The End of An Era

It's back to norm here in Chicago.  A brand new week along with a brand new election that will be officially over today!!  Yay!  With all of the Cubs hoopla taking over the city, it was a nice break from hearing the election propaganda.  I voted in the morning but I think I'll stay off of social media and television for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow I will know who the next president will be.
This election definitely stirred up emotions for me and everyone else I know.  It's brought out the worst in some people.  I get anxious just thinking about since I have friends who support both sides.  I wish we could find a peaceful solution on how to live amongst each other in this day and age.  I am a firm believer of this country's rights of free speech.  But why the hostility?
We're at a time where people are not afraid to express their opinions.  They either have "no filter" or "no chill" when it comes to letting everyone know how they feel about things.  At first it was refreshing to know that people could be admired for not beating around the bush.  If you say what you mean, there's no miscommunication.  Yet with issues being brought to light, and no suggestions to solve them, we then turned on each other.
Spreading love within our communities, our cities, our states, our country, and then so forth, will not only strengthen our love for one another, it will bring joy to everyone we encounter, including countries from beyond.  I still believe we can have world peace!
At this point in my life, my goal is to bring joy to the people that matter to me: my family and friends.  I pray that they in turn pay it forward, so in the end we can have a domino effect.  How cool would that be?  During the 2nd week in October, I met up with some friends for happy hour at Henry's and then Public House and Spin Chicago afterwards.  It was nice catching up with one another, plus I like hearing if my friends are doing ok.  With our busy schedules, I don't want anyone to feel lost in the shuffle.  Sometimes you get so busy earning a living, you forget to live your life.

Henry's on Hubbard have happy hour until 8pm!

 

Public House motto

That same week was a significant moment for me and my family.  My mom's last day of work!!  I couldn't believe this day had finally come!  My mom has been working in the hotel industry for over 40 years!!!  I'm amazed her body endured so much especially in the hospitality department.  She was pretty nervous in general about how she will live her life afterwards.  When she got to work that day, she felt as though no one would notice her gone.  Boy was she wrong!  They held their weekly meeting with all staff members and it turned out to be a surprise retirement party!  She had no idea!  They even gave her a pearl bracelet and flowers.  I think she felt so surreal, she didn't realize someone had recorded the whole experience on their phone.  She was crying the whole time.
I came down from work to meet up with her.  She had some stuff to clear out of her locker and a bag of all of her goodies.  I wanted to take her out to dinner and with some hesitation, she finally agreed.  We went to McCormick and Schmick's restaurant down the street from her hotel.  She was in the mood for their soup, but since I ate a heavy lunch at work, I ordered the tuna tartar along with two glasses of wine so we could celebrate.  It was nice having dinner with her and talking about this next stage of her life.  I know she's nervous about what she will do with herself, but I feel hearing her out first will give me the opportunity to know where her thought process is.  I want her to slow down for a bit so she could enjoy her life a bit more before the weather gets really cold here.  As for now, I am overwhelmed with emotions knowing that she reached this milestone in her life as a healthy, strong woman!

Our celebratory toast to this milestone!!  She did it!!

Luckily her soup came with this huge salad.  I want to make sure she had a full meal.  She deserved it!

She was completely surprised on her thoughtful gifts!  I'm glad they took their time to appreciate her dedication...

Day 10 Gallipoli

We messed up.  Because we had a long day we ended up oversleeping.  That was definitely not the plan.  I packed up my suitcase because we were not sure how long we would be out on the road.  I had a train ticket to leave Foggia on Saturday for Rome, but we weren't sure if we were going to head up north.  If we were, she was going to drop me off in Rome herself.  I was excited for our road trip.  I didn't know what to expect.  We quickly had our coffee and made our way to the auto shop.  We crossed our fingers when we walked in.  The problem with not being able to get a car to rent was the fact that most Europeans were still on vacation.  They were not returning them in time, and kept holding on to their vehicles.  Low and behold they had a car for us, but they still had to run a maintenance check on it.  We were told to come back after 3pm and we should be all set to go.
What did we do in the meantime?  We went for gelato of course!  I was craving it real bad.  We went to our usual parlor in town and treated ourselves to our delight.  I ordered a double scooped fig gelato!  It was delish!!

THE BEST!

So many flavors!

