September 9th and 10th

Hello! Sorry this is late, but you will just get two posts today!

9-9
Friday was our cruise! It was really great, a lot different than I expected, but it was still a lot of fun. We started the morning off at 445 and went to the piazza where we were supposed to meet up. After the 3 hour bus ride, we finally made it to the coast where we were going to be launching off from to go to the islands. It was beautiful. Just google city coasts in Italy, and that is what it looked like. The colorful buildings all lining the hills, the breathtaking views, the yachts in the harbor, everything, so beautiful. I took so many pictures! We were at the dock for about 30 minutes waiting to board our boat which allowed us to take a lot of really beautiful pictures. After our 45 minute boat ride we finally made it to the island of Giannutri. Saying that the island had nothing on it is an understatement! We walked around for a while before we finally decided to sit and lay out in the sun. There was a ledge where people were jumping off and at first I was too chicken to do it, but then I finally did! I jumped off the cliff! Mom, all the other kids were doing it...... It was about a 20 foot drop into the crystal clear water and I am so happy that I did! How many chances do I have to jump off a cliff? Not very many is the correct answer! So after jumping off a few times we got back onto the boat and crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea to the next island, Gigilo.

Once we were docked we at lunch which was orzo rice with crawfish which was really delicious! Second course was fresh shrimp and fried calamari. The calamari was a little on the greasy side but it was still very, very delicious.

When we were finished with lunch we went and walked around the Isola del Giglio and got some pesca (peach) gelato. It wasn't the most delicious flavor I have had so far, but it was not the worst. We walked around the little island for a long time just taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

Our boat ride and bus ride home were pretty uneventful, mostly just filled with thoughts of what I was going to eat when I made it back to the apartment. Once we were walking home, Courtney and I realized we had no food left so we would have to go out for dinner. We decided on a little place around the corner, I got lasagna and she go chicken with peppers. It was SO delicious.

We were planning on going out but I was way too tired and I wanted to just go to sleep.

9-10
I woke up around ten which was wonderful! I haven't been able to sleep in since I got here and so it was very refreshing to have that much rest. We had a late start to the day because I was moving rather slowly, but once I got ready to go, we were very productive. We walked around a lot and then went grocery shopping. We decided to make Chicken Soup this week for our dinners so I was in charge of buying the chicken and Courtney bought the veggies that went into the soup. With chicken included, I spend 30 Euro on food for this week, not too shabby in my opinion.

Once we finished shopping, we came back and started the soup. I boiled my very first whole chicken! It was so exciting! We cut up the carrots, onions, garlic, mushrooms, and noodles to the broth once the chicken was done. We pulled the chicken meat off the body and we added that back into the broth with the rest of the veggies. We let it simmer while I made an attempt to go to the Duomo for mass. An American woman said that I wouldn't be allowed in because my sundress didn't have sleeves. I was dressed like a harlot according to her! So, with my head held high, I thanked her and said "well, looks like I am coming back tomorrow".

We ate the soup and it was so delicious! We each added a little bit of salt, but the soup was so good and I cannot wait to have some the rest of the week! After dinner, we went out with a few new friends and had some drinks at a bar then went out dancing. Overall, it was a very good Saturday.

Con amore, Ciao!