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

Budapest - part 3

Although I am thoroughly a dog person, I love cats.  Unfortunately, I am allergic to them in the worst way.  I also feel like they can sense that I am allergic to them and they go out of their way to make me miserable.  Cats are a little evil and I respect that.  I remember being kept awake at night by my friend's cat in middle school because he was stroking my face with his tail.  I didn't know what to do, so I just let him. 

Over the years my allergies have gotten progressively better, so I felt confident enough to visit the Cat Cafe in Budapest.  You can visit their website, HERE.  It's all in Hungarian by the way. It's right across the street from St. Stephen's Basilica.  You can sit with a cat on your lap and drink a cat-puccino.  I didn't get one but I heard that they were great. 

 They were all very sleepy. 

This one was my favorite.  He/she was HUGE.

Like my father, you might be asking yourself whether a cafe full of cats is sanitary.  They were really on the ball with keeping the cats away from the food.  There was a clear plastic section completely sealed off where the food was kept and prepared.  It's a great place for any cat lover to visit. 

There was even a kitten!

After the cat cafe, Peter, Jackie, Kevin and I strolled around and decided to look for a piercing place because we're super cool rebels.  Actually I just have a dermal where the top fell off and my skin grew over it so I wanted to get that taken care of, Jackie just wanted something pierced and Kevin wanted to get his ear pierced.  We ended up at 7th Ink near the Opera metro stop.  They don't have an official website but if you google search them everything will come up.  It was clean and the guy who did the piercings did an amazing job on my dermal. 

If you've ever seen my dermal, the little top that screws on had fallen off and my skin had grown over it, so it was essentially inside my skin.  He had to open me up, take out the implant and then put a new one in by making the smallest hole possible.  I had prepared myself for extreme pain and I was breathing heavily and sweating but by the time it was over, I had experienced little to none discomfort.  I don't know the guy's name, but he had giant spikes under his lips, so if you go, ask for that guy!

Sorry about the awkward close up but the one on the right is new!

Jackie ended up getting her nose pierced.  I'd never seen anyone get pierced so that was an experience.  It looked painful!  Kevin's earring went well too and then Peter decided to get his done too! We are all so cool. 

Champ

I think Peter was secretly scared

After that we spent the evening it the Szechenyi thermal baths!  I've been to the thermal baths in Ischia a few times so I kind of knew what to expect but it was amazing! The buildings that they are housed in are beautiful but there are also outside pools.  You can get more info about the baths from their website HERE.

I loved going between the hot and cold baths.  I really shouldn't have been in the water with my new piercing but I risked it and I haven't seen any adverse effects. 

I didn't get any pics during the actual baths because I didn't want to have my phone out, but I got all of these afterwards.  The inside baths close at 7 and the outside baths close at nine.  Afterwards my aches and pains from walking around were reduced, which I'm pretty sure is the whole point.   

There were a bunch of old men in Speedos playing chess in the water.  It was adorbs.  It was a really great experience and I'm very thankful that the Therriault/Swisshelm family took me there!!

ciao ciao - Katelyn

Budapest - part 2

On Wednesday I did something I never thought I'd do... I drove a Segway. It's really easy to make fun of people on Segways saying that they look dorky or lame. "Why don't you just walk or ride a bike?" You say. Well let me tell you why... Because Segways are awesome. Segways are the two wheeled magical unicorn transportation of the future. A Segway is checking its balance 100 times a minute. A Segway zooms by pedestrians on the sidewalk. A Segway effortlessly goes uphill while the losers walking and riding bikes are huffing and puffing. Ever since riding on a Segway I think to myself or say out loud at least once an hour, "Man, I wish I had a Segway." In short, Segways are far superior to any other mode of transportation. Moving on.

I took a bunch of pictures. Excuse the quality because, remember... They were taken from a Segway.

 Not only are Segways awesome, but I also look really great riding them.

So does Peter, obviously.  

These pics were taken before and during my trip over the bridge to the other side.  The weather was perfect, I got a bit of a sunburn but it wasn't too bad.  Zooming by people on a Segway is the ultimate level of satisfaction.

Our tour guide said a few interesting things about Budapest.  The thing that stands out the most in my mind was how everything is similar to Disneyland, how it looks old but it's actually just pretending to look old.  Things were destroyed in wars and floods and they rebuilt everything within the last 100 years.  The Gothic-looking church pictured above was built for the World Fair like the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris. After he said that, every time I looked at a building I had to question its authenticity.  Regardless, Budapest is a beautiful city.  It is clean, the Hungarians are kind and helpful and all around it is just an amazing place.

Our Segway guide took us off-roading through Margaret Island where we were going through grass and over rocks and stuff.  He said he even takes it up to the mountains! Segways can handle all terrain. Segways are all terrain vehicles.

Wow Kevin is so cool

The largest parliament building in continental Europe

One thing about Hungary that just perplexes me is the language.  When I see it written, I would think that it sounds something like Turkish, but it has a sound all its own.  I have tremendous respect for anyone that speaks both English and Hungarian.  Or Hungarian and any other language for that matter.  I don't even want to think about verb conjugation in Hungarian.  Ooooooo boy. 

I passed a vegan place while on a beer bike (a tale for the next post) called Nice Rice and it wasn't featured on Happy Cow, which I thought interesting, so I'm going to look into that.  I got a veggie burger at a bistro in Budapest thinking that it was going to be grains and vegetables... nope.  What I was served was basically a burger made out of cheese and I'm pretty sure egg.  I just think it's kind of cruelly funny.  I still ate it though because it was delicious.  I put onion rings, this tomato dip that it was served with and some sun dried tomatoes on top of the burger along with a lot of ketchup.  Hungarians do not share the love of ketchup with Americans.  You always have to ask for ketchup and when you do, you get a tiny amount.  I'm not complaining though because I was able to fully appreciate the flavor of my food without the ketchup, but it really just comes down to the fact that I love ketchup.  Sorry that I'm not sorry. 

I have two more blog posts coming about Budapest and Eger.  We just did SO MUCH that I wouldn't be able to fit it all in one post! So there's more to come!

ciao ciao - Katelyn

My past two weeks

Wow! So I haven't blogged in a while! I've thought about it nearly every day, but I haven't had time to just sit down and write without being rude to other people.  I haven't been up to much, just doing a lot of dog sitting and house sitting, working and babysitting.  Sometimes I'm like, "Why am I so tired? I don't do anything!" and then I think about how I actually do have a lot of stuff going on.

This last week, I house/dog sat for my friend Tasha and her husband Jason while they did a whirlwind tour of Italy.  I got the pleasure of taking care of their two dogs, Amy and Penny.  It was nice because she lives close to where I work and I had a house and a kitchen all to myself! I made a bunch of stuff! I did stuffed peppers, mac and cheese with eggplant and caramelized onions, pasta with vegan sausage, seitan and my favorite/easiest recipe that I've changed so much that I don't even remember the original recipe.

Amy and Penny

Roasted Balsamic Green Beans and Mushrooms

1 lb of green beans
8 oz of mushrooms
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 F.  Wash the green beans and trim the ends and place in a gallon Zip-lock bag.  Make sure the mushrooms are clean and free of dirt and then slice those and put in the same bag.

Place all of the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together,  and then pour into the Zip-lock bag.  Shake it up and let it marinate for a bit, at least 30 mins.  Then dump it on a baking sheet and let it roast for about 30 minutes!

 So easy and so good.  The mushrooms are my favorite part. 

I served that as a side with The Minimalist Baker's Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese (recipe here) which was phenomenal.  I never realized how much I liked caramelized onions and that you could make a cheese sauce out of eggplants! Like whaaaaaaat? Who came up with that? I added a little white wine when I was caramelizing the onions but other than that I followed the recipe exactly.  I was going to post a picture of it but I didn't get any good ones.  There's one on my Instagram. 

Next, I made a far more photogenic food... quinoa stuffed peppers.  I used THIS recipe.  I seasoned the the vegetables like nobody's business and I added baby spinach to the mix.  I steamed the peppers a little bit too long so they were kind of floppy but it was overall a success.

I accidentally deleted like all of the pictures of them on my phone, so I had to copy this one from my instagram.

One day I'm going to get a nice camera so that my food actually looks appetizing.  The peppers were so good and they didn't take a very long time and they're so darn cute!

In other news, it is my favorite time... World Cup time.  I am not even a huge sports fan, but you know what I am a fan of? Winning.  You know what else I'm a fan of? America.  I'm also an Italy fan because duh I live here and you can't live here and not cheer for Italy, that is just dangerous and irresponsible.  Someone will hit you with their car.

For the Italy vs. England game, Peter, my sister and I and a few other friends went down to the port in Pozzuoli and watched the game in an Irish pub.  There were some Englishmen there too, it was pretty fun.  After every shot on the goal and basically just consistently throughout the game there were horns honking and people yelling.  Thank gawd Italy won or who knows what the atmosphere would have been like.  I was in Rome when Italy lost to Spain for the Confederations Cup and it was just a bad time.

Pozzuoli after the game, I tried to get the fireworks but I just missed them

 However, I am first and foremost a fan of Team USA and I watched them win last night against Ghana!  Tim Howard is a god.  I feel like they kind of played like crap but we got it done when we needed to.  Also I feel terrible for Jozy Altidore but it is what it is. 

Also... I am expecting like eight packages in the mail!  I still haven't gotten my dress for Peter's sister's wedding and I'm kind of freaking out.  I tracked it and it's been in New Jersey for like three weeks.  Get it together New Jersey.  I don't want to get another one because I am already emotionally attached to this one and I know it will look so good on me. 

Woo hooooo mail!

 I did get one package yesterday though and it's from probably my favorite online retailer-- Sephora.  I got the new contour kit form Make Up For Ever and I like it so far, but the highlighting powder isn't light enough for me so that's laaaaaame.  I have another highlighter in my room somewhere but I have no clue where.  I got my favorite mascara ever, Benefit's They're Real.  I get the small tube because I don't use it that often.  And then I got a bunch of samples which is my favorite.  I like the Glamglow eye treatment, this is like the third time I chose it as my sample haha. 

I'm taking two college classes now trying to get my GPA up to make up for the years that I blew off so I'm about to go do a bunch of homework.  Kill me.

Ciao ciao - Katelyn