Baking Day

Sundays are a day of rest. And they are also a perfect opportunity to bake. Pam had a few baking projects to complete before the English Clubs,  so that’s how we have spent our afternoon, making an eclair cake, cocoa butter cookies, triple espresso brownies and oatmeal cookies. Sugar overload much?

We went to church this morning, a small gathering of 6 people, where we studied prayer. After a nice lunch, Bailey and I walked around the town, had gelato and enjoyed the cool weather, a nice change after the high 80′s we’ve had recently. We had a chance to talk together, and I’m so grateful for a sister like her. We returned home, and have spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen, mixing, beating, combining, washing, and most importantly eating!

 So that’s our day. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Saturday

I’m very original with my post titles. As you can probably tell. Today is Saturday, henceforth the post is titled ” Saturday”. Creativity just seems to flow out of me, doesn’t it?

After a week of tourists, cars, noise, gelato, walking and tourist attractions, and two cities, we have reached our resting place. We said goodbye to Roma and Firenze and are now in Milano with our dear friends the Apisas. Sightseeing may be interesting and fun, but it is so nice to be able to sit around the house and do nothing. You can sleep, you can read, you can just relax. No museums to be at, no endless miles to walk, no searching for WiFi, no eating out every night, no weaving through hundreds of people. Being here makes me thankful for home and for the things I take for granted. We will be here in Milano for around a month, helping the Apisas run Enlgish Clubs for Italian students. So far we have passed out fliers, met the students, had one English Club and toured our last church ( Thank Heavens!) We are getting settled into our new location, an apartment with a lovely, airy kitchen, family room, and a few bedrooms. It’s in a lovely little neighborhood, and right around the corner from a  pastry shop, ( which sells cappuccinos!!!!). Yesterday, we had our first English Club, with about 6 students. I’m so excited to form relationships with these sweet people, show them love, and interact with them.

We had the weekly club at Lino’s a little cafe that has a wide range of food, from gelato, to coffee, to sandwiches to pizza.Only problem was that it was hot yesterday, and Lino’s has no air-conditioning. Pack 11 people into a corner, and its a sweat bath. But a very rewarding sweat bath to say the least!

We watched Salt last night, an Angelina Jolie thriller, which was really good, and we had pancakes this morning. I didn’t realize how much I missed pancakes. It was a lovely treat for all of us!

Nothing on the schedule today, maybe walking down to the market, or reading outside. I’m so grateful for these quiet days of rest, and I’m excited to see what God has for the upcoming weeks!

Firenze Fun

Who knew Mondays could be anything more then the worst day of the week? What a wonderful Monday this has been. Probably the best Monday ever.

The forecast for today was cloudy and rainy, but we were blessed with warm weather and beautiful blue skies, which was a nice change after yesterday. Thank you Lord! Today has been very busy, but we Sullivans seem to like it that way. Always walking, always doing something, until finally crashing at night just to repeat it the next day. Tiring, but rewarding.

We woke up this morning way to early for my liking, but when in Florence, one has no time to sleep in. After breakfast, we were off in hopes of getting into a 5 hour cooking class we had discovered the previous night. Sadly, the class was full and our hopes were momentarily dashed until the lovely receptionist told us that for the same price, we could take a bike tour, starting at that time, and then take a shorter cooking class in the evening. It was really cool to see how God worked to enable us to not just do the cooking class this morning, but a bike tour and a cooking class, which turned out to be a blast.

Our enthusiastic guide Mario led us around the city in old fashioned bikes with baskets, dodging motorinas, taxis and tourists, all while learning about the architecture of the Renaissance Period and the history of Florence! We even had gelato, a bonus to the already great day. ( Photos are on Facebook! My connection won’t allow me to upload anything:( )

I ran into a few people, gave one lady a heart attack, and almost got hit by a few vehicles. But other then that, it was so fun and an awesome way to learn about the city.

Gnocchi and cappuccinos for lunch in the local side of town across the Arno River. Delightful as usual!

