just kidding...

i just found out i'll be staying in france for an extra two days, so i won't be getting back stateside until the 14th. if all goes according to plan i'll be leaving s.c. again not too long after that, so clear out some space in your calendar for me, cuppycakes!

and in other news, i topped off my last night in italy the most perfect way possible: pizza alla norma followed by trying one more flavor of gelato. and really the only way to express this is yelling it. I JUST ATE COCONUT GELATO OUT OF A HOLLOWED OUT COCONUT HALF. in case you can't tell, it was bellisima.

and i have a ton of posts waiting for you, so don't think this is over. a peak at what's coming up: my visit to the cemetery here, a video about my trip to rome, a recipe post, and more.

love and gelato,
linds

wait... what?

maybe you caught it, maybe you didn't... but just to be clear, you've should've found something a little strange in my previous post. as i mentioned, tomorrow, july 31st, will be my last day in italy. as most of you know my original plan was to head back to south carolina on august 12th... so here's the deal:

"swiftly go the days"

there were days when i never thought i would actually get to the point where i'd be saying this, but tomorrow is my last day in italy. considering the things i've gone through this past year, it surprises me that this fact feels like one of the hardest things i've had to accept in a very long time.

slow down there, ken

barbie ain't that kinda girl...

subtlety is the key #2

subtlety is the key

quick update

hey cuppycakes! just writing a quick update from my phone so everyone knows i'm ok.
love and gelato,
linds

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

i scream, you scream, we all scream

carpe diem.

even though this is just a sign for a little bar in taormina, it's still sort of inspirational. maybe? not really? whatever... just go with it, okay? 

in any case, i'm totally "seizing the day" (and just moments from seizing the day away... anxiety is killer). i'm taking a three day vacation ALL BY MYSELF. i'm terrified, but also really excited. i'm about to see and do so many amazing things. traveling alone brings up a lot of fears and worries for me, but i know that this is the only way i can really explore some of the "must-see" things here in italy. i'll be taking tons of pictures along the way and i'll be sure to post all of the specifics of my little trip here after i get back (you never can be too careful...). 

before i head out i just wanted to send a big thank-you to all of you awesome cuppycakes who stop by to follow my journey.

much love and keep me in your thoughts,

linds

p.s. no worries cuppycakes, i've got some posts scheduled to publish while i'm gone so you won't be lonely.

taormina, take two.

taormina is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth. on my second trip there i finally went to check out the ancient greek/roman theatre. while i was there it was still set up for the taormina film festival, so a huge screen was blocking the view of the sea... but it was almost better this way. the crazy contrast of modern technology and ancient architecture was astounding. apparently there are shows and concerts there all summer long. can you imagine sitting down watching a performance right where some toga-clad greek or roman person sat to watch a performance of their own THOUSANDS of years ago? that just blows my mind... i can neither confirm nor deny that i sat for a good few minutes looking at the seat next to me imagining a conversation with the man who sat there two thousand years ago.

hopefully we'll go back

muchos buenos

in a recent conversation with a friend of mine i was asked if i had a sort of "bucket list" for italy. yes, yes i do. i have a lot of things that i definitely want to do before i leave here. one of my more recent additions to this list is to try as many kinder products as i can. so far the bueno bars are my favorite. i think today i'll try the white one :). i've already sampled the nutella to go cups, the white tronky bars, and (obviously) the bueno bars. i discovered the other day that kinder makes some kind of hippo shaped chocolate treat, called a happy hippo or something like that, and you can bet that as soon as i find them i'll be buying a box. and for all my cuppycakes back home, i'm definitely bringing home a bounty of ferrero goodness to share with you guys.

1. recent kinder haul... all of these were gone in less than an hour.

2. the bueno packages come with two little bars like this. each bar breaks into four little pods that are full of creamy hazelnut deliciousness.

sentimentality? from me?

i'm not going to lie to you, cuppycakes... i don't really miss charleston. i DEFINITELY miss my family and friends. but charleston? not so much. however... today i find myself wishing i was back there. and now you may be asking 'well, if you don't like it there, why would you want to be there?' the answer can be found in today's date. IT'S THE FOURTH OF JULY! i don't care who you are... independence day is awesome. almost as near and dear to my heart as halloween. and considering my almost unnatural affinity for dressing up (and candy), that says a lot. and what's not to love? explosions, spending the day in your bathing suit, parties, hot dogs and hamburgers, watermelon, parties, laying by the pool or in the sand all day and then watching EXPLOSIONS all night. and to make matters worse i haven't even had a hamburger in nearly two months.
obviously american independence day isn't celebrated here... that wouldn't really make sense. so it's pretty much just any other sunday. plus i'm sick. and not feeling well always has a way of making you want to be at home, snuggled up in your own bed. but i digress... there were a lot of things i knew i would miss out on my being in italy for an entire summer, but for some reason it completely escaped me that this would be the first time in my life that i will not celebrate independence day. though that's not to say my day will be completely lacking in all forms of celebration-- my post is up on the OneTravel blog today! they spelled my name wrong,  but i don't really care because i've spent almost two months now being called everything BUT the way i've always said my own name. so go check it out! it's the first post on the main page, onetravel.wordpress.com
much love and a happy fourth to you all!

well, isn't this exciting?!

as many of you know, you can head over to onetravel.com in your search of Cheap Tickets to anywhere. but, what you may NOT know is that the company maintains a blog at onetravel.wordpress.com. this blog publishes company updates and also posts from guest bloggers about their travel experiences at destinations all over the world. right now on the main page there are posts about florida, singapore, london, spain, and a few other places as well. and this sunday, july 4th, my post, this is stromboli, will be there as well!

i've gotta say... that pretty much kicks ass. i've gotten some feedback from some of you saying that you liked my blog... but i expected my friends like it. it's for you guys. what i wasn't really sure of was if other people would like it too. and, since i was contacted by onetravel and asked to submit something, i'll take that as a sign that people outside of my friends are enjoying what i'm writing here. and that was just the sign i needed to go ahead with my new blog, the cuppycake lifestyle. i'm getting all of the technical stuff done with it now, so within a couple weeks it should be up and running with quite a few posts for you guys to check out.

so, my little cuppycakes, i really just want to thank you for coming over and reading, and i hope you guys like my new blog too!

lovelovelove,
linds

oh! and don't forgot to head over to the onetravel blog either on or after the 4th to check out my post!