Who knew volcanos actually mattered?

The last time I consciously thought about volcanoes was 5th grade when we learned about them. Since then I am pretty sure that word has been 100% nonexistent in my vocabulary. Now I have developed a very strong dislike for them, seeing as the volcano in Iceland caused both my Greece and Barcelona trips to be canceled. Bummer of the century in my book. However, I did get to spend an amazing three days in Rome! We had to once again pull an all nighter to get to the airport in time for our 6:10 am flight. After arriving in Rome, we took an hour bus to the city center and walked for a while attempting to find our hostel. This was my favorite hostel yet. It actually was somewhat visually appealing, had really comfy beds, a hot shower, and friendly owners. I also enjoyed that they had candy out on the front desk all the time...not kidding I probably ate at least 20 jolly ranchers by the end of my stay, it was pretty much my breakfast every day. Our location was really great too. Rome is actually a very small city. We walked the entire time without taking the metro at all to save money. I actually found that walking was a better way to see all the little things that aren't on a map-- amazing gelato shops, tiny side streets filled with mopeds, and amazing architecture. I threw a total of four coins in the Trevi fountain during my stay...hopefully this will bring extra good luck. They say that if you throw a coin in, you are destined to come back to Rome. Here's hoping, because I am in love with this city. Part of me wishes I had studied abroad there, even though my Italian speaking ability is nonexistent.

The first day there we visited the Trevi, Spanish steps, and walked and saw lots of different monuments. One of my favorite places was the huge garden in the north of Rome. If you look at a map, it's actually shaped like a heart...of course, it's Rome, why wouldn't the gardens be shaped like hearts? In the middle of the park there was a small clearing with a fountain and some benches, and sitting there, it honestly felt like we were smack in the center of the universe. It was so quiet and amazing. The quiet was, however, ruined when a creepy man came up to us trying to sell us roses. When we declined he said, "No no! A gift!" So we all reluctantly took the roses he handed us...seconds later, "Now you give me some money for my sister?" When we refused to pay him, he tried to insult my friend Joanna by calling her Japanese...really, that's all you've got? That night we went back to the hostel and fell asleep at 6:30 pm because we were SO exhausted.

The other people staying in our room were all so nice and normal, which is a change! Two of the boys were American, one German (who looked like Jake from the Bachelor, seriously twins) and then an Italian businessman who was around 30, I would guess. He was SO nice and helpful, and circled everything we should see on our maps for us. The way he talked about Rome was amazing because he loves the city so much and has so much pride for Italy.

The next day we went on a guided tour of the Colosseum, Roman ruins, and the hill where Rome was founded. It was pretty surreal to be standing in the center of the place where so much history has happened. Later that night we attempted to find real Italian cuisine, but as our tour guide informed us, you can't get the real deal Italian food in Rome. For that you have to go outside of the city or to a place like Venice. The food was good, but I can honestly say I like my Dad's spaghetti and meatballs better.

Day three was supposed to be our last day in Rome and first night in Venice. We walked to the Vatican and took some pictures, and then said goodbye to Rome before heading back to our hostel. Just as we were gathering our things to go to the airport, Jelyse checked her email and found that our flight to Barcelona had been canceled due to the ash. We tried calling the airport with no luck and couldn't figure out what to do, so we decided to go to the airport and figure something out. After an hour ride, we waited in line for another three hours only to be told that there were no flights to Barcelona until Monday, which would have been pointless as our flight home from Barcelona was Tuesday. We decided the safest thing to do would be to fly back to England. In all honesty, we all shed some serious tears over this one. After booking our flight for the next day, we decided we were going to stay at the airport over night, but had to go get our luggage first. So we took the bus back and then had to sprint through the street to get to our hostel in time to make the last bus of the night. We unfortunately didn't make it in time, so we stayed in the hostel for another night and got on our plane in the morning.

SO, here I am, back to lots of studying and anxiously waiting for exams to be over (not until June 5), my trip to Germany June 8-10, the End on the 11 (big celebration party on campus), and summer ball the 12th. THEN I go home June 14!! One month from today, I can't wait to see everyone.

That's all for now, lots of love.