Special Guest: Police and KATY PERRY!

I am a real blogger. I have a special guest!!!!......

Hello blog world!

This is Katie Tesensky, one of mal's oldest and best friends. I'm sure you are wondering why I am writing on her blog, I mean I'm not living in Bologna. But I was fortunate enough to visit Mal over my Christmas break. Our friendship dates back 12 years where we first met at first stage. Both of us can still remember everything about the first day we met-- Mal was in purple leggings (a trendy 3rd grader), I was in shorts, both wearing our grey First Stage Theater Acadamy t-shirts (Yes, yes...we were theater nerds. Now do you understand our dramatic stories and gestures?). I guess you could say it was love at first sight haha. I'm not going to bore you with all our old friendship details (because most people can't handle them), but lets just say 2 divs in Italy proved to be a fabulous, divalicious time.

I arrived in bologna on a Friday night around 11 and for those of you who know what I'm talking about, I DID NOT NEED A SEEING EYE DOG (there may have been a slight mistake when booking my flight to Italy, I may have accidentally clicked that I needed special assistance and had a seeing eye dog..WHOOPS!). Mal met me at the gate and made her cab driver wait for us in the parking lot (because she can.) We dropped off my things at her apartment and immediately got dinner, which was of course pizza. Honestly, the best thing I've ever tasted. It was fresh and delicious; I would fly back to Bologna this second to get that pizza. and the best part -- super cheap.

After our lovely meal of pizza in the Piazza due Torri, we hit the bars. First we started off classy with a glass of wine at this little tiny bar with the most beautiful bartender, then we met up with Mal's friends Fabio and Ellen and needless to say, things got rowdy. A few shots, drinks, 3 cannucciatas (basically like fishbowls), and more shots...we were feeling no pain. It was at this point in the night that Fabio started calling me Katy Perry. "Katy Perry you must come to Italy more!!" or "Katy Perry!!! (singing) california girls we're undeniable" were just a few of the phrases Fabio yelled at me that night, he ended up creating a nickname for me the entire trip...I mean I didn't hate it!

At the bar we also got to become pretty good friends with the bartender who we called texas. Apparently he was born in texas and then moved to Italy when he was 4...now that I think about it Mal, he could have been making that entire story up. Anyway, it ended up being a very fun evening/early morning and a great way to start off my trip. The next few days we shopped, dined, and lived like the Italians. It was amazing. I had a blast meeting all Mal's new friends, they were so welcoming and tried their best to speak english with me. One of Mal's friends, Augusto was very good about speaking English with me, but he said "Katy Perry you MUST learn Italian" we'll see about that ;)

I stayed in Bologna for 5 days, 4 nights and was able to get to Venice on the Monday I was there. Although it was a little rainy, it was still amazing. It's incredible to see a city built entirely around water...so fab. After taking the train from Bologna to Venice we saw the sights and of course got lost. We ended up finding this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that was to die. After some wine and pasta we hit the streets again. We may or may not have split a bottle of wine on a bench by the Rialto Bridge..I guess you'll never know.

After seeing some sights we proceeded to get SO lost and really having to go to the bathroom we (Mal) decided it would be a good idea to walk into some swanky hotel and ask to use their bathroom, which did not happen. After the lies in Italian and then English, I pretty sure the front desk guy knew we weren't staying there..it got really awkward after that so Mal and I just left, still having to use the bathroom and still very much lost. I don't know how we did it but we managed to find a bathroom and make the train back to Bologna. THANK GOD. It was a long, yet very fun day.

Overall my time in Italy was incredible, not only was I seeing the country with a fluent speaker (yeah you are pretty much fluent Mal, get over it) but I got to see it with my best friend, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Mal was a great host and her friends were way too much fun. It was a great way to start off 2011...seeing Italy with your bestie...doesn't get much better than that :)

love ya Malsey xo

-Katy Perry

*So my friends are obsessed with saying Special Guest: ___insert guest's name__. One night that Katie was in Bologna with us, the Cops came and interrupted our gathering. So naturally the phrase "Special Guest: Police" became one of the many go-to phrases in our vernacular. Also: ACBC. (All Cops are Bad Cops) Learn it. Love it.

I turn 20 and a half tomorrow.

Mally

Texan Friend.
We Loved Him.
KT enjoying her first REAL Italian Gelato!
Neptune's Fountain in Bologna!
In VENICE!

I needed to add this picture. Lookin good Enrico.





Rain Boots: A necessity in Venice.
Those glasses don't have lenses. (Katie, Fabio and Me)
Panah (Alessandro) and Fa

A pensive Fa and modelesque Enrico

2 shirts buttoned together. Nice Augusto.

Me and Ellen

Me and Katie and our Texan friend at Caffetino.
Ellen, Me, Katie and Fabio enjoying our first cannucciata of the night.

Call me Mrs. Ron Weasley

**excuse my laziness in Blogging. I made this London trip November 12th-14th. Yes, I finally blogged. Please go back to your daily routine after rejoicing.

