I got to see the Pope.

Wait… what.

On Wednesday Loyola cancelled classes and got all JFRC students tickets to see Papa Francesco.

5 AM and my friends and I are beginning our 3 mile walk to the Vatican in the pouring rain. What time does the papal audience start? 10:00 AM. It’s ok though. When we reach the walls of the Vatican we are one of the first in line, which means we got the best seats. It paid off because Papa Francesco literally rode directly by us. All the while though, little old ladies and nuns became suddenly vicious and started throwing elbows to see the Pope up close…. Understandably so.

He spoke in 6-7 different languages, blessing the audience, our families, and any articles brought with us.

He truly is a contemporary Pope. When he passed a group of Loyola students, they got him to throw up some deuces for them. Talk about a cool Pope.

That’s it for this post.

✌

B

This past weekend my friends and I hopped on a plane to the city of love <3 

Getting to Paris was definitely an adventure in itself. It began when the night before we were supposed to leave, we received an email from Ryanair (the most elite airline in Europe) that our flight had been cancelled. Why? Because the entire airport (Ciampino) decided to go on strike for the day. No biggie, Italians on strike is nothing new. I mean even today, they decided that tomorrow they are going on strike so none of the buses will be running. Except this is a huge inconvenience because we have the Papal Audience tomorrow which means my roommate and I will have to walk to the Vatican at 5 in the morning tomorrow. NBD.

So anyway, 3 of my friends were able to rebook their flights for free for the following day. But then there were two of us who couldn’t. Knowing the Italians are pretty chill, we decided to just show up at the airport (without tickets or even a reservation) and beg them to let us on the flight…

After explaining our situation to the ticket lady, she got her supervisor and the fun began (all of this took place around 5 in the morning). The supervisor came and promised us he would do everything he could to get us on the flight with our friends. He rushed us through security and within 5 minutes we were by the gates…. What.

And to top it off, one of my friends forgot she had brought her expensive lotions that were over 3 oz. But no worries, she made friends with one of the workers and she got her through security, cutting everyone in line and even stopping the x-ray machine so she wouldn’t have her lotions confiscated.

It was definitely an experience I’m never going to forget.

So that was the basic summary, details were left out that you probably would not believe unless you had been there. But hey, we made it to Paris!

Side-note: the French men are by far the the most polite, handsome, and respectful.

B

One thing I learned over this weekend was that Loyola will NOT let you starve. All of that walking too and from the Zone was pretty much all for naught. Literally, I don’t think there was one point during our entire stay this weekend that I was hungry.

So yes, Loyola does Wine and Dine you before raising your tuition.

We were taken to see temples and shrines and mountains. The place I want to talk about most though was the Amalfi Coast. Here’s a picture just so you can see why I am dying to talk about it.

So we were taken to this gorgeous hotel on the seaside and I fell in love.

That night we ventured down the mountain to a little town where the nightlife wasn’t too shabby. We wandered, just as college students do, and we found this amazing little hole in the wall. We all piled in there. It was like a Moroccan themed getaway. Instead of chairs, pillows were piled along the walls and mirrors surrounded us.

It was perfect since Loyola took over the place and it was fun to simply hang out with our friends in a close way. We literally sat crossed legged around tables. Talk about taking in the culture…

The next day we visited a buffalo farm which was probably the best thing ever. The buffalo were allowed to do whatever they wanted and they had little massage machines for them. They also got to listen to Mozart all day and they decided when they wanted to be milked. They were some pretty bourgie buffalo.

Our last day there we got to visit a winery next to Mount Vesuvius, where Leo and Bradley Cooper visited. I tasted some of the best red wine I’ve ever had and then we headed down to Pompeii. We ate at a restaurant near Pompeii and then headed home.

Before heading home though, I ran off with a few friends and we explored Pompeii a little more. I mean, we ate in Pompeii so why could we not see it?? We got to see some amazing sights and really see the damage caused by Mount Vesuvius. It was truly an experience.

Loyola, kudos. You did well

B

I could do a clichè post about how beautiful Italy is so far, or how excited I am to start my semester abroad here. But I’m sure you already know this. I’m going to give you an honest opinion on my first few hours here at the JFRC (later in the night finding out people here have coined it “J-FORCE.”)

I walked into my new campus lugging two suitcases after spending a whopping 80€ on a cab (WELCOME TO EUROPE WHERE THE DOLLAR IS WORTHLESS). Then after registering I, and 5 other friends, dragged our bags approximately 1 kilometer to The Zone Hotel, which is where I decided to live this semester. After turning a 20 minute walk into a 40-45 minute long struggle of avoiding pot holes and dog droppings (which we quickly learned Italians do not use doggy bags…) and helping my fellow “Zoners” with their luggage, we arrived.

Now this, you could say, isn’t the most inviting way to experience my new life. But I beg to differ.

When told in depth, it’s actually quite pathetic how hard we made the moving in process, but it also makes a memorable story.

That same night when the rest of my friends arrived we took to the streets of Rome and had an interesting experience. Making our way to Campo de Fiori, which is the “American hangout,” we got to see the Pantheon and other buildings that looked really historically important and awesome.

We make it to The Abbey, which you could easily say is the italian version of P’Cos. YAY!

When we walked in, everyone from Loyola was there. As a recommendation to other students who may or may not read this, and are considering studying abroad here in Rome, The Abbey is comforting because of your fellow J-Force students around you, but you cannot experience “real” Italians here. Most of the guys who hang around the American pubs are total creeps.

So we bar hopped a little, stopped to get a pizzette from our new favorite version of Star Grill, then grabbed a taxi and headed back to our little home on the hill.

So welcome to Italy Britanny!

So far, the Italian men are creepy; if you ever get lost, just keep walking uphill and you’ll eventually find your home; and get ready to get some gladiator legs from walking 20 minutes UPHILL everyday!

But hey, its just the first day!

B