Tomorrow Is Another Day...

The One About Traveling

I swiped this little fill-in from Melissa who got it from Lauren.  It's probably too late for me to technically play along with the blog round-up, but I still couldn't resist this survey about one of my favorite passions... TRAVEL!!!
1) My favorite place I've ever traveled to is... Kauai, Hawaii.  This is incredibly difficult to answer, because I've been lucky enough to visit so many amazing places.  But I chose Kauai because it was paradise.  The food was delicious, the people were friendly, and the beaches were heavenly.  I've been to other places with much greater historical, architectural, or artistic import, but the one place that I dream of returning to most often is Kauai.  Paris is a very, very close second.

2) Russia ...is somewhere I'd love to go someday.  I'm having trouble getting Colby on board with this one, but I would absolutely love to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow.  Could someone please convince my husband that we will not be kidnapped by the Russian mob the minute we set foot across the border?
3) I pass the time on a plane (or bus or train or car ride) by... reading or sleeping.  I get motion sickness in cars and sometimes trains, so reading is relegated to audiobook territory in that instance.  But I'm fortunate that I'm one of the lucky few who can sleep reasonably well on an airplane--especially with my magical melatonin tablets.  As for car trips, I literally cannot keep my eyes open when I'm in the passenger seat.

4) My three must-haves when I travel are... guidebooks, comfortable shoes, and mascara (never leave home without it--don't want to go frightening the natives).
5) My favorite travel companion is... my super hubs, Colby.  He perfectly balances my need for precisely planned trips by encouraging a little spontaneity and he is the navigator who gets us where we need to go.  He once said that we are such a good team because I map out the big picture, and he's responsible for the nitty gritty of actual directions!  You should have seen me navigating Japan without him... it was not pretty!
6) The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is... nearly capsizing on a cruise ship in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt.  I've managed to collect a number of crazy travel stories: spending a night in a pub in Dublin when all the cheap hotels were full, accidentally running into Pope Benedict's motorcade in Rome, meeting a geisha at a ryokan in Kyoto, but I'd still say the Cruise of Doom takes the crazy cake.

7) The most exotic food I've tried while traveling is... escargot in Bayeux, France.  It's not terribly exotic, I suppose, but I'm not an especially adventurous eater and I'm typically resistant to any foodstuff that could be described as "slimy".  But, when in France...  And oh, it was delectable!!
8) If I could live anywhere else, I'd live in... Europe.  And in just a few more months, I WILL!!!

9) I've been to thirty-eight states in the U.S.

This was such a fun stroll down memory lane.  What is your favorite travel memory?  Where do you hope your next adventure will take you?

Gets Me Down, Picks Me Up

Lately things have been pretty up and down for me.  One minute I'm super excited and pumped up about life, the next I'm crushed and sad and certain I will never smile again (that may be a hyperbole for dramatic effect).

What's getting me down and picking me back up?

Down: Every time we do more fertility testing we get more bad news.  Now the doctor is saying I may have polyps or fibroids in my Ute Monster and he needs to do another expedition, this time with a camera, to go in there and check things out and possibly remove anything that could be on my lining.
Up: My fallopian tubes are super duper clear, so A+ tubies!  You're the first organs doing ANYTHING right in this whole process!

Down: I'm still bummed that Apple didn't release the iPhone 5 this go round since I've been waiting over a year to upgrade to it.
Up: The 4S is still miles, ages, and gallons better than the 1st generation iPhone I've been using since 2007.  It's still serviceable, but it is so slow and I've been scared to update the IOS for years in case it grinds to a halt.  I'm mainly looking forward to finally being able to download the Pinterest app!

Down: Soooo much driving this weekend.
Up: But all that driving means that we'll get to see our Tigers play and see our families.  Plus, I get to subject Colby to hours and hours of audiobooks--woo!

Down: The value of our house in Washington has dropped even more in recent months.  Every time we think it can't get any worse--IT DOES.
Up: We're closing on a refinancing on the WA house in a little over a week that will bring our monthly mortgage down a couple hundred dollars, and every time I check comps for our SC house it shows that the value has risen significantly since we bought.  Please, please let that be true and hold out for at least another year!

Down: Today is Colby's last day of work before the deployment.  This is becoming ALLLLL too real.
Up: I'm sure there's something good about this, but I can't think of it.

Oh, I Know: 120+ days of being able to sleep with the bottoms of the sheets tucked in!

What have been your ups and downs this week?

Wamp Wamp Weekend

Well, I tried to go into someone's house yesterday to claim it as my own, but everyone has ADT signs outside.  I didn't feel like getting the police involved in my attempted imperialism.  Also, it rained all day and I didn't want to tromp mud into someone's house.

Anyway, this wasn't the worst weekend ever, but I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty pathetic.  Colby has been working his butt off to finish his Masters program, and this semester he's taking two pretty intense classes.  So, his weekend was spent with his nose in a book trying to work out complicated accounting problems in preparation for his midterm tomorrow.  I'd hoped we'd be able to have a little bit of fun around the city since this is our last weekend in Charleston before his deployment, but alas, studies come first.

I did manage to shoehorn a little bit of fun into my weekend spent mainly either in front of the tv or behind a book.  Friday night, I spent my evening surrounded by jewels at a Lia Sophia party.  I went in promising myself I wouldn't spend much, and ended up with a sparkly necklace and two pairs of earrings.  But really, I SAVED so much money!

Saturday, I went for an absolutely glorious four mile run in the neighborhood.  Charleston is currently in the midst of one of the two or three months out of the year where it is quite enjoyable to run outside, and I've been taking full advantage.  It was my first time back up to the four mile mark since we got back from our vacation, and I saw a definite improvement in my pace from the last time I ran it.  I'm still slow as molasses, but more like warm molasses as opposed to cold.

Sunday, I dragged Colby out for a date night at a new (to us) pizza place before he buried himself back in schoolwork.  Then Monday rolled around, rainy, grey and uneventful.  The lazy weekend caught up with me last night, and I was wide awake until about 3:30 in the morning.  Of course, I did nothing to stop the vicious cycle by staying in bed until (cough, mumble, cough) 11 o'clock (cough) this morning.  But tonight, I'm hitting up the melatonin early.  I may not be able to conquer entire inhabited continents through the use of flags and deadly disease, but sleep?  Sleep I WILL conquer!

Past, Present, Future

I've been spending an awful lot more time lately traveling and recapping trips than keeping the old blawg up to date on my day to day life.  Posts have been a bit sparse because we've had a pretty busy time of it.  October is a huge transition month for us, with lots of good things leading up to the huuuuuge bummer that is Colby's next 120-day deployment.  We've been dreading it for ages--probably ever since we found out that it would be less than a year from his last return that he would leave again--so in a way, I think we're ready to just get it started so it will be over soon.
Last week, my fabulous friend, Jessica, and her recently aquired husband visited Charleston for a few days.  I crashed their romantic vacation a few times, making awkward Sister Wife jokes, and the highlight was certainly our dinner at the much buzzed about restaurant, Husk.  From being Bon Appetit's recently named #1 new restaurant in America, to Sam Sifton, the New York Times restaurant critic (and soon to be National Editor), calling it the best place to eat outside of New York City, Husk is possibly one of the most talked about restaurants in the country, and certainly in the South.  

From the website: At Husk there are some rules about what can go on the plate. “If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door,” says Brock, who has even stricken olive oil from the kitchen. As he explains, the resulting cuisine “is not about rediscovering Southern cooking, but exploring the reality of Southern food.”

And it was absolutely delicious.  I could have eaten an entire vat of the bacon and cheese grits, and my seared duck breast seemed to melt in my mouth.  Everyone else was thrilled with their meals as well, and given that the menu changes every day based on what is in season and locally available, I'm looking forward to seeing what the options will be at a different time of the year.  

Jessica and I also did some damage on the shops on King Street, and tried out the seafood at Coast restaurant.  Verdict: Decent food, TERRIBLE service.  It was so much fun to relive our memories of meeting in Ireland when we were just wee little college students, and it was great to get to know her husband better.

Once they left town, the weather shifted drastically, and Fall was upon us.  I've been enjoying my boots and new sweaters and plan to enjoy these cool temperatures for as long as they last.  I spent Saturday night drinking wine around a firepit with friends, and it was the perfect way to welcome in the new season.

Today, we're bracing ourselves for our first visit with a reproductive endocrinologist at a local fertility center.  I've been researching the doctors and the clinic success rates online, and I'm feeling incredibly hopeful about what we'll discuss today.  More on that later.

As for the rest of the month, we're heading to an LSU game in Tennessee on the 15th, then driving down to Louisiana to spend some time with Colby's family.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Tigers continue their incredible winning streak in Knoxville, and having someone to split the drive home with me!  But we'll leave it at that, because after we get back home comes the depressing part of the month, and right now I just want to focus on the good.

Fairy Tale Ending

It was a very sad moment as we left the charming town of Hallstatt behind us, but we took heart in the knowledge that our vacation wasn't quite over yet.  We wound through the mountain roads, and are pretty sure we even caught a glimpse of Hitler's Eagle's Nest tucked high up in the Alpine slopes.  We had a long drive ahead of us to get back to the Ramstein area in Germany, but we had carved out enough time to visit quite possibly the most well-known attraction in Germany--Crazy Ludwig's Schloss (Castle) Neuschwanstein.

We arrived in the small village of Fussen around noon, and felt as though we were driving onto a Disney park.  There were hordes of tourists on foot, a huge fleet of horses and carriages waiting to whisk people up to the castle, and restaurants and souvenier shops dominated the streets.  After a teensy road sign misunderstanding which led to us attempting to drive up a pedestrian only walkway (oops), we found parking and then waded upstream through the crowds to find the ticket shop.  The next English speaking tour wasn't for another few hours, which gave us plenty of time for lunch and a leisurely hike up the hill to explore the area surrounding the castle.  We found the Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge) overlook which gave postcard worthy views of Neuschwanstein, and also had a view of the mustard yellow Schloss Hohenschwangau where Ludwig grew up, dreaming of building his fairy tale castle in the mountains.

We showed up for our tour time and laughed at the military (Disney?) precision with which tours were conducted.  We were issued a time and a number, and a few minutes before each tour began the number would flash up on a lightboard at the head of a very Disneyesque roped off holding area.  From there we filed into the castle and were taken on a 30 minute tour of the partially completed interior.  Neuschwanstein is most famous for being the castle from which Walt Disney took his inspiration to build his own park castles.  And between the turrets, charming mountain setting, stunning views of nature, and opulent interior, we certainly felt as though we had stepped into Sleeping Beauty's castle.We made it back into Ramstein that night and went to bed shortly after arriving, in preparation for our 4 am wake up call to head to the terminal and attempt to Space A home.  Unfortunately, incompetence reared its ugly head, and the two flights that we should have been able to get on took off without us.  I could go into a long diatribe about this and how angry we were, but after a few hours of steaming over other people's screw ups, we put on our big boy/girl panties and decided to make the best of things.  Nothing was going home the next day, so we were left with one more day in Germany.  And we decided to spend it in beautiful Heidelberg.

Our first order of business was a leisurely outdoor breakfast in the quaint Marktplatz (Market Square), then we toured the mostly ruined Heidelberg Castle.  The castle was begun in the early 1200s, and added on to over the centuries by the various rulers.  It went from a fortress in its early life to a pleasure palace in the 1600s.  Unfortunately, between invading armies and natural disasters, the castle was left in ruins on three separate occasions and has only been partially restored since the 1800s.  Still, it is easy to imagine how impressive this castle must have been in its heyday, and the ruins are quite lovely in their own right.  And of course, one of the most famous residents of the castle is the Heidelberg Tun--the wine barrel capable of holding 220,000 liters of wine and hosting a small party on the small dance floor constructed over its top.

Our next stop was at the University of Heidelberg, where we explored the beautiful Great Hall where students have historically defended their theses, and then the old Studentenkarzer (Student Jail), where from 1778-1914 students were imprisoned for infractions such as carousing in the streets and disturbing the peace.  Over time, it became something as a badge of honor to spend time in the jail and leave your mark through humorous cartoons, poems, and diatribes graffitied onto the wall.

Finally, we headed across the river for a cardiovascular workout on the Philosphenweg (Philosopher's Walk), named thusly because the stunning views of Heidelberg are said to inspire philosophical thoughts.  We were mainly inspired to sweat, but there were some beautiful views as well.  The walk took us back into the center of Heidelberg through an old city gate, and after a quick stop for a sandwich, we were in the car and once more heading back to Ramstein.  A friend was kind enough to drive us the hour and a half to Spangdahlem Air Force Base that night so that we could be there in time for a very early morning flight the next day.  Happily, we were boarded on that flight, and after a nap on our air mattress and a gas stop in Newfoundland, we landed in Charleston.

Thanks for humoring me as I recapped our trip!  We had such an amazing time, and I can honestly say that this was my favorite trip abroad that we've taken together.  It was the perfect combination of relaxation and sight-seeing, and I can't believe how much of western Europe we were able to experience in just a couple of weeks.  Now, more than ever, we really hope that some day we'll get the chance to live in Europe, but until then, we'll enjoy these memories and hope to make it back again some day soon!

The Hills Are, In Fact, Alive With the Sound of Music

So, getting back to wrapping up our European vacation, our next stop after Munich was Salzburg, Austria.  While France was our favorite country for its architectural and cultural aspects, Austria was by far the most amazing display of glorious nature.  Between the mountains, the crystal clear rivers and streams, and the perfectly pristine air, we felt like we had found heaven on Earth.

We had one day to take in quaint and beautiful Salzburg, and we once more turned to our pal Rick Steves for his city walking tour.  It gave us a great overview of the city and its Mozart-centric history.  The yellow house in the first picture above is the house where Mozart was born, though he evidently grew up across the river in a different house.  He is also the central figure in the Mozartplatz in a statue that Mozart fans claim is a terrible resemblance.  One of our favorite moments was while wandering in the square around the Salzburg Cathedral, we found a talented balalaika quartet playing Mozart tunes.
After lunch at a beer garden overlooking the city, we hiked up a hill to the imposing Salzburg fortress.  The fortress was so effective, that it was never actually attacked by a foreign army--well done fortress builders!  It was a fascinating look at medieval "emergency preparedness" with an entire miniature city located within the walls and room for thousands of citizens of the town below to take refuge in case of attack.  It also offered a gorgeous aerial view of Salzburg and the Salzach River. From Salzburg, we made the drive into the Dachstein mountains to spend a couple of days in the UNESCO World Heritage site, Hallstatt, Austria.  This tiny fairytale town is perched in a breathtaking valley right on the banks of the Hallstatter See (lake) and is one of the towns that makes up the Salzkammergut region.  We splurged on a fabulous room in a family run pension, and the views above are the ones we had the priviledge of waking up to each morning.  It was very easy to imagine running away from the real world and living in the middle of such perfection every day.

Our first excursion after arriving was to the salt mines above the city.  Archeologists have found evidence that the salt mines have been in use for 7,000 years, and were the original industry of the village--long before tourists discovered its more leisurely qualities!  We donned our heavy-duty mining gear, then made our way into the mine, by turns walking, taking a mining train, and even whizzing down long miners' slides!  When we got back to our room, a thunder storm was rumbling in, so we took the opportunity to take a long nap with the windows open, before heading out for dinner and a little more exploring.

The next morning, we started our day with breakfast at a hotel down by the water, then walked up to the village church to visit the Charnel House.  All over Austria, grave sites are not purchased, they are rented.  Every 10 to 20 years, a bill is mailed to the family members to renew the lease, and if the bill is not paid, the headstone is removed and the grave is reused.  In Hallstatt, the villagers faced the complication of finding enough space for all of their dead over the generations.  Their solution was to bury the body for 10-20 years, then dig up the bones, bleach them, decorate them and place them in the Charnel House.  Now there is a cemetery outside of the village where people can be buried, so there is no longer the need to place bones in the small chapel, but it does still make for an eerie and fascinating visit!
We spent the afternoon hiking around in the Dachstein mountains.  Our first stop was the Mammoth Caves, which are enormous naturally formed caves in the mountains.  Of course, being literal Americans, we waited up until the last moment to spot a prehistoric mammal, but none were to be found.  From there, we visited the Ice Caves, where each year water melts and refreezes in stunning formations.  It's difficult to show much perspective in the photos since of course we weren't allowed to walk near the ice, but the formations were so large that they towered over our heads even as we climbed stairs and peered down into gaping chasms.

We exited the dark caves and hiked over to the terrifying Five Points overlook, dangling precariously off the side of the mountain.  Okay, so maybe it was very firmly anchored, but I can guarantee you I did not feel that way when I was clutching white knuckled to the rails, a terrified smile plastered firmly on my face.  In that photo of me behind the frame, my heels were hanging over the edge of the platform into NOTHINGNESS, and Colby took FOREVER to find the right settings before I could finally flee back to the safety of solid ground.  But it was a beautiful spot, and we spent about an hour watching a multitude of insane individuals strap on a parachute and leap off the mountain to glide down to the valley below.  Our vacation was drawing near to its close, and Hallstatt was the perfect stop along the way to recharge our batteries and experience the beauty and majesty of the Austrian mountains.

The Windy City

We interrupt this European travel recap to bring you... a different travel recap!  Yes, two weeks after returning home from our time abroad, I was already repacking my bags and jetting off to a new destination--this time stateside. One of my best friends, Melissa (the one whose beautiful Vermont wedding I went to last Autumn), helped organize a girls' trip to Chicago, and I was thrilled to be able to join in.  I was even more excited when Carolyn, one of my besties from Washington, said that she'd be able to make the five hour drive from her new home in St. Louis to meet up with us.  Due to my social anxiety issues, I was a little nervous about the mixing of friend groups and meeting a bunch of new girls, but honestly, it could not have been better.  I had such an incredible time with these ladies, and I really hope that it's a group I get the chance to spend time with again in the future.

I left Charleston on Friday evening, and as I've come to expect, I ran into not only a delay in Charlotte that got me into O'Hare an hour late, but even with the hour-long delay on the tarmac, my bag still didn't make it from the Charleston airplane onto the one to Chicago!  So, I met up with the girls at the airport around eleven traveling a bit lighter than I'd hoped, but with the promise that my bag would be arriving on the next plane.  Our first stop was at the hotel, the Doubletree on the Magnificent Mile, to drop our things then we headed across the street to an Irish bar to find the rest of our girls and get to drinking!

We were out until almost three in the morning, and much to my dismay, my bag still hadn't arrived when we got back to the hotel.  Fortunately, it showed up just in time for me to start getting ready the next morning!  We went to lunch at Pizzeria Uno, the original home of Chicago style deep dish pizza.  I'm not a big fan of the more traditional meaty pizza, so I went with an absolutely delicious pesto and four cheese.  

From there we walked over to the river to buy tickets for the Wendella architectural boat tour.  It was sold out until the 4:30 ride, but we wanted to make sure we got good seats, so a few girls held a spot in line while I went back up to the street to take some photos and take in the sight of the beautiful city.  The boat tour was a perfect way to get an overview of all the incredible skyscrapers bordering the river, and we were lucky enough to have gorgeous sunshiny weather.  

We got back to the hotel around 7:30 to get ourselves ready for dinner and going out.  We optimistically attempted to eat at Rick Bayless's Frontera, reading in our tour book that we'd probably have a two margarita wait.  In reality it was a two and a half hour wait.  I don't care how good your food is, that's ridiculous!  So instead we cabbed it over to Zapatista Cantina for a delicious Mexican feast.  From there we spent some time bouncing from club to club on a desperate search for dancing.

It's possible that we were just in the wrong places, but we weren't overly thrilled with the club options in the city.  There were tons of sports bars and Irish pubs.  There were blues clubs and piano bars.  But we had a ridiculously tough time finding somewhere to just shake our groove thang!  Eventually we found ourselves at the corner of Division & State when the magical voice of Kanye floated into our consciousness.  We made an immediate left into Bootleggers where for 45 beautiful minutes we were transported back to our college years with Dr. Dre and Snoop at the helm.  Then, as all wonderful things must end, the DJ decided that the 70s were here to stay and spent the next hour playing wedding music.  We opted to try another club, only to discover that there's a reason most clubs close at 2--because all that's left at three in the morning is sadness, despair, and, inexplicably, toilet paper covering the floor.  We decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel where we sat up talking until around 4.

The next morning we dragged ass out of bed, and the Doubletree was kind enough to take mercy on our weary souls and extend our checkout time to 12:30.  Our first stop of the day was Millenium Park to see the iconic bean, then we found a Chicago dog to tide us over until lunch time.

From there we took the L to Wrigley Field where we were surprised to find a game in progress.  We went across the street to the Goose Island bar where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch, then began to make our way back to the hotel to collect our things before heading to the airport.  Unfortunately, the game had let out just before we left the restaurant, and we could see from the street that the train platform was PACKED.  Since a couple of girls heading to the airport were already running late, we decided to just get a cab back and then begged our driver from the hotel to fly as speedily as possible to O'Hare.  

We did run into some game traffic, but lucky (?) for us, all of our flights were delayed, so we all made it in plenty of time.  I was supposed to take off at 6:59, and with all of the flights South that I heard being cancelled, I was just thrilled to be getting on an airplane and taking off at 11.  Colby picked me up at the airport at 2 am local time, and after getting ten hours of sleep over the past 66 hours, I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow!  Last week came with some struggles and disappointments, and I'm so grateful that this weekend came when it did to take my mind off of my worries.  I am lucky to have some of the greatest girls in my life, and the opportunities to see amazing places in the world.  Chicago was definitely a winner, and I'll always remember the memories we made there!

Pretzels, Beer & Zee Autobahn

After our amazing day on the beaches of Normandy, we loaded down our clown car once more, and made the long drive to Munich.  It took a full day, so we took turns at the wheel.  I wish I could say that we took full advantage of the no speed restriction zones on the autobahn, but unfortunately our poor little Citroen just wasn't up to the challenge.  The highest speed she was even capable of reaching was 170 kph (105 mph), and I think the fastest I could actually get her up to was 150 kph (93 mph) when we were coasting down a hill.  We did love the very explicit rules about only using the far left lane to pass, and that trucks and slow cars actually stayed in the right lane except for passing.
Ah, Munich.  We liked Munich.  It had its own charm, and who wouldn't love an entire city devoted to the mission of turning everyone who enters its borders into a raging alcoholic.  Except... we didn't really love it.  In all fairness to Munich, I think it was a case of misinformed expectations and that last photo in the grouping above--CONSTRUCTION.  EVERYWHERE.  Loud, smelly construction.  EVERYWHERE.  I was not expecting Munich to be such a big city and that the historic downtown would be so small.  I was expecting a bit more quaintness.  That said, we did enjoy our two days there, and we didn't regret including it in our travels.  Our first stop was at the Marienplatz to meet up with another Sandeman New Europe free walking tour, so we kicked things off with the Rathaus-Glockenspiel show at 10 am, then enjoyed a wonderful three hour overview of the city.

After the walking tour, we stopped at a beautiful Rick Steves recommended (of course!) beer garden for lunch, then walked back over to the Residenz for a tour of the palace that the kings of Bavaria made their home for generations.  One of the things that we found most fascinating about Munich is that after the city was levelled by bombs in WWII, the citizens decided that rather than speedily erecting a brand new city (a la Tokyo), they would painstakingly recreate each historic road and building.  Because they didn't have much in the way of financing and were in a hurry to have a semi-completed city by the 1972 summer Olympics, many of the buildings were finished with a painted facade to simulate architectural details.  You can see this effect in the picture above of me with the bronze lion.  Because of this approach post-WWII construction is going on to this day as they slowly update the facades with the actual stones and moldings as they get the money and time.  Absolutely amazing.

When we finished our tour of the Residenz, we went outside to visit Dodger's Alley.  Munich and Bavaria were the birthplace of National Socialism and where Hitler began his rise to power in the 1920s.  He gave many of his infamous speeches in the Odeonsplatz, which was also one of the sites of Hitler's failed 1923 revolution, known as the Beer Hall Putsch, where some of the Nazi Stormtroopers were killed.  Once Hitler attained power, he erected a memorial to the Nazis who had died in the revolution, and set two Nazi soldiers to guard it.  Any Munich resident who passed this way was forced to salute the guards and the memorial or face arrest.  Many citizens who did not support the Nazi regime took to diverting down the alley pictured above to avoid the memorial.  Once the Nazis figured out what was going on, they stationed a guard at the alley to question people and take their names and if they were seen taking this route more than once, they were sent to Dachau for "reeducation".  The bravery of these people who quietly stood up for what they believed has been memorialized in a row of golden stones on the road.  Finally, we walked over to the English garden to see Munich's most unexpected sight--surfers in the park!
The next morning, we began our day with a sobering visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp.  This was one of the smaller of the most "well-known" camps, and was used as a reeducation camp, not as a mass execution site.  You can see in the pictures above that there were crematoriums and a gas chamber, but the chamber was never used in the way that you hear of in camps like Auschwitz.  It was tested a few times, and of course, many, many people died at the camp, but Hitler preferred to keep the mass execution sites outside of Germany.  We were lucky enough to arrive at the camp just before an English language tour began, and our guide was excellent and engaging, and I feel that we were able to get so much more out of the experience than if we had tried to see it on our own.
We were pretty emotionally and physically drained after Dachau--we'd been going non-stop for over a week at that point--and we needed a break.  We decided to skip the art museum that we'd planned to visit and go back to the room for a relaxing afternoon and a nap.  Once we were refreshed, we headed back out into the night for the obligatory visit to the Hofbrauhaus.  I wasn't expecting great things since it is unabashedly a huge tourist trap, but I must admit that our food was pretty good, and it was fun chugging down a 1 liter beer (okay, okay, it was a Ruß'n--white beer with lemonade)!  We did get very lucky that it was a beautiful evening, and we scored a perfect table on the balcony overlooking the beer garden.  A perfectly German end to our time in Munich.

Storming the Beaches

Unexpectedly, one of my favorite days on our trip was the one that we spent driving around to some of the main D-Day invasion sites.  I've always had an interest in World War II, and Colby and I even took a WWII history class together in college, but out of all of the amazing things we had on our itinerary for our two weeks in Europe, I didn't think that the Normandy beaches would be so moving, beautiful, and enthralling.  We visited the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach and agreed that it was the most beautiful military cemetery that we've had the honor of visiting.  We explored Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc, Grandcamp Maisy--a recently uncovered German battery, Utah Beach, St. Mere Eglise--famous for the American paratrooper who was caught on the spire of the village church, and Gold Beach where the British military invaded and set up the mulberry harbors--remnants of which are still present and in remarkable condition.

One of the things that struck us as we made our way through France, Germany and Austria is just how present World War II is in so many ways--memorials in churches and village squares, Allied flags flying on narrow, winding streets, remnants of battlefields on the outlying acreage of a farmer's fields.  I think in America, we tend to think of it as being such a long time ago--since then we've been involved in the Korean War, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Gulf Wars... World War II has a tendency to be remembered as a more quaint, romantic war featuring strapping GIs and plucky Rosie the Riveters.  But walking through those battlefields, seeing the the scars that remain on buildings, the craters and bunkers that still sprinkle the beaches as children play in the surf, we were reminded of the horror of that war that we fought on a faraway soil, and the irrepressible beauty and strength of the countries and the people left standing to rebuild and memorialize.

Omaha Beach
 

Point du Hoc

Utah Beach
 

St. Mere Eglise

German Cemetery at La Cambe

Gold Beach

Au Revoir, Paris. Bonjour, Normandy!

For our last day in Paris, we had saved one of the most visited sites in France--the palace of Versailles.  After researching various methods of visiting Versailles, we determined that the most appealing was the one that involved wheels and wine.  So, once more we met up with a Fat Tire bike tour, rode to the train station and headed west.

Our first stop, once we arrived in the town of Versailles, was at the market, where we loaded up on Camembert, melon, duck rillete, a bottle of red, and enough bread to ensure that we would not starve for many days.  We then packed our supplies and biked to the palace park entrance, cruising past Marie Antoinette's hamlet, the Grand and Petit Trianon, and finally settling in a shady spot by the Grand Canal with the impressive palace as our backdrop.  We proceeded to spend the next hour or so lounging in the soft cool grass, enjoying a leisurely picnic with our fellow tour members.  It was one of the highlights of the trip, and we were all left giggling at the idea of a tour in the United States actually encouraging drinking then bicycling.

Just before we all slipped into a post-lunch slumber, our tour guide rallied us back to our mounts, and we continued along the path around the canal, up to the palace.  At that point, we were issued our tickets and set loose in the interior.  It was... underwhelming.  I remember years ago, going to a touring exhibition that included a mock up of the Hall of Mirrors, and since that day dreaming of visiting it someday for myself.  Unfortunately, far too many people are allowed to enter the palace at one time, and instead of feeling the splendor and grandeur of the rooms, you are far too aware of all the sweating, elbowing tourists pressing in around you.  Fortunately, the Hall of Mirrors was a big enough room that we were able to catch our breath and appreciate the magnificence, but the rest of the experience was sorely lacking.  We agreed we would have been much happier lounging on the lawn for another hour instead.

To celebrate our last night in beautiful Paris, we made one last pass by our old friend Le Tour Eiffel, and then had the pleasure of meeting up with a lifelong friend of Colby's who just happened to be staying in a hotel in the same area as we were.  It was just one of those funny coincidences, only discovered through the power of Facebook status updates.  After talking over a bottle of wine, we went our separate ways and Colby and I metroed over to Montmarte, a little too late to catch the sunset, but in perfect time to gain a beautiful view of Paris at dusk.  Unfortunately, that's when a devil of a migraine hit me--and not just one of those bad headaches that people call migraines, but the full nausea, sensitivity to light. eye searing joy of the real deal.  I really wanted to find the Moulin Rouge, but when after dinner I was literally whimpering while walking down the street and trying not to cry every time we came in view of a streetlight, we decided to call it a night.  Not the best way for our time in Paris to draw to an end, but these things happen.
My head was still feeling slightly bruised and achy the next morning, but lucky for me it was a much quieter day.  We loaded up our car once more and made the hour and a half drive west to Giverny to visit Claude Monet's house and gardens.  I have a special place in my heart for Monet because his artwork always reminds me of my little sister, and I love his vibrant impressionist scenes.  So when I saw that his home lay on the drive to the D-day invasion beaches, we decided that we had time for a detour.
   
The garden was absolutely charming, and the waterlily pond and bridges were exactly what I'd always imagined.  We found that Normandy is sort of France's version of Seattle, and the frequent rain showers make for stunning plantlife.  We spent the better part of an hour weaving our way through the emerald, shadowy paths and it wasn't hard to see how a person could be inspired to paint masterpieces in such a setting.  With plenty of day still left ahead of us, we continued on in our journey and drove another couple of hours to the quaint town of Bayeux.  We had just enough time to visit the Notre Dame de Bayeux, and of course every history geek's favorite wall hanging, the Bayeux tapestry.  Sadly, this is also when we discovered that it is possible to travel with two camera batteries and still have both of them crap out on you at the same time, so I have no photographic evidence of that evening's adventures which also included my first encounter with escargot.  And it was AMAZING!

