Ice and Snow Continues

Well, the ice and snow continue to accumulate here in Misawa. Here are our current stats: January 2012 snow total: 60.2". Winter season total so far: 106.3". That is less than 20" below our normal annual total of 125.6" and we still have 3 months of winter to go!

We often feel like the snow just doesn't stop falling from the sky. We may get an hour long break before a new snow band blows in and drops another couple of inches... but days where the sky is clear are very rare. Two weekends ago we got over 20 inches. This past weekend I think we got about 8... It's crazy! Thankfully, we have hired a man to help us shovel in the mornings. But even with all he does, James has still spent many afternoons out in the snow trying to prevent our cars from getting buried. The drifts in our yards are almost getting too high to throw snow on top of. Here's a picture from Lisa's yard across the street:

The icicles that normally hang from the roof have now formed into one solid crystaline column stretching from the roof to the ground. It's also about two feet wide at the top. James wants to knock it down so an earthquake doesn't send it unexpectedly crashing through our sliding glass doors, but I think the ice is beautiful and would hate to see it go.

I took some pictures of it to preserve our natural sculpture far beyond the winter cold:

Several people have been taking advantage of the outrageous powder by skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing or ice climbing every weekend. That's a little too intense for me so I've resorted to taking portraits in the snow. I think our world will be white for quite some time, so my business must adapt. Lisa and Kendall offered to model for me and help drum up some winter photo clients. I think pictures in the snow would be beautiful for an engagement shoot or senior pictures so - here's hoping February will be a profitable month!

 To see the full extent of both of their portrait shoots, check out my photography blog.

Into the Thick of Winter...

Mark the date - it took us until January 14th to take down our Christmas decorations. I don't know if we dragged our feet so long because we were gone for Christmas, or because we couldn't find the time, or because we think they're pretty. Personally, I think it's because taking down the Christmas decorations means that the fun part of the season is over and we now have nothing to brighten up the long winter months.

As I look out my window, I'm reminded of that quote from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where Mr. Tumnus says that Narnia under the White Witch's rule is always winter, never Christmas. It doesn't help my mood that the massive icicles hanging outside our back door oddly resemble the White Witch's crystalline castle. I feel like she's moved into our backyard. Maybe that's why it hasn't stopped snowing for the last two weeks...

Whatever the reason, the snow has got me down and I can't wait for spring to come again!

The White Witch's Castle from Narnia

Last Day in Italia

 Our last day in Italy was a pretty mellow one. We were both tired and sore from all of the sight-seeing, so we did a little shopping for those final Italian necessities and then packed everything up into our suitcases. Whatever couldn't fit was shipped home. (We mailed three boxes of gifts and souvenirs!) Our big purchase that day was some Italian leather shoes. James got some nice black leather loafers (which will be a good option for dressing up in Japan because they slip on and off fairly easily.) I have never had a good pair of leather boots before and couldn't leave Italy without a pair so - voila! I feel so grown up now!

We were starving after all the shopping we did so we went out to lunch with Corrie. I couldn't help taking pictures of my last couple meals in Italy. Below is a penne with fresh veggies.

For dinner we met all of our friends at one of the Cienski's favorite restaurants in Sacile. It has a very extensive pizza menu. I got one topped with a bunch of roasted veggies.

Our friend Corrie, on the other hand, went all out with the pizza American - topped with french fries and sliced sausages (or hot dogs.) haha!

The next morning, Caleb and Jordan were leaving for a New Year's trip to London so we all spent the evening packing - said a quick but sweet good night - and went to bed. They had to leave really early in the morning, so they let us sleep in and lock up on our way out. Dave and Lynn graciously offered to drive us to the airport in Venice so we didn't have to bother with trains and busses. We really appreciated having an extra hour of conversation with beloved friends before beginning our 28 hour trek back to Japan.

We flew from Venice to Frankfurt where we had a six hour lay-over before our twelve hour flight to Tokyo. Thankfully we both had some good books loaded onto our kindles to help the time pass. For lunch, I broke down and ordered a little snack from McDonald's. (I know, I know - so shameful!) But honestly, it was worth standing in line just to check out the German McDonald's menu. They have many of the normal items. But then they had some unique things too - like burgers with sausages and horse radish on them.

Near our gate we ate dinner at a nice European restaurant. I had one final delicious pasta dish while James sampled the local fare. Below is a picture of him with his fried turkey schnitzel and a glass of German beer.

The flight back was uneventful - but rough for me because my cold was getting worse. I didn't realize it at the time but I had a full-fledged sinus infection and a mild fever. Thankfully not many Germans were interested in traveling to Japan so we had a row to ourselves and I didn't need to worry about brushing elbows with a stranger and grossing them out with my mucus-related issues. haha. The flight attendants gave me several glasses of orange juice though, which helped (I think.)

