A Very Lucky Girl

We woke up in our B&B in Genova, Italy on Wednesday, Jordan's 23rd birthday. Our train to Rome left at 6:10 AM and we arrived at Rome Termini station a little after 10 AM. Our hostel was located a short 7 minute walk away. We dropped our luggage off at Hotel Alessandro Palace and Bar and announced it was Jordan's birthday. The gentlemen at the reception desk told us to visit the rooftop bar that evening for free champagne. We made a mental note before slathering on the sunscreen and setting out to explore with a paper map.  We hadn't eaten a proper breakfast so we were on the verge of hanger. We turned our steps toward the Via Nazionale which was dotted with restaurants. We made a poor choice. Eliseo's was imitation Italian at best. The cheese on my pizza was waxy and the bolognese Jordan ordered tasted as though they were serving cans of Chef Boyardee. Disappointed and only somewhat full, we continued into the city center of Rome. We found the Trevi Fountain firs...

We arrived in Nice on Monday evening around 8 PM and quickly located our hostel just two blocks down from the train station. We checked into Hostel Baccarat  and a very kind man that we think was the owner upgraded us from our 10 bed dorm to a private room at no extra charge. After the day we spent dealing with the train delay in Paris our voyage was looking up! We rode up in the world's smallest elevator, tossed our backpacks in the room, and marveled at the attached private bathroom before heading downstairs in search of food.We stopped at the front desk again to ask for a map and restaurant suggestions. The nice man drew a line down the main street and told us to walk all the way down it until we reached the restaurants. We thanked him and headed out into the nice Nice night.  After taking a couple of wrong turns we found ourselves on the main avenue, but couldn't see a hotbed of lights and activity at the southern end. Instead, we stumbled into the nearest Mcdonald'...

Welcome to Tuscany! The land of pizza, pasta, prosecco and off-the-shoulder shirts. The women take in the leaning tower of Pisa before encountering Chris Harrison to learn that this week will not culminate in a rose ceremony. Instead, there will be 3 one on one dates and a group date where roses will be handed out. It's the week before hometowns and Arie needs to decide which parents he'd rather face.  They check into the Renaissance Italy and find the first date card:  Becca K, let's fall in love under the Tuscan sun.  Apparently not one to learn a lesson from the car debacle in Paris, Arie pulls up in a vintage red car. Fortunately for him, this one runs, and they head to Barga in search of their missing passion. After wrecking cars back in American and footing Jenna's open bar bill, ABC is strapped for cash so there is nothing fancy planned for Becca's date. Instead, they plan to walk around and maybe have a picnic.  After strolling through alleys and purcha...

Everything in Italy was pretty much all downhill after LDL abandoned Cadet Squad in Rome. She flew back to Dundee on our Friday in Rome due to final projects. Kylie and I dried the tears and moved on down the coast of Italy to Naples, bikinis in hand, in search of a proper beach. After some confusion we located our hostel where we had double room (thankfully) that locked from the inside. We kept that sucker locked at all times. Common areas were the only ones with Wifi, the church bells outside rang for more than an hour, the shower stalls were translucent on three sides, I found a bug in our bed just as we were about to go to sleep, and the lighting in our room can only be described as mood lighting. There was no other option.  We were hoping not to spend very much time at the hostel, because we had the beach mission in mind. We changed into our swimsuits immediately, covered them with actual clothes, and walked down the street in the direction of the water. Before we had gone fa...

it's really just all pirates and politics It was about an hour and a half from Arezzo to Rome and LDL made a friend on the way. He had already extended an invitation to his place in Dubai by the time we pulled into Roma Termini. We booked a triple room for three nights at Hotel Cressy a few blocks away from the main train station and checked in immediately. LDL and I took the double bed and Gibby took the single. After dumping our backpacks, we hit a nearby restaurant for pizza. Where LDL proceeded to spill vinaigrette on her leather purse from Prague to add to the marks of beer and gelato. I dissolved into fits of giggles.  After lunch we wasted no time in locating the Colosseum, the place of death for half a million people from 80-406 AD. Though the place is in ruins, those ruins were spectacular.  We joined a tour that refreshed me on the history I learned from Mr. Davis in Latin class at St.David's. From the Colosseum, our tour guide, Brent, led us to palatine h...

Since Taylor C. was so generous with her hospitality, we stayed in Arezzo for two nights and used our day in the middle to take a trip by train (what else?) to the famed city of Florence.  The place was surprisingly packed despite it being the bare beginning of tourist season. I imagine the proximity of Easter was a large draw. We braved the streets without a paper map and moved blindly through the maze of tourists and vendors. My first purchase of the day was raspberry gelato for breakfast. The fruit base made me feel slightly better about my nutrition choices.  We found a giant arch near a carousel that probably is really significant and continued under it until we reached the river. We walked along the edge until we accidentally found the right narrow street that spilled us into Piazza del Duomo . The cathedral was the most spectacular building I saw. The intricacies of the architecture was flawless and mesmerizing. We walked around outside for quite a while for two ...

The first thing we learned in Venice was that the train doesn't drop you off in the midst of all of those canals because DUH.  So after we wandered (our speciality) and figured it out, we hopped on a bus to take us to the picture-perfect location. I went to Vegas last summer, and though the Venetian is spectacular, the real thing is a million times more amazing. Venice was extra special to me because it was the beginning of the fulfillment of life-long dream to travel to Italy. We got there on a beautiful Sunday morning, just in time for an early lunch. I thought I ordered spaghetti, but some weird yellow-looking pasta came to me instead with bits of ham in it. It wasn't too great so I stole bites of the rest of the squad's pizzas. Especially the Parmesan shavings on top of Gibby's. When I first tasted one I solemnly vowed to seriously go to a grocery store in Italy and purchase Parmesan.  I think Venice was made specifically for the cadet squad. It's a place...

Planning is both my escape and the bane of my existence. I always want to know what exactly is happening when and my philosophy on timing is: if you aren't early, then you are DEFINITELY late. With that being said, I've already started mapping out my attack on how to conquer Europe during my three week spring break in Scotland. Because if I don't do it now, then I'll be behind! And let's be perfectly honest, researching train times and castle tours is far more stimulating than writing the last final paper hanging over my head. My spring break begins on March 30th and runs at least until April 20th (depending on when my exams start) and I've made a rough sketch of where I will be traveling during those 21 days. I purchased my Eurail pass ($700 well spent I hope!) so this adventure is happening, whether I'm ready or not. I plan to travel from Dundee to Edinburgh to get to the airport after my classes. I may stay a day or so there just exploring castles and ...

I've shared before my dream of studying abroad. On Friday I was informed of my acceptance to the University of Dundee for Spring 2014. I've been saving and saving to make this dream a reality and I'm hoping to make my savings stretch as far as I can. And I am talking geographically. I'm thrilled to be moving to Dundee, Scotland for a semester, but I'd love to explore as much as Europe as I can while I'm in the vicinity! My location bucket list includes: Italy: This is my number one, would-pee-with-happiness-if-I-got-to-go, destination. Rome, Venice, Florence. I'd love to do it all, but I'd settle for just Rome. Also, POMPEII, PLEASE. Mount Vesuvius is practically the only thing I remember from middle school history.  Ireland: This is a far more realistic location, considering it neighbors Scotland. Also, St. Patrick's day will occur while I'm abroad, and where else would I celebrate such a holiday!? England: I'm coming for you, Prince H...