So today we were supposed to wake up at 4:15 to leave at 5 to go to watch the sunrise over Rome, however this was a cruel and absurd idea of daniela's considering we only got home at 12:30 last night, this would mean 3 hours of sleep, haha, but anyway, my intentions were good, I set my alarm and collapsed into bed, but of course I slept though it. I woke at 8:30, surprised that I was still here, as was Dragutin (turns out he got up, got dressed, went into the dining room, no one else was up, so went back to sleep) and we never really got an explanation as to what happened but I guess we all just slept though it, anyway, I was grateful for the sleep!
So we had breakfast and then Daniela took us to see another square and church in Rome (ps: quick fact.... did you know, EVERY square in Rome, on exception of just one, has a church in it!) and then we went to a big department store selling machines and electronics and stuff for Dragutin to buy a chord for his camera and me to look at kitchen appliances, etc, and then we went to a market where I bought some Italian sweets and chocolates for everyone back home, etc and then we went home again.
When we got home, I started packing and just listened to music, etc and then Daniela called a cab for me to go visit Nicky, a family friend at her hotel in Rome. When I arrived, Nicky and I had a lovely lunch (pasta :D ) and chatted for a bit, it was just so nice to see a familiar face and to chat to someone who I know and in English :) so that was nice. Then we sort of just lazed by the pool, chatted and read magazines.... the pool was also super warm and so nice, really big and so it was so nice to swim as well...
A few hours later, I caught a cab back and that brings me to now... I finished packing as far as I could and have sort of just been chilling here....in about an hour, we are going to dinner at the 'seaside', which will be nice but maybe a longish drive... it is also to do with Lions as far as I know, although I may be wrong or have misunderstood, but it is not formal and so probably a bit more enjoyable than last night, we are going with Federica and her boyfriend, I don't think that Daniela and Guiseppe are coming.... :) I am sure it will be a lovely, pleasant last night and goodbye, I hope so....Tomorrow around lunch time, we are leaving by train to go to Florence for the camp, I am excited and a little nervous, cause things will definitely be different, that's for sure! I am expecting it to be great and I have heard that it is, so I hope it is not a disappointment to my expectations, but I guess we will deal with it, and I think it will be good :)
Chat tomorrow, will let you know about Florence :D
Love
- Caity xx
Friday, 29 June 2012
Alone in the city...
So yesterday, Dragutin and I went back into Rome, alone again, to see the Vatican.
It was even hotter than the day before and for some reason, we were both exhausted so we didn't stay for quite as long and luckily the Vatican is small so there was a lot less walking around and getting lost and stuff than the day before. So we first went to St Peter's Basilica. There was a long queue to get in but after a long wait in the sun and being declared 'enough covered' (you have to cover below your knees and your shoulders and your tummy, so no shorts, crop tops, baking strap tops, etc), we got through...
So as we entered there is a semi-covered entrance hall with the most stunning cream colored roof with immense detail and lots of little graphics and engravements and stuff, then you enter the actually Basilica, and wow, you are hit with its enormity and beauty as you cannot actually imagine before you have seen it. It is huge, a super high ceiling with loads of domes and arches, big marble floor and lots of little passages and other compartments for prayer rooms and galleries and other parts of the church too... every single inch of this place, inside and out, is so detailed, with fine, exact precision and wow, the overall effect is overwhelming and shocking that something can be so beautiful and present itself as both art and architecture. I wonder how long it took to build the basilica!? So we walked around, taking loads of pictures (which I have just posted on fb) of all the white sculptures, carvings, marble, mosaics, detailed ceilings and beautiful altars, we were like kids in a candy store, just flashing our camera at everything we could see.. although I doubt these photos can do much justice to the real deal... anyway :) A few parts of the inside of the basilica were closed off as the next day (i.e.: today) is a religious holiday and festival so there was a big mass there and so thousands of chairs were laid down everywhere (well at least I guessed that the chairs are for a mass).... I have just realized that I forgot to tell you about the entrance to the basilica... ok so, it is a oval/ circular shape with an opening at the one end and the church on the other side, all around, there are these big columns and on the 'roof' at the top of each of these columns, there are sculptures of angels or saints, it is all so stunning and such a grand entrance. In the center of the circle, there is a sort of statue/sculpture that is really tall, like a massive pin, and at the top, there is a cross... there is also a pretty water fountain with several layers to the right of it... overall, just such a stunning, beautiful building! :)
So after seeing the inside of the Basilica, we joined the queue for the Cuppla, which is going right to the very top of the super high dome at the top of the basilica, not for the faint hearted or those scared of heights, I'll tell you one thing, I mean I am not even scared of heights but looking down I had to hold onto the railing really tight, haha.... :) So we took the cheat route and missed about 200 steps by taking an elevator for the first three levels (the heat was just too much!), then we climbed roughly 300 steps to get to the first level of the dome, inside, where we could look way down at the inside of the church ì, you could see all the tourists taking photos and stuff and if you looked up at the remaining section of the dome to climb from the inside, you can see just how detailed even these sections are, with loads of realistic mosaics of angels and stuff, I mean it is truly astonishing! I wonder how they actually managed to do these mosaics so high up?! So then we set off to climb to the top of the dome, outside. So there were a total of 980 steps or so, around 300 which we had already done and another 200 which we missed from the lift, so the remaining we climbed up...in the heat, in tiny, super super narrow staircases, with no time to stop as so many people were behind you. I actually felt really claustrophobic because it was so small (lets not forget it is tiring so everyone's breath is steaming up, and there are no windows), yet up we went, the walls were also tilted cause essentially you are going up a dome, so the sides are curved, and at one point on our last circular, curvy staircase, there was a rope to help you as it was so narrow, haha, anyway, the walk was worth it! The top was stunning! So so so so beautiful! Literally looking over the whole of Rome and the Vatican, you could see everything...people looking like ant's babies (haha :) ) and an occasional dot moving down the freeway....for as far as you look in every direction, you just see the beautiful city all the way to the furthest horizons....
So after our long decent, we were too tired to wait in the mile-long (no joke, like an hour's wait) line for the vatican museum in the heat and I do believe we are seeing it with the camp anyway, so we went to get lunch, a nice cold Coke and Spaghetti Napoletana.... followed by Gelato :) and then we did some shopping and stuff in the tourism shops and we also went to see the outside of a castle called San'Angelo ( I think) and look at the bridges over the main river in Rome. Then, exhausted, we caught the bus back. We had an hour or so to get ready for the very formal Lions Club meeting/dinner that night, at a fancy hotel, a it of a boring night, with people tailing and saying speeches in Italian but good food and a beautiful setting! Whilst the dinner was going on, Italy was playing Germany in the semi-finals of the Euro Cup in Poland. So everyone was keeping a sharp eye on the score, turns out we won! :D 2-1 to Italy, so this means that we play in the finals on Sunday night (tomorrow) against Spain, who are very good, as they made it to the finals of the World Cup too, so it will be interesting, and I'm sure a lot of partying if we win! Last night, when we won, you could hear the country's united cheering, clapping, and loads of cars hooting for hours after.... it will also be interesting tomorrow as there is a Spanish guy on the camp too, haha, so that will be quite funny :)
I will write about today in a second :)
Lots of love...
- Caity xx
It was even hotter than the day before and for some reason, we were both exhausted so we didn't stay for quite as long and luckily the Vatican is small so there was a lot less walking around and getting lost and stuff than the day before. So we first went to St Peter's Basilica. There was a long queue to get in but after a long wait in the sun and being declared 'enough covered' (you have to cover below your knees and your shoulders and your tummy, so no shorts, crop tops, baking strap tops, etc), we got through...
So as we entered there is a semi-covered entrance hall with the most stunning cream colored roof with immense detail and lots of little graphics and engravements and stuff, then you enter the actually Basilica, and wow, you are hit with its enormity and beauty as you cannot actually imagine before you have seen it. It is huge, a super high ceiling with loads of domes and arches, big marble floor and lots of little passages and other compartments for prayer rooms and galleries and other parts of the church too... every single inch of this place, inside and out, is so detailed, with fine, exact precision and wow, the overall effect is overwhelming and shocking that something can be so beautiful and present itself as both art and architecture. I wonder how long it took to build the basilica!? So we walked around, taking loads of pictures (which I have just posted on fb) of all the white sculptures, carvings, marble, mosaics, detailed ceilings and beautiful altars, we were like kids in a candy store, just flashing our camera at everything we could see.. although I doubt these photos can do much justice to the real deal... anyway :) A few parts of the inside of the basilica were closed off as the next day (i.e.: today) is a religious holiday and festival so there was a big mass there and so thousands of chairs were laid down everywhere (well at least I guessed that the chairs are for a mass).... I have just realized that I forgot to tell you about the entrance to the basilica... ok so, it is a oval/ circular shape with an opening at the one end and the church on the other side, all around, there are these big columns and on the 'roof' at the top of each of these columns, there are sculptures of angels or saints, it is all so stunning and such a grand entrance. In the center of the circle, there is a sort of statue/sculpture that is really tall, like a massive pin, and at the top, there is a cross... there is also a pretty water fountain with several layers to the right of it... overall, just such a stunning, beautiful building! :)
So after seeing the inside of the Basilica, we joined the queue for the Cuppla, which is going right to the very top of the super high dome at the top of the basilica, not for the faint hearted or those scared of heights, I'll tell you one thing, I mean I am not even scared of heights but looking down I had to hold onto the railing really tight, haha.... :) So we took the cheat route and missed about 200 steps by taking an elevator for the first three levels (the heat was just too much!), then we climbed roughly 300 steps to get to the first level of the dome, inside, where we could look way down at the inside of the church ì, you could see all the tourists taking photos and stuff and if you looked up at the remaining section of the dome to climb from the inside, you can see just how detailed even these sections are, with loads of realistic mosaics of angels and stuff, I mean it is truly astonishing! I wonder how they actually managed to do these mosaics so high up?! So then we set off to climb to the top of the dome, outside. So there were a total of 980 steps or so, around 300 which we had already done and another 200 which we missed from the lift, so the remaining we climbed up...in the heat, in tiny, super super narrow staircases, with no time to stop as so many people were behind you. I actually felt really claustrophobic because it was so small (lets not forget it is tiring so everyone's breath is steaming up, and there are no windows), yet up we went, the walls were also tilted cause essentially you are going up a dome, so the sides are curved, and at one point on our last circular, curvy staircase, there was a rope to help you as it was so narrow, haha, anyway, the walk was worth it! The top was stunning! So so so so beautiful! Literally looking over the whole of Rome and the Vatican, you could see everything...people looking like ant's babies (haha :) ) and an occasional dot moving down the freeway....for as far as you look in every direction, you just see the beautiful city all the way to the furthest horizons....
So after our long decent, we were too tired to wait in the mile-long (no joke, like an hour's wait) line for the vatican museum in the heat and I do believe we are seeing it with the camp anyway, so we went to get lunch, a nice cold Coke and Spaghetti Napoletana.... followed by Gelato :) and then we did some shopping and stuff in the tourism shops and we also went to see the outside of a castle called San'Angelo ( I think) and look at the bridges over the main river in Rome. Then, exhausted, we caught the bus back. We had an hour or so to get ready for the very formal Lions Club meeting/dinner that night, at a fancy hotel, a it of a boring night, with people tailing and saying speeches in Italian but good food and a beautiful setting! Whilst the dinner was going on, Italy was playing Germany in the semi-finals of the Euro Cup in Poland. So everyone was keeping a sharp eye on the score, turns out we won! :D 2-1 to Italy, so this means that we play in the finals on Sunday night (tomorrow) against Spain, who are very good, as they made it to the finals of the World Cup too, so it will be interesting, and I'm sure a lot of partying if we win! Last night, when we won, you could hear the country's united cheering, clapping, and loads of cars hooting for hours after.... it will also be interesting tomorrow as there is a Spanish guy on the camp too, haha, so that will be quite funny :)
I will write about today in a second :)
Lots of love...
- Caity xx
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Cover my heart with the blossoms of adventure...
So this actually is my account for yesterday, but I was so tried and then the internet went down so I couldn't blog yesterday, anyway, so this is for yesterday and later tonight I will blog about today :)
Ok, so yesterday was really great! We went to the pharmacy around 10 and then we were given directions and bus tickets and were told we could just go into Rome and do whatever and see whatever... :)
So we were very lost and confused at first but gradually we got it and managed to actually read off our maps and stuff and we had a lovely day just doing whatever it was we wanted to do...
So first we caught the bus and got off at Trevi Fountain. We walked from there for ages, just up and down streets, very lost in search of this one churn that Dragutin wanted to see, I really didn't mind but he was desperate so we trooped around in the 42 degrees weather to look for it. We eventually found it, but it was closed and only opening again at 3:30... yes, you can imagine the disappointment and frustration. So we went to get lunch at Burger King and planned the rest of the route...
So everything we went to was sort of Dragutin's dream to visit, he is fascinated by Bernini, so we went to some square (forgot the name) with a fountain that he sculpted, very beautiful... next we went to the Pantheon again and then back to Trevi for ice-cream. We also did a LOT of shopping, I guess that was my side of the bargain he got to see all the museums and galleries and stuff (not really my scene when I have already seen them) and I got to shop :) Bought lots of presents and souvenirs and stuff, etc....then we went back to the church, which was really so beautiful, it was called Sancta Maria della Victoria...
Allt he churches have such stunning ceilings and just everywhere is so detailed, really so amazing... I wonder how long it took to build them? Hmm, a long time I am sure!
All of the street vendors and souvenir shops sell the same sort of typical Italian souvenirs, but i like going into all of them because in each one there are always just a few items that are unique to that shop and sometimes, if you are lucky, you find a keeper :) There are loads of I LOVE ROME Tshirts and hoodies, lots of Venetian masks, rosaries from the vatican and for some reason the whole of Rome seems obsessed with Pinocchio too so there are lots of statues and key rings with that too :)
Anyways, I am so tired so will tell you tomorrow about our further adventures in Rome today as well as what we do tomorrow...
Chat soon...
Love
- Caity xx
Ok, so yesterday was really great! We went to the pharmacy around 10 and then we were given directions and bus tickets and were told we could just go into Rome and do whatever and see whatever... :)
So we were very lost and confused at first but gradually we got it and managed to actually read off our maps and stuff and we had a lovely day just doing whatever it was we wanted to do...
So first we caught the bus and got off at Trevi Fountain. We walked from there for ages, just up and down streets, very lost in search of this one churn that Dragutin wanted to see, I really didn't mind but he was desperate so we trooped around in the 42 degrees weather to look for it. We eventually found it, but it was closed and only opening again at 3:30... yes, you can imagine the disappointment and frustration. So we went to get lunch at Burger King and planned the rest of the route...
So everything we went to was sort of Dragutin's dream to visit, he is fascinated by Bernini, so we went to some square (forgot the name) with a fountain that he sculpted, very beautiful... next we went to the Pantheon again and then back to Trevi for ice-cream. We also did a LOT of shopping, I guess that was my side of the bargain he got to see all the museums and galleries and stuff (not really my scene when I have already seen them) and I got to shop :) Bought lots of presents and souvenirs and stuff, etc....then we went back to the church, which was really so beautiful, it was called Sancta Maria della Victoria...
Allt he churches have such stunning ceilings and just everywhere is so detailed, really so amazing... I wonder how long it took to build them? Hmm, a long time I am sure!
All of the street vendors and souvenir shops sell the same sort of typical Italian souvenirs, but i like going into all of them because in each one there are always just a few items that are unique to that shop and sometimes, if you are lucky, you find a keeper :) There are loads of I LOVE ROME Tshirts and hoodies, lots of Venetian masks, rosaries from the vatican and for some reason the whole of Rome seems obsessed with Pinocchio too so there are lots of statues and key rings with that too :)
Anyways, I am so tired so will tell you tomorrow about our further adventures in Rome today as well as what we do tomorrow...
Chat soon...
Love
- Caity xx
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
EAT
Today we had a similar morning routine, meeting at the pharmacy at 10 again....Then Julio (yes, remembered his name) took us to see the Roan Forum. I had already seen it, so it was a little less intriguing than the first time, especially as we trekked though the incredible heat with hundreds of others, up millions of narrow, ancient steps, but still it was really beautiful and it is amazing to see the ruins of some of these things. Well, even though I don't know why I want to do really after school yet, I managed to cross one thing off the nonexistent list of possibility, I now am more than certain that I will never ever be an archeologist, haha :) so as we were walking through the Forum, there were all these people digging in the ground, in this heat (!!!) just like examining the dirt, definitely not for me :) haha, so anyways, then we went to the Capitol and then to a huge white, really stunning building called the Unknown Soldier. We went inside and wow, it was really incredible and so so so big! Then we went back to Trevi fountain (and I threw another coin in to hopefully return again) and then the three of us went to a pizza restaurant for lunch. Then we did a little souvenir shopping, etc and caught the metro back.
We sort of relaxed at the house some more before going to fetch my now officially broken computer from the store and we also visited the Maxxi Modern Art Museum. Outside there are some really cool displays of weird art and stuff and inside the building 8only about a year old) was so cool. It was deigned as a sort of in sired version of the Guggenheim in NY but it was obviously not as good ( I say with personal experience of both :) ), although it was still really interesting! We didn't get to see much of the art though as Daniela said it was too expensive to go in properly... anyway, so then we came home and got ready for dinner. It is very sweet of them to make such an effort to always do interesting stuff with us, and so again, they took us out for dinner...more pizza...:) Its funny cause in CT, when we order pizza, it is extremely boring to order a Margarita, you know, like the most simple plain thing there is, but here, it is a delicacy and true italian and so practically everyone orders it. And wow, it is so good, you don't even need toppings...I had a remembrance of a moment in Eat Pray Love, a book and movie (see it NOW, if you haven't already, really good!) where Liz, the main character is sitting in Napels, eating a Margarita and she tells her friend ' I a having a relationship with my pizza, I am literally in love with it' haha, and I though of that as I ws eating this delicious, cheesy, thin crusted glory of true Italy....
So then we got Gelato (I have had every day in this family!!) this time I got Pistaccio and Chocolate, so so good! Yum! and then we cam home and now, again, everyone is asleep except for me, typing away :) so I guess I better start thinking about bed soon enough, so I'd better go for now... Not too sure on the plans for tomorrow, everyday's a surprise as we cannot understand them when she tells us what we are doing, haha :) so I will let you know :)
Chat tomorrow,
- Caity xx
We sort of relaxed at the house some more before going to fetch my now officially broken computer from the store and we also visited the Maxxi Modern Art Museum. Outside there are some really cool displays of weird art and stuff and inside the building 8only about a year old) was so cool. It was deigned as a sort of in sired version of the Guggenheim in NY but it was obviously not as good ( I say with personal experience of both :) ), although it was still really interesting! We didn't get to see much of the art though as Daniela said it was too expensive to go in properly... anyway, so then we came home and got ready for dinner. It is very sweet of them to make such an effort to always do interesting stuff with us, and so again, they took us out for dinner...more pizza...:) Its funny cause in CT, when we order pizza, it is extremely boring to order a Margarita, you know, like the most simple plain thing there is, but here, it is a delicacy and true italian and so practically everyone orders it. And wow, it is so good, you don't even need toppings...I had a remembrance of a moment in Eat Pray Love, a book and movie (see it NOW, if you haven't already, really good!) where Liz, the main character is sitting in Napels, eating a Margarita and she tells her friend ' I a having a relationship with my pizza, I am literally in love with it' haha, and I though of that as I ws eating this delicious, cheesy, thin crusted glory of true Italy....
