Crossing the Atlanic

Its hard to believe that its already Thursday and I have only 2 days left on the ship. I will arrive in Boston early Saturday morning and then get off the ship sometime in the early afternoon. (I'll have cell phone reception as soon as I get into the harbor, so text/call me that morning!) I'm staying overnight in a hotel and then flying early the next morning back to Texas, where my mom is meeting me to help me get moved into my new house. Its going to be a crazy week from here out!

I finished finals today, and I think they went well. I'll find out my grades by Friday I believe, so keep your fingers crossed that I got straight A's! These last few days on the ship are basically fun days...tonight there was a crew talent show that was really fun to see. Tomorrow is the Alumni Ball which I am so excited for. Its a formal event so everyone will get dressed up, and then have a formal five course dinner at 8:30 pm. From what I have heard, the food we are served is amazing, so I am excited to have a good meal! After dinner there is music and dancing on the deck. It should be a really fun night! The next morning I will be packing away, trying to squeeze everything into my suitcases. Its going to be a challenge considering how much stuff I bought in Morocco!

This whole experience has been amazing, but I am glad to be going home. Its a little bittersweet though; I have met some amazing people who I am going to miss spending time with, but I also am anxious to get back to my friends and family at school and home. Hopefully I will be able to stay in touch with everyone I am close with on the ship and have a reunion in a few years!

I just wanted to fill you all in about where I am, but don't worry I am still working on my Morocco blog and it will be up shortly! I can't wait to see you all! And thanks for follwing my blog, I hope you all enjoyed reading about my travels this summer :)

Istanbul, Turkey

I will start off by saying that I really did not know what to expect from Turkey. I had heard there were some beautiful historical places, but that it would be a bit scary for girls, especially blonde blue-eyed girls like me, to walk around the city of Istanbul. I was actually pleasantly surprised by my experience in Turkey, and it is a place I would love to go again!

We spent our first day in Istanbul at the Spice Markets and the Grand Bazaar. The Spice Market is full of vendors selling all different spices, tea, and Turkish delight candy. It was really fun to just wander around looking at everything. The shop owners are constantly trying to get you to come in their stores and try their Turkish delight or their apple tea (which Turkey is famous for). It’s a little hectic but it’s a very fun experience to shop in the markets. After a few hours there, we headed to the Grand Bazaar to do some more shopping. The Grand Bazaar is a huge area that is full of all different types of vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine: leather, pottery, jewelry, purses, scarves, shoes, and so much more. As you walk around and start looking at things, you start figuring out what kind of prices you should be paying and there is lots of bartering involved when you buy something. For example, I wanted to buy two scarves and the vendor told me that they were 30 Lira each. That is way too much to pay for a scarf, so I told him I would pay 10 Lira for each scarf. He laughed and told me they were “good quality” so that was too little to pay, so I told him I didn’t want them anymore. Of course he wanted my business so he followed me as I walked away and told me I could have them for the price I wanted. (Each time I bartered I got better at it, and by the time we got to Morocco I was getting things for ridiculously low prices!) So the Grand Bazaar was really fun and just awesome to see. After shopping, we headed back to the ship to get ready for the night. I had a field trip for my history class to see a Sufi Dervish show (also called Whirling dervishes). It was so interesting to see…basically these dervishes spin in circles very elegantly for about 30 minutes while music is being played. It is a religious act and a way for Muslims to communicate with Allah. The show was like nothing I have seen before, and it was really cool to get an inside look to the Muslim culture. After the show, we found a Hookah bar that was along a big bridge that connected two sides of Istanbul and had drinks and Hookah with about 20 other Semester at Sea people.

The next day, we decided to take a ferry across the bay to the other side of Istanbul, which is considered to be in Asia. (We all thought it would be fun to say we went to Asia also!) It was really nothing very exciting but we did find a great place to have lunch. After our little trip to Asia, we went to the Turkish Baths. I had heard from many people that I absolutely had to go to the Turkish bath, so my friends and I decided to try it out. We found one that came highly recommended, but had no idea what to expect. After we paid for the bath, they instructed us to go upstairs, where we were given a locker to put our clothes in and a pair of new underwear to put on. At first we were all a little self-conscience walking around in our underwear, but there were at least 50 other women there doing the same thing so we just got used to it. Once we were undressed, they sent us into the “bath room” where Turkish women who worked there instructed us to lay down on our towels on this huge stone slab in the middle of the room. The room was steaming, much like a sauna. There were women lying all over the stone getting scrubbed by the women who worked there. When my turn came, the woman came up to me and dumped a huge bucket of water over my head. I had no idea what to expect, so I just relaxed and went with it. She then started scrubbing me from head to toe with soap and some sort of scrub brush. After that, she brought me into a side room where she dumped more water over my head and then washed my hair. Next, she sent me to the pools, where we could sit in the hot water or the cold water for as long as we pleased. I spent a good amount of time just relaxing there, and then went back inside to get a massage. The massage was amazing- definitely the highlight of my Turkish bath experience. Once we were all finished, we showered and got dressed. It was definitely like nothing I have ever done before, but I would love to go again! The Turkish baths were quite an experience! After the baths, we went back to the ship and then went to an area called Taxim Square that is known to have a fun nightlife.

Our third day, we spent hours and hours walking around two beautiful sights in Istanbul: the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The Hagia Sophia was absolutely beautiful. It was built in 537 and started out as a Byzantine Church. The church was later converted to a Mosque when the Muslims came to power, but amazingly enough, many features of the church are still there. They had beautiful mosaics of Christ and Mary in the upstairs area that has been there for hundreds of years. I loved seeing that! After the Hagia Sophia, we went to visit the Blue Mosque. It was really amazing to be able to actually step inside and see what it is like to be Muslim and to see how they worship. We had to take our shoes off, cover our arms and legs, and wear a scarf to cover our hair. Once we were inside, we just spent a lot of time watching the people pray. It was very intriguing because of how different a mosque works than a church.

On the fourth day, I went to the Topkapi Palace with two friends. The Topkapi palace was the home to the Sultans during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. It was absolutely beautiful. I really can’t describe it, so I will put pictures up when I get a chance. I think it was my favorite site in Istanbul though!

The last day in Istanbul, I went back to the Spice Markets to do some last minute shopping. I bought lots of apple tea and a type of tea called love tea. I also bought Turkish delight (lots to share too!) and a really neat tea set. I was sad to leave Istanbul after having such an amazing time. It was just so different than every other place I had seen on this trip. I will definitely go back again someday!

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that Ramadan began while we were in Turkey. Because Turkey is a primarily Muslim country, there would be broadcasts at certain times throughout the day that could be heard all over the city. These broadcasts were calls to prayer, and Muslims were to go to a mosque or even stay where they were sometimes, and pray. During Ramadan, Muslims fast all day and cannot eat until the sun sets at night. This goes on for an entire month. Being in a Muslim country during such an important religious holiday was a great experience that I really learned a lot from.

Bulgaria

So I have been very busy these last few weeks and terrible about updating my blog! So sorry to everyone that follows it and has been looking for updates on my whereabouts. We are currently sailing back across the Atlantic Ocean on our way back to the United States. But before I talk about that, I want to go back and tell you about the last few ports I visited, starting with Bulgaria.

When I first found out we were going to Bulgaria, I wasn’t too excited. I knew nothing about it except that it was in Eastern Europe, and that honestly scared me a little bit. Nobody really knew what to do in Bulgaria, so we just decided to not make any plans and see what happened. When we arrived in Varna, I wasn’t too surprised to see that we were the only large ship in the port. Apparently Varna, Bulgaria is not a place of interest to most cruise liners (not the most desirable coastal city). But we all decided to just embrace where we were and make the best of it. Our ship was actually docked in a great location, and the beach was about a 5-minute walk from the gangway to our ship.

The first day, I spent my time laying on the beach and enjoying some free time to just relax. The beaches weren’t the best, but they were still very nice. (There were some beaches that we heard about a little further up the coast that were supposed to be amazing and have golden sand, but we never made it up there.) After relaxing on the beach all day, we headed back to the ship for dinner (we had been told to be careful eating the food in Bulgaria so we wouldn’t get sick). So after dinner, we ventured out to see what kind of nightlife Varna had. We first went to the beach where there were beach bars that lined the sand. After that, we headed down to an area that had a couple nightclubs. We went to a club called Extravaganza and I had a great time dancing! I stayed up until the sun rose the next morning and it was amazing! (Except I was completely exhausted the next day!) The great thing about this trip is being able to do things like that and not have to worry about anything else. I know I won’t ever be able to do things like stay up all night walking along the beaches on the Black Sea again, so I’m glad I embraced it while I had the chance.

The next day, I decided to go to the beach and then wander the city a little bit. We found a frozen yogurt place in the city center and I was so excited to have something that reminded me of home. That evening we went to the beach bars again and just hung out and sat on the beach with lots of other people socializing.

Our third day, we had a trip planned through Semester at Sea. We took a bus up to the city of Balchik, where we got a guided tour of the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful and I got many amazing pictures that I will post as soon as I get the opportunity. After visiting Balchik, we went to a little town called Kaliakra, where we walked out on a peninsula and got some amazing pictures. After that, our whole group went to a traditional Bulgarian dinner and show. It was…interesting to say the least. The food was definitely different and nothing I was too fond of, but I’m glad I tried it. But the real highlight of the night was the show…it started with a more traditional dance show, but then things got strange when a giant slinky crept out onto the stage. Yes, really, a giant slinky, probably about 8 feet tall. The slinky proceeded to dance and change shapes for about 5 minutes. It was definitely like nothing I have seen before…not really sure if that is a normal thing in Bulgaria? Somehow I don’t think so! The show ended with a fire dance where a girl walked across burning coals and danced, which was pretty crazy to see!

