Let me clarify that as you backpack (or hostel) travel, certain words take on a whole new meaning: “clean” is not determined by the length of time worn between washings. No, rather, it is determined almost wholly by smell. Shannon did clarify, however, that if an item of clothing can stand up on its own, no matter how decently it might smell- that’s also dirty.
     But I digress. Our second day in Florence was dedicated to Art and History and Appreciation and Maturity- okay, well maybe just the first three. I went to Mass in the morning while the girls caught up on some internet work- it was really neat to walk the city while all was silently asleep. Because of our plans for the day, I had to go to 7:30am Mass, and no one was even moving as I went to the Duomo. The main doors don’t open but for tourists in the middle of the day (go figure) and the service was held in an alcove chapel on the far side. It was so fast! There was no singing (bummer) and just a couple of priests, and with only like 40 of us there, it was all over in about 30 minutes! The ceiling to Florence’s Duomo was so striking that I took a picture of it, knowing I wasn’t allowed to- but managed to get one off after church before the security guard asked me not to.  Innocent eyes and stammering American English can get you some really great pictures without getting in TOO much trouble.
     Our hotel lady had kindly made appointments for the museums for the day- anyone going to Florence, I recommend doing the same. Entrance was €6.50, but we had to pay an extra €4 for our reservations (€10.50 total) but bypassing the hours long line waiting in the heat of an Italian summer in the city--- totally worth it! Our first stop was the Accademia where- da da ta da!- Michelangelo’s David is housed.
    Now ladies, yes, he is just that gorgeous. It’s kind of amazing to think on because although I recognized prior to my visit that this statue of Davod supposedly represented the ‘perfection’ of man, I never used to go ga-ga over the pictures. The live version, however is a whole other matter. The corridor leading to David is filled with other statues of Michelangelo’s but most of them are half finished, with the bodies emerging from these huge chunks of marble and stone- it truly is as if he was jus uncovering them, and these figures existed inside the whole time.
     David, is a whole other being, though. He stands elevated, so as you are standing on the floor, you look up at him; Helen eavesdropped on some English-speaking tour guide who said this position is what makes his hands look larger than maybe they should be, but following a computer and laser scanning of him in 2006, it was confirmed, that no- indeed, David is proportionately perfect. We sat for a good hour or more, changing angles every once in a while to appreciate the full 360 degrees of the man, with his veins carved right into the white marble. The best description I can give to my amazement comes from one particular observation: David seems supple. Now, given its marble, I know its not possible, but if I were only given the chance to touch him, it looks as if his flesh would give under my fingers, that he could be palpably grasped. Supple. No other word comes to mind. (By the way, yes, this picture was totally taken illegally, too. It was just one of those days...)
Following the Accademia, we had a couple of hours to kill before our next appointment at the Uffizi Museum, which houses some of the world’s finest pieces. We found Mexican- yes, Mexican food!- on some back alley we found ourselves wandering through. During our meal, I was reading through a book on Florence furnished by my Uncle Frank (thank you!) and came across a strong recommendation for a little gelato shop in the area. Apparently it was supposed to be the best in the city, and whew! was it right! Took us a while to find the heaven, called Vivoli, but as we got closer, the folk we stopped to ask knew exactly what we were talking about. The gelato was so much creamier than all other places we’d tried- and more expensive, but man, the Lampone was amazing! (raspberry) with little frozen puffs of happiness sending me into fits of ecstasy. Shannon just about died for her favorite, Pistachio, and Helen melted over the Yogurt. Vivoli is one of a few places that actually serve old time gelato from a recipe close to 90 years old, rather than ice cream mislabeled. It was so amazing we had to go back our last day in the city, knowing it was the very best!
The Uffizi was next and again, pay the extra money for not standing in line- the plaza outside the building, which is all offices on the first floor, and only museum on the second and third, is crazy- and holds a copy of the David. He was beautiful, too, but I didn’t hear the same angels singing as I did for the live, original- here there were groups of tourists crowding and yammering with no need for silence outside; just not the same. Copies of some other really cool ones were there, too- one of my faves is called the Rape of Sabine women (the name’s kind of nasty, but the piece itself is so cool, with the three bodies intertwined and dripping with energy, below picture)
The big famous pieces in the Uffizi are Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera. I liked both, and ended up buying prints to hang when I get home. Its kind of fascinating to see the depictions of the goddesses and gods interspersed with most of the others- all relating to the Catholic religion, with literally hundreds of version of the Annunciation, or Birth of Christ. We did find one other rather fun statue, with a man in a particularly, um, interesting position- nude- but to our dismay they didn’t sell a postcard of him in the gift shop. No pictures are allowed in the museum, but many pictures were available on postcards in the shop- though ridiculously overpriced.
The successes seen in our time in Florence so far caused us to go ahead and reserve another night there… and knowing that we could relax we spent some time just wandering the city and enjoying a nice dinner with our first bottle of wine. Having moved to another hostel- one with open, free internet- it was an easy decision to make, as we were no where near done with the city yet!
 

