Love Never Dies when you're in HAMBURG

A few successful things happened while in Hamburg!  I was able to fill the prescription for another EpiPen because there was an international pharmacy in Hamburg really close to our hotel!  Marnix, our bus driver, was more than willing to help me with the whole situation and I’ll be forever indebted and grateful to him for looking out for me!  He even let me use his phone to call my mom, which probably cost him money but he said he always likes to help people.  Without Marnix, our trip would definitely not be as successful as it has been.  He goes above and beyond in his job!  He calls the hotel in advance to see if there is coach parking and even helps us communicate on issues we are having with restaurants or the hotel.  He is seriously one of the coolest people I’ve ever met.  I loved hearing his life story and his opinions on things.  I hope one day he can come visit Utah and our group can throw a big party for him!

                Anyway, off topic, I apologize.  The first day, I filled my prescription and then went to the Birkenstock store with Julia, Jessica, and Danielle.  I have still resisted buying some even though almost everyone else has!  I’m sorry, I’m not about to spend 50 euros on something I think is ugly just because everyone on the trip is buying them!  I’m not made of money!  Danielle and I stayed out of the Birkenstock game. J  We then navigated public transit (I’m seriously professional now) to get some dinner and spaghetti ice cream.  Dinner was pizza but had broccoli and corn on it!  It was surprisingly tasty!  I opted out of getting spaghetti ice cream because the lady didn’t speak any English and I couldn’t get her to understand me asking if there were walnuts in it.  I got frustrated and just gave up. Haha!  I didn’t really want to end up back in the hospital again.  We went back to the hotel and got there just in time because it started POURING!  Literally, water was falling in buckets off the roofs of nearby buildings.  By the way, we were in an incredibly sketchy part of Hamburg.  There were a lot of people that seem super shady and hang out outside our hotel and around the pharmacy.  I’m glad I was always in a group because I would have been terrified!

                The next day our small group went to Miniatur Wunderland.  I figured this place would just be a bunch of figurines in little replicas of the city.  I had no idea they would be electronic and move or light up!  That was absolutely amazing!  I enjoyed my time there immensely, but renewed my anger with children that have no respect for others.  Parents just let their kids get away with anything and don’t think twice about it!  When I’m a parent I hope I can figure out a way to assure my kids are respectful to other children and adults around them.  And that they will wait their turn in a line for chocolate (long story that just makes me angry for no reason).  After the Wunderland, we went back to the hotel, picked up our laundry (there’s a place that will wash, dry, and fold and it was wonderful to get everything cleaned!), and headed to our big group lunch.  I was FINALLY able to eat a nice juicy steak and potatoes and I was in heaven!  I haven’t eaten a meal that big the entire trip and it was well worth the wait.  Except I miss my daddy’s seasoning skills.  We then headed to our backstage tour of Love Never Dies, the supposed sequel to Phantom of the Opera.  We were almost 45 minutes late to our tour though and they almost didn’t put it on for us.  I mean, if the leaders of the day were on top of things we wouldn’t have been late, but they didn’t push for us to leave and get there on time.  It was incredibly embarrassing.  We got a short tour but at least they were willing to give us anything at all!  The opera was absolutely amazing.  Jim’s daughter-in-law played Christine and she is amazingly talented!  Though I did not understand anything that was being said, except Coney Island, I was able to focus on the emotion and how that affected the story.  I truly enjoyed the play and got many signatures afterward.

                Overall, Hamburg was pretty cool!  A very sketchy area though and not one I’d probably come back to.  Also, I’m sick of staying in a hotel! Hahaha!  Bunkbeds are pretty much the worst and I can’t wait to sleep in until my alarm.

 

 

 

 

COPENHAGEN'S Christus

We were in Copenhagen for about two and a half days and in that short amount of time, I completely fell in love with the city!  It was definitely not as sketchy as Rome or Prague, but still just a little bit.  Apparently they have a “hippie district” AND a red light district.  I was able to successfully avoid both districts without trying to so I’d call that a win in my book! I was, however, able to meander the city and appreciate all the beauty in the buildings, both old and new.  Copenhagen is definitely a special place… AND it has a theme park! WHAT?!