The last day, we spent our time wandering around Varna. We saw the Cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful and then went to the Grand Mall to do some shopping. Overall, Bulgaria was a fun port, but not really somewhere I would care to return to. I am glad I went though, because it was just so different than everywhere else, and honestly, when would I ever get the chance to go somewhere like Bulgaria again?

GREECE

I can’t believe we have already been to 4 ports and have only 3 left! Time is just flying by now. We are now in Varna, Bulgaria, but we can’t get off the ship until tomorrow morning because we have classes today. We left Athens, Greece two days ago, and sailed past Istanbul, Turkey last night and onto Bulgaria. Istanbul was absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait until we get to go there in a few days. Its so hard to pick a favorite place, because each one is just so different and amazing.

Before I keep talking about how excited I am for these last 3 ports, I will tell you about Greece! We were there for 4 nights and 5 days, and it was so much fun. The first day, we went into the center of Athens to see all of the historical places. I spent the morning at the Acropolis and got some great pictures at the Parthenon. It was so interesting to see all of these sites that have been around for thousands of years. Hard to believe they are still standing, but, I saw it with my own eyes so I know its true! After the Acropolis, we went down the hill to the Theatre of Dionysus. That’s the theatre where “theatre was born.” It was pretty cool to think that the ancient Greeks would sit in the very stands we sat in, and watch performances by famous Greek tragedy writers. After that, we went on to find some lunch, hoping to have a traditional Greek meal. We found a great restaurant where I tried Soulvaki for the first time, and fell in love with it! In case you aren’t familiar with Greek food, Soulvaki is mean (either chicken, pork, or lamb) on skewers, served on a pita with taztiki and vegetables. Since I am a little bit picky when it comes to trying new foods, I was a little worried about ordering this, but I was so glad I did! We ended up eating Soulvaki for almost every single meal we had in Greece. After lunch, we walked to the Acropolis Museum, which was really amazing. They had all of the statues that had been taken off of the Parthenon over the years, as well as many other Ancient artifacts. The museum is really cool because when your standing inside, the floor is clear glass and you can see excavations going on below you.

Oh and how could I forget, while we were at the museum, we noticed that there were a ton of security guards. At first we thought maybe it was normal, but there were just so many that I began to wonder why they were all there. Well, sure enough, a very important person was coming to the museum that day: America’s own Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Not that I am her biggest fan, but it was still very cool that she was going to be in the very same museum as I was. We ended up leaving about 20 minutes before she arrived because we had to catch a bus back to the ship, but many other Semester at Sea students decided to stay, and got to shake her hand.

The night, we found a nice restaurant right on the water, where we had dinner. After we met up with a few other friends and went to this fun bar/lounge place where I had a delicious coffee drink. It was funny to see, but there were just as many people in the bar drinking frozen frappaccino type drinks as people drinking alcohol! Very interesting! We decided to call it an early night and headed back to the ship after having coffee.

We had to wake up very early the next morning to catch our ferry to the island Mykonos. It was a 3 ½ hour ferry ride, and let me tell you, the ferries were not what I expected! In my mind, a ferry is a small boat where you sit outside on benches. I was very wrong, and I am grateful for that, because 3 ½ hours is a long time to sit outside in the middle of the ocean. Instead, the ferry was almost the size of the MV Explorer! We had really comfortable seats indoors with air-conditioning and TV. It was actually a very pleasant ride! Once we arrived in Mykonos, we wandered around until we found out where our hotel was. We were pleasantly surprised to find our hotel was very nice, and overlooked the ocean and had a beautiful infinity pool we could relax in. We spent the day swimming and enjoying the amazing view, and then headed into town to find a place to eat dinner. As we were just arriving in Mykonos town, all of the lights on the entire island went out! We were literally in complete darkness! It was so scary for a minute, but then a few places got light back, so we were not in complete darkness anymore. But most of the island was still dark! We found a restaurant that had electricity still, and decided to eat there. As we were eating, the rest of the lights finally came back on, and we were amazed to see how lovely the town was. Everything was just as you would imagine Greece to be: little white buildings with bright blue roofs and doors. So adorable! We had a great dinner and I got to try Greek yogurt (which I didn’t think I liked) for the first tiem in actual Greece, and I found out that I loved it! They put honey on it, and it was like eating dessert; so delicious. After dinner, we walked around town and found the area where all of the nightlife was. We ran into several other Semester at Sea people before heading back to our own hotel to get some sleep.

The next morning, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast that the hotel provided. Then, we decided to head into town to ship around a little and find the famous Paradise Beach. It took us quite some time to get to the beach because we kept getting lost, but we had a great time regardless. We ran into a few friends from the ship, Erik and Sirkan, and went to Paradise Beach with them. There was a really fun beach club there that is world famous, so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the beach!

We were so sad to leave Mykonos the following morning. The island was beautiful and I could have easily spent a few more nights there. We hopped back on the ferry around 12 pm, and sailed back to the mainland. We were all worn out from Mykonos, so naps were not an option, but a need! After sleeping for a few hours, we headed into town to go to a Karaoke bar. Pretty much every Semester at Sea student was there, and we spent the night singing songs and dancing. It was so much fun!

The last morning in Greece, we were too tired to do much of anything since we had stayed out until nearly sunrise! We all slept in, and then went to buy a few souvenirs and stock up on snacks for the ship. We left the port at 8 pm that evening, and set sail for Bulgaria.

Overall, Greece was wonderful! I really just didn’t know what to expect from it. My only preconceptions about Greece were what I have seen in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! Greece definitely met all of my expectations though! Lets hope Bulgaria will do the same, although I really don’t have any expectations for Varna because I just don’t know much about it! I’ll be sure to update you all soon on Varna!

Croatia Pictures...More to come!!

Favorite Italy Pictures

Making a wish at the Trevi Fountain in Rome!

Love these girls so much!

Florence, Italy

Amazing dinner our last night in Rome

Florence

Theta Love at the Collisium

Blessed

It is hard to believe that this amazing journey I am on is already half way over. It seems like just a week ago we were boarding the MV Explorer to begin our trip around the world. Time has flown by! At the beginning of all this, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I would see many amazing places and have a great time, but I had no idea all of the other things I would feel and experience.

This trip is so much more than just getting to go to a handful of fun foreign places. It has become a life lesson that I have already learned so much from. I have learned that traveling is not just about sightseeing, but about learning and experiencing the culture of the people in each country we visit. I have learned that when in doubt, try something new, whether it be eating something I never thought I would like or jumping off the balcony of a boat 20 feet above the water.

I have also been made very aware of how truly blessed I am to live in the United States. We really take our freedom and rights for granted in the U.S. and this trip has made me very aware of how lucky I truly am. There are people all over the world who are deprived of their basic freedoms, don’t have money to put food on their table, or have no roof over their heads when they sleep at night. In Greece, as well as several other places we have been, I saw children, very young children, standing on streets alone trying to sell seashells they collected along the beach, toys, or other small trinkets. Imagine people in the U.S. sending their 6-year-old out to a busy street corner in Los Angeles, and expecting them to sell things to tourists. People would be appalled at this. These are children who are expected to act like adults, and help bring in an income for the family. What kind of childhood is that? Surely, it is not one I would ever want for my own children, and thankfully, I will never have to put my children through that. I have spoken with a young woman from Pakistan, who described the fear she feels every single time she walks outside her front door in her country: fear of being raped, fear of being shot, fear of being mocked, fear of being killed, fear of never having the right to her own decisions regarding her marriage. Its hard to even imagine what it would be like to have to worry about such things. Her basic fears are things we take for granted in the United States, but things I will now have a new appreciation for because I met her.

Where I am really going with all this, is just to say that I have become blatantly aware of what a wonderful life I have been blessed with. This journey has already made me grow in my faith, as I have realized the beauty of this world God created, as well as the hope that he can give people all over this world who are suffering and living in fear. When I was in Croatia, all I could think every time I stepped outside was how in awe of God I truly was, and am. I couldn’t help but wonder how a person could not believe in a God, when such beauty is everywhere around us. Just starting at the ocean from the cliffs in Dubrovnik, it is so obvious to me that nobody other than our amazing Father could have created such a thing. I know that I came on this trip not only to experience the world, but to grow in my faith. I have been blessed beyond measure, and I will always be grateful for this opportunity.

My most favorite place so far

Where do I even begin telling you all about Croatia? To say the city of Dubrovnik was beautiful and amazing just would not do justice. The word fairytale is more appropriate when describing the Old City in Dubrovnik. It was truly like nothing I have ever seen before except in the fairytales I watched as a child.

When we first arrived in Croatia on July 11, I was amazed to see how beautiful the hills were, scattered with old houses that overlooked the Adriatic Sea. My first destination in Croatia was an orphanage in an area just past the Old City. We traveled there by bus, and as we drove there, I was amazed at the beauty I could see everywhere. I really can’t even put into words what Dubrovnik looks like. Pictures cannot even do justice, but I suppose they will have to do for now, until you can all have the opportunity to go see Croatia for yourself one day! When we arrived at the orphanage, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well kept it was. The orphanage is in a beautiful stone house with a large complex surrounding it with trees, grass, and places for the children to play. The orphanage looks over the ocean, as most of the property in Dubrovnik does. I was a little bit surprised to find out that most of the children there were not actually true orphans.  They all had parents, but their parents were not suited to take care of them. The woman who ran the orphanage explained that most of their parents were mentally ill, abusive, or negligent toward them, so they were taken away. It was strange to be calling these children orphans since they did actually have parents. But she explained that most of them are able to be adopted by a new family, and start a new life with more suitable parents.

