I like it when you vote bitch
shake them t**** when you vote bitch

I was watching South Park last night, and I swear, the entire day today I've had P. Diddy rapping "Vote Or Die, mutha F***, mutha f***, Vote Or Die!" in my head. I really must stop because I'll sing it to myself, and well, its not very ladylike to do so.

Anyways, yesterday we said farewell to the adorable Charlotte, who we sent off to live with my crazy Uncle Sonny. Poor thing... she doesn't know what she has coming to her. Run puppy... run!!

The house seems quieter though. Instead of 12 pitterpattering paws on the hardwood... there are only 8. 2 dogs who I went halloween costume shopping for for 2 hours. Do you know how stupid you feel asking people if they have "halloween costumes for dogs?" Yeah... you feel pretty lame especially after you see employees choke back their laughter and see them get on their hands and knees digging for matching devil puppy ears to go with the matching red puppy cape you found in the bottom of the bin. But hey, we got them, and we got them for FREE since the guy at Petco said that if we couldn't find the original packinging, there was nothing to scan, and well, it was ours to take. WHOOHOO. :) Who's the crazy one now?!

Hee...

Tonight we celebrated my Dad's birthday... which actually was on Thursday, but he celebrated the day with his friends and co-workers at a strip club. Eww. My dad at a strip club. He later informed me that no one was allowed to drink because it was an "ALL NUDE" club, and drinking isn't allowed there. Its only allowed at "topless bars." Thank you Dad. The more you know...

Anyways, so tonight we went over to the Pacific Palms and had dinner over there, which sorry to say was pretty shoddy. But still, it was nice to get out and actually have the resturant to ourselves... having the waitors at our fingertips and constantly filling my waterglass. Yay for slow nights.

Its funny because my dad will start off his stories by also saying "Its funny..." but continue with "he lost his father 3 months ago and is living here on his visitors visa.." He'll call us his "step-children" because he's too young to be having daughters our age... and he tells us stories of him downing Jonny Walkers with his homies and getting numbers of nurses for co-workers who need the hookup.

He's completely different from the person I grew up knowing as a "father". It's a good thing I think. :)

I have 6 minutes to blog.

I have to work tonight.

Work sucked today. Everything bad that could happen... happened.

Really. It was very weird. Actually this whole week "work wise" has been weird. Like a big ole sign that this event was going to be "weird." Weird huh.

I'm tired.

But on the bright side, I'm having a "morning session" tomorrow morning...

And I have a job interview... yeah its practically in a month... but at least I'm in the book.

Oh and my roots are gone. Yay for Feria #60.

And I'm not sick anymore. Just a bit sniffly. But thats it.

I don't have a calender. But the office has new wooden floors and a new desk. My computer is still out of comission though... damn you wireless adapter.

So I still get to use the "sexy" computer. OooOo. Its shiny!

Oh I saw "Shark Tale" last night... at first I walked away thinking "oh... it was ok." But after really thinking about it.... it sucked.

Thats all for now... I gotta go.

Oh hey, what are your plans for Halloween!?!

Boo. Still sick and living off of soup and gatorade. But I'm not as crappy as before. My throat is icky, my nose is slightly stuffy, and every so often I'll cough up a storm. At least I'm getting better... I think.

Anyways, I'm out of a computer at the moment, seeing that the office is being redecorated. So since there's "no carpet" to put "no desk" on... I'll be using my mom's or Carlene's phatty POWERBOOK to do my online prowling. And let me say that those POWERBOOKS are damn sexy. DAMN SEXY.

Well if you remember, we got the new puppy Sonny (the dog) about a month ago and that we might be giving Sonny (the dog) to my Uncle Sonny (the crazy Uncle). But we did the most stupid thing and fell in complete love with Sonny (the dog). SOOO... in order to keep Sonny (the dog), Carlene and Sonny (the Canadian) decided to get another puppy to give to my Uncle Sonny (the crazy Uncle). So this past weekend, they did just that. They got another doggie.

AND ITS THE CUTEST PUPPY EVER!

I know. We're offically in trouble because now we don't want to give away any of the puppies, but 3 is a crowd and dogs are taking over the household.

But really, this one is adorable. She's a 2 month old chihuahua mix, all brown with some light brown marking, and green eyes. We named her "Charlotte", althought at sometime I imagine we might re-name her "Spidy" because she can climb out of the cage... and when she does, its freakin cute. But when we took her over to my Dad's the other night, my Aunties kept on saying "Charlotte is a sexy name" over and over again... I don't think it is exactly, but they' just started watching SEX IN THE CITY and while Charlotte wasn't exactly the slutty one, I'm sure the numerous sex acts on the show has really tarnished their minds.

Oh, but I've caught Sonny (the dog) trying to hump Charlotte many a time. Actually he humps Penny too. Damn you boy dog and your hormones!

But yeah, Charlotte is so cute and loving and furry and hugable...

Dammit. I need to stop gushing because its evidence that I'm in love with this puppy and it's going to be heartbreaking when we give her away...

Hmmm... did anyone see Fear Factor last night with the dude who drank 21 shots of blended maggots, worms, stink beetles, and rotten fisheyes? What the hell? Remember back in the day when the worst thing they had to eat was pigs ear?! Yeah, I almost yacked my dinner (soup and gatorade) after watching that.

I scanned pictures from the trip!

YAY!

www.imagestation.com/members/coley1716

if needed-
login: coley1716
password: penny

:)

Boo to being sick. :(

Seriously. It sucks. Thursday, I just had the sniffles. Thursday night, I was making hourly trips to the restroom. And Friday, I was afriad to go to sleep because I thought the fever might fry my brain, I'd go into a coma, and well... that would be sad. Today I'm a bit better, despite the fact that when I cough, my head feels like its going to explode, but on the bright side, I'm not throwing up anymore either!! So yay to that.

Ugh. I need some more drugs.

"So did you come back with a husband?"
"Ew no. I'm just glad I didn't come back with lip herpes."

So it was back to work today. Boo. The entire time I was gone, I kept on thinking "this is the life. I don't want to go back" But since my bank account took a major beating during the "life", it was my only option. Curses.

At least, now I can start unfolding my "plan", and step one will involve finding a new job. Something with benifits and somewhat normal hours. With good pay too. Oh and maybe something that doesn't involve breaking my back. Something like... hand modeling.

Good luck to that. My nails are looking gnarly.

But I'm crossing my fingers and toes that something "good" will happen soon.

Suprisingly enough, I still have jetlag... but its actually just "normal" sleeping patterns. I go to sleep around 10pm... and I wake up at 8am... and that apparently is jetlag for me. Damn. It isn't too bad huh.

But I can't watch Conan. Err.

By the way, while I was in Italy, I called home and my dear darling sister told me about Conan's big news.

Carlene: Did you hear about Conan?
Nicole: No... what happen?
Carlene: He left his wife and he was found in a hotel room doing LSD. The police arrested him and all...
Nicole: WHAT THE HELL?! Are you serious!?
Carlene: Yeah... it's all over the news. You don't get it there?
Nicole: No... oh my gosh! I can't believe it!
Carlene: Yeeeeaaah... no. He actually got signed to do the Tonight Show in 5 years.
Nicole: Oh... yay for Conan!
My roomie overhearing the conversation: laughs

Whew. :)

gorgeous sorrento!

Ok. Italy now. This is going to be quite long... so bare with me a bit. :)

9/27/04: "Money's on you..."
I arrived Monday afternoon at the Rome airport. The flight from London was only about 2 hours... but the airport itself daunting considering the fact that I don't speak a word of Italian and there was no organization to the place at all. Also, people are just walking around with their dogs. Dogs that aren't drug sniffing. Weird huh. Anyways When I arrived, my first mission was to find the "airport shuttle" desk so that it can take me to the hotel and lucky for me another Contiki girl found me looking confused with documents in hand and pointed me in the right direction.

I made it to my hotel in one piece where I met my roomie, Keila from New York, who told me to get ready cause her and a couple of American girls on the tour were gonna walk to Vatican City because "supposedly" it was a short walk away from the hotel. So when we finally did get settled, Maria (Toronto Canada), Sally (Philly), Lynn (New Jersey), Keila and myself bought bus passes and made our way to the Vatican... which was good because while driving we realized that there was NO WAY IN HELL we would have been able to make the walk because while traffic in London was scary... in Italy its downright dangerous.

By the time we made it to the Vatican, I was seriously in heaven. I kept on screaming "IM IN ITALY" while jumping around and going camera happy. Since we were unsure of our surroundings and the museum was closed so we couldn't go to the Sistine Chapel, we just looked around and got some postcards... and then back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the group and have dinner.

Our tour manager was Paulie... a metrosexual HOTTIE from New Zealand. :) A good portion of our tour group was single girls... with 4 couples, one of which was on their honeymoon, one single guy, and another guy who was traveling with his sister. About half of the group was American, another half Aussies, and a handful of New Zealanders and Puerto Ricans.

At dinner, the 4 American girls whom I went to the Vatican with and myself sat at a table with Kristine, who we learned was Maria's roomie for the duration of the tour. Kristine, Aussie, is a prison warden back home and will later earn the nickname "foghorn" on the trip from our guide... We all go around the table, state where we're from, our occupation, and learn that we're all traveling alone... so I definitely wasn't going to be alone on this trip. :)

9/28/04: "Wakie Wakie... hands off snakie"
Wake up at 6am. Breakfast is pretty decent, but we're determined to get there early because Kristine has this thing about the old folks and their need for eggs... so the earlier you can get to them, well the better your chances are. At 7, we loaded our bags onto the coach and we were off to Florence. Our driver during the duration of the trip is Tonino, an Italian who will later be known for flirting with all the girls. Actually, the night before at dinner, we were making bets on who was going to end up shagging Paulie and Tonino... Money's on who!?

On the way to Florence, we stopped at San Gimignano, a small city known for its ancient towers. On and boars. So of course at a shop, we were able to stop and sample some boar sausage. Tasted like sausage. Who knew! Also while we were there, we had our first scoops gelato... second as well. After climbing a mini tower and hiking around the city... we wanted gelato again... so when in Italy, you eat gelato. :)

Also, when in Italy, you drink wine, which was our second stop after San Gimignano. We toured an ancient castle, went down to the cellar to see how they made the Chianti Classico, and of course tasted it. Tasted several glasses of it actually, and had a little bit of some dessert wine afterwards... needless to say everyone was happy once we got back onto the bus.

Once we reached Florence, we settled into our hotel (which to everyone's relief had an elevator which only fit 3 people at a time... 2 with luggage), and it was off to see the city that night. Here, we learned early that cobblestones and heels don't mix... so once after that experience, all heels were tossed and we learned to accessorize around our flip flops.

After dinner and lots and lots of walking, we found ourselves at a bar by the name of "THE RED GARTER" where there were other touring Contiki groups and a man with his guitar for Karaoke. Kristine sang "I Will Survive." I wasn't drunk enough to get onto the stage just yet...

9/29/04: "Romolo!!!"
8am wakeup and it was off to spend the day in Florence. First we went to a leather shop for a demonstration and shopping... then we took a walking tour of city which ended at the Brunelleschi's Duomo. At that point, we decided, what the hell... let's climb 465 steps to the top because "when in Florence, you climb the Duomo." So we did. And we nearly died. The "funny" thing is that once you start climbing, you can't just turn around and say "Oh you know what, never mind. I didn't think this was gonna suck this much", but you have to keep on trucking and climbing. The first 200 steps weren't TOO bad, but those last ones are a killer cause they get steeper and narrower... and well you're tired as hell. But once at the top, it was TOTALLY WORTH IT. The view was absolutely beautiful and as you can imagine, everyone went picture happy... which sort of sucked for others nearby not in our group because one group picture means that they'll get 10 or so camera's thrown at them asking if they can a shot. OH well, its all worth it.

Then we went down... which now is terrifying because everyone's legs are jelly, there are no railings, and the thought of how many sweaty people have been grasping the walls for their lives before me is making me have fantasies of hand sanatizers.

After the climb, we celebrated with a delicious lunch at this café where they seriously had the best spaghetti carbonara I've ever had... and gelato. :) But because we took so long at lunch, we weren't able to see the statue of David (boo), but we were able to get some good shopping in.

After the day in the city, we went back to the hotel to get prettied up, drove up this hill so that we can take one beautiful group picture with the city behind us right at sunset, then it was off to dinner in the Tuscan countryside, were the vino was flowing like water, and the over zealous man behind the piano was actually sitting with his keyboard "behind the piano". At our table, it was myself, Maria, Sally, Lynn, Keila, Krisitne... along fellow Californians Kris, Erin, Carissa, and Christina. Our darling waiter was an old man by the name of Romolo, kept our wine glasses filled and every time he entered the room, we cheered for him. Oh how we loved Romolo.

