Rome Part 1: Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, And More!

Rome. Again, this is going to be very hard for me, because exactly like Morocco, words cannot begin to describe how incredible the trip to Rome was. It was so far and beyond anything I could have hoped it to be, and believe me my expectations were high. As most of you know, I love history, in particular Roman, Greek and Egyptian. Being in this city, where so many incredible things happened and where so many incredible people lived was unbelievable. It really was like living in a dream. Whereas Morocco was beauty, this was for history; it is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Out of all the trips I have taken, Morocco and Rome are clear number 1s, (I can't pick one so I have two number 1s!) They were just so perfect in every way, I got to see everything I wanted, and was with amazing people the whole way. So to start off this story, we begin where I left off last time, at the airport in London. I was so excited because Rome was the place, pretty much in the world, that I had wanted to see the most. I could barely sit still on the plane I was so excited. When I landed I met up with Ravi, he had just come from the freezing lands of the Baltics and seeing him again was really awesome, especially the fact that we were in Rome! We got on a bus that would take us to the center of the city, and then we began by trying to find our hostel. This did not work out so well at first, haha, we were a little confused by the directions, and had to eventually ask a tourist information booth, but eventually we were on the right track. The walk there was a little strange, because it kind of looked like a not so good area, but it all turned out ok. We finally found our hostel, Ape Latina, and once again we were a little unsure, haha. No one answered, we went in and the door man told us to go upstairs, and when we finally got upstairs we were greeted not by the owner of Ape Latina but... Laura (from Morocco)!!!!! It was an awesome surprise and it was a nice reunion. So we settled in to what turned out to be a really nice hostel, but different from any of the other ones. So we settled in, put our stuff down and began our exploration. We started off by getting lunch, and we went to a pizza restaurant because it had been a while since I’ve been in Italy and had a good Italian pizza, and as it turns out, this place did not serve pizza until 7! We were like what! So I got Risotto instead which was still pretty good. We then found a metro stop, and went to one of the stops that seemed central. It was kind of north of the city, and right by the Villa Medici, which had beautiful gardens and parks. We walked around there for a while, and came to a museum and got what was pretty much our lifesaver, the Roma Pass. It gave us a three day metro pass and 2 free entries and discounts to all the museums and archeological sites. It was pretty awesome. Then we kept walking, and we were in search for Pizza or Gelato, but had no luck so far. We walked down these stairs which were supposedly the famous Spanish Steps, and we had no idea, haha oops. We finally found some pizza and had a second lunch, it was awesome. We walked a little farther and came to the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument which held the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and was just an absolutely beautiful building (The picture at the top). We walked around and to the top, and just as we were overlooking the city we got our first view of the Coliseum!!! Wow, that moment was amazing. After the monument we started walking to try and find the Pantheon. As we were walking we found the coolest Disney store, probably in the world, it had Disney Characters dressed as Romans used for the columns in the store, it was sooo cool! Oh, and they had Wall-E!! After we were walking the streets of Rome and eventually found ourselves staring at the Pantheon!!! This was the most important temples for the Romans and seeing it was something else, it was such a beautiful building, and the inside was even more beautiful. We were there for a little while, and then we met up with Antonio! It was great seeing him, because it had been a long time!! He was staying with two of his friends and we sat and talked to him for a while then had to go, because we had to catch our Time Elevator!! Haha, the time elevator was one of those shows in a movie theater that have the seats move and stuff, and it took you quickly through the history of Rome, it was pretty cool, but a little too expensive for what it was. It is a funny story now though lol!! After the incredible (haha) Time Elevator, we walked around some more, and as we were walking we turned a corner, and out of nowhere appeared, hands down, the most amazing fountain I have seen in my life, the Trevi Fountain. This was part of the old Roman Aqueduct which brought Romans water in ancient times, and now was used as a fountain, and it is beautiful, with statues and waterfalls and everything. We hung out there for a while and got some really good gelato and just enjoyed the night. We were all pretty tired so we headed back to the hostel, and went to bed because we were so excited to start our next day and continue exploring this amazing city!!!

