European Vagary

First off, let's examine the word musings. It has the word muse in it... I wonder if there is some connection to the concept of the Muse. Like maybe my random thoughts are inspired by the Muses? These are the kinds of things that my mind does now that I've developed a newfound passion for linguistics. It's quasi-annoying because now when I speak even in English I'm always wondering about what I'm saying and where the word came from and all of that. My signora and I laugh because she has the same problem, since she knows so many languages (German, Italian, French, English... and those are just the ones she knows well. She also learned Portuguese and Spanish). Oh well, I guess it's just a cross I'm gonna have to bear ;) Anyway, let's talk about feelings. Namely, mine. I'm having a hard time thinking about leaving Rome. I mean I really start to freak out when I think about it for too long. I feel like I'm losing a part of myself that I do...

Alright everyone. Five new blog posts below (not including this one). Read them at your leisure.

So Ashley and I decided quite a while ago that we were going to make Thanksgiving in Rome. We just can't live without it. So finally, the day rolled around and we put on a show. We had told our signora to invite a friend and we had invited our friend Matt, so we were able to show a whole group of Italian people what Thanksgiving is all about. Ashley did all the grocery shopping, bless her heart. I only had to go out and get the stuff that was forgotten. Because what is Thanksgiving without having to go back to the grocery store multiple times? Then we spent hours and hours cooking and preparing everything. We made deviled eggs, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, gravy, cranberry sauce, and apple crisp. Our signora brought a cake, her friend brought cookies and Matt brought vino. Everything was delicious and cooked perfectly. The sweet potatoes were a little bizarre because Italian sweet potatoes are not like American sweet potatoes. ...

So the weekend after Amsterdam, I was visited in Rome by some very special people. My friends Bree and Kristina from elementary school (i.e. La Crescenta/back home) and Bree's cousin Caitlin came and I showed them a good time. They arrived Saturday and we tried to meet at the Vatican before it closed. But we didn't make it on time so all we got to see was the Basilica. But that's cool in its own right. After the Vaticano, we went out to dinner at Campo dei'Fiori. Everyone had delicious wine and pasta, it was good. After dinner we went our separate ways to get ready for the evening. My friend Christina works at a club and we were planning on going there that evening. I met them at their hotel and we spent some time hanging out there before we went out to the club. When we got to the club, all of my friends from the program (who had arrived 2 hours earlier) were upset because everyone had trouble getting in. But they had come with 40 people right when the club o...

Amsterdam was waaayyyy more fun than I thought it would be. You hear about Amsterdam for only one thing (and I think you know what I mean), I didn't really think there would be any more to it. But Amsterdam was a world of wonders. Let's take a look. (Oh and there's a picture that might be offensive to some, it's not too bad... just know you were warned) So, our trip to Amsterdam started out a bit shakily. Ashley and I had a helluva time getting to Fiumicino airport to make our plane. It was pouring rain and somehow a tree had gotten knocked over onto the train tracks, delaying our train to the airport. The train itself was packed beyond comprehension, standing room only with our suitcases. Then we finally got to the airport super late and had to run to the check in line, except I got off on the wrong floor on the elevator and got lost. Great. We finally checked in and ran to the security line. The security line was hundreds of people long. We had 15 minutes...

Alright so Paris. Paris was amazing. Ridiculously gorgeous city (so pretty it should be illegal), beautiful people, delicious food, great vibe and a language that pretty much made me melt EVERY time I heard it. So yeah, can't say enough about Paris. With that in mind, let's move forward. Ashley and I arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning. We grabbed breakfast with Pierre (he had met us at the bus station) and then I promptly went to sleep. After waking up, we all hung out at the guys' (Constantin and Pierre's) apartment, just relaxing, drinking and talking. That's what I mean about the vibe being so great. I loved that everyday after work/school, people just sat and talked. Then a bunch of their friends came over and we all went out to a creperie and I had the most delicious dang crepe of my life. There were mushrooms and bacon and cheese... it was sooo good. After dinner the group of us went out to a bar where they were playing the election results on the ...