The lengths I would go for chocolate

Friday, November 22

1:30am – go to sleep
4:30am – wake up
5am – begin walk to train station
5:30am – arrive at train station
5:31am – realize the ticket booth has not yet opened and self-service ticket booths are out of service
5:33am – stare blankly
5:36am – ask a bus driver if we can take his bus in order to get closer, we can
7:00am – arrive in Chiusi
7:02am – buy train tickets and study during layover
8:00am – board train for Perugia
9:30am – arrive in Perugia
9:35am – get on bus to city center
9:45am – arrive at EUROCHOCOLATE FESTIVAL 2010!

The chocolate festival works like this:

When you walk in you buy a card for 5 euro. This card has 10 boxes. The 10 boxes represent 10 different chocolate stands scattered throughout the festival. At each chocolate stand that is participating, you give them your card and in return they give you a “gadget”. A “gadget” is not really a gadget at all but instead some chocolate or whatever they chose to give out. For example, I got a chocolate zipper, a chocolate map of the city, some chocolate liquor, hot chocolate, a mini semi-truck (not chocolate, I didn’t really understand that one.), a natural sweetner, a chocolate covered cherry, chocolate ravioli, and chocolate bath-soap.

Bri with a chocolate covered apple

Before going to the festival, I decided that I would only eat chocolate all day long. This was a lie. By noon I needed real food so Cara and I went to a pizza place that was recommended to us by Vamsi who is studying abroad there. And this pizza was hands down the best pizza I have ever had in my life. I ate an entire pizza. Not joking.

Then around sunset Vamsi took us on a tour. Perugia is such a beautiful hill-top city. The views are unbelievable. The city also still had a style and life to it that I really enjoyed. I would love to live there someday. I’ve realized that I have this problem where I love every single city in Italy so much that while I’m there it’s always my favorite city in the whole world and this lasts until I go to a new city, then that city is my favorite city in the whole world.


This next week in midterms week. As soon as midterms end I’m flying back to Barcelona with some friends then probably heading over to Madrid. I have a lot left to see in Barcelona. Also, the flights were so cheap — 30 euro there and 10 euro back. RyanAir is great! And Barcelona is one of the few places in Europe that actually really celebrates Halloween, so I’m looking forward to that.

It’s strange that midterms are here, meaning that this semester is already halfway over. Time has gone so quickly. I just keep thinking about how happy I am that my time here in Italy is only ¼ of the way done, not halfway done. The decision to stay here a full year was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I just need more time and don’t want to ever leave.