London

London was the next step on my journey, and what an awesome stop it was. Unfortunately we didn't have as much time here as I would have liked but we still got to see pretty much all I wanted, and see this amazing city. Once again, it was really cool being in an English speaking country, it just felt normal, yet also a little weird cause i still wasn't used to it, and would even still say "Scusa" (excuse me in Italian) because it was just so natural to me now. Anyway, we arrived at the airport late at night and took a bus into the city. When we got in we had to walk forever to find our hostel. It was a lot of fun just walking through the city it just took soooo long. We finally got to our hostel, a pretty nice one, and got into our room and got all settled. That night we were all pretty tired and it was late so we just hung out and watched some election coverage because it was the day of voting back in America! So it was good that we got to see some coverage because previously all the news was from a computer or something. We got up early the next day and began walking around the city. We first came to Trafalgar square which was a huge square that had really cool monuments and giant lions. We continued walking into a park and came up to Buckingham Palace. That was pretty incredible, although we didn't get to stay for too long because we were doing a free walking tour of London that was going to take us to all the big sights of this city. We met up with our tour guide, Craig, who was a very enthusiastic Australian, and began our tour. We started off by seeing what we already saw that morning, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, he gave us a quick rundown of the history and some funny stories and then we kept on going. We then stopped to take our pictures with the guards, and it was cool to actually stand next to the guards you always see and be really close to their fuzzy hats. We kept on walking and stopping at all the big sights, saw Churchill's war cabinet bunker, the square where the 2012 Summer Olympic Beach Volleyball would take place, along with other really cool things. After a while we came to some of the most recognizable structures of London, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Those were amazing, we got some really cool pictures (Like O-H-I-O) and got the history once again which all was really interesting. The best part about it was that I got to be used as a captive who was being executed and Craig gave a demonstration on how they killed their prisoners to prevent anyone from ever rebelling again, and I got to be that prisoner! I was so lucky =) ha-ha. That was pretty much the end of the tour, and we were starving so we went to Mr. Wu's Chinese restaurant! It was only the second time I’ve had Chinese food since I’ve been in Europe and it was awesome. After lunch we walked around a little more, went into a really cool museum that had amazing paintings including Da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks". We then headed over to Hyde Park, and walked around and it was beautiful. After, we had to hurry back because Marica, Emily and me were about to go see The Lion King at the London Theater! We were so excited, we walked down the street that had all the theaters and saw hundreds of people waiting to get into all different kinds of shows, and then we saw our building and pretty much ran to it, haha. We got in and had really good seats, we were on the top, but in the first row, so we could see everything. The show was so incredible, the sets and the costumes/puppets and music and everything was so great. After that amazing show we met up with everyone else at a pub and hung out there for a while then came back home. The next day we went to the British Museum which was unbelievable, they had so many artifacts from Egypt, Greece and Rome, including the Rosetta Stone, and it was really amazing. After the museum we headed over to the other side of town to see the London Bridge. Before that, however, we made a stop at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. That was really cool, even though it was recreated and not the actually theater, it was really set up nicely and the history was very intriguing. We then went to the London Bridge which of course was awesome, and after we all went to dinner and I tried Fish and Chips for the first time! It was actually really good! We then went to another pub and watched a futbol match and it was just a lot of fun being with everyone and having a blast. That night Marica and I had to leave for the airport because we had really early flights, and had to head over to the airport at around 2 in the morning. It was fun! We walked around the city late at night, got a little lost, but found the right bus, went to the airport and since my flight was earlier I had to say bye, because she was on her way to Copenhagen and I was on my way to Rome!!! So we said our goodbyes and I went on my way, and began the last stage of my 18 day adventure, Rome!

Dublin

Dublin has to be one of, if not the, most fun city i have ever been to. There is always something to do, amazing people to meet and things to see. When we arrived, Erica, Jordan and I went to our hostel, The Abraham House, which was terrible, we had like no water half the time lol. We checked in then wanted to go explore the city a little, even though it was late. So we went to the Temple Bar area, which is like the most famous area to go out in Dublin, there are just so many bars and people it is just a lot of fun. We went to the actual Temple Bar in Temple Bar and hung around there for a little bit, and knew we were in for a good time. We went back and went to bed because early the next morning we were going on a tour of the Irish countryside, i was so excited! We woke up and met our tour group and got in a bus and began our journey. It was soooooooo cold, wow, i'm so glad i bought that coat. It was incredibly beautiful though. We started going up through the mountains and stopped at a point overlooking Dublin which was beautiful, kept going and stopped at certain points along the way like lakes and amazing views. One of the highlights was the stop at lunch, it was like one of the best lunches i've had since i have been in Europe, it was traditional Irish ham and cabbage with potatoes and it was just delicious. We were in a little town called Lauragh and it was such a nice little Irish town, it was cool to be able to see a little town and the big city of Dublin. After, we kept on our way and stopped at a view overlooking the lake where Guinness gets a lot of their water to brew their beer. That was pretty cool, oh yeah, and beautiful haha. Then we stopped at the biggest destination of the tour, Glendalough, it was a really old town that used to be a monastic settlement and it was a beautiful place. We got to walk through some of the ruins and see the churches and everything. We then took a walk along the two lakes right by there and it was amazing. There were just two lakes surrounded by mountains the view were amazing. We walked the trails for a while, headed back, got back in the bus and made our way back to Dublin. That night we met up with Mark and Marica. It was awesome seeing Marica again, and mark and being all together was so much fun. We went back to the temple bar area and hung around for the whole night. The next day we walked around the city and saw Trinity college, which has to be the nicest campus i have ever seen. We went to see the other sights of the city, St. Patricks Cathedral, Stephen's Green, which was a beautiful park, and other cool sights, like the opera house. Later that day we met up with our friend Caitlin and one of her friends and we walked around a little then went back to our favorite temple bar and partied some more. The next day we went to the Kilmainham Prison, which held all the famous rebels during the time that Ireland was fighting for its independence. We saw all the cells and got a history on the rebellion and it was really interesting. After that we got to go to the Guinness factory and that was really cool, it was just a giant museum that showed the history and how Guinness was made. The next day we walked around a little more, and Marica and me saw the new James Bond! It was pretty cool, seeing a movie in a different country, and i hadn't seen one in so long! So we explored a little more and later that night we caught the bus back to the airport, and now we were on our way to London! Dublin was amazing, such a fun city and the people in Ireland were even more amazing. First of all their accents are incredible, but just their attitude and how they approach you is so welcoming. It was really cool, and also one of the coolest things was being in an english speaking country, and seeing english sign, reading english menus and talking to people in english. It had been like 2 months since i had that so it was pretty awesome. Yeah, Dublin was pretty awesome.

