September 22 2009

A chillax morning. We were in the computer lab today and worked on our project, which is to write a reflection in our days here in Italy. I had saved one journal in my email and I posted that. I wrote every night and saved it in my usb stick, but unfortunately I didn’t have it with me. So I’m going to have to copy and paste tomorrow.

In the afternoon we went to Marzadro. We got to taste a couple different types of alcohol. Don’t worry. This was just tasting, not drinking. I bought one bottle of apple flavored, i-dont-know-what type-of-alcohol. It will be my gift to my dad. I still need to get my mom a rosary, and I think that’s for shopping. I still want to buy shoes!! Scarpe!

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

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September 21 2009

Today we went to Trento. Mr. Corea said that this is really the home of the Catholic Church. They decided pretty much what the Catholic Church was going to do. I went inside to I think the biggest church there in Trento. Beautiful. Solemn. There was also a primitive church under it and I went there. There were tombs there. I was kind of creeped out by that.

After lunch we went to the castle. 12^th century and it has another part of renaissance. Now that was awesome! Iove seeing renaissance structures and art. Something about that time just makes me feel like “I should belong there!” I think it is more of the fashion that attracts me to that time. However, women were still cinched with corsets at that time, which was painful. I still loved their dresses though and it was very conservative. After that we went back to Rovereto and I got to do some shopping! Yay!

One amazing thing that happened tonight – I finally won in poker! Muwahah!

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

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September 20 2009

Went to church today. Laura told me it starts at 10am. So I woke up at 9 to get ready. I walked there and found out it had started already. The order of the mass is the same in any catholic church. When I got to the church I speculated it was in the middle already. I checked their bulletin board and it started at 9:30am. Mamma Mia! 30 min. late! It’s ok. However I didn’t receive the host (body of Christ) because I wasn’t there for the whole mass. I don’t know if that’s tradition or just my logic. Though I didn’t understand the mass, I could make out which prayers they were doing and I muttered them in English. What really captivated me was the choir. Belissima! Voices of Angels. Such great harmony!

Tonight we went to Casa de Vina. “House of wine.” It was near Laura’s house. Walking distance. Seriously like 30 second walk. Hm. The food was nice. Interesting. Fancy. Too bad I was pretty full before that dinner because I went to a birthday party before that, which brings me to another beautiful experience. I got to taste southern (sicilian) food. We played soccer in a circle – something I always saw in shows and movies.

Oh. I got to do some homework today! I’m still behind though. Im going to have to cram it all in when I get back to San Francisco.

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

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September 19 2009

I slept at 3 am Friday night (technically Saturday morning). Laura said I could sleep in because there were no plans the next day. I turned off my alarm. I slept soundly. Next thing I know, Laura wakes me up saying, “Oy! Wake up! It’s 5 o’clock! You want to sleep for one month?” hah. I slept for 14 hours! Just goes to show how tired I really was.

After I got ready, we went to the usual place where they get caffe. Then I really really had to use a computer to send my homework to my teacher. Since Laura doesn’t have internet, we went to her friend, Gennaro’s house to use the internet. Then we went to Filipo’s house for dinner. Her boyfriend cooks so good! Hah She told me, “I stay with him because he can cook.” Haha. Then we played texas hold ‘em poker. Err I never win. I’m always close to winning though. Went home at 3 am and slept.

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

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September 18 2009

A chill day. All we had to do was go to gym class. But for 4 hours! Aah! Well we played volleyball. They got to see my skills .  Heh. played volleyball and middle school and was co-captain. I haven’t played in a long time. Everyone thought I was good, but really I was rusty. I was very tired after that. I don’t exercise regularly so I have a feeling that I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

We were supposed to visit the MART today. It is their museum of modern art. But I was so tired that I fell asleep and Laura decided to just let me sleep and not go. Although I didn’t go to this museum, I feel like I didn’t miss much. I would’ve seen similar artworks from our SFMOMA. Still, it would have been interesting to see how the inside of that museum looked like. The architect that built this building is the same one that designed our SFMOMA.

After lunch at Filipo’s house, I slept from 1 pm to 7pm. Haha. Then we ate dinner at Laura’s house. Since it was a Friday night we were planning to go to disco. Unfortunately, it was closed. So instead Laura and her friends took me to Lake Garda. Although I’ve been here, it was different because this was at night. We walked around and then we were going to get some gelato, but that was closed too. So we went to get brioche. It was awesome! It is croissant with nutella! Ah! I love nutella!

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

Dream come true!!

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September 17, 2009

VENEZIA. A day in Venice. Dressed warm for the warnings of rain. We get there and it’s the perfect weather for flip flops and shorts. Sucks that most of us dressed warmly, some even wore rain boots. But Venice is so beautiful you forget all your worries. We went to the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia. Full of paintings all religious themed. It was amazing to think that they painted this on wood.

We walked and walked around Venice. Very tiring. Stancca! I promised myself I would get a mask in Venice, so I did! Black mask with feathers with the stick. A lot of other people also got masks. How could you not when you’re in Venice? We didn’t get to ride the gondola though. It was expensive, but we found a guy who would’ve gave it to us for cheap, but we didn’t have the time. Tomorrow is gonna be a chillax day I think, and then disco at night!

