Two weeks ago, I was looking over one of the most beautiful cities I’d ever seen. Monterosso, Italy. One of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre.

Two days ago, Lucas blogged about our amazing experience — eating at Vernazza and climbing hundreds of steps.

24 hours ago, I found out that Cinque Terre is all but gone. Literally wiped away by flash floods and mudslides. Witnesses called it an unimaginable disaster, and said Monterosso is all but destroyed.

It’s shocking to me that in moments, Mother Nature could wipe away something that is so sharp in my memories. Obviously, I’ve seen how devastating natural disasters can be — earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes.

But I think the difference is that I feel so emotionally connected to Cinque Terre. It wasn’t just a cool place. It was the COOLEST place. It wasn’t just beautiful — it was indescribable. It’s where I fought back some emotional demons, challenged my body, connected with my husband and now…it will never be as it was.

I’m just so sad for the loss.

While I was away on my European adventure, I did not check my email. I did not make any phone calls. I did not tweet, post a Facebook status update or even log onto a computer (except for a few brief moments to book and confirm some last-minute transportation).

I soaked up the culture, navigated through face-to-face contact and loved every moment of un-handcuffing myself from technology.

Except for one thing. TV news.

We stayed in a series of teeny hotels while traveling — a 6-room bed and breakfast in Venice; a closet-sized cubby in Brussels. And while none of them offered many modern features, they did all have televisions. And so I watched things like:

• BBC News
• SkyNews
• EuroNews
• Guidice Amy (Judging Amy in Italian)

And if you think back to some of the big stories that broke over the last two weeks, it was a great time to get a global perspective on news.

• Amanda Knox’s appeal/verdict
• Steve Jobs’ death
• Financial crises and protests

And perspective truly is the right word. I majored in broadcast journalism, spent years in daily news and now executive produce a television show that airs on PBS and public TV stations. I live and breathe news (and hate some of the crap that masquerades as news today). And yet somehow, I don’t think I really ever got a sense of the full story until seeing its coverage outside of the United States.

Take Amanda Knox. The coverage here in the States has largely focused on her — leaning, I believe, toward her innocence and wrongful conviction in an Italian court. Overseas, thought, the coverage was a bit more balanced. Sure, Knox got a lot of support, especially when it came to the DNA evidence (or lack thereof). But so did the family of victim Meredith Kercher. Be honest — did you know her name before you read it here?

The Wall Street protests made news, but so did the talks between Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, who are trying to figure out who’s going to pay for the Greek bank bailout. So did the Dexia bank collapse. So did the protests across most European cities (something I got to see in action as Rome exploded with riots).

I can’t say that coverage overseas was better than we get here — but I can say, after two weeks of analysis, that it offers a wider look at the news and stories that affect people of all cultures, from all different countries. I saw reports from Syria, Africa and Iraq, and not just about conflicts or bombings. I learned about schools that have been set up to educate children, and volunteers who are working to end illness.

I heard accents and intonations that I’ve never heard in American media (save for maybe NPR) and came away from each story with at least one “a-ha” moment — that seems to be rare for my experience here at home.

Sure, I missed my American sports updates…and yes, I did wonder what was happening with the weather or regional news. But now that I’m home, I missed the news that I’d fallen in love with, and I’m wondering whether I’ll ever have everything I want, right in one place.

While you're here...

My European AdventureNew Tool Tuesday: BackupifyUse Gmail to Fight SpamMy Summit Story

What a few weeks I’ve had — including some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, blisters that put my half marathon training to shame, a few travel nightmares, creative use of hand gestures to make up for a lack of language and memories that I will hold very, very dear for the rest of my life.

I’m not the biggest fan of writing hugely detailed travel posts, because a) I don’t like reading them from others b) they take forever and kind of remove the romance.

However, I would like to document the journey that we had (and with 959 pictures, I had to share at least a few!) so here is a quick look at my European adventure.

Belgium (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Belgium was a bit of a surprise to me — I’d thought Brussels, Bruges and Ghent would be more for Lucas and the rest of the trip would be more for me…

But I loved the beginning of our vacation. We flew into the Brussels airport, stayed at the funky and fabulous Pantone Hotel, drank craft beer, spoke French, ate lots (LOTS) of waffles and really fell in love with this beautiful country. A few standout moments: touring the historic Cantillon brewery and drinking fresh gueuze (Lucas says that’s a bit of an oxymoron), eating bread and goat cheese on our hotel balcony, tasting handmade chocolates in Bruges and walking to the Atomium.

