the semester is over, and i am doing what people generally refer to as 'chillin'.' it's quite enjoyable. on wednesday, i will be heading to roma. there, i will meet up with chaeli and st teresa. to begin the annals of my journey (which will all probably have to be recorded in retrospect, as i will ignore the internet as much as possible during my stay there), i have made reservations at the E & S hostel through bootsnall.com, a travel site suggested by reknowned traveler daniel white, whose own adventures can be found on his blog under the name danielwwhite.blogspot.com. a much more reasonable web address than my own. the hostel is just a bit east of the Colosseum, provides cheap private rooms (so we can pray without disturbing anyone), and ...well, that's really all i know about it.

i have opened some of the gifts which i received from my mother and sister, and am now listening to the Blessed Sufjan Stevens May He Live Forever, thanks to Emily. i am also perusing Italian vocabulary and admiring the publishing brilliance of Chronicle Books in their design and binding of Barbara Hodgson's Italy Out of Hand: A Capricious Tour. it may be one of the most beautifully made books i've ever seen. this, and Langenscheidt's pocket Italian dictionary are thanks to my mother. as are the Smartest Socks in the World, which i will wear all over Rome without any podiatric fears. i would like to suggest Smartwool socks to anyone who cares about foot pampering. discovered to my mother and i by the attractive young gentleman in REI who tried to unsell me my Keens ('with these seams, you really don't want to be wearing them in all that rain. oh no.') even though he was off-duty.

and i have spoiled myself today with mulled wine and a banana crepe at the German market, followed by jonathan safran foer at the bookstore on princes street. all this while discovering my flatmate angela, her musical interests, her literary interests, and much more. it is good to be on vacation.