Buona Pasqua a tutti!

Saluti da Perugia!

It's Easter Saturday afternoon and two days without internet acccess stretch before us, so this will be the last update for a few days at least. The sun is still beaming down and the Corso is bustling with people, locals and tourists alike, who are out enjoying the food stalls and outdoor cafes. We were going to go to Assisi this afternoon, but that plan was scuppered by incorrect information given to me regarding bus times at the tourist office. Oh well, best laid plans often go pear-shaped. We'll just have to go on Monday, so long as the beautiful weather holds.

Since our arrival in Perugia, we have all begun to become familiar with the centro storico. Some have discovered the delicacies of the food stalls, while others have tested out various cafes and have already found their favourite one. Tomorrow we'll venture into the Cathedral to go to Easter Sunday mass, but otherwise it will be a day to rest and explore Perugia a little more.

University classes begin on Tuesday due to the Easter break. It was all going far too smoothly on Friday when we arrived at Palazzo Gallenga for the entrance tests. Besides Michelle, all of the others have ended up in the same class together. While there's safety in numbers, hopefully English will be at a minimum except during the breaks! Our smooth run ended, however, at the Secretary's Office when we went to sort out the student cards. Unbeknownst to me, the Italians had decided to change the law regarding the need to get study visas - so of course, we didn't have them. After a bit of drama (ie mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa), some more pleading, hand wringing, stringing out a bit of a sob story about how we had come all the way from Australia and some more grovelling, the problem was swiftly solved by the head of the enrolment office declaring that everyone was, in actual fact, an Italian citizen merely resident overseas. A bit of an adjustment on the enrolment forms and presto! It was all sorted out. With the newly acquired student cards and two very different timetables despite it being for the same class (no doubt a mystery which will be solved on Tuesday), we headed off to the uni bar for a coffee and snack to recover from our ordeal.

Having accomplished the somewhat daunting task of enrolling at uni, the next mission was to visit the laundromat. Again, this wasn't entirely without drama. The big washing machine used by Nick, Luke, Sharon and Rebecca managed to flood everywhere, while the one used by Gloria and Dee-Arna inexplicably switched itself off mid-cycle. With the prospect of not being able to rescue their clothes, urgent phone calls were made. After three attempts, the man finally came and it was all sorted out. Ah, small challenges make life interesting here!

Now that we are acclimatising a little more, here's a list of everyone's main impressions about our overseas visit so far:

Rebecca liked the street sellers at the Trevi Fountain, but thought it was strange that when she went to the effort of speaking Italian, people would reply in English. Or maybe, the girl to whom she was speaking just thought she was weird because she said that she liked her shoes!

Rachel liked the Nike shop in Rome but lamented how expensive it was. Not to be put off, she's enjoying the different shopping experiences. No surprise there though - she is Rocco's sister after all.

Sharon enjoyed showing everyone 'her' city of Pompei, especially her design ideas for interior decoration. Besides that, her hyperventilating at the designer stores in the Via Condotti in Rome was quite memorable.

Jennifer thought it was rather funny to witness a French mass happening on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Talk about confusing!

Nick and Luke have been rather taken with the fast cars and the lack of road rules. They've also decided that they want A4-sized P plates for their cars back home, preferably drawn using a thick texta. They are also still laughing about the Indian accents of the street vendors at the Trevi Fountain, and at the Canadian tourist who was extremely excited to buy a big bottle of mineral water at Pompei.

Gloria has discovered the joys of drinking coffee in a BIG way. Having recovered from her washing machine drama (during which we all admired the colourful array of socks and underwear visible in the machine), she decided that her favourite place so far has been St Peter's.

Anastasia liked the Colosseum and the dressed up gladiators posing for photos. She was also very impressed to discover the Church of Sant'Anastasia in Rome.

Lori likes the views from different points around Perugia. Che bella!

Dee-Arna feels like she is back home. She's been busy rediscovering her favourite shops and cafes, and no doubt will take some time to enjoy soaking up the sun on the steps of the Cathedral.

Have a wonderful Easter!