Schönes Wochenende in Mailand.
AKA, I had a wonderful weekend in Milan (and Sondrio).
I got up at around 5 am on Thursday and showered finished packing, etc.
I hopped on the 6:16 bus to the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof.
I took a train to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof.
I took the subway to the Stuttgart Airport.
I took a plane to the Milano Malpensa airport.
I took a shuttle to the Milano main station.
I finally met up with Nicole, whom I haven't seen in way too long.
We took the subway to Nicole's apartment (which she shares with her roommate Veronica).
So, this is when the weekend really starts, I dropped off my stuff and we chilled out and talked to Veronica for a minute, we went and got calzones (so much better than the crap we call calzones in the states) with Spinach and Ricotta cheese, then we walked around browsing shops until we met with Davide and Valentina. We went and had coffee and talked for a while and Davide bought me some chocolate that you are supposedly supposed to buy for lovers... After that we walked around and looked at shops more and Davide got to be the official purse holder while Nicole tried on coats. We eventually cut this short so that Nicole and I could head home, maybe take a nap, have food, etc. First we went to the grocery store and bought food to eat while Davide and Valentina waited in the car, then we got dropped off and we made some food. Oh. I had already smoked hash once and then again before dinner... Anyway... I smoked a lot this weekend. I kind of lost count. Umm, we took a short nap and then changed slightly to go out to a bar. We went to one but saw that it was full, so we switched it up and went to Neverland (yep, Peter Pan themed). We had drinks and Nicole and I smoked again on the way there, in the back of Valentino's car. Valentino is Valentina's boyfriend. Yeah. So, let's see, it was me, Nicole, Davide, Alessandra, Val, and Val. We all sat around, had some drinks and talked a bunch. Valentino didn't speak any english, so I didn't really get to know him, although he was very friendly and we did the "rollercoaster" in his car. The rest all spoke English and Davide made it a point to be the translator a lot of times. It was pretty amusing because I always knew when he was going to translate something or speak to me because he would clear his throat and straighten his posture, and start with something like, "Okay..." Anyway, eventually we decided it was time to go and we had to all say goodbye, that would be the last time this weekend I would see any of them. Alessandra and I had exchanged e-mail addresses, or rather, she has mine. Davide had offered to show me around cities in Italy when I return. (It is a matter of WHEN and not if). Anyway, we were all leaving and I have now become less awkward with the hello - goodbye - kiss - kiss thing. Davide though, I don't know what was going on half the time, but anyway, he put his hands on my shoulder and started giving some speech about how he was leaving, but then Nicole said, "DAVIDE!" and it became a normal "Ciao" kiss - kiss - kiss. I don't know. At this point we were crazy tired and got back to the apartment and went to bed.
The next day we slept in a bit, had croissants and coffee for breakfast, and then went into the market and ended up just wandering, went to a bakery and I tried some sweet bread and some olive bread. The olive bread was sooooo good. So was the sweet bread though. So, then we went back to the apartment and got ready to go shopping. I bought a shirt for clubbing and Nicole bought the really cute jacket she had tried on the night before. We went into the Armani store and several other places, we went into the huge Cathedral, which was unfortunately being cleaned, so I didn't get the best view of the outside... but the inside was pretty too. Uhhh... so, yeah, we had also smoked a few times today, like before going to the market and before shopping, etc. So, we went back to the apartment and ordered pizzas and waited for Ana to arrive. Ana arrived shortly before the pizzas and we started to eat immediately. Okay, real Italian pizza, it was great. I had mine with artichoke and olives and mushrooms and some sort of ham... See, good thing I didn't commit to be a vegetarian, it would not have worked out so well this weekend... you'll