How do you say I'm sorry in Italian?

A romantic Italian holiday - just the three of us

So thrilled to finally have my sister here

Almost as thrilled as seeing the David, again that is
Exploring ancient Etruscan caves in Orvieto

Taking posing like statues to another level at the

DaVinci museum

Perfecting the maintenance of eye contact

while cin-cin-ing with limoncello. Italians are

very serious about this

Destroying a 20 oz Tuscan steak

The Cinque Terre really is as beautiful as

everyone says

Wine tasting in the Piemonte

The glory of St Peter's,

dress code observed
At this point I have a new tour book coming

your way,

Dick Stove's guide to Italy
On vacay with these two Lovebirds. Is

three a crowd?

I guess it is the most

ROMEantic place on earth

One of my favorite things that I got to share

with Pete and Alli - the awesomeness of free

ancient aqueduct water available all over Rome

via nasoni. The mayor of Florence recently blew my

mind by making some of the nasoni there pump

sparkling water - next thing you know it will be wine

and this will really be heaven

Pete's top hit of the trip, bumbling into

a place we thought we could have lunch at, only to find

out they'd stopped serving, but we could help ourselves

to the free buffet of porchetta (roast rolled/stuffed pig), lard,

salami, olives and wine - FOR FREE. Sounds like lunch to me,

by stop serving I think they meant stop paying

I found another activity best done in

stripes - wine tasting. Helps you focus

when you're a bit tipsy. See how the owner

already knew this?

Three's Company on Ponte Vecchio in Firenze

Hiking hills and then floating in the Meditteranean,

AND THEN having prosecco on the beach with my sister -

only way it gets better is if our boobs were free, but

then I would have lost an eyeball

Oh Ulix I miss you so!!!!!!

Greetings from the other side of 8 visitors in 6 weeks. Allison and Pete are my last scheduled visitors and even after so much company I was really looking forward to spending quality time with them. It's been a tumultuous year for our family and I've found myself wishing a million times to just be able to sit and hug my sister. Added to that the opportunity to get to know Pete (her man friend) better, and see a few places in Italy that I had yet to conquer.

Pete: Allison always said that she wanted me to be the test of guys she dated, well she decided to really test Pete by forcing him to endure two weeks (with a few probably much needed breaks) with me. He survived and passed (at least in my book) with flying colors. While he didn't quite laugh at all my jokes and we don't see eye to eye on chicken, sugar, or technology; he showed me a whole new side to my sister and a whole new side of Italy. Now whether or not I passed his test is another question - I'm not sure there's many people out there that could stand 2 Bealls for 2 weeks.

So with that, Allison and Pete showed me a few new sides of Italy and a few old sides.....

New side of Italy:

Cinque Terre: I hadn't made it to the Cinque Terre yet in my last visit or in this year, and many of Alison's friends had said it was their favorite so we were all really looking forward to it. Needless to say it's more difficult to find hiking in Italy than it is in New Zealand and I had yet to really do it here. And in true Italian fashion, the Cinque Terre trail has wine stops all along the hike and ends in a long sandy beach of the Mediterranean.

Science/Technology: I had been to Florence before with my lady friends two years ago and frankly we didn't give it much of a shot then spending only 36 hours there, but at the same time nothing made me want to rush back. Well thanks to all of Allison's friends back home who say it's their favorite place in Italy (they must be Jersey Shore fans) and the fact that I rubbed that gosh darn pigs hoof, for making me return. I took Pete and Alli to a few of the favorite places of my last visit - including the spectacular David, and the best panini/wine shop by Ponte Vecchio, and then Pete the engineer took over and showed me a side of Florence I'd yet to experience - SCIENCE. In less than 12 hours in Florence we somehow managed to spend 2 hours in the Galileo museum (but somehow missed Galileo's finger, but got to see lots of disgusting models of breached babies in case you're craving that the next time you're in Italy) and 2 hours in the Michelangelo INTERACTIVE museum. These two museums are far more interesting than the Uffizi and the Accademia combined, and the Michelangelo museum really saves you a lot of time and money because it also houses the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper - so you can skip Milan and Paris and just head there. Did I mention it also has an eight sided mirror and a flying machine?

