For years and years and years, ever since I head the Joshua Tree CD back in jr high or high school, I fell in love with U2; and vowed I would see them perform in Dublin, Ireland.

Finally, good fate was upon on us this past Mar for we were able to buy tickets to the concert at Croke Park, in Dublin, Ireland to see U2!

We flew out on Friday landing in Dublin around 12. We called the ticket agency to find out exactly where we needed to go to get our tickets and where the pre-party was. Come to find out, we were slotted for that nights party and concert. For some reason we had though we were set for Sat, but it was indeed tonight’s party/concert we had tickets for. As soon as we could drop off our bags in our room, we left for the pre-party and got our concert tickets.

The pre-party was held in a bar located in the center of Dublin. It actually wasn’t what I expected. Dublin is a pretty laid back place, and even when their own U2 band is performing they are pretty relaxed about the whole event. Like it is an everyday occurance. We got free food and 3 drinks each, but our new news caused me to not partake in the drinking, so Cody got my share. We met a girl from the states who coincidently had two tickets for the following nights show in general admission (the floor), and sold them to us at cost for 50 Euro each. So now we had two concerts to go to! We enjoyed a tribute band, which oddly enough was a two man band, and then made our walk to the concert.

We got to the arena, and it is huge. I had been to Croke park 10 years ago when I was backpacking and saw Billy Joel and Elton John performing together. This fussball arena is huge! We had General Admission tickets and got as close as possible to the stage, which was about 10 feet. The stage set up, is know this tour as the “claw”, for it has this long leg prongs that tower above the stage. It is quite the set up for a concert.

The opening acts were not impressive but then the concert started at 9pm, and OH MY GOD, it was amazing. The sounds, the visions, the vibes, the music, the 10 ft of being away from Bono, was all to surreal. Cody took charge of the camera taking a ridiculous amt of pics and videos for me while I stood or jumped next to him screaming and singing at the top of my lungs with the band.

80 thousand people were in this arena and during two songs Bono didn’t sing into the mic and the crowd sang to him. The arena’s structure, with an open top, still allowed for quite an echo of the concert goers voices as we all sang the lyrics to “Where they streets have no name” and “How long”. It was completely one of the most amazing feelings, singing along, listening, and seeing flickers of lights from the entire arena carrying the lyrics of these popular songs.

The next day, we walked around Dublin, and relaxed for we had been to Dublin before. Plus I was extremely tired! Pregnancy tiredness had taken over my body, even causing me to take a nap mid day, b/c I felt like I couldn’t physically do anything. My true excitement and joy was focusing on the pregnancy, and now being at U2 was just a bonus. finally attending the U2 concert was a completely differenct scenario then what I had always thought it would be like attending a U2 concert in Dublin, it was even better.

At the pre-party we met Bono! Well, kinda… His name is Matt, from Toronto, Canada, and minus the scare on his throat he could pass as Bono’s twin. He was very nice and allowed me to take a couple pics with him. Even one with his hand on my belly, saying hello to the baby! I might not ever met the REAL BONO, but I was able to feel like I met the real Bono.

The 2nd concert was just as great, if not better than the first night, for the energy of the crowd was more intense and ready to hear U2 rock! This time we got about 5 ft from the stage. And when the band walked out on the stage extension we were able to really get some great views and pics of all the band members, especially of my favorite; Bono.  Noone wanted the concert to end, and they sang a couple extra songs. One of the great things, with them playing 3 concerts in Dublin, they changed the set every night, so that you weren’t hearing all the same songs every night. They played songs from their Boy, War & Achtung Baby albums. They played everyone’s favorites from the Joshua Tree and some of their popular songs from their previous 3 albums.  Cody enjoyed the concert just as much as his crazy hoarse wife did.  He even says he would go again and again to more of their concerts with me. Though this could also be in fear of me jumping on stage and knowing I am going to need him to take pics of it, if it ever does happen; I mean when! The concerts were great, and baby made it through safe and sound, to bad it can’t hear anything else.

We had to get to the bus stop at 3am. Our flight was on time, and we slept the whole way back to Venice. We then made a detour to the beach and slept on the ocean. We got back home around 8pm and enjoyed a nice quiet evening, well sort of. I was still dancing and singing around the house and blaring U2 from the stereo as my adrenaline was still rushing through my blood.

2009 was surely by far one of the most amazing summers!

Just when I thought the summer couldn’t get any better it got amazingly better.

I woke up with an intense feeling of needing to check my personal calendar. Not paying much attention to it this summer, I realized I was 3 or 4 days late. My gut screamed, I needed to take a pregnancy test. I had an intense feeling that told me I was pregnant but I just needed a test to show the proof.

Cody laid in bed resting peacefully, unaware of what I was up to. I got my EPT stick and only awaited 2 secs and it displayed “PREGNANT.” I really don’t know what went through my mind at that second, except; oh my god, there isn’t a ‘not’ in front of pregnant. I have taken this test numerous of times over the pass 2 yrs and prayed and dreamed of this moment. My next decision, how to tell Cody. I briefly thought about going back to bed, letting him sleep and telling him when he woke up. But I didn’t know how long the test would show, “PREGNANT.”

As Cody laid in bed, I sat next to him and tapped him to wake up. As he rolled over I had a look (as he says) of fear, shock, excitement & happinees. I held up the PREGNANT EPT as he tried to adjust his bloodshot tired eyes. He took a moment to adjust to what I was showing him. Once he could read what he was staring at he said, “Are you serious? Are you sure? Oh My God! This is awesome!” Then we hugged and kissed and cried tears of joy and relief!

For the past two years, we have been on the roller coaster of trying to get pregnant. It all started 2 yrs ago when I was told I was menopausal. At the age of 30 one can only image what thoughts/feelings went through our minds.  Living in Germany only made medical appts and doctor referrals more difficult to obtain.  At the end of this two yr journey, we finally found a doctor with patience, understanding, knowledge, compassion and humor. Dr. Loher, from Wittlich, took the time to evaluate me for three months. The conclusion, Cody
& I are perfect candidates to have a baby.

We moved to Italy the beginning of Mar. Got a beautiful villa with a yard for kids to run around in. The transition was tough at first, for I didn’t know how to handle not working. But the last 3 months, I have been fully enjoying it. The end of May I decided to take a mental break from the whole “trying” to get pregnant. It is something that can be so encompassing. Everyone tells you to stop worrying, stop stressing, stop thinking. But what they forget to tell you, is how?

My answer: Take a vacation! And that I did. I headed to my parents house for a week without Cody. Then I meet up with him on his family’s farm for a week. Then we spent the 4th of July 2009 at my parents house. The whole time was spend playing on the lake, enjoying  fireworks, playing horseshoe games, eating, drinking, laughing & enjoying time with friends and family. Not a moment was spent on being depressed or stressed or sad or angry. Every moment was spent on joy, happiness, excitement, relaxing, enjoying, laughing and talking with those that mean the most to me/us. That is how one doesn’t stress or worry about getting pregnant.

For on this morning our prayers, dreams and questions were answered.

WE DID IT! WE’RE PREGNANT!

We are probably about 10-14 days along. Our first appt is 3 Aug at 1330 with a nurse. Then our next appt is 31 Aug at 1400 & we get to meet with the doc and hopefully hear our baby’s heartbeat!

For now I am completly relaxing. Not stressing. Not worrying. Not intensly exercising. Not physically stressing my body. Eating well, and sleeping as much as I can. I have never felt such peace in my mind and soul.  

I haven’t had many symptoms yet. Just feeling some tightness/cramps in my lower abs, congestion in my chest and face. I have very little breast tenderness, but am tired. (Though with all the traveling I have been doing, who could blame me for being tired.)

Cody is feeling cautious. Estatic! Excited! Relieved! But cautious for it is so early!

I am feeling calm. Incredibly calm. Happy. Extremely Happy. Relived. A little cautious, but I’ll let Cody hold that feeling b/c I don’t want to feel any negativity, only positive thoughts and emotions. Because in the big picture, we are PREGNANT and I just know this baby is going to continue to grow healthy and strong!

That morning we got packed up and loaded the car. We drove through the Tuscany hillside savoring every moment as we would soon be leaving it. We drove in Le Streva, and came upon the hotel that we picked up our Bocelli tickets at. To our complete shock and surprise we saw two men riding horses along the street. This shock was b/c  one of those men was Andrea Bocelli! Could this really be happening?

Here we are driving in Tuscany and we come upon Bocelli riding his horse with his assistant. Of course this is happening, b/c it is the ultimate ending to this amazing trip. Fortunately time was on our side, and I pulled the car over, we grabbed the camera and made our way to the small crowd of people wanting to meet Bocelli. Sara was in complete shock and dismay. I grabbed her by the hand and we walked right up to Bocelli. I said, in my best Italian, something like; “Buon Girno Senor Bocelli. Tu concerti bellisima (your two concerts were beautiful).” He then turned to me and said, Hello, and asked my name and where I was from. I introduced myself and Sara and said that we were from the states. He was so thankful to us being there, and asked if we liked the concert. He then stood with us to get some pictures. He was soft spoken, gentle hearted and genuinely an incredibly sweet person.

We got into the car, looked at each other, screamed, laughed and stomped our feet in complete shock of what just happened. I told Sara, this just means no tears at the airport. And this moment proves that anything can happen at any given moment.  Good things do happen to good people.

I got Sara to the airport and it was a bitter sweet feeling. It was our first trip together. The first time in the 2yrs that we have known each other that we were able to actually have some time to hang out, and it was completely the best time ever!

I then texted Cody and let him know of my morning and that I was heading on my way home. Took about 5 hrs but I made it safe and sound and the car only received a small dent from the parking lot at Pompeii. The trailblazer was full of dust and dirt, from the dirt roads, the coast and Tuscany. Cody embraced me and laughed as he looked at the car and said, looks like you had a hell of an adventure! God, I love my husband.

Thank you Sara for inviting me to come along on this amazing adventure with you! I hope and pray and just know we will be doing it again, and again, and again. Best of luck to you in Physical Therapy school, I know you are going to do great and be the best PT! You are always more than welcome to visit and stay with us. Ciao Bella!

In order for us to try and see Bocelli again tonight, we had to find a place to stay. We could have stayed in the hotel again, but we wanted to also check out San Gimingano and Volterra. On our way to S.G. we found a cute agritorismo, and then headed out for our day trip adventures.

San Gimingano, known as the Manhattan (building wise) of Tuscany. It’s 40 mid evil towers over look the Tuscany region. This encapsulated town is full of restaurants, pizzeria’s, shops, shops and more shops. We ventured through the city, looking at the pottery, having wine, trying a variety of bruschetta’s, and enjoying the breathtaking views of overlooking Tuscany.

We then headed to Volterra, a very similar mid evil town, minus the towers.  We could of easily spent a least a full day in each town, but at least we were able to get a feel and a good sense of what the towns had to offer.  The small alley streets were full of tourists and locals walking around, socializing, shopping, taking pictures and enjoying the day.

As day was ending we headed back to the agritorismo and got quickly ready to head to the concerto. We had scoped out the area and decided to go in the back entrance for there was an agritorismo that we could say we were staying at. We drove up to the guard; Bueno Serra (Good Evening) and said we were guests staying on the hill. Without hesitation, the guard smiled and said, No Problemo. Bueno Serrata (No problem, have a good evening.) Otherwise we needed to show him the tickets that we didn’ t have. We also made it through two additional check points, parked the car, then walked up to the a hill right next to the amphitheatre. We weren’t the only ones wanting more of Bocelli for there were about 50 other Italian’s sitting on the hillside waiting for him to sing again.

Tonight, he was even more powerful! He had 4 guests; of which I only know one, Placido Domingo! And Oh Mio Dio (Oh My God) they all were so amazing singing, harmonizing, celebrating the sounds of the voices together. About ¾ of the way into the concert we walked up to the seating area and stood with other onlookers. Here we were, yet again seeing Bocelli in Tuscany. I don’t know how I will sit in an enclosed Opera after being outdoors in Tuscany. The weather held out for us allowing the entire concert to take place. At the end of the concert, two Italians; who were working at the concert, began friendly chit chat. They then asked us if we would like an escort to our car. So of course we took them up on this offer, for it was our last night in Italy, and they were cute. As we began our walk down the hill, Bocelli and Domingo walked backstage where we could see them. They took our camera’s and got pics of them backstage, up close and personal. As we walked down to the car, they tried to convince us of joining them for a night out on the town. But we declined and thanked them for our escort.

That night, we enjoyed some of Rina’s wine, and reminisced about our trip and how quickly it was coming to an end, for tomorrow we headed to the airport.

We drove along the northern part of the Amalfi Coast to Naples and then through Tuscany. The drive is as scenic as all the postcards and pics depict of Calabria and Tuscany, absolutely breathtaking. We even found fields of Tuscany sunflowers!

Thank goodness for cell phones, for I was able to try and track down where we had to pick up our tickets, for we had to go to Le Streva to a hotel; not to the outdoor amphitheater as we were previously told. We got the tickets and then took about an hr to find a place to stay. Luck was on our side and we found a hotel with 1 room left. We took it, got changed and back out the door in under 5 mins to make it to the sound check.

Teatro di Silenzio is an outdoor amphitheater located in the hills of Tuscany.  I have never been to an opera before, and truly didn’t fully know who Bocelli was/is. Sara, on the other hand, has loved this man for at least 10yrs. As we walked to our seats, we found ourselves sitting in the center only 20 rows from the stage! Yet again, luck was shining down on us. The seats were perfect and the evening air gently cooled everyone.

When the concerto (concert) started Bocelli, in case you don’t know is blind, rode his horse on the stage and then made his entrance to center stage. He wore a beautiful pink shirt, with a scarf and black pants. He looked incredibly handsome. Within the first few seconds of him serenaded the audience I caught tears welling up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe how powerful his voice sounded and how beautifully the orchestra complimented his voice. Here we were sitting in an outdoor amphitheatre in Tuscany, listening to Bocelli sing, only mins from his childhood home.  At one point we went up to the stage and got close up pics of Bocelli. We eventually just sat in the front row enjoying being so close to the amazing Italian Opera singer.

About half way through the rehearsal, it started to rain, and the orchestra immediately stopped and put their instruments into their protective cases. The rain on drizzled for a min or so, and Bocelli came back out. He spoke with the conductor and convinced him to play a couple more songs. He ended the night singing, Time to Say Goodbye! I think I could put that song on continuously repeat forever.

As I was visiting my parents house, the list for TSGT was released. I got a hold of Cody at work that morning, and to his utmost excitement, he said you are talking with your TSGT! I screamed and jumped for joy in complete excitement for his great achievement! This was Cody’s 2^nd time testing (one can only test once a yr). He was the only one his shop to get picked up, he was one of 160 selected at Aviano, he was 1 of 30 picked out of entire career field! What an accomplishment! He studied so hard and it paid off. Cody’s line number is 6825, out of about 7500 selected. We believe he will be promoted by the summer of 2010!

I made him a huge poster and two for the road for when he came to the lake. And order the famous Nadine Carrot Cake for his celebration.

I am so proud of you Spud! I have my pink boxing gloves ready for the pinning on ceremony! You deserve this and worked so hard for it. Congratulations on a job well done TSGT Langager!!!! I love you!

Rina made us an amazing breakfast of eggs, freshly sliced sweet tomato’s, prosciutto, formaggio & fresh bread and juice. We got our bags ready and headed down to the café to meet up with Augustino. Even though it was only 10am, it was sweltering out. While Augustino went to the market to get prosecco and fragola (strawberries), we quenched our thirst with some Cola Light’s.  We walked to the pier and Lucio met us with the motorboat. Even though it was almost unbearably hot, being on the boat made it worth enduring the heat. We cruised along the coast while Augustino and Lucio told us about the towns and the coastline. To fully appreciate the Amalfi Coast, one must rent a boat or go on a boat cruise, for many of the towns cannot be even seen unless you are on the ocean.

We took about 2 hrs cruising along the coast line before we got to Capri. Once we arrived to Capri, they docked the boat and we took the trolley to the top of the mtn where the true centro (center) of Capri is. It is such a beautiful view from the top of the mtn to see the town of Capri, and where the Sorrento & Amalfi Coast line met. Being we were on a time limit, we couldn’t spend too much time on Capri, but it was enough to at least give Sara a taste of this beautiful little Italian island. (I had been to Capri a couple of yrs ago with my sister, so it was just another treat being back there).  We cruised back along the coast line bouncing around in the bow as the waves acted like a roller coaster. We were quite impressed that we didn’t fall out of the boat being we felt like we were on an extreme amusement park ride. Once we got back upon the coast line, we took a break to go swimming in the water and to cool off.

We enjoyed our prosecco and fresh fragola as we laid on the boat soaking up the Amalfi rays. Surprisingly we didn’t get burned, just a little color. At the end of the day, Sara and I agreed to meet up with them one more time for a farewell spaghetti party at Lucio’s house. We were to meet them at the café at 10pm. Good thing Sara and I were on the same brain wave lengths, for we knew we weren’t really going to meet them. (If you have ever met or dealt with Italian men, and you are a female, you will know to 1. never be alone with them; have some friends with you for, 2. they don’t understand the word no 😉 ). We thanked them for a great day, for it was truly amazing to cruise the coastline for a day with two Italians who serenaded us along the Amalfi coast.

As we made our long journey up the never ending hill, we knew we “could” walk down, but we wouldn’t be able to walk up again. Plus it was best to leave a great day at that, a great day. We got up to the Villa and met 2 other couples from NY. We briefly told them about our day but not mentioning we went with two locals, for we figured we would save that for later.

We got cleaned up and ready for dinner, then heard a church processional going through the wine vineyard for it was a celebration of Madonna. It was a surreal moment, seeing a local band and local parishiners following a priest and a Madonna statue through the hilly vineyard.  Sara and I went down for dinner and enjoyed the peaceful evening of not being constantly hit on, and laughing at our day and our adventures thus far. The meal, yet again, danced upon our tastebuds full of the most amazing flavors. After dinner 3 of the other guests went to bed, and Don stayed up with us. Don is from NY and didn’t seem ready to call it a night, so he joined us for story telling and getting to know one another. Rina complemented our conversation with lemoncello, Mirtilli (blueberry schnapps), a coffee schnapps and bottles of vino. Don is, as he calls himself, the crazy Uncle. It felt like we knew Don for years, like he was our crazy uncle. We sat up for hours just chatting the night away telling him of our adventures. Rina joined us for story telling and come to find out she knows who Augustino and Lucio are. She says they are nothing special, nice, but nothing special. And that if we are to met anyone else we need to check with her first. She is the young grandma everyone wants to be their family.

About 11pm, the phone rings and it is Augustino! (Sara and I couldn’t remember telling them where we were staying but we must of, for how else could they find us). Rina, ever so quick to catch on, told him she knocked on our door but there was no answer. 5 mins later, he called again. Rina had to tell him that she was not going to bother her guests. She mentioned to him that we came down for dinner, then went to our room and she hasn’t seen or heard us since. About another 5 mins went by and it was Lucio. Rina ever so sweetly told them she would make sure to give us the messages. This defiantly led to more lemoncello, mirtilli, wine and lots of laughter.

In the morning we had our last wonderful breakfast which was left over dinner; per our request for it was so amazing and we couldn’t get enough of it. We said good-bye to Don and our NY friends and headed off to Tuscany to see Andrea Bocelli.

We will give Augustino and Lucio an A+ for trying their hardest to win the hearts of two American women, but our hearts are with our loved ones (Cody & Scott) whom are back home awaiting our arrival. To visit the Amalfi coast, one must visit Villa Rina. Located upon the hills of the Amalfi coast, the view, the company and the food are nothing but the best and worth every centesimi (cent). Rina will also arrange a cooking class if you are ever interested. I am determined this will not be my last visit to Villa Rina, despite how many stairs I have to walk up; worse case it there is parking on top of the hill and you only have to walk down.

We woke up, had a great breakfast and visit with Latizia then headed to Assisi to buy some last minute items. Then we began our drive to Pompeii. After about 5 hrs we arrived to Pompeii to enjoy the last three hours that the excavation site was open for. One could truly spend days and weeks there discovering this ruined city, but for us the three hrs was perfect. Even though it wasn’t in the heat of the day, it was still 100+ degrees F out. 

