One Busy Bee

It's that time again to declare my goals and think about conquering 2017. 2016 had quite a few accomplishments but that's no reason to stop reaching for the stars! I'll start with reusing most of last year's goals but add onto it. 1) Travel internationally Since 2012, I have been able to make it out of the country at least once a year. My good friend, Nikki, has inspired me to do so and now I'm addicted. I am considering visiting my Sunshine aka Christina in Colombia, or Southern Italy or France. Venice, Italy - October 2016 2) Hike once a month I didn't complete this in 2016. I hiked four times and need to get back out there. I love exploring my own backyard, breathing fresh air, getting out of the house and getting fit outdoors. Nikki & I - Tilden Park, Berkeley, California - December 2016 UPDATE January - Mt. Diablo 3) Continue with the fitness challenges I completed quite a few fitness challenges in 2016 and plan to cont...

A night of feeling like garbage and blowing my nose was not the way I wanted to spend my first night in Venice. As soon as I woke up, I tried not to wake Court and went down stairs in search of drugs! But first, I stuffed my face with some prosciutto, something our other hotels didn't have. Love charcuterie. There was a chill in the air and the city was just waking up. Restaurants were bringing out tables for service and thankfully the pharmacy ahead with the green cross was open. The lady in the white coat was speaking with her neighbor and greeted me, probably seeing my red nose and looking like death. She escorted me in and gave me a box of pills. I asked for lozenges to help coat my throat. I went back to the hotel, grabbed something to drink to take these meds as soon as possible and made a breakfast plate for Court and myself. Then I went back to bed. I have to give it to Italy's over the counter drugs. They work! I felt so much better when I woke up that I ...

Up and so ready to get to Venice. We were packed, went down to the lobby in the tiny elevator and the lobby was full with many guests checking out. We asked the front desk to get us a taxi they seemed a bit overwhelmed. Not knowing when one will come and our luck with taxis has been terrible, we decided to wait outside and try to flag one down. In Italy, when a taxi is called, it actually picks people up that called them. It seems like in America, they do not seem as reliable. We finally got a taxi and was taken to the train terminal. There was a delay and very limited places to sit. Like Rome, you had to spend some money to use the restroom. I went to the cafe and bought a fruit cup so I can get the code to use their restroom. Goodness. Speaking of money, I was also running low on Euros. I went to get money exchanged. Our train arrived and we headed toward our track and our car. Our monsterous luggage didn't fit above us so we actually got some help from other travelers...