So then we got Gelato (I have had every day in this family!!) this time I got Pistaccio and Chocolate, so so good! Yum! and then we cam home and now, again, everyone is asleep except for me, typing away :) so I guess I better start thinking about bed soon enough, so I'd better go for now... Not too sure on the plans for tomorrow, everyday's a surprise as we cannot understand them when she tells us what we are doing, haha :) so I will let you know :)
Chat tomorrow,
- Caity xx
Monday, 25 June 2012
THAI experience
So last night, after I blogged and stuff, I was reading and about to go to bed, meanwhile, England and Italy were playing soccer for the Euro cup...I soon found out Italy's victory by screaming throughout the city, honking of car horns, fireworks and loud music, very festive and a huge victory for Italy as they did not expect to win....
So this morning when we woke up, it was just Dragutin and I in the house and also a lady who cleans up for them here, although she did not speak any English....so we sort of just had breakfast and showered, etc and then guessed to walk to the pharmacy...on arrival it appeared that we had been expected for a while now, but anyway...we were introduced to this guy (damn, right this second I have completely forgotten his name) who is a friends of Daniela's and is going to South Dakota on Lions exchange next week...it was quite funny actually though because he took us on the Metro all around to go to see the Colosseum (this time I had my camera :D) and he just acted so independent and he was quite tall and stuff, so we both assumed he was about 26 or so but it turns out he is only 16!!! so that was surprising and weird :)
After the Colloseum visit, we came home and has Cannaloni for lunch and has a bit of a rest before going over to the Mac sip to 'fix' my computer (turns out it is broken and beyond repair for reasonable pricing.... which sucks) but anyway, I will get by just borrowing from other people and stuff hopefully :) then we came back and went back to the pharmacy and had to work...I had another whole dram about my cellphone working but have finally sorted it out by getting a new number and stuff, etc so thats a relief :) So we came home late, very briefly and then headed out to get dinner. Haha, believe it or not, we went to a Thai restaurant (yes, in the middle of Rome :) ) and has honestly such a delicious, fragrant and HUGE supper.. I also tried duck for the first time tonight...
So that was really delicious and then we got more ice-cream, honestly delicious and I have no clue how I will ever be able to eat normal ice-cream again after this trip, haha, but anyways :)
So now, everyone else is asleep but I am quite happy to read and 'daydream' well technically 'night dream' for a bit...
Not too sure what we will do tomorrow...hopefuly, fingers crossed, some shopping :) and I think we are going back to the Roman Forum...I'll let you know tomorrow :)
Night, till next time....
- Caity xx
So this morning when we woke up, it was just Dragutin and I in the house and also a lady who cleans up for them here, although she did not speak any English....so we sort of just had breakfast and showered, etc and then guessed to walk to the pharmacy...on arrival it appeared that we had been expected for a while now, but anyway...we were introduced to this guy (damn, right this second I have completely forgotten his name) who is a friends of Daniela's and is going to South Dakota on Lions exchange next week...it was quite funny actually though because he took us on the Metro all around to go to see the Colosseum (this time I had my camera :D) and he just acted so independent and he was quite tall and stuff, so we both assumed he was about 26 or so but it turns out he is only 16!!! so that was surprising and weird :)
After the Colloseum visit, we came home and has Cannaloni for lunch and has a bit of a rest before going over to the Mac sip to 'fix' my computer (turns out it is broken and beyond repair for reasonable pricing.... which sucks) but anyway, I will get by just borrowing from other people and stuff hopefully :) then we came back and went back to the pharmacy and had to work...I had another whole dram about my cellphone working but have finally sorted it out by getting a new number and stuff, etc so thats a relief :) So we came home late, very briefly and then headed out to get dinner. Haha, believe it or not, we went to a Thai restaurant (yes, in the middle of Rome :) ) and has honestly such a delicious, fragrant and HUGE supper.. I also tried duck for the first time tonight...
So that was really delicious and then we got more ice-cream, honestly delicious and I have no clue how I will ever be able to eat normal ice-cream again after this trip, haha, but anyways :)
So now, everyone else is asleep but I am quite happy to read and 'daydream' well technically 'night dream' for a bit...
Not too sure what we will do tomorrow...hopefuly, fingers crossed, some shopping :) and I think we are going back to the Roman Forum...I'll let you know tomorrow :)
Night, till next time....
- Caity xx
Sunday, 24 June 2012
The language of flowers....
Had a really great day today.... Federica and her friends were going to spend the day at this lake and so they took us too :) So the lake was really big and is fresh (so not salty) and natural water so it is also quite nice and clean and so you can wim in it too....the water was super warm and so it was lovely to be able to swim in this heat. It took us ages to get there though as it was about an hours drive and then shuttles take you up to the lake so we waited in a queue for about 30 mins to get on a shuttle and then it was a 10 min walk down to the lake, but it was all well worth it! Down at the lake, there were honestly hundreds of people everywhere, it was also really cool because there were several restuarants and kiosks to have lunch and buy cooldrinks, etc, you could pay people to braai for you, we rented umbrellas and deck chairs and there were also some cool little crafty stalls where they sold Indian clothing (no idea why indian) and jewellry and stuff.... At the water's edge they rented out sail boats, pedal boats and boats with slides on them, there were loads of these on the water... and lots of people swimming, playing frisbee, beach bats and up at the top there was also a volleyball net. so as you can see it was really quite a chilled, relaxed and friends and family type vibe, which was really nice :)
We did spend ages there though, about 8 hours (!) so yes, I got a bit of a tan :) and I also really got into the book I have been reading called 'the language of flowers'. I am really loving it so if you are looking for a good book, this is a really nice option :) We sort of had a lazy day by the lake, swimming and chatting and reading and eating (as always in Italy) and stuff and it was really enjoyable, I had lots of fun! Then we came home, only got home about 8:30-ish actually though and had dinner and now even though they are still awake (I think) we are just in our rooms chilling and Dragutin has gone ot bed....so I think I will read some more and also do so...
Tomorrow Daniela and her husband both have to work from 10 to 1 or so, so as far as I know, and from what I can understand of what Daniela said, Dragutin and I are going to be given a map of Rome and we can catch the bus all around and sight see or shop, etc which I am really keen for, cause I am sure we will manage to find our way home :) At the moment, Italy are playing England in the Euro Cup ( a big soccor tournament for the whole of Europe) so see who goes htoruhg to the quarter finals so even though we aren't watching it here, every now and then I can hear a cheer or boo and stff from the neighbouring apartments, etc....We are also going to the mac and cellphone shop to hopefully fix both of those....and we are meeting one of Daniela's frined who is also a 'lion' and he is taking us to see the Collosseum again, but I am more than happy to go back! Not exactly sure on the plans as I cannot really understand her but anyway, we'll see what tomorrow holds :)
Lots of love!
- Caity xx
Saturday, 23 June 2012
SUMMER SOLSTICE
So this evening we went to fetch Dragutin, the other guy staying with us in this family, he is from Croatia and he is really nice and speaks good English so I am happy that I am not so alone...then we came home and met Federica (?) I think thats how it is spelt, Daniela (the mom's) daughter who is really sweet and also speaks english, she is 26 I think.... so then we had some time off and then we got ready to go out to dinner.
We drove to a really stunning part of Rome called Trastevere. It has cobbled streets and loads of restaurants and bars, etc. Federica said that it used to be a really poor part of the town in the olden days but then people realized that it was right int he centre of Rome and built on it and developed loads of pubs and restaurants and stuff and now it is one of the most expressive areas around. It was really nice there, I love walking around town on a warm night with lots of people laughing and street music and stuff, really a pleasant night :) So for dinner we had a whole lot of typical Roman pasta that we all just shared to try everyone's....we also had a whole bunch of bread, brusque, calamari and fish (which i was too full for), spinach and these really cool deep fried things. So in these things it was mozzarella, zucchini flowers and anchovies, so yes I actually ate one and it was really good...so I can say I have tried two new things tonight (zucchini flowers and anchovies) although I honestly didn't like the anchovies, far too fishy for my liking...but the was only a little, etc so yeah :)
So then we walked around a bit and the streets were packed because along the main river running through Rome, there was this massive carnival to celebrate the summer solstice :) I had no idea it was already there (haha suckers :) its the winter solstice for you...) and it was beautiful seeing all the colourful lights and stuff from the carnival! So now I am sitting alone in my room, it is very different to being in a room with Sara, I am not used to being by my own and stuff, but I think I'll manage will just go on Facebook and stuff till I'm super sleepy :) which is not too far away...
Ok well tomorrow Federica is taking the two of us to a lake where we can swim :D and it is meant to be super hot so that is nice :) I am also going to try to sort out my sim card and computer tomorrow so we'll see how that goes...
Night night, lots of love!
- Caity xx
We drove to a really stunning part of Rome called Trastevere. It has cobbled streets and loads of restaurants and bars, etc. Federica said that it used to be a really poor part of the town in the olden days but then people realized that it was right int he centre of Rome and built on it and developed loads of pubs and restaurants and stuff and now it is one of the most expressive areas around. It was really nice there, I love walking around town on a warm night with lots of people laughing and street music and stuff, really a pleasant night :) So for dinner we had a whole lot of typical Roman pasta that we all just shared to try everyone's....we also had a whole bunch of bread, brusque, calamari and fish (which i was too full for), spinach and these really cool deep fried things. So in these things it was mozzarella, zucchini flowers and anchovies, so yes I actually ate one and it was really good...so I can say I have tried two new things tonight (zucchini flowers and anchovies) although I honestly didn't like the anchovies, far too fishy for my liking...but the was only a little, etc so yeah :)
So then we walked around a bit and the streets were packed because along the main river running through Rome, there was this massive carnival to celebrate the summer solstice :) I had no idea it was already there (haha suckers :) its the winter solstice for you...) and it was beautiful seeing all the colourful lights and stuff from the carnival! So now I am sitting alone in my room, it is very different to being in a room with Sara, I am not used to being by my own and stuff, but I think I'll manage will just go on Facebook and stuff till I'm super sleepy :) which is not too far away...
Ok well tomorrow Federica is taking the two of us to a lake where we can swim :D and it is meant to be super hot so that is nice :) I am also going to try to sort out my sim card and computer tomorrow so we'll see how that goes...
Night night, lots of love!
- Caity xx
New Beginnings
So today I moved to my second family. Matteo took me on the train which was just a half an hour ride or so....when we arrived Daniela, the mom, was there to fetch me and they live really close to the station so we walked back to her building...being with people who you cannot really communicate with is strange and its funny because you learn to sort of just be comfortable with silence as there isnt much to say...She seems really sweet and so I hope that this is an enjoyable home stay...
Her apartment is on the second floor of a nice, not fancy but nice, building....it is quite funny, you know like weirdly decorated with nifty little odds and ends everywhere...very different to the big house of the first family! So now I am just chilling at her pharmacy...I dont have much to do except to go on the computer, haha, and we have to stay here until it closes at 1, so for the next two hours, not yet sure what I will do, I may brave the streets of Rome by myself, but will see....she has three dogs (I didnt think people were allowed dogs in apartments?) but anyway, they are all quite small and it doesnt appear that she has any cats....later on this afternoon we are fetching Dragutin, the other guy staying with us, from the airport...
So I dont really know what the plans for the rest of the day are but we will see...
Will let you know...
Caity xx
Her apartment is on the second floor of a nice, not fancy but nice, building....it is quite funny, you know like weirdly decorated with nifty little odds and ends everywhere...very different to the big house of the first family! So now I am just chilling at her pharmacy...I dont have much to do except to go on the computer, haha, and we have to stay here until it closes at 1, so for the next two hours, not yet sure what I will do, I may brave the streets of Rome by myself, but will see....she has three dogs (I didnt think people were allowed dogs in apartments?) but anyway, they are all quite small and it doesnt appear that she has any cats....later on this afternoon we are fetching Dragutin, the other guy staying with us, from the airport...
So I dont really know what the plans for the rest of the day are but we will see...
Will let you know...
Caity xx
Friday, 22 June 2012
PICTURE PERFECT
This evening we went to visit a really really beautiful lake! I have absolutely no clue its name is or any of its background history except for that it used to be a little village and then Mussolini did something (?) and it become a lake, haha, yes, no very informative... a hopeless attempt at its history but the story behind it wasn't important because it was so beautiful! What got me the most was that it was a bright neon turquoise colour and I don't understand how it could be a colour like that, but anyway, it was "picture perfect".....It was pretty big and there were two main villages around it...
So the first village that we went to was really high up on a hill, over looking the lake and all of the roads were super steep, a mission to walk up when you're tired and hot, but worth the photos of the water at the top....I'm afraid I cannot assist with the name of this little town because I was never told it and it seemed pretty deserted, so besides form the lake, not much of a huge event. It was really really silent from the top of the village though, so serene and it was funny cause if you were quiet when you got to the top, all you could hear was the clanking of the bells around the neck's of all the cows on the close-by farms....
The next village we went to was called Colle Di Tore ( not sure on the spelling) and was right on the opposite side of the lake. Again, beautiful views but this time not as high up and a lot more lively with people around and stuff, etc...
Then we drove to another town called Poggio Moiano which is in comparison quite big and there were lots of people around even till late... here we had dinner at a pizza and pasta restaurant which was really nice, just sort of a goodbye type thing. The Italian's eat so much but its weird because not many of them are overweight and stuff, but woah, I must look ridiculous by eating "so little"....I mean you'd read about stuff we have at home, but like I could never make it through a whole pizza but at the restaurant this is what they ordered:
They started with baskets of deep-fried stuff like for example I tried rice with mozzarella crumbed and deep fried into like a little ball but there were also ones with just cheese, some with crab and others with meat and rice inside....then two baskets of break with olive oil, garlic and rosemary came out (I've noticed they don't ever use butter on their bread), then a platter of tomatoes and mozzarella balls, another platter with cold meats and a platter of veggies like artichoke and olives, etc and then came the whole pizza! I had margarita just because you'd be surprised how good something so "plain" is there, keeping it simple and delicious!
So tomorrow I move to my next family in Rome...I'll let you know how that goes :)
- Caity xx
So the first village that we went to was really high up on a hill, over looking the lake and all of the roads were super steep, a mission to walk up when you're tired and hot, but worth the photos of the water at the top....I'm afraid I cannot assist with the name of this little town because I was never told it and it seemed pretty deserted, so besides form the lake, not much of a huge event. It was really really silent from the top of the village though, so serene and it was funny cause if you were quiet when you got to the top, all you could hear was the clanking of the bells around the neck's of all the cows on the close-by farms....
The next village we went to was called Colle Di Tore ( not sure on the spelling) and was right on the opposite side of the lake. Again, beautiful views but this time not as high up and a lot more lively with people around and stuff, etc...
Then we drove to another town called Poggio Moiano which is in comparison quite big and there were lots of people around even till late... here we had dinner at a pizza and pasta restaurant which was really nice, just sort of a goodbye type thing. The Italian's eat so much but its weird because not many of them are overweight and stuff, but woah, I must look ridiculous by eating "so little"....I mean you'd read about stuff we have at home, but like I could never make it through a whole pizza but at the restaurant this is what they ordered:
They started with baskets of deep-fried stuff like for example I tried rice with mozzarella crumbed and deep fried into like a little ball but there were also ones with just cheese, some with crab and others with meat and rice inside....then two baskets of break with olive oil, garlic and rosemary came out (I've noticed they don't ever use butter on their bread), then a platter of tomatoes and mozzarella balls, another platter with cold meats and a platter of veggies like artichoke and olives, etc and then came the whole pizza! I had margarita just because you'd be surprised how good something so "plain" is there, keeping it simple and delicious!
So tomorrow I move to my next family in Rome...I'll let you know how that goes :)
- Caity xx
Summer days drifting away...
So after our visit to Rome we came back and had lunch...again very delicious :D I was thinking that I have had pasta everyday this week! but its good so I don't mind :)
So then we sort of just chilled and read and whatever...then later on in the afternoon Giumberto, Marco, Sara and i went down to the river again and took the dogs with us...They have a absolutely gorgeous golden retriever called Darke and another little scottie type dog called Moor...so we took them and they were so happy to be in the water, as were we on such a hot day! So we did a long nice walk down the river until it sort of became too deep for the dogs, etc and then we turned back..I can't really say why but I really like them river and just walking there so this was nice...
(side note especially for Geordie) Geord, you MUST find some fresh water species that you can examine in the Farfa river and come down here at some point it is so stunning and what a perfect excuse :) haha
So then Sara and Marco went somewhere, not sure where exactly for a drive or something and so I had some time to shower and relax and Matteo lent me his acoustic guitar and so it was really really nice to be able to play again, you know, to do something familiar... although I think I left my guitar file at home because I can't find it in my suitcase which sucks...
Then we had supper, yum, tonight there was tagliatelle, crumbed meat (sort of like venus snitchel), roast potatoes, salad, briosque (?) not sure on the spelling but toasted bread with topping, so good!, bread and for dessert a cheesecake that Marco's mom made....then later I have no clue why so late, around 10, Sara, her dad and I went out to get Gelato, which was also so good....we went back to the beautiful little town we went to once when I forgot my camera called Fara in Sabina i think, I really like it there and despite it being late, there were people everywhere, adults having beer, kids playing soccer in the road and couples sitting together, you would have thought it was some big event that night like New Years Eve or something but people generally just seem to stay up later here, even when it does get dark....
Ok then today, this morning we haven't done anything and so we could sleep late...Sara slept till 10:30 and I woke up at 9 so I had some time alone to read and stuff.... then we had breakfast and have sort of just been on our computers, etc for the rest of the morning but will probably have lunch soon soon.... later today we are going to see a lake and some of the villages close by to it and I can hopefully try out my auto-bank card at some point and then later, cause its my last night, we are going out for pizzas :) Then tomorrow I move to family number 2.... a little anxious but they seem really nice and her daughter can speak quite good English, although she won't be there too often....also we are picking up the other boy from Croatia who is staying with us from the airport tomorrow and it's quite funny because I actually "know" him, well I have him on Facebook and stuff and for a while now we have been messaging and stuff because we both knew we were in Rome (didn't know about the family though) and so we wanted to try get on the same train to go to camp because he is also coming on the camp :) and he speaks English :)
Ok well will tell you about the lake, etc later......
- Caity xx
So then we sort of just chilled and read and whatever...then later on in the afternoon Giumberto, Marco, Sara and i went down to the river again and took the dogs with us...They have a absolutely gorgeous golden retriever called Darke and another little scottie type dog called Moor...so we took them and they were so happy to be in the water, as were we on such a hot day! So we did a long nice walk down the river until it sort of became too deep for the dogs, etc and then we turned back..I can't really say why but I really like them river and just walking there so this was nice...
(side note especially for Geordie) Geord, you MUST find some fresh water species that you can examine in the Farfa river and come down here at some point it is so stunning and what a perfect excuse :) haha
So then Sara and Marco went somewhere, not sure where exactly for a drive or something and so I had some time to shower and relax and Matteo lent me his acoustic guitar and so it was really really nice to be able to play again, you know, to do something familiar... although I think I left my guitar file at home because I can't find it in my suitcase which sucks...
Then we had supper, yum, tonight there was tagliatelle, crumbed meat (sort of like venus snitchel), roast potatoes, salad, briosque (?) not sure on the spelling but toasted bread with topping, so good!, bread and for dessert a cheesecake that Marco's mom made....then later I have no clue why so late, around 10, Sara, her dad and I went out to get Gelato, which was also so good....we went back to the beautiful little town we went to once when I forgot my camera called Fara in Sabina i think, I really like it there and despite it being late, there were people everywhere, adults having beer, kids playing soccer in the road and couples sitting together, you would have thought it was some big event that night like New Years Eve or something but people generally just seem to stay up later here, even when it does get dark....
Ok then today, this morning we haven't done anything and so we could sleep late...Sara slept till 10:30 and I woke up at 9 so I had some time alone to read and stuff.... then we had breakfast and have sort of just been on our computers, etc for the rest of the morning but will probably have lunch soon soon.... later today we are going to see a lake and some of the villages close by to it and I can hopefully try out my auto-bank card at some point and then later, cause its my last night, we are going out for pizzas :) Then tomorrow I move to family number 2.... a little anxious but they seem really nice and her daughter can speak quite good English, although she won't be there too often....also we are picking up the other boy from Croatia who is staying with us from the airport tomorrow and it's quite funny because I actually "know" him, well I have him on Facebook and stuff and for a while now we have been messaging and stuff because we both knew we were in Rome (didn't know about the family though) and so we wanted to try get on the same train to go to camp because he is also coming on the camp :) and he speaks English :)
Ok well will tell you about the lake, etc later......
- Caity xx
Thursday, 21 June 2012
O-O-O-OROS (again)
This morning we went to Rome again :D we did all the same stuff with the train and the metro and stuff but headed straight towards the Colosseum....when we got there, it was a bit of a surprise for me, because the thing is that I have seen photos and post cards, etc of it and it looked pretty but I had seen it and so I didn't think I would be absolutely stunned or anything like that. But when we saw it, it literally just took my breath away because it was so big and so beautiful and honestly, I don't think one can properly understand it unless you see it in person! The queue was massive but lucky for us, their aunt works in the Roman Forum and has loads of connections and so we got in for free and without waiting :) wow, inside was incredible, even more so! There were probably about 5 stories but only 2 of them were accessible to walk on....there were hundreds of tourists but there was definitely enough space... If you looked down to the center at the bottom, there were all these tunnels and stuff, I am not exactly sure what for though, because we didn't get a tour as I'm sure I will when we go there again on the camp, and then all around the "arena", were these absolutely ancient remains of where the spectator stands used to be, etc...it was really cool! :) Matteo told me that a while back there were these (obviously stupid) tourists who wrote their names into the bricks in the walls of the Colosseum...and they were caught and fined something like 200 000 euros! times that by 11 and that's what we'd be paying!! so lesson learnt, do not write on the walls of the Colosseum, haha :)
So after that, we went to look at the Roman Forum (i think it's called) which if I have the name right is a collected of super ancient buildings from the times of Ancient Roman gladiators and emperors and Julius Caesar, etc....we did the sort of suggested walk through all of that and looked at these stunning old buildings and remains, we also saw the building where Julius Caesar was murdered and also where the emperor's parliament and stuff used to be....It is really hot again today, but this trip to Rome was very different to last time because we sort of just went to these two places and then went back (a good idea in the heat) and so we weren't walking down the streets and stuff like last time which is a pity because I wanted to take a look at some of the shops and stuff and maybe buy some clothes, etc but its fine I guess because I am staying very close to the center of Rome from saturday onwards for a week so I will catch up on shopping then :D
Oh, so the reason why this is about oros (:)) is because its quite funny for me because at home, I am used to having fruit juice or something in the fridge and if all else fails, there's always oros in the cupboard too, but its very different for me here, because the family only drinks water and occasionally orange juice for breakfast...please don't judge me like some rich girl who only has juice (hahaha :) ) its just not what I'm used to and when walking through Rome today, in the heat, I was thinking how much I would love some oros in my water, haha, yes thats what I am thinking about in a city like Rome...but anyway...
I have chatted to the mom of the second family and she says...from what I have established from google translate, etc...that a 17 year old boy from Croatia is also staying with us (i think?) which is nice if he speaks English :) I do hope that communication isn't too much of a problem with the second family....so excited to meet everyone for the camp and thats not to far away either anyways.... :)
With love......
- Caity xx
O-O-O-OROS....
This morning we went to Rome again :D we did all the same stuff with the train and the metro and stuff but headed straight towards the Colosseum....when we got there, it was a bit of a surprise for me, because the thing is that I have seen photos and post cards, etc of it and it looked pretty but I had seen it and so I didn't think I would be absolutely stunned or anything like that. But when we saw it, it literally just took my breath away because it was so big and so beautiful and honestly, I don't think one can properly understand it unless you see it in person! The queue was massive but lucky for us, their aunt works in the Roman Forum and has loads of connections and so we got in for free and without waiting :) wow, inside was incredible, even more so! There were probably about 5 stories but only 2 of them were accessible to walk on....there were hundreds of tourists but there was definitely enough space... If you looked down to the center at the bottom, there were all these tunnels and stuff, I am not exactly sure what for though, because we didn't get a tour as I'm sure I will when we go there again on the camp, and then all around the "arena", were these absolutely ancient remains of where the spectator stands used to be, etc...it was really cool! :) Matteo told me that a while back there were these (obviously stupid) tourists who wrote their names into the bricks in the walls of the Colosseum...and they were caught and fined something like 200 000 euros! times that by 11 and that's what we'd be paying!! so lesson learnt, do not write on the walls of the Colosseum, haha :)
So after that, we went to look at the Roman Forum (i think it's called) which if I have the name right is a collected of super ancient buildings from the times of Ancient Roman gladiators and emperors and Julius Caesar, etc....we did the sort of suggested walk through all of that and looked at these stunning old buildings and remains, we also saw the building where Julius Caesar was murdered and also where the emperor's parliament and stuff used to be....It is really hot again today, but this trip to Rome was very different to last time because we sort of just went to these two places and then went back (a good idea in the heat) and so we weren't walking down the streets and stuff like last time which is a pity because I wanted to take a look at some of the shops and stuff and maybe buy some clothes, etc but its fine I guess because I am staying very close to the center of Rome from saturday onwards for a week so I will catch up on shopping then :D
Oh, so the reason why this is about oros (:)) is because its quite funny for me because at home, I am used to having fruit juice or something in the fridge and if all else fails, there's always oros in the cupboard too, but its very different for me here, because the family only drinks water and occasionally orange juice for breakfast...please don't judge me like some rich girl who only has juice (hahaha :) ) its just not what I'm used to and when walking through Rome today, in the heat, I was thinking how much I would love some oros in my water, haha, yes thats what I am thinking about in a city like Rome...but anyway...
I have chatted to the mom of the second family and she says...from what I have established from google translate, etc...that a 17 year old boy from Croatia is also staying with us (i think?) which is nice if he speaks English :) I do hope that communication isn't too much of a problem with the second family....so excited to meet everyone for the camp and thats not to far away either anyways.... :)
I don't know why this appears with a funny setting overlapping everything on my computer, apologies if it does on your, let me know and I'll see if I can change it :)
I don't know why this appears with a funny setting overlapping everything on my computer, apologies if it does on your, let me know and I'll see if I can change it :)
With love......
- Caity xx
Cobbled streets and bottles of beer....
Yesterday afternoon, Sara, her dad, Marco (Sara's boyfriend) and I went to visit Farfa and Toffia, two little villages quite close by...
So first we went to Farfa, it is really a tiny town and there's not much to do except to visit its church which is really beautiful and its main attraction. It is also the church where Giumberto and Lori got married and where they go on Christmas and easter.... So we had a tour (unfortunately, it was three Italian to one English so they won, haha :) ) which was in Italian but Sara and Marco translated for me...we first went to the abbey (?) type thing, you know, like the back and underground of the church....the church was built around the year 872!! so it is super old but most of it had worn away from the war over the Farfa river close by and also from an earthquake that happened later on... however, some of the original walls and windows were there and there was a little museum with all the remaining artifacts from how it was originally.... so we walked around and the guide showed us all the artifacts and the amazing view from the top of the church (as it is on a hill)...
Then she took us into one of the library's...she said that in the abbey/church there are over 60000 books all of records of history over Farfa, biblical writings or maps and stuff of new discoveries from those times.... we only got to see on of about 10 rooms storing the books, and there were just bookshelves everywhere! It had the really musty sort of old book smell and was dimly lit but it was so cool that everywhere you looked there were just these ancient, tea-bag-stain coloured books...there were also some display cabinets with they sort of extra special books. Like one that I really liked was a massive( like the size of my suitcase) music book with the notes and words (in Italian) and on each page there was a stamp with embedded gold...the lady said that they reason it was so big is because in those times they didn't have individual hymnals or projectors with the words, so everyone had to read off this one book in church to sing. Another thing that I found really cool was that one of the books was written before they had even invented paper, so instead it was written on animal skin (like the type that you put over African drums, etc)! :) most of the books were all super old, from around the 15th century! After the tour, we went to look at the actual church, which was really beautiful! Outside it has a little cobbled court yard and inside was just stunning! I especially liked the roof which was painted wood with little streams of gold, etc and stuff engraved in and everything, hard to describe but breath-taking! :)
Then we went to Toffia, so far my favourite village. Again, like most of these little towns, it was right at the top of the hill which meant that it has truly stunning views. What I really liked about this town is that it felt like a little community, there were children running about and playing, there was a granny sitting outside knitting, men chatting at the little kiosk type shop over beer and mothers hanging up washing, etc, really a cute little closed group.... :) the actual village reminded me a little bit of what I expected Napels to be like, with colourful washing hanging from the windows and on the electricity wires or across string hoisted between two windows, beautiful little cobbled streets sort of like alleys everywhere, some too narrow to even fit a car in between...and loads of little flower pots outside the windows and fitted into the walls and stuff and also all the house were right up close to each other and quite high, most of them were coated in a rough sort of stone and concrete look on the outside...Right at the top of the village there was also this little church with a really beautiful bell tower but it was under construction so we couldn't go in...
The reason why the heading says and bottle of beer is because it appears that the Italians love it! I don't know why or if it's just where I am staying but I had this preconceived notion that they would always be drinking and cooking with wine but so far they have done neither, which surprised me a bit....but it's quite cool because in all these little villages where we go, they always have a little shop with tables outside where people go for, I guess you could call the sundowners(?), and have a beer...i like it, I think it feels homely and gives that sense of community :)
After Toffia, we went to rent another movie (500 days of summer) which I also like, and Sara, Marco, Matteo and I watched it before bed...
Well that was it, yesterday was nice, I started to feel a bit more settled :)
I will write about Rome today too...
- Caity xx
So first we went to Farfa, it is really a tiny town and there's not much to do except to visit its church which is really beautiful and its main attraction. It is also the church where Giumberto and Lori got married and where they go on Christmas and easter.... So we had a tour (unfortunately, it was three Italian to one English so they won, haha :) ) which was in Italian but Sara and Marco translated for me...we first went to the abbey (?) type thing, you know, like the back and underground of the church....the church was built around the year 872!! so it is super old but most of it had worn away from the war over the Farfa river close by and also from an earthquake that happened later on... however, some of the original walls and windows were there and there was a little museum with all the remaining artifacts from how it was originally.... so we walked around and the guide showed us all the artifacts and the amazing view from the top of the church (as it is on a hill)...
Then she took us into one of the library's...she said that in the abbey/church there are over 60000 books all of records of history over Farfa, biblical writings or maps and stuff of new discoveries from those times.... we only got to see on of about 10 rooms storing the books, and there were just bookshelves everywhere! It had the really musty sort of old book smell and was dimly lit but it was so cool that everywhere you looked there were just these ancient, tea-bag-stain coloured books...there were also some display cabinets with they sort of extra special books. Like one that I really liked was a massive( like the size of my suitcase) music book with the notes and words (in Italian) and on each page there was a stamp with embedded gold...the lady said that they reason it was so big is because in those times they didn't have individual hymnals or projectors with the words, so everyone had to read off this one book in church to sing. Another thing that I found really cool was that one of the books was written before they had even invented paper, so instead it was written on animal skin (like the type that you put over African drums, etc)! :) most of the books were all super old, from around the 15th century! After the tour, we went to look at the actual church, which was really beautiful! Outside it has a little cobbled court yard and inside was just stunning! I especially liked the roof which was painted wood with little streams of gold, etc and stuff engraved in and everything, hard to describe but breath-taking! :)
Then we went to Toffia, so far my favourite village. Again, like most of these little towns, it was right at the top of the hill which meant that it has truly stunning views. What I really liked about this town is that it felt like a little community, there were children running about and playing, there was a granny sitting outside knitting, men chatting at the little kiosk type shop over beer and mothers hanging up washing, etc, really a cute little closed group.... :) the actual village reminded me a little bit of what I expected Napels to be like, with colourful washing hanging from the windows and on the electricity wires or across string hoisted between two windows, beautiful little cobbled streets sort of like alleys everywhere, some too narrow to even fit a car in between...and loads of little flower pots outside the windows and fitted into the walls and stuff and also all the house were right up close to each other and quite high, most of them were coated in a rough sort of stone and concrete look on the outside...Right at the top of the village there was also this little church with a really beautiful bell tower but it was under construction so we couldn't go in...
The reason why the heading says and bottle of beer is because it appears that the Italians love it! I don't know why or if it's just where I am staying but I had this preconceived notion that they would always be drinking and cooking with wine but so far they have done neither, which surprised me a bit....but it's quite cool because in all these little villages where we go, they always have a little shop with tables outside where people go for, I guess you could call the sundowners(?), and have a beer...i like it, I think it feels homely and gives that sense of community :)
After Toffia, we went to rent another movie (500 days of summer) which I also like, and Sara, Marco, Matteo and I watched it before bed...
Well that was it, yesterday was nice, I started to feel a bit more settled :)
I will write about Rome today too...
- Caity xx
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
I have some new photos on Facebook of these amazing little towns we visited today called Farfa and Toffia...so so stunning....will tell you all about them tomorrow as I'm super tired now! Will also write about my endeavors in Rome again cause this time I'm sure we are going tomorrow :D
Night, chat tomorrow..........
- Caity xx
Night, chat tomorrow..........
- Caity xx
LIVING LIKE A ROMAN
Ok so today we went out to see more of the little towns, but it was a bit further out this time....
The weather forecast was not wrong, it is so hot today! Not even full blast air con and windows open in the car can relieve you but the house is a little cooler inside :) It was again just the three of us because Matteo had to go to university in Rome and Lori and the grandmother (still don't know her name....but its never been important cause we sort of just smile at each other) went to the market. So we drove out for an hour or so headed towards a small little town called Greccio...it is really beautiful and quite a religious little town. As you drive in the road is sort of framed by the canopy of the trees (you can see this on google maps) and it is a lot more lush and green than where we are where it is quite dry.... Greccio the actual residential area is tiny but it's main attraction is a church built in honor of John the Baptist. The church is fascinating because it has been built into the rock of the mountain side where it lies and is really really high up, meaning a long, hard trek up loads of stairs needs to be worth the view, which it definitely was! Attached to the church is the old monastery (not used any more), a whole lot of exhibitions about how it used to function and bedrooms of important saints like St Francesco. This sort of church/property (its not just a little church), is full of people who are being blessed or listening to mass plus the occasional tourist but it is much more for personal enrichment opposed to tourism like in Rome. The building is famous for its display of nativity cribs....yes, this sounds a bit odd, but honestly, it is so interesting! In the museum type building, there are just hundreds of these cribs displaying the nativity scene and each crib represented by its country. So for example, we saw the traditional crib for Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, etc, you know, thats just to name a few, there were so many (although I couldn't find SA). They were all sort of build into the walls of the building, so like a notch had been dug out and then it was set up in there. Some of the cribs were painted on the wall, others were sculptures, some little glass figures, other made of wool (like the one we set up) and some we carved into the stones of the walls (because the building is all stone as it is carved into the mountain) but wow, you'd be surprised how beautiful and interesting cribs are....
We also stopped at another little church (this one really was little) called Fonte Colombo...its is super old and it was the first church built to honor and by St Francesco (haha, its quite funny because in Italy they called a Saint, San...so the whole time they were saying San Francesco but it sounded like San Fransico (the city) so I was really confused :)) it was a really pretty little church, quite quiet with a little court yard for the nuns and monks and a healing room and confessional and stuff so I think it is still used a bit. The reason why it is so famous (well for a little town in Italy) is because when St Francesco lived here, he had to make his way round to all the surrounding cities and so he walked 109km from there to Rome so a lot of people take this walk (obviously shortened) in honor of him although thank goodness in this heat we didn't....
So then we came home and had lunch, salad, venus snitchel, baked beans (not from the can though, but I decided not to have anyway), bread, mozzarella and tomato and gelato to finish (yes I will probably come back enormous, but the food is just so good :))
So that's it for now, we are doing our sort of routinely mid-afternoon break of reading or face-booking or this, etc but later we are going to see more towns I think, although luckily they are a bit closer I think...I know Farfa is one of them :) I think that Sara boyfriend is also coming with us (they've been going out for 2 years!) and he speaks English :) and we will probably hire another movie tonight, which is nice :)
Will write about the rest of the day later.....
-Caity xx
The weather forecast was not wrong, it is so hot today! Not even full blast air con and windows open in the car can relieve you but the house is a little cooler inside :) It was again just the three of us because Matteo had to go to university in Rome and Lori and the grandmother (still don't know her name....but its never been important cause we sort of just smile at each other) went to the market. So we drove out for an hour or so headed towards a small little town called Greccio...it is really beautiful and quite a religious little town. As you drive in the road is sort of framed by the canopy of the trees (you can see this on google maps) and it is a lot more lush and green than where we are where it is quite dry.... Greccio the actual residential area is tiny but it's main attraction is a church built in honor of John the Baptist. The church is fascinating because it has been built into the rock of the mountain side where it lies and is really really high up, meaning a long, hard trek up loads of stairs needs to be worth the view, which it definitely was! Attached to the church is the old monastery (not used any more), a whole lot of exhibitions about how it used to function and bedrooms of important saints like St Francesco. This sort of church/property (its not just a little church), is full of people who are being blessed or listening to mass plus the occasional tourist but it is much more for personal enrichment opposed to tourism like in Rome. The building is famous for its display of nativity cribs....yes, this sounds a bit odd, but honestly, it is so interesting! In the museum type building, there are just hundreds of these cribs displaying the nativity scene and each crib represented by its country. So for example, we saw the traditional crib for Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, etc, you know, thats just to name a few, there were so many (although I couldn't find SA). They were all sort of build into the walls of the building, so like a notch had been dug out and then it was set up in there. Some of the cribs were painted on the wall, others were sculptures, some little glass figures, other made of wool (like the one we set up) and some we carved into the stones of the walls (because the building is all stone as it is carved into the mountain) but wow, you'd be surprised how beautiful and interesting cribs are....
We also stopped at another little church (this one really was little) called Fonte Colombo...its is super old and it was the first church built to honor and by St Francesco (haha, its quite funny because in Italy they called a Saint, San...so the whole time they were saying San Francesco but it sounded like San Fransico (the city) so I was really confused :)) it was a really pretty little church, quite quiet with a little court yard for the nuns and monks and a healing room and confessional and stuff so I think it is still used a bit. The reason why it is so famous (well for a little town in Italy) is because when St Francesco lived here, he had to make his way round to all the surrounding cities and so he walked 109km from there to Rome so a lot of people take this walk (obviously shortened) in honor of him although thank goodness in this heat we didn't....
