Don't mess with Texas or sinus infections

I'm back in cold, rainy Pittsburgh and recovering from a massive sinus infection that also spread to my throat. That was the diagnosis I received at the urgent care clinic I visited the morning after I wrote my last post. (Side note: There was also a guy named Kirk there waiting to get stitches. Apparently one of his friends threw a full bottle of Gatorade at his face and basically cracked his face in half. You wouldn't think a Riptide Rush to the grill could do that much damage, but you'd be surprised.) Luckily the combo of antibiotics, Mucinex, Vitamin C, and Advil kicked in quickly and I was feeling noticeably better by that afternoon. We drove around Galveston checking out some of the historical district. I was still feeling like crap so most of the photos were taken from the passenger window of a moving car, so they're not very good. That night I finally felt well enough to actually leave the hotel and eat dinner, so I got a steak (in Texas!) with a gulf view. Then I went to bed by 8.

On Thursday morning, I woke up ready to rock Galveston. I still didn't feel awesome, but I could stay awake for longer than 20 minutes and it was our last day there so I wanted to make the most of it. When Frank got back from his morning class, I convinced him to ditch the rest of the day. We drove around town, did some shopping and got an awesome lunch of crab stuffed shrimp (for me. He got something lame with chicken). The rest of the afternoon was spent laying at the pool and drinking Grey Goose and vodka (which is my new favorite). We also went for a long walk on the beach and I found the biggest seashell I've ever captured! Yes, I captured it. Honestly, looking for seashells is my favorite part of the beach and you can bet I brought this bad boy home with me. 

Frank brought this back for me when I didn't feel well enough to go to one of the fancy dinners:

The Hotel Galvez:

These are some of the houses/buildings we saw on our drive around the historic part of town:

The pool area was amazing, so was my view wink wink:

I could do this every day.

My boyfriend:

Me, back from the dead

My giant seashell:

I liked the sun flare

Pointing out grammatical errors on the beach

The view from my deathbed

(I started this post last week, but the shoddy hotel internet was cooperating, so I'm finishing it now.)

Here's the view from my death bed:

Amazing view, but it would be nice if I could go out and walk on that beach, not just stare at it from my bleached hotel sheets. I tagged along with Frank to a work conference in Galveston, which is actually an island off of Texas. Of course I started feeling weird after I stepped off the plane, and by last night I was feverish and had to call it a night before everyone else. Today has been miserable. I've been able to stay awake for an hour or two, do a little bit of work (even though I'm not at home, I'm technically still working because I didn't tell any of my clients I would be gone). Then I pass out and wake up in a pool of sweat a few hours later. Fever, chills, aches, and a little bit of a sore throat. I've missed a Mexican buffet and a gourmet dinner of seared salmon and who knows what else in favor of a 1/2 gallon of orange juice, some pizza flavored Combos and some gummy worms. I'm praying that today was the worst of it and I'll feel miraculously fine tomorrow. 

Galveston is a weird place. We're right on the ocean but there's not much of a beach. The hotel is gorgeous, but when you take a walk down the street there are boarded up houses, pawn shops, and fried chicken joints. We passed through a cute historic houses with gorgeous houses that look like they're right out of a magazine, but if you take a wrong turn, you're in the ghetto. 

Anyway, our hotel is pretty impressive. We're staying at the Hotel Galvez, 

One way to freak yourself out is to Google your hotel on a whim to find out if it's haunted, and then find out that it is indeed very haunted and has been the subject of many paranormal investigations. The story is that a woman's husband was away at sea and she was staying at the Hotel Galvez. She got word that his ship had wrecked and no one had survived. She was so distraught that she hung herself from one of the turrets. But it turned out that his ship had not wrecked and he returned a few weeks later. Apparently she haunts the hotel now. 

I will update later with more Galveston photos and any ghost sighting. 

Some stuff and things

My husband thinks he's all badass now that he has a Google Reader set up (which I set up for him) and he keeps saying he hasn't noticed my "feed" being updated lately. Ok smart ass. So here are some random updates with my life. I've also added some completely unrelated and random photos from my phone, because no one likes a blog post without pictures:

1. I incorporated my business, hooray! Now there's an Inc. at the end of the name and it's extra special. We  did it because our tax guy said he can save us 15% on taxes this way. I'll take it. Now I have to set up a business checking account, etc. I've been working on rebranding my business cards, web site, etc (and by rebranding, i mean adding the Inc. onto my logo. tada.).

We opened one of the bottles of wine we got in Napa for our 9th year dating anniversary. Is it weird that I place as much/maybe more importance on this date than our actual wedding? Maybe because we've been celebrating it for longer?

2. I just committed to a trip to southern Georgia to visit my dad's family. My grandma and her sister (who are both in their 90's) got into a car accident recently and have been in the hospital and in rehab. Grandma is out but my great aunt is still in rehab, out soon hopefully. They rear-ended someone while they were on their way to a peach orchard to pick peaches. How sad/sweet is that? Not much slows them down but this really threw a wrench in things. Anyway, my dad is planning to go visit in September. I wasn't going to go because I have a wedding to go to that weekend and the sheer boringness of sitting around and "visiting" with relatives that i'm not very close with (other than my grandma and great aunt), not to mention the cost of the flight, arranging my work schedule etc. And did I mention my extreme travel anxiety? Double gulp. But I'm going to go. And I'm also going to try to guilt my sister into going. Muah ha ha. 

My cat doesn't get enough love on this blog. Here ya go.

3. I'm training for an 8k. The Rothman 8k which is part of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend. I'm scared out of my mind to be honest. It took everything I had in me just to complete a 5k and that was a while ago. I've started training and I'm beginning to realize that running is a 90% mental game. My sister is going to do it with me and she's not a runner either, so I'm sure we'll take lots of walking breaks. We will be handsomely rewarded with cheesesteaks to the face.

My city. Did you know Batman is currently filming in Pittsburgh right now? My facebook wall has been crowded with Batmobile sightings and people lamenting the "Batman traffic" backups. We're pretty fancy here.

4. This one kind of goes with number 3. I'm trying to get back onto the diet and exercise wagon. With all the traveling we've been doing this summer, I've definitely fallen off. Pasta and pizza in Italy, cheesesteaks in Philly, ice cream at the beach, deep dish pizza in Chicago . . . I'm not good at eating healthy while traveling. But summer is winding down and I'll be home more often so I've been cooking more and making more of an effort to limit my intake. I've also been slacking in the cardio department, but hopefully I'll keep up with my race training.  I am proud to say though that I stuck with my lifting routine throughout the summer and I seriously love it. I've noticed such a change in my body since i've started seriously weight training. None of the half-assed stuff I used to do with the resistance machines. I'm so much stronger and I have more than doubled the weight i can move on some of my exercises. Even though I've been eating like crap, I've only gained about 4 lbs from my initial 18 lb weight loss. One of the best things about having more muscle is that it burns so much more calories. BUT, I want to take those four pounds back off and then some.

We walked around downtown and played tourists in our own city the other night. 

5. I have baby fever. Again.

Chi-town Adventure

Something unheard of is about to happen. I'm going to blog about something the day it happened. This is instead of just thinking about blogging about it and never getting around to it.

Today I checked another major city off my bucket list: Chicago! I have been to the Chicago area before, like the suburbs, but have never actually gone into the city. A lot of Frank's extended family lives there and his 17 year old cousin, also named Francis, has been begging him to come visit lately. So we made the super fun 7 hour drive from Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon. Something crazy happened, I stayed awake for the entire car ride (I usually can sleep straight through) AND I drove for four consecutive hours of the trip. 

Today we went to a Cubs game at Wrigley field, walked around Wrigleyville, took the train into the downtown area, visited Millenium park and "The Bean", checked out the new Marilyn Monroe statue, ate deep dish pizza and became pregnant with a pizza baby, took lots of pictures, etc. 

Yayyyyy baseball. Actually, I get bored after about two innings, some nachos, and ice cream. But it was cool to go to Wrigley field.

The super glamorous Chicago Theater

Dinner at Giordano's the famous Chicago deep dish pizza chain. The site of the conception of my food baby.

Millenium park

The "bean" sculpture in Millenium park. 

Inside the bean

Doing our touristy stuff

Owling, duh.

Frank and his cousins' not so good attempt at planking

Crazy sculptural Millenium Park amphitheater

Giant Marilyn Monroe statue

When I asked Frank's cousin what the significance of this building was, he said it was in the most recent Transformers movie. That's what you get for letting a 17 year old boy be your tour guide.

There is more fun stuff scheduled for tomorrow and then a great big Filipino family reunion. More to come!

How do you say "Zoloft" in Italian?

You guys, I have just a little over two weeks until my trip to Italy and the anxiety has begun to kick in. That's what sets someone with anxiety disorder apart from the rest. Instead of thinking "vacation, cheese, men in tight pants!", I'm thinking, "doom, gloom, language barrier."

Yes, the language barrier is what I'm most concerned about. You see, I'm not exactly the most worldly chick. The most foreign land I've been to was Riviera Maya in Mexico, and that barely counted. We were secluded on a giant resort with tons of other tourists, most of them English-speaking. The most culture shock I experienced there were the throngs of European tourists in speedos and aqua socks. It also helped that I had three years of high school Spanish under my belt, much of which miraculously came back to me on the trip.

I know, everyone says that most of the people I'll encounter will speak at least a little English. Especially in all the main tourists areas, where we're going. But I feel like I need to at least make an effort to speak their language. I have this fear of being viewed as an ignorant American. Especially when so many Americans demand that anyone coming to our country speak English. Yet they don't expect to be held to the same standards in another country?

Frank is not to concerned because he is Frank and he is never concerned about anything. He thinks that as long as we know how to say "pizza" we'll be fine. I'm having nightmares in which we will be drinking toilet water and eating pizza for every meal, which wouldn't be so bad minus the toilet water part. I'm also worried about money and paying. Like if someone says the total of our bill and we don't understand what they're saying, so we just have to hand them a wad of euros and hope for the best. I don't want to make the Italians angry, like this:

Another concern I have is shoes. I like to look good on vacation because a) the world is judging me and b) I want to look good in pictures. So I'm planning on buying all these new cute dresses and not wearing fanny packs and t-shirts every day. But the issue is the shoes. We'll be walking everywhere, on billion year old cobblestone streets, and I'm having an issue with finding very comfortable, non-athletic shoes that don't make me look butch-femme. Is it too much to ask?

The third largest concern is electricity. Like, how to harness it and use it for good. I know I need to buy things like adapters and converters and I also know that they cost a lot of money. But along with my pizza and toilet water dreams, I'm having visions of exploding flat irons and iPhones. I will probably be afraid to use anything. And yes, I know my iPhone won't work there, but I can't fall asleep or go to the toilet without playing Angry Birds. These things have become physical impossibilities in the modern world.

Next on the list is flying. The longest flight I've ever been on was about four hours. I'm not really afraid of actually flying and being millions of miles off the ground, I'm more concerned about claustrophobia. It's the "there's only one way outta this thing" factor that's bringing me down. Our flight will land bright and early in the morning, Rome time, so it's not like i'll be able to go to sleep when we get in. I'm planning on not sleeping the night before we leave, popping some klonopin or tylenol pm on the plane and knocking myself unconscious. I once slept 24 hours straight on a bus ride to Panama City with the aid of a double dose of Nyquil. If I can sleep through a 24 hour bus ride with 100 drunk spring breakers, this should be cake.

One more thing. This will be the longest period of time that we have left our kid. You know, the one with floppy ears and a chronic humping habit. My brother in law may be watching him but that's not set in stone, so we had to find alternate care. Normally, we leave him with my sister-in-law and her family, but the last time he was there, he pooped in their house and ran away. Their four year old son confided in me that "Wilby pooped on the floor and then Daddy said a bad word," so I'm guessing he's probably worn out his welcome there. Luckily, we found a lady that runs a doggy day care out of her home. She just lets the dogs have the run of her house and her yard and only crates them if she has to leave the house. She even lets the dogs sleep in bed with her . . . all of them. I know what you're thinking, she's a creeper. It's kind of like we're leaving Wilbur at the Neverland Ranch for 11 days. But we're okay with that.

Have you been somewhere foreign without knowing the language? Any advice?

Guess where I'm going?

I have some exciting news. I'm going somewhere. Want to know where? Here are some hints:

Come on . . . Italian stallion, Italian greyhound, Italian . . . hoagie? I'm going to ITALY!

In three agonizingly long months I will be saying Adios (I don't know any italian) to America and spending 11 amazing days in Europe. Which is pretty special because I've never been off of my lovely continent before. 

Why Italy and not another country?  Well, I knew I had to make it to Europe before I settled down and had kids and everything. Because I hear they suck the life out of you and make you not able to do fun things. 

I took a class on Italian Renaissance Art History in college and it was probably my favorite class ever. It was hardcore too, we had to memorize the name, date, location and artist of seriously hundreds of works of art. But I loved it. And I promised myself I would go see this stuff in person some day.

Because we probably won't get a chance to do something like this again anytime soon, we thought about the possibility of doing several European countries in the trip. But because we only have 11 days, a trip that hits, say, Rome, London and Paris would leave us traveling most of the trip. We'd rather totally experience one region instead of being rushed through a bunch of cities just to say we did it. As it is, the trip we're taking is going to be pretty intense, as we're exploring a bunch of different areas.

We also decided we were definitely going to do a tour. It seems much more romantic to fly by the seat of our pants, explore on our own, etc. But let's face it, we're as "tourist" as it gets. I don't understand things like exchange rates and Frank thinks we're going to get kidnapped or extorted everywhere we go. We simply would not survive without a tour guide. 

We went with Insight Vacations, which is one of three tour guides that AAA works with. Contiki is their low range, Trafalgar is mid range, and Insight is the priciest. We're definitely not trying to break the bank on this trip, but we both have problems when it comes to hotels. That is to say, we're hotel snobs. I'm not the kind of girl who likes to rough it and thank God my husband isn't either. The AAA lady said that she recommends Insight because their hotels are nicer and more centrally located. A cheaper tour group might save money by booking a hotel in the suburbs of a city rather than right in the middle of the action. This becomes a problem when you have free time during the day and its not so easy to just walk outside your hotel and explore. With this tour group, we'll be able to do that. Has anyone ever gone on one of these tours?

Here's the itinerary. Let me know if you've been to any of these places or any travel advice you have! 

Day 1 - DEPART USA

Board your overnight flight

Day 2 - ROME AT LEISURE

Welcome to Rome, a glorious city filled with Classical antiquities, medieval buildings, Renaissance palaces & baroque churches. On arrival at Rome's Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport, your airport shuttle service leaves for the tour hotel at 09:30, 12:30 & 15:30. Tonight meet your Tour Director for a Welcome Drink. Hotel: La Griffe/Cicerone

Day 3 - ROME SIGHTSEEING

Enjoy an in-depth sightseeing tour with a local guide who will take you inside the Vatican Museums to gaze upon the treasures of the Popes. Enjoy clear commentary via your audio headset as you admire Michelangelo's famous ceiling inside the Sistine Chapel. Now enter St Peter's Basilica to wonder at another of his works, the emotive 'Pieta'. Then cross the Tiber to visit the Colosseum, scene of many gladiatorial contests. After seeing the Roman Forum, the rest of the day is yours to sightsee or shop. (BB)

