Not much time to type right now.

We rented scooters in Rome--very dangerous. Theo acquired a sickly grapefruit-sized cut on his shoulder--but, we later agreed that it was the best "experience" we had the entire trip.

We're now running off to try ABSINTHE, a mysterious alcoholic beverage that is illegal everywhere in the world, aside form the UK and some third-world western European country. I'll be careful! (Note to film buffs: Absinthe = green fairy product consumed in "Moulin Rouge.")

We made it to London successfully, and I will talk to/see all of you when I arrive home safely to the trashiest continent in the world from the classiest continent in the world.

  posted by Brian @ 14:37

 
Aah, Roma. Rome. How dirty she is.

The past few days have been interesting. I woke up as we crossed the threshold between switzerland and italy. Apparently, Theo decided that we were going to stay in Geneve, instead of the pre-planned town of Zurich. Hmm...

Geneve is right no the border of Switzerland and France, so it wasn't very "exciting" or "new." Its main attraction was a huge waterspout, which lost its appeal after...how much time pases between two blinks of the eye?

But, Switzerland prove itself worthy--the climate wass very pleasant the entire time. Lots of rain. Lots of good food.

We missed our train between Culox, a bumblefuck town in the GORGEOUS Alps, and Aix-Des-Baines. Oops. So, we rescheduled and got a more direct sleeper train from Chambery, a small college town situated in the asscrack of the French Alps, to Roma. The only problem was, the slow, SLOW agent at the bu-fu train station didn't give us TICKETS, just an itererary. And while we have eurorail passes, we need a reservation for night trains. So, we waited around until midnight in the Chambery train station, in the frigid cold (oh, I lost my favourite Gap jacket in the Milano hotel we stayed in), and the TWO sleeper trains to Rome that were passing through the train station were all booked.

Fuck.

So, we stayed a night in Chambery. For $80 EUR.

Fuck.

We finally arrived in Rome last night at 11:00. With no hotel to claim ours. So, between dealng with phoolish phone card issues and fending off the hord of hostel agents pestering us for our patronization, we found a hotel for...80 FUCKING EUROS...called (shut the fuck up, I know what you're thinking) Hotel Aphrodite.

Now, I'm not a Greek history buff, but I can tell you no god, regardless of denomination, would've stayed in this godforsaken office building-turned-shithole-hotel. The shower, you ask? Just a hose out of the wall. The entire 4-square foot bathroom just turned into some sort of locker-room gang shower. Or carwash. I didn't use it.

I miss the comfort of hostels, I really do. Thank god for London.

(Why, you ask, didn't I just go with one of those friendly agents from the hostels in Rome? Well, I reply, because they are frequently fakes, who don homemade "badges" and lead you to far off, epensive shithole hotels...like the one we atayed at. Ugh. I hate thinking out loud.)

So, after visiting the Vatican and purchasing a REALLY high-quality Gucci-knockoff purse for my unappreciative sister, I'm sitting in the most inventive and practical enterprise I've run into while here--a computer lab/laundromat. Yay!

Off to play with my clothes...I come home in a week!

  posted by Brian @ 11:16