welp, the wind is a-bora-ing

well this weekend has been all over the place! 

friday: all-day blizzard at school in opicina. stayed on the mountain for the staff thanksgiving party! made snow angels (!), drank lots of wine, sat by the fire, at delicious food, and then of course a basement dance party. oh! and marina and anto made it here to visit! 

saturday: BEAUTIFUL day in venezia with marina and antonio! venice is so amazing in the winter (read this article if you don't believe me), i can't imagine being there in the middle of the tourist season. 

today: delicious brunch at zoe (of course)! and then.....the bora has arrived. and it is vicious. AND it's raining. i'm thinking that it's probably snowing in opicina just like on friday. so! imagine freezing rain being blown ferociously into you. yeah! 

so, the heat has been turned up and i've been curled up in a ball on the couch reading harry potter. (gotta get through to the 7th book!)

be on the look out for some venice pics soon.

xo!

first snow!

last night, V and i spent the evening skyping with everyone in her family (since nancy was occupied at oib and mom was in turks and caicos, i had to substitute) and drinking prosecco while listening to christmas music and enjoying our christmas tree (with blinking lights!)

such a good thanksgiving evening! and TODAY! it's snowing!!!! just in time for our staff thanksgiving party tonight! and my ladybird comes to visit!

it's going to be a great weekend.

xo.

[update after 2 hours: this is the most snow i've ever seen in real life before december. i mean it's becoming a blizzard. hopefully marina and anto's train will make it!]

[update after 2 more hours: legitimate blizzard. but apparently it's only raining down in the city.]

in love with slovenia.

for so many reasons!

i went to slovenia 4 times last week.  the first and second times were harry potter-related, the third time was entirely mexican-food-related and the fourth time was to visit lake bled!

here are some pictures from our harry potter adventures:

the purchasing of tickets on tuesday - so much excitement!

"should i get a small or medium popcorn?!" "well, it's 153 minutes long so..." "you're right, i should get a large."

the group -- my first harry-potter-in-theatres experience

friday night after school we filled the car and headed to ljubljana, the capital city of slovenia to have a delicious dinner of mexican food.

they made guacamole at our table! 

so delicious.

then we spent a little while walking around the city which is so cool. there are SO MANY more young people there than in trieste and it was actually lively on a friday night (strange, huh?!)

i never wanted to leave. 

oh! and then i was incredible and completed this no-big-deal parallel parking job.

saturday! as we were leaving trieste, the sun was shining, the blue sky went on forever, there wasn't a cloud in sight.  we were so excited for the beautiful weather that was going to accompany us on our daytrip to lake bled! 

however, apparently the blue sky ended at the border and we had a very overcast day. oh well, guess we have to go back!

walking up to the castle perched on a cliff above the lake

view from the castle

an attacking swan (K, you would have hated this, i mean it was chasing us)

boat ride across the lake to the island!

view up at the castle

apparently it's the only island in slovenia. and in the winter, the lake freezes over and you can ice skate across to the island! 

slovenia's version of mulled wine! they had red AND white and both were to-die-for delicious. (and super cheap, as you can see!)

so i'm counting down the days until i can go back to ljubljana (mmmmm mexican food and mulled wine) and waiting for it to snow so i can go back to bled and see the sneaky mountains that were only barely poking out of the clouds. 

xx!

so maybe i met the italian police last night?

we've had some trouble with the neighbors.

one neighbor, specifically.

the woman that lives below us, seems (i say "seems" when really i mean "is") annoyed and VERY upset with us for "being up at 6am every morning walking around." i'm not totally sure what she wants us to do about this since we must walk around to get ready for work and we must be up at that time in order to leave for work and arrive on time. so.......

i'm also not sure what the protocal is for "being a good neighbor" in an apartment building full of real people (aka non-college students).  i am, however, thinking that maybe last night wasn't our best good-neighbor behavior.

it was M's birthday (happy 26!!!) and so we hosted a little chocolate-themed gathering (M's boyfriend cooked ALL day - so many chocolate-related dishes) with lots of friends from school. well a dance party may have begun around 930pm and there may have been a loud banging on the door at around 955pm and it may have been the italian policemen.

