home again home again jiggity-jig

Taber and I are packing up and heading back to the States tomorrow. We had originally planned to stay until the beginning of September but because the team did not make playoffs, or time here is cut short. We had wanted to travel around Italy for three weeks after the season but US Airways wanted an outrageous amount of money to change Taber's ticket. Instead of paying an arm and a leg, we condensed our travel plans to a week and a half. Although we are heading home, the blog is not complete. I still have many travel adventures to write about! I was hoping to get them posted before departing Italy, but considering we are leaving for the airport in one hour I do not think that is possible. Maybe if we were completely packed...but of course we are not. I was spoiled while packing for my trip out here. My four best friends, Sarah, Erin, Steph, and Jessi made a trip down to Oly to assist me. If I could re-throw my coin in the Trevi fountain my wish would be for them to be here helping me pack.
Neither Taber or I are ready to leave Italy.Six months ago Reggio Emilia was just another dot on the map. It has slowly transformed into our home and our city. A city that has continued to fill our hearts with joy day after day. The experience has exceeded our expectations in all areas.
After the blog entries are completed I plan on summing up our time in Italy (at least attempting to). So even if we see you tomorrow, continue reading for more information on our last two weeks in Italy.
Now back to packing....

Rome take two

The alarm woke us early the next morning. On the agenda for the day- St. Peter's, The Vatican, and then down to Napoli. Fueled up on caffeine and pastries, we were ready for the long lines that awaited us at St. Peter's square. Arriving in St. Peter's square, we were thrown off by the lack of tourist. We thought it may be an Italian holiday we were unaware of. There seems to be a lot of holidays n Italy, so we would not have been surprised. Assured that it was open by the small line of people going into the church, we joined the line. It took a mere 2 minutes of waiting in line before I was covering my shoulders and we were in the door of St. Peters. What an incredible sight. The statues, paintings, architecture, and stained glass was a vision of greatness. It is difficult to comprehend the amount of vision, work, and dedication it took to create such a magnificent masterpiece.
After picking up out jaws we walked over to the Vatican. Hoping, but not expecting, the line to be just as short. To our pleasant surprise, the line was nonexistent. The longest line we stood in all day was the line to the bathroom.
Thanks to the sparse crowd at both St. Peters and The Vatican, we were able to depart Rome for Napoli earlier than we originally had planned. We arrived at the train station 20 minutes before the departure of our train. Taber sprinted back to the hotel to fetch our luggage while I bought the tickets. The combination of the heat and running with luggage caused him to overheat. His body covered in sweat. His white t-shirt turned see-through making him appear like he was competing in a wet t-shirt contest. Once the train started moving he cooled down and his t-shirt transformed back to a solid white.
Before going to Napoli we had been warned of the chaoticness we would find ourselves wrapped up in. Each Italian player on the team suggested we bypass the city. Having no choice (we were catching a boat to Sorrento) and being curious about the big city, we stopped there anyways. They were not exaggerating about the madhouse of Napoli. It was dirty, dense, and loud. The streets did not seem to have any order or form to them and in order to cross you had to play leap frog. We traveled directly from the train station to the marine to catch the boat. I imagine if we had taken time to explore the city, we would have appreciated the craziness of it. One thing we were able to appreciate from the city was the pizza. Wow, was it delicious. It is all in the tomato sauce. So sweet and delicious.

The boat ride to Sorrento provided us a glimpse of the colorful city of Napoli. It looked beautiful from the water, but we were glad to be heading towards a town of rest and relaxation. The moment we stepped off the boat into Sorrento our blood pressure dropped and remained dropped for our entire 4 day stay.

