it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

now that christmas has come and passed, this seems a bit out of place -- but i have to acknowledge the amazing christmas decorations in trieste!

piazza unita

all of the trees play christmas music so as you're walking through the piazza, the music rises and fades as you pass each tree - so magical

we didn't do too badly in our apartment either.  we just happened upon this adorable tree when we moved in and put it up as soon as we could (before november ended, i think).  then ver had a cookie-baking marathon for her students and we played christmas music and watched christmas movies and it was magical.

then! in ljubljana, they were selling adorable little christmas trees at the market! 

why is christmas over?! 

walkin' in a winter wonderland.

the first weekend of december brought a trip to london and cambridge that will now have to become annual.  we took a half day and after slight flight delays, headed to the uk! 

gorgeous flying weather, love the view of clouds out of my window seat

i had a great night in london with L and S.  we had a great taxi ride immediately upon arrival through rush hour london traffic that included me changing outfits entirely in order to make it to the west end in time to see WICKED! it was my first time and it was amazing. i can't wait to see it again!  the cast was absolutely incredible and omg i loved the story.  such a good musical.  then i got to rendezvous with M and had a lovely peek into her london life. 

then! on saturday, i got up and out and headed to cambridge for a nostalgia-filled weekend with friends after far too long.  it was the mill road winter fair and i got to see my old samba band perform (yes, i used to play drums in a samba band in cambridge) and drink in our favorite pubs.  then, to top it off, that night was the arco iris (name of the samba band) christmas party! 

L and R in their samba attire

after the gig and wandering around at the winter fair, having some mulled wine and pints at our fav pubs, we sauntered home to cook dinner (and more mulled wine) before getting dressed up for the theme of "white christmas" and the christmas party! 

R and her amazing hat/lights combo

E! the hostess with the mostest

reunited. so fun. 

an excellent venue for our shindig. 

it was so good to catch up with friends that we decided i would have to venture to them next year during the first weekend of december as well.  hopefully, it won't be a year until i see you all again! 

xo

the hills are aliiiiiiiiivvvveeeee with the sound of music

with a refreshing midweek day off (wednesday, december 8th, some rando italian holiday, yes, please!) we decided to make 4 hour trip to salzburg, austria!  after school tuesday we rented a car, filled it up, and went on our merry way.  we drove through slovenia and lots of snow and ice but made it safely to the land of the sound of music!

tuesday evening we wandered around a bit but saved most of our exploring for wednesday.

then wednesday came.  we slowly wandered into the center of the city where they have a great christmas market, hike up to the castle overlooking the city and went to an awesome brewery.  i sang all day and, as you all should know, i am incredibly talented vocally. so this made my constant state of song NOT obnoxious in the least bit.

some pictures!

view of the city from the castle

awesome pretzel from the christmas market

view up to the castle from the main square

gorgeous city view

cheers!

the city at night

love austria and can't wait to go back to salzburg with my parents (as soon as they make it across the pond to me!)

x

so lucky.

my time in the states has been a whirlwind of amazing. i am so lucky to be able to live an incredible expat life in italy but at the same time be able to be with my family and friends over the holidays.  right now i'm in transit to see more friends that i haven't seen in months and reunion with a whole bunch of them on new years eve tomorrow. and then i get to go to the beach and spend some QT with my family in their absolute favorite place ever. 


expect a full report on my break when i return to trieste in 6 short days but for now, let me catch up on what i was up to during december before i returned stateside. brace yourself for many backlogged blog posts. 


i hope everyone had a merry christmas and has exciting plans to get 2011 started!

xx

merry christmas!

during the past few weeks - we did a good job of building up the christmas spirit in our apartment in trieste.  we've had a cute little tree set up since the beginning of the month and the number of ornaments slowly increased to a grand total of: 4. and then V made tons of sugar cookies for her students!  things were exciting.

now, i'm back in the states with my family and it's good to be here.  spending time with my family is great -- i arrived successfully into dc wednesday afternoon (the 23rd) and then i got to roanoke around 7 and it has been non-stop since then!

reunited with nancypants

a little pre-church christmas eve baking, in our matching aprons

our christmas tree!

and then, we woke up this morning to a white christmas!  i can't remember the last time we've had a white christmas here (have we had one in the past 23 years?) but it has been beautiful!  it has snowed all day and is supposed to keep snowing through the night. so fun! 

i've already been able to see some friends and am making plans to see so many more in the next few days and then maybe a trip to nyc? and then richmond! for an epic new years eve reunion before returning to bella italia on 5 gennaio.  it's going to go by so quickly, i can already tell. 

i hope you're having a very merry christmas wherever you may be! 

buon natale! xxx! 

ps: in the next few days as i'm relaxing, i'll be catching up on some backlogged blog posts from this past month -- lots to share, so stay tuned. 

my ladybird (and her mantonio) and a trip to venezia.

after our delicious italian thanksgiving experience, i played 3rd wheel on a trip to venezia for the day with ladybird and anto. 

we lucked out with GORGEOUS weather and because it was cold, it wasn't very crowded.  it was my first trip to venice since i've lived here in trieste and it was anto's first time EVER (even though he's italian, how does that happen?!) so it was a fun day, playing tourist. 

enjoy the pics below!

the sunset was beautiful -- as they always seem to be here in bella italia -- tramonti bellissimi, sempre

italy is preeeetttty. and i live here! how cool is that?!

xo

an italian thanksgiving.

this year was my 2nd thanksgiving outside of the states, so i kind of forgot that it was quickly approaching.  as always, i had skipped to christmas and was already eagerly preparing for my favorite holiday of the year.  

since we had school on thanksgiving and the friday after, we postponed our staff thanksgiving gathering to friday night (for obvious reasons).  AND THEN it snowed on friday!!! the first snow of the year, it was totally unexpected and SO exciting!!! it started after we were all up in opicina at school so none of us were quite sure about the weather down in the city but we heard it was actually quite warm, which is funny.  here are some pics from the snowy day of school (we didn't get much work done, i was as even worse than the students at just staring out the windows).

me, L, and S

against-the-rules snowball fights broke out as students were dismissed

SNOW!

we actually had a half-day of school and the afternoon was a staff INSET day.  so after the students left, our meetings commenced, people trickled out as the weather got worse and again, we weren't incredibly productive as we all stared longingly out the windows. 

and finally, the time came when we could leave, head to A and M's house nearby and get to the preparations.  people arrived slowly, some bringing dishes that were already prepared and others making their way into the kitchen to find some counter space for the finishing touches.  all the chaos in getting the fixins' ready resulted in numerous power outages (these italian kitchens just aren't prepared to handle all of our american appetites on thanksgiving) which meant M had to hop the electronic gate to reach the fuse box which was conveniently placed outside the fence-lined yard.  this was just all too entertaining.  

those of us not cooking were keeping warm by the fire, watching slingbox-ed football games and the macy's day parade, and sipping on mulled wine and hot toddies. 

and right before dinner time, i got a ride down into the city to meet my ladybird and her man. YAY for visitors! 

ladybirds reunited

after dinner, it was time to play in the snow (obviously). A and i put on our snow clothes (i wore her husband's clothes, they fit perfectly, and put plastic bags over my feet as "boots") and we went out to make snow angels!!!

ready to go

it was the best idea ever

and then it was time for the basement dance party (again, obviously).

a non-traditional way to spend the thanksgiving holiday, yes, but that's ok.  although i was missing my family while they were at OIB having a grand time (and not hesitating to brag about it), i had a fabulous time. 

x!

tanti aguri!

the end of november and the beginning of december brought 2 wonderful birthday celebrations! 

M had a "super sweet twenty-sixteen" chocolate-themed party at our apartment prepared by her boyfriend, D.  we had chocolate EVERYTHING (chile con carne, veggie chili, pasta, martinis, soup, desserts) and a visit from some friendly neighbors...

me and the birthday lady!

thennnnnnn beautiful roommate birthday number 2 came with V turning 24 on december 2nd!  V's birthday theme was "teach me something" so we had a few friends over for dinner, but only if they were bringing supplies and instructions for making something.

K brought the fixins and la ricetta for penne al fumo

S brought the decorations

To the left you'll see my vin brule' contribution which was a little everyone-learn-as-we-go but turned out deliciously as well as the sugo al fumo a bit farther along (to the right)

far left, a baked brie

roomies and friends

and the best surprise ever! 

feliz feliz in tu dia..... lizzy and i taught ourselves the puerto rican bday song that Ver has been singing on everyone else's birthday! 

with our lovely birthday lady. 

we've stretched out V's birthday theme and have been learning all sorts of things this month.  later that weekend, V learned from lizzy how to make bread.  Then! we made almond butter (see below) and that was delicious. 

THEN! to top of the "teach me something" month, i went to a student's house last night and learned (from his mom) how to make pizza from scratch!! thorough recap to come. 

x! 

ps: only a week until i fly home for christmas, i cannot believe that it is approaching so quickly!!!! we have our winter show at school tomorrow, the craft fair is going on, we have secret santas and christmas parties to plan for and oh yeah, i have to pack sometime?! phew.