Day #228

Typing my last blog post from Paolo's place in Hamilton.
I'm all packed. House is clean and even though I'm afraid they're going to give me a hard time on the weight of my luggage tonight, I think I'm all set for a new chapter in my australian adventure.

This morning I went back to the restaurant to hand over my uniforms and say goodbye to Tony and Davina. Trattoria was kind of busy then and I didn't want to bug them more than necessary, not to mention that I set to meet with Claire right afterwards, so I stayed there no more than two minutes.
My voice broke when I spoke with Davina, but I managed not to get teary because it wouldn't have been proper for two women of sense like the two of us to start crying behind the bar counter as two little girls. I couldn't stop myself when I hugged Tony, though, and even typing now about it kind of makes me sad and melancholic already. I had my ups and downs at the restaurant, but Tony and Davina are good people and I'm going to miss them and the general atmosphere of working Trattoria Italiana, despite the hard task of mopping the floor and all.

I also had a send-off breakfast with Claire at Max Brenners in Portside. I hadn't been eating since the previous evening at 6:30 - as I had gotten rid of everything in the fridge - and by 11-ish when we got there, I was starving. I had waffles with strawberries, banana and icecream. 
Claire gave me a good-luck-have-a-safe-trip-I'll-miss-you card and I wasn't expecting it at all! I mean, I love them, obviously, and I loved that she got me one, but usually it's me writing cards for people - because I have always something to say, because I want to thank people who walked alongside me in my adventures, because I can't help but grow attached to them. [As a matter of fact, I wrote and gave out four cards these days: to Tony and Davina, to Claire, to Paolo and Sabrina and to Karen, Tony, Ashlee and Casey.]
Shows you how much Claire knows me by now the fact that she thought of getting me a send-off card. And she even wrote it in English for me! The precious!
Couple of minutes later I got a text from Davina, saying what she couldn't say at the restaurant. It made my smile and feel extremely proud of myself.
Have I already mentioned how grateful I am for the people I met in Oz so far?

In the afternoon I dedicated myself to finishing packing my luggage and cleaning my share of the house. Now I'm waiting for Karen and Tony to pick me up. We are going to have an early dinner at their place and then we'll drive from there at the airport. My flight is at 8pm.

Scrivo il mio ultimo blogpost da casa di Paolo in Hamilton.
Ho preparato tutto, la casa è pulita e, anche se temo mi faranno storie per il peso della valigia questa sera, sono pronta per un nuovo capitolo nella mia avventura australiana.
Questa mattina sono passata dal ristorante a riportare la mia uniforme lavata e a salutare Tony e Davina. La trattoria era abbastanza affollata in quel momento e non volevo dare troppo fastidio, per non aggiungere che mi ero messa d'accordo per trovarmi con Claire subito dopo, quindi sono andata via dopo un paio di minuti.
Mi si è rotta la voce mentre parlavo con Davina, ma sono riuscita a non far scappare neanche una lacrima perché non sarebbe stato appropriato.

Day #227

I should probably start writing on here as it's already passed midnight..
Today was a long day.

I sent a parcel home and I might have spent a little bit more money than I thought I would. I hate to admit that, but my father was probably right when he said I'd have paid less for the surcharge on my checked-in luggage while flying back home than for sending a box via mail. He actually suggested I should throw my books away - wait, what?, not bother about mailing anything home and cut it short that way. Now, I couldn't possibly do that to my books.
As I mentioned before, it was expensive all right. I was given the option of either having it sent by sea and delivered between two or three months or sent via air mail and given to my family in ten working days. I would have loved a compromise, but being put on the spot, I chose the ten days option: do you have any idea what can happen to a parcel in three months?!? Why do they even keep it as an alternative? Anyway, the difference in price was /only/ that the former was half of the latter's price.

Spending so much money on it made me think of how I'll manage my last month in this part of the World, as I'm planning a month-and-a-half long vacation and I realized this: I didn't come to Australia to save money. I came here to visit new places, meet new people, experience and learn new things. Money was never in the prizes and I'd be happy to go home with just the money I had transferred from my italian account last February.
However, now I know better than sending heavy parcels anywhere.

Lunch shift at the restaurant was quiet and dinner wasn't that much different. Tomorrow I'll drop by Trattoria to hand over my uniforms, but tonight I said goodbye to Kyle and Tunde and also to my friends from the kitchen. I'm gonna miss them and I kind of have a feeling that is going to be mutual.
Was it just me or did I see Davina's eyes glisten with held back tears?
I almost broke this afternoon as I said goodbye to Anna, from the kitchen, and tonight when I was spoking with Tunde. I couldn't have asked for better people to work with.

In case you are wondering, yes, the three hour break I had this afternoon has been enough: I finished packing and now it's only a matter of checking the weight of my carry-on and my backpack. Thank Goodness, Claire came over for half an hour: she was really helpful while I was sorting out what to bring and what to leave here.

