While I'm tripping on my country-living kick, I figured I'd share some Winter '07 pictures that are fueling my ridiculous daydreams about cowboys.
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Winter in the mountains
While I'm tripping on my country-living kick, I figured I'd share some Winter '07 pictures that are fueling my ridiculous daydreams about cowboys.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
A New Year, A New Life
Well, it's officially 2010. Last year was filled with several memorable experiences, both exciting and tragic, but I feel that I am entering the new year with a clear mind and a better understanding of myself.
2009 marked my first step in adulthood: I moved to Central NY to begin my career and fully entered my own life, complete with rent, bills and credit limits. I'm glad to say there were only a handful of times throughout the year spent crying over the reality that life is hard and is often unfair, with a couple of happy-crying moments mixed in as well. It's still hard to believe that I have been a college graduate for more than a year and that I have had a salaried job for just shy of a year (Feb. 2 will be the one-year mark).
Here are the highlights of my year, with photos whenever possible.
January:
I saw Adele, a woman who helped me cope with some difficulties while studying abroad in Rome in 2008, in concert with two of the best girls I know.
I witnessed history with friends by attending President Obama's Inauguration in DC on a freezing cold day.
February:
As mentioned above, I headed to work.
March:
To be quite honest, I don't remember much about March, or a majority of the first couple months I was a work. Needless to say, it's been a tumultuous year.
April:
Without a doubt, the highlight of this month was going out in DC with my girlfriend Krista. It was much needed and a good reminder of how important it is to work hard AND play hard.
May:
This month was a jam-packed month! First, I purchased my first car, Svea, an AWD Volvo.
Then, I took my first business trip to Fort Worth, TX.
Our girl, Irene aka Ireney, graduated from college and I took a vacation day to drive down to witness the momentous occasion.
June:
My Mom came to visit for the first time since she helped me move in and we explored Corning, NY.
July:
KIMP had a reunion dinner party. A good start to any month.
I celebrated our nation's freedom in DC with Krista and her mom.
August:
August was a hard month. My brother-in-law's younger brother, a classmate of mine since middle school, was in a horrible motorcycle accident. He is paralyzed from the neck down and this month was spent praying, hoping and waiting for signs of improvement. I'm very glad to say that he is doing much better now, even working with speech therapists, and is able to carry on conversations with anyone who can read his lips. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for his improvements and pray for his continued strength.
September:
This month marked the 22 year of my life and was filled with celebrations with my friends and family. My favorite meals included sushi, california rolls with real crab meat, and hard shell MD crabs!
October:
I truly feel in love with Fall and the beautiful colors of NY.
November:
Two words: Disney World.
December:
The best month of the year. I spent 16 glorious days in Hawaii with Mom visiting my sister. Here are some of my favorite images:
2009 marked my first step in adulthood: I moved to Central NY to begin my career and fully entered my own life, complete with rent, bills and credit limits. I'm glad to say there were only a handful of times throughout the year spent crying over the reality that life is hard and is often unfair, with a couple of happy-crying moments mixed in as well. It's still hard to believe that I have been a college graduate for more than a year and that I have had a salaried job for just shy of a year (Feb. 2 will be the one-year mark).
Here are the highlights of my year, with photos whenever possible.
January:
I saw Adele, a woman who helped me cope with some difficulties while studying abroad in Rome in 2008, in concert with two of the best girls I know.
I witnessed history with friends by attending President Obama's Inauguration in DC on a freezing cold day.
February:
As mentioned above, I headed to work.
March:
To be quite honest, I don't remember much about March, or a majority of the first couple months I was a work. Needless to say, it's been a tumultuous year.
April:
Without a doubt, the highlight of this month was going out in DC with my girlfriend Krista. It was much needed and a good reminder of how important it is to work hard AND play hard.
May:
This month was a jam-packed month! First, I purchased my first car, Svea, an AWD Volvo.
Then, I took my first business trip to Fort Worth, TX.
Our girl, Irene aka Ireney, graduated from college and I took a vacation day to drive down to witness the momentous occasion.
June:
My Mom came to visit for the first time since she helped me move in and we explored Corning, NY.
July:
KIMP had a reunion dinner party. A good start to any month.
I celebrated our nation's freedom in DC with Krista and her mom.
August:
August was a hard month. My brother-in-law's younger brother, a classmate of mine since middle school, was in a horrible motorcycle accident. He is paralyzed from the neck down and this month was spent praying, hoping and waiting for signs of improvement. I'm very glad to say that he is doing much better now, even working with speech therapists, and is able to carry on conversations with anyone who can read his lips. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for his improvements and pray for his continued strength.
September:
This month marked the 22 year of my life and was filled with celebrations with my friends and family. My favorite meals included sushi, california rolls with real crab meat, and hard shell MD crabs!
October:
I truly feel in love with Fall and the beautiful colors of NY.
November:
Two words: Disney World.
December:
The best month of the year. I spent 16 glorious days in Hawaii with Mom visiting my sister. Here are some of my favorite images:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Headin' South
Packing and preparing for Disney World! So excited, but super busy. To occupy your mind for a minute or two, some of my favorite travel quotes:
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
~Susan Heller
There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror.
~Orson Welles
(I actually love flying, but yes, there is a good amount of boredom)
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
~Mark Twain
Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.
~Freya Stark
~Susan Heller
There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror.
~Orson Welles
(I actually love flying, but yes, there is a good amount of boredom)
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
~Mark Twain
Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.
