So this week has been pretty amazing. There is a lot to tell so be ready for quite a story. :-)

So we began on a week ago on Sunday, we went to Torino, we got there a little late but it ended up working out anyway. We got our eurail passes and activated them so I have use of my pass until May 9th. It has really come in handy. So the train to Verona wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. I have trouble sleeping on the train so I brought some sudoku with me and books and such for entertainment. We got to the Verona train station then had to take a bus to our hotel which was on the outskirts of the town. Our hotel was nice, we all took baths, we were excited to be able to relax. I shared a room with my current roommate Keisha, it was nice. We were all hungry so we ate at the only local restaurant Pepperone's. We were so excited cause this was the first restaurant we went to that had American food. We have been eating nonstop pasta so it was nice to get something else.

I got some chicken fingers and other people enjoyed their hamburgers and cheeseburgers. The restaurant reminded me a lot of Fridays, it was a nice feeling. We stayed till after close, they were nice and soon after went to bed. I didn't sleep well but I haven't slept well since I got here so its not a big deal. We were supposed to be able to sleep in but we got a call from Paul early in the morning saying we had to leave early because there was only one more bus to get to the train station to meet our tour guide on time. So we ran and made it to the bus station, and eventually found our tour guide after getting some breakfast. A lot of the time we will pay for food and such and the school will pay us back it is nice. At the Verona train station was also the first time i had McDonalds in a foreign country. It was nice to have the familiar comfort but it isn't something I want to do a lot. They don't have as diverse a menu as us anyway. It tastes the same though.

So then we met up with our tour guide, he was a nice guy who had a lot of information. We went to the Arena, which was amazing (I got pictures which I will put up soon) It is crazy to think we are standing where so many famous things happened. It was a wonderful feeling. Then we went to Romeo and Juliet houses. It was really cool. The walls were covered in peoples names who were in love. It was kinda cheesy but you have to love it. There was also this statue that you were supposed to touch to get good luck in finding a new love, lots of men with wives were touching it as a joke. Crazy tourists.

There were also an abundance of people dressed up as statues who would stand still till you gave them money and then you could take your picture with them. Crazy statue people. Nice way to make money. We ate at a buffet style italian place called Brek and then did a little looking around before going back to the train station to catch a train to Padua or Padova as they call it. We were just staying in Padova because Venice is so expensive, it was only 20-30 minutes by train to Venice. I am glad we didnt spend a lot of time in Padova because it is very sketchy. We had a hotel by the train station which are always kinda sketchy but luckily we kept each other safe. Rather than eating dinner in Padova we decided to go into Venice for the night. Paul decided it would be a great idea to go to the restaurant in the farthest tip opposite the train station. After 1 1/2 of walking and getting lost we found the restaurant. It was very nice and definitely worth it. Their desserts were to die for. I don't usually get desserts with my meals but decided to splurge and it was so worth it. I shared with Keisha so we both wouldn't feel so guilty about eating it. It was like creme filled ice cream with chocolate sauce. For dinner you all would be proud to hear I had Spinach Lasagna and I enjoyed it. It had a little too much spinach but I did actually like it.

So Venice was beautiful at night, and I will save you all a lot of money by telling you all that there is to see in Venice is stairs and water. It is pretty beautiful though. Took lots of pictures. After the restaurant we went back to Padova for some sleep. Didn't get a lot of sleep still. I try to go to bed earlier but some of my classmates stayed up and it was hard to sleep. The next day we had our first day in Venice. We met up with our tour guide and she took us all over the city to look at lots of beautiful sites. We went to this church whose walls and ceilings were made of gold and then we went to the palace which was amazing. The artwork was so detailed. It was quite day. I learned a lot too. Our tour guide told us that 90% of people own boats in italy. It makes me laugh to think that maybe for kids 16th birthday rather than getting a car they get a boat. :-)

The structures were amazing around the town. I took lots of pictures. A couple of us and Paul went over and checked out the old Arsenal and walked around the fish tail of the island of Venice. Then we took a boat back to the train station to meet one of paul's friends. The boat ride was amazing, one they never checked for our tickets so we didn't have to pay and two we got to see the sun set on the water. I was just speechless. It was the perfect end to a day. We met up with one of Paul's friend and went to a man who moved here from New Orleans house and hung out for awhile. He told us some of his political theories and pretty much offended everyone but saying that we were all apathetic college students who are controlled by the government.

We ate dinner at the same kind of buffet we did in Verona. It was nice except that an American man got mad at my for butting. I haven't had that problem since elementary school. Pretty much I didn't want meat so I moved to the pasta line and he thought I should wait for everyone in front of me to get meat but that doesnt make sense. Eventually one of the workers told me to move into the pasta line. We took the train back to Padova and I was exhausted and slept fairly well. The next we woke up and met out train guide again early in the morning for day 2 of our tour of venice. She focused more on art the second day we visited a few museums.

First we went to an art exhibit which had some beautiful huge paintings. Some of the paintings were upsidedown on the ceiling so we had to use mirrors to see the paintings. Then we went to a beautiful church which had the last existing choir in Italy. The rest have been torn down. Then we went to the Academia art exhibit. The whole exhibit is pretty much artwork of Jesus and other such pictures. By this exhibit we started to lose our steam, we were tired. It was still beautiful so we tried to enjoy it the best we could.

We ate lunch after that at the same place that we did the other night and I had chicken and potatoes this time, it was nice. They are big on dark meat over here. Uncle Arnie would love it. Then I had some yummy gelato. After lunch we went to a roman barbarian museum exhibit, it was very cool. Paul loves this stuff so he spent a lot of time there and we decided to take our time and find out way back. Venice is quite the maze. Cadence and I ended up doing some window shopping. I bought a cheap really pretty necklace. I love it. I feel good, I didn't spent a lot of money but I feel like I shopped in Europe. Cadence and I then attempted to find our way back but sadly got pretty lost but luckily made it in time for our train just barely. Had a really bad asthma attack but we made it and thats what matters.

We then took a train to Ferrera and then to Ravenna. There was this cute Indian kid who was on our train that we played with. We had to walk a little to get to our hotel, Hotel Diana, it was nice though. I relaxed a little and went to bed I was pretty tired. We got up and had breakfast at the hotel and then met up with out tour guide. She was very nice. We spent most of the day looking at mosaics. They were amazing. I feel like I am using that word a lot but there are really no words to describe the beauty of everything I saw. We walked around town and then took a bus to see a mosaic on the outskirts of town. It was so pretty. We ate lunch at a nearby place and then headed back into town. It was quite a way to spend Valentines day. One of the guys in my group was cute and picked us little flowers and gave them to us and said "Happy Valentines Day" I took a nap and then relaxed the rest of the day. Ravenna is so interesting because their elderly people and im talking like 70's and 80's were rocking it out on bikes and wearing very cool clothes. Thats going to be me one day.

The next day I decided to take the early train but ended up getting back so late that there were no trains back into Alba so I had to stay in a hotel outside Alba. Paul is going to pay me back for the money I spent for the hotel. Other people in my group got stuck in another town as well. I didn't sleep well. I had traveled for over 12 hours but all I really wanted was to get home so I didn't sleep well. All that was on TV was a bad John Stamos movie. I ended up taking the 5:49 train to Alba and cause I really just wanted to get home, I was so tired of trains and traveling. I slept a good portion of the day. The boys in my group are gone on a trip in Bologna meeting some friends. With the exception of me and Keisha the rest of the girl decided to go to Torino to shop for the day. So Keish and I had a nice time.

We went to dinner and actually got to sit in the top of the restaurant. Usually they put us in the bottom since we have so many and also we have a theory that that don't like us crazy loud americans to bother their other customers. :-) After that we went and hung out with the music kids. We also ended up going to the disco. I am glad we went but i will probably never go again though. It was pretty much just 14 year olds dancing on tables to techno music. It was quite the experience though. It was very unclean though and kinda creepy but it was definitely an experience we needed to have.

Today I slept in and then did some reading. My computer cord hasn't come yet but should be soon. I wrote most of my paper which is due thursday I will finish it in the next few days. We are working on getting residence permits four our stay and still waiting on our wireless modem. I am now reading a book on Istanbul. It is very interesting. Just making it through each day.

Our trip altogether was probably the most amazing thing I've ever done, and its just beginning. It was very tiring though so we asked Paul to try to make the day stuff a little less strenuous. Between long train rides and long walks and such it takes it toll. Still like I said it is worth every minute. I have 500 or so pictures to put online. I will let you know when I put them up. Tomorrow we have another day off. Paul decided maybe to change to classes Tuesday through Thursday so we can have long weekends to travel.

Altogether my favorite place was probably Verona, at least I feel like it is the place that I could live. It is so pretty and very nice. Venice was amazing but its too expensive and also too much of a maze. Ravenna was nice but a little too small for my liking. Still they all made my trip amazing.

Next weekend I may do some day trips or we may go to France or Switzerland for a day or two. Either way it should be so nice. I miss you guys. Hope all is well.

Katheryn