PIX!

finally some pix from this trip!
Milan & Novara
Switzerland--Interlaken & Zurich
Berlin

enjoy!
xoxo

Day 133!

Sooo, Erin and I have decided that we've had enough of travelling for now. We are skipping Munich and heading back to Bologna. I'm so tired of living out of a suitcase! And we've been running around now for two whole weeks! Ugh. We have an entire day of trains ahead of us. Our first train leaves at 11, and we should get back to Bologna at about 1:30 in the morning! Boo.
xoxo

Day 132!

BRRRRRR! It's soooo cold in Germany!!! Berlin is a pretty happenin' city, but it's so cold out we don't really feel like doing much! New Year's Eve was crazy! Erin and I finally made it to our hotel after a 9-hour train ride!!! After a much needed nap, we went out to find the party. First we found an Italian restaurant and had delcious pizza! Our waiter was Italian, and he was so happy that we spoke Italian with him! It was fun:) Then we took to the streets, just following the CROWDS of people to find where the party was. Basically it was everywhere. Berlin is a huge city and kind of hard to navigate, so we didn't really know where we were going, but we eventually spotted the center of all the action, the Brandenburg Gate. It took us so long to get there, we arrived just in time to ring in the new year! We finally made it to the front of the party as the last couple acts came on, one of them being Captain Jack, the only person on the bill that we had ever heard of. After the music ended we made our way back to the hotel, very cold and very tired.
Yesterday we woke up and took about half the day just dragging our suitcases around the metro system of Berlin, making our way from our hotel to our hostel. Ugh! We met up with Alex (girl!) again, and we all went to the zoo! We saw elephants, tigers, lions, lots of monkeys, a giraffe, a panda. I love seeing the animals, but zoos are always a little sad, too. The conditions in which these animals live is pitiful.
Today we spent 3 1/2 hours walking around Berlin in the FREEZING cold on a free walking tour. Our guide Stephanie was from New Zealand, but has been living in Berlin since last March. She was really funny and REALLY knowledgeable about Berlin and its history. I really learned so much from her. We started at the Brandenburg Gate and saw places like the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the site of Nazi book burnings, lots of memorials. It was a great tour, even worth the almost frostbitten feet and hands! Needless to say, we are all wiped out!
On to Munich tomorrow.
xoxo

Day 129!

It is our last night in Switzerland, on to Germany early tomorrow morning. We have really enjoyed Interlaken and have just been relaxing and taking it easy for the most part. We got here on Saturday, checked in, and wandered around Interlaken. It's a pretty small little town so it didn't take long to explore it. It was a really beautiful day, and the mountains here are just so glorious! That evening we hung out for a bit at the bar in the lobby of our hostel. Our hostel is this really cool family-run place. The people are super nice and friendly and from all over--South Africa, Australia, everywhere!
Sunday Erin and I slept in then went exploring in the opposite direction, away from town. We went through the next town over, Wilderswil, and up into this tiny little town called Gsteigwiler. Another gorgeous day!
Erin and I were planning on going all the way up into the mountains on Monday to Jungfraujoch, known as "the top of Europe" because it's the highest train station in Europe. There is an ice palace/museum at the top that we really wanted to see, and we were planning on sledding down the mountain on the way back down. However it turns out that our Eurail passes don't cover the train ticket to the top, and we didn't feel like paying the extra 120 Swiss francs, so instead we just took the train to Wengen, a little town about halfway up the mountain. We walked around for a little while, got pastries and hot chocolate, and then came back to the hostel and chilled for the rest of the day.
Yesterday we went to Zurich for the day. We went to the Kunsthaus, this really awsome art museum, then just walked around the downtown area for a little while, then took the train back to Interlaken.
Today we didn't really do much of anything. We are enjoying our last day of the relaxation part of this journey. We walked into downtown Interlaken to get dinner. We had heard that cheese fondue is a famous Swiss dish, so we wanted to get some before we left here. Can't really say I was that impressed, unfortunately. It was kind of weird. But the waiter there gave us an extra scoop of ice cream in the banana split that we split, so all's well that ends well!
We have to get up at like 5 tomorrow to make our train to Berlin...nonstop, 9 hours. Woohoo! I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of 2009!
xoxo

Day 124!

Buon Natale, buone feste, e tanti auguri a tutti! What a way to spend Christmas Day☺ First thing this morning, Dina and Angelo came and picked us girls up to drive us around so we could see Novara and then to take us to Mario and Maria’s for lunch. Everyone has been so intent on showing us around Novara—Mario and Enio drove us around Wednesday night; Flavio and Lisa drove us around yesterday during the day; Domenico and Lisa drove us around last night; and now Dina and Angelo this morning! We have gotten the same tour but with different guides each time☺ Mario, Maria, their son Paolo and his wife Teresa, their daughter Daniela, Dina, Angelo, and we girls all had Christmas lunch together at Mario and Maria’s. Such a feast! For appetizers there were little onions, olives, mushrooms, eggplant, pigs-in-a-blanket, little pizzas, two kinds of salami, two kinds of prosciutto, and potato salad. Then the first course was like an Italian-style enchilada (I forget what they are called). There were two kinds, one filled with gorgonzola and mushrooms, the other with cheese and prosciutto, both so delicious! For the second course we had a roast and salad. The meat here is always so tender, I don’t know how they do it. Then out came the cheese, and the clementines, as usual, as well as peanuts and walnuts. After we thought we really couldn’t eat another bite, we had dessert! We had panettone (a type of sweet bread with candied fruit or chocolate inside—this one was chocolate!—that is a necessity for Italian holidays) with homemade whipped cream and prosecco! I don’t think I can ever eat again! The Italians really know how to do Christmas. We had such a wonderful meal and wonderful company. Erin, Alex, and I exchanged little gifts before lunch, but those were the only presents present (pun intended☺). Don’t get me wrong, I love both giving and receiving Christmas gifts, but it’s kind of nice for once to celebrate Christmas without such a huge focus on material things. We got to meet Mario and Maria’s kids, Paolo and Daniela, and Paolo’s wife (since July!) Teresa. They were also so nice and hospitable, welcoming us crazy Americans into their family Christmas celebration.
After our lengthy lunch, we had to say our final goodbyes to Mario and Maria. Che triste! But we promised that we will come back in the spring, a promise I fully intend to keep! Dina and Angelo took us back to Flavio and Elenora’s so we could pack up our suitcases so we will be ready for our EARLY start tomorrow. Our train from Milan to Interlaken is at 9 tomorrow morning, which means we have to leave here at 7 to make sure we get to Milan in time to make it! We said our final goodbyes to Dina and Angelo, and Dina warned us to be careful while traveling because “everyone is good, but [we] are young and beautiful.” She is so crazy, but I love her!
After we packed up all our stuff, we went down to Lisa and Domenico’s for dinner. They were having a bunch of friends over for homemade pizza. Going to a friend’s house instead of staying with family all day on Christmas is a strange concept to me, but we had so much fun! Lisa and her sister kept making pizza after pizza, each with a different variety of tasty toppings—prosciuto, tomatoes, salami, tuna, olives, mushrooms, always mozzarella. It was all so delicious, and Lisa even made up bags of the leftover pizza for Erin, Alex, and I to take on the train tomorrow. There was such a playful, friendly atmosphere during the whole evening. These people may be in their 30s, but they really seem so much younger. After dinner we all played Wii—Erin voluntarily, Alex and I against our will haha. It was so funny to see how much they love to play Wii, and watching some of the Wiifit games was especially entertaining. Lisa had also made up a Secret Santa type of game where we all picked numbers out of a jar that corresponded with newspaper-wrapped “gifts”—things like one piece of panettone, rubber bands, and a button that says “sono schemo” (I’m crazy). Domenico got clown balloons as one gift and started making balloon animals for everyone! I got a giraffe☺ He made Alex a pregnant dog—a poodle with a little balloon inside the stomach! This all led to my personal favorite part of the evening when Domenico performed more magic tricks! He is really good. I honestly have no idea how he did some of them, it’s kind of freaky. He did coin tricks, card tricks, and some with a couple red clown noses. They were all so entertaining. I was so astounded that Lisa said she was laughing harder at my reaction to the tricks than at the tricks themselves. I just love magic! It was such a fun night, I was so sad when Alex and Erin finally decided it was time to head upstairs. I really didn’t want the night to end, or our stay in Novara for that matter. I had so much fun joking around with Lisa and Domenico and their friends. They all make fun of the things we say in English with a hilarious impression of our accent. One of their friends kept trying to say a few sentences in English and kept talking about how “cool” he is. I honestly can’t remember the last time I so thoroughly enjoyed myself! For now I need to get to sleep as we have an early start and a long day ahead of us, but I am for sure coming back here before the I leave Italy!
xoxo

