Italy September 2010

Each one of my vacations holds a special place in my memory, for various reasons, but this trip was not only a dynamite vacation, but a destination wedding! Having really talented and creative people for friends made this entire trip unforgettable.

There is soooo much to share, so I'll try my best to capture the "best of" in words and pics for each part of the trip. If you reallllly want the full story- complete with details, reenactments, and Italian accents-and you have about 5 hours on your hands, I'll be glad to share in person  : )

This was our room in Rome at the Radisson. Uber-modern, I felt like I was back home in the Ikea showroom. The light fixtures were so confusing, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out the shower, and that airbag looking light on the wall was begging to popped (no, I didn't). We only spent one night here, but the design of this European hotel was clean, linear and minimalist. The faux grass carpet was interesting. Had a great time in Rome exploring the city, hanging out by Colloseum, and getting excited for the wedding!

Yay! We have arrived

The 2.5hr drive from Rome to the wedding site in Tuscany looked like a piece of cake when I researched Google maps a month before the trip.  We had our international driver's license in hand and the 4 of us crammed in a VW Polo (read: compact car) with 4 huge suitcases, a million maps, and tons of excitement for the wedding the next day!  After a few wrong turns and driving in circles, we finally arrived at Lupinari!!
www.lupinari.com

Vineyards and fig trees make pretty nice scenery

A nice (unheated) pool on the grounds- perfect for jumping in at... say... 2am the night before the wedding. Super cold, but super fun!

The kitchen

You know, just hangin in the grapevines

All 30 wedding guests stayed on the grounds of Lupinari, with each of us staying in our own villa. The unique design and rustic feel of each one screamed Italian countryside. That week I was ready to quit my job, sell my condo back home and move in here. Picking grapes, cleaning the pool- I'd do anything! That's how amazing it was.

The wedding!
See the montage video I posted for a 3min summary of the all-night party after the wedding! 30 people drank the vineyard out of wine! For real. The food was incredible, the playlist on point, and once we got hold of the microphone in the early morning hours, I'm pretty sure the grapevines were begging us to shut up and go to bed. Hands down Best.Wedding. Ever.

We took a day trip to Montepulciano, a storied town in Tuscany famous for its wine!  The town sits atop a hill with visibility for miles of the Tuscan landscape. When you think of little European towns, cobblestone streets, and clusters of old buildings, this place is it.

I'll take that little yellow house, thanks

After 3 days of food, friends, and wedding festivities, our time at Lupinari was up. We had a great brunch the last morning and took lots of group shots on the lawn in front of the castle before we all parted ways

Forget bacon and eggs.  This is how it's done in Italy

Saying goodbye

Last stop before going home was Florence. I absolutely loved this city. I mean, seriously, this is what a pizzeria looks like in Florence. I'm the last to be picky when I'm craving a greasy slice, but this is too good to be true!! People actually get to live year round in these cities while I'm settling for Wendy's drive-thru in suburban Philadelphia??

Even the graffiti matches the flowers!

7 hours of walking around the entire city AND climbing the Duomo was extremely tiring, so we had to reward ourselves with some authentic cuisine at an outdoor piazza cafe

Words can't explain the delish factor of this meal. Be jealous- it was THAT good.

I'll finish off with some pics of Florence. I wish I could have stayed longer, but this city is definitely on the list to visit when I go back. Along with Milan and Venice...

 Ah, what a fabulous trip. We crammed a lot into 1 week and have enough memories to last a lifetime. I always come home from a really great trip and just sit, thinking things like "24 hours ago, I was eating fresh figs right off the tree on a mountain in Tuscany." They I snap back to reality, looking around at the massive piles of laundry, the 100+ unread emails, and the only thought I have is...  "Where we goin next??"  : )

Super Lazy

This was written in December 2008, sitting in my draft queue... not sure why I never posted it... so I just hit the button!

2009 will mark my seven year anniversary at LA Fitness. LA and I have a long history and our share of ups and downs, but after quitting and rejoining twice, I think we're tight again. After 4 straight college years of eating, sleeping, TV-watching, eating, drinking, lounging, and eating some, I knew I had to clean up my act and decided in early 2002 to join the local gym.

It was a good move. Fortunately for me, I came home from college in virtually all the same clothes I'd left in. I somehow (miraculously) avoided the so-called freshman 15, all while catching Oprah and Jerry on the top bunk and enjoying my daily lunch of Pizza Hut personal pans and bread sticks. The salad bar worried me, so did anything else "fresh." After that one morning and that nausea-inducing swig of rancid chocolate milk, I was convinced a hot pizza was the only safe choice. Logical, right?

So LA and I were off to a good start. The people seemed normal, things didn't seem too crowded, and I was able to maintain a disciplined schedule of 3-4 workouts a week. There was an abundance of classes offered, so I figured I'd try them out. The aerobics was a nightmare. If I wanted a dance class, I would have ordered the MTV at-home hip hop version. I can only "grapevine" so many times in 1 hour, and the music was beyond a joke. No more of that. The cycling was fun, and I did it continuously for over a year with fabulous results. I highly recommend it.

My only trouble- I hate mornings. Yes, it's advised to blast through the workout in the morning and ride the wave of high metabolism throughout the day, but I just can't do it! So I did the 7pm class and that worked. At this time I was working varied hours (that's a whole other blog), so my schedule was conducive for nightly workouts. My downfall definitely occurred when I stepped through the evil gates of Hell into Corporate America and the 8-5 office job. Besides ruining my life, it also killed my workout routine. I am partially to blame, but when you spend 9 hours a day reminding yourself how much your job stinks, the last thing you want to do is force yourself to work out for an hour. So I've been on and off the fitness wagon since then. When I'm on the wagon though, you can find me, iPod in hand, gettin my workout on!

Dandee 9.27.10

A little wedding montage I put together after Dan and Andee's wedding

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oz

So I'm wired, not even close to tired, and really wanted to continue my vacation posts on here. 3 jobs this weekend made that rather difficult, soooo... what better time than now?  Oh, and in case anyone (someone, hopefully?) reading this blog wonders... all these vacation pics were taken by yours truly (except the ones I'm in, obviously)... no Google image stock photos here!

My trip to Sydney in April/May 2003 was unforgettable. Let me first say people need to get over this 20-hour flight thing and just go! I promise you'll never get there if you spend your life making excuses about the flight every time the word Australia is mentioned. It's long, it's expensive (mine was $1600 in '03), and it's not a trip that can be done in a week. Plan accordingly and JUST DO IT.

The flight is insane, I'm not gonna lie, especially when you're traveling solo. (Good luck with the jet lag-induced hallucinations when you get back too! Those are a real treat!) I had a connection in San Francisco, and then it was straight over the Pacific for another 12+ hours with NOTHING but ocean under you. So you pray your plane is jammed with enough fuel, and the pilot's not playing sudoku to stave off boredom in the cockpit. Anything goes wrong when you're that far out in the Pacific... you're pretty much doomed! The two things burned in my memory from that flight are:
1) Ordering the vegetarian meal because research told me that was the "freshest" plane food. I can't tell you the utter rage disappointment I felt when people in my row got pancakes and bacon and all I got was a hot container of asparagus and fruit. Never again! Never!
2) Listening to the Jason Mraz song "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" about 836 times on repeat as the plane's "playlist" wasn't exactly packed with jams. I didn't have an iPod in 2003, so this beggar couldn't be a chooser... but I did choose to put Jason Mraz on repeat 836 times... annnnnnyway...

We spent just under 2 weeks in Sydney. Steve was doing a 5 month study abroad program at Murdoch University in Perth. We cooked up this crazy idea to meet on the east coast in Sydney and cram as much as we could into those 12 days... and we definitely did.

The end of April/beginning of May was the perfect time to visit. Temps were between 60-75 degrees and fall was just ending (southern hemisphere, remember). There was just one short period of rain. Thankfully I've been really lucky on all my trips in avoiding rain and all other weather catastrophes.

Here's a pretty good pic of the Opera House we took from the ferry, which went around the harbor (or harbour, as they put it, fancy fancy).






 We jammed it all in- climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, visited the Taronga Zoo, went skydiving at the Sydney Skydiving Centre, went south to Bondi Beach, and took a day trip inland to the Blue Mountains. 

Here's me at the top of the bridge. They breathalyze you before you go and deck you out in branded gear head to toe. Nothing says "great picture" like a cement-gray jumpsuit! The climb wasn't too scary, but definitely not for the out of shape or acrophobic types. We were all tethered together, and the side climbing rails are designed for the everyday joe to do this no problem.

Me and an adorable sleeping koala

This sign at the zoo had me laughing the rest of the afternoon. It's speaks the truth though. How would YOU like to be touched by hundreds of people every day? Umm... no thanks! Although, I would like to see what constitutes a koala "panic"....
I did sneak in one quick pet when no one was looking at the zoo.

Here's the 3 Sisters rock formation in the Blue Mountains in Katoomba NSW. There's a pretty cool legend behind it (thank you wiki)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(Australia), and the smell of eucalyptus permeates the entire valley of this mountain area. The blue haze over the valley is obvious, and quite spectacular, but incorrectly thought to be light reflecting off the eucalyptus vapors. I'm sure Wiki could also tell you the real cause, as I'm having trouble recalling it almost 8 years later (8?!?! already?!?!)

So there are the Australia highlights... let's see if I'm ambitious enough to tackle Italy tomorrow. That trip is still fresh in my mind, and I have hundreds of pics to choose from. I did these a little out of chronological order, but whatevs... can't lose steam now...this blog's alive again!

Vacation

I don't mind making decisions. I usually prefer they are easy ones, but I'm having a little trouble with this one since the start of 2011- Where the ^$&@ do I go for vacation this year?? I should be thankful this is the hardest decision of my life right now. Am I all amped up because I have both the time AND the money and not a clue where to start?? Yes! It's killin me!

I've thought this one over time and again the past 2 months. Trip within the US? Europe again? Group trip? Solo trip? Show-up-at-the-airport-with-a-bag-and-jump-on-a-random-flight trip? Someone please make this decision for me! Anyone... please! Since I'm still wandering aimlessly in 'I Don't Know' land, let's revisit my fabulous trip to Ireland in August 2009. I still dream about that trip and the amazing time I had. Hands down the best 30th birthday present ever.

Some trip snapshots:

Here's me at the Jameson factory, gettin my whiskey on (I know, it's not one of my brands, but Northern Ireland was a bit of a hike to find some Bushmills). This was approximately 2 hours after our overnight flight... so around 9am. I'm not sure what that lady was talking about, but from the look on my face, I was either a) not buyin it b) jet lagged as hell, or c) realizing we were hitting the Guinness factory right after this. Oh boy.

Dublin is an absolutely gorgeous city. A complete melting pot of all kinds of people, you can't help but to stop and stare everywhere you turn. Ireland's temperate climate allows flowers and foliage to flourish virtually year round, despite the perpetually rainy, cloudy skies. Here's an example of the massive floral planters dotting the streets. This was the beginning of August, as summer was winding down. I've never seen flowers so vibrant and lush on a city street. Enough about the plants. The streets are alive with so many different people from so many places; it's common to hear at least 5 languages walking a few blocks. Truly a cosmopolitan city, and worthy of at least a full week to explore it all!



Moving south towards Killarney, the landscape is breathtaking. Thankfully, we traveled by coach so I was able to completely take in all the visual delights and leave the tricky wrong-side-of-the-road driving to someone else!  Ireland's geography is not especially mountainous, but you will find some impressive cliffs on the coastal ring. Anytime we stopped I did whatever I had to do to find the best photo op- climbing a cliff, running up a 45 degree moss-covered hill, whatever would make the most awesome shot, I found a way to do it in 15 minutes.  Here's one as we passed through County Clare.

Now I'll get to perhaps the most visually impressive stop on the trip- the Cliffs of Moher.

Un-be-lieveable
Who ever thought shale and sandstone would draw a million visitors a year and come pretty close to being named one of the Seven Wonders? Seeing is believing on this one. Trust me. The wind fiercely whipping, the fog looming overhead, and the masses of seabirds inhabiting this area is unlike any place I've seen in the U.S. It was overcast the day we visited. You're really lucky if you can get a clear sunny day and catch a glimpse of the Aran Islands. Our visit came with an overcast day, but no rain! I will go there again some day. Hopefully take the ferry out to the islands and see the puffin colonies firsthand!

And finally, let's end this post with a trip to a graveyard. How fitting. Let's be clear: graveyards in Ireland are a million times cooler than any you'll find in the U.S. Clonmacnoise was the monastery we visited, located right in the center of Ireland, as we traveled from Galway back to Dublin. These high crosses, castles, and churches are so rich with history you really can't believe you're standing in the presence of something thousands of years old. The detailed motifs on these stone structures are really worth taking some time to admire. And that I did.

 

Sooooo... I'm thinking I might have my answer to my big decision...




...I'm going back to Ireland

Let's try this again!

Okay, so I won't begin my first post in almost 2 years pretending to be shocked by my absentee blogger status.  I've fallen on and off this wagon more times than I can count, and I laugh every time I see the HUGE gap between posts! Let's just say I was inspired to give this blogging thing another shot.  I'll admit, I have been getting a little ridiculous on Twitter lately...(www.twitter.com/cmbolton2 you be the judge)... time to prove I can give more than 140 characters (yes, I utilize Twitlonger for those 140+ gems) worth of wit, wisdom, and straight up random nonsense.

And it staaaaarts..... NOW

Verizon has so graciously informed me I'm due for a phone upgrade in April. Thank you Jesus, as my Blackberry has been pulling a phantom turn-on/turn-off around 3-4pm everyday for the past month or so. It's really fun when it does it mid-call! I blame Ubertwitter for all of this. And Mark Zuckerberg. Because he's a billionaire and I'm not, and it's fun blaming him for things completely irrelevant to Facebook. (That makes absolutely no sense, but it's my blog, so hmmm!)

And nooo, I'm not getting an iPhone either.
The entire reason I went with a Blackberry from the start was the advanced email/organizational capability (for the million emails my 2nd job creates), and the BBM (Blackberry Messenger) feature. The BBM doesn't matter too much to me anymore, but having those emails accessible and in hand has saved my butt many a times these past few years!

"Oh, you didn't order the Snapdragon Cab we're supposed to sample tonight? You say we never confirmed it with the PLCB? Wait... oh... look!  Here's the email...addressed to.... YOU, complete with date/time stamp confirming ALL OF THIS!"
You've.Been.Served.

So the phone decision is TBD... if you don't stay tuned to this blog for any other reason... haha

I'm baaaaack

Worst blogger ever (me), back in action.

Is it still a blog if you only post every 3 months?

Reading through some past posts, I had to smile. Just 4 months ago, I was thinking about whether to have a 30th b-day party for myself (I did. It was fabulous!), scoping out a new car, (Jeepy, as I like to call her, passed inspection with no surprises! We're going to 125K!), and complaining about my job (in case you're wondering, I'm currently 0/2 on the interview scoreboard. I suck. I realize this.)
Super pumped there's only 3 months until my Ireland vacation and 5 months until Vegas! I'm also really glad we went to Mexico last year! This crazy, media-hyped swine flu is becoming a little much. And Joe Biden is going back to his retarded comments reminiscent of the ones he made during the campaign, more specifically regarding this flu. Last I checked there were loads of people hired and paid just to give this guy advice and keep the PR ratings in check. Nice guy. I voted for him, but he really needs to stop talking out his ass!

Summer's coming!! In the alcohol promotions world, it's out with the brown liquor and in with the girly stuff. Much to the dismay of the male patrons in the accounts where we work, the "Melon Fizz" and "Pomegranate Punch" are the hot summer cocktails. That's OK though. They can sit there with their $2 Bud Light, watch the Phillies and act like dbags. I'm sick of offering them FREE liquor, only to get the sourpuss faces when seeing the pink color, or (God forbid) actually tasting it.

That's all for now. And I took that rainbow pic off my balcony about a month ago after it rained one Friday night. It was a double rainbow, but I figured for as lucky as it was, it wasn't worth falling 8 stories for trying to get a shot of it.