Lots of Laughs, Vino, Pasta, and Love

Remember me? It's been so long since I've blogged, but I've been so busy with Ry and my mom here I haven't had a spre moment! For the past week I've been either in class or out with them!

Sooo let's see.. so much to catch up on!

Thursday they finally got here! I was so excited to see them! We started venturing out right away and went on a little tour around Rome! We stopped for lunch in Piazza Novona where we each had our own pizzas! It was the first time I really realized that I've started to take on the European ways; I was taking my time eating mine and sipping on my wine, but Ry and my mom were done before I was! We went to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain (where my mom accidentally dropped one of her coins into a drain before she threw it over her shoulder! Oops!) and the Spanish Steps! That night Ry was too jet lagged to go out with everyone, so they called it an early night.

When I first saw mom and Ry!! So excited!!

Beautiful day in Rome to start exploring!

Pizza pizza pizza!

Ry making her wish!

Mom's turn!

Friday (my day off from class!) we went to the Colesseum and the Roman Ruins! It was my first time seeing them, so it was fun doing something new all together! It was awesome seeing all of it; definitely beat my expectations! We went and got lunch near the Pantheon; I got ravioli and Ry got her second pizza of the trip! It was a great lunch, until the waiter tried to trick us by charging us for bread we didn't eat as a "service charge" but the menu even said no service charge. So I told him we knew that wasn't right and I think he was taken back by me saying something; but we got it all figured out! Once again Ry was too tired to go out (She was the grandma of the group!) so I came back to campus and went on a barcrawl with the rest of the group!

After a longggggg night I still woke up early and we went to Traverse and the Jewish Ghetto! We went shopping all day (where my mom found an AMAZING bag for her big present to herself!) and Ry got a bunch of souvenirs! We also saw Santa Maria Church- dating all the way back to 350 AD! It's the oldest Catholic church in Rome. We kept exploring Traverse after that and this is where we found our FAVORITE restaurant "da Tony's!" It has the best pasta I've had since being in Rome! We sat outside as who we think Tony's son waited on us and was a sweetheart! It's fun finding little "hole in the wall" restaurants that turn out to be the best ones! We ended up going back there again for Ry's last lunch it was so good! We went back to the hotel to take a little nap, then on our way to dropping me back off to campus we stopped for a drink; my mom and I got wine... Ryann got a Coke. See the pattern?

Early morning calls for coffee!!

Happy to be in Rome! And shopping!

WE LOVE TONY'S!

Santa Maria's Church

One is not like the other... cough cough Ry!

Sunday we went to the Vatican! We went inside St. Peter's Basillica and saw some of the Sunday Mass and the beauty of the basillica! The three of us then walked up to the top of St. Peter's! This was my second time!! But that sure didn't make the climb any easier. Somehow my mom managed to do it in heels!! I should've warned her that Rome isn't a place that you want to be walking around in heels with all the cobblestone streets, but she still managed! Even if her shoe did get stuck a couple times! We were so hungry after our big climb we went to Piazza del Popolo and had pizza; it wasn't the best but at the point any food was good! We kept exploring the city and ended up climbing up the Spanish Steps! This was just a day full of stairs! Eventually we got dinner right around the Spanish Steps; my mom and I got rissoto.. have to admit it, but Angelo's in Little Italy still does it better! (I'm jealous of my dad and Brett who got to go there this weekend while they're in the city for the Big East basketball tournament!)

Second time to the top!

Vatican City on a Sunday! So busy!

Monday I had class (But I got an A- on my first Italian quiz! Bravo!) but we met up inbetween my classes where we got salad and sandwiches from across the street where I usually go and sat out in the courtyard on campus. The weather was beautiful the whole time they were here! It didn't rain until later Monday night while we were out to dinner. We were going to go to Da Tony's again as Ry's last big dinner (I have class Tuesday nights so we were making our last big dinner Monday!) but it was closed; so we went across the little street to Tony's other restaurant! It was still really yummy! And they gave us free chocolate and lemonchella (ick!) Then we went on our own "Bouchie Barcrawl"... aka out for a bottle of wine in Piazza Novona! We got delicious cheesecake and a baked creme with chocolate on top! And had lots of 'Daughter-Mother-Sister' talk! (Don't worry Mom and Ry, nothing will leave the table!) They dropped me back off at campus where I saw a bunch of my friends still decided to go out regardless of the rain so we went to the 'infamous' Drunken Ship; It's an American bar that is know for their pitchers of mixed drinks. People will tell you to avoid going there becaues it's so Americanized.. but it was KARAOKE night and all I wanted to do was SING! (It's weird living in a dorm where you share a bathroom.. I can't sing in the shower!) So I made my big debut singing "Never Gonna Leave This Bed" by Maroon 5, and then of course "You and I" by Lady Gaga. The crowd got really into it... or maybe they were just trying to sing loud enough it would drown out the sound of my own singing!

Tuesday morning I had Italian class once again but met up with Ry and my mom afterward to go back to "Da Tony's" for Ry's last big meal before heading home! The food was delicious as it was the first time! I had linguine and clam sauce, Ry had pesto, and my mom had risoto with mushrooms! Silly mom and I split a bottle of wine (it's 5 o'clock somewhere!) so I was really sleepy by the time I got back to school for my night class! So we decided to have a relaxing night after my class; they brought some yummy dessert back to the dorms and gelato! We had lots and lots of gelato while they were here, but that's what Rome is all about! I gave Ry her big pep-talk before heading out in the morning because she was nervous about flying by herself. It's weird because I'm so used to traveling now that the flight home doesn't even phase me! I'm been on so many planes and trains and busses the past month that it's become a second nature going through all the security and getting to places.

