It’s quite the life to play gypsy…And roam as gypsies will roam…It’s quite the life to play gypsy…But your heart starts singin’…When you’re homeward wingin’ across the foam….
We’ve only been away from home for just over three months this trip, which is substantially shorter than our previous excursions over the past few years, however the excitement of coming home is just as palpable as every other trip. Tomorrow we begin our journey back and D & I are both a bit giddy.
Oohhh how I love traveling; I’m not sure that anything can compare to the thrill, joy and mind-bending reality of experiencing the charms of new countries, cities, cultures, food, people, music, wonders, smells, the joy of moving etc. but man! oh! man! The closer I get to the date of returning ‘home’ the more excited I get, the more I begin to feel the pangs of homesickness, the more I CANNOT wait to see family and friends, the more I look forward to small luxuries like 24/7 CVS, an extra pillow for my ever-growing belly, operational telecommunication, a mailing address. You know LUXURIES. But I suppose living away from the ease of Modern American Life is a huge part of the joy of traveling and teaches life-long survival methods. Allow me to point out just a few I discovered in this most recent trip:
The Panache of a Long-Term Traveler
- Using a plastic fork as a hairbrush when left with no choice
- When you have run out of EVERYthing one bottle of Jojoba Oil WILL serve three purposes: hair conditioner, body lotion and facial cleanser
- Tiger Balm is a gift from the gods and fixes everything
- Compartmentalizing the suitcase only works for the 1st week before you find yourself kicking, punchng, and standing on the contents just to make everything blasted fit
- Intentionally leaving behind at least 3-4 personal items in every. single. hotel. room so that you have enough room to accost the aforementioned contents of said suitcase in indicated manner.
- A hair flatiron/curling iron is shockingly effective to help diminish the, “Yes, I live out of a suitcase…what of it?!?” appearance of every possession you are dragging with you.
- Taking a shower with your clothes on is a TOTALLY underused method of laundry (shout out to Kimberstinkenly!)
Throughout the myriad of amazing experiences and delights of traveling, one lesson rings true: you never realize how beautiful it is to travel until you come home to your trusty drawer of Cookie Monster PJs and snuggle into your own bed. What? Doesn’t everyone have Cookie Monster PJs?!?
No more customs
Burn the passport
No more packing and unpacking
Light the home fires
Get my slippers
(Source: Spotify)
Saved the Best for Last
We are enjoying the last week of our European Honeymoon Summer in what is simply the most magical city I have ever experienced…Venice.
Upon arrival, the villa we booked for the week wasn’t available so alternative arrangements were made for us to stay in a 5 star suite situated directly on the Grand Canal. We were overwhelmed by the beautiful views and charming old-world feel though quickly acclimated our spoiled selves to the upgrade. In the morning we awoke to the accordion-playing gondoliers singing ‘O Sole Mio’ floating below our windows and lazily made our way to the incredible breakfast spread which offered, among many other options, the most delectable array of pastries I have seen yet. Can you say Prego Girl Heaven?!?
Not a bad way to start the week…
Character Definition
Tonight while sitting in a chair with a very travel battered (read: wrinkly) dress in my lap, I used my curling iron to eliminate each and every wrinkle. I believe the adjective ‘intrepid’ may now be officially used to describe my traveling prowess.
“Pregnancy Coach”
14.5 Weeks
SIENA - IL PALIO
Every year on July 2 and August 16, the beautiful medieval city of Siena comes alive for one of the world’s most breathtaking folk festivals, Il Palio. The event is known around the globe as a totally unique horse race, but it is much, much more. Preparations go on all year long in Siena, whose seventeen neighborhoods (contradas) invest every spare Euro and every waking moment in their efforts to win.
