Headed Out to Florence

I have a lot to update you all on but my laptop is dead. I didn't buy the adaptor to connect my laptop to my converter so I haven't been able to charge it. Since we have a three hour drive tomorrow to Florence, I plan to get all caught up once my laptop charges.

I have a ton of video updates and pictures to last for days and I've only been here for 3 days! It is truly amazing and I haven't even left Rome. I've met some amazing people, danced a couple nights away and visited incredible historical sites. I'm overwhelmed with it all honestly.

Stay tuned....I promise to have some good videos and updates tomorrow. Until then, I'm off to bed now....it's 12:40 am here and we have an early morning tomorrow, heading to the Vatican.

Ciao!!!!

Airports and Scooters

WOW! I'm here and ready for bed?? It's only a little after noon and I'm spent. I guess that's like 5:00 am back in Texas.

My morning started off with a bang. Craig came to get me to take me to the airport and treated me to a Starbucks. Thanks Craig! I had a little breakfast at the hotel and waited for my flight. Once I made it to JFK I called Brian and told him I was there. We decided to meet in his terminal at 3:00 pm. I made the journey over there to meet him and ended up running right into him as he was saying goodbye to his parents. They were very sweet and wished us a great trip.

Brian and I decided to get me something to eat because I was starving so we got some food, a drink, and started planning our meeting time once we get to Rome. We've decided to meet at Treve Fountain at 2:30 pm.

Me and Brian at JFK

I sent him on his way to his security point and I went back to my terminal. I had a text to take for my History of Psych class so I go to it. Once I finished I put my text books in my prepaid Fed Ex envelope and sent them on there way back home. Won't be needing those books anymore! Whoooop!

While waiting for my flight, I met a very interesting man named Kyle. He was actually a captain for AA. We talked for quite some time, well he talked. This guy has lived an incredible life. He was born in the US but raised mostly in Europe because his father took a job when Kyle was young. He went to college in Florida, dropped out after finding "beer and other things" he said. I laughed. He originally wanted to be an engineer but ended up a bum living in someones basement and working at a hardware store. HA! He said eventually he got talked into joining the Marines, so he did and somehow ended up in the infantry division. I'm not kidding ya'll. So he did that for four years and later got married, then learned how to fly because his wife's father was a pilot. Well, the later divorced, he continued to fly, got married again, then divorced again.....and now he's homeless as a reserve pilot going from one airport to another and helping out some lady who bought a farm to retire on near DC. He's like her helping hand when he's in town...free room and board but doesn't get paid. 

I told ya'll he talked a lot. He ate a lot of beef jerky, gummy worms, and twizzlers too. 

Moving on.....I boarded my flight, it was a little late getting out. I swear, I always end up next to the smelly guys. This one was no different. It wasn't that bad but I could have fared better to say the least. I tried to sleep most the time anyway but it is so hard to sleep sitting straight up because if ya'll are like me, those seats don't lay back far enough at all to really "rest your head". I made it thru the flight though and once we started descending I really got excited. It was absolutely beautiful!

On the way to the hotel, after I found my bags and my hotel shuttle, I was overwhelmed with trying to figure out what to watch...the people walking, cars, or the dang scooters zooming by. One even scraped the side of the van I was in. It was unbelievable! EVERYONE drives scooters here ya'll. I LOVE IT! 

I'm in my room now and ready for a shower, but I have one final quiz to take for school. Once I get that finished I'm taking a nap....I called Brian at his hotel and told him we need to meet at 4:30 pm instead. I'm WIPED.....and so is he turns out. He was sleeping when I called. WHEW! Below are a few pics of my room. I'll take some of the view from the rooftop later. I'm very, very close to the Vatican and I am pretty sure I'll be able to see it from the rooftop bar.

My Room Key

View Out My Little Window

CIAO!!!!

Two More Sleeps

Sunday was one of the best days I have had in such a long time. My best friend/old roommate, Holly, (but we still call one another roomies) organized a little 30th Birthday Brunch and Italy Send Off for me. We all gathered at a place called DISH here in Dallas. I was so happy to have all of my friends and even my mom, sister Amber, and cousin Halee with her boyfriend, John all in one place at the same time. I've never felt more loved! I may have even shed a few tears because "I cry when I'm happy!" I cry when I read cards, open gifts, and see everyone around me, there for me. I could have opened up a George Foreman Grill and I'd be balling my eyes out. I just can't help it. Everyone seemed to get a good laugh out of it.