Our little feet that could

Our train ride down to Rome was comfortable and pleasant. Abe and Natalie were on their way to Florence, so we had company for the first half. After they departed for Florence the scenery of rolling Tuscany hills and sunflowers kept us company. It was gorgeous and sunny looking. You can’t help but feel happy when gazing at the sunflowers that rival Kobe Bryant in size.
Recall from an earlier post when I was banned from pushing the green button on trains, the one that opens both the connecting cars and the bathroom. Well, I had to go to the bathroom and hesitantly pushed the green button. I have been scarred from the previous button experience but really needed to use the bathroom so I crossed my fingers, pushed the button, and hoped the bathroom was empty. Of course, it was not. I once again managed to open the door on a passenger. With a “mi dispiace” I quickly shut the door. As she exited the bathroom I faced the window and turned my full attention to the passing fields (at least I pretended to). I am currently zero for two with the green button pushing and there is not much more time in Italy to increase my statistics.
We arrived in Rome and headed directly to the hotel Taber had found while searching several hotel websites. We were told we would not find a sign on the exterior, so given the address we headed out to find it. We found it with no problem, buzzed the doorbell and were let up. It was a fantastic find. Five rooms all equipped with air conditioner (a must for Taber), wireless internet, a very nice bathroom, and a big comfortable bed. The owner/manager treated us more like a family member than a hotel guest. As we were heading out to explore Rome he took one look at my purse and said “that is every pick pockets heaven. You are going to be the biggest target in Rome” We rearranged the items in my purse so if I was pick pocketed, I would not miss anything except for the purse and my many lip glosses inside.
Our first stop was the coliseum where we joined a tour group. Not only did it allow us to skip the line, but it also gave us interesting information regarding the history of the coliseum. Plus, our Australian tour guide looked like he secretly wanted to be a modern day Roman Gladiator which added to the Roman feel. In the middle of the tour guides introduction I glanced to my left and who do I see mingled in the group…the girl I walked in on in the train bathroom. Either Rome is very small or my luck with train bathrooms is starting to follow me. I tried to hide behind either Taber or the guy in our group that looked like the identical twin of Kate from “John & Kate Plus 8”. He had the exact same hair cut and looked like he borrowed some of her clothes. I asked Taber to take a picture, but he was too focused on the massiveness of the coliseum. We toured the forum with the same group but a different tour guide, who kept us laughing the whole time. A few of our favorite facts from the tour…

1.500,000 people died in the coliseum
2. Gladiators fought again all animals including giraffes, porcupines, and elephants.
3. The toga color announced their social status
4. Gyms were put in front of stores. The Roman men would work out in front of the stores where the woman shopped. The women wanted to be seen by the men and would shop more and the men wanted to impress the women would work out harder.
4.The original toilet brush was invented by the Romans when they did not have toilet paper. Which is where the phrase “the wrong end of the stick” comes from...you don't want to brush with the wrong end of the stick:(

The coliseum and forum were not as crowded as we had anticipated. We never felt like we were competing to look at something, or had to wait to take a picture until people were not huddles around. There was only one point we felt cramped… On four occasions we were bumped into be two woman walking with a broken umbrella attempting, but failing, to keep the sun off of them. It was as if we were the gladiators and their umbrella was the wild animal trying to battle us. Besides that, we got extremely lucky with the lack of tourists.

We made our way to the Trevi fountain, which dominates the small square it sits in, and threw our coins. Having been told throwing the coins guarantees a return trip to Rome and grants a wish, we hoped for both. I wished for a giant plate of food to magically appear in front of me. Although I don’t know Taber’ s wish, I assume it was similar to mine. Our wish came true twenty minutes later. We were sitting in a quiet alley with two giant plates of food. We must have had good tosses because along with our granted wish an accordion player played soft music throughout our meal.

