ROAD TRIP -- Florida to Coloradooo

From our time in Florida for Christmas, Lenny and I then drove allll the way back to Denver with his dog, Koura! It was quite the road trip. Lenny was "all business" as I said along the way -- making it the 30 hours of drive time in just TWO DAYS. It was a fun trip with lots of laughs, music, and listening to the entire first season of the Serial podcast on NPR. We also drove through the middle of the major ice storm in Texas. (Yikes! Turns out that there were hurricanes very nearby to where we stayed overnight. Thankfully, our trip was smooth and safe.)

Mmmmhmmmmmm. We stopped for an amazingly delicious and BIG barbecue lunch!

Ice covered everything in Texas!

All trees were coated in ice.

Even the gas pumps were coated in ice!

Frozen receipt on the gas station's machine:

Our last night of driving... getting there, getting there!

Venice, end of June

Sooooo, I'm behind on the blog! Yikes! I have plenty to catch up on. I've made it a goal of mine for the week to make sure that I post.

Finishing up my time with Mom and Aunt Gail in Italy this past summer, we went to Venice (after time in Cinque Terre and Tuscany). I haven't been to Venice in about 6 years, so it was great to get back. We enjoyed walking along the narrow alleys and over canals on the arched bridge-ways... and getting lost. Gorgeous city -- like no other in the world.

Our hotel gave us a free boat ride to Murano Island! We were then given a short tour of the factory and how pieces are made. Finally, we were directed into the showroom and shop... and expected to buy, buy, buy! (I did happily buy two glasses and a pair of earrings.)

We took a tour of this Murano glass factory.

The glass master made a few pieces while we watched and a lady explained in English.

It was amazing to watch this horse being made in just a couple minutes.

The glass master had to complete it in a certain amount of time while the glass was still hot enough to form. Incredible.

Maybe I like Venice so much because of all the doors  ; )

We found this GREAT bookstore! Books were all over -- in bathtubs even!

Taking a walk along the main canal at sunset

Mom and Aunt Gail IN ITALY!

Well, it's about time I begin posting about the beginning of my summer vacation! Yikes. How is it already mid-September?!

My mom and her sister, my Aunt Gail, came to visit at the very end of the school year. We had a GREAT time together! I enjoyed calling the two of them le sorelle throughout our travels -- meaning, the sisters.  :P

We had some time in Milan and they went to Lake Como one day (Varenna and Bellagio). Once I finished up the school year, we then had a lovely travel through Italy to: Cinque Terre, Florence, a day-tour to Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa, as well as a couple nights in Venice.

I'm going to attempt to get caught up this week... so, let's begin with our time in magical CINQUE TERRE!!

We stayed in Manarola. I love, love, love the apartment we had. It is two floors, has two balconies, a sea view, and two bedrooms/bathrooms. It is a quite a hike to get up to the apartment... but worth it.  : )  The views are absolutely incredible:

The view from one of our balconies!

Straight across the narrow street from our front door:

The view while walking down to the main part of town:

Sunset view from the balcony:

Little evening walk gorgeousness:

bugs out

I put up screens on one of my windows this past fall. It is a wide window that is the height of a door. I love the natural lighting throughout my apartment but I DON'T love the bugs that want to live with me in my apartment.

The photos below make me proud in a small sense...

The underbelly of a stink bug

And then I can fully enjoy these views:

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND

We had a week off from school a couple weeks ago. The break is called White Week... we get a week off to go skiing. (I kid not.) !!

Instead of a trip to the mountains for skiing, I went on a trip to the seaside to visit friends.   : )   It was the perfect week.

Jen and Nick were two of my good friends while I lived in Vietnam. We were there for the same two years. Nick is a teacher and taught in a British international school. Jen was the librarian at the same school their first year in Vietnam and then began working in an art gallery the second year. Since moving back to England, they have had a baby! Freddie is SO cute. I've been waiting a while to meet him and the week with him, Jen, and Nick was awesome. They live in a beautiful little town called Bournemouth, which is on the southern coast of England.

Jen, standing in front of their gorgeous home! ...AND... gotta love the yellow camper van.

I remember emailing back and forth while they were looking for a house. Jen and Nick both really loved this one and I am so glad that it worked out. Jen even has a little detached art studio in the back!

 THE SEA!!

A 7-minute walk from their house brings you here. YES, PLEASE!

(The white spot on the land out a bit, towards the left side of the photo above, looks like a polar bear! Very cool to see in person.)

I want one of these as my reading nook! People can buy or rent these adorable little cabins on the seafront. They vary in size but most have a little kitchen area, seating area, and some have a bed up top. I love it!

The Boscombe Pier:

Mmmmhmmmmm. Delicious hot chocolate with marshmallows! I like it here.

We laughed over this photo for a while! (notice Freddie's head...??)

We walked through a bit of rain on the way back to their house... but it did clear up. The sunset and the double rainbow were goooorgeous!

The view ahead of us:

The view behind us:

friends in town make me happy

I was lucky enough to have more friends visit Milan this past weekend! Sarah and Michael were in Milan for one night - they had been traveling for the week... Budapest, Vienna, Venice, and Milan... before heading back to Ukraine, where they are working in an international school. Sarah was my closest friend in Vietnam and she is the one that I went to visit last April in Kathmandu, Nepal!

