CIAO BELLA!

Ciao! Firenze (aka Florence) is magnificent! Italians are crazy, but I love them more for it. They're all so passionate... about every little thing. Unfortunately I missed out the story I'm about to recount, but I have no problem believing it... My friends, Des and Scott, were eating at a little restaurant one night, when their waiter had a problem with another waiter, who was literally insulting his co-workers "Mama." :) So, in the middle of the restaurant, their waiter pounced on top of the other server from behind, tackled him to the ground and began beating the living crap out of him. The manager came over to break up the fight and was punched in the face. Less than three minutes later, all three men resumed work as though nothing happened. In one word, TYPICAL. Isn't that great? Haha... just retelling the story makes me laugh.
Our VESPA group is staying in a Villa here in Florence. The place is beautiful! Seriously gorgeous... but at the same time... it's got some downsides too.
1: It's almost the last bus stop outside the city center
2: We have to walk up the "driveway" which is a 20 minute walk... Dont get me wrong, it's beautiful, lined with big trees and surrounded by vineyards - but it sucks if we're in a hurry, or if it's raining or cold coming back at night...
3: Mosquitos (enough said)
4: Boys and Girls are in separate quarters... our first time staying somewhere that literally has different sides for each... but apparantly it's normal in Italy, and for Vanguard for that matter. :)
5: The above mentioned things wouldnt nearly be so bad if it werent for this last little detail...
WE HAVE A CURFEW!! of MIDNIGHT NONETHELESS! WHO DOES THAT???
How am i expected to see Florence when i have to be at the freaking bus stop before 11 oclock... (to leave me enough time for the bus ride and up hill hike)??

One night we went to a little club called, BeBop.. (i love saying that).. to listen to a Beatles coverband. They were sooo good. We had front row tables, and rocked out to a total of FOUR songs... because, oh yeah, we have a CURFEW and had to leave early. BUMMER. There's no way around it really... you get locked out till 7am if you're not back in time.

That really is my ONLY complaint here. Otherwise, Florence has been wonderful so far.

I'll write more about the city next time.

Gelato ice cream is calling my name for now. :)

Love, love, love, Melody

Buongiorno!

Move over Swiss bankers - team Italia has arrived. I know, I know - I was going for "corniest opening line"... I think it's safe to say, I was successful. :) So, before I elaborate on Italy, Ive got a little catching up to do (surprise, surprise.)

First... before I get any more behind... let me finish "Spring Break."

Like I said, Budapest turned out to be a great move. When we got off the train (luggage in hand, and no idea where we were going) we happened to meet a lady who sold us on her flat that she rents out to travelers... So glad we went with it... she was sweet and the place was great - perfect location. A little history lesson: Buda and Pest used to be two different cities, separated by a river - the Danube, now combined into one city. We stayed on what used to be the Pest side - but traveled across to Buda, took a few good hikes, and had some breathtaking views of the city. It really is beautiful... Id love to go back again.
A quick little story...
One night in Budapest, Michelle and I were at The Old Man's Music Pub, listening to some incredible jazz and these two older men from Cypress approached us and introduced themselves. Michelle and I reluctantly shook their hands and said hello. Then... they asked us our names... sounds simple enough. My friend smiled and said her name was Michelle. They understood. Then came my turn.
"My name's Melody," I said.
"What???" (really confused look on their faces)
"Melody."
"Whaat??" (still dumbfounded)
"Mel-o-dy... like a song... la la la." Now, in the past this has always helped people understand, or at least not mistake me for Melanie... but noooooo, not this time. Instead, they both looked at one another as though someone finally turned the light switch on... and turned to me with great enthusiasm and replied...
"Ohh, LaLodia!" (Duh!)
In utter defeat, i simply nodded my head and smiled. Michelle and I walked away laughing, and have ever since had lots of fun elaborating on the fantasy life of Lalodia. Ever since, "Lalodia" has picked up a character all her own.... one might say she's my alter ego. Lalodia only comes out at night, and nearly our entire group asks of her when she's not present. It's hilarious.

Enough of that... You'll all soon meet her. :)

Munich was also great.... Shopping was great again. Although we'd traveled through Germany several times, this was our first actual stay in Germany. Once before, we had a 2 and a half hour layover in Berlin that we attempted to spend productively by trying to find the remnants of the Berlin wall.. (to no avail thanks to the parade)... So, truly, this was our first "real" visit to the country. Well worth it... especially because we stayed in a hotel. A humble little hotel, but a hotel nonetheless, which means it had real beds with down pillows and down comforters!!! It was the best Ive slept in a LONG time. Plus it had its own bathroom.... clean floors, clean shower.... it was heaven.

