3-4-2012

Well hey there.  It's pretty hard to be consistent with our blogging when we are traveling because the Wifi use is pretty limited.  Let me see, so basically on Wednesday on our farm, Deberklauw, we each decided that we would like to move on and experience new things.  Its not that we didn't like the farm, we just felt that Italy would offer much much more.  We were a little confused by the lack of structure, and found ourselves reading in our room to use up the day until night came.  Night was always a party at Deberk;  even if nothing was happening.  There is this inexplicable vibe that the living room holds at night.  Its a familiar, cozy place, where everyone can talk, smoke, drink, listen to music and have a good time.  Jason and I won't ever forget some of the amazing people we met on that farm, and I hope thats likewise.  We won't forget Antoine, the 19 year old cleft lipped badass who took us under his wing when we first arrived.  Or the amazing Cels, a divorced father from Brazil, who guest starred in our last video blog.  But we had made the executive decision leave, so on Friday morning we set sail with our luggage in hand.  We walked down the long drive way, me rolling my oversized suitcase, and Jason hauling his duffel bag and guitar ( which has caused a lot of fuss because of the weight, but we have devised a contraption where Jason puts his duffel on top of my suitcase to create one monster bag ).  We hadn't actually confirmed any plans of getting to the train station ( by bus ), or even going anywhere from the train station.  As we came to the street, a strike of luck hit us as we saw a bus just stopping on the other side of the street.  We ran over and onto the bus, which could've come at any time, literally.  We arrived at the train station and found our way to the ticket booth where we told some unfortunate news.  Apparently these Eurail passes that we bought aren't as useful as Doug, the STA travel agent, claimed them to be.  Shocker.  If we are traveling Internationally we need to make reservations before we go.  Not a big deal.  "Wait, did you say we needed to make these reservations 3 months before our travels..?".  Yea thats pretty classic I guess.  So Jason and I went along with this crazy train system, and splurged a full price train ticket to Paris, France.  We decided to go to Paris because we could get to Italy from there, and if we wanted to stay the night, we had a mutual friend studying abroad there, or so we thought.  At the train station, still in Brussels, Jason and I were in a mad dash to find Wifi so that we could contact our camp friend, Maddie, or even a hostel if Maddie wasn't available.  Both of our phones were on the brink on shutting off, but we managed to eat at Steve's Cafe and join the wifi network.  We face booked Maddie, and decided that was the best we could do until we got to Paris.  We took the 2-3 hour train ride, and arrived in France where we in a stressful scramble to again find some internet to give us some direction of what we were doing that night.  it was 630 PM when we got off the train, and we asked a nearby attendant where the nearest Wifi was.  We meet again, McDonalds.  Jason and I stuffed our baggage under a small McDonalds table, and logged on to the internet.  I for whatever reason, could not get my computer working, so it was up to our iPhones.  Maddie hadn't responded, and it was around 7 o clock at night.  I decided to make a plan B, and what a plan B it was.  I called Julie Brown, all the way back in Palos Verdes, and asked if she had a number for Maddie while she was abroad ( if you didn't already know Maddie Mayerson is a cousin of the Brown family ).  Julie informed us that Maddie was in London for the weekend....classic.  So Jason and I are now in a McDonalds in Paris with nowhere to go really.  Me being the clutch person I am, I decided to go on Hostelworld.com on my phone, and booked a hostel within 5 minutes for one night on my phone.  Technology at its finest.  Jason and I barely managed to find our Caulincourt hostel, but we checked in and finally could take a breath.  Also, I never really mentioned that at Deberk, hygiene was merely a guideline in an instruction manual that Gosse had probably thrown away right when he got to the farm, because in one whole week of staying there Jason and I showered once, and brushed our teeth once.  So being in a hostel where we had our own bathroom, hot water, and a decently working toilet was sheer bliss.  I volunteered to take the first shower, and I truly took advantage of the hot water.  Washing my hair for the first time in about a week?  I had to use two whole handfuls.  But I can't say this is the first time I have gone that long without washing my hair.  The summer going into Junior Year I didn't wash my hair for a straight three weeks, my only shampoo was the salty ocean water.  After showering, and brushing my teeth, I was forced to put on dirty boxers, and basically dirty everything else.  But I did feel cleaner, at least.  I went down to the lobby of the hostel and had to update myself on the latest American Idol news.  After a sufficient 30 minutes of finding out who is in the top 13, Jason and I went back up to the room, and we met two other roommates of ours in the hostel.   One was from Venezuela, and the other from Tokyo, Japan.  They both seemed like very nice guys, and we told them after JAson and I ate that we should all go out together.  So Jason and I walked into a more populated area than the hostel was located in, and found a small restaurant to eat at.  We both got mediocre caesar salads, but it was fine because we were in France.  After, we walked around a little and then went to the nearest supermarket and got two beers that I remember buying when I was in France this past summer.  Desperados, a beer with a hint of tequila that tastes like soda, but its 5.9% alcohol content will creep up on you.  We brought the beer back to the hostel, and were rejoiced with our two new friends.  They soon understood that we were excited to have a fun a time, and they too went into a beer vault they had in the hostel.  We all drank for awhile talking about where we each grew up, an then after Jason and I went back to the supermarket for another round, the night really took off.  We came back and immediately started playing little drinking games and singing to the broken guitar songs we knew.  Later on two of our other roommates came back, one from Australia who works as a photographer, and one from Venezuela.  At around 2 AM we called it a night and each went to bed in our respective 4 by 8 cots.  Jason and I woke up at 930 to catch breakfast by ten.  We truly could have gone without it though, because a mediocre croissant and a bowl of oats doesn't usually fill me up.  After checking out we went to the laundromat to do our first laundry load in Europe.  Boy, was it well needed.  Then we found our way back to the train station where another surprise lay ahead of us.  When we went to buy tickets to Torino, Italy we were told that our Eurail passes were useless because we hadn't made a reservation.  No surprise here really, but then she told us that we had to pay the full fledge price of the ticket.  Yea...not classic.  We dropped the cash and then sat a deathly 7 hours on the train to Italy.  We arrived in Torino at 915 PM and called our farm owner who  told us where to go next.  Chivasso, Italy is a very small town, and when we arrived at 1015 PM our farm owner let us know that he would be picking us up at 9 AM the following morning.  "But we really would feel more comfortable if we could get to the farm tonight.  We don't know our way around this town at all.."  So Jason and I were forced to search Chivasso for the nearest hotel.  We found a hotel about 10 mints form the train station, that had one room left. We'll take it!  Yea, but there is only one bed?  We'll take it!  We got settled, took a deep breath and went out in Chivasso to search for somewhere to eat at 1130 at night.  the only thing we came across was an Istanbul Kebab restaurant that are al around Europe.  It seems to me that these hole in the walls are the fast foods of Europe.  After being stared down more than I ever have in any volleyball game we decided to head back to our hotel after we finished eating.  We got back to the room, winded down and fell asleep pretty late.  The bed was just about as big as the cot I slept in the night before in Paris, but this time Jason and I were sharing it.  I didn't sleep all that well but nothing to complain about.  The next morning we woke up at 10 AM and called the farm.  The farm owner told us that his wife was coming in ten minutes to pick us up, at a location we had never heard of.  We checked out of the hotel, and hauled our luggage to the train station.  From there we waited for a call from the wife, and had to walk only a little farther to meet up with her.  Ottavio, or Sea Otter, is the wifes' name.  On our farm in Italy we live with a community known as Damanhur.  This community doesn't affiliate itself with religion, but I find it hard not to.  I am just learning that Damanhur is a kind of community that branches from neopagan belief and New Age movement, a sort of spiritual movement.  I have been on the farm for about two days now, and haven't at all felt pressured or uncomfortable by their way of lifestyle, meaning its totally fine here Mom.  So we arrived at the farm at 1230 PM and met some 15 new friends.  There isn't a chance  will remember anyones name here.  Not a chance.  After a little tour, the sea otter showed us to where we wold be staying.  A healthy 5 minute walk form the house is a log cabin, right near the cow stables.  The little cabin is very nice, compared to our caravan at Deberk at least.  We each have our own room, and after unpacking we came back to the house for lunch.  We walked into the dining room which holds four huge tables connected to each other and when we walked in every seat was almost filled.  It reminded me of being at my aunts house for this last passover.  It was a very homey feel, and on top of that the food was quite possibly the best I have ever eaten.  Even though it was leftover pasta and just a few vegetables, I was thoroughly impressed.  the pasta sauce was to die for, and even the broccoli was delicious.  I thought i gained weight at my first farm in Maryland, I will be in for a treat to see how much I gain here.  After lunch we ate a marvelous cake made by the sea otter.  My words wouldn't do it justice at all, but it was a sort of date cake, with a crust that melted in my mouth.  After lunch Jason and I walked back to our cabin where we felt a nap coming on.  You can't trust Box with naps because he either sleeps too long, or never wants to get up.  So following his title he slept for 3 and a half hours, while I took a mere hour and a half, and was up and ready to shower and blog.  Unfortunately for me, when I tried to post this last night the internet went down.  So here I am.  But anyways last night we had a sort of risotto that was purely amazing.  Now I have had risotto before, but never ever like this.  I congratulated the chef.  " I do not eh speak eh english".  The food was good! (with hand motions of course) AHH Gratzie.  After dinner we hung out with some of the younger kids, Ravelle, 21, and Eric, 14.  We talked for awhile about music form the states, and the schooling they were going through.  After we went up to their room and watched a futbol game.  Neither Jason nor I knew much about soccer, but it was nice to watch a game with some new friends.  After the game we called it a night and went to bed in the cabin.  Hopefully we can post more videos and pictures but for now we only have this silly one.  Night.