PICASA PHOTOS NOT WORKING!

so if you have been viewing my pictures through my blog, and not facebook, you have probably noticed that it doesnt work anymore. I cannot tell you why, and i tried to fix it, but looks like its not gunna happen, SO I am going to be posting links to my albums on facebook. IT SHOULD work by just clicking on the link, so try that first.

If not...you dont need to have a facebook account or anything, just highlight and copy each link seperatly and paste it into a new internet window (you just right click your mouse to get the options of copy or paste). If this doesnt work, or you cannot figure it out, then I will just have to show you my final travel and Granada photos when I am home, but I hope it works!

Granada pictures-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=164700&id=625545311&l=c66eb41953

Paris Pictures-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=164824&id=625545311&l=79b34a7812

Amsterdam Pictures-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=167017&id=625545311&l=2c847c9b4a

London Pictures-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=167063&id=625545311&l=6bce4910d1

movies with Charo!

One night at dinner, Charo, her boyfriend, Rachel and I were all talking about the new movie coming out "New Moon". For those of you who dont know, this is the sequel to the movie "Twilight", that is a craze all around the world. The reason we were talking about it was because "Twilight" was on television that night (in spanish of course), because "New Moon" was coming out the following day. Rachel and I were very excited, and that night we wanted to watch "Crepusculo" (Twilight in Spanish) before seeing the sequel. Edison, my senoras boyfriend, had seen "Twilight", and asked us if we wanted to go with him and Charo the next night to see New Moon (Nueva Luna en espanol)! We were REALLY excited, as well as indifferent.We both loved the first movie so much, and were gunna see it in Spanish now. It wouldnt give it the same effect with different voices, and loosely translated humor. We werent sure if we were going to be able to actually go tho, considering it is just as popular in Spain as it is in the states, and it was possible that it was sold out. The next day when we came home for lunch, Charo told us that Edison bought us tickets online! We were really excited to go out with them. That night, we all ate a nice dinner together, and then got ready for the movie. Charo looked SO cute! The theater wasnt close, so they drove us there. We told all of our friends in our program that we were going as a "family" to see New Moon, and everyone was jealous! Rachel and I are really SO lucky to have the family that we do. None of the other senoras would ever take their students out.

We got to the theater, and it looked really nice from the outside. The inside was HUGE! There was a bowling alley, restaurants, a bridge, games everywhere..it was like a Dave and Busters + a movie theater. We walked over to the bowling alley just to watch because Charo has never been bowling! Next week we are taking her bowling! Waiting in line with our tickets, all the Spanish girls had Twilight shirts and "I love Edward" shirts! Its so funny how it was just like the teenagers in the US. Before the movie, Edision and Charo bought us candy, popcorn and drinks! We tried to pay, but Charo kept saying "el proximo vez, el proximo vez" which means next time, next time. Going into the movie, Rachel and I were blown away by how big it was. It was the biggest theater I have ever been in. We were also weirded out when a lady asked us for our tickets and ascorted us to our seats! Every seat had a number. I asked Edision if this happens even when the movie isnt full or popular, and he said yes. You have to sit in number 1 even if you are the only person in the theater! The movie started, and we could pretty much understand it all. Obviously there are phrases in English that can only be loosley translated into Spanish, especially when it is a movie with teenagers talking, so it didnt always give the same effect sarcasm and humor wise. I really enjoyed trying to keep up with the movie, and learning more comprehension skills (which have improved SO much since being here!). If I had a question I asked Edision, especially because he saw the first one, so he knew what was going on. Also, Rachel read all the books, so she knew "behind the scenes" things that I didnt know. We had SUCH a good time. Minus the fact that Charo fell asleep towards the end of the movie..haha..it was a very nice time.

We are so lucky to have the host family that we do. No one else's host family has taken them out for ice cream, to the movies, made them thanksgiving dinner, or will go bowling with them=) I am so grateful to have them in my life, and I am really going to miss Charo SO much!

Dubln, Ireland!

On Wednesday, November 11th at 9:00pm, Nicki, Rachel and I left Granada for London! After about an hour and a half flight, we were there. Unfortunately for us, our flight from London to Dublin didn’t take off until the following morning, so we slept in the London airport that night. The reason that we do this is because we only had 5 hours in between each flight, so saved us having to pay for a hostel for just a few hours! It’s not the ideal way to travel, but SO many people do it, especially all the students! Sadly, I never fell asleep. Instead, I just watched over our luggage and made to-do lists for school and one for things that I want to do before leaving Spain! It was FINALLY 7am, and time to get to Ireland! Right before boarding our plane we got breakfast. We saw a one person ordering beer at 7am with their breakfast and all laughed. As we continued to look around, EVERY SINGLE person in the London airport was drinking a beer, except for us!! It was very strange, but awesome. We then got on our plane, and after about a 2 and a half hour flight, we were in Dublin, Ireland! As soon as we got off the airplane we were all freezing. It was cold, rainy, and gloomy in Dublin, and even on no sleep, we were still all SO excited to be there and to start our trip!

The hostel we stayed at was called Abbigail’s Hostel. It was really nice and centrally located which was good. As soon as we got there, we found out that we couldn’t check in until 2:00pm, so we just locked up our luggage and got started for the day! Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse. This was something we could do inside while it was raining, so we chose this first. We took a bus there, and while getting on the bus I obviously noticed that in Ireland they drive on the other side of the road. This is just like England, and definitely something that I learned. The reason for this is because up until 1922 Ireland was under the rule of England, so they drive on the left side of the road like them. This bus did not drop us off right in front of the building, so we were kind of lost. Looking like wandering tourists without asking for help, the cutest little old lady came up to us, asked us if where we were trying to go, gave us directions, and stayed and talked with us for a few minutes! She was SO nice. This was our first experience of how unbelievably nice every person we came across in Dublin was. We walked to the Guinness Storehouse, and it was HUGE! As we walked in we had a short introduction on the building, and the making of Guinness beer. Where we were standing was inside the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ largest pint of beer! The walls had screens with bubbly beer. Also, we saw the 9000 year lease that was signed by Arthur Guinness for the factory that we were in. I never knew that signing a 9000 year lease was possible? Following the introduction we went on the self-guided tour of the building. It included stations of all the ingredients that are used in making Guinness, as well as a video at each station describing the process. We even got to try a sample of the barley! It was very cool. After the tour of the beer, we got to see the lab they test taste at, see their criteria, and have our own sample of the process we just learned about. It is a strong beer, nothing like the cheap college beer I’m used to drinking=) There were 7 floors to the Guinness Storehouse, filled with cool information, a restaurant, games, and mine and Nicki’s favorite room, a room with the barrels that the beer comes in, and videos showing how they used to make them by hand!! It was awesome. On the top floor was the ‘Gravity Bar’. With your ticket into the Storehouse, you got a complimentary pint of Guinness. The bar was cool because it was all windows, with a view of mountains. Rachel and Nicki were scared that they wouldn’t finish their Guinness because it has a very acquired taste. I started to like it after going through the stations. I could really taste the barley as I drank it.

After we finished, we went to get lunch. We got in a cab, (weird when I sat in the front seat, which is our driver’s seat!), and our driver was SO nice. We didn’t know where to eat, and he gave us suggestions, told us what we should and shouldn’t see, told us about Dublin, and was very interested in Chicago. He was such a nice guy. He gave us the rest of our day’s itinerary! We got lunch, and headed off to Trinity College. Trinity College is a gorgeous university with students from all over the world that was started by Queen Elizabeth I. Our cab driver told us that we should go into the University’s old library. We found out that it contained ‘The Book of Kells’. This is a 1000 year old book found in Kells, Ireland that discusses the gospel. It was not something that I HAD to see, but my roommate Rachel is very religious, and I knew it would be something that she would enjoy, so we all paid to see it. The library was awesome. It smelled of ridiculously old books, of which the current students can still check out! It also had Ireland’s oldest harp! The harp is the national symbol of Ireland, and NOT the four-leaf clover like everyone thinks. After walking around the campus, we headed back to the hostel to take a power nap (at that point I still hadn’t slept at all!). We took a quick nap, got ready, and headed out for the night! We decided to go see an Irish dancing show!! It was right across from our hostel, and with dinner, the show was free. We order Guinness beef pie with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The meat was soo good, a very Irish dish! Before the dancers came on, there was an Irish band playing. They were awesome! They used harmonicas and flutes, and even sang a song I recognized from the movie PS. I love you! Next, the Irish dancers came on!! They were really good! I was so happy that we got to see the dancers, and listen to the music, because it gives you a feel for the culture. I really enjoyed myself=) Afterwards, we called it a night so we could get up early for the next day!

The following day was our day trip into the countryside! We were all really excited for it. There were tons of tours to choose from in Dublin, but the one that we chose went to Wicklow and Glendalough. The bus picked us up in the center of Dublin, and started off with a short city tour as we were leaving the city. We got to drive down the street that the studio is on where U2 recorded their first album! We also got to stop off at a port to take pictures. This is when I met Katie (the girl that I am going to Paris with next week!). She was on the tour with her two brothers, and is super nice. Her, Rachel, Nicki and I were all talking about where we have traveled while studying abroad, and she told us, and then she said "..but I really want to go to Paris, my friends went a weekend I couldn’t go." Of course I said, "me too!!", because I have been looking for someone to go to Paris with me since before my parents were in Spain. I didn’t know if it was a for sure thing, but later that day we exchanged info, and our tickets are all booked=) ANYWAYS, the bus continued driving toward Wicklow. Before getting there, we stopped off at a cute cafe for coffee and breakfast. It had gorgeous landscape, and awesome shadow box tables! After about 40 more minutes, we were in the countryside! It wasn’t as sunny as we'd hoped, but at least it wasn’t raining! We made 2 stops. The first one was really pretty, and JUST what you would picture the Ireland countryside to look like: green! We continued on to our second stop. It was incredible!!! This is where most movies that are filmed in Ireland are filmed, such as Braveheart, Saving private Ryan, PS I love you, Lassie, and more! This part of Wicklow is also where the Guinness family's Estate is. It is HUGE, as you would assume. We stayed for a while in awe at where we were, and took tons of pictures. Then, before getting back on the bus, our tour guide had complimentary shots of Jameson's to "warm us up". Of course, we were in Ireland=) Next, we went stopped off at a pub for lunch. We all got meals that were basically thanksgiving dinners, so we kind of counted it for our thanksgiving that were not going to have=( We had turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a potato patty that were soo good! It was a really nice pub that for some reason had a huge statue of The Terminator at the front door that NO ONE from our tour realized when walking in! After our lunch, the bus took us to Glendalough. The first thing we got to see was the cemetery. It was amazing. Our tour guide actually did a 3 year study on that actual cemetery, so he knew so much information about it. When walking in, there was a rock to the right that if you put just one hand on it you got to make one wish, so we all did that. As we continued, we got to see all the old gravestones, and he said that there are 5 more people left to be buried until the cemetery is completely full with all the people it is supposed to have. We got to go into the church from the year 500, and there was a gravestone of a person from Chicago! Next to the church was the oldest Celtic cross in the world!! It is over 1000 years old. As we kept walking, we got to see a house made entirely in stone, roof and all. Our guide said that no house would ever be made like that today, and it is almost impossible that the house is still standing considering the amount of weight is has on it. It was beautiful! As we continued to walk, we went through bridges, streams, waterfalls, and made our way up to a gorgeous lake! The water was so still, and the reflection was incredible. We continued walking up to the larger lake that had huge mountains behind it=)

After this lake, it was time to head back to the bus, and back to Dublin. Once we got onto the bus, it started to rain, perfect timing for us! When we arrived back into Dublin, we went to our hostel, got changed, and went out to dinner. For this meal we actually got burgers, something we haven’t had one since being in Spain! They were delicious=) Later on, Nicki and I went out to an Irish pub! We of course ordered Guinness. Because we were really tired from the countryside, and had another long day ahead of us, we just had a couple beers each and stayed for about an hour to watch the band play. They were so good!

The following day, we planned to tour Dublin with the 'hop-on, hop-off' buses. On our tour we passed "The doors of Dublin", something we were hearing a lot of about but didn’t know what it was. Our tour guide explained them as what used to be middle-class houses of the people in Dublin. They are Georgian style homes, and each door could not have the same color next to each other. Nowadays, they are used as offices for companies. Our first stop off the bus was Christ Church Cathedral. The outside was absolutely gorgeous! The inside was just as pretty, and we got to read all about the history of the church. We got to tour the crypt in the basement, as well as write our own prayer in a book there=) Next, we were going to go into St. Patrick's Cathedral. To our surprise, it was closed due to a graduation ceremony that day. We were bummed, but we got to see the outside, and walk around the St. Patrick's park. We asked a cute old couple to take our picture, and afterwards, she talked to us for 5 minutes asking us where we were from, questions about Chicago, if we needed help with anything, and suggestions of where to go. We told her how appreciative we were that all the people in Dublin were going out of their way to be nice to us and help us!

After the park, we went to a pub that was suggested to us. It was called The Bull and Castle, and we had a really good lunch! Next, we went to the Dublin Castle! It was built when Ireland was still under London's rule. There was a first castle built, but when gun powder exploded in the basement, it destroyed the entire thing. This second castle that we toured was built as its replacement, and used for the English king and queens. The castle had a room with plaques for every president in Ireland. Right now, Ireland has a woman in office, and she is serving her second term. Once she is done with her term, Ireland will have had 21 consecutive years of a woman ruler!! (each term is 7 years and there was a woman president before her) I definitely learned something new! We toured the entire castle, which was really pretty, and then, we got to go outside and see where the gun powder was being stored when it exploded and destroyed the first castle. It was recently dug up in the 1980's. After the Dublin castle tour, we went back on the 'hop-on hop-off' bus, and followed it around the whole city to get a full tour. We got to see a lot of cool and pretty things, including where the president lives! Once the tour was over, we did a little bit of shopping in a department store, and some souvenir shopping. Then, we got dinner, and headed to the airport because our flight back to London was that night. As we were walking around the town, we saw many Irish and French soccer fans dressed up. We had heard the day before that there was a big soccer game that night, but we didn’t realize how big of a deal it was. It was a game between Ireland and France, and it was the start of a world cup qualifying series. The town was decorated, and there were TONS of crazy fans from Ireland and France. Confirming our stereotype of Irish drinkers, all the Irish fans were ridiculously drunk in the streets! We got to the airport, and got on our plane right away to London. Our flight back to Granada wasn’t until early the next morning, so we had to sleep in the London airport again. It was bad memories for me not being able to sleep, but I feel asleep that time!

Coming back to Granada always gives me a good, home-like feeling, but I definitely didn’t want to leave Ireland! The countryside was GORGEOUS, the people were wonderful, and Rachel, Nicki and I had an awesome and relaxing time together! I'm loving every second of traveling while abroad! I can’t begin to explain how lucky I have felt these last 3 months experiencing new parts of the world=) Next stop...PARIS!!

Great Grandma

Very unfortunatley, I had to be over seas when my Great Grandmother passed away this past month. Although I wasnt able to be there with my family, I know that my Grandma was watching over me here in Spain. Of course 95 years is an age to celebrate, but as my Great Grandma made such a huge impact on all of our lives, we knew it would be hard to say goodbye. Being so far away was definitely difficult. Luckily I have made great friends here in Spain that were there for me. Everyone was wonderful, and that weekend, they all made a toast to "Gina's Great Grandma." It was very comforting for being so far.

I am so happy that my Great Grandma was able to come to my going away party before I left for Spain. As sad and hard as it was for me not to be home, my family kept reminding me that I saw grandma at her best, and will have a great last memory of her. She was such an amazing person, and had more wisdom and life experience then anyone I will ever know. About 5 years ago, my Great Grandma gave me a prayer that she said she wanted me to say everyday because it would help me make decisions. Im proud to say that I have said it every day since then, and will continue to say it. I will always remember her telling me to "make room for my guardian angel", as well as playing pokino on my kitchen table for hours, while listening to old stories. Michael and I will never forget when she stayed at our house one weekend when we were about 10 and 12. It was a school day and grandma made us homemade frenched toast before school!! Or the time I told her that I was using her name as my confirmation name..she cried tears of joy. From then on she called me 'Gina D' for Gina Dominica. I will also never forget on my Auntie Julie and Uncle Larry's wedding day when my Great Grandma was in the hospital. Our limo drove my entire family to the hospital after the church and we all went up in our dresses to see my Grandma! I admired her strength, her sharp mind, as well as her faith. I am so unbelievably lucky to have even met my Great Grandmother, let alone really get to know her as well as I did for almost 21 years! I am honored to have the name Dominica as my confirmation name as she will forever be a part of my life.

te echo de menos bisabuela y te quiero.

(i miss you great grandma and i love you)

Halloween en Espana

After getting back from Malaga, I came home, showered, and started getting in my Halloween costume! My friends and I were dressing up as the Village people! Heather, Robin, Nicki, Maggie, Heather S., Laura and I were each a different member. I was the biker! I bought ripped up leggings, a bandana, sunglass, and gloves. I then wore black shorts, a black jacket, and sticker tattoos! We all got together to get ready, and it was so much fun!

Halloween is NOT a Spanish holiday but just something that they do because a lot of Americans are here. My senora said that it's something that has been happening for just the past 10 years or so. We saw a ton of Spaniards on the streets that were dressed up! As well as it being Halloween, Halloween is my Dad's birthday! I actually called him while we were still in Malaga on our bike tour...directly to our house number! My parents were very surprised to hear my voice on our home phone.

That night, we all went to Camborio, our favorite discoteca! It is the discoteca that is in Albaizin. The club is inside actual caves, and has an amazing view of the Alhambra at night. We danced all night (morning) until 7 30am, and walking home we got to watch the sun rise while passing the Alhambra! It was gorgeous.

It was so much fun getting to dress up here in Spain. We all would have been sad if we didnt get to take part in our American tradition!

MALAGA, ESPANA!

My friends and I went to Malaga, Spain last weekend! It is only about a 2 hour bus ride form Granada. When we arrived, we checked into our hostal, ate our lunches, and headed out. It was SUCH a gorgeous day, so we were really lucky=) The first place we wanted to go to was the Castle in Malaga. In order to get there, you have to climb the mountain. The path that we walked up was lined with beautiful gardens all the way up! Before we even got to the top the view was incredible. But, when we did, we were overlooking so much: the port with cruise ships, the mediteranean sea, the skyline of mountains, and the entire city that had palm trees everywhere, the bull fight stadium, their cathedral, and so much more! Once we took our pictures from the top, we went inside the castle! We first climbed to the top of the castle where it looked like something out of a fairy tale with towers and pointed tops! We explored the whole castle, and were blown away by its history and the views.

After this, we went to spend a relaxing day at the beach. As we walked to the beach, we strolled through a lot of the neighborhoods. The houses are so pretty! They were decorated really nicely, with bright colored houses, as well as bright flowers everywhere. My friends and I all want to retire there! We say that because Malaga is a very popular place for Spaniards to retire...we saw SO many old people. It was nice tho because the town was very quite and calm, super different than say Madrid, Barcelona or even Granada. When we finally got to the beach, it wasnt the most amazing beach ever, but being on a beach anywhere the day before halloween will do for me=) Our tour guide the next day told us that Malaga isnt really known for their beach, even tho it is pretty, it is just not white sand beaches. I love all the beaches here because they have the mountains in the background. Its like a postcard everywhere I go. The beach was awesome cuz it was later in the day, so it cooled down to about 70-75 degrees, and we all took a nice nap on the beach! We just layed and talked, and a couple of us took a walk along the shore. It was right as the sun was setting and really relaxing (not that im stressed out..i live in spain!) Next, we went to get dinner. It was gooood. A lot of the dinners come with fried eggs, which was weird to us at first, but now we all love it. Then, we went back to our hostal to sleep.

