Rome: the pope, piazzas and pizzas

Before I talk about Italy, I would like to tell you about the combination of snow and England. In short, they don't mix. Think oil and vinegar, light and dark, Paula Deen and fat-free butter...you get the idea. It did snow a little over a foot, which is a good amount. But is a foot enough for the whole country to shut down? I don't think so. Classes were cancelled. Most of the airports were shut down. The trains didn't run. The buses and cars couldn't drive. All of this was happening just days before our trip. The schedules were all messed up and only a few trains were running.

Late Friday night, we jumped on a train heading to Gatwick Airport which was supposed to be functioning properly...until we got stranded in London, which was an hour away from the airport. We got off at St. Pancras station which was shut down so we were told to go on the tube to London Bridge station which turned out to be shut down as well. Then they told us to hop on the tube to Victoria station which surprise, surprise was closed. Kevin and I started to talk to some fellow students and we decided to split a taxi five ways. It would cost 25 quid each...that's quite expensive. One of the guys suggested we headed south on the tube about 8 stops and then take a taxi which we did and we ended up paying about 12 quid each. We arrived at the airport which was packed with people trying to get out at around 1am. We slept for a few hours and finally boarded our plane at 6:40am. Talk about an adventure.

We arrived in Rome and it was a nice 70 degrees here, no snow, no problems. On our first day, we decided to walk around the ancient part of the historic city.

The Coliseum

Trajan's Column

We ended the day with some basil and pine nut gelato from San Crispino's.

On Sunday, Kevin and I went to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. On most Sundays at noon, the pope appears out of his library window and blesses the crowd. So I decided to take my picture with the pope (He's the dot in the window on the right hand side). Not something you do everyday is it.

Picture with the pope

Pope Benedict XVI

St. Peter's Basilica

Sistine Chapel. We weren't supposed to take pictures, don't tell.

Later we saw the Spanish Steps.

Then we ate some tasty pizza.

On Monday, Kevin and I took a trip to a small town about an hour and a half outside of Rome called Orvieto. It was exactly how I imagined a small Italian city. On Tuesday, we traveled to another small city called Tivoli. I am going to make a separate post about these two cities. Also, I'll blog about the tasty tasty food of Italy on Salt and Spatula hopefully soon.

On Wednesday, our final day in Rome, Kevin and I explored Rome some more.

Oculus of the Pantheon

Famous Espresso at Sant'Estachio

Trevi Fountain.

To ensure my return, I tossed my coin into Trevi Fountain. It was a great way to end our trip to Italy. I had such a great time in Rome but to be honest, I enjoyed our day trips even more. I'll post my pictures tomorrow. Don't worry.

At set and ready to go...to Italy

This morning we had our weekly American pancake breakfast with our friends.

We also checked the upcoming weather, as well as the airport and train services - we should be clear for our trip tonight. Gatwick Airport is cleared of snow and is functioning...with delays...but functioning nonetheless. We're taking the train to Gatwick airport via London and sleeping in the airport on an oh-so-comfy airport seat. We leave tomorrow at 6am and we shall return late Wednesday night around 1:30am. Five days in Italy!


We going to be staying in Rome with a day trip or two to surrounding cities. I can't wait for Italy and I am so thankful that the snowed cleared up. Praise God! Also, it's 26 degrees here, it's about 64 degrees there. Shorts and flip-flop weather perhaps?


Alright time to pack!

My first official SNOW DAY

This morning, I must have hit my snooze button about 34 times before finally getting up. It was one of those mornings where all I wanted to do was lay in my warm bed instead of going to class. Kevin bursts into my room and tells me to look outside. All I see is white. Overnight over a foot of fresh snow has fallen on our campus. We received an email stating "Having consulted the weather forecasts, I regret to say that all classes on the Canterbury campus are cancelled for the rest of the day and the KLS Office is closed. Stay at home, keep warm and catch up with your studies." aka SNOW DAY. Studies? Yeah, don't think so. 

We braved the 26 degree cold and trudged a mile and half into town. We met up with Josh and Dave and then we all went to the Westgate gardens where we had an epic snow fight. Even the swans were out and about.

The cathedral had also been dusted with holiday spirit.

We defrosted in Whetherspoons with a hot cup of tea with milk and two sugars, of course. Then we made our way up the snowy hill back to campus. Parts of our school resembled Narnia. 

I learned that England can't really handle snow. All the airports, buses, and trains were shut down. Schools were closed. Apparently, this is the snowiest its been here in 18 years. It's also early...like several months early. Hopefully, this lets up by Saturday morning otherwise our trip is Italy will be cancelled.

Snowy Canterbury looks like Hogsmeade

This morning Kevin and I were going to go to EMP (Early Morning Praise) at church but we slept past our alarms at 5:45. We have tried to go many Wednesday mornings and have failed every time. Maybe it's because its snowy, icy, below freezing, and a 30 minute walk into town. We'll try again next week.

