Bologna Part Two.

Day Sixty-Two:

• Woke up late and "hatched-out" as we say in the Williams household.
  
• Showered, ate breakfast and sat around the apartment reading, using the computer and listening to music. It was nice to relax.
• Around 2ish we made lunch of caprese salad and radicchio ravioli.
• Then we headed out to check out a couple of museum-ish sites we didn't hit Saturday.
• Saw two illustration exhibits, one with a variety of European illustrators and one exhibit focusing on a specific artist though I forget his name. His prints were ridiculously detailed and cool.
• Walked through town to the park on the outskirts.
• On the way we got gelato from the "best" place in town. It was actually a cremeria rather than a gelateria. It wasn't my favorite but it was good. Very unusual flavors.
• The park was huge and busy with people laying in the grass, playing soccer or walking their dogs. It was really nice to be a part of that. I would totally spend all my sunny days there if I lived in Bologna.
• Walked back through town and decided to go have an early dinner at a place recommended by one of Kirby's friends. It was called Donatello's and was delicious. Pictures of stars and famous people all over the walls but it was a nice place so it was done in a classy way. I had a pasta I forget the name of but it was sort of squiggly in shape and the sauce was sausage in a creamy sauce. Yum.
• Then we came back to the apartment and we're taking it easy since I have to get up early tomorrow to catch a taxi to the airport for my flight at 6:30am.

I have really enjoyed Bologna--probably my favorite Italian city so far. It is a very easy city. It just feels easy to live there, get around and enjoy yourself. And it isn't touristy but is still just as beautiful as other Italian cities. I like the vibe the people have--trendy and young rather than very formal and older like in Alba. I'd definitely come back and even consider living here if Kirby didn't think that would mean I was stalking him!

Pictures can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=161849&id=504487681&l=f6315d8af6

Venezia.

Day Sixty-One:

• Woke up early (7:45 is early since we went to bed around 2:30) and took a shower and had breakfast.
• Left around 9:15 for the bus stop.
• Took bus to the train station.
• Train at 10:05. Was a EuroStar and very fast. I read a little and then passed out.
• Arrived around 11:30am and started walking.
  
  
  Gondola!
  
  
  Canal.
  
  
• There was an antiques market that I wanted to see so we headed to that by way of Ponte Rialto. So many shops I wanted to stop in to but we ended up doing that later.
• Eventually found our way to the antiques market and browsed. I found what I was looking for but it was too expensive so we found some pizza slices and sat in the sun to eat. Had some gelato, too. I got a flavor called "cookies" which was yummy.
• Headed toward Piazza San Marco along with the rest of Venice. We got to the piazza and it was definitely full of people milling around or waiting in line to go inside the church. Kirby said going inside isn't worth the wait so we walked east along the water looking at the stands and stores.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chiesa San Marco.
  
  
• Then we headed north again and sat down at a cafe to rest our feet, have something to drink and use the bathroom.
• Then we kept walking and eventually got sort of lost since we walked off our map. Eventually we found our way back and headed back toward Ponte Rialto to do some shopping.
• I ended up doing quite a bit of shopping, only a third of which was for myself. Got lots of gifts for people. Yay! I'm pretty excited for the gifts but worried they might not fit in the bag I brought for Spring Break...we'll see tomorrow.
• We were tired after shopping and our feet hurt so (by this time it was around 5) we sat down and split a pizza (it had been a few hours since we ate).
• More shopping and walking.
• Around 7 we headed toward the train station to check the train schedule back to Bologna. There was a train at 7:57 so we hung out in front of the train station waiting for the train. I read a bit and Kirby wrote a postcard and sent it.
• Longer, slower train back to Bologna but I slept for almost the entire thing so I didn't mind.
• Took the bus back to the apartment and made a light dinner (they eat dinner late here--10ish) of carpaccio di bresaola (a sort of very lean smoked beef on top of arugula and sprinkled with lemon juice) and miso soup. A strange but yummy combination!
• Uploaded pictures! (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=161861&id=504487681&l=2fb2376846) Bologna pictures posted tomorrow.

Tomorrow:

• Sleeping in.
• Stuff.
• Maybe checking out the garden on the outskirts of town.
• Other stuff.
• Packing.
• Ordering taxi for the morning.

Bologna Part One.

Day Sixty:

• Got up leisurely at 9 and took a shower then caught up on my Thursday night TV show until Kirby woke up.
• Had breakfast of yogurt and granola and tea.
• Left the house and walked around seeing churches and markets and stores of all kinds filled with meats and cheeses and fruits and candy and bread. Food everywhere. It was amazing.
• Had gelato at a special gelateria which specialized in strange flavors like ginger and fennel. I got a flavor called brownice which was sort of like Rocky Road without marshmallow and Kirby got the ginger which was very strange.
• For the second part of our lunch we got delicious pizza from a little store.
• I had some specific things in mind (gifts, which I cannot reveal) that I was looking for so we walked around looking for those specific items and that took a good bit of time, as did general window shopping.
• The weather started out sunny in the morning, got grey and started drizzling, then did on-and-off grey and sun, drizzled for a few minutes (we took shelter in a cafe and had some hot tea) and then continued its sunny/grey back-and-forth.
• We came back to the apartment for an early first half of dinner, Kirby making some tortellini that we bought and serving it in a vegetable broth as is popular in Bologna.
• Then, since we were tired, we hung out in the apartment on our computer and just resting and talking with music in the background. It was very nice to have a very full day out on the town and then have a relaxed hour or two in the apartment before going back out.
• We left around 10:30ish to meet up with three of his friend who were having drinks at a cafe called Eataly (har har) inside a Borders-like store. We met up with them and sat with them at Eataly and talked for a good hour. His friends knew some English so we were able to talk pretty well and they were curious about my program in Alba (totally understandable--I don't even know why SMCM is there).
• Then we went to get sushi since that had been Kirby and my plan for the second half of dinner (later in the night as is normal for Italians). Two of his friends came with us and we got great sushi (I picked the perfect roll [sometimes it's hit-and-miss with sushi, I've found] and it was delicious!) and debated about the ethics of hunting vs. the commercial meat industry. There was a lot of disconnection via communication (even when the conversation moved to just Italian, or so I came to understand) and a lot of getting distracted by related topics but it was fun.
• Then we walked his friends home and we came back to the apartment (late--1:30!) and now we're going to bed so we can get up early for Venice! Our train leave at 10:15 in the morning and we should have a very full day.

Should be pictures tomorrow--hope for a sunny day!

Day Fifty-Nine.

• Overcast day in Alba which turned sunny in the afternoon.
• Woke up at 9.
• Gym.
• Shower.
• Laundry.
  
