Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I love my life

So as if my life couldn't get any better than it already is, I now have the internet at home. I have no idea how this happened, or how long it will last, but it is fast and beautiful. All of you snobs you have easy internet access back home just take a moment to realize how awesome that is. Anyways, if this connection stays with me, there are endless possibilities for skyping and downloading pictures, and now I won't have to waste my time using the slow internet at my school or chilling at the pub.
I sent out an email with a link to my Rome pics, if you didn't get it, that means I don't have your email, so email it to me...emilybbaird@gmail.com

So let us continue our trips down memory lane to my first week here in Italy. We'll start off with the Amalfi coast. The bus ride there was definitely a highlight. After reversing a mile down a street after realizing we couldn't fit under a bridge...we made the trek over these beautiful mountains to the coast. I was attempting to sleep, but things got pretty exciting as we wound through the mountains. Here is a picture of one of the dozens of close calls we had with another vehicles. The picture doesn't do the situation justice. 1. The entire time we were close enough to touch a. the wall or b. another vehicle. 2. The road was full of switchbacks, I have NO IDEA how we made those turns. 3. Our driver would lay on the horn as we turned each corner to warn oncoming traffic. (this reminded me of dave flooring it out of the garage in the winter). Most people were actually scared for this hour long drive but I thought it was hilarious, I had faith in Alex(our driver).The Amalfi Coast is just south of Naples and it is a grouping of cute little coastal towns, the biggest being Amalfi. All of these towns are connected by winding roads but the more exciting transportation route is boat. We stayed in Minori for three nights, just up the road 100 yards from the ocean. One day we took a boat to Amalfi. It is a rock beach, nice, but I prefer sand. Of course the whole time we were making comments about how cool we were on our "holiday" on the Amalfi Coast while all of our friends were just starting school again. At the beach one day we were looking at some trashy US Weekly or something and there were pictures of Heidi Klum and Seal with there kids vacationing on the same beach, that says it all. Apparently this is where the end of Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed, I haven't seen it though.So the Amalfi Coast is added to my places to return list. But let's be honest, this kind of place was made for me. Old Italian architecture, cute lively towns, lots of hand painted pottery and leather goods, and beach, beach, beach. Let us also touch on the fact that I could just float on my back out in the middle of the ocean. This is relaxation at its best.

While we were down in the South we also went to Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Paestum. Those will have to wait for another blog.

Fiasco of the day: So this is definitely the best fiasco thus far. Last night I was walking home with Rachel and she fell, catching herself with her right hand. Things were looking bad, so when we got home she asked for some ice. They thought she burned her hand but I explain that she fell. Marco proceeds to tell us how one time he twisted his ankle and Paola fixed it with some special treatment. Next thing we know Paola is busting out all sorts of ointments and bandages. Then she cracks an egg white into a bowl and starts to whip it. As she is whipping up some crazy egg-foam she is telling us how this is an ancient Italian remedy. She then proceeds to squeeze tubes and tubes of different creams onto Rachel's hand. Already I am holding back laughter. 1. what are these mystery creams 2. Does she really need to use full tubes of it? Keep in mind during this whole process Marco is reading the Health section of Rachel's Italian phrase book and he randomly shouts things like "Call an ambulance" or "Inflammation" with a strong Italian accent. Anyways, Paola proceeds to pile a mountain of egg foam on top of Rachel's creamy hand and covers it with some sort of wipe. Then she does the same thing on the bottom of her hand. At this point I have taken the dictionary and I'm trying to focus on that b/c any eye contact with Rachel or the egg foam results in intense laughter. This whole thing is topped off by wrapping it with layers of gauze. Rachel's hand now resembles a large Q-tip. Paola tells her she has to sleep with this sucker on her hand. Apparently the egg foam is supposed to harden and create a cast. Once we made it back to the room I collapsed on the floor laughing...here is photographic evidence. I wish I could have recorded the application.

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