Steal me with a kiss

I've been really bad about keeping up with my blog. Oops. Last weekend wasn't too eventful besides a a lot of shopping. I went shopping around Duomo on Saturday and bought a new cheetah coat! And some socks. Ana and I went looking for some "culture" but all the museums were closed by the time we finally made it out of the dorm and then we tried to see a movie but we couldn't find any in the original English they are all voiced over in Italian and we didn't want to do that.

So we went to Duomo and met Rhianna and Sarah. We saw some street performers and we stopped to watch them do their breakdancing routine. And during the middle of the routine one of the dancers came up to me and said, "Can I have a kiss on the cheek?" And it was the middle of the show so I felt socially pressured to do give him a peck on the cheek and he turned and kissed me on the mouth! Those Italians are so damn sneaky.

It was a little like this except he won. -__-

But we finally escaped and went onwards to Mango where I found my beautiful cheetah coat and all was well.

The crazy guy who stole a kiss. -__-

Another break dancer.

Then on Sunday we went to the vintage markets at Navigli. It was so cold! But I scored some vintage Valentino sunglasses for 35 euro and a little clutch thing for just 5. Ana got a gorgeous red purse! 

I haven't done too much this week because we have been getting so many projects in our classes for our midterms. I have to write a ten minute short play with two other girls for Methods of Illusion, I just got finished making a book cover for my Publishing, Publicity and Cultural Journalism class and we also have a big Transmedia project due soon in the Digital Media and Journalism class. Who knew I actually came here to learn stuff?? Ugh. 

I have also been trying to lock myself in my room so I stop buying so many things. I got this sweet bracelet and I discovered Pull & Bear which is basically like another awesome version of H&M or Forever 21 or something. And it has lots of clothes with bears. I love bears. So it was bad news. On the plus side I have gotten a lot better at grocery shopping! Next week we are doing an American night for the other people in our dorm and I think I'm going to make gooey butter cake and we are going to have chicken nuggets or PBJ sandwiches or something. American delicacies at their finest! 

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip for my Publishing class to a real Publishing house here in Italy that my professor works at. Since I've wanted to be a book editor since 6th grade, I'm totally geeking out over this project and this field trip and this class in general. Later in the semester we are going to get to visit the offices of Vogue Italia and Glamour Italia! 

This weekend I'm also going to Florence for my friend Sarah's birthday. It's supposed to be really nice weather so I am excited! Although I can't figure out how to buy a bus ticket sooo that should be interesting tomorrow. Might just cave in and buy a train ticket for the fast train. Trenitalia and Eurolines have the most stupid websites for purchasing tickets and finally after hours of looking for the tickets and trying to make it work I was like: 

Today marks my one month of being here! Lots of things have happened and I can't wait for the many more adventures to come. My parents are coming in April for a cruise! I can't wait to see them :) 

I like having my own room here and all but sometimes it gets scary because I always think there is someone behind me...

Well, I actually just wish this guy was hiding in my room somewhere! But I will see him again in 2 1/2 months, and he got us tickets to see Ludovico Einaudi in Chicago for my birthday since I missed him here in Milan! I can't wait to see everyone that I am missing who has probably forgot about me! Just kidding. Love you all! Don't forget to check my new column tomorrow about fashion week and getting lost etc etc etc. Ciao for now! 

Running around

Since I've been here for a little less than a month, I finally decided it was probably about time I exercised. I went on a nice little run Sunday which I've been meaning to blog about for a) to let the world know that occasionally I do work out and b) to share some of the cool sights around the area where I live!

The buildings here are so beautiful! 

Yeah there's a gate like this in front of my house as well...

Sculpture in Piazza Concilazione

Lo Gnomo gelato... it tastes even better than it looks! 

I have probably been eating too much gelato. I'm also not so hot at cooking so what I've been eating in the dorms has been pretty limited. Although mozzarella and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar has always been a favorite of mine, and it's so cheap here! 

Ana, Alex and I also made some pasta and chicken the other night. I fooled Nick when I sent him this picture... he thought we had cooked something really fancy and goes "what is that golden thing?" 

My response?

"A chicken nugget." Gotcha.

Well, it's time to go stalk some models and designers outside the Prada show because it's fashion week in Milan! 

Ciao for now.

Teenage Mollie: An obituary

So it goes. I'm going to be twenty by the time I post this. WHAT?! I'm no longer a teenage dirtbag??

I'm supposed to be writing a column right now for MOVE so I don't have to do it tomorrow on my birthday but I'm too distracted about getting older! Where is the time going? I honestly don't even remember what I was doing on my last decade birthday for my 10th (mom?? a little help here??).

REST IN PEACE TEENAGE YEARS.

An obituary:

Name: Teenage Mollie Barnes.
Age: 10-19.
Born: 2/19/2003.

She was born in St. Louis, Missouri as the daughter of Jim and Patti Barnes. Teenage Mollie graduated from Lindbergh Senior High in 2011 where she went on to study Multiplatform Design Journalism at Mizzou. She was studying abroad in Milan, Italy, at the Universita del Sacre Cuore when she 'passed' through her teenage years. She was dating Nicholas Berthold.

She got her first job as a lifeguard when she was 15, and then continued to work over the summer where she eventually became manager the last summer of her 'teenage life'. She had many jobs, sometimes 3 or 4 at once, none of which required much actual working, somehow.

