La Bella Vita

While Steven ventured out for an early morning run, Lib and I headed to the coffee shop for some pure Kona coffee and acai bowls- yummy goodness consisting of fruity sorbet topped with granola and honey drizzled on top.  

We checked our bags at the front and headed out to the beach.

Steven and I rented paddle boards.  We paddled out past the breakers and (un)gracefully stood on the boards and rode the waves.  Steven found the balancing act to be slightly difficult and ended up in the ocean more often than on the board.  I landed on my rear-end pretty hard on the board.  Lib stayed on shore so she could witness the experience and laugh at us.  Lib, unable to contain her laughter, decided to join me on the paddleboard.

Paddleboarding

We walked down the beach to the Grand Wailea to meet Steven’s friend Steven (to avoid confusion from here forward he will be called Noonan) and his friend Callie.  The resort was dated and tacky and made me thankful that we stayed at a classy place, if only for one night.  We headed to the nearby shops and stopped at Tommy Bahamas.  While we attempted to avoid chain places, this proved to be an excellent decision for happy hour.  We had burger sliders, poke, goat cheese, and, of course, mai tais.  This was most definitely the best mai tai we had so far: the dark rum floated on the top and beneath its bite was the contrast of lime juice and sweetness of curacao liquer.

After our late lunch we headed to our new digs, courtesy of airbnb.  At a 1/5 of the resort price, the price was right.  However, pulling into the condos looked like a building featured in Forensic Files.  I traded in a queen bed for some cushions on a windowsill, but the condo has direct beach access, a washer and dryer, and a kitchen.  So, all in all, it is worth it to save money for other endeavors.  We are located directly on sugar beach and right next door to the canoe club.  The beaches on Maui are all public; making it nice to be able to walk as far as your little heart desires.  The sand is soft and pure- no worries of getting splinters or stuff stuck in your feet.

We met up with Noonan and Callie again for dinner at Sensei Sushi.  The food was mediocre and that’s all to be said about it.

The weather has been perfect.  Not too sunny, not too cold and always a nice breeze off the ocean.

Day 1 started out early, very early.  As in 4 am early.  I arrived at Fort Wayne Airport well prior to my 6:50 am flight in anticipation of huge spring break crowds.  Clearly a good idea.

The flight was a long 8 and a half hours.  Due to budget cuts, there was no on board entertainment (movies) and no food.  I splurged on $8 worth of hummus and crackers and passed the time reading the epic novel “Hawaii” by James Michener.  Spending much time with this book, I can now see why it was one of my grandma’s favorites.  Reading the saga of the Bora Borans crossing the ocean in a small canoe to land in Hawaii by guidance of the stars and the recounting of missionaries puking their brains out to reach the tropics via rickety ships, it made the plane flight seem very luxurious.

The best part of the flight was flying over the earth’s intergluteal cleft, the Grand Canyon.  

As soon as the plane touched down in Maui, I could smell the tropics and see the swaying palm trees.  A brief, but expensive taxi ride later I arrived at Andaz resort to a fresh glass of cold lemonade, a fresh Lei placed around my neck, and a warm greeting from Lib and Steven; this made the long journey worth it.

After a quick change in my swim suit it was time to hit the beach and swim in the ocean!  We had dinner at the resort.  The food was so-so and not worth the review.  By the time dinner was over, it was all I could to do to take a warm, hot shower and call it a night.  From first appearances, Hawaii is everything I could have hoped for: soft, sandy beaches, lush greenery, swaying palm trees, and strong mai tais.  Aloha!

For my final travel blog post, I decided to do a retrospective this-is-what-I’ve-learned type entry.

First, going on vacation was somewhat of a foreign concept for me.  It’s not something I’m exactly used to doing.  We took some vacations as kiddos, but my mindset for the past umpteen years has been that every minute counts and that vacation involves wasting time that is not available and money that I don’t have.  I suppose that is how the cycle of not taking time for myself started.   Throw in the uber competitive, crazy nature of medical school and it has the makings of a personal breakdown (which didn’t happen to me, but I could certainly see how it would).  So, when my mom said to me, “Emily take a vacation,” it was a shock.  Really? Me? What in the world would I do?  Thankfully, my brother-in-law is handy with a computer and logistics; over the course of two days we devised this going to Italy plan.  The prospect of travelling abroad, getting a passport, navigating, etc. etc. etc. was overwhelming.  But, I did it.  And in the process I met a group of amazing people and got to see and do so many new things.