So then we came home and had lunch, salad, venus snitchel, baked beans (not from the can though, but I decided not to have anyway), bread, mozzarella and tomato and gelato to finish (yes I will probably come back enormous, but the food is just so good :))
So that's it for now, we are doing our sort of routinely mid-afternoon break of reading or face-booking or this, etc but later we are going to see more towns I think, although luckily they are a bit closer I think...I know Farfa is one of them :) I think that Sara boyfriend is also coming with us (they've been going out for 2 years!) and he speaks English :) and we will probably hire another movie tonight, which is nice :)
Will write about the rest of the day later.....
-Caity xx
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
HEY BIG SPENDER
Ok not actually that much of a big spender considering my card hadn't been activated, but I did make my first official purchase :)
So after just chilling for a bit and stuff Sara's dad took us to go shopping....(yay) just outside Rome. I guess, technically, it is Rome but its sort of the equivalent of Constantia to the CBD....it was just a big shopping center like cavendish, etc but it had loads of really cool shops in it! So first I bought a book because after re-reading my Seventeen magazine cover to cover because it was the only evidence of English literature around I decided it might be nice to actually read something, so I made my choice of the one 30mm shelf of English books that they had but surprisingly (it must be fate) the book that I've been wanting to read was there :) Then I bought an adaptor just for my cell-phone charger and then we moved on to the more exciting clothes shops. They were all quite expensive (according to Sara) but I don't really have a good perspective on that so I really enjoyed it. They really have amazing clothes and loads of shoes and accessories and everything... perfect for the average girl who enjoys shopping (me)....
So we tried on a few stuff and we also went to H&M which I have only ever heard about from practically everyone who goes overseas so that was really cool and I bought a floral crop top, sunglasses and a navy jumpsuit :D I hope we go back though cause there were just so many stunning shops. Something I noticed is that in Italy, the men are a lot more fashion-forward, like I rarely bump into my guy friends clothes shopping and with my brothers and stuff, they just wear what mom buys them....but here there are guys everywhere genuinely trying on clothes and there are also a lot more shops with clothes just for guys too....
Another thing I noticed is that besides from the occasional truck transporting goods, etc....practically everyone drives smallish cars, the same brands and stuff but just not big 4X4s and stuff like my mom has, etc....Here, especially where i am cause its very rural, there are loads of birds as well...I don't see them so much as hear them, from the second I wake up until about 9 every night, they just don't stop!
Tonight was a really nice evening, quite similar to a typical Cape Tonian summer evening, you know, still and calm and cool but no wind and warm enough to not need a jersey, it was really sort of serene, haha, but with that comes that familiar squeal of mosquitos and of all my deep heat and Vaseline and everything else, the one thing I forgot was mozzie cream, so I am scratching away....Suppers here are very much a platter help-your-self style so like tonight on the table there was a huge bowl of pesto pasta, potatoes, zucchini flowers, salad, chicken, omelets, fruit, bread and pickled cucumber and you sort of just help yourself to whatever....its really sweet of the family though cause Matteo has asked me like what we have for breakfast, lunch and supper a few times and I thought he was just asking out of interest but then the next night I saw chicken nuggets at supper (I'm sure not usually what they eat) and when we went out to get gelato (honestly the best ice-cream I have ever had!) I asked for lemon and then tonight after supper, the mom had bough a tub of lemon ice-cream for me, etc....so they are really sweet....I really like them and they are all making such an effort to make me comfortable....
Anyway, so they actually decided that we shouldn't go to Rome tomorrow either because frankly it is hard to enjoy and actually take in when you are so hot....so I think we are just going to see more villages, etc which suits me because for my second family, they are in the center of Rome so that's all I'll be doing and I won't have the opportunity of seeing all these queer, quirky little villages that we visit...
Thats it for now....I'll chat tomorrow
- Caity xx
Little Villages
It was really nice because after supper last night we actually got to watch my favourite movie in English which was just sort of a nice reminder of home, etc....and then we also decided to go to Rome tomorrow because it would be too much straight after each other. But this does have a down side because tomorrow is meant to be the hottest day so far so obviously isn't ideal for more touristy stuff but its the last option because on Thursdays the trains don't operate to Rome and on Friday I am meeting Sara's friends and we are having a picnic (i think) at the river and then on Saturday I move to the next family...
We slept later today which was nice but I hate waking up because you are almost stuck by the panic of being so hot and not knowing what to do besides stand under a cold shower...so we had breakfast and then then the three of us (Sara, her dad and I) went for another drive to visit more of the neighboring villages...this is really nice because it's not usually a side of Italy that most people get to see as
its not in Rome. I really enjoy driving here, partially because its a great escape from the heat with the windows and the air-con but it's also just beautiful everywhere you look...:) its funny though cause I usually don't like driving and its also weird because here, not having lived here, I have NO sense of direction and its funny driving on streets that you're unfamiliar with after something like Cape Town where i know like every road... :)
So we drove through a lot of small little towns and one thing I noticed is that they also have a lot of sunflowers! and I also saw a few fields just covered in red poppies, really pretty! The first town that we stopped at is called Casperio. It's really small and high up but if you face the trek up, it is such a stunning view which I could now capture cause I remembered my camera this time. Then we drove around some more and I cant remember the name of the village but we went to this ancient church called St Maria in Vescovio which was so beautiful. It was build ages ago in the 8th century! and below the altar there were catacombs but sadly we couldn't see them (don't know why there was a sign in Italian explaining it) but anyway, it was really cool. Massive paintings of the stations of the cross were painted on all the walls but most of it was faded and peeled away from weathering and aging and stuff but its was still so interesting to see something different...
So that was it for now so we are just chilling and will have lunch soon :) tomorrow we go into Rome, then Thursday we are maybe going to the public swimming pool :) Will probably write a little later too..
- Caity xx
We slept later today which was nice but I hate waking up because you are almost stuck by the panic of being so hot and not knowing what to do besides stand under a cold shower...so we had breakfast and then then the three of us (Sara, her dad and I) went for another drive to visit more of the neighboring villages...this is really nice because it's not usually a side of Italy that most people get to see as
its not in Rome. I really enjoy driving here, partially because its a great escape from the heat with the windows and the air-con but it's also just beautiful everywhere you look...:) its funny though cause I usually don't like driving and its also weird because here, not having lived here, I have NO sense of direction and its funny driving on streets that you're unfamiliar with after something like Cape Town where i know like every road... :)
So we drove through a lot of small little towns and one thing I noticed is that they also have a lot of sunflowers! and I also saw a few fields just covered in red poppies, really pretty! The first town that we stopped at is called Casperio. It's really small and high up but if you face the trek up, it is such a stunning view which I could now capture cause I remembered my camera this time. Then we drove around some more and I cant remember the name of the village but we went to this ancient church called St Maria in Vescovio which was so beautiful. It was build ages ago in the 8th century! and below the altar there were catacombs but sadly we couldn't see them (don't know why there was a sign in Italian explaining it) but anyway, it was really cool. Massive paintings of the stations of the cross were painted on all the walls but most of it was faded and peeled away from weathering and aging and stuff but its was still so interesting to see something different...
So that was it for now so we are just chilling and will have lunch soon :) tomorrow we go into Rome, then Thursday we are maybe going to the public swimming pool :) Will probably write a little later too..
- Caity xx
Monday, 18 June 2012
Light At Night
Its so nice that it stays light till late..I mean its half past 8 now and still light which is really cool! So after Rome we had lunch (pasta again) and then we sort of just relaxed and slept for a bit....
Now we've just come back from a drive around to some of the neighboring rural little towns...I think the main place we went to was called Castelnuovo de Farfa and it was just me, Sara and her dad. It was so beautiful! So we drove right up the the highest peak of this little hill/kappie, you know, and right at the top was this cute little town, Sara said that its more of a place where people go when they retire and its really peaceful and small. So we walked up through these really narrow paved streets and like right there on the road were all these rural face-stone houses on top of each other....then at the highest point, like where you could not go higher, sat this monastery and a beautiful little church (unfortunately it was closed though so we couldn't go in) and then there was this view point where you could go look over that whole section of Italy, so stunning! I guess you could call it the Italian equivalent of looking off signal hill but obviously very different. And I thought we were just going for a drive so I didn't bring my camera which really sucks cause its was so so beautiful!! This part of Italy is made up mostly of orchards for wine and olives for olive oil and so they also cook almost everything with olive oil....
Tomorrow we are going back into Rome to finish our sightseeing....I would've actually liked to have a day off in between because it really is an exhausting endeavor with the trains and the heat and everything but its fine, I will conjure up all my energy....going to go have supper now and then we have hired an English movie, which is nice, to watch later...
Chat soon
- Caity xx
Now we've just come back from a drive around to some of the neighboring rural little towns...I think the main place we went to was called Castelnuovo de Farfa and it was just me, Sara and her dad. It was so beautiful! So we drove right up the the highest peak of this little hill/kappie, you know, and right at the top was this cute little town, Sara said that its more of a place where people go when they retire and its really peaceful and small. So we walked up through these really narrow paved streets and like right there on the road were all these rural face-stone houses on top of each other....then at the highest point, like where you could not go higher, sat this monastery and a beautiful little church (unfortunately it was closed though so we couldn't go in) and then there was this view point where you could go look over that whole section of Italy, so stunning! I guess you could call it the Italian equivalent of looking off signal hill but obviously very different. And I thought we were just going for a drive so I didn't bring my camera which really sucks cause its was so so beautiful!! This part of Italy is made up mostly of orchards for wine and olives for olive oil and so they also cook almost everything with olive oil....
