Bella Londra!

Ciao tutti,

It's been a while since I've written, and in all probability this will be the last time I write while I'm still in Italy. I'll do a wrap-up when I get back to the states, but after this post, it's nose-to-the-grindstone-conference-time.

I'v been having a simply amazing time. After Naples, I had a short week at school (in which we learned the conguinctivo) and then I was off to London! While I had a terrible travel experience--here read: airport closed; went by bus to Rome; was forgotten at Rome by airport and wasn't given a flight until 6 hours later--I still got there (albeit a day late) and met up with my mom and daddy in Hyde Park.

Two weeks of utter bliss passed in which I hung out with my parents (my best friends in the world--the only way it could have been better would be if my sister had been there too), saw the sights of London (including Obama's contingent going to Buckingham to meet up with the Queen during G20), saw the protests, went to the zoo with my darling friends Victoria and Mark, went to mass in Westminster, saw Wicked, saw Dimetos (starring Johnathan Pryce and Anne Reid; not a great play, but then again I hadn't actually intended to go. Too long a story to write.) and so many other things. I have officially ridden on a double decker, eaten a Cornish pasty--lamb and mint; sooo good--eaten fish and chips, shopped at Herod's, seen the London Eye, tracked down and researched the Gherkin, went to every museum that I could imagine, and had a blast.

Some highlights: Mervyn Peake's self portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, Sutton Hoo at the Museum of History, Botticelli's Venus and Mars at the National Gallery of Art, Wallace and Gromit at the Museum of Science, and the Church of Santiago (mold) at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

But highlight of all highlights: Cardiff.

Yes. I got on a four hour bus with my parents to get to Cardiff for about five hours so we could get back on the four hour bus to return to London. But while in Cardiff, we made our way to the Red Dragon Center in Cardiff Bay and found the Doctor Who Museum. If you know me, you know my slight obsession with Doctor Who. (If you don't know me, WHY are you reading my blog?) So I was in heaven.

I saw Daleks, Cybermen, the Ood, David's red Chucks, Chris' leather jacket, the TARDIS, Trin-E, the AnnDroid, the angels from Blink, psychic paper, the clockwork man, the bug from Turn Left, K-9, Adipose, Family of Blood, the Titanic, radio-controlled Santas; I can't even go into it all. Basically the only thing missing (besides Chris and David themselves) was a sonic screwdriver. And seriously. How did they forget that? (Would have been cool to see the squareness gun, but I'll live.) But really, guys. Screwdriver. Slightly sonic. That's a BIG THING to miss.

After I went through the museum twice (I'm still wearing the entry-wristband) we took a tour around Cardiff Bay, which was amazing. All my favorite episodes happen to actually occurr in Cardiff; I've got a picture of me standing on the entrance to Torchwood, pictures of the restaurant where Chris took the Slitheen, etc. And yes. Could I be a bigger nerd? Absolutely not.

Now I'm back in Florence. Easter was really nice, but I was missing my parents terribly as we had just left each other again. The trip back was, again, disasterous, but I'm back and that's what's important. I'm almost done with one of my conferences, ready to start the next and then will have almost two weeks to do the third.

Wish me luck! I'll be back in the states soon!