One weekend in Switzerland; Thursday February 16 - Sunday February 19. Seven to eight hour bus ride from Florence to Interlaken, Switzerland. Stayed at a hostile named Balmer's. Got into Interlaken at tree AM and there were already four girls from Barcelona sleeping in the room; later at five two more guys came in. All college kids; juniors. One girl's name; Alex one of the guys name; Walsh, the others I never heard or forgot. Friday morning: after eating complimentary bread and cereal; rented board and boots, got lift and bus passes. Got geared up and started the hour long commute to the mountain that consisted of a short bus ride and two trains, one very long train ride up and through the mountains. Once on site took a gondola to the top of the mountain/slopes. First day rode down only one run, it was a black, very steep and some moguls; did that numerous times. I never made it to the bottom without falling, I had so many trip ups; I felt so bad for my new friends who had to wait for me at the bottom of the mountain.
I left first, naturally; I couldn't keep up with the guys. I walked around the small town at the bottom of the mountain; Wengen. After a while I left and on the way home I spent some money at a vending machine to buy some cannabis tea. I accidently went one stop too far on the last train and had to wait to go back one, and by then the other guys who left later had caught up and we ended up back at the same time. Me and Colin ate at an Irish Pub, it was such a nice one, and it was real expensive. For dinner I had beef and Guinness pie, with a beer that had a hint of bubble gum taste; I didn't like it. We were planning on going out to the underground club beneath our hostel but both of us were so tired that when we lied down we passed out for the night.
Again we had complimentary bread and cereal for breakfast. We wanted an earlier start to get to the mountain. Today I went to a different part of the mountain that the other guys went to the day before that I didn't make it to. I did so much better than the day before, I still wasn't keeping up but I wasn't falling as much and I was making it down quicker. This day I was knocked down by a skier and he sliced my fingers and I didn't notice for a while. I was quite a while down and I noticed how much it was bleeding and how bad the gash was. I got bandaged up at a lift station and by then some other guys had caught up to us and we stayed with them. I like this one guy we were with, I think his name was Ben, he was cooler than the rest of the others, he is studying in Prague. We stopped for lunch at this small cabin restaurant halfway down the mountain. We finished down the mountain and rode the lifts up to the very top again. By this time I had fallen another countless times and some really bad ones, I mean so bad, coughed up blood once after one fall, and another time I was winded so bad I couldn't move.
That night we did go to the underground club with our hostel mates and an MP and Airforce officer. So much beer was drunk that night with Alex the Airforce guy; he was so chill and cool. Odd thing was I wasn't drunk at all even after countless drinks.
The last day we left at four in the afternoon so we had all day to kill. I was the first one up, obviously, so I had breakfast by myself and went back to sleep until everyone else woke up. Me and Colin spent most of the morning walking around the town and went to one of the lakes nearby. It wasn't a very good day to be out, it was rainy and snowy, which means clouds and clouds mean no sun. We were done walking and spent a few hours in the hostel lobby watching t.v until we left. Best time of my life, maybe.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Alcohol
My level of tolerance for alcohol increased; it's quite displeasing. Before winter break I had a real low tolerance, I think, for alcohol; meaning I needed less to get drunk. That was good because I wouldn't have to spend much money, but bad because that also meant that I'd be drunk too fast. I had some crazy times drinking with friends and non-friends. Oktoberfest, for starters first real time drinking. Hanging out with army guys, they go hard! Two buds, Charles and Rob came up here and we partied all night, that was the plan. We drank absinthe, so crazy that it's illegal in the US. Only five shots of that and that lead to a black out. The hangover the next morning was the worst I've ever had. Another time with them we drank more absinthe and my favorite Bacardi; Bacardi dragon fruit. Recently I bought a bottle of Grappa to try since I'm here in Italy, I think it's only produced in Italy, not sure though. It was one of the grossest things I've ever tasted, and it doesn't smell any better either. On the other side of the spectrum, I had some hot chocolate today, it's basically just melted chocolate it is so thick and rich. So yeah, my tolerance is really high "ehh"
Friday, January 27, 2012
Roommates: pros and CONS
So it's freshman year of college, I'm in Florence, Italy, and I live in an apartment with five other guys. I'm going to be biased and say that I would rather live by myself than have roommates, but that is based on this experience with roommates that I just about hate.
