Well it has been several weeks since I have returned home and I decided that it was time to write my final blog post.
The last two weeks in London were quite a whirlwind, first off I was not in London! I took my final European adventure of the semester going to Rome and Rhodes! I headed off to Rome with Emma and Mo at 6am the day after my final exam, we pulled an all nighter per usual. The best part of the trip was that my friend Maria (from home) met us in Rome! Meeting up with each other was a bit tricky since we arrived at two different airports, but thanks to Wifi and free Internet texting we found each other! The four of us stayed in a very cute little apartment just outside city center. Every morning the owner's mother came and made us breakfast and the best cappuccinos I have ever experienced. We spent our days roaming the streets, eating gelato, and soaking in the Roman culture! We even saw the Pope! While we were there we also got to meet up with a friend from High School, Sarah Freeman, who was studying abroad in Rome.
After Rome, Maria and I jetted off to Rhodes Island in Greece. Both of us were so excited (mostly about the food). Maria's family is Greek and I was able to come with her family to Greece last summer for three weeks, so I couldn't wait to go back! We stayed in the Hibiscus hotel right on the tip of the Island and woke up to a ocean view every morning. The first day of course we hit the beach, it was mid afternoon by that time but the sun was still warming the sand. That night we went to get a giro and it was as delicious as I had remembered. So all was well on Rhodes Island.....until the next day. Maria and I headed straight to the beach in the morning. We laid in the sun, swam around in the clear blue water, and jumped off the diving board just off the shore. After a few hours I noticed that my skin was started to hurt a bit, so I thought it would be a good idea to head inside. Not to my surprise I was a bit red. However as the night went on, this bit of red became tomato red, to stewed tomato and lobster red. And boy oh boy was my skin hot. That night after very slowly and difficulty putting on my jeans, we went out to get a drink. My skin was so warm that the air felt very cold and I was shivering all night! On our way back it became even worse, I became dizzy and nauseous. Something was definitely not right. The next day I felt like I had bruises all over my body! I realized then that I was so sun burnt that my skin was swollen. I did a little research and realized that I had gotten sun poisoning. AWESOME. Although I was in a lot of pain I didn't want to ruin the whole vacation. Maria and I had planned to rent a moped and drive to a nearby town called Lindos. Looking back I probably shouldn't have gone but oh well. On the way we stopped at a little supermarket and bought as much after sun lotion and sunscreen as we could get our hands on. My skin hurt so much that I couldn't rub the sunscreen in all the way so I had white streaks all over my body (really attractive). I covered up my skin as much as I could (including wrapping my legs with a towel) and hoped my skin wouldn't get any worse. When we got there I was not much fun, we mostly sat in restaurants and watched as other, non-burnt, people played in the sun. Well the rest of our stay played out about the same. Our final day Maria went out to the beach while I stayed in the AC of the hotel room. Before our flight I took a handful of Advil and slept the entire flight.
Our last two days in London were a whirlwind of sightseeing and packing. I tired to show Maria all the major sights in London along with some of my favorite spots while also figuring out how to fit all the stuff that I bought during the 6 months. It was a very bittersweet two days. I was very ready to head home but very sad to leave all my friends and the place I had started to call home.
Now looking back on my experience, I am not going to lie, I probably would have chosen to go somewhere else in England, but I would not change the group that I went with for anything. I grew to love every person in my study abroad group (even if we wanted to kill each other every once and a while). I already miss them all and can't wait for our London reunion!
The last two weeks in London were quite a whirlwind, first off I was not in London! I took my final European adventure of the semester going to Rome and Rhodes! I headed off to Rome with Emma and Mo at 6am the day after my final exam, we pulled an all nighter per usual. The best part of the trip was that my friend Maria (from home) met us in Rome! Meeting up with each other was a bit tricky since we arrived at two different airports, but thanks to Wifi and free Internet texting we found each other! The four of us stayed in a very cute little apartment just outside city center. Every morning the owner's mother came and made us breakfast and the best cappuccinos I have ever experienced. We spent our days roaming the streets, eating gelato, and soaking in the Roman culture! We even saw the Pope! While we were there we also got to meet up with a friend from High School, Sarah Freeman, who was studying abroad in Rome.
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| Trastevere (the first modern city) |
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| Maria |
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| The Vatican |
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| The gang |
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| The pantheon |
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| Mo at the Trevi |
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| Making sure our coins went in |
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| The Spanish steps |
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| Meeting Sarah! |
After Rome, Maria and I jetted off to Rhodes Island in Greece. Both of us were so excited (mostly about the food). Maria's family is Greek and I was able to come with her family to Greece last summer for three weeks, so I couldn't wait to go back! We stayed in the Hibiscus hotel right on the tip of the Island and woke up to a ocean view every morning. The first day of course we hit the beach, it was mid afternoon by that time but the sun was still warming the sand. That night we went to get a giro and it was as delicious as I had remembered. So all was well on Rhodes Island.....until the next day. Maria and I headed straight to the beach in the morning. We laid in the sun, swam around in the clear blue water, and jumped off the diving board just off the shore. After a few hours I noticed that my skin was started to hurt a bit, so I thought it would be a good idea to head inside. Not to my surprise I was a bit red. However as the night went on, this bit of red became tomato red, to stewed tomato and lobster red. And boy oh boy was my skin hot. That night after very slowly and difficulty putting on my jeans, we went out to get a drink. My skin was so warm that the air felt very cold and I was shivering all night! On our way back it became even worse, I became dizzy and nauseous. Something was definitely not right. The next day I felt like I had bruises all over my body! I realized then that I was so sun burnt that my skin was swollen. I did a little research and realized that I had gotten sun poisoning. AWESOME. Although I was in a lot of pain I didn't want to ruin the whole vacation. Maria and I had planned to rent a moped and drive to a nearby town called Lindos. Looking back I probably shouldn't have gone but oh well. On the way we stopped at a little supermarket and bought as much after sun lotion and sunscreen as we could get our hands on. My skin hurt so much that I couldn't rub the sunscreen in all the way so I had white streaks all over my body (really attractive). I covered up my skin as much as I could (including wrapping my legs with a towel) and hoped my skin wouldn't get any worse. When we got there I was not much fun, we mostly sat in restaurants and watched as other, non-burnt, people played in the sun. Well the rest of our stay played out about the same. Our final day Maria went out to the beach while I stayed in the AC of the hotel room. Before our flight I took a handful of Advil and slept the entire flight.
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| The view from our hotel room! |
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| The diving board |
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| Sunrise |
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| Lindos |
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| Our moped! |
Our last two days in London were a whirlwind of sightseeing and packing. I tired to show Maria all the major sights in London along with some of my favorite spots while also figuring out how to fit all the stuff that I bought during the 6 months. It was a very bittersweet two days. I was very ready to head home but very sad to leave all my friends and the place I had started to call home.
Now looking back on my experience, I am not going to lie, I probably would have chosen to go somewhere else in England, but I would not change the group that I went with for anything. I grew to love every person in my study abroad group (even if we wanted to kill each other every once and a while). I already miss them all and can't wait for our London reunion!
