This is an Italy Post
Umbria
So I realize this is way late - my trip to Italy was in March! But I finally feel like typing up a journal about my amazing time in this beautiful country C: Anything I took from my travel journal word-for-word is in italics~ and the bold is the time and place when I wrote about each day in my journal~
March 11, 2011 - 7:38PM (Toronto)
"I was hoping for a proper Tim Horton's luncheon." Laura and I heard some British guy say that as we walked through the Toronto International Airport back to where our group was sitting. I had finally started to write in my travel journal, staring in the Halifax airport with how unnerving it was to have my suitcase whisked away on a conveyor belt by a man who spoke very bad English. Though that was nothing compared to finding our way to get our carry on bags checked (and getting them checked). I was just worried that I had something in my bag that I wasn't supposed to have in it (but apparently batteries are okay). Waiting to get on the plane was boring but Laura and I passed the time listening to Smart Mouths and kpop.
Laura (left) and I at the Halifax airport. Waiting to board!
TAKE OFF WAS AWESOME. It was my first time on a plane so I didn't know what to expect. The plane made some crazy noised while the wings sorted themselves out, and then when we started to roll I got so excited. When the plane actually lifted my stomach dropped, and then we started to rise and I was just so in awe of everything I was like *___* I started watching Black Swan on the way to Toronto but I didn't get to finish it. (Not that sad though. That movie is messed up.) I was so amazed by the clouds. It had been cloudy when we left but above the clouds you could see the sun on the fully barrier and it was so pretty ;w;
The Toronto International airport is really big. In the area we were in, there was this large dome-like structure, and it was really wide. If you stood at one and and someone else stood at the other, you could talk and hear each other as if you were standing right next to each other. I had my first poutine in the Toronto airport \o/ I'm now addicted and get one every time I go to A&W. At some point Laura and I realized that we were in the SAME TERMINAL TOKIO HOTEL WAS IN WE THINK WE SEE WHERE BILL SAT OMG MY HEART.
10:00 PM (Toronto)
We had gotten onto the plane, but then there was something wrong with it so we had to get off that one and wait 45 minutes to be able to board another one. I was really thirsty but I was holding off on drinking anything because I didn't want to have to pee on the plane. Laura and I went to the washroom and when we came back we saw people lined up and thought it was us and started freaking out because we couldn't find the group but then BOOM we found them again and it was all good.
Some time in the afternoon in Frankfurt
I can't remember how long the flight to Frankfurt took. I know I slept (I basically slept whenever I could on this trip - on the planes, on the bus, so I was never really jet lagged) and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (and bawled into my complimentary travel pillow). I was so excited to arrive in Frankfurt because - even though I wouldn't be stepping outside - it was the first foreign country I had ever stepped foot in. The Frankfurt airport was either the same size or larger than Toronto's. Laura and I explored our little section, and we were going to try to get something really German to eat (because our German teacher kept telling us things to eat) but we opted for muffins instead. I got a chocolate muffin~
We were going to be there for four hours, so we changed out of our clothes into something nicer/not almost pajamas so when we arrived in Italy we didn't look completely horrid. Then we sat with our group. I tried to read but I couldn't concentrate. We tried to listen to Smart Mouths but that just wasn't cutting it, so Laura grabbed a German newspaper (Bild, to be exact) and we scoured over that tabloid while listening to Tokio Hotel~
On the flight from Frankfurt to Rome I sat with this young Japanese couple. I was having intense fangirl moments. They were so cute. He kept holding her hand and I don't think she felt well. She didn't look well, at least. She slept most of the time and he read his little book in Japanese. I slept a lot on that flight too. I did get to see Germany from the sky and we flew over the Swiss Alps ;3;
March 14, 2011 - time unknown - on the bus (Rome)
I skipped a day in my journal hah. We arrived in Rome really late and spent most of the time driving to the restaurant. Our tour guide's name was Fabrizio (fah-breet-seeyo) and our bus driver was named Giovanni (joe-vahnni). Our first meal in Italy was really yummy (every meal in Italy was yummy) and there was a sign in the front that said "Breakfast" and underneath it in Korean "아침 식사" and yeah, I had a little moment. After that we went to the hotel, which was really cute and Laura and I had a room to ourselves~ We were right by the boys. At this point the group from Ontario that was travelling with us weren't there yet because their flights got seriously delayed/screwed up.
The next day we had our first breakfast in Italy (not that spectacular, the Italians don't do much for breakfast) and we got a seriously funny story from the boys. The only thing separating their shower from the rest of the floor was a piece of wood (doesn't make much sense but ... if you were there it makes complete sense). So Dan was showering and he noticed that the bathroom floor was flooding. He got out of the shower and hears Nick exclaim, "There's water everywhere!" Well. We just cracked up. It became the running joke throughout the whole trip for Dan to just randomly say it and then me, Laura, and Alicia would just die laughing.
