Why are people crazy?
Watched a World War II movie and ever since I heard the story of my friend's family it affects me more and more. I made it through almost the entire movie without a tear then the last 30 seconds I lost it. I haven't stopped since.
People were telling me its only a movie, but to me it represents so many lives. Man I'm a sappy girl, but you all knew that.
This movie is a beautiful story about the ultimate sacrifice.
That's all I wanted to say.
Love you guys.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
25 beers for 25 years
Well its been a while and I'm sorry. I have been busy busy with school. BUT I have had some time to explore and celebrate with my friends here....
We had a day off a while ago and 2 girls, Giampietro and I all headed to Trieste, Italy then on to Slovenia to see Portorose and Purian. All three are beautiful seaside cities. I had the best seafood of my life in Trieste. We had a great time and I have never seen Giampietro so relaxed. He's like a 42 year old negative Ned. Always complaining about something or making tacky jokes about America, but you just gotta love him! He looked 10 years younger! Gen and I chased him with some streamer we found on the street through the center square of Trieste. We didn't explore all the towns like we wanted because it was bitter cold. In Portorose we walked around just a bit then hit the casino... I won 10 euros. GO ME! lol.
On the way home we stopped at a pizzeria in Monte Bulluna - Dad it was better than the one we ate at I promise. He did say that there was another one on the other side of town like he liked more. I told him we'd have to go there next time. They have pizzerias in Italy like the our gas stations in the states. Oh and I almost forgot about the drinks Giampietro ordered!! They have these delcious little smoothie drinks. They put them in fun little glasses and its made with lemon gelato, prossecco, and a splash of vodka... he said he and his buddy used to order them a pitcher at a time! We had two and called it good. :) They were so pretty though! 'll make them when I get back! :)
Two nights ago James turned 25. We held a pub crawl for him that went just swimmingly. The title of this blog was basically his theme for the night! I think we had everyone show up for the dinner portion, or close to it anyways. Its always a good time when we all get together.
OK off to dinner... my tummy to growling. Love you guys!!
We had a day off a while ago and 2 girls, Giampietro and I all headed to Trieste, Italy then on to Slovenia to see Portorose and Purian. All three are beautiful seaside cities. I had the best seafood of my life in Trieste. We had a great time and I have never seen Giampietro so relaxed. He's like a 42 year old negative Ned. Always complaining about something or making tacky jokes about America, but you just gotta love him! He looked 10 years younger! Gen and I chased him with some streamer we found on the street through the center square of Trieste. We didn't explore all the towns like we wanted because it was bitter cold. In Portorose we walked around just a bit then hit the casino... I won 10 euros. GO ME! lol.
On the way home we stopped at a pizzeria in Monte Bulluna - Dad it was better than the one we ate at I promise. He did say that there was another one on the other side of town like he liked more. I told him we'd have to go there next time. They have pizzerias in Italy like the our gas stations in the states. Oh and I almost forgot about the drinks Giampietro ordered!! They have these delcious little smoothie drinks. They put them in fun little glasses and its made with lemon gelato, prossecco, and a splash of vodka... he said he and his buddy used to order them a pitcher at a time! We had two and called it good. :) They were so pretty though! 'll make them when I get back! :)
Two nights ago James turned 25. We held a pub crawl for him that went just swimmingly. The title of this blog was basically his theme for the night! I think we had everyone show up for the dinner portion, or close to it anyways. Its always a good time when we all get together.
OK off to dinner... my tummy to growling. Love you guys!!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Will this story ever end?
Ok, so we are on our way to Innsbruck, Austria. The ride through the mountains - well more like around them - was beautiful, although not as beautiful as the drive back to Asolo, but that's coming later. :) The Italians seem to build bridges just off the side of the mountain instead of carving into them like in Colorado. You feel a lot safer I must say.
So we got to Innsbruck and planned on hanging out for a bit and grabbing lunch. We couldn't decide on a restaurant so we ate wieners and potatoes from one of the street vendors. It was REALLY good. We walked around for about two hours and dad snapped photos like he was the paparazzi the entire time... this was a recurring theme. Too hardly any of the pics are of actual people. :)
From Innsbruck we head up to Munich. Sadly we were bumper to bumper traffic for most of the way.It took us like two extra hours to get there. We were not very happy campers when we arrived. So we decided to go eat then walk around the center and sight see the following morning.
