Teramo, Italy:

January 17, 2005

So we think that we have found the perfect place in Italy to go to school. Its Teramo. It in southern Italy on the east coast. Its a small small town but the school only cost 400 euros a year. that is like 700 us dollars per year. I couldn't even take one class in America for that amount. We just need to see if their Italian as a second language course is any good. We are still waiting to hear back from the school about that. Teramo also has a great wildlife park, which is where I hope to work since I would like to work with wildlife.

Well today is Monday and I will be 22 on wed. nothing big though. my mother and I are going to play bingo and that's about it. Birthdays just aren't as exciting as they used to be.

Well I think that is about all. The pics attached are some pictures of Teramo so you can see what it looks like.

3 days until Italy

06/29/2005, 16:47 PM

So it has obviously been a while since I have written in this journal, so there is a lot to catch you up on.

Since the last time I wrote in the blog I have had to quit school due to lack of funds.

We have sold out house in Minnesota.

My brother has rented an apartment and moved out, taking 2 of our cats with him.

We had to give our 2 dogs away. Sad, I know, but they are in great places so I am not worried. I know they will be happy where they are.

We are bringing our other 4 cats with us to Italy.

The city that we have finally decided on living in and going to school in is Perugia. It is in the providence of Umbria. We have enrolled in the Universita Per Stranieri. (The university for foreigners). We start July 1st, but due to difficulties getting our visas (which I will go further into) we are having to arrive in Italy on the 4th and start school late.

We have a flat rented not far from the Universita. It is a two level flat, with 2 beds, fully furnished and a balcony. It is really small though, but we only plan to be there to sleep.

There is too much to explore to be inside our flat all day long. About a week after we arrive in Perugia, they are holding the Umbria Jazz Festival featuring acts such as The Count Basie Orchestra, Scott Hamilton, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Cassandra Wilson, George Benson, Al Jarreau, and last but certainly not least, Sir Elton John. WOW! Unfortunately the tickets have long since been sold out and they run around 500 dollars a piece. However, that does not mean we don't have a shot of running into them...

Later in October, Perugia is holding the world chocolate festival. A woman's heaven.... For more info on this, click here. Perugia's Chocolate Fest. .

So back to present time. Right now we have been living in and out of hotels in Minnesota and Illinois for about a month. Since our house sold at the end of May we have needed a place to stay, but they also had to accept pets. Let me tell you how much trouble it is to fine nice places to stay that accept cats. Anyway. Last Friday we came to Chicago to turn in our applications for our student visas. Here is where the problems started piling up.

My school acceptance letter has not come in the mail yet, even though they sent it priority. They faxed a copy over to the Italian consulate, but I don't know if that will do.

Then, our housing agreement said that we were renting our flat for a whole -1 day. Yes, you did read that right. The dates were from July 1st, 2005 to June 30th, 2005. Of course they meant to put June 30th, 2006, but we had to have proof of that. So of course we have to call Italy and have them fax over a copy with the correct dates.

Then.....The consulate wants to have more information about the classes we are taking, and also our acceptance letters from the school state that they have received our "Requests" to attend their school. Even though we have paid and have proof of that, the consulate wants a letter saying that we have been accepted. So we have had to call Italy and ask them to fax over copies saying that we have been accepted. The lady in Italy says that it is not normal for them to send that, and that she will ask her boss and fax it over asap....

That was 2 days ago and we still have yet to see that fax. Mind you our plane for Italy leaves this Sunday and we need to have our visas by Friday. YIKES! Hopefully they will come thru and we will get them in time.

So until then, we still, wait, and keep going to the consulate every morning to get an update. Although there is a lot to do here in Chicago, we don't have any extra money to spend so we just hang in our hotel and wait. I will post on here what happens. Til then here are pictures of Perugia. Enjoy!

What else can they throw at us????

06/30/2005, 18:51 PM

This morning I talked to the consulate about our visas.

They told me that we needed to pay all of school or he wouldn't give us our visas. So we had to go to a western union and quick pay 800 dollars to the Universita so that they can send a letter to the consulate saying we have paid. Uggg. Not to mention its in the 90s today and humid. We barely have enough money as it is, and then to go and pay ahead of time. yikes!

Last Saturday we were in downtown Chicago and noticed that they had the taste of Chicago going on so we decided since we were hungry and bored, we would have a go at it. Can we say crowded! It was kind of fun. It was pricey and there wasn't much variety in food, but it was something to do.

Later that night around 10pm, we watched the fireworks from the pier. Nothing too special, but since I haven't seen 4th of July fireworks in years, it was nice. The next day we found out that at around 9pm that night, there was a shooting at the taste and one man was killed. We had left the taste about an hour before that. Thank Heavens. One reason I cant wait to get out of the United States. In Italy, they rarely have crime against people. Mostly break ins, unless you are Mafia, and then....Well you know.

So now all we can do is wait in our hotel until tomorrow morning where we will find out if we get our visas or not. If we cant get them by tomorrow, (remember our flight is Sunday) then we will just go as tourist and go from there. It will work out, its just a question of how and when.

Below are pictures from our room on the 23rd floor. This is an extremely clear day. Usually there is so much pollution that you cant see out very far. Enjoy.

I cant believe this......!

07/01/2005, 10:51 AM

I cant believe it, they didn't get us our visas so now we have to go over to Italy as tourists. This means, not only do we not have as much time, but we also cannot legally work. Since we are already short money, this is a problem.
I do not blame the consulate. He has been very helpful. The school however, I do blame.
From the beginning, they have not been sending the consulate the right information. We have called and called and called yet again, and they still don't get it right. Not to mention we have to call them at 2am and it costs a bunch on my phone!!!!
So now we are going over as tourists which allows us a total of 180 days, and then we have to come back to the states and wait another year before we can go back. We will try to find a way to stay longer, but we don't know if that is possible. *crossing my fingers I can find a husband in that time * LOL. If only it were that simple.
So, since the school screwed us royally, we are looking to find another school that can teach us Italian. Who knows.
My mother was sooooo upset when the man told us we couldn't get our visas. She was in tears. She blames them. She says that he never wanted us to get a student visa. I dunno. She is under a lot of stress and so I can kind of see where she is coming from, but still, I had to deal with this guy every day I could tell he was trying to get us our visas, yet she thinks differently.
Well, at this point that is all I have to say. Being its only around 11am, a lot can still happen today.
BTW: Its my younger brother's 19th Birthday, so anyone who reads this Please wish Nick a happy birthday in the comments. THANKS!

NOT Harry POTTER!!!!!!!

07/02/2005, 17:19 PM

I cant believe this happened!

