Tomorrow Is Another Day...

Happenings

* I think at some point over Spring Break, the aliens came and replaced my kids with slightly upgraded versions.  I don't know if it was that we all just needed a nice break from each other or if all that I have been trying to teach them finally clicked in their little brains, but work this week has been--dare I say it?--PLEASANT!

* As I got off of the plane all by myself in Seattle on Sunday, I was thinking to myself, rather morosely, how sad it was that I wasn't getting off of the plane in Rome with Colby like I was on the same day last year.  Then as soon as I got home, I heard about the tragic earthquake in Italy, and now reports are coming in that deaths have risen above two hundred.  I'm absolutely heartbroken for the residents of L'Aquila, and hope that they are able to pick up the pieces and recover from this disaster.

* I can't believe it, but somehow, I have managed to make it 42 days without Facebook or Twitter, and have only 3 more days to go until I can get back involved with internet society!  It was kind of hilarious how every time I would meet up with a friend while I was back in Louisiana, the conversation would inevitably turn to my absence from Facebook within five minutes.  I thought maybe this 46 day fast would help break my addiction, unfortunately that doesn't seem to be case as all I can think about is the joyous feeling I will get when I am logging on again for the first time.  You know, so I can see who wrote on my wall.  And added pictures.  And got divorced or married over the past month and a half.  And then log off only to log on again 10 minutes later.  God.  Facebook is worse than nicotine and I have a carton a day habit.

* In happier--or at least somewhat less superficial--news, Colby is scheduled to come home in less than two weeks!  He's been gone since mid-March, so it hasn't been a terribly long time as compared to some of our separations, but I'm looking forward to having him back nonetheless.  Particularly because I'll have someone else with whom to share the dog poo load.  And that right there is what marriage is all about.  That and having someone else there to get your juice when you just don't want to get up off of the couch.

* I'm going to see Britney Spears tomorrow at the Tacoma Dome!  The show doesn't start until 8:00 with the Pussycat Dolls opening (Yes, I love them too.  Shut your Judgey Judgerson face and loosen up my buttons, babe.) and then Britney probably coming on some time around 10.  I am crazy super excited about the show, and waaaaaay less excited about waking up at 5 o'clock the next morning.  But I'm bringing one of my most fun friends and I feel preeeeetty sure it's all gonna be worth it.  It's Britney, Bitch!

* Sigh.  It pains me to admit it, but I am firmly planted in the Team Adam Lambert camp after last night's American Idol performance.  These kids are all just rank amateurs and then Adam comes on stage and blows them out of the water on a weekly basis.  I was skeptical of him during auditions, reached my pinnacle of Adam-hate on country night with that nightmare inducing version of Ring of Fire, and last night's Mad World literally brought tears to my eyes.  I still think he's better suited to a Broadway stage than the pop world, but DAMN, that boy can sing.

* Yesterday, I ran for 20 minutes straight, then after a 2 minute walking break I made it another 10 minutes of running without dying in the middle of the street.  I only started running regularly again last Sunday and then took an extended break (Thursday through Monday), so I am super pumped with the progress I've already made.  It's never been this easy for me to get back into the swing of running after many months away from it, and I'm riding the endorphin wave so high that I am actually considering training for a half marathon this summer. (Insert laugh track here.)

Restless

You like how I patted myself on the back there for blogging more frequently, then promptly fell off the radar for the rest of the week?  Yeah, that was great.  I've been consciously making the decision not to blog, because honestly the only thing I want to write about right now is just how restless and apathetic about life I've been feeling lately.  And it seems of late, every time someone dares blog about something making them unhappy trolls have come out of the woodwork to lambast them for daring to not be happy about everything in their perfect lives, and quite frankly, I just feel too fragile for trolls right now.  But then I was all, "Angela, this is YOUR blog and if someone doesn't want to read your little epistle of unhappiness, they are free to navigate away to cutepuppies dot com."

So basically, I've just felt like a huge old lump of grump for the past couple of weeks.  I've been picking fights with Colby at home, I've been ridiculously sensitive and defensive about just about anything anyone says to me, and my tolerance for nonsense at school has been dangerously low.  Every morning I wake up and tell myself that today will be better, then I really make a concerted effort to be more positive until around midmorning when I reach the end of my rope.

I don't know precisely what my problem is.  One can really only blame so much on that much dreaded time of month, and the excuse wears a little thin when it is used every day of the month.  When I try to put my finger on exactly what is upsetting me, it just makes me feel utterly ridiculous.  Por ejemplo, Things That Are Currently Bumming me Out:

1) I am not going to Italy next month.  Or anywhere glamorous and European for that matter.  We're getting closer and closer to the one year point of when Colby and I left for our honeymoon last year, and I've been torturing myself by reading through my posts leading up to and after the trip.  I know, I'm a twit, some people never get to leave the country, and I'm bemoaning the fact that I have to go more than a year between trips abroad.  But still, every time I broach the topic of my dreams of a trip to France next summer, Colby all but laughs in my face.  In the interim, he's jetting off to Korea, Italy, and Germany, while I'm stuck in Washington, explaining once more to 9-year-olds exactly why it is not okay to use the term "cracker" in a derogatory manner.

2) I'm sick of winter, I'm a little over Washington, and I just want to know what our future holds so that we can stop stressing about the what ifs and start making a plan.  We've turned in our updated dream location list for Colby's next assignment, we have a pretty strong feeling that we'll end up at one of our top two choices--either Charleston or a base about an hour outside of San Francisco.  That's all well and good, but with the real estate market in its current state of gloom and doom, those two options provide us with two very different paths down which we'll travel depending on where we're assigned.  And of course there's always the threat of ending up in Alaska or middle of nowhere Oklahoma.  And please don't tell me that Alaska is actually quite beautiful.  I don't want beautiful.  I want warm.  And not Oklahoma.

3) I really do enjoy what I do.  For the most part, I think the kids I work with are pretty great, and we just had a talent show on Wednesday night, that oh my God, had me in stitches the kids were so damn cute.  But there are are 3-5 kids (depending on the day) that absolutely make me want to rip my hair out.  It is amazing to me how just a couple of disrespectful, physically and emotionally aggressive children can really ruin what should be a great day.  And every day it's a different thing.  A fight. Name calling.  Lying.  Sidebar lessons on what sex is while I'm talking about Dr. Seuss's birthday.  I know this is no different from what I'll experience as a teacher, but it really is exhausting and I feel that in a daycare setting, children are allowed to get away with more than they would in a more structured school setting.  I find parenting other people's kids exhausting, and it's frustrating that they all seem to operate under the delusion that their little angels couldn't possibly be the problem.

4) I've been feeling a little bit taken for granted by Colby lately.  Not in a huge way, just in the little things, I don't necessarily feel that what I do is important and that somehow I've become a little bit of the Lucy to his Ricky.  I know I probably bring this upon myself in the way that I make jokes out of things that I'm really serious about.  Like, I constantly make jokes about wanting a third dog.  I joke about wanting to plan that trip abroad next summer.  I don't come across as really serious about my desires and I often make jokes about my job, so it's to be expected that maybe he would do the same.  But the other night, after repeated reminders about the talent show at school, Colby completely and utterly forgot to show up.  I'd been talking about it for weeks, and it just wasn't on his radar at all, even though he'd participated in the conversations with me.  I was incredibly hurt and angry, and I think it was sort of a culmination of all those feelings I've been having for a while now.  I'm okay with making light of situations, but I don't want to be the foil in the relationship.  There is probably a whole blog for another day, exploring this further, but basically, these feelings had been seething for a while and that was just the final straw for me.

Anyway, the sun is shining today, I've got two hours of America's Next Top Model to watch before I go back to work, it's Friday and I think we're actually going to do something fun this weekend instead of sitting around the house doing homework.  I'm hopeful that next week will be better, and if not, maybe I'll just write about it as it comes instead of saving everything up for another ten page long missive on why I'm still not feeling like rainbows and starshine.

Positano, Pompeii, and Capri, Oh My!

At last, we have reached the final leg of our trip.  Our foray into the southern part of Italy was a much needed break from the endless duomos and museums of Rome and Florence.  Don't get me wrong, I get just about as geeked out as possible at the thought of museums filled to the brim with history and art, and just the first sighting of a Renaissance cathedral is enough to send me into raptures, but after nearly two weeks straight of the aforementioned, we were in desperate need of a break.  And five days in southern Italy gave us that perfect respite.

We woke up early in the morning on the 15th, and after checking out of our charming hotel, began our trip to Positano.  I mentioned previously that public transportation in Italy is very easy to use and will take you most anywhere you want to go with just a few exceptions.  Once you start traveling out into the farther reaches of the Italian countryside or into the smaller southern villages, your public transportation options become a bit more limited, and it may be necessary to either rent a car, or hire a driver.  In our case, we could have taken the train to Naples and then caught the Circumvesuviano to Positano, however, we opted to shave a couple of hours off the trip, and for a bit more money, hired a driver to take us from the Naples train station to Positano.

Tip #1:  Your hotel is more than just a place to stay at night--it is also a trip planning resource.  Most hotel owners or concierges are happy to assist you in organizing day trips, setting up transportation, and recommending the best restaurants.  In our case, I emailed our hotel in Positano and asked about our transportation possibilities, they replied promptly with our options, and then arranged our driver for us.  All we had to do was get to the proper train station and then take the escalator up the stairs to find our driver waiting for us with a smile on his face!

 Tip #2: There are actually 3 separate train stations in Naples--the central station is called Garibaldi and it will be the third stop in Naples if you are coming from the north.  Make sure you pay attention to the signs at the stops so that you'll know when you've arrived as quite frequently the announcements are either nonexistent or a bit garbled.  Naples was the trickiest station for us, just because we weren't aware in advance that there would be three stations to choose from.  Consider yourself warned!

