Day 17: No more sciopero for me

4.22.2013


This post was written on the plane coming home… to America. To my family. And Eleanor, my cat.

I guess it’s fitting that my last day in Italy it rained.  That means it’s time to go home right?

Since it was a travel day, there wasn’t really much that happened except the following:
  •       watched a rainy sunrise over Rome
  •        got picked up in a Mercedes
  •        used the last of my euros to pay for said Mercedes
  •        sprinted around the Amsterdam airport
Before you start to think I was splurging on the Mercedes, it's pretty much the standard over here when you request a car in advance. I love the Waldorf but when they told me the cab to the airport would be fifty euros, I knew I could do a bit better. A little googling revealed this one service that said it was 40 flat rate. DEAL. I was slightly convinced they were going to blow me off, show up on a tricycle, or make me share with a smelly family. None of that happened. 

Day 16: Pizza and the Pope

4.21.2013


I just spent about 20 minutes trying to take a picture of the city lights from my balcony.

I'm not sure it really went as expected. But I'll still post it for posterity sake tomorrow maybe.

Today I did everything that I had "planned" to do. It was a really great day of moving at my own speed, not rushing to anything, and seeing a bit of living history. I've been in Rome for three days now and I feel as though every day I've seen it a little bit differently.
Day 1 = hectic and very touristy. crowds galore. gave up on hotel maps, caved to google.
Day 2 = more relaxed. tried a new neighborhood. learned how challenging cabs are.
Day 3 = balanced between crowds and quiet.

There were some really great moments today, which in turn make it a great last full day in Italy. I'm not sure that I've been "accepted" here after only a few weeks but I will say I make a far more polite and acceptable tourist than some that I've seen. Highlights of today? An older Italian man squeezed my hand and I informed another tourist about an upcoming train strike. I'm like a pro at that now.

Live Update: How much jam do you want?

Just a quick post before I head out for my last full day in Italy.

I wanted to share how insane the breakfast spread is at the Waldorf Cavalieri in Rome. And yes, that is the size of a piece of toast (above). It is the biggest piece of bread I've ever seen.

Day 15: The Vatican is filled with Marble

4.20.2013


Today was a big day. I put on a dress and flats.

I guess that really isn't too significant but given that I've been wearing khaki shorts (some nautical print) and leggings (or jeggings)... it was a considerable departure. Plus, that knocks two more items off my "must wear it because you brought it" list. I only have one left.

Since today was the day that I was going to be hitting up the Vatican for some knowledge and memories, I did some light research over breakfast so I wouldn't sound like a complete dumb dumb for my tour guide. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't pull myself together a bit for him. He could have been handsome and put me on the back of his VESPA! But he was just a nice married guy without a vespa, still it was worth the lip gloss and the dress.  

Day 14: Rome = Walking = Balcony

4.19.2013

I subscribe to this daily app called TimeHop. The essence of it is that it serves up your social media check-ins and postings from prior years. Yesterday TimeHop told me that: 3 years ago I was in Virginia at a softball tournament, 2 years ago I was working in NYC, and 1 year ago I was on Anna Maria Island with family in Florida.

Today, I was in Italy and it was a beautiful day to be in Italy.

It was one of those days where I'm convinced that being a good friendly person pays off. Walk around with a pout? Nobody wants to help you when you are rushing for a train. It was a really active day between 2 train stations, sight seeing in Rome, and checking into a hotel. Many opportunities to test my theories of being positive and friendly. It wasn't a scientific study, but I am right.

Live update: surprise! It's another train strike!


Let me start by saying I have no idea what day of the week it is.

I overheard someone in the lobby this morning talking about potentially having trouble getting from Naples home.

WHAT.

so, I cancelled my last half hour of water gawking and ran to the train station. Strike starts at 9 and I appear to have just made it again.

Double crossies that I make it to Rome.

Live update: Mount Vesuvius is missing

I'm up early for breakfast just like normal.

The roosters are crowing. The sun is rising over the mountains. The fog is slowly burning off.