Navigation: I failed to mention in my last post that before Stephanie's visit, I had been scared to drive in/out of Rome. Maybe it was because Giuseppe was constantly telling me I would die, or maybe it was that walking is dangerous in itself - but once I finally did it, I couldn't remember why I was so scared to try, it's just like a video game - no rules and just be as aggressive as you can without killing or hitting anything. Anyway I was feeling very confident to get on the road again with Alli and Pete, especially with my recent trip and familiarity with Tuscany, and since they brought a GPS with them to help us along. Have I mentioned that Pete is an engineer? Well he loves gadgets and technology like a GPS, whereas I tend to think maps and street signs are usually a safer bet (I sound like I'm ninety). So let's just say that it ended up as a tie with a few battles in between - GPS won half the time and good ol map reading/street signs won the other half. And no matter what, Italy is still easier to navigate than Spain

Friends: I've mentioned before that it's not easy to make friends in Italy and I've also mentioned before how in New Zealand my dear sister was so adept at making us friends, well she delivered again. The first with an American couple who joined us in Cinque Terre. I think Pete was probably most thankful to have another dude around, but this couple was also awesome in that the dude loved hills just as much as me and the missus is a nurse practitioner in Seattle (job connect for another Beall). Well Alli and Pete's friend making skills delivered this couple to me for two days after their departure to help me deal with the worst days of when my visitors depart. I also managed to finally introduce one of my visitors to the elusive Giuseppe, at which point my sister grilled him so much he might not actually be my friend anymore (jokes). And what else are friends for than connecting you with a free bottle of wine and aged balsamic vinegar tasting? My sister came with connections from back home that enabled us to have the red carpet treatment at a winery in Tuscany.

Old side -

St Peter's and the rest: People often ask if I get sick of seeing the Colosseum and St. Peters with how many visitors I've had. Well two secrets - 1) I have left most of my visitors on their own for the major sites while I slave away at my job; 2) frankly Rome's sites never get old (er, that is older than they already are, meaning ancient), now if I could just get rid of the hoards of tourists and mobs following umbrellas. My favorite historic site in Rome is the Pantheon, and I absolutely never get tired of seeing it and since it is on the way to a lot of the places I'm going I often just bump into it and am always floored by its majesty. I am thrilled to get to share it with each and every one of my visitors. And ol Trevi is so tired of me at this point, he keeps asking me what I want this time. That said, I don't exactly wait in line to climb St Peter's dome or meander around the Forum every weekend, or if I'm honest never since I have arrived. I was glad to have the excuse to revisit the dome of St Peter's from my visit two years ago, and it was just as worth it once again. Some things really are eternal

Tuscany - And just like all those monuments, the Tuscan sun, chiantis, brunellos, nobiles, and wild boar never, ever get old. However, one thing I do know about Tuscany and Italy in general, is that it doesn't work on speed. If you try to operate on your normal productive quick pace, it will knock you around a little and make things real inconvenient until you just slow down, sip some wine, gnaw on some boar, and meander down a country road. Allison and I love packing things into our vacays, but when in Tuscany.....we stayed at an agritourismo, stopped a few picturesque vineyards/castles dating back to the 15th century, played pingpong, went swimming, sampled wild roasted boar and succulent lard (that I mistook for pecorino cheese spread, that's how good it is), explored Etruscan caves, and talked about our hopes and dreams (and how bad sugar is for you and babies - the wine may have been involved here).

Customer Service - One thing I've eluded to before is that customer service in the American sense does not exist in Italy. To explain, Italians have no middle ground, they are either outright rude/illogical or the most lovely people you've ever met. I was glad that Alli and Pete got to see this paradox play out during their visit:

1) My family gave me an SLR camera for my 30th birthday that I have loved, and then unfortunately broke while Erica was visiting - perfect timing not only because I was on vacation, but also because nothing is open in August. I was filled with dread at what it was going to take to fix it, and after waiting patiently for Italians to finally get back to work in September I took it to a store in my neighborhood where they told me clearly they would call me with an estimate before fixing it so I could decide if I wanted it done there. Flash forward, to them not calling and me showing up to check on it, them handing me the FIXED camera and telling me the amount I owed. When I explained that this was a breach of our agreement, they offered to rebreak the camera for me so I could take it somewhere else - oh yes perfectly logical

2) Pete wanted a SIM card so he could have a phone while here. I asked for the wrong SIM card and then realized before they finished the transaction and asked to switch - to which they told me - It's not possible (Non c'e possibile). There's one thing I know about my Italian, I will not win a verbal argument, so I resorted to my tried and true method here, don't say anything, just give it back to them and stare them down.

