MELANCHOLY WATERS

THE MAN AND HIS MOUSTACHE

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Mu husband decided to grow a moustache for the month of November in part with the Movember organization. He ended up liking his stache so much that he decided to leave it for a few months after November.

His moustache had become a part of him so much so that he purchased some new clothing and some classy hats. I am writing this today to report that he has come to the conclusion that it is now too out of control and just simply gets in the way of eating and drinking everyday. So today after work he said farewell to the stache and shaved it off.

Here are a few before, during, and after shots.

BAKING

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last night I was in a baking frenzy making red velvet cupcakes for the very first time. I used this recipe with all organic ingredients and I think they turned out pretty good.

Dry ingredients

Wet ingredients ( I must say I am a little crazy about this photo)

All ingredients mixed together

Making the frosting. That is a whole lot of butter and cream cheese!

The cupcakes fresh out of the oven

and lastly the finished product

2011 IN REVIEW

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorites moments from 2011

January

I visited my one of my best friends in San Francisco for her first baby shower. Followed by a two week trip for work to Houston, Texas.

February

One of the most memorable events of this month was my bachelorette weekend with some of my favorite girlfriends in Santa Barbara.

March

March was full of wedding prep and my family bridal shower. Thank you again Stephanie. Amber and Cora for putting on such a lovely bridal shower.

April

April was pretty much all about our wedding and honeymoon to Italy. I did however have time to visit Disneyland for the very first time with my sister and our awesome co-worker Camille.

May

Our first two weeks of May were spent in Italy finishing off our almost month long honeymoon. We also had the arrival of our nephew August who was born on my hubbies birthday.

June

We were starting to really feel he summer weather in June and we got our first peaches on our brand new peach tree. To finish off the month we took a trip to Las Vegas to attend my brothers wedding.

July

We drove out to Palm Dessert for the fourth of July weekend and caught some sun rays. It is one of our favorite past times.

August

Took a little drive out to Solvang for my birthday. Harvested our first grapes from our own garden.

September

My hubby and I checked out a new nursery and where we ended up purchasing an exotic citrus tree. I was lucky enough to get to spend sometime over a lovely lunch with one of my best gal pals Sovana before she took off for a month long trip to Missouri.

October

October is one of my favorite months because of Halloween, that is mainly because I have a reason to dress in costume. We also threw a baby shower for another awesome coworker who was having her first baby. We enjoyed the last few weeks of summer like days in the garden.

November

I surprisingly did not have my camera out and about as usual this month. It probably had to do with the fact that there was just too much going on at work. We did get to spend Thanksgiving with the family as always.

December

For the last month of the year we got to fly up to Washington state where my immediate family lives to spend Christmas time together. It was a very cold visit to Washington and we were both happy to be back in warm southern California ( Sorry Washingtonians we Californians can't hang. It's because we are spoiled with lovely weather pretty much all year long ).

GOALS FOR 2012

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Instead of making year long goals I am going to focus in on a few short term goals for this coming year. This was surprisingly much easier to do last year when I had a wedding and honeymoon to plan.

First I would like to reevaluate my goals from last year . Doing so will help me to determine what I would like to accomplish in 2012. I know that a few of my goals from the previous year will be carried over into this new year.

Last years goals:

1. To be a perfect homemaker. ( I will leave this one as ongoing)
2. To complete all wedding planning by April 1st. ( check, and double check)
3. To get myself in shape for the wedding with the help of Jillian Michaels.
( Definitely completed this one! Now it's an ongoing goal to stay in shape)
4. To pick-up sewing again. ( This will be ongoing as well. I have done some alterations this
past year)
5. To book and plan out our honeymoon trip to Italy. ( I can check this one off as well)

This years goals:

1. Finish painting all the rooms in our home
2. Organize and start using my craft room for real crafting. Instead always using the dinning room table!
3. Refashion a vintage dress I was gifted a long time ago for my brothers wedding in March
4. Complete the planning and booking of my 30th birthday trip this summer
5. Get back to blogging on a regular basis

I wish everyone a very happy new year and good luck on your own goals as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

My hubby and I spent our Christmas up in the lovely and very cold Northwest. We are looking forward to spending New Year;s eve in warm Southern California.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and may all 365 days of this coming year be filled with success, happiness and fun!

A shot of Bellevue, WA from my brothers town house.

HANDMADE HOLIDAY

2011-12-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

I normally do not get holiday gifts for co-workers, unless I really like them! However, this year I decided to spread the cheer and to give the gift of handmade presents to everyone in my department.

I was inspired by this advent calendar to make miniature monogrammed paintings for all 14 people that I work with everyday.

Step 1:
Decide on what size canvas you would like to use and purchase them. I decided on 4x6 and I purchased them at my local art store Art Supply Warehouse for $2.29 that included 3 in a pak.

Step 2:
Choose the background color and paint the canvas's. I choose to paint all of mine black.

Step 3:
Gather some inspiration and pick your color palette. This can also be part of Step 1 & 2.

Step 4:
Since my background color was black I simply taped off the design on each one and added a layer of silver for the guys and light magenta for the girls. This part was quite easy.

Step 5:
Pick out what type of frames you want to use to add the finishing touch. I purchased mine at Ikea for a whopping $2.99 each.

Lastly check each one for any detail fixes, wrap and hand them out. I will be passing these out today as a few of my co-workers wil be off on vacation for the holiday. This was an easy and inexpensive project. I spent less than $5 per person.

Here are the finished goodies.

WEEKEND BITS

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since my last post and I am totally bummed that I do not have enough time to post more often. My life has been consumed with far too much work and not enough creativity.

My hubby and I were able to carve out some "us time" this past weekend and I wanted to share a hodge- podge of photos from what we did.

We made our way to downtown Long Beach to join the @OccupyLB group

I snagged a quick shot of the stricking colors and pattern on this tree trunk

It is finally starting to feel like Autumn in Southern California and we've got mushrooms in our backyard

As well as a nice pile of leaves accumulating from our neighbors trees

I even had time to make this Halloween themed bunting to spruce up my office at work

HOLIDAY WEEKEND BITS

2011-09-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

We had a holiday to celebrate this weekend and by celebrate I mean we had a day off from work. My weekend consisted of cleaning, some gardening , harvesting , pancake making and hanging with our kitties.

The best part of the weekend was being able to sleep in and not worrying about having to wake up early for work, and now it's back to reality until the next holiday. Can't you tell I am excited about being back at work....

LADIES WHO LUNCH

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Although this week has been pure chaos at work I was looking forward to having lunch with one of my top fave girlfriends Sovana, before she takes off on a month long trip to Missouri. We have known each other for a really long time now and I am so glad to have her back in Southern California.

We went to lunch at one of my all time fave little spots that is tucked way in a little residential area in Long Beach called Starling Diner.

The above photo is of my sister and our friend Sovana and the scrumptious breakfast crostini I ordered

GLEEFUL FOR ANTIQUES

2011-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got my act together and took a drive out to the Pasadena with the hubby for the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It was a very hot summer day the Sunday we went, so much so that it made it very difficult to walk around the expansive display of vendor tents selling their goodies. I will definitely return during a cooler month here in Southern California for many reasons.

The first being that there are far more vendors selling better quality goods, and I am mainly referring to furniture with this statement. Our front living/dining room is still empty and we desperately need to get something in there. Otherwise all of our friends kids will call it the echo room when they come to visit. The other main reason why I plan to return to the Rose Bowl Flea Market is to check out the massive vintage clothing section there. I have a soft spot for pretty vintage clothes, not that I need anymore....

DANISH DELIGHT

2011-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have a little birthday tradition that I attempt to follow every year if work and life allows it of course. This tradition is to take a little trip somewhere. Considering that I took a month off for my wedding and honeymoon a trip for this years birthday was not realistic. Instead I thought it would be fun to go camping for a few days the weekend before my actual birthday.

This sounded like a good idea until we arrived at our destination, only to be turned away because all camping sites were full! Instead of griping about it we attempted to make the best of the situation with a visit to Solvang.

Solvang is a little Danish town not too far from Santa Barbara. Founded by Danish immigrants in 1911, Solvang boasts authentic architecture, thatched roofs, old-world craftsmanship and traditional windmills. Over 1 million visitors come each year to experience the northern European culture, cuisine and unique boutique shopping. The pedestrian-friendly village hosts three museums, 15 inns and hotels, a full-service guest ranch, meeting facilities, 30+ restaurants and bakeries, 150 retail shops and the Solvang Theaterfest, an alfresco 700-seat theatre.

For more on this small danish town check out their site here.

We finished off the weekend with some house cleaning and gardening.

Where we ate breakfast before our drive back home

a classic breakfast for the hubby

and some baked goodies for me

those rum balls were divine

TRIP TO THE COUNTY FAIR

2011-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Although I have lived in Southern Calfornia for almost 12 years now I had yet to vist either the LA or OC Fair's that are held each summer. I am also an adrenaline junkie so what a better way to get my fix, than with a trip to the fair.

My friends met me at my house and we drove the whole 20 minutes up the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. It was a nice hot summer day full of greasy fair food, fun rides, interesting exhibits and lots of people watching. We even made time to walk through the ice museum before heading home.

All of us together on my front lawn after a great day at the fair

A SUMMER SERIES

2011-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of my favorite time of year, this week I will be posting about some fun summer activities I have enjoyed and tell you why I love this season most of all.

The number one reason being is because of the fun summer dresses I get to wear, the beautiful summer blooms popping up everywhere, and of course spending some time in the warm summer sun.

(source 1, 2, 3, 4)

ITALY: A FINAL FAREWELL

2011-08-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is officially my last post on our honeymoon trip to Italy. I have enjoyed sharing our photographs,and the fun and not so fun experiences while traveling. I hope to return to Italy and see all the parts we did not visit this time around. Thank you to all that commented along the way!

In honor of the last few weeks of the summer season I will have some fun posts about summer happenings in Southern California and why I love this season most of all, coming up next week!

Riding down the Funicular

I waited by the ticket booths in Sorrento with the luggage while the hubby fetched our car

Last glance at Mount Vesuvius on our drive up to Rome

A final stop at our last petrol station

We definitely had quite the adventure with our little GPS

Looking out at our plane before departure fro Rome

A last look at Italy

Doesn't he look excited to be landing finally

Looking out at LA before landing. Such a stark difference compared to beautiful and green Italy.

CAPRI: THE FOOD

2011-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I ended up only taking photographs of one meal during our stay on the island. So here you have it!

CAPRI: DAY 2 ENTRYWAY TILES

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Instead of taking photographs of fancy door handles I noticed that on the island of Capri they have fancy little hand painted tiles for each house.

Unfortunately I could not find any history about these. The only information I found was from souvenir shops on the island that make ceramics.

These are some photos I took to and from our walk to Villa Jovis.

CAPRI: DAY 2 A WALK TO VILLA JOVIS

2011-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

After our excursion out to Anacapri and a ride up the chair lift to the top of Mount Solaro. We decided to take a 45 minute walk from our hotel to Villa Jovis.

Emperor Tiberius' most magnificent island residence. Villa Jovis, built in the first century B.C. and attributed to Tiberius, was chosen for its position on the cliff's edge which guaranteed both privacy and security, of vital importance to the Emperor.

