Final Day in Maastricht: Through Pictures - Walk to School

I thought it would be fun to describe some of my favorite places in Maastricht, as well as my normal route to University, through pictures. I'll do each in their own post, as with all the pictures it would be SUPER long to include them all in one.

Below is the route I would take each day to school, it may not seem like much to you all, but each little bend in the path, road to cross, store I'd pass or tree-lined street brings back fond memories. The pictures below start at the Guesthouse and finish outside of school. That route takes between 12 and 18 minutes, depending on your speed. :)





This is the front of the Guesthouse, which as you can see takes a bit of a walk to get to from our entrance. This side is the Hospital side, which shares the building with the Guesthouse. This large blue cylinder in front was something we all wondered about. It reminded me of "the blue shampoo" which only my family will understand. :)

The roundabout!


Carolyn and Farzin were my walking pals...

Lots of interesting little shops line the right, and typically small European cars on the left.


Interesting parking signs, eh?

Now...up ahead we turn to the right...


Up ahead on the left you can see Aldi - our good friend.


This part was always nice - lots of trees and usually people out walking around - either at the park which is on the right currently, or to Aldi.



This is where we can choose two routes - I usually go straight across this particular street, but some continue down the street towards the right. Both get you to school. My route is nicer though. :)

After crossing the street...

...we turn down this street to the right...

...which is lined with houses like these!


Then turn to the left...and up ahead back to the right...


And way up there...through the trees...is school!


Ta da!


The entrance to school...


Through those doors is the courtyard.


Welcome to school!

London Top Five

So as you saw from the previous post on London, we covered quite a lot in the few days we were there. I already went into detail about most of the important things, so the things that follow were the random, FUN parts of the trip that I thought needed to be highlighted in a bit more detail.

1. Fictional characters. As you can tell from reading the previous post, I was very excited to be in the home country of two of my favorite characters: Mr. 'arry Potter and Peter Pan! However, we visited the London landmark of only one of these boys. As you know, Platform 3/4 is the place to enter into the fictional Hogwarts train station. It had all of us on the trip thinking about the fictional world J.K. Rowling created and the huge success she had with that series, the movies etc. Pretty amazing considering where she started. And, although Peter was high on my list, we just didn't make it to his statue in Hyde Park. But, there were many landmarks around London that were unofficial reminders of the boy who didn't want to grow up. As a frequent watcher of Peter Pan (it's arguably one of the classics Disney created), the London streetlamps, Big Ben (as Peter and the Darling children stand on the hands of the clock before flying off to Neverland) and the style of homes all remind me of Peter.

2. Funny signs: I told you all that I found some ironic signs during our walk along the Thames on Day #2. I've included them below for you to chuckle at. This is something I enjoy immensely about the English, their humor. Whether it was people we passed chattering loudly on the street, our tour guide the first day, or our numerous waiters, they all have this cheeky, sarcastic way of communicating that is just plain funny. They are direct, right-to-the-point. As the signs below represent spectacularly. Also, at this point in time, we were all pretty hungry. We were on the way to get dinner at the Albert, which was a much longer walk than we all anticipated, especially with how sore our feet were by that point. Or maybe, just mine were. Wearing flat, non-supportive sandals is overrated.



3. Pounds. No, this is not a measure of weight people! This is the currency we had to adjust to using while in London. We always try to guess-timate how much we'll need for the entire trip, especially when we have to convert currency. We learned throughout our travel adventures that it's much more worth our money to take out of an ATM once, and not go to a counter to exchange. Well, we were all quite skilled at staying in the budget and not taking out money more than once. This is was quite difficult to do, especially when surrounded by all the goodies in Camden Market. BUT - when Carolyn and I arrived at the airport, after our near fiasco, we discovered we had pounds left to spend! And it wasn't enough to convert back, so we HAD to go shopping in the airport. We HAD to! :) Carolyn and I had fun trying to find things to buy, and we both found a great shop to purchase items. It was the first time that we literally had to spend money, and we both had a blast picking things out. Who knew the poor exchange rate would actually help us out.

