Flying is simple. You just throw yourself at the ground and miss. - Douglas Adams

Well my flight to Italy left on Friday and I got there mid-afternoon. My hotel was cheap and nice (Hotel Victor) but was a hassle to get to. My only choice to and from Ciampino (pro. 'champeeno') from my hotel was by taxi which ended up being 20euro there and back. What made up for that though was the fact that the bus and metro to the city center is free! No joke!

So, first night I went to via Ottavia (a shopping road) to walk to Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) to meet Nicole and Mel. We then went to dinner and then walked around the local area and visited a piazza (a market basically) and looked around and just enjoyed reading signs in Italian and seeing everything lol And also to get pics of the Vatican at night.

The next day, Mel and Nicole wanted to spend entirely at the Vatican but seeing as it was my only full day in Rome, I wanted to see everything else so we decided to meet at 4pm in the Basilica. I got up at 7am and was at the Colloseum by 9am (perfect time to go because there wasn't a line!). It was... amazing and my favorite place that I saw in Rome. It was incredible, even though it's just the ruins. I also got lucky that the day was very, very sunny so I had a great view of everything and it made for great pics.

Across from the Colloseum is Trajan's Arch and the Roman Forum and Palatino, all of which were impressive. I felt like I'd gone back in time and I find it... absolutely incredible how people live across the street from these things, still, thousands of years after they were built. I also saw an old Roman drinking fountain still in use by Caracalla's Baths. Anyway, then I walked down the street to Trajan's Column, Trajan's Forum and Augustus's Forum. Then I got a picture with Roman cops for my dad since he's a cop lol. Then I went to the Trevi fountain which was gorgeous and then went to the Pantheon and Piazza Nuovo and then to lunch and the Vatican.

By the way, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel are only open from 9am to noon. !!!!!! I got there at 12:45. No joke, I was really really mad because I didn't expect to have time to go to the museum but I at least expected time to see the Sistine Chapel. Anyway, I went to an art gallery and the Museum of Rome instead and then went back to the Basilica to tour it and it's vaults, where I saw all the dead popes' tombs lol Nicole, who is Catholic, was in awe of everything and I mean, no doubt it's gorgeous but I couldn't help thinking 'this is what their money's going to?' Sorry but I was. Couldn't help it because it's all so ridiculously elaborate, I felt like I was in a palace and, honest to God, the Pope's (dead and alive) are worshipped more than God, Jesus or St. Mary there.

Everywhere I went there was a picture of the current Pope and the last one (for some reason I keep typing 'poper' lol) and yet hardly any Jesus or Marys. I thought that was weird.

Anywho, I'll put the pics up later but right now Sally is calling me for tea and Rummy/Uno lol

Ciao!

With my flight back home leaving next Thursday (I have only 1 week and 1 day left in England! noooooo!!), I've been thinking a lot about what I'm looking forward to when I get home and what I'll miss from here when I get home. And so I've made a list:

What I'll Miss: England
Cadbury Chocolate (ie the the best chocolate EVER.)
Neighbours (particularly Izzy and the Timmons... ::sighs:: what shall I do for cheezy entertainment now??)
Billy Graham and Graham Norton (I just put them together because they both have 'Graham' in their name lol)
London (and being able to do day-trips to it... how fantastic is that? And it's seriously my fav city EVER.)
Going into any shop (excluding TopShop and Miss Selfridges, which I don't like anyway) and being able to find my size and it's not in a 'plus-size' section
Being able to fly almost anywhere in Europe for less than $100 roundtrip
My friends here (of all nationalities)
The way the school system works here
Being able to find a Chinese restaurant on every street
The fact that every town has a legitimate museum (ie the history here is fantastic, and if you know me you know I'm a history buff)
Being able to take the train everywhere (and it's not Amtrak! thank god...)
The words 'queue' and 'car park' (I'll be saying these for ages... lol)
Marks & Spencer
CAMDEN MARKET
Everything British from the culture to the language to...just everything

What I miss: America
Nestle Crunch Bars (yes they have them here but they're really not the same)
White chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups
Swedish Fish
Iced Tea (southern sweet tea)
Real homemade lemonade (not the fizzy stuff, though that's good too)
Chicago
Miami
KFS mashed potatos (they have KFC in the UK, but they don't sell mashed potatos!)
The 2nd season of LOST
The entire new TV season I've missed (Reunion, Night Stalker, Invasion)
Indoor shopping malls (I never thought I'd miss Cherry Vale...)
Chili-cheese dogs
The way the school system works (lol)
The following restaurants: It's Greek To Me, Rositas, Tom & Jerrys, Panda Express, Papa John's, Egg Haven, Panera, Qdoba, any place with real southern food
Pumpkin Pie
American Jiffy or Peter Pan peanut butter
DRIVING
The words 'garbage' and 'trash' and 'candy' (I shall never erase those from my vocab!!)
My friends
My Ma, Da, and lil Sis (it's one thing being in Miami because at least we're in the same country but when I first arrived I experienced a slight... anxiousness because my Ma and Da weren't in immediate contact. I'm better now but I still miss them)

And that's that. I had to get it out of the way before I cry tears of joy and sorrow.

PS: I said 'wonky' today and didn't even realize it. lol. And I say 'bin' a lot now too... oh no! lol

EDIT: I've added loads of new pics to http://photobucket.com/albums/c264/tababroad/
including: all of the Thanksgiving pics!! and pics from when Taryn and I went Harry Potter crazy on the weekend of November 18th in London, lol.

On this coming Monday/Sunday, expect pics from Roma, Italia lol. On Tuesday expect pics from our Christmas/'Oh No Nicole and Tab are leaving!!! NOOOO!!!!'  dinner lol. On Wednesday expect pics from Oxford, England and on Thursday expect pics from Camden Market in London as the whole flat is going out together for one last get together before winter holiday break :)

Finally finished my philosophy essay. Which, amazingly is where I've been! I mean, I've been writing it not in it. You know what I mean, lol. It took me ages because I hate philosophy and my teacher for the class is scary and I can't wait till it's over. My teach reminds me of a homicidal Kip (from Napoleon Dynamite - it's the way he talks). But he is Canadian. (that's a good thing by the way).

All I have left to finish is my History (almost done) and my two lits. One lit essay I plan on writing entirely tomorrow but I haven't started yet. It just won't take me long and I want to get it out of the way. My other lit essay is almost done. My goal is to get them all done my Wednesday (this Wed). We'll see, eh?

And then next Thursday, I go home! Part of me is excited because I do miss my bed and my friends and my family and I can't wait for Christmas to be here and I miss working. It's funny, I hate the movie theater but I find myself missing working there. Well, not working there but just having a job in general.

By the way, I've been introduced to some great British comedies that I believe everybody should see: Spaced, Little Britain, The Office, Extras, Fawlty Towers (oh. my. god. I nearly died of laughter during the German episode!! lmao).

My Thanksgiving began with a trip back to Tescos at noon because I got an email from my Ma about how to properly cook a turkey and I was missing some important things - the savoury fillings you put in the turkey cavity to let the flavor steam into the meat (apples, onions, and sage). Apparently though, not only does pumpkin and cornbread not exist in the UK, neither does sage. So I substituted tarragon. I was SO mad... but it still worked ::breaths in::

When I got back it was time to start the casseroles. I taught Steve how to make green bean casserole (which turned out to one of the favorite dishes, lol). Then Nicole started the corn casserole and peach cobbler. And then... the turkey! It was a task for both of us - we figured if we can cook a good turkey then we've made it because it's, like, the ultimate test of cooking skills, lol.

... I know the suspense is killing you all, isn't it? You want to know how me and Nicole's turkey turned out. Well, here's a response:






It's dancing in joy because it knows it's in good hands!! Right before the English turkey was stuffed with English apples and onions and Israeli tarragon and covered in Irish butter. :P



As you can tell by my giddiness - the turkey was fantastic! It was a hit and me and Nicole are on cloud nine and can't wait to tell our mothers, lol.



Here's the whole dinner party:






Going counter-clockwise started with me (the fat girl up front right) is Me, Adam, Simon (a sudden appearance! but it's all good :) lol), Steve, Aaron, Sally, Maddy, Nicole, Lena, Martyna, Neil (who ended up forgetting the cranberry sauce!), Bryan, Nigel and Matt. Dan and Tom couldn't make it :( But it was still an excellent Thanksgiving.



OH! Before I forget, we also did something that every American knows how to do and learned in elementary school... HAND TURKEYS! Here is Leroy and the hand turkeys (notice the smallest hand? that's Leroy's, lol):







And then after all the washing up was done (which, with about 8 people helping out went really, really fast), me, Sally, Steve, Maddy, Adam and Neil played a few games of Uno while Aaron played guitar for us, lol.



All in all, it was the BEST Thanksgiving ever! And my first English Thanksgiving, and the first Thanksgiving for all of the English that came! It was the best, EVER. God, I'm just so incredible happy right now :) :)

WOO! Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Me and Nicole and Sally have planned what will be known as "The Flat 7 Thanksgiving". Most of the flat will be there plus Neil (a friend of Bryan and Matt) and Lauren (a fellow American from Texas). We're doing a "potluck" type deal so everybody (well, not everybody because then we'd have 16 dishes, lmao) is bring food or drink.

And I'm making the turkey. Oh no! I'm excited and scared all at once because I have no idea how it will turn out. I mean, I've gotten pretty good at cooking stuff without recipes (you should really try my sauteed mushrooms, they're the best :P hehe) and I can make pumpkin pie and green bean casserole no problem. It should be interesting... I'm thinking of getting like a cheap table cloth too to make like Thanksgiving at home. OH! And we're all making turkeys out of construction paper by tracing our hands, like we did in elementary school! Right now, the people most excited about it are Sally (drink), Dan (mashed potatos), and Neil (cranberry sauce). I'll be sure to take loads of pictures so ya'll can see how it turns out :)

Next - Christmas! Me and Sally went to the pound shop yesterday to get decorations. We spent 3pounds each plus the 1.25 we spent each to split a small 3ft tree. We're waiting to decorate until after Thanksgiving but I want to put up the decorations now! I've been listening to Christmas music everyday and I have an "icicle" garland hanging in my room and we're making paper snowflakes for the windows and it's just going to be the BEST. I'm so unbelievable excited and happy that I've been hugging everybody, lol.

I just cannot wait!

YAY FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON! And a happy winter to you all, however you may celebrate :)