17.04.2009 - Friday

Nan, cutting herself a piece of my calzone when not looking!! Ha!!

The cute ol' cook at La Cavas

Ha, the tiring walk to get some pane!!

Coffee break!!

This morning we all woke up at 8:30am so we could go downstairs and grab some bfast. They had a donut down there today…yippee!! :) After bfast, we got ready for the day and decided to go into town so Nan could buy a new pair of kicks (the ones she brought weren’t comfy for walking). Finally after going into almost every store VT has to offer, we went into a store called Geox and Nan found a pair she loved!! :) Then after our shoe shopping was over, we walked back out of the city walls and over to Despar where we bought salami slices, cheese, bread and two slices of pizza (for my mama and I). Then we walked back to the hotel where we all made a sandwich and ate that for lunch. It was very good and super cheap for all of it. After lunch, we all took a nap and Nan and I ended up taking a four hour nap while my mom got up!! Haha, four hours…can you believe it?? Ha, after our nap, I walked over to my dorm room with my mom so I could grab some clothes and what not. Once we got back to the hotel, I took a shower and got ready for dinner – tonight we went to a restaurant called La Cavas which is inside the city walls and I have never been there. I ordered a calzone and mama and Nan both got antipasti with bean soup on the side…very tasty by the way!! The cook was really cute…older man…he cooked my calzone and when I got it, he watched me take my first bit, to see if I liked it!! Ha, I saw that he was looking at me, so I gave him the Italiano sign for ‘delicioso’ :) After dinner, we walked home and stayed up for a few hours until it was time to go get pane. Ha, at 11:45pm, we left the hotel to walk inside the city walls, past Geox and to the ‘secret pane place.’ We got ripped off…ha, I kept telling mama and Nan how good the ‘dolci pane’ was and I ordered it and then when we were walking away we saw that it wasn’t chocolate pane, it had like fruit filling it it…what the heck yo?? Ha, so the rest of the night Nan and mama were making jokes about how good the ‘chocolate pane’ was!! Mathone!! HA!! After we ate our pane, we saw that there were still some cafés open, so we went to one so Nan and mama could get a coffee (decaffeinato of course). Ha, they ordered their cafés and then they wanted milk, so the lady poured freezing cold into their tiny cups of coffee…you can see where that led to…ha, nothing like a tiny cup of cold café!! :) Then we walked home and went to bed!!

Miss you all, sorry, the internet hasn’t been working for over a week…mathone!!

Love you all!! :)

16.04.2009 - Thursday

Spanish Steps

Trevi!! :)

This morning us three were up at 8am so we could get ready and go downstairs and eat some bfast (it was over at 9:30am). Nan really enjoyed the meat – she ate it on a piece of bread with cheese and meat on it and my mom loved the coffee…she had like 1 billion cups this morning!! Ha. After bfast we finished getting ready and then I checked on the times at the station for Roma. 10:55am was the next train, so that’s when we planned on leaving. We got off the train and took the Metro to Spagna where we saw the Spanish Steps and since we were all hungry, we grabbed a slice of pizza and attempted to eat them on the steps. Ha, we got yelled at by a woman police officer to not eat on the steps, so we went off to the side and finished eating. Then we walked over to the Trevi Fountain but before we got there, we stopped for some gelati. :) Yummy!! Nanny got peach, mom café and I got frgola (strawberry). You can’t go to Roma and not eat gelato!! We all tossed our coins into the fountain and took pictures, then we shopped for a bit!! :) Mama mia bought me a Wind jersey…ha, Wind is my cell phone company and I thought it was cute because it’s Roma colors!! :) Then we saw a bank and my mom needed to change in her American $ for euros, so we went inside where we were beyond frustrated!! First of all, some Italiano guy cut us in line and went right up to the counter and he KNEW he cut us!! Then the lady wouldn’t help us, so she told us to wait in the guys line because he speaks English. So we stood there for seriously 20+ minutes, waiting on the guy who cut us in line to finish up. FINALLY it was our turn…but of course, the guy didn’t speak English!! Wow, that’s not what we wanted to hear after waiting in his line because he did speak English!! :/ So he got this lady over and we some what figured it out. Then, he would only take the ‘perfect’ 20’s my mom had brought from the US… “couldn’t take any with any color dye on them or tears in the bill.” So with that taking place, we were only allowed to trade in HALF of what we gave him…crazeeness!! MATHONE…it took us over 20 minutes to get euros…ha!! After the bank, we went back to the metro and then took a train home. When we looked at the train schedule, it said one to PF was coming in 4 minutes, so I told mom and Nan to do the hustle. We had a bunch of stairs we had to climb, but after running up all of them, we barely made the train, luckily we made it!! Once we got home, Nan and I took a nap and then we went downstairs for dinner. We all shared and had chicken with peppers on top, cheese-rice and green beans. Very tasty meal I must say. Then we went back up to our room and my mom crashed while Nan and I watched P.S. I Love You. Thanks Dani and Nicki!! :) During the movie, Ry called, so we talked for like 20 minutes!! :) Aww, I miss my Ry bread!! After the movie was over, we went to bed. :)

