I forgot to mention that last weekend was our first road trip! It was so nice being in a car again. We assumed the exact positions we would have if we were driving from Memphis to New Orleans... I had my feet up, we talked for a couple of hours, then I cracked my book open and Ryan turned his music up. That's pretty much how it works.
The difference in this trip was that we were following Guilio, driving a little two seater Mercedes. Our rental was a French car. Have you ever heard of a French car? Yeah, me neither. Keeping up wasn't a problem until we hit Turnville. Literally, a sharp turn (or maybe it just felt like a sharp turn because we were going 90 kilometers an hour) every few seconds. I was white knuckling it the whole time.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Liguria
Last weekend we had a Monday holiday. We had family tromping around Europe, and our plan was to meet them on their last weekend in Germany. We ran into problems... they were moving every day, and the logistics were getting harder to formulate. We were looking at planes, trains, and possible automobiles just to keep up. When we realized it might not be possible, we had an empty long week ahead of us. Lately, we've tried hard to take advantage of time off, so we thought we'd accept Ryan's coworker's invitation to his parents' house is Liguria. I didn't know what to expect, but I never expected this. It's our view from the bedroom window.
Ryan's coworker was very brave to take us around. I can't imagine having to speak another language ALL weekend, but he did great. He took us to Cinque Terre. This area is is mainly rock and sea, so the area called Five Lands gives respite for travelers wanting to enjoy the water and actually walk on the shore. We stopped at a few of the five, and had a great time. The views were unimaginable.
The water looked beautiful, but the advantage of having a local guide is that they tell you things you wouldn't necessarily read in the guide books. In the picture below, there's a long pipe you can see running under the water, next to the boat on the right. That's a sewage pipe. Guilio said it it lets out about 10 kilometers from the beach. I've got family coming in July... guess they won't be bringing their bathing suits.
The best part of the trip was a little terrace outside Guilio's parents' house, covered in vines, with a sea view. We would pull chairs out there, bring a book, and some of Guilio's family wine. I could have sat out there forever. I tried to take a video of the sounds - we were too high to hear the water, but you could hear the wind in all of the plants and trees around us, and birds. Lots of birds. The video didn't really work... kind of boring. I've never seen baby grapes before, but that's a picture of what they look like. They covered the trellis we were sitting under.
There were flowers too.
We took a walk one day to the shore that took about an hour. There was a stray cat (there were cats everywhere) that kept following us. I have a string of three videos where the cat catches up to us, pretends not to be following, then runs ahead. Posting videos isn't really working at the moment, so I'll have to try later.
On our last night, we had dinner at a great restaurant with a water view. The whole seating area was open - no windows - and the weather was perfect. They wheeled in a tray of fresh seafood, including lobsters that were still alive, in case we wanted to pick one out. No thanks! Don't really want you to kill anything that I can still see moving. On the walk back, we passed a church that was bombed in World War II. Legend has it, everything was ruined except for this statue.
On our way out of town, we stopped at Portofino. They had the biggest yachts I've ever seen. They were lined up, smallest to largest. It really sucks for those tiny yachts.
They also have really big flowers. These were as big as my head.
It was a nice trip. Things have been hectic lately, and it felt good to get away and relax. It was also great to be reminded that we have friends willing to show us around and speak English. I think that means we're making progress here. Some girls planned a little trip in Bern tomorrow to see Sex and the City 2. I thought about suggesting Eat, Pray, Love, but it's not that kind of a crowd. I think I'm in for a pretty girly night, but I'm looking forward to it. I've never seen Bern, and again, I'm pretty sure this means we have friends.
My friend for the past few days has been Titi the French dog. His parents are in Paris. It's been so pretty lately, so we brought a blanket and the pup to the park. We even had friends meet us there. More friends!
Ryan's coworker was very brave to take us around. I can't imagine having to speak another language ALL weekend, but he did great. He took us to Cinque Terre. This area is is mainly rock and sea, so the area called Five Lands gives respite for travelers wanting to enjoy the water and actually walk on the shore. We stopped at a few of the five, and had a great time. The views were unimaginable.
The water looked beautiful, but the advantage of having a local guide is that they tell you things you wouldn't necessarily read in the guide books. In the picture below, there's a long pipe you can see running under the water, next to the boat on the right. That's a sewage pipe. Guilio said it it lets out about 10 kilometers from the beach. I've got family coming in July... guess they won't be bringing their bathing suits.
The best part of the trip was a little terrace outside Guilio's parents' house, covered in vines, with a sea view. We would pull chairs out there, bring a book, and some of Guilio's family wine. I could have sat out there forever. I tried to take a video of the sounds - we were too high to hear the water, but you could hear the wind in all of the plants and trees around us, and birds. Lots of birds. The video didn't really work... kind of boring. I've never seen baby grapes before, but that's a picture of what they look like. They covered the trellis we were sitting under.
There were flowers too.
We took a walk one day to the shore that took about an hour. There was a stray cat (there were cats everywhere) that kept following us. I have a string of three videos where the cat catches up to us, pretends not to be following, then runs ahead. Posting videos isn't really working at the moment, so I'll have to try later.
On our last night, we had dinner at a great restaurant with a water view. The whole seating area was open - no windows - and the weather was perfect. They wheeled in a tray of fresh seafood, including lobsters that were still alive, in case we wanted to pick one out. No thanks! Don't really want you to kill anything that I can still see moving. On the walk back, we passed a church that was bombed in World War II. Legend has it, everything was ruined except for this statue.
On our way out of town, we stopped at Portofino. They had the biggest yachts I've ever seen. They were lined up, smallest to largest. It really sucks for those tiny yachts.
They also have really big flowers. These were as big as my head.
It was a nice trip. Things have been hectic lately, and it felt good to get away and relax. It was also great to be reminded that we have friends willing to show us around and speak English. I think that means we're making progress here. Some girls planned a little trip in Bern tomorrow to see Sex and the City 2. I thought about suggesting Eat, Pray, Love, but it's not that kind of a crowd. I think I'm in for a pretty girly night, but I'm looking forward to it. I've never seen Bern, and again, I'm pretty sure this means we have friends.
My friend for the past few days has been Titi the French dog. His parents are in Paris. It's been so pretty lately, so we brought a blanket and the pup to the park. We even had friends meet us there. More friends!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Great Trip
We might not have had much time to plan, but we did have a guide book (which we hated, and replaced day one of the trip) and good international friends who gave us great ideas. We managed to make the most of every day, and came back to the hotel exhausted every night. The weather forecast didn't look so great. We thought every dry day might be our last, so we opted to walk as opposed to taking the tube. The result? Three full days of no rain, and two sore bodies. Our first walk was through Hyde Park. They had spots that looked JUST like what you picture when someone says "English garden." Gorgeous.
We saw and shopped Covent Garden, which was amazing. The highlights were Paul Smith and Ted Baker. Ryan got something, but I held back. I'm such the unemployed adult! Our goal was to have as much ethnic food as our stomachs could handle, and that day we had Portuguese, which I think was a first for me. We ended the night at Lamb and Flag. The book mentioned that it served "cask ale." Ryan forgot what it was called (and didn't mean for it to come out this way) but when trying to ask about the drink, he ended up saying "what do you guys have that's special?" The response was classic disdain. The bartender responded with something like "I don't know, we're one of the oldest pubs in London?" It was funnier than I can write... all night we kept asking each other, "so why are you so special?" Gotta love the American tourist.
We went to our first Michelin rated restaurant (thanks Mark). It was amazing. Totally worth it, even though we sat next to 15 year old spoiled brats looking like they came right off the Gossip Girls set. We were marveling at our luck, loving every spoonful of hot and sour soup, and they were complaining about how one time their driver was actually smoking at the party entrance. OMG!
We saw the typical stuff... Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the list goes on.
We went to the play, Billy Elliot. Ryan wasn't too excited about the picture... who knew that when NOT using a flash, your camera still spotlights the target? I didn't.
