Italia! (part 5)

Okay so this will be the final installment of Italy posts. Monday, my last day there, A and I did a bunch of shopping. I always love buying souvenirs when I go away. I had a few things I knew I wanted to buy while I was in Italy. I love the style of hand painted ceramics that you find in Tuscany, so I wanted to get some of that. Also, something you see around Italy is artists doing watercolors of the scenery. I wanted to get one of those. Finally, I wanted to pick up a leather wallet for my brother for his college graduation present. I was successful on all counts, plus a couple other things!

First, I picked up a pilsner glass from the Hard Rock. I always buy a little something from their stores whenever I go.

I found a little square watercolor (this is not a great picture of it) of the view of Florence, specifically the Duomo - my favorite! I can't wait until we finish the basement, I will frame this and hang it there, along with the pictures I took in Rome and Florence :-)

For the ceramics, I found a little plate that I will hang in my dining room. It has the fleur de lis, which is the emblem of Florence.

I also found this wine cork, with the Duomo on it.

But by far the one thing I was most ecstatic to find is something I did not have any intention of looking for. A had asked me about Twilight, and I suggested she try reading it. So off we went to the bookstore, to the English section. Low and behold, what was sitting right next to Twilight?

THE UK HARRY POTTERS!!!!

I. freaked. out. I have been eyeing them on Amazon Canada, but J said I was nuts. He's probably right. Whatevs! So of course when I spotted these, that I could buy right there, and not pay shipping from Canada, I had to have them. A thought it was the funniest thing how excited I was, and snapped a picture. I think I might have been shaking, I was so excited!

Here are a couple pictures I took of them at home:

I love them so much. Another reason I can't wait to finish the basement - I will be able to display them in a proper bookcase with all of my other Harry Potter things. Yay!

Italia! (part 4)

Sunday was a relaxing day. We walked around the center so I could do a little photo shoot of my favorite thing in Florence - the Duomo!

Here are the famous bronze doors:
The Duomo itself!

A close view from the other side below:
I freakin love it

Inside the main dome:

Wood carvings outside one of the side doors:

I don't know what this part is called lol

The Bell Tower
Standing at the Bell Tower:
So, a funny little story about how we got inside the Duomo. Neither of us wanted to do tours anywhere - long lines, $, no thanks! But A decided we should go inside the Duomo. So she sidles up to this side door and speaks broken Italian (on purpse - she speaks it pretty well) to the guard, saying 'Can we come, how do you say, pray?' ::bats eyelashes:: Guard says sure! And we sneak in the side entrance!

Of course he told me to put my camera away, so we snuck around the corner to get the pics. I don't do the whole religion thing, so for me it was no biggie, but A is pretty religious, so I told her I hoped I wasn't sending her to hell! Hahaha.. she was too funny. She made sure to cross herself in front of the guard as we were leaving hahaha.

Sunday night we went to this club type place called Otel. We forgot to take pictures there, so we decided to do a little self timer photo shoot. This was by far the best picture of the lot! Shockingly enough, we were dead sober!

I've got some pictures of the souveniers I got, including my UK HPs!

Italia! (part 3)

Saturday we took a day trip to Rome! We had three must sees: the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and..... the Gucci store. Normally, this would be very out of character for me - designer labels do about as much for me as Ozzy Osborne... ::vom::

But A actually helped design the retail stores for Gucci! So she was actually able to show me what she worked on. So off we went, first stop, the Coliseum!

The weather was absolutely beautiful - hardly a cloud in the sky! The sun was so bright that some of the pictures look white in the background. Of course, you can't see the Coliseum without seeing the Arch of Constantine:

I got some great shots of the Coliseum, some that actually show the blue sky too ;-) I hope to print a bunch and frame them.

See, the sky we saw was blue, but my camera just couldn;'t handle the brightness, so you see white hahaha

Then it was off to the Trevi. Did I mention that it was a holiday weekend in Italy (labor day)? And I had perfect sunny weather in the 70s the whole trip? Ya Rome was a friggin mob scene. I think the Trevi was the worst.. look at all those people!

I managed to stand on a bench to get a shot without people in it. At least we were there at the perfect time of day that the sun was behind us (shining on the fountain). Otherwise it would have all been in shadow.

Around the corner from the fountain is this guy. Both A and I forget what it is!! Not only have we both seen it before, but we were taught about it in college! How sad lol.. All I remember is that if you look close the carvings around it are of people marching up to the top. I wonder who it is at the top they were marching to?

Then it was off to the Gucci store. Totally NMS, all gold and gaudy and blegh. But, the design was beautiful! This is the only pic I managed to take before we got yelled at for taking pictures! Hahaha. But A helped work on the designs for this staircase! So cool..
The Gucci store was on the street leading to the Spanish steps, so of course we went and took pics of those too. Not that you can ever see them, covered with people all day long :-P
I lied, we had one other goal for the day - find the Hard Rock Cafe. I mentioned to A that I have been to one everywhere I have been pretty much, so she suggested we go. I told her, 'no big deal, I have been already.' She insisted though, because she got AMERICAN FOOD. Hahahaha.. she is so ready to move home. She got a burger and said it was one of the best things she has tasted in a long time. I have to admit, as much as I loooooove Italian food, I would miss things like grilling burgers and dogs. The little things we take for granted! Here is a pic of us at the Hard Rock:

After that we walked around a bit more, but out of nowhere, clouds rolled in and it POURED for an hour sraight! You saw the pics, you saw how gorgeous it was, where the hell did that come from? It was so bizarre. So we ducked into stores for the next hour, because of course this was the one day we didn't have an umbrella on us! After that we headed back to Florence.

Italia! (part 2)

On Friday A and I woke up and got ready for a climb. We walked up these stairs (and many more) to see the green David and then San Miniato.

When we got to the green David, this was the reward for the climb!

Well worth it, I think! Then I got some shots of the man himself..

After that, we climbed a little further up to San Miniato, one of the highest points in Florence. The church was gorgeous, with that white, green, and pink marble that I love so much! I hadn't been there when I visited Florence in HS, so it was something new for me!

Inside, the ceiling was painted wood. It was incredible.

This is the view from the door looking straight in. So beautiful. The picture does not do it justice.

Back outside, I got a few shots of the view from a little higher up. That is one of my favorite things in Italy - the view of Florence. I love it.
We walked back down, stopping for my first gelato of the trip. Mmmm. So. Damn. Good. On the way back down we saw a sign for a Japanese garden. We figured, why not check it out! A and I both had never been before. It was so pretty, and smelled amazing! All of the plants and flowers were giving off the best aromas. We saw these bright red flowers, and needed a picture of course!

After leaving the garden, we did some shopping back in the center.

For dinner we met up with A's boyfriend. They wanted to take me to a restaurant they call 'the lasagna place' because it is so good there. Well, it was closed! It was labor day in Italy that day, so a lot of places were closed. There was another restaurant right next to it open that they had never been to, but we figured why not try it out.

Well, we all got lasagna there, and it was the best lasagna I have EVER had. They said it was even better than the other place! All this time they have been going right next door, and they didn't even know about this place! Too funny. Now for the next two months they know where to go ;-)

Up next, Rome!

Italia! (part 1)

I hopped on the plane Wednesday afternoon in Boston. Took a long nap, and woke up Thursday morning to the sun about to rise over the alps. Yes, please!

Then the sun really did rise, and this was the last picture I could get before all I could see were blinding rays haha

Finally, I arrived in Florence!!!

The view out A's apartment was incredible! Totally surreal that she lives with that every day.

This is what the church looks like that you see from her window (the dome).

The clock tower in Florence.

David. (Let's take a moment to cringe at the fact that my MIL giggled innapropriately at this picture. I kid you not. Grow the fuck up.)

The Ponte Vecchio! (why is this picture crooked?)
Not crooked, but a bit dark. Clearly I haven't edited yet lol.

A and I standing on the Ponte Vecchio!

Finally, the sunset over the Tuscan hills.

The first day A and I spent some time walking around Florence, taking pictures, and just enjoying actually seeing each other! She and I went to college together, but she moved to Florence with her boyfriend after we graduated (3 years ago). I have seen her twice since then, once at my wedding (hardly at all) and once last winter at a party because she was home. So it was awesome to finally just hang out like we used to! Except we were in Florence. Awesome.

Anyway, we stayed at a house up in the hills that night, which is where I saw the awesome sunset. It literally looked like the sun painted everything orange/gold. It was gorgeous!

Stay tuned for more pics from the rest of the trip :-)

Home sweet home.

I am back, and not really all that jet-lagged. I rock at travelling, I've decided. I wasn't jet-lagged the entire time there either. Woot!

I had a blast, but was sooo ready to come home. Being away from J that long was tough. We hadn't been apart that long since before we got engaged (10/06). It was so amazing to see him. I didn't want to let go of him, but he made me so that we could leave the pick-up area of the airport before the cops yelled at us :-P

I'm wearing his sweatshirt to work today. Yum. Did I mention I missed him?

A more detailed post with pics to come!

I'm outta here!

Well I got everything in that picture to fit, minus the boots, but plus two jars of peanut butter, two jars of frosting, and a BJs size box of sour patch kids! (comforts from home for my friend I am visiting hahaha). I'm off to run last minute errands, then off to Italia! Firenze or bust, baby! Squee!!!

Yes, please.

Forecast for Florence while I am there. Saah-weeet!

And I got great news today: My fravoritest internet creep and her husband are officially coming to visit at the end of the summer! Double saah-weeet!

What do you think?

I need to fit all of this (and a bit more that is not ready to be packed yet):

Into this:

A side by side:

Can I do it? Will my amazing packing skills surprise us all?

Vote in the poll :-P

So I was on a mission Saturday - to get a big bag for the plane ride to Italy. I am not big on larger bags, I have a couple of Coach small hobos, and those are as big as I like. But I am determined to only do carry-on for this trip, so I decided I need a larger purse to fit as much as I can in there.

I went to TJ Maxx first, because I figured that was a sure bet. Of course I found one I loved, for seventy bucks! Notsomuch. I ended up finding another cute bag, but once I left I realized it was really a bit smaller than I wanted, and didn't have any dividers in it at all, and didn't zip shut. But it was so cute!

I headed to Target from there, and found exactly what I was looking for size-wise, and function-wise. Lots of pockets and dividers. But not as cute. So now I had to decide between looks or function. What's a girl to do?

Keep both of course!

I decided screw it, I will just keep the cute one and use it for other things hehe. I already used it today, to carry in my book and my purse to work.

The cute one:

The functional one:

In the words of Liz Lemon, Blurgh.

There are parts of growing up that are kind of a bummer. Like trying to figure out holidays. I know I should just be grateful that we have enough family that it is hard to fit them all in, but still, it's a pain. This Easter will be the first holiday that we have to sacrifice seeing parts of our family. Again, I know I should be grateful that we haven't had to do that yet, seeing as we have been doing holidays together for 4 years now, but still.

It's no big secret that I don't get along well with J's immediate family. But I absolutely adore his extended family. And we are sacrificing seeing them this year. It was either that, or leave my parents alone since my brother and his girlfriend (we'll call them JK for future reference) will be eating dinner with her parents. I wasn't going to do that.

So we are choosing to host Easter ourselves, with my parents. The ILs will be stopping by for dessert. This means not only do I miss out on hanging out with the part of his family I love, but I will have to spend more one on one time with the parts I do not. Ick.

On a more positive note, I have decided that I am hosting Easter from now on. I'm excited about that! I really enjoy hosting holidays. I think I'm going to make a spiral ham, yummm! Since there are only going to be four of us eating it there will be plenty of leftovers for grilled ham and cheese - another yummm. And I'm thinking about making oreo truffles for dessert. They were such a big hit at Christmas that I don't think I can wait until next Christmas to make them again!

Another good thing - today marks 4 weeks until I leave for Italy! I am BEYOND excited. I'll be going to Florence to visit one of my college girlfriends before she moves home. You read that right, she lives there now. Lucky bitch! But she is moving back and I vowed to visit her before she did, so I will be going for 5 days and I leave in 4 weeks! My old passport was sent back to me today, so I assume that means the new one should be here any day! Squee!!