I've Been Gone for a Minute...

... now I'm back with the jump off

Just kidding.  But seriously, I've heard so much complaining from everyone, especially my mother who I just spent the week with, about how I haven't written in so long.  WELL SORRY PEOPLE.. who would have thought that studying abroad comes with actual homework.  Um, not what I signed up for?  It turns out this was my hardest semester yet! Jokes again, but seriously I wanted to f'ing kill myself when I realized halfway through February that i had three 3,500 word research papers to due on the same day!  Not to mention that day came after one straight month of traveling Thursday to Sunday night and two consecutive weeks of hosting visitors.  Like come on.  So besides from having nearly no internet, which we didn't, every spare minute used to be on the web was consumed with google searches on Roberto Cavalli and Ravioli.  I know what your thinking rough life right? but tell me how many peer reviewed sources you find on either.  Don't even mind the paper for Women's Studies.  That one me and Dani made up on the couch the morning before.  I was impressed it only took us three hours.  Grades have not yet been received for that paper but the others I got 90s.  Now you have to be proud that I did good instead of being mad that I haven't posted.

So I'll start at the beginning of the middle, in a few posts.

After those two field trips and two consecutive weekends in Florence we had had it.  We were ready to travel.  Switzerland was the perfect pregame to the party that would be the duration of our abroad experience.  It was beautiful and fun and exciting and relaxing and we tried so many new things it left us drooling for more, starting with a trip to Rome that was included in our program.

heh

I'll get the bad out of the way first: our hotel was VILE.  I would feel too bad listing the name but the room was dark and scary with uncomfortable looking furniture and pleasant blend of cream and scuff mark walls and a shower that could make you want to commit suicide.  I refuse to go into further detail.  The sights we saw were amazing.  I know from The Lizzie McGuire Movie that there are approximately 27 monuments or landmark thingies in Rome.  Not really morning people, and usually ones for long afternoon naps, we had a tough time keeping up with the school tours so we had to navigate the eternal city ourselves. First we hit up the Trevie Fountain and the Spanish steps.  We had a lot of fun playing on those, progressing up and down the levels taking pictures traditional tourist style.  It must have looked like we were having so much fun because a guy from Finland (not a Confessions of a Shopaholic joke!) decided to put his son in between Dani and Joey for a picture.  Good times.

with that running start i swear he was going over

We continued on to the Vittoriano which was the prettiest pearl in all of Rome.  Not literally but it was the shiniest white building I have ever seen. So preeeety. Seriously, Rome was like an ancient playground.

We met up with friends from Towson, Caroline and Dani who are also in Joey's sorority.  Amazing hosts from the get go, THEY TOOK US FOR CHICKEN PARM.  It was so good we went back two more times all in the span of three days.  I don't know the full name but we called it Tony's in Rome.  Next, we went to this cool shots bar where you can get dollar- I'm sorry- one euro shots.  Naturally that was a blast,  but the rest was a blurr.  We ended up splitting up.  Me and Caroline momentarily went into a club that no one else was going in and ventured to another bar which I called Shipwreck but I think it was called Drunk Ship (this may be vice versa) to wait online for the bathroom until the bar closed.  We continued to get some type of either  koolaid or red slurpie shot.  The red part is clear the rest I can't quiet remember.  {It was Feburary, I can even remember yesterday.}  The other girls got severely lost and winded up jumping in a fountain.  So pissed, I would have loved to do that, I love water.  When we finally reunited is was overdue cab time and back on our way to the hotel.  Thank god I was tired enough to knock out like a light because that room was seriously scary to fall alseep in.  1408.

hehe... it almost says my name

The next morning we decided to be good sports and go on a school tour to the Vatican at the crack of dawn.  Being "those" girls, we let everyone else wait on the line for the museum and we went to a cafe across the street for breakfast.  We hopped back on when the class got considerably close to the entrance.    The church was great, I was just tired and tired of paintings about Jesus.  They could have switched it up a little bit you know.  What about that guy Joseph and his really pretty coat?  I could have used to see a couple of wall sized paintings of that.  Saint Peters square was really beautiful though.  I can seriously picture all those people in Eurotrip filling that plaza up!  That was when we took a prenap lunch break for another round of Tony's chicken parm and penne alla vodka, only this time to be accompanied by delicious mussels.  Like after any traditional thanksgiving dinner, we returned to the hotel for a nap and late sushi dinner/pregame before heading to the club with what I thought was the best DJ I had ever heard.



Our final full day in Rome was spent exploring Rome's as Corey likes to call it "ancient shit" and jumping on a guided American tour of the Colosseum.  So worth being on a tour because not only would I have no idea what the heck I was looking at, I needed a professional to tell me where the lion elevators were.  He told me :0)

this dysfunctional thing costs 30 euro, but i love it

That night we met Joey's parents for dinner at this delicious place Gusto in which the four of us (in twos) shared tenderloin on top of a potato latke mountain and parmesan gnocchi.  So delicious.  We then proceeded up the Spanish steps in heels to their gorgeous hotel fit for a king for drinks in the salon.  Oh you fancy, huh? We laughed so hard at jokes about Joey and stories of abroad.  It was definitely one of the best pregames yet.  The club that we went to after was basically in a subway station but one of the nicer clubs in europe that we've been too.  THIS was the best DJ I have ever heard with remixes from the 90's and beginning of the 2000s you haven't heard in so long mixed to the best beats. Bliss. However it was very hot and way too crowded so after procrastinating "the next song"after "the next song" we left to get a goodnight sleep before getting a bad nap on the bus.  Unfortunately for us, right after we left Leonardo DiCaprio showed up.  Apparently he was in town for a friends wedding and needed to party.  Oh how I would have loved to have seen him, he is so sexy.

I can hear him saying "I'll never let go"

Screwing up the first time, we had to go throw another two coins in the Trevie Fountain after finding out you had to throw three for your wish to come true.  After throwing our wish sealing two coins we hunted for our souvenirs and headed to a bon voyage lunch at (drum roll please), Tonys.

Rome was sick.  A lot of ancient stuff, a lot of Jesus stuff but still a lot of fun.  I seriously love to travel.

Next stop Madrid. Beep beep!

Ribs and Ice and a Zoo, Oh my!

So of course after all of the exhausting sitting on the tour bus we had to take yet another nap.  After our evening snug we freshened up and headed down to the concierge to find out where to eat and where to play.  We had heard about this place called Icebar where the room is completely made of ice and they give you big jackets and gloves to wear inside.  Lucky for us the bar was located right off one of the main streets in Piccadilly Circus, only fifteen minutes from our hotel.  The cabs are SO much better in London than in the U-S-of-A.  First of all they aren't that vile Macaroni and Cheese color (even though New York wouldn't be the same without them) and climbing into one feels like your getting into a Rolls Royce (that's just what Joey said I can't confirm).  It is so spacious i could fit this entire desk in it and there are seats that fold down behind the front row so you can sit facing each other not to mention of course the driver's side and the wheel are on the opposite side of the car yay!

We walked around for a bit looking for one of the 6,000 pubs in London but by that time they had all turned into bar-pubs if you catch my drift- and that time was 8:30.  Finally, starved we strolled into a second floor look-out called Adam's Famous Ribs.  We order a bottle of Pinot Grigio and the Mighty Meat Platter for Two (totally my idea).  It was AMAZING not to get id-ed to drink, never again since the day after i get home i turn the big TWO-ONE.  I also insisted that we order fish and chips cause everyone said london was famous for it and Dani insisted that we order another dish since shes famous for her eyes being bigger than her stomach.  We decided on fijatas and when all the food came at the same time we thanked our lucky stars to be eating (we hadn't had anything since the beef on the plane).  The chicken wings were legit and the fish and chips(fries) were so tasty.  They came with a side of peas- being the health food nuts we are, the peas were the only thing left on the table.  After a second bottle of Rose (with the accent so it sounds like Ros-ay) we paid our check in pounds and ventured to the IceBar. 

It turns out that you can only go into the Icebar for a 45 minute session and only a certain amount of people are allowed in at a time.  So when we arrived at 10:30 we ended up having to buy tickets for a 12:30 session and waited in the bar's adjacent lounge.  The lounge was pretty edgey, decorated in silver beaded curtains neon blue and pink lights and tall glass vases.  Since we had an hour to kill we decided to order a bottle of Chardonnay (fahncy right?).  The bottle was finished and an hour later it was finally time to go in.  Your 16 pound ticket got you in, a parka/pancho kinda thing with a fur eskimo hood and attached snow shoveling gloves and a free drink in an ice block with a hole in it.  

                                       

                                    

This place was more for the experience than the party.  The whole room (think a kitchen and dinning room combined) was made out of ice except for the metal floors.  Benches were just solid ice-blocks stacked on top of each other and the bar and walls were solid ice.  It was pretty chilly but not downright freezing.  We each had our drink and took a bunch of pictures (check facebook) but by the time the countdown on the door got to nine minutes we were ready to go.  Being jet lagged and schlepped around with baggage bigger than Brett we were ready to call it a night especially since we had to be in the lobby at 5:45 am for our next flight to Pisa.  Fortunately unfortunately our new friends (friends of mine and Corey's Camp Lokanda friend Lindsey Kraus, also on our program) were headed back to the bar they were at before we went to Ice so we tagged along.  

This right here is ZooBar.  To tap into my British lingo once more, we lit-rah-ley went from an Ice to a Zoo.  This was one of those classic European discotech clubs you always hear about where the multi-colored lights are flashing and the beats are playing and the sweaty 20 somethings are packed onto one dance floor like Crayolas in a box.  Towson- you know this was nothing new to us but Britt and Krum (happy bitches?  I bolded your name) you know better than anyone that in "situations" like these finding your spot is crucial to night-time enjoyment.  Of course at first by myself, then later followed by my friends I claimed territory on the small stage that was railed in like a toddlers bed.  There were a few kids on there most came and went but there were two who we will remember forever.  First the Indian (and i don't mean Native American) who was way too jumpy.  Think Kevin Gnapor (the G's silent when I sneak in your door) mathlete from Mean Girls but the skinny jeans, white belt, thick rimmed glasses, eminem cap, equally as faggy, possibly British technohead version.  This boy eventually jumped around so much that he shoulder planted at our feet so hard I thought he cracked the stage (three days later I'm still crying from laughing so hard thinking about it).  He actually went down so hard that I found his silver watch on the broken with one link attached to the other side of the clasp).  DUMB IDIOT.  The other boy I cannot even describe his looks but he was rolling so hard that his friends left without him cause he was too busy dancing with himself in the mirror and giving us high five after high five.  If you don't know what rolling is please don't try to find out, thank you. The first time we tried to leave "I'm in Miami Bitch" (house version) came on and you guys know what that beat does to me so we of course had to stay but half way through Sandstorm it was just enough and time to leave.  

Twenty minutes later we were snug as a bug in a rug (well twin size bed) with our alarms set for a mere 2 hours and 15 minutes later when we would wake up and once again shlep our stuff to the airport.  One roommate in particular was quite the Vom-monster and couldn't even enjoy a delicious croissant and scrambled egg breakfast at a cutie-patootie airport restaurant called Giraffe.  Planes were boarded and it was Italian from there on out.  

Oh... we will