Marco (pause) Polo?

I've been lazy, among other things.

Tyler's left the country. He fled with what was left of his Euro and a bag of Ryan's things. His short excursion to Europe included, but was not limited to:

1. A romantic journey to Lake Como with his brother's girlfriend; me. We may not have found George Clooney, but we did find NOT our way to Como, if that makes sense. In the process of getting lost we rode on a broken train to the place that broken trains go... on accident. We then proceeded to ride locomotives around Garibaldi for an hour while making friends with Trenitalia employees. I rock at navigating.

2. A trip to the infamous birreria: where the magic was born. Followed by an infamous drunken taxi ride home: where the magic fell asleep mid-cab ride.

3. Thanksgiving: which I will elaborate on later.

4. Switzerland, where his Euro was easily drained... in support of the Swiss economy, OF COURSE! After a 45 minute train ride, a 30 minute bus ride, Tyler and I were greeted by FOXTOWN. Inappropriately named, considering the total lack of foxes. What a disappointment. BUT, the shopping did not let me down. Yay, Burberry boots!

5. THE CLUB!?!?!? Which I missed out on. So, you'll have to ask Tyler... He did inform me that the DJ played one song three times and the crowd went crazy... EVERY SINGLE TIME. I guess Milanese club crowds love repeats... hmmm.


In short, I think the trip was a success. woot.

So, Thanksgiving...

I spent my Italian Thanksgiving surrounded by wonderful friends, a 50-some year Canadian, and Italians. I couldn't help but assume that the Italians were there purely to be fed - American style. Which was a good idea, because the food was AWESOME. I'm lucky enough to be friends with an Emeril-impersonator, John Deppe. John's turkey was imported from another dimension where turkeys are raised on magic dust and marshmellows. It was THAT good. Not to mention greenbeans, potatoes, and stuffing. Did I mention that it was all made from scratch? John's like Betty Homemaker, but a man...
Some glasses of wine and dessert plates later I discovered that less contact with men (mostly on the sexual contact front) will further my career, as well as personal well-being: knowledge courtesy of an enthusiastic young lady. I also realized how much I adore my friends here, and how I wish I had just a little bit more time to spend with them. *la sigh...

But, overall, Thanksgiving in Milano was a success. Hurrah!

In Other News:

I bought new jeans today, and shoes... I have a problem, a shopping problem.
I cut my own bangs tonight: bad idea.
The time between now and home is far too short. I'm not ready it. Not yet.

oh!
I nearly forgot!

Ryan and I journeyed South to Florence this past weekend.
I had an empowering moment at the hotel where I laid down the law in order to get the PRIVATE double I paid for, instead of a triple we were assigned. Yay, me!

Some of other highlights are:

1. Seeing The David: He's huge.
2. Buying a Florentine leather purse! After walking away 4 times, the guy still didn't lower the price, so I dropped some bank, but feel good about my purchase.
3. Ate some Florentine steak, yum.... but also an investment.
4. Watched a marathon.
5. Looked at jewelry on the Ponte Vecchia. Aww, diamonds.
6. Took first class home! (not by choice...)
7. Watch "The Untouchables" while I cursed outloud at the douchie-tool-bags in the film who were mean to Sean Connery and Kevin Costner. I need to remember that some people in Italy DO speak English.
8. Spent a great weekend together.
9. Oh! I also ate wild boar. weird...

What I did NOT enjoy about Florence was being greeted every 5 feet by an English speaking American student. We remained pretty quiet about their presence until we were eating supper and about 50+ obviously American students filed by. They were wearing The North Face and Ugg and insulated shells and popped collars and speaking their English and heading back to the Florence based campus of their home university...
Not to be snooty, but thank goodness I'm in Milano.
Milano is nearly void of tourists and English and blah blah blah. I just like Milano, I guess.


I'm terribly happy. fyi.

xoxo.