Christmas wishlist

Christmas wishlist by asatrian on polyvore.com

Christmas wishlist

Christmas wishlist by asatrian on polyvore.com

Amazon.com Gift Cards - In a Greeting Card

Amazon.com Gift Cards - In a Greeting Card (clipped to polyvore.com)

First run and the alba

Recently in Comune I saw an announcement about a Marathon Sulla sabbia (on the sand) which will take place in February in San Benedetto. I really want to participate in the 10k. I have never run a marathon in my life. So I started training last week. The weather was exceptionally terrible for three days.

The very first run didn't go very well. I mean at first it was great. I was running along the shore and taking in all the beauty of the coast.

check out the colours. amazing.

This statue on the roof freaked me out at first.

I saw a line of barefoot prints in the sand. I mean seriously? It's late November, put some shoes on lol. Later on I saw an old guy running barefoot. He seemed ok. Though it was about +6..+8'C.

This city where I live now is called Martinsicuro. Like most of the Riviera cities it's small and is stretched along the shore of Adriatic sea. You get out of one city and  immediately enter the next one. And it can go on for quite a long distance. You can check out the map and see for yourself that Cupra Marittima, Grottammare and San Benedetto del Tronto (and it's part Porto d'Ascoli) are almost like one big megalopolis. Same goes for Martinsicuro and Villa Rosa (which is probably the same as Porto d'Ascoli to SBT, I'm not sure). So there's this long embankment connecting the two. (I'm so used to calling it lungomare that I had to look up the word embankment in the dictionary, shame on me!) Here in Martinsicuro it's called Lungomare Europa, over in Villa Rosa it turnes into Lungomare Italia.
As I was saying I ran slash walked all the way to Villa Rosa and decided to take a walk in entroterra. And maybe grab a bite, because it was almost pranzo time.

There are loads of hotels along the lungomare. This one's Haway.

I really like these evergreens. They're so soft to the touch. And also I have never seen fruits on a cactus before. Pretty awesome.

A car with Albanian number plates

A warning about those things on the road that make noise as you pass. Also check out the fence. NO PASARAN.

This one is pretty well-known. The name though *-*

A private fountain in the yard. Why would you need it running in winter?

A white cat, a black cat. Why am I writing this?

There were about 3 or 4 houses of this same design.

 So, it was getting late by that time. Although it was still 4pm it was getting darker. I have been warned numerous times by my mom and friends that you don't want to be on lungomare at pomeriggio. But I was there anyway. It's the shortest way to get home from Villa Rosa.
As I was crossing the road a car stopped right in front of me. And a guy with a disgusting face in his late 30s said something in Italian. I shook my head as I didn't understand well and didn't want to talk to a stranger. So I continued my walk. He was shouting something like andiamo (let's go). I was pretty pissed off. I hate it here in Italy. I get called 'ciao bella' a lot. And also some guys are using the car horn way too much. And FYI, I'm not dressed like a hoe all the time. In fact I'm never dressed like a hoe. So the mood for the day was spoilt.
And then suddenly, like in the movies (not kidding) I saw a glass/wood cabin which was a cafe actually. Maybe caffe' Modi. And Coldplay's Paradise was playing through the open door. I was close to tears. I was cold, I was hungry, I was pissed off at that bastardo and I needed a bathroom. And I found this warm beautiful place with armchairs and candles and a bathroom with hot water and amazing cappuccino and a delicious cornetto. And all this for 2 euro.

That chair is behind the glass wall, I'm inside.

The place

I felt much better. I switched on this GPS thing on my mobile to find out my speed and see how much is left to go. It turned out I had just 2.5 km and was walking at 6km/h. And only by walking I could get home in about 20 minutes. Awesome, right? Just 20 more minutes and I'm warm and safe and stuff.

yeah, please, don't drive onto the field. Thanks.

Also check out the photovoltaic elements on the left.

You can get fresh latte here.

Seven minutes into walking I was interrupted by that asshole again. He was driving along me and shouting Sono italiano, andiamo. (I'm Italian, let's go).
If a girl is dressed in a hoody, shorts (not too short!) and trainers that probably means that she's exercising. And well, if she's not answering to you - she's probably not interested. And yes, if she's a hoe and not answering to you that still means she's not interested. What is so hard to understand???
He than sped off, made a U-turn and on his way past me was still shouting 'andiamo'. Blech.
Luckily I got to my street before I met him again. And ran home, got in the shower and felt really really sick.
After that I was told off by mom, by Carolina, by Marifrance, by Soufiane (especially by him). And chose entroterra for running and never went running on lungomare ever again. Until yesterday.

The day started really great. Got out at about 6:30. First I wanted to use inland paths, but then what the hell, I chose the coast again. After all, it's not pomeriggio.
As soon as I heard and saw the sea I was taken. I could just stand on the sand, facing east and was speechless. I had only my cameraphone with me, so I had two options: go back and fetch the DSLR camera or stay at the beach and watch the sun rise. I chose to stay.
I'll just show you these pics I made with my camera phone.

I watched the sun rise fully. And then threw some pebbles in the water and went home.

First walk in Martinsicuro

About a month ago my mom went to Russia for a holiday and I moved to Martinsicuro. My moms friends from Atripalda, Campania (where I spent the lovely weekend 2 months ago) let me stay in their summer house here in Martinsicuro. It's a nice apartment with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge living-room and a lovely kitchen. All the furniture is vintage. Insomma, I love it here.
After I finished unpacking and organizing my stuff I decided to go out for a walk. And the weather was awesome. Sunny and chill, just as I like it.
And, al solito, pictures!

check out the headless gull on the pole

i just love these birds

gabbiani

insanely beautiful

coffee-head man

you can meet these all along the lungomare

most of the doors here have these hangings

told ya

also they love to put Snow White and seven dwarfs on their balconies

... and in their gardens

and they like to comment on the action of a pretty obvious sign. ONE WAY

very neat

i thought it was Bradley Cooper.

from a picture gallery window. loads of picture/art galleries here.

Campanile, Chiesa Sacro Cuore di Gesu'. view of the mountains from my balcony

That's all for now!

Campania and Paese Alto

So, in these past days I've visited Napels, Avellino and Atripalda in the Regione Campania, moved to Paese Alto of SamBe and made a couple of friends.

I have a 3-sheet written record of my weekend in Campania. I'm not going to post it all, or maybe I'll scan it and post as a hand-written diary.
I visited my mother's friends Ivana and Pino (Giuseppe) who are just great. Well-educated, funny, caring, beautiful. All in all, bravissimi.
I arrived in Napels on Friday and spend half of the day there. Eating pizza in the most ancient pizzeria (Da Michele).

check out the queue

 I'm going to be honest. The pizza was a disaster, if I served something like that everyone would tell me to quit cooking and do something better with my life. It was not a Pizza. It was not even a pizza. It was just a piece of half-burnt dough with tomato soup on it, with pieces of melted mozarella. Not funny, though.

Doppia Mozarella for 5 euros

Then I tried to get into La Chiesa di San Gregorio Armeno, but it was closed. And it's my second visit to Napels and both times the church was closed. Not funny.

I shoot this through the bars on the gate

 I walked up and down the via San Gregorio Armeno looking at pretty presepe's and then headed back to the Piazza Garibaldi, because I needed to get to Avellino, where Ivana and Pino took me to Atripalda in their car.

On the way home they introduced me to this singner - Giorgio Conte and my favouirte song by far is Passano le nuvole. The most beautiful line is - Passano le nuvole, ma il cielo resta sempre lì. Which means - The clouds will pass, but the sky will always be there - or something along these lines. Also Pino has a collection of vintage film cameras, and Ivana is a principal of a school. Their flat occupies the whole of the fifth floor and they have an elevator to deliver guests right into their living room. The balcony surrounds the flat and all the rooms including kitchen have an acces to it. Which is beyond cool. The view from the windows and balcony is mind-blowingly beautiful with all the mountains surrounding the city of Atripalda. And my room was OH.MY.GOD beautiful and the best. All light and pretty. And also with an ensuite bathroom, really convenient.

 

Vintage cameras

Grandfather camera :)

Just a still life composition

Also, I met the Ukrainian lady who cooks for them, Maria by name. And I met Pino's cousin Mario with his wife Carmela. A lovely couple who want me to meet their son Paolo, who was born 8 days earlier than me.
On Saturday I took a bus to Avellino with only my camera and a map in my hand. I first had a look at the Duomo, which was very very old. And then on my way to other sites I got people asking me how to get to the Duomo. They definitely could see that I was a tourist, however they chose to ask me. And I told them. No kidding.

Just a random gate near the Duomo

 Then I walked along the zona pedonale, visited the garden where young men were gathered in small groups and ... played voleyball, no kidding. Also I had ice-cream in some ancient (I hate this word already, honestly) gelateria. The pistacchio was bad. The nutella was good, but only because it was proper Nutella, not chocolate ice-cream with nutella hints. Then I broke my sandal, and walked to the bus-stop. There was one shop I entered and they offered me Emporio Armani black suede ballerina pumps for only 260 euro. I said no thanks and went back to Atripalda. We had the midday meal, watched some photos from their trip to Russia. Ivana had cought a cold and it was no good. I got a pair of pumps for 15 euro. They are pink-white-darkgrey and totally awesome. In the evening the six of us went to one of the nearby villages to attend to a nut-fest or something. We had the evening meal there. Some mushrooms-chestnut soup, some salami, and pepper stuffed with meat and bread, and also cheese and bread with Persian walnuts right in the cheese and dough and some red wine. Oh and some dessert with chocolate icing, nuts and fine crust. It was all yummy, we listened to local bands performing tarantella Napoletana and left at about 11pm.
Next morning we had breakfast, then I packed, then after midday meal Ivana and Pino took me to the Piazza Kennedy in Avellino from where the bus was to leave.
On the way back to Naples I heard another beautiful song Ti amo e non lo sai by Francesco Baccini. It translates as I love you and you don't know.

On the 6th of October I had a lovely day although I have cramps. Yesterday I moved to Paese Alto, and today in the morning I went food shopping and also got some goodies for the house. I also visited Mom and had a Skype-talk with my sister, I don't have internet up at my place.
When I was leaving, I met an old man at the gates. He wanted to talk about Bible, but I said I don't speak Italian. And then he said that there was a girl about 20yo who didn't speak Italian and spoke English, and asked me if she was my friend and was waiting for me. I said that I didn't know anyone here of that age who spoke English. Then I rode to the crossroads and found the girl. I greeted her in English and she immediately looked kind of relieved. We talked a bit, she was looking for the train station. I said I could show her where it was. And then she told me her name was Shante, she came from Namibia via South Africa. She's gonna stay here for 40 days and do modelling. Which is cool. And also, we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to hang-out together sometime.
Will it be too rude if I quote Mean Girls here? Remember that line about Africa?

Ok, then after midday meal I washed-up and then loaded the washing machine and went to bed because I felt SOOO bad. And also the chain on my bicycle fell off the gear and I couldn't fix it because I felt so bad.
I slept for two hours and then headed back into the center with my laptop and the camera, to take pictures and use a wi-fi in a cafe. I met up with Mom at this shop called Non solo 99 cent. Where I got sticky papers for shopping lists. Then we had coffee at Caffe Moretti and I checked my e-mail and everything. And that's when I found out about Steve Jobs's death. Devastating. I was so sad, I almost cried. To cheer me up, I downloaded the latest episode of Glee and a couple of songs.
Then I came up here, because the Old town is up the mountain. Which is not fun when you ride up but it's totally cool when you go down the hill on a bicicletta.

First days here

Day 1. September 24, Saturday

Day one started way too early to my liking, at about 4:30 when we moved out. Although I didn't go to sleep at all that night. I did right. Nick came around 4:20 and then we headed off with my dad, my brother-in-law and my cousin. And Nick, of course.
At one of the roadside shops I finally saw Arizona tea. I didn't know you can buy Arizona tea in Russia.

There were three varieties: Green tea with Ginseng, Chinese Apple (Pomegranate) and Blueberry white tea.

We dropped my bro-in-law and cousin at one of the airports and then Dad took me and Nick to the other one. We were way too early for the check-in and the flight. So we parked and Dad got his sleep. Nick smoked a lot. A LOT.
Then when it was time, Dad headed back home and we had to check-in. I put some of my luggage into Nick's suitcase because his was underweight, luckily.
We had too much fun at the airport (I'll link you to this post right here) and on the plane.

We landed at about 20:00 (we were late for two hours, how crazy is that). Then two more hours by car and finally we can sleep.
Nick was staying at my mom's friends' place.

