Snow!

One thing you may not know about Tom:  he always manages to be on a surf trip when it snows.  This has happened more times than I can count over the years.  He goes to FL or San Diego or Costa Rica to surf, I get to shovel snow.

When he left a week ago to go back to NJ, then to FL for work (and surfing), it never even crossed my mind that we would get snow in Italy!  People tell me they get a little now and then, not often, and not here because we are on the sea.  I didn't really take anyone seriously earlier this week when they said it might snow this weekend.  Then, at about 5 pm yesterday, it started coming down.  By about 2 am there was enough to make a snowman (I know this because I woke to the sound of students making one outside my door) and this morning we have a healthy 5 or 6 inches on everything.

No one even has a snow shovel here, though, because this is pretty unusual, so I won't be doing any of that today!  I'll just be walking around, enjoying the castles in the snow. . . 

Holidays in Italy

There is no Halloween.  Without Halloween, it is hard to know when to start thinking about Thanksgiving.  But there is no Thanksgiving.  So there is no landmark to start the insanity of Christmas, my favorite insane time of the year.  On Dec. 6, local Italians will celebrate San Nicolo (sometimes called the original Santa), and I'm happy to join in because I hear it involves gluhwein and presents for little ones.  In the meantime, though, we couldn't just skip Thanksgiving, so we had our own.

My cookies--I substituted shredded white
chocolate for both chocolate chips and frosting.
They were still pretty tasty!

Yesterday we celebrated (late) Thanksgiving.  Tom was already back in the States, so there were eleven of us (eight Americans, one Spaniard who grew up in MA, and two boy/girlfriends of American students).  The kids made mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, dressing, rolls, green beans, spinach salad, stuffed mushrooms, carrots, chicken, ribs, and seven desserts.  There was no turkey, but we didn’t miss it.  The food was good but not great—ingredients are different here, so without tons of practice it’s difficult to make things taste like you “expect.”  I managed to make a close approximation of my favorite cookies (the white choc and cranberry kind) that were pretty close to the US version, and certainly good enough to eat!  The evening ended with “Elf.”

I tried to explain to our Italian/Dutch neighbors what Thanksgiving was really about yesterday, and that it really comes down to food and family.  I enjoyed the company of the students yesterday, and I know that they appreciated having an afternoon together where we could all laugh about how our English changed since we arrived (speaking primarily in the present tense, asking questions by adding the word “yes?” at the end of a sentence) and not having to use in the metric system (you would be surprised how often measurements come up during a normal day).  I wonder if the day made them miss home as much as I did—not a specific place, but the company of old friends and old jokes; playing games together and eating plenty of comfort foods.

The extent of our holiday
decorations in Italy.

Now that the day is over, I can officially think about Christmas.  We’ll spend the holidays in New Jersey.  I hope these two weeks pass quickly and I can’t wait to see old friends and holiday lights and watch bad movies on tv!  I’m even almost looking forward to finishing the holiday shopping.  Almost.

Quiet night's sleep, long hot shower, coffee at Turnstile...

Just a few of the things I missed while being in Italy that I've already done since getting back to NJ last night!

I also already saw some friends: Michelle, AJ and Mike.  Seeing friends and family was the first thing on the list of things I'm looking forward to while being home for the holidays.  There's a whole bunch of other things that are must do's while we're back....like:

SURF!
Go see the tree in NYC
Go to a diner
Eat some BBQ
Eat some Cuban food
Eat some Thai food
Eat anything besides Italian food
SURF again!
Take the boat out and go to Sedge
Hear some blues
Play some blues (with the Tribe of Uncles)
Work around the house
Hang out around the house...lay around on the couch and do nothing
OK...another food thing...have kettle corn while watching a movie
Go to a movie (in English) in the theater
Walk the High Line
Wander around the Village
Have brunch in Philly
Shop at REI
Did I mention SURF!!!!

Cinciarella!

I really like some of the Italian names for birds...

"Cinciarella" is the Italian name for the Blue Tit (a common bird here in Duino).  In Italian you pronounce "ci" as "chee".  Try it, the name really roles off your tongue nicely.

Ci vediamo doppo,
Tom

i Dolomiti

Last weekend we decided to rent a car and escape Duino for a little adventure...we ended up in the famous Dolomites in the Italian Alps!  Our destination was a small, out of the way bed-and-breakfast that Kristen found in the area near Belluno where the Dolomites start to rise up from the Adriatic coastal plain.  Our plan...to go hiking in some real mountains and get a much needed peaceful night away from our small town.