After leaving the orphanage, we went to the hospital that is located in Dubrovnik to see the pediatric ward there. It was eye opening to see the conditions in the hospital- the rooms were very barren, nothing seemed very sanitary, air conditioning was limited, and sick children lay in their beds alone without any toys or someone to keep them company. It made me realize how lucky we are in the U.S. to have such a great healthcare system. Although these children were receiving treatment, the conditions they lived in could not possibly have been helping them to get better. On a more positive note though, the doctor we met was absolutely wonderful, and kept telling us how much she adored her job and did not care that she did not make much money (Doctor’s in Croatia make less then doctors in almost every other European country). It was refreshing to meet someone like her who just wanted to serve and help others.

After the hospital and orphanage visit, we went back to the ship. I got my things packed up and then headed into the Old City with two friends, Amanda and Megan, to find the apartment we would be staying in for the next three nights. To get into the city, you have to go in one of the three main entrances, and walk through huge arches made of stone. There are walls that completely surround that city that were built hundreds of years ago for protection, and still stand today. Our apartment was right off of the main street in the city, called Stradun. It was the best location we could have asked for! Once we got settled, we decided to go and find some dinner. We ate at this great Italian place (no I guess I didn’t get enough Italian food in Italy!) and I had a delicious pizza. We then headed back to the apartment to meet up with the rest of our friends who were staying with us:  Tiffany, Cassidy, and Rene. Then we all went to this nightclub called Fuego, and danced late into the night!
The next day, we headed down to the beach to go swimming. We quickly discovered that sand beaches are hard to come by in Croatia, and most beaches are made of rock! We ended up at a beach that was known for great cliff jumping, and spent most of the day there swimming and watching people jump from the cliffs (I was too scared to do it myself). The water was beautiful, and you could see this island just a short distance from the coast called Lokrum. After spending the day swimming, we headed back to our apartment to get ready and have dinner. We found a really yummy place that had traditional Croatian food, and I had something called a Dalmatian ribsteak. It was a type of steak cooked in a traditional Dalmatian style (Dubrovnik is located in an area of Croatia called the Dalmatian Coast). It was great! After dinner, we went to meet up with other Semester at Sea kids and headed to a night club on the beach called East West. It was so much fun!

The following morning, we got up early to take a boat with about 30 other people to 3 islands off the coast of Croatia. We spent all day out there, and it was so much fun! I was left even more amazed at the beauty of the country. We spent the day swimming in the Adriatic, jumping off the balcony of the ship, exploring the islands, and getting a glimpse of local life. It was really a wonderful day, maybe even the best day I have had on this trip! After the boat went back to the mainland, we headed up to our apartment to get ready and then meet up with friends to celebrate our friend Amy’s 21st birthday! We went out to a restaurant and, again, had great food, then headed to yet another amazing nightclub. This one was called Revelin, and was in an old fortress that was built hundreds of years ago!

And finally, the last day was upon us, and we were all dreading leaving Croatia. We spent the morning shopping and then the afternoon at the beach and cliff jumping. At the last possible minute, we headed back to the ship. Everyone seemed to feel the same way about leaving Croatia! I think I could have literally stayed there for another month and been perfectly content. I will most definitely be going back there someday, and hopefully someday soon!

Italia

We are now back on the ship and heading to Greece. We boarded last night in Dubrovnik, Croatia and will be arriving in Greece in two days. I haven’t posted anything about Italy yet, because I have been so busy with school! We have had two class days and they have been very busy with homework and papers due on things that we saw in Spain and Italy. I’ll get to Croatia eventually too, after I finish blogging about Italy! Since we were there so long, I am just going to break it up day by day, so read on!

Day 1: I already talked about this day a little bit, so I won’t say much more. I woke up in Naples feeling awful, and ended up having a stomach virus. I stayed on the ship all day, and after seeing the doctor and getting some medicine, I felt a little better. When my friends got back from Sorrento, I joined them for dinner in Naples. We walked around for awhile until we found a restaurant that looked good. The city is definitely nothing to exciting, and I don’t have intentions on ever going back to Naples, but it wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be. I heard from numerous people that Naples was disgusting, and they hated it, but I don’t think I would use quite as strong of words. It wasn’t anything extremely exciting, but I enjoyed the day and half I was there! After going to dinner (and not eating, in fear of getting sick again), we went in search of gelato. We found a great place that had delicious looking gelato, so I decided to try eating that. Thankfully I didn’t feel sick after it, and it was wonderful! Italy definitely knows how to make their gelato. Afterwards, we all headed back to the ship and I went to bed, in hopes that I’d wake up feeling much better in the morning!

Day 2: I woke up early that morning feeling so much better. Still not quite 100%, but definitely a huge improvement. I got up and got packed, and then we headed into town to find some lunch. After lunch, we hopped on a bus to the train station. Somehow we ended up at the wrong station, but we eventually found our way and got to the main train station in Naples. This was our first ticket-buying experience, so we all weren’t quite sure what we needed to do, but it ended up being pretty easy. After we got our tickets, we found some snacks and gelato, and then got on the train toward Rome! We thought we were doing just wonderful until the conductor came by and asked for our tickets. He told us in broken English that we hadn’t gotten them stamped, and we could get fined for it. We all started to freak out a little bit because we had paid only 15 euros for each ticket, and the fine could be up to 50 euros! Thankfully, he never ended up coming back, so we got away with it, and definitely learned our lesson! Once we arrived in Rome, we went in search of our apartment. There were 8 of us total (Tiffany, Rene, Cassidy, Megan, Serkon, Ally, and Andrew). Our apartment was only supposed to have 6, so while the girls checked in, the boys hid around the corner! The apartment was tiny but very cute! After getting settled, we went in search of a restaurant to have dinner at. We quickly found out that Italian men are very forward and flirty, and that you just have to kind of smile and act like you don’t hear them! Walking by all the restaurants was so funny because they have waiters outside trying to get you to eat there at every single one! We finally found a place that looked good, and sat down. I had my first Italian meal, lasagna, with a glass of the restaurants house wine. It was so good! There is definitely a big different when you get pasta in Italy verses the U.S.! After dinner, we started walking around and just exploring Rome a little bit. We found some building that looked like it should be some sort of monument or something important, but in fact wasn’t! Its amazing how every single building in Italy is so beautiful and unique and people would go crazy over it here in the U.S. After taking pictures at the not-so-famous but very cool building, we went in search of a bar or club where we could dance! We never found exactly what we were looking for, but we found a little place that we hung out at for the rest of the night. Around 3 am, we headed back to our apartment to get some sleep and get ready to see Rome the next day!

Day 3:  Happy 4th of July! We had a great day exploring Rome and seeing all the touristy sites. We got on a hop on hop off bus in the morning, and headed to the city center. Our first stop was this amazing building called the Monument of Victor Emmanuel II. It was really amazing, and from a terrace off of the building we could see over the entire city. We got some great pictures that I will put up soon! After that, we headed to the Pantheon. It was really awesome to see that, and after taking pictures there we went in search of Paninis. We found a great little café that had really good food, and I had my first real Italian panini. Such good food in Italy! After lunch, we hopped back on the bus and went to see the Coliseum. We had to wait in line to get in, but it was well worth it. Knowing that we were standing inside something that had been build over 2000 years ago was just incredible. It’s so hard to believe that people were capable of constructing something that amazing so long ago, but being there made it real! While we were there, we saw some kids who snuck down to the bottom area (where the gladiators would fight) and were skateboarding! They actually didn’t get caught for awhile and it was pretty funny to watch them down there. But needless to say, once they were spotted, they were kicked right out of the Coliseum. But hey, not too many people could say they have skateboarded on the ground that gladiators fought on 2000 years ago! After the Coliseum, we got back on the bus and went to see the Trevi Fountain. It was so, so beautiful. While we were there, a couple who had just been married and was still in their clothes from their wedding showed up, and had their first dance in front of the fountain. It was so cool to see that! They were so happy and in love; and what a romantic place to have your first dance! After gawking at the newlyweds, we wandered around until we found some gelato. It was amazing as always (I probably had gelato about 15 times while we were in Italy)! We then hopped back on our little tour bus and went back to our apartment. I packed my stuff up and then went over to stay with three girls I made friends with on the ship (Tina, Danielle, and Andy) at their hotel near the Pantheon. We found a cute little place to have dinner, and then went to Campo dei Fiori for some 4th of July festivities! Tina goes to UCLA and had a friend there who is from Rome, so we met up with him and his Italian friends and hung out with them all night. So much fun!

