Church it up!

Hello! I hope youre all enjoying this. I have failed to recieve ANY emails from hardly any of you and if I were as bitter as I was last year I would skip writing today, but as I am another year older and wiser, I will continue.

Yesterday we slept in (are you shocked??) and then went to Rome a little later in the day. We started at the Basilica di San Clemente, which is a church built on top of a temple of some sort built on top of a Roman coin mint built on top of a Pagan church. So every level you go down it changes to fit whatever purpose it was used for at the time. It was so cool. The tour guide was saying that they havent excavated everything so they really have very little idea the actual size of whatever is underground. Some of the frescoes and work dates back to like the years Christ was alive and it was just really cool to be down there and see everything. It was probably one of the cooler things weve seen so far.

After that we walked around for a while and saw a few other buildings that are old and cool and then walked down to kinda the main square and took the Night Bus around Rome. We were on the top of a double decker and it shuttled us around the city so we could see everything lit up. It was awesome! They had a place to plug in earphones and was spewing out the most random facts about the city while we were driving and looking at the sights. This city is so incredible. The colluseum looked amazing.

(Im running out of internet time so Im hurrying!)

Today we went to the LDS church that is close to the Vatican. Cool to see that its the same (and true:)) everywhere you go. After that we went over to St. Peters Basilica and walked around that and caught the noon session of mass. Hearing people sing and organs playing in that huge and gorgeous building is just beyond words. It was an incredible experience to be there even if I couldnt understand it! We also got to go down and see the tombs of the Popes. Now THAT was awesome. They still had people crying and seeing the tomb of the last Pope and writing prayers and stuff and leaving them there. The Basilica is amazing and seeing the Pieta in real life was incredible.

Internets kicking me off. Love you all!

Rome if you want toooo-ooooo!

I am running out of song titles about Rome! I gave you a lame post about Rome so I thought I would wax a little poetic here about the great city. But the keyboard is jacked so if you are shocked by my poor use of grammar its only because I cant find an apostrophe on the keyboard.

Okay, so we got to Rome and it took us 10 hours from the time we left Meg and Mitchs place in Madrid until we staggerd into our beautiful Courtyard Marriott. What we didnt really realize is that we flew into the Ciampino airport, but our hotel is at the Fiumicino airport. They are on opposite sides of the city. It took us forever to get here. When we woke up we finally realized that it would take us about 90 Euro per day to get all of us into Rome each day, so we rented a car. I think I told you that, but its awesome. The cars here are so tiny!

We started off yesterday at the Colloseum. There were these crazy Roman soliders who were taking pictures with me when suddenly one of them started saying he was going to cut off my chest and asked if they were "original or plastic" and I couldnt stop laughing at him! Then they asked me for 10 € for the pictures! I gave them 2 and the pictures are funny. I went into the Collosuem alone (M and M had already seen it) and it was so incredible. Seriously.

We had met a guy on our flight there who is an American living in Rome and working with something called the "Rome Pub Crawl" where they pretty much take tourists out drinking at like 10 different bars or something. We dont know his name so weve started lovingly referring to him as Pimpleton. So we ran into Pimpleton who for about the 50th time tried to get us to go on this Bar Crawl. It gets funnier every time because we keep telling him we dont even drink and he keeps wanting us to go with him! We ran into him at the Pantheon, too. He will be important in a minute.

We went to McDonalds for lunch (I know. We are lame.) and it was maybe the funniest 15 minutes thus far. We sat down and I said "I bet we will see Pimpleton and he will make some comment about us being in Rome and eating at McDs." Mitch starts laughing and says "here he comes!" and me and Meg start laughing becuase he must be joking! Oh no. About 4 seconds after I say that he comes strolling up the path. He turns to us and says (not kidding) "You came all the way to Rome to eat at McDonalds??" We made small talk for a minute and then about died laughing when he left. We were so far away from when we first saw him it was just totally bizarre.

Okay, I am just realizing my stories really arent that funny! The other one involves Megann telling some woman who didnt speak English that she was going to pee her pants (in an Italian accent) so she would let us in to the closed bathrooms.

The rest of the day we just walked around the city. We saw tons and tons of stuff. I was the ultimate tourist. I had this huge map and carried my camera and water all day. I felt like a total moron but it was awesome!

Today we slept in (WAY in) and then went to the beach. It was not even close to as nice as the beach in Barcelona! It was still pretty good and I got a kickin tan. It was about 45 minutes away from us and the drive was beautiful. We came back and ate some really good pasta and had probably the most attractive man in the world as a waiter. Im not even kidding you he was amazing. I was trying my best to get my groove on, until I got into the elevator and realized that the green Pesto sauce was all over my teeth! Ha ha! Yea, Im not so good at that! We went to a huge movie theatre hoping that we could see Batman, but it doesnt come out here for another week. So we will have to try to catch it in Madrid. We ended up eating gelato (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) and then we found paradise. The biggest mall I have ever seen in my life. It had over 200 stores. I might have to make the pilgrimage tomorrow morning to do some serious time there. Mitch wasnt too interested in that tonight.

Tomorrow we are planning on sleeping in (again) and spending some time at the pool (or probably the mall) and then heading out to see Rome at night. We have a few more days here and a pretty packed schedule of things to see, but we cant get enough of sleeping in! This has been so amazing and I am loving this city. There is so much to see and so much to do.

Okay, this is getting far too long and I am getting far too tired, so I had better end for now.

Love you all!
Amanda

When in Rome...

Rome is hands down the winner. It is the most awesomest. We got here after about 10 hours of travelling (I probably could have swam here faster) and checked into the Courtyard Marriott (BLESS their clean sheets and towels) and got some great sleep. Today we hit up the Colleseum, Pantheon, Fountain de Trevi, and a lot of other buildings you are not cool enough or cultured enough to know about! It is so beautiful. We rented a car and Mitch is being the bomb driver. Rome is amazing. I am tired. More later!



Loves!

Amanda

Pamplona=Foul

Okay, so after the excitement of the barf story i need to give Barcelona some credit. Seriously the most beautiful city ever. The beach we went to (Setgis) was easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The water of the Mediterranian is amazing. I wish I could post pictures already because it was incredible. However, as with all European beaches, tops were definitely optional! Topless women everywhere. Old, wrinkly, saggy, topless women. That was NOT picturesque. It was quite frightening. But the beach was amazing. There was this really cool and really old church that was set against the water and I´m running out of adjectives to tell you how fantastic this place really was. The pictures will tell you when I get them up! Also the architecture is unreal. We spent one morning at Gaudi´s building La Padrera which was super cool. We also hit up the park where they did the fashion show for America´s Next Top Model (the season with Caridee and Melrose with the scary brides) and totally reinacted the fashion show. Yes, we´re morons. We realize that.

We flew home (barf-free) and pretty much turned around and headed to Pamplona.

If you think I ran out of adjectives for the beauty of Barcelona, I will easily run out for the disgustingness that was Pamplona. Our morning got off to a rough start (we BARELY made it) and when we got there we had to meet the guy who rented us the apartment and balcony. Michael Jude Murphy from Dublin. Oh, Michael. He was roughly the size of a bull and we could barely understand him, which was a good thing because I think his vocabulary is mostly made up of the F-word. So we got to our apartment and the sheets were dirty and the towels were all used and it took a lot of convincing for Michael to provide! Once we checked in we were excited to get out.

Yea, we should have stayed in. Pamplona is nothing but drunks. That Ernest Hemingway is full of crap. He must have been wasted when he wrote about the beauty of the festival. I saw more beer, urine, and blood in those 48 hours than i have ever seen in my life (which may be where he calls it "colorful")! The city is beautiful, but pretty much everything was closed up except for gift shops and bars. It was so foul. People sleeping everywhere, passed out everywhere, peeing on buildings, leaving cans and cups all over the place, seriously gross. I have some good stories but probably should wait because if my mom reads them she will make me come home. So they´ll come later.

The morning of the run was nuts. We got to Michael Murphy´s apartment and he answered the door in his bathrobe and we just kind of sat around for a bit. They close off the street to clean it so we had to be there early. We started up some conversations with him and let me tell you he is about the funniest man ever. I asked him if women ever ran and he replied "Oh yea, but only the mad bitches run." With his Irish accent it was about the funniest comment he could have said.

