The trees have started blooming and it makes everything much prettier.
March 31, 2007
March 28, 2007
Chorale is here! Great!
Um, lately... wandered around Fiesole with Dorothy, found Il Parco di Monte Ceceri. Very pretty. Bought some really great boots that I will probably not be able to pack home. I'm going to Venice this weekend, then horseback riding through Chianti country on a wine tour (excited!), hopefully to visit Cat in Spain one of the weekends after that. Busy busy. Don't have too much more school stuff to do, a paper for one class then finals in May is all that's left.
So chorale! They showed up last night, I sat around their hotel for awhile waiting for them (yeah, I was the creepy sneak attack stalker girl) and jumped them all when they finally showed up. I realized how desperately few males there are on my program... seriously, I basically have forgotten how to interact with boys. Maybe not. Anyway, consequently, I spent the rest of the night clinging to Billy/Jan/Joel/Cliff/Liz (not a boy, but you know)/etc. It's so, so good to see everyone. I can't stop smiling and jumping around and generally just being incredibly giddy. I'm going to their concert tonight, which I'm also giddy about.
Okay. Basta.
Um, lately... wandered around Fiesole with Dorothy, found Il Parco di Monte Ceceri. Very pretty. Bought some really great boots that I will probably not be able to pack home. I'm going to Venice this weekend, then horseback riding through Chianti country on a wine tour (excited!), hopefully to visit Cat in Spain one of the weekends after that. Busy busy. Don't have too much more school stuff to do, a paper for one class then finals in May is all that's left.
So chorale! They showed up last night, I sat around their hotel for awhile waiting for them (yeah, I was the creepy sneak attack stalker girl) and jumped them all when they finally showed up. I realized how desperately few males there are on my program... seriously, I basically have forgotten how to interact with boys. Maybe not. Anyway, consequently, I spent the rest of the night clinging to Billy/Jan/Joel/Cliff/Liz (not a boy, but you know)/etc. It's so, so good to see everyone. I can't stop smiling and jumping around and generally just being incredibly giddy. I'm going to their concert tonight, which I'm also giddy about.
Okay. Basta.
March 21, 2007
The terrace woman has a husband. I was surprised and as a result he caught me staring at him this morning.
I'm working/living on a farm in Gouldsboro (a tiny rural town a little northeast of Bar Harbor), Maine this summer. Mandala Farm, specifically. I make very, very little money, but I'll be living in a cabin on the pond, and basically get all the fruits and veggies that I want. One or two others will be working there too, and there's another farm a few miles down the road that will have a few apprentices as well. The farm breeds horses (!!!), and has goats, sheep, pigs, a cow (that I will be milking), a bajillion chickens (that I will be slaughtering...), lots of veggies, and a few acres of strawberries and blueberries. They do a CSA and three farmer's markets, plus the husband brews beer and is a carpenter and the wife makes cheese. And I get to ride the horses, and learn how to drive them, through the part of Acadia National Park that the farm backs up to. Um, yeah, I'm pretty excited. I think people are getting sick of listening to me talk about it. People also think I'm insane. I have no idea how this will relate to the rest of my life but that's not really something I'm worried about.
In conjuntion with this, Cat is flying down to Texas at the end of May and we're doing the road trip thing back up to Maine, to visit Colby for Senior Week and graduation.
AND chorale will be here in less than a week and I get to see lots of wonderful people.
All really, really great things to look forward to.
I'm working/living on a farm in Gouldsboro (a tiny rural town a little northeast of Bar Harbor), Maine this summer. Mandala Farm, specifically. I make very, very little money, but I'll be living in a cabin on the pond, and basically get all the fruits and veggies that I want. One or two others will be working there too, and there's another farm a few miles down the road that will have a few apprentices as well. The farm breeds horses (!!!), and has goats, sheep, pigs, a cow (that I will be milking), a bajillion chickens (that I will be slaughtering...), lots of veggies, and a few acres of strawberries and blueberries. They do a CSA and three farmer's markets, plus the husband brews beer and is a carpenter and the wife makes cheese. And I get to ride the horses, and learn how to drive them, through the part of Acadia National Park that the farm backs up to. Um, yeah, I'm pretty excited. I think people are getting sick of listening to me talk about it. People also think I'm insane. I have no idea how this will relate to the rest of my life but that's not really something I'm worried about.
In conjuntion with this, Cat is flying down to Texas at the end of May and we're doing the road trip thing back up to Maine, to visit Colby for Senior Week and graduation.
AND chorale will be here in less than a week and I get to see lots of wonderful people.
All really, really great things to look forward to.
March 19, 2007
So, spring break.
Started off with a train strike, so we didn't get to Nice until Friday afternoon. Spent the night there, left early the next morning for Paris. Only managed to get on the train due to Erin sweet talking the train man to let us on, because according to the ticket man there were no more seats, even though in reality the train was half empty. Paris Sunday until Wednesday, consisted mostly of baguettes and crepes. Lots of crepes. Took the EuroStar to London on Wednesday night and stayed with Erin's friend. Intended to go to Dublin on Saturday, but skipped it because we had no money and no place to stay. Flew home Sunday, train back to Florence from Parma.
This is not a good description but rehashing it all seems like too large a task. Basically, we left our hostel/couch everyday around 8, walked around all day, and came home after midnight. Traveled a lot, saw a lot, ate a lot, did a lot, etc. I've never been so tired.
