Italy

Tuscany countryside Inside the Colosseum Roman Ruins Trevi Fountain St. Peter's Basilica What can I say about Italy? It was the one country that started my bug for traveling. Ever since I can remember I had always wanted to see Italy and I can't believe I finally was able to go. The guys there are pretty shameless...they will just stare you down if they are interested in you or think you are good looking. I must say that everywhere I went I saw cute Italian guys which was a nice sightseeing attraction! ;) The driving is the worst I have ever seen...and I have seen lots of different driving from different countries. They just do not follow any driving laws. I don't think they have any rules. Crossing the street is an art. I was scared for my life more than once. Cars and pedestrians just kinda do whatever they want and I think pray for the best. The cars horns are used all the time. I think it's their most used form of communication. The only downfall was the graffiti. It was such a shame to seeing tagging on almost ever single building I walked passed and I am not even exaggerating. It just makes the city look dirty. The gelato is to die for. I am not a big ice cream person, but this stuff is the best I have ever had. I don't know what they do differently, but I wished we made some like it. I think I had a gelato every day I was there. Of course, the pasta and pizza were amazing as well. I don't know how people living there and eating this kind of food stay in shape. It would be a difficult task, for sure. I was surprised to see how big the city is. I, of course, walked to all the main monuments and cathedrals. Walking is the best way to see the city. I was usually exhausted by the end of the day, but it was well worth it. Friday I did a Tuscany tour and we stopped at 2 towns. there were only 5 of us, but that made it better. We were able to get to know each other and wlak around together. The weather sucked because it was windy and rainy, but it didn't take away from the quaintness of the towns. We were able to do some wine tasting and visit wineries. We also had this absolutely, amazing lunch. It was some pasta, meat and a fabulous dessert. That night I went out with my 2 Brazilian friend I met from the hostile. We walked around the town and stopped in a bar. In this certain area many people will just meet in the street, drink and stay there most of the night. Saturday I had 2 tours. In the morning I did the Vactican and Sistine Chapel. For some reasomn I thought the Sistine would be bigger, but it was still spectatular. Almost every inch of wall and ceiling has painting on it. Too bad no pictures were allowed. Laster I went to St. Peter's Basicila...which is were the Pope comes out to be seen and do mass. It is a huge cathedral. Inside there is just so much to see from the statues and paintings. That afternoon I did a walking tour of Rome. I saw the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Roman Ruins and Colosseum. Of course, at the Trevi I had to throw in my coin. They say that if you throw your coin in backwards you are destined to return to Rome one day...I guess I'll be going back someday in the future. The Colosseum is gigantic. We were able to go inside and look around. The structure itself is amazing, but it's really sad to think about what took place in the past. My tour guide said this venue was for entertainment purposes. It was to help people destress from life. How sad is that!! Watching people and animals die as entertainment. They would use any and every animal they knew of that was in existence at the time. Italy is a place where they build on top of past ruins. Instead of demolishing old buildings they would just build over them. I have pictures where the ground level used to be in the past and where it is today. It is many feet higher than it was in the past. It was very interesting. Sunday I went to Venice. Oh, Venice!! I think it's a magical place. Some people don't like the place, but I am not one of them. Everything about it is just so different from any other place. Who else lives on canals and uses boats as their only form of transportation. There are no cars or bikes in Venice. Well, you can have a bike until you are 5, but I don't that really counts. It was crazy to see many doorways on the canal. St. Mark's Basilica was huge. Pigeons are everywhere and people were even trying to get them to perch on their shoulders and hands. Now that is just gross if you ask me. Who knows where those birds have been. I don't even know how to explain Venice properly, but that it's special. Now it isn't somewhere you would want to spends weeks at (unless you live there) because you would get pretty bored. But I think everyone should see it once. There were gondolas everywhere. Although, I didn't get to go in one this time. I just couldn't bring myself to go on the gondola by myself...that's just depressing. It just means I'll have to go back again and not by myself! It was a great trip and I took tons of pictures. Still I had a lot of transportation changes. From the flights to the trains and buses I am glad I'm not going anywhere for awhile. All that traveling take a lot out of you. Just to give you a taste...On my return home from Italy I took a bus from Venice to the airport. When I arrived in Spain I took another bus to Barcelona. Then I had to take the metro from one spot in Barcelona to a main station in Barcelona. From there I had to take the train to my town. Phew!! Just thinking about it again stresses me out. Venice St. Mark's Basilica

Spanish Holidays

Human castle- this group actually walked around like this (very scary) The giants The big heads A couple of weeks ago there was a religious holiday. Now what is surprising part is how many holidays I have participated in while living in Spain whether it be a religious or just a regular holiday. There has been one almost ever month I have been here. Plus they usually last from Friday to Sunday and sometimes even longer. If it's on a weekday then the entire town shuts down just like it does on Sundays around here. No work or school or shops are open. Now why don't we have something like that. I don't know about anyone else, but I would love to have that many holidays. I think they the Spanish are in the right frame of mind here. Holidays bring the community together and you much much needed time off. I'm ready, sign me up. This particular holiday had a rosary Friday night. It was really nice to witness. The people met in a plaza and everyone lit a candle. Then they all walked from the plaza to the church and in the speakers you could here the priest saying the rosary. Saturday afternoon was a huge mass said by the Bishop and many of the surrounding priests were part of the service. Mass had to be said outside because so many people attend. Afterward, there was a big parade. The parade here are different. They do not have floats like we do, but instead it's a parade of people all dressed in different costumes with music playing. There were also people that dress up in these huge heads or have a dragon or lion body, the giants (these huge people-like dolls that probably are 15-20ft tall) were there as well as the human castles.