For those of you that don’t know, I would rather be “magic folk” than a “muggle”. The Harry Potter series consumed the entirety of my childhood and I truly believe that the wizarding world is out there (as much as I still believe Michael Jackson is still alive). I wait, longingly yet hopefully, every day that my Hogwarts acceptance letter will come FINALLY (via Owl post obviously).

That being said, a few weeks (or months, whatever you wanna call it) ago I took a trip to London to seek out my wizard husband (Ron, duh....Hermione you ain't got nothin' on me girl). Well…more realistically, I went to see the things that inspired JK Rowling to write the series that has prevented me from doing well in school. (She is my Queen.)

This is my first travel post (yippee). Anyway, before I get into the details of my ‘wicked’ weekend I would like to tell you that all my stories will be completely abridged. Meaning: I know you don’t really care about everything I tasted, my feelings at every point during my trip, everything I saw, touched, smelled, or whatever else. Ok, maybe you care but I honestly don’t care enough to write it all. AND I promise I will keep all adjectives to a minimum, unlike many study-abroad-college-aged-bloggers (that I stalk) who think it’s normal and cool to use words like “plethora” “wondrous” “breathtaking” and “picturesque” over and over and over again. Annoying.

So now you know how I really feel. And why I hate blogging…and adjectives. Don’t worry bloggers who are freaking out right now, I wasn’t thinking about anyone in particular. Just kidding…I definitely was.

Ok. London. Took a plastic Ryanair airplane that landed in bumbleville* England about an hour and a half outside of London.

So, you know, after casually (accidentally) leaving my passport in the duty free shop. We found a bus and made our way to the center of London.

I erroneously told my London friend that I was taking a bus from the airport to Victoria Station when really it was Victoria COACH Station. God, I can be such a Muggle sometimes. But thankfully it was freezing and pouring rain during the hour and a half I searched the streets of this foreign city. Oh London, you’re not very good at first impressions. Finally, I saw my friends. Luckily they were easy to spot: both decked out in North Face and holding Starbucks cups. How very Midwest-American of you.

Things I did (sorry I have a list fetish):

1. Went to dinner at a real LIFE English pub! Filled with real LIVE English people who were speaking in real LIVE English accents! When I ordered a butterbeer at this pub they snarled at me; I pouted.

2. Went clubbing near Piccadilly Circus. No Big Deal. Side note: I like clubs in London better than the ones in Bologna because 1) The volume of the music doesn’t destroy your ear drums 2) English 3) I think people actually take showers before going out!

3. Took a red-double decker bus home from the clubs. Obviously I found it completely necessary to scream “THIS IS SO LONDONY!” at every chance I got. How embarrassing.

4. Met up with my friend Mark from Madison. Walked the old streets of London. Drank warm beer with him(no it was not stale keystone light). Did a pub-crawl. My favorite part of the crawl was to see that every pub, at any time of the day is filled with people. But then again I would always be drinking with weather like in London…

5. Paid in Galleons.

6. Went to a Christmas market. I bought one thing. Of course I managed to purchase the most unnecessary (and most overpriced) product at the market: a string of cinnamon sticks. (insert redeeming quality of mine…)

7. Mastered the Patronus Charm. (Mine is a Lizard. Actually it's a Zebra...DiVA)

8. Got destroyed by the pound. Let me tell you: I absolutely hate English money. Number 1: it is very hard to differentiate the bills. Number 2: I’m sorry Queen but you are ugly, it is selfish of you to be on the bills. Obviously, Ron Weasley should be on there. Number 3: The exchange rate is deadly. England, can you please stop having a rockin’ economy so I can pay less than 10 dollars for my Starbucks?

9. Saw the regular Londony sights. I would tell you all about them, but you can read other boring-adjective-filled blogs that will explain all of those sights. Or you can just watch the Mary-Kate and Ashley movie Winning London. Up to you.

10.Saw Chicago on Broadway. In London. Weird that our midwestern selves chose that show. Whatever it was fabulous.

11. “Minded the Gap” on the tube. (if you’ve ever been…you’ll know what I’m talking about.)…see they don’t really speak English in England.

Numbers 5 and 7 are lies.

Anyways, my trip to London was a blast. I had so much fun speaking English again, although in some cases the English accent cannot qualify for real English. American is the only real language…but you already know that.

My regrets: I did not meet Ron Weasley. I did not get to Ollivander’s for my wand. I did not apparate to Hogwarts. And I did not cheat on Ron with Draco Malfoy. But I have the rest of my life to live and I’m sure I will be meeting you again, London!

Thank you to Dana, Emily and Mark (my fellow Badgers) for making my trip a success!

Oh also, I despise the word reckon’. If I hear it one more time I will smack someone in the face.

Always look LEFT when crossing the street in London,

Mals

…kidding, please look right. Cheers.

*I got yelled at for swearing on this blog. The *star* means “use your imagination for what could potentially be here”. You can let your mom wash your mouth out with soap this time.

Mark, Me and Friends (note: DJ Spreckles. Love Madison)
The Friends I met at the Club!
Me and Dana
How Londony? Tell me.
My friends at Platform 9 3/4. How much fun did we have there guys?! .....
Harry Potter!
They think they are so clever....
Emily and Dana
Proof I was in London.