Well, well,
look who came to visit me in my new home! It seems to be slowly warming up around
here and just in time because 2 weeks ago Gerben came from Holland to Vilnius
for a visit! It was so wonderful to have him here and all to myself for a few
days! We went exploring the city together, most of which I had also not seen.
We trekked around the cathedral bell tower and a small castle on a hill near
town, as well as all over the city streets second hand store hunting and coffee
drinking. We also went to KGB museum here which was a prison for political enemies
back in the days of occupation, which was interesting but pretty spooky! We
also ate typical Lithuanian food and tried an Uzbek restaurant as well as had
lunch at my favorite café in the market. It was marvelous and I was sad to see
my handsome adventure buddy leave so soon! Thanks for coming dear! See you
again soon!
Luckily I
didn’t have too long to pout because three days later I was on a plane to
Milan, Italy for a long weekend to visit my dear friends/former colleagues from
Holland. Random, I know..Here’s the scoop: in Europe they have these amazing
budget airlines on which ticket prices range from 20-40 euros one way! Of
course the catch is, they charge for everything and the largest carry-on item
allowed for free is about the size of a purse! So Charlie got to hang out with
my roommate for a few days while I packed only one extra shirt, clean (ah-hem) undergarments, my toothbrush
and running shoes and wizzed off to Bella Italia. Thanks Cagri for being such a
great doggy sitter!! :D
Starting my
travels I was shocked to discover that the Vilnius airport is about the same
size as the Boise airport…for the whole country! I felt so at home haha I was
also surprised, and a bit disturbed, that upon landing in Italy the entire
plane burst into applause! Were they doubtful we would make it?! But thankfully,
we did make it after all so I suppose that’s reason enough to celebrate right??
Anyhow, Han Yue picked me up at the
train station after my flight late Wednesday evening and although I was too
tired to do much immediately, the next morning Milan welcomed us in style with
10 degree (C) weather and some of the most lovely architecture I have seen in
awhile. On Thursday Han Yue and I played tourist all over town and in true
tourist style, took selfies….like everywhere including the Duomo, Castello and
in the streets. It was lovely.
We tromped around the
entirety of the city for the day, ate gelato before lunch (tummy ache city!!)
and ended our afternoon in China town to have steamed buns and gather the
proper ingredients for our dinner. Of course in true Han Yue/Madi style we made
Chinese hot pot and were joined by two of her Chinese roommates. It was
delicious and we ate every bite to celebrate the last night of the Chinese New
Year. Whew! What fun!
The next day, Han Yue had a
surprise day trip for me…to Venice!! After a 2.5-hour train ride we rolled up
into the famous city and as we stepped out into the sunshine in full view of
the iconic canals and gondolas I thought, “My God it really does look like
scenes from The Tourist!” I momentarily entertained a fantasy of Jonney
Depp and Angelia Jolie zooming around the canals in their little riverboat. It
made me want to buy a big hat and satin gloves and drink big glasses of white
wine.
BUT! That is not what we did in
Venice! Instead we weaved our way through the maze like little city, in an out
of tiny alleys and courtyards and lovely buildings until we came the main
square where we had lunch. And what a lunch is was!! We had a typical Venetian
dish called (in English) Black Spaghetti, which is made with cuttlefish and the
sauce crafted from the fish’s ink! Hence the black color and AMAZING taste! We
also had a wonderful salad and sautéed mussels and pink grapefruit champagne (on
the house, how nice). We felt very stylish eating our fancy lunch in the sun,
but we also paid a very “fancy” price for it…what can I say…it’s Venice…nothing
is cheap!
We then caught a “water bus” (yes
the have numbers and time tables and stops like regular busses!) to Murano Island,
which is famous for its colorful glass. Turns out you can make just about
anything from glass including the most breathtakingly crafted, yet entirely
useless trinket figurines of any animal imaginable. By the time we caught our
train back to Milan we were exhausted and fell asleep as soon as we got home in
a heap of happiness.
Before retuning to Vilnius on
Saturday, we met the rest of the gang for pizza. How I do love Italian pizza in
Italy…I believe I am becoming somewhat of a pizza snob…even more than I was
before that is! Of course nothing will ever compare to my first Italian pizza
back in December…the taste of the memory alone is too powerful to match, but
good pizza with great company in the sunshine is exactly how I would spend
every Saturday afternoon from now until forever if possible. Thank you Han Yue,
Runa, Stefan and Tuan for making my Italian experience so memorable!!! I miss
you all already!
So, full of pizza and the words
“ciao bella” still ringing in my ears, I flew back to Vilnius and back to real
life with classes and homework and other such nonsense. Speaking of real life,
I finally found a place here to take Chinese classes which is great for keeping
up with the language and also have stated teaching 2 yoga classes a week! It
isn’t in a formal studio or anything, but in the name of proper alignment and a
clear mind, a group of us get together Wednesday’s and Friday’s in the evening
for an hour to get our yoga on. It is great because we reserve classrooms at
the university for free and it finally gives me a chance to try out my
instructing skills on a group! I really enjoy the teaching practice and it
seems the others enjoy free yoga. WIN WIN!!!
Last but not least I just want to
give a quick shout out to my lovely Mother!! She is battling the heat and
humidity of Indonesia right now, training with Susi Airlines! I am so proud!
You go Mama!!
Well I think that is all there is
to report for now! Charlie is going well as usual and things in Vilnius are
tip-top especially because today is their (2nd) Independence Day!
Happy Birthday Lithuania, you darling little country you! Love and miss you all!
xoxo
