I'm just really on top of things....but hey, this entry isn't 2 wks late like the other! So last week, I had the WONDERFUL experience of culture shock, times 3. Yup, Sara being the adventurous person she is, decided not to follow in the steps of everyother person on skiing holiday and actually ski, decided that "hey i'm in the EU, lets see if its as easy to get around in as they say". Well Um....I'm still alive and I've seen Switzerland in the dark, Spain and Italy. It was a very long week, but I did it! Kate and I pulled out of Grenoble at 530 thursday night and headed to Geneve to catch our flight to Alicante Spain. When we arrived in Geneve, We proceeded to get frisked for money~by that I mean, we were told we couldn't sleep in the airport and that we should check out the City Hostel down the way. After spending our first night in the hostel and not dying like those in the movie "Hostel", we felt a little better about ourselves. Alicante Spain turned out to be......well.....Spanish. *Note~Sara is never going back to Spain, unless its to fly through to somewhere else* Alicante was beautifully warm and the sea was amazing. But the people were....interesting. Because neither of us spoke Spanish, getting anythin was very difficult. But I did manage to talk a lady out of cheating me out of 30 euros. I was pretty proud. We saw the MARQ..an archeological muesum that tracks civiliaztion in Spain. It was gorgeous. We also literally ran into Spainish Carnavale. I liked Venize's better. Spain's was just....well....Spanish. Then on Monday we took a train, which was a apparently overbooked, so we sat in the cafeteria, to Valencia. Which was also, Spanish. Pretty buildings, But I just wanted to get to the airport. Which apparently is about 5 kilometers out of town. Yup. Guess what the smart ones did? Yup. You guessed it. We walked to the airport. I slept really good on the flight to Rome

Rome was absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it to everyone. Although I only got to see the Colosseum, Cirque Maxis, and the Roman Ruins, one could just feel the culture and history in Rome. It was gorgeous. Oh yeah, I did see the only remaining fresco from the Moyen Age(Middle Ages to everyone back home). It was, old. But pretty. I definately will be going back to Rome. It was my favorite place so far.

On Wednesday we headed down to Naples and Pompeii. Naples would have been good, if we hadn't been in the ghetto, where there are apparently no restaurants. Naples is also on my never to go again list. Compared to Rome, it was dirtier and the people were....louder. It is a good place to stay though if you're just making a trip down to Pompeii. Which by the way, is as AMAZING as the photos. Kate didn't like it very much, but I could have spent hours in there. It was great to see the little restaurants, houses, streets, bathrooms, all preserved. I would love to know more about what they're doing there. We did however make it to a little Villa thats not really mentioned when talking about Pompeii. Its the Villa Opolonits. It was the villa of Emporer Neros wife, and apparently had all the windows and doors shut when Vesuvius blew. All the frescos on the ceilings and walls, and mosics on the floors are in almost perfect condition. I was very impressed. I would have loved to see this place back in the day.

*Side note~ if Vesuvius blew today, 300000 people would die* THank MSN for that tidbit.

I am glad to be back in Grenoble though. 3 countries in one week was a bit much for me and now I'm paying the price with a nasty cold. Lol.

well I need to go to class, so AU Revior!

Bisous!

Sara