Sea Island, GA

10/8-10/10/15

My parents took Allison and I to Sea Island for a quick getaway.  We were scheduled to go to Kiawah Island in South Carolina, but the state was hit with catastrophic flooding, so we moved down to Georgia for our vacation.

Right by the beach, mon.

Washington D.C.

7/30-8/1/15

I was scheduled to perform a safety audit for a project in Alexandria, VA, so Allison and I decided to make my work trip into a miniature vacation to Washington D.C.  After a few wonderful plane delays, we arrived in D.C. in the middle of a massive storm, which delayed my safety audit.  We rented a car and drove straight into the city, which has a lot of roundabouts and confusing intersections.  Only got lost twice on the way to our hotel, The Jefferson.  By the way, I highly recommend that hotel.

Not a lot going on Day One since we didn't get in town until mid afternoon.  Had dinner at a place I do not recall.  It was fine.

White House selfie.

Italiy Vacation, Part 11 - Airplanes Again

5/19/15

My final post of the Italy trip is pretty uneventful.  We grabbed a water taxi and headed to the airport, where we made a quick hop over to Paris.  After that, we flew over to Atlanta. We were due to land in Little Rock at around 8, so I decided not to sleep on our return leg. I watched Kingman: The Secret Service for the second time and thoroughly enjoyed it again. I then watched Interstellar, which I regret since I only had a 4" screen to work with and I assume it would have been rad on a larger screen.  I killed the rest of my time by drinking beer and trying not to fart.  Our Atlanta -> Little Rock flight was delayed and I ended up falling asleep on the plane, ruining my genius plan of staying awake the entire time.

Leaving Venice.

Italy Vacation, Part 10 - Murano and Burano

5/18/15

Our final day of vacation began with a short walking tour of Venice where we checked out the Rialto Bridge (under construction) and some old churches.  The Rialto Bridge was built in the late 16th century and spans the Grand Canal.  Even though some sections were under construction, it was still a pretty impressive sight.  Next, we walked towards the Friari Cathedral.  Some of the sidewalks were quite narrow and I'm sure a fatty has gotten stuck there a time or two.  The Friari contained paintings and sculptures by many famous artists, including Donatello, and is the resting place of Monteverdi, along with several Doges. However, the greatest sight in the Friari is the tomb of Antonia Canova.  Canova's tomb (pictured below) is shaped like a gigantic pyramid, which obviously led to another Anthony family burial pyramid discussion.

Rialto Bridge.

Another of the Rialto Bridge.

Italy Vacation, Part 9 - Venice

5/17/15

Our tour did not start until the afternoon, so we had some time to kill on our first day in Venice.  We used this free time to explore the city.  Mom somehow convinced dad to consent to a gondola ride, which he thoroughly despised.  Ask him about it if you want to hear a 10 minute rant about Venetian gondoliers and how the fake canal rides in Vegas are better.

Exploring before the tour.

Rialto bridge.

The infamous gondola ride.

Italy Vacation, Part 8 - Florence and Venice

5/16/15

Our final day began with a trip to the Galleria dell'Academia to check out the actual David and not the fake that we saw during our first day in Florence.  Lines to get in for estimated at 4 hours long, but our tour guide whisked us to the front of the line because that's how she rolls.  The museum had a couple of lesser known and unfinished Michelangelo sculptures and a ton of Stradivarius violins, but the only piece of real significance was the David.  Not worth a 4 hour wait, but very much worth the 5 minute wait that we endured.

NFSW: Penis in background.

Italy Vacation, Part 7 - Sienna

5/15/15

Short post today.  We left early in the morning for a day trip to Sienna, which was a pretty happening place before the plague smacked it down all fierce-like.  Sienna is the home to the Palio di Siena, which is a horse race that pits different areas of the city, denoted by mascots(dragons, owls, porcupines, unicorns, etc.), against each other in a no holds barred slugfest around the main plaza, Piazza del Campo.  Looks awesome, but we sadly missed it as it only runs twice per year.  We checked out some churches and crypts as well, but the rain kept us from enjoying everything to its fullest extent.

The entire city is pretty much a massive hill.

Italy Vacation, Part 6 - Florence

5/14/15

We started our day in Florence with a quick breakfast before meeting our guide and beginning our walk toward the Uffizi.  As we rounded a corner, we noticed that the street was blocked off and there was a large inflation device placed under a window.  Spoiler alert: I think Tom Hanks is going to jump out of a window at some point in Inferno.  As we were walking off, we noticed someone milling around inside the roped off area.  Tom Hanks.  Since I got within 50 yards of him, we are now officially best friends.  That is how the rules work.

Tom Hanks.  He's the white one.  

We took the next street over and continued our walk to the Uffizi.  We stopped to check out a large collections of statues, one of which is a replica of the David.  We will find the real one a bit later.

Italy Vacation, Part 5 - Orvieto and Tenuta Casanova

5/13/15

Rome.  Check.  We loaded into the car bright and early to make our way towards Florence. We planned to make stops in Orvieto and Tenuta Casanova, a vineyard in Tuscany, before reaching our final destination.  Orvieto is a walled city on top of a gigantic hill.  According to our guide, Popes would flee to Orvieto when Rome came under attack.

Arriving in Orvieto.

The streets of Orvieto are much less crowded than Rome.

Italy Vacation, Part 4 - Rome

5/12/15

After somehow avoiding a hangover from the night before, we were confronted by an angry Wilson who wanted to know why we left him out of all of our fun.  Hint: It's because he's a NERRRRRD.  We were picked up around 9:00 by our A&K guide and started making our way towards the most eventful stop of our day, The Pantheon.  The Pantheon has really cool dome and houses the bodies of multiple Roman kings AND A NINJA TURTLE.  Raphael is buried here.

Outside of the Pantheon

Pictured: Rad dome.

Italy Vacation, Part 3 - Rome

5/11/15

We met our Abercrombie and Kent tour guide bright and early Monday morning to start our official tour.  If you ever have a chance to go on an A&K private tour, do so.  Absolutely worth it.  We began by heading to the Coliseum, where we got our first taste of gypsies and refugees aggressively attempting to sell selfie sticks.  Apparently business was good, because it seemed like everyone we saw had one.  While here, we also checked out the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum.  Picture time.

To your left is the Arch of Constantine and to your right is some ruin no one
has ever heard of.

Inside the Coliseum.

Another picture with that ruin no one has ever heard of.  Just kidding.
It's the Coliseum from the outside.

While checking out the Coliseum, we were bombarded with interesting facts by our guide. Did you know that they used to host mock naval battles inside?  Pretty rad.  I'm just saying we now have a fallback option for when War Memorial eventually loses its yearly Razorback game.  Pretty sure that could hit Pacquiao/Mayweather PPV numbers. Next, we walked about ten feet to our next world famous ruin, the Roman Forums.

Italy Vacation, Part 2 - Rome

 5/10/15

After arriving in Italy Sunday morning, we quickly made our way through customs and set out towards the Rose Garden Palace hotel, which is located within a short walking distance of Villa Borghese and the Spanish Steps.  After learning that everyone in Italy eats at a ridiculously late hour, we finally found a lunch spot that was beginning to open and I had my first of 45 different pizzas during our Italy adventure.  It was yummy in my tummy.

THIS IS THE HOTEL.

After lunch, we made our way down to Piazza Barberini to check out the Fontana del Tritone.  That's Italian for the Triton Fountain.  We later made our way down to the Trevi Fountain, which was regrettably under construction.  On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.  This translates to Church of Spooky Skulls.  They did not allow pictures, but here is a Wikipedia Link to thoroughly haunt your dreams.

Italy Vacation, Part 1 - Airplanes

5/9/15

The day has finally arrived.  Italy family vacation is upon us.  Allison and I were scheduled to leave Little Rock with my parents at 12:15 pm to rendezvous with Wilson in Atlanta before heading on to Rome.  After landing in Atlanta, we made our way to the Delta Sky Lounge to ride out the 2 1/2 hour layover.  Wilson's flight was delayed, so Allison and I left our bags with my parents and escaped to the bar where we were delighted to learn that drinks cost free dollars.  

This is before we learned there were free drinks in the Lounge.
If you think we look happy here, just imagine how happy
we looked after learning that little tidbit.

After Wilson arrived, we made our way toward the gate.  With still 30 minutes until boarding begins, we find the nearest bar and grab a quick drink.  This sequence of events will soon become a trend.