The traffic in Naples was absolutely horrific and based on what we could see from the back seat of our car, the city has none of the historical impact of Rome or picturesque charm of Florence.  While graffiti was a constant plague everywhere we went in Italy, it was absolutely unavoidable in Naples.  On top of the graffiti and traffic, down just about every alley there were piles and piles of garbage due to the unfortunate rubbish crisis that has been going on for quite some time.  I try not to judge cities based on brief encounters, but after just 15 minutes in Naples, I can tell you that I have no desire to ever go back.

Aside from that experience, the ride to Positano was beautiful, and thank God I had Colby's hand to grip onto as we careened around bends in the road practically hovering in space over the beautiful Mediterranean along the Amalfi Coast.  We arrived at our hotel, the lovely Punta Regina a little after 1:30 pm, and after dropping off our bags and letting out a gasp upon seeing our gorgeous view, headed out in search of lunch.

Positano is a simple, stunning village.  It seems as though the brightly colored houses and shops have sprung out of the side of the cliff they cover, and when looking at it from the coastline, it seems impossible that the town manages to hang onto the rock.  When the sun is shining on the town it is as though you have never seen a brighter white than the white of the shop fronts or a bluer blue than the sparkling ocean.

It is difficult to recap this part of the trip in any detail because really so much of our experience in Positano was just sitting and watching.  Watching the waves lapping on the shore.  Watching the town dogs bounding and romping on the beach.  Watching the locals meet in the middle of streets to talk about their day and whisper town secrets.  For dinner we splurged a bit and decided to eat at one of the open air restaurants overlooking the beach.  Our dinners were amazing and dessert even better, but the best part was watching the waiters attempts at keeping the dogs that ruled the beach from encroaching onto restaurant territory.  It was like a cartoon--a dog would slyly slink over the top of the bench that enclosed the dining area and sneak across the floor to lie by a space heater, a waiter would spot him and with an outraged cry chase the dog out flapping a menu for added emphasis, and then the process would begin again.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, any chill from the day before chased away by the brightly burning sun.  We caught to 10 o'clock ferry to Capri, and after the one hour boat ride, my stomach had had all it could take and I practically ran onto shore when we docked.  We left our luggage with some porters at the Marina Grande and then caught the Funicular up to the main piazza of Capri.

Tip #3:  Capri is pronounced with an emphasis on the "Cap", rather than the "ri" as we tend to say in the states.  So it should be spoken, "CAPri" with a long "a".  We perplexed more than one Italian when we told them we were headed to CapRI, and were corrected with the proper pronunciation in short order.

We made our way through the town center and down Via Camarelle toward our hotel, taking in designer store after designer store.  D&G, Versace, Gucci, Fendi, Pucci, Ferragamo--anyone who is anyone as a designer has a store on Via Camerelle, and I was entranced by all of the beautiful clothes in the window displays that I will never be able to afford.

We checked into the Hotel La Minerva, and since the sun was shining, I immediately took up residence on the lounge on our private balcony.  After a short rest, we went in search of lunch and then began the search for Marina Piccolo.  We weren't entirely sure how to get there, and once again the maps were doing their best to outsmart us, but we trekked down a long and winding road in what seemed like the right direction, and eventually ended up on the small beach.

We collapsed onto the pebbly beach, exhausted after our long walk, and just stared, mesmerized by the ocean for nearly two hours.  Rather, I stared, mesmerized, while Colby hid his prized, alabaster skin beneath a sweater and bemoaned his lack of sunscreen.  He is such a Southern belle.  After Colby convinced me that he was about to break out into freckles on the spot, we began the climb back up to the top of Capri--this time taking the stairs straight up rather than the long and winding road (dun dun, that leads to your door).  I'm still not convinced it was any easier, but it was a bit quicker.

That night we had dinner at Faraglioni after a much needed nap.  One thing that took a bit of adjusting to, was how much more expensive Capri was than the rest of Italy.  We'd grown quite accustomed to our 30 to 40 Eur dinners that included an appetizer, two entrees, dessert, and wine, whereas in Capri the bill nearly doubled.

Tip #4:  In Italian restaurants there will almost always be a cover charge of 1-3 Eur per person (approximately), although some restaurants will advertise that they do not charge this cover or coperto in hopes of luring in more tourists.  Sometimes they will only charge it if you eat the bread that is placed on your table, but since we were never sure if we were going to be charged anyway, we generally just ate the bread and expected the charge (if you prefer, you can always just ask).  Also, from what we understood, a 15-20% tip that would be the norm in the states is not expected in the Italian restaurants--although I'm sure the waiters would love to accept it!  We typically would leave 1 or 2 Eur over our bill, depending on the service.<

Our next day in Capri we had another lie in, not getting out of bed until 9:30, and then pizza at the delicious Isodoro (we liked it so much, we went back for dinner the next night and I had the most amazing porcini mushroom risotto) when we finally made our way to the town center.  Following lunch we hiked up to the Belvedere Canon, getting only slightly lost on our way, for a beautiful view of the Faraglioni rocks (the cluster of three rocks pictured above).  Once we'd recuperated from that uphill climb, we began an even more exhausting one to Villa Jovis, Emperor Tiberius's retirement home.

The ruins were interesting enough, and it was horrible to imagine the insane Tiberius retiring here to lovely Capri and then when he would become bored, throwing his slaves off of the cliff upon which he built his villa.  However, the best part was the walk up to the ruins and seeing the beautiful gardens that the Caprese people cultivated.  Everything was in bloom and I have never seen or smelled so much wisteria.  It was an exhausting uphill trek, but the gorgeous fauna made it completely worth it.

Our last day in Capri we had hoped to do a boat trip around the island, visiting the various grottoes and soaking in a little more sunshine, however the rain clouds had other ideas in mind for us.  The boat tours were shut down due to the rough seas, so instead, we did a little souvenir shopping and then headed back to our hotel to take full advantage of the numerous English language television channels that Sky TV so generously provided.

The next day we rose bright and early and took a much larger, and therefore, much smoother ferry to Naples where we caught the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii for the day.  We arrived in Pompeii a little after noon and went on to spend the next 5 or 6 hours wandering through the remains of the city.  I was completely blown away by how different Pompeii was from what I'd expected.  Before, when I thought of Pompeii, all I imagined were those horrible plaster casts of dead people.  But what I didn't realize was that there was so much left of the city that once was.

I couldn't bring myself to even look at the plaster casts after seeing the agony on the face of the one that I did happen to see, but the villas were absolutely beautiful, though crumbling, and seeing the forums and temples and even a brothel, really brought the city back to life for me.  I would absolutely rank our trip to Pompeii among the top five experiences on our trip, and would really encourage everyone to try to fit it into their Italian vacation.

That night we caught the train from Naples back to Rome, arriving back at the Hotel Alimandi Vaticano a little after 10:30 and then making one last visit to the Gelateria Millennium for one last chocolate and Nutella gelato treat!  It was amazing how much we really felt as though we were coming home, and of course, when we woke up the next morning to leave for the airport, the sun was shining brightly and the temperatures were in the mid-70s.  Just in time for us to leave, Rome showed us how beautiful she could be!

And so ends my reminiscences on our trip to Italy.  Thank you so much for indulging me while I share all of my experiences with you.  I'm sad, writing these final lines, because now it really feels as though this trip is behind me.  A trip that I spent years dreaming about and a year and a half planning, already gone and in the past.  I still have a scrapbook to finish, and I know that between my handwritten journal, and these online entries, I'll never forget our trip, but still, I'll never again have that experience of stepping foot on Italian soil for the first time, and I really don't think it's possible to be quite the same again after experiencing Italy.  Fanny Burney said it best:  "Traveling is the ruin of all happiness!  There is no looking at a building after seeing Italy."

I don't know if I've been ruined, but I certainly have been spoiled.

Under the Tuscan Sun: Part Two

Since we returned home from our honeymoon, everywhere I look I see Italy.  The girls on America's Next Top Model are doing shoots in Rome on all of the crumbling rocks we leaned against to eat our sandwiches.  20/20 just had a special on "The Secrets of the Sistine Chapel" that we watched, squealing the entire time because, "Hey, that's our hotel!" "Look, we saw that statue!"  Even Dr. Who took his companion to Pompeii on volcano day, just so Colby and I could jump up and down in our seats when they showed the interiors of villas and made cheesy Ancient Rome jokes that we so totally get now!  I don't know if we're just more aware of all of these Italian connections that have always been around now, or if there's some kind of conspiracy at work to remind me of how much I miss Italy every single day.

On our third day in Florence, we woke up early and headed out into the cool, grey, rainy day to meet our winery tour guide at the Ponte alle Grazie.  Due to a combination of a miscommunication and the terrible Florentine traffic, we ended up shivering under our umbrellas for 45 minutes waiting for the silver van.  Gillian, our driver and guide for the tour was incredibly apologetic when she eventually arrived, and we happily climbed into the van to enjoy the beautiful 20 minute drive to Chianti.

We arrived at Castello di Verrazzano, and were absolutely blown away by the romantic beauty of the rolling mist cloaking the endless fields of grape vines dotted with towering ancient castles and tiny cottages.  We had selected the Executive Wine Tour (much like an Executive Transvestite) so we began our day with a tour of the grounds, and were then led through the interior of the winery where we heard about the history of the castel, the process of how one becomes certified as an official Chianti vintner, and then moved on to the highlight of the tour--lunch and the wine tasting!

Tip #1:  How to properly "taste" wine.  I've been to a number of wine tastings in my life, but never before have I been taught how to taste and really appreciate what I was drinking.  Gillian took a moment to explain the process, and it made a huge difference in our experience.  First, lift the glass using only the stem--don't allow your hand to cup the bowl!  Bring the lip of the glass to your face, and allow it to completely envelop your nose and then smell for a few seconds.  Then lower the glass, and swirl it vigorously, then repeat the smelling step.  Make a note of how drastically the scent changes--I was actually able to pick up on the fruity and spicy scents that I've never been able to detect in wines before.  Once you feel you have an appreciation for the scent, take a sip and then swish it around your mouth like a mouthwash, allowing yourself to taste the wine in all of the different areas of your mouth, front, back, sides, gums, and palate.  Then, if you're a professional, you should spit and rinse your mouth or eat some bread, and if you're me, you swallow and then eat some bread anyway because damn, you're hungry!

