Day 107

I've been having several phone/internet issues this week, which is always enjoyable I'm sure everyone will agree! And what makes this even better is that I decided to try and fix it by totally resetting my phone; so now I'm attempting to re download apps etc using the swimming pool wifi. It's probably not the best option, but it's better than wasting what I have at the apartment! 
I spent last weekend in Moena with the family in an apartment their friend rents out. Moena is probably one of the most picturesque villages/towns I've ever been to; very alpine, very beautiful, and rather surreal in the sense that it feels like you're living in a Christmas card! It was an approximate 7 hour car journey there on Friday after school and back on Monday mid morning, and I'm very glad I'd had plenty of previous long car journey experience and other travelling with children experience prior to this weekend - really not sure how I'd have handled it otherwise (I barely coped as it was! Shout out to any parents who have driven families to France or the like- you're all crazy!). The actual being there was wonderful though. The air and environment was so much cleaner and fresher than Rome, and all of B and G's friends there are hilarious and welcoming and frankly full of banter! 
*side note: I don't think any of these apps are downloading, it's very frustrating*
We had three meals out with them, and honestly I felt so at home. At one point either B or G asked me if I was okay sitting at such a busy table with everyone talking loudly and being boisterous, and I said of course, because going out anywhere with the Johnson Clan is double or triple what it was, so I was having the best time!
*side note #2: I have a real hankering for onion rings and fried chicken..maybe I shouldn't have just eaten a carrot for lunch..* 
We went further up the mountain on Sunday morning to where the snow was, and the kids skied (is that the correct spelling? It looks like I'm saying they flew; they didn't, they did skiing!) and I froze, but it definitely brought out my Christmassy feelings and at least I know now what clothes I need to take with me next March when we go there for a month (I also now know that I need to get some form of mobile wifi for while I'm there!).
Ciao!!

Pictures in Perugia

Day 92

Clare and I (obviously, who else would I have been with..?!) went to Perugia on Saturday! Waking up pre-5am to leave the house at 6 for a 7am bus was a bit of a killer though. I'd say I'm usually the one out of the two of us who is good in the morning, but I was just not functional! And it's amazing that we both were ready and out of the door on time - our tendency towards being late for plans with each other is astonishing, and not in the good way. I think we've both adopted the Italian idea of time management! 
It was a 2 and a half hour journey there (100km north of Rome), and we both used our time wisely and slept. Perugia is so incredibly beautiful. When you arrive at the bus station you go up a flight of stairs and then up a couple of underground escalators that go into an underground fortress thing (I need to do more research on this, but it's incredible! Clare's host dad was telling us last night that the first Pope built a castle on top of it (?) to keep the Perugians in and stop them from fighting!) and then you go up another escalator and arrive in the centre of the town. I'm not sure whether it counts as a town or a city; the surrounding area makes me think it's a city, but the historic centre feels very town like. Our day was spent exploring the side streets and chocolate shops (especially good!) and the market place. We also visited an underground well that dates back to Etruscan times and went on a Ferris wheel! Oh, and I ate 400g of chips (proper chips) in one sitting - call it making up for lost time, as I hadn't had them since the end of August probably! Plus, it was much colder there than Rome, and there's nothing quite like chips on a cold day. 
Before getting back on the bus back to Rome we had a further explore of the underground and looked around an art display that was through a few of the rooms, and then sat and chatted and started making up random stories which continued until we parted ways at her house so that I could get back to babysit. 
Clare's taken to talking to me in French for extended periods of time, so while being in Italy, I'm not only picking up Italian, but also improving my French understanding - who'd have thought it eh?!
Ciao!!
(Pictures will follow soon!)