Tacky Christmas Party

The Jason's Deli Christmas Party had a tacky sweater theme this year. Of course, Fouad and I went all out. We found two great sweaters at the Goodwill:

My awesome cowboy Santa and the Christmas cactus

Fouad's beautiful ornament sweater vest

At the party!

Can you believe that we didn't win tackiest couple? There were sweaters/outfits that were TACKIER than that! We had a great time with everyone :-)

Happy 4th of July!

We kicked off our 4th of July celebration over at Dutch Monkey Doughnuts watching the 1st Annual 4th of July Doughnut Eating Contest. We tried to get Fouad in the competition, but they were only taking five people, and honestly...I don't think he would have gotten past the first few doughnuts. The competition was to eat a dozen raised glazed doughnuts and one cream filled doughnut in 15 minutes. One competitor blew everyone else out of the water by finishing the dozen and managing to get one bite of the cream filled doughnut in the 15 minutes. It was a lot of fun watching, and hopefully Fouad doesn't want to enter next year! Here are a few pics of the competition:

Announcing the competitors!

The winner!

Afterwards, we headed over to my parents' house for a barbecue with the family. What a great 4th!

Grand Canyon

Fouad and I took a little weekend getaway to the Grand Canyon in March. We were looking for an easy weekend trip to take before Emily gets here (and before my travel schedule gets crazy in April & May) and this was perfect! We flew into Phoenix and drove up through the beautiful red rocks of Sedona:

Then we were off to the Grand Canyon!

Fouad got me a Flip video camera for our anniversary, and this was our first chance to try it out. Enjoy my video of Fouad at the Grand Canyon here :-)

Valentine's Day / Wilton Cake Class

Mary and I are taking the Wilton Cake class at Michael's every weekend this month. This is course 1 - so we are learning about icing techniques. Here's the final product from this week's class:
Not too shabby, eh? While I was out at my cake class, my Valentine decided to leave me a little surprise inside and outside our house. When I pulled up, I saw this in the snow:

Then, note on the door said that 30 Valentines had been hidden around the house, each one with a special message on it. I did the scavenger hunt and found 26 of them, and finally found the rest on Monday. He did a good job of hiding them!

On Sunday, I woke up early and headed to our favorite doughnut place and picked up a little treat for Fouad:

He loved it! We had a low key Valentine's Day evening, and went to dinner on Monday night to avoid the hassle of the V-Day crowds. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Blizzard 2010

So, it was going to be a long week this week because I was in Orlando with work and Fouad was in Charlotte with work. Both of us were going to be out of town until Friday, and then were going to spend all weekend together after all that time apart. Hooray!

So, Thursday night I saw that snow was forecast for Atlanta. I suggested that Fouad switch his flight on Friday night to an earlier flight, but he couldn't. I wasn't worried when I boarded my flight, the snow wasn't supposed to start until the afternoon, way after I landed. I got to Atlanta and drove to my parents house to pick up the dogs. Still no sign of snow, so I was able to eat lunch and get some work done before the girls and I drove back to Suwanee. It started to snow a little, and before it stuck we left Marietta.

Apparently everyone else in Atlanta decided to leave at the same time. It took me around two hours to get home...with the dogs in the car. They were surprisingly well-behaved, but the snow started to really stick around the time I got off of 400. When I got into the neighborhood, the hill outside our house was covered in snowy slush, and I slid all the way down to our driveway and carefully turned in. I couldn't get into the garage because of the ice and snow making me skid, so I left the car in the driveway. Fouad's flight had been delayed but was still scheduled to land. After several more hours of delays, his flight finally landed late in the night, but it wasn't safe to drive home. The girls and I had to enjoy the winter wonderland all by ourselves. We managed to still have a good time! The snow was absolutely beautiful - and I managed to get a few pictures to show Fouad what he missed. Maybe next time Foo!

Gourmet doughnuts in our neighborhood? We're there!

A few months ago, a little doughnut shop opened up less than 10 minutes away from us near the Avenues of Forsyth. We didn't think much of it...I mean who needs doughnuts from a fancy shop when you have Krispy Kreme and Duncan Donuts everywhere?

I was so wrong. I need these doughnuts...

After doing a little google research and reading a few reviews a couple of weeks ago, I realized that this isn't any ordinary doughnut place. These are GOURMET doughnuts. They are the BEST doughnuts that I have ever had in my life, and they are 10 minutes away. This could be a disaster, especially since we realized on the way to get our delicious doughnuts yesterday that our gym has closed. Great...

They are so popular that the two times we have been they were almost sold out of doughnuts for the day, so we're making plans to get there early next time.

Anyway, this is a good reason to come up and visit us if you're up our way. No, I'm not kidding...these things are worth the visit. It's a little shop called Dutch Monkey Doughnuts just past the Avenues on Ronald Reagan. Hey, and since you'll be so close, bring me a few!

Davenport / Martens Wedding - December 12

Rebecca & Joe with their yummy cupcake wedding cake!

We're a little behind on our blogging, but we went to the most magical wedding at Walt Disney World the weekend of December 12th. Rebecca is a very good friend of mine that worked with me at Disney World when I worked in Fairytale Weddings in 2006. I can't believe it's been four years since we've met! We've kept in touch ever since, and I wouldn't have missed her big day for anything.