• Lunch at 12:45 with Dan.
• Campus Center to print something out.
• Gelato run and turned in a voucher at Akash and got a small pizza to bring on the train for dinner.
• Did some browsing in some shops. Found a store with some cute wallets for cheap.
• Packed.
• Locked down the apartment, took out the trash and headed towards the train station.
• Realized I forgot my Spring Break Schedule in my other pair of jeans and walked back to the apartment and then quickly walked to the train station.
• Realized at the train station that I forgot my brush.
• Got on the train for Asti.
• Realized I forgot my computer charger. UGH. I brought it because the scheduling period for classes for next semester is this week and I need to be able to schedule. Luckily Kirby has a charger that I can use until I leave. Yay! But still...I had it right on the desk ready to pack!
• Changed trains in Asti and read on the way to Bologna (brought The Road with me and I'm already halfway through--eek!)
• Found Kirby at the train station and we walked through the center of town to his place. It was hard to talk and absorb Bologna at the same time (plus it was dark) so I didn't really get a good impression of Bologna except that the buildings are huge.
• Got to Kirby's super cute apartment and put down my bags. He gave me the tour, hooked me up with the computer charger and we went out to try to find a little something to eat. We were set on sushi but it was a little late (12!) so we ended up with gelato instead (Oops! Twice in one day!)
• Headed back to his place and we sat around talking about plans for tomorrow and about Italy and its ridiculously corrupt government and traveling and other stuff. He's a lot of fun and very easy to talk to. We already get along terrifically.
• We realized it was 2 and headed off to bed but I stayed up to write this!
• Bed.
  

Tomorrow:

• Waking up whenever.
  
• Breakfast.
• Heading out on the town with an aim to try and catch the market (there are two) that deals with more antique-y cool stuff.
• Art museum, potentially.
• Other stuff unbeknownst to me.
• Dinner, hopefully sushi?! Kirby also wants to make sure I try the tortellini here which is served in a broth rather than a sauce. It's a Bolognese specialty.
• Excited!
  

Day Fifty-Eight.

• Grey day--threatened to rain the whole day.
  
• Woke up at 6 to the sound of the rest of the apartment getting ready to leave.
• Woke up at 8 and watched some TV on the computer.
• Went to INs for milk (a small container just for today and tomorrow) but they didn't have any so I bought yogurt instead and mixed it with a little bit of Special K. It was alright.
• More TV.
• Gym at 10.
• Came back around 11:30 and showered and got dressed.
• Got lunch from a little panetteria (bread bakery) rather than the Mensa because I wanted to.
• Read and studied for Italian test.
• Italian test went better than others in the past.
• Went for gelato.
• TV and reading.
• Duchessa to go. I love Duchessa. They see me walking in and place my order with the kitchen before I even get to the cash register. It's fantastic.
• Talking to people on the internet and reading.
• Bed.

Tomorrow:

• Wake up (hopefully around 9).
• Gym at 10.
• Back around 11ish.
• Shower.
• Laundry.
• Charge iPod.
  
• Head to Campus Center to print out Spring Break details (I wrote it all down in a Word document...).
• Lunch with Dan around 12:30.
• Watch the rest of my movie.
• Pack.
• Trade in a voucher at Vin for a sandwich and apple tart.
• Get another sandwich at the panetteria.
• Head to train station with dinner to go.
• Train to Bologna at 630!
  
• Arrive in Bologna at 10:30, get picked up by Kirby.
• Bologna.
• Sleep.

Spring Break Plan:

1. Bologna tomorrow.
2. Go to Venice with Kirby on Sunday, come back Monday.
3. Leave Bologna early Tuesday morning for Trapani (flying).
4. Joanna meets me in Trapani on Wednesday.
5. Leave Trapani for Turin on Sunday.
6. Hostel in Turin until Monday morning.
7. Train from Turin to Alba on Monday morning at 11:20.

Not sure what Joanna and I will do in Trapani. Maybe we'll make a trip to Palermo which is relatively nearby. On Easter Sunday (the day we leave but we leave in the afternoon) they do a huge procession through the town carrying wooden figures from the Bible story or something like that. Should be an event. Also there are ferries and such to the three small islands near Trapani so we should have some stuff. I'm sure we'll figure it out.

So there you have it--the long-awaited and much-requested Spring Break schedule. It should be a good time and I'll have my computer so I'll still do daily updates and picture uploads (though maybe those won't be daily).

Arrivederci!

Day Fifty-Seven.

• Contemporary art seminar. Two local industrial artists came in and showed us some of their work via PowerPoint and answered questions and then we went to visit their exhibition space. They were very, very modern with very, very modern outlooks on art. They are currently working on mass-producing their art, putting it in a box with assembly instructions (they are 3-d wall installations) like Ikea furniture. They are also very graphic color-blocked boxes and angles. Not really my thing. Too watery and substance-less. I feel like they are too easy to walk past and ignore to really be appreciated as art. But, then again, they were also of the opinion that art shouldn't be held to such high standards as we have given it in the past. I found them very philosophically (art-wise) difficult.
  
• Got out of the seminar early and hung out upstairs looking at the collection of books that has gathered there. Took out two books to read over Spring Break: Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury (looked cute, witty, and funny and might potentially [if a miracle happens] inspire me to write for fun [shock!]) and The Road by Cormac McCarthy which has semi-recently been turned into a movie.
• Lunch. Not so good--weird cheese sauce.
• Gym for an hour.
• Attempted to nap.
• Early dinner at Osteria Nuova: had mini asparagus souffle as an appetizer which was new. Personally I think it's a bit too watery and mushy in texture to be good. Would be better as more of a quiche.
• Read for a little bit and started watching Modern Family which is a hilarious new TV series.
• In the future: bed.

Tomorrow:

• Skipping Religions since no one else will be there (they all leave early tomorrow morning for their flight to Barcelona).
• Sleeping in until 9.
• Gym at 10.
• Shower after gym.
• Lunch after that.
• Study slightly for Italian test.
  
• Italian test.
• Nothing.
• Get Duchessa to go in order to avoid eating alone.
• Something.
• Bed.
  

Day Fifty-Six.

• Woke up tired to a gray but warm day.
• Religions class continued on the Shroud's history but we moved to its "hidden" history before 1355. It was thought to be in the possession of the Knights Templar from 1204 (4th Crusade when it disappeared from Constantinople) to 1355.
• Lunch--more ragu sauce!
• Napped. Yum.
• Erin trimmed Kiki's hair (excitement!).
  