Okay, off I go. Washing machine has just finished and I have to hang my uniform and the last pairs of socks and panties. Am I ready for tomorrow? Almost. Am I ready for my last night in Hamilton? Most certainly yes, as that involves sleeping! One thing at a time :)

Sì, lo so che mi state odiando! Ma ho in progetto di tradurre gli ultimi post tutti insieme.. fatemi solo partire e arrivare a destinazione! Scusatemi!

Day #226

Things that drive me crazy:
- People asking me whether I considered the scenario in which I might not like working in a farm.
Uhm.. yes? What about it? Even if I didn't /like/ it, what could I do about it? I want an extension on my Working Holiday Visa and I want to get it legally, thus the only way is working in that vineyard for the next three months.
Yes, I know there are plenty of other places I could do farming at, but what's the difference really? Different people? Different fruit? In my opinion, if it's not YOU who's different, then you won't find one place that much better than another. There are good people everywhere and same thing goes for assholes: it's up to you what to do with it. As for the hard work, quoting one of my favourite writers, 'the world is not a wish-granting factory' and you gotta work hard to achieve your goals, I well know that, and I'm not afraid of sweating under the sun: as long as I have a purpose, I can hold on to that till the end. I'm not one to start things I know I can't finish.

- People assuming they know me.
(Spoiler alert: chances are they may not.)
I mean, has it ever occured to anybody that I might not want to share everything about me with strangers? *says the girl with a daily blog open to everybody on the Internet*
What you've probably seen and think you know about me, is just the tip of the iceberg, the stereotyped façade I put on just for fun and to save up time - there's so much more to the 'nerdy Internet-addicted girl-next-door', but if you're not willing to go past the appearences you won't ever know!
Besides, if you've never seen me working, how can you tell what I can or cannot endure? Why would you bet more willingly on my failure than my success?

Sorry, I wrote this first part this morning and as you can read, I was pretty pissed. Now I'm too tired to be anything but exhausted and in need of a good night sleep.
On a side note, I just realized I'm leaving in one day and I have still all my bathroom things, half my clothes, laptop, chargers and camera to pack, not to mention getting rid of all the cleaning products and the little left in my cupboard! I'm never going to make it! Tomorrow I will be working again afternoon (today it was dead, but we got the whole floor full at dinner time) and dinner shift, but at least, I will have four hours break in between the two. Hopefully I'll be able to do something with that time!

Scusate se non traduco neanche oggi, ma ho ancora troppe troppissime cose da fare prima della mia partenza dopodomani e non abbastanza tempo!!!

Day #225

Today Cake moved out. 
I spent the morning in catching up on lost sleep and then I headed downtown on a quest to find a hat. I did find one in the place I was recommended by Claire and then I went to visit Enzo and Sabri at the markets. 

I didn't stay there long, though. I had to work in the afternoon at Trattoria and couldn't stay there too long. Leaving the markets was kind of sad, I spent so many beautiful Wednesdays there! How will I go on without my weekly fix of passion fruit cheesecake?!!!!

Anyways, at the restaurant we had a good night: not dead empty but neither crazy busy. It was good, I received many wishes for my upcoming trip and Lore checked specifically the weather forecast for Orange thinking of me. (Spoiler alert: it's freaking cold!)

What else? So yeah, now I'm alone in my room, which is great, if you ask me, because it's almost 1am and I still have my lights on and tomorrow I'm waking up before 7am to Skype with one of my besties in Italy. 
Geesh, looks like these will be busy busy busy days.

Day #224

Sorry for not posting this sooner! 
Today was my last day off in Brissy, if you do not count Saturday, which I do not. I spent the morning cleaning my bathroom and doing the things I was meant to do yesterday but didn't do because reasons.

Then I met with Cake at Le Bon Choix, the more-than-once-mentioned french bakery on Racecourse Rd. Tomorrow she's moving out and we wanted to do eat something together as parting feast. We got croissants with butter and jam: simple, yet so delicious!
Later in the afternoon I went with Claire to Toombul. I was looking for a hat, since I'll need it to work under the sun in Orange. Couldn't find any, but Claire told me she got hers downtown, so I might go and check that out tomorrow morning.

On the bus back to Hamilton, we met Elisa, an Italian girl I met at Paolo's birthday party and who works at Milany, the ice-cream place just a couple of shops distance from Trattoria. I'm glad we saw her, so I could say goodbye.

Claire and I had then dinner at Northern Thai, this thai restaurant next to said ice-cream shop. We shared spring rolls and then got Pad Thai noodles with seafood and prawns. It was good, but not even close to Mama's. She was the chef of Bamboo, one of the restaurants we had on the resort I worked for in the Maldives. For dessert I got banana fritters because everything tastes better when fried.
We spent the rest of the evening talking and I got back to my place after 1am. 
I'm sure gonna miss Claire and our chats a lot when I'm in Orange!

Day #223

After almost two months of drought, hot sunny days and all, today, my second last day off in Brisbane, it was pouring rain.

Oh well, as any other Monday I had my chores to do and after that I had lunch with Karen at Portside. We had fish and chips and then a hot chocolate as dessert. It was so good to catch up with her!

Back home, I didn't do half the things I planned to, because I finished reading Tale of Two Cities and was too emotionally distraught to do anything but lay on my bed and sob.

Dopo quasi due mesi di siccità, giorni caldi e soleggiati, oggi, mio penultimo giorno libero a Brisbane, ha diluviato.

Oh, bè, come ogni lunedì avevo le mie faccende di casa da dover sbrigare, quindi poco male. Ho pranzato con Karen a Portside con pesce e patatine fritte e poi abbiamo preso una cioccolata calda come dessert. È stato fantastico rivederla dopo così tanto tempo e raccontarci dei mesi scorsi!

Una volta a casa, non ho fatto metà delle cose che mi ero riproposta di fare, perché dopo aver finito di leggere Racconto di Due Città, ero troppo emozionalmente instabile per poter fare altro che raggomitolarmi sul letto e piangere. 

Day #222

After Church Service this morning, I went straight to Racecourse Rd, where I sat at this café called Zest (incidentally, the French word for 'rind') and had bread and Nutella and a banana and honey smoothie. Yum! I loved it!
I stayed at my table quite a while, as I was reading A Tale of Two Cities. I'm almost done with it, plan is to ship it to Italy with some other heavy things that I'd rather not drag around two Countries, and oh my God!! Have you ever read anything from Dickens?! He's just brilliant!

Work was good. Maybe it is because I know that this is my last week, maybe it is because I feel the love and appreciation both of our regular customers and my bosses, but I just LOVE going to work these days. I want to spend as much time as possible with my colleagues and at Trattoria, so when Davina confessed she was thinking of having me to work Tuesday, Wednesday, double on Thursday and double on Friday, I said I probably wouldn't have minded. Anyway, this won't be the case, as I got Tuesday off.
Tonight I said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. B. and their wonderful kids. I also asked for their mail address, so that I could send them postcards from my travels! I love writing postcards and if you are a friend/relative of mine, you're very likely to get one sooner or later as I send one postcard per week! 

I don't know whether I mentioned it to you, guys, but Karen is back from Europe and tomorrow we're grabbing lunch together! I'm so looking forward to that!!

ps. Tony has already told me a couple of times he's gonna miss me when I'm gone, whilst Davina told me I will miss working at Trattoria - which I think it's her way of saying that she'll miss me as well. Being the cry-baby I am, I'll probably bawl my eyes out while mopping Friday night at closing time. I'm going to miss Trattoria and the amazing people I met there a lot. No doubt about it.

Dopo Messa questa mattina, sono andata diretta su Racecourse Rd e mi sono fermata in questo bistrot chiamato Zest (una curiosità, 'zest' in Francese è la scorza di limone), dove ho fatto colazione con pane e Nutella e un frullato banana e miele. Buonissimiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!
Sono rimasta seduta al mio posto per un bel po', visto che mi sono portata dietro Racconto di Due Città da leggere. L'ho quasi finito; il piano prevede di spedirlo a casa con altre cose un po' pesanti di cui farei a meno di trascinarmele dietro per due Paesi! Ommamma! Parliamone, avete mai letto qualcosa di Dickens?! È fenomenale!!

Al lavoro è andata bene. Forse è perché so che questa è la mia ultima settimana, forse perché l'affetto che i miei clienti abituali e i miei boss hanno nei miei confronti è palpabile nell'aria, ma mi piace un sacco andare al lavoro in questi giorni. Voglio passare più tempo possibile coi miei colleghi e in Trattoria, quindi quando Davina mi ha confessato di avere avuto in mente di farmi lavorare martedì, mercoledì, doppio turno giovedì e doppio turno venerdì, le ho risposto che probabilmente mi sarebbe andata bene anche così. In realtà, questo non sarà il caso, dato che mi ha lasciata libera martedì sera.
Oggi ho salutato per l'ultima volta i signori B. e i loro splendidi figli. Gli ho anche chiesto il loro indirizzo così da potergli inviare delle cartoline dalle prossime mete dei miei viaggi. Adoro scrivere cartoline e se siete tra i miei amici/parenti, ci sono molte probabilità che ne riceviate una, prima o poi, dato che ne spedisco una a settimana.

Non so se ve l'ho detto, ma Karen è ritornata dall'Europa e domani pranziamo insieme! Non vedo l'ora di rivederla!!

ps. Tony mi ha già detto un paio di volte che gli mancherò quando andrò via, mentre Davina mi ha detto che mi mancherà lavorare in Trattoria - che dev'essere il suo modo per dire che mancherò pure a lei. Essendo la frignona che sono, probabilmente non riuscirò a trattenermi venerdì sera mentre passerò il mocho per l'ultima volta.
Mi mancherà tanto lavorare a Trattoria Italiana e ancora di più, mi mancheranno le persone fantastiche che vi ho conosciuto. Non ci sono dubbi.

