Today Dan had a half day at his conference,which was exciting because that meant I didn't have to spend the afternoon alone! We decided we were going to hike up this mountain that holds an ancient fortress and a temple to the Greek God Diana, or in Latin, Artemis. She was the goddess of the woods and hunters. Artemis was daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo The fortress and the fortifying walls were built sometime during the 11th and 12 centuries and while most of the castle is ruins now, the majority of the wall (which you'll see in the pictures) is the originals. This is said to be one of the oldest structures still standing in Sicily.
King Roger built this fortress to ward off invasion. At one point, even the pope was getting worried about King Roger's rise in power. It's pretty amazing to see in real life.
So we hiked up this crazy mountain, sweating like mugs, anxious to get to the top where our efforts would be rewarded. When we got to the edge of the wall, overlooking the sea and city, our breaths were taken away. It was amazing. Words cannot begin to do it justice so I will let you see for yourself. I also took a video for your viewing pleasure:)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day 4
Today was fairly uneventful and I didn't take a lot of pictures. I mostly hung out by the pool, allowing my sunburn from the day before to heal. While laying by the pool, I discovered this orange tree!
I wonder if this is where they get our oranges for our freshly squeezed orange juice every morning? Later that evening, I met Dan and friends in town for dinner. We are really enjoying our seaside restaurants but are running out of them! I forgot to mention in my last post that the restaurant we had eaten at the night before, we received an odd charge on our bill. The charge was for 4euros and it said something x2. We asked our waiter about it and he motioned to the silverware and place settings and said, "it's for the knives and stuff". Hmm, so apparently we have to pay extra if we want things like knives and forks. weird.
Last night I had clams over spaghetti in garlic butter sauce, similar to our appetizer the night before. It was delicious. Dan had a pizza.
This was our view at the restaurant
and what would a night be without dessert??
Today we are going to hike a mountain and I'm going to try and convince my daredevil husband not to get to close to the edge...I'll let you know how that goes.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Day 3
Monday was the start of the conference for Dan and his friends so we were all up bright and early at 7:30 to eat breakfast before they headed out. I went back to bed (hey, it's my vacation!) and then got up and went to the beach for the afternoon. While at the beach, I noticed 4 older ladies, probably in their late 50's, who had been there the day before. It was very obvious these women were on a girls trip of sorts and were probably old friends. They were laughing and having a great time. They all had their tops off (not uncommon in Europe but still takes some getting used to) and were enjoying their last day of vacation. As they were leaving, they were waving and giggling at the lifguards who were half their age. They asked me to take a picture later (tops on) while we were waiting for the hotel shuttle to pick us up. They told me they had been there for a little over a week and between the 4 of them, had bought 30 pairs of shoes!!! These were my kind of ladies. It was something I could see myself doing in 30 years with some of my great girlfriends.
Later that evening, I went into town to meet up with Dan for dinner. On the shuttle ride down, there were 2 women who were a little older than me and I noticed they were speaking Dutch to each other! I asked them if they were from the Netherlands and they said they were from Belgium, but spoke Dutch (Northern Belgium speaks Dutch, Southern Belgium speaks French). It was a nice connection to make.
When I got to the center, the conference wasn't out yet so I toured around town, seeing different sights. I went into this old basilica, built in 1130. It was beautiful (there are pics in the slideshow). Prior to going in, the man at the front asked that I put my jacket on my shoulders, apparently no bare shoulders allowed. It was amazing to think that parts of that building had been there so long.
Afterwards, I met up with Dan and just the two of had dinner. It was nice. We ate at this restaurant overlooking the sea again (different restaurant than before but similar view). I tried clams, made in a garlic and parsley sauce. They were amazingly delicious!! and I don't like seafood. We shared that as an appetizer and then I got a pizza with fried eggplants on it and Dan got grilled swordfish. We shared a bottle of wine and lamented about how we do not want to go back to the Netherlands. We ended the night with some gelato. Of course.
Our friends luggage finally arrived last night. We have no idea where it was the whole time but were glad they found it. Hopefully things go smoother on the flight home for all the luggage!
We are loving Italy. I love the language, the food, the beauty of the ancient surroundings, everything! Hmm, maybe I will have Dan look into doing a post doc here in Italy after we finish with the Netherlands.
Later that evening, I went into town to meet up with Dan for dinner. On the shuttle ride down, there were 2 women who were a little older than me and I noticed they were speaking Dutch to each other! I asked them if they were from the Netherlands and they said they were from Belgium, but spoke Dutch (Northern Belgium speaks Dutch, Southern Belgium speaks French). It was a nice connection to make.
When I got to the center, the conference wasn't out yet so I toured around town, seeing different sights. I went into this old basilica, built in 1130. It was beautiful (there are pics in the slideshow). Prior to going in, the man at the front asked that I put my jacket on my shoulders, apparently no bare shoulders allowed. It was amazing to think that parts of that building had been there so long.
Afterwards, I met up with Dan and just the two of had dinner. It was nice. We ate at this restaurant overlooking the sea again (different restaurant than before but similar view). I tried clams, made in a garlic and parsley sauce. They were amazingly delicious!! and I don't like seafood. We shared that as an appetizer and then I got a pizza with fried eggplants on it and Dan got grilled swordfish. We shared a bottle of wine and lamented about how we do not want to go back to the Netherlands. We ended the night with some gelato. Of course.
Our friends luggage finally arrived last night. We have no idea where it was the whole time but were glad they found it. Hopefully things go smoother on the flight home for all the luggage!
We are loving Italy. I love the language, the food, the beauty of the ancient surroundings, everything! Hmm, maybe I will have Dan look into doing a post doc here in Italy after we finish with the Netherlands.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Day 2
Today felt much more like being on vacation. We were well rested and re-energized to start our day. We get free breakfast at the hotel and it's a big breakfast buffet. Typical European breakfast's, with lots of bread, cheeses, and sweet treats. They also have an orange juice juicing machine so we get fresh orange juice every morning! I love tossing the oranges in there, peels and all and waiting as the juice is squeezed into my glass. We sit on the terrace, looking out onto the ocean. Ahh, the small joys.
After breakfast we headed to the hotel's private beach. By private, they mean that they have a section of the beach that is only for hotel guests. However, we were very thankful for that because the "public" beaches were very crowded. The ocean was pretty rough yesterday but we dived in anyways and enjoyed getting rolled around in the waves. The view was beautiful and the sun was hot. We all got a little burned and Dan may or may not have spots all over him where I didn't quite get the sunscreen applied evenly.Whoops!
After the beach, we came back to the hotel for awhile to rest and clean up before heading into town that night. Dan and his friends had a welcome reception for their conference, which I also got to attend. I felt a little bit like a trophy wife as I sat there and listened to everyone at our table talk about their research and things I had no idea about. I don't mind being a trophy wife in Sicily. After we filled up on enough appetizers to be able to call it dinner, we walked down to the beach to watch the sun set and then walked around town a little bit before stopping at our final destination to get dessert. Some Italian friend's of Dan provided us with a list of things we needed to try while we are here and we are slowly whittling away at that list.
Tomorrow they all go to the conference and I am left on my own to explore the town some more, lay on the beach, and nap. It's a rough life, but someone's got to live it!
After breakfast we headed to the hotel's private beach. By private, they mean that they have a section of the beach that is only for hotel guests. However, we were very thankful for that because the "public" beaches were very crowded. The ocean was pretty rough yesterday but we dived in anyways and enjoyed getting rolled around in the waves. The view was beautiful and the sun was hot. We all got a little burned and Dan may or may not have spots all over him where I didn't quite get the sunscreen applied evenly.Whoops!
After the beach, we came back to the hotel for awhile to rest and clean up before heading into town that night. Dan and his friends had a welcome reception for their conference, which I also got to attend. I felt a little bit like a trophy wife as I sat there and listened to everyone at our table talk about their research and things I had no idea about. I don't mind being a trophy wife in Sicily. After we filled up on enough appetizers to be able to call it dinner, we walked down to the beach to watch the sun set and then walked around town a little bit before stopping at our final destination to get dessert. Some Italian friend's of Dan provided us with a list of things we needed to try while we are here and we are slowly whittling away at that list.
Tomorrow they all go to the conference and I am left on my own to explore the town some more, lay on the beach, and nap. It's a rough life, but someone's got to live it!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
We Made it!!
