Day One in Italy!

Our first day in Italy was already half over by the time we arrived in Florence, so we didn't do much. We just went to our friends Anny's apartment to freshen up and get a bite to eat and talk a bit. Anny's apartment is lovely, but very small. I was already aware of the tight quarters Europeans live in compared to Americans, but it took some time getting use to when I live in a 3000 square foot home with plenty of bathrooms. The outside of Anny's apartment building is ancient, like all the buildings in Florence, but inside it was quite modernized. I will not be posting pictures of her apartment because I didn't get her permission to do so. The apartment had two bedrooms (none of which had closets so they had open storage shelves everywhere), a small kitchen, a tiny bathroom, and a living area. There was a boudai in the bathroom (I know I'm not spelling it right, but I've done spell check, and checked the dictionary, and can't find the correct spelling anywhere. Does anyone know the correct spelling?) I never used it, but my friend Pam tried it and said it was quite the experience! Except one time, she let the water get a little too hot. It was quite funny. The bathroom shower was so small I could not even lift my arms to wash my hair. My arms are very long, and my elbows kept hitting the shower walls. Shaving, was next to impossible. I decided to go hairy for a week. It was a good thing I didn't bring any skirts or tank tops with me. LOL! The kitchen only had room for a dorm size refrigerator, which I was told is actually the norm in Italy for even the largest families. The floors were all covered in tile, and the walls were some type of stone or plaster that was very cold to the touch. All the windows were extremely tall and narrow, and had shutters that closed from the outside. Anny's apartment also had a small balcony where she would hang her clothes to dry (no one has dryers in Italy, and you wouldn't believe how small her washing machine was! I swear all you could fit in it was a pair of jeans and a sweater!) and grow herbs to cook with.

Anny made us our first Italian meal for lunch: A delicious pasta dish with broccoli, pine nuts, and herbs. It was wonderful! After we ate, we decided to take a walk around Anny's neighborhood. I was anxious to get some exercise after sitting in a plane for 24 hours! Below is a picture of a bridge we crossed. Below the bridge is a small stream of water where Pam and I saw our first, and hopefully our last, large sewer rats. Pam didn't even know what it was. It was so funny. She asked Francesco, Anny's boyfriend, "What type of animal that was down there. It is so big, and has such a strange long skinny tail". When Francesco replied with some degree of embarrassment "That's a sewer rat" I just about burst out laughing. I was completely amazed at how every single building looked like a picture out of a magazine. Everything was so old, and so beautiful. And I loved the colors of all the buildings....they all blended together so harmoniously.

Here is a picture of the outside of a business. Every single house or apartment building in Italy has shutters. No one has shades like we do in America to block out the light.

Here is a view of one of the streets we walked on. The sidewalks in Italy are so narrow, we had to walk single file. And the roads are so narrow too...yet somehow two cars still fit. Of course all the cars they have in Italy are so tiny compared to American cars.

Hanging laundry is one thing you constantly see in Italy since no one owns a dryer. I just love the way it looks! So old-fashioned.

Here is another view of a narrow street. Can you believe two cars fit on this narrow road? Plus, pedestrians and motor scooters! Of course, all their cars have dents and scratches on them from trying to squeeze in tight spaces all the time. Anny says no one cares about the way their car looks in Italy like we do in America. Its just a mode of transportation, not an item to take pride in. In fact, when an Italian does get a new car, they often give it a good kick themselves first, so they are the ones to put a new dent in, and not a stranger. Then they don't get so upset when it does actually happen. LOL!

Motorcycles and scooters are a popular way for Italians to get around in Italy. Except they don't follow the same motorcycle rules we do in America. They never stay in a lane, rather they weave in and out of the cars, often squeezing in between two cars to pass. Anny said there are many traffic deaths in Italy because of it.

Here is a large balcony that someone is using for some extra storage space too. Bicycles are also very popular in Italy as a mode of transportation, except their bikes aren't very nice looking. They are often rusted, dented and very old. People don't buy brand new bikes because they just get stolen anyway. Anny said she had two bikes stolen from her since living in Florence.

