Airport Meetings & Destination Milano

I went to bed around midnight on the 21st knowing I had to be up 3 hours later. There was just so much to do before I left. I had a 6:30am flight and what with all the snow storms going on all over the place, I figured I better get an early start just in case. My friend Darcy graciously offered to drive me to the airport at the ungodly hour of 3:30am. Thank goodness for good friends! She also took care of my car for me while I was gone which saved me close to $200 had I parked at the airport.

The best part about having to be at the airport so early was the coffee! I love Coffee People! They used to have shops all over Portland but now they only have 2 locations at the airport, so this was truly a treat!



I was about the 3rd person in line to check in and the guy behind me commented on my stack of suitcases. "You don't travel light, do you?" I laughed and said, "No, I've never been one to backpack anywhere. Plus it's Christmas so I'm smuggling gifts!" Turns out he's from New York and a graduate of the Maritime Academy in the Bronx which is located in the neighborhood I lived in for 4 years. Nice guy. He came into Portland on a ship and said that he really loves the city :-) He mentioned that he liked it a lot better than Seattle. We got to talking about what Portland is known for and he specifically said he loved the variety of beer here and that the East Coast just doesn't have the quality beer that Portland does. I loved hearing that, I just wish I were a beer lover! I'm more a wine person. I do enjoy the Ruby from McMenamins but that's about the size of it. He wasn't on my flight though, so once I checked in we wished each other Happy Holidays and off I went to the gate. While waiting for my flight a woman sat next to me and we started talking. It turns out she is my neighbor, literally lives across the street in the townhomes and she is married to a man from Italy. Quite the coincidence! She was going to NY to visit her daughter who is in college. She was a vicitm of the snow storm that hit the East Coast and was actually supposed to fly out 2 days prior. This trip started so well having met these two nice people. This is what I love about traveling. Meeting diverse people from everywhere. These two I happened to have a bit in common with :-)





















When I arrived in NY I walked over to Terminal 1 and went up to the departures area to check in for the next portion of my flight. I should mention that the first portion was on Delta and the second portion was on Alitalia, which is a Skyteam partner of Delta. I arrived to the news that my flight was to be delayed 9 hours due to snow at Malpensa. I was really disappointed because every moment I have with the Italian is precious, so every moment spent in Terminal 1 was a moment lost with him. Alas, I had no choice.



Initally I called my friend Rachel who lives on Long Island and she was happy to come and pick me up but I told her I needed to check with the airline to see what they wanted the passengers to do. They asked that we check in and wait at the gate in the event that the snow stopped and Malpensa was back up and running. So I called Rachel back and told her I'd have to stay there. I really wanted to see her and her son who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting since the last time we saw each other was when she came to visit 2 1/2 years ago. The airline gave us a $10 voucher (which buys you all of a bottle of water and some pretzel's in NY), so I settled in and started watching movies on iTunes. One by one I watched several planes take off, Paris, Mexico City, Taipei, another flight to Paris, Munich, etc. I started to feel like I was on the movie Terminal! No communication from the airline whatsoever. I felt particularly bad for the families with small children. They were all restless and crying. The parents exhausted. This sort of put it into perspective for me and I stopped feeling sorry for myself asap!



When they finally announced boarding, in true Italian fashion, everyone bum rushed the gate. Forget boarding group 1, 2, 3 and 4 in that order, it was every man, woman and child for themselves!



It was a long uncomfortable flight and I got absolutely no sleep. I felt like a zombie when I finally arrived around 4pm Milano time which is 7am Portland time (the next day!). It took about an hour to get my luggage, then when I finally walked out the door, I looked through the crowd of faces and didn't see the one I was looking for. Then out of nowhere I got the biggest hug and kiss. I was so happy! Exhausted but happy. It was as though not a moment in time had passed since we were last together. I'll admit that I was a bit worried about this as distance and time sometimes puts a damper on relationships but I was immediately put at ease with his warm reception. We took the pullman (which is what the locals call the bus, which is not a city bus but more like a Greyhound bus) to the Stazione Centrale, then took the underground to my hotel.

Still here in Milano...

I'm still here but headed back in a couple of days. I have lots of posts planned so stay tuned. I'm pretty sad to have to go back so soon because I've had such a great time here, but such is life. Back to reality. A presto!

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Bread and Book Club

I haven't been blogging much lately. Shame on me but things have been pretty busy around these parts. This Saturday was my monthly book club meeting and it was lots of fun. The Italian says we should rename it to drink club with a side of book because we always end up talking about the book for all of 5 minutes and spend the rest of the night eating and drinking wine and/or beer. Well, wine for me anyhow. It's always so much fun! So this last months book was "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World" by Eric Weiner. I really enjoyed this book. I won't write a review here but I will recommend it. It's a light read and full of humor. It's very enlightening and great for lovers of travel as well as for those that haven't ventured very far but would like a perspective on the world as someone else sees it. You can read about it here.



I baked a Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip bread and it was a huge success! My friend Claire's husband did a dance for me just after his first bite :-)




















Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip bread recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can solid pack pumpkin
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup of water
3 tablespoons Canadian maple syrup
1/2 bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Optional: substitute chocolate chips for walnuts or use both!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, applesauce and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix well.



Combine dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water.



















Pour into two greased loaf pans, or one loaf pan and one cupcake pan, or one bundt cake pan...etc, many possibilities!









Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until the bread tests done. Drizzle maple syrup over the top when just out of the oven. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Personally, I like to slice into it while it's still warm and add a dallup of Cool Whip!



Sorry there's no pic of the bread sliced. I didn't take my camera with me to book club but I am sure I will make it again really soon, so perhaps I'll post some pics then. Plus my photographer is in Milano so with only two hands it was hard to stop and take a pic so I just used the point & shoot.

Let me know if you try it and how it comes out!

Portland, Oh How I Love Thee.....

Here is the new Travel Portland video. I was so excited when I saw it that I had to share it here with you. I love this city and all that it has to offer. We are the most ecofriendly city in the states, microbrew capitol of America, Willamette Valley wines, no sales tax, Cannon Beach...the most photographed coast line in America, Mt Hood ski and recreation area. One hour to the coast and one hour to the mountains, the Deschutes River among so many others with great river rafting, the abundant Hood River Valley, coops, community gardens, Farmers markets, great restaurants....and so much more!! Have a look for yourself and if your ever in town, please look me up!

Blast From the Past

This Facebook thing is quite the phenomenon. It has it's good points and it's bad points. Sometimes I get friend requests from people who went to the same high school but never uttered a word to me. I don't approve those because it's obvious that they are just after the status quo. The more friends you have, the cooler you are...meh! I can honestly say that all the friends I have on Facebook are people that I have either broken bread with, relatives or have had some sort of exchange with, even blogger friends. But I don't need to have 500 friends to feel validated. Anyhow, I am amazed at some of the people that have found me and vice versa. Case in point, my ex-boyfriend from high school's sister and mother. Wow, I hadn't heard from these people in like at least a decade, so I was happy to accept their friendship. One day I had a message in my inbox from the ex's Mom on her birthday because I had sent her some b-day wishes earlier that day, so I read it only to find out it wasn't from her.

As I am reading the message, I realize OMG, it's C, the ex himself! He doesn't have a Facebook and when he went to visit his mom on her b-day, she showed him my Facebook and apparently he felt compelled to contact me. You see, ours is story that didn't end on a good note. No, in fact it ended quite badly. C was my first serious boyfriend, my first love. We met our junior year of high school when I moved out to the burbs from the inner city of L.A. We were together for 2 years. I'm going to try to condence this story as much as possible because it's quite lengthy.

After our high school graduation we decided to take a road trip to Vegas to celebrate. C invited some of our mutual friends and I invited one of my friends "S" from the old neighborhood who had just broken up with her boyfriend and was feeling kind of down. Anyhow, long story short, we got incredibly drunk one night and I passed out on the bed and while I was passed out my boyfriend and my "friend" S started making out with each other. Of course I had no idea what had happened. When we got back to my house, I was feeling horrible and I went to my room and my sister came to my room and told me that something wasn't right. She said she thought there was something between them because they were acting strange. I thought there was no way this was possible so I just ignored her. Later we took S home and C went home. My sister kept insisting so I called S and asked her what happened. She came clean and told me everything. Needless to say, I was shocked. She apologized but it didn't seem sincere. I called C and confronted him about it and he came over and told me that he was confused and he didn't know what he wanted. I told him that if he was so confused than he obviously didn't want to be with me anymore and I sent him on his merry way. This was really hard for me. I was betrayed by two people that I trusted so much. I was devasted. I couldn't eat or sleep for weeks. I never heard from either of them again. Our mutual friends filled me in on what happened. A few months later S got pregnant and they ended up getting married. I remember I saw his brother-in-law about a year later at the mall and he said that they missed me because S has no personality. I'll admit it was nice to hear that :-) So, a few years later I was told they got divorced. And that was the last I had heard about that.

His message was very apologetic. He said he was young and did a lot of stupid things at that point in his life. He said that karma had come back around to get him because S did the same thing to him that he did to me. He said that he almost didn't recognize me from my pics, that I look great and that his Mom always liked me. Wow, I wasn't expecting any of this at all. It was so long ago. For a split second I felt like justice had been done but then I caught myself and said, no, there is a child involved and that changes everything. So I wrote him back and thanked him for his apology but that it wasn't necessary since so much time has passed. I told him that while it did hurt me quite a bit, I got over it and come out of it a much stronger person because the human spirit is not easily broken. I also told him that I was sorry about his karma as that is something I would not wish on anyone. His response to mine was a bit disturbing. He said that he couldn't believe how nice I was being to him because every other woman he's had in his life has said that he ruined their lives. He said he had been getting therapy for the disaster that was his life. I couldnt' help but feel bad for him, but I suffered a lot back then and I just had to let it all go. And that is the extent of our communication. Wow, amazing this Facebook thing I tell you. Anybody else have a blast from the past connection story?

