A quick update...

Today is St. Peter and St. Paul's day here in Rome, to celebrate the founding of the church. Almost everything is closed so we spent much of the day wandering around, starting with St. Peter's Bascilica because we are staying right near there. I visited the church my first day here in Rome, but since my mom wasn't feeling well she didn't come in with me. So today we went in again and amazingly, the Pope was there! The church was ridiculously packed for a special mass that the Pope led and we wandered in cluelessly along with all the other tourists and were surprised to see the Pope himself! Ha! I snapped a few pictures, just to prove we were there. :-)Just thought a few of you would appreciate that update. Haha.

Anyway we spent the rest of the day walking around Rome. We spent a few hours relaxing and people-watching in the beautiful Villa Borgehse, an enormous park filled with statues, lakes, lawns and tons of people. It was a really nice way to spend an afternoon. We wandered back down into the city and had a late lunch by the Spanish Steps. Tonight is our second to last night in Rome so we will see what tomorrow brings and then it's home to California!

SORRY...it's been so long!!

Ok so it has been forever since I lasted posted and I apologize!! The last day in Prague seems like so long ago but I haven't had access to this site since then. The hotel we stayed at in Switzerland was undergoing some renovations and so did not have adequate internet access. I feel like at this point it's kind of pointless to write an incredibly long and detailed blog filling you all in about the rest of my trip so I'll just do some highlights and then of course can fill in the details for anyone who cares when I'm back in the states.

So...like I'm sure I've mentioned a hundred times before, Prague was amazing! I loved the city so much, probably my favorite that we visited. Our last night in Prague was great...A bunch of us went to watch some World Cup games (sadly the US is out now...but we were in Prague for their tragic game against the Czech Republic and then in Switzerland for the rest...more on those later). After the games we stayed out to celebrate out last night in Prague (and the beginning of my 20th birthday!). It was a great night...but then it was off to Switzerland!

We stayed for 11 days in Montreux, a small resort-like town on Lake Geneva. It is a beautiful little town, with lots of restaurants and shops and not much else. It was nice to have a chance to relax in the heat and lay out by the lake. However...our hotel was awful. We stayed in one of the housing facilities for a hotel management school, but little did we know that the hotel was undergoing major renovations during our stay there. So all of the reasons that the group had stayed their in the past were gone (computer lab, sun deck, lake views, hot water...). But we made it through...and they threw us a BBQ on the last day which of course was supposed to make up for it all. Haha.

Anyway like I said Switzerland was beautiful. We only had 4 venue visits during our 11 days there so we had a lot of time to relax and just hang out. While there we visited the International Federation of the Red Cross, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the European Broadcasting Union and Nestle! All the venues were really interesting, but I'd have to say my favorite was Nestle (and not just for the goody bag they gave us). We had a really great discussion with their director of communications and all in all the visit was really enjoyable. Also, the last couple of days of the trip, we actually had some work to do to earn the 6 credits for USC. We had a debate (I debated the necessity of government involvement in certain media outlets) and a final which was a lot of writing. Not a bad amount of work for 6 units I suppose...although I sitll have a paper to write when I get home. :-(

But then the program was over and now I am in Rome with my mom! It's strange to not be with the same people that I've seen everyday for the last five weeks...I definitely miss you all! I'm excited to see everyone's pictures once we all get back to the states and of course am ready for a reunion. :-)

Rome has been wonderful. It's a beautiful city, but also ridiculously hot. We've been trying to get out early and see things in the morning and then make it back to our hotel for a midday nap and then venture out again. On our first day here I went to Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Bascillica, the Sistine Chapel and all the Vatican musuems. It was quite an incredible visit, the artwork is just exquisite. Yesterday, my mom and I went to the Pantheon which also was magnificent and today we visited the Colleseum and the Roman Forum which were both incredible. It's really been a treat to see all these ancient sites up close! And of course the food is incredible...we've been having great dinners everynight and every once in a while a delicious gelato (my favorite!). Sadly, my mom got a bit sick on the flight over here so she's been resting a lot so hopefully she will be all better for our flights back to the states (this weekend!).

This has been an amazing trip but I'm definitely ready to get back to California and see everyone...and my dog :-) I'll try and keep you all posted if anything exciting happens between now and home but otherwise...thanks for reading my blog!

Castles, Birthdays and the World Cup!!

