One week from today..

Thought I would finish the post I didnt finish the other day. So this most recent weekend, wasnt the weekend everyone was away I just realized. That was the weekend before. This past weekend Friday night I went out with Kira and Sammy. We went to the Lion's Fountain, Kakuya, and then to Twice. We were all in really weird moods but it got better. Went back with Mike and Max to the boys apt for a bit then went to bed. Saturday we went to Central Park. It's this club thats mostly outside and has like 3 floors. Its pretty sweet and they play pretty good music. We went to the boys apartment first to pregame since drinks and shots there are 10 euro. Not okay. Kait decided to go home so I stayed with Kira and Sammy, it was a good time.

Monday I finished my research paper on Ferragamo and then we had a farewell dinner through LDM (my school). It was a pretty far walk and I was absolutely exhausted but it was worth it. We had a pesto pasta dish, lasagna, chicken, potatoes, and cake..and wine of course. WAY too much food but it was really good. Anyway we walked back and I passed out completely. Tuesday I had jewelery making at dawn as usual. I finished my bracelet and finally fixed my earring. So everything is done except my ring. Tuesday night, Cinco de Mayo, I went out with Kira and Sammy and we had a lot of fun. We went to Bigalow first and met the guys there then went to Twice. It was pretty empty at first but it got a lot more crowded very quickly like usual. So apparently I'm not used to drinking beer anymore because now I get the worst hangover when I drink it. I can drink like a bottle of vodka to the face and be fine the next morning but beer is like death. Not a good sign for going home.

Wednesday night was Full Up's seasonal closing party. They close when Central Park opens apparently and Obsession Wednesday switches to Central. They had all you can drink for 10 euro but you couldnt get near the bar. I got in line for like my 3rd drink at like 1220 and I stood there til 1, after ordering multiple times, where the open bar closed and it became a pay bar again. So i was like eff this thats not ok. Then me Kira and Sammy went over to 21 for a bit. I had never been there before, it was ok. The bartenders were pretty hot not gonna lie. I didnt really see the whole club cause we stayed by the bar but everyone I know that has gone there pretty much hates it. I didnt think it was that bad. Then we went back to Full Up and I just got irritated so I walked home early. Probably not a good idea to walk home alone but I was just pissed and needed to leave.

Thursday I had my last retail class THANK GOD. awful class. I had my mac thankfully and just sat on fb the whole time and browsed at clothes online. I wanna go shopping soooo bad but I am soo ridic broke. Anyway that day I had to pick up my ring which isnt exactly close. Then I went over to KIra's with Kelly and Katina. I got fucking retaretd while we were there. I drank half a bottle of wine before I got there, then a bunch of mixed drinks while there, and we smoked. I was a mess. We went over to Colle Bareto but privee was so crowded me and Kira went over to Twice. We had so much fun while we were there. It was a good night minus some minor details.

Yesterday I did nothing all day. Me and Kait went to Acqua al Due last night which was bangin. You order samplers of everything like salad and pasta and they bring you a bunch of diff ones. We also split a Filet covered in Balsamic that tasted like legit chocolate. It was incredible, I wanna learn how to make it at home. After that I decided to stay in last night which I never do on Fridays. I was in a bad mood and didnt feel so great so I just watched Bride Wars and went to bed. It was a pretty good movie, cute. Today we went to ZaZa for lunch and then went over to the Galleria del Costume. I had to go for my fashion history class. It was pretty cool, they had stuff from the 1500's still. It was over in the Pitti Palace where the Boboli Gardens are. there was also some Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent from way back which was really cool to see. i didnt really udnerstand why I had to go for class though since I knew what she asked us to look for already. After that we did a little window shopping, I found a bag I want before I leave. I need a new black one and I found a perfect one, its only 45 euro which is sweet. Then we attempted to find the place that buys back straighteners. The one I bought in the beginning never really worked so Jess left me hers when she left. Thought Id sell this one for some cash but it was closed by the time I found it. Then I took a nap and now Im waiting for Kira to call cause were going to Central Park again tonight. Im excited, that place is pretty effing sweet.

So the fact we're leaving in exactly a week is starting to really hit. Ive made great friends from the US and both from here that many I probably wont see ever again which really sucks. I plan on coming back for grad school but like if I dont who knows when I'll ever be back here. It's just really sad. Who knows when Ill be walking by the Duomo again everytime I have to go somewhere. In Canton the most exciting thing to drive by is like center of town, if that haha. Everything here is so pretty I am gonna miss it. Having someone from home here really helped being here and took away from missing home (Jess of course). We have always been friends but never really hung out unless she came to visit Hal at school. We even walked together at graduation ironically! haha But we're pretty close now, we have talked every day since she left.. I really wish she was still here! :( But I'll see her the day I get home soo I am excited about that! Im also excited to go home and see everyone else I miss. And get some normal food into my system. My protein is shot to hell and I never wanna see pasta ever again. I prob wont eat pizza for a long time either. I cant wait to have access to my whole closet, I am sick of everything I have here. And I have a brand new bed at home which I am pretty pumped about. I miss my pupppy soo much I cannot wait to see him! And I even miss my mom which I dont ever do since we barely get along. I wish my parents got to come, my father would have loved to see everything here since hes a major history buff. If I come back for grad school after working for a year Ill fly them over here for a week or 2. I have to get them some gifts before I leave. I got them a bottle of wine and the lemocello which i mentioned last blog. But i gotta get them something else. They give me so much money while I am here and I know that they really cant be doing that. Its hard everything is so expensive here. An unpaid internship last summer killed me money wise.

Speaking of internship.. Mel asked me to work a wedding yesterday in June at Fenway. I am pretty sure it is John Henry's wedding since he is sposed to be married in June. Who else would be married on the field? haha All the players will be there which is pretty cool.. just wish I liked baseball. Too bad its not a Patriots wedding. So this summer I am working for my dads friend at the Seaport Bar and Grille next to the ICA in Boston. Im pretty excited and I think I'll make some good money there. I will be hostessing, serving, bartending, and helping him with event planning. Pumped. Im just happy Im finally done with AE. I couldnt handle going back there again. Anyway I also applied for an intership in Natick. I really need a retail merchandising internship and American Girl is looking for an intern. Its been a week and they havent called, idk if thats cause Im not home yet or idk but I have perfect experience. Im gonna call Monday.

OK thats enough this blog is ridiculously long. And now Im pretty drunk off this wine. I have almost finished this whole bottle ah.

Ciao Ciao! <3

Final Days in Firenze :(

It's been a while since I have done this. The weekend after Jess left everyone went away so I just kinda hung out all weekend. Rather boring. But that Saturday I did go to Cinque Terre and met up with Kaitlynn and her family. It is absolutely gorgeous there. The water is bright blue, there are mountains, and all the buildings are different rainbow colors.. so cute! So in the first town (I cannot remember which is which) we sat and had a snack.. tuna of course! Best tuna sandwich I have ever had. Then we took the train to the next town where we had lunch. Basically we ate in every town. This town had a little beach and pretty little boats everywhere. Really Cute. It was unbearably crowded though. So then we worked off all of our food by hiking to the next town. Basically an hour and a half hike on this narrow path, all uneven and what not. I mean the hike was really nice and the view was amazing but it was a little hot out for it. I just wish I had worn sneakers. In that town we sat and had some dessert wine with biscotti, SO good. Cinque Terre is famous for a certain kind of dessert wine, Scciachetra. My parents asked me to get them a bottle of wine there so I got that and a little bottle of lemoncello for them. Its in a glass shoe and its hand painted! Too cute. Anyway we went to the last 2 towns quickly because our train was coming soon. We sat and had dessert and then went to find our train, almost got on the wrong one.

Kait's family is so nice, they basically treated my like their other child that day. They also took me to dinner with them at La Congrega in Firenze earlier that week. I am going to miss that place. Kait and I go there all the time, the waitress knows us and brings champagne on the house for us now which is really nice. We are going to go there on our last night and then get in one last waffle!

Anyway I got back from Cinque Terre around 10ish and I was absolutely dead. It was a very long day and I didnt get much sleep the night before either. So I stayed in and max came over. The next week was hell. I had one big group project due Thursday and then I had a research paper due Monday. I am just happy thats over now. But now we have finals coming up next week. Basically a joke. I went and picked up the top to my ring from the silver casting place yesterday. It came out so good! Im so happy with it. Now I have to solder it to the band after I take my final on Tuesday. In sewing we're working on a little like makeup or jewelry bag thing with pockets. He gave us a lot of freedom with it so we could choose our own fabrics, embellishments, closings, etc. The outside of mine is navy and I am going to put either a pink or white bow on the front. The inside is pink, white, and has flowered pockets. Ill prob use it for jewlery since I have no where to put any of that. We're doing that instead of taking a final which is nice, especially since its the day after my birthday. The last thing i want the day after I turn 21 is a fucking final.

Cant believe I am going to be 21 in 4 days! Sooo excited. Im kinda bummed I wont be home though, it would be nice to be with my best friends but I do love everyone here so it should be a good time. We will probably go to dinner somewhere nice and then I think we're gonna go to Mecca? for Lil Jon. My parents are really excited for me to be 21 and they keep thinking of restaurants to go to when I get back. Ann cant wait to have someone to booze with haha.

Ah gotta go to dinner I'll finish later

Ciao Ciao

Lazy weekend

So basically this weekend Jess and I decided to be massive wastes of life. Thursday night we went to Cale Baretto and then to Twice. For some reason at twice every male in the room was punching each other. It was so dumb and a lame night, and a sober one at that. Friday we had make up class from Monday so I had Italian durning the day. After that Jess and I went to lunch, where the waste of life weekend began. Kaitlynn had left for Rome that afternoon so Jess and I just hung out in my room all weekend.

Friday night was an absolute shit show. First we got a cheese of course (starting a terrible weekend trend). We started off at Bigalow as usual, then Salemanca where the shot of tequila basically screwed me over for the rest of the evening. Then we ventured to Moyo in the pouring rain, gross. We had met up with her roommate and her friend too. Free drinks at Moyo also put me over the edge. At this point I probably didnt need any more booze haha. Thenn we went to Twice and Jess peaced out on me to go to Glamour with Mike Cagg! ahaha I was shitfaced when I saw him. Then we went to Central Park which was cool from what I remember. It's like all outside which is nice. It just opened a couple of weeks ago actually. It's also outside the city so you gotta drive, thank god Tyler took us there. We danced a little, had some champage, then we left there and went to Full Upaaa. Lets just say at this point I couldnt stand..

Anyway, next afternoon, Jess and I went to lunch and discussed the absurd events from the night before since we got separated. While we were out our hangovers hit us like a brick so we went back to my apt and sat in bed until that night. And we came up with our absolutely amazing plan post graduation. Since she graduates a year after I do, I will take a year off, make some bank, and then the 2 of us are coming back here for grad school. Polimoda 2011 waddddddup. Polimoda has a fucking masters in fashion event planning. Could it be any more perfect? The only issue is that it is only taught in Italian! ahahah gotta Rosetta Stone that shit before I come back. We started looking at apartments yesterday which look pretty sweet and somewhat affordable. We will just have to eat a lot of cheese.

Anyway That night we got a cheese of course (the trend continues..) and drank a bottle of wine. Then proceeded to leave obnoxious and hilarious video wall posts on Hal's and V's walls. We left Hal a 20 minute one and it fucking FAILED. SO MAD. haha so we made her "a shit one" in Jess' words. Then ventured to Bigalow again. After we sat and talked forever we went to Cale again. At this point my drunk was completely gone. We were in privee but it was so overwhelmingly crowded I almost had a panic attack. So I went home and got to bed at a decent time. 330 versus 6am is a big difference even though I slept just as long as I usually do.

Sunday was my dad's like 63rd? birthday I think haha. So we skyped in the morning, they went to Newport for the night. Then I did some errands/laundry/cleaned a bit then met up with Jess again. We hung out here then went to Aperitivo at Cale with her Italian/Spanish friends. Food was over by the time we got there so of course we got a cheese again. We made a pact that no cheese will be eaten until we are reunited. I am so fucking jealous she is going to eat Tspa today! AH hate you. But I will be home soon, too soon. Anywayyy then I went to bed and got up early to help her to the bus to the airport. Then I bailed on Italian and watched a million episodes of Heroes. Now I am doing this. I have to go to the bead store and get a pearl for my earrings for tomorrow then go to History. Lame. Anywayy enough of being a massive waste of life all weekend. But I dont know what I am going to do next weekend since EVERYONE is going to be away and Jess peaced out of the country on me. Kait's family is here so I think I am going to go to Cinque Terre with them on Friday for the day. It's beautiful there and everyone loves it so I am excited. Alright enough of this. Peace out

Ciaooo

Ugh is all that describes my life right now.  I'm going home a month from tomorrow.  Im looking forward to it for certain things but overall I dont want to leave.  It's like a dream over here, no real worries other than money.  When I get home I have to worry about finding an effing job, and a house which I still dont have for next year, classes, graduating in the spring!? fighting with my parents of course, and I am sure other unnecessary bullshit.  Why on earth would anyone want to leave here.  I mean I obviously miss people from home, but like half the people I miss I wont see until September anyway.  I cannot believe how fast time has gone by.  Finals are in 3 weeks, and I have mad work to do before then too. Efff school.  And finding a job.  I have sent countless emails and not recieved a single response.  I am so screwed.  I would really rather not go back to AE unless I have to, and I dont even know if they will take me back to begin with.  Apparently they got realllly strict while I was gone.  

Too much has changed since I left, going home is going to be weird.  And I am actually going to have to deal with losing my grandmother.  Its been 2 months since she passed tomorrow.  Crazy..  I still havent decided if I want to watch her funeral yet. I think Im going to get a tattoo for her when I get back.  She always said big love, every time I saw her since I was born, it was her motto.  So i was thinking maybe that with a small heart in the middle on the side of my foot.  Idk.. gotta find the balls to go through with it first.  Bitter people like me need a reminder like that once in a while so why not.

Had an italian quiz today..bombed.  I remember a good amount of everything I have learned, but the part today I just dont get.  I am going to forget everything once I leave.  I barely use it here never mind at home, everyone speaks english here.  It was nice in Spain to get to use my spanish, or what I remember of it.  Jess and I were talking today about coming back.. she wants to do her co-op for her 5th year over here possibly.. and apparently her school has a master's in fashion marketing.  Definitely something I am going to think about.  Speaking of school.. jewelry making is going well. I am finishing up a pair of earrings I designed.  They're flowers, with 2 layers of silver, pretty big, that dangle and have fake pearls in the middle.  I was basically done until one of my solderings came off.  I had to resolder a piece so it burned the pearl, gotta buy a new one.  Anyway we also started making a ring again.  This one we carve into a piece of wax and then bring it to a jewler to have it made into silver.  Mine is a big ribbon.  It is so cute.  I am finally actually ok with something I have made.  The first ring is a mess and the earrings have caused me some trouble, but this so far I like.  We should finish soon.

In sewing today we started a collar.  I am getting better at this sewing thing.  Last week we learned how to hand sew, which I finished yesterday on my terrace in the 80 degrees. nothing like a little country and some sunn :)  makes me excited for this summer. 21, beers which I miss oh so much, country, and friends.. cant wait.  Anyway in sewing we also did a pocket and a sleeve.  The pocket was fun.  He let us choose our own stitch to put on the back.  Our teacher, Guido, is pretty funny.  He barely speaks any English and when he tries its hilarious.  Apparently his family was in the massive earthquake last week.  his fam is ok but his mother lost her home.  So sad.  My parents called me around noon that day, it was 6am at home so I was like well.. somethings wrong.  They were like ARE YOU OK? I was like um.. WTF are you talking about??  I had no idea there had been an earthquake.  I just woke up and went straight to Italian class.  It was closer to Rome but I mean some people dont exactly know where I am.  Some people said they felt it, it was around 330 am, and I was awake of course since I have effing insomnia, but I didnt feel anything.  Yeah speaking of that, when I get back I am getting some sleeping pills.  This has been consistent for years now and I cant deal anymore.  I dont like having to nap all the time and drink a thousand coffees a day, its annoying.  Especially with a roommate.  

Jess is leaving on monday :( WTF am I going to do! So sad.  We never hung out on our own at home, but I think we have become pretty good friends over here, sooo we'll prob hang out at home now I assume.  Messy I know you're reading this and saying ew that bitch Im not hanging out with her or ever eating a CHEESE again! hahah kiddingg<3>

Anyway thats enough talking about nothing all that important.

buona notte xoxo

ps... 21 in less than a month! AH. too bad its during finals week. fml

Easter in Greece

Finally back in Florence after a long long weekend.  Last I wrote was Barcelona I think? Since then just got back in the swing of things, class and going out and what not. My coat got stolen which is annoying, but I guess its one less thing to bring home. Last weekend we were supposed to go to Sienna with API but uh.. we stayed out too late and obviously slept through our alarm.  Smooth.  So to be productive we went to the Ufizi and looked at art.  I am not an art person, I didnt last very long there.  

That night we went to Space for Jens 21st and got a table/champagne and stufff. It was fun but I was exhausted from the night before.  This past week I didnt do much.  Kaitlynn's two friends from home came on Tuesday and we went out to Twice.  They're really fun, and it was a pretty fun night actually.  Minus the massive shard of glass I sat on, that was annoying, but hilarious because we were retarted and taping napkins to my leg.  Wednesday we didnt go out because we were leaving early for Greece the next morning.  Instead we stayed in and watched the hills and bitched about Spencer for hours.  ps.. 24 is out of control.  Trying to kill Jack Bauer is not ok and obviously is not going to happen.

Soo Thursday morning we hiked with all of our shit to the train station where the bus was for greece.  We went through Euroadventures and like 500 people went.  It was THE most unorganized thing I have ever experienced.  So we took the 4 hour bus ride to Ancona, Italy where we got on an over night cruise ship.  We drank on the deck and got pretty drunk and went to dinner.  Our service was terrible, no one got what the ordered, and basically Jeff was about to murder our waiter.  It was kind of funny at the end.  After that I was dead and just went to bed.  We were woken up at like 6 am the next morning by a Greek man coming into our room.  Not ok.  We then waited like 30 minutes in a wicked long line to get off the boat, where we proceeded to hike another effing however far away with all of our shit, to the hour and a half ferry ride.  Way too much traveling for the amount of time we went.  We went Thursday to Monday and spent thursday/friday  and sunday night/monday traveling.  So annoying.

We finally got to our hostel, the Pink Palace.  Legit HOT pink.  The whole thing.  I roomed with T and Cat, we unpacked a little and then had lunch and  hit the beach. I finally had tunaaa again. So exciting but annoying its only in other countries!  I passed out for a while on the beach and then we showered/napped and went to dinner.  Dinner was included, and basically felt like we were at camp in a giant mess hall.  After that we went downstairs which was their version of a discotech.  It looked like a bad sweet 16 party.  Drinks were like 2 euro though so we played thumper to pregame and got hammered.  Then we dance for a while etc.  It was a lot of fun but I was dead tired.  Then we went to bed and had to wake up at 715 am, to attempt to sign up for the booze cruise.  Mistake.  The line was insane, people were tired and yelling and pushing because people kept cutting.  The whole system was retarted.  Then we found out booze wasnt even included, and it was raining, so Cat and I just said fuck it and went back to bed.  Thank god we didnt go on the cruise because the whole thing was a massive porn cruise.  Everyone was naked and having sex with eachother, not my thing.  They also went cliff jumping and everyone that jumped came out bleeding and with massive bruises all over their bodies.  No thanks.  Youd have to push me to get me to jump of a 70 ft cliff.