When we  went back again to the auto shop, we  FINALLY got our car!  By now it was close to 4pm.  My friend decided to go south again.  We felt it was late in the day and figured we would enjoy more of the night life in the south.  After a 4 hour drive we made it.  Of course, we were pulling into Gallipoli when everyone was getting off from work.  The traffic was coming from everywhere.  It took us about an hour to find parking.  Back at the auto shop we made reservations at a hotel.  Looking for that took us another 40 minutes.  We were frustrated, hungry, hot because of the humidity, and nervous lugging our suitcases around in such a massive crowd.  There were so many people around us!  We had trouble trying to get through.  We were going in circles.  Eventually, we asked someone who gave us the right directions and sure enough, walked right into it!  We were so relieved.  The bad news was we might have parked in an area that might give us a ticket.  The concierge told us to make sure we give her the plate number of the rental.  She was going to find a way to take care of it for us if we did get one.
We made our way to our room.  It was beautiful!  We had the patio to ourselves.  I was curious to see who else was staying with us at our hotel.  The bad news was our room had no air conditioner.  We both took turns taking a shower to cool off.  I got my second wind and was feeling pretty excited to checkout Gallipoli at night.



Changed into a tunic dress with my converse.  I wanted to be comfortable, and since we were in a new town, wore my fanny pack as well.

We were starving at this time.  We walked down to the fish market.  There was so much going on.  It was overwhelming.  A lot of people knew right away that we were tourists and were trying to get us to come to their restaurant.  We settled on a place and my friend went over to see what they had.  She was in charge of the menu, so I trusted her selection. 

We finally got our meal and we devoured it.  As usual, we ordered la fruta di mare (fruits of the sea).  I do enjoy fresh seafood, and the scampi were huge!  We were very satisfied with our meal.  Afterwards, we went for a stroll around il centro.  By now a lot of the shops were closing up.  We heard music up ahead and found a dj playing house music outside of a restaurant.  Everyone was sitting outside at the patio listening.  Again, I was surprised no one was dancing because he was very good.  I still feel Italians are pretty reserved, but at least a group of little kids were dancing for him.  It was too cute!

So many restaurants to choose from!  I was surprised how many people were out on a Thursday night...

We ordered a glass of spumante and then afterwards walked around some more.  We were tired after a long day of driving.  We figured we'll get up in the morning for check out and then experience Gallipoli in the daytime.  After that who knows?  Anything was possible!

Day 9 Baia Delle Zagare

I slept hard until the morning.  I heard my friend getting ready downstairs.  She was putting her beach bag together.  I quickly got up.  I knew we were going to head to the auto shop to see if they would  have a rental waiting for us.  She has been checking since I originally landed in Greece and they kept telling her for sure they would have it by the weekend.  Now it's Wednesday.  She wanted to drive out to the northern regions.  So far, every time I have come to visit her, we've only drove to the southern cities. 
We had a light breakfast and made our way to the auto shop.  Italians are known to take their time.  They do not rush.  Although there were some customers ahead of us, we waited patiently for our turn.  Of course, all of that waiting did no good.  We were still left without a car.  Not to mention, they took a moment to look at her boyfriend's car and confirm the clutch (along with some minor issues) were kaput.  She did not want to leave the car there without discussing the details with her boyfriend.  For now, she wanted to see what her driving options were.  The repairman advised her to drive the car at her own risk, and that's what we decided to do.  My friend could drive either 1st or 3rd shift, but 2nd shift is where the clutch would get stuck.  I trusted my friend that she felt she would be fine.  We prayed and off we went.
My friend decided we would try to reach Baia Delle Zagare once again.  Last year we drove out to Mattinata but couldn't find it.  We gave up after an hour.  This time, I had written down the coordinates from the resort's website and we entered the info on the GPS.  Driving to Mattinata wasn't so bad.  Only an hour away.  It was when we were driving up and down the cliff where things got tricky.  Because she couldn't get into 2nd gear, we had no choice but to drive super slow a couple of times.  That lead to a back up real quick, which was nerve wrecking considering we were driving on a cliff.  Even if cars wanted to pass us up, they couldn't because it was a single lane road.  YIKES!  Luckily that did not last long and eventually we found our exit.  Driving steep down was just as scary, but my friend is a pro by now with stick shift. 
We made our way down the steep and found a group of staff finishing up a conversation with the police.  Once they drove off, we went up to them and asked if we could go to the beach.  We weren't sure if it was a private beach or not.  They gave us directions to where to park the car and we stayed silent about being patrons of the hotel.  lol.  I'm pretty sure they knew we weren't locals.
Lugging our beach bags around wasn't easy.  The parking lot was a good 10 minute walk to the hotel.  From there we found the signs leading up to the beach.  There was a public bathroom by the elevator that leads you down to la spiaggia.  We changed into our swimsuits there. 
The view alone was amazing.  I couldn't help take pictures of the resort.  I secretly wondered what type of guests made it out here.  There was a lot of space for parties and weddings.  The lawn area was spacious overlooking the woods.  There were canopy lounges located on site. 
We rode down the elevator and walked up to a staff member and asked for two umbrellas.  He charged us 30 euros and then lead us to our spot.  The beach was small but luckily there were not many people there.  I have to get use to the quietness of Italy.  I'm used to some type of music being played, but here in Italy, I immediately notice the silence.  I'm drawing a conclusion they just don't like loud music.