Stuff and drunk from dinner, we were off to "SPACE ELECTRONIC DISCO" which was a cheesy club in Florence. More drinking... Italian boys... music... *good times*

9/30/04: "Tu Canta perfavore!"
No good times in the morning, considering that I woke up with a massive hangover and spent a portion of my morning trying to make myself throw up because the thought of being dizzy during the 4 hours on the coach was making me nervous. So from Florence, we were off to Lake Como... but not without a stop at Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of course. :) There were a lot of tourist there and we were told to keep an eye on our bags because pick pockets were notorious for prowling in the area. We were also introduced to the "Carribbean Bros" which were guys who would prey on tourist and try to hawk their goods on you. In Pisa, we all took our cheesy photo shots of us trying to hold up the leaning tower... or pushing it over... or whatever. Then we got gelato.

When we finally got to Como, we were all "Oooohing" and "ahhhhhing" because it is absolutely beautiful! Apparently George Clooney has a house there somewhere, so we were all screaming through the windows for George to come out and play. :) Then it got even better when we arrived at the Hotel Bellevue because a lot of us got windows facing the lake... with BALCONIES!! Oh my gosh... that was the life. Balconies, big bathrooms, and elevators. Oh to be spoiled. Too bad we were there for only one though.

After dinner at the hotel, a group of us went to a bar next door where in one room, they had a pole on a stage, a pool table, and to my excitement... KARAOKE. :) This time Kristine and I went up and sang our songs. Then they wouldn't let us leave! Alain, the Italian karaoke master would grab my hand and keep me on stage and say "Bella... tu canta!" But then the song would be in Italian and I'd scream.. "um... I can't speak Italian!" Then he'd change the song to anything in English and make me sing. So there I was, singing to Bon Jovi. I didn't know any Bon Jovi songs. Now I do. Oh but it was so much fun and later we made one Italian man take off his shirt for us because Paulie earlier had warned us girls about the "stallions" and how "no" means "yes" and "I'm married" means "yes" and "a kick in the balls" means "yes".. so Kristine decided to turn the tables and proceed to harass this poor Italian man. He was hairy, but happy.

10/1/04: "Liqigas!"
This morning, we packed up our bags and said goodbye to Como (Awww), but not without taking a cruise around the lake... of course still screaming for George Clooney to come out. While on the cruise, we saw the house were they filmed parts of STAR WARS EPISODE 2 (oooOO), and made a lunch/shopping stop at Belliago... where they don't have fountains like in Vegas. :) But Sally, Kristine, and I were very excited to find a bathroom where we didn't have to pay. Thats right, anytime there's a public toilet in Italy, you have to pay for the privilege to pee. I must have spent at least 15 euro just going to the bathroom in Italy... and some of the toliets weren't even that nice. At San Gimignano, it was a hole in the ground!! They don't tell you that in the guidebooks.

After Lake Como, we were off to Verona, home of Romeo and Juliette. We found "Juliette's balcony" where in the courtyard are millions of pieces of paper and graffiti of folks stating that they heart someone. Also there, they have a statue of Juliette, and was told that if you rub the right breast of Juliette, you will fall in love... I molested that statue 3 times.

We were looking for the statue of Romeo to see if we had to rub anything on him for good luck... but nothing. Oh wells.

Oh yeah. We got gelato in Verona too. Do you see a patten here?

The drive from Verona to Venice was pretty long and by the time we got to our hotel in Venice, we were excited just to get off of the bus. But then we entered the hotel...

The place looked ok. The rooms were alright... well right up until the bathroom. SO once you walk in, you see a toilet right next to the shower. But then upon further investigation, you realize that it isn't a toilet, but instead it’s a bidet. And since arriving in Europe, all the hotels have been supplied with a bidet and toilet... so where was our toilet here?? Well, pull open the shower curtain and there it was... the TOILET IN THE SHOWER. Well basically that's what everyone was screaming in the hallways of the hotel "THE TOILET IS IN THE SHOWER!" So Keila and I ran to our rooms and found our very own toilet... there. Whoohoo?