Ok, so today we went to the post office to mail off my books to Italy so that I can have them in Italy. My box was too heavy so I had to pick one book out to carry one. This book just happened to be the 5th Harry potter book. Not a problem. So we then move on to Walgreen where we get things for Italy. Then on to a nice Italian restaurant and then head back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel we realized that we didn't have my book with us. NO!!!!

Ok, just some background info. I love the Harry potter series, and to not have a book is not a good thing, especially since I was the 3rd person to get it at the release.

Anyway, I am just really disappointed that we left it at the post office! Its ok I guess. We are going to stop by a borders books and buy a new copy tonight. Paper back might be easier to pack anyway.

So now we are just getting ready to head off to Detroit tomorrow morning. Packing it all away in 4 suitcases is harder than it looks. Right now I am just taking a break and watching the USA Network show the 4400. Its a good show, if you get a chance, rent the first season from a video store.

Well I guess I should get back to packing. We leave at 11am tomorrow and drive to the airport, then at 735pm CST we fly off to Rome where we arrive around 1020am in Rome on July 4th. Its not considered a holiday there so nothing will be shutdown with is nice.

Well i am back to packing.

Later that day....

So we just met the nicest taxi driver in the world. Normally they don't say anything and as soon as you tell them where you want to go, they get back on their cell phones and talk. But this guy actually struck up a conversation! He was asking us how our trip was so far, and how we liked Chicago. He then told us a story from earlier this week where he took a guy into a bad part of Chicago because the passenger wanted to buy some pot. He gave his wife his, keys, cellphone, and all his money but $140. The driver, knowing it was a bad neighborhood, drove around the block instead of waiting right there like a sitting duck. When he got back the guy jumped into the cab. He was sweating like a pig, and was obviously scared out of his mind. On the drive back to the city, he proceeded to tell the driver that the seller told him he had the pot and to follow him. The dealer took him into a dark room and then put a gun to his head and robbed him of his money. The guy then ran out and got in the cab. He didn't get his pot, but I am sure that was the last thing on his mind at that time. This just goes to show you how just right beyond the main city of Chicago, its not safe at all.

Just think of the dangers that the actually taxi drivers have to face everyday. When I was working at a gas station in Minnesota, a regular taxi driver to stop in told me that in the 20 years he had been a driver, he had been shot at, had a knife to his throat, stabbed, and had to fight off many attackers. Here in Chicago, they have a Plexiglas divider between the front and back of the cabs, in Minnesota they don't. It makes you wonder why they risk their lives just to drive a cab....... I would never put my life at that risk. If I had even had one confrontation I would be quitting that job that second.

Anyway. We are just sitting down for dinner and then we will continue to pack up. Later.

PS Only 14 days til the new Harry Potter book comes out.

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean

07/04/2005, 06:10 AM

(This was written in a journal when I was on the plane to Italy.)
Who knew I would ever actually write in here. But since I am on a plane, I cant get online to my blog. WHAT A DAY!!! We started off good. Left the hotel around 11am and started driving to Detroit. The car we got was awesome. Leather seats, sun roof, duel climate control! Then we hit the Michigan state line. Now we knew it would take us about 4.5 hours and planned to get there around 5pm. But upon entering MI, a huge sign said "Welcome to the Eastern Time Zone"!!!! No one told us about a time switch. Now we lost an hour? Not to mention the highway is now down to one lane! Not to fear, or so we think.

We arrive at the Detroit airport at 530pm EST. Yeah!!! we say thinking we have 2 hours until our plane takes off. Well, it takes until 7pm getting thru security and check in at which time we hear "Flight 54 to Rome, final boarding" What??? So now I have to run to our gate and tell them to hold the plane. Sweaty and out of breathe, we make it on, only to find out that 2 passengers sitting ahead of us are allergic to cats. ( Did I mention we are bringing one of our four cats in the cabin with us) So now, Bammy our cat cant sit with us! Its ok though. She not only gets a first class seat, but an awesome flight attendant to check in on here every once and a while. ( her cat just died so she was definitely willing to look after our cat.) Now we have to push out and taxi on the runway. This is where I breakdown. No, I am not scared to fly, it was just all the stress from the past few months deciding that now was the perfect time to come out. But after 10 minutes of crying and I was all better.

We got a delicious dinner on board. Pasta! go figure, right? It came with a side salad, a nice soft roll with butter, crackers and cheese, and a wonderful lemon crumb cake with coffee to follow. *Now the cabin lights are turned off* No problem. I have a book light and 2 books. Now we are currently up to date.

Daylight is beginning to break over the Atlantic as I finish my book, and my mother continues to watch the on flight movie. "Hitch" This is her 10th or so time seeing it. And she still loves it. ( We ordered it at one of the many hotels we were staying at in MN and she had to buy it when it came out) Hey, whatever makes her happy. So as we fly over the ocean, (did I mention I am scared to fly over water?) I write in here and am preparing to read yet another book. We have about...*checks watch* 4 hours left of the flight and then back to the hustle and bustle of an airport. This time where nobody speaks English. We have a service meeting us at the airport with a sign saying our last name. Just like you see in the movies. They are going to drive us to a car rental place where we are renting a big car, (4 cats, 4 suitcases, 2 carry-ons, 2 laptops and a big huge box). From there we will drive to Perugia where we are staying. From there??? Who knows. Its an adventure waiting to be written.

Sorry, we dont really have internet here

07/07/2005, 18:05 PM

Wow! what a wild past few days. I would have updated this right away but we have to go to a internet café to get online. Ok, so let me catch you up on what has happened that last few days. We arrive in Rome, breeze thru customs. The guy at customs didn't even look where he stamped our passport, he barely even looked at us. Luggage. No problem finding that, it was our cats that were the problem. They told us to go to a special area for oversize luggage and pets.....yet they weren't there. Turns out that after we left our luggage are to go there, our cats arrived and were sitting there for 20 minutes before anyone let us know. Yikes! They were ok though. We then we on to meet our driver who took us to town to get our car.

Now if you have heard anything about driving in Italy, it was probably right. But, it was also probably wrong. Yes they drive fast, but they obey the sides of the road. If you are slower than others, you stay to the right and then pass on the left. We were in shock! Nobody in America does this, but we only saw Americans disobeying this in Italy. It was nice to be able to pass without worrying that someone up ahead on the left was going to slow. At first, driving was weird. The speed limits said things like 90, or 120. What?? Luckily that is KM/Hr not Miles/hour. The drive was beautiful. Hills of green with towns all the way down the sides. I will put some pictures online when I get enough to put on a disk and bring to the internet café. It was so breathe taking. Perugia, although beautiful is very hard to navigate. But after about 30 minutes of driving around, we found our flat.

