Last Day Pt 1

It’s 7:40 am on Tuesday 21 October 2008. I’m up writing one of my last blogs from one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Let me put this out there: I don’t want to leave. I’m sitting here drinking my cuppa, a habit I picked up in the UK, listening to Barenaked Ladies, “If I Had $1,000,000” and writing my blog.
I’ve been in Roma for 2 weeks now and have completely fallen in love with this City. This city is very small, but completely beautiful and just so full of history that America just doesn’t have. Cliff and I have gone to almost all the ‘famous’ sites in this city. The day we went to Florence, we were so close to seeing Michelangelo’s David but didn’t get to see it due to time constraints. That is one of my major disappointments. My other disappointment is that I completely forgot to look to see where di Vinci’s Last Supper was. I wanted to see that so bad, especially with the history surrounding that masterpiece. This city or country rather, is beautiful. I mean, this is Roma Italia for crying out loud. So far, Cliff and I have visited the following places:
• Vatican
• St. Peter’s Basilica and Square
• Forum
• Colosseum
• Palatine Hill
• Santa Maria degil Angeil (beautiful church and site of some of the old ruins)
• Fontana di Trevi
• Spanish Steps
• Largo di Torre Argentina: Roman ruins and a pound
• Pantheon

Please keep in mind that these are just a few of the places that we visited. Like I keep saying, this place full of history. I could stay here for a zillion years and still not get to see everything here.
Like I said, Cliff and I have been here for the full 2 weeks. This has been 2 of the best weeks of my life. Cliff says he’s had a great time but he’s ready to get back to his couch, bed and connivances that he’s grown to love & expect. I, on the other hand, only really miss my water pressure and dryer.
This trip has been a trip of a lifetime. I realize that not many people get to make this trip before they’re older. Hell, Cliff’s parents are with us and this is her first time out of the country and she’s well into her 50’s. I’m 28 and I’ve already been to 2 countries which sucks. I’d like to have gone to at least 10 by the time I’m 30. I may have to hit Canada and some of the Caribbean Islands to get my 10. But I know this is a trip of a lifetime.
Someone at work told me that if I go to Italia, I’m going to come back a changed person. I believe that he’s right. I may not be a changed person in the sense that he’s talking about, but I think I’ve changed. After I get home, the first thing I’m going to do is buy cloth bags so I can use my own bags when I buy groceries, I’m going to cut down the portion sizes at the house, sodas are going to become non-existent in my house, and we’re going to do better at exercise. Since we’ve been here, Cliff and I have both lost weight. In one week, I’ve lost over 10 kilograms and Cliff has lost 2.5 belt notches. This was after we’d been here for a week. We’ve been eating lunch and supper and really healthy at that. This country makes me realize exactly how wasteful Americans really are. Like I told my friend Mel, the American motto is: “The Bigger The Better” and I truly believe that. I can’t go back to the American lifestyle. When I go to another country, I generally take something back with me. When we went to the UK, I picked up the language and a couple of habits: hot tea in the afternoon and with my meals. Here, I’ve picked up that we’re wasteful and I’m going to my best to rectify that in my own household. Enough for 8:15 in the morning. Must go shower and brush teeth.

Ciao

Fashion

Something I haven’t really blogged about is the fashion here in Roma. Fashion rules supreme here. You’ll see men in business suits and women in dresses and 6-inch heels. It’s crazy. Apparently the women favour skinny jeans, ankle length, with really high heels. It’s a fashion no-no. My friend Sue’s daughter would have a complete field day here. They also wear black shoes with brown clothing. Ugh. No! As an American, we’re really standing out. People here wear jeans like we do, but they’re way different. I haven’t seen any Levi’s here or anything like that. Another thing that makes us stand out is the trainers that we wear. Okay, sneakers or tennis shoes. You’ll see people wearing Pumas or Addidas but not Nike, New Balance or anything like what we wear. Well, you see Chucks but they’re chic right now. The trainers they wear here aren’t really even sneakers. They’re more of a dressy type shoe. I’ll have to get a picture. It’s odd. I’d love to live here but I couldn’t do the shoes. I’ve seen people walking down the Spanish Steps in stilettos.

Day 12

Today we took the Archeobus around town. It took us out to the ‘countryside’ of Rome. It was very pretty. We got to go see some of the catacombs and it was interesting but I’m so not going down into the catacombs. *shuddering at the thought* With the Archeobus, we got some of the history of the buildings. I didn’t realize it, but the military memorial in town was once the house of a pope. Something else that I’d completely forgotten about was Romulus and Remus. I can’t believe that I forgot about them, especially with me being from Rome GA and it being tied to Italy circa 1940s. The bus tour we took today was just really nice. I got to see the places that I normally wouldn’t have seen. I finally got to see my aqueduct. So, my trip is complete  Tomorrow, we’re doing the last things on the map and packing to go home  I don’t want to leave.
Tonight, we went to the Fontana di Trevi. It was light up, no water was flowing, but it was still gorgeous.

Tomorrow is our last day in Italia and I don’t want to leave. Italia is a beautiful country. It’s just so pretty.

Day 10

Today we went to the Pantheon and a few other places. We also went by some ruins where a lot of stray cats lived. Oh they were so cute and I wanted to bring them all home with me. But can I really compete with living in Roman Ruins? Not really. I’m going to have to donate when I get back home and can get Internet Access again. We leave in 4 days and I’m not ready to go. I want to stay. But we actually had a great time today. We’ve decided not to go to Pompeii, which makes me sad, but instead, do an archeological tour of Rome and get some really nice, high quality pictures to blow up for pictures for the house. Tonight, we’re going to Fontana di Trevi and get pictures of it with all the lights and everything.
The Pantheon is now used as a church. Cliff and I were talking about the churches, or Basilicas here. They’re freaking huge, but the seating is minimal. If we both lived in Rome, we’d alternate churches on Sundays. Y’know, one Sunday at the Pantheon, one Sunday at St Peters, another Sunday at Santa Maria’s, etc.
Another place we went to visit was Largo di Torre Argentina. It’s the cat pound. I really wanted to adopt a kitty, but Cliff told me no. I actually got to pet one of the pound kitties and it was so sweet. The white cat that I’m petting was solid white and had eyes about the colour of my shirt. The other picture was where the cats lived. Seriously, how can I compete with that? Note that this one of the 6 pictures I volunteered to have taken. These cats are sterilized, vaccinated, fed and live solely on charity. This is actually a great cause and I do need to donate when I get home. I think that this is a great idea.

Apparently the Smurfs are huge here. I got a figure of the cat and found out that I can order more!!!!! Oh happy me. Oh happy me. We finished up our souvenir shopping today except for moi. I’ve gotten a Hard Rock t-shirt, shot glass and cat figure. I guess that’s enough for me, but I want that Hermes scarf. ^_^ I’m still trying to figure out what I can get the people from work but everything is so expensive, even the pens. I may just hit a small gift store and see about the pens. Most of them are 4 Euros each. I can’t pay 50 Euros for pens for people at work. I just can’t.
Went shopping for food, again and that’s an experience. They charge you for each plastic bag you get. It’s .05 Euros, but they still charge you. It really shows me how wasteful we really are. When I get back home, I’m going to start bringing my own bags to put my groceries in instead of the plastic bags.

