Firenze Fotos

Before I get on to the promised picture of Florence, I'd like to let you know that tomorrow is a very special blogging day.  And Thursday, is a very special aupair day.  So stay tuned!!!

And as I said, here are pictures of my (far too) short trip to Florence with Marissa my Love.  Explanations in captions...

(The Duomo Cathedral...inside and out)

(View of the Duomo from the Uffizi Gallery)

(OH MY GOD IT'S THE DAVID)             (Oh wait...this is a replica)     .

(Ponte Vecchio Bridge)

 (Two very important men in Italy's city of culture)

 (San Lorenzo Open Market)

(Typical Italian - smoking, working, and not caring)

(This store front gets set up every morning)

(This girl asked Marissa to take her picture.  No joke, it turned into a twenty minute photo session with the girl continually asking "one more" and switching poses and locations.  I just laughed)

(Sunset on the River Arno)

(Marissa and I enjoying a lovely glass of wine with dinner)

(Piazza de Michelangelo...man this guy is everywhere!

And for you musical theater nerds...this is "The Piazza" in which there is a "Light In")

(Panoramic view of the skyline line at night...a perfect ending)

Word of the Day: foto - pictures (Italian)

Marissa and I relive the good old days

So my second city on my Mediterranean Tour of Awesomeness was Florence!  And there I got to see one of my really good friends from UCI.  But why type what happened, when I could show you?




Note: I'll upload pictures of Florence tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMPYS!

City of Bridges and Boats, Masks and Merriment

Well I’m sitting here on a Saturday.  I’m in my house because it’s raining so there’s no point going outside.  The water heater shut off this morning so staying under the covers in bed seems like the warmest place right now.  Fien is at Oma’s.  I have absolutely no money courtesy of the last three weeks.  And I have caught up on the majority of my shows.  I guess there’s no better time than to actually write about my vacation...

So we’ll start with the first city…Venice (or Venezia as the locals call it.)

Oh Venice.  The most romantic city in the world people say.  So what I was doing, going there alone, I’ll never know, but I figured why not.  I was arriving at 11:00 at night.  Knowing my hostel was only a ten minute walk away from the train station did nothing to calm my nerves about the possibility of having to venture down a deserted alley with my worldly possessions strapped to my back in search of an unknown building.  But when I walked out of the train station…it was breathtaking.  I actually stopped and said “wow.”  Now I’ve been to the Venetian in Vegas.  And yes that place is completely romanticized, and much cleaner, and smells a lot nicer…but they got the gist of it…

Ahead of me lay a canal and above a clear midnight sky sprinkled with stars.  As I walked down a (perfectly lit) street, past shop owners closing up, I admired all the elaborate shop windows filled with Carnival masks, blown glass, and the odd Tratoria with the chairs up on the table and a lone staffer mopping the floors.  Yes it sounds like a storybook…and that’s honestly how I felt.  We all know that Venice is a city with canals.  But I could never really imagine it.  There are NO cars.  And every “crosswalk” is a bridge.  And the buildings are all bright colors.  And it is honestly just…beautiful.

When I got to the hostel, I was let in and not two minutes later, ambushed back out along with around 15 other guests as we headed to the local bar.  Immediately making friends, we soon learned where everyone was from (including two girls from Northern California!) Once at the bar we celebrated a birthday, watched some football, and gave some much needed advise to some young Aussies looking to pick up chicks. (And yet us Cali girls were the ones that got free drinks out of it.)

The next day I headed to the one must see sight in Venice – St. Mark’s Basilica...

The square itself was great for people watching – from the violin band playing outside of the café to the little old man with the camera taking pictures of you surrounded by pigeons...

Before heading into the church, I made my way down to the water – not a canal, the actual Venetian Gulf connected to the Mediterranean.  There I admired the boats cruising by, the couple strolling by, and yes…the gondolas floating by.

