The Feminist Mystique

Italy Travelogue! Part 4: Venice

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 01:49:00 +0000

Venice's crumbling buildings and shadowy canals give it a sense of moody mystery. But it's also a seaside city, and when the light hits the Grand Canal just right, the turquoise water and candy-colored buildings are dazzling.

We arrived in Venice via high-speed bullet train and caught our first glimpse of the busy Grand Canal when we stepped outside the train station. We hopped on one of Venice's ubiquitous water taxis, a Vaporetto, and enjoyed a mini-tour of the Grand Canal while on our way to our hotel (tip: the Vaporetto was easy to use and an inexpensive 7 Euro, compared to the private water taxis (not gondolas) that cost upward of 100 Euro). We stayed at the adorable Pensione Guerrato, located right next door to the Rialto Market in a thirteenth century convent. We were delighted when we opened the heavy wooden shutters on the windows in our room and realized we had a view of the Grand Canal!

We headed back outside and spent a few minutes wandering around the Rialto Market, which has supplied Venetians with their food since around 1000 AD. The stalls are full of every type of fish and sea creature imaginable. I spent a full five minutes staring at a pile of inky octopuses, but B was excited about getting his hands on some fresh figs. After enjoying his snack, we made our way through the throngs of people at the base of the Rialto Bridge and headed to Piazza San Marco.

After taking in the iconic view, we went inside St. Mark's Basilica. St. Mark's resembled the Hagia Sophia more than any of the Cathedrals we had visited while in Italy. The Church is a mixture of Italian and Byzantine architecture, and its interior is modeled on Constantine's Church of the Holy Apostles in present day Istanbul. The ceilings are covered in mosaics made from glittering gold and its decorated throughout with jeweled art and precious relics looted from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade - so much so that the church is nicknamed the Chiesa d'Oro, the Church of Gold.

After visiting the church, we decided to just meander through Venice's tiny back streets and take in the city. We stopped in countless churches before we came across a little piazza and decided to stop for an early dinner. As we were eating, it started to rain, but we continued to sit outside because our table was covered with a huge umbrella. As the storm continued, however, it started to rain harder and harder until it was a total downpour. We finished our drinks while watching the torrential rain come down all around us, safe in a cocoon of umbrellas. It was, as the Germans sitting next to us said, "incredibly romantic."

Sadly, the rain didn't stop once we finished our dinner and abandoned the safety of our table's umbrella. We ran all the way back home, but were completely soaked. Of course, as soon as we got back to the hotel, it stopped raining, so we changed into some dry clothes and headed back to the Piazza San Marco.

At night, each of the cafes that line the Piazza San Marco put on live musical performances. We decided to forgo an expensive seat at one of the cafes, and sit on the steps of the piazza eating gelato and drinking a bottle of wine my mom gave us in Rome. It was a gorgeous night, and one of my favorite memories from the trip.

The next morning, we started our day with a tour of the Doge's Palace. Both B and I seem to have missed covering any sort of Venetian history in school, so we enjoyed touring the building and learning more about the history of Venice and its government. The Palace also featured some incredible art, and it was interesting to see how Venetian art differed from art in Florence. For example, while in Florence the Virgin Mary graced the majority of paintings, in Venice the queen-like, majestic figures in paintings were often allegorical depictions of Venice.

After our tour, we picked up sandwiches from a little shop and had a picnic on the side of the Grand Canal. Then, we made our way to the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice's premier art museum. B and I continued our game of "guess the saint" and "find the tool of martyrdom," and enjoyed our tour through the history of Venetian art. At this point in the trip, however, we had honestly both satiated our desire to learn about Italian art, and we made our way through the museum much quicker than we had previous ones.

By now, it was late afternoon and we had yet to have any gelato (a serious problem!), so we set out to find some. We stopped by Santa Maria della Salute, which was built as an offering during a particularly terrible plague, to take in the view of Venice and the Grand Canal from its marble steps. From there, we walked along the Zattere, a type of waterfront promenade that afforded a different view of the city and had a much more "tropical" feel to it than the rest of Venice. Finally, we came across Gelati Nico, where we had some of the best gelato of the trip (lemon and strawberry for B, chocolate and rum cake for me). We took our gelato to go, and ate it while watching the work happening at one of the few, remaining gondola workshops.

We walked back through the city, and stopped for aperol spritzes at the base of the Rialto Bridge. The bars near the market were hopping and provided a gorgeous view of the Grand Canal. After a couple rounds of drinks, we boarded a gondola waiting just steps away. The gondolas are pricey - about 80 Euro for a 30 minute ride - but we felt it was worth the splurge. I am so glad we decided to do it, despite the hefty pricetag. It was fun to see Venice from the water, and gliding through the empty canals was a pretty romantic way to watch the sun set and end our time in Italy.

Italy Travelogue! Part 3: Florence and Siena

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 00:52:00 +0000

Florence is stylish and sophisticated, while still dripping in history. As the birthplace of the Renaissance, the city overwhelms with its vast wealth of art. So many of the great Italian artists were connected to Florence - Michelangelo, DaVinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Dante, and Donatello, to name but a few - and their legacy is still so palpable you can almost feel their presence as you wander the cobblestone streets.

We arrived in Florence later than planned due to a train delay, and were worried everything was already closed for the day. After checking in at the Hotel Abaco, a slightly bohemian little hotel with an amazing location, we walked over to the Duomo, whose colored marble facade and enormous brick dome are breathtaking.

The Duomo was, in fact, closed by the time we arrived, so we decided to just walk around the Church and take it all in. To our delight, a tiny door toward the back was open and we were told we could only go inside if we wished to attend Mass. I don't think we have ever been more excited about Mass! It was the perfect way to see the Cathedral, and we listened to the Italian Mass while gazing around the surprisingly austere interior. After Mass, we walked over to the Ponte Vecchio, the famous medieval bridge that is lined with shops. The shops used to be the domain of butchers, but legend has it that Cosimo de Medici didn't like the smell so he replaced them with jewelers - and they remain to this day.

Our next day in Florence was dedicated to seeing some of its famous art. Our first stop was the Uffizi, whose line was already two hours long early in the morning. We had read that you could buy tickets for the Uffizi at another nearby museum, the Palazzo Pitti, so we crossed over the Ponte Vecchio and stood in a much, much shorter line for 15 minute hoping it would work. And it did! We were able to purchase tickets for both the Uffizi and the Galleria dell'Academia there. The lines at both museums were horrendous all day, so I definitely recommend purchasing tickets in advance online or picking them up at the Palazzo Pitti.

One of the world's best art museums today, the Uffizi was originally built in 1560 to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates. The building is beautiful in its own right, and its collections are astounding. As you walk through the myriad rooms, you can see the birth and development of the Renaissance before your very eyes. I was grateful I took a few classes on religious art while at Wellesley and loved getting to see some of my favorite works of art, such as DaVinci's and Raphael's paintings of the Annunciation. I pointed out to B that saints are always depicted with the instrument of their martyrdom, and we developed a (friendly) competition to see who could find them fastest and properly identify the most saints.

After making our way through the Uffizi and having lunch on their rooftop patio, we walked over to the Galleria dell'Academia to see Michaelangelo's David. I was excited to see the David in person, but the actual experience far surpassed my expectations. The statue is simply incredible.

By this point, B and I had had our fill of art, so we headed over to the trendy Oltrarno neighborhood on the left bank. After walking around the neighborhood for a bit, we stopped for dinner at a lively little restaurant in the even-more-lively Piazza di Santo Spirito. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect. It was hands-down one of my favorite meals from the trip.

The next day, we hopped on a bus (or, to put it more accurately, fought our way on to a bus) and drove through the gorgeous Tuscan countryside to Siena. Thanks to the plague and a period of economic difficulty under Medici rule, little has changed in Siena since the 13th and 14th centuries. It is just what you hope a Tuscan, medieval hill town will look like, with seemingly endless postcard-perfect streets and sweeping vistas. One of my favorite spots was the gorgeous, shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, which just might be the prettiest piazza in all of Europe.

After taking in the piazza - and a few drinks - we headed over to the Cathedral. The Sienese have always had a good deal of city pride, and this is especially evident in their Cathedral. The building is guarded by a statue of the she wolf with suckling children, the symbol of Siena, and decorated throughout with black and white marble stripes (black and white being the colors of Siena). To say the Cathedral is visually "busy" is an understatement. There couldn't be a sharper contrast between Florence's bare Duomo and Siena's rich Gothic interior.

Interestingly, the present Cathedral, in all its grandeur, is only a glimpse at what the people of Siena had hoped it would be. They had intended to expand the Church and build the biggest Cathedral in the world before the plague hit and forced them to abandon their plans. The shell of the would-be Cathedral is still visible today.

After the Cathedral, we stopped at the museum next door to see Duccio's Maesta. The altarpiece is covered in gold and vivid colors, and is incredibly beautiful. The Virgin Mary is the patron saint of Siena, and before the altarpiece was installed in the Cathedral, the entire town accompanied it on a procession so Mary could see her city.

Of course, a city as devoted to the Virgin Mary as Siena couldn't be without a saint or two. And it seems that Siena ascribed to the "go big or go home" motto when it came to all things religious, because it is home to one of the most famous saints in the Catholic Church: Saint Catherine. She remains one of the three female Doctors of the Church, one of the patron saints of Italy (the other being St. Francis of Assisi), and one of six patron saints of Europe.

The house where St. Catherine grew up is still standing, and has been converted into small chapels decorated with frescoes depicting her life and miracles. Given that St. Catherine is something of a historical and Catholic celebrity, I had expected the site to be packed. However, the little house and part of town nearby was surprisingly, and refreshingly, devoid of tourists.

After returning to Florence, we stopped by a wine bar to enjoy a bottle of Chianti from a local winery and some type of appetizer made with truffles that was out-of-this world amazing. We grabbed some pasta at a nearby trattoria and gelato from Vivoli (which gets my vote for best gelato in Florence, if not Italy) before taking one last walk through the city. We stumbled upon an outdoor concert in Piazza della Signoria and soaked up our last bit of Florence nestled between the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi, listening to the music.

Italy Travelogue! Part 2: Positano, Nocelle, and Pompeii

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 00:45:00 +0000

Steinbeck once wrote: "Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

It is a town full of thousands of ancient steps, pastel houses that hug the side of the looming mountains, turquoise water, bright purple bougainvillea, and bigger-than-your-head lemons.

The road from Sorrento to Positano is famously treacherous, and at each hairpin turn we found ourselves staring down the sheer sides of the cliffs to where the glittering ocean met the rocks. The bus driver casually honked the horn at each turn to ensure oncoming cars stopped, and I held my breath every time another car quickly backed up or pulled dangerously near the edge to avoid a collision.

We got off the bus in Positano, and waited for a local bus to take us up to the tiny village of Nocelle, where we were actually staying. Nocelle sits high above Positano, and the local bus took us up and up an even more treacherous, twisty road until we were almost in the clouds.

Once off the bus, we found ourselves in a tiny parking lot carved into the side of the cliff. The directions our B&B had given us told us to walk "down the street for 5 minutes" until we arrived at the building, so we followed the sign that said "Nocelle" with an arrow pointing down a steep staircase that hugged the side of the cliff. Nocelle was worlds apart from busy Positano below, and arriving was like stepping back in time. It was completely quiet. Birds sang. Clouds floated by beneath you. The streets were no bigger than a sidewalk and had stunning views of terraced gardens and the Amalfi Coast.

We found our hotel, the adorable Casa Cuccaro, and the owners showed us around. Every room features a balcony with sea views, and our jaws dropped at the spectacular views. Not only could you see Positano and Praino, but you could see down the rugged Amalfi Coast all the way to Capri. We sat on our balcony for a bit before making our way to Trattoria Santa Croce for a delicious lunch of gnocchi, seafood pasta, and Tiramisu with limoncello.

We had planned to spend the rest of the day hiking the Sentiero degli Dei, the Path of the Gods. Unfortunately, the day had turned chilly and drizzly, which meant the hiking clothes I had brought - a tank top and shorts - were not going to cut it. As a result, I ended up hiking in the most ridiculous outfit ever: skinny jeans, a t-shirt, an oxford, and a cardigan. At least I was warm!

The Path of the Gods was amazing, and I highly recommend taking some time out to do it if you're in the area. The path is what remains of an old medieval route that connected the villages along the Amalfi Coast. Because it was raining off an on, we walked a few miles in and then backtracked and walked a few miles back. I wish we had been able to hike the whole thing! Afterwards, we headed back to Trattoria Santa Croce for a luxuriously long dinner and lots of wine.

The next day, we took the local bus back down to Positano, hopped on another bus to Sorrento, and then took a train to Pompeii. The whole thing took a little longer than I would have liked. If I was doing it over again, we would have visited Pompeii on the way out to Positano and just left our luggage at the front while we explored. It would have saved quite a bit of time.

At any rate, we finally arrived at Pompeii and were so excited about seeing the preserved city. Mount Vesuvius still looms above ancient Pompeii, and it was eerie to see "the destroyed and the destroyer," as Charles Dickens so aptly described the view. The scale of the site was much bigger than either of us anticipated. We spent an hour or so in one section, before realizing that we had only covered a small portion of the city and needed to speed things up a bit. There's so much to see in Pompeii, but highlights for us included the Temple of Apollo, Temple of Jupiter, the forum, the forum granary, the baths, the House of the Faun, House of the Tragic Poet, the House of the Baker, and the Villa of the Mysteries.

Once back in Positano, we enjoyed some limoncello granita while we explored the town. We wandered down to the coast and, on a whim, had drinks and dinner at the chic Chez Black. We loved the gorgeous views of the beach, the buzzing ambiance, and the delicious food. After dinner, they treated us to some limoncello - the perfect way to end the meal!

Since arriving in Positano, B and I wanted to climb the 1700 steps up to the village of Nocelle. The road that connects the two towns is only fourteen years old, and the owner of our hotel said he still took the stairs every day. We were up for the challenge and - probably a little more daring than usual thanks to some aperol spritzes - decided to climb up the steps that very night! About halfway up, we realized this was probably not the smartest idea, as the steps were steep, twisty, and poorly lit. Still, we made it up the stairs and walked another mile or so along the scary, twisty road back to Nocelle. Once we were safely back in our hotel room, we stared down in disbelief at the twinkling lights of Positano far below us. We had just climbed an entire mountain!

The next morning, after enjoying a delicious breakfast at our hotel and drinking in the views from their rooftop terrace, we made the trek back to Naples to catch a bullet train to our next stop: Florence!

Italy Travelogue! Part 1: Rome

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:08:00 +0000

After Brett and I came back from our amazing honeymoon, we decided booking our next trip would help ease the transition back to reality and give us something to look forward to. We had been torn between Greece/Turkey and Italy for our honeymoon, so we decided Italy was the perfect place to celebrate our one year anniversary!

We started our trip in Rome, which is without a doubt one of my favorite cities in the world. I love the way the light hits its honey-colored buildings in the evening, its ancient churches that house priceless works of art, and its cobble stone piazzas.

As a fun surprise, my mom worked our flight from ATL to Rome, which made the long trek much more exciting. Once we landed, we had a delicious breakfast with her at her hotel and let her take a nap while we headed over to the Colosseum.

Per my mom's instructions, we skipped the long line at the Colosseum and bought our tickets across the street at the Roman Forum. The tickets you buy - at either the Forum or inside the Colosseum - include a visit to both sites, and the line at the forum was nowhere near as long. Definitely the smarter move! Unfortunately, we didn't rent the audio guide, which would have been useful. Of all the places we visited, I think the Colosseum is the one where it makes the most sense to rent the audio guide, as there was very little information inside the site.

The Colosseum was every bit as impressive in person as I had hoped it would be. Built under the Emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian between 70-96 AD, it was the largest amphitheater in the Roman Empire and could hold anywhere from 50,000 - 80,000 people. The scale is incredible and it was mind-blowing to think of some of the events that were held here; over 9,000 animals were killed during the inaugural games and many sources claim the Colosseum was even flooded at times so they could reenact sea battles.

After spending some time in the Colosseum, we walked back across the street to the Roman Forum. The Forum was the heart of ancient Rome, and it was awe-inspiring to be in a place with such incredible historical significance. The Forum was built gradually over centuries, with each emperor adding new buildings and temples. The result was a disorderly jumble of buildings in its heyday, and a dizzying array of ruins today. As always, it was very helpful to have my scholar-of-the-ancient-world husband with me, as he pointed out all sorts of interesting things I might have missed, such as the panel on the Arch of Titus that depicts the spoils taken from the Temple of Jerusalem (the same spoils that probably funded the construction of the Colosseum).

We wandered through the Forum then headed past the Altare della Patria (aka the wedding cake) to the Spanish Steps, near where Brett and I were staying and had planned to meet my mom. The Spanish Steps were crowded when we got there, and I was worried that we would never find her in the chaos, but sure enough - we found her in seconds! My mom has crazy curly black hair, and Brett and I always joke that we can find her anywhere because of it. :-)

My mom (who flies Rome fairly frequently) had a ton of things she wanted to show us, so we hit the ground running. And I mean, running! That woman was off! She pumped us full of caffeine at Caffe Greco (open since 1760 - the waiters still wear tuxedos!) and we walked to the gorgeous Trevi Fountain (the largest Baroque fountain in the city), saw Caravaggio's Madonna di Loreto in Sant Agostino Church and his Matthew Trilogy in San Luigi dei Francesi, and visited Saint Agnese in Agony, before heading to the Pantheon.

The Pantheon is one of my favorite sites in Rome. It was commissioned during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD), built under Emperor Hadrian (126 AD), and remains an architectural wonder - it is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Despite its name, is it unlikely that the building served as a temple to "all the gods" and much more likely that it served a political purpose, such as a space where the emperor made public proclamations. The oculus at the top reduces the weight of the roof (making such a large dome possible), and the light that shines through forms a sort of reverse sundial.

After the Pantheon, we made our way to a cute little cafe for some drinks - the first of many aperol spritzes, an Italian favorite. We had dinner at a restaurant near the Spanish Steps, where we all had Cacio e Pepe, one of my favorite Roman dishes. Mom walked us back to our hotel, then bid us "arrivederci!" We were sad to say goodbye!

The next morning, we walked over to Vatican City to catch the Pope's weekly address. The entire thing was in Italian, so I'm not sure exactly what was said, but it was definitely a highlight of the trip to see the Pope! Afterwards, we visited the Vatican Museums, whose collections are simply overwhelming. For us, highlights included Raphael's frescoes in Pope Julius' apartments and, of course, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.

After the museum, we waited in the ridiculously long line to get in to St. Peter's Basilica (or, more accurately, Brett waited in line while I ventured out to find some gelato). St. Peter's is incredible - beyond being one of the most important churches in Catholicism and the site of St. Peter's tomb, it is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture, and features works by Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. My favorites are Michelangelo's Pieta, the gorgeous painting of Mary above the Altar of the Immaculate Conception, and Bernini's massive baldacchino. We tried to make our way underneath the Basilica to see the grotto, but the entrance was closed because Mass was being said in that part of the Church. So instead of going down, we went up! To the very top of St. Peter's - the dome!

We paid the extra 2 Euro to take an elevator up half of the stairs to the dome, but even with the elevator we had 200 stairs to climb. The passageways were narrow and steep, but at one thrilling moment you actually step out on to a platform that rings the base of the dome inside the Basilica. You are face to face with the gold mosaics and peer down at Bernini's baldacchino and the throne of St. Peter. It was breathtaking! We continued to climb, up and up and up, until finally we stepped outside and took in the view of Rome laid out beneath us. The views were incredible! As much as I loved seeing Rome sprawled out before us, my favorite was to walk to the back of the dome and see Vatican City. We stayed up there for awhile, soaking up the view, before making our way back down. Because the stairways are so narrow, you take a different set to get down, and this one opened up on to the roof of St. Peter's. We walked up to the very front, where we got a spectacular view of the statues that have stood guard over the Vatican for centuries.

After climbing back down 200 stairs, we decided we were tired and hungry, so we walked to Piazza Navona and ate a little restaurant my mom had recommended. I had the Eggplant Parmesan and it was delicious! Much lighter and crispier than any Eggplant Parm I've ever had. We also stopped by Gelateria del Teatro for some gelato. This little place - tucked on a romantic side street off Piazza Navona (right off Via dei Coronari) - was one of my favorites in Italy. Brett had "cheese and fig" which tasted like cheesecake, and I had coffee and dark chocolate. We ate our gelato at the fountain in Piazza Navona while we watched the sun sink behind the buildings, then made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the next day's adventure: Positano!

Our Honeymoon! Part 6: Athens and Delphi

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:45:00 +0000

Oh, Athens. After the loveliness of Santorini, arriving in Athens was slightly jarring. The capital of Greece and the 4th most populous city in the European Union, Athens was packed with people and had a gritty feel to its modern urban landscape. As we walked past rows of shops with boarded up windows, it was also impossible not to notice the effects of Greece's economic crisis.

After making it to the Marriott (thank you Chuck!) and grabbing some drinks and snacks (thank you again Chuck! ;-) we explored the hotel's rooftop pool and bar with lovely views of the Acropolis and spent a lazy evening in our hotel room taking naps and watching movies. Not exactly the most glamorous of days, but we were exhausted!

The next day, we woke up early, grabbed a yummy breakfast, and headed over to the Acropolis. Visiting the Acropolis was everything you dream it will be and more. The site is huge, much bigger than either of us anticipated. It took many, many hours of walking around before we had even seen most - but not all - of it. There is really too much history on the Acropolis to even begin to give a brief synopsis of the site, so suffice it to say that the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena Nike, with its caryatids, were my favorite sights. In general though, it is literally breathtaking to stand on such ancient and significant ground, to touch the birthplace of democracy and the cradle of Western civilization.

After touring the ancient agora, we grabbed a delicious lunch and bought some cherries and a coconut stick from some street vendors for dessert. We walked back over to the street our hotel was on to find a rental car for the next day (more on this later), and then hopped on a train (Athen's metro was AMAZING) over to the National Archaeology Museum, only to find that it was closed. Such a bummer! Defeated, we headed back to the Acropolis and grabbed some Nescafe frappes before deciding to check out the new Acropolis Museum. In the end, we were so glad we did! The Acropolis Museum has an amazing collection of artifacts found during excavations on the Acropolis, and we learned so much more about the history of the area and the sites we had seen that morning. The museum itself is also beautifully done. The entire space is gorgeous! During construction, they unearthed some Roman houses and parts of the ancient city, and they actually built the museum on top of the site. The floor is glass, so as you view the main exhibit, you can also look down and see the site.

We stayed at the Acropolis Museum until is closed, and then walked over to the plaka neighborhood so we could find a spot for dinner. After exploring a bit and reviewing our options, we settled on a fantastic little place. They didn't seem to have any menus in English and we kept asking our waiter for one, who seemed confused and kept abandoning us. We were so annoyed we almost left, but then the owner came by with a huge platter full of different plates. He explained that the restaurant had a kind of fixed menu, and that we could pick 5 different plates to go with some bread, a bottle of wine, and dessert. It was a great deal, and we picked out our plates with the help of some Germans who were sitting next to us. Dinner was absolutely delicious, and we left happy and full.

The next day, we woke up early, grabbed breakfast, and went to the lobby to meet the rental car guy. We were both a little apprehensive about renting a car, and I spent an inordinate amount of time making sure he had noted every little scratch on the car before we set off for Delphi. Driving in Athens is not for the faint of heart, and I used up the international data roaming (thank you Momma!) to help us navigate through the busy, winding streets. Brett was a total champion and kept us from crashing into the local Athenians, who seemed to think that things like traffic lanes and lights were, at best, a suggestion. Once we got outside of Athens, driving was much easier, and we were pleasantly surprised at how well-marked the roads were. We had heard of people who got lost on the way to Delphi, but with our trusty map in hand the trip was easy (of course, it helped that Brett can read Greek).

The 3-hour drive to Delphi was lovely. It was fun to see the mainland outside of Athens, and once we got up in the mountains the scenery was truly stunning. We wound our way up and up, until it felt more like we were in the Swiss alps than in Greece. After passing through an adorable little ski town, we arrived in Delphi and happily got out of the car to stretch our legs and breath in the fresh mountain air.

People say that, of all the ancient sites, Delphi has the most spectacular sense of place. It couldn't be more true. Standing on the side of the mountain, looking out into the spectacularly blue Bay of Corinth, you can easily see why the ancient Greeks thought Delphi was the center of the world and particularly holy. Delphi is perhaps best known for being the site of the most important oracle in classical Greece. The oracle was dedicated to Apollo and prophesied from within the Temple of Apollo. She was always an older woman, and sat on a tripod chair over an opening in the earth. She would go into a violent trance, probably the result of a gas emitted through the opening in the temple floor, and her "ravings" would be then be translated by the priests. The oracle at Delphi was consulted on all important matters, everything from policies to wars to personal matters. It is said that Alexander the Great dragged the oracle out of the temple by her hair when he didn't receive the prophesy that he had hoped for. I found the entire site fascinating, and spent much of the time preoccupied thinking about these women who simultaneously had so much power and were, at the same time, almost voiceless. After exploring the site for several hours, Brett and I walked over to the town of Delphi to grab lunch, and we enjoyed our last Greek salad peering off the side of the mountain down into the Bay of Corinth.

After we left Delphi, we drove even further into nowhere to see the Monastery of St. Luke. The monastery, which was built in the 10th century, is one of the most important sites of middle Byzantine art and architecture. Besides the monks and priests, the place was virtually empty and we enjoyed walking through the peaceful monastery, looking at the gorgeous frescoes and architecture. The monastery also had spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, and before we left we sat overlooking the valley and reminiscing about our trip.

After leaving St. Luke's we drove back to Athens, dropped off the rental car, and had dinner at the hotel before packing up our stuff to head back home. We were so sad to be leaving, but we were also so grateful that we had had such a wonderful honeymoon. It was truly the trip of a lifetime!

Our Honeymoon! Part 5: Santorini

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 15:17:00 +0000

We left Crete on a stormy, windy day. Our ferry was almost canceled due to the high seas and winds, but eventually we set sail across the Mediterranean. After telling Brett that I never got sea sick, I felt queasy the entire time! You couldn't go outside at all because it was a high-speed ferry, we were packed in with a huge group of Russian-speaking tourists, there was no air conditioning, the ferry kept rocking back and forth, and they played a very strange video about the sinking of Santorini the entire time. We arrived in Santorini an hour late due to the weather and so the port made us go around in circles for another hour while another ship unloaded its passengers. Needless to say, I was very glad once we stepped foot on land!

The island of Santorini is essentially what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion - one of the largest in history. The eruption, which occurred sometime around 1600 BC, caused the center of the volcano to sink (the volcano had ejected so much magma that it was no longer able to support the volcanic rocks and thus collapsed). What is left is the outer ring of the volcano, its sheer cliff faces exposing layers of hardened lava and volcanic ash. It is on these cliffs that many of the island's towns have been built, and the result is just as spectacular as any postcard might lead you to believe. In the center of the caldera, which has been filled with gorgeous blue ocean since shortly after the super eruption, is a tiny island. This is actually the volcano, which has been slowly building itself up over the centuries. It has a foreboding presence, for it will erupt again one day.

Our ferry docked at the base of Santorini's magnificent cliffs, and we took a taxi up a harrowing switchback road (I held my breath the entire time) and across the island to Perissa, where we were staying. Given the island's reputation as a glamorous tourist destination, I was surprised by how rural much of the island was. It was mostly vineyards and farmland, and many houses had ducks, goats, or donkeys in their backyards. Perissa itself had a fun, sleepy little beach town vibe, much different than that of Fira or Oia, and was the perfect base for exploring the island. We stayed at the adorable Hotel Zorzis,which we very, very highly recommend! The little hotel was lovely, the garden was gorgeous, the owners were incredibly nice, the mountain views were spectacular, and it was the cleanest place I've ever stayed. It was without a doubt our favorite hotel from the trip! They even had a local bottle of Santorini wine and fresh flowers waiting for us on our bed. :-)

Welcome present from the hotel!

The hotel was so cute!

Gorgeous mountain views from the pool

Travel Magazine said the hotel was good for "confetti-sprinkled newlyweds." We couldn't agree more!

After checking in to our room, we put on our bathing suits and walked over to the beach. The beach is lined with tavernas, and we stopped in one for lunch (gyros - yum!). Then we grabbed some sun loungers, ordered drinks, and stretched out to read, enjoy the sun, and take in the views of the pretty black sand beach. The waves were unusually high thanks to the storm that had delayed our arrival, so unfortunately, we didn't get to go for a swim. But we enjoyed our beach day just the same!

For dinner, we hopped on a local bus (Santorini has an amazing public bus system!) and headed over to dinner at Santo Winery. The winery had been highly recommended by Spiros, the owner of the Hotel Zorzis, and seemed to have a cult-like following among locals. It is known for having lovely views of the caldera, but by the time we got there, the entire island was shrouded in fog, clouds, and an amazingly strong wind. Occasionally, you could just barely make out the glow of the sun through the clouds as they spilled over the rim of the caldera. It looked like something out of a movie about the apocalypse. Alas, the world didn't end, Santorini didn't sink (again!), and we enjoyed our wine tasting. We each got six glasses of local Santorini wines, a plate of local cheeses, and some crackers with a tomato dipping sauce. Santorini's wines are unique because the island's soil is composed of volcanic ash, and the vines have to be kept unstaked and low to the ground to protect them from the island's high winds. After the Crusades, the wines were widely exported by the Republic of Venice and became quite popular throughout Italy. Later, the Russian Orthodox Church would adopt them as their official Eucharistic wine. The island is especially known for their Vinsanto wine, which is made from a local type of grape that is harvested late in the season and then dried in the sun. We really enjoyed the Vinsanto and the white wines, although neither of us cared very much for the red ones. Overall, however, the winery was definitely worth the trip!

We loved Santorini's wines!

Eerie view of the sun through the clouds

Cloudy view of the caldera from the winery

The next day, we hopped on another public bus and rode over to Fira, the capital of the island. Fira is lovely and postcard perfect, with its narrow streets, steep stairs, and buildings that tumble down the cliffs. The entire town seems to be made of white houses and buildings, and everywhere you turn there is another fantastic view of the island and caldera. We had some Nescafe frappes at a lovely little cafe and enjoyed the breathtaking views. It was a great little spot to people watch as well. Since no cars or buses are able to fit through the tiny streets, people would often walk by dragging enormous suitcases over the cobblestones as they searched the maze of cliff-side dwellings for their hotel. One of my favorite parts of Fira was the doors to restaurants, cafes, and hotels. These lined the streets just like any other little town, but when you opened them, you would find yourself standing on a little edge over the caldera, with a steep staircase hugging the cliffs to the right or left. They were so unique! I never tired of opening them and asking Brett to snap another picture. :-)

Fira

View of the caldera from Fira

We LOVE Santorini!

Santorini-style entry ways

After exploring Fira, we got on another public bus and drove across the island to Oia, which sits on the northernmost point of the island. Oia used to be the home of wealthy ship captains, but today it is an exceedingly beautiful little town full of stunning architecture and breathtaking views. During the day, Oia was much less busy than Fira, and we enjoyed having the narrow streets to ourselves. When we arrived in Oia, we set out to find Ammoudi Bay, a place where my friend K had recommended we go for lunch. I thought Brett might kill me when a store owner told us "to go past the castle and down 300 steps!" We walked to the northernmost edge of the island, and then began our trek down the cliff via the old stairs. When we got to the base, we found ourselves in a little bay filled with fishing boats and lined with a couple of tavernas. We ate at Katina's, with the orange chairs, just feet from the water. The Greek salad was absolutely delicious and, coupled with the view, easily makes that afternoon one of my favorites. After lunch, we both rode donkeys back up the 300 stairs to Oia. Our donkeys were surprisingly fast, and every time mine got too close to the edge and I looked down into the caldera I prayed that mine wasn't suicidal. After lunch, we made reservations for dinner, and then enjoyed a leisurely afternoon walking around the town, frequently stopping for drinks and Nescafe frappes. As it neared sunset, hordes of people crowded the northernmost edge of town and the castle to get a peek of the famous event. We were glad we had made dinner reservations at Castro, which is supposed to have one of the best sunset views on the island. It did not disappoint! The restaurant even provided us with a type of "sunset security." If people stood anywhere between the restaurant and the view of the sunset, they would promptly shoo them away. We ordered wine and mezes and watched the sun dip below the sea. It was truly an unforgettable evening!

Lunch in Ammoudi Bay!

Ammoudi Bay


Church bells in Oia

Oia!

Oia

Donkeys


An old windmill in Oia

Hello, Handsome!

Can you believe those stairs?!

Gorgeous sunset!

View from our table

All the people behind us watching the sunset

The next day, we woke up early to visit Akrotiri, a Minoan Bronze Age settlement that was destroyed by the super eruption and buried in volcanic ash (a la Pompeii). Many scholars think that Akrotiri, and the disaster that befell it, are the inspiration behind Plato's story of Atlantis. The site is still undergoing excavation, but what has been excavated is remarkably well-preserved. Interestingly, no gold objects or uninterred human skeletal remains have been found at the site, indicating that an orderly evacuation was performed before the eruption. You might remember that Knossos, on Crete, was a major Minoan settlement, and it was fascinating to compare the structures and artifacts.

Atlantis!

Ancient coffee table

After Akrotiri, we walked over to the Red Beach, stopping to say hi to some goats and pick up some street food along the way. The Red Beach is only accessible via a short hike, which was an exciting adventure and provided some amazing views of the red cliffs and blue waters. Once we got there, we laid our towels out in the shade of the cliffs and ate our lunch before Brett went in for a swim (and I gave myself an impromptu type pedicure with some pumice I found). While the beach was unique and certainly beautiful, we didn't find the experience relaxing - especially with little pebbles from the cliffs falling around us the entire time! We headed back to Perissa, and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the beach there before grabbing dinner at one of the tavernas.

Goat friend (don't tell Lala)

The famous Red Beach

We were both sad that it was our last night in Santorini and that we were already leaving for Athens - the last stop on our honeymoon!

Our Honeymoon! Part 4: Crete

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 01:37:00 +0000

When we were planning our trip, it seemed easy to get from Bodrum to Crete. After all, they're not that far! In reality, however, trying to figure out Greek ferry and airline schedules was tricky. They didn't post summer schedules until mid-March, and even then they seemed to change every time we looked at them. Luckily, with some help from the owner of the little house we rented in Bodrum, we figured out that the best way to get from Bodrum to Crete was to take a ferry to the Greek island of Kos and then catch a little puddlejumper flight to Crete.

The morning we left, we dragged our suitcases down the main street of Bodrum (it is a good thing we packed light!) to the other side of the castle, where the ferry port was. After clearing customs, we boarded our ferry and enjoyed the views of the sea. In just an hour, we had arrived in Kos! Once we had cleared Greek customs, we grabbed a nescafe frappe at a little restaurant and tried to figure out the best way to get to the airport. This meant a lot of walking around looking for a bus station, but after a great walking tour of Kos, we stumbled upon one and a helpful bus driver gave us a schedule. We actually had a couple of hours to spare before we needed to catch the bus, so we headed back to the old square and enjoyed some crepes and smoothies in the shade of an enormous and ancient tree. After our lazy lunch, we got on our bus and headed to the tiny airport, where we boarded our tiny plane, and took a 45 minute flight to Crete.

Enjoying Kos!

Oh, how I love crepes!

Crete is actually the largest and most heavily populated Greek island. Because we only had two days to spend there and we had come to see Knossos, we stayed in Heraklion, a busy and modern port city. If we had had more time, I would have loved to stay in the old town of Rethymno or rented a little house on the other, much less touristy side of the island. Still, it was fun to explore Heraklion and the city was in the perfect location for a visit to Knossos!

In Crete, we stayed at the artsy Lato Boutique Hotel. We loved its funky decor, fantastic location, friendly staff, and lovely views of the old Venetian fort. They upgraded us to a room with a perfect view of the sea and the fort (seriously - it must have been one of the best rooms in the hotel!) and there was a bottle of local wine, fresh fruit, and walnuts soaked in honey waiting for us. We went out onto our balcony and watched the sunset below the sea as we enjoyed our wine and fruit. It was absolutely lovely!

The view from our room

Oh.My.God.

After our romantic sunset, we headed into downtown Heraklion. We walked through the old town until we found a cute taverna buzzing with locals. We had the most delicious french fries, made with Cretan olive oil and local cheese and then some delicious - and gigantic! - gyros. I miss Greek food! Eventually, the place got so busy that they literally ran out of chairs, so we decided to let others enjoy the place. I don't think I've mentioned yet that in both Turkey and Greece people eat much later than in the US (like most of Europe). We were "early" if we showed up at 9, so we usually headed out for dinner around 9, found a place to eat around 9:30, and then left around 11:30. We felt very European with our little schedule, but I was always surprised to see people - especially people with kids - just beginning to eat dinner around 11.

The next morning, we had the most amazing breakfast at our hotel. It was so, so good. I dream about it. They had all sorts of freshly squeezed juices, fantastic cappuccinos, greek yogurt, roasted tomatoes, eggs, Cretan pancakes (yum!), local cheeses, croissants, pound cakes, pastries, fresh fruit, nuts soaked in local honey. The list goes on and on!

After our delicious breakfast, we hopped on the bus to Knossos. Knossos is a Bronze Age archaeological site and was the center of Minoan civilization. The palace complex was built between 1700 and 1400 BC, and contains a theater, living quarters, storerooms, and rooms that seem to have been reserved for religious rituals. It is also the home of the famous "bull leaping" fresco. My favorite was the "throne room," a room that was probably sacred and the site of some type of ritual celebrating the goddess. Most think that the curved lines of the throne and the moon underneath it indicate it was made for a woman, probably a priestess. The site was truly incredible! The sheer size of it was amazing, and it was difficult to comprehend exactly how old it was. I didn't know much about Minoan civilization, so it was super interesting to learn more about it and think about life in the Aegean before the dawn of "classical Greece." Not surprisingly, Brett thinks Knossos was probably his favorite part of the trip!

Sacred bull horns

Pondering the collapse of the Minoan civilization

These stairs are old. Like 3,500 years old.

The throne room

Colossal pithoi

We spent several hours walking around Knossos before heading back into Heraklion to go to the museum. The museum was fantastic, with frescoes, axes, statues, pottery, jewelry, and all sorts of things that were discovered during Knossos' excavation. They even had tablets with the famous Linear B and Linear A scripts on them (I am convinced Brett should devote his life to deciphering Linear A!). The museum helped us learn even more about Minoan civilization and deepen our understanding of the site. And if was fun to think of all of these finds in the palace!

After the museum, we headed back to our hotel because we had reservations at their famous rooftop restaurant. Everybody seems to rave about the Lato's restaurant, and while we hesitated because of the price tag, we're so glad we went! The views were gorgeous and the food was delicious! We sat up there for hours drinking wine and eating spinach and feta pies. It was the perfect way to end our time in Crete.

Our Honeymoon! Part 3: Bodrum

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 01:44:00 +0000

Getting to Bodrum (which is located about 4 hours away from Selcuk) was an adventure in and of itself. We had decided we would try out the Turkish public transportation system, but we were not entirely sure how it worked or what bus we were supposed to be on. The man we bought our tickets from loaded us onto a bus with a sign that said "Aydin," but he enthusiastically nodded his head when we kept saying "Bodrum?" so we decided to give it a go! We traveled on a little bus through the countryside for about 2 hours, dropping people off as we went, before we came to the town of Aydin and a big bus station. The bus driver took our bags off the bus and started walking away with them while he shouted "Bodrum!" so we trailed after him, weaving our way through the busy station. Eventually, he started chatting with another guy at a ticket counter, where he handed over our tickets for some new tickets and then promptly deposited our baggage on another bus. We got on this second bus, keeping our fingers crossed that we would end up in Bodrum. The man who took our tickets seemed to think we were in the right place, and so we decided to relax and enjoy our tour of the countryside.

Despite not entirely knowing how the entire system worked, we loved our experience with the Turkish public transportation system. The entire trip cost about 60 Turkish liras (30 US dollars), the buses were clean and air conditioned, and they followed a strict schedule. Brett's favorite part was when our bus pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and a man hopped the highway divider, climbed on the bus, put on a tie, and immediately began serving us bottled waters and nescafe.

Once we arrived in Bodrum, we realized the city had an entirely different feel than Istanbul or Selcuk. Bodrum hugs the Turkish coast, with a pretty main pedestrian street a few steps from the beach. The houses are all painted white and blue, with gorgeous purple bougainvillea growing in their gardens. The harbor is dominated by Bodrum Castle, which was built by Crusaders in 1402, and the sea is dotted with yachts and traditional wooden gulets. Restaurants let their tables spill onto the beach until they're practically in the water, and there is no shortage of bars or clubs.

The main street in Bodrum

In Bodrum, we had once again used the wonderful Airbnb and rented an adorable little stone house. The house had a cute little courtyard and was in the perfect location, just steps away from the water and the main street. After dropping off our luggage and getting settled, we walked along the main street and had lunch on the beach. Then we walked down to Bodrum Castle and toured the wonderful Underwater Archaeology Museum. It was fun to get inside the castle, and the museum had some great exhibits, but without a doubt one of the best parts was the view!

The window of our little stone house

Lunch on the beach! Too bad these people ruined our photo op!

Brett made me do this. And laughs every time he sees it.

Pretty view from the castle

We love honeymooning

On our way back from the castle, we stopped for some gelato. It was the start of a honeymoon tradition. I think we ended up having gelato every single day! After stopping at our house for a shower, we headed back down to the water and cozied up on a little love seat on the beach to watch the sunset. We ordered drinks and I - fluent Turkish speaker and alcohol connoisseur that I am - accidentally ordered a cocktail with peach in it. I'm allergic to peaches and could taste it right away, so I tried to explain to the waiter what happened and got a very long lecture about ordering drinks I didn't understand. Definitely not a highlight of the trip! Besides that little mishap, we loved sitting on the beach, enjoying our (non-peach) drinks, and watching the sun go down. It was very romantic!

I love gelato

Sunset drinks on the beach

Brett loves beer

He also really likes making this face

We are super into taking panorama shots with our new camera. Thanks daddy!

After our drinks, we had dinner at a yummy fish restaurant, where I fooled our waiter into thinking we were Turkish with my very good "hello" and "thank you!" and the women sitting next to us shared their birthday cake with us. Then, we went to a bar for more drinks so Brett could watch a soccer game (I think the entire town was there with us!).

The next day, we woke up early so we could arrange a trip on a gulet, a type of wooden sailing boat. After finding one that was going out for the day, we tried to grab a quick breakfast before we left. In Bodrum, however, a "quick breakfast" is an oxymoron. The only thing that we could really take "to go" was ice cream, which an alarming number of people suggested for so early in the morning. Starbucks wasn't even open until 10 am! After some waiters looked at us like we were absolutely insane for wanting to drink coffee while we walked instead of enjoying it leisurely at a cafe table, we convinced them to pour it into an ice cream cup. A small victory!

Cappuccino in an ice cream cup

After downing our cappuccino's, we climbed on board our gulet and settled in up on the top deck. It was fun to watch Bodrum's harbor disappearing as we headed out to sea! The boat made its way over to another island, dropped anchor, and we jumped off of the side into the gorgeous blue water. It was so much fun! Truly like something out of a dream! After swimming around, we climbed back up to the top deck and dried off in the sun as we headed to another little cove. After stops at a couple more coves, the crew fried up some fish and chicken for lunch. Delicious! Then it was off to a couple more coves before tea was served. Also delicious! We were both sad at the end of the day when our boat pulled back into Bodrum harbor. It was just so much fun!

I am burning. Even with so many layers of SPF 75 on!

Turkey is beautiful!

We were both sunburned and exhausted from our day in the sun, but we made our way over to western Bodrum for dinner at Sunger's Pizza, a famous and highly-recommended restaurant. It was our last dinner in Turkey, and we were so sad to be leaving! But also very excited for our next destination: Crete!

Our Honeymoon! Part 2: Selcuk and Ephesus

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 23:41:00 +0000

After Istanbul, Brett and I hopped on a plane to Izmir and took a 1-hour bus ride to get to Selcuk, a sleepy little town on the Turkish coast. Selcuk is famous for its close proximity to Ephesus, but we also loved it because of its charming main street, nesting storks, and gorgeous ruins. While we were in Selcuk, we stayed at the adorable Hotel Bella (which we highly recommend!).

After a delicious little lunch and some apple tea on the hotel's rooftop restaurant, we headed over to St. John's Basilica, which was literally right across the street. St. John's Basilica was built in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian, and is said to be the burial place of St. John the Apostle. The ruins were beautiful and - astonishingly - completely empty. Besides a young couple taking some wedding photos, we were completely alone in the ancient space. We wandered around, literally tripping over ancient columns and pieces of the Basilica, and enjoyed the views of Selcuk's floodplain and the looming Selcuk castle. The entire place was hauntingly beautiful and impossibly romantic, and visiting the Basilica was probably one of my favorite memories from our trip.

St. John's Basilica

At the tomb of St. John

St. John's Basilica

View of IsaBey Mosque from the Basilica

Reluctantly leaving St. John's, we walked down a little hill to see the IsaBey Mosque. Built in 1375, the IsaBey Mosque is one of the oldest known examples of a Turkish mosque featuring a courtyard and the only mosque to incorporate Roman columns into its design. Like the Basilica, the mosque was wonderfully empty of tourists, and Brett and I were free to explore the peaceful courtyard by ourselves. Afterwards, we walked to the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world before it was destroyed in 401 CE. Today, only one pillar remains of the site, standing guard over farmers' fields and some very noisy roosters. :-)

The IsaBey Mosque

All that remains of the Temple of Artemis

After exploring Selcuk, we headed back to our hotel's rooftop restaurant for a delicious dinner. The hotel - with its views of the Basilica and the castle all lit up at night - was incredibly romantic and the food was DELICIOUS. We especially loved the storks that had built enormous nests on the tops of the old cistern right across the street. The storks fly all the way from Africa and return to the same nest, with the same partner, every year. We could peek into their nests from our table, and had fun watching the rambunctious baby storks.

The view from dinner: Selcuk Castle at night (it was closed for an archaeological dig, so alas, we couldn't explore it).

The next day, we woke up early, had a lovely breakfast on the rooftop, and took a short bus ride to Ephesus. Ephesus was without a doubt one of the things we were most excited to see on our honeymoon, and it did not disappoint. The site is huge - in the 1st century, the city had over 250,000 people living in it! It took us three hours just to walk through it. Ever the scholar, Brett had fun reading all of the inscriptions that literally littered the place. We stood in awe as we took in the sweeping ruins and walked down the same marble streets that so many people had walked on before us. One little tip for those of you who might visit Ephesus one day: definitely visit the terraced houses! They have a separate admission fee, but are well worth it. You really get a peek inside Roman life at Ephesus, and the extent to which the houses were preserved is truly incredible.

Brett likes to take artsy photos :-)

This road is thousands of years old

Ephesus

The terraced houses

The Library of Celsus

Gorgeous

Ephesus

Ruins everywhere!

Brett climbed to the top of the amphitheater for this photo. Did you know that Paul preached here and was thrown out?

This is the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, where Mary was declared the Theotokos and Nestorius was excommunicated

After Ephesus, we stopped at the Cave of the Seven Sleepers, a local holy site where legend has it Christians hid, fell asleep, and woke up centuries later. The site is largely a necropolis, but the real highlight of the site is the food! We had these delicious "Turkish pancake" things filled with fresh spinach, feta, and spices - all cooked on a giant stone over a fire - and it was without a doubt one of the best meals of my entire life. I am hungry just thinking about it!

The best food you will ever have

Stuffed and happy!

After we had stuffed ourselves and had way too much apple tea, someone from our hotel drove us through the mountains and over to the House of the Virgin Mary. For those of you who don't know, I spent a huge part of undergrad and grad school studying the Virgin Mary, Marian apparitions, and female mystics. I LOVE this kind of stuff! So I was super excited to see the House of the Virgin Mary, both because it figures prominently in Mariology and because the entire house was discovered after a Catholic mystic named Anne Catherine Emmerich had visions of Mary's life at the house. Even though Anne Catherine Emmerich had never left Germany, she described the location of the house in such detail that an expedition was created and they discovered a house with a 1st century foundation that perfectly matched her description, right where she had said they would. Isn't that a neat little story?

The House of the Virgin Mary was in a lovely spot, and I enjoyed spending some time inside the little house, which has now been converted into a chapel. After lighting some candles, we stopped by the spring (the same spring that, according to legend, Mary herself would have used) and then we read some of the prayers that people had placed in the wall near the spring. I'm always amazed at how many women from all over the world and all different faiths come to Marian sites. And the house was a perfect example. Women had written prayers in every language you could think of!

Mary!

The House of the Virgin Mary

The spring

The prayer wall

By the time we left the House of the Virgin Mary, we were exhausted and excited about our next destination: Bodrum!

Our Honeymoon! Part 1: Istanbul

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:45:00 +0000

Istanbul was the perfect city to begin our two-week honeymoon in! We stayed in an adorable little studio apartment, complete with exposed brick walls, located right by Galata Tower, a looming old fortress built by the Venetians in 1348. Galata Tower was a nice introduction to this amazing city, where buildings built in 1348 stand watching over busy neighborhoods and mosques built in 1663 (above) are called "new." You could also see the tower from virtually everywhere we went, making it easy to find our way home.

Our first day in Istanbul, despite all of my assertions that there would be none of this napping business, we both collapsed on the bed and took a luxuriously long nap. We woke to the sound of the nearby muezzin emphatically calling people to prayer, and decided to set out to explore the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar. Built in 1660 and 1455, respectively, these bazaars are some of the oldest and largest in the world. They were absolutely packed with people and filled with the smells of spices, teas, and sweets. Brett and I aren’t big souvenir shoppers, but we did stop to buy some lokum, or Turkish Delight, in every flavor you could possibly imagine – rose, pistachio, hazelnut, honey. The list was seemingly endless! After that, we found an old café and got our hands on some Turkish Coffee. It was delicious, but also very strong and bitter, and Brett laughed at my face every time I took a sip. After our coffee, we wandered through the Grand Bazaar, looking at rugs, kilims, and a thousand evil eye charms. The Bazaar was overwhelming. It has 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops! It felt like we were in some kind of maze as we tried to find our way out.

Saffron in the Spice Bazaar

Inside the bazaar

Inside the bazaar!

Brett takes coffee drinking very seriously

It was STRONG.

Once we found our way out of the Bazaar, we walked down to the river and ate dinner at Hamdi’s, a riverfront restaurant with rooftop seating. The view was gorgeous – we could see the river, Galata Bridge, and Galata Tower across the way – but neither of us were crazy about the “Turkish Pizza” with minced lamb, walnut, and pomegranates on it.

Our view from dinner!

Oh hi, we're married.

The next day, we walked back down across Galata Bridge to get to back to Sultanhamet. Along the way, we picked up some simit, a type of sesame-coated Turkish bagel, from a street vendor (all I wanted to do in Istanbul was eat street food!). Our simit was served with some type of very delicious cheese and we sat in the square, listening to all of the muezzins call from their mosques, as we devoured them. We headed over to the Hagia Sophia, stopping at a fantastic little book shop along the way to pick up a Lonely Planet guidebook (we left our Frommer’s in Atlanta!). The Hagia Sophia was amazing! It was bigger than I had imagined it would be, but also much simpler in design. One of the most interesting things about visiting the Hagia Sophia is that you can see the history of so many empires inside her frescoed walls. In front of paintings depicting the crucifixion and the Theotokos (the Mother of God) are Arabic inscriptions from the building’s centuries as a mosque. It is such tangible evidence of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, and it is amazing to see how they sit side by side, forever intertwined.

Simit!

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sohpia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sohpia

After the Hagia Sophia, we walked through a pretty little park to the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was built in 1609 and is covered in 20,000 blue mosaic tiles. It was simply stunning!

The Blue Mosque


Momma bought me this lovely Lilly Pulitzer scarf for the trip! It came in handy!

After the Blue Mosque, we wandered over to the Hippodrome for a yummy lunch of roasted corn (I told you all I wanted to do was eat street food :-). Then, we headed down into the Basilica Cistern, which was built in the 6th century by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. The Cistern was super cool and had a great atmosphere. The huge columns - all 300 of them! - were lit up and if you peered down into the dark water you could see fish swimming around the ancient site. After the Cistern, we walked through a lovely park near Topkapi Palace and wandered into a lovely garden overlooking the Bosphorus River. We sipped chai, enjoyed the nice breeze, and watched the boats go by.

Have I mentioned I love street food?

Basilica Cistern

Lovely little tea garden

I could write a love song about my love for apple tea

Handsome man!

Unfortunately, the Topkapi Palace closed earlier than we thought, so we didn't get a chance to go inside. Instead, we walked back to Galata and grabbed dinner at a restaurant there before packing for our next destination: Selcuk and Ephesus!

[Shannon] The Last Name Project

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:57:00 +0000

In this series co-hosted by from two to one and The Feminist Mystique, we profile an array of individuals and couples about their last name decisions upon marriage or what they expect to choose if they marry. The goal is to explore how individuals make decisions about their last name, and to highlight the many possibilities. We will be posting profiles periodically and encourage you to stay connected via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you would like to participate in this series, email Danielle at danielle [at] fromtwotoone [dot] com or Shannon at hill [dot] shannonp [at] gmail [dot] com.

The following post is by Shannon, a newly married feminist, writer, fundraiser extraordinaire, and the founder of The Feminist Mystique!

As one of the co-founders of The Last Name Project, I think it is only fitting that my first post as a married woman is for The Last Name Project. Although, I don't think my decision will surprise anyone too much: I'm keeping my last name. And Brett is keeping his too.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've known I would not go the traditional take-your-husband's-last-name-without-thinking-about-it-much route. I saw my mom's name change three times in the course of a few years as she got divorced, enjoyed life as a single lady, and eventually remarried. The whole process seemed ridiculously tedious and - to use a word my 10-year-old self would have used - unfair. It seemed to imply that men have their own identities, but women do not; that, unlike men, who women are should fundamentally change when they marry.

As I've grown up, and heard the most common reasons women give for changing their name (perfectly summarized by my friend Kayla here), I've never been quite convinced. I don't like doing things just because they're traditional and think that, in fact, most of our traditions are deeply patriarchal. I don't think it is easier to take Brett's last name. In fact, not taking his last name and not filling out a ton of paperwork has been much easier. As the daughter of divorced parents and a member of a "blended" family, I've never understood the significance some people place on having the same last name as your children. My mom and I don't have the same last name, and we're very close. Also, it really wasn't that confusing for anyone to figure out who my parents were, despite the name differences.

Most importantly, I knew that I wanted my marriage to be equitable. That I wanted my career to be just as valued as his. That I wanted parenting responsibilities to be equally shared. That I wanted us each to retain our own individual identities as we worked together to live out our dreams and share our lives. Simply taking my husband's last name has never seemed to fit with these goals, even if just symbolically.

By the time I started dating Brett, I had already developed strong opinions on the matter. Simply changing my last name to his was never an option. It was a deal breaker, really. I broached it with him one day in our first year of dating, and he didn't seem to flinch. I'm not going to pretend like I remember his exact words, but they were something along the lines of "I won't expect you to take my last name if you don't expect me to take yours." That was a deal I was perfectly willing to make. :-)

A few months after we got engaged, Brett and I decided that we should think more seriously about what we were going to do with our last names. We quickly ended up deciding that keeping our own names or having both of us change our names to a hyphenated one were the two options we felt most comfortable with. We liked the idea of hyphenating our names because we could have the same name, but we realized that neither of us really cared that much about having the same last name, even with our sentimental wedding-planning emotions running high. Brett, always a man after my heart, also worried that without explaining that he had also changed his last name, symbolically it might still seem like I was the one taking on his last name: "It might not seem as symbolically anti-patriarchal to say 'My new name is Shannon Hill-Maiden' than it is to say 'I'm keeping my name.'" Obviously, concerns like these are one of the reasons why I love this man.

Before officially deciding what to do with our names, we also decided we should figure out what our potential children would be called. While I didn't think it would be an issue, I didn't want to keep my last name only to have Brett insist that our children should take his (which seems to be way too common of a phenomena). Luckily, it didn't seem to bother Brett one bit if his children didn't have his exact same name, and we decided that they will take both of our names in hyphenated form (Hill-Maiden or Maiden-Hill, we haven't decided which sounds better yet).

With that settled, it was official: we were both keeping our last names.

In the few short weeks since I've been married, however, I've been surprised at how many times I've already been called "Mrs. Maiden," and "Shannon Maiden," or even the absolutely dreaded "Mrs. Brett Maiden" (I'm sorry, did I miss the fact that I have completely ceased to exist?!) I've been surprised that one of the first questions everyone has asked me is, "What is your new name?!" And while I find myself slightly annoyed that so many people automatically assume I am taking my husband's name, I also know that every time I tell someone I'm keeping my name, I'm challenging the normative.

And really, can there be any better way to celebrate the start of your marriage than by chipping away at a patriarchal paradigm?

Sounds like the start of happily ever after to me.

Honeymoon!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 02:54:00 +0000

I think I've been so busy trying to survive work and wedding planning that I've neglected to tell you all where we're going for our honeymoon. And since I know you are just DYING from the suspense, I thought I'd finally announce to the blog world that we are going to (drum roll, please!)...................

TURKEY AND GREECE!

I am beyond excited about this trip and absolutely can't wait to go! In the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a little bit more about this trip - including how I'm staying organized, my packing list, a few new honeymoon outfits, and a few new honeymoon underthings (I suppose you can't call them unmentionables if you're planning on doing a whole blog post on them, can you?). If you're familiar with either Greece or Turkey, I'd love to hear your travel tips in the comments or via email!

Steubenville: Justice and Rape Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 02:10:00 +0000

Yesterday, like most of you, I waited anxiously to hear the verdict of the Steubenville case. I was relieved when the defendants were found guilty and felt a glimmer of hope, both that the survivor might find some solace in the verdict and that this "guilty" meant that we, as a nation, finally understood the need for justice.

However, I was quickly dismayed by the media coverage of the case. I was dismayed by the sighs of pity for these young men and the tremendous concern for the "promising athletes" whose futures now look grim. As if they were the victims. As if the real victim had, so tragically, ruined the careers and lives of these boys instead of vice versa. And any glimmer of hope that this verdict kindled was stamped out by the overwhelming demonstration of our rape culture.

Much has been written in the hours since the decision. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC have been, rightfully, criticized for revealing the name of the victim during the course of their coverage. Dave Zirin, who writes over at The Nation, has a great piece about the link between jock culture and rape culture. And Maya, over at Feministing, captures perfectly the way that I, and I suspect many of you, feel in the aftermath of this trial when she says:

I don’t want to live in a world in which a mainstream media outlet reporting on the verdict barely mentions the victim in their rush to lament the fact that the “promising lives” of the defendants have been ruined and that this “will haunt them for the rest of their lives.” I want to live in a world in which negative consequences are considered the logical effect of committing a terrible crime, and a sentence for rape that is shorter than those regularly doled out for drug possession or downloading academic papers is viewed as pretty damn lenient.

I don’t want to live in a world in which girls are so well-schooled in the consequences they’re sure to face for speaking up about a sexual assault that the victim immediately tried to assure people that she “wasn’t being a slut” and initially didn’t want to name the defendants ”because I knew everyone would just blame me.” I don’t want to live in a world that proves these fears justified time and time again.

Councilwoman Mrs. Ben Wyatt

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:51:00 +0000

Do you watch Parks and Recreation? You should! It is, objectively, the funniest show in the world and features one of the best female characters to ever hit the screen. Seriously, I frequently ask myself, "What would Leslie Knope do?" and last week, when I had to stay up basically all night every night for work, I reminded myself that Leslie Knope would LOVE to be up all night working on a project, so I should love it too. It kind of worked. :-)

Recently, Parks and Recreation aired the episode I've long been waiting for: the Leslie and Ben wedding episode! It was magical and hilarious ,but my favorite part was when Ben said, "I really want you to take my last name… it’s just really important to me symbolically that Leslie Knope disappears and becomes Leslie Wyatt. Or Councilwoman Mrs. Ben Wyatt. That’s fine, too. It’s a deal breaker." Leslie's face was priceless, and I am so grateful to this show for making a joke about how ridiculous it is for a man to demand a woman take his last name.

Congratulations Leslie and Ben! I hope you have many more seasons of love together.

P.S. I wish I had been like Leslie, and asked for a wedding dress that captured "the sensuality of Eleanor Roosevelt combined with the animal magnetism of Lesley Stahl.”

A Feminist Wedding: Our Save the Dates

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:40:00 +0000

I have finally bounced back from this plague illness I've had for the past two weeks and lucky for you, that means you get to learn a little bit more about our wedding. :-)

When we went through our budget shortly after getting engaged, one of the things that seemed way too high according to our wedding budget estimator was paper. To start, Brett is definitely not a huge fan of paper. He could care less. And while I love to have a nice stack of pink flat note cards in my desk at all times for writing thank you notes and other things, I've never been a huge connoisseur of paper either. Also, I've never cared too much about what the save the dates and the wedding invitations I've received have looked like. After an initial "awww" and maybe a few months stint on our refrigerator, I don't keep them stashed away somewhere as keepsakes.

We assumed everyone on our guest list would do the same and that our save the dates and invitations would eventually bite the dust (especially the save the dates, which will be replaced by an invitation a few months pre-wedding). And since there is absolutely no reason to spend $3 per person on something that is going to end up in the trash, we made the decision to cut our paper budget way, way down.

To save money, we decided to make the save the dates ourselves. There are a ton of cute free printable templates on the internet, and I spent hours trying to choose between all of the free printable save the dates over at Wedding Chicks. In the end, we chose this one because it was casual, had a vintage feel, and didn't force us to commit to a super-defined color scheme right away. It also had space for us to include a link to our wedding website, allowing us to give guests lots of information without using more paper. All we had to do was insert our photo and information into the template and voila! our save the dates had been "designed." We bought ecru paper from Paper Source, printed them on our printer, and cut them out while watching Downton Abbey episodes (tip: getting a paper cutter is SO MUCH BETTER! I resisted and tried to cut with scissors for awhile, but once I got my hands on a paper cutter, cutting the save the dates went much faster and looked much better).

Photo Source: Wedding Chicks

Besides printing them ourselves, we were able to save money by going with a postcard style save the date. We were able to fit 3 postcards onto a single 8x11 piece of paper (and thus, did not have to buy too much paper). We also got to skip envelopes (less money and better for the environment) and got to buy the reduced-price postcard stamps. It seems like only a small difference, but in the end it ended saving us around $60 in postage. Postcards for the win!

In total, we spent $15 on our save the dates and about $20 on postage, a huge difference from when we first started looking at save the dates and thought we might have to spend $200-$300 plus postage. Spending less on these has freed up space in our budget for prettier invitations and a few other special things that hopefully guests will enjoy more than their save the dates.

And if you're still looking for save the dates, the ladies over at Wedding Chicks have recently added two absolutely adorable save the dates that I wish I had an excuse to use:

Photo Source: Wedding Chicks

P.S. I didn't include a photo of our real save the date because by the time I blacked out the date and our address and our wedding website, it did not look super cute. You'll just have to imagine it!

Monday Motivation

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:24:00 +0000

I'm skipping the usual Monday Motivation quote and posting Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime show instead, because what can be more motivational than a Destiny's Child reunion?

P.S. I was tweeting about some of the Super Bowl commercials over on twitter, if you'd like to see.

Florida Man Accused of Fraud After Adopting His Wife's Last Name

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:18:00 +0000

Recently, a man in Florida was accused of fraud and had his driver's license suspended after he opted to adopt his wife's last name when they got married.

Isn't that ridiculous?!

Photo of Mr. and Ms. Dinh, Courtesy of Reuters

The man says he followed the same process that a woman would follow to change her last name after she got married, but was later told that that process is "only for women" and that he has to go through a much more time-consuming and expensive process if he wants to legally change his name.

Apparently, only a few states have received the memo that women are not just chattel who are passed from their fathers to their husbands. Only nine states - nine! - have gender neutral marriage name change laws: California, New York, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Iowa, Georgia, and North Dakota.

The whole incident makes me even more grateful to be involved with The Last Name Project and reminds us all that our laws, not just our traditions, still reinforce the good ole' patriarchal status quo!

I'd love to hear from men who changed their names when they got married. Did you have go through an alternative route? Did you encounter legal resistance?

[Maia] The Last Name Project

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:20:00 +0000

In this series co-hosted by from two to one and The Feminist Mystique, we will be profiling an array of individuals and couples about their last name decisions upon marriage or what they expect to choose if they marry. The goal is to explore how individuals make decisions about their last name, and to highlight the many possibilities. We will be posting profiles periodically and encourage you to stay connected via Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you would like to participate in this series, email Danielle at danielle [at] fromtwotoone [dot] com or Shannon at hill [dot] shannonp [at] gmail [dot] com.

The following post is by Maia, a Midwestern transplant to the Bay Area where she is a chiropractic intern by trade (just shy of graduating!), and a modern dancer by passion. She lives in a treehouse with her partner B (writer of urban half-truths,charlieupsidedown.wordpress.com) and dog Charlie (hiking aficionado, chaser of tennis balls and squirrels). The non-traditional and varied relationship values of the Bay Area have provided endless food-for-thought about how she defines individualism, feminism, and partnership, and these views are continually evolving.

My last name has always held some frustration for me. It’s difficult to spell, can be phonetically pronounced more than one way, and no one ever gets it right. My first name is somewhat unique and seems to give people trouble as well—really, what’s so difficult about it? —So the name change dilemma has always been about aesthetics to me. As I got older, I got in touch with the independence of keeping my own name, and I admire my father and the family I came from. (As a side note, I can’t help but wonder; is keeping your father’s name much different than taking your husbands’, from a feminist standpoint?) I also considered that I will become licensed as a chiropractor and begin a practice before I marry. The logistics of changing my name later on become increasingly challenging and can pose professional risks after trying to establish myself by one name.

I don’t particularly label myself a feminist, mostly because FEMINIST seems to have taken on an extremist representation in a lot of ways. I consider myself a strong woman, and I believe in fiercely embracing and supporting concerns close to women and modern female justice. However, I don’t view keeping my own name as an act of defiance against the system which would take it from me, and I don’t view taking a partners’ as an act of submission to masculine oppression. My sentiments may be shaped by a distinct early memory of my mom Christmas-gifting my dad her driver’s license in his name after 10 years of marriage.

B and I have been together 5 years, and while not engaged, we have a weightier task on our minds—choosing our own last name. I like his last name. It sounds good with my first, it’s German like me, it’s pronounceable and phonetically spelled, it’s right at the beginning of the alphabet and I’m tired of being at the end. But he relates little to the family of his namesake; his relationship with his father has always been tenuous, and a shift in religious expression has widened the gap with the rest of the family. At first I felt it was malicious to forego his father’s name, but I had to admit that I wasn’t thrilled about building a family on a name we didn’t value.

