Summer Dreams and Panics.

As I mentioned in my last post, my new favourite study distraction is dreaming of summer and all the adventures ahead. (Note to self: don't forget about exams as they'll be coming up first.) The most exciting thing about my summer is that I'll end it in Africa where I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Practical Action, before heading over to Kenya where I'll be volunteering in an orphanage.

Everytime I think of this trip I am filled with excitement- and terror. I don't really know what to expect of the trek itself or have any great idea how my body will handle it. All I know is that I'm stubborn as a mule and will be pushing for the summit... in the snow... in the middle of the night. Luckily, all fears can be calmed by the sounds of Toto... he knows about Africa, he'll lift me to the summit.

This trip will be a real challenge and I'm completely awestruck at the prospect of visiting Africa for the first time, overcoming a huge physical challenge and looking out at the world from the summit of Kibo peak, at 5,895m above sea level. However, this challenge isn't an abstract thing that I'll swan off to do in 5 months. As an Adventure Leader it has become part of my daily routine over the past 6 months as I've been recruiting participants, organising fundraising and supporting my team (who have already raised over £20,000!). That's logistics. Practically I've been working to improve fitness (completely non-existent before October) and have just started to look at how much I'll need to save in order to cover my climbing kit as well as injections and medications.

Travelling to Africa does carry risks and whilst planning your trip you should always go and speak to a Health Advisor. I did this on Friday...

Since signing up for this in September I've been aware of the this side of things and knew that I'd having to pay for malaria tablets and get immunised against Yellow Fever... and probably a couple of other things. I was not ready for this consultation. It was half an hour of

**Rabies.Hepatitis.Meningitis.Malaria.Really.Expensive.**

Pause for minor panic. Listen to Toto.

I've calmed down a bit now and spoken to some friends who've travelled in East Africa before- and luckily even some people that have climbed Kili and so could share all their tips and the wisdom of their experience. I think I've got a plan. It'll be good... and I've got Toto.

I'm trying to focus on how great I'll feel about myself once I've summitted... but all the things I need to do in order to get there can be pretty scary. After each moment of panic I've been making decisions pretty quickly though- I've got my group to think of.

I'm off now to write a fundraising report and finish my essays. Watch this space for updates on Kili preparations- I'm holding off writing about training so far because any confessions will be super embarassing.

**Please visit MyRaising profile. It's a totally safe and secure platform where you can support me by donating directly to Practical Action, whose work saves lives all over the world (including East Africa) my finding innovative ways to use technology to combat poverty.**

What Would Toto Do?

Getting on a Roll...

So last week I had a right good moan. Having spent hours on end in the library I was getting nowhere and feared never reaching a reasonable word count, let alone making any sort of coherent argument, submitting an essay prior to a deadline and obtaining a respectable mark towards my degree.

However, towards the end of the post I had calmed down a bit, remembered that I'm an optimist at heart and set myself some practical targets:

1) Finish at least one of my essays.

2) Take note of something blooming marvelous in my life and tell you all about it on my blog. 

I also set a made a secret third target... (3) Go home and see my family and friends again before true essay panic and exam revision starts.

I can't quite believe it, but I actually did quite well...

Last week started slowly. My first, and most important, target seemed completely out of my reach. The essay I was focusing on needed to be 5,000 words long, my concentration was waning and the words were coming s.l.o.w.l.y. However, on Wednesday I finally started to get some flow  and come Thursday evening I felt confident that I could finish on Friday and, time dependent, even catch a train to London.

Words cannot express my state of euphoria when I walked out of the library on Friday at 4:30pm, instead of my usual 8:30pm. Not only had I finished an essay that had been drawn out like a form of cruel and unusual punishment but I had no reason not to head home. I even arrived early enough to go to the pub! I was so happy.

Having finally gotten my head into the essay game and crossed off a big one from my list as I flying high. Therefore, not only was I happy to go home, but I could really relax and enjoy it. I spent almost all of Saturday out with Mum, trying on clothes... and being spoiled. I got an outfit for a family wedding next month and a gorgeous beige leather jacket. Oh, and mummy might have paid for everythingI told you; SPOILED.