we assume that it was our lovely downstairs neighbor who called and it was fine -- they just took down our names, looked at our italian permessi di soggiorni and advised us to keep the noise level in mind in the future.

to sum up, we may need to find an alternate location for future birthday gatherings. and maybe dance parties at 930pm on a tuesday are unacceptable in grown-up apartment buildings?

xo

a harry potter education.

my roommates are avid harry potter fans.  since we moved in together in late august, ver and lizzy have been hyping up the premiere of the 7th and final harry potter film.  the whole time, i've been nodding in agreement of the excitement while not really being fully in on it.  finally, with the quickly approaching premiere date, their excitement became infectious and i made the decision to jump on the bandwagon.

a few years ago (3rd year of college), i began reading the series (much to eliza.b's persuasion) but i quit halfway through the 4th book.  so i borrowed book 4 from one of my students (naturally) and picked up where i left off.  this proved much more complicated than i had anticipated because of the infinite number of tiny little details that i failed to remember from my prior reading of books 1-3.  also, it was difficult for anyone to answer my questions because they had read the whole series and thus, knew way more than i did and risked giving away important surprises.

and then, last tuesday, we went to go bowling in slovenia (they do that there - everyone always wants to go bowling, we don't quite understand the hype).  however, much to our friends' dismay, bowling couldn't happen and we ended up wandering around the mall.  this mall happens to also contain a movie theatre and we discovered that harry potter and the deathly hallows (part 1) would, in fact, be playing on thursday at 8:50 pm.

we all bought tickets.

so.

we arrived back to our apartment at 9pm tuesday night. at that moment, i had read 3.5 of the HP novels and had seen NONE of the movies.

i had a lot of work to do.

i realized that it would be impossible to read the rest of the books in the hours i had until the 7th movie so i began my quest to watch movies 1-6.  yes, i realize that this is cheating slightly, since i was watching movies 4-6 before reading the books, but these were dire circumstances.

i stayed up until 130 tuesday night (wednesday morning) watching movies 1 and 2 and then watched 3-6 on wednesday. before school, during lunch and recess and immediately when school ended, i was watching harry potter. it was insane. and incredible.  i had loads of moral support (i never could have made it through #5 wednesday night in the dark without faithful-roommate-lizzy by my side).

but i made it! and we went and it was amazing. a little scary at times. but incredible. however, it was terrible that i was the only one out of our group that went who doesn't know what is going to happen in HP7 (part 2) so i have got to get reading so i can find out what happens in the end!!!!!

[it's like when i watched the entire series of lost during the final season and had to keep myself from googling what was going to happen next]

check out the trailer here.  let your mind be blown.

xx!

ps, these two trips to the movie theatre in slovenia were the start of 4 trips to slovenia in one week. stay tuned for a recap of the 2nd two trips! mexican food in ljubljana and lake bled!

i'm becoming a real person!

(in all the good ways)

joining a gym has been maybe the best thing i could have done for myself here. a) it adds a great deal of entertainment to my life.  each time i go to the gym, it's just funny. italian women don't really work out, they just seem to go along with their boyfriend/husband so that they can make out as they switch cardio machines every 10 minutes.  due to the cardio-machine-switching slash lack-of-exerting-energy, they don't really get sweaty or red in the face at all. i, however, become red like a tomato and am dripping with sweat (yum!) which confuses everyone. i get lots of hilarious stares.  ALSO! the constant pound-to-kilogram conversions going on in my head continue to get mixed up which means i'm sure i always look retarded when i have to keep switching weights because i have no idea how much i'm trying to lift.

i really wish i could take pictures of the gym, but i'm not totally sure i want to become THAT girl. maybe on my very last visit i'll take some snapshots -- all the machine instructions are in italian and it's so funny! (i don't know why it's funny, of course they're in italian)

b) i'm developing a routine of going to the gym that makes me feel like i am a real person (as in an alive human being, not a grown-up.....ew).  it's really nice to have afternoons that aren't centered solely around checking my email.

having this thing that i do near my apartment on an increasingly regular basis is really making it feel like home here. it's crazy how something like a gym can just do that... and i've only been a member for 3 days!

that's all. WOOOO endorphins!

on the agenda for tomorrow night: bowling in slovenia!

