Ciao from Roma!

Well where do I even begin?... I have spent three days in Rome and I can already tell you that I have no intentions on returning to the US of A.  Everything about Italian life in my opinion is better than anything that I have ever experienced! The food is so fresh and rich in flavor, the espresso is better than anything I could whip up after 6 years of being a barista and the people are beautiful!  The first day that I was here, I was a little pooped from all of the traveling. I'm pretty sure I am the furthest away from home out of the group. Most of the students tend to be from either the midwest, south or east coast. So pretty much everywhere but the west coast, so I'm going to have to hold my own.  My luggage ended up getting lost but I was surprisingly calm about it. I think it had something to do with the fact that Im one smart cookie and packed my carry on with a few days worth of clothes along with my makeup and other essential items. The first night we were here, I met all of my roommates who are awesome by the way, and we decided to go grab dinner somewhere close to our hotel.  The place that we stopped was absolutely perfect and the man working there, Manuelo, loved to help teach us italian. We ate some panini's and drank a bottle of wine and started getting to know one another.  Something that is very true of Italians is that they don't like to rush anything, especially dinner.  We were there for about 2 hours which Manuelo thought was not near long enough. He decided to treat us to some cappuccinos, on the house.  Mine had amaretto and it was to die for!! I cant explain how good it was, it just has to be experienced.  After din we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Flavored cappuccinos Manuelo made us

The roomies and I out to dinner 

Yesterday and today were a lot more eventful! Yesterday we took a bus to Vatican City where we got a tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.  I've learned about the fresco paintings by Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel in college but seeing them was absolutely breathe taking! To think that all of this history in Rome is from over 500+ years ago is seriously unreal! We walked through St. Peters Basilica which was beautiful as well. Once the tour was over, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and head out to dinner.  Meeting in Piazza Navona then heading to Tarastevere for dinner as a group with our program.  The dinner wasnt the best I've had yet but the night life in Tarastevere was incredible! Everyone just hangs out in the streets socializing, drinking and eating gelato.  Seriously a lifestyle I would'nt mind getting used to! The boys are so my type and although there is quite a language barrier, broken english/italian can be somewhat fun.  The girls and I got roses bought for us by some of the locals and had fun venturing around.

Jennifer, Amy, Me and Kim (3 of my roomies) outside of the Vatican Museum

The torso sculpture inside the Vatican museum 

Today was our walking tour of the city viewing sites including the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi fountain and a few others.  The colosseum was really interesting to learn about and our guide was the cutest Italian man who was born and raised in Rome.  He was really silly and made the tour a lot of fun by cracking little jokes here and there.  I think the Pantheon was my favorite because of the fact that it was built in the first century BC and is still in incredible shape. Its seriously hard to wrap my mind around the fact that its been around for that long.  Trevi fountain was soo beautiful and the Romans believe that if you throw a coin over your shoulder and make a wish than you will return to Rome. Throw a coin or not, Im pretty sure this isnt going to be my only trip to this amazing city.  The girls and I stopped for some gelato and then had lunch in Piazza Navona before heading back.  I think Im fully adjusted to the time difference which didnt take long but am seriously exhausted from all of the walking in the balmy heat of Rome.  I'll try to spice things up a bit more in the following posts! Love to all of you back in the states! Next stop, Florence!! :) xoxox

The Colosseum 

Outside the Pantheon

A couple of the roomies and I in front of Trevi fountain! :)

Arrivederci! 

fml- folk my life :)

As leaving for my trip to Italy inched closer, I thought it would be smart to hang with the locals this year for memorial day.  With that in mind, I tried to convince some of my nearest and dearest friends to do the same! Luckily, it worked! Thursday night was another epic cabin trip to one of my bests from college, Ali Spencer's cabin.  This little gem of a cabin is nestled nicely in Snohomish on Lake Roesiger, which is only about a half hour from my house.  This cabin has been notorious in the past for lots of silly moments and fun memories with friends, boyfriends, really whatever were feeling at the time has happened.  The group this weekend was a little larger than the past but had the same intentions as always- to have a "Camp Spencer"experience where people can just relax and cut loose. Highlight from the weekend that was quite serious at the time but is funny to look back on was when Ali decided to smoosh a smore on Katie's pillow pets head... what came over her? No one knows, Ali included.

   

Daniela cleaning up Pip, Katie's hippo pillow pet

Memorial day in Seattle is typically known for the Folklife Festival that has been happening for the past 40 years.  With usually making plans to go to Chelan for a weekend of fun in the sun, I'd never been to the festival before.  Neither had my bestie Daniela so her and I thought we'd see what all the hum was about.  Folklife is known for its vast diversity in art and in people. I've never thought that people watching was a sport, but let me tell you that I became an avid player in the game that day! From guys with mohawks to hippies and average joes, there was every walk of life to watch. I love going and experiencing different things and this was the perfect as a final hoorah in Seattle!

Some beautimous necklaces at Folklife

  

Some silly animal hats :)

The booths at the festival had all sorts of goodies to look at.  Beads and different pieces of clothing from Bali (which I will be traveling to in August) and other places around the world scattered the grounds of the Seattle center. Below are some silly and fun pics of me and Daniela fully enjoying what the festival had to offer.

Giggles for days

The best phot  

2 best friends + 2 elephant ears + 2 panda hats + folk music + beer garden = Folking amazing day in Seattle!! :) Cheers!

Me and D enjoying an elephant ear and some panda hats :)

No Tutus Required

One thing I have definitely loved about getting ready to ship off to beautiful Italia is the constant excuse to get together with all my favorite people and do fun things! This last week has been very eventful and fun to say the least while I've tried to do just about anything imaginable but pack a single item in my suitcase (I loathe packing, fyi). So one person I had to check of the "must-see" list was non-other than Miss Laura Nixon. For those of you who don't know her, she is my fabulous little best friend that I met while being a part of the WSU dance team my sophomore year at school. She's one of my favorite people because of her upbeat attitude and constant humor. I can giggle for everrr with this girl. Since Laura and I have a passion for dance and working out in general, I thought it would be fun for us to try out a workout trending called Pure Barre. So with the background and training the two of us dancers have had I thought "Pffft, barre in ballet can be a sinch so this will have nothing on us!" Boy was I wrong. This could possibly have been the hardest workout I've had in sometime, no joke! The class is made up of fairly simple movements with an emphasis on isolations using light weights and exercise bands but dont let that fool ya. Its been two days since we took the class and I'm still sore! A sign of a good butt kickin :). So if you love to feel a burn, I suggest trying it! Great little surprise was that the first class for each and every student is free- great price!

Post booty sculpting Pure Barre Class and Pre pastry indulgence ;)

Only set back to this workout is that its located next to The French Bakery serving fresh French pastries and Italian espresso. Laur and I decided to treat ourselves to  soy cappuccinos along with some creme brulee, raspberry mousse and a couple hour talk about life, love and other mysteries. It was perfect! :)

This IS my first rodeo

Here I am blogging to share with you a little of my style, viewpoint, fun quirky things I like to do and what makes me tick.  I'm a newly graduated 20-something looking to make new meaning for myself in this crazy thing we like to call life. Fun things to come include my travels to Italy, playing the Maid of Honor in my best friends wedding and a yoga retreat with my sister to Bali, Indonesia. This ain't no Eat, Pray, Love but it is life through the looking glass of a girly-girl loving all things girl like ribbons, bows, and lace. Disclaimer: This IS my first rodeo in the world of blogging but hey, I love a good challenge. Great things come with practice and even better things come from experience, so here I go! Xoxox