New Friend!

The last few weeks I have been corresponding with Courtney.  She and I connected through Geovisions because we are both staying in the Marche region in Italy.  We have been emailing back and forth, talking about our trips and questions about the program and place.  We really wanted to meet up because it is so nice when you have somebody in the area that you can relate to.  I am not saying you can't relate to the Italians and their culture, but after being so immersed in the culture it is nice to talk to someone who knows your background a bit.  Anways, Coutney just arrived this past weekend, and I am leaving next Tuesday.  We both have our crazy schedules, so we tried to coordinate so that we could meet up just once.  Well, we made it happen!

Last night I drove to Monterubbiano to pick up Courtney, so we could drive down to Porto San Giorgio, which is right on the water.  My host family let me borrow the car because the trains stop running after a certain hour, and I didn't want to risk getting stuck somewhere.  Anyways, I drove to pick up Courtney.  The navigator in the car got me to the right vicinity, but could not link me directly to the house.  Boy was that a trip.  I followed the signs to Monterubbiano, and I knew she was staying on top of a hill on the right with a gated entrance and a yellowish house.  As I was driving, there were hills everywhere!  And there were yellowish houses with gates everywhere!  We were playing phone tag trying to figure out what was around the home that I could look for.  As I am driving down the road, Courtney calls me back and she said, "I am pretty sure I just saw your car!" and I immediately said, "oh goody!  I am turning around now."  As soon as I turned the car around, I could see the windmill that she said was a little landmark for her home.  I was so ecstatic to find the house!  In Italy, the roads aren't well labeled, but they have signs for all the towns with arrows pointing you in their direction.  It is very chaotic.

We were able to head into Porto San Giorgio for a few hours.  We checked out a festival that was going on.  Vendors were selling everything you could think of... purses, shoes, pottery, jewelry, ceramics, and so much more.  I restrained myself from making purchases.  We walked along the beach where there were tons of restaurants.  We just picked a random pizzeria.  The food was good, of course.  After dinner we got dessert.  Who could pass up real Italian gelato?  Not us!  Afterwards we headed back to the car, and I drove her back home and then went home myself.  I must say driving at night on the autostrada is insane!  People drive so fast in their cars, and they come out of nowhere!  I made it home close to midnight, and my host family was still up as they were entertaining work colleagues.  All in all, it was an awesome day!