But Mount Vesuvius is nearly completely hidden by the fog. It's not that far away and yet it is completely indistinguishable that there is a volcano behind that seamless layer of fog.

I'll miss Sorento.

Btw. Clearly whoever was cooking breakfast this morning thought Kerrianne was here. All the meat is floppy.

P.s. for breakfast I had 3 croissants, 1 cappuccino, 2 pieces of toast, 1 orange juice, and about a pound of bacon. What? I need to fuel up for Rome.

Day 13: Views for days from Amalfi

4.18.2013


I've come to accept that you can't do everything you think you should do on vacation.

I'm in Sorrento still and probably only did 50% of the things you are "supposed to do" while you are here. I didn't make it to Positano and I didn't make it to Pompei. I'm completely fine with it. To be fair, I did drive straight through Positano and simply elected to not get off the bus.

The thing with Italy is that you need to do a lot of stairs when you are here. It's like this entire country is on a hill. While I love my Jawbone Up, I would have appreciated the "stairs" counter that comes with the Fitbit.

The advantage that I have against most of the other tourists here it seems is that I wake up early. Regardless of the timezone, my body seems to naturally wake up at 7 am so I'm catching the sun rising over Mount Vesuvius while I pack my bag for the day and get breakfast. And by pack my bag, I'm merely referring to tossing some sunblock, my Rick Steve's book, a scarf, and a giant bottle of water in there. I will not be tired of lugging that sucker all around Italy - it is just too big.

Today was another great day in Italy. Every day that I'm here, my life in the North End makes so much more sense to me. All of the mannerisms of neighbors and the unique characteristics that make the "North End" Italian are really exhibited in these smaller communities. You don't see it in Florence or Venice... but leave those bigger cities and head to Cortona or Amalfi and you see it.

Day 12: My heart belongs near the ocean

4.17.2013

If I ever wondered where I should be living and spending my days, today was a resounding reminder that it is near the ocean. There is something about seeing large bodies of water (lakes barely count) that literally makes my heart beat faster.

I can't get enough of it. Ever.

Last night I went to bed after about 3 glasses of campagne (self poured ... so it could be a smidge more) and a dinner of prosciutto. So when I woke up this morning, I was not amazingly excited to get an early start on the day for a trip to Capri.

Day 11: From the Hills... to the Ocean

4.16.2013


Today I spent about 5 hours travelling. Maybe more.

My friend Enzo picked me up at 10 am and I checked into the hotel in Sorrento at 4pm. It was a long day of travelling.... on a range of trains for sure. But I'll get to that.

Last night after much talk and deliberation, I decided to shorten my trip a bit. So this morning I woke up with a renewed spirit to tackle the last week - which meant cutting out Assisi and Orvieto. That's fine. I'l do those when I come back with someone and we can get a car because taking the train to all these small hill town is exhausting ... and it turns out they are like 30-45 minutes from each other... but it takes like an hour plus by train not including cabs.

Given that I was giving up a few days, I headed straight for the ocean in Sorrento. Something about it just felt like the right place to decompress and soak in the last week of Italy.

I was completely right. From the minute I got off the train and into the hotel, I knew I could spend several days just sitting in one spot. Tuscany was beautiful and for some people maybe that would be where they could sit - but for me, it's the ocean... and the ocean is in Sorrento.

I actually sat down to right this blog post at about 7pm and now its 10 pm... and the reason it's taken this long is because I've been busy. I've been drinking champagne, eating prosciutto, and talking to Germans.

Trip Update

After I wrote yesterday’s post, I went back to my room with the odd inclination to turn on the tv. I had only turned on the tv one other time while I was here and it wasn’t a successful attempt – but something made me do it. While I’ve been here, I’ve ignored all of my emails that aren’t from Booking.com, Delta, or family/friends. So, as I said to my friend Meghan earlier in the week, I’m out of the loop on all things “Ryan Lochte, North Korea, and the Masters”.

The instant I turned on the tv, I was thrown because it was in English and they were showing pictures of Back Bay and downtown. I knew the Boston Marathon was a big deal globally for runners but I was surprised to see it. Then immediately my heart sank and I felt sick to my stomach when I saw what was actually happening.

Boston has always been my home and I can’t understand why anyone would feel the inclination to perform such a senseless and devastating act on strangers. It’s heartbreaking to me. I am so thankful that it appears all of my friends, family, and coworkers are safe and unharmed.

I believe that this is one of those days that you will never forget where you are when you learned of the event. I have a few days in my memory that are like that, both happy and unhappy days.
I have decided to shorten my trip by a few days and come home a smidge early. So instead of three weeks in Italy, it will be 2 ½, which is just fine by me. Given the events of yesterday, Delta has waived all change fees and I’m thankful for that as well.

Until then, I’m going to continue to love Boston from afar.

Day 10: Cortona for One

4.15.2013

With each "city" that I arrive at, I am constantly amazed at how cute each of them is in their own ways. By this point, I've been to Venice, Florence, Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, Siena, Montepulciano ... and a few train stations in between. Cortona was one that I was really excited for but not for any great reason. Perhaps in my mind it had been romanticized a bit by the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" ...

Despite spending a few hours on the train yesterday pre Cortona, I managed to still walk 7+ miles which was helped by a long walk around the Fortezza in Siena before I left. The Fortezza is like Siena’s Charles River in my mind. This was my second morning in a row walking around there and you could see how this was part of some locals routines. I saw this adorbs older man with a yellow lab two days in a row on the same bench. The funny thing about the Fortezza is that is was built inside Siena by the Medici family after Siena lost the war with Florence (I think). Fred my tour guide from the day before tried to explain this us …

Day 9 (Part 2): The Tuscan Sunburn


When I first started to vocalize plans for this trip to Italy, I heard a fair amount of advice – but the one thing that really stood out among the tips was to visit Montepulciano. It didn’t seem as though it would be super easy to do however…. Primarily based on my guidebook.

When I failed to get one of the spots on the San Gimigano tour, I knew I’d have to make a go of it myself in Montepulciano … and I’m so glad that I did. It was absolutely worth every minute and penny … and sunburn.

Day 8: The Tuscan Hills are alive with wine

4.13.2013

Today is my first day without Kerrianne by my side. It was such a great twist of fate that she was able to join me in the first place, so I was sad to see her leave this morning. Despite our obvious personality differences, we are really great travel companions.

It was so helpful and assuring to have her here for the first week as we figured out how to book trains, order coffee, and soak in the Italian scene.

Kerrianne left our hotel just after 5 am and so its been a bit of a long day. Compounded by the fact that despite our amazing view, the room last night was really loud. We appeared to be located directly over a bar that raged until after 2 am. Not super cute. 

Day 7: Best View, Best Espresso, Best Gelato


If you saw the “Live Update” about the Sciopero …. And perhaps didn’t see another post yesterday, you might have thought I was still stuck in Cinque Terre.

But we didn’t get stuck there. The weather when we woke up (and were sleeping) was terrible and windy. It was raining and very gusty … and add to that the crashing of the waves. I oddly still liked it … it made the experience more authentic. However, I didn’t want to be in this weather for a full day of train delay.

Live Update: Sciopero

4.12.2013

sciopero in Italian means "train strike". This was one of the words I learned before coming here .... And we came back to our hotel last night from dinner and saw this little note on our bed.

Yikes.

So our leisurely morning changed to an earlier wake-up with the hopes of getting back to Florence at a decent time. Since my Italian is non-existent at this point, my current understanding of the strikes is that all national trains should still be running but the regional trains will be impacted.

Time will only tell!

In the meantime, we are kicking it on the train and playing this puzzle iPad app my friend Ria introduced me too. Kerrianne might be addicted to it.

ciao.

Day 6: To the Ocean!

4.11.2013

Today was not spent in museums, galleries, or fearingpigeons in city squares – but rather very much the opposite.

We woke up early to catch the train to Cinque Terre on thecoast. Cinque Terre is described as a rugged, coastal portion of the Italian Riviera and composed of 5 primary villages. Whenever I mentioned to people that I wascoming to Italy and here specifically, they resoundingly responded with a“you’ll love it”. I had mentally already committed at that point, but they wereright. This place is very much my speed – even in the off-season. I guesspeople understand my personality more than I expect them to.

The girl at our hotel in Florence made a note to us theother day that Spring is slow in arriving and you can get that feeling here inCinque Terre. The cities are ready for tourists but not quite fully open. WhileI’d love to experience the cities in their fully Spring / Summer glory, I haveno interest in experiencing the trail with more people.

Today on the trail, we had a consistent dozen people aroundus or so – within about 15 minutes hiking. I can’t even imagine what it wouldbe like in the high season. No thank you.

I’m writing this post as we both relax in our hotel room atHotel Pasquale. The view outside is incredible – like it’s the picture you puton a website. The moment we walked in Kerrianne announced we were sleeping withthe windows open … and honestly it’s hard to argue with her. I’m not sure howmany other times I’ve been this close to it…. AND WE ARE IN ITALY.

Just like yesterday, my cheeks have been kissed by the sunand I’m completely on board. Ten points for Italy.

Here’s how today went:
Train to Monterosso
I think I had a false sense of confidence from taking thetrain from Venice to Florence. It was just so easy and amazing. The train toMonterosso wasn’t hard but it did involve two transfers (one in Pisa, one in LaSpezia) and some sort of ticket validation that we couldn’t quite grasp at thetime. BUT, let me tell you …. The moment you leave La Spezia and you see theocean … and it’s so close to the train … it’s a wow moment.
Also, the train was set-up like with these littlecompartments of 6 seats – just like in I LOVE LUCY. Perhaps, you don’t know butI grew up on this show and it still makes me laugh on weekend mornings.Kerrianne might not have been as enthused as I was about this. Also, this is the view when you get off the train in Monterosso... seriously. Insane right?
Hiking the Trail
We didn’t plan much for how much trail we would hike – buthonestly I think I had anticipated much more than we did. But, to be fair… theyare rehabilitating much of it … so it isn’t as though we are lazy.

The guidebook indicated that the section between Monterossoand Vernazza was the hardest but I was cocky. I figured that I hit my “way toofancy gym” several times a week, so it’d be a breeze. 90 minute hike? I’ll takecare of that in 70, thanks. False. It was a true hike and reminded me a lot ofthe Inca Trail. Small little walkways, COUNTLESS steps, and most importantlyviews for days.


There are many picturesque and quaint parts about the trailbut my favorite is that you feel like you are walking in people’s backyards.But in actuality, their yards are lemon orchards and vineyards and waterfalls.There was this portion of the trail I originally wanted to hike in Manarolathat described it as being among lemon trees but instead we drank wine andwatched the ocean. I wasn’t the least bit disappointed because I had alreadydone that and in much more of a rustic way.

The Towns & OurHotel
I had done a fair amount of research on each of thedifferent towns within Cinque Terre – and it was frustrating. Why? Becauseeveryone has different needs and expectations. Thankfully, we love Monterosso.It’s so very much our speed and the location of the hotel is easy and amazing.I mean, remember the view?

