My life is amazing

The other day at school I was reminiscing with some of my peeps about Europe last summer. We do this a lot because we're in classes together since we're all Art History majors. Plus no matter how much your husband, boyfriend or roommate loves you, they can only take so much of hearing about study abroad memories.

Anyway, it was amazing. We bopped around Europe for a month and a half without a care in the world. So here are some pics. None of them are really historically significant, but it's a good showing of the taking it easy and the fun we had.

So actually, this one isn't about the fun. But Mark Johnson is an amazing man. He toted 23 girls and 2 boys around Italy and showed us the most amazing art in the world, and doesn't even care. Does he look bored in this picture, as we sit in front of a church in Rome that's by the Piazza Navona but I don't remember the name? Because he is. We went to the Colosseum, to Pompeii, to see Michelangelo's David, and all of it was accompanied by his monotone, bored voice. If you listened closely you could catch the occasional sassy comment, but for the most part he's just unimpressed by Italy. Amazing. Our other director, Martha, was exactly the opposite, which was part of the magic of the trip.

Yes, those huge lemons behind us are real. And yes, this Italian man wanted to be in our picture. Or maybe Becca wanted him to be, I'm not sure which. She was always asking guys like this to be in our pictures. This is at Pompeii, which we discovered is not only an incredible archaeological and art historical site, but it has some kick-a lemonade and orange juice.

Speaking of Becca wanting Italian guys to be in our pictures, this was her idea as well. Becca is the one in the jeans sitting on the ground next to this serenader. Clare is on the bench, Tammy is the one with the dark hair, and I'm laughing so I'm looking away. We were walking through the park, and this guy was sitting there strumming his guitar, so we sat and listened for a while. He loved us. Seriously, he told us we were his best friends. We bought his CD, actually, and a few days later we ran into him again as we were waiting for a church to open. He still loved us then, and Becca made him sing for a big crowd of us again. It was amazing.

And just after we ran into that guy (I wish I remembered his name! It's probably Alessandro or something) we went to the Borghese museum and I wept as I saw this

and this

and this

Bernini blows my mind. These are made of STONE. This was a magical moment on the trip when I realized that my new friends were just like me. They wanted to sit and just LOOK at these. I think most of us cried. We wandered around that tiny museum for hours, just talking and admiring. I loved it.

This is in The Hague, The Netherlands, which I highly recommend not only for the Mauritshuis museum which houses Girl With A Pearl Earring, but also for the huge public parks through which you can ride bikes. On one such bike adventure we encountered the coolest playground ever. It was just a bunch of stuff carved out of wood, teepees, obstacle courses, a Flinstone car. It was very exciting, as you can see. And fast.

After ascending the Eiffel tower on the STAIRS (we're hardcore), we decided to do something very mature and Parisian. Throw paper airplanes off the top.

We spit our gum off too, but I think there's only a video of that and no pictures.

For those of you who have never visited Paris, let me give you some advice: Everyone thinks it's very sophisticated to shop along the Champs Elysees. Especially if you find discarded Louis Vuitton shopping bags on the sidewalk and have a photoshoot with your friends with them in front of the Arc di Triomph. Trust me, everyone in Paris is doing this.

So there it is. My summer 2007. It was incredible beyond my imagination, and I would do it again tomorrow if I had the chance.