Italia!!!!!

I sincerely apologize for my lack of posting.  Turns out that this semester I have bitten off a bit more than I can chew and have been really busy.  I just got back from a trip to Italy so I thought I would post some pictures.  Ok....so maybe I was prompted by my mom.  So here are some of the highlights.  

Pisa

 Amalfi Coast 

 Our rental car -- a puke yellow Fiat Panda (I think we almost drove the wheels off of it!)

 My favorite picture of the Amalfi Coast

 Pompeii

 More Pompeii

 Vatican - there were so many sculptures and paintings

 St. Peter's Basilica

 Colosseum

Spanish Steps

 The gorgeous Trevi Fountain

 Venice - Piazza San Marco (there were tons of people)

 Gondola Ride

 Venice

Our trip was super short but we crammed in a lot of sight seeing.  My favorite things were David in Florence and the Trevi Fountain in Rome.  Oh....the Sistine Chapel was pretty amazing too.  We already have a list of places we need to see next time.


ACK

Back Home.....

I had a wonderful trip back to Missouri this past weekend. Ryan and I both were so relaxed and stress free. My weekend was filled with family, friends, and babies! I love that almost all of my friends were able to make it out for dinner....it was so nice catching up with all of them.  I got to see my Ean baby when Jen came over for awhile to visit.  He is getting so big.  I love how he frowns a little.  Kendall even let me disturb her settling in after baby time to come over and meet Presley Ann.  She is so beautiful.   

Ean

Presley Ann

I also decided I was completely done with my hair and my lovely sister cut it for me.  She is pretty much amazing!!!!  Oh and if you are in Springfield you should definitely make an appointment with her. 

One of my favorite things has to be the Branson airport. As soon as we stepped off the plane I seriously couldn't believe it….I thought they had dropped us off at Bass Pro instead. It was all so funny. While it may seem like I am making fun of it I actually felt very comfortable and it was nice to not have a line at security (we were the only flight leaving). I also really enjoyed that as our plane pulled away to take off all of the ground crew, including the ticket lady, stepped out and waved good-bye to us. Now that is why I love the Midwest.

Airport Chairs....craziness!!!

Straight up Bass Pro

This is in the ticketing area....only Branson would have a deer head

Lately I had been thinking it would be ok to live out here forever, but after going home I realized that is where I belong. I like being able to drive to see my family and see all the new babies my friends have.

For now out here will be my little adventure…..and I will eat as many cupcakes as possible!!!!!

WHAT.....no food pictures in this post. Ok here is kind of one....it is of me and my Momma at Lambert's. 

Yeah I know it is dark but you can kind of see our huge plates!

- ACK

The Big City......

As kind of a pre-birthday trip Ryan and I went to NYC this past weekend. We decided to try out the whole bus thing and it was actually pretty smooth sailing. We probably didn't spend any more money then if we had driven because of all the tolls. Plus it was pretty cool driving through the city on a double decker bus! The trip was a little over 4 hours with the a stop in Philly. Problem is we didn't get home until 11:30 pm last night and still had to metro to our apartment. After we unpacked and ate some McDonald's chicken nuggets (I know I know….lame but it was the closest place that was till open) it was after 1:00 before we went to bed. I am definitely going to need a Chai Tea Latte this morning :-)

I don't know how but this trip turned out to mainly be about eating. I had looked up and found on blogs some of the best places around nyc….problem is they were all over the city. We chose the subway for our mode of transportation and it got old….fast. On average we switched lines/trains three times per trip. If I EVER complain about the DC metro again…..I should be slapped. The DC train system is a bazillion times easier/cleaner/more reliable. We ended up taking a taxi twice on the last day because there was so much track maintenance we weren't really sure how to get back to our hotel. Oh and one time we got to the platform just to realize we were on the wrong side. Problem was there wasn't a way to get to the other side without leaving and then swiping your card again to re-enter. Besides this being a total pain the fare cards can't be used within 15 minutes of when you last swiped it. So…..we had to just ride the train in the wrong direction to a stop that would let us transfer to the other direction without leaving the station. Craziness!!!!!!

We did do a little more then just eat. We went up in the Empire State Building, saw The Magic Flute (in German) at the Metropolitan Opera, and visited the Natural History Museum. It was a fast trip but we plan on going back a couple more times while we are out here especially since the bus is so easy.

Here are some pictures (sorry about the quality they are from my phone) from the sights and of course the food!
 

The Subway

Empire State Building

View from the top of the Empire State Building

Brooklyn Bridge

Me in front of the Metropolitan Opera

Times Square

And now for the Food.....

Sandwich from Kat'z Deli -- the counter guy gave me a lot extra!

R Man's bacon wrapped hot dog from Crif's Dogs

Best NYC pizza - Grimaldi's

Line outside of Grimaldi's at 3 pm

Go Navy!

Burger courtesy of Shake Shack....there was a long line there too. 

Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery....yes we each had two...we couldn't resist

Last meal in NYC right before we board the bus -- too bad it wasn't bacon wrapped.