2nd attempt trying to find this place but we did it!!

Gotta love the selfie stick! 

Eventually, the barista on site turned on the speakers and we listened to dance pop (but at a low volume).  Me and my friend couldn't help but yap out loud, which is more than what the others on site were doing.  Couples were either reading to themselves or resting.  We were the only ones laughing.
Most of the beaches in Italy don't have sand.  They have rocks, which is hard sometimes to walk on.  Not only do the rocks hurt my feet, but in the sea, they are pretty slippery.  After a while of laying out we decided to dip in the water.  The  faraglione up ahead was occupied by some young daring swimmers.  They would climb up and dive off.  They put on quite a show for us.  I was jealous of them.

I wish I could be fearless like they are.  Some of them were boys, not men!

We stayed in the water for some time.  Once we laid out again, we grew restless and went by the bar for a drink.  Since my friend does not like to be out in the sun too long, we laid out a little bit longer and then it was time to go.  They had outside showers to rinse off the salt.  We took advantage by using some hotel soaps I had brought along and we did a quick rinse down.  We were planning on staying out so this was the only way we could freshen up.  The water from the shower was cold, so we hurried up.  We made our way back to the public restroom and changed into our dresses for the evening.  My friend wore a while lace maxi dress.  I decided to change later and focus on doing my makeup in the car.  Off we went to Trani!
An hour later we arrived, but because people were getting off from work, there was so much traffic.  It took us a while to find parking, too.  I quickly changed in the car and we took a stroll in il centro to see what we should do.  It was still too early to have dinner.  The clouds looked suspicious, but luckily we only got a drizzle.  We found an adorable bistro that was showcasing art and sat outside the patio area.  I ordered a spumante.  We played around with snap chat filters until it was time to head to the restaurant.  We didn't want our hair to get frizzy.  lol.
We chose Corteinfiore restaurant because it's one of the highest rated in Trani.  I'm always down for seafood, especially in Italy, so I knew we were in for a treat.  Again, we were probably the most talkative in the whole restaurant.  I joked to my friend why everyone around us was so quite, but she informed me that Italians take their food very serious.  There isn't much socializing.  Me and my friend couldn't help getting talkative once the wine started to pour!  We tried to tone it down but it was hard.  We were too busy enjoying our night.  We laughed.  We cried.  We discussed our deepest secrets.  I've missed her so much. 
After dinner it was time for a stroll.  We didn't want to stay out too late.  Some roads are pretty dark with limited lighting.  We went back home in hopes of getting a rental for tomorrow. 

Getting to Trani in time for the sunset...

A glass of spumante before we head to dinner...



