Now that it's been a month...

I figured it was time to update no one on my Bolognese life. Bolognese is probably the last word I would choose to describe...whatever it is I spend time doing, but geographically speaking, I'm not in the wrong here. Last I updated, I wrote a meaningless post about places in Bologna that give me the creeps. Being surrounded by 8 churches on every corner, any corner, actually doesn't provide the comfort you'd think it would. I daresay this post won't be even half as entertaining.

I think the main event of the past few weeks has been Ellen's wee little sister (who's a year older than me) Kelly visiting. I was lucky enough to be able to spend a bunch of time with her, and I ended up tagging along when her and Ellen took trips to Rome, Ferrara and Florence. Cominciamo con Roma.

I'd been to Rome just this past summer with my family, and it was a bleeping disaster. Okay, that's not completely true, once our trip was almost to its end, we took a poll of which of the five cities we'd visited were our favorites. I think most of us decided either Barcelona or Cinque Terre, but I was very fond of Rome as well. Even though it was smoldering hot, packed with the most tourists I'd ever seen in one city ever (because, like some other frogurts I know, they think the summer months are the best months to pay a wittle visit to some Mediterranean countries...it's not that they work all year round or anything), and did I mention it was hot? I'm from the Caribbean, and although I avoid the sun at all costs since my move to the frigid North of America (we don't count Alaska...ever), I'd never experienced anything quite like this. Even my mother was taken aback by how absolutely horrible it felt to be outside, especially because we had to wear real clothes, since Jesus doesn't allow us in places of worship dressed like...well, Puerto Ricans. Despite all that, I loved Rome, so I wasn't at all hesitant to return.

This time, it was December, the city was relatively empty in comparison to July's traffic, and I wasn't traveling with people whose temperaments were severely testy because of the temperature. Although we encountered the same standard road bumps of travel: deciding where to eat, what to see, how much to pay...I had a lot of fun, and I got a lot of great pictures out of it.

The Vatican Museum's little cute courtyard thing with a golden globe...
Your guess is as good as mine.

First we went to the beautiful Vatican, got to see the museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square and the Basilica, and then climbed too many steps up to the top of the cupola and got a gorgeous birds eye view of Rome.

During that treacherous climb up to the top of the world (hardly), we could swear we found hell. How ironic. At one point during the climb (as the ceiling begins to curve in), you're going up a hot and narrow spiral staircase that never. ends. Well, it ended, but it never. ends. There are no windows, but every once in a while your mind will play tricks on you and convince you you've seen "a light," and the minute you're about to reach it -- more stairs. More stairs and more stairs and more stairs. I was pretty damn close to a panic attack. But when you get to the end...

It's pretty impressive.

That giant white building would be Vittorio Emanuele II's very modest monument.

St. Peter's Square from the Heavens.

 

This is Baby Kelly. She's a dancer.

We chilled in the Vatican for a while, went down to see the dead popes (I didn't know how else to phrase it) and then, after a frantic search for the rest of our group (there were about ten of us), we decided to set off in the quest for food. Long story short: we found it. That night, one of Ellen's roommate's friends, Loris, who we had met when he had visited Bologna a few weeks back, offered to take us around Rome. It was nice having someone around who knew the city. Did you know there's a pyramid in Rome? As in, a pyramid. I didn't either.

Ellen and Kelly

The Romans really were strange people. I wish they would have contributed to society more instead of playing their sick games. Speaking of games, the next day, we went down to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum and...we just walked a lot. We walked a lot. Started the day at the Colosseum, which, before visiting, I thought would be the biggest waste of time ever, but I'm always surprised by how entertained I am by it. I wonder what role I would have played in Ancient Rome.

The Colosseum

It looks like rubble, but it's really...yeah, it's just rubble.
The story behind it makes it more than rubble, but you
wouldn't know it just by seeing rubble and I'm done.

I would have probably a) been one of those bitches letting rhinoceros and Chewbaccas and leopards in and out of the tunnels and onto the stage to either eat someone or die trying, b) been the person responsible for cleaning up after the animals in the tunnels underneath the stage, c) been one of the Roman Emperor's aides, responsible for ensuring he had just enough shade as he watched one of his gladiators get eaten by an elephant, or d) been one of the people chosen as crocodile dinner.

After the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (I think?), followed by Vittorio Emanuele II's monument which led us, finally, to a kiosk that sold donuts. Only to find 800 of them just a couple of hours later after a frantic day-long search around Rome for freaking donuts.  

We then went to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, which has the first sunlight ever built (Ellen's words, not mine), listened to some bro sing opera in the piazza and get a million euros out of it (people were obsessed), went to Campo dei Fiori (which isn't actually a garden filled with flowers), and then Piazza Navona which was one giant candy + Christmas market. We stopped to get dinner in front of the Pantheon and our waiter, Erick, fell in love with Kelly. Language barriers, shmanguage barriers. Hell, she even got his e-mail out if it. E-mail. Erick, it isn't 2003 anymore: people neither exchange e-mails or use Hotmail unless it's a fake account, for that matter. 