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

Venice =D

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September  16 2009 24:58 (Italian time)

Ayyy. So tired. Long day. We took a bus to Lake Garda and then took a ferry boat to Melcesina. Got a bit sea sick but fortunately I didn’t throw up. I never throw up anyway whenever I get sea/air/car sick. I just go as far as getting dizzy. We visited a castle. All of this would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the rain! Danatzione stapio vendo! I feel really bad for Laura. She had to go through this with her period. Bleh. I still didn’t find any shoes that I can wear in the rain, like sneakers or something. Mark  bought two pairs! Expensive though. But he worked over the summer, and still has a job, that’s why he has money. I’m excited to go to Venice tomorrow! I don’t have a lot of money to spend though. I’m very conscious of my money ever since I got here because before I left my dad said, “Don’t buy unnecessary things.” Err what am I supposed to buy? If I buy shoes, he’ll say that I already have a lot of shoes. So what’s considered ‘unecessary?’ Whatevs.

Hmm I really need to start doing homework, but I don’t have the time because the earliest we get home is 11pm. Laura and her friends are always at Filipo’s house playing poker or just hanging out. I don’t want to be rude and tell her to go home so I can do my homework because I like hanging out anyway.

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

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September 15, 2009 22:30 (Italian time)

Wooh. What a day. I’ve had 3 cups coffee today. That’s the most I’ve had in one day here in my time in Italy. Culture of Italy – coffee coffee coffee. In the morning we shot small clips of Italian and American pairs in the school of Depero. Then we went to this place with a little waterfall and houses above it. Beautiful. I saw the aroma of Italy in this place. At night we went to the biggest bell. It was awesome. The bell was really loud, well duh we were standing right under it. This bell is supposed to remind people of the peace that we should have in this world. It commemorates the dead soldiers from World War II.

For the past two days I’ve been playing texas hold ‘em at night with Laura and her friends. It’s pretty fun. Something that we all understand.

Well I’m gonna do  homework now.. ughh one thing that is a hindrance here in Italy.

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

Ah.

Majestic Bell

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September 14 2009

Second day in Italia.. Very beautiful!! I love the streets. Small. Cozy. Intimate. I love the whole vintage feel! With the old houses and everything. I always take pictures of the houses that have balconies and they hang clothes on it. It’s so cute. Whenever I see it, I feel at home. There’s something about it that just it feel home-y.

Yesterday, September 13 I arrived in Milan airport and Laura picked me up and we took a 3-hour coach bus ride to Rovereto. Her boyfriend picked us up and I saw my temporary house and her mom. All I could do was smile. I saw their little house. It’s awesome. Very fresco. So after I got settled at her house, we went out to meet her friends. They are crazy cool! haha. Bellos and Bellas. We went to a cafe and experienced my first italian coffee (espresso). I felt very European hanging out with them. As Laura said, “This is Italy, we drink coffee and then smoke.” Heh. I dont smoke though. I would say that the only thing that kinda bothers me is the smell of cigarettes, but I’m learning to get used to it because it’s part of the culture. I tasted the Rovereto pastry from this little “fiesta” they were having. I forgot  what it was called, but its like their donut, but it’s not one whole it’s like split up into thick strings, like fat pasta connected.

Laura’s boyfriend said, “Rovereto is western.” He meant that it is like the desert, not many people. Yes there arent many people, everyone seems to know everyone, saying “Ciao” to everyone. I saw some cute guys but it seems like everyone has a boyfriend. Haha. It’s so cute though because all the couples I’ve seen call each other ‘Amore’ <3

Ciao Bella,

Alyssa

CAFFE!

Rovereto Specialty!

Aprire in franchising una caffetteria – ChiaroScuro Concept

Lavorare insieme

Lo staff Chiaroscuro Concept sa di cosa c’è bisogno per apr­ire un attività di successo e per gestirla al meglio. Questa con­oscenza si esplica nella serie di servizi che Chiaroscuro of­fre ai suoi partners:

> Un percorso di valutazione, conoscenza ed avvicinamento all’apertura del negozio.

> Un aiuto nella valutazione della posizione del futuro negozio.

> Uno studio preliminare di fattibilità ed un business plan su misura.

> La scelta fra una serie di format studiati per posizione e target.

> Un aiuto nella selezione del personale e un percorso formativo per il titolare e per i dipendenti.

> La consulenza di un architetto, di un arredatore e di uno studio grafico.

> La possibilità di far costruire l’arredamento dall’azienda convenzionata o la possibilità di avere i disegni tecnici per farlo costruire da una azienda di propria scelta.

> Un piano pubblicitario pensato per target e contesto.

> I Manuali di stile e di arredamento e una selezione musicale ad hoc.

> Una presenza sul campo nei giorni prima e dopo l’apertura.

> Un continuo aggiornamento dei prodotti e delle promozioni.

> La possibilità di fruire di linee di manutenzione e riparazione privilegiate.

> La fruizione di sconti per le attrezzature, la manutenzione e le forniture.

> Libri e riviste sul mondo del caffè.

> La continua assistenza e consulenza.

La formula Chiaroscuro Concept – basata su prodotti semplici da gestire e una logistica specifica – si traduce in un sistema assai efficace che garan­tisce standard di qualità elevati e massimizza i profitti.

Infatti, le entrate annuali di una caffetteria Chiaroscuro variano tra i 400.000 e gli 850,000 euro, e in molti paesi l’investimento iniziale e quasi completamente ripagato entro il primo anno di apertura.

per info: g.cortopassi@chiaroscuroconcept.it