And now… introducing….

Cattle Pen Experience # 2: Climbing the Duomo

A few of my experiences on this trip have really made me reflect on the situation of cattle and how it must feel to be a cow. I pity those bovines. Always shoved, pushed and squished. Climbing the Duomo was a similar experience. Cramped stairways, lots of tourists, 432 steps= chlosterphobia galore! We climbed the Duomo dome today, a fun experience to say the least. The Duomo dome has an outside shell with a staircase behind it, followed by a 2nd inside shell. The stairs are old and numerous, and with the many tour groups, climbing to the top required much stopping, sidestepping and wiggling to pass the large number of people trying to climb up to the top. Some people sounded like they were suffocating, gasping for air, their bodies very much abused by the long, steep climb. But it was worth it. At the very top of the dome, the 4th largest in the world, we were greeted with a panoramic view of Florence, the orange tiled houses stretching onwards towards the mountains, which were dotted with little villas. It was so beautiful. The architecture is incredible and enormous, all the credit to Brunelleschi, the designer of the dome. Did you know it took the Florentines 60 years to come up with a design for the dome? After narrowly escaping chlosterphobia, we emerged from the Duomo, unharmed but much more appreciative of personal space and thankful to be back on solid ground. Those heights sure do make you want to lose your lunch. Thankfully, my legs stopped shaking after a while.

But one of the best parts of the day was by far the cooking class, where we made pizza and gelato, all with fresh ingredients. We kneaded the dough, let it rise, grated the parmesan, crushed the tomatoes, chopped the garlic, made little pizzas, and then cooked them in the express oven at the little kitchen. It was a small, intimate group, with friendly people from all over the place, and great fun. The food was delicious, especially the gelato, which only contained cream, milk, sugar and cocoa and we learned some valuable skills we will take home with us. It was so relaxing and a fun way to end a very fun day in Firenze. What a wonderful Monday it has been!

Busy

Busy describes our schedule for the past few days. Very busy. From one tourist attraction to another, we never seem to stop. Since we arrived, we have visited the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Forum, Palantine Hill, the Panthon, Castle Sant Angelo, Pompeii, and now Florence, were we arrived today. A few notes on everything we did and saw:

Colosseum, Forum, Palantine Hill

Colosseum: Wow. Huge. Large. Big. Cool. Hot. Like an Oven. Turned on high. You bake like a cake. Over 80 elevator shafts in floor of Colosseum. 1/3 of original size still standing. Great views of Forum from top. Beautiful at night. Lots and I mean lots of tourists.

Forum: Lot of bricks and broken pillars. Beautiful ruins. Get a guide. Awful audio tour. Thank the Lord for Rick Steves, which without we would have wondered around aimlessly, very frustrated. Hot. You bake even more then the Colosseum. Wear sunscreen next time. Bad sunburn received. Ouch.

Palantine Hill: Those emperors had it good. Walked around ruins of 170,000 square foot house. Rick Steves saved us again. Love that man. Beautiful view of Forum. Favorite part of the day.

Things I LOVED about Rome:

The cappuccinos.

The gelato.

The food.

The ruins and sights.

The cappuccinos.

The fellowship with the Siebens, our hospitable hosts. We had such an amazing time with them, and they were so gracious in opening their home to us. What a wonderful example in hospitality. After our Colosseum experience, Mrs. Sieben took us to a lovely picnic in a park, which was delightful and delicious. The Siebens took us out to dinner one night, where we sampled authentic Roman food, showed us around the city, and I even rode on Mr. Sieben’s motorina through the streets of Rome. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with them!

The weather.

The cappuccinos and the gelato.

The coffee bars.

The flower shops.

The motorinas and piazzas.

Sitting outside the Pantheon listening to music and watching people mill about. So relaxing.

The cappuccinos. ( slightly obsessed.. ok REALLY obsessed)

The people.