I think ideally you get to each of the 5 towns when you arevisiting – and we tried but the people rehabilitating the trail had otherintentions. So we visited 60% of the towns and I’m going to consider that awin.
Monterosso: Verymuch a beach town. Ocean is the prime feature and more space to move around asopposed to the other towns
Vernazza:Allegedly the “cover girl” of the 5 towns, and it deserves that title sincephysically it is gorgeous… but it is so much more touristy in a way that Idon’t like. We ended up missing the train to Manarola and were “stuck” in Vernazza forabout 45 minutes longer than we wanted to be there. It just felt like you wereon a boardwalk in New Jersey or some other very touristy location.
We were starving after hiking… and I mean starving. So wesettled on the first place with a view and ordered a pizza. While the pizza wasincredible and a new combo for us (olive, caper, cheese), the wine portionswere paltry and moderately insulting. It was the first time that I really felttreated like a tourist in Italy. In Kerrianne’s words … “they’ll be getting aTrip Advisor review”.
Manarola: Ouroriginal plans were to hike the last section of the trail called Manarola – but afterarriving in Manarola by train, we learned it was closed. Womp womp. But, surprise forus we loved the vibe of this town. It was quiet and relaxed and so much moreour speed. We cruised the sites mentioned in our tour book and then sat anddrank wine for an hour. I can’t argue with that. There was not a single t-shirtshop in sight. Perfection.
Dinner
One of the guidebooks had mentioned that if you scorned sardines in the States, you should give them another shot in Cinque Terre. I did not rise the to the challenge. Kerrianne did. I'll happily bear this burden. The end result was that she agreed they tasted better than previously remembered, which I guess is a wine for Rick Steve's and his Italian tour guide book.

Since pesto originally came from this region, we had a simple pesto dinner, some mussels in lemon, and a caprese salad ... but with anchovies. The pesto was great but very different than American pestos ... that tend to be more garlicy or with much more of a bite. I didn't give the anchovies a go... but I did try the mussels. I thought they were "fine" but felt like I had made better batches myself. Unwilling to spoil the moment for Kerrianne, I kept these thoughts to myself... until she said that I made better mussels. Victory is mine Monterosso. 

Tomorrow? Welooked at the train schedule today via the Rail Europe app and have settled ona 11ish departure. One it limits the connections from 2 to 1 and two, it givesus time to have a leisurely breakfast and walk the beach in Monterosso. Thenwe’ll be back in Florence for our last night together. Kerrianne lady flirtedour way to a great room at a reduced rate in our previous Florence hotel. Bothof us are excited for a view of the Arno during sunset …. And to take turns inthe Jacuzzi tub.


Ciao.

Day 5: Getting Prosciutto Sweats

4.10.2013

When I woke up today, I looked outside and saw the brightest of blue skies. So of course, I woke up Kerrianne to tell her this. What we have learned in Florence is that the weather patterns change constantly. Not like rain is coming or anything dramatic like that, but it could be amazingly sunny and then suddenly cloudy.

Despite all of this, as I sit in bed writing I have that amazing sun-kissed feeling on my face. I love that feeling. You don't get that feeling when you are working in an office all day. (Btw, that's the first time I've thought about work once). I can't believe I get to experience the last couple days about 4 times more... and all in Italy. I feel like the luckiest person.

If I had to summarize today, I would say: prosciutto. We started the day at the hotel breakfast that really does all other breakfasts to shame - primarily because I could eat as much prosciutto as my heart desired. Plus, there were amazing cafe lattes. The granola was a little too "banana-y" for my taste but you win some you lose some. After my second helping of prosciutto, I said to Kerrianne "I might actually get the meat sweats from this". Her response: "one can dream". Yes my dear, that would be the dream.

Here's how today went.


Santa Croce
I think when people flock to Florence, they immediately run to the Duomo, the David, etc. But they aren't running (at least in an obvious way) to Santa Croce because it was not crowded. In looking back on the day, this was one of my favorite places we have visited.

The church is gorgeous with its gigantic ceilings, frescos, and all that comes with that. Plus, it wasn't very expensive to get into either. I'm a bit tired but I think it was only like 3 or 6 Euros. Also not in a creepy way, but the floor is covered/filled with tombs to different people. Some of them appear to be cool enough to get roped off so people won't step on them ... it's like a tourist obstacle course.

Duomo & Baptistry
I'm not sure how things get their names here - but the Duomo is actually in the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. Having just seen the Santa Cruce church... I was unimpressed with this church in general. Santa Cruce just had a much warmer and lighter feeling to it. The columns in Santa Maria del Fiore were just so heavy. BUT, then you get closer to the Duomo and you see how amazing it all is.
The coolest part about the Dome is that they designed it before they even knew how to build it. They just knew that someone would figure it out. So, when you stand right underneath it... you are just far more impressed. Ten points to Filippo Brunelleschi.


Mercato Central
My friend Jackie suggested that I go to the Mercato about a week before I left. I've been to markets before and was completely on board... however it is only open until 2 pm so that put a bit of a wrench in getting there. Thankfully we blew off the Uffizi due to crowds so we had plenty of time to gawk at meat. Sounds about right for ladies like us.
We ended up getting two sandwiches from this one stand that were amazing. We got the guy to cut them in half and then we sat in a park, in the sun, and ate more prosciutto. I can't even keep track of how much cured meat I've eaten in one day.

Wine & Wine
After the Mercato we wandered over to check of this museum, Hospital de los Inocentes, that Kerrianne had written down. Apparently it was some sort of example of unique architecture. Well, spoiler alert... it was closed for renovations but they'd let you see the Courtyard for a Euro. I thought Kerrianne wanted to see it, she didn't want to tell me no. We laid down two euro... and it was a waste. Save your money for gelato folks.
Subsequent to this disappointment, we decided it was time to sit and drink some wine. So we did... at one outdoor bar (Bar Sara) and then another (O.k. Bar). We moved to sit in the sun and it was worth it. 
Guys, I'm getting really good at drinking wine and prosecco in the middle of the day. I'm also really excelling at eating pizza.

Academia
So, the thing about Florence is that museums are like really popular. Specifically the Uffizi and the Academia - like call in advance style. Of course we didn't do this, but we managed to have this amazing woman at our hotel that got us reservations at both hotels for the one full day we were in Florence. Well, the Uffizi is bananas and we got totally overwhelmed with the longest lines I've ever seen. I'll never look at a women's bathroom line with a frowny face again. So we skipped the Uffizi. It was sunny and we didn't want to figure out the lines and we wanted to drink wine outside.

But the Academia we did go to. Thanks to our 3:45 reservation we were able to do the wine outside thing twice ... which greatly helped to alleviate the annoyance of the waiting in line. Since despite our 3:45 reservation we waited in line for like 45 minutes. The woman in front of us was literally losing her shit and the people behind us were not pleased either. So instead Kerrianne started to make jokes about how David wasn't going to be wearing any underpants when we got there.

Good Gelato v Great Gelato
We asked our hotel for a gelato recommendation this evening and our new best friend her Guilia tossed out 3 options to us. The BEST ONE in the ENTIRE city was near Santa Cruce and a good one was near Pontevecchio bridge.

Thanks to tracking our days on my Jawbone Up, we knew that we had tromped 6.8 miles and didn't have much more in us. Thus, we went with the "Good" option at a place called Venchi and were quite satisfied. Between the two of us we had 5 different flavors ... and I'm not going to pretend to remember them all.


Tomorrow? We wake up bright and early and head back to the train station.... for Cinque Terre. It'll be just about a few hour train ride before we are checking out the ocean, cliffs, and making taking a boat ride or two. I could not be more excited.

P.s. we also went to Santa Maria de la Novela plaza today & the Farmacia that is associated with it. They weren't amazing but if you are in the area, you should take a trip to the Farmacia. It is pretty cool, especially if you are into herbal remedies and old stuff. Chances are, you probably like one of those things.

Day 4: Smile for Cream Puffs

4.09.2013


From the ocean to the hillsides ... or something like that.

After last night's amazing dinner ... and bottle of prosecco in our hotel room, it was a tad bit of a struggle to be up and ready at 8 am today. But that's how we like to travel. Initially I was excited when Kerrianne suggested we watch a "Golden Girls" episode as we fell asleep ... then she told me it's because they make her fall asleep. Either way, I'm taking it as a win for me and the old biddies.