3) And on the other side of the paradox, we stopped into a cafe/deli to have lunch to which they told us they'd stopped serving, then handed us a glass of wine (which they continued to refill) and sliced open an enormous stuffed giant porchetta and laid out a buffet of bread with lard, olives, salami, and more. Pete was incredulous that this could all be free. Yes, sometimes Italians can be incredibly generous

Heart to Hearts - And of course it wouldn't be time spent with family without a few heart to hearts and tears. My sister observed that I've become a bit cold and not very good at hugging - I blame New Zealand and 20 months on my own. I promise to practice

And as with every one of my visitors, I wish I could do it all over again and again. I am one very lucky girl and I'm so appreciative that you take your precious vacation time to come spend time with me in Italy. Thank you Pietro and Ale!!!

I have no more scheduled visitors on my agenda and yet the day I got back, I had two friends email me to say they'd be in town and could they stay with me :) In the meantime, my thesis is finished (woo hoo), so I'm going to get busy finally mastering Italian so I can win a verbal argument with a customer service representative

Home is Where I'm With You and All my Favorite Things

I would go anywhere with these ladies, but I do have a few criteria that I like to look for...

For one-quality ham and cheese on offer. I'm not sure ham and cheese

get much better than Spain and Italy

And for all days to come, I will plan my beach vacations where going topless is as

normal as picking sand out of your belly button

It's of course a requirement that the location have statues to pose with

Give me your landscapes and we WILL frolic with them, sheep or no sheep

A little unknown paradise on the northern coast of Spain, I'm not

giving you any more details so that it stays undiscovered

Enjoying Gaudi's finest at Park Guell, on the longest bench in the world (use your NZed voice)

I didn't think I liked paella, but Spain has convinced me.

And while she won't admit it, Spain also convinced Steez

on tapas

Anyone remember when I was a vegetarian? Wild boar in Tuscany - yes please

Yes, of course there was gelato eating

The Palio in Siena, just like going to Del Mar growing up, except 500 more years of history. I did however manage to relive my childhood by still picking the underdog/horse with behaviour problems

Pyramid on top of a castle - check

And we even managed to squeeze in some exercise with all our eating and drinking

Making friends at Freixenet cava factory,

hard not to make friends with cava

I will also only take vacations where I get taken on a boat, ideally to a place as picturesque as Monte Argentario, Tuscany

And while we're at it, I would like there to be a castle at all beaches I go to

And yes the Tuscan sun never gets old

**Dance party pic missing, still pending, the Germans stole it

People often ask me if I get homesick, and frankly I don't, I know the U.S. isn't going anywhere; but I do get friend/familysick. Having gone around the world now, there's no one like you guys back home, and lucky for me so many of you keep visiting me. Someone recently told me, just move to Africa and you'll see the visitors dry right up.....but till then, here's a bit of an update on my latest visitors and a little prelude to my next visitor to come......

Not only did I get to see two of my besties, but these ladies planned it so that I got alone time with each of them, and had company for 2.5 straight weeks (I've actually had straight visitors now for 5 weeks, but that's a longer than this already extremely lengthy blog post is going to allow).

-Flipping trips: I went to Tuscany with both these ladies separately, to two different locales, and my only regret was that in each weekend I could see how much the other one would have loved the other weekend. Example - all Steez wanted was to get some dudes to take us on a boat somewhere - Spain, Italy, she didn't care and Eroc is obsessed with vampires. Well on Eroc's weekend on the Tuscan coast we got a catered boatride complete with dance moves from Tony, Tony's world famous risotto salad, and champagne. On Steez's weekend in the hilltowns of Tuscany, we visited not one, but two towns that were the setting of Twilight's New Moon. Lesson learned ladies: don't be selfish and demand alone time

-Navigating: Of any two people I know (other than maybe my sister), these two ladies love maps AND being right. Remind me that for our next trip this combo doesn't work so well with me at the wheel. We got lost a few times in Spain, one time because of Erica hoarding maps, another cause Erica and Steez wouldn't consult with each other on their varying directions, and one time because Spain's road signs are garbage. So just as a tally that equals fault 1 Steez, fault 2 Eroc, fault 3 Spain, plus 5 for ME for driving amidst this mayhem and only freaking out/getting into a near accident once, and one freakout for no one else speaking Spanish, so I guess I'll minus one for me

