One year in Trento

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Handmade cards

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Handmade cards from rubber stamps. #lotusroom #bonn

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Duyên nợ còn dài dài với nước Ý

Ở Đức có cái gọi là WG-casting. Ví dụ cả nhóm bạn hùn hạp thuê căn hộ, khi có người dọn ra, họ sẽ cần tìm người mới. Và vì có qúa nhiều người cần tìm nhà, nên người thuê cũ sẽ tổ chực Wg-casting. Hôm đó mình đi casting cho 1 căn, mình tới trễ :D thế nên hồi nữa bạn chủ nhà lại phải tiếp một bạn khác. Lúc biết bạn đó cũng học ở Trento, 5 năm đó nha, học MEC luôn, vừa tốt nghiệp năm nay. Gặp bạn mà mừng dễ sợ!! Không tới nỗi chạy lại xin chữ ký chụp ảnh, nhưng tự nhiên lòng mình thấy ấm áp. Chia tay nói kiểu Bonn hem có nhỏ như Trento, nhưng biết đâu ngày nào đó lại đụng mặt nhau ;) Mình chả tin là sẽ đụng mặt nhau, có gặp lại mình cũng chả nhớ mặt để mà nhận người quen.

Trong tháng 9, trước khi phải qua Đức cày bừa cho tư bản thì mình đi du lịch vòng vòng ở Ý. Hôm mình tới Perugia, mình couchsurfing nhà bạn Alessandro. Hai đứa nói chuyện, bạn nói bạn sẽ đi Erasmus ở Đức, hóa ra là bạn cũng tới Bonn. Qua tới Bonn, dòng đời đưa đẩy nên tụi mình text đâu đó hai lần. Rùi khi mình hỏi gì đó mà không thấy bạn trả lời nên nghĩ là bạn bận, nên thôi. Cái rùi có vụ động đất ở Ý, ở gần Norcia, cái mình nghĩ mình nên hỏi thăm bạn xem mọi người ở Perugia vẫn an toàn hết chớ, có bị chấn động nhiều hông... Hóa ra thì bạn không nhận được tin nhắn mình (okay!! hết giận :D ), và rùi hóa ra là cái nhà sắp tới mình thuê cách nhà bạn chưa đầy 200m =)))

Trái đất tròn mà!!!

Nhớ Ý ơi là nhớ!

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One who wakes up only 17 minutes

... before the train departure, should sleep in the station instead. [I still managed to catch that train at 5:47] Goodbye Trento

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Day 31, or the 1st Oct

1. Carlo and I start the day in a pretty slow way. We tell each others lasted night that we'd get out of house by 10:30. In the end, we leave house around 12 =)) But I enjoyed the slow and calm breakfast. And he probably enjoy his half an hour shower so so much that I decide to take continue on my book Deaf Sentence. 2. We go to Sirolo, take the path 2 to go the Two Sisters beach (Due Sorelle spiaggia) 3. The hike is so awesome, not hard at all. It takes us one hour and a half to go from Sirolo up to Passo al Lupo, and down to the beach. 4. The beach isn't calm. But it's so clean. 5. Carlo offers to share a sandwich with a German guy who somehow only brings a bottle of water for the hike. Carlo is so friendly and generous, that German guy denies at first, but Carlo opens the sandwich, and make a happy face "com'on, you want it (wink wink)" 6. We sleep a bit on the beach, it's so windy that I sleep with a towel covering my body. And also because of the cliff, the sun light disappears completely around 3pm, only the cold shadow remains. 7. I spot some corbezzolo on the way back, so I decide to try them. The red one tastes really good. We end up spending so much time picking up that fruits, running from trees to trees. We both have that fruits for the first time. Then I realize that by hosting me, Carlo can also know a bit more about the place he lives. We are both up to creating experiences, and I'm super happy that we are able to go hiking, to emerge in nature, to pay attention to trees, to enjoy our shared time. 8. I'm so moved when his family make a toast for me before dinner, to wish me luck for my work in Germany. I almost cry. I didn't. But I cry when I am a train leaving Ancona the day after. I'm so filled with love, kindness and generosity. 9. Notte Bianca in Ancona. I meet his friend Francesco and Luca. Luca used to study for one year in Trento before moving back to Ancona. Carlo has a game of pretending that he's coming from afar... He strikes up a conversation with two Ecuador girls. I remember Amy, she can't speak English, but we strikes to make a conversation somehow. 10. The night ends with me and Carlo, sitting on the fence along the road next to a harbor, pouring our heart into a deep deep conversation. I enjoyed that time so much, when we are both able to share our thoughts, knowing that the other person would not mind, would not judge, and doesn't have any clue about who we are talking about. Also, the idea of me leaving Ancona the next day, and probably life would take us both in different directions make us more open. I try my best that night, to not hold back anything, to share with him my thoughts, my feelings, what matters to me. 11. I hope our lives will be filled with tons of memorable experiences, Carlo.