Day 8

Today we went to Firenze to meet Mel. Things got off to a bad start. We got off at the wrong Termini and had to get a taxi to get us to the right station. We were 40 minutes late and poor Mel was freaking just as bad as I was. Firenze is a beautiful, bellimesso, city. There is so much history there. We got to see Brunelleschi’s doors & ceiling. Gorgeous. We just walked around town and saw all the major things: artwork & statues. Then we took the bus back to her house where she made us lunch. Poor girl shouldn’t have gone to the trouble. We also met her friend Suzy. She’s a very lively girl who loves her American Television. If I knew our DVDs would work here, I’d send her several seasons of Angel. I think I made a friend when I said I liked Buffy. Some interesting things we learned at lunch: the mafia is still a huge problem here in Italia and is nothing like what is portrayed on television & movies; never eat meatballs in Germany; and finally, Mel’s friend really loves stupid American T.V. Apparently she loves “My Name is Earl” and freaked out when Cliff and I told her that we knew people like that. It wasn’t a bad freak out, but a freak out nonetheless. We’ve got 5 days left here and I don’t want to leave. The things I miss about America: dryers and water pressure. Oh, they have paid toilets here and that’s really odd. I’ve never seen one before. They’re like .5 Euros to use. Cliff told me if he had to pay for a toilet, it better have 5-ply toilet paper, the seat should be hot or cold to his specifications, and his back should be massaged while he’s sitting there. Lovely huh? Mel told me that she shouldn’t teach me to swear in Italian. Mean friend of mine isn’t she? I told her that I’d teach her to swear fluently in English. I thought it was a wonderful trade-off. Mel if you’re reading this, you know I’m just teasing you.  Overall, we had the best time with Mel and her friend. Now that I’ve got her address, I’ve got so much to mail her. Her pocketbook was covered in pins so I’ve got to find some really cute pins to send. Hmm, I wonder if they have Netflix here in Italia. Enough for now. More later.

Ciao

Day 7

Today we got up a little late, about 9:30, and just wandered around town. We went through the park, again, and found The Hard Rock Café. While we were wandering we got hungry so when we got closer to our apartment, we ate at this little café across the street. Oh the ravioli I had was excellent. It was spinach ricotta cheese ravioli. Also, I found out from the owner of this apartment that their tiramisu is pretty good. I’ve been here for a week and haven’t had any. I’m getting pretty mad. That is probably my favourite dessert. Tiramisu with espresso. Can we say exquisite? Okay, so we go to the clothing district. I even took pictures of places that I’ll never be able to afford. As we say, if you’ve got to ask the price, you can’t afford it. Right huh? So we see the windows of Gucci, Dior, Valentino, Hermes, etc. God, I want a Hermes scarf. I want one so freaking bad. Maybe for my own souvenir, I can get one. We’ve got about half of our shopping done for people. I’ve just got to get the Hard Rock shirts, and a couple of small things. Also, I’ve got to get some pens for the people at work. Nothing fancy, just something from here. I’m on the bed typing this and I’m about to fall asleep. It’s only 4:10 and we’ve done almost everything we can do. We’re headed to Florence in the morning to met Mel again and she’s going to show us around. I can’t wait to see her again. She’s such a sweetie. We also get to meet her dad, sister and cat. The one thing I hate here is the washing machines. They’re microscopic compared to what I’m used to. There are no dryers here either. So, we’ve been wearing line dried clothing. Fun huh? And just to be mean to Cliff, I haven’t been putting fabric softener in the washing machine. Mean huh? Line dried clothes don’t really bother me. I grew up wearing the things. I’m off to take another load out of the wash and put another in. I’ve done 2 loads every night for the past 3 nights. Pictures will be taken of this machine from hell.
Ciao!

Day 6

Today we had a tour of the Vatican. Holy cow the Vatican is huge. We must have walked over 2 miles just through the museum getting to the Sistine Chapel. Here’s my beef with the chapel. It plainly states no photography. There’s a picture with a line through a camera saying no photography. People are fucking idiots. They can’t read and were taking pictures of the Sistine Chapel. They restored this several years ago and it’s been proven that over time, photographs destroy the paintings. Say it with me: over time, photographs destroy paintings. Understand? No photos. It even came over the loud speaker several times, in different languages: NO PHOTOGRAPHY!!!!! When entering the chapel, you need to check your camera and cell phone at the door so you can’t take a bleeding picture. So we’re touring the Vatican and it was lovely. So many statues and so much to see. Of all the artwork, there was only one original statue in the entire place. Everything else was a copy of Greek statues. Still, fantastic. Then we got to the tapestry room and good golly gee whiz. These tapestries were ginormous and all religious. They were still beautiful. After the tapestry room, we went down about a million stairs and got to the chapel. I expected it to be bigger than what it was but Geeze Louise. There was the Creation of Man, Judgment Day. All the scenes painted were just so pretty and exquisite. I know that I’ll never have a picture of the chapel but it was just so beautiful to see in person. We’re thinking about going back a 2nd time just to see what we missed.
I’m seeing all these places that I thought I would never see. In less than a week, I’ve seen the Forum, Coliseum, Fontana di Trevi, Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and several other places. When I first walked into the Forum, I just looked at Cliff and said I’m in the Roman Forum. It’s so hard for me to believe that I’m actually here and seeing these things in person. It’s just so hard for me to believe this and accept that this is happening and not a dream.

Day 3

So today we did nothing. Cliff and I met my friend Mel at the Roma Termini at 9:30 and just had a lazy day. We got back to the apartment and I gave Mel the gift I got for her and she gave me several gifts. I gave her a FSU hoodie and she gave me wine, almond biscuits, barlotti beans, earrings and cookbooks. I felt like she had spent so much on me and I felt bad. So for Christmas, I’m going to do something extra nice for if possible. I haven’t figured that out, but I’ll find something. We sat out on the terrace and talked and talked. Came in and she showed me her drawings. She makes me sick with her drawings. I can’t even draw a straight line and she’s doing all these drawings etc. I love them. For lunch we ended up going to the Hard Rock Café Roma. She’d never been to a Hard Rock or eaten “American” food. I think she liked it. Cliff and I have to come back to get the t-shirts. After we ate, we came back to the house and talked and listened to music. About 18:00 she had to go back home so we walked her to the station. There, she showed us how to order tickets to go see her. Can we say ‘spensive??? It’s going to be about $240 American to go to Florence. *shaking head* Cliff may not go he-he. But overall, we had a great day. I brought a pair of pants that was a little tight on me, now they fit and are a little loose. Apparently when you walk all day, drink nothing but water and don’t eat, you’ll lose a few pounds.
Ciao!!!!

Day 4

Cliff and I got up this morning and took a tour-bus to see the parts of Rome that we haven’t seen yet. It’s Sunday and we got to go by the Vatican. While we were there, mass was in process. I got to be there for about 15 minutes of mass. We heard singing, a nun starting the mass, and a couple of other things. I was about half a second away from converting. It’s something that I can’t even begin to describe. To be in Rome, on Sunday, hearing mass? It’s truly a religious experience. As we all know, I’m probably one of the least religious people around, but I’m religious enough to know realize what I experienced today isn’t a norm. I’m also religious enough to cross myself when I enter a Catholic church and exit. We also went to the Fontana de Trevi. The Fontana de Trevi is a damn fountain. It’s not just a fountain, but a damn fountain. It’s gorgeous and what a Fontana should be. There were so many people there and I’m hoping that Cliff and I get a chance to go there at night to see it then. So, we go by the local Mickey D’s and it’s so different. Cliff got a parmasanio something or other. And they offer CURLY FRIES!!!! Oh, get this. Come to find out, the mass we thought we saw wasn’t a mass. It was something more exciting, whatever you want to call it. We got to see the pope canonize the first female Indian saint. Want to talk about something that most people don’t get to see? Ohh it was nice. Next week, I’m dragging Cliff to mass.
So I’m ready to kill his mother. If she fell off the boat in Greece, it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. We’re in Italia. She needs to learn to say things the Italian way. She keeps saying words the American Southern way. Prime example: we’re staying at the Flavia II. It’s a schwa A. The first A is pronounced like a short o. The last 2 vowels are pronounced like a short u. She’s saying it with a long a and a short a. *shaking head*. Michelangelo. She keeps saying it like it is Michael. It’s not. It’s Me-kal-an-ge-lo. I told Cliff this afternoon that I’m not going anywhere else with them. I’d much rather go on vacation with someone my own age. Not old enough to be my parents. She met my friend Mel. Mel doesn’t speak English very well and we have to talk slowly for her to understand. His mother talked normally. Mel just looked at me and I’d say one or two words and she got it. But she just had this blank look on her face since she had no idea what the hell his mother was saying. Argh. I’m ready for them to go on their cruise and get the hell out of this apartment and after they get back, I’m ready to get the hell back to Tallahassee so I don’t have to see her for a while.

