Annie and the Chocolate Factory

This week I stayed in Dublin and got the chance to cross a few things off my "Dublin bucket list." I have a little less than a month here, and I can't believe how quickly the semester has gone!

Leinster House

On Thursday I went on a tour of the Dail (pronounced like "doll"), which is the lower houses of the Irish Parliament and is located in the Leinster House in Dublin. I went with my BC class, and we got a private tour from one of the security guards. He showed us around the different chambers, and we even got to meet a senator! She was there when we walked in, shook all of our hands, and in typical Irish fashion, said, "You're all very welcome to the Dail." We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Leinster House, which was a shame because it was beautiful. In the Senate chamber, there are chandeliers made from Waterford crystals, and the entryway has very ornate gold-leaf patterns covering the walls and ceilings. I've been doing my best to keep up with Irish politics since coming here, and seeing the Leinster House and learning about how the Irish government works definitely makes everything I've been reading and watching on the news make a lot more sense. The lower houses of the Irish government are fairly similar to the bicameral legislature in America. The Dail is more akin to the U.S. House of Representatives; it has 166 members and is directly elected every five years under a proportional representation system. The Dail is seen as the most dominant branch, and it has the power to nominate the Taoiseach, which is the Prime Minister and pronounced like "tee-shock", approve the budget, approve declarations of war, and ratify treaties. The Seanad, or Senate, is also located at the Leinster House. Its powers are loosely modeled on those of the British House of Lords, and it is seen as the weakest branch of Irish government. There are 60 members of the Seanad, and they only have the power to delay the passage of bills; they cannot veto a bill outright. Senators are not directly elected, but rather appointed in a few different ways. Eleven are chosen directly by the Taoiseach, so the Taoiseach usually enjoys a majority since the Dail must approve his or her nomination. Ireland also has a president, a deputy prime minister, and a supreme court, so the way government works here isn't all that similar to how it works in America because there isn't the same separation of powers and system of checks and balances. After the tour, our teacher took us to a hotel across the street from the Leinster House for a drink with one of the members of the Dail. I couldn't decide what shocked me more: that BC paid for a pint for all of us, or that a politician joined us!

Friday got off to a great start as a friend and I toured the Butlers Chocolate Factory, which is about an hour from UCD by bus. Butlers has a few chocolate shops around Dublin and Europe in general, and their chocolate is amazing (but not as good as See's)! We watched a film about the history of chocolate, got to see a timeline of important events in chocolate's past, watched chocolate being made and workers decorating the handmade chocolates that Butlers sells, and of course, learned about the history of Butlers, which was founded in 1932 by Marion Butler. The highlight of the tour, though, was the copious amount of chocolate that we were given. We got to try white, milk, and dark chocolate, toffee fudge, milk chocolate truffles, and orange crunch truffles. At the end of the tour, we got to go to the "experience room," where they were playing the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie soundtrack and we got to use melted white chocolate to "glue" chocolate decorations onto a giant milk chocolate bear!

As much fun as the Butlers Factory was, it was kind of hard to enjoy. After we had been there for about 10 minutes, my friend got an email on her phone from BC telling all students to stay inside because of safety issues connected to the Marathon bombings. During the entire tour, we weren't really paying attention because we were too busy trying to find a news article explaining what was going on and trying to text our friends at school to make sure they were okay. For this entire semester, I've never questioned my decision to come abroad, but on Friday all I wanted to do was go back to BC. I know it seems weird that I wanted to go back when all of this was going on, but I couldn't handle being so far away from my home and not knowing if everyone was safe. I felt almost guilty for being abroad. Why did I have the freedom to tour a chocolate factory, visit the Irish Parliament, and travel around Europe when my friends couldn't even leave their dorm rooms? It didn't make sense; it wasn't fair. And nobody here seemed to care. Nobody was talking about what was happening in Boston, and none of my roommates or other European students I know seemed to understand how afraid all of us from BC were. My friend and I spent the remainder of Friday watching the news and reading articles online, trying to make sense of all of this. I couldn't sleep until they announced that the police caught the suspect, and when that happened, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and relief. I've always loved going to BC and been so grateful to have the opportunity to go to school there, and I know I'll return in the fall with a deeper sense of appreciation than I ever had before. Boston is a beautiful, wonderful, and incredibly strong city, and I know it will be even more so after last week's events.



The rest of my weekend was very low key. On Saturday evening I went to mass at the chapel on campus, and today a friend and I went to Fixx Coffeehouse, which is our favorite Dublin coffee shop, to do homework. Fixx has a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, baristas that draw pictures in the foam on your coffee, and, best of all, a free library! The walls in the back of the shop are lined with bookshelves, and they ask that if you take a book you either put one in its place or make a small donation. The last time I went I picked up a copy of Sherlock Holmes, and when I finished that, I put it back in exchange for a short story collection. Since classes at UCD aren't as rigorous as they are at BC, I've had a lot of time to read for pleasure, which has been awesome.

While last week was pretty laid back, albeit stressful, this week will be much busier. Tomorrow night is UCD's annual International Ball, which should be great craic (the Irish slang for "fun," pronounced like "crack"). I have a final essay due on Wednesday and a final exam on Thursday, which probably won't be too much craic, but that's okay because I have Barcelona to look forward to this weekend!

"Can we sit where JK Rowling sat?"

Sunday morning I came back from a quick trip to Scotland. Three friends and I spent two days in Edinburgh, and this was definitely one of our quietest, least busy weekend adventures. We arrived in Scotland on Friday morning, and the first thing we did was head to Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle sits atop Castle Rock, which has hosted human inhabitants since 900 BC. The Castle, though, was built in the 1200s, and was the cite of royal occupation until the 1600s. By the 1700s, its chief purpose was militaristic, and since the 1900s it has primarily served as an historical monument. Edinburgh Castle is huge, and we spent about two hours exploring. The Crown Room and Royal Palace houses the Stone of Destiny and the Great Hall contains a display of armor. St. Margaret's Chapel is the oldest building of the Castle, and it was built to honor David I's mother. The Prisons contain bunks that emulate the beds the prisoners would have actually slept in, and in keeping with the authentic feel of the entire castle, a gun is fired every afternoon at 1:00.

Jewels in the Crown Room

The 1:00 gun

After visiting Edinburgh Castle, we checked into our hostel, Castle Rock, which was only about a stone's throw from the top of the Castle (pun intended). This is probably my favorite hostel I've stayed in so far. First of all, it looked like a castle on the outside, and the inside had lots of stairwells leading in different directions, much like the castle we explored earlier that day. There were a few different lounges, each with a name and a purpose, like The Posh Lounge, which has a fish tank and a piano, and my personal favorite, The Groove Lounge, which houses a record player, a guitar, and is "strictly for grooving." Each dorm room has a theme too, and we were in the Happy Days Room. There were 14 other people in our room, so needless to say I didn't sleep at all, but the hostel was so cool and in a great location, so it was worth it.

The Groove Lounge

That night we went to dinner at Elephant House, which is where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. When we walked in, the waitress asked us if we wanted to sit in the front or in the back, and one of my friends jokingly responded, "Can we sit where JK Rowling sat?" The waitress gave her one of the biggest eye rolls I've ever seen, and put us at a table at the front of the restaurant. We later found out that JK Rowling sat in the back. Rude. Aside from the waitress, eating at the Elephant House was magical (this time, no pun intended). Being the literature nerd that I am, I couldn't get over how cool it was that I was in the same place as where one of the most influential authors of all time was when she began her writing career. The bathrooms are covered in graffiti that has thank-you messages to JK Rowling and quotes from the books. The messages range from sentimental to funny; one of my favorites was the spell "Alohomora," which is used to unlock doors, and is written on one of the door handles.