Day 4: After a late night out with the Italians we met, we were all exhausted! We woke up in Rome to find that it was pouring rain outside. Our Global Studies professor had told us that when it rains, the water comes through the dome at the top of the Pantheon, and its amazing to see it. So, taking his advice, we decided to run barefoot in the rain all the way to the Pantheon so we could experience it! But when we got there, we ran inside to find that there was some sort of glass on it, and rain didn’t come through! So disappointing! Regardless, it was fun running there in the rain and getting stares from all the locals we passed by, probably thinking about what crazy Americans we were. After that, we all showered to warm up, and then got ready to go to the train station and head to Florence! The train ride to Florence was beautiful; we saw miles and miles of sunflower fields and vineyards. I think I may have enjoyed the scenery on the way there almost as much as the actual city. From the train, we could see these little cities built on hilltops that were just so charming. Once we arrived in Florence, we had to go in search of a place to sleep. We had just decided to wing it, and hadn’t booked a hotel…bad idea! We searched for at least 2 hours, before finally arriving at a hotel on the outskirts of town where we begged the man at the front to let us stay there. They told us they had no room, but then, feeling bad for us, told us they would see what they could do. He came back to tell us they had a room in the back of the hotel that was very small, but we could have it if we wanted to. Relieved and exhausted, we happily took the room he offered us. Once we got settled, we decided to go out and explore a little bit and find a place to have dinner. We found this cute little hole in the wall that had great food. After dinner, we walked around for awhile until it was late, and then headed back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep.

Day 5: We woke up in the morning and had a great breakfast at the hotel. They had homemade cappuccinos for us, as well as pastries, cereal, fruit, and many other things. After breakfast, we got ready and then headed to the city center to see the sites of Florence! They city was extremely busy with tourists everywhere. We first went to the Duomo, and then to this beautiful bridge (I can’t remember what its called!) and took some great pictures there. After that, we went to this vintage market we had heard about that happens only twice a year, and spent a couple hours looking at all of these wonderful vintage things, like vintage Gucci bags, very old Channel jewelry, vintage dresses, shoes, and so many other really fun things. I really wanted to get a vintage purse, but opted not to because of the exchange rate with the euro (everything is so much more expensive for us Americans!) After the market, we had lunch at this great little place on a side street. They had the best Balsamic vinegar, and I had a delicious salad and bread with it. We spent the rest of the day just wandering around the city, shopping, eating gelato, and enjoying Florence, before heading back to the train station. We were all just exhausted, and decided to go back to the ship for the night and catch up on some sleep before going back to Rome the following day.

Day 6: I woke up feeling great and ready to head back into Rome and do some more exploring! We took a train into the city, and headed straight to the Vatican. Unfortunately we didn’t have a tour booked, so we knew it would take hours to get into the city. We decided to just visit St. Peter’s Basilica, which is a part of the Vatican you can get into for free without waiting in long lines. It was absolutely amazing to see that, and so beautiful inside. I got some wonderful pictures that are on my Facebook, and I will put some up here eventually too. After that, went back to the Trevi fountain, just to see it again. Then we explored the city a little more, did some shopping and then we went back over to Campo dei Fiori, where we had a great dinner at this lovely Italian restaurant right in the main square. I had a very traditional Italian meal: Spaghetti and tomato and basil along with a glass of Italian wine. It was definitely the best pasta I have ever had. Such good flavor! After dinner, we went across the plaza to a restaurant and bar called Sloppy’s, where we hung out for a few hours. Afterwards, we went back out to the center of the square and found a ton of other Semester at Sea kids there, so we hung out with them for the rest of the evening. We had intended to go back to the ship on a late train that night, so we hadn’t booked a hotel. But, being the silly Americans that we are, we didn’t think about the fact that the trains may not run all night, and we missed the last train to Civitavecchia. After all of us had a mini panic attack, we finally ran into two friends of Tina’s from UCLA who was studying abroad in Rome, and offered to let us stay in their apartment for the night. We graciously accepted and headed to their apartment and slept for a few hours before taking the 7 am train back to the ship. We were all, once again, absolutely exhausted, and I went straight to my room to sleep when we got back!

Day 7: Slept all day!

Sorry that was so long, I hope I didn’t bore anybody! I just don’t want to leave anything out! Lets just say that Italy was amazing. It was probably most amazing to me because of the history. It was just incredible to think that so many of the things we saw had been there for 1000-2000 years. What a beautiful country!

Just something I stumbled upon

So I was just reading one of my friends blogs, and I came across a post that she had put up a little while ago, and just wanted to share it with you all. Its a blog post from a pastor in Tennessee named Pete Wilson, who has some really great things to say. Its a blog about timing and waiting for God, and I think that is something we all struggle with. We all want things to happen on our time, not His. Go ahead and read it, I know that its something that is 100% applicable to every one of our lives. I hope you get as much out of his words as I did!

STUCK IN SATURDAY

by : Pete Wilson

"The other day I stood in line at my local coffee house. I was in a curious mood and just watched the four or five people in front of me as we stood in this unusually slow line. Their body language and facial expressions said it all. There were hands on the hips expressing disgust at the current inconvenience, some were rolling their eyes as they glanced up momentarily from texting on their cell phone, and there was the predictable looking at the watch and then looking at the line and then looking back at the watch.

Most of us do not like waiting for anything. We live in a day of fast everything and waiting for anything seems like a major inconvenience. I must confess I don’t like waiting either. I don’t like standing in line for my favorite cup of coffee, flipping though magazines in the waiting room of the doctor’s office and I sure don’t like waiting in traffic. And if I can just be honest with you, I don’t like waiting on God either.