Rebecca's big wedding weekend started off with a bridal shower breakfast at Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort thrown by her sisters. "Breakfast and Britches" was a blast - and Rebecca got lots of cute britches ;-)

My family was down in Orlando for the wedding too, so we headed to the parks to play after I finished breakfast. Fouad was happy to get the leftover breakfast from my plate and Rebecca's plate, and we had fun in the parks during the day. We had a delicious family dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian Resort (soooo good) and then went over to Rebecca & Joe's holiday dessert party over at the Grand Floridian with an amazing view of the Holiday Wishes fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. What a fun day!

The next morning, we headed back to the theme parks during the day, but I could not WAIT to get ready and go to Rebecca & Joe's wedding. We boarded the motorcoaches to take us to First Baptist of Orlando to their beautiful ceremony. Afterwards, we were shuttled over to the American Adventure pavilion at Epcot to party the night away with the newlyweds. She even had a few surprise guests!

Congratulations Rebecca and Joe! We had a wonderful time!

October 10th - Venice - Day 2

Today was our last day in Italy - boo! To make it even more sad, it was a rainy day in Venice. That won't get the Jomaas down! We got our umbrellas and headed out to see more of the city.

We stopped first at a pastry store around the corner from our hotel. We didn't realize until we arrived in Venice, but they are known for their yummy pastries. There are tons of little pastry shops lining the canals and alleys with delicious pastries piled up in their windows. We couldn't resist as we passed by and picked up a delicious ricotta torte and a chocolate creme puff for breakfast. We continued wandering around the canals again and headed over to the Rialto Bridge to get a peek at the Rialto Fish Market that we heard about on our audio guide the day before. Local fishermen bring in their catches every morning and the residents and restaurant owners get all of their fish and produce in this spot.

After the market, we finally got our gondola ride - sort of. There are gondolas called Traghetto gondolas that make short trips across the Grand Canal in a few areas where there aren't bridges that you can cross. We got on our Traghetto and crossed the canal to start walking to Piazza San Marco. When we got to St. Mark's Basilica we realized the entrance was blocked off. It had flooded! It was crazy, with only a little amount of rain that the square was starting to flood, and it spilled over into the entrance. We were rerouted to the side, and a boarded walkway about a foot or two off the ground was put down inside the basilica so we could walk over the flooded parts. After touring inside, we headed out to Fouad's worst nightmare. He was NOT happy!

We headed over to a seafood restaurant nearby for lunch and were embarrassed to be sitting next to some stupid American tourists that were just not trying to fit in. They kept yelling in English louder and louder expecting these poor Italians to understand. Hopefully, we didn't look that bad - we tried our best to speak as much Italian as we could the entire trip. All the rain and walking plus a delicious lunch made us sleepy - so we headed back to our hotel for a little nap and some dry shoes.

We got a little rest and headed out again to explore. We went over to the Rialto Bridge (again!) and then started to try and navigate our way to a recommended restaurant for dinner. We got to the restaurant, and realized that it was a way out of our price range. No worries - we had a back-up plan. We crossed over a few canals and realized we were a bit turned around. That's when it happened - a huge rat crossed our path. We had seen the t-shirts being sold that said "Venice by Night" and had rats on them. I thought they were silly - I hadn't seen any rats. Boy, was I in for a surprise. After the initial rat scare, we got over towards a hotel building away from where the rat ran where we could see a our map a little better. Then we heard what sounded like a hundred rats in the building squeaking and scratching. I freaked out and decided we needed to leave - NOW. Fouad got us back on the right track, and we found the backup restaurant. We were too late - they weren't taking any more tables for a few hours. It was just not our night!

After a lot of wandering around, and looking at available restaurants, we decided to go to Da Poggi again - even though we had eaten there for lunch the day before. We were so glad that we did. We had the same waiter from the day before, and he remembered us. We had an amazing meal, and the most delicious Pasta e Fagioli. What a way to end our vacation - with a crazy rat story and wonderful food and wine.

The next day was pretty uneventful. We got our luggage and used the Vaparetto to get to the train station where we took the bus to the airport. We had a few euro left to spend, so we had our last gelato as we waited at our gate. We couldn't wait to get home and share our amazing Italian vacation with everyone!

October 9th - Venice - Day 1

So we started off the day by oversleeping in Florence and almost missing our train. Thanks to Fouad, we woke up and made it on time! Thank goodness, the next train didn't leave for three hours! Just like the last train from Rome to Florence, we had some issues with dragging and storing all of our luggage, but we made it fit and settled in for our trip to Venice.

Once we arrived at the train station, we headed to pick up a map. We found out quickly that Venice is not cheap. No free maps for tourists anywhere - so we payed for our map and went on our way. We stood in line to buy our tickets for the Vaporetto - the water bus that runs down the Grand Canal - so that we could get to our hotel. We were amazed - Venice is just so cool!

We checked into our hotel and dropped our luggage off so that we could start exploring. We stopped at a pastry shop around the corner from our B&B and picked up some yummy pastries to keep us from starving until lunch. We wandered around the nearby canals and found an outdoor cafe for lunch - Da Poggi. We split a delicious gnocci with cheese and then shrimp and zucchini pasta. After lunch, we started the Grand Canal audio tour by Vaporetto. It was so amazing to see this entire city on water that is slowly sinking. It was sad to hear that in a few decades, Venice will be uninhabited and people will only come in and out to tour.