Saturday, the weather was uncharacteristically warm and sunny, so we started our day with a hike to the top of Arthur's Seat, which is a dormant volcano. Getting to be outside and enjoy the sunshine, a hike, and the beautiful views, was the highlight of the weekend for me, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who goes to Scotland. From the top, you can see what feels like all of Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle to the ocean. There's a large grass area on the top, and when we got there we laid down and basked in the sun before heading back down the other side of the mountain.

View from halfway up...

and the view from the top! 

Stereotypical Scotland 

After climbing up Arthur's Seat, we took a stroll down the Royal Mile, which is a series of streets that runs between Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat. There were countless pubs, Scottish wool and cashmere stores, and bagpipe players in kilts lining the streets; basically exactly what I imagined Scotland would be like. The National Gallery isn't far from the Royal Mile either, so we went in there for a little to look at some artwork. Museums aren't my favorite thing, but there were a lot of impressionist paintings there that I really liked and a collection of work by Scottish painters that was really unique.

The Royal Mile

Saturday evening we continued to live out our Harry Potter dreams by walking through Greyfrieirs Graveyard, which is behind Elephant House and inspired many of the characters' names in the books. We saw Tom Riddell's (aka Tom Riddle / Lord Voldemort) and William McGonagall's (inspiration for Professor Minerva McGonagall) graves.


Later that night, we went to dinner with a Canadian girl whom we met at our hostel. When I pictured hostels before I came to Europe, I always imagined them as these giant rooms with lots of beds where people from all over the world became friends. This was the closest experience I had to what I thought a hostel would be like, and it was cool to branch out and explore a new city with someone else who was also new there. After dinner, we went back to Edinburgh Castle. It was really peaceful to walk around at night and see great views of Edinburgh when it was dark.



Edinburgh was great, but it felt very small, and I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't come back on Sunday. As always, I was happy to be back in Dublin. Now I have only one more weekend trip to look forward to: Barcelona!

"Paris is always a good idea." - Audrey Hepburn

Disclaimer: this post will be full of cliches and over-excited adjectives, but I can't help it! Going to Paris was literally one of the best ideas I've ever had. I was lucky enough to go for Easter weekend, and this was my favorite trip since being abroad. The sights, sounds, friends, and of course, the food, were all incredible, and I could not have asked for a better weekend.

The Eiffel Tower from the top of Montparnasse

First of all, the weather was gorgeous. It was a little cold, but there was no rain and the sun was shining. As always, we started the trip with a free walking tour. We got to walk through the Latin Quarter and see the Fontaine di St. Michel, the Seine River, Notre Dame, Saint Louis Palace, The New Bridge, the Henry IV statue, Pont des Arts (aka the Lock Bridge), the Louvre, the Joan of Arc statue, the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, the Naval Academy, Parliament buildings, Musee d'Orsay, Ile - de - la - Cite, the Tuileries Gardens, and walk down Champs - Elysees. Throughout the tour, our guide gave us tips about his favorite things to do in Paris that most tourists might not know about. Montparnasse, one of the places he recommended we visit, was one of my favorite things we did in Pairs. Montparnasse is a 58-story skyscraper, and besides the Eiffel Tower, it's one of the tallest buildings in Paris. We went on our second night there, and it was so cool to get a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from another place that's so tall.

There were a few things we saw on the walking tour that we wanted to explore further, so we made time during our stay to go to the Louvre (tip for anyone who's interested in going there: if you go in the entrance by the lion statues, there's virtually no wait and this is the closest entrance to the Mona Lisa!), L'Orangerie Museum (where some of Monet's paintings are), the Arc di Triomphe (where there's a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), and the Tuileries Gardens. We walked around the gardens for a while on Easter Sunday, and this, like most of the rest of the weekend, epitomized exactly what I thought Paris would be. It was relatively warm, and there was an egg hunt going on, so there were lots of families there too. We got lunch (savory crepes) at an outdoor cafe, and spent over an hour just sitting outside and loving being in Paris.

Enjoying some sun at Tuileries Gardens

Arc di Triomphe

In addition to the walking tour, we went on a boat cruise tour in the Seine. This was another one of my favorite things about Paris because it was relaxing, informative, and allowed us to see the city from a different angle and to get a glimpse of parts we wouldn't have been able to get to on foot.

View of Notre Dame from the Seine

Sisters reunited in Paris!

We of course went to the Eiffel Tower, and this too, was one of my favorite things (basically everything in Paris was my favorite thing; I can't narrow it down at all!). The first time we went was at night because my sister was there on a field trip with her French class. Trying to get in touch with her was kind of a challenge, but we finally found each other and got to talk for about 10 minutes. I couldn't believe that we got to meet up here! After she and her class went up to the top, my friends and I found a spot near a fountain on the other side of the street to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle (which it does for five minutes every hour once it gets dark) and enjoy our first of many dessert crepes.

Our daytime visit to the Eiffel Tower was also picture perfect. We climbed the 669 stairs to the second story, and from there took an elevator all the way to the top. The top was much colder than the bottom, so we didn't stay for long, but it was definitely worth the cold. For some reason, I thought I would be disappointed by the Eiffel Tower and that it wouldn't be as cool as it seems in pictures, so I was surprised at how in awe I was when I first saw it. I've seen a lot of impressive architecture since being abroad, and the Eiffel Tower was so different from anything else I've seen. This made me appreciate it even more though, and every time I saw it when we were walking throughout the city, I had to stop and take a picture because I got so excited.

Since we were in Paris for Easter, one of the friends I went with and I went to mass at Notre Dame. We went to an international mass which was supposed to be held in a mix of English and French, but it was all in French except for one reading. I couldn't really understand what was going on (we even accidentally missed the Our Father), but my favorite part was the sign of peace. Everyone was saying it in his or her native language, and it was really cool to see people from all over the world shaking hands and coming together for mass on Easter Sunday.

Inside Notre Dame

In addition to all of the beautiful sights, the food in Paris was also incredible. The bread, cheese, crepes, croissants, bread, salad, desserts, bread, fondue, bread, and bread were all phenomenal. One of my favorite things I ate in Paris though (besides the bread) were macarons, which are colorful little sweets that are kind of like sandwich cookies. We went to a pastry shop called Laduree, and the macarons there were life-changing. My favorite flavor was vanilla, which tasted like a light, fluffy, chewy cloud of deliciousness and perfection. If happiness had a taste, it would taste like this.

Macarons!!!!!!!!

Putting our lock on the bridge

One of the reasons why I loved Paris so much was because of the people I was there with. It was great to see my sister, and I got to go with two of the closest friends I've made in Ireland. When we were walking by a street vendor along the Seine one day, we saw a lock with three keys, so we decided to put our initials on it and add it to the Pont des Arts. On the back we wrote, "for friends and family," and we all put it on the bridge together and threw our keys into the Seine. Very cheesy, I know, but it was fun and cool to leave our mark on Paris! If I ever get to go back, I hope our lock is still there.


Another reason why I loved Paris so much was that it was the perfect mix between busy touristy things and leisure. Since we were there for three full days, we were able to take our time with the sightseeing and really get to enjoy all of the places we went. On our last day there after visiting the Eiffel Tower, we went back to Montmarte, which is the area where our hostel was, and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and going into different shops. We just happened to walk by Sacre Cour, a cathedral at the top of a hill, at sunset, so we decided to sit on the steps and watch the sun go down. It was the perfect way to end the weekend, and, like London, I wasn't ready to leave! If I had to do it all over again, there isn't a thing I would change about the entire trip; the weekend I spent in Paris was probably the best weekend I've had abroad so far, and I hope I get to go back someday.

Watching the sun set at Sacre Cour - the perfect ending to a perfect weekend

London, or should I say, FUNdon!

For the second week of spring break, my friends and I traveled across the universe (well, across the pond) to London. The four days we spent there were full of excitement; there's so much to see and do there, and I don't think we could have fit it all in even if there were eight days a week. 

We arrived on Wednesday and wasted no time in seeing the city. The bus from the airport dropped us off in the city center (not in the middle of the freeway this time!), and we decided to walk the two and a half miles from the bus stop to our hostel. Along the way, we passed Trafalgar Square, which is focal point of London for celebrations, protests, and maps. Anytime directions are given to "London," or any distance is measured from London's city center, they're from Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square contains the National Gallery, the smallest police station in London, and, of course, some pretty cool statues of lions.

Fun fact: the person who built the lion statues in Trafalgar Square had never seen a lion before, and he modeled them after pictures of lions and his pet dog. So, the statues are said to have the heads of lions and the bodies of cocker spaniels. 

Our walk also took us past the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Bank of London, London Bridge, and Leadenhall Market, which is the street that inspired Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. The London Bridge was very anti-climactic; it looked much like any other bridge, and I wouldn't have thought it was special if there wasn't a nursery rhyme about it. The Tower Bridge, on the other hand, was beautiful, and I loved the greenish-blue color it was painted and how it almost looks like a castle. 

After we checked into our hostel, we bought a ticket to ride the Tube and headed into the theater district. Although the Tube can seem overwhelming, I thought it was pretty easy to use. We never got lost and I never needed anybody's help in any way when trying to navigate the city. In the theater district, we met up with some friends who go to BC and are studying in London. Every time I get to see someone I know from home when I'm abroad, I get so excited because these friends know their way around the cities they're studying in and can show me the best things to do; it's definitely nice having a little help from my friends when I travel. 

The Tube stops at midnight, so after dinner and more walking around the theatre district we had to get back to our hostel. We stayed in a hostel right across from King's Cross Station, and while the location was convenient, the experience was kind of weird. For the first time, we were in a room with strangers. When we got back to the hostel after dinner, no one else was in the room except for my friend and me. The next morning though, there was a woman in her sixties and a girl who didn't speak English in the bunks across from us. They seemed really nice, but it was kind of scary seeing them in the morning. We were asleep when they came in and didn't hear the door at all, so it was like they came in through the bathroom window or something in the dead of night. 

Thursday morning we woke up bright and early and did yet another walking tour. For anyone who's planning any trips abroad, there's a company called Sandeman's that gives great free walking tours for a lot of major European cities. We did a tour with them in Berlin too, and both were awesome! The tour guides are really dynamic and informative, and you get to see a lot of the city you're visiting. Our tour of London lasted for about 3 hours, and I'll do my best to recreate it here with pictures and interesting things we learned. 

The tour began at Hyde Park Corner near the Duke of Wellington statue. Arthur Wellesley, a native of Ireland, was the first and only duke of Wellington. "Wellies," aka rain boots, are named after him. 

We then walked past the Commonwealth Gates are a memorial to countries that sent 5 million or more volunteers to fight for England during the two World Wars. This pillar honors the volunteers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The Commonwealth Gates are at the beginning of Constitution Hill, which is the long and winding road along which multiple assassination attempts on Queen Victoria occurred. 

At the other end of Constitution Hill lies Buckingham Palace, one of the parts of London I was most excited to see. Our tour was during the changing of the guards ceremony, and we got to stop and see part of it! 

Her Majesty was here when I was! When this flag, the Royal Standard, is flying, it signals that the Queen is in town. The Royal Standard is divided into four parts: two for England, one for Scotland, and one for Ireland. 

This is Clarence House, which is where Charles and Camilla live. 

Attached to Clarence House is St. James' Palace, which was built by King Henry VIII and is the Queen's official residence. St. James' Palace is guarded by Welsh guards. We got to take pictures with them, but unfortunately couldn't make them laugh. 

