Hablo muy poco español.

So after an amazing time in Rome I couldn't wait to head to Barcelona! We checked into the Aparthotel Mariano Cubi which had a lot of space and a beautiful bathroom… and the front desk spoke English! It was also really well located and we were able to walk to Las Ramblas where there are tons of shops, artists and restaurants. There are a number of things to do in Barcelona but the number one thing to do is to check out everything Gaudi!

Who is Gaudi? Antoni Gaudi was an architect whose work was influenced by the four passions in his life: architecture, nature, religion and his love for Catalonia. Gaudi’s best known work is The Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic Church in Barcelona. The Sagrada is number one thing you need to see! It is an amazing structure with spires sprouting up from the middle of the city. There is so much symbolism at every turn… so for detailed explanations of the history and symbolism you have to do the audio tour! Even if you’re not a religious person there is so much beauty to appreciate. The construction of the Sagrada began in 1882 and Gaudi came in took over the project in 1883… the construction of the Sagrada is not funded by any government agency or official church… private donations and funds generated through ticket sales is how the construction is continued… so I HIGHLY recommend you go not only for the you to experience it but also to help continue the construction. It has an anticipated completed construction date of 2026… the centennial of Gaudi’s death. Something I also recommend is paying extra to take an elevator that goes up one of the spires! The weather wasn’t great when we went so this feature wasn’t available when we went. Also, take the time to really explore the museum with rare Gaudi drawings and sculptures.

The second must see in Barcelona is also a Gaudi work: Park Guell. This is an amazing Wonka-esque wonderland where you can over look the city and see all the way to the Mediterranean. In trying to explain this park I can’t come up with words that would adequately describe its beauty. The sun dances on the landscape and warmly plays on the stone and mosaics. Allot yourself a good amount of time to explore every inch of the park!

Another must see is the Mediterranean itself! We only got to spend a day at the beach on New Year’s Eve… and it was cold in December… but it is beautiful. We had an amazing 7 course meal at Opium Mar a restaurant/club located on the Med. The food was great and the atmosphere was a great mix of the hot and happening who’s who of Barcelona… we definitely were not in a tourist place!

A really cool way to see the city is on a walking tour… we chose the Gothic Architecture tour. We had a small group of about 12-15 and got to see a lot of great buildings and hear the history behind them. Our tour guide gave us a ton of great advice… the best piece being to check out the Santa-Caterina Market. There we found the Cuines Santa-Catarina restaurant… a beautifully Scandinavian inspired mixture of wood and foliage. We got there a little before 1 (when they open) and there was already a line… which multiplied quickly! Our lunch was delicious and was a favorite of the trip!

Like in Rome we really didn’t have any language problems. The majority of people spoke basic English and we knew enough Spanish to get by… We ate several times near the Sagrada Familia and everything we had was excellent! If a restaurant you go to has a tapas sampler you get to try a lot of things… but the Paella is a MUST! It was probably the best thing that I ate our entire trip… well, that and Sangria! For transportation we walked a ton and took taxi’s when necessary.

Tu parla inglese?

Honestly, in my wildest dreams I never could have envisioned what the past year has had in store for me… in my personal life… career and most of all to the places I would travel. I have always wanted to travel and had always focused my itinerary more domestically… for many reasons… there are so many amazing, historical and beautiful places to see in the US and well, the thought of going to a foreign country made my anxiety level peak into dangerous levels.

So when my husband started hinting around at our week long trip scheduled between Christmas and New Year’s I was excited but nervous. I was glad he had taken the planning reigns and I just got to go along but for about two months I didn’t have a clue where we were going… then told me… ROME and BARCELONA! Of all the places I had speculated us going it hadn’t even crossed my mind that we’d be going to Europe… partly because my husband told me we were going somewhere warm! I tried to keep my anxiety in check but the fact neither of us spoke Italian and my Spanish (even after 5 years is at Sesame Street level) was nerve wracking!

