Bulgaria

Sunday 24:           

Before we could disembark, a US ambassador came on the ship to speak to us about Bulgaria. He talked to us about Bulgaria’s government, economy, briefed us a little bit about its history and discussed its relations with the United States. When we finally got off the ship we quickly learned how little there is to do in Bulgaria. Unlike the other countries we have visited that have so many famous sites to go see, there really isn’t anything historical to view here. It might end up being nice though to have a break from all the touristy things and just chill a bit. Ever since we left the Bahamas, we have been going non-stop. Between finding time to do homework and exploring all of the countries, there has been little down time to rest and we are all pretty tired. Bulgaria might be the country where we can finally just relax!

First thing we did was hit the beach. It was yet another topless one, so we decided what the heck, why not finally try it out too? Even within the small group of girls I was with, it was just awkward to lay out topless and we quickly put out bathing suits back on. Europeans are just way more comfortable with their bodies and I realized how guarded Americans truly are. There was a volleyball tournament happening on the beach so we checked that out for a little before heading into town to eat lunch. We found a restaurant called Happy Grill, which was a chain originating in Varna. It was pretty much their equivalent of a Chilli’s. I had great chicken kebabs though that were called the Happy Lady. When we finished eating we walked around the town a bit. There was a triathlon race occurring and we watched by the finish line for a little while eating some gelato. We then continued walking around and found a really nice park where outdoor vendors were selling books. I found the Bulgarian versions of the Harry Potter and Justin Bieber books. Two of my favorite things! Haha Then we went to this outdoor naval museum which only consisted of like 4 marine vessels and an old anchor. It really wasn’t much of a museum, more like decorative objects in the park. Since that turned out to be a bust we went back to the beach…a good ole standby. There are loads of bars near the water so after some time we went to a nearby one for drinks before going back to the ship to eat dinner in an effort to save some money. At night we went back out and spent the rest of our evening at a bar along the beach.

Monday 25:

As if we didn’t get enough sun yesterday, we hit the beach once again today.  This time though we went to Golden Sands, which was a resort area 25 minutes away. It kind of felt like you were at the board walk with lots of little stalls to buy things at, hair braiders and even a Ferris wheel. We spent all day there just hanging out, tanning and swimming in the Black Sea before coming back around 5:00 PM to make dinner on the ship. We all checked our bank balances the other day and since seeing the amount are trying really hard to save money now. Europe is unbelievably expensive, especially when you have to purchase things like water at every meal.

After taking naps we went back to the bars along the beach until a bunch of our professors showed up and it just got awkward. One of my professors proposed to his girlfriend in Greece so he is just basically here to have a good time. I guess he went out celebrating tonight with some of the other professors. Anyways, it was just weird to see them so we relocated and ended up going to a club called Copacabana. It was really cool and kind of looked like you were inside a treehouse. We danced for a while on the stage before being kicked off to make room for the performer. A Bulgarian rapper got on stage and all of the locals got so excited. I guess he is famous here? We had no idea what he was rapping but it was cool nonetheless and it made for a great night.

Tuesday 26:

Today I went on an FDP that took us to the towns of Balchik and Kaliakra. Balchik is a charming little town that was originally founded as a Greek colony in the 6^th century BCE and is located along the Black Sea coast. It became a Romanian territory in 1913 and then the land was returned to Bulgaria later in 1940 with the Craiova Agreement. When we arrived, we first toured the botanical gardens, which are the 2^nd largest in Europe. The grounds include numerous plant species, a small mosque and chapel, shallow canals, earthen jars from Morocco and the Silver Well. It was a really picturesque site and our tour guide shared with us several Bulgarian legends as we walked through the garden. Then we toured the small palace of Queen Maria of Romania, which had served as her summer residence. It is only a three-story building and there isn’t much to it but it was still pretty cool to check it out. Afterwards, we hopped back onto our bus to continue north to Cape Kaliakra, the longest cape along the Bulgarian coast. Kaliakra was an important fortress between the 14^th-19^th centuries. Here we saw the remains of the fortress and our tour guide shared with us even more Bulgarian legends associated with this area. It was really gorgeous and we had great views of the surrounding cliffs.