We hopped off the Vaporetto at Piazza San Marco to look around a bit. It was too crowded and too close to closing time to go into St. Mark's Basilica. Fouad was a little freaked out by all of the pigeons too. We started to make our way back to the Vaporetto and noticed the gondolas nearby. We decided to ask how much a ride would be for the two of us. Mama mia! It was expensive. A 30 - 40 minute ride would be 120 - 150 euro (about $175 - $220). We said grazie, but no grazie and tried to make our way back over to the Vaporetto dock. Those gondoliers were tough! They hassled us all the way back to the dock. We decided to walk back to our hotel (it wasn't very far) and stopped on the Rialto Bridge to enjoy the best view on the Grand Canal.

Another thing we quickly learned about Venice is that our map was completely useless. We were able to navigate the streets and canals by using the signs posted on almost every corner that said "Per Rialto" to direct you to the Rialto Bridge and "Per San Marco" to direct you to Piazza San Marco. Once we figured that out, it was pretty easy to get around on foot. On our way back to the hotel we stopped and got a chocolate and banana crepe - yum! Then, look what I found! We got back to the room and got a recommendation on a casual pizza place that the locals frequent across the Rialto Bridge. We wandered around a bit more before dinner, and then headed over to grab some pizza.

When we got in the restaurant, we were ignored for the first five minutes - just because we didn't know the seating process (stupid tourists). We were the only people there that didn't speak Italian - always a good sign when it comes to food! Finally, we were able to stop someone and speak enough Italian to get a table. We were hungry!

We really wanted a salad with our pizza, (we had A LOT of meat, cheese, and carbs that week), so we ordered the insalta caprese. Well, just our luck - it was a traditional caprese salad - just fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. Delicious! We also saw all of the people around us toasting and drinking what looked like milky shots. We asked our waiter what they were. It ended up being something like lemoncello mixed with ice cream to make a sort of smoothie shot. Too bad we filled up on pizza and wine, we had no room left to try it. Well, there's always next time! ;-)

Sadly, we went back to our room for some rest before our last day in Italy. We definitely weren't ready to leave.

October 8th - Florence - Day 3

Sorry for the delay in updates...the past month has been really crazy! I have taken on a lot more at work, been traveling to my last shows for 2009, and wrapping up for the end of the year. Fouad has been just as busy at work, and has been taking care of an exhausted wife! We have lots of other exciting things that we'll be posting about soon, but we need to finish telling you about our trip to Italy!

Sooo...back to our last day in Florence!

This was going to be a busy day, but we were so excited! Fouad woke up early to run over to the Central Market to pick up some gifts, while I got ready in the room. We ate a quick breakfast and headed over to the train station to go on the Best of Tuscany Tour - which was going to take us all around Tuscany to see some of the most popular cities and sights. We arrived right on time (or what Fouad considers late...but we weren't last!) and we were off for an amazing day under the Tuscan sun!

Our first stop was in Siena. We started in the fan shaped Piazza del Campo where the Palio horse race takes place twice every year. Siena is divided into seventeen Contrade, each represented by a different animal - giraffes, caterpillars, dragons, etc. We thought it was very Legends of the Hidden Temple! In the most recent Palio, the Owl contrade won, and their flags and banners were displayed proudly. The whole tradition was really interesting! We then headed to the Duomo of Santa Maria to tour inside, and enjoyed a little free time (aka snacking on a panino) before heading to lunch.

Lunch was held on a wine estate where we toured the winery and farm. Everything we ate and drank at lunch was made on the farm. We sat next to really fun Australian couple, and they made sure our wine glasses were always full. After WAY too much wine at lunch, we headed over to San Gimignano to tour the city and grab some gelato from the world's best gelateria. We had to immediately find a restroom, but then we were on our way to see the medieval city and its amazing views of the Tuscan countryside.

After San Gimignano, we headed on back to our tour bus and napped on the ride to Pisa. Of course, we had to take a ton of touristy photos of us and the leaning tower. We walked around the rest of the Field of Miracles (where every structure is leaning) and headed back to our tour bus as the sun began to set.

We were exhausted when we got back to Florence, but we need to grab some dinner. We wandered around until we came upon a Trattoria where we could dine outside (the weather had been amazing!). Fouad got a seafood pasta dish, which included whole baby squid - heads and all - and I had a safe eggplant parm. Of course, we stopped by our favorite gelateria next to our B&B before calling it a night. It was a long but amazing way to end our time in Florence!

Tomorrow...off to VENICE!!!

October 7th - Florence - Day 2

First of all, I'd like to clear something up: While re-reading the blog posts and looking at the pictures we've taken, it occurred to me that one might think that all we did in Italy was eat. It seems like all we did was get breakfast, get a snack, get lunch, get a gelato, get dinner, get another gelato, etc. etc. Well, I'm hear to say that that is exactly what happened. Amanda tells me that we saw some old buildings or something too. Whateva.