When the running actually starts, it´s madness. They let the runners down the street so the pansies can hide out in store fronts and still say they ran (which is totally where I would have been) and then the police form a huge line between the men and the cage that holds the bulls. Every balcony down the street was packed and then there are men (and the "mad bitches") lining the streets and right at 8 a.m. someone lights a rocket that is heard by everyone and signals the release of the bulls. At this point, all hell breaks loose. Seriously. The bulls start running. We didn´t see them until they had rounded the corner, but people start yelling, pansies start running already, bulls are charging, and the whole thing lasted about 30 seconds from what we saw! It was awesome. Unfortunatley, as Michael told us, it was a bad morning because "we only saw a few tramplins! It gets really good if some poor sucker (or F-er, we couldn´t understand him) gets gored." We did see a few tramplings and a guy ripped his pants off right under our window to show off a MASSIVE bruise that we could see from 4 stories up. It was serious madness, but so awesome. They run down our street and around a corner and into the bull ring where most of them run into their cage but a few fight back and charge some guys.

Then, the drinking resumed. We had to just hang out in the city for a while and I think kharma was in our favor when we stumbled upon the Hong Kong China Restaurant which was quiet and secluded and didn´t have a passed out drunk in sight. We ate there both days and ate enough food for an entire day. There were some incredible parts of the city and I bet when the festival is over it would be a great place to visit, but it was revolting. Vile. Foul. But a good experience!

It was good to get home and shower in a mixture of one part water, two parts Clorox to wash of the layer of film that had developed around us from the filth of the city. It was pretty sad to say goodbye to Michael, who told me on the phone that our departure time "had really F-ed him up. It´s not your fault, but you really F-ed me up." But we checked out and headed for the train.

Today we slept really late and are just now heading for Madrid. Tomorrow we leave for a week in Rome which should be amazing. I´m really excited for it! I should be able to find an internet somewhere and update you and everyone pray I don´t toss my cookies on another flight.

Love you all!
Amanda

BARF-elona!

Oh mercy. Do I have a story for you all. So we took a cheap flight from madrid to Barcelona and it was the day after I arrived. Totally jetlagged and tired and worn out and dead. So we get to the airport and I´m feeling kinda crappy so I decide to eat some fries and a Sprite to try to settle myself and get on the hour and a half flight.

Here´s where life gets interesting!

So I´m still feeling sick and getting sicker as we board the plane. We sit right in the middle and I decide if I can just fall asleep I can make it through the flight. I fall asleep immediately and am out for about 20 minutes when I wake up! What wakes me up? Myself. Vomiting. All over the place. I´m not even kidding. I´ve never thrown up in public in my entire life and here I am barfing all over the place on an airplane before it even takes off. The flight attendants were in the middle of their safety presentation so Mitch starts yelling "Vomito!" and the flight attendant finally comes running and hands me... a tissue. Yea, that´s going to do me a lot of good at this point!

So I´m shaking and crying because I´m totally embarrassed at this point but I have to do something. She finally brings me some paper towels and, without getting into too much detail, luckily the skirt I was wearing caught the bulk of it! I get partially cleaned up and the lady tells us we have to wait for an hour so they grab my suitcase (thank goodness we carried on our luggage) and I grab the first bottoms I see.

Then the problem is I have to get to a bathroom and we´re in the middle of the plane. So Megann (who deserves a medal for this) walks in front of me as I try to hide the barf that is now all down my skirt. Of course it doesn´t work and everyone is giving me the stink eye on my way back. Also, I had some of it on my shoe and am now pretty much sliding down the aisle. I get to the bathroom and wash off my shoe and my foot when they suddenly come on and say that we´re cleared for take off. Right now. So the flight attendant tells us to go sit at the very front so I can get off fast and Meg high tails it up there while I am trying to wash myself off and change all in about 3 seconds before we take off. I got to my seat and could not stop laughing and crying for the remainder of the flight. The minute we landed I was off that plane faster than you can even believe.

I have NEVER been so completely embarrassed in my life! Seriously, it was almost painful how embarrassed I was. I was completely mortified. However, I survived and the poor Laundry service at the Madanis Hotel got to deal with the rest of my skirt. Best 7 Euro I have spent thus far.

Other than that, Barcelona has been AMAZING. We spent yesterday at Setgis beach on the Mediterranian, which was so beautiful. It was incredible. The sea was so warm! Today we did lots and lots and lots of sightseeing. This city is absolutely beautiful. All of the architecture is fantastic. We went to the apartment building designed by Gaudi and it was ridiculously cool. The rooftop overlooks the entire city (including the building we´ve named "Penis Building" but you´ll see pictures later!) and you can see everything. It seriously is beautiful.

