After the boat tour I was really hungry, so I went back to my little cafe on the square. I had an omelet and a piece of chocolate cake. It tasted coconutty to me, but it was still good. My first waiter was really bad, and pretty much ignored me the whole time. Then the waiter I had yesterday came and took over. He was much better.
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After the market we walked to the Majestic Cafe. This is an important cafe in Portugal. This is where people would go to talk about politics, and these people gathered together and overthrew the monarchy and created a republic in its place. This was a favorite place of J.K. Rowling, and she was witnessed writing on paper there. The Portuguese people like to believe that she was writing the Harry Potter series while there, but at the time she worked as a teacher so she might have been grading papers.
At a lot of places in Portugal you see colored arrows on the walls of buildings, on the streets, and other random places. Our guide told us that they were directions to pilgrimage sites. I guess people still walk on pilgrimages, because those arrows weren't on streets. I know the Santiago pilgrimage site is in Spain, and is a long ways away by walk. It is a day trip from Porto by car though.
We walked through a pretty park, and this was one of the statues. There are a lot of statues throughout Porto with this theme: a man crushing an eagle. The eagle was the symbol of Napoleon, and he conquered Portugal. So these statues represent Portugal crushing Napoleon, even though that really didn't happen.
Here is some graffiti done by 3 artists. The new mayor of Porto is passionate about the arts and supporting local artists, so he supported them. Our guide warned us about the local beer customs. If you are ordering beer in Porto, always ask for Super Bock. Never ask for Sangria, which is a local beer produced in the south of Portugal. Lisbon and Porto have a rivalry going on. If you ask for Sangria, depending on where you are, you might get beaten up. Or the bartender will deny that he has it. Our guide pointed out some popular bars and then left us. I enjoyed this tour a lot more than the earlier one, probably because we weren't walking up and down hills this time. So this time I gave the guide 10 euros.
I was able to find the Duke's palace pretty easily, but by the time I got there I was starving, so I got some French Toast. French toast in Europe is different from American french toast. The European french toast is toasted bread with ham and cheese. It is no concoction of egg and milk. I like our version better. At the snack bar where I was buying food I found some Doritos, so I had to buy them too. I didn't think they would let me explore the Duke's palace with cheesy fingers, so I continued walking until I had finished them.
When I got to the train station I found out that I had an hour and 45 minute wait for the next train. So I waited in the train station for awhile, and then I decided I was hungry so I left to get something to eat. When I ordered a cheese omelet, I didn't expect to get sides of french fries and rice. I actually liked the sides better than the omelet, probably because I couldn't find any cheese in my omelet. I finished eating and went back to the train station to wait some more. My train finally arrived and I got on and made myself comfortable. I was sitting there reading when all of the lights on the train went off. So I'm like, okay, I'll just read off my phone while sitting in the dark and hope there wasn't a power outage or something. Then the intercom came on and said something in Portuguese and everyone in my car jumped up and exited the car. I decided this was a sign that I was not meant to be in that car, so I jumped up and grabbed my backpack. Then I followed a guy from my original car to the front of the train to a new car. I sat down and made myself comfortable again and the train left. I was really glad that I had decided not to play Dumb American and I got my ticket validated before I left because there was a Fare Validator on the train. He checked my ticket 3 times while making his rounds up and down the train.
It was dark by the time I got to my hostel, so I decided to stay inside. When I got to my hostel there was a big group of people checking in before me, so I sat down to wait. After the big group was shown to their room, a couple went before me. I felt really bad for them because their bank only lets them withdraw so much money from ATMs before cutting them off, and Portugal isn't a big user of cards, so they needed cash. The hostel doesn't have a card machine, so they would have to pay in cash for their 3 nights, which came to over 100 euros. They wanted to save their cash and got in a big argument with the receptionist about this. They kept saying over and over that this wasn't modern. They only paid for one night and are going to find another hostel/hotel that accepts cards for their other nights. Finally it was my turn, and I had just enough to pay for my room and the deposit of 10 euros. The deposit I had to pay in small change, because I didn't have enough bills and I didn't want to go to the ATM. I also had to pay a deposit for a lock, but I will get my money back.
Then I went to the Tourist Affairs office and waited for my guide to show up. And waited, and waited. Finally I went inside and asked if they could call the company, which they did. My guide, Jao, hurried over. Apparently he had emailed me asking if I wanted the 9:30 a.m. tour, or the 2:30 p.m. tour, but I never got the email. My emails have been acting up this last week. I was also the only person on the tour, but he went ahead and showed me around.
Jao also showed me this medieval street. Back then, people living inside the city had to pay a tax to the archbishop based on how wide the entrance to their house was. So people would building long, tall, skinny houses, but put the door on the skinniest part in order to pay less in taxes. This house shares a side with the remains of the old city wall.
Jao showed me a couple of other places and then left me back at the city square. I gave him a 10 euro tip. Usually I wouldn't give so much, especially for a 1 hour tour but I felt bad since I was the only person on the tour and Jao was so nice. This building is the Arcada, which overlooks the main square in Braga. It is part of Braga's Renaissance urban development. It was used to give evangelical sermons and other speeches. One of the places that I wanted to see was Bom Jesus, so I took a bus to the bottom on the hill that it is on. Then I took this funicular to the top of the hill. It cost 3 euros, but it was worth it. The only other way to get to the top is by the stairs, of which there is almost 700 steps. I'm cheap, but not that cheap. I will pay money not to have to climb 700 steps.
I decided to explore Braga a little bit before I left. So I walked to the Convento do Populo. This was created at the end of the 16th century by Carlos Amarante. This is where he introduced the first daring neoclassical designs.
I found this little shop selling souvenirs cheaply. So I bought a shot glass and a pitcher for myself for 9 euros. I'm glad I calculated how much it was going to cost before I paid. I gave the guy a 50 euro bill, and he tried to give me back 11 euros in change. I don't know if he thought I gave him a 20 euro bill or what. I just looked at him, and started to say something. Then he spouted off something in Portuguese and gave me 30 more euros. I'm glad I decided to check this time, because usually I don't. I just assume they are giving me the correct amount. Of course, I usually don't pay in 50 euro bills, I just wanted to get some small change. One of the places I went to was the Chapel of Saint Benedict of the Hospital. This is an important chapel where many supplicants stand before the railing hoping for divine intervention. While I was there, several people were leaning against the railing and praying. I felt awkward about going in there to take a picture. I also stopped by the Igreja de Santa Cruz. This building was constructed in the early 1600s. My last church to see was the Igreja do Hospital de Saint Marcos. This church has several different architectural styles, including rococo, Baroque, and classical motifs. It was built in the 18th century. By the time that I had seen everything that I wanted to see, I was getting tired of walking and lugging around my heavy backpack. So I walked to the train station, which a little ways outside of the city gates. The guy I tried to buy my ticket from didn't speak much English, so he wrote out instructions. If I wanted to take the train to Guimaraes (pronounced Guim-a-rye-sh), I would have to wait 40 minutes for the train to another city, catch a connection and take that train to Guimaraes. All told, it would take about 3 hours. He communicated this by writing down places and times. Then he said "autobus 50 minutes." So I thanked him and started walking to the bus station. It, of course, was on the opposite side of the city by my hostel. It took me about 20 minutes to get there. When I got there, I had to wait another 50 minutes for the next bus out. So I sat and waited, and then got on the bus. I thought it would be a nonstop bus. It wasn't. So the whole time I was worried that I was going to miss my stop, because I didn't know what my stop was. Luckily, the last stop was the bus station, which is where I got off at (because everyone else was getting off). From there my hostel wasn't that far away and I was able to walk.
I talked to the lady that owns the hostel with her husband. She was very proud of Guimaraes, and told me all about the history of the place. It is a UNESCO World Hertiage Site and was named Capital of Culture in 2012. Every year a city in Europe is named Capital of Culture, so it is a big deal. It is from Guimaraes that Portugal as a nation was founded. Portugal's first king was born here, and they were the first city to rise up in revolt against Spain. She was very nice. They didn't have many guests, because it is the winter and considered off season. I had originally booked a 8-bed dorm, and she mentioned that there were 2 women from Malaysia there. Then she offered to switch me to the 6-bed dorm, where I would be alone, for no extra charge. I jumped on the opportunity, so I got my own room again. I went up to my room, got settled in, and then called Mom and Dad to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Then I relaxed, read my book, and went to bed. I got up and left the apartment around 8 a.m. I wanted to get to Termini early so I would have enough time to return the purse I bought from Accessorize in Florence. They have a store in Termini, and I wanted to return it and get my money back since I don't need it anymore. I waited about 15 minutes for the H bus, then took it to Termini. I started to wander around Termini, realized I had no idea where I was going and decided to Google it. I was going the wrong way, of course. When I got off the escalators I turned right instead of left. So I turned around and found the store. It was out of business. The sign was there, but it was dark inside and there was nothing inside. So, it looks like I got a new purse. Right across from the store was McDonalds, so I got some breakfast to go. Then I went and bought a ticket to take the train to Fiumicino. I got the train leaving in 30 minutes, because I didn't think that I could make the train that was leaving in 5 minutes. I still hurried to try to hop on that train, because my ticket didn't specify a time. As I am running up to the platform, the train is pulling away. So I have another 30 minutes to wait for the next train, and I eat my breakfast while I wait. Finally the train came and I took it to the airport. At the airport I didn't know where the TAP airlines was located, and I needed to print my ticket. I had been having problems with my email, so I couldn't print my boarding pass ahead of time like I usually do. Then I found a little kiosk and I was able to print my ticket there. Then I just had to get through Security and find my gate. I was 2 hours early, so I pulled out my laptop and started working on my Art History presentation. I also used the free time to figure out how to get from the Porto Airport to Braga. My original plan was to take the train, but while I was researching I found that there was a bus that goes there. I boarded the plane with no problems, and flew to Portugal. I really like that airlines. They gave us lunch, which was actually pretty good considering it was airplane food. It was a simple meal, just spanish rice, bread, and apples, but I enjoyed it. When I landed I followed the signs for a shuttle bus and found GetBus, the bus that would take me to Braga. The bus to Braga didn't come for another 40 minutes, so I sat down and waited. Then I paid 8 euros, and rode there. There was only 1 other person on the bus, besides me.
I got up and tried to take a shower this morning. Guess what? It didn't work. So we don't have hot water again, which means no shower for Cory. So I got out, submitted another ticket for them, and got ready for Art History class. In Art History we went over our project and assigned Thank You letters. We are writing thank you letters to all of the libraries we have visited, as well as to ICPAL and the authors of the 2 textbooks we have been using. Then I went to lunch, and found out that I only have 19,10 euros left on my account. Finally, it is almost gone. During my free time, I started to research Portugal. I figured out which cities I wanted to go to, and what I wanted to do in each city. Then I looked for hostels and booked them. Then it was time for International Business. We all worked on our group project, which I had already finished yesterday. Since I was already done, I worked on my blog and did some other things. Our professor has to return to England for some family issues and won't be in class on Tuesday, so no class for us! He will have a make up class on Friday to review for the final, so I might go or I might not. It depends on what I am doing that day. After International Business I had Marketing, where people were presenting their group projects. So I worked on my blog some more. Then I had Microeconomics. We started out with 7 students, including me. So he started reviewing past materials and I almost left. Then a whole group of people came in and we moved on to new material. Sadly, someone had fixed the clock, so we didn't get out early.
So I wake up and start making breakfast. Liv goes to get in the shower, and discovers that the hot water isn't working. So we have to submit a ticket to request that YPR come and fix our hot water. So no showers for either of us today.
I also found out today that Dad is in the hospital with pancreatitis again. So I Facetimed him and we talked for a bit. Since I didn't have school today, and I am leaving Wednesday for my trip to Portugal, I decided I had better finish my part of my 2 group projects. So I worked on those today. They really didn't take that long to finish. My original plan had been to finish the projects and then explore Rome, but I had to wait for YPR so I could let them in to fix the hot water. They have a key, but I don't feel comfortable with people being in the apartment without one of us here. They didn't come until about 2 p.m., and with sunset at 5:30 p.m., that didn't leave me with much time to explore so I just stayed in. My roommates came back from Amsterdam safely, and Liv's sister and bother-in-law landed. I set my alarm to wake up at 8 a.m. Liv and I had planned on going to Tivoli today. We both got up to get ready, and realized that it was raining. When we were reading the reviews of Tivoli last night, a guy was complaining about how they closed Villa d'Este because of "Severe Weather." There was no severe weather that day, it was just cloudy. That post was from 5 days again. If they shut down Tivoli 5 days ago because it was cloudy, we didn't want to risk traveling all the way over there when it was actually raining. After a while, the rain stopped. We still didn't want to chance it, so Liv and I agreed to move Tivoli to another day. So my plans opened up again. After yesterday's fiasco I couldn't decide whether I wanted to go exploring or not. I was debating on whether to try Cerverteri again, or go to Ostia Antica, or just stay in Rome and wander around. I finally decided to stay in Rome, and I told Liv. She was going to give me words of encouragement if I tried to venture out again, but since I was staying she decided to go back to sleep. Right after she fell asleep, I decided that I was going to take a risk and travel, so I looked up how to get to Ostia Antica and left. The directions to Ostia Antica were a lot easier than Cerverteri. All I had to do was walk to the Circus Maximus metro stop, which I did. While I was there I helped a couple figure out how to get to the Portese Market. Then I got on the metro for one stop, took the escalators up, took a left, and got on another metro line to Ostia Antica. Then I just rode that line until I got there. When I arrived I just walked out of the train station, and kept going straight, over the pedestrian bridge, and there were the Roman ruins. Easy!
All I had to do was follow the signs to the ruins. It was so easy! Then I bought a ticket and a map, so I wouldn't get lost. I walked through the doors into the ruins.
All in all, I really enjoyed my trip to the ruins, and was glad that I went. I loved the beautiful mosaics that have survived the test of time. These ruins were very similar to Pompeii. They are also on a smaller scale, so it is possible to see most of them, unlike Pompeii. There is so much to see in Pompeii, that I didn't know where to start. I still like Pompeii more, because it had more of a variety to see: place where the gladiators trained, different types of buildings, the bodies, Mt. Vesuvius, the Red Light District, etc. But Ostia Antica has its own charm, but in my opinion Pompeii is still better.
When I left the ruins, it was really easy to get back to the train station. I just had to keep going straight until I came to it. I got there and realized that I didn't have a ticket, so I had to stop and buy one. While I was buying the ticket, the train to Rome came and left. So then I had to wait another 30 minutes for the next train. When it finally came I got on it and rode to Rome. Then I took another train to Circus Maximus and walked to my apartment. I woke up around my usual time of 8 a.m. I had planned on going to Ostia Antica today, but when I started researching it I discovered that the castle at Ostia Antica is only open on Thursdays and Sundays, so I decided to wait for tomorrow. Since I couldn't go to Ostia Antica, I decided to go to Cerveteri and see the Etruscan Necopolis. The instructions made it sound easy: take the metro to Cornelia, get on the Cotral bus to Cerveteri, and then follow the signs to the ruins. Easy, right? Wrong. I looked everywhere for the Cotral bus station, and I couldn't find it. My instructions said to exit the station and follow the signs. There are 8 exits, and I couldn't find a sign anywhere. I used my data plan to Google it, I tried maps, I tried AroundMe. Nothing. Finally I tried to ask someone where it was. The first 2 guys I asked didn't speak English, and the third barely spoke it. He just kept telling me "2 stops down." I decided he must have meant 2 streets, so I walked down 2 streets while looking around, but I couldn't find it. (I later found out via Google that it was by the McDonalds, which was next to the place where I was asking directions, so he meant 2 buildings down, not 2 streets down. Cotral also doesn't have a building, it is just a tabacchi seller that sells Cotral tickets.) I finally gave up and decided to try the other Cotral station at the Lepanto stop. So I used another metro ticket and took the metro to Lepanto. The ticket station was supposed to be underground. I found an underground ticket seller, and I asked if they spoke English. She nodded so I asked for a ticket to Cerveteri. She sold me a ticket for the local Rome transportation. In other words, the wrong ticket. I gave up getting to Cerverteri by bus, so I decided to try to take the train. I used another metro ticket and took the metro to Termini. Then I bought a ticket to what I thought was Cerverteri. It wasn't. It was a ticket to the Ladispoli-Cerverteri train station, which is located in Ladispoli. Ladispoli is a town about 10 miles away from Cerverteri. I used my data plan again to find out how to get from Ladispoli to Cerverteri. I found a review that said to go to the bus station on Via Gaeta, which is 2 street over from the train station. So I walked to Via Gaeta, which was easy to find. Then I walked up and down the street, and I found no bus station. So I was stuck in another city with no idea how to go anywhere. I didn't want to keep using my data plan, so I called Mom and asked her to Google how to get to Cerverteri, because by that time I had been lost for about 4 hours. She called back with a number for calling a taxi. By that time I was done, I just wanted to go back to my apartment and pout. I was at the train station sitting on a bench. Across the street there was a taxi stand with no taxis. There was a sign on a pole with names and phone numbers of the taxi drivers. By this time it was 2:30 p.m., and sunset is at about 5 p.m., so by the time I got to the Etruscan Necropolis I would only have an hour or so to explore before having to return to Rome. Mom recommended that I just go back to Rome before it got dark. So I went and bought a train ticket to get back to Rome, and went and sat on a bench on the platform. This is me pouting on my bench. After waiting for 30 minutes, my train finally came. I hopped up from my bench and boarded the train. I found a seat and settled in for the trip back to Rome. I waited for the train to start moving. And waited, and waited. The train didn't move, and everyone was standing up looking out the window across from me. I finally gave into curiosity and went to look. There was a crowd around an old guy, and he had bandage that he was holding to his bleeding head. He was being interviewed by the police. I figured the police wouldn't show up for someone tripping and falling. The only thing that I could think of for the police to show up is if someone pushed him or someone mugged him, and then jumped on the train to get away. The crazy thing was that he was sitting on the same bench that I had just vacated. Since the train was being held up, I figured he got mugged. So I returned to my seat to wait for the matter to clear up.
After 15 minutes of the train not going anywhere, I decided to go to the door again and see what was happening. The 3 teenage boys that just sat across from me yelling helped my decision. I stood in the doorway looking out, and there were a ton of people on the platform. The guy next to me said something to me in Italian, and I just smiled blankly at him. He realized that I couldn't speak Italian and repeated himself in English. He said the train was too heavy so they were bringing another train. Right after he said that another train pulled up on the tracks across from us and everyone ran to the doors. I made the split second decision to board the other train and hope it took me to Rome. After all, what did I have to lose? The worst that could happen was that I would end up in another random city, lost, again. I don't know if the train being to heavy was the real reason for another train, and the guy bleeding was just a coincidence. The car that I was in on the first train was mostly empty, so I don't know how it could be overweight. But either way, the new train took me to Rome. Not as comfortably, because there were 2 kids fighting and screaming in the seats across the aisle from me. But I eventually made it. Then I had to take the H bus to my street. While I was waiting on the bus the sun finished setting and it was dark. Then I stopped to get some gelato and returned to my apartment. Liv wasn't there. She was inspired by my exploring and decided to go see the Pantheon. I got early this morning and took a shower, made breakfast, and left to meet up with my Art History class. I left my apartment almost an hour early so I would have plenty of time to walk over there. Then I saw the tram, and decided I would rather take that then walk. So I got to the meeting point about 40 minutes early. Since I had time, I decided to walk around a little bit. I started walking up Via Del Corso, but everything was closed. However, there was a little cafe open with a sign saying they sold hot chocolate. So I bought some. It was okay, but no where near as good as the one in Poland. Then I walked back to the Victor Emmanuele Monument to wait for everyone. Eventually other students started arriving. Of the 9 students in the class, only 5 of us showed up. We waited for the others a while, but no one else appeared, so we walked to the place. We were touring the Instituto Centrale per il Restauro e la Conservazione del Patrimonio Archivistico e Librario (ICPAL). ICPAL is the leading institute for the conservation and preservation of manuscripts. One of the girls in my class said that another student, Christina, was on her way but was running late. Professor Yawn told our guide, and she took us to a room to wait for Christina. We ended up waiting for about 10 minutes, and then continued on our tour. I was upset because one of the girls that didn't show up was the reason we didn't have this tour last Friday. This was the weekend I was supposed to go to Prague, but I didn't get to go because we rescheduled the event for today. The first place we went to was the place where they restore manuscripts. The workers were really nice, and wanted to show us everything. They only spoke Italian, so our professor kept translating it into English for us. The first manuscript they showed us was the Libro Rosso (the Red Book). This book has pages of all of the Italian coats of arms of the Italian nobility. A previous restorer had put an onion-skin-like paper on the images of the coats of arms, but it is acidic and it eating throughout the paper and destroying the images. So ICPAL has been tasked with removing the onion skin. The problem is that it is stuck to the page and cannot be removed, so they have chemists and other scientists working on how to remove it safely without destroying the manuscript. They are also restoring the book's binding, which is an original. They showed us how the book was bond and also showed us the damage that insects and bacteria have had on it. They had to take a sample of the bacteria to another lab in the complex to see if it is still active, or if it is dead. If it is still active, they will have to find a way to safely remove or kill it so it is not harmful to the page or to humans. They only spoke Italian, but I understood almost everything she was saying. She spoke slowly and clearly, and the words she used were similar enough to Spanish that I knew what she was saying. When I didn't know a word, she was usually pointing to something on the manuscript or binding, so I knew she was talking about that. I felt so proud of myself! They also showed us a way to flatten the manuscript without damaging it. They do this by putting the pages on a metal platform and putting magnets on top of it. They also showed us a small diary written by an Italian POW from WWI. They do not only work on manuscripts, but they also preserve recent materials as well. Modern works are harder to preserve, because they were not made to last. They were created to last for a couple of years, unlike manuscripts that last hundreds of years. Next they led us to another room that is working on cleaning a map on cloth. These workers were graduate students doing an internship. They were really prepared to receive us. They had pictures of how they removed the map from the wooden framing. They also discussed the methods that they were using in the cleaning of the cloth, because they don't want to damage the inked map. It was very interesting.
Next, we went upstairs to the Chemistry lab. The lady there spoke English, so Professor Yawn didn't have to translate. She showed us the work that she has been doing. Even in English, most of what she was saying went over my head. The bits I did understand was about the colors. One of the things she does is examine the different colored ink and plot it. When describing the colors of an image, they can't use subjective words because those are open to interpretation. So instead they use numbers based on the amount of red, yellow, and blue it has. She also bragged about the work she did with the Rossano Gospels. She was the one that verified that they used iron gall for dyeing the pages. She did this by buying some iron gall, and making up a batch of dye. Then she compared the results to the Rossano Gospels. When ICPAL presented its findings, a politician wanted an 'expert' to verify the work. When the 'expert' did it, they said it was another substance that dyed the pages, so she was very happy.
By the time we were finished with the chemistry lab it was about noon. Two of the girls had to leave. They happened to be the only other English speakers in the group. Everyone else knew Italian fluently except for me. Outside the chemistry lab was the digital department. They have been working on a project to put all of the notes and images that they have collected about all of the manuscripts they have worked with online for researchers to use. It is a huge project, and they still have over 4,000 files to do. The next place we went to was the Biology lab. Professor Yawn made sure she was close to me when we stopped, and then translated what the people were saying to me in a whisper, since I was the only one that didn't know Italian. Here, we learned about the different diseases and bacteria that attach itself to manuscripts. This department works at killing the bacteria without damaging the manuscript. They are also trying to develop a cost effective way to exterminate libraries without destroying the books. The last place we went to was the physicist lab. Here, they showed us how they find out the composition of paper. They have special light that takes a picture of it, which allows them to examine the paper under a high-powered microscope. From this, they can see what materials were used to make the paper. From this, they can find out the processes used to make a long time ago. They also make their own paper and test out chemicals on it, to see how it will react. We left ICPAL, which was sad. I really enjoyed this field trip. I was also really impressed with myself because I understood 50-60% of what everyone was saying while I was there. I understood more in the conservation department, but in the science departments I was lost. Probably because I hate science and don't even understand it in English. Professor Yawn walked us to Via Nazionale, and from there I knew how to get back to my apartment. I walked because I was hoping to find a mailbox for my postcard. Apparently I bought a special kind of stamp that can't be mailed from a regular mailbox. I looked for this special kind of mailbox, but I couldn't find one. I did find a gelato shop that sold cupcakes, so of course I had to buy one. The cake part was okay, but the icing was really good. When I got back to my apartment my roommate was mad at me. I didn't answer her texts or phone calls. She had called me 5 times and texted me 15. The power had gone out and she didn't know what to do. That meant the refrigerator was off, and destroyed all of our food stored there. Our other roommates had just left for Amsterdam when she discovered the power was off. Liv knew there was an emergency number to call, but didn't know what it was and couldn't go online to find out. She knew that I would have the number (which I did), but she couldn't get ahold of me. She finally found the number on the door, and they came over within 15 minutes. There was construction going on outside, and one of the workers had cut the power. We later found a note on our front door that we think was a notice saying the power was going to be cut off. But we can't read it because it is in Italian. But by the time I had returned the power was back on. I checked my food in the refrigerator . Luckily I didn't have much in there, but my milk had gone sour and my chicken (that I hadn't cooked yet) was bad. So I had to throw out both. Then Liv and I went to the store to re-purchase the things we had to throw out. My Art History class was canceled today because our teacher had a personal emergency. Yippee for me! Sad for my teacher. So I didn't have to go to class until 3 p.m. again. Not that I accomplished anything at my apartment, but I enjoyed the time off from class.
At 1 p.m., Naike came to the apartment to see how we were doing. She was supposed to come at 1:30, because that was when Janelle was coming back, but Alessio didn't tell Naike that. So Liv and I were still in our PJs. While we were waiting for Janelle, we all complained about John Cabot because none of us like our classes here. She also showed us that our oven is a gas oven, so you can light a fire at the bottom to help it cook better. Who knew? It does explain a lot, like how when we put food in the oven it doesn't cook all of the way. Finally Janelle came back, Naike asked a few more questions and left. I left around 2 p.m. so I would have enough time to copy the chapter that I need to read for Friday for Art History. Then I went to International Business, and Marketing. We continued with the case study in Marketing, so I spent half of the time working on my part of the group project. The highlight of my day was Microeconomics. When we got to class, he handed out a survey that we have to take. It pretty much just asked how he was as a teacher, and it is required by the school. He excused himself from the classroom while we did it, and then another student turned it into the office. She looked for him to tell him we were done, but he had disappeared. None of us knew where he went. After we had waited awhile 2 guys had a brilliant idea. They had one of the girls in the class act as a look-out, and then took down the wall clock and moved it forward by about 7 minutes. Then hung it back up and we were all sitting in our seats when the teacher finally came back in. Then he lectured to us the same thing he did last time when half the class was gone. I, of course, was there and got the first lecture. I played on my computer while he lectured, because I had already heard it all before. He ended up letting us out early, because he didn't realize that the clock was fast. Yippee! Another lazy day today. I had to get out of bed to go to Guarini to meet up with my International Business group for our project. My group was really disorganized. They wanted to talk about information they had found out, when I thought we were assigning tasks. So we ended up being there for quite a while. Then I started walking back to my apartment and realized that I didn't have my purse. My purse has my money, all my debit cards, and my passport. I ran back to the school and thank God it was still there and untouched. I had met Liv on the way to the school and she waited for me because she had forgotten her keys to the apartment. Then we walked back together.
I didn't have to get up early today because my Art History class was canceled due to the field trip on Friday. Yippee! That means that I didn't have to be at school until 3 p.m.! I took my time and lazed the day away until 3, then I went to International Business.
After International Business was Marketing. After Marketing my group met together and we separated tasks. I get to research the main distributors and the main promotional strategies of Amazon for the Amazon Fire TV Stick. Marketing was a complete waste of time because we had an in-depth discussion on a case study. The final exam consists of an essay and a case study, so we had a practice case study about a camera lens that you attach to your iPhone. It was ridiculous. We had an in-depth 30 minute discussion on why we should target the age group 25-35, instead of 18-25. My next class was Microeconomics, and half the class was missing. It was raining outside, so they decided not to come to class. He went ahead and taught us the lesson plan for the day. He better not repeat it next class for those that chose to skip or I will be pissed. I pretty much did nothing today except recover from the Florence trip. I downloaded some books I haven't read off of the Internet and read them. All in all, a very lazy day. I did update my budget, and saw that after all of the money I spent on Christmas I still have $800 left, after Kendall, Mom, and Dad pay me what they owe me. That is not bad with only 4 weeks left. That gives me $200 a week. I also went to the store to buy some food to make dinner. I found a recipe for some pasta: Olive Oil, Garlic, and Crushed Red Pepper Pasta Sauce
Directions:
Then I just bought some chicken, cooked it in Olive Oil with salt and basil, and combined them. So I made my own chicken fettuccine. It was really good! I accidentally stole Laura's keys when I left for the store. So when she left for the library she had no keys to come back. I felt so bad! So after I ate I went by Old Bridge and bought her a frappe, which is like a milkshake but much more watery. Then I took it to her at the library. She was happy to see me and said she wasn't mad about the keys at all. She was having a bad day because her cat had died.
I woke up around 8 a.m. and laid in bed for a while. Then Laura and I got up and went to breakfast. Janelle spent last night in Mike's room. Breakfast was a buffet with several options. We were the first people from API there, and we were convinced we were at the wrong place because no one was there. Then some more people started showing up. Around 8:45, we left and finished packing. Then I went down stairs to wait in the lobby. We were leaving our things at the hotel, so we could continue touring Florence. The hotel locked all of our stuff in a room, and then we left. Our directors led us to the city hall, which is also the Medici Musuem. We stood outside for a while, and then our tour guides from yesterday joined us again. One of the tour guides was really good, so she had a huge group. I joined one of the smaller groups. I saw my guide from yesterday heading for one of the groups, so I joined the other one. I didn't want her again. But then she came and joined my group, so she was my tour guide again. The big group got the whispers, but it was starting to rain again, so my tour guide took us inside without waiting for them.
This was a cool painting because this is where we were. It is celebrating an Italian national holiday with fireworks. The building on the left is the Medici castle.
After the City Hall, we had about 3 hours of free time before we had to meet up at the hotel again. I decided to look for a real leather purse for Mom for Christmas, so I went to one of the leather markets. I didn't find anything good there, so I went to the one by the Duomo. I walked along, and found a purse that I thought she would like. I asked how much it was, and the guy said 60 euros. I of course said no. He took me to his shop, which was located right behind his stand and we haggled over the purse. I finally agreed to pay 40 euros. The whole time we were haggling, he was flirting with me. Right after I agreed to the price, he offered to show me his workshop with some more purses, so I agreed, thinking it was at the shop. Then he started leading me upstairs, to what turned out to be his apartment. He showed me some more purses, and then showed me his bed. I immediately turned around and headed for the door. He was still in the room asking me if I wanted to take a selfie with his bed. I said no, but he still gave me a free small purse. We went back downstairs, and talked some more in his actual shop. He was still hitting on me, and asking questions. He asked if I had girlfriends, and I said yes, meaning friends that are girls. He meant girlfriends. Then he asked if I liked guys, and I said yes I like guys but I prefer hanging out with my girlfriends. So I think I told him I was bisexual. I then lied and said I had to go meet my tour group so I could leave. I didn't realized I had told him I was bi until I left, and then I just started laughing while walking down the street. I went ahead and headed back to the hotel, because I was done shopping. I got there an hour early and just hung out in the lobby playing on my phone until people from API started arriving. When everyone had arrived, we collected our stuff and headed to meet the tour bus. I was one of the last people to grab my stuff, so I was last in line while walking to the bus. I was sad because I was going to get a crappy seat. Then we got to the bus stop and our bus wasn't there, instead it was random tour bus. Our bus had to park farther down the street, so the end of the line became the beginning of the line, so I was one of the first people on the bus. I claimed my seat and stuffed all of my purchases in the overhead bin. I wanted to leave room for someone to sit next to me without all of my stuff over flowing the seat. Ryan came by and asked if he could sit with me because all of the seats up front were full of bags. Ryan was in my Finance study group.
We stayed up there for about 20 minutes, and then headed back down to the bus. On the way was a gelato shop, and a lot of people from API stopped there. I though about getting some gelato, but the scoops they gave were too small! In Rome when you get gelato, they scoop the gelato with a spatula. This shop had an actual scoop and it was tiny, but still cost the same price as in Rome. I wasn't wasting my money on someone who was going to gip me some gelato. We had to wait a little while for the bus. I talked to Alessio, one of the API guides, and told him I had bought an expensive leather jacket. He complemented me for getting such a bargain, because the one he was wearing cost 500 euros! In comparison, mine only cost 220 euros.
