Zagreb Cathedral

Here's a photo that I actually took today. This is from the Zagreb Cathedral. We visited the capital city of Croatia today. It was a really great trip. I always feel silly but worldly when I am carrying around 3 different currencies at once. The food was amazing and not expensive at all. We saw a nice art museum. I really enjoyed visiting Croatia for the second time.

Milka Slurp

I also feel weird busting out my camera in the middle of a grocery store. I guess that's the theme this week?: Places I feel all awkward taking pictures.

But I went ahead and did it anyway, because I might go back and buy this sometime to try it out. It's like a note to myself! Not right now though. I still have some caffe+ginseng drink packets I haven't used yet.

A Treadmill with a View

This is essentially the view out the window of the gym, sort of. I feel weird busting out my camera in the gym, so this was taken down the road...

Another mask...

One more Carnevale mask! If I did not think that wearing the big feathers would be a hassle, I would have probably bought this one.

Carnevale masks

Time to parade around in a mask!

LEGOLand

I was really excited about this giant LEGO dinosaur. Who wouldn't be? People who aren't into legos or dinosaurs, that's who.

snowmobile

Another winter scene...

Lünebest

I never liked yogurt. It's gross. But I like the Lünebest vanilla and fruit combos. It's probably better for me than cake.

The little starry-sky banner on the front of these informs you (in German) that they are only available for a limited time. So if I end up really liking them, then that's just too bad.

In the Vatican City

I took this picture at The Basilica of Saint Peter on Christmas morning. I got a print of it in the mail today and assembled it in to a photo cube with some other pictures from the Rome trip and some more local things. It's not the best ever, but this one just makes me smile. I dig the very Italian dude in his shades.

"Check out these cavalli," he says.

Antipasti

I missed a day yesterday. After work, I got a great massage that really helped my neck and shoulders feel better. Then I met my husband for dinner at the combined club on base. I was just so content and relaxed, I did not feel like blogging. That's my excuse!

So I will post two pics for today, both food themed:

just a pretty building

It's just a shot of a pretty building in Maniago for the photo today. I almost forgot to post one today, so this is super quick before I dash off to bed!

cutie-mobile

I really enjoy being surrounded by itty bitty Euro cars!

just some birds

These are just some birds decorating the Zucca Fest in Venzone.

Waterfall in Slovenia

So we were supposed to be at a relaxing spa weekend for the 3-day weekend, in Slovenia. Then, our dingbat travel agent "lost track" of our info and did not even tell us that the trip was canceled until the very last minute!! Then she offered to roll our trip deposit over in to another trip. No thanks! So instead today I went to the gym; now I'm cooking a big pot of vegetable curry (so I don't have to cook the rest of the weekend :) and just thinking about driving out there on our own again, when the weather is nicer.

Allora,

Here is a picture from Slovenia last year. It is a waterfall outside of the Postojna Caves.

Bierengel

This is the menu (Speisekarte) from the German restaurant we ate at tonight, Bierengel. Our friends split the platter for 5 people, though it isn't named very well because really could have fed all 8 of us. I'm really glad I didn't order my own entree, because then I had room left for Bavarian chocolate cake :)

winter weather

This is a view of Salzburg from up in the Festung Hohensalzburg fortress. You get to ride a funicolare up in to the fortress and then again back down. It was one of the best castle tours we've done. The insides of the fortress are pretty well preserved. We went up to this area for the Christkindlmarkt last month.

I was reminded of this photo when I heard about all of the winter weather back in the states. Stay warm!!

Medieval parades are a common thing

Sometimes you are just minding your own business, and you hear medieval drums coming down the street...

It happens a lot around here.

prosciutto legs

OK, so there's a leg of prosciutto on top of this thing, wearing a tu-tu, and then the other legs were on a mechanical set up and doing a kick line.

This whole thing just cracks me up. That's all.

the "bauhaus bar"

I got the idea to post this today after telling a friend about the place last night. I figure a picture is more fun that just a description.

So it's kind of hilarious that the very first bar I go to after moving to Italy is the one with a giant Bauhaus logo painted on the outside of it, right? You can't see it in the photo, but there is a II IIII II worked in to the painting as well, for Front 242. It's like I was just drawn to it somehow...?

The bar is owned by a super sweet and charming young Italian woman. She hosted a small dark industrial night there when I first arrived. Not too many Americans venture out to her place. It's super cozy and laid back.

Also, she has a cat that looks exactly like my cat, and that is rad. (I miss my cat. She never calls!!)

Latte Macchiato

I figure it is necessary to, at some point, post a picture of a coffee from an Italian cafe. I just have to.

Safety tip for Americans who don't know anything about coffee (like me): Do not ever order an "iced" latte macchiato.

Yes, this is a menu item at Starbucks. No, it does not exist in real life.

Apparently, as one barrista explained to me, it is not possible to ice an authentic macchiato. She went in to some of the coffee physics at the time, but the bottom line is, you can't do it.

Animal figurines

A small scene of animal figurines in an Italian restaurant, Il Rifugio. It is a few kilometers up in the mountains. When you get up there, the light pollution is not so bad and you can see the stars very clearly.

Maniago fountain

Here is the fountain in the main piazza in the center of Maniago. To find the center of any city here, look for a black+white bullseye with the word "centro" on the sign.

Gufo

Our friends gave us this bottle of wine with an owl on it, dressed up all fancy. They know we like owls. The Italian word for owl is "gufo" like goof-oh. That part always cracks me up.

The plural of course is "gufi" like goof-y :)

Attention: There is a dog

Another one from a walk around the neighborhood...
(Again, desaturated on the upload.)

Neighborhood Decorations

This is a tree I saw on a walk around the neighborhood.

Sunrise

I don't know why this photo got so desaturated when I uploaded it. When I took it, it was all fiery looking. Oh well.

Crepes

...with crepes, featuring dark and white chocolate sauce, for dessert!

Ravioli

Ravioli with Montasio cheese for dinner!

Secondi Piatti

I want to go back up in to the mountains and have dinner here some time! A google search reveals it to be described as a "typical restaurant," so it's sure to have some great Friulian dishes. yum!

Ciao a tutti

I think I'm going to participate in the Photo 365 thing. I will make an effort to upload one photo for each day in to the photo365_2009 album I just made.

I'm pretty geeked that I get to learn more about "real" photography with my early birthday present: the Lumix LX3.

I'm going to take a class pretty soon and learn more about all of the manual controls. So this whole Photo 365 project seems like a nice way to track my progress as I learn more. I'm sure I'll look back at the beginning and spot some wackiness, but maybe also some lucky bright spots :)

So for the moment, I plan to upload a photo every day, but it might not have necessarily been taken that day. I guess that's not how everyone is playing the game, but it is more convenient for me.

I don't know that I'll actually post an entry about the photo every day. I think I'm supposed to, along with a blurb or a story. It seems like I might fall behind if I tried to do that every day. I don't know....

Anyway, today's photo is from a ski school up in the mountains nearby. Piancavallo means "horse mountain" or "horse peak." We drove up to see the skiing and to drink Italian hot chocolate. Their hot chocolate is very thick and delicious!

A group of our friends is organizing a snowboarding lesson, and I think I'm going to try that out. It's been a few years since I have fallen down in the snow repeatedly :)