roma

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So, these pictures are not necessarily in order (and actually mainly in reverse order). But this is a brief photo-log of our adventures in Rome. There are a few stories to go along with pictures, so scroll down for those.



First, I love this picture with the mask. But the best part was when the little, Asian store clerk started yelling at us, “No picture! No picture!” It was seriously amusing.


So, when we arrived in Rome, we were staying at a hotel in a neighborhood that Erika wanted to stay in. It was kind of ghetto (which, interestingly enough, I am normally fine with in Europe, but something about spending Christmas there and traveling with money this time made it so I was a spoiled brat…and I wasn’t the only one).

When the taxi driver pulled to a stop in front of a nondescript building, none of us noticed the building because we were all looking at the car accident and the dead body (graphic, but true…under a sheet thank goodness) on the road. Romans driving abilities are…interesting.

Upon entering the hotel, things didn’t get worse…but they didn’t get better. First, we could barely get into it because the door was working, and while the “hotel” was clean, it felt a bit like an orphanage…a smoky orphanage. The thought of spending Christmas there started to break my heart. That night, after eating a delicious meal at midnight, we decided we couldn’t stay in the hotel and for the next several hours (we finally went to bed around 4 am) we figured out where we could stay and what we would say to get out of our current situation.

We ended up at the Central Park Marriott. It was incredible. Our room was a) not in the orphanage style and b) had an amazing balcony with a perfect view of St. Peter’s and Vatican City. The photo above is the view from our patio. Christmas was absolutely perfect!

Christmas Eve and an American gospel choir was singing on the Spanish Steps. It was one of those perfectly serendipitous moments…it felt like Christmas.

We were in Vatican City on Christmas Eve and the paparazzi were setting there cameras up…anxiously anticipating a view of the Pope. We, however, did not stick around long enough to have that experience ourselves.

My darling cousin with the cutest little restaurant manager ever. Ever. He joked with us about Governor Schwarzenegger (my cousin, like me originally, is from California). It was pretty much hilarious. It was not the pizzeria I was hoping to find (my friend, Kyle, recommended Buffeto’s off of the Piazza Navona…but I couldn’t remember the name), but it was pretty dang good, nonetheless.



The delicious gelato (the best in Rome according to my friend, Brian) that I happily ate even though it was pretty freaking cold outside. And I have to say, it’s the best gelato I can remember ever having.
These last three pictures are of our delicious Christmas dinner experience. Again, a restaurant manager/owner enamored by my lovely cousin. It was hilarious. First of all, he lured us into the restaurant with his fabulous Italian charm, then he made recommendations, with stories about how his wife makes the pasta fresh, and at the end of the meal we had racked up a bill worthy of dinner and a show.

The good news is, we got the show. Mr. Owner was absolutely hilarious. (And yes, Tanya and I are have a sword fight with bread sticks…because we’re mature.)

While I can’t say that Rome is my favorite city in the world, it is definitely worth visiting. And considering that I didn’t get to do the shopping I was hoping to do (Christmas Eve and Christmas can really cramp a shopaholic’s style), I will be going back someday…hopefully when it’s just a little warmer.

Yes, this post is mainly about food…but I’m me and it was Italy, so it all makes perfect sense.

sisters

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I have the most fabulous sisters in the world. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but really, it’s true.

When I lost my passport in the stupid taxi in Berlin (notice, it’s the taxi’s fault…not mine), I was okay until I got on the phone with the taxi company and there was no communication happening. I lost it. I just started crying on the phone. It was awful. I went over to where Tanya and Erika were sitting and Erika just took over.

I am pretty good in a crisis…when it’s not my crisis. I didn’t even know where to begin, other than I knew I needed to cancel my credit cards. So that’s what I did. Meanwhile, Erika was on the phone with the emergency embassy people (or whatever they are called) figuring out how the heck we were going to get me home (eventually)*. In the end…it all worked out, but I don’t know what I would have done had she not been there to keep the stress level down.

Today, it was the other sister that came through for me. I had a not-so-fun conversation last night with a friend of mine. As most of you know, I am a pretty straight-forward person and tend to tell it like it is. Well, last night I got a little taste of my own medicine and guess what…it didn’t taste so great. So, this morning my sister called (for other reasons) and I ended up telling her about this conversation and how not fun it was.

And this is why I LOVE my sisters…rather than tell me that what this guy said wasn’t true or that he should have said that, she said, “Well, he has you figured out, doesn’t he?” This is exactly what my mom would have said, if she were still alive, and this is why I adore my sisters.

I know there are some people who probably wouldn’t love that (and don’t get me wrong, my sisters know when to “just be nice”…because I tell them when I need them to “just be nice”), but I really do. I love knowing that there are these two people in my life who love me unconditionally (thank goodness) and part of loving me unconditionally is being able to see all my flaws and still think I’m fabulous (or something like that). And really, my brothers are pretty great, too.

My sister’s final words of advice to me this morning? “Well it sounds like you’ve got some things to work on.” She did let me dwell on the problem at hand, or make excuses. She was just matter of fact about the situation and then it was time to move on. At which point she went on to tell me how proud I should be of her because she actually told this nurse off at work. (My sisters and I tend to have opposite problems; I say too much…they say too little.) And proud of her I was.

I wish everyone could have my sisters because really…they are fantastic!

*The end of that story is that, by some miracle my cousin managed to convince the airline in Berlin to let me on the plane to Paris and the next day I spent three hours in the consulate getting and emergency passport. I love Paris…and was so happy to be in a country where I spoke the language!

freedom

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When I was in Europe, I managed to leave my entire wallet in a taxi. Yes. The whole thing. Passport included. We were in Berlin headed to the airport to go to Paris. I had been rearranging my bags to make my wallet more accessible for security…and apparently it fell out of my bag.

Anyway, as I was sitting (crying) in the Berlin airport hoping and praying that somehow Berlin Air would let me on my flight to Paris, I considered how blessed I am to have the freedom I have in my life. At the time I was thinking of how miserable it would have been to be stuck behind the Iron Curtain. Not necessarily because it was so horrible (I think some people were perfectly content), but just to know that you couldn’t leave. That would be awful. Similar to how I felt while sitting in the Berlin airport.

Yesterday I started to think about freedom in a different way. With this return to weight loss dedication, I started thinking about my motivation for wanting to lose weight. I mean, is it that I want to date more? Is that I want to look better? Is it that I want to be healthier?

And in all of those thoughts, what kept pushing through was the desire to be free; free from the extra weight, free from food addiction, free from feeling limited by my weight, free from worry about what to wear, or what I’m going to look like doing whatever activity, or how I’m going to get off the freaking LoveSac, and more than anything, free from constantly thinking about being fat. Constantly. Seriously…it’s exhausting.

I am extremely blessed in that I have zero addictions. My religious beliefs are such that I am pretty well protected from any number of awful concerns, but a person has to eat. If I could just cut that out cold turkey it wouldn’t be a problem. But I can’t. So it’s back to the struggle. And I don’t know that this will be the last time I need to recommit to losing weight or the last time I will weigh this much. I hope it is, but it may not be.

For now, though, the desire to be free from this burden is driving me. I hope that continues. I hope in those moments when I just want to give in, I remember that I don’t really. What I really want is, as Mel Gibson put it so nicely in Braveheart, FREEDOM!!!

listen

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That is my word for 2009. Listen.

As someone who has a strong personality and loves to talk, listening is not something I always do well. I mean, I try, but at the same time, I don’t. I often find myself listening to talk. Someone starts talking about something and suddenly my mind is running with everything I think about that subject. I hate it…but I do it.

So for 2009…I’m going to LISTEN!

Taking this a step further, I’m also going to work on really listening to myself. How am I feeling? Why? What do I really think? etc.

I’m excited! So, no more carbonation and lots more listening.

and the trip to europe begins…

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For those of you who haven’t checked my other blog at all, I got to go to Europe over the break with my sister, Erika, and my cousin, Tanya. The plan was London, Rome, Berlin, Paris, and back to London.
Let me just say that it was FABULOUS (even with all the baggage stuff to deal with). I don’t want to bore everyone with the travelogue play-by-play, so I won’t. I’m just going to highlight some of my favorite parts and share some of the interesting/funny/ridiculous experiences we had. The pictures above are from our first stop in London. We made multiple stops at Harrod’s. For those of you who have been to London, you know that Harrod’s is kind of cliche…but I love it! Seriously…I love shopping…and food…and Harrod’s combines the two beautifully. Day 1 we stopped just for fun, day 2 it was because Erika needed new shoes (she’s never traveled like this before and didn’t realize just how uncomfortable her normally comfortable shoes would be when walking all day long).

A quick run down…Harrod’s, Hyde Park, Les Miserables, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and the London Eye. We had a fabulous time. It was fun to be back in Europe with my sister and cousin, neither of whom had been before. I really appreciated a) how lucky I am to have spent so many trips/months over there and b) how amazing Europe truly is.

And in case you were wondering, I’ve decided that somehow I’m going to live in London for at least a year. I don’t know how…but I’m going to make it happen.