4. Dressing for the Weather. As the pictures show, the BE-A-UTIFUL weather had us all ecstatic to be outside, walking around. This was the first (and last) trip that I didn't wear tennis shoes everyday while walking around, and didn't wear jeans everyday. Because I wanted to wear appropriate attire for the supposed sunny weather, I optimistically packed a skirt for one day (the watermelon outfit) and a dress (sunburn day) for the other. Thus, tennis shoes were simply OUT of the question to be wearing in either of those ensembles. So, for once, I didn't SCREAM American tourist, as I was wearing more relaxed, normal looking clothes. I did get used to my jeans and tennis shoes trip outfit, but it was nice to 'blend in' a bit more. THOUGH - my sandals were NOT conducive to walking around the HUGE city. I had broken them in while in Rome, but man, they really let your feet feel every step. I was definitely voicing my unpleasant foot pain by the end of both days, much to the happiness (I imagine) of my travel buddies. Yet, I wore those sandals both days, which may not have been the most intelligent, but man, the outfit looked GOOD! But, there were consequences - a lovely rose sunburn. Though, I was content with that considering the sun was out to help give us some pretty pictures. :)

5. English Food. This Top Five wouldn't be complete without discussing the delicious food (and drinks) we consumed properly documented. As I've already hinted at, most UK food is quite hearty - large in portions, very filling foods, and also delicious. We had the tasty fish and chips for lunch that first day - which simply seeps of English essence, as well as the amazing meal we had at the Albert. The one I so kindly posted a nice, large picture in the previous blog for you all to enjoy. No matter is it was a large meal, or just a snack, every food we consumed in London truly hit the spot. (Even my enjoyable Whippie - see right) I also enjoyed that every meal our group shared was one where you look forward to simply sitting there - chatting and eating with friends - without a real rush. Perhaps we picked up this relaxed attitude from our time in Italy, but either way, we always REALLY enjoyed meal time in London.

Well my friends, that's the end of all the trips' Top Five/Ten lists. I'll cover one final 'Top' list from my entire trip - but that will be more about things I've taken away than particular events/things that happened. I'm actually excited that I am writing this almost a year later, as it's truly given me great perspective about my experience. It has really taken to be back in the midst of normal, 'American' life to really understand the fantastic experience I was able to have and particular life lessons I've brought home with me.

Londontown

So it's back to the blog I go, as I have time before the real work of the semester kicks in. Ironically enough, it was about a year ago exactly that I left to go abroad. Funny that it's taken this long to finish!

So how did I happen to get to London? Well, this was the last trip we planned, exactly a week after our epic Italian adventure. It was right before we had to start hitting the books - quite hard in fact - to study for finals. So it was truly a trip to 'live it up' and take time to relax whenever possible.

We were really excited about our hostel as it was only a few blocks from Hyde Park - the infamously large park that is home to the Peter Pan statue. (Sadly, this was something we didn't make it to see, so one of those things on the list of "must-see" when I make it make to Europe. This make-up trip is going to happen. I know this.)

But back to the trip. Our plane landed in the evening, as most of our planes seemed to do. So we had to learn to navigate the 'Tube'. We were delighted to find out that our stop to get off was on Baker Street - the infamous avenue that housed Sherlock Holmes. We had to switch 'lines' a few times but were completely successful. We found our hostel on a very quaint little street. It was a perfect hostel - one that was cozy, and fit perfectly into the culture of the city. We girls had a room to share with other hostelers...8 others in fact. (Carolyn and I) The boys had a different room. We never mastered all getting a room together. But back to our room with lots of people - it was another one of my favorites - LOFTED! There was only one open bed up in the loft however, so Carolyn and I flipped for it. WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! I slept wonderfully up in my sweet, lofted bed under the skylight which looked right up at the stars.

