Ciao!

Liz says her goodbyes:

I can't believe it's here. Sometime early Saturday morning I'll be boarding a plane, only to arrive at the Atlanta airport for a 7 hour layover. No worries. I have a friend picking my BFF and I up and we'll be escorted around town and taken somewhere for lunch and drinks. Then I'll start my regime of Tylenol PMs and Adavan- some sedative I BEGGED to get from the doc to help ease the travel discomfort. Doctors are so stingy with the good stuff.

Once we leave Atlanta, it's around 7 hours, maybe 8 or 9, in the air. I quit paying attention to details involving any plane ride over 4 hours long. I'm going to have to break my lifelong streak and use a plane restroom. I'm already feeling icky. We land in Rome at 8:30 am. The day begins.

Now that I think about it, I'm going to be going on something like 36 to 48 hours without a shower. Well, when in Rome...

While I'm away, Killer has total control of this blog. How long has it been since he's had to run the company solo? I know they're capable hands, but nonetheless, I feel I bit sad and nostalgic. Make me proud, Killer. I promise to bring back some great stories and will do my best to find an international example of mooseknuckle that will make my time away seem well spent.

Look for updates on July 11. If I can blog from Italy, I'll try to get at least one in. If not, I will toast one glass of vino to you, blog friends, in hope that you too one day have the experience of weaving with intoxication and vomitting on the Spanish Steps.

Roman Holiday

Liz has booked the flight and will not get a new dishwasher until 2010.

I'm going to Italy for vacation this summer. In 29 days, 11 hours, and 42 minutes to be exact. I wasn't going to tell you, but then I read an article at Yahoo! News that said that Rome has unusually large quantities of cocaine and marijuana in the air. What kind of city has coke floating around as freely as oxygen? Pot smoke dancing with the exhaust fumes? What kind of city has a reputation for housing the most sexually aggressive men on the Planet?

The best damn city in the world, that's what city.

My passport is supposed to make it in less than a week before the trip. Cutting it close. Thank God we have such a reliable postal system.... sarcastic sigh...

There is a chance I might see the Pope, as we will be visiting the Vatican. When I was in high school and attended my first Catholic Mass, I stuck my finger in the holy water to see if it would burn. It did not. I hope I accidentally run into the Pope- like when he's coming out of the bathroom or something. And I mean literally run into him. If I see him, I am going to ask him if I can borrow his ring. I once literally ran into George Clooney and I once asked Kareem Abdul Jabar if I could make bunny rabbit ears behind his giant head while I had my picture taken with him. I once smoked a cigarette on a Hollywood sound stage made entirely of wood with NO SMOKING signs plastered everywhere. I had permission. I say it never hurts to make physical contact and to make absurd requests. It's that what married people do all the time?

I bought some new pants online for the trip. I have to lay down to button and zip them, so I'm trying to lose 7 pounds in 29 days. They can do that shit on Celebrity Fit Club in a week or two, so I'm not going to start worrying about it until I finish off this pint of Creme Brulee ice cream I have in the freezer. And I'm going to start practicing drinking wine. I've been practicing for years now, but I don't think I can over prepare.

I'll be writing more, pre and post adventure. I plan to try to keep some sort of journal so I don't leave out any interesting details. Especially ones that involve failing my drug test at work when I return to the States. "I swear, I ate a lot of poppy seeds and BREATHED. That's all, boss. That's all."