Roma!!

As promised, here are some of the shots from the trip.

Rome has always been one of my favorite cities. I feel that i could live there just fine and never miss the US. Well I would have to work on my Italian of course

Spanish Steps view from Top

 Most of our days consisted of all the same things. Hanging out with the locals...

As many Cappuccinos as my body can handle

Drinking Vino

Doing a little roaming around and sightseeing

Shopping

Sitting outside at sidewalk cafes

Eating an amazing dinner

And then back to the wine. 

We happened upon the Spanish Steps again on one of our late night walks home. This time it was at 4am and apparently there is NO ONE out. Even in the most crowded place in Rome. So we took advantage of it and did a photo shoot.

Overall Rome did not disappoint. I still love it there and will move there at the drop of a hat if offered a job. It's full of romance, night life, amazing people, history and the hustle and bustle of the city that I have to have. 

Trevi Fountain

Just Plain Lazy

I have been back from Italy for going on 3 weeks now and have yet to post any pics. I also have yet to really talk about the trip. I have kind of been in Italian Relaxation Mode for these weeks and haven't really thought about getting on with my normal life at all. It's been really nice. I promise that I will post some soon. Maybe tonight, if I don't find something else to distract me.

The trip all around was great. It was exactly what I needed to get me out of my Winter Time Blues. I was on the verge of moving out of NYC and starting a new life somewhere else. I'm not sure why this Winter got to me so much. Maybe it was the combo of the bad work situation, dating disasters, medical mysteries, turning the ancient age of 35 and it snowing every single day that did it. Regardless, 10 days in Italy got me out of my rut and was the perfect medicine.

We spent 10 days of eating, drinking vino rosso (that's red wine if you needed the translation) and sitting with the locals. I didn't have my blackberry on me so I had no connection to my normal life. I really enjoyed that. I realized that when I got back to the States I had no idea what had been going on in the world. Was Charlie Sheen still alive? 
When the plane touched down in NYC I turned on my cell. It buzzed with message notices for over half an hour. There were over 100 emails and texts. I was overwhelmed and way to relaxed to even deal so I just turned it off again.

Meanwhile, here in NYC life has been good. Spring has been trying to make an appearance but can't seem to find it's way here. Though I have been able to retire my puffy down coat for the winter. Nothing makes me happier than storing away all my winter coats. I swear I would love to burn them all if I could, but I know I will have to have something to wear down the road so I'd better not.

Work has been better. I have new leads on the new company and have a friend helping me with my website. Also, having meetings with a few people to build leads and connections. I know this all seems vague because I haven't really written about it and I'm sorry about that. Just want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row before I post it on the world wide web. More to come I promise.

Dating life has been... let's just say I am pleasantly surprised ;) I am smiling constantly and have found myself giddy for no reason. I don't want to jinx anything just yet so I will leave it with, I am very happy.

Easter weekend I am going down to Houston to see my family and favorite cousins Hollie and Heidi. I am very excited to spend time with their little families and meet their newest born. There will be 8 kids in the house all under the age of 10. I have a feeling the only reason I am invited down is to babysit so that the parents get to relax. I will tell you right now, I REFUSE to sit at the kids table this time. I am an adult and not even close to being the youngest.

So that is me in a nutshell. Spring is a happy time. Thank you Spring for bringing April showers that bring May flowers. But most importantly for washing away February and March's crap.

Eat Seafood..... Check!

Our last night in Rome Meredith, Heather and I went out to eat for one last amazing Italian meal. We decided to go for an aperitivo which consist of drinks and a spread of a lot of food to munch on. Some places let you eat for free as long as you buy drinks. Genius idea!

So there we where... sitting, drinking, eating, playing back our past 10 days in Italy. Heather was excited that there were Zucchini Flowers on the menu. "What's in a Zucchini Flower", I ask. "Oh just zucchini and cheeses all fried together", replies Heather. That sounded delightful so we ordered 4. 

When the plate arrives to the table I grab the biggest one, as I am from the South and fried food is like a drug to us.

Bite #1: "This taste sort of fishy, are you sure there is no seafood in here?" I ask in a extremely worried manner.We check the menu and there was no mention of any seafood. So Meredith assumes they have been fried in maybe the same grease that the calamari was fried in. (This was also her theory a week before when I tried some sort of fried ball that tasted fishy and I could have sworn I was eating a fish ball). 

Bite #2: SOOOOOO Fishy. I had to spit it out. It was as if I had taken a bite right out of Nemo himself. Ugh!! I was sure there was fish in there. The girls tried theirs and nope, there was no trace of any seafood. 

Bite #3: Yes, I can't believe I went in for another bite. Ugh, still the same fishy taste but they reassured me that there was no trace of seafood. As since I was trying to be adventurous with my eating this trip I went into....

Bite #4: Tried it. Swallowed it. Almost threw up as Meredith opened her Zucchini Flower all to discover, "Yep there it is, That is a full on Anchovy in there". 

EWWWWW!!! No way!!! I was tricked by the Italian Language into eating seafood. And I wasted  my first on something as gross as an Anchovy. It's like wanting your first kiss to be the captain of the football team and instead you waste it on your nerdy neighbor who's in band. I just sat there and stared at my plate. Gagging. Feeling as if everything I had eaten that week was about to come right back up. All I could think about was that they were swimming around inside me. I wanted to cry right there.

But I didn't. I sat there like the adult people say that I am and took it like a man. "Well, I can mark that off my list" I said as we all laughed. Meredith said that everything else will seem like a dream compared to that so now I can just start eating seafood.

Ummm, yea, that's not gonna happen. Seeing how eating this one was not by choice, I will still have to muster up the courage to do it again.

Sorry there was no video of the incident, as we had no idea there would even be an incident to begin with. But as for eating seafood on my list..... CHECK!!!!

Ciao from Italy!

Just stopping to say hello and let you all know that we are having a great time. We are in Florence now and leave for Rome again tomorrow.
We have done nothing but eat, drink wine, and sleep. I haven't been to bed before 3am every night this week but have felt rested all week. Go figure.

Heading back into the city now for a  little one on one time with my gelato. We are best friends.

Ciao, Ciao for now!!

Arrivederci New York!!

Six more hours till my plane closes it's doors and makes me turn off my cell phone. 

Six more hours till I have to watch the flight attendants show me how to use a seat belt in Spanish. 

Six more hours till Meredith and I get to find out who we have to sit next to for a long over night flight.

Six more hours till we have out celebratory glass of the bubbly (actually that might start before).

Six more hours till I get to see what fun movies I get to watch all night.

Six more hours till I am disconnected from my normal world.

Six more hours till I start hyperventilating during take off.

Six more hours till Meredith gets annoyed with my hyperventilating and records it with my flip to post on Youtube. 

Six more hours till we are on our way to Italy!!!

So maybe I am a little excited now!

Ciao Ciao for now!!

All Packed and Somewhere to Go!!

Last night I made myself stay home and pack, pack, pack. It went pretty fast but I DID have to increase the size of my suitcase which now has me bringing one that is almost as tall as me. No worries, this way I can pack whatever I want. That could also be dangerous. Do I really need to wear 6 inch heels on the cobble stone streets of Rome? Probably not. I would come back in a full body cast if I attempt that. 

For the past week I have been a busy bee and have not been able to get anything done, that includes sleep. Thursday night I went to bed at 4am and woke up at 7am. Friday, without a nap, I went to bed at 4am and woke up at 9am. Saturday night I went to bed at 4am and woke up at 8am. Monday night I went to bed at 3:30am and woke up at 7am. By Tuesday I was worn out. I tried to have drinks with the girls but I could barely stay awake. I was getting cranky and grumpy, not a good side of me. I went home at 9pm but could not fall asleep till 1am due to lack of sleep. 

Finally last night I was able to fall asleep at a decent time of 11pm. I feel somewhat rested but know that my body is needing way more. Tonight that won't happen as I have plans that I know will keep me out till wee hours in the morning. I guess that leaves me to crashing on the plane (Not sure that I like that I used the word crashing and plane in the same sentence. Panic mode setting in now).

It's an over night flight so that will help some. But here is my probelm with international flights. I LOVE the TV's on the backs of the seats. I love that I can watch movie after movie and catch up on all the latest ones. I love that I have constant entertainment. It's almost like I have never watched TV before when I'm on there. I will fight sleep off just to watch the end of something so cheezy as "Confessions of a Shopoholic". Ugh, I am predicting another long, sleepless week ahead of me. At least I will be in Italy and be awake. 

PS. I just realized how pointless this blog post is. I guess it's from a lack of sleep that I deceided that wrting about a lack of sleep would be interesting. Sorry. Next one will have some depth.

L'Italia qui sono venuto!!

In one week I leave for Italy!! I can't wait. This trip comes as a last minute plan. Originally I had decided that for my 35th birthday I wanted to take a girls trip to the beach somewhere. Somewhere warm to get out of this winter mess that is New York. This was the plan until a month ago when I spoke to my friend/cousin through marriage Heather. I realized that last year ALL of my vacation time was for someone else. Family trips, Weddings, other people's Birthday choices. Not one trip was made solely based on my wants. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing my family and watching friends get married but a vacation, by my definition, is a time where you can completely relax and detox from your normal life. So with that said, Meredith and I book a 10 day trip to Rome and Florence for pure selfish reasons. 

No Couples Aloud!!

We both have been getting the shaft lately when it comes to trips and activities. It seems that every one of my friends are in relationships. Not that I am not happy for them or bitter (well maybe a little), it is just we have been the 3rd and 5th wheel and often left out of plans due to the fact that we do not have significant others. We were even invited to a wedding together, as a couple. So this is when we said, "forget all you lovey dovey folks, this time YOU are the ones not invited" and booked our trip. This way it will just be single girls on the trip and no one will have to check in with their man to see if they can or can not have drinks with sexy Roberto the Italian stud from the local coffee shop (Roberto is a fictional character as of now. Fingers crossed that can change). 

Robert will be waiting

ROME

We will fly into Rome and meet up with Heather Wiese and Alessandro (our Italian driver) on the 11th. Plans in Rome are to eat, drink and sit and ponder life's decisions. I may find time in there to go back to the Vatican since the last time I was there was in 97 after downing 5 Cappuccinos in one hour and high on caffeine. I would like to pay the Sistine Chapel a visit as an adult. Meredith and I both have done all the Roman touristy things back in the day so this time it is for pure relaxation. We want to enjoy the people and culture this time. 

FLORENCE

After a few days in Rome we will head to my home away from home, Florence. It has been since 1998 since I was there last and I can tell you that I will probably cry when I step foot in the city. That place changed my life for the best when I was there in 1997 and I would not be the woman or in New York if it weren't for that city. So much has changed since I was there last and getting to see the city through different eyes will be an experience. I can hardly wait. 

We will be staying in an apartment for the time there and getting to live a little. Robbie and Mona (My Italian parents and our directors of our school there) know we are coming and have promised me a meal at the Villa. I will wear my stretchy pants so I can eat every bite. We will also be able to hang out with Jonathan Shackelford, who lives there, and my college suite mate Christy Turk Smith, who is living over there for a year with her husband and kids. I am excited to see all of them.

Again, Florence will be about eating and drinking and eating some more. I plan to go see the David again, as I owe him a visit since it's been so long. I plan to relax on the Arno and eat my body weight in Gelalto.

So now all I have to do is do laundry, pick out the most perfect outfits, pack and make sure everything is taken care of at home while I am gone. I will probably add some shopping in there so I can make sure I look my very best for Roberto ;). Wish me luck!!

Exactly ONE WEEK away and I am on my way to hopefully a new start to my year and life!!