UPDATE: I survived. Another update: I'm halfway to 25 now

It's hard to explain how everything is different and so many changes happened at once, but so many things have stayed the same as well. A new job, new roommates, new apartment, and new friends have been the focus of my last few months. While visiting with a friend this past weekend, I explained how there are some days when it feels like this is how my life has always been, and then other moments when I'm like "EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT AND I MISS MY OLD LIFE!"

But it's crazy to me how quickly a place can feel like home, especially with great friends who call and check in on me, especially when I'm struggling with the changes. There are few things that make me happier than catching up with a friend in person or on the phone and it's always becomes the best part of my day. I can't even express how grateful I am for these faithful friends!

Cambridge with Kelly

Sara's wedding in California

Cider tasting in Somerville with Amy and Jenna

Bridesmaid swag with Laura

Orvieto reunions with Jenna at Sara's wedding

Morgan's wedding day!

Morgan's wedding with Hannah and Victoria

Mindy's wedding with Leah and Kelly

Portsmouth with Olivia 

Kelsey's wedding with Anna and Kelly

Visiting Julie in PA

Mindy's wedding with Kelly (again)

Summer days with Amy

New England fall adventures with Rachel

Introducing Caroline to Somerville

Boat days with Amy and Heather

Surviving Year 23

I’ve probably started this post about a million times but each time I delete the entire thing. It’s a lot of pressure to write something good after being MIA for 9 months! I honestly just can’t decide what to write about first. I wish I could write lists of all my awesome, exciting life—full of trips, fun times with friends, barely any work at all, and lots of free time to knit/watercolor/write/etc. These adventures and free time activities have been few and far between (although don’t get me wrong – they aren’t completely nonexistent!). 

I’ve read an insane number of Buzzfeed articles about why being 23 years old is the worst. I must admit that in the past few months, I’ve agreed with these articles 100%. My days often resemble Groundhog Day when my alarm goes off and for multiple days in a row, I spend 8:00am-9:15pm in Gordon’s library. Although it is convenient to work and take grad classes in the same building, I have to takes breaks to walk down the halls and back, often alternating between the bathrooms on the 3^rd and 4^th floor for a change of scenery during these 9+ hours.

Although I feel like I live at Gordon and that my brain is going to explode with information, I can be thankful that I will be done with my classes in May (ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!).  I can also be grateful for roommates who know not to bother me when I come home at 9:30pm and I literally can’t. talk. at. all. because my brain literally hurts from work and homework and classes and talking to people all day (the struggles of being a front desk person aka I have to be friendly). The only thing that resets my exhausted brain is when I get into bed at night and listen to my Harry Potter audiobook while I knit (seriously, can you think of anything better than this?!?!). Usually I have to stop myself from listening into the wee hours of the morning because I try to go to bed before 11pm although ideally I should be sleeping at like 9:30pm.

I know that I’m learning so much at my job and in my classes and I’m hoping and praying that this will help me in the future. It’s easy to imagine an ideal life with free time to do everything I want to do, weeknights when I could see friends, and money to buy all of the things that I want to buy (although this is just me being greedy and an online shopaholic and it’s probably for the best that I now have to limit myself). I mostly wish that traveling was free because then I could visit all of the places and friends I want to see.

Anyways. These Buzzfeed articles though… I feel like they are so accurate and the second that I think I have a direction and I’m cruising on a path with determination with the certainty that I’m doing the right thing… BAM. I suddenly have no idea what I’m doing or why the heck I even started this Master’s degree, etc etc etc. I don’t want to just survive my 23^rd year in the place (and by “this place” I mean Earth) but ideally appreciate this time in my life even though there are days when it’s so hard to appreciate and just accept all the unknowns. My planner self can’t even deal with all the mystery and I go back and forth between searching for new jobs/apartments but then there are also days when I close my eyes and try to find that peace of mind and know that it will all work out. These verses have been the most encouraging and calm my anxious mind when I can’t stop worry about the future:

Psalm 139:9-10: “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  

Here’s to hoping that I can continue to remember these verses when I feel lost in a pile of to-do lists, class readings, and work-related woes, all while making the rest of year 23 better than the first half (don’t worry – there will hopefully be a little less whining on my part :)