I kid! While we do write about eating a lot (and I admit we did eat and drink a lot of deliciousness), we also walked around a ton, packed a lot of stuff into a short amount of time, and actually didn't gain any weight. All that being said, our 2nd day in Florence was the single best food day of the whole trip! But perhaps I should start from the beginning...

After grabbing breakfast at the hotel, we started the day at the Accademia Gallery, where we saw Michelangelo's Statue of David. We've seen it a hundred times in pictures, but it really was amazing in real-life. It was a lot bigger than we thought it would be, and it's crazy to think that it was carved out of one huge chunk of marble. Michelangelo also had a series of works that he didn't finish. These sculptures were called the Prisoners because they all look like they're breaking free from the marble. Just like at the Sistine Chapel, you can't take any pictures in the private museums in Italy, just because they want to make money off of selling you their pictures. Well, we didn't really think that was a good enough reason, so we took pictures every chance we got. After the Accademia, we went to check out the inside of Il Duomo, the magnificent dome in the center of Florence. We also spent some time checking out the giant bell tower next to it. Rick Steves told us to skip it, but we thought it was actually really cool. I should write guidebooks instead of him.

After the Accademia, we went to lunch at a small place recommended by one of the guidebooks called Trattoria de Mario, aka the best restaurant in Italy. We could barely find the place because the door was covered in magazine reviews! We went in, and it's so crowded every day that they just seat you with other people, wherever they have a place. They change their menu daily, so instead of giving us a menu, they just told us to go read the sign on the wall. I asked one of the waiters to help me and he pointed to 2 dishes and said "This is number 1, and this is number 1", so that's what we got! He brought out a fried veal cutlet in tomato sauce, and a rabbit pasta - just awesomely good. We also got some wine and cheese, and just enjoyed the crowded atmosphere. I'm planning another trip to Italy just for this restaurant.

After lunch, we went to the Uffizi Gallery and saw a lot of paintings, including the Birth of Venus. We had reservations, which was nice because the line to get in was over an hour. To get into the gallery, you have to go up 4 huge flights of stairs. The place was pretty crowded and NOT air conditioned so we were spent after a couple hours there. We grabbed a gelato when we got out at Gelato di Neri (famous for it's strawberry pie flavor), and went to the Central Market to do some souvenir shopping. While shopping, we heard one of the best quotes, a vendor yelled at me "Ciao, Ciao, what up homie!" Apparently, me and the cool guys in Italy all talk like the rest of America did in 1998.

After a nap, we walked around until we found a place for dinner, a place called ZaZa's. We had a great meal of brushettas, homemade pesto fettucini, steak with some secret oil and herb blend, apple tart, and our first taste of limoncello, an Italian lemon liquor that they drink after the meal to help them digest. During the meal, we realized that the street musicians, magicians, and flower salesman aren't stopped by the restaurants at all. They walked right up to our tables, and entertained whether we wanted them to or not. On the walk back to the hotel, we happened to stumble upon a gelato place selling cones for 1 euro. This ended up being one of our favorite gelato places, with flavors like rosewater and cheese and pears, it was quite a find. What a day!

October 6th - Florence - Day 1

Today, we said goodbye to Rome EARLY in the morning and headed to the Termini train station for the last time to catch our train to Florence. After a quick purchase of pastries for breakfast, we headed to our train's platform to find our car. This is when I realized we should have packed smaller bags...oh well. We lugged our giant suitcases on to the train, and squeezed them into the luggage bins above us. There were two cute Asian teenagers that were sitting next to us that didn't speak much English, but it seemed like they wanted to practice on us. They asked if we were going to Firenze (Florence) and we said yes. He was so excited, he shouted, "Same destination!!!". So cute.

We were both a little sleepy, and we took a nap on the train. We must have looked a little rough, because the other couple next to us asked if we had been on the train all night. This is why I have NO pictures of this part of the trip. I decided to stay awake after that and enjoy the Tuscan landscape that was passing us by as we got closer to Florence. Fouad slept until we arrived...

Immediately after leaving the train station we could sense that Florence had a much different feel than Rome. For lack of better words, to me it just felt smaller, and less rushed. It was a welcome change - Rome wore us out! We navigated the streets near the train station to find our hotel - the Hotel Belletini. I found this hotel online after doing a lot of research, and this one was highly recommended for budget travelers (i.e. the Jomaas). The rooms were a decent size, we had our own bathroom, and the staff at the front desk couldn't have been nicer. We would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a clean, comfortable place to stay in Florence that won't break the bank. That being said, it seems like there were a lot of places like this in Florence, so you probably can't go wrong.

We were there pretty early in the morning, so our room wasn't ready. They said that it would definitely be ready by noon, so we left our GIANT bags with them. This was after we had a *little* scare that we had left our passports in Rome. I swore that I gave them to Fouad, he swore that he gave them to me. After tearing through my luggage, it ended up that Fouad did have them. I win!

I was hungry after that, so we headed over to a restaurant that was in one of our guide books - Nerbone. This place was described as a spot for locals that served cucina povera ("poor people's food") and was famous for serving a boiled beef sandwich dipped in the meat juices. Sounded delicious to us! Little did we know that Nerbone was located in the Central Market - one of our favorite surprises of the trip. Outside the market, there were stalls set up with merchants selling everything from touristy trinkets to leather goods. Fouad loves to haggle, so he was going from stand to stand to see what they had, and what he could get a good price on.

We decided to come back to the outdoor portion of the market after our sandwiches, and entered the inside portion of the market. WOW! We were in heaven. All of these stands were set up much like the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Each stand seemed to be bursting with local homemade products, and the people in the stands were so excited to show you what they were selling. We got our sandwiches at Nerbone, which ended up being VERY good but VERY spicy because we asked them to prepare it how the locals like it - with a pesto sauce and a spicy pepper sauce, and then we wandered around every inch of the market. There were stands with olive oils made on the merchant's farm, wines from local wineries, biscotti and pastries and everything in between. There were also stands that were set up to sell meats (including wild boar, hare, and tripe), fish, cheeses, and other items. Of course, Fouad had to try another sandwich before we left, and then we headed over to the Duomo to start another of our Rick Steves audio tours.

We got over to the Duomo, and were amazed by the number of people there. There were giant tour groups, merchants, and gypsies begging for money. We listened as Rick described the outside of the cathedral as looking like a giant wedding cake with all of the white, red, and green marble. It was interesting to hear that the Duomo was started around 1300 and built with a big hole in the roof because they lacked the technology to build a dome, which wasn't started until 1400 by Brunelleschi. We were also able to see the "Gates of Paradise", which is said to be the start of the Renaissance characterized by the 3D work carved into bronze. We moved on to continue our guided tour by Rick, when he told us to stop and enjoy some gelato. Who could say no to that? We split a refreshing mixed berry and lemon cone and were on our way!

We then continued our walk over to view the statues outside the Oransanmichele Church and tabernacle inside, and headed over to the Palazzo Vecchio which has a courtyard full of amazing statues. There was a replica of the Statue of David (not nearly as awesome as the real one!) where the original statue once stood and the original statue of The Rape of the Sabines and the most photographed statue in Florence - Perseus, the Greek hero that decapitated Medusa. The weird thing about these last two statues was that the replicas were in the museum, and the originals were outside for the public to enjoy.

We passed by the Uffizi Gallery and made our way over to the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) to enjoy the view. We stopped to take some pictures, and and old couple offered to take one of both of us. We got this. It was just too cute and funny not to delete!

After our walk across Renaissance Florence, we were ready for a nap - it had been a long day already! On our way back to the hotel, we kept passing dessert shops with small waffle makers outside the stores and the delicious smell of the waffles got to Fouad. We had to stop and get a waffle, and then they asked if we would like gelato on top. Um...yeah! So we had the most awesome dessert - a warm waffle with Nutella gelato on top. YUM! We also passed some art students on the way back to the hotel that were doing some amazing chalk drawings on the street.

Our room was ready, and we kept our windows cracked open just a little to listen to the sounds of Florence while we napped. After we got a little rest, we decided to take the long walk up to Piazza Michalengelo. The hike up to the Piazza was all uphill, but when we got to the top, we both agreed that it was worth it. We had a breathtaking view of Florence below us, and we decided to relax and watch the sunset. There was also another Statue of David that was bronze, but it still wouldn't compare to the original. Afterwards, we walked back down to the city and had our first really good dinner at Trattoria La Mossacce. We were the only people in the restaurant that didn't speak Italian, and our waiter spoke just a little English. We both split Ribollita (Florentine bread soup), cannelloni, bisteca Fiorentina, and homemade trifle for dessert...YUM! Oh, and wine of course... What a perfect end to our first day in Florence!

October 5th - Rome - Day 3

Our last day in Rome! We spent the first part of the day buying our train tickets to get to Florence and Venice. This turned out to be a little trickier than expected. The directions were confusing, and we weren't really sure what we were getting. Then, when the ticket printed out, everything was in Italian. Where were we supposed to pick up the train? What car were we in? What seat? Well, with a little help from the guys at the hotel, we figured out where to go to catch our train the next day. Whew! Now, our last day in Rome could begin!

After getting our tickets and a quick breakfast (chocolate croissants, cappuchino, and orange juice - nummers!), we took the Metro to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum / Palatine Hill. Amanda, being the savvy traveler that she is, thought to download a bunch of Rick Steves's audio tours before we left. Using the audio tours, we were able to go through different places and museums, and we actually knew what we were looking at!

At Palatine Hill, we saw the Senate House (turned into a museum), which is where the Romans used to hold all their meetings and such. We also saw the actual grave of Julius Ceasar. People still come from around the world to pay their respects on the day he died, the Ides of March (March 15). With Rick Steves whispering in our ears, we moved onto the Colosseum. The Colosseum was huge, and still in really good shape. Before we went in, we took a second to admire the cheesy fake gladiators that were taking pictures with tourists in front of the Colosseum. Silly tourists! We went to the top tier and looked down at the arena. They've removed the sand where the gladiators used to do battle, and we could see all of the underground tunnels. The Colosseum was definitely my favorite attraction in Rome.

From the Colosseum, we took a bus to the Pantheon, and we actually went in this time, but not before grabbing our first cannolli! The Pantheon has a big opening in the dome, and a slanted floor to drain the water out when it rains. Raphael (the artist, not the ninja turtle) is buried in the Pantheon, and his tomb was really interesting. After the Pantheon, we grabbed some lunch (brushetta, pasta, and pizza -- nothing different but it was still gooood!)

After lunch, we went over to the Spanish Steps to just hang out. We climbed to the top (so many steps!) and sat around watching the locals go by. When night hit, we had some time to go back and hit our favorite spots in Rome. First, we went to the Trevi Fountain to throw another coin in. They say if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, you're guaranteed to make a trip back to Rome. Amanda wanted to be absolutely sure that we'd be back to Rome, so she threw another coin in the fountain. Then, we went back to the Colosseum to check it out at night. Afterwards, we grabbed dinner (pizza and pasta again, so what? Who cares!?) at the Royale House, a restaurant overlooking the Colosseum. Even though this guy wasn't happy we were taking his picture, it was a pretty awesome way to end our last day in Rome!

October 4th - Rome - Day 2

Finally...DAY TWO!

We woke up refreshed for Day two of our vacation. We had overslept - so we missed our reserved time at the Borghese Gallery, but that was okay because we needed the sleep. New plan - we passed a beautiful fountain on our way to Trastevere the night before, so we headed that direction on the metro. First stop of the day was the Repubblica Fountain in the Piazza della Repubblica.

After relaxing by the fountain and gathering a plan for the day, we went over the the National Museum of Rome which houses ancient mosaics, sculptures, tombs, and artifacts. Oh, and this little gem. Yep, that's a Hidden Mickey! I thought we might be in Epcot for a second...

After the museum we headed to the Piazza del Popolo, to walk around the car-free streets and grab a bite to eat. We saw the tall obleisk as soon as we entered the square, and this is where Fouad got sick of me taking so many pictures. We had lunch at a little restaurant off of the piazza where we had Pizza Napoli (w/anchovies...yum!) and ravioli stuffed with spinach, cheese, and topped off with a butter sauce. Mmmmm.... We also tried fried pumpkin flowers which were stuffed with cheese. They were pretty tasty! Our waitress (and the owner's wife) saw that I was cutting up the pizza when she delivered it to the table, and as soon as she did she whisked it back to the kitchen to have it cut Americano style. She didn't speak much English - so we didn't really know what she was doing until it came back. I thought it was sweet - it made it easier for us to split :-)

After I spilled my glass of water all over Fouad at lunch, we had a quickie gelato (not memorable...but gelato nonetheless) and headed to the Barberini metro station to get a peek of the Triton Fountain. Fouad dried off by then, and we headed back for a little nap - it had already been a long day of walking, eating, and sightseeing, and Foo was still getting over his jet lag.

After a little nap, we took our trusty Rick Steves guide book and tried to figure out how to get to the Pantheon on the bus because the metro didn't run in that directon. We finally found that the 116 bus at Barberini (which is where we were earlier) has a stop next to the Pantheon. Off we went in search of the 116. After getting a little turned around, we found our stop and waited...and waited...and waited. Another couple from the US was waiting with us - they were headed the same direction. Finally, we spotted the 116 - and it drove right past us. After waiting a few more minutes, we decided to try another route that required a little more walking, but it worked.

We finally arrived at the Pantheon just after 6:00 PM. It was amazing to see a building that is 2000 years old and that looks so good. We were quickly disappointed because it was closed - boo! So we decided to do the night walk across Rome described in Rick Steves book. We headed over to the nearby Campo Di Fiori to start. As soon as we entered the Campo we noticed a little panino shop that was packed! Of course, the Deli Man needed to try a sandwich to see what all the commotion was about. We had a delicious sandwich and also stopped by a nearby bakery to sample some pastries. Mmmm...snacking across Rome is fun!

From Campo di Fiori, we headed over to one of Fouad's favorite spots of the trip - Piazza Navonna. As we walked up, we came across the Fontana del Moro another of Rome's beautiful fountains. Also located in Piazza Navonna is my second favorite fountain in Rome - the Fountain of the Four Rivers. This place was definitely the place to be. There was a huge dance party on a large stage (hence all the crazy colors in our fountain pictures) and lots of artists and people hanging out. We also met the cutest dog in Rome - Luna. She was adorable. Luna knew all of the locals and artists and ran to greet everyone in the square. Even though most of them didn't speak much English (and we spoke very little Italian) they still were able to introduce us to Luna. She was the life of the party!

Next, we were on to seek out the famous Trevi Fountain so we could throw a couple of coins in! Along the way, we got sidetracked by Giolottis - which is apparently famous for their gelato. We had to stop...and it was worth it! Delicious! Then we were on our way. Fouad was the one keeping us from getting lost (if you can believe that!) and we finally heard the fountain and crowd from a distance. Then, BOOM there it was! It was so awesome - even though it was nearly midnight the Trevi Fountain was packed with people! I was in love :-) I made Fouad promise that we would come back to the Trevi Fountain again before we left, and he agreed.

After a long walking and snacking adventure, we found a bus that was on a night schedule that would return us back to the Termini station and our hotel. There were a lot of shady characters around, and Fouad swears that there was a pickpocket attempt on our backpack or possibly to get his wallet. We had been extra cautious, so we weren't worried at all. Fouad was actually excited that someone actually tried to pickpocket us, especially after all the hype about pickpockets in our guide books. He's crazy!

Next up...our last day in Rome :-(

October 3rd - Rome - Day 1

I arrived in Rome the night before Fouad and checked into our hotel. I gave Fouad directions on how to get there from the train station (right across the street) and went to bed. I was really worried that he was going to miss his flight or get lost on his way, but I was so excited that he would be arriving in the morning! I hadn't seen him in a week!


Fouad arrived in Rome after his long flight, and went to get his bag at baggage claim...but it wasn't there :-(. Apparently, his bag wasn't loaded on his plane in Atlanta. After speaking with the people at the Luggage Assistance desk at the airport (who weren't very helpful...) Fouad made his way to the Radisson. I was so proud of him for navigating from Atlanta to Rome and from the airport to our hotel! We called the lost baggage hotline and checked online, but I still wasn't able to get confirmation that his bag was on the way. The staff at the front desk of our hotel assured me that they would track the bag and have it waiting for us before the morning.


Of course, I was really mostly worried about Fouad's bag, but I was also worried about our tour of the Vatican scheduled for the afternoon. You see, Fouad was wearing shorts and that's not allowed in the Vatican - you must wear pants. After speaking again with the staff at the front desk, we went over to the market next door and picked up a pair of track pants for 6 euro - not too shabby, but not exactly what Fouad was hoping to wear. Oh well...


We were then off to the Vatican area after buying our Roma Passes and hopping on the Metro. Fouad needed some caffeine, so we stopped to get an espresso. Then we were off to search for lunch. Our tour started at 1:00 PM, so we were in a hurry. We decided to get a quick bite, and pizza sounded great! We split two slices of margherita pizza and porcini mushroom pizza. It was delicious.


After lunch, we hurried over to the Vatican to start our tour. It was a "quick" three hour tour through the Vatican museums, St. Peter's basicillca, and the Sistine Chapel. We could have spent eight hours had we stopped to look at everything in the museums, but our tour guide gave us the highlights before heading over to the Sistine Chapel. No photos or videos were to be taken in the Sistine Chapel, and there was also supposed to be no talking. We were told to keep quiet several times, and yelled at for taking photos (even though we weren't). Well, that just made me want to take photos even more - which we did. After the chapel, we headed over to St. Peter's, and then the tombs of the Popes. This tour was really amazing - but our feet were killing us at the end!



Tired feet called for our first gelato in Italy! We took a little break over at Old Bridge Gelato near the Vatican. I was in love! I had pistachio, amaretto, and nutella gelato, while Fouad had chocolate, nutella, and pineapple. Mmmmm! It had been a long day already, so we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap before our first night out in Rome. Guess what was waiting for us when we arrived...Fouad's bag! Hooray!


After a little rest, we headed over to Trastevere to get dinner. This neighborhood across the Tiber River is the hot spot in Rome for restaurants. We had our first crazy experience with Rome transportation - the bus to Trastevere was jammed packed! We kept squeezing more and more people on the bus, and it was HOT. After a sweaty ride and getting too close to some strangers (deodorant really wasn't popular with them), we finally made it over to Trastevere.

After getting a little lost (which we would do frequently on this trip), we found the restaurant that Rick Steve's had recommended - Osteria da Olinda. It was a wonderful little mom & pop type place where it seemed that the whole family was in the kitchen working on your dinner. We waited a few minutes for a table outside, and then we ordered. We got a veggie appetizer, pasta with cheese & pepper, veal with potatoes, and wine of course. It was simple, but delicious! We also had our first experience with street performers and salesmen during our dinner outside. First, we had a few people stop by to offer roses for sale (this happened EVERY night in EVERY city), and then we had a "magician" stop by for a performance. His grand finale involved taking off his toupee and collecting tips from the diners outside. Pretty funny :-)


After dinner, we found another recommended gelateria - Gelato de la Scalla. We split a cup with chocolate, cinnamon (awesome!), and pear. We were able to navigate ourselves back to the bus stop - but we noticed a HUGE crowd. Apparently, the buses had been running a little slowly. After waiting 45 minutes, a bus finally showed up and everyone squeezed on and made the hot and sweaty journey back to the train station. We finally made it back to the room and passed out after our long first day!

Sorry about the lack of pictures on this day...we were still trying to figure out a good picture to video camera ratio. It gets better...I promise.

Painting Project

Well folks, the painting project has begun. Stay tuned for pictures of our newly painted house...

In the meantime, here's a few teaser pictures:

Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Room

I'm back, baby!

No, you're not dreaming, it's Fouad (you can tell because it's blue!) After a long hiatus, I have returned! I have a lot to tell you people, so sit back and relax. You might want to go to the restroom first. Back yet? Good, let's get this started...

First, let me explain the reasons for my not posting in awhile. The reasons are twofold: One, I'm lazy. All the typing and adding pictures, it's just too much work. Two, and better sounding, I feel like I have to have something to say when I post a blog. This is mainly because I think that Amanda would get on here and censor my mindless ramblings. I have no concrete evidence that she would do this, but it definitely seems realistic. Regardless of this fear, I've decided to blog anyway! I shall not live in fear! I will blog with nothing to say! She's looking at me right now, and I can picture her hitting the backspace button over all of these wor

Just kidding! Still here! So to summarize, I'm going to try to post more often, but probably with less pictures. Now I'd like to tell you about the loves of my life. One is Amanda. She's good looking and cool. Another is fantasy football. I'm obsessed. I love any sort of gambling anyway (moundball, throw a penny at a wall, etc.), so of course this would appeal to me. If you're not into fantasy football, you wouldn't understand, but it's just terrific. I talk like I OWN these players and I play and bench them as I please. It physically pains me when someone on my bench has a huge week, and I may cry if one of them goes down with an injury. I've put a lot of time into this and the season hasn't even started. Don't worry, I'll keep you updated regardless of your interest level. The Foo-Tang Clan shall win it all!