I wanted to post this song which is about letting go and addictions. I think people mistake this song as just being about relationships but it is so much more than that. If you pay close attention to the lyrics, it's most certainly about addictions. Addictions are not just limited to food, drugs, alcohol, etc. We can also get addicted to people. While I wasn't addicted to C, I certainly was attached and it was very difficult for me to let go. I'm sure some of you out there can relate in someway. So here it is. It's called Gravity by Sara Bareilles. Lyrics are listed on the video. Enjoy!

Yes or No?

I've been contemplating buying one of these however, it's a pretty major purchase and with my impending trip to Milano and a subsequent sidetrip that we are planning, I am wondering if I should spend the money. One could argue that this is a good reason to make such a purchase. I will come home with beautiful pictures of our travels. When I think of all the beautiful pictures I could have had from all my previous travels, I say to myself, you have to buy it! My little point-and-shoot Sony digital camera did an OK job, but nothing spectacular. Nothing like what I could have with this baby:



Oh the joy this little beauty would bring me! Of course then the frugal and very logical person in me (who the hell is that??!!) thinks of how much smaller my bank account will be when I slap the money down for this and I think, I really shouldn't.....sigh... I'm like a paranoid schizophrenic arguing with myself about this. Best Buy has this package deal but being that I don't know a whole lot about digital SLR's, I'm not sure if I should go for it. Then of course I will need memory cards, an extra battery and such. The price is really going up! And do I really need to buy the Geek Squad Black Tie 4 year protection plan for $249.99??!! Of course, we have no sales tax here in Oregon, so that's an instant savings on that alone! But still....

I live in one of the most beautiful states in the union and there is so much opportunity for beautiful pictures here. I don't travel as often as I used to, or as I would like, but I still travel at least once a year, more or less. (I'm trying to justify this major purchase here, in case it isn't obvious) The Italian says there is always new technology coming out for these things and that as soon as I buy one, there will be a better one to follow it. Of course there will be. That's true with just about anything these days, but I am sure that this toy will last me many years to come and will bring me lots of joy and treasured memories. I can blow-up and frame my own artwork. I would have to take a class or read a book though because until now, I haven't even mastered my point-and-shoot, but to be honest, I never really cared because I knew that it could never do what an SLR can. I'd like to make my blog more interesting with pictures of Portland and her surroundings. Of the beautiful Oregon coast, and all the other places we will be traveling in the near and distant future. Of life and our future together. I'd also be doing my part to stimulate the economy, no?

Do those of you out there with an SLR think it was a good investment and have no regrets?

I've made my case. What do you think? Yes or No?

A Change of Plans

I've really been neglecting my blog. It's not on purpose, really. I've been working a lot of overtime and by the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is stare at a computer screen. Usually afterwork I play tennis or go to the gym, so by the time I make dinner and sit down, I'm pretty much spent. I don't even have kids yet! That's going to be interesting! I don't know how you Mamma's do it. Kudos to you!

The Italian and I have been talking about his coming to Portland and his plans were to come here with plenty of money since it will be 4 or 5 months before he can even apply for work. Unfortunately, he is the latest victim of this global economic crisis and has not been paid by the University since September of last year. I don't understand how they expect people to survive! He won't leave until they pay him otherwise he'll never see that money. He even took a second job just to keep himself afloat but even that has been hard because it is a commission based job. I'm pretty bummed out because usually around this time of year I am preparing for his arrival. Not this year. Long distance relationships really aren't for the faint of heart. I like to see the glass as half-full so I am just seeing this as another bump in the road. Fortunately, I have some job security so we decided that I would go there for Christmas and New Year. This way I could meet his family. The last time I was there we had just met and he is pretty traditional in that he doesn't bring anyone home unless he intends to marry them. So, I will be the first woman he takes to meet his family. I have to admit that this is a little strange for me, having been raised in the states. It used to be that way in Mexico, but those are things of the past. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. According to the Italian, southern Italian mothers really scrutinize their sons choice for a wife. Maybe the fact that there is a language barrier will work in my favor!! I would like to learn some of her recipes and I am sure she wants me to keep her son well fed, so I think this may be a way to bond if we can understand each other. I'm thinking I might take some Mexican ingredients and show her a few of my dishes. I doubt there are any good Mexican restaurants in Milano.

If any of you out there have some tips for me, please, I need all the advice I can get!! I think I am more worried about saying the wrong thing and offending someone. I am going to be there from December 23 thru January 8th so I hope to learn as much cooking as I can while I am there. I am soooo looking forward to all the wonderful dishes the Italian's mom makes for Christmas. He has described them to me over the phone and I am left salivating everytime. She makes capitoni but he doesn't like it. I like fish, so I think I might like it. I hope these next 5 months fly by because I am so anxious to see him. At that point it will be a year and a half that we haven't seen each other. Too long! I am hoping that once I come back he will follow me here shortly thereafter. My first Christmas in Italy!! I am soooo excited!! I better lose a few extra pounds in preparation because if it's anything like the culinary extravaganza that goes on in Mexico for the holiday season, I'm bound to pack a few pounds on!

I have more to write about the situation at work, but I'll save that for another day. I hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer.