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Now to Siracusa!

So this coming monday is a national holiday in italia and therefore we all were given the option to travel. One of the boys in our group served his mission in the Catania Mission and so seven girls joined him to visit Sirucusa, Sicilia. We are staying with his buddy Toni the one i am dancing with. But first let me inform you that we took a total of about 13 hour bus rideto get the this party joint. Finally upon arrival we preped up and headed to the beach. The time there was spent cliff jumping, cave searching, avoiding speedos, and some serious sunage. We than purchased our goods and headed to have a baraque out in Eddy's familys cottage home (he is a professional biker, the guy with the blue shirt). That night we headed up to the discoteca, dropped a few beats, and bought ourselves some seriously non-acoholic beverages. Lesson learned from this day: italian men like the kisses, and expect it. Cameron (the boy in out SA) made me practice a few time because he said i did the double cheek kiss awkward. I have definitely improved though. O yea and Siracusa could definitly be a one hit wonder, i am in love with this divine place and its crazy people.

Firenze, woot woot!

Basically it rained the whole day in Florence and there were many people that, i quote, "should learn umbrella ediquette" as said by mary-ann the girl most quoted on this trip because of her slightly toasty attitude and opiniated ways, we love her. But no complients because wow. How else do i explain such magnitude. Wow once again is how i will appoarch an accruate explination. The David was the thing that most blew my mind, he was very . . . big. Also i must add the gelato there was m m good.

Ciao Clase

This is my italian class. This was our last day of class, and boy was it hard to say goodbye. No really it was hard, none of us really speak the same language and i think in those two weeks i learned more chinese than i did italian. My friend Paolo the one kneeling next to Rachael would always talk to us about the Jazz, Streetboy (some rapper) Panda Bears, and pistols. O yea and he asked me and Ray to go the the beach with him and Jason (the hard core looking one). But my favorite was Cezare he is the one that looks like the chinese version of Ron Weasley. I never understood one italian word that came out of his mouth, Paolo would have to translate for me in a little clearer but still butchered italian. But dont worry, we are all now friends on facebook.

Leaning Tower of . . .

Today was Pisa Day. We did have to go to school, but immediately after we headed to the adventurous town of Pisa. The train ride was full of many laughs, so much so that at one point i was to tears (as seeable above). These kids here are crazy. We got to the top of the tower and had to stand sideways to keep from falling, i know crazy stuff. No worries dude we made it and now we will be the one telling michaelangelo what's up. I dont really know what that means but sometimes i just wanna still to michelangelo cause that man has got serious skills when given a knife and stone. O and just for clarification he was not at all involved with the leaning tower.

The way we be chillin'

At night, after we have finished many hours of school or have just spent the day hard core shopping we normally all hang out together. Some times it is at the Piazza just sharing out first kiss stories for the fifteen time, or watching a movie at someone's apartment.

1st cooking adventure

Our first cooking class we learned how to make out own pasta, we made a delicous veal, a buonissima bruschetta with mushrooms and others with tomatoes and our meal finished with a strawberry desert. The whole cooking process lasted a beautiful 2 hours. And just like italians do it the eating process was also 2 hours. By the time dinner was over i heard a few people state they were hungry again because we had so much time between courses that it became all digested. Italians really know how to do it.

Cena

Our first sunday in Siena we invited the guys and Cinzia over for sunday dinner. We all brought part of it and than just cooked it together at me and Dani's apartment. Aint it cute. We like it. We each have our own room with queen size beds and the best part . . . a dish washer! dont be jealous

cut!

I needed a little change and the only person that i felt could really help was Mr. Siccors. We have been hanging out for a while now and i just asked him to go for it and Dani did a little.

Trevi Baby

We would occasionally go hang out at the Trevi, you know when we just want to chill n'stuff. Actually the guys challenged dani that night to dunk her head in the Trevi, she got 10 euro for it. Ero Celosa ma va bene perche ho scatato un bouno foto. O yea and if i havent told you i was given a rose by an italian man at the trevi, what more do you want from me!

Contro la Cellulite

Everyday while in italy we would pass the sign advertising, controlling your cellulite, as if italians had a problems with that. They dont need this stupid guam pill they have a better solution that works faster, it is called smoking. And it is a 95% guarentee and the only cost is 10 years of your life. I was hoping to be their need model. They said they would get back to me in three weeks.

My best buds

This is a picture of the two girls i spend too many freaking hours with, yes I sleep with them and eat with me and now as you can see in this picture we will grow old together. If you couldnt tell they are posing as a grandma and grandpa. If you didnt get that dont worry, most people dont get them either.

Rain Rain, you ruined our day

We got into Siena Saturday afternoon. The night was perfect. First we went grocery shopping and than of course ate gelato. We all planned to meet at the Piazza at 8:30 the following morning for church. As suspected, my two roommates and I awoke at 8:35. I booked it down to the Piazza to tell the group we were coming. When I got there they gave me directions to the church and Tommy gave me his cell phone just in case then they headed on their way. When I finally met up with the girls we attempted to follow the simple directions. we were having trouble. Once it hit 9:15 and we had declared ourselves lost the weather made us pay the consequence. Within seconds we were under a full sheet of rain.
And it kept raining, and raining, and well I think you get it. We spent an hour in that pouring rain until we heard a little buzzing in my purse and we realized I had been given a phone. Oops. Well if you want to know we did make it . . . about an 1 ½ hours passed 9. O and I think I forgot to mention as soon as we took our seats in Sunday school the skies were clear.

Goodbye

I now leave to Siena and hopefully with this new step of adventure i will be able to post pictures. and boy do i have pictures!! Ciao!!

Giorno Final

Today was scheduled to be beach day #2, but sadly the weather did not agree with our plans. On a brighter note Rome always has a back-up plan. Ours was the Basilica of San Pietro along with the dome, la migliore pizzeria, and a scavenger hunt. The Basilica was astounding. Almost completely Bernini and Baroque, the church was quite a massive sight to see. The reason it was built so grand and spacious was to, in a way, fear the people into believing. Because the church wanted to show you how small you are in comparative to the church so you need to come into the church for protection. But my favorite part of the morning was after hiking the 321 steps to the top of the dome in the Vatican and seeing over the city of Rome. It was astounding!! So beautiful, so old, and full of history that I had yet to discover. I suggest that all try and one day look over the city of Rome, it is quite a powerful feeling. . .


My friend Danielle was told by her mother, who had read it in the NY times, that the best pizzeria was in Rome, Forno Bakery. We only had general directions but with the help of a few patience autobus drivers and experiences Italian RMs. We discovered it. It was hiding in the corner of Piazza del Fiori, penso que si. That is the thing about Rome, the best clothing store, food, and pastry shop could be located in the most random places. Meaning, basically you have to eat at every place you pass, or you could be passing the greatest thing of your life. But it is okay for the Romans to do that because they walk so much and smoke every second that they can afford to eat like that. So I guess we discovered the answer to all our problems, smoking and walking. WOOT.
The day did not end there my friend. Since it was only 2pm and we didn’t want to go back and sit at the hotel the seven of us decided to jump on the nearest bus and get off on the fifth stop. While riding Melissa decided that we needed to do a scavenger hunt and find five things. First a Gelateria, second a Pizzeria, third a lingerie store, next a Smart Car and finally a Fountain. Probably the five most common things in Italy. We are pretty sure that each street contains those five essential ingredients, or it isn’t Rome. So if you are walking down a street and see those things good news you just entered the eternal city.

Bliss . . .

Hmm, can it be so astounding. How is it that all this art was done thousands of years ago and it still standing perfectly today. My professor seems to know a lot about each piece so I have a tendency to follow her around the museums and chapels. I feel like a leech but I think she accepts me for who I am. We have been seeing a lot of Baroque art and buildings. It is beautiful and really captures the eye. It expresses intense emotion and could really entertain you for hours. It is so different then our churchs, which helps to show the focus of the differing beliefs. It was such a contrast for me to spend one day in a simple building with a variety of people sharing testimony and than the next to be surrounded by breath taking art and to hear loud voices everywhere. Each appeal to a different audience. For some reason it just more displays for me the truthfulness of our church.

Nightly Adventures

It seems this study abroad group is getting more and more comfortable with one another. Cinzia has become all of our second moms (giving me hugs occasionally when I am feeling in need of a mother) and I think I have gained a few more sisters. We all stay up late each night sharing interesting romance stories and awkward moments. But my favorite night so far has been the night when I was chilling with my roommates and two of the guys dropped in to my room to chat. As I was getting into bed I asked them to tuck me, since my mom wasn’t here to. Weirdly they took it as a challenge and tucked me in harder than necessary. After becoming a cocoon I said, “wow if you had a rope around my top and legs there is no way I would be able to get out.” Instantly they both reached down and ripped off their belts and tightened me in. They said, “get out of that one.” Challenge accepted. As quickly as I could I shimmied off the bed and bounced to the door. After opening the door I tripped and rammed my head into the neighbors door, but didn’t stop there. I slid as far as a could to my friends hotel room but right before I reached her door the two boys had throw me back into my bed. I have made some eternal friends.

Eternally Roman

So I guess while in Rome I can’t upload pictures, so I will just have to wait until Siena. One week. But please let me inform you there is much to see and tell. Every person our professor selected for this group is amazingly unique. It seems that everyone gets along really well and each had their own unique story. So I totally fit in. Today we got to see the beautiful grounds at the Villa in Tivoli. There was many fontane (fountains) each one had significant meaning or representation. We all secretly wanted to swim in them but I think we might have scared the people of Italy, and believe me being individual is not something my group has a problem doing. After that we returned for dinner at the hotel and by dessert one of the boys in our group had the waiters sitting down at our tables and was serving them. We don’t really know how it all came about. The night was than spent with us all crammed in my bedroom and sharing out first kiss stories. It is interesting how from a simple first kiss story you can really get to know a person. But the best part of the night was after everyone had gone to bed and I ran down stairs to try and see if I could get on the internet. Down there I saw a few kids in the program talking to one of the waiters at the restaurant about the gospel. He was thoroughly interested and was asking intriguing questions. He told us he doesn’t smoke or drink and was interested in a Book of Mormon. How perfect.
In my honest opinion I think Italy could be ranked as #1 in all competitions. Just challenge it, and you will see.

Roman Life

Yes i am alive. I think everyone should know that Italy is amazing and accepts all types of people. Everyone here would feel accepted. This is about what you have missed out on. I have been talking a pretty poor Italian with my patient Italians in such places like the Colosseo, in Assissi, Pompeii, and in many cute pizzerias. For example yesterday I wanted to order foccacca for lunch and the woman working there spoke NO english. And I really don’t speak ANY Italian but we compromised, using hand sign language and me putting down some pretty intensive Italian one-sylabel-words. And the outcome: a great lunch with molti cheese!! The best part of my Italian attempts is at dinner. When the waiters come around to our table at the hotel dinner area, we try and tell them jokes in Italian. They laugh, not because of the joke, but more out of our attempt to speak Italian. Luckily they are patient. I even challenged my waiter by cheering on the opposing soccer team for the area. He wouldn’t serve me dinner after that. I think you all would be astounded at the beauty I get to see everyday. I don’t think it is fair that Italy has sucked all the beauty into their country and left us with driedness. rude. The landscape and homes are so enchanting, which brings up another point. All the girls here, in the study abroad, mainly talk about the movie enchanted and sing the songs all, day, long! Anyways back to the beauty. Another beautiful aspect is the language. I just can’t get over it. Please everyone come over here and see this amazing place.

Ciao!!

Well i am off to Rome. And I happen to end my London adventure with a little STOMP!!! They were incredible. It made me think of my crazy roommates Carly (cause she happens to be a stomper). We even got to take a picture with them after the show while they took their smokes. When we told them where we were from they said, "Utah Saints" with a very hic accent. Promising futures. LOVE YOU ALL!!

Delightful Walk

For my Friday's adventure i joined Whitlie and her group for their London Walks. They are given a map of a certain area in London and they have to visit specific building on the designated walk. Here Willy and I are suppose to be in meditation at St. Mary's Chapel. I don't think meditation is necessarily our best talent. Don't worry we had about 100 more chapels to practice in.

Hey Sexy Lady

On our walk we found Venus posing quite scandalously. You might think, "Reagan how could you pose next to her rear!" but i think if you saw my other angle options, you would offer many thanks. Plus you have to admit she has a nice caboose. I think Nemo's friends said it best when they said, "(s)he touched the butt"!

Such Pressure . .

During our walk we caught a glimpse of an intense game of Wizard's Chess. It was in the middle of a few businesses, so i guess men met up with each other during their lunch break and really pull out their top game, you know get some exercise out during the day. I wasn't sure who was going to win, it was a super close game. I am thinking they will need to call a rematch on their coffee break.

A worthy temptation

The walk seemed to be going alot slower than necessary. They kept getting distracted by the silliest things. I mean come on would this tempt any of you?