This blog will have to take multiple entries, for although I am already out of Florence and in Croatia, we were in the city for a good 6 nights- lots of time to accrue stories!
     The general impression of Florence is that I can’t even imagine my trip without it. Thinking of Italy, in most cases, brings Rome to mind, and although this trip doesn’t allow me to go there, I think that Florence is a fantastic substitute, bringing together history and art, with amazing architecture, religion, fashion and shopping with some of the most friendly people in Italy!
     Milan- I was there for such a short period and made sure that as I was wandering I’d be able to fit in with the crowd (didn’t want to be pinpointed as a tourist at that time, esp by myself) and Cinque Terre was so amazing, so beautiful, so striking just because of the location and the land- the people could get away with being snobby because tourists would continue to come, the business would continue to be there no matter what. But Florence; it’s my theory that Florence is a perfect amalgamation of what Italy has to offer (making it a prime stop for anyone with a limited amount of time in the nation) but because it doesn’t have that ONE completely unique, special thing to set it apart- it needs to offer its best all the time. The people in Florence were so nice- so much nicer than those in Cinque Terre, and many people speak English or at the very least, don’t get upset and frustrated with our broken Spa-Talian (All three of us speak Spanish, and Lord, does it show!)
     We had booked a hotel (as opposed to a hostel) for a decent price; our first two nights in the city were a Fri and Sat, making it difficult with availability. The proprietress was a lovely woman who got on with Helen quite well while Shannon and I posted some of our internet work in a desperate attempt to catch up our first night there. (She did question our motives: “You are in Florence! Why you no go out, see the city? You have computer later!”) But we stayed in our first night, taking advantage of having a private room to ourselves, after our dual dorm nights in Cinque Terre.
     Our first full day in the city had us at the Boboli Gardens- an exquisite set of elaborate gardens that are part of the Pitti Palace complex; we paid for access to the gardens which included a couple of the museums- we ended up checking out the Porcelain Museum and the Museum of Costumes, which follows Italian fashion through the last couple of hundred years. The gardens themselves were beautiful, and it was a nice way to be introduced to Florence, you can see the whole city from up on the hills! The Duomo, gilded in gold and marked by its special green marble is quite distinctive, as are many of the other sites listed in our Lonely Planet guidebook. We spent quite a bit of time in Boboli- not only to make sure to get our monies worth, but because it was so nice. Wandering, its quite easy to lose sight of all the other tourists and believe you are Pitti power and royalty, walking for a stroll. My favorite part of the day was playing with the ‘Continuous’ option on my camera, using up hundreds of digital photos, skipping and jumping in patches of sunlight through the arched tree-ways. Adding a timer option to the mix got us a great three-some picture to go with the hysterical laughter and beads of perspiration from playing so long!
     Coming out of the gardens we were starving, and found a cute little café away from the ‘Tourism Center’ (where prices will be so much higher) where we got what I still swear was the best tasting ham and cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten. Granted, I was starving, but still… We ate in a plaza, where a group of three men found us, and began chatting away in friendly, Florentine Italian. One in particular took a liking to Shannon & Helen’s linguistic skills, while I was content to savor my food and listen in. Amazingly, I can understand maybe 70 percent if I am trying and lucky- the responding, however, just doesn’t happen. The Spanish just comes and for the life of me, I can’t think of an Italian possibility. Our friend was disappointed when Helen declined his offer to meet up later *wink, wink* and we went on our way to find Gelato (yessss...!)
The remainder of the afternoon was spent shopping- both window and actual, visiting the local Duomo where I would go to Mass the next morning, and dolling up Helen in a Sephora. American make-up stores are all about you trying on all the products… Italian ones- not so much. We did it anyway, and had a riot of a time playing Barbie with Helen as a guinea pig, and managed to make it to dinner at a local vegetarian restaurant our proprietress had suggested. A full day, and nights sleep and waking up to play the bonified ‘Tourist’ role, minus the khaki pants and white tee shirts, of course.
 