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Day 30

1. I leave Pablo’s home today. 2. I love making latte macchiato. 3. His mom even prepared lunch for me. It’s beyond my expectation. 4. I miss my family so so much when seeing his Mom and Dad preparing food and other things for him. 5. My host Carlo in Ancona picks me up at the station. From kinda the first moment I know he’s pretty easy going, and cracks joke every 5 minutes. 6. We eat the risotto with salmon and zucchini. Frankly, I don't like the smell of fishes that much. 7. We had amazing time at the beach near the Monument for Soldiers. 8. I loved stone skipping. I managed to even make that stone jumps five time. Such an achievement:)) 9. Carlo, also made one fabulous stone skipping. That stone jumps for a really long distance. He is happy. And I'm super happy for him as well. We share a good hug to celebrate that. 10. Walking the dog, his name is Tor, is definitely not an easy task. Carlo is observant. I asked him to just do the stone skipping, but he is worried about Tor engaging in a fight with other dogs, so he keep an eyes on his dog, make sure that those dogs in vicinity with Tor are female... 11. I experience the Tor in his full strength. He's so strong that he drags me with him. Luckily Carlo helps me to hold him back. It is scary to see Tor in a fight with another dog. 12. The dinner is awesome, with every one on a table. Carlo, Rita, Marco, Carlotta, Olimpia. I love so much the wine Rossa Conero, the cherry wine. 13. Carlo and his sister cooked dinner for a whole family. I think he's a pretty good guy, he loves taking care of those around him, especially his Mom, his Dad, and his two little sisters. He told me that he only want to see his Mom and Dad rest on a sofa after a long day of work. He wants to cook for them, to help them with the chores around the house whenever possible. I feel ashamed a bit to think about my family, what did I do to help them?

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Day 29

1. Sitting by the stream and mastering the art of rock skipping =)) I manage to make the rock jump one or two time, but still, it's great :) 2. Visit the Canyon of Furlo (Gallo di Furlo) 3. Eat 'crescia Urbino' 4. Watch the sun going down in one scenetic spot in the rural area of Urbino 5. Eat of the most amazing dinner with lots of vegetables. The tomato with a bit of garlic, basil, lots of olive oil and salt, that dish is so tasty. 6. And then the salad, just the simple salad but it tastes so well. 7. There's also red bell pepper cooked in the oven. All the water goes away, leaving the tender soft full of flavor pepper. 8. His Mom also made the most amazing 'tomato gratin' 9. For dessert, we have chocolate salami. And also the tiramisù. She prepared the tiramisù a while ago, and keep it in the freezer, but the taste is still so so so good. 10. Paolo take a lot of nice photos.

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Day 27

Best porchetta ever, I tasted it in the "La bottega dei sapori", in the Piazza del Commune in Assisi. The skin of the pork is crispy. The meat is chop in uneven slice, it's flavorful yet just salty enough.

Run around Perugia, see the landscape, see the sunset, know about a place call Monteluce. Now I know where to go to see the sunrise.

I wish I can stay more in Perugia.

Assisi is such a great great great place.

I enjoyed so much the frescoes inside the church of Saint Francesco. I like the upper church more than the lower one, since the color is brighter and the blue is really amazing. However, both churches are really nice and it deserves time and attention. I wish I had more time to spend there.

I enjoyed the audio guide by Rick Steves, with that audio guide and map, I feel that I can enjoy and discover much more about Assisi.

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Day 6

I was given one really good guide book about Campania region, in English. One part of that book can be found here

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Ngày 26

Sáng dậy mà lòng khấp khởi mừng vui, tự nhiên thấy vui vì dậy sớm, vì đã pack đồ xong xuôi.

Em Nhân chuẩn bị đồ ăn sáng cho mình, tử tế dễ sợ.

Tàu tới điểm hẹn trễ, Fabio là bạn trên blablacar cũng vẫn vui vẻ khi mình gọi điện, nói xin lỗi vì tàu tới trễ. Bạn đó là người thật dễ chịu.

Tới Perugia rùi mình thấy bạn dễ thương quá, bạn lại không có vẻ gì là vội vã, cứ hỏi mình nếu cần thì bạn đưa mình lên tới trên chỗ trung tâm cổ của thành phố luôn. Mình ngại, nói bạn thả mình ở dưới ga tàu là được rồi, mình sẽ bắt minimetro để đi lên trung tâm. Và rồi mình rủ bạn đi ăn kem. Bạn giới thiệu vị pinolata, là vị kem với hạt từ quả thông, tiếng Ý hạt quả thông gọi là pinolo, trời ăn vừa ăn thôi là đã thấy thích, thấy thiên đường là đây. Ngồi ăn dưới hàng thông rợp mát nữa chứ, lúc đó cảm thấy yêu đời vô cùng vô tận =))

Đi lên trung tâm, kiếm Tourist Office cũng dễ. Mình giờ kinh nghiệm là cứ mua, hay ghé Tourist Office để lấy cho được bản đồ thành phố, bởi vì có bản đồ rồi thì đi đâu cũng dễ. Mình xin gửi lại balo, chị đó cũng cho luôn. Sao mà thành phố này tử tế hết mức. Đúng là ở thành phố nhỏ thì người dân tử tế và dễ thương hơn nhiều so với những thành phố lớn đông đúc chật chội.

Mình đi một vòng, đi qua cả cái aqueduct sử dụng cách đây 2000 năm, và leo lên quá trời bậc thang.

Perugia: bậc thang, đường dốc, lối nhỏ quẹo loanh quanh.

Bạn host mình - Alessandro - quá trời dễ thương, lên đón mình ở quảng trường trung tâm, dẫn mình đi xem Rocca Paolina, giới thiệu mình cái này cái nọ. Có bạn ở cạnh mình hỏi thăm cũng dễ hơn nhiều. Rùi bạn chỉ mình đường về nhà nè, đưa chìa khóa cho mình luôn :D Sau đó lại dẫn mình đi tới cái nhà thờ San Pietro, mà cạnh đó có cái vườn mình muốn đi xem.

Ăn bánh torta di testo, mình ăn với xúc xích và rau (erbe e salsiccia) ở tiệm Testone http://www.magnatestone.it/, ngon ơi là ngon, và nhiều ơi là nhiều.

Đi ngắm hoàng hôn. Mình thấy đây là buổi hoàng hôn đẹp nhất mình được ngắm trong suốt kỳ đi du lịch. Bởi vì màu trời rất đỏ, và có cảm giác nhìn trời rất rõ, trời không hề bị che khuất bởi sương mù gì cả.

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Chestnut from the street is not edible. I took several of them home, tried to prepare them the way I used to prepare chestnut. It had pungent smell, maybe it's coming from its sap. Even after boiling, the meat of that nut is still sticky when touched. No wonder no people is picking those chestnuts home =))

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Day 12 - Ngày 12/09/2016 - Cinqueterre

1. Dậy sớm rõ mệt luôn, lâu lắm mới phải dậy sớm như thế. 2. Lên tàu lại chẳng ngủ được, chán chán chán. 3. Tới nơi mua vé cinqueterre daily pass, thiệt là mệt luôn á. Làm mất vé, nên lỡ tàu, lại phải tốn tiền mua lại vé mới nữa chứ, thiệt khổ... 4. Hiking rất thú vị. 5. Có Chiaretta, Chiara, và thêm bạn Ariana đi chung nữa. Mình thích Chiara nhất ;) đáng yêu và dễ thương. Lúc đầu mình không nghĩ là mình thích gặp người lạ, nhưng cuối cùng mọi thứ okay, mình thấy vui, và hiking thích vô cùng. 6. Đi cái đường lên núi để hiking từ làng Corniglia qua Mântaro rất là đẹp luôn, đường đi rất lạ, đi ngang qua các đồi trồng nho, trồng trên sườn núi, rồi cà chua, rồi tán loạn mọi thứ hết. Nhìn biển từ trên cao rất là thích luôn, cảm thấy sung sướng cực kỳ luôn ấy. 7. Bơi ở Manarola trong ánh hoàng hôn, biển rất dễ chịu và êm đềm. Mình cứ nằm thả nổi trong ánh chiều tà óng ánh, quả thật là rất vui. 8. Bị sứa cắn, lần đầu tiên luôn ;))) Đau và rát dễ sợ, lúc đầu mình sợ quá trời, vì không biết thứ gì. Trời hoàng hôn tối thui, mình không thấy gì hết luôn á, nên lại càng hoảng. 9. Chiaretta mát xa cho mình, trong ánh hoàng hôn. 10. Tối đó lần đầu tiên ăn trái sung tươi. Trước đó mình đã thử fig và prosciutto trên pizza, mình thích ăn cực kỳ luôn, nhưng chưa bao giờ mua trái fig về ăn. Thế là mình học cách ăn trái fig. 11. Mẹ bạn nấu thứ gì giống cơm trộn với canh. Và chị của bạn đổ sữa vào dĩa, trộn thêm phô mai nữa... Mình tròn mắt ngạc nhiên luôn ;))) 12. Ngủ ngon ghê ;) Sau một ngày vận động quá trời.

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Day 14: 14/09/2016

1. The cat jumped on me again, luckily I was already up so She didn't scare me. 2. We cycle to the train station, it's like running a marathon right after breakfast. The road is uphill, and it's long, all the amaretti I ate earlier go away in a blink. I feel like I have a low blood pressure somehow. At one point I think about giving up to carry the bike on foot instead. Luckily we get to the station on time. 3. The nocciola icecream is good, I can totally feel the egg and the marsala wine in the zabaione flavor. It's smooth and silky. 4. Cycling around Torino is so fun, actually it's better to go around by bike, it's faster and more convenient than the bus, or on foot. 5. We pick a self-service lunch spot. The pasta is good, with lots of oil ;) 6. Lots of people are rowing boat on the river. They are doing some training I think. We sleep for a while on the grass, under a tree shadow. 7. I don't want to say goodbye to Max. Probably we would never see each other again... I know that there's such a slim chance for that to happen. That doomed future makes me really sad. I cry because all of the thinking I have inside my head. Yeah, me, almost 27, and I can still cry so easily. Or probably I am just tired from traveling, I am stressed of waiting for a visa. I feel so uncertain about my future... 8. Things are a bit stalled in the end... It was raining, and I was crying when saying goodbye. Actually I started to cry ways before the goodbye moment, half an hour before the train departure time. 9. The trip that would take 40 minutes with one train and one bus, in the end it takes me more than 1.5 hours ;( 10. Talking with Soumya is great. I feel like I can pour my heart out, and talk about everything, anything. He really takes time out to spend with me, we talked so much even though we are both so tired, and still there're so much more I want to tell him about. I am so glad to stay with him.

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Day 13 - Cycling to the Santuario near Mondovi

1. The greatest thing we did today is cycling around Mondovi, 20km, with 8km uphill. It’s so amazing. I’ve never cycled uphill for that long. Maybe we took almost an hour of cycling from Max’s home to that church. 2. The way back was amazing. We cycled with the moon shining far away, with those mountains appearing in the background. 3. I love it so much when we took turns after turns downhill. It’s so great… We went with such a high speed that I feel I'm one of the cyclist competing in some tournament. 4. The church with the biggest elliptical dome in the world, with the minor axis at almost 25 meters, and major axis at 34 meters. The height is 75m. It looks truly impressive. 5. I see the almost full moon on the way back. 6. Il Pulito - the cat jumped on my bed at night. It didn't stay for long though. 7. His friend Mom washed my clothes for me.

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Day 8 - keeping things low key

1. Thought that I spent the night alone, but no, at midnight, one guy came. As soon as he came inside, the unpleasant smell spread across our small tent furiously. I was sleeping peacefully, and then I laid awake for a good two hours, it's just so hard to sleep with that strong body odor. 2. Got an email from the Embassy, I only need to send them a copy over email. That's so much better. Now I wonder what am I doing in Rome? I could have stayed longer in Napoli. 3. I met Mariateresa to give her a gift from Sorrento :) I'm happy, and she's happy as well I guess. 4. Eat pizza in Bonci Pizzarium, that pizza doesn't taste good as it was 2 years ago. Maybe it's me becoming pickier more than ever. So really, it doesn't worth the long Metro ride for that pizza, plus they are not cheap either. I'd rather eat at La Boccaccia in Trastevere, much closer to many attractions in the city center, plus they're cheaper. 5. I tried the La Romana Ice-cream. It's good, but not that amazingly good. The zabaione flavor is way too sweet for my taste, the blueberries is a bit too strong, so I felt like I was eating some artificial flavor... 6. I wanted to try pizza Pinseur, but they close after 4pm. Italian style :) 7. Finally I got the courage to ask that guy to wash his clothes... Thankfully he did :) 8. He's just like a baby. He lost his key, and instead of searching for it, he kept on asking me to look for it. Did you search the key? Have you found the key? And finally when he saw the key on one corner of his bed, instead of reaching his arm out to get it, he commanded me to fetch it for him!!! 9. I love the swimming pool here. It's so amazing that I can go swimming whenever I want.

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Authentic Italian pizzeria - they have limited opening hour.

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Day 7

1. Woke up at 7 2. One man gave me a ride from the Eco Hostel Floreae to the train station. There are 2 of them, one belonging to Trenitalia, another Circumvesuviana - a train company operating around Napoli. 3. The train from Torre del Greco is late for 70 minutes, then decreased to 40 minutes. I was bored as hell so I chat with one guy sitting next to me. 4. He understands English really well. And that surprised me a bit. Given that I always had to try to speak, even with my oh-way-so-limited Italian almost everywhere I go, in the restaurant, in the famous bakery with tourists, in the train station, on the bus... There're not a lot of English speaking people around. He speaks good English. Thanks to him that my time waiting passed by with ease. He looked well-educated, use smartphone. I talked to another guy who doesn't speak English, nor have a smartphone either. I feel there is certain division in this Naples city. And that young English speaking guy, he advised me to spend a couple of nights in Ischia island to swim. Later in the conversation, I knew that his family has a vacation home there, on that island. Oh gosh, how envy I am with him. I realized that those privileged young people, they have chance to travel a lot, to see much more of the world comparing those other young kids around them. Though we didn't exchange name, we had a cheek kiss when saying goodbye. 5. Buy the hot sfogliatelle, but it didn't taste good anymore. Maybe I have sugar overload, and I need to skip eating sweet for a couple of weeks until anything sweet can taste good again :=) 6. On the train to Rome, still have no idea where to stay. I called the Embassy, they told me to email them with my situation. I only want to ask when can I stop by to submit additional paper for my visa... Anyway, I emailed them. Now I'm waiting for their reply. 7. The advertisement of Plus Camping Site caught my attention with the swimming pool. I need it so much after a long day. The thought about swimming makes me smile, and I also just want to relax so I don't care about the fact that this place is so far from the Germany embassy, maybe a little bit more than 1 hour by bus, metro, and foot. 8. Finally I swam :) I didn't swim much since after a while that pool get crowded. And it seems kinda weird that I'm the only one who swam, so I stopped. I think I managed 250m today. I'll try to swim 1k tomorrow. 9. The weather got really cold tonight. I'm staying in a tent, a cheapest option for 10e per night :)) I am happy with that. 10. This is the shared tent. Hence someone arrived late when I was sleeping. He woke me up and I had trouble finding sleep again. So I'm writing this post to mark my 7th day.