Weekend in Nashville

We had a great time in Nashville this past weekend! Our trip was pretty much centered around Carson's love for country music and her dream to be a singer someday. I thought that I might just give a few highlights today and post a little more detail each day about the places we visited and the people that we met.

We splurged a little on this trip and stayed in the Gaylord Opryland Resort. What fun! I'll have to do a whole post on the resort to share some more pictures of the conservatory gardens in the hotel.


One of the highlights of my weekend was meeting Tina from In A Garden. She and her family drove over an hour to come to the hotel to meet us. She even brought me some plants for my garden. How sweet is that!! She is the first of my blogging friends that I have had the chance to meet in person. I'll certainly have to blog about that later in the week.


One of Catie and Carson's highlights was meeting Neil from The Band Perry in the hotel lobby. He was really sweet to stop and have a picture made with them.


Of course Carson had to see The Bluebird Cafe. It was not at all what we expected. She wants to sing there the next time she is in Nashville.


This is the Ryman...the first home to the Grand Ole Opry.


We enjoyed a show and backstage tour of the current Grand Ole Opry. Carson enjoyed standing on the hallowed circle where all of the great country music stars have stood. Could this be a future star here?


We have never seen so many big guitars!






We all loved Nashville! It is such a lively city with so much to do. Two days were not enough to see all that we would have liked. I think a longer trip will be in our future.


The weekend was warm in Nashville and at home. This morning I was greeted by a few surprises in my own little corner of the world.


No matter how far I roam, there's no place like home! Hope your weekend was filled with joy!

Beautiful Florence

Our last full day in Italy was spent touring beautiful Florence. This city in the Tuscany region of Italy was home to many of the country's notable historical figures. One day is not nearly enough to soak in all of the beauty that is displayed throughout this area.

Since this was our last day of our trip, we were all pretty exhausted by this time. I did not feel as though I could fully appreciate everything that Florence had to offer.

We did enjoy touring the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. I stood in awe of this marble statue depicting David right before his battle with Goliath. The detail of this masterpiece was unbelievable. I though it odd that his hands were so big. Some people believe that he was meant to be placed on a church's facade or large pedestal which would have made all of his features appear normal to the viewer. We were not allowed to photograph the actual statue inside, however, there was a replica outside which I did manage to photograph. (I did not include it in my blog to keep it kid friendly.)

One of the highlights of the day was visiting the Basilica of Santa Croce. It is a magnificent church in Florence. It is the burial place for many of Italy's famous people including Michelangelo, Galileo, and Rossini. The weather was cloudy on this day and it was hard to get a clear picture.

Aren't the streets of Florence gorgeous? See the dome of the Basilica in the distance?



I just loved the stained glass windows in the church.



These pictures do not do the church justice. The overcast sky really hindered the photo opportunities.




The drive through the Italian countryside back to Rome took my breath away.



Although I loved my time in Italy, I was beginning to miss home a little. I will never forget the time spent with Catie seeing places I had only dreamed of until now. However, it was time to travel back to John and Carson and the place that will always be my favorite- Home! Hope you didn't mind the trip down memory lane, but it is time to move on. I have some more of my ordinary life to share!

Hello Rome

Our first day in Rome seemed like a whirlwind. The tour was carefully planned to fit in as many sites as possible. It was also planned with a bunch of teenagers in mind. (They didn't think about the chaperons and the fact that we were so out of shape.) I was determined to keep going and to see everything that I could possibly see on this once in a lifetime trip.

Our first stop that morning was the Vatican City. The first word that comes to mind to describe this place is magnificent! I had never seen so many beautiful structures and beautiful artwork in one place. There were statues and paintings in every corner. I think that is one thing that I loved about Europe in general; there were beautiful pieces of art in every place.

There was a long hallway in the Vatican lined with statues. Most were stately and grand, but my favorite was a simple statue of a little girl and a bird. If I could have a replica of any of the statues, this would be the one I would want. Isn't she pretty?




There are no words to describe St.Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. I won't even try. I will say that I think you could spend an entire month there and never see every detail. I loved the fact that guards would not let anyone speak in the Chapel. It was very quiet. I would just love to have been in there alone to soak it all in. The fresco's were so very detailed, one could never see every detail.



Of course, when you step back outside and see a scene like this with the clouds peeking through an archway; you know that God is everywhere not just in the beautiful chapels and cathedrals of the world.



The Roman Coliseum was our next stop. It is an amazing structure that was capable of holding 50,000 spectators. It was used for gladiatorial games, animal hunts, executions, and dramas. Can you imagine being in attendance for one of these events? If those walls could talk......



What trip to Rome would be complete without a visit to the Trevi Fountain? According to legend, If you toss a coin into the fountain with your back turned, you will return to the Eternal City one day. The fountain was full of coins, of course, Catie and I tossed our own for good measure. (I wonder who gets to clean out the money?)



