The first 100 miles

I feel like I haven’t written anything for days, but its really only been two! Gosh dang its so hard to keep track of the days and how much time has passed! I feel like ive been here forever but its only been like 5 days! We have done SO FREAKING MUCH in the past 5 days that my feet are starting to look more like ground beef…for real. We walk all over the place and these streets are not our nice paved ones in Utah, they’re the ancient stones placed by the Roman government in the first couple of centuries….a little on the uneven side to say the least. But its totally worth it to walk on those stones, its like I am now part of Romes history because I walked on the same stones they did. Wow crazy.
Ok so the last thing I think I talked about was the colosseum yeah? Ok so the next day we went to this great market in the CampeFiodori…or something like that anyways it was in the Jewish ghetto, oh yes there is one! And the market was beautiful! I got the most delicious white nectarine the size of my hand and it just dripped everywhere and was glorious. Then we got all this dried and sugared fruit that was to die for and great for snacking. I think I drink about 15 liters of water a day no joke. I get SO thirsty in the sun and walking! Thankfully there are random public fountains all over the place, just these ancient fountains spurting water out! People wash their feet in the ones on the ground and then the bigger ones people fill up water bottles and just drink straight out of them. I was a little opposed at first, but after you learn that there are no such things s water fountains in Rome you get over it rull fast. Plus its clean and cold and fresh.
Ok so moving on with the day that afternoon we went to these awesome museums with a million statues in the Victor Emmanuel building I think…hunh I should really know but I cant remember. Wait totally got it, the Musei Capitolini. It was gorgey of course and everything was over the top and they kept yelling at us for using flash photos…soorryyy. So there was this awesome view of the ruins so we were up there and this English guard was like “hey girls where are you from” “America, Utah” we say. “Oh do you know the Amish!” “uh…no? We are Mormons not Amish.” “Ohhhh you are the girls that dont have sex before you’re married!” “ahahahah yeah that’s us!!!” “Wow you girls don’t know what you’re missing!” “Well the boys do it too! And that’s why we get married early!” said I ahahahahhahaha I totally said that and then the girls I was with were like nuuhnh! Bahahahah it was so funny. So after chatting for a while with this awesome guard he was like alright girls be good until youre married! So awesome im glad that’s how they know us right.
On SAaturday we woke up obnoxiously early and headed out to the Spanish Steps. Our proff.Dr.Hatch (who is pretty much my favorite person in the whole wide world) talked to us about the steps and how in WWII aly soldiers slept on the steps and in the Piazza and it looked like a thousand soldiers had died. It was such a great sight because the English (and American) had finally returned to the heart of English speaking Rome. Of course the Shelley and keats museum was there and Babingtons tea house too, but we didn’t go in those. We did hope on some escalators and go to the Borghese Museum and gardends though! Wow talk about statues….there were a ton of them. Bernini statues up the wazoo. The Borghese villa was so elaborate and we tried to imagine what every room may have been back when that family lived there. My favorite sculptures were first the one of David throwing a sling. His face was super handsome and concentrated and pained almost and we really hadn’t seen many emotional sculptures so that was neat, then the one of the girl turning into a tree before hermes catches her and steals here away. Shoot wish I could remember her name. anyway, the sculptor portrayed roots coming from her toes and leaves coming from her hands, it was gorgeous! After the museum we (me and my friend marie) joined up with some of the guys and a few girls and went back to the Spanish steps to go down the most eexpensive store in rome. Holy Crap in a dish that road made me salivate….weird. Everything was dripping with diamonds and cash and fancy fancy. Some names you might recognize…Doce&Gabbanna, Cartier, Maxmara,Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, to name a few. I almost died I just wanted to go into every store! Unfortunately every store has a doorman, yes a man who stands right in front and checks out the people who come in judging to see if they will really buy or just are a nuisance to society. So we didn’t go in any, but we did take fancy pics lol.
So then we got some lunch and some stamps (the lunch guy asked us if we liked Obama…I said no and then he didn’t talk to me anymore, bahahahahha.) and then went on a gelato hunt and got some dang good stuff. And yes I have eaten gelato every day since ive been here, even in Austria. You don’t undertand! Its everywhere!!! I Just cant help myself! So after that we were all pooped so we went back to the Borghese park and took a rest in the grass. The un kept following me and a bird tried to eat me..but I did do a great sketch of a lightpost! Random I know but it was just neat ok!
Quickie- one of the guys here was in Michael Rushton’s mish and is in love with him. So ooi talked to him about it and we were telling the whole twisted story to marie and it was sooo fun hearing it from his POV. He is marvelous and I love him we are buds now. Yesterday he was like “Sydney you act just like Elder Daly!” (Sydney whites other mish) ahaha he was so insistent and kept saying that even the way I talk and move are just like him! He was like, you should hang out with him when he gets home!! Ahahah that so funny. So apparently me and elder daly could be good friends, we shall see.
So that night a huge group of us went to the Hard Rock café Roma! Ha! So much fun to eat a giant burger and water with ice! No joke I was sick as a dog after I ate that. That was the most food id eaten all week and my stomach was sooo angry with me. It was getting used to thin pizza and fruit and pasta. We have this awesome little fruit market by our house that sells every fruit imaginable for super super super cheap and the guy loves us and helps us out. Its marvelous.
After burgers we went on a night hike around rome and went to the pantheon and the trevi fountain and the Piazza Novona. We also stopped by the most famous gelato place in Rome but it was PACKED so I didn’t get tp partake, but I will I promise!
Aight this is obnoxiously long, sorry mates. Peace love and roma
<3 syd

p.s- my cousin Reese has brain cancer and has surgery tomorrow. keep him in your prayers please! love you reese!

Popsicle Palace and the Pope

Ciao friends!

So today was probably the most amazing day of my life....

but before that came yesterday, our first full day here. It was crazy to say the least. we definately went to st.peters square and got scorched by the sun, dang that place gets some SUN! ha but we waited in line and totally got blessed by the pope! it was so wild! everyone like stood and clapped and screamed for him when he came, def. not like prophet, its like a more celebrity thing with him. way weird. so anyway he blessed all the groups in the big place kind of like the conference center only smaller and not as cool. The cardinal reading for him even said "we welcome the pilgrims from Brigham Young University!" ha! crazy hunh! soooo amazing. so the guy speaks like 7 different languages, talk about talent. and Ive decided that the people from spain are freaking annoying! everytime one of them was mentioned it was like i was at a soccer game and they were cheering for their team, dang gina it was OUT OF CONTROL! so yeah Pope=amazing old man in white robes. Also the freaking saweet swiss guard who dress in these outrageous midevil jester costumes in like purple blue and orange and yelllow. no joke funniest thing ive ever seen.

K so then we went home and napped ha. i was out like a light. Did i mention that i have my own room and bathroom? no one claimed so i jumped on that! shooottt it is way nice having a little time away from everyone. i was freaked the first night, but its not that bad though a little freaky since i basically have to keep my window/door open to keep cool. I try to shut it though and its got bars on the door. yeah not gonna lie we live in the ghettoooo of Rome. We've been all over the sity and our spot is the grungiest and sketchiest. But its big and open and we have a great little living room and a huge open porch patio thing that has big tables and chairs and plants and potted plants and stuff. Its like out of a fairytale only ghetto ha!

anyway i got side tracked. So that night we went to the Piazza Novona which was absolutely amazing. Its just this big open space with a giant fountain in the middle and tons of artists displaying gorgeous oil paintings and photos and people drawing portraits of tourists and restaurants and bands and ugh its just amazing and wonderous. Then we came home and made this awesome meal and sat on our porch and ate by candlelight. So then that night I was kind of down and wanting to go home cuz I was so tired and worn out and you know how the first few days are just hard? Yeah it was like that. But I fell asleep and all was well the next day.

So today we went to the Colosseum and the Roman forum. Wow talk about the most amazing places in the world. These are so ancient and the history and views were so rich even thought the colors were all worn away. There was this awesome garden type thing where there was a line of goddesses statues and it totally reminded me of Hercules! Ahahahha I loved it!! Anyway everything was bigger than life and so beautiful. And we walked about 12 hours straight so my feet are falling apart and I may be wearing my nikes from now on…pathetic and ugly. Love it.

So we also went to the Jewish ghetto today bahahhaha it was so awesome. And I got these two amazing rings from this random guy on the oldest bridge in Rome (B.C status) and he totally like sized them for me right there! One is this big rose on three metal bands (my wedding ring dream for real no joke) it is SO BEAUTIFUL you will all love it. And this other funky loop one. They fit like gloves.

Ok so you all know that im a total whimp so our group is like going on this big trip to Florence and theres like a group of people who want to go live in hostels for three nights and then theres this little group of us who are like, uhhhh no hostels lol. We are all for hotels, ugh we are whimps but I think theres a group of four girls at least who want to go to florence for the day then go to Venice that night and stay in a hotel then spend the day in Venice then just train it hoomee. Ha I love it. Im just not into the whole camping out in hostels thing, though we might end up doing one in Florence with a huge group of guys and girls. Who knows!

Ok im pooped I don’t know what else to say. Um we went to the Greenwich village of Rome and had delicious food. I had spinach and cheese ravioli that was like heaven and it was a tiny hole in the wall and they barely spoke English except one of the guys we were with spoke Spanish which was great. Ok now for some pics. Love you all!

Popsicle palace= the home of Caligula

Austrian Loving

bitta? truly people i do not know German!

IM HERE IM HERE!! and im alive!! the flight wasn't even that bad! i tossed and turned and blah blah read my book and i was here! It was way easy! and oh my gosh can i just tell you that i should be german? or Austrian? Seriously the stewardesses all had long noses and blue eyes and little heads. i felt like i fit in! lol pathetic. except of course they were all tiny and lovely, they looked like faiytale creatures! and of course they wore these marevelous tight bright red outfits from head to toe. noke red shoes tights skirts jackets vests. out of control i loved it. and purple scarfs...

also our seats were like bright green and purple.

k so all day we have been in Austria! OH my gosh it is so beautiful! Everything is so quaint and lovely like the houses are all different colors with red tile roofs and the little towns are really close together. And downtown is just amazingly gorgeous! There is this ancient Cathederal that was burned during WWII and we walked in and i think i almost fainted it was so amazing. just awe striking and of course the outside is charred. crazy! and then we went to St.Peters Cathederal and the colors and the cieling paintings! oh my gosh it was like a little piece of history right in the center of a modern city. everything is smaller here. the people the buildings the space. Everything! and there are fresh flower stands everywhere!!>!?!?!> thats my favorite part. huge sunflowers and roses and brids of paradise and every flower imaginable just waiting to be put into a bouquet. shoot i wanna own a flower shop in Austria when i grow up! is there a major for that?

ok well i could go on and on, but its only my first day so i better not :) here are some pics becuase im bored in the airport. ohp turns out they went to the front of the entry...sowwrryyyy im really not to be trusted with this tech stuff!

in other news. my phone doesnt work like its suppsed to in this dang country....dang it. also, i got a precious email from miles today. and its about a million degrees here and i am the tannest person in our little group bahahhahahah go figure. ciao!

Cleared for takeoff

im leaving in two days.......can you say FREAK OUT?

and so the blogging begins! ill try to keep up but we all know about my electronic phobia/issue....bear with me.
hope the plane doesnt crash and that Austrian and Italian airports arent as terrifying as they sound!! woot woot Im off!!

GAH!!!! Here is the site to look at our apartment!! whoohoooo!!!!!! it looks precious and absolutely tiny and.....ten girls, two bathrooms....

http://www.rentalinrome.com/colonnatoapt/colonnatoapt.htm

i cant FREAKING WAIT!

holy shnikes! its pouring in sheets here!! like epic forrest gump rain! gah its beautiful! i love it. and the thunder and lightening are great additions :) awww i love sudden uprorous rain storms in michigan! And also watching them in my rain forest back yard!

welp thats it, im boring

20 days and counting!

Welp i did it! i sucessfully made a blog! hurrayy!!! hope it works....we all know im technologically retarded. Anyway there are 20 more days before im off to Italy and i can hardly wait! I have bizarre lists of things left to do and little time to do them in....guess ill go read a book. BAHAHAHAH. good thing i crack myself up...