First weeks in Pensacola

I was nervous to come to Pensacola.  If I had to think of a US city to live in that was completely different from any other experience that I have ever had, Pensacola would be it.  This isn't the first time I've lived on my own, but when I did it was in the city in Washington DC and then Alexandria, VA.  While Alexandria was similar to Pensacola in some ways, but it was different in more.  There was public transportation, "fast food" that chopped up salad to your satisfaction and there were 24-hour grocery stores.  Those are the only things I miss, other than my former roommate and her dog.

A lot of people have asked me how my move went.  It went great! Peter and his brother Michael picked me up from the airport even though Peter tried to fake me out and say he wasn't going to be there because he had class.  But he was and I knew he would be.  The next few days were kind of blur because of sleep deprivation and sheer joy that I had actually made it.

We went to dinner by the beach for Peter's birthday.

 I know that I unpacked all of my stuff and went grocery shopping like nobody's business.  I expected there to be more vegan options than there were but I'm not complaining! I got vegan cheese and alfalfa sprouts! Also I bought more bags of Gardein and Beyond Meat than I would like to admit.  Also, who knew that there were like 40 different Amy's frozen meals?? The commissary back in Naples only has like five.  I love frozen meals.  I know that they are not great for you because they are high in sodium but I've been trying to eat them in moderation.

Because I don't have a car or a job and I usually finish up my online course work within the first two or three days of the week all I've been doing lately is cooking dinner and keeping stuff clean (who would have thought?? me... clean).

One of my new roomies

The amount of fast food here astounds me.  There is a quarter-mile stretch of road here where there is a Waffle House at the start of it, a Denny's, a McDonalds, a PF Changs, a Hardees, a Taco Bell and then another Waffle House at the end of it.  The quarter-mile stretch is followed by countless more just like it.  I understand the need for a takeout meal.  People have jobs and families and not enough time.  Maybe it's because I've been out of the country for so long, but as an outsider looking in, this shouldn't be normal.

You can get 20 chicken McNuggets for $5.  You can get a full meal for $5 from Krystal Burger.  Meanwhile a head of organic broccoli is $4.  The company logos are propped up proudly so that people driving can see from far away but it just embarrasses me.  Strip malls have four different restaurants/fast food places to choose from so that you can stuff your face while you take a break from spending your money on useless shit you don't need.

It's really frustrating.  Everyone is HEAVY.  Not everyone is obese like when they depict Americans in political cartoons.  I understand the whole "health at every weight" and anti-fat shaming thing but honestly, it's not natural and the fact that it's become normal scares me.  I swear Peter and I were at the mall the other day and the line for Cinnabon consisted of five people that honestly should not have been eating Cinnabon.  It's your body you can do with it what you want and be cripplingly unhealthy but I pay taxes and it unnerves me that money that could be going to a cause that I'm passionate about is instead going to pay for the diabetes medication of someone who just loves Cinnabon so much that they can't stop.  When did people get so lazy that Cinnabon is an acceptable afternoon snack? Eat some carrots for God's sake.

MEANWHILE ... In other news.
I made my first veggie burgers ever.  After being a vegetarian for 11 years and then switching to vega, you would have thought that I would have done this sooner.  Nope.  They always intimidated me.

I chose a super easy one from Pinterest of course.  Emphasis on the "super easy".  I didn't even have to grate the zucchini because I used my Vegetti, which makes noodles out of vegetables.  Get your own HERE.  It's literally one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Check these out!

Get the recipe for the veggie burgers HERE.  They were so easy to make and have fun flavors.  They have peanut butter, cilantro, oats, chickpeas and red onions in them.  I can't believe that I have been spending so much money on the frozen ones when I could have been making them all this time! We also made sweet potato fries, which Peter cut because I hate cutting sweet potatoes.

Check out that concentration.

Last but not least, I chopped up an avocado, a few tomatoes and a cucumber and doused them in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and called it a salad.  Not a bad dinner!  I've been making a lot of stir fries because they're fun but I really need a wok.  I can't believe I don't have one.  If someone doesn't give me one for my birthday then I'll just get one for myself I guess haha.

I miss Naples a little bit though.  Mostly I miss the food and the lack of driving rules but I also miss all of the CULTURE.  I don't think that's the right word that I'm looking for, or maybe it's just been used in that way that it has another meaning.  I miss walking by castles that are hundreds of years old and occasionally driving over cobblestone.  Before I left, Mandy, Erika and I had a marathon four hour lunch at la Regina Margherita right in front of the Egg castle downtown.  It's weird how we sat there for three and a half hours and no one cared.  Certainly not something you can do here.

