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| Piazza Vittoria |
It's been a while since my last blog entry- nearly three weeks!
so I thought it was time for an update! I just had a look at my calendar and
I'm now over the halfway point of my time in Pavia. The time is once again
going so quickly and now thinking about it, I only have around 7 weeks left
until the end of my whole Erasmus year- That's scary! It feels like only
yesterday I started this blog, and in 7 weeks it will all be over! We've now
chosen our modules for our final year back in Leicester, and the house that Siân, Kat and I have together is all sorted. Going back to the
UK and returning to my Leicester life seems all the more real now. But before I
start getting my Post-Erasmus syndrome and becoming all depressed, there's
still a whole lot more fun to come from 'Mi vita Erasmus' in Pavia and then of
course I also have all summer in Italy looking after little Rebecca :) che
bello! (great!)
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| Two of the Three medieval towers by Uni |
I'm writing this entry at 5am which may come as a surprise as
anyone who knows me will know I loveeee sleeping, and its normally hard for me
to wake up for a 9am class at Uni, let alone be up and awake at 5am! I returned
back to Pavia on Sunday afternoon from my trip home, and it’s really great to be back. Yesterday the sun was shining,
the temperature was in the high 20’s and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, however I’ve been unwell. I had a headache and a sore throat which
started Sunday afternoon, and then yesterday there was a lot of pollen in the
air which actually looked like snowflakes flying around! It was really pretty,
but I’m seriously allergic! I went
to have a lovely lunch and a catch up at the ‘Tre
Torre’ cafe with Laura, and then to
my Film translation class, followed by an ice cream and a walk with Lizi. I was
feeling so rough by the afternoon that gong to my Italian Language class was
not an option, and I popped into a pharmacy for some antihistamine tablets and
throat sweets before heading home and curling up in bed in the dark for a long
sleep! I’m now feeling a lot better
though as the headache has gone, the sore throat is on the way out and the
antihistamine tablets seem to be working!
As I just mentioned, I have recently been at home on the
Island for a short trip. It really was lovely and relaxing, but the time went so
quickly! I fully packed my 3 days with a shopping trip, a bike ride, and pub
trip, and even a theatre trip to see Oliver Twist in Southampton with my mum! (The
show was really good, thanks mum! Hope you enjoyed it!). I really enjoyed a few
days of English food and TV as well of course! A shout out of thanks here also
to Dad for being so great, and surprising me with a new iPod nano! (GRAZIE
MILLE!!) The only thing that wasn’t so great about home was the
weather! It was about 6 degrees, overcast and miserable! Not the best weather
for May! So on a weather respect; I'm certainly happy to be back in Pavia,
although I could have done with a few more days of chilling out at home! But
still, I've got plenty to look forward to as tomorrow I'm off to Spain again
for a quick visit! I’m popping down to Seville to
see Siân and Diane, and then on to
Valencia to see Kat :) I'm really looking forward to seeing them all as it's
been nearly a year since I saw Siân, and of course I'm looking forward
to returning to my beloved Spain! – Although I have to say- I'm
starting to think of Italy in the same way after my time out here!
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| Malene and Me! |
The last few weeks in Pavia kind of turned into a bit of a blur
of every-day life as nothing major happened to require a specific blog entry!
It's just been a mix of Uni, Italian classes and spending time with friends. Two
weeks or so ago I had a lovely afternoon with Malene in Pavia. We wandered around the narrow streets and came across an Italian wedding! We stopped and waited for the couple to come out and it was wonderful to see the tradition of throwing rice on the bride and groom! We were then a bit peckish so we went for
an aperitivo on the piazza at Ritual, followed by a crepe, and then after for a trip on the tacky
tourist train! It was such a fun afternoon in the sun, and I'm glad to say I
have been on the train at least once! I've seen Barbara for a few times for
lunch and ice creams, and also had a nice lunch with some of the Italian girls
from my Spanish class. In terms of Uni, I have now sorted out my final
'Learning Agreement'. I had to send off a new one as I stopped studying
beginners French and changed to a masters module in Film Translation from
English to Italian which is actually interesting! We're such a small class, and
the teacher is lovely. I feel sure I will pass this module thank god which is a
bit more than can be said for Spanish where the teacher looks like Hagrid from
Harry Potter- however unfortunately isn't as friendly! He's a misogynist, an
Erasmus hater, rude, and all of the Italian students refer to him as a
'stronzo' (shit). So being Erasmus and female, Let's just say I'm not his
favourite student, and I'm beginning to think that I might not pass. If I don't
get my 15 credits from Pavia, then I guess I'll just have to complete an extra
essay when I get back to Leicester. It will be a darn site easier than Uni
abroad anyway! I just don't like the way that foreign Uni's treat Erasmus
students. I've had plenty of teachers roll their eyes at me like I'm a real
pain, and many who can’t be bothered to help, but then
also some teachers have been really kind, so I guess they aren't all bad!
Still, I’m looking forward to
organisation and a helpful teaching team back at Leicester in September!
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| Aperitivo at Ritual! |
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| Our yummy nutella and banana crepes! |
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| The tourist train in Pavia! |
Enough about Uni, the Saturday before last I had a lovely
day in Milan with Malene! The weather was gorgeous- around 28 degrees, and
there wasn't a cloud in the sky so we decided spontaneously to go to Milan (as
you do!) for a shopping trip and to soak up some of the rays! We arrived at the
Duomo around 2pm, and then just spent the time wandering around the shops and
eating ice cream! We had a great time and were pretty pleased with our
purchases! I'm really looking forward to taking Gemma there in 2 weeks when she
comes out! She'll love the Duomo and all of the shops :) I still have to think
about where else to take her for a trip! I was contemplating on another part of
Lake Como- maybe Lecco, down on the beach in Liguria or perhaps a visit down to
Florence, Pisa and Lucca..... We'll see, more on that to come!
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| Malene's photo of the sunshine in Milan! |
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| Busy shoppers in 'La Rinascente' shopping mall in Milan |
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| Gorgeous designer shoes...... |
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| Malene and Me by the Duomo |
A few days after Gemma leaves, my mum is then coming out
for the weekend! We're going to pop over to Venice (only 2 and a half hours on
the train) and spend 3 days there. I've been once before, but it was in January
when the weather wasn't so great. I'm really looking forward to returning, and
even more so now as I've just seen a series of programs on Venice whist being
at home which focused on the problems of coping with daily life in a city which
is sinking! It's incredible as all of the emergency services have to overcome problems
which other cities don't have, and also problems with waste disposal and
tourism were also highlighted. It was a really interesting series and I'd certainly recommend seeing
it.
Right, I think that's all for this one, the next update will
be from the Spanish sunshine in Seville and Valencia! I can't wait!
Besos, Baci! Xx
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| The 'Castello Sforzesco' - Milano |
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| Malene and Me! |
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| The Duomo! |
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