a Sunday of bicycles, laughter, and mishaps!

My friend, Mary, and I rode our bicycles from Certosa di Pavia back to Opera di Milano (where we live).

We started in a lovely pasticceria/cafe in Opera for a cappuccino... then were going to ride out to the Locate train station, take that to Certosa di Pavia... and then ride back. ...We did make it in the end but had some mishaps along the way!

First - the chain on my bike fell off (right as we were leaving the pasticceria. We had to go back to my apartment to get a screwdriver to fix the chain.

We then got to the train station and went up the wrong steps... ending up on the wrong track for the train... soooo we carried our bikes down again and over : P

When purchasing our train tickets, I noticed that one option was for a bicycle - a supplemental charge... so I bought two of those. Laterrrrrr, I realized that I bought our bikes tickets... but not ourselves! Hahaha. I thought it was odd that the machine never asked where we were going. Sheesh.

There was also a tunnel going under a highway at one point... completely flooded with water. I decided to go through it, attempting to push the bike's pedal each time it came UP... but in the end, my feet got a bit wet. It could have ended up so much worse - there was probably about a foot of water and, thankfully, I didn't fall off the bike and into that.  : P

Mary is a great friend, with whom I laugh a lot with whenever we're together... and not only when we're telling silly jokes! Today was a lot of fun... and great exercise. I expected our ride to be about 20km but it ended up 30. Our bums are both a bit sore!

The day was gorgeous... especially for the end of January! (HOW is it already the end of January?!)

Fixing my bike chain:

The Certosa di Pavia Monastery 

(Mom, Dad, and Sean - this is the huge monastery we saw from the train on our way to and from Pavia!)

Gorgeous mountain views basically the entire way!

I biked through this...

Mary, intelligently, did not.

...And then I came home and had THIS view...   : )

Top of the World Cafe - Kathmandu

Kathmandu definitely has some hidden gems of cafes and restaurants! Within walking distance from Sarah's house... we had lovely dinners each night... and I also enjoyed coffees each day (sometimes twice!) at a great cafe... Top of the World Coffee.

The cafe is beautiful and includes an outdoor sitting area, there is free Wifi, it's all fair trade, the coffee is delicious, the staff is super friendly, and... the cafe has a great atmosphere! I even picked up some coffee to bring back to Italy with me and am still enjoying it.

With Sarah on my last day!

breakfast a Roma

Breakfast in Rome consisted of walking until I found a cute cafe... and then ordered a cappuccino with brioche... and sat on the street with my Kindle. Perfection.

Morning deliveries! Across the way... someone was delivered plenty of fresh veggies and (below that) a flower delivery truck added some color to the morning:

Fabio's cafe - Alba Adriatica, Italy

Our first morning in Alba Adriatica, we took the short drive to the cute cafe where Fabio works (including Gina... and the dog, Jerry, too!). We had cappuccinos and brioches. Deeeelicious! Giacomo, Ylenia, Vincenzo, and Silvana met us there too.

Then we went back to the house for a bit... before heading to Vincenzo and Silvana's for lunch... let the day of eating BEGIN!

Gina and Mario's gorgeous house... just a block for the sea:

(We stayed in the apartment on the ground floor and Gina lives upstairs.)

coffee break - Lubriano

We stopped for cappuccinos while in the cute, tiny town of Lubriano:

Everyone that we passed stared at us... they all knew that we do NOT live there... and they seemed to be wondering how we found our way to Lubriano and/or what we could possibly be doing in their tiny town. I loved this place! We really enjoyed the stop, the views, the town, and the coffeeeeee  : )

Mmmm 3-day weekend!

We have Columbus Day off from school - YEAH!

I am loving this 3-day weekend!

Many teachers are traveling this weekend... very cool... but I'm soaking up the extra time to rest and enjoy the city. I haven't actually gotten into Milan to explore much yet, so it's nice to have the extra day to do so AND be able to relax and enjoy the weekend.

Yesterday, Jesye (another new teacher - from Webster, NY!) and I went into the city... we started at the Bagel Factory... Mmmmm... fresh orange juice and breakfast bagels!

Aaaand then we got cappuccinos for the road! ...So cute...

Saturday cappuccino

I went for a coffee at a cute cafe in town this morning (after bumping into them at the market). It was our first time at this cafe and I really like it... very cute and there are a couple tables outside if you can grab one.

We walked around town a bit after a coffee and a chat... then they went towards their homes and I went to another cafe (hehe)... ordered a cappuccino... and this time took the barista up on his offer of cacao (chocolate). These two photos of are my second cappuccino of the day.

It was lovely to sit outside and read my book. I'm currently reading a great book set in the early 60's in Cinque Terre, Italy... as well as current day in the States... given to me by my good friend, Barb! (...AKA: Lenny's mother-in-law!)

Photo taken from Oprah.com

Seeing as how I live in Opera (pronounced, 'Op-air-ah'... )I think this is appropriate   : )