Hello Everyone! I made it to Oxford just fine, although on the bus from the airport to High Street, the driver said that we were experiencing technical difficulties. So he phoned the powers that be, and after he hung up with them and told us that they wanted him to keep going towards Oxford, he actually said these words to us: "I hope we don't go bang!" Thankfully, the bus did not go bang.
Oxford is absolutely beautiful, so many gorgeous buildings. I haven't explored much yet because I'm still getting used to the weather. Such a change from Rome! It's been about 60 here so far and very rainy. I did go for a walk yesterday on High Street, and I managed to get lost for about 15 minutes. It also started raining while I was out, so I was all wet when I got back. But it was my first Oxford adventure! I'm sure there will be more to come. I can't wait to get out and see more of the town.
Interesting Oxford fact of the week: Toilet paper here is not in rolls; it's in sheets, and you pull it out from a dispenser, kind of like a paper towel dispenser, but for toilet paper.
We seem to have a nice bunch of people here. About five former grammar students are here, and I'm even sharing a room with one of them! I don't think they like grammar as much as I do though, so I don't foresee any grammar discussions at the pubs :) Professors Johnson and Kipperman are very fun and entertaining as always. These next few weeks should be a great time. Some crazy drama has been going on already with some people in the group, but I'll save that story for when I get home. Email me if you can't take the suspense.
Classes started yesterday, so I have quite a bit of reading to do, but it's fun reading. Right now I'm reading some of Wordsworth's poetry and The Merchant of Venice. So I may not be able to post as often until I get ahead on some of the reading, but I'll do my best! I miss you all so much! Over and out!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Don't know when I'll be back again
Tomorrow I will be flying back to London and taking the bus to Oxford. I'm glad that I came to Rome first. I'm finally starting to get over my jetlag, so I'm glad that I won't have to deal with that once my courses start on Monday. I've also seen some amazing sights and had a nice time exploring Rome with Rachel.
That said, I'm am so, so ready to leave. The heat has been in the 90s here all week, and it's been nearly unbearable. If I ever make it back here, I will make sure not to come during the summer. Also, Rachel and I have had several run-ins with rude, perverse Italian men. Rachel has had the worst time of it; her blonde hair and blue eyes have gotten her a lot of negative attention. She was felt up by two strangers as we were walking down the street. The only male attention I've gotten has been from a 70-year old man that Rachel says was checking me out at the cafe. I'll tell you more about this insanity when I get back, particularly what it's like to be photographed by strange Italian men.
We've also had some problem with our hostel. We made our reservations over a month ago, but the hostel has had problems with overbooking, and we had to move to a different room after being here for 3 days. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but when Rachel asked the manager why we had to move, he got really nasty with her and told her that if we didn't move, we'd have to leave the hostel and find somewhere else to stay. He was just such a bastard about it. I mean I understand that he's running a business here and needs to do what he needs to do to make it work for him, but the concept of customer service or even just plain politeness was completely foreign to him. Also because of overbooking, our friend Louise was told at 11pm that she had to leave her room that she'd already paid for and move to another hostel. The management here has just been awful, and if I'm ever back in Rome, there's no way in hell that I'll ever come back to this hostel.
Ok, so enough of that. Thursday, Rachel and I planned to go to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. We got up super early, took the subway to the museum, and waited in the wrong line for about an hour. The right line stretched down a couple blocks, so we decided to scratch our plans and go to the Colosseum and the Forum instead. Although we were frustrated at first, it actually turned out to be perfect. We were able to get a tour of both the Colosseum and the Forum for a great price, and we had the best tour guide ever, Eugene. After the tour was over, he gave us information on a tour he planned to do the next day of St. Peter's Basilica; we ended up going on that tour on Thursday, and it was fantastic. So our wrong-line snag actually worked out pretty well.
The Colosseum and the Forum were fantastic. I can't even really begin to describe what it was like to see these places in person. The view of the city from the top of the Forum was incredible. I'll try to post pictures later, but so far I haven't found a computer that I can transfer my pictures to.
Friday, Rachel and I went to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. St. Peter's Basilica was amazing; entering the Basilica was the first time that I really started to feel like I was in Rome and really experiencing a piece of history. There were so many pieces of beautiful art, and the Basilica itself is one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I've ever seen. And I saw the Pietà !! The Vatican Museum was fantastic, too. It's such a huge museum! Rachel and I were pretty exhausted by the time we got there, so we didn't see everything in it. But we made it to the Sistine Chapel, which was just incredible and a bit overwhelming. Seeing all of Michaelangelo's artwork was awesome; I've never been really moved by a piece of artwork before, but seeing the ceiling in person made me tear up a bit. I really hope I make it back here someday so that I can see it again and see some of the other pieces of art that I didn't have time for.
Today was my favorite day in Rome. Rachel and I took a long walk and saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and a bunch of other awesome buildings and fountains today. The heat was bad today, but there was a nice breeze for most of the time we were outside, and it really made a difference in how we were able to enjoy what we saw. I have so many pictures!!! My 4GB memory card is already a third full after just 4 days in Rome.
Rome has just been a whirlwind of sights. While we've had to deal with some unpleasant things, I'm really glad I was able to spend some time here with Rachel. On to Oxford!
That said, I'm am so, so ready to leave. The heat has been in the 90s here all week, and it's been nearly unbearable. If I ever make it back here, I will make sure not to come during the summer. Also, Rachel and I have had several run-ins with rude, perverse Italian men. Rachel has had the worst time of it; her blonde hair and blue eyes have gotten her a lot of negative attention. She was felt up by two strangers as we were walking down the street. The only male attention I've gotten has been from a 70-year old man that Rachel says was checking me out at the cafe. I'll tell you more about this insanity when I get back, particularly what it's like to be photographed by strange Italian men.
We've also had some problem with our hostel. We made our reservations over a month ago, but the hostel has had problems with overbooking, and we had to move to a different room after being here for 3 days. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but when Rachel asked the manager why we had to move, he got really nasty with her and told her that if we didn't move, we'd have to leave the hostel and find somewhere else to stay. He was just such a bastard about it. I mean I understand that he's running a business here and needs to do what he needs to do to make it work for him, but the concept of customer service or even just plain politeness was completely foreign to him. Also because of overbooking, our friend Louise was told at 11pm that she had to leave her room that she'd already paid for and move to another hostel. The management here has just been awful, and if I'm ever back in Rome, there's no way in hell that I'll ever come back to this hostel.
Ok, so enough of that. Thursday, Rachel and I planned to go to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. We got up super early, took the subway to the museum, and waited in the wrong line for about an hour. The right line stretched down a couple blocks, so we decided to scratch our plans and go to the Colosseum and the Forum instead. Although we were frustrated at first, it actually turned out to be perfect. We were able to get a tour of both the Colosseum and the Forum for a great price, and we had the best tour guide ever, Eugene. After the tour was over, he gave us information on a tour he planned to do the next day of St. Peter's Basilica; we ended up going on that tour on Thursday, and it was fantastic. So our wrong-line snag actually worked out pretty well.
The Colosseum and the Forum were fantastic. I can't even really begin to describe what it was like to see these places in person. The view of the city from the top of the Forum was incredible. I'll try to post pictures later, but so far I haven't found a computer that I can transfer my pictures to.
Friday, Rachel and I went to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. St. Peter's Basilica was amazing; entering the Basilica was the first time that I really started to feel like I was in Rome and really experiencing a piece of history. There were so many pieces of beautiful art, and the Basilica itself is one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I've ever seen. And I saw the Pietà !! The Vatican Museum was fantastic, too. It's such a huge museum! Rachel and I were pretty exhausted by the time we got there, so we didn't see everything in it. But we made it to the Sistine Chapel, which was just incredible and a bit overwhelming. Seeing all of Michaelangelo's artwork was awesome; I've never been really moved by a piece of artwork before, but seeing the ceiling in person made me tear up a bit. I really hope I make it back here someday so that I can see it again and see some of the other pieces of art that I didn't have time for.
Today was my favorite day in Rome. Rachel and I took a long walk and saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and a bunch of other awesome buildings and fountains today. The heat was bad today, but there was a nice breeze for most of the time we were outside, and it really made a difference in how we were able to enjoy what we saw. I have so many pictures!!! My 4GB memory card is already a third full after just 4 days in Rome.
Rome has just been a whirlwind of sights. While we've had to deal with some unpleasant things, I'm really glad I was able to spend some time here with Rachel. On to Oxford!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
This is why I'm hot
Greetings from Rome, everyone! After many travel frustrations, I arrived in Rome yesterday and managed to find my way to the hostel Rachel and I are staying at. Rachel and I were supposed to meet at the train station in central Rome, but due to some flight delays, we ended up missing each other. So for about 40 minutes, I was wandering around lost in Rome, trying to find street signs (which they don't have; street names are posted on building walls) and keep from panicking. Rachel showed up at the hostel about 10 minutes after I did, and then the fun began.
So far, being here feels so surreal. That I'm actually in Rome and seeing some of the most amazing buildings and monuments hasn't sunk in yet. I keep thinking to my self "I can't believe I'm in Rome." I'm still jet-lagged though, so that may have something to do with it.
On with the sights! Yesterday, I tried to begin fighting the jet-lag and stayed up until about midnight. Rachel, Louise (a very nice girl from Ireland who is staying in our room at the hostel), and I went to a couple pubs to get a taste of the local flavor. We managed to pick the most un-Italian bars in Rome though, I think! In the first bar, at one point I was eating pizza, drinking Strongbow cidar, and watching the music video for "This is why I'm hot" on the bar tv. Then we went to an Irish pub and listened to live Irish music. It was a good time.
Today Rachel and I walked to the Spanish Steps and toured the Keats-Shelley Memorial museum. We also went to the Protestant Cemetery and saw where Keats, Shelley, and Severn are buried. I got to touch their graves! I'll post more info on these trips and some pictures later on.
I'm going to have to cut this post short. Rome is beautiful, but it is so incredibly hot, and right now (grossness alert) I'm pretty much sitting in a pool of my own sweat. Hope all is well with everyone! Arrivederci!
So far, being here feels so surreal. That I'm actually in Rome and seeing some of the most amazing buildings and monuments hasn't sunk in yet. I keep thinking to my self "I can't believe I'm in Rome." I'm still jet-lagged though, so that may have something to do with it.
On with the sights! Yesterday, I tried to begin fighting the jet-lag and stayed up until about midnight. Rachel, Louise (a very nice girl from Ireland who is staying in our room at the hostel), and I went to a couple pubs to get a taste of the local flavor. We managed to pick the most un-Italian bars in Rome though, I think! In the first bar, at one point I was eating pizza, drinking Strongbow cidar, and watching the music video for "This is why I'm hot" on the bar tv. Then we went to an Irish pub and listened to live Irish music. It was a good time.
Today Rachel and I walked to the Spanish Steps and toured the Keats-Shelley Memorial museum. We also went to the Protestant Cemetery and saw where Keats, Shelley, and Severn are buried. I got to touch their graves! I'll post more info on these trips and some pictures later on.
I'm going to have to cut this post short. Rome is beautiful, but it is so incredibly hot, and right now (grossness alert) I'm pretty much sitting in a pool of my own sweat. Hope all is well with everyone! Arrivederci!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
t minus 24 hours
I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow for seven weeks. I will be spending my first week in Rome and seeing the sights with my close friend Rachel. Then I will be flying back to London and catching a bus to Oxford for a six-week study abroad program at Oriel College, Oxford University. While I'm at Oxford, I will be taking two courses: one on Shakespeare and one on the British Romantic poets and William Morris. Both courses sound interesting, and I'm looking forward to being able to study these works of literature in the countries in which they were composed.
So since I most likely will not be able to keep in touch with you all via telephone, I'm hoping that I will be tech-savvy enough to run this blog and give you some updates about my European escapades. I'm not sure how reliable my internet access will be, but I hope to have some new posts every couple of days or so. So check back often! Angela + Europe = guaranteed hilarity.
Hope you all have a fantastic summer while I'm gone. I'll miss you all!!
So since I most likely will not be able to keep in touch with you all via telephone, I'm hoping that I will be tech-savvy enough to run this blog and give you some updates about my European escapades. I'm not sure how reliable my internet access will be, but I hope to have some new posts every couple of days or so. So check back often! Angela + Europe = guaranteed hilarity.
Hope you all have a fantastic summer while I'm gone. I'll miss you all!!
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