She finally overcame her awkward middle school years and threw away all of her Hawthorne Heights t-shirts. She learned to embrace her curly hair after a horrible brush with the "George Washington" haircut. She got her driver's license on her birthday and was finally able to drive her pimpin' new Lincoln Town Car (read: hoopty, land barge, swag wagon) by herself. She loved to drive around with her friends to get QT sodas although she still hadn't grown tired of screaming "I'll make a man out of you" with her friend in the car. She joined a lot of organizations and she quit a lot of others, as well. She went from gymnast to runner to soccer player to diver and finally to swimmer and most recently in college to "sometimes-I-go-to-the-gym-when-I-get-guilty-about-how-long-it-has-been-since-I-checked-in-there-on-foursquare."

She traveled to England, Germany, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, California, Mexico and many other places with the best of her friends. She marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, and didn't shoot any of the annoying band parents who were utterly dreadful. She picked a major, she picked a school (at the last possible second) and she made some of her very best friends (if you're the diva reading this looking for a shout out, consider this your shout out).

She lost love, she found love. She lost friends, she found friends. She lost family, she gained family.

All in all she will be missed.

She is survived by 20-something Mollie. Watch out world.

It was a teenage dream that's for sure!

xoxo.

I'm sorry did you HONESTLY think you would get through a whole post written by me about my teenage years without seeing this perfect Katy vid? Puhleasseeeee.

Ciao for now!

#Nerdproblems

Warning: this post is about a total #nerdproblem.

I missed seeing Ludovico Einaudi in Milan by 3 days. He's my favorite pianist for those of you who are unfamiliar. I'm such an airhead I had looked up his tour dates before I even came to Italy and was really excited that he would be in Milan. I didn't buy a ticket and completely forgot about it until yesterday... 3 days after he performed in Milan. 

He was performing still though tonight in Ancona, which is just about a 3 hour train ride away from Milan, so I was like heck I'll just travel there to see him and call it my birthday present to myself (my birthday is Tuesday weee) since seeing him live is on my bucket list, and when is the next time I'll be in Italy? So I looked up a train and found a hostel and found the Ticketone place to buy the ticket with a little help from ESN folks. 

It was closing in 8 minutes so I started running there, then decided I wouldn't make it so I went to the next closest one to where I was. He told me I was too late to buy one. Safe to say I was pretty upset. 

Then on the train home, there were two boys playing music on the metro. People are always playing music and doing other various things to earn money on the metro at rush hour on my way home, and I usually never think twice about them. These boys were playing the accordion and the violin and it was actually very good. Somehow that made it a little better, that although I didn't get tickets to see Ludovico Einaudi, there is still beautiful music all around. 

Someone posted this really beautiful video about Milan for those of you interested in seeing a lot of the different sights of Milano. 

Also this morning I woke up thinking in Italian, so maybe that's a sign that I'm getting better! Which makes me a little bit closer to checking off speaking fluent Italian on my bucket list. I also got to go to Venice Carnevale last weekend which was a major to do on my bucket list, so I guess you're not meant to check that many things off in one week.

Don't forget to read my latest article for MOVE about my wonderful experience at La Tana del Lupo. You can check my Facebook or Instagram @holyguacamollie for more pictures of Carnevale and the snow!

Hope everyone is well! Ciao for now! 

From CoMo to Como

So I missed my first class. Oops. But I have gotten back on the track, so all is well!

Well this weekend was very event filled. On Friday after class I went to the exhibit "On Space Time Foam" that is temporarily in Milan (well it was, it left on Feb. 3) at Hangar Bicocca. It was completely free thanks to ESN.

It was really strange to be up there on the bottom level because I felt like I was in a zoo with everyone looking up at me and getting excited when I crawled around instead of just lying there. I guess that must be what the tigers feel like so I amused the viewers by crawling around and making faces at them. I was just glad that I didn't wear a skirt or a dress like I usually do, because that would have been... interesting. I got a video of some other people crawling around, but you couldn't bring your camera in there because that wasn't part of the art. The artist apparently had been there the day before and he wants to build islands like this where people can live. I'm sure some people would be into it, but not me. It was a fun experience, but I don't think I could live like that!

There was also a really cool permanent exhibit called The Seven Temples to God.  

On Friday I also went to this gigantic club called Alcatraz. International Week allows ERASMUS students to get into clubs every night for free or 10 euro for two drinks. It's a pretty sweet deal.

Saturday was a tour of the city with ESN. We ate this delicious stuff called panzarotti from Luini a famous restaurant by the Duomo. There was also this sweet gelato place there, am definitely going to have to go back and check it out.

The church right where The Last Supper is, we didn't get to see the painting, though.

I took a trip to Lake Como on Sunday. The town was very beautiful and you can read about some of the adventures that happened in my next column for MOVE coming out Friday. From CoMo to Como, I thought it was pretty clever.

Everyone keeps asking me if the food is to die for so this is my big answer, YES. I think I am turning into a wine glass full of pizza. Even the pasta that we made from ingredients from the supermarket was better than any I had ever had, and that is only props to the ingredients because I can hardly even make a frozen pizza. I also found some Mexican restaurants on Foursquare so I think I am going to try to get some people together to go for my birthday in a couple weeks.

My regular classes started on Monday, so I haven't been to all of them yet. They all seem pretty interesting. Except for the design class... all we did was look at before and after pictures of different label designs for products. But I am really excited for the Publishing, Publicity and Cultural Journalism class to start, it sounds very interesting.

So far my two favorite things in Italy are aperitivo (you pay for a drink and then get to eat at a buffet for free filled with delicious pasta, bruschetta, and other amazing appetizer type food) and SHOES.

My first pair. Made in Italy! 

Well I suppose I should do some actual studying so I can go to aperitivo tonight at Old Fashion. It's America night! It's safe to say my outfit is ridiculous... 

Reppin' Missourah, Americuh.

Ciao for now!