Food Coma

Kevin received a gift card from one of his goalie's parents at the end of the season.  Things have been so crazy with visitors and traveling that we never had time to use it until today.  We figured we go to lunch, head into town to run some last minute errands, and then come home and do some packing.  Well, we ended up eating and then heading straight home for a nap. 

The gift card stated that it was good for "two complete lunches with beverages and wine".  I usually don't drink wine at lunch, but if it's free, I'm not going to object.  Then again, I don't usually eat a 5-course meal for lunch either. 

When we arrived at the restaurant/hotel, we showed them the gift card and it took two people to figure out what it was for (since it was written in English).  They gave us our menu, which was all in German, and told us we could have anything we wanted.  Kevin and I were a bit puzzled, but we got right to our menus and started making decisions.  Kevin was going to go with the filet and I was going to have Spätzle (small spinach gnocchi in a cheese sauce). 

Then a new waiter (who spoke English) came over and turned our world upside down.  He asked us if we had any questions about the menu or what anything was.  Kevin asked the waiter how the gift card worked.  Were we supposed to have a first course and second course (like traditional Italian/German meals)?  Or just anything we wanted?  The waiter answered "Naturally, you should have your pasta dish and then your meat dish."  So, we did the natural thing and ordered two meals instead of one.

First, they brought out our 1/2 bottle of red wine and 1L of water.  We also got rolls and some weird butter put on our table. 

We didn't know this was butter until we tasted it.

Then, we had the soup and salad bar.  Kevin opted for nothing but a meat salad and potato salad...2 helpings of both.  I had a salad and potato salad.  But neither of us could do the soup.  We wanted to save room for everything else.  

The potato salad was amazing!

Kevin's second helping of meat salad and potato salad.  I told him not to do it. 

For the pasta dish, Kevin had the Tris (3 different types of pasta) and I had the Spätzle.  It was delicious, but both of us were already full.  I couldn't even finish mine because I was already miserable.

How is a girl supposed to eat this and a whole other plate of food?

Tris...the ravioli was delicious.

Next came the meat course.  I'm not a big meat person.  I usually stick to chicken, but decided to think out of the box and got a steak today.  It was smothered in onions and gravy and came with a rice pilaf.  Kevin got the ox filet with potato pancakes and mixed vegetables.  We both enjoyed our dishes, but about half way through we were in shambles.  I was at the point where I thought if I put anything else in my body, it was all going to come back up.  Kevin was a trooper and finished off his filet and even took a few bites of mine.

Kevin's ox filet

Yes, there is a steak under all those onions and gravy.

When our waiter came to our table and asked if we wanted dessert or coffee, all I could muster up was a "no".  Kevin went for it though and had a piece of cake.  I didn't get a picture of it because my brain quit working after all the food.

After Kevin finished off his cake, I had to get out of the restaurant.  I needed fresh air and a walk.  Luckily, we made it home before our food coma set in.  But once I opened the door to our apartment, I headed straight to the bedroom, changed into my sweatpants, and hit the bed.  We ended up sleeping for a good hour and had to skip right over dinner after our 8,000 calorie lunch.  
  

 

I Am Officially 30!

Yes, today is my birthday.  I have left my 20's and have entered my 30's.  It's a bit scary, but I'm ready to see what they have to offer.   

Yesterday, I was checking my email and MSN had an article "30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She's 30" on their homepage.  With my impending birthday, I decided to take a look at it and I have to say I agree with a lot of the author's ideas, but think there are a few important things that have been left off.  I thought about making my own list and posting it.  But instead I will reflect back on my 20's and list the "20 Things I Learned in my 20's."

I've learned...

1. What it means to be in love.

It's hard to believe we've been together for over 12 year already.

2. It is never a good idea to smoke a cigarette on a drunk night out with the girls.  I'm always going to regret it in the morning.

3. Being organized makes life easier.

4. What it feels like to lose some of the most important people in my life. 

5. That the saying "you meet your best friends in college" is true.

My best friends since freshman year of college.  Love these girls! 

6. I'm ready for kids.  I officially have the "baby itch."

7. I cannot stress over things I cannot change.

8. Eating whatever I want and not working out, without gaining a pound doesn't last forever.  Once I hit 25, I got what I like to call my "woman body."

9. All things don't happen for a reason.  I would like to punch the person who first said this in the face. 

10. How to pack up my life and move within a few days...sometimes hours.

Packing really is a skill and I think I've mastered it.

11. How to drink red wine without ice cubes. 

12. Tanning beds are not my friends and nothing good comes from them.  That is unless you think wrinkles, premature aging, skin cancer, and dry skin are good things. 

13. Moisturizers, vitamins, water, and sunblock are my friends. 

14. To live each day with no regrets. 

15. To never buy cheap toilet paper, paper towels, or garbage bags.

16. How to shoot a gun, bait my own hook, drive a golf ball, and drive a manual.  

Don't worry, no animals were injured. 

17. I'm a pretty good cook.  I know Kevin and my Daddy would agree with me.

18. I have to do what makes me happy.  

19. That reading is fun. 

20. McDonalds is not healthy regardless of what I order.   

Update

I know I’ve been MIA for about two weeks, but we had one of Kevin’s friends in town and we were out and about.  We did a lot of traveling and saw some new places, but it’s nice to be home now. 