xo

6 weeks until christmas!

happy sunday evening! this post actually has nothing to do with christmas -- except that the cafe around the block turned on their christmas lights this weekend! and that is only the beginning of why this weekend was wonderful.

this weekend has been so relaxing yet productive at the same time.  the weather has been gray (but no rain!) so it was perfect for just hanging out at home and checking things off of my to-do list (which had grown very long).

grades are due at school next tuesday so last week was hectic for 2 reasons. 1. coming back from break was rough, getting all the students back into the swing of things and getting myself back into a routine and 2. scrambling to make sure assignments have been completed and graded and recorded and all of that. phew!

so i spent friday night and saturday doing a little wandering in the city (see pictures of the chocolate festival below) but mostly catching up with my family, reading, planning (only a little bit), cleaning, etc.

[note: these pictures are only to make all of you jealous. since i don't like chocolate, i didn't particularly enjoy the chocolate festival.]

ALSO! i joined a gym! wooooo endorphins!  the gym in italy is a really funny place -- the one by near my apartment (about a 10 minute walk away) is one of the nicer ones i have seen/experienced in italy yet it is pretty tiny and ill-equipped compared to anything in the states (oh and it costs a fortune).  italians don't really seem to understand why anyone needs to exercise and not many of them do at all (they just eat tons of pasta and drink tons of wine and life is good?).  they were very surprised that i wanted to join without a personal instructor (they typically are included in the membership) and were highly skeptical that i knew what i was doing when i got on a treadmill. the guy came to ask me if i needed help like 3 times during my workout, hahaha. anyway, i joined and endorphins are incredible. 

then, today, after a delicious brunch at our favorite spot, we played tourist and went to visit il museo della risiera di san sabba here in trieste.  the risiera was italy's only extermination camp during wwII.  the history there was really interesting, especially following my visit to the anne frank house in amsterdam 2 weeks ago.  

the risiera was originally a rice-husking factory built in 1898.  in september 1943, it became a temporary detention camp and within a few months was converted into a transition camp for deportees bound for germany and poland and for the internment and execution of hostages, partisans, political prisoners, and jews.  during this time, venezia giulia (this region of italy) wasn't part of the italian state.  it became part of the region "litorale adriatico" and was the last territory in europe to be conquered by nazi imperialism. (thank you 1euro museum pamphlet)  

the detention cells

the outline of the building housing the oven in which the bodies were cremated (the area of the building is represented by a metal plate on the ground -- the actual oven was under ground and could only be accessed by a staircase within the building)

opposite the building with the oven is an underground passage leading to a symbolic sculpture representing the chimney stack with smoke spiraling out

letter found in the camp written by a slovene prisoner

learning about all this history (here and in amsterdam at the anne frank house) is so interesting -- especially since so much italian history is ANCIENT.  the transition to learning about history that took place so (comparatively) recently is crazy.  yes, the museum was a bit depressing (as was the anne frank house), but i was just dumbfounded the whole time thinking about how such horrible things happened right here! where i live! not long ago! i mean, my grandmother was my age when it was all happening! it just blows my mind.  

at the anne frank house, at the end of the museum, they had an exhibit set up that presented modern-day discrimination issues and asked questions to guests about their opinions on the topic.  the point of it was "yeah, all these terrible things happened just a little bit ago and it's horrible and all of that but there's nothing you can do about what has already happened. now let's not let it happen again!! look at these issues that could get so much worse if we're not careful."  i really liked how that was set up so that you went through learning about how horrible things really were for those who suffered during wwII and then at the end, right when everyone was most susceptible to soak in as much as possible, they present all these issues we're dealing with today -- i thought it was a really great way to raise awareness.  

anyway, history is interesting. i wish i had thought that when i was in high school -- i probably would remember more of it (or would have learned more in the first place..?).  and now i'm going to reread the diary of anne frank and watch la vita e bella.

xx

PS! i made applesauce and it is to-die-for-amazing (yes, applesauce is fairly easy to make but i am a novice in the kitchen, this is a big step -- be proud!)

take me back?

so i guess you want to know how amsterdam was? it was only ok. 

just kidding! it was so good. let me show you some pictures. 

the trip started off well, flying over the dolomites with clear skies is always fun.

a little prosecco while you fly? yes, please! thank you air dolomiti!

we arrived in amsterdam in the late afternoon.  after getting settled and investigating our exact location in reference to the city center, we headed into town. our destination? la margarita mexican restaurant.

