Leaving on a jet plane...maybe?

Flying to Barcelona from Venice just could not be complete with out some typical italian transportation problems!! since i had a horrible time finding my hostel in venice from the bus station on thursday, i allowed plenty of time to find my way back friday morning. of course working backwards i found it in a jiffy and soon enough i was at the airport at 8 am for my 12 pm flight.

luckily my friend karem was there helping katelyn (travel mate from rome) check in because her bags were so heavy. karem kept me company, and helped me figure out what was going on when it was 10:45 and i still had no desk to check in with (i was slightly freaking out). i got to the airport at 8, when check in didn´t start until 11 (just one hour before take off, and security was a really long line. ah!) anyways....once i´m inside i see my flight is delayed 30 min. no big deal. at 12:30 we get on the little shuttle and go on the runway to our plane. but we wait in the shuttle for 5 min and then the driver comes on and says they are fixing something and it will be 10 minutes so he drives us back to the gate. then it´s a 1:30 departure, then 2:30, 3:10, 3:40... it was ridiculous. i was tired from being up so early and was planning on napping on the plane, but i feared that would never come.

at 3:50 they board us (about time) but at 4:05 they say we won't be leaving for 25 more minutes. a little after 6 i make it to barcelona, and by 7 pm i´m on a train into the city. i get off too early, drop my jacket into the tracks, hurrily throw down my bags and lay on the ground to reach down and get it, and debate where i am. i realize i shouldn/t have gotten off after wondering around the station and follow directions to plaza catalunya, which turns out to be the same (exactly) train i had just departed. i transfer to the metro for one stop and am on the ramblas, wondering trying to find my hostel. their directions at this point were "we´re just a short walk from the metro" but i had no idea where. after going to the end of the street and asking 2 different sets of police officers for help, i made it to my hostel, only to find out the website double booked my bed. my friend amanda left me a note since she wasn't in, and he went to work on making room for me in her room. i called my friend kim and amanda was with them (she'd accidentally thrown her phone away in pisa yesterday. ah!) so i met up with kim, kyle, jarrett, dan, amanda, brian and howie and we got the best gelato i've ever had. dulce de leche and chocolate. by far, way better than italian gelato.

although my welcome to spain wasn't on time or easy, once i got here i fell in love. me encanta espana!

Finnissimo...

Thursday was our last day in Paderno. Most of us took 1 pm buses to either the train station or the airport, so after lunch the circle drive filled with huge bags and hugging people. I think I was the first one to start crying, causing other people to either cry themselves or run away because they didn't want to start crying. On the bus, my friend Andrew started playing "I will remember you" which did not help those of us who helped keep Kleenax in business.

Our bus driver, for whatever reason, stopped multiple times and got off the bus. Yes. In the middle of the highway he pulled over. And at the airport when we were almost there, he just got out. Maybe he was asking for directions. I don't really know. We all made a mad dash to the checked luggage area. I left one very heavy bag while I travel.

I got lost trying to find my hostel. I was on the right street, just the wrong end. I went into a cafe and a british man who spoke italian translated directions from the bartender (who had to get a map out to instruct me. oh confusing). i ended up getting lost (little bridges vs. connectors that aren't bridges. ah!) but after sweating enough for a football team, my 25 kg of luggage and I found our hostel.

The woman at the front desk was helpful and friendly. I told her how I'd been studying abroad and she asked if i took italian, so when she was giving me directions and explaining Venice, she spoke everything in english and then repeated it in italian.

I met up with friends to stroll and shop on the Rialto bridge and eat gelato. I happened to hear a familiar voice from a restaurant and peeked my head in to find some guys from school. We joined them for dinner, but the jazz music made me tired and I headed back to my lovely hostel to catch some sleep before my flight to Barcelona on Friday.

Ciao, Paderno

The clock's ticking down on my last hours in Paderno. It's 11 am and I leave at 1 pm for Venice. Although I started out intensely disliking this place, it has become a home and all the students are one dysfunctional family. It's not like I'll ever come back to Paderno either. And if I did, it wouldn't be the same because it's the people I've been here with that have created the experience.

I suppose it is a good time to go, though, while I'm still enjoying myself and can leave with happy memories. I'm actually a bit jealous of all the people talking about how tonight they'll be sleeping in their own beds, eating noncafeteria food and seeing friends and family. It seems natural now that the program is over to go home, but I am still excited for Spain and southern France.

I'm mostly finished packing...although it's been quite a process. I've had to throw out more clothes than I planned, but it's just not worth it to bring them back when I've worn them so excessively here. The main problem is my winter coat. Since I wore it here in January, I didn't have to worry about packing it. I may end up throwing out other t-shirts and random things as the week progresses if my back can't handle it.

The bus is dropping us off at the Venice airport, which provides me the lovely opportunity to drop off my messenger bag (packed absolutely to the brim) and leave it there while I travel.

Friday I fly to Barcelona for 2 nights, take a train to Madrid for 2 nights and then fly to Nice, France for 2 nights. On May 5 I take a train back to Venice and spend the night there before flying home May 6. My flight leaves Venice at 11:30 am to London, where I have a layover before heading to Houston. I have three hours in Houston to clear customs before catching my flight back to Kansas City, where I will arrive at 11:10 pm. I'm leaving at 11:30 am and arrive at 11:10 pm, and we must not forget the 7 hour time change...which means I'll be travelling for 19 hours. Agh!

I am so excited to come home in 8 days!!!! I'll be staying in KC a few days before heading to Lawrence in time for Stop Day.

Can't wait to see you all!!

Benissimo

We had our last formal dinner on April 21. The food was better than the second but not quite as amazing as the first. The place was a villa with an outdoor terrace. It was actually a little chilly and drizzly, so it's a shame the weather wasn't nicer. We had appetizers and apertifs (the chosen drinks were orange, kiwi and fruit... most likely combined with wine.) The fried zucchini and mini pizzas were phenomenal.

After mingling we went to the dining room. Our first feast was amazing asparagus and cheese crepes (which were really more like omelletes) and some weird pasta (i opted for seconds of the crepes instead of the brown mushroom looking entree). The main course was beef and potatoes (more delicate than the American counterpart.) Dessert was vanilla creme with chocolate sauce. The dessert wine matched the creme amazingly and I finally understood why it's important to match wines with foods because it brings out so much more flavor.

After we ate, the program coordinators gave thank you speeches to the faculty and staff and presented some of the yearbook awards (no, i did not join the yearbook staff and when you see the book you will understand. it is basically a stapled excel document.)

I'm not sure how this happened, and in such a classy establishment, but someone started playing music over the speakers, including "Who let the dogs out?" (up for debate, is the following line "who, who, who?" or "woof, woof, woof") The combination of our last dinner, impending departure of the country and multiple glasses of wine led to a mini dance floor. And the directors actually laughted and didn't care.

After we arrived back in Paderno everyone met up at the Piazza (it was Thursday so the Orchidea was closed) and then some of us took the 30 minute walk to Crespano to go to Guisseppe Verde (although we didn't have to walk back because we've gotten good at getting rides home from nice Italians.)

When in Rome...

I've been a little lax on updating. Sorry. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Went to Rome for the last travel weekend, April 14-17. We left a day before conclave started so we weren't able to see the Sistine Chapel (the girl I went with was too cheap to even pay for the Vatican Museum too, so I missed out on a lot.) I really enjoyed Vatican City. Katelyn and I waited in a very long line to get special edition stamps they only make when a pope dies. After that we waited in another long line to see the pope's grave (his body was actually in pope john 23's tomb because he's being beatified, i think.) We entered St. Peter's Basilica just as an English speaking guide started a free tour. Yes!!! After Vatican City we went to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.

Saturday was raining, when we had all our outdoor stuff. We went to the Colosseum, Roman Ruins, the Forum, Pantheon. I wasn't expecting much from the Colossuem but it was more impressive than I anticipated.

Sunday we planned on going to a market, but the weather was so horrible by the time we arrived all the vendors were shutting down because the lighting was so crazy.

Happy Birthday

This special birthday shout out goes to the lovely little sis Abby (or as I affectionately call her, beavis). I hope you have a kick-ass day, the weather is nice enough to blare your music with the windows rolled down and that you have an excellent work out. Happy Birthday!
Love,
Quacks

Whaddya know?

My cousin Maggie called it.

Britney Spears Has Baby on the Way
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

NEW YORK - Britney Spears, the one-time teenybopper who sang "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," has apparently completed the transition with news that she's pregnant.

In a posting on her Web site, Spears told fans that she and husband, Kevin Federline, were expecting their first child together. Her publicist, Sonia Muckle, confirmed the singer's pregnancy Tuesday but refused to provide additional details.

Who is really bored? It's ME!

I am incredibly bored. There is just nothing to do. I would play spider solitare, but we don't have those access privileges on the Italian computers (apparently playing a game would compromise the integrity of their super speedy, high tech computers so we're only allowed to use Word and Internet Explorer).

I was looking forward to another soccer game on Jesus Field (undergrads versus grad students) but the office double booked the field and the Italians get first priority. There goes my evening plans. I have obsessively checked my email for new messages so excessively my eyes hurt (and if you're keeping track, I have not received nearly as many as I've sent out. Hint, hint... email me.)

I can't work on my newsletter article that's due Wednesday until I hear back from my sources in Lawrence... plus, the days leading up to a travel weekend are really hard to focus on homework. Katelyn and I are off to Rome Thursday afternoon. We'll head back to PDG one day before conclave starts. So I'm crossing my fingers (and you should too!) that I'll still be able to tour the Vatican and see the Sistine Chapel (I really, really want to) but I'm not holding my breath because I'll bet they'll already have them closed for security reasons. I'm still excited to go to Rome, but it'd be so much more complete with those stops.

A belated birthday shout out to Lauren Airey who's interning in DC this semester. I'm sending happy job hunting thoughts your way so I can come visit and we can experience DC together once again, but in the post-21 fashion :)

I booked a hostel for Cinque Terre for the Liberation Day weekend (an Italian holiday... the first we've experienced over here.) April 22-25 I'll be in the fabulous Italian Riviera with my most wonderful cousin Kristin who is studying abroad in Florence. I saw her when I visited Florence, but I'm excited for our special get away. Of course I'll return for three days of finals, but at least I'll have a relaxing weekend beforehand.

I'm getting really sick of pasta with red sauce. My taste buds have become numbed to the food and I'm actually not even tasting any sort of food properties when I insert the marinara and noodles into my mouth. I'm excited for some authentic Italian food in Rome and Cinque Terre (I'd be so picky as to request lasagne...)

I only have 11 days left in Paderno. That's really scary. Add to that three days in Rome, three days in Cinque Terre and then my school is officially finished! I think I'll be going to Spain and Nice when I'm done with school before I come home May 6 (and the offical count down - whether you're keeping it in weeks or days - is dwindling down to less than a month).

Yes! I just got an email. But it was from a list serv. Maybe I should move away from the computer slowly and leave the lab...

On air

On Monday my Ethic class took a field trip to a radio station. At first I was not looking forward to this because we were bringing a translator with is and I'm not interested in radio. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Our guide at the radio station was probably an Italian hippy who just dressed up for working.

The radio station had booths for news, and separate radio stations. One was devoted to 60s music and another, called Piter Pan, was for our age group. When we were in this booth, the DJ went on-air and talked about the students visiting from Paderno. The assistant director of the program went on talking about how we were American students studying in Italy and then our whole group yelled "Ciao a tutti" which means goodbye everybody. I wish that the bars and clubs in Italy would play this Piter Pan station because the Italian music was actually good! None of the stupid techno stuff they try to pass off as music (which also happens to be impossible to dance to).

This field trip was way better than our long bus ride to Treviso to tour E-Tree, where our guide spoke inaudible English and just flashed powerpoints to inform us about his company.

Auvoir, Paris

On Sunday, our flight didn't leave Paris until 6 pm so we had some time to kill. Bryn and I went to Champs Elssys and walked up to the Arc de Triumphe. Unfortunately most all the shops were closed because it was Sunday but Sephora was open so we stopped in there. We went to Haussman Galleries in hopes the shopping mall would provide better opportunities to spend money, but it was closed as well. Finally we just settled on an outdoor cafe for lunch. My ham and cheese sandwich was very basic, but I treated myself to crepes for my last meal in Paris.

Since we were taking an extremely cheap airline home (I paid $40 total, including taxes, for my ticket from Paris to Venice) the airport was 90 minutes outside of Paris and we had to take a special shuttle there. First we took the subway for 35 minutes to the bus park. Then we paid 13 freakin euro for a 90 minute bus ride to the airport. Here's when the fun begins. We had THE MOST ANNOYING American woman, her baby and her baby's daddy (we're not sure they were married...) sitting a couple rows in front of us. The woman was sitting next to a European and had to compare everything between the two countries...from outlets to language. She was so loud and stupid we all wanted to hit her.

We arrived at the airport and checked in. But since my bag weighed more than 15 kg I had to redistribute the weight between my carry on and purse. Although the attendant said I didn't have to wait in line to check in, she disappeared in the midst of helping another client so I had to wait in line all over again. Very annoying.

When we were waiting in line for security and passport control, tons of people cut in line. That's so rude. Once we got inside, mass chaos erupted because RyanAir would make announcements about flights, but we didn't know what gate to use. People going to Milan and Rome were in the same room, but none of us knew where to sit. Once it was time to start boarding the place became a crowded zoo and a free for all to get to the plane first. Throughout the horrible experience I reminded myself that I was flying for $40 and it doesn't get much cheaper than that.

Even once we'd touched down in Venice-Treviso, we were still a far way from home. Although RyanAir calls this stop Venice, it's really Treviso, which is 45 minutes outside of Venice. We had to take a bus to the Treviso train station, followed by a train from treviso to venice, and another train from venice to bassano. Then a taxi home!! this is the insanity that is small town italy. transportation sucks!!!!! luckily there were 4 girls, so we split the 25 euro cab fare.

It was so nice to get home, take a long shower, unpack all my crap and not live out of a suitcase anymore!

Paris Museums

Saturday I met Bryn for a breakfast of pastries near their hotel. The boys were taking too long to get ready so Bryn and I left for the Louvre. This museum is the most complex, intense, expansive and confusing museum ever. Just looking at the floor map is overwhelming!

We strolled through the Denon wing looking at paintings on our way to the Mona Lisa. The museum doesn't really treat this like the famous piece it is. The room was poorly lit but at least the painting was the only artwork on the wall. The glass protector created an annoying glare in my pictures. It was so crowded pushing my way to the front to get a picture that I didn't have time (or patience from all the people) to stop and really take the painting in.

Bryn and I wandered around for a couple hours, getting lost more than a couple time. The Egyptian exhibit was better than I expected. The Louvre also had more statues in one place than I'd ever seen.

By 1 pm we're starving and on the search for sandwiches. We walked from the Louvre to Orsay and thought we'd have no problem finding a place to eat. The cafes we first say were too pricey and we ended up walking for probably an hour trying to find a place with a menu in english, food we liked and prices we could afford. We settled on a cute cafe on the corner of a street. The waiter provided the speediest service I've had in Europe, the water came free and my chicken salad sandwich was fresh and delicious.

We went to Musee d'Orsay, which is another famous museum but has more contemporary art. I actually recognized some of the Van Goghs and Monet's. This was my favorite museum because it was open, easy to navigate and the art was more of my taste (less ancient).

We'd brought a Paris Museum Pass and in order to get our money's worth we hit up yet another museum. Our final stop was Centre Pompidou, which I really wanted to visit because it's description said it was recent artwork (I thought it'd be a nice change from seeing paintings that are 300 years old.) Bryn and I got incredibly lost trying to find the place and even after asking for directions, we started wondering aimlessly. We stopped for snacks and I got a crepe with nutella (chocolate and hazelnut). It was truly a perfect Parisian experience walking down the street on a Saturday afternoon eating a crepe. What a fabulous day!