We went to the Hofbrau house for a few beers and had dinner there. We luckily sat in a random table with the most amazing people. The bad news starts when I go to pay the bill... my card was MISSING! I'll cut this part short and tell you I dropped it at a gas station in Innsbruck.The man at the station gave it to his bank so no fraudulent charges or anything. Hopefully a new one is in the mail!! After dinner with our new friends dad and I decided to start heading back to the hotel... too bad my purse was not on my shoulder when we got back - too many layers of clothes! It was freezing that night! I'll cut this story short too... someone stole my purse rifled through it then left it in the men's restroom in the Ratskeller restaurant. We didn't even go there! The owner found it, called my house phone in OK... it was 4 in the morning Okie time. Successfully flipped out the family at home then failed to report it to the police. Meanwhile dad and I hitting some serious pavement looking for it, we even filed a police report!
Anyway we got it back a few days later wiht only $200 gone... they left the euros and the English pounds. I just hope I let someone feed their family. They didn't take my dad's camera - although I don't know who would, the thing is like 5 years old!
We actually had to leave Munich without it because we were already running behind and we thought we'd never see it again. So the story continues... We head to Regensburg at this point. And we had traffic again. We are both thinking that we can't get any more unlucky! Then miraculously the traffic clear, I mean it was when we almost there, but it was something positive. For the record, I was positive Patty through all this. Dad will understand this next comment: I was out of the box!
Oh I almost forgot, on the way out of Munich we did stop at the concentration camp in Dachau... if you ever get a chance to visit one, DO. Its not so much what you see, but its how you feel. Its a very humbling, serene feeling. It was my second time seeing one and I think it hit me more this time, because I had recently heard stories of friend whose family lost many in those camps. We basically just walked in read a few signs and walked out. Dad and I just couldn't handle it.
Alrighty, Regensburg, it was starting to snow pretty heavily so we just drove through. It was a beautiful city... dad said it reminded him of Hanzel and Gretel! It didn't get bombed in the war so it still had its charm.
Then we headed to Nuremberg. Dad is a nervous wreck at this point... driving in the snow, with no camera and my purse was missing plus we still hadn't figured out what happened to my check card. We arrived at our hotel, the Hilton in one piece. We pulled the ultimate lazy evening. Ate dinner in the hotel and talked to the family back home - we had to calm them down and reassure that we were not lying in the ditch somewhere.
The next morning we woke up early and went out sight seeing. Oh I have to tell you about the breakfast!! If you ever stay at a Hilton do NOT miss out on the breakfast. It was AWESOME. They had salmon, eggs, grilled mushrooms, sausages, grilled tomatoes stuffed with cheese... and SO much more. YUM!
Ok, so back to Nuremberg. We spent the entire morning walked around the old city center. We did not get to go into the tunnels under Nuremberg but that just means I'll have to go back. We climbed up to the castle, saw the lucky golden ring on a beautiful fountain, and hung out in the main square for a few seconds. Really a neat city but its actually a large city, we just stayed in the center.
After Nuremberg we had to make a detour trip to Munich to pick up my purse. We had gotten a hold of the restaurant and they were holding it for me. This is when luck really started to shift. We left in a snow storm and traffic and just a few miles outside of Nuremberg the skies cleared and NO more traffic!! I think dad almost started crying - and if not then when we found out his camera was still in my purse!
OK OK, enough making fun of him for now. While in Munich we saw the BMW Welt but didn't get to see all the antique cars because the museum was closed. We did get to walk around the Olympic area. Dad showed me the apartments where the hostages were held, another sobering moment in my life. I just can't imagine the anger some people harbor for complete strangers. The buildings were kind of funny looking. I don't remember if any of you guys remember them but its like cranes holding everything up... designed like that. Dad has multiple photos. I also was surprised to see how close together everything is in the village. We peeked into the swimming building and people were actually swimming in there. Kind of odd.