Tomorrow we are going back into Rome to finish our sightseeing....I would've actually liked to have a day off in between because it really is an exhausting endeavor with the trains and the heat and everything but its fine, I will conjure up all my energy....going to go have supper now and then we have hired an English movie, which is nice, to watch later...
Chat soon
- Caity xx
INERTIA
Today we went to Rome :D
(side note) I only fully understood inertia for the first time today after going on the train, metro and tram so many times and stopping and starting, etc)
Rome is stunning! It is honestly so so beautiful!! and its so weird to be in a city so incredibly different to your own....so we woke up and caught the train and metro to Rome....then we basically spent till lunchtime wandering around and seeing some of the main attractions. First we went to the Spanish steps, they were so cool, hundreds of them and beautiful sculptures engraved in and stuff and lots of Japanese tourists posing the peace sign at the top :) so we walked to the top as well and it was really cool to see its skyline and all the domes, etc. next we went to the trevi fountain which i really loved. It was so huge compared to what I expected and the detail was amazing! again loads of tourists but i managed to get some photos and throw 10c into the water :) next we went to the Pantheon. This was so beautiful and I have never heard of it before so it was nice and different. Its basically this massive really ancient church with a circular hole in the center of the roof. It is so beautiful, I cant even describe it probably and just everywhere you look its like intriguing for your eye. Then we went to look at the street paintings and all that, which was really cool you know like people doing your portrait quickly and chalk on the road and stuff.....we ended off by walking over to St Peter's Basillica which was incredible, I honeslty had no idea it was so huge! but the queue to get in was equally as huge so we decided to leave going in cause i will see it on the camp. Along the way we also stopped at many churchs, I really liked one called the Sancta Maria church which was just so peaceful and again stunning. I mean I know that Michaelangelo's paintings on the roof will be beautiful but people have underestimated the beauty of the others...like in most of the churches that we went into, there were really beautiful paintings n the roof.
It is so so hot today! Worse than yesterday and honestly not the best day to see Rome because it exhausts you and you have to re-apply sunblock like every 10 mins :) buut still it was nice to see the town busteling with life....hundreds of people everywhere you look. Its also really cool cause 1)I saw a tram for the first time and 2) they have these buses that just drive aroundt he city and then you can get on and ride for free and then if you want to make a request for where it stops, you pay a bit...but you can just get off at other people's stops, etc....
Another thing is that Rome is filled with motorbikes (they call them scooters)...every second person has one and you'll walk down alleys with them just lined up, they are EVERYWHERE :) Just chilling at home now, when I am not out it is quite lonely and stuff cause they can't really understand me and stuff but I really am looking forward to the camp so thats keeping me going when I m feeling down.
Another plus is that I got my mac charger fixed so I dont have to worry about my battery running out anymore...
With Love
-Caity xx
(side note) I only fully understood inertia for the first time today after going on the train, metro and tram so many times and stopping and starting, etc)
Rome is stunning! It is honestly so so beautiful!! and its so weird to be in a city so incredibly different to your own....so we woke up and caught the train and metro to Rome....then we basically spent till lunchtime wandering around and seeing some of the main attractions. First we went to the Spanish steps, they were so cool, hundreds of them and beautiful sculptures engraved in and stuff and lots of Japanese tourists posing the peace sign at the top :) so we walked to the top as well and it was really cool to see its skyline and all the domes, etc. next we went to the trevi fountain which i really loved. It was so huge compared to what I expected and the detail was amazing! again loads of tourists but i managed to get some photos and throw 10c into the water :) next we went to the Pantheon. This was so beautiful and I have never heard of it before so it was nice and different. Its basically this massive really ancient church with a circular hole in the center of the roof. It is so beautiful, I cant even describe it probably and just everywhere you look its like intriguing for your eye. Then we went to look at the street paintings and all that, which was really cool you know like people doing your portrait quickly and chalk on the road and stuff.....we ended off by walking over to St Peter's Basillica which was incredible, I honeslty had no idea it was so huge! but the queue to get in was equally as huge so we decided to leave going in cause i will see it on the camp. Along the way we also stopped at many churchs, I really liked one called the Sancta Maria church which was just so peaceful and again stunning. I mean I know that Michaelangelo's paintings on the roof will be beautiful but people have underestimated the beauty of the others...like in most of the churches that we went into, there were really beautiful paintings n the roof.
It is so so hot today! Worse than yesterday and honestly not the best day to see Rome because it exhausts you and you have to re-apply sunblock like every 10 mins :) buut still it was nice to see the town busteling with life....hundreds of people everywhere you look. Its also really cool cause 1)I saw a tram for the first time and 2) they have these buses that just drive aroundt he city and then you can get on and ride for free and then if you want to make a request for where it stops, you pay a bit...but you can just get off at other people's stops, etc....
Another thing is that Rome is filled with motorbikes (they call them scooters)...every second person has one and you'll walk down alleys with them just lined up, they are EVERYWHERE :) Just chilling at home now, when I am not out it is quite lonely and stuff cause they can't really understand me and stuff but I really am looking forward to the camp so thats keeping me going when I m feeling down.
Another plus is that I got my mac charger fixed so I dont have to worry about my battery running out anymore...
With Love
-Caity xx
Sunday, 17 June 2012
DAY 1
I am going to make this quick because I am so tired but wow, what a day...
Firstly Germany is cool :) 1) they speak English 2) They have free coffee and magazine stations everywhere in the airport and 3) they have stein and slagen in every sentence....ok so that was cool
buut, ITALY! yay, ok so I arrived and Sara (suh-ruh) and Matteo greeted me as well as their dad Giumbeto (who doesn't speak English). Walking outside was honestly like being hit in the face by a whack of hot air...the temperature for today was around 38 degrees and meant to be 40 tomorrow! So I was shown my room and stuff and then we had lunch...ok this was a bit of an occasion.
So we started with a fairly large portion of homemade pasta (yummy) and I though that was it. Next came a loaf of ciabatta, chips (french fries) and rosemary chicken (a lot of it too), next came a salad after which point my courtesy in eating everything ( yes mum) I was given was starting to drift.....then next thing, Lori (the mom) brings out a Nutella cake that he made for me....how could I not eat it? so this was delicious but so so filling!
Then we went for a walk by the river with 2 of their dogs and this was so nice considering the weather...you know we sort of just walked through it like at KBosch....we came back and then later went to the mall so look around and buy groceries and then to get Gelato (so so so good!) and pick up supper, nothing other than pizza. But wow, really though I was so tired i could barely keep my eyes open for the car rides there and back, etc, it is honestly such a beautiful country. I am staying in a tiny little town called Montopoli near the Farfa river....its a huge culture shock cause no one besides the two kids (and not fluently) speaks english so its weird and bit disconcerting at times but I guess it will get better from here.
Lots of love
(enjoy school :) )
- Caity xx
Firstly Germany is cool :) 1) they speak English 2) They have free coffee and magazine stations everywhere in the airport and 3) they have stein and slagen in every sentence....ok so that was cool
buut, ITALY! yay, ok so I arrived and Sara (suh-ruh) and Matteo greeted me as well as their dad Giumbeto (who doesn't speak English). Walking outside was honestly like being hit in the face by a whack of hot air...the temperature for today was around 38 degrees and meant to be 40 tomorrow! So I was shown my room and stuff and then we had lunch...ok this was a bit of an occasion.
So we started with a fairly large portion of homemade pasta (yummy) and I though that was it. Next came a loaf of ciabatta, chips (french fries) and rosemary chicken (a lot of it too), next came a salad after which point my courtesy in eating everything ( yes mum) I was given was starting to drift.....then next thing, Lori (the mom) brings out a Nutella cake that he made for me....how could I not eat it? so this was delicious but so so filling!
Then we went for a walk by the river with 2 of their dogs and this was so nice considering the weather...you know we sort of just walked through it like at KBosch....we came back and then later went to the mall so look around and buy groceries and then to get Gelato (so so so good!) and pick up supper, nothing other than pizza. But wow, really though I was so tired i could barely keep my eyes open for the car rides there and back, etc, it is honestly such a beautiful country. I am staying in a tiny little town called Montopoli near the Farfa river....its a huge culture shock cause no one besides the two kids (and not fluently) speaks english so its weird and bit disconcerting at times but I guess it will get better from here.
Lots of love
(enjoy school :) )
- Caity xx
Monday, 11 June 2012
OFF TO ITALY
Hi All
So this is just a casual blog where I can write about my experiences on my just over 5 week vacation in Italy. Essentially I am going on an exchange with an amazing club called Lions Club International but after my home stays, I am going on a tour all around with a whole lot of people from around the world, which is just such a cool experience!
Anyway, no promises about proper language and all that and I will write whenever I can but I'll see how it goes. I leave this Saturday (16th June 2012) and am heading straight off to (hopefully) hot and sunny Rome when I have my first home stay.....
That's about it for now...
Oh also, any bloggers who are interested, you can check out my other blog, which is sort of a music critic type blog but take a look if you're looking for some good music! Its called Falling With Notes of Gravity and the address is music-is-my-gravity.blogspot.com
Chat soon
- Caity xx
So this is just a casual blog where I can write about my experiences on my just over 5 week vacation in Italy. Essentially I am going on an exchange with an amazing club called Lions Club International but after my home stays, I am going on a tour all around with a whole lot of people from around the world, which is just such a cool experience!
Anyway, no promises about proper language and all that and I will write whenever I can but I'll see how it goes. I leave this Saturday (16th June 2012) and am heading straight off to (hopefully) hot and sunny Rome when I have my first home stay.....
That's about it for now...
Oh also, any bloggers who are interested, you can check out my other blog, which is sort of a music critic type blog but take a look if you're looking for some good music! Its called Falling With Notes of Gravity and the address is music-is-my-gravity.blogspot.com
Chat soon
- Caity xx
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