Our First Hike in Italy

So to anyone whose read about our first day in Italy-it does get better! What's funny is that even though we had the most frustrating first day ever, we must have successfully switched into vacation mode because we never once got frustrated.

Well after our cappachinos on the moring of the second day, Tony was itching to use his camera so we decided to take a little hike. Anyone who remembers my posts about Germany and Austria will remember I have some obsession with European ducks-so we had to start the hike saying hello to my feathery friends! Next our hike took us to the first church which was built in the 1300's. The church was closed but the outside was absolutley beautiful. Here's the view from above the church. The turret you see is actually a pirate lookout. Turrets just like these are sprinkled along the whole coast of Cinque Terra because until the 1500's pirates would raid the villages stealing supplies and wenches. And here is one of the reasons we decided to take a hike. It was still a holiday weekend (and, as we learned later, one of the first weekends this spring where it didn't rain) and the town was just packed with tourists coming by train and boat so we decided to get out of town!Next we hit the second church that's further up. It has a beautiful cemetary with gorgeous views. The two churches both have clock towers that chime the hour every half hour. The funny thing was that the clocks were five minutes apart which means we got to hear the bells almost constantly which I loved! Hey-it's better than hearing the mosques in Abu Dhabi! The cemetary was really beautiful. It turns out that when Napoleon was in power he declared that cemetaries were a health risk so they had to be a certain distance from the towns which, in Cinque Terra, means they had to move uphill resulting in gorgeous views.

On our way out of the cemetary we saw this black cat running around-creepy right? So I snaped a picture...remember him, you'll see him again later!
As Tony and I went uphill we noticed there weren't many people to ask to take pictures of us. So we propped up the camera and broke out the remote and had fun taking pictures of ourselves-here's some of my favorites! On our hike we also ran into some fun critters! The lizards were kinda creepy because as you walked they would run back into the bushes. There were also tons of butterflies! This little guy was a bit of a diva because he kept posing for Tony!

Cinque Terra is famous for two things-it invented pesto, and it's lemons. The lemons there are HUGE, almost like footballs! Here's a couple other pictures from our hike. Afterwards, we went and sat on the rocks on the harbor for a little while. Tony wanted to play with his camera so he set it up the tripod on the rocks and got out the remote. He was so scared about knocking the camera into the water he was shaking....shaking so hard he droped the remote into the water...ooops! (The town you see in the background is Moterosso, the first village.)

So Tony and I aren't exactly seagull people, but Vernazzan seagulls are actually very pretty! Tony named them Hitchcock because they look kind of mean and it reminded us of the movie "The Birds."

Well obviously we weren't done playing with the camera yet so we stayed on the rocks for sunset. First we grabbed some grub and I found an "Italy" hat for Tony...you'll see it in almost all the other pictures. The guys in Abu Dhabi were teasing Tony for it-but I think it makes him look like a stud!!

After the sunset we decided to hit the town!

Well that's about it for our second day-stay tuned for more!

Surviving Our First Day in Italy

Tony and I returned from our vacation in Italy a couple days ago and we had such a wonderful time! We stuck to our vacation promises of not talking about work, and having no schedule which was so relaxing! We drank lots of wine, ate lots of great food, sat on the beach for many hours-it was wonderful! So, where to start....

Well since we decided not to rent a car, getting from Milan (where we flew in) to Vernazza was a little bit of a headache. That night we had taken a taxi to the airport, a plane to Italy, a bus to the train station in Milan, and a train to Vernazza. The only form of transportation we didn't use was a boat! We had a heck of a time getting there though.

When we got off the plane we found buses that take you to the train station in Milan. So we paid the guy, put our bags under the bus and asked the guy when the bus left to which he replied "Fifty minutes." Ok-so we go and grab some coffee and a panini and sit down just in time to watch our bus leave with our luggage...he had said 15 minutes, not 50. I went up to the guy who had sold us our tickets which was pretty useless because I speak no Italian and he didn't understand why I was upset. So Tony and I caught the next bus and had to spend an hour wondering if our bags would be waiting for us at the train station in Milan....which has one of the highest theft rates in Italy. Thanks goodness when we got there they were waiting for us by the curb and everything was there! Well it was Tony's first trip ever on a train so I had to take a picture! Well, on the train I keep telling Tony how wonderful Cinque Terra is and how there's almost no one there and nothing to do-and the train stopped in Monterosso (the first of the five villages in Cinque Terra, Vernazza is the second) and there are literally hundreds of people waiting to get on our train. Crap. So I tell Tony to hurry and take the bags by the door or else we are going to get stuck on the train. So Tony took one of the big suitcases and made it about half way to the door before the train started to leave for Vernazza which is only 5 minutes away. We were jammed in like sardines and Tony was stuck in the isle; meanwhile, I had the other big suitcase, two carry-ons, a back pack, and my purse. CRAP. Well the train stops in Vernazza and Tony is still trying to reach the door and I realize he isn't going to have time to come back to help me with the rest of our stuff. So I literally start bulldozing my way down the isle poking and running over many people, but the amazing thing is-they tried to move for me! When I got to the door I was stuck. There was no moving going on. Hundreds of people outside the train were trying to get in and Tony and I were trying to get out. Then this tiny, young Italian woman looks at me and asks me in Italian if I'm trying to get off the train and I said "Si." Wow-that woman had some lungs on her! She started barking orders at everyone ahead of her and I actually got through! It's so nice to be a girl!

So we finally squirm our way off the dang train and there are just hundreds and hundreds of people crowded into the train station and Tony shoots me this look like "Where the hell have you brought me?" So we go down the stairs and I look at the board where rooms are usually posted (Tony and I made no hotel reservations...normally you dont need them!) and I see a poster about the 25th of April (which it was)-it was their liberation day. CRAP!!! We are never going to get a room. Just then this guy approaches us and asks if we need a room because he just had a cancellation. Tony and I both look at him a little suspiciously and then he asks if we have the Rick Steves book because he's in it-we did and he was! Yay we have a room! We didn't care that the room was tiny, or that we had to share the bathroom, or that it was way over priced, or that we had to go up and down the stairs of death to get there-we had a room!!!

We ate some dinner and went to bed early feeling very grateful that we survived the day!

26 Hours!!!

Well our plane leaves in 26 hours for Italy and we CANNOT wait!!! (That means we will be there in 32 hours!!!) They will be a busy 26 hours because Tony has to work, we haven't packed yet, and I have more laundry to do...I can't wait!
Originally, Tony and I had planned a busy vacation (like the one we had in Germany & Austria) where we visit a new city every other day. That involved a lot of driving and hotels. This time we plan on staying in the Cinque Terre region which is made up of 5 villages that are about 15 minutes apart by train-which means no car this time! Of course, we are leaving everything open and I wouldn't object to a day in Tuscany.
When my mom and I went to Cinque Terre last year we only visited one village-Monterosso and I fell in love with it. I've seen the biggies of Italy with my mom-Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa...but Tony hasn't. When we were planning the vacation I asked him what he'd really like to do, and he said NOTHING. Cinque Terre is the perfect place for that because there is literally nothing to do. There are some hikes, and an old church, and the beach....and that's about it!

I cannot wait to be back there (36 hours!). We haven't even left yet and I'm already dreading coming home! Oh, speaking of which-this is weird: a friend of ours, Matt, flew back to the States last week to spend time with his family. Well we were talking to him online the other day and we realized that his flight has a layover in Milan which is where Tony and I are flying out of. Come to find out-we are on the exact same flight home! Weird! The other great thing about our flights is that they are both straight through-no layovers. It's rare to find flights to or from Abu Dhabi that don't stop in Bahrain or Doha.So I'm sure I'll be posting all of our beautiful pics as soon as I get back. Love you all! Arrivederci for now!

Tony's New Baby

Well Tony and I had a great weekend. We played poker this weekend and the Muegels cleaned up. Tony got first and I got third. The best part of the night for me though was the Mexican layer dip! Poker was over Dan and Deb's house (who are just wonderful people) and Deb made the most delicious Mexican layer dip. I don't think I've had that in over a year and a half! It's funny the things and foods that are are normal in the States that you just forget about here.

On Saturday, Tony, Kasey, and I went to the beach and just happened to meet Mike there. We had such a great day. The weather was finally perfect to be outside and the water was wonderful-we made a point to enjoy the water because everyone tells us that even if you are brave enough to go outside in a couple months, the ocean gets so hot it feels like a hot tub.

While Kasey and I enjoyed our strawberry daiquiris and the ocean, Tony had his own toy to play with. He just bought a new fancy-pants camera. I wish I could tell you all the reasons why it's the best camera ever, but that's more Tony's area-I just know it's a Nikon D380 and it's accessories have taken over my kitchen table! So while I played in the water-Tony went chasing birds!

The pictures really are beautiful and I'm so happy he got the camera before we leave for Italy this week. So there wont be any posts for a week and a hlaf while we're on vacation-but there will be a ton of pics when we get back!

Great Weekend With My Hubby!

Well, the bad news is that my brother didn't get to come this weekend-his ship didn't dock where it was supposed to. So that was a huge bummer, I was really looking forward to getting to see some family! Tony had already taken Sunday and Monday off work and since he's been working so much overtime he decided to go ahead and keep those as vacation days. I'm SO glad he did-we had a WONDERFUL weekend.

Thursday (which is the last day of the work week here) night we BBQ-ed and played Dominoes with all of our friends on the roof which was a lot of fun. Then a couple of us went out on the town which is always a great time.

Friday was even more fun. Tony and I met some of our friends down at the beach for the Red Bull Race. The Red Bull Race is an annual event where huge pilons are set up on the water between the beach and the Corniche and piolets race airplanes through an obstacle course to try to get the fastest time. I know, I'm not an airplane person like my husband is but this was pretty cool. Unlike airshows, the airplanes were flying pretty close to the surface of the water and not that far ahead of us so everything was realy close.

