Monterosso

Monterosso, one of the five villages that span across the "Cinque Terre".

We decided to take a quick train ride from Genova to Monterosso, and as soon as I stepped off the platform, i was in heaven. Sandy beaches, beautiful cliffs with lush green trees and the vast baby blue salt water. We did not explore any further then Monterosso considering we only had the day. So we rented ourselves some beach chairs and an umbrella, sat under the sun and took frequent dips in the cool, yet inviting blue water. For lunch, we sat on the deck of this amazing italian deli/restaurant. Here is where we had the best pesto and foccacia bread! It was amazing.

In life, we have moments, tearful moments, beautiful moments but not often have I felt like my life was a movie. In that moment, sitting on the deck, eating such great food and looking over at Ben, with the ocean and blue, sunny skies as a back drop. It really was magical.

Rome, Italy

What a magnificent city! The cobblestone streets lined with gelateria's, pizzaria's, souvenir shops and leather clothing stores! There is so much to see and do in this city, so when you visit prepare yourself for a lot of walking, and a lot of photographs! Ben and I had so much fun! We truly felt like historians; learning so much from the architecture to the vast, glorious history that haunts Rome to this day.

I took one step into the Colosseo and thought to myself, "Wow! …Gladiator didn't do this any justice!" SO BIG! The Trevi Fountain was astonishing! Truly amazing piece of work. We loved it so much, that  we saw it on more then one occaision. Sitting back admiring the view in daylight and moonlight! We watched various families and couples struggling to take a picture of themselves, when it hit me! I gladly volunteer'd to help! Here is where I ignited my passion for photography. =) We walked so much that we learned quickly, if you want gelato walk as far away as possible from any historical, touristy site and save yourself some money! Not only that, but the quality of gelato is way higher! 

Growing up italian and being able to come to this city, really was amazing for me! So rich in culture, history and scenic views! We toured the Vatican, climbed the Spanish Steps, saw the Pantheon and so much more! The gelato was unlike anything I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. I would simply say, if you visit Italy, Rome should be on your itinerary! 

Wanderer - Summertime Sadness

I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world. 

- Mary Radmacher

To grow up is indeed a blessing. To journey through life with gratitude, a wandering soul, and an appetite for adventure has been truly eye opening. When you see so much of the world in a short amount of time, and you learn to live as a minimalist along the way, you learn to really seize each and every day. When you meet new and old family who take you under their wing, and spoil you with memories, and home cooked meals, you learn to appreciate the true essence of giving back. It has all been such a whirl wind; Honeymooning for four months with the love of my life!!! Learning that we really are each others best travel companions. Knowing that if either of us is grouchy it's all because we are hangry. (Hungry + Angry) We've listened to countless songs, written many pages in our travel journals, thousands of pictures and videos, confided in each other till the early morning, went baby crazy.. Then not so baby crazy, brainstormed ideas for the next ultimate trip of a lifetime, found a new love for wines, and food! I have lived a lifetime in these last four months. And we still have two weeks left until we are at the home base. So crazy! Too much time can be wasted obsessing over the past, what people think, the future. And I ask myself why?? If I die tomorrow, I am so content with my life and how I have lived it. I have grown up emensely on this journey! I know it is just the beginning of many wonderful years to come from this wandering heart! I yearn for the next world wonder my eyes will lay upon, the next beach to lay on, the next dish my lips will taste. 

I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world! 

Ireland

We arrived in beautiful Dublin late on the 12th of July. We proceeded to our hotel in the dark and were delighted to enter a very clean, spacious and modern room at the premiere in airport hotel. After taking a day to get organized and get clean laundry, we proceeded into downtown Dublin. We adventured through the streets and alleys of temple bar and made our way to visit Dublin castle.  Dublin castle is unlike most castles you will find on the coasts in that it is inland, and has been expanded on, many times over the past few hundred years, only having one true "castle like" building. Still rich with history, it is worth the sight.