• Italian class was good--I did better on the exercise than I thought I would.
• Day turned sunny.
• No gym--I was lazy.
• Finished Carnivale (there are only two seasons and the resolution of the series was awful--a real cliff-hanger).
• Dinner at Akash which I hadn't been to in weeks. Got a roast beef panini and a smoothie, both of which are new to the menu. Smoothie was awful and panini was underwhelming as per usual. I'll stick to the chicken burger from now on--it's the best thing on the menu.
• Gelato after dinner but I accidentally ordered the wrong flavor so I didn't end up eating much of it.
• I hope tomorrow is sunny again!
  

Day Fifty-Five.

• Rainy day but nice temperature-wise.
• Religion class about the Shroud of Turin's history, specifically after 1355 when the history is more concrete.
• Lunch--ragu sauce on the pasta was delicious.
• Italian class. Dino has found that taking more than two classes to teach us something and then test us is a good idea so we're still working on piacere and reflexive verbs and such. Lots of practice doing exercises. I'm feeling good about the test on Thursday but I'm going to be the only one there to take it since the rest of the group is leaving for Break early.
• Gym.
• Printed out boarding passes for my flight to and from Trapani. Decided not to check a bag.
  
• Napped.
• Dinner at Duchessa.
• Bed.
  

Day Fifty-Four.

• Slept until 10 since I went to bed at 2ish.
• Didn't shower because I'm gross and a rebel.
• Went to Vin for lunch and got more steamed vegetables. Yum. And pasta.
• Gelato run after lunch since I hadn't had it in a few days.
• Did some application stuff and watched more of Carnivale.
• Lazy day around the apartment--cleaned up after last night. Eww.
• Duchessa for dinner.
• Pretty relaxed day since yesterday was so intense.

This week:

• Religions class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday about the Shroud of Turin.
• Going to the gym.
  
• Everyone else leaves around lunch on Thursday for Milan and their flights to Barcelona, Spain. Since they leave during class they're not going to class and I doubt the teacher will hold class for just me so I will have a free day Thursday.
• Laundry.
• Packing and deciding whether or not to check a bag on my flight to Sicily.
  
• Leaving Friday evening for Bologna.
  

Day Fifty-Three.

• Slept in until 9!
• Showered, got dressed, and went out into the mist to the market.
• Bought three gifts for people who shall not be named!
• Bought a small, black, leather purse for when I don't want to lug around my large purse. Yay market day!
• Went to Bosco's for cereal and then bought a panini on the way back to the apartment.
• Skipped Akash for lunch because I had used my voucher for something else earlier in the week.
• Shaved my legs as planned!
• Started watching a new TV series called Carnivale. It's really good and I love the music.
• Got ready for dinner/clubbing. Borrowed a hot pink strapless dress from Kate. I like it a lot and I might try to buy it off her if she'll let me.
• Dinner at 7 at Osteria. Was pretty good. The gnocchi was delicious but a little heavy because it had a butter sauce and that always is heavier than others.
• Headed to the boys' after dinner to drink and hang. Played a drinking game called "Shoulders" which is kind of complicated to explain but really fun to play.
  
• We got too loud for Dan so we came back to our apartment where we are right now.
• Theoretically we're heading to Club XL later tonight for dancing but we might not make it. Some people are already pretty far gone (including the birthday girl) so they might not want to go dancing and the whole group might end up just not going. We'll see! I don't really mind either way.
• Goodnight!
  

Venaria Reale.

• Bus trip
• Arrived (after blocking numerous intersections with our large bus) at Venaria Reale, a hunting lodge/palace/castle of the Savoy family which caused Versailles to be built in response (rivalries, etc.). The palace is huge and gorgeous but served as a military barracks for 200 years and was subject to a lot of damage and vandalism so the interior cannot really compare with that of Versailles. Not as covered in gilt and luxuriousness as one might think. It took 10 years to restore the palace in "the largest restoration project in Europe" claims the brochure.
• We came to Venaria Reale for the Knights exhibit which followed the concept of the knight from its conception during the Crusades (Templars) through its relative obsolescence after Napolean's reign. Of course, there are still "knights" today but they are drastically different from the Templar Knights of the Crusades.
• After that exhibit we had time to find lunch among the small shops surrounding the palace. The school gives us each 10 euro to spend on lunch whenever we go on these field trips and I always try to stretch it as far as possible. Today people wanted to sit down and be waited on but that's expensive and takes a lot of time so I ended up having to go my own way. I went to four different places and definitely spent my money on many small things: 2 small muffins (one sugar, one chocolate) for breakfast before we went inside the palace, a foccacia panini with tomato, cheese and prosciutto, a small pizza (about the size of a cereal bowl), 3 small pastries (2 chocolate cream and one fruit tart), and gelato (fragola and trifle [called "English soup"]). Yum!
• Then I had some extra time so I walked around but most of the stores were closed for siesta so I ended up sitting on a bench.
  
• After lunch we walked around the palatial gardens, designed in the French style to loom as if they go off into infinity. They are still being restored, as are many parts of the estate. From the gardens I could see the massive stables and covered riding area though they aren't in use today, of course.
• Then we go to go inside the palace and walk through the musuem. It was full of exquisitely-detailed sculptures and tapestries and furniture inlaid with bone/ivory. Pretty beautiful stuff. Most of the original architecture is gone but a few rooms still had the original, ornate ceilings. Very stunning.
• Then we hopped back on the bus and got back to Alba by 6.
• Dinner at Vin with Laura, Erin and Jordan. The boys got apertives upstairs but we ate downstairs. I got a veal steak with delicious steamed vegetables. A nice deviating from the normal.
• Bed time.

Chapel.

Period wear.

The most beautiful room in the world?

Exterior.

Tomorrow:

• Kiki's birthday.
• Maybe going to the market? I might want to sleep in.
• Shaving my legs (overshare?) so I can wear a skirt to the club.
  
• Dinner reservations for the whole group at Osteria Nuova around 7ish.
• Going to the opening of the new over-20 club. Should be exciting.
• Lots of drinking will occur, I will most likely leave early.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159747&id=504487681&l=2521f2aca2

Day Fifty-One.

• Another beautiful day.
  
• Religions class on the Shroud of Turin and its mystery.
• Got our Italian test back. Umm, ugh.
  
• Learned "piacere" which is Italian's "gustar."
• Gym.
• Duchessa for dinner.
• Sleep.
• Tomorrow: field trip to Venaria Reale to see a Templar Knights Monastery. Should be really cool but I don't know how photo-friendly it'll be.
  
  

Day Fifty.

• St. Patrick's Day
• Sunny and warm again.
• No morning class so we got to sleep in late.
• Italian test felt like it went ok.
• Went to the boys' soccer game at half time. They tied 3-3.
• Boys came over to pregame dinner for St. Patrick's Day.
  
• Dinner at Vin with the whole group.
• More drinking. I had one drink.
• The group went to Mary Madden's (Irish pub) but Kiki and I hung back. Didn't feel like getting rowdy.
• Bed.
  