Travel Journal: Day #12 (Orvieto, Italy)

our third gelato trip of the day

journaling by the duomo

watching the sunset at Via del Popolo

Slavik at Montanucci's

with Professor Doll!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

I can't even begin to explain the excitement of this morning. Waking up with the light coming in through the hotel window, jumping out of bed to open the huge glass windows (without screens - why don't they believe in screens here?) and peeking out at the street below. If there's a theme for these few days in Orvieto it's déjà vu. Even the towels in the hotel bathroom smell just like the fresh towels in the monastery (they probably use the same cleaning service) and I quickly change and lace up my sneakers, tying the hotel room key into my laces. I peek in Mom and Dad's room and tell them that all be back. They look momentarily worried about my safety but they didn't want to stop me. I flip through my phone to find my favorite running playlist from a year and a half ago. It's crazy how music can just bring you back and one song can bring back memories from where you were when you were listening to that song last. 

I leave the hotel and turn down the familiar route. It's early enough that the streets aren't crowded yet with the typical July tourists. I turn this way and that, trying to go down my favorite streets, all my favorite shortcuts. Trying to see everything and take it all in while I can. Eventually I make it to Via del Popolo (see it here), the long stretch of road that runs down the entire (short) length of one side of Orvieto. This is where you can find the most beautiful sunsets, where you can sit down on the benches and look out over lower Orvieto, where you can go for a pre-dinner walk with a friend and vent about the days frustrations or say the clichéd phrases "I can't believe we LIVE here! In Orvieto! We are so lucky!" Long story short, Via del Popolo is where it all happens and I continued to jog before stopping at one of the benches, sitting down. Then I stood up and looked over the edge of Orvieto. Then I was jogging again. But then the view was so beautiful! So I took a picture. Then sat down again. Let's just say this run was more therapeutic than an actual 30 minute workout. I meandered back to the main corso eventually, feeling refreshed and giddy and excited to show everyone around Orvieto some more. 

On my way back to the hotel, I passed Professor Skillen (again), drinking a cappuccino. I was quickly reminded of how small Orvieto is. Returning to Hotel Duomo, I quickly showered and woke up Emily and Michael (how were they STILL sleeping!? Didn't they know we had exciting things to do and see?). We ate some breakfast in the hotel dining room and I had another cappuccino that was so good I could've cried. I didn't cry but I wouldn't put it past myself.

We meandered down the corso and popped into a few shops here and there. We were supposed to meet Professor Doll at Montanucci’s at 10am. Emily, Mom, and I were walking out of a shop when I heard my dad’s booming voice. Who could he be talking to? He doesn’t know anyone here. He can’t even talk to strangers because they probably won’t speak English. So why is his voice echoing through the street and what is he laughing at?! I race out of the jewelry store and there’s Prof Doll! TALKING TO MY DAD! Like they were old pals!!!!! It was the strangest thing and I was like “Prof Doll!” and then we hugged and I just couldn’t believe it! How did he know that was my dad and brother? I mean Orvieto isn’t swarming with Americans with Wernig noses in Gordon t-shirts so I guess Prof Doll quickly realized who my dad and brother were. But still. It was all very dramatic and exciting.

We headed into Montanucci’s, ordered some cappuccini and croissants and sat upstairs in the outdoor seating area. My family and Prof Doll! I still couldn’t believe it. We told him about our trip so far, my parents were talking about their newfound dream of teaching abroad, asking Prof Doll if there are schools in Orvieto (no ulterior motives here, I swear) and I told him about my senior year and what my plans were for the fall. He told us about his family's new dog and their move to the new home. I gave him a copy of my senior honors thesis and also a print from Becky's senior show that she wanted me to give him. It was so wonderful to just chat and spend time together. My dad dropped a few not-so-subtle hints about how Emily will want to apply to the Orvieto program in a few years. 

We soon made our way to the monastery, and it was probably the weirdest part of the entire trip. I kind of lingered in the back of the tour, looking at the different pieces of art hanging on the walls, from students that weren't in my semester. My group was the first group to live in the newly renovated monastery, so it was pretty empty during the first few weeks/months that we lived there. By the end, there was artwork on the walls from MY class but it was weird to see the monastery over a year later. The furniture was rearranged and there were a few other differences. I'm so glad that my family could see where I lived but it was hard to be there without my friends and the people that made it seem like home! 

