Ever wonder what it might look like to live on the moon? Just come to Göreme and you’ll find out. Getting here, however, turned out to be the most challenging travel experience I’ve had so far. It’s a good thing Turkish people are so damn nice, because without them, I would probably be in the …
Alora….it is my last night in Italy…finally made it to Rome (on purpose this time) even with the train strike. I felt pretty excited about Turkey since I started feeling a little useless in the fields the past couple of weeks, and I got an e-mail from my host in Turkey, Andus, detailing my tasks …
Probably should have been one of my first posts…but given I have so many photos of this amazing band, I saved it for another time. I’ve mentioned them so many times now in other entries, that I figured it’s about time I get something up about them. I discovered Handful on accident. I went to …
Valeria and Corrado are the best. As an early birthday present, they got me a ticket to Mumford and Sons who were playing in Ancona. The concert was held in the Piazza del Plebiscito and was already sold out by the time they had heard about it, but Valeria had a friend who was part …
Once I met an amazing girl named Katie (who also takes awesome pictures and you should check her out). If anyone knows me at all, up until last year I hardly had any women friends I could count on my hand if I was ever in a pickle and needed help. Katie and I bonded …
Back during the good old culinary art classes in highschool, I learned how to make ravioli. All I could remember was how tedious it was…but somehow I forgot just how tedius it was exactly. Plus I wanted to try a new technique I had learned from the pasta making class I stumbled upon. But fair …
One of my most memorable trips. Organizing a hodge group of my friends for some car camping on the coast. Part of our group got lost getting there so we were without them during our day hike, but we were reunited at the end of the day at the end of the loop trail. So …
Sangria festival – man they really have festivals for EVERYTHING around here. Giovanni and I randomly discovered there was a sangria festival not too far from us, so we wandered down for some drinks and dinner. Located in between Jesi and Osima…the small festival was held in a town called Casenouve. Along the way we …
I randomly discovered Ravenna Woods one night because my friend Ciaran would not stop raving about them. He really liked Chris Cunningham, their lead singer, who played smaller sets at Molly McGuire’s, where Ciaran used to work. They became friends and Ciaran was always quite proud of that, so off we went. It turns out …
Happy Birthday to Nonna Daniela! She was going to make her own cake and I thought that was just plain silly. Daniela is not big on cakes and described a cookie crust pudding like pie that she had that she really liked, so I decided to create the only cheesecake I’m willing to eat, thinking …
My friend Kevin, who has the best job in the world working for Rick Steves, was stopping by in Florence for a few days during the Rick Steve’s Best of Europe Tour. As a tour guide assistant he rarely had any free time, but saw that there was some breathing room while they stopped in …
Il Gambero Rosso Translated ironically to Red Lobster. Luckily the restaurant isn’t as cheezy as The Red Lobster, unfortunately it is entirely way too overpriced. I might as well paid a little more and dined at the coveted Belforte…we ended up at Gambero Rosso by accident. I thought I was sitting down at Trattoria Gianni Franzi, …
Imagine this: You’re on a road trip and you’re rocking out in the car trying to ignore the fact you’ve been sweating in the car for the past 4.5 hours and the car enters a long dark tunnel. When you emerge from the tunnel the road starts to curve around the mountain, and suddenly BAM! …
Here are some close ups of life on the vineyard. Here is a video Corrado made of springtime in the vineyard. It’s all in Italian, but I show up at about the 5 minute mark.
One summer tradition I’ve developed is a trip to Table Mountain. Preferably before Artist Point is open. It’s more of an adventure that way. Table Mountain is a must do if you’re in the Artist Point area. From the top you can see Mt. Baker and Shuksan Mountain and the surrounding North Cascades. And the hike …
I’m really missing these three people right now, so hence the inspiration to get this entry up. It’s been almost two years, it’s hard to believe since this trip, but it is hands down the most amazing backpacking trip I’ve been on. A beautiful weekend filled with breathtaking views and incredible people. This was the …
Nestled in the beautiful valley of Acqualagna…Ristorante Osteria del Parco offers a tasty eat for a great value. Acqualagna is know for their truffles and truffles tend to be pricey. But somehow the 6 of us made it out of the restaurant for 130 euros total. This included wine, two appetizers, three different pastas, a HUGE …
Nothing like taking a weekend to go to the coast. Especially to reunite with some old friends! Giovanni and I took off late Friday night and enjoyed a slow night of gelato and the beach. Late that night we met with Roberto, Stefania, and a new friend Teresa. We stayed at Roberto’s family’s house in …
A weekend of beach time, pizza, truffles, and gelato wasn’t enough for us. To top off the weekend, we stopped a couple cellars on the way back from Fano since it was the weekend of “Cantine Aperte” (Open Cellars). Basically most of the major wineries in Le Marche offer free tastings. You pay 5 euros …
BBQ and bonfires should always be together. They are one of my favorite entertaining activities because it involves, good people, good food, music and the outdoors. With enough luck in the Pacific Northwest your event can stretch from the afternoon until late at night. before I left for Italy I decided to cook up a …
I’ve been told that Picture Lake is one of the most photographed areas in the world. It doesn’t surprise me because it’s incredibly easy to get to. Located almost at the end of SR 542 (Mount Baker Highway), this lake is surrounded by the beautiful North Cascades. The main feature is Mt. Shuksan, but is …
One afternoon, as Giovanni and I were coming back from a day of hiking, we took a detour home to enjoy some of the countryside. The sights and smells inspired this entry but it kind of morphed after saving drafts of this and coming back with new ideas. I really can’t explain how beautifully amazing …
I’m sorry to say that I have no photos for this entry so you’ll just have to be content with the pretty sunset photo I took the other day with Instagram. The subject matter must be documented just for the sake that it was a first experience for me. We had a beautiful day at …
Being a communication major and someone who grew up bilingual, languages have come fairly easy for me to learn. I’ve been here for a month now, and while my Italian vocabulary and pronounciation has improved greatly, I have yet to try to structure any sort of full sentence on my own. It’s been amazing how …
My first hike in Italy! Hoping to catch some of Northern Italy at some point where the real hiking is. However, this was a perfect start of summer hike for me. Of course, because it’s me, the simple day hike turned into an adventure I wasn’t so sure I bargained for. Giovanni asked me what …