Love you all!!

CIAO X3!! :)

15.04.2009 - Wednesday

:) Waiting for the train to go home to VT!!

Happy Anniversary Ryan Matthew!! :) I love you baby!!

This morning I woke up at 4am and got out of bed and got ready to get on the 5am train to Roma. I had enough time (of course) to have a bowl of GPs, so I enjoyed one along with a glass of chocolate milk. Once I was on the 5am train, not even 20 minutes of being on the train, it stopped in a town called Vetralla for almost an hour!! I was freaking because I had to get to the airport!! Mathone!! Finally, it took off and once I got to Trastevere, I had to transfer to the train to the airport (dropped me off right at the airport). I got to the airport around 8:30am and their plane landed early at 8:20am. Luckily they didn’t walk out until close to 9am, I was anxiously waiting for them to come through those doors!! :) When they did, Nan yelled “There’s Rach!!” And then my mom yelled “RACHALLLLL!!!” AWWW…I was soo excited they were here!! We all hugged each other for a few minutes and then we moved out of the way and headed for the train. Once we bought our tickets, we had to hurry to the train because the next one to leave was leaving in 5 minutes. We made that train and took it to Trastevere where we had to wait for the 10:55am train to come (the train to take us home). While we waited we talked each others ears off while we (by that I mean I) snacked on muddy buddies that Ry made for me and Cheese-Its…yummy!! Thanks baby for those btw!! :) AWWW….YAY, MAMMA MIA AND NANNY ARE HERE!!!!!! Finally, the train came but it didn’t go to PF, the last stop was PR (Porta Romana) which meant that we had to walk home from PR. Ha, PR is near where the SMG campus is, so we had some walking to do. During our walk, Nans wheel on one of her luggage’s stopped turning, ha, it was very entertaining, especially since they were so tired, so we hooked it up to the other luggage and kept walking. Nan swore the walk was at least 3 miles…aww…she was definitely tired, as well as my mom, I felt bad we had to walk, but it was better than waiting at the train station till night time when the PF train came!! Once we got to the hotel, mom and Nan unpacked and then my mom walked with me over to my dorm so she could see it while Nan took a nap. We hung out in my room for about an hour and chatted and then we headed back to wake Nan up, but a nap sounded good to us as well, so us three took a nap!! :) After the nap, we got ready for dinner and took a walk inside the city walls. None of the restaurants were open, so we ended up grabbing a slice of pizza at this place I have never been to outside the walls. After dinner, we walked to my dorm so Nan could see it but before the dorm, we stopped at this coffee place so they could enjoy a cup of VT café. Ha, I showed mama mia and Nan the dungeon, they were disgusted and then we walked back to their hotel where I ended up staying the night. The walk is only 4 minutes away, it’s perfect!! :) We all went to bed pretty early because we were all dead, esp. my mom and Nan!!

YAY, SOOO GLAD THEY ARE HERE!!!

Love and miss you ALL!!!

CIAO x3!! :)

14.04.2009 - Tuesday

Last night, I packed up everything and slept in my outfit which I wore today so I wouldn’t have to think about packing up things so early and waking Cass at 2am. I basically slept in everything except for my shoes. Ha, at 2am I got a wake up call to our room and I flew out of bed so it wouldn’t wake Cass. Then I brushed my teeth and went downstairs and while I waited for the taxi, I talked to the ‘Porter’ who was working the mid-night shift. He was really nice. Older/chubby man who was from Spain. Finally at 2:30am, the taxi showed up and I hopped in the car. It only took an hour to get there and it was the biggest rip-off of my life!! :/ O well, I had no other options, I had to take a taxi…I knew how much it would be before I got in, but what can you do?? :/ Once I got to the airport, I self-checked in and then I went over to the counter and turned in my bag. Then I walked over to my gate but first went to Starbucks where I got a cup of fruit, egg sandwich and OJ for bfast. Then I walked over to my gate and still had plenty of time to kill!! Finally, 6:40am rolled around and I ended up being the FIRST in line!! Ha, o the joys of RyanAir!! After priority boarded, I was the first to board and I sat in the first row where there is extra room for my long legs and I played off the fact that I was sleeping so no one would sit in between me and the man sitting next to the window!! Ha, it worked and no one sat in between us, it was great!! The flight went by fast, but I didn’t sleep at all. I just listened to my ipod and starred out the window. Once we landed in Roma, I got in the passport check line for residents because I am a resident until May 15th!! Ha, it was funny though because all the Italianos were looking at me like I was a ‘stupid American’ but then I showed them…because I knew exactly what line I was in!! :) It was great!! Then I picked up my luggage and headed over to buy my bus ticket to get to Termini. Once I got to Termini, it took me forever to get back to VT because I missed the train by seconds…I ran (sprinted) with my luggage in hand down the halls and up the stairs and missed the train which meant I had to wait over an hour for the next one to come!! :/ After traveling for 13 hours already, and only 2.5 hours of sleep…I was dead!! So I called Ryan from my Italiano phone and he called me back so we could talk longer. :) What a sweetie, especially because it was like 3am his time!! :) I was super frustrated for the entire morning because I forgot to mention that once I was at Termini, I took the wrong Metro because someone told me the wrong directions, so I went 30 minutes out of my way, which means if I would have had the right directions, I would have been on the earlier train. O well, everything happens for a reason, but I was just frustrated with myself, so talking to Ry calmed me down. :) After we hung up, the train came and before I knew it, I was back in VT by 4pm. 15 hours of travel…first big adventure done alone…interesting to say the least. Ha, but I am home safe and I cannot wait for tomorrow…mamma mia and Nanny are coming out!!! YAYYY!!! Ry called me when I got home and we talked for a bit and then I had a quick PBJ for ‘dinner’ and got ready for bed and was out of it by 7pm…up early tomorrow to pick them up Nan and mama mia at the airport….I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE FAMILY!!!!! :) Love and miss you all!! Ciao!! :)

13.04.2009 - Monday

Abbey Road...in front of Georges house?? (or something like that)

Stonehenge!!

Our alarm went off at 7:30am this morning and I took a quick shower and then threw on some clothes and went downstairs and had the same bfast as yesterday morning and then I went back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. We all planned on meeting downstairs at 9am so we could leave for Abbey Road before going to Stonehenge. Before 9am, I went downstairs and paid to get online so I could go onto RyanAir and change to pay for a carry on luggage. 10euros is better than 20 at the airport!! :/ Then we all met up and left to go to the Tube and once we got to this one stop (forgot the name) we got off and had to walk for about an hour before getting to Abbey Road. Once we got there, we only stayed for a few minutes because we had to get back because we already paid for Stonehenge and we weren’t missing that bus. We got onto a city bus and took it to the Tube station we need to be at to catch our bus. Since we took the city bus, we got back to the station early, so we had time to grab a bit to eat…mmm Subway!! Ha, I saw it and you know that bread smell…same one you smell in EVERY Subway you go to, I smelled it and it hit home for me, so I had to get the usual turkey/pepperoni!! :) Of course I made it a meal deal and wow are their chip bags tiny!! Ha, and out here, you only get one cookie, at home, in AZ, don’t you have the option of 2 cookies or one bag of chips?? Hmm…so ya, after lunch, we got on the bus to Stonehenge and on the way our bus driver pointed out lots of things to us. He pointed out these roof tops which was were Mary Poppins was filmed and he told us all about Stonehenge. Michael, the driver, was a nice older man. Once we got to Stonehenge, we had a hour to walk around. The stones were roped off, and you were directed to walk around them in a circle. They weren’t as big as I expected, but still very interesting!! I am so glad we made it out to see them because I really wanted to see them in person one day, and that day happened to be today!! :) After Stonehenge, we drove back to London and went to their “Time Square” – ha, it is pretty funny, but since I have never been to NY, I have no comparisons to talk about. One day, hopefully soon, I will!! :) We shopped for a bit and then went to grab a bit to eat. I ordered chicken fingers and French green beans. Yummy…they were really good beans, I liked!! After dinner, we got back on the Tube and went back to Russel Square. Next to the hotel, there is a store where I bought myself a shirt – bright neon colors saying “I love London” ha. Then the girls and I hung out in Amy and Beths room until 11pm and then I decided to go to bed because I had to wake up at 2am, taxi was coming for me at 2:30am because I had a 6am flight!! MATHONE!!! Tomorrow will be a LONG day of travel!!

Love and MISS you ALL!!

CHEERS!! :)

12.04.2009 - Sunday

Beautiful tree in the park near our hotel :)

Ha, lovely reminders on the streets (cars drive on the opposite side of the streets than in the States!!)
Flowers at the Buckinham Palace
Cass and I at the Buckingham Palace
Tower Bridge
Big Ben

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTEE SANDEE!!! :) I love you, can’t wait to see you over the summer!! O, and HOPPY EASTER EVERYONE!! I miss my family BIG TIME!! Especially when the holidays roll around, makes me miss you all that much more, can’t wait to spend time with each of you when I get back to the States!! :) This morning, Cass and I got up and had an English Bfast which included scrambled eggies, piece of toast, and a small bowl of cereal with a glass of AJ on the side. We were out of the hotel by 8am and since the girls didn’t wake us up last night when they got in (flight got pushed back and got to the hotel by 3am), Cass and I wanted to go see all the sites, so we left without them. First stop…Buckingham Palace to see “Changing of the Guards.” Hmm…I would say don’t worry about seeing that. Ha, Cass and I took the “Tube” (Metro) to Hyde Park where the Palace was at. We got there really early and the Changing wasn’t until 11:30am. We ended up walking around and admiring the beautiful flowers and then it was starting to get crowded, so we went over to the fence to get a spot. MAN, did it ever get packed quickly!! We stood over to the right of the Palace and the main changing of the guard happened over to the left I believe. It was funny to see all the men with their tall hats marching around. And the man who yelled out the commands was really YELLING!! Made me laugh because each time he would yell, his hat would shake!! After the Changing happened, Cass and I made our way through the crowd and went over to the Mews where we were able to see the carriages and limos which the Queen rides in. Her ‘limo’ is a Rolls-Royce. Ha, we also saw the horse stables which had no horses in because they were still out front (where the changing was still occurring). After, it was about 1pm and Cass and I were getting hungry, so we went to a restaurant called Garfunkels where I ordered a burger, it was yummy. Then we got back on the Tube and went to go see the London Eye and Big Ben. Big Ben…not so big. Ha, the building that surrounded him were gorgeous, I still wonder how long it took to build them? The London Eye was like 17lbs to ride and it takes about an hour to ride, so it wasn’t worth it to us, so we didn’t do it. After, we went back to the Tube and we took it to go see the Tower Bridge. We ended up climbing the steps to walk across the water on the Tower Bridge and once we got to the other side, we saw a castle, I forget the name but it’s probably like ‘Tower Castle’ or something like that. We grabbed a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and then sat on the steps looking out to the castle. There were a TON of people everywhere, I was surprised too because it’s Easter, does no one have family?? What the heck yo (ha, Jimmy)?? After we were done eating, we went back over the bridge and then walked over to the London Bridge…not too exciting, very plain bridge, I enjoyed the Tower Bridge more. Then the girls texted us telling us they were at Hard Rock, so we got back on the Tube. Hard Rock London was the first one btw. Eric Clapton liked it so much, he gave them a signed guitar which started everything because then other bands caught wind of that and the competition began to give HR band mementos. The texts must have been behind time, because once we got there, they were no longer there. Ha, we didn’t end up staying, but at least I can say I have been inside. So we got back on the Tube and went to our hotel where they were at. I met Amy’s mum and sister. Ha, they say ‘mum’ out here, same as in Scotland. 8pm rolled around so us girls went to go grab some drinks and hang out and talk about our days. We ended up doing the same things, just at different times because we never once saw them, but London is not like VT, it’s a bit bigger. Ha. We stayed out until 12:30am or so and were in bed before 1am, another big day tomorrow. I love traveling!! Wow, May is almost here and I still have lots of traveling to do!! Ha!!