Anyways, pretty much every time we get to our hotel, Keila and I were search our tv to see if we can get Italian MTV... and this time along with Italian MTV... we got ITALIAN PORN. Actually they had 2 porn channels.. one in English, one in Italian. So we started screaming "WE HAVE PORN!" and people started running into our rooms to see the it. But then we learned that to watch you had to pay... so yeah. Never mind.

10/2/04: "Pash and dash..."
Wakie wakie to the crappiest breakfast of rolls and jam. But then we were off on the bus to take the motoscaffi to the Island of Venice. Yeah. We weren't ON Venice...we were more in the suburbs. :)

Venice itself was VERY touristy and after going to a glassblowing (a man blew a horse!) and lace making demonstration, we headed to the *gasp* Italian McDonald where I actually tried a Royale with Cheese. More and more and more shopping, then back to Piazza San Marco to feed the pigeons. That was so much fun, even though the thought of having dozens of dirty pigeon fly around me was pretty horrifying. At one point, I had 2 pigeons on my arm and I was happily feeding them each their own kernels. :) Then Kristine, the crazy Aussie, decided to throw pigeon food at me, which caused all the pigeons to fly up and go buck wild around me. OH the terror... at one point, one was attacking my boob and another was attacking my head. But I wasn't Kristine's only target because she started throwing seeds at random tourists who then would start running, flailing their arms. What a crazy girl. :)

At sunset, we took our gondola ride along the canals of Venice. It was perfect, despite the fact that at some parts, the water smelled a bit... err... and our gondolier, Mossimo, didn't sing. But when sailing next to another boat, we asked their gondolier to sing for us, and he did... ACDC Shoot me All Night Long. Adorable huh. :)

Oh let me state right here that these Italian men are wolves! During our stay, all of our waiters were young and flirty. The gondolier who did sing to us was a habitual winker and kept on mouthing words such as "I love you". Really. You do? But I barely know you... Sally, who is your gorgeous blond American girl, was having waiters follow her down the street and asking for kisses. Everyone was getting looks and hollers and while flattering, they were all coming off as lecherous. We were all getting freaked out by it.

Anyways, after the gondola ride, we had dinner at this charming restaurant, then it was back to Piazza San Marco which was simply breathtaking at night. No more attacking pigeons, but a lot of lights and the strings of different orchestras at different corners of the square. At one point, one started playing "St Lucia" and I almost died because this was absolutely perfect and the realization of actually being THERE was exciting in itself. Then a man came up to me and offered me a rose... he actually was selling it to me and then the moment died. But still... it was quite lovely.

10/3/04: "Feel the rhythm... feel the rhyme!"
Woke up, went to the bathroom in the shower, and we were off to Urbino, a charming little city as well as the birthplace of Raphael.

Once we got to Urbino, we went in search for Raphael's house, so up the hill we climbed. Up up up until we got to the very top and some amazing views and a monument in dedication to the artist... so we just assumed that THAT was where Raphael's mom had popped a squat and delivered her baby. So after picnicking on cheese, crackers and this HORRID drink called "Chino" that everyone told me to buy since it bared the name of my home on the other side of the tracks, we were disappointed to find the actual home of Raphael... on the bottom of the hill. Grreeat. To make ourselves feel better... we got some gelato.

After Urbino, we were off to Assisi for the night. Once we arrived, we had the most adorable tour guide who would call out to us "Contiki... take a picture not a movie" in her high pitched Italian accent. She showed us the basilica of St. Claire, where the tomb of St. Claire is, the home of St. Francis, and the basilica of St. Francis, where St. Francis's remains lie... and while we were there, the town was celebrating the feast of St. Francis, so it was a wonderful experience to really soak in the culture of the city.

Once we got to the hotel, we had dinner, settled in, and it was off to a bar because our driver, Tonino, was a rabid fan for Italian Soccer and needed to see Rome win. So at the bar, there was air hockey where Carissa, my fello Chino chick (what are the odds!?) kicked my ass... 3 times, pool, and many the bonding moments over the skulling of drinks. :)

10/4/04: "'Shut up you whore,' she whispered loudly."
From Assisi, we were off to Sorrento, first of all with a stop at the Umbria markets for some Bacci and shopping. The day was mostly spent on the bus, but we were thoroughly entertained with some crazy relay games. When we finally arrived in Sorrento, we settled in and went downstairs... only to find that Paulie was looking HOTT in a suit. I feel like I need to say this because really... he was HOTT. I smile every time I think about it. :)