understand later. Anyway, after the pizza (we smoked before and after) we got ready to go out. We also had wine. We all got ready and were looking good... (I promise I'll post some pictures soon) We didn't go to the club that was originally planned on because it was having some event that upped the price to the 20-30 euro range... right. We decided to go to Pow Wow which plays hip hop. We arrived and were smoking in the car... hahaha... trend? Oh. We ended up getting in without paying an entrance fee (normally 10 euro) and had only to buy one drink between the three of us. Anyway, we got in and we started dancing, but immediately we had guys like... circle around us like vultures. Creepy. We were just keeping to ourselves but they just kept pushing in and trying to dance on us and we tried to avoid it but really... No doesn't work. So, they formed a circle around us and kept grabbing our hands or waists and trying to dance with us, but we kept pulling away. They seriously followed us all over the dance floor. Eventually we fled the dance floor, tried going back for a bit, but then the club closed. We hadn't bought the drink by the time we had to leave so we went back in to buy the drink and it was in a plastic cup so we got to take it with us. Yeah... in a car. Crazy. Europe is so much more lax than the states. We went back to the apartment and smoked again before going to bed. This is the time when I will tell you that I spent most of the weekend listening to the music from Requiem for a Dream - a strange feeling really, to get high to that music, with all of its connotations, I felt like I was in a movie most of those first coupled days, probably because I was high most of the time... oh. We also listened to some song in Italian about smoking weed. Anyway, we went to bed finally and I got to fall asleep to the stars cast onto the wall and ceiling by a lantern and when the music was turned off I was finally able to fall asleep.
The next morning we got up and Anna left and Nicole and I got ready to take a train to Sondrio, to Nicole's parents' home. It is about 2 hours by train. We made it there and were picked up by her mom. We went to a grocery store and Nicole picked out a traditional Italian Christmas cake for me to take back with me. We went to her house, which was really nice, and there was a great view of the mountains (we were actually in Montagna di Sondrio, a small town in the mountains, only 30 minutes south of Switzerland). While we were waiting around and Nicole made some phone calls some cattle were herded through the streets with cowbells clanging, so quaint. Her mom then prepared a bit for us to eat, and when I say bit, I mean an entire meal. The stereotype is that Italians will just keep giving you food, really good food, well... it is absolutely true. We had a lunch that is more impressive than most of my dinners. I got to meet her family and Nicole and I chatted and stuff. Then we started getting ready because we were going to dinner at her Uncle's restaurant that night with her friend Corin. We met up with Corin at the restaurant and went in to have the largest and one of the best meals of my life. Nicole told me I had to have, this, this, and that, and I seriously thought I was going to explode. We had appetizers, a plate each, Corin and I each had a dish that had a little bit of a ton of things, including quiche, truffles, patte on toast, sushi, etc. All kinds of stuff, very good. We also had wine with dinner. We then got the next dish, I had a dish (can't remember the name, but it wasn't risotto) that was a sort of rice with mushrooms and cheese, and these little cooked cheese things that were amazing. Then we had some beef that was roasted on this wooden stake so you just eat it off of that. It was good, a little salty, and I had already eaten a ton so I couldn't finish ANYTHING. After that it was time for dessert and Corin got strawberries with cream, Nicole got sorbet made from a fruit that is nonexistent in the states, and I got crem brulee with berries. Soooo, yeah, insanely full and kind of disappointed that I had to send back dishes unfinished (I really wish I had it now, it was sooo good) we went to talk to her Aunt and Uncle before paying and leaving. Since they are family and Nicole works there, I imagine she got a great discount, but really, each