I love and miss you all!!

CHEERS!! :)

11.04.2009 - Saturday

WOW, it is has been SO long since I have been on here!! Lots have happened!! Here is goes…Last night while I was in bed, my mom called me at 11pm!! :) It was so nice talking to her, I can’t believe her and Nan will be out here in just a few days, YAY!! :) I feel bad because I don’t remember the first few minutes of our conversation because I was out of it!! I went to bed at 9:45, so I had been out of it for a few hours already!! After we hung up, I fell back asleep rather quickly and then I woke up at 3:45am to get ready for LONDON!! After I was done getting ready, Ry called me at around 4am so we could say our goodbyes for the next few days. I ended up having time for a bowl of GPs so I had one of those and then I made chocolate milk to go with the rest of the milk I had. Cass and I were out of the dorms by 4:40am and on our way to PF. It was interesting rolling our luggage’s down a dark dirt road early in the morning…ha, all the bumps and such, very entertaining. Once we got on the train, Jesse (a kid from the dorms) met us on there because he was on the same flight as us to London, so he decided to travel with us for the day. We were to Roma by 7am and then we had to take a bus from Termini to Ciampino airport and were there by 8am. Check-in was at 8:10am so we waited in line and when it was my turn to check-in, I was not a happy camper. I decided to bring my smallest luggage thinking it would be good to bring and carry on with me, but it turns out the max weight for a carry on is 10kg and that is including your personal item as well because they changed the rules. So my bag ended up weighing 11kg which meant I had to go pay 20euros and then had to get back in line to get my ticket!! O wow, was I ever upset. :/ Of course, all the Italianos can have 2 carry-ons, but not us Americans!! :/ So upsetting. So I paid the money and while I was doing so, Cass waited for me in the line so I could get my ticket, and save time for us all. I then got my ticket and we all went through security and then before we knew it, we landed in London. Since we took off late, we landed late, which means RyanAir didn’t play their song because we weren’t on time. After we landed, we went through passport control and then picked up our luggage’s, then we went and bought our tickets to get by bus to the city center. Our bus driver was not that good because he had to ask for directions 3 times!! Wow, finally, we were at Victoria station and then Cass and I left Jesse and caught the metro to Russel Square, where our hotel was located. Finally, we were to our hotel by 5pm (only 8 hrs. ahead of AZ instead of 9, like in Italia) and decided to just drop off our bags and go check out the town. I ended up finding a place right away that sold lighters and patches, so I killed two birds with one stone right off the bat, which was great, so then I didn’t have to worry about finding those for the rest of the trip in London. :) For dinner, we went to China City, right down the street from where the hotel was and I got a chicken chestnut plate with rice on the side, very yummy!! I had been craving Chinese, so I was excited we had that for dinner. After din, we went back to the hotel and got ready for bed, big day with lots of walking tomorrow, so I figured it would be nice to get a good nights rest!!

Hope you all have been doing well, been awhile since I have been on here!! Glad to be back!!

Love you all!!

CHEERS!! :)