A considerable percentage of the Roman villa remains, a villa which was built with large cisterns and water tanks, so as to counteract the perennial lack of water on the island of Capri. Villa Jovis was organized in sections linked by corridors, stairs and passageways. The Emperor had a North facing apartment with views over the Gulf of Naples; to the East there was the section dedicated to official functions; the baths were to the South and to the West the servants accommodation and lavatories were located. Tiberius's Villa extended over 5.500 square meters and was built up on various levels, unusual for the period, but made necessary by the location.

At the end of the avenue which leads to the villa there is the famous "Tiberius's Leap", place where, according to local legend, disobedient servants and undesired guests were hurled over the cliff by order of the Emperor. The furnishings and decorative features have been gradually removed over the centuries; placed in museums or used to decorate Royal palazzo, with some materials, such as the marble paving, even sold by weight.

The Villa Jovis complex was officially inaugurated in 1937, after excavation work carried out by the Archaeologist Amadeo Maiuri following strict scientific criteria. Within the site boundaries of Villa Jovis one finds the small Church of Santa Maria del Soccorso. In the space in front of the church there is a statue of the Madonna, visible from the sea below.

(historical source)

From our walk up to Villa Jovis

Looking at the Amalfi coast from Villa Jovis

The walk back to our hotel

CAPRI: DAY 2 HIKE DOWN MOUNT SOLARO PART 2

2011-08-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the second half of photos I took along our hike down Mount Solaro. The last few are of the town below called Anacapri.

This is about almost the half way point down the mountain side.

This was from one of the homes on the mountain side. I found it odd that they had an entire clay figurine set of Snow White with her Seven Dwarfs.

The cemetery is a hot tourist spot to visit in Anacapri

Below is one of the famous Capri taxi's you can take

The bus stop and the ride back to the city center of Capri

CAPRI: DAY 2 HIKE DOWN MOUNT SOLARO PART 1

2011-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

After our ride up to the top pf Mount Solaro we had a choice to either ride back down on that same chairlift or to take an hour long hike down the mountain side. Considering that we both love to go on hikes and to be surrounded by nature at it's best we decided on the hike.

The hike was definitely worth it because the mountain side was a bloom with all different kinds of native flowers. I could not help myself to not photograph every one of them while my hubby proceeded to collect seeds for us to take back to the states. Since I took so many photographs I am splitting this post up into two parts to spare you the photo dump of flowers photos all in one shot.

So here you have it.

CAPRI: DAY 2 MOUNT SOLARO CHAIRLIFT

2011-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

On our second day on the island of Capri we decided to do a little bit of exploring by starting off with a ride up the chairlift to the top of Mount Solaro.

Mount Solaro is the highest place on the island and you can get to the top by chairlift from Anacapri. The chairlift station is near Piazza Vittoria and allows you to reach the top quite quickly while you enjoy a splendid views of Anacapri and the Gulf of Naples. We were blessed with a perfect sunny day for our ride up to the top. The views were definitely splendid!

To get to Anacapri from our hotel we had to take a bus

There were many vegetable gardens on the mount

One of the splendid views from the chairlift

The view of the Island from the very top of Mount Solaro

CAPRI: DAY 1

2011-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

After our arrival on the island we proceeded to head up the funicular to get to the top of the island where the majority of the hotels are situated. You can also take the famous Capri taxis up to the top, but it usually take a bit longer and will cost you more.

Capri is not too big of an island and there are only about a handful of things you can do while there. We thought about renting a boat of our own to zip around the island. But once we saw the prices we were not too keen on that idea any longer. Instead we decided on more foot friendly activities to entertain us during our stay.

We took it nice and easy on our first day on the island by strolling around La Piazzetta until we found a nice little restaurant for some dinner before heading off to bed.

Here are some photos from our first day.

CAPRI: DAY OF ARRIVAL

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

After a relaxing stay in Positano we were headed to the last and final destination of our trip to the island of Capri. To get to Capri you have to take a ferry from Sorrento or Naples. Since we were closer to Sorrento we decided to depart for the island from there. After parking our car in a garage nearby, purchasing our tickets for the ferry ride over to the island, we snacked on a little bit of pizza at a nearby restaurant.

FEATURED: OUR WEDDING-THE WEDDING CHICKS BLOG

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

So happy to share this with you all! I have been patiently waiting for these photos to go up too. Our wedding photos and video are featured on The Wedding Chicks blog, yay!

To see more photos check out the post here.

POSITANO: THE FOOD

2011-08-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

We only had two dinners while in Positano. The first being near the great beach at a little cozy restaurant called La Pergola.

On our last night we dined at our hotels restaurant La Sponda.

POSITANO: NIGHT & DAY

2011-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share some photos from our walk down through Positano both in the evening and in the day time.

Despite the fact that Positano is so small it is quite a beautiful coastal town.

Here are some photos from during the day

POSITANO: LE SIRENUSE HOTEL

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

During our two night stay in Positano we were so very fortunate to have been able to stay at this lovely hotel Le Sirenuse.

We decided to stay at this hotel while in Positano because my hubby and his family had stayed here on a previous trip to Italy. One thing to know about Positano is that if you plan to visit and stay, start saving your money now. It is a boutique little beach town where everything is overpriced because of the location. The town and the hotel were both very beautiful and the service was over the top. We both felt bad for how nice and caring all the staff was to us the entire time we were there. They went out of their way to make sure you were comfortable and that you had everything you might possibly need or desire.
Our stay at the hotel included a massage at their in-house spa which we both took advantage of. I will tell you one thing about that massage, they did not skimp on the hot oil.

Not only does this hotel have amazing staff, beautiful rooms and views, a gym and spa but they also have quite a fantastic restaurant. La Sponda restaurant serves delicious Neapolitan cuisine prepared with local ingredients. At dinner, four hundred candles create an unforgettable atmosphere. Never had we once had six people waiting on us during our meal. One guy to help with the wine, another with the menu , someone to make sure our glasses were never empty and of course someone to come and clean off the crumbs from our table and to make sure the candles were all lit. It was not only a nice meal but one of the most pricey meals we will probably ever have.

In the end we enjoyed our short stay and we even had time to relax on the beach and catch a few rays of sun.

POSITANO: DAY OF ARRIVAL

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to our time in Positano after being in Italy for two weeks. We would be right by the beach in the sun with a whole lot more warmth than we had experienced the last few weeks in this country. Ven though it sounds like a beautiful place to be and to visit it is not easy to get to by car. The roads are very windy and some are very narrow.

This is the part of the trip where we ended up scratching up our rental car pretty badly due to our GPS taking us off the main road and through even more narrow streets only to spit us back out onto the main road. Luckily it was not so bad that the car was not drive-able but it definitely put a damper on our arrival to Positano. We shouldn't feel so bad because all the cars in the town were either dented or scratched up from driving on these narrow windy roads all the time.

Here is a little bit about the history of this touristy town;

Positano was a port of the Amalfi Republic in medieval times, and prospered in the 16th and 17th centuries. But by the mid-19th century, the town had fallen on hard times. More than half the population emigrated, mostly to Australia. Positano was a relatively poor fishing village during the first half of the 20th century. It began to attract large numbers of tourists in the 1950s, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May, 1953: "Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."
(source)

Looking down at Sorrento

Finally arrived and we are checking in

After the drive and a little scrape we needed a quick refreshment, or two

The view we enjoyed while sipping on our drinks. Do we look ready for a nap or what?

NAPLES TRASH STRIKE

2011-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

On our way down to Positano after our visit to the Pompeii ruins we noticed huge piles of trash throughout Naples. We were both a little disgusted and curious as to why this was happening.
Apparently the Waste Management workers in Naples have been on strike off and on since 2008 and this strike has been carried out to present day.

Here is some information I found on the web about the trash collection problem in Naples.

Since the mid-1990s, Naples and the Campania region has suffered from the dumping of municipal solid waste into overfilled landfills. Beginning on December 21, 2007, the municipal workers refused to pick up any further material; as a result, the waste had begun to appear as regular fixtures on the streets of Naples, posing severe health risks to the metropolitan population. On December 31, the government closed one of two major dumps near the city at the request of the city's residents.Reports during the summer of 2008 stated that the problem was caused at least in part by the Camorra, a powerful local mafia based in Campania, who had created a lucrative business in the municipal waste disposal business. Heavy metals, industrial waste and chemicals and household waste are frequently mixed together, dumped near roads and burnt to avoid detection, leading to severe soil and air pollution.

In January 2008 Romano Prodi’s government announced plans for the solution of the crisis including the building of three new incinerators. Prodi appointed a former national police chief as waste commissioner and the army was called in to bulldoze the waste from the streets of Caserta while protesters clashed with police in central Naples. But no real progress had been made by May of that year, when Prodi's government was defeated in the general election. At that time over 200000 tonnes of waste still remained on the streets.

Newsweek reported that in October 2010, riots near Terzigno halted garbage collection again in Naples, leading to "overflowing bins and renewed international attention", and "new calls for [Berlusconi's] resignation and allegations that his government is in bed with the mob". The riots occurred after the government announced another 3-million-metric-ton landfill would be constructed within Vesuvius National Park; residents, already upset by toxic waste levels at a nearby landfill, were said to believe that much of the garbage going into the new landfill would be "illegally imported by the Camorra" and would be similarly uncontrolled.
(source)

PHOTOSWAP 2011

2011-08-04T08:00:00.002-07:00

I came across this lovely idea from this blog and of course I had to take part. One because I love to take pictures, and two is because I love ideas like this that allow people in different places to collaborate in a creative way.

What is a photoswap? well here is how it works and what's involved;

The swap is based on the idea of two people sending each other films or disposable cameras for each other to develop!

Once the swap is open, anyone who wants to take part leaves their details with the organizer - then she pairs together two people depending on their location, postal requirements and the type of film that they want to use and develop.

Once the partners are paired the organizer then sends out the relevant information to each person regarding their partner and a date is set for the photos to be taken by. The photo taking period is normally about a month, however it can take two months to get all the photos in.

Once the photos have been sent, received and developed, they are then uploaded somehow onto the internet - normally through Flickr or the photoswappers blog.

My partner is Heather Liebler of clementseye.blogspot.com and she took some beautiful black and white photographs with her Canon AE-1 camera of her families trip to Florida.

Heather also has a shop on Etsy where you can buy prints of her beautiful photography. You can check out what she has on sale here.

Here are the photos Heather took from the roll of film I had developed, enjoy! For a peek at the photos I took with a disposable camera, see Heather's post here.

To see more of the swapped photos from other participants you can check out the Photoswap blog.

POMPEII RUINS

2011-08-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

After our short stay in Orvieto we were headed down south to Positano. Before making our way to our final destination we planned on making a stop in Pompeii to see the historic ruins. This was one of our longest drives lasting a total of 3 and a half hours on a nice sunny warm day.

Once we reached Naples and began to wind our way through the city to the ruins we were both shocked at how dilapidated and run down many parts of Naples were. It was a stark comparison to the rest of Italy that we just visited. As we neared the center of the city close the ruins it did look like the main square was kept up far better than the outer laying areas surrounding the main square. We found a parking lot next to the ruins which was also a smal amusement park for young kids. After a quick walk through the ruins we were ready to make it to Positano and relax on our hotel room.