Well, time to wrap it up. Have no fear, though, I'm here to stay.

And Mohamad's birthday was yesterday. Happy birthday brother. You rock like a scissors-beater.

Labor Day Weekend

What a fun-filled Labor Day weekend! It was all started off on Thursday with the Taylor Swift concert with Alison and her family. Taylor put on an adorably awesome show, and sang all of my favorites! Thank you Alison for getting us great tickets :-)

On Saturday, Fouad and I headed to White Water with Mary and Matt to play in the park. (No pictures...sorry!) Fouad and I haven't been back to the park in quite some time, and it was a blast seeing old friends and the little changes in the place where we used to work (and where we first met). Andy was working and made sure we were well looked after. He got us a cabana by the wave pool which was really great, even though the sun didn't come out for most of the day.

So...I knew that the food was pricey, and that parking wasn't cheap, but what I couldn't believe was the price for LOCKERS. It was $13 for a SMALL locker - no refund for a key at the end of the day. We probably would have needed a large locker, which would have set us back $19. Crazy! Good thing the cabana came with a storage unit to put all of our stuff in.

It was a great day. There were short lines for everything, and Foo and I finally got to ride the Tornado! We were both working when it originally opened, and during the employee ride night we both were caught up with closing duties and missed out on our chance to ride. Thanks to Mary for suggesting we go!

On Sunday, we went to Thrasher Park to attend sweet baby Avery's 1st birthday party. The theme for the party was Avery in Wonderland, complete with Avery's big brother Jackson as the Mad Hatter. What a perfect day for a party in the park! While all of the kids went to play on the playground, all of the adults played the Best Game Ever. This game involves a Nerf football, two teams, intentionally pelting the other team with the ball, and no flinching if the ball is headed toward your face. We are definitely stealing this game for our next get-together.

We also made a BIG project purchase this weekend. Paint was on sale at Home Depot, and we couldn't think of a better time to go ahead and bite the bullet. We bought enough paint for the entire interior painting project - no more (off)white walls! Several people at Home Depot thought we were crazy - they just couldn't believe we were buying so much paint...hopefully this isn't a sign of what we've gotten ourselves into...eek!

Fouad's Birthday - Part Two

Better late than never, right?

Well, Fouad's actual birthday was spent seeing District 9 and eating at Stoney River...mmmm. We had a great date night - great movie and delicious food. Both of us were beyond stuffed after dinner, but it was worth it!

Then, we got the family together later in the week to go to Flip Burger Boutique - which is the restaurant of Chef Richard Blais from one of Fouad's favorite shows - Top Chef. Blais is from Atlanta and was the runner up on the Chicago season. The restaurant has gourmet burgers ranging from a the plain Flip burger to some crazier concoctions such as a steak tartare burger or lamburger. Perhaps the best part of the meal was the delicious milkshakes. We tried the Krispy Kreme and Nutella with Burnt Marshmallow. Nutella won...hands down.

That concludes Fouad's birthday celebration for 2009. Personally, I think we overdid it just a bit...how about you?

Fouad's Birthday - Part One

Fouad's birthday is on Monday, but we decided to celebrate a little early this weekend. I planned a couple of surprises for him, and we've had a blast so far!

On Friday, Fouad, Michael, Dawn, and I went to Atlantic Station to see Bodies and Dialogue in the Dark. Both were really great experiences! We went through the Bodies expo first, and it was amazing to see and learn so much about how the human body looks and works. After going through the exhibit, you really want to take better care of yourself :-)

Next, we went to Dialogue in the Dark. This was everyone's favorite part. Dialogue takes you through everyday scenarios in a visually impaired person's life. You start in a room where they slowly dim the lights, and the rest of the experience is completely in the dark. You have a cane and a guide who is blind that leads you through each room. After feeling your way around, you realize where you are (grocery store, park, etc.) and begin to recognize things in those environments. Dawn was definitely our star student - guessing almost everything right away!

After going through each of the rooms, you also have a chance to ask your guide questions about their own journey. Our guide, Willard, has only been blind for about a year and a half. He told us all about his experience and how he has adjusted. It was very enlightening.

On Saturday, Dawn and Michael joined us again. This time it was to go tubing down the Chattahoochee! We started at Abbott's Bridge and floated all the way down to Medlock Bridge, which is about a four hour trip. It was an adventure...and we had so much fun. I think we'll definitely be doing this again!

Tomorrow is Fouad's actual birthday, and I'm taking him out to dinner and a movie. On Tuesday, we're getting together with the fam for dinner at a surprise location - somewhere Fouad's been dying to try for awhile!

Happy Birthday Foo! I hope you enjoy being spoiled this weekend!