Pompeii:

 

After many train rides, we finally reached Pompeii, where Lilo, our guide, met us. What a great day. The city is beautifully preserved, having been first discovered in the 1700′s. We walked among many ruins of houses, amphitheaters, villas, streets, and squares. The people were so advanced. The frescos and mosaics were beautiful, along with the balmy mediterranean weather. Great day, great fun, great place. Highlight of trip. It was intriguing to learn about and so cool to walk where history was made so many centuries ago.

By the way, sorry for the lack of photos in this post. I haven’t had time to add any to Facebook, and our little hotel in Florence has really slow service, making it impossible to upload photos.

Florence: 

We arrived in Florence today, which is so beautiful. It was overcast and cool, raining for a little bit, but not too bad. We walked around the town, which is considerably smaller than Rome. It’s quiet and picturesque, quaint and charming. The streets are lined with colorful shops and the people are friendly. We toured the Pitti Palace, walked along the Ponte Vecchio, ate gelato, and shopped. One of my favorite parts of the day was the art gallery at the Pitti Palace, which displayed some original works of Rafael. He was an incredible painter, very, very talented. We toured the gardens at the Palace, which were quiet and cool, with birds chirping and fountains bubbling. After a long day of traveling, walking and sightseeing, we headed back to our hotel, which unfortunately is in the middle of the druggie section in Florence. Great. But we are safe so far, and hope to remain alive through the night!;) And if you are wondering, no, Bailey has not dropped off the face of  the earth, but has rather just been very lackadaisical in posting. Well, goodnight from Florence, and hopefully I will be posting more photos tomorrow!

The Cattle Pen and the Castle

These past few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We have toured Rome on foot, seen the sights, ate the food, and had an amazing time. Although our time in Rome has come to a close, we head to Florence tomorrow to make more amazing memories. First of all, so sorry I’ve been so late in posting. We have been so incredibly busy these past few days, cramming in as much as we can in 24 hours. But since I had some free time this evening, I have decided to unburden upon all of you what we have done. Get ready, because their is a lot coming your way!

Day 1: The Cattle Pen aka Vatican Museum

The Vatican

Welcome to the Vatican! It is a storehouse of incredible paintings, priceless works of art, ornate detail, and of course thousands upon thousands of tourists. Once entering, you are swept in the never ending flood of tourists, leading to very cramped hallways and rooms. The Vatican has more then 30,000 visitors every day! Thats a lot of people. Thats a lot of people in the bathrooms, in the lines, in the exhibits, everywhere. Push, shove, push, shove, everywhere you go. Whew. Even with all those people, the Vatican was wonderful. The Pope has it pretty good if you ask me. If you didn’t already know, the Vatican is its own country. It has its own post office and everything! After pushing through the mob, we met with our guide and ensued on a 3 hour tour of the place. Its huge. Enormous. Overwhelming. The walls are lined with fresco upon fresco upon fresco. But it is so beautiful. The paintings are so detailed and interesting. One of my favorites was definitely the  School of Athens. There is something so neat about finally seeing in person works of art you’ve learned about your whole life.

Inside the Vatican

School of Athens

Courtyard

Another big highlight of the Vatican was the Sistine Chapel and the St.Peter’s Basilica. Both were beautiful, the Sistine quiet and majestic, the Basilica ornate and grand. We also saw the Pieta, by Michaelangelo, in person, which was beautiful. It’s amazing what he did with a block of stone to make it so holy looking. Also at the Basilica, we saw the embalmed body of a previous pope. Pretty creepy experience if you ask me. The remains of Peter, whom the Basilica is named after, were in a little gold box under this humongous bronze canopy. All in all, excepting the embalmed Pope in the glass coffin, I loved the Basilica. It was breathtaking inside and is the largest catholic church in the world.

I took hundreds and hundreds of photos of the Vatican, Basilica, etc. but it takes FOREVER to upload them on here so the good ones will all be on Facebook if you wanted to see more.

Anyway.

