Day off success!

My day off was a complete success, if you count being able to withdraw money and not miss any of my public transport bits n pieces. Although at the end of it all, I did feel like I spent much of my day waiting for buses and trains.

Firstly, I finally worked out a way to get to Budapest for my week of teaching in Slovakia (I feel cold just thinking about it) and then ran down the driveway to see if I could catch the next bus. Not knowing when the next bus was, I was simply hoping it was there when I got to the bottom of the st. Not so, however, as I sat for almost an hour before the next bus came - and when it did, it almost drove past completely thanks to a big truck in front of it.

With some extra time now up my sleeve, I went to the old town of Orte, another hilltop medevial situation. Cute little place. Then I headed to Orvieto, like Orte but bigger and much more touristy. All day I swear all I heard was French, American and Australian accents. Awesometastic (insert vomit sound here). I really don't like tourist places. Am developing a hatred of them.

Orvieto itself was good, although I was too tight to pay to go in anywhere and therefore spent my time wandering the streets looking in the free churches and cathedrals, and taking pictures of the little streets with cute hanging plants etc. There were apparently caves under the town that were used to catch pigeons and store wine etc but I never found them and ended up walking around the perimeter of the town instead, which was fine.

My hopes of getting back before dark went unfulfilled as the train and bus schedules did not mesh, and I ended up having to walk up the mega long and steep driveway in the dark, getting freaked out by black things running across the path in front of me. At first I thought it was one of the dogs chasing something in the bush but then I heard kind of pig-like noises. I walked a little faster.

Dinner was at a nice cave restaurant in nearby Vasanello, which we walked to under a beautiful starry sky. But it was FUCKING FREEZING outside. Definitely not looking forward to Slovakia.

Hitting the Help X jackpot

On the road again and it was a quick return to me stressing out in the backseat with dad drifting ever-closer to the middle of the autobarn and massive trucks kept beeping to move us over. Of course, he instead took my horror as an insult to his perfect driving skills and henceforth I was the rude little child in the back. Not to worry, I thought, only a few more hours before we part and I can breathe again. I love my dad but sometimes... And it's not like his wife wouldn't have wanted to see the back of me – she always needs to bite her tongue because it's her husband's child and her husband's wallet but I know she thinks we're all little brats. It's not my fault her children never step out of line. Except the one I once ran into at a rave... tut tut.

Moving on... We got to see some lovely Italian countryside and as we headed deeper into Tuscan territory I could see the delight spread across dad's face. Not wanting to stress out and try to get too much in, we took out time with lunch and then ended up having barely enuf time to get to Cortona and no time at all for Montepulciano. It was OK though, because Cortona is a beautiful place to visit at the very least. It was built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Tuscan valleys, and has all the streets leading to one central piazza. The streets are narrow and cobbled, really cute! There were some stupidly overpriced art galleries there that I saw some nice artwork in but alas...

We found we were running fairly behind schedule for our arrival to Orte so we stepped on it and I rang M to tell her we were going to be late. She sounded non-plussed about it all so I relaxed and rolled along with the countryside and dad's drifting steering wheel until we reach what I thought was going to be the little 3-street town of Orte. Turns out the old part of the town is also on a clifftop, a magnificent sight to see as we drove past down some back streets, and seemingly from medieval times. Looking forward to checking that little puppy out someday soon.

We pull into the driveway and wind our way up to a big, red towered villa at the top of the road and I slowly take a breathe out. Have I hit the jackpot here? Very nearly possibly. It was all smiles from my new hosts as they stood smiling and waiting (by chance) at the top of the driveway. I peeked over their shoulders at the view of the Tuscan valley down below as the warm afternoon sun kissed my cheeks and I took off my heavy jacket. I knew I'd be in for a much more comfortable 2 weeks at this joint.

Dear Diary... I want to live in Bologna

Last night together, the three of us hardy travellers. I'm starting to wear thin of their extreme sensibility and dad's not-so-subtle thoughts on what I should be doing with my life he so kindly offered to add at each available chance. But hey, he's a parent after all and I wouldn't be doing my duty as a child if I wasn't disappointing him just a little.

So we arrived in Bologna, a city in Italy I'd not been before but was keen to check out, particularly since it was – as the name suggests – the birthplace of spaghetti bolognese. After dinner, however, it was most definitely the sights of the streets that impressed me more than the sauced pasta dish. It was possibly the shittest meal I've had since being with dad, and I've eaten a lot so I have much to base as comparison. The sights of the streets though, ooh la la... Turns out Bologna is a university town, much to my enjoyment, so along the rows of fashion shops there were real-life models of people looking cool right there on the pavement. I was chomping at the bit to get me some of these lookers, but I kept stopping and reminding myself that they were Italians and my past experiences with such men (never mind the women – can you IMAGINE??!) are not even worth remembering their names for. Urgh, I just remembered another one...

We went back to the hotel and had another early night, and I readied myself to head to my new host family in Orte the next day.