taormina, take two.

taormina is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth. on my second trip there i finally went to check out the ancient greek/roman theatre. while i was there it was still set up for the taormina film festival, so a huge screen was blocking the view of the sea... but it was almost better this way. the crazy contrast of modern technology and ancient architecture was astounding. apparently there are shows and concerts there all summer long. can you imagine sitting down watching a performance right where some toga-clad greek or roman person sat to watch a performance of their own THOUSANDS of years ago? that just blows my mind... i can neither confirm nor deny that i sat for a good few minutes looking at the seat next to me imagining a conversation with the man who sat there two thousand years ago.

what i'm looking at right now.

so you can get the full ambience, this is what's playing in the background. no big deal. just an awesome patio, calabria, and a beautiful full moon..

what was that? oh, yes, my life is awesome. thank you for noticing.

cuppycakes, meet nespole.

until i came here i had never in my life seen nespole [ness-pole-ay] (called "medlars" in english, according to the interwebs). and, for all nineteen years of my life, i was fortunate to be ignorant of their existence. why? BECAUSE THEY ARE TOTALLY THE MOST DELICIOUS FRUIT EVER. seriously. my nespole will pwn your fruit with its awesome fuzzy stem behind its back.

it's really happening!

this cuppycake is going to italy! nathalie e-mailed me today with my flight info. i have been so excited lately- i spent the entire morning checking out blogs, sites, and forums about messina, learning italian, what it's like for americans in italy, being an au pair there, etc. i still cannot believe i will actually be going to such a beautiful place to live with such an amazing family. i'm very enthusiastic about keeping up with this blog because my incredible friend, amy, left today for tel aviv, and we will be keeping up with each other through our travel blogs. it is so crazy to think we will both be spending this time so far from home, and from each other.
and, most importantly, i would like to give a shout-out to the lovely ayana, without whom i would have never stumbled upon this magnificent opportunity.
i am still a bit too shocked to have much else to say... so, with that, i'll say goodnight.