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.

Quote of the Day

"If money is all that a man makes, then he will be poor. Poor in happiness and poor in all that makes life worth living." -- Herbert N. Casson, Canadian journalist and author

This Last Weekend

I asked Ryan what this last weekend's post's title should be. His response was "this last weekend," so here we go.

There was a volleyball tournament a couple of my school friends were playing in on Friday. My plan was to get Ryan to meet some of them, and knowing they would love him, he would have a whole new set of things to do. It totally worked. He ended up playing on the team, and by the end of the night got invited to a pick up soccer game they play every Saturday. Success!



He played soccer on Saturday with everybody while I did a little homework. Lately, I think because the weather has gotten warmer, we've been more active. Plus, I recently got out my summer clothes and tried on bathing suits, so on Sunday I did some new workout dvd's and Ryan went for a bike ride! On his way home, he passed an area where boats offer rides/tours of the lake, and decided we should go. It was a great way to spend a Sunday.

















The views were amazing. We're surrounded by mountains, but not the kind you'd think... when I thought about Switzerland I pictured stony mountains with snow on top. We have snow on top, but mostly our mountains are covered with lush greenery. I've been told by people here that we have some of the best weather in Europe. Obviously, I'm no expert on weather in Europe, but what I've experienced so far in Lugano is really close to perfect. And on Sunday, we took advantage... the sun was warm, the breeze off the lake was cool, and all we had to do was ride around and take pictures. It was pretty awesome.


















We recently got really comfortable patio furniture... it's basically an outside couch. After the boat ride, we had dinner on our balcony. Most days are normal for us. But some days, I realize that right outside our door is what most people only see on vacation. That evening after dinner, we just laid back and watched the water. Let it soak in, before the normal-ness of the week started up again on Monday.

I feel bad...

for writing about that professor! I had him again today and it made me think I should take down that post. It's true I can't understand him, and my notes are crazy because I misinterpret his words all the time, but his English is better than my Italian, so I'll stay away from commenting.

School

LOVE Venice

There are very few cities where after stepping off the train, you are immediately blown away. Venice is one of those cities. It's hard to describe... there are no cars, practically no trees, no grass, very few sidewalks, and the buildings are built right on the water (no beach, just a doorstep straight to waves).

We went over Easter, and did the usual... took a gondola ride (which was amazing), went to St. Mark's square, crossed the Rialto bridge, and saw lots of glass. We have neighbors that spent two years in Venice, so they were kind enough to tell us about the unusual. What stands out is our lunch at the Cipriani Hotel on the island of Torcello. Right off the boat all we saw were weeds, a handful of buildings, and an old church. Not impressed, we started to think we had wasted a day on this plan... right up until the waiter gave us our table. From the outside it looks like nothing. From the outdoor veranda where there are tables set up under vines,

surrounded by gardens, and where you're escorted by men in white tuxedos - it looks amazing. We had everything... the waiter suggested we start off with their signature bellini - yes please! There were menus set if you wanted a full course, from 1st to dessert - yes please! I can't really remember, but I think it took a couple of hours. All the while we just sat, sipping bellinis, enjoying the view. Here's a picture of me doing just that. Loved every minute of it. On our walk out we were in sort of a happy daze, thinking we had just experienced a hidden gem. Then we saw the pictures. The queen of England, Hemingway, past Presidents, Princes Diana, and too many actors to count, all had our same lunch. It suddenly made sense... the woman in front of us had a huge Hermes bag (I was sporting my messenger from Outdoors) and one table over drove up in a gigantic yacht! Our "hidden gem" was probably well known in certain circles (just not ours). Wanting to remember this experience, I asked Ryan to pose for a picture outside the hotel. As you can see, we were ballers.

Here's a little sampling of the rest of our trip. We got lost all the time, but half of it was on purpose. If we didn't have plans, the plan was to walk and find something new. The "streets" were barely big enough for two people to walk side by side. We often used the Rialto bridge to get our bearings straight.

We took a tour of the Doge's Palace. We got to see the ancient weapons used to keep Venice safe, private living quarters of the Doge, old ballrooms, offices of parliament, and a 16th century jail. Ryan and I shared a double headset the whole time - common cord. Ryan liked to tug on it like a leash. That never got old.

We went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum of modern art, which was set up in her private home. The house amazed me just as much as the art. She had a terrace right on the Grand Canal and a private sculpture garden in the back. I had sort of a moment on the porch, thinking it was crazy that I was in Italy, hanging out on a Guggenheim's terrace. That doesn't happen every day.

We ate and drank our way through Venice. We walked off the major streets, went down ones that had less people, and tried to find a place that looked good. We were disappointed once, but other than that the food was great. We'd think we were done for the night, then pass an ice cream shop. Thought we were full, until we saw a bakery. We'd finally head to the hotel, but passed a bar on the way. That's sort of how it went.

One night, our plan was just to ride an open ferry on the Grand Canal. Rain was in the forecast, so I had doubts. Thankfully, Ryan vetoed my protests... turned out to be another great experience. Ryan took pictures every 3 seconds... the views were amazing.

That night we got off at the ferry's last stop. We had spoken to a local a couple of days before who told us this area was "magical." It turns out magic comes in the form of an Asian/Brazilian/Venetian architect/artist. We passed his studio and couldn't resist asking permission to come in (it was Easter Sunday night - his door was obviously only open because of the breeze). We had the most charming conversation with this man, bought a couple of reprints, and walked away feeling that yes, this place was indeed magical.

I hope this video works. Ryan has a better method, but he's asleep. We saw an Italian film tonight on campus and got home late. Anyway, this is a little part of our gondola ride. As you can probably tell, we were loving it.

Quote of the Day

"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." -- Orison Swett Marden, American author