So it's my last day in Rome...

Ew, I just got nauseous after typing that sentence...

I'm all packed.

The fridge is emptied.

The apartment is clean.

And it really isn't helping that Mae is playing "The Freshman" by the Verve Pipe right now... 

Okay, now it's "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve. Is this a joke? Did she make a "Make Kelsey sad on her last day in Rome" playlist? As if this situation wasn't hard enough...

We're going to make this one short and sweet, partially because I'll start sobbing, and partially because all of my other posts have been 70 years long.  Speaking of, thanks a whole bunch for reading these.  Even if this is the first one you've read (in which case I apologize for the melancholiness of it. Is melancholiness a word? ok, no time for word vomit, kelsey.) thanks for doing it. A big shout out goes out to Babs and Dean, because without them I wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't be reading this blog.  So you should probably thank them too when you see them.  Plus, they're just plain fun to talk to.

Ok, let's get down to it:

Things i WON'T miss about Rome:

-Cobblestone. Trust me, it only looks pretty.

-the 870 bus. Can't live with it, can't live without it.

-dog poop. there are 20 dogs to every pooper scooper. maybe even 25. maybe 40.

-shaving only one leg every shower because the water gets cold after 3 minutes.

-mosquitos. spiders. and anything else that has bitten me.

things that i WILL miss about Rome:

-nuns. they're everywhere. and i love it.

-my roommates.

-my friends (yes, i have some. or at least they're pretending to be them for the time being.)

-Gelato, Pizza, Pasta, and any other food item that has made me very happy.

-my 80 year old non-english-speaking cutest old italian man ever art teacher.

-Castel Sant'Angelo. Ok, every monument.

-wait, why am i doing this list? I'll miss EVERYTHING about Rome (minus those listed above, and even then, i'll still find a way to miss them.)

I love this city. I've loved my experience here. And I wouldn't trade a moment here for anything.

Oh no! We're tearing up. No good.

Once again, thanks for reading this. It has meant a gosh darn lot to me, and I can't wait to see everyone when I'm home! You can find me at the nearest Mexican Restaurant, because as I've complained about for the past 4 months, Romans don't believe in bean burritos. And i do.

You all are neat. Ciao ciao.

Part 2 for You. Woohooo! It's new! Ok I'll stop rhyming now. ....Boo.

Umm, can we just take a minute and pat me on the back for keeping my promise and writing this within a few days?! Grazie! Just watch out for the bug bite back there. No really, though, that's one thing I didn't expect from Rome: mosquitos. I guess Rome and a summer in Wisconsin DO have something in common... 

So last time I checked you were waiting anxiously for Barcelona. Before you read this you should know that everyone in Barcelona has a lisp. Or at least it sounds like it. In the Catalan language, they pronounce an S like an ETH. Hence: BARTHELONA. Please just say that aloud right this instant so you can laugh at yourself. Grathiath (gracias for those who haven't caught on to this cool game). Trutht me, you'll be doing thith all day. Okay we're done. 

If the lisp doesn't convince you to go to Barcelona, the fact that they have a man-made beach should.  It was made for the Olympics in 1992, and we're not talking a little sandbox. It's an actual beach! And good news! No topless 80 year olds! Or at least none that i saw... 

The best part about the city: Gaudi Architecture. Everywhere. If you haven't heard of him, please start a new tab and google him this instant. His work is like nothing you have ever seen, I can guarantee it.

The worst part: My knuckles in a constant state of white from holding my purse too tightly the entire time. If you're a pick pocketer, you probably live in Barthelona. If you're a tourist, you'll probably get pick pocketed. It's just that simple.

Overdramatic situation: I was in this hippie zen store that overkilled on the incense buying bangles. The store was probably the size of Carrie Bradshaw's closet (her closet from the show, not the movie closet. Oh i just got the chills at the thought of the closet in the movie. Sigh.. wait, how did i end up here? There goes the word vomit.) GETTING TO THE POINT: THE STORE WAS SMALL. I placed my camera on the counter 2 inches in front of me with my friend Jaclyn next to me, and the cashier gave me a shocked looked and immediately said "put that away. someone's going to take it." Ummm.. jaclyn and i were the only people in the store... besides the 5 weird girls in long skirts sitting with their legs crossed on the floor in a circle chanting something weird. Lesson Learned: Don't set your belongings down. anywhere. and don't trust girls in long skirts that chant. or just don't go into stores that have more incense than oxygen.

Needless to say, I ended my Spring Break on a great note. I was terribly worn out however, not only because of the previous week of travel, but also because "Barthelonians" don't believe in going out until 1 or 2 in the morning. That means as I was going to sleep, Starbucks was opening (yes they did have starbucks, and yes I had it twice while there. Although I didn't cry like i did in Amsterdam, reference an earlier post if you're lost.)

Moving on to the weekend of May 1st... 

(I know, that seems like a big jump, but let's be honest: if i wrote about every detail, you'd be here for days at a time, and this blog is long enough. and I'm about to talk about Croatia, so calm yourself.)

CROATIA:

I'll be honest, i had NO idea what this place was going to be like.  I admit, I even asked the question "what country is croatia in?" (for those of you who didn't notice anything wrong with that question, croatia IS a country. it's okay, now you know.)

Croatia is not only a country, it's a beaaaauuutifullll country. We stayed near Split, a large city/harbor, and spent the weekend laying out, sipping cocktails, laying out, annnnd sipping cocktails. Oh yeah, and we gambled. And guess who won 120 euros?! Yeaaahh me. Vegas anyone?!

So go to Croatia. Maybe even gamble. Spend some time near the sparkling blue water. And let your jaw drop at how TALL the croatians are. (no really though. they're giants.)

DUBLIN:

Skipping to this past weekend, my LAST weekend traveling... oh wow, i feel tears coming on...

If there's a place in the world where everyone is happy 24/7 (possibly because of alcohol consumption) it's dublin, ireland. Yes, they drink guinness at ALL times of the day. Yes, it rains a lot. And yes, it's spectacular.  We spent one day touring the city itself: we saw Churches, Trinity College, and of course, The Guinness Factory. Then Gregg (the only boy on the trip, surrounded by 4 girls...) had this great idea of going on a ghost tour that night. If you know me AT ALL, you know that this ghost tour is probably NOT something i should go on. I'm not just afraid of typical "scary" things, I'm afraid of anything remotely scary, from the dark to the meat aisle in a grocery store (you might not be able to relate to that one as much...it's personal). So you can just imagine how hard I held Jaclyn's hand the entire time, how panicked i looked throughout the entire tour, and how much i regret going on it now. Thanks Gregg.

Besides the Ghost Tour, Ireland was flawless! The next day we took a tour of the countryside and took in all of the green that ireland has to offer.  It was everything you imagine Ireland to be, but more. There were sheep in the road, rolling hills, streams, stone bridges, small villages... go. just go. and bring an umbrella.

Oh, and while you're there, make sure to listen to all the live music dublin has to offer. I swear, it's not a real pub unless there's a real singer. And there's nothing better than listening to irish folk music while drinking guinness and sitting next to a leprechaun. (just kidding about the last part, although we did look...)

So here i am now, with 3 days to go, and yes, i'm sad. Rome has been everything I've wanted it to be and more. ahhhh okay i cannot do this until my last post. My roommates have already had to deal with me crying everyday for 2 weeks, I can't start now.

To end on a happy/cool note: 

I just saw "Angels and Demons" here in Rome, and as you know (or as you should know unless you've been living under a rock/refusing to read great dan brown books) it takes place IN rome. Little did i know, that the first "altar of science" (don't worry, i'm not going to give anything away) was literally 100 feet from the theater that i was in watching the movie. cool, right?! Yeah, i went to it after the movie, and I could still smell tom hanks.. oh how i love him. i mean, who can convincingly portray both forrest gump AND robert langdon? Ummm, him. Oooh, what if Forrest Gump, instead of Robert Langdon, had been summoned to figure out the Illuminati? Now that would have made for great cinema.  I'll leave you to ponder that film... 

Until next time, my last time... okay crying again.

Ciao from Rome

I'd make this one blog, but it'd take you 7 years to read... so PART 1:

Wow. I haven't done this in so long that I barely remember how to write these... ok, you think. then type. keep thinking. keep typing. ok now i remember.

So Last time I wrote I had just spent a wonderful weekend with my parents in Venice and Florence, and if you thought the fun stopped there, it didn't. Because Babs and Dean actually came to Rome! And yes my dad still brought out Rick Steve's in MY city. Psssh, there is more to Rome than the Colosseum, Mr. Steve's, so I think I'LL be the tour guide in this neck of the woods if you don't mind.

My parents had this great idea of going to Pompeii and Sorrento that Saturday, and since it was on their bill, I obviously wasn't going to object. The only problem with going to Pompeii and Sorrento is that you have to get off the train in Naples first. Let me think of a few places that you might be able to associate Naples with... how about Ensenada mixed with South Central mixed with somewhere in Cuba, plus an Italian touch.  Needless to say, don't go there. Unless you want a fake purse.

I just realized that I have to include Spring Break in this Part 1, so I'll make my descriptions of Pompeii and Sorrento short:

Pompeii: old. cool. city covered in lava. dug up. neat. go.

Sorrento: ride a vespa to Positano. We did. now i want one.

That Sunday it was Easter, IN ROME. On good Friday we had gone to the Colosseum for the Stations of the Cross with the good ol' Pope (I think I've mentioned him once or twice before. He lives here. We're close.) so Sunday Babsies and I headed to St. Peter's Square for Easter Mass with the Pope and a few thousand other easter-goers. I'd try and describe that feeling, but it's quite impossible. I didn't even care that I didn't do an easter egg hunt. Instead of looking for eggs, I looked for a spot in a mass of people and LOVED it. Who needs candy when you've got the Sistine Chapel? Take that easter bunny. (p.s. Babs did bring me candy and an easter basket all the way from America, so I got both Reeses and Rome this past easter. iiii know, even I'm jealous of myself.)

SPRING BREAK:

I know i know, you've already been reading for an hour, but trust me, you will not want to miss out on my spring break. Even I'M impressed with my trip. I'll give you a teaser: Paris (that alone should make you stay), Nice, Cannes, and Barcelona. Go get a snack. Come back and Enjoy.

PARIS:

I went to Paris when I was 12, and here's what I remember: body odor, smoke, rude people, the mona lisa, body odor, frog legs, eiffel tower, and oh yeah, BODY ODOR.

Apparently I was ignorant, blind, and had an extremely sensitive nose back then because my view of Paris was sooooo wrong. In fact, I can honestly say that it's my favorite city in Europe (technically second city compared to Rome, but that doesn't count).

Everything was great there EXCEPT the Parisian's sense of direction and timing. (Example: we were told to go to the Louvre at 6 p.m. because that's when it's free to go. So we got there at 6 only to find out the hard way that it CLOSES at 6. We didn't see the Mona Lisa. And it wasn't even free because we had to buy a postcard of the Mona Lisa from the giftshop just so we could pretend that we saw it. Thanks, Lady.)

Our hostel really set the tone for the trip. First of all, it's called the "peace and love" hostel. Right then, we should've known. Second, there is no lobby. Just a bar. As in, you can get your room key and a rum and coke at the same time. I literally signed in on a book that smelled of tequila. The rooms were purple. We had a bunk bed that was 3 beds high. The shower was the size of broom closet that could only hold 1 broom. Basically, it was awesome.

We decided to go on a tour of Paris offered through the hostel, and that's when we met Karen. Karen is a 40 year old American from Philly who decided to visit Paris for a week when she was 30, joined a reggae band, ended up living there permanently, and now plays the flute, goes on tour, smokes weed, and gives tours in Paris for a living. This woman is planning on writing a book in the near future, and I definitely recommend for you all to go out and buy it.  I remember more about her life than I do facts of Paris. She is crazy in the best possible way, and gives great tours in Paris. I have her card. Let me know if you need it.

So we didn't tour the Louvre, didn't go up the Eiffel Tower, and didn't eat escargot, and STILL, Paris is my favorite city. It's THAT great.

We headed to the French Riviera for the next few days, because after 2 1/2 months in Rome, seeing water other than the Tiber River is a rare occasion.  

NICE:

Something I didn't quite put together before going to Nice in the Spring time.  Let's see if you can figure it out: French Riviera. Beaches. South of France. Beaches. Sand. French Women. Laying out on the Beach.

If the word "topless" hasn't come into your mind yet, then you were like me. That was until I walked onto the beach and saw a lady the same age as my grandma fully... exposed. Wow, I just got the shivers. Unfortunately that image is permanently engraved in my brain. Sorry, Grandma, but it's hard to even look at you the same way... 

To sum it up: nice is "nice". HA! get it? it just might be nicer if swimsuit stores sold tops to match the bottoms. or if the senior center got a pool with a massive tall gate around it. everyone would be happy.

CANNES:

Yes, the film festival is held there. Yes, it's what you'd think of as a typical French Riviera city. Yachts, Marinas, Louis Vuitton, Red Carpet, Ferraris, The Ritz, Sun, Sand... It's basically a celebrity paradise in France. And if we were celebrities, we probably could've afforded something more than McDonald's. But we aren't. So we couldn't. Don't feel bad for us, that BigMac tasted great.

My big splurge? A MANICURE. That doesn't sound like much of a splurge until I let you in on the fact that you can get around 5 American Manicures for the same price as one in Cannes. I know, gasp. And they chipped within 2 days. Not to fret, I'll be home soon. "Divine Nails" on Glendora Avenue here I come...

So I still have Barcelona to do, but I'm sure the screen is beginning to get blurry, your foot is asleep, you still have crumbs on your mouth from those snacks you got in the middle of this, and you're dying to go on facebook. SO. I will include Barcelona in my next blog, along with Croatia and Dublin, and I promise to write it WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. So keep your eyes out. We're moving at full speed here because I'll be home in ONE WEEK. iiiiiiii knowwww, start planning the party.

Ciao for now! (umm, hi that rhymes. soooo neat.)