The Crimean War Memorial has a statue of Florence Nightingale, who is famous for recognizing the importance of sanitation in hospitals. Our tour guide pointed out how ironic this is because even today many people in England don't refrigerate their milk, eggs, and butter, which, of course, causes them to get sick. 

We passed through Trafalgar Square again...

... and then walked through the Admiralty Arch, which contains the smallest statue in Britain, a nose. The nose was put there by an artist who wanted to protest the use of CCTVs in London; the average Briton is caught on tape over 70 times a day. 

Next up was the Horse Guard's Parade, which is where the Queen's birthday parade is held every year and where the beach volleyball matches in the 2012 Olympics took place. 

Behind the Horse Guard's Parade is 10 Downing Street, which is where the Prime Minister lives. 

Westminster Abbey, the Palace of Westminster, and Big Ben are all right next to each other and were the last stop on the tour. 

The Palace at Westminster is where both houses of Parliament, (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) are held. 

Most people think the clock tower is named Big Ben, but it's actually the bell inside the tower that has this nickname. So, no one can technically see Big Ben, you can only hear it. 

After the walking tour we wandered through Kensington Gardens to see Kensington Palace, which is where Prince William and Kate Middleton are supposed to move into this summer! We got a little lost getting there though, and walked down the street that runs parallel to the gardens before we actually found them. The street we were on, Palace Avenue, is where a lot of foreign ambassadors live. When we walked past the Greek house, there were two guards in front of it and a well-dressed woman wearing sunglasses quickly walked from the house into a fancy car. I'm not sure who she was, but it seemed like she was important! Kensington Gardens are adjacent to Hyde Park, so after we found the gardens and walked through them, we went back to Hyde Park and saw the parts of it that we didn't see on the tour, like the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain and the Peter Pan Statue. For some reason, seeing the Peter Pan statue was one of my favorite things in London. I think it's really cool that a city that's so busy and professional has a statue commemorating a story that epitomizes childhood innocence. 

By the time we finished walking around the parks, it was getting dark, so we decided to go to Harrod's, which is a famous department store. Harrod's is huge and has everything from designer handbags to children's toys, but I bet it attracts more tourists than actual customers. I didn't buy anything (obviously), but it was fun to look around and spray some of the 400 pound (pounds as in the British currency, not the weight measurement) perfume that they had in the bathroom on my wrists. 

When Harrod's is lit up at night, it looks like there's a sky of diamonds. 

On Friday morning, we got up early and took the Tube to Abbey Road to walk across it and try to emulate The Beatles album cover. It was a little hard to do because there was a lot of traffic, but we finally got a semi-cool picture. If only I had gone with three other friends...

Friday afternoon we took the train from King's Cross Station (where the Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9 3/4) to Harry Potter Studios, where we got to tour the sets that were used in the Harry Potter films. I had never been on a movie set before, and it was so cool to see the costumes and the sets and to learn about different special effects. We even got to sit on a broomstick that had a green screen in the background and be filmed like we were playing quidditch.

The Great Hall at Hogwarts

Hagrid's motorcycle, the Knight bus, and the Dursley's house

Diagon Alley...

... and Ledenhall Market, the real street that inspired it

We left London on Saturday afternoon, but we still had time to see a few more things in the morning! Our hostel was right across the street from the British Libraries, which house the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, handwritten Beatles song lyrics, and diaries from William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and other paperback writers. I could have spent hours here looking at all of the books and exploring the special reading rooms. After leaving the coolest library in the world, we bought a one-way ticket to Westminster, and we walked around there again and across the London Bridge to the south side of London. As we usually do on weekend trips, we walked around with no agenda and went anywhere that seemed interesting. We passed by the Globe Theatre, where all of Shakespeare's plays were originally performed, and went into an art gallery across the street. There was a special exhibit going on in the gallery called Shifting Perspectives, which was a photography exhibit about Downs syndrome. Most of the photos were of children with Downs doing "normal" things that people often think that people with special needs can't, or shouldn't be allowed, to do. A lot of the photos were taken by their parents, or by people with Down syndrome themselves. As many of you who are reading this probably know, special education and equal treatment of people with disabilities is really important to me, and I loved that people with Down syndrome were being represented in such a positive way. 