Barcelona

I'm not going to lie, Barcelona had a lot to live up to after a trip like Morocco. Haha, after landing in Barcelona i was going to catch a train and meet Jordan at our hostel. I got on the metro, and was on for a while and went all the way to the end by accident because i thought where i was going was the name of the stop, but it wasn't lol. So i got back on and went back, once i got up out of the metro system i already began to saw that this was a really amazing city. There were really cool stores everywhere and people all over the place. I got to one of the main squares, Placa Catalunya and found the street where the hostel was on, La Rambla. La Rambla is a crazy street, it is where all the markets are and performers. There are all these random people dressed in the craziest outfits, some acting as statues or demons or angles of anything. You really would be amazed to see all the stuff that goes on. They have animal stores with chickens and chipmunks and other birds just all there, there is a really big market that sells fruits and every kind of meat you can imagine (it was a little gross). So i finally got to our hostel, Kabul, and this hostel was probably the best we had stayed in. It was so much fun, there was a bar and computer lounge on the first floor where everyone hangs out and the rooms were really nice, except for the beds, but we will get back to that later. So i met up with Jordan and we met some people on the roof and hung out, than after a while we went to go meet Emily and Saiko, who also arrived today. It was so good seeing them and we all sat down and had some tapas, which are like appetizers you usually have with a drink. We walked around a little and just saw what Barcelona had to offer. The next day we went to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia which is a giant cathedral, and one unlike any you'd really see anywhere else in the world. The architecture is so different, they have fruit statues everywhere and it has a very nature-like theme to it. So we met up with Erica and Alyssa and all went to see this cathedral, and Saiko and me went inside and to the top. One of the craziest things about this cathedral is that it is still being built. You go inside and there are people still constructing it! You are so used to seeing all these cathedrals that are hundreds of years old, yet this one is still being built! It was really cool. So after that we walked around some more, then the weather started getting bad. I began pouring and it was cold and it made seeing all the sights a little less enjoyable, because Barcelona is a city for the sun! We still had fun though, and later that night we went to see a Flamenco dancing show which was really incredible. The emotion on the dancer and the music was really amazing. Saiko left the next morning, which was really sad! We continued to walk around the next morning, went to go see the port, and went inside this mall because once again the weather was terrible. Jordan and me had fun going port sliding, in which we slid on the wood planks on the port, that was fun. We walked around the mall i bought a cool coat in Pull and Bear because i knew that if i thought this was cold, Dublin and London would be even colder. Later that night we met with one of my friends friend and we we went out to tapas and to this crazy bar that had over 500 of the craziest shots you have ever seen, with fire and marshmallows and even on called the Rambo, which Jordan took where you got in costumes and the bartender went crazy and started yelling at you and stuff, it was really fun. Except for the fact that i had a pinched nerve in my neck. I don't know what it was, probably the beds, but that night i could barely move my neck, look at a menu, drink water or anything. It was so uncomfortable i can't even begin to describe. However, besides that this trip was a lot of fun. After that night, Jordan, Erica and me walked around the city a little to Gaudi's park which was really beautiful and had an amazing view of the city, then later that night we hopped on a bus that took us to the airport that was going to take us to Dublin, Ireland! Yay!

Morocco Part 6: Afterthoughts

I just have to write one more thing about Morocco, and to wrap up everything that happened over those days. This trip was seriously amazing, it could not have gone better. Everything just seemed to work out and it turned out so much more amazing than i could have ever imagined. It is crazy because originally we were going to go to Egypt, but it turned out to be too expensive, and we decided this as an alternative. I got so lucky to be able to do this, and to go with Marica and Ravi, it was just so much fun being able to travel with them, they are like family and even though i've only known them for a little while it feels like i've been friends with them forever, and now i know i will be. We just enjoyed every single second together and had the best time. Not only did i have them with me but we met people like Andy and Lou and Laura who were also amazing. We even got to see Laura in Rome and Tuscany and she is coming to visit us in Milan on December 3rd i think! It is so amazing to be able to see all these places and meet all these incredible people. I don't think i've ever laughed so hard on a bus talking to Andy and being with Ravi and Marica, and having our tour guide Yousef calling us his children because that's what we were. When you are in a place like that, you can't help but to be completely happy, with no care in the world. I just felt so free and happy and complete being in this place. It was something i will remember for my whole life. It was the trip of a lifetime, and every moment was better than the last. It was so hard to write about it because so much happened, and words can't even begin to describe the feelings i felt during those 3 days. Like i said before, it was perfect.

