Rome: Really Very Good for One's Self Esteem, for Five Goddamn Minutes. Then ENOUGH.

Oooh my. No, not lost - this past week has really, incredibly flown by, though! I'm finally in Rome, where I'll be until the morning of the 12th, when I fly back to London for two days before heading to Munich with my younger brother. I am SO looking forward to staying in a real hotel, oh dear god. So much.

But yes - the first wave was kind of like "oh, okay, so the rumors are true." And then? The following. And pestering. And me having to ignore and walk into traffic like any good Roman would do, just so it looks like (a) I know what I'm doing, and (b) NO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I AM NOT INTERESTED. I AM WALKING INTO DIRECT TRAFFIC TO AVOID YOU. JESUS.

Ahem. But the people here (mainly female store clerks I'm talking about, here) are very friendly when I attempt my piss-poor Italian phrases, so that's enjoyable. It's also gorgeous.

Recapping the trip a little bit, just so I remember in case I have time to write a longer entry later.

Bratislava: small, cute in the old town, but when you discover that 2/3 of it was knocked down during the Cold War, you kind of understand why it is so very small. It wasn't exactly depressing per se, but once we got to Budapest, I realized just how very much Bratislava, well, kind of sucked as a tourist destination. It was great for flying into early, catching some warm, sunny weather, and napping for a first day, however.

Also, Jeanyne had put the rest of her poppyseed roll in her pocket in a bag that felt like someone had put a dead rat there when she reached in for it later. It was one of those beyond-priceless moments.

Budapest: GORGEOUS. The people weren't as friendly as in Bratislava, but that's probably due a great deal to tourist overkill in the past few years. We spent two days here, and it was so leisurely and just great. I loved it. I wish I could speak Hungarian (or Maygar, as I learned they called it. I am so smart). The Danube was floooooooooooooded, though, so some of the street signs were covered.

Vienna: nice; it was one of those cities that would be great if you went there with a ton of money to spend, but alas, I am drastically running out of funds. It was very pretty, but felt very compact - definitely less walking around to do. I even ran into Amber really randomly on two separate occasions, once when I was wandering the center, and the other time when we were both catching the tram to Schloss Schonbrun (which was pretty, but is a palace, so that's to be expected).

Innsbruck: I decided to hit this place after realizing that no money in Vienna was not going to be a good time at all. It was so chalet-tastic, it was great. I stayed in an actual hotel, and I swear to god, I bought some truffles, wandered the little Alpine town, then went back to the room and ate those truffles while I took a bath. THAT won't be happening again for a loooooong time, I can tell. The people there were incredibly friendly; if I skied, I'd really want to go back.

Zurich: I met back up with Liz and Jeanyne after they spent the day in Vienna and subsequently headed to Munich (which they kind of told me was boring, so it sounds like my brother and I will have to wreak some havoc next week). It was SO nice there, but SO EXPENSIVE. MY GOD. THE PRICES. It's extra-insane, too, because the franc is actually valued lower than the dollar, which means we should be getting a deal. Unfortunately, even the chai at Starbucks (shut up shut up shut up) was priced at 6.30 francs, which isn't so good. Ever.

And today I took the early train from Zurich to Florence and Florence to Rome, which is where I am now. It's warm, it's lovely, and I'm so hoping that my friend Matt shows up here tomorrow like he said he would so that I don't have to spend two more days here by myself, getting hollered at. Ugh. (But other than that, it really IS great!)