Anyway that day Cat and I layed out on the rood with the girls and Jeff (since they decided to fucking dig up our beach that morning), where we played Im going on a picnik for hourssss.  I think I got some good color considering we were only in the sun for a day and a half.  That night was the Pink Palace toga party.  They gave us pink sheets and we had to make a toga out of it.  I could have been a lot more creative had I had any saftey pins.  Just a lot of knot tying and holding it all night to keep it together.  So annoying.  Dinner that night was disgusting, included again so I ate some cheetos.  Everyone came and drank in our room until the "RA" haha came and kicked us out. "You have 7 minutes.."  So DUMB.  So we went back down to the "palladium" (the disco) where everyone was in a bubble gum pink toga. So weird.  I didnt drink much that night for once.  It was a pretty relaxing weekend.  We drink way more in Florence.

The next morning we got up at 730 again to wait in line to sign up for ATV's.  We decided not to go back to bed, went to breakfast, packed all of our stuff, and then went ATVing.  It was so much fun.  It was so nice to see the water and everything from high up and the country side.  We drove so far and unfortunately when we parked trying to find food, T lost her key to her ATV.  We looked everywhere for it, we think it got flushed down the toilet in the bathroom we all stopped at haha.  So sine I wasnt hungry I offered to take her back to the hostel to get a spare key. So we drove back and forth several times, getting the key and then going back to get her ATV.  It was nice, we stopped and took pictures and then went and got some lunch.  Then we had to check out and take the bus back to the ferry to take the cruise again.  That process got old real fast.  There was a ton of drama on the ferry.. about drunk girls and passport losing.  Then rumors spread we missed our boat but apparently we had to wait until 1030 for the cruise anyway.  So we sat at the port for like 2 hours waiting.  The whole thing was exhausting.

Now I am finally back in Florence :) and relaxing in my bed.  I need to unpack and study for Italian though.  I did enjoy the trip, alot of people hated it, but it was just too much traveling and too unorganized.  Corfu was pretty though, the country side was really nice and so was the water.  Now its just the stretch until I go back the U.S. SO Crazy! anddd my 21st is a month from yesterdayy. So exciting. Although I will be here, and it will be finals week.  Gay.  Im at the point where I want to go home but I know I am going to want to come back immediately.  And I am not all too excited to go back to school either.  My schedule is going to kick my ass, housing is figured out but we still have no house, and from what I hear a lot has changed since I left.  Idk we will have to see I guess.  Anyway Im gonna relax now.

Ciao!  <3al

Grand Canariaa<33

So on Wednesday morning we flew off to the Canary Islands, specifically Grand Canaria.  We met up with Kaitlynn at the airport who I shared a room with for the rest of the week.  Me and Kait were picked up by the hotel transport thing, it was raining when we got there so we couldnt tell what the weather was going to be like the rest of the week.  When we got to our hotel, the IFA Continental, we immediately took and nap (after we had some issues with the rude men at the desk) then I got up for dinner and met T and Cat.  That night we went met the other girls where they had dinner.  Apparently the man who owned the restaurant, they met the night before, owns many things on the island.  And his name is "The Boss".  Creepy?  Yes. Well he took all 12 of us out that night to Pasha, where the champagne and vodka never ended.  The entire time in Canaries we never paid a cent for alcohol. Quite nice.   But that night I was basically a waste case.  I havent fully blacked out since high school and of course I did that night.  At the end of that night we ended up somewhere called Creme, which all I really remember was really creepy and underground.

The next day we got up early and went to breakfast.  I was still entirely hammered so of course having buffet bacon in front of me was rather dangerous. haha I ate sooo much!  Then we went and layed by the pool all day.   PS women there have no self consciousness what so ever.  Every one was topless and women who should not be in bikinis were.  It was gross.  Then we went to the beach and met the other girls.  The beach is gorgeous and the flowers there are so pretty! I forgot my camera when we went so I didnt get any pics :(   We also signed up for our booze cruise while we were at the beach.  I did not get much sun that day since I was so white to begin with.  Then we napped again, then I met the T Cat and Jen for dinner again.  Every meal we ate except one was at the hotel which was nice.  The food was not that bad.  The hotel was nice too but it was basically a German tourist hotel.  Every guest there hated us, we got the dirtiest looks ever.  The first night when we had gone out 3 of us had dresses on and we could not even stop to have a drink in our lobby the looks were so bad.  We B lined it out of the hotel.  

