* New Purchase *

The newest addition to our home:

two

SKY CHAIRS

These are like individual hammocks.  You can put them on the porch, on an A-frame (kinda like a swing set) or on a large tree branch, like a tire swing.

You see, I just attended my first Renaissance Fair, and it was a lot of fun.  It was interesting, to say the least!  I attended a joust, a juggling act, a fire-eating presentation, and saw some people get hypnotized.  It was kind of hot, but it was a fun time!  Although I didn't eat a turkey leg, as I had anticipated...having some some Philly cheese fries, a large pickle, a bag of cinnamon roasted almonds, and a few bits of a chocolate chip ice cream bar (by faaaaar one of the best things I've eaten in a LOOONG time) made the day even better!

However, the coziest spot at the fair had these "Sky Chairs" set up under a small pavilion.  Every now and then, people would walk by and ask about them.  I don't know about them, but for me it was "love at first sight". They are SO COZY!  They have a silly foot rest, I know.  But you can't knock it 'til you try it.  And you can't buy just one...you have to buy two!  Who wants to enjoy this all alone?  So...they will be adorning our front porch sometime this week.

And I just CAN'T WAIT...doesn't it look so inviting?  I'll tell you what...the next time you come over for a visit, I *might* let you sit in Steven's chair!  :)

My new favorite...

Just the other day,

I stumbled upon THIS blog:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

It doesn't always have the cleanest language, so beware.

However, the author, Allie, is brilliant.

She makes me laugh

ALL. THE. TIME.

Check it out!

(there's a list on the right of some of her most famous blog entries....so funny!)

Seriously? ... SERIOUSLY!!!

WELL...It didn't paste quite so well into Blogger.  

Oh well.

Take a look below, and see if you can decipher what this means.

Your Direct Loans

Account Number Status Repayment Plan Principal Balance Fixed Payment Current Due Past Due Late Charges Total Due Due Date
*****2697-1
Loan Details Paid in Full Standard $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
*****2697-2
Loan Details Paid in Full Standard $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Totals N/A N/A $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 N/A

 

Seriously?

SERIOUSLY!!!

:)

...today is a great day!

Book of Travels

We finally finished our photo book!!!  It's only taken us 2 months to get it done.  WOW!  Two weeks worth of sightseeing and photo-taking sure does take a long time to organize!!!

If you dare...take a peak at what will be coming in the mail in about 2 weeks:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Get two beers and Jump!

If you watch Jimmy Fallon's late night show, you'd know what I was referring to in the title of this post.

Yes, that is what I've occupied my time with this summer...tv shows (a lot of them!).

On Tuesday night, he sang a song about the Jet Blue man...you know the famous STEVE SLATER they are all talking about.  If you don't watch the news...and don't pay attention to Hollywood gossip much, you may have to Google this one.

Basically, this guy has become a hero, overnight.  A hero for...what?  He was a flight attendant (did he get fired YET?), who got angry, yelled a few obscene things over the PA system, grabbed 2 beers, and exited out the emergency exit of the plane...after 28 years of working for the plane company.

My view of the situation...HILARIOUS!  Have you seen this Steve guy anyway?  U.G.L.Y.  I mean, I'm sure he'll get a free makeover out of this, and he'll have a reality show before you know it.  This guy is set for life...no more jobs for him.  He'll retire in riches, and I'll still be punching the clock, so to speak.

Anyway, back to Jimmy Fallon.  He sang a song called "Grab two beers and jump"...this was the 2nd song, that I could find on You Tube.  He did a different one on Tuesday, but can't find it anywhere.  See for yourself...it will crack you up!

Personally, my two favorite lines are:

"When people with ugly feet wear flip flops you gotta get two beers & jump"

& the best of all...

"When somebody tells you what happened on Jersey Shore you gotta get two beers & jump"

What is your favorite "annoyance"

...you can use one of Jimmy's line, or just make up your own!

EUROPE - Part 5

ITALY

We sailed from Greece to Italy on a ferry.  Now, I know what you're thinking....a ferry?  Yes.  And it was more like a cruise liner, if you ask me.  The boat was HUGE, the room was nice (except for the itty bitty shower curtain w/ only 2 hooks), the air was cool on the top deck, the food was good (for cafeteria food, anyway...well, except for the price).  What more could you ask for?

Well, what is a "field trip" with a group of 45 without a little bit of misfortune?  Well...the next morning, we got a very strange wake up call!  At 8:30 am, I was woken by the captain making the announcement to "Abandon Ship".  Now, this was heard in THREE languages (Greek, Italian, & English). It was VERY loud. And, it was repeated three times that EVERY passenger needed to cooperate.  I ask Steven what we were supposed to do, and we had no clue!  We meet up w/ some other ladies from the trip, decide we should probably go to the top deck to jump overboard if necessary (isn't that what you'd think it meant to abandon ship???), and we met a man working on the ferry at the staircase.  We ask him where we were supposed to go for the emergency drill, and he said "you can go anywhere you want".  That was NOT helpful. at. all.  Needless to say, we went to the top deck only to see we were the only ones w/ crazy bed-hair, and our pjs on.  Everyone else was eating breakfast, reading books, and swimming in the pool as if nothing had happened.  The funniest part of it all came at breakfast, when we learned that 10 of our group had to stand in a corner with life jackets on for 30 minutes. They, too, were the ONLY ones mandated to do so.  People passed by left and right...and they tried to remove their jackets, and were yelled at quickly.  At least I didn't have to do that!!!  ha!

Pics from the ferry:

This is a view from the top deck:

This is a pic of the one meal we ate, before getting off in Italy.  It was pasta....so good!  You can see that Steven & I got the same dish. All together, for 2 pastas, 2 rolls, & 2 waters....it was $35.  Not so cheap.

This is a picture of one of the areas in the middle deck.  There were 3-4 of them. There was a snack bar at one end, tables in the middle, and in this particular room, there was also a mini stage where bands performed the night before.

AND...dun dun dun dun...

This is what we see as soon as we step off the ferry-

Welcome to ITALY!  It was definitely different from Greek architecture! 

I have to say, Italy was my favorite country we visited this summer.  The atmosphere seemed perfect. The people were very polite.  I no longer felt completely lost when it came to understanding the language.  Spanish & Italian are VERY similar, so it was easy to understand them & talk to them (even though occasionally we'd be conversing in two languages, really), and they understood English very well, too.

We stayed in a small town outside of Florence. It was a very nice hotel, and the food was excellent! The night life in this small resort town was nice.  We ventured out, and saw all sorts of people walking about, and dining on the patios. There were lots of expensive shops, so we could tell that this was "the place to be" in the summer time.

Here are a few pics of the little town we stayed in:

This was a cute little sign, to point the way to Florence (Firenze, in Italian):

I told you, we went out at night, so here are a few night shots (even got one of Steven in the rain):

And...the next morning, when the rain had stopped, this is the view from our hotel balcony:

So...the first day in Italy (on a Sunday), we went to Pisa.  Yes, we went to see the leaning tower! But there was SO MUCH more to see.  There is an entire plaza, and the tower is only part of the beauty of this place.  There is a baptistery (the largest in the world), a cemetery, and a huge cathedral. Of course, we got to visit all of these sites.  Normally, the cemetery is closed to visitors.  BUT, we visited on a Sunday, and couldn't really walk around the cathedral...we could only peek in the back of the church. So, they allowed us to go into the cemetery that day.

And just to warn you...pictures will never be able to do this place justice.  It is simply amazing!

This is the view of the square when we first arrived.  The sun was shining bright. You can see a bit of the baptistery (to the left of the photo), the cathedral in the middle (can't miss it), and the tower to the right, tucked in behind the church)

Okay, so I forgot to flip this pic (oops), but this is how it looked as we exited.  This is a beautiful pic...just turn your head sideways a bit to experience it (sorry, again!).

Here's the cemetery. There are coffins (real ones) to the right, and they were on the left as well.  The entire cemetery is a rectangle w/ a garden in the middle. And...did you notice the floor? Yes, people are buried underneath the walkway!  gross...we walked on dead people!  And on the walls are murals that are slowly being restored.

This is the baptistery. Like I said earlier, this is the largest in the world. We went inside and they have people come every hour to demonstrate the acoustics. It was amazing...they sang simple chords, and we stood in awe just listening.  You can see the cemetery in the background, and the church sits across the courtyard (to the right, in the pic).  This is a pic of what it looks like inside the baptistery, from the top. Towards the top, you can see the chair and pulpit (to the left) where the preacher stands, and where they make a sermon before/after the baptism.  The round structure toward the bottom is where you are baptized.  They still baptize today in here.  In the middle of the baptism font stands John the Baptist.

This is me, doing the silly pose that everyone does...holding up the tower. ENJOY!  Yes...it is heavy!  ha!

This is a shot of the tower, as we walked past it.  So beautiful. Sorry...it's turned the wrong way, again.  Yes, you can go inside it and climb to the top, for $20/person.  But, they only allow 30 people up, every 30 minutes.  That means you have to make it to the top and back down again in half an hour...and if you think about it, that is over 1,000 stairs to climb in 30 min.  NO...we did not decide to go in the tower.  Whew!

These were some of the vendors waiting to make a sell, outside of the square.

This is a pic of the vendor where we ate our lunch.  I ate a hot dog smothered in ketchup and mayo...GROSS!  Steven ate a chicken sandwich. The variety of beverages was amazing!

And last, but not least...us, about ready to leave one of the most fascinating places in Italy. Here, it was overcast for a bit. It sprinkled while we were there, but all in all...it was perfect for touring this plaza!!!

Up next....Florence

EUROPE - Part 4

GREECE

The FINAL Days

DELPHI

The Saronic Cruise was the last day we spent in Athens.  From there, we headed to Delphi to see the ancient ruins of Apollo & other Greek Gods & Goddesses.  On the way to Delphi, we passed through a the small town of Arachova...which only has one narrow street that runs through the middle of it.  It is the only way to get to Delphi, which is stuck in the middle of nowhere, really.  Our bus driver, Kris, was amazing at navigating through these small roads.  We only had one mishap, when he hit the awning of a local restaurant (oops!).  Take it from me...it was VERY scary when we came around the bend only to barely miss the side mirrors of an oncoming tour bus!  Yikes!  I'm so glad we made it through it safely!  See for yourself in these pics, taken from my seat in the tour bus:

Seeeeeee...I told you it was scary!!!!!

Anyway, we got to Delphi around 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon.  Again, it was over 100 degrees outside, and we weren't eating lunch until afterwards (can you imagine???).  So again, we were let loose to peruse through these ancient ruins by ourselves, and afterwards we'd meet our tour guide who would tell us about what we saw.  I have to admit...I made it only halfway up the mountain.  I had a migraine and was suffering from the extreme heat, so I decided to wait in the shade and I watched Steven climb to the top, to see the Olympic Stadium, until he disappeared for about 15 minutes.  He got a short video where he said if he ever went back, he was never climbing to the top again!  But just seeing the video makes you have goosebumps.  It is huge.  Such history lies in a place like this.  And to think places like this are still being discovered today.  To be able to walk among these ruins, and feel the spirit of the Greek Mythology was something I'll never forget.  It was so calm and serene.

Pic #1: This is the treasury of the Arthenians.  Interesting.

Pic #2: This is what is left of Apollo's temple.  I wish I could've seen it back in the old days!  It would've been so cool!

Pic #3: This is the view of Delphi, as we started hiking up the mountain.  Man...it was scorching outside, but the experience of climbing up these winding paths was amazing.  The history that you are witnessing, and the "spirit of Delphi" was indescribable.

Pic #4-5: This is the view of Delphi from above. How in the world the Athenians managed to build such a city o the sides of these steep mountains is beyond me.  However, I do know how they were so athletic...from walking up and down these stairs so much!!  ha ha ha

Pic #6-7: Steven & I, in front of the arena.  I only went up a little higher than this...then I went back down to the shade.  This arena was HUGE.

After exploring the ruins of Delphi, we went to an air-conditioned museum where they showcase various things they have found, things that belonged to the Athenians.  I'm sure Steven enjoyed every minute of his perusing through the museum. As for me, I laid flat on a bench with sweat and tears running down my cheek.  Little did I know, but my migraine would last for the next 2 hours.  It. was. TERRIBLE.

METEORA

After Delphi, we headed to Meteora, which was one of my favorite places we ventured to.  I think it is because of the land formations.  I have NEVER seen such miraculous architecture in my life!  I mean, the buildings are such unique pieces of artwork, yes.  But to think that God made the land so perfect...it's almost like these monasteries were meant to be built here.  Now, we saw a LOT of catholic churches, but these monasteries fascinated me like I never imagined.  See for yourself:

(side note:  See the ropes coming through the windows of the above pic?  That's how they used to get food and water into the buildings, before there were roads built.  Interesting.)

Anyway, we actually visited 2 of the 5 monasteries which are still standing today. Originally, there were over 25 of these built, but over the years (from severe weather and deterioration) only 5 of them are still standing and are fully operational.  Visitors are allowed in, and it was really interesting to see their way of life, and to learn about the Greek Orthodox Church. One we visited was more monks, and the other for nuns. It wasn't until about 25 years ago that women were even allowed inside these monasteries.  And yes, all women (even the visitors had to wear skirts inside).  Here's proof: 

Pic #1: standing outside the 1st monastery, in my beautiful skirt. It was hot...at least men could wear knee-length shorts.

Pic #2: standing atop the same monastery. The view from here was stunning. 

 Pic #3: In the middle of each monastery, there is always an open courtyard. It was so nice and breezy here. Such a nice area.

All in all, it was a GREAT last 2 days in Greece, in Delphi & Meteora!

And, that about sums it up for Greece.  After the monasteries, we got on a ferry boat and traveled to Italy.  Oh yeah...there's a story there!

 

Because there was construction going on, on the road to Meteora, we had to take a 3 hour detour.  That put us behind. Then, we went to a store where they made their golden idols...the store was on fire. So, we took another detour. We get a call saying our ferry is leaving an hour earlier. We missed dinner, and had to have food delivered to us in a trash bag. When we got to the port to board the ferry, our border patrol boarded our bus and asked a bazillion questions, and some of us didn't have our story straight...can you imagine going through all of this (plus not even remembering what day we even arrived in Greece b/c of our flights being canceled and changed???).  Anyway, we made it...barely!  The ferry boat was quite an experience in itself...we'll save it for next time. :)

Stay tuned for Part 5....

¡Viva Italia!