Fear factoring - One lesson I learned well in NZed was conquering fears. On board for this trip we had Erica's claustrophobia to conquer, my newfound vertigo, Steez's fear of missing a moment of fun, and all our fears of showing our boobs first to each other, and then to all of CDP (as our unknown beach town will be known by). Luckily we had Jesus on our side for the first three in La Sagrada de la Familia in Barcelona where He rewarded us with awesome views and an invite to a VIP Barcelona pub crawl. For our boob fear we were assisted by the many pairs already free on the beach of all ages and sizes that we could stare at instead of each others, and again we were rewarded with tan breasts and awesome freewheeling boobs floating in the Mediterranean. Steez and Erica summed it up best by just yelling -

"THIS IS SO AWESOME"

Dance parties - As you know, one of my criteria for an awesome vacation is a solid dance party, and ideally parties. I had little fear of that not happening with these two ladies and Spain on my side. However, I was worried about my ability to execute some of my fav moves, given their lack of use over first, too cool NZed, and now conservative Italy. Well, I should have realized that signature moves are just like best friends - even with the passage of time and less attention, they come back with no effort and are better than ever. And or course all dance parties are made better by the arrival of a bachelor party, especially of the German variety. These two ladies made fun of me for demanding a terrace at every place we stayed, but they soon saw the logic in my adamance when we were able to choreograph a dance complete with jumps and body rolls. This year's theme/choreographed dance = Tonight

Maturing - On that note, as you know we are 30. Yes, 30 and yes we are still making up dances like we're 11. Check back in a year and I promise (or at least hope) we are still doing the same. However we are maturing in other ways....When we came to Italy two years ago we ran ourselves all over the country while pulling two suitcases each. For this trip, we were content to spend a few days in Barcelona and then relax on the beach, with Tuscany on either side and leave it at that. In CDP, we were the only single ladies amongst a sea of couples and families, where we spent each day waking up at 8 to eat, bronze our nipples, frolick in the sea, and then do some more eating = all grown up.

Hopes and Dreams - As you know, I spend alot of time alone (although not this month), and relish my visitors for actually having a human to speak to (in English). On this trip we solved the long debated question of whether Teen Witch or Mary Poppins is a better movie, how the internet works, figured out how electric current travels, developed a career path for each of us, and planned the life of Steez's not yet (but soon, fingers crossed) to be born child, Monti.

Drinking and eating - two things I do best with these ladies and luckily for us both Spain and Italy also specialize in three of my favorite things - hams, cheeses, and bubbly.

Spain: When we decided to go to Spain months ago, I had read that south of Barcelona there is a big cava region, figuring that it was some kind of wine. However I had no idea that cava was champagne until we arrived and my cup literally runneth over - especially when we found a local place with 60 cent glasses and 1 euro meat and cheese snacks; and then also subsequently found the oldest cava vineyard/factory in the region. A few other eating highlights from Spain 1) we were worried how Stephanie (the tapas hater) would handle it, but slather some spicy mayo on potatoes and throw in some baby squid and her defenses fell; 2) the bikini at Tapas 24, its still unclear why it's called a bikini but it's basically a melted ham and cheese sandwich with TRUFFLE oil; 3) eating our weight in pan con tomate, I even stealthily stalked some grannies to figure out how they smush the tomato on the bread (rocket science here).

Italy: Even though I live here, I never cease to marvel at the food - it's so simple and yet luxurious and delicious at the same time. Start my meal with three bowls of olive oil that I eat with a spoon - yes please. I brought Eroc and Steez to Tuscany on their two solo weekends and on both occasions we somehow got invited to feast on local specialities with locals (the latter being harder to come by). A theme of both weekends - wild boar. With Eroc, we went to a wild game reserve where we ate at a big picnic table with a huge Italian family and stuffed ourselves with wild boar sausage, wild boar ravioli, gnocchi, and more and more. The following night we ate in the middle of a countryside soccer field at a local sagra (where they have a different food for each week to raise money for local sports) where we gorged ourselves on salted cod of a million varieties. With Steez, we had more wild boar ragout with a steak braised in wild boar and red wine. Then at our huge family dinner (of the farm we were staying at) we had a series of penne with 17 local spices, panzanella, 8 kinds of meats/sausages on the grill, the reddest tomatoes I've ever seen, and three kinds of cake.

As you can see, I've been working hard on that food baby I promised you.....

Home Sweet Rome - And finally, these two ladies each had three days in Rome while I worked. As much as I lament my job, it is why I am here and why we could all go on this vacation, so for that I am eternally grateful. While both Steez and Eroc had been here before, we were all a little unsure of how their days alone on the rough streets of Rome would go. I tried to equip them with maps while encouraging them to just get lost and stroll, and to always use caution and confidence. It goes without saying that they both dominated the streets and revisited all of Rome in a whirlwind pace. Some things they both mentioned a) how walkable Rome is, and b) and how they were going to be in better shape going home than they came in. I am pretty sure these are not normal impressions of Rome and might be my fault. Normal people use the public transport system. And they both decided that the Eternal City is the best city in the world. I'm glad home sweet Rome was on its best behaviour

So with that, I can't thank you both enough, I love you and will travel the world over making up dances, dominating the streets, and stuffing ourselves with food and wine.

The hardest day for me is the day visitors leave and I think wait what do I do now, what did I do before them came? I often say that having so many visitors keeps me from actually living a 'real life' because I'm either on vacation or working extra hard to make up for always being on vacation. I've recently realized that while I keep saying I don't have a 'real life', I can only say that for so long until I have to admit this is my real life, it doesn't get realer.

So in this real life, my sister and Pete arrive in less than 36 hours - let the ride continue, the Tuscan sun calls

Estate Romana - I want to dance with someone?

Summer along the Tiber, complete

with multiple outdoor cinemas

Just lounging along the Tiber

The Tiber river transformed with bars and

restaurants along its banks
Happy 4th of July to me and America,

found some hot dogs to grill up

Discovering beachside grilled corn

on the cob at the beach in Ostia

Summer nights in Piazza Trilussa, Trastevere

Enjoying my beachside corn on the cob,

but mostly I posted this picture so you

could enjoy a taste of the awesome people

watching that the beach in Italy affords.

Exhibit A over my right shoulder (left in photo),

of some of the hot bodies and swimsuits that

make the beach even more enjoyable. Bathing

suits in Italy never cover more than 1/4 of your

butt, no matter your size - at first it can be

intimidating, and then it is just awesome especially

because as stated previously ogling is not only

welcome but encouraged

Embracing summer

The Italian countryside in summer

New visitors arriving shortly for vacay in Spain/Italy-

A testament to what happened the

last time we went on vacation together,

Espana - I hope you're READY

for this trio

And this is what happened last time

the three of us got together - in case

you're scratching your head about

your track of time - yes indeed we did

turn 30 this year.

I've had so many visitors (THANK YOU FRIENDS) and travel (THANK YOU WORK), and thesising (I guess I'll thank you again Fulbright, although right now it's hard to) - that I haven't been able to even tell you about what Rome is like in summer or fill you in on my latest exploits a la Italia. This Friday I have another set of visitors descending on Rome, so better get this in while I can before summer is over.....here's a bit of my Estate Romana (Roman Summer)

Summer transformation - Now while Rome is always romantic and beautiful, in summer it's on another level. As I explained previously, for some reason it is not considered 'summer' in Italy until June 1st, and then really not fully until July 1st - which is a shame because it is hot starting May 1st or earlier, but anyway. I came back from Thailand and went for a run only to discover that all of a sudden there was a bar/restaurant at my favorite look-out hill, and then another one at my favorite fountain, and then whoa - 100s of them along the Tiber. Basically Rome decides to construct a million temporary bars/restaurants at the most scenic/grassy/outdoorsy of areas just for summer, and they look like they've been there all year - complete with comfy couches/murals/wooden sculptures, etc. I should also mention that normally the Tiber is either a) flooded, or if not and you venture down to its banks, b) smells like a mixture of rotting bodies, feces, and the fish from two weeks ago - BUT somehow they turn this into a very pleasant summer dining/drinking/music/cinema experience where you don't even feel like you're in the city anymore. I was so excited to tell you all about it, and then the NY Times went and blew up my spot,http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/roman-festivals-offer-al-fresco-dining/