Thanks to the fire alarm testing, we woke up at 8ish and headed into town. We started our day at Whetherspoons which is the pub chain all around England. It's actually pretty good for a chain. I ordered the traditional breakfast. Two eggs, two bacon rashers, two lincolnshire sausages, toast, grilled tomato and fried mushrooms. I was quite stuffed and ready for a day of Christmas shopping.

Because of the snow, our main street, High Street, resembled Hogsmeade from Harry Potter.

We went from shop to shop to shop. At Canterbury Bookshop, they sold really old books and since everything was 50% off, I kinda went crazy. Those sales do make you buy more. I found a book published in 1772...4 years before our country became a nation.

I also found several prints of birds, mammals, and fish from the 1700's-1800's.

It's interesting because these prints were how people knew of animals. There were no real zoos or pictures to see them. A lot of the animals on the prints look nothing like there living counterparts. They may have had a stuffed animal for reference if they were lucky. That's how people studied zoology back then. Crazy.

We went back to Whetherspoons for lunch and I got fish and chips. I know "How English."

As we walked by the cathedral, we saw they had set up a 30 foot tall Christmas tree and a nativity scene. They both looked so tiny next to the GIANT cathedral.

We sat in our favorite Starbucks by the Cathedral for awhile to defrost. Then we made it back home slipping and sliding along the way. I decided to make apple pie because we had apples and an extra crust in the fridge. Ok, so I cheated a little. Our great friends, Dave and Josh came over to help us with the pie...I hope they came to hang out with us too.

This weekend, Kevin and I are going to Rome...hopefully. We have everything planned and booked but the UK is facing a massive snow storm. Gatwick Airport will be closed until Thursday morning which is fine because our flight isn't until Saturday but we're praying that things won't get worse. With that happy thought, it's time for me to get some sleep. Good night.

Snow Snow Snow.

This was the view outside my window this morning when I woke up.

This was the first real snow of the season. It did snow on Sunday but it melted as soon as it hit the ground. Not good for a proper snowman. Just to give you an idea, this is what my view was in October.

This is our dorm in Darwin College.

Everyone on campus was so excited. Spontaneous snow ball fights were everywhere. 

See the snow-covered cathedral in the background.

It is cold, very cold; its in the low thirties so were wearing practically all the clothes I have. But I am thankful for the snow. Snow is pure, clean and white. It is a great reminder of how God has washed our sins away. Thank you God!

A pazookie in Shelty's Honour.

This week with Shelty has flown by. I can't believe it was only a week ago when we picked her up at the airport in London. We had such a great time in England this week from exploring Canterbury, traveling to France and seeing London in one day. It was so great to catch up with her and see how God is working in her life and in her sorority. I'm glad that she was able to meet some of our English friends as well. 

Anyways, we left this morning at around 7am to bring her back to the airport; it was still dark at that time. We walked with her luggage down to the bus station with five layers on. After taking the bus whose heater had broken, we took the tube to Heathrow. Normally, it's about 45 minutes and a direct route but once again, there was a tube strike so we had an indirect route but it still worked out well and Shelty made it to her gate with loads of time to spare. We were sad to see her go but it will only be about three weeks until Kevin and I have to make the same trek ourselves.

Then Kevin and I walked around London a little. We saw one of Jamie Oliver's butcher shops and St. Paul's Cathedral. I know they shouldn't be compared but I was excited to see both.

Then we returned on the coach back to Canterbury at 3:30...which is the same time when it starts to get dark. Oh good.  

Oh, I forgot to mention that we had the first of the season here in Canterbury. During church yesterday, the white flakes started to fall and then it started to get cold, really cold. 

We had Josh, Doug, Sarah and Jodie over for dinner. We made spaghetti and brussels sprouts with pancetta. Notice that we had to use three pots to boil the pasta because we don't have a big one. 

We also had a pizookie in Shelty's honour. I reckon we had a lot less cookie dough than before...I think Shelty left her mark before leaving the country.

It was another great day with great friends. I'm starting to value the time I have with them more and more as we start to get ready to leave the country. I am excited to see family and friends for Christmas and the holidays but I want to make the most of my time here. 

By the way, it's snowing right now. PTL.

The Amazing Blean Woods with even more Amazing Friends.

Yesterday we went to the Blean Woods with our friends Josh, Dave and Sarah. It has been one of the highlights of my time here. We had some great talks, and great laughs. Our conversations ranged from what God is doing in our lives to mocking the American and English accents. I'm really going to miss them a lot.

 

 

 

We came back from the literal freezing forest and made some mac and cheese for lunch. As we entered our building, we saw a single snow flake, a sign that winter is upon us.

 

This was an incredible day. God has really blessed him so much with amazing friends. This makes leaving here so much harder. Hopefully, they will all decide to move to California.