After our little walk we went home and had a delicious dinner of some type of orange lentil soup and a very hard, thick bread. Then Pam and I went to bed to get some much needed rest, while Anny and Francesco went off to Yoga class.

And that my friends, was our first day in Italy....uneventful, but fascinating at the same time.

Have a great day! Amy

Home from Italy!

Hello Everyone! I'm Home! I arrived home from Italy around 2:00 a.m. in the morning. My dear husband and son had a bouquet of flowers and a computer designed sign that said 'Welcome Home! We missed you!'. It was the sweetest thing they've ever done. It took me 24 hours to get home with all the flight changes and time zone changes, and I only got about 3 hours of sleep during it all, and then about 5 hours of sleep last night, so I am feeling tired! I spent the day unpacking and doing laundry. Thankfully, my husband and son had a clean house for me to come home to, so I didn't have to worry about that.

Anyway, with the exception of the Digital Tuesday Challenge which I am required to post every Tuesday, for the next 10 days I intend to show you nothing but pictures of Italy and tell you all about my wonderful adventures there. So if your not interested in anything but paper crafting, you might want to ignore my blog for the next week and a half, but since my blog is about anything of creative interest to me...I will be talking about Italy....one of the most beautiful places in the world and the place where some of the best artists in the world came from. After seeing the beauty of this country, I now know why so many artists came from it. What inspiration!

Believe it or not I left my house at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday the 10th, and did not arrive in Italy till about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday the 11th (that's including the 6 hour time change). We had to change planes 3 times to get there, that's why it took so long. Our longest flight was 11 hours. I had no idea how big the Atlantic Ocean was before I took this trip. During the International Flight they have a video monitor constantly on showing the world globe and where the plane is, so you always know exactly where you are at all times. I don't know how many times I looked at that monitor after several hours passed only to see the plane move an eighth of an inch. It gave me a greater appreciation for the all the earlier settlers who traveled to America by boat!

Here is a picture of me as we begin our journey....all smiling, happy, and clean and pretty. If only I had someone take my picture AFTER the 24 hours of travel! I did not look like this! LOL! We boarded our first plane in Minneapolis, Minnesota and flew to Chicago. I was absolutely awestruck with the beauty of the O'Hare Airport. Here is a picture of the ceiling in one of the underground walkways. There was this beautiful electric light show above our heads as we stood on the automated walkways. It also played music, and the lights went on and off with the beat of the music. It was so cool.

After we boarded our plane to Chicago, we flew for 8 hours to Frankfurt, Germany. The plane was filled with people of many different cultures, it seemed everyone spoke a foreign language..mostly German, but I just thought it was cool being surrounded by so many different people from all over the world. The plane ride was torture for me. We flew coach, and we were right in the center of the plane with people on either side of us. The seats barely recline, so it was hard to sleep. I didn't have a neck pillow at that time (trust me though, I learned my lesson and bought one for the ride home!) and had nothing to lean on, so sleep was almost impossible. The worst part was my butt. Unlike most women, I do not have a lot of padding on my butt. I have always been heavier on top, and smaller on the bottom. So my tail bone was killing me having to sit for so long. I was so grateful for all the movies I could watch, it helped kill a lot of time.

Other than Canada, I have never been outside the U.S.A. before so I was kinda nervous going through Customs in Germany, but everything went smoothly so my fears were all for naught. Arriving back in America is whole other story....but I will tell you more about American Customs on Day 8! LOL!

On the way to Germany we took the HUGEST plane I have ever been on. There were 5 seats in the middle, and 2 aisles with 3 seats on each side. The speed of the plane felt like a rocket ship when we took off, and the air pressure pain in my ear was excruciating, especially when we landed. My ear pain was severe and sharp when coming down to land, I began to think something had to be seriously wrong with me. It took several hours after landing before I could even hear again. It was just awful.

From Germany we took a smaller commuter plane to Florence, Italy. This plane ride was only about 2 hours, and it was a good thing since we were both so tired and anxious to reach our destination.

