All Holiday Long

All summer long we have been looking forward to this trip and now that it is over, I guess the summer is too. At least we finally got a little summer and found some sun in Italy! Speaking of all summer long . . . we heard that Kid Rock song all holiday long. You all have probably been listening to it all summer long, but neither of us had heard it before this trip – not sure if that is due to the fact that we are not the most with it people, musically speaking (I probably have not watched MTV since I last had girl roommates in early 2005). Or maybe they just didn't play that song in London as no one would be able to relate. Regardless, we ended up realhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gifly liking it. It reminded us of our summers past, and also how different (in a good way) our summer this year was and how very different our future summers will be (hopefully in a a good way too). I digress. Here is a quick recap of our second week in Italia.

Saturday we did a tour of the Vatican museums and then mass at St Peter's. We figured it couldn't hurt the Irish to have some prayers said for them at the big house in Rome before they took on the boys from the big house in Ann Arbor. Even though it was all in Italian, it was really cool to attend mass there. Here is a picture of us (in our game day green!) with St Peter's Square in the background:



Saturday night we ended up at a table for dinner with no WIFI connection (how rude), so even though we had our mini-computer, slingbox, and wireless dongle we were only getting random updates from the game via blackberry. But after that huge 1st quarter lead, we enjoyed dinner a bit more. Then we headed to Trevi Fountain to watch the 4th quarter. Here is a picture of Pat enjoying the gorgeous view . . . not sure which he enjoyed more – the awesome fountain or the little box in the corner of the screen with the score.





Sunday we drove to Naples and Monday we explored Pompeii before having lunch in Sorrento, then driving on to Positano. I will have much more to say about that amazing drive in a later post, but here are a couple pictures.

Pompeii:



lunch in Sorrento:



From our terrace in Positano:





The final stop on our holiday was Capri. After being in Positano, (where the close proximity to the water and stunning vertical orientation of the town is part amazing, part death-defying) for a such a brief time, I was worried that Capri could not be nearly as cool and that we would wish we had stayed in Positano. Good thing I was wrong! Capri was similar, but different and very amazing in its own way. And a fabulous way to end our Italian holiday. Here are a couple pics:





Lots of stories and adventures to share, but they are boarding our flight. Sweet home Chicago, here we come!

All Roads Lead to Rome

We are now in Roma and although it looks a bit like London (gray & rainy) it is much much warmer and we can tell that the sun is trying to peak through the clouds. Go sun go! We were not supposed to get her until later today, but due to a “bank error in our favor” at Starwood, we made the drive last night instead of this afternoon. It is a long story. We ended up leaving Siena at almost 10 pm, good thing all roads lead to Rome!

Due to a couple technical difficulties and just lack of time (so much to do in Italia!) I have not had as much time to blog this week as I had hoped. So this post is just going to be a quick recap of the last couple days and of course some pictures (I know you are dying to see BumBum in Italy!).

Monday was our last day in Florence and we headed to the Duomo – here is a picture of us outside (day 3, gelato number 3). Unfortunately, we did not get to go in the Baptistery, but we could still look at the gorgeous doors around the outside.



Tuesday was a real adventure – we rented a car & headed up into the mountains to the little village where my Nana's (paternal grandmother) parents were from, to meet “the cousins”. This is going to be a whole post itself, but here are a couple pictures of us while we were in Fanano. First me with Anna Maria (my dad's second cousin) & her husband Joseph, and Olga & her granddaughter Estella. I have no idea who Olga is (they spoke no English and our Italian is limited to “grazie, bene, & ciao), so I will have to find out from my dad. It was a bit European Vacation-ish, but it's not the first time, nor will it be the last time my family is eerily similar to Clark Griswold's life.



And here is a shot of me & Pat in the center of town:



We spent Tuesday night in Lucca, in northern Tuscany and walked around the quaint little town on Wednesday morning before heading to Pisa. Pisa was the exact opposite – a major tourist trap. Here we are in the photo de rigeur:



And here is BumBum with the Leaning Tower. Do you think BumBum has been eating too much gelato? Someone asked me if I had 1 month to go and did not believe me when I said 3.5! Time to retire that dress.



From Pisa we went to Siena, where we planned to stay for 2 nights. We had a great dinner, just off the Piazza del Campo. Here is Pat enjoying a glass of vino from San Gimignano (lucky guy!), with the piazza in the background:



Thursday we drove up through the Chianti region and then over to San Gimignano. It was an unbelievably gorgeous drive. Here is a shot:



And here is the view from the little table where we took our afternoon coffee break in San Gimignano:



Now we are enjoying a fab lunch at a cafe on a little side street south of the Spanish Steps, which is not only a major tourist photo spot, but also akin to the Michigan Ave of shopping in Rome. In fact, there is a little Baby Dior right across the way and I must pop in there. I mean, the sun is out and we have lots to see before we leave on Sunday. Plus, I think the Germans next to us are making fun of me for nerding it up on my little 'puter (if only I knew how to say "mobile blogging" in German, then they would knew how cool it is . . . at least, that's what Pat thinks). Ciao!



ps - sorry for the typos! i am in a race against the battery dying and i am NOT pulling out the power supply here!

More in Firenze

Right now it is Monday early afternoon and we are sitting at a nice little cafe (we found our requisite half sun/half shade table) both typing away. We are such nerds! Pat has some work to do, so I figured it a good opportunity for me to write a post about our second day. Yesterday was another great day. We started at Santa Maria Novella, another of the many beautiful churches here. Construction began in 1279 and was completed by 1360. The stunning white & green marble exterior dates from the 14 century. You are not allowed to take pictures inside, so I will just tell you that the altar is amazing (and perhaps a bit visually overstimulating) - three long sections of stained glass, surrounded by frescoes. Here is a view from the piazza:



On our way to the Galleria dell'Accademia were sidetracked by this:



Yes, that is pizza with french fries on it! We had to try it. We stopped in this place for a quick snack and got a couple pieces to sample. Sadly, it did not live up to its potential. But at least we were fortified to go fights the crowds to see the David. And oh yeah, we supplemented the sub-par pizza with our first gelato of the trip. Which definitely did not disappoint!

After the immense Uffizi, we were both taken back by the relative diminutive size of the Accademia, but as Pat said, “I guess if you have the David you don't really have to have anything else.” True dat! There is nothing small about the David. Those of you who have seen it know how truly breathtaking it is – the sheer size (17ft from a single block of marble), the perfection of every minute detail, the vivid expression of life on his face, in his hands and in his posture. And then you realize how little room for error he had . . . it is mystifying that a human being could have the physical, emotional and intellectual tools to create something so unbelievable. And to think that Michelangelo created it when he was only 25 years old. Wow. Again, no pictures allowed in there, but here is a shot from the net. Of course, it does not come close to doing it justice. But if you close your eyes for a moment, you can be there.



As a high five to Michelangelo, here is a picture of his tomb that we saw on Saturday in Santa Croce.. Notice the three female sculptures representing his three great areas of achievement: painting, sculpture, and architecture. If you look closely, you can see the chisel, paintbrush and measuring tool.



Our last stop before dinner was mass at Ognissanti (All Saints), the church in the same piazza as our hotel. It was all in Italian, so we couldn't participate, but still thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The language is so beautiful and so is the interior. The painting on the ceiling has a 3D quality. And it contains numerous works by Renaissance masters as well as Botticelli's tomb and the habit of St Francis (that he wore when he received the stigmata in 1224). And even with all that, this little church didn't make the “must see” list in either of my books – that is how much there is to see in Florence! Here is a pic of the outside from the piazza, I will try to get some inside shots later today.

All about Italia

I am trying out a new blogging technique – posting from the road. Very exciting, right? I hope! Two reasons for this change: first, Pat got us, I mean me, this nifty little mini-laptop. It is really cute and best of all, super easy to travel with – it fits in my purse! Secondly, we are in Italy for almost 2 weeks (then headed home to the US!), so if I don't do it in pieces, that will be a pretty big megapost that I am pretty sure only our moms would read. So without further ado . . . .

Day 1: Firenze

Our Italian holiday has begun! We landed in Firenze (Florence) late friday night, so we slept in a bit on yesterday. Because we are near the high fashion street and because it was difficult to find a place that still had pastries at 12 noon, we ended up at the cafe in the Roberto Cavalli store for breakfast. This of course meant nothing to Pat, but I thought it was pretty funny. And in a town where art is king, it is only fitting that my cappucino & chocolate croissant were picture-worthy, right? Both were works of art and unbelievably scrumptious.



Then we walked around to get acquainted with the city. And also just to enjoy the beautiful, sunny, and hot weather. It has been a long time since we have been able to do that as it has been a chilly & gray non-summer in London. We found our way to Sante Croce, a beautiful church in Piazza Sante Croce, one of the oldest squares in the city. Construction on the church began in 1295 and was completed in the late 1400's, although the striking white marble facade dates to the 19th century. It is a huge building and contains more than 10 small chapels, 276 gravestones set in the pavement and lavish tombs of famous men, including Michelangelo's. Here it is from the square:



Next we headed to the Galleria degli Uffizi, one of two major art museums here. Tuscany and Florence were home to the early Renaissance art movement, so the Uffizi has numerous works by Botticelli, da Vinci, Michangelo, Raphael, and Titian, among others. This one, Madonna of the Magnificat by Botticelli, was one of my favorites. It is impossible to appreciate (bc you can't really see it. sorry) the intricate gold detailing from this picture, but it is amazing. I promise!



