liberation day

The twenty-fifth of April. In Italy an excuse for a jam-packed day of festivities, no work and no school. Also for the sunshine to bless us with blissfully warm weather.

Here's what I did:

//Ate gelato as we wandered through the side-streets of Parma, perusing the never-seen-open vintage shops

//Stumbled upon a piazza filled with falafel stalls and vintage stalls, joined by a live band and a drunk clown

//Sat on the steps of the Duomo, soaking up the sun

//Passed a puppet show on the way to buy our picnic

//Sat in the Pilotta with our mountainous picnic, Lithuanian Mead, good friends and a Ukulele

//Drank coffee and ate tonnes of sugary snacks at our friend's house

//Partied, danced and sang in Piazza Garibaldi to the various bands playing there as if it were a summer festival, all the while careful not to spill the Sangria

//Walked/danced all the way home and into bed at 2 am.

the arrival of summer

So as I write this, there are a few spots of rain appearing on the pavement outside - perhaps Summer is not quite ready to make an appearance, but for the past few days we've had some truly amazing weather here. Finally the kind of weather people are expecting me to have seeing as I live in Italy!

The arrival of Summer here brings plenty of opportunities to eat ice cream (every single day - it's a staple part of the diet), warm sunshine, lazing about in parks, strolls, salads, picnics and beautiful colours, not to mention the scathing looks from the locals as we leave our apartments in appropriate Summer dress whilst they are all still bundled up in coats, jeans and scarves.

This new change in temperature is having me bristling with excitement at the prospect of travelling to glorious sandy beaches and beautiful old towns on my days off, but also of outdoor concerts, practising in a warm room with the windows open and a breeze floating in and the ever-nearing Summer Holidays.

How are you planning on spending the Summer?

getting into the swing of things

Yesterday I was on a plane returning to Italy. Today was spent in lessons, followed by a rehearsal followed by a concert (and yes I really do have lessons on a Saturday).

Yesterday I was worried I wouldn't enjoy being back here. Today that is no longer a concern.

As soon as my bags were dropped off in my refreshingly cool apartment (it being a baffling 23 degrees yesterday afternoon), I was out the door and on my way to the park for a much needed catch-up. With the sun beating down on the warm pavement and shining through the finally verdant trees it really was easy to fall back in love with Parma. I forgot how beautiful this city could be.

The following were snapped in Parco Citadella and on the way to/along the riverside.

In the past 24 hours, I came across two things which made me love Parma more:

Being a student, I can absolutely never ever say no to such low prices for such good food.

On our stroll today, after the concert I sang in, Rosie and I took a short-cut we'd both of us never usually take, and stumbled across an old church with its doors wide open. Inside was this art gallery, exhibiting works from local artists. A real gem.

After three weeks away from this place, returning to such beautiful weather feels like I'm taking a summer holiday. With such a fresh perspective on life here, and a different atmosphere (not only the weather, but the people around me), I simply cannot wait to get stuck into this Summer term and really make these last few months here count.

saying goodbye again

Tomorrow sees me hopping on the fourth plane in as many weeks back to my Italian home for the year. This final downhill path will perhaps be the easiest to cope with. Only two more months and I will be free from the stress of taking an exam or a recital tutto in Italiano and can come home for good and begin to carefully connect the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of my life to form the next pathway towards my future.

Those people in England who I have had the great fortune and pleasure to catch up with during the year have done so much for me. I mean that for every single one of you. It can be so very difficult uprooting your life, changing your education, your friends, your language and even (on a completely materialistic note) your dress sense. Seeing the familiar faces I have been so lucky to encounter has always made me feel as if home is not reallly so far away. 

It is this which makes it so hard to leave, even though I have found some truly inspiring friends in my time in Parma. Some who I saw for months and months and some who were present in my life for the briefest whisper of time. Some who I now consider a part of my 'family'.

I feel like I'm trying to live two lives side by side. Every day in either place makes me feel like I'm missing a momentous occasion in the other. And neither place feels to me to be counter-productive. But all I can do is learn that I simply cannot be in two places at once.

When I get back to Parma tomorrow I need to remember what it is I love about the place, why I have chosen to be there, how lucky I am to have the education there that I do, and how many amazing friends I have there to share some truly special adventures with.

But for now I wish to reminisce. To soak myself in nostalgic English memories before I once more head towards the new and unfamiliar.

prague

There's nothing more excitingly terrifying than hopping on a plane on your own to a brand new country you've never been to before and hoping your boyfriend is waiting for you at the other end. Luckily he was. And the rest of our two year anniversary weekend sailed smoothly and beautifully by.

1/ On the St. Charles Bridge

2/ Twin guards at the  Castle

3/ Czech pride

4/ New Town

5/ A beautiful golden building covered in scaffolding

6 & 7/ A trip up Petřín Hill

8/ Memorial to the victims of communism

9 - 12/ Strange and bizarre musical instruments in the Instrument Museum plus a concert in the Smetana Concert Hall

13/ Coffee & cake in a Gingerbread shop - even the pictures on the walls were made out of gingerbread.

14/ Cocktails in a square

15/ Michelin star anniversary treat

16,17,18/ Views of Old Town and St Charles Bridge

19/ Canons in Golden Lane

20/ The Town Hall's Astronomical Clock

Hugo and I spent our days there together either gorging on the delicious Czech food we stumbled across during our long walks, giggling in a bubbly bath of beer, climbing up and down hills, drinking ridiculously cheap drinks, immersed in Music or feeling ridiculously under-dressed in our 5* Hotel.

The weekend was a perfect way to celebrate the past two years together - to remind us that the long distance bit is nearly over and that we still managed to have fun doing it.

sweden

A very long time ago (a month and a week), I took a trip to Sweden to see Hugo. I forgot to blog about it.

We packed a lot into the week I was there. 

Half our days were spent cooking in the kitchen, watching copious amounts of Peep Show and being in each others' company. The other half we went and explored.

We took a boat out to the small islands off the coats of Gothenburg where its as if people live in a completely different world. One with cute, tiny little houses, spectacular views, so much snow it feels like you live in a black and white land, and strange half-moped-half-car machines which trundle along contentedly.

We hopped on a train and travelled across the whole of the country to Stockholm. It's surprising how different the atmosphere was in this city compared to Gothenburg. It seemed so much more alive somehow. We stayed in a boat hotel. In a boat! With a view through our porthole of Gamla Stan and the Town Hall. We somehow managed to cover the whole of Stockholm by foot (so it seemed). We ate reindeer steak, we drank in a Viking Bar, we trekked up through the snow to the highest point we could find to get a good picture out across the city. 

We sat and snuggled - cosy and warm on a huge sofa in a coffee shop. We drank cocktails in a Sky Bar overlooking the city at night. We took a few hours out from walking in the snowy Djurgården to discover the huge pirate-like ship in the Vasa museum. We travelled on the metro, hoping to find this amazing artwork on its walls, but mostly to no avail... We returned to Gothenburg very content and refreshed by this change of scenery.

1-4. Walking around Styrsö, the island off Gothenburg, wondering if we were the only people there...

5. Sunset in Stockholm

6. The old town. Gamla Stan.

7. The most beautiful and impressive building. The Nordic Museum in Djurgården.

8. Educational Vasa trip.

9. On the way back to our Boatel.

variations on a theme of night time

There is something calming about Parma. I don't know if it's the eerie quiet the City seems to emanate - only occasionally bursting into life and always when you least expect it - or the sense of being at home that I'm beginning to feel.

Either way, the silence seems to envelope you. 

Making your thoughts swirl around loudly in your head. 

Your heartbeat ever so slightly slowing 

as if to accompany the mysterious lone bird 

chirping away at three in the morning. 

No one at all is about. 

The houses stand so silently 

you wonder if anyone is in them at all. 

Though you are all alone, 

the darkness wraps you in its arms.

The pictures above were taken by drunk me, on the cycle home after a night out. The effect was created by holding my camera in one hand, pressing the shutter and cycling down the path, steering with the other. Drunk me was very proud.