I miss this view.  

Long story short, I love Pensacola and I'm settling in nicely!  I miss Naples a little bit, but I feel like even if someone hated living in Naples passionately, they would still miss it a teeeeeeny bit if they left.

Well that's all for now!
More soon!

xo Katelyn

Ci vediamo, Napoli

On Tuesday, I'm moving back to America for good.  Since the O'Brien family landed in Venice in June of 2002, Italy has been my home.  We spent a good four years on the Army base in Vicenza.  My sister went to the same elementary school that my grandmother taught at when my dad was growing up, we lived only 45 minutes away from Venice by train and I met people that I still consider to be some of my best friends to this day.  Unfortunately all pictures of me during this time period have mysteriously disappeared because it was during my awkward stage.

I'm a frequent visitor to the Spanish Steps.

Although we lived in base housing, my parents still dragged me around everywhere... usually against my will.  We did Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Florence, Athens, Rome, London and more.  We went skiing in the Alps and ate Asiago cheese in Asiago.  We saw the live chess match in Marostica... twice! Usually when people asked me where I was from, I would say Tampa because that's where my family was prior to Vicenza but now if someone asked me where I was from, I would say Naples.

When we lived in Vicenza, we shared a duplex with the Coburns.  They had a daughter my age who was also in my sixth grade class, Dana.  She's still one of my best friends and I consider myself an honorary Coburn.  When we moved to Naples after my freshman year of high school... guess who we lived down the street from.  The Coburns! Yay! Already knowing someone in Naples made the move 100 times better even if I am painfully socially awkward at times.

Dana and I probably talking some shit in the thermal spa in Ischia

My home for the past five years... I jumped

Shelby, Twiggy and I went to a dog show, which was in the top 5 weekends of my life

My parents continued to drag my sister and I around against our wills, but we went some pretty cool places.  At the time, I kind of wanted to be a kid whose family never takes them anywhere and got to sleep in on long weekends but now I'm glad that I wasn't.  There were kids in my graduating class that left base two or three times in their three years in Naples.  Why are you going to live somewhere that has such a rich culture and is so vibrant and stay on Support Site the whole time?

Me: "What did you do over spring break?"
Lame person: "Nothing."
Me: "Oh, well I rode a camel in Egypt and I saw the Sphynx and the Pyramids of Giza.  Be jealous."

That little girl leading my camel was evil.

My usual partner in crime/BFF Mandy

Erika, Roberta and I!

My DoDDS (Department of Defense Dependent School) high school was a breeze and I left for college in Washington DC 100% sure that I was going to rule the world some day.  Long story short, about two and a half years later I ended up returning to Naples.  Now about two years after that (almost exactly) I'm on my way back to America.  As a dependent of a government employee, my visa and sojourner's permit expire when I turn 23.  I guess it's the government's way of pushing me out of the nest.  It's needed though and I'll be okay.

I'm going to miss this place so much.  My parents will still be living here but it can never officially be my home again.  95% of the people that made my time here so enjoyable are now living elsewhere but Naples will always be a special place for me.  As a military brat, I moved frequently.  The fact that we were in Vicenza for four years is uncommon and the only reason that we've been in Naples for so long is because my dad retired and became a civilian contractor.  It's kind of amazing because it's like living in a small town, but only 10% of the people that live there have been there for more than two or three years.  It's definitely a unique experience.  I've never felt an emotional connection to a place other than Naples.  Maybe that's because I've been here for so long, I'm not sure.

Vanessa, Kassi and I on Vanessa's last trip downtown!

My fave girl and I at her 1 year birthday party

Pozzuoli nights!

Living out here has been a little tough at times.  Some people grow up around their family and are best friends with their cousins.  I see my cousins maybe once every three or four years while most of them grew up seeing each other regularly.  With the passing of my grandma today, this really upsets me.

Tasha only knew Naples for a few months

I always find the somberos when I go to Druids.

Sara, Eva and I on my 22nd birthday!

I didn't have a plethora of extracurricular activities to choose from and sometimes living in Naples is just ridiculously inconvenient.  Your house will probably have mold in it.  I just happen to be allergic to mold.  You can't drink the water, the "safety" of the fresh produce is questionable and a lot of stuff is closed for the entire month of August because of a holiday.  Some parts are a little rough on the eyes and if you're sensitive to stray animals- stay away!  I've been without water and internet in my house for days at a time.  I've been petitioning our commissary (on base grocery store) to stock fake meat/keep it in stock for MONTHS.  Guess when it's finally on the shelves? Yes, that's right, the week before I leave.

Amsterdam for Model United Nations... eventful trip

My dress was too short to go into the Vatican so we had to improvise

Throwing coins into the trevi fountain.  We'll be back! 

I can reconcile with most of that stuff because of all of the happiness I've known here: overnight trips to Rome where you just sleep on the way back, running into the ocean after a night out, fireworks at ALL HOURS/365 days a year, living in the shadow of a volcano, watching the sun set over the Med from my rooftop.  I went on school trips to the Olympics, Germany, Paris and The International Court of Justice in The Hague.  I have been to the Vatican and Pompeii at least seven times each.  I've had friends come and visit me and I get to show them my world.

People in Pompeii were short. 

Brighid was a three time resident of Hotel O'Brien

Synna and I in Amalfi after I drove the most treacherous road ever

There are a few things that I really really really wanted to do but never did.  I started crying because I've never been to Auschwitz, which is something that I have always wanted to experience.  I kept thinking that I had time to do it.  I've never been to the homeland aka Ireland and that really depresses me.  I have the rest of my life ahead of me to see them, but it would have been very convenient if I just did it while I was here.  But I don't want to be disappointed about what I didn't do, I want to feel grateful for what I have done.  

Check out my unfortunate hair color

We have like no pictures together

My favorite 1/2 American 1/2 Italian couple @ their Promessa

I've made so many friends here that I'll never forget- American and Italian, even some Brits.  I'm not going to list them all because a) I probably couldn't and b) I would forget someone and they would be offended.  There are people that are most certainly my friends but either we don't have any pics together or I don't look good in any of the ones that we have :). Most of my former coworkers at the NEX are some of the most interesting and entertaining that I've ever encountered and I loved working with them, even if it was at the NEX.  I met Peter here, which is something I'm so thankful for.  I'm going to Pensacola with an open mind and I'm genuinely excited.  Talking to my mom earlier she told me she didn't want me to go and I said, "Mom, I should have moved out like five years ago... let's be honest" and she said, "No no, you just needed some extra time."  It's true, I did.  I needed that time to develop productive habits and become the person that I am today.  

A pic with our idol

Stoop kids

I remember this night went from 0-60 in like 30 mins

Naples taught me so many things: how to drive defensively AND offensively, how to be a coffee, pizza and wine snob all in one, a basic level of Italian, Neapolitan curse words and hand gestures, how to not get frustrated when something goes horribly horribly wrong, basic responsibility and probably a lot more that I haven't even realized yet.

When I leave on Tuesday I know I'm going to cry.  Not only because I cry on average about once a day but because I'm leaving my home.  I'm leaving knowing that I have new and exciting things waiting for me though.  Naples will always hold a special place in my heart but I know that there's more room for other special places.

Goodbye Naples, I'll miss you.

x- Katelyn

Weekend in Ischia

So I haven't blogged in a while.  This is because 1) I haven't done anything too interesting since I got back from Budapest, 2) I haven't had a lot of free time and 3) I wrote an entire blog and it didn't save and I was so frustrated by the whole thing that I just couldn't go on.  It took a lot of self control to not throw my laptop across the room.

Anyways, Peter and I spent a week at Tasha and Jason's watching their dogs while they took an anniversary trip to London and Paris.  I took advantage of the free house and kitchen and I made soooo much food.  I was really on a roll.  The only thing is that I didn't really take any good pictures of the food.  I do that every time.  One night I made the Seitan Mushroom stroganoff in the Isa Does It book and then I made tacos.  I taco-seasoned Light Life veggie crumbles and I made guacmole, salsa and the vegan sour cream from the Oh She Glows cookbook and oh my gosh it was so amazing.  I made too much so I ate tacos for breakfast for the next three days.  THEN I made a stir fry with veggies and tofu and udon noodles and it was so good.  I used a wok(!). I need a wok, I can't believe I don't have one.  The pictures don't make anything look appetizing, but I promise you everything was great!

The vegan sour cream was so great.  Just 1 cup of cashews, 1/2 cup of water, two tablespoons of lemon juice, one tablespoon of ACV, one teaspoon of salt and blend.  So good and light and refreshing.  The first time I made it I used orange juice because I had no lemons and it was still pretty good!  At one point I was just using it as dip for tortilla chips.

Now for the best part of the post! This weekend Peter took me to Ischia, and island by Capri on the coast of Naples.  It was supposed to be a surprise but I'm a really good detective and I hate not knowing things so I found out.  Soooooooo romantic.

Saturday morning we took the ferry from Naples where it was RAINING!  It continued to rain off and on until we got to our hotel around 11:30.  We stayed at the Park Hotel and Terme Romantica in Sant'Angelo which is the southernmost part of the island.  Link here. 

It's a hotel with a spa and thermal pools.  I didn't utilize any of the spa facilities because the cheapest thing was a massage for 40 euro.  But our room was really cute.  It was set off from the other rooms.  I called it our "little square".  I'm pretty sure it was the only room standing by itself.  We were pretty tired when we got there so we took what was supposed to be a two hour nap, but when we woke up five hours later, it wasn't raining anymore and it was beautiful.

Prosecco waiting for us in our room!

Our room even had its own little gate

We made reservations for dinner at La Casereccia in Forio.  Their Tripadvisor page is here.  We had to take a bus from our hotel and then walk almost a mile, but we got there eventually.  I was freaking out because our reservations were for eight and we were about fifteen minutes late, but there were maybe two families there.  However, thirty minutes after we got there it was a packed house.

We started with appetizers... like most meals do.  We got bruschetta (obviously) for the first of probably five times this weekend.  The tomatoes were huge and ripe and the portions were pretty large.  Then we got an Antipasti plate which is basically just mixed appetizers.  There were grilled eggplants and zucchini, both of which an employee was grilling all night.  Various pickled vegetables, a fried zucchini flower stuffed with cheese (that was AMAZING...sorry) and potato croquette and more.

I'm a bruschetta snob now

Antipasti before

Antipasti after

On TripAdvisor, this restaurant is advertised as vegetarian.  It's definitely not vegetarian but it has a plethora of vegetarian options.  Not too many vegan options, but enough to fill up on.  I got gnocchi and Peter got this really amazing pasta in a white sauce.  Every dish was obviously homemade and fresh.  The owner of the restaurant, who was this cute little old man, made his way around the restaurant asking everyone if their food was okay.  Overall I would recommend La Casereccia.  It was adorbs and the food was amazing.  It was worth the .8 mile up-hill walk.

Also, their decor was really cute.  It was rustic/typical Italian, but they had real tomatoes and garlic hanging on the walls and around the tables, I may or may not have made a vampire joke.

They also had this super trendy sign

 After dinner we walked into the town of Forio, which was also where we took the boat into and looked at some shops.  I spent the entire weekend looking for a sun hat.  I never got one because I didn't find one that really spoke to me.  I am very picky about hats.

Then we took the bus back up to our hotel and passed out.  We spoke to our concierge about renting a scooter (eeeeeeeeeeeeep) for the next two days.  My family has a scooter, but it scares the crap out of me-- the way that they weave in and out of traffic and come out of nowhere.  Peter knows how to drive one though.  I was still scared.

When we woke up the next day, we were going to go to the Mortella gardens, but it wasn't super high on my list of priorities and I'd rather just go to the beach.  I've been to Ischia several times before to go to the thermal spas.  I always go to Negombo.  It's a really nice place with thermal pools terraced up the side of the island and they have their own private beach.  I've heard really great things about Poseidon so I thought that this would be a good time to try it out.  They both have their pros and cons, the main con being price but I would say that visiting either Negombo or Poseidon is a must-do for anyone visiting Ischia.  Nothing really beats going back and forth between the extremely hot pool and the ice cold pool.  Apparently it's supposed to improve circulation.  

Oh and did I mention that we went to Poseidon on the scooter?  It was a little traumatic at first but I got used to it.  After we tried out all of the thermal pools (we had to wear swim caps) and finished up at the beach, we headed back to the hotel.  We decided to get dinner near Ischia porto so we could look at shops after.  My phone took us to the highest point of the island on the way.  What is technically a 3 mile journey ended up being 10 miles because of all of the twists in the road.  I didn't get any pictures because taking pictures on a scooter is not a good idea but I wish I did because the views were breathtaking.  Ischia is such a beautiful island.  The water is so blue and the skies were so clear.

We walked around for a bit and ended up eating at La Luna Rossa.  When we walked in, every employee said "Buona sera" to us and it was really sweet.  But after they took our orders everything went to hell.  The tables next to us, even the people that got there twenty minutes after we did got their food and we didn't even get bread! It was really frustrating.  Once I asked for bread I think the waiter realized that he dropped the ball and after that everything was great.  

My phone died so we had no GPS on the way back.  We were both sure that we knew the way but we didn't.  We eventually stopped and asked some Italians who gave us the best directions ever.  He just wrote down which signs to follow.  It was a completely different way from the way that we came but it was a lot easier and it was a huge relief getting back.  Side note: has anyone else noticed that all Italians have exactly the same handwriting?

