Apple Orchard

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the east seeking the successive autumns."- George Elliot 

After work on Thursday, a couple of my fabulous friends (and co-workers) and I decided to go watch the sunset from a mountain top apple orchard. We have been having incredible weather for October so we have tried to get outside as much as possible. Sitting with your friends watching the sunset from a beautiful mountain is a great way to make a work day a little bit more exciting. 

The orchard has a quaint little shop with gifts, wine, any every kind of butter you could imagine. Apple butter, pumpkin butter, peach butter...it is a mecca of unique butter flavors. I am a huge fan the apple cider baked donuts at Carter Mountain, but since I am still on my cleanse I abstained. 

For those not on a cleanse, Cater Mountain has a grill and bakery. From what I saw and how long the line was to get food, it must be pretty delicious.

Apples and pumpkins galore! It's like the mecca of Autumn stereotypes. 

We wandered around the orchards for awhile, taking in the views before we settled into a front row seat for the sunset. 

These beautiful ladies and myself settled in to watch the day fall away. 

And really, what's the point of watching a sunset if you don't have a little wine?

Everyone should try to take a little time every once in awhile to take advantage of the beauty all around us. 

In that vein, my cousin (who is an incredible photographer) spent the last 4 months working on a time-lapse project to capture the beauty of the night sky in Northern California. He made an amazing tribute to his father and it is worth seeing. Watch it here: Timelapse

Cheers xx

Italy

"The name of Italy had magic in its very syllables."- Mary Shelley 

Our next stop was the Eternal City- Rome.

 We spent the majority of our time in Rome eating or drinking. I rotated my meals between pizza and pasta, red or white wine, and all the gelato in Rome. The food was absolutely spectacular. I have always been fascinated by ancient Rome so being able to walk through all of the sites I've studied and read about was so incredible.

Lunch, the Colosseum, and the Capitol 

Ruins of Ancient Rome

Rome was also the last place that the four of us experienced together. Sarah had to fly home to start work and Gioia had to go to a wedding in Northern Italy.

Friends! 

Rome did have a downside for me though. My wallet was stolen our second to last night. All I'm saying is the Trevi fountain better grant my wish... it's the least Rome can do for me :)

Making wishes

 We toured Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I found St. Peter's to be the most beautiful church on our trip. I was worried that I wasn't going to like Rome very much, but despite getting my wallet stolen, I really did enjoy the city.

After Gioia and Sarah left us, Kelsie and I took a train up to Monterosso in Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre was unbelievably gorgeous and a great break from the touring we had been doing. Two days swimming, eating, and wandering the coast was a welcome break from the stresses of traveling.

Italian Riveria 

Soaking it all in 

Waterproof cameras are so fun  

Paddleboarding is hard

This is much more my speed 

Last night in Italy

Italy is gorgeous and I cannot wait to tour Tuscany sometime soon.

Ciao!