Portugal and One Last Jump

I'm sorry it's been some time since my last blog post. . .it's been a rather hectic couple of weeks. After Rome, we flew to Lisbon, Portugal. We were there for only one night, because the next day we flew HOME! Portugal was really nice; we would have liked to have spent more time there, but bittersweetly, our traveling stint has come to a close for the time being.


We are glad to be back in the USA! We traveled for about seven weeks, and it was an amazing time. We visited 12 European countries and dozens of cities and towns within! It is an experience we will never forget, and if you feel the need to travel, I strongly recommend it. And what was even more incredible than the trip itself was that we got to have these experiences together as husband and wife, as a team. We have so many special memories and joys that are ours alone.


I think perhaps a few people are wondering why we came home when we did---in other words, why we didn't stay longer. Although our family thought we were gone a little too long, it is a legitimate question. There was no time frame on our trip, and, as you know if you've been keeping up with our blog, no set plans. Yes, if an opportunity arose where we could stay for longer and work, we may have explored that, but the longer we were there, the more we realized that this would prove harder than we thought. There is tons of red tape involved if you want to make a living in a foreign country, even if you're in the healthcare industry like Joey. From what I gathered, the easiest way to work overseas is to already have a job before you get there (like from an American company that has foreign reach, for example), which is a task in itself. Alternatively, it's easier if you are there to go to school. Neither of these options applied to us.


The only real plans we made were involving the amount of money we were going to spend on this adventure. As you know, we both quit our jobs to do this, and we did so with a travel budget set aside, separate from our savings. Although we did take a risk in quitting our jobs and planning this trip about a month before we went, it was very important that the financials were in place. And they were. Not everything we do is fly by the seat of our pants :) And so a budget we would follow, and once that ran out, we would either come home or would have plans for a job in some country (anywhere but the Ukraine, right Joey? haha). So...after about 7 weeks, our travel budget was indeed spent, and since we did not have prospects to stay and work, it was time to come home! Did I mention that Europe is insanely expensive??


Although budget was the main reason, there were several factors that nudged us homeward. One is that my sister is moving home for the winter months!! I am beyond excited. My sister is my closest and most precious friend, and it has been over 5 years since we have lived in the same city. The move is only temporary, so I knew this was something I did not want to pass up.


Secondly, Europe is a little crazy right now, I'm not gonna lie. We were all set to look at apartments in Paris, when the news of the terror threats targeting Paris among others began to circulate through the media. Security was visibly amped up in popular tourist sites. President Obama urged American tourists to register with the U.S. embassy if they were in Europe. Scary stuff. Many of you emailed us out of concern, and we asked for your prayers. The truth is that there would be nothing we could really do to protect ourselves; we were fully relying on God for protection. He is sovereign, and He did protect us and everyone else while we were there. I pray that He continues to do so. Also to add to the chaos of Europe, there were strikes and riots in most of the countries we visited over different issues. It was craziness. I think just about if not all of our flights within the continent were delayed due to some strike or another. I really don't know the politics or the situations concerning the unrest of the working public so I'm not really qualified to comment, but something is going on. I do remember riots of sorts during past visits overseas, but I don't remember there being so many. But then again, I've never traveled for this long and seen this many countries in one trip. So maybe it's always been this way, or maybe things are worse right now. I'm not sure. But suffice it to say, although we adored traveling, we weren't sure if we wanted to stay here long term.


The truth is, we live in a great country. Despite its hefty list of problems, it's a wonderful place to live. For me, I know there are things I take for granted everyday at home, and it caused me to appreciate things a little more after being away. Like ice. Many other things too of course, but that's just one small example :)


So yes, we are back and have no regrets! We look forward to seeing our friends again soon, we missed all of you! During our short time home, our time has been consumed with various family issues such as the death of a close family friend and of course the homecoming of Maya. But we hope to get to see you all soon!


Thank you so much for taking an interest in our travels, we really appreciate everyone's encouragement! As you know, just because we're not traveling anymore doesn't mean that the adventure of life ends! So I do plan to continue blogging, as I have greatly enjoyed doing so. Hopefully Joey will make a cameo and do a "Joey's Take," as everyone seemed to enjoy them!


So I guess the question we need to answer transitions from "where are y'all going next?" to "what are y'all DOING next?"

Wher'er We Roam, We'll Always Have Rome



We finished our Italy stint with a bang and ended with Roma! We visited something like seven cities in Italy, pretty awesome! There is just so much to see in this amazing country. We visited Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre (technically five different places but we'll still count it as one), Cortona, and lastly Rome. I think I got them all. Of course I would have loved to have visited Ferrara (if anything just to take obnoxious pictures with my maiden name) and Capri, but you just can't do everything in one trip, and we have done a ton. There's always next time.