Anyway..  that night after dinner we went to the show at our hotel.  It was these 3 dancers, one was a girl the other 2 guys.  They did this crazy thing with these ropes with blocks on the end where they spun them and slammed them on the ground and stuff.  It was really cool but weird.  One man was really intense and had the greasiest hair ever.  Once he hit his hair with the things and you could see liquid fly everywhere. GROSS.  They even broke a cig out of a mans mouth. Scary.  Then we went and met Kelly and Kattina at their hotel.  They stayed at the Riu which was absolutely insane.  The place was huge and gorgeous and their staff loved them.  I guess you get what you pay for. We had a couple drinks then went back to our hotel to sleep.  I could barely look at booze after the night before so sleep was necessary.

Next morning we got up for breakfast, not looking out the windw before I put my bathingsuit on of course.  We got down and it was pouring. This day was the day of our booze cruise of course.  So we all went back to bed until noon, the cruise was at 1.  When we got up, it was absolutely gorgeous out! Island weather is amazing, its even more dramatic than New England weather.  So then we went on our cruise.  We had never ending beer/sex on the beach. which were an interesting bright orange color.  Weird.  Basically we got hammered on this boat in the sun, dancing whatever, and went drunk jet skiing.  So much fucking fun.  We met these guys that study in Barcelona while we were there that we ended up hanging out with the next day.  On the cruise they played this game on the way back where you and a male partner had to pop your balloon in a sexual position. haha so funny. some of them had whipped cream in them.  Of course Tiana was used as the demonstrator so she got to do allll of them haha. We took so many pics it was hilarious, especially since the boat guide was incredibly hot.  They also fed us on the boat, we had Paella. Which is a traditional Spanish dish.  It had meat and seafood in it, including prawns which are shrimp wth their heads and eyes and shit.  no thanks.  I didnt eat any of those just the rice. 

When we got back we were exhausted and I couldnt walk straight cause I felt like I was on a boat. I was so dizzy and falling over all night and I wasnt drunk anymore either.   We went to dinner and then just ended up staying in and went to bed.  

Next day was my last day in the sun.  We layed out ALL day.  The sun is exhausting at the end, I never want to do anything after a day in the sun.  I got my most color this day, if I had one more day I would have had a solid tan.  Im gonna go tanning before Greece next weekend! So excited that there was room for me. Its gonna be amazing.  So after we layed out all day we all went and showered.  Kait actually left around then to go back for Florence, so Cat T and I went out to dinner for once.  We went out with the 3 guys we met on the cruise the night before, Alex Matt and Tanner.  They were really nice and we went out with them for a bit after.  Now my flight was at 630 am on Sunday, so I had to leave the hotel around 345, but the clocks moved forward so technically I left at 245am.  I didnt wanna go back to the hotel cause I thought I'd fall asleep, so thats why I went out with them for a bit.  We went to some bar first where it was happy hour,  I was nervous and kept saying I should go back to the hotel.  T was like just have one drink then go back so, we ordered one drink and they brought us 3! We just looked at eachother and was like ok.. thats not happening. haha  They gave us party bags with leis and noise makers and glasses and stuff. So weird.  My fav thing was the little toy truck in it haha tooool.

Then we went to China White which was cool.  We had some champagne and danced and stuff then I was like fuck I gotta go haha.  So went back to the hotel and got my suitcase, left for the airport.  I paid airport transport an of course they refused to come get me so I took a cab which cost me 40 euro.  I have to send a nasty email to Alpha rooms who we booked through.  This was only the beginning of terrible things to come.

So my flight at 630 to Barcelona went fine.  We unfortunately had to stop in Tennareef for a tech stop and to pick up more people.  Annoying.  Got to Barc around 11ish, and my flight to Rome was supposed to be at 430.  Nope.  Delayed until 8.  Which meant I would miss my connection flight to Florence.  Everyone was flipping out because the reason it was delayed was because theyre retarted and over booked.  Never fly Alitalia.  There is a reason they just went bankrupt, because they SUCK.  So by the time the flight came at 8, I had already been up since 9am the day before from when we went and layed in the sun all day.  I never napped while we were out there either which was a huge mistake.  So Im at like 36 hours awake as it is.  We get to Rome and we missed the Florence flight by 10 minutes.  They couldnt fucking delay that one for 10 minutes knowing we were all going to miss it?? Fuck that.  So everyone had to go find the next flight which wasnt until 5 pm the next day.  Pissed.  They were like here get on this shuttle and go to this hotel, we are paying for it.  Ok fine whatever I was going to just get the refund and take the train the next morning because I had to be back for class sign up.  Nope.  By the time I had to go figure out where my bag was, which I never did so I filed a claim, the shuttle to the hotel had stopped.  And the cab to the hotel was 40 euro and I only had 30 at the time.   I walked around outside for a bit basically crying because I was in Rome with no money, by myself, exhausted, had no suitcase, and my phone was dying so I couldnt call my parents back.  My mom was freaking out when I told her what happened.  She was like you never should have gone to Italy blah blah being unreasonable as usual.   So I sat in the airport until 5am the next morning when they claimed they would give me the refund (why they couldnt do it the night before i dont know).  So at this point ive been awake for almost 48 hours.  I didnt sleep at the airport cause I didnt trust leaving my bag so I just read the whole time. Ive been reading Mercy by Jodi Picoult which is really good, Ill have to read her more often.  So at 5 I asked for my refund, they said wait until 6.  So I waited til 6. While I was sitting there this nice but kind of creepy old man kept asking me to watch his stuff.  I was looking at it saying to myself, please be a bomb, please just blow up and end this.

Finally they were like ok theres a flight at 9 thats booked but you can go on stand by.  So I waited for 3 hours with the possibility that I wouldnt get on the flight.  And I only waited because I was hoping if I went to florence airport I wouldnt have to go back there to find my luggage.   So I thankfully got on the flight, which was delayed again.  I also had not eaten more than once during this entire 2 days.  I was too tried and upset to eat.  So we flew to Florence and I had never been so happy to be somewhere that was not my real home in my life.  So I got to lost and found for my bag and theyre like, we're on strike. FUCK YOU youre on strike.  Like I wasnt even mad.  I was like this would happen, of course this is happening.  So i laughed and got in a cab and went home.   The only reason I waited 3 hours for the plane instead of taking the train was to find out where the fuck my bag was. So then I went and ate with kait finally and then I signed up for classes (which I only got 3 out of 6, another stress Im having) and then slept until the next morning.  And of course I have bronchitis during this whole mess, so I didnt go to class either.  I called Alitalia multiple times yesterday, and had my dad do it since I had no voice they couldnt understand me.  They said my file for my luggage didnt exist.  I was like fuck it Im calling Florence Aiport.  I called and they were like your bag actually just arrived. So I got on the bus and went and got it.  Thank God.  Never been so happy in my life.  So in total I was awake for 50 hours straight, lost my bag, the airport went on strike(when does that EVER happen?), got bronchitis, and basically slept but didnt sleep in an airport.  Of course I was entirely alone during this whole thing too.

During the lack of luggage I couldnt shower either cause my towel and everything was in my suitcase.  thank god its back.  I am never flying Alitalia again except on the way home cause my flight is booked already (which PS is in one month and a half??!)  So now I have to go do an oral presentation with no voice. Fun stufffff.

Ciao!

Ciao.

Barcelonaaaa!

First off, Barcelona is gorgeous! I totally could have studied there for the semester and I definitely was able to speak better there.  I know way more espanol than italiano. So we left last friday after a week of midterm hell.  Midterms were not as bad as I expected, but I overstudied for several of them.  The only annoying one was my sewing midterm.  Considering its my major, I really gotta work on my sewing skills or lack of them.  Me, T, and Cat all took a cab to the airport for our flight to Rome at 11 am.  We had a pretty long layover in Rome and I basically read an entire book.  Our flight to Rome was delayed so it made the layover shorter.  The flight to Rome however was awful.  Cat and I were legit praying.  I thought we were going to die it was so turbulent.  We kept dropping and some woman behind T was puking the whole time.  It was awful.  But we finally arrived in Barcelona, and checked into our hostel.  Our room was rainbow, orange purple and green walls with rainbow striped blankets.  Basically a room full of happy and no one could ever be depressed in it.  Jen met us at the hostel, she also stayed with us for the week, girls hilarious.

So that first night we went to the Hard Rock Cafe.  We had never been so excited to see american food in our lives.  We were also starving which was so dangerous.  I got chicken fingers of course.  I havent had chicken fingers more than twice the entire time I have been here, not normal!  Anyway after we waddled out of there after eating so much we went back to the hostel and took a nap.  The plan being to wake up at midnight and get ready...that didnt happen.  We slept until the next day.

The next day (Saturday) we got up and went to find Subway.  More american food.  I finally had tuna! effing love it and miss it sooo much.  Tunas not normal in Italy so I stay farrr far away from it.  Then we went to STARBUCKS. ahh heaven.  I could have died happy after eating that day.  Then we went and sat at an outdoor cafe in some center which I cant remember the name of, it was reall y nice. As we were sitting discussing where we should go sightsee, Jen was like Hey there's this really cool artist here name Giotti. Accent and everything.  Nope, his name is Gaudi.  So we decided to go see the big temple he built.  He died about 50 years ago and built a million things in Barc that look like they're melting.  Apparently he died by getting hit by a train.. what a way to go.  Anyway, we got in a cab and said bring us to Gaudi! haha The temple was so cool.  I cannot believe people can build stuff like that.  There was fruit at the top of some of the pillars which was cool.  It also had the stations of the cross through out it.  Then we had a photo shoot in the park, where I realized my camera does black and white with color accent which was cool with the purple trees.  On the walk balk Cat pointed out the Christopher Columbus statue. Of course we took lots of pics and looked majorly touristy.  Too bad it was not CC. ahah we got some laughs out of it later though.

That night we went out to dinner and had awesome pizza.  We also realized people dont dress like they do out in Florence so we basically looked like hookers.  Then we went to Chupitos (shots in spanish).  Its basically a shot bar where they have hundreds of shots listed on the wall for 2 euro each.  We took a couple that were on fire which was bazaar.  Then we got some free drinks and met some Irish men. Love the accents.  After we went to a club called Opium and luckily didnt have to pay a cover.  We were invited in VIP by some French men, but one of them unfortunately roofied Tiana so we bounced immediately.  After Jen met her true love at the coat check.. ahah Ronnnny

The next day (Sunday) we slept kind of late and went to BK for lunch (terrible) then we went and walked all the way down Las Ramblas (the main road in Barc.) to the harbor.  Las Ramblas was weird.. there were people dressed as things everywhere trying to make money, you actually see that alot in Europe.  Rarely in the US but everywhere here.  People paint their whole bodies to look like metal and stand still for hours.  Absurd.  They also sold flowers and chickens and stuff on that street.  There was also Dunkin Coffee (not Donuts).  Barc was way more commercialized than Italy.  The only commercial thing we have in Florence is like 2 McD's.  At the harbor we walked around, took some pictures in front of the water and Christopher Columbus statue (the real CC, Cat).  After that we attempted to go out for dinner.  We had the worst dinner of our entire lives.  Jen and I both ordered burgers.  Not realizing they were Vaella. Aka VEAL burgers.  Disgusting.  So I ate the bun for dinner and we payed about 16 euro each for that dinner.  We spent the whole time making fun of it and now its hilarious.  At the time I was pissed.  Then I ate a roll of mentos. Awesome dinner.

That night we went to the bar next to Chupitos because Chupitos was closed.  Carolyn turned 21 at midnight so we all sang and whatever.  It was nice.  Then we went off to Opium again but they tried to charge us 15 euro.  So we went next door to Shoko.  Which had a creepy drag queen.  Then we split in half and some of us went to Catwalk, including Jen's  love aha.  At one point Cat and T left so it was just Jen and I.  We had some fun met some people then decided to go home.

Next day (Monday) we went to Subway again for lunch and had tuna again! :)  We met up with JT and then the rest of the girls and went on a open top bus tour of Barc.  It was absolutely gorgeous that day, we should have gone to the beach.  But the tour was nice.  We went to Gaudi's house and this park he made.  It was so cool.  Part of it was actually the tunnel thing that ANTM did one of their season finales in with Caridee and the other girl dressed as zombie wives or whatever.  Really cool to see. Gaudis house was adorable.  It was pink with hot pink and green trim.  So cute.  And there were palm tress everywhere.  It was like another secret garden.  So far for secret gardens we have 1. my yard  2. the boboli gardens 3. parc guella (gaudis park).  We also saw the Barcelona stadium and some colleges, etc.  Then we went to Rita Blue for Carolyns birthday.  We had amazing food including chicken fajitas and nachos  covered in goat cheese and stuff.  Everything was so good.  And the restaurant was really cool looking.  We were saying how cool it would be to bring a place like that back to the US.

That night we went to Chiputo's for the second time.  I had a princess shot which had candy in it and a Harry Potter and some others.  Harry Potter was the absolutely worst shot I have ever taken.  Straight triple sec. On fire. ugh so gross.  But it was cool, when it was on fire he shook something at it to make it spark like magic.  Haha im a tool. Me and V love harry potter so I felt it was necessary.  Movie this summer V during the mid day again so no one sees us? ahah

Then we all split up again and some of us went to Jamboree.  It was ok, I was sober byt he time we found it  and I didnt wanna spend more money.  The place was also really smokey so my eyes hurt.  PS you can smoke EVERYWHERE in spain.  It sucks, especially when you're eating. (Jen loved it ahha)  So, Cat and I ended up going home early which was good after a couple tiring days.

Next day (Tuesday) we didnt do anything.  We were all dead and stayed in bed ALL day.  So bad but necessary.  We went out to our little pizza place for lunch and then went back and relaxed more.  I finished my book finally and then we went to dinner at Rita Blue's sister restaurant, Margarita Blue.  Everything there was also amazing, including the daiquiris we got.  In T's words, YUM.  We also actually ran into Mamie, Alyssa and Maria there.  So weird!  It was nice to see them though.  We decided to walk back from there to our hostel.  Terrible idea.  I thought we were going to die.  We power walked the whole way and on the way were offered hash, cocaine, and a gigolo.  Not so comforting.  Barc isnt exactly the safest place to be.  One of our friends was robbed 150 euro at an internet cafe.  The guy like climbed under her desk she was at.  So fucked up.  That night we stayed in because we had to get up at 9 for our flight to the Canary Islands the next day.

Overall Barcelona was a good time and I loved it there.  Everything was gorgeous there and so cool.  There was so much to see though I wish we had more time there.  We unfortunately never got to see the beach but we did in the Canary Islands!  Which I will write about in my next post.

Ciao!<3