After Munich, we met back up with the group in Austria... Unfortunately we could only stay in Austria for 4 days... but it was BEAUTIFUL. We stayed in Vienna.... It's no wonder so many musical geniuses have emerged from this city... inspiration is not hard to come by. We went to the Spanish Riding School one morning and watched the horses practice for their lipizanner performance... if u click on the link below, you can see a picture of the riding hall... it's quite impressive.

http://europeforvisitors.com/switzaustria/articles/spanish_riding_school.htm

Later that night we went to the famous Golden Hall to listen to the Vienna Mozart Orchestra... The entire orchestra was in costume, and they only played Mozart (go figure)... the night was wonderful. We sat in the balcony, losing ourself in the music. Classical music tells a story all its own. It was great. The city had the most incredible shopping.... kinda like 3rd street promenade -only bigger and better. I really wanted to buy a music box, but alas i refrained... they were all overpriced and would never survive my suitcase - I guess, one day, I'll just HAVE to go back -darn. :)

On our way to Switzerland, we took a day trip to Salzburg. I definitely let the nerd in me fully flourish as I purchased myself a ticket for the Sound of Music tour bus... Julie Andrews painted on the sides of the bus... soundtrack playing the whole time... me singing along.... taking pictures... frolicking through the hills... humming something along the lines of "The Hills Are alive. . . ." and dancing through thE gazebo singing "I am 16 going on 17. . ." Yes, another glorious moment for me. Now you all know. Some might call it embarrassing... I call it, truly liberating. Everyone needs to experience that. :) I think my 3 friends and I were the only ones on the entire bus under the age of 40, but we held our heads high. :)

So finally, Switzerland... Another wonderful country. I think I already mentioned this in a previous post, but seriously, the people couldnt be more friendly. I havent come across too many rude people in my travels, but still, our entire group couldnt help but notice the welcoming spirit of the Swiss. I'd love to live here one day, or at least spend more time here. Im not sure if I could ever move so far from the beach, but at the same time, Ive never fallen so in love with mountains - the Swiss Alps to be exact. :) We stayed in Zurich for the week and visited a few other cities between our group.... Interlakken took first place as being one of my favorites. It's just at the base of the Swiss Alps... It's breathtaking. I bought some Swiss Army knives here and look forward to airport security on my way home. :)

Anyway... so far so good. Ill write more about Italy next time. We just got to Florence.... so far SOO GOOD. 5 weeks of Italian life until home. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'll extend my stay. My friend Emily is living in an apartment here in Florence for the semester (which is a beautiful apt by the way... The Duomo at one end of the street and the "David" half a block away... not a bad location), so I may end up staying with her for a little while longer. It's all depending on how much more my bank account dwindles, so we'll see. I hear oil is higher than ever, so I'm not looking forward to gas prices when i return... but I'm not sure if itd be better to postpone that longer or come home before im completely broke. :) At this point, my ticket home is still marked for November 22.... Home sounds good too... so does Thanksgiving dinner.. mmmm. We'll see.

Alright all, I miss you guys. Love to you all.

Love, love, love, Melody

Swiss Bankers. . . .

Forget Italian men... I`m keeping my eyes peeled for a Swiss banker! They`re a dime a dozen over here.. hehe however, I`m likely to change my tune as of tomorrow morning when I depart Switzerland and head for Florence. haha
Switzerland has really been wonderful... its actually coming pretty close to Paris. The country is beautiful and the people are 10x nicer than anywhere else we`ve been. Seriously... all the locals are friendly and conversational and helpful... something about being neutral and not paying taxes that must put a persons mind at ease. Switzerland has three languages... German, French, and Italian (plus a few separate dialects inbetween).. and most speak all three plus English. Its quite impressive. The last week has been packed full of wealth seminars, business conferences, and investment classes. Ive loved it.. though felt a little out of place as I am but a wee college student with barely $10 to invest - haha.. A little ahead of the game for me.. but Ive got great notes for one day when that will be a wise move. Anyways.. these darn internet cafe computers keep running out of time, so once again, Im gonna have to cut it short. I miss you all. 5 more weeks till home!!!

Love, love, love, Melody

Spring Break!

Yes, I know... two updates in one day?! I must be crazy! But alas... it`s true. I find myself back at the internet cafe... dry, warm, and happy. So i figured Id write a little more while i have a few minutes.