Next stop- Spanish Steps. I enjoyed the steps a lot because you are given the green light to people watch and stare. Usually I try to stare and am interrupted by Taber saying “Krissie” in a “you are staring at the people next to us” tone. Here, I could stare as hard and long as my heart desired! As we were watching people a man with a giant German Sheppard wearing a bright orange muzzle joined the crowd. He began to shout out a mishmosh of English. His message did not make sense and we came to the conclusion he combined all the English words he new into one long, shouting, run-on sentence. Wherever he learned his English they relied heavily on profanity. To add to the scene, while he was sputtering off nonsense his dog was trying to get intimate with his leg. The dogs actions did not phase the man at all and he continued on his rant. All eyes on the Spanish steps were on this man, especially ours. The dog was within 12 inches of Taber and I. He got too close to Taber for his comfort and tried to bite him. Thank goodness for the neon orange muzzle, it saved Taber’s face.
After our eyes glazed over from people watching we headed towards the direction of the hotel. Thirsty from walking around all day we ducked into a restaurant to sit down and chug some water before calling it night. Our plan was altered when the restaurant brought out peanuts, chips with salsa, and fries. With sodium running through our veins we arrived back at the hotel and hit the sack.

Rimini beach day

Tired after a long day





Two Sundays ago, Taber and I headed for the Rimini beach. It is an easy two hour train ride and ten minute walk before you are relaxing on a lounge chair and soaking up the sun (plus a two minute intermission for applying sunblock). Within minutes of laying down, we were both asleep. We were able to remain asleep for a little while thanks to the cool sea breeze, which masked the scorching hot sun. The wind lured not only sunbathers and families to the beach, but also sport enthusiasts. The Rimini beach offers kite boarding, wind surfing, canoes, paddle boats (with a built in slide), kayaks and many more water sports. The most popular being kite boarding. At first, it looked like the fish were flying kites. Once our eyes followed the string down and saw a person on the other end jumping the waves and throwing in a couple of fancy tricks we realized it was kite boarding. Taber debating having a go at it but decided against it. The strength of the wind whipped out the beginners level and took it straight to expert. Instead of losing limbs kite boarding, we opted to sleep, swim, and people watch.
After 5 hours at the beach Taber and I walked to the town center for dinner. Being a Sunday, the center was empty and a majority of the restaurants were closed. Five hours of sun plus two hungry stomachs slowed us down to a snails pace. Eventually we managed to find a nice restaurant bordering the town square. Energized from dinner, we walked back to the train station and headed home.

It was not until the following day that we realized the cool sea breeze was not our friend, and rather deceptive. The natural fan system concealed the hot sun, making us oblivious to the amount of sun our bodies were absorbing. Thanks to the double faced wind, we were a little bit on the crispy side. We felt a little back stabbed by the wind, but once our red skin turned into a bronze tan we got over it and were thankful for the cooling system.

I Nostri Amici

At the beginning of the season Bianca, Chelsea, and I were the three lone fans watching the games together. Of course, there were more fans watching the game, but not part of our group. Our small group gradually grew as the season progressed. By the last home game we had acquired a group large enough to fill a roster. Our new cheering section consisted of two more girlfriends, a friend from the states, and friends we have made outside of baseball. Employees from our gym, Fit Village, have unexpectedly interweaved into our social life and are now considered friends. Taber and I have become close with one girl in particular, Tania. Tania is the definition of a firecracker. She is full of life, energy, and love. She celebrated her 35th birthday a month ago, but judging by her looks and actions (in a good way) one would assumed she only had 26 candles on her cake. The topic of our first conversation was about how the Italian women fancy Taber. In her words "Taber is amazing. He looks like he was rowing his boat in the ocean and crashed ashore on the wrong country". Meaning, she thinks he was suppose to be Italian. Tania warned me to be careful of Italian women, that when it comes to men women are like sharks. She assured me she would be my "FBI" and lookout for the sharks. From that promise forth, our friendship has grown. She calls me her "sister" and when my mom her "Mother". Don't worry Steve, we will welcome her into the family as a 7th sister but you will not be responsible for funding her wedding.

Alberto and Samuel, two other Fit Village employees also joined us at the game. Having been raised to watch soccer, baseball is a new sport to them. They found it intriguing and wanted to have a go at it. The day after the game, Taber took them to the field and threw them BP. They were able to make contact with a few balls, not bad for their first time. Prince Fielder does not need to feel threatened by Alberto and Samuel, they were not quite good enough to make an appearance at the home run derby next year.

Since befriending Samuel, Alberto, Tania, and others from the gym, Taber rarely lays by the pool. He is either playing beach volleyball, basketball, or soccer. Of course, he does not object to playing. Anyone who has laid at the beach with Taber knows he is a busy body and would prefer playing over laying in the sun. I took part in a few beach volleyball games. Taber said he was surprised at how well I played... I am still undecided if I should take that as a compliment or insult. On thing is for sure, if Taber is on the opposite side of the net as me and spikes the ball, I bury myself in the sand as fast as possible. I would rather keep my face than try to dig his 500mph hit.

We have enjoyed watching our circle of friends grow. Regardless of how far away we will live once returning home, we will always cherish the memories made with them.

Giornale di Reggio

Last week the Reggio newspaper interviewed and published an article about Taber. Our Italian is not polished enough to translate the entire article, but with the help of an Italian we were able to understand most of it. The newspaper declared him "L'Mvp della Palfinger" which translates into "The MVP of Palfinger". In my opinion, a title well deserved. Taber played an exceptional season. Playing flawlessly in the field and excelling at the plate.I have always enjoyed watching Taber play baseball, especially defense. He has the ability to move in all directions efficiently and with grace. His fluid motion from glove to transfer makes any play look like a simple task.
The man who interviewed him for the paper asked questions that ranged from "Why did you choose to pursue baseball" to "How did you like your first experience in Italy". The section of questions was easy to translate. Only because we knew the questions asked and the answers Taber gave. By the time we return home we will have (hopefully) translated the remainder of the article.

Picnic in the Park

Eatin late night gelato with Mattia after the Picnic

The Brakeless Bike

So happy to be eating a real sandwich.



The other night Taber and I took a dinner picnic to ..... Piazza.... With its stone slab ground and row of green lushes trees it clashes with the other piazzas in Reggio. Although it is not an entertaining spot for people watching, it is a perfect location for a late night picnic. Earlier in the day we took a walk to the center and bought fresh produce from the open air market and homemade bread from a "forno" (bakery) to be used for dinner. On the menu for the picnic- a true American sandwich. The sandwiches in Italy are miniature in comparison to the ones in the States. If your sandwich has more than three pieces of prosciutto on it you have hit the lotto. While Taber was at practice I put together a sandwich of roasted chicken, avocado, lettuce, grilled onion, prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella cheese. To put all humbleness aside, it was worthy of landing in a Quizno advertisement.
With our picnic in hand we jumped on our bikes and rode down to the piazza. Being a good husband, Taber rode the bike with no brakes. He has mastered the Freddy Flintstones stop (braking with his feet). We enjoyed our American sandwiches while discussing the our experience in Italy, what we will miss, and things we are excited to return to. Without question the list of what we will miss is much longer than things we are looking forward to returning to. Here is a rundown of our two lists...

"Things we are excited to return to"

1. Our Bed- this could qualify as #1, #2, and #3. The thought of sleep in a .... makes us dizzy with excitement. If back and neck safety checks were conducted on beds, our Italian bed would not pass. We have woken up with mystery bruises on our backs which I am convinced are from the protruding mattress springs. The bed has aged our backs by twenty years. So, if you want to see us the first week of our arrival home, bring some popcorn and a movie and join us in our bed. Because that is where we will be posted up.

2. Our Kitchen- We share a kitchen with 4 burners, a toaster over, and a refrigerator that reaches my shoulders with 5 people. No more explanation needed.

3. Aussie & Payton- We can't wait for Aussie to wiggle his little bottom (hopefully little bottom, it was getting a little large when we left) out of excitement when he sees us. We are not as thrilled to have Payton violate our personal space with his nose "gooses", but we are looking forward to cuddling with him and taking him for rides on the skateboard.

4. Music- Taber's ears may have enjoyed the hiatus from the radio (they didn't have to hear my horrid voice) but I cannot wait to listen to music. Italian radio stations play, on average, an English song every 10 songs. The American songs they play retired from the billboard top 100 list two years ago. However, that does not stop us from turning the volume up and maybe throwing in a head bob, or two. My mom brought over a few of Rob's cds which have been playing nonstop in the car. Rob, if you are in search of back-up singers, Taber and I know every word to every song. I cannot guarantee we know every note. On second thought, I can guarantee we will NOT know any notes.

5. Friends & Family- Of course, we are looking forward to seeing everyone at home. The only possible way our adventure in Italy could have been more positive is if we were able to share it with all of you. You still have a couple more weeks to jump on a plan and make it happen! We are especially looking forward to meeting the new little one in Katie's tummy! I know he/she is also looking forward to meeting his/her favorite aunt and uncle:)

I am currently working on the "things we will miss" list so stayed tuned.

To be continued...

Cinque Terre

While my family was here Taber and I discovered the front-runner of cities we would like to retire in (so far)...Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre "The Five Lands" is made up of 5 villages strung along a stretch of cliffs above the Italian Riviera. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach it from the outside. Confident our legs could hike us through all five villages, a six hour hike starting with an easy stroll eventually ending in a physically challenging hike we set out on foot. We had a large group, my mom, Susie, Lynnie, Jake, Chelsea, Lauryn (Cheslea's fried from home), Taber, and I. All eight of us set out, any guesses as to how many made it through the entire hike?
Before getting on our way, we bought a park entrance ticket which entitles you to walk on the paths and use local transport. The first path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is labeled the Via Dell'Amore ("Lovers Walk"). There are locks scattered through out the paths, a symbol of locking your love. Taber and I forgot a lock, so we did not get to lock our love. Considering that we have gone through 4 bike locks and two locker locks since being here, our track record with locks is not good. Therefor I don't think locks are significant to our love. The first hike was an easy stroll. It offers breathtaking views of the sea, rocks below, and farming above. We arrived at the second village with no complaints except for needing a bathroom. Of course, all the tourist had the same idea in mind. The toilet Gods had another idea in mind, have all but one toilet out of service.

The village of Manarola was splashed with colorful houses nestled on the cliffs with terraces built overhanging the sea. If Taber and I do retire here, I know I will have to hold him back from using the terrace as a diving board into the clear blue sea.

With all eight of us still ready to hike we set out from Manarola to Corniglia again an easy hike, until you hit the 368 steps. Just when you think you have accomplished hike number two and are feeling confident about your endurance your legs are put to the ultimate test. Jake, Chelsea, Taber, and I remained talking to keep our minds off the steps and the burning in our legs from amount of lactic acid being released. We were happy to make it to the top. Along this hike is a ticket check point. We are still unsure the reasoning of it. The only possible way to sneak in would be to swim ashore and climb the rocks. As we all pulled out out tickets, Lauryn was unable to find hers. While frantically searching her bag an employee was hoovering over her waiting for her re-pay the fee. I saw Taber out of the corner of my eye using his ticket as a fan and acting very antsy. At first I thought he was really hot and trying to fan himself off, and in need of Lynnie's fan but it quickly occurred to me who I was married to, a gypsy. I quickly caught onto his plan. He nonchalantly handed me his ticket and I dropped it into Lauryn's book. With an "oh here it is Lauryn it was stuck in your book" we were on our way without having to pay another entrance fee. One a quick side note, as a result of Taber's ability to ignore rules, at least once a day he receives a hit from me and "Ta-BER" has become part of my daily vocabulary. If a sign is posted that says do not cross this line, you can bet Taber will be the first to cross that line. I was unaware of where he learned this skill until Gary and Valene visited us. The four of is admiring an unfinshed church in Reggio when I heard Valene say "Taber go up there". I turned my attention to where she was directing him. It was up century old stairs that were dominated by spider webs and dust. Who followed right behind...Valene! This happened several times throughout their trip and I now know Taber inherited the gene from the sweetest woman walking this earth, Valene. Honestly, I am thankful for this inheritance. I have been able to explore more areas than I would if I were on my own and we get some fantastic photos because of it. So, thank you Valene.

