This morning Marisol and I went to the post office to send off another huge box, and then went for fragolini pastries at Romoli. Last time we went in there, I lost my knitting request virginity when the barrista asked me if I'd make him a hermione hat! We were kind of taken aback so we said I was leaving shortly so I wouldn't have time to finish one, but since I'm going to be here another 5 or so weeks, it's going to be kind of awkward going back there, which totally sucks since their pastries are to die for!
speaking of hermione hats, I finally finished Marisol's! here it is:
Yesterday I bought a pair of Levi super skinny 603's! I 'm super excited because they fit my legs as well as my ass! in Australia, when I buy skinny jeans, they are too baggy on the leg if they fit me on the ass, or too tight on the hips and butt if they fit my legs. But... check out the wonder of jeans fitting my body shape!!!
Tomorrow is Marisol's farewell dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then Saturday we're off to Venice! bring it on!
Other than that I'm still struggling with a pattern for a cowl, I wanted something kind of lacy and saw a few I liked but the pattern really just didn't work out for me. So boo. I think I'll do my own pattern, so much easier I think!
AND! I spoke to my grandma and have 'booked in' a trip to see her for the first two days I'm in London - arrive in the morning, go straight from the plane to the train, get to her house in the evening, make her dinner, do some knitting, and then leave the following afternoon. Now I just have to buy the tickets!
Then I can spend the rest of the week doing whatever I like, and whatever I like is going to involve a lot of shopping, museums, and burgers! woohoo! can't wait!
so, yesterday my package from Aude arrived! I'd asked her to do a CP for me, something for Anna's christmas gift, and it arrived yesterday, along with a gift she had sent for me!
"beeeeewaaare the grooooove!"
On friday night, the Vatican museum was open until 11pm as part of a special program running through September and October - it was actually the last late night opening of the 'summer'. Anyway, Marisol and I thought it would be fun to go, so after work we d over there with our online registration print out, and were inside within 10 minutes.
I know I've been museum-spoilt since the Louvre - I thought that although the architecture of the Vatican was beautiful, the art was not really remarkable. They did have an impressive Egyptian collection, but then, I've been to the Cairo museum, so can't really beat that for Ancient Egyptian stuff!
The Etruscan collection was closed, and that was disappointing since I haven't actually seen Etruscan stuff before.
It was quite interesting at night though, and definitely quieter, although the Sistine Chapel was still very busy. There is actually a man that has the sole job of stopping people from taking photos and 'shush'-ing people! Last time I visited the Vatican, I don't remember being particularly impressed and I'm afraid the feeling lingered this time too. (Probably because the one thing I wanted from the shop, a beautiful engraved 'R' on parchment - had run out. Boo)
This sign made us giggle - Nowhere has better happy hour(s) than The Vatican!!
Anyway. We got home around 11:30 or midnight and today (Saturday, we woke up late, strolled down to Romoli for fragolini pastries and cappucchinos, and then caught the 38 into Termini and walked the length of Via Nazionale. We went to La Gardenia (perfume place) and I sprayed some Gucci per Homme on my arm. I swear, it smells like a bushfire, and being Aussie and all, I know I shouldn't love it, but I do! I can still smell it, HOURS later, I love it! If I ever met a guy wearing it 'naturally' rather than a result of my buying it as a present, I don't know if i could be held accountable for my actions!
Towards Largo Argentina, I found a pair of brown boots:
...And then found Marisol some Christmas presents for her relatives in Via Del Corso.
We had lunch and a glass of red wine in the sun and then did some more shopping before heading off home on the 80 bus. We finally found where it starts from, and it's actually incredibly convenient, so next time I'll catch it from there.
Tonight I made crepes with banana and home made butterscotch. They were pretty damn good I must say!
Other than that, nothing much exciting. I got a few small gifts and gathered ideas for Christmas, but my friends are being supremely unhelpful this year gift suggestion-wise and since I won't have time when I get back to sydney, I have to be extra organised this year.
hehe, I do love icanhascheezburger.com, so I added my own LOLrabbit...
It's done! tada! I guess I should write at least a rough pattern so I would remember how it was made, but in reality, I made it up as I went along, measuring it against my water bottle to confirm it would fit!
I should warn that I have no experience writing patterns, and I'm simply recording from memory what I did.
Materials:
2 and a bit skeins/balls of Main Color [MC]
a small amount of Contrast Colour [CC]
1 pair of circulars, size [US]
4 buttons in [CC]
RIBBED NECK
cast on 44 stitches, and join in the round (careful not to twist) knit 2, purl 2 until you have approximately 20 cm of tube. Insert a stitch marker at the beginning of your round, and then count 22 stitches and insert a second stitch marker - this is the halfway point.
