Not the Year I Expected

This past week marked the one-year anniversary of my boarding a plane with 2 dogs and starting a new chapter in Italy.  I had the worst cough and cold that I'd had in many years which made the flight miserable.  A doctor prescribed me cough medicine with codine but I suspect the pharmacist forgot to add both the codine and the cough medicine because it did absolutely nothing to help.  We arrived in Milan and I struggled to find anyone to assist a very tiny woman with 2 dogs and 7 pieces of luggage (you needed a 2 euro coin to get a cart and I had none).  Eventually we made it out (two very nice American women did help and I'm eternally grateful to them!) and a few hours later arrived at our hotel...exactly 40 minutes before my boss arrived to take me to lunch. The dogs and I spent 29 days in the hotel before moving to a house on my birthday (coincidentally, we moved into a house on my birthday in the Netherlands as well). 

The dogs and I settled in.

Some Peace Corps friends visited in April and we went to Bologna and Padova.

Having fun at the Padova Botanical Gardens

My parents came for the month of May.  It was great having them here!

I made them pose with all the statues.

They spent lots of time with the dogs.

We went to Trieste (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Villach (Austria) on one trip.

A beautiful day in Venice

My Gran was supposed to be here in June but she canceled her trip.  I was able to cancel most of our plans and reservations but one ticket was non-refundable so in I took a ride on the Bernina Express and spent the night in Chur.

Glacial lake...still frozen in June!

Then...well, then things got a little rough.  Jack's spleen ruptured and luckily I realized something was very wrong and got him to the vet in time to have them remove it - along with 750 ml (3 cups) of blood - and he survived.  However, the mass tested malignant and we went for a CT scan to see if they had managed to remove everything cancerous or if the rupture had deposited cancerous cells elsewhere in his abdomen.

While waiting for those results I took a quick trip to Greece in early July.

When I returned from Greece we learned that Jack had 3 kinds of cancer and he began taking a lot of medications.  We have a great vet here and she's been wonderful managing it all.

At the end of August, Cheyenne had what I believe was a stroke and died on the first of September.  It was, and still is incredibly painful.  I am somewhat comforted by the fact that she lived an amazingly  long life - 21 years!! - and that she didn't suffer a long illness or decline.  But she was with me for over 13 years; she moved with me a total of 6 times and approximately 15,000 miles. Not having her is like not having a part of my body.

Jack, if you remember, came to live with us after Tex died and Cheyenne was extremely lonely.  He was there for her then and he was there for both of us at the end, providing comfort at a very difficult time. 

Jack has had ups and downs in his cancer battle.  When he made it to 2 months after surgery the vet was impressed.  When he made it to 4 months she was amazed.  Some say that caring for a sick pet is no different that caring for a sick person.  It can be physically and emotionally draining. So in October I took a little trip to my favorite place to recharge.

Last week we hit 5 months and Jack is doing well.  So to celebrate that and our one year anniversary in Italy, and just to get away, we went to the mountains for a few days.  Early in his treatment he would get tired very quickly.  Now he's feeling well and we were able to take long walks UP and down some very steep mountain roads.  When we weren't out walking, we sat by the fire - him in my lap and me with a book.

He hates having his picture taken and refuses to look at the camera.

We did try to see what this was but it turned out to be too far to walk and when we tried to drive there was a log truck in the road and the road was too narrow to go around it.

It's been a difficult year with many highs and lows.  I have no idea what the next year will bring - how much travel I'll get to do or how much more time I'll have with Jack.  Obviously, caring for him is my first priority.  I'm not planning any big trips right now although I do have two training classes scheduled back in the US in 2018.

Next month, for my birthday, I'm hoping Jack hits the 6-month mark!  I couldn't ask for any better gift.

Art in Chur, Switzerland - Sundays in My City

I spent one (expensive!) night in Chur, Switzerland.  It's a very pretty town in the mountains.  There was some interesting art around town.

In case you want to read about (and can read German) this one.

Switzerland is gorgeous but so expensive that I doubt I'll spend much time there!

τρεις φίλοι - Sundays in My City

These three friends were sitting and chatting next door to a restaurant where I went for dinner in Chania, Greece.  I couldn't understand a word they were saying but it seemed clear that they'd known each other forever.

Take Me to Barcelona - Sundays in My City

Not quite a year and a half ago I wrote a post about why I would go to Paris (or Brussels or Beirut...).  Since then there have been attacks in several places I've been and some places I haven't seen yet.  I didn't want to have to do another post like this.  But here we are.

I've walked down Las Ramblas. Of course I have. It's a Must when visiting Barcelona.  I've crossed the London Bridge (not to be confused with the Tower Bridge although I've crossed that as well).  Of course I have. It's a Must when visiting London.  I didn't see a concert in Manchester but I did walk quite a bit of that city.  Any one of these attacks could have taken place when I was there.

Manchester (May 2016) - Attacked May 2017

My kid at the London Bridge ( May 2016) - Attacked June 2017

La Boqueria on Las Ramblas, Barcelona (November 2011) - Attacked August 2017

I'd go to Barcelona right now (well, maybe I'd wait until tomorrow because it's bed time here).  I'd go back to Paris or London or Manchester.  I'd go to Finland, which was also the site of a "murder with terrorist intent" this week.  I went to Venice last weekend (no, it has not been the scene of a recent attack).  None of this will stop me from traveling.  If anything, it makes me want to travel more. It makes me more determined to go and see and be out in the world.

My heart aches for what is happening in places like Charlottesville, VA.  Fear and hate cannot be allowed to plant roots and grow.

