spaghetti rehab.: 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