Tami Kay Anderson

The Seattleite

Tami Kay Anderson

I'm turning 40 this November and I'm preparing for a whirlwind 9 day trip to Edinburgh and Ireland to celebrate with my boyfriend. Looking forward to many exciting adventures after that and make good use of my passport!

I still have a few details to patch before we go...including housesitting for the cat Jasmine, doggy daycare for my yellow lab Molly. Bank finances, bill paying as always. Blah, Blah, Blah. The suitcase is out...ready to be filled. I'll need a hair appt and do some shopping for a few necessities as well. It's always a bit stressful to travel when owning a home I'm finding, but I'm sure all will be well when I'm finally on the plane with a drink in hand.

This is only my second trip abroad within just two years. The first being to visit Naz in London for 10 days. I was even more stressed then under the circumstances, but looking back have no regrets whatsoever! And Naz will be there again to meet up with us my first day back to the UK. What a great bday surprise!!

I'm trying to leave an open itinerary somewhat but it is always nice to have an idea what and where to see things. Sooo, at the end of the month...we plan on leaving Seattle to spend two days in Edinburgh, Scotland...maybe to do a tour one of those days to the Highlands and through Glasgow.

Then onward to two more days in Dublin...maybe another tour to North Ireland, then grabbing a car to head onward to the West side from the Connemara area, Doolin, Dingle, and back toward Shannon airport to stay in Bunratty. Hopefully we will have enough time to see plenty along the way. Stay tuned......

La Dolce Vita (Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life")

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome October 22nd 2010

The Seattleite

If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. ~Vincent Van Gogh Wait...I know. We are not in Amsterdam again just yet. We are still here enjoying ROME. We have already had a couple of great days here, especially with Naz and now we have just one more day to go before heading home. The tour to hadrian's villa and the Tivoli Villa d'Este fountains were a nice idea to spent the first part of a sunny day. After that Warren and I made our way around the city on foot....we found the The famous Trevi fountain and had a lovely pizza picnic there. Unfortunately it is here that we first discovered the annoying people who get in your face to sell you ... read more

I'm no mario andretti but I've made it to ROMA

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome October 20th 2010

The Seattleite

We made it! So happy to give up the car and enjoy the final few days of the trip. Looking forward to seeing Naz here tomorrow afternoon. Another sunny day, I'm sooooo glad we stopped in Orvieto along the way. It is a very old hilltown with the most enormous, ornate, and beautiful duomo I've seen yet. We had to park and take tram up to the top. There is also a very deep St. Patricks well that we didn't have time to pay and explore. We left the hill town about 2pm and made it into the Rome airport about 4:30. Our mistake to target the wrong airport on the map though Fiumicino...I think it was farthest. At least the cab fair was VERY expensive from there to the hotel. I think that was the ... read more

The Big Night

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Montepulciano October 20th 2010

The Seattleite

Woke up under the Tuscan sun yesterday and today. It's cold and crisp but warms up in the afternoon. We have had our breakfast and enjoying the last hour at the villa before driving onward to Rome. It takes about 3 hours to the airport where we will drop our car off but we may stop one more town - Orvieto. We originally planned to go as far as Volterra yesterday but instead we slowed down the pace and shopped in the 3 closest hilltowns which all had something to offer. Pienza and Montaicino. Lots of cathedrals, shops, and a fortress which we explored. The rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves are beautiful. Warren shopped for a white wine for his cousin from San Gimignano and I bought a small wheel of pecorino and truffles ... read more

The leaves are falling in the heart of Tuscany....

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Montepulciano October 19th 2010

The Seattleite

Okay, I've died and gone to heaven!!!! forget "Under the Tuscan sun"...the movie that inspired me was "Stealing beauty". And the villa with the pool....I think I found it. This is the place is everything I've imagined. We slept in and stalled this morning in Florence...and spent about a half hour in the parking lot setting up the GPS. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled to drive in another foreign country but I figure if I could drive in Ireland last year on the wrong side of the road....I could drive in Italy. Rick Steves is right though...Italians are aggressive drivers and htey like to ride right on your ass. They come out of nowhere!!!! Luckily Montepulciano was only about an hour away from Florence so we drove straight there, settled in, explored the grounds of the villa, ... read more

My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness.