We got back on the bus and drove the 4 hour drive back to Rome. Right after we got on the bus it started pouring. But we made it safely back to Rome finally. We still had to walk back to our apartment in the rain, but I was glad to be off of that bus! I had to get up early today, because we had to meet at Piazza Trilussa at 7:15 a.m. We got there, waited for a little while, and then boarded the bus to go to Florence. I lot of people were missing (I found out later that several people went to Venice, and then joined us in Florence) so I got my own seat. It took about 4 hours to get to Florence, and we had a bathroom stop about half way through. After we got there, we went to the hotel and checked in. It was a nice hotel, but the only wifi was in the lobby. Then handed out the room assignments, but my room wasn't ready yet. The people who had the room last decided to check out late, so it wasn't clean when we got there. So I had to put my stuff in storage, until they cleaned the room. Everyone put their stuff in their rooms and then met back at the lobby, where Alessio led us to the Duomo. We agreed to meet back at the Duomo in an hour, and everyone left to find somewhere to eat. Alessio recommended that we go to the food market, because it was like Eatly, and it had cheap food. The only problem was that we couldn't find it. Instead, we found the leather market, so we looked around a little. I hate that the vendors keep trying to catch your attention. I just want to look at items in peace without them trying to bargain with me. I didn't want to buy anything because we still had a tour to do. I wandered around and found a lot of API students at a pizza shop, so I joined them in line. Everyone was getting pepperoni pizza, because the pepperonis were real pepperonis. So that is what I got, and it was pretty good, but they gave me a HUGE slice. I couldn't eat it all, so I ended up giving half to Ishmael.
We continued on, and she showed us some of the buildings that are left from the medieval times. The wealthy nobility built towers in Florence as a defensive fortification, which they building once was.
Next we went by one of the leather markets. Outside was this statue. If you touch the snout, it is supposed to bring you good luck. Also, you can put penny in its mouth, make a wish, and then let it drop into the grate below. I just touched the snout. There is no reason to waste money.
Our tour guide was okay. It was not the best tour that I have ever been on, but it wasn't the worst. She new her facts, and was somewhat funny. However, she didn't know anything about leather. I tried to ask her questions about how to tell the difference in quality, and she didn't really aster me. She just danced around the topic, and said to look at the price. After the tour she took us back to the hotel. My room was finally ready, so I picked up my backpack from Reception and went looking for it. I got lost in the hotel, because it was not a usual hotel layout. There were dead ends, and sections for employees only. I randomly turned a corner, and there was my room. The I couldn't figure out how to get the key to work. I kept turning it, and nothing would happen. I guess whoever was in the room before me double locked it, and that is what took me so long. When I got in the room, I claimed a bed and got my umbrella out of my backpack. I had heard some girls talking about how it was supposed to rain today. I'm glad that I did, because when I walked outside it started raining. The first place I went was to Michelangelo's Leather Shop. I had looked on Trip Advisor, and several people recommended his shop for cheap but high quality leather. When I walked in, the owner was talking with some of his workers, so I just looked around. Then he came and talked with me. I picked out a jacket. The original price was over 400 euros, but they were having a sale, so it was 245 euros. I talked Michelangelo down to 220 euros, which is about $280. The owner, Michelangelo, was very nice but very Italian. He kept kissing me on the cheek and talking to me. He wanted me to stay so we could talk. I agreed to stay a little while, just to be nice, but customers kept coming in. I finally got tired of waiting, and said I had to leave to go to a cooking class. Really, I still had 2 hours until my cooking class started, but I wanted to leave nicely. Michelangelo was upset. He wanted to take me out to dinner. He also wanted me to come back to Florence. He said he would pay for my train ticket, put me up at his apartment, and show me around. I told him maybe, when I had time. Then he asked what weekend could I come. I said next weekend I was going to Romania, the weekend after that I was going to Prague, and then it is finals, so I wouldn't have the opportunity to come back, sadly. Really, I am doing nothing next weekend, but I am going to Romania for Thanksgiving. Michelangelo then said that he would help pay for a plane ticket from the U.S. for me to come to Florence. I told him that I would email him with a time that worked for me (not). I don't know if it was the power of America or if it is just an Italian thing that make me irresistible to European guys. I really need to find another country to be from, because I get to much trouble from being American. My friend Ishmael tells everyone he is from Mexico, but then again he is actually Mexican. Maybe I will start saying that I am from Canada... I left the shop. My intention was to go back to the hotel and drop off my leather jacket, but I got lost. Surprise! It was such easy directions too. Go down the street, take a left, take the second right and the hotel was supposed to be there. I couldn't find it no matter where I went, so I eventually gave up and started walking around. I had another leather place marked on my map, Gioia Chiara, so I headed in that direction. I was able to find it easily. I walked in there and started looking around. The prices were a little bit more that I wanted to pay, but I knew it was a higher quality leather than other places. Two women from the U.S. were already there making all of their purchases for Christmas, so I had plenty of time to look around. They had a Buy 2 and Get the 3rd Item Half Off deal going on, so I decided to just buy everyone's Christmas presents there. I ended up leaving with 7 items. I am just sad that they didn't do monogramming. The only person I was missing for Christmas was Mom, so I tried to head back to the leather market, but I couldn't find it. The whole time I have been shopping it has been raining. I just got tired of it: it was dark and raining and I was lost. So I just went to a department store that was having a 30% off sale and bought Mom a purse there. I figure she will be more comfortable using it since it is not really leather. Then I headed back to the hotel once again, but this time with 3 huge bags in my arms and an umbrella, trying to stay dry. I found the street that the hotel was supposed to be on, but I couldn't find the hotel. I walked it twice before asking a waiter to a local restaurant where it was. He pointed at a building a couple of buildings down and said it was there. I had walked right past it several times today. I went up to my room, and relaxed on my bed for a little while. I had some time to kill, so I called Mom and Dad to talk for a little while. I couldn't talk long because I only have a limited amount of minutes. Then I went to the lobby to meet up with my group for the cooking class. Naike and Mateo led us to the class. It was still raining and dark, so I had no idea where we were. When we got to the place, they had a place for us to hang our jackets and purses. Then we put on aprons and washed our hands. We split into 6 groups of 6 people each, and started cooking. There was no recipe to follow, but there were 2 chefs that spoke English. So they would come to our table, show us what to do, and then move onto the next table.
The chef then had me and another girl peeling potatoes. After we finished peeling the potatoes, the chef handed us a hand masher contraption. You put the potato into the contraption, and then press down until the potato shoots out the bottom. Then we had to mash it some more with our hands (my picture). After it was completely mashed, we had to form it into a ball. Then the chef cut it into 6 pieces. We had to roll the individual pieces into balls, and then roll it into a worm. If it started to fall apart, we had to start over. After we had a thin mashed potato worm, we had to chop it into small pieces and put it into a pan. While we did that, other people in our group started rolling out some dough for pasta. They first had to put flour on the table. The chef asked Sarah to grab the flour, but she couldn't find it. The cooking supplies were labeled in Italian, and she didn't know the word for flour. The chef came around and grabbed the Farina (flour). Then he grabbed a couple of handfuls and tossed it on the table while singing "f-a-r-i-n-a" with each through. He was really funny. The other girls then rolled out the dough and put it through a contraction that flattened it into long strips. Then they folded it into thirds and put it through again. The final time they passed it through, they had to change the setting on the machine, and it sliced it up into fettuccine noodles. The chef took all of the items that we had made into the back, and brought back our cooked eggplant. We then plated them, and went downstairs to eat. Our group was the first one ready, so we got to choose our seats. We made the mistake of sitting way in the back, which means we were always the last to get our food.