This is the first bit of downtime I've had in a few days so I'll try to play some catch up about my time in Prague. Let me just say that this city is fantastic! :-) I love the pace of the city and even though I fail miserably at the Czech language, the people here are so nice. Much different than Paris, ha! Anyway the last couple of days have been incredibly busy with venue visits and taking in the city. I'll try and catch you up on where we have visited.

On Thursday we went to visit the Prague Castle. The castle looks like it is out of a old storybook, situated way up on top of a hill looking out over the entire city. We met with the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic which was incredibly cool. The Czech government is so interesting because it is such a new government for them and the Foreign Minister had a lot to say about the innerworkings of the republic and the EU which the Czech Republic just joined a couple of years ago. It was fascinating to be able to speak with such a high ranking government official. After our meeting, we were given a private tour of the castle (which no one else is allowed to do!). We saw all the old offices of officials and beautiful sitting rooms with ornate and priceless decorations. On the day we were there the President was meeting with the Prime Minister so there was a lot of press outside waiting for their arrival, very exciting. It was cool to be in a place with so much history all around. After the venue visit, we went to lunch at what was apparently the oldest pub in Prague so that was cool. After lunch we all rested for a bit and then a group of us went to the Jewish Quarter of Prague. The quarter is filled with old temples (including the oldest synagogue in Europe) and a famous Jewish cemetary. Many Jewish areas in Europe were compeltely destroyed during World War II, but the Jewish ghetto in Prague remains entirely the way it was. Sadly, the reason for its preservation is because Hitler planned to preserve the buildlings and cemetary as a sort of "museum" of what the Jews used to be like after his extermination of them was complete. Now, instead the buildings remain as memorial to the loss of the Holocaust.

The visit to the memorial, the temples and the cemetary was quite moving and kind of put a somber mood on the afternoon. However, once it was dinner time we had all lightened up again. :-) Thursday night none of us really had the energy to go out anywhere crazy because we had gotten up so early and had to be up really early the next day for our meeting with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The meeting with RFE/RL was one of the coolest we have had so far, in my opinion. We met with the President of the company and were able to sit in on the daily editorial meeting where representatives from each of the countries where the radio station is broadcast go over their local news of the day. It was extremely informative and really cool to see the behind-the-scenes aspect of the company. After our venue we had a review session to go over some of the material we've gotten from all of our venues throughout the trip and then...we went out for the start of the WORLD CUP!!!

It has been so insane to be here for the World Cup! The center of town is completely transformed with the addition of a huge screen tv and sausage vendors and beer stands, etc. Our whole group got together to watch the first game (Germany vs Costa Rica) at a pub. The place was completely filled with rowdy men rooting for their teams. It was a crazy experience. So we all chose sides and cheered along with everyone else and learned their songs, etc. It was great. Haha. After the first game we switched a different bar/pub to watch the Poland vs Ecuador game. Also, it is two of the guys on the trips birthday today so we waited until midnight to help them celebrate their 21sts. Lots of fun :-)

Today everyone is pretty tired. We had an amazing brunch at this restaurant called Bohemia Bagel and then pretty much just came back to rest up for tonight (we're going out again for the birthdays). There are more World Cup games tonight and lots of clubs to check out so it should be a fun night. We only have a few more days in Prague which makes me kind of sad but I definitely see myself coming back here sometime soon!

PRAGUE!!!!

We're in Prague!! Finally we are here...after the most stressful airport experience EVER. Let me just say that AirFrance and STA Travel suck at the moment. We got to the airport with plenty of time to make our flight but when we went to check in they informed us that we were each only allowed 20kg of luggage...which is NOTHING. We were all expecting to at least be allowed 50 lbs but apparently that was not the case. A bunch of people in our group got charged a ton of money (thankfully I didn't because I carried on my ridiculously heavy and oversized dufflebag) and we spent so long arguing with them that some people were "waitlisted" for the flight...including our professor and our director. So basically most of our group was just ready to head to Prague without our leaders...thankfully they made it on the plane at the last second. Anyway we finally made it to Prague and it is gorgeous here!!

We got in around 7 last night and settled in for a bit in our cute hotel before heading out to find some food. We actually came across this great pub/restaurant right near our hotel...great, CHEAP food. Finally a place where our dollar gets us a good exchange rate! Haha. I had an amazingly huge dinner and a huge mug of beer for under 10 bucks :-) We walked around for a bit after dinner and explored the beautiful old town. It's so beautiful...like a storybook illustration.

Today we had two venue visits...at a PR firm and then Czech Television. They were both interesting but it was a lonnng day. The second visit was over two hours long of walking around the television studio. It was an interesting experience because the man we met with didn't speak English so he had a translator which lengthened the entire presentation. But it was cool to see the innerworkings of a television station in the Czech Republic. The tv industry here is so new because before the fall of communism, the television was extremely limited. Now, although there are still only a few channels, people are allowed to broadcast whatever they want.

After the venues we explored more of Prague's Old Town. We're staying in the most amazing area...right next to Kampa Island which is right underneath the Charles Bridge (the famous Prague bridge) which is right next to Old Time. I realize that was a bad explanation but for those who have been to Prague...you know it's a great place. :-) We walked around a bit more and I fell in love with the city even more. It's just such a different feel from London and Paris...much more down to earth and old world. Now we are going to venture out to find some more food...possibly in the Jewish quarter. Tomorrow we have two more venue visits including a private tour of the Prague Castle by the President's assistant. :-)

Au revoir to Paris...and off to Prague!!!

In a few hours we leave for Prague!! Paris has been wonderful but I'm also excited to move on to a new city :-) Yesterday was a great last day in Paris. I spent the morning walking around the Morais (sp?) district which is traditionally the Jewish quarter. I went to the Picasso museum in that area which was fantastic and then got to sit in the museum's garden with a cup of coffee and enjoy the beautiful weather! After shopping and wandering I met Kelsey for lunch at this great little cafe and had the best salad ever! Haha.

At 4 we met up with the entire group to do our whole group activity for Paris. We walked down to the river and caught a river cruise past all of Paris' major sights. It was beautiful. We got off at the Eiffel Tower stop and went to this great restaurant around the corner for a group dinner (paid for by SC...yay!). Then we bought some bottles of wine and went and had a few glasses on the Eiffel Tower lawn and waited for the sun to set. Once it started to get dark we got in line to go up the tower (again...free because of SC :-)). I made it all the way up! Haha for those who don't know I am terrified of heights and last time I was in Paris I only made it halfway up the tower. However, this time we went all the way up and I even stood on the edge haha. It was gorgeous up there (although extremely windy) and I have some amazing pictures. Anyway after our Eiffel Tower experience we came back to our area and had a drink in a famous cafe called Le Deux Magot which artists and writers like Picasso and Hemingway used to frequent. It was a great ending to the night.

Now we are getting ready to leave for Prague which I am sooo excited for! We're apparently going to be very busy in Prague with venue visits but I'm looking forward to getting some sightseeing in as well. Again, not sure what the internet situation will be in Prague but hopefully I'll be able to update soon. :-)

PARIS!!!

Finally...INTERNET! haha. I finally have access to a computer that works so I figured it was about time to update you all on my adventures. I've been in Paris since Tuesday and it has been amazing! We took the train here from London so I got a chance to see the beautiful English and French countrysides (when I wasn't nodding off...) which are gorgeous as you might imagine (or know). Our hotel here is in the heart of St. Germain, a very central and ritzy district of Paris. Because the streets here are so small, our bus from the train station had to drop us a few blocks away so we all struggled down the cobblestoned streets (we must have looked hilarious) only to find that there is no elevator to our rooms! Ah! Needless to say it was quite a feat lugging my enormous suitcase and dufflebag up four flights of tiny stairs to our room. But we made it! Haha.

Being in France has been a little frustrating because I really don't speak the language at all. Thank god I have Kelsey, one of my roommates from London who studied all last semester here in Paris. She has been our navigator and translator everywhere we go! I do try to speak a little although I must sound like a complete idiot because normally people let me struggle for a while and then just give in and start speaking English. :-) I've been trying to take in as much of Paris as I can because we're only here for a week...so I've been pretty busy with venue visits and touristy stuff. Our first venue visit (Wednesday) was to the International Herald Tribune, an English language international newspaper that is headquartered in France. We spoke with one of their editors about the responsibilities of an international paper and the changing newspaper industry. I think it was my favorite venue visit so far because it really seemed like something I may want to do later in life so I plan to keep in touch with the woman we spoke with in case I ever feel like applying for a job overseas :-) While we've been here we also visited L'Oreal and spoke with their Director of Philanthropy which while not something I'm interested in doing as a career, was still an interesting presentation (and we got gift bags full of samples!!). We also met with the O.E.C.D which is an international organization that helps countries throughout the world determine governing and economic policies. It was very tight security and fun to be hearing such "classified" information about the relationships between different countries.

So when not traveling to and from venue visits, I've been busy taking in the city of Paris. I was here about five years ago so I've seen many of the super touristy things before but I think the city is so beautiful that I really haven't minded seeing many of the sights again. The first day we were here we walked all around our neighborhood, had a crepe (sooo good!) and walked over to Notre Dame. We happened to walk in during an afternoon church service and it was beautiful to see the magnificant building while the choir was singing. However, my only complaint about Notre Dame is that the plaza outside the church is FILLED with pigeons and some people on this trip think my dislike of the birds is funny so they insisted on scaring them into flight right in front of me. It was terrifying (I know Lisa will understand...) Haha. It was raining earlier in the week so on Wednesday evening we decided to see the Da Vinci Code (mostly because most of it is set in Paris) which I liked a lot. It was fun to see it and know that I was just at St. Sulpice (the church where Silas meets the nun) earlier in the day. Friday was full of museums. In the morning, I went to the Louvre. We didn't wait in line at all! Last time I was here, we didn't end up going to the Louvre because the wait was something insanely long and so because it was a Friday I was picturing a crazy line like in Eurotrip haha but amazing there was NO line. We walked right in! So we spent a couple hours wandering the museum, saw the Mona Lisa and other Da Vinci works and countless other amazing pieces of art. The building in itself is a work of art and I was continuously amazed by the gold columns and painted ceilings. Friday afternoon we went to the L'Orangerie which was by far my favorite museum so far. The museum just reopened a few weeks ago after being closed for about 5 years. It houses many of Monet's waterlillies. The paintings are in circular rooms so you sit in the middle and are just surrounded by his huge paintings. It was absolutely beautiful...we spent a lonnnng time in there just sitting and admiring the colors.

Yesterday we woke up and saw that it was gorgeous outside (finally!!) so we went and bought baguettes, cheese and some meat and headed out for a picnic at the Eifel Tower. There is a huge lawn in front of the Tower where we sat and ate our food and just layed in the sun for a couple hours. It was completely surreal to just be lying out in the sun tanning and look up and see the Eifel Tower just a few feet away. Amazing! There were tons of people out enjoying the sunshine and it was cool to hear so many different languages being spoken. This may be a little difficult to explain, but for some reason, yesterday was just a little off. No matter where we went we kept running into the weirdest things. For example, while we were lying in the sun on the grass a guy dressed in a full-body pink bunny suit came up to us and just sat there. It was the most ridiculous thing! Then later, we went shopping on the Champs Elyesses (sp?) and there were all these people in crazy outfits singing. Hard to explain, but for some reason, all the weirdos of Paris decided to come out yesterday haha. Anyway shopping was fun and then we went to Montemarte (an artsy section of Paris up on the hill) for dinner and then back to the Champs for ice cream :-)

Today I am just getting some errands done like mailing postcards, etc and then later I think we're going to walk around for a bit and see what we bump into. Monday we're going as a whole group on a river cruise on the Seine and then having dinner by the Eifel Tower. Then we leave for Prague on Tuesday which I am SO excited for!

Hopefully I will get to blog again soon although I'm really not sure what my internet situation will be for the rest of the time here in Paris or in Prague. Sorry that this post was ridiculously long...I just realized how much I wrote. Anyway I miss you all! Hope things are great in the States!

Off to Paris!

Today I am up way too early but for good reason...we leave for Paris in a couple hours!!! I'm so excited to move on to another city (with a better exchange rate!), especially Paris which is so much fun. We are taking the train from London to Paris so thank god I don't have to worry about the weight of my luggage this time around because I think it will be way too heavy. Packing next time should be fun :-( Haha.

Yesterday was our last day to do something touristy in London and since it was a nice, sunny day a few of us decided to head slightly out of the city and go to Greenwich. Greenwich is a cute little town that houses the Greenwich Prime Meridian (longitude of 0 degrees). There is an observatory at the top of a hill that overlooks a beautiful, enormous, green park and so it was great to spend some times outdoors and enjoy the sunshine. We took lots of pictures including of course me standing in two different hemispheres! Haha.

Once back in London we had a last dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in our area and then headed out to meet the whole group at a pub in Soho. It was great to spend some time with everyone to wrap up our visit to London! We drank and talked and planned things to do in Paris so now I'm even more excited for our next stop! We all headed home pretty early to finish packing and now we're about to leave...I'm not sure what my internet situation will be in Paris although I hear they have free wireless in many cafes so if I can just borrow someone's computer...haha. Until then, au revoir!