Roma!

As I said in my post about our Venice trip, I've always been dying to go to Italy. Well, I got my wish in back-to-back weekend trips to Venice and Rome. One week after our bank holiday in Venice, we flew back to Italy to meet up with a Chicago friend at the end of her 10 day Italian adventure. It was the best of both worlds: sightseeing together during the day, and meeting up with friends for dinners and drinks at night.

After a little hiccup the first day -- the hotel didn't have our reservation and had to book us at a "sister" hotel farther away from where we wanted to be -- we got settled and took off to see the sites. 

We strolled over to Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. St. Peter's Basilica is one of the largest churches in the world, has a spectacular interior, and contains tombs, relics, and Michelangelo's La Pieta statue. The museum is gigantic and holds classical sculptures and Renaissance masterpieces. As for the Sistine Chapel... breathtaking!

Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take pictures inside and I, perhaps foolishly, obeyed and didn't sneak any. The pictures below are from the ornate hallway leading up to the Sistine Chapel and are just a taste of the extraordinary detail and beauty displayed inside. 

After spending about a half day in The Vatican, we wandered back toward our hotel, stopping at other sites along the way, i.e. Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori.

Fun fact: apparently 3,000 euros are thrown into Fontana di Trevi each day. So I guess that means I need to go camp out by the fountain and start stealing people's wishes!

Trevi Fountain

Piazza Navona

Following a long day of sightseeing, we freshened up and walked the few minutes to Piazza di Spagna, where we shared little bottles of wine on the Spanish Steps and watched the sun go down. Here we also met up with B's work friend from Chicago and had dinner at a nearby restaurant into the late hours of the night.

Gina!

Top of the Spanish Steps

It was a great start to the trip! Since there is so much to see and do in Rome, Part 2 is coming soon...

The First Thanksgiving... Abroad

I know it was Thanksgiving on Thursday, but it still doesn't feel like it. This was the first one I wasn't able to spend with my family in Ohio. Just like my Mom, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's just about being together and being thankful for what you have. I missed my family, turkey, football... but we decided to celebrate in our own way. 

Even though we obviously don't get time off work for Thanksgiving here, B took a couple days and we went to Portugal for a long weekend! We also met up with a friend of mine from college, along with her family. For anyone who isn't familiar with university Greek life, you typically have a "family" in your sorority or fraternity: a "Big" who is a year above you, a "Little" a year below you, a "Grand Little," and so on. Small world that it is, my "Big" now lives in Naples, Italy and we've gotten back in touch recently. 

At a theme party in college - the good old days!

We got together in Rome back in June (I'll cover our trip in my next post!), and planned to meet up in Lisbon for Thanksgiving. Hard to believe we're both married (and she has a beautiful baby girl) and living in Europe! We've gone from dancing at sorority socials to visiting Ancient Roman ruins and scaling to the top of 8th century castles.

How times have changed!

It certainly wasn't the traditional Thanksgiving experience. We shared Portuguese wines and tapas instead of turkey and stuffing, and viewed a choir singing in an old Cathedral instead of football. Although, we did try... we actually spent a couple hours wandering around in the rain, trying to find a place to watch American football -- we even tried the Hard Rock Cafe! I know, shame on me. I usually have a rule to avoid all things Hard Rock, TGIFriday's, McDonald's, etc. while traveling, but we made an exception for "The Big Game" (Ohio State vs. Michigan). 

I'll go into more detail about our trip another time, but all in all, it was a good first Thanksgiving abroad. We couldn't be home with our families, but it was nice to be with my ZTA family and, of course, the man whose face brings a smile to mine (even with his "Movember" stache). Never hurts to check off another city and country on our list either! 

I have a lot to be thankful for :)

"It's Nice to be Home"

I don't remember when it happened. Somewhere in between moving into my studio in Wrigleyville and moving out of our shared apartment in Lincoln Park, Chicago became home. I know it didn't happen right away there either... but eventually I reached a point where it was always nice to go "home" to Cleveland, but I would look forward to returning to Chi town. We would go away on weekend trips and, when we returned, I would ride home in a taxi and breathe a sigh of relief when I caught my first glimpse of that beautiful skyline.

View from our apartment on Fullerton - I miss this!

I had my first Dublin moment like that last night. We had just returned from a weekend trip to London (which I'll cover another time!) and I felt a sense of calm come over me as the taxi turned onto our street. I didn't mind that it was raining -- it even felt fitting (I know, I'm quoting myself on liking the rain and will claim someone else wrote this if anyone tries to hold it against me!). But really, it was nice to be "home." Or to a "home away from home" at least. 