 Mom, Mary, Jenia, Andrea, Holly, Me, Tab, Allie, Amber, Halee

 Vanessa, Travis, Me, Craig, Jay

 Mom, Amber, Me, John, Halee

 Holly, Me, Andrea, Mary, Jenia

My new lovely scarf!

After brunch and a few too many mimosa's for myself, a few of us relocated to the Grapevine (my favorite dive watering hole in Dallas) The sun was shining and the sweet tea vodka was flowing. It really turned out to be an amazing day and I am so happy to have such wonderful friends and family. I couldn't have felt any more special. I LOVE all of them so, so very much.

 Allie and Me

Me, Susan, and Mary

It seems that this Italy thing is really starting to set in. I was asked quite a few questions about the trip and I was very excited to talk about it. Each time I said something it became more and more real that I'm about to leave for 12 days and go to Italy. I've started my final to do lists of calling my credit card company, picking up dry cleaning, doing laundry, making emergency phone lists, and the worst is yet to come....packing. Ya'll, I'm going to try and pack 12 days worth of clothes in a mid-sized suitcase. I don't know how I'm going to do it. It will definitely be interesting to say the least. I'm the one that goes to Chicago for a weekend and takes two bags. Ask my long time best friend (17 years and counting), Leah, about that one. I'll have to take photos as I go so you can see the progress. I have a feeling it's going to be a mess.

Thank you to all of my friends and family who came out to celebrate with me. I love you all so very much and you all being there meant the world to me!

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same. -elbert hubbard

Where Am I Going?

I am truly blessed to have the opportunity and the resources to be able to take this trip. I've always wanted to venture off to Europe. I even started planning a summer trip about 4-5 yrs ago but it just wasn't the right time. So here I am, 7 days away from jumping on a jet plane to fly over the sea, landing in the lovely country of Italy. The tour I'm taking is 9 days beginning on April 28th at 4pm and ends on May 5th after breakfast. I decided to fly into Rome a day early, to get over jet lag of course....not because it puts me landing in Rome the morning OF MY BIRTHDAY! I've also decided to extend the trip a few days; returning home May 8th. I'll have a good three days to explore on my own once the tour ends in Venice.

On April 26th at 10:00 am, I'll set off to JFK from DFW so I can sit there and wait 4 hours for my flight to leave for Rome, Italy. Luckily, I'll be meeting my new friend, Brian, who is also taking the same trip to Italy. I decided back in February that I wanted to take a trip for my 30th birthday. The original plan was to go back to Punta Mita, Mexico and relax for a week basking in the Mexican Sun. After thinking about it, I decided that it made more sense for me to go somewhere new, somewhere I have always wanted to visit. I was going alone anyway, so why not? I did some research and found Contiki Tours; www.contiki.com. I'm just not brave enough to do the entire trip alone. I thought that Contiki was a perfect option for me. I chose the Italian Espresso Tour because it was 9 days, just enough time but not too long. I mean, I still have a job and can't just leave for 3 months. (I WISH!)

Once I signed up and paid for my tour, I started looking around the discussion boards on the Contiki site and came across one that had been started by one person that was going on the same trip as myself. I replied and introduced myself. Eventually, a few others began to post and reply. I was really excited and completely jolted when I met a girl named Sarah....from Oklahoma. We exchanged emails and ended up meeting for brunch in Oklahoma City a week later. We've decided to request to be roommates during the tour so we both won't end up with a rude, unpleasant roommate. WHEW, I'm safe. I was pretty nervous about the whole "random roommate" thing but I was determined to put myself out there and get out of my comfort zone, that's how we learn, remember? I'm happy I did because it has turned out wonderfully so far.

So anyway, I've met Sarah and had a sigh of relief. I'm not really going alone, I have a travel buddy, still sort of a stranger but safe. Then, a new person posts on the discussion board of the ole Italian Espresso Tour. Brian is his name, I call him Preppy. We also exchange emails and begin chatting away about why we are taking this trip. Turns out Preppy has the same birthday as me, April 27th, is flying out of JFK 2 hours before my plane departs, and has decided to extend his trip a couple days after the tour ends as well. We are like the same person!  Ok, not really, he lives in Connecticut, but still, it's so cool. Preppy and I plan to meet up once we both get to Rome and settled into our hotels to celebrate our birthdays on the 27th. I mean, what better way to celebrate your actual birthday than in ROME!

