Catch up!

Well...it's been a couple days and I am still not even done with my trip. I am going to be gone this weekend at the Isle of Skye and won't have time to write about my trip then (plus, I will have other stuff to write about!), so I'm going to try and cram it all in this post, even if I have to omit some things. Today was a good day though! My group for the chemistry project successfully synthesized UV-active nanoparticles! Neat! After lab, I need/wanted to study Greek so I headed over to BeanScene (after getting a delicious panini at Le Rendezvous) and studied for 2 hours there while drinking a 4 shot latte. Mmm. Caffeine spike. Greek is good; it is still moving very fast but by the book's standards, I should know over 75% of the words in the New Testament. That's about all I've done today...I don't really plan on doing much tonight either. It's been a good week though...only 15 days of class left! Woot! This weekend I'm going to Skye, and next weekend my buddy Jon is coming to visit...so the days will hopefully go quickly! Anyway here's, as Mr. Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story...

(If I can remember where I left off...)

3/4

I definitely slept better last night being in a couchette and not just a seat. A funny story...there as a couple sleeping in the same car as me and didn't speak English...they were watching videos or pictures on some sort of electronic device as I was going to sleep. All of a sudden, the wife hands the device over to the husband and sexual sounds started. It happened a couple more times and the wife was laughing quite a bit. The husband, however, did not laugh and looked rather embarrassed...he looked to see if I was asleep a couple times and all I could do was look away and try not to laugh. It was good. As it turns out, nobody in my car spoke English, but they could speak French, so I used my French skillz to the best of my ability to communicate when I had to.

I made it to Roma about 2h later than I anticipated, which is fine because I am alone for this portion of my trip. As I mentioned before, I had to use my language skills to communicate, which proved a lot harder than I thought. Props to you who are studying in a country with a foreign language. Granted, I studied French a little and I don't even pretend to know much about the language, you guys still are quite brave. I eventually made it to Rome and to the station (Termini). I was hungry and had to pee, but did neither as I figured I could just wait until the hostel. The metro was easy enough and I found my hostel fine. It really was right next to the Vatican. The lady working was so friendly and was nice enough to let me check-in during lockout (when they clean). I got my stuff together and headed out for the Vatican, as I planned to stay there for the whole day. I went straight to St. Peter's Basilica where I had to go through security and stand in queues and whatnot. The Basilica is quite beautiful! After the Basilica, I visited the tombs of the Popes, where all the Popes are buried, including John Paul II. I then walked to the top of the Basilica some 530 stairs. It was insane. Great views and a lot of exercise for 5 euro. I went to the gift shop there and called home collect :) I got some souvenirs and headed over to the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. I finally used my ISIC card and got half the price off to get in the museum. The museum makes you walk through everything before you get to the Chapel, and you can't take photos! Pish. I took some anyway, sneakily. Oh! Before the museum I bought gelato! It was amazing! So much better than ice cream anywhere else. After the chapel, I got a slice of pizza at the museum. It was pretty good. I walked to a balcony with an overview of a garden and the basilica in the background. I then got more gelato and walked back to my hostel. Checked my email and found a pleasant surprise. Dan, a friend who is studying in Florence, will be able to pick me up from the train station. AND I get to have dinner with his host family! Woot! After I checked my email, I walked to the Castel St Angelo. I didn't go in because it cost money. It got windy and cooler so I just headed back to the hostel afterwards. Hopefully I will get lots of sleep and be ready for tomorrow!

4/4 (I am still writing more than I planned...)

My last day in Roma...There is a lot to see, maybe I should have stayed here longer? I got up and took the metro to the first stop and looked around the piazza de Popplo; not too exciting... Got back on the metro and got off at the next stop which was Spagna and found the Spanish Steps. I was really hungry and I found McDonalds, except different. I ate at McCafe which had pastries and coffee, which were surprisingly good. I did this after I got weird looks for standing at the regular McDonalds counter for a minute. I realized later that it didn't open til 10 and I was there before that, but I didn't know. I exchanged some money and realized I got TOTALLY ripped off exchanging money at Termini. Ugh...Metro again, got off at Repubblica and looked at a church there. Metro again and switched to Line B at Termini and got off at the Colesseo. I decided to fork over the cash to get in the Collussium and walked around for an hour or so inside. Afterwards, I went to the Palacio, a huge park and archaeological site. I walked around a lot and finally just had to find my way out. After my trek, I ate a sandwich and made my way back to Termini to make my way to Firenze. I was met in Firenze Santa Maria Novella station by my friend Dan and another Ripon student, Robert. They took me to my hostel (with which I was pleasantly surprised) and then had an adventurous bus ride to their host family's house. They spoke almost no English so it was quite the adventure! (I speak no Italian...) We had a delectable dinner. First course was pasta, followed by ribs and potatoes for the second course. Finally, we had a cream puff pie which was amazing! After dinner, Dan and I headed back to town and when we were almost there, the bus driver pulls over to talk on his phone or something like that. It was lame, so we got off the bus and walked the rest of the way to meet Gena, Dan's girlfriend. We walked around for awhile and Gena bought me some gelato! It was very kind of her! We walked more until they both needed to head home and catch buses. It somehow worked out that I was left there, with no idea where I was. Luckily, I had a map and found my way back to my hostel and went on the internet and talked to Justine for a couple hours online. I can't stress enough how much happiness I feel when I talk to her! After talking, I went up to my room and slept.

5/4

Spending the day alone in Firenze. I decided to take it easy today since I still have all day tomorrow as well. I got up around 9-9:30 and headed out after having some awful espresso. I first went to the basilica of Santa Maria Novella. It was very nice. I then set on my quest to find David, in the Academia gallery. I found it, and only had to queue for about 20-30 minutes before I could get in. I could have went straight to David, but I didn't want to ruin the experience. I instead looked at a musical instrument exhibit first, and then headed to the famous Michelangelo statue. It was truly amazing. I am not one for art, but David is fantastic. Really more than I thought it was going to be! I took some photos, even though you aren't supposed to, but other people were. There were a lot of people there drawing David. The rest of the art there was very pleasant; most was about Jesus and other Biblical scenes. After David, I walked to the Duomo, the big Church of Florence. It's name is something like Santa Maria del Fleurs or something. I had some amazing gelato before that for only 2.50. I went back to my hostel to relax until coming back to the Duomo for Mass that evening.
I took a short nap and then went to the Duomo for Mass in English. Got gelato again after church and walked back to the hostel where I had dinner. I had ravioli, which was decent. Went on the computer for awhile and got off because people were getting antsy to use the 'net. I did come back later to talk to Justine. She seems a little crabby, but any time to talk to her is wonderful. I talked to her, my friend Amelia, and my parents until about 1:30. I went to bed and was almost asleep when the Spanish girls staying in the room as well came back. They couldn't figure out the stupid lights and kept turning the entire room's lights on as well as were very loud. I managed to fall asleep anyway...

6/4

Awoke to the Spanish girls talking and leaving...Gosh they are so loud! Once they left, I got up and got breakfast. I showered and packed my stuff. I got some coffee before I left and charged my Ipod. I am hopefully meeting Dan and Gena at 11 at the bus depot. Note: coffee at hostel NOT good! I met Dan and Gena, and also two more Ripon pals, Lee and Sarah. Dan, Gena, Sarah, and I walked around Firenze and went up on a hill that had a fantastic view of the city. Went into another church and then back down to get cheap gelato. Walked through a park to find a toilet and found a fair going on. We watched some kids play stupid games out on the grass. It was quite entertaining. Walked around for awhile so Dan could show Gena where his house was. Dan departed us and the rest of us headed back to town. Gena got back on a bus to go home and Sarah got on the bus with me so she'd be able to show me where the train station (Campo di Marte) was. This station is SHADY! I saw a dude with hair such that I could not tell where his face was. I called Justine for a 5 minutes and then boarded my train. I found Adam, my friend who I was hoping to meet from St. Andrews, in the same berth as me! Should be a better train!

(Take a breather...I got lots to go...)

7/4

Didn't sleep a whole lot on the train. Awoke to conductor handing two Asian girls their passports and breakfasts and hoping he would come back with mine...He eventually did, just a couple hours later. Got to Zurich, took rail to Luzern and then to Interlaken via the scenic route. Very beautiful! In Interlaken, boarded the train to Grindelwald, where we would be staying, thinking our Eurail pass would cover it. It didn't, and luckily we had gotten some cash at Zurich. Switzerland went downhill from there :) Adam and I got to Grindelwald and didn't know where the hostel was. All we could remember were the directions to follow the brown signs, which there weren't any. I asked at the train station where the hostel was and they gave us directions. We had to walk down the mountain to a town called Grund. Walked down treacherously steep hill with our heavy packs and when we got to the bottom, couldn't find the hostel. Went to the train station there and asked and what do you know?...The hostel is actually in Grindelwald...back up the hill. 100m higher than we were at the moment. We had to walk all the way back up to GW, a brutal walk, to find our beloved hostel. We got there, and nobody was at reception. Waited for an hour until we finally got ahold of someone. However, reception didn't open for another 3 hours. We were hungry so we hauled our packs to the CoOp and I bought some pretzels. We planned to come back later with Pat and Katie to get supplies for cooking dinner. Went to the train station and waited for P and K for an hour and when their supposed train showed, we didn't see them get off. It was time to check-in at our hostel so we just went back there. When we got there, Pat and Katie were there already...somehow they got off the train without us seeing them. Odd. We all took showers and met up to go to CoOp and when we got there, they were closed. We found a restaurant with semi-cheap prices and were forced to eat there. It cost 13.50 for chicken nuggets off the children's menu. We got tap water but I did enquire about a Jack and Coke. It would have cost 14.50 for one! That was more than my dinner! I opted out. After dinner, we went back to the hostel and got our swimsuits because we had free access to the sports centre and ice skating. We decided to skate and it was a lot of fun! For the last 20 min, Pat and I were able to play some hockey. It felt so good to be on skates (horrible skates...) and playing hockey. The rest of the night was pretty lax.

