orvieto

Even apart from its falling leaves, Orvieto was beautiful. We stumbled into a tiny ceramics shop and spoke to the owner who made everything herself. Seeing her brushes and glazes made me miss the wheel so much. At the end of our conversation, she wished us a "buona vita." So sweet.

We went on an underground tour then saw more stray cats than anywhere else in Italy. I was being uncharacteristically picky about where to eat for lunch and only settled when we found a tiny hole in the wall with handwritten notes from visitors everywhere. I had truffle pasta, David had polenta with wild boar, we shared the wine.

There isn't much else, but I think the town was the most charming in its simplicity. It had the narrow alleyways decorated with vines and bathed in sunlight all along buildings were worn throughout the centuries-- everything you'd imagine Italy to be.

the leaves in orvieto

Orvieto is a tiny hill-top town half way between Florence and Rome. It's one of the towns I'd tried to go to twice already, failed, and finally made it with David in tow. I have some photos from the city itself but here are some from a park we happened upon when we missed our bus and decided to walk back to the train station.


Layers and layers of golden-brown leaves in the most picturesque park I ever did see.

notes from the road

We took an overnight train from Florence and woke up in Munich this morning.

Now that I've taken some time off work, it's strange shifting my focus to set out and explore. I've been to Munich before but don't remember it well. We've been setting off in whichever direction seems right and enjoying the things we find along the way.

Photos from a Florence photo booth. My favorite souvenir to date.

italia

I almost can't believe I'm back.

I've been working in Florence for the past couple of days and am so happy, so lucky, so blessed to call this city one of my homes. The best part? Already knowing the streets. Or visiting my favorite gelateria every day for the past three days (whoops). Or speaking (broken) Italian. Or having dinner with my host parents. Or showing David my favorites spots. Or introducing David to my host parents.

Everything is the best part.

austin

Austin was one of those cities where I experienced more in real life and less behind a lens. Not that I didn't want to-- the colorful murals reminded me of the Mission back home and I don't think I've ever eaten more (delicious) tacos.

I've heard that Austin isn't conventional Texas but I didn't believe it until I found myself driving around in a smart car on my way to pick up Asian fusion for lunch. It's a charming little town in its own humble hippy kind of way. I just hope I won't forget the colors and the vibrant people who gave them a home.

in the air

The best part of an early morning flight is the glimpse of dawn, stretching above the clouds.

five hours

It's weird stepping on a plane and knowing you'll be back in a week. My past few plane trips were for extended stays so they felt like big life changes. Last Tuesday was nerve wrecking in a different way since it was my first "business trip."

One thing I like about airplanes is that they force me to disconnect. I had those five hours to read, nap, organize files, and edit photos. I was in no rush to be anywhere and if I had been, there was nothing I could do about it.

It's nice to just sit back.

jess & luke's

During my last three days in London (and Europe, for that matter), I stayed with Jess and Luke through Airbnb. I'd only ever used Airbnb once before-- during my trip with David to Portland-- and was hesitant to try it out alone.




Well, staying with Jess and Luke turned out to be one of my favorite parts about being in London. My flight from Milan was delayed an hour and even though I arrived a little past midnight, Luke was still up to welcome me with a cup of tea.




At the end of each day, it was nice coming back to a home rather than a hotel. My first morning there, Jess and Luke invited me to join them for breakfast (see first two photos). Jess made poached eggs with a traditional salty fish (anyone know what that's called?) and served everything up alongside tea and fresh pressed apple juice. It was really delicious, really kind and really unexpected.






Perhaps the biggest story about staying with Jess and Luke is that they basically rescued me when I found myself in a foreign country with no access to my own money.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Despite calling Bank of America months prior to let them know I was in Europe (and had been for two months at this point), they deactivated my debit card because their system had been hacked. While this might seem like the most logical thing to do upon hacking, they didn't tell me. No email or anything.

So there I was, a little American girl, wandering from ATM to ATM wondering why on earth my debit card wasn't working. I tried to call the bank from a telephone booth, but couldn't call out of the country. Get this: a man who was cleaning the streets asked if I needed help. When I told him my problem, he let me borrow his cell phone to call America. What?!

I eventually reached a BoA representative only for my call to be dropped two minutes in. The phone number stopped working after that. So I was stranded in London, without access to cash, with no banks open (it was a bank holiday weekend), and with no way to speak to the bank in the States (because of the time difference).

Jess and Luke to the rescue. I called them and told them what had happened. They took the tube out to where I was and lent me cash. Me, this random American girl staying in their home. Cash.

Of course I paid them back through PayPal once I got back to the apartment, but wow. Jess and Luke obviously went above and beyond anything anyone could expect from Airbnb hosts. But being with them was an amazing reminder: Nice people exist.

People still have hearts-- and traveling is the best way to rediscover that.

a passenger's view

I love driving. Singing loudly in my car, during sunsets or along the Great Highway. But I drive so much that I needed Europe to remind me what it was like being a passenger. Just sitting and watching and going.



From Denmark, we drove to Germany (4 hours). And once we got to Hamburg, we took an overnight train to Verona (22 hours). The last time David and I took an overnight train, our circumstances were less than ideal.

This time it was amazing! We had a five-person cabin for just the three of us. So much space, beautiful views the entire way.






I ended up having dinner with three Italian motorcyclists who has just spent the past 20 days biking from Verona to Norway. We spoke Italian the entire time (I was so proud)! They were so sweet and showed me the pictures from their trip. I can't even fathom a trip like that! Well, maybe I can...




The bikers in their pajamas taking a long-awaited smoke break in Bolzano.

We rode through the Alps. We had an enormous breakfast. We chatted with our new friends.

It's not so bad to sit back and enjoy the ride.

PS - I'll be over at Morgan's today with my favorite little things in Europe!