The tour begins in Rome on April 28th. We will be there until Monday, April 30th, departing for Florence. We will make a few stops along the way, like The Leaning Tower of Pisa. We will be in Florence from the 30th to Thursday, May 3rd. On Thursday we depart for Venice, stopping in Verona along the way. On Saturday, May 5th, our tour ends at breakfast in Venice. That's when I will take off on a train over to Monterosso. I will be staying in a hotel right on the beach. If you've never heard of Cinque Terre, check this out. Preppy has decided to go along with me instead of trekking back to Rome for his final days in Italy. We plan to do the hike on the 6th,  he'll leave that night. I plan to lay on the beach and relax on the 7th before heading back to Venice that evening to catch my 7:45 am flight on the 8th.

All in all it's going to be a fun filled adventure. I still don't think it has registered with me that I'm actually going. I have a few things that I am going to do while in Florence that are not a part of the tour. I'll share those as I go....it's going to be a really, really fantastic time!

Ciao!

“Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing.” ~ Helen Keller

Turning the Big 3-0

I remember the days when I thought that I would be married by 23, have my first baby by 25 "or 26", I would say. A few years later I even added the "I can't wait to turn 30, I will have proven that I am an adult and gain so much more respect from those that are older. I'll be wiser and have the answer to almost anything." I was 16 and later 19 or 20 when I started thinking like this. Boy did things change....yearly it seems. I sit here now only 10 days away from turning 30 and I think to myself, "WHAT on earth was I thinking?". I was thinking, just not from the perspective of a 29 yr old single female with a little experience in the game of life now under her belt.

We all have different life experiences, plans, and expectations we set for our lives. Things always change when we least expect them to, sometimes the way we want them or sometimes the way we would have never considered. That is the beauty of it all, right? Our lives of the unknown as we know it. We can plan, and think and expect and want but we can never really know.

So, with all of that being said, I'm turning 30 in 10 days and NOTHING has turned out the way I would have planned or expected. I'm single, never married, no kids, and I haven't even finished my college degree. I mean, COMPLETELY opposite of what I said when I was 16. I find it quite hilarious yet comforting all at the same time. How is that even possible, you ask? I'll tell you.

I have learned over the past few years to stop defining my life according other people's accomplishments, life stages, and expectations. I still fall victim to this to some degree if I'm being honest here. It's like a catch 22; you are happily married (sometimes) with beautiful children that you wouldn't trade the world for, busy going from one dance class to karate, working, making time for cooking and cleaning and life as your head spins in circles and then over time, all of the sudden you realize that YOU are still in there somewhere but you've forgotten about yourself; OR you are single, focused on school or your career going from one appointment to the happy hour then the 1st date, on to the gym, looking for the next best fitness camp, or what location to have your next birthday, and then over time, all of the sudden you realize that YOU are lonely and are still looking for that someone to share your life with and that feeling of wanting to nurture another human life is eating away at you sometimes daily. So what truly makes us happy? Honestly? Do you know?

I mean, let's face it, no matter what we planned or expected or wanted even matters. We are all on this path of the unknown as we know it together and can find a way to make whatever situation we are in sound worse than the other; no matter whose "other" it is.

I don't have an answer or some wise thing to say. I just know that my life is flashing before my eyes and I am ONLY turning 30. I will embrace this new decade with open arms and fly by the seat of my pants, as I always have, and hope that I never really land because if I do, that means I'm not living. I am going to stop making plans and simply replace them with goals. I won't worry about how I'll make it to my goal, I'll just live to get there. I will continue to meet new people, and learn from them. I will stop being so hard on myself and accept me for me, because honestly, if I can't even do that then how on earth is anyone else going to? I will take myself out of my comfort zone as often as possible, that's how we grow. And most importantly, I will have faith in God's plan alone...He will take care of all those little details that I have completely over consumed my life with in the past.

Oh, and one more thing....I'll go to Italy for 12 days to celebrate turning 30! "When in Rome..." RIGHT???

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. - john lennon