Like the British Libraries, I could have spent much more time at the Shifting Perspectives exhibit than I did, but I had a plane to catch. For the first time though, I didn't feel ready to leave the place I was visiting!  London is definitely my favorite city that I've traveled to so far, and I hope it won't be long until I get to go again. 

Italy Part 2: Rome

Mass outside the Vatican

 My friends and I planned our spring break trip at the end of January, and we could not have chosen a better time to Italy; we  left Florence Rome on Monday night and the conclave began on Tuesday! So, of course the first thing we did on Tuesday morning was make our way over to the Vatican. When we got there, mass was being held in St. Peter's Basilica and was projected onto big screens into the courtyard outside. The mass was in Italian, and I could understand some of it since I took Italian in high school. When the mass ended, we went inside St. Peter's, and I couldn't believe that I was in a building where so many important people had been literally minutes before and that was the center of worldwide news. The inside of St. Peter's was incredible, and I was blown away by how intricate all of the architecture, paintings, and windows were.

Altar at St. Peter's

Dome of St. Peter's

Colosseum

As much as I would have loved to see smoke that signaled the results of a vote for pope, we were only in Rome for three days, and it wouldn't have made sense for us to spend hours waiting for the smoke. Understandably, Rome was very crowded while we were there, but since most people stayed near the Vatican awaiting the selection of a new pope, a lot of other major Roman landmarks weren't crowded at all. We waited for less than ten minutes to see the Colosseum, and next to St. Peter's, this was my favorite thing that I saw in Rome. I never realized how massive the Colosseum actually is, and it took much longer to walk through it than I expected. Seeing the Colosseum made me want to go back to my World Civilizations class I took freshman year of high school; I definitely have a new appreciation for ancient history that I never did before seeing the remnants of ancient Rome.

The Colosseum is right across from the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, and we got tickets that allowed us to go to all three. The Forum was the center of Ancient Rome, and it served as the site of political speeches, elections, gladiator matches, and criminal trials. Palatine Hill is integral in Roman mythology because it's where the wolf that found Romulus and Remus is said to have found the boys, and it's also known as the site where Hercules defeated Cacus. Like the Colosseum, I had no idea how big Palatine Hill was, and my friends and I almost got lost wandering through it.

We didn't let the rain "ruin" our spring break in Rome! 

A stadium on Palatine Hill

During the rest of the trip, we went to all of the "must-see" tourist attractions that we could think of, like...

The Spanish Steps

The Pantheon

The Trevi Fountain

The Mouth of Truth: I had never heard of this before coming to Rome, but according to legend, if you put your hand in the mouth of this statue and it bites your hand off, it means you're a liar. Fortunately, my hand came out in one piece! 

Della Palma: not exactly a famous landmark, but as a gelato place with 150 flavors, I thought it was pretty blog - worthy. The dark chocolate raspberry gelato I had here was probably my favorite gelato that I had the entire time I was in Italy! 

The most exciting part of the trip was on Wednesday night when my friends and I were cooking dinner in our hostel. At around 7:40 pm we heard church bells ringing, and as soon as we realized that it wasn't a normal interval for church bells to ring, we knew that the bells were signaling that a new pope had been chosen! We didn't get to see the smoke, but I loved that we got news of the new pope in the same way that people in Rome found out about a pope before the advent of technology. It was really nice to learn about such a significant event from a source other than the news, a smartphone, or a newspaper. I soon found out from a friend that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit from Argentina, would take the name Francis and be the new pope. Since BC is a Jesuit school, I was so excited that a Jesuit pope was chosen, and I still cannot believe that I was with BC friends in Rome when this happened! I know I would have loved Italy no matter what, but being in Rome when the pope was chosen is something I will always remember.