It was a lot bigger than we had thought. And it is so nice. I have a great view from my bedroom window. We live on the 2nd and 3rd floor and my bedroom on the 3rd floor looks out over the whole town. And I get to wake up to that everyday! We have since had to put screens on the windows, what a pain, so that our cats cant jump out. But sleeping with the windows open and waking up to the bells of the town is like a dream. Its hard to believe we finally made it after 2 years of planning. We wake up around 8am, and go walk around town til about 130pm when everything closes til 330/4pm for lunch and rest. After a nap, we then go out to the internet cafes and check email. Then we wander around some more then go to a restaurant and eat. Food is much cheaper here, and also tons better. Not to mention healthier. So I have nothing to complain about when it comes to the local food. And what you hear about the wine, its all true. Most restaurants give you a bottle of table wine with each meal. A bottle usually cost about 3 euros. Very very cheap. In America, a wine that size and that quality would cost around 100 dollars. It is very warm here during the day, but after about 4pm, it starts to cool off and is so comfortable and breezy. It feels so natural to be here.

The one thing I dislike right now though are the hills. Every street is hilly. The street we live on, you have to walk up hill to get to our flat. Not to mention they are putting down new road, so you cant drive up it. So when we buy things, we have to carry the heavy bags up hill to our flat. This is definitely one way to lose weight. LOL. Well, I am off to go have some pizza at a local pizzeria down the street. Ill eat a piece for you. Ciao

A moment of silence please.....

07/07/2005, 21:34 PM

Can you believe what happen today in London? It really makes you wonder. Now we are worried about riding a train into Rome. We were going to go to Rome this weekend but now we are going to wait and see what happens with this whole Al Qaida thing. The last thing we want to do is put our selves in danger. What makes it even more scary is that the Umbria Jazz Fest. starts tomorrow. Huge 10 day celebration with people from all around. And because Italy wont pull out of fighting, who knows if we will be next. So right now, no big crowds, no buses or trains during rush hour, just to be safe. If you are wondering what event I am talking about, here is a link to the information. London Bombs . My sympathies are with the family and friends of all those affected by todays events. Hopefully, nothing will happen like this again anytime soon. But, knowing terrorism is still big everywhere, the only thing that I can do is hope and pray.

On to a happier topic, I have adopted a wild cat. Adopted in the sense of , I feed him and give him company outside our flat. He is a shorthaired, white cat, with spots of brown and black on him. He is incredibly thin and I fell in love the minute I saw him. Mom is not too happy with this but...I am not going to let a cat starve. Now if he were neutered and maybe a bit cleaner, mom would probably have let him in the house....but he isn't, so for now I just leave food and water out for him and give him lots of love. I will take some pictures of him and put them on here when I get a chance.

So I think I have a crush. Who, you ask. Well the first night we were here, we went to a local pizzeria and this cute cook was there and explained in English what the cashier was asking. (paper or plastic). The next night we went in and he was showing off. Dancing and singing while he was minding the oven. I couldn't help but laugh and smile. Then....today I passed by the pizzeria and he was standing at the door. He gave me a big smile and did a little bow. you might think that he was just being friendly but you should have seen the look on his face. It was almost as if he was blushing when he saw me. Maybe I am just imagining things, but a girl can always hope that some cute Italian guy is smitten with her. It makes me smile just to think about it.

Well since this is the second update today. I think that will be it. But hopefully I will have time and more stories to tell tomorrow.

A Concert ouside my window

07/10/2005, 12:04 PM

So, as stated in a previous post, the Umbrian jazz fest is taking place right now. The cool thing about it being in Perugia, is that we can hear it from my bedroom window! How cool is that. So during the week I can just lay in bed and hear great music until about 1am.

Ok, so let me recap what has happened in the last few days. Mom is sick. Yep. Its all the new germs invading our system. The nice thing is that the farmacia can prescribe meds for it. So all my mom had to do was tell them was wrong and they gave her some good drugs. But, because she is sick, she has been bed ridden for the last few days. Not a problem I guess. There just isn't a lot to do in our flat.

Ok, let me start from Friday. Friday we went exploring. One thing that mom had been doing in the states is always looking at this webcam online that looked out onto la Piazza Novembre. Well, we have been trying to figure out where it was since we arrived in Italy, only to find out, it was just up the hill from where we live. Who knew. So we went exploring around there for the day. It was nice. Perfect temp., well until you start walking up the hills. They were setting up for the Umbrian Jazz fest there, as you can se in the webcam. We ended up, going home around 1pm, when they started closing up for lunch. Then mom got sick.

One thing that is kind of frustrating is that I don't speak the language yet. I mean, I can get around ok, but I feel like a big outsider trying to get around. I now understand the bus system, but its lonely just standing there, alone, not understanding what the people around you are saying. So I just stand there and smile. And if they speak to me, I udder one of the few phrases I know, " Non Parlo Italiano". ( I think that's how its spelled). Sometime they speak a bit of English, or I can get the gist of what they are saying, but, well you know what I mean. Saying this, I cant wait to start school on Monday. We will be a week behind, but we spoke to another American and she said, its not that hard, and we shouldn't have a problem catching up. The only problems we will have is, 1. finding our classes, and 2. staying for longer than 90 days. (we don't have our student visas so we can only stay 90 according to the consulate).

Saturday. This was the first full day of mom being sick. So much of the day was spent lying around. I went up to the coop to get some food and supplies. Not a busy day.

Today, Sunday. Again just hanging out. Mom is feeling better now. We were obviously able to get to the internet café to check mail and for us to update our blogs. (By the way, under links, is now a link to her blog.) As for the rest of the day, I think we are just going to lay around and wait for her to get better. Tomorrow, hopefully she will be well enough for us to go to the supermarket so we can get a few more essentials that the coop doesn't carry. Well I think that will be it for the day. Mom is ready to hit the bed again, so off we go up the hill.

Later that day, 1pm

So I now understand why Italians say, "Never have milk after 10am", it upsets your stomach. Their milk is more rich, creamy, and natural.

For once it is actually a comfortable temperature in our flat. Its about 24°C or 75°F and there is also a slight breeze coming thru our windows. (Although now as I sit and write this at the café, it is rainy). In the distance I can hear the pleasant music from the jazz fest. A perfect setting for a nap (since here in Italy it is rest time). Yet I will not be napping, although mom is. You see, for the last 2 days, every time that mom has slept, so have I. I think that I am officially slept out. I'm sure I will regret this tonight though when at around 10pm everyone is hanging out downstairs and I will want to sleep.

Now in America this would have bothered me. Why, you ask. Because it seems that in America people are out late making noise because they know it will annoy you. Where here in Italy, it is not so. Its just the norm. Plus, there is no loud bass to their music. Which is all you can hear in America.

One thing that I miss right now is not being able to be online all the time &/or from my home. Now I have to walk down the hill to get online if I have something to say. I also have to write in my journal if I am not down here. You also have to pay to go online, BUT, its really cheap. 1 euro, (I would use the symbol, but I cant figure out how) for one hour. That is about $1.25 in America. You cant get a much better deal than that.

Pretty soon, I will have to buy a new journal. This one is filling up pretty fast. First of all, its not that big, and second, when I cant get online all the time and I have a lot to say, it gets filled. I will also have to get a wider one because this one is thin and when I write in it, my hand gets cramped up fast.

I wish all of you could be here right now experiencing this with us. Maybe those of you who know us, when the plane fare gets cheap, you could come and visit us for a few days. After august, the tourist season ends and the plane fare gets really cheap. I think its can get down to about $275-300 round trip. Plus if we know you well enough, you can come and crash in our flat. Talk about a cheap vacation. LOL. Italy is such a great place to be. Relaxing and fun. You would love it here, even if you were only here a few days. We have been here only a week and still haven't seen all of Perugia.

One thing i keep forgetting to write is about the differences in food here. The portions are a lot smaller, or should I say the perfect size. They are the size that people should be eating in America. Also, the foods/drinks/sweets have a lot less sugar in them. Yet it tastes so much better.

Another difference here is the news. They show what is actually going on. They don't censor it. Like right after the London bombings, they showed video from Al Qaeda. Like their training and hostage tapes. America censors that. They don't want to show people that Al Qaeda is semi-strong and a legit threat. If only you could see the videos. Here they don't show them to scare you, they show them to make you aware, and more informed so that you know what is going on and become more educated about the actual situation. If only America would show this then maybe we wouldn't be agreeing with our president on what is going on and what should be done. By interfering in this war, we are actually putting the USA in more danger. I understand about wanting to help but is it worth putting our families and lives in more danger than necessary?

Anyway, on to more happy subjects, like the weather here. OMG! I love the thunderstorms here. They are huge, and loud, but...you know you aren't in any danger. You know that a tornado wont be following that big huge bolt of lighting and huge boom of thunder. And it seems like the storms always come around nap time. Which I have no problem with. Its very relaxing. Plus it cools down the hot day. Which let me tell you, when you have to walk up hills all the time, can feel very hot. They say that this next weekend it will get to about 90°F. Keep in mind it has only been about 80-85° and we are sweating. And with no central air anywhere.....ya.. try living like that in America. One day of that and people would be up in arms. Here its just a way of life. You keep the lights off, the windows open and the fans running. No big deal.

Well I think I am off. The shops are about to open and I have some errands to run. Hopefully it stays cool out now. Until later, when i have even more to say. Ciào.

Our savior arrived

07/11/2005, 15:54 PM

So today, mom decided it was time to see the doctor. So, we went to where we thought the doctor was......wrong. We ended up walking about 30 minutes to end up nowhere and mom in an even worse state. I decided to ask these people if they spoke English, and they did. They even knew where a hospital was and would drive us there. YEAH!!!!! Finally after being sent on a wild goose chase, we had found what we were looking for. The hospital looked so high class and we figured because mom was so sick, they would get her in right away.....2 hours later we got to see a doctor. So much for advanced health care. Although the visit only cost us 16 euros. Can you believe how cheap that is? In America it would have cost us at least 1000 dollars without insurance. So. they decided that she needed antibiotics and then wrote out a prescription, called us a taxi, and sent us on our way. We asked to be dropped off at the pharmacy, but, it doesn't open until 4pm here. So now we tootle around on the internet until it opens, get moms meds and then send her to bed.

I am just sooooo frustrated right now. I cant speak the language, I can barely find my way around, we have yet to go to class, heck, we cant even find the damn building, and mom is sick. So.... since we have already missed a weeks worth of class, I have convinced mom that not only would it be convenient but also easier to get a private tutor. So agreed. So as soon as she is feeling better, we are going to go down to the school, cancel our class, and ask for private lessons. In the long run it will be less stressful on us. Well, me I guess I should say. Even though mom is sick, she still is less stressed out than I am. I am just at this point....almost beyond stressed. Hopefully in a few days things will get better.

Well since I have nothing more to say at the moment, I guess I will be heading off to the pharmacy, and wait for it to open so I can get moms meds. I'm sure I will be back on here later tonight, since I have nothing else to do while I wait for mom to get better.

Our big day

07/12/2005, 15:23 PM

Well, not really. I say that because mom is finally feeling well enough to venture out into the world. Thank you amoxicillin!! So, our plans for the day are as follows: Go to the school, pay our fees and get our student ids made, Next, bus it up to the super market, get food and supplies since we haven't been there in about 5 days. Next, take a taxi home, unload and then walk back down for the tobacco shop for postcards, stamps, and matches and then to a shop to get mom a proper purse. I am tired of carrying around all of her stuff on top of mine in my little Italian purse.

What a big day huh?

Thursday we plan on going up to either Rome or Florence to go to IKEA to get some essentials that we just cant find here. For instance, a fan....big necessity, but in a small town it costs 60 euros! We also need a pillow, a kitchen mat, some food containers, drapes, and etc. Plus it will be nice to take a train into those towns. We aren't going to explore however, being it is the busiest time right now for tourists in the big cities. I really just am not up for the crowd thing right now.

Postcards. I have a lot to right, but.... if you want one sent from me to you, just email me your addy and I will be glad to, it gives me something to do. Just email me at ITVixen@aol.com and I will send it out asap. I am planning to send some postcards to 2 of my past jobs. Both of them have people I love, but also people that I don't like, and for that reason, I am being a bit evil by purposely not including their names on the cards. I know, I know, not nice , but I need to get some revenge, and its not like these people could afford to come to Italy to get me. LOL.

I had all these things to say on here but now that I got to the internet café, I cant remember. That's how it always is, isn't it. Another reason that I need to buy a new journal to write in at home.

So I have decided to include a daily section called "In the News". This part of the blog will have interesting stories that I have found, also including pictures of news. If you find something you find interesting on the web that is not on here, feel free to post it in the comments and if I will include it in the blog.

Well, for now that is all that I can think of, plus, we should really get a move on shopping. Lots of things to buy.... Ciào

Later that day...

Wow! The supermarket we went to today was a lot bigger than the one we were use to going to. We bought some wonderful food. yum. We also just had the most wonderful dinner. We went to this place that served gyro meat. they take the meat and make it into a wrap. OMG! it was so tasty. I don't know what it is about food here, but it def. tastes better. I don't know if it just isn't processed the same, or processed at all, but wow.

So today I really didn't get much done. Other than shopping and writing a few postcards, nothing much was accomplished. When we get home though we are going to clean like mad women. With mom being sick the last few days, the place has gotten messy. And since its not that big, a small mess looks huge. Yes, I have been cleaning, but you can only do so much as one person, and with another person in the house sick. Now however, with mom feeling better, she is able to help me clean.

Yikes! Yet another bombing. Not as big, but it was right outside the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid, Spain. Now, I didn't read the whole story, so I don't know if it was meant for Italy or not but it still makes me wonder. Here is a link to the story: Bombs Explode in Spain's Basque Region

Well, that seems to be all that is going to happen today. Hopefully. Unless its good and exciting. Until tomorrow. Ciào




In the News

Latest Harry Potter book sold by accident
Walking on cobblestone is Healthy
Website Wants to "Feed Lindsay"
Guess what? Men don't mind seeing naked women... Local Italy News
Hundreds of sheep follow leader off cliff
Woman defies driving ban, saves husband?
News Pic 1

Well, we are getting there

07/13/2005, 20:10 PM

Well, today mom was feeling better. She was well enough to walk around by part of the Umbrian jazz fest at the Piazza Novembre. I recorded some music onto my phone, but the inferred function on it isn't working or I would see if I could transfer it on here for you to listen to. Maybe I can figure it out on my computer at home and then put it on disk. The atmosphere was great. Nice breeze and great jazz. That along with some great gelato made it perfect.

Of course I am still working on writing out postcards. I am doing a few a day so that they all don't say the same thing. Moz and Hatch, you should email me your addy and I will send one to the 2 of you.

One nice thing about exploring more and more of Perugia everyday is that I get to see the images on the postcards. Like when we were walking back from the piazza we past a drinking fountain which is on the postcard for my friend Kelly. I thought that the fountain was on the outer most part of the city, but it was so close. We keep discovering things like that. Places we thought would be far away tend to be really close to where we live. Its a nice surprise.

So, for those harry potter fans out there, only a few days til the release of the 6th book. It comes out Saturday the 16th at 12:01am. Of course this time I will not be waiting in line to get it. This time, I will wait until that day and will either get it if we go into Rome, or go to this local book store in the piazza that will have it in English. Yeah! I cant wait. My mother said, "Why don't you get it in Italian so you can learn the language."....Are you serious mom? It would take me years to read the book, and I would like to read it asap, not one page a month. I still don't think, even after she has read the other 5, that she gets how I am about harry potter books. Hey, I even bought the British version of the 1st one called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I know, I know, but I cant help it.

Well i think that is it for now, remember to check out the in the news section. Reading some of these stories remind me why I left America.... Ciào.

In The News

Mystery 'sex change' has curious flocking to Myanmar monk-to-be
Wal-Mart Tweaks Willie's Reggae
Man Tries to Rob Same Calif. Bank 5 Times
Man Tunnels Out of Trailer to Elude Cops
Ill. Woman Receives $74,000 Water Bill
Hurricane Dennis Flips Sunken Ship Upright
Drive-through robber gets bank loot My comment on this story is, why did the teller give the money, were they actually in danger? I think this employee should be given a Darwin award.
US group calls for health warnings on soft drinks Finally, what took them so long.
Italy police detain 174 people in anti-terror sweep Local Italian news
Cool Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3

And then it hits

07/14/2005, 05:15 AM

It happens for everyone. Sometimes it happens after a year, sometimes 6 or 3 months, but for me it happened after a week. What you ask. Home sickness. You would have thought me breaking down on the plane to Italy would have been enough, but i guess not. I feel a lot better now, well not 100% but, better.

Today we are going to take a trip up to Orvieto, Italy. We are taking some time away from Perugia to be tourists. We haven't really had a chance to do that. And we don't dare look like tourists here (i.e.: camera, dictionary, etc.) because there are people we see everyday here. So we are going to take the train up and explore for the afternoon.

So we went to immigration today to get things settled not only with the school but also so that we can stay in the country. With our tourist visas we can stay until October 4th, but we are appealing our student visas so who knows. Anyways, we went to immigration, and of course, we didn't have everything that we needed, so another trip will be necessary. What else is new. We never have the right paper work it seems.

As much as I love Italy, I am getting bored with the town we are in. I know I have only been here a week, and that I haven't had time to really explore with mom having been sick, but, when its just like any other college town....it can get old.

Well, I am off to do other things. Ill hopefully write later. Check out the news. Ciào.

Later that day...

Ok, so we didn't go to Orvieto today. We were going to and then by the time we got done with other things we didn't have time. So tomorrow we are going to Rome and then on sat. we are going to Orvieto.

Now let me just say that a metric scale is an American women's dream scale.....that is until you convert. say you weigh 120 in America, it would say you weigh about 60 kg. Nice! But then you convert it and find out the sad sad truth. But at least now I can tell that I have been losing a little weight by walking the hills.

We are in definite need of fans tonight. Another reason we are pushing up the Rome trip. They say this weekend it will get to around 90°F, and to not have air conditioning and no fan is not a good thing. At least with a fan we can move some of the air around.

We just had a wonderful 3 course meal at one of the local restaurants. I love going there, but it can be a bit costly if we were to do it every night. But def. tasty. Although, a recommendation, always get the red wine, never the white. The white seems more bitter and dry here than the red. We ventured with white tonight and ended up not drinking a 3 euro bottle. But its ok, we know for next time.

Well now I am going to go. My gramma just called and since we are in an internet café, we asked her to call back in 30 mins so I have to finish up other things on the internet. Ciào

In the News

Corpse Falls Into Traffic in Texas
Beetles steal the show at Hong Kong Disneyland-paper
Triple Sunset: Planet Discovered in 3-Star System
Picture 1

I cant believe it

07/16/2005, 18:49 PM

15th July, 2005 about 11:15am
So, politics of a train station; Don't get in the ticket line if you have a question. You will get your head bit off by the people behind you. No. this was not us, but we were about to yell at the lady. it was 15 minutes before our train left and she was asking a million and one questions. Most of us in line didn't want to miss our train so, the lined yelled at her. it was hilarious. The lady got so offended that she got red in the face and everything. The funny part is, there was a sign right in front of her face saying "Customers buying tickets only, if you have a question, go to the customer service counter." I think she did it just to make people mad. I hate people like that.