The City of Lights

Before our trip, whenever I would mention that we were planning to go to Paris, I would brace myself for the barrage of negative comments.  The food isn't good.  The people are rude.  It's so overrated.  I rarely heard anyone who had actually been there say a nice thing about the city.  So while my expectations were incredibly high, I was also expecting to be terribly disappointed.  I could not have disagreed more with all of the detractors.  I am absolutely mad about Paris.  It is a breathtakingly beautiful city.  No, the people aren't warm and fuzzy, but absolutely no one made me feel uncomfortable and while I would make an effort to speak French, almost everyone was willing to speak with me in English if they were able.  If not, they found someone who could speak English, or we just made do with "pointy-talky".  A commenter yesterday leveled the accusation of photoshop on our photos, and the only thing I can say to that is no, Paris is just that beautiful.  It is like strolling through a painting.
On Thursday, we got an early start with a quick visit to Notre Dame, before meeting up with a Sandeman's New Europe Paris Walking Tour.  We had a great experience with this "free" tour in both Paris and Munich, gaining a wonderful overview of each city with high energy, well-informed young guides.  I put free in quotes because while technically there is no charge, the guides are working for tips only, so we gave each guide 20 EUR at the end of each tour.  Still, 10 EUR each for 3-4 hour walking tours is still quite a steal!  We covered many of the same points as the night bike tour, but this time in the light of day.  My favorite was the beautiful Tuileries Gardens behind the Louvre, which led to a horde of lounging Parisians and tourists around a pond facing the gold tipped obelisk on Place de la Concorde.
After our walking tour and a quick lunch, we went to L'Orangerie to see their small but extremely high quality collection of Monet's waterlilies and other impressionist and modern painters including Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso, Matisse and more.  This is also where we bought our Paris Museum Pass, which I would highly recommend if you're planning to go to at least four of the sites covered.  We bought a two day pass and from then on were allowed to skip most lines at the other sites (not including security lines, of course), and made for a great time saver.  After L'Orangerie, we walked over to Rue Royal for one of my favorite moments of the trip--macarons at Laduree!  Each of the pastries was perfectly crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth delicious.  It was decadent and classy and just so perfectly Parisian.  Checking things off my 30 Before 30 list right and left!

That evening, we went to a Vivaldi concert inside the stunningly beautiful Sainte-Chapelle church.  It was certainly the smallest church we saw on our trip, but with the walls of stain glass windows and delicately carved stone, it felt like being inside a jeweled music box.  We still had enough energy left in us by the end of the day to head over to the Eiffel Tower for a night time view of the city.  We managed to time it perfectly so that when we exited the elevator, the lights had started twinkling.  So romantic! Friday, we put on our walking shoes, mustered up our courage and made our way to the Louvre.  Everyone from Rick Steves to our tour guides had hammered into our heads the importance of going to the "secret entrance" (that everyone knows about) at the Porte de Lions to avoid the scary line at the Pyramid entrance.  So, being intrepid adventurers, we went against the flow of people walking toward the Pyramid and found the lions.  Unfortunately, we also found that the Porte de Lions entrance is closed on Fridays.  So, consulting Rick once more, we discovered that the second best entrance is from the mall below the Louvre.  That gave us a short ten minute security wait, then with Museum Pass in hand, we were officially in!  My favorite piece was the impressively placed Winged Victory, and we also got a kick out of the massive crowd of camera-wielding tourists crushing in around poor old Mona.

After about 3 hours of tromping through the Louvre, we gave our feet a break, and took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe, exiting the station right at the massive 12 lane roundabout encircling the arch.  This was another of my favorite experiences as the views of the city were beautiful, the sun was shining, and there were plenty of spots to take a seat and relax over Paris!  I was also excited to find my mother's maiden name listed as one of the French generals who have a place of honor inside the arch.  My people!
  
And not quite done torturing our buns and thighs, we made our way back over to Notre Dame to make the climb up to the bell tower and play Quasimodo.  I loved getting up close and personal with the gargoyles and chimera, and again it was a beautiful aerial view of Paris, though I didn't love that after our hour long wait in line, they limited us to five minutes at the top.  After we descended, we had our best meal in Paris at Orangerie (not to be confused with the Monet museum!) on the Ile St. Louis, finishing our day with a delicious stop at Amorino Gelato--Berthillon's biggest competitor for a reason--and a beautiful sunset stroll along the Seine.

The Grand Tour Begins

I'm baaaaaaack!!!!  We got home from EUROPE (!!!) last Thursday after a few shenanigans pulled by the Air Force when we tried to get home on Tuesday.  That just resulted in a bonus amazing day in Germany after a supremely amazing almost three weeks traveling through France, Germany and Austria.  An amazingness that is currently reflected in the harsh reality of our credit card bill.  Man, we had a really good time.  Yikes.
On Sunday, August 14, we got on a flight from Charleston to Dover that was then connecting on to Germany.  However, they were picking up cargo in Dover, and we weren't confident that there was going to be room for passengers as well.  Lucky for us, the pilot was one of Colby's friends from Washington who had also moved to Charleston, so he worked extra hard to release seats for us.  Much to our surprise, we found ourselves heading across the ocean at two o'clock in the morning.  Once we got over the shock, we blew up our air mattress and slept for the next five hours, woke up to eat our box lunches, and I barely had time to get involved in my book before we were landing at Spangdahlem AFB.  Our pals from Ramstein were kind enough to come pick us up, and while we waited I took advantage of the free wifi to start making hotel inquiries and booking some tours in Paris.

We spent that evening and the next day in Ramstein hanging out with our friends and making arrangements for the next couple of weeks of our trip.  On Wednesday, August 17th, we loaded up in our tiny little Citroen C1 and made the five hour drive to Paris.
We checked into the charming Hotel Londres Eiffel, then set out with Rick Steves to get to know our neighborhood.  We squealed with excitement when we saw the Eiffel Tower soaring above all of the nearby buildings just a few blocks away.  We walked a couple of streets over and strolled down bustling Rue Cler, finally settling on Cafe du Marche for an early dinner and some spectacular people watching.  We were already beginning to teeter dangerously close to the precipice of falling completely in love with Paris, and that night we took a tour that sealed the deal.  We met at the South leg of the Eiffel Tower at 7:00 pm, and about half an hour later I was flying down the street on my shiny red cruiser.  I hadn't ridden a bike since a pretty bad experience on a different vacation about five years ago, so my expectations were fair to middling.  But I'd heard from multiple sources that the best way to see Paris is by bicycle, and dammit, I am nothing if not determined to squeeze every possible amount of fun out of any destination and to do it in the best way possible.
  And much to my surprise, after a rocky first few moments, I remembered the joy of feeling the wind in your hair and how to pump your legs extra hard to get those few moments of easy cruising.  It truly was perfect.  We biked around to many of the main sites--Notre Dame, the Louvre, and of course stopping to get some of the justifiably famous Berthillon ice cream--then just as the sun began to set, we boarded a boat cruise on the Seine and drifted down the river with a perpetually full glass of red wine, all of the beautiful monuments lit up against an inky black sky and the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the distance.After the cruise, we made another pass by the Eiffel Tower, getting there just in time for the 11 o'clock twinkles, then it was back to the bike shop to return our cruisers.  If you happen to find yourself in Paris, I cannot recommend the Fat Tire tours highly enough.  We did two of them (more on that later) and could not have been more impressed by our experiences and our guides.  Once our bikes were locked up for the night, we made the leisurely walk back to our room, already completely mad about Paris and looking forward to our next three days in the City of Lights.

Frazzled Four

We're down to just four days before our adventure into the as yet unknown locale begins!  Whether or not we actually leave on Saturday, everything has to be done by then and for the next few days we'll have to be ready to leave at little more than a moment's notice.

Of course, this week is also one in which I decided to have a social life, so mixed in amongst all of the laundry, multiple last minute Target runs, getting that dress altered that I've been meaning to take in for weeks, bringing the dogs for their bordatella shots because somehow they are ALWAYS due for their bordatella shots, not to mention packing and finalizing our tentative itinerary and list of hotels and tour companies, I've got evenings out with friends and book clubs cutting into laundry folding time most evenings.

We went to the store on Sunday and stocked up on tour books--we're stacked, packed and ready to attack with Uncle Rick's and Fodor's take on Paris, Munich, and Bavaria.  We've made decisions about possible cities that may get the axe if it takes us a little longer to get to Europe than expected, and I'm trying not to think about the possibility that we won't get to Europe at all.

Amazing guest posts have started trickling in, outfits are coming together in my suitcase staging area, I'm already falling behind on Google Reader, and the dogs are beginning to seem highly suspicious of all of the activity being undertaken by their normally sedentary mom.

Remember how I said I was trying really hard not to get my hopes up about this trip?

Well, my hopes are really, really up.

Controlled Spontaneity

via

We're less than two weeks out from our big summer vacation to... somewhere... and as much as I really, truly am super thrilled, y'all, I am starting to get some crazy anxiety about this.  I am just not cut out for this kind of take-it-a-day-at-a-time travel.  Every time I start to get excited, I am eventually overwhelmed by worries about where we're going to go, where we're going to stay, how we're going to get from place to place, how I will contact anyone to be able to book things.  And in mere moments, rather than thinking happy thoughts, I have been sucked into a swirling vortex of stress.

The goal for today and tomorrow is to put together a list of cities we would ideally like to visit and then break down the different lodging options and tourist information for each stop, along with phone numbers, email addresses, and street addresses.  I'm really hoping that in our first couple of days in Germany (assuming we even make it to Germany), I'll be able to do all of our coordination for the rest of the trip from our friends' house and phone line/internet.

If we don't make it to Germany...  I don't even know.  I don't have enough room in my stress pocket to deal with it.  We're just going to get in the car and start driving north.  I'll do all my research in the car and try to book things along the way depending on where we're going to stay.  It's times like these I'm super pissed at Apple for not releasing the iPhone 5 in June--but I'm sure I'll get by with my turtle-slow internet.

Sooo, that's my approach.  And considering the last time I was this spontaneous, I was eighteen and only narrowly avoided spending the night on a bench in St. Stephen's Green by the kindness of a young Irish barman who overheard my plight and offered up his apartment over the pub... I think my nerves are justified.

If you're a super spontaneous, go with the flow kind of person, do you have any advice to share about travelling without a plan or last-minute travel tips?  I mean, beyond "just relax and enjoy the adventure".  I got that much.  I'm going to work on it, I promise.  But in the meantime I'm going to go soothe myself with an Excel spreadsheet and the beautiful illusion of control.

Community

I've been writing this blog for just shy of six years now, definitely one of the longest running commitments of my life.  Over the past couple of weeks, I've been going through my archives--starting with my very first post--and cleaning up formatting issues and broken pictures/links.  It has been so much fun seeing how my voice, personality, and life has developed over time.  And it has really driven home just how huge a part of my life this little corner of the internet has become.