When B suggested we take his deceased mother’s maiden name, I liked his purposeful and honoring intent. It seems like a logical solution, but superstition is holding us back—of a large family, none have survived to carry on the name, and that’s a little foreboding to us. So we began to make up names, or try out ones we saw on publications or signs. We have carved a nitch unique to us as a couple, and choosing a name that represents that is inviting. Some are clever, some are silly, some are basic, some are rooted in reason or logic. Some, we really like. But it’s serious business to legally amend your formal designation. It’s hard to come up with something you like and can live with, that also has value. Currently, we’re weighing some frontrunners that allude to family but allow us to be original. This way I can share a name with my children, further my individual identity, and feel no guilt for keeping OR changing my given name.

Motivational Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:25:00 +0000

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Shannon on Pinterest

A Feminist Wedding: Our Venue

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:22:00 +0000

Picking out our venue was one of the first things we did after getting engaged, and it really has been one of my favorite parts of wedding planning. There are countless possibilities, and different venues shape the look and feel of your wedding so significantly.

We knew from the beginning that we didn't want a traditional ballroom or country club. Both of us really loved the idea of having the reception outside under the stars, and we wanted something that felt cozy and slightly backyard-ish. We wanted it to feel slightly vintage, in the sense that we wanted it to be more like weddings in the "old days" when everyone celebrated at the bride's house (except no one was celebrating in our tiny apartment). I was really inspired, as strange as it might be, by the wedding scenes in Little Women and Little House on the Prairie. I also knew that I wanted it to feel slightly southern, but absolutely did not want a plantation. They were too grand for the type of feel we wanted, and I didn't like the idea of getting married at a place that was so deeply rooted in slavery and oppression.

Logistically, most of our guests are flying in and I wanted it to be fairly easy for them to get to the wedding from the airport. That meant I had to forgo any dreams of having a wedding in the North Georgia Mountains, which would easily be a couple hours drive.

In the end, it came down to two venues: one an old bed and breakfast and the other a polo farm. I thought the polo farm would be the easy choice, because I am obsessed with horses, but when I went to tour it I realized a.) that I would be walking around in my wedding dress on straw and gravel inches from horse poop and b.) that turning a working polo farm into a wedding and dinner-space is actually a large amount of work. In the end, we settled on the bed and breakfast.

The Veranda Inn is in this cute little town of Senoia, right next door to where I grew up (fun fact: it is also the filming location for The Walking Dead, so I get to see lots of zombies on my trips down there!). The Veranda was built in 1906 as the Holberg Hotel. It has fireplaces, tons of character, a huge wraparound porch, rocking chairs, and an old red barn in the back. It couldn't be more perfect for us and I am absolutely in love with it!

Here are a few photos, if you'd like to see.

Margaret Mitchell's House

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:07:00 +0000

On Saturday, Brett and I did something I've wanted to do since we first moved to Atlanta - visited Margaret Mitchell's house!

As a little girl, I was obsessed with Gone with the Wind. I read it for the first time in fifth grade, again in seventh grade, and again in high school. I was so in love with Scarlett O'Hara. I loved her spunk, her passion, her grit, and her determination. She did whatever it took to survive, and I loved that about her. I still do. She was selfish and self-centered, and while lots of people (especially feminists!) hate her for it, I think it is a refreshing change for a female character to have her own ambitions and desires, and not just exist to support and love a man. Of course, this little ode to Scarlett isn't complete without an acknowledgement that the book is complicated and full of troubling depictions of racism and sexuality. But I'll save the feminist analysis of Gone with the Wind for another day and another post....

Back to the visit! My love for Gone with the Wind has always been coupled with a love for Margaret Mitchell. I've always been inspired (and continue to be inspired) by women writers, and completely idolized Margaret Mitchell growing up. I wanted to be just like her. And by just like her, I mean I wanted to write "the next Gone With the Wind." A look through my childhood papers will reveal many abandoned attempts to write such a novel, including some very in-depth costume descriptions (because everyone knows a good book starts not with an outline or a plot idea, but outfits).

I think Margaret is sometimes overshadowed by her famous protagonist, so I thought I'd share a little bit about her for those of you who aren't familiar with her:

Margaret came from an old and wealthy Atlanta family, and as a young girl frequently accompanied her mother to suffrage events (I'm slightly jealous ). After a year up at Smith College during WWI, Margaret's first fiance was mortally wounded in combat and her mother died of the flu. She returned home to run her family's house and believed that she had given up any hope of a career in journalism. But despite these hardships, Margaret did not resign herself to a demure life at home.After her society debut, she performed an Apache dance that included a kiss with her male partner and "shocked" Atlanta. She was a famous flirt, and in 1922, a local gossip column said of Mitchell, "...she has in her brief life, perhaps, had more men really, truly 'dead in love' with her, more honest-to-goodness suitors than almost any other girl in Atlanta.^"

^{At 22, Margaret married Berrien "Red" Upshaw, a young bootlegger who had been kicked out of the Naval Academy twice (I'm going to guess "Red" was the inspiration for Rhett). After suffering from ten months of physical and emotional abuse, they divorced and Margaret got a job as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal. She wrote articles about fashion and history, including profiles of several prominent southern women. The latter series generated significant controversy, and Margaret was criticized for portraying women who "did not fit the accepted standards of femininity."}^{In 1925, Margaret married her second husband, John Marsh. Shortly afterwards, she broke her ankle and quit working at the Atlanta Journal. It was during this time, "a moment of weakness" as she described it, that she started on Gone with the Wind, although she wouldn't finish it until 1936.}

^{The apartment that we visited is the one she moved into after marrying John Marsh; the one she lived in while writing Gone with the Wind. Because I knew that Margaret came from a wealthy family, I had suspected that it would be quite a grand house. But it was a tiny, tiny apartment! Like, unbelievably tiny. There was a small living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a small bathroom. The dining table was in the bedroom, the desk was in the living room, and the kitchen was basically a closet with a sink, a stove, and a single cabinet. Reportedly, Margaret used copies of her Gone with the Wind manuscript to prop up their old and wobbly couch. Her husband was, by all accounts, incredibly supportive of her writing venture. When asked by a reporter if he was proud of his wife for publishing Gone with the Wind, he remarked, "I was proud of my wife before she wrote a book." Sounds like quite a catch!}

^{I loved finally getting to see Margaret Mitchell's house. I couldn't believe how tiny their little apartment was, and it was really inspirational in a strange way. I always envision writers having this perfect space, with a grand plan, and a swift book deal.}To think of Margaret writing in their cramped apartment, just as a way to occupy herself while her ankle healed, and laboring over it for almost ten long years before seeing it published, was somehow encouraging and heartwarming. Sometimes you can't wait for things to be perfect, sometimes life throws you curve balls (or broken ankles), and sometimes you have to work at something for a long time to see it through.

^{They didn't allow photos in the apartment, but here is an exterior shot. You should definitely visit if you're ever in Atlanta!}

Motivational Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:32:00 +0000

Source: lyrics2liveby.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:24:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

2012 absolutely flew by! I really can't believe it has come and gone.

Looking back, if I had to describe 2012 in three words, they would be: the unknown, change, progress. We started out the year not knowing where we would finish it, not knowing which PhD program Brett would get into and where we would live for the next 5-6 years. I didn't know what kind of job I would have, or even if I would have a job at all. Once we made the decision to move to Atlanta, we spent countless hours apartment and job searching and coordinating logistics of a big move. We left the town and school where we met and said lots of tearful goodbyes to good friends. We set off on the Blue Ridge Parkway and spent days winding through mountains without knowing exactly what the future held. Brett started a new program. I started a new job (and in some ways, a new career). We got a new puppy. And we got engaged.

It was a whirlwind of a year full of big changes. In many ways, I think I'm only beginning to stop reeling from all of them. And while it was definitely difficult, at times, to deal with so much change, it was also a great year! I got a job within two weeks of moving, which is something I'm so grateful for in this economic climate. I'm not entirely sure development is the career for me, but I'm learning so much and working with great people for a great organization. We found a gorgeous apartment. Our little puppy has brought us more joy, laughter, and cuddles than we ever thought possible. And Brett and I really grew as a couple. Somewhere along the way, we became this much stronger team and learned to work even better together.

I'm grateful for the holidays and the new year, because it gave me some time to reflect on just how big of a year 2012 was for me - and for Brett and I. It also gave me some time to stop looking backward and just spinning to keep up; to pause and look forward. And when I did, I realized that 2013 can be an absolutely fantastic year if I try and make it one. I want to use my time intentionally this year to grow as a person, to advance in my career, to pursue the things I'm passionate about, to think about what it is exactly I'm passionate about and want to spend my life doing, to get more organized, to write more, to volunteer more, and to read more. Not a small list, I know. But I want to make sure that as we settle into life here in the south that I'm really taking advantage of my talents and gifts, giving back to the world, and creating a foundation for the life that I've always dreamed of living. I want to let go of self-doubt and fear of failure and really pursue my goals. I need to start going after the ambitions that I guard closely deep down inside - ambitions that are too scary even to write down as new year's resolutions. I don't just want to get through this next year, spinning faster and faster until another year is over. I yearn to flourish.

So here is to a new year! Let's spend it being the very best version of ourselves and making the world a better place for women.

Engaged Christmas Recap!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:04:00 +0000

I head back to work today, and before I delve into my resolutions and goals for 2013 I thought I'd try and pretend I was still on vacation by sharing some of my favorite photos from the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Shannon) — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:48:00 +0000

I wanted to stop by today to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I'm in Arizona spending Christmas with Brett and his family (my first Christmas away from my family) and then we're heading to Los Angeles for an engagement party. I hope you're having a wonderful time filled with family, friends, and yummy food!

The Nativity by Gerard van Honthorst