October

So it's been a pretty good and busy month once again. Firstly, a few weeks ago I made a last minute decision to go to Italy for the weekend after a friend offered me the chance on Thursday afternoon. I came into work on the Friday morning and just couldn't say no. I did have some doubts about going but I'd never been to Italy before and knew that I'd regret it if I didn't go! So Saturday morning, I left cold and grey Grenoble to head to sunny Savona!

The beach in sunny Savona!

Within about 15 minutes of having entered Italy, we stopped at a service station for our first Italian coffee as Roberto couldn't wait any longer for a taste of home. I don't normally drink a lot of coffee, I like one every now and again, but this weekend I must've had about 5 or 6. Too good! I find the culture behind it really funny though, because at coffee shops in the UK you either sit down with your large coffee, or you take it to go. Whereas in some of the places in Italy they didn't even have seats, just a small sort of bar/counter and you only spend about 2-5 minutes there as the coffee's are all so small that you don't really have time to sit down with it. Much nicer than the big coffees though!
We spent Saturday afternoon in Savona, where we walked by the beach and walked around the town. Also there is a second Sistine chapel in Savona, which is small but it was really beautiful. The decor was so extravagant. Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take photos but it was nice to see. Not really as well known or important as the one in the Vatican City though.
What was also even better about being here was that Roberto lived there for a while and so he knows the town quite well. My own personal tour guide ha! But yeah it was nice, had more coffee and possibly the most important part of the weekend; Italian ice cream!

Italian ice cream! 3 flavours: coconut (as always!), lemon sorbet and the last was some sort of wine or something. 

Then in the evening we went out for dinner in the next town, in a little restaurant called Zû a mâ (http://www.zuama.it) which was really nice. The chef is apparently quite successful but still it wasn't really expensive at all. Then afterwards when we got back to Savona, we walked around a little since the area was so alive with people, and ended up going to a rum bar, where he used to go before, and drinking straight rum. My conclusion from this is that I am still too young and do not have the tastes to really appreciate straight rum haha. Well, at least when it's the first thing you drink! Then we headed back to our rooms and before going to bed I just had to have a bath as I only have a shower in Grenoble and it's just not the same (Becky, if you read this I'm sure you'll understand me here! Haha).
The next day we went to Genova (Genoa/Gênes, whatever you want to call it! I'm going with the Italian name). To me, the town felt quite concentrated with all the little narrow streets going in all directions. But at the same time all of the buildings were so big and grand, that I spent the day feeling like such a tiny, little person!

Little ol' me vs. grand building

Here we basically spent the day walking around, looking for all the little hidden treasures found randomly in the little streets. Although Roberto's favourite part was going to the streets that were filled with prostitutes... His excuse was that it's a part of the culture of the town. Ok then.
Moving on, we had some more good food. He knew of a little, kind of restaurant that was basically a fish and chip shop. I don't know if they actually sold chips, but they had lots of different fish (which is typical here anyway since you're on the coast) such as calamari and then other fish which was covered in BATTER! Normally I prefer meat but I can never turn down a good ol' British fish and chips, which is something that I've had cravings for quite a few times since being in France! And from here, it was just like how the fish is cooked in British fish and chip shops! Oh my word I was in heaven. It was so so yummy! Then a bit later we had a proper lunch where we were sat outside, facing the port with palm trees in view and everything. (At work the next day it was bloody cold and it rained as we walked to the canteen at work. You win some, you lose some).

Our view while eating lunch.

Later on, we headed to the supermarket to stock up on some Italian food supplies before I headed back to Grenoble in Roberto's car with his friend, while we left Roberto in Savona (yes that was the plan ha).
It was such a good weekend for something so last minute. But if I go back to Italy, next time I need to learn at least some words beforehand. I could sometimes understand things people said but I had no idea how to say anything. Yeah ok, I was in Italy with an Italian, so it wasn't that important that I couldn't speak it, at least one of us could. But still it would've been much nicer for me if I could've said some things. He tried to teach me some things in the car, but for a short visit how useful really is it to know how to conjugate essere (to be) and avere (to have) and how to say "My name is...". Ah well, next time. I think the only thing I really remember how to say is dickhead in Italian. Brilliant.

Then last Friday, my fabulous little sister came to stay for the week with me in Grenoble! She didn't get to come with my parents in September, so it was so so so good to see her for the first time since the end of June! Unfortunately I still had to work while she was here, but Friday I went and met her at the station over lunch, and I managed to get Wednesday and Thursday afternoons off to spend with her, even though she went home late Thursday afternoon/evening. On the Saturday, we spent the day in Grenoble. Firstly we went out for lunch and then in the afternoon we went to some wine event called Millesime that was being held in the town centre with Laura, Quentin and Lucas. Nice mix of languages this afternoon, with some English, French and Spanish! Sunday, we headed to Annecy. Unfortunately, it poured it down with rain all day so we ended up not spending all that long there. But we had a coffee and Jess had her first macaroon in a cute little café and we walked around for a little bit. It's still pretty even in the rain!

Monday evening after work, the weather was really good so we went to O'Callaghans (an Irish pub here in Grenoble) for a drink and then we came home and I made some dinner for us both. Tuesday evening, Jess was a babe and re-dyed my hair for me! Then Wednesday we went shopping as the weather wasn't great. And in the evening, we went out for drinks with my work friends, so Jess got to meet Marie-France and Roberto as well as see Laura, Quentin and Fabien again. After drinks we went out for dinner too and funnily all had the same thing. But that was nice, and a new restaurant for me and it's always good to try somewhere new. Then Thursday once I finished work we firstly headed out for some lunch and then we went to the supermarket so that Jess could stock up on some things to take back to the UK. Mid-afternoon I took her to the bus station and had to say goodbye to her as she got the shuttle back to the airport. Won't see her again until Christmas now, waah :( miss her already!
Fortunately I have some good friends, and ended up going out for a drink with a friend last minute that evening so I wasn't sat moping around because she wasn't there anymore (I was happy that my room was now tidy, however).

This weekend's been pretty good too. Yesterday the weather was gorgeous, so I headed up on foot to the bastille and then explored further up which I haven't done before. I spent half an hour or so sunbathing at the top of the mountain which was a nice resting point out of the 5 to 6 hours of walking I did. Also next time I need to count the amount of steps on the walk back down as there are bloody hundreds! As always, I managed to come out a totally different way on my way back down. I don't know how I manage it, but I never end up taking the same route.
Then today, it's been a rainy Sunday leaving me with not much choice of what to do. This morning I went swimming, which is strange for me as it's not something I ever choose to do normally (the lake is different, that involves sunbathing and normally not a lot of swimming). But that was good and I might start going more regularly as I think it'd be a pretty good thing to do. Although I say that now, it probably won't happen.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post! I just don't have time to do smaller posts more frequently! I'm a busy bee :)

À la prochaine!
Bisous!