A Final Blog - Part 2

So I left off at the end of our first day in Rome.

The next day we went back to Rome and traveled to quite a few places via the Metro including the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon. All of the architecture in Rome was just astounding and just standing before these structures that are centuries-old, older than any in America was very humbling. We also visited La bocca della verita, or the "mouth of truth." Legend says that if you stick your hand inside this rock-face's mouth and it bites your hand off, you are a liar. Well I didn't get my hand bit off nor did anyone else so I'm thinking it's either a lie in and of itself or that whoever came up with the legend has a love for irony.

At the end of the day we went back to our camp site as usual where we find them to be having a Dire Straights tribute band playing at the pool. So we went down there for the night and enjoyed a very awesome band. These four Italian guys (that made up the band) were great and they sounded just like Dire Straights.

The following day we spent the entirety of the day at the Vatican where I got to see the popes' tombs, St. Peter's basillica, St. Peter's tomb, the Vatican museums, and the Sistine Chapel. I never thought I'd ever get a chance to go to Europe and this thought was really hit home when I went inside the Vatican. Its such an amazing city. It is, essentially, the seat of Catholicism. That means it is the beating heart of a religion practiced by about a billion people on this planet. Even as a writer, I am at a loss of words as to describe the place and the feeling you get when you are there. I was with a group of 6 other people and only me and another are Catholic but even the 5 others were in awe at the place.

So at the end of the day we went back to our camp site and this particular time they were playing Madagascar 2 down at the people so we gathered up some snacks and enjoyed that.

The next day we went to the Spanish steps, experience our first and last Italian pasta (I had ravioli) and then headed to the airport where we flew to Paris. I also got screened by security there once we were passed main security and waiting for our plane to board. It wasn't anything dire, they just gathered me and one of my friends over, checked out passports on their computers, asked us where we were going, etc. It was a random screening because the G8 summit was being held in Italy and so they stepped up security. Speaking of, the Polizia (Italian police force) were everywhere.

And so we flew to Paris. When we got there, we realized our airport was way outside of Paris and so we had to take an hour bus ride to get to the city where the bus dropped us off near some random Metro stop. We walked with a couple other American students we met at the airport and eventually found the metro (where we then parted ways). So we hoped on the Metro and attempted to get to our host's house (because we were couch-surfing in Paris). All in all, that was in adventure. In short, we took one metro and on tram to get to a very ghetto-feeling stop. We could not find the address and our friend's cell phone died (she had service in Europe) and so we were very much stranded. We hailed a taxi and showed them the address but they didn't know where it was and their GPS couldn't find it either. So we attempted to stay at a Best Western down the road but they were full up (even though it was outside Paris and it was during the week). So we started walking, trying to find another hotel, when we decided to hail another taxi. This one found the place on the GPS and it turned out the address was right nearby.

So we started looking for it and can't find it still. Well, its around midnight or a little past. Then this older lady dressed in purple comes out of a taxi nearby and asks if we need help. So we explain our situation and she knows where the street is. She takes us to it and we find our host's apartment. She takes out her cell phone and lets us call him. So we get ahold of him and stay the night at his place, thanks to the kindness of strangers. By the way, anyone who has anything bad to say about the French can go...well, I don't need to finish the sentence but you know what I mean. Out of all the different nationalities I encountered, the French were by far the kindest.

So we stay the night and spend all the next day, from about 8 in the morning until 12:30 at night exploring all of Paris. We saw everything, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre. After a long day we barely make it back in time to catch two trains and one tram back to our host's place. We stay the night, get up early, say goodbye, and make it to our flight on time. Then we headed back to Liverpool for a couple days for some R&R and then I made it back to the States Monday of this week.

Phew! What a long trip its been. A life-changing experience, not just traveling but being in the classroom as well. Something I will not soon forget.