My favorite part so far is the Sagrada Familia. It was started by Gaudi but he died so they have hired different artists to build each section of the cathedral and it was so incredible. I can´t get enough of this city and I wish I had a few more days here because it really is amazing. I love it.

Okay, I really want a nap! I hope everyone is doing well back home! We´re heading to Madrid for tomorrow, so hopefully I´ll have a different staff on RyanAir or I´ll be even more embarrassed! We have one night in Madrid and then we head to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls! Should be cool! Love you all! Buenos Noches! (my español is muy bueno!)

Spain is neat!

Hello there! So I've been here about 24 hours and I already have managed to:
Fry my expensive straightener (with smoke and everything!)
Fall asleep on about every form of public transportation
Eat the best chocolate churros on the PLANET
Find the best shopping on the PLANET

It may surprise you that I have NOT managed to:
Fall. Anywhere. I seriously haven't! I'm serious!
Buy anything. Again, I'm really serious!

Spain is amazing. I haven't seen much yet but Madrid is beautiful. And I tell you, the Spanish men are no matter of temptation compared to the SHOPPING in Madrid. Once I give in to that temptation I have a feeling it's going to be out of control.

Meg and Mitch's apartment is really nice! It's in a suburb about 20 minutes (by train) outside of Madrid. It's the birthplace of the author of Don Quixote and don't worry, I already have pictures with the statue!

I'm leaving for Barcelona soon and don't know if I'll have internet there so look for lots of pictures when I get back!

I promise I'm not dead!

Helloooooooo Friends! I really am not dead. I didn't get my hands cut off, either. I have just been extremely busy/lazy (you can be both!) lately and haven't gotten to much blogging! It's been a very eventful 2 months since my birthday so let's recap, shall we?? I'll throw up a bunch of pictures and you will just have to guess which ones go where.

Vegas and St. George: For Tricia's b-day a few of us ladies headed down south for the weekend. Much shopping, much playing, a little unsuccessful gambling, some plastic grillz, and an intense game of Bingo. We had a great time.

BBQ: Most of the high school girls got together for some good times at Ashley's house! We ended up busting out Ashley's box of pictures from elementary, jr. high, and high school and it was probably one of the single most embarassing moments of my life! I was not cool until I hit about 22. I'm STILL not that cool, but a lot cooler than I was!

End of School: (Yea, these are pure out of order) I ended my first year of teaching with an all-out dance party with my third graders. We had a few days of cleaning, moving my boxes (I'm teaching first grade next year), field day, and assemblies. I played my kids a slide show and at the end of the day I played them the part of High School Musical 3 where they sing the song about Summer at the very beginning and we had a big dance party to end the year! Yea, I'm the best teacher ever. I know. It was really kinda sad to see those kids go. I had a BLAST this year and probably had the hardest year of my life at the same time. Some of those kids came a long way this year and I had a lot of mixed emotions about the end of the year!

Taylorsville Days: Is the bomb. Every year. No battle. And this year was no exception. The Neil Diamond cover band was the perfect addition to this year's festivities!

4th of July: I went with my fam to the cabin and can I tell you I have the best family ever? We have a blast. I love being around them and it was just fantastic.

Other: (Real creative category name!) I've been to a few Bees games, a few other BBQ's (and worn the yellow BBQ shirt a lot!), saw Kanye West and LeAnn Rimes in concert (not together, that would be weird) and they were both AWESOME, seen a few movies (Hancock = thumbs down), even made the obligatory yearly fantastic trip to the Drive-in!

Summer has been great. I am loving having a profession that provides the summers off! FANTASTIC! I don't know why everyone doesn't do this whole "summer vacation" idea.

Well, my friends, I take off on Monday for a month in Europe. Right now I'm a little stressed, a little terrified, and EXTREMELY excited. I'm spending a few days here and there in Madrid, a few days in Barcelona, a few days in Pamplona to see the Running of the Bulls, a week in Rome, and ending with the yearly Romania trip, which is only a week this year! So stay with me, I promise this blog is going to be KICKIN as soon as I get there. I've been Boring McBoringster lately, but I'm back like y'all have never seen!