.. and now to the "Redneck Riviera"

And here I am now, staring out at Bay Point Marina in Panama City.

Mom and William and I have been down here since Sunday and have had so much fun hanging out with Hailey, A.D., Uncle Archie, Aunt Laurie, and my grandparents, Pop-Pop and Dear.

Here's how the day typically goes:

-sleep in until 10
-gradually fall out of bed and watch the Today show
-pack up the boat with sandwhiches, beach chairs, etc. around noon
-head to Shell Island (a barrier island here that forms St. Andrews Bay. No structures on it. Just 7 miles of beautiful white sand beach).
-attempt to correctly anchor the boat; get yelled at for not tying ropes correctly or not throwing the anchor far enough..
-eat lunch
-walk over to the Gulf (the best part of the day). Here, I feel as though I'm a fish myself. The water has been very clean and clear and has that beautiful turquoise color.
-take a walk down the beach. talk about life with Hailey or other family members
-walk back to the bayside
-read my book while sitting in beach chair (currently: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)
-realize i'm getting red. apply more sunscreen.
-read more.
-around 5-6ish, leave island
-return to Bay Point
-hose off boat
-shower
-relax :)

of course, this is just a typical day for us Thorpes, Bowens, and Carmichaels. Some days, we go snorkeling. Here's William and I about to snorkel the jetties on our first day down here:

practicing my synchronized swimming..?

A funny anecdote from yesterday:

[As Mom, Aunt Laurie, and William and I are swimming in the Gulf, we are suddenly bombarded by a school of baitfish. Though they are not biting us, they keep aggressively bumping into us. They even got caught in my bikini!]

William turns to me and says, "Elizabeth! I think there's something wiggling in my pants!"

Me: "It's probably a fish!"

Mom: "William, are you sure that's a fish?" :p

[Later that night as we are dining at Captain Anderson's, William tells us he had an interesting showering experience. Once he got into the shower and removed his bathing suit, a small dead fish fell out into the tub! Poor little guy..]

Erin, Hailey, and I snorkeling

I've been learning how to drive the boat while I've been down here. I figured I might as well learn sometime! After all, we ARE borrowing Uncle Charles' old boat..

On the Fourth of July, we all went out in Uncle Archie's boat to watch the fireworks over the bay. I can't recall how many Fourth of Julys I've spent doing this every year, and it's still a lot of fun. While the adults hung out with each other and "the Couple" [Hailey and Justin] did their thing, William and A.D. and I spent some quality cousin time together stargazing. A.D. THINKS he knows a lot about stars..

Happy Birthday, America! Lookin' good at 235

Uncle Archie's boat before we attempt to attach our boat on the Fourth

"a Bay Point sunset," as Dear calls it

I guess that's all for now! The Billfish tournament starts tonight and goes through this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have an update later this week :)

from the Italian Riviera to the "Redneck Riviera.."

It's been too long! 

So much has happened since I last blogged that I felt overwhelmed and have have hardly had a minute to type out my thoughts and observations. Well.. okay, I have had some down time. But I've either been napping, reading, or working on my crossword puzzle book. I guess today I'm feeling.. descriptive?

Okay, ROME:

Our last days in Rome were spectacular!

On Wednesday, we went to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. While there's so much to tell about what I saw that day, I'll just cover the highlights. 

In the Vatican, I really enjoyed the Raphael rooms and a giant map room that had maps of all the provinces of Rome. I remember learning about the provinces in Mr. Rau's Latin class in high school, and it was cool to see how ancient yet accurate they were. I even found fair Verona on one of the maps!

Unfortunately, I lost our tour guide in the Egyptian room, and latched onto another group of kids from my study abroad group (Lizzie and Lanier had quickly run through the Vatican and gone to lunch. I don't think they're really into museums!) I knew the Pope was supposed to speak at 11 a.m., and I told some of the kids in my group we should head out if we wanted to hear the Pope. Someone thought they knew a shortcut, but sadly the shortcut didn't work out and we didn't get to hear the Pope speak. I was devastated..