Italy, I’m not even sure where to start on the subject.  I loving being an American and living in the US, but it is great to see a different way of doing things- I love Italy.  The thing I love the most about Italians, to generalize, is the manner in which they speak: there is so much emotion and excitement.  I love the care taken with cooking and eating.  Outside of Milan, I didn’t see a fast food restaurant during my entire time in Italy.  At several restaurants we went to a little elderly Italian woman would come out of the kitchen and greet us, particularly when Charlie would order seconds or take a picture of his lunch.  I love the energy conservation efforts: the windows have metal shields that are pulled down to block out the sun, the hotels have cards that turn off the electricity when you exit a room, the cars are tiny (although this might have more to do with navigating the streets than energy), and you can get places by walking or biking.  I love the history: thousands of years of history.

Biking.  I’ll keep this subject brief.  Taking a cycling vacation was the perfect way to travel.  Instead of zooming past the countryside, I was able to enjoy it at slower pace and take in the beauty of all of it.  Cycling is special to me in its own regard as well.  There was a time when I thought walking was not going to be a possibility (13 years ago I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, was in a wheelchair, and had exhausted medication options).  Thankfully, due to advancements in medications my life has dramatically improved and I discovered cycling as a low impact sport.  Every day on the bike is a good day for me.

People.  Perhaps the best part of this trip.  Everyone on the trip was so unique and interesting.  I loved hearing their stories, what they do, how they started biking, where they live, where they’ve been.  What a group!!

That was one hell of a vacation (my mom tells me not to swear) one awesome vacation.  It really was an amazing experience.  I hope to keep in touch with the people that I’ve met and keep the memories for as long as I can remember them.  I have learned that it’s important to take time for myself, to stop and breathe, and to remember everything that I am thankful for.

Ciao Italia, until next time!

I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person.  One thing traveling has taught me is that intelligence is relative.  For example, despite being able to deliver a baby, suture a wound shut, start an IV, dose a medication, etc., I couldn’t for-the-life-of-me figure out how to turn on this shower in Germany:

proof that there is always more to learn.

*note: there are 5 knobs and two shower heads

6/18/11

Susi and I travelled from Miesbach to Nurburg A.D. today.  She explained that on the highways in Germany there is no speed limit unless indicated.  Unfortunately, we encountered a traffic jam and the stop-and-go driving was enough to make me car sick (or perhaps it was my punishment from the previous evening’s Bavarian brew).  We finally arrived in Nurburg and dropped my bags to head for a quick tour of the old city.  The castle in the town was built during the Renaissance period and, therefore, was more decorative than defensive. After leaving the castle we went to the nearby church.  The church was built shortly after the Lutherans split from the Catholics and Susi explained that in an attempt to keep and gain new members many Catholic churches built during that time were very elaborate and contained a lot of gold in the decorations.  The church was absolutely amazing (sorry no pics, there was no sign this time, but it seemed sacrilegious).  Susi also explained that many of the churches in that area have switched back-and-forth from Catholic to Lutheran depending on who ruled the area.

While walking through the old city we stopped at one of Susi’s friend’s flat to see if he was home.  Fortunately, Andy was home and we walked to the local pub.  We had a great time- Andy and Susi have been friends since kindergarten and he is now a pilot and flies all over the world.

We headed back to Susi’s parent’s house- her mom had prepared schnitzel, potato salad, asparagus, and strawberry cake for dinner.  Susi headed to bed and I stayed up for a long time talking with her mom.  Her mom is a tour guide at the local castle and was showing me pictures of all of the artwork housed there (the castle wasn’t opened when we arrived).  They have works of Rubens and several other really famous painters whose names escape me.  I hope to return to the castle next year with Libby.

In the morning Susi drove me to the Munich airport.  It was hard to say goodbye, but I’m sure we’ll meet up again and this time it won’t take 6 years.  After flying to Amsterdam, arriving in NYC, taking the train to Milford, and walking a mile back to my apartment it was nice to take a shower and go to bed.

Arrivederci and auf wiedersehen!

