One year anniversary

Not our one year wedding anniversary, but our first year in Lugo. Thankfully, it went so well that we're starting our second year, and we hope this one will be even better. Jon and I will both start teaching next week, which will be interesting since we'll be working together for the first time.

We just got back from our brief vacation to Portugal and Italy. Not that we didn't have plenty of time to travel, but a one month English summer camp salary doesn't go that far. We only had 3 days in Portugal, so we didn't really get to do Porto and Lisbon justice. We definitely need to go back and spend more time there. We had fun though, because we went with our friends Dave and Adrienne who came and visited us in the middle of their European tour.

After they left, Jon and I went to Venice for two nights and Florence for five. A few tips: 1) Don't ever go to Italy in August unless you have to--it's unbearably hot and packed with tourists. I literally heard more English and Spanish than Italian. 2) Don't even try to use Italian, they'll just answer you in English anyway. I really wanted to practice what little I knew, but they just wouldn't give me the chance. 3) All the hype about how good Italian gelato is is TRUE. We suggest you have it at least twice a day, and try different gelaterias and different flavors (panna cotta is the best). 4) Take plenty of cash with you. Not even the museums and other sights take credit cards.

With all of that being said, we had a really great time. Venice was nice, but really expensive (14 euros for 2 croissants and 2 coffees). Two days was plenty, given its size, and its system of canals and bridges is pretty cool. Unfortunately, we didn't do a gondola ride because they started at 80 euros/40 minutes, and we just didn't have that much cashflow to spend on it. Hopefully next time :) Florence was the highlight because we rented an apartment in the center of town and got to feel like we lived there for a few days. It's the best way to see a place for more than 2 nights or so because it's much cheaper, and you get to feel like part of the community while you're there. The best part was getting to see so many of the great works of art like The Birth of Venus and the statue of David all in the same place. It's amazing how one small town was the cradle for so many geniuses.

One day we'll get around to cleaning off Jon's computer so there's enough space to edit our video and post it online. Also, Jon and Richard should be starting their radio show again soon, so look for new podcasts soon.