European Tour: Milan, Italy

As many people know soccer, or futbol as the Europeans call it, is a big deal in Europe. It's kind of like American football in America...but even bigger. So, we decided it would be a good experience to go and see some European futbol live.

Katie and Me at dinner

Megan and Kathryn at Dinner

We chose the A.C. Milan vs. A.C. Roma game on November 11th. We took the hour long train ride down from Riva and made our way to a Pub for some dinner and drinks before the game. It was a Pub that was dedicated to Rugby, so there were games on and people getting rowdy already when we got there. From what I remember, it was good food, good drink and great company :)

After finishing dinner, we headed towards the stadium. The long road to the stadium is filled with vendors selling shirts, scarfs, noise makers, etc. Katie got an AC Milan jersey...the rest of us attempted to stay neutral. The crowd was already forming into packs, AC Milan fans and AC Roma fans. The police were out in full force, and we were just preparing ourselves. At this point, it was kind of like attending a Virginia Tech/UVA game...intense rivalry, people yelling profanity at the other side...nothing we hadn't seen before. Half of our group had bought tickets after us, so they were in a different section. We took a group picture before we broke off from them.

Group, before the game

Standing by our seats

Us, with the usher

We broke off from Katie, Jamie and Molly and headed towards our seats. Which, might I add, were actually really good seats. We were right behind a goal, so we got to see both teams play offense and defense. The usher in our section became our fast friend. He loved that we were American. He loved that we were girls. He loved that we were American girls at an AC Milan futbol game. He kept trying to converse with us...him, in broken English, us in broken Italian. He took the picture to the left for us...and then cornered someone to take the below picture with us. He gave me his email address and asked me to send it to him. Which is just a tad creepy, and I managed to lose him email address (whoops) so that never actually happened. But at least we have the documentation of our fan :)

After our photo-shoot the game started. As I have stated in previous posts, I love soccer. I used to play it as a kid, and watching it is very exciting. So, even though the action on the field was amazing to watch, the action in the stands just boggled my mind. Their fans are crazy with a capital C. They are loud (can ALMOST compare to Lane Stadium loud), they are fanatical and knowledgeable and most importantly, they light FIRES in the stand. That's not a smoke signal you're seeing, that is the actual fire the fans lit in the stands. And no one panics, they just cheer more for the fire...it was definitely one of the most nutso sports experiences I've ever had.

Yes, that is a real fire, purposefully lit...in the stands.

AC Roma ended up winning, our "hometown" team defeated...we attempted to make our way back to the train station. I say attempted because when you got to the exit of the stadium, cops lined the road. If you were an AC Milan fan, you went right...an AC Roma fan, you went left. No mixing, AT ALL. That didn't stop people from screaming over the line of cops...profanities, something about someone's mother, you get the deal.

We ended the night with a McDonald's run, and then got back on the train where we all took an hour nap on the way back to Riva.

Definitely a sporting event I will not soon forget, I'm glad I got to experience Futbol the European way.

To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Europe with Family - Florence

That's why you play the game...

This weekend was the Navy vs. Notre Dame game at the New Meadowlands in NJ. Navy was the 7 point underdog. Navy ended up winning 35-17. And that my friends, is why you play the game.

We left mid-morning from Arlington. Jen, Susan and I crammed into the backseat of my dad's car. We managed to convince my dad to stop at Chik-fil-a for lunch...which was no easy feat considering my dad is all about convenience on road trips. And the CFA did not include a gas station. But, because he loves, us...he stopped so we could have our favorite meal.

Us, in the backseat. Jen assumes her normal position of not facing the camera.

After arriving at the hotel, we took a little nap and then got ready to go out to eat. After our photo-shoot (since we were dressed up nice), we headed to Panicos. The food there was super good, one of the best caesar salads I've ever had and the Lobster ravioli was delicious.

Our photo shoot in the hotel room

After dinner, we headed to the hotel bar to watch the Yankees lose (sorry Jen) and have a few adult beverages. Calling it a night after my dad and Uncle Joe finished their 2nd drink.

