Two Year Tribute to Europe!

May 5 will mark TWO YEARS since I ( and my class and two favorite profs.) went to Europe!  I can hardly believe it.  I keep rechecking the dates in my head, and it is correct.  How come time goes so much faster when you are an adult?  This trip represents the start of life as I know it now.  Life as an independent woman making her own way.  That might sound a bit dramatic, but you learn a lot about yourself when you are halfway across the world.  The people in this picture all helped me when I needed it, even if they didn't realize it.  They bought me gelato when I was sad, and they didn't get mad when I laughed about that pop bottle exploding on them because they knew I needed a good laugh, and they formed security triangles around me in Barcelona to make sure I wasn't kidnapped, and they explored with me, and ate unidentifiable meat chunks with me, and assured me that it was okay to laugh and cry and try new things, and gave me good advice on dealing with problems I was going to face once I got off that plane in Chicago.  They showed me that I really like the smell of pipes, they haggled with street vendors with me, they worshipped with me on the tops of mountains and in extremely old and awesome churches.  They drank wine with me and hugged forbidden columns with me.  They played Dutch Blitz with me while the sun set over Mt. Vesuvius, they gave me gift ideas for family members, they climbed more stairs than I can even remember with me (even though we all counted).  Most of all, they became my family.  

Pete, Pickett, Prof. Lindsey, Becca, Me, Hilary, Amelia, Dr. Amundson, Cody, Travis, Kyle, Josiah, Richard, Steve, Mike, Wyatt, Drew, Jon, Alex, and Roger on the roof of Gaudi's Casa Mila in sunny Spain!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip with some of my favorite people!

The view from my balcony in Rome.  The hotel was attached to an old monastery.

The light cast from the oculus in the Pantheon.  Rome. 

A corinthian column capital at the Pantheon.  Rome.

My first gelato in the Piazza Navona.  Rome

My first Pizza.  Somewhere near the ATM we all used.  Rome.

Sant. Ivo by Francesco Borromini.  Rome.

Hilary at the Arch of Constantine.  Rome.

Hilary and me and the coliseum.  Rome.

The Coliseum.  Rome.

The guys (Jon, Steve, Drew, and Mike) at the Coliseum.  Rome.

A seagull in Trajan's Market.  Rome.

Becca and me being caryatids.  Trajan's Market.  Rome.

Josiah sitting on a ledge in Trajan's Market.  Rome.

Richard in Trajan's Market.  Rome.  Apparently I took a lot of pictures of people at Trajan's Market :)

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa by Bernini in Santa Maria della Vittoria.  Rome.

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.  Borromini.  Rome.

Twisty columns in the courtyard of the Basilica of San Paolo.  Rome

Interior view of the colonnades at St. Peter's.  Vatican City, Rome.

The Cupola of the dome at St. Peter's Basilica.  Vatican City, Rome.

St Peter's Basilica.  Vatican City, Rome.

Piazza del San Pietro.  Vatican City, Rome.

The Baldachin in St. Peter's Basilica.  Rome.

Me jumping in front of St. Peter's.  Rome.

Mike and Drew climbing the dome at St. Peter's Basilica.  Rome.

Exploring!  With Alex, Roger, Hilary, Pete, Becca, Me, and Pickett.  Rome.

Happy Mother's Day!  Many breasted siren.  Villa D'Este.  Tivoli

Me at the Villa D'Este.  Tivoli

Santa Maria del Fiore as seen from the Campanile.  Florence.

Detail of the cupola on the dome of the cathedral.  Florence

Best food of the trip!  Cody, Josiah, Amelia, Kyle, Me, and Hilary.  Florence.

Hilary working at the Piazza del Campo.  Sienna.

My shadow on some mosaics in Pompeii.

Richard, Justin, Cody, and Becca walking the ruins in Paestum.

Me, Cody, Justin, Richard, and Becca.  Paestum

Temple of Hera II.  Paestum.

Gotta love those columns!  I felt like a little kid climbing those stairs!  Paestum.

Justin and Cody hugging a column.  Paestum.

Super Richard!  Paestum.

Casa Mila.  Barcelona.

Santa Maria del Mar.  Barcelona.

Casa Mila.  Gaudi.  Barcelona

The German Pavilion.  Mies van der Rohe.  Barcelona

Montserrat

Hil and Me at Montserrat.

Steve at Montserrat.

Wyatt and Becca...before they were Wyatt and Becca (just barely though).  Montserrat.

Tapas!  Barcelona.

Palau de la Musica Catalana.  Barcelona.

Song of the Catalans.  Palau de la Musica Catalana.  Barcelona.

The Alhambra.  Granada

Tiles at the Alhambra.  Granada.

The Alhambra.  Granada.

The Alhambra.  Granada

The Alhambra.  Granada

The girls at our last group dinner.  Becca, Hilary, Dr. Amundson, Amelia, and Me.  Granada

The mosque at Cordoba