Fulfilling Two Dreams

Written By: Kim - Jul• 31•11

I am not sure if it was sleep deprivation or emotional overload, but when we landed in Rome, Italy, I got teary. This was my dream vacation. I had wanted to travel to Italy ever since I read “Under the Tuscan Sun” almost 15 year ago. Coupled with my Mother’s never-to-be-fulfiilled dream of touring her parent’s homeland, I just could not contain the emotion of the moment.

After the shock of exchanging US dollars for Euros, we were quickly on our way via a cab. Our Roman driver was excellent and definitely showed us how Italian drivers pretty much mark up their own road rules. Moped and motorcycle drivers who see an opening do not hesitate to take it. Because many European cars are so small….as in tiny compared to American cars, they too do not hesitate to insert themselves in between anything. And oh the parking.

This is common in Rome. Drivers park where they can. © Kim Howard

He gave us a quick tour and advice: the Coloseum overcharges for tours. What you see on the outside is pretty much what you see on the inside. Save your money. The sidewalk restaurants enclosed in glass are for tourists. If you want authentic experiences, eat where the locals do. So we followed his advice.

Because of vacation ownership, we were lucky enough to convert our points to stay at one of Rome’s best hotels — The Westin Excelsior. Although our overnight flight arrived an hour late, we were still too early for check in. Do not sweat it. There are plenty of other tourists who arrive on red eyes who are in the same boat. We are all sleep deprived, napping on the hotel lobby couches.

Our first lunch in Rome showed us that American pizza creators are too obsessed with the amount of bread they use in crust. Their sauces offer too much salt, not enough flavor and they cram too many options on top of their dough. While the bottled water in Italy is overpriced, many places will give you tap water for free. But by the second day, we were ordering bottled water, gas (bubbles) and no gas (still).

Despite our overeagerness to explore the city, we all quickly fell asleep once we were in our rooms. When my 13-year-old son woke up at 5 pm, he thought it was Tuesday. We ventured out for dinner and were not disappointed although we were the only ones in Le Frick 7 pm. Dinner in Italy doesn’t really rev up until about 9 pm.

As you would imagine, there is no shortage of gelato offerings and our hotel recommended an excellent place only two blocks away. We had the most divine lemon creme gelato man ever created. We saw an extremely passionate couple kissing in the piazza embracing tightly. Trust me American teenagers: You know nothing about it. I think my kids were more shocked than we were.

Even though we had napped and despite the six hour ahead time difference, we all were asleep by 10:30 pm Rome time. And then proceed to sleep away our first morning in Rome by not getting up until 10 am.

Posted in Italy, Resolutions, Rome, Travel , , , , | 5 Comments »

Mid-Year Check: New Year’s Resolutions Still Alive

Written By: Kim - Jul• 13•11

I created this blog as part of my New Year’s Resolutions. Since it belongs to me, I publish when I want and choose the topics. As part of my 2011 resolutions, hitting the gym was also part of the plan. As if I needed any more resolutions, I also shared with you that we would be vacationing in Italy.

I can report that the blog still lives, despite it’s fractious publishing schedule. I enjoy writing but sometimes I simply do not feel like putting my fingers on a keyboard and commenting on life. As we head in to the last six months of 2011, my goal is to publish more frequently. Will you find me posting once a day? Doubt it. But once a week consistently would be better than my current schedule.

© Aaron Neifer courtesy of Stock.xchng

I am still hitting the gym five days a week. I feel better than I have in quite some time. Because of my continued Yoga practice, I am more limber than I used to be. Considering I could not sit “Indian style” when I started at the gym in January and can now, my limberness has improved even if it is not exactly prima ballerina status. But, it’s progress. Thanks to Zumba, my waistline is trimmer than it has been in a while. My husband recently read that menopausal women must do an hour of exercise a day just to maintain their weight. While I am not exactly menopausal yet, this is not good news for the twice a week Zumba class. This just means I have to add more cardio and lay off the dessert. Let’s see how that goes after our vacation and all of that yummy Italian food.

© Jose Hosttas courtesy of stock.xchng

My dream of vacationing in Italy is finally coming true. We will spend the last two weeks this month in Rome and the Almalfi Coast. I have poured over travel blogs, read tidbits from others, sought advice from well-seasoned international travelers I know and have borrowed well-used guidebooks with notes and highlights from other travelers.

Planning this trip was not easy. I am sure I heard my credit card break as I purchased coach airline tickets for four. Many family conversations centered around, “Let’s wait until after Italy.” “We don’t really need that now, we want it now.” “I said the next time my 11 year-old fridge broke, I was replacing it. But not until later this year.” “Next year we are purchasing a sprinkler system.” Did we eat bread and water for six months? No. But we were focused on the goal. Every time we looked at a purchase, all we could think was, “that is XXX amount of money we can’t spend on vacation.” Ok, well really it was Mike and I that were thinking that. The kids think money grows on trees and that Mom and Dad can just use credit cards.

Focus on what you want and make it happen. It might take a while and sacrifices will surely have to be made. But it will be worth it. I will do my best to blog and post a picture or two from Italy. If not, my blog will be speaking Italian in August.

Ciao!

Posted in Health, Resolutions, Travel, Weight loss, Yoga, Zumba , , , , , | 8 Comments »
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