The next morning, we got up and ate breakfast as we were all getting ready for the game. We made the 45 minute drive to the stadium and walked from our not-so-good parking spot to the stadium. The New Meadowlands is really nice, puts Fed-Ex to shame. But that also might be the fact that we were in the club section for this game, and the last time I was at Fed-Ex was on my own dollar...so I was in the nose bleed section.

Anyways, after figuring out where our section was, we walked around and looked at all our options for food. My dad was nice and got my mom cotton candy (her favorite) and she shared with with me, Jen and Susan. One of Jen's phobias/dislikes is the way a cotton ball feels. Apparently, cotton candy feels very much like a cotton ball so Jen wanted to eat the cotton candy, but didn't want to touch it. Susan, passing the ultimate friendship test, fed it to her. We got many a looks from our giggling and the actual feeding. After stuffing our faces, we went to our seats to cheer on the Midshipmen. The first quarter was kind of nerve wracking, but then we realized the Navy came to play and Notre Dame not so much...so all in all it wasn't that stressful of a game. Navy ended up winning 35-17.

At the game

After our commute back to the hotel, we took a nap (shocking, I know) and then got ready for dinner. We ate at Tula in downtown Brunswick, next to the Rutgers campus. Once again, it was really good food. I'm always amazed that my dad finds these restaurants in places we've never been before that are actually good. His secret, he says, is Open Table. I'll have to try it the next time I go somewhere and need a dinner recommendation. After our delicious dinner, we once again made our way back to the hotel bar. Things went down hill in the conversation and we (meaning the younger folk) had to explain some nasty terms to the older folk. Kind of awkward, yet hilarious. It definitely made me appreciate my family (blood and extended) and how lucky I am to get along with them and enjoy their company.

All in all, such a great weekend!

European Tour: Florence, Italy

After making our way from the train station to Hotel Olympia, we were pretty worn out. The hotel was on the top floor of a building, and the elevator space was small (as already pointed out before: European elevators are not the same as American ones). So some of us were tired from lugging our bags up flights of stairs. People got unpacked and ready to go sight-seeing in Florence. 

Hotel Olympia in Florence

I'm not sure why I wait so long to get the idea to take pictures of the hotel rooms, but I did in Florence. The top picture is a view of our hotel from the square. In the top right is a picture of our bathroom. That's right, the shower head came directly out of the wall and you stood in the middle of the bathroom to take a shower...someone even bashed their head on the sink (attempting to get their shampoo) forgetting that it wasn't a normal shower. The first picture on the bottom is the set up of the beds, and the last picture is the rest of the room, a little desk and TV included. The only thing we ever really watched on TV with MTV (insert name of country we were in). The rest of the channels were in the national language of the country and at least MTV played music videos sometimes.

The David

After unpacking, G-Rod got us all together to head out to see Accademia di Belle Arti - Academy of Fine Arts. This is where Michelangelo's David is housed. You're technically not supposed to take pictures (so all the signs say) but I pretended to be a "stupid tourist" and was able to snap a picture before being told off by a guard. So here he is, David in all his glory. The building also housed some really weird paintings representing baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary. It wasn't the nice images you see in most Christian stories but gothic and skinny and creepy, really. So we quickly made our way out of there and decided to do some shopping.

Florence is known for its Mercato Centrale. Where vendors line up on either side of the road and offer you "the best price, just for you" on anything you could think to want. Leather jackets, boots, coats, knock off Coach purses and Ray Ban sunglasses. One of the most interesting things to watch is the tactics of the policemen as they try to sneak up on the African men who are trying to sell the illegal goods. It's a sight to see when 20 men all of a sudden realize they're about to be arrested. They throw everything in their suitcase and run...sometimes they miss something, and you'll see a passerby scoop up the extra pair of sunglasses and run away.

DSP

While we were walking through the market, we actually ran into a guy who was wearing a DSP sweatshirt. Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) is a co-ed business fraternity that Kathryn, Megan and I were a part of...and we got really excited to see another person all the way in Europe rocking the letters. So of course, we had to take a picture with him.

The next day, my little group of friends made our way to a famous sight in Florence. Il Duomo, another church...but a very pretty one at that. As you can see from the pictures, it has a pretty architectural design. We walked around inside for a bit, checking out all the famous dead people that are entombed here. There are a couple of Popes, and a few architects that have a resting place in Il Duomo.

After seeing the Il Duomo, we started to venture down towards the Ponte Vecchio.On our way there, we passed by a festival (there's always some reason to celebrate in Europe) where they were having re-enactments and people were dressed up in period costumes. We hung around for awhile, watching the festivities, but then not knowing what was going on, we finally made our way to the Ponte Vecchio.

The Ponte Vecchio is a famous bridge that was built during Medieval times. It has shops and stores as you walk across the bridge, you can see how the shops hang off the side of the bridge in the picture. There's a lot of jewelry stores, souvenir shops and art dealers that are on the bridge now. At the other side of the bridge is a great Gelato place, we may or may not have eaten there a few times during our 2 day stay :)
 

To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Milan

Irrational Fear

If you know me well, you know that I am petrified of clowns. Like will knock over a 2 year old to get away from one.

This is very unfortunate for me when I go to visit my Pop. His wife (My 'Nanny') had a thing for clowns. So they're all over his place. Salt and pepper shakers. Paintings. Everywhere. I literally look every place but where I know a clown face will be.

I hope my children don't want to have a clown at their birthday party. I feel like I will give them the world, but I will not allow a clown within a 1 mile radius of my home.

I think my irrational fear comes from the movie "It," I watched it when I was about 6. My mom specifically told me not to, and I did it anyways. Once again, I should've learned to always listen to my mom. How terrifying is this?! I would much rather have Freddy Kruger, Jason or Michael Myers coming at me than this thing.

I'm always reminded of my fear around this time of year, because apparently people think it's fun to dress up like killer clowns and scare the 'ish out of people. I'm just warning you, I will have fight or flight response. And if I can't run away, I'm coming out swinging...sorry Bozo.

European Tour: Rome, Italy

 A quick ride from Sorrento to Rome, drop stuff off at hotel, and then head to Colosseum.  Once again, I had heard about it and scene it in movies and pictures but you just don't really know what it's about until you're there. Personally, I love history. And being able to stand in the same spot where someone thousands of years ago made up this architecture plan for the building is amazing. The use of the Colosseum, slaughtering people, not so amazing. But it doesn't make it seem any less majestic. It's run down because the people in the dark ages stole the screws and nails to melt down the iron, and use the stone inside. Hence why half of the building is gone and the inside is a mess.

The Colosseum

The Roman Forum

After the Colosseum, our tour guide took us around the "old" part of Rome...you know, thousands of years old. First the Roman Forum, kind of like the town square for the ancient Romans. The Forum, and other ancient buildings look like they were built very low (compared to the modern city). This is because throughout the years, the modern city has been built on top of the rubble of the ancient city. This picture was taken from me standing at "ground level" in the Modern City. Looking down at the ancient city's "ground level."

Capitoline Wolf

We stopped by the statue of the Capitoline Wolf. It's the legend of the founding of Rome. Legend has it the the King was overthrown by his brother. His brother ordered the twins Romulus and Remus be thrown in the Tiber. But they were rescued by a she-wolf who cared for them until a human found them.

Me, watching the changing of the Swiss Guards

After this, a couple of decided that since the next day was All Saint's Day, we would try to get tickets for the service at the Vatican. While most of the group went to look at the Pantheon, the rest of us made our way to Vatican City. I don't remember how I got nominated, but only one of us could go into the Swiss Guards to ask for the tickets...and it happened to be me. As I'm walking up the stairs, one of them yelled something at me in another language (I don't know if it was Italian or Latin) and I followed the lead of the guy in front of me and stopped walking. It was the changing of the guards, and I was standing right front and center. Very cool to watch, but embarrassing for me because everyone was standing behind me, trying to watch but I was in the way. After the guard change, I walked through the office of the Swiss Guard (SO cool to say that) and got the tickets for the service the next day.

