Utah: But Im Taller

Sitting at the Salt Lake City airport now with my roommate/coworker/friend Liz. We are heading back home after five days in Utah. I had no idea there was such beauty here! The locals told us that most people move to Utah for the winter snow but they stay for the summer air. And we certainly did enjoy the reprieve from the sultry summer days we left behind in N.C.

We were here for a work retreat. Team building,

identifying roles and responsibilities, developing an action plan and company culture were all on the agenda. Working for a start-up requires an extra level of commitment, hard work, and trust but it also allows for freedom, flexibility, and growth. And after several days of hunkering down with the team we were given a few days to explore the Park City area on our own.

We shopped on Main Street, visited with locals, went down a 3,000 foot slide, cliff jumped, swam in a hot spring, and then drove down the street of our future home.

Yup. We decided we were moving here. If only temporarily, we decided it was necessary. Even the laid back vibe of Charlotte couldn't hang with the folks here. As my mom says, "They were so laid back they were in reverse."

Out of the Blue

We landed in Capri last night. The blue island of Capri, off of the coast of Naples. We took a taxi from the port up to the town center because that is as far as cars can go. The driver let us out with our ever growing luggage to climb the million of stairs to our one star hotel. Not kidding. So not only were we breathless from the beautiful scenery, but also from lugging our bags up and down cobblestone steps. The narrow walls of the city only allow for two people to pass at a time on foot. The stone walls were draped with beautiful, bright flowers and were so tall that we felt like ants moving through their tunnels. Neither of us knew anything about Capri, except the mention of the famous Blue Grotto.

As we were sweating, panting, and dying past Louis Vuitton, CoCo Chanel, and Christian Dior we realized we were among what my mother likes to call "the beautiful people." Stilettoed women brushed past us with their designer handbags and as I looked down at my Chacos I remembered. They stink. Literally. We kept walking and finally made it to our dump of a hotel. Not even worth linking. But please know mom hasn't taken her shoes off since we have been here. Also, please note that this hotel claimed to have an ocean view. Well it does. From the top of the million stairs I previously mentioned. All of this is really irrelevant. Especially when we had a day like today.

We rented a private boat tour from Capri Whales di Wendy. Thank goodness we found this company on Trip Adviser. They did all that they could to make sure we enjoyed the two hour trip around the island. Even provided us with beach towels, a cooler of drinks, snorkeling gear and a champagne toast for good luck and safe travels. It was the deal of the island for sure.

Our guide Tony knew just the right spot to snorkel where we could swim through a cave and see all sorts of fish and coral on the reef. He told us all about the history of Capri and how it use to be considered a Greek Island. We saw 30 million dollar yachts with helicopters on top of them and then turned our head and saw Roman fortresses that dated back over 1,000 years.

Blue sky, blue water, and as we pack up to head out tomorrow morning... blue me.

Slowing Down a Bit

We made a stop in San Gimignano, a small walled medieval hill town in Siena, Tuscany. It was Sunday. It was our "day of rest." We planned to sit by the pool and soak up all of the Tuscan sun that we could. And that we did! We laid by the pool for hours until my skin freaked out and said it was time to go in.

We stayed at Voltrana Farm which was a very reasonably priced rental where we saw miles of olive trees, grapevines, and mountains. It was like a vacation within a vacation. A break from all the fast paced tours, and lines, and ticket fees. We walked around the property and saw horses and locals fishing for dinner. Tuscany offered a beautiful landscape for those who wanted to slow down and take it all in at a slower pace. Which is just what we needed.

For just 22 euros, we enjoyed a wonderful meal of no pizza. :) We had salad, veal, roasted potatoes, tiramisu and all you can drink wine. We sat at a long table full of people who were initially strangers, but in the end were friends. All while the Tuscan sun set perfectly on the horizon. It was a quick trip. But just enough fuel to recharge our weary bones for week numero dos.

Coca-Cola 600 in Rome

Haven’t really had a chance to digest Rome yet. Ill start by saying don’t travel to Rome in July. It is the equivalent of being at NASCAR’s Coco-Cola 600 on Memorial Day. Hot, crowded, smelly and you forget why you came in the first place. Or Myrtle Beach on the 4th of July. Or the amusement park Carowind’s the first Saturday after school is out for the summer. You get the point. The crowds made the experience very different from that of Florence.