We were given a glass of their sparkling white wine to enjoy before the tasting began, and then were led through their different reds--their table wine, Chianti, and Chianti reserve.  Once the official tasting was over, the party began.  We had toasted bread with garlic and their amazing Castello di Verrazzano olive oil, a mixed salad, sliced meats, pasta, and grilled sausages.  The wine was flowing freely and the six of us on the tour began to really loosen up and have a good time getting to know each other.  Lunch ended with a block of deliciously sharp Parmesan chased with a spoonful of incredible balsamic vinegar and almond biscotto dipped into a glass of Vino Santo--a sweet white wine.  To wash down our meals, we were each given a glass of grappa and then grappa reserve.

Tip #2:  Really be prepared and understand what you're drinking when you take a sip of grappa.  I was just thinking that it was a kind of slightly stronger wine, and it was served in a shot glass, so I picked up that glass of grappa and shot it straight down.  Oh my God.  I don't remember anything after the grappa.  While the drink is made of grapes, it is essentially a legal moonshine--a liquid distilled from the skins of grapes leading to a drink that can be up to 160 proof.  It tastes like taking a sip of rubbing alcohol and feels like doing three shots of tequila.

When we had all finished our eating and drinking, we were each given a pot of the castle's honey and then loaded back into the van and brought back to our respective hotels.  I was completely toasted and filled to the brim with delicious fattening foods, so even though it was just a little past 2:30, we collapsed into bed and I didn't wake up until 6 o'clock the next morning.  I think it's safe to say that I don't handle my liquor as well as I once did!

 

Luckily I was refreshed and recovered by the next morning and we headed to the station to catch the train to Pisa for a half day.  Once more, it was raining for the duration of our train ride, but thankfully, once we arrived in Pisa, the skies cleared and the sun eventually began to peek through the clouds.  Pisa itself was not a terribly attractive city, we joked that it was a good thing their tower began to lean, because aside from that the town doesn't have much to recommend itself.  We made the 30 minute walk from the train station, and seeing that tower leaning crazily off kilter was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.

It's another one of those things where you can see all of the pictures in the world, hear about the tower as a cultural icon, and know in your head that it is a tower that is leaning 4 degrees off center and still standing, and still be absolutely blown away when you see it.  I just kept looking at Colby with surprise in my eyes repeating over and over, "It's leaning!  It's really leaning!"  We spent about an hour walking around the Campo dei Miracoli, entering the Duomo for a few minutes and gazing at the baptistery (we were to cheap to pay the money to go inside) and then most of our time gawking at that crazy leaning tower.

After we had our fill of the leaning tower, we wandered around the streets of Pisa in search of Galileo's house, and just when we were about to give up, we happened to glance upward, and there was the modest sign in Italian quietly proclaiming the birthplace of Galileo Galilei.  Once we'd taken a few pictures, we felt like we'd spent enough time in Pisa, so we stopped for lunch on the way back to the station and then took the train back to Florence.

Tip #3:  There are quite a few delis and cafes where you can buy simple but delicious sandwiches, pizzas and calzones for 2-6 Eur.  We almost exclusively ate those sandwiches and pizzas for lunch and I highly recommend finding one of these shops and then taking your lunch out to a piazza to eat.  In some of the shops you can eat inside, but you will be charged an additional 1-3 Eur for the privilege of sitting down.  If you want to eat inside, be sure to ask in advance if you'll be charged extra just so that you'll be prepared for your bill.

That afternoon we visited Santa Croce church, also called  "Westminster Abbey of Florence" as it is the final resting place of a number of prominent Italians including Machiavelli, Gailileo, and Michelangelo.  After our tour of the church I went in search of some leather to bring back home and found a beautiful red leather overnight bag marked down 50%, and when I still hesitated, the shopkeeper took off another 50 Eur.  We attempted to bring our laundry to a laundromat, but were completely stumped by the process, so instead we spent a romantic evening in our hotel room washing our socks and underwear in the bathroom sink.

Tip #4:  Buy your leather in Florence!  There's a leather school in Santa Croce, and while we were there on a day when they were closed, it is the best place in Florence to watch the leathermakers at work.  Outside of Santa Croce there is an endless sea of leather shops that come highly recommended, and be sure to ask if you can have the VAT removed from your total price if they don't automatically do so.  I found my bag at a shop called La Torre on Via Dei Cimatori 20/r (near the Duomo--heading back toward the river), and there were a number of comparable shops in that area.

The next day, was our fifth and last day in Florence and we decided to take it easy.  We didn't wake up until around 9 o'clock and then headed to the Science Museum tucked away between the Arno River and the Ufizzi.

Tip #5:  Unless you're extremely interested in exhibits about how light and telescopes work, I would skip the Science Museum.  Colby was mildly entertained, and seeing two of Galileo's own telescopes was fairly interesting, but neither of us felt that it was worth the 8 Eur entrance price.

After the Science Museum we walked over to San Lorenzo church to visit the Medici chapel, and shock of all shocks, the church was covered in scaffolding and surrounded by construction workers.  Still, the chapel turned out to be a very peaceful and beautiful retreat.  The best part was Michelangelo's New Sacristy, housing the tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent, his brother Giuliano, and Lorenzo's two sons, all beautifully carved by Michelangelo just before he had to go into hiding.  The sacristy itself was architected by Michelangelo, and its design is so ethereal and beautiful.

The rain was beginning to fall again after we had finished at the chapel, so we got lunch and gelato and headed back to the hotel to wait for the rain to pass.  Later that afternoon we headed back out to try visiting the Boboli Gardens by the Pitti Palace, stopping off to pet the nose of a brass warthog to ensure that we would return to Florence someday.  Unfortunately, once we arrived at the gardens they had already stopped allowing people in, so we decided to wander back to Piazzale Michelangelo.

Tip #6: Keep in mind that although many sites and museums publish one closing time, they'll actually stop admitting people in up to 30 minutes or an hour prior to that time.  For example, we knew that the gardens closed at 6:30, so we thought we would just spend 30 or 40 minutes there before closing time, but they had already closed the gates.

We did have a wonderful walk to the Piazzale though, deciding to say on the Oltrarno side of the river and really seeing a beautiful, far less touristy side of Florence.  We saw some beautiful villas where the rich folk lived along the river and made fools of ourselves by the old city walls.  That night we ate at an absolutely amazing trattoria, Del Fagioli, where the menu was entirely in Italian and we basically threw our taste buds at the mercy of our waiter.

Florence was by far the hardest city to leave.  I think we stayed long enough that we began to feel like it was a little home away from home, and I loved the sort of small town feel to what was really a bustling, beautiful city.  It was the perfect way to recover from Rome before heading down to the south of Italy where we would spend the next few days desperately seeking sunshine!

Under the Tuscan Sun: Part One

By the time we packed our bags and caught the train up to Siena, we had really begun to hit our traveling stride.  We had developed a system wherein Colby would navigate from place to place, and then I would deal with buying tickets, checking in for reservations, or reading the background on whatever site we were getting ready to visit in our guidebook.  It wasn't until Siena that we really began to make full use of our guidebook though.

Tip #1:  If there is a Rick Steves guidebook for the city, region, or country to which you are traveling, BUY IT!  Lori loaned us their Rick Steves books for Tuscany and Rome, and we had our own Italy guidebook put out by Frommers.  Of course, a guidebook preference is going to depend a lot on what you want to get out of it, but we found the Frommers book to be less informative, a little stuffy, and more geared toward an older audience who was looking to spare no expense.  We weren't looking to blow all of our cash at every meal, and Rick Steves had fantastic suggestions on where to find really great food at really great prices.  There were also self guided tours for most of the sites we visited written in a very informative and humorous style.  By the end of our trip, we were on a first name basis with good old Rick and now we're hooked on his PBS travel show. 

     

So, we left Rome after a 4:45 am wake up call (UGH!) and caught an early train into Siena.  The process at the train station was extremely easy--we bought our tickets at a sort of ticket ATM and then found our train by checking the departure boards.  It was a little tricky at first, but we'd given ourselves plenty of time to figure it out.

We arrived in Siena after a 3 hour train ride, and caught a taxi to our absolutely lovely temporary residence, Villa Elda.  Charming doesn't even begin to describe this beautiful villa, and we were treated to the most beautiful view of the heart of Siena from our bedroom window.  Of course, the top of the Duomo was covered in scaffolding, but even with the cranes and construction equipment, I was immediately in love with Siena.

Tip #2: I don't know if this is true for all hotels in Italy, but we stayed in five separate hotels in three different regions, and none of the rooms came equipped with an alarm clock or a iron and ironing board.  In Florence, we were able to borrow an ironing board and iron from the owner, but we just used Colby's watch to tell time and wake up calls to get us up in the morning.  This isn't really a complaint, but it is something to be aware of, and I probably would have done more ironing before we left and brought along a travel alarm clock if I had known about this in advance.

 

We only had one day in Siena, so we immediately departed our hotel, and made the ten minute walk into the tiny center of Siena.  That was when the hills started--and they didn't stop for the rest of our trip!  I think it's safe to say that we walked a lot more in Rome, and covered a lot more ground, but what we didn't appreciate at the time, was how flat Rome was.  From Siena to Florence to Positano to Capri we did nothing but walk up and down hills.  Some were gently sloping, some were steep and exhausting, all of them contributed to my ability to eat gigantic servings of gelato and three or four course dinners without gaining a pound!

In Siena we visited the truly stunning Duomo, ate lunch on Il Campo, wandered through the maze of streets, and stopped into San Domenico church where I was utterly freaked out by the relics they had on display--namely St. Catherine's head in a small, gilded box.  That is one Catholic tradition that I just cannot get behind!  We had dinner at a sweet little trattoria called Il Tamburino where I ate the most amazing walnut and mushroom ravioli.  A ravioli that I still dream about at night...

Tip #3:  The basic 7 Eur for a liter house wines in Italy are simply amazing.  There is really no reason to spend that much on a glass of wine, or 15-20 Eur on a bottle.  Just as for the house wine and then use the money you save on an amazing dessert or delicious appetizer.  All we drank in Italy were the house wines, and we were never disappointed.

The next morning, we took an hour long bus ride to Florence, and arrived at our B&B, Casa del Garbo, right on Piazza della Signoria, right in the heart of historic Florence.  We took our time settling into our room, and then made our way to the meeting point for our ArtViva! tour of the Uffizi Gallery.  Like Angel Tours, ArtViva! is another tour group that I would recommend to anyone whole heartedly.  Our tour guide at the Uffizi was an American who had lived in Italy for seven years, and I would swear that she knew everything there was to know about Italian history and art.  For me, the highlights of the Uffizi were Botticelli's Venus and Primavera and Leonardo's Annunciation.

Tip #4:  It's true that you are not allowed to take photos in the Uffizi, but don't do like us and leave your camera at home.  There is a beautiful view of Ponte Vecchio on one end of the Uffizi, and on the other end a lovely view of the river with San Miniato in the distance.

We needed another break after hours on our feet in the Uffizi, so we made a gelato stop and then hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo to visit San Miniato Church and see the sunset over Florence.  We had hoped to see the vespers at San Miniato at 5:30, so we showed up a little early and entered the church to find seats.  To our surprise, the small church was already filled to capacity and it turned out that there was some kind of reading being given that night.  So, we stuck around for about an hour, hoping that the vespers would begin late, but when a group began performing Gregorian Chants we thought that the informal men's group in the Pantheon had far outperformed them, so we slipped out the back door and headed back over to the Piazzale.

Sunset was absolutely beautiful, even through the clouds that had begun following us around Italy, and Colby went crazy taking pictures.  Once dusk had fully set in, we walked back down toward our hotel and just opted for a sandwich in our room while watching some wild and crazy Italian Wheel of Fortune!

The next morning we met another ArtViva! tour group for a walking tour of Florence where we got a great overview of the history of the city and then ended up in the lovely Duomo.  The interior of Florence's Duomo was much simpler than Siena's, but still impressive in its own unique way.  We took a lunch break after the tour, at a very nice and inexpensive Italian restaurant--McDonald's, I think it was called?--and then went back to the Duomo to climb to the top of the dome for another view of Florence.

That afternoon we met up with ArtViva! for the last time to visit David at the Academia.  I think out of all the ancient buildings and beautiful art that we saw in Italy, my very favorite experience was walking up that hallway of Michelangelo's Prisoners and seeing the beautiful, fourteen foot tall David rising before us in all of his glory.  Even after seeing the copies in Piazza della Signoria and Piazzale Michelangelo, I wasn't prepared for how beautiful and elegant David would be.  Every vein was perfectly sculpted, the nostrils were flared delicately as though he were taking his last long breath before going off to face his foe, the fingers were curled tightly around his slingshot, and above all else, his ass was AMAZING!

There isn't much else to see in the Academia, a few paintings and some plaster models, but there was a nice exhibit on 15th and 16th century musical instruments, so we managed to fill the time before we were all kicked out at closing time.  We headed to dinner and then decided to take a walk through the statue filled loggia on the other side of the Piazza from our hotel.  Just at that point, the skies opened up and the rain began pouring down in sheets.  It was really beautiful, just sitting on a bench amongst all of that beautiful art and watching how the rain and light combined to turn the statues into haunting silhouettes.

And thus ends the first half of our time in Florence.  More pictures from the Tuscan leg of our trip can be found here, and I'll pick up next time with our day trips to Chianti and Pisa and our final day in Florence.

Roman Holiday

The first time I visited New York City, I couldn't get over how Manhattan really was everything I'd expected it to be.  I think I had seen so many movies and TV shows, postcards and snow globes, purses and t shirts with New York featured prominently, that it had kind of become unreal to me.  Like it was this very famous fictional character, a caricature of the "real" New York City.  But then I stepped out of the airport and our shuttle driver spent an hour screaming obscenities at cabbies, I was nearly run over by a flood of brightly colored yellow taxis when I crossed the street, the Empire State Building stood grey and imposing amongst a skyline of other grey buildings, and Times Square was just as bright and obnoxious as it had ever seemed to be.  It was almost disconcerting just how unreal the "real" New York City felt.

Rome was very similar to New York in that regard.  Just as expected, there were speeding scooters whizzing up and down every street, the cars all crowded onto the street with no regard for lanes or traffic direction, walking out of the Metro stop the Colosseum rose before us, towering and majestic behind a sea of parked cars and souvenir vendors.  The buildings were covered in the graffiti, the Italians were passionate and effusive in their speaking and gestures.  There were crumbling columns, statues and temples around every corner and beautiful, fading frescoes painted above glaring green pharmacia signs.  I spent our four days in Rome trying to wrap my mind around the fact that we weren't in a theme park, we weren't in a restaurant designed to look like an Italian trattoria, and yes, I really am standing inside of the Pantheon.

I think part of what made it so difficult to fall instantly in love with Rome, was the highly surreal quality that those first four days took on.  Once I adjusted to the fact that I really was walking the streets of Italy, and not just a really great reproduction, it made it a little easier to truly appreciate all that we were seeing and experiencing each day.

Tip #1:  If you are planning a trip abroad and have little to no previous experience in that region, use the TripAdvisor forums.  I didn't post often, and I will warn that there are some cantankerous bastards that can attack at the most bizarre provocation, but use the search feature to find trip reviews, suggestions for things to pack, and absolutely, without a doubt, believe in the hotel reviews and rankings.  During the planning of our trip, I didn't use a single guidebook--just TripAdvisor and an Excel spreadsheet.  Our itinerary for each city turned out nearly perfect, and all of our hotels turned out to be even better than expected.

 

In Rome, we stayed at the Hotel Alimandi Vaticano, and fantastic doesn't even begin to cover it.  Our room was stunning--marble floors, a view of the entrance to the Vatican Museum, spacious bathroom, comfortable bed, and a bottle of wine welcoming us to Rome.  The breakfast buffet was by far the most impressive of all the hotels we stayed at on our trip.  There were multiple meat options, eggs, fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses and a number of different juices and teas.  In a country of pastry and cereal hotel breakfasts, we really hit the jackpot.  The location was perfect for us, as I mentioned that it was across the street from the Vatican, where we were planning to spend two long mornings, and it was just two blocks from a metro line that ran almost everywhere else we needed to go.

Tip #2:  You DO NOT need to rent a car to get around Italy.  I'm sure there are benefits to having your own mode of transportation, but I honestly cannot even begin to imagine trying to navigate the nightmarish traffic amongst those death defying Italian drivers.  The public transportation is absolutely fantastic, and it really will get you everywhere you need to go (with a few exceptions that I'll talk about more when I get to our final leg of the trip).  The taxis are fairly cheap--on par with Manhattan prices--but if you are traveling to or from the train station or airport, be sure to ask the price in advance.  We got taken in on our first taxi to the hotel because we ended up with a "car and driver" rather than basic taxi and ended up paying 75 Eur for the 30 minute trip.  We learned out lesson pretty quickly after that.  The trains and metro are extremely punctual--we only had one delay the entire trip, and we used the trains every time we changed locations--are really remarkably clean and fairly easy to navigate even for a non-Italian speaker.

Our first morning out and about, we went to the Colosseum and The Forum, using a guide from Angel Tours.  I cannot recommend Angel Tours highly enough.  We used them three times in Rome, and each tour guide is guaranteed to be a native English speaker and all of them had extensive knowledge of their topics and a great deal of love for their beautiful country.  As I mentioned before, as soon as you step foot out of the Coloseo metro stop, there the Colosseum stands, towering above you in all of its glory, and it is quite an awe inspiring moment.  However, the Forum was hands down my favorite stop along the tour, as it is just packed with history.  From the place where Julius Caesar's body was buried and flowers are still placed each year on the Ides of March, to the Temple of the Vestal Virgins where the light of Rome was never allowed to expire, to the deep ridges left by the chariot wheels along the streets, the whole place was just teeming with history.

 

After our guided tour (which I highly recommend, the Forum being extremely overwhelming and meaningless otherwise as there are no explanatory placards, and all of the signs with the names of each ruin are in Italian), we wandered over to Palatine Hill which is where legend has it that the Romulus and Remus were discovered by the wolf who kept them alive so that Romulus could go on to found Rome, and where Caesars Augustus, Tiberius and Domitian built their palaces so that they would be in the center of Rome and have enviable seats to watch the games at races at Circus Maximus which basically comprised their front yard.  The ruins were interesting, and the flora was extremely beautiful, but I would only recommend Palatine Hill if you have time to spare after fitting in all of the other "must sees".  Otherwise, you can get a lovely photo op view of the ruins from Circus Maximus.

 

Tip #3:  If you only have time for one art museum, aside from the Vatican Museum, make it the Borghese Gallery.  Admittedly, it is a bit of a chore to visit the museum, as you MUST have your reservation in advance,  MUST show up 30 minutes early to pick up your tickets, MUST check all of your bags before entrance, and MUST be in and out of the Gallery in 2 hours, but it is so completely worth navigating all of that red tape and 2 hours is actually the perfect amount of time to take it all in.  The rooms are absolutely stunning, even if you took all of the statues away completely, and then when you add in all of the Berninis, Carravaggios, and Titians... it's just breathtaking.  I highly recommend renting an audio guide, as once again, most of the explanatory placards are in Italian, and it's always far more interesting to have a clue as to what you're looking at.

The next day, we showed up bright an early at the Vatican for the much anticipated Scavi Tour.  I had emailed the Scavi Office a few months earlier to make our reservation, and we showed up just in time, after having a little difficulty finding our way to the Holy Office Gate.  (How phenomenal is that name?)  If you have a few extra hours in your itinerary to fit in the Scavi Tour, you really must.  We went deep underneath St. Peter's Basilica and walked amongst mausoleums that were thousands of years old, and still in remarkable condition after being buried beneath the Vatican for all of those years.  I was also shocked at how moved I was to see what is thought to be the bones of St. Peter.  I'm not Catholic, but you really don't have to be to see those shreds of purple cloth, hear the soft strains of music playing, and really feel something while standing amongst the pilgrims who are kneeling to say a prayer with tears running down their cheeks.

We didn't want to Vatican ourselves out that day, so after a brief rest back at our hotel, we hauled ourselves over to Circus Maximus, the Santa Maria in Cosmedin to stick our hands into La Boca della Verite (or the Mouth of Truth to you English speakers!), and then ended up in Trastavere for lunch.

Tip #4:  Everywhere you travel, whether it's Italy, Germany, Tokyo, or Boise, Idaho, try to take a moment to get off the beaten path and not only see the sights and do the museums, but really experience the culture.  I've heard that the neighborhood of Trastavere can get a little touristy at peak season times, but when we were there, we felt like we'd taken a step back in time.  This is the Italy that restaurants try to recreate with the crumbling stucco, climbing vines, rusty bicycles leaning against the corner of a building, laundry hanging out on the balcony, little old women with the head scarfs on their way back from church or the market.  It was absolutely the definition of quaint, and even with Colby's stellar navigation skills, the narrow, winding streets were delightfully impossible to figure out.

After a delicious lunch of bruschetta, pizza, and tiramisu, we began the walk back to the heart of Rome when we just happened to run into the Pope.  No, really!  Well, it didn't quite work out that way, but when we were walking along the river, we began to see a large number of polizia in their fancy dress, and then a group of people hovering behind barricades next to one of the larger bridges.  Being the sheep that we are, Colby and I decided to hover around for a bit to find out what was going on, and come to find out, Pope Benedict XVI was on his way over to give a talk at the church on the opposite side of the river.  So, of course, since we weren't on a tight time line, we decided to stick around and wave at the Pope.  Sure enough, about an hour later the streets were cleared, a motorcade began passing by, and then in a shiny black sedan, the Pope sat in the backseat, windows down with a pleasant smile on his face and a graceful, pope-like wave for everyone.  Unfortunately, my designated cameraman got some spectacular photos of the top of the car, but if you look very carefully at the one below, you can just make out the Pope in his bright whites waving from the backseat.

Eventually we made our way over to the Trevi Fountain, where we tossed our obligatory coins and then wandered over to the Pantheon for our second Angel Tour.

Tip #5:  Angel Tours offers a free 30 minute tour of the Pantheon every night during the peak season (check their website for more details), and you do not have to sign up in advance.  We just showed up at 7:00 pm, looked for a tour guide holding up an Angel umbrella, and then got a nice little overview of the Pantheon.  The coolest part of the experience happened when we were inside the church and a men's choral group just randomly showed up, assembled around the center of the circular building and began singing.  The acoustics were amazing, and it was really the perfect way to cap off our day of sightseeing.  Or so we thought.

 

After our tour, we walked over to the Piazza Navona where we discovered the main Four Rivers Fountain covered in scaffolding (a theme for our trip--it seems that all of Italy is under scaffolding for repairs during the off season), so after just a quick walk around, we decided on dinner in one of the streets off of the Piazza.

Tips #6 and #7 go kind of hand in hand here:  In Italy, you must ASK for the check when you are ready to leave.  We thought that when we finished dessert and then refused coffee, the bill would just show up as it does here in the states.  Well, we thought wrong.  In Italy, it is considered very rude to rush customers out, and most waiters will not bring you the check until you ask for it.  Easy enough once you know this, but if you don't, it is highly possible that you will spend 45 minutes at your table, wondering why you're being ignored.  Once we got the hang of it and asked for il conto, per favore, it was quite late and we were more than ready for bed.  But tip #7 is that the metro shuts down at 11 pm.

Surprise!  And so we walked from Piazza Navona, over to the Spanish Steps (the obelisk at the top of the steps in front of the church was under scaffolding--of course) to catch the metro at the Spagna stop, but it was closed.  Thinking it was a fluke we walked back to the Barberini stop, catching a nighttime view of the Trevi along the way.  When we found out that it too was closed, we took the hint and just made the hour long walk back to our hotel with much grumbling and wincing with each painful footstep.  In retrospect, it really was a beautiful moonlit, nighttime walk of Rome, almost romantic if it hadn't been for our limping gait and constant yawns.

 

We woke up the next morning, still exhausted and sore from the night before, but we had to meet our Angel tour guide at the Vatican.  The Angel tour was perfect for our needs--if you want to spend more time leisurely exploring all that the Museum has to offer, you may want to do the Vatican on your own with the audio guide.  But our tour was a little over 3 hours and we had a nice overview of St. Peter's Square, got to stand in a much shorter line for the Vatican Museum, a great tour of the museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica.  At that point, we were completely worn down, and the weather had taken a turn for the worse, so any longer than that and I probably would have broken down in tears.

 

That afternoon we went to Castel San Angelo, the round fortress that is now used by the Pope for safety in case of emergency.

Tip #8: Don't go to Castel San Angelo.  Seriously, don't waste your time.  Particularly on a day when you've just seen the Laocoon, the Colossal Head of Augustus, and the freaking Sistine Chapel.  Nothing will be able to compare to that, particularly a crumbly old fortress with a terrible audio guide and reproduction furniture from the 18th century.  It's possible that halfway through the tour, when you see that there are still 17 more points of interest on your audio guide tour map, you will look at your husband, try not to cry and whimper, "Fuck this."  Instead, just head back to your hotel, elevate your throbbing, abused feet, eat some gelato and fall asleep to the soothing tones of BBC World News anchors.

And that brings us to the end of my time in Rome.  I know this was incredibly long, so I really do commend you if you made it all the way through.   Just think of it this way:  When you do get to go to Rome some day, you will know not to waste your time at Castel San Angelo, and all the rest of those slackers that gave up halfway through will be sitting in a corner of the Pope's chambers, crying into their guidebook because they can't handle looking at one more crap fresco.

 

And you'll also know that by far the tastiest and most reasonably priced gelato in Rome, actually the best we found in Italy, can be found at the Gelateria Millennium on Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie 2/a, about a 10 minute walk from the Vatican Museum entrance, on your way to the Cipro metro station.  A huge array of flavors, a delightfully creamy consistency, and incredibly generous portions.  Go to Rome, go to the Gelateria Millennium, and then love me forever.  You will not be sorry.

If you still haven't had enough pictures, a few more can be found here.

Italy Is A Dream That Keeps Returning For the Rest of Your Life

So, something which hasn't been discussed at much length on this website is the fact that I recently took a two week trip to Italy.  I know you've all probably been wondering where I've been and what I've been doing what with all the lack of any reference to this very sudden, spontaneous trip.  You see, I just didn't want it to look as though I was rubbing it all in your faces what with constant fretting over packing lists, my lack of knowledge of the Italian language, and how I would ever manage to eat gelato seven times a day and still manage to fit into my pants.

Although, upon further perusal of recent blog entries, it does seem as though I've mentioned Italy once or twice.  Or seventeen trillion times.  In which case, I suppose it would be remiss of me to not bring you up to speed on whether or not I managed to properly communicate my desire for frozen Italian dairy products while wearing the very same pants I remembered to pack before midnight on the evening prior to our departure.  I wouldn't want you to lose sleep at night wondering.

A general overview of my trip might be a good way to start, and over the next week, I'll go into more detail on our daily adventures with my own personal do's and don'ts and nifty tips (pirated from Rick Steves) that may or may not be interesting to anyone aside from my mother.  Because it's her job to be interested.  Or, at the very least, to convincingly feign interest.

I'm finding that the more time that passes since our time in Italy, the more fondly I remember our time there.  It's not that I was utterly miserable for the duration of the trip, but there was definitely a level of adjustment that I felt it was necessary to make that I'd never noticed on any of my other trips outside of the United States.  The one key difference between this and my other trips abroad was that Italy was the first non-English speaking country I've visited.  I did find that most Italians, even in the smaller towns we visited, did speak English, but it was the first time I'd ever been completely surrounded by a country full of people speaking a foreign language.  Although I will say that I had almost as much trouble comprehending a Scottish accent as I did the Italian language.

Italy was also just as dirty as I've always heard.  Everywhere you look there's an ancient Roman ruin or priceless piece of art, and everywhere you look there's graffiti and black streaks from the heavy pollution.  Luckily, we weren't there during peak tourist season, so, with the exception of Naples (where there is currently a rubbish crisis) trash wasn't a huge problem.  The final element that led to my initial disenchantment was the fact that we were stalked across the country by a rain cloud and a cool front.  Every single time we arrived in a city, the previously lovely, sunny skies were overtaken by clouds, and on the day of our departure the sun would be back in full force with promises for beautiful spring weather over the course of the next week.  It got to be a bit discouraging after the first week.

But even with all of those hurdles to overcome, Italy still managed to weasel its way into my heart.  I can't deny that the fact that we ate three filling, starch filled meals a day, along with a heaping serving of gelato each afternoon, and dessert every night without gaining a pound may have contributed just a smidge to this ever growing affection.  But damn, we walked our asses off.  If I maintained my current eating habits and just walked half as much as we did every day while we were in Italy, I'd easily lose five pounds in a week. 

And that lifestyle showed on those skinny minnie Italians.  I will admit, I expected the people to be a bit more glamorous after all the talk I'd heard about how painfully stylish Italian men and women are.  We saw a lot of horrible 80s fashions, clunky white tennis shoes, and puffy, androgynous winter coats, so I would say that while Italians are certainly fashionable, there is a lot to be desired in the glamour department.  The one trend that did start to grow on me was the boots over jeans look.  All of the young women in Italy spent their mornings tucking their pants into their boots--some a little more successfully than others.  At the beginning of the trip, I was still firmly anti-boots over jeans, but by the end of two weeks, I've got to tell you, I was digging it!  If you want to blend in, that's the way to go.  Just don't come crying to me when your feet are utterly destroyed after two hours on those brutal cobblestones.

I was also surprised at how quickly I began picking up on the language.  On our first day in Rome, I was joking with Colby about how when I got home I would write a book entitled, How to Get By in Italy Using Only Four Words, but by the end of the trip we were deciphering menus and signs and I was learning to form semi-coherent sentences.  We still couldn't understand a thing anyone was saying, but every now and then we picked up a "Ciao" or "l'ora".

But even more than the endless gelato, mozzarella, and decent red house wine, I loved the endless history.  You couldn't swing a cat without hitting a crumbling marble column or ancient Roman statue.  Art or architectural elements that would have been under lock and key, protected by state of the art security systems here in America were displayed on open air patios in random piazzas.  I spent nearly two weeks straight with a pain in the back of my throat, in constant awe of the history that surrounded me.  Names that had before just been words in textbooks suddenly sprang to life as I gazed at Michelangelos, Donatellos, Raffaelos, DaVincis--the whole Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle contingent was out in full force.

I swallowed tears of awe as I leaned against a fallen pillar in the forum that Julius Caesar may well have brushed against in his lifetime, tears of sadness as I crossed the threshold into a home that had once been owned by a wealthy Pompeiian whose money couldn't save him from his tragic fate, tears of gratefulness as I gazed out across the landscape of Florence, taking in all of it's glorious Renaissance beauty.

Would I want to live there?  No, probably not.  Although I might consider it if the scooters were outlawed.  But was it an absolutely magical place to visit?  A place that I could happily return to time and time again?  Absolutely, definitely, without a doubt

.

"For us to go to Italy, and to penetrate into Italy, is like a most fascinating act of self-discovery--back, back down the old ways of time.  Strange and wonderful chords awake in us, and vibrate again after many hundreds of years of complete forgetfulness."  D.H. Lawrence

(title quote by Anna Akhmatova)

A Multiple Choice Quiz

I returned home from Italy on Sunday evening, alive and relatively unscathed, but it has taken me this long to get around to posting because:

A) I am recovering from the trauma of nearly being crushed beneath the leaning tower of Pisa.
     

B) My fingers were bruised after a run in with a speeding Vespa, so typing is just too much exertion.
   

C) I'm just too depressed to function because when I look out the window I see rain, snow, hail and grey skies instead of the Mediterranean.
   

D) I gave myself permanent brain freeze.
   

E) I'm still exhausted from 14 hours of airplane travel, dealing with the airline only sending one of our three bags, realizing that our house keys were in one of the bags still in Copenhagen, and having to pay a locksmith over $300 to break into our house.
   

F) None of the above.

G) All of the above.

Vedali in Due Settimane

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go!!  I managed to cram two weeks worth of stuff into a purse, a small carry on, and a 24" suitcase.  I don't know how I did it, but I think there's even enough room in there to sneak a very small Italian man home.  An Italian baby at least.  But I don't really want one of those.

Last night was... stressful.  Honestly, I don't know how people plan a back to back wedding and honeymoon.  The stress of last night reached almost the same heights as my stress on the night before the wedding, and I think the combination of the two within the span of two days would have killed me.  I'm not even exaggerating.  (Yes I am.)  So, would you like the good news or the bad news first?  I always like to get smacked with the bad news and then uplifted by the good news, so let's go that way.

The Bad News:  The extra super special pick pocket proof day bag that we bought is too small to hold the things that we decided we needed to haul around with us each day.

The Good News:  The bag will probably be a lot lighter now!  We probably didn't need to carry that bulky old camera and boring itinerary around anyway.

The Bad News:  When I made our reservations for a night in Positano, they confirmed the correct date in their email and then sent me a confirmation document with the wrong date on it.

The Good News:  It was probably just a typo, and hey, I've heard Positano is warm this time of year anyway.  Sleeping on the beach could be an adventure!

The Bad News: I am a complete moron and made our reservations in Capri for three nights at the end of our trip, but was one day off on our arrival date.

The Good News: My sheer panic and begging seems to have translated well in the late night email I sent, and the hotel graciously changed our dates with no questions asked.  I love you Luigi!  How large are you?  You might fit in my suitcase...

The Bad News: Aunt Flo came to town last night bringing with her a crabby attitude that would rival that of Ebenezer Scrooge and a splitting headache that somehow transformed me into Mr. Hyde.  Just in time for my heaviest day to be during our 9 hour flight!  Sweet!

The Good News:  At least I won't be taken by surprise while frolicking on the beach or gazing reverently upon the Sistine Chapel.

You know, seeing it all written down like that, I now feel like the biggest drama queen in the history of the universe.  But I swear, last night it really felt as though this entire trip was crashing down around my ears, and I just kept blaming myself for thinking that I could actually single handedly and successfully plan sixteen days in a foreign country.  I was worn out, hurting, frustrated, and was really starting to think that a trip to Sandals Jamaica would have been a better option.

But this morning I rose before the chickens, finished packing, took the train to work for the last day, and am now counting down the minutes until we are seeing the sunset in Rome for the first night.  Yesterday, our company took a half day to go to the Seattle Art Museum, where there is currently a sizable exhibit of Roman antiquities on loan from the Louvre.  As I stood before a gleaming white marble statue of Caesar Augustus, it was all I could do to hold back the tears.

I am overwhelmed by how lucky we are to have this opportunity, and I just hope I can find a way to keep from bawling every time we step foot into another museum.  I will miss you all over the next couple of weeks, but I cannot wait to share Italy with you upon my return.

Until then, arrivederci!!

Let the Meltdown Begin!!

I'm starting to get a little panic attacky about this whole packing and leaving for Italy for two weeks thing I've got going on here for the next few days.  I'm not worried about Italy--in fact, if I could fast forward in time to Saturday evening Rome time, that would be just fine.

No, I'm worried because we are leaving in 57 hours and I have to do laundry, clean the house, pack two weeks of clothes into a suitcase that was too small for 3 days in San Francisco, print out our itinerary, confirmations, and important phone numbers, make copies of our passports, credit cards and id cards, and at some point decide what I'm going to do about a hair dryer.  (Current thought process, just buy one there.)  Oh, and become fluent in Italian.

Oh, and then there's Google Reader, which I have so far resisted marking all as read, because I HATE to do that, but I'm trying so hard to keep up and there are still 73 unread items in there--that's down from over 200 yesterday, but I'm pretty sure by the end of the day it will be back up again.  And I haven't responded to comments this week, because I SUCK.  I know.  I know.

Work is INSANE right now, only because I'm trying to wrap up all of these loose ends (that, quite frankly, I didn't realize were loose, but hey, I'm not in charge here), which means that I have spent the last day and a half pulling out a file folder, making sure it's in order, and refiling it.  Over, and over, and over again.  I'm on my last drawer this morning.  Hallelujah.

And then there is The Hills recap, which I am determined to fit in tonight, because holy crap was that fun last week.  Priorities.  I know I've got them somewhere around here...

Anyway, I thought I would just take today to introduce the lovely guest bloggers who have agreed to keep the dust of this old blog o' mine while I'm off sipping on Chianti and stuffing my face with mozzarella.  I really hope that you'll be very nice to them while they're here, mind your manners, and brush your teeth before you go to bed.  I'm also a little worried that when I come back, I will have no readers left, because you will have all suddenly realized how frightfully boring I am and will have abandoned me for these far more witty, interesting, and charming bloggers.

But that's a risk I am willing to take, so without further preamble, let's meet our cast of characters!

(In order of appearance)

TasterSpoon: I am always guaranteed one of those fantastic bursts of snorting laughter when she posts, and even her comments here make me laugh.  She's one of those "runners" that populate our planet, and she's always got a great story to tell about her latest race and the cool swag she gets to take home.

La: This girl is one of the absolute sweetest bloggers I've ever had the pleasure of "meeting".  We found each other through the 20 Something Bloggers, and she just has the biggest heart and three of the most adorable puppies I've ever seen.  (Not to mention a pretty fantastic new boyfriend!)

Ashley: Ashley and I began reading each other's blogs during NaBloPoMo (I think?) and were apparently just fated to become friends after a chance encounter in a FedEx/Kinko's and multiple run-ins in the lobby of our office building!  I love her posts about her latest craft project or recipe attempt and can't wait to see what she has in store for y'all!

Kate: Kate is a more recent find, but oh my heck, do I LOVE her blog!  She's hilarious, she's thought provoking, and she's a fantastic storyteller.  Anyone that can make me cry laughing on my first visit is guaranteed to become a fixture on my blog roll.

Risible Girl: Lori is another dear internet friend that I've been lucky enough to bond with in real life, and she's been mentioned a few times on this site, most notably for hosting a super fun wine shower for Colby and me last summer.  We actually "met" years ago online, and were able to keep in touch through our blogs.  When I moved up here, it was just a big duh that I would force her to be my pal whether she wanted to or not!

Girl, Dislocated: Girl, Dislocated is by far one of the more fascinating blogs I read, not only for her amazing spirit and strength, but also for her honest thoughts on her exciting, and sometimes tumultuous life.  She can always find a way to laugh in the face of adversity, and I hold her in extremely high regard.