So during winter break for a month I've been living by myself in the apartment because all my roommates went home. It might just be my roommates but they are slobs, before they left they were supposed to clean the apartment and take out trash and the such. They left dirty dishes in the sink, a full bag of trash(we take turns taking out the trash and the last person was supposed to take it out, but it was left here, and it wasn't supposed to be my bag to take out), and their clothes on the drying racks. The only person who cleaned their room was bedroom roommate and that was probably only because we share the room and he wanted to leave it clean for me, though I know all he did was shove stuff in his suitcase and drawers.
Let's start with why I hate roommates(maybe just my roommates this year). With roommates there are common areas and facilities: bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, and living room, and in this case bedrooms are shared too. There is very little privacy and if there is one guy who is messy they can ruin the whole apartment. I have disgusting roommates, the bathroom is always a mess, clothes lying on the floor everywhere, always dishes in the sink. Sharing a bathroom I think is gross. If they have odd sleepy habits or odd hours they can keep you up at night. This is just a college roommate problem but they often come home drunk late at night and mess up the whole apartment. I think the major down side is that space has to be shared with everyone; a small fridge has to fit all our food. That brings up another point, there is nothing stopping your roommates from taking your stuff and eating your food and when I say taking stuff that can be anything.
Ok so maybe those aren't strong points, but I really do hate my roommates, it might just be their personalities that really piss me off and the fact they all are spoiled and useless and the other stuff is just extra.
There are good points to roommates though. If they cook dinner but make too much for themselves then they give you some. You get to listen to new types of music that they like that you wouldn't usually listen to. Get to experience different family traditions. So the list of pros isn't very long, but it all depends on the roommates and yourself. If you get to room with your best friend it would be the greatest but having to live with some kids that were just thrown together sucks.
So that a quick easy summary of why I hate my roommates.
So during winter break for a month I've been living by myself in the apartment because all my roommates went home. It might just be my roommates but they are slobs, before they left they were supposed to clean the apartment and take out trash and the such. They left dirty dishes in the sink, a full bag of trash(we take turns taking out the trash and the last person was supposed to take it out, but it was left here, and it wasn't supposed to be my bag to take out), and their clothes on the drying racks. The only person who cleaned their room was bedroom roommate and that was probably only because we share the room and he wanted to leave it clean for me, though I know all he did was shove stuff in his suitcase and drawers.
Let's start with why I hate roommates(maybe just my roommates this year). With roommates there are common areas and facilities: bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, and living room, and in this case bedrooms are shared too. There is very little privacy and if there is one guy who is messy they can ruin the whole apartment. I have disgusting roommates, the bathroom is always a mess, clothes lying on the floor everywhere, always dishes in the sink. Sharing a bathroom I think is gross. If they have odd sleepy habits or odd hours they can keep you up at night. This is just a college roommate problem but they often come home drunk late at night and mess up the whole apartment. I think the major down side is that space has to be shared with everyone; a small fridge has to fit all our food. That brings up another point, there is nothing stopping your roommates from taking your stuff and eating your food and when I say taking stuff that can be anything.
Ok so maybe those aren't strong points, but I really do hate my roommates, it might just be their personalities that really piss me off and the fact they all are spoiled and useless and the other stuff is just extra.
There are good points to roommates though. If they cook dinner but make too much for themselves then they give you some. You get to listen to new types of music that they like that you wouldn't usually listen to. Get to experience different family traditions. So the list of pros isn't very long, but it all depends on the roommates and yourself. If you get to room with your best friend it would be the greatest but having to live with some kids that were just thrown together sucks.
So that a quick easy summary of why I hate my roommates.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Trippin'
Alone in my apartment needing something to focus on, I'll decide to write about the time with my family in Italy. On New Years day my family:dad, mom, brother arrived in Rome to spend ten days with me. We unexpectedly meet on the streets of Rome going to the hotel, I recognized them almost immediately but it took them a few moments to realize. It wasn't the great heart warming meet that I was expecting, instead we just said hello and we all continued to the hotel, Palatino, through the still dirty streets left after all the partying.