part of the meal cost at least 8-10 euro. AT LEAST. Which means that my meal alone had to be at least 40 euro, not including the wine. That is retail value. Anyway, Nicole treated me, and we went to this pub to get drinks while we waited for Veronica (Nicole's roommate in Milan), Jom (Veronica's boyfriend), Motta (the guy Nicole has a crush on, and reasonably so), and Martina. We had some drinks and then said goodbye to Corin and met the others at the club we were to go to. We met up with them there and ended up smoking a bit, it was a big group so I only had a couple drags. We went inside and it wasn't very crowded but we stayed and decided to dance, have drinks, etc. We were having fun, it was kind of chill, and we kind of alternated between standing around and watching and talking and dancing. At some point, I was standing with Nicole and Motta and some guy just comes up besides me and says something in Italian. Oh, jeez. "I don's speak Italian." So, expecting that to end it, I was surprised to hear "Sprechen Sie deutsch?" "Ja, ich spreche deutsch." "Wie heisst du?" Anyway, this random italian man had picked me out of the crowd (I am guessing it was because I was the only blonde haired blue eyed albino in the place) and decided he really liked me. He asked me to go dance with him and I told him I was staying with my friend, he asked me if I had no desire to go (OBVIOUSLY NOT) and I said that was the case but he persisted. Eventually I ended up getting dragged down to the dance floor and tried to maintain some distance (german dancing must be rubbing off on me) but he kept pulling me to him and grabbing my hands, so finally I figured it wouldn't hurt to dance touching, but then he tried to kiss me. I turned my head. He tried again. He was just staring me in the face and it really creeped me out. So I said that I was looking for my friend but he wanted me to stay. I decided it would be fine, but then he just jabbed his alcohol saturated tongue into my mouth and just about gagged me with the wet, gross tongue fuck. Ugh. I pulled away and wiped my face (he just stuck his whole mouth on my face basically, rather repulsive, and he kept trying and I kept trying to pull away and then when I turned my head again he just hugged me and started kissing my shoulder and I pulled away and started trying to find Nicole but he followed and grabbed my hand, so then we were upstairs and he dragged me to some couch and I sat down for a minute but then he tried to kiss me again so I got up and eventually found Nicole again, at this point I was just playing some game of hide and seek, going behind Nicole and saying "No, no, no" or "Nein, nein, nein" (basically he didn't heed the word NO in at least 4 different languages (Spanish, Italian, English - no, German - nein). Eventually I ran and hid in the bathroom until Nicole came and found me, she said it was okay for me to come back and that he was gone. So, while in the bathroom I had been checking myself in the mirror, for lack of a better thing to do, and decided that I did look pretty damned good (aside from the pregnant belly look of eating mass quantities of food - slight exaggeration) but I also noticed that during one of Lorenzo's assaults I had managed to receive a small faint hickie. Ridiculous. I went back out and we were all dancing, but Lorenzo came back. Seriously? So, I said No and Nein several more times and just basically turned my back on him and ignored him despite sad puppy dog faces and pleading. He then proved to the world how drunk he was (I already knew because he was saturated with alcohol) by nearly falling and catching himself on a pole that held some structural purpose. Wow. I really attract winners. Anyway, we did some more dancing, kind of in our own little world, everyone was really nice, especially Motta, who made sure to keep me included. Of course Nicole was the best, but I had fun despite spending half of the night running away from my creepy stalker. After this we went out to where we had parked and smoked again and said our goodbyes "Ciao" - kiss - kiss. And Nicole and I headed back to her house and went to bed. I basically just passed out from exhaustion, luckily Nicole brought in hot water bags to sleep with, it is coldddddd in the mountains, and the little hot water bag kept my feet warm - really, all I need to sleep.
