The Manna of My Life Comes for a Visit... And My Italian Thanksgiving!

I forgot to write about when Anna the Manna came to town!

We planned on meeting in Rome's main train station. I was super nervous I would never find her. She doesn't have a cell phone and doesn't know Italian.  To be honest, traveling in Rome without Italian is pretty easy but hey, I am a nervous nelly. I acknowledge it. Obviously, it worked out because Anna is oh so intelligent. She even got there early! It was so cute because I walked in the cafe we had planned to meet at and there she was, drinking a cappuccino and reading Anna Karenina in German.

We went to St. Peter's because she had never been. I tried to get to English confession... but a lady was parked in the confessional for a REALLY long time. I assume she was a bit off because a woman came and took her away from the confessional after a good 20 minutes. Then a girl cut me in line by accident... So after sitting there, meditating on what an awful person I was with deep guilt, for maybe 20-30 minutes, suddenly the priest turns off the light and gets ready to roll. "Father, are you finished?" "Yes, I'll be back at 2:30. Peace out!"

Dammit. Back to square one. So I felt pretty lousy and poor Anna had to deal with Louisa, the spiritually downtrodden. Hahaha. After some picture taking, we headed back to the station...

...where we RAN for our departing train... and then we arrived at our connection station... didn't realize we didn't have to actually get off the train like our ticket said... and then watched our train leave without us.

After figuring out we had to wait about an hour for our next train, we did what any normal people would do: we bought 3 cappuccinos and a bunch of food. We were so tired we didn't realize the soccer game we were watching was actually a rugby game. Haaaa.

When we finally arrived in Perugia, Anna was impressed with the city. I was SO PROUD to show her where I've been living with these past months. I love Perugia and I loved that her first impression was how pretty it was. Then we got home and my wifey Suzanne had an amazing feast for us.

SUZANNE, I LOVE YOU. NEVER LEAVE ME.

Saturday night we went out dancing with my friends. The next morning we slept in and then went to my beautiful church for Mass. Then we got dinner and a beer with my friends Connor, Kim, Sigrid and Suzanne. Monday we went to Firenze and met up with Irene Dana. It was so pretty... but I got us lost for like 30-40 minutes... fortunately, Irene and Anna didn't care/barely noticed. I felt like an idiot. Firenze is the city I perpetually get lost in.

Anna and I went to Santa Croce. Holy smokes. It was worth the 6 euros. There was so much to look at and come on, we all know we are both obsessed with Room with View...

So I went on and on about how Anna needed to try some good Italian food... and then we walked by the American diner in Firenze. I broke down and begged. They gave in. I ATE A REAL BURGER AND IT WAS AWESOME. Mmmm. It even had avocado.

In retrospect, I've had so many better burgers. But I was SO HAPPY to be eating a burger that it was worth it. We ended up sitting there for hours talking. Irene had so many stories from her travels with Phil, Andrew and Annie. It sounded fun but exhausting...

I'm such an old lady. When I travel, 70% of the time I'm thinking about how much I wish I was back in Perugia in my bed. Even though my bed is cripplingly unsupportive.

Anna stayed a few more days. She went to Assisi while I was in class. We ate a lot of chocolate and ice cream while she was here but took walks which I've now taken a liking to very much. It was so lovely to have her here and I was sad to see her go!

She left on Thanksgiving which stunk. But fortunately, my friends and I were invited to a big Thanksgiving dinner which was a blast. Suzanne and I brought a bunch of food and we got to eat fresh turkey and pumpkin pie. Good Ol' 'Murica.

Did I tell you I met the turkeys I ate? The guys who had the party went to a farm and bought four live turkeys. Anna and I met them. Hilarious. They butchered them the day before thanksgiving (I'm dying) and then cooked them at the restaurant where they work the day of... So funny. What a Thanksgiving to remember...

Want Me to Fall in Love with You? Take Me to Venezia

But for reaaaal.

