The next family we visited was the Muthmann's. Their son,Arne, was our first ever exchange student. Now he is finishing university and has a fantastic girlfriend Carol, who was super nice and friendly to us all the time. My parents enjoyed sharing stories about Arne with her much to Arne's displeasure. Hopefully none of them with cause her to reconsider since she makes a pretty cute sister in law.
If your looking for tips on packing, wondering what you should take to Europe, or just curious to see what I am taking, here it is.
Something I didn't mention but is pretty important is that in Europe the electrical outlets are different my dad, Mark, is bringing a converter for us all to use. We are probably only bringing the kind that changes the head so its physically possible to plug your device into the wall (most new devices will convert the power supply automatically) which is part of why I am not bringing my blow-dryer, curler or straightener, because I don't want them to explode and with three people's devices to keep charged the converter will likely be in higher demand then my hair. This trip ended up being the final motivation for me to get the super new, super cute iPad mini you see in the video. I wanted to be able to post on my blog, without the bulk of a laptop, as well as take pictures, use apps such as maps and language phrase books, and play games while I was in transit. Gotta have something during that 9hr flight. Ps. I am super sad right now, while I was filming this video I took another look at the tennis shoes I was bringing my sister and realized that the box had lied to me. I thought I snagged the last pair of 6 1/2s that jesi specifically requested, but they turned out to be 9s I returned them, and tried to get the right size but they were discontinued so part of this video is a lie- unfortunately I am not actually carrying any tennis shoes with me on the trip. I am taking some stuff that isn't shown because they are gift stuff and they are not wrapped and there is a possibility the recipients could be watching. You can subscribe to the Foreigner Gets Lost You Tube page here. Rome is famous for alot of things. One of those things is pickpockets. For safety reasons we will not be carrying any more money than we need for a particular day at any point on this trip. Today, Rome's pickpockets are actully quite impressive. I have heard from several people that most pickpockets can remove almost anything from your bags or pockets without alerting you, many of them don't need to. They can simply scan your information off your debit and credit cards that are in your wallet. To combat this I made a "very stylish" holder for my debit card out of aluminum foil and Hello Kitty ducktape. Italian food is world famous and pretty popular in the US. Whether your talking about family spaghetti night or a five dollar Little Caesar's pizza, most everyone I know knows their way around a good Italian meal. Getting to taste some authentic dishes is sure to be one of the highlights of Italy. However, here are a few Italian foods you might not be familiar with (at least I wasn't): Lardo di Colonnata - has been made since Roman times by curing strips of back fat with salt and spices in marble basins, and is ideally cut paper thin and served on warm bread. Lampredotto - is a round bun stuffed with tripe made from a cows fourth stomach and simmered in a broth of herbs and veggies. Cieche Fritte - are fried baby eels that migrate to the coasts of Europe and North Africa at the end of winter. Coda alla Vaccinara - is a stew made with oxtail and vegetables. Bottarga - also known as poor man's caviar, is the roe pouch of tuna, grey mullet or swordfish, dried in sea salt and coated in beeswax until it becomes hard. It is then served grated over spaghetti adding a pleasant fishy and salty taste to it. Casu Marzu - means "rotten cheese", it is a fermented goat cheese filled with fly larva and, on account of being considered toxic if the larva is dead, it is eaten when the maggots are still alive and can jump as far as 6 inches (120 mm). So should we steer clear or seek out some new "cultural experiences"? Click on post to view poll. To make the trip even more fun, I am adding challenges to the itinerary. I have started coming up with a few by myself but I am opening it up to anyone. What does that mean? Write any task in the comment section below and we will be obligated to do our best to accomplish it on this trip. It can be directed at the group as a whole or a competition to see which of the three of us (Jenae, Heidi or Mark) completes it the best. Still confused? Here are my challenges:
To the group: find something you don't recognize in a Venetian fish market and do your best to prepare it. Competition: find the most unique Gelato flavor. Hurry! Challenges submitted after June 17th are not guaranteed to be read and therefore accepted. |
AuthorJenae Archives
April 2021
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