The next day was our tour of Malaga by BICYCLE! We were all really excited because 1. we didnt have to walk, 2. we all hadnt rode bikes in soo long, and 3. we got to ride the bikes on the beach! We met our tour guide, who was from England, and started riding around. She was awesome. She really knew her info, and we learned SO much about Malaga. As we were stopped in front of each landmark, she was told us something really interesting. One time, she told us the reason that ham and alcohol are so popular in Spain. We have all been wondering why ham is in almost EVERY SINGLE meal that we eat! The reason is because when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel conquered all the Islamic areas of Spain, they told the people that they either
1. had to convert to Catholicism 2. had to leave Spain, or 3. would be killed. Most of them converted, but the King didnt believe that they would actually follow through with the religion. In order to test them, he would throw huge parties, and ONLY serve ham and alcohol. The reason for this is that Islamic Muslims are prohibited to eat pork or drink alcohol, so if they didnt eat or drink at the party, they were killed. Our tour guide said that this went on for many years, and ever since then, it has been pork and alcohol throughout all of Spain. After she told us this I said, "That is so interesting, I LOVE this tour!" She said, "I think you are the most enthusiastic client ive had yet!" haha. But the tour was really awesome. We got to see where Pablo Picasso was baptized, learned all about the church, saw a Roman Theatre that was recently dug up and discovered, saw and learned all about the cathedral, rode through a botanical garden with fountains and bridges, talked about the history of Malaga, rode along the beach, stopped for drinks to try the "sweet Malaga wine" (this is when I called you guys Mom and Dad!), saw the Plaza de toros, got to see up close what is used in percessions during Semana Santa (Holy Week), AND we saw the house that Pablo Picasso grew up in! Picasso only lived in Malaga until he was 10, but she told us that whenever someone asked him where he was from he would say "Soy de la tierra de chupa y tira"...What this literally means is "I am from the land of suck and throw"..But what it means is that Picasso lived in a neighborhood that was poor, and the money that the people had was all spent on clothing so that they could look nice. They never had any money for food, and since they lived by the sea, they would just eat the clams. This phrase is because the way you eat clams is by "sucking" them, and then they would "throw" the remainder into the trash cans. The tour was very interesting, and we liked that she told us about recent information too. For example, Antonio Banderas lives in Malaga, and she told us stories about seeing him, how nice he is, and what he does during Semana Santa!

After the bike tour, we ate lunch, and went to the Picasso museum! It was amazing. Every piece of art was perfect, and we loved that they were all his original works. Going into the gift shop, I saw a postcard picture of Picasso, and was in shock of what he actually looked like. In the photo he was wearing shorts, no shirt, was smoking a cigar, and had a crazy hat on! i LOVED it. He looked so chill and laid back, and not anything I would expect him to look like. I definitley bought it=)

After the museum, Heather and I had our bus back to Granada because it was Halloween, and of course we didnt want to miss out on dressing up! We first went to this italian restaurant and got realllly good pizza, and then went back to Granada. I really enjoed Malaga! It was a perfect amount of time to get a taste of another part of Spain. I love visiting other parts of Spain and comparing how different the people and daily life is in each place=)

When In Rome!

Although I have already been to Rome, I was way too young to appreciate everything it has to offer. Leaving Granada on a Wednesday night after class, my friends Sophie, Amy, Monica, Morgan and I took a 5 hour bus to Madrid. From there we had to "sleep" in the airport. NOT a great experience, but cheaper then paying for a hostel for 4 hours. At 7 am, we took our flight to Rome!! It was really nice that we left that earlier because we had the full day when we got there.

When my flight landed in Ciampino (the airport in Italy), and my cousin Giovanna was there to greet me! It was SO nice. My friends took a bus to their hostal, and Giovanna and I went back to her house. Before going to her house, she took me to a park that was nearby. It was really pretty and the view of the mountains was awesome, but we didnt stay long because Giovanna said we had other things to do! We then went to her house, and I slept a little bit (i was ty ty). Afterwards, I was going to meet up with my friends, but their spanish cell phones were NOT working, soo Giovanna and I went around the city together=) She took me to a couple really cool churches, including Uncle Frank's favorite church in Rome! Then, we went to get pizza! There were so many kinds, but we got sausage with mushrooms, and potato pizza! Ive never had potato pizza before, and i LOVED it. After lunch we were going to go inside of the Colosseum. I was a little bummed that I wasnt going to see this with my friends, but it was no big deal. I figured I would get a hold of them by calling their hostal considering their phones were not working at all in Rome. Meanwhile, Giovanna and I are walking to the Colosseum and I heard "GINA!!" It was my friends! It was soo funny that we found eachother. We were all apologizing that our phones werent working, and they felt so bad, but we decided a time to meet later that night, and to go to the Colosseum together the next day. We were SO lucky to find eachother, considering how big Rome is. Instead of going inside, Giovanna and I walked around the outside of the Colosseum, she explained things to me, and we looked at the Roman ruins. We even went up to the top of the hill to a really cute church! Next, Giovanna took me to the street with all the best and most expensive shopping!! Something that is hard for me to resist. We went to some really cool stores, and I wanted EVERYTHING, but I kept hearing my moms voice in my head telling me "Gina, you have somthing just like that!" Honestly tho, im still thinking about this suade purse I wanted to buy in Rome...hahah I have a shopping problem. After shopping, we went to Giolitti for gelato, mmm! This is the icecream shop that Obama recently went to because it is right next to the House of Parliaments where Obama was when he came to Rome. Obviously, the ice cream was amazing. I had dark chocolate and hazlenut. Next, we walked to the Spanish steps. This place brought back SO many memories because Joanna, my Dad and I recently watched our Rome video, and me, Michael, and Joanna were all playing on the fountain in front of the steps and climbing the steps. I almost pushed my sister into the fountain! It was really pretty because it was night time, and the sun was just setting. Then, it was about time to meet my friends, so Giovanna walked me to their hostal, and we were going to go out for dinner! We first went out and got wine, and then went to a really cute italian restaurant. I ordered gnocchi, which was soo good, but I sadly spilled some of it while trying to take a picture of my plate! Giovanna then picked me up and brought me back. I went right to sleep considering we had a big day ahead of us!

Each morning Giovanna and her husband, Gianluca, ate breakfast with me. We had delicious pastries, milk, toast and cereal. They were SO unbelievably nice, and I am so fortunate to have been able to stay with them!! This day, my friends and I had a lot of things planned! I met them at their hostal, and we took off for the day. I am REALLY happy that I traveled with Sophie, Amy, Morgan and Monica, because 1. I only really knew Sophie and Monica, so I got to make new friends and get the know them all better! and 2. They were all knowledgeable of things I never would have thought... For example: I was SO surprised to hear that they all knew and LOVED cannoli. To continue where I left off, at 10 am when we left for the day, we found a bakery with cannoli. Amy and Monica said they have been waiting FOREVER for this, so we stopped in, and all ate cannoli at 10am! Haha, only in Rome. We then walked around the city, enjoying the amazing architecture, and looking at the artwork. We then arrived at the Spanish steps. It was during the day, so a different perspective, and it was a really beautiful day. I even pet a horse in front of the steps! Afterwards, we walked to Piazza de popolo, and were surpised to see that there was a dog show going on!! Missing Bella, I loved it. We explored the plaza, and found a trail that lead up a mountain. We climed up to the top of it so see a gorgeous view of the city! It was so cool. We could see St. Peters in the distance, and there wasnt a cloud in the sky=) Of course, we were all craving gelato, so we went to get some. Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain, and on our way we found some really cool pasta stores. They had EVERY type of pasta you could think of, in different shapes, sizes and colors. I loved it. We got to the fountain and it was amazing!! We stared at it forever, and made our wishes. We got a great picture while we were throwing our coins! I kept thinking of being there when I was younger. I even re-took a picture in the same exact spot that Joanna and I did when we were little=) After this we walked to The Pantheon! It was huge and gorgeous, and Giovanna gave me a book on Rome, so we were able to read up on it and know exactly what everything was. The painter Rafael is buried in there! We also learned that the entire ceiling was made of Gold, but it was stripped, and then used to build something in St. Peters Basilica. We next went to another beautiful plaza with statues, art work, and food, and then we went to the plaza with the italian market! Sadly we went later in the day when everything was about closing up, but it was still very cool to see, and there were stores with sales! Afterwards, we walked along the river. It was SO pretty! The day was perfect. We stopped next to the river and got cappuccino=) We then were headed to the Colosseum! Before getting there, we had to walk through this huge field, what used to be this huge stadium for horse races, and beacause it is so close to the river, they used to fill it with water and have battles in ships! It held up to 300,000 people, and Andrea told us the next day that now they have concerts there, and when Italy won the world cup, that this is where they all celebrated and there were 2 million people! We finally got to the Colosseum! I had seen the Colosseum with my family, but we never went inside, so I was very excited. It was awesome! It was so neat being inside of something that old, and it made it even better that the sun was shinging bright=) In my book, we read that underneath where the floor was, were prisions for slaves! It was cool because they only had half of the floor up so you can see underneath. Next, it was getting late, and of course we were hungry, so we went out to dinner. I got lasagna and meatballs! It was sooo good. We really wanted to experience the night life in Italy and compare it to Spain, so we took a bus to where we thought to go. We ended up near the Trevi Fountain, so it was cool to see it all lite up at night! After this, we went to a bar for drinks, and then to a discoteca to dance! It was a bit different from Spain, especially considering in Spain people dont go out until 2am and then stay out till 8am. We definitley had a good time tho! I then took a cab back to Giovanna's house.