Day Forty-Nine.

• Sunny, warm day! No coat needed.
  
• Started a new class, Images in Christianity, a class that will study the Shroud of Turin and other Christian icons. It was a pretty long introduction but the subject looks interesting so it should be good, especially since the teacher (Italian) has made PowerPoints rather than attempting to teach us with his accent and small command of English.
• Italian test tomorrow.
• Gym.
• Grocery shopping for the week and weekend.
• Relaxation.

This week:

• Gorgeous weather.
  
• Italian test Wednesday
• St. Patrick's Day Wednesday
• Field trip on Friday to Venaria Reale to see a Knights Templar site or something. The whole trip is clouded in mystery, which is appropriate. It's for our Religions class.
• Saturday market with (hopefully) good weather!
  
• Kiki's 21st birthday Saturday with some sort of disco plans for that night.

Stay tuned!

Lamezia Terme.

Day Forty-Four (Thursday) continued plus Day Forty-Five (Friday, technically, though not with the sleep that typically signals a new day):

So we (Kiki, Kate and I) caught a train from Alba at 8:30 as planned, getting some gelato from across the street from the train station since we got there early. We made it all the way to Milan and then couldn't get off at the right train station (there are three in Milan) because we couldn't figure out how to open the door and the train left the station... We had to go to the next stop (Milano Centrale), have someone else open the door for us, and then figure things out from there. Luckily an Irish boy sitting near us on the train noticed our confusion and told us about a bus that went from Milano Centrale to Bergamo Airport (one of Milan's three airports) which would let us avoid having to walk from the Bergamo train station as we had planned to do. So we waited with Cormick (the Irish boy) but the last bus scheduled to come never came so we were stuck until 4 the next morning.

Two girls from Connecticut were also waiting for the bus that never came so the 6 of us teamed up to fight the night and catch the 4 o'clock bus in the morning. Side note: one of girls told me that Florence has an amazing leather market so I'm waiting to make my decision on the leather handbag from my previous post until after I've gone to Florence (sometime in April) and seen what I can find there. First we camped out in McDonald's for an hour until it closed at 1. Then we wandered around and eventually found an "art" bar that let us stay until 2:30. After that we went to a panini cart and fueled up and found an ATM. By then (3:30), the bus was already waiting at the train station and we got on an PASSED OUT. We woke up at the airport only because Cormick woke us up. Otherwise we might still be on that bus. We got through the airport, checked in, got through security, and then passed out in the waiting area (I stayed awake so we wouldn't miss boarding) for half an hour before boarding.

At the "art" bar in Milan.

We got on the plane easily enough and Kiki and I passed out before the plane even took off (I don't even remember taking off or anything--ridiculous). In Lamezia, when the plane landed, we walked along the road/highway from the airport to the hostel because we were cheap and thought it wouldn't be as unusual as it turned out to be. We were quite the hot topic in Lamezia, walking along the sides of roads, having pale skin and generally looking out of place. Lots of honking, hollering and heckling. It was awkward.

We checked into our hostel and napped until 11:30 when I got up and took a shower. Then we went out and looked for a place to have lunch. Lamezia is broken into three different sub-cities and our hostel was in the smallest of the three (Sant'eufemia Lamezia, where the airport is based) so finding something to eat was quite a task at first. The town was very small (almost painfully--wouldn't want to live there) and most of the venues were bars with just coffee, drinks, and croissants. We wanted something more substantial so we walked until we found paninis in a bar a bit of a walk from the hostel. This was to become our go-to lunch spot. Delicious bread.

Then we checked the bus schedule at our hostel to see when the next bus to the other towns was. It wasn't for another hour so we took that time to shop at the Chinese Market nearby. Kate and I got "going out" shirts of the rayon/jersey family and Kiki bought some black leggings to polish off her birthday outfit for this weekend. The bus came at 12:40 and we got off at the second-largest city, Lamezia Sambiase. We walked around the town (it really was more of a town than a city), looking at the houses and gardens, etc. Not very interesting except for pictures. It was a gloomy, cold day so it was hard to marvel at the houses just because they were in Italy and thus automatically marvelous. We attracted much attention while walking. Much staring.

We eventually found a bar to go in an have a snack at while warming up and then headed back onto the street, heading down the road the bus had come up earlier that day when it dropped us off. It was a pretty walk (parts of it, at least) and we saw lush, green olive orchards (or at least I think they were olive orchards) with pretty yellow flowers in them. Lots more honking ensued. Eventually we got cold and wanted to head back to the hostel so we waited at a bus stop. Turns out that it took 2 HOURS for a bus to come, even though the schedule at the hostel had said one came AT LEAST every hour. It was quite awful, sitting in the cold (we had a persistent chill when we got back to the hotel) being stared and ogled and honked at. We were offered a ride by a car full of guys and some guy even pulled up behind the bus stop and stared at us from his car, potentially doing unsavory things inside the car...

Olive orchard.

Eventually we caught a bus back to our town and Kiki and Kate took hot showers to save themselves from a permanent chill and I huddled in bed under blankets. Then we got dressed again and went out to find dinner. Luckily the hotel man directed us to a place nearby called Europa and it was DELICIOUS. All three of us ordered orichette (dish-shaped pasta) with shrimp cream sauce and a contorni (sides) buffet which had lots of fresh vegetables and desserts. A man we briefly talked to at the buffet ordered us (or so we think--the waitress didn't say so) limoncello shots. Slightly creepy but with benefits. After dinner we walked back to the hostel, bundled up for bed and went to sleep early--9:00.

Day Forty-Six (Saturday):

We slept for about 12 hours and woke up at 10:30. I have never slept so long in my life but I needed it and could have gone on sleeping. I showered and we went to get lunch at the panini place from the day before. Then we caught a bus to Lamezia Nicastro, the largest of the three "cities." We walked up the length of the town to the top of the hill to see its Castle, the only real tourist attraction around aside from the beach. Again the day was gray and cold (eventually drizzly) so we held the beach off for our last day which the weather report had forcasted sun and warmer weather for. After walking up to the Castle which, naturally, was closed, we walked back down through the narrow streets, eventually finding the main shopping street but it was siesta time so everything was closed. We did find a small bar, though, and bought cookie goodies. I even found pignolis! P.S. "Pignoli" means "pine nut" in Italian and really the cookie we know as a "pignoli" can be with almond slices on top. It's really just a gooey almond cookie. Delish.

The top part of Lamezia Nicastro, the largest of the three Lamezia towns.