Day one in the city started off nicely. Their was a large kitchen/seating area in the hostel where we all enjoyed coffee and lots of toast and jam to start the day off right. Then it was off to explore! In proper London tourist fashion, the first photo op of the day was in a telephone booth. It was only appropriate. :)

We began the wandering...we walked down the side of Hyde Park, and past the Prince Albert memorial and Albert Memorial hall. (He was a popular guy!) Lots of park pictures as we walked along of course. Soon enough we made it down to Buckingham Palace (bottom photo below)! We had timed it as to see the changing of the guard, but so did everyone visiting London it seems. We took some pictures, though we were quite far away. It was also about this time that the sun was getting exceptionally hot. We all started seeing the signs of sun burn! (This was actually exciting...as Europe, especially England, rarely sees sunshine.) We also saw the Victoria Memorial (top photo below) which is right out front. At that point we thought we'd try to see a more close-up view of the guards, so we changed to a more close spot to view the passing 'changing of the guard parade'. Sadly though, they kept the guards on the other side of a chain link fence (see very top photo - that was as close as we could get. The movies sadly set up high expectations which were dashed. Thank you Hollywood.) We did what we could though, and snapped photos continuously. :)

Side note - we thought it would be fun to do one of the free walking tours, as London IS such a big city and we wanted to make sure we saw the best stuff. We joined up with the group right before the Palace. So with the group we traveled on to the St. James Palace, the Trafalgar Square (see below and note the sunburned faces), and the Horse Guards Palace (one of the major spots for the sporting events of the 2012 Olympics!). Then it was off to see Big Ben (which brought me back to Peter Pan and their pit-stop on the clock face) and to Westminster Abbey. The church was a beauty, truly, but we didn't make it inside as our group was moving on to the later stops.

The next stop - my favorite. FOOD! We went to a great little pub to get traditional UK fare - fish and chips (see right...it was tastier than it looks and the fish is sitting on more fries...I swear I got more than seven). It was just as tasty as last time I had it - back in Dublin. At lunch we all assessed our sun burns - which were actually QUITE bad. My nose rivaled Rudolph's and my forehead matched stop signs all over the world. Thankfully, I was in a dress that day, so I was cool as we walked around. However, my shoulders got quite pink! Poor Ryan was beet red. His skin loves sun more than mine (who thought that was possible).

But, it was back out into the streets to discover more of London. This time it was just our group, as the 'tour group' ended at lunch. We made our way towards the Thames. We lounged about in a park by the river - in the SHADE before heading closer and taking in the view of the river itself and the London Eye. We walked along the river for the majority of the afternoon, eating whippies (what they call ice cream) and stopping to take photos at all appropriate opportunities. (In our group - this is ALL THE TIME!) Parliament was a popular photo opp as was the, other side, of Big Ben. (See left for the London Eye, the Thames AND my whippie...and below is me taking in Parliament.)

My other favorite time of the day - DINNER was up next. But before we could do this - we wanted to make it back to the hostel. Which, was on the OTHER side of London! We accidentally took the scenic route back, which may or may have been due to my inability to read the map. (Hard to believe, right!?) But after about another hour, with rumbling tummies, we made it. We did make stops along the way though - including Buckingham Palace once again. This time, we could get right up next to the gates and yes, photos happened. (See right for one of those.) Back at the hostel we asked directions to any nearby restaurant that was 1) cheap and 2) TASTY! We ended up roaming some very cute neighborhood streets as we made our way to this small Italian restaurant. I know, I know, Italian food? We had that LAST week. (HA!) But pasta was something we all needed to fill up on, and there was no wait. Which was ideal! The inside of the restaurant was painted like giant fresco, and with a glass of wine, it almost felt like we were back in Italia. (Plus, see left...that pasta makes me drool right now! Well, again, maybe that's just me.) After we finished up, we walked back to the hostel and to our snug little beds. (HA, mine was the cozy, LOFTED bed!) A wonderful day, FULL of the sights of London, but yet, there was so much left to see! My poor feet took a beating that first day, in my flat, non-supportive sandals. But out of principle (it was warm AND more attractive than my usual tennis shoes AND I was wearing a skirt the next day) I wore them on day two as well. Yes my friends, I am a champion. I may whine (which I did, on multiple occasions) but I, am, a champion.