Saturday

So today we did nothing. Cliff and I met my friend Mel at the Roma Termini at 9:30 and just had a lazy day. We got back to the apartment and I gave Mel the gift I got for her and she gave me several gifts. I gave her a FSU hoodie and she gave me wine, almond biscuits, barlotti beans, earrings and cookbooks. I felt like she had spent so much on me and I felt bad. So for Christmas, I’m going to do something extra nice for if possible. I haven’t figured that out, but I’ll find something. We sat out on the terrace and talked and talked. Came in and she showed me her drawings. She makes me sick with her drawings. I can’t even draw a straight line and she’s doing all these drawings etc. I love them. For lunch we ended up going to the Hard Rock Café Roma. She’d never been to a Hard Rock or eaten “American” food. I think she liked it. Cliff and I have to come back to get the t-shirts. After we ate, we came back to the house and talked and listened to music. About 18:00 she had to go back home so we walked her to the station. There, she showed us how to order tickets to go see her. Can we say ‘spensive??? It’s going to be about $240 American to go to Florence. *shaking head* Cliff may not go he-he. But overall, we had a great day. I brought a pair of pants that was a little tight on me, now they fit and are a little loose. Apparently when you walk all day, drink nothing but water and don’t eat, you’ll lose a few pounds.
Ciao!!!!

Day 2

So, we went to the Forum, Palatine Hill, The Colosseum and St Peters in Chains today. Good grief want to talk about being overwhelmed with history? I got to go inside those places, touch the rocks that have been standing there for thousands of centuries and it was just so overwhelming. In St Peters, I got to see Michelangelo's Moses which was great. Let me go back to the Forum. My dad is a history buff to the nth degree. I was salivating at the glands just being at the Forum. Cliff's parents oohed and aahed over the entire thing, but didn't really get it. I mean, it's the FORUM for crying out loud. If Steve had been with us, we would have gotten a history like nobody's business and a better tour than the paid tours. He would have gotten more out of that trip than anybody there. It was just so strange being in a place where politics were held centuries ago. Then we went to the Colosseum and it was okay. I'm not a huge fan, but it was kinda interesting to see. I actually got some history that I didn't know. Out of the thousands of people who were killed in the Colosseum, only 7 were Christians who were fed to the lions. Interesting huh? I'm a history geek. Sue me. To be honest, I can't even begin to describe what I saw today. I mean, pictures don't even do it justice or anything. Cliff told me to say it this way: really old rocks. Really really old rocks. Idiota. It was just something I'd never expected to see in my lifetime. I got to walk down the same pathways as some of the Roman Emperors. To be there and know that you've done that. I can't explain. To be at the Colosseum and stand in the same spot that Romans stood in centuries ago, again, I can't explain. I think that everybody should have to go there at least once in his/her lifetime. Oh, funny story for the day. As we know Romans and Greeks aren't afraid of a little nudity right? Well, we're at the war memorial here in town and Cliff and his parents get the bright idea to take some pictures of the statues at the top of the steps. The statues are of Benedict XVII (I think). Well, they're nude statues and Cliff's mother about has a heart attack. So funny story for the day.

Last Thought

Feel free to comment on the blogs. I can't access work e-mail so all e-mail has to come to personal e-mail :( krishna.sisson@gmail.com