I'm so lucky that I've also found such wonderful people to share this space with.  I've never participated in blog conferences or meet-ups, but still I've managed to forge some pretty great friendships just through the written word.  Of course, there's also a turd-bucket or two that pops up from time to time, but it's so worth it as for each troll that finds their way out of their cave, there are so many awesome people who take a little time out of their day to keep up with my world and support me.

On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to finally meet one of those fabulous people.  The adorable, absolutely glowing, Jen, of Operation Pink Herring fame, and her husband, came to Charleston for a few days and they were sweet enough to invite little ol' me to crash their babymoon and have lunch at one of my fave restaurants, 82 Queen.  Jen is one of my oldest readers--I really can't remember how we ran across each other, who found who first, or how long we've been voyeurs in one another's life, but I know it's been years.

When I was crossing the street from the parking garage, I spotted her through the front window of the restaurant, and it was so surreal, as though the internet had suddenly come to life.  The first thing out of my mouth was, "Oh my gosh, you look exactly like what you look like!"  Hopefully my conversation grew slightly more stimulating after that opening line, but I had a great time talking gators, humidity, babies, and real estate with the fantastic Herring family.  I'm kicking myself hard for forgetting to take a picture, but Jen, that just means you have to come back to visit again!

On a loosely related note, I'll be ditching blogland from mid to late August when we'll be travelling either overseas, or in the event that we don't get on a military hop, up the East coast for a few weeks.  During that time, I'd really like to have some guest bloggers.  I know I talked about having guest bloggers when I went on vacation in December and never got around to organizing it, but I really mean it this time!  

I want to open it up to any volunteers first.  You're welcome to write about absolutely anything your little heart desires, but if you want a writing prompt you could write about your dream vacation--either one you've already taken or one that you want to take.  All I ask is that you let me know in the comments that you'd like to write a post, and then email it to me by August 10th so I can get them all scheduled.  Sound good?

Coolcoolcool.

Happy and Healthy

I don't even know where to begin talking about the last few days.  I've had Colby with me, I've gotten to cuddle a baby, we've gotten piles and piles of much needed rain... it has been so good.  A lot of my focus lately has been centered on the part of my life that isn't going the way I want.  Nine months ago, I thought that I would have a baby either in my arms right now, or soon to be arriving.  The past couple of months have been extremely difficult in that regard.  It's a challenge reconciling my expectations with reality.  That being said, all is NOT sadness in my life.  The moments of sadness are there, but overall, I am so lucky with the lot that I've been dealt.

I suppose in the wise words of Maria von Trapp, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.  Friday, Colby got home from a week in New Mexico and Colorado where he'd had a fun hiking, camping, and fishing trip with one of his oldest friends.  That night, we met a friend at the incredible Ted's Butcherblock for one of their delicious $12 dinners and $5 wine tastings.  I seriously think these Friday night dinners are the best deal going in Charleston.  On Friday, we had delicious curried pork in a sort of falafel/meatball combination, served over eggplant, a pita and drizzled with tzaziki, with a bean salad on the side.  Dessert was a huge slab of carrot cake with a creme anglaise, and I could have eaten about ten more servings of it--it was just that good.

On Saturday, we went over to another friend's house so that we could meet her precious, perfect 1-week-old baby boy.  He is still at that limp noodle stage of infancy that terrifies me so much, because they just feel so BREAKABLE, but I managed to hold him without crushing him, and then died at the cuteness of Colby cuddling him as well.  It was admittedly a little bittersweet, but I am just so happy for my friend, and so excited to have a new baby in my life to watch grow over the years.  After baby time, we finally got around to seeing Bridesmaids, and we both got some much needed laughs.

Sunday was a relaxing chill day, just catching up on the DVR.  This week, Colby has been getting off work early, so we've been enjoying our evenings together.  Ever since the cleanse, I've been on quite a healthy eating kick (combined with a little Ben & Jerry's because I had to try Late Night Snack--CHOCOLATE COVERED POTATO CHIPS, people!), so we've been cooking up some tasty meals, I've been keeping up with my workouts, and I've discovered the most delicious way to incorporate fruits and vegetables into my daily routine--Green Monsters!  I just toss some flax seeds, a couple big handfulls of spinach, a banana, and some chocolate soy milk into a blender and liquify.  Then chop in some ice, and voila, chocolate banana smoothie.  It is SO GOOD, and I've been drinking one every day for my afternoon snack.

So, that's been my week, not all ups, but certainly not all downs either.  I'm working very hard to focus on all of the good in my life, and not take it for granted.  Unfortunately, Colby is leaving today for a work trip, but he'll be home in less than two weeks, and then we'll be heading off somewhere for almost three weeks of togetherness away from home.  Life is good.  I could complain, but today, I won't.

I'm Baaaaaack!

Not that I actually went anywhere, but we were without internet for much of the weekend and blogging on my iPhone is about my least favorite thing in the world.  However, all is well now as our connection is faster than ever and I talked down our monthly bill through the cunning use of whining.  Huzzah!

It ended up being a splendiferous weekend, though it was certainly touch and go there for a couple of days.  While I was so thrilled that Colby was supposed to be home for two weeks between his spate of trips, the Air Force was doing everything in its power to ruin things.  First, they were going to send him on a five day trip over the weekend.  We were bummed about that, but as soon as we'd accepted it, the schedulers realized that they'd made an error on the length of the trip and Colby wouldn't get back from it in time to leave on his next trip.  So yay!  We had our weekend back!  Then we got the call that Colby would have to stay on base starting on Friday through the weekend until Wednesday.  Much anger and frustration was called forth, the schedulers must have realized they needed to find another pilot to abuse before they lost their go-to guy.  And with that, we decided to run off to Myrtle Beach for the day before they changed their minds again.

Myrtle Beach was... interesting.  We entered the town through a street ornamented wih such entertainment options as The Pink Pussycat (formerly The Bunny Ranch), an assortment of adult oriented shops, and various other "Girls! Girls! Girls!" themed storefronts.  So we were a little leary from the get go, then driving down the main drag we got the feeling that everything needed to be hosed down with chlorine and given a fresh coat of paint.  I've heard that the area a bit north from the main street along the beach is nicer, but we were surrounded by a sea of airbrush t-shirt stalls, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and a surprising variety of pancake houses... and the actual sea.  It was a fun day trip, but we were very happy to return to our own less spring break geared beaches.

On Saturday, we spent the morning with our pal, the Comcast guy, working on repairing our internet, then headed over to a friend's house for her 2-year-old's birthday party. It included pizza, a butter yellow cake with chocolate frosting and watching little kids whaling on a pinata, a few of my favorite things.  Sunday we laid low and saved up our energy for 4th of July excitement, and Monday we scooted over to Sullivan's Island for a beach day with some friends.

We ate at Dunleavy's Pub, which had a wide selection of seafood, pub food, and "American fare" like hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled cheese.  It was definitely a candidate for a return visit in the future.  Once I'd tucked away a chili cheese slaw dog and a couple of hard ciders, we headed down to the beach.  I loved that there was a deep tide pool that we could swim around in and cross to reach a sandbar that led to the open ocean on the other side.  I deluded myself into feeling much safer in the tide pool because only really small sharks could be swimming around in there looking for feet to chew on.  Once we were thoroughly baked, we came back home where we curled up for some Twilight Zone action and watched the amazing fireworks show put on by our neighbors.

It was really the perfect weekend with a very carefully balanced amount of fun and excitement and chilling at home, and I am so, so, so grateful that Colby was able to be home to enjoy it with me.  I hope all of you Yanks had an amazing holiday weekend, and for the rest of you I hope your 4th of July was just as swell as any other Monday!

The Pilgrimage

Yesterday was just what the doctor ordered for my current case of The Sads.  I got up at oh dark thirty, drove over to a friend's house and we loaded up for the three hour drive up to The Holy Land in Charlotte, NC.
If I could change just two things about the Charleston shopping scene, it would be to remedy our lack of an Anthropologie and an Ikea.  But after yesterday, I think I'm going to have to change my Ikea wish to a Nordstrom, because the drive up to Charlotte really wasn't as bad as I was expecting.  Especially since we had one 45 minutes away in Washington and still only went there twice over the course of nearly three years!

Here's a sampling of some of the Swedish lovelies I picked up.  (Please ignore how desperately my carpet is crying out to be vacuumed.)  Evidently I was on quite a black and white kick.  

The lampshade will be suspended from the ceiling behind this chair so I can use it as a reading nook at night when I don't have the natural light from outside.  The large black frame will go in our bedroom, and I'm hoping to pull of something artistic with the flower decals in the bottom left.  I'm using the laptop pad as we speak and it is far superior to the throw pillows I've been using for the past few years.  The tray will serve as a flat top to hold drinks and goodies on the new storage ottoman we're using as a coffee table in our living room, and the alarm clock is for the guestroom which is currently unclocked.  I'm not exactly sure where the sweet little "B" bookend will go, but I couldn't pass it up!

And I'm already planning my next trip up with Colby so that we can load ourselves down with Expedit bookshelves for the office.  They'll be replacing the MDF lovelies we each brought to our marriage, and maybe it'll still be crap MDF furniture, but at least it will be crap MDF furniture that matches.  Baby steps!

Not Getting My European Hopes Up...

Isn't that the dumbest concept in the world?  When something really exciting is on the horizon, but it's not definite, so you run around shrieking to everyone "But I'm not getting my hopes up!!" as though by saying it loud enough and enough times, it will be true?  Well, I'm not getting my hopes up, but there is the distinct possibility that two months from today Colby and I will be in Deutschland!!

His leave has been approved by the Air Force, I live in a permanent state of leave-taking, we've got the money saved up due the the disastrous but ultimately free Mediterranean cruise of 2010, now it all comes down to securing transportation.  We've been saying since we moved to Charleston that we were going to try to Space A over to Germany.  For those of you who weren't following along last year, you can go here and here to learn about Space A and my previous unsuccessful attempts.  Suffice it to say, after planning a trip using military transport and having everything fall through, I'm a little nervous about whether this will actually work out.  But we've got 2 1/2 weeks to play with and absolutely no set plans, so I'm trying to be optimistic.

This is a particular challenge to me because I am a planner.  Every vacation I've ever taken has an itinerary and prebooked activities, and I LIKE it that way.  We always have free time to do whatever strikes our fancy at the time, but it's SCHEDULED free time.  This time, I can't plan anything.  I have lists of hotels, lists of museums, lists of tours, but we can't book a darn thing until we have our feet firmly planted somewhere in the European Union.  That said, of course I've put together a sketchy itinerary of things that we'd like to do in the optimal situation.

This one is pretty obvious, yes?  PARIS!!!

Giverny to see Monet's bridge and water lilies.

Be still my nerdy English history heart--Bayeux to visit the Bayeux tapestry and the Normandy beaches.

