Family Affair!!

My last two days at the farm were pretty chill. The day after I went on the horses, I went down to the town again to call my sister. On the way to the town I got up the courage to run through the corn field...even though it was just a quick run in and run out(I didn't have enough time to ask God to make me a bird, so I can fly far, far far away from here). Anyway, as I spoke with my sister, I decided to go back up north to her house instead of going to Rome because my brother had leave and was at her house. I had not seen my brother in almost two years (since he left for Japan on orders). So I knew that as soon as I got back to the farm I would have to make plans so that I could get there. I had previously told my brother that I wouldnt be able to make it so I was going to surprise him and just show up.

In the afternoon I had my cooking class in which I learned how to make pasta. When I was in Florence I was going to take a class but saw that they offered it at the farm so decided against it. Looking back I wish I would have taken the one in Florence. Not that I didnt enjoy and learn from the one on the farm, just because I thought it would have involved more. When we went into the kitchen, Maria (the owner of the farm) measured out about a cup of flour and another powder something and put it in a little pile in front of each of us students. She then gave us an egg and instructed us to crack it into the pile and mix them together with our fingers and add flour as needed. We then kneaded the dough for a while (she said, the more the better). Next we rolled it out into a circle that was really thin and then she had us cut the strips. That was pretty much it for the pasta and then we made a really simple sauce for it and the class was over after sharing some lemoncello. (The other class I would have taken would have had 3 courses and then dessert). It was a really good experience and now I know how to make pasta!

The following day I didnt feel well at all so I just took it easy and read a book most of the day. In the afternoon some of the guests were going to a nearby lake so I decided to go along with them. It was pretty relaxing and we went on a paddle boat around the lake for a half hour. The rest of that day I just chilled out and got to know some people that were guests at the farm as well.

My last day at the farm I woke up early and had breakfast and then I had to get ready to head up north. It took me 2 days, 1 bus, and 4 trains later I arrived in Mons. The good thing for me was that I had a long enough stop-over in Rome that I could take my shoe picture next to the Colosseum.

I was probably more excited to get to my sisters house than I was to see anything else on the trip. And when I walked upstairs and into my brother's room, he looked at me with surprise and happiness and at that moment it was all worth it!

I have spent the last three days at my sister's house with my brother and uncle and it has been really fun going down memory lane and just being the three of us again. It seems like we had been around each other the whole time because we interact with each other the same as we always have. My brother is still his tough, annoying yet sweet self. My sister is still her corny and emotional big sister-trying-to-be self. And I am still my know-it-all, silly, relaxed self. Its just really cool to be together again. Aaaaaannnnnd, starting tomorrow, I will be on my other leg of my adventure in which I will get to meet a whole other side of my family and have more laughs and good times!

Call Me Farmer Apes

This morning when I woke up, I had expected to go on the horseback riding trip I had signed up for on the previous day but found out that we weren't going until the afternoon. So just as I was about to go lay back down or grab some breakfast, one of the volunteers walks by with a pot and says "we are going to kill a chicken, wanna watch?" Of course I did! Sure enough the owner of the farm but two chickens' neck and we watched them flop around for a few minutes until they fell lifeless. As sick as it is, it was a little bit funny to watch (sorry chickens). The guy then put them in boiling water to loosen the skin and had the volunteers start to take the feathers off. They asked if I wanted to get in on the action and of course I did. I'm normally an 'increase the peace' kind of person and wouldn't have watched or participated in killing an animal but I thought, when in Rome...or I guess in Sora, do as the Sorans.

After the chicken adventure I had breakfast and was able to talk to a couple who were French but living in Germany. Again, it was really awesome being able to talk to people from around the world and finding out how similar people really are.

I decided to walk down to Sora so that I could call my mom and buy some bug spray. It was about an hour walk which was cool going down but *heck* coming back up! On the way I saw more farms with grapes and olives and apples and even with corn fields which I promised myself I would run through one of them before I leave. (Ever since watching Forrest Gump, I've always wanted to run and then pray in a corn field...don't judge me).

When I got back it was about time to go to the horses!! When we got to the ranch and they were getting the horses ready, I really connected with this one particular horse and wanted to ride her but instead rode a different one. It was kind of funny because on of the girls in the group started to get terrified once she was on the horse and we thought she wouldn't go through with it but she was a trooper. We rode off of the rance property along this really pebbly road and then into the river! We were deep enough that my feet and ankles got wet. By the way this was first time riding a horse (besides I think when I was a young kid one time) so that made it a little bit scary. Overall, the ride was amazing, we had beautiful views of mountains and trees and the river. The horses kept trying to eat the plants and trees but the leader would yell at us in Italian telling us to direct them away from the trees so that they would keep walking and not stop.

After we got back I read and did some planning and then I got into one of the hammocks and just swayed with the breeze and listened to my music as the sun was setting...the perfect afternoon.

City Girl on the Farm

Even though I am covered in mosquito bites and scratching non-stop, I am having the best time since I've been in Europe! I am currently at an Italian oraganic farm that also rents out rooms, dorm beds and camping space. Being the adventurer that I am, I opted to spend the week camping in Italy! My tent is no where near like the one I use for camping back home, it is HUGE and camouflage and very dark inside because the rain cover always stays on. It is tucked nicely under apple and pear trees on the farm.

Let me back up to when I first got here. The farm is on a hill close to a National Park and close to a town called Sora. Because it is too far to walk with a big backpack, I was picked up by one of the staff at the bus station in Sora and taken to the farm. Upon arriving I was greeted with bread, olive oil and fresh tomato along with a glass of wine (all made fresh at the farm). I was also given a few plums plucked straight from off one of the trees! Talk about hospitality. Then I was shown the dorm and the tent and decided that I wanted to go ahead and camp for my stay.

After I got my tent settled in, I walked down to the creek near by and on the way saw some of the animals (sheep, a few goats, a horse and the donkey). I was a tiny bit scared at first but they didnt seem to notice me much so I much better walking across the pen-area.

A couple of hours later dinner time. Having dinner here felt like being at home in a way. The food was simple but extrodinary; the pasta was made fresh that day, the vegetables were picked from the farden that afternoon and the cheese was made by the local shepherd that morning! I don't really have that discriminating of a palate but I most certainly could tell the difference in the fresh fresh ingredients. Not only was the meal delicious, but the company made the experience great as well. The people that own the farm are an older Italian couple and their son is the one who mainly runs the business part of it. There were HelpX volunteers (look it up on google) who assisted with making the meal and also ate with us and then there were the rest of the guests coming from all different parts of the world. Overall there were prbably about 5 or so languages being spoken at the table! We all just ate and got into different discussions ranging from dogs to politics. It was the Italian experience I had been waiting for (however corny that may sound).

After dinner I turned in for the night and though it took me a little while to fall asleep (because of the hard ground) I actually slept pretty well!

Under the Tuscan Sun....and Rain!

I have been in Florence for five days now and I have to say, I kind of bored. This city was not as filled with things to see and adventures as I had expected, I think perhaps only 2 or 3 days here would have been sufficient. Don't get me wrong, this city is very charming and full of art and culture! In fact, even my hostel is covered with frescos painted by art students on the first floor and random grafiti/art by guests everywhere else. You can see pictures and quotes left by people from all over the world! Some of them are funny, some are creative, some just say who was there and when and some of them are complete nonsense (one says: if you want to be Homer Junior, then the kids will call you HoJu). All in all they add to the young traveler/backpacker feel.

On the second day that I was here, I took the tour that the hostel has and was able to see and learn a lot about Florence. We saw a few churches including the Duomo (cathedral) and Baptistry which were beautiful! We also saw the home of Dante (the guy who wrote the Divine Comedy which includes The Inferno; he was like the Shakespeare of the Italian language) and tons of art around the different squares and churches and even on the streets. I got to see a copy of the famous David by Michelangelo in the original location of the first one (which is now in a museum).

Speaking of art, I also got to visit the Uffizi museum which has tons of Renaissance paintings and sculptures. Even though like I said before, I'm not really that big of an art person, it was still pretty cool to see some of the works that I had studies in some of my classes.

Yesterday I decided to take a day trip to Pisa, which is really close to Florence, to check out all of this fuss about a leaning tower. Sure enough, that lil guy looked like it was just about ready to topple over! Buuut, it was a lot smaller than it appears in all of the pictures I have seen. I think even more interesting to look at than the tower itself, was the masses of people with their arms held randomly in the air posing for those *I'm holding up the leaning tower* pictures. Now that was priceless! While I was there I also got to see the remains of the wall that was built around the city in Midevil times aaaaaannnd the remains of an ancient Roman Bath.

Besides doing those few things, I've been mainly just walking around and around the city enjoying the Tuscan vibe and weather (which is sun shiney most of the time but randomly just started pouring rain a few times). I have also gotten a chance to enjoy some gellato! I had chocolate and banana, banana and strawberry and (by the suggestion of the lady working at a shop) mixed berry with cookie flavor which was my favorite so far.

I just have one more full day here and then off to my farm adventure which you will hear more about later!

Ciao Bella!

So what exactly do you do in paradise? I suppose you lay down and listen to the water crashing against the shore while getting tan...well thats what I did for those four amazing days in Lago di Garda.

When I got to Milan a few nights ago it was already late (about 10pm when I left the train station) so I was going to head straight to the hostel I wanted to stay in. Only the directions given were very vague so I ended up in a different part of Milan. So even though, I'm already on a VERY tight budget and even though overnighting in Milan already was going to cost me more than I budgeted for, I took a 17.90euro cab to get to the hostel (that could have been like 20 bagettes). Once I got there, the owner was very nice and thankfully he had a bed available!

The next morning I was back on track, heading to Lake Garda! I had to take a bus from Verona to Riva del Garda (the town at the northern most part of the lake) and the view was amazing from the bus. The town did not disappoint either. It is surrounded my mountains and had tons of little Italian looking buildings all along the shore.

I spent 3 of the 4 days pretty much just looking at the shops and hanging out by the river. I was really excited because I got the most amazing tan and my legs actually matched the color of my face and arms!!! I also got to swim in the lake which was a little bit scary but refreshing. The only problem was that the bottom was little rocks instead of sand like Im used to so my feet took a little time to get used to it.

The other day I spent hiking. I did one hike to an old fort called Bastione and then I walked across the town and hiked up one of the mountains on the side of the town. The views from up there were breath-taking and I tried to capture it on camera but just didnt do it justice. I wish I could bottle up Riva del Garda and bring some of it back home...oh well.

Because I had to overnight in Milan, I had to sacrifice taking a wind-surfing lesson on the lake which I really wanted to do. For those of you who dont know, it's when you stand on a surf board that has a sail and you basically use the wind to move across the water. Next time I am there, I will for sure go!

Speaking of things I promise I will do while in Riva, I saw the most courageous woman ever. Ok so on my last night there I went out by the shore and just sat there thinking and soaking it all in. And while I was sitting there this couple walked up and I just figured they were walking on the beach. When I looked up I saw that the woman (who by the way was at least late 60s/early 70s and about 50ish lbs bigger than me) had taken off her dress and was in her underwear walking toward the water. Now mind you, the water is about 60/65degrees in the middle of the day and this was about 10pm. She sure enough got in and stayed for a while then got back out put on her dress and she and her (Im guessing) husband walked away. I mean I know the water wasnt freezing but it was definately really cold. So, the next time Im in Riva I will take a midnight swim in the river in only my skivies (i think thats how you spell it lol).

After those wonderful days I made my way to Florence which is where I am now. On the way I passed through Bologna...hahhahahahaha thats bolony...I know....get it? *crickets* Anyway, I havent done much here yet but I think there is a small day trip in my future. We'll see!