The next day I slept in ridiculously late because of my neuroses about sleeping at other people's houses and the lack of daylight. Soooo, the blinds and curtains made Nicole's room pitch black even into the afternoon, and I didn't see a clock (until I finally got up and was horrified - I can't even admit the time, it is too ridiculous), and I hate getting up at people's houses when they aren't immediately there. I just feel awkward getting up and having to greet someone's family when I am all sleep-eyed and incoherent and don't speak Italian anyway. Anyway, her mom reheated some lunch for me, so I had another dinner sized meal. After that we took Nicole's youngest sister Vittoria into town and went and looked around some shops, walked around, and then got some ice cream at the gelateria that Corin's boyfriend owns (or something like that). We got back and chilled out for a bit until dinner was ready, at which point I was hardly hungry, but once again there was tons of good food. Her mom is a great cook, and everything I ate the entire weekend was amazing. Anyway, we had a little bit of the ice cream after dinner and then I showered while Nicole went to visit her grandparents. While Nicole showered and checked mail I started playing with her little sister Vittoria, we played some little boardgame, but then she brought out this little children's puzzle of Italian words and started teaching me Italian. By the time Nicole got out of the shower I had done all the puzzles and her sister was making me spell things and say the alphabet to her. Then we drew some pictures before Nicole and I went to bed. We went to bed early because we had to get up at 4am. Yeah, early as hell. We didn't end up going to sleep until nearly midnight though because we had to have our girlie pillow talk. We talked about boys and how much trouble they are, and she has challenged me to go out to coffee with Antonio, although I have another challenge from another person to possibly make something happen with someone else entirely... Oi. Until I figure things out, I'll just play the field.
We got up at 4am. Ridiculous. We got ready, I got packed, I straightened Nicole's hair, I had tea and biscuits (cookies) - Nicole's mom was up too, so that she could drive us into town, Nicole also had to go early to be on the set for a commercial she had to help with for one of her classes - she is a film major). Anyway, here is the next long travel bit.
I took the train from Sondrio to Milano train station.
I took the shuttle from Milano train station to the airport.
I took the plane to Stuttgart airport.
I took the subway to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof.
I took the train to the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof.
I took the bus back home - I arrived at about 4:15. That makes almost 12 hours of traveling. Fun, eh?
I was planning on going to my two classes, but as my second of two classes is starting in 5 minutes, that obviously isn't going to happen. I am too tired and not in any state to be academic. Tomorrow I don't have class. Wednesday I don't have class until 4:30. This was basically a vacation, not a long weekend. Wow. Anyway, tomorrow I will be forcing myself to be productive. This includes room cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, homework, and I don't know what else I can think of to do to be productive, but I'll keep you filled in.
Well... longest entry ever... maybe not, but for a good while.
I got up at around 5 am on Thursday and showered finished packing, etc.
I hopped on the 6:16 bus to the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof.
I took a train to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof.
I took the subway to the Stuttgart Airport.
I took a plane to the Milano Malpensa airport.
I took a shuttle to the Milano main station.
I finally met up with Nicole, whom I haven't seen in way too long.
We took the subway to Nicole's apartment (which she shares with her roommate Veronica).
So, this is when the weekend really starts, I dropped off my stuff and we chilled out and talked to Veronica for a minute, we went and got calzones (so much better than the crap we call calzones in the states) with Spinach and Ricotta cheese, then we walked around browsing shops until we met with Davide and Valentina. We went and had coffee and talked for a while and Davide bought me some chocolate that you are supposedly supposed to buy for lovers... After that we walked around and looked at shops more and Davide got to be the official purse holder while Nicole tried on coats. We eventually cut this short so that Nicole and I could head home, maybe take a nap, have food, etc. First we went to the grocery store and bought food to eat while Davide and Valentina waited in the car, then we got dropped off and we made some food. Oh. I had already smoked hash once and then again before dinner... Anyway... I smoked a lot this weekend. I kind of lost count. Umm, we took a short nap and then changed slightly to go out to a bar. We went to one but saw that it was full, so we switched it up and went to Neverland (yep, Peter Pan themed). We had drinks and Nicole and I smoked again on the way there, in the back of Valentino's car. Valentino is Valentina's boyfriend. Yeah. So, let's see, it was me, Nicole, Davide, Alessandra, Val, and Val. We all sat around, had some drinks and talked a bunch. Valentino didn't speak any english, so I didn't really get to know him, although he was very friendly and we did the "rollercoaster" in his car. The rest all spoke English and Davide made it a point to be the translator a lot of times. It was pretty amusing because I always knew when he was going to translate something or speak to me because he would clear his throat and straighten his posture, and start with something like, "Okay..." Anyway, eventually we decided it was time to go and we had to all say goodbye, that would be the last time this weekend I would see any of them. Alessandra and I had exchanged e-mail addresses, or rather, she has mine. Davide had offered to show me around cities in Italy when I return. (It is a matter of WHEN and not if). Anyway, we were all leaving and I have now become less awkward with the hello - goodbye - kiss - kiss thing. Davide though, I don't know what was going on half the time, but anyway, he put his hands on my shoulder and started giving some speech about how he was leaving, but then Nicole said, "DAVIDE!" and it became a normal "Ciao" kiss - kiss - kiss. I don't know. At this point we were crazy tired and got back to the apartment and went to bed.
