1. Buy tickets as soon as they’re announced from the band’s website. If you wait until the last minute like I did, tickets can be 4x their retail price on websites like Ticketmaster and Stubhub.
2. Go early! Go as early as possible if you aren’t VIP because people line up before the venue opens. By the time we arrived, an hour before the show, the line was at least 8 blocks long.
3. Use the bathroom before. If you leave during the show you’ll lose your spot.
4. Don’t be afraid to get closer. Scoot your way to the front. If you’re in the back or off to the side and can’t see well, just push (or gently nudge) your way through. When we came in we could barely see on our tiptoes but by the fourth song we had moved our way up to the front five rows.
5. Bring water! If you’re going to be jumping around for 2 hours you have to stay hydrated.
6. Go with a friend! It’s much more exciting going with a friend to see an artist you both like. It’s a great way to have fun together. My friend lifted me up just so I could see during the show.
7. Dress up but stay comfy. Jumping around in heels and constantly having to pull your shirt up or down is not fun. My friend and I wore vans with jeans.
8. Don’t record the entire time! There’s no point in looking through your phone camera if you’re there in real life! During one of the songs the singer asked us to put our phones down and just share the moment.
This is my very first sketch done with no measurements, just as concept
With measurements of the space this piece is meant to fit, we arrive at the official first versionThe boy and Corinne both pointed out the need for additional support, but this ended up being too much supportWe skip a few alternate sketches where I tried deleting different bars, and arrive at this, the final sketch
The entire piece is 5 feet long by 1 foot deep and 6 feet tall. I’m excited to purchase materials and begin construction soon.
Although now I wonder if I should change the top of the small structure (on left) so that it would match the top of the right. Would that look better?
As you might already know, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You recently came out on Netflix. I thought I’d never say this, but, I’m officially team John Ambrose and if you’re not, hopefully I can sway your opinion.
SPOILER ALERT
Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean are complete opposites! Lara Jean is a very poetic person. She enjoys reading romance novels and is wise beyond her age. Peter, on the other hand, is a popular jock who is a little too competitive. Peter“writes” Lara Jean a poem that we discover is Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabell Lee.
Peter and Lara fight so much during the movie! That’s not to say that couples can’t fight but Lara Jean doesn’t stick up for herself enough! Peter is extremely competitive with John and can be rude. In the treehouse when Lara, John, Peter, Gen, Trevor, and Christine dig up their time capsule, Peter rudely commented to John: “Remember when you had that stutter? No I just noticed you don’t have it anymore…” John graciously takes this as a compliment and thanks Peter in turn.
John is perfect! He’s charming, witty, and intelligent.. He’s amazing at the piano. He’s had a crush on her since the 6th grade… And he had everyone called him John Ambrose just because that’s what Lara Jean called him and he “thought it was cool” that they shared something in common.
Lara thought about John, even if she didn’t want to. She says “I couldn’t stop replaying the conversation I had with John Ambrose in my head.” “I didn’t want to be thinking about what might have been if he’d gotten that letter in middle school instead of now, but I was.” She talks about overthinking everything she does with Peter because he’s done it before with Gen. She says “it’s just like the stuff I was telling you about, the overthinking, that doesn’t happen when I’m with John Ambrose.”
When John Ambrose sees that Lara’s upset he immediately takes her outside for some air. Later, even when he kissed Lara and she didn’t kiss him back, he was so understanding.
Everything considered, John Ambrose is a total heartthrob, try and convince me otherwise.
Hi all, first time posting here on DWM, so let’s talk about traveling, one of my favorite things to do. For the last few years I have had the great fortune of being able to travel all over the world, from exotic locales like Morocco to the frozen wonders of Iceland. My latest trip may not have included camel riding into the Saharan Sunset, but I definitely experienced some of the best meals I have ever eaten and gazed upon some of the most amazing works of art and history in the world. If you haven’t guessed it, I just spent an entire week in Italy!
My trip started after a long flight, and a layover in Paris. After retrieving my luggage, we had a private water taxi shuttle us to our hotel.
water taxi from airport
View from the dock at our hotel in Venice
This boat ride through the Grand Canal in Venice, was highly reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland, minus the drops of course. After check-in, I had my first real Italian meal of lasagna and tiramisu, and a good night’s sleep.
First Dinner! (Lasagna)
Tiramisu
Murano Glass Master at work
We spent the next day exploring Venice, our first stop was a Murano glass factory, followed by a visit to the Doge’s Palace.
We had the Baccalà Mantecato with Polenta for lunch
And pizza of course
Gilded Stair way in Doge’s Palace
The Doge, as chief magistrate of Venice, lived in a Palace worthy of the richness and opulence of Venice, featuring gold leafed ceiling and some of the only frescos in Venice.
Doge’s Palace
After we finished touring my friend and I proceeded to eat our way back to the hotel, we taste tested every chocolate shop we passed and ordered the most adorable cannolo and topped it all off with two scoops of gelato.
Cannolo
Pistachio Gelato
After all of this, we took a break and then had a late dinner, where I had the most divine lobster fettuccine.
Lobster Pasta
The next day we were on a full day’s drive for Florence, stopping for a delicious wine tasting on a farm in the Tuscan countryside, as well as for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. At the Fattoria Il Poggio, where we stopped for lunch we toured the vineyard and had homemade pasta with ragu, prosciutto, pecorino, sun-dried tomatoes, and homemade bruschetta all made on site following DOP standards, paired with 3 reds and 3 whites (I obviously had to grab a couple of bottles to bring home!)
Fattoria il Poggio Vineyards
Ragu
Bruschetta
Prosciutto and Salami
Sundried Tomatoes
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
Then we were headed to Pisa. Because of how I have always seen the tower, I personally thought it was one tower in a field. I was wrong; it is built next to a large basilica. We spent about an hour there walking around taking pictures. After Pisa, we settled in to finish our drive to Florence, or Firenze.
Arriving late, my friend and I had a late dinner of smoked salmon ricotta toast and truffle and tomato pizza.
Smoked Salmon Ricotta Toast
Truffle Tomato Pizza
The toast, topped with shavings of white truffle, was amazing. It had the perfect balance of savory and creamy, however, the pizza really impressed. Thin slices of pizza were made from dough leavened for 36 hours, and buffalo mozzarella, topped with little tomatoes and truffle shavings. I look at the pictures I took, and miss it already. We spent the next day doing a walking city tour of Florence, stopping to see The David and Michelangelo’s prisoners at the Academy of Arts and the Florence Cathedral.
Boboli Gardens in Florence
View from Boboli Gardens
David
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise
We also crossed the Ponte Vecchio (the only original bridge left in Florence) to see the Pitti Palace, where the Medici’s spent their summers. In the evening, my friend and I shared porchetta and an amazing cannelloni. Both of which were phenomenal as expected.
Porchetta and Potatoes
Beef Cannelloni
Mille Foglie
The next morning, we headed out bright and early for our drive to Rome, we stopped in the medieval town of Assisi, where St. Francis was laid to rest. Walking up the hill to the basilica, my friend and I noticed a couple of stores offering wine tastings, so we decided to forgo lunch after our tour for wine tasting.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
Our first wine tasting was what I expected, 3 wines, choice of white or red, and some cheese and desserts bites. The second tasting, was where we truly experienced the generosity of the locals. We asked to do the tasting, the waiter said, “of course! Do you like whites or reds?” Our group responded with a mixture of both, and he ended up serving us not 3 but 8 types of whites and reds. Along with the 8 wines, we had 2 types of prosciutto, 2 types of salami, 2 types of olive oil, 4 types of balsamic vinegar, 3 types of cheese, and house made bread. Needless to say, we made a good decision skipping lunch.
Really good Red Wine from our tasting
Prosciutto
Salami, Olive Oil, Truffled Olive Oil (third dish is 10 yr aged Balsamic Vinegar)
Truffle Salami
Fat-Free Prosciutto
Pecorino Romano drizzled with Truffled Honey
Truffle Pecorino
Pecorino
In Rome, my friend and I took a quick shopping trip, and then returned for dinner with the tour group. Our trip was coming to an end quickly and so we had a farewell dinner. I must say, it was not the most impressive dinner. In fact it was the least impressive I’d had thus far, but that’s most likely because I don’t love pesto.
Pesto Pasta
Turkey
Chocolate Mousse
House wine with dinner
In the morning, on our last full day in Rome, we took the bus to Vatican City, where we learned that Rome is the only city in the world where there were two of every Embassy, as the Vatican is its own state.
The umbrella pines of Vatican City
We learned that Vatican City is a combination of 12 museums, and we would not be able to complete touring in one day. We visited past Popes’ apartments, the Sistine Chapel, as well as St. Peter’s Basilica and Square, where we witnessed, the sheer amount of people, even in low season that visit the Vatican each day.
Popes’ Apartments
St. Peters Basilica
St. Peter’s Square
Michelangelo’s Pieta
sfera con sfera by Arnaldo Pomodoro
After the Vatican, we headed out to a walking tour of the Piazzas and Fountains of Rome. I had gnocchi and gelato with a shot of espresso for lunch.
My friend’s Bucantini L’Amatriciana
Sorrentine Gnocchi
Melograno ( Nutella Ice Cream w/ Espresso)
On this walking tour, I finally got to revel in the beauty of the Trevi Fountain and all of the other amazing works of art that are part of Rome.
Trevi Fountain
Bernini’s Fiumi Fountain
After the fountains tour, we took a taxi to the Coliseum, then slowly meandered our way home on foot. During our walk, we stopped for pizza, where we ordered by weight!
Pizza by Weight
The Flavors we got
We snacked on four flavors: zucchini blossoms and anchovies, prosciutto and potato, sausage and porcini, and mushroom. We took a short break, then headed out to a late dinner. We ended up at Osteria de Fortunata, and it was amazing. I knew it would be as soon as I stepped out the cab, for there in the window were two Italian ladies making FRESH pasta to order.
Grandmas making pasta in the window!
Here I had the most amazing carbonara in my life, the panchetta was crispy, the sauce was rich, and the pasta was perfectly al dente. I also partook in my friends sciatavelli amtraciana, which is a red pork cheek ragu.
Carbonara
More Amatriciana
Wine with dinner
After dinner while attempting to walk off the fullness, we ended up stopping at another gelateria, and getting tiramisu as well.
Tiramisu
Chocolate Gelato
all different flavors of tiramisu
Pistachio Cannoli
Unfortunately, all trips must end, and too soon it was morning and we prepared to leave. On this most amazing trip, I experienced some of the most delicious foods, and a lot of amazing art. If I get a chance I will most definitely want to go again, not only to eat, but to experience the centuries of history and culture of Italy.