The long plane ride over (leaving out of Orlando, a layover in the really nice airport in Amsterdam, flying into Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino airport in Rome) was much better than I anticipated. We flew out at 8pm and were able to sleep the most of the way… the lights in the cabin were mainly turned off and everyone slept. After getting off the plane and navigating our way through the baggage claim there is a fairly organized taxi system to get you into a cab and into Rome… if I remember correctly it was about a$50 ride and took about 30-45 minutes. We stayed at the Hotel Milton which is just SW of the Coliseum and is only about a 10 minute walk to the Coliseum… after we checked in we went out to explore and stumbled right onto the Coliseum… you have to see it at night at we did it’s amazing! The room at the Hotel Milton was a good size, clean, had Internet, had air conditioning, the concierge spoke English- extremely helpful in a hotel for the million questions we had!!, and a fantastic continental breakfast was included! The first night we walked around until we found a place with that was a big, heated, tent outside the main restaurant and ate real, Italian pizza and wine… followed by finding the closest Gelato! The restaurant we made a point to go to was La Rosetta (their site is in Italian but here is a review) an amazing place specializing in seafood. Everywhere else we stumbled into and everything was great! With a good map you can pretty much find all the landmarks you’ll want to go find… the Pantheon (which is really close to La Rosetta), Coliseum- pay to go in and get the audio tour!!, Piazza Navona, Arch of Constantine, pretty much everything. The things that were a little further out that you might want to taxi to are the Vatican City and the Borghese Gallery. They are coincidentally the two things we wanted to tour but didn’t have time. The line for the Vatican tour was extremely long so you should go first thing in the morning or get tickets before and the Borghese Gallery was sold out for something like the next 8 days so I’d get tickets before you leave. We did get to see the Vittoriano Museum but not go inside and tour the Van Gogh exhibit like we wanted. We had paid for one of those sightseeing tour buses and once we found the stop they included headphones and would give you historical information but the stops were really hard to find and I think we only used it once so I really wouldn’t bother. Overall, the language barrier wasn’t really a big problem. The majority of the people spoke English and many of the restaurants had English menus or translations on the menu. We were there when the temperature was about high 50’s-60’s during the day but it dropped dramatically at night to the mid 40’s. We had heard about a lot of homeless people but we didn’t see a lot in the city maybe because the temperatures were so low. Also it wasn’t as crowded with tourists as we had heard also probably because of the temperature.  We’d heard the taxi’s were expensive but didn’t find that to be a problem at all… do not do pre-booked transportation via travel sites like Orbitz they have a lot of rules. Do tell the taxi driver where you are going and ask how much it will be!! No taxi should over $50, even from the airport!

I think we hit the high points of Rome in the short time we had but still left a few things to do for when we go back… spend a day or two in Rome then head to some outer cities like Florence!



Born to Run!

It's still hard for me to believe that I ran a half marathon! I was always one of those people who was amazed by those who could 'go for a run' but knew my reality was there was no way I could ever even run one mile! One day I was searching around on the Weight Watchers message boards and found people talking about a training program called Couch to 5K that used interval training over 9 weeks to help you ease into running and by the end you'll be ready for a 5k (3.1 miles.) I continued to research and look into other programs when I settled on the Podrunner mixes... their 5K training program is called First Day to 5K and you can download the training programs to your ipod/iphone/mp3 player. The Podrunner intervals are also available for download on iTunes. The way the program works is by warming up with a 5 minute walk then start you running for small periods of time say 60 seconds then walking for 2 minutes and that pattern is repeated 10 times followed by a 5 minute cool down. At this point you don't want to worry about the distance you are running... you are training your muscles and breathing. As the weeks go by the running portions get longer and the walking portions get shorter. The music in the program is a soft kind of techno which I thought would really bother me but it really helps you to zone out to listen to music you're not familiar with and the BPS (beats per second) are designed to help you increase your speed as you go. So how do you know when to run and walk? The Podrunner program uses a chime to alert you when to run so you don't have to keep track. If you feel like the program is progressing too quickly for you it is recommended that you repeat a week so you feel more comfortable.

I never thought I'd say this but running is addictive. After I finished the program and felt comfortable running 3 miles I wanted to go farther. Getting my miles done in a certain time has never been a goal for me... my sense of accomplishment has always come from the number of miles I put in. My sweet spot for a long run on Saturday mornings was always 6 miles. That's a crazy number, I know! But once you get your breathing down and feel comfortable running it's all about you. It helped me during a very difficult time to just zone out and have me time to think. One of the great things about Podrunner is once you're off the training program they offer workout music that goes by BPS which helps you keep a steady pace and helps to increase your speed.

I've been off the running wagon for quite a while and am back on a training program for a 5K... always good to have a goal! I ran my half marathon in 2008 and my goal is to finish another one before the end of the year... which won't be easy to do during football season! The program I am using this time is called Personal Running Trainer and if you think 3 miles too big for you to start with they have a 4 week training program for 1 mile and go up to training for a full marathon. I don't have any real reason from switching from the Podrunner training other than I've listened to them so many times I wanted something a little different.