After we ate, I had no idea how to get back to the hotel. Mateo, the guide from Tuscania, said that he would walk me back so I wouldn't get lost. But everyone from API was heading back to the hotel before heading out for the night, so I just followed them. Along the way we went over the Old Bridge again, which is really pretty at night. When we got back to the hotel, I went up to my room and relaxed a little. Laura and Janelle weren't there, so I waited. I had the only key to the room, and I knew I wouldn't wake up if they were banging on the door. But I didn't want to leave and leave the door open because all of my Christmas gifts were in the room, totaling over $400 plus my Mac. By the time 11 p.m. came and they were still not back at the room I decided to risk it. I propped the door open with my book and ran downstairs, where I gave the key to the receptionist. Down there I met some girls from API who were heading out. It was Maddie's (one of the girls) 21st birthday. They invited me, but I turned them down because I wanted to sleep. Then I ran back up to my room. Thankfully all of my stuff was still there untouched. The I went to bed. Today is the day we are doing Rome Up & Down with API. There is also supposed to be another public transportation strike today. Since there was supposed to be a strike, I left the apartment an hour early so I would be able to make it to the Spanish Steps on time. I decided to walk to Piazza Venezia, and then take Via del Corso all the way to the Spanish Steps. If there wasn't going to be a strike, I would have taken the H bus to Termini and then the Metro to the Spanish Steps. I start walking down my street and I see the tram pass me. I am happy, because they are not striking. So I get to the tram stop and wait for the next one. It comes and I get on. I decided to play Dumb American and not validate my ticket. The tram took me to Piazza Venezia with no ticket inspectors. I got off, found Via del Corso, and started walking up it towards the Spanish Steps. I took my time and looked in a couple of shops along the way. I finally got to the Spanish Steps and I started looking for Babington's Tea House, because that is where we were meeting. I found the Tea House and started walking towards it when a random guy talking on his phone tapped me from behind on the shoulder. I turned around, and it was Alessio, one of the API guides. He pointed me to where our group was standing, and I walked over. They were waving at me, because they were trying to get my attention but I was focused on the Tea House. Then I sat down and we waited. And waited some more. We didn't end up leaving the Spanish Steps until 20 minutes after we were supposed to be there. If I had known that would happen, I would have gotten some gelato while we waited. But finally it was time to go. We walked up the Spanish Steps and then Alessio led us somewhere. I have no idea where, I just followed the person in front of me. We eventually arrived at the Capuchin Crypts.
The crypts didn't take long. We reformed as a group outside. We were waiting on a few people so I went up some stairs to the church that is on top of the crypt. It was very pretty. When I walked in, the guy at the information table said no videos. I don't know if he meant no pictures, so I took this one as sneakily as possible. Then Alessio came in and waved me and some other people from API over. It was time to go to the next destination.
The next place we went to was the Victor Emmanuel Monument. This is the monument dedicated to the first King of Italy. On the way around the square, we had to stop because a movie was being filmed at the place we were crossing. I didn't recognize the actress, but her name was Sabrina and she is supposed to be a famous Italian actress. I have no idea what movie they were shooting. We got to the monument and had to walk up a lot of stairs to get to the point where we could take an elevator.
Along the way I decided to stop for gelato. I stopped at the alcohol gelato place because I remembered that they had a Snickers gelato, and I wanted a Snickers. I go inside and it has totally changed from when I went with Mom and Kendall. Half of the gelato flavors were gone and in their place was a candy bar. One of the flavors that was gone was my Snickers gelato. I also didn't see the Baileys flavor either. So I settled for the Mars, Frutta di Bosca, and chocolate flavors. Then I walked back to the apartment. By the time I got there, Laura and Janelle were already back. Olivia had found a cute trinket shop that she was going to show Laura and I. We waited until 4 p.m., and then went to find it. Olivia led us there. It was a cute shop, but didn't have anything that I had to have. We looked around for a couple of minutes and then left. We didn't want to head straight back to the apartment, so we just wondered around looking in random shops. Laura wanted to go to Old Bridge, and led us there. I have never been there, but it is supposed to be one of the best gelato shops in Rome. They also have frappe, which is the Italian version of a milk shake. We all got frappes. I thought it was just okay. I like my milkshakes to be really thick, and this one was really watery. Liv hadn't eaten in a while, and she was starving. She had tried a new Italian dish called barata, and become addicted to it. We found a little cafe that had it, so we ordered some. Barata is some kind of goat cheese, and you eat it on bread. Laura and Liv ordered a glass of wine with it, so they had wine and cheese. I thought it was good, but nothing to go crazy over. We ate, and then talked for a while before heading out. We roamed around Trastevere a little more, and then went back to the apartment. When we got to the apartment, I worked on submitting the Southwest Airlines summer internship application. I ended up applying for about 10 internships with them, so hopefully I can get one!
For the first time, I didn't have to get up super early for Finance. Yippee! I still had to get up early though because I needed to do some last minute studying for my Art History test. For the test, we have to know all of the manuscript that we have talked about all semester, their names, when they were written, who wrote them, and an interesting fact for bonus points. We also have to know the different writing styles, and some definitions. In other words, a lot to study. We have to be able to recognize the manuscript from any picture that we have seen in class or in the book. I added to the PowerPoint I had already created from the first test. I then kept testing myself by looking at the picture, naming the manuscript, and reciting everything that I knew about it. Then I went to JCU and took the test. I think I knew most of the answers, so I think I got around an 80.
Then I had International Business. He gave back Project 3, and I got a B++. He couldn't give me an A now could he? I'm going to go talk to him Tuesday and ask what it would have taken to get an A. Maybe I will get lucky and he will change my grade. We also have a group project to do for Project 4. We have to choose an emerging economy and write up a report about it. We had a little bit of time to discuss it during class, and my group talked about doing Nigeria. After International Business I had Marketing and Microeconomics. Nothing exciting happened in either class. I have another group presentation to do for Marketing, so that is going to suck. Afterwards, I went back to the apartment and relaxed. Late last night a girl posted on the John Cabot Facebook page asking if anyone had a screwdriver for a Mac. Because of Bratislava, I have 2 mini screwdrivers, so I messaged her telling her that I had one she could use. We agreed to meet up today so that she could borrow it. I told her that I would be at the library around 2 p.m. So I go to the library, and message her on Facebook letting her know where I am and what I am wearing. Then I read my book while I wait. I have no classes today, so I was just at the library to give her the screwdriver. About 30 minutes later she messages me back saying that she had someone look at the laptop and she has to buy another one, so she doesn't need the screwdriver anymore. I was going to study for my Art History test tomorrow, but everything I need is on my Mac, so I just left.
Olivia had a package at the API office, but they were closing early today. I messaged them through Facebook for her asking if they would be there at 4:20, because her class ended at 4:15 p.m. They replied, saying they would close at 4:20. Liv was worried that she wouldn't make it in time. Since I wasn't meeting the screwdriver girl anymore, I decided to stop by the office and pick it up for her. Then I walked back to my apartment, were I stopped on the way to get gelato. While I was waiting at the library, I counted out my small change (all 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent) at the bottom of my purse until I had enough for gelato. I felt bad for the worker, because she had to recount my money. I was glad that I picked up the package for Liv, because she was having a really bad day. Her sister sent out a mass text for a prayer group for Mrs. Crenshaw (Liv's best friend's mom who is dying of cancer) because she has only 4 months to live. Liv got the text during class and started crying. She hadn't heard about the 4 months part. Then she called her dad crying. Her dad got mad at Allie (Liv's sister) and she got in trouble. So Allie called Liv and bitched her out so they had a fight. Liv decided to skip the rest of her classes for the day and return to the apartment. So I brightened her day a little bit by giving her the package, which had some clothes that she ordered. She had a really cute dress. For dinner, I didn't feel like making anything so Laura and I ordered hamburgers from T-Bone Steakhouse. They were okay, not as good as the ones in the U.S. We did order some really good dessert, though. Laura got the Apple Crumb, and I got the Oreo Pie. We split the desserts between us. I thought the Oreo Pie was the best, but they gave me such a small piece. Sad day! I got up early today so I could go to school early so I could drop Finance. I got to the school at about 8:05 a.m. The teacher wasn't in the classroom yet so I waited. She finally came in and I took the form up to her. She asked if I had enough hours to drop, and I told her I was taking 15 hours. Then she said that it is just too hard to take that many hours while studying abroad, and how study abroad students are always dropping down to 12 hours. I agreed with her just so she would sign it. I didn't say that she was the reason I was dropping her class, but a huge weight was lifted from me when I left the classroom. The Registrar's Office wasn't open yet, so I went to the library and read a book until 9 a.m. Then I turned the form into the Registrar's Office and I was free of Finance. Yippee!
Next I went to my Art History class. We met in the lobby because we were walking to Bibliotecca Vallicelliana. The walk was about 10-15 minutes away. We were the only ones in the library, which was good because they didn't have a private room for us. We looked at 2 Books of Hours and a Breviary. The Books of Hours were sooooo pretty. The detail and the designs were so detailed and intricate that I don't how people created them. After the library we walked back to campus. I had forgotten my purse back at the apartment, so I had lunch at the apartment today. Then I went back to school for International Business, Marketing, and Microeconomics. Nothing interesting happened in those classes. Then I came back to the apartment, finished my book and went to bed. I hate my roommates at the hostel. I told both of them that I had to be up by 3 a.m. in order to go to the airport. I even apologized for waking them up so early. And what do they do? They decide to have a conversation about the different prices for train tickets from Budapest to other countries in Europe. The problem was that they were across the room from each other and I was in the between them. Instead of sharing a bed or one person sitting on a truck so they could talk quietly they decide to shout across the room at each other. They did this from about 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. I was so tired that I faded in and out of the conversation until they finally fell asleep.
I still woke up before my alarm, and rather than letting it go off and waking them up, I turned it off. I should have let it ring for a while to they could get as much sleep as I did. One of my roommates had mentioned that a couple in the hostel was leaving on the same flight as me. I heard them moving around in my room and go downstairs, so I rushed to get ready. I was hoping that we could share a taxi, but they were taking a bus to the airport. One of my tour guides had given me a number of a reputable taxi company, so I called them. The first person I got only spoke Hungarian, so she transferred me to another lady who spoke English. I tried telling her my address, but she couldn't understand me so she transferred me to a guy. He couldn't understand me either so I started spelling out the street name. "V as in Victor, etc." He went "Oh! V." I guess my V sounded like a B. After I hung up I went outside to wait. While I was waiting the receptionist came back from showing the other people how to get to their bus. I told him that I had already called a taxi, and he was like "you know how to do that?" We talked for a little while and he waited with me for my cab. It took about 5 minutes, and then my cab came and picked me up. The guy only spoke a little bit of English, but we were able to communicate. He took me to the airport and it only cost about $25. It was worth it. I got to the airport at about 3:45 a.m. There were a lot of people standing in the Wizz Air line, but I didn't see where the line for Ryanair was. My flight was supposed to leave at 6:20 a.m., so I had plenty of time to figure it out. I found the information station, but it didn't open until 5 a.m., so I sat on some stairs and read Lost in Shri-Lanka. At 5 a.m., I still couldn't find the Ryanair line, so I went to information and they told me which station was Ryanair. It still wasn't open, so I sat on some more stairs to wait. Ryanair finally opened at 5:15 a.m., and I was one of the first people in line. They only had 1 station open, and they were going really slow. Another Ryanair employee came up and pulled people out of line who weren't checking a bag. So I got my visa checked and went to Security. Security only took a couple of minutes, and I got out quickly. Then I checked the message board to find out my gate number and it said "46 minutes until gate announced." So I went and sat on one of the couches for 40 minutes reading my book. Then I got up to check the announcement board again, figuring that I would stand there for 6 minutes for my gate. Right beside my gate was the number and the word "boarding." I bolted toward my gate, worried that I was going to miss my flight. I got to where my gate was, and they were not boarding. I waited about 3 more minutes and they let us through the gate. Then we had to walk to another building and wait about 15-20 minutes. Then we finally got to board the plane. The flight back to Rome was pretty uneventful. There was a lot of turbulence, but we landed safely. I went and bought a Terravision bus ticket to take me to Termini. It was supposed to leave at 9, so I was like okay only a 30 minute wait. It was a 45 minute wait because the bus was late. Something must have happened to that bus, because I think they called up a new bus. Usually a bus comes from Termini, it unloads passengers and then the people waiting get on and the bus goes back to Termini. The bus that came had no passengers on it. Anyways, we filled up the bus and went to Termini. Then I had to wait for the H bus to come to finally take me to my apartment. It took about 2.5 hours. When I got back, Olivia and Marella were at the apartment. We talked for a little bit, and then Olivia went to class. Marella stayed at the apartment. After a while I went to the school library where I was supposed to study for my Art History test, but I ended up just working on my blog. Then I walked 30 minutes to MADE cupcake shop. Olivia has been having a lot of family issues lately, so I wanted to surprise her with cupcakes. The cupcake shop was located by Piazza Navona and little pricey, but I bought 4 cupcakes. Then I walked all the way back to the apartment, carefully balancing the cupcakes. I really needed to go to the store, so I walked to Conad still balancing the cupcakes. I bought the ingredients for my meat sauce, then went back to the apartment and made it. Everyone was out when I got to the apartment, so I was able to hide the cupcakes. Laura was the first one back. Eventually Olivia and Marella came back, and then Marella left to return to London. I let Liv vent about Marella for a while, and then brought out the cupcakes. Laura, Liv, and I ate the cupcakes while Liv told us about her weekend. I didn't think the cupcakes were that good, mostly because the frosting wasn't buttercream. She and Marella went to Venice, San Marino, Bologna, and a couple of other places. Liv spent a lot of money, and Marella told her that she would pay her back. Marella gave Liv 50 euros. 1 of the many train tickets cost 56 euros. In total, it was about 400 euros, and Marella gave Liv 50. Liv didn't know what to say, so she just took the 50. We told her that she had to email Marella and tell her how much it really was. Liv just felt bad because she was supposed to study abroad with Marella in Copenhagen, but because of family issues Liv is going to stay in the U.S. But she hadn't told Marella yet because she knew Marella would freak out. She is going to email her sometime this week and break both bits of news to her. After talking for a while I went to bed.
I got another roommate early this morning. I was just laying in bed, thinking about getting up when she came in. She made no effort at being quiet, which I didn't mind because I was already awake but I don't know how my other roommate felt. She was from Australia, but she looked asian. She seemed nice. She is backpacking across Europe. We talked for a little while, and I recommended some places to visit. Then I left to explore some more.
I walked back to Elizabeth's Square and took a picture of these locks. It is the same theory as the Lock Bridge in Paris. Couples put their names on the lock and seal it to show their undying love. I just wonder what they do with the keys. I know on the bridge in Paris they toss it over into the water, but there was no river close by to toss it. Maybe they walked the 10 blocks to the river and then tossed it. Who knows?
I took the metro to the stop by my hostel, but when I left the station I was completely turned around. I wondered through the streets lost. I had to backtrack several times, but I eventually found my hostel. Along the way I saw a McDonalds and I decided that I needed some comfort food, so I went up and ordered a chocolate cookie. I had only intended on ordering 1, but when the server asked if I wanted 2 I had to agree. They would have been better warmed up, but they were still good. Afterward I walked to my hostel and got ready for bed. One of my roommates came back and we talked for a little while. I apologized to her in advance for waking her up early in the morning when I left for the airport at 3 a.m. Then I went to bed to get some sleep. At that time, my other roommate was still out. I woke up around 8 a.m. and took my time getting ready. Today is the day that I will be doing a lot of tours of Budapest. While I was getting ready I talked to my roommate. She was from South Korea and is backpacking around Europe. She didn't speak English very well, but she recommended me a place to eat. Specifically she recommended a dessert, but it was expensive so I decided not to get it. I left to go to the meeting place for my first Free Walking Tour of the Day. It didn't take me long to find it, and I got there about an hour early. I was hungry for breakfast and I saw a sign for McDonalds so I started walking that way. I eventually found it and went in. I have noticed that McDonalds in Europe are different from the U.S. In the U.S. McDonalds are usually for kids, but that is not the case in Europe. I have yet to find a McDonalds with a play area or offering toys in their kids meals. I ordered a Sausage and Egg McMuffin. The lady misunderstood me, she thought I was ordering 2 instead of 1. I told her it was fine and ate both of them. Then I left to go to the meeting place. It was still early, so I wondered around a little bit. I went in H&M and looked around. I walked around the square a little bit. Then I went back to the meeting spot. There was a HUGE crowd at the meeting point. I joined the crowd and waited some more. There were 4 guides, and they broke us into groups of about 20 people per guide. My guide's English name was Sultan, and he was very funny.
The next place we walked to was St. Stephen's Basilica. Sultan told us that the building used to be dark like this one. It is made out of limestone which absorbs pollution. The European Union gave Hungary money to restore the basilica, which is why it is white and pretty today. We started walking toward the river and found this policeman. He has a big tummy because he is well fed and Hungarian food is so fattening. If you rub his belly like Sultan is doing, it means you will have a good meal. When I passed I rubbed his belly while juggling my camera, water bottle, and whatever else I had in my hands at the time. I could only spare a few fingers, so I don't know if it worked or not. After passing him, Sultan pulled us to the side and recommended food to try while we were in Hungary.
They told us a lot of stories about life under Communism and how it still affect them today. Communist governments were not fond of religion. Religion was not forbidden, but if you participated there were consequences. Your whole family was blacklisted, so you didn't get the good jobs or your apartment would be on the bad side of town. To protect their families, many people hid their religious views, even from their children. Priests had it pretty bad as well, because they were blacklisted and they also had penalties laid on them. One of things Roman Catholic priests had to do was report to the government the things discussed in confession. The government would send spies to confession to make sure that the priest was reporting to the government. Now, very few Hungarian people are religious. They also told us about vacations. Everyone had a red passport, which means they could go to other Communist countries freely. Very few people had a blue passport, which meant they could go to non-Communist countries. It could take years to get a blue passport and it was extremely expensive. The passports were only given to the trusted Communist officials. Our guides have a friend whose family had a blue passport and traveled to a non-Communist country. They could not believe what all that they saw. As souvenirs they bought 10 kilos of bananas to bring home for family and friends. The border guards were jealous and would not let them bring the bananas into the country, they were given the choice of giving the bananas to the guards or eating them. So the whole family ate 10 kilos of bananas in under an hour. To this day, our guide's friend refuses to eat bananas. Corruption is rampant in Hungary. They have very high taxes to pay. These taxes pay for things like free health care for everyone and a pension plan. The problem is that the general population only makes about 500 euros per month. Doctors make about 600 euros. Doctors could go to any other country and make double, and that is what they do. A friend of one of the tour guide broke her arm and she had to wait for 5 hours in the ER before she was seen. Hungary has a huge shortage of doctors because they get an education and then leave. So people have to bribe their doctors so they will stay. Our tour guide needs surgery for a minor sports injury. It should be free, but he would have to wait 7 months to get the surgery. He gave the doctor a gift of 100 euros, and he is having surgery next week. Their are websites devoted to how much to bribe a doctor to get moved up on the waiting list or to get better medical care. There is also a statue that I didn't get a good picture of because it was dark. It is of a eagle swooping down on a sleeping angel child. The eagle represents Nazi Germany, and the sleeping child represents an innocent Jewish child. The statue was commissioned by the government and a lot of people protest against it. It is the government's way of rewriting history and saying that Hungarians had nothing to do with the Holocaust or persecution of the Jews, that was the Nazis. That wasn't the truth, the Hungarians also persecuted the Jews and willingly shipped them to work and death camps. Our guide thinks that the government will eventually remove that statue because of the controversy.
Ronald Reagan is in Budapest. He is facing one of the few monuments left of Communism. By the time we got here it was really dark so I couldn't get a picture of the monument. The Monument commemorates the Soviet Union soldiers who died freeing Hungary from the Nazis, which is why the government has allowed it to remain. Right behind the monument is the US embassy, so the Americans see it everyday when they go to work there.
I didn't have time to eat dessert with lunch, so I decided to stop on the way back to my hostel. I stopped at McDonalds and tried their cake. I didn't think it was very good. I don't know if it was because it was McDonalds, or their version of cake is just bad. I finally made it back to my hostel and settled down for the night. I had the whole room to myself, so I switched beds to be closer to the outlet so I could charge my electronics. I also decided to FaceTime home since I was alone for once. After talking to Mom and Dad I went to bed. Sadly, right after I went to bed my roommate decided to show up. I think she tried to be quiet because it looked like I was asleep, but she didn't succeed. If I wasn't still awake, she would have definitely woken me up. Today is the day that I travel to Budapest, Hungary. I had agreed to meet 2 girls so that we could share a taxi to Ciampino Airport. We agreed to meet at 6 a.m. I still needed to pack, so I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. I woke up every hour worried that I was going to sleep through my alarm. So around 1 a.m., I woke up in a panic, looked at my phone and saw I still had 3.5 hours left. Then repeated this process about an hour later until my alarm finally went off at 4:30 a.m. Every time I woke up it was raining. Then I got ready, packed, ate breakfast and walked down to the taxi stand in the rain. There were no taxis at the taxi stand. Megan (one of the girls I was meeting) and her roommate showed up about 3 minutes after I got there. They are going to London for the weekend. My apartment building was right around the corner so we waited in there while I texted for a taxi. I waited and waited, but I never got the confirmation text. We finally decided to walk to another taxi stand. As we were walking, Megan's roommate happened to look back and saw a taxi turning around and started heading right for us. It was the taxi I had texted. He took us to the Ciampino Airport. I almost didn't recognize the inside of the airport. Every time I have gone there it has been packed with the lines for Security and check-in backed up to the door. There was almost no one in either line when we got there. Freaky. We went our separate ways at the gate, and I waited for my plane. When my plane got there, it was still sprinkling. Luckily, they bused us over. I boarded and sat in the very last row. We took off okay despite the wet run way. In the air we hit a lot of turbulence and it was shaky going for a while, but we finally made it to Budapest safely. I exchanged $10 for Hungarian florints. Then I found the bus stop, bought a ticket, and took the bus to the metro station. At the station I hopped on the Blue Line to central Budapest. There was this weird guy sitting next to me on the train. He kept staring at me. When I would look around in his direction he would avert his eyes, but when I was looking down at my map I could see him watching me and smiling. Creepy! I thought about getting off and catching the next train but I didn't want him to follow me. My stop finally came and I left, he stayed on the train. My hostel was only about a 5 minute walk from the metro stop, so I didn't have problems finding it.
In Budapest there are 3 branches of Judaism: the conservative that keep strictly to traditions, the ones that merge metropolitan life with traditions, and the one in between. The first place we went was the Dohany street Synagogue, the ones in between. To go inside any of the synagogue there is an entrance fee, so we stuck to the outside.
Next we tried to got through a little walled courtyard by the synagogue. We passed the entrance and then an older Jewish man said something to our guide in Hungarian. They got into an argument, but I have no idea what they said to each other. Two younger men came and escorted us off the property. Our guide said the argument was over the religious ceremony. The Jewish day of rest is on Saturday instead of Sunday. It also begins at sunset on Friday evening, right when we were trying to enter the courtyard. So we got kicked out. The next place we went was to the Simpla Bar. It is a ruin bar. Our guide didn't really explain what it was. I learned from a later tour that a ruin bar is situated in an abandoned building. The owners remodeled it and then added funky decorations. Our guide just showed it to us, said it was the most recommended ruin pub in Budapest, and then we left.
That was the worst free walking tour I have ever taken. It was supposed to be 2.5 hours, and it only lasted 1.5. The guide new the basic facts of the history, but didn't offer anything else. Usually the guides are engaging and keep up a running conversation with everyone as we walk from place to place, which she didn't do. When it came time to tip her, I didn't give her that much. Usually I tip the equivalent of $10, but she wasn't that good. She wasn't bad, but usually the guides are great. I only had 2,000 florint notes ($10), but I had 500 florint ($2.5) in small change, so I gave that to her. Now I feel really bad because that wasn't very much, but she didn't deserve more.
When I got back to my hostel I tried to upload the pictures from my memory card to iPhoto, but it didn't want to load. I tried for a while and then gave up. I'll try again later when I am not so tired. Then I read a little bit and went to bed.
I got up early and made breakfast, and worked on my Art History homework. When I was about to leave for Finance, it started pouring. JCU sent out a message saying school was open, but if you can't make it don't come. I decided I couldn't make it, so I skipped Finance class. I wasn't going to walk 10 minutes in the pouring rain. I later found out that she didn't take attendance, but she talked about the major project we have due.
When the rain let up, I hurried to class for Art History. Half the class didn't show. The same happened in my classes for International Business, Marketing, and Microeconomics. In Microeconomics he decided not to teach us anything new, because he would just have to repeat it the next class. So he decided to review the material we have already gone over. I do nothing in that class besides doodle. Another guy left and I followed him out. There is no reason for me to waste an hour and a half on material I already know. I'm really glad I did, because around the time I would have usually gotten out of that class, it started raining. I went back to my apartment and went to bed early. There is a Facebook group for JCU study abroad students, and people are always posting about sharing a cab. Since I am leaving early for Budapest tomorrow, I asked if anyone wanted to share a cab. A girl responded whose plane is leaving about 15 minutes before mine. So now we are going to meet at the taxi stand and share a cab to Ciampino Airport. |
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |