My Italian Adventure

This past weekend my friend Elyse and I had a quick adventure in Italy... we have been talking about taking cooking lessons for a few months, and this weekend, it finally worked out. We were a good tag team with planning - I found some cheap flights, Elyse found the class, and we were on the same page about what we wanted to do. We got up in the wee hours of Friday morning, and took the 7:00am flight into Pisa, which is about an hour from Florence. It was a pretty empty flight, so we both had our own rows and were able to sleep during the two hour flight. When we got into the airport and went to book our tickets to Florence, guess what? Remember how the museum workers were on strike the last time I was in Italy? Well, this time the TRAIN workers were on strike. I have a feeling that going on strike is a common theme in Italy. :) Luckily, there was a bus to Florence, so we were able to secure transportation before exploring in Pisa a bit. First stop: The Leaning Tower of Pisa. When we finally came upon it, I felt much like I did the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower... "Oh my God! I can't believe I'm REALLY seeing this.". The Leaning Tower of Pisa is just one of those things that people know all around the world, and actually getting to SEE it was amazing. Elyse and I had a nice conversation about how lucky we both feel to get to have these amazing experiences. Don't worry - I don't forget this for one second! (okay, I might forget when I'm frustrated at the grocery store trying to find cilantro... or good peanut butter... or bread crumbs... but I digress!). :) The building was open to climb to the top - from what I understand, this is a fairly recent change... it was closed for years because it was too unstable to climb. It was a pretty steep entrance fee (15 euros), but, hey, when else was I going to have this opportunity???

Elyse and I doing our best to hold the tower up - it's quite heavy!

View of Pisa from the top - how I miss the mountains!!

After doing a little shopping (the sales in Italy are in January!), we took our bus to Florence, and made our way to our cute hotel, which was actually more of someone's house. It was in a perfect location, and the staff were super friendly and helpful. That evening, we finally got to see the David statue - all 14 feet of male perfection. Seriously - wow! :) I didn't get to see him the last time I was in Florence because of the strike, so I was happy to get to see him this time.

Saturday morning, we got up and were picked up by a driver, who took us into the Tuscan countryside for our cooking lesson. Elyse and I were joking before the class that it would be a hot young Italian guy, and, wow, it was a good prediction. :) This guy had the cutest dimples I've ever seen, and spending 5 hours with him was no sacrifice. We had a lot of fun, making risotto, handmade ravioli, crostini, baked fish, and a really nice dessert in the process. Oh yeah, and then we ate it all! :) I was amazingly full at the end of this feast. :)

The cooking class - L to R - Elyse, Simone, Louise (a nice Scottish girl who was also in our class), & me

Elyse rolling out her ravioli

Simone showing us how to make ravioli

Our yummy dessert - very artistic presentation!

That afternoon and evening, we did a lot of shopping at the local markets... Elyse was on a mission to find birthday gifts for her mom and sister, which was fun. And, of course, we ate more. I always feel like I EAT my way through Italy. :)

The next morning, we got up early and went for a run up to the beautiful Piazzale Michaelangelo, which has an amazing view of Florence. We continued our run up to a Benedictine monastery, and then made our way back down. We had a little more time in the city after that, and then made our way back to Amsterdam. The weekend was a great mix - culture, cooking, shopping, and friendship. I truly enjoyed it. :)

The view from Piazzale Michaelangelo


The view further up from the monastery/cemetery

Wonderful Weekend

Hi all! :) Just looking back on one of the nicest weekends I've had since moving to Amsterdam. I feel so lucky to have met such amazing people here... despite being from different cultures, we are all learning so much from each other. It's really something special.

Friday night, my team and I went to the "Nike Pub", the local bar that all the Nike people go to... we had to celebrate, because one of my dear co-workers, Sanne, had her contract extended until the end of our fiscal year. Up until Friday, we weren't sure what was going to happen because of the economy. We were really happy that she is staying to say the least! :)

I got home and decided that I was going to try out a new recipe, a healthy recipe for eggplant parmigiana. All was going well until I started making the sauce... it called for a little bit of red pepper flakes, and I took the lid off of the jar and started "sprinkling" in the flakes... only it didn't have the little plastic piece to only let a little bit out... so about half the jar came out. I got as much out as I could, and then made peace with the fact that it was going to be a little bit spicy. A little is about the understatement of the year... the sauce was so spicy that I had tears running down my face and broke into a sweat! Oh well... live and learn! :)

Saturday, I got up on the early side and drove to Rotterdam, which is about an hour away. I visited my friend Gulsun there, and we had a really lovely day. We spent a few hours shopping, as the sales in the Netherlands are this month, had a nice dinner, and then went to the evening session of skiing at this indoor ski place. I'm still far from being a pro, but I really enjoy it. This place was pretty cool... Holland is about as flat as Ohio, actually flatter, so there isn't much of a chance to do natural skiing. So, they have built a man-made hill inside a building, and there are two "slopes" to ski down. I can imagine that it isn't very challenging for people that are good skiiers, however it was just perfect for me!

One kind of "new" thing for me... so in the Netherlands, nudity is much more accepted/common than in the US. So... in the locker room at the ski place, I was only halfway surprised to see men changing from their street clothes into ski clothes out in the open. Saw lots of underwear that night! Very different from what I am used to , but I'm getting less and less shocked every time. And, NO, I did NOT join in on the fun! ;)

Here are some pictures from the evening:

Waiting in line to go up the tow line


Gulsun coming down the "mountain" looking cool on her snowboard


Doing my best not to fall since I knew Gulsun was taking a picture!

Gulsun - fabulous friend and hostess

I spent the night in Rotterdam, as the night session lasted until midnight and we didn't get home until after 1:00 am. Gulsun introduced me to all kinds of new treats... one of which is called "Duo Panotti" and is a twist of Nutella and the white cream from Cadbury eggs... yep, candy bar on toast! :) I had such a fun time! :)

PS - I booked my flights for my sister's wedding. I'll be in Ohio from April 17th to the 27th, and then in Portland from the 27th evening until May 2nd... mark your calendars! :)

It's Freezing Outside!!

Well, it's been below freezing here since I returned from Ohio. When the canals and ponds freeze here in Holland, something really special happens... everyone dusts off their skates and glides across the ice. Evidently, the canals haven't been frozen enough to do this in years, so I feel lucky to have been able to see this. I didn't have skates, so Karyn and I ventured out to a sporting goods store where I had two options - 1. Buy really expensive "speed skates" with a super long blade on them or 2. buy some less expensive "strap on skates" that I could simply put on over my shoes. I opted for the strap on skates, figuring that this would probably be the only time I would wear them. Probably a bad choice. What I had forgotten was that skates that lace up all the way kind of support your ankles so you can push off... not so much with the strap on skates. Karyn and I made one loop around a frozen moat that once surrounded a fort, and then I opted out. My ankles were killing me! But, I was really happy to get out and experience this wonderful Dutch tradition. Here are some funny things I saw out on the ice:

* A young couple pushed their baby stroller out on the ice, and they were pushing their stroller and walking around the moat.
* Parents teach their kids by having them push a chair around the ice... so lots of little kids with chairs
* Two older men skating on a tiny patch of ice in a not-so-frozen part of the canal near my house (Yikes! Three Dutchies have already died this year by falling into frozen water - let's use our noggin's!)

All in, all, a lot of fun, and nice to get out of the house in this freezing weather!


Dutch ice skating on the frozen moat in Alcoude


Karyn, the pro skater, making her way around the ice


Buds... note the strap on skates are not on my feet, but in my hands! I really did not like them!

The skates... purchased today, will be posting on a community "for sale" site today

How quintessentially Dutch... a windmill with ice skaters... we came upon this during our drive home.

I really dislike being cold, so if I don't have something really important to do outside (like skate :)), I try to stay warm. For Christmas, my parents got me something I've been wanting for a while - a complete cake decorating set. Saturday, I baked a new recipe for yellow cake (this was the first cake I have EVER made from scratch), and then today, I got out all my new tools and did a little experimenting. Some turned out better than others, but I think there is potential there. ;) I had a lot of fun, and am looking forward to bringing them in to share with my team tomorrow.

Random cupcake decorations... just trying out all my new tips

Gift packaging

Seven Pounds

I forgot to mention in my post that my family saw the movie Seven Pounds as our annual family Christmas movie. We've had a tradition for a long time of seeing a movie over our Christmas Break, and I picked this one... thinking it was a love story from the ad that I saw in the newspaper.


It sort of was a love story, but it was also the saddest movie I have ever seen. I'm still trying to decide if I liked it or not. I had to wait several minutes before leaving the theater so I could stop crying, and then I was still fighting tears on the drive home. I guess a movie is good if it can provoke this kind of emotion, but WARNING: Don't see this if you are looking for a feel-good blockbuster. :)

A Very Merry Christmas!

Well, I'm back in Amsterdam again, after a lovely 10 days in Ohio spent with friends and family. I think that after all the drama with my flight into the States, I'll plan to come a little earlier next year. :)

Christmas this year was a lot different than other years. We usually go to midnight mass, and then spend all of Christmas Day in our jammies, just hanging out and watching family movies. This year, because I was so delayed, we didn't make it to midnight mass (which is strangely now at 10:00pm...), so we went to mass at 11 on Christmas morning... this would have been fine, but broke about a 15 year streak of not getting dressed on Christmas. It was really weird... our church was nearly empty. The message was good, but a little odd for Christmas... it was all about marriage, not the birth of Christ. Still a nice message, especially for my little sis, who is getting married in four months! After church, we stopped by so I could see my Aunt Joanie and Uncle John, who have just built a beautiful house next door to my parents. It was nice to see them and catch up. They love Europe as much as I do, so it was fun to swap a few stories.


My family with John and Joanie

My family is pretty special in that a lot of us live on the same street. Every year, my dad's younger brothers and sisters and my family get together for a progressive dinner. We start at one house for appetizers and drinks, then move to another for salad, another for the main course, and then end up at my Aunt Barb's, who has the most amazing bar set-up you have ever seen! It was fun to get to see everyone. We had a few additional guest this year... my sister's fiance, Matt, joined as our newest addition to the family, and his older brother, Chris, also spent a few days with us. Hopefully our crazy family didn't scare them away. ;)

The whole gang at my parents' house

After a few days in the house, Em, Matt, Chris and I were all getting a little stir crazy, so we drove about an hour and a half north to Bellefontaine, home of Mad River Mountain (which I'd argue to say is more of a hill, but I digress...). This was only my second time ever skiing, and, despite some major falls the first few times down, I ended up having a really fun time. Matt and Chris are pretty good skiiers, so I was very thankful that they were there to help me get up when I was lying helpless on the ground. :) And, of course, it's always really nice to have time with my sister... we really enjoyed having a chance to catch up during all of our ski lift trips.

The beautiful sunset on Mad River Mountain

Pretty much every Christmas, I drive up to Toledo to see my friends from college. This year, I drove up on New Year's Eve so I could attend Paul and Mandy's annual New Year's party. On the way up, I met an old friend, Gus, that was a Blue Key brother of mine back in the day. It's hard to believe that that was nearly 9 years ago. It had been about a year and a half since we had seen each other, so it was really nice to catch up.

Gus and I at Max & Erma's

After lunch, I made my way to Mandy's house, where I was greeted not by her baby but by a little MAN! I can't believe how fast William is growing. He's 2 now, and I think the cutest things he does are as follows: 1. When you say "O-H" to him, he replies back with "I-O" (okay, this is probably only cute to Buckeye fans), 2. He knows how to bring daddy a beer, and 3. He loves to dance, complete with his "raise the roof" moves!. He was a delight to hang out with, and, as usual, it was good to catch up with Mandy and Ellen, along with their spouses. William was my date for the evening, complete with a kiss on the cheek at midnight and an apple juice toast! ;)

William drinking his apple juice out of a champagne glass - too cute!

My new buddy

As usual, time passed too quickly with my dear friends, and before I knew it, it was time to head out to meet my friend Lupe. We went to one of my favorite places in Ohio - Bob Evans - down on the farm cookin'. :) Lupe has been a really special friend to me since we studied in Spain together in 1999. Though we don't get to see each other very often, it's always great to get together, and we pick right up where we left off.

Lupe and I

I made it home for the Penn State @$$ whooping by USC (oh, how I miss college football!), and then got to spend all day Friday with my wonderful family. I had a strange moment, when I reached into my coat pocket and found my boarding pass from Amsterdam to Detroit. I totally had forgotten for a second that I live in Amsterdam, and that was freaky. It was surreal to be home, and even more surreal to go back to a foreign country after being in such familiar ground for this time. I'm very lucky to have such a great family and such great friends that have kept in touch all of these years.

Wishing everyone and their families a very happy 2009!!