Thankfully we had no issues getting through customs and immigration in Tokyo and were able to make an earlier train back to Misawa than expected. So we arrived around 9:30 pm on New Year's Eve. Some of our friends were nice enough to drop our car off at the train station earlier that afternoon so we could drive straight home.

Over all our trip to Italy was wonderful. It was everything we were hoping for and more - a fantastic introduction to Europe, a magical Christmas holiday, a heart-felt reunion with dear friends, and a perfect playground for a girl and her camera. =^)

Florence

After our day trip to Venice, we decided to take a couple days to explore Florence on our own. We took the train out there and stayed at a beautiful hotel right next to the train station called The Hotel Ambasciatori. It was a nice modern place with spacious rooms and quality amenities. It was a breath of fresh air after tiny, cramped Japanese hotels that smell like mildew because they don't ventilate their showers.

After checking in and bundling up we headed out directly toward the heart of Florence - Piazza del Duomo. This is where the cathedral, bell tower and baptistry are located. They are beautiful and huge and so full of history!

In the square we found a little pizza stand that had the best pizza I've ever tasted!! They had all kinds and you could buy a single slice and take it to go. The kind I got was almost like a caprese salad in pizza form, with lots of tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil and salt and pepper. We took our food with us and sat on a stone bench across from the baptistry and just soaked in the view.

The doors of the baptistry were called "The Gates of Heaven" by Michelangelo. The bronze-casting and gilding was done by the Venetian Leonardo d'Avanzano, widely recognized as one of the best bronze smiths in Europe. The artistry was truly amazing.

The Baptistry

We decided to climb up the 200 steps inside the bell tower to see the city and the dome close-up. It was a pretty killer climb, especially after stuffing our faces with pizza. It's pretty amazing to think that, back in the day, someone had to climb all the way up there to ring the bell. It was worth the climb, though, because the view was spectacular!

Looking up through the bell tower

Then we continued walking through the city toward the river. We stopped off at Piazza della Republicca which marks the spot where the original Roman forum was. Now, the only thing that remains from Rome is a carved pillar called the Column of Abundance. Still pretty cool to see something that old.

As we got closer to where the famous Uffizi we saw several sidewalk artists. We bought a couple of small water color paintings from one. But I think the most impressive artists we saw were those doing chalk drawings on the street.

Palazzo Vecchio - Florence's political center. It's right next to Piazza della Signoria where they have outdoor displays of several marble sculptures by Michelangelo and other famous artists.

The statues were beautiful but it was bothersome that they were almost all naked. haha

The ceilings in Palazza Vecchio were pretty incredible

By that time the sun was starting to set so we walked across the river to a high area called Piazzale Michelangelo. Artists and performers gather up here to cater to the tourists and Flourentine teenagers lounging on the steps eating gelato while the sun sets. This was the time I was most thankful for coming to Italy in the off season because we actually got a good spot to plant our tripod. So we got lots of good pictures with that famous view in the background.

Ponte Vecchio - famous bridge

So romantic!

One of many amazing sidewalk artists

Silhouette of the David at sunset

Once we'd had our fill of that magical view, we walked back down into the city via the Ponte Vecchio and window shopped all the way to the restaurant where we we had dinner.

The restaurant we ate at was called Trattoria Za-Za. It was SO good. I think I especially appreciated it because traditional Florentine cuisine is more than just pasta. I had a delicious veggie soup with spinach and beans, then some grilled chicken and rosemary potatoes. James finished off the meal with some real Italian tirimasu. Yum!

Sorry for all of the pictures of food - but since that was one of the best parts of our trip to Italy, I felt like I needed to include them!

That night we were exhausted so we went straight to bed so we could get up early the next morning and get in line for the museums. First we went to see Michelangelo's David. We had seen so many replicas of it the day before I wasn't sure it would be worth the wait out in the cold - but it was. The statue was so remarkably detailed - with veins and finger nails and curly hair. I can't believe that something so perfect was carved out of a block of rock - totally freehand. Michelangelo was a very talented dude.

Next, we went and attempted to get into the Uffizi, which has the greatest collection of Italian art anywhere - including the famous painting of the birth of Venus. We read in the guide book that you really need to make a reservation about a month in advance the get in - and as soon as we got there we saw why. We stood in line for about an hour and were about to despair when someone walked by offering to take us in on an English tour. It was a lot more money, but totally worth it to skip the line and have an expert take us through all the high points in about an hour and a half. We got to see works by Michelangelo, Rafael and even Da Vinci - SO COOL!

By the end of that day my feet were SO sore that I really couldn't do anything else except hobble to a gelato shop on our way to the train station. We couldn't leave Italy without sampling some of the creamy goodness, and yes - it was SOOO GOOD. I wish it wasn't so bad for me because I could have had some of that with every meal.

Florence was a beautiful city and we had a wonderful time walking around, window shopping, picking up gifts and sampling the local cuisine. We were thankful to get back to Caleb and Jordan's house and put our feet up. But as we left the city behind, we were a little sad to think that our time in Italy was almost up.