So today Allie and I found ourselves awake at 9, even though she had gone out last night and I hadn't set my alarm for a minute earlier than 9:45. But, it worked out because I ended up getting ready really quickly to go to a cafe with Jessica, Tristan, and Robert so I could eat "un brioche" (which is an 80 cent pastry that most Italians eat for breakfast, if they eat breakfast at all, with their espresso or cappucino).
At 11 we met with Laura (the house director in Venice) and her assistant, Roberta, and split into two groups to go on a walking tour of some spots in Venice. It was pretty chilly still, but a beautiful day as the sun was shining for the first time since I got here. We stopped for more coffee at a cafe and some of us got pizza (and then chastized for eating it at the tables meant for the cafe!). It's been hard not having food at the house just because I eat a little at a time but subsequently eat really often, and I've been depending on meals at cafe's and restaurants with the group since I don't know my way around very well yet.
So, today Mallory took us to the grocery (again, thank goodness for her and her patience, because I've been stuck to her like glue since I'm afraid of getting lost and still don't know my way). It was quite a hike, so I tried to get a lot of snacky type food and enough to last me a good while. Per Mal's advice, I didn't get any fruit, veggies, or meat since there are vendors near our house for that sort of thing, but now I wish I had, just because I don't know where the vendors are or when I'll get a chance to go (maybe tomorrow...our first meeting isn't until 3). But luckily my roommate Allie and a few guys in the house are good cooks, so I've offered to pay them or do their laundry or really anything in exchange for meals, since I just don't know how to (or have the patience to learn how to) cook. It was hard, though, because I had NO clue what to buy since all the packaging was in Italian and my Italian is a little sketchy. But, I ended up with some honey nut cheerios, slightly sketchy milk, ritz crackers, butter cookies, strange snack type crackers with ads (in English) for the movie "Cars" on them, and some basic pasta and sauce. Oh, and some yogurt that is of hopefully a berry-type flavor...it appears to be the Italian version of Dannon, so that's good. I was just glad to have Kristin's backpack to put my food in, since they charge for plastic bags and I bought a lot!
As much as I enjoyed the walking tour and finally buying some food and going on a wine shop adventure with Brad and Brendan, a)it's still hard to believe I'm here for 4 months, b)it's a little scary and overwhelming still to think I'm on my own for 4 long months, and c)after talking to the group, I really hope I get to travel a lot to the places I'm interested in, because we all have such undefined and different opinions and budgets. I'm sure it will definitely work itself out, but I'm just a worrier, so I have to get my daily dose of worrying in!
I still am completely in love with and fascinated by the house...it's amazing to open my window and hear vaporetto, gondole, and all kinds of other boats go by...the sounds of waves and the water make me think of how much Mom likes being able to hear the water (although I'm not sure this is exactly what she has in mind). It's dinner time now, and then I think we're going to go to wine bars later tonight, so who knows what sort of adventures that will bring...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment