Recap

Ooooooops. Looks like I have skipped blogging for the last 6 months. I blame my computer breaking in May so I couldn't write about the wonderful ending to my first Italian adventure. The highlights of that....my brother came to visit for a week: we hiked a volcano, trained through a couple cities in Sicily, rummaged through an abandoned city and ate and drank lots. Once volleyball ended (we finished 3rd, a bit dissapointing) I took a long weekend trip to Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast amd Salerno. It was an utterly amazing trip. i cant figure out a favorite location because the views were breathtaking, the food to die for and the company always a hoot. My final week in Italy was amazing. An entire week of going to a new beach every day and going out every night with so many fun friends. The last week made leaving with the uncertainty of whether or not I would be returning very very difficult. But, I had been gone for 9 months and was ready to be with family and friends from home.....

A CALIFORNIA SUMMER

My return to Sacramento was a whirlwind of parties, seeing my pregnant best friend for the first time and celebrating her birthday, Claire's birthday and Jennifer's grad party and Layne's grad party. It was a week of fun catching up with everyone before I moved down to orange count to live with some college friends for a couple months. I thought getting a job would be easy peasy (idiot). After a week of basically having fun every day and night I was able to snag an interview (nailed it) with vector and began my lovely new job of selling CUTCO knives. I laugh at myself every time I say that was my job. Hardly the money maker I was hoping for, but at least I got something, right? The 4th of July was epic. I don't want to say too much, but our night ended with lighting fireworks in our front yard after a full day of heavy drinking...college degrees at work. July was my month of volleyball :) I was playing beach and different  open gyms about 5 or 6 times a week. Love love love. That was my main reason for living in SoCal for the summer, volley training so I was happy I was finally getting in that groove. A couple of visits from family; mom came in June with karma and we had a bitching time at the dog beach then happy hour with the Woodward's then a night of competitive shuffle board at goathill. Kyle came for a week in July, it was filled with some beach time, a little volleyball, a couple nights out and meeting with family (lunch with Nana was a definite highlight because I made her give Kyle dating advice). I drove back to Sacramento with him so I could work the sac state volleyball camp and finally make some big money. This is an odd and very very true statement....I drink far more when I am home visiting my parents than I do when living on my own. My parents invite me to happy hour a couple of times a week and then my friends invite me to go out after...rough life? After a week of "work" I hitched a ride with my mom back to la in time to play in my favorite volleyball tournament ever....6MAN! Hashtagragtag group that had so much fun. After a few more fun days it all came crashing down when I rolled my ankle in Huntington when Chelsea challenged me to try and jump and grab a tree branch(did it). After that depressing incident, I spent a few more weeks in SoCal then headed back to Sacramento early for some family time (and needed to go to San Francisco for the super fun visa process) before moving back to Italy for another season. I ended up being in Sacramento for a month because it took me 4 trips to the consulate in San Francisco before I could get my visa.  Finalmente, I was able to leave in the beginning of October.

ITALIA TAKE 2

Woo! A second year in this crazy country...let the adventures begin (well they already have since I am writing this after living here for 2 months). The second I stepped foot on Reggio soil (shockingly this is not an exaggeration) I had a man wearing denim on denim ask me if I had a boyfriend and if he could have my number. Man it feels good to be back. I'm living with my same roommate Meghan, sadly no Caylin this year. I jumped straight into volleyball and Italian classes...I'm improving..piano piano. Volleyball is going to take up more of my life this year, we only have 2 free weekends! I'm going to have to work much harder to find time for my much needed adventures. On the other hand, every day in a foreign country speaking a second language is a bit of an adventure

We must take adventures to know where we truly belong.

A Sicilian Carnevale

Mardis Gras weekend was volleyball free which meant a trip to Sicily! To my DISpleasure, we got a late start on Saturday and didn't get there until the evening so there was no daytime exploring. I shouldn't complain though since this way I was able to have a driver (Andrea) and a place to stay...saving that $$$$$ :) We spent the night bar hopping in Catania, pretty rad city, and started my birthday celebration.

Pre ferry ride to Sicily

Tripod taking on Catania

Live band, wild man

Day 2 we drove about 20 minutes to Acireale for the largest Carnevale celebration in southern Italy. I did not get the memo that Carnevale (mardis gras) was their version of halloween! So many adults dressed in the funniest costumes. Found a lot of Italian men dressed as women and wearing heels. It's quite taboo to be gay here, but I am convinced that more of these men are gay so this celebration must have been such a relief for them :) The idea of this day is to walk around, eat some horse meat sandwiches, spray silly string on strangers and throw confetti. 

Floats

Floats

Carnevale hair! Found confetti and silly string in my hair for days after.

January highlight reel

Talking about January almost seems boring after reading my previous posts, but it turned out to be quite a nice little month. If you subtract the fact that my apartment is a solid 10 degrees colder than outside with a barely working heater, I enjoyed the month. So here are the highlights:

1) Became Teacher Kelsey! My friend Laura wasn't going to be back in time from the holiday to teach her english lessons for a week, so I stepped in to sub for 6 days. Overall I really enjoyed the experience. The levels and ages varied greatly from the most annoying 6 year olds that didn't give 2 shits about learning english to an 18 year old who was preparing for a higher level exam. Most classes were individual lessons with a couple groups, but nothing larger than 7 students at a time. From this job, I've gotten another job teaching one group every Monday for the month of February. And I should be subbing for Laura again in about a month...kinda nice to have something to put on my resume besides "obsessed with volleyball"

2) Sleep/gym/volley/complain about the weather/daydream about sunny beach days ahead.

3) Beat Gallico! The number one team in our league and a team we previously lost too.

4) Guests: Brett, Paul and Jarritt. That only means one thing...ADVENTURE TIME AROUND REGGIO

Boy band photo shoot in Pentidatillo

Snow ball fight on Mt. Etna

Celebrating beating Gallico

Jumping off rocks into the ocean in Tropea

Journey # 6 Bologna

12/30: Reunited and it feels so good!!!!
        Caylin and I took the train from Venice to Bologna and met Andrea at the station and walked to our HOTEL together...yes yes I said it, we actually stayed in a hotel, and a nice one at that! Immediately we all took a nap in our luxurious beds..I even took a bubble bath :) A little later in the afternoon we wandered into the town and eventually met up with Saso and Meghan...the Fam is back together again, such a sweet reunion.
**sidenote: the reason we chose Bologna as our new years destination is because Caylin had really good family friends, the Watson's,  that were going to be there. The youngest daughter was playing on the high school Bring It tour, so we were about to be surrounded by tall volleyball people and see the guy that runs our agency!

So after we grabbed some food and booze, we headed back to the hotel and played some card/drinking games and met up with the Watson's. After our mini hotel party we decided to go try a couple of places that Lucy's sister had recommended for us to try. The first bar was really cool and very hipster. The waiter recommended a moscow mule...how could I not!? All in honor of Grandma. Then off to the next place where we couldn't find a seat so just took a shot at the bar and continued to wander. As we were giving up and walking back to our hotel we passed a hole in the wall place where there was karaoke!! We ran in to find the most white trash Italian people I have ever seen....I'm talking fat, missing teeth and smelling bad! But I wasn't going anywhere because there was a microphone, room to dance, and 1 euro shots! We sang quite a few songs including, but not limited to, The Eagles, The Spice Girls, and Mariah Carey...I admit my decision to belt Mariah was a huge mistake. But, it was so freaking fun.

12/31 NYE!!! Started with a tingling hang over...but was easily cured by the wonders that were provided by our hotel. First: Free breakfast! Second: Mini workout and Sauna!! Ahh just sweated out all that alcohol and felt like a new woman :) It wasn't exactly the most productive of days, but there really isn't anything to see in Bologna so I wasn't missing out by just relaxing with m'friends. We prepped for our big night...and by prepping I mean buying more booze and showering. We were heading for a dinner with the Bring It tour that was on an Italian military base. Tim had rented out a city bus for the whole crew to take there which was pretty awesome. It was good to see Tim, wish that we could have talked to him more though. The dinner was supposed to be a 5 course traditional Italian style meal, but it was quite the disappointment. Of course we made the best of it and took advantage of all the drinks and played card games and made some new friends....like olympic volleyball players :) So cool. Everyone was soooooo tall...we had been in southern Italy far too long, because we were in awe of being shorter than people. We left the base a little after 11 to get to the center where there was a statue they were going to burn and then set off a bunch of fireworks. Exciting stuff.

When we got into the center, there was so much noise and people were setting off fire crackers EVERYWHERE, it was crazy. As Caylin, Lindsey and I were making our way into the crowd with the others close behind, we were somewhat mobbed by some Moroccan guys who proceeded to put their hands all over us...I ended up punching a guy in the head and then one tried to rip my camera out of my hand! It was so scary. We all got separated, but found our way to safety before midnight. Feewww! Watching the burning man was pretty cool and there was about a 45 minute firework display. Made sure I was surrounded by Andrea and Saso the rest of the time. Once we were all safe and the crowds had died down, the champagne tasted so much sweeter! Caylin had a rough time and we had her go home with the Watson's....I only wish that we had been there to see her trip and fall 3 times during that walk home hahahaha. 

1/1/12: First day of the new year and what do I do....enjoy free breakfast, work out, sauna and watch CNN all day :) Then "the fam" cooked a really good pasta dinner at Meg and Saso's place and watched Jersey Shore and then some weird animal planet thing on Sea Elephants. Extremely educational. All in all it was a great trip...but maybe next year I'll skip the big crowd for the new year and keep it with just friends and family. 

Burning Statue

Journey #5 Venice

VE-NE-ZIAAA!! Oh what an amazing city...not such an amazing travel experience getting there. Had a little trouble getting to the airport for our flight, so we had to throw down the big dough for a cab :( And then Caylin left her nook on the plane so we had to wait for a couple hours in the airport for them to return it. BUT, once all that was settled we started exploring the city with great weather right when the sun was starting to set, so needless to say we got some BEAUTIFUL pictures of one of the most unique cities in the world.

Since we were "ballin on a budget", our diet consisted of cheese and crackers from the store and .69 cent boxed wine :) Caylin + Kelsey = pure class. Not quite the nightlife these wild thangs were hoping for, but it was probably a blessing in disguise since we didn't want to spend much money.

12/29: We basically just spent the day somewhat aimlessly wandering around and getting lost in the adorable little streets and looking in the shops where I wanted to buy everything. And I actually did...Up to this point I had managed to not buy a single thing in 5 cities...I need to work on not being such a cheap ass and buy more fun stuff! Sad to say we did not take a romantic gondola ride (talk about $$$$), but we did share a glass of wine in an little wine bar with a cutie patootie little waiter man. Then it started raining on us, so we called it a night. With our diet solely consisting of crackers the past 2 days, we decided to go wild and go and find a pizza near our hostel..NOT AS EASY AS ANTICIPATED. The guy working at the front desk offered us a couple of options and of course we chose the most difficult one, causing us to wander into the ghetto of Venice for about 20 minutes. Not our brightest move of the trip. Eventually we found pizza (not the place he recommended) and it tasted gross...they gave us one with FISH on it! Not what we ordered..big vomit.

The wild thangs enjoyed a quiet evening of boxed wine and banana grams, in preparation of the madness that was Bologna....

Journey #4 London-Rugby-London

12/23: After a fabulous 2 hour nap, we left our hostel at 5am to catch the bus to the airport to make our way to London. Everything went smoothly as far as our travels went, caught our flight and found the right bus to take us to where we needed to go, but that bus was an hour long ride and we all passed out the whole way and missed the stop we were supposed to get off on. Oh well, we just had to walk a little further to find the train station where we could leave our bags for the day before we caught our 9pm train to Rugby. Mission #1 in London: find food and wake the fack up! Success was found in an adorable little square with a weird statue and a christmas tree.
Then sightseeing: Tower bridge, Tower of London, London bridge, London eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliment, Westminster Abbey. We even passed through a "winter market" (we're in London now, so they had to be politically correct and not say Christmas market booooo)

*sidenote: at this point in the journey we have been walking EVERYWHERE, going out at night (usually dancing and running is involved) and all of our shoes have gotten holes in them and are leaking (especially Caylin and Meghan's).

With our aching feet and still a couple of hours before the train, we decided to make the trek to Buckingham palace...we were bitching the whole time, and I think God heard us and wanted us to shut up because it started pouring rain while we were in the middle of the park and had no coverage. We found shelter and as soon the rain let up and we figured out where the nearest tube was, we sprinted past the palace to SIT and wait for the train in the comfort of chairs and heat. Enjoyed some hot soup and a couple games of banana grams before catching the train.

TRAIN REUNION!!! Decided to have some "cocktails" on the train aka buy the cheapest whiskey we could find and mix with coke zero. Lucy jumped on board, of course we greeted her by hiding and jumping out to scare her! Once the scare was over, she took a second to look at us and said, "you guys look like hell!" TRUTH HURTS. After a loud (and probably very annoying) train ride, we arrived in Rugby to meet John and Cath Thompson! We stayed up had some food and a little wine and chatted about what the next couple days were going to be like.

CHRISTMAS EVE: My favorite holiday :) This part of the trip could not have come at a more perfect time...got a great nights sleep, woke up to a delicious hot breakfast and then went to get pedicures (our christmas present from Caylin). Had a relaxing day before John made a delicious curry dinner early in the evening , so we had plenty of time to go out to the pubs! WARNING. When spending Christmas in England be prepared for lots of drinking because most of their "traditions" involve going to the pub. So Christmas eve was spent boozing with some of Lucy's friends. Met some real weirdo's....and EVERYONE wanted to know what the heck we were doing in Rugby...apparently they don't think very highly of the birthplace of Rugby..they should have more pride.

CHRISSIE!!! Woke up to breakfast and "breakfast bags" - same idea as stockings, so I was stoked. Then presents! I had a package from home that my mom had sent (such a cutie) and Cath had gotten all three of us a couple little presents that were perfect for our travels: hat, socks, gloves, candy! Around noon we went to the pub with John (again a tradition) for a couple hours and had some fun. When we got back it was 2nd Santa! Meaning, Santa is a forgetful guy so we had a couple more presents waiting for us :) At 3 it was time for the Queen's speech. I was very excited for this because I had never heard her speak before, and Lucy and Cath were saying that she has the weirdest accent and is the only one that speaks like that, they call it Queens english. I couldn't really tell, but she was small and cute and it was nice. Before dinner started we had a champagne treasure hunt! Cath had made little clues on our place settings and we all got a glass of champagne and hunted around the house where our final gift was! Loving this tradition. Dinner was great, we had turkey and ham and cranberry sauce! And best of all there were poppers! So I got to wear a crown all night. After dinner we played Bingo...which Cath now refers to as "black bingo". Side story: Cath's daughter-in-law went to New York and said that only black people play bingo. When Cath told me this to find out if it was true I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Anyways, we played a couple games of bingo: things got wild (and we were drunk) and John threw his napkin at me to knock off my hat :( We grew to have an interesting relationship, but I would like to think he liked me best because I'm so "sassy". We continued with the game theme and taught them how to play Thumper. Aww such fun :) AND BEST OF ALL, they had great internet, so I got to skype with the Shrodes for a long time and my parents!! Even though I couldn't be with my family, it was a pretty awesome Christmas.

Faces of pure joy when they opened my gift: flasks..."one for the road?"

Champagne treasure hunt!

BOXING DAY: We were quite lazy. But who isn't on the 26th (maybe the hard core shoppers). John and Cath had left for the day to pick up Beth, Lucy's sister, because the trains don't run on boxing day. Meaning we were in charge of dinner. After meeting the hysterical Beth and having dinner, we went to The Fighting Cocks...Lucy claimed it as the worst bar ever. But that never stops us from having a good time and we turned that place into a good time: bartenders giving us free shots, playing pool, playing ring of fire, and confusing the local lads. 

12/27: Time for everyone to go their separate ways...Caylin and I to London and Meg to Paris. It was a difficult goodbye to the Thompson's because they were such amazing hosts and I really hope that I get to see them again someday.  Caylin and I took the train into London and met our good pal Vincenzo! After dropping our stuff off at our super cool hostel we were ready to hit the town. First stop, Buckingham palace where we could actually take a look around and not sprint pass in the rain. Impressive, but not many guards there because the Queen was in Scottland with her sick husband. The best part is when Caylin and I decided to do our signature handstand in front of the gates...Pretty sure people thought we were a flash dance group. Hit up a couple squares and then got ready for dinner and a night on the town. Dinner was at a bomb Vietnamese restaurant with  a very high pitched waiter who loved the idea of us drinking beer and gave Vince the thumbs up to get us drunk...Then we went on our own mini pub crawl trying new beers at all these different pubs. Accidentally walked into a gay bar and it freaked Vince out hehe. Did some more handstands, played some card games and somehow got Vinceyboy wasted by 11. Not sure how that happened, but when we said we were going to take him home he hung his head and said, "this is the lowest point in my life." But countered it with "I will not surrender and refused to be taken back to his hotel. When I laughed at him, he bitch-slapped me, in the face. Rough night. 

Olympic countdown!

Handstands in Trafalgar square

Dinner

Journey #3 Edinburgh

Oh Edinburgh, how I long to return to your charming streets and enchanting buildings...one day my friend, one day. Biggest regret of the trip: only spending one day in Edinburgh. Such a cool city with really great people. We arrived a little late and had Caylin's old teammate in Sweden pick us up from the airport and drop us off at our most partying hostel of the trip. Immediately upon arrival they tell us to come on a pub crawl, well were not tired and don't know what to do AND it's free so we join. The first bar was rad with some live music, so the 3 of us "tore it up" on the dance floor and sang along (not well) with every song.

The next bar included some aussie hotties and 1 euro drinks, so to say the least, that was a good time. Our guides (male) tried to kiss each other....their drunken theory: if they are getting rejected by girls, their boys will always love them. Not sure why they feel the need to smooch to show love, but it was pretty hilarious.

12/22: A slow waking, but in time for our walking tour! First stop was a grave yard. Yes depressing knowing how many bodies we were standing on, but learning why they were all dead (you know dying for what they believe in and what not) made it a little better. And for the Harry Potter fan in me, I got to see the school that inspired J.K. Rowling for Hogwarts and some of the graves that inspired the names of her characters! Pretty rad. 

We also got to learn some cool history and witch hunting stories. Most of the stories we were told were prompted by the names of the pubs we walked by. For example THE LAST DROP was where they would take people to have their last shot of whiskey before they were hung! They really value the important stuff don't they? Then we walked around for a bit more, headed up to the amazing castle (stayed on the outside because we were to cheap to pay to get inside). That night we had a scary ghost/underground tour where we went inside the underground vaults and got a good spook. Oh and the tour was followed with a whiskey and a shortbread...looooove that. Ended the journey with another pub crawl! Typical us night: playing pool,  drinks, dancing, and shinannigans! End of the night we weren't tired so we took the snoring guys camera in our room and took a bunch of random pictures, my personal favorites would be the handstands in front of the christmas tree! AHHH and then we slept for 2 hours and left at 5 am for LONDON!