Fraulein N: Fraulein N and I have bonded over pretty much everything... our love for Wicked (she sent me her extra copy of The Grimmerie, therefore earning my love and devotion forever) and Lost and our similar fears and thoughts about this whole "baby" thing.  I really think that if you enjoy what you read here, you'll love what she has to say as well since we seem to be basically the same person.

Michelle: That just doesn't look right--I have to call her Michelle & the City!   (The ampersand is crucial!)  Michelle was one of the first 20 Something Bloggers that I began reading, and her blog opened up this whole world of other bloggers out there that are my age, going through many of the same ups and downs as me.

Brittany: Aw, it's my little sister!!  This is actually a sneaky ploy on my part to try to get her hooked on blogging, so that maybe I'll hear more about her fascinating life firsthand rather than through my parents or Facebook status updates.  She's well on her way to becoming a Broadway Baby and of course I fully expect her to introduce me to Idina Menzel in about five years or so when they're costarring in Broadway's latest hit.

Mighty Maggie:  Maggie!!  Maggie was one of the first bloggers I ever read, and it's been so long now, that I don't even remember how I found her.  She has the most hilarious, dry humor, and just about the cutest most squishable baby I've ever seen with another on the way.  I fully blame her and her blog for making me want a baby desperately every few weeks.

So, that's it!  I happen to think that you will be VERY well taken care of and highly entertained over the next few weeks, and I'll admit, I'm so curious to see what they come up with, that it's distinctly possible that I'll be checking in from internet cafes all over Italy.

A List of Things

Thing the First:
My sister expressed heartbroken disappointment that when she visited my new digs on the internet, they looked exactly like my old digs on the internet.  Because I am nothing if not a people pleaser (and I've been procrastinating about this for months now), I spruced things up a bit over the weekend.  A little "Spring Cleaning" if you will.  I brightened up the decor and cleaned up the side bars by creating a separate page for all of those fantastic blogs that I fully endorse.  I even added a 100 things about me list over there to the left--except mine is 101 things about me, because I will not be restricted by convention!

Thing the Second:

Over the weekend I was honored to discover that one of my very favoritest recently discovered bloggers, Tipp, had bestowed the honor of naming Tomorrow is Another Day an Excellent Blog.  This was really more exciting than I would have expected, and I've got to tell you, this is the first blog award of any kind that I've ever been given.  It took almost three years, but I've finally made it!  I'm the damn Susan Lucci of the internet!  Anyway, the idea is to now pass it on to those bloggers whom I happen to find excellent.  And this is where I'm stuck, because I made a list, and it was about fifteen thousand miles long.  So, my solution is to give it to everyone on my blog roll.  Some of you read here, others of you don't, but every single one of you makes my day a little brighter every time you post, and I couldn't possibly choose favorites.  So there you go, you gorgeous, Excellent Bloggers!  Be proud!

Thing the Third:
I'm leaving for Italy in four days--our flight takes off on Friday evening, and we'll be touching down in Rome on Saturday.  I really feel like somehow we made the leap from four months to go to four days to go at an alarmingly hasty speed, and I still have about a bajillion things that need to be done.  And so of course, I'm freaking out just a tad.  Here is a random sampling of my to do list for this week:

1)  Contact Our Lord in Heaven, and find out his weather plans for Italy from April 5th-20th.

     a)  At least see if He will narrow it down to sweater weather or tank top weather.

     b)  If He is not available, leave a message and then check weather.com obsessively for the next four days.

2)  Learn to speak Italian

     a)  If not fluent by Wednesday, at least learn basic conversational phrases.

     b)  If still not able to carry on a conversation by Thursday, focus effort on numbers, bargaining terms, and "more wine/gelato, please".

3)  Lose 15 pounds so that the 20 pounds I am liable to gain by eating a steady diet of gelato, parmesan, and wine for the next two weeks will not be so visible.

Of course, there are many other things on the list--packing for example--so I'll be pretty busy for the next few days.  But I figure we've got our passports, we've got our plane tickets, and we've got our hotel reservations, at this point, everything else is just extra.  (Although if you have a spare Italian tutor lying around, please feel free to send him/her in our direction.)

Becoming A Reality

February 28.  The first time I ever ordered shoes from Zappos and didn't receive free overnight shipping.  From now on, unless I pay upwards of $7.00, shoes ordered from their website will arrive in 4-5 days.  I really feel like today should be a day of mourning.

In addition to the severe pain that was caused by the loss of Zappos free overnight shipping, Endless is no longer offering negative $5.00 shipping, although it is still free overnight.  It's the end of an era folks.  A beautiful carefree time that will be remembered with the same fondness as the Napster Years.  But life does go on, and so next week, I hope to wrap up The Great Shoe Quest with my thoughts on all of the shoes and my final selections.  I know I'm pretty dang excited!

And to go along with the vacation time that was so graciously bestowed upon me by my illustrious company, Colby's passport arrived in the mail on Tuesday, and mine showed up yesterday.  We're official, y'all!!  Although, I admit that I'm pretty bummed about the fact that I lost the stamps I'd collected over the years in my old passport.  Le sigh.

So, all in all, today I'm feeling pretty okay.  Italy is just over a month away, and it no longer feels like some far off dream.  I've been mentally selecting outfits for the past few days, and I think this weekend I'm going to finish my vacation shopping by purchasing a pair of these pants in lemonade and porcelain blue.  Assuming they don't make my ass look ginormous, that is.

Tonight I'm going to have dinner with Lori, and I'm oh so excited since I think the last time we saw each other was on Christmas Eve.  I'll probably moan about my job a little bit more over cocktails, but then I am putting it out of my mind until next week.  I've done nothing for the past two days but think about whether I should quit, and if so when I should quit--pre or post vacation?--where else I would work, how much it would suck to not buy shoes for the entire duration of the job hunt, whether or not it really is all that bad here, and how tired I am of 11 hour days.  My brain is utterly exhausted, and this weekend I just want to have fun eating cupcakes, buying flowers for our front yard, shopping, and vegging out on the couch.  I'm going to take a page out of Scarlett's book and say, "Fiddle-dee-dee, I'll think about that tomorrow."  After all, tomorrow is another day!

(And there we have it--it took almost 3 years, but I finally managed to throw out the titular line.  Nice.)

Things That Are Currently Hanging Over My Head

Don't you just love making lists when it comes to getting things done?  I adore the feeling of checking things off one by one, seeing the progress being made in a visual, hard copy form.  Without lists I do nothing but sit around watching My Fair Brady reruns and stuffing my face with Baked Cheetos (surprisingly delicious!). 

And so because I don't feel like discussing how bummed I am that we're not going to New York over the upcoming three day weekend because Colby is swanning around D.C. (waiting to possibly be deployed but mostly touring and going out to dinner a lot), and how for the fourth year in a row we won't be spending Valentine's Day together, I'm going to enumerate in fascinating detail the things that I will be doing this weekend to keep myself entertained.

1. FINALLY sitting down to go through the 1200 or so photos that were provided by our photographer to select 200 photos for the proof book, 75 photos for the flush album, and upload to Target's online photo store any others that I want to put in my scrapbook.  I've already gone through the pictures a few times to pick out favorites, but now I need to commit to our selection and get Colby's approval.  We've had the pictures since December 3, a mere, 10 days after the wedding, now it's time to get off my arse and do my part.
2. Thank you notes.  Yeah.  Sigh.  They're coming folks, I swear!  I kept waiting for Colby to be around to help out with them, but it appears that this is not in the cards for us any time soon.  And so thank you notes I shall write!
3. Send our dang wedding announcements to our hometown newspapers.  I've been putting this off because the announcement form for Colby's hometown basically asks that you write a novel about your wedding, and, um, I don't want to!  However, I know it means a lot to our parents to have the announcements printed, and in 30 years I'll probably be glad I did it.  I just really don't feel like describing every single person's attire, flowers, and blood type.
4. Book some of the Italy tours that I've been reading up on but putting off actually scheduling.  Specifically this one, because YUM.  I'll probably become homicidal if it's already booked to capacity.
5. I want to get at least another 20 pages of The Book written.  I'm hovering around 12,000 words right now, so I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment over the past month, but rather than banging out a couple of pages at a time, I'd like to sit down, get in the mood, and go with the flow for a few hours to see what comes out on the page.
6. Must, must, must go to the UPS store and ship back some returns as well as do a couple of in store returns.  I didn't get them done before my credit card cycle ended and so I am left with a much larger balance than I would have liked.  Bummer.
7. Maybe, if this warmer weather holds out, go for a run.  But probably not.

So, aren't you jealous?  Don't all of those things look SO FUN!  Wouldn't the majority of those things be so much MORE FUN if Colby were home?  And maybe to spice things up and make it a REALLY exciting weekend, I'll throw in a little dusting and bathroom cleaning!  Y'all I am so excited!  Bring it on President's Day, I'm going to make you my bitch!

The Great Shoe Quest: Hollywood Round

Well friends, we've skimmed through the preliminary auditions in The Great Shoe Quest, and here we are ready to face our initial selections and whittle them down to the finalists.  Those lucky few who make it from Hollywood all the way to my house in Washington will be facing stiff competition, and great expectations from the judges.  Will they be able to stand up to the pressure?  Will all of their promises of cloud-like comfort and support fall apart under fierce scrutiny?  Only time will tell, but first, let's take a look at those special shoes that have made it this far!

As often happens in this round of the competition, a few shoes manage to sneak through with a Golden Ticket that the viewing audience hasn't seen before.  Thanks to some reader recommendations, there have been a few additions to this round of the competition, specifically in the Sturdy Walking Shoe category:

Skechers - Bikers Locomotion in Toffee
Skechers - Blissful in Toffee
Skechers - Bikers Onlooker in Brown Suede/Plaid

Let's also take a minute to review the criteria of this intense competition:

• Must be supportive, sturdy, and comfortable, with an attractive and streamlined design
• Must coordinate with a large number of outfits
• Must be something that can transition from the cobblestoned streets of Rome to the rugged hills of the Amalfi coastline to the streets of Seattle with ease and style

I made the ultimate decision to go with browns for these shoes, based on two factors.  One, the majority of shoes already in my closet are black, so it seems silly to buy three more pairs of black shoes.  Two, I reviewed the clothes that I'm tentatively planning to pack and everything seems like it will look fine with a brown shoe.  From all of the contenders I made a careful assessment of how the style fit in with my requirements and read the extensive reviews from their owners, from there I narrowed my selection down to these lucky finalists, all of which will be ordered over the next month and put to the test.

Category 1: Practical Ballet Flat Finalists


Clarks - Swan in Dark Brown Leather


Clarks - Arye in Champagne Leather


Indigo by Clarks - Giana in Cafe Brown Leather

Category 2: Sturdy Walking Shoe Finalists


Privo - Comice in Brown Nubuck


Privo - Float in Brown Nubuck


Privo - Step in Chocolate Nubuck


Skechers - Bikers in Toffee

Category 3: Comfortable Heel

Ecco - Basel T-Strap in Espresso Patent


Ecco - Brig Petit T-Strap in Barollo Patent


Sofft - Regina in Cashmere/Spirit Tan Leather (Note: I was actually contacted by a representative from Sofft who came across my blog and offered to send me either their Regina or Serena shoe.  After I scraped myself off the floor where I had collapsed in a torrent of grateful tears because FINALLY this blog has done SOMETHING to earn its keep around here, I responded gleefully that I'd love to try the Regina.  However, as wonderful as their customer service is, that alone is not what got it into the final round.  Everyone that I've spoken to has adored the Sofft brand, and I plan to report back honestly about my opinion on the shoe once I've tried it on my own two feet.)

So, that's it for Hollywood.  I'll be reporting back soon once the shoes start to trickle through my front door with my final choices in each category and thoughts on all of the contenders.  I suspect that it will be difficult to ship the losers back from whence they came, because according to their reviews, they're all fantastic shoes.  Alas, we have elliptical machines and curtains to pay for, and so back to the store some of them must go, next time on... The Great Shoe Quest Results Show!

The Great Shoe Quest Begins

February is off to a rip-roaring great start--already the sun has shone more in the past 3 hours than it did through all of January.  Colby arrived home Friday night and we immediately resumed our places on the couch, cuddled up with the puppies at our feet and tuned into the Lost Season 3 Finale and Season 4 premiere.  All I can say is that if the premiere is any indication, this season is going to be about 5,000 times better than last year.

We also got our passport pictures taken and can I just say, what a ripoff. Granted, it's been a very long time since I got my old passport photo done, but I seem to remember it being a slightly more advanced process than standing in front of a dirty projector screen while a bored Rite-Aid employee takes your picture with a crappy digital camera from 2001.  The pictures are AWFUL and pixelated and a horrific embarrassment, but then I guess that makes them the perfect passport photo.  Enough people in blogland and real life have indicated that it will only take 3-4 weeks tops to get my new passport, so I think I'm going to risk skipping the expedite fee and just keep my fingers crossed that when our plane takes off exactly two months from today, I'll be on it with passport in hand.

And as everyone in the country is probably aware, the Super Bowl was on yesterday.  I tried to give even half of a flip as Colby spent the first ten minutes agonizing over which team he was going to root for, his decision making mostly based on the number of former LSU players on the team, and eventually decided on the Giants.  Since I didn't care one way or another, I rooted for the Giants as well, but felt that I would be happier doing so from behind my computer screen, ensconced in the warm embrace of Zappos.com.

I've been on the hunt for comfortable, but CUTE, shoes to pack for Italy for a few months now.  I've searched the TripAdvisor website extensively looking for suggestions, but honestly the thought of wearing Tevas, Crocs, or hiking boots makes me want to poke my eye out (but just one!).  I have to believe that it is possible to combine style and comfort, but it has become apparent that I am going to have to take matters into my own hands.  Over the next month, I will endeavor to find these elusive "perfect" shoes, so that I can properly break them in before traipsing for miles around glorious Italia.  I'm documenting my search here in the hopes that I will be able to assist other world-traveling fashionistas conquer the planet one blister-less step at a time.

There are three categories that I'm looking to fill with the perfect shoe:

1. A cute, but well cushioned and supportive, flat that I can wear with skirts, dresses, or pants
2. A more sturdy shoe that will be more appropriate for evening hikes through the country-side or up Mt Vesuvius
3. A dressy but low, chunky heel that I can wear out to dinners and still easily walk in without breaking my ankles on the cobblestones.

So, if we liken The Great Shoe Quest to American Idol, let's think of this round of tryouts as the city auditions.  I scoured Zappos and Endless (online stores selected based on their free overnight shipping and easy as pie return policy) for shoes that showed great potential, but not all of these shoes will make it past Hollywood.  For now, I would like to award a Golden Ticket to the following shoes:

Category 1: Practical Ballet Flat
Clarks - Swan in Black Leather
Clarks - Arye in Champagne Leather
Clarks - Demure in Black Leather
Indigo by Clarks - Giana in Cafe Brown Leather or Green/Orange Printed Satin
Indigo by Clarks - Picnic in Red Striped Raw Silk or Black Leather
Privo - Spot in Chocolate w/ Pink Dots
Amy Gladstone - Bow

Category 2: Sturdy Walking Shoe
Privo - Comice in Brown or Black Nubuck
Privo - Float in Brown or Black Nubuck
Privo - Acacia in Smoky Brown or Black Nubuck
Privo - Trumpet in Chocolate or Black Metallic
Privo - Step Flat in Chocolate
Cole Haan - Phebes in Putty Suede/Patent


Category 3: Comfortable Heel
ECCO - Brig Petit T-Strap in Black Patent
ECCO - Basel T-Strap Pump in Black Patent
ECCO - Bristol T-Strap Pump in Black or Olive
Sofft - Serena in Chocolate or Black Suede
Sofft - Regina in Cashmere/Spirit Tan Leather

So, clearly, that is a LOT of shoes, and I'm definitely going to have some serious narrowing down to do over the next few days.  Looking back over my initial choices I can see that some are not exactly practical for traveling purposes--for example, while the red striped raw silk flats are absolutely gorgeous, they're not going to be able to match easily with a large selection of outfits.  Also, I need to do some serious thinking about whether I'll be packing more black than brown clothing and how much I'll care about the possibility of having to mix the two colors.  It's not the fashion sin that it once was, right? 

You know, it's a darn shame I don't put this kind of time and effort into things like keeping the house clean or whipping up gourmet meals.  I'd be giving Martha Stewart a run for her money for sure!

It's Friday and I'm Practically Famous!!

So, check out what came in the mail the other day:

It's my story!  In an actual, real life, published book!  A book that somebody in the world might have decided was worth the exchange of their very own hard earned money!  And for reasons that I cannot determine, but am no longer questioning, they placed my story in prime position at the very beginning of the book.  I've got to tell you, this is one of the most thrilling things that has ever happened to me.  I know it's a small journal, but even so, I took a risk that I was very uncomfortable with, allowing strangers to judge my work, and it truly paid off in the end.  So go, follow your dreams, you can do anything you want to do, the world is your oyster, blah blah blah...

Also, Colby is coming home today and I cannot wait to get home so that we can curl up on the couch together to watch our Lost marathon.   Tomorrow we need to go get photos taken and then get our paperwork in the mail for our new passports--my name has changed and Colby's was stolen a little while ago.  Of course, since we need them in just over 2 months, we're having to pay the inflated expedite charge, but it's worth it.  I'm sure that there's a possibility that our passports would actually be back within the 6 week time frame if we didn't expedite, but I'm just not willing to take that chance.

I'm going to be in Italy in 2 months!  Oh my gosh, my head just exploded from the excitement of it all.  I'm off to clean up the mess that a head explosion causes, but I hope you all have the happiest of happy weekends! 

Come Out, Come Out Where Ever You Are!

Wow, it felt so good to vent yesterday!  Starting at about 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon things started to look up and I actually felt (*gasp*) HAPPY!!  I received an availability confirmation on the last hotel we had to reserve in Italy, and we're now booked in five absolutely amazing places for our two weeks in Rome, Siena, Florence, Positano, and Capri this April--less than 3 months away!  I also emailed the Vatican at the beginning of this week, thinking that it would hear ages to hear back from them about a confirmation for the Scavi Tour, and to my immense surprise, they wrote back this morning saying that there's an availability for us at the perfect time on the perfect day!  It's so crazy--getting an email from the Vatican feels strangely like getting an email from God.  God apparently does not speak super great English, but it's cool, I love Him even still!

On top of that, last night my DVR was filled with a large number of brand new shows, and tonight there's a new Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and Apprentice.  So take that writer's strike!  Try as you might, you cannot keep me down for long!  And a nice side effect of when you are keeping me down is that I'm doing a lot more reading and have become absolutely INSPIRED.  Also inspiring?  Finally being published in the Winter 2007/2008 Fog City Review.  It's addictive!  Must publish again!

Additionally, apparently this is either Delurking Week or Delurking Day--I can't quite figure it out, and I can't find the source blog post for this information, but the timing seems right from past years, and who am I to deny myself comments!  I am a comment whore!  I love to give them and I love to receive them!  But I don't pay for them or pay to give them... so maybe I'm just a loosely moralled commenter..

However, regardless of my trampish commenting ways, if you're out there reading, and thinking that you will sneak away silently, I implore you to let your voice be heard!  Talk amongst yourselves!  I'll give you a topic.  Tell me about something that has happened to you in the past 24 hours to make you smile.  Discuss.