After a full day of touring, we were taken to enjoy a pizza dinner Roma style. This establishment still used the authentic pizza ovens. I'll post on that later. Just remembering all of this activity has made me tired!

Oh Sorrento!!

"Enjoy the calm waters of the Mediterranean as you cruise toward the heel of Italy and the port of Bari. Drive through the olive groves across Southern Italy to Sorrento." That was the description on the trip itinerary. Doesn't it sound inviting?

It was actually very relaxing after the three busy days spent touring Greece. The night on the ferry gave me some of the most restful sleep that I had had the entire trip. As we were leaving Greece, we enjoyed some very picturesque views of this beautiful country from the sea. Although there was some sadness from leaving it behind, there was also an air of anticipation waiting for that first glimpse of Italy's shoreline. After breakfast aboard the ferry, we ventured on deck anxious to see land.

Finally, the wait was over. As Italy's coastline came into view, our excitement grew. We came into port and unloaded to take our first steps on this new land. (We were somewhat disappointed because, although we had to show our passports often, since Europe has open borders we did not get them stamped anywhere except in the airport in Germany.)

We traveled by charter bus from Bari to Sorrento. The drive through the countryside of southern Italy was amazing. There were olive groves and vineyards everywhere. It seems as if every home has its own olives and grapes. (I wish I could have an olive grove. It would save me a lot of money at the grocery store!)

The sights that took my breath away were the steep cliffs of the Almafi Coast. I think I am just partial to the sea. (I wonder if that is why I have a pond in my front yard?) The drive to Sorrento was full of views like this.




As Sorrento came into view, I knew instantly that I would love this area of Italy. The town overlooks the Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. I was very fortunate to have a beautiful room with gorgeous views of both. (More on Vesuvius tomorrow)



This is a tourist town, so there are a lot of shops and places to eat. Two things that I noticed as I explored the streets were lemon trees and huge lemons. I mean really big ones. I have never seen such big lemons. I guess that is why Sorrento is famous for its production of lemoncello. It is a very sweet digestif made of lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar. It is best served cold. I brought some back and kept mine in the freezer. If you watch Food Network you may have seen Giada use it in some of her recipes.

Of course you can't go to Italy without eating gelato. We fell in love with this precious lady who ran the Old Taverna Sorrentina. She had many different flavors of gelato and let us try every one. After spending some time with her in conversation, I continued on. Later she passed me on the street and gave me a big hug and kiss. In our country most people are much slower to open up to others. Wouldn't the world be a better place with more people like her. To me, meeting wonderful people is the most interesting part of travel. People really are the same everywhere. I wish everyone could open their hearts and minds to that simple fact.



Food, food, food! Italy is all about the food. (So was Greece. In fact every vacation I have ever taken is about the food!)

Catie has always loved gnocchi and couldn't wait to have some in Italy. She was in food heaven.



I just had to try the pizza and to my surprise, my homemade pizza is very similar to the one I had that day. I was very excited about that. Now, every time I make it I remember my trip to Italy.



There is so much more that I could share about Sorrento but my post is getting rather long. We only spent one night there and it wasn't enough. As I am writing this post, I find myself longing to return. Maybe one day......

We had to move on the next morning to Pompeii and then to Rome. More on that later!

Making Memories

This week I want to take a stroll down memory lane. On this day last year I took a wonderful trip with my oldest daughter, Catie. She is one of those rare kids who never asks for anything. Even on her birthdays I have a hard time deciding what to get her because she doesn't drop any hints like most people do. So, on the day that she came home from school asking if she could go on a school trip to Greece and Italy, what is a parent to do? We evaluated the expense and decided that we would pinch pennies, borrow the money, or do whatever it took to send her. Her dad was also uncomfortable with sending her without one of us, so he decided that I had to go.

Now. I do not like to fly. In fact, I am a white knuckle flier, you know- one of those people who holds onto the Bible during take off until their knuckles turn white. But I decided a long time ago that I would not let that keep me from living a full, well-traveled life. I certainly was not going to let my fear of flying stand in the way of making memories with my precious Catie who would be grown and gone before I knew it.

Despite the eleven hours spent on the two flights, we made it to our first destination, Athens, Greece. What a beautiful place! I was amazed at how large the city of Athens was. As soon as we arrived, we hit the ground running! Our tour guide took us on a hike up a thousand (not really sure how many) steps to the top of the highest hill, Lycabettus. From there we could really understand the enormity of this city.



This is just one picture in one direction from the top of the hill. Every direction looked exactly like this. I think the tour guide said that one half of Greece's total population lives in Athens. I believe it!



I thought I would absolutely die before I reached the top of the hill, but the view was worth the sweating and panting that it took to get there.

There was a little chapel, St. George, at the top. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the beautiful window in the chapel.



I quickly fell in love with the beauty and the people of Greece. I will be spending the next week sharing some of the memories that I made on my trip with Catie last year. Hope you will enjoy!