We were almost to our destination when I looked out my window and saw this beautiful sight. I believe they are the Swiss Alps...correct me if I'm wrong, but Anny, the girl we stayed with, told me that's what they were. I was awestruck at the beauty. I live in Wisconsin, and I have never seen mountains like this before, and I have especially never seen mountains from above in a plane! It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring.

I was shocked at how easy it was to enter Florence, Italy. We didn't even have to go through customs. We just walked right off the plane, and there we were! Italy! It was a beautiful, warm sunny day, but unfortuneately my friend's luggage did not arrive so that put a damper on our arrival. But the airport officials did locate it, and we were able to pick it up the next day.

After a quick hug for our friend Anny, we were off in the car and headed for her apartment. I first had to get used to driving in a little, stick shift car. I get car sick easily, and I am also used to my large luxury car, so all the bouncing and jerking really did me in. My friend Pam and I were next shocked by all the traffic and how they drive in that country. They drive so fast, and no one, and I mean no one, obeys any traffic laws. Cars and scooters just weave in and out of traffic, no one stays in their own lane, its just unbelievable and at the same time miraculous to watch how skilled all these drivers are. I know we in America could never drive that way!

During our drive to the apartment Pam and I just kept 'oohing and aahing' over every little thing. Everything fascinated us, and we took lots of pictures from the car. Below are some pictures I took.

The architecture of Florence was just amazing to me. Every house looked like it just stepped out of a story book.

We briefly stopped the car and got out to take pictures of the City of Florence. The dome in the background is the city's main cathedral, S. Maria del Fiore.

Finally we arrived at Anny's Apartment. This is the view from her window.

That's all for today. Tomorrow I will write about how we spent the rest of Day One in Florence, Italy! Have a great day! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge "Holiday Wishes"

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is 'Holiday Wishes'. Simply make a card or gifts to get rolling on the holidays! Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Dustin Pike who has a lot of really fun images for Christmas, and just about anything else you could imagine.

My card today uses an unknown digital image that I picked up as a freebie last Christmas Season. If anyone knows the designer, please let me know so I can give them proper credit. I got the layout for this card from 'dancerriley' on Splitcoaststampers. She was the Featured Stamper a few weeks ago, and I picked a card of hers to case. The colorful Christmas papers are from Cosmo Cricket. I used a silver gel pen on the ornaments.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you to the challenge site with further instructions. One randomly chosen winner will receive 3 digis from Dustin Pike.

Well I'm off to ITALY tomorrow morning!!!!! I am so excited. Its my first trip overseas. I won't be blogging again till over a week, so please don't forget about me, or think I forgot about you because I haven't visited your blogs in a while. And if your a burglar who just might think he has an empty house to visit, you can forget about it. I'm going to Italy with a friend, all of my family will still be home, along with an angry German Shepherd, and lots of nosey neighbors with shotguns. LOL!

I'll be back with lots of pictures and stories of Italy to share! Have a great week! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge "Flowers"

Hello! And welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is 'Flowers'...my kind of challenge since you all know how much I love flowers! Simply make a card or project with flowers on it and one digital image. Your flowers can be images, primas, flowered paper, fabric flowers....whatever your creative mind dreams up.

Our sponsor this week is 'Fred, she said' and the flowers I used on my card are from her digi set 'A Lovely Blossom and Butterfly'. I cut all the flowers and leaves our and sprinkled the flowers with glitter. It is so pretty in real life, but unfortunately I had to take the picture in the wee hours of the morning since I'm leaving for Chicago in just a few minutes, so I have the ugly 'morning blue' light and thus, a very bad photograph. Maybe when I get back, I can try to rephotograph it under better lighting conditions. Anyhow, the paper is DCWV 'The Luxury Stack' and the quote is from Crafty Secrets 'Cherish'. The inside of the card says 'Happy Anniversary'.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the challenge site with further instructions.