Paris (Thursday, Friday morning/afternoon)

Sigh. France was a 36-hour disaster, with only a few small bright spots. It’s really too bad, because my Parisian honeymoon was such a winner five years ago.

Paris was supposed to be a six-hour pit stop between Brussels and Venice. We’d hoped to see some of our favorite places again — Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Luxembourg Gardens — before eating a baguette and catching the night train.

But a train strike derailed (ha!) those plans. We spent some of the most stressful hours of my life navigating the tricky world of last-minute travel, between negotiating ticket refunds in French, sleeping on the (stationary) train, feeding the airport Internet kiosk euro after euro while trying to find a flight to Venice that would leave that day and would cost under 1,000 euro a person. This was the ONLY time during the entire trip that I questioned my decision to leave the cell phone and laptop at home, by the way.

After finally finding a random Swiss Air flight that could take us that afternoon and only cost a few hundred dollars more than we’d budgeted for the train, we finally left Paris — emotionally drained but thankful. Those bright spots I mentioned? A silky meringue I inhaled while running to catch the train (before the strike started) and walking through Notre Dame.

Venice (Friday evening, Saturday)

I fell in love with Venice, although I confess that the first thing I said after arriving was: “it looks just like the hotel in Las Vegas!” It does, although it’s obviously ten times as colorful, ten times as alive and at least ten times as romantic. Vegas nailed the look of Venice, though.

This is where I first tried gelato, and where I dove headfirst into super thin crust pizza. It’s where I soaked in the spirit of St. Mark’s and made a wish from the Rialto bridge…and where I loved getting lost. Poor Lucas, I think, did not love Venice for that last note. It’s impossible to navigate Venice, with all of its twisty Via This and Calle That. But because of that, each walk to the Grand Canal led us to a new spot, featuring mini-canals, gondolas, churches and incredible views.

Highlights for me included the cathedral at St. Mark’s, the way the water reflected the lights at night and the San Giorgio Maggiore church. (The biggest bummer? The day that we lost to travel from Paris meant that we had to cancel our day trip to Trieste.)

Florence (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday morning)

If you include our day trip to Cinque Terre (see below), Florence was absolutely my favorite part of our entire vacation. We stayed in a hotel that was about 200 yards from the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiori) and after checking in and walking toward the church, found ourselves in the middle of a massive $5 wine and olive oil tasting. Taste we did, lapping up spoonfuls of the most fragrant, floral oil I’ve ever tasted, and tossing back glass after glass of Chianti. And that was just the first few hours.

The Duomo is breathtaking. Probably the most stunning building I’ve ever seen, and my only regret is that the pictures don’t nearly do it justice. I think I could sit near the church every day and never get sick of looking at it.

Highlights included Ponte Vecchio, the view from Boboli Gardens, and of course…

Cinque Terre (Monday)

If you really pushed me to pick the single best thing that we did in Europe, I’d tell you it was hiking Cinque Terre. But that’s a hard one, because it’s so unlike Europe. It felt more like being in Nassau than Italy, with its blue water, colorful homes, boats and beaches.

The adventure of getting there — including getting off at the wrong train stop, navigating the bus system in La Spezia and starting our hike 3 hours late — almost ruined the day. But as soon as we saw the views, we knew this would be one of the most amazing experiences of our lives.

Easy? Nope. I’m fit, I walk every day and I have strong leg muscles. I figured this would be a breeze. But it was more physically challenging than a triathlon, left me sweaty, wheezy and sunburned…and will be one of the most fulfilling challenges I’ve ever completed.

Rome (Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

Rome was our final stop, and when we arrived, we were starting to feel the exhaustion, travel stress and carbfest that had preceded our arrival, and I wasn’t sure whether we’d be able to truly enjoy our last few days.

But Rome, as big as it is, lived up to the hype. It didn’t have the romance of Venice or the drama of Florence, but it was sort of the perfect Italian experience. We hit the big tourist spots — the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and Palatine, The Vatican. We ate a lot of gelato, had some incredible pizza (maybe the best ever?) and even got to experience the beginnings of the financial crisis protests that would explode the day we left.

Highlights: The Vatican (we took a private tour of the gardens), Trevi Fountain at night, the Pantheon (we went back several times) and walking among the miles of ruins at Palatine.

There were things I didn’t like across the board of this vacation — particularly the hawkers and salespeople that seemed to invade my personal space at every turn. The price of eating out for almost every meal, both on my wallet and my digestive system, was brutal. Taking the train for hours at a time, the difficulty of speaking foreign languages for weeks at a time, navigating the often difficult streets of the cities…it all took a toll. I was ready to come home at the end of our itinerary, although not desperate.

I’m happy to be back, where I can sleep in my bed, eat vegetables and snuggle my puppies. But this vacation was everything I’d hoped it would be, and gave me the technology break I’d been looking for. I have some thoughts on everything from global news to the benefits unplugging to what makes the perfect pizza, but those will wait.

What is the #1 most memorable travel experience you’ve ever had?

While you're here...

Ready or Not, Here I RunFive for FridayA Global PerspectiveWinter Park Road Race (Distance Dare)

I have a love-hate relationship with hurricanes.

When I first moved to Florida in 2004, the storm season pretty much made my career in TV news. I was only in town for a few weeks when Charley, Frances and Jeanne nailed us, and I found myself thrown into the control room for 12-hour shifts.

image source: College Humor

Fun times.

But because I do my best work on deadline and in crisis control, I was able to very quickly make a name for myself at the TV station, and ended up producing some of the top newscasts on the schedule.

When Katrina hit Louisiana, the NBC station and employees’ homes were so badly damaged that the entire operation moved down to Central Florida to set up temporary broadcast facilities, and once again, I saw the power of Mother Nature to disrupt lives.

So hurricanes have been good for me and terrible for others. 

Now that I’m out of TV news, a home owner myself and facing yet another hurricane season, I’m re-familiarizing myself with the phrases:

• Cone of danger
• Hunker down
• Hurricane supply kit
• Evacuation routes
• Category 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Forecast track

Like so many in the hurricane zone, I’m tuning in for the latest updates from the Hurricane Center, trying to pick which projected path will actually come true, and wondering…is this the next big one?

Irene has the potential to be a real BEEEEEEYATCH of a storm. And of course I’m thinking first of people whose lives and property may be threatened — in the Bahamas, in Florida and even as the tropical whatever-it-will-be moves north.

image source: The Weather Channel

Mostly, I’m just resigned to another summer/fall of watching the tropics and getting ready for the impact.

If you had to put together a hurricane kit with foods to sustain you for 3 days — what would you bring?

Cookies? Fruit? Protein bars? What couldn’t you live without while hunkered down?

P.S. My buddy MomJovi did a great (and much more helpful!) post on surviving the hurricane season: “Hurricane Tips From a Pro (Sorta).“

While you're here...

What I Wish You Knew About MeHomesickFeeling Hot, Hot, HotThe Smell of a Sweatshirt

A four hour flight delay will give you a lot of time for thinking.

And drinking, but that’s neither here nor there.

But I will give you one takeaway.

If you can find people in your blogging community — whether you’re a blogger or a reader — do it. I can’t tell you how valuable the in-person time is, especially at an event that brings together blogger of all levels and niches.

Swag is awesome.

(I know Meghann and the rest of the planning team appreciate it, too!)

Being a tourist is fun. Philadelphia was a very cool city — I took some time to run with Monica and later walk with a group of people post-Summit, and hit all the big spots, including the Liberty Bell:

The presentations will be posted online and I truly believe that after the “day in the life” posts are done, you’ll see a lot of great content coming from your favorite writers. There were some thought-provoking panels on blogger safety, avoiding the comparison trap, dealing with negativity and more.

Pick your question:

1) Have you ever been to a blogging event and if you have, what did you think? If not, why not?

2) If you could have anything in a smoothie, what would it be?

3) Do you have a funny caption for the picture of me holding the taters?

While you're here...

Bloggers in Depth: What We Do

It’s hard to believe that today, August 20, 2011, I’m speaking at the Healthy Living Summit. Because two years ago, I was just an attendee, happy to be in Boston and very happy to be hanging with my mom (who’s a blogger, by the way!)

Mom and Katy 2009

At the time, I’d just come back from an extended blogging break — brought on in part because I wasn’t sure what kind of blogger I wanted to be.

I didn’t know that many bloggers, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I was blown away by how nice, funny and smart our community really is — and it gave me new energy and passion for blogging.

This year, I’ll be speaking about monetizing your blog. My own blog has come a long way in the two years since HLS 2009, and in the four years since it first launched. I’m thrilled to be taking the stage (and only a wee bit nervous).

So if you’re at the event, please come say hi!

Me today!

If you’re not, don’t worry! I’ll be posting my slides online ASAP and I’ll also be giving it again as an online webinar, for anyone who wasn’t able to attend in person.

And here are a few fun facts if this is your first time on the blog:

I am a married (A Night With the Hops) 31-year-old with two major passions: Journalism and Media and Health and Fitness. Luckily, I combine the two in my work as a television and radio producer

• Growing Bolder TV
• Growing Bolder Radio
• GrowingBolder.com

and my blog

• Katy Widrick: Healthy Living in a Hectic World

My fitness/health journey:

In the fall of 2006, several months after my wedding, I found myself overweight (obese, by some measurements) and totally lethargic. I was working overnights, getting 4 hours of sleep a night and living off of Pringles and peanut butter sandwiches. And lots of wine. When friends came to visit, we took pictures — and when they were developed, I honestly did not recognize myself in the picture.

I joined Weight Watchers, lost 40 pounds and got “skinny fat” but I wasn’t healthy (read: “My Dysfunctional Relationship With Weight Watchers”). So I decided to start training for a triathlon — even though I couldn’t run a 1/2 mile without stopping.

I completed my first super sprint triathlon and I was hooked. From there, I continued training until I’d completed (to date) several sprint distance triathlons, two Olympic triathlons, several 5Ks and 10Ks and three half marathons. I love working out, especially Dance Trance and Body Pump, and I will try anything once!

(read my race recaps here)

I am also a social media addict, and I love networking with people from all over the Internet. I founded the #Fitblog Chats on Twitter in mid-2010, and it’s now one of the most popular chats around. You can usually find me online somewhere:

• @kwidrick (Twitter)
• /kwidrick (Facebook)
• kwidrick at gmail dot com
• @growingbolder (Twitter)
• /growingbolder (Facebook)
• /gbtvshow (Facebook)
• /gbradio (Facebook)
• /fitblogchats (Twitter)
• /fitblogchats (Facebook)

I have two big, slobbery dogs, Faegan and Junior, I’m a vegetarian, I grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Syracuse University.

My networking goals are simple — to help where I can, meet new people, challenge myself and others and above all, have fun.

If you like what you see, I’d love to stay connected! Please:

• Subscribe by RSS
• Subscribe by email (form on the sidebar of the homepage)
• Check out my “Welcome” page, which includes links to my most popular posts and more

If this is your first time, thanks for stopping by and please leave me a comment so I know how to find you!

(***Quick website update: I installed the LiveFyre comment system about 2 weeks ago. I loved the features, I loved the quick support, I loved the design and I especially loved the ability to tag friends and other bloggers in the comments. Because I consider my blog a bit of a sandbox — somewhere I can try out new tools, review them for my readers, etc., I was eager to hear your feedback. And I heard you, loud and clear. Until LiveFyre makes it easier to sign in with just a URL and name, I am disabling the tool. It’s too bad, because it’s pretty freaking cool — if you want to see it in action, check out Ryan’s post at No More Bacon.***)

This fall, Lucas and I are taking a second honeymoon of sorts…the trip of a lifetime, and something we’ve been saving for and planning for 5 years.

image source: wikipedia

We’re going to:

• Brussels, Belgium

• Bruges, Belgium

• Paris, France

• Venice, Italy

• Florence, Italy

• Rome, Italy

It’s a 2-week trip, with most of the time being spent in Italy (three days in Belgium and just a day-stopover in Paris).

Now, when it comes to travel — this is the one area in my life where I prefer to give up control to Lucas. He is absolutely incredible at the details — from booking the transportation to making some daily itineraries and more.

But he’s asked me for a list of things I absolutely must see, or places we must go. Museums, restaurants, day trips, etc.

And I have no freaking idea what to tell him. It’s amazing that the more excited I get about the trip, the more anxious I get about choosing the “right” items for the itinerary.

So I’m hoping you can help. In those cities — what are the things we truly must do?

We’re willing to do some tourist-y stuff, although I’m not dying to go to every single museum and cathedral.By the way, I’ve been listening to an Italian 101 podcast every day (Let’s Speak Italian!) and it’s awesome. I speak great French and decent Spanish, but Italian is by far the hardest language I’ve tried to learn.

So far? Va bene. But I’m also bringing my iPhone, with translator app installed.

(For someone who harps on others about giving credit…I sure blew it on an earlier version of this post. I borrowed some photos from Facebook and, while letting you know where I’d gotten them — I failed to give proper credit to the photographer. You’ll now see captions on several photos, crediting Sarah Beth Paddock for the shots. Mea culpa, big time. The pictures are beautiful and I should have made it more clear who they belonged to.)

Fun fact about this weekend’s wedding at my old stomping grounds (Syracuse University)…

image credit: Sarah Beth Paddock

…it wouldn’t have happened had Lucas and I not gotten married more than 5 years ago! (“5 Years of Wedded Bliss“)

You see, the groom — Keith — was Lucas’ college roommate. The bride — Emily — is Lucas’ first cousin.

And they met on our wedding weekend!

They quickly fell in love and we fell in love with them. When friends marry family, it’s a unique experience.

The best part for me, in addition to seeing our old city through new eyes, was re-connecting with everyone and getting to know two of our favorite people as one couple.

And their love was never more evident than during the tribute Keith gave to his new bride — inspired by one of her favorite movies, “Dan in Real Life.” (video embedded below)

It was, without a doubt, one of the most special and romantic gestures I’ve ever seen…my favorite part was when the bride, who had had NO idea that Keith was planning this for years, started doing the dance along with her new husband!

image credit: Sarah Beth Paddock

I’m such a sucker for love.

The wedding also gave us a chance to recreate one of my favorite photos from our wedding.

Roommates in 2006:

Roommates in 2011:

image credit: Sarah Beth Paddock

And for fun, a few of the roommates in the college days:

Keith, because it was your special day, I won’t show the photo we both know I have in my possession.

What’s the most romantic or special thing you’ve seen at a wedding — whether it was your own or someone else’s?

Wow…what a weekend. Fabulous and fun, but very tiring — today could be a rough one!

I’ll get back to a normal blogging schedule later today, but for now…a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding weekend in Syracuse.

Hi there! Today’s Five for Friday is not my typical fare, because I’m off having fun in Syracuse.

So, instead, here’s a look at 5 places you can find me.

1. Sweaty Dates With Strangers on Sweat Once a Day 

Emily’s Sweaty Dates series is one of my very favorite in blogworld, and as you all know, I have a very supportive spouse when it comes to triathlon training. But he’s not a triathlete himself, so I admit…sometimes I turn to the comfort of some very sweaty strangers. Read on to find out more!

2. Hellis Hills on Bliss.com

Bliss Connect is a brand new social networking and content hub from Bliss.com, and some familiar faces are behind the project (familiar, at least, if you’ve ever worked with Foodbuzz). Today, the team is featuring my half marathon recap from Iron Girl Clearwater, as well as some other really cool stuff. The community is invite-only right now, and it’s targeted at health and fitness bloggers. I have a few invites and if I can manage to find wireless again by the time the invites expires, I’ll give them out to people who ask for one in the comments.

3. Finding Your Happy Place on GrowingBolderTV.com

Did you know that in addition to this site, I blog for Growing Bolder TV? It’s the show I produce, and I love sharing special inside moments about what we do. This post is about the summers that I spent dreading the trips that I now wish I could take every year.

4. The wineries in Ithaca

That’s where we’re headed today! When we lived in Syracuse, Lucas and I would drive down quite often with friends, and we even attended a wedding in the area a couple of years ago. So we’re hopping in the rental and taking a drive before the rehearsal dinner and other events tonight.

5. Snuggling up with babies

The friends that we’re staying with have a young son who is just too cute and snuggly for words. And last night, another couple came over with their 6-month old and I fell in love. So I’m getting in as much baby time as I can (no, nothing has changed from “Is There a Right Time?” yet, so I get my fill with other people’s babies).

I’ll be back to regularly scheduled blogging soon — for now, follow me in place #6: Twitter! I’m @kwidrick.