And we’re on in 5, 4, 3, 2 and “Hello and welcome back to Blond Voyage… apologies for the brief interruption… those damn Icelandic volcanoes are really doing a number on transportation- even via the world wide web and my fingertips.” Oy Vey! Skittish Yiddish?
Speaking of the number 5… these are days 95, 96, 97, 98 & 99…. I know! Where has the time gone AND how can I slam FIVE whole days in Europe into one blog? Simply unfathomable I tell you, but I’m gonna do it… don’t hate me (trust me, it’s not that exciting).
So there we were, at the little villa that could… Corciano, a.k.a. the town of 81 residents- all of which have traveled at least 81 planetary revolutions- corn flakes and sugar ants (contrary to Ricky Steves I'm sure)…
95: Friday. No Class. Slept in. Cornflakes. Yogi. Honey. Coffee. Mother’s Birthday. Researched Portugal. Googled sugar ants’ nutritional value. Threw up in my mouth a little. Ate salad for lunch. Spiced it up with cucumber. Whoo. Hoo. Visited KTM motorcycle store in Ellora to blow the stink off. Uneventful. Stopped at PAM grocery store on the way back. Shopped for the rest of the group for the weekend. Never doing that again. Bibi made asparagus frittatas with the wild asparagus Mikele *caught. Eat 4 saltines and try saying that 4 times fast! L.A.Z.Y.D.A.Y.
*Mikele goes out in the fields and “catches” wild asparagus… really cute the way he suggests that you actually hunt, chase and nab these stalks. Very hard to find actually, you must be a seasoned aspagunter.
96: Saturday. Cornflakes. Yogi. Orange. Banana. Coffee. New appreciation for breakfast. New concept for tall blond. Spent morning booking, negotiating, researching, requesting, surfing, budgeting (and by budgeting I mean having my people contact the IRS and Chase Mastercard’s people to see how slammed they are for the next 365 days …), my travels for the final 30 days of Blond Voyage, brought to you by Jenny Craig. Speaking of, only eating fruits and veggies, sans booze for the next 2 weeks… starting yesterday. Hilarious, I know. Ate healthy food for dinner (carrots, cucumber, tuna). Watched “Twightlight: New Moon.“ Horrifyingly horrific film. Kicked myself for admitting that I wasted 120 minutes of my life on Bloodmania. Made up for it by watching “Pride & Prejudice”- all time fav. Nighty-night.
97: Sunday-Funday! Cornflakes. Yogi. Banana. Coffee. You’re never going to eat yogurt again are you? Sorry. Convinced that I sleep on the most uncomfortable bed in all of Umbria. “La principessa ed il pisello.” You can figure that one out. Went on a 4 mile run/hike/somethingorother through the woods. Passed a frog pond. Dropped into a quarry. Yes a quarry. Trapped by barbwire and electric fences. Should’ve gotten arrested. Literally climbed (all 4’s) up a hill to a drainage ditch that led to private property. Hopped a few fences and found myself in Migiana. Grateful I grew up in Montana, which taught me how to “navigate” barbed wire and electrical fencing. Stretched it out by the castle. Bouldered the castle walls for awhile. Realized how weak my arms are. Instantly distracted by the sun setting over the valley. Realize why all the painting “greats” are from Italy- the sky is unlike any other. Mixed carrots, cucumber, plain yogurt and tuna fish together for dinner. Mmmm. Watched “Up In The Air.” Thank you and good night.
98: Monday. SURPRISE! Not. Corn flakes. Yogi. Banana. Coffee. Was asked when I knew I wanted to be an artist. Answered, “3 years old, when I mistook a jar of paint thinner for 7-Up and chugged it without any side effects such as death (sanity is debatable)- I knew I was destined.” Got me thinking what my passions in life are. Pin pointed the obvious: Art. Writing. Design. Being. Creative. Contemplated how to make millions with those talents. The words “struggling artist” whispered to me from a distance. Sounded like my father's voice. Decided my word of the day is: BEGONIA. Decided, “with everything in life, there is a balance,” and “out of nothing, comes something.” Felt inspired. Looked at my bank account. Instantly lacked inspiration. Did some tai chi after class- archer, move-the-boulder, bear-waiter, you know, the usual. Storm rolled in. FAT raindrops. Attended a FABULOUS Photo Shop clinic. Learned more in 45 minutes than I’ve ever learned in 45 minutes. Re-inspired. Drew a portrait of my cousin on her wedding day. Went to bed late.
99: Tuesday. Corn flakes. Yogi. Banana. Coffee. Duh. Drawing Critique. Went on a tour of the neighbor’s house (castle). Kinda’ messy. Lots of pigeon sh!t. Had salad for lunch. Pigeon shit and salad don’t sound appetizing together do they? No. They don’t. Spent the afternoon writing and snipping loose ends on end-of-April-showers-bringing-May-travel-plans. Went on a longgggggg run. Blew off steam. Started to research for my final paper. Lasted 2 minutes before I started editing photos. Have no idea what time I went to bed.
Tomorrow is DAY 100!!! Sh!t-the-bed, Fred! What a trip… 40 more to go… W.O.W… Ciao for now!