Prof Doll was so busy that day as his family was in the process of moving, so he had to leave soon. My dad took a picture of us together and then we all crossed the courtyard together and barely made it to the gate before I burst into tears and could barely say anything to him. He mentioned that he was sorry he had to go and I wanted to thank him for showing us around but I couldn't even squeak anything out! I was too busy crying. Even after he left, I tried to bring my family to La Musa for gelato. Emily and I got granita di cafe which is shaved iced coffee with whipped cream but I couldn't even taste it, I was too busy crying into my cup. The whole first part of our time in Orvieto was so exciting and I was in total tour guide mode, but something about seeing Prof Doll and the monastery (without my friends and their artwork) was so hard! It's easy to feel possessive of the monastery and the Orvieto program in general which i know is so silly because hundreds of students have gone to Orvieto. But everyone want's their semester to be the best semester. :) It was just strange to think that there were other students in the monastery and other students eating granita di caffe con panna (this post is where I tried this for the first time!). Anyways, it was the weirdest feeling but I'm so glad we could spend time with Prof Doll and that my family could see one of my homes!

In the afternoon, we did a little more shopping around town. I impulsively bought this blouse while I was still crying (it's fine though because it's cute). We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit before Emily and I went to the new burger place that my dad and Michael went to an hour before and they were RAVING about it. Emily and I finished our burger and fries (you'd think we were at a McDonalds and not in Italy) and then we headed to the duomo. We took some pictures, met up with the rest of the crew, then went to on a tour of the Orvieto underground tunnels. When we got back to Hotel Duomo, I grabbed my journal and went to sit out in front of the duomo to journal. It was so relaxing to just sit there and sketch, and write down a few thoughts - sitting in the same spot that I used to sit when I would write poems for my Ekphrasis Poetry class. We would go to the duomo and take notes about the carvings, the statues, and the biblical stories sketched on the outside and on the duomo doors. 

Before heading back to the hotel, I went to buy a small bottle of wine from the nice older man that always asked how I was in Italian. I tried my hardest to exchange a few small talk phrases and I think it worked because he smiled and then helped me pick out a nice small bottle to take home in my suitcase. We would always come to his shop to buy some nice small loaves of bread and pesto for our picnic lunches. 

I went back to the hotel and checked my email to see if Alessandro emailed me back. He said that they were having preghiera (the charismatic Catholic worship) that night at 6pm and that I should come! We were supposed to get Charlie's Pizza at that time but I rushed over to preghiera and was able to be there for at least 45 minutes or so before it was time to go back and bring my family to dinner. I sat right up front and chatted with Alessandro before worship began, making plans to see him for breakfast in the morning. A few people came over to shake my hand and introduced themselves to me, and when I said "Megan" they would nod and be like "Ah, americana." Anyways, it was so good to see Alessandro and just sit in the church and listen to the worship songs in Italian, humming along and trying to follow along when Alessandro's mother handed me the lyric book. 

I picked up my family at the hotel and we ventured to Charlie's Pizza, each ordering our own pizza to go. We started to walk toward sunset park before we realized that they didn't cut the pizza and we couldn't find any napkins or knives! So we bought some napkins and drinks at a shop and then continued to walk toward the park. We relaxed, ate pizza, and enjoyed the view. There was a high school couple making out and they were probably peeved that we set up camp with our pizzas right next to them. Nothing could keep us away from the sunset. I changed my mind mid-sunset and decided that it might be nice to watch the sunset by Via del Popolo too (can you tell that I'm obsessed with Via del Popolo?). We raced over there to catch the second half of the sunset, and it was just as beautiful. When you're only in Orvieto for two days, you have to catch the sunset multiple times to make the sunsets last longer! :)

We went to get gelato for the third time today (first we had granita di caffe during my sobfest, then Emily and I went again after burgers, so this was defffffinitely the third time). We went back to the place where we saw them make gelato the day before. We walked back to the duomo to see it at night again, then went back to the hotel to pack up our stuff. Dad, Emily, Michael, and I went out to see the World Cup game since Federico had mentioned that we should go see it. We tried to find Federico but didn't see him, so then we went to Montanucci's and chatted with Slavik and I ordered a mojito (I've never found a mojito as good as Slavik's!). We sat for a while before making our way back to the duomo and took a few MORE pics of the duomo. Seriously, it's so beautiful at night! I was so glad that we stayed in Hotel Duomo and we could see it all the time. I finished up packing and set my alarm to get up early to go to meet Alessandro for breakfast. Such a long day but our time in Orvieto was so short! 

Travel Journal: Day #11 (Orvieto, Italy)

inside the duomo

my phone took this quality picture while I was running

view from the clocktower!

gelato with Emily :) 

Orvieto streets at night

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

We woke up at different times during the night – no one slept well at all! Dad was looking out the window and said “Meg! Is that it?” Orvieto was in the distance. I smiled and nodded, “Yes, that’s it.” It was so surreal – the whole day was. We took the funicular up from lower Orvieto to upper Orvieto, walked up Corso Cavour, immediately ran into Professor Skillen, his wife, and Nathaniel. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and went to Montanucci’s for cappuccini and pastries. We then bought carta unicas (“Keys to the City”) and walked to Federico’s shop. Federico did a double take when I walked in and then said, “OH! Ciao bella!” He had my bag all ready for me (I had emailed his wife, Hannah, a few weeks ago and ordered another leather bag). We chatted for a bit and he told us to come back later for a gelato run. We went to the palazzo, did some shopping, went to the duomo, and then ate pizza in Sunset Park. We went up the clock tower, went back to Federico’s shop for a gelato break, and he took us to the new gelato place. We got to go in the back of the shop and watch Zora make the gelato! Federico and Nathaniel had to go but we stayed for a few minutes and got to eat a cup of the fresh strawberry gelato. It was soooo good. Normally I love the chocolate/coffee gelato flavors and I don’t like the fruit ones as much (I mean, there’s still delicious but not really my go-to flavors).

We went back to Federico’s to ask for a few dinner recommendations before returning to the hotel. Mom, Emily, and Michael took naps while Dad and I sat outside and talked with an older couple. Soon it was time for dinner and we went to the place next to the duomo. It was kind of awkward because we were the only ones in there but the food was good. Dad and I unintentionally split a bottle of wine, Emily and I had cacio e pepe (MY FAVORITE!). Dad, Emily, and I then went to the cat park – just a grassy area with ten cats just hanging out. It was a little chilly by that time of night but still comfortable. We then sat on the hotel balcony for a while before watching a little of the Germany/Brazil game (7-1) before going to bed. Seriously, the whole day was a sort of surreal dream! 

Travel Journal: Day #10 (Germany) aka the “what happens on the night train, stays on the night train” day

sending out SOS snapchats

Monday, July 7, 2014

I’m currently in the PITS OF HELL: the night train. I don’t know why we were imagining a more luxurious suite but this is literally a closet with six beds stacked in threes on the two walls. There’s a large, sweaty Italian man on the bottom bunk and he’s snoring. At five minute intervals, he will roll himself up, complain about the mini vent/fan that is directly pointed at him, and then he’ll roll himself back onto his bottom bunk and immediately start snoring again. Ugh. This is proof that I will doing anything for Orvieto. ANYTHING!!!!! Not that I even have a choice though. Although I think it’s fitting that my family’s first trip to Italy includes this large, snoring Italian. It’s an introduction to the culture of sorts.

I had a meltdown when we first got on the train (surprise – I’m like three years old again) and then Mom said we can’t check into the hotel until 3pm. So naturally I threw a fit - as 22 year olds do, right? 

Michael’s trying to lift my spirits by being funny (he’s sleeping in the bed/shelf across from me) and I can’t help but smile because he’s being hilarious. Doesn’t he know I can’t smile right now? I’m focusing all my energy on glaring at Mom in her bunk. Anyways, Michael’s cracking me up and I’m not sure how this situation has suddenly spurred him into being so jolly and full of high spirits.

But how lucky I am to return to Orvieto! I’ve been dreaming about this since the moment I left and I’m literally HOURS away from returning to this home of mine. Just thinking about getting off this train, riding the funicular, stepping out onto cobblestone streets that became so familiar to me. HOW I’VE MISSED THIS PLACE! I can’t wait! I just can’t wait!

**Our morning: packed up the apartment, left Austria, 2.5 hour drive to Munich, returned rental car, found the Sawyer’s (they left after us) ate pizza in the square, went to Hofbrauhaus to try famous beer, found our way to the train station, wandered around for four hours, then got on the hell train (where I’m currently writing from). 

Travel Journal: Day #9 (Austria)

walking up to the ice caves

Sunday, July 6, 2014

I considered going for a run this morning but we left the farm at 10am and there was NO way I was getting up that early (not sure when 10am because “early” but whatever…). It’s a good thing I didn’t run though, because we walked for two hours and 45 min today (with only a few short breaks). We drove to the ice caves, which I thought would be similar to the flat Polar Caves in NH, but it was probably one of the more strenuous hikes I’ve ever done. Well, I’m sure the air and elevation affected the difficulty too. Such a victory when we all made it out of the caves and then again when we reached the gift shop. Dad and I liked the caves (I was slightly freezing though because I was unprepared and was wearing shorts). It was just so cold. SO COLD. We ate snacks at the bottoms and then it was the afternoon so we headed out to explore another town. We went to the longest alpine slide in Austria. I think the ice caves were also the largest in Austria, too (maybe…).

We took a 15-20 minute chairlift to the top, waited in line for twenty minutes, and then it look like five minutes to actually slide down the mountain. The man behind Monica was complaining in German about how the Americans would be so slow on the slide (this was me – I was the slowest one FYI) but then Monica made it known that she could speak German too and understood every word he was saying. Anyways, this guy probably hated me because I was so slow on the slide… I would’ve gone at that leisurely pace ALL DAY but if there weren’t people behind me.

We went back to the farm to freshen up before going out to dinner at a hotel in Radstadt. It was the best salad/dinner I’ve had so far! Chicken with pumpkin seeds, balsamic dressing, potatoes, tomatoes – SO GOOD.

After dinner, we sat outside and talked, fed the cats again, and then began to pack for Orvieto (!!!!!!!!!). I can’t even think of returning to Orvieto without crying. I’ve missed that place so much and I can’t believe I’ll fall asleep (hopefully) on the train on Monday night, wake up on Tuesday morning, and we will be in ITALY! There are o many things I want to make sure we do in the two days that we’ll be there...

• Clocktower, duomo, necropolis (maybe), St. Patrick’s well
• Gelato by the duomo, gelato at La Musa
• Cappuccini in the morning!
•  Chocolate at Montanucci’s
• Charlie’s Pizza, Locanca, La Palomba
• Walk/run around Orvieto
• Sunset Park, the palazzo, monastery, turf field, Via del Popolo, Villa Mercede
• Federico’s shop, kitchen stores, olive wood stores, etc

Travel Journal: Day #8 (Austria)

Saturday, July 5, 2014

We went to the medieval festival today, which was in the next town over. There was a sword fight happening when we arrived, but that was the extent of the excitement. We traveled through different rooms in the castle to look at all the medieval stuff. Thank God we don’t live in medieval times. It didn’t look enjoyable at all. We sat at the rooftop restaurant for a while, drinking and eating pretzels while listening to a band prepare for a wedding reception that was about to happen in the castle. After that, we eventually got kicked out of the festival because Sammy went to do summersaults on the front lawn. We then made our way to the grocery store for lunch (more pretzels, chocolates, ham sandwiches, you know).

After lunch, we went for a hike and I pees in the woods like a true La Vida alum. There were 5-6 horses just chilling in the woods. Dad, Emily and I ventured into the woods and pet the foal – it was huuuuugeee. Like seriously, some sort of Clydesdale foal. 

For diner we ate at the farm. Chicken pesto pasta, bruschetta, etc. WE fed the leftovers to the barn cats again. The owners definitely think we are crazy Americans, feeding their barn animals. 

Travel Journal: Day #7 (Austria)

under the waterfall

Friday, July 4, 2014

This morning we left the farm at 9am with Martin, drove 12-13 kilometers to Obertauern where he keeps his thirty-eight cows. It was pretty much a ghost town because tourists really only come here in the winter to ski. The cows were cool but they kinda scared me because they could swing their heads around so quickly and they had horns. One smaller cow plowing right by me and her horn hit me right on the funny bone. All I could think of was how embarrassing it would be to get a cracked elbow from a cow.

After that, Martin drove us a little ways down the road where we parked on the side to look at one of the Roman mile markers. This one was for the ruler Septimus Severus around 172 AD. Then we crossed the road and walked down steep steps (sometimes rock steps) to reach the waterfall below. Here we could stand under the waterfall while little water droplets fell above us. Martin said this is a good place to make a wish (there are so many ways to make wishes or have good luck in Europe :)

My wish was that I could make it back up all the rock steps… and that wish barely came true as we were all huffing and puffing on the way up.

We made it to the tail end of the market in Radstadt. I bought raspberries, a chocolate donut (so good! They never really had good donuts in Italy), and soap from a cute soap shop. Oh and hazelnut ice cream too, of course.

Back at the farm I took a nap, sat in the hammock chair, and read my “Speak Italian” book. We had pizza for dinner, Emily and I fed carrots to the horses and then gave cat treats to the cats. 

Travel Journal: Day #6 (Austria)

view of Salzburg from the fortress

I know, I know - you're wondering why Michael looks so excited

posing with chocolate (recommended by Amy)

Thursday, July 3, 2014

On Thursday morning, we woke up and left by 9:45am for Salzburg. Dad had a bit of trouble once we got into the city – he almost drove down a bike path. We parked the three cars and walked to the base of the fortress. We took a funicular up to the top, where you could see all of Salzburg. We then went on a thirty minute tour through the castle (also the audio guides were pretty faulty). After a brief stop in the gift shops, Mom, Emily, and I stopped in a little art gallery. The rest of the group continued on without us though, so we had a few minutes of scrambling around to figure out where they might’ve gone. 

After rejoining the group, we took the funicular down into the main square area. Everyone wanted to stop for hotdogs but I was on a mission to find a chocolate pretzel (my friend Amy studied in Salzburg last summer and she gave me a whole list of things to do and eat while in the city). Right near the cathedral was the booth with soooo many fresh pretzels: chocolate, chocolate and marzipan, cheese, cheese and bacon, apple, mixed nut, poppyseed, etc. The chocolate pretzel was pretty much a donut in the shape of a pretzel. SO GOOD though. We then went into the cathedral and I was instantly going back to everything I’ve learned in Renaissance Narrative. Even though that class was about Italy, not Austria… but still. There was a choir group from Canada and their voices combined with the incense… I forgot how much I loved being in the old churches and cathedrals. We were always in and out of these beautiful cathedrals in Italy, and they eventually lost just a little bit of their special-ness. This cathedral was a reminder of that.

We went in a few more shops, took a few more pictures with a Mozart statue (they love him here), etc. Then right as we were about to cross a bridge, I saw a little booth/hut that said “We <3 Chai” and I looked up at the bridge to see a sign that said “Mozartzteg” which was exactly where Amy told me to get the “best chai ever!!!!!” But since we were in a large group of sixteen people traveling around, I never thought I would be able to find it out of all the bridges in Salzburg. Anyways, it was the best iced chai I’ve ever had! And I’m not even just saying that.

We went back to the farm for a few minutes to freshen up, then we went back to the restaurant down the road that we went to earlier this week. This time, I got a turkey salad. It was really good but I’m still counting down the days until I’m reunited with Italian pizza and pasta!

Travel Journal: Day #5 (Austria)

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Emily and I kept waking up last night because we had these two annoying flies landing on us. They were so aggressive! Once again, I didn’t set an alarm and woke up to the sound of the sheep and rooster outside. After breakfast and coffee (I actually miss coffee at home), I went for a run. It was beautiful and the weather was nice—just a little bit cloudy—but it was so hard to breathe! I mean I’m probably out of shape so I can’t totally blame it on the altitude but it really was difficult to breathe. But I did feel refreshed after a forty minute run/walk by myself.

In the afternoon, we walked two miles to the next town over with the petting zoo / mating donkeys / ice cream / etc. You could pay to fish there so we rented four fishing poles and caught eight fish! I caught one but immediately felt bad when we had to bash it’s head with a club. We then had ice cream and saw the pig/hog with her 8-9 piglets. They looked like little spotted dalmatians – they were sooooo cute!

For dinner we had the fish and it was really good but I was scared of the fish bones. We fed the scraps to the barn cats (they have like 5-6 barn cats here).