When we were done in Nicastro (around 3ish), we caught a bus back to our hotel and warmed up inside our room. Around 5ish we went to a nearby "American" bar and had drinks. It was only "American," as far as I could tell, because there were classic-style Cokes in the fridge and the only function of the store was to buy drinks whereas many Italian-style bars sell croissants and other food. We went back to Europa for dinner (delicious again, I had pizza and the girls had gnocchi) and then went to bed early again (there really isn't anything to do in Lamezia in March, if you couldn't tell already)--around 9ish.

Day Forty-Seven (Sunday):

Slept until 9 (11 hours!) and then showered. It was Sunday, though, so we couldn't get paninis from our usual place so we had to settle for an inferior bar, the only one in town open on Sunday... Then we went back to the room and packed up and checked out of our room, leaving out bags in the hotel lobby with the hotel man (no worries--we were the only ones in the hotel...).

Luckily Sunday was beautiful!!! We didn't even have to wear coats. It was glorious. We walked 3 km to the beach along a country road and then 1 km along the beach to a small beach town we saw in the distance. With it being both March (off season) and Sunday, the town was absolutely dead but I did manage to get a bottle of water from a bar so I didn't die of dehydration. We sunbathed on the beach and generally hung out and then headed back to town, at one point escorted by a shepherd and his sheep! We were beat by the time we got back but still had a very full day ahead of us... We had lunch at the cafe where we had breakfast and then walked to the airport since there was nothing else to do. We walked along the street again and got many stares and honks and even a vehicular stalker who would drive ahead, pull into a side street and then turn around and drive past us again. Ugh.

The beach!

This shepherd made the walk back from the beach worth every blistery step.

At the airport we hung out for 4 hours at the gate, doing much reading and eating of snacks. We called Dan and worked with him to figure out a train schedule from Bergamo to Alba the next day. Eventually we got on the plane but it was delayed as people quibbled about checking carry-on baggage that wouldn't fit. Apparently the passengers involved were rude because the pilot had them kicked off the plane by the police. Much drama, much waiting, none of which was welcomed by anyone. Ugh again. We were so finished by this point with all the walking and general tiredness of the weekend, despite the 12 and 11-hour binge-sleeps. We were delayed 30 minutes for this nonsense but eventually took off.

The flight was pretty boring because my eyes were too tired from reading while waiting for the plane to do any more reading and I couldn't sleep so I just sort of stared. We landed 20 minutes late (10:10) and, though we had arranged with our hostel for a ride from the airport to the hostel, we were unable to find the ride and had to take a taxi (20 euro...). All of which was stressful and ate up valuable sleeping time.

We checked into the hostel around 10:45 and promptly slept for the 5 hours we had time for before our train out in the morning.

Day Forty-Eight (Monday):

• Woke up at 4:10am and got dressed, grabbed an ice cream from the vending machine (I love early morning ice cream--yes, I'm weird, whatever), and was outside by 4:25 to wait for the taxi. However, the taxi never showed up so I went back to the hostel, rang the bell to wake up the receptionist, and she told us to take a big tour bus with a large group of Polish Christian school 9th graders to the train station. It was the slowest bus EVER and we ended up missing our train by 2 MINUTES. I was so pissed. None of this was even our fault.
• Waited for an hour in the (cold) Bergamo train station for the next train to Milano
• Trains from then on progressed as normal with us getting off at each stop we would have gotten off at had our schedule worked flawlessly (i.e. without the delay missing the train caused) and managed to find connection trains without having to wait too long
• Did have to illegally ride a train we had reserved for last night but rode this morning but we didn't get found out so oh well! I hardly felt guilty after getting so screwed over by Fate, the Italian train system, and the Traveling Gods.
• Finished my book.
  
• Took a bus (which we miraculously found) from Asti to Alba for our last leg and got into Alba around 10:15pm.
• Promptly skipped class but not without much hassling from teachers and Dan alike. Whatever. It was ridiculous to interrupt class by coming in late.
• Checked email and did other glorious Internet-related things that I had missed over the VERY long weekend without Internet.
• Went to Italian.
• Had a very good phone interview with the man from the American Horticultural Society and feel confident he will offer me the internship later this week. No idea what I'll do if he does since I would most likely need to live in the city if I accepted...
• Walked around Alba (glorious day!) and stopped in a chocolate boutique.
• BLOGGED.
• Duchessa tonight and not much else!
• Bed
  

List of all Creeper Alert Events that happened in Lamezia:

1. over 100 honks and stares
2. bought limoncello by Buffet Man
3. man pulled behind our bus stop to stare , potentially doing unsavory things in his car
4. offered a ride from the bus stop
5. offered a ride from a vampire (awful teeth)
6. Creeper Stalker Man who stalked us in his car as we walked to the airport
7. "It Is Dangerous" Man who pulled off to the side of the highway to tell us walking alongside the highway was dangerous.
   

All in all, Lamezia was ok. Underwhelming. The weather was sucky and there was NOTHING to do since it was off season AND a small town in general. And getting to and from there was just a general disaster resulting in a lot of stress and lack of sleep. So...yeah. Intense, very long weekend. A good bit of it was enjoyable enough and being at the beach and that whole walk (though I was exhausted) was nice. But not my favorite trip so far.

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158637&id=504487681&l=0c0fb35c5e

Day Forty-Four.

• Normal day.
  
• Snow is melting.
  
• Boring lecture this morning.
  
• Didn't go to the gym.
• Packed.
  
• Dinner early.
• Catching train to Bergamo at 8:30pm.
• GETTING NO SLEEP.

Be back Monday!

Update: booked a hostel for Sunday night because the train station we'd be spending the night in is apparently SUPER sketchy. Totally skipping class Monday.

Day Forty-Three.

• Lots and lots of snow--a little over a foot.
• Got to sleep in late (had to be at the Campus Center at 10:30)
  
• Put the videos together in the Professor's "laboratory."
• Redeemed a voucher at Vin and got tea. Laura came with me and got a cappuccino.
• Went to the gym.
• Got an email from the American Horticultural Society asking for an interview. Not sure how I'd make that job work--it's all the way in Alexandria, VA... I responded anyway, of course.
• Went to bed early-ish--might not get much sleep tomorrow night.

Tomorrow I leave for Lamezia via a ridiculous schedule as follows:

1. Catch a train to Bergamo (where the airport is) at 9:30pm and get in to Bergamo at 12:30am.
2. Hang out in the airport until our flight leaves at 6:30am...
3. Fly to Lamezia and crash.
4. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Lamezia.
5. Fly back to Bergamo Sunday, getting to Bergamo at 9:30pm.
6. Take a train towards Alba, stopping in a random station (Voughera) from 1am to 4:30am.
7. Catch the first train running to Alba on Monday morning and get in at 8:30am.
8. Skip class.