From here we move on to Fussen. We had more clear skies and no traffic still, dad has his camera and finally a smile on his face. Life is good on this drive. We even pulled into a little place to get a snack, sausage cheese and a piece of bread. It was amazing. We did well. All the small towns on the way had churches with the same kind of steeple... there was always a big ball on it! Bavarian styled but I didn't know that's how Bavarians built things - it looked very Middle Eastern to me. Beautiful.
So we got to where we were staying, which was a tiny little town a stones throw outside of Fussen. We had a view of one of the castles and everything! We were very lucky with our views of things in all the places we stayed. And the bed at this place was SO comfy!!
That night we decided to try out a place the owner suggested. When we finally found it we were banned to the beer garden - apparently there were no tables available on the inside. At least they had heaters and tent where we were! The portions were huge and the beer was good. They even pour a shot of sherry into your mouth directly from a little barrel! We had to test that out. :)
The next morning we were up and off to the castles. Tickets - check, 30 minute walk up a hill - check, noticing when your tour starts so you don't have to go with a later group - NO check. Oops, we were hiding in the gift store because it was so cold and we missed our tour! Good thing there was anotehr one like 30 minutes later. We toured King Ludwig's personal castle - not his parents one, which is a stones throw away.
After our tour we scooted down the hill pretty quickly and we were off! We stopped in Garmisch to eat... it was delicious. Dad had trout and I had a sampling plate of Balkan foods. I do not know exactly what I ate besides a lot of pork, but I do know I want the recipe!
Finally it was time to head back to Asolo. This is Tuesday afternoon and we had a four drive then I had class at 9 on Wednesday morning. The way back was so peaceful. All our drama behind us and I think we are closer than ever now. We shared experiences that can never be replicated and I'm grateful I had that opportunity. I love you Dad!!
He snapped pictures the whole way back and told me I missed beautiful scenery - I'm sure I did, but scenery is not what I'm taking from this "vacation".
So we got to Innsbruck and planned on hanging out for a bit and grabbing lunch. We couldn't decide on a restaurant so we ate wieners and potatoes from one of the street vendors. It was REALLY good. We walked around for about two hours and dad snapped photos like he was the paparazzi the entire time... this was a recurring theme. Too hardly any of the pics are of actual people. :)
From Innsbruck we head up to Munich. Sadly we were bumper to bumper traffic for most of the way.It took us like two extra hours to get there. We were not very happy campers when we arrived. So we decided to go eat then walk around the center and sight see the following morning.
We went to the Hofbrau house for a few beers and had dinner there. We luckily sat in a random table with the most amazing people. The bad news starts when I go to pay the bill... my card was MISSING! I'll cut this part short and tell you I dropped it at a gas station in Innsbruck.The man at the station gave it to his bank so no fraudulent charges or anything. Hopefully a new one is in the mail!! After dinner with our new friends dad and I decided to start heading back to the hotel... too bad my purse was not on my shoulder when we got back - too many layers of clothes! It was freezing that night! I'll cut this story short too... someone stole my purse rifled through it then left it in the men's restroom in the Ratskeller restaurant. We didn't even go there! The owner found it, called my house phone in OK... it was 4 in the morning Okie time. Successfully flipped out the family at home then failed to report it to the police. Meanwhile dad and I hitting some serious pavement looking for it, we even filed a police report!
Anyway we got it back a few days later wiht only $200 gone... they left the euros and the English pounds. I just hope I let someone feed their family. They didn't take my dad's camera - although I don't know who would, the thing is like 5 years old!
We actually had to leave Munich without it because we were already running behind and we thought we'd never see it again. So the story continues... We head to Regensburg at this point. And we had traffic again. We are both thinking that we can't get any more unlucky! Then miraculously the traffic clear, I mean it was when we almost there, but it was something positive. For the record, I was positive Patty through all this. Dad will understand this next comment: I was out of the box!
Oh I almost forgot, on the way out of Munich we did stop at the concentration camp in Dachau... if you ever get a chance to visit one, DO. Its not so much what you see, but its how you feel. Its a very humbling, serene feeling. It was my second time seeing one and I think it hit me more this time, because I had recently heard stories of friend whose family lost many in those camps. We basically just walked in read a few signs and walked out. Dad and I just couldn't handle it.
Alrighty, Regensburg, it was starting to snow pretty heavily so we just drove through. It was a beautiful city... dad said it reminded him of Hanzel and Gretel! It didn't get bombed in the war so it still had its charm.
