Wednesday, May 29, 2013

ALISON AND BRUCE

My college friends Alison and Bruce came to visit us! They're our first Prin guests we've had since joining the military almost 4 years ago! That's crazy to think! They had just spent two weeks in Paris, so they were ready to relax in Italy for 3 days.
This was one of their first sights of Sacile, and one of my favorite views!

It has been raining non-stop this year, so on our one day of sunshine we headed down to Venice.





I heard a noise above me, and I looked up to see a puff of white hair peeking from around some shutters. This cute little old lady was peering from her window. I'm not sure what she was looking for, but I had to get a picture!


 I think I know what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a photographer that takes photos of Venice on a daily basis. I can't get tired of this sleepy island.


We had some amazing gelato in Venice! It's some of the best I've had since living in Italy!


I had to take a picture of this woman's shirt. It's an orange shirt with a cat on it! Pick her up and put her in Wal Mart and she would fit right in. (It's mean... I know...but you have to admit you kind of agree with me. :)

The canals were crowded for a Thursday!

We had to stop for some treats in at a cafe in Venice!



San Marco's square was surprisingly empty!



We had just missed a demonstration in from of United Colors of Benetton. They sure left a mess!

I don't think I should tell you what was smeared inside the store, but I'll let you guess.


We quickly moved on to the Rialto Bridge...






It's sometimes easy to think of Venice as a big tourist island. This hanging laundry is a nice reminder that there are locals here that live here year round. It makes it feel a little more like home.





I think they were as tired of the rain as we were!

Bruce and Alison got to see the full spectrum. We had a big storm come through the weekend they were here. It left a foot of snow on the mountains.


After 3 short days, we had to say goodbye. I love this picture of them in front of a garage with graffiti that reads, "Ciao!" Until next time, friends!

MID - MAY MASH

May has been a very full month of activities, but the mid-May weekend proved to be the busiest!
Saturday, May 18th I drove Sarah Z, and Emily K. to Lignano Beach to join our friends for a  bachelorette party.  We all grabbed our swimsuits and towels and sprawled out from 10am-4pm. 
Put 12 lovely ladies on a beach, and it's a recipe for lots of fun!! 


I have been to this beach many times because Nick goes kiteboarding here regularly. I've never seen it so calm! I almost didn't recognize the beach because I'm used to high winds, waves crashing, and pelting rain. I much prefer this weather. :)


 The shenanigans started early. We had to give Sami a hard time since it was her bachelorette party! In this photo, Kimberly (left) is trying to get Sami (right) in the water...
Kimberly won!
We also got to see some unusual sights on the beach. This man is clearly staring at me while I took his photo. If you run around on the beach in your underwear, I will take a photo of you. :)

These little boats are near every lifeguard stand. After I took some pics, the lifeguard asked if I got a good picture. I'll let you be the judge...:)



It's hard to tell, but there's a sailboat in the background.

After our exciting day on the beach and taking a quick snooze, I headed out with some friends to a food festival in Codroipo. The food was much better than I anticipated. Unfortunately, the lines were insanely long. The 5 of us split up and stood in 5 different lines, so that we could each try a different food without standing in so many lines. I stood in line for an hour to get a plate of Frico, which is a traditional meal in this region of Italy. It consists of cheese, potato and onion. It's delicious and is typically served with polenta. When I arrived at the front of the line the cashier asked where I was from. I told him I came all the way out from California to try his Frico. He took a picture of me and my friend Sarah and said he was going to post it on his facebook page! I should have charged him for one plate of food! Next time! :) We also got to try gnocchi with Plum jelly inside! That was my favorite!

This is Rocky, Nick's flight doc, and his daughter Vera. She was a trooper at the festival!
It was a very full day, but so much fun! 


Sunday, May 19th


Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of a man's voice over a loud speaker. It sounded like he was testing a sound system. In a matter of minutes, a starting line appeared with a few runners warming up in the Sacile square. 



It's hard to tell, but it was pouring rain!

And they're off!!

Spoiler alert: The race wasn't long. It must have been a 10k. The man with green on in the foreground ended up winning by a long shot.


There's no better way to watch a live race than from the comfort of your living room in your PJ's!



That afternoon we went back to the beach, so Nick could get some much needed kiteboarding. (Haha!)



I was so curious as to why this paddle boarder would strap a demijohn to his board. 

This was the best shot I could get of Nick. We discovered that we need to have a code for when I need Nick to come in to the beach. A storm came in and the temperature dropped to 45 degrees on the beach. Nick was having the time of his life, but I was freezing!! I stood on the shore trying to get his attention for 20 minutes before walking to the car. If you have any suggestions, I am open! Nick's suggestion was a shock collar. I'm looking for something a little less harmful. :)


The calm before the storm.

It was an eventful weekend! Can't wait to see what excitement next weekend brings!