So, day numero two! What better way to start off the day (in our minds) than at Platform 9 3/4?!? For you non-Harry Potter fans, this is his mythical Tube stop. We made our way to King's Cross and attempted to find HP's place. (We had time to kill while waiting for our different trains, so to the left is a us, less sunburned and PUMPED for some HP sightseeing...in the Tube station.) It took awhile, as the stop they've now made into a tourist attraction, is NOT between stops 9 and 10 (which, c'mon London - is where it SHOULD be!), it was between 8 and 9. What the hell, right?! That's what we thought. But, we did find it after getting some help, and took the appropriate "running-into-the-wall-picture." (See below) Sadly, we didn't get through the wall and could not board the Hogwarts Express. Damn the bad luck! I didn't need to see anymore, it was a good day...we could go back to the hostel. But, it was only 10:00 AM...so we walked onwards.

That day we got a tube pass, as we discovered it would get us to all the places we missed the day before as well as save our poor feet. We had definitely put a lot of miles in the day before, so the slight extra cost was well worth it. (Less complaining by yours truly as well.) Next, we wanted to see Regents Park - which, we were told, were some of the prettiest gardens in London. thanks to our friend the Tube, we got there quickly. It was yet another BEAUTIFUL day so we took lots, and LOTS of park pictures. I found a tree that I happened to match that day, in fact! He knew I was coming. Smart tree. (See right) The park was massive, and we walked around only a part of it before we were ready to head off to the next adventure - CAMDEN MARKET!

This was particularly exciting for Carolyn and I, as we are very into finding fun things to buy. Particularly, jewelry! We told the guys we'd meet up later, and we wandered around, looking at all the great stuff out for sale. We found our way into a location that was all jewelry and I knew I was going to be purchasing something! I found a very neat, candy-looking necklace which was lots of colored glass squares strung together with a narrow, curvy bead in-between each square. I wear it a lot back home, and always enjoy telling those that ask where it's from. I also found a few pairs of earrings...which were one of the easiest AND best purchases I made in Europe. Why? They take up NO SPACE in your luggage, are still very neat and easily wearable with many things, and also a great conversation starter. (Yes, I'm a genius. A rebel...as discussed below... and a genius, and surprisingly, usually modest. :)

We grabbed lunch around this time - nothing fancy, just sandwiches at at little shop. Very much in the budget. We all were, by this time, scrapping the bottom of our bank accounts. It was our last trip, and we all were heading home in only a few weeks time. But, we also wanted to save our pennies, well, pounds, for a hearty, BIG dinner. More on that, later.

St. Paul's was next! The site of Charles and Diana's wedding and the soon-to-be royal couple - William and Kate! This one we were able to go inside, and it was indeed breathtaking. I LOVED the floor - which was black and white tiles. Sadly, pictures inside = illegal. However, after feeling extra rebellious after my Sistine Chapel activities, snagged one. It sadly isn't the best - only of the ceiling. BUT - proof my friends. I am, indeed, a rebel. (I posted a better picture though - see right. If you want to see proof, I can show you my album.)

Snack time was next - aka - FOOD! We found ice cream, again, as it was another hot day. We sat in the shade at St. Paul's as we consumed our treats. Now it was time to head across the Thames, so we found Millennium Bridge and made our way across. None of our group are big 'art' people, except me (at times). But, Carolyn really wanted to go inside the Tate Gallery, so we did! (See right - Millennium Bridge and the Tate in the background.) It was free, if I remember correctly. (Which was probably part of the appeal). But, it was a lot of very strange, extremely modern art. We lasted....oh...about a half hour. The less than appealing art mixed with the walking, standing pain in our feet, led us to the exit (or sortie as they say). We wandered on, along the Thames, past the Globe Theater (see left) and onto more cobblestone streets. I found a sign that is PERFECT for me, as we walked. It will be in the Top Five. So prepare for humor in that post. (Below is our group in front of the Tate, which isn't in the photo obviously, with St. Paul's and the Millennium Bridge in the background.)

We were walking in the direction of Tower Bridge (see left, I'm on the bridge with a bit of the Tower in the background), as we planned on walking back across over it. It didn't take us long before we were there, and on the other side admiring the infamous Tower of London. I've always had this curiosity about the Henry VIII era time in England. I have read many books, mostly fiction, about that time including quite a few on Anne Boleyn. Needless to say, seeing the Tower Green gave me chills. Ooky (rhymes with kooky) to think what went on, both in that building and on the Green. Crazy what humans do to each other out of fear.

On to a happier note, it was DINNER TIME! We wanted to hit up this pub we came across the day before - the Albert (see left). We saw a sign for their dinner option - which was a buffet of sorts - and beverages they had available. We were sold. (Doesn't take much for our group. Or maybe, just me.) I enjoyed my very first, hard cider. I highly recommend (see right)! If you are at all into champagne, it's the closest thing I could think of to compare it to. Less bubbly, however. Our dinner was about as English as possible, which was not only extremely delicious, but a lot of fun to eat while in London. Delicious roast beef, hearty mashed potatoes and even bread pudding (see below...AWESOME right? You drooling? If not, you should be...I made the picture the largest size for a reason)! We slowly wandered home...wanting to take in the last sights of London. We walked back along the parks, and by the Wellington Arch (our original meeting spot for the tour group the day prior which you can see on the right) and along a pretty little pond in Hyde Park (at the very bottom of the post). It was getting dark, and the park was closing in enough time where venturing to see Peter Pan's statue wasn't feasible. The only, true letdown of the trip. But as I said - I'll come back to see my friend Peter. He'll still be there.

We walked back to the hostel to take in the last hours of London. Our flight was VERY early the next morning, so we were packed up and ready to go at an insane hour. The girls that is. The boys were staying longer in London, to see more sights as they could miss more of their classes than Carolyn or I could, or dared to, prior to exams. (I may be a rebel, but I'm not stupid!) But back to the early flight, we were waiting for our shuttle to take us to the airport. And it was late. VERY LATE. We were starting to panic that it wouldn't arrive and we'd miss our plane! Carolyn and I were on the verge of legitimately freaking out when it pulled up. THANK GOD! We were ever so thankful to be on the bus, even if it was an obscene hour. We had plenty of time at the airport to make it to the gate. A Top Five moment even had time to occur. We made the plane, made the trains/buses to make it back to Maastricht...all by mid-afternoon. Just in time...to study. Damn!

In all, I really enjoyed London. But, the city is truly HUGE! We saw a lot of great things, but so many were missed due our minimal time there. I would love to go back, to take more time to wander the parks, shop at Camden Market (dangerous!) and go inside Westminster Abbey. There are also some great museums that we didn't go to, for lack of time. And, my friend Peter and I need to finally meet.

My friends, the travels are almost over. I do still have the trip home to document for you as well as our 'final' day around Maastricht. I'd love to share that particular day, through pictures. We walked along our daily route to University, by our favorite pub, by the river again, to our beloved train station, past our very close friend Bart (home of the exploding pastry) and by the Vrijthof one last time. Stay tuned for the London Top Five - hopefully you're excited to read that - and the finals days in Maastricht. I will not however, blog about exams. I know, I know, you're VERY disappointed. But let me tell you, not worth it. Those exams were the most stressful thing I've ever done in my life, and I would rather talk about things that were FUN and HAPPY. Exams = the opposite of those words.