Day #221

Spare me tonight. I had such a long day at work with double shift and all, I just fancy sleeping.
Today I said more goodbyes. It's becoming a daily thing now..

ps. today I served my last breakfast, as my last working day is Friday and I will miss next weekend!

Risparmiatemi stasera. Oggi è stata una giornata infinita al lavoro, con doppio turno e tutto il resto.. Vorrei solo dormire.
Oggi ho continuato a portare i miei saluti ai nostri clienti abituali.. sta diventando una routine oramai.
ps. oggi ho servito la mia ultima colazione al ristornate.

Day #220

Quick, bullet-points post tonight!

- This morning I went to the CBD with Claire. I got a new medical insurance as I'm leaving next week for the country and I'd rather have my medical expenses covered if I get bitten by a poisonous snake and/or spider.
We also had lunch together. I ate too much, as usual.

- At three I went to Trattoria, where we had a staff meeting: we tasted the new cocktails and announced the season best seller - both Kyle's cocktails won!!! Toblerone was yummy indeed!
On the new cocktails, mine were 'meh', even though I thought they might be worse. Kyle proposed Lemon Meringue Pie'tini - OMG, that one's beautiful! - and I really liked Tunde's Malibu, pineapple juice and Blue Curaçao and Manu's Blue Lagoon.

- I got back to the restaurant at 6pm for my shift, but was sent home after just three hours as we weren't busy at all. Tips jar was full though, so even if we weren't too busy, we managed to make a good impression on those who dined at Trattoria.

- More goodbyes. Mr. Sheperd - I still don't know whether he spells it with an 'e' or an 'a'.. and I charge his credit card every week!!! - and Graham tonight.

Post veloce e per punti.

- Questa mattina sono andata nel CBD con Claire. Ho sottoscritto una nuova assicurazione medica - vi ricordate che la mia era scaduta? - dato che tra una settimana partirò per la campagna e preferirei avere le spese mediche pagate se mai dovessi venire morsa da un serpente e/o un ragno velenoso.
Abbiamo anche pranzato insieme. Ho mangiato da scoppiare.

- Alle tre sono andata in Trattoria per una riunione dello staff: abbiamo provato i nuovi cocktails e annunciato il best seller della scorsa stagione - entrambi i cocktails di Kyle si sono aggiudicati il titolo!!! Il Toblerone in effetti era davvero buonissimo!!!
Per quanto riguarda i nuovi cocktails, i miei sono un po' 'meh', anche se pensavo fossero peggio. Mi sono piaciuti molto il Meringa al Limone'tini proposto da Kyle, un cocktail a base di Malibu, succo d'ananas e Blu Curaça, suggerito da Tunde e una rivisitazione del Blue Lagoon da parte di Manu.

- Sono ritornata al ristorante alle 18 per il mio turno, ma sono stata mandata a casa dopo solo tre ore dato che non eravamo per niente affollati. Il barattolo delle mance però era pieno, quindi anche con il ristorante non a pieno regime, siamo riusciti a fare una buona impressione su quelli che hanno mangiato da noi.

- Altri saluti. Questa sera, Mr. Sheperd - non so ancora se si scriva con una 'e' o con una 'a', il che è preoccupante, dato che striscio la sua carta di credito tutte le settimane! - e Graham.

Day #219

Awesome, now that it's past 11pm I can start updating my blog. Never do that before this time! It might be dangerous, I could actually catch some well deserved sleep if I went to bed too early!!!

Day has been a good one, if only it hadn't been THIS hot! For crying out loud, we're just at the beginning of Spring! How can one survive summertime in Queensland?!!!
Anyways, as I was saying, day was all right, even though I wish we had been busier at the restaurant: most of the time I was inventing myself a job. Polish here, polish there, swipe the floor, fill up the fridge, move chairs, fix candles.. anything to look busy, that's how Davina likes it, and it makes sense. For sure that's better than just staring into nothingness waiting for something to happen.

In the evening I was called back, but as they weren't THAT busy, after only one hour and half I was sent home. Silvie, one of our regulars, wished me good luck and hugged me before leaving tonight - that was kind of funny as I had just finished cleaning a big table and was carrying close to five plates. Kyle came to the rescue and took the plates from me, so that I could hug her back.
Lore, who usually comes in for breakfast - scrambled eggs on multi-grain, with extra spinach and grilled tomato. Just a glass of cold water - and whose real name is Laurence, Lorenzo on occasion, told me he's going to miss me as well. He wondered whether I could come back to Trattoria after three months farming. 
Here's the thing: with the 12 months Working Holiday Visa you cannot work for the same employer for more than six months. This means I wouldn't be able to go back to Trattoria whilst my first WH Visa lasts, but I /could/ work for Tony and Davina for another six months on my second year.