We had been talking about getting a tattoo, and spontaneously decided to check out a tattoo parlour just across the street from the castle. We walked right in and a hour later had new ink from a very thick accented Irishman named Paul. (Who has inked Britney Spears and Mike Mendozi).

The highlight of Ireland for us was our tour of Northern Ireland on the "Paddy Wagon". If you want to do any tour in Ireland, we highly recommend Paddy Wagon tours, as it is very affordable and the drivers are hilarious, and knowledgable.  The tour included a brief tour of Belfast, including a stop at the place the titanic was built and launched, as well as a view of the Europa hotel, the world record holding building that has been bombed 37 times by the IRA. We continued north to Carrick-a-rede and crossed the famous rope bridge to beautiful cliffs and views of Ireland's north peak and Scotland across the sea. The ocean was beautiful and high cliffs provided us with beautiful panoramic views.

We continued on the famous "Giant's Causeway", an ancient rock formation that is rich with Irish mythology.  The amazing hexagonal rock formation that starts in Northern Ireland disappears in the northern channel and resurfaces in northern Scotland in the isle of Staffa. Legend has it that the Irish giant "Fynn McCool" built the causeway to accept a challenge by the Scottish giant "Bennandonner". There are many different versions of the legend depending on which Irish local you ask, but the general idea is that Fynn built the causeway to fight Bennandonner, but upon crossing found that the scot was twice his size (over 80' tall compared to Fynn's 40' height") he retreats to his wife and has the townspeople build him a giant bassinet, where he lies in wait for Bennandonner to cross the causeway. He then pretends to be a baby and when Bennandonner arrives for battle he sees Fynn and thinks he is a baby thinking "If this is the Irish giants son, his father must be gigantic!". After he retreats to Scotland Fynn smashes the causeway so the dispute is ended. The entertaining mythology only adds to the beauty and charm of this volcanic formation that is 60 million years old.  The tour finished at a brief stop to see Dunluce castle, "Ireland's most romantic castle" where many scenes from the popular HBO series "Game of Thrones" is based. We hadn't yet seen Game of Thrones, but immediately downloaded it after seeing this beautiful picturesque castle ruins.  Overall we loved Ireland, it's beauty and myths make it an interesting place to visit and the people are always happy helpful, and willing to point you in the direction of craek! (Irish Gaelic for "fun"). 

Good ol' London Town.

LONDON

A city of so many faces. 

Where do we even begin? Two weeks we were there, and I felt like I received one history lesson after the other. With our amazing Economical London Pass, we saw: The Tower Bridge, The ZSL London Zoo, The HMS Belfast, The London Eye, The Crypts, The Parliaments, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park,The London Monument, St. Paul's Cathedral, British Music Experience, Camden Market, Stonehenge, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, London Pride Parade and the Warner Brothers Studio tour of Harry Potter!! Are you tired from reading that? Hahah. It was a great two weeks. A whirlwind. You can't possibly keep the pace high enough to see the whole city.  After two weeks we had only scratched the surface of what London has to offer, and with the sore legs to prove it. You can climb to the top of virtually every monument in this city, up terribly tight dizzying spiral staircases, to take in amazing panoramic views of all the landmarks that make London so interesting.  It is amazing to climb a monument like St. Paul's Cathedral that was built in the 1600s to view some of the most beautiful modern buildings like the recently completed "shard", Europes tallest building.

Our Review
Everything you have heard about London financially is true. It is very expensive. We had the great fortune of staying with family, so unfortunately we have no experience with getting good accommodation in London although the most economical, comfortable and clean as far as we can tell would be the YHA in SOHO. If you go for the purpose of sight seeing, we highly recommend getting the London Pass.  You get entrance into a lot of the main attractions of London with the convenience
 of swiping your prepaid card, and most importantly a week long tube card to all zones that you can reach on the subway. Economically speaking you save a ton of money (and as stated EVERYTHING from the zoo to the tower bridge tour is expensive), and the tube pass makes it so that you look for reasons to get on the subway and go.