Day 8 Booking Nightmare

We landed and I knew my flight for Turkey would leave at 6am.  I relaxed for a bit and took advantage of the free wifi while I waited.  I did something I should have not done which was to search "Turkey" on twitter.  I find twitter is more helpful than the news media, but in this case, the information I was pulling up was frightening.  Just 5 days earlier there were shootings at the left wing of the airport at Turkey.  I kept coming across scary acts of violence in Turkey and that triggered my anxiety again.  I messaged two of my friends who have been at the airport in Turkey and asked for their opinion on the airport.  One of my friends told me they had a nice café upstairs and to have some tea to relax.  I was so nervous, but part of me felt I didn't know what to believe anymore.
Hours passed and then my flight was ready for takeoff.  Since I broke night, I was praying I would sleep on the flight.  From Athens to Turkey it was a less than 2 hours.  I was deliriously tired, and knocked out for 20 minutes, but then we landed. 
I was dizzy because of the melatonin I took and the lack of sleep I had experienced.  I just followed the crowd off the plane and made my way to the gate.  A bus took us to our gate and then we went through security again.  I found an available seat to wait for my next flight.  This layover was 3 hours long, but even though I tried to rest, it was hard because of how busy it was in there.  After looking around the area, I was mad at myself for getting so worked up over nothing.  Turkey airport is an international airport with people from all over the world.  Even though it has suffered from the hands of terrorism, the fact that you're surrounded by so many people made me feel safer.  Sometimes I think this stems from living in Chicago.  The saying goes, it's when you're alone when something might happen to you.
I couldn't connect with the wifi there, but I was hoping my friend in Italy got my message on what time I would be landing in Bari.  It was finally time to board, and off we went.  As usual, just like clock work, my anxiety snuck up right before take off.  So far all of my flights were smooth sailing.  I wish I had more faith that things would be ok.
An Italian lady sat next to me and was nice to me.  She couldn't speak English but luckily I understood her since I've been trying to learn Italian myself.  She was sweet.  I was finally looking forward to Italy.
We landed and I was worn out from my anxieties.  I was looking forward to seeing my friend and knowing I wouldn't have to get back on a plane till Sunday.  What a relief!  The security took a while to get through at Bari.  After we retrieved our luggage we still had to go back in line and go through an x-ray machine to check our bags.  The military presence was intense!  The surrounded us while we waited for clearance.  It dawned on me that they were probably singling us out since our flight was from Turkey. 
My friend kept calling me.  I was so happy to see her number, but I couldn't pick up because I was still trying to get out of the airport.  Once I was outside I called her and saw her parked ahead.  I must have ran up to her like crazy.  FINALLY I'm here!  FINALLY I'm with her!  What an ordeal!!
We yapped about my travel experience coming to Bari.  It was now 3pm and we decided to go grab some lunch.  We had so much catching up to do.  I told her they fed us on the plane and it was a short flight.  I was not very hungry and if anything, I would eat something light.  She suggested Alba Chiara for sea urchins since they were in season. 
It was SUPER hot in Italy.  I had my jeans on since that's what I normally wear on planes.  I quickly changed into my shorts and we were seated by the sea.  I missed her so much.  I felt bad that I was out of it again, but I did not want to end our day because of my lack of sleep.  The urchins were perfect, but the white wine was doing a number on me.  We decided to  run some errands to try to keep me up.
We ended up at Ikea.  lol.  It was a couple of months old, but since it's relatively new, the place was packed!  I forget how Italians can be.  I had bought an evil eye bracelet for me and my friend and we were wearing them at the time we were checking out our items.  A mother told her son in Italian to stay away from those gypsies.  She was referencing it to us.  My friend was in shock, but they normally do not see the eye evil this far south.  There are not many tourists in the region we were at.
We decided to drive back home.  My friend was not very confident in the car.  She never got a rental because there weren't any available, and she was worried driving stick shift with a bad clutch.  I was fine heading home.  I really wanted to take a shower and freshen up.  I felt filthy.
I got my 2nd wind after my shower.  I went downstairs to join my friend for a drink and more stories.  Eventually her boyfriend came home from work and we all caught up.  The plan for the next day was to go to the auto place to see if we could get a loaner car.  Then we could go wherever we wanted.  I was fine with whatever she wanted to do.  It took me forever to get to Italy and I just wanted to enjoy my time here with my friend.

We shared a large pasta with sea urchin sauce.  YUMMY!

 

Lunch by the sea...

A nearby beach by the restaurant. 
La spiaggia sta vicino a il ristorante.  (There goes my little Italian translation!  lol)

IT IS FINISHED...