We left the Basilica, starving and suffering from chlosterphobia, and walked off in search of a cafe and some caffe. We almost stopped here:

But felt that it would be slightly wrong to eat American food while in Rome, Italy. So we left the busy streets and found a little cafe in a tiny side street. It was wonderful. A breeze was blowing, we could relax, rest our weary legs, listen to the Italians calling out to each other across the street from apartment windows, all while eating good Italian food. I love the quaintness of the city, the architecture, the piazzas, the little motorinas, the cappuccinos and of course the gelato. If I never return to the United States, you can find me wandering the streets of Rome with gelato in my hand. One thing we have been having trouble with is adjusting to the slow paced Italian life. A funny custom the Italians have is that they work until 1:00 PM and then close everything until 3:00 PM. They go home, eat lunch, relax and then come back and work late into the night. There is such a sense of community and togetherness, hand in hand with their laid back lifestyle. We Americans love to hustle and rush everywhere, not stopping to enjoy the little moments that make the memories. However, when it comes to getting the check at a restaurant, we have had to search through the restaurant to find our waiter. It has been quite comical watching my mom hunt around for our waiter! American problems I guess.

After lunch, we walked over to Castle Sant’Angelo, an old circular fortress on the Tiber that was originally a mausoleum for Hadrian. It was converted to a fortress/prison/ holy place/ Pope’s hiding place in times of war. It was named after the Archangel Michael, who appeared to one of the Popes in a vision on the top of the Castle signifying the end of a plague during that time. A statue of Michael, created by Rafael, sits atop the structure, to protect the Castle. It has a large circular passageway inside, starting at the bottom and leading to the top, where there are many rooms, decorated with frescos. After wandering through these decadent rooms, we climbed to the terrace, where a view of all of Rome awaited us. How beautiful. With the wind blowing, and a panoramic view of the city, it was like we were on top of the world!

What a beautiful place. The weather was perfect, as we left the castle and walked along the Tiber, where vendors had set up little tents with colorful wares to sell. The tents were in the shade, and with a nice breeze from the River, it was a very relaxing experience. Mrs. Sieben picked us up, and we went home and crashed in bed after a wonderful supper of eggplant and parmesan. And that was only day one! I have so much more to tell you all, such as our experience at the Forum, Colosseum, Palantine Hill and Pompeii, but I’m exhausted after a full day of walking and sightseeing. So until tomorrow then!

Day 1: The Adventure Begins

After two long days of flights, airplane food, airports and traveling, we have arrived in Rome! Although jet lagged and tired, we are having a great time so far with our friend Linda Sieben who has so graciously hosted us in her home during our stay in Rome. We dumped our stuff, snacked on fresh pesto and crunchy bread, and headed out for Gelato!

Wow. Gelato is sooo good. Totally better then ice-cream. It has this light, sweet, creamy texture without being too rich or heavy. Mrs. Sieben said that you should have Gelato every day. I highly favor this idea.

Anyway, Rome is awesome. From the very little part I’ve seen, I think I’m greatly going to enjoy my next few days here. We walked along the Tiber River, which is near the spot where Constantine supposedly saw a vision of God and fought a famous battle. Pretty cool stuff.

Mrs. Sieben, our gracious host and tour guide!

  We walked along the Tiber River, which was beautiful. There was a nice breeze, and it was nice being outside after traveling all day.

On the bridge stretching across the Tiber, the bridge dating back to before the time of Jesus, there are locks with names on them. Couples come, buy a lock, write their names on the locks, attach the lock to a chain, and throw the key into the Tiber, to signify their eternal love that cannot be broken. My mom bought one, seeing that it is her 20th wedding anniversary today! Happy 20 years Mom and Dad!

The architecture in Rome ( from the very small portion I’ve seen) is so old and beautiful, and I haven’t even been to Ancient Rome yet!

