Ciao.
Well kiddos, what’s new…….
Yesterday, the weather decided to change itself over to rain, so Ainsley and I switched our plans over from the beach to visiting the land of Amanda Knox- aka PERUGIA! I can’t say I know anyone who has visited there before! I just love these day trips!
So I woke up and got ready for the BEACH and then got the text from Ainsley saying it’s changed from 30% chance of rain to 60%, so we decided we’d risk Perugia instead. It was pretty much supposed to rain everywhere in Italy, so we really had to just chance whatever. So we took the 11 am train to Perugia and chatted along the way about whether or not we want to go home……obviously everyone knows the answer is we aren’t ready. Too many goodbyes we don’t know how to say.
So we got into Perugia about 1:15 and took the bus into the main center of the town. It was gorgeous! I was joking that I wanted to go find the house where the Amanda Knox thing happened, but we never could figure out where that was and I wanted to get a picture of the Perugian Police station, but we didn’t know where that was either! Haha
But OMG Perugia is so pretty! It kind of reminded me of Siena, but a lot more open! We pretty much just walked around the main square for while and took many photos. I had read in my Italy book about this place that was known for their gnocchi with ricotta and we finally found it, but it was too pricey! Ainsley and I both LOVE gnocchi! But then we were both hungry and wanted pastries! So we went on the hunt for some pastries and stopped at this cute little pastry and bread shop we stumbled upon. I couldn’t really find anything I liked, but Ainsley got this fruit tart and chocolate filled cream puff thing she loved. Then we took those and she ate them while we sat on these steps we found overlooking the rest of the city! It was so pretty! Then we went on the hunt to find another bakery and we totally failed! Perugia isn’t Florence; they have restaurants but not a lot of bakeries! So after walking around the whole square and seeing their Duomo and other big things to see, we finally went back to the pastry shop Ainsley got hers from! I got to try this apple strudel looking thing that was okay, would have been better with ice cream and if it was warm! But then I asked what this random thing was and it was real STRUDEL! Everyone knows Ainsley and I love strudel : ) !! (We miss Salzburg SO much!) But this was different, it was like a thin layer of pastry and then a small cakish kind of layer and then apple, nuts, and I think raisins! It was so good! I ate so much though, I was so full! Of course the 30% chance of rain turned to 100% and it started raining……So I had to eat my pastry under this little archway. It was so hot when we got there and sunny and then got so cloudy and rainy! We were so sad! So then under this archway, there was this little marketplace we looked through. Doesn’t compare at all to my fleamarket, but whatever!
So then we decided we pretty much saw all that we could see in the big center and were probs just going to jump on the bus and see what random stop we wanted to get off at. But then we found this chocolate place FINALLY! Perugia is actually known for their chocolate, so Ainsley was looking for her and our friend Chris some chocolate! So we went in this store, like the only store filled with chocolate, and they had SO much stuff! So much good stuff of course! So Ainsley got these 2 chocolate bars and the guy even wrapped them up so cute, even with bows!! We figured there would be a ton of chocolate shops, but nope! Luckily we found this one! So then we made our way back to the bus stop, of course I had forgotten my umbrella. Luckily Ainsley had hers!
We saw one of the tour buses and since we didn’t know what to do, we checked with the tourist office the prices and it was kind of pricey. SO we looked at the map of everywhere it went and we asked how do we get to this one spot, like what bus do we get on because on the map, a lot of the numbers of big attractions was in this spot. The lady looked at us and was like you can walk, it’s over there. Ainsley and I were like okay thank you! And walked away thinking omg she thinks we’re stupid now! Haha
So then we just decided to get back on the bus since everywhere else on the map looked like there was nothing big to see and see what train times home were and then just walk around the city by the train station!
So when we got to the train station and we walked up to the ticket machine and this older Italian lady came up to us and was like totally talking to us in complete Italian-- all these words we don’t know! So Ainsley was like Parlo Inglese and she just kept going. I started to purchase the ticket and the lady started talking to me and I was like OMG you think I am buying your ticket too since I bought Ainsley and mine together…… But then she started saying all this stuff to Ainsley and was like Grazie! And walked away so Ainsley and I grabbed our ticket and quickly made our getaway! We thought she was walking after us, but she stayed in the station! It was so funny!
So then Ainsley and I walked around the area around the train station and went into a few shops and bakeries! I wished I hadn’t eaten the dang strudel, even though it was SO good, because the one bakery had canoli filled with chocolate chips. : ( !! Whatever, I can get canoli here I guess!! So then we made it back to the train station and went to McDonalds and sat there for a bit! Ainsley got this Cappucino milkshake thing that was actually so good! America seems to be slacking again! Haha
So then we made it back for the 5:40 train ride home! Sat on the train and I snapped a photo of maybe the University Amanda Knox went to! Haha
But then it was so funny. Ainsley has already been to the Amalfi Coast.. I want to go….. Well one of the cities is called Positano. Well, those guys that Julie, Deb, and I talked to at Kebabs the other night had recommended it and Ainsley was willing to go back, but I guess moron me just followed the search help on Weather.com and searched Possagnano or something like that. I figured they probs just spell it weird and say it different. HAHA! Well the stop for Possagnano is actually on the way to Perugia and Ainsley was like you moron because the city looked so trashy! I was like whoopsies!!!!! Haha it was so funny! She was like dude what if we would have went here! Haha!
Well then we made it back to Florence and wanted dinner! There is this Chinese place under me and we had discussed everywhere we want to go before we leave and this place was on my list! Chinese isn’t too trusty around here/isn’t good, so I never have really gotten it before.. Plus I am picky with my Chinese food. But we decided to give it a try instead of going to this other restaurant Ainsley had mentioned! We were going to get it and eat it on my balcony, but it was kind of chilly!
SO I got this spicy pork with rice and veggies and a spring roll! Shockingly enough it was so good! Ainsley got the same thing, but with sweet and sour chicken! We both thought it was pretty legit and I was shocked I liked the spring roll! I miss my crab rangoon and China King! So we ate and chatted with Alexa and her friends! Her friends are so nice and funny. They told us the whole long story about all the trains they had to get on to get here. They are both studying in Spain and it was too expensive to fly here, so they bought a EuroRail pass to get here which is just taking a bunch of trains! Their story was ridiculous; I could have never done it! Ainsley and I were both like we could have never done that and props to you for doing so! I thought Sam and my 16 hour Palermo to Florence train ride was bad! NOPE! They win x infinity! Haha But now they are on their way to Rome and then Greece and then flying home from Greece to Spain luckily! SO then Ainsley and I got on my internet and looked up weather/places to go for Saturday, but everywhere we searched called for rain! So then we switched our plans and looked up Sunday! The beach we wanted to go to called for sunny weather and high 60s! So we slapped hands and agreed BEACH on Sunday! Ainsley has 2 papers to write and other stuff to do, so she couldn’t go to 3 different places, but it was supposed to rain everywhere Saturday anyways so NBD!
So then Ainlsey went home and I got ready for bed and cleaned up a little bit and chatted with Bess! Alexa and her friends went to my favorite gelato place and I recommended to her friend to get Cheesecake and Cookie like I like and she did! She agreed it was SO GOOD!!
Well then I went to bed and then woke up this morning about 9 and took a walk/run towards where Julie and Deb stayed and then along the Arno. There was soldier type people around the streets I was running on, but I have no idea what was going on!! : ( But the walk/run was so nice! I needed it! Then I came back and stretched, showered, did laundry, and then went to the market! I got 2 new scarves…… I have a problem and it needs to stop! I don’t need any more scarves. I told Alexa I have to stop NOW! But I can’t help it, I want one in every color and now all I need is a green one, but I haven’t found one I like. HAHA! SO then I went to the inside market and got my dried kiwi, melon, and banana chips! I told Alexa our dried fruit guy is going to miss us! He is just so cute and whenever he sees me now he’s either like melon? Or kiwi? Haha or he always just smiles when I walk by!
SO then I went to the grocery store for some pesto, veggies, and chicken! I am buying pretty much day by day now because I don’t want to have any leftover food to throw away! So then I came home, unloaded my goods, and got ready to go meet Ainsley for lunch.
Then I went to my favorite sandwich place to meet Ainsley and we got the sandwich for probs the last time : (!!!!! Tears. NOW. It was of course so good, but filling as always. I love Haleigh’s place.. but the bread on mine isn’t as crusty and is so good! But from here on out, I will probs go to Haleigh’s place for sandwiches, but I do want to go back to mine for their pizza at least one more time cause it is so good!
So then I looked at Ainsley and was like Canoli!? Gili? Best canoli if your life…..YES please! Oh wait, no Sicily still wins, but Gili is next probs. So we went and got 2 to go and sat and ate them in Piazza de Republica! The weather was so nice today and we both agreed that we so hope it would be like this for the beach tomorrow! So then we chatted for a bit and then walked back towards her apartment and looked for the Florence ring she is searching for! Then she went back to her apartment and I walked up to Piazza Michaelangelo to look for the jacket I wanted! That failed, cause the one I wanted was cotton and not like my Ireland jacket like I had thought! The 2 people I was with in Cinque Terre last Friday recommended going up to see this church a little bit up the way from the Piazza, so I saw this church and walked into it! It was so pretty and so I took some photos and kneeled and prayed for quite a bit! I know I haven’t been to church, so it felt so good to sit in the church for a bit! My friends had told me that it was so pretty and there was quite a few steps up to it and this one had quite a few steps to walk up to it, but I decided to walk more up the hill behind the church and saw this other church. SO I walked farther up the hill and saw this huge church with A LOT of steps to walk up and realized that was probs the one they were talking about.
SO I made my way up the steps and took plenty of photos! There was this big open area and I don’t think anyone I really know has ever been up to it! It was practically a better view than Piazza Michaelangelo! SO I snapped many photos and walked into the church. The outside architecture pretty much looked the same as the Duomo and Santa Croce! The inside was so pretty, but like the Duomo- not much lighting! But there was a little service going on in the downstairs part. It was a really cool church and the set up was nothing like I have ever really seen before! There was like 3 levels! The upstairs part had a really cool dome and then this blocked off area that kind of looked like something out of Harry Potter when everyone is sitting around in the dark brown benches…..kind of like Congress looking! Haha! But it was pretty cool and then the middle area had this cool altar and statues! I got some pretty good photos!
Well then around the back of the church, there was a HUGE cemetery. Okay call me creepy, but seriously.. These gravesites were so neat looking and boy oh boy, nothing and I mean NOTHING like you would see in America. They had pictures of the person on some of the graves, statues on others, HUGE room like buildings I guess for families, some had HUGE statues on them (one seriously CREEPED me out!), others had like glass room buildings, some had flowers, some had small graves, others had big ones, and there was even a statue of a man and a wife like getting married.. I don’t know- all of them were different and so cool! Americans don’t honor their loved ones graves decorated and what not like Italians. I found their ways so weirdly cool and a great way to honor their loved ones. Some of them you could tell probs had been in war because they had head statues with hats on them like they had been in a war! I don’t know, it was just weirdly cool looking! There was a black cat in the cemetery that did for sure creep me out though! Haha
So then I walked down and just started taking pictures of Florence. I know I have taken some pictures, but I haven’t taken any like I have in all the other places I have been! So I am working on that! Plus I want to take photos of all my favorite places, so when I come back I can find them : ) !! SO I walked towards the Ponte Vecchio and then back to the Uffizi. It’s so funny because when Alexa and I were walking around that first week, I got some photos around the Uffizi, but I didn’t know what I was taking photos of then! Haha
So then here’s a story……..everyone knows I am DEATHLY afraid of masks and creepy face paintings, etc. Well by the Uffizi, there are these people that dress up in masks or paint their faces and just stand there all day pretty much and people throw money in their hats they leave out or whatever. Like there is a cupid that usually is there, this Egyptian mummy, and this ghost looking guy with this Duomo painting behind him (I don’t know, he’s probs making himself seem like the “ghost of the Duomo”, but theoretically he looks like he’s one of the ghosts in A Chricstmas Carol!). Well I usually zoom passed those, took a photo of 2 of them that were there today though to prove to everyone why they scare me. (The other day in fact when I was walking by, there was a precious little girl crying.. I am pretty sure it was because of them and I wanted to walk up to her and be like I feel your pain!! Haha) But then I kept walking and there was like this huge crowd of people standing around watching something, I thought it was a magic show, but I was wrong. I saw this guy with a colored looking mohawk and then he turned around and his face was painted white and black around his eyes and mouth- like the joker, but without the red……… SO I was like mother effer, this is my worst nightmare probs. So I kept walking. Basically all he was doing was sneaking up on people and everyone would laugh. Well then he was creeping on the people walking in front of me, then sees me laughing I guess, skips over them, and then proceeds to try and pick me up. ME? I am like WTF buddy, this ain’t happening! So he was like grabbing my arm to put it around his neck so he could lift me up and I was like BLAHHHHHH fine and did so like he told me to, so maybe he would go away. So he picked me up and carried me around for like 1 to 2 minutes-- picking random people to fake hand me to and then finally set me down in this random guy’s lap that was sitting down. Too bad he wasn’t cute : ( !!!! HAHA! I seriously like snapped a photo after another minute or so of watching him and walked away and was like no that did not happen. My worst nightmare like just happened and I had to allow it! BAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! SO then I kept on walking away! At least I saw him straight on and he didn’t creep on me……..I’d probs really have nightmares.
