My Name is Lucca...

Monday, FEB 4th 2008

We finally decided to take a day trip outside of Florence. Decisions, Decisions!! We got inspired while I was reading the guidebook that Cindy let me borrow that said Lucca is an hour train ride away which is great for a day trip. It also has a 3 mile wall that is built around the city that you can actually walk on. Sounded a little China wallish but they said there were always people up on the wall so we were sold. It should also be mentioned that within this 3 mile wall radius that there are 99 churches...being from the Bible Belt I had to see this! AND...I got to sing "my name is Lucca" ALL day long! Even made up words since I could not remember the whole song!

Here is one of the portas into the city wall...

Once we were up on the wall we realized that it is basically a tree lined path around the city where young and old strolled, jogged, or rode their bikes. There are several children's playgrounds, lots of moss on trees and several water fountains. It is kind of a magical place. We walked around on the wall for a little while as the sun started breaking through the clouds and then decided it was time to check out the city within. We had heard that they did not allow cars within the walls but to our dismay there were cars and scooters inside. Once placing ourselves "inside the map" and finding one of the churches of interest (San Frediano) we remember that it is Monday and most places are closed. UGH! We make the best of it took pics of the outside and even snuck into the Pilazzo Pfanner which was closed for the winter. What they don't know won't hurt them. So I got a great pic of the Pfanner's courtyard. Then on to San Michele, over to Pucinni's birthplace, and then it was time for lunch. We were scheptical of the lunch in the little cafe but we were suprised with a delicioius meal of mushroom lasagne and tortellini with ham & cream. Next we decided to see their Duomo which had the most beautiful stain glass but we were not allowed to take photos inside. We strolled around the city some more and the back to the wall. All in all it was a wonderful day to walk on the wall and sing "I live on the second floor, I live upstairs from you, I think I've seen you before".

Here is my flickr link for more pics than I have posted here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/15000395@N06/sets/72157603859568085/

"Little Boxes, Little Boxes"

Oh My Goodness! On Sunday we had a veggie day once we finally got out of the bed around 1pm. :) Whoopsie! It is amazing how when you don't have english tv channels you find a way to watch something, anything non-italian. We caught up watching some episodes of Lost (3rd season) via iTunes. AND...I have a new love...WEEDS . What a great show! OMG!!! I'm hooked! Here is a pic of our "TV" lounge...notice Julia's baby Mac on the chair!

Angie's Pub

There is the most interesting pub in the Santa Croce district called Angie's Pub. The clientele ranges from students to punks to intellectuals of all ages. There is always good music playing from their speakers and it is always dark inside. Plus the bartenders are hot "blobs".

Julia and I met up with Julia's old roommate Lexie for a pint (or two). Here are some picks with the flash...

Always the Gracious Host

I've been waiting on the day to get back to one of my favorite cites...Florence, Italy. It just so happened that I start my new job on the International side of Pricing on the 12th and I have to finish most of this years vacation ASAP so of course my first thoughts were to go see Julia in Florence. Jules is always the gracious host always welcoming you to come visit. I jumped on the plane on JAN 31st, flew to Milan, and took our codeshare flight to Firenze. I have to say that I might not get paid much but the perk to just go get on an airplane whenever the flights look good is a wonderful thing!!!

I got into Florence around noon, got caught up on the going ons here, took a little nap while Julia went to teach English, and then Luigi came by for a welcome dinner. We had the BEST Indian delivery dinner! Way too much food but boy was it good!!!!!

B-day Pics for Julia

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULES!

Happy Birthday Julia!!!

January 28th is my dearest friend Julia's birthday. I've known Julia most of my adult life. We met in English 101 which was our very first class in college and have been friends ever since. We have shared our dreams, our fears, laughs, tears, a house and our love of travel. She is still the only person I can understand with toothbrush talk. We created the rules for laughter...rule #1 don't make the other person laugh while drinking, rule #2 not while eating, and rule #3 not while smoking. Julia, THANKS for always making me laugh no matter what rules we break! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! And I'll see you and Luigi very soon!!!

Today's Lesson

It all started with the alarm clock that did NOT go off. At 7:30 am when my bladder finally said "enough already" I did my early morning shuffle past the clock in my bathroom when my brain started working just enough to register that I was running WAY late. So off to the races I go getting ready and in my car by 8. I lucked out and got to work in like 35 minutes (I promise I did not go over 65).
I missed my morning briefing but made it in time for our normal coffee run. "Yahoo" I'm thinking...maybe my luck for the day is changing. I mean come on. I made it to work in time for my favorite part of the morning anyway, right. We have one of those Flava Coffee machines where you put in your coffee packet and it brews one cup how you want it. I put my packet in, the machine starts up and then tells you to "catch the aroma of fresh brewed coffee" which I always mock by throwing my hands together as if I've physically caught the aroma like a baby bumble bee in my hands. And yes, I think of the children's song about squishing that baby bumble bee when I do this action but it is little silly things like this that make my work life bearable. I'm the first to say it...I know I'm goofy! The next thing I notice is that the machine is back to the beginning sequence where it asks you what kind of drink do you want. WELL, I want the French Vanilla coffee that was supposed to come out of the machine and into my cup so I can actually get to work. I now have to go back around the corner to the galley where I get another French Vanilla coffee packet to try this again. I go to the other machine, put my packet in and wait again but this time I decide not to move my hands in the air like the idiot that I am. I patiently wait while coffee comes out of the machine...ALRIGHTY NOW! Yeah, Life is Good until I look down to realize that this machine had give me an espresso shot instead of a regular cup. Oh well, this I can deal with.
Finally things start to stabilize when I get an email stating that one of my favorite guys on our management team has left our company. No details on where he is going or why. I hate seeing such a huge asset that has done so much for our department and company just leave. Plus he made me laugh all the time with his big hair band songs and smart-ass comments. Again, AUGHHHH!
Positive, Positive, I need a Positive to talk about. Ohhhhhh, my next trip to Italy to see my oldest and dearest friend, Julia. Now there is a positive. I think I'll be on flying the friendly skies the first part of February back to one of my favorite cites (Florence, Italy) to see one of my favorite people.

So here is what I realized today in song form:
"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life. There's a time you got to go and show You're growin' now you know about The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life. When the world never seems to be livin up to your dreams And suddenly you're finding out the Facts of Life are all about you, you. It takes a lot to get 'em right When you're learning the Facts of Life. (learning the Facts of Life) Learning the Facts of Life (learning the Facts of Life) Learning the Facts of Life."

Did you sing along? :)