Straight Up and Dirty

So I know I said I would give you a deeper description of Rome and the end of my travels..um...on Tuesday, oops. But lets just think of this as a weekly TV show and you have to wait all week for the good stuff. Deal? OK cool. So where were we, Rome, yes. It was incredible. Incredible and overwhelming in the best sense of the word. Seriously, there is a piazza on every corner. Italian boys can get a little creepy when they whisper things at you while you're walking by, but I convinced myself I couldn't hear them, clearly couldn't understand them so its just wasn't happening. Thats how I deal. Other than that, it was absolutely beautiful! It was so hot outside, a far cry from London, and I definitely got burnt more than once. Who knew that Reba (of all of us) would bring the sunscreen. The tan girl from Spain brings the sunscreen..shocking..and the red-head frys because of her own stupidity. Who knew?

So we crossed quite a few things off our list there in Rome! When we arrivedon July 4, we saw the Colosseum and the Palatino (ruins of Roman Palaces) which was amazing. Colosseum was obviously great, but the Palatino is something you just don't hear about enough. It is this huge hill filled with the Roman ruins and when you take a walk up to the top you get the best view. The walk was relaxing and it was like being in a park, only you're surrounded by centuries of history. After finding our lovely hotel we found a great place for authentic Italian pizza, salad, and wine and then went to celebrate our wonderful national holiday around the Trevi fountain. The fountain was gorgeous, and crowded..crowded full of Americans with the exact same idea to crack open of bottle of champagne and where red, white, and blue with pride. It was funny actually and it would definitely rank up there with my other fourth of july experiences. No fireworks but hey the Trevi fountain will do...when in Rome you know.

The next two days were packed full of wonderful sights including: The Spanish Steps, all the Piazzas (trust me there were too many to name), Michaeangelo's David (huge...seriously, you would never guess it was so big), the Vatican (INCREDIBLE) and so many other things we would accidentally run into. With Morgan and her tusty guidebook, we couldn'tgo wrong. We ended up getting to do absolutely everything we wanted to do, and enjoyed some great Italian food and wine along the way.

So here's the cliff hanger you've been waiting for...on our second to last day in Rome.....we met a Paulo. You know what I'm talking about...(or maybe you don't ) but Paulo is the dreamboat in The Lizzie McGuire Movie who drives Lizzie around Rome and shows her the sights on his killer motorcycle. Sad I know...but I had this dream that throughout this trip, we would meet someone just like him and it would be just like the movie, although slightly different because I would be using him for his bike and to show me around Rome. Oops. Anyway, never did I actually think we would be walking down the street and Paulo would appear before us, offering us that very ride through Rome on his bike. It did, it definitely did except Paulo is now Leonardo and Leo is older and cuter and is a professional tour guide for celebs...not kidding on that one. He immediately fell for Rebecca and took her on a little aka long ride through Roma, showing her everything she would ever want to see, so much that it would have taken her a week to see on her own. Yes, we were all super jealous but she had a blast! He was very nice, and when we saw him the next day, Rebecca asked him if he wouldn't mind taking me for a little ride cause I was too shy to ask myself. Sure enough he did..and it was incredible!! So much fun, and I'm still thanking Reba as I type for such a great night...I wouldn't have had the balls to ask myself so thank god for her! Rome was wonderful and I can't wait to go back someday soon. There really is no place quite like it!

Since we have been back to London, there has been considerably less sunshine and heat, which although nice at first, I was beginning to miss sweating a little. It reminds me of summers in Texas, and although I am having the time of my life here, its hard not to miss home. A home I will not get to see till Thanksgiving. boo. But I will treck on, after all I'm in London! This week has been great as usual but hard because we all had to go back to work again. This week has been particularly great with my work, because my office couldn't have been more excited to here all my stories from Italy. It was so much fun telling them...they get so excited just to listen. They are absolutely the most amazing people...I might have to come back to London just to visit them and go out on weekly lunch to get pancakes. Best thing ever by the way..chocolate, strawberries, bananas wrapped in bread=kick ass lunch! It has been such a fun week, because me and Rebecca (absolutely adorable coworker) are going to have a Chinese/sushi (still debating) dinner date and go see Mamma Mia! It will be so much fun and I can't wait.

This weekend was my roomate, Kaylin's 21st birthday and we had so much fun surprising her with a cake, champagne, and a HUGE banner I had made for her at work on Friday night. She was with her family all week for the celebration and we also got to take her out to a club ONANON in picadilly last night! It was such a great night, and although I have been feeling kinda sick and haven't been up to my party potential, it was a incredible night all the same! I think she had a wonderful birthday even though she was so far from home!

Today was one of the best days I've had yet, despite still being sick. I slept in a little, woke up rolled out of bed and headed for destination Hyde Park. I was on a mission to lay and nap in the park with no care in the world and finish this book I've been reading, Straight Up and Dirty, by Stephanie Klien. Now this is a great book, and I would recommend it, even to my mom. It's about relationships, finding yourself, and some hilarious details about the red-headed author's love life. Yes, she's a red-head and no that's not why I love it so much. She's a great writer, and she tells it like it is. I don't always agree with her and parts of it made my cry (awkward in the park but whatev) but its a great memoir with little slices of Sex & the City thrown in for good measure. I loved it. Can't wait to start another book, it's great for the tube here when you get tired of the tabloids...although I have felt behind on my gossip these days so I might need to take a break from actual intelligent reading just to catch up on Amy Winehouse's most recent crisis.

Although I did hear about Angelina's lil ones being born, and even though Vivianne is ok, what's up with Knox as a name. Why do celebs feel they have to name their kids the weirdest names to make them stand out. Fact: with Angelina and Brad as parents, along with their 132434 other siblings...job done. Promise.

Don't know when I'll write again, because clearly I'm getting lazy but I miss you all. Time is flying by and I'm getting sad that my time here is almost over, but good news: you all get me back very very soon. And I get some decent mexican food soooo yay!