*Sighs* It's going to be tough next week.

ps. Just reread this entry. My goodness! I'm such a whining little brat!
Nevermind me complaining about the heat and all: my life is beautiful! I don't regret anything and I truly appreciate and am gratful for each and every single day I'm given!

Perfetto! Adesso che sono le 11 passate posso mettermi a scrivere il blog! Se dovessi cominciare prima, chissà quali danni potrei combinare! Non sia mai che io riesca ad andare a letto ad un orario decente e dormire per un otto/nove ore!
La giornata è andata bene, se solo non avesse fatto così caldo!! Parliamone, siamo solo all'inizio della primavera!! Come fa la gente a sopravvivere all'estate in Queensland?!?!!
Comunque, come divevo, la giornata è stata okay. Sarebbe stato meglio se il ristorante fosse stato un po' più affollato, anche perché sono arrivata al punto di dovermi inventare cose da fare: lucida di qui, lucida di là, pulisci il pavimento, riempi il frigo, sposta le sedie, sistema le candele... Qualsiasi cosa pur di apparire indaffarata, questo è quello che vuole Davina, e se uno si ferma a riflettere, capisce anche che ha ragione. Tutto quel da fare è di sicuro meglio che stare imbambolati a fissare il vuoto e aspettare che qualcosa accada.

Mi hanno chiesto di ritornare al ristorante questa sera, ma visto che non erano troppo affollati, mi hanno mandato a casa dopo solo un'ora e mezza. Silvie, una dei nostri clienti abituali, mi ha abbracciata e mi ha fatto in bocca al lupo prima di lasciare il ristorante questa sera - tra l'altro è stato un po' strano, perché io avevo appena finito di pulire una tavolata e avevo in mano quattro o cinque piatti sporchi, Kyle me li ha sfilati di mano, così che potessi abbracciarla a mia volta.
Anche Lore (da leggere all'inglese: Löri), che di solito viene sempre al ristorante nel weekend per la colazione - uova strapazzate su pane ai cereali con extra spinaci e pomodoro grigliato. Un bicchiere di acqua fresca - ed il cui vero nome è Laurence, Lorenzo per gli amici, mi ha detto che gli mancherò! Si chiedeva anche se, dopo i tre mesi in New South Wales, sarei potuta tornare a lavorare alla Trattoria.
Ora, questo è quanto: con il mio tipo di visto, 12 mesi di Working Holiday, non si può lavorare per lo stesso datore di lavoro per più di sei mesi. Questo significa che finché sono in Australia con il mio primo Working Holiday Visa, non posso lavorare ancora per Davina e Tony. Nel momento in cui, dopo aver lavorato tre mesi nelle farms e essermi qualificata per un secondo WH, ritornassi in Australia per il secondo anno, allora potrei lavorare per altri sei mesi da loro.

*Sospira* La vedo dura settimana prossima.

ps. Omioddio! Ho appena riletto il blog di oggi e mamma mia, che bambina capricciosa e viziata! Ignorate le mie lamentele sul caldo e il resto: ho una vita meravigliosa! Non rimpiango nulla e sono terribilmente grata per ogni singolo giorno che ho a disposizione!

Day #218

I just finished a long and hot foot bath. My feet had been killing me lately - Jee, I don't know, maybe because the shoes I wear are crap? - and today, having worked at the markets I stood all day.

It was hot. I don't know why they keep insisting caling it ''Spring''. In Italy you don't get 32°C on the 10th day of Spring! Man, was it hot to work around noon!!! We survived, though, so all is good.

As usual, I don't know why I bother to tell you, I ate a lot: gelato, haloumi turkish bread, Oreos, strawberries; I drank a couple of coffees as well this morning because I was still suffering form a really bad case of period.
Man, will I miss the Markets, their food and the people who work there, when I'm gone!

Enzo got me a necklace as a send off gift. He shouldn't have, of course, but it's such a pretty pearl necklace and he's always saying how people who can't accept gifts are undeserving of them, I couldn't - nor wanted to - push myself to refuse it.

I had some more ice cream, just now, as with Paolo, Sabri and Albi, I went to Milany on Racecourse Rd to fight off the heat.

Ho appena finito un lungo e caldo pediluvio. I miei piedi mi stanno uccidendo ultimamente - mmh.. sarà forse che ho delle scarpe pessime sia per quando lavoro al ristorante sia quando sono al mercato? - e oggi, ovviamente, sono rimasta tutto il giorno in piedi.
Faceva caldo. Non capisco come mai si ostinino a chiamarla "primavera''. In Italia 10 giorni dopo l'inizio della primavera non raggiungi 32°C!!!! Ommamma! Faceva davvero un caldo assurdo all'ora di pranzo. Oh bè, siamo sopravvissuti, quindi tutto a posto.
Come al solito, ho mangiato come una porcella: gelato, focaccia turca all'haloumi (cheese), Oreos, fragole; mi sono anche bevuta un paio di caffè dato che soffrivo ancora da ieri delle conseguenze del ciclo.
Mi mancheranno un sacco il mercato, il suo cibo e la gente che vi lavora!
Enzo, come regalo di saluto, mi ha regalato una collana! Non avrebbe dovuto, ovviamente, ma è una collana di perle così bella e elegante. In più, Enzo contunua a ripetere che quelli che non accettano regali, è perché non li meritano, quindi non volevo rifiutare.
Ho mangiato dell'altro gelato questa sera. Con Paolo, Sabri e Albi sono andata da Milany su Racecourse Rd per combattere la calura!

Day #216

I know you're going to kill me, but I'm just posting pictures tonight. I walked all day in the sun and I'm, oh, so tired!

I had an awesome day in Stradbroke Island! Such wild and raw landscapes! See for yourself!

So che mi vorreste fare fuori, ma sta sera posto solo fotografie. Ho camminato tutto il giorno sotto il sole e sono stanchissima!!!
Ho passato una giornata splendida a Stradbroke Island, però! Paesaggi così selvaggi e incontaminati!! Guardare per credere!

Day #215

What a lovely day at the beach I had today!
This morning with Paolo, Sabrina, Alberto, Luca, Martina, Giulia and Graziano we set to go to Marina Mirage, this seaside place on the Gold Coast. There we met with yet two other Italians, Frank and Romina, whom I got to know last month at Paolo's birthday party (yes, blog post for said day is still 'in progress'. In case you were wondering, I met Giulia that time as well, she was dressed up as Wednesday Addams, while I met Graziano only last Sunday, when Paolo became Australian citizen).

Weather was glorious, but the ocean was choppy and the currents were so strong that just a short swim has been my undoing! I mean, try to swim in between the lifeguards' flags when the current is pushing you in the opposite direction! Most of the time it felt as if I wasn't going anywhere despite my efforts. Literally, you'd cast a glimpse at the coastline and you'd realize you hadn't moved a bit, if anything, the current had pushed you backwards.

Sunbathing felt great, though, and the picnic we had in the shades was even better! Marti prepared some really yummy barley salad and Sabri made some sandwiches: it was exactly what I needed after skipping breakfast and especially after swimming in the morning.

Just before setting on our way back, we stopped in a bar for some cool drinks. Heavens know how I needed that iced mocha! My goodness, I'd been sleeping all morning and through most of the afternoon.

For dinner, Luca bought pizza for all of us. We ordered take-aways from the restaurant Giulia works at and let me tell you, that pizza was awesome!

Tomorrow I'm planning another field trip, so a) Greg, don't expect me on Skype b) you all, sorry for the abrupt ending of this post but - guess what? - I need to sleep! I said I wanted to make the most of my last couple of weeks in Brisbane, so tomorrow I'll be visiting Stradbroke Island!!! #Excited

Picture taken and edited by Sabri.

Scusatemi infinitamente se non traduco stasera, ma domani mi sveglio ancora all'alba perché vado a fare un'altra gita - oggi sono andata al mare in Gold Coast. Traduco domani sera o, molto più probabilmente, martedì in mattinata..
Voglio sfruttare al massimo le ultime due settimane che mi rimangono qui a Brisbane, quindi domani visita a Stradbroke Island!!! :D

Day #214

Quick post because a) I had a pretty uneventful day b) tomorrow I'm weaking up early to go to the seaside with Paolo, Sabri and the others.

Today Australia has a new Prime Minister, but as I understand politics even less than I understand sports, I'd rather not add anything else on the matter.

On a totally different topic, Brisbane must be the only place where leaves fall in Spring rather than Autumn.

Post velocissimo perché a) è stata una giornata quieta in cui è successo poco o niente e b) domani mi devo alzare presto per andare al mare con Paolo, Sabri e la solita combricola.
Oggi è stato eletto il nuovo Primo Ministro Australiano, ma dato che - purtroppo - di politica ci capisco ancora meno che di sport, non aggiungerò altro sull'argomento.
Passando invece a tutt'altra cosa, ho un osservazione da fare: Brisbane dev'essere l'unico posto dove le foglie non cadono secche in autunno, ma lo fanno in primavera!

Day #213

So yeah, it's quarter past midnight and I just finished watching The Lion King for the umpteenth time because I was totally not procrastinating and putting off this moment.

So, today I slept the hours I lost last night partying, then I met Claire at noon for lunch. We had burgers, and man, were they tasty! Then we had a little stroll to digest and stopped in yet another bar for dessert and coffees, because that's how we roll - see why I shouldn't be allowed to post after midnight?

In the afternoon I slept a little bit more - go on, judge me! But you would have done the same in my shoes! - and later got ready to go to work. 
Restaurant wasn't too busy tonight. Kyle, Manu and I had no problems in managing the floor and I even got to go home early as we didn't have any more customers to serve and I won the coin toss.

Once home I tried not really to write yesterday blogpost, but I just didn't fancy doing it, so I set to watch a Disney movie, because that's what you do when you're 21 on a Friday night, in Australia. Oh well, I did party enough yesterday for a couple of days at least! :P

Okay. È mezzanotte e un quarto e ho appena finito di vedere Il Re Leone per la milionesima volta perché non stavo in nessun modo cercando di guadagnare tempo e rimandare questo momento.

Veniamo al dunque. Oggi ho dormito e cercato di riguadagnare le ore perse ieri notte, poi mi sono incontrata con Claire per pranzo - che, guarda caso, era anche la nostra colazione. Abbiamo mangiato due hamburger e mamma mia, quanto erano buoni!!! Poi abbiamo fatto una piccola passeggiata su Racecourse Road per digerire e ci siamo fermate in un altro bar per caffè e dessert, perché questo è il modo in cui passiamo la maggior parte del tempo insieme io e lei: mangiamo!
Nel pomeriggio ho dormito ancora un po' - okay, giudicatemi pure! Ma sapete benissimo che nei miei panni avreste fatto lo stesso! - e poi mi sono preparata per andare al lavoro,
Il ristorante non era troppo affollato questa sera. Kyle, Manu e io ce la siamo cavata benissimo in sala e, dato che non c'era più nessuno da servire e che ho vinto a Testa o Croce, sono persino riuscita ad andare a casa prima.
Una volta a casa ho cercato non proprio di scrivere il blog post per la giornata di ieri, ma non avevo troppa voglia di mettermi lì a raccontare, quindi mi sono messa a guardare un film della Disney, perché questo è quello che si fa a 21 anni quando si è liberi il venerdì sera in Australia. Oh bè, sono andata a far festa fuori ieri sera e ne ho abbastanza almeno fino a domenica!! :P

Day #211

Day off!!
Today I was woken up at 10 to 8am by Enzo, who was calling me to replace Sabri at the markets as she wasn't feeling too good. So, yeah, there went my day off!

I had good fun at the markets, as always :D ate a lot, as always :D shopped not as much, but still got home with plenty of stuff. Not to mention the money I earned today! Yay! Rent is already paid for next week!!

Unfortunately, since I was working at the markets, I didn't have time to go and look for comfortable boots to wear in the vineyard nor to fix up my medical insurance (as my Medicare expired almost one month ago). Those are two of the things I need to sort out before leaving, list goes on of course, but I am too sleepy to think about that now.

Giorno liberoooo!!!
Oggi sono stata svegliata alle 8 meno dieci da Enzo che mi chiamava per chiedermi se potevo sostituire Sabrina al mercato dato che si sentiva poco bene. Quindi, sì, mi sono giocata il giorno libero ancora prima che cominciasse!
Non che mi sia dispiaciuto, come sapete mi piace stare al mercato e ci sarei andata comunque più tardi in mattinata, sottolineo PIU' TARDI. Comunque il mercato è stato divertente come al solito :D ho mangiato un sacco, come al solito :D non ho fatto tante compere, ma comunque sono ritornata a casa con un sacco di cose. Per non parlare dei soldi che ho guadagnato!! Sìììì! L'affitto è già pagato per settimana prossima!
Sfortunatamente, dato che stavo lavorando al mercato, non ho avuto tempo di andare in cerca di un paio di stivali comodi da usare nel vigneto né di sistemare la mia assicurazione medica (dato che quella pubblica e gratuita mi è scaduta il mese scorso). Questi sono solo due punti della mia lista delle Cose Da Fare che devo ancora spuntare prima di partire, ovviamente suddetta lista è parecchio lunga, ma sono troppo insonnolita per pensarci in questo momento.

Day #210

Spare me tonight, please? Have mercy and let me go to sleep after just a couple of sentences.
There's nothing worth while telling that happened tonight at the restaurant and I spent my morning and early afternoon sleeping, eating and reading - not necessarily in this order.

Vi prego, risparmiatemi sta sera? Abbiate pietà e lasciatemi andare a letto dopo solo un paio di frasi. Non c'è nulla che valga la pena di essere raccontato che sia successo oggi al ristorante e ho passato tutta la mattinata e il primo pomeriggio a dormire, mangiare e leggere - non necessariamente in quest'ordine.

Day #209

I am so bad at this blogging thing. I do not know why I fancy myself a blogger when clearly I have issues with content and posting at decent hours! Nevermind.

Today I spent the day in the City with Claire. We booked our second activity with Riverlife Brisbane a couple of days ago: kayak on the Brisbane River. 
We were a small group, our guide Emma, two young people from the Gold Coast, Claire and I, but it was better this way. The weather was lovely, even though we had to paddle against the wind on our way downstream.
Claire had a tough time in the beginning and when she got stuck - Heavens know how she managed that - in between two rusty poles on the way, but by the end of the session she was comfortable enough. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'll tell you more, I thought I'd regret the physical excercise on my arms and shoulders, but I actually felt great after it and even now, hours later, I still feel pretty good!

Later we lunched with sushi rolls - yummy! - and got our toes done at the usual shop in Myer Centre. We later had frozen yogurt as afternoon snack and hit some shops just for the sake of trying out very inappropriate dresses. Just kidding! They just came in very fitting bodices and lots of transparencies and exposed skin - I am not really helping my case out, here, am I?

It was a good day :D

Sono pessima a portare avanti questa cosa del blog. Non so per quale ragione io creda di essere una blogger, visto che chiaramente ho grossi problemi di contenuto; per non parlare delle ore indecenti a cui scrivo i post! Fa niente.

Oggi ho passato la giornata in City con Claire. Abbiamo prenotato la seconda attività con Riverlife Brisbane qualche giorno fa: canoa sul fiume!
Eravamo un piccolo gruppetto oggi; Emma la nostra guida, una giovane coppia dalla Gold Coast, Claire e io, ma è andata meglio così. Il tempo era bello, anche se soffiava un vento allucinante in direzione contraria mentre stavamo pagaiando seguendo la corrente.
Claire si è trovata un attimo in difficoltà all'inizio e anche quando - solo il Cielo sa come ha fatto! - è finita incastrata tra due piloni arrugginiti che stavano sulla nostra rotta, però verso la fine della sessione ha cominciato a trovarsi meglio. Io mi sono divertita un sacco e vi dirò di più, credevo mi sarei pentita dell'esercizio fisico straordinario che ho richiesto alle mie braccia e spalle oggi, ma non solo mi sono sentita meglio dopo la pagaiata, ma anche adesso, ore dopo, continuo a stare parecchio bene!
Poi abbiamo pranzato con dei rotoli di sushi e siamo andate al solito salone all'interno del Myer Centre a farci fare la pedicure. Per merenda abbiamo mangiato frozen yogurt e poi siamo andati per negozi a provare vestiti poco raccomandabili - non solo per il prezzo e le fantasie imbarazzanti, ma anche per la quantità di pelle scoperta e la maniera in cui il tessuto fasciava la pancia e i fianchi! Però è stato divertente prendersi in giro in quel modo.

È stata una bella giornata.

Day #208

I hate this moment, when I don't know how to start a new blog entry and I end up procrastinating on Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube, you name it.. And I still wonder why I can't pull myself to go to bed before midnight!!

Anyways.. As I told yesterday, today was Father's Day and we got pretty busy at lunchtime at the restaurant. Nothing too exaggerate, though: Davina and I handled it perfectly and I got back home with fifty dollar worth of tips!!! How good is that?!?

In the evening I Skyped with my mom and dad, as well as my little sister and grandma. Later I joined the small party that was going on in the living room to celebrate Paolo's newly acquired Australian citizenship. Same faces as usual, Sabri, obviously, Marti and Luca, as well as Marco and Alberto and a couple of friends of Paolo's, Jay and Graziano.
I took the chance to speak with Marco, who gave me Loretta's contact and thus got me the job at the vineyard, and asked him some details about his wwoofing experience and all.
Don't mean to freak you out, but apparently there's no Internet for us, wwoofers, at the vineyard. O.o
No worries, we'll find a way. The only thing that bugs me is that updating my blog daily will be a pain. I mean, I can access fb from my mobile, no problem, but blog gets trickier. On a side note, though, I'm happy I will have more time for my readings and be able to detox myself from excessively browsing the net.

Odio questo momento, quando non so cosa scrivere e finisco per perdere tempo su Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube e chi più ne ha, più ne metta.. E ancora mi chiedo come sia possibile che non vado mai a letto prima di mezzanotte!!!
Dicevo, come vi ho scritto ieri, oggi era la Festa del Papà e al ristorante c'è stato un bel viavai. Nulla di esagerato, però: io e Davina ce la siamo cavata perfettamente e sono tornata a casa con cinquanta dollari di mance!!! Fantastico, no?
Questa sera mi sono sentita con i miei genitori su Skype e anche con la mia sorellina e mia nonna. Poi, mi sono unita ai festeggiamenti in sala da pranzo per la naturalizzazione ad Australiano di Paolo. Stessa solita gente: Sabri, ovviamente, poi Luca e Marti, Marco e Alberto e due amici di Paolo, Jay e Graziano.
Ho colto l'occasione per parlare con Marco, che è quello che mi ha dato il contatto di Loretta e che quindi, direttamente o indirettamente, mi ha aiutato ad ottenere il lavoro al vigneto, e gli ho chiesto riguardo il suo periodo a Orange e dettagli vari..
Non per spaventarvi, ma a quanto pare non c'è accesso Internet per noi wwoofers alla vigna. O.o
Nessun problema, niente panico, troveremo una soluzione. L'unica cosa che mi rompe le scatole è che aggiornare il mio blog quotidianamente sarà complicato. Per facebook non mi preoccupo dato che posso accedervi dal cellulare, ma il blog sarà un'impresa. Da un lato, però, sono felice di avere un'occasione per concentrarmi sulla lettura, piuttosto che disintossicarmi da questa malsana dipendenza dal web.