The next day we slept in a bit, had croissants and coffee for breakfast, and then went into the market and ended up just wandering, went to a bakery and I tried some sweet bread and some olive bread. The olive bread was sooooo good. So was the sweet bread though. So, then we went back to the apartment and got ready to go shopping. I bought a shirt for clubbing and Nicole bought the really cute jacket she had tried on the night before. We went into the Armani store and several other places, we went into the huge Cathedral, which was unfortunately being cleaned, so I didn't get the best view of the outside... but the inside was pretty too. Uhhh... so, yeah, we had also smoked a few times today, like before going to the market and before shopping, etc. So, we went back to the apartment and ordered pizzas and waited for Ana to arrive. Ana arrived shortly before the pizzas and we started to eat immediately. Okay, real Italian pizza, it was great. I had mine with artichoke and olives and mushrooms and some sort of ham... See, good thing I didn't commit to be a vegetarian, it would not have worked out so well this weekend... you'll understand later. Anyway, after the pizza (we smoked before and after) we got ready to go out. We also had wine. We all got ready and were looking good... (I promise I'll post some pictures soon) We didn't go to the club that was originally planned on because it was having some event that upped the price to the 20-30 euro range... right. We decided to go to Pow Wow which plays hip hop. We arrived and were smoking in the car... hahaha... trend? Oh. We ended up getting in without paying an entrance fee (normally 10 euro) and had only to buy one drink between the three of us. Anyway, we got in and we started dancing, but immediately we had guys like... circle around us like vultures. Creepy. We were just keeping to ourselves but they just kept pushing in and trying to dance on us and we tried to avoid it but really... No doesn't work. So, they formed a circle around us and kept grabbing our hands or waists and trying to dance with us, but we kept pulling away. They seriously followed us all over the dance floor. Eventually we fled the dance floor, tried going back for a bit, but then the club closed. We hadn't bought the drink by the time we had to leave so we went back in to buy the drink and it was in a plastic cup so we got to take it with us. Yeah... in a car. Crazy. Europe is so much more lax than the states. We went back to the apartment and smoked again before going to bed. This is the time when I will tell you that I spent most of the weekend listening to the music from Requiem for a Dream - a strange feeling really, to get high to that music, with all of its connotations, I felt like I was in a movie most of those first coupled days, probably because I was high most of the time... oh. We also listened to some song in Italian about smoking weed. Anyway, we went to bed finally and I got to fall asleep to the stars cast onto the wall and ceiling by a lantern and when the music was turned off I was finally able to fall asleep.
The next morning we got up and Anna left and Nicole and I got ready to take a train to Sondrio, to Nicole's parents' home. It is about 2 hours by train. We made it there and were picked up by her mom. We went to a grocery store and Nicole picked out a traditional Italian Christmas cake for me to take back with me. We went to her house, which was really nice, and there was a great view of the mountains (we were actually in Montagna di Sondrio, a small town in the mountains, only 30 minutes south of Switzerland). While we were waiting around and Nicole made some phone calls some cattle were herded through the streets with cowbells clanging, so quaint. Her mom then prepared a bit for us to eat, and when I say bit, I mean an entire meal. The stereotype is that Italians will just keep giving you food, really good food, well... it is absolutely true. We had a lunch that is more impressive than most of my dinners. I got to meet her family and Nicole and I chatted and stuff. Then we started getting ready because we were going to dinner at her Uncle's restaurant that night with her friend Corin. We met up with Corin at the restaurant and went in to have the largest and one of the best meals of my life. Nicole told me I had to have, this, this, and that, and I seriously thought I was going to explode. We had appetizers, a plate each, Corin and I each had a dish that had a little bit of a ton of things, including quiche, truffles, patte on toast, sushi, etc. All kinds of stuff, very good. We also had wine with dinner. We then got the next dish, I had a dish (can't remember the name, but it wasn't risotto) that was a sort of rice with mushrooms and cheese, and these little cooked cheese things that were amazing. Then we had some beef that was roasted on this wooden stake so you just eat it off of that. It was good, a little salty, and I had already eaten a ton so I couldn't finish ANYTHING. After that it was time for dessert and Corin got strawberries with cream, Nicole got sorbet made from a fruit that is nonexistent in the states, and I got crem brulee with berries. Soooo, yeah, insanely full and kind of disappointed that I had to send back dishes unfinished (I really wish I had it now, it was sooo good) we went to talk to her Aunt and Uncle before paying and leaving. Since they are family and Nicole works there, I imagine she got a great discount, but really, each part of the meal cost at least 8-10 euro. AT LEAST. Which means that my meal alone had to be at least 40 euro, not including the wine. That is retail value. Anyway, Nicole treated me, and we went to this pub to get drinks while we waited for Veronica (Nicole's roommate in Milan), Jom (Veronica's boyfriend), Motta (the guy Nicole has a crush on, and reasonably so), and Martina. We had some drinks and then said goodbye to Corin and met the others at the club we were to go to. We met up with them there and ended up smoking a bit, it was a big group so I only had a couple drags. We went inside and it wasn't very crowded but we stayed and decided to dance, have drinks, etc. We were having fun, it was kind of chill, and we kind of alternated between standing around and watching and talking and dancing. At some point, I was standing with Nicole and Motta and some guy just comes up besides me and says something in Italian. Oh, jeez. "I don's speak Italian." So, expecting that to end it, I was surprised to hear "Sprechen Sie deutsch?" "Ja, ich spreche deutsch." "Wie heisst du?" Anyway, this random italian man had picked me out of the crowd (I am guessing it was because I was the only blonde haired blue eyed albino in the place) and decided he really liked me. He asked me to go dance with him and I told him I was staying with my friend, he asked me if I had no desire to go (OBVIOUSLY NOT) and I said that was the case but he persisted. Eventually I ended up getting dragged down to the dance floor and tried to maintain some distance (german dancing must be rubbing off on me) but he kept pulling me to him and grabbing my hands, so finally I figured it wouldn't hurt to dance touching, but then he tried to kiss me. I turned my head. He tried again. He was just staring me in the face and it really creeped me out. So I said that I was looking for my friend but he wanted me to stay. I decided it would be fine, but then he just jabbed his alcohol saturated tongue into my mouth and just about gagged me with the wet, gross tongue fuck. Ugh. I pulled away and wiped my face (he just stuck his whole mouth on my face basically, rather repulsive, and he kept trying and I kept trying to pull away and then when I turned my head again he just hugged me and started kissing my shoulder and I pulled away and started trying to find Nicole but he followed and grabbed my hand, so then we were upstairs and he dragged me to some couch and I sat down for a minute but then he tried to kiss me again so I got up and eventually found Nicole again, at this point I was just playing some game of hide and seek, going behind Nicole and saying "No, no, no" or "Nein, nein, nein" (basically he didn't heed the word NO in at least 4 different languages (Spanish, Italian, English - no, German - nein). Eventually I ran and hid in the bathroom until Nicole came and found me, she said it was okay for me to come back and that he was gone. So, while in the bathroom I had been checking myself in the mirror, for lack of a better thing to do, and decided that I did look pretty damned good (aside from the pregnant belly look of eating mass quantities of food - slight exaggeration) but I also noticed that during one of Lorenzo's assaults I had managed to receive a small faint hickie. Ridiculous. I went back out and we were all dancing, but Lorenzo came back. Seriously? So, I said No and Nein several more times and just basically turned my back on him and ignored him despite sad puppy dog faces and pleading. He then proved to the world how drunk he was (I already knew because he was saturated with alcohol) by nearly falling and catching himself on a pole that held some structural purpose. Wow. I really attract winners. Anyway, we did some more dancing, kind of in our own little world, everyone was really nice, especially Motta, who made sure to keep me included. Of course Nicole was the best, but I had fun despite spending half of the night running away from my creepy stalker. After this we went out to where we had parked and smoked again and said our goodbyes "Ciao" - kiss - kiss. And Nicole and I headed back to her house and went to bed. I basically just passed out from exhaustion, luckily Nicole brought in hot water bags to sleep with, it is coldddddd in the mountains, and the little hot water bag kept my feet warm - really, all I need to sleep.
The next day I slept in ridiculously late because of my neuroses about sleeping at other people's houses and the lack of daylight. Soooo, the blinds and curtains made Nicole's room pitch black even into the afternoon, and I didn't see a clock (until I finally got up and was horrified - I can't even admit the time, it is too ridiculous), and I hate getting up at people's houses when they aren't immediately there. I just feel awkward getting up and having to greet someone's family when I am all sleep-eyed and incoherent and don't speak Italian anyway. Anyway, her mom reheated some lunch for me, so I had another dinner sized meal. After that we took Nicole's youngest sister Vittoria into town and went and looked around some shops, walked around, and then got some ice cream at the gelateria that Corin's boyfriend owns (or something like that). We got back and chilled out for a bit until dinner was ready, at which point I was hardly hungry, but once again there was tons of good food. Her mom is a great cook, and everything I ate the entire weekend was amazing. Anyway, we had a little bit of the ice cream after dinner and then I showered while Nicole went to visit her grandparents. While Nicole showered and checked mail I started playing with her little sister Vittoria, we played some little boardgame, but then she brought out this little children's puzzle of Italian words and started teaching me Italian. By the time Nicole got out of the shower I had done all the puzzles and her sister was making me spell things and say the alphabet to her. Then we drew some pictures before Nicole and I went to bed. We went to bed early because we had to get up at 4am. Yeah, early as hell. We didn't end up going to sleep until nearly midnight though because we had to have our girlie pillow talk. We talked about boys and how much trouble they are, and she has challenged me to go out to coffee with Antonio, although I have another challenge from another person to possibly make something happen with someone else entirely... Oi. Until I figure things out, I'll just play the field.
We got up at 4am. Ridiculous. We got ready, I got packed, I straightened Nicole's hair, I had tea and biscuits (cookies) - Nicole's mom was up too, so that she could drive us into town, Nicole also had to go early to be on the set for a commercial she had to help with for one of her classes - she is a film major). Anyway, here is the next long travel bit.
I took the train from Sondrio to Milano train station.
I took the shuttle from Milano train station to the airport.
I took the plane to Stuttgart airport.
I took the subway to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof.
I took the train to the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof.
I took the bus back home - I arrived at about 4:15. That makes almost 12 hours of traveling. Fun, eh?
I was planning on going to my two classes, but as my second of two classes is starting in 5 minutes, that obviously isn't going to happen. I am too tired and not in any state to be academic. Tomorrow I don't have class. Wednesday I don't have class until 4:30. This was basically a vacation, not a long weekend. Wow. Anyway, tomorrow I will be forcing myself to be productive. This includes room cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, homework, and I don't know what else I can think of to do to be productive, but I'll keep you filled in.
Well... longest entry ever... maybe not, but for a good while.