The next day Giovanna had talked to my cousin Andrea and they decided to take me and all of my friends around all day to tour Rome! How lucky were we?! They each had a car, and we followed eachother as they drove us to different places in the city. It was so good to see Andrea! First, Andrea took us to this really pretty neighborhood. He said it was an expensive neighborhood, and it was very different from being in the heart of the city because it was nice and quiet. There were 3 gorgeous churches up there. All of which Andrea said that it can take up to 3 years in advance if you want to get married there! The first church that we went to was great. It was built over 1000 years ago, and the flooring was barely restored and still unbelievable. It was fun because there was a wedding going on that we got to see! He also showed us this "key hole" that people look through that has a PERFECT view of the top of St. Peters! It was so different and cool to see. Next, we passed by a piramid. It was really interesting, and Andrea told us that it was there because when the Romans conquered the eqyptians, they wanted to show that they conquered them, and they "stole" their architecture. We also got to see one of the walls of entrance into Rome from ancient times! It was like their wall of defense. After this, we went to "The mouth of truth". Your supposed to put your hand in its mouth, and if you have lied its said it would chop of your hand. Andrea said that him and Johnny (his brother) used to be SO scared of it when they were little! Afterwards, Andrea and Giovanna drove us all the way up to the highest of the 7 hills that Rome is built on. We went to Passeggiata del Gianicolo. It has the BEST view of the city. Although it was kind of a gloomy day, it was still breathtaking. The trees in this park were SO pretty and fall like! We then drove back down near St. Peters, and stopped for lunch. We had, of course, delicious pizza, and rice balls! I have never had one before and I loved it. All of my friends tried one too=) After lunch Andrea treated all of us to gelato! Not neccassary, but SO nice. I had cannoli gelato and it was awesome. This shop even had cannoli shell ice cream cones! (Dad you should make them) After we stuffed out faces, we were off to St. Peters Church. The Plaza itself is huge and beautiful. Full of pigeons just as I remember. I chased them like michael, joanna and i did years ago. It was AWESOME having Andrea and Giovanna there to tell us what everything was, inside and out of the church. Inside of the church was breathtaking, and I was most taken back by all of the mosaics that looked like paintings! They were gorgeous. After a long day of site seeing, we went to get coffee and tea. Giovanna treated us all to pastries and coffee! They were both SO generous, not only to me, but to my friends as well!! I was very lucky. We then headed off to do some shopping! Of course, I wanted everything again, but I did good, Mom! We shopped for a while, and then went to dinner nearby. We all had different pastas, wine and bread and desserts! mmm! Everything was wonderful! After dinner we walked past St. Peter's again because it was night time and all lite up! It was SO pretty. Giovanna had attended The University of Rome, and knew where all the college students hung out, so after dinner she took my friends and I to an area with all the college kids! It was really cool to see. It was similar to "el botellodromo"(drinking outside) in Spain. There were students playing instruments and having a jam session. It was great. We listened to them play for a while because it was super entertaining, and then went to get a glass of wine. Giovanna again treated us all for wine, which made me feel really bad!, but she insisted. We then dropped off my friends at their hostal and headed home for the night. On the way home I got to see the Colosseum lite up. I was really happy that I got to see EVERYTHING during the day and at night! Our day was so perfect. My friends were blown away and so appreciative of being shown around Rome. They couldnt stop talking about it! I am very lucky that Andrea and Giovanna showed me around, as well as my friends! They were the BEST tour guides ever.

The next morning was time to leave. Giovanna drove me to the airport, and we said our goodbyes. I didnt know how I could thank her for being SO great this entire time. I am a very lucky girl=) I LOVED Rome SO much. My friends and I never wanted to leave. The people, the food, the shopping, the history, it was all amazing! I loved being there that I am italian, and eating and seeing things that are my families culture! I really hope to be back again some day=)