I also got to spend a lot of time with my great friend Jess, who I haven't seen properly to natter to since we went on holiday in September. 6 months is TOO LONG!! It was really nice to just sit in the pub (and then at my house because the pub closed) drinking wine and chatting about... everything. We caught up on everything that's been happening and we hadn't gone into detail on; made plans for the summer; discussed what we'd like to do once I graduate; discussed how much we like wine; talked musics and films- and even had time to reminisce from juniors through to sixth form. Such fun!

Now, that's 2 targets met and celebrated. What about the third? Did I not notice anything beautiful that I just had to rant about? As I already mentioned there are loads of little things about the last few days that have made me happy and excited about the near future, but what's really got be excited right now is the prospect of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in September. It's so exciting. I spent all of Sunday morning in bed with a cup of tea and my Traveller's Atlas reading about the East Africa... and then branched out and set my sights on the rest of the world. It's so exciting!

The bed buddy's of a wannabe explorer and amateur adventurer...

I now miss home and want to go back. I can't wait for essays and exams to be done so that the sun can come out and I can play!

Anyway, it's back to the library grindstone now, I hope to finish my short essay quickly so that by the weekend I'm only editing and glossing the two that are due throughout next week. Hopefully I'm now well and truly on a roll. 

Watch this space for more info and excitement about my upcoming Kilimanjaro trek and African adventures!

p.s. Enjoy the video. I'm a little bit in love with Nina Nesbitt right now. She has a great voice and is a pretty talented song-writer too...

Those summer nights

Hello old friends,

Let me apologise, I've been absolutely rubbish this month. Especially considering that last month I was basically blog obsessed. I doubt anyway cares that much, but if by any chance I have left you high and dry, I am sorry.

June has brought some good things. The weather has shifted to a true Mediterranean climate. Very hot and sunny. I wake up every morning eager to get up, for the sole reason that my bed has been baking in the sunlight since sunrise. During the day, as keen for a tan as any Essex girl may be, I fear burning on my way to get a coffee. It is glorious!

A view from my spot on the sand.

One way we've been making the most of this beautiful sunshine is by making the occasional day trip to Castel Gandolfo. The nearest beach to Rome (Ostia) is famously ugly... or at least that's what the real Romans tell us. Although I suppose they've never been to Southend pier and are simply used to the beauty of the Amalfi coast. Either way, I plan to go there eventually, but the lake is about an hour's train ride away from the city and is beautiful. We went mid-week, before the school's finished and so only had to share the shore with about six other people. Perfection. Bliss. You take my point.

We loved our afternoon. We sat of the sand, read books and sporadically went to swim in that gorgeously blue water. We wandered away for coffees and ice creams and came home tired by the sun and our lazy day, during which I read at least half of ‘The Battersea Park Road toEnlightenment’.

It is said that in summertime the days grow longer and the nights shorter. However, this has not been my experience. As summer has begun the Italian population seems to have woken up from a semi-hibernation and is completely rejuvenated. For the past 3 weeks I haven't returned from a Saturday night out earlier than 5am. Gosh.

Furthermore, most of our favourite events have moved from little clubs into large open air spaces. Fun! Most of them also have booths selling very cheap wine. Double win!

Now I remember why I wanted to move to Italy. Sunshine and wine.

I would never claim to be a football fanatic. Mostly because at my first attempt my brother and all male friends would jump in with controversial comments about how I've never cared in the slightest. That may be true. I'm not overly bothered. However, this month we've all been getting very much involved with the Euros and... well, drunk beer. In the group stages we've been showing our support for both England and Italia, but if things go well over these two evenings we're going have to make a very tough decision Blood and patriotism vs. we're in Italy and would have to take some stick. Only time will tell...

Despite all this revelry in the sun this month has also had it's challenges. My next work deadline is approaching and, as you may remember from here, all the work I have to submit to Warwick this year must be written in Italian. I've now completed my second module report and am researching an planning my final extended essay. There had to be some price for this beautiful year abroad! However, despite the freedom of the essay I'm hating it, partly because it's hard to concentrate on anything in this heat. And the fact that I'd rather be outside playing!

Well, I'm now closing in on the end of my Italian adventure, but I'll be sure to keep you posted on the rest of my fun. Also rather excitingly, after four years of friendship my friend Jess and I now live in the same city- even if it is only for a few.

I have a match to pay better attention to now. This is why we don't usually watch them at home...

A Day Trip.

I have a tiny confession to make. Ever since I came back to Rome after my last trip home I've been somewhat less than enthusiastic about my life here. This has bothered me. Please, don't get me wrong- I love my life here and I'm in no hurry for my time to run out, but having had such a wonderful trip home part of me has been pining for that part of my life, leaving me somewhat disconnected from all things Roman.

Today, however, has given me a new wave of excitement about this place. I'm finally excited about all the things I still haven't done or seen here. Why? Well, we went on a little day trip today, and it was lots of fun!

The train coming into Tivoli.

This week I started to make a list of things I'd like to do before I run out of Roma time; you know... nearby places I'd like to visit; landmarks I haven't yet stumbled upon. That sort of thing. Well, this morning Anna and I both woke up feeling uncharacteristically energetic and enthusiastic and so we though 'No time like the present' and set about checking something off our wishlist.

By lunchtime we'd convinced Rosa to join us and were sitting on a train to the nearby town of Tivoli. About an hour's journey away and less than €5 for return train fare this was a lovely afternoon. We didn't know anything about Tivoli, but had heard that it was very pretty. Five minutes out of the station we came across Villa Gregoriana and ere not disappointed by the beauty of the place. We also had a really fun hike!

We spent the afternoon following various trails, gasping awestruck at the   waterfalls and magnificence of the valley we were in... and took lots of pictures. Not even rain could dampen our spirits and so we trekked on and made the most of our afternoon exploring caves and ancient temples, enjoying the exercise of our rambles and taking lots of photographs!

When Rosa tells you to get in a cave and look like an enthusiastic starfish... YOU DO IT.

More cave fun.

The three of us looking over the 'Valley of Hell', post rainfall.

Rosa and I in an empty water feature.

After a few hours of rambling and exploring we finally made it to the highlight of all tourist destinations and cultural institutions: the coffee shop. We were very lucky that it was just as we went in that the heavens really opened, and threatened to completely drench us,  that we stumbled upon this delight. We had a coffee, with free peanuts, crisps and biscuits... and then decided to stay and have a beer too, as the rain decided to get heavier just as we were thinking of heading back to the station. The people in the bar were lovely, and made sure we always had snacks. Warm snacks too.A wonderful afternoon. We also found out that there are two more villas in Tivoli, and so may go back again soon.

So after a day of fun, I'm once again very excited to be here in Italy. I've got lots more on my list, and so hopefully I'll be busy exploring (and blogging) over the next few weeks!

If you're ever in Rome and feel like getting out of the city for an afternoon- try out Tivoli. It's beautiful! And the whole day (Train, villa entrance and drinks) all cost us less than €15 each!

Boats for buses

This is a Venetian bus...

Gondole 

There's nothing more satisfying than that feeling of coming home. This weekend Anna and I realised how enchanted we've become with Rome, as it was with great reluctance that we headed over to Venice. On a 7am flight. Our unwillingness to miss out on Saturday night antics and drag ourselves out on a trip (which we' previously been excited about) is a real testament to how much I now love my life in Rome. Yet duty, or at least Warwick's Italian Department, called and so we headed out... at half three in the morning, to catch a night bus, a coach and a plane to Venice.

Disgruntled 8am faces

When we arrived, at 8am, running off merely two forty five minute naps, we were even less pleased with the state of affairs. However, a morning of aimless wandering in the labyrinth of Venice's streets and watery dead ends we soon calmed down and enjoyed the sunshine by the canals. At first we were amazed by how extremely peaceful the city was, and then we realised that it was in, in fact, Sunday morning and so everyone was taking it easy. Just like Lionel Richie.

After a couple of hours spent like this we thought it was, perhaps, about time to find out where we were staying and having received the address via text (of course we didn't think it was something important to note down before leaving the house!) we bought a map and headed off. Venice truly is a maze and every now and then the road stops dead at a tiny gate to the canals and you have to back track and start again. Therefore mission 'find the hotel' became something of a game... which eventually we won. The university had organised for us all to stay in an old convent and so we were greeted by the tiniest Italian nun who showed us to our room where we promptly passed out until dinner time.

By the time we awoke the rest of the Warwick group had arrived and so there was lots of excited chatter and catching up to be done, topped off the the incredible scream let out by my friend, Lauren, before she ran at me and gave me the biggest hug. We had a midnight curfew to respect and so we swiftly headed out to find dinner and drinks. Drinks here meaning a Spritz-Aperol, which seems to be enormously popular in Venice... and now with our entire group. For the rest of the trip all down time was marked by the query, 'Anyone fancy a Spritz?'

