kallie.elizabeth.walker

Even though I’ve been to Paris before, it never gets old. I still enjoy going to the Eiffel Tower, walking through Notre Dame, and taking pictures of the Arc de Triumph.
They say the French in Paris are a little rude towards Americans, but I still haven’t experienced that. The French people I’ve met have been so friendly, polite, and anything but rude.

Tip #2 (after Tip #1: Ask the price before you buy): Drink your coffee standing up. Otherwise, you will get a service charge of around 2 Euros per person. Your 1 Euro shot of espresso shortly turn into three.
We were headed on the train from Florence to Milan, in route back to Freiburg, when we sat next to the cutest, old, matching (Purple, of course), Italian couple. They couldn’t speak a word of English, and us Italian (with the exception of my German-Italian phrasebook), but we somehow managed to carry on a broken, schrade-like conversation for the whole 2 ½ hour train ride. They reminded me so much of Ulf and Vera. Mari, the lady, was very proper, and slightly embarrassed by her husband, Bino, who was extremely animated, loud, and absolutely hilarious!
We got out pictures taken with them in the end, and I said “É stato veramente un piacere conoscerti,” or in English “It was great getting to know you.”

Firenza reminds me a lot of Freiburg. Narrow streets, cute shops that close early, and just it’s own adorable charm. The only thing I’m a little disappointed with, is that it’s a little dirtier than I expected, and very crowded. The 18 Euro Gelato put a damper on things too…
Ab and I decided to get some gelato for lunch. We didn’t bother to ask, and figured it’d be 3-4 Euros, since Florence was pretty touristy, and boy did we pay for that mistake. Two gelatos came to 18 Euros!!! I about had a heart attack! That’s more than one night in a hostel! What a tourist trap!
Abbie and I will be eating the free breakfast, skipping lunch, and enjoy the free pasta dinner at our hotel for the remainder of Florence, lol.

Every morning, I’m greeted by “CIAO BELLA!” and offered a cappuccino and breakfast by the friendly staff of Hotel Lodi. They are so nice, genuine, compassionate, and loving. Hotel Lodi is family-run, and you can tell they’re a tight-knit family.
I met Justin, who was from Canada. We somehow got on the topic of cameras, and I found out he had a Hasselblad 500 series! We went to the Colosseum together and took a million pictures. We went back to Hotel Lodi for a break to upload some pics, and Fabriosio (one of the staff) asked us if we were hungry. We said yes, and he cooked us the most AMAZING, DELICIOUS pasta I’ve ever eaten in my life! Thick, homemade noodles in a tangy sauce with fresh oysters, tomatoes, and meat. Yummmmm!
Later that night, Marius, Justin, Max (Great Britain), and I sat in the kitchen and shared a bottle of red wine. I’m getting to see some pretty cool things, and go some pretty cool places while traveling, but it’s being completely overshadowed by the wonderful people I’m meeting. I love Italia.

Words can't describe and pictures can't capture this city. I love Rome.

After yet another long mishap with public transportation, I finally arrived at Hotel Lodi. I was greeted by Marius. He shook my hand, smiled, and offered me some hot tea. I offered to pay first, and he goes, “First, I want to get to know a little about you.” We conversed a little while in the kitchen while my water boiled. He asked me how many spoons of sugar I wanted in my tea, I said two, he put in three. “Sugar makes life a little sweeter,” he said.