After a very long day of travels, we made it to Sicily!! Our day started very early with getting up at 3am to make sure we had enough time to walk to the train station to catch our 4:38am train to the airport. We arrived bleary-eyed and still not feeling like we were on vacation yet and met up with two of Dan's friends's who were also going to the conference. When we arrived at our gate for boarding, there seemed to be a problem. We heard the attendants saying some things in Dutch and we finally asked what was going on and we were told that a bird had gotten on the plane and was flying up and down the plane, leaving behind special gifts. They had gotten the bird out but were cleaning the plane and we didnt't end up boarding until 15 minutes after our plane was supposed to leave. Due to our flight being so full, we had to check our carry-on baggage, which was a problem because apparently Rome is notorious for not getting baggage to your next flight, if you have a transfer there, which we did. So we grabbed a few essentials out of the carry-on (swimsuit and a dress:) ) and watched them take it away.
We were concerned about making our connecting flight to Palermo, Sicily because we were now delayed and we originally only had 45 minutes between our flights. However, the pilots made up the time in the air and it ended up not being an issue because we didn't even leave Rome for over an hour. We sat on the plane due to “traffic problems in Palermo”. At least that's what we were originally told. However, as the minutes ticked on, the pilot finally came over the intercom and said that they were “cleaning off the runway now from an accident and that the airport would be reopening shortly”. Um...that is a problem. Apparently another plane had landing problems prior to us getting there and they had shut down the runways while they got whatever happened cleaned up. When we arrived in Palermo, we saw a plane sitting near the end of the runway, that looked like it had no back tires and was resting on its belly. When we asked the flight attendant about it, he told us that that was a plane that actually had landing problems 2 months ago...comforting.
But we landed without incident and made our way to the baggage claim, praying that our luggage made it. I jumped for joy when I saw our suitcases come down the conveyor belt. Unfortunately, one of the friend's we were with, his suitcase did not make it. We waited on a few more planes from Rome to arrive, to see if they put it on those flights but it never showed up. The airport people said they would find it and bring it to our hotel. So we headed for Cefalu! But, before we could get there, we had to take a 50 minute bus ride from the airport to the train station in Palermo and from there a 55 minute train ride to Cefalu. It was a lot of traveling but somehow whenever you can look to your right and see the sea, it makes everything better. When we arrived in Cefalu, we decided to walk to our hotel as it was less than a mile away. Well...our hotel was up a mountain of sorts. It was crazy. Dan pulled our suitcases and I've never been so glad that we didn't take another suitcase in my life:) By the time we reached our hotel, we were all drenched in sweat and ready to rent a scooter. Luckily, the hotel has shuttles to the beach and the city center so it won't be necessary but seriously, it was crazy.
When we walked into the hotel though, vacation mode hit. It's very open, there's a big terrace that overlooks the sea, beautiful flower and shrubbery (yes, I said shrubbery). Our room has a big window that opens to amazing smelling flowers. It was fabulous. By this time, we were all starving as we really hadn't eaten much except what we got on the plane, so we took the shuttle into the city center and started exploring and looking for restaurants. Apparently in Sicily, most restaurants are open for lunch until about 2 then they close again until about 7, when they open for dinner. So what are you to do when you're starving but the restaurants aren't open? Eat gelato of course!!! I know it's super cliché
to say how amazing the gelato is in Italy but it's cliché for a reason. It. Is.AMAZING!!! Dan went a little crazy, eating gelato, granita, a cannoli, and an ice cream dessert. We had dinner at a restaurant that was right on the sea, with waves crashing against the rocks beneath us.
It is so beautiful and today we are off to explore the beaches and experience more delicious Italian food!! I'm going to try and update with pictures and stories every day so check back!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Holiday!
But.
After we make it through our 3:30am wake up call, the early morning walk to the train station, catch the 4:38am train to the airport and catch our flight at 7am...we'll be free and clear!
This is going to be an adventure because unlike the Netherlands, the Italians don't speak a lot of English. I've been brushing up on my Italian. . .and by that I mean learning key phrases, "where is the bathroom"-Dov'e il bagno?" and "May I please have more pizza and gelato"- Per favore, posso avere piu pizza e gelato"
I think that about sums up the phrases I'll need to know :)
This is also our first experience packing together as a married couple. And by together, I mean, in one suitcase. We are only taking one suitcase because we are going to be doing a lot of walking with our suitcases and as we discovered the last time we came back from the States, less luggage = better when you're walking over cobblestone streets. So when Dan asked me last night if I really needed all those clothes, I looked at him and said, "Um. We are going to Italy. " He tucked his t-shirts deep down into the sides of the suitcase. :)
Hopefully I'll have internet access there so after my long, hard days at the beach, I can come back and rest and post updates!
Arrivederci!!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Summer Plans
I think it's fairly safe to assume by now that I am not getting an interview for the jobs at the American School. It's frustrating to me because I'm fairly certain had all my residency paperwork been in order, I would've at least gotten an interview. But since I'm not going to be working now, it appears, that opens my summer and fall up to a different kind of plan.
We live for Sicily on Saturday! I'm so excited to finally be able to say that we leave this week!! We'll be there for nearly 2 weeks, soaking up the sun, taking in the beautiful sights, maybe hiking a volcano, and avoiding the Mafia like the plague. When we return, I just found out that two of my friends, Amy and Brennan, from back home, are coming to visit! They are doing a European tour and kicking it off right by coming to the Netherlands first! They will be here a few days so we can show them all the sights.
In July I will resume my cleaning jobs and will also be babysitting full time for 2 weeks for the sweet 8-month old Italian girl I've been watching a few days a week. She is the sweetest baby and sometimes gives me the urge to start thinking about children. But then I see some other babies her age or younger who are not as sweet and I think, 'eh... we can wait some more' . :)
Starting at the end of July, I am going to be taking Dutch language classes. I took some when I first got here but they were only 2x a week, an hour and a half each time. These are intensive classes offered by the University (which means they are ridiculously expensive) and it is a 6 week course, 5 days a week, 5 hours a day. It will actually be Dutch 1 & 2. We thought it would be a good investment because it would give me a conversational understanding of Dutch, which some jobs ask for. Hopefully it will broaden my capabilities to find a job.
In September, my friends Meagan and Leah are coming to visit and stay for nearly 2 weeks! We plan on going to Italy and Greece on girls trips, as well as exploring all around Leiden. I'm so excited to have visitors!!!!
And finally, we found out the dates for our Wheel of Fortune trip to the Bahamas! We'll be going November 7-13, which means we'll probably be back in the States most of the month of November!! It's weird to think that by that time, we won't have been home in almost a year!! Very excited about this trip!
In other exciting news, I got two orchid plants this weekend! I'm so excited about them and hope I don't kill them!! This first one is gigantic!!
We live for Sicily on Saturday! I'm so excited to finally be able to say that we leave this week!! We'll be there for nearly 2 weeks, soaking up the sun, taking in the beautiful sights, maybe hiking a volcano, and avoiding the Mafia like the plague. When we return, I just found out that two of my friends, Amy and Brennan, from back home, are coming to visit! They are doing a European tour and kicking it off right by coming to the Netherlands first! They will be here a few days so we can show them all the sights.
In July I will resume my cleaning jobs and will also be babysitting full time for 2 weeks for the sweet 8-month old Italian girl I've been watching a few days a week. She is the sweetest baby and sometimes gives me the urge to start thinking about children. But then I see some other babies her age or younger who are not as sweet and I think, 'eh... we can wait some more' . :)
Starting at the end of July, I am going to be taking Dutch language classes. I took some when I first got here but they were only 2x a week, an hour and a half each time. These are intensive classes offered by the University (which means they are ridiculously expensive) and it is a 6 week course, 5 days a week, 5 hours a day. It will actually be Dutch 1 & 2. We thought it would be a good investment because it would give me a conversational understanding of Dutch, which some jobs ask for. Hopefully it will broaden my capabilities to find a job.
In September, my friends Meagan and Leah are coming to visit and stay for nearly 2 weeks! We plan on going to Italy and Greece on girls trips, as well as exploring all around Leiden. I'm so excited to have visitors!!!!
And finally, we found out the dates for our Wheel of Fortune trip to the Bahamas! We'll be going November 7-13, which means we'll probably be back in the States most of the month of November!! It's weird to think that by that time, we won't have been home in almost a year!! Very excited about this trip!
In other exciting news, I got two orchid plants this weekend! I'm so excited about them and hope I don't kill them!! This first one is gigantic!!
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