if you´re good to mama, mama´s good to you...

we are here in muran...and can proudly say that last night we experienced the true italian culture.

We got off the train from venice at about 5 o clock...and we werent able to get a hold of the lady we are staying with...so we decided to just head into town and find somewhere to eat and chill out for a while and hope that she picked up her phone later. (we had no idea where she lived...)

So, we walk for about a half hour in the total hottness of italy with our packs on and decide to eat at the first place we see...becuase there is not much around and we cant be too picky...so the first place we see actually says they have a 'menu touristico' so we go head to the patio so we dont have to pay to sit inside. When we round the corner onto the loud patio full of locals (mostly 50 year old men drinking countless glasses of vino and playing cards...), the place goes dead silent and all eyes are on the bedraggled looking, sweaty, beckpacking girls. The most akward experience to date...so we proudly march over to a table a plop down to order.

everyone is still staring...and they are also talking about us becuase we keep hearing the word 'americana'. All the old men are gesturing at us and smiling. (we have discovered that all italian men, no matter how old they get, ever think they have out-aged the label of italian stalion, and therefore think they are flattering you by staring you down....someone should let them know this is a myth.)

So, we try to order...forgetting we are in italy...land of 'dont eat dinner till 8pm'. So we order coffee and decide to sit there till dinner is served...and we made a pact that no matter how many more creepy men, old or young, arrive, we would not leave till we ate!!! we would not let their stares and conversation kick us out of there till we had dinner!! No matter how many of the brothers continued to trickle in in all of their slicked-hair glory...we would not exit until mama showed up to cook us some pasta!!! So we sat...and tried to keep a constant flow of conversation going so that none of the men could find an opening to talk to us...which they were trying to do.

welcome to italy!!!

Finally mama did show up...speaking no english. (we have discovered that even if a place has a tourist menu...it doesnt mean that the poeple will understand you when you order from it. lol.) The woman cooks a mean plate of spagetti though...and we pretty much love mama becuase she was a female and kept the men in line. Sitting there for 4 hours was quite the cultural lesson. It was so funny to watch the men yell at the woman to bring them this, bring them that...and watch the woman bring them nothing. Then watch the men go back to the card game...drink some more...and then yell again. Eventually shed come back out and bring them what they were yelling for. After she took her sweet time.

We did finally get a hold of marta (the woman we are staying with) and she took us to her house...after buying us a scoop of gelatto as a welcome to murano. We love it here...and are enjoying a couple days of chilling out in a little italian at the base of the white mountains (??? i think thats what theyre called) and then we heard to pisa.

Venice was amazing...i was glad to see it, but it was good we were only there for a day. It was so touristy!!! We really didnt feel like we were in italy. But the architecture is amazing...and the city is beautiful...much bigger than i thought at a grand total of 118 islands. Out stay at the hilton was awesome...we had a room with a view...and a free shuttle boat so we didnt have to take the dirty vaporetti (water bus) much. Not that the vaporetti werent an experience...on our forst ride we got to see someone getting arrested, and try to escape from the police. It was pretty exciting. lol.

anyways thats all for now!! love you!!