Italy day 5: Rome

Well,it seems we've just skipped right over Florence. It was very quick, so quick that I'm calling this trip a taste of Italy. Florence was nice to get back into what felt like a "real" city, but maybe it just felt that way because there were cars again. Funny how we expect these things. However, Florence is somewhat more authentic in terms of Italian people actually living there. Venice has a rapidly declining population rate and feels like a zoo sometimes, just an old city on display for the tourists. A beautiful zoo, but still a zoo. Also it's bloody expensive. Florence is also expensive, but we had our best Italian meal so far there last night upon recommendation by a bartender when I stopped in to ask where I could eat. The atmosphere was lovely and the food was great. But we were just there for one full and two half days. We saw the uffizi gallery which is one to many of the most famous paintings in the world, and that I studied along the way so that was interesting. Then I dragged mom for a long walk to the top of a hill,where I thought there might be a great view. She " was bored" walking through the Tuscan mansions after about an hour but finally as I promised we found a nice viewpoint ( would have been even nicer if she had let me continue)!

So today we hopped the train and got to Rome where I again made mongo for a nice long hike with suitcases in tow to where we are staying, about 3 blocks from Vatican city! The view is great but it will be even better when we do our tour of the inside.

Well.... What more? Probably lots but I'm too lazy to type at the moment and wish I could just show the photos. Soon!

Love to all

Italy day 3: murano/Burbano

Well, I just want to start off saying that typing on an iPad is a bit like typing with your big toe. Not that comfortable or efficient. Also the autocorrect sometimes goes a bit crazy. Ever wonder where Murano glass comes from? I can tell you! I was there today and in some places I even saw them making it! I thought it was a style or a company maybe, I didnt trealize it was a little island off of Venice. It's a quiet little place, also with canals that you reach by waterbus in about twenty mi utes and once you get there, don't expect to see anything at all other han glass shops and factories. It's much less busy than Venice itself though and there are some incredible glass sculptures just out I the squares and streets - pictures soon. And from Murano you catch the waterbus t Burbano! Creative naming right? Anyway, the island of Burbano is even s aller and quieter but that's where the original, I tricate and fantastic Italian lace origi ages. It's insanely expensive but you can see some examples over 100 yrs old and the detail is unbelievable - and I'm not even really that into lace. But the really cool thing about the island is the colors! Everyone is assigned a different color to paint there houses and so it is so bright and unique, and that combined with the annals is so interesting. And the owners of the houses totally get into the theme of their color with matching flowers, shutters, curtains, planting pots etc. it's great! Unfortunately there are mostly really old people living there and the lace tradition is almost dead, understandable as there really isn't much to do on the little island. Well that was the highlights for the day, tomorrow it's off to Florence! Love from moms iPad.

Italy day 2: Venice

Well, it,s a been some time since the last post and I kept telling myself I would do it... But then I didn't. Sorry about that! Well anyhow, mom arrived in bcn about a week ago and my bad luck was passed to her when her bags didn't arrive with her at the airport. We spent the majority of the next day at home, from 9am til midnight waiting and calling hourly for this bag that was always "going to be there any minute" only for it to never come. Let,s just say I was not impressed. I got on the phone the next morning and let the morons at the airport have it about what is acceptable service and what is not. In the end I went to work and mom took the bus to the airport to get her bag herself rather than spend another 12 hours waiting for potentially nothing. So that got solved. Then the water in my apartment went crazy, starts leaking a liter a minute in the kitchen and my roommate was content to let it do that for 3 days til Monday rolled around and someone would come look at it. I went upstairs instead after about 18 hours and asked one of the neighbors to show me where the valve was to shut it off. But then obviously we had no water - for anything at all. Theis meant showering at the gym and me being kinda cranky about the whole thing which could have been easily solved 4 days earlier. But oh we'll, such is life I guess and worse has happened. So! Yesterday we left for Italy and we made it to the airport where the owner of the bnb where we are staying was going to pick us up. He is so nice and friendly and the house is just on the mainland about a twenty min bus ride to Venice. The garden is gorgeous and when we arrived there was a mama duck and her little ducklings all standing by our door! So cute! We just had a quick walk around the village, got bit by a bunch of Mosquitos then stopped for a delicious pizza at the recommended restaurant. Today we got up early and had a great breakfast and then went straight into Venice. We got a waterbus ticket for in Venice which allows us to take rides all over the city by boat through the canals and also to the little islands around. It got really hot in the afternoon, around 30 while we were doing a free walking tour I found online. But it's very beautiful and easy to get totally lost! I had lasagna for both lunch and dinner today but still haven't tasted the real thing I don't think. Before coming home we went to the island lido which is very long and skinny and just off of Venice just to eat dinner and see what was there, and it is soooooo gorgeous! I may actually like it better than Venice in some ways because it is very green and has amazing architecture with a great view of the Venice skyline. There are less canals but they still have some. I can't wait to put up some of the pictures when we get back:) Anyhow,that's the quick version of our 13 our day sightseeing, tomorrow should also be great! I'll write more then. X b.

Mugged

Well. I'm sure most of you have heard by now through the grapevine that I got mugged on Friday night. I was walking home with Maricela, and as we were walking some guy came up behind us and tried to yank my purse of my arm, he struggled with me and couldn't get it and all the while I am screaming at him. Then he took out a knife and cut the straps of my purse and took off running down the street. I chased him as fast as I could but couldn't keep up so he got away. The worst part was that I was chasing him, SCREAMING at the top of my lungs and there were all these people around who just sat there and watched - doing nothing. Not even yelling at him to try to help me. Sad sad world. So he got no cash, but he got my little camera, my house keys, all my cards and ID. We got home and we started cancelling EVERYTHING, called the police and now tomorrow I have to get the locks changed because I don't feel safe at all. Anyway - there is a special spot for him in Hell but I'm sure he'll have the favor returned one day. Good news is, both of us are fine, everything is replaceable and actually usually the documentation gets returned once they realize there is no cash.

So we finished school - I did my presentation. Did I tell all this already? I have no idea - time is lost on me these days. It went okay, although there were some complaints about how the info was presented. Such is life. I know where I went wrong and will try to be better next time. Now it's just writing! After I get back from Italy with mom that is! Actually, I will work a bit while I am there. She arrives tomorrow and I'm going to pick her up.

In other news, my roomate Rafael lost his job on Friday so he is looking for a job AGAIN which is a bit stressful for the whole house really. The restaurant is closing for the summer so for 2 months at least he will be unemployed. I hope he finds something before we get back.

Annnnnnnd that's it for now! I promise I'll put up some photos soon :)

This bug has been floating around my water glass

for the past 4 hours. Seriously. I have tried to put it out of it's misery and I am now 2 other glasses later. I'm really beginning to resemble the little girl from the movie Signs with my collection piling up all over the house. 3 water glasses, 2 coffee mugs and who knows what else.

Well. Thank god for Nuno this week because I really haven't done much cooking - I do the cleaning (which takes significantly less time) and he cooks while I work on my thesis, kind of. Actually no - I have been working. I have changed my presentation 3 times and now I'm not sure if I'm happy, but it will do because I present in less than 48 hours. I feel like I should be MORE stressed about it - but maybe my stress is just manifesting itself differently than I was expecting?

Anyhow, so that's what's up. I'll let you know how it all works out :)

An Office

I am in need of one. Desperately. I've come to the realization that working in my house is just never going to be productive and with the library schedules being absolutely rediculous, well... I'm not really sure what to do or how to get it done. So I've been looking into some cowork spaces in the city which seem to be pretty popular for sort of individual people or businesses to just rent a desk/space in a big open office with other designers or what not. Anyways, I'm thinking about it. Otherwise I may never get this thesis done and then never make it home.

Yesterday I met with my advisor - went well. He had lots to say which was good, and I have a lot of preparation to do by the 12 - now only 9 days away. Anyone who has pictures of the Cochrane area please email them my way, kids playing in yards, cars on the road, parking lots, shopping, whatever you've got, just send it.

After all the rain, yesterday was kind of cool and now today it is getting hot again. Yesterday I went on a bit of a shopping spree - bad, I know - but actually I didn't spend that much money because everything was like 70% off. So I got 2 dresses, a blazer, 3 sweaters, a wallet and some makeup (mostly face sunscreen so I don't get too wrinkly ;) ). So I did pretty good. My goal of clothing in the summer is to find clothes which don't feel like I'm wearing any. I didn't do so good from that point of view but there's at least a couple dresses which could do the trick.

Today I think I should go to the beach. Work a whole bunch and then this afternoon go and enjoy the beach because it's really silly how little I go when it's only a 20 min bikeride or busride away. We'll see how it plays out!

Alright, wish me luck!

Alfredo Sauce saved my life

Well... it definitely made it easier! It doesn't exist in this country so thank god everyone send me the packages in the mail and with people who come to visit because when you're starving and don't know what to make and are too lazy to really do much - all you need is milk, pasta, and alfredo sauce! AND its so much better than Kraft Dinner! That is my official Canada Day dinner. I had planned to do a day full of wonderful "Canadian" food like Pancakes, Eggs benny, pie, mashed potatoes and all kinds of yummy stuff but when it came down to it I didn't feel like it. It's pouring rain today and motivation is running low folks! The rain is quite good though because the city needed a good washing to keep the bugs down, the smell of dog pee out of my nose and my balcony clean! It hasn't rained this hard since.... well I don't know actually... a long long time! Alright, well hope everyone at home is having a much drier, more exciting day :)