool and so fun to watch..... until you get soaked by one of the surfers in the freezing cold.
After our tour we headed back to our hostel to shower before heading to the actual festival. We got there and I was in awe. It is everything you expect it to be - rides everywhere, beer tents, every kind of carnival food you can imagine, and everyone dressed in traditional bavarian attire. We headed to the beer tent to meet up with our friends, and I knew I wasn't in Rome anymore. It was insane. Everyone of all ages was standing on the tables singing and dancing with their mugs of beer having so much fun.

Christina and I at the beer tent

Inside the beer tent

Christina, Sally, and I found a table and ordered some beer. We ended up meeting up with some of Sally's friends and some of Christina's friends before finding some people from Bus2Alps. The entire night was such an experience considering this is what the Germans love to do. We were experiencing their culture in a way that you can do in very few other places. There were Germans of every age - old, young, everyone. After a long night of dancing and enjoying the festival, we headed back to our hostel to head to bed.

Saturday we got up and met up with Monet and Liza at their hotel before heading back to the festival. We got there around 1pm and all went on one of the rides to start the day off. It was INTENSE, but so much fun! After that we headed to the beer tent for our first beer of the day. After awhile there (and a couple beers), Liza and I decided to wander around and go on some of the rides. We did a water one, then I did two of the ones with more flips, and we did a haunted house. We also got some pizza for late lunch/early dinner before heading back in the tent to find Sally, Monet, and Christina. We spent the rest of the night in the beer tent enjoying the fun atmosphere. At one point Liza and I met this group of Germans and we were dancing at their table... until they told us they were 16. They made a comment about how they love Germany so much because they were able to do that kind of stuff when they were only 16. Ridiculous. I've seriously never seen anything like it. After getting lost multiple times and everyone getting separated in the crowds, Christina and I found each other and headed back to our hostel, not without stopping to get cotton candy and ride go-karts first. 

Dachau

Entrance to Dachau

Crematorium in Dachau

We got up early on Sunday to head to Dachau. I've been before, but it was definitely somewhere I wanted to go back. We got there with only about an hour to explore, so we walked through the museum really quick then explored some of the areas of Dachau. I've been to multiple concentration camps in my lifetime, and I can never fathom what it could've actually been like to be a victim in one of these camps. The pictures are horrifying, as well as seeing the conditions they were living in. I remembered a lot more of Dachau than I expected (considering I didn't remember Munich at all), but I was still just as shocked as the first time to see everything there. It is truly a humbling experience and makes you appreciate everything you have in life. Also seeing the pictures of the ecstatic victims during the liberation by the American troops definitely makes you pretty proud of the USA.

Once we finished walking around Dachau, we headed back into Munich to catch our long bus ride back to Rome. Now it is finals week so we're all spending it studying hard to get those final grades in. I can't believe it's finals already.. and that I go home in 12 days. As sad as I am that this experience is ending, I am happy to be getting back home to my family, my friends, and America. 

Hunter family takes over Europe

This past week Piazza Regina has been full of visitors. My brother and his friend Lauren, who he lived with while he was studying in Barcelona, came to stay for a couple days. Also extremely last minute one of my good friends from Clemson who is studying in Florence came down for the weekend. It was SO NICE to have them here!
Mom left on Wednesday, so I spent all Wednesday and Thursday trying to get schoolwork done and catch up on life before everyone came into town.

Friday:
I picked up Sarah from the train station that morning. She had been to Rome a couple times, so she was more interested in just hanging out with a familiar friend than seeing the sights... which was really nice because that's exactly what I needed too. After picking her up we got lunch at a Sicilian restaurant by my apartment and talked and caught up on everything from the last semester. After that, we set out on a mission to get her a ticket to mass at the Vatican on Sunday. I had already preordered tickets for David, Lauren, and I, but I didn't know that Sarah was coming at the time.
We were told that we could go to a building by the Trevi Fountain to request another ticket. Well, we got there and didn't know the address or any which way that we were going. We finally got the address from a friend and proceeded to walk all over Rome for about an hour... passing the Trevi, Via del Corso, the President's house, the Pantheon, etc.. just to end up finding the address right back next to the Trevi Fountain........ AND it was closed. Frustrated, we headed to get gelato (naturally..) and met up with my friends. Luckily one of them told me that he had an extra ticket that Sarah could have! Wahoooo! Crisis averted.
After we solved the ticket problem, we realized we had another problem on our hands - we had nothing to wear to an Easter Sunday service that covered our knees and our shoulders. Luckily, we were already on Via del Corso so it was shopping time (one of my few times I've actually allowed myself to buy clothes in Rome). After a failed attempt at H&M, we headed to one of my new favorite stores Brandy Melville and bought two floor length skirts that are beyond comfortable. Satisfied with our purchases, we headed back to my apartment to get ready for that night.

Carrying of the Cross

That night was the Carrying of the Cross by the Pope at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. This is the only thing of Holy Week that you can go to without a ticket. Basically the Pope stands at the top of the Roman Forum and addresses the crowd as the cross is carried from station to station. Sarah and I didn't want to miss it, so we headed out early to make sure we would be able to see. It was pretty warm out (around 70 degrees), so we wore sundresses. Big mistake. They had the Colosseum metro station closed, so we had to walk from Circus Maximus. Then we got there and everyone was in jackets and pants and boots (typical Rome) and we were in sundresses. We got quiet a few stares, to say the least. Anyway, we got pretty good seats where we could see the lower crowd and the Pope and stayed for about an hour. During the service we made friends with a priest in Rome and talked to him most of the time. He was from Spain and so nice.
After that we headed out to the Spanish Steps to hang out and drink some wine. I really forgot how much I missed just hanging out with my good friends from Clemson. I'm so much closer to them than I was able to become with anyone from Rome, so it was awesome to be able to sit on the Spanish Steps and talk about everything. After that we met up with a ton of people in Testaccio at a bar called On the Rox.  A ton of people from Clemson had come into town, so Clemson basically took over the entire bar. After that we all headed to a couple of the clubs in the area. At one of the clubs this girl got on stage (that we did NOT know) and made a complete fool of herself - she was dancing just a little too intensely by herself. Literally the entire bar stopped to watch.

Saturday:
I woke up on Saturday and went and picked up Lauren from her flight to Rome. She got in a couple hours before David did, so in the mean time we headed to pick up our tickets from the Vatican for the Easter Sunday mass. Only one of us was allowed in, so I went since they were under my name. It was actually really cool - I got to go past all the guards and past the tourists into a back room to pick them up. One of the Swiss guards even wished me a 'Buona Pasqua' (happy easter).
After getting our tickets we headed to Cul du Sac, one of my favorite restaurants by Piazza Navona. We had cheese fondue then each got three different kinds of Roman pasta so we could try all three. After a gelato stop, we ran to Termini to be able to pick up David.
Once David got here, we were all exhausted so we headed back so Sarah and Lauren could nap. I headed to the area around me with David, including going to Piazza Bologna and stopping by my school. After we got back we got ready and headed to Tony's for dinner... always delicious. That night we wandered around Trastevere to a couple bars and hung out enjoying the Italian scene there. On our way back home, we ran into the same Clemson people we had gone out with the night before, so we headed to Campo dei Fiori with them. We ended there pretty fast because we had to be up early for Easter mass the next day.

Easter Sunday:

David and I in front of St Peter's for Easter

Freshman year reunion!

We got up at 5:45 EEEK to get to St. Peter's for Easter mass. In order to get a good seat, you have to be there super early. Since this was probably the only time we'll ever go to Easter mass at the Vatican, we definitely wanted good seats. We got there around 7:30 to wait in the massive line to get in. While waiting in line, Sarah and I actually saw not one, but TWO people that we were really close with freshman year. One was our neighbor freshman year Meredith who is studying in Rome and the other was Griffin, who is also studying abroad. It was hilarious because we don't even run into each other in Clemson, much less at Easter mass at the Vatican.

The Pope!

Some of the flags of different countries

Lauren, David, Sarah, and I at Easter mass

Once they finally opened the gates, we all sprinted inside to get the best seats. We ended up around the 20th row back in the middle, AWESOME seats! The entire thing was surreal that we were actually at mass at the Vatican on Easter Sunday. The service was awesome. Since it is all in Latin, we were given programs that had all the translations to English so we were able to follow along. I've never done so much sitting then standing in my life. After the service, the Pope went up to his balcony to say a few more words, then blessed everyone in each language. It was so cool because so many nationalities brought their flags and would cheer whenever he spoke in their language. It really felt like everyone was uniting.
After the service, we headed to lunch at a pretty touristy place since the Vatican doesn't have many restaurants around it. Then we went to Castel Sant'Angelo and walked around there and checked out the gorgeous views. One of the exhibits that was closed last time I went was open this time, so it was cool getting to see a new part. Once we were done with that, Sarah and Lauren went to take naps while David and I headed to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. After pushing our way through the hoards of tourists, we headed back for naps. That night we were exhausted, so we just went to a restaurant below me for dinner and went to bed pretty early.

