2010 Can't wait forever

My first layout for 2010. Did this a while back, but didn't want to post it until I had finished out 2009, but I'm still working on 2009, so I figured I should start sharing! I found a page of paper that was all about scrapbooking. I cut it up and used it on this layout. It's me scrapbooking about scrapbooking!

Also, I've signed up for an online scrapbooking class with Kelly Purkey. You can check out her work here. I'm super excited to learn from another scrapbooker, hopefully expand my scrapbooking skills. This is me being inspired :)

Inspired

On the plane ride home I got a chance to catch up on several movies that I've been wanting to see.
I watched:
* GI Joe, which is a fun action kick butt movie (which I always love).
* Where the Wild Things Are, which is a very strange and awkward interpretation of the book, I suggest missing this movie.
* And Julie & Julia, which I really enjoyed and would definitely suggest watching. It's about these two women who want to do something with their time, a hobby of some sort, an escape from their everyday life, but aren't sure what to do. Julia Childs learned to cook, and wrote a cookbook. Julie Powel decided to start blogging about cooking her way through Julia Childs' cookbook. Both of their hobbies saved them from their own insanities and boredom. I felt all inspired after watching it. And since I enjoy scrapbooking so much I will keep scrapping and sharing it all with you, and hope that you're enjoying it all as much as I am!


At the moment I'm still trying to finish off 2009. I still have Thanksgiving and our Christmas party then I will be officially done with the year. It's a good thing too because I can't even pick up the book with one hand anymore since it's so wide with all the pages.



So here's Christmas 2009


More of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 to come!

Last of Italy

If anyone is travelling anywhere I would highly suggest bringing Rick Steves with you. His guides to all the sites give you a great understanding of what you're looking at and why, and he doesn't go so far that you're bored, just enough that you get the facts. Invest in another map though, his are not always that helpful.

Me and "Rick" (as we call our book) in front of St. Marks' Basillica. The whole inside dome is made up of glass mosaic. Imagine covering an entire football field with contact lenses, that's how many pieces of glass are in there.

Cute polizia in Venice. Think he noticed I was taking their picture?

After fighting with Expedia for 7HOURS we missed home so much we ate at the Hard Rock in Venice.

Then went out for some Italian Ice Cream- Gelato

Us at the Rialto bridge, a spot for lovers!

On our way to the other boat that will take us on our 1 1/2hr trip to the airport.

(Isn't he so cute?!)

And us in Paris at the airport. We had these grand plans of going out and seeing Paris in the short time were there, but we were so tired it didn't happen.

We didn't make it to a hotel in Paris until midnight, and then were informed that the air traffic controllers were going on strike! We had no idea if we were going to be able to fly out in the morning or not. I just wanted to be home so badly!

So we showed up at the airport early, checked in, got on our flight, lucked out on the seats because the person next to us couldn't make it, and we took the long flight home.

Thanks for following along on our adventure! Now to scrapbook all these photos!

Trapped

Not sure if any of you watch the news, but Lufthansa airlines just went on strike.

Global pain is the truth. Guess what airline we were supposed to fly back! We spent 7 hours on the phone with Expedia and Lufthansa yesterday because Expedia did not make the change we wanted made. So now we're supposed to fly out today at 8pm, into Paris for the night, then out at 1030hrs in the morning. Which means we have to find some place to stay in Paris, and pack up and check out today from Venice, fly but not till way later when we have to check out at 11am, stay over night for less than 12 hours, then fly again. We're not happy. Especially all the time that we've spent on the phone with these people!

Note to self, never book your flight through expedia, they are completely unhelpful. Their call staff are idiots and they don't listen to you, and they all sound like their going to cry. UGH!

At this point we're just hoping to get home. Wish us luck on this adventure.

That's Andy in front of the Arsenal entrance. We stumbled upon this randomly, and didn't know what it was until we were in the Correr museum and saw maps of Venice and small versions of ships that were made there. I had no idea, but Venice was a huge trade hub for all of the Mediterranean and Asia until a battle in 1571 where they lost their ships and 20,000 men. At that point Spain took over with its bigger ships that could handle the high seas.

Si, Venice is sinking

We got stuck trying to get to the Ghetto by all the flooded streets, and had to come up with our own interesting way to make it there. All the major streets were full of water, some about a foot high.
But we made it to the ghetto, the original place where the term was coined.We also visited the Frari Church. You can't take pictures in there, but I snuck this one. They have these black guys holding up this massive monument. Cracks me up. They have huge lips and big eyes, very American depiction of "negros" from the 1940s. It's pretty common over here, and these builings were built in 1250!
We also visisted Ca Rezzonico, but you really can't take pictures in there. It's a house with lots of artwork. Very pretty to think of pulling up on your gondola in a ball gown and a mask in hand for a party at this house!



Then we went to dinner, a proper dinner at Al Gondolieri. Super yummy and nice. Once we sat they served us this cup of vegetables that looked like flowers. It was a very nice dinner, and we were in rain boots that we borrowed from the hotel so we could get there. Looked pretty funny!

And even though it's flooding, Venice is still beautiful!

Venizia

Just a couple of photos from our first day in Venice. We visited the Accademia museum, can't take pictures in there, and the Peggy Gugenheim museum, full of modern art, and la Salute Church. After lunch we decided to visit several other restaurants and eat and drink, get lost on all the side streets and enjoy our day.

That's a spritz, very common Venizian drink. I think it's made with artichoke juice or something? Wasn't as tasty as I thought it would be.

Us on one of the many bridges here

Strange thing about toilets in Rome and Venice is that you rarely find one with the seat cover! I thought they just didn't buy that part of the toilet to save money, but this ones been ripped off!

So beautiful here. All the movies I've seen that have been filmed here do not do this place justice.

Oh just DHL making their deliveries- in a boat!

And I thought the streets in Rome were tiny!

Arrivederci Roma

We spent our last 36 hours in Rome running around like crazy people trying to see every last thing we could.

We started our last full day at the Vatican City and saw the biggest church (a football field long) I think in the world, St Peters Basilica. It’s where the Pope would conduct mass if he so chose. Previously this was a site to kill Christians as entertainment about 2,000 years ago. This went on until Christianity was legalized in 313. Then they started building the Basillica. It took several artists/architects and a 120 years to build the final church.

Once inside the church felt much smaller than you would expect, which was on purpose. There are statues all the way down on the wall at eye level that are 15ft tall, and then ones that are 20 ft above those that are 21ft tall, making them look the same size from where we were standing. It was very beautiful to see, and learn about it.

Also, the Vatican is it’s own city in Rome. It has it’s own postal system (and we used it to send out post cards), helio pad, armed guard, and everything. We meant to see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel as well today, but were unable to fit it in, so came back on our last morning in Rome. Definitely glad we did not miss it. If you don’t know much about the Sistine Chapel I would suggest looking it up, the ceiling is a history of the world before the birth of Jesus. Including the floods and Noah etc. It took Michelangelo 4 years to paint it!

This statue is of Mary and Jesus. It's in St. Peter's Basillaca behind plate glass because at some point some crazy man came in and started chipping away at the statue with a chisle!

Okay, back to our crazy day! After we left the Vatican we rushed to the Northern most point of Rome, Piazza del Popolo which was set up for a concert. The only straight road in Rome starts here, Via Del Corso. The street leads all the way to the Forum and Colosseum. In 1840 Pope Sixtus IV recognized that pilgrims who came to Rome from the North were getting a very bad impression when they entered Rome from here because nothing in Rome is straight, and back then this point was all in ramshackles, so he had them fix it up and build a straight road for traffic. Something I didn’t know about Rome till I got here was that there is a lot of Egyptian influence. They have obelisks everywhere! I’m still not sure why that is yet. But there is one in the center of Piazza del Popolo.

Okay then we had our leisurely lunch and practically ran to make our appointment at the Borghese museum! The museum is full of art, it used to be the Borghese’s home! Each room has a statue by Bernini, who commissioned a lot of art for Rome. His work is amazing, the details are to perfection. Unfortunately you can’t take pictures, but you can find it online if you’re interested. They also had a room full Egyptian art.

By the time we came out it was raining and Andy had no hood. So as we made our way back to Trastevere we walked down the Spanish Steps (romantic spot named for the Spanish Embassy, and with a Bernini statue of a sinking boat at the bottom).

Us soaking wet on the Spanish Steps

Our savior- the iPhone

We then swung by the most lavish McDonalds we’ve ever seen so Andy could take a picture with the Mcitaly sign. Then we made our way to Piazza Navona which would have been a really nice square to hang out in the summer, but again it was raining. There were three fountains in the middle of the square, the biggest in the middle was built by Bernini (now that I know who he is, he’s everywhere!) it’s called the 4 Rivers Fountain. Then we walked through Campo de’ Fiori. Then back to our place.

Once again we were so tired when we got back we didn’t eat dinner.

One thing before we leave Rome, people drive very small cars and there seem to be no parking rules around here, so people park everywhere, even on the crosswalks and sidewalks! There are no Tahoes around here that's for sure. Smart cars are super popular, but still not the smallest car around! Check out this parking job, not uncommon in Rome.

Our hotel bathroom had a bidet. No Andy it's not for drinking water!And a crazy shower that needs instructions. I never could figure it out.Oh and everyone over here has these puffy shinny jackets. Those are guys btw.

And to Venice we go! Arrivederci Roma!

Buonjourno

It's morning over here and we are having such a hard time adjusting to the time change! We keep falling asleep at 7pm, and have yet been able to go out for a grand Italian dinner. I'm hoping by the time we get to Venice we will be better adjusted to the time. We leave Rome tomorrow so today is our last day to see everything. And there's lots to see! We still have yet to step into a museum, but we've seen lots of sights, and have walked everywhere! And we keep getting lost, so much so that we even walked off Rick Steves map of Rome and into some strange areas.

Consulting Rick Steves How everyone gets anywhere around here

Tiny streets make me look huge

Yesterday we saw St. Peter's Chains, the only monument that we were able to find on the first try, and we didn't believe we were actually there! Then we visted the Roman baths, which now looks like a church, but has that line through the floor like the one in the DaVincci Code, Rose Line, I think he calls it. Then we visited the Gesu church, which was the coolest weve seen so far. The ceiling looked 3D with the painting and sculptures, amazing! Then it rained, so we headed back, picked up a bottle of wine on the way and drank half a glass before we fell asleep!

Today we're off to the Vatican, Borghese Gardens, Spanish Steps, and lots of other sites, wish us luck, we have a busy day ahead of us, and it's 9:45am and we're still sitting at breakfast!

The line from the daVinci Code at the Baths

Baths of Diocletian- no water anymore

Gesu church ceiling- amzing!

Hanging out at an Irish pub!

The Marcelynas' cheersing us off with Proseco!

More updates tomorrow!

Ciao!

Ciao from Italy!

Trip so far: we lost a day coming here, which I didn't realize and when I set up our transportation I had told Marco (our airport/hotel transportation) we were arriving on the 12th, thinking we gained a day, good thing Andy has his iPhone, so he emailed him and apologized on my behalf and he met us at the airport. Tall guy, long black coat and aviator sunglasses with a sign with my name on it :). It was a Mercedes minivan but we are calling it our Roman Limo.

The airport is South of the city, and southern part of Rome is dirty with graffitti everywhere! We're staying in the Trastevere district, which is just southwest of downtown Rome, and just south of the Vatican. When we arrived it was 1pm local. We were so tired! We hadn't slept a wink on the plane. We checked into the hotel, set an alarm for 6pm, and fell asleep. We did not get up until the middle of the night, then we fought ourselves to go back to sleep, starving and time confused. When we finally did get up we headed down for Continental breakfast, the way to go when you're traveling. It's an amazing spread, and we ate, but still were so not motivated to go anywhere. After watching CNN for a bit we finally dragged ourselves away from the hotel, and started walking. This was 10am. We walked across the river and on some random roads and found our way to Circus Maximus, then up the back side of Palentine Hill and the Forum, and found a nice little look out point to see all of The Roman Forum, and read Rick Steve’s guide for the site and took pictures.

(Andy in front of Maximus on his horse)

(Colosseum, waiting in line, reminds me of Gladiator where the fighters are waiting underground to come up and fight)

(Colosseum)

(view of Roman Forum with the Colosseum in the background)

Then continued our walk around Capitol Hill then to the Collesseum, where we waited only 15 minutes in line to get in. Rick Steves warned us that all these guides out front would try to sell us tours and tell us that the wait was 2 hours, we ignored them all per his advice and got in very quickly. We listened to his audio tour as we walked around.
Side note: Andy's iPhone has been a HUGE lifesaver! The streets here are crazy and everything is closer than we expected, so I keep getting lost.

Then we found a nice little Ristorante on a side street, had a bottle of Chianti and lunch. Then continued our walk to the Pantheon and had happy hour on another little side street, then wandered to the Trevi Fountain. Very beautiful at night. We kissed :)

It's slightly cool here, like Seattle, but no rain, at least not yet. We just go out wearing our jackets and since we're walking so much we stay warm. Also there are a lot of tourists here, but not that many Americans. People from all over, everyone is speaking a different language, but a lot of people seem to know English. I've offered to take pictures for several people trying to take a self portrait and they understand me, and say "thank you" in English. No one has offered to take our photo though.

What we're learning about Rome is that there are ruins everywhere, and the "lazy Italian" image that we all think they are is very true. One of the bridges we walked across had an older version of itself right next to it, and it's just hanging out. Americans would have torn it down once the new one was built. Anyways, we're excited to see lots more today!


Ciao for now!

Happy New Year!

Okay, I know it's not new years, I'm aver a month late for that, but here's my scrapbook pages for new years!
We went to Puyallup to a house party to hang out with Andy's friends. I felt way out of place! Andy said it was good for me, would give me "culture". I don't know about you, but I've never referred to Puyallup as a place to find culture! Haha! I rarely ever use a white background, actually it's probably been 2 years since I have. I like how it turned out though. Nice and clean.

That's Coley, Greg. He's super nice. And he was sober, and I although I wasn't sober I was far from drunk, so we had a fun time hanging out. And then we returned to our motel room in Puyallup so we didn't have to drive hime. Such a different new years from last year!

A fun page of Andy and I. The photo was from September. A black tie event we went to with my family.

I love messy pages! And you can't really see, but in the bottom left corner are two mailing labels we had received at our house. One addressed to the Anderson Family, the other addressed to the Marcelynas Family. Above it I wrote "almost one, but not yet". I have lots to look forward to with this guy. I couldn't have found a better match for me :)

And although that's all my new years photos I still have Thanksgiving and Christmas to scrap! So close though. And we're leaving for Italy in two days! Be sure to check back here because we'll post photos from our trip here.

Oh and we went and saw South Pacific at the 5th Avenue last night- amazing! Everyone should go, and I need to rent the movie again because it's been so long since I've seen it and the story line is really good.