Apologies for my temporary failures

It seems that I have been failing at everything techonolgy related lately. Blogging, journaling for myself, uploading/tagging/captioning pictures, and everything else that links me to home...my bad.

But here's a little update about life before I set off for what may be the 3 most productive weeks of my life....travel-wise at least.

Thursday I leave for Dublin, then head to Galway to see the Cliffs oh Moher, then back to Dublin for a few days. Then I hop over to London & hopefully squeeze in Broadway! After that I travel alone in Europe for the first time to meet Katie in PORTUGAL! I fly into Faro then head to Lagos. Then finally at the end of the week head back to Verona for a whole 4 days. (Possibly less if we decide to take a day adventure for extreme sports in either Interlaken or Lake Garda...keep your fingers crossed). Then April 2 we're off again TO GREECE! We are spending my 21st in Santorini then taking a ferry to Athens for a few days. And finally we fly to Rome and take a train up to Cinque Terre for a weekend of camping & hiking! Let me tell you that's a mouthful to explain & is going to be the most exhausting three weeks of my life!

By the way my birthday is April 6th mark your calanders so you can allow at least a week for your presents to actually reach me ;)

But all of that is what's to come, here is what's been going on...

Friday we had Unofficial and we got up to start the festivities a 9am. We had Sweedish crepes and Sangria for breakfast and from there quickly switched over to Mexican guac & chips. Sadly we didn't have tequila with it but we made do with vodka.

Sunday we had a Claudio trip to Lake Garda. We spent hours just exploring the towns on the lake and we all decided that's a life we could easily live. Everything was so much more calm and slow there than in real life. I could get used to that life vry quickly. After that we took a cable car up the mountains and saw some of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. It was like entering an entirely different universe with snow-covered mountains and quaint lodges where everyone knows everyone else. If I weren't such a horrific skiier than I could get used to that life too. We spent most of the day doing photo shoots with all the beautiful scenery. By the last town we started losing steam and after our mad dash for much needed gelato, we found a park and a new way to entertain ourselves. Sometimes acting like a kid again is just what you need to refresh your perspective and replenish your energy. We played the couch game, which is where everyone anonymously switches names. You then have to call name to figure out who is who and get your team to your bench. It kept us entertained for a few hours until dinner. We all LOVE Claudio dinners because it means at least a 4 course meal and an almost endless supply of free wine! (Have I bragged about this before?!) This mean didn't disappoint, complete with one of my favorites...risotto! And of course red & whine wine and coffee after dinner (my new appeciation). We played some of our favorite bus games: 20 questions & Would you Rather..? all the way home!

This week was "light" for school....as if it could be any easier. We didn't have photography and for business tomorrow we have a fieldtrip to a Candy factory! So now all that's left for me this week is to get graded on my chocolate-eating abilities. I forsee it going well.

I'm so excited though because tomorrow morning Claudio's wife, Rita, is taking me and Ashley to the hair salon she goes to so we can get our hair dyed!! I'm nervous because of the whole I freak out if my hair isn't dark enough and language barrier thing. But hopefully everything wil work out fine! It has to because after my hair appointment I go on the fieldtrip and then Claudio drops me, Lauren & Maura off at the train station so we can catch our train to our plane to Dublin!

So I better go pack, wish me luck!! I'm attempting to fit 11 days into one backpack. If I accomplish this, I will consider myself a fully functioning adult because up until I moved to Verona I have been notorious for overpacking unnecessary items for every trip. So overcoming it will do wonders for my future travelling :)