A Hokie Wedding

Let me preface by saying, No. This is not the first Hokie I know to get married, nor will it be the last.

However, Mrs. THURSTON is probably one of the closest people I know from college to get married...and to another Hoke!  :)

I lived with this beautiful person. Shared memories, shared food, laughs, and heck - I know how many layers she's gonna wear on a cold day. (Yes, we determined the temperature outside by # of clothing layers). LOL

Many people are close to me from Tech but from all of my years there I only had 3 roomies. (3 because my first semester was a summer session, that wasn't very popular...so I had no roommate..I DIGRESS).

3 people that for one whole year each, I saw day in and day out. She was one of them. One of my closest people and fondest friends. So it probably is no surprise when she walked down in that GORGEOUS and amazing bridal gown. ..... I broke down like baby. HAHA

She looked phenomenal and her groom was ECSTATIC... if not a little nervous at the beauty walking his way:

I know they were all nervous, Chad was sweet and we could see him trying to sooth her by making her smile and holding her hands. It was amazing.

They are so in love:

It was a beautiful wedding and I've never seen two people so nervous yet so ready to take the next step together.



The reason I wanted to write this blog/post wasn't so much to 'sensationalize' an event. More to commemorate it.


She is my roomie.
She is one of my good friends.

And really, It just makes me happy to see her as joyous as she is right now, in that moment. 

Congratulations Roomie!!  :)

(I won't say we are watching you Chad....just....paying close attention to a fellow Hokie's happiness) 

Oh don't listen to me, I know you both will have an amazing future together.

Italy Day Eight: Expensive Day

Today we slept in and then headed out to the Spanish Steps. We booked our way to the Roma Termini Metro station and then headed our way to Flaminio. Which is close enough.

Funny story…. There is not metro line on half this city. AKA we get to walk….a lot….while we’re here. (Yay?)

 (This store was inside Roma Termini...pretty cute~)

Also a fun fact, the maps they give you while you’re here…SO NOT TO SCALE. And not necessarily accurate. You are better off asking for directions some times…. I know I do. Haha   

Either way, today was our ‘shopping’ day. We have spent a lot of the time running around and not buying souvenirs. So today was our day to hit a few sites and then..SPEND MONEY. (I’m soooo good at that part ;p )

We went to the Spanish steps for a bit and then got a lil turned around in the heart of Roma WHILE looking at a map (thank you inaccurate cartographer).

Then we finally found our way to the awesome shopping district.

 

Well, I bought some artwork and bargained them down by around 10 Euros for a set of 3. Then I went and bought a souvenir for my Dad, Mom, Danny, and Helly. (HOPE YOU ALL ARE EXCITED)  :0)

We also went to an amazing store called Anthea. It’s privately owned and not a chain store. I had a charming saleswoman help me pick out a few things and then, when talking to the cashier, discovered…..he designed ALL the clothing.  :-O 

He and Sindy got to talking since he was also a Graphic Designer and we all ended up exchanging information so she could discuss artsy things with him. He was super funny and was really worried to take a picture with us. “Ahhh…. I don’t know… I have girlfriend….” We posed together allowing ‘room for Jesus’ as the saying goes so his gf wouldn’t get jealous. =P

He also liked us so he knocked of 5-10 Euros on our purchases.

I’m really starting to enjoy this whole Europe thing… I’m good at networking (well, in my opinion at least) and people are willing to be networked. Haha

From there we went to the BEST Gelato I’ve had tooooo date! It was said to be the best in that area. (Well, besides the Pantheon but we’ll go there tomorrow). It was amazing. Absolutely mouthwatering.

It was creamy and just melted in your mouth like a wafer. I got Honey and Ginger/Cinnamon for the first time and then we all shared some Apple and Whiskey for the next one.

Very good.  I still want some. Pretty much… Right now….

After our 2 servings we headed to dinner and had more delicious food.

From there we went to another wine store and Alex bought more wine. At this point I think he has like 4-6 bottles of wine. Ridiculous. A local warned us he’s going to have to pay a fee to get it back to the US.  He apparently is ok with that. 

After the wine store, we (instead of taking the metro) decided (stupidly) to walk our butts all the way home. It was around a 30 min walk, maybe 45… but my feet are killing me. Haha

I’m going to take a long bath when I get back home. LONG BATH. …. With bubbles…and candles.

I guess that’s the vacation after the vacation.

Quote of the day:

Fred:….they get that from eating the Akerns.
Alex: Wait, What?
Ashly: You mean Acorns?
Fred: Yea, Akerns.
Sindy: Just let him go, let him go.
Alex: AAAAcorns
Fred: Akerns….wait…that doesn’t sound the same does it…..

Italy Day Seven: WE ARE ROMA!

So I guess my body finally adjusted to the time change. I woke up this morning at 730am with no help needed. Even though I ended up going to bed around 1am. (oh well).   I woke up and packed my bags and threw out some trash while the rest of the crew slept for a bit.

Again, took my time getting ready and chillin’ for the majority of it. :)   Also, my hair is slowing down in getting greasy. So I think it’s adjusting to the climate here. HURRAY.

YES! For all those wondering, we did feel the quake in the night. It was a slight tremor feel and rumbling. Things jiggled in the room a bit but nothing to severe.

We are all ok.  :)

Everyone ended up waking up around 915-930ish and we quickly got ready and checked out of our hostel. Not to bad. Not to bad at all.

We then had breakfast at a local Focaccia shop. I had the Focaccia with cheese and sliced potatoes on top… it was pretty good. It had a little TOO much basil in my opinion but still good.

We then hung around the town for a bit and then bid farewell to the amazing town of Montarosso. (It’s going in my book as probably one of the best places I’ve been).

We then rode on a train for aboooooooooooooooout 3-4 hours to get our way to Rome. But arrive we did, in one piece no less. The hostel is about as expected… 4 beds, tiny room. BUT we have free breakfast.

AND I HAD INTERNET!! (does happy dance). Only to find everyone was worried about the earthquake.  :/    Sorry everyone, I didn’t have Internet in Cinque Terre. Once settling in and emailing the appropriate parties, confirming we were still alive.

We headed out for some dinner. I’m starting to get mildly addicted to their small portion but delicious foods. I tried some Cornella con fromaggio e spinach. 

Also, random question for everyone. Please tell me what is going on in this sculpture…..cuz we couldn’t figure it out…. Hahaha

We then got some gelato (per usual), got some money out, and well… I got separated for a bit but luckily found Alex a lil while later  (he's the one in red....)

Again, adventure around every corner here. We went then to the supermarket; they apparently gamble here too:

Then we are retired for the night. (swoons) Travel days are always draining.

---UPDATE----

So….I lied. We were not retired for the night. We decided to try some Limoncello (which we heard was a delicious liquor). No one mentioned it was like a jolly rancher. Tasted like we all drank a cup of syrup. Slightly…urgh. Haha

Then we wondered around to find the Colosseum. Come to find out, our hostel is literally only a few blocks away. Haha  

Here are some gorgeous night pictures of our adventure, the Colosseum, and the Archway.

Ciao~ Bella

P.S. There are stairs EVERYWHERE in this country. I’m starting to get concerned on WHY they have so many.

Plus side…my jeans are loose now. I think I’ve lost a pants size since being here. Probably due to that hike a while back. Small paths with certain death on one side... tend to make me more motivated and also, in my opinion, burn those calories quicker. HAHA

Italy Day Six: The Hike

Today was probably the first day we all got to sleep in. It was wonderful and amazing to get a full 8 hours of sleep. Haha. I woke up while everyone else was in the last stage of starting his or her day. As such, I told them to get breakfast without me as I got ready.

It was awesome.

I got to be lazy and take my time getting ready and showering. It was nice to have no sort of rush or anything.

By time everyone got back it was around noonish. We started on ‘The Hike’.  Straight line distance wise, it is about 2 miles between Montarosso (where we are staying) and Vernazza. In reality when not taking the direct route and having to walk around a huge mountain/hill…… this turns into a 2 and half hour hike.  With thousands upon thousands of stairs **dies**. It was a hell of a work out.

 Lemon trees all over the place up there~~  :)

Side note, for some reason there were a TON of Germans on this hike. Young couples, old couples, and school groups. I have not heard so much German in my life. It was kind of awesome.

After the hike from Hell I arrived in Vernazza……

around 25 minutes prior to my crew as I decided to get a ‘head start’. So then I had the ‘rest of a lifetime’ on a small bench in one of the alleyways. There, I was adopted by a stray dog that decided to have a peeing contest with another owned dog (Pomeranian). (You go stray dog, stick it to the man.)

After the crew got back together, food was in order. I hadn’t had breakfast and after a few hours and millions of calories burned, I downed a plate of Lasagna like it was my last meal on earth. (It would have been a worthy meal; everything here is delicious). I followed that up with a triple scoop of gelato.  I am now convinced; my favorites are Black Cherry and Coconut. Phenomenal texture and taste.