The first King of unified Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II's, Monument

Erick!!!!!!!

Fontana di Trevi

Ellen and Rick being our tour guides

The next day, we went to Piazza Del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, and the first ever Italian McDonald's. Never forget. Omg there were these tray carts there, that like, carried...trays...why hasn't America thought of these? Long gone are the days where Dad asks you to make three trips with him to grab the trays of food for everyone sitting at the table because they're all too lazy to get up and grab their own shit!!! Panera Bread should also take note.

In Campo Dei Fiori, there were these peasant bitches making giant bubbles for money. It was cool for about 40 seconds and then children started to arrive and ruin the spectacle of it all with their nasty, sticky bubble-popping-happy fingers. My favorite was the older, fat kid who was stealing all the bubbles from the other, shorter children. Eventually the bubble maker caught on and started blowing the bubbles up a little higher and then the kid was too fat to jump and pop. Karma.

The Pantheon: The WORLD is under construction.

The Bubble

Erick's e-mail, if anyone's interested

An MJ spectacle in Piazza Del Popolo: HE'S NOT DEAD, EVERYONE.
TRUTH - WE'VE UNCOVERED IT!

Piazza Del Popolo

"The first McDonald's Restaurant in ITALY"

Just some GQMFs I stalked at the Fountain. Normal.

No Fun Allowed

The First Sunlight Ever Built

Vittorio Emanuele II's tomb. They just adored him.

So that was Rome. Followed by a spontaneous trip to Ferrara, which in English means "creepy ghost town." We literally got off the train into a really quiet, small station on a quiet, deserted street. I don't care if it was a holiday and people were "sleeping in" - it was eerie.

Apparently these are "diamonds." Nice, Ferrara.

I don't know what this means!!!!!!

The Moat

After wandering the foggy streets for a good hour or so, our sole objective became this moat: The Moat. 

When we went to Verona, we were a little disappointed that the "moat" was really just a ditch and we were hoping and praying that Ferrara had something to offer us besides uneasiness and boredom. Thankfully, our cries for entertainment did not go unanswered and we were met with this moat. It was green. It was alligator-less. But it was a moat nonetheless. And it had a drawbridge! We were in our very own Disney fairy tale. Except for none of the Disney fairy tales took place in...IDK, limbo? That's what it is: hell is in Rome and limbo is in Ferrara. Haven't found heaven yet. I'd say probably Hogwarts.

Walked into this church right during mass. Um hi? 

                                                   

Then we discovered a giant, hidden market in the only lively part of Ferrara, got harassed by some guy trying to sell me something...I still don't know what it is he wanted, I think maybe something for children with cancer that I so classily turned down, but I accidentally ripped his brochure, and then ran to catch the earliest train home to Bologna, where, in stark contrast to the rare emptiness of the 8 a.m. streets, you could barely move without elbowing someone in the stomach or getting run over by a stroller.

A child

A statue holding a child

I cannot connect this to a child

Next came Florence - preceded by AMERICA PARTY, which is just as obnoxious as it sounds. Along with fellow Americans, a New Zealander and Italians, we celebrated the U.S.of.A. with Ellen-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Kelly filled our lives with joy in the form of funfetti cake (pronounced "funfedy") and Twister®, I provided candy corn that Maria sent me two months ago, Mal and Augusto made their infamous cookies, and a giant bowl of chips lasted all of 4 minutes. In the frat house Ellen lives in, this is normal. It was an interesting night, to say the least.

Mal and Augusto, with the best America Party outfit one can have

COOKIES

Funfetti

We have long deep conversations in the palace
bathroom we are never going into again

Ellen and Massimiliano alias The Prostitute (because he made us believe that
was his profession for a couple of weeks...it was easy to believe him), this rando
who went to Ellen's for a weekend and stayed for a month (and counting...),
who we hated and grew to love (and also hate every once in a while)

Panah, Tati and Rodolfo play Twister®

Mal, me and Nicola

ALLORA: Firenze. I decided to give Florence another chance because, like Rome, I despised it this summer. I'm glad I did - it was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the company was great, and it was far from crowded. Naturally, there were too many Americans, but that's something you deal with when you go places like Florence and Rome. I feel like I don't really appreciate places like these when I'm here, though. Ellen and I were joking at lunch that we didn't really want to go see Ponte Vecchio but that we probably should...but seriously, how many people can say that they went to Florence for the day? Not many.

Stalking Kelly

Such a hipster artist~

"Ma che bello!!!!" -Nicola Paracchini

It's almost time to go home for Christmas! I'm very excited but I know the minute I'm gone, I'm going to miss Bologna, TROLOLOL. That is, until I have a bite of my mom's food mmmmmmmmmm. Mal just left for America yesterday, I miss her bunches. I leave next, then Ellen goes home with her roommates and Nico breaks our hearts leaves us forever until Spring Break.

This needs to be the end of this post, I can't handle writing any more!!!!!! Until next time...