current favorite iphone apps

My iphone. I love it more and more every day.   How we lived before iphones is beyond me.  I did have a Franklin Day Planner that once ruled my life, but this is that and oh so much, much more.

All I need is an address, and my phone can fetch me any map I need.  It's been years since I have taken any books to church. No more heavy scriptures to lug around.  And my new phone even is voice activated.  I can talk-text someone, or if something pops into my head I need to remember, I can dictate a note to myself, or I can tell my phone to call someone, and it will. (John practically insisted that I get the new one- serious arm twisting involved.  I think he just felt guilty every time he saw my old one while he was using the latest and greatest, even though he knows I could care less about the latest and greatest, well until I get used to it that is, and then I become spoiled and can't go back)

My new favorite apps?  Amazon has an awesome app that allows you to scan things if you are out shopping, and purchase that item then and there.  For instance Friday night, John and I and some friends were hanging out at Barnes and Noble (yes, we are party animals) and I noticed that Shannon Hale just released a sequel to Austenland.  So, I used the Amazon app, scanned the barcode and low and behold it was cheaper on Amazon than at Barnes and Noble! With one click it was in my virtual shopping cart! Then a half an hour later, I found another book I wanted and did the same thing. (I realize the B&N people probably frown on that sort of activity so, shh! don't tell.)  A word of advice- This app should not be used while intoxicated.  John introduced it to a friend of his (many of his co-workers like their liquor probably a little too much) and the story goes that after leaving a bar one night, he stumbled into a Best Buy, and used his Amazon App to purchase over $4000 worth of electronics which he had completely forgotten about until it all showed up on his doorstep a couple of days later.

Another new favorite is Words with Friends.  It's like scrabble only you can have on going games with friends from all over the place. I'm in the middle of ten different games right now. Of course I'm not that good at it. Zero wins, nine losses. Strategy just isn't my thing. But it's still fun.  In fact, we had some friends visiting us for the weekend, and I got everybody in the house hooked on it, well at least all the adults and Nick. So there we are, on a Friday night (after hanging out at B&N) sitting around my living room, playing Words with Friends on our phones for a couple of hours.

(and just in case you are interested mom, Nolan was playing on his kindle fire). See?  I told you. Party Animals.  (of course admittedly not as much fun as the next night when we were playing this other game at another friends house and we were all laughing so hard we were crying.  And I shall cherish the image of Nolan being embarrassed.  I've known him for over a decade, and that was a first.)

The Disneyland app.  My only complaint is that I don't get to use it enough.  It gives you updates on how long the waits are on all the rides.  Awesome.

Bank of Mom- another friend blogged about this, but I love being able to keep track of what I owe the kids.  We do pay them allowance, and the occasional extra for some chores.  There's even an option to pay interest.  In an increasingly cash-less world, it takes the pain out of trying to come up with enough money to pay them regularly.  Plus, I have at least one kid who isn't the greatest at remembering where they stashed their cash to keep it safe.  My kids even like to make their own deposits to me, (for instance if Maddie earns money babysitting) so they know it's safe, and it might earn a little interest on the side.

And last but certainly not least- is the Weight Watchers App.  I joined last week.  I've come to the conclusion that my attitude is my biggest problem.  I hate going to meetings.  I hate listening to an overly perky instructor/motivational speaker teach us how to lose weight.  I get it. I've been dieting long enough.  I've been to weight watchers on several different occasions, only to get pregnant, or go to Utah for the summer, or something like that.  And it's always the same.  The program is usually tweaked slightly, but the gist of it is "Eat less, move more. And WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN"  It's that last part that gets me. I hate figuring out points and I hate writing things down, and carrying the stupid little menu planner thing with me, and I have no intention of getting on the bandwagon and raising my hand and telling the group about the substitute products I found that are less points so that I can get a gold bravo star for my forehead or my book or whatever.  In my opinion sugar substitutes = EVIL. And the "I can't believe it's not butter" spray?  BARF. Probably evil too.  I don't care how many sprays I get for zero points. Sorry. Rant over. The point is, there's an app for my phone that figures out points and keeps track of everything I eat (I have to enter it, but it's easier and funner and different than writing).  So, here's hoping the program will stick this time.  Plus, I have a friend to go with me, so I've got that going for me too.  (wish me luck this time around)

Last Italy post- I promise.

But we still have Belgium and most especially Paris to talk about.

I've been home for over a month.  I need to finish this soon or I never will.

So we'll lump the last two locations in one last post.

First off, we spent the day at Lake Garda.  It was a pretty, picturesque (albeit touristy) little lake (okay, not so little ) where we spent the afternoon.

We walked around, took in the sights and the ambiance, ate crepes at a cafe, shopped, and skipped rocks in the lake.  Okay, so I didn't skip any rocks, I am deficient in that area, my "skipping" is more of a "plunking" so I watched Nolan and Mindy show off their skills.  John got my camera away from me in a rare moment and busied himself taking some pictures.

Later we drove to Milan.  Our flight was leaving the next morning from Milan so that's where we stayed.  We got there in the evening and wandered around.  I was amused by the fact that our hotel was on Via Giorgio Washington. As in George Washington - First President of the USA.  I guess we were in Milan after all.  It is considered one of the fashion capitols of the world.  Plain old "George" must not have been good enough. Ü

With very little time we visited the duomo in town.  Unfortunately, it was closing time so we didn't get to go up on top of the duomo.  I hear it is amazing walking around the spires and statues.  We did get to go inside and check out the stained glass and other artwork, and even a couple of dead people on displays (priests? bishops? cardinals?) While many other people felt the need to take pictures, I didn't.  **soapbox alert** While mildly interesting, it sorta bothers me how tourists wander around talking and snapping photos inside cathedrals or duomos or whatever they are called.   I may not have the same religious beliefs as the people worshipping there, but I think I would be really annoyed if tourists walked around my church talking and snapping photos while I was trying to worship peacefully. I may find dead corpses on display a little morbid and even a little humorous,  but I still think snapping pictures while church is in session is a tad on the disrespectful side. I do give huge points to the fashion police who stood outside the doors and turned away anybody who wasn't dressed properly. (no bare shoulders or bare knees)   stepping off the soapbox now...

As the duomo was right next to the galleria, we stopped inside to see the one attraction I found more interesting than all the high end stores-  the floor tile mosaic in the center of the galleria.  In the mosaic there is a picture of a bull, and legend has it that if you spin on your heel on the bull's testicles you will have good luck for a year.  You wouldn't believe the divot in the floor where the lower half of the bull once was.  My ever accommodating husband spun for me so I could take a picture.  (I've taught him well, once upon a time he would be totally annoyed everytime I asked him to pose for the camera)

That's it, I guess.  Except for the random painted elephant statue we'd see here or there. 

The next morning we said good-bye to our travel companions at the airport.  We were sorry to see our time with them had ended, we'd had so much fun with them and sharing all these experiences with them, but I think they were more than ready to get back home.  I think we wore them out dragging them all over the place.  But as they were headed back home, our fun wasn't quite over yet and we were headed to Belgium.  Since we were over there anyway, John was asked to swing by NATO to help out with some stuff.  And since that meant we would be on separate continents for our 15 year anniversary, we decided I should stay and hang out for a day or two. 

Of course, since he had to work very full work days to get everything done, and since there isn't much to see and do in Brussels, especially since I've already been there before, and since Paris was a short train ride away, after spending an evening wandering around Brussels together, I headed off on and adventure of my own for a couple of days.

  

To be continued...

The Dolomites

The Dolomites are the the southern part of the Alps mountain range in the Northern part of Italy.  I was excited to see this area for a couple reasons- for starters, I totally fell in love with the Alps a year ago when I visited Austria and Germany.  {go here and here and here and here and here to read about that}   Secondly,  (and I found this totally fascinating) without actually crossing a border, it's like you're visiting an entirely new country- namely Germany or Austria (I guess you could take your pick.)  

Years and years ago, that area was part of Austria,  but then wars and border disputes landed this area in Italy.   The people weren't thrilled to be Italians, and were given a choice to stay and assimilate, or move North.  Most of them elected to move North, but before they could, World War II broke out, thus effectively stranding them in Italy. 

They've managed to maintain their German/Austrian roots while living in Italy.  The street signs are in both languages (German and Italian), but the food, architecture, and even clothing are definitely more German/Austrian in design.  (think sauerkraut and leiderhosen)

We spent a day exploring the region.  First we parked in Bolzano,  (bought some warmer wear, as the temperatures were decidedly cooler) then rode the funiva (tram) up the side of the mountain to the smaller little town of Oberbozen. 