The church itself was incredible.  Although a note to all travelers…when they kindly ask you, out of respect for the sanctity of a place, to not take pictures…DON’T TAKE PICTURES!!!  I was getting fairly annoyed.  But what was I to do?  So I silently strolled through, my camera holstered, and admired the breathtaking architecture.  Now this was my first experience with an Italian Church - little did I remember I was about to be in Rome and by the time I got to Athens I would be warmly embracing the Polytheistic way of life (kidding 99% of modern day Grecians are Orthodox.)

Taking the long way back, I stopped to admire the various canals as a peek into civilian’s life.  Laundry hanging to dry, personal boats anchored to the side, and gelato places at every corner...

When I got back to the hostel I joined a game of poker with some fellow travelers.  Little did I know three would be Philly Phans, and although at the time I considered them new found friends, for tonight, and possibly Monday, they remain mortal enemies (GO GIANTS!)  Soon this tiny card game turned into a table wide one.  And soon this table wide card game turned into a drinking one.  And by the time free dinner rolled around, everyone in that hostel was friends.  One of the Philly boys was even victim to an explanation of Linguistics.  Poor guy never saw it coming when he asked “and what exactly is that?”  But I loved the breaking down of everyone’s accent, which is made all the better when you’re surrounded by people from different cultures.

The remainder of the night was spent wandering the streets of Venice with my new friends.  Of course all this walking around and traveling was reeking havoc on my hurt ankle (don’t now how it happened) so by the end of the night I was hanging on a guy, not out of flirtatiousness, but out of necessity to navigate the up and down of the cities thousands of bridges.

The next day, three girls and I joined up to explore.  What’s great about meeting people in Venice, is that the majority of them are doing the same thing you are…Venice to Florence to Rome, so we made plans to meet up later (some of which actually happened!) We wandered the city crawling through every side street we could imagine and having fun with photography...

 

(this one's my favorite...this cat was just sitting there staring at me!)

Our sites included a flooded street (a common occurrence in a city built on water)...

Some beautiful bridges (upon which I actually got to be in some pictures)...

 

 

And of course, a different view of the city from the seat on the obligatory gondola ride...

After, we decided to call it an early night and headed back to the hostel for a much more subdued version of the night before.

And the next morning, it was off to Florence.  Although there wasn’t much left to do in Venice, I would have gladly spent a couple more nights in that beautiful city.

Word of the day: canale - canal (Italian)

Can you tell me how to get?

As I kid, I really REALLY enjoyed Sesame Street.  It was always on at the end of the day at preschool when we were allowed to watch TV while we waited for our parents to pick us up.
And recently, I've been watching way too many Sesame street clips on YouTube...see below.

Almost every clip they do on that show is genius!  They're so cute and funny.  I mean seriously...have you watched it lately?  The only thing I HATE is that Cookie Monster eats fruit...I mean...ugh.

When I was little I did a dance that involved five kids paired with five teens who were dressed like sesame street characters and we did a remixed version of the theme song.  I got to be with the count which meant that 1. I had the only boy. 2. I had a major crush on him. and 3. I got to be carried around on his shoulders.  And yes it was awesome.  I don't ahve a picture of it, but I'll try to find one later.

In high school we had to make a video about other countries economic and political crises and we took footage of sesame street and dubbed it with info on the Colombian Drug Wars.  OK maybe it wasn't appropriate for PBS, but we still found it funny.

In college in the drama department, group costumes are a HUGE thing.  My last Halloween of college, a big group of us decided to do Sesame Street.  Well, not exactly Sesame Street.  We described it as "The episode of Project Runway where they are asked to create a look for the BET awards based on characters from Sesame Street."  It was an ever evolving title.  But check out our costumes...

The girls - Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, and Big Bird

Bert and Ernie - they go'n cut you

Me with the Count and Cookie Monster.

Fien also loves Ernie.  Everytime we're on the Hoofdstraat she asks(in Dutch) "Do you have money for the Ernie car?"  If not, she still sits in it...

Of course, here it's in Dutch...and Big Bird is blue...

Well a few weeks ago, Katy Perry went and visited her friend Elmo over at Sesame Street in the hopes of playing with him.  And although she had fun, Moms asked that the video be bnned because Katy Perry was showing too much skin.  Which immediately made it an online sensation.  You can judge her outfit for yourself.  All I know is that I love it.

I just love the adult jokes that Sesame Street inserts when they have celebrity guests.  It's so cute.  You can even go on the Sesame Street YouTube channel for promised clean clips to watch with your kids.  Here's a couple more of my favorites...

It's really her voice. And notice the Tom Cruise Reference...

For all you Sex and the City Fans...

And I just love him...

This one's a two part of amazingness...so check it out.

But this isn't my first time looking up Sesame Street clips.  And i have to admit, only part of the time, it's with Fien next to me.  Here is by far my favorite.  My friend Pat (Ernie above...or Bert) even figured out the Piano and now has the sheet music for it.

And there's so many other...Michelle Obama, Colin Farrel, Jason Mraz, Ellen Degeneres...AAAHHH...too many!

Ok so I know that was a really random post.  But I feel like there was actually a lot of Sesame Street in my life.  So I thought I should share it with you.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Word of the Day: Straat - Street

To influence, move, or guide

Ok this one is harder.  It's day four of SITS Back2Blogging.

Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances are going to give these to me...I've already decided it.

And we have to do something that I have always dreaded doing...which seems weird when you hear what it is...but its true.
We have to write about a woman who inspire us.
In second or third grade we had to do this timed essay where we had to choose someone to write about.  And I don't actually remember who I wrote about.  I think a dancer.  But a friend informed me that she wrote about her mother.  And I immediately felt guilty.  Because I hadn't written about her.
Then in sixth grade we had to organize a "dinner party" for a project.  I invited historical figures such as Betsy Ross and George Washington.  But a friend informed me that she had invited her family.  And I immediately felt guilty.  Because I hadn't invited them.

Then I tried looking up the definition.  I don't know how you would define "inspire." But I don't know if any of these definitions quite covers it.  What is it that...inspires?

Then I read Life in the Pitts and I finally realized something...the prompt does not say "write about your mother."  Sorry Mama.  Because you know what?  I know that my mother knows I love her.  And I'm fairly sure that she knows she inspires me.  You do right Mama? She is the woman who made me the woman I am today.
But it's the women my mother allowed me to be introduced to; the ones she urged me to interact with, watch, study, talk to, and, by example, have a wonderful relationship with.
Those are also women who inspire me.  And that's allowed.  And they are...

The women who showed me what "family" meant - Grandmas, Aunts, Sister, Cousins Great Grandma, Family Friends, Best Friends
The woman who told me to become an actress - Mrs. Delegeane
The women who showed me what it means to be a survivor - Aunt Mary and Eva
The women who fought the system - Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Rosa Parks
The women who make me laugh - Ellen DeGeneres, Elaine Stritch, Bea Arthur, Tina Fey
The women who are stars - Meryl Streep, Julie Andrews, Liza Minelli
The women who made me want to dance - Ginger Rogers, Debbie Reynolds
The women of today - Michelle Obama, Oprah, Tyra Banks
The women who looked good - Coco Chanel, Jackie O
The women who ruled - Eva Peron, Princess Di, Queen Elizabeth
The women who took me to far away - Beatrix Potter, Louise May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder
The women who paved the way - Amelia Earheart, Juliette Gordon Lowe, Madeleine Albright
The women who were girls - Anne Frank, Shirley Temple
The women who I remember idolizing - Kristi Yamaguchi, Martha Graham
The hundred upon hundreds of women that deal with oppression, and ignorance every day.
The thousands upon thousand of women who have fought for this country
The millions upon millions of women who have died for their country

These are all women who inspire me.  Every one of them has added something that has shaped me into the person I am today.  I will not pick just one.

But you know...
There is also my Mom.

Word of the Day: inspireren - inspire

5 Reasons you should decide to go abroad

So over at SITS, they're doing this thing called "Back2Blogging." They even have a cute picture for it.  See...

(And yes...I could possibly win that washer and dryer (for that er...house...that I have...) thanks to Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances.) 

And I'd like to think that picture is the direct result of ME.  Mainly because I left a comment that said "you should make a picture!" And then I got a response that said "We'll get on that!"  And then look!  They did!!!