One of the absolute BEST parts of the trip was Borough Market. This made us the most jealous of people living in London (the list included stores open past 5:30, food choices besides pizza and pasta, and the English language). The market had homemade ale, great coffee, beautiful flowers, and food, food, and more food. We were so happy in this picture - loved every bit of that day.
The weirdest part of the trip was how we kept getting upgraded. Parts of the tube were closed the day we left, and we didn't have great options of getting to the airport. It was either take the tube, switch a few times, then take a series of buses. Or, a cab that would cost around 75 pounds (do the math). The hotel offered to get us a car, which would be cheaper than a cab, and more of a safe bet compared to the tube/bus combo. We went with it, and were picked up in a chauffeured Mercedes. After a silent "this can't be for us" face, we jumped right in. Then, we get to the airport and realized we were bumped up to business class! We deserved it though... WAY overpaid for our tickets since we only booked a few days before the trip. There was one other thing but I'm drawing a blank. We were sort of tallying them up as we went along. It's late here, so that might explain the memory gaps. We've actually just come back from another mini vacation, this time in Italy. I don't want to make you too jealous, so I'll save that post for tomorrow.
We saw and shopped Covent Garden, which was amazing. The highlights were Paul Smith and Ted Baker. Ryan got something, but I held back. I'm such the unemployed adult! Our goal was to have as much ethnic food as our stomachs could handle, and that day we had Portuguese, which I think was a first for me. We ended the night at Lamb and Flag. The book mentioned that it served "cask ale." Ryan forgot what it was called (and didn't mean for it to come out this way) but when trying to ask about the drink, he ended up saying "what do you guys have that's special?" The response was classic disdain. The bartender responded with something like "I don't know, we're one of the oldest pubs in London?" It was funnier than I can write... all night we kept asking each other, "so why are you so special?" Gotta love the American tourist.
We went to our first Michelin rated restaurant (thanks Mark). It was amazing. Totally worth it, even though we sat next to 15 year old spoiled brats looking like they came right off the Gossip Girls set. We were marveling at our luck, loving every spoonful of hot and sour soup, and they were complaining about how one time their driver was actually smoking at the party entrance. OMG!
We saw the typical stuff... Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the list goes on.
We went to the play, Billy Elliot. Ryan wasn't too excited about the picture... who knew that when NOT using a flash, your camera still spotlights the target? I didn't.
One of the absolute BEST parts of the trip was Borough Market. This made us the most jealous of people living in London (the list included stores open past 5:30, food choices besides pizza and pasta, and the English language). The market had homemade ale, great coffee, beautiful flowers, and food, food, and more food. We were so happy in this picture - loved every bit of that day.
The weirdest part of the trip was how we kept getting upgraded. Parts of the tube were closed the day we left, and we didn't have great options of getting to the airport. It was either take the tube, switch a few times, then take a series of buses. Or, a cab that would cost around 75 pounds (do the math). The hotel offered to get us a car, which would be cheaper than a cab, and more of a safe bet compared to the tube/bus combo. We went with it, and were picked up in a chauffeured Mercedes. After a silent "this can't be for us" face, we jumped right in. Then, we get to the airport and realized we were bumped up to business class! We deserved it though... WAY overpaid for our tickets since we only booked a few days before the trip. There was one other thing but I'm drawing a blank. We were sort of tallying them up as we went along. It's late here, so that might explain the memory gaps. We've actually just come back from another mini vacation, this time in Italy. I don't want to make you too jealous, so I'll save that post for tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
London!
Judging by the lack of regular posts, you can probably tell that May is a busy month for me. Exams are about a month away and all group/individual projects are due soon. However, we have a holiday at the end of this week, so Ryan and I decided to treat each other to a little break... IN LONDON! So excited. But a little freaked out that we're doing it so last minute. It's okay, we'll go back, and next time we'll get to plan everything. This time, we're just being spontaneous. Hope that works out for us. We leave tomorrow and come back on Sunday.
