End of the Summer Recap

I awoke at 4 am this morning--the second morning back in the US. This is the effect of jet lag and I like it. Maybe I'll finally get on a good schedule with this new and improved biological clock.

It was fun reading the last blog entry, hadn't realized all I was able to capture in that last post. Now it is very much time to write more, though the story of August and the beginning can't all be put in words in the few hours I have before my parents wake up and it's time to visit (which is the only thing I will do while I'm here in CO this very, very short week).

The remainder of August was a whirlwind in the truest sense of the word. It would have been futile to try to take classes. There were countless dinners, I saw a bit more of my relatives, got in some super fun (and gorgeous) training rides, I drove for the first time on Italian roads, got a very cool job and my dear friend, Barb and her friend (now a friend of mine!), Holly, came to visit towards the end of the month. That's the short summary of a month that could have been two but flew by like a week.

The juggling act, particularly at the end of August was ridiculous as I learned that I received a bike tour guiding job with Ciclismo Classico. The job is everything I'm passionate about all rolled into one sweet gig for a great company. If you're not aware of my history with Ciclismo Classico--it was their trip (and guides) last summer at this time that inspired me to come to Italy for these past 6 months. It was an amazing experience working as a guide for the same trip and even better was that the group were all people from Colorado. Sure, it was a lot of work with handling bikes, luggage, talking to the various establishments along the way (only in Italian), but it hardly felt like work considering how much fun it was for everyone at the same time. It's the first time I have had a non-desk job since before I graduated from college and I loved it. I should add that the weather was perfect and there was only one flat tire amongst the 16 people the whole trip, therefore, it really made for a perfect first experience.

The few days Barb, Holly and I got to spend together were fabulous. Their trip ended up corresponding with the exact same days I needed to do a pre-tour for Ciclismo. It was very fortunate that they were fabulous travelers, seeing Rome, Florence and Venice while I was away...I was delighted they had so much fun and didn't want to strangle me for not being around (I might have strangled me if I had been them). We had a great time driving all around Chianti, visiting Siena, had a nice wine tasting in a tiny town near Greve (in Chianti), tasted olive oil in Spello, walked around Perugia and checked out Bevagna. We had a fine dinner with Daniele in Assisi--he knows all of the good places to go for local, typical cuisine (it was a new place to me) and again it was another fun time with the English/Italian mix of languages at the table.

They left the same day I had to move out of my apartment (taking all of my Italian worldly belongings), I had to return the rental car (a truly non-trivial task) and be at Ciclismo for the start of the tour...it made for the most stressful, insane morning and that was after getting home really late the night before. Thank goodness it all was possible.

After the Ciclismo tour was over, I had the next day to repack everything, I left a lot of stuff in Italy (lots of books, some clothes and my beloved bike). Finally, I made my way to Perugia and then to Civitavecchia to take the ferry over to Barcelona. I swore never to take that ferry again...and I ended up missing it the first night, but it was just as well. I felt a bad cold coming on so I didn't mind having a day to kill in Civitavecchia (nice town, I was surprised to like it and I really enjoyed the friendly people).

I treated myself to a movie in the little old theater there called "The American" which, interestingly enough, takes place in Italy (and the movie was in Italian...George Clooney speaking Italian...riiiiggghhht).

The ferry boat ride over was uneventful though the guy sitting next to me had a bag stolen. The difference in that is that he was a really sweet person (and he didn't accuse me like the crazy napolitano did on that last ferry boat ride!)

Two plane flights later and a total of 14 1/2 hrs in the air, I made it to Denver night before last. Very strange to watch movies in-flight in English. First ones in 6 months.
"Letters to Juliet" is a cute movie and recommended to see Siena and some really nice Italian landscapes. The story line was pretty good since there was some Italian and quite a few things I could relate to (or roll my eyes at the protagonist because I wouldn't happen that way in real life in Italy...but very fun to have an opinion now).

How great it was to see my parents and be home!