House at the beach,

After I came back from Finland a lot has happened. I got to know more of the people I got to know first through Fredi. I met Fabian and Mickela for example. I met them a week ago in the piazza when like on all the Wednesdays the students gather up. I was telling them that we had planned to celebrate my birthday in Prato della Valle on the next Saturday as in a picnic. The original plan also included to go to a nearby city to party and return with one of the first trains. The plan expanded.

In the end at Prato there was a lot of people in the group that I didn't know and with them, in Fabian's car, we went to the near-by city, Mestre (just one before Venezia) to a social palace called Rivolta. I gathers up from a house which some people took over and turned it into a huge club of different sections. It was like a festival where people sell unordinary cd's for a little money and funny t-shirts, but it happens every weekend. There was three different halls of different kinds of music (Reggae, Minimal/Industrial and... I don't know what to call it.)

After the club, at 5-6am the car was directed to the beach. The original plan was to go to Lido to the beach to enjoy sunrise and swim. But the plan expanded as well and we ended up to a private area in Albarella, where Mickela's grandparent(s) have a beachhouse. When they told the plan it sounded very good and dreamish. In the end, as Mickela's wallet had got stolen that evening from Prato della Valle, we couldn't get in.. the whole island of Albarella is private and filled with houses. It is guarded day and night and you can only enter it within certain times. There was a small beach with small boats, so we landed there drinking wine and sleeping. It was like from a movie. Drunk young people talking, laughing and drinking on a beach while the sun is rising.



When we finally did enter, the house turned out to be something that I didn't imagine (based on Hollywood movies of course). It was a small apartment, which had a small garden in front and if you went out of the yard there was water. Not the beach but like a harbour for boats (without boats) with tall sidebuildings and you could just swim there. Milka and I walked around there and were certained that it was a place for only quite wealthy people. There was swimming pools and really glamorous houses.

I have no pictures to show you of any of these events and of the extraordinary looong evening anyway, because in the club at 4am, while dancing and having my purse with me all the times. My phone, camera, cards and some money got stolen. From my bag, which was on me all the times.

Even if I was highly sad about this loss of material, as I'm looking back after few days of "calming down", the evening was great. Like Milka said in the car to Fabian, this is already the greatest night so far and it's not even over yet. If nothing else, it is something to remember. On Sunday we got home at 5pm, so the long evening for us lasted... almost a day and as I looked back to it then, it felt at least like two split nights, not just one long one.

I was Miss Sunflower,

Life has happened between updates. Strange kind of life and also happy kind of life. Sharing comes along with the part that yesterday I was in - probably the best - party so far!


Wikipedia: Carnival is a festival season. It occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February or March. It typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations.

There was Erasmus people from all over... Pavia, Pisa, Trento... the coolest party is when you actually have something in common with everyone and you can talk to everyone - and everyone talks to you! So I did.











On Tuesday to Venice for the last day of Carnival! JAWOLL!

Fishmarketing,

First of all, Happy birthday, Sanna!!

Second of all, I went to the page of Fishmarket, the very close to my place, club. And took some photos to share with you:

The middle ones are from Sweden. The girl is here as an Au pair but the guy.. I can't recall.

Wardrobe lady (who is the nicest of all) and the guy Hanna fancies and is working there but I don't exactly know what he's doing there :)

Possibly the bold guy is the owner of Banale (at least he's always hanging out on the other side of the desk on Sunday's) and I've seen the other guy in Banale many times.

Week ago Wednesday!

The bouncer.


The workers.

The always on Wednesday's DJ!

Judith, Hanna and I.

They are photographing on all the Wednesday's when there's an Erasmus party, so there's more to be added to this folder: http://picasaweb.google.fi/milla.tulonen/Fishmarket

Good stuff,

So much stuff has happened. This time, I will refuse to go to any bad detail and just stick to the good stuff... after all, it is Christmas!

- It is less than a week when my parents and brother come here! I've seen visions of what will happen when they drive through that gate or when they call me that they're here. But in the end I don't know what will happen... all I know that just thinking about it makes the corners of my mouth step up :)

- The concert went well! Check on the videos and just think to yourself how it was. I want to remind you that this is a total amateur choir (together with italians and foreigners), where people don't go on serious basis. I belong to the sopranos and am on the back row, so you can't see me unfortunately. Here's few videos of the choir acts:



[Hit the road Jack - coming as I've got it downloaded (takes a lot of time)]

Few of instrumental acts:

[Amelie - coming soon]

And the famous poem:

[Suomi - coming soon]

- On Thursday, I was at Eeva's place for a get-together. She and her flatmate had arranged a real nice evening with typical foods. Eeva had made eggbutter (munavoi) and toasted some pane di segale (local version of rye bread). Her roommate made this reeally good dip for cream crackers. There was a full things of garlic - you know one of those whole ones with like ten cloves of garlic! I smelled so bad even on the next day, but it was just deadly good!

- Yesterday it snowed!! I was out until about 3:30 in the morning. Hanna left the club before me and she sent me a messages saying that I should go out, because it's snowing. Of course I ran out and danced around in front of the building, in the really wet, but slow and fluffy snowfall. Wow. When I biked home, I took pictures with my mobilephone like mad and when I got home, I spent another half an hour outside taking pictures. Most of them didn't turn out so wonderful due to my condition, but I think you can get the idea of them.



- I just packed and sent some Christmas gifts. Even though I miss home and I miss people at home, I think spending Christmas here will be a great spice and exception on routine. Traditions are healthy and lovely to have, to keep life on track, but spice on everyday is good sometimes too! After all, Christmas has kind of lost its spell on me. This year, at least, it has a better chance to be something else. Bring the spell back. It has already started better. People here don't put the rush into Christmas. They seem to enjoy getting Christmas and making a special meal. It's a calm and satisfying holiday... at least it looks like it here. In Finland, there's stories from the Christmas time about adult men hitting each other on the parking lot, because the other one took it just in front of the other ;) (I'm sure there's something like that in here too.)

- I've also got some Christmas cards already!



And I ordered this book of the stories of the Moominvalley in italian, because I want to civilize my flatmates on this before Christmas!

- Here's also some random pictures I gathered up for you that haven't been seen here yet:

Hanna and I went sometime in November to Venezia and went around the untouristic sides. We found a funny supermarket arrangement on our way and much more interesting stuff.

On the same week there was the first Baccarata in Venezia. Going to small pubs and drinking alot concerned.

Me (and my old hair) and Gege.

I went to the exhibition of the architect Kengo Kuma which was in the historical Palazzo della Ragione, Padova. I went with another finnish girl, Eeva.

Piazza delle Erbe from up up up of the balcony of palazzo della Ragione.

A map I drew for the Festa di Nordica in Banale!

Nina and I made a calendar for Benjamin's birthday.

A view from the window in front of my desk one evening.

This kind of card arrangements are around the center of the city. Lovely.

I made a finnish/scandinavian dinner for my flatmates. Meatballs, potatoes, cream sauce and lingonberry jam. They especially liked the combination of jam and meatballs :)

Me in my pyjama (merino wool 100%).

Our room.

Hanna and I went to the Christmas market this weekend.

IKEA's Santa Lucia thingie on Saturday :)

Scandinavian dinner,

Silje (Norway), I (Finland) and Charlotte (Sweden) arranged a Scandinavian dinner for people in Nievo and few others. We served:

Antipasti: Dark bread with philadelphia, spring onions, cold smoked salmon and dill.
Main course: Potatoes with chive (ruohosipuli), cod (turska) with tomatoes, leek (purjo), spring onions, pepper, cream, milk, emmental-cheese.
Dessert: Cinnamon rolls.
Drinks: German beer, white wine and water.

We started preparing at 12am in the morning and continued until the beginning of the dinner at 9pm. But it was so worth it! The people loved our food and I'm still hyper of it being so good and so homey. YAM!

The main makers + Eeva who came to help!

<3