I have a formula… pretty complex…
Renting a car in Italy + Ferrari Factory + Bungee jumping 500 ft. = Amazing
Here she is. Tallest bridge bungee in the world.
So, this past weekend I did a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have done, for example driving a car across Italy, using the car as a hostel and then jumping off a bridge, but all of these things turned out to create an incredible experience. I started the weekend early Saturday morning at the Ferrara train station, tired, nervous and tired. The plan: Go to Bologna, rent a car and head west. Sound familiar? I don’t know.. Anyways, the plan worked and actually renting a car was maybe too easy. My two friends, Mathilde and Caitlin, and I headed out on our destination once our sweet, beautiful blue Peugot came around the corner (We named him Aslan). Anyways, they had planned a surprise for me, which turned out to be exactly what I wanted. The surprise was to drive to the city of Maranello, the city of FERRARI, where it was created and where the factory is still to this day. We toured the Museum and eat a pizza and then embarked on our next “to do,” which was find a place to stay or I guess find a place where we can sleep in our car. We eventually found that place in the city of Cossato, a small city by our jump site.
Next day: After a full week of talking about jumping Sunday was here… and I was very, very nervous, but I knew 100% that I would do it. Basically before the jump we hung out, touring the town of Veglio and resting. 2 o’clock: We arrive at the jumping point and everything kind of hits me… I haven’t ever had that many butterflies in my stomach. The girls go first because they are doing a tandem jump, then my solo jump and then their solos. They jump and after that all nervousness went out the window and all that was in front of me was a 500 ft jump with 5 seconds of free fall at about 75 mph… It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. I climbed to top of the stairs, they said “UNO, DUE, TRE, BUNGEE” and just like that, I was falling to the earth. SWAN DIVE! There is nothing like plummeting to the ground, thinking “Man, the ground is coming really fast” and all you can do is scream with excitement. I have never experienced so much adrenaline in my body. I mean I benched pressed 2 cars afterwards… Pretty incredible, huh? Don’t worry I have a dvd and will be uploading the video soon. We arrived in Bologna alive on Sunday around 7:30 pm not even 48 hours later. We turned the car in and headed back to Ferrara… Basically a great weekend. The main goal of the trip was to bungee and along the way, I witnessed the beautiful Italian countryside, I learned how to drive in Italy (actually pretty easy), Ferrari! and I discovered the thrill of BUNGEE!
Mathilde and I with Aslan in front of Ferrari! 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Other things: FYI for people in Italy or visiting soon. Driving here is really nice. It is actually harder not to find the city you need to go to because there are so many signs. We didn’t get lost once. Sounds strange, but true. I am starting to realize how much I am going to miss Ferrara after the end of this program. There is something about waking up every morning, with a 20 minute bike ride ahead of you. A bike ride that consists of passing amazing houses, beautiful countryside, ancient walls and a CASTLE. The past two days have consisted of rain, the first real rain I have experienced in the two months of being here. Among being fortunate for being in Italy, travelling, and maybe learning, I feel pretty fortunate for the weather. But bring on the cold!
Cool things coming up for me… This weekend I am going to Florence, to meet up with Connor Martin again for HALLOWEEN! And, on Sunday I am going to an AC Milan v. Napoli game. Let’s be honest, soccer is the reason why I am in this country, so I am a little excited to go to this game. The Napoli fans have been on a terror lately though, for example breaking stuff in airports and train stations… so I am a little worried.
Ciao tutti