6/17/11

This morning started very early as my train left Italy at 6:30 am.  I left in plenty of time anticipating that I might encounter the same difficulty in finding the train station that I had in finding the hotel the previous day.  After only stopping once in a hotel, I made it to the train station- a big success in my book.  The train ride was gorgeous as we passed through the Italian countryside and the Alps.  After nearly 7 hours, I arrived in Munich and was greeted by Susi as soon as I got of the train.  You know you are good friends when you can pick right where you left off six years ago (we were roommates back in Arizona).  From Munich we drove to Miesbach, the small town where she lives.  For lunch Susi prepared sausages, pretzels, cheese, and, of course, bier.  We then went to the lake which is at the base of the mountains for a swim.  The water was really cold and it took me a long time to get in, but it was refreshing and felt good as my legs were still a bit sore from bike riding.

After getting changed we headed up a steep paved path to the local beergarden.  Having to walk such a steep route to get to a restaurant is something that would never happen back home.  Unfortunately, when we got to the top the restaurant was closed, but it afforded a nice view of the town and surrounding villages.  The town of Miesbach is very cute- the houses all look like they go together.  We headed back to Susi’s apartment, cooked dinner and then headed to the local pub.  At the pub, the tables are very large to accommodate the large groups that gather there.  The female servers that we had all wore drindls and the beer was served in large glass mugs.  It was good catching up with Susi and hearing everything that she has been doing over the last few years.  After a late night at the pub, I slept very, very well.

The directions got lost.  This is one of my mom’s favorite jokes relating to the bad navigational skills of my twin sister and I.

7/16/11

Last night I had Nina read over my train ticket for Milano to Munich as it was all in German and I couldn’t make sense of it.  Thankfully, she figured out that the train I was taking was leaving from Porta Girabaldi stazione and not Milano centrale as I had thought.  Being without internet after dinner, this left travel arrangement planning to be done in the morning.  My last breakfast in Italy was unforgettable: fresh yogurt, homemade jam, cake, cheeses, fruit and, of course, cappacuino.  After packing my stinky clothes in my bag- it really smells bad- Dylan helped me make a last minute hotel reservation near the train station.  Deciding to save money, I opted to take the train from Asti to Milano instead of a taxi.  In retrospect, and given my history of navigational ineptitude, this was a mistake.  Saying goodbye to Enrico, Dylan (pronounced: Deeeelaaahhnnn), Cris, Lorna, Cassidy, and Brett was hard.  It has been such a great group to ride and hang out with over the past week and Dylan and Enrico have been awesome tour guides.  
Nina and I arrived at the train station and were joined shortly thereafter by Kira, Charlie, Erica, and Scott.  All of them were taking the train to Torino before my departure.  We hugged goodbye, they hopped on the train, waved goodbye from the windows and I sat on the bench and cried.  I always have a hard time saying goodbye.  I eventually got on my train which was supposed to make a changeover somewhere.  At the changeover point, the train to Milano never arrived at the appropriate gate.  After asking a few locals and deciding I had missed said train I went into the ticket office to see about catching another train.  Unfortunately, I missed the key differentiation between the local trains and the ones that go zoom zoom.  I got on the slow train.  And it wasn’t going to Milano centrale.  Nuts.
Somewhere in Milano, like a fish in the forest (thanks Enrico for the Italian idiom), I was thinking I would just find a taxi and be done with it.  However, apparently realizing I was a. lost and b. americano, this woman approached me and starting speaking English.  It turns out she is an English teacher, what luck!  She explained that taking the metro from this junction would be the best bet.  We hopped off the train and she gave me a quick lesson on the workings of the metro system, the tickets, and where to go.  I successfully made it to Girbaldi stazione.
At this point it has been a good 6.5 hours since leaving Asti and I decided a taxi to the hotel would be a good idea.  I approached that taxi and in my best Italian asked to be taken to the hotel.  After he stopped laughing, he took my bags out of the car and explained the hotel was too close to drive me to, which it well might have been; however, with my map handy I wandered aimlessly for close to an hour looking for it.  Thankfully I was lured into a local bike shop filled with carbon fiber Bianchi bicycles and the local bike shop employees were able to steer me in the right direction.

