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. 

Vimercate - Monza - Milan

Every Friday there is a huge farmer's market in Vimercate, so naturally I went. (And bought nothing) I guess you could call it a farmer's market, but there were probably too many vendors to call it that, and no one was wearing overalls. It covered most all of the streets in that medium sized town that I've fallen in love with. Some little things about the market (people yelling at me in a foreign language to buy their stuff etc.) reminded a bit of India, but with fewer diseases and less me wanting to punch someone in the face. It was a good time. I will most definitely be back next Friday.

Saturday morning I went to Monza with Bea to meet up with her sister and do some shopping. We wandered around for a few hours, got a crescent, visited the duomo, and ultimately bought nothing. Well, at least I bought nothing. I'm probably too cheap for all of Italy, but also the least expensive thing in that city was probably a scarf for 39E. Sorry, not gonna happen. (Kerri Lindsey: shut up, I WILL buy something here that's more than $10, don't worry) The city was great, and I am definitely going to be back to wander again soon. I'm determined to visit the shops I missed and find something cheaper than the scarf. Also, there's a record store there. So.....

Saturday night we went into Milano for a ballet, Giselle, at the Teatro alla Scala. I've never been to a ballet, and normally wouldn't really care too, but the whole experience was pretty incredible. I have no words for the beauty of that place. My jar literally dropped when I walked inside. I was just imagining people in the 19th century walking around in their fancy outfits, looking classy, and immediately wishing I had one of those outfits on. Then realizing that it gets unbelievably hot in those little private boxes, and wondering how the crap more of those people back then didn't get heat strokes and die at the theater. But then again, maybe they did. I don't know if I've felt more classy in my whole life. Drake's "Fancy" lyrics of "Oh you fancy huh, oh you fancy huh" were repeating in my head most all of the night. It really added to the classiness of the night. Thanks, Drake.

Vimercate

Yesterday morning I went to a little town called Vimercate, just a few km's away. I was happy to wander around the streets for a bit looking into the shop windows at clothes and shoes I could never justify buying. Gucci, Prada, etc. so beautiful, but so out of my budget. I'll stick with my $11 Target sandals, thanks. It, along with every city/town/village/wall/tree/rock/ in Italy, was such a beautiful little place.  The rest of the day I spent eating lunch at Ludo's grandparent's, reading, going to a sushi place for dinner with Bea and a couple of her friends, and doing yoga. Good day.

Today I had real homemade Italian pizza! It was unbelievably good. The entire U.S. (yes, including New York) doesn't even come close to this. Actually, most likely the whole world doesn't compare. Needless to say, I loved it. I also visited a little town on top of a hill, I think it was called Montanga Vecchia or something. Basically, it just means an old mountain, and there's a church on it. They also grow grapes and rosemary there. The view was enough to feel like you had possibly died, and that Heaven was indeed real because you were in it. Holy yikes, it was pretty. After getting sweaty from the somewhat of a hike, we stopped at a gelateria on the way home, and got some of the best gelato I've ever had.

Welcome to Italy!

So, I couldn't decide whether or not I was going to write a blog for this visit to Italy, because I don't care that much about blogs. And, let's face it, we all just want to see the pictures anyway. But alas, you're reading this so.....

I've been here for 5 days now, and I still haven't seen much sun. It's been raining pretty consistently, I thought I left Seattle! It hasn't really bothered me much though, I'm obviously quite used to it. Plus there was a pretty huge thunderstorm last night, and those never really happen in Seattle. It was like finding money, unexpected and unbelievably awesome. I feel very much at home here, besides not understanding much of anything the people are saying. That is mostly due to the fact that the family I live with is amazing! I couldn't have dreamed of better hosts, and their little 2 year old son, Ludovico, is easily the cutest little boy in the whole world. The way he rolls his r's when he says Mallory! Mallory! could alone make me fall in love with him. Which I did immediately. Also, apparently I look like an Italian girl, so people don't really notice anything until I speak English. I'm OK with that.

Thus far, I have spent most of my time meeting and having dinner or lunch with the family, their parents and family friends. Home cooked Italian meals are definitely OK with me. I'm slowly getting to know my way around the area, and am getting used to driving in Italy. It's so nice to have a car that I can use while I'm here. It's also an Audi, so that's a dream. Audi's are definitely among the most beautiful cars ever made. I went to Milan on Saturday with the family and we walked around a bit seeing some sites, and they helped me learn the metro route. All the while, I was wishing I had studied Italian at school rather than French, or that I was in France and could actually kind of understand people. Actually, if I'm going to wish for things I wish I was fluent in French, Italian, and well any other language really. (And that I was rich, and that I could eat chocolate, peanut butter, Cafe Rio and soda all day and not get fat, and that clothes were free and that I could get paid for eating and watching bands play and, well a lot of other things) I was especially wishing I could speak Italian on Sunday when I went to the ward in Merate. There were a few people there that could speak English and were able to help me, but it was still an experience for sure.

Today I discovered that on their satellite they have like 100 english channels (and some french, so I watched those too) and literally almost started crying in pure happiness when I found Cartoon Network and it was playing Adventure Time for like 3 hours. I was home alone, and it was pouring rain, so.... clearly thats what I was going to be doing. I'm just praying that F.R.I.E.N.D.S. will be on one of these channels at some point. I might be having withdrawals from that show. I am definitely addicted, and well have been for probably 15 years. Nothing is better. Little Ludo is addicted to Toy Story 1,2 and 3. I've seen them all at least 5 times already. I'm pretty OK with it considering he only watches TV in english (even though he might not understand), and because those movies are all freaking great. Don't even pretend like you don't think so too.


The only downfall of this place is that there are no Reese's. Whatever, Europe, why you aren't obsessed with peanut butter like I am will never make sense to me. I brought a big stash of Reese's with me to tide me over for these 3 months, but I'm pretty sure I have already eaten like 3/4 of it. Crap.