Fashion D'Estate - People warned me about the temperature come this estate in Rome, but I always thought it couldn't be worse than DC. I quickly learned that DC is no match for the Mediterranean sun. My first challenge with the summer in Rome is the fact that I walk everywhere. My walk to/from work is about 40 min each way and even in cool temperatures, one can work up a sweat if I walk above the normal passegiata pace. But I refuse to change my habits because frankly the bus is only marginally cooler, and instead of sweating in the freedom of the outdoors, I would be sweating smashed against people. On top of my transport options making me sweat, I work on the top floor of our office building that was maybe constructed in 1945, and lacks real air conditioning, so at times when it is 40 degrees (that's about 100 in F) outside, its about 34 (93F) in my office - hence this has severely challenged my summer wardrobe options. I basically have to find something that keeps me cool/airy AND also hides the rivers of sweat pouring down my body the entire day WHILE looking professional - as you can imagine a conundrum. So having to get real creative made me realize that bridesmaid dresses are ideal to fill all of these requirements, given their thick fabric and petticoats to keep the air moving. Last week I managed to wear two of my bridesmaid dresses to work. With the first one I was bit nervous that everyone would know I was wearing a bridesmaid dress, and then I remembered they don't do bridesmaids outside of the US so no one would even have any idea what it meant - and I was pleasantly surprised by many people asking me if I bought it in Rome and that they really wanted something similar. Thank you Eve and Rebecca for honouring me in attending your weddings AND keeping me cool, fashionable, and professional at work during the heat of d'estate Romana. I wish I had pics, but I'm sure I will need to wear them again given this heat, so please stay tuned....

Aggressive Males - A lot of people have asked me whether Italian men are aggressive, and I've always said no, they've mostly left me alone, haven't bothered me. Well, apparently with the summer heat so comes the male population of Rome, and they can not be deterred, but I've gotten crafty.....Oh yes, Italian men I will also beat the heat of you until we can be friends again in the Fall, back into our nice respectful routine where you hold my bags and I graciously smile at you - and that's it

Making a house a home - yes I've now lived here six months (crazy) and I can confirm that time moves faster even in the not so far future as New Zealand. I was lucky to find an apartment with nearly everything (sheets, towels, artwork, dishes, books, etc.), but none of it is mine, which is fine as I'm not possessive, but there are certain things you want in order to feel like yo u really live somewhere. For me, this amounted to a loungechair for my terrace and a barbecue in order to fully enjoy the luck of having a large outdoors space in d'estate Romana. The problem is, these items can really only be purchased with a car and far outside of Rome so I have let them slip by and have made the best with what my landlord had so nicely provided. This weekend I finally ventured to IKEA again, AND a Home Depot like store, AND a super grocery store - I almost felt like I was in the US again, and I've literally spent the whole day in my loungechair (typing away on my thesis, but enjoying it so much more sitting outside). Granted my new loungechair sort of looks like a dentists chair and my bbq cost 5 euro and may melt when I actually light a fire to it - but they have combatted my newest bout of homesickness - next week I might buy a kiddie pool. The only downfall to the summer in Rome on my terrace is the mosquitos are sort of like the men, extremely aggressive and undeterred. I have tried everything from lathering myself in repellant (which I hate), to buying candles, plug in zapping devices, and weird smelly coil things - and they somehow still get me. And somehow, nowhere sells mosquito nets. When I asked where I could find some, someone told me I should just look for them when I got to Africa - ummm, I'm not going to Africa, it's for here. But yes I'm basically living like I'm in Africa but without the malaria

Home sweet home - I originally was told by my landlord that I had to leave August 1st, but just as I hoped, he has been charmed by my wit and is allowing me to stay until Dec. He continues with his ridiculous quirky/grandpa-ness in the form of - last Sunday my doorbell rang and when I opened it no one was there but there was a new basil plant (mine had just died) and at first I got scared cause how would somehow know my basil plant had died and then I remembered Pietro and his adorableness. Or the fact that I have been stealing internet since I arrived hence my slow connection/dropped calls/slow upload of pics/no streaming of video and after two months of asking he finally installed real internet (granted through my shower, which is weird, but alas its Italy)!!! It's like 1996 all over again and I am currently typing this from the comfort of my dentist/loungechair with a full internet connection - happy summer indeed! I only have to contend with my neighbor who has taken up opera lessons - at all hours of the day. Pietro instructed me to just turn up the top hits from the radio to drown her out

And with that, I'm ready for more visitors!! So Spain get your hams ready, and your tapas filling. The last time I was in Spain I was 17. I'm excited to return as an adult to a place that I know respects a proper dance party. A few words about my guests and fellow travel companions -

-These ladies and I ventured to Italy 2.5 years ago to what will always be remembered as an epic vacation, but little did we know we would be back so soon - oh Trevi, you really do hold your end of the bargain up. We lamented not having enough time to spend in Tuscany or get to experience Italy in the warm weather - ask and you shall receive

They have been talking about Spain for over two years now, even though Stephanie hates tapas and Erica hates lisps - so it's going to be a true cultural experience

They're going to put me to the test and make me host them in both Spanish and Italian to see if I can really go between and come out with anything more than gobblety gook from my mouth - como se dice, come se dice?

Eroc arrives in Rome and we hit up some villas and Italian family laughs in Tuscany, followed by some days in Rome to show off d'Estate; then we head to Spain and stuff ourselves with ham and cava with Steez in Barcelona and the Costa Brava for a week, then Steez heads back to Italy with me (and Eroc goes home (sad) but hopefully with a ham in her shoebag), and Steez and I have a romantic weekend wine tasting in Montelcino and risk our lives amongst the Italian fervor that is the Palio in Siena.

Oh besties, I can't wait to reunite in Europa and have a ham/wine taste off between Italy and Spain, while we unleash our best onto the respective dance floors.

Ci vidiamo presto/Nos vemos pronto, regazze/chicas

The Land of Smiles

Bangkok, Thailand

Touring the many Wat in Bangkok,

this guy was begging for me to pose like

him
The largest reclining Buddha in the world,

Wat Pho, also the largest and oldest wat pho sho.

One night in Bangkok, sampling the many

many tasty street stall meals
Total stalls visited that night - 6

Total money spent 4 dollars

= Land of Smiles

First massage in Thailand, included

a post massage snack of tea and a banana.

Had a Thai massage, quickly learned why you

need the banana

The reason I went to Thailand -

the "evil" palm oil

Palm oil processing mill -

never have I wanted buttered popcorn so much

Trying my hand at loading fresh fruit bunches

from the truck to mill.
Each FFB weighs about 30kgs,

even though this dude is making it look glam

Harvesting the FFB from full grown trees.

Also tried this, and picture not included

because it was an epic fail resulting in me

drenched in sweat.

And then work got real hard.....Phi Phi islands

(not pictured - snorkeling and canonballs off our private boat)

Smiles = pimped out tuk-tuk
Krabi, Thailand

As much as I've complained about my job on this blog, apparently they may be reading.....I arrived back from the weekend in Ponza with Marietta and Cornelia with a lot of stress about missing a day of work, only for them to tell me on my first day back that they thought I should go to Thailand, and not just Thailand, but to Krabi. So thank you job for the hard sell, keep it up and I may like you after all. Here's a few of the highlights from my time in Thailand which included two days in Bangkok and ten in Krabi/Phi Phi Islands:

Palm oil - What brought me to Thailand you ask - visiting palm oil mills and farmers as part of a study I'm conducting on the benefits and challenges for smallholders. Palm oil gets a real bad rap as I am sure you are aware - one day it's responsible for the extermination of orangutans, the next it's responsible for all of climate change and deforestation, and the next Girl Scout Cookies are the culprit because they use palm oil. I will take a rare soapbox/bully pulpit moment on this block to state that all palm oil is not created equal. Like many agricultural products, one fresh fruit bunch (FFB) of palm can deliver over 10 products that you use everyday. While doing this, the residues and effluent can also produce electricity - all at the same time from one little orange kernel. I have visited palm oil plantations and mills now in three countries, but this was my first experience in Asia. A few of my main findings - 1) smallholders are making a killing on palm oil cultivation while growing other products like mushrooms, rubber, grazing cattle, and conducting tourism businesses; 2) it is not easy work even if it looks glamorous/alluring; 3) palm oil mills smell like popcorn

Khab kun krab Thai people - Thai people are possibly the nicest/kindest people that I have ever met. When you say thank you or hello in Thailand you slightly bend with your hands in prayer formation at your chest. Something about this is really soothing (which from me is possibly the highest compliment you can get) and polite. I had wondered about traveling alone in Asia, and always thought I would wait to go there until I had a travel buddy until work decided otherwise for me. I guess I always thought I would stick out a lot more than in Latin America and not have any clue about the language. What I found is that it was actually easier to get around/negotiate on my own. I attribute this to the kindness of people; the unagressiveness of men; the cheap massages and beauty treatments; and the development/tourism of Thailand and their ease at dealing with us weird white people. Please see further explanation below, but I also experienced the unbelievable kindness of Thai people when I became sick all alone, and yet didn't feel alone because of how caring/sweet/above and beyond the hotel reception people were in caring for me. Thailand you passed the test in my inadvertent damsel moment. Do you want to date??

Massages - So about those massages, yes I had one everyday and sometimes twice a day = the land of Elizabeth's smiles. I learned quickly however about which type of massage to ask for - at the end of my first day, I stumbled (literally because I was exhausted from flying the night before and then touring so many wat I didn't know wat to do with myself, then stuffing myself with streetcart food, anyway) into a massage place right outside my hotel. I figured I had to do it since I was dedicated to getting a massage everyday. So as a novice I requested the Thai massage - figuring when in Rome (but not in Rome).....they gave me some comfy pjesque outfit to wear that already got me excited until it started - for the next 1.5 hours I was caught between a fit of giggles from being tickled to outright screaming from the pain that was being induced from a small man climbing all over my cute pj outfit. Never was I so relieved when it was over, especially when they gave me a banana and a green tea as a small offering for what they'd inflicted on me. All discomfort aside, I woke up the next day to all my aches/pains from carrying my luggage gone - as they told me no pain no gain. However, I didn't have it in me to revisit this experience and opted the rest of the week for the "oil massage" which basically equals a tamer version more similar to our Western view of massage. Average cost of massage = 5 dollars. Oh Thailand, I miss you already, giggles/screams and all

Im leaow - You may have noticed that I'm a bit behind in this blog, but for once I am thankful for that, since I don't think I would have been able to write about the food any sooner. I was so looking forward to leaving unending pizza/pasta behind for awhile to finally have some ethnic cuisine that is so hard to find in Rome, in addition to just getting excited to taste what real Thai food in Thailand tastes like. I had a fantastic ten days of street cart sampling (average 1 dollar per meal); delicious restaurants and blends of papaya and spicy, two of my favorite things - until on the last day I woke up with the worst sickness I have ever experienced, including fever, hallucinations, fainting, and a lot of other things that I won't mention here. I have oft talked about how I never get food poisoning because I always drink the water and eat the street food so I must have built up some immunity, obviously I thought I had jinxed myself - but I hadn't - I finally determined the culprit of my sickness as, no not the streetcart food, but oysters that I had at a fancy restaurant for my last dinner. Not just me saying this, determined by the fact that my dining companions (all except the one that didn't have the oysters) came down with a similar affliction. Needless to say, I loved the food, the cheapness and variety of it. And I will be avoiding oysters for probably awhile to come, so don't try and convince me with some aphrodisiac jargon

Germans - You may be wondering what Germans have to do with a blog post about Thailand? Well, the seminar and projects I was visiting are facilitated by Germans, and while Nik my former intern and Miriam by friend from New Zealand had already given me an appreciation of their efficiency, directness, and predicatability - I have a whole new appreciation after this trip to Thailand. First of all the seminar/whole week of events was so well organized and on time, that I felt like I was in heaven compared to life in Italy. Plus, Germans are hilarious in that they don't quite realize their very Germanness but are quite happy when you point it out to laugh at themselves. One German asked me about the word "marvelous" and if we use it much in English. I replied that it was a bit antiquated/royal sounding, but that yes at times we use it. He then replied that he was going to attempt to bring it back into fashion. Every email I have since received has included marvelous in it - the German dedication and persistence to a cause.

You may have noticed some Thai language above. The only two phrases I learned while in Thailand were how to say thank you and I'm full - very fitting summary for my trip.

And so with that, thank you work, you've now helped me check off Africa and Asia in my first four months of employment. If you can swing a stop by Antarctica (they must be farming something!), I'll be ready to come home having completed world (continent) domination. And thank you Thailand for 11 days (minus one for that food poisoning) of smiles that will last me awhile to come