Venezia (aka Venice for us Americani) is downright breathtaking. Suzanne and I finally went to explore it Saturday afternoon. At first, I was a little concerned because it was so foggy... but then we got to the island... and it was honestly the most romantic, beautiful place I've ever been.

"That lamppost is so pretty, KISS ME!" <--- how Venezia messes with a woman's mind. I'm so relieved I didn't grab some random man and suggest it.

Our first night, I slept for 10-11 hours I was so tired. Fortunately we had a comfy bed. I fell asleep with the lights on and Saving Private Ryan playing loudly.

The architecture is stunning. I went to mass at St. Mark's (where you can't kneel because there's no kneelers and then your chair is such that you can't kneel because it blocks your feet... Catholics know what I mean! Haha. Fortunately no one sat in front of me so I just picked up the chair and moved it...like a crazy gypsy woman.) It is entirely gold and mosaic everywhere.

It was a decadent trip. Venezia is stunning, we ate lobster pasta, we drank good wine... So worth it. 

But now it's back to reality and we are just tired. Our train took 5 hours on Sunday and we got back around 10 pm to a smelly dirty apartment with no food. Super awesome. 

Today I'm playing hooky because we needed to attend class so that we could qualify to take the final exam in December. I got my last signature yesterday! There goes all resolve to attend classes. Today I woke up with a sore throat so I chose to continue sleeping instead... Also, I have to finish my oral presentation second draft that was due five days ago... 

Umbra annoys me because they act like our grades really matter. Newsflash: THEY DON'T. I am learning for the sake of learning. I'm making myself do the oral presentation because it'll be good practice and I don't want to be rude to my teacher. I just wish this would translate into a magically awesome second draft already sent to his email inbox... Argh.

This weekend I'm going to Scotland for Cathleen's grad. Whew... why am I traveling back to back, self? I'm going to Rome Thursday, sleeping, getting up early Friday morning to catch my flight to Edinburgh, via Amsterdam, to arrival at 12:20. Hopefully all in time for life! Haha. I'm so excited to see some TAC girls. It will be grand. I think on Saturday they plan on going on a bus tour all day... I might just stay in Edinburgh and sleep and go shopping for baking soda, face wash, aka things I can't find in Italy! And our Bnb looks awesome. We get breakfast (WHEE). But most importantly, I'LL FINALLY GO TO CONFESSION IN ENGLISH. YESSSS. So excited. Last time I tried to go in St. Peter's they literally rejected me because of time. Sad. 

Sunday morning I leave super early at 5:50 am... weep. But I'll be back in Perugia by like 3/4 so it won't be so bad. I hope I don't verbally or physically assault anyone... 

On the Up'n'Up!

I write this post without caffeine. Haaaa disaster ahead?

So cool news: one of my teachers wants me to go up a level because I'm not challenged where I am and I'm ahead of most of the class. I was like eh I don't know... but then again I haven't learned anything new in a month and a half... and she was like yeah, you should move up.

She's my oral exercises teacher, Francesca. She is going to talk to my main teacher, Carla, and we'll see how it goes. It's Carla's decision to make. Things look promising though because even though I got the best grade on the Midterm, I could have done better. I didn't think much of it until my academic advisor emailed me and said Carla contacted her and wanted to know if everything was ok. HA! I didn't tell her the truth which is I'm bored out of my mind and got the best grade with 6 hours of sleep and my eyes half closed. But I'm so intimidated by the level up. Francesca suggested just sitting in once to see how much I understand first and then we can talk about real moving. I like this idea.

Last night Suzanne and I had a dinner party for seven people in our tiny apartment. We thought we only had 6 people coming... and then we counted an hour before everyone showed up haha. It was great! Suzanne is a goddess in the kitchen. She made sangria, mac and cheese, cheesy breaded chicken and glazed carrots. O.m.g. Sooo full after. It was ridiculous. It was 6 Americans and our Norwegian friend Sigrid and a lot of booze and food. Aka a success?

Barcelona: Where Everyone Speaks English/Catalan/Spanish...

Suzanne's friend Jordan was not as organized as he seemed. Hahahaha, I laugh now with sheer exhaustion.