Anyway, back to blogging is a way for all of us to start blogging again after what commonly happens during the summer when you have slightly more exciting (read: France, Spain, England, family, etc.) things to do than stare at your computer screen.
Not that blogging isn't exciting.  I mean it's part of the reason I do it.  Which brings me to tonight's topic...
My very first blog post.
First of all you should go read it here...
It wasn't the first one I posted...it's true.  But it was the first one I wrote.  It started out as a journal entry.  Just something I typed while sitting on a balcony in a time share in Vegas waiting for a skype call on what was a free (but possibly not legit) internet connection from an aupairing family in Finland.
And I decided to work out why I wanted to go.  And what I had told my friends as my reasons for going.  And what they had told me as a reason to go.
Now I could talk about how I think it's written, or why I wrote it, or various other things. But instead I've decided to do a rewrite.  A look back at you will.  And so one-year-younger-Libby-who-has-found-a-way-to-time-travel-and-can-read-this-in-the-year-2009...here are the

5 Reasons you should decide to go abroad

1.  The passport
You don't actually know much about European border regulations, so it turns out your passport only has two additional stamps and a temporary visa sticker in it.  But that doesn't mean you won't visit places...and by places I mean over ten different countries with different cultures, different foods, and different people at every stop.

2. The economy
You think you have it bad right now trying to keep up with being a student, having little to no bills, and trying to find a job at that time?  You will learn to live on the equivalent of 400 dollars a month.  Sure you'll get food and a place to live, but budget takes on a whole new meaning.  Comparison of cheap versus extravagant comes into play in so many ways as you research train tickets, hostel accommodations, and having to PASS on bags of peanut M&Ms (side note though...you are starting to look gooood.)

3. The best friend
Suzee is still there.  So is Pat.  And so are the people who matter, because if they matter, they will remain in your life.  It'll take a lot more than 5371 miles to break that bond.
AND...you're going to make new friends.  Tons of them.  From all over the world.  In all different environments.  Of all different ages.  And you will have wonderful passing days and nights spent with each of them that you will never forget.

4. The boy
Forget the boy.  You may have hoped to have your heart stolen.  And the truth is...you will...by a three year old girl.  You will have a bond with this girl that is unlike any other.  Most of the aupairs will tell you that they no longer want to have kids after working abroad.  Do not listen to them.  Because that feeling of loving someone so completely is something that you will want...and don't worry...will eventually have one day.

5. The family
There really is no change to this one.  You were completely right...they are going to be there for you...always.

Word of the day: gelukkig - happy

Piece Of Me: Not much going on

Hey look!  It's the first of the month!  And I remembered to post!  And since this didn't take very long, I might even write another post for tomorrow.  Key word here is might.
So here is A Piece of Me...

This month (September)…
 
I like: My new haircut.  I got it today.

I don't like: that summer is already gone!  I didn't get enough beach time! Or sun time for that matter!

I want you to know: that I have two months left, then three months of exploring Europe on a visitors visa, then about a month in England, then probably Egypt, but THEN...I'm coming home...just don't ask me for the date.

I've planned: to hopefully see school friend and fellow blogger Ali, and a weekend trip to Friesland, the northern-most province of Holland

I want to say to someone special: Dear bro-sif...it's ridiculously cute how you try to be cool, but then  leave posts on my facebook letting me (subtly and rudely) know that you actually miss me.  Love you too.

Picture of the Month:

Word of the Day: September - September

It's a Pocahontas Reference

School has started!

Ok is it just me or does school just start earlier and earlier each year?  Here in Holland they only have six weeks of vacation!  That’s nothing!  What if you wanted to run off for two months?!?!  Not possible!!!

Well anyway, Fien had a blast at her first day…

And since her birthday was over the break, she got to have a little party at school which just made her super excited.

But it’s Friday so that means I’m going to do a…

Yep we’re going back in time.  About 15 years ago (give or take a month because I don’t think we started as earlier as these crazies.)  Anyway, fifteen years ago I started 4th grade.  But fourth grade was special.  Because for the first time, I was attending a public school!  For kindergarten through third, I was at a private school, two years of which consisted of the stereotypical schoolgirl plaid skirt.

But this year was going to be different!  I was going to wear cool clothes, and make lots of friends, and have tons of fun.  Not that I didn’t have fun or make friends at Challenger, but after a while the plaid thing seemed to fade.  Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not sure I wanted to leave challenger.  It was quite the discussion.  But I suppose that Marie Calendar’s dinner is one for another Friday.

So there it is…the first day of school.  And we’re sitting at our desks and I’m staring straight ahead focusing on Mr. Suplick and thinking this year was going to be great!  And then Mr. Suplick asked us to write down what we wanted to learn this year.  And then we went around the room, introducing ourselves, if we were new here, and we talked about our answers.

Well it was my turn.  And as much as I liked being in front of people, I can be a bit awkward.  So I tell them I just came from a private school and I was really excited and…that I didn’t know what I want to learn.  To which the teacher asked if I knew everything (in a kind way…he was nice) but which then made everyone think I was trying to be a smart-ass.  But what I meant was that I didn’t know what I wanted to learn because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.  Which is very profound for a fourth grader if you think about it.

Mr. Suplick then proceeded to tell me things we were going to learn and whether or not I knew them.  Most of which I said no.  Which me look like just an ass minus the smart.

It was a sad day.

I mean I eventually got over it and had a wonderful year and had my first crush and make a ton of friends (one of which was gotten by actually asking if she wanted to be my best friend…yes…awkward much?)

But I still think back to that first day and wonder what would have happened…

If I had just walked the footsteps of a stranger…I’d learn things I never knew I never knew…

Word of the Day: school – school (pronounced totally differently)

Piece of Me: Red, White, and Blue (with some Orange thrown in)

We're gonna be taking a break from the Spain update (I know of which there's only been two posts) for A Piece of Me and a Friday Alliteration post tomorrow.  But I've already typed up the next Spain one...so it will be up on Saturday! (But I'm not saying I promise...sorry)

So here's A Piece Of Me

This month (July)…
 
I like: that when you type something into the url address bar but it's not a url, it takes you to the first google searched thing...usually the wikipedia page.  I don't know why, but I hate that middle step.

I don't like: that I didn't take more pictures in Spain.  Or visit more places. Or buy more souvenirs.  So mainly I don't like hindsight.

I want you to know: that Nina and I are getting along really well despite what most of you may have thought would happen.  Only small tiffs about what time to wake up and grumpiness when one of us is hungry.

I've planned: a day in Amsterdam, a day in Den Haag, and maybe a day in Delft (time permitting.)  We're also going to Antwerp for a weekend (but coming back in time on sunday to watch Nederlands play in the World Cup Finals *knock on wood*), having a fourth of July Barbecue, and going to PARIS!!!

I want to say to someone special: Dear Maleika, Richard, Kim, Simon, Katie, Layah, Liz, Emma, Flavio, George, and everyone else from the Melting Pot...I miss you already.  Hope you had fun watching the Espana game.

Picture of the Month:

Top Ten: They're just things

As the saying goes, "you can't take it with you"...especially if all your allowed is two suitcases and a carry on.  And especially when shipping is astronomical.  And especially when you already have way too much crap anyway.  Or else you just forgot it.  But it doesn't matter, because here are my...

TOP TEN THINGS I WISH I COULDA/SHOULDA/WOULDA BROUGHT TO HOLLAND WITH ME

My A's Shirt/hat - turns out you can have home town pride in another country

My Teddy Bear - yes I still have one and yes I miss it

Non-metric measuring cups - I'm tired of converting cups to liters

More pictures - Cuz I don't have enough

My Cowboy hat - just to be a true American stereotype

An Endless supply of M&Ms - they're so expensive here!

Hot Sauce - well, good hot sauce

My moleskin Amsterdam journal - Emily got it for me and I forgot it :-(

Suzee Q - SO COME VISIT NOW!

A Sense of Purpose as to what I'm doing with my life - oh wait, that's what this year is for!

So...yea...Nina...this is essentially your packing list.  I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some things.  So look for a part two.  Thanks :-D

Word of the day: moet hebben - should have