Guest Room: Italian Villa

I just wanted to share a few photos from our guest room! I got it cleaned out and looking semi decent so I figured why not. It has our guest bed which doesn't get used often and also Clark's wardrobe. There are NO closets in our home in Italy. NONE. So we each have one wardrobe for our clothes and then lots of our stuff gets stored in plastic tubs under the beds. I realize that closet space is very nice even if its just a little bit. To be able to put your stuff away and close the door is a good feeling. 

Anyways, the color of this wall is actually a mixture of pink  from our living and the blue from our bedroom! I was doing a mural thing in here but decided I wanted just a pretty painted wall. I love the color. Also I kept in the photo of the clothes hanging because in reality that is what this room is used for 80% of the time just a place to hang out laundry to dry. Yes we have a dry. I have only used it twice in the two years we have been here because it legit takes 5 hours to dry anything which takes up SO much energy and costs so much money. And yes our towels are hard. Gahhh. haha
love, Carlee

I Almost Forgot About You: Terry McMillan

Just finished this book like legit 2 minutes ago. It was an easy and fairly quick read. I would give it a 5/10 stars. It wasn't the best. Like if someone asked if I recommended reading it I would probably say no. But I mean I did enjoy it some. I liked the way Terry wrote about sex and middle age. 

The dialogue and story just jumped around a lot. All the sudden there would be a new character or a character from four chapters ago that hasn't been mentioned since. Some characters didn't have closer they were just gone. Idk it was just kind of weird. There wasn't enough back story to the other characters besides the main character, Dr. Georgia Young. I like the main character. I guess I was just mainly bothered by the writing style. 

Well actually the story was a little phony in parts to. I guess that's why I only gave it 5/10 stars. Like it wasn't bad enough to stop reading but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The story was fine but kinda cheesy, unrealistic, all over the place. I don't know. Okay bye.

love, Carlee

36 hours in Nice, France

I just got back from a quick trip to Nice France! I stayed 2 nights and spent about half of one day in Monaco! Which is totally a must. I ended up picking Nice because there was cheap direction flights out of Naples and I wanted to check another country off my list (Monaco) as I have already been to France. I ended up liking Nice so much though! The vibe was very laid back and chill and compared to other big European cities it wasn’t even that crowded!! I loved it.

Okay so you have 36 hours in Nice...

Must sees:

The Promenade: maybe these most iconic location in Nice! Everyone runs and bikes and walks along it. It runs from one end of town to the next.

The #ILoveNice sign: at the end of the promenade closest to town. Not high on the must see list but if you are close to it snap a quick pic.

Massena Square: beautiful square with black and white checkered floor surrounded by pretty pink and orange buildings!

Fountain: who doesn’t love a pretty fountain of a naked man!

Castle hill (Colline du Château): this is definitely on the top of my list of must sees! It’s a climb up but worth the gorgeous views and there is a pretty waterfall, an old cemetery, and pretty walking trails. And 360 views from the top. 

Casino: Even if its just to walk in and play a few slots. Casinos are always fun or do what I did and take a little day trip to Monaco!

Relax on the beach: I actually didn't think I would do this. I didn't even bring a proper swimsuit but I ended up loving just laying on the beach and reading my book. 

Play in the water / water sports: The water is amazingly nice especially when I visited in mid September, so warm from being heated by the sun all summer. There are paddle boards and jet skis you can rent. You can also go paragliding. 

Walk in the city center and along the pedestrian shopping street: I always love streets that are just for pedestrians! We don't really do that in America so I always enjoy strolling down them in the European cities. 

Le Negresso Hotel: This hotel is gorgeous from the outside and an iconic Nice location. 

Food:

100% Tacos: amazing street tacos. They make everything super fresh. Seems like a nice family owned place and amazing tacos.

Emilie & the Cool Kids: yummy cookies and desserts. I had the peanut butter and an M&M cookie. I liked the peanut butter one better but they were both great. They also serve drinks and other pastries. 

Emma’s Cupcakes: came across this shop while walking back from the train station. Stopped in for a quick treat. I got the chocolate and raspberry! The French definitely like that combo and know how to do it right.

Amorino: a chain gelato place all over Europe and there might be one in NYC now (not sure) but they have really yummy ice cream and if you order it in a cone they make it into a rose! If they have a cheesecake flavor that is what I order every time :)

McDonald’s: okay okay I know. I did eat dinner at McDonald’s once but I have to recommend it because in France they have chocolate soft serve!

Wayne's Pub: Great place for burgers and beer!

La Pizza Cresci: I didn't personally try this place but I walked by it and all the pizzas looked SO GOOD! If I hadn't just eaten at 100% tacos I would have eaten here.

Okay those are my recommendation. Like I said I wasn't there for long but it was a good trip. I stayed at the Meyerbeer Beach Hostel which was in a great location and they even had free beach stuff you could use like floats and towels! Also Nice is great because there are beaches you can pay for chairs and umbrellas or you can just plop your towel down at the public area which is what I chose to do.

Also I had a pretty great interaction with a gentlemen. My number one interacation with a person I don’t know is no interaction but this would be number two:

Him: Hello

Me: Hello

Him: Where are you from?

Me: America

Him: Oh here on holiday?

Me: Yes

Him: Am I disturbing you?

Me: No

Him: I would like to know you.

Me: No thanks

And then he walked off without another word. It was wonderful. Crazy some of the news stories we hear about girls rejecting guys and something terrible happens. This guy did it right.

love, Carlee

Swimsuit aka Barlette : Nordstrom

Shirt: American Eagle

Shorts: Target

Shoes: Nike

Sunglasses: Firmoo

And a few more photos for good measure! 

 

 

 

 

Monte Carlo: Monaco

Country number 25! I just typed them all out to see if I could remember them all. And it’s crazy that I just hit 25. Before we moved to Italy I had only visited 2 countries: USA and Canada. Although I had visited over 30 US states so that counts for something. Anyways while visiting Nice I knew I had to take a day trip to Monaco. I had heard good things and of course wanted to see the famous Monte Carlo casino.

I went to the train station Nice Ville around 11am and bought a ticket unfortunately that train was delayed by an hour. I caught a different train that left 45 minutes later but oh well sometimes that’s the way it goes. Monaco is just a 30 minute train ride from Nice and costs about 4 euro per ticket and the views all along the coast are amazing so get a seat by the window if you can!

Once you arrive at the Monaco train station there are signs for the Monte Carlo casino. You have to walk about 900 meters and the first 3/4 of it is uphill but once atop the hill you get a great view of the bay and the buildings on the hills. The casino lobby is gorgeous. You have to pay to go into the casino and actually play and since I wasn’t going to play I didn’t pay to go in. But you can walk around the lobby and when I was there there as a cool card maze installation.

After the casino I got gelato at Cafe de Paris. Chocolate and Raspberry. It was actually some of the best gelato I have ever had and I eat lots of ice cream so that is saying something haha. I then walked around and went into a few shops while making my way back to the train station. It was a nice stop in Monaco but I was more excited to get back to Nice and relax on the beach.

love, Carlee 

Top: NEX

Pants: Italian flea market

Shoes: Nike

Purse: JCPenneys

Sunglasses: Firmoo

Fiordo di Furore

My friend and I ventured to the Amalfi Coast to find this gem of a beach yesterday! I had seen it on social media and also from a boat but I wanted to go down to the beach. My friend's friend had just gone here two weeks ago and took photos down on the beach well guess what when we went it was closed! Like completely cement wall blocked off. I guess people weren't suppose to go down there since 2017 when they closed the beach off but they only did it with wood boards and you know people they just moved them and went anyways. I was of course disappointment that we couldn't get down to it but it was still a beautiful view! And also important to know... don't believe everything on Instagram just in case you needed a reminder ;)

We also stopped and had lunch. Pasta and Caprese salad and wine and fresh fruit, a typical Italian lunch that was amazing. And here are some other pretty photos from our drive along the Amalfi Coast.

love, Carlee

Dress: Target

Shoes: Adidas

Sunglasses: Firmoo

Purse: JCPennys