When in Rome!

Hey guys!
Today was the first day living the bella vita, or the good life. And man oh man is life good! This morning, we had the traditional European breakfast of rolls and crossoints and every carb you can imagine smothered in Nutella. SO YUMMY. Then, we were off for the day!

We started our day with a quick walk to check out the Coloseum and the Forum. Despite the fact that I've alreasee even there, the sites were just as breathtaking as they were the very first time I laid eyes on them. One of the girls on our trip was sick to her stomach in the middle of the tour, but fortunately she was well enough to stick with us for the rest of the day. (If you know me at all, you know that just the thought of vomit makes me want to cry. But I was totally fine! It helps that I adore the girl was sick, so I truly sympathized with her!)

Once we moved on from that excitement, we saw the Tomb of the Unnown Soldier. While I had been there before, I never realized that there were guards that protected the tomb all day long, just as if the tomb contained a high priest. The gesture alone was so kind that it made me tear up. Then, visited a church that was built in the mid-1400s. It just blows my mind that the church (below) predates the country that I call home.

Then we took a trip to see the Trevi Fountain. So. Incredible. Made a wish and I hope it comes true!! Then I checked out the Spanish Steps and learned that they're called that because they lead to the Spanish Emissary. I felt ridiculous for not realizing that beforehand! After a quick stroll, we finally made it to lunch. Our first appetizer was bruschetta. Yum. Then, we were given a plate of mini bread rolls and various dipping sauces to try. Once again, I tried to be brave. Bad decision. I ended up dipping my bread into tuna. YUCK! At least I know I still hate seafood! We were then brought out some of the best pizza of my life. I got funghi (mushroom!) and it was delicious! Then we had fried chocolate balls for dessert. I'm drooling just recounting this.

After that, we headed to the Vatican. I'll eventually put up pictures on Facebook, but for now I'll give you the hilights. I learned the reason the Pieta is the only sculpture in St. Bascilica to be behind glass; some lunatic took a hammer to the Pieta 23 times. Also, I learned that it is the only piece that Michelangelo signed. Our tour guide at the Vatican was Carlo. Not only was he highly knowledgable about everything Roman, but he also was a UT grad! And highly attractive to boot. It really made the Varican THAT much more interesting ;) But truthfully, it was amazing going back and seeing everything a second time around; I felt like I got a lot more out of the tour!

If you went to Europe with me a few years ago, do you remember the gelato shop that Nettah took us to? The one with over 100 favors? Well, I was there today!!! And MAN was it good to be back. Some of the best gelato in the world. Hands down. I ate stracciotella (basicially chocolate chunk) and roche (chocolate deliciousness). Then we checked out the Pantheon and headed to the same restaurant that we ate at last night. Dinner consisted of pasta in Alfredo sauce, green beans, turkey and fruit and ice cream for dessert. I could get used to this!

Sorry for the ridiculously long post, but this will be my last post for a few days. I'll be heading to La Pivuccia tomorrow, which seems like it'll be a relaxing vacation spot where we'll work on lesson plans and the like. All that means to you is that you won't get to check out my blog because I'll have no Internet access. Sad!

Hope all is well back home. Miss you all, but I'm already having a blast!

Ciao y'all!

Globe Trotting

Bonjour! This blog post is coming alllll the way from Paris, France. We missed our connecting flight to Rome (hooray for group travel!), so we'll be at the airport until 2:00 local time. So time to update the good old blog!

The time flew by (pun intended) on the flight to Paris. I slept for over half of the flight and spent the rest of it reading The Hunger Games and watching movies. Good clean fun!

We're all hanging out doing a whole lot of nothing... Luckily, we were given meal vouchers to fill the time... and our tummies! I tried to be adventurous, but it didn't work out in my favor. Note to self: mystery meat in a sandwich is NEVER a good idea!! However, the baguette was fabulous and the Coke Lite made me a much more pleasant person!

I'm going to get back to people watching now. Hope all you Americans have a wonderful day!

 . . .

Bojourno from Rome! Right now it's 9:45 and we just got back to our adorable hotel. I'm staying with Rachel and Ashleigh in this precious room. Not only do we have a bidet (...I'll pass), but we even have our own terrace!  It's beautiful here. More importantly, dinner was fabulous. Red wine, the BEST lasagna I've ever had, salads, chicken(?), French fries and lemon sorbet. Seriously guys, I'm going to come home and be HEFTY. But it'll be well worth it!

Tomorrow will be FULL of adventures, so I'm going to hit the sack. Can't wait to fill you in on everything I experience tomorrow! 

Ciao, y'all! 

So Close!

Howdy!

I've had a lot of questions about my trip, so I thought I'd take some time to explain what exactly I've been up to these past few months. I have been taking 15 hours (5 classes) that were condensed into a very short, fast-paced semester. These classes were taught by the three professors that will be accompanying me to Italy. I only had class once a day, but that day was an absolute marathon. I spent 12 hours on campus. Ugh! I'm so glad those days are behind me! I also got a job working at a preschool, which I absolutely loved. I even changed my very first diaper! (It was about time!) I miss the kids already, but I plan on working there over the summer.