Our final destination of the day was Piazzale Michelangelo, a vast esplanade with a breathtaking panoramic view of the city. After a hike to the top (BumBum and I took a break halfway, but we made it), we settled at a lovely restaurant for a leisurely early dinner (breakfast at noon really throws off one's eating schedule). What more could we ask for? Picturesque location – check. Perfect weather – check. Great food – check. Stimulating conversation . . . well, you can't have it all. Ha ha, just kidding! Plus, our waiter gave us a complimentary drink, dessert and a bottle of wine to take with us (I think he felt bad that I couldn't drink). This really does not do it justice, but here is a picture of the view from Piazzale Michelangelo:



One more picture from the day - us on the Ponte Vecchio:



As sad as we were not to be in South Bend yesterday, we found a way to enjoy our pre-game. Now if we could only say the same for the game . . . . at least we ended the day with a W, that is all I can say. Actually I could say a lot more, so that is all I will say!

Chinese Table Tennis Update

This picture says it all.

As promised, here is the follow-up to my post about the Chinese Olympic Table Tennis team:

*they swept the Gold medals, taking all 4 (Men's & Women's Singles and Team)

*they swept both the Men's and the Women's Singles, taking not only the Gold, but also the Silver & the Bronze.

*in total, the Chinese went 4 for 4 in Golds and won 8 out of the 12 total medals in Table Tennis awarded in Beijing

Don't fret, their favorite foreign player, German Timo Boll, won the Silver in Men's Team.

Bottom line: It is safe to assume that the team rap pushed the Chinese towards achieving all they could in Beijing 2008 Table Tennis.

In case you are wondering what the rest of the world can do to actually compete in Table Tennis in London 2012, here are the results from a nbc.com poll:

What can other teams do to compete with China in table tennis?
1. Practice, practice, practice. 34%
2. Nothing, China is too good. 31%
3. Hire Chinese coaches. 17%
4. Recruit more Chinese players. 17%

And the answer is . . .

. . . . Amsterdam! I guess my pictures were too easy; everyone got it right.

First of all, don’t worry – BumBum did not inhale.

Ok, here is the story of our weekend. At the beginning of the week, we didn’t have plans for the weekend. So we decided to take advantage of an open weekend and be spontaneous (we have been warned over and over that that word will vanish from our vocabulary after BumBum arrives) and headed to Amsterdam for a quick weekend city break. It is only a 45 minute flight from London!

We arrived, checked in at the hotel, then headed out for a late dinner. We past several lovely places near our hotel, but opted to go towards Leidsplein Square, which is where all the action is at night. It is lined with cafes, pubs, etc. and has the requisite McD's to ensure its status as a tourist trap. Which also makes it a great place to people watch. And in Amsterdam there are lots of interesting sites, some architectural, but mostly people. We found a decent Italian place a block or so off the square. Being old and well, pregnant, we had a nice leisurely walk back to the hotel instead of a mad dash to the infamous clubs.

Saturday morning we unfortunately (in my opinion, other parties involved probably disagree) slept until noon! That bed was heaven and we certainly relished the air conditioning since our flat in London is lacking in that department (and honestly, there have been less than 5 nights this summer when we even needed it. So depressing). Moving on.

I had been to Amsterdam once before, but only for a 9 hour layover and all we did was the Anne Frank Museum and try to avoid bikers. I am not sure what the numbers are, but Amsterdam has to be one of the bike capitals of the world. They are everywhere! Pat and I bet each other on who would get hit by one first. Luckily, we both made it through the weekend untouched.

Pat and I decided that we wanted to see the Museum Amstelkring and the Van Gogh Museum and we would do one each day. So after our late breakfast we headed out towards Amstelkring, which is a 17th century canal house that hides a Catholic Church, Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic), in the upper floors. It is a perfectly preserved example of the clandestine churches that popped up after the Alteration, which banned Catholics from worshiping in public in the late 1500’s. It was used as a place of worship from 1663 – 1887, when locals pooled resources and artifacts to turn it into a museum.

Here is a picture of the altar. It is a small, narrow, and intimate space. They still have Mass there once a week and hold weddings (I think there was one the day we were there bc it was closed for a couple hours in the early afternoon before we arrived).



It was a sunny and lovely, albeit a little chilly day so we spend the rest of the day just wandering around. I love the canals and the houses & buildings that line the canals. Along with the very laid back atmosphere that permeates the city, the numerous cafes & pubs make it a great place to just chill. And they were lots of people in town doing just that. Arsenal (a European football team from London) had played the Amsterdam Ajax on Friday night, so we saw lots of Arsenal fans. And there were plenty of bachelor parties too.

Sunday we had planned to do the Van Gogh museum before we needed to head to the airport. And even though it was chilly and rainy, we trekked over to the Museum Quarter. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones with that idea. There was a huge line just to get tickets. Bummer. Major bummer. The VVG Museum was really the one thing that I wanted to do while we were there and we would have missed our flight if we had waited in it. They city did not seem crowded, and I never assumed that we would have needed tickets in advance, but now I know. Next time, I will book them online in advance.

Overall, it was a really nice, chill weekend. I loved strolling the canals – it felt like we were walking around a little neighborhood of dollhouses. See how cute it is: