Twenty-one and in LONDON!

After many hours and many modes of transportation, I finally found myself to the hotel in London, took a shower, and ordered room service. Ah, what a life. Brittany and Faith came home from the Lion King show after a few hours, while I was kicking back eating chocolate and watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It was so nice to see them again! We exchanged Christmas/birthday presents, caught up a bit, and got some sleep!

The next day was my infamous, however anti-climactic when spent in Europe, twenty-first birthday! We slept in and then went for breakfast and champagne on the club level (hoo hoo) of the hotel. Here's some engagement photos of me and Britt from that morning (note the special birthday beads from Cheryl):


We went to Hampton Court Palace for the day, looking at the gardens, the kitchens, and the grounds. There was a small event happening in the Great Hall that afternoon called 'gift-giving' for Christmas. There were all these characters from back then, including the audience in their act. Towards the end, they decided to have a Christmas dance, which we all participated in. One of the actors, Sir Thomas Cottonpeppersomething, asked me to dance and took me to the front of the line near the Queen especially because it was my birthday :). Then we danced in a line with all the others and he was super flirtatious (as his character was supposed to be) and said sweet things such as, ''I've never had the pleasure of dancing with such a lovely gentlewoman'' or complimentary things such as, 'your gown flares just beautifully as you twirl' or hilarious things such as (to the Queen), ''It's Kelly's birthday, but I don't think I'll have the pleasure of seeing her in her birthday suit'' or naughty things such as, "If only I were able to do a different dance with her later" !!! It was too funny. Pretty sure I blushed the whole time.


That evening, Faith joined us for dinner and a drink in Soho and then decided to return to the hotel. Brittany and I spent the next few hours wandering London most constructively. We went from Soho to Picadilly Circus to Leicester Square to Trafalgar Square to The Thames to Big Ben! We got this one cooky but harmless guy asking us how many curly-haired people we know. He was stressing to us that they were a 'dying breed' and thus he started a facebook group titled, 'Curly of Hair, Whirly of Mind' in order to 'raise awareness'. Later, we looked it up and it doesn't exist. Too bad! Hehe...Anyways, it was a lovely tour of London at night on foot! After Big Ben we finally grabbed a taxi home and got off our feet! Here's the pics:

In front of some horse statue

I like this one because it looks like the tree is growing out of her head!

With the London Eye

Me and the Benjamin

This morning Faith's cousin, Andi, and her family came into London to meet up with us. Before they arrived, we stopped into Harrod's for a moment, but since it was just when they were opening, we had to push our way in through a throng of people!

Attempting to enter Harrod's

After we met up with the fam, we spent the rest of the day more or less wandering again. We went through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, rode the London Eye, and walked over the Tower Bridge. Tonight we are going to relax in the hotel--I'm pooped! And here's the pics of today's grand tour:

In Kensington Gardens

On our way to the Eye
Here follows a few pictures from the ride:


In front of tower bridge, annoying me again

A more normal pic with the bridge

Andi and family

While on the bridge, they had to lift if for a boat...
it was really neat to watch from up close.

Saying goodbye to Castrovillari

This is mostly a placemarker because I don't want to forget to write more about my last days in Castrovillari. I had the hardest time leaving. Right now I'm in London for my birthday spending it with Brittany and her mom, Faith. We're having a great time so far! I'll write asap!

The last couple days in Castrovillari were far more laid back since we were all recovering from Christmas. I lunched with Federica's family, went out with the friends to see some of the various locales Castrovillari has to offer, went to the beach in a town nearby, stopped by Silvia's birthday party with her friends, and finally went out to dinner on the last night for a mind-boggling meal with a stop at the Devil's Bridge!

At the beach...it was SO cold!
That's a castle in the background.

The siblings at Silvia's birthday party

The restaurant



Shawn and me looking super awkward.
I absolutely love this picture!

