India: Part I - Epic Pizza Delivery

As I sit in my room in Florence, I think back to how all the events unfolded to create my trip to India.  Where do I even start?  Do I start in September when Robin Joking mention me visiting?  DO I start with crazy visits and running around New York with my mom and sister?  Or does the adventure really start when I get off the plane.  I believe that adventure is in the eyes of the beholder.  I had cleaned out my fridge, picked up such essentials as pro-biotics, a multitude of drugs, a new bag that I wouldn't mind sacrificing to India and other such wonderful trinkets.  The one thing I did pick up was some good old fashioned Italian Pizza.  I was ready to go.

Steady As She Goes

I passed out.  Between the stress of coordinating three different flights, jet lag, lack of sleep, mild dehydration, lugging about 7 tons of luggage from the airport to the bus.  I was exhausted.  So this morning I set my alarm for six even though I didn’t need to be there to help the kids with breakfast for two hours.  I walked around Tuscania just to orient myself as I was pretty much zoned out when I got to my hotel the first time, fell asleep and was still a little asleep when we walked to dinner.  It was necessary to figure out where everything was.  At 6:30 am the town was quiet, although it is generally a quiet place, it has that feeling of restfulness about it.   The doors are crowned with creeping vines, and the stone is old and worn, the place has a old world feel to it.  A lot of Tuscania’s architecture and buildings are made out of volcanic stone, which were built around the time of the roman empire(over the Etruscan tombs).  Some parts were restored after an earthquake destroyed a good section of Rome and its surrounding areas.    

Connecticut - The Final Frontier?

INTRODUCTION:
A great book always has some sort of introduction, a clue to the reader to show them what the book will be about.  My mood determines how many page I will read before I either deem it to be a worthy foe or to discard for other endeavors.  There needs to be a connection that will get me to continue reading something, my blog has to work the same way.  I need something that will intrigue you enough to read on, but at the same time be something that actually means something to myself and isn't just an outpouring of words.  I made this blog for me, so what I write has to be interesting enough that someday I can look back and go through my posts and not click away to another page because I'm bored.  This blog will test my determination and will power to see this project through to the end.

WHO I AM:
So here I am(see left),  I like piña colada's and getting caught in the rain.  No really, coconuts remind me of summer (they smell so lovely) and I go jogging in the rain.  The runs are great and the rain definitely cools me off but my Ipod on the other hand is not pleased with this life choice.  I went to a nice private school in New York and loved every minute of it.  I stayed at school every chance I could get - working there over breaks, staying till the latest possible moment and going back as soon as I was allowed to go back to campus.  Now I am newly graduated college student, right on the edge of adulthood, and with enough debt to make me cringe at the sight of my interest payments not to mention principle payments.   I am a huge fan of travel, but with my student loans and private loans that I took out to graduate college there has never been alot of room for frills or extras.  So I needed to discover a way to satisfy my penchant for travel without having panic attacks at the sight of my savings account everyday. 


WHY AM I STARTING A BLOG:
My idea was one that came out of a simple concept: Connecticut is boring.  I was told my whole life that Connecticut was a place where people moved to raise their kids and in addition to that Connecticut didn't have a true identity of its own (being that it can be considered just a mash-up of  New York and Massachusetts).


I was very blessed when I graduated this past May (2011) with a solid job offer that included: full benefits, a great starting salary, and with opportunity for growth that was a fortunate find in a rocky job market.  There was just one stipulation to my accepting this job: I would have to stay in Connecticut.  I came to realize that I had a challenge in front of me: could I be happy living in Connecticut and could I find enough things to keep me occupied?  I grew up knowing there was better things out there to do than summer camp and Field-Hockey practice after high school.  I swore I would never live in Connecticut when I was older but was that only because I didn't appreciate my surroundings?   I could either: spend my time in Connecticut alone and miserable that all my friends moved away (and I was back to living with my parents) or I could spend my time finding out what Connecticut really had to offer and find new ways to get involved with my community (the same way I did in college).  I chose to embrace Connecticut for all that it was worth. 


THE PLAN:
Here is my mission: I have one year to figure out what Connecticut is really about.  The question being asked is: is there really nothing to do to do in Connecticut or have I been looking in all the wrong places.  I am going to really explore all that Connecticut has to offer by visiting at least one town a week (by goal is no less than 60 cities/towns/townships/etc.) taking a picture at the 'welcome sign' to each town, visiting at least one restaurant that the town is known for, any museums or landmarks it may have and then deeming whether it was worth traveling to go see.  After the year is up, I will determine whether or not Connecticut is in fact the most uneventful boring state or if I just couldn't see what I had.