We couldn't check in yet so we left our bags and walked to the Coliseum only a few blocks away, it was so crazy to think that they could build that so long ago. We walked all around it and through the inside snapping photos of just about everything. That was really all we did before we checked into the hotel. We walked outside observing all the ancient ruins left and discovered.
The next day was an early day we took a metro train, during the morning rush hour; the trains were packed like sardines. Our final destination was the Vatican city. We waited in a line for at least an hour maybe two in order to get to the Vatican museum which holds the Sistine Chapel. We spent such a long time in the museum looking at everything. My parents mailed home post cards from the Vatican City, that's cool.
We saw everything worth seeing in Rome: Colosseum, Ruins, Pantheon, Vatican, the different Plazas; Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza di St. Pietro. One of my favorite thing that we did was to go to the top of St. Peters cathedral, I think that was the highlight of Rome.
I loved, though, spending time in Florence, with my family. we again saw everything worth seeing: the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, The David, Santa Croce, The Uffizi. We spent every night making dinner in my apartment, except for one night out with my family and the other students here. Walking to the top of the Duomo and to Piazza Michelangelo give the best views of the city and at the Piazza there were so many recently married couples taking wedding pictures over looking Florence. We did so much stuff even things I haven't done in my three months in Florence like see the real David. We did things I wouldn't have done, like go to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, Gucci Museum, and shop in stores I wouldn't have; which is nice. We went to many market places and everyone bought all kinds of cheap things, my brother a cheap Luis Vuitton bag, my parents leather goods. We also went shopping in the streets there are so many nice stores my brother, dad and I got pairs of leather shoes.
All the shopping and time spent together was great, I wish they were still here. I'm so glad they came to visit me, and I know we all had a great time, can't wait to see them in May!
We couldn't check in yet so we left our bags and walked to the Coliseum only a few blocks away, it was so crazy to think that they could build that so long ago. We walked all around it and through the inside snapping photos of just about everything. That was really all we did before we checked into the hotel. We walked outside observing all the ancient ruins left and discovered.
The next day was an early day we took a metro train, during the morning rush hour; the trains were packed like sardines. Our final destination was the Vatican city. We waited in a line for at least an hour maybe two in order to get to the Vatican museum which holds the Sistine Chapel. We spent such a long time in the museum looking at everything. My parents mailed home post cards from the Vatican City, that's cool.
We saw everything worth seeing in Rome: Colosseum, Ruins, Pantheon, Vatican, the different Plazas; Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza di St. Pietro. One of my favorite thing that we did was to go to the top of St. Peters cathedral, I think that was the highlight of Rome.
I loved, though, spending time in Florence, with my family. we again saw everything worth seeing: the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, The David, Santa Croce, The Uffizi. We spent every night making dinner in my apartment, except for one night out with my family and the other students here. Walking to the top of the Duomo and to Piazza Michelangelo give the best views of the city and at the Piazza there were so many recently married couples taking wedding pictures over looking Florence. We did so much stuff even things I haven't done in my three months in Florence like see the real David. We did things I wouldn't have done, like go to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, Gucci Museum, and shop in stores I wouldn't have; which is nice. We went to many market places and everyone bought all kinds of cheap things, my brother a cheap Luis Vuitton bag, my parents leather goods. We also went shopping in the streets there are so many nice stores my brother, dad and I got pairs of leather shoes.
All the shopping and time spent together was great, I wish they were still here. I'm so glad they came to visit me, and I know we all had a great time, can't wait to see them in May!
Mixed Emotions
While studying abroad I've had to make all new friends, and somehow tolerate the ones who could never be. Leaving home, alone. When the plane landed in Italy, I realized how alone I was, not knowing anyone, being in an unfamiliar place, people speak a different language. While everyone was talking to their families for some reason I forget, I couldn't. There was nothing to do every other kid was sleeping due to the jet lag, but I was fine and couldn't sleep; it was the middle of the day. I lay in bed with my temporary roommate, Alex, sleeping in his bed. I was in the verge of tears, missing home and my family. That one day was the only day I was homesick, until winter break.
All the students left to go home except for a tiny group of me and three others; and these others are kids I don't usually hang out with. It wasn't actually all for of us in Florence, two kids had their parents come and the spent time with them, leaving just me and Erica on Christmas, it was so lonely that day, and depressing. I only had to hold out for a week more then my family comes to visit.
New Years was the best day I've had all year: the celebrations with two of the other students, and my parents arrive! New Years Eve was spent out for most of the day looking at the lights that have been up for weeks, and the stages that will host concerts throughout the city. Night fall and I meet up with the others to go to a place to watch fireworks. We settled on a bridge until half past 11 and then we decide to go to a higher place, Piazza Michelangelo, so of course to make it there in time we would have to run, the first real exercise since the first week of Italy. We were two blocks away when the first real fireworks went off, people have been setting of minifireworks and firecrackers those small things since two in the afternoon. The fireworks were great, and they could be seen flying over the whole city. I had to catch an early train to Rome in the morning to meet my family, so it was a semi early night; 3am.
I grab my packed bag and head to the train station to ride the hour and a half train to Rome. I slept most of the way; having only three hours of sleep that night. I'm walking to the hotel we would be staying at and more than half way there I run into my family. They don't recognize me but I know it's them, we had a funny encounter.
I'm going to skip all the details of the trip together and rush to the end when they left.
We get all my parents stuff packed that morning and check out of the hotel. I didn't hit me until we were saying our goodbyes but then tears starting clouding my eyes. I was holding it in because we were in public. After out last hugs and they were in the train I couldn't hold out, I couldn't wait for the train to leave before heading home. I couldn't hold the tears forever I was in a rush to get home to let it all out, and their train probably didn't even leave the station yet. After a few hours the rest of the day was spent with the other three students so I didn't have any time to be sad or cry, which was great.
The next day, today, the 12th of January when my family boards their plane in Rome to go home I started writing this to have something to focus on and it was helping until the end when I wrote about them leaving, I started to cry again holding the stuffed animal they gave me. Right now I truthfully wish I was home.
All the students left to go home except for a tiny group of me and three others; and these others are kids I don't usually hang out with. It wasn't actually all for of us in Florence, two kids had their parents come and the spent time with them, leaving just me and Erica on Christmas, it was so lonely that day, and depressing. I only had to hold out for a week more then my family comes to visit.
New Years was the best day I've had all year: the celebrations with two of the other students, and my parents arrive! New Years Eve was spent out for most of the day looking at the lights that have been up for weeks, and the stages that will host concerts throughout the city. Night fall and I meet up with the others to go to a place to watch fireworks. We settled on a bridge until half past 11 and then we decide to go to a higher place, Piazza Michelangelo, so of course to make it there in time we would have to run, the first real exercise since the first week of Italy. We were two blocks away when the first real fireworks went off, people have been setting of minifireworks and firecrackers those small things since two in the afternoon. The fireworks were great, and they could be seen flying over the whole city. I had to catch an early train to Rome in the morning to meet my family, so it was a semi early night; 3am.
I grab my packed bag and head to the train station to ride the hour and a half train to Rome. I slept most of the way; having only three hours of sleep that night. I'm walking to the hotel we would be staying at and more than half way there I run into my family. They don't recognize me but I know it's them, we had a funny encounter.
I'm going to skip all the details of the trip together and rush to the end when they left.
We get all my parents stuff packed that morning and check out of the hotel. I didn't hit me until we were saying our goodbyes but then tears starting clouding my eyes. I was holding it in because we were in public. After out last hugs and they were in the train I couldn't hold out, I couldn't wait for the train to leave before heading home. I couldn't hold the tears forever I was in a rush to get home to let it all out, and their train probably didn't even leave the station yet. After a few hours the rest of the day was spent with the other three students so I didn't have any time to be sad or cry, which was great.
The next day, today, the 12th of January when my family boards their plane in Rome to go home I started writing this to have something to focus on and it was helping until the end when I wrote about them leaving, I started to cry again holding the stuffed animal they gave me. Right now I truthfully wish I was home.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Great Week
P.S. really long, I should make a short story out of this, it's that long.
So last week I had a mid-semester break for nine days, which was spent in a few different countries. I had a to leave really early, 4 am, to catch my first flight to Munich: which started my break. I had to fly to Munich first before my connection to Paris. My flight wasn't canceled but delayed because of the weather in Munich. I was getting worried because I wasn't sure if I would still be able to make my connecting flight. The monitor told me I would be fine, because for whatever reason it said it was delayed ten minutes but we would still arrive at the same time; which made no sense.
So whatever, I stopped worrying.
I got the window seat, my favorite because I get to look out the window at everything. Although I had the window I didn't see much because my eyes were closed; I was sleeping. When before we even land the crew is informing us that there are a lot of flight delayed in and out of Munich because of the weather, a lot of fog. I was prepared for the worst, I somewhat already knew that I had missed my connection and thought I would need to buy a new ticket. I was half right, I did miss my flight, but I wouldn't have to buy a new ticket which I found out after waiting in line for hours. Not actually hours, probably not even an hour, but everyone was in this line. So I talk to the lady at the counter and she gives me another boarding pass for a flight that had already started boarding and it was all the way down the corridor. She told me to "please hurry." I almost started to sprint to the gate because I thought I would miss it and have to go back to wait in that line. I was almost running though I told myself I would not be one of those people to run in the airport. I did manage to get there with a while to spare. This time I had the aisle seat which isn't bad either, I'm pretty sure I slept for almost the whole flight, again.
I was going to try to take a bus to the city from the airport because it's so far but I couldn't figure out how to buy a ticket or even which bus I would take, so I took a taxi to my hotel which took up way too much money, and I was thinking I would have to do this again, that sucks. My hotel wasn't what I thought it was going to be, and it was a lot farther from the sites than I thought it said.
So yeah, that really sucked. And I know the title is "Great Week," I'll get to the great parts next. I'm realizing that this is going to be a really long post... oh well, I'm sure you will enjoy reading all this, right, Keera?
Well I get there still in the afternoon so I still have time to walk around a lot, which is good because I would soon find out how far and long it takes to get to the city. I would say that it took about an hour to get to the closest land mark the giant arch in the middle of the traffic circle. That arch was the furthest I made it the first day, I also realized that there were quite a lot of people trying to get money... I hate that, those sleazy bastards. So this one guy tries to trick me to give him money and is very persistent, and later another day, kinda skipping ahead a little, but it goes along with this guy, but some people tried pickpocketing me and such I was so pissed. But whatever. I don't think I ate anything that day except for airline food.
So the next day was a day full of walking. I start out early in the morning and it is so cold and windy, and me being so prepared didn't pack any warm clothes, mainly because I didn't have any to pack in the first place(Still don't, but will soon). I promise the good stuff is coming.
I walk to the arch again, I used that as my center point. I then wanted to go the the Eiffel Tower because it seems close enough, you can see it from the arch. It's still very cold and I have on all the clothes that I brought with me, which isn't much: khakis, undershirt. white dress shirt, black vest, and a very very light jacket. So when I was finally getting close to the tower, I was so cold and getting numb I was so happy when I saw an aquarium in this park I was walking through, what luck. I went down into it and walked around it for hours, so I could warm up and so outside could warm up. I really liked the aquarium, it wasn't that big, but it still had so much to see.
After the aquarium I went to the Eiffel tower, so glad it warmed up a bit, not too much. I really noticed the cold when I was standing in line for an hour to buy a ticket and for the elevator to go to the top, which I found out at the ticket booth, was closed. We couldn't go all the way up but we could go to the second floor which was still really awesome. When up there we find out that you can go up to the top floor, but with the ticket I had bought you're not allowed, so I was cheated out of that experience, that kinda sucks. That was probably the best thing I did in Paris. Not much else too exciting after that, so yeah.
Now I come back to Florence, for a night and leave again in the morning to go to London. The way I planned this was so troublesome and difficult, I was like "shit, I'm an idiot". I start out on the train which wasn't bad. So this train is going to take me to Milan, a three and a half hour ride. I'm pretty sure I slept at least half the time, then when I get to the train station in Milan I have to take a bus for an hour to the airport; slept during that too. Then at the airport, I love all the duty free stores: Armani, liquor, perfumes, it just doesn't seem like an airport as much as a small mall. I have to wait in a hangar for my flight, kinda stupid in my opinion, I think this whole airline is stupid. RyanAir, I'm not planning on taking it again. The seating is first come first serve, you get whatever there is, and if you're last you get whatever is left.