It was now well after 4 in the afternoon and I absolutely had to make to Duomo while in Milano.  I boarded a tram, which only costs 1 euro, and made it!  (my first success of the day).  It was well worth the travel.  The amount of pointed arches and spires is breathtaking.  The inside of the church is the most amazing thing I have ever seen (I know you aren’t supposed to speak in absolutes, but it was).  The signs posted outside said not to take pictures, so I obliged- breaking rules in a church is grounds for some serious bad karma and there are plenty of Chinese tourists who racked up a lot of bad karma today.  The inside of the church has 52 massive pillars representing the weeks of the year and the liturgical calender.  The shear size of the Duomo is overwhelming.  Above the alter was a red light marking the site where nail from Jesus’s cross is kept.  It was brought to Milan by St. Helen, who happened to be Emperor Constantine’s mother.  The creepiest statue I saw had to be that of St. Bartolomeo, an apostle who was skinned alive by the Romans.  The statue was carved by a student of Leonardo da Vinci’s and depicts Bartolomeo with his skin hanging, draped over him.  (google search the image).  The Duomo also contains the crypt of St. Charles Borromeo.

Exhausted, I headed back to the hotel for a good night’s rest before leaving for Munich in the morning.  Milan reminded me a little bit of Chicago, except slightly busier.  The roads are a crowded mess with trams, buses, cars, mopeds, and bicycles.  The amount of people and everything going on was slightly overwhelming; I’ve always been kind of a country person.  It was good to see the contrast of a big city as compared to the Italian countryside that I had spent most of my time in.
Goodnight, zzzzzz, zzzzzzz.

7/15/11
Today’s last ride was bittersweet; it is hard to see such an amazing vacation come to a close, but at the same time I’m not sure my legs or rear can take much more cycling.  The ride today was much more relaxed from a climbing perspective than the previous days and allowed me to take time to more fully appreciate the surroundings.  We stopped at a local beekeeper’s shop during the morning.  The Italians appear to have the same issues with dying bees that is plaguing US honey producers.  The local beekeeper described the boxes that held the bees and the process involved in cultivating a queen bee.  Most of the bees were not present as the husband drove them up to Switzerland to pollinate flowers found in that area.  We went inside and were able to sample fresh honey.
After a brief jaunt back on the bike Erica, Scott, Charlie, Kira, Dylan and I stopped at a local tattoria (sp?) for lunch.  I’ve learned that when stopping in these local restaurants, menus are not offered and it is best to ask what was made fresh for the day.  We had agnolatti (sp?) which was amazing, a strawberry dessert and limonata.  It was a refreshing break.  Kira, Charlie, and Dylan shared their stories about living and visiting China and it was enough to make me never want to vacation there.  It was an enjoyable lunch before heading on the final stretch of riding for the trip.  We were fortunate to have sunny weather which has been a welcomed constant throughout the bike trip.
Partway through the trip back to the hotel Erica managed to get stung three times by a bee.  Having never had this experience before, she described it like “a flying jellyfish.” Despite the large sting marks and slightly concerning red erythema that surrounded the stings, she “manned up” and forged ahead (thankfully no allergy ensued).  I enjoyed riding with the group and hearing about Charlie’s days at Yale (I have an idealistic vision of Yale as a bunch of academic-loving sophisticated students with really cool secret clubs that play really cool sports like crew- Charlie has yet to destroy this vision).
Dinner was a tad lackluster as compared to our previous meals, but Enrico’s riviting karoke made up for it!  I did a brief karoke version of Cher only with the agreement that in exchange Erica would have her picture taken with the extremely cheesy dj that had been oogling over since we walked in the restaurant.  I’m not sure the exchange was worth it, but I love the picture.  My horrendous singing was followed by Charlie’s bringdownthehouse version of “New York, New York.”
Cassidy got the capalleni today for her crazy biking.. and running.  After riding the longest day of the trip, I was pedaling very slowly up the final hill only to be passed by Cassidy going in the other direction… by foot… fast… as in running.  Crazy props to Cassidy!

Tomorrow we will all be heading back our separate ways and it will be a sad moment for me.  The trip has been more than I had hoped for.  Riding through Italy has been an experience I will never forget and I hope the people I have met here will be friends for a long time.

I have my final days in Italy to post, but just wanted to let you all know I successfully made it to Germany and met up with Susi at the Munich train station.  Typing is a little difficult as the keys are in different places.  Had a Bavarian lunch with sausages, beer, pretzels, mustard, cheese.  More later!

My sister has been constantly asking me to post a picture of my wheels.  Here it is, in all of its Italian glory (of course it’s a celeste green Bianchi with campy components):