Noooooooo!

I'm leaving tomorrow. I'M LEAVING TOMORROW.

I don't want to go. Not now. Can't I have another month? Argh, whyyyyyy?

My exams are over, I'm in the process of packing. I've accumulated far too much stuff so now I have to figure out how to get it all back.

Since I have "leaving the country stuff" to do, let me give a quick summary of other stuff I should have written about but haven't:

1. Basically my last couple of days in Rome were boring. There was an interesting procession type thing going down the road on Sunday, but other than that I just stayed in the hostel waiting for some sort of information. Eventually I got a flight back here.

2. I went on a trip to the Isle of Wight. It was basically a really long walk up a really big cliff. I wish I had known how steep it was before going, as I'm terrified of heights. Going up wasn't the problem though, it was going down. Still, it was a nice little outing. I'd never been on a ferry before, I wasn't expecting it to be so nice.

3. I also went on a trip...uh...somewhere. Yeah, I don't really remember where it was...it was some castle in England. There's tons of them so I can't remember what the name was. It was nice, but it rained that day so it was really cold.

4. I got my Nano book in the mail! It's awesome to actually hold something you've written.

5. I'm officially obsessed with Wicked. I've seen it two more times. There was a massive cast change so it was interesting seeing different interpretations of the characters.

6. I went to West End Live in London on June 19th. I got up ridiculously early, got a bus to London, queued for 2 and a half hours, and had a great view. West End Live is basically like a concert of West End shows, where the cast members perform a couple of songs from their shows in full costume and makeup (with a few exceptions; the woman playing Elphaba hadn't been greenified). It's amazing, and it's free. Does America have one of those? If not, we need to start doing it.




7. I went to the Brighton Pier today. It was really nice, and fattening. I got these delicious donuts that were loaded with grease and sugar...mmmm. I also had fish and chips for the first time here (I was determined to eat that meal before I left). So I think I've gotten all my English stuff out of the way.

8. When I went to see Wicked the other day I spent most of the day in Green Park and St. James Park. They were both really serene, though packed with people. London has some really amazing parks. I haven't been to Hyde Park though.

9. On the way to those parks I passed Buckingham Palace (not sure why I'm writing this backwards but oh well). I think it was the changing of the guard, but there were so many people crowded around the gates that I gave up trying to see what was happening.

So, that's that! I can't believe it's almost over...I mean seriously, I can't believe it. I don't want it to be true. I actually kind of love London, and I definitely love Brighton. I don't want to go back yet :(

I'll be on my way to the airport this time tomorrow...argh...I want to put off packing because it just reminds me that I'm leaving, but I should probably get on that so...

When I get back I think I'll post one more time, and that'll be it for this blog. It was a great year, and I hope anyone reading this has found it informative, or at least entertaining.

Well, I'm off to (convince myself to) pack! See you soon!

The Roman Adventure, p.2

Right into it:

Day 3

I woke up early to go to Vatican City. I got lost, again, but got directions from a really nice guy walking by. I eventually made my way to the line, which was extremely long. However, I think waiting times are slightly exaggerated online. People make it out like you're waiting for hours. It was maybe 20 minutes max, and since I got there early I didn't really care how much time it took.

Once I got inside I...well, walked around. The statues were cool--there's this one hall filled with them, most of them representing Roman gods. I also really liked looking at the ceilings when I reached the painting/art type areas. For some reason I didn't expect it to look like a museum, but it did...only it was extremely massive, way bigger than an average one. I don't think it's as big as the Louvre in Paris (or...hm, maybe it is), but it's still huge.

Er...that's all I suppose. I mean, it's a museum, so I don't know what else to say.

I went into the Sistine Chapel next. I have to say, not impressed. It pretty much looked exactly like all the other rooms in the Vatican museums.

After that I went back to the hostel because I was tired. I know it doesn't seem like I did much, but all the walking got to me. A bit of rest gave me some energy, so I got up and went to Circo Massimo, this place that use to be a race track. It's a long, long track that tourists love to wander around. I'm not sure if they still use it for anything, but it was cool to look at.

Then I tried finding the entrance to the Baths of Caracalla. To make a long story short, I found it, but by the time I did I had already walked around the entire thing trying to figure out how to get in, and I was so tired of walking up hills I decided not to bother. It was basically like, I was maybe 20 feet to the right of the entrance, but I didn't see it so I went right instead, and walked around the entire thing only to realize if I had just gone left instead I would have found it in seconds. UGH.


But the area was so nice that I didn't really mind walking around, because you could still see inside it pretty well. There were only a few people walking around inside, I think it's a pretty well-kept secret.

Day 4

Well, time to leave! The bags are packed, I just have to get up and...huh? Mom just sent me a text...something about a volcano...what on earth is she talking about? Ugh, whatever, it's too early for this...time for a shower...okay I'm awake now, what was she talking about? Meh, whatever, I'll just go print my boarding pass now...this was a really nice trip...enter passenger information, awesome...MY FLIGHT IS CANCELLED???!!?!?

That was pretty much what happened when I woke up that morning. I thought my mom was making the volcano up to be honest, mainly because it was so random. The panic didn't fully set in until the next day when no information was being given to anyone. I spent half the day on the phone with my mother trying to figure out what was happening, and the rest sitting in the hostel room listening to music, not wanting to be too far away from a computer. I did get some straciatella gelato for the first time though--it was delicious.

Day 5

I had to check out of my hostel and go to another one because Ciak was already full for the night. Of course, as soon as I checked out I was told that oh, by the way, someone cancelled, but it was too late, I'd already booked another place. I'm not going to say what the name of it was, but it was kind of shady. I wasn't that comfortable, but luckily I only stayed for one night.

I checked in early but the room wasn't ready so I decided to go to the zoo. I was actually that bored. I'm glad I did, because it was such a nice area. It was really wooded and quiet and...I dunno, forest-y. When you look at a tourist map of Rome, you'll notice it because the entire area is green. The zoo itself is a long walk (what a shock) from the metro station, but it's a good place for a walk anyway. There's also this park next to it, which I kind of wanted to sit in, but I wanted
to reach the zoo even more.

It was alright. I mean, it's a zoo. The monkeys were fun to watch, but most of the animals were either asleep or just lying down, not caring about the people watching them. I thought one of the lions was sleeping and took a picture, and then when I moved my camera his eye had opened. It scared half to death, but it was pretty funny.

So that was the end of day 5. I'm still not done! More to come later...I also have some trips I went on here in England to write about...I'm getting backlogged, but I have exams to study for, so it'll have to wait for another day. Bye guys :)