~Freya Stark
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Roman Weekend
I lived in Rome for five months and I will be the first to admit it was anything but perfect, but it was beautiful and it certainly had its high points. It was definitely one of those things where if you could have done it with the people you care about most in the world, it would have been an entirely different experience. From a culinary standpoint, I wish I had gone out to eat more, but let's be honest, I wasn't exactly rolling in money and I was finding good food on my own ;-).
I was a dipping into the local scene and hitting up the grocery stores and markets, which was often extremely nerve-racking (have you tried ordering meat from a butcher... IN ITALIAN?!?! Not an easy thing to do. I was basically a vegetarian while I was there and returned to the States with significantly better charades skills).
Rome was actually when I realized how much I loved clams... and nutella, LOTS and lots of nutella, not combined though. So, as an ode to my Roman life, I am making Linguine with White Clam Sauce and Crepes this weekend.
Now, crepes aren't strictly a Roman memory for me. I've been making them for years with my family. One of my favorite "comfort foods" is actually a sweet, (fresh) strawberry cream cheese filled crepe, topped with a fresh fruit compote and powdered sugar, which was my Dad's concoction that we perfected together. For the reason of those wonderful memories, I don't think I could make them without him with me, so I'll be having the classic nutella and banana filled crepes this time. A yummy snack that was readily available at a stand right in front of the Pantheon. They were gynormous and delicious and wonderful.
Buon appetito, ragazzi!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Birthday Celebrations :: Round Four
LAST BIRTHDAY RECAP! Yay!
So, for my last birthday I spent the evening in Annapolis with my college roommate Patti and her cute puppy (you can scroll down for pictures and then scroll back up, I won't be offended), Remi. All around it was a great night and it was so good to catch up with Patti. She and Jared (the bartender in pic below) are the cutest couple ever. Like a married couple that's still happy but knows each other so well it's hilarious to the third party.
Okay, if you are going to Annapolis and like sushi, wine and other yummy appetizers, I suggest you venture to Real Seafood Co. - Annapolis. Let's put it this way, I got a california roll with REAL MARYLAND BLUE CRAB for (I believe it was) $5. My salmon and avocado roll was quite delicious as well.
I'd take the cute puppy too :)
So, for my last birthday I spent the evening in Annapolis with my college roommate Patti and her cute puppy (you can scroll down for pictures and then scroll back up, I won't be offended), Remi. All around it was a great night and it was so good to catch up with Patti. She and Jared (the bartender in pic below) are the cutest couple ever. Like a married couple that's still happy but knows each other so well it's hilarious to the third party.
Okay, if you are going to Annapolis and like sushi, wine and other yummy appetizers, I suggest you venture to Real Seafood Co. - Annapolis. Let's put it this way, I got a california roll with REAL MARYLAND BLUE CRAB for (I believe it was) $5. My salmon and avocado roll was quite delicious as well.
Plus, who doesn't want this awesome color block wall somewhere in their home?
I'd take the cute puppy too :)Sunday, August 9, 2009
Top 10 List
Grand Teton National Park, WyomingThe following is a list of some of my top experiences and then a list of things on my to-do list!
(in no particular order)
1) Seeing the Grand Canyon (we stayed at the National Park on the North Side, so beautiful)
2) Snowshoeing in Grand Teton National Park (this Park will always be one of my most favorite places in the entire world)
3) Running from a sand storm at Monument Valley (so glad we were at our cars when it finally hit! We had no clue what it was when we first saw it on the horizon)
4) Taking a sleigh ride (bells and thick blankets included) through an elk herd (I think this was in Grand Teton Nat'l Park as well)
5) Eating breakfast with my Mom and sister overlooking the Amalfi Coast (big fan of Furore, we stayed at the most adorable Bed and Breakfast there... where some couples took it to a whole new level next door, needless to say we were crying we were laughing so hard)
6) Taking a culinary tour through Barcelona with Melissa... and then eating about half of all appetizers for the group :) yum
7) Touring the Vatican and sneaking some pictures of the famous ceiling and then touching the Pope... no really he was right in front of us
8) Seeing London from the river with the River Thames Tour ending at the London Tower with a lunch of the classic fish and chips
9) Eating a traditional Hawaiian breakfast of Banana pancakes with Macadamia syrup (it's white) and rice, eggs and sausage aka spam (DE-LISH! must follow with trip to North Beach or it's just not as yummy)
10) Attending Easter service at the Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC with my Dad during our Daddy and Daughter trip (I will live in Charleston or at least own a vacation house there one day!)
and now, for the future!
1) See the Pyramids in Egypt
2) Walk on the Great Wall of China
3) Snorkel/Scuba the Great Barrier Reef
4) Climb the Eiffel Tower
5) Overlook Athens from the steps of the Parthenon
6) Visit my "homeland" in Budapest, Hungary
7) Drive from castle to castle across the Irish countryside (my other "homeland")
8) Tour Prague
9) See the amazing architecture of St. Petersburg
10) Visit Switzerland, no particular city/town at this point, I just HAVE to see those Swiss Alps from the ground because they are breathtaking from the air
What's on your list?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
My Heart Skips, Jumps and Smiles for NYC
I took a day trip to New York City (THE City some might say) a few weekends ago and I must say there is something absolutely captivating about that amazing and beautiful place. I'm not sure if it's the rawness of the people, the mesh of cultures that clash and mold so wonderfully, or if it's the mix of architecture that just reaches inside me and stops me dead in my tracks.
No matter what it is I love the most about this place, all that counts is that I notice... Off to bed, hope to post more this week although I hate to put a time frame to it, it seems to jinx the chances!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)