Walking around our neighborhood today, I had to smile to myself, because the canal outside our apartment is becoming my skyline... the scene that gives me comfort upon returning from travel. I've watched the trees go from bare to budding blossoms, from lush green to the brilliant colors of fall, and now I'm watching them fall and become bare again. Like the changing trees along the canal, my feelings of being home are evolving. 

I still have a long way to go before I really feel settled here. Maybe I'll reach it by the time we leave! Although, the more we travel, the more Dublin feels like home. Sure, it's not easy to come back here after being in the U.S. with family (and I imagine it will be hard again after the holidays), but it's nice to know that we're getting there. I'm comfortable in Ireland and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Who knows how long we'll be here and who knows where we'll be next, but, no matter where we end up, we'll always feel home here long after we've left.

Paris Itinerary

Itinerary #3: Here are some tips and must-sees for a few days in Paris...

Where to Stay:

Paris is a pretty compact city, so wherever you stay, you should have no problem getting around. Paris is split by the River Seine and divided into the left bank (south of the Seine) and right bank (north). The left bank is usually associated with Bohemia and creativity, and some of the main streets include Boulevard Saint-Germain, the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Rue de Rennes. We stayed in Saint-Germain and loved it! The right bank is more known for elegance and sophistication, with the main street being the Champs-Élysées. 

Getting Around:

DO NOT rent a car in Paris. Like most European cities, it is easier to walk and driving in Paris would be very difficult. You can walk most places, and the Metro (train) is everywhere and easy to use.

What to see:

In no particular order...

Notre Dame de Paris: Free to go inside, but there is a charge to go into the bell towers - €8.50 / adult, but well worth it for views (just be prepared for ~400 steps!)

Champs-Élysées & Arc de Triomphe: Stroll down the famous shopping street in Paris, lined with designer stores and restaurants, ending in the Arc de Triomphe. If you're like us, it may take a moment to figure out how to get to the Arch. You have to take a small underground tunnel to get there.

Eiffel Tower: Pretty straight-forward. Go see it! During the day AND at night when it is all lit up. You can go up in the tower for a fee too, but the lines are typically very long, so depends if you feel like waiting! There are riverboat tours that take off right around the Eiffel Tower as well, which we didn't do b/c we had poor weather, but I've heard they're very nice.

Louvre: MUST see. As I mentioned before, you could spend days here, but at least set aside a half day and pick out the exhibits you want to see most. Costs about 10 euros, and is free on the first Sunday of every month. I've also heard that Friday nights are a good time to go, because it's less crowded and admission is free for anyone under 25 years of age.

Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur: Take the train, or taxi, to Montmartre - cool neighborhood to walk around and see the Moulin Rouge. I'd recommend taking a bottle of wine up on the stairs to Basilica de Sacre Couer (take a look inside the church too) and watch the sunset and lights come on in the city. It's beautiful! 

Cuisine:

Have plenty of delicious french wines, cheeses, breads... so fantastic there! We didn't find any places we loved, so I don't have many good recommendations for restaurants. If anyone has some great suggestions... let me know too!

One is Silver, The Other is Gold

Moving to Ireland has taken me out of my comfort zone in countless ways. As I've mentioned before, part of the sometimes difficult transition in moving abroad was not knowing anyone here. Yes, I love spending time with my husband, but let's be serious -- we all need our girlfriend time!

When I moved to Chicago after college, it was a new city with new challenges, but the comforting factor was that I already knew people in town. Since there is an unwritten rule requiring a large percentage of Miami University alumni to move to Chicago after graduating, I was graced with many friendly faces upon arrival. I had people to relive "the old days" with: the all-you-can drink, throwback to college, Friday nights at McGees; the Saturday brunches where you crack up as you recap the night and decide you just can't party like you used to... until Friday comes around again; the chill nights in, where you can just lounge around in your sweats and watch The Bachelor, because you reached that comfort level a long time ago. The people who knew you in college and are also adjusting to life in the "real world." 

Through the years, I made other friends outside of my college friends in Chicago, a few that will be in my life forever. It just takes time...  and that's what I told myself when I first moved to Dublin. Sure enough, after being here for over 6 months, I'm happy to say that I feel like I'm building great friendships here as well. It hasn't always been easy to meet people, since I'm not going into an office every day, but I've somehow managed and now feel like I have people to call... to grab lunch or coffee with, to go dancing with on a weekend night, to watch Rom Coms with... friends that I miss when they go out of town. Friends that are from all over the world, but are still like me in different ways. It's a great feeling :)

I always miss my friends from home in Westlake, Miami U, and Chicago, but it's so nice to be making new friends... Ones that make my life here easier every day, ones that hopefully will become longtime friends also. To all my friends, old and new, I appreciate you and am lucky to have you in my life!

"Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver, the other is gold."