We both felt such an overwhelming feeling of disbelief, shock, silence, sadness and a surreal state of mind walking around Pompeii. To think that this city and the people that lived there were instantly covered with ash and burned to death. Bodies were recovered and found displaying different positions of praying, running, hiding, embracing loved ones, crying and being completely full of fear & terror. The city is bigger than I thought, and all its secrets still have not been uncovered. It is definitely a stop that all should include in their trip if one is ever in southern Italy.

We then had about a 1.5 hr drive to the Amalfi coast to find Villa Rina’s.  The drive was beautifully located upon the cliffs of the Amalfi coast, allowing us to look down upon the ocean and the sea side villages that encompass this gorgeous area. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking! I had brought along two Italian CD’s and the music added to the whole Italian ambiance. Locals cruised beside us on their Vespa’s & a couple Italian men even drove up to my window asking us to join them on their Vespa’s. (Only in Italy!) Mamma’s fed their children gelato and couples sat drinking their wine in the outdoor café’s. The scenery was truly made us feel like we were driving in a movie.

We came upon the Hotel Santa Catarine to park at, and Victor (one of Rina’s workers) met us. He took our bags and then we headed up the mtn side for the 1000 step walk up to Villa Rina’s. The location is to die for! Her outdoor deck overlooks the Amalfi coast, as does every room in the villa (complete with balconies to enjoy the fresh air). Within 10 mins of arriving, Rina was feeding us an amazing meal! Is there such thing as bad food in Italy, I think not! At least I haven’t found any, yet.  Our meal was complete with fresh vegetables from her garden and fresh seafood from the local market. Rina even makes her own wine and provided us with as much as we wanted. This of course was a definite bonus.  After some lemoncello and visiting with Rina we got cleaned up and ventured into town.

In town we walked around and then stopped at a café that was right next to the beach. Within 10 mins a local Italian, Augustino, came up to our table and began talking with us. Then his friend, Lucio joined us as well. We stayed talking with them for a couple hours and made plans for a boat ride along the Amalfi coast to Capri the following day. But before the night ended we checked out a pool that was located at a castle tower on the edge of the cliff. What a fun time! The walk back up to the villa was definitely harder than the walk up.

 We got up and signed up for a cooking class that the owner of the agritorismo holds. We met up in the town of Assisi with 4 other American women. It was a great group of strangers enjoying the environment of learning about Olive Oil, bread and Italian wine. That afternoon we met back up at the agritorismo and had some wine on the deck, while Latizia prepared her kitchen for us.  We learned to make: pasta from scratch, grill and marinate violet eggplant, two types of spaghetti sauce, tiramisu & some other yummies. It was very surprising at how easy & simple some the food was to make and how little seasoning was used! Only Olive Oil and Garlic; sometimes a little parsley and basil; but nothing like one sees in the states. Of course this is because everything that was used was fresh from a vegetable garden or herb garden & the flavors were naturally provided. We had a great day meeting new people who ended up becoming friends.

After the class Sara and I journeyed down to Assisi and checked out the town and churches. Assisi gives one a feel for old Italy. The pace is slow and the people are locals, not tourists, so you feel completed lost in Italy. For our late night dinner we headed back to the restaurant for it was so close to where we were staying. After our meal, we headed back and enjoyed wine on the deck while swinging on the swing set. It was a wonderful trip to Assisi!

We arrived back from the states on 12 July and later that evening I finally got a hold of my girlfriend Sara. We had been in email contact about her coming to Italy and me joining her for a week long Italian Adventure. However, since I was in the states we were unable to really be in contact with each other to plan what all was going on. Not until about 10pm or later, I confirmed that I could join her for an additional week vacation.

Cody went to work in the morning, and I got packed up (still not unpacked from the states), loaded up the trailblazer and headed to Pisa (about a 4-5 hr drive). Obviously, I didn’t have any time to get over jet lag. Got to Pisa about an hr after Sara landed and we headed to Assisi, another 4+hrs south of Pisa.

Sara found an Agritorismo located in the hills of Assisi, which took us at least an hr to find. But it was so worth it. We arrived about 11pm and fortunately were able to find a place to eat that was only a couple miles away.  The food was amazing and the wait staff so sweet. When the Ristorante closed they brought us a couple bottles of wine, and some fruit & told us to stay as long as we wanted. It was a perfect night for two girlfriends to hang out and catch up.