We didn't want to get hostels for just a couple of hours so we had to stick to this ridiculous schedule. These were the only times available for our flights (thanks Ryanair...) so we had to take 'em or lose 'em. I'm young so I should survive but I might kill a few people with my moodiness in the process.

Wish me a good time and don't forget to vote on the poll!

Day Forty-Two.

• Had a freezing shower...yay. Our hot water wasn't working and still isn't, I think.
  
• It was freezing in the morning when we walked around shooting people's videos. Mine was in a warm aquarium shop. After shooting we went to the Professor's "laboratory"/house and found that my video had not recorded so we (the Professor and I) had to go back and re-shoot but that was good because my second video had a little twist to it. I will share it when I get a digital copy of it.
• Started snowing around lunchtime.
• Watched House from last night!!
• Went to redeem vouchers after Italian class. Went into Max and Co. (the store with the bag(s)) I like. I have decided to ask your opinion on the matter and so I've made a poll in the menu to the right and I'd like you to respond, please. The bag is very supple, tan leather and pretty large--about 19 inches wide and 8 inches tall. A good briefcase size or the size of a typical messenger bag.
  
  It is Italian leather and I could use it for school, traveling, and perhaps a work bag when I get a job (maybe even this summer!). I want to know what you think I should be willing to pay for it (I know the real price but don't want to reveal--I want you to use what expertise you have buying leather items [and, if you're a woman, perhaps leather bags] to tell me what you'd think a reasonable price should be) so please let me know using the poll.
  
  There is a smaller version of this bag, the one for 89 euro, but I sort of have thought I should get the larger version since it seems to be a better value but, of course, I really have no idea how much to expect to pay for a good leather bag.
• The heat stopped working in our apartment, adding to the lack of hot water problem.
• Watched Alice in Wonderland illegally online. It was pretty good, actually. I had anticipated it being horrible but I was pleasantly surprised!

Now please take the poll!

Nice and Monaco.

Day Thirty-Nine (Saturday):

We got up early-early and caught our train from Alba to Cuneo with a short stopover in Bra. Cuneo was a cute little Italian town like Alba but in the foothills of the Swiss AND French Alps (cornered). I had an ice cream sandwich at the station's bar even though there was snow on the ground.

The train then took us through the French Alps toward Ventimiglia, a town near the French border. The ride was so beautiful. We'd go into a tunnel and come out in a gorgeous, snow-covered valley. The snow was pretty deep beside the train tracks--something to rival Maryland's snowfall this winter! As we neared Ventimiglia, though, we came out on the other side of the mountains and it was GREEN! There were green trees and grass everywhere and terraced gardens and fields. Beautiful and made all the more startling by the contrast to the snow. I didn't get many pictures because there were a lot of tunnels and I was sleeping.

Wintery ride toward Ventimiglia.

Nice!

When we got into Nice we walked towards the water because our hostel was near the water (Kiki hadn't gotten directions to the hostel from the train station so we had to figure it out...). I asked for directions in a bookstore and we found a map and eventually got to our hostel on Rue Meyerbeer. The hostel didn't have our reservation on file but luckily we worked it out, showing them our booking online. We got two rooms with four beds each (one extra). Good thing we had the extra bed, too, because Jordan sat on hers and it immediately collapsed. Also, our shower was an evil exercise in taking fast showers because it didn't drain so you had to finish your shower before the water overflowed. Ugh. It was a nice enough place for one night, though.

For lunch the group had kebabs and I got a yogurt parfait (they had eaten earlier when I was asking for directions so I got something later). It was full of fresh fruit and very good, especially in the spring-y, sunny, warm weather--60s! Let me just say that it was absolutely refreshing to speak French. I like the sound of the language much better and all the time I've been "learning" and using Italian my head always thinks French so it was nice to use some of that. Of course, for the small things like "Hello" and "thank you," I kept forgetting to use French and said "Ciao" and "grazie" as I'm used to in Italy.

After putting our bags down in the hostel and feeding me, we headed to the Virgin Store on the main Promenade so we could buy tickets to the futbol game that night (7 pm). The boys had suggested we go and I had never been to a European soccer game and everyone else was interested so we did it.

After buying the tickets we walked back down the (very busy) Promenade to the water, passing a break dancing crew and a Michael Jackson impersonator along the way. We got to the beach and hung out on the wall. Most of us took off our socks and shoes and put our feet in the water--it was freezing! Some people (other tourists) even went IN the water. The boys looked for rocks to bring home for people(?).

Oh Michael Jackson, you are the source of endless laughs.

Beach!

Then we headed back to the hostel to put layers on for the chilly futbol game. On the way back we stopped for dinner at Subway (it was convenient and cheap!) and/or a salad place. We walked and took the tram to the futbol game and got there just as it was starting. There was a pretty small group of people at the game but they were very excited fans so there was definitely action. At the beginning of the game the fans threw flares over the sides of the stadium (to the outside, not the inside) and they had huge flags and even lit a fire twice. Every time the Nice team scored the fans behind the goal would SWARM down from their seats and bang against the fence. Luckily we weren't in that crowd and just got to watch them. The game was pretty good--ended 2-3--but Nice lost so after the game there was a riot squad geared up to prevent the Nice fans from harming Nancy (opposing team) fans or players. It was INTENSE but it was really, really cool to see the riot police's uniforms. Very exciting.

Futbol game.

After the game we took the tram back toward the hostel and got kebabs on the walk back from the tram. We went to bed early (around 11:30) because we had walked a long time and had to get up early the next morning to head to Monaco. Nice was amazing and I want to go back--this semester if possible. All of our weekends are full but I think I might be able to make something work, possibly for a day trip if I'm willing. I want to be there when it's actually spring and I want to see the Matisse Museum. No one in the group is interested in art so I didn't push us to go there but Matisse is my favorite artist and I'd LOVE to go to that museum.

Day Forty (Sunday):

Let me preface this "day" by pointing out that we checked out of the hotel and went to Monaco and then left from Monaco to go back to Alba, meaning that we lugged around our bags the whole day. It was miserable and my back is NOT my friend.

We checked out of our hotel at 10:30 after sleeping in and getting showers and then went to a cafe for tea/coffee and croissants (SO much better than the ones in Italy which are sad, sad immitations--so sad that I refuse to eat them. I was so glad to have a real croissant). Then we walked to the bus station and caught a bus to Monaco at 11:30 (only 1 euro!). The ride was lovely, following the coast.

It was freezing and kind of drizzling when we got to Monaco but walking helped keep us warm. We got off near the Monte Carlo and walked around it, enjoying the view. It didn't open until 2 so we walked down the hill to the harbor and looked for a restaurant to eat at, a difficult job since everything was SO expensive! We eventually found a pizzeria (ugh, more pizza) and I got penne with mozzarella and prosciutto for 12 euro (ouch!). Then we walked up the other side of the harbor to the Palais de Roi to watch the changing of the guard and had glace (ice cream) in a little side street.

