Sunny Days, Surprise Parties & Football Matches

The past few days haven't been very exciting.  I have mostly just been preparing for Mama, Bear, & Olivia to come visit.  Also I have been sitting outside every day with my friend Angelina. The weather here is becoming really nice.  We just sit outside at the bench and table for about an hour everyday.  I think it is perfect weather out for shorts and a tshirt but these crazy Italians do not agree.  Today I wore a skirt, tshirt, and sandals and the people looked at me like a freak.  It is about 70 degrees out and they are wearing cold weather winter snow coats.  They are nuts! The most exciting thing I have done this week is go to a surprise birthday party.  Eleni, one of my Greek friends, had a birthday this week so we threw a party for her at a bar we frequent quite often.  There were about fifteen of us there.  The bar has a downstairs area underground so we all hid there.  It was fun.  Also I finally had a margarita here since I am going through margarita withdraw.  Definitely not as good as Ponce's though.  I miss Ponce's soooooooooo much.  Burritos & Margaritas.  I would kill for them right now! But the rest of the party was nice.  Other than that nothing to exciting.  Today I went to the big store Bennet.  It is kind of like a Walmart.  I went to go look for an air mattress for when I have visitors but I guess Italians don't understand the concept of an air mattress.  Their "air mattress" is actually the size of a crib mattress.  Not portable AT ALL.  It is in a huge box and does not compact.  I have no clue who decided to call this thing an air mattress but it is definitely not an air mattress.  After going to Bennet I went to eat at the mensa.  I had a pizza.  That is one thing that is nice about the mensa.  They will make you a fresh pizza with grilled vegetables.  They roll out the dough in front of you and everything.  After the mensa  I got to experience watching real Italian "football" (soccer) game.  There was a big game Milano vs.  Barcelona.  It was more entertaining to be around the viewers than to watch the actual game.  A bunch of crazy Italians/other exchange students screaming at the t.v.  See in Italy, many, many people bet on soccer therefore they have more at stake than pure pleasure of watching their favorite team play.  Thus every moment of the soccer game counts.  Anyways, it was entertaining watching everyone scream at the tv like crazy people.  Now I will go to bed because tomorrow I am going to Brescia!  I am going there because my friend is picking up a car for business and I get to drive the car back.  I am sooooo excitied to drive.  I am going to drive some sort of Audi on a drive about the same distance as San Diego to L.A.  Can't wait!!!!

Principessa Kellie

This week I was Princess Kellie for sure.  I had a very funny evening.  I don't think I have laughed so much in a very long time.  Earlier this week I finally went to the Lebanese restaurant that I have been wanting to go to for two weeks.  It was awesome!! Yet it was funny at the same time because  Ali and I were the only people in the entire restaurant.  Seeing that I am American,  I like to eat dinner at a reasonable hour, say 7 or so.  Thus, there was no problem getting a table at the restaurant because I am one of the only ones in Italy that actually eats at 7.  We were joking the whole time we were in the restaurant that we were to loud and disturbing all of the other paying customers.   The nice thing about going to a Lebanese restaurant with a Lebanese person is you get the special treatment.  Meaning,  they bring you all the best things and they don't charge you for everything.  Princess moment number #1.  Anyways after dinner we went to go watch a movie with our friends.  I think one of the funniest things I've ever dealt with is trying to pick a movie between a bunch of foreigners.  What language do you choose?  Arabic,  French,  English,  Italian?  First we attempted to watch an American film but it was dubbed in French.  Everyone understood for the most part except me.  Then we tried to find another movie but they were all in Spanish so I was the only one that could understand.  Finally we found an Italian movie we could watch.   Yet there was one problem.  It was actually in dialect so none of us really understood it.  We decided next time we watch a movie we should just watch one in Chinese so none of us can understand it. Hahahaha.   In the end we ended up not watching a movie and all just going home to sleep.