I can never seem to stay awake during travel. At the airport in England, I have to take another hour long bus ride to a train station near my hotel. Then from there a taxi to my hotel and this taxi driver was not smart, he didn't know where he was going, so he cost me another pound extra at least, and pounds are almost twice as much as dollars. So more sucking during this trip. So it's already quite late, so I just go straight to sleep.
The next day I eat some real food for the first time during my trip, best breakfast I've had since I've left America, or pretty close to it. I didn't do a whole lot in London, but I love it so much, and want to go back. I think the only thing I did was ride bus tours around the city, I didn't even ride the London Eye, so that's one thing I need to go back for.
The worst part of this trip was all the traveling, specifically to London and back, on the train ride back I once I was in Italy, the last bit of travel, I was basically kicked of for doing nothing except being there, so you talk about a sucky life, this is it. This family hated me because they come into my cabin to sit, and they are so annoyed that I am there, I can tell, even though I don't understand what they're saying. This is going back to a different station in Florence that I didn't know, and they told me to get of at this one stop, they were all like this is it and yeah, so I get off, and it's not it. The train officials won't let me back on the train so I'm stranded, and the next train isn't until morning, another six hours. I'm so pissed off about that.. still now. So I have to get a taxi, lucky there was this one that pulled up to chill, and I was trying to talk, language barrier, sorta. I don't have enough money to get back to where I need to go, so I tell him to just take me as close as he can with the money I have. I was a few a euro short of the mark, but as we got close to the mark, he just didn't care and took me all the way there even though I couldn't pay but he was ok with that, I was lucky, but I had spent way too much money on something I shouldn't have needed.. still very pissed about that.
Well that's about it. My fall break that is better described in my pictures, or at least the good parts are.
So last week I had a mid-semester break for nine days, which was spent in a few different countries. I had a to leave really early, 4 am, to catch my first flight to Munich: which started my break. I had to fly to Munich first before my connection to Paris. My flight wasn't canceled but delayed because of the weather in Munich. I was getting worried because I wasn't sure if I would still be able to make my connecting flight. The monitor told me I would be fine, because for whatever reason it said it was delayed ten minutes but we would still arrive at the same time; which made no sense.
So whatever, I stopped worrying.
I got the window seat, my favorite because I get to look out the window at everything. Although I had the window I didn't see much because my eyes were closed; I was sleeping. When before we even land the crew is informing us that there are a lot of flight delayed in and out of Munich because of the weather, a lot of fog. I was prepared for the worst, I somewhat already knew that I had missed my connection and thought I would need to buy a new ticket. I was half right, I did miss my flight, but I wouldn't have to buy a new ticket which I found out after waiting in line for hours. Not actually hours, probably not even an hour, but everyone was in this line. So I talk to the lady at the counter and she gives me another boarding pass for a flight that had already started boarding and it was all the way down the corridor. She told me to "please hurry." I almost started to sprint to the gate because I thought I would miss it and have to go back to wait in that line. I was almost running though I told myself I would not be one of those people to run in the airport. I did manage to get there with a while to spare. This time I had the aisle seat which isn't bad either, I'm pretty sure I slept for almost the whole flight, again.
I was going to try to take a bus to the city from the airport because it's so far but I couldn't figure out how to buy a ticket or even which bus I would take, so I took a taxi to my hotel which took up way too much money, and I was thinking I would have to do this again, that sucks. My hotel wasn't what I thought it was going to be, and it was a lot farther from the sites than I thought it said.
So yeah, that really sucked. And I know the title is "Great Week," I'll get to the great parts next. I'm realizing that this is going to be a really long post... oh well, I'm sure you will enjoy reading all this, right, Keera?
Well I get there still in the afternoon so I still have time to walk around a lot, which is good because I would soon find out how far and long it takes to get to the city. I would say that it took about an hour to get to the closest land mark the giant arch in the middle of the traffic circle. That arch was the furthest I made it the first day, I also realized that there were quite a lot of people trying to get money... I hate that, those sleazy bastards. So this one guy tries to trick me to give him money and is very persistent, and later another day, kinda skipping ahead a little, but it goes along with this guy, but some people tried pickpocketing me and such I was so pissed. But whatever. I don't think I ate anything that day except for airline food.