The backbone of Il Palio are Siena’s 17 contrade. These well-defined neighborhoods within the city walls were designated in the Middle Ages, basically to aid the many military companies hired to defend Siena’s fiercely-earned independence from Florence and other nearby city states. Even today it is not considered a good idea to marry out of the contrada, and if you do, it’s probably wise to sleep at your parents’ house the night before the race…
Each of us chose a contrada to support:
- Bubby - Onda (wave)
- Veronica - Lupa (she-wolf)
- Kel & Dust - Leocorno (unicorn)
The morning of the race, each horse is led into the contrada church (yes, the horse goes INTO the church) to be blessed. After thismost solemn event, the city literally erupts, as excited citizens flock to the beautiful shell-shaped Piazza del Campo. 50,000 people file into the middle of the square, while a few thousand lucky souls take their reserved seats on bleachers and terraces in front of the 15th-century palazzi that line the perimeter. Now the pageant begins, and for the next three hours the enthralled spectators are transported back to the Middle Ages.
Later, the horses and jockeys arrive, each passionately hailed by the denizens of its contrada. Officially, the jockeys now attempt to line up their mounts behind the rope which marks the tenuous starting gate, but everyone knows they are really taking their time, making secret deals to crush their patrons’ enemies. 120,000 eyes are glued to the jockeys’ hands, lips, eyes and body movements. When at last the judge lowers his arm, they tear off around the track at breakneck speed, unaware of the screams of the crowd. The actual horse race, is achingly brief: a minute and a half, give or take ten seconds. No one cares if, in the pandemonium, a jockey is unhorsed. The first horse to cross the finish line will win, with or without a rider.
Aaaaand, Bubby’s horse won! She was the victor as the city exploded in celebration and everyone surged towards Onda’s Church of Provenza for the Te Deum or prayer of thanks.
It was a great day with great people. Can’t wait to catch the next one. :O)
Not feeling so verbose recently so I will try to make up for it with photos. Here are a handful of my faves from Florence
We belong in the Sistine Chapel, doncha think?
It’s official…at 13.5 weeks Dust has to suck in his belly in order to match the size of mine.
I. Have. Arrived.
When I was a kid and pissed at one (or both) of my parents for who knows what ridiculous reason, I used to dream about how AWESOME it would be to be an adult and be able to make all my own decisions. For the past several “growned up” years I’ve often laughed at just how wrong I was. I mean ALWAYS being barefoot and NEVER having to worry about dinner are incredible indulgences. Both of which are better than just about all of my new-found independences put together.
UNTIL TONIGHT.
I have discovered the best part of autonomy. I spent an evening in the kitchen preparing dinner (yes, dinner) and this is what I came up with…
Homemade Costa Rican Chocolate Rum Banana Bread (adapted to include organic, shade grown cocoa and Guatemalan Aged Rum) and Jagermeister Hot Chocolate with Cuban Cigar Milk Foam - dude, > 40 herbs! Did I mention this was for DINNER?
I’m never eating lima beans. Ever. Again.
I wish I could tell you this is unusual for Costa Rica. It is not.
JUNGLE GYM!
Grown-Up Version
It’s a Doody!
The Name of Our Local Supermarket Chain
In the tiny little town of Uvita (if the population exceeds 1,000 I will rollerskate through the town wearing a sandwich board reading, ‘Beware of Motopussy’) there are TWO BMs…
If you have the same sense of humor as a 12 year old boy, like I do, it will make you snicker every time you see it. It also leads to some funny quotes:
· “Do you want to go big BM or little BM today?”
· “The big BM has a better fruits/vegetable selection”
· “That BM ruined my skirt”
· “You’ll see two BMs; the first one is smaller than the second one”
· “The BMs are so different, even though they’re the same”
· “Gotta make a BM run”
· “The little BM will be easier”
· “We won’t make it much longer without heading into town for BM”
Oh the joys of being a moron in a foreign land…!
I Now Fully Understand the Term TOURIST TRAP
Potholes the size of bathtubs (without warning!) for a 250 meter stretch for, no forseeable reason, in the middle of a perfectly paved highway fully qualifies as a trap.
What’s What in the Wilderness
It is an irrefutable fact that 99.9% of all songs sung in Español include the word ‘Corazon’.
It is also undeniable that Howler Monkeys in our yard are going apesh*t crazy because they are equally as excited that we will be able to watch the Charger v. Vikings game in the jungle today.
I just don’t understand.
Translates exactly as:
- CEVICHE - a seafood dish popular in the coastal regions of the Americas, especially Central and South America
- PESCADO - the Spanish word for Fish
- CAMARON - the Spanish word for Shrimp
- PIANGUA - the Spanish word for Mussel
- VIAGRA - a brand of prescription drug, used to treat impotence
??? One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong ???
Well. That is unless you have a dirty mind and then Fish and Viagra go hand in hand… Of course, if this was a MadLibs it would go something more along the lines of: “…Fish and Viagra go ___(fill in body part here) in ___(fill in body part here)”
Choose Your Own Adventure.
You Know You Live in the Rainforest When…
We just spent a week in Iowa. At some point along our international jaunt I thought, ‘there may actually be a few similarities between the jungle and the midwest in the summertime: i.e. the constant heat, the humidity, the insects, the thunderstorms, etc.’… I was clearly mistaken.
Costa Rica is an indescribably beautiful, eye-opening, words-can’t-describe experience, with one or two minor differences to living back home.
You Know You Live in the Rainforest When:
- The path by which you climb the 2500 ft elevation change to get home is determined by which river will be passable dependent on weather patterns of the past few days.
- Howler Monkeys wake you up at 5 a.m. Every. Day.
- It is completely normal, acceptable, perhaps even expected to slap with yourself with such vigor that it leaves red welts (for at least an hour), several times a day because you are convinced you are killing a ravenous, blood-sucking bastard mosquito with an insatiable appetite who has made it his duty to suck you lifeless.
- You find yourself taking more pictures of insects (which are absolutely appalling) than ANYTHING else. Why? I don’t even like looking at them, don’t want to be reminded of them, nor will I flip through my Costa Rica pictures years from now with fondness thinking, ‘Aww, look at that sweet little critter who terrified me to the extent that I slapped myself silly.’
- Your hair never completely dries. Never.
- Every 4th or 5th day you grab something out of the closet, it is completely covered in mold.
- You must look into your glass before ever sip. Trust me. Every. Single. Sip.
- You suddenly become concerned that the house is being attacked by means of cannon fire only to find that several overripe papayas have recently dropped from the massive tree outside in quick succession, scaring the bejezus out of you.
- Even during the day, you have to light an insect coil and carry it with you just to get to the pool to avoid later becoming convinced that a boyfriend, who shall rename nameless, must have put itching powder on your side of the bed as some kind of sadistic prank.
- Every time you go to pick a few Starfruit for a smoothie, pancakes or perhaps a cocktail each one of them has a small little monkey-bite taken out of them.
- The sound of the 4:30 afternoon alarm is the squealing of our Toucans. It’s like clockwork, it’s amazing, but I still don’t have a single Fruit Loop to show for it. Whoever claimed that the Nose Knows is a mentiroso.
- You find the 5 am and 4:30 pm alarms helpful since you NEVER know what time it is since every clock in the house is ALWAYS wrong due to the power going out each time it thunders, which is at least three times a day.
- The sliding glass doors must be closed in order to drown out the damned waterfall (which never seems to turn off or just simply ‘Shoosh!’) so that one can hear every word of the ever-brilliant programming of Teletica. Seriously, it’s LOUD.
- You time one another to see how fast you can make it through the screen doors and try to break the house-record each time.
- You count 58 bug bites in one day. 58. One day.
- You stand at the bedroom door, still sweating at 11 o’clock at night, pleading with the sapos (bullfrogs) to ‘pretty please shut the hell up so that I can get some sleep?!?’
- You find yourself spending more time studying the Wildlife Guide than writing updates for Tumblr.
