Friday, April 20, 2012

Did I really just have my last undergraduate course??

I’m sitting here typing furiously, my bags for tonight’s journey to the UK and Ireland packed and sitting by the door with a glass of kir (blackberry liquor and white wine, compliments of Caitlin!) by my side. A lot has gone on these last few weeks, and I can’t believe the time is winding down so quickly, but here goes! The last few weeks went a little something like this:

I went back to classes after saying goodbye to Jenn and Brooke in Paris, and I had one of those happy, wonderful revelations on the train on the way home. I really, really love France. My train flew past fields and mountains as I read, and I became distracted by the beautiful country that I’m fortunate enough to call home for, now, less than six more weeks. After such a good week playing host to some life-long friends, I felt on top of the world as I rode back toward my new will-be life-long friends.

We picnicked again that Sunday and prepared ourselves for the school week ahead, which proved to be much like the previous ones. This Wednesday, on my day off, Carly and I went to the beach in Marseille, and when we stepped off the metro, we were greeted by a number of boisterous, red-clad fans. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were all wearing Bayern-Munich jerseys and were chanting in German. Carly and I enjoyed our beach-time, but I was completely preoccupied by all the fans, knowing that Marseille’s team, OM, is huge and that I had either just missed a big game or that one would shortly be taking place. We got home that evening and I immediately checked OM’s website, only to find that they would be having a game that night in just a few hours. After some serious texting and Facebooking, Leah jumped on board and we were back off to Marseille!

We caught the bus to Marseille, then transferred to the metro, then tried nine (seriously, we counted) entrances and asked for directions before we found the proper entrance. Once, we were refused entry because it was a strictly German entrance. Because of the extreme fanaticism and hooligans, they literally don’t let the fans use the same entrances! Take that, American sports! Anyway, we got into the stadium twenty minutes into the game and it was still 0-0. The atmosphere was unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. Fans were chanting and cheering (in French), and from our spot behind the goal, we got to be part of the rowdy fan section, consisting of at least 99% men. In French stadiums, I’ve learned now, there aren’t concession stands, real seating plans, or light-up score boards with funny cartoons and music. The fans go solely to watch the game.



OM ended up losing the game 2-0, but we got to hear the chants and see the hilarious (and completely offensive and outlandish) signs that the fans made and brought. It was everything I hoped European soccer would be and more! Leah and I snapped photos and took video, and I even got a scarf that said “OM vs. Munich” with the date and stadium name too! That was when I learned it was the quarter final of the Champions League. It was like I’d died and gone to heaven. I realized then, and writing about it now, how much I miss the sport. What a great European experience!



On Friday, a group of us from Expression Oral went to see our professor in his play, Magicien d’Oz. He played the “magicien" (wizard!) and was fantastic. I especially liked when the narrator introduced the play, which takes place in a faraway land, in a foreign country, a place called – Kansas. Overall, the show was beautifully done and the narrator’s French-accented rendition of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” (pronounced ran-bow!) was exceptionally beautiful.

On Saturday, Caitlin and I were invited to lunch with Roz at her host’s apartment, which overlooks the Rotonde. The apartment is beautifully furnished with hand-carved wood pieces and the refrigerator is decorated with magnets from all different countries, including the one Roz bought her host while we were in Sicily! Over the following three hours, I was served some of the best French food I’ve ever eaten and it was also where we were introduced to kir. Roz’s host began with a pâté-based dish (I believe it was bread wrapped around a type of pâté) as an entrée (appetizer) with kir as the aperitif (before dinner drink). It was insisted that we finish the entire plate and once we had, Roz’s host brought out bread and foie gras. As long as I didn’t think about it, it was absolutely delicious! And it was served on the most adorable little duck-shaped dish, complete with duck knife.


Next, the main course of rabbit stew was served. Roz had been wanting to try rabbit so as a treat, her host mom served us all this special French dish, along with cheesy, baked potatoes. I can’t even describe the taste other than to say it was absolutely delicious. I’ve asked my own host mom/conversation exchange mom for some of her recipes, but I have a feeling that no matter what I do, my French dishes just won’t turn out the same, but I’m determined to bring back a piece of this culture with me! Cheese was the next dish, in the traditional French fashion. We had Roquefort and Brie, which are two of my favorites.



A wonderfully heavy and rich cream cake was served for dessert, and we finished it off with the last of our red wine. Roz’s host was extraordinarily kind and welcoming, and I was so excited when she began talking about the next time we come over for lunch. Thank you, Roz, for such an incredibly, deliciously French experience!

It was back to work the next week as I prepared for an oral presentation for my Thursday theater class. I met with the program’s tutor on Wednesday, and I was so strongly reminded of IPFW’s Writing Center consultations that I was at first taken aback. Only when he took my pen and began writing on my paper (the biggest no-no imaginable in an IPFW Writing Center appointment!) that I realized how much I miss tutoring and the Writing Center in general. It was so odd to be a foreign, non-native speaker in a consultation. Unfortunately, the professor hadn’t written my name down, so the next day when I came into class (mostly) prepared to give my presentation, he gave me the option to present the following week, which I gladly accepted.

Highlight of the week had to be receiving not one, but TWO packages from BRoy and Annabel. You guys made my week and made traveling even more exciting, which I didn't know was possible. BRoy sent me my very own travel gnome named Raphael Poulain (from one of our favorite movies, Amelie!), and Annabel a travel journal with all kinds of themed pages. You guys are the best!


The next morning, at 5am, I met Caitlin and Brianne at the bus station, Raphael and travel journal tucked safely in my bag, and we were off to go spend our four-day Easter weekend in Croatia! We’d gotten Friday off of Methodologie and since Monday was a holiday, Brianne found really inexpensive flights to Zadar, Croatia and we decided to book and have a semi-spontaneous trip to Eastern-ish Europe. We arrived on Friday morning and took out a few hundred Kuna – Croatian currency – and were more than appreciative of the now favorable exchange rate. One American dollar will get you over five Kuna, so it was nice to have the exchange rate in our favor for once! We spent the weekend walking the pier at the sea, eating delicious Italian food (who knew Croatia was so close to Italy??), enjoying the sounds of the sea organ (a specially designed set of stairs with pipes carved out underneath so that the flowing water literally plays music), watching the solar-powered sun dial light up, and shopping. Like I said, LOVE that exchange rate.




On Easter morning, I went to Zadar cathedral for mass. One thing that has always fascinated me about Catholicism is the fact that the mass is the same absolutely everywhere. I think I picked up a few Croatian words during the hour, because I was able to tell where in the mass we were, as well as match up the words in the prayers, projected on a big white screen, to the English prayers. I walked back to Anna’s hostel in the rain to find that the other group who was staying in the hostel took the one car we were planning to take for the day. We’d hoped to see the lakes and national park (which are apparently THE thing to see in Croatia), but were instead stranded at the hostel for the day, in the same city we’d spent two days exploring where everything was closed for Easter Sunday. So, we read and had a quiet day inside until we became so bored that we decided to build our own blanket fort. Best idea ever? I think so!



We cooked Easter dinner that night and made friends with the new Canadian back-packer that arrived for the night. After drinks with him, we went to bed to get up and head back to Marseille the next morning. Once back in Aix, we went back through another typical school week. I arrived at the university on Thursday morning, after having met with the tutor again, fully ready to deliver my presentation, only to find out that the instructor was sick. I went home for a few hours and returned to the school where one of the program girls from my syntax class and I hoped to discuss our, um, less than astonishing midterm grades, only to find that she too had cancelled her class. One thing I absolutely do not appreciate about France is the infernal school system. As an American, it seems to be utterly disorganized and entirely frustrating. The French students don’t seem to have a problem with the last minute changes in schedule and tardiness of the professors, so maybe it’s another of those cultural differences, but boy does it aggravate me.

That weekend, a number of us went on the program trip to Pont du Gard, Arle, and Glanum, all small cities with ancient Greek and Roman history. We walked the ruins and landmarks, and I had my first experience eating bull in Arle! It’s got quite a game-y taste and is a little tough, but I’m glad to have sampled the local cuisine.

This week, our American adviser from IU hosted some of us for crêpe night, where she showed us how to whip up a few delicious French crêpes. I plan on bringing this knowledge back with me to the states for sure! Other exciting news includes finally giving my presentation this week. After all the waiting and nerve-wracking, I delivered the oral and received my grade back immediately – 15! This corresponds to a solid A in the American system, so I couldn’t be happier. That night, last night, I attended what I realized will be my last undergraduate university class ever. (I still have one online course to complete in order to graduate, but I won’t actually go to class for it, so I’ve been told that last night still counts as my last course!) It’s an odd feeling to be coming to the close of my degree, especially in another country so far away from where I started. I feel really good about it, though. All that stand between me and my degree are a few exams and an online British literature course, and I couldn't be happier!

I feel even better because I’m less than an hour away from arriving at the airport to take off for our two week break in the UK and Ireland! The basic itinerary is London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Dublin, so I’m super excited for all the fun things we have planned. I'll be back in thirteen days with plenty more tales to tell. Have a good end of term, all you Americans, and I'll catch you all in a few weeks!

Here and there,
Kiley

Friday, April 13, 2012

Playing Catch-Up: A Two Week Recap of Toulouse, Madrid, and Paris

So, I’m about a month behind on my adventures here, so I’ll do my best to be thorough, yet succinct. Here are the general highlights of March and the beginning of April!

I had a few exams the week we came back from break, and I’ve still only received one of those exams back. The French schooling system is probably the single most frustrating thing I’ve encountered here, since there are basically only two, maybe three grades for the semester, and I’ve still no idea how my courses are going. For one of my lit courses, I have a paper due exam week when I’ll also give my oral over a randomly selected passage as well as take the final exam. It’s a little unnerving, but I’m hopeful! Exam schedules were just put out this week, and they’re spaced out pretty well, so as long as I put in the time to study, all should go well.

The weekend after we came back from break, I hopped on a train to Toulouse to visit Matt, one of my friends from high school. I didn’t get in until Friday night, so we spent a few hours catching up over a few drinks at his place before he took me out to one of his favorite bars in town. Nightlife seemed to be pretty good, and we stayed until the bar closed around two. On the way back to Matt’s, we stopped for kebabs, an essential late night snack that we both realized we would miss having in the states. The next morning, we took our time getting up before walking around town. Unfortunately, I was still camera-less at this point, having had my camera stolen in Italy the week before, so I don’t have photos of the pink buildings that Toulouse is known for, la ville rose, as the French call it. We walked through the town square where people were playing touch (rugby), the neat old buildings and town hall bordering the square. There were people all over the river bank, just sitting and relaxing or having lunch, as well as in the couple of little parks we passed through.

We stopped for lunch at a little café on the corner and I had my first taste of foie gras in the salad I ordered. At first it was okay, but my mind got going and I couldn’t stop thinking about what I was eating and after a few bites, I handed over the rest to Matt. Foie gras, goose liver, and pâté are hugely popular here, and every once in a while they taste really good, but I’m still kind of hit or miss on whether I like it or not. After lunch, we made our way back to Matt’s place where we hung out for the better part of the afternoon just talking and goofing around on the internet. Matt played me some of the music he and Graham, another high school friend and Matt’s roommate in France, have been working on (check it out here). We spent the evening and night hanging out and playing games with Matt and Graham’s friends, and we also ventured out for another kebab, which may have been the best one I’ve ever had. It was on a pita-type bread instead of the typical tortilla-style and it was overflowing with fries. Delicious. We pretty much crashed once we got back to the dorms, then had a generally lazy Sunday before I caught my train back to Aix on Sunday. Overall, it was a great weekend spent catching up with old friends and getting a little better acquainted with my newest home country!

The following week brought the last of my midterms, as well as visitors from home: Jenn and Brooke! They arrived Thursday with some things from my parents, including the replacement camera I sent them money for, so the rest of these photos will be mine again. We took time to have a French picnic in the park on Friday after my class, giving them some time to recover from their jetlag. We met some of the program girls and had an absolute feast in Parc Jourdan: multiple baguettes, at least five kinds of cheeses, a few kinds of meat, pâté, cookies, and wine. We laid around in the sun for a good part of the afternoon before Jenn, Brooke, and I made our way back to my place to pack for Madrid!



We arrived in the city late at night and basically went straight to bed. Once awake on Saturday, we made our way around the city, going through a few of the parks and into the Rena Sofia Museum where Picasso’s Guernica is kept. What an incredible painting. They had a small mural showing the different stages of how the painting was done. Incredible. I also found possibly my new favorite piece of art, called Packing the Hard Potatoes. Isn’t it cool??



After the museum, we passed by some book vendors on the way to one of the many parks and botanical gardens where we saw tons and tons of bikers and rollerbladers. I’ve never seen so many rollerbladers! And they were doing all kinds of tricks, too. There were so many people out and about. Families, couples, tour groups, all kinds, and they were all being active. There were all kinds of performers all over the place too, playing all different kinds of music. We saw some of the illegal souvenir vendors get chased by the police, which was even more entertaining. We thought about renting a boat to putter around on the lake, but decided against it for the sake of money and instead caught the metro into the main part of the city and put our money to use shopping and eating. I’ll suffice it to say that it was money well spent!



We rocked back up to the hostel around nightfall when we figured out how to spend our night. The hostel had a pub crawl and we’d seen ads for a number of shows, and after consulting the front desk, we went a few doors down and bought tickets for the flamenco show. I’m so glad we did! The dancing was incredible, and the sangria that came with the ticket was unbelievably tasty.



On Sunday, we got up early to get to the tower in the center of the city where you can walk around on the roof and see all of Madrid splayed out in front of you. The photos don’t even do it justice.




On the way back, we stopped for McDonald’s bringing it up to my fifth international McDonald’s experience. I hadn’t meant to try it in every country, but I managed to hit it in Australia (more often than I would have liked, actually!), Italy, and France, so I figured I may as well add Spain to the list. We made our way to the airport, and had a pleasant flight home to Aix where we relaxed inside with some Pizza Capri and movies, since it proved to be a rainy and gloomy day.

On Monday night, I got to take Jenn and Brooke to my conversation exchange family’s house for dinner. I’ve been going to this family’s house once a week for the past few months to speak English with them, and in return, they feed me a French dinner. My “mom”, Corinne, was kind enough to invite us all over, and she definitely pulled out all the stops on that week’s dinner. Grated carrots with a Balsamic dressing, baked eggplant with a marinara sauce, raisins and radishes to go with buttered bread, cheese, and wine, followed by a raspberry tart and chocolate pie I bought and brought for dessert. Everything was absolutely delicious. This past week, I asked Corinne if she would share her recipes with me, and she said she would write some up for me – in English, because she wants to practice! They are such a nice and friendly family, and I’m going to be so sad when my weekly visits come to a finish. The three of us more or less rolled out the door with the guidebooks they loaned me since they knew we would be doing a little traveling around southern France and Paris over the week. Like I said, such a nice family.

The next day, we woke up early to catch the bus with Roz and Leah to go to Cassis, a small town right on the sea with some beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, the weather was still a little gloomy and not quite warm enough for swim suits, so we sat clothed on our towels and played cards for the afternoon. But we felt it was necessary to at least snap a bikini shot, so we went for it despite the cold! Then we got coffees to warm us up, along with an appetizer at one of the cafés on the port and enjoyed the view and sound of the water.




Wednesday took us down to Marseille where we walked around the port, the same place I spent my first weekend in France. I hadn’t been back there since, so it was really nice to revisit in just slightly nicer weather. After the port, we went up to La Dame de la Garde, the beautiful church on the top of the hill. We did some exploring around the area and took our time at the various lookout points, appreciating the city and sea in front of us.




We played host to a number of the girls at my apartment that night where we played card games and chatted. On Thursday, I came back from class to find Jenn and Brooke having shopped and explored Aix for the day. We visited the tea shop together before my night class, and I came back with just enough time to throw down some food and leave for the Hunger Games! The film actually came out a few days earlier in France than it did in the states, so we were all glad to not have to wait any longer to see the movie. And what a great movie it was!


Unfortunately, we went straight back to my place after the movie, since we had to be up at 4am to catch our train up to Paris on Friday morning. Which turned out to be a bit of a fiasco.

We got to the bus stop in plenty of time to catch the 5:20 bus to the train station, only 15 minutes away. What we didn’t anticipate was the accident/spill that had traffic backed up significantly. We realized the police were even turning cars around and forcing them to go back the way they came and started to get worried. We breathed a sigh of relief when the bus reached the front of the line and they let us through. That excitement was short-lived, however, as we were stopped again almost immediately. That’s when the bus driver opened the doors and told us that anyone going to the train station could jump off. He wasn’t joking. So, the three of us got off the bus on the side of the highway around 5:50 along with several other passengers, and began to hike the last leg of the journey to the train station on foot. Oh yeah, Jenn and Brooke had their rolling luggage too. Knowing we only had a few minutes and a solid half or three-quarters of a mile to go, we basically jogged. I assume there was some kind of spill because we jogged over this saw-dusty, powder crap that was sprinkled all over the road. It didn’t help the breathing and running situation any, that’s for sure. We rocked up to the train station and caught the elevator up, seeing that our train was at the platform. Finally, we boarded the train at the first car and no less than a minute later, it started on its way. Whew.

We arrived in Paris three hours later and made our way to our hotel before heading to Montmartre, at which point I realized I forgot my camera at home, so this will be a word heavy section too. Whoops. Anyway, we got off the métro stop and walked a few hundred meters out of the station and around the corner where at least fifty men were all standing, lining the walls, cat-calling us nonstop. I’ve mostly gotten used to the comments men make and the way they look you up and down as you walk by – it’s an inevitable daily occurrence here in France, but I’d never been intimidated until then. Maybe it was because there were so many of them, or maybe because it took us a minute to pick through the crowd so it was nonstop, but I was actually unbelievably uncomfortable and not in the least bit flattered. Just, ew.

We walked around Montmartre seeing all the big attractions, like Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge before heading back to the hotel for a quick nap that turned into a long nap. Well rested, we set back out into the city to hit the other big monuments: Notre Dame, the Louvre, we hired a bike to take us part of the way up the Champs Élysées to l’Arc de Triomphe, then the métro to the Eifel Tower just as it was getting dark. We were walking through the Champs de Mars just as the tower lit up with all the sparkly lights like it does every night before heading to dinner around the corner. That night, we met up with a friend of a friend at a bar a little ways from our hotel before turning in for the night. We got up to get Jenn to the airport for her morning flight, then Brooke and I went back to the Eifel Tower to see it in the light before taking a coffee break. We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon sitting in front of Jardin de Tuileries, the Louvre in one direction and the Champs Élysées to the other. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

I caught my afternoon train home that Saturday to prepare for another school week! That brings me up to the end of March, and there’s still heaps to tell you about the last two weeks, but I’ll cut it there since this post is getting a bit long. I’ll get this next post up before I take off for the UK with Roz and Chelsea next week on our two week spring break! Hope this one finds you all doing well. Love and miss you all!

Here and there,
Kiley

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

No parlo italiano: The third and final installment of our adventures in Italia

I left you having just arrived in Rome, about halfway through our travels in Italy. We woke up in reasonable time and caught the bus to the metro to the center of Rome. We’d chosen a hostel outside the city so as to avoid driving through the city proper, but that meant that transportation took a bit longer. All ill thoughts were dismissed when we stepped outside the metro station, smack in front of the Colosseum, perfectly backlit by the mid-morning sun. It officially felt like we were in Rome.


We stopped for a quick bite at the sandwich shop right in front of the monument – and paid at least twice what we should have for a simple sandwich. Note to self: don’t buy food so close to such attractions, because the price shoots up like nobody’s business. Anyway, we ate and made our way toward the Colosseum among the eager crowds of diverse and muttering tourists, hassled as we went by the dozens and dozens of tour guides. We were irritated until we saw the enormous line to get in. Knowing we had only the day to explore one of the world’s biggest, greatest cities, we eventually caved and had a guided tour for about seven Euros more.

Thank goodness we did, because there was so much that we just wouldn’t have understood without it. Thinking about all the history that’s taken place, the fact that spectators stood watching gladiators in the same places I stood, that the actual Caesar and other men and women of legends had been in the same place, was overwhelming and incredibly cool. Also, the steps were atrocious. The ancient Romans must have had monster thigh muscles if the common stairwell was anything like the ones we climbed. That or time has caused the stairs to shift.



The tour lasted an hour and we debated walking through the Forum, but considering time and the fact that the Vatican is a bit of a hike, we opted not to check it out and instead boarded the metro to take us across the river. We arrived at the Vatican in much the same fashion, hounded by guides offering tours in I don’t know how many languages. As we waited for a crosswalk, a man with an unmistakable New York accent approached us, claiming to be an honest recruiter who wanted us to get as much as we could out of the tour. He chastised the collective death glare we gave him, having no intention to fork over the money for this tour too, and then he asked us if we could tell him where the entrance was. We couldn’t. Touché, old man, touché.

So we signed up for the tour and he led us around the corner to his office where he introduced us to our Scottish tour guide, Ian. I think taking this tour was the best decision we made all week. Ian was lively and entertaining from the very start, accommodating all kinds of humor, though the ten-ish-person group we had seemed to be of similar tastes. Or maybe everyone just loved his accent like we did and were ready to listen to anything that he said. Either way, Ian guided us through the Vatican Museum beginning with the earliest art. The figures in the beginning of the period (and I can’t remember the name of the era for the life of me, so bear with me, pretty please) showed indistinct figures that lacked the precision of the later and anatomically accurate paintings and sculptures of Michelangelo. As we moved through the museum, we could see the progression of science and thought as various religious scenes were depicted, as well as scenes blending the pagan gods of Rome and Greece with Christian images of Jesus, Mary, and other figures and stories.


A few of my favorites were "Pietra", a statue by Michelangelo, and "School of Athens", by Raphael. The relationship between Michelangelo and Raphael was explained to us – a difficult relationship in that they basically hated each other, but Raphael understood what a master Michelangelo was after sneaking a peak at the highly secret Sistine Chapel – as well as Michelangelo’s strained relationships with most of the clergy who attempted to commission him. And of course, the Sistine Chapel was more incredible than can be imagined. Depicting the scenes of Genesis, which Michelangelo decided to paint but wasn’t supposed to, Michelangelo took years and years to paint, modeling his characters after an amalgamation of Greek and Roman art, the arm of this statue mixed with the torso of that one and the face of that bishop that he liked. On the mural behind the altar, “The Last Judgment”, this is exactly what Michelangelo did when depicting Jesus. Unfortunately, you can't take photos inside the Sistine Chapel, but definitely Google it.



Fun fact: Pope Sixtius IV who commissioned the Sistine Chapel wound up with his face on the devilish character Minos, complete with donkey ears, who is painted directly above the door of the chapel, where all the cardinals and bishops would enter and leave the church, because he insulted Michelangelo. Other fun facts: it’s believed that Michelangelo suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome, explaining his obsessive compulsive forays in art and science, as well as his difficulty in dealing with people and social situations. Other fun fact: there’s a good chance Da Vinci had ADD/ADHD, based on his scatter-brained journal entries and numerous unfinished projects, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, inventions, etc.

We finished the tour at the Sistine Chapel and after asking Ian’s advice about where to go in town, he gave a few suggestions and his number in case we (now our group of three and two Irish girls) wanted to meet up later. We took a quick tour of the actual cathedral, but weren't allowed into Pope John Paul II's tomb, since it was already closed, but the vast, beautifully decorated church was enough to look at.


We grabbed pizza with the Irish girls and went back to get ready before heading straight back into town for aperitivo, which means you buy a drink and you can get all the appetizer-like finger food you want. We sat for a few drinks until Ian met us, then headed to a club a few blocks over in the heart of Rome. Downside: cover charge, upside: free drinks once you’re in. We were having a great time, and I dragged Roz and Caitlin away to dance to Party Rock and Sexy and I Know It in between getting drinks at the bar, but that’s when things went downhill a smidge. Irish Girl #1 starts puking on the side of the dance floor, and Roz, Caitlin and I are forced to take care of her since according to her friend, “oh no, she’s fine.”


Taking care of drunk friends, even puking friends, isn’t so bad, because you love them plus you know if you were ever in that situation, then someone has your back. Not the case when it’s more or less a lightweight stranger who is yelling at you about her purse and how she doesn’t want to stand up. We managed to get her outside and hail a cab for her, but not without being harassed/helped by a few guys who were carrying on in Italian that we didn’t understand, bumping into us and fumbling trying to get this girl into a cab.

We get back into the club, flustered and aggravated but glad to be free when Irish Girl #2 comes back, asking about the other girl’s purse. No one has it. We start searching the bathroom and every nook and cranny to see if someone’s at least taken the money and ditched the purse. To check in dark places, I reach in my purse for my camera to light up these dark areas, and realize that the flap is open and, what do you know, my camera is gone. There’s no doubt in my mind it was the guys “helping” us get the girl in the cab. What’s worse, I’d purposely put my money in my back pocket and had kept my camera on my wrist since I knew my purse only had a clasp, because we’d been warned multiple times about pick-pockets in the city. The only time my camera was in my purse was when both hands were occupied, supporting this belligerently drunk girl get home. It’s over a month later and I’m still unbelievably bitter. Needless to say, the pictures I’ve been using for these posts have come from Roz and Caitlin, and I can’t thank you guys enough for your photos!

After a lengthy search for the purse, the girls left and we took off too, since the club was closing at this point. I was livid and couldn’t have cared less about the purse or the girls at that point, but I tried to tell myself that it was over and nothing could be done. Roz and Caitlin were champs at consoling me and joining in the string of insults aimed toward the girls, and Ian even chimed in a bit. After hanging around on the street, he asked if we’d seen everything we wanted to in Rome, which we definitely hadn’t. With that, we set off for the Trevi Fountain around maybe 4am. We arrived and were, unsurprisingly, the only people wandering around the famous monument. Ian briefed us on the statues and sculptures around the fountain, and we all appreciated the history and how special it was to see such a sight in such a calm and peaceful atmosphere. It was unreal and so beautiful. We wandered around the fountain and entertained maybe trying to take a dip before a police car pulled up, clearly keeping tabs on us.


Soon enough, people began walking around, clearly on their way to work and we realized the sun would be coming up soon. Ian asked if we’d like to watch it rise, because he knew a spot, but that we’d have to hurry. That was all we needed to hear before we let him lead the way, jogging after him the whole way. It probably took ten or fifteen minutes jogging the whole way around the city, but luckily there was very little traffic. I came up behind Ian and he directed me up the steps and around the side of a building, and the stairs about did me in after my first extended jog in a month. We all reconvened at the top of the steps, desperate trying to catch our breath in the rapidly approaching dawn.

Off in the distance, we could see the Colosseum with the Forum splayed out almost directly in front of us. The sky just over the Colosseum began to lighten up, casting a brilliant pink light into the sky, bouncing yellow and orange off the clouds. The sky grew lighter and lighter over the next few minutes, and we stood and watched the sun slowly peek out from behind the great monument, still trying to catch our breath and force ourselves to believe that it was real life.



Once the sun was up, we made our way to the same metro station we’d been at that morning and parted ways with Ian, the greatest, coolest tour guide I will probably ever encounter. We all headed back to the hostel, knowing we had to check out of the hostel and start our drive to Milan through Pisa in just a few hours, but figured that a little sleep would be a good idea. A few short hours later, we piled into the car with our luggage, and I pulled us back onto the road. Between Rome and Pisa, we drove through the Italian countryside that looked like what I’d always imagined it to look like: sprawling, green fields, speckled with olive trees and little clusters of houses made of some kind of tan stone. It was a surprisingly mild drive and we didn’t even get lost! We arrived in Pisa and stopped for gelato before making our way to the tower for plenty of photos.




The drive to Milan was another story. Long story less long, we took a few wrong turns getting into the city and had an awful time finding the Zebra Hostel that wasn’t marked with any kind of sign. After driving around the city limits for an hour, we found the place but had to spend another hour to find parking. I offer my sincerest thanks to Roz and Caitlin for their unyielding help and patience with me during this drive. I couldn’t have hoped for better tempered, more cooperative, capable navigators. You two are the best. Seriously. Though we hadn’t eaten since midday and we didn’t set foot in the hostel until after midnight, I passed on the meal they were setting out to find and was asleep seconds after my head hit the pillow.

Unfortunately, we had to return the car first thing in the morning, so we were up at 7am and were able to return the car without hassle before finding public transport back to the hostel where we crashed again until 1pm when we finally roused ourselves out of bed. Pizza as first on our list of to-dos was the Napoli pizza place we’d passed on the way back, and I’m glad we did. We had more incredible bruschetta in addition to the best pizza I’ve ever had. We sipped a beer with our meal, and had a few waiters checking on us through our meal, only one of whom spoke a little English. The ordering process had been a lot of pointing and gesturing.


When we finished, a few of the waiters came back and after trying to communicate unsuccessfully, came back with the English-speaking server. Then, they invited us to come back to the restaurant when they closed to go out with them. We accepted. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city and saw the Duomo, the large cathedral in the center of town. Since it was our last day in the city, we also had more gelato, which may have been the best gelato I’d had all week, which was saying something.



We wandered around the shops for a while, and found an impressive makeup store, where we spent the rest of our evening until we headed back to the hostel to get ready. Caitlin has a friend who’s working as an au pair in the city, so we met her for a bruschetta dinner and some really good beer. As midnight drew closer, we made our way back to the hostel and the restaurant to meet the guys who took us to a bar near the restaurant before heading to a club where we danced. I became unbelievably excited when No Parlo Italiano came on, and had a great time dancing. Since we had to leave the hostel for the airport at 4:30am, we stayed out until close to then, popping back over to the hostel to collect our bags and change before checking out.


We made it onto the plane in plenty of time, and I was asleep before the plane took off, waking up only when it landed back in Marseille. Once back in Aix, I crashed until the early afternoon, recovering from one of the most hectic, culturally enriching, fun, and spontaneous weeks of my life in a country I’ve come to love. Had it not been for my camera, I would say that the trip was absolutely and completely without reason to complain, but even with that significant setback, it was an incredible vacation. Plus, now I speak just a little Italian, or at least to know how to say, “No parlo italiano.”

In the last month, a lot has happened, and I hope to get those posts wrapped up this weekend, outlining all the highlights and traveling including: visiting Matt and Graham in Toulouse, midterms (ew), Jenn and Brooke's visit from Cincinnati and our trips to Madrid and Paris, more schoolwork, Easter in Croatia, and moving my plane ticket home to May 29. Plans are in the works for the study recess in the UK, as well as a long weekend in Amsterdam and Brussels. Like I said, lots has been happening, but I'm hoping for some free-time after my presentation on Thursday. I'll be honest, I've been obsessed with finishing "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series, so I've been less than useless since it's had its hold over me. Sorry for anyone that has put up with my lack of attention span over the last few weeks! Anywho, I hope you all had a lovely Easter, and I love and miss you all heaps!

Here and there,
Kiley