Hope you enjoyed London...Top Five up next!

Italia Top Ten

Yes, yes...as you may imagine, this top ten is primarily about food. BUT - I was in Italy, so it should be expected. Read at your own risk, as it may make you start to drool. It does for me at least. :)

1. Gelato: I know I have posted numerous photos of this heavenly food, but it needs one last commemoration. I have always been a fan of ice cream, but gelato is on a whole other level. We felt the need to have gelato at least once a day, trying new flavors whenever possible. I am a huge mint chocolate chip fan, but discovered that the more fruity flavors where in fact, even better gelato flavors. Flavors like mango, strawberry, tangerine etc. However, sometimes, one just needs a little chocolate in their day (see right). And one must always do two scoops, one scoop is for the wimpy gelato eaters out there. GO BIG OR GO HOME...as I always say. Also, it was interesting to see how the gelato would come accessorized..such as this pic, to make the whole eating process EVEN more enjoyable. I recommend this tasty treat for both hot, sticky days as well as cold, rainy days. No matter the weather, gelato hits the spot.

2. Pizza: I have always liked pizza...as do most individuals I believe. However, until one has tasted Italian pizza, you have not really had pizza. This is thin, crispy crust, a sweet sauce and cheese that slides right off the top. I usually vote for pepperoni, but now believe there's not anything that can beat the margherita pizza. The herbs that are scattered about on the top make this pizza to DIE for. This is the food I think about the most, now that I'm back in the U.S. I always end up trying to strategically hide my drool as I sit in lecture or other public setting. Now that I know the dream that is Italian pizza, that will be the first food I consume when I make a return visit. The only place at home that I've found can come close to the real deal is Punch Pizza. It's also fantastic, but it can't quite replicate the original. (sigh.)

3. Italian Accents: I had to break up all this food talk with something else. Listening to Italians speak was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It's a soothing yet energizing language that includes the entire body. Hand gestures, head bobs and of course, their animated facial expressions. Whether it was a waiter in a restaurant, a couple walking by on the street, our gondolier or someone selling us trinkets to take home - they all were so fun and entertaining to talk to. I sincerely wish I knew more Italian words than "Ciao" and "Bella" because it would have been a great time to be able to communicate in Italian and not English. But, even without knowing the language, I still appreciated its lively sound throughout the trip.

4. Prosecco: I know I mentioned this wonderful drink before, but it deserved a mention in the Top Ten. For those that missed the previous mention, Prosecco is Italian champagne. What I wanted to highlight from this in particular, is that it was sold at little shops on the street, and you could take your glass and sit by the canal or the sidewalk and sip away (see right). It was the most refreshing thing to sip in the middle of the day...as you take in the sights around you. It fit well with the relaxed lifestyle of the Italians and was a great pick-me-up after walking around all day - especially in Venice. It's unfortunate that Prosecco is so dang expensive back home. Definitely a new favorite.

5. Wall-sits. Now you may be thinking, what!?! Wall sits?!? What does this have anything to do with Italy? Well, there was a little friendly competition that happened as our group walked back to our hostels one night after dinner. Ryan, felt he was superior in the wall sit competitive arena (if there was one) and Carolyn and I felt that was a challenge. Well, I failed miserably, lasting a long time for ME but not so much compared to the legs of Carolyn and Ryan. In the end, Ryan defended his title. It was such a hilarious, spontaneous thing that I felt it was necessary to highlight. It was spontaneous things like this that made the trip fun. (Picture to the left is mid-competition...and no hands were allowed, thus the hands up against the wall...)

6. Activities to do while it's pouring outside: As I referenced during the "More Roma Tomatoes", it began pouring on our group right after we saw and sat on the Spanish Steps. The closest hideout we could find from the rain was a McDonalds, and we knew we'd be there awhile, considering how hard it was raining. We were sitting around a table, after consuming our snacks and wondering what we could do to entertain ourselves. Some of our friends back at Maastricht had told us about a great game we decided to try. Everyone in the group needed five pieces of paper (the amount of people in our group.) First, everyone wrote down a phrase on one piece of paper...preferably containing a noun and a verb. The papers were then passed along to the person to the right and that person had to draw what they saw written on the first piece of paper. Again then, the papers were passed, only this time, the third person writes a description of the drawing they see from the person before them. They are not allowed to see the original description on the first piece of paper. The papers are passed a fourth time, and a picture must be drawn from the description written etc. You can do this with any number of people but five worked wonderfully. At the end, each person reveals what they originally wrote and the two drawings and descriptions that followed. It was HILARIOUS! Our group already had a colorful sense of humor and that mixed with the horrible drawing abilities we all possessed, well, it was a great time. I highly recommend this game to anyone - all you need is tiny pieces of paper and writing utensils. Above right is one of the more tame examples. :)

7. Canals. Something we enjoyed doing, on purpose, was getting lost. This was especially true while wandering the back alleys and 'roads' of Venice. Around every turn - literally - was another canal. We got in a good workout that day as we were climbing lots of stairs to get up and over bridges. There were some beautiful canals - with the water-soaked walls of the buildings adding to the charm. I could walk the streets of Venice for hours without getting bored. Here's just one of the neat canals we stumbled upon.

8. History. This deals more with Rome than Venice, but every single monument we passed, or street we walked down - each had their own, EXTENSIVE history. Walking around the Colosseum alone gave me chills knowing the events that used to happen within those walls. So many eyes have seen the inside of that monumental building, from all walks of life. The royalty to the common man to the gladiator fighting - everyone was a part of that building's history. Then you factor in the Vatican and the religious history and symbolism that entire city-state represents. Seeing the wonders that artists like Bernini and Michelangelo created makes you want to pinch yourself. Staring at certain sculptures makes you almost well up with tears, just in wonder of how the hell someone created something that looks so wonderful and has created the following that it has. For instance - not only is the Sistine Chapel something we all learned about as little kids, similarly to the Mona Lisa - but it also is where the Pope is elected. That place has seen so much history that it is astounding. That coupled with the fact that it's a beautiful piece of art is...well...so cool. I kept thinking about parts of Angels and Demons as we walked by the monuments mentioned in that book, which were only mentioned because of the mysterious and infamous history with both the artist and the Catholic church. All just things that made me go "hmm..." throughout the trip.

9. Rain. Well, we lucked out immensely with the weather on our trip. We were supposed to suffer from rain every single day we were in Italy and somehow only had a few rainy days. But, when it rains, it RAINS! In Venice we picked up pretty quickly that rain ALWAYS means flooding. The canals are so close to the level of the streets, at least when we were there, that the flooding happens almost as soon as raindrops start to fall. We had to jump around puddles as we made our way back to the hostel on our last night in Venice or we would have had wet shoes and pants...up to our calves in some spots! (See right for some examples of canal over-flow). Rome was also a bit rain-filled, as mentioned previously. Thankfully though, my lovely plaid umbrella that I bought in Venice for a whopping 3 euros, kept me nicely dry. Rain - can ruin your day, but only if you let it. :)

10. Time. This has two meanings - one, we didn't have enough, in my opinion. And two, the Italians never rush. Everything is about enjoying the moment, whether it's your glass of wine, your meal, the people you're with, anything. The Italian way of life - I picked up quickly - was all about going with the flow. As we all know I struggle a bit in this area, I actually enjoyed this lifestyle however. Venice especially for our group was about..."let's go do....THIS..." or "I'm starting to get hungry, perhaps....lets grab some...gelato!" Just kind of a go with the flow attitude felt natural. And also, I knew after our trip came to a close, that Italy was my favorite place. I had been VERY adamant that I didn't have a favorite place - as you well know - but as soon as I left Italy I wanted to go back! I am in luck however, as my younger brother Greg wants to study abroad in Florence at some point in his college career. I'm starting to save NOW so that I can hopefully make a trip back to the country (and the food, let's be frank) that I love so dearly.