That day we saw the Coliseum, the forum, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. We had like half an hour of free time in a mall and after a lot of trouble I bought a Cinema Bizarre CD (ToyZ). We had the first of many trademark lunches in Italy: pizza, Fanta, and gelato. My first flavor of gelato ever was coffee and omg. Nobody can understand unless they've had gelato. It tasted exactly like coffee. It was so strong I couldn't even finish it. Laura got tirimisu flavor (which became my second favorite flavor). Ashley got melon flavor which was ... alright. I'm pretty sure I bought my "I ♥ Roma" sweater on this day too, but I'm not positive. For supper we had some mushy spinach stuff, tomatoes on bread, lasagna, and strawberry gelato.
Coliseum
the forum
FOREVER SIDE EYEING THAT MAN FOR GETTING INTO MY SHOT. This happened so much on this trip.
gelato & pizza :D
"Today" (the 14th) we visited Vatican City and got to meet the Ontario group. Basically I disliked everyone except for Nic. And they were ... were the worst people to travel with. To make a long story short: all they wanted to do was eat MacDonald's and they weren't there to learn anything. (However there was a girl that was okay but that comes later.) So at the Vatican we saw a lot of old naked statues (.__.), and lots of large tapestries and maps. And a lot of frescoes~ We went into the Sistine Chapel but unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures in there ;__; But you could take pictures in St. Peter's Basilica because there were mostly mosaics in there.
St. Peter's Square
I SAW THE SWISS GUARD. And I wanted a picture of them so badly but my teacher yelled at me and Laura to hurry up so I didn't. I was really bitter the rest of the trip because I didn't get a picture of them :( Later we had some free time and we ate some lunch (and one of the waiters winked at me) and then Laura, Ashley and I went to a cute souvenir shop.
The guy working was so flirty but he had to be at least mid-20's. He was really cute though. Laura took quite the liking to him. He kept screwing up his adding when he was ringing me through so he gave me pencils and a pen for free (almost a lighter, but I told him I don't smoke). Then he gave Laura like half her things for free. Laura really wanted to get a picture with him so she and one of the chaperones (Cindy) went back to the shop later and Laura got her picture, a heart eraser, and his name: Federico d'Angelo di Paola. He wanted her to add him on Facebook. Creep. One of the girls even got a marriage proposal that day. I guess wherever she and some other girls went to eat, the owner really wanted her to marry his son.
March 16, 2011 - 6:07 PM (near Venice)
And there I go skipping a day again. I don't recall the name of the place we were staying in, just that it was just outside Florence. Our hotel room was so cute and orange and we were sharing with the only grade ten on the trip, Kiana. She didn't know anyone so we totally befriended her C: We kept struggling with our door and had to get Dan to open it for us. We visited the boys, too, once or twice. Mostly all we did was eat supper, shower, and watch TV that night. It was our first supper with the Ontario group and one of their chaperones sat with Laura, Ashley and I and told us about their trip troubles. Fabrizio bought us each a drink and I of course got Fanta~ I'm pretty sure that was the night I watched Jersey Shore for the first time (or that could have been in Rome). There was also this show that we watched but couldn't understand a word of because it was in Italian. I really liked the theme song but unfortunately I can't remember the name :(
The next day we visited Pisa and Florence~
It was so cool to be in Pisa~ To see the leaning tower and the baptistery and stuff. That was the first and only day that I payed for using the public washroom. It wasn't too expensive, but later I found out that sometimes it can cost up to three euro.
Florence was really pretty. The buildings were really nice. I really wanted to go into the church with dead Michelangelo and dead Galileo but we didn't :( We didn't even go into the Duomo which was really disappointing. We had two hours to kill so I walked around with Cindy and she bought me gelato (chocolate this time), and my teacher and Cindy coerced me into buying a scarf (I don't even wear scarves) because they said it looked really nice on me and that it was Italy so of course I should buy a scarf. While Cindy and I were walking, some guys (like at least five) bowed at me - completely with hand motions - as we crossed the street. And then I saw a gay couple and they were so cute and holding hands.
That red tip in the back there is the duomo, and you can see the bell tower beside the building in front of the duomo.
We ate a ton of pizza for supper. At our table was Alicia, Laura, Dan, Nic, me, and the chaperone that ate supper with us before. Nic can eat so much food omg and he was so nice and really awesome and I totally miss him :( We ate some gross desert stuff and I didn't like mine so he ate it for me LOL.
Then "this morning" (the 16th) we had more time to kill. I should mention that at this point it was still raining. So that's like three or four days of just clouds and rain and cold. A bunch of us went to a music store and I bought two Green Day CDs. We spent the rest of the day driving to wherever this place near Venice is and I logged into Facebook and Twitter for a bit. NO ONE ON TWITTER CARED THAT I WAS TWEETING FROM ITALY THOUGH I SEE HOW IT IS e__e In that hotel Laura and I shared a room with Ashley and Laura had a small medical emergency but I totally handled it and we temporarily lost power and the boys were being stupid (don't remember why though). And then we went to the disco.
March 17, 2011 - 9:47 PM (still near Venice) Happy 150 years of unification, Italy!
In my opinion, the disco sucked. I had a horrible time, like I always do at dances. My fault though. I could have stayed at the hotel. The Italian boys were hot but they were scary and I guess really gropey and way to friendly with the girls there. I got to talk to one of the other Ontario chaperones a little bit though, and he was really and totally touristy and adorable the whole trip. On the shuttle ride back to the hotel I had to ride with the Ontario girls, and I sort of befriended this one girl, Sarah, and immediately I knew she wasn't like the others. She was really concerned that they wouldn't get to go back to Rome to make up for the lost day and that she wouldn't get to see the landmarks there.
"Today" we went to Venice and finally we had some beautiful, sunny weather. Venice was by far my favorite place. Maybe it was the lack of cars to get run over by, maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the beautiful buildings. Before Venice we had a glass blowing demonstration in Murano which was really cool. In Venice we rode on the gondola (and oh it rained while we were on it). THERE WERE MASKS EVERYWHERE AND THEY WERE SO BEAUTIFUL. I bought one. Almost bought two. I finished up my souvenir shopping there too. And I had more chocolate gelato and pizza~ Laura, Alicia and I chased a pigeon with plastic around its leg. I named him Tiny Tim. The next day we went to Assisi.
ISN'T VENICE JUST BEAUTIFUL SOB
Dan and I in the back of the gondola before it started raining. When it did I quickly put my jacket on with my hood up and held the umbrella that the gondolier CHUCKED AT US. I mostly held it over me but it was half on Dan so he called it his pants umbrella.
March 19, 2011 - 2:04 PM (Umbria)
We didn't do a lot in Assisi. We drove for most of the day, and I heard some guy at a pit stop say he wished he was on the 8 day trip because that's where all the hot girls were. Also I had a dumb moment and forgot how to count by two (2, 4, 6, 8, 12!). There were a lot of things I don't remember about that day (even just the day after, writing it all down, I couldn't remember). It was like Assisi happened in a blur. I bought a cute hairband with a teeny hat on it an Italy flag.
"Today" we went to Spoleto and Umbria. And I have just now learned that Spoleto is a city in Umbria and omg everything makes so much more sense now. I bought a cute pair of sunglasses and the weather was really nice. Laura found 50 euro on the ground and we saw "Tokio Hotel" and "Tom, ti amo" spray painted on the ground. Laura and I had a huge moment. After Spoleto we drove back to Rome.
March 20, 2011 - 4:09 (Rome)
So that night when we arrived back in Rome, we drove around and got to see the city at night. It was so pretty but I was really tired so I slept a lot on the bus. At that hotel our room was a ~suite~ and it had a bathtub and a toilet seat which we were so happy about because ITALY HAS A LACK OF TOILET SEATS.
Then "today" we went back to the Trevi Fountain one last time and had our lunch of pizza, Fanta, and gelato one last time. On the way we had to say good bye to the Ontario kids, and even though I didn't like the majority of them, I was still sad to see them go and I almost cried. We ate our last gelato where we ate our first gelato. On the trip I tried six kinds and I loved hazelnut the most. There was a marathon going on right through the area that day.
On the drive to the airport Fabrizio kept talking (that's all he did the whole trip was talk, like, every minute we were on the bus he just kept talking) about all the memories and crap that we'd keep with us and I almost cried again. At the airport a lot of the girls were crying because we were all going to miss Italy and Fabrizio and the whole time I was trying my hardest not to cry but it was really hard ;o; I had a really strenuous conversation with a guy I was trying to buy gum from. It ended with him calling me Canadianese.
When we were waiting to board the plane to London I had a HUGE FANGIRL MOMENT when I realized we were GOING TO LONDON and that I would BE IN ENGLAND where HARRY POTTER WAS CREATED.
I didn't update my journal after we boarded the plane to London. When we got outside we saw a double decker bus \o/ and Alicia, Laura and I started speaking with British accents and I started spewing Harry Potter facts. We had a bus take us from the airport to our hotel which was on the outskirts of the airport. It must have taken us almost ten minutes to get there. We had a tour guide for that time and his name was Tom or George or something really British I can't remember. Heathrow airport is ridiculous ... like ... I can't even begin to explain how large that airport is. We had really good food for supper and breakfast, and then it was back to the airport. I saw a Canadian singer there and when we arrived back in Halifax I was standing like a foot away from her but she looked really haggard and I was too shy to say anything to her .__.
And there you have it! My lovely, lovely trip that I payed for with my own money~ It was so brilliant and I yearn for the day I get to return. It also makes me really excited to to study abroads in university n___n
P.S. For anyone I have on Facebook from Twitter, if you want to see more pictures I have 3 albums full!!