DAY 59: Mangina?

As I have previously mentioned, sleeping in sweats, waking up, walking across the courtyard to class, in sweats, lookin’ like a homeless person really makes my world twirl… reminds me of my first go ‘round in college, when I was somewhat athletic, playing basketball, and I would go from my house, to practice, to class, back to practice, to class and finally home in sweat pants… all day. The only difference is, I shaved my legs back then. (I’m not here to impress ANYONE. Obviously.) Yogurt and corn flakes ONCE again for breaky… and of course 3 large mugs-o-coffee. I vibrated into class this morning, which consisted of me, dead trees, graphite and an 18th century leather chair… I practiced chiaroscuro to my hearts content and “Conga’s” consent… 3 hours later we huddled in the slop room like swine for more tasty grub… they might as well put buckets on the tables and give each of us a ladle. Lentil soup with pasta and green salad and ol’ reliable, the blood orange…

After doing laundry (for the SECOND time in two months, barf), I continued with my schooling for the day… yes I'm 26 and still in school... more drawing, this time instead of allowing mistakes corrected only by gum eraser, we used pen and created furniture out of letters of the alphabet, chosen by “J.C.,” who allowed only a few minutes for creation… fun exercise to see how different people’s minds work… structural, functional, whimsical, nonsensical… I consider myself the later, in more ways than one. After a few more hours of drawing, I took myself on what I thought would be a quick run before a lecture... 30 minutes turned into 90... I decided to go up through Corciano and instead of looping down on the highway, I went straight across which I thought would lead me around to the next hilltop town, Migiana (all within view from each other), which I cannot help but pronounce "Mangina" and throw "The Harv" into hysterics.  Have you ever SEEN a mangina? Get back to me... so after a steep 30 minutes up a winding road, I realize I don't know where the hell I am, although I can see where I need to go, so I keep trucking, hoping I'll end up there eventually. I come to a curve in the road leading to Belvedere (Vodka? Is that you?) and a private, locked gate that I'm assuming said No Trespassing in Italian. I had 45 minutes to get back to "The Harv's" Botticelli lecture... so of course I choose trespassing over disappointing "The Harv." "Over the River and Through The Woods..." I was in a forest without trails or roads... so I spun myself in a circle, picked a direction and toyed with fate a bit... Oh and p.s. it was starting to get dark. I figure lack-o-lighting makes movies spooky and interesting, why not make my adventure Into The Wild worthy? 30 minutes of hiking down over rocks and through mud, I found a trail running along side a seven-foot tall wall with barbwire looping over the top. I didn't know there was a prison out here? I prayed that I was on the RIGHT side of this property so I didn't have to backtrack up the mountain. Around the corner I spot a Corvette and a huge house. What I didn't spot were two mammoth German Shepherds lunging at me through a wrought iron gate... pretty sure I left a little excrement of myself on private property... I finally found a road that led to a highway and realized I had not only looped around one town, but two, including "Mangina." Five and a half miles later, I arrived at the villa, ran into lecture, realized it was for the other art history class I'm NOT taking (F$%^) and showered instead. What would Blond Voyage be without a dumb blond?

Dinner consisted of mushroom risotto, turkey and French fries (rando)... tomorrow I am ditching school for a week (grateful to "Conga'" and "The Harv") to meet two girlfriends from college... I'll play tour guide through Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre. Good times and even better stories are soon to come! Stay tuned... Ciao!