What an amazing day its been. A great day filled with marvelous food, fellowship and fun. Until tomorrow then! Meantime, I’ll be dreaming of gelato… and more gelato.. and more.. well you get the picture. Its going to be a good 6 weeks. Yum.

Best. Night. Ever.

Most people go out and party hard on Fridays. I on the other hand stay home, cook, babysit and watch Tangled. The home life for me.

Two little children came over  to hang out with me tonight because their parents had to go to a wedding. Right before the parents left, the little boy Alex innocently asked his mom,

” Mom, do we HAVE to behave?”

” Yes, dear you MUST behave.”

Glad to report the kids were angels and we got along swimmingly.

The night started off with Chicken Tortilla Salad, which I unfortunately have no photos of. ( Bad blogger Maddie!)

It was gooooodddd. Yum. I couldn’t help having seconds. Eilee, the little girl, declared it was even better then Pizza, which is one of her favorite foods. Booyah!

We then made whip cream filled strawberries. Which were delicious.

strawberries

They were a little messy. But the kids loved them! (By the way, forgive my awful photography.)

After scootering, supper and strawberries, we finished it off with Ice Cream and Tangled.

We had fun. As you can see. He was quite pleased with his chocolate ice cream!

Tangled was entertaining and hilarious, as usual.

"They just can't get my nose right!"

 And don’t forget….

“You broke my smolder!”

Best. Night. Ever.

Monday

Mondays. Gotta love ‘em. End of the weekend and school comes crashing back down on you. The happy bliss you experienced from Friday to Sunday night has been changed to the trudge and sludge of school.

And don’t forget the dentist appointment this morning. 

So after a day filled with: 

This

That

And don’t forget… 

I was a little exhausted. Okay, a lot. 

So I went to my happy place and made dinner. So without further ado: Sloppy Joes!

And Strawberries! Love Love Love easy dinners! Here’s the recipe taken from Spark Recipes: 

Ingredients: 

3 lbs. 93% Lean Ground Beef( I used Publix ground beef)
2 cups Ketchup
3/4 cup Water
1.5 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Mustard
3 Tablespoons Vinegar
3 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Medium to Large Onions, depends on taste

Directions: 

1) Chop Onion
2) Brown Ground Beef with the Onion in a Dutch Oven( I browned mine in a sauce pan)
3) In medium bowl mix remaining ingredients.
4)Drain Ground Beef
5) Pour sauce over drained beef and simmer for 10 minutes

Super easy and perfect for the amateur chef… aka myself. Well, back to Mockingjay. After seeing the Hunger Games, I simply have to reread all the books. Again. Not like I’m complaining.

Hope you like the recipe! 

Krispy Kreme Birthday

Today is March 9. 12 years ago today my little sister was born. So to celebrate this monumentous occasion, we went to Krispy Kreme!

I had told myself over and over that I wouldnt have a donut, that I would stay strong and resist the temptation.

That lasted all of 5 seconds.

yes!

hot and fresh

why is fried dough so appetizing?

Krispy Kreme is seriously hurting my resolution to stay healthy.

birthday girl

Now we are headed to Starbucks.

** groan**

Sugar overload.

Well, going to go see if I can find my good intentions that were kidnapped by my Boston Creme Filled. Happy Birthday Kack!

Pancakes

Sundays and pancakes are a perfect combo. Especially when you add in family. No where to go, nothing to do. It’s relaxation at its finest.

Me, my sisters and cousin trashed my aunt’s kitchen this morning in the pursuit of the perfect pancake. Boy did we get creative.

le pancakes

yum

homemade apple crisps

the mixing station

banana cinnamon pancake

We were in HEAVEN. We had a feast.

in the kitchen

ice cream pancake!

keeping it real

What happens when you give a teenager a griddle.

griddlin

marshmellows and chocolate

Sugar…. Oh yeah!

brookie!

I like pancakes. A lot. And I love my family even more. I am so grateful for days like these where we can relax, hang out, have fun and of course eat pancakes.  Who knew pancakes could make you feel so good?