Ciao, Italia!

It's been nine months since we went to Italy.  NINE months.  And yet, I still want to spend time talking about it and posting pictures to remember everything.  Because, you know, this blog is one of the ways we remember our good times - an interactive photo album of sorts.

But I realize, nine months on, that I really do need to move on to other news and other trips.  Since we took this picture, we've traveled through Bavaria, gone to Athens, attended a sister's wedding in the U.S., and toured across Saxony.  And, in two weeks, we'll have the pièce de résistance, our trip to Paris.

So, I suppose it's time to say goodbye to Italy, though I never really got to tell or show you much about my favorite city (for overall feeling), Venice.  And I never got to really write about the hilarious passive-aggressive hotel notes we encountered ("Where are you from?  RUDELAND??")--actually maybe that's just aggressive-aggressive.  Or recount the time we sat in the Frari Basilica, away from the tourist glut near San Marco's gondola stands, and take in Titian's Assumption of the Virgin, not in a museum, but as the altarpiece it was always intended to be.

Or tell you about the tiny, little pizza shop off the Campo Santa Maria Formosa that we went to for lunch every day we were there.  No chairs, standing-room only.  We ordered pizza by weight -- "un etto!" -- and it was where I tried my first egg and asparagus.  

Or, maybe talk about finding a mask and costume shop one night when we were lost (that's what you do in Venice, you get lost.  It's the number one activity.), filled with silks and velvets and porcelain masks -- and we could never find it again.

Or about that last night we had in Italy, where we bought our final gelatto, and walked along the promenade, across the bridge of sighs, watching the gondolas and traghettos and vaporettos go by, as the sun set over the beautiful, old city.

But, it's time to say goodbye to Italy now.  Just for now.

...

And hey, at least we got this mask!

Reformation Day

Happy Reformation Day!

Hope everyone took some time yesterday (Oct 31) on this important holiday in Germany to think about Martin Luther and how the protestant reformation has affected our lives today -- everything from the religious landscape of the world to its influence on modern democracy.  

Oh, and we also celebrated another minor holiday too...

as Pippi (Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter) Longstocking
and
a Ha(i)rry Potter

Happy Birthday, Paul!

Yeah, we may use apple-scented tea candles instead of birthday candles.  Yeah, our lighter may have stopped working so we never lit the candle.  Yeah, we may not own a cupcake pan so we made blueberry bread instead of the traditional muffins.

But, that's how we roll here at the Aquahaus, and it's a party here today.

So Cool It's Not Cool

So, Paul came home yesterday.  And I asked him aaaaaalllllll about his adventures.

And then he was like, "You know that one night we got a tour of the Museum of Natural History?"

And I was like, "Yeah..."

And then he was like, "We ate there!"

And I was like, "Whoa!  Neat!"

And then he was like, "Guess where I ate in the museum?"

And I was like, "...The cafeteria...?"

And then he was like:

And then I was like, "THERE IS NO WORD TO DESCRIBE THE JEALOUS RAGE I AM IN RIGHT NOW!"

And then he was like, "But...I brought you some whoppers?...?"

News Lately

So...here's what's been going on this week.

Paul is somewhere awesome.

And, in this awesome place, he is staying at THE WILLARD  (yes, it has its own wikipedia page).

And at THE WILLARD, he gets to order breakfast through room service--because there is no other option.  A butler person wheels it in with its fresh berries and fresh sqeezed orange juice and lifts domes off of plates of pancakes that are dusted with powdered sugar and gold.

Then Paul lounges around in a fluffy white robe and fluffy white slippers and pays six bucks an hour for the internet (ha!  I have him beat on something!).  After a bit, he gets to go eat four course dinners and privately tour the Smithsonian. You know, for some casual fun.

Also, eating in the conservatory room of my most favorite restaurant of the universe, the Old Ebbitt Grill.

Also, every night costs what is equivalent to 1/15 of our annual salary.  That is no joke.   See proof below.

If we had to pay for this ourselves...we wouldn't.  Because
it's not possible.

Meanwhile!  I've been staying at THE AQUAHAUS.  Where my breakfast is homemade granola and yogurt eaten out of the bowl I used yesterday for breakfast but didn't wash because what's the point?  I've been lounging around in my pajamas because I haven't left the house for two days on account of homework and the sentiment "what's the point?"  

It's a good thing Paul is coming home tomorrow because I don't know how much longer I could sustain a diet of chicken nuggets and candy bars.

I swear I say this every time, but next time we're springing for a +1 on the plane tickets.