Rome is of course, amazing. Almost too much to take in. We stayed in Vatican City, which was a great place to be. I don't think I really knew this, but did you know that Vatican City is its own country? It's true. They have their own money, print their own stamps, have their own postal service, etc. Of course they accept Euros within their border, thank goodness. The country has about 1000 citizens, which consists of clergymen and people who work and live within the country's borders. Children born in Vatican City are granted Vatican citizenship, until they turn 18, and then it gets converted to Italian citizenship. I found that pretty interesting.


So on Thursday night, Joey discovered that on Friday nights only, you can visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel at night! And luckily, they had a few spots left for us so we booked them. Again, I just to have to chuckle at our last-minuteness (and my ability to make up words). So many people that we've met on this trip had literally planned everything six months ago. But hey, it's worked out for us. There isn't much that we haven't gotten to see because of lack of advanced planning. So to the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants traveler, I am here to say it can be done!


It was a neat experience to see it at night. Of course the crowds aren't as crowded, and things just seem more solemn at night. The Vatican museums have some exquisite works of art and some very ancient artifacts. They have an actual intact mummified body dated 1000 B.C. Pretty incredible. And of course the museums themselves are something to behold, with so many of the ceilings painted by Michelangelo himself.

Vatican Museums at night

And then the piece de resistance is of course the Sistine Chapel. It's incredible. Go see it. We couldn't take any pictures, as that chapel is patrolled big time. They are serious on the no photo policy. But it was beautiful. Michelangelo was quite the talented kid.


We also visited the Castle of San Angelo, which was built around the 1st century. The structure wore many hats throughout history---it was built originally by someone who wanted to basically build a shrine to himself I believe (I'm sure my accuracy on history isn't always precise on this bloggy blog, I'm pretty much going by memory), it was also a prison, a palace and a fort. The structure itself isn't very pretty, but the terrace has some lovely views of the city.

Italian hens....i love it!

We also visited Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and many other sights. Rome has a lot of fountains...

The Spanish Steps...we don't really know why they're famous, and no one else could tell us why. Huh.

Trevi Fountain

I tossed a coin in for us, don't you worry.





Where Mussolini gave his crazy fascist speeches!

We also visited the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. This is ancient stuff.

Coliseum



Ancient City





 We got to St. Peter's Basilica that same evening (Sunday). We were nervous that we weren't going to get to see it because earlier in the day, we had seen several newscasters outside doing takes for a story. I heard one of them say it would be a very busy night in Rome and something about the Pope...so needless to say we were concerned about crowds and that the basilica might be closed altogether for such an event (and we were leaving Rome early the next morning for Portugal). The Pope has been touring around Europe while we've been here.

But when we arrived, no Pope, no huge crowds, so we got in! The basilica is truly awesome. No expense was spared to make this incredible place of worship. Since it was Sunday, we got to attend the mass there, so that was really neat. It was a great honor to get to worship in such a place.





 

St. Peter's Basilica

la Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica

In the evening



Viva Roma!

 

A note about Italian cuisine. Unfortunately, it's not all incredible. I wish it were. And I guess that's what we were expecting. But you can't just walk into any establishment and expect to have great pasta. The places that are near tourist areas just seem like they want to rip tourists off and serve mediocre food. We especially found this in Rome. I even experienced bad gelato. Like, really bad. Like I threw it away. That's bad. So after about a day, we got smart and started going in with a game plan. That is, we consulted Trip Advisor for our meals. And it worked pretty well. We had the best gelato EVER, and it was even on our hotel's street. We also had some really nice dinners. So, all this to say, don't expect to go to Rome and have great food no matter what. Ya gotta work for it! 

 

We greatly enjoyed majestic Rome; you just can't visit Italy without going to the ancient city. They paved the way for civilization as we know it. An experience not to be forgotten, both spiritual and educational....and it's quite a romantic city too, I think even more so than Paris. 

 

Ciao!

 

Lean On Me

We decided on a whim to visit Pisa on our way in to Cortona from Cinque Terre. Why not, right? We were only there for about two hours (which is why we have on our backpacks in the photos), but we saw that leaning tower!

I remember learning about the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" in the third grade social studies, and how we were all hoping it was a huge slice of angular, cheesy pizza stuck somewhere in a faraway land...a pizza pie in the sky :) "No, children, it's Pisa, not Pizza." Still, a leaning tower is something you never forget, and it was pretty amazing to see in person. That thing is really leaning! And, it continues to tilt, about 1-2 meters each year, thanks to tourists who climb the stairs, They only let a certain amount go up every day. Pretty crazy. That thing is tumbling over one day. Luckily, we got to see it before it's too late! If this is on your bucket list, fret not, I still think you have plenty of time :)

He's pokin' his little head out to say hello :)

Battistero (Baptistry)

Duomo, the leaning Tower of Pisa behind

The Leaning Tower in the Campo del Miracoli (Field of Miracles), along with the Duomo and Battistero

It really is leaning!

