I spread out my blogging over *quite some time*. . . and I wanted to have an entry with everything in one place for my viewing pleasure.  I’ll probably go back and add more detail so that I have hotel names, restaurant names, and more stuff all in one place. . . that’s a good project for. . . whenever I have free time?

Some of my favorite pics

Rome–Day 1 (Ancient Rome)

Rome–Day 2 (Vatican City)

Rome–Night 2 (Pantheon area, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps)

Rome–Day 3 (St. Peter’s, Catacombs)

Florence–Day 1 (Duomo, Post Office!, Shopping)

Florence–Day 2 (wine day!)

Venice–Day 1 (General pics)

Venice–Day 2 (Murano)

Venice–Day 3 (Burano)

Venice–Day 3 (gondola)

FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun, fun, times. . . Thanks for following my adventure.  :)

And. . . one of my final posts (although I’m sure I will still post some pictures or stories here and there). . . my sister is OVER these posts. . . but Liz and I are not. . . so there.  :)

After Burano, we came back to do our gondola ride. . . and of course, we pick the only time of the trip it’s RAINING.  Oh well.

First we had some gelato. . . so good. . .

Here's me with my last gelato

Here's me when I realized this was probably my *last* gelato

And the gondola pics begin!  I’ll just do a few because I have a video.  :)

Gondolas are fancy.

Off and away!

:)

The Realto Bridge. I hate the banner. . . and there was construction on the Bridge of Sighs. Not good for photos!

I really like this one. . . under the Realto Bridge

There were some tight squeezes. . .

There were people staring at us on every bridge (this was a bit odd). . . Maybe they had us mistaken for Lindsay Lohan and the girl from Twilight? Happens all the time.

We also saw umbrellas and people all dressed up. . .

My dorky video!

Liz and I with another gondolier. . . love the hat, don't you?

For our last night, we went to dinner at an awesome place. . . and tried to settle in and start packing, seeing as we had to catch a 3:44 a.m. boat to the airport and had a 2:45 a.m. wake-up call.  Fun times!  :\

What an awesome trip.  I wouldn’t change a thing!  Thank you Liz for putting up with me and agreeing to go on this trip!  This was always a dream of mine, and I’m so happy it came true!  Now. . . let’s go again!  :)  Thanks also to Shane for hanging out with us in Rome!

I’m going to consolidate all of my posts into one post. . . for the benefit of me and Liz. . . and anyone we may want to send one link to so they can see all of our adventures in one place.

I have heard about other people doing this. . . but I’ve never done it before. . . yep. . . dreaming that you’re peeing and peeing the bed.

NO, NO, NO. . . I didn’t actually pee, but I was *thisclose*. . .

It was so weird because it was during a nap Sunday, and I did have to pee. . . and I had a dream that I got up, went into my bathroom and that Mom walked into my bedroom and started folding clothes (odd, but she *was* visiting in real life). . . and we started complaining about the fact that dad hammered paint cans shut while we were napping (which happened in real life, too) . . . so it was all so REAL. . . and this is when I came to and realized. . . I AM NOT ON THE TOILET!!!  GET UP, GET UP, QUICK, QUICK!

Maybe I should lay off the sleepy time tea at bedtime to rule out any accidents. . .

I’m breaking this day up because there are so many pictures. . .

On this day, we went to the island of Burano. . . known for the colorful houses and lacemaking. . . so. . . flipping. . . cool. . .

Here are some pictures. . . lots of pictures!!!

This was on the way to catch the boat. . .

Picture from the boat. . . over some people's shoulders.

Some lace. . .

Love it

Tile on this house. . .

I ate.  A lot.  The end.

JUST KIDDING. . . I will give more detail. . . like telling you what we ate and such!

I had to leave my volunteering early on Thursday to pick my parents up from the airport. . .

And they started out their journey with Asparagus and Crab Bisque from JAX Grill.  LOVE this soup!  I was sad that I wasn’t hungry (I did snack on some onion rings despite not being hungry at all.). . .

Friday, we ran some errands and ate at Jason’s Deli.  Always a hit. . . Please note, STL people, there is one coming there soon, if it’s not already open.  It’s really good. . . I fell in love with the Tomato Basil soup this time.

Friday night. . . . LUPE TORTILLA.  Yes, yes, you’ve seen so many blog entries and facebook statuses about this place, and you know it’s my favorite. . . but now, I’m addicted to their queso, too.  We ate SO MUCH, and my parents LOVE it, too. . . as we were all stuffing our faces at one point, my dad muttered under his breath, “I am slowly dying.”   We started laughing so hard. . . I had tears rolling down my face, and Mom was choking. . . . soooo funny.

Cute picture, but couldn't get the flash to go off!

Definition of heaven

#2 definition of heaven

:)

After that, we were basically dead.  I can’t even remember what we did.

Saturday. . . We got a CPK white pizza and snacked on fruit and Lupe chips and dips for lunch. . . and went swimming.  (P.S.–It’s flipping hot-as-all-get-out in Texas and has been for four or five weeks.  I signed up for this gig in Texas and really enjoy the winters so I’m okay with it. . . but I find it comical when people complain about the heat back home. . . HA!  I laugh in the face of that heat now!!!)

Saturday night, we ate at Pappas Seafood House b/c I had a large gift card from there.  Ummmm. . . I love that place.  Dad was planning on getting seafood there, but ended up getting Steak Oscar.  It was REALLY good.  Mom and I got one of our favorites. . . Almond Crusted Snapper with crab and tomatoes. . . and sauteed zucchini ribbons.  Seriously. . . amazing.  Also, I love their wine.  Oh, also. . . we had Key Lime Pie for dessert.  AWESOME.  Absolutely AWESOME.

Saturday, we rolled home and looked at some of the phenomenally beautiful and expensive homes in my neighborhood (a favorite pastime).  Dad and I watched Gran Torino.  Yeah. . . fabulous movie.  I watched it on the plane ride to Italy so this was my 2nd time. REALLY good movie, but very hard for me to watch.  I won’t be watching it again!

Sunday, we went to church and were going to make breakfast at home. . . but made a last-minute detour to Barnaby’s. . . I loooooove Barnaby’s. . . but I found my favorite item there.  The apple pecan pancake.  Holy cow.  I also like their potatoes, bacon, oh hell. . . I love everything!  :)

We just snacked around on Sunday because we were eating a huge dinner.  Dad and I went to the pool for a bit. . . and Mom and I went to get massages.  I had an excellent therapist, who I will be requesting again.  Mom had a blind therapist. . . I was wondering if she would be extra-good. . . and Mom thought she was.  How cool!  I will have to request her, too!

Sunday night was. . . *aaaaaaahhhhh–insert God light and alleluias here*. . . Capital Grille!  It’s hands down, my favorite restaurant on earth.  Very pricey, but VERY worth every penny. . .

We had. . .

• The procuitto-wrapped mozarrella with tomatoes
• A wedge salad with warm thick bacon and tomatoes.  So simple, but so amazing.
• Onion rings.  They are so good.  They are crispy and sweet, and got me hooked on onion rings, when I was never a fan before.
• Lobster Mac’ and Cheese (’nough said)
• Au Gratin potatoes. . . I’ve never met an au gratin potato I didn’t like. . . but these are top notch.
• Porchini rubbed Del Monico steak w/ balsalmic (Dad ordered this, but Mom and I had some too.  SUCH good flavor!)

(Yes, I didn’t get a main course because I love the salad and the sides so much. . . and I now have tons of amazing leftovers!)

I was going to take my parents on a tour of the house where I volunteer. . . BUT I FORGOT!  We had such a late dinner, and I was just so happy and content. . . just drove right home and didn’t think about it until I was on facebook and saw a message from one of my favorite kiddos there.  BUMMER!

Today, Mom and I went shopping. . . and I purchased three skirts and a dress from Ann Taylor Loft.  It’s HOT, and my focus has changed to 100% to looking for clothes where I feel like I’m naked (but am actually not).  Also, we went to Crave Cupcakes.  Seriously, this is my favorite cupcake place handsdown.  Mom says that it’s better than any she’s ever had (including the place in STL everyone raves about).  I’m not really a big cake person anymore. . . but these are made with love and crack or something.  The strawberry ones are my favorites!  Also, I LOVE their coffee drinks.  It’s a blessing and a curse that AT Loft is so close to Crave. . . I am unable to go to one without going to the other!

Then we went to DSW, where I got some really awesome shoes. . . but these were the most comfortable.  Mine are black, and actually solid. . . so not exactly like this, but the same basic concept. . . and I think they were ~$35?  Love, love, LOVE them!!!  They will be so cute to wear with skirts!

Lunch was at Jason’s again. . . yummy yummy.

Now, my parents are gone. . . and I have to go back to work!  :(

It will be a sad day tomorrow. . . but who can complain when you are bringing lobster mac and cheese to work for lunch???

I basically hate the 4th of July because I basically hate fireworks. . . I usually use it as a relaxing weekend where I chill, sleep, and get lots of stuff accomplished around the house.

One exception was three years ago (I think).  I was living in New Hampshire, but I had to go to Michigan for a class for work. . . and this fell around 4th of July. . . so I went to stay with queenlizzle for the weekend. . . and my college roommate in undergrad, Jess, also came out a few times!

Our friend Brian was staying in this amazingly fun neighborhood in Detroit at the time.  This group of houses had HUGE parties. . . one being for the 4th of July.  They went ALL out.  The party was huge and started in the afternoon.  They had an ice luge to pour shots into, sangria, a slushy machine with everclear slushies, kegs o’ beer (bold words bolded to emphasize excitement). . . and a pool, right?  and a volleyball or badminton  net?, and beer pong. . . and wasn’t there a band, too?

 

Ice Luge for shots

In action

Yeah, lizzle and Jess will have to confirm some of this stuff because I started losing consciousness at approximately 8:00 due to the previously mentioned alcohol consumption (minus shots. . . no shots for i_g).  First off, I had to try everything (always a bad idea).  Secondly, it was HOT (not Texas hot, but hot).  The everclear was undetectable in the slushy, and they were going down soooo quickly on the hot day!  Who doesn’t love a slushy???

Then, after watching many beer pong matches, Liz and I decide to play.  We decide that we should do this because we wanted to hit two of the girls playing. . . they were like Par is Hilton and Lindsey Lo han with their tanned skin, designer clothing, snarky attitudes, big sunglasses. . . and European, yet valley-girl accents (not even sure if that’s possible). . .  and they were so drunk that we were certain that we can beat them easily.

Um, we lost.

Um, we also consumed mass quantities of beer in short order in the process. . . because that’s generally how beer pong works unless you are amazing.

BEER PONG!

Also, there were some stupid boys just out of college with rhyming names.  While they both had popped collars. . . one of them had DOUBLE popped collars.  Yes, that means. . . double douchebag.

Wow. . . crazy night. . . and it just kept getting crazier.  Ending with sparklers for the whole crowd. . . wish I would have captured a photo. . . but here’s photo of some people who have had slushies. . . but I apparently didn’t get the memo where we should open our mouths?

Say "slushy!"

We called a cab and waited in the front yard. . . and the cab that pulled up was called “drunk tank cab”, and it was a crazy old limo. . . with a crazy lady driving, who was SLAMMING on the breaks, swerving, and taking last second turns.  Really awesome if you’re intoxicated. . . and really awesome in a limo if you are not wearing your seatbelt (huge mistake and a very rare thing).  We were flying all over the place, and finally. . . I slid completely off the seat.  I decided that it was easier to just stay on the floor. . . with the contents of my purse scattered about.  After that awesome ride, I decide that I am going to be sick when we get to the house so I run out of the limo. . .  and with only one shoe.  Lizzle husband JK was nice enough to retrieve my items and find my shoe.  Could have done without the last slushy AND without the crazy deathride home. . . Awesome on the stomach!

Yeah, not a fun ending to the night. . . but a REALLY fun day/night.  I’m not sure I ever need to relive that again, but I’m sure it will go down as one of my favorite 4th of Julys ever!

(This 4th of July was a GREAT one though, too b/c my parents are in town, and we’ve had a great time eating our way around the city. . . more details to come!)

I was debating whether I heard about this on someone’s blog. . . but I think I talked about it with someone IRL one night b/c we were playing around and looking up different charities.  It’s probably been a few years since I’ve looked at it though.

I finally remembered the website for this tonight. . . if you are considering promoting or giving to a charity, check this out. . . also, pretty interesting to look up the places you already support.  This website allows you to search charities and look at their financials and efficiency. . . and how much they spend on administrative and fundraising costs, as opposed to going to directly to those that need it.  Sure, there’s a need for some of those costs. . . but you never want to see too much of that.

I found out something neat about one of the organizations I support.  The current manager makes way less than most others.  I am wondering if that was by his design?  You’ll see that some of these directors make mega-bucks, but honestly, many of them are probably well-deserving.  I know that at some of the places I support, people work LONG hours and give so much of their lives to their organizations.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

I like the different lists on the left, too. . . pretty interesting. . . 

Check it out and do some research before you give!

. . . If not, I’m so going to look like an old hag soon.

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/skintype/15198/too-much-sugar-causes-wrinkles/

Remember the candy piles?  It’s been a BAD week of candy piles!

Also this article mentions that potatoes, chips, and pasta are bad.  Ding, ding, DING. . . love, love, LOVE!

Bring on the tomatoes and the lycopene!  :)

I kinda like spreading this out though b/c I get to relive a little each week.  ;)

First, we had dinner outside our hotel.  Super cool. . . except for a STUPID pigeon, of course.

Our hotel was in a quiet little courtyard, even though it was not far from the action of St. Mark’s Square.

Our hotel

We decided to do a guided tour of the city that day because a) We really sadly knew nothing about the city and b) The tour went into St. Mark’s, and you didn’t have to stand in line for it.  The tour kinda sucked because our lady talked a million miles an hour and was completely disjointed, but I did get some things out of it (It’s been a LOOONG time since I’ve had history classes so at least it gave me some clue of what happened in Venice. . . 

In a *small* nutshell, Venice represents a city of conflict.  Constantly taking other areas over and being taken over. . . but a very powerful city.  At one point (don’t remember when, but probably ~ the 13th century, based on what I’ve read, Venice was more wealthy than the entire country of France!  Venice was a huge center of trade between the East and West. . . and Marco Polo lived there. . . Also, Casanova lived there. . . and ALL over Europe.  I need to read more about Venice because it’s really interesting.  I find the whole “Venice is sinking” stuff intriguing. .  pretty interesting how they try and protect the city and the projects they have to deal with this. . . I need to read more about it.

A cool clock tower in St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's symbol again

After the tour, we went to catch a boat to Murano. . . here are some pics on the way:

Liz made the fatal and wonderful error of beginning the “Twilight” series on the plane to Italy.  Why was this fatal?  Because if you finish the first book (which you do, quickly), you NEEEEEED the 2nd book. . . PRONTO!  Problem. . . we are in Italy. . . where books are in Italian, and people are probably not falling all over teenage vampires.  We scoured the bookstores for “New Moon”. . . and finally, on the last day, we FOUND IT!  :)  Liz got entertainment for the flight home. . . which blinded her in the end, because she read the book for like 15 hours nonstop.

This bookstore was not a success. . . as the books there all seemed to be circa 1563. . . however, the owner was comical, as you can see in his humor below.

The store had foot print all over it. . . and then they got some flippers!

Ha!

The owner also asked if we were from England.  Interesting.  I must have been doing my best Bridget Jones?

Artists sketching on a bridge. . .

We then took a boat to Murano. . . home of Murano glass!  Oh my goodness. . . Venice and Murano are glass OVERLOAD.  Really amazing stuff. . . Liz and I both wanted to drop a million dollars on stuff. . . but ended up being sensible.  SUCH beautiful platters and vases.  I’m convinced my parties would be that much more successful if my food was served on amazing platters.  Hmmmmm.

Went to a workshop here and watched a glass-blowing demonstration

The door to the workshop

A close-up of the door. . . how cool. . . all glass

A guy making a vase

They whipped this horse up in a matter of minutes. So effortless. . . Crazy.

The showroom for this workshop. . . gorgeous. . .

Shops in Murano

More shots in Murano

Back to Venice for dinner (after a wonderful sour cherry gelato in Murano)!

Food was so-so. . . but I liked the atmosphere!

More pics in Venice!

 

I basically took this picture for my dad. . . doesn't this look like Coach K on this political poster? I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw it.

Liz and I on the Realto. I was NOT photogenic this trip and started a new phenomenon called "stroke victim face". Someday, I will have the courage to show you that frightening picture. . . what the hell? At least, Liz looks good!

ooooh preeeety

Gondolier in the pink sky.

And this marks the end to another fabulous day. . . (well, the end of the pictures. . . of course, desserts had to be procured for the evening)!  I think there was a gelato for Han and cannolis for Liz!

This is one of my favorite SNL skits of all time.  It was on in reruns this weekend.  I just LOVE that they cannot stop laughing. . . and when you look at the comments on the page, they talk about how it wouldn’t be as funny if they weren’t all cracking up.  I agree.  Horatio Sans is hilarious.  Keep your eyes on him and how he keeps wiping his eyes. . . including using a waffle (which I never noticed before).

Pure awesomeness.

more about “dd“, posted with vodpod