Fortunately, our small group later found the big group with our awful tour guide as they were about to enter St. Peter's. And so into St. Peter's I went.

There are very few words to describe the beauty of this masterpiece. I just ambled through on my own, gaping at the vastness of the Basilica and, of course, trying to translate the Latin on the upper walls. 

Later, after I had seen where all the Popes were laid to rest below St. Peter's, I was happy to find a gift shop where I bought a pretty rosary from one of the nuns. I already told Lisa, my devoutly Catholic friend and roommate for this fall, that it's going in our room!

As I mentioned before, I was sad not to see the Pope speak. HOWEVER.. the last night of our program, Martin (our trip coordinator a.k.a. my 3rd grandfather) took us all to dinner at a really nice outdoor restaurant near Santa Maria Maggiore. It is here where the Pope was supposed to give a blessing that night, one of the few times of year he leaves the Vatican City.

After dinner, we went to Santa Maria Maggiore church and watched the procession begin: nuns arrived first, then monks, priests, bishops, cardinals, and finally.. THE POPE! Yes, we were about 30 feet away from him! Even though I'm only "water-down Catholic" (Episcopalian), I felt very privileged and honored when the Pope blessed the crowd with his scepter. It truly was a great way to end a great study abroad experience..

..and the beverages and reverie on the hotel rooftop later that evening was fun too ;)

When in Rome..

Just thought I'd give a quick update during the week because we've been so busy, and I don't want my next post to be jam-packed!

Caitlin, Katie, Sarah, Sidney, and Dr. Bullock at breakfast in the garden of our hotel in Florence

We got to Rome yesterday (right in the middle of traffic, and Roman drivers are NOT friendly). After checking in to our hotel, we went on a tour with our tour guide for the week (I think his name is Bruno?). Let me tell you.. this guy is boring, at best. His English is broken at best (he inserts an "um" in between almost every word) and he speaks in monotone. Nonetheless, I try to pay attention. We went to three different churches, none of which I can remember the name. They were beautiful though!

One had on display a pillar upon which Jesus was supposed to have been thrashed. I asked Dr. Bullock how historically accurate that pillar was, and he told me I had to go on faith.

Later that evening, we went back to the hotel to meet up with Martin, the trip coordinator. Martin is AWESOME! He is a towering (well over 6 foot) man in his 70s who used to be a Green Beret. He is no B.S. and tells you straight up what you need to know about each church, museum, and historical sight we go (along with some funny anecdotes).

Last night, he took us to the Roman Forum at dusk and gave us a Roman history lesson.

We spent the later part of the night drinking wine and playing card games up on the terrace on the top floor of our hotel. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my pocketknife to open the wine, so I had to suavely convince the bartender at the rooftop bar (whose drinks we WEREN'T buying) to let me borrow his bottle opener. We weren't really supposed to be on the rooftop unless we bought drinks from the bar..

Today we had a loooonnngggg, HOT day. We got up and went to the Coliseum with our mediocre tour guide. The Coliseum was impressive; what was most interesting were the cages and barracks built below where the gladiators would have fought.

Next we hiked up the Palatine Hill and saw more ruins. Supposedly the Palatine is where Romulus (the founder of Rome) built his palace. We also wandered through the Roman Forum. I feel kind of guilty having taken Latin for 6 years and not being more excited/enthralled/enthusiastic about all the Roman history I experienced today. Unfortunately, the heat was really getting to me, on top of having low blood sugar (a pastry around 11 a.m. helped). I'll read up in the Fodor's guide and hopefully be able to describe more later.

the Coliseum

3 Ls with the Forum in the background

Roman Forum 

After refueling for lunch, I felt much better. Martin (the BEST (unofficial) tour guide) took us to a church that was built over three different layers of history. After entering the church, you were in a Medieval building. On the -2 level, you were on a Roman street, and below that was the ancient sewer system of Rome. Basically, it illustrates how much has been built up over the centuries.

Tonight, Lizzy, Sidney, Lanier, and Chris and I went to a delicious restaurant that my Fodor's guide to Italy (Lanier has renamed it "the Bible" due to its 1,000+ pages) recommended. The restaurant was in a trendy area near the Trevi Fountains where we're going on Thursday. I had some yummy pasta and salad, and even tried some of Lizzy's steak, which was the house specialty.

Tomorrow we are going to ST. PETER'S BASILICA! I can't wait. It's going to BEAUTIFUL. We may even see the Pope, since he's holding his visitation hours tomorrow.

Cross your fingers for me :)

last week in Verona..and on to Firenze (a.k.a. Florence)

Here I am, sitting (again) next to a park after just having consumed something. While usually I am sipping on a cappuchino in Verona's Piazza Urbe, I have just finished a dinner of fried rice with Lizzy and Lanier. They just left to go get gelato, but I've already had my fill for today (they usual "caffe" flavor) and want to take advantage of the free WiFi at this sushi restaurant.

The past week in Verona has been busy but still so much fun.

Katie in our room after we all washed our clothes (the dryers are no bueno..) The pull-out couch bed is Lanier's, the small kitchen is in the back, and Katie and my beds are behind that white door.

Monday was spent attempting to study for my two finals on Thursday morning.

Tuesday (after attempting to study again in Piazza Urbe) I went out with an Italian friend I met over here. We went to a yummy pizza restaurant and then walked along the river.

Wednesday it was REALLY time to crack down for finals. I actually did concentrate most of the afternoon, after being pleasantly diverted with a Skype from Brittney :)

Thursday it was show time. I got up at 6 a.m. to review some more, then went to my first exam at 8 (INTL 4330: Post-Industrial Democracies with Dr. Ornston). After writing for 2 hours (I accidentally answered all 8 of the ID questions. We were only required to write about 5..)
After a short break, I then went to Dr. Johnson's Strategic Intelligence class to write for another 2.5 hours. I have greatly enjoyed his class, but that might have been one of the most challenging IA exams I've taken! My hand was cramping up!

Thursday afternoon was a relief, however. Lanier, Lizzy, and I went sightseeing again. We went back to the Casa di Giuletta (where supposedly the Capulets lived in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet;" it actually has little true history to it..it's really just a tourist attraction).
Then we went to the Amphitheater, some Roman ruins, and a beautiful garden on the other side of the Adige River:

three Ls with Julietta (no, Lizzy is not a weirdo by cupping Juliet's breast.. it's an old tradition!)

in the Amphitheatro

Lanier and I overlooking Verona! 

gorgeous gardens and great view

After our afternoon excursion, we rested up before our big night out. And ohhh was it fun. The professors took us all to a fair-well dinner up in the hills overlooking the city. We had an amazing four course dinner. I had the best pesto pasta I've ever had!

After dinner, instead of returning us all to the Residence, we just told the bus driver to drop us ALL off at Campus Bar. I mean, might as well be efficient, right? :p

We all had a lot of fun just drinking and catching up after the long week of studying. I really enjoying hanging out with our entire group (~48). The more, the merrier, and it was definitely merry. Even Marco (the nice guy who works the front desk at the Residence) came out with us!

Friday morning was a scramble to get up and onto the bus. We had to say goodbye to fair Verona and make our way to Florence, where I am right now.

Saturday we went to the Uffizi Gallery (which houses the works of Donatello, Michaelangelo, Botticelli, and more). We also went to another historic church (whose name escapes me at the moment..) BUT Michaelangelo was buried there! We have also seen the Duomo several times, though I still haven't gone in because the line is super long. 

We shopped later that afternoon. 

That evening, Katie, Nathan, Lanier, Lizzy, Chris, and Caitlin and I went to dinner with Dr. Bulloch, a political science professor at UGA. He took us to a delicious "osteria" that specialized in wild boar. I was a little skeptical at first, but tried some of Chris' and it was really good actually (be proud, Dad. I'm consuming SOME protein. And wild game, at that!)

Today, we went to the all' Academia and saw the David. The tour guide kinda lost me with how fast she spoke, so unfortunately I didn't get much out of that art museum. After shopping again with the girls, I left early and came back and napped. 

Then I decided I wanted to do some exploring on my own, so I went to the Palazza Pitti, a palace where the Medici family lived. It was humongous! 

I wandered (well, actually hiked/trekked..) through the extensive gardens behind the palace. I was rewarded by beautiful views of Florence. I enjoyed being alone in nature again, too, as hippy-ish as that sounds. I know Rome will be a lot of fun, but I was grateful just to search through the gardens at my own pace. It was also not very crowded there; I've been getting annoyed with how many tourists there are in Florence. I took even more time to myself when I discovered that one of the old buildings on the grounds was converted into a "kaffeehaus" overlooking the city. I sprang for a glass of water and just focused on breathing and taking in the moment. These last few days of our trip are going to be a lot of fun, but fast-paced. 

Down in the actual Palace, I looked through two interesting exhibits: the Costume Gallery and a traveling exhibit called "Treasures from the Kremlin." The latter was particularly interesting; there were beautifully decorated swords, royal jewelry, crowns, and other artifacts on loan from the Kremlin's museum in Moscow. I'm not sure why, but I've always been fascinated by Russia and its culture, perhaps because it is such a large country yet so different from the other large nations in Europe. 

a few photos of the Russian artifacts I saw:

on our tour this morning

the only baroque church in Florence

haha Matt and Ryan with David in the background. (no  photos were allowed, so I had to be sneaky)

Lizzy and I (a.k.a. David and Goliath) at H&M! I was curious how tall I would be in 4 inch heels.. I think it's about 6' 2"?

Tomorrow we leave for Rome :) Ciao for now!

CiNqUe TeRrE (bellissima)

Wow another AWESOME weekend! 

On Thursday, Lizzie, Lanier, and Chris and I went to Cinque Terre, a rugged part of Italy where the mountains meet the sea. "Cinque Terre" literally means the "Five Lands" in Italy; there are five small towns within the park that you can hike to. Cinque Terre is extra special because it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, meaning it has retained much of its original culture throughout hundreds of years. The five small, coastal towns are connected by various hiking trails (for adventurous souls) and a more recently built train track (for the easygoing..)

We left Verona in the rain Thursday after class and spent the rest of the afternoon traveling to La Spezia (the gateway city to Cinque Terre) by train. After a several naps and an impromptu dance session (Chris brought his laptop) on the train, we arrived in Riogmaggiore late Thursday night.

An important thing I have learned while traveling in Italy: You can't plan for everything. I had planned on using the GPS on my phone to locate our hostel; we hiked up the cliffs into the upper reaches of Riogmaggiore, only to realize our hostel was at the same coordinates... just a 1,000 feet lower! We ran back down and made it to the hostel office just before midnight. The middle-aged couple who owned the hostel was just about to leave (they had waited up for us!). The kind lady escorted us back up the mountain not to an icky hostel but to a quaint, four-bed apartment all decked out in red with a lovely view of the Mediterranean. After a sip of vino down in town, we came back and crashed.

Riomaggiore. Our hostel/apartment is somewhere up in them hills..

the church we considered sleeping in if we never found our hostel!

Ready to go the next morning!

After a tasty breakfast of omelettes and crepes the next morning, we took the train to Monterosso, the last of the five towns. Chris and I had originally planned on staying at a hotel in Pignore with our friend Alyssa (who ended up staying in Verona instead). Lanier had booked a hotel room way before our study abroad trip (we met up with her friends who were there later in the weekednd) and only had room for one more person. 

Well, once we actually got to Monterosso, we asked around and realized our hotel was a 50 euro cab ride away. We had no idea what to do.. 