The Mermaid and The Mountain Man

Our guidebook describes Cinque Terre as the outdoorsman's paradise. The region consists of five villages (hence the name Cinque Terre) all strung together along the coastline. You can hike up and down the coast and visit all five villages in a single day. It sounded like a dream for us!



While on this adventure, Joey expressed his discovery that I am a beach person and that he is a mountain person. And I would have to agree. I am very coastal; I am drawn to the water. I love to hang out on the beach all day (although unfortunately my skin tone inhibits me sometimes), but I also just really like being near or on the water. I began swimming at a very early age I am told, and I just love everything about the water. It would be fun to have a boat one day and water ski in the summer. I guess that's just how I grew up, and I loved it. Just about every place I've said I wanted to see on this trip has been on the coast, although it wasn't always intentional.


Joey loves being in the mountains...I think he could settle down in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. An outdoorsman to the core, he is hunting in the fall and fishing in the spring. More than anything, I think he just likes being out in nature. That's what he did while growing up, and he cherishes those memories, and these activities will always be part of who he is.


But we complement eachother well. Joey enjoys the water; he will go to the beach with me, but he's going to be in the shade the entire time. In fact, he proposed to me of the shores of Orange Beach. We both enjoy swimming in the ocean, although Joey has to be careful because of his busted eardrum. Obviously he loves boats and lakes---the man could fish all day. And like him, I love the mountains, too. I enjoy hiking and I've skiied all my life. But I don't so much look forward to sitting up in a tree at 4am in the freezing cold to see if any deer (or racoons, most likely) come my way :) Appropriately, we went skiing for our honeymoon. So we got engaged on the water and honeymooned in the snow (although I didn't really think of that connection until now)!


So we're each more passionate about the other, but we enjoy both aspects enough to enjoy each other while doing them! Was that clear as mud?


Ok to back to Cinque Terre. The five villages, each different from the other, are as follows: the westernmost and largest town of Monterosso al Mare (where we stayed), followed by charming Vernazza, rocky-shored Corniglia where we watched a beautiful sunset, swimming-cove dotted Manorola, and walk of love Riomaggiore.


We stayed in another family-run bed and breakfast. I have to say I am loving this way of travelling. If you remember, we did something similar to this in Greece, although this place in Cinque Terre was much smaller. The owners are always so kind, and you get a glimpse of real life there. In addition to running their B&B, the couple was out picking olives in their fields during the day. Anyway, we stayed in an apartment above their lovely home, and we had a really great view of Monterosso from our terrace. Although there is always a price to pay, and in order to get down to the center of town, we had to walk down at least 10 flights of stairs from our house. Which isn't too bad, but when you have to go UP for the night...mon Dieu. Wine + Tons o Stairs = BAD.

The view from our terrace

Lucky, the family's dog :) Yes, we miss Polly Browne terribly...

Monterosso al Mare, the westernmost village of Cinque Terre and where we stayed

Arrival in Cinque Terre....cloudy the first day!

But perfect the next day! Don't you want to climb and jump off that rock behind me??

Beach stretch in Monterosso

So back to the whole water/mountains thing....Cinque Terre was kind of perfect for Joey and me because it was hiking along the coast. And it was really beautiful. The hike from Monterosso to Vernazza is the longest and the hardest, but the nicest. There are vineyards and gardens everywhere, so you have the lovely scent of lavendar, thyme and grapes as you make the trek. And the water was so blue...it looked so good! And there were caves etched out in the rock, how fun to swim in those. We both wanted to get in the water, but we just didn't have time. I'm sure it was pretty chilly too. Oh well, we'll just have to come back in the summer.

Monterosso

Hike between Montersso and Vernazza

I don't think either of us were expecting that much of a hike (it's between towns, how bad can it be?), but it was indeed quite the hike---lots of uphill action. Luckily, trains run from each town, so once you get to Riomaggiore (or anywhere in between for that matter), you can hop on the train and head back to where you're staying (thank goodness). We loved Cinque Terre! It was definitely worth it to see another side of Italy within the walls of these five little villages.

Vernazza

Walking through the Via del Amore between Riomaggiore and Manorola

Doesn't that cave look awesome! Wanted to explore it so bad!

Corniglia

Riomaggiore

Sunset from Corniglia

Kisses from the Tunnel of Love! (right behind me in the photo) XOXO!