Yes! Sean and I went to Italy last month! If you follow me on Instagram or follow the blog’s page on Facebook, you have likely seen a few photos already.

One of the annual scientific conferences that I attend was in Florence this year. Sean came with (of course), and we we decided to make a proper vacation of it by tacking on a few extra days before and after the meting so we could do some sightseeing. Our itinerary went like this: Rome –> Florence (+ a day trip to Cinque Terre) –> Rome. I’ll be sharing photos from Florence and Cinque Terre soon, but let’s start with Rome.

One of the first things that we did was go see the Colosseum. We’re all more or less familiar with the Colosseum, right? I think it’s probably the most easily recognizable of the ancient landmarks in Rome.

When you get off of the Metro at the Colosseo stop, it’s right there. First thing you see when you walk up the steps and out of the metro station is the Colosseum. It’s just there, in the middle of modern day Rome.

It’s incredibly impressive, both in size and also in terms of how old it is. It was built between 70 and 80 AD. You can see that the skies were pretty overcast and dreary looking; this was the worst of the weather that we experienced the entire time that we were there. We were really lucky.

Speaking of the Roman Metro system, all of the train cars are tagged up like this. Really, a good bit of the city is covered in graffiti. I think that, in the U.S. at least, we tend to equate graffiti with a geographic area not being the nicest or safest. Broken windows theory, and all that. Not so in Rome. From what we saw, most buildings were tagged. And really, a lot of it was beautiful or at least interesting to look at.

We briefly visited the Trevi Fountain, which was super crowded but also beautiful.

We also visited quite a few old Catholic churches. They were, of course, very beautiful. The photo below was taken in The Basilica of Santa Sabina, which was completed in the year 432. I lit a candle and said a prayer there.

This wooden door was in the Church of San Saba (13th century). It was almost directly across the street from the Airbnb we stayed in during the 2nd portion of our stay in Rome.

For me, there’s something seriously comforting about the fact that all Catholic churches smell the same. Even the really old ones, and ones that are 5,000 miles from home.

There’s an area in Rome called the Aventine Hill. It’s one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. It has orange gardens (below), and is where the Basilica of Santa Sabina (the church with the painted ceiling, above) is located. There’s also a really nice view of some of the city, as well as the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Unfortunately, I only brought my iPhone with me, and wasn’t able to take very clear photos of the view.

Also on Aventine Hill is The Aventine Keyhole. It’s literally a keyhole in a door. When you peer through it, you see a treelined path, and framed perfectly within the opening at the end is the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. I couldn’t get my phone to focus on the dome, but you get the idea.

We also took a rather abbreviated trip to Vatican City. We made it through a good bit of the Vatican museums, and saw the Sistine Chapel. However, I was battling bronchitis at the end of our trip, and was fading quickly. We saw the line to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, and I knew that I just couldn’t make it. We turned around and went back to our Airbnb. I tell myself that we’ll just have to go back some day to finish what we started.

Our time in Rome was incredible. The city is large and bustling, the people friendly to American tourists, and the food and wine were delicious. I would love to go back some day to see things that we couldn’t squeeze in this time around.

Stay tuned for more photos from our time in Florence and Cinque Terre!

I haven’t blogged about travel in a while.  Probably because I haven’t really gone anywhere since heading to Palm Springs for CPDD over the summer.  This is just now striking me as a little depressing.  At any rate…

Almost a month ago, Sean and I spent a long weekend in Charleston, SC.  Neither of us had ever been, and we were in desperate need of a trip that didn’t involve holiday-related travel.  Luckily Charleston is only about 4 hours away from Durham.  So, we used Airbnb (first time; definitely using it again!), hopped in the car with Maeby, and went.

The focus of the trip was on relaxation, so we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to do.  But we’ll be back.  While we were there, we ate a lot of amazing food and did some exploring.

We spent an afternoon at Folly Beach.  We ate a fantastic brunch (Lost Dog Cafe ftw), walked on the beach, and took a short hike out to the Morris Island Lighthouse.

We had a small houseguest with us in the cute little bungalow we rented, too.  He hung out on the blinds, minding his own business, for two days.  I eventually scooped him up and set him outside.

After another delicious brunch at Fat Hen (thanks for the recommendation, Megan!), we also saw the Angel Oak: a big ass, super old tree.  It’s 500 years old!  It was beautiful and very impressive.

All in all, we had a really fun time.  The city is vibrant and charming, with beautiful architecture.  The food was pretty incredible.  We were able to recharge our batteries while exploring a new city.  We will definitely be back.

Hey all!  Things have been a little slower than usual around here lately, I know.  We have multiple grant submission deadlines as well as work-related and personal travel to thank for that.

I also haven’t shared one of these posts in a while.  It’s not that I haven’t been traveling (Phoenix last June, Chicago in March, etc.), I guess I’ve just forgotten to take pictures.

At any rate, I was in Palm Springs, CA last month for an annual conference.  The conference was held at the La Quinta Resort.  I shared many of these on my Instagram account, so some of you may have seen them already.

The resort itself is pretty cool.  It’s kind of sprawling, has a bunch of pools, and is surrounded on 3 sides by these amazing jagged looking mountains.  I don’t have many photos of the resort itself, mostly because I had been there 4 years ago and wasn’t super concerned with taking pictures this time around.

We went hiking at Mount San Jacinto State Park.  You take a tram two and a half miles up the mountain. Once at the top, you’re at a height of 8,516 feet.  

Even though it’s like 100 degrees (not an exaggeration) in Palm Springs, because of the elevation it’s cool and very comfortable at the top of the mountain.  Perfect for hiking and not wanting to melt/die because of the heat.

Next up was Joshua Tree National Park.  It’s absolutely breathtaking.  So, so different than anything we have on the East coast.

Among the sand and rocks (many of which you can scramble on top of for really nice views), there are cacti and short scrubby sorts of plants, but also these gnarled, weathered trees that I couldn’t get enough of.

In the picture below, you’ll see some Joshua Trees.  They are, not surprisingly, everywhere within the park.

I have a serious soft spot in my heart for national parks.  I like to say that if I weren’t involved in science, that I’d love to work for the National Park Service.  Maybe if academia doesn’t pan out?

My family has a log cabin in the mountains of northwestern Pennsylvania.  We’ve been spending time in the area since 1992, when my parents bought a piece of land that had a bright orange trailer sitting on it. That trailer has since been torn down, and replaced with a beautiful log cabin that my dad built himself, now known as Camp Maxwell House.

Even though it’s a bit of a haul from where we live now, Sean, friends, and I try to make it a point to spend a long weekend at camp every few months or so.  We usually spend the time playing cards, drinking beer, and going for walks in the woods: in sum, just spending time together.  I have such wonderful memories of all the time spent there while growing up; It makes me so happy that Sean and our friends enjoy spending time there now, too. 

One of the best things about spending time at camp is that it forces you to unplug.  We do have a landline phone, for safety reasons, but no internet.  Cell service is spotty, at best, so it’s wise to just shut your phone off.  You get to really disconnect from daily life, and just enjoy your surroundings and spending time with family and friends.

You can expect to see multiple travel posts about our visits to camp, but here’s something to get you started.  The snowy photos were taken in January, and the black and white ones were taken over a year ago.

My dad likes to fill this feeder up with corn for the deer, black bears, and the other animals that come into the back yard.Assorted antlers, either found in the woods or from deer that he or I have harvested.The fresh snow was clinging to everything in the woods so perfectly when we were there last.Fresh snow on logs that had fallen across the creek.