Venetian Lagoon Islands (Venice part 2)

As I mentioned in my post about our Venice trip, we spent our second day touring a few of the Venetian Lagoon islands: Murano, Burano, and Torcello. If you have a few days in Venice, I would recommend checking these out! We set out mid morning, spent a couple hours in each place, and were back to the mainland in time for dinner reservations. 

In order to get to the islands, we boarded the Vaporetto - the waterbus that serves as Venice's public transportation. It's very easy to use, that is unless you take it to the opposite end of the line and add almost an hour to your trip back to the city center... but who would do that? Yep, this girl. Oh well, the inevitable mishaps always make for better stories!

Leaving the center on the Vaporetto...

The first stop was Murano, which dates back to 1291 and is known for Murano glass. As you get off the boat, there's someone strategically planted there to usher you into the glassblowing factory where a presentation is done and you can browse the gift shop afterward. While it's quite touristy, the presentation is brief and very entertaining... and it produced the result they were looking for, as we were enticed into buying a beautiful little glass gondola as a souvenir (even though there are plenty of shops throughout Murano and Venice to purchase Murano glass as well!).

After the glassblowing factory, we walked around the island canals to explore the center, see the glass garden and sculptures, and grab a local beer before moving on to the next...

Yes, that is glass!

Stop #2, and my favorite, was Burano, known for its lace and brightly-colored buildings. Here we simply wandered through the streets and shops, and stopped to take in the scenery over some of the best pizza I've ever had at a spot next to Trattoria da Primo on Via Galuppi. Seriously, I'd go back just for that!

Stop #3 was Torcello, located near Burano. Unlike Murano and Burano, Torcello is relatively uninhabited and contains ancient archeological remains. A favorite of Hemingway's, this rustic island's beauty is best observed in the grass-covered Piazza Torcello, where we saw the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Church of Santa Fosca, and surrounding greenery. 

We didn't allot as much time here because we wanted to return for dinner (and we barely did after the afore mentioned waterbus detour!)... but I would definitely consider staying on one of these islands next time, in order to see what they look like after the masses depart on the last Vaporetto for the evening. In any case, I hope to return some day!

First Trip to Italy: Venice

Bank holiday #3... Venice! As the June holiday quickly approached, we still hadn't decided where we wanted to go until 3 or 4 days beforehand. So, I searched RyanAir for cheap flights and we settled on Venice.

I have wanted to go to Italy for as long as I can remember. If you were to ask me before we moved here, "what country in Europe would you visit first?" I would have answered Spain or Italy. I suppose I've always wanted to experience the culture, the food, the beautiful architecture and beautiful people, the weather, etc., all there is to offer! Venice was just the beginning of many trips I intend to take to Italy while we're here...

Grand Canal

I've heard people say that they don't like Venice -- that it's smelly, dirty, or not that pretty. I couldn't disagree more! It may be worse in the summer, but early June was a fantastic time to visit. Venice is unlike any place I've ever seen before... a city built entirely on water. When we first arrived in the city center, we made the amateur move of walking up to a taxi and giving the address for our hotel (again, I don't know Italian, aside from my choice Mario Bros phrases picked up from the Nintendo years, so it was a nice challenge). He just shook his head knowingly and said "no," then explained we needed to take a water taxi or walk because there are no roads. Good to know! We then proceeded to drag our luggage and get lost several times on the walk to our hotel, ha.

Venice is divided into six "Sestieri" or neighborhoods, each with their own character. We stayed in Sestiere Cannaregio, a lovely neighborhood that is close to all the tourist sites, but also more quiet and residential.

Our second day was spent visiting the nearby islands in the Venetian lagoon (which I'll cover in a separate post), but the other two were spent getting happily lost in the maze of canals and alleys, sipping prosecco in the various squares, and visiting some of the main tourist spots, i.e. Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, etc.

Rialto Bridge

Piazza San Marco

We also took a private Gondola ride on the canals, which I absolutely recommend! It's pricey, but worth it. Venice is an incredibly romantic city, and there's no better way to experience it than riding in a gondola with a bottle of wine!

Port where we hired our Gondola, near Piazza San Marco

Along with sightseeing, we had amazing Italian food. The pictures below are a few standouts from the trip... fresh caprese salad, fettucine with duck ragu, lobster gnocchi (mouth watering yet?)... and of course, gelato!! I can't get enough gelato. What's the saying? A gelato a day keeps the doctor away... busy? Ha. All bets are off on vacation!

Lastly, one of the best parts was seeing Venice at night. It's stunning! 

Such a beautiful city and also one of my favorite trips we've taken. A definite "must see" on any trip to Northern Italy.

Grand Canal at night

Ciao Venezia!