A (somewhat) Triumphant Return

My attempts at even sporadically regularly blogging have become comical. However, I still refuse to give up the notion that one day my random musings might just lead me to an idea for my novel. Thus, I am going to once again rededicate myself to blogging semi-regularly... we'll see how that one goes.

I guess that means it is time for me to give my readers (who am I kidding) an update on all the wild things that happened these past few months.

First, and probably most significant, I made a little purchase:

Yep, as of September 20, 2012, I became a homeowner. TERRIFYINGLY AWESOME. I bought a beautiful little two bed/two bath condo in a great Chicago neighborhood. On the 22nd, I moved out on my own and have loved life ever since! Unfortunately, I have learned "adult things", like that couches and other furnishings are both expensive and take a long time to make...I long for the day that I have something other than a lawn chair and a pile of pillows for when I inevitably crash while watching tv in the living room.

And of course, what house is complete without this:

Meet Luna! Little L is my rescue puppy adopted from the Dog House Humane Group up in Northern Illinois. She was rescued through the Safe Humane Chicago Court Case Dog program which does wonderful work making sure that fantastic puppies like L are evaluated on a case-by-case basis instead of being routinely euthanized merely because they came from abuse/neglect situations. Many thanks to all of the amazing people who worked together to give my pretty little girl the chance to learn that not all humans are bad! When I think about her past and the life she was destined for, I am so grateful and honored to have the responsibility of making sure that she knows nothing but love and care for the rest of her life.

As if this wasn't exciting enough, I also went to EUROPE for the first time. Mom and I traveled all over Italy and Spain, by both foot and train. Here are some of the highlights:

First we stopped in Milan for my cousin's wedding... Here, we encountered the first of many church related stairs as we climbed to the top of the Duomo of Milan for this great photo op:

From there, we took a train to Venice where we practically had to swim across the Piazza de San Marco. We didn't climb any stairs here...but we did pick up some bruises jumping on and off of the raised platforms put all over the city to help tourists avoid the high tide waters. We also took a gondola ride!

After Venice, we traveled to one of my favorite cities on the journey, Florence. I do plan to return to this amazing art city because there is so much more I want to see! The important role this city had during the Renaissance and beyond is just fascinating. I particularly loved the Duomo of Florence. This is one building where the picture just cannot truly capture its magnificence, but looking at the number of photos I took of this green, white, and pink marbled cathedral, I certainly gave it my best effort.

(This represented our second set of church stairs, as I took this picture while climbing to the top of the bell tower. Mom, however, let her fear of heights get the best of her and refused to climb with me to the top...)

We next took the train to our final destination in Italy, Rome. It has always been a dream of mine to go to Rome, and the Eternal City certainly lived up to my expectations. I would love to return to Rome, even if all I saw the second time around were the same sights we enjoyed on this trip, especially considering that we were not allowed to take pictures in some of my favorite spots, such as the Sistine Chapel, the Papal Grottos, and the Catacombs.

St. Peter's Basilica was breathtaking no matter the time of day we wandered past. My mother and I stayed near St. Peter's and so we spent some time each day in the Square. Between the church itself and the museums, we could have easily gotten lost exploring for weeks!

While these aren't church steps, my mom and I climbed the Spanish Steps. Please note my attempt to be artistic.

 

We also spent time at the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed finding free drinking water in Italy!

Mom and I spent one morning exploring Ancient Rome, including the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. I am enthralled by the fact that pretty much anywhere you dig in this city, you come across remants of the area's imperial past. That same afternoon we explored Rome's "modern" history...well, relatively modern. We took a tour that took us through the Catacombs of Pricilla, the Capuchin Crypt, and a 12th century church that had been built upon a 4th century church, that had been built upon a 2nd century temple.

The next day, we finally went inside St. Peter's! The morning started with our private tour of the Sistine Chapel. Our tour had access before the museum opened, so we were allowed to sit and stare at the amazing artwork for nearly 30 minutes before the entire population of the world tried to shove its way through the sacred space. Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures of the chapel, but I also enjoyed the pictures we took of St. Peter's dome, above.

It was here that we enjoyed our final set of church stairs. All 515 or so of them! Mom and I climbed to the top of the dome and enjoyed panoramic views of Rome.

From Rome, we flew to Madrid. Spain is another destination I would love to re-visit as I feel that our trip did not do the sights of this amazing place justice!

This picture was taken outside our favorite little Cafe in Madrid right near the Prado.

After exploring Madrid, we went to Barcelona. Here we touched the Mediterranean, took a bike tour, and enjoyed the bizarre works of Gaudi.

Mom had fun collecting rocks and soaking her tired feet...

I enjoyed that Mom had to ride a child's size bike on our bike tour! (hehe)

Even with all that too look forward to, my fall was feeling a little empty, so I decided to throw in a second marathon for good measure. I ran the Chicago Marathon on October 7th and while my time was still slow, I beat last year and still plan to run another marathon...so I must be doing something right. I am still trying to figure out if little L is happy or sad that she got a marathon runner for her mom...

xoxo,
E