When In Rome...

From Milan I took the overnight train into Rome, which was about nine hours in the sleeper car.  I was obviously a little confused when I arrived, because I walked the wrong way for about an hour, so I was able to see a lot of boring apartment buildings, haha.  After trying to buy an apple at a fruit stand, and not making much progress, the owner eventually just laughed and gave me a free apple.

After finally getting orientated and finding my way to a metro station, I walked up the steps from the underground to see the THE COLOSSEUM. It was amazing, larger than I had ever imagined and overwhelming.  After drooling for a bit and taking some pictures I bumped into a nice German girl that was seeing the Colosseum as well.  We checked out some other sites together including Nero's Palace, Foro Romano, the Arch of Constantine, the Castle of Angels, and St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The inside of St Peter's more beautiful than any other building I have seed, a masterpiece. Later that night I met up with my new friend and some other students to go to an Erasmus party, where we danced all night to some weird Italian techno music.

The next day I met some American friends from my hostel at the Pantheon, which, again, was so much bigger than it seems on TV or in pictures, and so well preserved. We were able to get some amazing pasta at a local restaurant and see some other sites.  Unfortunately many of the sites charge admission fees, fortunately I was smart enough to sneak in the exit for free.  That night I was also able to make a wish in the Trevi Fountain and see some more of the city.

Rome is by far the most b-e-a-utiful city I have ever seen.  They have worked the ancient structures into the city so well, there is something amazing to see everywhere.  It was the perfect trip, and was always my #1 destination.  A dream come true!

Ciao Milano

Traveling on a budget takes a long time, but I finally got to Milan.  I stumbled around the city for a bit, after a cab driver offered to drive me 1.5k (about a mile) for 20 euros ($24), I told him in a very polite way, "no way, Jose." I had a bit of time to kill before meeting my host, so I found a cool bakery and attempted to talk to an Italian guy who didn't speak English or Spanish, but we managed to have somewhat of a conversation.  For the most part Italians were really cool and kind.  After wandering around a supermarket for some more food, the manager demanded to search my backpack, after finding nothing he didn't apologize but simply said "ok." haha what a jerk!

After that I met up with my host, he made me some schnitzel and some french fries and we grabbed a couple beers at a local pub.  Probably the first good beer I'd had since coming to Europe, a German beer.  The next day I met up with Meg, my Italian friend, to check out Milan.  The coolest part was the Duomo, a Gothic style Cathedral that is the 4th largest church in the world and it has been under construction for over 500 years.  It was pretty amazing. I got my first Italian pizza, some delicious Gelato and we were able to see the rest of the city that day.

The city has a lot of people trying to sell useless toys, or trying to con you into buying dinky bracelets for 20 euros.  But besides all that it was pretty cool, a very modern city.  

¿Donde estan los toros?

San Fermin isn't until July, but I had to see the famous city of Pamplona.  Unfortunately, we couldn't catch the bus until 1:00 in the afternoon, so we decided to make an overnight trip.  The bus ride to Pamplona was beautiful,  it cut through the countryside, sandwiched between mountains and cliffs.  The colors in Spain aren't as strong, and are dull compared to the strong greens and the fall colors back home in Oregon, but despite this, they were still beautiful.  The bus station in Pamplona is hidden under an old military fort that is now restored as a park, very impressive  The city was gorgeous, with fall trees and enormous walls from fortification hundreds of years ago. 


My friends and I spent the day seeing the city and tasting the food.  We planned on staying out all night, to take in as much as possible. However, when they got too tired we had to find a place to sleep.  The problem was it was already 3:00 in the morning. We walked around looking for cozy corners to sleep in and we ended up sneaking into the bus station to sleep in the stairwell.  Probably not the most comfortable sleep I've ever had, the floor was rock hard and a little chilly, but it is an experience, and even though it wasn't comfortable, it made the trip unforgettable. After a couple hours we woke up to catch the bus, and I don't think either of us were functioning fully.  I've been thinking about one thing lately, time is one thing that you can't change, fix or repair.  Experiences are so important, and it was an amazing trip.

Ameraoke!

This sold out event featured a friend who had visited from our United States, some other traveler friends, and a lot of old Spaniards.  Karaoke is one of the things I had missed about the states, something fun and goofy that guarantees a good time.  I wasn't quite on top of my game however, vocals were raspy from my lingering sickness (hopefully making a rugged handsome tone), and the lyrics were more difficult than I remembered.  But, I had the time of my life, haha.

Halloween Schmalloween...

Since I arrived I had been so excited about Halloween.  I didn't know if people here tricked or maybe treated, or dressed up, or carved pumpkins. Turns out a lot of people missed out on some fun, unfortunately I was right there with them. Come the frightful day, I was sneezing, coughing, and sweating my way through the day, and in bed.  After I finally mustered up the strength to disguise myself as a half-ass American cowboy, I moseyed off to the town to meet some friends and celebrate the day of ghosts and ghouls.  I spotted Freddy Krueger (pretty sure I was awake for this one, and not dreaming), a ghost or two, and a witch.  But for the most part people were just out to party and celebrate not having to go to work the next day.  My friends and I played some games before heading out to party.  Then the lameness set in, we ended up just hanging out, which was fun... but not Halloween fun.  I'll have to come back strong next year... maybe as Che Guevara or Bruce Lee!