Paris

Tuesday morning I woke up at 4am to get my car to the airport parking near Bergamo airport, take the shuttle over, and make it on time for my 6:15 flight to Beauvais. Ryan Air should really think about having less flights before 8am. Or really, I guess I could just learn how to go to sleep before 1am, especially when I have to be up early. Well, let's be honest, that will probably never happen...

By about 10 I got off the airport shuttle bus at Porte Maillot in Paris just in time to meet Zak. We headed right to the Eiffel tower. It was pretty Ok, I guess. (That means it was unbelievable for those of you who don't know me well enough to sense the sarcasm). The next few hours consisted mostly of walking around the city a little, and viewing vast amounts of famous artwork at Musee d"Orsay. Also of getting yelled at by an old French couple in their broken english for "being too loud". Pretty sure that talking and laughing at a normal volume while standing in a line with 1000 other people OUTSIDE is OK. Apparently not in Paris. Sorry?

At this point we were pretty starving (and poor) so we stopped at some chain fast food place, and bought some of the most incredible, cheap baguette sandwiches we had ever had. Really, that bread, wow, so good. Next stop was Versailles. Holy crap, that place was nuts. Those people had some money. It was beautiful, and huge. Really really huge. I loved it.








Wednesday morning we ended up meeting some kid from Miami at Gare de Lyon where we had stopped to sit down and eat our pastries and use free wi-fi. He came with us for pretty much the rest of the day while we walked to Notre Dame, all around the Latin Quartier, and all through the Louvre. By this point my feet were hurting and I wanted to go to bed. But, alas we were doing the cheapest thing possible, since we both are running out of money, and spent the night on the street. Plus, the people watching at night is amazing. We had to take part. So, we parted with our new American friend and headed back to the Latin Quartier to find a cheap place to eat dinner and begin the wandering. We saw the Eiffel tower all lit up, spent a while in the McDo until it closed at 2am, sat on street benches watching the drunks head to the club, rode the night bus watching a drunk guy talk pretty racistly to most everyone that got on the bus, walked through endless streets, and ended up at some café that happened to be open at 4 or 5am. We stayed for while watching the Michael Jackson music videos that played for about an hour straight. I couldn't have been happier. (well, unless someone was simultaneously giving me money and food) I love Michael Jackson. Watching his music videos for an hour straight is something you could easily find me doing in the middle of the night on really any day. Then we headed to Gare du Nord to sit with the other early morning train riders, and find a few minutes of sleep until the McDo across the street opened at 7:15.


After free wi-fi use and a McDonald's version of a pain au chocolat, which was almost as good as any patisserie we had been to, we left for a few more hours of walking around before our shuttle bus back to the airport in Beauvais. By 8pm I had made it back home to Mezzago in time to eat dinner, shower and pass out on my bed for like 12 hours. Really, I went to bed at 10, woke up at 8 to video chat with Tori for a few minutes, then fell back asleep and woke up at 11. I guess I was pretty tired.

Milano, Lecco, Switzerland

Oh yeah, I have a blog. I guess I should update it....

The last few days I spent in Liguria pretty much went exactly like this:
wake up - eat breakfast - go lay on the beach until lunch - eat - watch Ludo for a bit - get gelato - lay on the beach - run - eat dinner - watch a movie - go to bed

I was pretty busy.

The next week I didn't have to work at all, so I could do pretty much whatever I wanted. Mostly I just tried not to spend too much money. I went to nearby places, like Lecco and Milano, with a friend to walk around and sweat to death in the 95 degree weather. Humidity and I are not friends, not even at all. But it was still a good time. I also went to Switzerland for a night with some people in the ward. We went to the temple in Bern, which was pretty amazing. Also, at the "Mormon Shop"  (basically Deseret Book) they sold some American things such as Reese's and root beer. Amazing, except that they each cost about 2.20 euro. Lame, but worth it.

Cinque Terre

It wasn't sunny enough today to spend the day lying on the beach like I wanted, so I decided to take the train to Cinque Terre. The last of the five little towns is only a 30 minute ride away, so I stopped there first and worked my way back. I got to Riomaggiore at about 1 and spent the next 5 hours working my way through the tourist filled streets of 4 of the 5 towns. Each place really is a dream. It's like Venice in that pictures do it no justice, and even after actually being there you still somehow don't believe it's real. It's that good. So were the two gelato's and orange Fanta that I ate throughout the time. Why does the Fanta in the states suck so bad compared to it here? Also, why the crap haven't I ever seen San Pellegrino soda in the states? Anyway, by the time I got to Monterosso (the last of the 5) my foot was starting to bother me enough to decide not to get off the train, but stay on for the next two stops until I was back in Bonassola. I spent the rest of the evening eating dinner, playing with Ludo and watching Toy Story 3 (for like the 100th time, literally).

Parma and Bonassola

Saturday afternoon we set out on our 4 hour drive to Liguria. About halfway we stopped for lunch and a walk around the beautiful city of Parma. I really wish I had more time there, and that I hadn't forgotten my camera in the car while we walked around. All I got were a couple crappy pics on my phone. Lame. After pizza and gelato we headed back to the car and finished our drive.

The grandparents have an apartment here in the tiny town of Bonassola. It's beautiful, we are  literally a three minute walk from the beach. On Sunday we took a walk through this old railway tunnel that has been turned into a bike and walking path on our way to the next town over, Levanto, which is a lot bigger and only about 3km away. After wandering around there for a bit it started to rain a little, and everyone ran for cover. It was hilarious. People were literally running inside. I couldn't stop smiling.

Today I woke up whenever I wanted (which is pretty much everyday here, really) ate breakfast then went for a run. My foot has been messed up for the past few months, and I haven't been able to run, (If you really know me at all, you know just how depressed I am about not being able to run. Yeah, I want to die, I know) but there is this path that goes all the way out to a point overlooking the sea that I just HAD to run. So, I put my shoes on and set out, knowing I would (partially) regret it later. My foot started hurting a little at the beginning of the run, but then that runners high kicked in and I didn't care at all. Running is the best. After an hour or so I figured I should stop, and let the pain begin. Which it did, later on my walk (limp) to the beach.

The sun finally showed itself today, and we took full advantage, laying on the beach for hours. Tomorrow will be the same routine, but better be even hotter than today. I'm trying to turn into a black person. At least Beyoncé level.

Venice

Friday morning I woke up at 4:45am to make it to my early morning train to Venice. Getting up early sucks. By 9 I was off the train in St. Lucia station to face the crowd of umbrellaed tourists in the "pouring" rain. Apparently I was supposed to have an umbrella, at least that's what ever other person trying to sell me one thought. Sorry, but a little sprinkle doesn't merit the use of an umbrella, plus I'm from Seattle. We never use umbrellas. Ever.

I met up with Zak in Piazzale Roma and we proceeded to wander the streets of Venice amongst a million other tourists, immediately falling in love with the city. I still don't believe the city is real. It's too beautiful. Every person needs to visit Venice at least once, if not 100 times, in their life or they have waisted their time on earth. I already want to go back. In the early afternoon we caught a quick train to get off the island and meet Alex across the bridge at the Mestre station.

We created our own path, trying to save time (which ultimately took way longer than needed), running across freeways, climbing little grassy hills, and just generally getting lost on the way to our beloved home for the next two nights: Camp Jolly. We probably couldn't have dreamed of a better place to stay in Venice for only 10 Euro a night. Bunk beds inside canvas tents, garbage trucks at 5am, late night disco, pool - A dream. It was probably the highlight of our trip, aside from basically everything Venice has to offer. After checking in we headed back to the island to wander around, eat lots of gelato and pizza, visit some museums, and of course stop at H&M. Best store ever? Yes.

Saturday we spent doing basically the same thing: wandering, visiting museums, eating a lot of pizza and gelato, and taking a boat tour. It was amazing. We are all completely in love with Venice. I'd marry it.

Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear at Alcatraz, Milano May 28,2013

Whether you're a fan or not (you should be) just know that Grizzly Bear is easily one of the best live bands you could ever see. I already want to see them again. There is pretty much nothing else to say. Go see Grizzly Bear and you will understand. They're great.

Sardinia

After about a week ish of working (which involves mainly playing with a toddler, or reading while he sleeps) I had some time off to do pretty much whatever I wanted. I spent one day wandering around Milan, hyperventilating over amazing clothes, and going to the Brera museum for a couple hours. Seeing works of art in real life is so much better than looking at a powerpoint presentation in a classroom in crappy Idaho. Art history classes should only be available as a study abroad. I would pay for that. (well, I mean the government would pay for that) Also, I've fallen in love with the duomo in Milano. I could take pictures of it all day.

On Thursday I woke up at 5am to catch an early flight to Sardegna. I spent the next few days visiting my friend Zak who is living in Sassari right now for an internship. We mostly just ate a lot of pizza, gelato, and other junk food. But, we walked around all day too, so it's fine, right? Super worth it. A festival celebrating the culture of Sardegna was happening while I was there too, so that was pretty sweet. Concerts at ancient ruins, people wearing traditional Sardinian dress, people selling useless crap, lots of people. Cool. Mostly I just liked that there were a lot of cats roaming around the streets. I love cats. 

We took the bus to some nearby places like Castelsard (castle of Sardegna), and on Saturday we went to the beach in Patamona. We laid there for like 4 hours, and I got a stupid sunburn, but it's my own fault. I hardly ever use sunscreen, and I don't really care. I probably already have cancer. I've accepted it.

I woke up at 5am on Sunday to walk 30 minutes down to catch the only bus to the airport. Then sat in the airport for a couple hours before my flight. I was back in Milano by 10am, ready to sleep for awhile. For dinner we went to Lecco, a beautiful city on a lake about 30 minutes away. Too bad it was pouring rain the whole time, so walking around wasn't necessarily going to happen.