Rome

Juliet, my SIL Emily and I left Venice and headed to Rome. It is truly a gem, filled with the immense layers of hundreds of years now gone.  I adore architecture and archeological ruins especially the roman ruins intermingled with renaissance and romantic era architecture, therefore, Rome is perfect.  I have to say the pasta is perfection as well as the seafood!!! I also have to admit that I ate gelato 2-3 times a day.

The highlight was definitely a bike ride through the ancient Apian Way, and Juliet kept making "ahhhing sounds" every time we rode on the cobblestones because she loved the sound of her voice jumping up and down. She handled the rain very well, after I put a poncho over the top of her.

Another highlight was definitely the Sistine Chappel, although it was packed with too many people.

 Swiss guards at the Vatican

A hidden little church

 Appian Way

View of the vatican city at sunset

Hailing in Venice/Caught in a Thunderstorm

 

 Juliet, myself and my SIL Emily just went to Venice Italy, for the first time and I am in love!

I was caught in torrential down-pour that became an incredible hail storm and transitioned into a lightening storm.  I was able to photograph quite a few lightening bolts, here are my two favorites.

I am not a photographer, but have always admired photography. Jake gave me a nice camera for Christmas and I have to admit this is my first time using it officially.  I think fancy cameras always intimidated me.  But, mine is very user friendly and I can see the results of a nice camera so much more clearly!

My favorite travel buddy, she spent time on my back and in the stroller and in her sleeping tent :) Traveling with babies is harder than along, however still very possible, just a bit slower pace with some breaks.

Jules with her Aunt Emily!

I cannot express the unique nature of Venice and its winding alley-ways and canals.  Such a beautiful/compact/bustling/claustrophobic/ancient/artistic/ornate/awe-inspiring city.

My internet is very slow, so sadly I will not post more pictures tonight.

Running in Switzerland

If you know me well, you know I have ran my whole life.  It seems to be in my blood, at times much more than others.  Every time I have moved to a new place, I have found a trail/path that I begin running.  I have a hard time even straying to other trails/paths, because the one I embark upon time and time again becomes a home to me.  My personality is one that enjoys change and craves it in many ways, but when it comes to running I like to find a home and stick to it.

When I lived in Arizona I ran along the canal trail even in the blazing sun.  In San Francisco I ran a beautiful trail called Lands end that ran along cliffs plunging into the ocean and overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, in the East Bay I ran along a local Hercules path and then ended on the Bay Trail that ran alongside the San Francisco Bay.   When we move into our permanent apartment in Ebikon (just outside of Lucerne) there is a lovely lake called "the Red Lake" that I will run (It was very much a deciding factor in moving to this apartment.

Yesterday I enjoyed running along Lake Lucerne for the second time, and the scenery was quite spectacular.

I am planning to run my third 1/2 marathon right here in Lucern.  Wish me luck!  It's going to be a fast ramp-up from my current 6 miles, but I am excited.  After this training, then a new CrossFit gym will open in Lucern!!! Yay and my cross-fit hiatus will be ended :)  Looking forward to so many new things.

On another note Juliet and I shared italian pizza yesterday that was wonderful!  However, I have to say living in the Bay Area, I was sooo spoiled with the good eats, because all the food here is on par with SF.

I took these two pictures while running (excuse for a break)

Here are a couple pictures of Juliet at the pizzeria (pizza had not yet arrived) and the swans again (you will probably end up seeing many, many swan pictures because they are so regal and beautiful)

Switzerland - Lucerne

I thought I might attempt to re-kindle the blog, in an effort to share a little bit about Switzerland and my experiences here.  If you know me well I am a talker, not a writer.  But I think this will be fun and so many people want to keep updated too about my little peanut JuJu and her adventures.

Juliet has adjusted very well and my favorite moment with her has been when she squealed in utter delight at seeing the swans that are in lake Lucerne.  When Jake, myself and my SIL Emily rounded a corner and before we even saw them, Juliet spotted the swans right away started panting in her silly hyperventilating way and waving her arms and rolling her ankles and then began squealing. The swans were lounging along the side of the lake off a rock embankment.  One large swan, upon our approach, I think was able to feel her adoration, because he started ruffling his feathers and rolling his long neck on his back for her utter enjoyment.  He was preening for her (I am calling it a him, maybe a her??? who knows).  Such a lovely moment for all of us.


I adore the greenery here and the rolling hills and the sound of cow bells throughout the city and the surrounding smaller cities.  The cost of here is quite high, the best description is a tube of L'Oreal mascara was -24 swiss francs in the US I think its about $9.  That NYX dollar brand that we have in the US a palette of eye-shadow was -24 swiss francs ($25.50).  Some things are more similar to the US in price though (hit-or-miss).

Lake Lucerne where I live (not taken by me)

Lake Lucerne and their famous swans ( not taken by me)