Pretty sure this beach is Sant'Angelo

When we woke up the next day, we had to check out, so we had to do something that we could bring all of our stuff to.  I personally did not feel like I got enough sun so we decided to hit up the beach at Sant'Angelo.  We ended up using the beach that our hotel had a discounted rate at-- Michaels and for twelve euro we got two chairs, and umbrella and the use of a paddle boat.  I finally got my massage because I paid some Asian lady ten euro to massage me.  She poured so much oil on me that I'm pretty sure I'm still oily but it was a quality massage and I'm glad I didn't drop 50 euro at our hotel for one.  She even got my calves and my feet.  Ooooo boy.

Peter got viciously attacked by the paddle boat when we jumped in and I immediately got back into the boat because no matter how clear the water is.... something could be down there.  

this is my helmet

After a few hours in the sun, we had to head back to Naples (sad) so we rode the scooter down to the port in Forio.  Our hotel had arranged something with the scooter company where we were supposed to drop the scooter off at a bar called La Cambusa.  We had no other details.  We were like, "So we just walk into this bar and find someone to hand the keys for this scooter to?"  The answer was yes.  I literally just said, "Scooter?" and some guy said "Yes." and took the keys from me.  As far as I know, it was the right scooter man.

Getting on that boat back to Naples was kind of sad because I had so much fun in Ischia.  Just me and Peter and an island and absolutely no one and nothing to talk to or do or anything.  Living an hour away from an island paradise is something that I'm going to miss when I go back to the states.

Ciao ciao!
x - Katelyn

Pad Thai Grilled Tofu/Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from Wine and Vegan Cheese! Today my mother got the wonderful gift of my sister coming home from college to spend the summer here.  I mean, she already has me living at home as a 22 year old and she does all of my laundry, so I feel like I am just the gift that keeps on giving.  Just in case that isn't enough, I also got her this cute little chicken pitcher from Deruta, Italy.   

My family (aka actually my Dad) also got her a swing because our old one was a little decrepit and she likes to sit outside in the sun and read.  I really wish that my mother would give me the Mother's Day gift of telling me where my bottle of Pinot Grigio is because I need it.  (update: there is no wine left, she drank it all)

New swing!

 The weather has finally been nice for more than 3 days at a time!  I have the next three days off and I am looking forward to sitting in the sun in my bathing suit and reading The Fall of Giants by Kenneth Follett.  His books are addicting.  I already preordered the third book in the trilogy and I am so psyched, even if it doesn't come out for a few months.

The only place I want to be until I leave Naples

In other news, tonight my family is grilling.  I never eat dinner with them but Tara is back and it's Mother's Day so I though, why not?  They're grilling steaks or ribs or something.  I scoured Pinterest for a good grilled tofu recipe because I have a few blocks in my fridge and I've never done it before.  I was feeling wild, so I whipped up this tofu! It's inspiration was Pad Thai!

Pad Thai Inspired Grilled Peanut Butter/Lime Tofu

1 block of tofu
1/2 cup of lime juice (the original recipe says use fresh, but I'm not made of limes so I used store bought)
1/3 cup of agave nectar
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
2 heaping tablespoons of smooth peanut butter (I had to use chunky because it was all that I had)
3 tablespoons Sriracha (I think I ended up adding more)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro (set aside)

Press your tofu.  I use the tofu EZPress but you can always just use paper towels.  Cut it into strips and lay it in a tupperware container or baking dish so it is all laying flat in one layer.

Mix together all of the ingredients.  Pour the sauce over the tofu and cover.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours.  I put some cilantro on top.
 
When you're ready to grill, take it out and put it on an oiled grill.  Ten minutes each side!  Make sure you watch it though just in case because I'm sure times will vary.  Serve hot and pour the rest of the sauce over it if you'd like! Garnish with the cilantro!

The tofu ready to marinate!

This was really tasty.  Grilling the tofu gives it a smoky flavor but because it's marinated in lime juice, it also tastes really smoky.  It's sweet because of the agave but it's salty because of the soy sauce.  Overall this was a really great dish.  

Unfortunately there was a miscommunication in the kitchen and my mother threw away my leftover sauce so I couldn't eat the finished product with it, but honestly, it didn't even need it because it was that flavorful!  

 I sat in the sun for a few hours in my bathing suit, and I just examined my body and I am still the exact same shade of porcelain as I was before.  I'm determined to at least get a little tan before the summer is over.  

Overall, a really great day off! 

ciao ciao! -Katelyn