Day 1

Today we had to go to our little 'orientation' for our trip. I could have spent the 3 hours doing something else y'know? After we got through with our 3 hour trip, 3 hour trip, we went to decided to do a little sight-seeing. We were pretty close to the Spanish Steps so we went. Holy cow is all I can say. We got to go into a church where the nuns were doing mass. Kick-ass mass. I only got to stay for a few minutes but still. I got to go to a mass in Italy. I'm holding out for an official mass. So the Spanish Steps were pretty awesome. We went down, got some pictures and we decided to go back up the things. All I can say is that I'm glad that I walk everyday with Sue. I can't begin to describe the Steps. It's something that you've got to see first hand. Oh, we hit the fashion district: Dior, Gucci, etc. I was in heaven and Cliff wouldn't let me look. *sigh* After we went to the Steps we decided to walk around a bit and hit Rome's version of Central Park. It was so nice. There were statues and busts of famous Italians everywhere. Oh, it was so nice. I'll have to post all my pictures when I get home. My connection is dicey at best and I can't upload all my pics. I'm having to choose the best pics I have and match them up with my blogs. So while we're in the park, we decide to go to the zoo. They've got a nice zoo. Lions and tigers and bears oh my. So we go through the entire zoo. They've got giraffes, bears, grey seals, chimps, red-butted baboons, etc. Well, we get to the lion cage and there's this double glass cut-out to look at the lions that Cliff and I found. The male lion was right up against and was the huge beast. I've never seen one up close, but he was beautiful. His mane was black instead of that tawny color that I think of when I think lion. So we get his parents to come look at the lions and we take pictures. Keep in mind now that we're thinking that this is mirrored glass so the lion can't see us. Cliff's got his face up against the glass, he points to it and then he moves his hand to the glass. The lion swats his paw at Cliff. Huge lion can see what Cliff is doing. Cliff jumps back and almost falls on his butt. Then his dad got the bright idea to poke at it and lion didn't like that. He opened his mouth and I left. Then Cliff left and his parents did too. On our way by the cage, we noticed that in 2 different spots, the lion had scratched through the first layer of the glass and it wouldn't take much to get through the 2nd layer. Not a good thing. Today was a good day. We walked over 4 miles. Tomorrow, we're taking it easy and Saturday Mel is coming to meet me. Can't wait to meet. I hope she can help me with my Italian and show me a couple of great things to cook. Now, if I can get his mother to cook right. I think I may end up doing the cooking here. She scares me when she cooks and she can't cook very well either. I LOVE IT HERE!
Ciao!

Made it!

Well, we made it to England after 7 hours of flying and to Italy after another 3.5 hours of flying. After we made it England, we took a 3 hour taxi tour of London. I got to see the area I'm most interested in: politics. I'm horrible. I keep up with UK Politics. Then we got to see some of the palaces, including Buckingham Palace. The sweet thing about that was that we got to see Changing of the Guard. That was most interesting. I've never seen it before, but it was really cool. There's a ceremony that takes place with the new guard and the old guard. The band plays, and thousands of people line up to see this take place. Oh  get this. We get to England and it's 46 degrees. Can we say Krishna froze? Then we make it back to the airport and I swear sometimes I feel like we're a big target for "Stupid Bloody Americans". Nobody will move out of the damn way. They stand in the middle of the walk way and expect people to go around them. It's rather embarassing actually. So we made it to Rome and when we were landing, I swear we were about to land in the middle of a cornfield or an olive field. The airport wasn't that impressive. Customs, ha. A joke. They barely looked at our passports and we were through. Glad to know that security is tight here. Y'know? We got picked up at the airport and the guy drove us to the place where we're staying. I've got to get pics. I want this place. The people renting the rooms own the entire top floor of this hotel. It's a private floor and it's nice. So we get here and get the tour of the place. Here's the bad thing about it: the water pressure sucks. It's wimpy water pressure. Anyway, back to the ride from the airport to here. All the way here, we're passing cars: smart cars, Mercedees, Beemers, etc. So I see this one type of car and I want it. What in the world is a Fiat? I've never heard of one, but it was the cutest little car. I wanted it so bad. Maybe there's a dealership at home. Yes, it's 3:00 pm Tallahassee time, but I'm tired and beat. I'm going to bed. I'll write more tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures of Italy. 

Ciao mia Bellas
Kris

Starting out....

Lovely. We got an hour outside Cliff's parents house and I realized that I forgot the tickets in his car. Lovely huh? Not happy with that. Thank God I had a zune so I could block everybody out. I really don't need to be told everytime someone sees a bleeding Wal-Mart. I can read too y'know. They're going to be gone for a week thank god while we're there. I'm off to eat breakfast and finish my packing. More later when I get access over there.
Ciao

Update

We're 6 days and counting. So far, we've gotten a trip to the Vatican lined up. We're going to try to go to Florence and Pompeii for a day. Those are nice little day trips. I say that we should go to Pompeii for our anniversary, but Cliff isn't too keen on the idea of seeing 'crusty dead bodies' for an anniversary. He has no sense of adventure. Anyway, we're going on a cab tour of London. I can only imagine Cliff saying "Look kids, there's Big Ben and Parliament" Oi. More later and closer to the date.