Then we decided to hit the subway as we couldn’t hike to the next city due to a mudslide. The walking trail was closed due to …well….no trail being there any more. It was just certain death at that point. So we caught the train to the next town, Corniglia.

How to describe our adventure here.

Mom…if you are reading… stop. Cuz you’re going to yell at me….for sure….for being stupid….   LOVE YOU!

Well, we had heard of an interesting tale. We had done research and heard of a hidden beach. This beach however is located after a terrifying tunnel trek in complete darkness if you do not have flashlights.

Let me just say, we were appropriately terrified. The tunnel was an abandoned subway rail and after turning around the bend, it was completely pitch black.

No, none of you need to tell me. It was probably not one of our 'brightest' ideas ever. Not to mention there was a hut at the end of the tunnel that we dubbed the ‘crack shack’.

Then another discovery, it was a nude beach. Let me tell you, yes, EVERYONE there was naked. Hahahaha. Except us that is, talk about feeling over dressed…..for real. It was gorgeous out there though.

No worries... I had on enough sunblock to drown a small child....

After about an hour at this attraction we decided to do a quick hop through the next town of Cinque Terre. And by hop, I mean we leaned out the subway and clipped a picture of the Manarola sign.  HAHA

Then we headed to the last city of the 5, Riomaggiore.

This place was probably what I would describe as the most ‘upscale’. It had expensive restaurants, nice markets, beautiful clothing. Pretty much we looked around and ended up eating dinner at a nice restaurant close to our subway ride home.

At the restaurant we had some delicious food and ran into some exchange students from the good ole U.S. of A. They had been studying abroad and Spain and after graduating, decided to go on an Italy trip.

We all chatted for a bit and finally decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel. I ended my day by eating the 2 plums I bought from the produce market there. They were delicious as well.   :D    I’m becoming a food glutton here. Haha.

All in all, a good day.

- Too chill of a day for a quote of the day -    :D

Italy Day 5: Cinque Terre Sunny Days~

Woke up at the butt crack of dawn today. We had to checkout, confirmed what’s packed, and head to Milano Centrale Station to make an 8am train.

All went off without a hitch, thank goodness.

When we got on the train it reminded me of Harry Potter. Haha   We had our own booth/room thing with 6 seats and we had a trolley come by with treats on it. :D

We discovered halfway through our trip that seats are actually assigned and we were in the wrong place buuuuuuuuuuut when the train worker came to validate our ticket, he didn’t say anything. Sooooo WOOHOO. Haha

3 short, sort of sleep filled hours later, we arrived in Cinque Terre. It’s gorgeous here. Just like Lake Como/Varenna area, this place is right on the cliffs. We are specifically in Montarosso. (One out of around 5 villages in this area.) It is one of the bigger cities but strangely enough, it will NEVER get bigger. It’s unable to, due to the hills and cliffs around it. 

When we checked into our hostel (run by a nice Filipino woman)…we proceeded to pass out for 3 hours. Haha. When we wake up early we don’t make it long in this heat. It’s an energy sucker. Fun fact: No AC in this hostel. (Does sad victory dance)

The room had a queen bed and a set of bunk beds. I, naturally, am on the top bunk. I also woke up a sweaty mess due to that whole no AC bullshit. Guess I’ll try sleeping without sheets tonight. 

After our **ahem** ‘nap’, we went exploring the town! Seafood is the specialty in town as everything is caught locally. Anchovies for some reason are on everything but depending on how it’s prepared, they aren’t nearly as salty as expected.

And of course….we got gelato afterwards. So far, the Cherry Garcia type flavor is my favorite, with its fresh cherries on top.  :)

 

We then went exploring on the beach, pretty sure I got a lil toasty, if not burned. (darn you pale skin). I also got bitten by some yellow-bellied insect, bigger than a mosquito but itchy all the same. Then we went and explored, what we thought was a castle but is actually someone’s house…. Very interesting.

Heading around the corner, we saw the other half of the town and wandered around. We got to see pictures of a mudslide that occurred in 2011 and how it washed down the streets and flooded shops, a lot are closed these days due to it. 

As it got dark, it got frigid outside. Being so close to the sea causes a HUGE drop in temperature at night. We hurried back to our hostel to hang out and bond (as us friends do~  :p ) 

Made another discover – no internet! False advertising on the website for that I guess. Sigh oh well. So technically readers….you won’t see this post till I have access again. Shrug

 

Quote of the Day:

(Fred’s opinion on French/Italian Men)
Fred: No, no. Pretty sure he’s a greasy 30 years old.
Sindy: Wait, then what are you?
Fred: I’m a drunk 30. Way better.