Below is a spot of history on Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in the year AD 79. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.
(source)

These are some of the photos from our drive into Pompeii

Some of the amusing rides at the park where we left our car

Right near the entrance to the ruins

The Colosseum

These stones were put on the roads to allows the residents to use as stepping stones when the streets woud be flooded for cleaning purposes

Such a shame to see how tourists would scratch their names and initials into something so historic

One of many fastfood stands. The holes would be filled with pots full of hot food for the patrons to purchase and enjoy

The amphitheater

You can see where the top of Mount Vesuvius blew between the two peaks

The Temple of Isis

The Forum

A few of the bodies that were casted with plaster from the excavations

There were many loose dogs around the ruins. I felt bad for them because it was so hot out!

The brothel

ORVIETO: THE FOOD

2011-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Hotel La Badia houses their own restaurant which is famous for their wood burning grill. We were both curious about the pile of cut wood that we noticed behind the hotel where we parked. We later came to find out what this wood was used for when we entered the restaurant for dinner.

Here is a little bit about the restaurant from their website;

The restaurant La Badia blends the freshest local ingredients and the chef's creativity into an incomparable culinary experience, such as the taste of salami made with game, spicy local cheeses and all the traditional Umbrian dishes.The emerald green extra virgin olive oil is produced by cold-pressed olives from the owners estates. The aromatic and strong vinegar comes from the full-bodied wines of the Orvieto area.The deep-red wine is extremely full-bodied and a perfect compliment for venison and the local renowned meats.The white wine is the Orvieto Classico, made with procanico, verdello, grechetto, drupeggio and malvasia grapes.

Here are some photos form our delicious meal;

ORVIETO: LA BADIA HOTEL

2011-08-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

During our one night stay in Orvieto we were fortunate enough to sleep and dine at the Hotel La Badia. Below is a little bit of history on the abbey and location of the now hotel.

The Hotel La Badia is inside the antique medieval Abbey which was erected in the 6° century. This imposing building is belonging since two centuries to the Counts Fiumi di Sterpeto. It is the perfect location for those who are wishing to enjoy an unforgettable stay within walls so rich of history, surrounded by the green of the Umbrian hills, among olive trees and rows of vines.

The origins of the Abbey
The first Abbey was built at the end of the 6th century around the primitive church of San Silvestro by the noble Lombard Lady Rotruda. An old legend says that Saint Severo died and his remains were brought to Orvieto. Lady Rotruda, wanting to seize them, touched the coffin, however her hand was trapped. To have it released she was compelled to promise the founding of the abbey and a deserving burial to the monk Saint Severo. This is the legendary origin of the Abbey of Saints Severo and his disciple Martirio. The current Abbey was built in the 12th century on the site of the 6th century building.
(source)

ORVIETO: DOOR HANDLES

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few door handles that caught my photographic eye in Orvieto.

ORVIETO: DAY OF ARRIVAL

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Following our short visit to Siena we headed further south to our final stop for the night in Orvieto. This would our last hill town in Tuscany that we would stay in for the remainder of our trip.

Orvieto, Italy is one of the principal sights of the region of Umbria, Italy. Its situation is marvelous - perched high above tufa cliffs - showing traces of every phase of history for the past three thousand years, culminating in its magnificent cathedral. Tourists should on no account miss Orvieto if they are visiting Umbria or southern Tuscany. The tufa butte on which Orvieto is located is itself riddled with tunnels and wells dating from Etruscan times to only a couple of hundred years ago. The most spectacular of these subterranean burrowings is the Pozzo di San Patrizio, a deep well with a double spiral stair leading to the water source at its base. It dates from 1537 and is 62 m deep. If you're in need of exercise, it's possible to descend and return. Try carrying up a couple of buckets of water - it'll bring the life of earlier times vividly before you.
(source)

Here are some photos we took during our visit in Orvieto.

Looking up at the town of Orvieto from our hotel

To get up to the top of the cliffs you have to take some escalators through the tunnels

The Cathedral on the left was right at the top of the tunnel entrance as you reach the top. The photo on the right is right outside the parking garage at the base of the town

A beautiful view at the hills from the parking garage

I loved all the succulents we came across and that sign was way too cool not to photograph

They had these really cool benches outside of a few cafes and gelaterias across town

A little street with local shop owners. I of course found some chocolate!

I ended up purchasing many boxes as gifts for friends and family and one truffle for me to enjoy right then and there.

The famous Cathedral in town

SIENA: DOOR HANDLES

2011-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the door handles that caught my photographic eye in Siena.

A VISIT TO SIENA

2011-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

On our drive to Orvieto we stopped off in the beautiful hill city of Siena. This city is not only known for it's history and beauty but it is also know as a college city. We observed many students walking around the city as we drove in and this made for quite the traffic jam along with limitations on parking. I am sure the city is far more breath taking in the evening hours but it was still worth the visit to at least see the piazza.

Siena is a classic medieval hill town in Tuscany famous for its large fan-shaped piazza. Piazza del Campo is the heart of the town and is the home to the famous summer horse-race, known as Il Palio. Siena is one of Italy's prettiest medieval towns. Its peak was about 1260-1348 when it was one of Europe's wealthiest cities and many of its buildings and art works originate from that time.
(source)

Here are some photos form Siena.

SAN GIMIGNANO: THE FOOD

2011-07-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

In a small town such a this you always wonder what are the dining choices and how good is the food going to be. In effort to save some time we took to our handy Rick Steve's guide book to find a good recommendation on where to dine on our first night in town.

On our walk through town we were able to check out the restaurant where we would have our first meal in San Gimignano. It is a cliff side restaurant called Le Vecchie Mura that overlooks the beautiful hills of Tuscany. Rick Steve's highly recommended to make a reservation and to ask for a table at the front. This was well worth it as we were seated with quite a beautiful view of the hills. Plus the food was delicious!

These are some photos of the restaurant and our meal.

On our last night in town we ate at this little restaurant Trattoria Chiribiri. I did not bring our camera so there are no photos of our meal, but I was able to find some photos of this place here.

SAN GIMIGNANO &VOLTERRA: DOOR HANDLES

2011-07-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Some of the door handles that caught my photographic eye.

San Gimignano doors

Volterra doors

A VISIT TO VOLTERRA

2011-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

After our quick visit to Pisa we headed off to our next and final stop for the day, the hill town of Volterra.

Volterra is a town of great architectural interest located 1770 feet above the sea level, between the

rivers Bra and Cecina in Tuscany, Italy. The main features are two fine castles and numerous Etruscan

remains. The ambience of Volterra is extremely attractive, easily rivaling that of the more famous

Tuscan destination of San Gimignano.

(source)

We took a little detour on our way to Volterra and stopped at this stream. How pretty!

Here are some photos we took in Volterra.

Volterra was the town of Alabaster. You can find anything and everything made out of Alabaster.

DRIVE TO PISA

2011-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

We decided to extend out stay in San Gimignano for one more day so we could take a drive out to Pisa and Volterra.

A quick glance at our driving route for the day

Here is a glance at where this area is located on the continent of Italy

Getting to Pisa was not that difficult but finding the parking lot was another story. To avoid any possible fines or damage to our rental car we either paid for parking in a garage or we looked for a public parking lot wherever we went. After finally arriving at this parking lot all we had to do was to wait for the next bus that shuttles visitors back and forth between the parking lot and the area where the Leaning Tower stands. It was quite entertaining to see that even in this barren parking lot there were vendors selling their cheaply made souvenirs, all the same as everywhere we had already been.

Once you are dropped off outside the walls of the Field of Miracles you are again bombarded by tented stalls of more vendors selling the same stuff all along the outer walls. My first impression of this city was that it looked a lot like Tijuana, Mexico. The streets were dirty and there was bits of trash everywhere. Some of the buildings were dilapidated and all the pushy vendors totally reminded me of markets in Mexico. But as soon as you walk past all of this into the Field of Miracles where the Tower, The Cathedral and Duomo stand you definitely get a true feeling of what medieval Italy was like.

For more on why the tower is called the "leaning tower" check out this site here.

After walking through the Field of Miracles we stopped at yet another Chinese restaurant for a quick lunch before heading off to Volterra.

Here are some of our photos from our visit.

Where we ate our lunch.

SAN GIMIGNANO: THE TOWERS

2011-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

From every angle of the town of San Gimignano the appearance is medieval. From the roads, the public square, civil areas , to religious and military constructions. When a visitor walks into an alley of stone or bricks for the first time they would believe that they have been cast back in time to a village crystallized in the 14th century.

In 1229 the historical alliance of San Gimignano with Florence became stronger. In these years the city skyline of Saint Gimignano was studded with numerous towers, symbols and testimonies to the fortune of the families that possessed them, and still today the city is known throughout the world as 'San Gimignano dalle belle torri' (San Gimignano with the beautiful towers). In the 13th century there were 72 towers, but today only 14 have survived.
(historical source)

These are some of the photos we took of the towers

The sign denying us access to climb the tower

SAN GIMIGNANO: DAY 1 A WALK AROUND TOWN

2011-07-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Following our wine tasting we continued on through the town on our little walking tour. We were both disappointed to find that the one and only tower that is open to the public was closed due to maintenance.

Since there is not much else to do or to see in this little town, besides three medieval torture museums and the church. I must say that the beautiful views of the Tuscany valley and all the vineyards that surround this little hill town were worth the visit.

Below are some photos from our walk.

SAN GIMIGNANO: DAY 1 WINE TASTING

2011-07-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

There was no better way to start off exploring a new town than with a wine tasting. Our original plan was to take a walk around town and than climb one of the towers for an all around experience of what San Gimignano has to offer.

Our plans were diverted when we walked buy the Tollena shop where they sell wine, vinegar's, salts, olive oils, honey and jams. The wine comes from Tollena Farms not too far from the town of San Gimignano where this shop is located.

This little diversion ended up in a purchase of six bottles of wine and a little buzz to go along with it. The total amount spent for the wine and the shipping was 130 Euro. The wine is now sitting in our wine closet and we will take out to share at least once this summer.

Here are some photos from the shop.

(source)

SAN GIMIGNANO: DAY OF ARRIVAL

2011-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

After Florence our next destination city was San Gimignano. It is a small hill town in the Tuscany hills and very close to Florence. So close that majority of people take a day trip out on a tour bus while in Florence.

San Gimignano began its life as a town in the 10th century taking its name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who is said to have saved the village from the barbarian hordes. This town is famous for it's medieval architecture and for it's many towers, which is one of the main sites you can see from many kilometers away as you approach the town.

It was a big change for us to be in such a small town that we were able to walk around the entire town within one hour. We had planned to climb the stairs of one tower but it was closed due to some maintenance. After our walk we headed back to our hotel and did a little hand washing of the husbands shirts and socks before heading over for a cliff side dinner at one of the restaurants nearby.

Some photos from our drive to San Gimignano and our hotel.

Where we stayed Hotel Bel Soggiorno

Our first room #23.which we only stayed in for several hours and then had to switch to room #25 because their new toilet flushing system did not work. We were a little bummed because the first room came with a patio balcony.

All moved into the new room

The hotel lobby/lounge area. If you want internet access you have to pay and it was a little steep for even one half hour.

FIRENZE: THE FOOD

2011-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

After arriving safely, finding a parking garage and checking into our hotel we had some time to kill before our tour of the Uffizi Gallery. What better way to waste some time than with a nice little lunch near the gallery. Our first meal in Florence was at Caruso Jazz Cafe right around the corner from the Uffizi Gallery. We ended up back at this same cafe for lunch the next day as well. I only took a photo of our water during that visit, surprisingly!

I was very taken by the floors in the entrance to the cafe. They used an old stained glass over some rocks, a neat idea I must say!

We decided on some bruschetta so we would not be completely full before dinner

Where we ate dinner on our first night in the city. I dropped the ball and did not capture an image of the restaurants name.

More bruschetta, obviously I could not get enough of all the different variations all over Italy

Quattro Stagione pizza, the hubby's favorite

Gnocchi, I am not sure if I was just not hungry but these were not the best...

After having eaten nothing but Italian food for the past two weeks we were in need of a change in food choices. We were both excited to find a Chinese restaurant near our new hotel in Florence. It was so amusing to read the menu as they gave all the items on the menu with italian names. For example your regular chow mein here in the Unites States was called spaghetti, and steamed dumplings were called ravioli.

Despite the odd names on the menu the food we ordered was some of the best Chinese food we have ever eaten together. Evereything was full of flavor and very fresh. We enjoyed the food so much that we went back the following night before we left Florence onto our next city. I still dream about the yummy steamed beef dumplings to this day. Gives me another reason to go back to Florence.

The restaurant is called Il Mandarino and is near the Santa Croce neighborhood.

FIRENZE: DOOR HANDLES

2011-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some door handles that caught my photographic eye in Florence

FIRENZE: DAY 3 GIARDINO DI BOBOLI

2011-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

We decided to take it nice and easy on our last day in Florence, especially after being up late celebrating White Night with the Italians. Because most the the tourists and residents in Florence attended this event. I can guarantee that they were all catching up on their sleep the next morning. This fact made for a nice mellow day for us knowing that we would not have to navigate through the normal crowds of people.

Considering that we had pretty much visited most of the major sights in this city on our first two days. We planned to visit the Boboli Gardens on our last day in Florence. The line to get inside was not too terribly long and the weather was perfect for a stroll through the gardens.

For a little history on the gardens you can check out the site here.

Here are some of the photos we took from our visit.

This is the Grotta Grande that was originally added onto a fish pond

FIRENZE: DAY 2 NOTTE BIANCA

2011-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

When we checked into our new hotel the concierge told us that tonight would be their "White Night" and that they would be serving drinks and hors d'oeuvre at the bar. We both sort of shrugged it off as an event only for the hotel and we did not think anything of it. Later that evening during our dinner we began to notice large crowds of people walking up and down the street right outside the restaurant where we dined. We were both puzzled by this and after we finished our meal we decided to take a stroll to find out what this was all about.

As we exited the restaurant a passer by handed us a flyer for Notte Bianca 2011. Still puzzled we opened up the flyer to read about it and we cae to the realization that the city of Florence was having an all night festival. This explained the massive crowds of people walking the streets. Below is a little description of what this event entails.

The “notte bianca” or “white night” is when the city sanctions staying up late and has special events and late openings planned. The city of Florence was a blaze of lights and life on the streets of the city. 19 museums were open all night for free exhibitions, shows and concerts, film screenings and initiatives in the main city libraries. Along with theaters, art installations, performances and tours. This sleepless night also welcomes children, with a specific program that runs between Old Palace, the Botanical Institute of the Innocents and other places in the city center. This is taken form the official website for the vent and from the flyer we were handed.

We both agree that this was one of our most favorite parts of entire trip. It was so interesting to see people of all ages flocking to the city to have a good time with each other. We called it a night around 2am but we still heard people celebrating until 6am that morning. If we ever get a chance to revisit this city we will make sure to pan for April 30th.

Below is a video of the event and some photos we took.

FIRENZE: DAY 2 WALK TO PIAZZALE MICHAELANGELO

2011-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I will never forget how much my arms hurt after lugging our luggage across town on the cobble stones and through the crowds so we could check into our new hotel for the remainder of your stay in Florence. My hubby says that his elbows still hurt from it, that is because he had the misfortune of taking my suitcase.

Since we were both pretty much spent after our move across town we took a few hours to lounge in our room before heading out to the Michelangelo Square and then dinner. The walk up to the square was more than we expected with a steep slope halfway up and then even steeper stairs to the very top. Once we reached the top you quickly forget about the workout on the way up because of the beautiful views of the city.

We were lucky to see two couples who were just married taking photos in the square. The usual souvenir vendors were lurking about and the most amusing part was a car that was all tricked out for fast and furious times blasting Celine Dione from it's fancy sound system.

Here are some of the shots form our stroll.

After our walk we stopped off at our hotel to find that we just received turn down service and they left this little box for us. It was filled it delicious little chocolates!

FIRENZE: DAY 1 A NIGHT WALK

2011-07-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have to back track here one day as I forgot to talk about the night walk we took after our arrival in Florence.

We originally planned to do a walk from our guide book and then it just turned into a stroll around the city. There was not much going on and parts of the city were completely empty and dark. We walked by a few odd looking clubs that were blasting euro dance hits, although these were clearly marked as military offices, very strange! The rest of our walk we window shopped and people watched. A few of the squares had live orchestra's playing as well as the famous Ponte Vecchio. Couples usually crowd to the bridge after sunset to hear some music while they gaze at each other lovingly.

We stopped by the bridge and were both unimpressed by this very eccentric french man who accompanied his vocals with a guitar, so we just kept walking. The views of the city at night were worth the walk over to the bridge despite the lackluster tunes.

Here are some photos from our walk.

This artist was working on this chalk drawing all day long

View of the Ponte Vecchio

Cardboard furniture we both liked very much

Italians all over wore these tennis shoes by the brand Hogan. These were some odd styles we saw while on our evening stroll

FIRENZE: DAY 2 463 STEPS TO THE TOP OF THE DUOMO

2011-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

After quite a horrific night without any sleep in our hotel we decided we would head over to walk up the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo (The church of Santa Maria del Fiore).

The cathedral or duomo, of Florence is a vast Gothic structure built on the site of the 7th century church of Santa Reparata, the remains of which can be seen in the crypt. The cathedral was begun at the end of the 13th century in the Gothic style by Arnolfo di Cambio, and the dome, which dominates the exterior, was added in the 15th century. The church was then consecrated and "completed" although the façade was only half finished (it was redone and completed in the 19th century). The exterior is covered in a decorative mix of pink, white and green marble. The interior, by contrast, is pretty stark and plain.

The dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi who won the competition for its commission in 1418, the dome is egg-shaped and was made without scaffolding. The raising of this dome, the largest in the world in its time, was no easy architectural feat. At the base of the dome, just above the drum, Baccio d'Agnolo began adding a balcony in 1507. One of the eight sides was finished by 1515, when someone asked Michelangelo, whose artistic opinion was by this time taken as cardinal law- what he thought of it. The master reportedly scoffed, "It looks like a cricket cage." Work was immediately halted, and to this day the other seven sides remain rough brick.

The best way to see the dome is to climb its 463 steps: the route takes you by the interior of the dome where you can admire close-up Giorgio Vasari's much-reviled frescoes of the Last Judgment (1572-9): they were designed by Vasari but painted mostly by his less-talented student Frederico Zuccari by 1579. The frescoes were subjected to a thorough cleaning completed in 1996, which many people saw as a waste of restoration funds when so many more important works throughout the city were waiting to be salvaged. The scrubbing did, however, bring out Zuccari's innovative color palette. Continue upwards through the two shells of the cupola and out onto the lantern, from which you can enjoy impressive views of the city.

(source)

It was well worth the 8 euro each and the 463 steps just to see the 360 degree views of Florence. Plus being up so early allowed us to skip the long lines to get inside.

The fresco inside the smaller dome

Looking down inside the cathedral

Walking up the inner dome to the top

At the views at the top of the outer dome

We look like we got lots of sleep the night before, lol!

A look at the bell tower at night

We quickly visited the Accademia Gallery after our visit to the Duomo

Florence is not only a city of art but a city of bicycles.

Once we returned to our hotel the next plan was to promptly check out of Hotel Centro and find another hotel that provided us with a room away form the street and with our very own bathroom.

FIRENZE: DAY 1 UFFIZI GALLERY

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of our first planned outings after our arrival in this city was to tour the Uffizi Gallery that houses many great works of art, and more notably the Statue of David and the painting The Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli. Since photographs are forbidden we did not attempt to take any of these two famous works of art while inside the gallery.

The Uffizi Gallery was built in 1581 with the original design being that of Giorgio Vasari, one of the leading painters and architects during the 15th century. The space was originally intended for offices and to host bureaucratic meetings for various magistrates as apposed to holding masterpieces as it is today. The gallery is an extraordinary container of paintings that embrace a historical period from the 1200's until today, and a geographic space that comprises beyond Italy many European regions.

It is highly recommended to book a tour in advance to this gallery as there are many curious tourists and guided groups that flock to this site all year round.We ended up booking our visit last minute and it cost us a little more than usual, which in the end was worth the 20 extra euros each. To book your visit click here.

The square inside the gallery building was full of amateur artists with their easels set-up. Most of them just had to work on display and others were actually painting. None of the work really appealed to use so we did not purchase anything.

A view of Florence outside one fo the gallery windows

Amateur artists poking some fun outside the gallery exit with some graffiti

Some of the sights we visited after our gallery visit

FIRENZE: DAY 1 THE LEGEND OF PONTE VECCHIO PADLOCKS

2011-07-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Legend has it that if you and your loved one attach a padlock to any surface of the famous bridge and then throw away the key into the Arno River below, your love will last forever. Millions of couples have come to the Ponte Vecchio for expressly this reason, to lock in their love and throw away the key for eternity.

Whether the couple actually believes that these legends work or not, they will find themselves believers for at least that moment at the Ponte Vecchio. That was true for us in this instance!

The practice of locking padlocks to the Ponte Vecchio was probably started by a locksmith who held shop at the foot of the bridge, in an effort to raise his revenue. The Ponte Vecchio has always been a bridge for merchants from the very beginning, with tables lining the bridge instead of the chic shops that many tourists enjoy today.

These days, however, it is not advisable for tourists to come flocking to the famous bridge and become part of the famous legend. At some point, the overabundance of padlocks gave the bridge a gaudy appearance and the government had to resort to removing these excessive padlocks, and for a time continued to keep on removing them, as they kept multiplying at will.

Today, there is a hefty penalty to all who are caught locking or attaching anything to the Ponte Vecchio. These days, lovers simply come to the famous bridge and simply touch the remaining padlocks that have not been removed. Luck has kept them there, locked to the bridge, perhaps some luck will rub off on the hopeful couple as well, and keep their love alive for eternity. (I guess I should probably not be writing it post then)

(historical source)

Yes, this is illegal and there is a big sign that says so, but we did it any ways.

Although you are technically supposed to throw the keys in the river, we decided to keep ours.