On our way we stopped in the mountain town of Belluno, an authentic alpine city in the foothills of the Dolomites with jagged peaks forming a beautiful backdrop around every corner.  A quick stop for some cappuccino and a walk around the Saturday market in the piazza and we were back on our way up into the mountains.  Our destination: Alla Cassetta, our B&B tucked into the hills above the small town of Cesiomaggiore.

We reached Alla Cassetta in the early afternoon on Saturday and were really pleased with what we found.  The B&B, we came to find out, was a restored farm house originally built by the current owner's great-grandfather.  The owner, Christian, was an incredibly nice and knowledgeable guy from the area who gave us great information on everything from hiking to birds to trees to wild mushrooms...anything you wanted to know about the region. The house was warm and cozy with a wood-burning stove in the big eat-in kitchen where we sat and ate and talked with our gracious host.  And that wood stove came in handy because it was a lot colder up in the mountains than it was down at the sea!

Saturday afternoon we had just enough light to do a short but strenuous hike up into the mountains to get a closer look at those pink and green rock faces of the Dolomites.  We hiked up into the mountains via the Val Canzoi on a trail that starts near a milky white-green river flowing down from the Parco Nazionale delle Dolomiti Bellunesi high above.

The late-afternoon sun provided some nice lighting for the colorful peaks. We didn't get up very high or go very far, just enough to wet our appetites for future trips back to the Dolomites to hike further in (and farther up).  Can't you just tell that Kristen is dreaming about those future trips when we can hike to the top of those glowing peaks in the distance?  I know that I can't wait to go back!

Teachable Moments

Today I spent about half of my math class with my first year students explaining the results of the election.  There are no Americans in that class, but they all knew about our presidential election and most knew the winner.  We talked about the Electoral College vs. the popular vote, and why the system is the way it is (I think “Why Tuesday?” even came up).  I explained why we knew the winner even though the Florida results weren’t in yet, and how

Then I asked them about their systems of government.  The girl from Japan said they don’t elect their leader, they just vote for a party.  The Italian student said the same thing, but explained that there are so many parties in Italy that they end up with coalitions between groups who then have to try to work together.  The Chinese student just laughed at the idea of being able to vote at all.  The Turkish student explained the King just chooses the next King.  But that’s ok, she said, because she likes the King.

I feel lucky today to be a citizen of a country where I can vote, and, despite the Electoral College, I feel like my vote matters.  I am also lucky to be in a place where I can explain our system to students from other countries, not as a “right” way, but as a different way.  A system that allows us to disagree respectfully and learn to be tolerant of other people’s views to move our country forward.  I am glad I was here during an election and could take advantage of this teachable moment.  I don’t think I expected the non-American students here to care much about our election, and I learned as much from them as they learned from me.  

il Vento

It's been a week since Hurricane Sandy devastated our home state.  Even though this is a blog about our life in Italy, I felt like saying something about the storm.  Since Sandy hit, Kristen and I have been thinking a lot about home and all of our friends who were affected by the storm.  So often Americans (maybe humans) tend to forget about big events like this very quickly moving on to the newest, most exciting topic of the day.  For many of our family and friends living in other parts of the country I'll bet you're seeing this already on your local news?  Further, I suspect that most news is about NYC, which was severely impacted by Sandy don't get me wrong, but ground zero here was definitely NJ.  If you haven't done so already, look at images of the NJ coast especially...here are a couple of links worth seeing:

Images of Manasquan, the town where Kristen and I used to live:  http://www.manasquan-nj.com/Sandy-1012/index.html

Images of the NJ coast:  https://www.facebook.com/JerseyShoreHurricaneNews/photos_stream

That image I placed on this blog post shows you the size of Sandy as it slammed into NJ last week.  Notice that almost the entire northern Atlantic Ocean is rotating (from several large storms).  Clouds were fanning out all the way to Italy!  The energy in the atmosphere at this time was absolutely amazing.  Unfortunately for NJ a lot of this energy was released on our coast.

To tie this back into our life here in Italy...at the exact same time that Sandy was slamming into the NJ coast, we had an unrelated weather event that affected us: called a "bora"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bora_(wind).

It was our first bora since moving to Duino.  While many of our friends were experiencing hurricane conditions in NJ, we had similar conditions right here in Italy.  At first, it made me feel really connected with our old home.  Wind was howling at gale force, the sky was dark with storm clouds, and flooding rains made our streets flow like rivers.  I actually felt a little homesick wishing I was there for the hurricane.  (You know, the surfer in me likes a good hurricane).  But then I saw the images of our old home after the storm hit.  Our bora was a weak comparison.

Now, Kristen and I both feel a little homesick wishing we were there to help our friends and the community where we spent our first 5 years of marriage together.  Our house was fine, and our friends safe.  But many of our friends and neighbors had severe damage to their homes.  Some were told yesterday that their towns will be unlivable for at least the next 6-8 months!  Many of the barrier islands were cut unto pieces, power is gone, gas lines broken (the main cause for evacuations).  It is a very strange feeling being so far away and not being able to help, even though we know there really isn't much we could do even if we were home.

But on a positive note...

We hear that lots of our friends are taking stock in the positive things that came from this disaster.  Neighbors are having long talks around fires, many who probably only wave hello from time to time, and people are helping strangers.  Friends are re-connecting "in person" (not by email or on Facebook).  Those who have not lost everything are opening their doors for those who have.  It's comforting to know people are helping each other instead of turning their backs and thinking about themselves.

I hope you didn't mind a blog post about NJ.  But this is a part of living abroad that I felt like sharing...thinking about home.  For our friends and family affected directly by the storm our thoughts are with you.  For those in other parts of the country, keep thinking about the east coast and do what you can to help.

Il vento ci collega tutti.

Ciao,
Tom

Some Views. . .

In just over two months, I've visited three cities in Italy.  We have settled in to a new house.  We are almost adjusted to not having a car.  We've made friends and voted via absentee ballots.

We haven't learned as much Italian as we should have.  It will get better, but a one day a week class is just not enough.  One of these days, we will actually start practicing outside of class.

The internet problems have been solved for now, thanks to a USB key that connects to a wireless network.  Wireless internet is an ongoing battle at the school (200 students always wanting to watch you tube videos is not a good thing), but this is a temporary solution so Tom can work.

On Monday, our "stuff" comes.  Warm clothes and shoes and our bikes are the things we most look forward to.  While none of it is anything that I "need" and my mom kindly points out that I probably already have more clothes in Italy than many of my students, I will still be happy to see our 24 boxes.

We have not adjusted to being residence tutors.  Living next to teenagers is difficult.  They are not intentionally loud, but we hear chairs being pushed around and doors slamming at all hours of the night. Their idea of "quiet hours" and ours is quite different.  They keep telling me the residence is "calmer and quieter" this year than last, and all I can think is that last year must have been awful.

Last week my boss was in New Mexico visiting the US United World College.  He commented this week that "the US is really quiet different, culturally, than Europe or the UK.  Have you noticed that?"  Um, yes, we have.  And there are things we love about it and things we hate about it.  But overall, we are still loving our adventures!

Check out some pictures from our first few months here (no facebook account or sign-in necessary).

Sentiero Rilke

I don't think I've ever hiked on any other trail as much as I've hiked on the Rilke Trail.  I've been starting most days with a hike up the trail, and often go a second time in the afternoon with Kristen.  The trail never gets boring because the terrain is so interesting and the view of the Adriatic transforms so quickly with the ever-changing weather conditions here in Duino.  One minute the sun is glaring in your eyes off the white-washed rocks along the trail and the next minute a light mist is rolling in off the sea.  

If you stay on the trail it's a fairly easy hike.  Most of the time you are walking on crushed stone on level ground as the trail weaves in and out of forest high above the Adriatic Sea. Every so often there are lookouts with comfortable benches for relaxing and enjoying the view, which usually includes a different view of the Duino Castle at each stop.  But the real fun starts when you venture off the trail just a bit...not too much though because the cliffs drop off about a hundred meters or more in a hurry!  

As soon as you go off the trail you need to be prepared for rougher travel as the crushed stone gives way to sharp rocks.  The cliffs are made of well-weathered limestone called "karst" which is very tough to walk on.  The karst is a mix of big boulders and smaller chuncks of rock that are eroded down to a maze of sometimes razor sharp points.  A good pair of rock shoes is a must if you want to climb around, along with a good sense of balance (I often wonder what it would feel like to fall down on these rocks).  Fortunately, I bought this pair of rock climbing "approach" shoes in the US that I thought might be useful on the rocky terrain.  My favorite hiking shoes ever!

Hiking off the trail gets you to some really cool viewpoints that are a little more secluded than the spots along the trail with the benches.  A little scrambling gets you into areas that are full of birds too!  Well, they may not really have more birds than the rest of the trail, but the secluded spots often have better views for looking out over the treetops along the cliffs so you can more easily watch the flocks of migrants landing in otherwise hidden spots.  The bird in the photo is one of the more common birds you'll see along the trail, a Coal Tit.  They seem to be the nuclear species in the mixed foraging flocks right now...in other words, they are the species that all of the other birds in the flocks seem to follow around.  They're really cool because they are super active and not at all shy, often landing just inches above your head while you are watching them.

On the days when Kristen and I take an afternoon hike up the Rilke Trail we sometimes get treated to a spectacular sunset behind the Duino Castle.  This shot is from my new favorite secret spot that I discovered this week.  I told you the trail offers a lot of different views of the castle!  But this view is not one that most people will probably see.  I think we'll keep it a secret for a while.

Buona Sera!

Arezzo!

On Friday at 11, I boarded a bus with 34 students and 1 Italian teacher.  By 5:30 pm, we were in Arezzo, in the middle of Tuscany.
I am still amazed at just how old things can be.  The streets we walked up and down were from the middle ages.  As I wandered through one of the old stone churches, I felt like I was in a movie ("Robin Hood" with Kevin Costner, to be exact).  There was a wall around the old part of the city, and on opposite ends of the center of town were a medieval fortress and Roman ruins.
The students participated in a "conference" which consisted of various city and state level Italian officials delivering speeches.  Because my Italian isn't quite good enough for listening to three hours of speeches by politicians, I snuck out of the conference and wandered around in the fog.  The weather wasn't great for pictures, so check out wikipedia if you want to see it (http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arezzo).
This area of Italy is known for textiles and food.  I paid WAY too much for a beautifully soft cashmere and silk scarf, and we were served three multi-course meals in two days.  I think we spent at least 10 hours eating.  Finger foods with cocktails, appetizers, first course, another first course, second course, dessert, and coffee was the order of every single meal.  It was all delicious and accompanied by local wines.  I did get some pictures of the food. . . here are most of the courses from Saturday's dinner.

Antipasta (this followed appetizers during cocktail hour)

Pasta--some kind of rolled pasta with cheese and mushroom spaghetti-type pasta

World's biggest t-bone steak, cheesy potatoes and an artichoke heart

Dessert with local sweet wine to complement it (sorry, no chocolate or gelato this time)

Espresso

Sunday we had to come back to Duino.  Though we were only gone for two and a half days, it felt like much longer.  The kids were well behaved--it seems I've lucked into another teaching job with some of the world's best students.
I can't wait to take Tom back to Tuscany!

The Tuscan hills (view from the bus)

Busy Days

I realize I haven't blogged in ages.  I think about it all the time, but there's always some excuse.  I wanted a picture but it's on Tom's phone.  I don't have anything "important" to say.  I'm too busy to do it.  But if I keep making excuses, you all will stop reading!  And there is plenty to say, with and without pictures.  I'm also never going to not be "too busy."  That's just how I am.  Always busy.  And, really, I always have something to say.

So a little about my typical (busy) days.

A Moka

Days start around 6:30, and Tom and I usually have coffee and breakfast together.  Coffee is made in a "moka," a small Italian coffee pot.  It is usually delicious.  We have found that we never remember the coffee (or the wine, or the cheese) that is really good when we go to the grocery store, so there is lots of trial and error.  We now have a list on the fridge to write the "best" brands of things.  That should help.

Tom walks with me to my office (less than 5 min) and then he goes on a birding walk.  Once he saw something really good and came back to get me.  Luckily, things are relaxed enough in my office that I can leave for 10 min to see a bird, or have a cup of coffee, or retrieve the cell phone or notebook that I've left at home.

I'm in the office by 8.  I teach one or two 55 minute classes a day, depending on what day in the 8-day cycle it is.  I like the 8-day tumbling block, even though I know it would give most teachers nightmares. At 11, everyone stops for coffee break.  Teachers, Admin Staff, and students all get 20 min off.  It's a nice time to get out of the office and see everyone, but depending on how many people you need to see (or need to see you) it can be a bit hectic.

Lunch in Mensa (I think that's Italian for cafeteria) starts at 12:45, and it's best to get there before the last class ends at 1:20 so you don't have to fight with the students for a spot in line.  The food is quite good, for a cafeteria.

Val Rosandra,
one of our hikes

Activities start at 2:30.  One day a week I have Italian class with other teachers.  Another day is social service, when I drive a HUGE van with 6 students up to a botanical garden where we remove invasive species (http://www.giardinobotanicocarsiana.it/en/giardino.html)  Another day is yearbook meetings, and every other Friday is hiking.  That's my favorite, because  if you have to work on a Friday, you might as well be hiking.  And we hike in (or to) Slovenia.  How often do you just run off to another country for an afternoon hike?!?

Usually I'm home by 5 or 6 (sometimes there is an hour or two of work to do in the office after activities) and one of us makes dinner.  The only alternative to making dinner is getting a pizza to go from the shop in town.  It's pretty good pizza but we miss having lots of food options nearby.

That is my typical work day.  We are settling in nicely and I like having some sort of routine.  I miss my trips to the gym and the freedom of having a car to run out for whatever I "need" (chocolate, ice cream, take out) but overall, we are happy here.

Autunno in Italia

Fall seems to be arriving in Italy.  The change in color as you walk along the Sentiero Rilke high on the cliffs of Duino is subtle.  The change in weather on the other hand is not quite as subtle.  The nights are much cooler now and the days usually start off with clouds or mist reminiscent of the weather in Oregon.  By around noon the sun still often comes out, but rainy days are much more frequent.  The hot, dry summer days that we had when we first moved to Italy are a thing of the past for sure.

The birds have finally just started to migrate past our area as well.  Huge flocks of House Martins and Barn Swallows swarm along the cliffs when there is north wind, waiting for the right moment to head across the Adriatic to winter down in Africa.  Blackcaps, a warbler that looks more like a Catbird, are very common now.  Overall the diversity is still not that great, but every day we still seem to find one or two new species that we've never seen before.  This weekend Kristen finally got to see the European Kingfisher, which is probably my favorite bird so far in Italy.  Nothing like our Belted Kingfisher back in NJ, this Kingfisher glows an iridescent turquoise-blue and buzzes low and fast over the water more like a giant bee than a bird.  Un bello uccello!

Ciao,
Tom

Returning Home (to Italy!)

Two days ago I flew home to Italy...this was the view from the puddle jumper that took me from Munich to Trieste as we passed over the Dolomites.  What a difference three weeks away can make!  The mountains were covered with fresh snow that fell just a few days ago (there was no snow three weeks ago).  It made me excited to think about skiing this winter, something we plan to do since we have world class downhill skiing within a couple of hours from home.  This is about the same distance we traveled from our home in NJ to the icy slopes of the Catskills to ski last winter.  I think we'll like the fresh powder in the Alps a little better.

Another big thing that changed since I was last here in Italy is the bird diversity around Duino.  With the first snowfall of the year in the mountains it seems like many birds finally migrated down to the coast.  Birding has been really good the past two mornings as a front approached from the Adriatic to our south.  In fact, this morning was the best birding since we moved to Italy!  There were huge flocks of birds, mostly various species of tits (birds in the Paridae family...like our Chickadees and Titmice back home), mixed together with lots of new species that we hadn't seen yet in Italy.  A few of the notable ones were Blackcaps, Icterine Warblers, Goldcrests and Firecrests.  Not a tremendous amount of diversity, but more than we've seen before and there were just huge numbers of most species.  Looks like our coast could be a good migrant trap for sure, just like I suspected!

E 'bello essere di nuovo in Italia!

Ciao,
Tom

Proud to be an American?

This morning I went to a student-organized meeting to discuss the video posted this week on YouTube that is blamed for the attacks against American (and other) Embassies in Libya, Yemen and Sudan.  If you haven't heard about it, read more here and here.  A Muslim student organized the meeting to discuss the video and it's repercussions and to show support for all religions and promote tolerance within our small and very diverse community.

I have not seen the trailer, but I understand that it is ridiculously offensive to Muslims.  I do not plan to watch it;  I feel that every time the video is viewed, it only adds fuel to the fire.  The origins of the video are hazy--depending on your source, it was either a Jewish or Coptic Christian person--but what isn't hazy in the minds of the people in the Middle East is that the video came from America.