As we walked around searching for Lanier and Lizzie's hotel, a lady (whose name we would later learn to be Gabriella) poked her head out of her apartment window and asked if we were looking for a bed and breakfast (hers). We realized that her B&B was the wrong one, but she offered us a good deal if we decided to stay after all. Chris and I realized it was way cheaper to stay at Gabriella's B&B than taking a cab home at night. 

 So we said we'd take a room. It was GREAT! We basically ended up living with an Italian family for the weekend. The "Bed and Breakfast" was really the family's guest room with balcony overlooking the town. It was perfect though!

After relishing in our good fortune, we hit the beach for the afternoon. After all three of my friends got into the chilly yet crystal clear blue water, I was convinced to go swimming. I cannot STAND cold water. But it was so worth it! I felt like a mermaid or something :)

Here's some pics of the gorgeous beaches:

there were tons of lemons and lemon trees everywhere. i just wanted to try out my "macro" setting on my camera here


Friday night, we met up with Lanier's friends and ate dinner at a seafood restaurant. Later we went to a local bar and made friends with a friendly group of Australians who were in town for their buddy's wedding.

Saturday morning, Gabriella brought Chris and I breakfast (she was so sweet!):

breakfast :)

Our room! a little messy (mostly because of me..)

After breakfast, we met up with Lanier and Lizzy and left for our hike to Vernazza. We unknowingly chose the most difficult portion of the entire Cinque Terre hike, but the views and laughs along the way were well worth our struggles. We ended up hiking with a group of kids from Notre Dame, who provided some comic relief as well (one dude would not stop singing the "Hamster Dance" song!)

triple L with Riomaggiore in the background

"gramps and grandma" on the trail! apparently, my friends find it unusual that my back hurts all the time, I  take FOREVER, and I enjoy crossword puzzles on the train home..

our destination at last! the town of Vernazza

Lanier making friends

After reaching Vernazza, we had a tasty lunch (prosciutto and melon for me) and took the train back to Rio for more beach time. We spent that evening just drinking bubbly red wine on the terrace of the hotel and chatting. 

Now we're back in Verona and the internet has been PAINFULLY slow. I'm actually writing this post write now at a cafe with WiFi in the middle of Piazza Urbe. Hmm.. probably should be studying for my two tests now, come to think of it. 

Anywoo, this is our last and final week in Verona! Tuesday, I will be going out with some Italian friends, Wednesday we will be celebrating Lanier's 22nd birthday, and Thursday is our farewell dinner (and last trip to Campus Bar..)

Will post again soon! Ciao :)

Woah..What. A. Weekend! My 21st Birthday in Munich and Salzburg :)

I feel like I always begin my blog posts with "where do I begin?" Well, here ya go: "How the heck to I even begin to describe the joy, the fun, the laughs, the tears, the craziness, of this weekend?" I guess I gotta start somewhere, so here goes:

One cannot describe the joy I felt after finishing my Strategic Intelligence midterm Thursday afternoon. I bolted upstairs to grab Lanier, Lizzy, Brian, and my backpack and then we were on a train headed to Munich! Here are a few photos from the countryside, although I would like to put out a disclaimer. After settling into our train compartment, I made a horrible discover: I left my camera battery charging in the apartment. Ugghhhhh.. Hence, the photos from this weekend are all from my iPhone.

Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy

After arriving to the Munich Hopbahnhof ("central train station" in German), we made our way to the Holiday Inn in Unterhaching (which is apparently a suburb in Munich in the middle of a field where a bunch of old people live. Several kids our age laughed at us when they found out where were staying!)

THEN we went to the famous Hofbrauhaus, the largest pub of its kind in the world. Yes, I did sample (well, actually more than sample...) the tasty Helles brew. The pretzels were pretty good, too, and the place was full of tourists AND Germans singing along to old Bavarian songs that the band played.

pretzels and beer.. what a great combo!

okay, I know it looks empty, but the place closes at midnight and it was crazy when we got there at 10!  I guess Germans value their sleep?