That my readers, is the END, FINALLY of Italy. I dragged it out long enough, huh?!? One last trip to document - London. I will keep that particular recollection a bit more brief. Coming soon, stay tuned!

"Andiamo la messa"

Day #4 started off with us all packing up our bags. We wanted to be ready to head out as soon as we got back to our hostel post-Mass. Bags packed, us girls headed to the train station. We waited...and waited...and waited. The boys were notorious throughout the trip for being LATE for our meeting times. As it was the last day, and we were NOT missing Mass, we left without them. If they wanted to go, in our minds, they'd meet us there. We made our way to the subway and took it all the way over to Vatican City, yet again. We walked into St. Peter's Square to find the line much more manageable and actually moving. The sun was even, slightly, out! We patiently waited as we got shuffled into the Basilica. (Picture at right is right outside, before getting into the line which you can see way in the background, right up against the Basilica)

Our friends the night before had told us that we needed to tell the guards (who stopped people from going from the front of the Basilica into the nave - or area where the Mass takes place) "andiamo la messa" or "we're going to mass" to allow them to let us through. After staring in awe at the ceiling, the sculptures and Michelangelo's beautiful Baldacchino in the middle of the Basilica, we made our way through the crowd gathered at this separation point - between the rest of the Basilica and the area for mass. We worked our way through the people and up to the guards. The phrase worked like magic, the guards let us through, to the bewilderment of the other people who had been waiting. They didn't have priest friends on the inside! Ha! (Below top - The Pietà sculpted by Michelangelo; middle below is Bernini's Baldacchino; the bottom photo is Bernini's Cattedra Petri and Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament which is behind the altar.)

The first mass was finishing up, so we slowly made our way up the side of the pews and as soon as the people started filing out, we made our way in and into one of the middle pews. Within a few minutes we spotted one of our priest friends from the night before as well as the boys sheepishly making their way up the aisle. Mass started pretty quick. It was all in Latin, which I had never heard before. The hymns were also all in Latin, and we all just listened and took in the beauty of the church. I didn't have any idea what the homily was about (if only I knew Italian!) but I was enjoying the beautiful music and the gorgeous view of the church. After mass we tried to make our way outside as quick as possible - to get a spot that provided a view of the Pope's Apartments, from where he would be speaking. We came out to a PACKED St. Peter's Square! It held thousands of people - 150,000 was the estimation from the media. (see right) We found out later that there were a few different groups there that day, protesting certain beliefs/messages the Pope had recently brought to light within the Catholic church.

We found a spot where we could see and then the Pope started speaking. He spoke a few different languages throughout his speech - all heard through speakers throughout the Square - talking to 'his people' in the Square. Every now and then we would see his arm sticking out his window, blessing those in the Square. From our view we could only see his arm, so all my pictures have this little white-robed arm sticking out of the window. (See left) I even took a video - so neat to think we were listening to the Pope himself.

After he was finished speaking, it took over 45 minutes to leave the Square. There were just SO MANY people! We also got separated, AGAIN, from the boys. We had already set a time to meet up for our bus to the airport, so we took our time and walked back. WALKING took quite a long time, but we knew with the crowds, the subway would have taken quite awhile. It was fun to see all the sights of Rome, one last time, on the way back to the hostel. Our final stop was to grab one last gelato! (see right)

Once back at the hostel, we grabbed our bags and headed to the train station - where the shuttle buses were located. Without any issues, we all made in onto the bus and to the airport. The lines at the airport didn't take long, and before we knew it - we were airborne and headed back home. As always, getting from the airport...to the train station...to home takes QUITE awhile, but we managed to make it back to Maastricht safe and still tasting the foods of Italy on our tongues. Or maybe just me. :)