Started off with a train strike, so we didn't get to Nice until Friday afternoon. Spent the night there, left early the next morning for Paris. Only managed to get on the train due to Erin sweet talking the train man to let us on, because according to the ticket man there were no more seats, even though in reality the train was half empty. Paris Sunday until Wednesday, consisted mostly of baguettes and crepes. Lots of crepes. Took the EuroStar to London on Wednesday night and stayed with Erin's friend. Intended to go to Dublin on Saturday, but skipped it because we had no money and no place to stay. Flew home Sunday, train back to Florence from Parma.
This is not a good description but rehashing it all seems like too large a task. Basically, we left our hostel/couch everyday around 8, walked around all day, and came home after midnight. Traveled a lot, saw a lot, ate a lot, did a lot, etc. I've never been so tired.
March 07, 2007
March 05, 2007
March 03, 2007
Quickly, Pisa:
Okay.
So Cat and I went to Cinque Terre while she was here. Might be the most beautiful place I've ever been. It's these five tiny towns in a National Park on the Italian coast, with a trail that connects them all. According to the brochure at our hotel, the trail:
So. We left Thursday after I was finished with classes and showed up in Monterosso, the largest of the five, around 7. It was completely deserted (off-season) but we found an open hotel and got a room, and set off for dinner. We both got fish that had most likely been alive probably minutes before we ate it, and was served as a whole fish, scales and everything, which was both ify and amazing.
Next day we left Monterosso and took the train down to Riomaggiore (the last of the five). We set off to hike the trail, both wearing very (not) appropriate hiking clothes. The first stretch (Walk of Looove) was a very paved, very flat walk on the side of the cliff with gorgeous, gorgeous views. Second stretch was closed (avalanche) so we took the train to the next town and spent a good amount of time being lost, trying to find the trail, which we eventually found next to an abandoned looking farm with giant chickens. We thought that the whole trail was like the first part, which is why Cat was wearing a dress and we were both wearing flimsy, flimsy shoes, but turns out this two hour stretch involved some actual hiking hiking... lots and lots of up and down and sort of creepy houses tucked into the cliff, but still so pretty. And lots of wild cats, everywhere.
We eventually made it to Vernazza, where we stopped and proceeded to accidentally get drunk at lunch. Found the trail again, and managed in our tipsy states not to fall off the edge of the cliff. Another few hours through hillside gardens and more abandoned cottages and cats. We met a man in one such garden who sold us a bottle of limoncello. I told him I was from Texas and he got really excited, and asked if we knew where Chuck Norris lived. No, I don't. I then got his phone number so that I would text him my address, to which he would send something related to his friend Chuck Norris.
So, continuing, we made it back to Monterosso in time for drinks then dinner. Damn Italian wine is sneaky and I spent much of the 3 hour train ride back to Florence not completely sober.
I wish I was a better writer and could do this place justice; it really is absolutely beautiful. I took about 8 million pictures so I'll post some of those when I put them on my computer.
Okay.
So Cat and I went to Cinque Terre while she was here. Might be the most beautiful place I've ever been. It's these five tiny towns in a National Park on the Italian coast, with a trail that connects them all. According to the brochure at our hotel, the trail:
...connects all the villages of the Cinque Terre, it turns out to be the most frequented of the zone and the stretch Riomaggiore - Manarola is the famous Via Del'Amore. It takes 5 hours to walk down the whole path (even if it's possible to walk by stretchs), but the fatigue is repaid by unique views, characterized by a typical mediterranean background falling sheer to the sea, by the scents of plants and herbs, by steep cliffs, by the fascination of isolated inlets. An experience to be done with calm, not forgetting a halt in one of the villages for a typical bite drinking the local wine.
So. We left Thursday after I was finished with classes and showed up in Monterosso, the largest of the five, around 7. It was completely deserted (off-season) but we found an open hotel and got a room, and set off for dinner. We both got fish that had most likely been alive probably minutes before we ate it, and was served as a whole fish, scales and everything, which was both ify and amazing.
Next day we left Monterosso and took the train down to Riomaggiore (the last of the five). We set off to hike the trail, both wearing very (not) appropriate hiking clothes. The first stretch (Walk of Looove) was a very paved, very flat walk on the side of the cliff with gorgeous, gorgeous views. Second stretch was closed (avalanche) so we took the train to the next town and spent a good amount of time being lost, trying to find the trail, which we eventually found next to an abandoned looking farm with giant chickens. We thought that the whole trail was like the first part, which is why Cat was wearing a dress and we were both wearing flimsy, flimsy shoes, but turns out this two hour stretch involved some actual hiking hiking... lots and lots of up and down and sort of creepy houses tucked into the cliff, but still so pretty. And lots of wild cats, everywhere.
We eventually made it to Vernazza, where we stopped and proceeded to accidentally get drunk at lunch. Found the trail again, and managed in our tipsy states not to fall off the edge of the cliff. Another few hours through hillside gardens and more abandoned cottages and cats. We met a man in one such garden who sold us a bottle of limoncello. I told him I was from Texas and he got really excited, and asked if we knew where Chuck Norris lived. No, I don't. I then got his phone number so that I would text him my address, to which he would send something related to his friend Chuck Norris.
So, continuing, we made it back to Monterosso in time for drinks then dinner. Damn Italian wine is sneaky and I spent much of the 3 hour train ride back to Florence not completely sober.
I wish I was a better writer and could do this place justice; it really is absolutely beautiful. I took about 8 million pictures so I'll post some of those when I put them on my computer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)