PICTURES!

K, here's a few photos, sorry for the crooked ones.
Pont Vecchio in the distance, in Florence with Emily.

Rubbing the wild boar's nose to ensure I'll return to Florence someday.....yeah, in like a month.

Kind local in Florence who is helping me fill my water bottle at the fountain by the Duomo.

NOT a postcard! it's really THIS beautiful in Cinque Terre!

Hanging laundry at our INCREDIBLE hostel in Cinque Terre

Hiking along the coast in Cinque Terre, Italy

Montjuic in Barcelona, picnic-ing with our friend Ross from Scotland.

My friend Jason from New Zealand and I at Sitges, a day trip from Barcelona

With Emily at this awesome hospital near Sagrada Familia

Barcelona, at the outdoor market during some crazy Earth Day fair.

Ciao Bella!

AAAAHH I wrote this hecka long post all about Barcelona and Cinque Terre, Italy and then the Internet died and I lost it. SO.......i'll give the brief, but if you want to know anything else, just ask me. There's many a good story;)

So Barc was INCREDIBLE. I stayed 2 nights at a girl named Stania's apartment and 2 nights with a girl named Paola. Hahaha Paola didn't speak a word of English so communicating with her was hilarious! I started remembering all these random, useless Spanish words that I just grew up hearing in S. California. We had a blast though! I also met some great people at church. Jason from New Zealand led us on a wild goose chase around Barcelona at midnight and then went to Sitges with us the next morning. Sitges is a day trip from Barc; known for its pretty beaches. Ross is from Scotland and equally awesome. He served as my personal translator and took me and Eurah and Emily (my travel companions for the moment) to Montjuic.

From Barc we BARELY caught our night train to Milano, Italy. And by barely, I mean that Eurah LITERALLY showed up to the train station 40 seconds before the train pulled out. We had to run and jump onto the first possible car, which happened to be 1st class. Luckily the stewardess lady was understanding. Most thrilling thing that happened during that 24-hour period.

Cinque Terre was gorgeous. It's made up of 5 small, picturesque fishing towns along the the Italian Riviera. Finally a break from cathedrals and museums---just nature! We hiked the length of the villages, right along the coast, and hung out at the beaches. And met the typical Italian boys who think they are God's gift to women. Our hostel was more like an apartment. Balcony with view of the ocean, our own kitchen and our own bathroom. Sooooo nice.

I'm in Florence right now. Emily's friend Vivienne has met up with us. We're headed to Siena in the morning.

The beginning of the legit Euro Trip

WHOA! I'M IN SPAIN! AHHHH SO MUCH UPDATING TO DO!

So the last week of my semester was spent in the south of France. We stayed in apartments in Aix-en-Provence. Emma, Rochelle, Diane, and I shared one together and we made spaghetti with chicken tomatoes and basil for dinner one night and ate it on our balcony! Oh so perfect. The south is seriously gorgeous! I can't believe I wasted all that time in Paris when I could have been along the French Riviera, with friendly people, sunny weather, the ocean, and brightly-colored buildings. We took day trips each day, some of which including Cannes, Arles, Grasse, and Cassis. The day we went to Arles, we also went to some river (I can't believe I don't know what river it was...Geography 260 was obviously a bust) and went kayaking! Rowing along, we passed fishermen and castle ruins. There's so much more to say, but I don't have much time.

Right now I'm sitting in my hostel in Barcelona, which I'm no long allowed to stay at. They informed us (myself and my friend Eurah, who I'm traveling with for a couple weeks) this morning that there was no room for us this weekend, and seriously every other hostel in this city is booked. So we called the LDS church and thankfully they hooked us up with someone! Local flava. Ew last night was awkward. We shared our hostel room with 10 other German/Middle Eastern men who were hairy and foul-smelling. Needless to say I had marvelous dreams last night, as I slept with my phone, my bra, and my beloved Chacos under my pillow. Blessing in disguise that we can't stay here anymore? Quite possibly.

I ventured on top of some Guadi buildings today and saw the Las Ramblas area.

I gotta go. Sorry I don't have pictures of the south of France. I dumped them all on my computer, which Diane took back with her to the States. Imagine the beautiful Mediterranean, palm trees, and orange and yellow and peach-colored buildings atop lush green hills.