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence October 16th 2010

View from San Miniato al Monte

The Seattleite

Made it to Florence...about a 3 hour train ride through Pisa from Cinque Terre. Unfortunately we made a choice to skip the leaning tower and move onward to find our hotel. We also had a 2pm reservation to see the Michelangelo statue of David. We accomplished more than I had anticipated but still luckily didn't feel rushed. Our hotel is literally next to the Duomo. We found a great pizzeria and a nice place for dinner this evening. We shared eggplant parmesan, Warren had more gnocchi in tomatoe sauce, and I tried risotto with lemon, zucchini, and zucchini flowers. No room for desert and we are both exhausted. We also had enough time to take a cab up to the San Miniato al Monte, set on a hill just outside the city. Beautiful views! We got ... read more

Warren watching NFL football in an Irish Pub

A Mediterranian Sunset along Via Del Amore - Cinque Terre

Europe » Italy » Liguria » Monterosso al Mare October 14th 2010

Monterosso clock tower

The Seattleite

After a comfortable train ride through Milan from Venice, we arrived about 5pm yesterday to Monterosso al Mare. I'm loving it here....the fishing village is so much more quaint and laid back then Venice. Our hotel is really comfortable...Hotel Margherita is newly remodeled and modern. We have a great room with a large veranda and lounge chairs. I was a bit worried about the weather as it was cloudy and cold when we got in, but lucklily today turned out to be a big surprise. We found a much better restaurant in our village then the one in Venice, delicious for half the price. Found a great local red wine that I will try to bring home too....rosso something...gotta go back and find out. Warren had grilled scampi, and I had ravioli stuffed with sea bass ... read more

"Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go." --Truman Capote

Europe » Italy » Veneto » Venice October 12th 2010

Tami on the Rialto bridge

The Seattleite

I couldn't have said it better... Buon Giorno!!!!! would somebody please pinch me? Perhaps a hot Italian in a gondola get up? (just kidding) It's been two full beautiful days in Venice and I still can't believe I'm really here soaking it all in. We arrived late Sunday evening just before midnight by water taxi. It was quiet, the stars were out, and it was the perfect arrival. We tip toed into our hotel to find our room, then took a quick stroll to explore our neighborhood.... In Venice, I feel a bit like a mouse trying to make my way through a maze to find a piece of cheese. It is all part of the adventure of course....until your feet are tired and you want to make it back to your hotel in the dark. ... read more

High Times in Amsterdam

Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam October 10th 2010

Tami trying to dodge bicycles

The Seattleite

As the sun sets here and I'm quickly fizzeling out...we are not quite yet to Venice, but we had a gorgeous first fall day here in Amsterdam. Sunny, warm and not a cloud in sight. Nice to leave the drizzly dreadful rain in seattle and wake up to this!!! while most of you were probably still sleeping we had found our way to the city center to soak up the culture and view the Anne Frank house. Unfortunately not enough time to sit in a "coffee" shop, or tour the Van Gogh museum yet but what a beautiful day to people watch and soak up the sights. Maybe on our way back from our journey home. Unfortunately the plane had arrived late and they apparently are testing a new train schedule today. An eight hour lay ... read more

Walking along to the Anne Frank House along the canal

"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." --Anna Akhmatova

North America » United States » Washington » Seattle September 28th 2010

The Seattleite

Still at home and it is past midnight, Warren sleeps after a pizza, some wings, and Monday night football.... I'm still planning last minute details of our trip....ironically watching a show on unseen Italy..... things like Brazilian and Italian connections / roots (a globalized generation of Brazilians able to move to Europe with the shift in the economy), a quick description of the The Palio (a horse race italian style), An anonymous Roman street artist who goes by the name sten and leaves stencil art all over the city. Interesting! I'll definitely keep an eye open for that....sten spotting in Rome!!! An ugly festival? A club of ugly people? Why not.... Club dei Brutti - motto is "A person is what he is and not what he looks like." Italians must really like their festivals, a ... read more

Still navigating the wild west of Ireland...

Europe » Ireland » County Limerick November 7th 2009

The Seattleite

We made a good choice...the coast is fine when the whether is well...but last night really was too stressful for us. We drove through the cliffs of Moher in pouring rain and strong winds but after that the roads were much better. We drove through Limerick and arrived in Adare about 2pm, found our new B&B (Church View House) right on the corner of town. It's a pink house, very quaint...I feel like we are staying at Grandma's house. We dropped off our stuff and went to relax and enjoy the town. First we went to check out the Adare Manor which we could have stayed at but unless we were serious golfers with nowhere else to go in Ireland, it wasn't for us. There was a wedding taking place nearby so the Adare manor was ... read more

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