So... Spring Break must sound like a strange title in the middle of October. But thats the term we coined for our time off school last week. Everyone was free to leave Prague (or stay if they wanted) a week early and travel to their hearts content, meeting back up with the group in Vienna by Friday at 7. So... with that, Liz, Michelle, Ryan and I all went to Budapest and Munich for our "Spring Break."

Budapest was SOO great! I really didnt know what to expect, i hadnt heard a whole lot about it - and now, Im wondering when Ill be able to return. Budapest is the capital of Hungary (in case u care) and it`s located in an interesting place geographically speaking... its right in between western and eastern Europe, so kinda like LA - in thats its a big melting pot of culture, specifically all types of European culture. The food was cheap... even though the exchange rate here made Prague look like nothing... 200 Forents equal $1. Ya... so for me to have $50 worth of cash on me, i had to withdraw 10,000 FT from the ATM. Guaranteed to be the only time in my life that will ever happen. It felt great. :) We ate like kings, and toured the city... Michelle and I went to the zoo (she got bit by a donkey... it was hilarious)... and the best part, was finding a hole in the wall night spot, called Old Man`s Music Pub, that even on a Sunday night was completely packed out... to listen to live Jazz - sung in English and Hungarian. It was a blast! I couldnt have been happier that night. I bought the cd and cant wait till i can get home and play it. (For now it remains at the bottom of my suitcase.)
I just checked and the time on this internet is about to run out.. so I`ll finish the rest later. Sorry to cut it short. Hope all is well.

Love, love, love, Melody

It`s Hailing Right Now!

Here I am... sitting inside a warm little internet cafe, dripping wet, in my sandals no doubt - while it`s POURING outside. Im talking, California does not know what rain is. God is literally throwing buckets of water on my head as i run (yes,run) through the sophisticated streets of Zurich - in my ever loyal flip flops, dodging hail (though it feels more like ice cold BB`s.) It`s quite a scene. Now that you know my present state ... let me catch up a bit.

While we were in Prague, we had a chance to see Amsterdam over the weekend. I wasnt planning on going, but figured it`s not really somewhere i picture visiting with my kids someday, so i might as well see it now or else who knows if i ever will. Plus, I was looking forward to seeing Anne Franks house. Anyways... we took a night train to Amsterdam (gotta love night trains) and arrived in the beautiful Netherlands early in the morning. Once we squared away a place to stay for the night (another thrilling task with luggage that now weighs more than i do in hand - dragging it all over the city till we could find somewhere...) We took off with a map in hand and went on a mission to find Anne Franks house. Now, there were three things i was interested in seeing, two especially.
Top of the list, Number ONE: Visiting Anne Franks house
Number Two: Visiting the Van Gogh Museum
and Number Three: I thought itd be an enlightening experience for me to see the red light district.

So... back to trying to find number one.... a good hour passes, we find that we`re almost there, and just as we turn the corner to her house... we see a crowd of people huddled around the window. I squeezed my way through to find a paper sign taped to the window that said "Anne Franks house will be closed ALL DAY on Saturday, September 25, 2004. It will reopen Sunday at 9:00am." Funny thing was, we were leaving at six in the morning on Sunday . Err... What can you do? We took a picture in front of the sign, laughed it off, and tried to not think about the fact that we spent a good 36 hours of travel for the one place that was to be closed the entirety of our trip. Dang.
Number two: The Van Gogh did NOT give student discounts and did charge a good $15 to get in... but at this point, we figured it was worth it. Unfortunately... I think i had set my expectations too high. The one piece I was looking most forward to, I found out is located in New York. I dont know how i missed that. But oh well. They had an Eduard Manet (not Monet) exhibit going on... (he paints lots of sail boats and ocean scenes - reminded me of my Grandpa)... so that was somewhat redeeming.
And Number three: This one turned out to be the most memorable part of my trip. Id heard stories before about how prostitutes stood in store windows - for sale... and how liberal the government is with drugs, but I still didnt know what to expect. I think its just one of those things you can only prepare so much for - and plus I didnt want prepare too much - that way it could be more real. Well.. my understanding of what smoking is like there was wrong. I had assumed that since marijuana is legal, people smoke it as commonplace as they do cigarettes in the US, however, (Im not sure what the law actually is) it seemed more like the way California is with alcohol. No one just stands at the bus stop with a joint in hand, but its perfectly legal in homes, and in cafes... im guessing u just cant consume it on public property... hence my connection with it to alcohol in CA. I also did myself a favor and visited the Cannabis Museum... otherwise called, Cannabis College (haha) and further educated myself on it. Ive personally never smoked the stuff, but for different reasons have developed an odd, closet (not anymore) passion for understanding why people love it, as well as why im against it, and whether or not the US government deals with it properly (which im still forming opinion on.) Anyway... I have a lot to learn, and would appreciate any commentary you may have on the matter. That part of Amsterdam was interesting...

The rest, was completely heartbreaking. First, let me say, that Holland, or the Netherlands, whatever you want to call it.. is like two extremes. Theres the one side... beautiful countryside, sheep, little blonde haired boys and girls with ringlets, wooden shoes, canals, and the adorable dollhouse architecture of the city....
and then theres the other extreme... the Red Light District... Men peeing in the street - in BROAD DAYLIGHT, pornography plastered everywhere - i dont think theres a word for censorship in Dutch, different drug dealers that in an average of two hours (in my experience anyways) approach you at least 6 times wondering if youd be interested in cocaine or ecstasy, and lastly, girls that have hit rock bottom, who literally stand in a window, in their underware, with no sign of emotion on their faces, beckoning for the men passing by to come in.
There`s no "caution" sign when one crosses over from one side to the next... but a definte invisible line separates the two - because they are like night and day. Without warning, I turned the corner, and immediately was aware of a difference in the air.
It began to hit me as we were suddenly surrounded by porn and sex shops... and before i knew it, brothels. The first time i realized what i was looking at, i was in shock. I stood on the sidewalk, in disbelief, with an overwhelming sense of heaviness on my heart...trying to process. I know theres prostitution in LA... so its not like they were the first prostitutes ive ever seen... but theres something about standing in front of an institution that not only tolerates it, but encourages it, coupled with seeing the emptiness on their faces... that simply made me cry. By the end of our night, it was a common occurance to pass by these brothels... i can no longer count how many i saw... but with each one, my heart went out. We took a few minutes to pray for those girls and the men of the city - Im thankful I cant imagine any more than what I saw.
::Lord, be with those girls. Teach them of their value. Please help them find hope.::

Well, by the end of the night, we were exhausted. I went to bed early (imagine that) and we made the all day train ride back to our hostel in Prague the next day. We left so early because we thought we had to be home by Sunday night in order to leave for Auschwitz on Monday... and turns out when we got home, that they pushed it back to Wednesday. (meaning, we couldve seen Anne Franks house... err)

Wow... that little update on my 24 hour experience turned out a lot longer than i had planned. I think the rain has finally stopped here, so i should take advantage of this opportunity and get back to my hostel before the weather knows of my plan. I`ll write more when I can. Im trying my hardest not to be insanely jealous of the weather report i just checked online... Home sweet home will be a sunny 85 degrees today. You lucky kids. Have fun.

Missing everyone. Past the halfway point!

Love, love, love, Melody

Onto Prague

Next...

After Paris, we took the train a good 12 hours to Prague. Prague is much cheaper than anywhere else we've been so far. We're finally off the darn Euro (for now anyways) and now we're dealing w/ Crowns. 25 to the Dollar... the value's nearly the same though... it's fun/frustrating dealing w/ such big numbers.

So Prague is beautiful - the city is one of the few untouched by bombs in WWII, so the architecture is perfectly perserved. However, it's pretty eerie here. I found out upon arrival that it's 80% Atheist, and the majority of the remaining 20% are into mysticism and witchcraft. Just walking around the city, I can literally feel the weight of it. It's apparant on the faces of the people and especially in the emptiness of the churches. We had our chapel in a Christian Cathedral one night, which was a great experience - I can only imagine the last time such joyful songs have filled their church. The Czech Repulic has only been free from Communist government for 15 years now, which likely plays a part in the oppression felt in the city. It's sad, but like I said, it's also been a good experience thus far.

We toured Prague Castle, crossed the Charles Bridge, and nearly got lost in this pub that goes underground 5 STORIES with caves and everything - very cool. I cant imagine what it would be like getting drunk on the bottom floor and trying to get out.. haha. Glad I don't have that story to share.. *wink wink* Just kidding. :)

There were a few amazing things we were able to do while we were here....

1: Visit Terezin... the model Concentration camp during WWII, set up to look half decent, so the Red Cross didn't know what was really going on.... this just barely prepared us for our day trip to....

2: Auschwitz. We left at 5:45am for what would be a long day ending at 2am. The first 8 hours were spent on a bus through Czech across to Krakow, Poland until we arrived at Auschwitz w/ our Jewish tour guide. He actually had 30 members of his family that died at this concentration camp. In case you're a little behind on your history like i am, Auschwitz is the biggest concentration camp there was... it's also the only one that branded the Jews with the number tattoo's. Absolutely horrific things occured here. Touring it was a very somber experience. We are truly blessed to not know what it must have really been like. It was a long, heartbreaking day. I think it's fair to say that our group went through a whole range of emotions... the things we saw and learned shocked us, angered us, broke our hearts, and hopefully ignited passion to take action in other parts of the world where things similar to this still take place... I'm thankful i had the opportunity to understand it better. It's hard to type out details about it. I'm sure everyone's already heard their fair share of concentration camp horror stories, so i won't elaborate further.

3: Our group also toured the Jewish Quarters in Prague and afterwards had the opporunity to meet with a Jewish woman who spoke openly and bluntly about her beliefs and culture. We were free to ask questions and she was gracious to look over our ignorance and help us understand. Again, another fortunate learning experience.

4: Karlovy Vary. Chelsea, Liz, Michelle and I treated ourselves to a Day Spa 2 hours outside Prague... Hallelujah! Karlovy Vary is a little tiny getaway spa town that is unbelivable. There's natural hot springs everywhere! It was heaven. The girls and I found a Day Spa, and I can honestly say that I havent felt so clean or relaxed in the last 7 weeks as I did that day. I didn't have to wear sandals in the showers... I could sit down without a constant to do list running through my head... and i got to wear a bathrobe for 4 hours. :) Not bad at all. In light of a few of the hostels we've fondly had to refer to as "home" in the last couple months, no one could blame us for spending money at this place - however, we barely spent any! It was so cheap! So we enjoyed it all the more.... Thank you God! You can click on the link, and scroll down the page to see a picture of how cute the town is: http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/373ab/63179/

5: And to end this note on a little comic relief... the arguably best 20 minutes spent so far on the trip went a little something like this... Ed, darling Professor Ed Westbrook, told the class on Thursday that if we all wanted to meet at Cafe Imperial that night at 9pm he'd treat us to donuts and coffee. Sounds great, right? Well, keep in mind that it's the ongoing topic of conversation that we are to be culturally sensitive and careful to not portray the "typical loud obnoxious American." And the few times someone has broken these rules, another has been quick to step in and proudly talk about our native home, Canada. :) haha.. So, that in mind... about 25 of us arrive at 9 sharp and are all seated on one side of the restaurant. They pass out donuts, (jelly filled might i add) and a couple people started complaining that they were stale. Well, Michelle had been previously asked by Ed to stand up and give a toast... So, she stands on her chair and calls attention to all Vanguard students (and the entire rest of the restaurant no doubt) when another student, Judd, starts yelling at her saying he doesnt want to hear her "Dumb Speech"... This pissed her off and she replied w/ "Oh ya?" and proceeded to THROW a JELLY-FILLED donut at his head. He then threw one back at her... You can imagine some of the reactions of our group. I was, of course, mortified - just so embarrassed that we were officially the rude, disrespectful Americans... but I was also confused. It's unlike Michelle to be so oblivious... and to top it off, after the second donut was thrown, our RA, Chelsea, stood up and yelled, "Food fight!" To which some students immediately stood and began to participate (bless their souls)... and others buried their heads in their hands in disgust... while still other Vanguard students were so ashamed of us that they left!! Ha.... Well, I didn't know what to think, and so I looked up at the waiters across the room who all stood their laughing. I was thinking... "WHAAAAAT? Why aren't they yelling at us?" But, by the time the bartender threw his own donut at us, I realized it was completely allowed there, and wound up having the best food fight of my entire life! Turns out, the cafe lets big parties pay extra to use their stale donuts for a food fight. My lovely professor had arranged it all beforehand, along w/ the several students who each played a part. It was hilarious! Once our fight was over, the place was spic and span not more than 10 minutes later. I was not so lucky as i had jelly and donut smeared all over my jeans, my sandals, my face and my hair... At least i wasn't alone. :) I imagine these donut fights go down a lot there. I've decided I'm opening my own in Newport once i return home. How great would that be!

On that note, i'm off. I arrived in Budapest yesterday and will have more updates on here and Amsterdam in the next update. :)

I miss you all. Today marks the halfway point of the trip. 7 more weeks until home. Aww.. home. :)

Love, love, love, Melody