Monday:

Drinking our beers by the church

Monday Sarah left early because she had some homework to finish before class on Tuesday. This was our main touristy day. We started out at Piazza Barberini then headed to toss some coins in the Trevi Fountain. We made our way next to the Pantheon then Piazza Navona. We stopped at one of my favorite pizza places that I discovered with my mom - Il Paino. We made our way over to the market in Campo dei Fiori, even though most of it was closed because it was a national holiday.
Next we continued down through Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. I didn't want to pay to go in when I've already been in three times (hasn't changed in thousands of years... I don't think it's really going to change much in a month haha), so I took a nap in this field that overlooks the Colosseum while Lauren and David explored.
Once they were done, Lauren was exhausted so she headed back to my apartment while David and I continued our whirlwind Rome tour with the Mouth of Truth, Circus Maximus, and the keyhole. While on Aventine hill at the keyhole, we decided to check out some of the churches in the area. There was a church that brewed its own beer, so we grabbed two to try and sat at this view overlooking all of Rome and the Vatican to drink them while the sun went down. It was gorgeous.

Qube

That night we headed to one of my favorite clubs called Qube. It is a legit Roman club - nothing like you would find most places in the United States. Also about 90% of the people there are Italian that don't even speak English. Definitely a cultural experience. That night was the Easter celebration and it was packed. They even had a guy dressed as a chick coming out of an egg on stage. Definitely quite a different way of celebrating Easter.




Tuesday:

Hunters by the hunter in the Vatican

Sistine Chapel

This was David and Lauren's last day in Rome. We got up and headed to our reservations at the Vatican Museums. I had yet to go into the Vatican Museums or see the Sistine Chapel, so I was really excited. And let me tell you, they are HUGE. We spent about 2-3 hours there and didn't even see half of it. It was exhausting, but also so cool to see it all because I had studied everything there in one of my classes. I was really excited to have finally seen it.
After that, we headed to the Spanish Steps to get some lunch. We went to this really good pizzeria and I got CARBONARA pizza.... my two favorite things combined! It was amazing. The sauce was this delicious cheesy sauce then it had bacon on top and a fried egg in the middle. Oh my gosh so good.

Carbonara pizza!

Next Lauren wanted to go shopping, so David and I sprinted to the Capuchin Crypt beneath the Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception. This is a crypt with the bones of 4,000 monks all arranged in elaborate designs. Literally there were bones EVERYWHERE - all over every wall, stacked on top of each other, making alters... even the lights were made of bones. It was incredible, and so creepy. I definitely suggest that anyone in Rome goes to this, because it's unlike anything else you'll ever see in your life.

Amy, Dom Mazzetti, and I

After this we headed home for naps and showers. That night we headed to one of my favorite restaurants called Maccheroni for some fresh made pasta. So delicious, as is everything in Rome (and that my weight gain can vouch for). We headed to Campo dei Fiori to meet up with some of my friends. Dom Mazzetti was also there, so we obviously got a picture with him. For those who don't know, he's known for a bunch of YouTube videos he's done. We hung out at Campo dei Fiori for a little bit before going to a club called La Maison. We lost track of time and before we knew it we needed to get home for Lauren and David to be able to catch their flight to Barcelona. We got home and I immediately passed out while Lauren and David headed to the airport. Luckily, they made it with plenty of time to spare.

Wednesday: 
I had classes Wednesday and spent the day packing and catching up on a lot of work that I had been putting off while my brother was there. I had a paper due Thursday (wait, we actually have to do work here?) so I spent the day working on that.

Thursday:
I had my art class and we headed to some of the churches in the area surrounding Piazza Barberini. Unfortunately my friend Christina had her iPhone stolen at one of the churches. WHO STEALS IN A CHURCH?! After class I headed back and grabbed my stuff to head to Barcelona to meet back up with Lauren and David.

Melissa, Lauren, David, and I at Rosa Negra

Lauren and I at Chupitos

When I got to Barcelona, my brother had come to the piazza where my bus dropped off to meet me... and I just missed him. I had no way to reach him, so we waited at the apartment until he eventually came back. That night we headed to Rosa Negra for mojitos (David's favorite) and Princessa for dinner. After that we went to Chupitos, our favorite shot bar in Barcelona. Here they have all different kinds of themed shots that are so much fun. I even saw my friend Lauren there, who is in my sorority at Clemson! After that stroll down memory lane, we headed back to our apartment so we could get a good night's sleep before sightseeing the next day.