Before we can pack, I still have some school work and Ryan's doing taxes. Tonight, my group is actually meeting on Skype, analyzing the results of a production management simulation game we're playing for 20% of our grade. Skype is so cool. It definitely helps when trying to get a big group together, especially considering all my other classes have groups as well, so sometimes the only time slots you have left in a day are at night. It's nice to be able to meet while sitting on your own couch.
The weather has been SO crazy here in Lugano - rain for 2 solid weeks. The clouds are the weirdest part. They move fast, and hover around the mountains. I took this picture while waiting for the bus. How crazy is it that the clouds moved around the top of the mountain like that? I should have taken a video... other clouds were circling in thin strands, looking like a snake attempting a strangle. I'm glad we're getting out of the city. Although London might not be the best choice for escaping bad weather. Doesn't matter... I have cute Hunter rain boots, so we should fit right in.
Before we can pack, I still have some school work and Ryan's doing taxes. Tonight, my group is actually meeting on Skype, analyzing the results of a production management simulation game we're playing for 20% of our grade. Skype is so cool. It definitely helps when trying to get a big group together, especially considering all my other classes have groups as well, so sometimes the only time slots you have left in a day are at night. It's nice to be able to meet while sitting on your own couch.
The weather has been SO crazy here in Lugano - rain for 2 solid weeks. The clouds are the weirdest part. They move fast, and hover around the mountains. I took this picture while waiting for the bus. How crazy is it that the clouds moved around the top of the mountain like that? I should have taken a video... other clouds were circling in thin strands, looking like a snake attempting a strangle. I'm glad we're getting out of the city. Although London might not be the best choice for escaping bad weather. Doesn't matter... I have cute Hunter rain boots, so we should fit right in.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
2 Years
It's our anniversary this weekend. We planned on having a little vacation in Lugano... made reservations at a great mountaintop restaurant, wanted to rent a boat, go to museums, maybe even a guided tour of the city. Apparently Lugano had other plans. It's Labor Day here, but because we're so unplugged (we don't watch the local news or read the paper), we had no idea. We set out this morning with big plans, and instead EVERYTHING was closed. Even the grocery stores! The whole city was shut down. On top of everything, the weather wasn't great, so a boat was out of the question. We would have still headed to the restaurant, but our neighbor's car we were supposed to use was in Milan. Literally everything we had planned fell through. When we first found out we were moving here, I actually pictured our anniversary and thought how great it would be to spend it in Europe. We had a good laugh about that as we ate Thai take away (one of the only places open) and looked out onto empty streets.
We decided to go home and just relax - watch a movie. I got to choose (the last time we watched something it was science fiction - not my favorite). I settled on "This Emotional Life" which was a documentary about family, friends and "lovers" (I hate that word, but it's the one they used), and how they affect your happiness. To some of you that might sound excruciating, but to me it sounded VERY interesting. Ryan seemed unsure, but went with it. It turned out to be totally applicable, especially on this anniversary weekend. The last portion was on relationships. According to these statistics, after 5 years of marriage only 10% of people say they are as happy as when they were first married. I sort of winced when I heard that. It made me sad - I don't want it to be like that. Then I noticed Ryan rubbing my arm - I guess he was thinking the same thing. At one point, psychologists were testing some hormone levels of couples before and after a little obstacle course. It turned out they were much happier after only doing 5 minutes of these childish type games. I told Ryan that maybe we should set up an obstacle course in our living room. He said that I set one up every week when I leave my stuff everywhere. He got me good - I laughed hard at that one.
We decided that since our charming mountaintop reservations had to be cancelled, we should come up with something else, which turned out to be bowling with some friends. Totally comparable to a romantic dinner. There are two girls in my class that I've wanted to get to know better, and they (along with one of their boyfriends) were free tonight. So, off we went. It turns out they weren't really the bowling type. Literally gutter balls almost every time it was their turn, which isn't fun. I'm strangely good at bowling, and didn't adjust my effort to the current situation one bit. All I wanted to do was beat Ryan, which I did. And in the meantime, racked up a score that was 4 times that of the friends we invited.
I unfortunately have a lot of homework to do, which has to be done tomorrow, so that will round out our one of a kind European anniversary weekend. I was dreading it, thinking it would intrude on our pre-planned fun. Now I'm sort of indifferent... everything else that failed so far has brought something funny in it's place.
I may regret being publicly sappy in the morning, but it's late here, Ryan's sleeping next to me on the couch, and I'm feeling sentimental. We may be naive to think this will last, and two years is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but we are happy. Probably anyone would be happy with Ryan, because he's sort of a wonder boy, but I'm the lucky one that got this life. And I'm very grateful. As well I should be... we all know who the better half is. How I got here I will still never understand.
Maybe everyone thinks this about their wedding, but ours was the best! It was a happy, happy day. I'm convinced it would have been just as great another way (especially at Charlie and Janis's house) but our parents gave us a party! A huge, fancy, beautiful party. And we loved every minute of it.
Sweet enough for you? How about one more just to drive it home. This one's not so sweet, a little disturbing actually, but still somehow captures the moment.
So, that was two years ago. We're certainly not anywhere close to where I would have pictured us... sort of makes me wonder about what's next. I would like 2012 to include a move home and a dog. But I'll just let nature take it's course.
We decided to go home and just relax - watch a movie. I got to choose (the last time we watched something it was science fiction - not my favorite). I settled on "This Emotional Life" which was a documentary about family, friends and "lovers" (I hate that word, but it's the one they used), and how they affect your happiness. To some of you that might sound excruciating, but to me it sounded VERY interesting. Ryan seemed unsure, but went with it. It turned out to be totally applicable, especially on this anniversary weekend. The last portion was on relationships. According to these statistics, after 5 years of marriage only 10% of people say they are as happy as when they were first married. I sort of winced when I heard that. It made me sad - I don't want it to be like that. Then I noticed Ryan rubbing my arm - I guess he was thinking the same thing. At one point, psychologists were testing some hormone levels of couples before and after a little obstacle course. It turned out they were much happier after only doing 5 minutes of these childish type games. I told Ryan that maybe we should set up an obstacle course in our living room. He said that I set one up every week when I leave my stuff everywhere. He got me good - I laughed hard at that one.
We decided that since our charming mountaintop reservations had to be cancelled, we should come up with something else, which turned out to be bowling with some friends. Totally comparable to a romantic dinner. There are two girls in my class that I've wanted to get to know better, and they (along with one of their boyfriends) were free tonight. So, off we went. It turns out they weren't really the bowling type. Literally gutter balls almost every time it was their turn, which isn't fun. I'm strangely good at bowling, and didn't adjust my effort to the current situation one bit. All I wanted to do was beat Ryan, which I did. And in the meantime, racked up a score that was 4 times that of the friends we invited.
I unfortunately have a lot of homework to do, which has to be done tomorrow, so that will round out our one of a kind European anniversary weekend. I was dreading it, thinking it would intrude on our pre-planned fun. Now I'm sort of indifferent... everything else that failed so far has brought something funny in it's place.
I may regret being publicly sappy in the morning, but it's late here, Ryan's sleeping next to me on the couch, and I'm feeling sentimental. We may be naive to think this will last, and two years is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but we are happy. Probably anyone would be happy with Ryan, because he's sort of a wonder boy, but I'm the lucky one that got this life. And I'm very grateful. As well I should be... we all know who the better half is. How I got here I will still never understand.
Maybe everyone thinks this about their wedding, but ours was the best! It was a happy, happy day. I'm convinced it would have been just as great another way (especially at Charlie and Janis's house) but our parents gave us a party! A huge, fancy, beautiful party. And we loved every minute of it.
Sweet enough for you? How about one more just to drive it home. This one's not so sweet, a little disturbing actually, but still somehow captures the moment.
So, that was two years ago. We're certainly not anywhere close to where I would have pictured us... sort of makes me wonder about what's next. I would like 2012 to include a move home and a dog. But I'll just let nature take it's course.
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