Abetone Adventures

Italy 2012

HUF Spring 2012

Tuesday, 8th February – Abetone

5:15 am

Well, I woke up this morning around five fifteen, because I had set my alarm in order to wake up and shower before we left for our three day ski trip in the Italian Alps. I woke up, shut off my alarm, went back to sleep, luckily woke up fifteen minutes later, showered, and then went back to bed.

6:45 am

About six fortyish I got back out of bed, (we were supposed to leave at 7) and finished packing, ate breakfast, and got ready to leave (brushed my teeth and went to the bathroom).  A couple minutes after seven I ran out to try and get my bag on the shuttle down to the bus, but it was full. I ended up riding with Lynn, Jordan and Kyle down in Kyle’s car and it worked out just fine. I was going to ride with William on the way up, but Lynn sat with him instead. So I sat in the back seat and slept most of the way. We stopped for the bathroom and to get cappuccinos and pastries about half way from Florence to Abetone. I went to the bathroom (twice), had two sips of Will’s hot chocolate and a bite of Kyle’s pastry. Then we loaded back up the bus and started up the mountain. The roads were pretty bad and there were a few times when I wasn’t sure the bus was going to be able to make it up. But we did finally make it to our hotel. The quick run from the bus to the hotel is the only time I’ve spent outside so far. The cold here is painful; it’s a bitter cold that pierces right through me and starts freezing me from the inside out. My fingers are always cold and white. Not much fun. So I’m hanging out inside the hotel as much as possible on this little excursion. 

10:00 am

We arrived to the hotel, Excelsior, grabbed our bags off the bus and piled in to the lobby. There we got our keys, room assignments, and found out who we would be living with the next couple days. Luckily, I get to be with one of my good friends (and roommates from the Villa) Katie. Our room is little, with one full-sized bed, an ancient chair, two tiny night stands, and a closet thing. Our bathroom is about the size of our bedroom, it’s got a table and a chair, the toilet, the little poop cleaner-toilet-looking-thing, a sink with a mirror above it, and a bathtub. Although we’re inside and there is a small heater in our room, it’s still about 60 degrees. Apparently they turn the radiators off throughout the day and on at night. (However, it’s night and it’s still pretty chilly in here.)  

10:30 am

Everyone who was skiing met and headed out to get their equipment. Those who were not staying headed out to check out the shops, bars, and cafés. I, however, decided to sit it out. I didn’t bring any waterproof boots or anything. Plus, the cold is just awful. I miss Colorado cold. So I read some of the notebook, and then just as I was falling asleep the girls who had gone out were back. We grabbed our sack lunches and went down to the TeaRoom where we hung out for the next three plus hours. We ate and talked and just relaxed while we watched the snow fall - I will give them that, the snow is very pretty. But the wind has been howling all day long!!! And the drifts are HUGE. 

3:15 pm

About three we headed back to our rooms to take naps. Which we did. I slept for about forty minutes but I didn’t want to sleep too much. So I woke up and read some more and then worked on my computer. Maggie left the room about five, and about five-thirty I got up and went downstairs to see if there was anyone hanging out in the TeaRoom or the other lounge. Found a group that I sat and talked with for an hour or so. About 6:30 I went upstairs to get ready for dinner. 

7:30 pm

For dinner we had lasagna, and then some kind of pork with melted cheese on top. After that we had some french fries, and then we had a fruity, pastry, cake thing for dessert.  Afterwards we brought in the chefs to thank them, and after we applauded them, they wanted us to sing for them. So we sang a song for them, and at least one of them cried. It was touching.

8:30 pm  

About 8:30 we met for a devotional. We talked briefly, and sang quite a few songs. It was a lot of fun. After that people broke off and played games. A few girls went out to get some drinks, but pretty much everyone else played games. I watched Kyle and Jim play Kyle and William in dominos. Then I played some nertz with a few of the girls and Possey. 

12:00 

About curfew I headed up to my room where I hung out with Katie and Jenna for a while. Then I went to sleep and slept very well. 

Wednesday, 9th February  

9:15 am

Katie woke me up at 9:15 so we could go down and get breakfast before they put it up. We had pastries and fruit. 

10:00 am

I took a bubble bath. It was an interesting experience.  My first European bubble bath.. our hotel is a little old, but the heat was still pretty good. However, as the water was filling up in the tub I noticed a rather green/brown tint to it. I put in some bubble to try and hide the color so I could relax and enjoy it. I did enjoy it. I played some music and I read my book, The Notebook, it was just what I needed. 

11:00 am 

After my bath I got ready and Katie and I went out in search of boots for me. I ended up finding some cute, warm, waterproof boots for 35 euro, and then an adorable hat for 5 euro. I was happy about it :)

12:30 pm

We met up with a group of girls, and Jordan, for lunch. We went to get pizza at a café. It was a little place that Brooke had found and thought was the greatest thing. They ran out of cheese pizza and apparently weren’t making more, so I got margarita pizza. It wasn’t very good though, and I was kind of disappointed because I spent about 7 dollars on that and a sprite. I ate as much of it as I could, but it wasn’t very filling. After we were done eating we walked around and looked at the little shops, then headed back to the hotel to warm up.

2:00 pm

At two we met with (most of) the group for a group picture. I found out that William had taken quite a spill, and broke his stick and his goggles and injured his nose. He was okay, but had a pretty bad headache. We took pictures and hung out for a little bit, then headed back to the hotel. 

3:00 pm

From about three until five we hung out in the TeaRoom. We talked and relaxed, I edited some pictures and ate crackers, while William and Katie watched. Amanda and Maggie were in there with us too. At five we went to get ready to go find something for a snack. 

5:00 pm

We went to a little “dance” bar. There was music playing quietly in the background, but no one was dancing. I got some chocolate cake which also wasn’t really that great, but it was kind of tasty. We stayed there until almost 7 o’clock. We basically just sat there and talked; it was Kyle, Katie, Maggie, Amanda, William, and me. It was a pretty good group. 

7:22 pm

Dinner time. Tonight we had spaghetti, turkey, beef with lemon dressing (which I actually kind of enjoyed, shocking), salad, bread, and for dessert... GELATO! It was funny, I was talking to Maggie and saying how I really wanted some Gelato, and out they come with trays of Gelato. AND I got chocolate which was spectacular because at first all they had was vanilla and peach.  

9:00 pm  

After dinner we headed to the lounge where the internet is supposed to be. Well, unfortunately they had decided to shut it off. Which meant no talking to my mommy :( I seriously wanted to cry. It was working earlier today so why they turned it off is beyond me. But I edited pictures and watched the guys play dominos. 

11:45 

Bed time. :)