Day 123!

I can’t believe it’s Christmas Eve! Erin’s relatives were planning on taking us around Novara today, but unfortunately the weather was too bad. It rained here all day and is very cold. But that was fine with us because then we got to relax/sleep in/read for most of the morning. Elenora had us come down and eat breakfast—several kinds of cookies, brioches, and nutella (a MUST for Italian breakfast!), coffee, and tea. Around noon the other relatives arrived for Christmas Eve lunch. Mario and Maria came, and we met Mario and Flavio’s sister Dina and her husband Angelo—both so sweet! Dina is a trip, she will go on and on about how bella we girls are and how brava we are because we speak Italian and drink wine and eat a lot—love her!!! Lisa and Domenico joined us about halfway through the meal, which took at least two hours! We started with several different appetizers including roasted red and yellow peppers, little onions, meat with tuna sauce (might not sound good, but it was delicious), something like potato salad, and olives. Then we had the first course—DELICIOUS homemade lasagna! For the second course we had a roast, fried calamari, salad, potatoes, and french fries. So much food! And of course, there is always bread and a wide variety of beverages on the table. Italians always have wine, water, and at least one other choice; today it was coke and Italian style orange juice. At the end of every meal here they bring out a basket of clementines, as they are supposed to help with digestion. I’m not sure if that is a seasonal habit or one that lasts year round, but I like it! We also had dried chocolate-covered figs with a hazelnut inside for dessert and, like good Italians, espresso. It was such a wonderful meal, but not just because of the food! Erin’s relatives are so wonderful themselves. I really wish we could stay here for a few more days. We had really lively, fun conversation throughout the whole meal. The women are especially fun to watch when they talk to each other. I really like being here because it is strange enough to be exciting, but familiar enough to be comforting. Elenora reminded me so much of my grandmothers today at lunch because we were all sitting and eating while she kept going to and fro from the kitchen bringing out more food. Dina was telling us girls about her and Angelo’s travels in America. Years ago they took a trip around the United States to California, Las Vegas, Niagra Falls, and so many other places. They have seen more of my own country than I have! As I said, Lisa and Domenico arrived while we were eating, and they sat down on our end of the table, so I got to talk to them quite a bit. They are both so funny and seem so much younger than they are. Erin, Alex, and I all thought they were about 25 or 26, but we found out tonight that Lisa is 31 and Domenico is 32! We also found out that they have been together since they were 17—14 years! They are such a cute couple because you can just tell that they are happy people and happy to be together. Actually that’s how all of the couples are here, it’s really too cuteJ Anyway, after we were impossibly full from lunch, Flavio and Lisa took us to the train station to try to make reservations for our train to Interlaken. Turns out we have to do it in Milan on Saturday, so we will be leaving here at about 6 that morning! Next Flavio drove us to an outdoor outlet mall close to where Lisa works. There were a lot of great stores, but it was still raining and none of us really needed anything, so we didn’t stay long. After that it was back to Mario and Maria’s for dinner! This time Maria made a dish very typical of this area—risotto with mushrooms. Mario found the mushrooms himself in the woods—he loves to mushroom hunt, but doesn’t really like to eat them, which I think is cuteJ The risotto and the mushrooms were fantastic! We also had roast, salad, cheese, bread, and the famous clementines. Once again we were stuffed to the gills!!! Domenico and Lisa came over after dinner, and we all sat talking for a little while. We found out Domenico is a magician, which absolutely made my day (I LOVE magic tricksJ)! He did a few magic tricks for us, but then we had to leave because Maria needed to get to church to sing at midnight mass. Domenico and Lisa took us to a pub where we sat talking for a long time. They are so much fun to hang out with! It’s so interesting to talk to them, too. They do the funniest impression of us speaking English. They also gave us some hilarious examples of different Italian dialects, like Napoletano (Domenico is from Naples). We made plans for coming back in the spring so we can see more of Novara and the lake. We also talked about meeting in Milan this summer for a South American festival, and I invited them to come to Ibiza with us for my birthday. I really hope all of these plans pan out because I love these people! I am so content here that it’s almost ridiculous. I simply cannot stop smiling and end up feeling kind of silly, but oh well! I wish everyone could meet all of these wonderful people because I know no amount of description could ever do them justice. In fact I want to go on and on and describe every little detail of them all, but it’s just hopeless! And it’s technically already Christmas now, so I better get to bed so Babbo Natale can do his thingJ Auguri!