In between the race there were some really cool things too. For instance there was a helicopter that was flying upside down and doing barrel roles-I never knew helicopters could do that! And then another time time there were parachuters swooping. What made the swoopers really cool was that their landing site was right next to us so as they were coming down I was convinced they were going to land on us.

We had a great day-we just wished that we had known we would be ON the beach because we would have worn swimsuits. That didn't stop us from playing in the water some!

Saturday turned out to be shopping day where Tony and I went and got some stuff for the house-including my new aloe plant. An aloe plant is an essential Abu Dhabi purchase to me because of all the sunburns I've been getting this year!

While we were shopping I had asked Kasey and Kyle to watch Kieley because she still has stitches and I'm afriad if we kennel her she'll eat them out. Kyle and Kasey have houseguests though who just moved here and have been staying with them the past week. Tom and Rachel are wonderful people and so nice, and their sixteen-month-old daughter, Jessica, is just too cute. Tony and I were thinking about it though and we realized that on top of having Tom, Rachel, Jessica, their own son, Andrew, and their kitten, we were adding a dog to the mix. (The kitten, Lara, and Kieley actually get along, but they chase each other all over the house and leap over furniture, knock over children....they're just a little chaotic.) So Tony and I decided to invite all of them over for dinner to say thank you. Tony was making pork tenderloin sandwhiches (which are SO delicious) and somehow dinner turned from three couples eating over-to practically all of our friends in the building eating in my apartment. It was great! We hadn't had that many people over since Thanksgiving and it really made me want to have another dinner party.

Well after those eventful few days Tony and I decided to relax on Sunday and Monday. We read upstairs on the roof or lounged around our apartment. Tony got to play his PS3 which he hasn't had the time to do in a while and I spent most of the time reading. I just finished the book this morning and it was WONDERFUL! It's The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It definitly makes my top ten favorite books of all time. It looks a little intimidating because it's 1000 pages-but I was sad to see it end. Definitly worth a read when you have some lazy days coming up!

While I was sad to see my weekend with Tony come to an end I'm also really excited because we leave for Italy in a week and a half!

Fun in the Sun!

Well last weekend Kasey and I decided that we had to get out of our houses so we loaded up Andrew and spent the whole day at the pool. It was so wonderful! And Andrew did so well-he wasn't scared of the water at all! He wasn't a huge fan of the kiddie pool-but he loved the deep end. I think this is because in the deep end Kasey and I were throwing him around. Kasey and I drank Coronas and laid out when we weren't playing with Andrew.

Well after 5 hours of this we both went home sunburnt and sore. Well, Kasey was more sunburnt because she burns easier and I was more sore becuase I'm not used to throwing Andrew around all day! We had such a fun day though and we need to do it again soon before it ges too hot out!

So what was Tony doing while his wife was hanging around the pool? The poor boy was working overtime and weekends. Needless to say he crashed on the couch at 8:30 more than once this week. Hey-you know how they say dogs and their owners begin to look alike...

Kieley's doing great. She was fixed on Monday-I have never seen a more doped up dog! They put the cone on her head to prevent her from liking the stitches...and I dont think she ever even knew it was on! As she started waking up she realized the cone's presence more and more...and is not a fan! So I started wrapping her belly so she can walk more than two feet without hitting something-but I'm still making her sleep with it on. I'm way paranoid about her ripping her stitches open. When Tony and I got out first dog , Reba, fixed he came home one night to all of her guts on the floor...she had chewed out all her stitches. So he had to grab her and put her guts back in and run her to an emergency vet. So even though I feel bad about how mad Kieley gets at the cone...it's definitly prefereable to waking up to puppy guts!

New Posts...Coming Soon!

So I've been getting a lot of coments about how I don't post very often. The truth is...there's not much to post about! Tony's going to work, I'm reading and cross-stiching, we BBQ and play poker on the weekends...

But April SHOULD be busy for us so I thought I'd clue everyone in on upcoming attractions! Next week we finally have Kieley's big surgery (the mange didn't come back-YAY!) so she will be miserable-especially since she has to spend the night in the kennel. She already has seperation anxiety and I'm sure this wont help! Then, next weekend is the Red Bull race on the corniche where pilots fly obstacle courses which should be a fun day out! Then, HOPEFULLY, my brother is going to spend a few days with us which I am SO excited about! Then, we're going to top of April by spending 8 days in Italy (We decided that since what we need is relaxation, we shouldn't spend three weeks trying to see everything, so we've decided to spend the summer taking shorter trips.).

In the midst of all this the apartment upstairs may become ours! Right now it's the laundry room/pool table room and they are going to turn it into an apartment again. It has the balcony where we all BBQ and I go up there to tan at least a few times a week. So hopefully in the middle of our incredibly busy month we'll be moving upstairs...if we get the place. Keep your fingers crossed!

Sorry our lives have been un-post-worthy lately but fun stuff should be coming soon!