La Mia Dolce Vita a Roma: Thankful

Wow, what a weekend! This Thanksgiving definitely goes down in the books as one of the greatest.

It all started on Wednesday afternoon, when the Hotel Tiziano staff pampered us with a gourmet Thanksgiving banquet. The staff went all out, decorating the tables with gorgeous fall centerpieces and candles and cooking traditional Thanksgiving food just for us (since of course the holiday isn't celebrated over here). I must admit, it was a little bittersweet, all of us being away from our families on a holiday so family-oriented in nature. After all, this was my first major holiday away from home and knowing that my family was all together celebrating in Boston made me a bit homesick. But looking around the room at all my girls in the same position, there was a feeling of quiet understanding and peace with where we were in that very moment. My friends and I all went around the table and said one thing that we were thankful for--much like the tradition we have at home. We all said something to the effect of feeling blessed and fortunate for this study abroad experience. Talking, laughing, and enjoying a delicious meal with all my Smicks, I experienced yet another moment of profound contentment...like I know that I am right where I am supposed to be. Even though it meant missing out on a holiday with my family, I know that in my mind, I will forever return to the special Thanksgiving I spent abroad.

Thanksgiving banquet at the Tiz

And that was just Wednesday!! Early Thursday morning, 8 friends and I departed for London for the 4-day weekend. Our travel day went seamlessly until our flight from Rome to Paris arrived late and we had to rush through the Paris airport in an attempt to make our connecting flight. Unfortunately, we got to the gate about 3 minutes after they closed it and they wouldn't let us on. It ended up working out fine because they booked us on the next flight and gave us meal vouchers (which we of course used for Chinese food....haha) for our 3-hour wait. Although we arrived in London later than we had originally anticipated, we were still just as excited for a weekend of adventure. Our first stop--even before we went to the hostel--was Starbucks. What can I say? Sometimes you just need that little piece of home, and a peppermint mocha did the trick :) Our hostel was much nicer than I expected and pretty good for my first hostel experience. Since there were 9 of us girls we had one room and bathroom all to ourselves. The hostel was full of students just like us and was located in the Hyde Park area, very close to the nearest tube station. After regrouping quickly, we navigated the city via the tube to the area around the London Eye for dinner. I met up with an old elementary school friend from California, Emma, who I hadn't seen in about 4 or 5 years. She now lives in London and goes to college at the Guilford School of Acting. It was so great catching up with her and introducing her to my friends while enjoying a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner (of Mexican food!!) on the Thames River.

SO EXCITED to have our Christmas Starbucks drinks!

Emma and me on Thanksgiving

Friday morning Shannon and I got off to a very early start. We set our alarms for 6:30am, but because we had forgotten to adjust the clock for the hour time difference, we were actually waking up at 5:30! It was quite an unusual surprise for me to be up and out the door by before 7am, but it felt good knowing we had a full day to sightsee ahead of us. The two of us got our first look at some of the major sights in the chilly morning air--Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Then we met up with the rest of the girls for the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. We had to get there about an hour and a half early to secure a spot against the fence, but it was well-worth it and I got several pics and videos to document the experience. Afterwards, Shannon and I walked through St. James's Park(in all its autumn glory!), saw Trafalgar Square, and then met up again with the rest of the group at Chipotle. Can you tell that we are Americans dying for something other than Italian food?! Don't get me wrong, Italian food is fabulous, but we were all ready for a change from pasta and pizza! Crazy coincidence at Chipotle--we started talking to a guy who was behind us in line with his wife and young sons, and it turns out he was an ND grad! He and his family live in London now since he is in the Air Force. Always great to meet a fellow Irish fan and share our love for the place we all hold so near and dear to our hearts.

"Hands down..best abbey I've even seen" -Joey :)

So London.

Front and center for the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace

Crowds gathering for the changing of the guards

Buckingham Palace!!

Lovely autumn day in St. James's Park

Friday afternoon, all 9 of us went on the London Eye--definitely a highlight of the weekend. The sun was setting as we reached the top, making the panoramic views of the city that much better. In the evening, we split into groups yet again (as you can probably imagine, it's a little difficult to do everything in a brand new city with nine indecisive girls...) to see various other sights on our list. A few of us went to the Tower of London, which was unfortunately closed at the time, but since we were in that area we grabbed Starbucks (again) and saw Tower Bridge all lit up at night. Afterwards, we went to see the musical Billy Elliot, which was absolutely fabulous! The acting, singing, and the DANCING...oh my goodness, so incredible and fun.

London Eye at sunset

Simply amazing.