When I was in the Peace Corps we had three goals:
1. To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

The 2nd goal is something I feel like I am still doing now.  I hope that the understanding people have of Americans is a positive one based on their encounters with me rather than a negative one based solely on the news.  I trust that the good in people will prevail and the recent outbursts of violence and bigotry will be squashed and smothered by the displays of love and tolerance and acceptance. I find travel, meeting people, and learning about new cultures and customs is one of the best ways to expand one's understanding and tolerance and acceptance of people who are different from you.  We're all human regardless of where we're from or how you feel about durian fruit.

How do you feel about travel given what's happening in the world right now?

Sunset in Greece - Sundays in My City

Last month booked a last-minute trip and spent a few days in Chania (Crete), Greece.  This was my first time visiting Greece.  Like a few years ago when I went to Budapest when they were having a heat wave, it was super hot.  But it was also beautiful.

One evening I just sat and watched the sun set.  I couldn't look away.

I recently got a new laptop and I'm still figuring out how things work. I'm not super tech-y.  So it's been a while since I've posted.  Sorry about that.  There's more from Chania but I'll save that for another day.

Support - Sundays in My City

I read about this art installation just a few days before going to Venice and knew I had to see it (I plan to go back before November to see more of the Biennale).  Due to its location and Venice's mostly-water access, the only real way to see it is from the water.  Which means you can't walk around it or take a lot of time looking at it.  You see it as your vaporetto is going past. 

Venice is sinking, sea levels are rising...this might be just an art installation but so many places are facing the very real threat that is climate change. Venice currently floods (and by floods they mean that the water level rises 110 cm (43 in) covering 14% of the city) roughly 4 times per year. The famous Rialto bridge has sunk 1.7 m (almost 5 ft) since it was built.  This is not a fictional disaster movie.  This is real. And it's only going to get worse if we don't take drastic measures to reverse it.

Bologna Didn't Win My Heart But This Little Girl Did - Sundays in My City

I had some friends visiting and we took a day-trip to Bologna.  I didn't fall in love with the city although I will say the arcades are beautiful.

A good city to visit in the rain since you could walk much of it under cover.

As I waited for my friends to check out a church I watched this little girl (who was waiting for her father who was in the barber shop) play with this rock as if it were a soccer ball.  She was so intent, even stopping to center herself a few times.  I could have watched her all day.

She would pause, take herself to mountain pose and breathe before trying again to kick the rock like a ball.

I don't know that she's the next big Italian women's football talent but she was clearly having a good time and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her enjoy herself.

Linking up with Unknown Mami where you can explore lots of other things that won people's hearts (or didn't).

Stand Back

See the yellow line?  You're supposed to wait behind (that would be to the LEFT in this picture) the yellow line in order to give the person at the ticket machine privacy to purchase their ticket(s) without

1. Having you looking over their shoulder as they enter their pin number
2. Being squashed while trying to buy a ticket.

Standing in line resembles the way Italians drive.  Right. On. Your. Ass.  I can't say I particularly enjoy either activity here.

Do people queue nicely where you live?

There's no queue at Unknown Mami's Sunday blog hop!

Caffé Pedrocchi - A Unique Coffee Experience - Sundays in My City

I like coffee.  I don't NEED coffee and I don't turn into a monster if I don't have coffee.  But I do like it.  And I know how good Italian coffee is supposed to be.  But honestly (and I hope they don't kick me out of the country for saying this), I find it rather boring.  There's very little flavor complexity to the coffee here.  It's all just strong espresso.  I like my coffee to taste like more than just coffee.  I like to be able to detect chocolate or nuts or fruits the same way you're supposed to be able to detect more than just grape in your wine. 

I was headed to Padova the other day with some friends who were visiting.  We had no plan so I did a quick google search to see if there was anything special to Padova that needed to be experienced.  I found this:

Café Pedrocchi - Ernest Hemingway, Lord Byron and Stendhal are all said to have found inspiration within the walls of this 18th-century cafe. Founded by Francesco Pedrocchi of Bergamo in 1722 in response to the increasing coffee consumption of the European bourgeoisie, it has been a pillar of Paduan society for centuries. Famous for its neoclassical architecture and powerful coffees, it offers a drink known as caffé pedrocchi. This looks like a cappuccino but actually consists of cold mint froth on top of a strong espresso base; the combination of hot bitter coffee and cool mint will leave your taste buds tingling.  [Source] 

 

So, of course, we had to check it out.  It is a beautiful building both outside and inside (it was very bright out so my picture is not very good.  Here's a much better one.

[Source]

The coffee wasn't as strong or as hot as I expected.  But it was an interesting, new taste and I'll definitely take Gran here when she comes this summer. She'll love the interior and the fancy-ness of the place.  Plus, she loves coffee :)  You can check out their website here.


Again, not the best picture but this was my caffé pedrocchi.

Caffé pedrocchi.  You can see a hint of the green mint foam (which is really more of a heavy cream than a foam).

Thanks to Stephanie and Adam for the fun visit and the adventure in trying this new coffee (Steph's cup had mostly mint foam and very little coffee so she ended up eating hers with a spoon).

Random Things I Like - Sundays in My City

Sometimes there are pictures that just don't make it into other posts. Its time for some of those.

You know you're in the Netherlands when you see...

See the skinny red?  It's the skinniest house in Amsterdam.

Entrance to the library in Liverpool.  It's beautiful inside!!

A long time ago some guy (see how well I paid attention on the tour!) charted the tides at the Liverpool dock for a whole month.  This fountain represents the water levels each day of that month.

Linking up here: