It was a three-day weekend so the trip was quite quick. Saturday we went on a mini-French grocery extravaganza. I bought some yummy goodies that you cannot easily find in Italy. Mostly chocolate items, but also a butter dish, not for eating of course. Sunday turned out to be a lovely day! Julie, our generous hostess, invited us to church so we went to a British service in a tiny French town. We went immediately to the train station to find out the exact time we had to leave to catch the right train on the Italian border. In true French fashion, the clerk told me that there was a strike the following day and we would have to take the super early train to make it in time. With our information we met Julie and her brother and sister-in-law (both visiting from Florida) at a restaurant for lunch. The meal was excellent. I had lamb and ratatouille.
The view was possibly even better because we looked out on the sea. The weather was perfect! We spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the boardwalk. Carrie bought a bottle of rose` that she discovered there. We went home and eventually to bed. The following morning, not being able to reach the taxi service, we hightailed it by foot to the train station to catch the first train not en greve. The train was super-crowded but every one got off in Monaco and we had a long but easy and amusing ride (but dark since our car's lights were broken and a headrest kept falling onto this older woman) back to Milan. From Genova (now under water) to St. Raphael we rode on the coast the whole way. While a good chunk is through tunnels, the parts that are not are spectacular.
We got back to Milan. My life went into a mini-tailspin where I had several emotional crashes. For example, when I found out that I will only be able to attend 50% of the Italian classes, I hit the roof. One class is scheduled for the same time that I have my girls running club. (The friendlier cheetahs, remember?) I'm glad I'm doing that though. The girls are just so fun. And, while we are talking about running, the PE teacher and I signed up to do our first marathon in April... Stay tuned for training in monsoons.
The lowest low point was when I was told by the installers after waiting for 2.5 months for internet (wi-fi) to be connected in my apartment that it could not be connected because there is a 10 meter concrete wall that is blocking the phone box to our building. However, the landlord downstairs can get it. Interesting, eh? (It has also been a point of contention that our school does not think internet at home is essential enough to have it installed before the teachers arrive.) I also found out about the cement wall the same week that our school installed a new security system and we could no longer use Skype, Facebook, or g-chat, along with a slew of other sights that I use for planning. (This has since been remedied; It was just insanely bad timing.) In tears of rage and desperation, I ran down the street to the one tech store in our town. I made it 10 minutes before it closed and bought an internet key (like a thumb drive with a sim card that connects to the internet). While it is not the most reliable and certainly not the fastest internet around, it works for things like email and reading a-z, which fulfills my short-term needs.
The highlights were a field trip to the zoo where I saw a kangaroo for the first time. We have a very nice zoo an hour or so away. The kids had fun and in contrast to the crazy logistics and 8th grade chaperones of previous zoo field trips, it was the best field trip I've had yet. Educational, fun, and easy! Our school also took teachers on a day trip wine tasting and to Alba for a truffle festival. It was so fun.
Ottobre ended with a four day trip to Florence. Wow! What a city! It reminded me a lot of Paris. I could see myself living there and being completely myself. It is a city set up for walking and on a river. There is obvious history everywhere and the city does not completely shut on Sundays. Carrie and I went and stayed in a trendy hotel in a neighborhood about 20 minutes from the center of the city. Two other couples went and stayed in different places, but we met up for dinner a couple of times. We went to Academia and saw David which is truly impressive! We also went on a Rick Steve's Renaissance walk. Free podcasts are so freakin' great for travel! We went to the Uffizi, Florence's Louvre. It was equally overwhelming. I wished my dad were along to tell me more about the medieval art, but Rick Steve's and a kids' guide (Florence, Just Add Water) I picked up told us everything we needed to know. We bummed around the city the rest of the afternoon and ended up on Piazzale Michaelangelo. It has a stunning view of the city. Florence's Montmarte. We arrived at sunset and watched as the city's lights came on. The following day we went to Pisa. Although touristy, it has a university and shops. I enjoyed walking around and finding a little market where I dumbly passed up the chance to buy a wooden cutting board. Back in Florence, I went shopping at a market that I assume is mainly for tourists since everyone there speaks English. I got my second comment about me speaking very good Italian. If I really spoke good Italian I could have told her that I only can say things like "hello" and "how much is this?" well.
And, on November 1, I came back to Milan. The same night a coworker offered me a ride to IKEA in her car! I got three new lamps and an entryway shelf and a full length mirror. It's November and my apartment finally feels like my own. My next project is to buy a ladder so I can reach the bar in my closet and finally hang up my clothes. Right now I am writing this on my computer online in my apartment AND I can see what I'm doing. I have a feeling November is going to be a good month.
I am attaching links to my Facebook albums at the end in case you want more pictures. france album Florence album
ciao, xo
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