Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in my entries here. Wed. Morning Cori and I woke up bright and early to roller blade over to school and see Max. It was so great seeing him! We went over to the local markt and grabbed a coffee and the others, some "brot." Yumm! Before Max had to leave for class, I got to see Felix (Max' Brother,) walking to school with his guitar at hand, which was pretty much bigger than him. :) It was great seeing both of my "brothers," and it was so great too because they were both wearing their wisconsin shirts! :) YAY! Once the boys headed off to class, Cori and I picked Sebastion up, and our road trip began!
We drove to Strasburg, France ( 1h20m away) and it was beautiful! Strasburg was an amazing way to spend the day. Though I didn't find fabric, I did however find myself some buttons and notions quite cheap. It was so great being able to speak french. It felt right, and natural- we even went to the flea markets there and I bargained so much--arguing in french, does it get any better?! Haha. The three of us had so much fun and once we got in the car, we decided that we didn't really want the trip to end, so we drove all the way to Genova, Italy!!!!!!!! Crazy, right?! It was the best trip ever! Before we got on the road, we ran into the super markt and grabbed toothpaste,tooth brushes, water, shampoo, and apples, and then across the street we bought swim suits for about $8, and that was all we had, and all we needed for our adventure! I'd have to say that that night was incredible. The rush we all had from not only spending the day in France, but to spiratically get in the car and drive to an entirely different country-- priceless.
As soon as we crossed the border into Swizzerland, The trip really began. It was really late when we arrived so we couldn't exactly see the Alps, more or less the silhouettes of them, but that didn't matter because the stores were out. It felt incredible to be so close to the stars! They were so big and bright and thousands- the most I've ever seen. I think that this was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and the most peaceful feeling I've ever experienced. :)
Driving through the alps was really fun, because it was like riding a roller coaster with the twisting roads up and down and then up again.
Driving was divided between Cori and Sebastion, I wish I could have helped, The most I could offer was to stay awake for the driver just to keep them awake... the closer we got to Italy, the harder that was. But Cori made sure that I was able to see the sunrise through the Alps-- zer shon! Breathtaking.
We finally reached our destination of Genova, Italy at about 5h30am and headed straight to the beach. We spent only and hour or 2 there exploring the city, and then it was back in the car to find a better stopping point. We drove in and out of the most beautiful hills, with clustered villages here and there- all very unique and colorful. The amount of bridges we'd crossed, and tunnels we went through, I could even tell you but only made the road trip more fun because we never knew what we'd find on the other end of the tunnel. By about 10ham, we found a great stopping point in Rapollo, Italy. SO beautiful. We brushed our teeth on the rocks of the Mediterranean Sea (pretty sure that's not allowed) but we did it anyways. And then we just sat there on the rocks, watching the sun reach it's final height, and hear the crashing waves. The three of us just stayed there for some time journaling and sketching, trying to capture everything about this spot so that we'd never forget. And when the time had come, we piled back into the car and headed for an even better beach. It took us a while, but we finally found the most beautiful town ever, none of us know the name of it, but it was paradise! We spent the whole day here, lying in the sand, swimming to the rocks, and soaking up the italian sun. -- Which, I must say, was incredible... yes I got a slight burn, but I GOT TAN! All three of us got the best tans of our lives! ( so basically, I finally have the pigment of a normal person,haha.) Oh, and because we had been on the road for a couple of days, we really really wanted to shower. So we did, not in the sea, but at this little "rinse-off" shower on the beach. Yea, this isn't exactly allowed, and in fact, we got yelled at by some italian woman, but we showered anyways and thoroughly enjoyed it. By the way, no one in Italy speaks english! Which is awesome, it only made our adventure that much more exciting. But we went to grab some real italian gelato (my very first gelato ever- I can now cross this off my list of things to do before I die, Gelato in Italy,) but ordering it was quite the laugh. It was sooo good. Cori and I split a banana split gelato. Yum! A storm was rolling in and we wanted to see some other places, so by late night we decided to drive up to Milano and then spend the day there the next day. We pulled into Milano around 8pm and then went exploring, grabbed a croissant for dinner and watched the Brazil v. Africa soccer match that was projected onto a building for public viewing in the center of the city. It was so fun, and a huge community event. We all cheered on the steps of the cathedral, once the game was over we walked around some more until a huge storm came our way, in which case we had to catch the metro to make it back to our "hotel," a.k.a, the car. Cori's teeny-tiny little european car was our hotel for the night. Not too bad. We all slept relatively well that night, but who has time for sleep when in Milano!?! We woke up, grabbed a coffee and croissant and enjoyed breakfast at Tiffany's ( yep, I did this in NY, and now in Milano!) and then there was this fabric store just around the corner sandwiched in between Roberto Cavalli, and Prada, that I really wanted to have a look at. It looked really nice, and given it's location, it was. I stuffed my croissant in my purse and buzzed in. Now keep in mind, that I hadn't truly showered for days now, haven't changed my clothes at all, and I'm holding a cheap cup of mcdonals coffee in my hand that had spilled and I pushed the gold plated buzzer to go in, oh yea, and I don't speak italian. The door keeper allowed me in and showed me my way. I find out as soon as she opens the door, that this is an "appointment only" fabric distributer that sells haute couture fabrics, all hand made, but the woman allowed me to have a look. I explained to her that I'm working on a collection right now and that I'm very interested in their textiles, so she lead me down a long ever green hallway with gold accessories and guided me into a room. There was a long board room table made of mahogony and then she turned on the lights. It was just like the movies, one light coming on after the other highlighting each and every bolt of fabric. It was beautiful and heaven and incredibly expensive- the sale fabric was about 93 euros per meter. But she allowed me a sample and I was on my way. Gosh was that ever beautiful! I was so embarrassed about my appearrance, but at the same time, this was something I'll never forget. :)
We kept walking and walking, taking everything in, the people, the architecture, the culture, it was beautiful! And we stumbeled across this salon that looked tres tres chic, and Cori and I exchanged looks and walked in. We had talked about maybe getting our hair cut somewhere, but weren't too sure about doing in. This very itallian man who spoke no english at all told us that he would cut our hair for 20 euros. I said, alright, only in Milano once. and plus, not to mention, my hair would be washed!!!!! It was fun not really being able to communicate. I trusted him, I mean, aferall, he was an Itallian. All I said was that I trust you, and away he went. I loved it, it felt so refreshing and daring to not know what was going to happen. I wanted to go crazy short and different, but I had to keep in mind all the weddings this summer. Once I was all cut and styled I turned to Cori and said it was her turn. She was hesitant, but Sebastion and I talked her into it, and boy are we glad we did! She looks stunning!! Sebastin picked out a picture and we showed the hair stylist., so Cori didn't really know what she was getting. She looks so french, it's amazing! Love it! We heard on the radio as they were getting all italian with her hair that Michael Jackson had died.. that was random. and our hair dresser just looked at us and said "capute."
After exchaning many many "grazie's" we strutted our stuff on the streets of Milano with our new hair cuts. :) You only live once.
By this time, it was already half past 3, and we needed to head back to the land of Deutcsh. So we drove some more through Italy and then up and down and in and out of the Swiss Alps once more. So beautiful. I wish Switzerland could be a fashion capitol, because I would really love to live there. I've never breathed such fresh air, and I've never experienced such beauty. By 6pm or so, we sopped in Basel, Switzerland... a special stop for me. On my list of things to do before I die, I really wanted to have a cup of hot cocoa in the Swiss Alps, and that's just what we did. It was awesome, and delicious, and I'm so going to do that again! They prepared the glass for us, steamed and frothed the milk, and then they brought out shot glasses of powdered swiss cocoa so that we would make it ourselves which was even better. :) I'm checking off so much from my list, I love it! After our swiss break, we were headed back for Frankenthal, Germany. We made it home by 1am, still with a high from our adventures. We couldn't believe we did it! Everything, we actually road tripped through europe and saw the things we saw, and did evertyhing that we did. What an adventure, and stories that will never die. :)
Saturday Was Silke's birthday, so miss Corrinna and I went over to her place to have a breakfast brunch and I got to meet all of Cori's friends. We played cards and laughed as we sipped away our coffee's. It was so much fun. And they have a friend who's name is Dominique, and for short they call hime "Dome," so me beign the american that I am, every time it was his turn or what not I would sing "domo arragoto, mr. roboto. domo....domo." and it was funny. haha. But then it got even funnier when finally, Dominique asked what I was saying, and I was like, you know that really awful famous song from the 80's..... yea. Apparently this song never made it to germany. Haha. So I was just laughing myself to tears. Finally the group You-tubed it and now laugh equally as hard as me. haha.
Later that night, us girls got all dressed up and went to a fashion show and the Mannheim University. It was so fun! We then went to the theatre of Mannheim where there was a festival going on and an AWFUL band playing. So bad, that it was so great! Haha, lots of the crowd were german, and drinking a good amount, I hadn't one sip and I pretty much danced my heart out more than anyone else in that room. The musik sucked, so I had to make it better! Haha, and I did, and then I rocked out witha few strangers, and bumped into this really really old creepy cross-dressing guy, who i watched walk into the ladies room, but I can assure you, this was no lady. haha. And that was my night. Pretty sweet.
And yesterday, the 28th, I spent the entire day with Max and his family. It was so UBER fun! They took me this castle, with the most beautiful view overlooking the Rheins. There are 300 castles in the Rhein vallies and this is the only one that is still in perfect condition, and it really was perfect. We took a german tour, and Max was the best tour guide ever. He translated everything for me, and made it funny. Gotta love that boy, and his jokes! haha. So bad, but so good. Oh and we had to run all the way back down to grab "dad's" camera from the car and it was a pretty steep climb. On our way down we passed this little boy, no older than 5yrs. and he was panting his way up the top and actually stopped on a step for a break. As he hurls over panting I look at him and say, "don't worry buddy! You're almost there! You can do it!" and this kid looked so confused and quite scared when he turned to me and said, "Vas?!" Max and I laughed soo hard. Max's english was so good that even though I knew I was in Germany, I felt like we were back home and speaking enlgish so it had never crossed my mind that this little tyke would have no idea what I said. Haha.
We then drove to Binge and the Hartmanns took me to this huge monument. We hiked all the way up and all the way down. It was so fun. I had so much fun racing up and running around with Max. We got to catch up so much, and we are trying to figure out a time that would be good for him to come back to the U.S. We all miss him so much, and really wants to come back! :) He's a really awesome brother :) We spent the entire day here, and it was so beautiful! The vineyards covered every piece of land, and at teh end of the day "mom," ( mrs. Hartmann,) and I had a glass of white wine that was made right there, right from the vineyards across the river that we had just hiked through. :) What a cool experience. I had so much fun with them and I can't wait to see them again. They are such a generous family and funny and their english is incredible! I didn't even have to speak german, and though I would love to, the little bit that I did speak, Mrs.Hartmann asked if I had studied it because I spoke it well. GEIL!!! Hearing things like that are such a compliment. I love it! I love love love languages, and I want to learn them all!
Alright my loved ones, This is going on to a novel, and my computer is dieing, so this entry must come to an end. I don't know all that we have planned for today, but the sun is shining and Cori and I are ready for yet another adventure! Ciao!