We then continued our tour to participate in a program known as “Fiesta Bulgaria.” Here we ate a buffet dinner that included a variety of salads, appetizers and typical Bulgarian entrees. Afterwards we watched a folkloric show, which started out pretty cool but then quickly turned very odd when they switched to doing more American routines. The show became more like a variety show and the performers did a can-can dance, a cowboy routine and then one number had the dancers wearing Las Vegas-esque costumes. Another routine was a girl who danced while hoola hooping and then there was a slinky performance which I will just have to explain in person but it was very very strange. At this point, all we could do was laugh. It was very obvious that Bulgaria’s tourism isn’t quite up to par yet and that this program was making an attempt to appeal to American interests by doing what they perceived to be Western performances. During one of the dances they grabbed members from the audience and picked Dakota and the grandfather of another SAS kid named Owen. Ahh it was too funny watching them try and keep up with the Bulgarian dancers! Then the show stopped and there was time to dance. The DJ alternated between playing American and European music. When the macarana played, however, both Americans and Europeans were familiar with the song and everyone danced together. Later the YMCA came on but none of the Bulgarians knew that song. They watched as we motioned with our arms the letters and after about 3 times, finally caught on and joined in to dance. It was really awesome to see the two cultures come together. Although we couldn’t understand each other’s languages, we connected through the music. A little bit later on, the dancing ended to clear the performance area for the fire dance. We listened to traditional music while watching a man and woman dance with their bare feet on hot coals. It is a dance typical of Bulgarian culture so it was cool that we got to experience it. On the bus ride back to the ship, our tour guide decided to sing to us the Bulgarian national anthem. We he finished singing our professor, who is from the Czech Republic, then decided to sing her anthem which was then followed by our Executive Dean singing his national anthem of Italy. This ended up becoming a karaoke session, mainly led by Tommy (of course!) and we got back to the ship around midnight singing songs from Disney, Backstreet Boys, Britney and others all along the way.

Wednesday 27:

This morning we woke up early to take a service trip to a disabled center for children. The center is open for the children from 7AM to 7PM and can hold up to 40 kids. We learned when we got there that half of the children are orphans and those with families are put in this center because their parents can’t provide for them daily. The center is state owned, understaffed and the building is very small. The workers only receive 200 American dollars a month so it is essentially volunteer work and therefore is difficult to find people to care for the children. The kids aged from 5-35 years and had several disabilities including different forms of mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism. We spent the day just playing with all of the children and spending time with them. I did arts and crafts, colored, played volleyball and ran around the backyard with them. Then the director of the center put on music and all of the kids sang and danced for us and eventually we joined in the dancing with them. I was really sad to leave them and wanted to adopt them all. How would you have liked some Bulgarian children as souvenirs Mom and Dad? Haha As we walked out, I asked our guide how long the children are allowed to stay at the center. She said that after the age of 35, if they do not have relatives to live with, they are transferred to an adult facility but essentially this means “the end of their life” because they are not provided any support or assistance and are expected to live on their own, even the ones with disabilities. It was so heartbreaking and now I want to start a foundation or something to provide care for these orphans.

When we got back to the ship, we found out that Semester at Sea had made the front page of their newspaper. Bulgaria hardly ever gets American tourists so to receive 800 of us all at once was quite an event for them! Overall Bulgaria was cool but I think the majority of the SAS kids were still bitter that we were here instead of Egypt. The original itinerary had us traveling there, but because of recent events, it was too dangerous for us to go to Egypt and thus the ship decided to come to Bulgaria instead. I probably will never travel back here again but I still am thankful that I got to experience the country.

Pictures: 1. Beach along the Black Sea 2. Bar along the beach 3. Botanical Gardens at Balchik 4. Botanical Gardens at Balchik 5. Cape Kaliakra 6. Cape Kaliakra 7. Cape Kaliakra 8. Fiesta Bulgaria 9. Fiesta Bulgaria 10. Disabled Center for Children

Greece

Sunday 17:

Our first day in Greece was pretty uneventful for the most part. We walked around for a bit in Piraeus, the port city where our ship is docked but there really isn’t much to see there. It was very hot and we were told the wrong directions so ended up walking around aimlessly for a while, not so fun. We eventually made it back to the ship, grabbed our bags and caught a taxi to take us to the ferry. We had a very interesting conversation with our driver. He explained to us his opinion on Greek’s economic situation and also informed us that starting tomorrow all taxi drivers will be on a 48-hour strike. When we got dropped off, we got on a 5:45 PM ferry to Mykonos, supposedly the second biggest party island in the Mediterranean after Ibiza. The ferry was enormous and even our economy seats were really nice. On board there was a café and a shop. It was a 3.5-hour trip to Mykonos and we were so excited when we finally arrived! Our hotel was called the Acrogaili and was right on the beach. Later on in the evening we explored downtown and had our first gyros in Greece. The place we bought them from stuffed French fries inside so it was pretty much like a heart attack in a meal. Too bad the saying “When in Rome” no longer applies…haha It was absolutely delicious though and I will just make sure I do Insanity back on the ship!