As far as the city and people go, it is a vast tapestry of faces and sights. There is a very high paced vibe and a hustle and bustle that made us feel like people were very unpersonable and rude at times (especially on the side walks and in the tube stations).  No one seems to say "excuse me" or "I'm sorry", so save yourself the learning curve and check your amazing Canadian manners at home and allow yourself to throw a few shoulders. That is not to say that we didn't meet great people though.
 The shopping is unbelievable, with everyone you are used to and much, much more to accommodate the 7 million plus that consume in the great city.  Keep an eye out for the stunning architecture, we found it so awe inspiring for a 400 year old building to be next to a McDonald's or modern work of art, truly something to behold. If you are a history buff and love to browse free nationally maintained  galleries and museums you will have met your heaven. We figured out early that we are not the "spend a few hours in the gallery types" and thus stuck to things we knew would really interest us.
Some of our favourite sights and moments include:
1. The Warner brothers studios the making of Harry Potter:
If you have even heard the name Harry potter, read a single book or have an attic full of nerdy wizard memorabilia, YOU MUST SEE THIS TOUR. For Christina it was the tour of a life time, seeing so many of the props and sets that inspired her growing up with the movies. For me I acquired a whole new appreciation for Harry Potter, I can't wait to get to watch the movies again! From the tiniest props of the actual Horcruxes to the elaborately gigantic sets of the Ministry of Magic it is a must do on your list for London

2. Westminster Abbey
The history lesson and architecture you get in this amazing building is outstanding.  You can't move two fee with out stepping on a kings tomb or bumping into a creepy monument.  The craftsman ship in the ceilings is truly breathtaking and there is so much to see that truly anyone should be captivated.

After much reflection of this trip here are five things we are grateful for:

1. Creating New Memories

2. Sleep

3. Alberta Health Care - haha! Oh what a story. 

4. Ben's Uncle John, who hosted us.

5. Our family 

love language.

This past week has been quite the series of unfortunate events. 
Without your love, patience and optimism, I would not have the willpower I have right now. 
Thank-you.

Ready for it.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

smitten |ˈsmitn|past participle of smite .smite |smīt|verb ( past smote |smōt|; past part. smitten |ˈsmitn|) [ trans. ] poetic/literarystrike with a firm blow : he smites the water with his sword.• ( be smitten) be strongly attracted to someone or something : she was so smitten with the boy.

Wake UP

So, I went to get a Tarot Card reading done yesterday and it was really eye opening for me. Taught me a lot about myself and it was a huge insight into my being. How I need to be the one to take my own advice. About finding my inner truth.
A lot of the same cards came up.
The Hermit
Queen of Cups
Queen of Swords
Heriophant
Traveler
Empress

Most of my discussion had a lot to do with the relationship I have with my mother. I love her to death, but wow has this ever changed my prospective on things and has forced me to come to terms about the decisions I have yet to make. No more excuses.

in the dead of night

I begin to house sit tomorrow! It's like a mini vacation for myself. This house is massive and I get to house sit two pure bread Huskies!!

In other words, this will be me..

Gold

These were my 'resolutions' and goals from Jan 1 of this year.. 

1. be the best possible version of myself.
2. dedicate and motivate! 
3. believe
4. minimize doubts.
5. get tattoo's. 
6. hike more often. 
7. drink more tea and read more books. 
8. explore the unexplorable. 
9. do something out of character. 
10. get liscense and buy a car. 
11. take up yoga. 
12. sleep longer. 
13. love more. 
14. appreciate more.
15. give more, take less. 
16. think more with my heart and less with my head. 
17. get a bold hair cut. 
18. stand out. 

12/18 is pretty great! I will be taking some of the leftover resolutions and adding a lot more to a new list for the year 2012. Nothing like a little goal setting to push you into motivation mode. =) 

Explore. Dream. Discover.

I cannot wait to experience what the world has to offer. To see things my heart will always cherish. Sky dive, bungee jump, take a step in all the oceans, take many things off of my bucket list. 

In short: I cannot wait to live.