Day 2. September 25, Sunday

Next morning after the breakfast I ran some errands and went to fetch Nick. I showed him around the city a bit, and took him home along the seashore and the port. Though Lungomare (promenade) is not very impressive right where I live. He stayed at our place for a couple of hours (we were at the balcony, using Wi-Fi, the fresh wind and the opportunity to watch Christian downstairs) until it was time to go to the station. The train was late for half an hour. And so we waited, and when it arrived finally it remained for only half a minute, literally. We only had time to push him and his valigia (suitcase) into the carriage.
Nick's mom lives in Calabria, so he had another 7 or 8 hours of traveling. Poverino.

Day 3. September 26, Monday

On the third day I finally got to go to the beach! I haven't seen the sea for so long, I almost forgot how it looked liked, for real. And so, off to the beach I went. I luckily took my DSLR camera with me. But before that let me show you a low-quality video of my first encounter with the sea.

An hour or so later a small group of people arrived to the vacant beach. A bride, a groom, a photographer and a videographer. They were doing a whole boring routine of every wedding - taking boring pictures. But then something funny happened, they took off their shoes and walked barefoot along the water. And finally, the groom jumped into the waves, fully dressed. And after a while he dragged the bride into the water as well, also fully dressed.
I took a couple of pictures too, they look so happy together.

Day 4. September 27, Tuesday 

Two days a week there's a mercato at the central part of the city. You can buy anything there. From clothes to shoes to accessories and from flowers to fruit to sweets. I enjoy just walking around there, watching people bargaining.

flowers, ofc.

Fruit and veggies. Ready to go.

In the evening we went for a walk with mum. The weather was nice and warm. But the wind. It was really strong and drove my hair crazy.

the waves indicate the strength of the wind.

 After the walk mom went home and I decided to have some gelato and just walk around the city. Italian ice-cream (gelato) is something totally different from what you have in any other country. And during my previous visit I was absolutely overwhelmed with all the flavours and colours. And I tried almost every flavour possible in every city I visited. Best so far was in Grottammare, I don't remember the name of the Gelateria, mi scusate. That was long ago. This time I tried Nutella, Ananas and Pistacchio. I won't take Ananas another time, but I totally liked Pistacchio. I was literally moaning in the middle of the street. Because the ice-cream was sooo very good. And also some scenery for you.

Day 5. September 28, Wednesday

In the morning after the same breakfast as usual (caffe-latte con biscotti) we went to Ascoli Piceno (the prefettura of this province is located there). The scenery along the road is breath-taking, seriously.
We went through the gates to Piazza Arringo (I remembered the name from my previous visit there). I called one of the houses vecchia, and it turned out that you don't call anything in Italy - vecchia. You say antica. Altough it is Mercoledi (Wednesday) and the office is closed, they were able to do something about me. Well, because I went there with this guy, who used to be the Major of one of the cities in this province. Along the way, we would pinch the policemen on the cheeks and pat some really important looking people on the shoulders. It was fun. After everything was done, we went to this Caffe' Saccaria. My companions asked for caffe (i.e. espresso), i wanted cappuccino. And then they asked for caffe macchiato and the girl at the counter added a tiny bit of foamed milk to each of their cups.
What almost killed me was the way they drank their coffee. It went in one go, like a shot. And I just stood there enjoying my cappuccino, because you can't have this kind of coffee in a moment, you have to indulge in it. And man, it was good. Buonissimo.
On the way back the speed was about 160 kmph. And my coffee wanted out as buono as it was. Ugh. I was glad to be home.
After lunch (some nicely baked fish + spinaci + insalata) I went to visit a friend of my mother's in Paese alto (old part) of this city. I like it up there, it's on the hill, and the view of the sea and the rest of the city is beautiful. But this particular part was a bit washed-out and not too appealing.
Then we went shopping with mom, and then Emanuele came along. Omg. Is he hot? You bet. Is he married? Yes, unfairly so. Sometimes he's just mean and really nasty to others, but man, is he hot! And he speaks English in this godforsaken town where everyone claims to speak English and no one actually does. He has the nicest smile, the softest handshake and his eyes are just asdfghjkl. Srsly. I can't even.
Ok, and so he exchanged a couple of phrases with me, in Italian first (I didn't yet know about his English). And then he says: Benissimo. (Very good. He means, my Italian is good). And then his Nonna says: E vero, benissimo. (True, very good). And points at my impressive bosom. I mean, really? UGH. It was so awkward for all of us. Bless her, she doesn't know what she's doing. 95 yo, for real.
I'm going to watch the new episode of Glee and sleep. And hope that my trip to Napoli doesn't get cancelled. Please please please.