We took the coach into the city for some after "siesta" shopping, sampling of lemonchello (35% alcohol... oh my!), and dinner. Oh my gosh, dinner was beautiful because we were right on the cliff, overlooking the ocean, and we seriously had the most delicious mozzarella appetizer. Afterwards, we were drunk on vino, and off to the "American bar." That night, we managed to fit 8 people in a cab... but all fearing for our lives because Kristine, while sitting on 3 people, kept on asking our driver if he was in the Mafia, since while driving through Napoli, we were told that the mafia basically controlled the area. So drunken Kristine and her "bang bang... you mafia!?" were all making us nervous... but no one got killed or arrested and I think the driver got a large tip for having to deal with all of us. Gratzie sir.

10/5/04: "Chino girls know about tossing..."
Today we took a ferry to the island of Capri, wether this is the birthplace of Capri pants, I still don't know. Once on the island, we took a smaller boat to cruise around the island, with a stop to get off the "smaller boat" so that we can climb into a dingy that fits 4 people so that we can enter the famous Blue Grotto. Let me say that I was terrified because 1) I was already nauseous and 2) I didn't want to fall into the ocean because I was wearing a skirt and the thought of me being dragged into the boat ASS UP was scary. To get into the blue grotto you have to get into the bottom of the boat and the "driver" leans back as far as he can and pulls you in via chain. Its pretty insane and for a moment we all thought we were gonna drown... or suffocate. But luckily no one fell in and the Blue Grotto was AMAZING. Even more AMAZING once I took my sunglasses off. :)

After climbing out of the dingy and into the "smaller boat" we continued the cruise around Capri, with stops at the Green Grotto and the White Grotto. The whole island is pretty and I would have LOVED to explore a bit more, but by the time I got off the cruise, my stomach was churning and I was beat. So lunch at a café, some shopping, and Kristine, Keila, Sally, and myself had a siesta on the shore and waited for the ferry to take us back to Sorrento.

Back at Sorrento, we shopped a little more, made our way to the hotel, and had a somewhat "lackluster" dinner of chicken and french fries... oh with some frozen Tiramasu. Boo. The plan for the night was to go take a walk to some Roman Ruins and the possibly hit up a discotech that was near the hotel... but that so didn't happen. When Paulie told us to wear comfortable shoes for this "walk" we didn't realize that he meant that we were going to be hardcore hiking and climbing rocks. Luckily I had a flashlight, but still, it was quite the adventure with the holding on to rocks and jumping over ledges. At one point, a girl started asking if there were rattlesnakes... but by then we were halfway into hell and no one wanted add on the idea of poisonous animals to the thought of "oh my gosh, I'm going to fall off of this mountain." But we finally got there, the view was amazing, and boy where those some Roman ruins. Instead of going to the club afterwards, Sally, Keila and I sat at the bar and guzzled gatorade. Then we went to the pool for some after-hours gossip.

10/6/04: "Because it brings me joy..."
That morning, we said "goodbye" to Sorrento and headed back to Rome... but on the way we stopped at Pompeii where seriously they had the most well-fed stray dogs I have ever seen. (Actually, all the strays in Italy are well fed.) Oh Pompeii, I really wish we could have stayed longer there, but we were on a schedule and 45 minutes is all we had. But at least we saw some plaster body casts of victims and some Pompeii pornography via postcards and calenders. Yay for Pompeii pornography!

After Pompeii, we had a quickie stop at the Monte Cassino war memorial which was pretty eye opening, and then it was our last Autogrill stop, where like the bus, we spent many-a-time in them around the country.

When we finally reached Rome, we settled in, had dinner, then it was off to explore the city. But first, we had to make it on the Metro, which was as hot as an oven. 9 stops later, we finally made it to Spanga, home of the Spanish Steps. WE WERE IN ROME!! From there we made our way to Trevi Fountain so that we can throw our 3 coins in... one for love, another for good luck, and a last one so that we will return to Rome. :) Isn't that the cutestest!?

Once we got to the Pantheon, we were beat. But not beat enough to go buck wild and HUG the ancient building. No reason though... only the fact that it has so much history in it.

Then we got gelato. Possibly the best gelato ever. It was delicious. :)

Afterwards, we dispersed, and Carissa, Christina, Suzie, Natasha, Maria, and myself went in search for the Rome Hard Rock Café for some pins... only to hike for 30 minutes, uphill... and finding the restaurant right next to a metro stop. EEK! But while we were there, they were showing Madonna's Like A Virgin video, which ironically was filmed in Venice... so it was all fate. Or something of the sort.

10/7/04: "Do you like your meat like your men? Young?"
Our last day. :( We woke up and crammed 32 of us into an already crowded subway. We are all family now due to all the personal space violated. Our stop was the coliseum where we had a walking tour of Ancient Rome.

Once we were done with our Tour Guide, I asked her "WHERE IS THE MOUTH OF TRUTH!!?"

She told us that the famous icon from "Roman Holiday" was only a 10 minute walk from where we were... so a group of us went on a mission to find the mouth. After taking pictures and praying that our sinner hands wouldn't get cut off, we went back to the Vatican where we FINALLY got to see the Sistine Chapel... which was AMAZING!! Really... I can't describe it. It was awesome.... even though just getting to it was a hike in the museum... then it was off to St. Peter's to see Michelangelo's Pieta and the largest church in the world.

Our farewell dinner was at this charming restaurant near Vatican City where they had opera singers serenading us and once again, lots and lots of wine. I swear, I have never had so much wine in such a amount of time. But everyone was getting emotional and camera happy and well... it was "good times."
Then it was off to find "Trinity College", a bar in Rome after one more night shot of St. Peter's, the "second marker" and mauling in the Metro. Drinkie drinkie once we FOUND the place, mauling at the bar, a dance off, search for a cab, then back to the hotel. :)

10/8/04: "Good times.."
7am, I said goodbye to my dear roomie Keila. We were both new to having "roomies" and felt that the experience was great. Awww... Now she has to come and visit. Actually, we're planing a "reunion" tour of Italy in May... In Vegas of course. We don't have the funds to do it for real... so we're off to the Venitian and Belliago just for old time sakes.

7-10am: packed, organized, and said goodbye to everyone. My shuttle came at 10 and I was trying my hardest not to cry... but I did tear up a bit, even as my crazy driver weaved in and out of the lanes on the way to the airport. Crying and holding my breath for dear life... I said "Arrivederci" to Italy.

So... all in all, it was a TERRIFFIC experience, and definitely I want to go back because while getting to see a LOT, it just wasn't enough time. There's never enough time!! But yeah, I loved the people who I got to meet, the things and places we did and saw, and... well basically everything.

Every morning, we started our days with this Dean Martin classic. It was the perfect soundtrack for driving and now whenever I hear it, I'll always think of those crazy days in the coach and all the lovely memories of Italy.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul
That's amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scusami, but you see, back in old Napoli
That's amore

Home sweet home... sorta. I don't have my luggage because while in Rome, my flight was delayed 45 minutes... which wouldn't have been a problem except for the fact that I had to catch my plane in London to LAX around 4... so we were really cutting it close. So close in fact that the group of us who had the same flight plan got personally escorted around Heathrow through security and ticketing... OoOoO. So I got on the flight, but my bags didn't. Boo. But I'm happy to be back... but at the same time I didn't want to leave. Its a different story if you're having a miserable time, and mine was far far from from that. Although I'm glad to be sleeping in my own bed... not to mention not having to lug a 50 pound suitcase and goodies up flights of stairs and taking showers only to find your bathroom flooded afterwards... I still totally LOVED the experience.

No pictures yet. I didn't bring my digi so I have 24 rolls (I sold one roll to my awesome roomie Keila in Sorrento for 2 euro) that need to be developed and I imagine I'll be spending many an hour scanning them... so when I have them ready, I'll be sharing.

LONDON

Oh how I love this city...

The traffic is CRAZY. Oh my first day, I was crossing the street, and in the crosswalk, they had a little red man light lite up... so of course I assumed that meant "stop" but then again the people around me just kept on walking. So I assumed that meant "go" and America was just completely opposite. But nope, it was right before and everyone just doesn't care. So if you have the chance, just RUN.

At the hotel, I've been surrounded by Aussies. My roomies are Aussies,and one night, Lenora explained to me the games of RUGBY and CRICKET... which was competely great because the next night at a Pub with Laura, they had a rugby game showing and I totally knew what was going on. Well sorta. We also a group of Danish men who invaded our table and we all attempted to have a "german-broken english" conversation. Hilarity ensues. Apparently now I have a danish boyfriend...

Breakdown of London:
Thursday: Arrive 7am. Settle in after walking around IN THE RAIN with Elinore and Eric, 2 contiki folks that I met in the shuttle. We decided we needed to eat, so when in London, you go to a pub! Go watch PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with Elinore since we have free tickets and need to stay up as long as we can to avoid jet lag... although during the end of the show, we're nodding away in our very last row/top balcony seats. Still, we declare ourselves AWESOME after figuring out the underground system and successfully taking it to Picadilly Circus and not dying.

Friday: Wake up at 4am. Damn you jetlag. I decided to take my BATH/STONEHENGE tour today which was absoluletly perfect cause the weather was wonderful. While on the coach, I found myself sitting next to couple of folks from California so I didn't feel all too lonley. Our tourguide's name was Trudy... how English is that!? Stonehenge was quite a sight and it was pretty exciting to be standing there in front of it, as opposed to seeing it in pictures. Bath was just adorable. Went to a roman bathouse there... and lucky for me while visiting they were having a Jane Austen festival, so along with seeing some folks in the garb, I went to the Jane Austen house.

Saturday: Wake up to find London freezing cold... so I bundled up in layers for my Open top double decker bus tour! When in England, do the bus. While on it, I meet another contiki girl from Australia, Neyda. Together, we decided to go check out some sights... then around 12, I'd head over to Buckingham Palace to meet up with Laura. Or so that was what we thought.

At the Parliament tour office:
Neyda: So what tour do your reccomend? The Parliament or Westminister abbey?
Ticketguy: Well, here at the Parliament you get a better tour.
Me: What's at Westminister Abbey?
Ticketguy: Dead people.

With that being said, The Parliament tour ran WAAAAY longer than we originally thought but at least we saw where Tony Blair sits in the house of Commons ("Its like that SNL skit!") by the time we made our way to the Palace, it was already 12:45... and I can't find Laura. To make things worse, there are NO PHONES NEAR BUCKINGHAM PALACE. So panicking a bit, not to mention a bit wet because now its raining, we walk another 20 minutes to Trafalgar square to find a phone... and pizza. We were starving! Anyways after another hour of playing phone tag, I go back to the hotel to finally meet up with Laura and her friend Lynn. YAY! That night we went Leister square/Soho to a pub where as mentioned aboved met some crazy Danish men who kept on taking our pictures and calling us their girlfriends in German...

Listening in on the Danish:
Lynn: I think they're speaking German... but I'm not sure.
Danish guy: something something sauerkraut..
Lynn: Yeah.. its german.

...as well as some New Zealanders, one of which, Rodney, was VERY EXCITED to talk to us about American food. Serious. He ranted on and on about how much he loved American "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and you should have seen his face when Laura and I told him about Roscoes... he was in heaven. Aw those New Zealanders are too cute.

Sunday: Woke up early and went with Laura and Lynn on the last day of the Buckingham palace tour. We only got to see the Queen's state rooms, so no William or Harry... boo. But the pidgeons there were seriously the FATTEST PIGDEGONS EVER! Chubby winged things I tell you. How they fly... it makes me wonder. We also saw a portion of the changing of the guards cause it was CROWDED as hell... but at least its better seeing some of it than nothing at least. After the Palace, Laura and Lynn had to go back so Caimbrige, so I decided to take a mini to Cruise on Thames where I got to see London Brige, the Tower Brige, the globe theater, the Tower of London and some other great eye candies. Afterwards, I walked to Wesminister Abbey because I decided that seeing dead people wouldn't be too bad... especially if that dead person was Shakespeare, but couldn't get it since it was a Sunday it no tourist were allowed. Boo. So I just took some pictures and walked to the underground (I'm a pro!) to go back to the hotel and have a goodbye dinner of fish and chips with my dear Aussie roomie Lenora.

Monday: I woke up around 4 to take a cab to Victoria station so that I can catch the first train to Gatwick... then it was off to ITALY!

... more on that later. ;)

All in all, 4 days is definitely not enough for London... but still I loved it. I need to go back and stay longer, thats for sure. The guys there are the cutest... and their teeth aren't all gross. ;)