(My fingers are getting sore...I bet your eyes are too.)

8/4

Got up at 7:50 and met A K and P. We walked to the train station because the Eurail pass book said the train left at 8:50; it didn't, it left at 9:20. We got on our way! The trains went well, Grindelwald-Interlaken-Montreaux-Geneva. Once in Geneve, found Adam's hostel and checked him in. After we went to find ours and failed the first time, asked at Adam's hostel and we found it. We were, our our defense, quite close the first time. The hostel couldn't find our booking (it was somehow under the 12th of April) but it all got worked out. Went out into the city and found a large chess board with large pieces. Katie and Adam vs. Pat and I. We won! :D Went to get supplies for dinner again and what? CoOp was closed...again... Shit. Went to the train station because they had a 24/7 shop but it was sooo expensive. Could get a restaurant dinner for their prices. We found a pizzeria and got 4 pizzas and unfortunately, 4 bottled waters (we didn't specify 'tap water'). It cost us CHF 81 (Swiss Francs, eq. to 1 dollar) Ouch...went back to the hostel and called Justine and talked for awhile. Hostel somehow got much shadier...I don't like.

(Almost there!)
9/4

Didn't get much sleep...again...Got up and got free (included, so I guess not really free...) breakfast. Met up with Adam and caught the train to Lyon, then switched trains in Marseilles. In Lyon, had 1 hour so we found a Shell station and bought some beers for the train. On the Lyon to Marseilles train, we played cards and had a beer and likewise on the Marseilles to Nice train. It was the best train I've had so far. Once in Nice, we found our hostel/hotel and saw various sex shops around. We checked in and walked around Nice to find food (no kitchen this time...). We eventually decided, after LOTS of looking, to eat at a fancier place called Treinte 7. We shared a bottle of wine and sat there for 3 hours eating and having a good time. We figured we could eat cheap tomorrow and it would average out to not that expensive :) I had a ravioli dish as a starter (which was enough by itself!), beef stew with pasta as my main course, and a cream dessert. It was so amazing...After dinner, we came home and went to bed.

10/4

Got up at 13:00 (I know...quite late) and left hostel around 14:00. We walked around Nice and to a market where I bought a 1 kg bag of animal crackers for under 2 euro. Nice! We headed to find some actual food and we found a place near the beach. It was ok...not too bad. We headed back to the beach and it was not what I expected. I expected nice white sandy beaches (it is the south of France on the Mediterranean!) but what we found were rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. No sand. The rocks were really smooth though from the ocean and I kept a few of them. After walking along the beach, the sun finally peaked out and it got quite warm in the sun (It had been quite cold beforehand and rainy) We got some bottles of water from a very friendly tabac woman and sat in a park for awhile. We then headed back to the hostel to drop off stuff and then searched for a market again. At the market, I gathered a kiwi, 2 potatoes, 4 carrots, and a small bottle of Scotch. :) Another funny story...when we left the hostel, we came up on this little girl who was squatting near the ground. We got closer and I realized her pants were down and she was taking a piss right over a manhole cover. It was so odd! That night, we played Oh Hell! and Hearts with a couple beers. It was a delightful and non-stressful time. Later on, I went across the street to an internet place and called my parents to tell them I was ok, and then Justine to let her know I was ok as well! Even small opportunities to talk to Justine are like the little Swiss chocolates (which I realize I failed to mention...We got some Swiss chocolate in Geneva. I will post a picture of it on here. It was so amazing...it was expensive, but oh my gosh, it was so good.) small, but sweet, and oh so good! We went to McDonalds for a snack at night and I got a happy meal. It was a great happy meal! It came with chicken nuggets, fries, orange juice, and apple sauce. My toy was Pictionary Junior, en Francais! Awesome. We played some more hearts and went to bed.

Oh yes...we decided, as a group, to venture into one of the sex shops. Never again. Never.

11/4

Got up at 8:20 and got ready to leave. Made way to rail station and waited. Said goodbye to P and K and boarded train with Adam to Milano. I am with 5 middle-aged women and my Ipod won't work. Awesome. Adam is in the compartment next to mine. The train ended up taking 7 hours, when it was supposed to take almost 5 due to various delays. We made it to Milano and Adam took a shuttle to the airport and flew to Frankfurt while I opted to take the overnight train and shuttle in the morning. I got on my train and promptly went to sleep, as I have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning...ouch.

12/4

I am so close to making it back to Scotland. I am exhausted and I am ready to be done. I was ready awhile ago I think. I didn't make it to Frankfurt in time to get the 6:00 shuttle to Hahn Airport, but I did make the 7:00 (once I found the damn shuttle...gosh.) I made it to the airport with plenty of time, but needed to check my bag this time. It cost me 18 euro instead of 9 doing it online. I hate Ryanair. I found Adam at the gate and we were first in line for the 'non-priority' boarding passengers. We are finally back in Edinburgh, and bus is back to St Andrews. I am done. Thank the Lord for safe travels and keeping watch over me and my friends while travelling.

Well...that's about it in a nutshell...what do you think??