Day 4 - ROME - ASSISI

Leave Rome & follow the valley of the River Tiber to the hills of Umbria, which form part of the Apennines. Your destination is the peaceful hill-top town of Assisi, the home of St Francis. Visit the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, then continue up Mount Subasio to the town. Step inside the huge Basilica, built in the 13C after St. Francis' death, where the frescoes by Giotto heralded a new era in Italian art. Hotel: Giotto/Roseo (BB,D)

Day 5 - ASSISI - VENICE

A pleasant drive leads to the romantic city of Venice, & what better way to see it than from a private launch? Cruise past Palladian churches & 13C palaces to St Mark's Square. See the Doges' Palace, connected to the prisons by the Bridge of Sighs. It was from here that Casanova made his daring escape. Now admire the mosaics of the Basilica & watch one of the few remaining masters blow molten glass into a unique creation at a Venetian glass-blowing factory. Relax & enjoy the atmosphere as you cruise along the Venetian canals by gondola. Continental/Principe/Amadeus (BB,D)

Day 6 - VENICE - FLORENCE

Back on the mainland, drive along the scenic Brenta Canal with its magnificent Palladian villas, once the summer residences of Venetian nobility. Cross the plain of the Po River & traverse the Apennines to reach the Arno valley. Then follow the river to the coastal town of Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower. Time also to admire the marble cathedral and Baptistery before continuing to Renaissance Florence for a two-night stay. Hotel: NH Firenze (BB,D)

Day 7 - FLORENCE SIGHTSEEING

Join a local guide for a walking tour of the historic city centre. A highlight is the visit to the Academy Gallery to see Michelangelo's monumental figure of David. Continue to the multi-coloured marble Cathedral to see Giotto's bell tower & 'Gates of Paradise' before visiting the Piazza della Signoria, still the political heart of Florence. The area around Santa Croce Basilica is famous for the quality of its luxury goods; see a demonstration of leather work in the very place this craft first established itself. Then, there's free time to shop for Florence's finest or continue sightseeing. (BB)

Day 8 - FLORENCE - SORRENTO

Hear an informative tutorial about the famous Chianti wines that make this region so famous as you take the smooth motorway south. Continue through the rich volcanic hills of Frascati to Cassino where you visit the Commonwealth Cemetery, overlooked by the austere monastery of Montecassino. Now follow the scenic cliff top road towards the picturesque resort of Sorrento. Hotel: La Favorita/Grand Hotel La Pace (BB)

Day 9 - ISLE OF CAPRI EXCURSION

Investigate the art of 'intarsio' or marquetry wood inlaying before cruising to the sun-drenched island of dreams, Capri - a rock rising from the Mediterranean. Take the funicular train up to Capri Town, where you can explore the narrow alleyways, browse in the exclusive boutiques & enjoy the views over the Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps join an optional tour to Anacapri to visit Villa San Michele before returning to your hotel for some relaxation time. Why not immerse yourself in the Italian culture & work up an appetite on a traditional evening stroll (passeggiata) - it's a time to 'see & be seen'. Later you are offered a selection of local restaurants for your dining pleasure. (BB,DA)

Day 10 - SORRENTO - POMPEII - ROME

Only a short drive from the hotel lies Pompeii, the opulent Roman town which was preserved by layers of ash from the disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. A walking tour with a local guide through the cobbled streets & extensive excavations reveals the daily life of ancient Roman civilisation. Afterwards, the smooth motorway leads back to the 'Eternal City' of Rome. Tonight, join your fellow passengers for a last night celebration Highlight Dinner of local cuisine, complete with wine & entertainment. Hotel: Sheraton (BB,HD)

Day 11 - RETURN TO USA

Arrivederci Roma! Sadly, your tour comes to an end after breakfast. Departure transfers arrive at Rome's Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport at 07:00 & 09:30. (BB) Sorry for the longest post ever! I will be spending the rest of winter staring at gorgeous pictures of Italy in springtime and learning some key Italian phrases. I'm sure I'll have a million questions, if any of you have experience traveling to Italy. Let me know!