Pisa, Montecarlo, and Rome

Yesterday our cruise ship, The Norwegian Epic, stopped at the port of Livorno.  From there we went to Pisa, where we spent most of our free time figuring out goofy poses in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  From there we went on to a Vineyard in Tuscany in a little town called Montecarlo (the original - according to them the French version is a copycat).  There we learned how olive oil is made.  Virgin means the first press, which is a good thing.  Extra means gentle - close but not too close to the sea, which apparently can make the oil bitter.  The key label ingredients are "cold pressed", which means the oil was created through a mechanical means (that's a good thing), and 100% olive oil.  After that we got to taste 7 different wines (and by taste, I mean drink full glasses), the local olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and homemade pasta.  After the pasta we had the local sun dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil (so sweet!), the olives from the trees outside (they have to soak in salt water for about 6 months before they're edible), Parma Ham, Salami, and fresh Mozzarella cheese.  

The couple sitting next to me at the long farmhouse table decided to renew their vows right then and there.  They brought us all to tears with their heartfelt vows of gratitude for the love they shared.  Tuscany does that to you.  

Today, the port of Citivecchio, which is about an hour and 20 minutes from Rome.  We had to pick our sites to see, since we only had about 3 hours on our own.  We hustled and went first to the Spanish steps.  From there we threw our coins in the Trevi Fountain.  Legend says that 1 coin is to ensure you come back to Rome.  2 coins is if you wish to marry, and 3 coins is if you wish to divorce. The first time I was in Rome I threw a coin in and it worked, so of course I did again.

After the Trevi Fountain we hurried to The Pantheon, one of my favorites.  It was originally built in 26 BC, and is the oldest church in the world still in continuous use.  It's also the burial place of Raphael and the first king of Italy.  

On to the Piazza Navone, which is the only place in Rome you can buy Tartufo, a chocolate gelato with fresh whipped cream on top.  We enjoyed watching the people for a few minutes eating our ice cream before literally running to St. Peter's square.  We didn't have time to go in to the Basilica or the Vatican, but on our way in earlier the Pope was still outside giving his Wednesday blessing to the crowd, so I guess I can say I was blessed by the Pope.  

Tonight, we're exhausted!  Tomorrow we're doing Sorrento (a farmhouse where they'll teach us how to make mozzarella), and Pompei, the town buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

How Not to Howl At the Moon

We left the port of Barcelona promptly at 6:00 pm local time.  No horn blowing, no confetti and streamers, no waving friends and family at the pier yelling "Bon Voyage".  One moment we were still and the next we were gliding out to the sea for the start of our cruise.

After a brief exploration of the ship, we went to the Irish pub for dinner.  I was thrilled to discover that Guinness is cheaper than the American beers onboard, and so had one with my chicken pot pie (which was delicious, by the way).  After dinner I quickly lost $20.00 at the casino on the $1 machine.  Then we wandered over to the comedy club, where a show was scheduled to start at 9:30 pm called "Howl at the Moon".  It revolved around dueling pianos and requests from the audience.  Every time I finished a Guinness, I'd look at my friends to see if they were ready to leave, but they would have just bought another drink, so I bought another Guinness.  And another...you get the idea.  At one point I was on the stage dancing to a Black Eyed Pea song I had requested.

Now, I tend to suffer from sea sickness.  I wore the wrist bands that are supposed to help, and I didn't have too much trouble last night.  This morning was another story.  I imagine the overdose of Guinness certainly helped, but I've been feeling like I have bed spins all day today.  Good thing we're still at sea.

But, it's time to dress for dinner now, and I feel halfway human.   No more howling at the moon for me - maybe the Ice Bar instead?  Or the Martini Bar?  Hmmm....how to decide?

I Remember Now

I got into the travel industry so that I could travel the world, meet new people, and experience things I hadn't experienced before.  And I certainly have done all that and more.  But most of the time it was while doing business, and so while I traveled on the back of a camel near midnight to go see the Great Pyramids of Egypt, I wasn't all the focused on the experience since I had spent the entire day in a smoke-filled room trying to convince about 50 people that they needed to buy our product, and another 2 hours in a cramped car fighting Cairo traffic to get to the edge of the desert where the camels were.