SHOULDERS
okay, now you want to start increasing for the main body of the cover. At the start of a new row, make an increase on the first 2 stitches, knit 18, and then increase on the next 2 stitches. You will have reached your 'halfway' marker. Increase the next 2 stitches, knit the next 18, and then increase on the last 2 stitches of the row.
Essentially, you are creating a flat 'back' and a flat 'front'. You will continue this pattern (increasing on the first and last 2 stitches of each 'half' until your work is wide enough to cover the shoulders of your water bottle. For me, it was approximately 6-10 rows, until I had increased from 44 to 120 stitches.
MAIN BODY/HEART PATTERN
Knit 3 full rows of the main body. Next, you will begin your heart pattern. Each heart (including spaces) will be 7 stitches wide, and 4 rows long. The stitch markers will indicate where the front and the back start.
For me, I needed to Knit the first 4 stitches of the main body of my cosy, and then I copied the following chart:
|
M |
M |
C |
M |
C |
M |
M |
|
M |
C |
C |
C |
C |
C |
M |
|
M |
M |
C |
C |
C |
M |
M |
|
M |
M |
M |
C |
M |
M |
M |
M = Main Colour
C = Contrasting Colour
The end of the first half should have 4 (or 5) stitches, and then I did the same pattern on the back.
The rest of the cosy is simply plain knitting, until you reach approx. 2 inches from the bottom of the hot water bottle (you can test for fit as you knit, another benefit of round knitting).
You will then start k2 p2 rib, and continue on for 1.5 inches. Then, you will measure how many buttons you'd like as your closure. I had 4, so I spaced them evenly and stuck a pin in the purl part of the ribbing, where I wanted my button holes to go. Knit/purl the row as before, and then, when you reach the purl where you'd like your hole to go, Yarn Over, then purl 2 together. Continue the rib until you reach the next marker, and again, YO, p2tog. Complete the rest of the row in this way.
Complete another 3 rows of ribbing and then do a full row of knit 2 together. Cast off. Sew in ends, sew on your buttons and you're finished!
That is pretty much the only exciting thing that has happened in the last few days, haha! I have to get back to knitting my gryffindor scarf now, I'm itching to wear it, although I also have Marisol's christmas Hermione Hat to get started on... and my first pair of socks! yay for knitting!
On Saturday I met my penpal Marco. I took Marisol along and we did a bit of shopping, had lunch, coffee, saw the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain... it was nice, he bought us coffee and tiramisu.
After he left to get his train, Marisol and I went shopping for groceries and I found a leather bag on Via Nazionale! It's the last bag I wanted to get - a soft brown one. So now I have a smart brown one, a smart soft black one, and a smart soft brown one.
Here it is:
we also visited Di Cori yarn store so Marisol could buy some more wool for her scarf, and I bought some balls to make the Hermione Hat for her as a christmas present, as well as some red buttons for my water bottle cozy.
I got quite a bit done of my hot water bottle cover! I decided to design my own because I couldn't find one that was constructed in a way I felt confident about - mine is knitted totally in the round, top down - no stitches to pick up, no seaming to do, only a few ends to weave in. Nice and simple! I put a circle of hearts on it to make it more interesting:
If anyone likes it, I suppose I could write the pattern out for them, but I'm just making it up as I go along!
Today we haven't done much, I skyped with my parents (and Anna and the beast of course) and then Marisol and I went for a coffee at Romoli, a beautiful pasticeria down the road from us that I'm sure I've mentioned before.
We had fragolini pastries and cappuccinos. I'm going to miss that place when we go home!
Afterward we popped into the Tigre for a few supplies. We couldn't help snapping a picture of these baby food jars though, rabbit AND horse flavours. Tasty!
ciao voxies!
I went and saw UP today after work! it's only just come out here in Italy - most films seem to come out later than in Australia, and certainly 6 months or more behind America, but that's worked out rather well, as it means I've had the chance to see some of these films in English in Australia first, and then re-watch them here in Italian. It's fun to branch out and watch films I haven't seen in English though, and I loved UP although I'm sure I missed some of the jokes, but then, watching a movie in a foreign language is hard!
I couldn't help but think that UP was really sweet - the relationship between Ellie and Carl was beautiful - even though he and Ellie had many grand plans for their life together that didn't come true, Ellie was truly satisfied with her life, simply because she had spent it with someone that she loved deeply. I guess is something that we can all learn from, and I hope I'm gifted with a relationship like that one day.
The film got us onto the topic of relationships generally, and I was explaining how I'm somewhat bitter and cynical, except it came out Bitter-cal instead. So M and I have adopted the word!
I joke about being bittercal all the time, but I'm not really - I find being single intensely satisfying and relaxingly calm - no massive ups, no massive downs, no absolute exhaustion from late nights driving to/from someone's house, no anxiety about what he meant by xy or z, and I have time to do all of those things I'd like to do - the things that seem to get put aside when I have a boyfriend. I think that some of my friends have difficulty believing that I truly am happy, as though it's impossible to be spiritually satisfied without having a partner, but I'm lucky to have this time to myself, I really am. Sure, I miss heaps of things about being in a relationship, I would be lying if I said I didn't, but one of the best parts of being single, is that tiny spark of hope that the best is yet to come, and that there is someone truly wonderful out there that you just haven't met!
Tomorrow my supervisors still aren't back from their (presumably work related) trip, so I decided to sneak the day off and get some errands done. Like... possibly a load of washing, I have 3 packages slash letters I need to mail, and M and I are going to treat ourselves to fragolini pastries and coffee at the epic place near our house. Woohoo!
buona notte voxies!
R
Success! our dreadful kitchen was surprisingly docile this evening, and I was able to make a pretty tasty cauliflower cheese tonight! It's a really simple recipe, just boil the cauliflower, and then cover in white sauce (which is butter and flour melted together, and then you add milk until the right thickness) - sprinkle cheese on top, and bake for around 30 minutes or until brown on top.
My sister left this morning. I really enjoyed having her here, and I already miss her a lot! it's really hard saying goodbye to people so many times in such a short period, but would I give up the enjoyment of the last 10 days with her here for a few tears when she left? No, I wouldn't.
Last night we did a bit of shopping and then went for dinner in Piazza Navona, which was beautiful but freezing.
Then this morning we had breakfast at termini together and I helped her onto the train to Fumicino. And now I'm back at work. It looks like the next few days/weeks will be quite busy, although I'm actually quite tired so I'd prefer a break.
I did a major clean out of stuff when Anna was packing to leave, and threw a lot out as well as cramming quite a lot of stuff into her suitcase. I still have HEAPS of things I want to post back home though, as I haven't even bought christmas presents and it would be nice to get the girls some pretty things from here. It's going to cost me a fortune to get it all home but what can you do? I'll be wearing a lot of it I think though, because I am freezing and it's only October!
what else? supposedly dinner at the ridiculous hour of 9pm at a mexican place tonight, possibly the vatican this weekend, and there is the film festival next week or the week after, and we also need to book venice if we're going to go....AND! I need a bodkin to sew the ends in on my hat and when (if) I finish my scarf I have to sew those in as well. I might go to the yarn shop today and see what they have. I do love that place, although taking all these needles and yarn home will be hard as well!
anyway, that's it from me!
ciao a presto!
I'm back in Rome! the weekend in Paris was pretty cool but hold onto your hats because this is going to be a looooong post!
We arrived in Paris around 4 pm, because our plane was a little bit delayed, although they didn't make any kind of announcement so we don't know why. During the flight there was some pretty bad turbulence but again, no announcement. Anna and I were fine until a foolish American woman behind us started screaming and freaking out. I half expected her to say "we're all going to die!" although she didn't. It was very unsettling and I couldn't really relax after that! They announced laterthat we'd had to go through a thunderstorm which was why the turbulence was so bad.
When we arrived we went straight to our hotel which was very nice actually, and not that expensive. We then got dressed ready for the Moulin Rouge, as you have to be there 20 minutes before the show. The line was quite long but moved quite quickly. Now, maybe I have very high expectations. Actually, yes, I do, because we paid $300AU each for the MR tickets, and the same price for accommodation for 3 nights, so you frankly I expect excellent service.
They forgot to give us butter, and we had to ask 3 or 4 times. Each time the waiter would say yes, but then would stand there and do something else, and not bring it. We got it eventually but most other tables didn't even have to ask. Then, our plates were left on the table for a very long time (like half an hour), and although there seemed to be 3 or 4 waiters for our area, they mostly seemed to be standing about, letting their colleague, a youngish guy of about 18 do most of the work. Anna's meal was cold inside, and the waiter accidentally poured half a glass of champagne into Anna's water glass. While he did apologize, he promised to bring a new glass, which he didn't.
It's not really that big of a deal, and could easily have been corrected, since it was a simple mistake, but when you are paying as much as you do at the MR, I would expect not only a new glass - immediately, I would also expect a second apology and possibly even a fresh glass of champagne to replace the one that had been wasted. He didn't do any of these things.
The show was amazing, there was a shadow puppet guy, a fabulous juggler, a ventriloquist, mini ponies, the woman in the pool with the snake, and the dancers of course, but Anna said the dancers weren't as good as last time, they were slightly out of time and the actual place was quite run down and shabby. I certainly wouldn't go there again - you are paying as much as that because you are supposed to be getting a really amazing evening, with absolutely impeccable service and an incredible show, and that simply isn't what we got. Anyway. I'm glad we went as it was definitely interesting.
On Saturday we went to Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle in the morning, and Versailles in the afternoon.
Sainte-Chapelle was incredible, it was two floors on top of each other, each with the most stunning stained glass.
There was actually a mass going on in Notre Dame, with lovely singing, although it was just too busy and crowded and I much preferred Sainte-Chapelle which was more intimate and beautiful.
I suppose i have been in Rome for too long, because I was quite shocked that many of the churches in France have shops inside the main room of the church! I thought it seemed somewhat disrespectful, since most of the things weren't even religious items, but postcards or toys and things.
Versailles was a bit complex to get to, as you have to change trains, and this wasn't mentioned anywhere, so we ended up halfway to nowhere and had to get off and go all the way back to the change over point, and then set out in the right direction again.
When we got there, we'd missed Aude, who I know through makeuptalk.com. We'd planned to meet at 12 but because of the mistake we'd made, we got there are 12:30 and she'd left - she emailed me later and said she came back at 1pm which is exactly when we left so we must have almost passed each other twice!
Versailles was awesome, I wish we'd had more time there. We went on a tour and saw some private areas that regular tourists don't get to go, but we didn't really have enough time in the gardens, as we only had time to take a little train down to the Grand Trianon and the Petite Trianon, and not enough time to get out and see them properly. We also missed the hamlet which was disappointing as I'd wanted to see that. In the gift shop I got a few really pretty things, including a long thing silk scarf with the monogram of Marie Antoinette on it, I thought it would be pretty to tie onto my handbag. I also got one of those black pencils they sell everywhere here, that has the place name and a sparkly jewel on the end - of course I got pink, and it says Marie Antoinette in curly gold writing down the side of the pencil.
We got back to Paris and were going to go up the Eiffel Tower quickly before going to dinner, but that idea was a joke - it took us 3 hours to go up and come down, spending no more than 10 or 5 minutes at the top. We waited to be security checked, we waited to buy tickets. We waited to get a lift to the first or second floor, and then again to get a second lift to the top. There was then another line to take you down to the second floor again, and a final line for the lift from the second floor to the ground. If I ever have a partner who suggests the Eiffel Tower as a romantic possible proposal place I think I would punch him in the face. It was the least romantic thing I've ever done and I don't think I ever want to go back there. We went to a random place for dinner as there was no time to go anywhere else, we got down at 9pm!
On Sunday we went to the Louvre, which was HUGE. I think they need little golf carts to take you around, we were exhausted walking around in there. Yes, the things inside are absolutely amazing, but it seems a shame that many of their beautiful paintings are just walked past, as there is too much to see. I think that they would be so much more appreciated if they were spread around a little bit more in a few museums, rather than one massive place.
On the plus side, because I had an EU passport and am under 25, I got entrances to many places for FREE! here in Rome it's a reduced price but never free, it was a bargain because some of the tickets were really quite expensive.
Sunday night we went to the fondue restaurant Anna had been to on her last visit, and also visited Sacre Coeur. The restaurant is pretty crazy, you can write on the walls, and so Anna wrote on the window sill near our table and I wrote on the bathroom door. They have baby bottles of wine to drink out of, and a set menu with either a meat or a cheese fondue. It was really quite good value as an entree, an aperitif cocktail and dessert are included, although it was a bit weird, they made me climb over the tables to get to my seat!
Monday morning we went to Galeries Lafayette, which was very very pretty, although we didn't buy anything. We also passed this epic pizza place, Speed Rabbit Pizza! I wish we'd had time to eat there!
The leather shoes and boots are cheaper here in Rome so we didn't bother getting anything in Paris, but we were in the mood for shopping, so as soon as we got back to Rome we went out to the shops near the Trevi fountain and bought a pair of boots each.