It was so, so nice to have time with Sarah and Michael : )  I met them at the Duomo after school Friday. We came back to my place in Opera, had dinner at Lo Chalet, went to the Opera market Saturday morning, to a cafe for coffee and brioche, and then made our way to the Cadorna train station for them to make the flight from MXP back to Kiev.

Sarah and Michael were lucky to have goooorgeous weather while in Milan!

And Michael was excited to see the "football pitch" from my balcony...

Dinnerrrrrr

A visit to the dairy vending machine in Opera after dinner.

Sarah and Michael are both from England - I hope to see them again this summer if I get there for a visit!

when the fog rolls in

About a week ago, I was taking pictures of a gorgeous sunset from my balcony (again!!) and was amazed when I realized that my camera's lens wasn't fogging up... but the fog was truly rolling in. I have never seen fog move across the sky and land like this. It was incredible. I continued taking pictures until the fog pretty much took over... and then in about 5 or 10 minutes... it cleared up again!

...about 5 or 10 minutes later...

I've really enjoyed living in a small town in Italy for the past year and a half. It's pretty cool to live surrounded by rice and cornfields. I often feel as if I'm wading through thick fog to get to school in the morning.

I've enjoyed it... but am ready to move into the city. This summer I plan to make the move! I hope to find a lovely apartment in a lovely area of the city... and hope to enjoy the change for the rest of my time in Italy - however long that ends up being. I have one more year on my contract... and then we'll see! (Until I make the move... there are still about 4 or 5 months... I'll continue enjoying these amazing sunsets... and, I suppose, the fog!)

The pictures above show the snow. The snow is gone now. It rained all weekend but, thankfully, seems to have cleared up now. Snow gone -- rain gone -- here's to hoping the sun makes an appearance and decides to stay!

Thankfuls

Wow... it has been almost a month since I've posted. Life has been busy lately!

I have had my mom visit me in Milan (we went on a day-trip to Switzerland!), then we presented at a conference in Belgium together, and after that, I went on a week-long field trip with 11th graders to Berlin! Since returning from Berlin about 3 weeks ago, I have been playing catch-up and keeping busy at work. Things are going well... but now it's time to catch them up here! (Photos and notes about the travels coming soon...)

To begin for today, I will post my daily thankfuls, which a friend of mine nominated I do through Facebook. I posted 5 thankfuls for 5 days (a couple weeks ago). This proved to be a great focus and time of reflection.

Monday Thankfuls... 1. Morning coffee with the homemade pumpkin spice mix that my mom made when she was recently in town. 2. Catching up with good friends at school after not seeing them for over a week. 3. Seeing the students, whom I just bonded with for a week in Berlin, back at school and having something to forever share from here on out. 4. Starting a new novel this evening while sitting in the vintage reading chair from my grandma. 5. Crawling into bed before 9:00pm.

Tuesday Thankfuls... 1. Riding my bicycle to work. 2. Riding my bicycle to work through a cornfield. 3. Starting the work day with a group at the 'coffee nook'. 4. Riding home in the rain - channeling Mary Poppins... bicycle-with-umbrella style. 5. Seeing as how three of today's five thankfuls already include my bicycle... I'm very thankful for my bicycle.

Wednesday Thankfuls... 1. Being just cold enough outside to wear my slippers inside. 2. Piera's snacks before a meeting. 3. A student raving about how good the second Gregor book is. 4. Finding two chocolates in my purse. 5. Still having decaf coffee from Kathmandu.

Thursday Thankfuls… 1. “Coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee.” 2. Trying something new and feeling as if it worked. 3. Walter Frederick Morrison – for inventing the Frisbee. (And throwing around for a few minutes after school today.) 4. Last-minute pizza date with the lovely Jesye. 5. Laughing, singing, and catching up with a good friend.

Friday Thankfuls… 1.Cardigans. 2. An upcoming trip to IKEA. 3. Aperitivo. 4. The Friday eve of a 3-day weekend. 5. Weekends at home.


I'm also including a few lovely sunset photos, because I have been enjoying the clear weather and colorful evenings here lately!

more than once in a lifetime - YEAH!

Two weeks after going to Cinque Terre with my good friend Julie... I went back again! Robert - a great friend and colleague of mine in Milan - was celebrating his birthday with a weekend in Manarola. Perrrrrfect. Robert and his wife, Mary, have become dear friends of mine... we laugh a ton, have good conversations, and I know that I can go to them for anything.

Other friends from school - Heath and Jesye - and I jumped into the Birthday Bus (as Mary appropriately termed it) with Robert and Mary... and in less than a 3-hour drive... we went from Milan to lovely, amazing Ciiiiiiinque Terrrrrrrre! (AND arrived in time for a gorgeous sunset.)

We were told that the apartment had a grand terrace and sea view... sure did!!!

We'll jump to that!

With Heath... each having a moment   : )

Dinosaur walks for Manarola!

The top two levels of the orange one was ours for the weekend!!!