So Alessandro decided we should all order the main appetizer and share because it gives a great sampling of the best of Calabria's fine foods. We each received a plate with prociutto and one of the best cheeses I've ever tried. I was satisfied just with that, but then the waiter proceeded to bring out about 8 or more platters with dried and oiled tomatoes and eggplant, different types of sausage and pancetta, ricotta, frittatas, olives, and more! It was beyond anything I had ever imagined as an appetizer in my life! And so good...and then after we each had still ordered a main course (!) which was completely unnecessary, but completely delicious of course. I had tagliatelle with fresh picked mushrooms. Mmm...I just don't understand how they can make food taste so good. They're like magicians. After, we went to Il Ponte di Diavolo:

You can't see the background very well, but it was surrounded by cliffs with a big river raging below. I couldn't even see the river, I could only hear it! It was super creepy at night but really beautiful...and the air was amazingly crisp and refreshing.

The next day I had to get up super early for my ridiculous day of travel. It was so sad saying good-bye to Silvia and Mama. Silvia through a fit and said that Azzurra had been unfair always stealing me away so she couldn't spend any time with me. It was cute. In the morning, mama packed me sandwiches and then drove me to the station and waited with me for the bus. She always called me "joya" which I presume means joy, and she told me what a pleasure it had been and that I was welcomed anytime. Other than my own, I don't think I could have been with a better family for Christmas. My time in Castrovillari, Calabria was unlike anything I've ever experienced in my life. It cast a spell on me and created the most wonderful memories that will stay with me forever. The best (and unfortunately the most corny) way I can describe it is that my heart was full while I was there.

Christmas out on the towns

I was fortunate enough to get another shot at internet so soon! I'm at Federica's house, where we just ate another huge lunch for Santo Stefano. Seriously, that's all we do, is eat huge lunches. You have no idea. But ooooo, honey, is it yummy. Here's some pictures from yesterday's Christmas lunch:

The girls, hungry and ready to eat!

Mmm...the second course!

So yesterday after lunch Azzurra's uncle took Azzurra and me for a ride around the countryside. We saw more of Lungra, the town where he and the grandparents live, including the Greek Bizantine church (circa 1300) and a view of the whole town from the top of the hill.

After, we went to a town about 30 minutes away, Altomonte, which was sooo old and sooo beautiful. We had to get out of the car and walk through the cobblestone passageways. I have so many beautiful photos (none of which accurately portray the true beauty of seeing it in person, unfortunately)...here's a couple:

After, we went back to Lungra to visit Azzurra's great aunt's house, where everyone had reconvened. Her house was very antique, very particular. I took pics of that too because I knew my mom would love to see it! To be honest, I've taken pics of just about everything!

Azzurra with her great aunt and uncle

How cute is he?

In the evening, we returned to Castrovillari, and the 'young ones' got ready to go out again, because the Italians party all day and night for these holidays. I was exhausted from eating, exploring, and speaking Italian all day, but I didn't want to miss out, and I'm so glad I went! So Alessandro picked us up and we went to meet our other friends at a bar.

Shawn and me at the cute little bar in Castrovillari

Outside the bar, a natural photo op...
The branches look like a cobweb!

After, the three of us plus Shawn (who's also here staying with his roommate for Christmas) went to a town called Murano which is spectacular. We went up to the ancient castle in the dark, where it was completely silent and the fog was rolling in. We explored the castle a bit, walked around the town, and popped a bottle of champagne. It was simply magical.

You can just make out the castle in the background

After we crawled into the castle...the view out the window!

It looks surreal, doesn't it?

The lights shining through the champagne bottle

My-sized door!

That's Murano in the background.
And for comparison....

Here's what it looks like during the day

After, we did another quick tour of San Basile (where Alessandro lives, and which we had a quick tour because San Basile is smaller than a pin) and finally returned home. The pictures don't even do it justice...but it was a wonderful, magical night I'll never forget!

Christmas in Calabria

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all are having the most blessed, fun, and delicious holidays with your families back at home! I'm in Castrovillari, in the region of Calabria, in Italy, right now spending Christmas with Azzurra's family. Currently I'm sitting in front of the fireplace of her grandparent's house, a few towns over, where we just had the biggest lunch ever. The food here...I can't describe it. I've never had anything like it. I've eaten more in just the last four days than I have in my whole life. But I have that sort of 'get it while you can' mentality. For Christmas lunch, we just ate 3 types of Calabrese sausage for antipasti, with tuna, salmon, and this really yummy eggplant thing. Then for our first course we experienced Italian 'crepes' which were basically manicotti but even more amazing. And for the second course, we had lamb, chicken with potatoes, and beef with egg in the middle. Ahhhh...I'm sooooo fuuuuulllll. But oh my God was it delicious.

