part 2

So, I've decided to make my study abroad travel blog into a travel blog, in general. All of my adventures in new places and in new cities will be posted and updated here. Stories, photos, who knows what else will be here -- maybe I will finally make a video.

Next up: New York City- August 30 to September 8

last destination before the us of a

I'm back in London sitting in Mandy's flat. London is cold but not nearly as cold as Berlin or Brussels. I've even stopped wearing tights under my jeans. Oh yeah, and I've decreased the pairs of socks from 3 to 2. I also finally got to change my outfit after 5 days (you have no idea how good that feels). Mandy is currently sitting on her bed feeling bored that I'm on blogger blogging, but she doesn't even know that I'm blogging about her right now. We're also listening to some Ella Fitzgerald to get in the Christmas mood despite the numerous Christmas markets we went to in the past 5 days. We went to this super cheap sushi place for lunch/dinner, at least cheap by British standards, and we shopped for presents at Covent Garden. Sushi was a nice change after a delicious 5 days of sausage, potatoes, cheese, and fried dough. Basically, Brussels and Berlin have amazing food for super super cheap. I would want to live there just for the food, except it is way too cold there. Anyway, photos and actual entries will be written when I get back to the United States. See everyone soon!

Je veux ... a hot dog... avec ... sauerkraut?

So I just arrived in Berlin from Brussels. I will be here until the 20th and then I will be flying back to London. I leave London on the 24th, so see everyone in America then. Mandy and I have been having a great time here mingling with the locals and eating as much delicious food as possible. There is so much Christmas spirit here. Okay, off to see the Berlin Wall!

Goodbye, Rome!

I am currently in London and I will be going to Brussels in the morning. I left Rome this morning after 4 months. I will post again when I return to the United States with photos and stories about my last weeks in Rome and my trip to Brussels, Berlin, and London.

2 weeks left

I have two weeks and 12 hours left in Rome. It's weird to be leaving Rome for good. For the past three and a half months, whenever I left Rome, I knew I would be coming back. However, I have lots of things planned for the next two weeks!

Before talking about the new stuff, here is a recap of what has happened lately:
I met with Mariela for lunch on Wednesday. Unfortunately, that was the only time I could see her in Rome because I had class.
Thursday, the girls upstairs invited me for a Thanksgiving dinner. There was tons of food, pretty much everything besides turkey. It was really delicious and my friend Brenna made a delicious pumpkin pie.
On Friday, I went to the Auditorium of Maecenaus (which was cool because it is closed off to the public) and then Monte Testaccio, which is an entire mountain made of pottery shards. Apparently the ancient Romans liked to build step pyramids with their junk. Friday night, we had another Thanksgiving dinner! We had turkey and chicken this time, as well as all the other Thanksgiving goodies. I made a kiwi cheesecake to contribute to the feast. I think this is the most food I have ever seen at a Thanksgiving dinner. I believe the group of us finished 5 kilograms of potatoes.
Saturday I spent the day at Opolontis and Pompeii. I actually like Opolontis more than Pompeii; Opolontis is very well preserved and I found the wall paintings more impressive.
Tuesday and Wednesday I went up to Bologna to visit Giovanna. If you ever want to eat amazing Italian food, GO TO BOLOGNA! This was possibly the best Italian food I've ever had in my life. It was also much cheaper than Rome. The best part? All the tourist attractions were free!
Today I went to the Palazzo del Esposizione to see the Mark Rothko, Stanely Kubrick, and Mario Ceroli exhibits. I really like Mario Ceroli's architectural works. He's very into wooden cutouts of human figures. The Stanley Kubrick exhibit has inspired me to watch all of his films. The Rothko exhibit was cool because I had seen his stuff at the Tate Modern in London too.

Even though I will be leaving in 2 weeks, I have tons of things planned! Tomorrow I will be going to lunch at the Jewish Ghetto (a free lunch paid for by my school!), visiting the synagogue at the Jewish Ghetto, seeing the Pop Art exhibit in Rome, and watching the Rossini opera Mose' In Egitto (Moses in Egypt). Saturday I hope to visit Via Appia Antica (the catacombs) and the Baths of Caracalla. Oh yeah, and I plan on fitting school work in somewhere.