Friday was a pain in the butt. I stayed out super late on Thursday night so I slept for a few hours before having to leave for Barcelona. Because Perugia is so out of the way of my life, the trip required a 20 min light rail ride, a 3 hour train ride, a 40 minute bus ride... just to get to the Roman airport. ARGH.

So Thursday night, I came home to Suzanne's alarm going off because her flight was 10 hours before mine. I fall asleep as she walked out the door... four hours later I get a phone call. "Hey, Louisa? I forgot my passport... Can you bring it to me?" Poor Suzanne has the worst luck with traveling. I check the train schedule and it was impossible for me to get there before her flight. So Suzanne spent 12 hours in the Fiumicino airport by herself. So Maura and I finally showed up at the airport and Suzanne had all these hilarious stories of how she spent her 12 hours, exploring the airport and buying things. We didn't get into our apartment in Barcelona until after midnight.

Then Jordan said the most terrible sentence you can hear from the person who has booked your trip, "Guys, you are going to hate me."

AHHH. That's in the same category as "We need to talk", "I have to tell you something" and "Can I ask you a question?"

Turns out he didn't realize he booked a bedroom in an apartment, not an entire apartment. He had to sleep on basically two cushions in the living room while us girls shared one of the bedrooms. None of the doors had locks... Fortunately, it was a nice clean apartment and nothing was stolen whatsoever.

Saturday we were all so tired we slept until noon. Because it was Jordan's birthday and he had given the impression of having a strategy for the day... but he had not. Hahah So we went to Gaudi's famous cathedral, walked around, drank sangria...

This is the worst part though. Jordan found a movie theatre that played movies in English... I went all the way to Barcelona to watch Looper with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordan Levit.

My first movie since... August? AH it was awesome. All I want to do is eat Mexican food, sushi and go to the movie theatre.

AT THE SAME TIME EVEN.

That evening, I tried "mixed paella" which had all this sketchy seafood in it. The rice and meat was bomb but I don't think I'm a big seafood person. But hey I tried it! Then we went out to different bars because it was Jordan's 21st birthday. There were some misses for sure. However, this friend of a friend of Suzanne's got us into this one club around 2:30... turns out it was SUPER legit and fun! One of the first bars we went to was full of rude American study abroad students. This, however, club was full of internationals and Spaniards. It was so much fun. We danced until around 5:30!

Sunday was rough. We slept from 6:30 to 12, took a cab to an airport, flew to Rome, took a cab, took a 3 hour train, waited and took a bus, watched home in pouring rain...

I was no fun haha. Even today I feel so tired. I hate this rain so much. I hate having wet feet.

Spain was a cool experience. I wish I saw more of the city. It was frustrating being unable to speak Italian with anyone. I hate speaking English in foreign countries, it feel so rude and stereotypical.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to be back in Perugia and don't want to leave for awhile!

"I'm Sorry, I Forgot That You Deserve Special Treatment Because We Bought The Same Ticket..."

The rest of my trip was great. My family was very generous and feed me a lot. My brain stopped functioning though, it was so hard to follow. At dinner on Saturday, in a restaurant in ITALY, my family ordered in Slovenian without menus... it was stressful... the dining room was loud with the Italians sitting next to us, my family kept switching between Slovenian and Italian, and THEN between proper Italian and Trieste Italian dialect...

I looked like an idiot. Fortunately, my cousin Natasa felt super bad for me and helped me out a LOT. Haha. Love that girl! She would just turn to me and repeat questions with simple grammar and vocab. It helped me relax and suddenly I found myself chatting away in Italian about my travels. She and I are planning her to visit me in Perugia sometime! Unfortunately, my next two months will be crazy busy.

My trip back from Trieste was pure misery. I almost screamed at the man across for me and his rude wife. I don't know how to say really rude things in Italian but I had some good stuff prepared. "OH, I'M SORRY! IS THIS YOUR TRAIN? OH I FORGOT, YOU KNOW, SINCE WE BOTH PAID THE SAME FOR OUR TICKETS???" I was so mad with how rude people were that I started to mimic them. I pretended to not understand, pretended to be sleeping, visibly rolled my eyes and denied every single request some jerk asked of me.

