Dinner and a Movie

Big fan of Air France. On my third Movie. Looper and Trouble with the Curve are both solid flicks.

4:30am. Last glimpse of the Colosseum on the way to the airport.

Naples (Napoli) in Black in White

Naples is a port city. It’s gritty, dense and Italian in a mafioso kind of way. Fitting that we visited on the only dreary day of our trip. This is Napoli in black and white.

Neapolitan Pizza

After being disappointed by the pizza in Rome, we took the train to Naples, the birthplace of pizza. In the extremely dense hillside neighborhoods of Napoli, we found a family pizzeria (they’re all family pizzerias in Napoli) and thoroughly enjoyed the Neapolitan style pizza. The Grandparents who opened the place.

Trevi Fountain

Ensuring our trip back by adhering to local legend and tossing a coin in the fountain.

#1 Done. Happy New Year

Happy 2013! We decided to skip the official Colosseum New Year’s Eve Celebration and brave the “People’s” celebration in Piazza del Popolo. Although mostly unregulated and chaotic, it felt right. Everyone was throwing MD-80s and firecrackers into the center of the square, but it never felt overly dangerous. Everyone drinking champaign. No fights. No explosions in the crowd. No way you experience anything like…

2012 List

Visit my sister in her own home Host a Summer Party Grow LA Fashion Insider See 10 new movies Create a wall of frames in my office No car wrecks or fender benders Convince Brittany to Drive Watch a Sunrise Weigh 180 lbs Weigh 175lbs Weigh 170lbs Weigh 165lbs Weigh 160lbs Detox Clense Take a Picture of a Large Wild Animal Read Ten New…

Fixed

Spent the morning in bed fixing what I had so royally screwed up last night. Goal #21 is all that I’m missing. Anyone?

Putting my Slingbox Christmas present to use. Watching Sunday morning football on Sunday night. It’s like having a time machine.

End of the Year Housekeeping

Love locks placed at the gates of Piazzale Michelangelo. With the new year upon us, I figured I’d clean house and unlock a goal or two. P.S. Best completion rate ever. #6 Done. I’ve had two wrecks or fender benders in two years. This year?… Nothing. #8. Had plenty of opportunities, but the pillow always wins. #10-#14. I love excess. I will try to…

#19 Done

Where will we be five years from now? If not bankrupt, we’ll definitely be out of Burbank. With that said, we’ve identified five places (neighborhoods, schmeighborhoods) we’d like to move to. #1. Florence. We’ve fallen in love. I can only hope I’m not tied to the US in five years as I pretty much demand I live abroad in this lifetime. #2. Studio City….

Mother/Daughter wrestling on the Ponte Vecchio bridge.

If you didn’t know us, you’d think we were only mildly impressed, but Brit and I show our true joy with barely there smiles. We are on cloud nine.

I’m not sure how it happened, but I have challenged Sonia’s shoe collection in recent years. My buddy Matt would call me half a fruit, but it is what it is. The majority of my collection is made up of Gucci. So, it’s only fitting that I’d buy a pair in Firenze where the brand was founded in 1921. But it couldn’t be any…

Today we learned that hot chocolate in Italy is actually hot melted chocolate.

Florence From Above

View from the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Nightcap at the Four Seasons

The Four Seasons in Florence is hands down the best hotel we have ever stayed at.

My favorite tie was one bought for me by my Aunt Ona that depicted Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Today we went to the Uffizi Museum in Florence where we viewed the original.

Churches Of Florence

Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore Basilica di Santa Croce Galileo’s Tomb Michelangelo’s Tomb

#16 Done

Finished up, A Bitter Brew, the rise and fall of Anheuser Busch.

Off to Florence.

Dinner at Antico Arco

17 and champagne at dinner. When in Rome. The three of us enjoyed the tasting menu at Anico Arco on one of the seven hills overlooking Rome. Delicioso.

More Rome. Day 2.

Santa Maria della Vittoria Bridge over the Tiber River The Capitol The Pantheon Piazza Navona Trastevere

Rome Day One.

We visited the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain before the Jet Lag set it. We’ll hit the ground running in the morning.

#85 Done

Hawaii is the natural choice for our Christmas vacation, but #85 made me think outside of the box. Just being out here in the crisp air made me realize there is no “best time” to travel abroad.

Just passing through.

Sorry Hemingway, we’ll be back soon enough.

#78 Done

Being prepared is no less painful, so this goal will not return in 2013.

Brittany got an early Christmas present today when she was accepted by her top choice, the University of Seattle.

Brittany and her cousin having fun with their grandpa.

#93 Done

Vallartas is a grocery store that caters to the latin population in California. We love their selection of meats, so we like to shop here when we’re able to convince Sonia to cook dinner. The lines always move because no one’s basket is ever overflowing with food, which is why we chose a random Vallartas to spread some Christmas cheer. We wanted to anonymously…

A good unconventional romantic comedy.

Brittany got her first early admission acceptance letter today from the University of San Francisco and she did it without the aid of soccer.

X-Mas shopping is now finished.

Brittany was named top 45 seniors to watch by the Los Angeles Daily News.

Office party for all of the sewers at Basically Me.

Having two girls in the house is hard on my boy.