Where in the world is Ashley Churchill?

I got a free dinner from my hostel last night. It was ok. I ate one of my three apples for breakfast this morning. Scored lunch with some free samples at a restaurant. Hopefully I'll get another dinner tonight. Along with my Eurail Pass, I left some cereal bars at the hostel in Bologna. Hopefully those are still there. I can't wait until Friday.

So I'm walking from the main hostel building to the one that my room is in (they have two buildings that are like a 20 minute walk apart. I don't know why) after breakfast. I bought my train ticket the day before at the station, to avoid the lines that I might have the day of. I wake up early to ensure that I have plenty of time to get my train. I run into this German guy that I chatted with yesterday. He's askes me 'Did you remember to set your clock ahead an hour last night?' I'm like 'WHAT THE HELL??????? THATS TODAY???' I haven't read the paper, watched the news, or read a magazine in weeks. How the hell would I have known that day light savings time is today? If it weren't for my James Bond-esque digital watch, I wouldn't even know the date. So I run up to my room, and pack my bags at warp speed. I have 20 minutes to catch my train. Not an hour and 20 minutes that I once beleived. I jump in a taxi and tell him to gun it all the way to the train station. My hostel is way out the the middle of nowhere (and I mean it! in the outskirts of Bologna) . The driver tries his best, but we only get red lights getting there. I get to the train station, and look at the giant board. I haul ass to binario 4, and the board says 'no service'. I'm like 'Huh?'. Convinced that I have to take another train, I walk back to the terminal. I look at the departutres poster, and it seems as though there was some conlficting information. The train was really was leaving from binario 1. Which I would have made it if I didn't say otherwise on the giant board. So I buy another ticket from a machine with my credit card. Milan isn't that far from Bologna, so I figure that its not really worth using my Eurail Pass. I get on the train and look through my bag and I realize that I left my Eurail Pass back at the hostel. So I call the hostel from the train and ask her to make sure that the cleaning staff doesn't through it out. I know that she doesn't really like me. So I try to tell her how important it is. She says that the building I was staying in is closed until Tuesday. So if I want it back, I have to go back on Tuesday to get it. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that she won't through it out just to spite me. Also, to balance out the cost of going back and forth from Milan to Bologna, plus the second ticket I had to buy, I can only eat things that I can get for free. So not much food for me until I meet my mom in Venice (on March 31st). Luckily, my hostel in Milan is really cheap and my hostel in Interlaken (where I'm going after Milan) has free breakfast.

Everyone cross their fingers that the woman at the hostel in Bologna won't toss my Eurail Pass!

The homesickness is running ramped right now. I'm having a blast travelling, but I miss home really bad. I miss my mom and Corey, I miss understanding what people are talking about around me, I miss regular coffee, I miss the beacher cafe, I miss not getting lost on a constant basis. I might speed through my travels faster than originally planned to I'll arrive home early. I miss you guys.

You guys have been asking for more pics, so I created an online photo album to share as many as I can with you guys. It takes forever and a day to upload them at times. This makes it a tad easier. The address is...

http://photobucket.com/albums/h311/ashleychurchill/

I'll update it as often as I can.

I miss you guys!

-Ashley

Well, I arrived safe and sound in Rome a few days ago. Its been quite exilerating. I went to the Colluseum the other day. WOW is all I can say. I went to a Criminology museum too. Lets just say this. If you have ever had a brush with the law, be thankful that you weren't around 200 years ago.

Today, I went to the Sistine Chapel. Now I have to honest. I never real bought into Catholcism. When they were teaching me that stuff in school, I was usually making a list in my head of other ways my time could be better utilized. But being the art history fan that I am, I put my cynicism aside and head on over there to check it out. Man, its completely indescribable. Very little of it is negative space. Its almost all images. There are parts of it that look like lattuces and pillars, but its all painted on. Even the walls are painted with an illusion. They look like curtains, but its all paint. Deffinately something to see if you ever get the chance.

Onto other news. If there is one thing that I miss from home (aside from my loving friends and family), its coffee. When you order a coffee in Italy, what you get is pretty much a luck of the draw. It could be espresso, could be cappicino. But its rarely just a plain double double, the way I like it. Well, new developments in the coffee situation. Well, I was wandering around Repubbica Piazza this morning and past a McDonalds. Now I don't really care for McDonalds, but I headed in there for a drink. I look at the menu and they have what is known as 'Cafe Americano'. I figured its italian coffee with a fancy name. I give it a try, AND ITS REAL COFFEE! And they have cream and everything. So if you want a regular cup of coffee in Italy, your only hope is McDonalds.

Now I know that you have all been pining for more photos, and I'll put together an online photo album or something, the next time I can get more than 15 minutes of computer time.

Until next time.

-Ashley

Hey everyone! I'm currently in Florence, Italy. If you're an art or architecture buff, then Florence is your haven. The buildings here are really quite spectacular. They really know what they're doing when it comes to design over here. I've been scoping out all the museums lately. Yesterday, I went to The Uffizi. They really have an amazing collection of paintings from the Italian Renaissance. One of the more popular paintings, Boccocelli's 'The Birth of Venus', really takes your breath away. It has to be atleast 12 feet wide and is really detailed. The Uffizi is also home to early Rembrandts, Da Vincis, and other works.

Another museum that I went to today is Academia. Not a huge selection. But it is home to Michealangelo's 'David'. I have to say, that one of the most amazing sculptures ever made. It stands atleast 20 feet tall (without the pedestal) and is increadibly detailed. I reccomend it to anyone who has any appreation for art to see it.

Tomarrow, I'm off to Rome.

Until next time.

-Ashley