Lunch Break

These are my new friends that i joined on the London walk with. They were all pretty sweet, i think i will keep them. We needed to take a lunch break before we started a new walk and this is the place we chose. It seemed to be the place to be since EVERYONE was there (but the queen, gone on important business).

Dance Party

I joined the London Study Abroad for a Singles Ward Dance. It was off the eezy!! I danced so hard that today i was sore, yea believe it. These are just a couple of the friends i made. So probably half the people there were BYU students but everyone there was partying like we were in London, which we totally were. I learned a couple new sweet dance moves, was able to practice my accents with some authentic brits and best of all made a complete fool of myself, and here is how.
So there was about 5 black guys doing this dance they all knew together in the front while everyone was watching them. I totally wanted to learn their dance and they seemed like everlasting friends so i went up and joined them. So picture 5 pretty big dudes breaking it down and a white chick (accompanied by her white friend Whit) trying to keep up. Not a pretty picture. Eventually i told myself everyone in the audience was annoyed by my exceptional moves and i raced to the back of the chapel, only to continue dancing next to my new British posy.
The night was a absolute bliss!

A sweaty finish

Since me and whitlie are accustomed to doing things in a threesome, especially with a girl named Jane, we searched and found a new Jane in Wiskey's London group. So here is a picture of Jane, Whit, and Reagan after dancing our hearts out. No seriously i think i was having heart failure after that dance, maybe something to do with London air.

Finishing Day

On my final day in London i thought it would best be served with a Broadway and some shopping at the street market, Portobello. Since me and Whitlie's mornings were sadly delayed we missed any chance of finding tickets to Les Mis and thus sadly trotted to Portobello with no plans for the night. But Portobello offered some interesting tales. I head more italian than i have heard all week and i constantly found myself leaning into people's conversation to see if i could catch a note of what they were saying. but before i had an time for translation i was butted out with rude glances. I can't understand why Italians vacating to London don't want a pushy American shoved in their face? Well, ending your trip is always a sad thing to do. So i won't i will just fly to Rome tonight! woot!

A Truly London Day

This morning was a rusher. I had an appointment with destiny! I was to be initiated into real London society. First i was to meet up with my aunt at the British Museum where she was to indulge me in the tales of ancient history and enlighten me with stories of royalty. I was all ears to her.

After an education feast at the museum i set off my lonesome to visit the everlasting Kensington Gardens! What adventures lied there for me. I felt like each new road I turned on was whispering songs of delight. One could feel right at ease in a place like that. As you can see my feet were just bashful as the sight of such beauty!

After daintily walking through the Orangery alone, I was than accompanied by William III ( he told me this was his best angle) through the Kensington Palace. He was just a doll!! Telling me stories of his childhood there and the cruel tricks he would play on his poor mother. But i never mind it, for i found him to be as sweet as a plum tree. We plan to meet up again soon. As soon as he can take a break from his duty, you know royalty is a true burden on a soul.

O Rubbish!

I finished up my adventures in Kensington gardens by pulling out my inviting murder mystery book and indulging in a few chapters at the Italian gardens, next to some very polite swans. (Sherie and Ted I believe their names are.)

What light through yonder window breaks

After a quick rest Alex and I headed off to the theatre to see a fascinating performance of Romeo and Juliet. Bravo!! it was splendidly delivered and I truly believe i exited a true Brit. I was captured with the brawls and enthralled with the beautiful delivery of Juliet's unexpected death. Yet after the truly heart wrenching performance I was still missing my Office which i should have been watching back home. Cheerio!

An Interesting Night

So last night as i was sitting in the living room of our flat i pulled out a cook book and started scanning if for interesting recipes. In my search for a delicious snack i discovered Brits are pretty funny. They constantly use words like rubbish and poppycock (well not really poppycock) in their recipes. So my new ambition is to be a British chef. I feel cut out for the job as soon as a get a little practice with my lingo yo.

Secondly in the middle of the night around, say 2 am, i was watching a BYU ward member named secretcrushjason (thanks to Carly) doing back flips on skates. We were all skating together but he seemed to be the one with all the talent. So nonchalantly i attempted this fascinating trick and surprised my whole ward with ultimate success and a perfect landing. When i woke up i decided i can now thank my grandparents for the fourth grade ice skating lessons and add ice skating that to my future career as well as a chef. I just can't wait to tell the boys back home.