xoxo

Day 122!

What a trying but wonderful day! Erin and I planned on meeting Alex (the girl this time—the boy Alex with whom we spent the days in Milan left very early this morning) at the train station and taking the 12:15 train to Novara. However, Alex’s first train from Bologna was cancelled, and she missed her second one, so she was late. Also Erin and I had to wait around at the hotel because Alex (the boy!) forgot to pay for his share! So we had to wait to get his credit card number so we could get our bill all settled. A little after 1 o’clock, Alex (girl), Erin, and I were finally on a train out of Milan and heading for Novara, what should have been a short trip. But when we got to the Novara station, the train doors wouldn’t open! We ran to the next set of doors to get off, but it was already too late, the train was leaving the station, and we were stuck! We had to ride to the next stop and finally got off the train. Luckily the town wasn’t too far from Novara. Erin called her relatives and her (distant) cousin Mario and his friend Enio were nice enough to just drive to the town where we were and pick us up there! Enio is a great big guy with a full beard, and he is such a joker—he reminds me a lot of a combination of some good family friends, in a good wayJ Mario took us back to his house where his wife Maria had made us a wonderful home-cooked Italian lunch—tagliatelli with ragu, chicken, cheese, bread! Mario and Maria are so sweet and hospitable. We ate very well then Mario took us to his brother Flavio’s house. We are staying with Flavio and his wife Elenora because they have more room. They actually have an unusual amount of extra space, especially for Italians, because they have an entire building to themselves. Their daughter Lisa lives on the first floor with her boyfriend Domenico, they live on the second, and their other daughter used to live on the top floor, but she moved so we get the whole top floor to ourselves! It’s really nice and definitely the most comfortable we will be during this whole trip. Once we got settled in here, Mario came and picked us up to take us back to his house for dinner—chicken, fennel, potatoes, cheese, bread, fruit, cookies—yum! I really love this whole home-cooked Italian food, entire apartment to ourselves thing! Better than even the best hostelJ And all of Erin’s relatives are sooo nice. As much as I love Christmas at home with my family, it’s really fun to be here experiencing an Italian Christmas with such welcoming people. It’s also really great to be listening to them talk and to be speaking Italian with them. What a great opportunity! I am really enjoying myself more than I thought possible! I know these next couple days here are going to fly by, but I wish they wouldn’t!

xoxo