Monday 18:

After eating breakfast at our hotel, we laid out on the beach all day long. The water was so clear and the sand really white. Along the coast you would see lots of white houses with a blue door and shutters. Tanning was interrupted by a late lunch at the restaurant in our hotel where we had bruschetta, grilled salmon and loukoumades, which were very similar to donut holes. At night we went out to Paradise Club, which was this really cool club with a pool in the middle. Martin Solveig was performing that night which could not have been any more perfect since his song “Hello” has kind of become the anthem of our summer so far. My friends and I sing it all the time when we are walking around. We were able to get into the VIP section and had our own table with bottle service. It was a lot of fun and I made it back to our hotel at 6:00 am just in time to see the sunrise.

Tuesday 19:

Because I only got two hours of sleep, waking up this morning was so difficult! But I needed to catch an early morning ferry on my own back to Piraeus so I could see Patra (a friend from home and my freshman college roommate). When I got to the ship, her uncle picked me up and drove me into Athens so I could meet up with Patra and her family at the Acropolis Museum. While we were driving, her uncle informed me that the taxi strike had been extended another 24 hours…great.

The taxi strike has already proved to be extremely inconvenient. Not only will they not drive you anymore, many drivers are now parking their taxis in the middle of the streets blocking off roads. It is just becoming a big nuisance and one SAS trip almost didn’t make it to their destination due to taxis blocking the bus that was taking all of the students. The taxi drivers yelled at the bus driver for not following the strike and eventually all of the SAS students had to get off of the bus and walk with all their luggage to the ferry where the bus was supposed to be taking them. SAS ended up making the Greek news because of this incident!

When I got to the Acropolis Museum, I finally got to be reunited with Patra and it was so awesome seeing her again! We walked around the whole museum and it was pretty cool to see all of the statues, vases, etc. that they had excavated and preserved. Afterwards we went back to her hotel to shower and got ready for dinner where we were joined by her aunt, uncle and two cousins. We ended up eating on the rooftop of a restaurant that had a direct view of the Acropolis. It was a phenomenal meal with so many courses. We had bread, wine, Greek salad, shrimp, tuna salad, swordfish, grouper, yalaktobouriko (a pastry filled with cream), after dinner liquor and Greek coffee. Wow! As we ate the sun began to go down and the Acropolis became lit up at night. After dinner, her aunt drove me back to ship and I was finally able to get some much needed sleep!

           

Wednesday 20:

We started off our day by taking the metro into Athens. At each stop there was a security guard and as soon as we got there we saw loads of protestors and tents where people had been camping out. I met back up briefly with Patra and sadly had to say goodbye to her! Then we headed into the Plaka, which is like the market area of Greece and I bought a cool evil eye bracelet. Then we had a late lunch in a taverna where we ate Greek salad, dolmades (vine leaves stuff with meat and rice with an egg/lemon sauce on top) and moussaka (layered eggplant and meat with a melted cheese on top) all of which was delicious! When we finished eating, we walked up to the Acropolis. There we saw the Temple of Athena Nike, Parthenon and Erechtheum all of which were very impressive. The view from the top was pretty remarkable too as you could look out and see the whole city of Athens. Before leaving, we went by the Temple Agora, Theatre of Dionysus and saw the Temple of Zeus. Afterwards we stopped to get some Greek coffee (I’ve become obsessed!) and baklava.  We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant and then caught a 9:00 PM showing of Harry Potter. Yes, I traveled all the way to Greece and still went to go see it! True fan right there! Besides being a great movie, it was actually a pretty cool experience. The movie was all in English but had Greek subtitles and we watched it in an outdoor, roofless theatre in the National Gardens.  When heading back to the ship, we all realized that in exactly one month we will be back in the U.S. I can’t believe it. Time has really flown by!

Thursday 21:

We found out this morning that the taxis are STILL on strike. This means we have the pleasure once again to make the 30-minute walk from our ship to the metro. Lucky us…Our last day was mainly spent just walking around Athens. We noticed that there were even more police patrolling the streets today, especially near Parliament. We got Greek coffee one last time and I finally found a froyo place! First one I’ve seen so far since arriving in Europe. So of course, we just had to stop and get some! Overall I have really enjoyed Greece. Despite the riots, never once did I not feel safe—so don’t worry Mom and Dad! What bothered me more than the protestors was the fact that there were loads of stray dogs walking around the streets and we all know how I feel about that! Haha We have two days of class while we are at sea and then we arrive in Bulgaria!

Pictures: 1. Paradise Club 2. Mykonos 3. Rooftop dinner with Patra 4. Parthenon 5. Temple of Athena Nike 6. Harry Potter movie!

Clearing up Rumors

Despite riots in Greece, we are still traveling there and will arrive tomorrow morning! We will actually be there during a very historic time in Greece’s history. Their government will be deciding what course of action they will be taking by the end of this week. If they do not reach a decision, they will default on all of their loans in September. Here is an excerpt from our daily Dean’s Memo:

ANNOUNCEMENTS

STRAIGHT SCOOP: DE-BUNK THE RUMORS!

The Executive Dean says, “Yes, the mvExplorer IS GOING TO GREECE on Sunday.”

Croatia

Monday 11:           

Today we arrived in Croatia! Dubrovnik is a gorgeous port and it was so nice to be here and to finally escape the crowdedness of Barcelona and Rome. On a SAS trip, I traveled to Osojnik, a Croatian mountain village. We learned that they just received running water two years ago. Along the way we stopped to view the local church of St. George before going to the home of one of the villagers. There we were greeted with a shot of brandy (which was unbelievably strong and really gross), figs, and sugared oranges. Then we were given sticks to use to cook pieces of bacon over an open fire and eat with bread and wine. It was kind of like roasting marshmallows when making smores. Afterwards the villagers performed rural Croatian music on traditional instruments such as the lijera (a bowed fiddle) and taught us regional folkloric dances. We even got a chance to join in the dance and participate! Later we sat down for dinner, which consisted of salad, bread, wine, pork and potatoes. When we finished eating we headed back to the bus, stopping to pet the donkeys alongside the road. Back on the bus, our driver turned on the radio. The radio announcer spoke Croatian but then songs by Cher, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 came on! It was a very random variety of American songs, but we loved to finally hear something from back home. Everybody sang the whole hour drive back to the ship. Later in the evening we went to a Latino dance club called Fuego that ended up just being completely taken over by SAS kids. There was absolutely nothing Latino about this place and they played only American songs, but it was a fun night nonetheless!

Tuesday 12:           

Today we woke up and walked around the Old City, stopping for lunch along the way. I had the best salmon sandwich! Croatia is known for its fresh seafood and it was so nice to finally eat some meat after all of that pasta we had in Italy. Next stop was to get gelato before meeting our guide at 1:15 to go kayaking and snorkeling. We kayaked all around Lokrum island which proved to be a lot longer than we originally thought! I don’t think the map we were shown was drawn to scale because we had no idea we would be kayaking for 3 hours. Man were our arms tired and sore! It was really awesome though and our guide stopped to let us take breaks every once in a while during which he would tell us some Croatian history. While we were kayaking we were in for a surprise though when we paddled alongside a completely nude beach. I have now become accustomed to seeing topless women at beaches but seeing a bunch of people fully naked was a first! Thankfully the beach was small so we kayaked past it pretty fast. A little later on we stopped in a cove for sandwiches, swimming and snorkeling. The beaches are made with rocks, not sand, so we were hobbling around the whole time. While we were there, one of the guides caught a few sea urchins and cut them open to let everyone try the meat. When we finally got back to land we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on some more snacks since the ship food is not the best. The rest of the evening we stayed on board. We were so tired and drained from being in the sun all day so just decided to relax, watch a movie, and catch up on some homework (yes, we still have school!). Around 8:00 PM we went up to the observation deck and watched the sunset. One of our friends, Max, played the ukulele and we just chilled up there for a while taking it all in. Life’s rough eh? Even though it was a low-key night, it was probably one of my favorites. The view was remarkable and it was great to just take some time to reflect on how lucky I am. I’m so grateful to be here. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Wednesday 13:           

