today's distraction . . .

happy popping!

no i'm just drunk . . .

i'll post more about the trip & being home soon but just had someone send this to me and i had to share!



enjoy!

greetings from the land of mosquitos . . .

so i'm finally back stateside although not quite home yet. i arrived in tampa, fl last night after a *long* day of traveling. my flight out of amsterdam was delayed by 4 hrs and that made me miss my connection in atlanta. so then i had the pleasure of sitting in hartsfield for another 3 hrs after going through customs. yay! luckily, in amsterdam i started talking to a cute older gay male couple that were also headed back to tampa. i ended up having dinner with them in atlanta and exchanging contact info. they had been together 23 yrs and were just plain adorable.

today i slept in a bit and got some laundry done and then had lunch with my grandparents before meeting my mom for a mani/pedi. my grandmother is hosting a family get-together on saturday evening so i can see the whole fam damily in one fell swoop. so far the guest list is at 30 . . . and that's just *immediate* family. did i mention i'm latin?

anywho, i'm pretty ready to be home. am counting the hours till sunday night. at least i'm back in cellphone range again and i've been able to talk to mac and send txts again. it's hot as hell here. i think it hit 90 today and of course the mosquitos are out in full force. i've been bitten 6x since i've been writing this post alone! ugh!

so today i'm thankful for . . . making it back safely and being able to go home soon!

almost home . . .

today is my last full day in europe. have met up with the cooleys and the myers in amsterdam and have been having a great time. we're in a coffeehouse . . . actually our third of the day . . . warming up from the chill outside.

went to the anne frank house this am . . . what an awe-inspiring experience. there was a secondary exhibition in the museum called "free2choose". i'll do some research on it when i get back and post a link.

tomorrow i'll spend all day traveling back through atlanta to tampa. on sunday, i'll head all the way home to portland. not soon enough . . . have had a ball but am definitely ready to sleep in a bed for more than 2 nights in a row. and i can't even begin to describe how much i miss mac and the dogs.

today i'm thankful for . . . fun friends to travel with and a great trip.

the tour is finally *over* . . .

so the tour is finally over and, while i had a good time, i am definitely ready for slower pace. the last few days have been quick and we have seen a lot but nothing i have really absorbed too deeply. the day in venezia was nice. the rain seemed to hold out for most of the day and we had a very charismatic city tour guide. we saw the highlights (the rialto, piazza san marco, il doges palace, did a gondola ride) but the highlighth has to be the guggenheim museum. i got to see my first kandinsky and pollocks in person and i cannot even begin to describe how amazing that was.

the next day we headed to lake como and did a cruise on the lake. the rain did *not* hold out that day and most of our cruise was rainy and foggy. we had a quick stop in bellagio for a coffee and then back on the boat and then the bus to our hotel. the tour planners had provided our tour directors with the wrong address for our hotel. so we had to backtrack up a very windy steep mountain to finally reach our hotel at approximately 9pm. it was worth it as we landed in a beautiful family-run hotel that held dinner for us. it was by far the best meal we had on the tour. the downside is that it made our trip to milan for the train approximately an hour longer than we'd expected. so the next morning, groggy and still raining, we headed back down the windy mountain road and hauled ass to milan. we literally *ran* for the train. we got our 27 ppl on board as the doors were closing. 5 hours later we arrived in rome.

the first night in rome we headed back into the city for a night bus tour. then did all the highlights with a city guide yesterday. the vatican was beautiful as was the colosseum and then the pantheon. we headed to the spanish steps then back to meet our group at the trevi fountain. we had dinner near the fountain and then headed back to the hotel as the rest of the group left around 4a today.

i hopped a shuttle from the hotel and then a train and then the subway and finally landed at my hotel around 1030am. luckily my room was ready. it's clean and seems safe enough so i can't really complain. i've spent the beautiful day roaming around at my own pace. found an irish pub and had to hop in (thinking of you ryan as i drank a guinness). am on my way to piazza navonna to get some lunch and just sit.

will try to post tomorrow when more internet cafes are open. head to amsterdam on tues and very much looking forward to some familiar and friendly faces waiting for me there.

i miss mac more than i can say. i've tried to call every day even if only for a few minutes. suki is back home with her and i'm missing her too.

today i'm thankful for . . . the fact that i'll be home in 7 days!

italy is amazing . . .

so in the last two days, we've been to firenze and bologna. firenze was beautiful. we went to il duomo & the ponte vecchio. did some shopping and today we drove 6 hours to jesolo di lido just outside of venice. we stopped in bologna. we saw the oldest university ... the oldest building was built in 1088. have had some fantastic food and wine. have yet to have a bad glass of wine.

tomorrow we're heading venezia and doing a gondola ride. should be fun. the tour ends on sunday the 13th. then i stay in roma for another 2 days before heading to amsterdam.

today i'm thankful for . . . the fact that it stopped raining

greetings from cinque terre . . .

so it is day 3 and we are in cinque terre. yesterday we left nice and made a stop in monte carlo, monaco for a few hours. we visited a parfumerie and then crossed the border into italia. we spent the night in sarzana and after dinner we went looking for the *disco bar* and instead found the bowling alley. it was full of teenagers and there was disco music playing but no dancing. we decided we should play a game. it was fun but i woke up this morning with a sore shoulder. well worth it tho.

this am as we headed out it was raining. felt like portland honestly. it did start to rain harder later but it has now cleared up and the sun is out. we are spending the afternoon here before heading back by train to la spezia to head to firenze tonight.

am having a good time but starting to get a bit tired of the pack mule/tour mentality. am definitely looking forward to 2 quiet days on my own schedule in rome.

have spoken to mac each day and am missing her like crazy. am looking forward to being home with her.

today i am thankful for . . . clearing skies and good seafood.

the eagle has landed . . .

so i have landed in nice, france and it is a beautiful day. have already visited the museum of modern art and am off to kill 3 hours watching the waves roll in from the mediterranean. i could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon. my mom arrives with the rest of the group around 3p and we head to italy tomorrow. i called mac from the hotel this am to let her know i had landed safely . . . of course it took me 30 mins to figure out how to make a call but i worked it out.

more soon ... i will try to post as often as i can.

today i am grateful for . . . a beautiful day on the french riviera

we're ready for liftoff . . .

so i leave for europe tomorrow. have been in tampa visiting family since tues am. has been good to catch up with folks and eat my grandma's food. i can't believe how *hot* it is down here. as soon as i got off the plane, it was like a wave of humidity smacked me in the face! how do people live here?

have been missing mac like crazy. the time is dragging and i don't know how i'll make it another 19 days! it'll be good for us i know but i missed her as i fell asleep last night.

am hoping to get internet access from europe so stay tuned for updates from my adventure!

today i'm thankful for . . . being able to make this trip.