Hey everyone and welcome back! It’s just another day here in Italy, but today I have a special surprise. In my last post, I spoke about a certain item that I will be purchasing in the future. Lucky for you, today I am going to let you in on the secret. Not only will I tell you what it is, I’m also going to convince you to buy one too. Trust me, it will improve your life.

Instead of telling you, just check out the video below.

So there it is. A couple of you guessed it. A motorino. Quite possibly my favorite thing that I have done in the past two months. I was a little hesitant to get on at first, but after the first couple minutes I didn’t want to get off. This particular motorino DID NOT have one of those nice seats that holds you in place(see example below).

It was just a flat bench with two wheels. No back to ensure that you stay on the seat while the motorino is propelling forward. If you lean to far back well then, you know what happens.

Since there were two of us and only one motorino, we had to both hop on. I got on the back and immediately I realized there wasn’t a single thing to hold on to. No handles in sight or within reach. Within a couple second we were off. Cruising down the street on a motorino. I thought we were going to go slow but we were zipping away. As soon as I got used to riding on the motorino, we came across our first obstacle. A sharp turn, with bumps. We cruised around this turn and must have hit every single pot hole on the way. As we went around the turn the whole motorino slanted on it’s side. I was envisioning ending up on the ground. I know Jessica drives a motorino everyday, but my guess would be that it must handle differently with a 250 lb guy on the back.

At this point we were well out of the town and into the country. Driving down a country road in Italy on a motorino is a whole different experience. I had driven down this exact road before in a car but this just wasn’t the same. From the comfort of the car I never realized how cold and damp the air was. From the car I could never see just how many dimly lit towns were tucked away up in the mountains. With my new unobstructed view I had a new appreciation. There were no more barriers between me and the earth. Just driving down the road with the wind in my face.

After a short amount of time, I found myself very comfortable on this motorino. Instead of dreading the sharp turns, I started to embrace them. The bumpier the ride, the more fun it became. I thought since I wasn’t holding on anyways, I might as well take out my camera right? Great idea! While taking all of these videos there were a couple times I forgot that I was supposed to be balancing myself on this thing rather than trying to take the funniest videos. In the end, I made it through and lived to tell about it.

Since I can’t bear the thought of never being able to ride on one again, I’ve decided to purchase one. The details aren’t worked out yet, but they are in my near future. Maybe I’ll buy one in the U.S. Or maybe I’ll leave it in Italy at my summer house (No I don’t have a summer house in Italy YET, but will gladly accept donations). In addition, I think you should buy one too. Save money on gas and also help the environment. You can’t go wrong.

Hope you enjoyed this post. I’ll be checking back in soon. I am also contemplating an impromptu trip to a new city in Southern Italy that I’ve never visited before. Any suggestions?

Alright……so it has been a while. Here I am after a month of not writing a single post. I’m beyond disappointed with myself. I can’t even really give an explanation of why I haven’t written. I could say that I have been too busy, or that I just never have enough time. Unfortunately both of those reasons would be untrue. I’m a honest person and lying just isn’t my style.
I started this Blog as a way to keep my family and friends in touch while I was away in Italy. I thought it would be a fantastic way for them to come along on my trip. I also wanted to share my experience in Italy with anyone who was interested. There is no place in the world I would rather travel to. For some reason I just stopped writing. What can I say? Sometimes that’s just the way things are. They never work out as planned.

I think somewhere along the line, it finally hit me that it was impossible for me to put into words the things that I have experienced in just two short months. It would be impossible for me to explain the thoughts in my head, the whirlwind of emotions and the challenges that I have faced. It certainly hasn’t all been perfect. There have been days where I even questioned coming to Italy. On other days all I wanted was the comfort of my condo and the opportunity to drive my own car. This trip has been such a life changing experience that it is almost difficult to describe.