Thursday was NOT a day of princess moments.  It did not start off very well.  I woke up and I was going to class and missed the bus by about 2 minutes  So I briskly walked to class and made it just in time.  After class I decided it was a nice day out so I would stroll on back to my room.  I stopped along the way at a nice bench in the sun to finish my book.   When I returned home a group of 4 of my friends were going to go to the mensa and invited me.  I went with Ali,  Sara, Hasan, & Fabrizio.  Unfortunately the mensa that they chose to go to, again, only had pork and fish.  So instead I got some special cheese.  Which seems like a princessy kind of thing, to have a special menu.  But I guess that is just true Kellie because as Papa says I always have to have the "special menu with the fufu ingredients."  But as I was eating my meal I found that I had a special ingredient all right....a nice hair! Delicious right? That being said,  I will NOT be returning to that mensa.   After the mensa  I played foozball for a bit with Fabrizio,  Fabiola, & Ali.  If it weren't for partners I would be creamed in foozball.  They play so rough!  I actually was injured the other day when playing foozball.  Not really injured, more like hurt I guess.  They were spinning the little men so fast and hard that they hit the ball and it flew up off of the table and hit yours truly in the head.  Lucky me!  After foozball I didn't have a very exciting rest of the day.  I was going to go out to Portopeo but I felt like I was starting to get a cold so I slept early instead.
On Friday, I had a very relaxing day.  I knew that I was going to go to Milano for the weekend so I took it easy.  I just hung out in the morning and then went to the mensa in the afternoon with Andrew, Ali, & Marcin.  I like Fridays at the mensa because they have gelato.  Mmmmm.  After the mensa I went to the river to go read.  It is so nice living in a place where they have seasons.  It is amazing to see everything change from being completely covered in snow to being so green.  A ton of trees now have beautiful flowers on them as well.  It is really nice to sit outside and enjoy nature.  I think when I return to San Diego I will really miss living in a place where they have seasons.  I am happy that I finally got to live somewhere where they have seasons though.  It was on my bucket list to live somewhere with seasons so now I can finally cross it off!  In the evening I just went to the mensa and then came home and relaxed.
On Saturday, I began my wonderful Milano adventure.  Unfortunately it turned out to be a costly start.  There are two types of trains that go to Milano from Pavia,  regional and inter city.  The regional train costs 3.75 Euro and the inter city costs 7.00 Euro.  I was going to take the inter city train because it was the only one that was leaving at the moment.  I was running really behind though and my friend said that I could just buy my ticket on the train rather than waiting in line to buy from the machine.  So I rushed and got on the train and looked for the train conductor.  Apparently you can buy a ticket on the train but it will REALLY cost you.  I had to pay 57.00 Euro because I didn't have a "reservation."  I was so pissed off and I am getting pissed off now just writing about it.   So,  in order to avoid being angry the rest of this blog I will be moving on to the rest of my day.

When I arrived in Milano I met Lucia and her friend Federica.  Lucia was an exchange student that we had in 2008.  I am so glad that she lived at our house and I could come visit her in her home country!  In the station the three of us had a little breakfast.  Afterwords we went to the "host house" that I was going to stay at.  I guess the shower at Lucia's house was broken so they paid for me to stay there.  It was one of the cutest places I have ever been.  It used to be a house centuries ago but now it is converted into kind of like a bed and breakfast.  They only have three rooms there though.  The people there were very friendly and nice.  After I checked in there Lucia, Federica and I went to meet a girl named Sara.  Sara is a friend of Lucia.  Then the four of us went to another city called Monza.  Monza is home to one of the biggest parks in Europe.  I learned that the park was a summer estate of one of the queens.  At the park there are lakes with swans and ducks,  some restaurants,  play area for kids, a stable and who knows what else.  There was no way I could have seen all of the park.  It was so busy and crowded as well.  So many soccer games were going on! We hung out in the park for a bit and then took a small tour of Monza.  We went to see some ancient Roman ruins near a famous bridge in Monza called Lions Bridge. Afterwords we went to a gelateria/creperie.  One of my princess moments where they paid for me.  I didn't know though and then I said "I have money! You didn't have to pay," and they all thought it was hilarious and laughed.  Most of the weekend I didn't pay for anything actually because they all wanted to pay for me.  Even people I just met.  After that we went back home and took showers and got ready for the evening.   Then I went to Lucia's house which is amazing!!  There is this famous arch called Garibaldi in Milan and she lives literally right next to it.  It also was Lucia's brother's 18th birthday so they were having a party for his friends there.  Her parents had bought a ton of food so we had dinner there.  Afterwords Lucia and I went to this area called the collone.  Its basically a huge area next to some old columns where people stand around and drink.  It was super overwhelming!  These people started getting in a fight in the middle of the square and throwing glass bottles at each other.  One guy got a glass bottle in the head.  It was scary because glass was flying everywhere and I was afraid that it was going to hit me.  But everyone one I was with thought it was funny that I was scared because apparently that is a really normal thing in Milano.  Not something I would want to have be a regular occurrence in a place that I got to hang out! We were supposed to go to a club after called Hollywood.  I guess it is one of the best clubs in Italy and it is super hard to get into.  It also costs between 50-80 Euro just to get in buuuut we have the hook up.  One of Lucia's best friends is dating the son of Michael Bongiorno, a famous tv presenter.  I guess he was kind of like Alex Trebek because he was the host on Italy's first tv game shows and other shows.   I have never heard of him but I guess he was really famous....so his son is also famous and gets the A-List treatment. I guess he is some sort of entrepreneur and owns a whole chain of restaurants and has been in commercials as well.  We were going to get to go to the club but he didn't feel like going.  I didn't realize I was talking to the son but I guess I was hanging out with him most of the night and talking to him, another Italian guy, and a girl from Sweden.  They bought all our drinks too.  I guess I know the right people in Milano!  Afterwords when we left Lucia took me back to the hotel in the Benz.   She didn't drink though so don't worry!  But she took the long way home and showed me all around Milano at night.  It was gorgeous.  Half the time I am doing things hear I feel like I am in a movie.  It seems all so surreal being in this place where everything is so old and beautiful.   I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.  Anyways, after that I returned back to the host house to sleep.  The people that worked at the host house could hear when I got up in the morning because I was talking on the phone so they came to my room to tell me breakfast was ready.  I thought okay I will go down in a few minutes and there will also be other people too.  But no!  This was one of the moments where I definitely felt like a princess.  I went downstairs in this adorable old house and there was a huge table, kind of like the one in my dining room at home and there was one place setting just for me.  There was a whole tray of juices I could choose from, a basket of croissants, four baskets of different things I could put on the croissants like jelly, fresh yogurt in glass jars, 16 types of tea,  pastries, cereal, cold milk, and coffee.  They had set it all up just for me.  I felt so special! Just like a princess.  Everything was in glass and porcelain dishes.  After breakfast I went to the huge park near the famous arch and near the castle to go read until Lucia woke up.  Then Lucia, her brother, parents and I went out to lunch.  It was a true Italian lunch....long and with a bottle of wine.  It was a very nice lunch together.  Afterwords Lucia's friend, Chiara, met us.  We then went on a walk through the park and to the castle where I met my Greek friend Angelina.  Angelina had remembered that I was going to be in Milano and she was in Milano with her parents before they caught their plane back to Greece so she called me up and met us. :)  Once Angelina joined us we continued on to a neighborhood called Brera.  It was soooo cute!  Just what I imagined Italy would look like.  In Brera we ate some delicious pastries that are common of French cuisine.  They were delicious in Italy so I am sure they are amazing in France.  Hopefully I will get to go to France and try them!  After Brera Lucia and Chiara drove Angelina and I to the train station so that we could come back to Pavia.  Then I rested for the evening. :)

Dominoes of Failure

The past few days have been fun but some fails!  On Saint Patrick's Day a group of about 8 or 9 of us went out.  We were going to go to this one bar called black bull but then it was too crowded.  So then we ended up going to the Irish bar which was better for Saint Patrick's Day anyway.  But there weren't any seats there.  So we ordered our drinks and sat outside on the stairs.  First fail. I tried to order vodka lemon and the understood vodka mint so I paid 4 Euro for a shot of mint vodka.  I just sipped it instead.  I guess I looked more spirited though because it was green!  After hanging out for a while Angelina, Jess & I wanted to go home.  We didn't feel like sitting outside anymore in the cold so we were just going to have a party in my room.  But then when Jess went to go get her alcohol in her building she got locked out of hers.  So then just Angelina and I were going to have a party but then we were tired so we just talked for about 10 or 15 minutes. 
On Sunday I had a nice relaxing day.   I slept in until about 8:30 and then read for a bit in the morning.  Then I took a shower and cooked a Sunday breakfast. Yuuum.  I had fried eggs ( runny)  with some bread, sauteed potatoes with sun dried tomatoes, and blood orange juice.   I think one of my favorite things about Italy is that they have blood orange everything.  Even at the mensa the oranges you take with your meal are blood oranges.  They are the most delicious oranges I have ever tried. :)  After breakfast I did some studying for my International Business & Management class.   Later in the afternoon I went to Angelina's room to hang out and download some movies.  She also has all the episodes of my favorite show New Girl!  I finally got to catch up on some of the episodes.  So happy!!  Then I came home and cooked lemon cream sauce pasta.  It was pretty delicious. :)
Monday was the ultimate day of fails though.  On Monday I woke up and went to class.  First I missed the bus by literally 5 seconds.  Fail 1. Then because I failed in the previous week and lost my ATM card I had to go to the bank and see if they had it.  I thought that I had left it there because that was the last time I remember using it and I repeatedly have been checking my bank account and it hadn't been used so I thought maybe I just left it at the bank.  Apparently if you lose an ATM card in Italy they mail it back to your bank in America right away or give it to the police.   But neither of them have seen the card.  Who knows it could be in my messy ass room.   But I'm pretty sure it isn't because I have searched everywhere in my room.  Fail #3 = mensa choice of the day.  Unfortunately the mensa that I chose to go to had only pork and fish.  Disgusting.   So my choices included cold vegetables....but not just cold raw vegetables, vegetables that once upon a time were hot but had cooled down.  Even more disgusting.   Afterwords my friend Ali and I went to go to the certosa, which a famous old monastery one train stop from the center of Pavia.  We have been saying we were going to go for a month now and today was finally the day that we got to go.   We got there and we walked down the road about 5-10 minutes to where the opening would be but we couldn't find it.  So we asked this little old man on a bike where the opening was.  And just my luck,  apparently it was Il Giorno di San Guiseppe!  For the American's that is Saint Joseph's Day.  And because Italy is a Catholic country of course it would be closed on a Saints Day.   So because it wasn't open we decided ok we will go the good Japanese restaurant for dinner to make up for it.  But I wanted to get my money's worth of meals at the mensa so I was going to take it to go.  On our way to the mensa we missed the last bus to the Japanese restaurant.  But life was looking up because we ran into our friend Lyo at the mensa who had a car.   So I got my food to go so that I could eat it today.  Lyo then drove us to the restaurant.  We sat down at the restaurant thinking that they were going to come take our order because that is what they did the previous time.   Apparently they only do that when it is slow.  Other people walked up to the counter and they took their order first.   Finally they took our order and brought our food.  My rice was dry and my main dish was strange.  But it gets worse.  Ali got almost to the end of his food when he realized something looked terribly wrong.  I saw his face and said what? what is wrong?  And he just picked up his piece of shrimp that he had not yet showed me and then I knew.  It definitely looked like someone had taken a bite out of the shrimp.  We sat there astonished at the possibility that there could have been a bite taken out of the shrimp and then for it to be served as a meal.  We were thinking could this be?  No it can't...No it definitely is.  I am pretty sure everyone in that restaurant thinks I am crazy because I don't think I have ever laughed so hard.  Really though....what are you supposed to say?  "Excuse me, but I think someone took a bite out of this and it wasn't me...???"  I don't really think that would fly.  Particularly in Italy.  Customer service is not the best. Needless to say we will not be going back to that restaurant.   And after all that I woke up this morning and realized that I forgot to put my take away food from the mensa in the fridge so I couldn't even it it.   Frustration!  A few positives of the days.... I have some funny stories,  awesome pictures from the certosa, and maybe better abs from my laughing work out at the restaurant.