Oh, Italy – 2 weeks is not enough!

I started off 2012 with a 9 1/2 hour flight, 6 hour time change, and landing in Italy for my first European adventure! Bringing along with me my 61 year old mother (who hasn’t seen anywhere apart from the good ol’ U. S. of A. or northern Mexico where she grew up), it was “an experience of a lifetime!” she says.

it really was.

life bestowed upon me an opportunity to travel, and i’d always dreamed of Italy. So, after months planning which cities to stay in, for how long, what to see, and making sure i wouldn’t be TOO lost. it happened! my own personal tour of Italy via trains and buses and family owned bed and breakfasts was a success….and yes, everything i had dreamed of and more!

i over-indulged on tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil….in every form possible!…

(just a fresh snack in front of the Colosseum – no big deal)

i’m caprese OBSESSED! ok, FOOD obsessed…believe me when i say i ate well. the food is deserving of its own post.

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Italy is an EYE-FUL! and just gorgeous! from the cities, to the rolling tuscan hills, to the coasts, the architecture, the nature, the tiny streets, the shops, the ART, the cathedrals, the details, and even the people.  it has so much to offer…

(mt. vesuvius)

we graduated from our “wanna be italiano” cooking class! (more on this later)

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ok, so here is a taste!

i took, and this is no exaggeration…1500 photos! no, i will not post 1500 pictures, but i WILL break down my trip and give more details on the highlights. and there are oh-so-many!

until then…ciao

love, whit

p.s. – florence was my FAVVVVY!!!!

italy is almost here

ok, i will!

when i first made the decision to go to italy – i was obsessed. every day i was researching and looking up things to do…making plans. but it always seemed so far off.

but it’s HERE now! ohmygoodness!!!!

and for a while i didn’t think about it…until mid december when i freaked a little and realized i needed to finalize my bookings. 4 hotels are now booked….Rome, Sorrento, Florence, and Siena. but of course time will be spent along the Amalfi coast..Pompeii!…Pisa…Venice…i will ride in a gondola. i will eat gelato. and cannoli. and legit italian margherita pizza. and we willllll be taking a private cooking class in Florence with an Italian chef! – making a three course meal in which going to the market to buy fresh ingredients and homemade pasta is included (i’m soSOso excited about that!). and of course museum tours. and historical sites.

to stand in the sistine chapel! – i can’t wait.

and it’s….just around the corner!

i start to get nervous…thinking i forgot something in my planning.

oh well….it’s happening!

flight = January 2nd…the best way to start off a new year…i’ll get to check a couple items off my bucket list!

any suggestions/tips/must-do’s for while i’m in Italy are very welcome!!! in fact…do you have any??

Atlanta, GA Aquarium

an afternoon at the world’s LARGEST aquarium. be jealous. it’s basically the best ever…although my hands smelled like fish all day because i chose to pet the sting rays first.

wait, the DEEP VOYAGE tunnel was the best…but let’s see some other things first. (minus the belugas…they moved too much..all my pics were blurry. and i forgot to take some of the piranhas who were noteworthy as well)…

(above: the dragon fish…way rad)

…african penguins…can you tell they’re swimming? probs not. crap photo.

i LOVE the jelly fish!

and then the fascination of the tropical reef wall that has waves at the top…

and then come the biggest fish known to man…the whale shark:

(i love this pic above)

favvvy

even lil troy enjoyed it…..kind of…

the GA Aquarium = worth it.

love, whit

4 day weekends

four day weekends are fantastic!

especially this one in which joe-beau came to visit.

i didn’t take as many photos as usual. strange, right? but, here are a few:

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we hiked to the top of stone mountain (a little chilly)…

we played with dave and paige…i just LOVE these two….

(dave and joe became pretty close)

atlantic station. new shoes. cpk. krispy kreme. jb christmas. and dj dave dance party. = a well spent weekend.

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this is how we felt about the world of coke…

(just a little overrated, but at least with good company)

our day at the Georgia Aquarium with lisa and pete (and lil troy) has yet to be documented…but coming soon.

love, whit

remember the apple festival??

speaking of things to be done…i have SO MANY photo updates from the past couple months that i keep telling myself i need to “blog”

we’ll start with the APPLE FESTIVAL in north georgia. The city of Ellijay to be exact. back in october…

here’s a selection from the day…

after apple picking and festivities…fresh apple pie turnovers and cider…we headed downtown to ellijay, explored the many shops/booths, heard live music, and enjoyed some good ol’ southern cookin -BBQ!

atlanta segway tour

so, as i mentioned before, my parents’ birthdays are this week.

as a present, something different and fun to do – we went on a SEGWAY TOUR of ATLANTA! it was – SO fun!

the rents:

let’s back up a bit…from the beginning…

mom, getting a feel for what we’re about to do before the segway safety/warm-up…

helmets and the safety video were mandatory…

then a little one-at-a-time practice on the segway. our group was my parents and i, a very cordial young bloke from the UK (it was his first time ever to the states – loved his accent), and a french canadian from montreal.

i didn’t get many pictures of the tour – it’s hard to manage a sensitive segway and a DSLR. but we did take a stop and walk around a bit at the capitol. mom really wanted a pic with good ol’ jimmy – the only US president from GA. the statue is life size of him, too…

our group:

mom took this one,

the shot i was taking in that picture:

a couple more from dad’s camera…

when we passed the Ritz Carlton, we made it at the same time as the pro football team from Philly. the Eagles – coming for the game against the Falcons. there were tv cameras and crowds – i managed to get my balance enough to snap a couple…too bad it’s just the back of some of the players…

the last “break” stop was at The Varsity. atlanta’s famous chili-dogs…

i wish i was able to get more pictures, but my coordination on the segway wasn’t the best…i didn’t want to bring my camera into it. i thought mom would have problems on the machines….turns out i was the one with “incidents”…yes, there was blood…

each segway had a name, mine was “Jack”…just when i got the hang of how to ride him, the day was over…

it was definitely a well-spent 3 hours…and the rents loved the adventure…

afterwards we had some straight-up southern cookin’ downtown at Mary Mac’s. check out my fried fish platter…

…i’ll be eating on it for DAYS. after i ate my fried green tomatoes, cabbage, and broccoli souffle…i had no room for much more.

a few more photos…some more of my favs from my claire marie “photo shoot”…

 

ok, that’s enough pictures for one day.

love, whit

i need europe travel advice?

so, i know that it seems i JUST decided that i want to plan a trip to europe. but, i’m all in! already. oh, i love that.

the plan – and yes, i already have a plan – is to use the train system. they have these special passes you can get. you get unlimited train use for certain amount of days and countries depending on which pass you get. i’m looking into it to consider all my options with it. seems a great idea.

i’m thinking fly into madrid, spain first. when done there, take a train to barcelona.

from barcelona, we’d (i told my mom she’s coming with, she’s craving travel too) take the night train to Milan, Italy. Yes, we’re going through France and not stopping – but if i do France, i’d want Paris. and Paris needs time. trains take time. and i’d prefer Paris not in January. adding Paris to the trip ups the costs, and the length, so i’m not so sure.

anyway…after time in Milan, take the train to Florence. We’d stay in Florence a few days and take trains during the day to see Venice and Pisa. Then…last stop…ROME! a couple days there and then…fly home. depending on time, we could take a day train down to Naples too. what’s in Naples, though?

i have a rough estimate of how much time/days are needed for each stop. yes, it will be winter. but i’m not going for a tan – not that i get tan anyway. and it’s the only time i have. hay que aprovechar!

QUESTiON! i need advice. on anything. must sees. must eats. trains. hotels. attractions. things to know. tips. what’s worth it. what’s not. overrated. overpriced. you know?

i’d like to get this all figured out and planned and booked…and do it wisely.

if you’ve got anything for me – i’d appreciate it!

love, whit

italy

…i’m thinking that is an excellent idea!

school doesn’t start until january 17th. i have time. if i play the cards right, i have funds – with enough left over for school and such. this is the time! why not?

where would i go? i’ve never been to europe. oh, to travel all of europe!!! but, i have to think. if i could only visit one country – i’d pick italy. of course, spain and france are high on my list too. if i go anywhere, i don’t want a rushed tour where you visit various countries but only spend a day in each. especially when there’s so much history to see.

this is rome.

iTALiA!

today, i decided, i’m going.

i do tend to change my mind. so the details may vary. i may even pick a different country. or add more to the agenda.

but for now – italia, ti voglio bene!

love, whit

happy weekend

 

love, whit

be an adventurer

image photo cred

love, whit