Christmas in Rome

Hola mis amigos. ¿Cómo está todo? Espero maravilloso!

I’m going to take it back … to Christmas. I know it’s a bit late, but “it’s better to be late then never at all.” Si?!

Asi – I spent Christmas in Rome with my special guest. That’s right! My mother and a - muy buen amiga de la familia - came to visit me for the holidays.

The time spent was fabuloso! I showed them around Barcelona, and shopped. We flew to Madrid and shopped then back to Barcelona and shopped. Shortly after, we went to Rome and guess what? SHOPPED! Of course we did what most tourist do … eat and sight see. And I found that the food was most delicious. Pero, I was on the hunt for a nice pair of black, leather, riding boots that actually fit. NEVER FOUND THEM. It seems that Europe is not fond of women with big feet. {Don’t judge}

I can say that the monuments were beautiful. Take a look for yourself …

Because our apartment was located in central Rome, I had the pleasure of walking past this water fountain everyday. 

Oh, and our apartment was PERFECTO! We decided to rent out a two bedroom flat versus staying in a hotel. Kept the price down for one, but we wanted to be able to utilize the massive kitchen for a Christmas dinner - Which we never used. {Giggles}

The living and dining area were a pretty good side too. Very comfortable.

As you can see the bedroom décor is nothing to write home about PERO the comfort level of this bed was. I slept better than a baby!

Qué mas?!?

The Colosseum also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is the largest amphitheatre of the. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering and is the largest amphitheatre in the world. AND I WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF IT!

I got to see the Trevi Fountain

… as well as the Vatican – where the Pope holds Mass.

We didn’t quite get inside for the Mass, Christmas Eve. It turns out that you had to purchase tickets month(S) in advance. {YIKES} They did have an area with chairs and a couple big screen monitors to watch from outside. We sat for about an hour and realized that it was MUCH to cold, so we ended up leaving before the Mass started.

All in all my holiday season was LOVELY! I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas. Hope you all can say the same.

From my family to yours, HAPPY NEW YEAR …

Keep dreaming, stay inspired and be blessed.

Something for the People - New Years Luck

HAPPY NEW YEARS - FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. I surely did!

Why? Well, lets see … I spent Christmas in Rome with mi madre and family friend. Please stay tuned for my wonderful Christmas in Rome post.

I brought the New Years in con mi amiga at a dinner party and had a blast for the after partying as well. The dinner party I attended was a small intimate dinner with about 30 people. Eat, drink, be merry – was our motto. 

I also got the chance to witness how the Catalan culture brings in their New Year. You take 12 grapes and eat one by one every second starting at the 12-second count down to midnight. I never knew how hard eating grapes could be. {Giggles} But if you finished them all in 12 seconds by midnight then you are brought good luck. Guess, I’ll be having good luck this year.

… Although, I don't feel like luck is on my side right now. I'm caught in an airport (not in Barcelona) and not at my destination. Flew in from BCN at 4:00 pm to find out that my connecting flight was cancelled, due to weather. To make matters worse, there weren't any airlines flying out that night and they were trying to book me for two days later. NOPE! Not going for it. They weren’t able to supply a hotel room and the reservation hotline was not taking calls, due to a high call volume. Every single employee of the airport … RUDE! (The audacity, right?) The taxis were limited AND charging EXTRA for the terrible weather. The amount was ridiculous! So what did that mean for me? I was stuck at the airport for the night. ALL of the chairs were occupied (a lot of other folks flights were cancelled too) so I was forced to sleep on a heating vent next to a window … WITH TWO INDIVUDALS I DIDN’T KNOW. {DIOS MIO} Of course I didn’t get a good nights sleep, but thanks to the blanket and pillow I packed, I was a little comfortable. JUST A LITTLE. Then, I kind of had to sleep with one eye open to make sure my luggage didn’t walk off.

I am now scheduled for a standby flight in 4 hours AND a regular flight in 8 hours from now. Whichever God sees fit. Thankfully, I have my luggage checked in and am through the security checkpoint. So the chaos is done – Hopefully. However, I was informed that there is a possibility that both flights could be cancelled as well. Leaving me at the airport for another unexpected flight. Makes me wonder if I ate those New Years grapes wrong. {Giggles}

In the meantime – keep dreaming, stay inspired, and be blessed.