€70 roundtrip

Out of all the handful of people that occasionally read my blog, it was my little sister Emma who was complaining to me that she wanted a blog update. A little ironic, since she's the one I spend the most time with (besides Joe of course). It's not like I have forgotten to blog, but more that every time I think about it, I just don't feel like it. It might have something to do with the amount of hours spent on Facebook, updating my friends and family that way. Or that nobody really seems to read my blog anymore these days. It sounds pathetic, but I gauge the quality and interest of a post by the amount of comments received. And those numbers have been almost non-existent for almost a year now. Of course I didn't start blogging for other people, but it does make it easier to get motivated. And I also feel somewhat like a hypocritical, since I often read other blogs and don't comment. So this is not a plea for comments, but merely a glimpse into my twisted mind.

So moving on to the fun stuff. Last week Joe and I made a trip to Italy. All alone. For 4.5 days. A few months back Joe asked me if he could go to Milan for a case competition. My answer was simple; yes, but I'm coming with! Did you know you can fly roundtrip to Milan for €70? That's almost the same amount as a train ticket from here to the north of Holland! The case competition would be on Monday and Tuesday, so in order to actually see some of Italy, we added the weekend onto the trip. Neither Joe or I are big fans of big city, but love to explore the countryside of new places. Not being very familiar with northern Italy at all, I looked which towns were somewhat close to Milan, found hotels that looked interesting, and rented a car.

Turns out, the hotels were amazing. The first night we stayed in a semi-castle

The next in a B&B that was in its own little oasis (although not done justice in this photo). I wish I could have captured theoverwhelming honeysuckle aroma in a photo!And the last one took the cake. It was in a genuine palace. We were following the GPS and still had 3oo meters to go. Joelooked to his right, and said "whoever lives there, is totally loaded". That's when I recognized the palace from thebooking website, and told him we were actually sleeping there. He couldn't believe it. Neither could I really. So we cautiouslymade our way up the driveway and into the front door. A small flag was the only hint that we were in the right place.

Funny things ride on Italian roads, which really makes Joe happy. First proof, our rental company. A Fiat 500; Surprisingly spacious inside.

The landscape was awesome too. We just turned on the GPS to the hotel location, andproceeded to ignore the instructions all together, and just head into that general direction. Little hillside towns,mountain roads, little chapels, mountain lakes, and vineyards were just waiting to be found.

The prettiest church was somewhere in a little town, and being prepped for a wedding.

We saw the most amazing double rainbow while driving. Unfortunately I wasn't in a better spot to take a picture.

I didn't know anything about Verona, and especially had no idea it was Romeo and Juliet's town. (that might have something to do with the fact that I've never actually read the book) It was lovely though. Unbelievably cute little streets, an amazingly old Arena, and generally just a nice atmosphere.

Juliet's balcony

Whoever said pizza was American food, has never been to Italy. Everything from the crispy crust to the fresh topping made for a heavenly taste. And surprisingly cheap. €6 for a large pizza that's enough to fill 2 people, or completely stuff 1.

The time spent alone in Milan was fun too, but really different. And so, I think it deserves its own post.