We drove by Pompei!... but we couldn't stop :(















The infamous Vesuvius















I just HAD to have my pic by my shoe store LOL


















This is the Italian version of a beach on the southwest coast. Turf and lawn chairs by the rocks

I've discovered the secret to European women not getting fat. They walk everywhere and they HAVE to squat in public bathrooms--no seats!


















Amalfi Coast













We saw entire mountainsides of grapevines!














Tatiana and me in the car on the LONG drive today. We were noting our very diverse music... she was listening to Real McCoy and I was listening to Saliva. LOL
















me, Maria and Tatiana eating pizza in Maria's apartment in Rome

So, apparently, boys don't give promise rings in Italy. If he REALLY loves you he gives you the second helmet for his Vespa! LOL!!! Tatiana's friend Maria was given this second helmet by an Italian boy.















This is the sign at the bottom of the gigantic staircase after exiting the Sistine Chapel. We just really enjoyed all the pictures of people falling up stairs. It must happen a lot...












Tatiana and me on the winding staircase














This is a replica, and I should really know the name of the original, but I don't.. I'm sure most of you do.

I thought this was interesting. She's holding his head

I don't know what this is, but it was a part of the Vatican museums and looked cool













The ONE Italian man taller than me LOL












We went to a grand opening part of the huge gym/country club Stefania's boyfriend and his friend go to and this is the group













me and my gym party ticket


















This is Giuseppe, my hilarious host, working out in the yard. He used a weed-eater or whatever to mow the entire lawn, just for the fun of it LOL

Her family has 2 dogs and 3 cats. This is Lucky, my favorite. I also like their cat Virola, because she's cross-eyed which is what her name means. LOL














We went running around their little town and stopped to have some gelato and caffe latte. Mmmmmm











This is the beautiful watercolor painting I bought in the city on the first day :)
It's of Vatican City from a distance

















Tatiana, me and Stefania on the train back home

Hahahahahaha I just HAD to have a pic of such ridiculous outifts. Scary guards, huh???

Our first day in Rome (in the city) we went to the Vatican, and this is outside overlooking the plaza.














This is us having dinner with the family... from left to right: Simone (Stefania's boyfriend-they broke up yesterday though), Stefania (Tatiana's cousin), me :), Perla (Tatiana's aunt), Tatiana, Giuseppe (Tatiana's uncle)













Tatiana, me and Perla enjoying a frozen coffee, called Caffe del Nono, or Grandpa's coffee











me and my Caffe del Nono

Entering the mall :) :)

Porta di Roma

I just HAD to get this on up ASAP. Today we took a trip down to the Almafi Coast, which is south of Naples. I don't even need to describe it because this photo speaks for itself.

Well, yesterday we were supposed to go into Rome and do the Colosseum and stuff, but I wasn't feeling well - I have a sore throat/cold thing, and Tatiana had a stomach ache. SO, we spent the morning in bed, again. lol. We got up, had lunch and did some running around the little town they live in for some shopping. We didn't buy anything, but stopped in a "bar" (cafe) and had a cafe latte and gelato. Mmmmmm. I've had gelato and pizza pretty much everyday since I've been here.
Then, last night we went to this party at the gym Stefania's boyfriend goes to. It was a sort of grand opening thing. We payed about 12 euro and got to eat pasta, drink some nasty beer, watch synchronized swimming (LOL) and a fashion show. Oh, and we got to watch the routine used in the salsa fitness class, by the salsa fitness class attendees. Needless to say it was very interesting, and we got videos and photos. Then we danced a little and left! I met my first Italian man who is actually taller than me!!!! Hahaha... he's a trainer at that gym and he hosted the party. I took a picture with him. If you saw the size of men here, you'd understand. I TOWER over everyone. When we are out in a group, I don't worry about getting lost because all they have to do is look around and my head is sticking out of the crowd lol.

Today we are in Rome, staying at Tatiana's friend's apartment in the city. She is here in grad school and lives close to the metro so it's easy to get to and from tourist places.
We went to the Sistine Chapel today... WOW. It was unbelievable. We just sat there for about half an hour trying to soak in every painting but there are so many scenes painted that you can't see them all. We also spent about 2 hours walking through the vatican museums, seeing sculptures, paintings, tapestries, etc. We were so tired from all the walking and the heat that we came back to Maria's apartment early. --I had pizza twice today and gelato once. LOL.
Tonight we are going to have a stereotypical italian dinner at a restaurant, complete with an accordion player and all, hopefully, and then maybe see some Roman nightlife.

More to come! Hopefully I can post some pics up soon

Arrivederci!

I almost forgot to mention this about the subway/train ride! I was almost ROBBED!!! lol
They have groups of 4 seats together, two facing two others. I was sitting in an aisle seat, with Tatiana next to me. Stefania was sitting across from Tatiana and a young guy sat across from me. I saw out of the corner of my eye he kept looking at my bag, and especially when I would get something out of it. Because of that, I stuck my hand through the handles and held it with both hands... more like rested both hands on it so I didn't look obvious. Then he asked me if I had one euro for him. Of course, I said no. Then Stefania told me to be careful because he was going to try to rob me. I sat there thinking, hmmm, should I use my good hand to hold my bag so if he yanks on it he can't take it, or should I use my good hand to punch him in the face after he tries? LOL too funny. He got up and left though, at the next stop and the guy who was across the aisle from him said to us that he was watching out for us because that guy and his friend (who was across the aisle from me) looked like they were gonna rob me. HA. Take THAT eurotrash! You didn't even get ONE euro!!

Yesterday we went into the city and to the Vatican! It was really beautiful, almost surreal. I've never seen so many sculptures, collectively, EVER, much less in one place. We walked through some hallways and along the sides are the tombs of past popes, with a special one for the pope that just died. Forgive me for not knowing his name, or the name of the current pope. I'm not catholic and just don't care that much! We weren't supposed to take pictures but I just carried my little video camera and swung it around. Mwua ha ha ha ha. While we were there, we sat through about 10 minutes of mass held in the Vatican, in latin... pretty cool! I took about 80 pictures in a 20 minute period. The one thing I couldn't stop thinking was money, though. The two girls I was with are catholic and are in awe over the vatican and the pope and everything, but I just thought that all the marble and all the gold could be sold to, I don't know, help people???? It was still cool, though.
After the vatican we did some shopping. I got a beautiful painting of the vatican in the distance, with a bridge and water in front of it. It's a watercolor painted and sold by the artist in the street. I also got a shot glass and a magnet.
After shopping we went to the Trevi Fountain, which I think is my favorite so far. It's sooooo beautiful. LOL Outisde the fountain were people dressed up. You throw change at them and take a pic. One guy looked like he was from the movie 300. I got him on video. TOO funny.
OOOOOH We also had gelato yesterday. YUM!!!! I could live off that stuff.

Today we went to the beach. It took about 1 1/2 to get there, by train and subway [vomit]. People here smell SO bad and we are all crammed into a tiny subway. I just wanna stick my head out a window like a dog. ...Speaking of dogs, they get to ride the trains and subways, too, and not like in the states-in a cage. They walk on with a leash. Lola should definitely be here. LOL.
The beach was not impressive, and neither were the boobies. Yes, boobies. Although they were better than the ones on South Beach, we were not impresseed, as foreigners. Hahaha.
So far I have decided that I was definitely born in the right country. Although I love it here and it's beautiful, I like the more comfortable life in the US. I like my car, my 'normal' sized roads, and central AC.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, we are doing the colosseum and the sistine chapel. Then tomorrow night, Giuseppe and Perla (aunt and uncle) are having a little get together at the house. Should be fun!
This has been a good segway into spanish for me. We speak spanish the whole time, with random italian words thrown in by them. But I'm thinking I'm starting to sing like they do when I talk. We're gonna get to Spain with a really funny accent. lol