(Oh yeah, that's right- more gelato!!)
 

For add'l pictures... click here
 

Oooo! I'm leaving in 5 hours and 14 minutes.... and here's what I've got:

In my Pack:
• 2 sun dresses
• 1 pair cargo pants
• I pair long shorts
• 1 pair shorts
• I pair cotton night/junk shorts
• 1 skirt
• 8 pairs underwear
• 2 bras
• 2 sports bras
• 5 tank tops
• 5 pairs socks- 2 hiking, 3 cotton
• 6 layerable t-shirts
• 1 scarf
• 1 bathing suit
• 3 Italy, 1 Croatia book
• 1 novel: Italian Affair
• Life Lessons for Women book
• 1 travel towel
• I sleep sheet
• Mini laundry All’s
• Deodorant for Shannon
• Burts Bees for Helen
• Pepper spray
• Knife
• Masterlock with 2 sets of keys
• 2 pairs flip flops: copper, black
• extra batteries, plastic baggies
• Pilates DVDs
• copy of passport/IDs

In my bag:
• 1 Dell Mini laptop
•  Revolutionary Road novel
• 1 sketch/journal
• 1 set of pens/pencils
• 1 iPod Touch- music, games
• 1 fleece
• daytimer
• power cords and adapters
• copy of passport/IDs

Toiletries
• mini-shampoo
• mini-conditioner
• bottle of OTC drugs incl ibuprofen,
Sudafed, naproxen sodium, Benadryl, Cold & Flu,
LOTS of Dramamine
• toothbrush/paste
• makeup- powder, blush, mascara
• facial lotion, sunscreen, body lotion (all travel size)
• vitamins

Purse/Passport Pouch
• wallet
• Canon Camera with extra SD cards, batteries
• passport, ID
• (borrowed) international cell phone ☺

That's all folks... surprisingly, I still have quite a bit of space in my pack, meaning that I can actually pick up a souvenir or two. I was concerned, to be honest, but after reviewing this list, I'm pretty confident that no! I didn't forget anything!

Bon Voyage! See you in June!

I can't believe that I'm actually doing this.
   It's so odd- I booked my tickets maybe 6 weeks ago, and didn't even get excited until this week. I was aware I was going, but could only honestly answer "Not yet." when people asked if I was excited to go on a month long sojourn. But my trip to Colorado has absolutely solidified my excitement. I used my pack and bag (pack refers to large hiker's pack, bag is my little camel pack backpack) to go to Colorado- equipment test, check. I've purchased all I need for 'roughing it' in hostels: sleep sheet, travel towel, electricity converter, and travel sizes of everything. I leave in less than 48 hours, and it's just hitting me they kind of adventure I'm going to have: and I can't believe I'm doing this.
   For anyone who doesn't know, I'm backpacking through Italy & Croatia for a  month, joining up with my friend Shannon and her cousin Helen. I'll fly into and out of Milan, moving on to see Cinque Terre, Florence, Assisi and Ancona in Italy before crossing the Adriatic Sea to sun-bathe and hike a couple of weeks up Croatia. I'll part with my girls a few days before my flight out of Milan, making sure to stop in Venice on my way out- it's a place unlike any other on Earth, and I can't go to Italy without riding up the Canals and seeing the Basilica. Though I'll be on my own, I'm hoping by the end of the trip I'll know what I'm doing.
   Though all this may sound deceivingly like a "plan," the truth of the matter is that we only have a loose outline and really have very little specifics to rely on. Only one night in Milan has been booked in a hostel (my doing, so if it sucks it's MY fault) and then we're flying by the seats of our pants. I'm not sure how we're getting from one place to the next, I'm not sure where we're sleeping anywhere but that first night, and it is now dawning on me how different this will be from my traditional travel- usually consisting of visiting family for free ☺
   I'm 27 years old, and not exactly where I thought I'd be in my life. I'm 27 years old and when I get back, it will be finalized and I will be Divorced....Divorced.... divorced. It's amazing how much weight a word can carry, and I'm hoping that a successful trip overseas might be able to quiet the pulsating voice in the back of my head that echoes "Failure" with every reminder of my pending divorce. I really hope I can find the strength to quiet that voice. I fully acknowledge that in addition to my trip being an opportunity to travel- in a time when I have a job I can take with me, when I've got no daily commitments preventing me from doing so- I admit that much of my trip is a means of running. I'm running from the difficulties of the last 6 months, running from my failures, running from my life.
   But knowing, I hope, can give me the focus to find peace, to use my month abroad as time to heal. I hope. And isn't it a good sign that I still have 'Hope?' I think so, anyways. So I may be really quite wary of all the ways that this trip could go astray, I'm truly believing that it'll be for the better. That I'll be able to quiet my demons. And find peace enough to continue to Hope.
                ♥ Wish me Luck! ♥

I truly, truly love my family. Not because they are one of the few who I can be wholly myself around, not because when I visit they all feed me, not even because when I visit everyone wants to see me- making me feel very, very popular. But mostly because they're absolutely hysterical.

   I don't know if its the same with other families, but when I am asked what I did while I was in Colorado- my answers tend to be really boring: "We just hung out." Mind you, I do happen to have a relatively expansive family- Grandma, Aunt Darcy & Mark, their 6 kids and their partners or children, my brother & his house of folk, Vivian & Frank in Cherry Creek, Patty & the Carothers crew.... not to mention my MOM (Happy Mothers Day) and great friends from long ago. So I manage to stay quite busy, and food is usually involved, though we tend to eat at home much more often than go out, a big difference from the 'hanging out' that happens with friends in LA. But no matter what, we always, always end up laughing, to the point where we cry.

   I came home to find my center, and because as I prepare to go to Europe and lose communication with the bulk of my world for the month, I had these visions that had to be squashed. Visions of my grandmother, who is forever promising us that she fully intends to die in the near future (though she's been saying these things since I graduated high school in 2000)- visions that she's actually follow through on her promises and I'd never hear a peep of it until I came back. I've spent as much time as possible with her in my 6 days here, and just can't get enough of the wonderful, funny, wonderful woman.
  
Not to say there isn't other fun to be had- but I get the impression that its the sort of fun that appeals to a small demographic: how many find sitting outside in lawn chairs as two dogs wrestle with one another, enjoying nothing more than conversation after a pleasant lunch of cold cut sandwiches so fulfilling? Or Happy Hour for just an hour (cuz that's when the booze ceases to cost $2.50) simply catching up? Or making a trip to Wendy's a hysterical adventure after seeing your 10-year old cousin rock in a school play? It's not Disney, or a fancy night on the town in LA. Most of the time it's not even picture-worthy, just sitting around the living room with a 2 1/2 year old, arguing over whose 'Gamma' it is. But this is what centers me. Being around my family, the people who think like me, laugh like me-- to the point where people are running to the bathroom because they're going to pee their pants' We steal food from one another's plates, and blame stinks on whoever's convenient - though most often its Darcy - and can kill a bottle of wine in one sitting.
  
 My family may not hold formal affairs, and we'll drive all the way home to eat because there's already a ham and a turkey in the fridge rather than eat out, and will drive all over town looking for the best price on a black umbrella stand- but they've my family. And being around them just a few times a year help to remind me that I'M not crazy, LA is crazy- and at least at home, I fit in just right.