It was like a drive by. “Quick! Look here’s the Sistine Chapel.” And then it was gone. There was no time to put the brakes on or there would be a smelly, sweaty collision that involved 100’s of undesirable people’s skin against mine. So like mom says, “we made haste.”

On a more serious note, we spent two nights in a very modern hotel that was walking distance from the Coliseum and the rest of Ancient Rome. First stop was the Coliseum where we walked around several different levels of the amphitheater where construction started only in.. oh I don’t know, 64 A.D. The structure was capable of holding around 50,000 spectators that would come to watch gladiators and wild beasts fight until death. And some people say that Christians were sent to their death as martyrs in the Coliseum.

We also stopped at what is referred to as an ancient maximum security prison, the Mamertine, where the Apostle Peter was chained and held prisoner. We saw the Roman Forum, the Arch of Titus, Trajan’s Column, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon. We spent several hours walking through Vatican City and the basilica where they were holding a mass and Pope John XXII was preserved in a glass coffin for all to see.

We ate pizza, and pizza, and pizza. If there is good food in Rome, we were unable to find it. We never even ordered wine with our meals because we just wanted to “make haste” and get out of the restaurants. So Rome my friend, here’s to your magnificent history! Hey, we all cant kick ass at everything.

Piggy Backin' on Mom

As Mom previously mentioned, Florence is one of her favorite cities in the world. I grew up hearing her talk about Michelangelo's, The David and Ghiberti's golden "Doors to Paradise". I even extended our stay in the city to three nights with anticipation of wanting to see it all!

But here I confess, I did no planning for our stay in Florence. No itineraries were made. No must sees were listed. No tours were booked. Much to mom's dismay, I fully planned on her being my tour guide. I was just gonna piggy back on all her knowledge, experience, and ahem... directions.

Thirty-five years removed from her favorite city, and she did damn good. She led me to the Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo and Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, The Baptistery, the Campanile Bell Tower, the Ponte Vecchio, and of course the Academia which holds...THE David.

On the way into Florence, mom said "Oh my gosh, wait to you see The David! It will bring tears to your eyes." I may or may not have rolled my eyes. Only because I have never experienced how a piece of art could move me in such a way. But the moment I walked through the first doors and saw the sculpture, my breath was taken away. Pictures will never do this piece justice. It is far grander than anything I had ever imagined. The size, proportions, age and details left me sitting on a bench feeling slightly sick to my stomach. Breathless.

That one experience made this trip worth every penny that I saved to make it happen. So here's a big Italian red wine cheers to Firenze, and my tour guide. ;)

The David, and Florence

First things first, I was going to continue the "10 things we learned while in..." but Florence's list was far to long to narrow down to 10. In fact, we didn't find one single thing NOT to do in Florence. I've said too many times to count that Florence was one of my very favorite cities. It still is, and I think Hannah loves it as well. The city is rich with history, The David, architectural beauty, The David, politcal history, The David, beautiful terrain, The David, wonderful shopping, The David, the best Italian Gelato, The David, wonderful street artisans, The David, and oh so nice people. A sad thing to check off the bucket list, but a wonderful thing to add to the next bucket list. Oh, did I mention The David?

La Fattoressa

It didn't take long to fall in love with Florence. We weren't in the city limits for an hour and I was already telling mom that "Florence was the place for me."

We checked into a beautiful farmhouse outside of Florence, La Fattoressa, on Tuesday night where we were greeted by a woman from a second story window. It was just like a movie. Her shutters opened and she popped her head out, "Buonasera!" She took us to our room which had exposed beams and french doors that opened to a garden full of terra-cotta pots overflowing with geraniums, pansies and herbs. A vegetable garden and fig tree were not far from our view either.

The house sits at the bottom of a monastery and you can see the bell tower from the cobble stone driveway. And we woke up all three mornings to the bells sounding off. Breakfast was cooked and served by the owner, a pleasant, busy elderly lady, at a large table with everyone else that was staying in the six room farmhouse. When you think of an older Italian lady cooking spaghetti in the kitchen, saying, "Mama Mia!" you picture this sweet lady. On our way out the door she squished my face, kissed both cheeks, and said "ciao bella, grazie."

Coffee so strong it'd knock you into tomorrow, kept us up and moving through the city all day. There were several families, each from a different country, staying on the farm. Lots of kids. The familiar sound of children playing made us feel at home.

Everything was so perfect we hardly even noticed that there was no air conditioning.