Spritz o'clock

Monday and Tuesday morning were spent with two of our faculty members from Warwick, feeding back on what we'd been up to, how our Module Reports had gone and planning for our return to Warwick. More about that in another blog, I think. It was great to hear what everyone's been up to, that we were not alone in our struggles whilst tackling Italian bureaucracies and  looking forward to which modules we'll be taking next year, because in English Universities, such information is freely available and registration is as easy as pie.

The weather was as beautiful as the city itself and we spent most of our free time breaking off into ever changing small groups (mixing it up so as to guarantee the chance to catch up with everyone) to wander the higgledy-piggledy madess of Venice's tiny streets, sit out in the sunshine by the water and get lots of gelato and numerous rounds of Spritz-Aperol. It was heavenly!

Sitting on the dock of the bay

Catching up over lunch

Catching the sun by the Rialto.

Unfortunately, despite our midnight curfew we all still ended up going to bed far too late every night whilst being expected to breakfast at eight. This compounded with our nocturnal travels left Anna and I equally grumpy on our journey home and we reverted to our happy habit of blissfully ignoring eachother whilst seeking solace within our Kindles. Luckily, the delirium of our over-tired state usually hit us both at about the same time and therefore every now and then the clouds of discontent would clear to make way for insane bursts of song.

All in all it was a good trip. I really enjoyed all the time I got to spend with my Warwick friends, and I think many more advenures will come as a result of this trip (lots of invitations flying about!) and I was some spellbound by the beauty, mystery and elegance of this aquatic city. Yet I cannot deny how happy I was when we finally made it home to Rome and my bed. Venice is fabulous and in the end I enjoyed the trip just as much as I'd orignally anticipated but now it's wonderful to be back in Rome and my fun life here. Because at the end of the day, Rome is where my heart is.

Life in a northern town

"The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see."

-G.K. Chesterton.

I live in an incredibly touristy city. That's not to say it's in any way overpowered by the sightseeing masses, but merely to state the fact that Rome is beautiful and people flock here with a packed itinerary and often only two or three days to completely check off their 'To-Do' List.

This week I went wandering in the north and caught up with a couple of friends from Warwick and they gave me a glimpse into their lives and showed off what their towns had to offer. I found myself in both Milan and Pavia and, I must say, I really enjoyed the freedom of not having any notion of what one 'has to' see in either place. Obviously Milan is famous for fashion (and general fabulousness), so of course Laurelle and I did go shopping... mostly gawping after all the labelled loveliness (which a student budget just doesn't happily lend itself to) as well as going for sushi (which seems to be Milan's culinary favourite, judging by the sheer number of restaurants). The only really touristy thing we did was going up on the roof of the Duomo.

It was lovely, partly because our sole motivation was how stunning the cathedral is. We didn't even go inside or read any of the information about it. Sometimes it's just really nice to remain ignorant and appreciate beauty in somewhat awestruck silence... in the sunshine... on a roof... with an incredible view.

My entire weekend with Laurelle was really peaceful and and chilled as we just gave ourselves loads of time to talk and catch up and not make any real effort. That being said, we did have two big nights out, go on funfair rides, play in a children's park and ride bicycles all over the city. It's actually really funny how much fun we had when we weren't even trying!

  

I arrived on Thursday, which happened to be Festa della Donna, a day of appreciating women and making them feel special. Ironically, we ended up at a Playboy bunny themed party in a club called La Banque, which luckily was not as cringey as it sounded! Friday consisted of the Duomo, shopping and dinner down by the Navigli canal and Saturday was the action packed bicycling, fun fair riding, sushi and swings adventure. It was brilliant.

On Sunday I jumped on the train and headed over to Pavia, which is a smaller city about which I knew absolutely nothing. It was charming, however, and I'm glad I've learnt the joys of an Erasmus tour as I don't think I'd ever have thought to explore that little corner of the world otherwise. Agata and I again spent a lot of time just wandering around. We did get the train out to a pretty monastery but, this is being Italy, it was closed for absolutely no reason! She took me to a cool live music club and again, it was just lovely to catch up with a friend and take in the sights that I didn't even know there were to be seen. For example, her university is much prettier than mine and get a load of this view...

