"this is the day that the lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

bah. am killing time between my viticulture class and my appointment in the lab with simooooone. his name gets lots of 'o's now because thats how its best pronounced, similar to swoooooon. anyineedtostopthinkingaboutthisdudeandtakeupahobbyhoo.
my weekend...was...stellar. absolutely the God's honest proof that terroir is real, in theory and practice, and is a gift from nature so that we can wake up and smell the rose petals.
as i said, when i smelled and tasted that wine, the Gewurztraminer, from Alto Adige at Vinitaly, i was practically metaphysically transported to the most pristine, beautiful, chilly, clean place in all of italy. i knew i would love it, it tasted like warm sunshine on a cool day, the kind that makes you turn into a cat trying to find the warmest spot, never completely lifting yourself up, just crawling drowsily through the lightrays. pierpaolo, my FL, is a gift from on high for what he did for me this weekend. lets hear it for the boy, lets give the boy a hand, for reals.
picked me up at 8am saturday morning. was a little bit headachy from the previous night (wherein my friend Francesco and i rode to a town called casarsa- "in fondo del friuli!"- for what Swooooon claimed was a wine festival, only to find out that it was nothing of the sort. exerpt from text message that i sent to Swoooon friday night: "what the hell kind of festival is this. theres like solar panels and rocks and airconditioning units for sale. but no wine. am confused. arrive subido and explain." after that it just went completely downhill, thank you cosmopolitans), though i found that a mtorcycle ride through the dolomites is, officially, aside from a bacon and camembert sandwich and yellow gatorade, the best cure for a hangover. we drove so fast! my ponytail holder jumped ship, leaving my hair flying out in all directions, wild red tangles. it was so sunny and warm, and the snow on the mountains got whiter and whiter, nearly blinding. we went through the mountains, saw shimmering azule lakes and pine trees in about 400 different shades of green and tiny mountain villages where old people with apple cheeks sat in rocking chairs and waved at us as we barreled through. once we hit the top of the dolomites, it was snowy and cold, and we were so high up that people were literally flying by us on skis! never once did i seriously fear for my life, as i felt under the complete and competent control of a master motorcycle driver. i thought of aunt sally, and figured that she would be very, very proud of me. the drive was absolutely one of the most beautiful things that i have ever done in my life. it took about 4 hours, through the incredible northern italian landscape, and i rode on the back and thought about all sorts of things. i think thoughts of every person that i have ever loved went through my head, and i said thanks to God for all of them, every one of yall. i wished yall could have been with me, it was all so free and fantastic.
we stopped for lunch in the city of Bolzano, an absolutely picturesque little city surrounded by towering green mountains. we dined on local cheese and hams, and i found, right front and center on the wine menu, the Gewurztraminer that i love, from a winery called Tramin. it tasted just the same, perfectly in place. the hotel where we stayed was super nice, with 3 pools, one on the roof top where i managed my tan. after resting for a bit by the pool, and then lounging about the room watching Nadal KICK ASS in the italy international tennis tournament, we pulled ourselves up for dinner. FL took me to a small town in the mountains, where we walked about and tried some wine at a local winery. we ate dinner in this very nice restaurant, the menu all in german, overlooking the lake. around 9pm we were both exhausted, so we called it an early night and came back to the hotel, completely stuffed on grilled meats and fresh water fish. after a quick jaunt to the pool (sauna, jacuzi, etc), we fell asleep. i slept so hard i didnt know where i was when i woke up, but i felt great. all i asked of the next day (all i had to request, he did the rest) was that i get one hour by the pool on the roof, from which point one could see for miles in all directions, over the lush mountains, to the snowy dolomites, tiny lakes dotting here and there in the distance, castles chisled out of rocky cliffs, villages with microscopic sheep grazing throughout the hills. he complied rather graciously. after that we were off. i thought we were headed home, but soon found that we were going up a steep mountain. when we arrived at the destination i started- then hugged him around the neck and squealed. it was the town of Tramin, the namesake of my favorite winery, where they make the gewurztraminer (and the perfect, perfect sauvignon!). i had had no idea it was an actual place. i skipped about the town and tasted and tasted and found some bottles to bring home. they are my pride and joy now (simone and the boys at my dorm are very jealous), and ill open them when my mother is here, over some cheese and prosciutto (hurry up, mama!). the ride home was wonderful, and we took a different route through Trento, another glorious mountain region. when we reached cormons the sky opened up to rain; thick, huge rain drops pelted us, and we laughed and got soaking wet on the motorcycle. went to Porchis to dry off, the local wine bar\ prosciutteria that has become like my local Back Porch. copious amounts of ham were eaten, a glass of wine, and we both slept like angels again that night, safe and dry in our lovely cormons.

ooh, goody, just back from the lab. Swooooon told me that tomorrow he's going to be teaching my viticulture class, and that we get to go to the lab to do experiments on plants or something. wonderful.

so tonight FL and i will go back to Grado, the town on the sea, to eat some local fish. i told him i'd buy dinner this time. he deserves that and a hell of alot more.
everything is going perfectly well these days. i feel happier and more content and calm here in italy, in comrons and at school, than i ever had been. i think that week at home was just the ticket. thanks for that, yall.

love, e

a few more alto adige pics:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=47935047&l=dc34e12e7a&id=4913936