A crowded gathered by a large building to watch a street entertainer. Bryn and I sat nearby to finish our snacks and watch...and what to we realize this big building that we've been walking by is but Centre Pompidou!

The description of this museum definitely failed to mention how alternative and different the works are. Bryn commented often how she didn't understand what differentiated this stuff as artwork from a ripped up sheet hung from the wall. For example, one room would have five paintings. The first canvas was completely blue and the last canvas white. The paintings in between were graduated shades between the two. Very simple. Very easy. Not sure why it was showcased.

The most interesting exhibit had to be the body painting. I wouldn't have understood the work had two videos not explained the process. In the 1960s, some artist had the idea to get naked women to glop themselves all over with blue paint and then lay or press their bodies against a wall, the floor...wherever the canvas happened to be. This video showed women pouring paint on themselves and carefully laying on the floor or leaning up against a wall and smushing their bodies to create print. Very odd but intriguing nonetheless.

Later that evening we grabbed food from vendors near their hotel. The boys went straight to the Eiffel Tower and the girls went to an outdoor cafe for dessert. Again, a very authentic French experience to eat creme brulee outside on a Saturday night. Afterwards we met up with the guys at the Eiffel Tower.

I love Paris in the springtime.

My flight landed in Paris at 3 pm, but I had to take a train and 2 subways to get to my hostel. This was the easy part. I can navigate myself through any metro system now. But give me a map of the streets and I seem to have problems. I got lost trying to find my hostel once I was above ground. I had a map, but I couldn't figure out the streets. My room mate said it was easy to find from the Metro stop, so I just started walking. After awhile of aimless wandering, I stopped two women in the street, asked (in French) if they spoke English, and showed them my map. They helped me and I finally made it to my hostel. No rudeness from Parisians like I expected.

I checked into my hostel and then headed to Les Halles, an underground mall. Immediately I found the coolest jewelry store where I purchased some fun earrings and a necklace. There were a couple cool clothing stores as well. I went to try on stuff at H&M but they wouldn't let me. At first I was really confused but then I saw the gates coming down and the worker told me they were closing.

I had to shower at my hostel by 9 pm because they had signs posted that discouraged showering any later because of the noise. Later, when I was trying to sleep, I realized why. From five rooms away, I could hear the showers going late at night and it was so annoying. These showers, which I really should've taken a picture of because they were just so unbelievable, were like a bathroom stall with a facet up top. Just a little latch separated my from the outside sinks. No changing room. No bench to put set my clothes on. Some man's sick looking boxer briefs were dangling on the wall between two showers. The nozzle also only worked for 30 seconds. You had to keep pushing it in. By my last night, I figured I could lean against it for a constant flow, but a shower with dry spurts is definitely annoying!

I was up early Friday because my hostel had a lock out from 10 am until 3 pm. I went up north to the Sacre Coeur basicila. It is up high, so it was a nice little hike to the church. Then I decided to go up to the top of the dome. I thought an elevator would transport me. Oh no. 387 steps later I'm at the top. The view of the city was amazing though. Then I sorta got lost trying to find my way out.

After that I headed to the Arc de Triomphe...another 294 steps up to the top. The view from up here was amazing and I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. With all these steps, my legs felt like they were about to fall off.

By this point, my friends had arrived in Paris and I met up with Bryn, Brian, Adam and Jake. We walked down some streets with cool shops, went into a random church and stopped by Notre Dame (we didn't have time to wait in the long line though).

That evening bought some sandwiches from a street vendor and some wine from a grocery store and sat in the grass across from the Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful. We were able to see it when it was still light out, and it the tower really transformed in the dark with its glow. I took some fabulous pictures.

Around 10 pm we decided to head up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The lines were long and we waited forever, but once we got to the top...wow. All the street lights and colors coming from below us were gorgeous. It was so much more magical at night. A perfect evening in Paris...great conversation, great scenery and a cool breeze.