On a better foot...

This weekend I'm going to BARCELONA! I've never been to Spain and speak no Spanish... this shall be fun hahaha. Suzanne and I are meeting up with her good friend Jordan who is studying in Madrid or something, so someone will know Spanish! He booked us an apartment on the beach. Score. I started to get stressed because I hadn't looked up anything about Barcelona, ecc. Then I realized, "Louisa. You travel ALL THE TIME. This is peachy. You don't have to see everything. You should try to see a bit of the city and relax. You will go back again soon. And Mass? Just go in Spanish. You went to Mass in Slovenian when you were in Trieste. You CAN DO IT."

Do you like my little peep talk? To make things better, Suzanne's friend Jordan is very organized. He sent me a PDF with all our travel information, apartment info and maps on it. I'm so relieved someone else is in charge and pays attention to detail!

A Mermaid in Trieste

So I finally realized why my favorite color has always been greenish blue/bluish green. It is the color of the Adriatic at Trieste.

The water is SO beautiful, even when it is cold and overcast. I just wanted to jump in and swim, embracing my inner mermaid wholeheartedly.

Let me start further back…

This past weekend I went to visit my great aunt (Teta in Slovenian) Magda and her family in Trieste. She is married to my uncle Bogdan (Strzt in Slovenian) and has three sons: Dan, David and Pavel. Dan’s daughter is Natasa who is 19 years old. I spent most of the weekend with Magda and Pavel. Pavel is 29 and we hung out a lot. I spoke Italian almost the whole time.

Soooo…. Where do I even begin??? Well first of all, my family is NOT Italian. Only Italian by citizenship. My whole family speaks Slovenian together and Italian is their second language. Bogdan also speaks French and English. Pavel also knows German and is learning English. Natasa speaks Slovenian and Italian but has taken a lot of English classes.

To get to Trieste from Perugia, I had to take 3 trains… misery abounds. On the way there wasn’t SO bad. Magda picked me up by herself. The Italian conversation commenced! My aunt loves to talk… and once she got used to me being there, she kind of forgot how basic my Italian was… so suddenly, she was telling me these complicated stories. So I’d get the general idea, nod along and say “Si”, hoping to God she wasn’t asking me a question. But after telling me this WAY COMPLICATED story about the local priest, she’d throw me for a loop by asking a completely unrelated question. Haha. She probably thinks I’m retarded.

After 3 hours of conversation over a delicious meal I barely noticed because I was so focused on listening, she let me go to bed. My brain was so fried that I slept FOR TEN HOURS. I think I moved twice all night. So then Magda, Pavel and I drove to Slovenia for a delicious lunch. We went to this restaurant in the country about 50 minutes away. Of course, there was no menu so ordering was super awkward. I ended up getting a pasta sampler (OMG): pasta with mushroom sauce, gnocchi, ecc. Slovenian gnocchi is SO much better than Italian gnocchi, IMO. Then I had some amazing fresh produce in my salad and some roasted rabbit in sauce. MMmmmmm. So delicious.

I was sooo tired but felt like I needed some exercise. I fell asleep in the car for a bit too. We went to Castello Duino in Trieste. It belongs to some prince but they let people visit it. It has a bunker and was used by Nazis during WW2 as a post because of its location. Magda dropped off Pavel and I so we could explore it. It was such a pleasant chill time. We chatted in Italian and English. The castle had all these pretty rooms. The bunker was cold and wet. The gardens were very fresh and beautiful. But the VIEWS were INSANE. I am such a water person. I’m sure Pavel thought I was nuts. I was freaking out over how beautiful the sea was.

I want to be a mermaid and dash through the green waves to my white rock oasis.

Then we went home… and I took a 2 hour nap. I don’t take naps EVVVVERRRR. Translation = squashing of the brain.