footie

so like last time, i've included a song that rocked on the stadium speakers during warm up. click play as you read the post so you feel as if you were there :)

during warm ups. there's not a lot of people in the stadium yet because it's still pretty early. we were just looking for a place with shade to keep from dying from the heat! it was 103 degrees!!!

ld (tay's man, landon donovan with the ball) and alan gordon coming out for warm up.

some of the boys (from right to left): pete, david, ante, alan and landon (with the ball) yup, i know them so well i can tell who's who by their profiles and even the back of their heads!

fcd forward kenny cooper (with hiked up shorts). he had a good game. 2 goals in 2 minutes?! it was so INSANE, the stadium exploded! he might be on his way to europe. there have been offers since last thursday.

the boys starting their stretches. we made MANY comments during the different positions. some were just so hard to keep quiet about. :) oh, and yup, the game was televised.

ruud (galaxy head coach) giving autographs & rockin the dressy-casual look for the scorcher of a night. when he went past us, monica thought for sure that he was going back to the locker room to change into cooler clothes. but, we were wrong. he kept on with his metrosexual self that evening & looked GOOD. :)

we nicknamed the staff dude tiny. and made up stories about him. hey, what else are we supposed to do during warm ups besides drool at the boys, drink beer and invent ways to get past security and onto the field?

yup, we were super close to the field!!! 2nd row...the closest so far! :) we chatted with these beckham dudes throughout & after the game (there were 3 of them). i fit right in with my beckham jersey as well!

here we are. totally sick of the score but managing to smile. the beer buzz and surrounding fellow galaxy fans helped us power through the ass-whipping the boys got.

game attendance: 21,000

no other man can ever make picking up trash look THIS GOOD.

landon was extremely quiet...it was a bit of a disappointment.

at one point in the game, david was right in front of us. i screamed out, "david, we love you!" and although he began to run off to go chase the ball, he flashed me a thumbs up!

for the ladies: here's your reward for visiting my blog today! is that a view or is that a VIEW?!??! {fanning self}

sick

i was still happy when this photo was taken from our 2nd row seats as the game started. the boys were TERRIBLE and lost to fcd tonight, 4-nil. kuddos to kc (kenny cooper) though, he scored 2 goals as he is deciding whether to answer europe's knock on the door. post more tomorrow. beer buzz still in effect. :)

countdown

*to the la galaxy/fc dallas game in frisco: 1 day
*to when i leave for home to see my family & friends: 6 days
*to when i will be @ a proper beach...with sand instead of pebbles like in sicily: 7 days

life. is. good.

syracuse, sicily

there was a constant battle over sicily (was sought after due to its strategic location). there was a strong presence of both the romans and the greeks in the sites that we visited.

roman presence...

another site for gladiatorial games

these huge stone boxes were for the wealthy people back in the day. this is where they would put them after they passed away, along with their jewels and other treasures. (the todd-ster and me "shooting" each other when we should have been listening to the guide...again.)

the greek influence? sicily used to be a greek colony. here's the greek ampitheatre, the heart of the city. it was the home of government and theatre.

other half of the ampitheatre

us in front of one of many caves at the top of the greek ampitheatre (where they would put dead bodies...ooooh, right up my alley!!!)

cave where prisoners were kept. it was unstable times back then...one day you could be a prominent greek man and the next you could be a slave.

one of the oldest temples in syracuse

piazza del duomo

the cathedral in piazza del duomo

inside the cathedral

check out the floors....amazing...

so what does one have for lunch after touring the historical sites of syracuse? fried calamari, of course!!! this meal was AWESOME.

"working" lunch

from last friday. we met to gab some more about our trip, compare notes about the jet lag and share wishes about being in italy right now. :)

capri

getting on the charter to take us to capri (correctly pronounced CAH-pree)

laura and me getting ready for the day's adventure

cool tile map

blue grotto. now you feelin' me on the blunt force trauma?!?!?! refer to my death list post.

although i joke about the death risk, it seriously was one of the best things we did on the trip.

after watching others go in & out for about 10 minutes, we were all pretty anxious for our turn. yup, that's me in the front of the boat...there's an awkward story about that. as we approached the opening of the cave, the man began maneuvering the boat through & urgently told us, "GET DOWN! LAY DOWN!" so, i started laying down, but then found myself in a *very* compromising position and it was too late to change it. let's just say i got to know our boatman *extremely* well as he practically laid on top of me. i must have turned 50 shades of red. good thing it was cool & dark inside of the blue grotto!

the girls about to go in!!!

inside the cave. once we got in and sat back up (and i rearranged my body to a more modest position) we made a loop around the cave. it was an awesome sight. all the boatmen (there were several other boats in the cave) began serenading us with an italian song.

we were in awe of the blue glow. it was sooooo beautiful.

these 2 men are the chair lift operators. they insisted on having me take their picture just prior to me getting on. one of em's antonio and i forget the other dude's name...

the chair lift. brought back memories of the ski lifts from my college days in oregon.

the view was magnificent from the chair. so quiet and peaceful.

and what's a trip to capri without a little shopping? on this path, it was one upscale store after the next.

making my purchase! it was *very* exciting!!!

the main square. our guide told us that paparazzi hang out here. it is quite common for celebrities to be spotted @ one of the tables.

my lunch...it was YUMMY!

pompeii

the main square with vesuvius in the background

one of the many street fountains. each had a different design. our guide said it served as a location marker. for example:

me: hey, i'm having a kickback @ my house after work. you coming?
friend: sure, after i do my gymnastics though. where do you live?
me: 3 doors down from the fountain with the ox on it.
friend: oooh, that's a swanky street...
me: yup, that's how i roll.
friend: cool, i'm down.

the streets of pompeii. check out the crosswalk ahead.

cast of a person. people were found in similar positions: either praying or covering their faces because they were beginning to suffocate.

old school pizza place with oven and mills.

men's sauna room

detailed decor on the wall. these little guys went all the way around the room like crown molding does.

balcony of a brothel. the ladies would lure their clients in by hanging out up there.

bar. in foreground, wine portals. in background: private rooms for *other activities*. one thing i learned was that the citizens and visitors of pompeii sure were horn dogs!