View from the top of the London Eye

We made Saturday another early day so as to make the most of our sightseeing time. In the early morning, a few of us went to Notting Hill and walked around the outdoor markets. Then we all met at Harrods--another highlight of the trip. I was so overwhelmed in that store, let me tell you, but honestly, who wouldn't be?! 300 different departments and 6 stories full of Christmas merchandise, designer items, gourmet teas and food, and so much more. Apparently there's also a pet spa in there--I missed seeing that, as we limited ourselves to spending only about an hour and a half in there. I could have spent my whole weekend and then some exploring this fabulous department store! The fact that it was all decorated for Christmas made it that much better. Christmas + shopping + London = heaven on earth.

I LOVE HARRODS!

Necessary.

Later that afternoon, we made our way back to the Tower of London while it was still open to see one of the sights I was most looking forward to--the CROWN JEWELS! The Tower of London is huge, but we managed to see the highlights in the hour and a half before closing, and I can say with certainty that the crown jewels were my fave! We didn't take a guided tour, but the security officers inside the exhibit were more than willing to answer our questions and give us just as much information as any tour guide. One of them stood there and pretty much told us the whole story of the British monarchy as it related to the significance of each of the jewels in the Imperial Crown. The concept of royalty there is just so fascinating to me since it's not even remotely close to anything we have in the States. I can't even imagine how much money those jewels alone are worth, not to mention, everything else associated with the royal family.

Our final sight of the day was Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of London. Many important events, including the funeral of Winston Churchill, the wedding of Charles and Diana, and the Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, have taken place here over the years. It was beautiful, but definitely gave me a different feeling than all the Catholic churches I have seen in Rome. I definitely like Rome's cathedrals much better :)

On Saturday night, everyone wanted to do/see different things, so Cara and I decided on going to another broadway show at the last minute. We went to the discount ticket office and were ready to see whatever was available--we ended up at Shrek the Musical and it was so much fun! The theatre was full of parents and children, but the play was as top-notch as Billy Elliot the night before. All of the costumes and sets were so creative. We happened to be sitting right next to a family that was speaking Italian, so during intermission, I turned to the mother and asked, "Di dove sei?" (Where are you from?). She looked pleasantly surprised to hear familiar words of Italian, especially coming from the young blonde next to her and responded with, "Parli italiano??!" From there, we proceeded to have a brief conversation in Italian about where each of us were from, and what had brought us to London. She and her family were from Bari, Puglia, in southeast Italy and they were very interested and happy to hear that Cara and I were studying in Rome. I felt so accomplished practicing my Italian--figures it would take me going all the way to England to actually practice the language!

Cara and me after Shrek the Musical

Sunday was a long day of travel back to Rome, and we were exhausted from going constantly all weekend. But it was a relief to get back to our comfy room at the Tiz and catch up with Anna (Cara, Hannah, and I all went to London but Anna stayed in Rome for the weekend). The four of us then went out for a roomie dinner in Campo dei Fiori and shared our stories from the weekend....yet another moment of gratitude for my wonderful friends :)

Roomie dinner and desserts in Campo dei Fiori

So if you couldn't already guess, I LOVED London! It was so fabulous to have different cuisine and be able to read signs and speak in English. It made me feel comfortable and competent navigating the city almost instantly. I loved the architecture, people (and their accents!), and atmosphere in general--it reminded me of some of the east coast cities in the States. All in all, it was a good place to spend Thanksgiving, and DEFINITELY a place I would visit time and time again; however, I am VERY grateful that I chose to study abroad in Rome. My experience here is much more cultural in terms of the foreign language, customs, people, etc. Plus I feel so in touch with Catholicism here, and as a result I am learning so much about my faith and myself.

I'll be honest--I had some moments of feeling like I missed out at home/school this past weekend. After all, how INSANE is it that I missed the season that ND went undefeated??! Knowing that I won't be able to go to the National Championship game and seeing pics of my fam all together without me made me wish I were home. But I guess the truth is that no matter where I am in the world, at some time or another, there will always be someone I miss, some place I wish I could be. But know how much I am going to miss this experience come April 17th when I head back home, so I'm embracing it with all my heart and soul---and that's not hard to do when you get to live in the center of Rome on a daily basis!

Yesterday confirmed my love for Rome once again, as I went on an excursion to climb the cupola at St. Peter's. Easily, my favorite thing I have done in my time abroad! The 500+ steps were quite a workout, but the panoramic views of Rome from the top were well-worth every step. Looking out over St. Peter's Square, the Vittorio Emanuele monument, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and all the other major sights of Rome, I had grateful moment number one million. Today I'm thankful for God, life, love, family, friends, my education, and this incredible experience. God is good!