Friday: 

David and I at Park Guell

Sagrada Familia

On Friday we headed to the Cathedral first then to get some coffee and picnic supplies before heading to Park Guell. We spent the afternoon eating and walking around Park Guell, which is always gorgeous. It was supposed to rain but it held off, which was really nice. After that David and I headed to Sagrada Familia so I could snap a few pictures then went on a walk along the water with a stop at La Boqueria. We got potatas bravas from the restaurant in La Boqueria... yum, and stopped for our favorite fruit juices before going back to the apartment.

Patatas Bravas

That night I wanted a meal of real tapas, so we headed to a place by the Cathedral. It was so good - David had mussels and we split chicken skewers, spinach with chickpeas, chorizo, and potatas bravas. So good.
After dinner we headed back to the apartment to get ready to go out that night. We hit up one of David's old scenes - the beach clubs. We got there and went to this Irish pub that they used to go to, then headed to Opium. We were able to get into VIP too which was cool. I was excited because this was the main club I didn't get a chance to make it to last time I was there.

Saturday:

David and I in front of the old town

Sangria!

Gorgeous

For Saturday we got up and headed to Sitges! Once we got there, it was SO WINDY so we ducked into a cute little restaurant and got some pinchos and wine. We had this pincho that was bread, ham, and cheese and it was deliciousss. After that it had warmed up so we headed down the beach to a little market where we bought fresh bread made on the street and some olives to eat up by the church. We crossed into the old town and stopped at a bar on the water and had some Sangria that was delicious. I forgot how absolutely gorgeous Sitges is. After hanging out there and enjoying the scenery, we headed back to Barcelona for dinner.

David and Lauren's paella

In Barcelona we were all exhausted so we took naps then went to a paella place. David, Lauren, and Melissa got paella and they were HUGE. They looked delicious... but I don't like seafood so I got roasted chicken and rice. It was actually the best chicken I've had since I came to Europe, and it was only seven euro! Once we finished dinner we went back to the apartment. David and I were planning on going out, but we had early flights so we ended up just trying to go to some bars around us. We went to this bar that was supposed to be a Clemson bar decorated in Clemson memorabilia, but it turns out it just offers discounts to Clemson students and has a hat hanging from the bar. Nevertheless, it was still pretty cool to see Clemson stuff in Barcelona.

Sunday:
All our flights were pretty early on Sunday, so we all headed to the airport and said our goodbyes. It was so awesome having my brother here for so long, especially since I don't see him very much at home being so far apart. I headed back to Rome and started to work on the long week of homework and projects that I have this week. Ever since I've been home I've basically been working on homework. This is the last week of school, so we have all our final papers, etc due this week.



It's crazy to think that this journey is almost over. After 3 1/2 months being in Italy, I can't fathom how I'm going to readjust to living in the United States. It seems so distant and different now. Although recently I've been much more homesick and anxious to get back, the experiences I've had during this semester abroad have been life changing and I wouldn't change it for a thing. I just can't wait to see what these final two weeks have in store!

Mom Comes to Rome

Right after I got home from Spring Break, my mom came to visit me in Rome! It was SO nice to have some family here after three months in another country with all new people. It really brought some comfort - including in the form of food with Kraft mac & cheese, Reeses, oreos, peanut butter, oatmeal, and Betty Crocker mashed potatoes. Just a few of the things I've been really missing, yummmmm.

Tuesday:

Pantheon

My mom's flight landed on Tuesday morning, so I headed to her hotel to meet her. We spent this day as our big touring day - hitting all the major sights of Rome fast since she's already been here multiple times. We had a delicious lunch at Cul Du Sac, a local enoteca. They had cheese fondue that was amazing, and the closest thing I've found to queso dip since I've been here.

Colosseum

We headed to Piazza Navona and walked through there, then worked our way to Campo dei Fiori, Torre del Argentina, and the Panethon. Then we backtracked and headed to Michelangelo's hill, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. It was definitely a whirlwind, and our feet were killing us by the end. We sat and hung out at the Colosseum for awhile before heading to dinner. We tried to go to Da Buffeto, an amazing pizza place, but it was closed so we went to a pizza place right around the corner. It was delicious! After that, I brought her back to her shuttle bus to head back to the hotel.