                The first full day we had Julia, Ashlee, Sarah, and I all went on a boat tour.  We were able to see the big sights of Copenhagen in a short amount of time, all while sitting on a comfortable seat!  I saw The Little Mermaid statue from the backside and it was as underwhelming as Ruth (my boss) had mentioned.  It is really small and kind of creepy looking to be honest, but I can still say I’ve seen it in person! :D  We also saw the Queen’s house and her son’s.  They have flags that fly on top of the buildings and when the flag it up, it means the residents are home; the Queen was out but her son was home.  The Queen was probably out partying at 10:30 in the morning. ;)  We were also able to go down some small canal streets and saw residential areas.  The buildings are all bright colors and so cute and quaint!  I’d definitely live there if I had the chance!

                After our boat tour we had tickets to visit Tivoli, one of the oldest theme parks in Europe!  If you know me, you should know that theme parks are where I’m happiest.  I will go from open to close and enjoy every minute of my time there!  If only I could find a man that was as crazy about theme parks and I am!  Or at least enable me to enjoy my obsession and smile and enjoy himself along the way. :D  This theme park was really cute and fun!  I was told Walt Disney got some of his ideas for Disneyland through Tivoli.  Not sure if that’s true and I haven’t had time to fact check.  I’m busy! Sue me. ;)  Anyway, overall, Tivoli was a blast!  The rides (though kind of sketchy looking) were really fun and got me pumped up for Disneyland Paris (only 5 days people!).  There was a wooden coaster called, The Roller Coaster, that my group went on like 3 times and I still always forgot where the camera was so my face was just me screaming the entire time.  We also went on a swing ride, but it was on a platform, and also raised really high into the air.  I’m not a big spinning ride fan (teacups kill me) and I didn’t really want to do this ride but I’m so glad I did! The view of Copenhagen from the top was absolutely incredible!  I wish they had an observation tower for those that don’t want to swing in a circle that high up so my friend Bailey could have enjoyed the view as well. 

Thinking about changes like this actually pushed me to evaluate things about the park that I would keep and things I would change.  First of all, smoking areas would have been greatly appreciated!  I mean, has the notion of lung cancer not reached Europe?!  Everyone smokes!  But really, a smoking area would have been nice because they just do it willy nilly and it’s really annoying.  Second, I would have more distinct areas of the park and truly theme everything to match.  They kind of tried but never really hit the mark so I’d work with what they had and improve upon it.  I would keep the stage and the gardens, they are beautiful and definitely well kept.  I’d update the computer system on some of the rides and make them more modern.  On the wooden roller coaster, an employee actually rides it with you and I’m pretty sure controls the brakes at the end.  Like, what?!  Also, there didn’t seem to be any rules, which is probably because no one will sue them if something goes wrong.  Sue happy people are ruining America, enough said.  I would also employ people more people to keep the streets clean.  Overall, I thought the park was very dirty and could have used a million more trashcans!  Enable the guests to help you keep the park clean by giving them the necessary tools!  I also think the bathrooms were gross and they were few and far between, MORE BATHROOMS!  I would also keep the restaurants in the park.  Europeans love food and spending lots of time and money on meal is important to them.  There was an awesome variety of food and I was definitely pleased with my meal.  Overall, I really enjoyed Tivoli!  I tried not to compare it to Disney parks because they are definitely both different and unique in their own ways and I totally respect that!  I loved my time there and would love to go back and visit there again if I get the chance!  Oh also, the ice cream was FANTASTIC!!

After the theme park, we were exhausted so we went back to the hotel and turned in for the night, knowing we needed to be up early for church the next morning.  Church was wonderful!  The bishop was so nice and the ward members welcomed us with open arms.  They had small headsets for us to wear and a translator sitting in the back with a microphone to translate real time.  This was immensely helpful up until Relief Society because my headset started cutting out every few words so eventually I gave up and almost fell asleep.  Though I really enjoy going to church in these countries, I feel as though I’m not really understanding the lessons as much as I could be if it was in my language.  I can’t wait to get back to the United States and really enjoy going to church to learn!  We then were dropped off in the city and walked to see the original Christus statue.  It was in a church called, The Church of our Lady.  It is a prominent statue in the back of the main area and actually took my breath away.  The detail on Christ with the nail prints in his hands and feet really made me appreciate his sacrifice for me.  The main area also have the twelve apostles leading up to Christ, whom is in the center.  We then went back to the hotel and I decided to have a relaxing day like I do when I’m at home.  Sunday’s are my rest and recoup days.  I read lots of Harry Potter and watched a little Netflix, which is so much better outside the US!  Seriously!  I watched a few episodes of Modern Family and just enjoyed the day being in a foreign country! J

Overall, Copenhagen was beautiful and magical and I hope to be able to visit there again soon.  I loved every minute of being there!  Also, I want to learn Danish.