We walked around, enjoyed the scenery, and stopped at a cafe and warmed up with some hot cocoa.

Then we caught the little train to the next town over and did it all over again.  (including the hot cocoa) And yes, for whatever reason I can't recall, I elected to wear flip-flops that day instead of real shoes.

After we finally made it back to Bolzano, we headed on up the mountain to the next town, (I think it was Castelrotto) where we had dinner.  I thought the food was excellent and a nice change from pizza and pasta.

(On a side note, one thing I'd heard before, and totally experienced first hand, is to find places where the locals eat, cause then you know it's good.  Restaurants that are in tourist-heavy places, usually aren't that great. Ask around, and be willing to walk a little farther, and you'll most likely eat better.) 

  

While loving every minute of Italy, every big city, every famous sight on the itinerary, it was really nice and refreshing to do something completely different.

Venice

I loved Venice. Alot. There's just something about it. 

I've heard some people that it was anti-climatic for them.  Just a lot of old run-down buildings. And water. And boats.  And it can be crowded and touristy.

True.... But... It's hard to explain.

It wasn't too touristy/crowded when we were there.   I've heard it can be crazy. People packed like sardines.  It was definitely busy, but not insane.

I am fascinated by the history of the place.  An entire man-made island built so people could escape invading armies, then became one of the greatest and most powerful cities during it's prime. 

I also just loved sightseeing and wandering around.  I loved the ordinary as well as the grand.

So, you have the Grand Canal that curves through the island, lined with the palaces of the rich merchants.  

Only a couple of bridges cross this canal, (actually four, I think?) the most famous being the Rialto.

And you have the teeny little back alleyways, which were easy (and fun) to get lost in.

Getting lost kinda did Nolan in a couple of times.  He just dropped dead on the ground. Twice.

There are a couple other little islands near Venice.  We visited Murano-  Venice is famous for it's glass blowing, but long ago, they decided that the glass blowing factories were too much of a fire hazard, so they all got relocated to Murano.  You can go there and check out the countless little shops with their displays and even take in a demonstration.  That was pretty cool.

I also thought this was cool- we stumbled upon this piece of art, up close it's a bunch of painted eggs,

and if you stand back, it becomes something more.

One thing I did not do was go on a gondola ride.  Crazy, I know, right?  Here's the thing though- it costs alot.  Like 100 euros. And if you want them to sing, then it's a lot more. (like another 100)  And it just felt so, so touristy.  Like a ride at Disneyland, or something.  I wanted to know that if I was gonna spend that much money, I'd want an unforgettable experience, and I don't mean because one of those big Vaporetti (the boat version of public transportation on the Grand Canal) ran over our Gondola (we totally saw that almost happen).  And so I elected to spend my hard earned Euros on some handblown glass, and cookies at a bakery, and presents for the kids.     

Am I crazy?  Probably.   Oh well.  Hopefully I will have the opportunity to make that decision again and again in the future. Who knows? I never thought I'd get to go in the first place.

Florence and Padua

We spent a day seeing some great art in Florence.  I think I was probably the most excited out of everybody to spend a few hours in museum, and I hope other people weren't too bored, but I thought it was pretty neat.

We started in the Uffizi Gallery where we saw things like Botticelli's Birth of Venus.

This is a view of the famous bridge Ponte Vecchio from inside the Uffizi.  That's as close as we got to it.  We didn't have enough time in Florence. But every day was like "This, or this... Here or there."  So much to see and do, so little time. 

We ventured on to the Accademia where we saw some amazing sculptures like Michelangelo's David.  I'd have to say it's worth the hype. 17 foot tall naked guy, carved from a single block of marble.  But besides being 17 feet tall, it was amazingly lifelike. Like he was going to step right off the platform at any second and excuse himself to go and put some clothes on.

And just for fun, I took a picture of this little book store.  The place was full of piles of books.  I'm sure it wasn't up to fire code. Ü

That night we made our way to Padua where we found that little B&B I mentioned a few days ago.  We didn't intend on sightseeing, but the proprietors talked us into it, they were so proud of their little town we thought we'd check it out.

We weren't sorry.

Nothing special, just a cute, pleasant fairly touristy-free place.  The main town square was lovely with it's statues and canal and fountain.  

  

We wandered around the botanical gardens for a bit, before deciding it was time to head to our next destination, Venice. (to be continued...)