It is difficult to describe the experience of walking through the deserted narrow alleyways of a medieval town at night while I was alone and in the rain. My feet were in terrible pain due to my poor choice in stylish shoes, but you have to look good in Italy! Yet, I couldn’t stop walking. There wasn’t a person in sight. Only me, the buildings and the rain. The only thing you could hear was the rain hitting the cobblestone streets. I felt like I had gone back in time 500 years. That day, a part of me wished that I did.

Today, I wish I could go back to that day. I wish that I had two months left in Italy instead of only one. It is finally starting to hit me that my time here is winding down. I only have about 3 weeks left. 3 months (due to visa/passport requirements) seemed like an eternity. Unfortunately, I have realized that it’s not. However, the amount of memories that are ingrained in my head will last a lifetime. I have made new friends that I can’t picture life without. I’m worried what it will be like to say goodbye. I wonder if I have had as much of an impact on them as they have had on me. I wonder if Italy will miss me? Every single day I wonder how I am going to be able to leave. Can I actually leave here again? This is my third time to Italy and I am forced to leave again. After all the hard work, sacrifice and planning it took to get here, how can I now leave?

For some reason Italy seems to have this effect on so many people. Once you visit, this country wraps its hands around a certain part of you and never lets go. It keeps calling you back before you have even left. If you have ever been here, you know what I mean. There is something about this place that makes you feel alive. If you ever figure out what it is, please let me know.

In the meantime, I am going to keep enjoying my days making the most of this experience. Today I taught Jessica a new saying. I told her that “this has been one hell of an experience”. It truly has been a journey of a lifetime. The best part is, I still have more than three weeks left! I will update this blog more in the next few weeks, and trust me, this time I will. By the way, I started this post with a totally different topic in mind. If the current post title doesn’t make sense this is the reason why. I have found something here in Italy that I am buying when I return to America. I’ll give you a hint, there are a ton of them in Italy, but very few in America. Do you think you know what it is? Stay tuned to the next post to find out…

Drunk people, fake bulls and broken glass. That’s right, you heard me correctly. Sounds like an interesting mix right? Trust me it was.

Since my arrival in Italy I have heard numerous times about a festival that takes place every year. Still to this day (even after the festival) I don’t know what it is called or even what is signifies. Every time someone mentioned this festival, I was told about all the drunk people that go. Now I know why. I can only recall maybe 2 or 3 times when I have seen so many drunk people in one place before. Now keep in mind I’ve done my fair share of partying. I was lucky enough to attend what was voted the #1 party school in America for several years. Go UALBANY!!! Something to be proud of right?

So this festival (whatever it was called) takes place once a year in a town called Offida. Its a tiny little medieval mountain town tucked away in the Italian countryside. In order to reach this town you have to take a special bus which only runs a couple times throughout the day. Since the bus doesn’t run often, there is a mad rush to hop on when the doors open. Since I’m bigger than half of the people in this country, I ran through the crowd like an NFL fullback and held a spot to let my friends hop on, with just enough time for me to climb up into the bus also.

We journeyed into the Italian countryside packed in a bus like sardines in a can. I didn’t care how cramped and uncomfortable I was, this was some amazing scenery. It seemed like we must have made no fewer than ten 180 degree turns up the steep winding road. The further up the mountain we traveled, the more I felt like we were going back in time. Gradually the typical modern apartment style Italian homes were being replaced by small country homes, most with adjoining olive groves or vineyards. At this point we were pretty far up in the mountains and far from the modern world. The bus made a stop to let a passenger off and I quickly noticed the house in front of me. It was a secluded country house with a couple of sheep sitting outside. Suddenly an old Italian woman in a traditional housecoat came outside onto the front porch area. She looked at the bus suspiciously like she had never seen it before. Is it just me or do Italians always need to know whats going on? Quickly she was back to her sweeping on the porch. This immediately stirred up warm memories of my Grandmother. Don’t ask me why, but I feel like she was always sweeping. Finally the bus started to move forward and I saw a giant chicken come trotting around the corner, I had to crack a smile.

We finally made it to the town of Offida. I got off the bus and realized immediately that I was out of place. Most people aged 15 – 65 were wearing these white outfits with red socks and bandannas wrapped around their waists. Apparently I never got the memo. It was only about a minute later that the real fun started. Out of nowhere I saw a huge fake bull with about 4 people inside of it running full speed down the street while every single person around the bull was chasing it. I know the videos will not do this justice but let me tell you it was crazy and also a lot of fun. For several hours this bull chasing went on, while the alcohol flowed. It was all around a great time and a lot of fun. Easily one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in Italy. I managed to capture some great pictures (click here to view slideshow) and also some really good videos.(click here to view videos)

The trip up the mountain in the bus was enjoyable. Six hours later being crammed in a bus with cold and tired drunk people isn’t as much fun. We’ve all spent the past 6 hours freezing our butts off drinking wine, all while chasing other drunk people pretending to be a bull. At this point everyone wanted to be home. About 5 minutes into our trip down the mountain the bus pulls to the side of the road. Everyone is so tired no one says a word. After a couple minutes we are still on the side of the road. Two minutes turns into five, five minutes turns into ten. Ten minutes turns into twenty, you get the point. Its now been over thirty minutes and the bus hasn’t moved an inch. After careful inspections of the doors and emergency exit buttons, it was determined that the bus was broke. Now just imagine a bus full of drunk people who want to get home. It was absolute madness. It may have only been about 45 minutes but it felt like an eternity. Tempers were rising, people were fighting, what a mess. Finally we receive word (keep in mind this is all happening in Italian) that “if we want to go home, get off the bus, if we don’t want to go home, stay on the bus.”

I wanted to go home so I got off. We got off the bus and however cold it was an hour earlier, it must have been ten degrees cooler now. Confusion continues for the next hour. I look around and realize I am in the middle of the Italian countryside, freezing cold, surrounded by drunk people who don’t even speak my language. What have I gotten myself into and can it get any worse? Just after that thought, the snowflakes started falling.

About ten minutes later one guy decides to take the emergency mallet from the bus and break a bus window, glass shatters and flies everywhere. At this point I don’t know how it could get any worse (keep in mind I’m a pretty sarcastic guy). We finally receive word of a bus coming to rescue us from the snowy hills of Italy. The bus is coming from the street below which is about 15 feet down a steep hill. I brace myself to walk down this hill. At this point I’m in survival mode and need to get on this bus. I take a couple steps while balancing myself. On the third step I slipped, tumbling down the steep hill only to be greeted at the bottom by a cement wall and some type of thorn bush. Maybe I had one too many glasses of wine. Just kidding, I wasn’t even drunk. I finally manage to pick myself up. I’m covered in mud, have a cut on my shin and I am picking the thorns out of my fingers.

I let it all sink in while the snowflakes continue to fall on my head. I only have one word for this life of mine……..Vaffanculo!

It’s raining in Italy, much more than I would like. Some days it’s just wet out with a light mist in the air, but others there are plenty of raindrops falling from the sky. This isn’t exactly the type of weather that makes you hop out of bed in the morning and go on an adventure. Although sometimes I would prefer to stay inside on days like this, I’m in Italy and determined to make the most of my time here. So where is the best place to go when it’s raining? You guessed it…..The MALL!

I began my journey heading south on the Autostrada leaving the region of Le Marche and entering Abruzzo. I am currently located about 5 minutes north of the border between the two regions. During the drive I was enjoying the typical scenery which is so common in Italy. Rolling hills filled with vineyards and olive groves. The most interesting thing is that on top of these hills are towns. Small, self sustaining villages that are hundreds of years old and in some ways still haven’t changed much in that amount of time. If you were standing and had a 360 degree view, there are probably about 10 hilltop villages within view. I was (and still am) amazed at this. I can’t understand how these towns were built hundreds of year ago and still remain perfectly intact today. Amazingly, since these towns were built with ancient masonry and stone structures, they have weathered earthquakes that have destroyed nearby modern buildings. These towns were built up in the hills for defense purposes to keep intruders out. Ironically, today no one even wants to travel up to the towns. In fact the exact opposite is true. Many hilltop villages throughout Italy have seen a rapid decrease in population due to the younger generations preferring a more modern lifestyle in urban areas. Fortunately, there has also been a recent interest in maintaining and preserving these villages in part due to foreign visitors purchasing properties as vacation homes. Luckily these villages are undergoing a transformation, as money is spent on the renovation and rebuilding of their historic centers and also on the nearby properties in the surrounding countryside.