The wall in BERLIN

Berlin is a very beautiful and vibrant city. It it very surprising to think that most of the history from this city happened so recently and that compared to other cities in Europe, Berlin is one of the youngest because they have had to rebuild most of the city.

My parents got married the same year the wall was torn down and I was born 4 years later. All the other cities we have visited have history from the BC Era! Also, we hardly read about the Cold War in school which is frustrating because it would have made visiting Berlin that much better! It was still awesome to learn the history while we were in the city with people that took the bike tour. The previous day I decided I should probably give myself a little break because I was still recovering from my walnut incident. :) 

Our group visited Checkpoint Charlie, which was one of the points where people could travel between East and West Berlin. There was a lot of animosity between the two sides and people often tried to escape, both succeeding and failing, from East Berlin and sneak into West Berlin. Splitting the city like that truly did hurt people a lot.

We also visited a museum called The Typography of Terror. It went through Hitler's rise to power and how Himmler also helped him to get rid of the inferior  race. While walking through this museum it is was eerie to see the differences and similarities between then and now. America is rallying behind someone that hates rather than accepts and believes that some people are better than others. I hope we will be able to get out of this situation and that America will continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

We also visited the East side gallery. I have always thought graffiti was really cool! Obviously, some is just vandalism and there was a lot of that in Berlin, but the actual art was fantastic! I wish I had that kind of artistic talent! I'm glad they kept a part of the wall and promoted local artists and continue to preserve parts of the wall that were painted. The wall obviously divided the city and one point and they are healing and moving forward. 

The rest of the day was really relaxing! I spent time with my roommate in the hotel, read Harry Potter and got ready to leave the next day. :) 

Sound of Music in SALZBURG

I was so eager to write about Prague that I accidentally skipped over Salzburg, which was the city we were in before.

I loved Salzburg! We had the opportunity to go visit a Salt Mine and get a tour while we were there. We had to put on some really tacky outfits that didn't fit, got to ride a train into the mine (the outfit made sitting rather difficult), and actually slide downwards into the mine! All the different modes of transportation were incredibly awesome and got me ready for the theme parks coming up!

We learned a lot about why they had the mine and how salt was mined long ago and how they mine it now. It is much more sophisticated now, but I am pretty sure I could never work down there. The temperature is a nice constant 50 degrees (which was warmer than it was outside) but I would hate not being able to see the sun all day! The mine was incredibly interesting and I hope to go visit in the future.

After that, we had the opportunity to go into the city! I decided I wanted to take a bus tour instead of a bike tour because the weather was still super rainy! We were seriously following this storm and I was missing the sun. Luckily, though the day was rainy, it was beautiful and so much fun! Our bus tour was a hop on, hop off type and took us around the city to spots that were used in The Sound of Music. Mind you, I only watched the movie right before I left, but I've known the songs from the movie for years! The movie is super cute and I'm glad I watched it so I could have a better appreciation for what we were going to look at. I got to see the gardens the children ran through, a famous fountain, the gazebo they sing 16 going on 17, and the outside of the house that was used during filming! It was absolutely fantastic and we had a blast getting lots of pictures and listening to facts about the movie on the bus.

I turned in early because I was super cold and tired of being wet. Overall, Salzburg is beautiful and I would absolutely love to visit it again someday!

Nuts about PRAGUE

Growing up with a food allergy can sometimes be difficult.  I am blessed with a food allergy that is not in many regular foods.  I don’t have to deal with peanuts or wheat or anything else that is typically in every day food.  Instead, I was blessed with a severe allergy to walnuts and pecans.  I have only ended up in the hospital once and have never been forced to use my epi-pen.  Yesterday was probably the scariest day of my life.  Even now when I recount it, I get teary eyed thinking about how serious the situation was and how if I didn’t have people around me that acted fast and got me the help I needed, I may have died.  Now that I’ve started on that bright note, I can start from the beginning.

                We had to be up REALLY early that day.  I woke up at about 5:00 am so we could eat breakfast and get on the bus by 6:00 am.  We then drove to Dachau, a concentration camp in Germany.  We were only able to spend about two hours there, though I wanted to spend a lot more time there.  It was a very somber and dark experience, but one I appreciated greatly.  I have a better understanding of exactly what these poor prisoners went through and the atrocities that were committed on that hallowed ground.  We saw a reconstruction of the barracks and the foundations of all 30 barracks were still standing, though the buildings were torn down shortly after the liberation of the camp in 1945.  At the beginning, each prisoner had their own bed and a small shelf for personal items, starting in 1940, the camp was incredibly overcrowded and they modified the bunks to be one long bed and they would shove many prisoners onto each row.  It hurts my heart so much to see how these people were forced to live.

                We also saw the crematorium and the gas chamber.  There is no evidence that the gas chamber was ever used to kill humans, we were able to walk into the room and I definitely got goosebumps and tears thinking about how it may not have been used at this camp, but was used at many others.  They actually had to build a second crematorium, called barrack X, because their previous one was not burning the bodies fast enough.  The experience at Dachau gave me a renewed sense of respect for all those forced to live here.  I’m appalled that something like this would ever happen, but there is a sign in the camp that says, “Never Again.”  I hope to never hear of something like this ever happening again.

Prague

                We boarded the bus for Prague and I took a small nap as I was really emotionally drained after Dachau.  We arrived in Prague and had difficulties getting the coach to the hotel because we were actually in the city instead of on the outskirts like we have been in the past.  We ended up just grabbing a few things and walking to the hotel (only about a 10 minute walk).  We got our room keys, dropped off our stuff and headed into town.  We knew we only had a few hours in Prague because the next morning we needed to head off to Berlin.  Julia, a girl in my program, mentioned there were these really amazing dessert cone things and that we should all get one if we had a chance.  I had my eye out for a stand but was wanting to wait and go with her to the place she went before.  We visit the clock tower but didn’t ever see it go off because we went on the half hour instead of the hour and didn’t feel like coming back later.  We then headed for the bridge, I got my postcard (I’ve gotten one from every place we’ve visited).  Finally, we found the place Julia had mentioned and I was excited because I was rather hungry and they looked delicious.  Basically, it was dough wrapped around a pole, deep fried, and then rolled in cinnamon, sugar, and apparently walnuts.  I picked one with strawberries and whipped cream and it tasted amazing.  I noticed the outside looked like it had something besides cinnamon and sugar on it but I figured it was crumbs or something to give it a little something extra.  We started eating and walked toward the bridge, which was right in front of us.  We’d made it onto the bridge, got a picture, and I immediately knew something was wrong.  I stopped eating and got Bailey’s attention (another girl on my program) to tell I had definitely eaten something I shouldn’t have.  I guess I should mention there was a man following our group and he started giving everyone a bad feeling, so me starting to have a reaction actually gave everyone an excuse to go the opposite direction and get away from him.  I told everyone I’d probably be fine and didn’t want to derail anyone’s plans.  Julia insisted I take my Benadryl and we take a cab back to the hotel.  I didn’t want to pay for it and said we could walk, Julia said she would pay for it and shoved me in the first taxi we could find.  Bailey and Macie came with and helped keep me calm and breathing.  I took both doses of Benadryl and texted my mom.  While in the taxi I noticed my eyes were starting to swell.  At least, underneath my eyes did.  I called my mom as soon as I got wi-fi in the hotel and she tried her best to calm me down.  She was surprised I had not taken my epi-pen and gotten to a hospital and when she could hear how much I was having a hard time breathing she started to cry.  My mom never really gets emotional in these situations, she stays calm and gets me help.  Being in a different country mean she was completely helpless so I totally understand why she started crying and once I heard her I knew I was in big trouble.  She demanded I take the epi-pen while on the phone with her.  I always told myself I couldn’t stab myself with it if the time ever came, but I actually did it despite shaking and crying like crazy.  Bailey and Macie said a quick prayer for me and then Macie held my hand as I did it.  It didn’t hurt at all but that is probably because I had so much adrenaline running through me and was focusing on breathing. 