Monte Carlo Casino

Monaco is so beautiful--if you like apartment buildings...

Around 3:30 we walked back to the Monte Carlo and gambled at a smaller casino (not the Monte Carlo) because, though we could go in and gamble at the actual Monte Carlo, they were rude and we felt unwelcomed so we went elsewhere (in an attempt at injured dignity/pride). I didn't really feel the need to gamble so Kiki and I sat outside and watched everyone's bags while they went in and gambled (bag check was 10 euro per person--no thanks!). No one made any money but Erin only lost 3 euro of the 10 she gambled.

After the Monte Carlo we walked to the train station to catch our 5:15 train to Ventimiglia. It was 40 minutes late, though, so it put a MAJOR dent in our plans, making us late for all of our connecting trains. We went as far as we could but when we got to Cavallermaggiore, the stop right before Alba, it was too late in the day (11 pm) and the trains had stopped. We had planned on calling a taxi to drive us to Alba but none of them were willing to come out that late on a Sunday to a small in-the-middle-of-nowhere town. Eventually, after much worrying that we'd have to spend the night in the creepy train station, we called Dan and he happened to know a taxi driver friend who was willing to come get us. His friend, a mustachioed and large man with a cigar and his "assistant" came to get us in a big van. I was the last to get into the van and the back was full already so I had to sit up front in between the two Italian men. It was awkward and horrifying as I got to watch the harrowing, snowy (apparently it snowed while we were gone) drive back to Alba. We got home at 1:30...

The train station where we almost spent 7 hours overnight.

Day Forty-One (Monday):

• Did not get enough sleep.
• Met at the Campus Center for a wine cellar trip. Visited two different prominent wine cellars and got to see the barrels and the vats and all that jazz.
  
  
  French wine barrels.
  
  

Wine cellar.

• We tasted a dessert wine (Moscato) at the first cellar and a Barolo (the most famous "brew" from around here) at the second. The Moscato was delicious and sort of like a sweet, soft sparkling cider. Not very sparkling and not very alcohol-y so I enjoyed it a lot and actually finished my glass. I did not like the Barolo, though, proving that I have bad taste since the Moscato was 8 euro for a bottle and the Barolo was 26.
• Napped after lunch.
• Got my test back in Italian: another C--ugh. Then we did an exercise that was very similar to the first part of the test but I think I did a better job on it after learning from my mistakes from the test.
• Happy International Women's Day--Dan gave all the women/girls flowers (apparently what they do here)
  
• Didn't go to the gym because I think my feet and legs had enough this weekend...not to mention my back.
• Dinner sometime tonight. Hardly worth mentioning.

This week:

• Movie capture stuff for the last two Cinema classes. These movies will be put together for the Alba Film Festival in May (right before we leave).
  
• Italian test?
• Lamezia Terme (Southern Italy) from Thursday to Monday morning!!!!!
  

Pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156778&id=504487681&l=4304593c14

Day ???

Usually I would write a blog entry.

Not tonight. It's late (later than it should be) and you can wait until tomorrow.

I hate Italian trains.

Day Thirty-Eight -- Torino Part Two.

• Got to sleep in until 8!
• Met at the Campus Center at 9:25 to get on the bus for Torino. Sat in a seat with a window with a hair grease stain. It was gross but I just avoided the glass.
• The bus let us off in front of the Cinema Museum and we had some time before our tour started so we got to wander around. We walked back the way we came a little ways and found some men selling jewelry and sunglasses. I bought a scarf as a present for someone. The boys and Kate all bought sunglasses because they didn't bring any to Italy, apparently. They were very excited about their purchases and rightly so.
• Went inside the museum and visited the Archeology of Cinema exhibit which had a lot of old technology of animation and motion capture. Literally moving pictures. It was really, really cool but we were sort of rushed through it in our tour and didn't have much time to go back. Then we went to a Modern Cinema Effects exhibit and got to see blue and green screen effects as well as a lot of props and costumes from movies. After the exhibit we emptied into a big room with different movie sets and go to walk around in them.
• After the museum we were set free for and hour to find lunch. I stuck with the boys and Erin and Erica and we got kebabs and gelato. The kebabs were made with fresh bread and were delicious! I actually got a milkshake made from gelato after the kebab and it was also delicious but I finished it in probably a minute. It was not thick and kind of small so it was easy to finish quickly.
• Then we met up at 2 and got back in the bus to travel to a production studio. It was really cool--kind of like being at a mini Warner Brothers studio. They had four stages, one of which was the third biggest in Europe and had a swimming pool under the floor for underwater shots. It was pretty amazing but the stage was still smaller than I expected. We got to see the sound rooms where they do the sound production and even got to visit their school (they have a CG effects and Production school there, too) and see some sample videos that students had made. It was pretty awesome. Dan was really into it because he does lots of photo and video stuff as a hobby.
• Then we headed back to Alba and got home around 5:30.
  
• Dinner was at Vin around 7:30 and then we came home to pack for Nice and Monaco!

We get up super early tomorrow (I'm getting up at 5 [which is in 5 hours...] to take a shower) and get into Nice around noon. We'll catch a bus into Monaco Sunday and get back to Alba around 9:30 Sunday night. Should be an amazing weekend.

Pictures! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155984&id=504487681&l=e816d811a2

Day Thirty-Seven.

• Architecture lecture was surprising. I thought it would be about columns and buildings and such but turned out to be about historic Barolo wine cellars. Barolo wine is a very famous type of wine that only grows around here. I don't really know why the architecture of cellars is important but she talked about it for an hour and then we got to go. Monday we're going to go tour two wine cellars so that will be fun.
  
• Kate and I went to Akash for lunch instead of the Mensa and got to simultaneously cash in a voucher and have something that wasn't a huge meal from the Mensa. Then I got an apple tart from Vin to cash in another voucher.
• Napped from 12-1:15 and then studied for my Italian test. Ugh.
• Took Italian test and did ok. Maybe worse than last time? I really hate my teacher.
• Went on a mission to tape some videos for the Cinema class (video is due Tuesday). I had stumbled across some chickens and other assorted birds earlier in my stay here in Alba and I went back to tape them. They were on the other side of a river, though, so I climbed the muddy slope to a railroad track bridge, went across the river, and then thought about climbing back down the slope to get close enough to the chickens for a good video when they spotted me and my red coat and started screaming. Then dogs started barking from inside the house and I decided I didn't want angry Italians yelling about trespassing in a foreign language so I went back across the bridge, down the muddy slope, and went to film elsewhere.
• We to Via Maestra and ended up filming people walking down the street from a bench that hit at about thigh-level on most people. Kind of a cool angle. Ish.
• Got gelato! Crema is my new favorite flavor.
• Walked back toward the apartment and decided to go into the saltwater fish store across the main road from out apartment and try to film. I even asked the guy working inside the store if it was ok if I filmed! Took two videos, using various buckets lying about to create a tripod. I had to hold the camera on top of my Italian dictionary for one of the shots (my favorite, incidentally) and it turned out kind of shaky...I was bummed but I'll ask my professor and see what he thinks.
• Went back to the room and read and talked to people online and wrote emails.
• Went to Duchessa with everyone except Jordan (had been feeling bad all day and didn't go to classes OR the test) and had yummy pizza. Had pineapple, too. Guess that is no longer notable since I do it all the time.

Tomorrow we have a field trip to Torino again. This time we're going to the Cinema Museum for our Cinema class. Not sure what that museum entails and how it might differ from the TV and Radio Museum but I'll see. It might rain and it will probably be colder than it has been lately but it will still be nice to do something different and go back to Torino again.

Day Thirty-Six.

• Met at the Campus Center and made a brief list of people who wanted to shoot their movies (was a short list because it was a gray day and most people wanted sunny days for shooting). We walked to the different locations and people shot. We got out of "class" early.
• Went to the travel agency after class to book train tickets to and from Milan for our Lamezia Terme (southern Italy) trip next weekend. Looks like it will be lots of time waiting in train stations. Kiki and Kate claim they will sleep. I doubt I'll be able to, especially since someone needs to watch our stuff. It'll be a LONG weekend. But hopefully worth it. It should be in the 70s. Yum.
• Stopped by Vin to buy an apple tart and try their blood orange juice. It was 3 euro and, while it was pretty good (also pretty sour), it wasn't really worth the price in my opinion. Kate got a cappuccino and we sat down to eat/drink. Kate and Kiki decided to walk around before lunch but I went back to the room.
• It started to rain...
  
• Delicious pasta with onions and prosciutto for lunch.
• More rain.
• Tried to take a nap and failed. Got dressed to go to the gym after class.
  
• Italian class had another exercise and while I could easily do the exercise, I still have trouble identifying the part of speech that each "that" is acting as. We have a test tomorrow. Not sure how confident I am. I need to take my time and go sloooooowly. That's my key. There are so many small details to pay attention to in Italian. It's obnoxious.
• Found out I got a B on my Cinema test....damnit. I really want an A in this class. Might ask the professor if I can do something to boost my grade.
  
• Went to the gym and walked/ran for 45 minutes and looked utterly grotesque afterward. Walked back to the apartment with Kiki.
• Changed out of hot and sweaty clothing and took a shower. Tried to take another nap and failed again. I just keep not being able to fall asleep due to noises or people talking to me.
• Went to have aperitifs at Vin around 7:30 and meet Dan's friend Martin (British) and his girlfriend Laura (also British? I didn't end up talking to them much). You order a drink (I think it has to be alcohol so I got a glass of white wine and drank about 60% of it before giving it to Paul to finish) and get all you can eat appetizers. Great deal and so yummy!
• Had dinner reservations at Vin for 8:00 for 11 people (Dan and Nick's Erica plus the main 9). Heather, who is a nanny from the States working here in Alba and takes Italian class with us, coincidentally was at Vin when we were having aperitifs so she joined us for dinner. Spaghetti al ragu was good--hadn't had it at Vin before.
• Walked home with Erin and Kiki--the rest went to McCloud's for more drinks.
• Played Monopoly online and lost miserably.
  

Tomorrow is an architecture lecture with a local architect and then the Italian test. Ugh.

Day Thirty-Five.

• It was an absolutely beautiful day--50s and sunny. Didn't have to wear socks or my coat until dinner time.
  
• Cinema class was different today as we start the second portion of the class in which we will one-minute movies in the style of the Lumiere Brothers. We'll take a one-minute shot somewhere in Alba (preferably with a lot of action) with the camera fixed in one position. It's supposed to be a snapshot of reality that also captures part of Alba's "feel." Not sure where or what I want to shoot yet but we'll discuss tomorrow and start shooting some people's movies.
• Caprese salad at lunch--yum!
• In Italian class we did an exercise to clarify the three different uses of "that" that we learned yesterday. I think it helped.
• Went to another grocery store to find what I was looking for yesterday and checked out a new gelato place afterward. Lisa (the lady I met here through family connections) said it was the best gelato in town. It certainly was good and there was a HUGE selection (two whole cases' worth where one case is the norm) and it was well priced. Kind of out of the way, though.
• Opened all the windows and read in my bed with the wind blowing in my hair.
• Watched last night's episode of The Big Bang Theory.
  
• Got an email from an internship confirming my application (including the two recommendation letters requested) had been received.
  
• GOT MY PACKAGE FROM HOME! Mom sent me my gym shoes and some clothes so I can start going to the gym after Italian class! I start tomorrow.
• Dinner at Duchessa with the girls (minus Kate who was at volleyball) and Erica--fresh meat, yay! She seems pretty cool. Marketing major from Northeastern so we have some things in common.
• Shaved my legs for the gym tomorrow--smooth legs are totally noteworthy.
  

Day Thirty-Four.

Maybe I'll just bullet point important things from each day and still have an entry each day but not long, elaborate ones unless need be.

• No class this morning so we slept in until lunch time. Nick brought his friend Erica who is visiting (they were going to Paris this weekend together but France's airlines are on strike so Nick never made it to Paris but his girl made it to Italy and is staying until Saturday) and we got to meet her briefly. Group dinner Wednesday night (usually the girls eat separate from the boys because they have soccer practice until late).
  
• Had Italian class and learned about the different uses of "that" (there are three: declarative conjunction, demonstrative adjective, and relative pronoun). I don't know how much of it stuck.
  
• After Italian I headed toward Bosco's to get some unmentionable items (they were out) and everything else was closed so I couldn't go to another store or get gelato.
• Saw a stray dog and a stray cat working together as a scrounging team. It was adorable and surprising--one of those miracle story-type things you hear about on TV. I wanted to adopt them so badly.
• Talked to a lot of people from back home that I hadn't talk to in a while. It was really nice and occasionally not so nice but it was still good to talk to people.
• Looked at more internship opportunities (looked on idealist.com this time) and found one new one to apply for.
  
• Attempted to regain interest in this season of NCIS and failed. It's just not doing it for me for some reason. Oh well--shows to watch tomorrow as well as a friend's radio show to listen to.
  
• Was told a zombie bedtime story that didn't scare me.

That last one was my favorite.