BTW, Mom, wine is TOTALLY acceptable at lunch. We drink it everytime. :)

It's still hard to get pics up on here, so you'll have to bear with me for the next week or so.
We were a little mislead about the Othello thing. It was the end of year performance for a theatrical academy and I couldn't figure out what was going on. We sat through FOUR hours of random pieces of plays performed by the students. Italians are very small-I'm obviously NOT Italian- and everything reflects that. The seats in the theater were for midgets, I swear. There is NO way my dad could have sat there. My knees hit the seat in front of me. And it was soooo hot we were sweating like pigs throughout the whole thing. Ha ha.
Today we went to the MALL! The Porta di Roma. They have an IKEA here! We also went into Zara, H&M, United Colors of Benetton....all in the US as well.
We had a lovely dinner here at the house with her aunt, uncle, cousin and her cousin's boyfriend, Simone. After dinner, we 3 girls went and say Prince of Persia, in Italian of course. Not so fun for me, and even less fun for Tatiana who had to translate half the time. For the most part, Italian is enough like Spanish so that I can understand when they speak to me, and they can understand when I speak back in Spanish. Luckily, her aunt is Ecuadorian and speaks spanish, the uncle can get by with spanish and the daughter is just behind him with her spanish. Between the 5 of us we all can talk, but once we leave the house forget it. I'm a tourist.
EVERYTHING cost money here. We went to the grocery store today and I bought a few things, and they charge you 0.03€ for a plastic grocery bag. Of course, I grabbed all MY stuff in my arms and stumbled out without paying for plastic. :)
Last night, as we were driving to the theater, Giusseppe (uncle) took the scenic route and we drove by the Colosseum! It was amazing. I think reality hasn't set in yet though because I was just like, "Oh, cool." But we did see it. And we saw this famous arch that the Roman soldiers would walk under with pride after conquering some foreign land. We also saw where Mussollini lived, and what I thought was the coolest, was the random remnants of ancient Rome. Just chunks of buildings that they have kept up and let the vegetation grow around. It's really cool.
Tomorrow the plan is to actually go to those things and visit the inside of the colossuem and walk around and do tourist things. I believe we are also going to the Vatican, but we were really wanting to go Sunday because the Pope comes out and blesses the people every Sunday. Cool! Another thing her family mentioned was going to the Almafi Coast because it's supposed to be beautiful. There was also talk about driving to Pompei, but that's a full day trip and I don't know if we can pull it off or not.
The weather is crazy. It's soooo cold. All I heard before I left was how hot it was.. from Tatiana, from my teacher, everyone. And I got here and I'm NOT prepared for cold weather so I'm freezing and am constantly wrapped up my little travel blanket because I don't want to waste my money on clothes, especially because I don't like their clothes here. i though Italy was super fashion forward but they are all wearing these weird pants that aren't flattering on anyone and they sell weird stuff in stores.
OOOOH another cool thing.... we were at the mall and we saw like EIGHT dogs!!! people stick their dogs on leashes and take them everywhere :) :)

First day

I got in to Rome today at about 1130am and am staying at my friend's aunt's house. It's SO beautiful! It's set way up in mountains or hills or whatever. I ate and went straight to sleep when I got here so I didn't get any good pictures of the countryside yet. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice clear day so I can get some pretty pics up on here. So far I've eaten pasta, pasta and more pasta. And their version of mashed potatoes. LOL interesting....

Tomorrow we are going to see her cousin perform.... she's the lead in Othello!

Pics to come tomorrow... hopefully :)

Test 1-2-3, test 1-2-3. Just making sure this page works!

Well, tomorrow is the big day! Here is my giant suitcase. It looks so small here but it's pretty big and obviously really full. Hopefully I can get it to close tomorrow. Can't wait!