So the next day was a day full of walking. I start out early in the morning and it is so cold and windy, and me being so prepared didn't pack any warm clothes, mainly because I didn't have any to pack in the first place(Still don't, but will soon). I promise the good stuff is coming.
I walk to the arch again, I used that as my center point. I then wanted to go the the Eiffel Tower because it seems close enough, you can see it from the arch. It's still very cold and I have on all the clothes that I brought with me, which isn't much: khakis, undershirt. white dress shirt, black vest, and a very very light jacket. So when I was finally getting close to the tower, I was so cold and getting numb I was so happy when I saw an aquarium in this park I was walking through, what luck. I went down into it and walked around it for hours, so I could warm up and so outside could warm up. I really liked the aquarium, it wasn't that big, but it still had so much to see.
After the aquarium I went to the Eiffel tower, so glad it warmed up a bit, not too much. I really noticed the cold when I was standing in line for an hour to buy a ticket and for the elevator to go to the top, which I found out at the ticket booth, was closed. We couldn't go all the way up but we could go to the second floor which was still really awesome. When up there we find out that you can go up to the top floor, but with the ticket I had bought you're not allowed, so I was cheated out of that experience, that kinda sucks. That was probably the best thing I did in Paris. Not much else too exciting after that, so yeah.
Now I come back to Florence, for a night and leave again in the morning to go to London. The way I planned this was so troublesome and difficult, I was like "shit, I'm an idiot". I start out on the train which wasn't bad. So this train is going to take me to Milan, a three and a half hour ride. I'm pretty sure I slept at least half the time, then when I get to the train station in Milan I have to take a bus for an hour to the airport; slept during that too. Then at the airport, I love all the duty free stores: Armani, liquor, perfumes, it just doesn't seem like an airport as much as a small mall. I have to wait in a hangar for my flight, kinda stupid in my opinion, I think this whole airline is stupid. RyanAir, I'm not planning on taking it again. The seating is first come first serve, you get whatever there is, and if you're last you get whatever is left.
I can never seem to stay awake during travel. At the airport in England, I have to take another hour long bus ride to a train station near my hotel. Then from there a taxi to my hotel and this taxi driver was not smart, he didn't know where he was going, so he cost me another pound extra at least, and pounds are almost twice as much as dollars. So more sucking during this trip. So it's already quite late, so I just go straight to sleep.
The next day I eat some real food for the first time during my trip, best breakfast I've had since I've left America, or pretty close to it. I didn't do a whole lot in London, but I love it so much, and want to go back. I think the only thing I did was ride bus tours around the city, I didn't even ride the London Eye, so that's one thing I need to go back for.
The worst part of this trip was all the traveling, specifically to London and back, on the train ride back I once I was in Italy, the last bit of travel, I was basically kicked of for doing nothing except being there, so you talk about a sucky life, this is it. This family hated me because they come into my cabin to sit, and they are so annoyed that I am there, I can tell, even though I don't understand what they're saying. This is going back to a different station in Florence that I didn't know, and they told me to get of at this one stop, they were all like this is it and yeah, so I get off, and it's not it. The train officials won't let me back on the train so I'm stranded, and the next train isn't until morning, another six hours. I'm so pissed off about that.. still now. So I have to get a taxi, lucky there was this one that pulled up to chill, and I was trying to talk, language barrier, sorta. I don't have enough money to get back to where I need to go, so I tell him to just take me as close as he can with the money I have. I was a few a euro short of the mark, but as we got close to the mark, he just didn't care and took me all the way there even though I couldn't pay but he was ok with that, I was lucky, but I had spent way too much money on something I shouldn't have needed.. still very pissed about that.
Well that's about it. My fall break that is better described in my pictures, or at least the good parts are.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Love and Death
Wanting to hurt myself
I know it's not good
I wish I could get ride of this pain
The only thing I can do is mask the hurt
I wish there was another way
But I'm all alone
No one gets me.
I remember Apathy
I should revert back to that
This way I don't get hurt
And she can do whatever she wants.
Oh Apathy,
I miss you.
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