a veg life

(posted by Emily)  12 July 2015 Casperia, Italy With nowhere to be until 11 on Sunday, we took advantage of the rare opportunity to sleep in. Of course, it's all relative, but staying in bed till 9 was great. We ventured upstairs to the breakfast room at La Torretta, where we met Maureen, the b&b's owner, and her daughter Jennifer. They had lots of fresh fruits, toast, pastries, juice, coffee, and even soya milk for us to enjoy. The sun-filled room was airy and simple, and we loved the chance to chat with Maureen, who is Welsh, about what brought her to Italy and Casperia.  The patio off the breakfast room  Before we knew it, it was time to head down to Vigna to meet up with Johnny. It was funny--throughout our stay in the village, when people asked what we were doing there, all we had to say was, "We're going with Johnny" and we'd get lots of nods and moments of understanding. Everybody knows Johnny, and knows the tourists he brings in to the village.  We...

(posted by Emily)  This weekend marked the first of our many trips in 2014 . Because of President's Day, both Rick and I had Monday off from school. We decided to make a vacation out of it, and go see our amazing friends Brian, CJ, George, Hannah, and Ella. Rick and I first met Brian while teaching with The Academy  in Tempe, AZ and he has always had a special place in our hearts. In fact, he officiated our wedding in September! We didn't have much planned for the weekend (which makes for the best kind of weekend, if you ask me), but did have a chance for some "adult-only" fun, thanks to CJ's brother and sister-in-law (Hooray, David and Laura!). Our first stop was Saint Arnold Brewing Company for their Saturday tasting . Rick and Brian heading to the brewery The brewery is housed in an old school building, with a beer hall on the second floor. We met up with Melinda and Paul and headed inside.  Admission was only $8, and we received a tasti...