Today was a day for trying new things! Croatia is known for its cliff jumping so we headed to this bar called Café Buza, which offers drinks and several spots to jump (great combo right? Haha). First I tried the “baby” cliff before finally mustering up some courage to jump from the higher ones. I ended up jumping from the medium cliff, which was about 25-30 ft high. It took me a good few minutes before I finally jumped and my legs were still shaking after I got out of the water from being so nervous. For someone who even hates roller coasters, I was pretty brave! We ended up getting a really late lunch around 2:00 PM where I ordered seafood risotto full of lobster, muscles and clams. Next we walked around an outdoor market and I purchased some souvenirs before heading back into the Old City. We came across this one place where you could walk up to the window and gets crepes to go. They were delicious! Afterwards we headed to our hotel for the night. Tine’s dad had a lot of Hilton points so we were able to get a room for free night’s stay. We had dinner and drinks for free in the executive lounge of the hotel before going out for the night. We went to the coolest club called Revelin. It was inside of an old fort and was such an awesome place.

Thursday 14:

This morning we ate at the HUGE breakfast buffet in our hotel that was amazing. (Thanks again Dr. Heilman!) It was a pretty leisurely day just walking around Dubrovnik. We went back to the markets to spend the rest of our Kunas (Croatian currency) since the exchange rate is in our favor and everything is so cheap. 1 American dollar equals 5 Croatian Kunas! Too bad we go back to the Euro at our next port in Greece! We returned to the ship a little early to do some must needed homework! We have two days of class before Greece and I have a lot of reading and a few papers to write. I can’t wait to get there and see Patra (and hopefully Hannah too!).

Pictures: 1. Old City 2. Old City 3. Listening and dancing to folk music 4. On our way to Fuego 5. Kayaking 6. Our ship! 7. Cliff Jumping 8. Watching the sunset on deck

Italy

Saturday 2:

Today we arrived in Naples, Italy! I have to admit though that I wasn’t too impressed. The city was very dirty and there really wasn’t much to see there. Because of this, we decided to take a train to Pompeii and spend the day there instead. Before going though, we had to get the classic Italian meal—pizza! In the movie, Eat Pray Love, Julie Robert’s character goes to eat pizza one day in Naples. So of course we just had to eat at the same place! Unfortunately we had absolutely no idea how to get there. Language barriers proved to be particularly challenging. We would stop and ask locals for directions but they would all circle different things on our map and only speak to us in Italian. While searching for the restaurant, we took a break for some gelato. Afterwards we started back on our hunt and finally found the Pizzeria da Michele! It had won multiple awards and inside was an autographed picture by Julia Roberts. We split a Margerhita and Marinara pizza and they were delicioso! It was pretty cool to eat where the movie had been filmed.

Next stop was to head to Pompeii. Again, language proved to stand in our way when we got to the train station and had no idea how to purchase tickets. Thankfully, we found another American family traveling and they instructed us on what to do. We were then able to hop on a train and head to Pompeii, a city that was buried under tons of pumice stone and volcanic ash by Mount Vesuvius in 79. We decided to save money and just purchase one audio tour. A boy traveling with us, named Tommy, had the headset and just repeated out loud what it said. Tommy did not prove to be a very good tour guide, however, and started fabricating his own version of the story of Pompeii. While I didn’t end up learning much about its history, we did get in quite a few laughs!

After walking around Pompeii we decided to climb to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed Pompeii. It is an active, yet currently dormant volcano. We got on a bus that took us up about half-way up the volcano, from which we then had to climb the rest by foot. The bus ride up made me so nervous. Everyone had seat belts and there were handle bars to hold on to as the bus hopped up and down, turning sharp corners up the winding road. The roadway was very narrow and if you looked straight down out your window you felt like you were going to fall. I was so happy to finally get off! From there we hiked all the way up to the summit which is 1200 meters high in altitude. Even though it was exhausting, it was well worth it! We got to go right to the edge of the hole that spews out lava during an eruption. The view from the top was stunning and you could look out and see the whole city. There was even a little hut at the top where we each stopped to buy a mini personal sized bottle of wine. Now how many people can say they have drunk wine on top of an active volcano before? We eventually made our way back down and back on the scary bus to catch a returning train to Naples. After quickly showering, we went back into the city for dinner.

Sunday 3:

Amazing. That pretty much sums up how I feel about today. Early this morning I took a 50 minute hydroplane from Naples to the island of Capri on a SAS trip. The hydroplane was pretty bumpy and a lot of other passengers did not feel good. Rookies! All of us SASers got a joke out of it since we are “experienced sailors” at this point.


