EUROPE!!! Part 1

So... If you didn't already know that I went to Europe this month then you're about to find out. I found out about my little trip this past October via an email explaining that the Speech Department at Ohlone was planning a short study abroad trip for interested students. Next thing I knew I was "an interested student" and I had paid my hard earned cash-ola to the lovely Brenda Ahnholtz and I was on the phone spewing information to my mom and my husband a mile a minute like WHOA! I'm going to Europe! Specifically we traveled to Italy and Greece and we did it in the wee hours of 2012 (Jan 3rd - 12th). Alright.. here we go... 

Anton took the day off work to drive me to SFO. At the time I didn't really have any thoughts of actually missing him on the trip but as soon as he left me in the international terminal with a group of 30 strangers I began to think that his trip would be a lot more than I had bargained for. Before we left Fremont, though, we stopped to eat a couple of Egg McMuffins for breakfast. 

A few hours later I was settled into my seat on our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany. 

The airport in Germany was kind of different. The terminals were filled with cots for people to lay on. After hours and hours and hours on a plane from CA to Germany I was READY to lay down on one! But... we only had about an hour before our connecting flight to Rome so we kept walking to our next gate. 

our little group ^^

I guess I should preface this next photo by saying that the first flight was absolute torture for me. I had been unable to sleep basically the entire flight and had spent the last hour under my jacket just hoping not to throw up on the people next to me. I will say that I managed to get through the entire trip without any dramamine (I still have never taken any of that stuff) or the help of any other medications for motion sickness because of the little gift from heaven on my face in the picture below. Brenda gave it to me before our second flight and I wore that baby pretty much 24/7 whenever we were on a moving vehicle for the rest of the trip. Sleep is a life saver - I'll tell you. 

Welcome to ROME!!!!

We got off the plane and onto our bus. It was raining but that's OK. We got used to the cold and the rain pretty quickly. 

I wished we could stop at our hotel so I could fix my horribly disgusting hair but alas we were whisked away to Piazza Navona in the heart of Rome for some free time and dinner. Solution: put on a hoodie.

and I took the first of the millions of photos you will see of me this close to the camera

and I will basically always be wearing this outfit. I think I was lightest packer of everyone in our group. 

  

Neptune's Fountain ^^

The Pantheon ^^

The Fountain of the Four Rivers ^^

inside the Pantheon (looking up through the ceiling)

baby Jesus

and you will see many, many photos of my feet throughout this post-series. My feet went a lot of places, OK?

These horses were waiting with their carriages to take travelers across town

After the Pantheon we headed over to San Luigi dei Francesi

(home to many Caravaggio paintings)

It was very quiet and very beautiful inside. The paintings took my breath away. I couldn't believe I was seeing something I'd studied in my Art History classes in person!!

I knew Anthony would really like this doorway because of the skull and sure enough when we flipped through all these pictures the night I got home he loved it!

My favorite Caravaggio was the one above ^^^ "The Inspiration of Saint Matthew" The two surrounding it are also part of the "Saint Matthews Cycle" 

and.. one lone shark balloon amongst the stone cherubs. Funny... classic art and today's crap all in one shot.

Notable moments / thoughts / etc...

- Talking to Brenda about her little kiddos on the plane

 - Glen sitting next to me the entire flight and then getting off the plane and saying, "Hi, I'm Glen, nice to meet you!"

 - Foot swelling. ugh.

 - Plane food. ugh.

 - Rain = frozen toes.

 - Pizza that looked amazing but made me want to puke.

 - My first experience with an Italian bathroom. Interesting.

 - Caravaggio. OMG. Beauty, right?

 - The sheer size of the Pantheon

 - Funky cobblestone roads

- How spiritual you can actually feel in those ornate churches

stay tuned for part 2... soon...