So for the rest of the week it was just my mom and I! Wednesday we went back to the Vatican with St. John's where we saw the Popal Audience and was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI! He spoke like seven different languages! I took of a video of when he said the prayer in English! It was a really awesome experience; not many people can say they've been the Pope up close, let alone be blessed by him! My mom went and explored while I went to class, but we met back up later on and went to St. Angelo's castle where we saw the sunset! It was really beautiful! Kimm met us in Piazza Novona where we had some wine! I had been so busy with my family here I felt like I hadn't seen my friends in ages, so we walked home to catch up! But we called it an early night because we had a busy day ahead of us going to Naples and Pompei!

The Pope!

At Saint Angelo's Castle!

Beautiful Sunset!

Bright and early my mom and I along with my two friends Amy and Jill made our way to the train station where we got an early morning train to Naples! As soon as we got off the train we headed right to Pizzaeria de Michele from "Eat, Pray, Love"!! We were so excited! We were the first ones there at like 10:45 so we were able to have the whole place to ourselves; I think the guys there thought we were funny for getting pizza so early for breakfast! But just like in "Eat, Pray, Love" we ate the whole thing!! It was the best pizza I've had since being in Italy; the saw was perfect with not too much cheese, and very thin crust.. mmmm I could go for another whole pizza right now! We spent the next couple of hours strolling around the historical part of Naples, but to be honest none of us were that impressed. It was dirty and everything was covered in graphetti. Where were all the pretty places we see on the post cards?! It was cool seeing all the nativity scenes (Naples is known of them!) and an old man explained to my mom what all the "red peppers" were, but turns out they are horns, which is a symbol to keep away bad spirits! Silly us! We decided to go to Pompei for the rest of the day! The train to Pompeii was... interesting. We held onto our bags closely, that's for sure! We didn't have time to do both the ruins and go to the top of Mount Vesuivuis, so we chose to walk around the ruins instead. And luckily for us it was Nation Women's Day so we got in for free, and memosa flowers! We were wondering why there were so many people selling them, and then we found out! Pompeii  was so amazing! People had told me before I came to Italy that Pompeii was a cool site to see, but nothing to be too concerned about going to, but I'm definitely glad we did! I liked it a lot more than Naples. We saw all of the ruins like the amplitheater and the baths. It's crazy to think that it was once a city before the eruption. All I could think about while we were walking around was the ride "Escape from Pompeii" in Busch Gardens! Unfortunately the garden with all of the bodies was closed, but we were still able to see a few. We stayed until closing time, and then went to get a cappicino as we waiting for the train back to Naples; on the train home we got to see the sunset on the coast which was really pretty! Defintely a better view than the city of Naples. We got back after dark and we didn't feel like dealing with sketchy areas in Naples so we stayed in the train station and grabbed some food (Amy, Jill, and I just so happened to be craving Big Macs... oops!) and then got on the train home.

Eat, Pray, Love pizza!!

My pizza!!

Just like Julia Roberts!

Say "Cheese"!

The streets of Naples

Time for Pompeii!

Hold on to you bag Mom!

Mom in the amphitheater!

I stayed with my mom that night in her hotel so I woke up early with her and had breakfast (bacon and eggs mmm!) before going to Trivoli with St. John's! We went to the Villa Esates which was full of beautiful fountains through out the gardens. It's where Lizzie McGuire went on her date in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie"! After spending the early day there we came back to Rome where I met up with my mom to do some last minute shopping and grabbed our last dinner at a little restaurant that had over 70 different types of sauces! She got penne a la vodka and I tried a tomoatoe sauce with aspargus and shrimp! Both were really yummy, but our hearts are still set on Tony's! We parted our ways after dinner since she had to wake up early for her flight the next morning.

Tivoli! So pretty!

At the Villa Estates!

It was a great week with both my mom and Ry! We got to see so much and I'm so glad I got to share this experience with some of my family! It's definitely made me appreciate all that I've done even more so; it's weird to think that their vacation is my every day life! It was so great to have a little taste of home since being on the opposite side of the world for the past two months! I wish they could've stayed longer and bring the rest of the Bouchie crew over, but regardless it was a great time full of lots of laughs, vino, pasta, and love!

After saying bye to my mom Friday night I had a relaxing night; some of us went out to get gelato (to celebrate Bren's boyfriend Mikey arriving to Rome!) and then I watched a movie! I slept in (well as much as I could.. only 9:45 AM!) Saturday and made breakfast with Amy and Jill! It was the first time that I cooked since being abroad... even though all I really did was crack the eggs. I spent the day wondering Rome on my own to have a relaxing day where I did some shopping (of course) and had a cappicino at a cafe down the street that my mom and Ry and gone one day while I was in class so I thought I should try it! Then we had a taco night and made dinner! A lot of people went to Naples this weekend, but some of us stayed back since we had already been! I went out for a little bit last night, but I'm still trying to catch up on my crazy schedule from the past week and a half.

And now it's Sunday! All caught up! I slept in today (until 11:30! The latest since being in Europe!) and went to get something to eat, and now I'm sitting out in the court yard waiting for Kimmy to get back from her run so we can go out explore the city some more! It's crazy that we only have a week and a half left here in Rome. It went by so fast; the first couple of weeks all I could think was "Ry and my mom come soon!!" and then they were here!! And now it's like "Wow they already left" and pretty soon we'll be on our way to Spain! I can't wait for the beach and warmth, even though it's really warm here I feel like I get funny looks when I wear shorts even though its 65 degrees outside! Some people are still wearing their winter jackets! I think they look goofier than I do in my shorts!

I have a couple things left on my to do list in the next week and a half; I want to rent bikes and go through the Bourghese Gardens, go to the American Embassy to see where my grandpa used to work, and see the Sistine Chapel (the school is taking us Friday!) but I feel like I've really seen a lot so far!