"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." - St. Augustine

Eiffel Tower at night
Originally uploaded by sweetpeameg

It's the Friday before we leave for our big trip. I've ordered the memory cards for my camera, I've got my new lenses, my new less-than-2-lbs tripod in a case, all of my travel-sized crap, guidebooks, things to do on the plane, hell even a hot pink fleece blow up pillow for the ride over. I'm all set! The thing that irks me when I return from a trip is how I didn't get "this shot" or "that shot," so I'm beyond determined to focus more on shooting better shots when we travel this time. Although I will feel a little rushed, I've got to focus on composition so I'm not kicking myself when I return home.

I decided to post this entry with still my favorite shot I've ever taken while traveling. Considering I took this with my tiny Nikon coolpix and no tripod, I think it turned out pretty damned good! Perhaps I favor it because of the subject matter, but I still feel like it's not only one of my best, but my favorite. If I can come back from the trip with at least 5 shots I adore, I'll be content. You can shoot 2000 pictures and still come back with nothing you like. So is the life of a photographer.

Tuesday is our 2 year wedding anniversary! HOLY COW! Two years ago I was so focused on the wedding that I almost forgot we were going to England and France and now, two years later, there's no wedding to focus on, so my mind is obsessing over getting the hell out of Dodge. I guess everyone has the things they look forward to in life and for me it's travel. I hope that when our kids are old enough we can put them on the Eurorail and go around Europe or take them scuba diving in Australia. I want them to see the world and know that the possibilities are endless. I want them to learn about other cultures, other languages, other religions, and other countries. These are all things that I wish I could have experienced at a younger age and I will try and work my hardest to give this to my kids.

With those positive thoughts for a great future, I'm off to work and dream about sipping wine in Italy...

One week until Italy!

There is not much going on here as I'm already horribly in vacation mode. I'm so out of it I can't even focus at work! All I think about is our trip...I think I'm beyond excited now! 1 week from now we'll be in the air.

Next Tuesday is our two-year wedding anniversary - holy cow! I can't believe how time flies and things change. Since we leave for the trip the day after our anniversary, we're just going to grab a meal at Outback on Saturday night to celebrate. Maybe catch the new Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie. No time for anything else as I have lots of cleaning and packing to do before the weekend is over. How nice will it be to work only a day and a half next week? Awesome!

Well, off to my hair appointment now. Ciao!

Since we haven't taken a picture together in a while...

This was taken in Montana the week before last after the grave site service for Jeff's grandpa. We haven't taken a good picture together in a while, so I wanted to post.

Vacation

So I decided on three colors for this picture
Originally uploaded by sweetpeameg

After a three day weekend, all I can think about is how many days until we leave for Italy! So I picked one of my pictures with a train, making me think about traveling, and making me feel at ease as I deal with another 9 days of work. I finally gathered websites for all of the hotels we're staying at:

First three nights in Rome - http://www.hotelrougeetnoir.it/
Sorrento - http://www.moonvalley.it/home.php?idLingua=2
Florence - http://www.goldentulipmirageflorence.com/
Milan - http://www.atahotels.it/struttura.asp?id=quark&ln=eng
Venice - http://www.hotellugano.it/
Last night in Rome - http://www.romehotelpinewood.com/

Nothing fancy, but clean and a place to sleep. That's all that matters to me!

I have a lot to do the next two weekends. This weekend I have to make sure everything we need for the trip is purchased so we can pack the following weekend. That weekend before we leave I have to somewhat clean the house because my mother-in-law is staying there and house-sitting/cat sitting while we're away. I will not let her come and stay in a dirty house. Who has the time to clean 1800 square feet with work, the gym, and planning for our trip? Not to mention a lot of TV shows started this week. We have to keep caught up before we leave so our fake TiVo doesn't get full. I can't believe SVU starts while I'm on vacation. At least I'll have something to look forward to when I return.