Thursday, May 30, 2013

April 18-30 London/Rome trip

I'm trying to remember to keep up with my blog! It's hard... but I must do it.

So...I came back from London/Rome a month...it was a great trip...like always! I got off work at 3pm to head to LAX for flight at 10pm. I figured on the way I'd stop at the Style Careers job fair in dt LA. That was an experience that I wasn't too prepared for- but it is what it is! After that I hopped in car and headed to Cat's to be taken to airport. We had our life talks, like always, and talked about everything before I left. Oh! Btw...she got a sick job in LA at Halston...and I'm so happy for her!!! Finally one of us is getting in the fashion world!
I got to airport, with my Alice + Olivia suitcase and waited for my flight. I was knackered. The second I got on plane I passed out. I was lucky and didn't have a person next to me so I made a little bed and went night, night. I missed dessert...like always because I was sleeping like a baby.
I always feel like the flight there is the best. Maybe it's because I know I have a week full of fun and adventures. When I head back home I'm mad, sad and depressed about going back to my normal life.

I woke up on plane with an hour left of flight and of course I have to get all dolled up before we land so I can rush to customs to see my boy faster. I finally get through customs and their 21 questions, grab my suitcase and go though doors too see him waiting at the other side :) The weather was the same...cold and wet. We hopped in his coupe and headed home to eat some chicken tikka masala mmm!

From there we went to: V&A museum to catch the fashion exhibit, the Tower of London (AMAZING), ate at a few great restaurants and went on internship interviews :)





















While doing all this in London we decided to take a trip to Rome, like nothing, and stayed there for 3 days/2 nights. We flew with British Airways and took a 2 hr flight to Roma! We hopped a tax/van to our hotel: The Marcella Royal Hotel.

This place was so cute! Reasonable sized room, breakfast buffet on roof top and conveniently located by all the attractions!













We cleaned up and headed down the streets to find a place to eat...little did we know that the have "siesta" between 3pm-6pm. We found ourselves searching for food at 4pm. FAIL. We were so hungry that we ended up eat gelato first at a place called Come il Latte. God bless America...I've never been so happy about ice cream in my life. It was such a cute shop!!
After bowling around eating our gelato we figured we'd head back to hotel and hang out until dinner. We passed out and thankfully woke from alarm clock. We got ready and headed back down the street to little restaurant- packed with Americans.

After eating a plate of gnocchi and a beautiful cannoli, we headed back to hotel and knocked out. From the window you can hear an accordion playing down the street and motor bikes racing up and down the alleys. I will never forget that "oh man, is this really happening" feeling :)







Of course I kept my itouch on American time and forgot that Rome is +1 from London time...which meant a 9hour difference! So when I put my alarm on for 8am it was really 9am! Thankfully I woke automatically to check the time and it was 9:45am. Just enough time to run up stairs to grab free breakfast on the roof!

After breakfast we got ready and made a plan for the day, a plan to see as much as possible in one day! I took French in high-school and mainly learned about the tourist attractions in Paris. So I felt a little awkward being unfamiliar with a lot of the buildings but it wasn't too embarrassing. Trip Advisor really saved our butts!






We walked all day from noon until 9pm. We had breakfast at hotel, lunch by the Colosseum, gelato on our walk to the Trevi Fountain, tea by the Pantheon and dinner by the hotel. I ate like a pig and didn't feel so bad since we walked forever.

After bowling around for another few hours, we headed to a sweet little restaurant close to our hotel. The food was so so, I had a personal pizza with salami and he had pasta. It was ok, but not what I expected.

After dinner we managed to walk a few more steps to our hotel to pass out. This was our last night in Roma and I was getting sad!














                                      

























We woke up at 9:50am caught breakfast and packed up our belongings. We asked if the hotel can hold our suitcases while we went on one last adventure.

It was raining but was pretty hot- so I wore a dress and cardigan. We headed to Vatican City in hopes of making it in time to make it to Saint Peter's Square and back to hotel in time to grab our suitcase and make it to the airport.

We walked there and I started to get excited! We waited in a very long line and passed security to get into the church. Well little did I know...my dress was "too short" to enter the church and I was turned away. I was shocked!! I was also embarrassed and felt like crying. It didn't make any sense! i grew up with the idea that you must wear a dress at all times while in church; pants and shorts are unacceptable. As we walked towards the exit...I thought wait! I'm not leaving! We're sneaking in! So we turned the corner really fast and made it into the church with no problem.


















After looking around the amazing church we grabbed a quick lunch before we headed back to the airport to UK. The place we went to had the most amazing pasta I've ever had in my life...and I love pasta!

After that we walked back to hotel to get luggage and planned to take a taxi back to airport. That taxi ride was the craziest experience! Not only are we zooming past the Coliseum and the ancient ruins like nothing...we're flying around in the back seat with this crazy Roman man shouting and cursing at everyone! It was so cool and kind of a little "last tour of the city" experience. 






Overall I had an AMAZING experience and trip with my boy :) This trip was really needed for the both of us, since it's been 3 months since seeing each other. I feel happy and look forward to sorting out the next step to live in London <3