Ciao a tutti/hey guys!
So I’ve had a pretty hectic last few weeks! It was my housemate Matt’s 21st last week and we had a house party for him. It was a really good night and lots of people turned up to celebrate. I even made a cake (finding self-raising flour in an Italian supermarket is definitely up there with my achievements so far…) and we all toasted with a shot or two of limoncello!
(House party, Erasmus style!)
Unfortunately, the limoncello was undeniably a contributing factor to the worst hangover I have experienced so far in Italy. I was lying in bed feeling sorry for myself when I remembered that it was ‘British night’ at the local club and that all the British students had decided the night before that it would be hilarious to dress up like Chavs to represent Britain properly… So, ignoring the hangover, it was probably one of the funniest nights I’ve had so far in Bergamo. We all looked ridiculous but didn’t care at all, while others just looked completely baffled by what we were wearing- particularly the high pony-tails and jogging bottoms. But whilst we probably looked like idiots, I was probably the comfiest I’ve ever been on a night out!
(British night went well…)
While going out and meeting people has been great, my main objective of my year abroad has always been to travel: most recently I went to Rimini for the weekend with two friends. It was a last minute decision to go away for the weekend (actually made after a few cocktails on ‘British night’) but we decided to go, and ended up getting a Blabla car to Rimini on Friday evening. Blabla car is basically a website/app designed around car sharing, and works by people offering spaces in their car for a certain amount of money. None of us had ever used it before, but decided it would be better money-wise. So my friend organized a one to and from Rimini as well as a hostel. Both journeys (thankfully) were a success, and we arrived at our hostel late on Friday night and went for a stroll round the beach/harbor. It was beautiful at night:
(Ferris wheel by Rimini beach)
The next day we were determined to go for a swim in the sea, and despite the weather letting us down, we all ran in to the sea and braved the cold. We got so many funny looks from passers by who strolled past us wearing their scarves and coats, whilst the three of us splashed about in our swimming costumes! The sun came out a bit more towards the end of the day and we chilled on the beach and played football, and went for a few cocktails in the evening.
(Rimini beach)
The following day, we decided to go and visit San Marino, which is about a forty minute bus ride from Rimini. I had no idea San Marino was a country until I watched Eurovision last year, and so likewise didn’t really know what to expect from it when we arrived: it was absolutely STUNNING. Most of San Marino is uphill, so I felt like I walked about 1000 miles by the end of the day, but it was worth it. We walked up through the main centre of town where all the shops were and little restaurants, and then carried on up towards one of the main sights of San Marino, the three towers, all of which overlook the country itself. We paid entrance to the first tower, Guaita, which is the oldest of the three towers, and we were then able to look all around the area and even climb up part of the tower. The view from Guaita was astonishing, and we could also see one of the other towers, Cesta, from where we climbed.
(The view from the tower)
(Sitting on the edge of the tower!)
After walking to each tower, we decided to take a minute to catch our breath, and enjoyed some mulled wine and lunch in one of the restaurants we passed on our way up. The wine and food was excellent, but the view was even better:
I would definitely recommend both Rimini and San Marino to anyone who wants to visit Italy because both are stunning and well worth visiting, but I think that I am going to go back to Rimini in the summer/Easter when it’s busier, because supposedly the clubs there are the best in Italy. As for San Marino, I feel like while we only saw a snap shot of it, I loved it. But, I would caution to wear good walking shoes, because my dolly shoes had destroyed my feet by the end of the evening!
Finallllllllly, I’ve just celebrated Halloween in Italy! It was a great night because most of the Erasmus students ended up in the same place, so we all took over the dance floor and the music actually reminded me a bit of a night out in Mint, weirdly enough. Although, that being said, I would say that the Italians definitely know how to do ‘scary’ better than us…I know what I have to live up to next year now!
(One of the scariest costumes I witnessed on Halloween…)
(…And some less scary costumes!)
Well, that’s me for now; in the next few weeks I am even busier than ever! I go back to London and then Leeds this week (I cannot wait to have some sushi and a decent burger!) and then am off to Berlin and Rome… will fill you all in next time, can’t wait to tick another country off my list (Germany)!
Ciao for now!
Ella