Spiaggia :: Beach

Visiting the small, rocky beach below our hotel was one of my favorite parts of visiting Sorrento.   Although the beach wasn't much to look at, the pieces upon pieces of sea glass and Italian tiles washed up on the beach were truly treasures.  My little sister, Margaret, took some amazing photos of the rocky little beach:

 Aren't they gorgeous???  Thanks for sharing your photos, Marge!

Interested in seeing more photos of Sorrento?
Colors of Sorrento // Sorrento Brights // Bay of Naples & Treasures


Photos by Margaret Parkinson for C Squared W.

Dominica Beach Bag

Today I am guest posting about life in Dominica over on This Lovely Life while Brynn is off on her summer travel adventures.  Check out my favorite things for a beach day in Dominica:

Now, head on over to This Lovely Life to see the rest of the post! 

Thank you, Brynn, for letting me share a little bit about island life on your blog! Also, thank you to Lauren for the wonderful blogger beach bag idea!

Fonts used:
Rochester
AW Conqueror Inline
Type Keys

The Bay of Naples + Treasures

I'm still daydreaming about the wonderful trip to Italy I took with my mom and sister back in April. In Sorrento, I enjoyed my first ever swim in Europe.  The water was freezing, and it took Margaret and I about 45 minutes of moaning, groaning, and dipping our toes in the water before diving in. We only lasted for a few minutes, the water was so cold, but we did it.  We spent the rest of the afternoon soaking up the sun on lounge chairs with my mom.

Something equally awesome that we experienced in Sorrento was visiting the small, rocky beach below our hotel. The beach was covered with small pieces of sea glass and sea-weathered, broken, colored tiles. I could have spent hours down there sifting through rocks and finding smooth, colorful treasures. It was unreal! I brought a nice collection home with me that I cannot wait to display one day in our "someday house" in some sort of creative way.

Resources
Font: American Typewriter
Arrow Brushes from Creature Comforts

Photos by Clare Wilkinson & Katrina Parkinson for C Squared W.

Italy: Sorrento Brights

Colors of Sorrento // Rome in Color

P.S. - Smita, the clothes hanging out to dry are for you - I know you love a good clothesline! 

Font used:
American Typewriter

All photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.

Internet & Starfish

Hello, friends!

Sorry I have been a stranger this week, but we've been sans internet at our apartment for a week now, and it is starting to get to me.  Oh, Dominica.

Oh, Dominica is one of my favorite expressions to say down here, mainly to describe those frustrating experiences that are a small price to pay for living this adventurous island life.  It's similar to only in Dominica which refers to those extremely bizarre moments that can be explained in no other way.  My other favorite thing to say down here is white people, said in a Dominican accent, appropriately used when a Dominican (or three) is staring at you with bewilderment over something you're doing that they think is ridiculous.  (Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but these are just funny things I like to say!)

While I'm at it, only in Dominica is rain an excuse for your internet not working, even when it hasn't rained for five days... Oh well.  White people and their internet, right?

Anyways, here's what we've been up to this week:

Monday was a Dominican holiday, Whit Monday, which most Dominicans will you tell is just a "beach day." So we lived it up and spent the afternoon at the beach.

We ran into these two little friends from InLightIn on the beach and took them to lunch. Cokes, french fries, and chicken wings? They were such happy campers.  After lunch they joined Charlie and I for a "sea bath" (a swim!).  They swam in their underwear (as most boys in the Bahamas and Dominica do) and had a blast jumping off of Charlie's shoulders and standing on his submerged back like it was a surfboard.

While swimming, we spotted a student from CALLS on the beach who joined us for a swim. He found an impressive starfish in the sea that we all admired.  The boys loved playing with it and checking it out.

Charlie has been down at the hospital several days this week and has gotten to have some great experiences working with the doctors down in Roseau.  He's performed exams on patients, conducted interviews, given shots, written prescriptions, and removed stitches.  Not bad for his first two weeks!

I've also been teaching at CALLS, checking my email at Katie's apartment, hitting up the gym in the evenings, and gearing up for InLightIn tomorrow.  I also gave in and started reading 50 Shades and have been flying through it.

How's your week going?

Font used:
Pea Annie

Photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W

Favorite Places

Whenever I tell people the amount of time that I lived in Australia (just a few days shy of a year) I’m immediately peppered with questions about what life is like there.

Can you really ride kangaroos? No.

What’s the food like? Think American food, but more fattening.

Does it get so hot that you feel like you’re walking into a blistering inferno every time you step outside? Oh god, yes.

Do the toilets flush in the opposite direction? I’ve never wanted to put my face so close to a toilet that I could tell, but let me know when you find out. My guess is they probably just flush straight down like a lot of toilets outside of the US do.

But, the most popular question I get, and the one I love answering the most, is Where was your favorite place to live?

And that, my friends, is a wet little tropical oasis in the northern part of Queensland called Mission Beach.

I say that Mission Beach is my favorite part of Australia, but it’s really also one of my favorite parts of the world. There is sun, beautiful beach, adventure at every corner, and–odd, because tourism is how this town stays alive–a complete lack of the over-saturated, touristy vibe that a lot of the hot spots in Australia give off.

Instead of telling you–no words can really do it justice–I’ll show you a bit of what I’m talking about:

I spent about four months in the area in total (after only planning on staying four weeks). Sky diving, river rafting, trying not to get eaten by creatures in the rainforest. Basically having more fun than any one person should really be allowed to have. 

Unfortunately, the area was devastated by Cyclone Yasi a short time after my last visit. They’re slowly rebuilding, but it’s taking time and a lot of money that the locals don’t really have if travelers aren’t coming through. I hope that they can withstand the tough times and reclaim some of the traffic that they used to get. It’s no doubt, even looking through pictures of the rebuilding process, that the magic is definitely still there. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at my favorite place on Earth! If you ever find yourself in Australia, definitely stop in. If you’re anything like me, you might not be able to leave! 

If you haven't done so already, you must check out Bobbi's blog, Today I'm Bobbi. She has such a great style and design sense.  I love her book reviews, travel photos, humor, and sarcasm. Did I mention that she also designs blogs?  Really, you just need to go check her out, she's so much fun! 

Beach Games

As a med school student's wife, I don't get to spend a ton of time with my husband.  He studies non-stop all day long, with short breaks for lunch and dinner.  Honestly, before he started medical school, I didn't even know it was humanly possible for someone to study as much as Charlie and the other students here do!

Some of my favorite times in Dominica are when Charlie and I are able to spend time together after big tests, when we have the remainder of the day to spend together, stress and study free.  Usually, we visit the beach or the river, or go for a hike.  This week, we chose the beach and spent the afternoon sunning, swimming, reading, and napping, all while enjoying a cold beverage or two.  We even played a little Hunger Games...

The bow and arrow were obviously Charlie's handiwork.  Boys will always be boys, and it's amazing what they can throw together with some sticks, vines, and the help of a pocket knife!  Really, I was impressed.  The bow stretched back and shot arrows into the ocean and everything.  Well done, C Dubz!

In case you couldn't tell... we both love The Hunger Games!  I read all three books this time last year, and Charlie has finished books one and two. (He's saving book three to read in the airport and on the plane when he travels back to the states next week.)  Needless to say, we're dying to see the movie and can't wait to see it at some point!

Are you hooked on the Hunger Games yet?

Island Dreams

Fourth semester is flying by!  I feel like a just returned from my trip to the states even though I've been back for well over a month.  Plans have been made for the upcoming break and Charlie and I are waiting to hear where we will spend our fifth semester.  Last week Charlie took his second mini (test) and we spent the beautiful afternoon at Purple Turtle Beach.

We went snorkeling and found some dollars, sand and real.  We treated ourselves to some beverages with the real dollars (which had seaweed growing on it).

We also made two sweet dog friends who were our BFFs for the day.  This is Snickerdoodle; his black and white friend is Oreo.

We happened to find this D.R.E.A.M.S sign laying on the ground right beside us... and just couldn't resist taking a photo with it.  Only in Dominica!

Needless to say, we had such a fun day, definitely the sort of day that D.R.E.A.M.S are made of! 

the past two months in photos

[gallery link="file" orderby="rand"]

Our Guilty Pleasure

At home, I am a sucker for Starbucks.  Specifically a grande, nonfat chai.  I love them.  This was especially dangerous when I lived on Hanover with Starbucks right around the corner... luckily I always had a few gift cards from my cuties at school to subsidize my addiction.  Here, there's no Starbucks.  There is a coffee place called Rituals which is good, and while their chai latte is tasty, it's just not the same.  So, I have discovered my new, latest and greatest guilty pleasure here in Dominica, at the Shacks, from the Juice Man: a low fat iced coffee with a little bit of chocolate.  I don't know how they make it, but man is it good.  I also am a sucker for their juice: you can get passion fruit/mango/orange/grapefruit/guava juice alone or mixed in any delicious combination you fancy (Charlie loves to mix passion fruit and grapefruit; I prefer passion fruit and orange or orange and guava).  I love it.  Charlie does, too!

[caption id="attachment_137" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The Juice Man's Shack"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_144" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Get your coffee or juice and enjoy it on the beach (campus is right on the beach!!!!!)."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_141" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Juice + Beach + World's Best Wife = Perfect Study Break"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_142" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="This is heaven!"][/caption]

Yoga & Apartment Tour

[caption id="attachment_45" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Seaside Deck where yoga classes are held!"][/caption]

Charlie's first week of classes are under way, I am reading my 3rd book, our barrels are here and unpacked, and we have really started settling in.  Tonight Charlie and I went to yoga class which was one of the coolest yoga classes I have ever experienced.  Yoga class is held on the school's seaside deck, literally towering over the ocean.  During class the sun set and the tide changed, and we stretched and bended listening to the crashing waves and chirping crickets, with a view of the moon, stars and clouds overhead.  Pretty amazing.  We left class relaxed and rejuvenated, and hiked up the hill towards our apartment, where we made a pit stop along the way at a delicious restaurant called The Tomato.  The food was great, and now we are about to begin our evening routines -- Charlie will study and I will read, play on the computer, and watch TV.

Also, here is a link to a video of our apartment so you can see where we live: Apartment Tour.  If you are hungry for more, we have some photos of from the trip we took on Sunday -- a day long island tour, where we hiked up to twin waterfalls (Trafalgar Falls) and swam in the pools, saw the town of Roseau and its botanical gardens, and finally visited Scott's Head, a site at then end of the island where you can dip your feet in the Atlantic Ocean, and then walk 30 feet to swim and snorkel in the Caribbean Sea.  We did it all -- such a cool day!  Island Tour Photos

Bon soir!