london

i can’t begin to explain how many times i was asked the question - ‘are you going to be there for the wedding?’ my automatic ‘yes’ response and subsequent forced smile  became irritating during the months before i left for london.  but, i have to admit that i was extremely excited for the royal wedding and was more than thrilled that i would be in london during such an amazing time.  over the course of the semester, my friends and i watched the city slowly prepare for the day’s festivities.  the energy and excitement throughout the city was contagious - you couldn’t help but gush at the idea of a ‘commoner’ becoming a ‘princess’.  there were, however, plenty of people who were not as excited about the wedding, and i was able to experience first-hand the division in opinion amongst the british regarding the royal family and the monarchy.  i didn’t let the politics of the whole thing damper my day and set out at 6 in the morning to celebrate the modern day fairytale wedding  i was once a young girl and spent countless nights relishing in once-upon-a-time tales of happily-ever-afters.  my friends and i decided to celebrate in hyde park and watch the ceremony on the jumbo screens that were set up alongside food & drink tents.  the forecast for the day was rain and we were waiting for the uncompromising gray skies to give way to torrential downpour.  by the time the ceremony started, the rain had still held off.  when kate stepped out of the car and began her procession down the aisle, the entire crowd was fixated on the screens making no movement or sound except the intermittent ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’.  at the very moment that kate stepped onto the altar and william turned his head to look at her - i kid you not - the sun broke through the clouds completely and the crowd began cheering in jubilation.  i don’t care how corny or how silly it sounds i actually teared up and began crying.  i normally do not cry for anything, but being there in that moment, among thousands of people who were all there to celebrate love just choked me up and made me cry.  i think its a powerful thing - that so many people can come together and celebrate something joyous during a time in our world that seems to be increasingly filled with fear and hate. 

pictures from vatican city.  one of the highlights of my trip.  while i may not be an extremely religious person, it cannot claim that my trip to the vatican wasn’t moving.  all religious considerations aside, you cannot help but admire everything about the vatican - its history, its importance in modern society, its influence throughout the world, and its sheer beauty.  the sistine chapel literally takes your breath away.  stepping inside st. peters basillica left me awestruck and speechless.  it was absolutely amazing to see a place i’ve learned so much about and where so much history has been made.

pictures from our day of walking.  we literally walked for more than ten hours and saw every major sight there is to see in rome besides the colosseum (not for lack of time though, simply because we needed something to do the next day)  rome was an incredible city and hands down my second favorite place next to london.  the history behind the city is absolutely astounding.  the historical, religious, and political significance of rome made it one of the most interesting places i’ve visited.  it is definitely at the top of my list of places to re-visit, because i feel that i didn’t have enough time to properly explore the city.

some pictures from the colosseum and the roman ruins surrounding it.  i found the colosseum to be absolutely amazing because of not only its historical significance, but also its mere age.  it was hard to believe when it was actually built and what it was actually used for.  the fact that the romans built such a massive and spectacular building during that time period is unbelievable.

on our last night, paige and i were able to meet up with matt!  he took us to this great small restaurant called tonys that catered directly to hungry college kids on a budget.  the food was good but not overpriced, and tony threw in a free tiramisu for dessert.  afterwards, matt took us to a few of his favorite bars and the night ended with some crazy vanilla-ice karaoke.  it was really fun, even though paige and i were exhausted, and i was so happy to be able to meet up with matt and see rome in a completely different way.

greece was absolutely beautiful.  it was well worth the painful amount of traveling we had to do just to get there.  we spent the first day just relaxing all day on the beach and later in the hot tub.  the second day we were planning on going on the booze cruise but the line was absolutely ridiculous, so we ended up going out on kayaks.  i don’t think we were actually prepared for the amount of physical activity that was ahead of us.  paige and i shared a kayak and we started out strong - which was our big mistake.  we went and visited a monastery that was located on a remote small island.  the scenery around the monastery was absolutely breathtaking and we could not have asked for better weather.  we then kayaked to a secluded beach that was completely covered in dried seaweed, making the ground as cushioned and comfortable as a tempurpedic mattress.  i quickly fell asleep under the warm sun and was not happy at all when we had to wake up and paddle home.  there were a few points during the return trip which i seriously contemplated giving up and/or held back tears.  we kayaked six miles in total and i was feeling it in every muscle in my body.  in the end though, the trip was worth it and we got to see some beautiful views of the island.