When we arrived in Capri I was absolutely in awe at how gorgeous this place is. I signed out of the SAS program immediately and met up with Tine, Lizzy, Clara and Molly who had traveled there independently. Once I dropped my bags in their room we made our way down to the main harbor and rented our own private boat to go on a tour. We bought some wine to take with us and joined some other SAS friends forming a group of 9 to go out on the water with. The boat took us around the whole island detouring every once in a while to go through little coves. When we reached the Green Grotto we were able to get out and swim. This was by far the coolest part. The boat let us off on one side and drove around to the other side of the grotto so we could swim through it. It was truly stunning and the pictures don’t do it justice. It was an amazing day out on the water and probably one of my favorite experiences yet!

Afterwards I went back to Tine, Lizzy, Clara and Molly’s room to grab my bags and meet back up with the SAS program to check into our hotel. Apparently a cat had managed to find its way into their room and when we got back to their place saw that it had peed and pooped all over Molly’s bed. Poor Molly! This kind of stuff always seems to be happening to her! It was so funny but in the end they not only got a room change, but a free night stay as well! I came back to our hotel, La Residenza, to check back in with the program and eat with the SAS group. When dinner was over I met back up with my other friends for some of the best gelato around. The line for this place was really long, but well worth the wait. They hand made the cones right in front of you so they were warm when you were served. In line we met another family, and the mom was a KD! Yay AOT! Haha Giuliana Rancic from E News was apparently vacationing with her husband in Capri. She was tweeting that she was going to the one club on the island called Bye Bye Birdie. We were going to go and try and find her there until we learned that it was 40 Euros just to get in….uh no thanks! I ended up just coming back to the hotel and sat out by the pool for a while with other SAS kids before calling it a night.

Monday 4:

HAPPY 4^TH OF JULY! J

I woke up this morning to the most amazing breakfast—scrambled eggs, sausage, pastries, muffins, bacon, slices of ham, cereal and croissants with nutella! Yum! My last day in Capri mainly consisted of laying out poolside and finally getting on the internet, and Facebook! (I was able to upload some pictures so be sure to check them out!) We had a noon checkout so I couldn’t really do too much without having to take all of my luggage around with me. At 4:00 PM we took the hydroplane back to Naples and afterwards I hopped on a 6:30 train for Florence with another SAS friend named Amy. We were so lucky to run into an Italian girl our age once we got off the train. She knew English and was able to help us find our apartment. She even called her mom to ask for directions! We would have been so lost without her! We finally got to our room, dropped our bags and ran to the nearest drug store to get some food. When we got back to our place Amy and I snacked on our makeshift “dinner” and watched what we gathered to be the Italian version of Super Nanny. We were really tired from a full day of traveling so afterwards hit the sack early!

Tuesday 5:

After getting croissants for breakfast at a nearby coffee shop we set out early to explore Florence! We first went inside the San Lorenzo church, which is shaped in the form of a cross. Afterwards we walked through the leather market. The whole street was filled with vendors selling all sorts of items made from Italian leather. I was able to put all of the skills I have learned in my Negotiation for Value class to use when I bought a really cute brown leather jacket and purse. I bargained down the price a lot and feel like I got a pretty good deal.

Excited about all of our new purchases, we all went to lunch at the Oil Shoppe. Several friends who have been to Florence before had told us about how good the restaurant was so we decided to give it a shot. Inside there was a guest book where customers could sign and leave notes. I flipped through the book while waiting for my sandwich and saw written on one page “Vanderbilt loves the Oil Shoppe” signed by Sloane, Erica and Michelle. They are three friends from Vandy that I did birthright with and Sloane and Erica are KD’s. I couldn’t believe that I had come across their message and I added my name to their note.

Next stop was the Palazzo Pitti, home of the Medici family. We walked through the Boboli Garden and the Costume Gallery. Afterwards we walked to the bridge and met Tine and Lizzy’s friend from college, Jake, and his brother Rob. Together we went to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (el duomo) but the line to get in was outrageously long so unfortunately we didn’t get to go inside. The building was beautiful though so I can only imagine what the interior was like. We were so exhausted from a full day of walking so we stopped at a nearby bar called the Old Stove for a cold beer. For dinner I finally had the chance to eat spaghetti! We ate at the Ristorante Sasso di Dante, which was an outdoor restaurant right by the duomo. It was such a picturesque place to eat and unwind after a tiring day. Amy, Jess and I caught a 10:00 PM train to Rome where we then had to get on another train to return to Cvitavecchia (the port where the ship was docked). On the route from Florence to Rome we looked out the window to see fireworks! They were the delayed fireworks we were supposed to see for the 4^th of July! We finally got to the ship at 2:00 AM and I had to pack for Rome before going to bed. It was a late night but well worth it. I’m excited for Rome tomorrow!