Morocco Part 5: The Last Day

When we woke up the next morning around 6 in the morning and stepped out of our tent, we were all amazed by the beauty of the sunrise. It was such an amazing feeling, having spent a night in the amazing, although very cold, desert and waking up to the beautiful sun peaking over the dunes. We packed our stuff and headed back to our camels, said goodbye to our camp and began the hour and a half long camel ride back to civilization. It was just as amazing as the first ride, even though it was so early, we were all so excited and happy it didn't even matter. When we got back to the hostel, we had a quick shower and breakfast and got our stuff and headed back to the bus on our way back to Marrakesh. We pretty much went the same way on the way back, and even though we saw it before it was still like seeing it for the first time, that's how incredible this place was. We stopped for lunch at a movie set where the new Prince of Persia movie is being filmed and had a nice meal, then went back on our way. We then stopped again by a river and of course Andy, Ravi, Laura and me all ran to explore. We were just having fun jumping on rocks around the river, taking photos, and just laughing. After we got back on the bus, then by the time we got close to Marrakesh the sun was setting and it was just unbelievable. We got back into town and had to say goodbye to everybody, it was really sad to leave all these people who we didn't know before but shared such an amazing experience with. Luckily we were planning on meeting up with Laura in Rome, and we were going to have dinner with Andy and Lou so it wasn't all bad! We walked around a little in the giant market area, and it was just insane, unlike anything i have ever seen before. There were so many people and so many little tents and marketplaces selling all sorts of stuff. You would walk through and have hundreds of voices yelling at you and telling you to buy their product, it was pretty awesome. We told Andy and Lou that we would meet them but we wanted to go back to the hostel first. We got lost. haha it was pretty funny, we were just walking all over the city and had no idea where we were. We found some people who spoke English and it turned out they were lost too, no help there. Then i saw a sign! It was Fna qua, some barbecue, and it reminded me of a store back in Milan Fnac which is an awesome electronics superstore thing, and i knew we were close, and it turned out we were, and we had walked by it a million times it just looked so different because last time we saw the place things were not open so it looked like we'd never seen it before. So we changed, then went back and met Andy and Lou at this pizza place and had one last final amazing meal together on this amazing journey. We just had so much fun talking about everything, and laughing with each other it was so much fun. After we had to say goodbye, and it was so sad because even though we met these guys 3 days before it felt as if we had known them forever. It's amazing how close things like this bring you to people, it really is something special. Then we went back to our hostel, and went to bed because we all had early flights to catch. We woke up early the next morning, got in a taxi to the airport, and left. Our amazing adventure in one of the most beautiful places was over, but we knew it would live on with us forever and ever. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and i can't really remember ever being so happy. It was amazing, no, it was perfect.

Morocco Part 4: The Night In The Sahara

When we got down to the tent, we immediately left. The reason for this, sand surfing. It's a pretty easy concept, you find the biggest sand dune around and you get on a snowboard and go flying down. Yeah, it was that awesome! So Ravi, Marica, Andy, Laura and I all ran up the nearest dune as fast as we could, strapped ourselves in and each went soaring down the dunes. It was so much fun, wow. It is a little easier than snowboarding because it is not as slippery but you still go pretty fast and it was so cool! After we took a few turns, Andy and me ran up the nearest dune to one of the highest points in the desert that was close to us. It was pretty tough but i had so much adrenaline going it didn't even matter. When we reached the top, we felt like we were on top of the world. You can see in my picture a little that it was right before the sun completely set and the sky and the whole desert was such a perfect color and light and it honestly was priceless. No words can describe that feeling. Then Ravi, Marica and Laura came up and we were sitting, then i had the awesome idea of sand boarding down this dune, which was twice as big as the first. I went speeding down, hit something, and flipped, and then rolled down the rest of the hill haha. The walk back up felt like forever lol. Then Marica and Andy went. As we were all having so much fun, we all of a sudden felt a wind. Then sand started blowing everywhere, the rain clouds were coming in and a storm was approaching. Now this, was one of the coolest moments of my life. Hands down. We were in the desert on top of a sand dune, and a mini sandstorm/rainstorm was happening right then and there! We all raised our arms and were shouting and just having the time of our lives. Then we ran down so we all didn't blow away. We went into the tent were they were serving dinner and sat around for a while, it had started pouring rain so we were waiting it out. It stopped, then after a while we decided we should go back outside. Wow, all i could say and think was wow! I looked up at the sky, the storm had blown over, and replacing it was a blanket of stars. Thousands and thousands of stars, even the Milky Way! It was one of the most beautiful sights ever. There were more stars than i had ever seen in my entire life. It was so amazing. We then climbed a dune and all just sat around and lied down and stared at the stars and talked. Then we got called back in for dinner. They served us this amazing salad with rice and tomatoes, and...you guessed it, Tagines! This was by far the best meal however, it was sooooo good. After an awesome dinner, one of the funniest things happened. Laura had her computer and began passing it around for us to put our e-mails and names on it to communicate with each other. Marica, Ravi and I just started laughing so hard, because Ravi had been going by his fake name, and since we all really liked everyone, he decided it was the time to tell them the truth. So he let everyone know that he was lying and his real name was Ravi, and it was just awesome, soooo funny. After that, the Berbers and Yousef began playing the drums, to give us some authentic music. It was really cool, and the beats and how fast they moved their hands was pretty awesome. Then we got a chance to try, and it was just a lot of fun. After this one of the Berbers took us up to the dune that we were on with the sandstorm and began telling us about the stars and constellations. He also told us if we walked in a certain direction for 9 hours, we would reach Algeria. It was really cool. Then we stayed up a little longer, went back down and Ravi, Marica and Me went back up to a part of a dune. That hour, or however long we lied there, was and will be one of my most treasured moments for all my life. Everything was so perfect. I was with two amazing friends...no family, in the middle of the Sahara Desert, under thousands and thousands of stars, and honestly, life could not be any better. We just sat there and talked about all kinds of things, and just enjoyed every second of it. It really was something special and i can't begin to describe how lucky i am to be doing these amazing trips with even more amazing people. After a while it got too cold and we went back down to our tent. Got into bed, and fell asleep. One of the best nights of my life came to an end, and soon, we would be waking up to take a camel ride at sunrise. Wow, It was incredible.

Morocco Part 3: Into The Sahara

We woke up the next morning around 8 and had a quick breakfast. We were all so excited and we couldn't wait to get on the bus and start our way to the Sahara Desert! We started off and went back through the gorge and got to see it at day time and it was just as beautiful, but in a different way with different lighting. It was really cool to see it both ways. As we drove we kept seeing amazing views and amazing things and it was just incredible. We stopped along the way in the gorge and got to walk around a little bit. We walked through the gorge and along a little river. It was really cool. I was jumping all over the place and Andy and me were climbing everywhere. It was so much fun. It was pretty funny, there was a car stuck in the river because you have to pass through it on the road, and he got stuck, oops. He was ok though, so don't worry! So after the gorge we continued along and finally came to the second part of the desert. The first was all the stuff before, and now this one was called the Black Rock Desert. This is because besides two oasis it is all flat dead land, with nothing growing, and this mountains or black rocks that have really awesome patterns in them. We drove in the desert for a long time and, what i thought was cool was that to divide each territory there were little gate like things and once you crossed you were in another part of Morocco. During the drive we were all joking around and having the best time just talking and enjoying all of the views. We took one more pit stop before the desert, which was an archaeological/fossil factory where they make tables, stones, and all kinds of things out of fossils they find around the desert. It was really cool, and they had all these different examples of how they make tables out of the fossils they find, and we got a tour of the factory. It was pretty awesome. So we got back in the bus and continued driving and then after a little while we see this big mountain ahead of us. We just assume it is part of the black rock because it is to big to be what we thought it was. As it turns out...It was a sand dune!!! It was so huge and it meant we were so close! It took around another hour and a half (that's how huge it was) to get to the entrance of the Sahara desert. Wow. I can not even begin to describe the feeling of standing feet away from the Sahara desert! This is a place you read about in books, or see in Aladdin of something! It was right in front of me! We stopped at a hostel to drop all our stuff off that we didn't need, because we would be spending the night in the Sahara. Then we went outside and were introduced to our camels!! It was so amazing. One of the people who were taking us into the desert, called Berber, natives of Morocco and the Desert, gave me a snowboard that we were going to use as a sand board once we reach camp! I don't think I've ever been so excited. So i got on my camel, got in line with the others, and began to head into the Sahara! Now this is the hardest part for me, because going on a camel ride at sunset in the Sahara Desert is one of the most surreal feelings you may ever have in your life. When you are out there you feel like you are watching a movie, like you are seeing pictures in some new fancy way. It does not seem possible that you are in the middle of the desert. We had around a hour and half camel ride, and every second was amazing. The dunes that we passed, the sun setting making the desert even more beautiful, all of it was perfect. I had the biggest smile on my face for the whole time. Even after an hour, i still felt the same as when we first entered because the desert is such an amazing place, and something you always hear about, and actually being there was just incredible, every second of it. After a while we saw a group of tents, and knew that would be our home for the night. It was so amazing! We were about 3 miles into the Sahara desert and we have a camp to ourselves to enjoy and just have the time of our lives. We all got off our camels, i gave mine a hug cause he was awesome. Then we ran down to see our new home for the night!

Morocco Part 2: The First Day

We woke up the next morning around 6:30, went downstairs and met Mustafa, and some of the people in our group and began to head over to the main square in Marrakesh to meet our bus and the rest of the group. We got to the square, went in our bus and then started and headed away from Marrakesh. We began by introducing ourselves, we all were going to give ourselves different aliases because of the American thing, Ravi was going to become Ibirhim Nurbhai Reza from India, I was going to become Simon Butterly from Melbourne, Australia (Go Greece!), and Marica was going to become a British girl. The only one of us who kept those, however, was Ravi. When we got on the bus, i heard this girl talking, and from the first word i knew that she was from Australia! When it was her turn to introduce herself, she was Laura from Melbourne! I was like, Really! So i decided to just be plain old Adam Bankhurst, haha. There was a couple from Stratford upon Avon, Andy and Lou Lou, who were amazing, Andy was in his mid 30s and was retired and travelling for 3 years and was like the funniest, awesome guy you could ever meet. There was a guy named Oleg from Lithuania, Laura from Australia, who is amazing and who we know have traveled to two other places with, Denis and Matea form Croatia, Debbie from London, and Anika from Poland. Our tour guide was named Yousef and he was amazing, we couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. Our driver, who we all affectionately called Mr. Driver, was also a really nice guy, and an amazing driver. So we all headed out, and began by heading into the mountains. It already was beautiful and we hadn't even really started yet. We drove for a little while and then stopped in the mountains at a little restaurant that had an amazing view, we had some more Mint Tea (Amazing!) and just looked out into this incredible valley. The land was already very arid here, but there was still a lot of vegetation. We stayed for a while, then we continued on our way. We kept going up through the mountains, and you could gradually see the changes in the environment, it started getting a lot more arid, with less and less trees. The next stop we had was for lunch, and this was the first time we had the lovely dish known as Tagines. It is a ceramic bowl that has vegetables or chicken or whatever, then they put a top over it and it cooks it in a certain way, and they cook it with certain sauces that are delicious. After lunch we kept on driving and then came to one of the coolest stops, Ait Ben Haddou. This is a very small village that has forts and was used in the filming of gladiator and it was a place that was so incredible. We walked through a little city to get there and then we had to cross a really shallow river and just walking up to this place was so cool. There were trees everywhere and behind them you saw this massive village/fort that was built into a mountain/hill. We went inside and went into a cave and all had some Mint tea and met some of the people that lived there. We then walked up to the top and the view was so amazing. We were on a very high point and all around us were the flat plains and mountains way in the background. It was so beautiful, Andy and me raced up to the top and once we got there we just looked at each other and were speechless. It was just such a cool place and we were like wow, we are so lucky to be here. After Ben Haddou we continued on our journey and stopped along the way for other incredible panoramic views, then when it got close to sunset we came to one of the most famous gorges. There was a river running through them and the most beautiful rock formations that had such amazing color because of the time of day. We were all so amazed and in awe at how much beauty is around us, these are places that you see on the Internet or in books, and actually being there is pretty unreal. So we stopped at the top and watched the sunset and got some amazing pictures. We then headed over to our hotel for the night which was in the gorge. It was pretty nice and Marica, Ravi and me shared a room. We went to dinner and had an authentic meal with Tagines! Once again they were really good, but we also got this really good soup called Hairara soup and we all had a really fun night talking about the day and everything. After we all went to bed, and could not wait, because in just a matter of hours we would be on our way to the Sahara desert!

Morocco Part 1: Arrival and the First Night

I just wanted to begin by saying i'm sorry. I'm sorry because what i am about to write can not even come close to how amazing and incredible the 4 days in Morocco were. I can try to write pages and pages of my experience, and all that happened, but there is no way to capture the feeling. No way to describe the pure happiness that i felt in this amazing place. I will, however, do my best and try to tell you all i can in the best detail possible. Ravi, Marica and I left for Morocco on the 23rd of October, the beginning of our 18 day Mid-Term break, which luckily for me i didn't have any. So we were on our way to the airport, and we accidentally got off on the wrong stop of the Malpensa Express and were in some random town. We found this guy from Denmark and we all got in a cab because he was late and made the same mistake we did. This guy was like super late for his flight, and once he got to the airport he had to run, and didn't even pay us! It was evil, we were not really sure if he was planning on ditching us for the taxi or really late, but anyway, he was evil. So we got on our flight, and got into Marrakech. The feeling of walking off that plane was so cool, looking around, and knowing that i was in Africa! It was so cool, Africa was already like my favorite place and i haven't even got in yet! We went through customs, and when i went through the guy saw my passport and looked at me funny, and then said "McCain or Obama?" i was like wow, pretty straightforward. Well i kinda knew what he wanted me to say, so i said "Obama" he then smiled and let me through. I thought that was pretty funny. We left, and tried to find a taxi to take us to our hostel, we found this guy who spoke a little Spanish, because we pretended we were Italians who spoke Spanish, because Americans may not be the best liked people here haha. So we got in and talked in Italian and Spanish to get us to the hostel. In Marrakesh, the streets were really small, and the taxi couldn't go the whole way, so he stopped outside and ally and told us we had to go in. We were like uh-oh, but he walked us a little while, then gave us to some really small guy. We were walking with this random guy, in the dark alley of Marrakesh, and for some reason i loved every second of it. I know i should of been scared, but it was just so cool, such a awesome experience. It looked exactly like how i pictured Africa to be, and i was there! So we finally got to our hostel, and as it turns out, the place was really nice, and it was called the Casa Del Sol. The guy who was working there, Mustafa, was such an amazing and friendly guy. He sat us down, introduced us to the most amazing tea on this earth, Mint Tea, and asked what we planned to do. We told him that we were going to do a 2 day 1 night tour into the desert. He looked at us and was like no, don't do that, you should either do the 3 day 2 night, or just spend your time in Marrakesh, because in the one we were planning on doing, it didn't go into the Sahara, just outside. Wow, am i glad we listened to him. It was like the best decision ever. So we all went to bed after because we had to meet for the tour around 7 in the morning. I was so excited i could barely sleep. However, at 5 in the morning, we heard this crazy sound, i thought it was an alarm, but it turned out to be the prayers over a speaker system across the city which went off at certain times of the day so people could pray. Not knowing about that was a little freaky, and i thought it was like a fire alarm or something, but it was all good. So i went back to bed, woke up two hours later, and began the most amazing three days ever.