This trip is different - it's vacation, and all I have to do is be fully present and realize how incredibly lucky and blessed I am.  We arrived in Barcelona Friday afternoon, and spent all day Saturday being tourists on a double-decker bus.  We experienced the salty tang in the air from the sea, the sound of many different languages, and the sight of great (although really, really, weird) architecture.  I had the best cup of chocolate in my life at Escriba on La Rambla, a wide pedestrian walkway.  Walking, we heard the screech of the parrots flying over our heads, the cooing of the pigeons around our feet, and the noise of the little mouth harps the street vendors were trying to sell.  In La Boqueria, the biggest fresh food marketplace in Spain, we wondered at the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Rabbits, both skinned and un-skinned were for sale, along with chickens still with the heads on, lamb, and many types of ham.  Fresh fish cleaned, gutted, and fileted while you waited, along with octopus, squid, lobster, crab, and thousands of anchovies.  I bought a little container of fresh fruit so that I could eat a fresh fig, which I've never had before.

I felt like crying with joy several times during the day.

Today we board a cruise ship and will cross the Mediterranean to visit Florence, Rome, Naples, and Palma.  I now remember what it was like to experience travel for the first time and I feel the wonder of it all.  I will never take travel for granted again.

Vanity Sizing, Mold, Lost Cat, and Cruisin'

I'm back in Texas for the winter.  I came back to Texas in early September for a business trip and found my bedroom closet flooded from the condensation pipe of the brand spanking new air conditioner I had installed in late April.  The pipe had clogged up, so the overflow condensation went into my bedroom closet - the only spot in the first floor of the house with carpet.  I ripped the dripping carpet out, got the A/C guys out to blow out the line, and called the insurance agent since I saw mold on the wall.  The first appointment I could get with them was October 7.  More on this to come - I'm getting bids from contractors and trying not to bankrupt myself in the process.

When I put the carpet out on the curb for the garbage collection, I accidentally left my front door unlatched and unlocked.  After I went back to Minnesota my 15 year old cat Gracie got outside and went for a walk-about.  

When I got back to Texas 3 weeks later, the first thing I did was to go out to the backyard and call her name.  I kept hearing a soft meow, but thought that it was coming from inside my house.  After checking in there, I went back outside.  I could still hear her, but where the heck was she?  Up in a tree?  On the roof?  As I moved to the other side of the house, there she was, sitting in the tall grass, waiting for me find her.  She was dreadfully skinny, but otherwise looked healthy.  A little over a week later and lots of canned cat food, she's almost back to her old self!

I mentioned earlier this summer that I had been losing weight - I plateaued again, but when I got back to Texas the scale mysteriously started to move again.  Since many of my work clothes were in the moldy closet I felt like I better go shopping.  When I started the summer I was a solid size 14, but bought some size 12's after I lost a little weight, so I tried on the size 12 khakis at Steinmart.  I looked at the tag 3 times, because they were too big.  Yes, I fit into size 10 khakis.  Size 10 was my goal size when I started my journey (size 18-20), because I didn't know what that looked like, only that I had never been there.  Now I realize that I have a little ways to go (20 pounds before I'm in the "normal" range), but still - size 10, people!  There is a term in the fashion industry called "vanity sizing", which means that I'm really closer to a size 14 but that this company wants me to buy their brand, so they label size 14s as size 10s.  Their strategy obviously worked on me, because I bought 2 pair.

And to celebrate, what better way then to go on a Mediterranean cruise with your best friends?  We're flying to Barcelona Thursday night to spend the weekend, then boarding the ship Sunday for 7 days in Florence, Rome, Naples, and Palma.  This is the first real paid vacation I've taken in years, and I'm so freakin' excited I could spit!  The best part (in my mind anyway), is that we each have our own cabin (check out the Studio Cabins on Norwegian Epic) so that we can rest, relax, and chill when we need to without getting on each other's nerves.  All of our shore excursions have a food or wine theme to them, and if there's a cooking course on board, I'm there! 

Slightly Bruised

I have been successful at avoiding most of the 9/11 news stories and remembrances so far.  I don't want to poke an angry, open wound to see it bleed again.  Still, listening to NPR on the way to work today I listened to a story about the the first official death certificate issued that awful day in New York.  It was a priest, and he was said to have known everyone from a homeless person to the mayor.  The Clintons went to his funeral, and he was hailed as being kind, generous, and, dare I say it?  A saint.

Now in real life, he probably had his faults like anyone else, but because of the way he died, he has been elevated to a position in our minds that few people ever get to.

Where was I that day?  I was working in building next door to American Airline's headquarters.  I had just arrived to work when the first plane hit.  By the time the second plane hit, someone had brought in a small TV and we all saw it live.  Our Help Desk was still located in the same office, and they were plugged into how many planes were missing and which specific flights had been hijacked.  Security locked down the building and wouldn't let us leave because they were uncertain at the time whether the United States was the target or American Airlines.

Within days, our company worked in secret with government agencies and the future TSA to build software that would flag suspected terrorists on flights.  Although it was never made public (and probably never will be), my colleagues helped stop other planes from being used as weapons of mass destruction.  These people are heroes  too in my mind, just like the fire fighters, police officers, and priests that died that day.

So going back and exploring those memories leaves my psyche slightly bruised.  It's true what people say - the world will never be the same.  But bruises fade with time, and life marches on.

I Am No Longer Obese!

I've always had issues with my weight.  When I was a child I remember a kid on the playground calling me "Fatty".  Looking at pictures from that long-ago era, I wasn't fat, not even really chubby, but that one comment left a psychological scar nonetheless.

I grew up, and my weight went up every year, until I reached 224 pounds and decided to have lap-band surgery.  I quickly lost about 40 pounds, and reached a plateau that I stayed at for the last 3 or 4 years.  I didn't do much to help break the plateau - I've always loved food, and don't exercise.  I weighed myself once when I got to my Summer Palace and had gained 6 pounds.  So I put away the scale and decided to just live my life.

About 6 weeks ago, I heard Dr. Oz talk about how people on Statins for cholesterol can get muscle cramps, and how a supplement of CoQ10 can help avoid that.  I had already experienced that side-effect several times, so I decided to give it a try, along with Glucosomine Chondroitin with MSM to help my achy joints.

I noticed that my pants were getting loose, and wondered if the cheap fabric in them was making them stretch out.  Just in case, I weighed myself too.  I had lost 10 pounds, and was only a pound away from getting out of the "obese" category!  As of this morning I had lost another 6 pounds, which is freaking me out a little bit.  I haven't done anything differently; my eating habits remain the same and I'm still not exercising.  Maybe the supplements gave my metabolism the boost they needed to break through that nasty plateau?

To get out of the overweight category, I still have to lose another 25 pounds.  Wonder if I'll see that number in my lifetime?

Gifts

People keep giving me gifts lately.  Sunday one of the guys that works in our campground gave me three roses that he found growing nearby.  He said that his church sermon that day had been about single people and how they might be lonely, so he thought of me.  Blah.  I told him I was not to be felt sorry for!  But I did appreciate the flowers regardless.

Today, Jack, my 84 year old neighbor knocked on my door at 4:30 and asked if I wanted to go have supper with him at the Speak Easy in town (he's 84, so 4:30 wasn't an unreasonable time to eat supper I guess).  After a delicious supper of pan-fried walleye he showed me his workshop.  He makes incredible bowls, vases, pens, and wine stoppers out of exotic woods from Africa, New Zealand, and even Minards.  He showed me some wine stoppers he had made that day and told me to pick one.  I protested of course, and he said it again, this time a little stronger.  So I have a beautiful wine stopper in my purse.  That, in addition to the pen set he gave me a few weeks ago.  And the bread and butter pickles.  And the pickled beets.  And the Lemoncello and Grand Marnier.

When I got home I went for a golf cart ride.  Part of the campground property is a former golf course that has been left to nature, with the exception of a mowed "walking path" that winds through the hills and prairie.  Nobody I know actually walks on the walking path, but it's nice to sometimes ride the golf cart there.  I braked first for a skunk.  Luckily the skunk went the other direction.  Then I saw a red fox in the distance leaping through the tall grass towards the woods.  The maintenance guys here saw this little guy this morning and got a great photo of the fox leaping on prey.  And I saw a deer too - second one in two days.    These sights were also gifts.

Just as I walked in the door, another neighbor came over holding a shepherd's hook with a cardinal on top as a thank you gift.  I said "thank you for what?"  I had given her access to my wireless is all, so she didn't have to drive to the community building to check her e-mail.  Oh, and the half a loaf of zucchini bread I gave them might have something to do with it as well.