Munich--I honestly don't know that much about Germany which is terrible since my grandfather lived there as a child, but it looks beautiful!

I'll let you know if the hills are alive with the sound of music in Salzburg.

And finally, a couple of days of complete relaxation in stunning Hallstatt, Austria.

There's plenty of room and flexibility to move days around as needed, or even cut some locations if necessary, but in the meantime, I'm having an amazing time dreaming of our European adventure!  Have you been to any of these cities?  Any must do or must eat there tips?  What are you most looking forward to this summer?

Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Mischief Managed

As incredible as our time in Disney World was, the true highlight of our trip was our visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the Universal Studios property.  Our expectations for the park were so high, and there was a pretty sizeable chance of disappointment with reality.  Happily, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were just as fantastically amazing and magical as we had hoped--and more!

There were a lot of people there, but we still found ourselves waiting in very reasonable lines.  The highlight of the Wizarding World is absolutely The Forbidden Journey in Hogwarts.  The other rides are a childrens rollercoaster, Flight of the Hippogriff, and a fantastic rollercoaster for the thrillseekers, Dueling Dragons.
 
I wish I could find the words to fully explain and do justice to The Forbidden Journey.  It is, without a doubt, the most amazing ride I have ever ridden.  You sit in a seat that is a bit similar to the people movers in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World--so you are fully enclosed with a bar across your lap.  You sit four across, but there are small partitions between each seat, so you can't really see the person next to you.  The idea of the ride is that you are flying around with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and you experience all of the highlights of each book along with them--basilisks, spiders, dementors, a Quidditch game, dragons and more.  There is a combination of IMAX screens and actual set pieces that you "fly" through going backwards, forwards, side-to-side, and the best explanation I can give you is to tell you that yes, you truly do feel as though you are IN the movie.  It's incredible.  And I can't believe we only rode it once.  So much dumb.

The one thing I'd like to see improved is the food options.  We ate at The Three Broomsticks, which is right next door and connected to the Hogshead, and the food was decent, but it's really your only option and the meals are certainly on the level of tv dinners.  The frozen butterbeer on the other hand was delicious!  It's a sort of butterscotch-sasparillaish flavor and I think they put condensed milk on the top to give it a sweet creaminess.  Oh, it was so good.  Pumpkin juice tasted a lot like mulled cider, so if you're into that you'd probably like it--I wasn't a big fan.

All in all, Wizarding World was everything I wanted it to be and more.  We talked to a local while we were there who said that there were plans to expand the area further, and I would love to see what else they could come up with.  We didn't get to spend much time in the shops, and the line just for Ollivanders wand shop looked to be over an hour long.  Of course, I had to buy a wand, but I got mine at the Owl Post where there were fewer crowds.  You can choose from the wands of all the major characters, and I decided on Hermione's after much deliberation between hers, Harry's and Dumbledore's (you can see it in the picture on top with the conductor).  I would love to see another restaurant added--I'm thinking a sit down restaurant themed after the Hogwarts dining hall--and we all agreed that a ride through the Gringott's bank would be a no brainer for the expansion.  

We spent time at Universal as well, but honestly, we weren't that thrilled with the offerings and wished we had just spent more time at Wizarding World.  So that's it, my long winded recap of our time at Disney has reached its end!  It was such a great trip with my family, and I'm already counting down until we make our triumphant return in 2013!

Disney: Shaken Not Stirred

Fortunately, after day one, our drama quota for the vacation was filled and everything went just swimmingly.  We were amazed at how easily we were able to ride all of the rides multiple times--the longest wait we had at the Disney parks was 45 minutes for the brand new, just opened that day Star Tours ride--everything else was 20 minutes at the longest, and usually closer to five minutes or we were able to walk directly on.
Tuesday, we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom and hit the rest of the rides--my personal and perennial favorite being Splash Mountain.  If I could change just one thing about Magic Kingdom, I would add just one or two more "thrill" rides.  I know the park is geared toward kids, and I still LOVE LOVE LOVE the magical feeling there, but it would be nice to have a couple more exciting rides to do to fill the day.  Especially when the lines are so short and with the advent of Fast Pass.  The other highlights were Pirates of the Carribbean and The Haunted Mansion, always incredibly nostalgic and nicely update over the years.  That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Yacht Club to celebrate my parents' 30th Anniversary--way to go guys!  Feel free to keep celebrating and inviting us along!Wednesday we headed to Wizarding World of Harry Potter--but I'll save that for its own post because it was just too amazing to squeeze in here.  Thursday, we hit up Hollywood Studios and spent most of our time checked into the Hollywood Tower of Terror going up and down, up and down!  Favorite ride ever!

Did someone say wine?

My sister and I were happy to discover that not only is Disney the Happiest Place on Earth, but they also can make some damn good drinks!  Pina coladas at the Polynesian, margaritas in Mexico, wine in France, and a mimosa for me daquiri for her at the Prime Time cafe, just to name a few of our indulgences.  Disney is great, but it is miles better with a slight buzz.
  Our last day in Disney, we finally made ourselves over to Epcot where we hit most of the "science" rides before heading over to my favorite part, the world showcase.  Mission to Mars was new since I had been in 2008, and was a fun spaceship simulation.  Unfortunately, the ride for Soarin' was over an hour long, and given our line expectations of maaaaaaybe having to wait 30 minutes, we just weren't convinced to wait that long.  Some day!  After Epcot, my parents went back to the hotel for happy hour while my sister and I embarked on a tour of all the parks, heading back to Animal Kingdom for 3 goes on Expedition Everest, and Hollywood Studios for just a few more moments at the Hollywood Tower!  We wrapped things up with our traditional ice cream on Main Street, overlooking Cinderella's Castle during the Electric Light Parade.

There's nothing more magical than the combination of full fat ice cream, hot fudge, and LED lights!

Disney World: Let the Memories Begin!

It's hard to believe I've already been home from Disney World for over a week--longer than we were even there!  It was such a splendiferous vacation, and I wish I could keep going back and living it all over again on a constant, exhausting loop.

My parents and I drove into Kissimmee the night before we were planning to start in the parks, and stayed off Disney property.  Between my mounting excitement and my dad's snoring, I got about 2 hours of sleep which really wasn't enough to prepare me for the emotional highs and lows of the next day. Dramatic moment #1 of the day:

Just before we walked out of our hotel on Monday, we got a hysterical call from my sister who had just woken up, 7 minutes before her flight was supposed to take off.  I managed to get her to calm down enough to just throw on some clothes, grab her bags and told her to skip the subways and take a cab to the airport and get there as soon as possible.  Between the driving efforts of a cabbie named Angel (can't make this stuff up) and the fact that flights never take off less than 2 hours later than scheduled anymore, she actually managed to make it onto her airplane with plenty of time to spare.Dramatic moment #2 of the day:

Super plug for Shades of Green, as this is the second time I've stayed there and been incrediblyimpressed with its cleanliness, ease of checking in and out, and service.  If you or someone you know and love has a military or DOD id card and is heading to Disney World, seriously consider Shades of Green as an option.  It's right across the street from the Polynesian, so you're even ten minutes away from the monorail.  It's great.  So that wasn't the drama.  The drama came from the beautiful super-swanky Beach Club Hotel that my parents had reserved months ago.

 
  
Life at Concierge Level

We headed over there to check in and then head to the parks, unfortunately we ran into a teensy hold-up of MANY HOURS because they had overbooked the hotel and were trying the shuttle people off to Saratoga Springs, a timeshare resort in Bum Fu--oh wait, family blog--B.F.E.  My dad understandably raised some concerns with the handling of this situation, I politely suggested the Polynesian as an alternative, my mom had an emotional breakdown, and we ended up checking them into the concierge level of the Polynesian later that afternoon.  It was a fantastic resort, and I'm not sure I can go back to hotels with all of the little people after my short taste of concierge level treatment.  Food.  Food and drinks at all hours of the day.  I love concierge level.
Happily, all was well by mid-afternoon, and we made our way to Animal Kingdom, bound and determined to HAVE FUN DAMMIT.  And we did have a really lovely time.  Sadly the Brittster didn't make it to Orlando in time for our first culinary outing of the trip, the delicious Yak and Yeti, where we encountered sinfully delicious pork pot stickers and no kidding, the best Kobe beef burger my mouth has ever had the pleasure of inhaling.
And with much joy and celebration, Brittany DID make it in time for the first happy hour of the trip (did I mention how much I love concierge level?), and we then made our way over to Magic Kingdom for the Electric Light Parade, and what I feel is the most important tip of any Disney adventure--riding all of the Fantasyland rides after the adorable, overwrought kiddies have gone to bed.  We blew through The Carousel of Progress and Space Mountain in Tomorrowland as well as Peter Pan and It's a Small World in the blink of an eye, and with nary a stroller to achilles collision.

All that and we were only one day into our MAAAAAAAAGICAL ADVENTURE!!

The Results Show

Hm.

What to talk about?

It's so awkward to return to blogging after ages away from the blank Typepad Compose page.

...

I guess I could talk about how Colby is gone yet again on another trip.

Or about how my dog, Jack, has a stomach bug that has resulted in a shocking amount of vomit and crap all over my house.

Or that it was over NINETY DEGREES in Charleston yesterday.  And I went for a run.  And it was terrible.

Or how we finally got around to watching Toy Story 3 last night, and it was JUST as amazing as everyone said it was.  And I cried JUST as much as everyone assured me I would.  Buckets.  Buckets of tears.

Or how I had an absolutely splendiferous time in Disney World with my sister and my parents, and all I can think about is going back in 2013 when they open up the Beast's castle, the Little Mermaid ride, and the Dumbo circus tents in a major Fantasyland expansion.

Or about how awesome ebooks are until you forget to charge them.  And then I hate them.  Batteries.  The sole reason robots will never take over the world.

Or maybe I can just fill in some plot holes on the blog, and talk about that other stuff some other time.

Remember when we had a deep, meaningful discussion about whether I should keep my hair brown, or go blonde again?  Well, the internet pretty overwhelmingly agreed that I should keep the brown hair.  And so, I went blonde.  I know!!  Why do I even ask your opinion if I'm not even going to LISTEN!?  Such a brat.  But, I couldn't help it, my inner Barbie refused to be repressed any longer.  And now I know that when next I feel the strong desire to just buy a box of $8 hair dye and be done with it, the brown hair is clearly a winner in your books.

As for the great dress debate, I was able to have my cake and eat it too.  Lynn found a size 2 of the Tuillieres dress at her local Anthro, and kindly purchased it and sent it my way.  It still will require some alterations, but it's waiting patiently in my closet for when that day arrives.  As for the Disney dress, I decided to go with the Verdant Slip Dress, also from Anthro, and could not have been happier.  It's even more beautiful in person, and looked smashing with my glittery platform pumps that I gleefully dropped thirty bucks on at Target the day before I left for Florida.

