Last Italian Days, Getting back, and Kicking Ass.

Hey guys. I am sorry for long absence. I have not found the inspiration to write the past couple days and I wanted to wait until it felt right to type. I still don't really want to write but I miss hearing your comments. Evan, thanks for the mail and advice, Karly, thanks for keeping up, Tiff, good talking to you last night, Ian, I love you and miss you man, Emily and Jo, I love you guys and can't wait to see you, Alex, I get a lot of my humor from you and Ian...Your quips are hilarious and that is a gift that you have had ever since I have looked up to you. Mom and Dad, I love you guys and I'm pulling for the other side to pay up pretty damn soon. Music, thanks for joining the party and for the comment, sorry but I do not know your name. To everyone else...thanks for keeping up with my antics and I want everyone to know that I think about them everyday and you guys are in my prayers.

The last of the Florentine air....
My weekend in Cinque Terre will go in the memory banks for my entire life. I didn't get to mention the soccer guys much in the last post...but we all stuck together like best friends on my week in Italy. I want to give a special thanks to Connor, Brian, Jake, and Chase. You guys have made my stay a little easier and I loved our wine filled nights on the town.
We explored the whole town. Connor even went running with me one day. After our long run/walk I decided to take the gang of bro's on a hike that I did last year. It was great to get out of the city and immerse yourself in the waters of Tuscany. You could see the look on all of their faces. They were out of their element and were treking into new lands. It was the same feeling I had when I hiked. It was great. We made out way to a little outskirt town and had coffees and beers. We hiked about 4 miles back into town and stopped at Fort Belvedere to get another great vantage of Florence. We took some goofy pictures but this one right below actually turned out really well.



I love this pic.

So after our days of doing these types of activities, we would see what the girls were up to and I would try to think up something fun for us to do at night. Hannah and Lindsay had an absolute ball with the Crepes so that was a success. And the clubs that we went to were filled with dancing, so that was good too.


*Lindsay and Hannah

So the icing on the cake was Cinque Terre once again. I can't talk about this place enough.

It is where tension, seriousness, and formality go to die.

After a beach filled day, Jake and I saw this little cathdral sitting on top of a mountain. I then asked a local in Italian,

I pointed to the top of a mountain...
"How do you get to that little cathedral?"
He chuckled,
"My friend, that is a hike. But this is the way..."

He explained and Jake and I started out. It was a great hike. Im talkin worn out steps at vertical angles. I felt like we were in search of the Holy Grail or something.
One thing that I always tell myself when I go hiking or running is that, God seems to reward those who go the extra mile. When we reached the summit after 2 1/2 hours of hiking, I was face to face with the most beautiful view I have ever seen in my life. This is the actual picture. No postcards...just me behind the digital device. We stayed up there for about 45 minutes.



Zipping into the future. My journey home from Italy wasn't an easy one. I had a 5 hour train layover in Paris when I got back into France.
....Paris fucking sucks.

So my first days back were relaxed. You can't stay in a paradise like Italy for too long...you will spoil the effect. I left Italy wanting more and that is how I like it. I never want to feel bored with that beauty.
I conducted practices like usual. The girls had a softball game on Saturday. They creamed the hell out of Les Andeley and that was that.

Jean Luc and I had something planned for a long while for our Sunday's games. So on June 22, 2008, the Bois Guillaume Woodchucks enjoyed something that has not been apart of the club in their 20+ years of existance.

Intro Music.

Jean Luc finally got the city to lend us a sound system with long ass extension cords. So I got a list and had the guys write down what songs they wanted before they came up to the plate. It was great.
I'm not going to do a game summary because I don't feel the need. We creamed Cherbourg 12-0 and 7-3. I don't want to talk about the games but the feelings the guys had.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Hannah Carter and Ashley Vincel came up from the DU Italy class to spend the weekend with me. They enjoyed Paris for a couple days and train'd it to Rouen for two nights. So they were at the games. You would also be right in saying the guys were all about that. I will not get into detail what the guys were saying about the American girls...but you can imagine for yourself. So we had Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," and "Put Me In Coach," by John Fogherty blaring through our one loudspeaker between the innings. It was great. Before the game started, Anne Clair (one of my Softball players) took the mic and announced starting line-ups for both teams. It was an incredible feeling. These guys have never had their names announced through a loudspeaker while standing on a baseline. It was great to see the smiles and jeers from both sides.

The intro music was just fantastic. One could hear anything from Olivear's AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" to Pierre's choice of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." Hahaha, it was so great. I went with a more classical selection of "The Kiss," performed by Clannad, the violin filled jig found in the Last of the Mohicans.

Great day. We had a barbeque afterwards and played our Baseball Golf game. More players, more beer, more laughter. Great day and I am blessed that I have been able to witness such joy. It would have made your heart smile Dad.

That is it for now. Oh Ian...almost forgot..."Acacia" is actually getting pretty fucking good. Thanks for your patience guys and I hope I haven't lost ya. I love you guys and I mean that sincerely. I will sit down and talk to each and every one of you soon, as we share a bottle of wine. Au Revoir.