It's been a while since I posted anything, for which I apologize. As I write this, it's about 6:00, completely dark outside, in the mid-50s, and it has been raining on and off most of the day. I still have Redlands set as the location for msn, and it shows that it's 77 degrees there - a far cry from what I'm getting used to!
So, I have some really exciting news: I found round-trip plane tickets from London to Austria for 2.99 GPB (which equates to about $5.50). I'm so excited! Needless to say, I couldn't pass that up - I'll be going to Austria December 2nd through the 5th, with my flatmate Caroline. I think we'll land in Salzburg, spend some time there checking out the local sights (especially the Christmas markets), and then take a train to Vienna for a bit. I'm attaching a few pictures of some of the Christmas markets so you can see what they look like - they're supposed to be amazing!
I can't wait! I also found some flight/hotel packages to Barcelona, with flights about 20 pounds roundtrip, and 4 star hotels for 11 pounds per night. It pays to travel in the off-season, I guess! 
Speaking of traveling, as most of you know, I just got back from Italy. Talk about an incredibly beautiful place - the Amalfi Coast (in Southern Italy) and Venice are some of the most amazing places I've ever been! I went with Kelly, so it was a blast. So many stories, I don't even know where to begin. There were a few highlights, though...
I think most of you saw the sequence of me feeding the pigeons. I saw other people doing this in San Marcos Square, and of course I wanted to do it too. I figured that I had fed swans in Hyde Park in London, so why not feed pigeons in San Marcos Square in Venice? Righhhtttt...well, it sounds good in theory, doesn't it? So, I traipse over to the guy selling the pigeon food. They were in cute little paper bags, that were sealed so the food wouldn't spill out. I truly don't even know what kind of food it was - I have a vague recollection of some kind of seeds or nuts or something, but to be honest, that whole experience is really just a blur. After I got the food, I started to walk back towards Kelly so she could get some good pictures. All was still calm at that point (I'm putting some pictures in to help illustrate the events that happened, and to help me piece it together for myself, but it isn't all of them - there are more of the pigeon sequence on kodakgallery.com)...
Before I had gone very far (maybe about 5 steps?), I was struck by a mass of swarming pigeons. I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to liken them to sharks that have smelled blood and are in a feeding frenzy, except the sharks might be more docile. A pigeon landed on my hand, and I shrieked and shook it off. A few more landed on my back, my shoulders, and my head, and one jumped on my hand and started ripping at the food (this was all before I had opened the food packet, mind you).
I ripped the food packet open and dropped most of the food on the ground. I was surrounded by pigeons - I think they came from Japan, Italy, England, the U.S. - everywhere! - to get this food. I think the entire pigeon population of the world was gathered around me at that moment. I panicked that I wouldn't be able to break free of them, but somehow (and I really don't know how) I got out. I was sweating so much and my heart was going a mile a minute - for those of you who have ever gone with me to Knotts Scary Farm, it was like I had just come out of one of those horrible mazes you have to go through where people jump out at you. But, somehow, I made it out of that madness - older, wiser, and a little more worldly, but absolutely thrilled to be alive (as you can see from the look on my face in the last picture, escaping the unruly mob was a joyous moment)!
That is certainly a moment I'll never forget...
The other memorable story I want to share with you guys involves the purchase of a knock-off Louis Vuitton purse. There are guys selling knock-off bags everywhere in Venice. They have Prada, LV, Gucci - you name it, they have it. At one point, I stopped to show Kelly one of the purses, just to see if we could figure out how to easily tell if it was a knock-off or not, and of course the purse seller immediately came over. He told me he'd give me the purse for 40 euros, and I said no, I was just looking. He started picking up other purses, and I told him I didn't want them. Then, he asked me how much I would pay for the purse. I looked at Kelly, and then I remember panicking because I didn't want the purse but I didn't want to offend him (odd, I know, but he put me on the spot - what can I say?). I hemmed and hawed while he stood there, and finally blurted out "20 euros". "Done!" he said, and went to get a bag. I asked Kelly what he was doing, and she told me she thought he was selling me the purse. Rather than just telling him I didn't want it (that would have offended him, and I still didn't quite know what was happening), I started digging in my purse for money. Between us, Kelly and I must have had about 20.12 euros, which we scrounged up after several minutes of desperation. I gave him the 20 euros, and the bag was mine! I still don't quite know what happened or how I ended up with the purse, but I did. As you can see, I was pretty confused...
Oh - and the purse I have has yellow stitching on it and is a bit darker than the typical one, so I think that's how you can tell a knock-off from the real thing. There may be other ways, but I'm not going to investigate any further. Strangely enough, after I bought the purse, the purse sellers started yelling out to me to come look at their stuff, whereas before they had left me mostly alone. Apparently I had sucker written all over me.
P.S. I am trying to upgrade my membership on this blog so I can post more photos. It's 3.99 Euros/month, but when I try to pay, everything comes up in German. I have no idea why, since the rest of this site is completely in English and the payment is through paypal. I wonder if I'll be able to figure it out!