Willa’s Wonderings

We are back in the US after a wonderful and eventful week in Italy. The wedding was beautiful, so was the bride. Spending time in beautiful Siena was slightly complicated by both Nikki and I getting sick. We spent a total of 2 1/2 days either in bed or trying to recover, which made the week a very short one..

Here is our itinerary, i’ll fill this in with photos when I am awake and functioning in a time zone that matches my physical location..

Sunday, December 7th– we arrived in Rome and were greeted at the airport by my mother’s good friend Paula. While we waited for Paula, Nikki impressed me by devouring a rather sizable Italian sandwich without making any alterations or change requests.. A good omen for our culinary adventures to come!  We drove to Siena in the afternoon where we met up with my Mother and her soon to be Husband, Francesco.    They found us a beautiful B&B, located in the old part of Siena, just steps from the Piazza Del Campo.

Monday, December 8th- We went to an ancient city near Siena, which was AMAZING!  later that same day is when Nikki got very ill.  I tried what I could to make her comfortable.. which mostly consisted of trying to keep her from getting totally dehydrated since she really couldn’t keep anything down. It was awful and only mildly made better by our beautiful surroundings.

Tuesday, December 9th- Happy Wedding Day and Happy 16th Birthday,  Nikki!  The birthday girl was a trooper, dragged herself from her near deathbed to attend the wedding Ceremony. The wedding was held here and it was beautiful. The ceremony was officiated by the mayor of Siena (i think) in a beautiful room with amazing fresco’s on the ceiling.  I couldn’t really hear the vows very well but I did get a sense for how much this meant to both the bride and the groom. There is something to be said about waiting until you are all grown up to marry.

Wednesday, December 10th- Nikki is feeling better and we’re venturing out to visit with my mother’s brother who was in town for the wedding. Unfortunately, later that same day I got what Nikki had..  and the RAIN started, which stayed with us for most of the remainder of the trip.

Thursday, December 11th- Angela: near death, in bed and fully medicated. Nikki: shopping and exploring Siena, despite the rain with Grandma  Monika and Francesco. Nikki and Francesco have a  great friendship and it’s been fun to watch the bonding, despite a significant language barrier.

Friday, December 12th– I am feeling a little  better  and we take  off for Rome.  Unfortunately, Rome is suffering with record breaking Floods and  the Mayor declares the city to be too dangerous  for  entry. I am NOT kidding.   Parts of  Rome, including the beautiful Trastevere were flooded. Look at all this water..!

Saturday, December 13th–Happy Birthday to me!!! Just to celebrate the occasion, the rain decided to take a break and presented us with a good 6 hours of blue skies and sunshine. I was able to spend my birthday touring Rome, mother, Francesco and Nikki in tow which was wonderful. Nikk and I went inside the Colloseum and we also visited other places, including the Forum Romanum and the Piazza Spagna. What an amazing City!

Sunday, December 14th-10 hours on a plane with a non-working iPod and a daughter who would hardly speak to me. Need I say more?

Here are a few photos from the trip.

June was very busy! I started the month frantically getting ready for another show, this time in NYC. Those of you who know me well have heard my alternating raves about California and NYC being the two coolest places in the world. I love them for different reasons. NYC is so much more than just a city..it really feels like a big, living and breathing thing (for lack of a better word). Being there leaves you with two options. Become part of it or go insane with over stimulation. I usually take the train from Maryland and usually, I start getting nervous anticipation about an hour before I get there. It feels like I am going on a date–knowing it’s going to be a good one.. Exiting Penn Station ALWAYS makes me turn into a tourist. I stop for a minute and just look UP, sometimes I am standing in the middle of the sidewalk, which is not something I recommend. My last trip to NYC was during a big, big heatwave which added a very interesting dimension to the already frenetic population of the city. I arrived mid day, the temperature was about 95 degrees and I decided to walk from Penn Station to the Javits Center, where I typically spend my work day. The Javits is a giant Glass BOX. It was built in the 70’s, around the same time when plastic pants and matching sofas were in style… The outcome is an odd looking structure, looming by the rivers edge.

In the summer, the Glass Box becomes a giant Greenhouse. Because it’s glass all around, the sun is a constant companion. I can’t imagine what it costs to cool this place– it must be a lot because we typically have no air conditioning during our setup days, making for a sweaty and cranky crew. When the weather outside is above 85degrees, the air conditioning just gives up and being inside feels only a little better. Despite the sauna conditions, we had a great show with lots of interesting attendees although the heat made everyone a little edgy. My evenings in NYC are always spent walking the city, exploring the shops, finding good Italian food and this time, visiting a Salsa Club with my NYC “boyfriend” Michael. I’ve been taking a salsa class and wanted to try my skills, preferably somewhere I could get lost in the crowd. The club we went to ended up drawing an amazing group of what looked like professional salseros and watching them was so much fun! Michael is a struggling actor and musician and he’s lived in NYC all of his life. He has no sense of direction (literally and figuratively ) and is definitely someone who takes the motto “One Day at a Time” very seriously. It’s always so cool to see the city with a native New Yorker–between him and a crazy ex GF who was also from NYC, I’ve seen some pretty interesting places. I love Central Park in the morning, when the mist is rising and the runners and dog walkers are all about. I love Bryant Park in the evening, when the tall trees are throwing shadows and the crowd has thinned out a bit. There are some amazing old Churches in NYC, this one is on 5th Ave

The Public Library is breathtaking too. Every time I go to NYC, I tell myself to go see a show but I still haven’t done that. It’s the part of me that feels that sitting in place for 2 1/2 hours would mean that I am missing out on 2 1/2 hours of wandering the city randomly, finding little surprises around every corner. I am headed back again in a few weeks and this time, I am really, really going to try to see a show..!

I spent a wonderful, relaxing weekend with my good friends Pat, Jenn and Leigh at a house in the Shenandoah. This is a trip I’ve been taking every year for 12 years.

When we first started, we had little kids and little money. We stayed in a condo in Ocean City owned by a friend of a friend who rented it to us for $5o for the entire weekend. We had SO much fun and often, this trip ended up costing less than spending the weekend at home.. Back then, we were all runners and a large part of the trip was focused on getting runs in with eating good food coming second.. Over the years, our focus has… shifted. We are still active, a little older and MUCH more spoiled. We’ve been renting houses with hot tubs, gourmet kitchens and enough room for each of us to have their own comfy bed.

This years trip, our house looked like this: http://http://www.allstarlodging.com/home/property/129 very nice! We hiked Old Rag, which was probably the hardest hike I’ve done in many, many years… but boy, was it fun! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Rag_Mountain As is customary, we ate some fantastic home cooked meals, got lots of rest and spent plenty of time outside, enjoying the porch and the hot tub. I’ll add some photos later:)

Notes from a recent trip to Southern California.. I was at a Dirt Biking Convention for 3 days, in Anaheim. Our hotel and the convention center happened to be hosting the World Championship of Cheer leading during the time I was there– let’s say I’ve seen enough pom-poms to last me a lifetime.. After my work engagement was finished, I was able to tack on an extra day to explore and have fun.

I started at this well known whale watching spot, Crystal Cove State Park

I got there at 6am and saw a whale and about 10 dolphins.. it was amazing and I struck up a conversation with Kelly, a “professional surfer” aka, a guy who spent the last 49 years traveling the world and surfing. He had some great stories!

Then I went to: http://www.danapoint.org/ exploring the harbor and watching a kayak race that happened to be going on.. got back in my car, looking for breakfast and found this: www.bonjourcafe.com/

Next, I drove to San Juan Capistrano and toured an amazingly beautiful historic Mission: http://www.missionsjc.com It reminded me of being in a castle in Europe, surrounded by Flowers and lemon trees heavy with fruit.

After that, I got back in my car and drove to Laguna Beach- spent time lounging on the beach (with sunscreen) playing in the tide pools and then climbing up to this place: www.innatlagunabeach.com/laguna_photographs8.html

I also managed to have Gelato 3 times while in California—the best one was here: http://www.tuttoamoregelato.com/

Finally, I returned my car to Long Beach, changed into some semi-clean non-sandy clothes and took a short flight to Oakland. Carrie, Lynn and Lily picked me up and took me to dinner—a 4 hour layover well spent.

I took the redeye home and got to MD in time for Breakfast (admittedly, somewhat exhausted).

One of the perks of my job is that i “get to go” to Las Vegas about 6 times a year. I didn’t like it the very first time I went and no matter how many times I’ve been there, I still despise it. I’ve tried to find its redeeming qualities and have decided to take a little side trip away from the strip, whenever possible. Here is episode #1
I am back home, relieved to be surrounded by green trees instead of burnt up agave. My time in Vegas was surreal, as usual. I stayed at the Luxor, which is basically a huge pyramid, modeled after the ones in Egypt. At least the shape and dimensions are.. The Luxor Vegas has a smooth, black marble outer layer decorated with Christmas lights which are turned on in the evening, creating a festive sort of horror. The top of the pyramid has a intensely bright beam of light that shines straight up into the sky and can be seen from miles away. Let’s just say I had no trouble finding my way back to the hotel.
The rooms have slanted walls, at least the ones on the outside. Because of the slanted walls, the curtains are attached on both the top and the bottom of the window, which makes it seem kinda like a cabin in a boat.

The room is tastefully decorated with furniture– said furniture is completely covered with expertly drawn hieroglyphics. I forgot my Pharaoh dictionary for I’d love to tell you what it said.. I bet it was an ancient curse, causing me to walk around the hotel lobby casino for hours, unable to find my way back to my room. I looked lost and in need of a drink and a gamble– and got multiple offers for both by the sadly broken down cocktail bunnies, most of which were wearing Birkenstocks with their sparkley, low cut show girl outfits..
I made it through my dentist convention and discovered that Dentists are incredibly boring and don’t necessarily have perfect teeth. I also sat in a session about innovative ways to remove plaque– a new technology about to hit the market which I am not free to talk about. They might come find me and wire my mouth shut.
Friday, i worked a half day and then went to pick up a rental car which I secured with a 17 dollar bid through Priceline. I drove out into the desert, mostly aimless with Guido (otherwise known as my portable GPS) showing huge expanses of rocks, sand and cactus. I also nearly collided with a herd of wild burros.. crazy! Honestly, my first instinct was that the group had escaped from a farm and I was looking around to see if I could see said farm. Then, I looked a little closer and realized the donkeys were super skinny and their hoofs were too long for a domesticated animal (yes, I do notice the weirdest things!).
I eventually ended up in Red Rock Canyon- a State Park with incredible rock formations and a good assortment of wildflowers with colors so vivid they almost looked fake. I saw a coyote from very far away which was exciting and spent a lot of time just looking at these enormous rocks.

I then went on to visit a Ranch which had advertised tours through the canyon but sadly, I wasn’t able to join because I didn’t have a reservation. On the farm, I noticed a bunch of dogs that looked a lot like coyotes and one cat that sort of did too.. I tried to take a picture of her but she ran away.
I got home yesterday, flying over the West Virginia Hills and seeing green instead of orange was SO good. I don’t have to go back to Vegas until the end of August and hope to NEVER go back to the Luxor:)