So now we are on a train to Rome. I know what you are thinking. How can you ride a train and go into a city where they just arrested 174 people on suspicion of terroristic involvement? Easy. You buy a ticket and go. If I wanted to be afraid of things like that I never would have gotten to Italy. By the way, this is my first time every riding a train, so I am going to watch the scenery go by.

Later that day...or evening. 10:40pm

Ok, so the train ride to Rome was wonderful. Great scenery, a really cute buy sitting next to me, and air conditioning! Then, we arrive in Rome to find that all the city buses are on strike. Just our luck, although we have no problem getting a taxi. We get to IKEA and eat some Swedish meatballs. They actually tasted better than the MN IKEA's did. Although mom didn't get ice to have with her drink. (She figured since the IKEA in MN had ice, so would this one.) We then walked around IKEA for about and hour to find that we had spent 140 euros! Actually, that is not so bad, even if we couldn't find fans:( We then call to get a taxi. Good luck. We have 2 strikes going against us. 1. the bus strike, its giving taxi co. a lot of business, 2. We don't speak Italian so the taxi companies hang up on us! So we try for almost 2 hours to get a taxi with no avail. As hard as it was for us, we asked the supervisor at IKEA for help. He had 3 people helping and it took an hour to get a taxi. But we got one, along with a nice tan. Thanks Bruno, Barbara and Daniel at Rome Anagnina IKEA! So, we get to the train station and buy 2 First class tickets for the 10:40pm train to Perugia, only to find out that the train, although an express, doesn't go to Perugia. We have to get off at Terontola and have 10 minutes to catch a bus that will take us to Perugia. We will get home at about 1:45am! Mind you, we've been out of the flat since 10am, so our cats will be so hungry. They do have dry food, but they like their wet food too.

So here we are sitting at the train station, its 10:56pm and our train still hasn't left. Its hot in here because the air conditioning doesn't turn on until the train is moving. Yucky, sweatiness is all we have known lately. A nice luke warm shower sounds like heaven right about now.

So, I met the cutest Australian guy names Sam while we were waiting at the train station. He has been in Rome for 2 days, is going down to Nice tomorrow, and then up to London where he wants to take Italian lessons. I was just shocked that a cute guy with a hot accent even want to talk to me. I mean, besides the pizza guy, Sam is the only other guy to talk to me so far. But then again, I have only been here about 2 weeks.

Next time we come to Rome, we want to visit the zoo, the Vatican (of course), and the really big cemetery we saw. We also plan to take one of those double decker tour buses. It will be so much easier than trying to navigate our way around Rome in a car.

Mom is so happy just because we bought a few ice cube trays from IKEA. Now she will be content with out ice from the shops. ( 11:08pm, still haven't moved from the train station)

I was just reminded of a really cool thing that Italy yellow pages does. You call the number, tell them what you are looking for, (i.e.: taxis), then, they text message you all the numbers that they have. That way you don't need to have a writing utensil and paper to jot down a hundred numbers. now only if 411 in America would do that. What a time saver. America could learn a thing or 2 from the EY.

So, at school ( no, we still haven't been to class yet) we discovered a cool book called, "The little blue what to do, strangers guide to Perugia". It is a heaven sent. It had places to go, emergency numbers, people to beware of, and its funny. Like this one part on fast food, "Perugia does have one notable fast food restaurant where the French fries have approximately the same taste as the cardboard holder they are served in. If you want to eat that junk, why didn't you stay home?" *LOL* Its so true though. If you are going to another country, try the food. what's the point of a vacation/adventure if you just eat and do the same ol' same ol'? try different things like the local specialty. it might even be cheaper.

11:29pm. The train did some jerking but not much else. WHAT IS GOING ON??? Ah, just found out that they are changing engines. Great, now we will be sleeping at some train station for sure. Couldn't they have thought about the engine before they posted the time of departure? Just how I wanted to spend my time in Italy. Well, think of the positive right? As mom says, "Its such an adventure, just be glad we aren't in the middle of Africa with killer bugs eating us alive." True, but I think the bugs could get us home faster than the train right now. We also haven't really eaten all day long, other than the small amount of food from IKEA at 11am. So our stomachs are growling. The only thing I can think of right now is that at midnight, harry potter 6 will be out. And maybe by the time we get to Perugia, I can buy the English version of it. But sleep is the first thing we want to do when we get home. I don't even want to bother with a shower at this point. Just flop into bed and go from there.

So, mom and I have a plan for what we want to do if we get to stay in Italy. When we can save up a bit of money, we are going to move out to the "country", get a bigger place with a yard, get a small dog and maybe some chickens, and find jobs we can get to by train. We think we want to get jobs in a tourist town that needs people who speak English. this seems to be the easiest plan so far. But, give us a week or two and I'm sure we will come up with another.

11:33pm. We are moving!!! Finally! Moving at 3 miles per hour never felt so good.

The train we are riding on is like the one you see in the Harry Potter movies. It has cabins and on one side there is a hallway. Since we are if first class, there are 6 not 8 seats to a cabin. the seats fall down into sleeper sofas so you can maybe sleep 3 people comfortably. Its a nice change from the regular style train we took this morning.

I am feeling a bit better about riding trains, but, i am living proof that one shouldn't watch "Seconds from disaster" about horrible train wrecks, because every weird bump I didn't feel on the first train ride makes me jump.

Not only did we only get to see IKEA today, but we didn't even take any pictures of the trip there and back. GRRRRR. So much for us playing the tourist part today. Other than the fact that we don't know how to get a taxi and we don't know how to get home part. But that happens to everyone right???

11:57pm. We are 20 minutes into our ride and there are 2 people going back and for down the aisle. We don't know what they are doing. Are you lost, drunk, stupid, or worst of all, terrorists? Its making mom a bit nervous. I mean, after London, wouldn't you be? Although they blow things up more during rush hour rather than at midnight. ok, good, they found a place to sit. thank heavens. People are trying to zone out here!

It seems as though they shut off the air conditioning on this train. Big surprise! no worries . We are able to open the cabin window and a wonderful breeze is flowing in. If only we could get this kind of breeze in our flat. Tomorrow we are going to accost a taxi driver and make him drive around until we can find fans! We are getting desperate. Now watch, we get fans and cool weather will set in. Again, no problem. We like air moving no matter what the temp is. Or, "As long as its Italian air" mom would say.

I am exhausted. We didn't get our daily nap today and let me tell you, once you get use to getting a daily nap, not taking one wipes you out. Especially when you are on a train at 12:30am. In America we are use to long days and little to no sleep. here in Italy, sleep is a normal and more than once daily occurrence. Without it, I'm sure Italians would go crazy.

Saturday: 6:45pm

Ok, so we didn't get stuck at a train station. Tranitalia paid for us to get a taxi home. We walked into our flat at around 3:30am and just went to sleep. And boy did we sleep. We slept til 3pm. And no we didn't accost any taxi driver, we are too tired to bother at this point. We walked down to a local book store to see if they had Harry Potter, but no luck, all sold out. so I just ordered rush delivery from amazon.co.uk. 1-2 business days! Yeah! We then walked home. on the way we bought 2 kilos of fresh purple grapes from a local ma and pop produce store. I have never tasted grapes so good in my life. yummy. Well, tonight we are going to take it easy. just lounge around, eat some home cooked food,(eggs and pastas) and then back to sleep. Hope all of you had a better day yesterday than I did. But as mom says "Its such an adventure...". Ciào

In the News

Moore Bowls Over Lawsuit
COUPLE FINDS MARITAL HARMONY BY SLEEPING IN SEPARATE ROOMS
FDA OKs Brain Stimulator for Depression
Democrats hit Bush on security of buses, trains
Calif. Girl Faces Felony Assault Charge
Mysterious Texas Lights Draw Crowds
Roaches Dressed Up for 'Hall of Fame'
Dog Fights Off 700-Pound Alligator
Farm Worker Struck by Frightened Deer
Man Says He Was Robbed Twice in 5 Minutes
E-mail errors leave Potter fans fuming
Pic 1

Not much today, just pics of our house and misc.

07/17/2005, 10:30 AM

Pictures of Upstairs: This is where we sleep.
















these are pictures of our downstairs area. Kitchen, bathroom and big room.














these pictures of what it looks like from our balcony.












these are pictures from the plane, flying into the Rome airport.









here are some buildings we saw in Rome on the way to the car rental place.










this is bammy getting comfy in our flat.









and here are the cats when we were staying in chicago.












Ciào.







In the News

Ky. Kills 'Mr. Smiley' License Plates
Singapore Opens Landfill to Tourists
Woman Gives Birth to Two Sets of Twins
Photo 1

We got fans!!!!

07/18/2005, 20:23 PM

Yeah. so finally someone my mom knows told us about a place where would could buy fans. They told us to go meet this person they know who owns a café and he would tell us where it was. Well, he did better than that. He drove us there. We then bought fans and expected him to drive us back to his café, but he insisted on driving us home. What a nice guy. And there is 2 pluses to this guy. 1. he speaks English, 2. he and his wife live up the block from us. How nice is that.

Well today it was really hot. a great day to buy a fan. when we got home, we plugged them in and just sat in front of them for an hour. it was so nice. although its not cool air, but it is air.

So, sat we ordered harry potter 6 for me and it should arrive tomorrow. I am so excited, I cant wait to start reading it. I will have to put it down wed. however because we are hopefully going down to Pompeii for the day. I cant wait. I have dreamt about going there for sooooo long.

The days lately haven't been all that exciting so I don't have a lot to write about. Hopefully after tomorrow or wed. I will have a bit more to say. Right now all I want to do, is go home, get a nice cold glass of ice tea and sit in front of the fan reading. That sounds like heaven to me. Oh ya, add a cold shower and that will do it. Till tomorrow. Ciào

In the News

A Manet uncovered in Swiss flea market?
Movie Fan Has Nose Bitten Off in Argument
Discovery takes flight with Sept. 11 docudrama
Photo1

And then we got lost.....again....

07/19/2005, 20:22 PM

We obviously lost our sense of direction when we came to italy. We were looking for this mall that shouldnt have been that hard to get to by bus. But we were wrong. We ended up spending about 2 hours trying to get down there, and then we just gave up and decided to try again tomorrow, in the morning though so that we have lots of time to screw up.

Our fans were heaven last night. It was really hot and having fans on you while you sleep really helps. i felt about 20° cooler.

I also got my harry potter book today! YEAH! I plan on staying up all night to read it. I know its not the best idea but i cant help it. I hear its such a great read that you cant put it down once you start it. I also just ordered book 2 in the eragon series calle eldest. It comes out aug 9th and i should get it about 3 days after that. That series is also going to be a big hit. The first book was great so i dont doubt that the second one will also be great.

Another thing we have been constantly searching for lately is a pet store, and unknowingly we found one when we were trying to get to the mall. It has the food we want for the cats and at a great price. They also had the coolest parrot and cutest kittens there. We are going to go back in a day or two and get some cat accessories since they are bored out of their minds. They are so bored that they are playing with the boxes we got with our fans.......

Well, we are about to get going and i cant wait to start reading. dont forget the news. Ciào.

In the News
Potter's "Prince" Conjures Record
Athletes Spark White House Flip-Flop Flap
Fla. Teacher to Claim Insanity in Sex Case
Man Loses Appeal Over Jurors' Break
Toddler Has Identity Stolen Twice
Now, this is one scary story...
Italy shuts beach after toxic algae surfaces Photo 1

The day of finallys'

07/21/2005, 19:24 PM

Yesterday was the day of finallys.

We finally made it to the mall. It wasn't as big as I thought it was and didn't really have good stores, but hey, we got there.

We finally went to the questura (police for immigrants) and finally got our permission to stay, even if its only for 3 months. Where we go or what we do after that????

We finally registered for school, got our student ids and registered for class that starts Aug. 1st. now all we have to do is find where the classes are.....

We finally cooked something at our flat. Pasta with bologna pasta sauce. (meat sauce) it was great, even the cats loved it, noodles and all.

Speaking of the cats, we finally found food they like and got another litter box. 2 boxes for 4 cats was not enough. Now we have 3, but no litter for the 3rd one. Not until tomorrow when we go to the store.

We finally went to bed early like everyone else. Now, this doesn't mean that we woke up early though. Baby steps.....

We finally got plants for our balcony/porch. Mom got a hibiscus and I purchases a Venus fly trap. A really healthy one for a change. Whenever I would buy one in America, it was always unhealthy and never made it. This one has a deep red colour mouth like it should, and has little buds that are starting to grow. It also has a healthy appetite. 3 ants and 1 fly. It is great for our place since we have lots of spiders, bees and flies around.

I think that is all for finallys'. But if I think of any more I will tell you.

So today we went to a Umbria tourist info store. They had tons of things and places to see in our providence. We are going with a tour and tour-guide to Rome on Tuesday. Finally we will have something exciting to write in our blogs. (We hope). We also picked up a whole bunch of info on other places that we wanted to go and see. And starting in September, there are a whole bunch more tours that will be available to go on. Yeah!

I got an email back from a former co-work today. I was so happy to hear from him because I haven't had that job for almost year and miss everyone there, that still works there, very much, that was probably my favorite job. It was a record store. I learned so much about music over that year and a half that I think I would be a different person if I hadn't been hired there. The great people that I met there and the experience was what I loved. I miss a lot of my regular customers there also. Dan, say hi to our favorite customers there and update them, esp. John and Aaron.

As I said in my last post, I did end up staying up all night that night to read Harry Potter 6, and I was not disappointed at all. They say that the author is already finished writing the last book, so hopefully it wont be a year for the next one to come out. I will not give anything away in this blog about the book, so don't worry. I think it took me about 6-7 hours to read it. I love reading because to me its a mental movie in my head and I love that.

I still have a few postcards to write and send out. Its hard though. again I don't want them all to sound the same so I think I will wait until after we go to Rome to write them because hopefully I will have more to say then. I will also have more pics to put on here, hopefully, because on a tour like that you are allowed to bring a camera and look like a tourist. The only I need to get to look more like a tourist is shorts. But i also need them to keep cool. But since I have already lost 5 pounds (YEAH!) I think I will wait a bit more so that if I continue, and I will, to lose weight I wont have to replace them because they are too big.

One thing that you have to try if you ever come to Italy is the gelato. OMG! Its almost sinful. Its different than ice cream and tastes a lot better. And the amount of flavors is so huge. I think you would have to try 1-2 flavors a day for about a month to taste all of them. And every geletaria you go to has more and a different variety than the last one. Its great.

So tomorrow we are thinking of renting a car and driving out to veterbo. My mom just keeps saying over and over again that we need to go there. Why? I have no clue, but since I am getting bored of just riding buses around Perugia, I am def. up for it. We also plan to visit our friend Laura who lives in bologna next weekend. We first however have to check train fares and if she is available before we go.

Unfortunately for London, another set of bombs went off today. The new about it is in the "In the news" section of my blog. Again my heart goes out to them.

I think that is about all for now. Remember to read the news and remember I try to include cool and interesting pics at the end of the news so check it out. Also those of you that are new to my blog. you have to read from the bottom up. Just click on the oldest month and read from there or you can just start at the bottom of the page and read up. I cant change they way its formatted or I would.

In the News

Blasts Hit 3 London Subway Stations, Bus
A Smurfin' Movie Deal
A good reason to be a virgin...
Watch their hands
'Star Trek's' Scotty is dead, ashes to be sent into space
Laurie David: Hot Enough for Ya?
G.I. Grandma to Help Soldiers in Iraq
Gushing Faucet Could Land Artist in Court
Zoo Owner Accused of Locking in Customers
After Chase, Man Ends Up in Own Courtroom
Woman Gives Birth on Flight to New York
Arnold the Crime-Fighting Pig Dies
Volvo Asks Gov't if It Could Drive Drunk
Man Brags About Robbery to Radio Station
Calif. H.S. Makes Car Pooling Mandatory
Naked Man Shot, Crashes Squad Car Into Bus
New Potter book posted on Chinese Web site
Wal-Mart hopes 'green' store brings greenbacks
Chronically tired? Help may be at hand it may also mean to need to move to Italy:)
Photo 1 Photo 1.5 Photo 1.75
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4

Our Trip out of Perugia

07/22/2005, 20:42 PM

Yeah! We finally left Perugia and the daily exercise of riding the city buses around Perugia. We went to a town called Passignago on lake Trasimeno. We took pics but of course I forgot to put them on to a disk, so I will add them into a post later on.

It was a wonderful day. The first thing that we did was walk out to the lake side, get on a boat and take it to a small island of the coast. I don't remember the islands name, but I have it on my camera. It was a very small island and didn't have much to see in the amount of time we had before we had to get back on the boat. We would go tomorrow but the Perugia buses are on strike so we cant even get to the train station to get out there. After a short time on the island, we took a boat back to main land and bought some gelato. Eating gelato in Italy is a daily thing. Its a food group not to be missed. After relaxing under some umbrellas while we ate, we looked around the local dish stores. The dished were like the ones that come out of Deruta, Italy. Deruta specializes in this grand craft. This picture shows a small part of what they do. These beautifully crafted dishes are sometimes pricey depending on the intricacy of the designs.
.
Although we didn't buy any dishes, it was wonderful to see the many patterns that were produced on these pieces.

After walking around the stores, we headed back to the station. We still had 2 hours left until our train, but this town was small and there wasn't much left to do.

When we got to the station we bought some snacks and sat out on the "deck" and just relaxed. It was very peaceful to just sit there with a nice breeze, watching not only people but also a storm moving in and listening to music. Now that is what I pictured us doing everyday when we came to Italy. Not so much at a train station, I was hoping more for a busy piazza, but beggars cant be choosers.

When we got back into Perugia, we did some shopping. A whole cart load of stuff, we thought would cost a huge amount, only cost us 60 euros. Food is so cheap at these co-ops. If we had bought the same things in an American store, it would have easily cost us over 100 dollars.

The rest has still yet to be written. We are now at the internet café buying tickets to go to Zurich, Switzerland for next wed. We leave wed. night around 10pm, sleep on the train in a sleeper compartment and arrive in Zurich around 7am Thurs. where we have the whole day to go around. We then get back on a train Thurs. night and arrive back in Perugia at about 10am. Its going to be so much fun. We are a bit worried about leaving the cats alone for that long but we know they will be fine. They are very independent cats. When we come home from being gone all day, they look at us, stretch and go back to sleep. We are glad to see you guys too we think.:)

As I mentioned yesterday, on Tuesday we are going to Rome on a bus tour. We are also looking forward to that.

As of Aug. 1st though, no more day trips during the week. That is because we finally start school. I cant wait. We need to learn how to speak Italian. Yes, so far we have gotten by, but it has mostly been because of body and hand language. That will only work for so long before we need to start speaking the native tongue.

I had so much to say in here, but because i forgot to bring my journal along with me to Passignago, i forgot a lot of it. So i guess this will have to do. Below are some internet pics of the town we went to but i will put more up, hopefully tomorrow. Also, look for the news of the strange and wacky at the end of this post. Ciào.

This is the plate stores we looked at.











This is a map of where the lake is. remember we live in Perugia (also listed on there) Click on pic to enlarge.













In the News

Don't trust your wife? No problem....
550 gerbils rescued from house
In Sverdlovsk Region, People Vote for Harry Potter
It Ain't Just Paint
Microphones that monitor Nuclear Test Ban Treaty....
From the captain's deck
Boy sends bomb threat to protest bank service
moon photo 1
moon photo 2
Shark photo 1