Via Pescioni, 54

We're home! We're home! What an exhausting journey it's been!

Let me start off by saying that I.hate.flying. People think it's okay to take off their shoes, you spend 8 hours encountering about 100 other odors, you understand. It's just too much for me. When we got on our flight from Dallas to London, I immediately knew that it was going to be a rough day for me. I sat next to Danielle, who was on the aisle, and was flanked on my other side by a 300+ lb man who was also winged by someone else. So we're packed in a row like sardines and it is stifling hot, which is also a major no-go for Courtney. I did, however, get caught up on some movies that have come out that I missed. 1) What's Your Number? 2) Horrible Bosses 3) Moneyball. Only one of those (Moneyball) would I ever reccomend.

Danielle got to sleep for 3/8 of the plane ride. I, however, was squashed and could not sleep. By the time we got off that flight, our limbs were stiff and our stomachs were cramped up. We were so hungry but we didn't know what would happen if we ate. After we ate, we boarded the flight to Rome. This girl got to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Finally. I woke up as we were landing. You're thinking, "Good for you, Courtney, you're finally there." No. No, no, no. OU staff was waiting with a charter bus to take us on the 3-4 hour ride to Arezzo. Everyone was exhausted but we stayed awake long enough to chat with our roommates for awhile. We awkwardly slept against the windows and tried laying down over multiple seats. We were woken by one of sponsors saying we were almost to Arezzo. Imagine my surprise when I look out the window and saw the mile of cars in Norman. Audi, Fiat, Porsche, Subaru, and . . . JEEP!! I was like, we HAVE to pull over. How great would it be to drive a Wrangler in Italy?? :)

FINALLY, we pulled in, unloaded, took cabs to our respective apartments, and raided them. First of all, OU doesn't have student housing. They rent from landlords all over the city. So everyone's in different living conditions. Ours is adorable and quaint and I'm so, so pleased.

^^You're looking at the last of 3 sets of stairs we climb to get to our apartment. These are actually within our apartment -- the other two are exterior. The steps are steeper than the ones at my parents so I keep making shallow steps, which can become annoying when you're carrying 50 lb suitcases.

^^ This is Danielle and I's room. We decided to share even though we're paying for separate spaces. We're just storing extra clothes and suitcases and stuff in there. Our room's really homey and has two desks.

^^ This is our living room. It has a new leather couch that you can't see. They said the previous tenants got a little rowdy and so it had to be replaced. Nice flat screen, eh? The problem? Everything's in Italian.

We also have a balcony with an AMAZING view of the city and beyond. Our other two roommates are an extra set of stairs up in the loft. We all went out looking for dinner tonight and lost 3548513384 calories in uphill climbs. Cara, I think I can say I'll definitely be fitting into that bridesmaids dress when I get home. We found a pizzaria that we will definitely be returning to.

Ciao!