The crew at Ice Bar

That night was my friend Ryan's birthday, so we headed to the Ice Bar to celebrate. My roommate and I made the mistake of wearing dresses, so we absolutely froze. I was really disappointed in this ice bar compared to the last one I went to with my mom and brother, but it was still a really fun experience. After the Ice Bar we headed to Testaccio to go out for the night.







Wednesday:

Campo dei Fiori

I had class on Wednesday, so my mom went and explored while I was in class. Afterwards we headed to Campo dei Fiori, the market here. It's safe to say that my mom fell in love. The entire market is full of fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, olive oil, limoncello, balsamic, pasta, pasta sauce, and more. We spent a good majority of the day walking around the market looking at everything they had to offer. We ate in Campo dei Fiori and had awesome pasta that had us both full the rest of the day.

Getting our Clemson spirit on at the Trevi Fountain 

From Campo we headed to the Trevi Fountain to seal our return to Rome. Considering the number of coins I've thrown in the fountain since I've been here, I'm going to be coming back quite a few times. After dinner we were completely exhausted, so we headed back to my apartment and fell asleep. By dinnertime we still weren't hungry, so we went to the gelateria and I got gelato and mom got a cannoli before she headed back to her hotel. Yum, yum, yum. That night I headed out with some of my friends and we went to Campo dei Fiori then Shari Vari, one of our favorite clubs before heading home to sleep.

Thursday: 

Mom and I at the Spanish Steps

Thursday I had class again and met my mom after at Piazza Barberini (after she got lost a couple times trying to get there). We headed to the Spanish Steps with the intention of going some other places, but we never made it past the Spanish Steps. It was gorgeous and my mom knew the owner of a restaurant there, so we stopped in for a 'quick' glass of wine. We ended up staying there and watching the sunset, and walked up and down the Spanish Steps before heading back to the same place for a delicious dinner of risotto and carbonara. Yum! After that we hurried back to my apartment so I could grab my stuff for the weekend. We both headed back to her hotel and passed out, ready for a weekend of Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast.


Friday:

Painter painting the Tuscany landscape

On Friday we went on a wine tasting throughout Tuscany. We had to get up at the crack of dawn, but it was so worth it. We headed to Cortona first and climbed this huge hill to the top where we could overlook Tuscany. Cortona was beautiful - it was such a quaint little medieval town. They also had a church at the very top of the hill that was beautiful, even though I doubt many people really went with that climb to the top. On our way back down from the top of the hill, we spotted the UGA campus of Cortona! Once back in the city center, we stopped at a gelateria for snickers gelato (mom's favorite!) before getting back on the bus to head to our next stop. It was delish!
Our next stop on our daytrip was at a small restaurant to get lunch. We had three courses - the first was two different types of pasta, the second was chicken with potatoes, and the third was rum cake. Yum, yum, yum!

At our wine tasting

HUGE barrels of wine

After filling up on lots of food, wine, and coffee, we headed to Montepulciano for our next stop on our Tuscany tour. In Montepulciano we headed to a wine cellar that was ridiculously old for a wine tasting. This was my first real wine tasting I've ever done, so it was a cool experience. And the barrels of wine were absolutely MASSIVE. It was insane. I've never seen so much wine in one place. After tasting the wine of the first cellar, we headed to a different one to see even bigger barrels of wine. It was INSANE. After this we all boarded the bus and slept all the way back to Rome. When we got back to Rome, we headed to one of my favorite restaurants here - Tonys! They were packed, so we didn't get to hang out as long as we would've liked, but it was still just as delicious as always. Once we were stuffed full of pasta and bread (in true Italian style), we headed back to the hotel.

Saturday:

On our balcony at the hotel

Saturday we woke up early for our main trip of the week - Amalfi Coast! It had always been a dream of my mom's to go stay there for a night, and I had never been so we had to seize the opportunity! First we took a train to Naples, then we took another (gross... typical Naples) train to Sorrento, then finally a bus full of loud teenagers to Amalfi. It was a pain getting there, but SO WORTH IT. As soon as we got there we headed to a restaurant on the water for a lunch with a few that can't really be beat. After that we headed up to our hotel, and were given one of the best views in the entire hotel. It was gorgeous looking over the entire bay with the mountains of Amalfi in the background. I couldn't believe it. After a quick nap, we got ready and headed out for a DELICIOUS dinner.

Jagerbombs with our new friends

Amalfi

We went to a place called Da Gamma (after getting lost a couple times). There, we met 2 other people from Atlanta and 2 people studying in Florence. It was fun because we could all relate so we all talked the entire time while eating our dinner like we had known each other forever. The two people studying in Florence ended up talking me into doing a jagerbomb, so we had to teach the waiter how to make them. It was definitely our American moment of the weekend as we took jagerbombs in front of confused Italians. After an amazing dinner we headed back to the hotel to sleep. While trying to wait for a taxi we also met a group that was studying in Barcelona that were really cool. They were staying in Amalfi for a week.

Sunday: 

On the top of Capri 

Positano

On Sunday we woke up early and headed down to the bay to catch the ferry to Capri. The ferry ride, or at least what I saw of it before I fell asleep, was beautiful driving all down the coast of Amalfi. We picked up people in Postiano then headed out to Capri. Capri was gorgeous, and I'm not really sure why I don't remember going there when I was younger. Right when we got off the ferry, we got on another boat that took us on a tour around the island. We stopped at a couple places like the lighthouse, the elephant shaped rock, the white grotto, and went under the kissing arch. We also got to stop and go into the blue grotto, which wasn't open last time I was in Capri. The blue grotto was SO cool. I could not BELIEVE how that water could be colored such a neon blue color naturally by the sun. And the water was so unbelievably clear. I was in absolute awe. We were in a little rowboat because that's the only way you can get through the tiny opening to let you into the grotto. While we were in there, our guide picked up a jellyfish out of the water and was playing with it. Hello INSANE. After the water tour, we headed up to the top of Capri for some beautiful views and an awesome lunch. I got ravioli with fresh cheese from Capri. Once we were done with lunch we headed back down and waited for our ferry to get back to Amalfi.

Kissing rock

Arch that looks like an elephant

Statue welcoming people to Capri

Guide holding a jellyfish

Blue Grotto

We headed back to the hotel in Amalfi and found out that trains stopped running from Naples to Rome at 8:00... which was bad considering we were about 2 hours away and it was 6:15. We ended up having to take a cab to Salerno then a train back to Rome from there. This didn't seem like a big deal, until we hit traffic on the way to Salerno. The last train was at 7:45 and we didn't even have our tickets yet. We sprinted into the train station and our cab driver helped my mom run our bags to the terminal while I bought the tickets and sprinted after them. We BARELY made it on the train, huffing and puffing about halfway to Rome because we had to run so fast. We ended up back in Rome at around 11:00, and headed home and passed out.

Monday: 
I had class, so mom went back to Campo dei Fiori to buy herself some goodies to bring back home. After I was done with class, I realized how much I needed to do so I stayed at home and worked on catching up on homework, etc while mom explored some of Rome on her own. I met up with her before my class and we went through another market finding souvenirs. I'm pretty sure my mom's favorite part of Rome was buying things at all the markets. I headed to class after and left my mom to explore Trastevere before we went to dinner after class. After dinner, we ended up barely making it back to where her bus picked up to go back to her hotel. She actually had to run after her bus to get there on time.

Tuesday:

Tivoli

This was my mom's last day. We tried to go to this church that has all these bones of monks in it, but it was closed (typical Italy..) so instead we got lunch in Piazza Barberini before heading to Tivoli. In Tivoli, we went to Hadrian's Villa first. Hadrian's Villa was cool, and SO MASSIVE. We probably only covered about 1/4 of it because we didn't have enough time. After Hadrian's Villa, we headed further into Tivoli to Villa D'Este. This villa was absolutely stunning. We spent the entire time exploring the gardens and the massive, majestic fountains found there. It was incredible how beautiful it was. After this, we headed back to Rome and got some food before our driver picked us up for our night tour of Rome.

Venus's Temple in Hadrian's Villa

Theatre in Hadrian's Villa

Fountain in Villa D'Este

Trevi Fountain

The night tour was SO NICE. It was so weird for me to be able to get everywhere in Rome so quickly considering I haven't used anything but public transportation and walking since January. We went to almost all of the sights to be able to see them at night - Giancolo Hill, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, crepes at the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and last but definitely not least the keyhole overlooking the Vatican.

Keyhole

Looking in the keyhole

The keyhole is something that has been on my list to do since I've been in Rome, and it was so cool seeing it at night. For those who don't know, it is a keyhole that when you look through it, it perfectly frames the Vatican. It's so gorgeous. After our night tour, I had to say bye to my mom. It was so nice having her here. Now I've just been relaxing and attempting to catch up on school work before this weekend. Sarah, one of my good friends from Clemson that's studying in Florence, told me yesterday that she's coming to Rome to visit me tomorrow! I'm SO excited to have her here. Then my brother gets here this weekend too, and I can't wait!!!!! :)