Pisa

On the way home from Florence we made a quick stop in Pisa. When we got to the train station we all assumed we would be able to see the Leaning Tower right away! Not the case haha, we had to walk at least 20 minutes to even see it. Pisa itself is nothing special, it is kind of pretty but besides the tower area it really is nothing special. Also, it might be the fact that my suitcase broke so i had to carry it around the whole time! It was really annoying, the wheels broke and if i tried to roll it it was so loud and would barely roll. Anyway, once we got close and saw it it was really cool, you just saw this random tower that doesn't look so straight. When we got to the actual square with the tower, i was very surprised because right next to the tower is a beautiful Duomo (Cathedral) and i thought it was just the tower, but they had this equally beautiful building right next to it. The tower itself was really cool though, and as you see in my picture, there were hundreds of people trying to hold up the statue, it looked really funny seeing all these people with their arms out stretched. For all who don't know, the reason the tower is slanted because the ground they built it on was very swampy and damp, and the architect thought that it would work so he started. As it turned out he was a third of the way done and him and everyone else realized it was a little off. So he left, and for a while just a unfinished leaning tower was there. After a while a new guy came in and tried to straighten it but failed, and then a third guy came in and finally finished it. The tower is actually falling at a rate of around 1 millimeter or so per year, even some of the houses and building in that area are sinking. So it was really just a bad idea, haha, but cool none the less! So we stayed there for a little while, then made our way back to the train station. We stopped for a quick dinner and while we were eating i looked across the way, and what do you know, i see a suitcase! I ran in, saw it was only 22 euro and bought it! I was so happy! haha, it was even better than my old one i think. It made life much happier. =) Then we all got to the train station and headed back to Milano! It was an awesome weekend!

Florence

Florence. The center of the Italian Renaissance. This city is what i imagine Italy to be. The small streets, the amazing architecture and the amazing art apparent in all the city. We got to Florence Friday morning and only got to spend 1 and a half days here. Those days, however, were some of the best. I studied the history of Florence and the Renaissance, so actually being here and seeing some of the most amazing work in human history was really amazing. Seeing the Duomo here, Santa Maria del Fiore, and the dome created by Filippo Brunelleschi, who i studied most, was even more amazing than just seeing it by itself. It was such a beautiful building, and being able to imagine what it must of been like to create such art is incredible. There is such a great atmosphere in Florence, and you see it everywhere you go. There are cafes outside everywhere, with locals just watching everyone go by. There are random works of art around every corner, it really is a beautiful city. The first day we met up with one of my friends friend and she showed us around, we went to Duomo and went inside and up to the top of the dome. The view from up there was incredible, it was so beautiful. After that and walking around the city some more we went up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which is a Piazza that overlooks all of Florence. I thought Florence was beautiful from in the city, but above...wow! We were there for a little while and then got to see the sunset over the city. It was amazing, simply amazing. We all hung out for a little while then went to a really nice restaurant for dinner. They brought out this crazy appetizer plate and i tried liver, ewwww, (but i kind of liked it), but still ew! After dinner we got a little lost, and were just walking around the city not knowing where we were but still having a good time. We finally found our way and went back into the hostel because we had an early start the next morning. We left our hostel at 7:45 in the morning to go to Academia, where the statue of David is. We went right when it opened so we didn't have to wait in line or anything. Seeing the David statue brought a few chills to my body i'm not going to lie, you always see it in pictures and everything, but actually to be right next to it you really get to appreciate how incredible and detailed it really is. Besides the David there wasn't too much else to see so we left and then went to the museum of the Duomo. It was really cool for me because i got to see one of Brunelleschi's hand carved dome, that would be the one we all now see today, and saw other things like a recreation of his workspace. Then we went to Uffizi, which is the most famous museum with all the best of the best Italian artists, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, and the list goes on. It is a giant museum and you can't hope to see everything, but some of the work in there was really breathtaking. My favorite was the Botticelli room, with the Birth Of Venus in particular. It really was incredible, and it was like the David in the sense that you see all these paintings online or in books, but actually being right next to them is like seeing it for the first time. We were there for about 2 and a half hours and got to see just some incredible work by some of greatest artists to ever live. It really was amazing. After the Uffizi we left back to Milan, but not before we took a pit stop in Pisa!

