The Quest for Internet
The best way I can describe my first night in Italy is to say it was like Christmas Morning... three times over.
After safely arriving in Pisa and a hair-raising drive up into the moutains we found ourselves welcomed home with a 'light' dinner of bread, soup and quiche (and wine!) I staggered up to bed and fell asleep, only to wake around three in the morning. After using the house's only bathroom (bagni, over here) I attemped to go back to sleep using my time-tested method of lying very still with my eyes closed and thinking calming thoughts.
This didn't work: basically as soon as I would begin to relax it would hit me that I'm in Italy! I'm in ITALY! and oh, wide awake again.
It wasn't until it was just beginning to grow light outside that I gave it up... and promptly fell asleep.
The house is amazing: a big rambling, creaking villa with a courtyard, basement, AND attic, I felt like the girls from My Neighbor Totoro exploring their new house. So far, no Totoros or dustbunnies, but I did meet a beautiful garden snake.
Paintings most certainly will ensue.
Today was my first time on a road bike--definitely something to get used to. We went riding through the beautiful mountain countryside, through tall towns with tiny streets and (we left the bikes behind for this bit)across a foot suspension bridge.
Bicycling is very different in this area (rural Tuscany); the cars are much smaller, and tend to treat bicycles as equals on the road, rather than targets. It makes me more certain than ever that most of the dangers associated with biking in the States is entirely the fault of the drivers.
I am still a little behind the time, brain wise, and will probably sleep well tonight. I hope.
Because tomorrow will be Christmas again.
Internet is a little hard to come by out here, so I won't be able to update as often as I would like. Currently I am renting bandwidth at a smoky little internet spot in Bagni di Lucca, typing on an Italian keyboard--which has some key differences which prevents me from touch-typing as I usually do: If I didnàt my sentances would end up looking more like this. It is also difficult using ?quotation marks? and finding the £ sign. I mean the @ sign. Yeah.
Til I see you later,
Ciao!
After safely arriving in Pisa and a hair-raising drive up into the moutains we found ourselves welcomed home with a 'light' dinner of bread, soup and quiche (and wine!) I staggered up to bed and fell asleep, only to wake around three in the morning. After using the house's only bathroom (bagni, over here) I attemped to go back to sleep using my time-tested method of lying very still with my eyes closed and thinking calming thoughts.
This didn't work: basically as soon as I would begin to relax it would hit me that I'm in Italy! I'm in ITALY! and oh, wide awake again.
It wasn't until it was just beginning to grow light outside that I gave it up... and promptly fell asleep.
The house is amazing: a big rambling, creaking villa with a courtyard, basement, AND attic, I felt like the girls from My Neighbor Totoro exploring their new house. So far, no Totoros or dustbunnies, but I did meet a beautiful garden snake.
Paintings most certainly will ensue.
Today was my first time on a road bike--definitely something to get used to. We went riding through the beautiful mountain countryside, through tall towns with tiny streets and (we left the bikes behind for this bit)across a foot suspension bridge.
Bicycling is very different in this area (rural Tuscany); the cars are much smaller, and tend to treat bicycles as equals on the road, rather than targets. It makes me more certain than ever that most of the dangers associated with biking in the States is entirely the fault of the drivers.
I am still a little behind the time, brain wise, and will probably sleep well tonight. I hope.
Because tomorrow will be Christmas again.
Internet is a little hard to come by out here, so I won't be able to update as often as I would like. Currently I am renting bandwidth at a smoky little internet spot in Bagni di Lucca, typing on an Italian keyboard--which has some key differences which prevents me from touch-typing as I usually do: If I didnàt my sentances would end up looking more like this. It is also difficult using ?quotation marks? and finding the £ sign. I mean the @ sign. Yeah.
Til I see you later,
Ciao!