The following morning, we woke up and took the Munich S-Bahn train to Dachau. Dachau is a quaint, pretty town right outside Munich, but is more known for the concentration camp that used to be there during WWII. For some reason, I've always been fascinated by the Holocaust, perhaps because I am still amazed at how someone so horrible and sadistic as Hitler could have had that much power and caused such an incredible loss of life. And the "Final Solution" only occurred less than 80 years ago..

Anyways, while I could describe Dachau in great depth, I believe the photos I took can speak for themselves:

"Work sets you free." Entrance to Dachau

memorial sculpture

bunks where inmates would have slept

I have more thoughts about Dachau, but I'm nervous to put them on the internet because it is such a sensitive topic. Please ask me in person if I can answer any questions, though.

After our visit to Dachau, we made our way back to Munich and went on Mike's Bike Tour. So much fun! We had a Australian guy named John who took us around the city via bike (of course). Here we are at Marienplatz before the start of the tour:

Marienplatz, one of the largest churches and squares in Munich

We rode through the city while John told us a lot about the history of Munich. Apparently 70% of the city was destroyed during Allied bombings towards the end of WWII, so a lot of the city has been rebuilt, but it has been rebuilt to look older and Bavarian. The architecture is every bit as beautiful.

We rode past war memorials, monuments, plazas, and the University of Munich, where I'm considering applying for PA school! U of M is apparently a very renowned school in Europe, and it's easier for Americans to get in. Seriously, I LOVED Munich; the people (friendly, attractive, not creepy), the culture (lots of history; modern society while still true to their Bavarian roots; "lederhosen" are commonly worn!), and the food.

Anyways, back to the bike tour: we also went through the largest garden/park/greenspace in Munich, much bigger even than Central Park in New York. We stopped at a beirgarten for a brew and some conversation:

Lizzy and Lanier walking towards the garden

Lizzy!

Our bike group! The family in front was from Dallas; the guy holding the beer is our fearless leader John!

Surfers in the small river than ran through the park. I would just like to add that the water was crystal clean but from the Alps.. brrr

While I was not quick enough see them, apparently a lot of nudist enjoy the main park we went to as well! I think Lanier may have gotten some photos. I was looking at the strange looking geese in the river instead.. :p We considered going to a famous bath house in Munich (where clothes are NOT allowed), but didn't find the time!

Friday night was spent in yet another biergarten. One member of our party had a little too much to drink so we had to call it a night fairly early..

Saturday, Lizzy and Lanier stayed behind in Munich to see a few more sites while Brian and I went ahead to Salzburg to go on the "Sound of Music" tour, my birthday present to myself. After I struggled to find our hotel, the kind lady at the reception told me she could arrange for the tour to pick us up. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. This, however, was short-lived.. The tour forgot us. And I had paid. There wasn't another tour until the next day, but we were leaving early. I was DEVASTATED. After having some alone time outside to collect my emotions, I decided that I was going to set out to see Salzburg on my own with Brian in tow.

Fortunately, I was able to meet up with some of my other friends on our study abroad program: Katie, Sydney, Nathan, Haley, Caitlin, and Mandy. Haley had been to Salzburg before and showed us around:

On the DB Bahn!

Where the Von Trapp family hid from the Nazis in the "Sound of Music!"

kind of a grainy photo, but Nathan, Sydney, and Hayley and I from the top of the Catacombs

Mirabell Gardens

Saturday night was spent out in the bar/club district of Salzburg (yes, there is such an area in sleepy Salzburg!) Lanier and Lizzy met up with us and we all went out for my birthday. I had so much fun dancing and sampling the, um, refreshments around town. Just before midnight, we did a birthday countdown and that's about the last I remember.. Still all around a great time!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I am so blessed to have such great family and friends, and I can't wait to see you all when I get back to the States! :)