So then my camera ran out of battery, so I had to give up and walk back towards the market so I could finish my shopping! So I picked up my Italia T-shirt I have been wanting and then the Italia jacket like Tricia got, but in white finally! I am so happy I finally got them both!
So then I got more money out of the ATM, hopefully for the last time. HAHA! But we will see.
So then I came home and caught Alexa up on my day and told her about the Mime ordeal! She couldn’t believe it and neither could Bess when I told her! I seriously wish someone could have gotten it on tape. Haha!
So then I got ready to make my dinner! OKAY STUPID ME! I bought chicken to make tonight so I could dip it in my KC MASTERPIECE FINALLY! But I made my chicken, pepper, and zucchini mix and mixed it with my new spicy tomato sauce and pasta and chickpeas. I then sat down and was like WTF SHELLEY! I was so mad, so then I had to eat the BBQ sauce with my spoon to make up for it. Ughh.. I need a brain. I was like ALEXA I AM A MORON! Haha SO then I ate my dinner, it was wicked good though…..DEF. will make it again….. and watched a bit of my soap opera!
Then I cleaned up and took my laundry out of the washer! Then I called my mother and father, papa, and Seigs! And then I started to write this novel! I don’t know how I make these so long all the time! Whatever! Thanks for reading them if you are, less to tell everyone when I get home!
So other than this……. Ainsley and I are going to the beach tomorrow! Bright and early, taking the 7:47 train, getting to the beach about 9 and laying out all day-- bringing our homework to study and she’s bringing me Eat. Pray. Love and I will probs bring my journal to write and paper to do my budget! YAY! I cannot wait to lay out! We are so hoping the weather holds up! It was so nice out this morning on my run, then it kind of looked like it was going to rain, then it got sunny again and hot, so hopefully it’s hot and sunny on the beach tomorrow! : ) Prime time tanning time! I usually hate laying out when I am at home and now I love it. Moving to Florida to do Senior Living doesn’t seem too bad of an idea anymore : ) !! We will see! I cannot wait for California this summer!
I am not counting down the days till I come home…..Yes I know that sounds mean, but guys I am not ready to come home yet simply in the fact that you do not understand how hard it is going to be to say goodbye to my new friends and this beautiful place. I have fallen absolutely in love with traveling on these trips, daytrips, and Italy in general. I have made so many new friends and these friends aren’t close to me…..they’re basically on the east and west coasts and we will only get to see each other every so often now! I don’t know what I would do without the friends I have made! I don’t do goodbyes very well and everyone knows that! SO I am sorry if I say I don’t want to come home, don’t think I don’t care about everyone/thing at home now, it’s just going to be very hard to leave here. Before spring break, time wasn’t flying; but ever since after break, time has flown…. I guess with all the traveling, but still. I still have a few trips to look forward to thankfully and time to hang out with everyone! Cinco de Mayo is Thursday………Hello Margs! And us girls have big plans for it! : )
Well I will leave it at this for now! Love and Miss as always! : )
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