Today is Good Friday.  Despite the worldwide headlines about the Brussels attacks, it's important to be close to our friends and family this holiday weekend.  It's times like these that we should find ways to spread love to one another.  My mom mentioned to me the other night to pray.  "Evil cannot be in the presence of God', she said.  And she's right.  Although I don't mention my religious faith very often, I was raised in a Catholic household until I was about 8-10 years old.  It was then that my mom stopped taking us to church altogether.  During those years, she went through a divorce, which might explain her losing faith altogether.  I didn't put much thought into until I moved out of my mom's house when I was 20 years old.  My first live-in boyfriend was very spiritual, and it was from him that I started to have my religious awakening.
At first, it branched out of astrology, and then literature when I was in college.  Reading up on Socrates and Plato made me look beyond the box of a higher power.  As the years went on, my mom got married again to her 2nd husband, who become involved in a Christian church.  They both attended heavily and although I was skeptical at first, I noticed my mom's demeanor had changed dramatically.  We never had a great relationship in general, but things with her became easier to deal with now that she became a Christian.  Things were looking up.
After my last breakup, I became depressed.  Someone suggested going to church to let God hear me.   I figured why not.  I ran out of options.  I tried therapy and didn't enjoy the sessions.  I knew I had to heal on my own, but it was hard.  I felt completely lost.
Now that I try to have a better connection with God, I see things differently than before.  I am extremely grateful for the things I've discovered about myself and about HIM as well.  Despite someone's beliefs, I feel everyone has the same message for one another.  To Love.  To be kind.  And to make the most of our time here on this earth.
Last Friday, I had dinner again at Union Sushi.  Since I was still observing Lent, we figured sushi was the way to go!  I love that place!  We had a great time, and even got a limo ride that night.  lol.  It was pretty cold so it was nice to cruise in style.  Too bad I couldn't join in on the festivities.  Everyone was going out afterwards, but I headed on home.  I can't wait to see how much money I've saved by the end of this month.  I think I did pretty good!

LOVE the skinny geisha cocktail!  Definitely one of my favs...

Selfie time!

King crab!

The only place I eat oysters...

sashimi

Of course, rolls were involved...

Tried the alligator rib, but I think I broke the Lent rule.  YIKES!

Traveling in style.  Had fun while it lasted before I headed home for curfew.  I'm proud of myself...

One year anniversary...

I had a pretty eventful weekend again.  Nothing big, but it did keep me busy.  I went out to dinner on Friday and on Saturday me and my friends got together.  I didn't get a chance to talk to my mom either nights.  On Sunday I tried to call her, but her phone went straight to voicemail.  I finally talked to her last night.  That's when she reminded me that today will be the one year anniversary of her husband's death.  She sounded so sad.  I felt terrible because I knew it was coming up, but the exact date escaped my mind.
Some people say it will get easier; but what does that mean?  I know for my mom, this past year was very overwhelming for her.  For the first time in years she had to think for herself and not rely on her husband.  I can see that it is difficult for her to figure things out.  And I can relate.  Before my breakup 3 years ago, me and my boyfriend had plans.  All that had to change in a course of a few weeks and I never had the option to say what I wanted.  Everything happened so quickly.
I pray that my mom will find hope in moving on.  I pray that she will get some insight on what she would like to do for herself.  I wonder if there was anything she ever wanted to do; but hasn't?  Her retirement will be here in no time.  I want to be able to make some of her dreams come true, (if I could).
On Friday I was invited to dinner at Tanta Chicago.  Since I was observing Lent, I got a chance to indulge in the cebiche mixto which consisted of fish, squid, and shrimp.  Add plantain chips and it was delish!  The seafood sashimi with scallops was perfect.  Light but right.  We also ordered the plancha marina which was basically a stir fried seafood platter with vegetables.  I was pretty much satisfied but since I couldn't eat any of the carne, I know I have to come back and try some of their traditional plates.  I devoured two pisco sours and I was done for the evening.  I'm glad I went home because I got a chance to run my errands in some beautiful weather.  It reached nearly 60 degrees that Saturday!

I can't wait to go back!  Loved it!

I love a chilled evening...

  

Pisco Sours were wonderful!  I'm craving one right now...

I wore a simple tee with black skinny jeans.  I'm addicted to my bomber jacket because it has fleece sleeves.  I feel like I'm wearing a sweatshirt!  lol