We knew that since today was going to be a travel day, it would be a bit broken up and perhaps not as "productive" as we would normally roll. But, we managed to get a fair amount in including our first experience on an Italian train. As I mentioned in the "Live Update" from earlier today, it is far superior to American trains. No wonder Europeans look at us like we are crazy when we show them our systems.

Live Update: See ya Venice!

Well, we are bidding Venice farewell and hoping on the train to Florence.

If we are comparing notes on train infrastructure, I would say:
- South Station is prettier
- European trains are more organized
- 2nd class travel is like the Acela

Day 3: All the Canals are Picturesque

4.08.2013

Note: Our hotel only gives us one hour of Wifi a day … so this is a partial post that will be updated later :)

In preparing for this trip, a few of the guidebooks said things like “it’s not what you see when you are in Venice, it’s just being there”. I’d have to agree with them completely.

After a long first two days of travel, today we woke up at 8:30 AM in our hotel Ca’ Zose – which is not late by any standards …. but just delayed for a trip with Kerrianne and I. We tend to wake up early to beat the crowds to breakfast and start knocking sites off of our list. However, our bodies clearly needed sleep and according to my Jawbone Up tracker, we slept for over 9 hours. You’re welcome body.

One of the best parts of travelling with Kerrianne is that she likes to be prepared before we venture out for the day. So before we left our hotel, we had downloaded a Rick Steve’s audio tour of St. Mark’s Square, marked off our map for spots to visit, and already planned our next meal. We both need to be fed at regular intervals or the shit hits the fan. It gets ugly.

Day 1 & 2: The Adventure Begins


 A few years ago when I was traveling in business school, itappeared wireless was free everywhere. Now, it’s a different story. Verizon ischarging me by the megabyte – which is insane considering a picture on my iPhonecan be 5 megabytes alone.

So, sharing this amazing Italian journey is a little bitmore challenging than previous amazing adventures. However I’m going to do mybest to write at the end of each day because … when I’m seeing some reallygreat stuff. Plus, I feel like I’ve never been more popular on Instagram. Iwon’t let all those likes go to my head.

While it feels as though I’ve been gone for several days, itis really only like 1 ½ and fees like more because of time changes and becausewe barely slept flying in coach. Since time has been speeding by, I’m going totell you what’s happening.

Packing Update

4.05.2013

Things that I've been thinking about:
  • How much weight will I gain in Italy?
  • My (self) manicures normally last for 2.5 weeks. What about that last 1/2 week?!?
  • Will Ray Bans make me look like a tourist?
  • I hope it's sunny so my hair gets lighter.
  • Should I try and keep track of how much cured meat I consume?
  • Will my North End cred get me anything in Italy?
  • How bad is it to wear leggings? (See above comment about weight gain)

excited.

4.04.2013

This morning I woke up and it was Thursday.

That seems obvious. But what it also meant was that this time next week I'd be in Italy ... and perhaps more specifically hiking the coast of it.

Sometimes I get a little anxious about this trip. But then, I think about when I would ever get another chance to take three weeks and go to Italy without a real schedule. Although some days, it would be great to have a husband, a boyfriend, a roommate, a baby, a toddler, or a house .... I get to go to Italy without thinking twice. Also, I wouldn't want all of those at once for many reasons of which it would be confusing to have a boyfriend and a husband.

I had to borrow this picture from Pinterest because I haven't been there yet. But I will be soon and it will be amazing.

p.s. I haven't packed yet. But I did buy a new mascara, so that's something right?

oh hey, I'm going to go to Italy.

4.02.2013

Oh you know just your casual family bike ride around the neighborhood post Easter dinner.

It's been a bit since the last update... and that's in part because a lot and a little has happened.

A little:
no cooking
no cleaning
no Harbor walks

A lot:
I'm going to Italy for three weeks.

If I've learned one thing in writing this blog over the past three years, it's that I stop writing when I'm confused and a bit stressed in life. So the past two weeks have been spent realizing that what I've been thinking about ... is actually happening.

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