Back to Cinque- Two hikes down and arriving in the third village we were all still together. While my mom, Susie, and Lynnie stopped to buy Cinque Terre hats, Chelsea and I made our way up to a church sitting on top of a ledge. An alarming sound that is not sound animal or human like greeted us. We turned our attention to the noise source and were shocked to hear it was coming from a stray cat. Definitely not a sound the average cat is capable of making. If Susie Frank had seen it she would have put it in her carry on and adopted it. Assure the cat was on its tenth life, Chelsea and I showed it some love. After leaving the kitty we reunited with the group. At this point the sun was blazing. My mom, Susie and Lynnie opting to take the water taxi to the next village. Taking us from 8 hikers down to 5 hikers.

The hike from Corniglia to Vernazza started with enough stairs to give a serious stair machine addict a high. The stair trend continued for a majority of the hike creating a never-ending endurance test. The views were the most spectacular scenery we have seen in Italy. The entire hike being a photo-opt, giving us many excuses to stop and rest our lungs, I mean stop to take pictures. The hike was bordered with steep hillside flourishing with vegetation on the right and on the left open blue sea. With not even a railing to stop you from leaping into the sea. By the time we started our decent into Vernazzaa we were all sporting bikinis and bare bellies. vernazza greeted us with high colorful houses, bobbing fishing boats, and a small sandy beach. The clear blue water left us antsy in anticipation of umping in and cooling off. Before indulging in the sea we revived our energy with some pizza and gelato. After swimming, and by chance, we ran into my mom, Susie, and Lynnie. Originally we had planned to meet at the final village, Monterrosso. It was impossible not to spot the three sisters, Susie Frank was the only person among the tourist and locals wearing jeans. Regardless of the 85 degree sun, she was fully content in her Calvin Kleins.

And then there were three. Taber and Lauryn joined my mom, Susie, and Lynnie on the water taxi to Monterosso. I tried to sweet talk Taber into accompanying us. Unfortunately, puppy dog eyes on a sweaty, tired hiker was not convincing enough. At that point, the only thing worthy of persuading him to join us would have been the burrito truck waiting for us at the Summit. Jake, Chelsea and I were dedicated to completing all four hikes, so on we proceeded without Taber. As the path began to wind its way uphill, we noticed the number of hikers had dropped, only the diehards remained. The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is by far the steepest. We had read it was the most difficult hike...what we did not read was that if you are not capable of walking on a path no bigger than 24 inches wide with a 1000 foot drop you should take the water taxi. One slip of the foot and you would fall to your death. The only perk would be as you were falling to your death you would get a fantastic view of the Mediterranean, not a bad last vision. We were surprised at the narrowness of the trail and the lack of guard rails. If the rough economy has left you short on cash, go to Cinque, fall off the cliff, and sue for lack of safety pro cations the trail provides. The view of Vernazza looked similar to a page out of a coloring book colored with a box of crayola pastels. The colors of light pink, blue, green, and yellow against the dark rock cliffs were visually stunning. The path continued up and through olive orchards, vineyards, lemon orchards, and basil gardens. At the beginning of our decent into Monterossa we were surprised by the sound of fiesta music playing from one of the vineyards. As we got closer we saw it was an entrepreneur selling lemoncello, beer, wine, and water from a small hut tucked into the grape vines. Knowing we were minutes away from Monterossa, we bypassed his station. We emerged from the final hike to a paved path leading to the village. Looking down into the teal sea I saw a familiar face treading water. It was Taber. Eager to feel refreshed by the water, I quickly dropped my bag off with my mom and joined him.
Before walking back to the train station, we enjoyed fresh fish at a restaurant over looking the water. It was a perfect ending to a day filled with heart-stopping views and tired legs.
While on the train, we read an interview with a local of Cinque Terre. Every day while his wife picks fresh vegtables from the garden he takes his small boat out and catches fresh fish for dinner. When Taber and I retire here I would like to have them as our neighbors.