Now, back to Italy. What exactly will I be doing abroad? I'm SO glad you asked! I, along with 23 other education majors, will be teaching English at an Italian middle school. So I won't be studying abroad so much as I will be teaching abroad. The 24 of us will be teaching English lessons, tutoring students for an upcoming exam and holding play rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz, which we will be putting on before we leave Italy. It's going to be a crazy couple of months, but I absolutely cannot wait. The girls (and guy... poor Stephen) that I am traveling with are some of the coolest people that I've had the pleasure to get to know, and I can't wait to see where the next couple of months will take us!

On Sunday evening, I will leave the country and head to Italy. For the first week of our travels, we will tour Rome, Florence and Arezzo. Then, we will set down our roots at the Santa Chiara study center in Castiglion Fiorentino, a small town in Tuscany.

I'm spending my next to last night in the US in Dallas, where I'm saying my farewells to my parents and my dogs. Tomorrow will be a whirlwind of last minute shopping, packing and friend-visiting, and then on Sunday I'm catching a ride from my incredible boyfriend to Houston. And then I'm off! I still can't believe that I'll be on a plane on less than 48 hours... but it's the truth! Ready or not, here I go!!

Ciao y'all!

Late Night Delirium

It's currently 4:45 in the morning and I'm still not done with my schoolwork. And this would be totally fine with me if it weren't for the fact that I have to be awake for the next 15 hours. Eww. 

Today was my last day of work before Italy. I know that I'm working at the right place because I got really sad when I had to leave. But there was no better farewell than them all sitting up on their cots and screaming "BYYYYE MISS ABBYYYY!!" as I snuck* out during their naptime. They really are too precious for words.

It finally hit me today. I'm going to be gone for two months. There's a seven-hour time difference between my current home and my future home. I won't have a dog to cuddle with every night.  I won't be three hours away from Mom and Dad. I'm going to be in Italy. There might've been some tears involved with this realization.

So that's the bad news. The good news is that my meltdown has already passed! I cried out the nerves and now I just have exciting things to look forward to. Like packing! And a trip to Dallas to see Mom and Dad and the dogs! And only having ONE more day of class left for the semester!!!

I just need to get through the next few hours. It's 5:00 in the morning. At 7:00, I will leave for class. That gives me two hours to make a lesson plan. Can I do it?! YES I CAN! Because I don't really have a choice in the matter ;)

 BYE!

*Oh, and I know snuck isn't a word. But sneaked just sounds too awkward. I can't handle it. Sorry!

Mixed Feelings

In five days I will be in Italy.

To say I'm having mixed feelings is the understatement of the century. I'm sad to leave my friends, my family, the boy, my apartment, my little monster and everything that I'm used to. But I know the second I take off the excitement will overtake my nerves. I can't wait to be in Europe, to travel the world, to teach young minds, to get out of my comfort zone, to eat amazing foods, to drink delicious wines and simply have the time of my life.

I'll post tomorrow to talk about the joys of packing my life into a suitcase (ugh!) and other random things that cross my mind. But right now I need to get back to work. One more lesson plan! One more book report! One more test! And one research paper. All before Wednesday at 8 AM. Oh man. Looks like I'll be living at the library! This is going to be a long 48 hours. But it'll all be worth it in five days!!! AHH!

Ciao, y'all!

FAIL!

So... that whole '30 day photo challenge' was a complete and total failure. Since I'm headed to Italy in just 27 days (!!!) I thought I should probably warm back up to the whole blog world. I'm ready. Let's do this.

I've been fighting off a cold for the past few days so I've been sleeping like a champion. There's nothing better than waking up after a long, hard night of sleeping! Regardless of my sniffles, this weekend was pretty great. I've been really productive. Not that anyone really cares, but I got a lot of work done! Wrote two essays and read two books. Today, I also cleaned my apartment for the first time in a lloooong time. YAY ME! Anyway, on Saturday I had a romantic Pre Valentines Day Dinner with the boy at Cenare. If you've never been and you're in the BCS area, I highly suggest it. Best pomodoro sauce in College Station, hands down. Great environment, lovely staff... just a wonderful night.

Now it's time for me to take the Callie Monster outside before she pees the carpet. Have a great night!

Callie and Crafting

I'm a proud mom. Today, Callie learned a new skill: for the first time ever, she was able to catch a tennis ball!!! Not once, not twice, but a zillion and a half times! The boy took some time out of his night to make her a catching machine and, amazingly enough, it worked! She caught the ball up close, from far away, and even from an angle. I'm so proud of my little boo!

Unfortunately, tonight was a crafting fail. I used Modge Podge for the first time ever and it didn't quite work out as planned. I was attempting to make a blinged out clipboard, and the rhinestones look pretty good. Then I tried to Modge Podge some scrapbook paper onto the clipboard... who knew it got so bubbly?! It's still cute, but if I use it on both sides it won't be a very useful clipboard. So frustrating! I just painted a base coat on the front so that I can paint it up tomorrow. Any ideas?

My best friend came back in town today, and I'm so excited to be able to see her tomorrow! We're going to go shopping. My poor wallet.

See you tomorrow!