Anyway, I met some amazing people in Florence, and they invited me to come to Rome with them. They were surprisingly, not Australian. Everyone in Europe is Australian. In Italy I met zero Italians, but about half the population of that island nation. They were from Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, etc etc etc etc. I swear, if I went to Australia in July, it would be empty save for a horde of kangaroos taking advantage of the empty beds. Actually, my experience with Australians this summer has prompted me to consider studying abroad there this year, because they are a pretty cool people. And they insist my perception of their spider problem is greatly exaggerated. I hope this is true.
So I checked out of my Florence hostel 2 nights early, hopped on a train to Rome, and stayed in a camping ground hostel with my two new Canadian friends. I did not realize it until I got to Rome, but when I checked out of my Florence hostel, they failed to give me back the driver's license I had given them as collateral, and so now I cannot drive. I just got my license in May, so this is pretty sad. I emailed them, they blamed the mistake on me and asked for 20 euro to send it to me, but I will not do that. That's just ridiculous, the card weighs exactly the same as a piece of paper with writing on it.
Moving on. Rome was alright. I had a great time with my friends, but the hostel was a total bust. It was on the outskirts of Rome so it took a lot of sweaty public transportation to see anything awesome. Also, the hostel website boasted a party every night, which is a great way to meet people, but our first night was a Peanut Party, which is exactly what it sounds like. We went into the "club," and sitting on the bar was a big sack of peanuts. Not exactly the wild, crazy night in Rome I imagined.
After 2 nights in Rome and a tearful goodbye, I took the night train to Paris to meet my friend from school. He is significantly less lazy than I am, so on the day of our arrival we walked about 12 miles and saw the Arc d'Triumph, walked and shopped the Champs Elysees, had baguette hotdogs while dangling our legs over the river Seine, shuffled through the Notre Dame cathedral, and had baguette sandwiches and croissants in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. We got a lot done. Today we got crepes, and then spent an unusually large amount of time searching for baguette. We were surprised at the difficulty of it, given the fact that we were searching for it in the Baguette Capitol. Once we found a boulangerie, we bought some brie cheese, salame, and clementine juice and once again, ate lunch while sitting along the Seine. The rest of the day we sat in parks and relaxed in general, then spent four hours at night wandering through the Louvre looking at objects d'art. That was fun.
Tomorrow I leave for London to see my man, which I am greatly looking forward to. He has enticed me with a promise of burritos. I hope I can manage this purchase, because at the moment I have a whopping $1.97 in my bank account. Thank God for credit cards.