Bolzano: The Surprise of a Lifetime Pt. 2

After the museum we went to have lunch. We found, what may be the best combination of cuisines ever, Chinese and Italian! As you all know, i was super excited. So i got a pizza and white rice. It was amazing! Chinese waiters with rice and Italian pizza, how could you beat that! So we had a really nice lunch, then went to explore this amazing place some more. We stopped to get some Gelato, and amazingly they had an Otzi flavor! You know i was sold. It was and interesting mix of vanilla gelato, with caramel and pine nuts. It sounds weird i know, but it was actually really good, and it was Otzi. So we continued and walked back through the park, then got to a walkway along the park, and we walked by all these vineyards and incredible old style houses, and it was just so incredibly beautiful. Everywhere you looked you were surrounded by the mountains, and below were gorgeous houses and vineyards. We came to a river and crossed, and walked along and found a castle. We climbed up a crazy steep hill to get there, and when we got there saw it was 8 euro, and was not really worth it so went right back down lol. We then walked down the road and came to a cable car that we had been looking for. This cable car was about to take us on a 7 and a half minute ride up into the Dolomites. Wow. We got on and as we got higher Bolzano got a little smaller, until we could see the whole city surrounded by incredible mountains. We got over the a ridge, and to our surprise, there was another city we were heading to! When we got there we took a look at where we came from and were speechless. Being up that high and having the views were unlike anything i have experienced. Before we were going to explore this new city, we saw a path into the forest which we just had to explore. We had a really nice hike through the Dolomites for about an hour, up and down hills, coming out to amazing views and then walking some more. After this hike, we went into the city. Now this city had barely any trace of Italian at all, besides for a postal building. Everyone was speaking German and the signs were only German. It was really cool seeing the transition, and seeing so much German influence in an Italian city. So we explored for a while, and finally came to the view we were both waiting for. One with the countryside and the Dolomites. It was like the icing to the world's most amazing cake. My heart just flew, i couldn't of been happier, everything that we wanted from this trip had come to be. We got a picture, than made our way back down, we took one last walk through the park, then had dinner in the center of town, and headed back to the train station and left Bolzano. This was a trip of a lifetime for me. One that i think was made so much better by the fact that i was not expecting even 1/10000 of it. I thought it would be a fun day at a museum and maybe some cool sight seeing, but i was so not prepared for this. It's something that i feel i've learned in life. Of course you need to go to all the big places, see all the amazing things, but for some reason, it is all about the little moments, and surprises, and unexpected trips, or adventures that really make an impact. That is why i try to live life as full as possible, take every opportunity and whenever am in doubt just go for it. I do this because you never know when you will get a unforgettable experience. This was just a Sunday, that we were all planning on just relaxing, but i decided to go, and it was amazing. Life is full of way too many beautiful and amazing things to sit and wait. Life is there for the living, and i'm doing all the living i can. It is unbelievable. The only thing that would make it perfect would be to have all of you here with me, because as amazing as it is, i'm still nothing without all of you. I miss you guys, and don't worry, only a little more than a month and i will be back! Wow, Bolzano, the greatest surprise i could ever ask for, and i can not wait until the next surprise comes flying my way. =)

Bolzano: The Surprise of a Lifetime Pt. 1

There was a man named Otzi. He lived 5300 years ago, and was found September 19th, 1991 (Yay Andrew!) in the a mountainous region called the Dolomites in between Italy and Austria. When this man was found by two hikers climbing in this icy region, he was so well preserved they thought that he was a man who had recently died. When it was discovered that he may be a little older than previously thought, scientists were quickly called in. They found this man in ice, so well preserved that he still had all his tools, his bear skin cap, leggings, tunic, weapons, and they could even determine what his last meal was and how he died. It was one of the most incredible finds. Now, i studied this Iceman once i heard about him in one of my classes, and have always wanted to see him. Little did i know that when i would be sitting in my Italian language class, we would come across an example that talked about Otzi, and how he was in a museum in a small town in Northern Italy called Bolzano. I was in shock for a second, i could not believe it was that easy, out of nowhere came the location of a place i have always wanted to go. So i looked up how far away it was and it turned out it was a 3 and a half hour train ride. Awesome! So i asked my friend Ravi, if he wanted to come and he said sure. We left for a day trip early morning, and had no idea what was in store for us. I went thinking that this would be a small town, that might be kind of interesting, but i was really just going for the museum. Wow was i wrong. As it turns out, if it wasn't for Morocco and Rome, this trip would of been the most amazing and memorable yet. When we got to the city we started exploring, and right away we knew that this was not like any other city in Italy. The weird thing, is that i thought it looked more like Germany than Milan, the clean and organized look not so apparent in Italian cities. Bolzano is a unique city, as are the others in that area. This is because they are right on the Austrian border, and German is their second language. All the signs had Italian/German, whereas in other parts of Italy they had Italian/English. It was different, yet cool. So we walked around and couldn't really find the museum at first and went down to a more residential part of town. We came across the Italian Army's High Command base building, which Ravi really wanted to see, on accident and he was so happy haha. We then saw a high school soccer match going on and decided to watch for a little. This field, and town for that matter, were right on the base of the Dolomites, so this soccer game had the beautiful backdrop of mountains, it was incredible, i thought to myself, if i was playing i would be way to amazed at the view, and would be the worst player ever =). We then went back and found what i can only describe as the most amazing park i have ever been to. It was a strip of grass that ran for maybe a mile or so, and was full of families and children playing, basketball courts, playgrounds and everything. The best part about it though was the view once again. Right at the base of the Dolomites! It was so breathtaking and beautiful. Walking through that park, you can't help but be happy, nothing seems stressful when surrounded by such pure beauty. After walking a little, we decided to try and find the museum again. We were walking, and all of a sudden i see a picture on a building, and it had Otzi! We were so excited and we jumped in the street, and people looked at us like we were crazy, but we didn't care! It was an awesome surprise and just another reason to be excited about an already amazing day. We went in and saw Otzi, it was one of the craziest experiences. Seeing a man who lived 53 centuries ago! Seeing a man whom i studied and wasn't sure if i would really ever see. It was incredible, simply incredible, on top of this day being incredible. It was everything i could of hoped for and more.