It appears that I have, once again, managed to fall behind. Although, in my defense, I have been rather preoccupied with school and, more recently, some sort of vicious illness. But I will admit that, perhaps more than anything, I have turned procrastination into an art form. With that being said, I'll keep the recap brief - well, that and there really isn't a whole lot to tell.
Mom and Dad left a week ago Monday and I delved back into school - as much as I could with 2 classes being cancelled all week. (Couldn't complain about that.) The last few days of their trip were rather laid back, we were all pretty exhausted by that point. We spent a day exploring churches - Rome does after all have an inordinate number of them. From Santa Cecilia in Trastevere we ventured over to Santa Maria Maggiore, (the farthest east I've been in this city), and San Pietro in Vincoli (also known as St. Peter in Chains, for those that don't speak Italian). While churches do have a way of blending into each other after you've seen a few, they were all impressive in their own right.
Saturday we spent the day, or at least part of it, in Spoleto - the other town recommended by my brother's friend that lived in Rome. Perhaps not quite as impressive as Orvieto, but, as always, it is fun to be able to explore new places. The one major advantage I will give Orvieto is the funicular. Despite the amount of walking I may do in Rome, I have to admit that when we got off the train, I thought "there has got to be a better way!!" Nonetheless, we had a good lunch, walked around town, and saw the basilica, all before hopping back on the train for Rome.
Finally, Sunday, Mom and Dad's last day in Italy, was spent trekking up 1 of the 7 hills of Rome - a great view of the city on a beautiful, mild winter day. After refueling with lunch, Mom and I spent the afternoon searching for some last minute souvenirs while Dad headed back to the B&B to rest. And to bring the trip full circle, we ended it the way it began, with pizza.
Crazy, small world moment of Mom and Dad's vacation, and quite possibly of my 4 months here: we met a girl at dinner from Kingston, of all places. My WA people should understand that, but for those of you that don't know, Kingston is a very small town that sees little more than ferry traffic.
But I digress. It was good to see the parentals and fun to be able to show them around. Unfortunately, once they left I had 2 papers and 4 finals looming. Luckily, I can say that I have finished, turned in, and even already gotten back my Public International Law paper on the legality of U.S. interrogation techniques post 9/11. Nice, light subject, right?! Now I just need to finish my paper for History and Politics of the Middle East on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - another cheerful paper. My course load is nothing, if not uplifting this semester (read sarcasm). Next week is finals week and, of course, I have one for every class - yay for blue books!!
On the plus side, that means that I have exactly 10 days until I am home!! While I can't complain, the past 4 months have been incredible and I wouldn't trade it for anything, I am so ready to be home. There are definitely things that I will miss about Italy, probably the food more than anything, but I think the thing that I will miss the most is the accessability of Europe. I love the States, but there are many things that Europe has done so much better than we have. Even with that though, there are many American things I miss: my American-size apartment, the understanding that smoking can kill you, a concept of time (at least in regards to some things), mexican food, In-N-Out, seafood (both good quality and Ivar's - D, I want a ride on the Belafonte, or its replacement if it comes to that, to dinner this coming spring/summer), and, of course, all the people!! My Washington withdrawals have been so bad lately that I have literally been dreaming of Seattle - I can't wait to be home!!
Okay, time to put my nose back to the grind stone and write this final paper so that I can start studying for finals - woohoo!! Hope all is well Stateside and the holiday spirit is strong - looking forward to it looking and feeling like Christmas!!
Ciao, ciao!!
*Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I am lazy and, quite frankly, there really aren't many/any.
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