proud owner

So yesterday, before a very fun day out in Milan (more to come on that), I went to get my bike fixed for the first time since getting here. This means nothing about how good condition it was in before but perhaps says more about my laziness when it comes to simple tasks...

In Parma, not having a bike is like not being able to find a Gregg's in a northern town in England - it just doesn't  happen. All the mothers, fathers and families possess ones with little baby seats on the back where you can often see a disgruntled child, wrapped up in layers and layers looking thoroughly unimpressed with the chosen mode of transport. The other end of the age spectrum, you easily find many very elderly men and women wobbling from side to side down the cycle paths yet the women still keeping an air of dignity about them in their choice of footwear - six inch heels. Always.

My poor men's bicycle which had done me proud since its purchase for a mere €45 in early October, was ever so slowly falling apart, starting with the fact it had only ever had one pedal since the day I bought it. The brakes had abandoned me shortly after, so for 3 months I had been stopping by scraping my feet along the ground until coming to a halt (which is not a wise move when navigating around Italian drivers). By the looks of it it has been painted and re-painted a thousand times; bits of shiny pink flakes trying to make themselves known from out of the blue and brown.

It is nothing short of a very uncomfortable eyesore and I should have swapped it for a nicer one when I had the chance at the bike shop yesterday, but I felt like Esmeralda, and couldn't bear to part with my Quasimodo-esque bicycle as we flew around the city together.

I will ride it until its dying day, which by the looks of it could be very soon indeed.

a simple pleasure

Sometimes on a day turned unexpectedly much freer by an unwell professor, I am at a loss as to what to do. Having already put myself into the mindset of doing three hours of Opera History lecture followed by a piano lesson followed by three hours of Opera Workshop (and if I possibly could have, I would have squeezed in a bit of practise somewhere there).

Instead, here I sit with a cup of tea, a few biscuits brought back from England, listening to a few good songs, reading over my notes from previous lectures; half in English, half in Englitalian and promising myself to read and look at the wonderful pictures in Il Piccolo Principe.

So my plans have changed, but I'm equally as happy spending a relaxing morning this way.

appreciating England

On the day I arrive back in Parma, I realise this title is perhaps a tad inappropriate, but I felt like my recently enhanced love for Great Britain needed to be put into words, and the pictures I collected over the past month being back in my home country.

Speaking to many foreign students here in Parma, I would always be told how great London is, and how everyone loved or would love to visit. I would mostly nod and smile, thinking 'yeah but it's not so special for me because it's right on my doorstep'. In fact my opinion of the whole of England was mostly the same. I was in Italy, living an exciting life in a strange but wonderful country full of strange but interesting habits and England had become second-best and maybe even slightly boring.

But then in the last few weeks before I came home for Christmas, I started noticing the bigger differences between the two places. As the weather started getting colder and the days darker, I found I had more time left to myself to think about things. And a lot of it came down to realising how lucky I am to come from where I come from. The things I'd usually take for granted were suddenly not at my fingertips. Be them proper British foodstuffs or an old friend.

So when I touched down in London Gatwick I was buzzing with excitement. The first time being back in my country for more than half a week since September filled me with joy, so I vowed to make the most of my time here. Family, friends and boyfriend.

Here are just a few highlights.

 

Matching PJ's, the dog squishing the presents, a trip to the cinema and  good food in two places.

A trip to see Billy Elliot with my younger Brother.

New Years' Eve drinks in London, New Years' Day ice cream on Brighton Beach.

The gorgeous New Year Sunshine:
start the year as you mean to go on

Time with the Boyfriend

Natural History Museum and tasty fish and chips before a trip to the Barbican.

The tiniest hint of snow out my bedroom window to see me on my way.

So hello again Parma, let's see if you can compete with that!

visiting friends

Over a month ago now I went to visit two lovely girls who I met on my language course in Florence in September. We'd spent nearly a whole month exploring Florence and the surrounding area together and as they were architecture students I learnt a lot from them. I was only too happy to hear that they were spending the year in Genova on the west coast of Italy and only a few hours from me by train.

After a five-am start on the only day so far that winter that we'd had snow, a fellow singer and I got the train together to see our prospective friends, enjoying the rapidly-changing scenery as we waved goodbye to the snow and the train took us into bright, warm sunshine.

Upon my arrival there were hugs all round and then the tour of Genova and all the catching-up began. We wandered round the streets together, enjoying the sun and the strange procession in medieval clothing happening round the centre of the city as we chatted about our experiences living in Italy so far.

I absolutely loved being in Genova - it being my first taste of a new place for quite some time. The whole atmosphere was completely different from that of Parma. The people themselves also unlike those I was used to. And I know that Parma is supposed to be amazing for its food, but as we walked around the streets with freshly-baked focaccia and then went for an incredibly simple yet delicious meal, and ended my visit with a choice of hot chocolate in 26 flavours, I was very envious of my friends!

There was such a different vibe in the city, and we stopped and appreciated it as we watched a one-man-band please a quickly-gathering crowd.

The most noticeable difference between the two places was probably the location however. Parma had become, in my eyes, sickeningly flat - not a hill in sight and no trace of an incline until well out of the City centre. Genova however is built into a bay, with the whole of the Ligurian sea laid out before it. It baffled me how you could spend as little as two hours travelling and be graced with this huge but beautiful change in scenery.

I completely fell in love with the City.

Aside from to see my boyfriend, it was the first time I'd taken a trip away to experience friends' years abroad and it succeeded in making very excited for the next trip I make which will undoubtedly be somewhere further away and somewhere even more diverse.

Goodbye Gabrielle and Cynthia and hopefully see you very soon in Parma!