Here are a few tips that I've learned:

• Good running shoes are key! Go to a running store and have them help you pick them out... don't be surprised if you need up to a size larger in your running shoe. While they can be a little costly they will help prevent injury in the long run!
• I am partial to socks that wick away sweat and keep your feet from getting too hot!
• I love my Nike+! The Nike+ is a sensor that works with your ipod, iphone or separate wristband to keep track of your time, distance and on the iphone the path you've taken with GPS! I don't have Nike shoes so I put my sensor in a Switcheasy Runaway that holds on to the laces.
• Get into a routine! I prefer to run first thing in the morning to get it out of the way... I usually go Monday, Wednesday, Friday for training and Saturday for my long runs. If I wait until later in the day I'll find a ton of excuses why not to run.
• Find a track club in your area! They usually have running groups scheduled throughout the week that you can join in on. Feeling responsible for meeting someone always helps keep me on track... also meeting people in the running community will give you a good resource for tips and advice. Track club websites are also great places to find out about upcoming races in your area.
• Let’s face it... thighs rub together. I’ve tried shorts and they just don’t cut it for me. I wear the Nike dry-fit Capri pants, period.
• Runners World is not only a great magazine but the website is a geat resource for beginners! Tons of articles on how to begin, avoid injuries, diet, gear!

Time Flies... When You're Alive

Some dates you look forward to, some you dread and some dates sneak up on you when you are least expecting it. The latter is what happened to me tonight... as I was spacing out while watching the History channel... I started thinking about what the date was... something that has definitely gotten harder since being unemployed. And I realized that it is May 17th... not just any May 17th but May 17th 2011.

Today is the 10 year anniversary of a car accident that could have taken my life. I was returning to work from a doctors appointment during my lunch break driving my '96 Dodge Neon when a semi truck changed lanes behind me and sent me spinning into a construction wall. The accident happened on Eastbound I-4 and after spinning and hitting the construction wall my car rolled. I can remember the impact of the wheels hitting the ground again and opening my eyes to a shattered windshield... doing a quick body check (minus a small scratch on my ankle I was fine) and getting out of the car. Can still remember the looks on the faces of the people in cars that were now at a dead stop... people running at me yelling for me to lay down. But the single clearest memory of that day was of the fire chief coming up to me as I was sitting on the construction wall waiting for the police and paramedics... he said, "Girl, you must wear your seat belt or you wouldn't be sitting there looking at me. You should be dead." And I have, always since the first time I got behind the wheel of a car, worn my seat belt.

Every May all over the country law enforcement agencies do a "Click it or Ticket" campaign writing tickets to anyone without a seat belt. It's always been a yearly reminder to me of how always wearing my seat belt saved my life. So please... if you're not someone who wears your seat belt take a minute and remember my story the next time you get behind the wheel and buckle up... this might be the time you really need it!

HGTV'ed Out

So it's been just over a month since I've been unemployed... a condition of choice rather than necessity! A huge step in my letting go process... making the leap of faith that my now husband would support me. It was truly one of the things that gave me the most anxiety about my move and lifestyle change. I have never trusted someone enough to give myself completely over and be exposed

I have also not been unemployed since I was a teenager. I started working for my dad when I was 15 then moved on to Publix... held a job during college... then right to work after graduation. I've never left a job without going right into another one. So the whole job hunt process while unemployed is a completely different experience. The one job I had applied for at a company where my husband has friends finally let me know they were going with another candidate after 6 weeks of waiting. I was supposed to have a second interview at a department store for a sales supervisor position but after talking with my husband we decided working nights and weekends is just not acceptable. We have been a part for a year and are not willing to give up that time together. I do have 2 interviews this week... one in a retail store... I'm sticking to Monday-Friday, 7am-6pm availability and one at the mall management office... I believe a more 9-5 position.

My job hunting tips for those fellow unemployed:

• Make a list of all the possible types of things you'd want to do, hours and days you'd be willing to work- by putting these things in writing you narrow down what you'd be willing to apply for
• Think outside the Careerbuilder/Monster box- Craigslist has a ton of ads but I haven't had a great hit rate with them. Research what corporation headquarters are in your area they tend to have lots of different types of positions open... you can go to Wikipedia and search your city/town and click on the economy heading and it should bring up a list. Also, find out who the top employers are in your area... usually found on your city/towns website.
• Try to to think of businesses that do business with the field your background is in you might have an advantage knowing the business from a different point of view... My background is retail so while I've been looking at stores in the mall I've also looked at the mall management office itself.
• If you are the Alumni of a college see if your college has a career center that offers assistance for alumni jobseekers, has job boards or a networking website
• Don't discount ads for part-time positions many time in the details of the ad it wil say the position has possibilty of turning into a full time position
• Ask around! Friends, family, people you interact with every day! I've asked people at the gym, the tanning salon, grocery store... you've got nothing to lose!

So while I am still playing the housewife role... I am still actively searching for a few hours every day. But I've had about all the HGTV I can handle so I'm taking all this free time I have to focus on things I've never had time to do before... Learn Spanish... fluently is the goal, sell some stuff that's been laying around on Ebay or take to a consignment store to make a little extra cash, and start a blog! You've got to find something you enjoy to help fill the time or you can find youself in couch potato mode... and that's not helpful to ones self esteem!!