[note: i'm not entirely sure what traditional dutch food is.  i've heard that it's a lot of greasy fried fish and the like (not my ideal choice for a meal).  however, in amsterdam, there are a plethora of mexican and thai restaurants.  since the presence of mexican and thai restaurants in trieste is rare, we jumped at the opportunity to get our fix in amsterdam.]

first meal in amsterdam = some of the most delicious mexican food i have ever had (definite competition with tijuana in florence)

on monday, we took a bike tour through the city.  there were 8 of us in our tour group and it lasted about 2 hours. using a bike as legitimate transportation was so great -- i wish i could do that all the time.

the canals there are so pretty and there are houseboats along the sides of all of them.  some of the houseboats are really fancy and artsy-looking while others are dingy shanties and it's confusing how they're still floating.  

the fall colors were also gorgeous.  we had pretty gray/dreary weather (see sky) the whole week, but the trees were such bright colors of yellows and oranges that it didn't seem like it was that dark and damp.

riding through vondelpark. vondelpark reminded me of central park (but smaller).  you can see a pond straight ahead (below, right) and there were paths winding through the whole park past playground sets, 

restaurants, open fields, etc. 

the "i amsterdam" sign in front of the rijksmuseum.  

i climbed on the "a"

illy! i stalked my favorite triestino coffee all over amsterdam (it wasn't hard, they had it everywhere)

mexican meal #2: rose's cantina. free salsa at this one! 

spinach and goat cheese enchiladas? don't mind if i do. 

this is a giant billboard on the front of the bicycle "parking garage" at the central station.  it's 3 stories tall and holds about a hundred million bikes but it's still incredibly inadequate because everyone in this city rides a bike as their main form of transportation (isn't that cool?!)

the architecture is awesome, love the townhouses along the canal.

each townhouse has a hook at the top of it that is used for moving furniture in and out.  historically, all the staircases were too narrow and steep to get furniture and other large things in and out so this is how they did it! and they still build houses like that and use the hooks. 

me and K in front of i amsterdam on our day full of museums (friday)

adorable dutch street. aka, my future home.

checking out the map.

really cool market with tons and tons of old/used/foreign/english books

mexican meal #3. mexicanse beans?

the decor was..... interesting.

the food was also..... interesting. 

in a non-delicious way. it's ok though, 2 out of 3 delicious mexican meals is good enough for me.

more illy coffee stalking: 

literally everywhere! so tasty.

wahoo wah!

the last night we were there (saturday), most of the museums and galleries in the city were open until 2am with special exhibits (in addition to the always-there exhibits) and djs and food and drink.  you bought one ticket that got you access to all the exhibits (45 different museums!) and public transportation until 6am the following morning!

here we are at the beer temple developing our museum night plan of attack.

stop #1: van gogh museum.

we visited the museum the day before so we only went for the special exhibits (we danced around for 5 seconds and then made a flip book of all the pictures that were taken during the 5 seconds!) and bands/djs that were playing here.

a band called "el moustache" we were really excited that they were going to be really cool and exciting and have really insane moustaches. but a) none of them had a moustache and b) their music was only ok. 

unfortunately, i don't have other pictures from museum night but we did go to 2 other museums:

stop #2. the stadsarchief: i actually have no idea what this is a museum of....we just hung out, drank prosecco, and jammed out with the dj (the pony peaches) and watched people who were dancing funny.

stop #3. FOAM photography museum: this was a really cool space -- all the photography was awesome and then they had set up a bar downstairs which had a completely different vibe from #2 (which was electronic, dance party) -- this was more of a laid-back bar with much quieter music so we got to meet some cool people and actually hold conversations. also! at one point a girl came up, took our picture, and then 5 seconds later returned with a keychain of our picture. so that was fun!

to sum up: amsterdam = incredible. so much culture (many different cultures meshed together), dutch people are really nice, bikes! can't wait to go back. 

xo!