This was my first brush with just how strongly America is disliked by other parts of the world.  I'm sure it won't be the only one.

Listening to students from all countries and all religions talk about how upset they were by the video, and, in turn, by the killing of people during protests, was a bit reassuring.  I think that through education we can and will change the world, and hearing young people speak of peace and tolerance of differences gives me hope.

Many students were in total disbelief that the US government couldn't "do something" to the person who made the video.  Put him in jail, they said.  He is horrible and doesn't deserve to be with his family.

I never truly understood how the fundamental right to free speech, taken for granted in the US, is completely foreign to so many people.  These are smart kids, who like to learn and chose to come to school here, and they really didn't understand that "doing something" to the producer of the video, who was clearly morally wrong but had broken no laws, was simply not an option.  I was proud to be one of two Americans at the meeting who, while certainly not condoning the message of the film, explained the concept of completely free speech and how it was fundamental to who we are.

I also realized that with the right to free speech comes a tremendous amount of responsibility.  Just as I am fully aware that the actions of a few people against the US Embassies is not indicative of how everyone in those countries feels, I hope that they also realize that the free speech of one American is not representative of how everyone thinks.  And that we will not change our fundamental rights as Americans even though people do stupid things with those rights.

I realize was a bit heavy, compared to the usual posts regarding food and sightseeing.  But I'm just exercising my free speech.  And you have the right to read or ignore as you see fit!  :)

Venezia!

It was so appropriate to approach Venice for the first time on a boat!  I went with a group of about 50 students and we rode on a bus from Duino to Punta Sabbioni and then it was a 20 minute ride on this ferry to Venice.

I knew that there were no cars in Venice, but until you are there, you don't really understand that.  Everything is on water.  Roads are not straight, they are often narrow and windy.  Because everything is on the water, the water is of no use if you try to use it as a landmark to get around (I'm used to an ocean being either West or East).  I didn't have time to see too much but I got a nice taste of the city and I'm looking forward to taking Tom back when he gets here!  Here are a couple of highlights from the day. . .

Narrow canals!

Beautiful churches

Narrow streets

Above the Grand Canal

Gondola Factory (they don't make them here anymore, but they fix them)

St. Mark's Basilica-I want to go inside next time!

So many sun-dried tomatoes!

The train station (I think. . . maybe a church?)

Another view of the Grand Canal

Good bye, Venice! 

First Bike Ride!

Since we arrived in Italy, I have made an effort to accept every offer to do something.  A trip to the grocery store, a cup of coffee, dinner, a walk, anything.  I know we will only be comfortable here if we meet people and get out of the house, so I just don't say no.
At about 6:30 tonight, I had an invitation for a bike ride.  I hadn't had dinner and was about to go for my own walk, but I couldn't say no.  I have a bike borrowed from our new neighbors and I was excited to take it for a spin.
One of my colleagues rode over and we were off.  I was a bit worried when she had full biking gear--shoes that snap into the pedals and everything, but I figured I'd do my best to hold my own.  And I'm so glad I did!  We took a wonderful trip up into "the Carso" (more about the Carso in another post), which I've recreated as best I can in this picture.  I really have little idea where we actually were, but I caught some village names and did my best to show you the route.  Our path was approximately H-G-C-D-E-F-G-H.  (Or it could have been entirely different)

The villages were just as I'd imagined, but I've been here long enough to have a little context.  Crumbling stone walls overgrown with vines, small farms with vineyards, orchards and gardens, and little restaurant/bars set among the few houses.  There was almost no traffic, and we could have ridden into Slovenia if we'd had a bit more daylight (I would have liked gears that I trusted for that too).  The G-C stretch was all uphill, and I finally got some of the cardio work I've been missing since our arrival.  Upon returning to G, we agreed a stop for gelato was in order and I enjoyed Chocolate and Strawberry.  That gave me just enough energy to get back to Duino.
I can't wait to go back and explore more, and I'm happy that I have a friend to ride with!  She promised to let me tag along whenever I want so hopefully by the time our bikes arrive I'll know my way around a bit better.  Although I can certainly think of worse places to get lost. . .

Tomorrow I'm off to Venice.  I've only heard great things about it, and I'm pretty excited.  If you've been waiting for pictures, I'm sure there will be plenty after tomorrow's trip!