Well, I'm back in Rome now which means back to work and back to play The weather's not turned, as it would have in England after a week of sunshine, and so Anna and I have started taking our Kindles to the park and happily ignoring each other. Which is lovely. I'm reading Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Wives and Daughters', it's not a bad shout. You've got to love it when a nineteenth century author's favourite word is 'banter'!

Now, just to make the title of this post almost make sense, here's a little 80s flashback.

Attacking ATAC.

For those of you who are unaware, ATAC is basically the Roman equivalent of TFL (Transport for London), they are responsible for all of the public transport here in Rome. A system which, when working well, is rather good- considering that as a student I can buy a monthly pass for only €18. However, it never works flawlessly! For one thing, the buses don't come anywhere near regularly enough for a capital city and more often than not I, in my impatience, end up taking the imaginary bus instead of waiting! Just so you know, most Italians do not view this waiting as a problem, they'll happily just stand there for half an hour in order to take the bus for only 2 stops. It's madness! I realise this is probably how they feel about me walking almost everywhere.

Another common feature of the ATAC system, and all transport in Italy (as I gather from the grumblings of my fellow Warwick students) is lo sciopero. Translation: the strike. About once a month it seems the good unionised workers of ATAC decide 'nope, not today' and the whole city stands still, just like the empty trains and buses. As grand scale standstills go, it's not nearly as much fun as a city-wide game of musical statues would be, but there you go, such is life. No one ever listens to my brilliant, albeit barmy, ideas! As a native Londoner I feel obliged to insert a mini rant about how this would NEVER happen in London. Yes, the tube drivers strike occasionally, but everyone still gets to work and it's mostly just something to talk about.

However, it's not the infrequent buses or the monthly train strike that's got me all riled up. That would be silly, for annoying as these things may be they are fundamental to transport in Rome and anyone dwelling in this historic hub of society must accept them as normal and part of the city's eccentric charm. No, today I'm ranting because without giving ANY reason whatsoever this evening I had to walk home- across the whole city- because there was no Metro B Line during the RUSH HOUR.

Yes, in an hour when every bus and train carriage in the city is packed tighter than a can of sardines, and probably not smelling much better either, no explanation was offered as to why there were no trains. There was a bus replacement service though, with buses being half the size of a railway carriage. Madness! My 25 minute commute took two hours. Two hours from Testaccio, past the Colosseum, through Domus Aurea, past Santa Maria Maggiore, to Termini, all the way to uni and then my normal walk home. Thank you very much.

It's not all doom and gloom though. As I mentioned before I often end up walking most places, and quite like it. I was mostly upset about not getting my Kindle time on the train. I'd so been looking forward to playing with my new toy and getting lost in 'Wuthering Heights'. I'm such a geek!

So, sorry for the pointless rant, but now you know how transport works in Rome. Basically, not quite as it should and sometimes not at all!

p.s. TFL is much better than ATAC, but here's proof that not everyone loves them.

You have to start somewhere

After months of consideration and envy at how some of my friends blog away, confident that someone will care, genuinely enthralling me with all their adventures and musings I've finally decided (on a whim) to enter the big bad world of the internet and find an opinion or a story worth sharing... and maybe one day I'll have one! So here's hoping that some friend, family member, or obscure acquaintance might just happen to be vaguely interested and potentially amused.

All this has stemmed from a new desire to be bold. The new year marked a new beginning and I seized it by booking a very exciting girls holiday to IBIZA, where hopefully many a good story will unfold. However, that's not until September, so I now I need something  to do in the meantime. I've now been back in Rome for a week and have re-resolved to make life happen... having admittedly slipped into something of a Roma Coma. Thank God for it too, as I realise that half of my time here is almost gone and I've barely done a thing.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION (Part II): Stop chickening out!!

Here it's so easy to just sit up all night and lay in all day.... stream a few episodes of something hilarious, pop out for a cappuccino and that's a day gone. But there's so much more to it all! Everyone I know who's done it looks back on it their ERASMUS year as the highlight of university, maybe even life. I can see why, when you completely get into it it's brilliant- you meet people from all over Europe, party loads and have heaps of opportunities to travel around. So why have I been so half-arsed about it so far?!

On top of all that- this is Rome! It's beautiful, historic and full of a so many interesting people, from all over the world. Yes... I will be better. And this will help me be motivated. You can't write a blog without adventures to report...