Lewis Smedes described waiting like this: “Waiting is our destiny. As creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for, we wait in the darkness for a flame we cannot light. We wait in fear for a happy ending that we cannot write. We wait for a ‘not yet’ that feels like a ‘not ever.’”

This is what we often see in the anatomy of hope. There is an event that takes place that sucks the life out of you. Something goes horribly wrong:

A dream dies.

A relationship ends.

A job dissipates.

A desire is crushed.

You’re left there standing, waiting, paralyzed by hopelessness. You start to wonder…

Did God forget his promises?

Does God know?

Does God care?

Luke 23:44-49 44 It was about noon, and the whole land became dark until three o’clock in the afternoon, 45 because the sun did not shine. The curtain in the Temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, I give you my life.” After Jesus said this, he died.

47 When the army officer there saw what happened, he praised God, saying, “Surely this was a good man!”

48 When all the people who had gathered there to watch saw what happened, they returned home, beating their chests because they were so sad. 49 But those who were close friends of Jesus, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched.

Notice how Jesus’ closest followers react. The gospel account says they “stood at a distance and watched.”

Have you ever been so hopeless you couldn’t do a thing? You couldn’t get mad or fight or even cry? Have you ever felt so hopeless you didn’t have the energy or passion to even get ticked off?

I believe this is the emotional state of Jesus’ followers. Nothing seems to be happening. They feel hopeless, as if they’re completely alone.

Now, we know the end of this story. We know that God was in fact doing his best work yet. But there would be a waiting period.

It was Friday, remember, when Jesus was crucified. But the paralyzing hopelessness the disciples experienced continued to intensify as they moved into Saturday.

I think it’s interesting that we don’t talk a lot about Saturday in the church. We spend a lot of time talking about Good Friday, which of course we should. This is the day redemption happened through the shedding of Christ’s blood. It’s a very important day.

Nobody would argue that Easter Sunday is a day of celebration. We celebrate that Jesus conquered death so that we can have life. It doesn’t get any better than Easter Sunday.

But we don’t hear a lot about Saturday do we? Saturday seems like a day when nothing is happening. In reality, it’s a day of a whole lot questioning, doubting, wondering, and definitely waiting— a day of helplessness and hopelessness. It’s a day when we begin to wonder if God is asleep at the wheel or simply powerless to do anything our about our current problems.

While we don’t spend a lot of time talking about Saturday, I think so much of our life here on this earth is lived out feeling somewhat trapped in “Saturday.” I’m trying to get to a place in my life where I can embrace “Saturday.” I’m trying to get to a place where I can view it as a type of preparation for what I believe God might be doing in my life.

You may currently be in the midst of a horrible, out-of-control situation. You feel as if God is not there, that there’s nothing that can be done.

But here is the message of the gospel for you while you’re stuck in your helpless, hopeless Saturday life: God does his best work in hopeless situations.

We worship a God who specializes in resurrections. He specializes in hopeless situations. After all, at Easter, we celebrate the fact that he conquered death— the ultimate hopeless situation— so you could have life.

His followers were dejected and dismal and hopeless— and then Jesus rose from the dead. God did the impossible and in a matter of hours the disciples journeyed from hopeless to hope-filled; from powerless to powerful. They saw him risen and everything changed. The story of our salvation was born out of extraordinary uncertainty. But that’s the way hope works.

And no, that doesn’t take away your cancer.

That doesn’t erase the bankruptcy you’re in the midst of.

That doesn’t heal your broken relationship.

That doesn’t replace your shattered dream.

But it can remind you that while life is uncertain, God is not. While our power is limited, God is limitless. While our hope is fragile, God himself is hope.

Your world may feel chaotic, especially when you’re stuck in a Saturday struggling hopelessly and waiting desperately.

But no doubt about it, God is still in control. And one way or another, Sunday will dawn."

Dubrovnik, Croatia

We just arrived in the beautiful country of Croatia this morning. I am working on my post about everything I did in Italy, but its very long, so it will probably not be up for a few more days! I just wanted to let everyone know where we are now. I will have internet in my apartment that we rented in the Old City, so if you want to skype, now is the time!

You can find me on skype if we aren't already friends by searching: Alexandra Crowder or allie_crowder

I am loving Croatia already, it is so beautiful and so different than the other places we have been so far. The Old City is over 1000 years old and the original walls are still standing. Pretty incredible. We are going to walk the city walls tomorrow I think, so I will be taking lots of pictures and updating everyone soon!

La Boqueria

These pictures are from the market in Barcelona. I have lots more but these were just some of my favorites!

Just a Few Pictures from Spain

La Sagrada Familia

Fat Tire Bike Tour in Barcelona

Arc de Triomf

LOVE Barcelona