Tuscany (weekend with Andrea)

May 1st was a holiday here in Italy. It is worker's holiday, basically Labor Day, and since it fell on a Thursday this year the Italians have a ponte (bridge), meaning that Friday is also considered a holiday. So basically Italian's had a four day weekend and it was a time to travel. It was estimated that there would be 12 million more cars on the roads this weekend. Anyway, Andrea and I had the opportunity to go to Tuscany.

We stayed in an apartment of one of his friends, so everything was free and it was really nice. We left early Friday morning (because he had to study on Thursday) and took the scenic route (due to the GPS) to Tuscany. It took us about 6 hours, including about an hour for lunch. We had lunch at a small restaurant on the hill and it had a gorgeous view of the lake:

Then we arrived at the apartment, and rested for the afternoon.

It is a very nice place with a pool overlooking the hills of Tuscany:

..and olive trees outside our window:

That night we went to Pienza for dinner and drinks and to walk around a little before returning for the night.

Saturday, we spent the day laying out by the pool, and went someplace close for lunch. Andrea went swimming in the morning, but the pool was not heated and I had to look somewhat presentable for lunch so I waited until the afternoon. It was pretty cold but not too bad after like 5 minutes. Then in the afternoon we got ready to drive out to Montelcino, which is a really cute town up on a hill (of course) and we had dinner in a very cute local restaurant where the owner was the waitress and she forced me to try red wine because I was in Italy. This is our dinners:

Andrea got a giant Fiorentina steak and I had ravioli (among other things) that came in a very small dish compared to his. It was a very nice night and after dinner we walked around town for a little bit, before going back to the apartment to hang out with some friends for awhile.

Sunday, we got up and got all of our stuff together to head out to Monticchiello for lunch. We ate at another cute little place and the outside patio had some great views. We walked around that town after lunch and then went back to the center of Monepulciano, which is where we were staying but we had not yet gone into the center. We walked up the hills, had some gelato, sat at a cafe overlooking the great landscape (it had one private balcony table, which was occupied but it was still pretty cool).

me at La Porta in Monticchielo

us on the terrace of La Porta

view from Cafe balcony

sunset from Monepulciano

Then we got in the car and headed home to Montebelluna, only to be welcomed by a downpour of rain all night and the next day. However, today is beautiful and 73 degrees!! :)

It was a wonderful weekend and I wish every weekend could be like it. I am pretty lucky though because the next few weekends are pretty exciting. Yvonne comes in less than two days, and we are going to Dublin, Ireland this weekend. Then next weekend we will be going to Venice together until she leaves. The next weekend I am taking Andrea to Lake Garda for his birthday. It is a very exciting next few weeks :)

Sunday at the Beach

Sunday, Andrea and I went to Jesolo. We got a late start because we weren't sure if I had to work or not, so we didn't get there until around 4 but it was such a beautiful day that it didn't matter. We met up with another couple there and hung out with them for about two hours and then they left and we stayed until the sunset, and then went out to dinner. It was such a nice day and we can't wait to go back another time and stay for the whole day. :)

It also made me really excited for Tuscany this weekend. We are going to a friend of Andrea's house in Montepulciano, which is in the Siena provence. We are leaving early Friday morning and staying until Sunday night. I am really excited!! :)

Mini Golf, Homesickness, New Car, etc.

Last Sunday was a pretty nice day so Andrea and I went mini golfing with a few of his friends. When we eventually got there (things take a long time to get going when dealing with seven guys), we had a really good time. I lost (of course) terribly, but to my credit I was the only girl. Even though I know I suck in groups of girls as well, but hey at least I have fun doing it! Then we went out to dinner together and then to the Montebelluna movie theater (which is so small and was so empty that we got to have our own private movie veiwing!) It was a really fun day.

However, despite all the fun I have been having lately, I have also been a little sad. I am not really sure why all of this is coming up now but it is just getting really hard to be gone for so long, and I am going through another homesick phase. Also, one of my American friends here is leaving to go home next week and I think that has a lot to do with it because I am finding myself jealous. Don't get me wrong, I am having an awesome time here, but there are just still some sad feelings about home and being so far away. Mostly I miss my family but I also am really missing a lot of the conveniences and things that I am used to about America. It's nothing too big or anything that has gotten in the way of my life here or anything but just a thought and a phase that I hope will be over soon.

But Yvonne is coming and I am really excited to finally have another visitor!! It will be really nice to have her here and she is coming for ten days so there is a lot that we can do together (though we haven't planned anything yet). She is arriving two weeks from tomorrow!! :)

Lastly, on a very good note, Andrea finally got his new car!!!! He ordered it right around the time that I got back from America (beginning of January) and has been put off countless times as to when he would finally get it. It arrived yesterday and it is really cool. It is a dark gray Toyota Auris and it has GPS and everything which is really cool. I just get excited about new things in general and it is making me excited to get my new car this fall. Anyway, he is finally happy that it is here and for that I am happy. Now we can enjoy it together! :) (even though he will do anything to aviod getting it dirty or "hurt" for awhile...haha)

Sunday Adventure

After having lunch with Andrea, Manuela, and their family, Andrea and I decided to go for a drive. There were some places nearby that he wanted to show me so we headed out there.

First, we went up what I will call the Valdobbiadene hills. Valdobbiadene is where he works at the wine factory and it is all a major producer of all kinds of wine. The hills are where all of the vineyard for all of these wine factories are. The view looks very similar to that of Tuscany, and it is a very cool drive. We saw the Mionetto (the wine factory where he works) vineyard and many more. It is beautiful up there and only about twenty minutes from my house.

