A Cappucino for Wifi

Ciao bella! Hello from Cinque Terre, Italy. It's been an absolutely delightful few days here, and I look forward to several more. The hostel I'm at doesn't have wifi, so I have to go to the cafe and order something so they let me stay. Didn't think a caffeine addiction would be one of the souvenirs I take back to Germany, but okay. If you are expecting a copious amount of pictures, I'm sorry to disappoint. I didn't bring my SD card adapter to Italy so the few pictures I do post are from my phone and probably already on Facebook. Mi dispiace.

JK, I don't actually know Italian, that's what Google is for! Actually, I received an extremely helpful Italian language crash course on the flight over here from one of my over-prepared travel companions. It consisted of "grazie", "scusi", and "uno cono gelato". What more do you need to know?

And now for the Awkward Moments in Italy portion of the blog! Let's start with the basics--getting lost in La Spezia Centrale because your companions are going on a six hour hike (which sounds like a terrible time to you so you head out on your own) but really you have no clue how to navigate Italian train stations. Lesson learned: how to read Italian train schedules. Also, that first impressions are often nonsense. You know that guy sitting quietly in the corner while you chat with the other extroverts on the train? Yeah, he's going to go out of his way to help you find the right train, and ask for nothing in return. And you thought he was unfriendly. Pshh.

And that one time (yesterday) someone spoke rapid-fire Italian, I panicked--and responded in broken German. Lesson learned: nothing. I panicked and responded in the only foreign language I knew. It will almost definitely happen again. Still awkward though.

The most awkward moment as of yet may have to be that time I had one glass of wine and declared to my hostel full of hot Canadian guys that it was now a Shirt Free Zone, and when they laughed at me but remained fully clothed, I insisted that I was serious, but would let them off with a warning this once. Lesson learned: I am a lightweight who should never drink on an empty stomach. No. Not even one. Also, Canadians have a great sense of humor. Also, damn. Way to go Canada. You make some fine-looking men.

How is it possible I can feel my mother rolling her eyes all the way from the U.S.? For the record, those awkward moments have been sandwiched in between really amazing moments!

Been doing a lot of this.

And seeing a lot of this.

And this.

Needless to say, Italy is extremely photogenic and I'm having the time of my life. As always, I love you. Stay amazing.

xoxo

I Still Love You

Hello again! A new blog post, just when you thought I didn't love you anymore. My apologies for the hiatus, I've been a busy girl. Classes are great--from Intro to Linguistics, The Study of Poe's Works, and a Do-It-Yourself Poetry Class--all of them indulge my inner literature/word nerd.

Also keeping me busy has been trip planning. As it turns out, every single school free holiday we have is in May, so this is when I will be doing my heavy traveling, and weekend trips will be for the following months. It seems things have just been falling into place. A year ago I was browsing Pinterest when I spotted a picture of these crazy colorful buildings all piled like legos onto the edge of a breathtaking cliff drop off, complete with frothy waves crashing at the bottom--and I knew immediately I wanted to go there. It seemed like a crazy dream from where I sat in my chair, in Johnson City, Tennessee. Yet still I saved the picture to my desktop, always the dreamer. Even if it were cheap enough for me to afford, no one would want to travel with me and I didn't see myself traveling there alone.

Flash forward to present day: I'm talking with a friend and discussing holiday travel plans when he casually mentions a few people are going to Italy, and I am welcome to come. My heart leaps. Where, you ask? Cinque Terre. Where the houses are all like crazy colorful legos and the hungry waves crash into the cliff side  That is serendipity, friends.

We leave Wednesday, the 8th and get back the 13th. There are five small, colorful towns that are close together, which make up Cinque Terre, and we are going to hike to each of them. I know, physical activity. How dreadful. But it will be so worth it. Here is a quick teaser picture, the exact one I found so long ago.

Expect many more pictures when I get back.

xoxo!