The Days Are Winding Down

I finally found a horse to play with... 14 days before I leave Italy. It still made me a happy camper.

So yes, my days in Italy are winding down and it's a very strange. I have nothing to do and will be excited to have a busier schedule soon (so I don't feel like I'm just taking up space), but I'll definitely be sad to leave.

I've been filling my final days with random activities. One included the Buskers festival in the park near my residence. This guy was balancing on top of suitcase, on top of a sideways barrel, on top of another box. Woah. Then he juggled with sticks on fire while on top of this tower thing. I was too distracted to take a picture of that part.

Then I saw that they were giving free pole dancing lessons! And there were just a bunch of people pole dancing. I started to feel uncomfortable pretty much immediately.

My friend has baby chicks at his house in Soliera.

Oh my God so cute.

This is a peach tree in the back yard.

And the chickens and ducks. I want this house.

Then we went on an adventure to find a horse. Success!

And this pretty kitty joined us as well.

I also found some more fun Modena street art while getting gelato. Not sure about the message, but cool nonetheless.

-Meri

Jon Bon Comes to Milan

On Saturday, Asia, Magda, and I made our way to Milan to see a Bon Jovi concert. Yes, I will admit to being a Bon Jovi fan. You try to listen to "It's My Life" without singing along.

We got our tickets a few weeks beforehand.

But because we were spending a bunch of money just to get to Milan, we figured we should take in some of the sights in addition to rockin' out to "Livin' On a Prayer."

The Duomo. Still awesome.

Magda was really pissed off that the outside of the Scala Theatre wasn't pretty. That is the face of extreme disappointment.

And we stopped by the castle.

But mostly, Asia and Magda really wanted to get to the concert.

Side note: another thing that Italy seems to lack--people that clean up the stadiums. San Siro was absolutely disgusting. This spoiled American is far too accustomed to Citizens Bank Park and clean sitting situations.

There he is! I think he's gotten younger since the last time I saw him...

He played for almost 3 1/2 hours straight. We were exhausted afterwords (seemingly more so than Jon Bon who was, you know, doing all the singing and dancing and whatnot).

Happy to show my New Jersey pride all the way in Milan.

-Meri

Why I Went to Piacenza

I feel like Italians think I'm stupid. Every time I do something, they look at me like I have five heads. More explanation will come.

In the meantime, I decided to go to Piacenza the other day because, well, I have literally nothing left to do. All of my finals are done and now I'm just kind of hanging around Italy until July 15th. So, I'd heard about Piacenza (and it was recommended by a little Modena tourist book!) and decided to take a day trip, since I have nothing else to do.

There main piazza is "Piazza Cavalli"--Horses Piazza. That pretty much made it impossible for the city to be a complete failure.

I went around and saw some sights.

There was a very cute little garden right near the train station.

Then the Duomo! I couldn't go inside because it was closed. I will say that this town is definitely sleepy. I knew when I saw that stores are closed from 12:30 to 4:30 that there was a problem (Modena's stores are closed from 12:30 to 3:30).

Next I visited the main palazzo--Palazzo Farnese.

Pretty.

And empty. I take back anything I ever said about Modena being a quiet town. Modena is hoppin' in comparison to Piacenza.

Inside the palazzo were these creepy statues.

Turns out they are actually seats!

Then I took a walk to a pasticceria I had read about online. I will make a trip anywhere as long as a pasticceria is involved.

This one was particularly exciting because it was Napolitano. I love desserts from Napoli and Sicilia.

As I was paying for my sweets, the lady asked if I was Italian. When I responded and said I was American, the five-headed look came out.

"What are you doing in Piacenza?"
"Well, I'm studying in Modena..."
"You're studying in Modena? Well, what on earth are you doing in Piacenza?"
And so the conversation went.

I got some delicious goodies though. A tiny babà (that she squirted with fresh alcohol before handing it to me) and a little airy pastry filled with an incredible chocolate cream. It was worth the trip to Piacenza.

-Meri

S'mores!!!!!!!!!!

I was very excited to introduce Asia and Magda to s'mores yesterday. It was a major hit (how could it not be?).

Usually, my friend from home has a fire pit where we roast our jet-puffed marshmallows and squish them between Honey Maid graham crackers and Hershey's Chocolate.

Well, we used the gas stove as our fire pit and I got a little creative while choosing ingredients.

I did a pretty good job finding a replacement for graham crackers:

They were a little small and lacked the hint of cinnamon, but they sufficed.

Hershey's doesn't exist here, so I took the liberty of getting a bunch of different kinds of chocolate. I was super excited to try out gianduia s'mores--and they didn't disappoint.

Mmmmmmm so yummy. Just the smell of roasting marshmallows made me feel at home.

-Meri

Proud To Be American...?

"Delicacies of Stars and Stripes" (rough translation).

Hmmmm so it's "American" Food week/month over here at Lidl, the supermarket down the street. I'm a little horrified.

In picture one, going left to right and starting from the top shelf we have: pop corn, hamburger "sauce," mustard, mayonnaise, cranberry juice (in Italian known as "American blueberries"), cheesecake, apple pie, cherry pie, apple crumble, muffins, cookies, and two different kinds of chips.

More cranberry juice, peanut butter (smooth and crunchy!), hot dogs in a jar (that made me wanna puke), craisins, jelly beans, those weird gummy hamburgers, pickles, chocolate and lemon cakes, pancake mix in a plastic container, marshmallows (BBQ marshmallows--I think the BBQ refers to the fact that you are supposed to roast them...), and finally, ketchup.

I don't know which part of this is most offensive...

Well, I'm making the most of it. We'll be making s'mores and puppy chow very soon.

In other news...

I got new sandals! Having come in winter, I had only brought shoes with no air pockets to relieve my feetsies. To spare people of the putrid smell that comes after I take off my shoes (due to the excessive heat--it's not a normal occurrence), I'll be wearing these from now on.

Kitties!

We found these cuties when we went to Parco Amendola.

Scariest store front ever.

ET and a giant hand. There's more that my camera didn't catch. Asia is mesmerized, or scared.

And Modena is pretty during the day...

and at night.

-Meri

My Penultimate Visitors!

My aunt and uncle, Cary and Margie, have been traveling all over Italy since June 11th. They started in Rome and are currently in Venice. They stopped in Bologna for a few days and I convinced them to head over to Modena a couple of times.

First, we met up in Bologna, and Cary began his insistent photo-taking.

We had some cappuccino far too late in the day, just like Americans should.

I showed them around town. That's the face I make when someone asks what something is and I have absolutely no idea.

It happens pretty frequently.

In Modena, we visited some of my favorite places, like Bar Tiffany.

And Mercato Albinelli.

We ate cherries, apricots, and strawberries.

Then we went to an amazing lunch at this place, Il Fantino. It's tucked away on a tiny side street and has incredible food.

Oh, and apparently there was an earthquake that we didn't feel...

-Meri