The front desk people quickly saw how bad I was getting (my lips and eyes were still swelling) and called me an ambulance.  The ambulance came quickly but we sat outside the hotel for about 40 minutes before actually going to the hospital.  They hooked me up to an IV (not sure what it was because we were having a hard time communicating with each other).  The man knew a little English but had no idea what my epi-pen was for and what I was actually allergic to as I don’t know how to say walnut in Czech!  That was definitely my bad!  Once I described tree nuts they understood more.  They stabilized me and another lady came in to get all my information.  Once all that had been done we headed to the hospital.  Now, being used to the great medical care in the US, this hospital was really sketchy.  Their ER was basically empty except for one person.  They sat me in a wheelchair and I waited alone for someone to come help me.  The nurse waited a while and then brought me to a bed.  She started an EKG on me (an ancient one with suction cups and whatnot) and then just left me there, not really saying anything.  They brought in a girl that spoke better English so I could explain what happened, I finally had my phone so I could show them a picture of what I ate and they all finally understood!  This language barrier thing really made everything so much more difficult.  Julia called the branch president and was able to get missionaries there to give me a blessing.  Dr. Taniguchi did my blessing and I’ve never felt peace immediately come to me that quickly.  He said I’d make a full recovery and be able to finish the study abroad and to really pray about WHY I was on this program and to be an example for others.  I’m so happy I was able to find worthy priesthood holders to give me that extra strength I needed to get through my hospital visit.  Afterwards, the nurse hooked me back up to an IV and I laid there for a few hours while they observed me and I was able to go back to the hotel.  I got my Zyrtec and my cute roommate Ashlee talked to me until I fell asleep.

                We were up super early the next day and I was exhausted.  I didn’t really sleep on the bus or anything and I still looked like an alien, but I was alive and breathing just fine.  I’m so grateful that despite a language barrier and my own stupid stubbornness, I had people around me that got me the help I needed quickly and prayed countless times that I would be ok.

                So there you have it, possibly the scariest day of my life.  I’m going to be extra careful the rest of the trip and from now on if I have a walnut I’ll immediately use it and head for the hospital, instead of waiting as long as I did. J  Always something to learn in this crazy life of mine!  I just feel bad I gave my mom quite a scare as she waiting for updates on me and talked me through it despite being in a different country.  I’m so grateful for her.  Wish me luck for the rest of the trip! ;)

The Gorge in GARMISCH

We spent a lot of time on the bus the last few days. So I've been a little stir crazy. The steps on my fitbit were looking pretty bleak. ;)

We drove to Garmisch, Germany which is a cute town filled with lots of character! The homes are actually painted with small designs and it seems to rain every day! We have had nothing but rain the last few days. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, but sometimes I really miss the sun! Especially when we are outside walking around all day! I digress. The country is beautiful! The grass is green and the mountains are a pretty blue. As we were driving here I was thinking about the fact that my ancestors are from Germany. It's humbling to think what they gave up. Here in order to go to America. I appreciate their sacrifice that enabled me to have the blessings I have and know the people I know.

The first night in Garmisch I went to dinner with some friends to a small restaurant (we had to sit at the bar because there were no tables open). I had Schnitzel (not with noodles, unfortunately; sorry Julie Andrews) and enjoyed the company of my friends. We walked around the quaint little town before heading back to the hotel for the night.

The next day was pretty busy. We woke up really early so we could drive to Neuschwanstein Castle for our tour. When driving up to the castle, it looks like a scene in a movie. The fog was surrounding the castle up on the hill. I've been told Walt Disney used this castle as the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland. I didn't really see that before I actually got up close and looked at the details. The walk up to the castle was long and all uphill (kill me) so naturally the walk down was much easier. The castle was beautiful! We had a short tour inside. The owner, King Ludwig, died before it was completed so there are still rooms in the castle that were never completed. The wall paintings were quite impressive! He wanted to bring theater to life in the castle and he definitely succeeded. We were not allowed to take any pictures on the inside so I apologize I have no pictures, but it was a truly beautiful castle. King Ludwig had great taste. ;)

The drive back to the hotel was long and by the time I got back I was incredibly tired. I was ready for a nap but knew we only had the rest of the day to experience Garmisch. I went with a small group to hike The Gorge, which is a beautiful area and not to be missed. We actually walked right by the Olympic Park with the ski jump. I believe I was too young to remember these Olympics but it was cool to walk around the area.  The walk to the gorge was long but beautiful! We paid 3.50 euros to get in and the hike was mostly in caves and water was rushing below us and falling from above (good thing I had my rain coat). We made it through, took lots of pictures, and I was just amazed that so many people will never have the chance to see these beautiful places! I am so blessed to be on this trip and have family and friends that support me in my dreams.