Pictures, or it didn't happen.
We're such a well coordinated set.  Much more Disney to come next week.  Much, much more to come.

Say Yes to the Dress

In 18 days, I'll be sprinkling on some fairy dust and flitting down to Disney World for a good old fashioned  Griswold-style family vacation with my mom, dad and little sister.  We haven't gone on vacation, all together since... well, I can't even remember.  I'm expecting a lot of fun, and given our collective predisposition toward travel disasters, probably a fair amount of craziness.

The main event that is bringing us all together, is my parents' 30th anniversary.  The actual big day was a little over a week ago, but we'll be celebrating in Disney with a classy dinner one evening, and I've been on the hunt for a fun new dress to play princess in for the evening.

The facts are these: It's going to be hot, we'll have been zooming around the park all day and won't have a ton of time to get dressed so I don't want super fancy, I'm imagining something along the lines of grown up Mad Tea Party dress.
My first choice was the beautiful Tuileries dress from Anthropologie.  The delicate floral, French script, contrasting waist tie and casual tank style top perfectly fit all of my requirements.  Even better, it was marked down 50% to $79 and was in my size.  I added it to my cart first thing Tuesday morning, spent a few minutes mulling over another top, made the decision to go for it and... It had already sold out.  Sad.  Face.  Yesterday, my sister checked the Manhattan Anthros for me, with no luck, and sweet Jen even called her local store to check.  But it just wasn't meant to be.  Adieu Tuileries, I barely knew ye.

Of course, it's easy enough to find a score of beautiful dresses at Anthropologie, and grown up Mad Tea Party is their general esthetic anyway, so I was able to find  plenty of other dresses I adored.  Unfortunately, since Anthropologie employs woodland elves to weave all of their fabrics by hand from diamonds and baby tears, most of my loves were way out of my price range.  I was able to find two that whispered sweet nothings into my ear.

Verdant Slip Dress

This is the front runner at the moment.  It echoes the delicate florals of the Tuileries, but has a daintier, floaty feel.  As if perhaps the woodland elves used rolling Carribean froth and petals from Empress Josephine's rose garden to construct this sartorial delight.

Nostalgic Asterisks Dress

I believe this dress is derived from ancient Chinese fireworks with a dash of crushed rubies for the delightful red color.  I'm a sucker for a full skirt, and adore the ruched top and cinched waist which would certainly add some much needed girth to my less than ample bosom.

eShakti Hummingbird Corset Style Dress

This sweet dress comes in third for style, but first for price.  I love the whimsical hummingbirds buzzing around the skirt and the subversively saucy corset top.  Also, not too shabby, it's about 50% less than Anthropologie's offerings.

So, I ask you, what would Alice do?!?

Angela vs Food

It's always a big adjustment when company leaves, going from the whirlwind of touring and dining out to the feeling of a quiet house.  The house seems to get bigger, and my stomach regularly questions me as to where it's next meal is coming from.  The past few days have been no exception as my mom and aunt left on Tuesday evening and then Colby left for a work trip Thursday morning.  I went from constant plans and activities to a pile of books to be read and the prospect of afternoon naps.

 
I had a great visit with my family as we ate our way through Charleston and Savannah over the course of the week--and everywhere we went was incredible!  For any locals or anyone who may be planning a trip to the area here's the run down of the places we hit during the week:Charleston
Anson Restaurant--A+ (holy grail of macaroni and cheese--oh my God, delicious)

Pavillion Bar--A (On the roof of Grill 225 next to the market, perfect place for taking in the view of Charleston harbor while sipping on drinks and appetizers)

Wild Olive--B+ (Tasty Italian with a twist, very different, but off the beaten path in John's Island)

This Whole House--A+++ (I've been here for lunch and now afternoon tea--both were delicious and incredibly generous portions and reasonable prices.  A combo restaurant/antique shop in Historic Summerville)

Fat Hen--AAAAA+++++ (The best brunch I have EVER had.  I thought their dinner was so so, but their brunch is so good it'll make you slap a nun.  Creme brulee French toast.  I mean really, do I need to say more?)

Red's Ice House--Ambience/Experience A+, Food B+ (My favorite part of Red's is standing on their back porch watching the pelicans swoop in and dolphins playing in Shem Creek.  The food is good and cheap and it's just a fun place to hang out and drink a pina colada!)

Pitt Street Pharmacy--A- (Old Village Mt Pleasant is one of the most charming areas around Charleston.  It's like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting, and ordering up a sandwich and root beer float at the counter of the Pitt Street Pharmacy completes that feeling of living in a simpler time.  Plus the food is good.  A great lunch stop!)

Savannah
Back in the Day Bakery--A+ (This is going to get boring, because EVERYWHERE we ate in Savannah was an A+!  This bakery had incredibly fresh, delicious sandwiches and some of the most decadent pastries and baked goods I've ever seen.  I was thrilled with my caprese sandwich and a butter yellow cupcake with the best chocolate frosting that has ever entered my mouth.  Yummmm)

The Olde Pink House--A++ (Built in 1771, one of the two oldest buildings still standing in Savannah.  Incredible service, elegant ambience, phenomenal food.  This place is the trifecta of restaurant awesomeness.  Go there!)

LuLu's Chocolate Bar--A+ (It's a chocolate bar.  Named LuLu's.  Could it be any better?  Milky Way martini.  Drink it.  Love it.  Then eat some chocolate.  And cry tears of happiness.)

Can you believe that on top of that we also ate some lunches and dinners at home, and squeezed in a donut run one morning?  How I am not the size of a whale is a complete mystery to me.
Our secondary concern to stuffing our face was doing a little touring, and we had a great time on the Historic Charleston Foundations festival of houses and gardens on South Battery, did a tasting at the Firefly vodka distillery, an architecture walking tour and three home tours in Savannah, shopping on King Street, and a short trip to Folly Beach.

It was a fantastic week with my fantastic family and I'm left with only one question to ponder now that I am home alone, reflecting on our experiences together.

Why doesn't Charleston have a chocolate bar???

Loo-Wee-Zee-Anna

A couple of weeks ago, we loaded up the car and began an epic journey to Louisiana to visit our families and attend a friend's wedding.  Any trip to Louisiana involves a lot of driving, but this one was particularly grueling in the automobile department as we covered over 2000 miles in ten days, and "the kids" were so adorably good in their little back seat nest.

Because we had just spent a few weeks with my parents on the cruise, and I'll be seeing them again in April and May, we decided that we would spend the bulk of our time with Colby's parents.  Ellie for one was thrilled to be out of the car.  I kind of feel like maybe I should have edited this photo for vulgarity--oh well, let's just pretend we're European.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Global Wildlife Center in Robert, Louisiana.  When I was a child, it never struck me as strange to have a safari just down the road in a tiny rural town, but it is a bit surprising to be driving down a country road then suddenly come across herds of giraffe, zebras, and camels.  Still, we had a grand old time feeding the animals and scratching their cute little noses.  We also went to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, and I was amazed at how far they've come since they opened just about a decade ago.  And of course, we had to squeeze in a day of New Orleans eating, so on a beautiful Sunday morning, we joined some friends for a decadent brunch at Brennan's, creators of the world famous bananas foster!

The beauty of the Louisiana bayou.  We were sad to see how many of the cypress trees were dying as salt water seeps into the fresh.  There's nothing like driving through the bayou at sunset, the cypress trees and Spanish moss silouehetted against the purply red sky of twilight.  In all of the bad press that comes out of Louisiana, it's easy to forget how stunning it can be.

After a marvelous week with our families and reconnecting with old friends, we loaded ourselves back into the car, and headed north to Shreveport for my friend Jessica's wedding.  I met Jessica when I was a little baby 18-year-old, studying abroad at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.  We connected immediately, along with my other dear friend Annie who I also met while abroad, and have remained steadfast "Irish Friends" in the subsequent ten years.  We've always talked about going back to Dublin together some day, but in the meantime, we try to get together every time I go home to catch up and relive the good old days.  Now we're all married, Annie is working on her second baby, and we're separated by geography, but somehow we always manage to pick up exactly where we left off.

It was a fantastic trip home, and I always leave wanting more.  I don't know that we'll ever move back to Louisiana, but in its own, unique way, it will always be home.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Where Do I Begin?

Hiiiii!!!  I'm back!!!  What?  You didn't notice I was gone?  Well, hmph.

*****

We whisked ourselves away for a week in Louisiana, driving from one end of the state to the other, visiting both of our parents, various friends, and even squeezing in a wedding.  I'll do a more thorough recap soon, but I just had to write a crap post to get myself back in the habit of blogging.

*****

I've been training (somewhat half-heartedly) for a 10K, working diligently on my 30 Before 30 list, and trying to decide if I want to start doing work in exchange for money on a part time basis.  Running is so boring.

*****

I hate the day after returning home from a vacation.  Piles of laundry are overtaking my front room.  I have a million errands to run and can't do any of them because I have a flat tire.  I've got loads of blogs to catch up on.  My DVR is overwhelming me with options.  I can't even count as high as the scary number on my Google Reader.  So, I think I'm just going to go sit on the porch and stare blankly at birds.

*****

I don't even have any pictures downloaded off of our cameras to attempt making this just moderately engagaging.  Close your eyes, imagine me feeding a giraffe.  Isn't that CHARMING!!!

And... The End

At long, long, long last, we reach the end of the trip recap.  We made an uneventful (and anticlimactic) journey from Malta back to the port of Barcelona, Spain.  We disembarked the ship before the sun had even thought about gracing us with its presence, and boarded our bus for a trip to the jagged peaks of Montserrat.
I promptly fell back asleep as we wound our way up the worrying narrow mountain roads, and when we eventually got to the site of the monastery, the sun had risen but the temperatures dropped.  We made our way to the cathedral, heads down into the sharp, blustery winds and spent the morning wandering through the chapels and the attached museum.  If you've read The Secret Life of Bees, you may recognize the "Black Madonna" pictured above.  There's plenty of lore attached to her arrival at the top of the mountain, but whatever the origin, she is a stunningly beautiful piece of art.  The surrounding opulence of gold, jewels, and filigree only serves to highlight her simple beauty.

We may not have made it to the pyramids, but the Monsastery museum had a lovely section of Egyptian artifacts including the requisite mummy.
We arrived back in Barcelona, near La Rambla, in the early afternoon and still had time for a lunch stop (Finally got in my international McDonald's visit!  I can check another country off of that list!) then went on to do a little walking tour of Barcelona, stopping off at the old Roman wall and Santa Maria del Mar.  We finished the day at the Picasso Museum, which had a lovely retrospective of his work from his first entry into an art competition which showed his talent as a painter of realism, through his blue and cubist phases, and finally into his ceramics.  We were lucky enough to be there at the same time as a Degas exhibit which compared the work of the two artists and prominently displayed my favorite, and probably the most well-known, Degas, Little Dancer, Age 14.
And, because bad things evidently really DO come in threes, we couldn't end our trip without one last teensy tinsy hiccup.  The complete and utter meltdown of a major international airport.  That long line of people shows just a fraction of the travelers who were affected by the terrible weather in London.  Thanks be to God, after our four hour wait (with nearly ended in fisticuffs), the lady who booked our new flight apologetically changed our itinerary from a London to an Atlanta connection.  And I swear, if it weren't for that woman, we would STILL be in Barcelona, trying to get home.

We stayed an extra day in the city, unfortunately wasting most of it in the horrible rebooking line, and dragged our poor, weary bones home 24 hours later than expected.  But at least we made it home.

Were I to be completely honest with you, I would say that I just can't recommend a European cruise.  We got to see a number of spectacular sights in a condensed amount of time, but if you are a traveler who revels in the feeling of immersing yourself in a new culture, you would be sorely disappointed.  Cruise food is not all its cracked up to be, and I would so much have rather had the nights in Greece or Malta or Sicily to wander the streets and enjoy the cuisine.  Instead, I felt more like we were on little field trips into each country, and I never really got the feel for each city as I would have liked.

Following our little "incident" in the port of Alexandria, many people have asked me if I would ever go on a cruise again.  And you know, I would.  I think the cruise atmosphere is perfect for the Caribbean.  But if you want to go to Europe, just pick a couple of countries, book some hotels and go there.  Get lost in the back alleys.  Take the wrong bus and end up somewhere you didn't know existed.  Order dinner in the local language.  Take advantage of the incredible train service available to you to whisk you from place to place.  

If you really want to experience a country, the sterilized version offered up by a cruise line isn't the way to do it.  It's a way to mark a country off your list, but in my opinion it's no way to see a country.

The Unsinkable Maltese Falcon

How could I have forgotten to include this bit of information in yesterday's post??  Check out the beautiful piece of art we discovered on the landing between the 5th and 6th decks while we were forced to climb about 30 flights of stairs per day due to the elevators being shut down during the horrible weather.  "They say this ship is unsinkable!"

I mean, seriously.  Even Kate is like, "Leo, shut the hell up!"Aaaaanyway.  When we finally docked in Malta, after three rough days at sea, stepping out onto dry land was one of the most incredible feelings in the world.  At first, we were a bit put off by the idea of staying in Malta for two days rather than one, just because we knew nothing about it as a country, but we all ended up falling in love with the beauty of this tiny, little known island.

Part of what was so fascinating about Malta was how it has taken its history of Roman, Arab, and British rule and fused it into its own completely unique culture.  The country only received its independence from the British following World War II, and they are so fiercely proud of their history and eventual independence. I've never been anywhere quite like it, and particularly fell in love with the tiny town of Mdina, the original capitol of the island.  We wandered the winding streets, visited St. Paul's Cathedral, and peeked into some of the many miniscule chapels that were scattered throughout the town.

We made our way back to the port city of Valletta where we first stopped at the Upper Barracca Gardens, overlooking the Mediterranean and the Naval Fort.  In the mid 1500s, the same Knights of St. John who built the English walled city of Rhodes, came to Malta and assisted in defending its people against the Turks.  Once the siege was over and the Knights were victorious, Jean Parisot de la Valette planned the city of Valletta, and noting the fact that fresh water was hard to come by in its dry climate, ensured that there was one very large garden to be shared by all of the residents.  Hence the Upper and Lower Barracca Gardens.  We then went to the National Museum of Archaeology which houses artifacts from stone structures older than the pyramids of Egypt, and St. John's Co-Cathedral where the famous Carravaggio, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist is hung in a chapel.

Our second day in Malta greeted us with grey skies and drizzling rains.  We waited as long as we could, hoping the weather would pass, then braved the day with umbrellas in hand.  We had a delicious lunch in the city, then made our way to the Casa Rocca Piccola, one of the few palazzos still remaining as a single family dwelling.  We even had the pleasure of meeting Marquis de Piro as he was setting out Christmas cards in his living room, and his wife the Marquisse who served us hot mulled wine!  My mom and I were then sucked into The Silversmith's Shop where we scooped up loads of stunningly beautiful silver jewelry for astoundingly low prices.

Unfortunately, shortly after that, as we were making our way back to the ship, my poor daddy BROKE HIS FOOT.  Yes, walking down the sidewalk, I suddenly heard a loud popping noise, thought he had stepped on a rock, but in actuality that was the sound of BONES BREAKING.  And we still had about 20 minutes of walking ahead of us, and not a single cab to be found. Remember how all the x-ray machines were broken in the storm? Yeah, when we tried to see the ship's doctor, we were told that if he thought his foot was broken, we'd be disembarked in Malta to receive medical care there. So, we decided his foot was not, in fact, broken.

We had one FINAL DESTINATION ahead of us when we returned to Barcelona, and still the Universe was not done having its sadistic way with us...

When Vacations Attack!

Up to the time on our trip when we left Rhodes, the whole vacation had been pretty magical.  The weather was beautiful--cool, but sunny--we'd seen amazing sights, and we were really enjoying the cruise experience.  Then, the rains came.  And near-hurricane force winds.The day after Rhodes was a day at sea as we made our way toward the port of Alexandria, Egypt.  The skies were a menacing grey, matching the swirling grey seas.  Colby and I had a room on the 3rd deck, and the waves, which on a typical day had been about 15 feet below our window, were now breaking over the top of the window on a regular basis.  On my parents 7th deck balcony room, the motion of the ship was so severe, that even Colby with his iron stomach couldn't handle more than a few minutes at a time without feeling sick.  At lunch in the cafeteria, stacks of plates and dishes from the bussing stations were tossed across the ship as the waves rocked us pretty violently a few times.  At dinner, a huge percentage of glassware was lost when there was another violent sway back and forth.  Still, we were assured that all was well, and we continued our progress toward Alexandria.Around 2 o'clock in the morning, I jerked upright in my bed, thinking I had heard a sharp crack of thunder.  I opened the curtains, and peered out to see the waves still breaking over our window, but didn't hear any more thunder or see lightning.  The ship, however, was still tossing violently.  Colby woke up and asked what was wrong.  As I was telling him, the ship suddenly began to groan, and before I could even finish talking, we felt as though the ship was capsizing.  Our bed rolled rapidly away from the wall, stopping when it hit the sofa, then rocketed back toward the window as the ship snapped back in the other direction, slamming us into the wall.  I was facing away from the window, but saw Colby's eyes widen.  I turned around and saw nothing but the dark grey and black of the cloudy sky, then suddenly we were listing back toward starboard and our window was plunged into the inky black sea.  At this point, I completely lost my fucking mind and descended into hysteria.  I was clinging to Colby like a spider monkey on ecstacy, and expecting a gush of water through our window at any moment as the ship continued to whip back and forth.

Honestly, this probably all took a total of maybe 4 or 5 minutes.  If that.  But it seemed like the longest moment of my life, and I honest to God believed that we were all going to die.  Eventually the violent listing stopped, and we sat rigidly where we had been tossed off the bed, onto the floor.  The first thing I did when I regained my faculties was locate the phone and try to call my parents.  Of course, they didn't answer, and Colby and I began tossing on boots and jackets, expecting any moment to be told that we were evacuating to a central area.  My dad called back, what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes later, and I finally just started sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.  He assured me they were okay, and I pulled myself together enough to tell him that we were fine too.  Colby looked out into the hall as we were trying to decide what to do, and finally Captain Erik came over the intercom to tell us that we had experienced high winds while attempting to enter the port of Alexandria, and we were now heading back out to sea while he came up with an alternate plan.  Our stateroom attendant came to check on us, looking just as terrified as we were, and eventually we were able to fall back into an uneasy sleep.

What we determined later was pieced together based on what few details we got from the Captain, various news sources, speaking to fellow passengers, and our own observations and experiences.  On the night of December 12, we attempted to enter the port of Alexandria in 80 mph winds, and for some reason that is still a mystery to us, we had slowed down to less than 5 knots, far below the minimum speed needed for the ship's stabilizers to function properly.  At that point, we were at a near stop in high winds, with 30-40 foot seas hitting us broad side, which led to the increased listing that the Captain claimed was 10-15 degrees in either direction.  In all actuality, we were never in danger of capsizing, but I guaran-damn-tee you, in that moment, I'd bet more than 70% of the passengers on that ship were making peace with whatever god they believe in.

There was a great deal of cosmetic damage to the ship.  TVs had been hurled out of the shelves they were bolted onto.  The X-ray machine and copiers at guest relations were ruined.  The gym and salon were wrecked.  Huge planter pots and heavy furniture, none of which was bolted down, had been flung across the ship, shattering the glass paneled elevators and balconies.  Refrigerator doors were flung open, ruining most of the perishable food.  Drink machines and bottles were shattered, leaving us with a minimum of alcohol to soothe our mangled nerves.  60-70% of the glassware in the dining rooms was broken, and only two of the six or seven eating establishments were open for the thousands of passengers to make their way through refugee-camp style.

Of course, we didn't go back to Alexandria.  We later found out that when the weather conditions are such as they were the night of the "incident", ships pull up their anchors and bob around the harbor where ever the waves take them.  My personal theory is that there may have been a ship bobbing unanchored in our path, leading the Captain to slow the ship to the near halt so that we wouldn't hit it.  I don't know.  These are just speculations on my part.  But we did hear that a ship did sink in the harbor that night and 28 buildings in Alexandria collapsed.  We were hugely disappointed to miss out on the pyramids, but happy to still have our lives.

We were at sea for three days straight, and things started turning Lord of the Flies reeeaaaal quick.  Following the decision to skip Egypt and go straight to Malta, we were told that each stateroom would receive a $200 credit.  Okay.  That's fine.  Until rumors started swirling that some of the swanky staterooms were receiving $400 credits.  And all hell broke loose.  I know I have a tendency toward hyperbole, but when I tell you that this discovery started a riot in the atrium, I AM NOT KIDDING.  There was anger, there were signs, there were petitions, there were curses being hurled, there were armed security guards.  And later that day, Royal Caribbean issued everyone on board a full refund for the cost of the cruise.

And that, my friends, is just the beginning of how our adventures abroad went from Vacation of a Lifetime to Oh My God, Just Kill Me Now and End the Madness.