Halloween costumes

Halloween Costumes

That night happened to be Halloween, so Molly took full advantage of the masks her mom sent her in a care package. Also, Bassil and Maggie dressed up as each other for Halloween. Nothing like seeing a hairy man in a halter top and a skirt....the hotel lady behind him is definitely judging him.

The  next day we had to get up SUPER early to go stand in line at the Vatican. Although we already had tickets, we wanted to get good seats in St. Peter's Basilica. It was pouring down rain the entire time we were standing there. Good thing we thought to bring rain jackets on our trip, and we met a nice couple who were there with a group from their church. They shared their umbrellas with us when they saw that we were starting to look like drowned rats.

The funny thing about people is that even though they are in one of the most Holy cities in the world, getting ready to see the Pope...they still try to cut in line. The line wrapped around St. Peter's Square, and those of us in the front of the line had been there since the wee hours of the morning. People would try to nonchalantly walk past all of us and jump in front of someone, then someone would notice and in some language tell that person to get to the back of the line. People are just amazing sometimes.

Once they opened the church, we were able to get seats in the second row of the seats that were reserved for the "normal" people. Those who were special guests, or contributed lots of money to the church got to sit in the first pews.

I'm not Catholic, but seeing the Pope was definitely one of my cooler experiences in life. In pictures, he looks kind of mean and intimidating. But in real life, he's one of the cutest old men ever. We sat through mass (which was done in Latin), and I honestly had no idea what was going on...I just kind of looked around at the amazing church and sat in awe that I was getting this awesome opportunity, and made sure to pay enough attention so I stood up and sat down with everyone else.

Mass with the Pope at St. Peter's

When Mass was over and the Pope was walking back down the aisle, a nun that we were sitting near nudged me forward so I was standing at the front of the pew. It was just in time for the Pope to bless me and touch my hand :)

Colosseum in the background

After Mass was over, we went back to the hotel to change out of our "nice" clothes and into something more tourist appropriate. We then went back out into the city for more sight-seeing. Had to get another picture with the Colosseum. Since some of my pictures were lost, I'm missing a picture of me with "Roman" guards. People would dress up in, what looked like, Halloween costumes of Roman people and stand near the Colosseum. If you paid them (or they liked you) you could take a picture with them. I had a few of me and them, and they were really funny...how sad that technology can ruin things :(

Next stop was the Spanish Steps. I won't lie, I'm kind of confused as to what the big deal about these are. They looked like regular ol' steps to me...but then again, what do I know. We walked from the Spanish Steps over to Trevi Fountain (they're a little less than half a mile away from each other) so I could see it. The others had gone the previous day when I was in Vatican City getting the tickets...so kudos to them for going to see a fountain again, thanks guys! We all through coins in the fountain, which means that you will definitely return to Rome again...so here's to hoping that the old wives tale is true!

We did stop at the Hard Rock Cafe on our sight-seeing journey. It was nice to have some "American" food - French Fries and Ranch - and have some American culture after being without it for a few months. And of course, the ice in the drinks and the free refills. The things you miss when you don't have the option for them anymore.

After sight-seeing, we went back to the hotel to go to dinner and then rest up for our day at the Vatican.

The next day was a trip to Vatican City (for the whole group) and to the Vatican Museums. After waiting in line for an hour (and I already explained how Europeans don't really wait in line) we finally made it in to the museum. I think you could spend an entire month in that place and never fully see everything. It is HUGE! Because we knew there wasn't enough time to see everything, and we were a little worn out from other churches and art museums that we had been to, we decided to cover the big and important stuff. The biggest one of them all being the Sistine Chapel. It's a small room and they have about as many people as you can physically cram in there in the small space. You get a chance to stand on your little square of land, and look up for a few minutes before you're "politely" moved along. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Chapel, and unlike what I did in Florence, I decided that breaking a rule in Church probably wasn't the best idea in the world. Hence, no pictures.

We spent the rest of the day walking around, stopping in a little cafe for lunch and enjoying the sights of Rome.

To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Florence

Zumba

My old co-worker kept raving about this new dance class called Zumba. When I joined my new gym in August and saw they had the class, I was excited to try it out.

If you know me well, you know that I love to dance. In any outlet. I dance basically anytime I hear music. I don't know why. I only took an organized dance class for a year. That was abandoned after I realized I was built more for blocking lineman then for ballet or tap. 

Anyways, Zumba is fun. It's a mix of hip-hop and latin dances. You sweat, a lot. It's a good work out while having a good time. I'm not going to lie, half the fun in the class is watching other people dance. Some examples of the people:

1. The older lady. She wants to get back into shape and heard this class was fun. She, however, looks so uncomfortable as she's booty bounching or chest shaking down to the floor.

2. The previous dancer. As stated above this is NOT ballet. You do not need to hold your hands at an exact angle or do a little plie when you're supposed to be squatting. No one is impressed, you kind of look dumb actually.

3. The latin lady who knows how to latin dance. It's A-HMazing to watch them move their hips. Honestly, I'm jealous. I think I'm going to start practicing in the mirror to get everything on my body moving that fast at once.

4. The lady who looks like she takes it way too seriously. Has the dance shoes (the ones that have the special bottoms) and the whole outfit. Usually when this is the case, they start dancing and have no rhythm. Sigh, their cute outfit efforts have been wasted.

5. The girl who can keep the beat. Just needs 1 or 2 repetitions to figure out what the hell is exactly going on. I'd like to classify myself in this category. As I've never taken dance lessons, it takes me one round of the instructor doing the whole set before I can confidently do it on my own.

I definitely recommend it to whomever wants a really good work out while still having fun. And of course, you need to like to shake your groove thing. You don't have to be good at it, as long as you love it.

Rules of the Road

I will admit that I have a bit of road rage. I'm not sure who is giving out driver's license to the stupid, the blind and the clueless but I would like to have a discussion with them. If I were in charge of handing out licenses, these are the rules you'd have to pass:

1. Yes, please slow down when you're about to make a turn. But ACCELERATE THROUGH THE TURN. Trust me, you will not flip your car, you will not die. If a NASCAR driver can do it @ 100mph, you can certainly make the turn @ 10mph instead of 2mph.

2. Left lane = fast lane. Left lane = passing lane. It is NOT for you to cruise in. You pass those people who are going slow on the right, and then you mosey on over in front of them. Allowing those who wish to go faster than you, to pass you.

3. If you cut someone off (it happens to the best of us) in order to pass the jackass in front of you going 5 miles under the speed limit, please accelerate quickly to the appropriate passing speed. Do not get over and then proceed to go the same speed as the car that you were trying to pass.

4. When merging, and there is a lane, please utilize that to accelerate to close to the speed limit. People will be more likely to let you in if you're going a speed close to what they're travelling. They will NOT let you in if you're at a complete stop at the end of the lane, with your turn signal on and your head turned backwards (exorcist style). Trust me.

5. If you're sitting in traffic, do NOT try to weave through the cars. You're really not getting there any faster, and the likelihood of you causing an accident is much greater. I'm not trying to sit in more traffic because you were an impatient douche who couldn't wait your turn.

6. When there is a situation where another lane is merging in (i.e. you're sitting in traffic because of a lane closure and people in the "closed" lane need to get in your lane), it's every other car.  Don't be a jerk and not let people in. Don't be a jerk and try to slip in. It just causes more problems, and maybe even an accident.

7. ALWAYS check your blind spot. There are other cars on the road. They do travel in lanes next to you. This is not your highway to do what you please.

8. Pay attention to the signs posted. If it says the lane ends in so many feet, get over. I (as most people) will NOT let you over if you've had 2 miles to merge and then at the last second realize your lane is ending and your about to meet a concrete barrier. Pay attention.

Those are really just ones that I can think of off the top of my head. Please let me know in the comments section if you think I've missed anything.

European Tour: Sorrento, Italy

The first stop on our "Southern Trip" was Sorrento.

We jumped right into the sight-seeing by heading to famous Pompeii. We got on the train and headed straight there after dropping our bags off in the hotel. The first thing you see when you walk into Pompeii is that there are still houses and structures standing. As we walked through and our tour guide explained the things to us, I was in awe that the Romans had come up with all of these things that seemed like "modern" inventions.

Pompeii

The last picture on the top right is the grooves they made for the chariot wheels. The next picture (first picture on the second row) is remains of things that have been demolished. Second picture is the amphitheater where Frank Sinatra and Pink Floyd have both performed. The third picture is how they marked where the "Brothels" were. If there was a penis on the sidewalk, you knew where you could go...they also had pictures on the wall that demonstrated the positions and how much they were. The first picture in the third row is looking down the streets of Pompeii, you can still see where the houses lined the streets. The second picture, third row shows the crosswalks of Pompeii and the grooves for the chariots not to get stuck in the mud. The third and fourth pictures show actual bodies that were preserved by the ash. Most of the people of Pompeii didn't die of lava but it was from the ash in the air and the damage it did to their lungs. And the last row of pictures comes from our impromptu photo shoot (yes, we had lots of those) when we were lolly gagging around, waiting to get back on the train.

Positano

Once we got back from Pompeii, we changed into our swimsuits and made our to the bus that took us to Positano. It's a beach town, that sits on a cliff-side. After the long bus ride, we made our way down to the rocky beach where we got bottles of Corona from a local pub, sat on the beach and enjoyed some quiet time. Well, as quiet as it gets when 20 people are hanging out. After the beach, we climbed back up all the stairs, and the big hill to get back on the bus.

The next day we all loaded onto a big boat the took us across the water to Capri. Whatever you have heard about Capri, it's absolutely breath-taking...it's been used as a resort spot ever since the Roman times and definitely for good reason. Capri is the main part of the island, but you can take a lift up to Anacapri, which is the highest point that overlooks the water. We did that, enjoyed the wonderful views (and of course took pictures). Then, we made our way down to the beaches of Capri. Which are rocky and no sand. Imagine the comfort of trying to lay down on jagged rocks...but the scenery made it all better.

Capri

From left to right, and top to bottom...

Picture 1: Steph and I, on the boat to Capri. It was a little chilly.

Picture 2: Standing on Capri 

Picture 3: View of the water 

Picture 4: Town of Capri 

Picture 5: the lift up to Anacapri 

Picture 6: view from Anacapri

Picture 7: The boys on the top of Anacapri

Picture 8: the girls on Anacapri

Picture 9: Most of the Riva group on top of Anacapri

Picture 10: Kathryn and I on Anacapri

Picture 11: Megan, Kathryn and I on Anacapri

Picture 12: Molly, Me, Katie, Kathryn and Steph on Anacapri

Picture 13: View from Anacapri

Picture 14: Kathryn, Molly and Me

Picture 15: On the way down on the lift

Picture 16: the beaches of Capri

Picture 17: beach bar

Picture 18: laying on the beach

Picture 19: Kathryn and Steph on the beach

Picture 20: View from the beach

After our long day out in the sun, G-Rod gathered us back up to go to dinner and then set us loose for the night. We went to a local bar that was a few steps away from the hotel and hung out for a bit...then went to bed to get ready for our trek to Rome.

 To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Rome

Busy Weekend

Friday was Richie's Birthday but he also had to work. He works at our old High School as a security officer. So one of his duties is going to the football games to make sure those crazy kids stay in line. We joined him, and ended up posting ourselves at one end of the field for pretty much the whole night.

Going back to my old high school is so weird and definitely brings back nostalgia. I just look at all the kids who think that every bit of drama in their life is important. I remember those days and kind of wish I could go back and tell myself that it will be okay. That in 7 years I won't even remember who went to Homecoming, and who got to choose where we ate dinner. I'll just have vague memories of the good times I had with friends.

On Saturday, I went to Puppy Kindergarten with Christy. We were standing in the little gated area, letting the puppies play and get their energy out. All of a sudden, something flies @ Christy's shoulder and it hit her really hard. I was standing next to her and still heard it bounce off her. We both look over @ the guy standing across from her, thinking he had turned up with a slingshot to throw acorns at people. He was grabbing his head though. A murderous squirrel had thrown an acorn from high up in the tree, it hit off this guy's head and smacked Christy right in the shoulder. They'll probably both have bruises. But it was so funny! I had to try and contain myself, because the "adults" there did not think it was as funny as we did.

After driving back to Arlington, I went with Susan and Sarah to get our nails done. Came home, showered and got ready to go to Oktoberfest. The German Embassy hosted an Oktoberfest like shin-dig with good food, German entertainment and of course beer. 

I do have to say that the Embassy was not at all like I would expect. When I think Embassy, I think something that looks like the Capitol building, or a museum. This actually looked kind of like a high school gymnasium. But the food was really good, the beer was even better and we of course shook our groove things on the dancefloor (once the DJ came). So all in all, a good experience, I had fun and I'm glad I did it but I'm not too sure I would do it again.

Sunday morning, I got up (too early for my liking) and headed over to Aunt Sue and Uncle Joe's for some Pumpkin Patch time. We (read me and the kids) got to go down slides, go through the corn-maze, take a hayride, pet some farm animals and get pumpkins. I love making memories like this with my nephews, and I honestly can't wait to have kids of my own so I can start making family traditions with them :)

Happy Birthday!

Instead of including a long explanation of just how funny/goofy Richie is (and why he's one of my BFF), I thought I'd let the pictures say it for me....

Happy Birthday Richie!

Happy Birthday!

And even though he doesn't read my blog, Happy Birthday Kenny! 

I love you more than I could ever express and I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished so far. I can't wait to see what the future holds. 

Thanks for being my love and my best friend.

Love you :)

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Natalie! 

One of my best friends for almost 10 years (how scary that is to say)! Thanks for always having my back, giving me advice and making me laugh. Love you!

Me and Natalie, at her wedding - Summer '07

European Tour: Barcelona, Spain

The Barcelona trip was a "non sponsored" trip. Meaning we had to figure everything out on our own.  We quickly figured out that Europe has an airline called Ryan Air. You can fly on it for practically nothing, and the only you can take with you is a carry-on. We booked our flights on that, and booked a hostel and were on our way to Barcelona.

The only qualm I have with Ryan Air is that it doesn't fly into the major airports (cuts down on their costs). But it adds to my cost, as well as the travel time when I have to take a train to the outlying airports. After taking 3 hours just to get to the airport (walk to train station in Capalago, take train to transfer point, take train to airport station), we checked in and were ready for Spain. I was half expecting to have to kick start the plane Fred Flinstone style, but we were actually on a HUGE plane, the one that has 3 rows of 3 seats. It was an uneventful ride until the lady sitting next to me, looked @ me and in Spanish asked me to hold her baby. At least, I think that's what she said because I didn't have any time to think about it before a 6 month old was being pushed into my lap. Good thing that baby was golden because she was in my lap for a good hour. When it came to the landing, that wasn't so smooth. We landed and it was almost like the pilot overshot the turn where we were supposed to go because he WHIPPED the plane so suddenly I thought I had whip-lash.

After we were safely on the ground, we unloaded from the back (so smart) and got on a bus (another outlying airport) that would take us into the city. After walking around for a bit, trying to find the hostel we finally found it. We freshened up a bit, and then went out to find dinner. We called it an early night so we could be ready for sight-seeing the next day.

City Park in Barcelona

The first day of the trip is completely lost, at least in pictures. First, we stopped by Barcelona's Arc De Triomf, which looks very similar to the one in Paris. Then we made our way over to the city park where we waited for about 2 hours while our friend Megan tried to rendezvous with her friend Anne-Marie. After finally meeting her, we walked around the park some more.  We found a beautiful sculpture/waterfall that had us all boggled. We had never seen such a thing at any park in the US. On our way out of the park, we stopped by the zoo but decided against it when admission was $20. We walked down towards the beach, where we stopped for lunch. I had a "Bikini" it's the Spanish version of a ham and cheese panini and it's SO good.

First up on our agenda for the day was Bodegas Güell. It's a "city" that was designed by the famous artist Gaudi. It has a lot of crazy architectural designs, and a lot of the mosaics that Gaudi was famous for. He has a "park" where there are mosaic benches that overlook the city, he has a couple of different houses and a "town center" where the business of the town would be conducted. The city was never brought fully into fruition, so you can really only see bits and pieces of the dream Gaudi had for the artistic city.

We then decided to walk from Bodegas Güell to the Sagrada Familia. It's another one of Gaudi's famous projects that was started in the 1800's and isn't supposed to be completed until 2026. It's definitely a sight to look at, even a little creepy with the combination of the Gothic architecture and the texture of the materials used. There is a lot of intricate figure work as well...and the figures themselves give off kind of a creepy vibe. It was hard to take a nice looking picture because of all the construction going on and all the cranes and equipment hanging around. So we settled for a group shot...

After stopping in a local cafe for lunch, we headed back to the hostel to take a nap and get ready for dinner/going out that night.

2 of our group (Molly and Katie) stayed at a different hostel. So the water fountain in the middle of Barcelona became our meeting spot since it was 1/2 between our hostels as well as being near everything. The first picture is us waiting for Molly and Katie, and taking pictures in front of the fountain. We walked down Las Ramblas (the main street in Barcelona) and picked a restaurant that looked good yet wasn't too crowded. From what I remember, it was excellent food...again, hard to mess up food when you're in Spain. After dinner, we started walking down Las Ramblas again, we were handed flyers for bars that had drink specials. One of the bars was right near where we were at the time, so we decided to head over there and try out their special. It was free Tequila Sunsets. I had never had one, but one was plenty...it wasn't very good. We stayed there for awhile and then decided to find some other night life. As we walked down Las Ramblas and then over the bridge, we were handed all kinds of flyers that had drink specials on them.

The first up was another Irish Pub, where we had drinks, sang Karaoke and ended up dancing on the couches. After that we went to a nearby "dance club" but after a few minutes we realized there weren't that many people there and it wasn't really our kind of crowd. We moved onto another "club" where things were a bit more "hopping" and the crowd started filing in around midnight.

Around 2 am, Megan and I decided to take one of our friends home...she had had enough partying for one night. The crazy thing was that people were JUST getting to the Club then, everyone would be like "Where are you going?" as we passed them, leaving. I don't know how they all do it, maybe it's the siestas, but they are literally out until 6 o'clock in the morning.

The next day started off a little bit later than the first day. We once again, waited for Molly and Katie at the Water Fountain and then made our way back down Las Ramblas. The street performers were out and we took our time strolling in and out of shops and stopping to watch them. We stopped by a local church that had just let out, all the people had gone straight from the church to a little square and their were people playing music and dancing all around. We took some time out to hang out there and watch everyone.

We slowly but surely made our way to the beach, where we lounged on the chairs (until we were told you had to pay for them) and then lounged on the sand. It was awesome to be able to go the beach, and be completely warm in late October. After sitting on the beach for awhile, we started making our way back down Las Ramblas. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed back to the hostel to pack up and get ready for our VERY early flight the next morning.

Barcelona was definitely one of my favorite cities that I went to while I was in Europe. It had the beach, the big city yet it was laid back. Also, since I had taken 7 years of Spanish...I could understand a little bit of what they were saying. I say a little bit because they speak Catalan Spanish which is different than the Spanish I learned throughout school. Barcelona is on my list of places I want to go back to someday.

To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Sorrento