After my scenic drive through the countryside, we took the next exit off the Autostrada and there we were. A giant stucco colored building surrounded by a huge parking lot. Something just didn’t look right about this modern building being nestled between so many nearby structures that were hundreds of years older. The second I stepped foot inside the mall I immediately felt like I was somewhere I had already been, and that was America. This mall was exactly the same as any mall in America. The main difference in this Mall was the food court. This food court was a cafeteria style food court with different stations that prepared whatever type of food you would like. Pasta, meat, seafood, vegetables, antipasto, desserts and almost anything else you could imagine. Not only was this food cooked in minutes, it could compare with many Italian restaurants in America. I ate a nice bowl of spaghetti and a grilled piece of pork all complimented with a fresh piece of bread. I love Italy. After my lunch I spent some time browsing through the stores and had an all around good time at my first Italian mall.

Later on at night, it was still raining. I had already been to the mall for the day so I did the only other logical thing to do. I went for a walk. What can I say? It was Friday and I didn’t feel like sitting inside. Apparently I was the only one who felt this way since it seemed that most other people didn’t want to leave their houses. I was one of the few people out and was definitely the only one walking. Here is a quick video and some pictures from my “passeggiata”.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I hope you enjoyed this post! I have quite a few exciting trips coming up within the next couple weeks. Exciting trips means good stories. Please stay tuned to see what kind of adventures I can into next…..let’s just hope it’s not raining!!…..Ciao!

Welcome back everyone! Things are going really well here in Italy. This may be somewhat of a random post, but I wanted to share a couple pictures and videos with you. Sorry, but not every post can be an exciting story of running to the bank or experiencing the nightlife in Italy. However, since many of my posts are stories of recent events, I wanted to give you a nice visual to accompany my exciting stories. Unfortunately, to my surprise it has been raining here quite a bit. Since my previous two trips to Italy have been in the summer, I wasn’t really expecting such cold weather with so much rain. Thankfully, today was a really nice day so I managed to snap a couple of shots I’d like to share. I would have taken more, but the batteries in my camera died!

The area of town I am staying in is fairly new compared to many surrounding medieval hill towns such as Monteprandone. Hopefully, I will have the chance to visit one or two of these towns. I am currently located in Centobuchi, Italy which is actually a subdivision of Monteprandone. The two pictures below were taken from the balcony of my bedroom. If you are interested you can also check out a really cool Google Maps street view by clicking here.clicking here. (Just give it a couple seconds to load.)

Although these are not my videos (I found them on Youtube), they both give some really nice images so you can have a sense on my surroundings. The first is a short video which shows some nice aerial shots of Monteprandone and some streetviews in Centobuchi.

The next is a nighttime driving tour of Centobuchi, Porto d’Ascoli and San Benedetto Del Tronto. The video is high quality and has some good music playing in the background so it’s pretty fun to watch. The female narrator’s Italian speech also has a nice ring to it. The last couple minutes include some good views of the “lungomare” (Beachfront Promenade) of San Benedetto Del Tronto, which is easily my favorite nearby city. It has the most shops, restaurants and nightlife. San Benedetto lies directly on the Adriatic Coast and is known as a summertime resort town.

In addition, you can also view a short video of still pictures from San Benedetto del Tronto. Now that I found out this is only 10 minutes away by bus, I will certainly be spending more time here.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little “giro” (tour) through Centobuchi and some of the nearby towns. On a final note I would like to introduce you to one of my new friends. Her name is Ilary and she is a Chihuahua. She’s a really friendly dog and loves to hang out whenever I’m around. While I’m eating she likes to stand on her hind legs and puts her two front paws on my leg. It’s actually pretty funny. The only problem is she barks. Not only does she bark, she barks a lot. It’s pretty much non stop and sometimes makes you go crazy. Nonetheless, I like having her around. So I’ve included a message from her also.

In case you were wondering, she’s saying “thanks for stopping by, and see you soon!”

So far everything in Italy is going great. I finally feel that I am starting to get in the groove of life here in Italy. Each day I manage to accomplish another task that makes me feel as if I am now living in Italy, not just visiting. Today I decided to take a trip to the bank. I needed to exchange my U.S. Dollars since I never had the chance at J.F.K airport. I was able to exchange $100 dollars in the Munich Airport, but I felt the exchange rate was too low (which I later learned I was correct). Now usually when you are in a different country, you can exchange your money right in the hotel lobby. Since I am not staying in a hotel, I need to take my first trip to the bank.

Since I am not sure where the bank is, Jessica (one of the girls I am teaching English) offers to guide me in the right direction. We walk outside and Jessica hops on her “motorino”. She is going to the library after she escorts me to the bank. As I start walking alongside of her, she tells me to “get on”. I am not at all opposed to riding on a motorino, in fact I would love the chance. However, riding on the back of a motorino being driven by a 17 year old girl just doesn’t sound like a good idea. I like my body free of bumps, bruises or casts. So being the fun, spontaneous level headed guy that I am, I instead challenge her to a race. This reminds me of when I was a kid and I would race my uncle in his car (with turbo) to the end of my block. After my first step forward I actually felt like a kid again.

I lunged forward full force, starting slow and gaining momentum. Judging by the fact that she was a full ten feet behind, she must have thought I was joking. Right foot in front of left, left foot in front of right, I haven’t sprinted like this in years. The wind is blowing harshly against my face and the air is cold and wet. I can barely breathe but I’m winning! I must say, for a 250 lb guy, I’m pretty damn fast. I’m going all out at this point and I hear the loud muffler on the motorino getting closer. I start laughing because I know at this point I have no chance. I see little old Italian men in their yards with looks of disgust on their faces. I could just imagine the thoughts going through their heads. I’m now at a dead tie with the motorino and I am running on all eight cylinders. We are neck and neck for about 5 seconds. I try my best, but I am no match for the two wheeled beast. Jessica and the motorino speed forward leaving me in their dust. I admit defeat but have a chance to catch my breath and think to myself “That was fun”.

After a couple minutes of laughing, I managed to compose myself and enter the bank. If I had known that 15 minutes later I would be running full speed again, I never would have challenged Jessica to that race. This time, I was running out of necessity, not by choice. To hear the rest of the story and find out why 15 minutes later I was running again, you’ll just have to wait for the book.

So I have officially survived my first day here in Italy. Even though the past two days felt more like a month, it has only been one day since my arrival. Now that I have finally made it here, what should I do? The answer is obvious, go out for a night on the town!

My night started off with one of my favorite events, eating. I went to a restaurant with Jessica (one of the girls I am teaching English) and a bunch of her friends. They were all very nice and also spoke a little English. Now this wasn’t just any restaurant, this was a Pizzeria! Anyone who knows me, should know I could eat pizza everyday. The pizza I had last night, I could eat everyday for every meal for the rest of my life! It was unbelievable. I chose “La Bomba” which was a pizza loaded with tomato sauce, cheese, sausage, german sausage and last but not least french fries. Yup you heard me correctly, there were french fries on my pizza. The flavors of this pizza were truly an experience I will never forget. This pizza was accompanied with a large Tennent’s Super (9% alcohol) beer which was perfect. It was an all around great time with good food and even better company. The fact that I was in Italy was finally starting to sink in.

After dinner we decided to check out a few local hot-spots. We took a short walk around town and I quickly learned that it is just as cold in Italy as it is in New York. This is something I was not very happy about. I can’t believe I gave up 65 degree weather in Arizona for this! Around the same time I noticed the cold weather, I also noticed something else. Beautiful women, and lots of them. Everywhere I turned there were gorgeous women with the latest fashions strutting their stuff. I was blown away by some of these women who almost looked like they weren’t real, when in fact they were as natural as you can get. Take a look at Elisabetta Gregoraci or Caterina Balivo to get an idea of what I am describing. Anyways, this definitely helped soften the blow of the cold weather. Keep in mind we weren’t even in Milan or Rome.

We were in the town of Porto d’Ascoli and after about 10 minutes of being outside I was more than excited to be inside the first bar. This place was pretty similar to any typical bar you would find in America. I was still taking it all in when I finally realized the lack of diversity amongst the patrons of this bar. Let’s put it this way, my Italian heritage, black bomber jacket, jeans and Asics sneakers fit right in. I think that’s what almost everyone in the bar was wearing. The next bar was a whole different story. We head towards the “Velvet Underground” which was surrounded by a ton of “punk” type kids sporting Mohawks and enough chain wallets and spikes to make any punk rock band jealous. Although this isn’t “my scene” and I definitely wasn’t expecting it in Italy, it certainly was an experience. After about an hour the band decided to sing Happy Birthday to someone inside the bar and there wasn’t a face in the bar without a smile. All around good times. Its starting to get late and we were all tired, time to pack it in for the night.

Wow, so much has happened and I have only been here for one day. I can’t begin to imagine all the adventures the future has in store. Will I fall in love with one of these beautiful Italian women? Will I land a
DJ gig in one of these discotheques? Stay tuned to find out when happens next! See ya soon…

Wow, that’s all I can really say. I am exhausted. I finally made it. You would think that two flights with a three hour layover would be enough. Not until after the 12 hour journey in the air, did the real fun start.

I arrived at the Ancona airport which might be the smallest airport I have ever seen. I manage to gather all my baggage from the one small conveyor belt that services all of the incoming flights. I have plans to take a train from directly in front of the airport to San Benedetto Del Tronto, the town where I am staying. I am assuming there is an information stand in the airport. First lessoned learn on my trip……never assume. Here is a picture of the airport, imagine that picture minus all of the people.That is what I saw. I immediately head to the only stand with a person behind it. I ask in my broken Italian, “Where do I get the train”. The gentlemen immediately responded that its a very small train and most days doesn’t even show up. Looks like my trip is getting off to a great start. Even though I needed to figure out a new mode of transportation, the sound of the Italian language was like music to my ears. Next, I head over to the currency exchange stand, and the gentleman informs me they are closed. It’s not even 1:00 pm, welcome to Italy. I finally manage to escape the deserted airport and I am on my way.
To make a long story short, two bus rides, one train ride and 2 and a half hours later, I have arrived in San Benedetto Del Tronto! My host family is there to meet me, perfect! My head hurts, my back hurts, its freezing cold out. I finally load my luggage into the car and have a chance to breathe and think to myself, I couldn’t be any happier, I’m in Italy.

Alright this is it.  I’m leaving today.  I am scrambling last minute to get everything together. This is it though.  The time has finally come for me to hit the road.  The amount of preparation that has gone into this journey is more than I would like to share.  It seems as though the older you get, the more difficult it is to travel.  The days of packing a backpack and hitting the road are long gone.  Although planning this adventure has given me my fair share of gray hairs, I wouldn’t have it any other way.   Well, although I’d love to stay and chat, I’d hate to miss my flight.  This is my final farewell, I’m Off To Italy!

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

List of Travel Items

• Sense of Adventure…..check
• Desire to pursue dreams…..check
• Passion for all things Italian…..check

Other than that I don’t really have much of anything prepared. I’ve been working as much as possible to try and save up some money. Something tells me I am going to be scrambling last minute to prepare for this trip (not that I’ve ever done that before in the past). Stay tuned to find out. By the way, I am starting to get extremly excited, hope you come along for the ride!