It's Winter Already?!
Posted by Jackie , 17 November 2010 5:24 AM
Yep, I'm back in dreary, chilly London and have been since Saturday. Of course, in the week I was gone, London decided "yep, let's get this winter season into full swing! No more of this silly autumn stuff. That's for sissies." When I got back from Rome, I hit the ground running with my homework and water polo and didn't have time to update on my final days in Rome.
Last Thursday morning I woke up and, you guessed it, it was raining again. Seriously. Thankfully, I was strategically taking a guided tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel that kept me inside until noon. By then, the rain had stopped and the afternoon turned into a beautiful one. I went to see St. Peter's Basilica after the Vatican, but the line was too long for me to get into the church. I just toured the piazza and then met up with my friend Ethan. I met him through my London room mate, and he was staying in my hotel room for two nights. We dropped his stuff off and explored northern Rome a bit till we ended up at the Spanish Steps. There, a vendor tried to sell me some roses, but I refused. When he said it was a gift, I took one and Ethan and I meandered off. The vendor followed us, though, and demanded payment! Well, I wasn't going to do that, so I simply gave the rose back. I don't think the guy was too pleased, but that was his problem, lol. For dinner, Ethan and I met up with some of his Kenyon friends studying in Rome at a pizza restaurant. We decided to go out that evening, and the Kenyon people took us to a street of clubs right next to the Colosseum...it was incredible! The Colosseum is beautiful in the evening, lit up and all, and I kept looking at it and getting a goofy little smile on my face.
Friday I slept in and meandered down to the Colosseum area to see it in the daylight. Many of the major Roman ruins are in that one area, which makes seeing it all easy. I saw the inside of the Colosseum and wasn't disappointed. it gave me chills to think that people actually sat there once, and that gladiators fought there...so much fun to see it all. Walking back to my hotel, I meandered my way through Rome and did some souvenir shopping along the way. For dinner I met up with the Kenyon Co. again before heading back to my hotel for an earlier night.
When I woke up on Saturday, I didn't have much time before I had to catch my flight. I took a short walk to the Piazza Del Popolo for a little bit of sight seeing and then was off to the airport. It was so nice to be back in London, knowing my way around and understanding the language and all. I've really come to consider London home after two months here, and it was comforting to come back.
Since then, I've finished my Moderns essay and competed in my first water polo match! The game was on Monday and went well from my point of view. Though we lost, I had lots of fun. I've learned that my swimming background/my ability to still swim (to a degree) gives me a major advantage over other players. I was able to get clear of the girl guarding me a number of times, and was passed the ball as a result. The sad thing there, though, is that I'm not good at shooting on the goal, and the goalie caught the two or three shots I took. I clearly have room to improve, and since I've only been playing for about a month I'm not worried. I had so much fun I'm even thinking about joining the water polo club team back at Vanderbilt for something new to do.
At the moment, I'm just ordering my life a bit so that I can get everything done before the end of term. I feel like I still have so much I want to see and do, but time if flying by! Next weekend, for example, I am going to Prague for two days and will see Harry Potter when I get back. Then I have a weekend in London, and the following I'm going to visit Celina, a friend of mine from high school/Vanderbilt in Copenhagen. I'm going to have a whirl-wind end to a crazy European adventure.