We are headed to Salzburg next. Luckily, my friend Dallon told me to watch The Sound of Music before I left so I could appreciate it more! :)

Watches and Wallets in SWITZERLAND

Yes, the title is a bit misleading, but I needed something clever. ;)  I did not buy a wallet or a watch but I did see an awesome fountain in Geneva!  And of course did a handstand in front of Lake Geneva.  We only spent about and our in Geneva and then headed to Laussane to The Olympic Museum.  This was an awesome experience and fun to see Salt Lake City around the museum.  I was in 2^nd grade during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake.  I knew something important was going on, but I don’t think I fully comprehended how cool it was to have the Olympics so close to my house!  I went to curling with my dad for my small taste of the event.  I bought a Roots hat (still in use today) and my parents went to a few other events and bought a cow bell.  My memories are fading and I’m hoping that someday I’ll be able to go to another Olympics so I can fully understand and uniqueness and talent in the games.  The museum was amazing!  They had torches from many of the games seeing them all side by side gave a perspective of how different the Olympic games are from each other.  They also had a large display of equipment and outfits used over the years to see the growth as we become more sophisticated.  I loved the museum and got an awesome picture by the balance beam out front.

                We left and drove for a while to Tasch.  This is where we were supposed to see the Matterhorn but the fog definitely threw a chink in those plans.  We weren't able to really see anything which was really disappointing.  I decided to relax in the hotel with some of the girls from the program and we had a great time!  The hotel was incredibly quaint.  It kind of looked like an old lady's cute little house.  We spent the next day driving the entire day to Garmisch.  Probably spent about 11 hours on the bus total, it was a long day but enjoyable nonetheless!

Tomorrow we get to go visit a castle!  Germany is gorgeous!  It's cool to be in the land of my ancestors!

Charming CHAMONIX

Chamonix was supposed to be merely a stop on our way to Garmisch, and I’m so glad we stopped there!  Our hotel was absolutely amazing and the views were breathtaking! It reminded me a lot of Park City with the mountains as the backdrop of a cute little town.  I spent WAY too much on a burger that was pretty decent.  For dinner I actually had a great burger for much less. 

For anyone that knows me, knows I struggle with hiking.  I have asthma and elevation combined with exercise usually poses a problem for me.  I decided to go for it yesterday though.  We were told it would be an easy hike, 45 minutes up and 30 to come down with a beautiful waterfall at the end.  Though the hike was a lot harder than I expected (very steep in most places) but the waterfall was absolutely beautiful! I would have never guessed a gorgeous waterfall would be sitting in France.  The hike took up a large chunk of the day and we merely walked around the small city until returning to the hotel because it got cold.  I thoroughly enjoyed the day there though.  If I had to live anywhere in France, it would probably be there.

We will be returning to France later in the month so you’ll get another taste of it later. J

Au revoir!

MILAN darling, Milan

Our last city in Italy was quite a treat.  The Duomo was absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed being able to apply everything I’ve learned from The History of Interior Design and actually see it in person.  I was able to point out the Gothic arches, crockets, and tercets.  Milan is the fashion capital in the world.  With my small amount of money I felt almost unworthy to be there!  Our group actually walked into a Prada store and I found the world’s tackiest pair of sneakers for 1200 euros.  I don’t care how great a brand is supposed to be, I’m not going to buy a pair of shoes that look like I could have made them from crafts at the dollar store.

                We tried a food called panzerotti, which was this wonderful piece of deep fried dough with cheese and meat inside.  They were cheap and absolutely delicious!  I also finally had some gelato I was happy with.  It was rich and different from ice cream (which was my original stance on gelato).  I had the opportunity to be the Leader of the Day for the day we went into Milan to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.  The stress of being the leader and attempting to get 40 people to Milan and back made my anxiety go through the roof the day before.  Our hotel was about 50 minutes away from the city by car and an hour and a half by public transportation.  It was quite an effort to figure it all out.  Luckily, I had Spencer (a guy on our study abroad) to help me figure it all out.  He called the hotel the day before and worked out all the options with them.  We settled on a shuttle that would take us all the way to the city right near the church we needed to go to.  I can’t tell you what a relief it was when we got to the city all together like we needed to.  Everything worked out!  I’m just a crazy worry wart about everything.

                The Last Supper was amazing!  I was under the impression it was very faded and hard to see.  Though it is faded, it was clear and wonderful to look at.  Our tour was short and sweet and we learned a lot about the fresco.  Turns out it was built over a kitchen door so the humidity is one reason the painting has faded.  They also extended the door so they got rid of Jesus’ feet.  How rude right? ;)

                One thing I had problems with in Milan were the salesman.  They were much more aggressive in Milan than they were in Rome.  They shove roses in your face.  There were some people talking about Africa and had some bracelets.  One of them grabbed my arm and tied a bracelet on my wrist before I even knew what was happening.  My group didn’t notice and continued ahead of me so I was stuck with this guy!  He asked for money and I told him it wasn’t fair because I didn’t have any say in the matter and he didn’t give me a choice.  I tried to walk away but he followed me.  I pulled out 10 cents and he said he wanted more.  So in order to get him to leave me alone, I gave him a euro and ran off.  I was so frustrated!  But it provides a rather silly memory, right?

                We stumbled upon a beautiful park right in the middle of the city and played on some swings and the small playground we found.  I absolutely love swinging so I jumped at the chance to grab a few pictures.  I also practiced doing handstands on some raised logs.  Much harder than a balance beam because they were round, but fun nonetheless.

Though our time in Milan was short, we walked a lot and saw a lot!  I was tired by the end of the day and slept very well. J

Sorry my pictures are still not in the text of the blog post, my tablet and phone don’t give me the ability to add them like I want, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless!

Ciao!!

Buy some leather in FIRENZE

I spent a few days in Rome and packed them full with different activities. We were only in Florence (Firenze) for a day and a half, so I don't have quite as many cool experiences to talk about, sorry.

We left pretty early in the morning as we had a tour scheduled for 2:00 pm. I slept surprisingly well on the bus (and definitely have since then as well, much better than the plane). So the public transportation bus stop felt awkwardly far from the hotel and then the ride into town was so squished on the bus, that the ride felt forever. When we finally got off, it took us a while to get to the area we had to meet for the tour. Getting to the city wasn't super fun. ;)

One there though, the city was very pretty! It had a different feel than Rome. It seemed cleaner and a little more open. It also rained the day of the tour which was wonderful because it was hot.  Our tour was very informative and interesting, but much slower and not has funny as our other tours. We got to see and touch a lucky boar nose and see the different markets. She also pointed out the difference between the old and new buildings because many were damaged in the war. We just glanced over The Duomo which was absolutely beautiful up close! This was another building I'd studied but never thought I'd ever see in person.

We ended the tour with the statue of David,  which was much bigger than I ever imagined. It was huge! And I very much appreciated how hard it was to do that all from one piece of marble, Michelangelo was incredibly talented! I am glad I got to see it in person!

After all that, a small group of us continued to walk around Florence, look more closely at vendors in the market, and grab some excellent Gelato. We tried to go into the Duomo but it was only open for mass so we just walked around it.

On Sunday we had the opportunity to go to church. They translated for us so we were able to understand most everything. The members were happy to see us and we met some wonderful people whose faith in the Lord is incredibly inspiring. I hope to one day have that same faith.  The gospel is true everywhere!

Sarah, Bailey, Spencer, and I spent the rest of the day just chilling at the hotel. We had to go get lunch somewhere, so Sarah, Spencer and I went to a pizza place the hotel had recommended. At first, the building looked weird because it was up on stilts and there were stairs you had to use to get to it. We walked up and Spencer mentioned it might be closed as no lights were on. He walked toward the front door and a REALLY loud alarm started blaring! Luckily Sarah kept calm as we walked down the stairs because I was so tempted to book it, but then I would have looked super guilty! Hahaha! We then committed something on par with not trying pizza in Italy... We went to McDonalds. Florence was mostly closed because it was Sunday AND Mother's day. So, that was really our only option unfortunately. We had a good laugh about the whole thing though.

I'm so happy I found this wonderful group of people to travel with. We are a small no-drama group that is easy to travel with. We are up for anything and can figure out where we are and where to go quickly. They are positive and funny, we laugh the entire time we are together. I'm truly blessed!

I got to Skype with my momma and family to wish her a Happy Mothers day. That made me happy to see them and tell them about some of my adventures. :)

We are off to Milan next, the fashion capital of the world!

Ciao!