The "Lianna Came To Visit" Edition

Hello all! There is sooo much to write about, but I am going to focus on the awesome time I had with Lianna this last week. If you can handle it…

Mexican in Monaco
So Sapna and I had went to the beach during the day, and Sapna had yet to go in the water since her escape to Nice. So, we decided that the time was right for her to have her first Mediterannean excursion. After many minutes of complaining how cold the water was and dipping our toes in and out, we finally made our way in. That’s when we saw another assistant and she came in to join us. It was nice cause the water was really calm. That is until WHAM…an unexpected HUGE wave came and pulled us all in. And just when we were catching our breath and settling our panic, in came another. At that point we all ran out of the water. Actually I ran, and made Sapna come with. We were all cut up and a little shaken, but that was the perfect excuse for Sapna and I to feel deserving of a good dinner out on the town…thus, Mexican food in Monaco.

It was delicious. I had soft tacos. With JALEPENO PEPPERS!!! I hadn’t had those since I left the US. They were really good, along with a delicious Pina Colada. Well worth the near-drowning incident, the trek to Monaco, and the extra euro spent on the side of Jaleps.

Lianna’s Visit!!

Day 1
So after meeting Lianna at the airport, we went back to my apartment, long enough to change into our bathing suits and then we headed back downtown. On our way we picked up sandwiches, so our bodies could be in fine form when we laid out on the beach. Ha. We stayed there for a couple hours, where my color turned from albino white, to a little less white. It was fabulous.

That night, I took Lianna to Ladies’ Night at Thor’s. We danced and sang and party hardied like there was no tomorrow. So much so, that we had to take a cab back cause we didn’t have the energy to get back any other way. Thus concluding day 1.

Day 2
The second day after waking up, Lianna and I decided it would be a good day to go to Cannes, and then lay on the beaches there. The beaches in Nice are actually made up of rocks, but the beaches in Cannes are all sandy. So we got ourselves ready and rushed to the train station. But once we got there, we learned that they just opted to cancel our trip to Cannes. So we had a good hour to kill. So we decided to go to the help counter and see how much a trip would be to say, Milan. To our delight, it was pretty cheap and only a 5 hour trip. So in the best impromptu move of my recent existence, Lianna and I bought 2 roundtrip tickets to Milan for the next day (Tuesday) until Thursday.

So with our tickets in hand, we finally made our way to Cannes, where we chilled and tanned for a couple of hours before heading back to my apartment. It was a fulfilling day already, but we picked it up a notch by going out on the town again, and making our way to Ma Nolan’s. The guys even paid special attention to me there because I was with a hot blonde chick J.

Day 3
So, off we trekked to the train station to head out to Milan. Of course, our train was delayed (as was our luck for the week), but it turned out to be only like a 20 minute delay. We made ourselves comfortable and ended up being next to these older Italian ladies. They seemed cool enough, but we were annoying enough, so it was a little weird.

Lianna and I just talked and joked and did whatever, and then this old Italian lady came in our car. With my minimal Italian knowledge I heard her sit down, say something under her breath, and then one of the previously mentioned ladies said “They don’t speak Italian,” to which they all laughed, sorry, cackled. I also noticed the old Italian lady, whom I had a mild dislike towards now, point to my seat and say something. Apparently I was in her seat…

Next comes a younger Italian lady to sit down. And her seat is where the Italian witch is sitting. But the Italian witch says “Well there is nothing I can do, because that girl (meaning me) is in mine.” After that she makes a phone call on her cell phone, and I pull out my tickets to show the nice young Italian that I am, indeed, in my correct seat. At this point the witch is talking on the phone and ignoring the fact that the young lady is waiting (whilst standing) to sit down, and the worst part is, while she is on the phone, she put her bag on the other seat across from her, so now the other lady can’t sit anywhere. And she is just chatting away knowing full well the situation.

Finally, witch gets off the phone, and states again that I have her seat, and then pulls out her ticket. It was in Italian, but I could still see that yes, I was in her seat number, but she was in the wrong train car entirely. To which nice Italian goes to me “See, even some Italians can’t read Italian.” I know pride is dangerous thing, but I was so happy to see witch’s embarrassment as she left the train car. See, witch!! American’s aren’t as stupid as you think!

Anyway, upon arriving, we took a cab to our hostel, where the front desk guy did not seem to keen on us staying there. But he took us to the room, and I decided that him not liking us wouldn’t stop me from being annoying and asking him for ideas on where to go. It turns out, though, that he hearted us, because he then offered to take us out with some of his friends the following night, and he offered us wine, and food, and drinks, and everything. We were ruling the school (AKA hostel).

That night we ventured out for dinner at this Italian restaurant very near to the hostel. When we walked up, they sat us immediately in the back of the restaurant (mind you, nobody else was seated in the back). I guess they figured we were annoying, and liked to eat a lot, so maybe they just put us close to the kitchen. But every single old Italian man working there (and even one young one) stopped over and did the fake sitting down with us routine. Oy. It was soooo delicious, though. We had pizza and the best Tiramisu of my life. After dinner our waiter even walked us part of the way to our hostel. We were thinking that he is supposed to be working so it was weird, but he was nice and cute, so it was fine by us.

After dinner we went to a little bar downstairs from our hostel to get a drink and try to watch part of the Manchester United v. Milano soccer game, which was a big deal there. We got there in time to see the last game winning goal. Good enough for me.

From there we went out a little bit to see what the bars/clubs were like, but they all sucked, so we got ice cream instead. Way better! After that we went to the hostel and just hung out with Mario, the guy at the front. He showed us music videos in Italian and we figured out stuff to do the next day. Then we went to bed. (P.S. In our room was an older, not so friendly couple.)

Day 4
Returning to the unfriendly couple. Funny story. They wanted to leave the room in the morning, and I was half asleep/half awake while they were getting ready. And then they were about to leave the room, and I had no idea why they were just standing there. It turns out in my half asleep state, my feet were hanging off the bed and they wanted to get out, but my feet were blocking the door. And Lianna told me she saw the whole thing but wanted to see how it would play out without getting involved…(bitch :p). They went with the old foot tap, and I just giggled as I moved.

Anyway, once we got up, we headed to the Duomo (which took us way longer than necessary due to my [lack of] map reading skills). We were told there would be things going on in the Piazza there because it was a national Italian Holiday. Well the festivities turned into some sort of rally, but that’s neither here nor there.

The first thing we did was some shopping at H&M…go figure. And then we got some ice cream. And then we did the sight seeing, after the other priorities were met. First, we went into the Duomo, an IMMENSE church. They make the churches HUGE in Italy. Huge, Elaborate, and quite ornate. It was cool to see, though.

Next, we went to an art museum next door to the church which had a Kandinsky exhibit going on. Only that part of the museum was open, which was fine with us, because we were already getting a little tired from the walking. It was pretty cool to see, especially since I wasn’t too knowledgeable about his works. So I learned something, new J.

After the museum, we made our way to a street called Via della Spiga, which is the most expensive street in the world (think Tiffany’s, Juicy Couture, Dolce and Gabbana, etc.). Everything was closed as we walked down the street, but it was still crazy to see all those shops together. One of the stores only makes one of everything. So you know you’re getting a one-of-a-kind deal there. Can you imagine?

After that street (which was exhausting enough on its own), Lianna and I went back to the hostel where we rested for a little bit, and then got dinner at a subpar restaurant. We then got ready to go out. We had new roommates in the hostel, who were two awesome girls (I say this because they liked my jokes). We couldn’t convince them to come out with us, but we did convince them to drink wine with us. Lots of people from the hostel were going to this club that night, so we just joined, and it was really fun. It was all outdoors, with the bar and the DJ set up outside, too. They guys were a little creepy and really short (even shorter than tiny Lianna), but it was still awesome to get our dance on in Milan. Perhaps the best part of the night was when we were leaving at 4 AM, and instead of having the crepe stand that I am used to in Nice, they had a Pizza stand, where they had ginormous slices of pizza for our enjoyment. They were sooo delicious. Almost worth going back for that.

We got back and passed out only to wake up just in time to check out of the hostel. We had all our bags, and 3 hours to kill, so we were trying to figure out what to do. We decided to take a looong lunch, and back to the restaurant we ate at the first night we went. This time we went with pasta. This time all the waiters were taking pictures with us, and giving us dessert samplers and such. We felt like celebrities. It was lovely. After that (when our stomachs were full and we were already tired) we went to the train station where we boarded and Lianna slept the whooole way, while I was stuck watching 35-year-old Italian man having his mom spit in a napkin and clean a spot on his white jeans for him. So stereotypical, eh?

Anyway, we got home safely, had some dinner, and then made our way downtown to Wayne’s for Ladies’ Night. What can I say…we’re hardcore.

Day 5
Friday we started at the beach. My tan was looking quite super by this point. Then on the way home we picked up some fresh salmon and salad stuff to make a delicious salmon salad dinner. And it was delicious.

Then we got ready to go out, and made our way to the train station because we were going to party it up in Monaco. Problem. Once again, issues with the train. We got to the station at 10:45 to catch the 11:05 train where I see the bored reads that the next train to Monaco is 5:15 AM. SURPRISE!! The workers are on strike…again. They are forever on strike here. So we were trying to figure out what to do, but it worked out nicely, because one of Sapna’s friends was driving in anyway, and she had room for all of us. So off to Monaco we went. It sucked.

We went to the club (Karément), where we usually go, and thank goodness it was free this time. We got excited to learn that the DJ was from Chicago. An American peep. But I HATE house music. I think it all sounds the same, and it’s all crap. So we asked when he was switching. And he said soon. But an hour later it was still house. And so we asked again, and he promised again. But he wasn’t delivering. And then we found out that he didn’t have any other CDs and he was waiting for the resident DJ to show up, who wasn’t. So it was house music central, and my brain was hurting, and my feet weren’t dancing. And neither were anyone else’s. So we headed home at 4 which is way earlier than the usual, but it was fine. Once we got home Lianna and I crashed.

Day 6
We woke up, and once again went to the beach. We stayed most of the day there, and then we headed home and got ready to go to dinner. We made our way back downtown, and went to this really tasty and fancy French restaurant. We then walked up the Zone Pietons where they have lots of street vendors and performers. I haggled for the first time ever, and I think I love it. Yeah, Jew!

We then got our last ice cream together, which was amazing. It was Rocher Ferraro Flavor, with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, and it was huge and we scarfed it down. (And now I am trying to figure out how to lose the extra baggage I packed on).

We made our way home after that and Lianna packed and we just chilled for awhile. She decided to pull an all-nighter because her cab was coming at 4 AM. I almost did it with her, but fell asleep the last half hour. At 4 we took met the cab, and said good-bye L. I was sad until 5 minutes later when I got back in bed and passed out like a light.

And that was Lianna’s visit. Busy, busy. But soooo fun.

…For An American
After Lianna left, I slept for most of the day, and then that night I went out with Alix and her friends and I met Angelique and Renee at Ma Nolan’s. There I met an Australian, a New Zealander, and an English person. As soon as I started talking to them they started quizzing me on my knowledge of all things British and Australian. That was before they knew I taught all these gems to my students in my English Speaking Countries lessons. But they were surprised. That’s when the “You’re smart…for an American.” was first issued.

…Later that night…

Sarcastic Dina came out full charge. “I like your style…for an American.”

…Even later…

Me: “Didier, they say I’m cool but only for an American.”
Didier: “Well, it’s true…for an American.”

…Bottom line…

I’ve never been prouder….to be an American.

Ok, I think that’s all I’ve got for you. Be prepared, though. Friday I am going to Prague for 3 nights with Sapna. That’s gonna be one hell of a blog…for an American. J

That’s all there is…I hope you are all doing well. I miss you and get to see you soooo soon!!

XOXO,
Dina