Brian got here on April 10.  He flew into Venice and we went there to meet him.  It just so happened that we also had family friends in Venice at that time so we all got together for a day of sightseeing.  We did a tour of the Jewish Ghetto (something we’ve never done), checked out St. Mark’s Basilica, walked around the markets, had pizza, and drank Spritz.  We thought about trying Bellinis at Harry’s Bar, the home of the first Bellini, until we saw the price.  £16.50 (about $22) for a 6-ounce Bellini!  That price made us all get out of our seats quickly and hit the streets for the next best thing…gelato.  

Pizza break with Emma, John, Cathy, Brian, and Kevin

That night we made our way to Verona where Brian, Kevin, and I were staying over.  It was already late so we checked into our hotel and then went straight to dinner.  After a bottle of wine and a few beers, we were exhausted so we called it a night.  We woke up the next morning to rain.  I’m not talking about a light sprinkle either.  This was a downpour.  After a few hours of walking around in the rain, checking out the Roman Theater, and rubbing Juliet’s boob, we decided it was time to head back to Vipiteno.

 Kevin got a quick boob rub in for good luck.

After a day spent in Innsbruck and a day in Vipiteno, we made our way to Florence.  We decided to drive since we were only staying two nights and it made more sense money wise.  We don’t have a GPS so we figured Google Map directions would work just as well, but we ended up getting lost a few times.  It took about an hour longer than it should have to get to our hotel.  We were actually parked illegal in a place we weren’t even supposed to be driving and started running around asking people if they knew where our hotel was.  Turns out, it was about 40 meters from where we were parked and the parking garage was just around the corner. 

Our first afternoon and night in Florence was rainy.  We had drinks, then dinner, then more drinks, and then called it a night.  The next day, we had scheduled a ½ day trip to Pisa and were bummed when we woke up to rain.  But as we started driving away from Florence, everything cleared up.  We got a guided tour of the main square in Pisa and then had a few hours to ourselves.  We spent most of this time holding up the Leaning Tower and snapping stupid pictures.

Piazza del Duomo, Pisa

 I'm just holding up the Leaning Tower for a bit.

That afternoon we had a few more hours of no rain in Florence and took advantage of it.  We checked out the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and walked around until dinnertime.  For dinner, we checked out a cute little place that had a pasta sampler.  It was served family style so you could just take what you want.  Everything was delicious, including the three bottles of Chianti that we took down.

The Piazza del Duomo in Florence

 The Ponte Vecchio

We finally woke up to a clear sky on our last day in Florence.  We walked the 460 steps (give or take a few) to the top of the Duomo, where the view was breathtaking.  Then, we headed over to the pizzeria where the cast of the Jersey Shore worked (please don’t judge).  In started to rain a little so we decided we should probably just head home.  Luckily, since I was in charge of the directions, we made it out of Florence and home without getting lost once.  It should be noted that I was with two directionally challenged men.  

The Last Judgement (on the left) is painted on the ceiling of the Duomo.  

 

Kevin and I at the top of the Duomo.

  Yep, we ate where the Jersey Shore cast worked.

After two days to recuperate in Vipiteno, we made our way to Munich.  Our first stop was Dachau Memorial Site, which I would highly recommend to everyone.  It was depressing, yet educational and some of the stuff that happened there is unbelievable. 

 The gate prisoners passed through when entering Dachau.  The inscription means "Work Brings Freedom."

Once we made it to Munich, we walked around the Marienplatz area and then heading to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner and a big beer.  One turned to two and then two turned to three.  And by the time we left there, we had each consumed three liters of beer.  Well, maybe not me…I was having trouble drinking the third one so I kept pouring it in the boys’ beers when they weren’t paying attention.  On our way home, we got so lost because somehow the map had gotten torn and the important part was nowhere to be found.

 The Marienplatz

 Round one of beers at the Hofbräuhaus.

That next morning was rough for everyone, but we wanted to get an early start because Kevin and I were heading out that afternoon to come back to Vipiteno.  We checked out the Viktualienmarkt, where I had a big pickle and a coffee and Kevin had a foot long sausage on a 6-inch bun for breakfast.  After doing some shopping and checking everything out, we headed to lunch where we all had a Wiener Schnitzels that were bigger than our heads.  Needless to say, none of us finished it.  Kevin and I said our goodbyes to Brian (since he was staying to fly out the next day) and we headed back to Vipiteno.

 I might have found the cure to hangovers.

 You can't visit Germany without getting a Wiener Schnitzel. 

Yesterday morning Kevin left for Asiago.  He will be there for the next 8 days working as the goalie coach for the Italian National Team.  It is a huge honor especially for a first year coach and I’m so excited for him.  I’m here in Vipiteno and have decided to spend my time alone getting back on a schedule.  I need to hit the gym hard and get back to eating like a normal human being.  Once Kevin gets back we’ll have a little less than 3 weeks here and we’re hoping to get to a few more places before returning back to the States.