A Run in with the Italian Law....

I have recently realized that I really only have about 9 days left in this wonderful city. Therefore I have spending most of my time outside, walking around and just taking in the general culture. Since I am outside I don’t really have time to blog, but Lou-Lou has informed me that that is not acceptable. So here is my weekend blog! Note – nothing really happens on Monday-Thursday because I have class from 9 to 3 and I am a dedicated student who does not go out on those nights :).

Thursday afternoon a group of us went to the Perugina Chocolate factory. They are sort of owned by Nestle (ew) but the big corporation allowed the Italian company to keep their recipes, secrets and integrity which is nice. We watched a 15 minute video on the factory which started in Perugia. We then toured the museum where we got to see a replica of the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest chocolate candy. We then went upstairs to get a tour of the factory. Waiting up there was a bar full of free chocolate. People were stuffing the candies into their bags and pockets. It was actually really nerve-racking. I gave up and just walked out of the crowd. We then did a run through of the factory which was half closed because they don’t make chocolate in the summer (Weird). We finished the tour and went back to Perugia.

Friday we went to the beach in Ancona. Half of us (including me) missed the train due to a run in with the Italian law….but we managed to work it out so that we could still get to the beach. We had to take a train, then a bus, then another train. Luckily for us, we arrived at the beach the same time as the group who had caught the right train because they got lost for two hours trying to find a beach. It took us 7 hours of travel time when it was originally supposed to only take 4. Caitlin and I purchased our tickets later in the day than the rest of the group and the train they were on was full by the time we got our tickets. So we decided to take a later train and just stay on the beach. We were able to stay from 1 to 6 and then we got a nice dinner and then we caught our train at 7:40. We stayed on that train for 2 hours and then switched to another train back to Perugia. We met a girl from New Zealand who was going to Perugia as well. She is originally American but has lived in NZ for 5 years. Now she is going across all of Europe and is working on farms for a living. If I was capable of giving up everything and everyone at home, I think I would really like to do that. She was really cool. Caitlin and I successfully made it back to our apartment by 11. We were so proud of ourselves for making it through the rest of the day alone without any complications.

Saturday Whitney and I got up and took a walk around the city. She took me to the place where there was a large Italian party a few days before. We realized that there was going to be an eco-friendly fair later that day in that location so we went back to the apartment for lunch. Tara was ready to go by that time so all three of us went back to the fair and walked around. They had some really cool stuff including some wallets that were made out of recycled tapes and floppy disks. We then headed back to the apartment. Whitney and I decided to stay in for dinner instead of going to some of the other people’s apartment. She did my makeup, because my hair was curly from being braided. We went out for a walk for some coffee and gelato. We managed to get really lost and were walking along a sketch road down below the city’s center. Somehow we came out on the road right beside our apartment. It was kind of hilarious in a “we might be kidnapped on the road and I’m glad we’re alive now” sort of way.

And that is all that has happened so far. I really need to catch up on my school blogs so I am staying in today. I think we are going out for dinner tonight. But other than that it is a lazy Sunday.