Then we headed to Nuremberg. Dad is a nervous wreck at this point... driving in the snow, with no camera and my purse was missing plus we still hadn't figured out what happened to my check card. We arrived at our hotel, the Hilton in one piece. We pulled the ultimate lazy evening. Ate dinner in the hotel and talked to the family back home - we had to calm them down and reassure that we were not lying in the ditch somewhere.
The next morning we woke up early and went out sight seeing. Oh I have to tell you about the breakfast!! If you ever stay at a Hilton do NOT miss out on the breakfast. It was AWESOME. They had salmon, eggs, grilled mushrooms, sausages, grilled tomatoes stuffed with cheese... and SO much more. YUM!
Ok, so back to Nuremberg. We spent the entire morning walked around the old city center. We did not get to go into the tunnels under Nuremberg but that just means I'll have to go back. We climbed up to the castle, saw the lucky golden ring on a beautiful fountain, and hung out in the main square for a few seconds. Really a neat city but its actually a large city, we just stayed in the center.
After Nuremberg we had to make a detour trip to Munich to pick up my purse. We had gotten a hold of the restaurant and they were holding it for me. This is when luck really started to shift. We left in a snow storm and traffic and just a few miles outside of Nuremberg the skies cleared and NO more traffic!! I think dad almost started crying - and if not then when we found out his camera was still in my purse!
OK OK, enough making fun of him for now. While in Munich we saw the BMW Welt but didn't get to see all the antique cars because the museum was closed. We did get to walk around the Olympic area. Dad showed me the apartments where the hostages were held, another sobering moment in my life. I just can't imagine the anger some people harbor for complete strangers. The buildings were kind of funny looking. I don't remember if any of you guys remember them but its like cranes holding everything up... designed like that. Dad has multiple photos. I also was surprised to see how close together everything is in the village. We peeked into the swimming building and people were actually swimming in there. Kind of odd.
From here we move on to Fussen. We had more clear skies and no traffic still, dad has his camera and finally a smile on his face. Life is good on this drive. We even pulled into a little place to get a snack, sausage cheese and a piece of bread. It was amazing. We did well. All the small towns on the way had churches with the same kind of steeple... there was always a big ball on it! Bavarian styled but I didn't know that's how Bavarians built things - it looked very Middle Eastern to me. Beautiful.
So we got to where we were staying, which was a tiny little town a stones throw outside of Fussen. We had a view of one of the castles and everything! We were very lucky with our views of things in all the places we stayed. And the bed at this place was SO comfy!!
That night we decided to try out a place the owner suggested. When we finally found it we were banned to the beer garden - apparently there were no tables available on the inside. At least they had heaters and tent where we were! The portions were huge and the beer was good. They even pour a shot of sherry into your mouth directly from a little barrel! We had to test that out. :)
The next morning we were up and off to the castles. Tickets - check, 30 minute walk up a hill - check, noticing when your tour starts so you don't have to go with a later group - NO check. Oops, we were hiding in the gift store because it was so cold and we missed our tour! Good thing there was anotehr one like 30 minutes later. We toured King Ludwig's personal castle - not his parents one, which is a stones throw away.
After our tour we scooted down the hill pretty quickly and we were off! We stopped in Garmisch to eat... it was delicious. Dad had trout and I had a sampling plate of Balkan foods. I do not know exactly what I ate besides a lot of pork, but I do know I want the recipe!
Finally it was time to head back to Asolo. This is Tuesday afternoon and we had a four drive then I had class at 9 on Wednesday morning. The way back was so peaceful. All our drama behind us and I think we are closer than ever now. We shared experiences that can never be replicated and I'm grateful I had that opportunity. I love you Dad!!
He snapped pictures the whole way back and told me I missed beautiful scenery - I'm sure I did, but scenery is not what I'm taking from this "vacation".
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Random cont.
So we saw the Sistine Chapel and climbed to the top of St. Peter's Basilica.Those two thing took us all day because of long lines, but if we didn't do them we might have regretted it. Dad kept stopping at the most random things... like he was more interested the of the Pantheon then the actual building. We found the cutest little deli and restaurant right off the Pantheon. Its a street that jets out from the front area of the Pantheon. If your back is to the building and your level with the fountain go right.The deli is the second one on your right. The old lady that works there is the picture perfect Italian. She was tiny, spoke English and was named Marcela (sp?). The restaurant was the right as well but it was before the deli. The had good pasta at decent prices.
So after Rome we caught a train to Florence. They had told us the walk to the hotel was like 5 minutes and to not take a cab... well 15 minutes later and down a side street we found the place. We had a view of the chapel from our balcony. We were exhausted when we got there so we decided to just go eat then call it an early night. We went a restaurant and ordered a Florentine steak with french fries and fried artichokes. It was the best steak I've ever had. Dad preferred the fries I think. He couldn't get over how perfectly cooked they were!
Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Florence. We just saw the stuff in the main square then we took off the next morning to Sienna. Its one of the best preserved mid evil cities in Italy. It was beautiful, and its in the heart of Tuscany. Dad talked about wanting to take mom there. How sweet. lol
From Sienna it was back to Florence to get our bags then we were on another train to Rome ti get the rental car. THEN we drove to Asolo for New Years... dad driving a rental car is hilarious. He was all tense and cranky. We made it to Asolo and found out that the local Pizzeria, Maria's, was open for the night!! There was a wait to be seated so we got a glass of wine and dad watched Saverio make the pizzas. We was totally in awe of him. SO cute!!
We spent most of the night there and dad made friends with the table next to us. He even gave the guy his business card! Needless to say, dad got a text the next morning wishing him a Happy New Year! hahaha!!
The next day, the first, we decided to take a day off and hang out in Asolo, plus we were having trouble finding a hotel for the day of. So we ate pasta at Epoca and booked hotels all day. Not asrelaxing as we would have wanted but it was needed. Well that's all of Italy. Next we head to Austria then on to Germany....
So after Rome we caught a train to Florence. They had told us the walk to the hotel was like 5 minutes and to not take a cab... well 15 minutes later and down a side street we found the place. We had a view of the chapel from our balcony. We were exhausted when we got there so we decided to just go eat then call it an early night. We went a restaurant and ordered a Florentine steak with french fries and fried artichokes. It was the best steak I've ever had. Dad preferred the fries I think. He couldn't get over how perfectly cooked they were!
Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Florence. We just saw the stuff in the main square then we took off the next morning to Sienna. Its one of the best preserved mid evil cities in Italy. It was beautiful, and its in the heart of Tuscany. Dad talked about wanting to take mom there. How sweet. lol
From Sienna it was back to Florence to get our bags then we were on another train to Rome ti get the rental car. THEN we drove to Asolo for New Years... dad driving a rental car is hilarious. He was all tense and cranky. We made it to Asolo and found out that the local Pizzeria, Maria's, was open for the night!! There was a wait to be seated so we got a glass of wine and dad watched Saverio make the pizzas. We was totally in awe of him. SO cute!!
We spent most of the night there and dad made friends with the table next to us. He even gave the guy his business card! Needless to say, dad got a text the next morning wishing him a Happy New Year! hahaha!!
The next day, the first, we decided to take a day off and hang out in Asolo, plus we were having trouble finding a hotel for the day of. So we ate pasta at Epoca and booked hotels all day. Not asrelaxing as we would have wanted but it was needed. Well that's all of Italy. Next we head to Austria then on to Germany....
Monday, January 4, 2010
Rambling
Hey-O everyone! This blog is going to be short and random. Its random due to the fact that I've traveled so much lately.
I went to Ireland for Christmas and it was great. I still really want to see the rest of Ireland because I've only been to Dublin... I will one day. Just not this time around. We got to listen to folk music and drink Guinness that was as smooth as milk. Gen and I cooked a HUGE Christmas dinner. I now have a new appreciation for Mom when she cooks and we're all just sitting around - the frustration with people snacking ALL day and watching movies and when they strategically ask if you need any help after everything is practically done. Hopefully after that experience I'll be a better Christmas Day meal eater. :) We made two different kinds of stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, and a butternut squash dish... I wrote about that dish before. It was really good! One of the stuffings was store bought but everything else was homemade! I even made sausage rolls that morning. We couldn't find any biscuit dough so I used some pastry stuff. I didn't have to freeze it that way. Everyone still seemed to like it. The sausages in Ireland are like white! i had to assure everyone that yes it was cooked. haha!
Then I went to London to see and old friend. H, who used to play basketball at OCU, lives in Essex and plays pro basketball now. His real name is Haggai but everyone just calls him H. We stayed at his sister's place in Golder's Green - an area of London. We just hung out and didn't do a lot of touristy things.. We did got to Camden Town which are huge markets... my mom would have died! One night we even ended up at a bar where I had been with some of the people from my Copenhagen class when the school took us to London. Small world and SO random! Oh and H ordered us some food from a Israeli place... it was awesome! It was like a huge wrap with lamb and chicken meat. Man I wish I would have taken a picture of it. LOL.
After that I flew to meet my dad in Venice. We landed at about the same time so they let me stay in the baggage area to meet him. Talk about curbside service! As soon as he came to get his luggage I was there. We then dropped our bags off at the rail station and went exploring for a bit in Venice. He came out of the station and the entire city just lays in front of you. You can see some of the old buildings and the canal. Guess what?... teary eyed old dad! hahaha. We walked around a while and just kind of munched on stuff.
Then we hopped on the night train to Rome. We actually went a little earlier than we we planned so we got in about 9 or a little later. We decided to go eat around the corner from our hotel. It was SO good! Turns out dad likes wine. We got all appetizers and some of the house wine. It turned into a feast! We slept in pretty late because it was dad's first night and his body was still adjusting to the new time zone. We saw all the big attractions. Something we did that I hadn't done before was seeing the Sistine Chapel. Man it was gorgeous and a maze!
Well I better stop here. We have to go see Nuremberg. I'll finish later... XOXO
I went to Ireland for Christmas and it was great. I still really want to see the rest of Ireland because I've only been to Dublin... I will one day. Just not this time around. We got to listen to folk music and drink Guinness that was as smooth as milk. Gen and I cooked a HUGE Christmas dinner. I now have a new appreciation for Mom when she cooks and we're all just sitting around - the frustration with people snacking ALL day and watching movies and when they strategically ask if you need any help after everything is practically done. Hopefully after that experience I'll be a better Christmas Day meal eater. :) We made two different kinds of stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, and a butternut squash dish... I wrote about that dish before. It was really good! One of the stuffings was store bought but everything else was homemade! I even made sausage rolls that morning. We couldn't find any biscuit dough so I used some pastry stuff. I didn't have to freeze it that way. Everyone still seemed to like it. The sausages in Ireland are like white! i had to assure everyone that yes it was cooked. haha!
Then I went to London to see and old friend. H, who used to play basketball at OCU, lives in Essex and plays pro basketball now. His real name is Haggai but everyone just calls him H. We stayed at his sister's place in Golder's Green - an area of London. We just hung out and didn't do a lot of touristy things.. We did got to Camden Town which are huge markets... my mom would have died! One night we even ended up at a bar where I had been with some of the people from my Copenhagen class when the school took us to London. Small world and SO random! Oh and H ordered us some food from a Israeli place... it was awesome! It was like a huge wrap with lamb and chicken meat. Man I wish I would have taken a picture of it. LOL.
After that I flew to meet my dad in Venice. We landed at about the same time so they let me stay in the baggage area to meet him. Talk about curbside service! As soon as he came to get his luggage I was there. We then dropped our bags off at the rail station and went exploring for a bit in Venice. He came out of the station and the entire city just lays in front of you. You can see some of the old buildings and the canal. Guess what?... teary eyed old dad! hahaha. We walked around a while and just kind of munched on stuff.
Then we hopped on the night train to Rome. We actually went a little earlier than we we planned so we got in about 9 or a little later. We decided to go eat around the corner from our hotel. It was SO good! Turns out dad likes wine. We got all appetizers and some of the house wine. It turned into a feast! We slept in pretty late because it was dad's first night and his body was still adjusting to the new time zone. We saw all the big attractions. Something we did that I hadn't done before was seeing the Sistine Chapel. Man it was gorgeous and a maze!
Well I better stop here. We have to go see Nuremberg. I'll finish later... XOXO
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