Wednesday 6:

For today, I had signed up for a SAS excursion to explore important sites of Rome and the Vatican City. At 8:00 AM we took a 1.5 hour bus ride from port into Rome. Once we arrived, we headed to see the Colosseum. Its enormous amphitheater was large enough to seat 80,000 spectators at events such as gladiatorial combats and the martyrdom of Christians. Afterwards we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant before heading into the Vatican City. We visited the Vatican Museum and then the Sistine Chapel where we saw Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, including The Last Judgment on the wall above the alter. Next we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Christian church in the world. It was absolutely stunning and once again, my pictures just don’t do it justice. The lettering on the walls is 6 feet tall and supposedly if you want to get married inside the chapel there is a 3 year wait list. Inside I saw Michelangelo’s Pietà and the grave of Pope John Paul. Walking outside of the church, I saw the balcony where the Pope speaks to the people every Wednesday. Unfortunately he comes out only in the morning so we missed him.

When the SAS trip was over, I checked into the hostel where I would be staying the night. We were lucky because we got a private room and our own bathroom, pretty good for a hostel! We took some time to relax before heading to dinner. While we ate, a man played the accordion and it made for a really nice evening after an extremely hot day full of lots of walking. When dinner was over we decided to go visit the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. We heard that it was the coolest when seen at night. I’m so glad we went because the Trevi fountain was beautiful all light up. There is a legend that if you throw a coin with your left hand over your right shoulder into the fountain that means you are coming back to Rome. Another version we heard was that it meant you would marry someone in Rome. Whatever the case, I threw in a Euro anyway! From there we walked a short ways to the Spanish steps and climbed all the way to the top! Who needs the stairmaster when you can just do that! We met 3 German boys our age who bought us roses. It was interesting to hear from them what Europeans think of Americans—basically that we are stupid, lazy and only eat burgers! I made sure to let them know that those stereotype do not hold true for all Americans and to go back to Germany and tell everyone that! haha We hung out with them for the rest of the night before heading back to the hostel and getting some much needed sleep!

Thursday 7:

Today a small group of us explored Rome on our own and went to all of the places we didn’t see on our SAS tour yesterday. First we saw the Pantheon, a great domed temple built (and rebuilt) by Roman Emperors. Next we diverged away from the touristy section to eat lunch. The whole entire menu was in Italian and it was full of locals. We had no idea what we were ordering but it turned out to be good anyway! When we finished eating we went to the Roman Forum to see the remains of ancient ceremonial buildings. At the Victor Emmanuel monument there were two men guarding the “unknown soldier,” which commemorates all unidentified soldiers who died at war. We continued walking around Rome, seeing Mussolini’s balcony and shopping around a bit. We caught a train back to Civitavecchia and slept on the ship. Rome was amazing but very exhausting so I was so happy to be back home!

Friday 8:

This morning I went on a SAS trip, traveling through the countryside to reach Valle del Marta Farm, a quaint farmhouse that produces from their cultivations, pastures and animals a variety of products including vegetables, wine, fruit, meat, spices, pure virgin olive oil, honey and even medicinal oils. Here I took a cooking class where we learned how to prepare traditional ragout sauce, pasta and tiramisu. Afterwards we got to eat what we cooked. I have to say, I’m a pretty good chef! Haha I returned to the ship around 2:00 PM and then went on a hunt to find an internet café. Right now I’m uploading pictures before setting sail at 6:00 PM. We have two days at sea with classes before we arrive in Croatia. I’m leaving Italy with lots of memories, laughs, a full stomach and several blisters on my feet. What a country!

Pictures: 1. Eat, Pray, Love movie poster inside the restaurant 2. Pompeii 3. Mt. Vesuvius 4. Capri 5. Capri 5. Duomo in Florence 6. Florence 7. Florence 8. Colosseum 9. Pietà 10. Trevi Fountain 11. Pantheon 12. The pasta I made in the cooking class