Blogs from Urbino, Marche, Italy, Europe

At last.... Stopping for 6 days in Urbino. Since we last posted we have been to San Severo and Ascoli, both towns in the mid eastern regions of marche and once again beautiful with magnificent old centres and history by the bucket full. We have been lost, found, lost again in the old sector of ascoli only to be assisted by a policeman whose parents live in Adelaide and whose dream is to visit them. It is really hard to find these places sometimes Especially with no Internet connection to assist. Our hosts have overall been lovely: the occasional exception and the language barrier increases as we move into less urban environments. We have recently been in touch with most of our children, who are following our blog, which means a lot to us. Thanks to ... read more

Our holiday in Suzy is coming to a close with a just over a week to go. Suzy got her itchy feet on again and we moved from our campsite at San Marino back into the Marche area to the city of Urbino. OUr plan was to find the Sosta, park up and catch the bus into the centre. Plans don't always work out and for a start the sosta wasnt that easy to find despite having the co-ordinates. The other problem was the bus. We knew it ran hourly but had no idea at what time. So off we went in search of the sosta. Eventually we did find it and it was empty so there was plenty of room for Suzy. We walked to the end of the road and spied the bus stop ... read more

Yesterday afternoon most of the group went to this park area and did sporty activities. I'm proud to say that I participated :) I played ultimate frisbee. Yeah, that's right. However, I didn't get the frisbee much, since my aim isn't too great...I did get an interception :) After that a much smaller group of us met up with our Italian friends and BBQ'ed. Italian BBQs consist of grilling sausage and sitting around, not much different an American ones to be honest, with the exception of everyone speaking (or trying to speak) Italian. Today I have a wonderful nap planned and studying since my final is in TWO DAYS!!! It rained a little last night and some this morning and it's MUCH cooler. I can now sleep under my covers :) These next two days (today ... read more

I'm a little late on writing this one, but yesterday was just crazy! Not much happened during the actual day, but right around 8, after a disappointing dinner, a group of us went to play soccer with five Italian guys, 3 of which we had played basketball with. It was so much fun! I of course didn't play, but I was dubbed by Lucas, sorta the leader of them all, the coach/cheerleader of all the players. All I really did was take a lot of pictures and laugh at all the shenanigans that were going on on the field. One of the guys was a professional. He's not at the top level (A), but the one below it (B) (I compared it as not MLB but AAA). It was so cool to see him play, and ... read more

There isn't much to talk about today. We have our mid-term tests tomorrow, so nothing was planned for today. Even if I hadn't been studying, I wouldn't have done much because it was oppressively hot everywhere, not just in our rooms like usual. In class we had a scavenger hunt review where we teamed up and Simone would give us a 'city' from our 'itinerary' and on that card would be a conversation to translate, words to spell, nouns to give articles to, verbs to conjugate, etc. My team came in second....out of three. I did go to the supermarket and get pear juice, which is currently in my fridge so that it'll be cold for the morning! And, best part....FROSTIES!! The Italian name for Frosted Flakes is Frosties. Everything's the same, Tony, the taste, the ... read more