I confess, I'm procrastinating from studying. But, I realised I haven't written here for a while and the reason was sort of that I haven't been anywhere for a while. But, not going on any nice trips doesn't mean I haven't "done" anything. Every day here is quite an adventure, and there have been lots of nice springtime happenings.

Since I've started walking, a lot, in Udine, I have been delighted to come across many things I hadn't previously discovered. Just little things, but things which make me fall in love with this city all over again.  Maybe I'm over-romanticising, and quite possibly it's just because I'm feeling nostalgic prior to the event of actually leaving, but that's how it is - got to make the most of every last second from this point on.

11th April - Parco del Cormor
One day I had this crazy idea to walk from my house (by the station) to the out-of-town shopping mall. Actually it's only about 8km and most of the way was a lovely walk (bar the bits where there is literally NO provision for pedestrians and some rather big roads to negotiate!). Hot, sunny day and it was nice to see all the lizards back out! 

Anyway, just near the mall is this wonderful park, which I had never been to before! I often complain about the lack of nice parks in Italy, spoiled as we are in England, so discovering this natural reserve made me very happy indeed: lots of people, but an overall sense of peace, calm and nature. 

25th April - Liberation Day Bank Holiday: Far East Film Festival
A random Thursday day off was the perfect opportunity to see something of the Far East Film Festival which takes place in Udine every year. This was the 15th edition. I never made it to anything last year or the year before, so I was very pleased to manage to this year. A real tribute to the cinematic enterprise of all the nations of the Far East.
This was also a brilliant day on several counts. One of my housemates made a delicious lunch (we don't usually eat together because of such different timetables but all 3 of us sat down and had lunch together which was super nice).   Then we went to Piazza San Giacomo to see the Cosplay competition. Now weatherwise, we couldn't have asked for more for a bank holiday: glorious sunshine, hot - to the extent that standing in the square we were all sweltering (and in my case, catching the sun something chronic!). A fun event of costumes and performance mixed together - this was the winning costume.

Rita and I then enjoyed the sunshine some more by drinking a few spritz - no spritz in this picture but it's my favourite from the day! 

In the evening we went to watch a Japanese film called "Girls for Keeps". Given that the FEFF is a huge event, all the films are projected in the Teatro Giovanni da Udine. This was another first for me - I've been meaning to go to the theatre pretty much since I moved to Udine, but had never found the opportunity. Here it was! Not the best picture, but gives the idea. The film was great actually - really interesting to see the ways in which life is pretty standard whichever country you're in. The film followed four women in their 30s (or nearly) and had some rather poignant points.

28th April - Clauiano, Provincia di Udine
On Sunday I was able to meet up with some friends that I haven't seen nearly enough of recently, and they took me to this little village near Udine. It's supposedly one of the "most beautiful villages in Italy". It was nice, well-kept etc, but nothing majorly exciting to be honest. Anyway I enjoyed the company, and again the sunshine, and also a stunning view at one point with magnificent clouds:

30th April - The day before the bank holiday
As the 1st May is also a bank holiday, we had Wednesday off last week (having had Thursday the week before!). On Tuesday night, after returning from work, my housemate and I went for a few drinks at the bar near our house. I used to go there a lot with Sean as basically it's in a perfect location - right between work and home, and easy to drop into on the way back for a post-work wind-down  Of course since Sean left I haven't exactly wanted to go there on my own, though I have missed going! So I suggested it to Rita and we popped down - nice evening, though perhaps beer then vodka wasn't the best mix (I'm not as young as I was!).  Made a new friend, too

1st May - Bank Holiday
Having gallivanted the week before on day off, today I stayed home to study almost all day. Boring boring. I'm so far behind with all the books I have to read though it's untrue. The problem being that they are going to be put into storage in just over a month, and then I won't have opportunity to continue until Sept, by which point it's basically too late. So I'm a bit stressed on that front. But reading and making notes is very slow going, especially when I can only grab a few minutes here and there to make progress as there are quite frankly so many other things to do!
As a reward for having managed to get on quite well, I went to the cinema in the evening. I saw a film called "Viaggio Sola" which had an actor and actress who are usually in the films by my favourite director. Really enjoyed it, even if it was quite an emotionally-charged film!! 

4th May - Palazzo Contemporaneo, Udine
On 25th April we popped in briefly to have a look at this amazing space in Udine which is basically an ex-department store which has been transformed into a contemporary art space. Lots of different works - expressive, communicative, community-focused. The deparment store was called UPIM and the acronym becomes "Udine Prova a Immaginarti Migliore" (more or less: Udine, try and imagine yourself better). I've never seen a project quite like it, and yeah, basically wanted to go back and have a better look, so yesterday I took that opportunity. It's only a temporary thing and is closing next week, so it was yesterday or never. 

In the evening, I returned to the Cinema Centrale and saw "Night train to Lisbon". I haven't read the book, so I can't comment (have heard mixed reviews) but I did enjoy the film. Quite slow-paced overall, but thought-provoking and lots of poignant ideas....

A few parting shots of my fave city (these are from March actually, but still). 
I know there are perhaps more exciting things on the horizon, but I'm feeling extremely sentimental about my current location at the moment. Three years is a long time for me to have stayed in one place, and it's been very formative in many ways - obviously to an immeasurable degree career wise - it's been my absolute foundation. But also in many other ways. So, just trying to make the most...