Have a great day! Amy

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! This is just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. I worked all day today, and tomorrow I'm off to Chicago to visit my daughter for a few days. When I get back, I'll be sure to visit all your blogs, but for now, I'm exhausted and I'm hearing my bed calling my name. LOL!

This is my last Halloween card I'll post this year. Sniff, sniff. I made it for the Crafty Secrets Challenge on Paper Craft Planet where we were to use the color Orange on our card.

I hope you had a Spooktacular day! Amy

A Fairy Special Card

Yeah! I'm able to post again this week! LOL! I actually have a rare window of opportunity open before I have to run off again, so I'm using this time to post an old featured stamper challenge. Yesterday I spent 8 hours in a car. Ugh! And the worst part is, I have to do it again today. My son was accepted into the Wisconsin State Honors Orchestra, so I had to drive 4 hours to Madison yesterday for a rehearsal, then 4 hours back. Today is the concert, so I have to go all the way back. I would have normally stayed in a hotel, but my husband wanted to go to the concert tonight, so I had to come back to get him. Anyone that knows me knows how much I hate to travel in a car. I just hate sitting that long, plus I always get 'icky feeling'. I don't get car sick, but more of a 'foggy, groggy sick'. LOL! Does that make any sense? Then, on top of all this, I have to drive 6 hours to see my daughter in Chicago this weekend. But at least I get to stay in a hotel this time. Oh my goodness, how will I ever survive the 12 hour flight to Italy in a few weeks! LOL!

Anyway, onto my card. This card was made for FS140 a few weeks ago. The Featured Stamper was Glowbug. I was so excited to see someone I knew (in blogland, not real life LOL!) being chosen as the Featured Stamper. I chose THIS CARD because I had downloaded the image a long time ago but never used it, so I thought, now was a good time. LOL! I tell you, I always knew Glowbug was a very detailed stamper, but I never realized HOW DETAILED until I tried replicating one of her cards! It took me forever to do this card! And I even eliminated the paper piecing! The image is a digital image from Inky Impressions. The photo corners are a Sizzix Die, and the Butterfly is a Cuttlebug Die. The paper is Cosmo Cricket. The Fairy is mounted up on dimensionals and there is Stickles on the butterfly and the fairie's wings. Here is a close up to see the detail.

Have a great day! I know I won't. Except for the concert part of my day. LOL! Amy

Digital Tuesday Challenge: 'A Color Challenge'

Before I begin with today's Digital Tuesday Challenge, I'd like to apologize for not posting for an ENTIRE WEEK! I know, I know, that's unheard of me, I usually post every day, but I'm afraid it might be this way for the next couple of months. As most of you already know, I'm in retail, and this is a very busy time of the year for us. I'm working about 6 days a week , and I am completely exhausted and stressed already, and its not even Halloween yet! LOL! Plus, I'm traveling a lot. My son is a senior in high school, and is in the process of auditioning for college music programs...so I'm carting him from one university to another as we try and find the best school for him. I also plan on visiting my daughter in Chicago in November, before I head for a 10 day trip to Italy. Yes, you heard right, Italy!!!! I am so excited. I plan to take lots of pictures and document all the artistic details of my adventures in Italy with you when I got back. In the mean time, I will post when I can, but if I only post the Digital Tuesday Challenge once a week, you will understand why.

Now, onto the Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is a Color Challenge. Simply use the colors Orange, Kraft, and one other color of your choice with a Digital Image. Our sponsor this week is our very own Digital Stamp Oasis. They are giving away Three Digital Images to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

To make my card, I used the Digital Stamp Oasis image 'Bestest Buddies'. Isn't this the cutest image ever? What a perfect image to use for boys cards. The sentiment is a stamp from Sweet and Sassy Stamps that I thought just fit the image perfectly. I used a very wide twill tape behind my image, and attached a clip, ribbon, and a bone embellie. I also added white dots around the edge of the card with a gel pen. If you'd like to play along with us, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you to the challenge site with further instructions. If you'd like to purchase this adorable image, simply click on the Digital Stamp Oasis blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you to the etsy store.

Have a great day! Amy