3 weeks+3 adventures= behind in blog posts

Ciao a tutti!

So after reading my friend Allie's blog today about how she had gotten behind, I realized I really need to update. Here's what's been going on in my life for the past few weeks:

1) My family's visit- My parents and my little sister Claire came to visit me for a week to celebrate my birthday with me. It was wonderful to finally have something to distract me from the boredom/constant rain and cold that had been most of February. Also, when they came they brought the sunshine with them and we even got some weather in the 60s, which was fabulous! Anyhow, our first stop was Rome, where we visited the vatican museums, St. Peter's, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, etc. The two highlights of Rome would have to be when we walked into St. Peter's and mass was going on, so my family got to participate, and when we went to the tombs of the popes the next day and walked in on Pope Benedict's Sunday address, so we got to listen to him speak. AMAZING! After Rome we returned to Florence, and my family explored the city, as well as went to Lucca and Pisa while I worked. Then we went to Assisi together, then spent my birthday wine tasting in Chianti. The week was way too short and I hated to see them leave, but thank goodness, I had more visitors the following week.

2) Matteo and Megan's visit- Less than a week after my family left, my friends from UNC, Matteo and Megan came to visit. Having my good friends around was definitely something I had been needing. We drank Lambrusco, in true ROML style, explored Florence, and ate lots of delicious Italian food, including the meals we made ourselves. The coolest thing that happened during Matt and Megan's visit was our trip to Lucca and Viareggio for Carnevale. I had been to Carnevale in Venice when I studied abroad, which is a huge deal in Italy, but Viareggio's was a million times better. Imagine the biggest parade floats you have ever seen, all with political undertones, and thousands of Italians dressed up in costumes like it is Halloween, all on the beach. A truly awesome experience, one I recommend to anyone who is ever in Italy for Carnevale. Hopefully Megan, Matteo, and the mysterious Rambo can make a trip to Italy again before they return to the US.

3) Morocco Foodies Weekend- The day after Matteo and Megan left, I hopped a plane with my friend Jen for Snow or Sand's Morocco Foodies Weekend. We went to Marrakech for 3 days to learn how to cook Moroccan cuisine, as well as stuff ourselves silly with tagine. We bargained our way through the souks multiple times, met snake charmers, rode camels, and hiked through the Atlas mountains. Some highlights from the trip were: a) the actual cooking lesson, where we learned how to make lemon chicken tagine, Moroccan salad, and mint tea b) when Jen and I got a private tour of our riad from the owner, a half French-half British businessman who said he just needed 6 million euro to make all his dreams come true c) eating lunch at the home of a local family in a Berber village in the Atlas mountains d) meandering through the beautiful and colorful Majorelle gardens and e) our trip to the herbalist where we learned about Moroccan home remedies, such as Argan oil. I did not want to leave Morocco and can't wait to go back some day.

So if I haven't posted in a while, now you know how busy I've been. Look forward to me posting again after my spring break trip to Dublin next week. Also, a shout-out to my wonderful boyfriend Andy, who I met a year ago today and have been with ever since. Love you!