Small Towns in Foreign Countries

This past week I encountered three situations I never thought possible.

1. I wore a bathing suit in public, more than once.

2. I lived without the one thing no one should ever be away from: the Internet.

3. I played house in a small town in the south of Italy.

Otranto is a lovely, albeit small and quiet town in Apuglia. Amidst the breathtaking water and thriving sun lies a tranquil town where nobody speaks English and salon waxing costs one Euro. There was a supermarket, a library, and a police station the size of a typical one bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. What does this mean? It means Adrienne would never, ever, EVER, live there. But it was a true Italian experience.

Because I am a horrible photographer, I have zero pictures of the house in which we stayed. It was, however, a house without doors. There were two main gates on the sides of the house surrounding and amazing looking pool. You entered the house through the windows, thus moonlighting as doors, into a tiny kitchen and living room. There were two bedrooms and bathrooms, one on each side.

The action was downstars, with a bathroom, laundry room, and three bedrooms. Without the sunlight you could never tell the time of day, and it was much cooler. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night to put on a sweater. Come morning, sweater would be off once I made it to the top of the stairs. Okay, this is boring. Let's move on.

The beach was immaculate, especially the town residing on the water. There's a restaurant/lounge that overlooks the water with an absolutely breathtaking view. My photos don't do it justice, but it's pretty nonetheless.

So after a week of this nothing-to-do town, we ventured to the other side of the boot and stayed in what southern Italy calls a "four star hotel." Not so sure since the didn't have WIFI, but what can you do. Oh, the pool was amazing. The beaches? Don't know. My wonderful self got sick and I was attempting sleep in the room while the maids were cleaning. Good times!

So my week consisted of water, sun, more water and more sun. Sounds like paradise to many, but to those like me, a world void of excitement. Give me a city! Give me WIFI!

Only in Germany

This picture says so much. Hitler and peace, together forever.

Funny Little Town

When you've lived in the desert as I long as I have, you forget that there's more to planet Earth than dirt and rocks. That beyond the legions of dust and fear of dehydration lies the beauty of the color green...from the tall and breathtaking trees to the off-beaten paths offering tranquility amidst your crazy life. This is all in my back yard.

This is where I go running (I wish I could say everyday, but alas...) when I'm in the mood for an afternoon with Mother Nature. I love how green and lively it is. Along the one main road lies a cut off or two for the adventurous and the "need to get away from it all" types. Before noon you will see many runners, bike riders and walkers. For some reason, they all walk with sticks. Still trying to figure that one out.

It feels good to be out in nature, but still be a part of civilization. I'll be in Italy two days from now, where it will be hot and sunny and full of sand and water; something else in which I can't wait to indulge. Viva La Europe!

My Street

Godbless the hip and vivacious town of Memmingen. Everything closes at 8pm and nothing is open on Sunday, except for one particular restaurant. (Well, other restaurants are open, but this one in particular lets you drink past midnight!) And on holidays, which are like once a week, everything is shut down as well. So naturally, it's not the most exciting of locations, but I like it.

I love it when I can understand signs without being able to read them. While this is pretty self-explanatory, I've been able to pick up the language through reading. And sometimes, I can understand what people are saying, albeit bits and pieces!

The road from my street to the woods. On the left is a supermarket, the right more houses, and the front the railroad tracks that lead to the woods. The beautiful blond is my tour guide Alexandra.

I like the look of this door. So European. Plus I like the name of the street. It's so longwinded.

My house. If you walk past the shrub on the left, my room is at the back of the house, which leads to a beautiful back yard.

So I really do like it here. I'm getting used to sleeping in a small town where everyone knows everybody and everything, it's five minutes to get anywhere, and there's a local gossip girl! Too bad I can't understand anything she says.

Waiting For Summer

This blog sucks for two reasons:

1. I've only now done three entries.

2. I have no pictures. (The one to the left the exception.)

In an effort to make myself look better, it's been pretty mundane so far. Once the crazy comes, I will have lots to say. However, I can't come up with any excuse as to why I haven't taken photos of my cute little pseudo home. The village is pretty and the town square is uber Euro.

This is a shot from one of the restaurants in town. I took this while sitting outside sipping on sparkling water and commenting how warm it's been. I spoke too soon, because Germany doesn't seem to like warm weather. Although today it's been quite nice. Too bad this weather wasn't here yesterday, as we had to cancel our journey to Munich due to nasty, cold rain.

My promise to you: More Memmingen love coming soon.

Bad Weather Strikes Again.

Rain rain go away, come again...sometime next fall.

I am sick of this cold rain. Today, 6 June (JUNE people) I went to lunch in the rain wearing a sweater, AND a jacket. Yes, I had to wear both. The weather is like this all over Europe. For some reason, it's not meant to nice and warm. Thankfully, I only brought with me summer clothes and flip flops. YAY!

Well, at least the trees will be colorful. I still need to take photos of my sweet little village. It's supposed to be raining all week, but if I can keep my camera from getting wet, then maybe I will go exploring tomorrow.

Welcome To My World

So week two is almost officially marked off the calendar, and I can now say that for the summer I am a European. Although one would hope to experience more than a quaint German village, I must say that the city girl in me is learning to enjoy the quiet life.

Boredom does kick in every once in awhile, but that happens without a mobile phone and a few friends to spend time with. As much as I’ve become accustomed to afternoons with my little munchkin Alexandra, I do thirst for the companionship of someone wiser than a 2-year-old.

I’m currently hording myself in a small village called Memmingen, about an hour’s drive from Munich. It has cute little shops, parks, woods, and somewhat friendly folks. Unlike the major city close by, very few people speak English here, or at least well enough to carry on a conversation, so it’s up to me to learn as much German as I can during my short tenure as a Deutschland resident.

I must say that my stories so far are dull, even in my head. Part of big city life is always having something to talk about. Life in Memmingen doesn’t really lend that opportunity, unless someone is at all interested in my crazy supermarket adventures, or Miss Alexandra asking me to go down the park slide 200 times.

What I need to do is become a fledgling photographer and document my adventures through pictures. Anyone care to see what I can find?