I added a country to my travelling experience... LITHUANIA !!!!
It was really an awesome travel =)

First, I went to Vilnius with my friend Chiara

and we met Cristina, a friend of her who is studying Russian in Erasmus, and her friend Vittoria

me and Cristina:

and most of all... I met Ginte :D:D:D

It was such a great emotion to see her after a year *_*

She was kind and beautiful as always. She told me now she studies for a master in something about finance, and works in a bank in Kaunas... but she seems to manage to be perfect even between all these business ! The Uberfrau XD

Vilnius is really a nice city. While Tallinn is rich in Medieval and Riga in art noveau buildings; Vilnius has a lot of baroque. And, of course, the Orthodox Churches, since here as in the other Baltic countries, the years of Russian domination left their trace in the landscape as in the population

The most expensive thing I bought in Vilnius, my matrioshka Svetlana : isn't it beautiful? :P

In 1991, the Baltic countries decided to make a human chain to ask for indipendence. This human chain went from Tallinn to Vilnius ! (I guess it's around 600 km). In the point where this chain finished, in the Cathedral square, there is written "Stebukas" which means "Miracle". You have to make a wish there !!!

Here's me, Chiara and Cristina playing Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania=P

Me near our hostel (Old town hostel... but we advice you to choose AAA, which we tried the last day and is near to the station and the old town), under the last defence wall remained

During the last day in Vilnius, Cristina brought us to see her university, that is in the center and very beautiful. This is the university Church:

After 3 beautiful days in Vilnius, Chiara and I had to say bye to Ginte, Cristina and Vittoria and their friends  and take a sovietic train to Klaipeda XD that is in the north-west, on the sea.

The sovietic train was a real experience... we also got a fine 'cause we took the ticket for students, but we don't study in Lithuania=P the babushkas on the train spoke only russian and lithuanian, so it was a tragicomic experience XDD  but than the train was so beautiful (maybe Chiara doesn't agree XD) 'cause it was cold and in the snow... such a sovietic experience=P

Ieva and Gedas came to take us at the station. I was so happy to see them again, as for Ginte

This is Gedas, Chiara, Ieva and me:

Klaipeda is a beautiful city... i think the third biggest in Lithuania, after Vilnius that has something like 500.000 people, and Kaunas... Klaipeda has about 200.000. And it had both German and Russian domination, which are visible everywhere in the architecture.

Gedas said that when the German streets will be... "game over" XD they will rebuild them.

We kidding at the harbour:

Ieva, Chiara, me and Ieva's best friend, who lives with her (in Lithuania, and in all the countries i visited so far XD it's not so easy as here to find 20 years old people that live with their parents=P)

a boy greeting the people who leaves or come by ship:

Hitler held a speech on this balcony. The statue is for a woman who rebelled to him, as i understood =P

here Chiara and I are under a monument that proclaims Lithuania's indipendence

with the beautiful ship that is a symbol of Klaipeda

One evening, Gedas drove us to Palanga: he explained us that it is a city full of life in summer (my guides says there are also street artists with monkeys in that period=P), on the sea. But when we went there it was desert, dark and cold... my paradise

Palanga's cathedral:

But because of the cold, we also stayed a lot outdoor XD here there are cepelinai, the lithuanian typical food (even if my guide says they eat a lot of soups and stuff with blood XDDD)

soup with vegetables, spices and sour cream (they put sour cream and garlic EVERYWHERE) is another thing they eat often: (we ate like Hobbits there: the first breakfast, the second breakfast, the third breakfast, etc... XDDD)

 

the third typical food... bread and - guess what - garlic sauce ! (they eat pizza with ketchup and garlic sauce)

and this is a typical drink that got us drunk...

I drank really too much of it and i started writing in msn to Chiara's almost boyfriend, that he was very cute XDDDD

the table that night...

Gedas:

and the morning after  =P :

Ieva's house:

another drink i ADORED is russian, and it' kvass, the drink made with bread. It has almost no alcohol and it's very sweet... i love it sooo much

Ieva, me and Chiara (as Maria Chiara says... class isn't water XD la classe non è acqua)

and with Gedas:

Ieva's awesome slippers:

Metal Ieva

Ieva and her friend just back from Turku, Finland, where i asked the Erasmus and where Chiara will go in december:

Talking about shopping... it was a paradise for the low prices, but i tried to rexist =P I "just" bought a pair of shoes and this beautiful bag !!! Isn't it beautiful? Guess what... it's italian XD from Florence; but it was 30 euros instead of 50 (or maybe 70) and what's more it's one of the best bag i ever had=P

I will finish my report with some pics of cold and snow =)

Sovietic cars in Palanga

In Lithuania people have a nose like this, so Chiara and I want to take surgery XD

My souvenir... I wanted something in cyrillic XDD

It was really a great journey. I was soooo happy to see again my friends !!! And i was also happy to know Cristina and Vittoria. I really hope, as i promised my friends, to come back in the Baltic Countries also in the good season    THANX TO ALL MY FRIENDS !!! And thanx to my travel mate Chiara ;) who also took the best of the pics i posted !

I want to conclude my report saying that on the 19 of november I went to see in Milan one of my fave bands - Sonata Arctica

playing with the netherlandese band Epica

It happened there what I already expected : I fell in love with Mark from Epica

I saw him before the gig and screamed "Mark" but, instead of getting angry cause i make his presence notice, he said hello to all of us who were waiting for the gates to open... and after the gig Chiara and I asked him a pic... the menager where calling him to go but he was so nice, and stayed with us, and when i said "sorry Mark " he replied putting his arm on my shoulders. But the damn' batteries of Chiara's photo camera were low XDDD so i don't have a pic with him... which means... I will have to go to see the band in Bologna on february 13 XDDDD

Luckily, i managed to take a pic with Henkka, the keyboard player from Sonata Arctica =) here with my friends Marta and Giorbit

and another pic with Tommy Portimo ( i took first in june 2006) , the drummer !!! I love him from about 8 years XDDDD he's so cuteeeee ! Think, he was born in 1981 and he was already married when he had my age X_X he's so tender !

and now i have a fringe, as every woman in Lithuania =P

I will finally suggest you one BEAUTIFUL video from Epica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLWrOFN5ySk

and one from Sonata Arctica

http://www.youtube.com/v/G1zkXdqcajk

they worth being watched and listened, believe me

Cheers and c ya at the next report!

Comments are very welcome... i don't receive many on this blog, and i'd like so much to know if someone appreciates my reports XD

Kisses

We finally booked !!! Me and my friend Chiara are going to LITHUANIA from november 9 til november 16 !

I am so happy ! I really cannot wait to meet again my dear friends Ginte, Ieva and Gedas. It seems incredible i don't see them since december... it's ten months !!!  Even if we spent together a short time of our lives, this time was so intense that they're among the best friends i ever had. And the thought of seeing them again is so exciting !

GINTE is a real princess, it's the perfection, she's so beautiful and so good that you cannot even envy her, you can only love her

One of the things i love of IEVA is that i didn't gain her friendship immediately... i mean usually i get along soon with people but it's difficult to develop a good friendship for me. With Ieva it was the opposite, it was a challenge to gain her heart and i am so proud i could manage her to trust me eventually

GEDAS is a true gentleman (when he doesn't drink too much ;) always funny and ready to help, he's really a special guy.

If these guys are the example of how people are in Lithuania, I think i cannot expect anything but a wonderful time there (and alcholol is sooo cheap, they promised ) 

I would like to leave also for a lot of other countries and meeting a lot of other people again but there's a time for evertything. I hope to realize these dreams from time to time.

In the meantime... Ginte, Ieva, Gedas, wait for me =)

p.s. On monday 15 I am turning 22