Then we went on to find a small little lake nearby. It was sunny out (even though it was supposed to rain) so we took a walk around the lake which was very nice and relaxing. There was hardly anyone else around so it was nice and quiet, actually pretty much the whole day we were almost all alone.

Next, we decided to start driving up the mountain nearby, thinking we wouldn't be able to go very far up. Well about an hour and some amazing views later, we were at the very top, which was a mile high and zero degrees celcius (32 degrees farenheit aka freezing) and covered in SNOW!!! It was awesome up there and we spent a lot of time walking and driving around.

Finally, we made it back down the mountain and found a cool restaurant for dinner. It really was a spectacular and amazing day!

Things I Do For Some Sun- Spring in Italy

Ok, now let me explain. Yes, that is my bed/couch/futon making its way out of my door. A friend and I were trying to figure out a way for me to "lay out" on my small little terrace and she jokingly mentioned me putting the futon out there. Well I took it seriously and decided to try it. I haven't actually tested it out yet but it seems to fit out there pretty perfectly so that's a first step a least.

Now, the second thing I wanted to mention is really the reason why I have to go to such measures to get some sun, even though I have a perfectly good park right downstairs and across the street from me. I have decided so far that Spring in Italy, or at least Montebelluna, is depressing. It is been upwards of 60 - 70 degrees and sunny for at least four or five days now and everyone is still wearing the exact same clothes they were wearing last week and all winter. As I was sitting out reading, I watched all the high school kids walk under me and every single one of them had a winter jacket on. It is 60 degrees out!! I understand everyone doesn't wear flip flops and tank tops in 60 degree weather like I do, but at least a little change would be nice. I know that in this weather at Villanova, people would be in bathing suits on Sheehan Beach. Makes me a little sad, but not really at all. Then I realize that I am in Italy and never have to go a class or study again in my life!!

Needless to say I don't really feel comfortable bringing a blanket over to the park and laying out quite yet. I get enough looks and stares just walking down the street so I am trying to avoid that one for a little bit. This is one aspect of "when in Rome" that my body won't let me abide by, but at least I will try to spare the people of Monebelluna the shock for a few more weeks, except for the ones walking under my terrace seeing me sunbathing on a futon, but oh well. You do what you gotta do!

So after lunch and trying out the futon, I decided it would be more useful and comfortable to turn it around to face the inside of the house. This way I could get more sun too.

Of course within ten minutes of getting comfortable and resuming finishing my book, this cloud appeared over my head.

It is so giant that I don't think we will see then sun for the rest of the afternoon. It figures with my luck! Oh well, at least I know how to do it quickly now for the next time!

...and now it's raining... What a day!! It was actually a pretty weird day because the book that I just finished was about a family who sold their house and possessions to travel the world with their three kids. As I am reading all about their experiences, I have been spending all day posting my stupid little experiences on my year off. Corny, I know, but pretty cool.

30 Before 30

One of my blogger friends did this awhile ago and it got me thinking about doing one myself. I have finally gotten around to it and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. So here is my list of the 30 things I would like to do before I turn 30.

1. Get married

2. Have kids (I hope to have at least one or two by the time I'm 30)

3. Become fluent in Italian and practice to keep it!!

4. Buy (or lease) a car (this, number 5, and 6 should be done by the end of 2008)

5. Move out of parents' house

6. Start a nursing job

7. Decide where to settle to live, work, and have a family

8. Settle there!

9.Continue and fill recipe book, attempting all recipes

10. Become knowledgeable and comfortable in the kitchen

11. Travel to Canada

12. Take an RV trip across America

13. Travel to Australia

14. Travel Europe (hopefully a good portion will be covered by the end of this year)

15. Join social networks (nurses, book clubs, friends groups, etc.)

16. Become a "Big Sister"

17. "Adopt" a child or family in poor country

18. Become a pen pal (snail mail and/or email)

19. Volunteer (more Habitat for Humanity, orphanages, hospitals, etc.)

20. Subscribe to a magazine in Italian (if possible, even online) to practice

21. Buy a house with husband

22. Furnish and "fix" the house how we want it

23. Organize all Italy photos, memorabilia, etc. into picture albums and scrapbooks well documenting my year abroad

24. Get to and maintain my ideal wieght ( my goal is to have this done by Kristen's wedding, September of 2009)

25. Continue to live with no regrets. If there is something I really want to do, make it happen.

26. Maintian contact with old friends that may not live close by

27. Go on a cruise

28. Travel (even little trips) as much as possible

29. After moving out, make a point to talk to my parents and brothers at least once a week.

30. Live a happy, content life. I try to spend everyday in the best way possible. This includes loving my job just as much when I am 30 as I do now in looking forward to starting one.

Artwork and Cousins

Ok, so most of these are from my birthday so this is very late but that seems to be the theme of this year so it works! I have recieved some artwork from my little cousins for my birthday, valetnines day, etc and I had a wall of my room that was pretty empty. They are from Stella (7), Luisa (4), and Sadie (5) (and one from my uncle Anthony). So I had the idea to put up all of the artwork. Here is the result:

Now that I have a wall(s), more like a corner dedicated to children's artwork, I encourage more to come!!! They can be sent to:

Ryan Nestler

c/o Manuela Zanin

via Regina Cornaro 9
31044 Montebelluna, Italy

Thanks so much girls and keep 'em coming!! :)