To backtrack a bit...here's some pics from the first two days:

Silvia, Azzurra, and me being silly

Federica and me on our first night out all together

I cannot even begin to explain what an amazing experience it has been so far. Azzurra's family, and especially her mom, have been the most welcoming, accommodating people I've ever met! They have taken me in as one of their own and have made me feel quite at home. Azzurra's little sister, Silvia, is sooo cute and she's completely infatuated with me...I wish you could get a load of it. She honestly sometimes just sits down, stares at me while I'm doing something, and goes ''WoooooW.'' It's hilarious.

Silvia and me on her birthday

Castrovillari is a relatively small town with a population of just 25,000 but it's really cute as well. It, and all the towns nearby, are situated in the countryside, which is spectacular. Everyone knows everyone, everything is friendly and familiar, and everything is fresh!

Christmas is completely different here. Their big thing is Christmas Eve. We had a huge dinner at Azzurra's house last night, where we ate only fish...but tons of it! There was shrimp, bacilau(sp?), calamari, and many other things of which I don't know the name! After, we ate birthday cake for Silvia's birthday. The whole night (and always) I was quite the spectacle. All we seem to do is compare Italy with California. It's so interesting to hear the comparisons and the things they wish to know about where we live. Azzurra's dad actually asked me last night if we have bread in California...what is that about?!

Alessandro came over before dinner to meet the grandparents, hehe

Everyone at Christmas Eve dinner

Mama and me after eating the delicious dinner she made

One of my favorite pictures ever!
Nonna and me

Then we awaited midnight, for the moment when Jesus was born, and everyone hugged each other and opened gifts. It was really neat. Afterwards, Alessandro picked up Azzurra and me and we went to the end of Christmas vigil mass, and then we just met up with our other friends from Bologna and hung out in the center of town. It's as if I'm at home in Bologna here in Castrovillari because everyone I live with there, lives here!

Practically all of us from Bologna, in Castrovillari!

Ok now I must go...I'll add pictures when I get back to Bologna...and I'll write as soon as I can. Buon Natale a tutti! I wish I could spend a second Christmas there, with all of you. Bacci!

The Birds of Venice

VENICE IS BEAUTIFUL! I can't stress that enough, hehe. Kristen and I got really lucky because despite freezing temperatures, the weather was quite nice. The highlight of the day certainly was feeding the pigeons in St. Mark's Square. It's THE most touristy thing to do in all of Italy (except maybe for the pictures trying to hold up the Leaning Tower) but we got over it and did it anyway. It's incredible the difference in Venice between summer and winter. There were so few people in the square, the bird feed cost only one Euro, and we were the only ones feeding the birds at that time. So...we had all the birds to ourselves! Ahhhhhh....I was screaming like a baby the whole time! One guy was walking by and said about Kristen, "That's by far the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life." Unless you've done it...you just can't understand. Here's an array of pictures to try to express the experience (believe me, this was being selective...you can click to see the fear in our faces in greater detail):

Kristen was not expecting to be quite so popular!

Me, freaking out.

Seeking refuge in Kristen's bosom!

It was a miracle we never got shat on.

This one was taken by the old weathered man selling birdseed who just laughed at us the whole time.

In my Rick Steves Italy book, there was a section that said if you go to this certain glass shop and present the book, they'll give you a free glass blowing demonstration and 20% off all purchases. Good deal, eh? So we got to go in the back of the shop and up this secret elevator and into their factory showroom to watch an old Italian man make a ball of redness into a beautiful blue cat. He did it in about 30 seconds! It was incredibly impressive.

Other than those two things, and visiting the Duomo, we spent the rest of our day getting lost. Don't worry, that was the goal! We wandered over bridges and through canals, popping in little glass shops and churches...not just for the sights, but for the warmth!

When we happened upon the Christmas market and were flooded with samples of olives, sausage, cheese, and wine!

Gondola Gridlock

The Canal, in all its Grandness.

It was an absolutely lovely day in Venice. I never tire of that city!
And lastly...a surprise...the video of me and the birds: