 |
| My pasta!! |
 |
| Chestnut cake |
 |
| PIZZA!! |
 |
| Only the best cappuccino EVER! |
 |
| Cherry beer |
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
In the Interim
So I had an initial burst of energy and completed Part I of my recent travels, but since then life has conspired to keep me busy. But while you are oh so eagerly awaiting Part II, enjoy some more pictures from my trip! And to whet your appetite even more, they are food pictures! :)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
On the Way to the Apple Cup
So I won't go into the actual game too much, except to say it was my first Apple Cup (Apple Cup for any non Washington readers is the annual game between the University of Washington and Washington State). And it was the first game at our new temporary home field - Qwest, Century Link or Clink (whichever you'd like). The game was fantastic! I don't really have a voice today. A halftime tribute to the Muppets by the Husky band. And it didn't rain!! Although it wouldn't have mattered since we were up super high and under cover. As in up so high there was only one row behind us. Oh, and most importantly - the Huskies won!! Go Dawgs!! But you might have figured that out by the fantastic game comment! :)
Overhead on the way to the game: "Where is the fast pass line?" I cracked up! But really, it was a lot like going to WDW. We had to wait in line for the bus. The bus over to the Clink was crowded. We had to stand in a crazy long line for the bag check. There was the bag check line and the line without bags. And then we finally got to show our tickets and get into the park, err field. Exactly like WDW! :)
Overhead on the way to the game: "Where is the fast pass line?" I cracked up! But really, it was a lot like going to WDW. We had to wait in line for the bus. The bus over to the Clink was crowded. We had to stand in a crazy long line for the bag check. There was the bag check line and the line without bags. And then we finally got to show our tickets and get into the park, err field. Exactly like WDW! :)
Wet and Cold Run #1.1
Okay, so I'm stealing a page from Fruit Fly's book and I'm going to try and chronicle (at least my long) runs for the next year. Okay so that isn't new. But what I really am stealing is the numbering. Why? Well I'll let you in on a little secret. Secret probably isn't the best description - maybe secret ambition is better. I'm going to be 35 next year. Wow. Thirty-stinking-five. That's not the secret. But because that number ends in a 5, my secret 2012 ambition is going to be to complete 5 half marathons. The numbering system will help (me anyway) keep track. (And I'm going to call them runs even though there will be a lot of walking involved - it's just easier, and shorter!)
The next step would be to figure out which half marathons to choose. I'm already signed up for the Tinker Bell, Princess, and Seattle RnR. I've delayed signing up for Portland RnR because I keep hoping they'll post the course time limits. Which leaves on more to sign up for. There are so many to choose from. Do I do another Disney one, say the Disneyland Half or the Wine & Dine? Do I throw the dice and try to get in for the Nike Women's Half? Do I do a location one (Hawaii, CA, or someplace else say London)? Or a local one? I have a lot of choices. We'll see how the year goes.
Okay, back to this morning. The forecast was calling for rain, but not until later in the morning. So I got up early and started off just as it was starting to get light. Again, I technically could have mixed some running in, but I decided to wait until December 1st. Part of me wonders if I'll remember how to run? I'll bet it's just like riding a bike - it'll come back to me.
The sky kept getting lighter and lighter. I hadn't gone too far when the rains came. While it wasn't a light mist, it wasn't a torrential downpour. It was somewhere in the middle. Medium rain.
It's funny the games you can play with yourself to help pass the time (or miles). Or at least I play. How many Christmas trees can you see through the windows? (2) How many big birds did you pass? (7, although one or two might have been double counted) Can I make it to the next tree, shrub, mile marker, etc before the song ends?
And finally 8 miles was done! Yay! On my way home, the rain started coming down more and more so it looks like it was the right call to get up on the early side.
First run ("walk") done. Tinker Bell training has officially begun.
The next step would be to figure out which half marathons to choose. I'm already signed up for the Tinker Bell, Princess, and Seattle RnR. I've delayed signing up for Portland RnR because I keep hoping they'll post the course time limits. Which leaves on more to sign up for. There are so many to choose from. Do I do another Disney one, say the Disneyland Half or the Wine & Dine? Do I throw the dice and try to get in for the Nike Women's Half? Do I do a location one (Hawaii, CA, or someplace else say London)? Or a local one? I have a lot of choices. We'll see how the year goes.
Okay, back to this morning. The forecast was calling for rain, but not until later in the morning. So I got up early and started off just as it was starting to get light. Again, I technically could have mixed some running in, but I decided to wait until December 1st. Part of me wonders if I'll remember how to run? I'll bet it's just like riding a bike - it'll come back to me.
The sky kept getting lighter and lighter. I hadn't gone too far when the rains came. While it wasn't a light mist, it wasn't a torrential downpour. It was somewhere in the middle. Medium rain.
It's funny the games you can play with yourself to help pass the time (or miles). Or at least I play. How many Christmas trees can you see through the windows? (2) How many big birds did you pass? (7, although one or two might have been double counted) Can I make it to the next tree, shrub, mile marker, etc before the song ends?
And finally 8 miles was done! Yay! On my way home, the rain started coming down more and more so it looks like it was the right call to get up on the early side.
First run ("walk") done. Tinker Bell training has officially begun.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Seattle Marathon 5K
So this was "technically" my first race where I could run. But instead I decided it would be my last enforced completely walking race. Not to say I won't ever walk in a race again, because I can guarantee I will. But it is my last self-imposed walking only race. Which means next week I can run again!
Being my last walking only race, I really wanted to come in under 45 minutes. But I knew it was going to be tough. Did you know there are hills in Seattle? :)
As I was leaving it started to pour down rain. And I did not have a hat. This might be interesting! But the rain subsided. I got to the race site plenty early and ended up sitting in my car for awhile.
There was a decent number of people participating in this race (which is the precursor to the Seattle Marathon tomorrow). As per normal, I teared up during the singing of the National Anthem. And then we were off!
The first mile went by fairly fast. I ended up in kind of a no man's land where there was a decent pack ahead of me and a decent pack behind me. But not too many people near me.
The hills weren't as bad as I was thinking until the end. That last hill was painful! But I put my head down and gritted it out. As I was coming down the finishing chute, I really wanted to run, especially since I saw the clock turning to 46 minutes. I stayed true to my walking and finished, knowing I would have a little grace time since I started in the back.
I crossed the finish line and immediately looked down at my Garmin. 45:41. I think I visibly deflated. So close, yet not quite. Although my Garmin did also say I went 3.4 miles. So then you would think I made it in under 45 minutes! But Garmin is not official. So we're going with the official results of 45:37 (apparently I turned on my Garmin too early!).
It's not a bad time. I was just really hoping to break 45 minutes.
A little different at this race was that you got your t-shirt and goody bad after you finished! Which I thought was a good idea! Until I almost walked off without mine. Ha!
And there you have it - my November race with a few days to spare!
Being my last walking only race, I really wanted to come in under 45 minutes. But I knew it was going to be tough. Did you know there are hills in Seattle? :)
As I was leaving it started to pour down rain. And I did not have a hat. This might be interesting! But the rain subsided. I got to the race site plenty early and ended up sitting in my car for awhile.
There was a decent number of people participating in this race (which is the precursor to the Seattle Marathon tomorrow). As per normal, I teared up during the singing of the National Anthem. And then we were off!
The first mile went by fairly fast. I ended up in kind of a no man's land where there was a decent pack ahead of me and a decent pack behind me. But not too many people near me.
The hills weren't as bad as I was thinking until the end. That last hill was painful! But I put my head down and gritted it out. As I was coming down the finishing chute, I really wanted to run, especially since I saw the clock turning to 46 minutes. I stayed true to my walking and finished, knowing I would have a little grace time since I started in the back.
I crossed the finish line and immediately looked down at my Garmin. 45:41. I think I visibly deflated. So close, yet not quite. Although my Garmin did also say I went 3.4 miles. So then you would think I made it in under 45 minutes! But Garmin is not official. So we're going with the official results of 45:37 (apparently I turned on my Garmin too early!).
It's not a bad time. I was just really hoping to break 45 minutes.
A little different at this race was that you got your t-shirt and goody bad after you finished! Which I thought was a good idea! Until I almost walked off without mine. Ha!
And there you have it - my November race with a few days to spare!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Five Senses Friday
Hearing
- Christmas music
Tasting
- Lots of Thanksgiving goodies and my first eggnog latte of the season!!
Seeing
- Breaking Dawn (for the first time - I'll be seeing it again next week!)
Smelling
- Spiced Apple Cider
Feeling
- Overwhelmed!! Next weekend I'm in Houston, the following in Vegas, then it's the 12Ks of Christmas, then Christmas itself, then I disappear into the cave of work for a couple of weeks and then it's the Tinker Bell Half!! Ack!! No wonder I'm feeling overwhelmed! But the good news is I'm almost done Christmas shopping!
From Z(agreb) to B(russels) Part I
At one point we thought about trying to squeeze in a day trip to Antwerp so we could say we'd gone from Z to A but it wasn't in the cards.
Day 1
This trip did not get off to the smoothest of starts. A few hours before I was to leave I realized the spot on my camera lense wasn't just a spot but some sort of scratch. I took some test pictures and thought maybe I would be able to live with the spot but then I thought more about it and realized I wouldn't. So I jumped into the car and took off for Best Buy. I got a brand new camera in under 10 minutes. Which is a miracle in itself that I was able to decide on one in such a short amount of time. But then again, I basically chose my old camera - just a newer version. Crisis #1 averted.
And then it was time to leave for the airport. In the car I did my usual check. Passport? Yes. Credit cards? Yes. Debit card? Ye....no. No? No! What?! I don't know if I can make it through the trip without a debit card. Fortunately we hadn't been on the road too long and were able to turn around and pick up my debit card. Whew! And I still made it to the airport in plenty of time. Crisis #2 averted.
I quickly checked everything else - camera, phone & kindle. I don't have much to say about the long flight or the short flight except finally we were in Croatia. (I met up with Jana in Frankfurt.) We had a super chatty taxi driver. We got to the hotel and found out (to our dismay) there was no elevator at our hotel. Ugh. So we lugged our suitcases up the stairs. Fortunately we only had to go two flights of stairs. Other than the lack of lift (or elevator), the hotel really was great. It was in a fantastic location. And it was quite large.
We set off on a search for food as we were both starving!! I'm sure you aren't surprised we found a pizzeria. It wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, but it wasn't the worst.
To keep awake (and shake jet lag) we wandered around, looking at the Cathedral and walking through Jelacic Square. But finally we gave up the fight and went back to our hotel and went to bed, figuring a long, good night of sleep would be just the ticket.
Day 2
Well, that long night of sleep turned into a very long night of sleep. We woke up with just a few minutes left before breakfast is over. We threw on clothes and went downstairs. Breakfast was good - the usual spread of meat, cheeses, rolls, yogurt and cereal. And cappuccinos!! Delicious cappuccinos!
We got ready to explore Zagreb. The funicular took us up to the Upper Town (or Gradec). I do so love funiculars! Our first view after stepping out of the funicular was the Burglars' Tower. It is from this tower a cannon is fired every day at noon. And that cannon is loud!! Next stop was the Church of St. Catherine which was absolutely beautiful on the inside. There was a panorama view of Zagreb near the church. Continuing up the street we ran into another church, the Church of St. Mark. This church had a very colorful tile roof. I can't really tell you about the inside because it wasn't open.
A block from the church was Ivan Mestrovic's former house which has been converted into a museum. I like to think of Ivan Mestrovic as a Croatian Rodin.
The City Museum was close and so it was our next stop. It was a very cool museum but it did start to drag on towards the end. Our old friend (from Vienna) Maria Theresa (of the Hapsburgs) made a few appearances. Surprise, surprise - Croatia was once part of the Hapsburg empire.
We had lunch at the self proclaimed oldest pub in Zagreb. The menu didn't seem to have any food listed but when the waiter came over he assured us they had food. In fact, he would make us a sandwich himself. It was a decent sandwich followed up by a delicious cappuccino. Have I mentioned I love drinking cappuccinos in Europe?
Our next stop was the Museum of Broken Relationships. There was a lot of funny stories (one about Frisbee was my favorite), some sad stories, and a few fairly disturbing stories about the end of relationships. It was a good museum.
We wandered around a bit more and did some shopping before heading to dinner. Our waitress was great and recommended a good wine and pepper schnapps. The pepper schnapps was quite interesting. We also split a chestnut cake for dessert.
Towards the end of our meal, two priests walked in dressed in full priest garb. (Doesn't that sound like a joke? Two priests walk into a restaurant...) We weren't sure what was going on and our waitress explained they were baptizing the new wine. It is a tradition every mid-November to bless the new wine year.
Day 3
So, we did not spend the most restful night. I don't think I slept for more than an hour at a time. Instead I got to listen to the stupid bells that seemed to go off at random times. I think I finally fell really asleep right before the alarm. Figures. Apparently that long, long, long night of sleep caught up with us. Stupid jet lag. I had a much needed cappuccino at breakfast.
We walked up to the Upper Town to the Croatian Museum of Naive Art which was a really enjoyable museum. My favorite was a portrait entitled "Cross-Eyed Steve" and sure enough it was a portrait of the artist's cross-eyed neighbor.
The next museum (Natural History Museum) was not my favorite. It seemed like a bunch of collections haphazardly thrown together. I could have done without the rooms of stuffed birds or the ginormous shark but the minerals and fossils were interesting.
The Arts & Crafts museum (in my opinion) had little to do with arts and crafts. But instead it had lots of furniture. And a room full of clocks (one of which was a hidden Mickey!). I'm all the way in Zagreb and I find a hidden Mickey!!
We walked over to the bus station to catch a bus to the neighboring town of Samobor. Once we arrived we tried to follow Rick's directions into town but they were completely useless. My theory is this was a new bus station and Rick's directions were from the old bus station. We finally made it to the main square and by that time we were starving!! It didn't help that daylight was fading fast either. So we took a few photos and looked around before finding a place to eat. I wasn't up to being adventurous so I had gnocchi, which was delicious. After dinner we walked along the river in the freezing cold towards what looked like the ruins of an old castle. We reached a little shrine to some saint and figured it was time to turn back. When we reached the main square it was definitely dessert time! We split a cream cake, which was the specialty of that area. No espresso or cappuccino for us, because unfortunately the machine was broken. So instead we tried Bermet, also a typical drink of the area - a sweet red wine. It reminded me a little of sangria.
Our adventure in Samobor over, we took the bus back and then took our first ride on the tram back to the main square.
Day 4
I slept much better, which was good because we woke up early to catch a train to Ljubljana (in Slovenia). After breakfast at the hotel, we caught the tram (since we were now experts) to the train station. And Jana bought us tram tickets in Croatian! (Although, there really wasn't a language issue - they spoke better English, for the most part, than I did!)
This would turn out to be the day of passport stamps. Right before crossing over to Slovenia, the train stopped and Croatian officials came on the train and looked at our passports. And then right after crossing into Slovenia, Slovenian officials came on to the train and looked at our passports. When we first stopped Jana and I looked at each other. We were both thinking "did we need a visa to enter Slovenia?" But no, this was just standard border crossing.
In our train car was another woman who was Croatian and ended up getting roped into helping someone who was on the wrong train. Woman 1 (who was lost and spoke a little Italian) was trying to get to Belgrade and was going in the wrong direction. She kept asking Woman 2 (the nice Croatian who spoke a little Italian) where we were going and where we were. Woman 2 kept answering her and was very nice and very patient about it. Literally she (Woman 1) kept asking basically those same questions for an hour. Over and over and over again. The train is going to Villach, Austria. We are approaching Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was bordering on the ridiculous. Hopefully she was able to finally get where she wanted to go.
Rick's directions from the train station to the main square in Ljubljana were much better! We walked along the riverside market (which was decently active for being such a cold day) and ended up at the Dragon Bridge. I do love dragons! Another random thought - I always associate St. George and the Dragon with England but St. George is everywhere!!
We turned around and walked back along the river to a pizzeria recommended by Rick. I had - you guessed it - margherita pizza! It was much, much better pizza than what we had on the first day.
After lunch we continued our meandering with our destination being the funicular to take us up to the castle. Yay! Another funicular! There wasn't much left of the castle and the view ended up being a bust as there was this haze/fog that had settled on the city. We watched a little movie about the history (or Jana watched and I listened while closing my eyes) and went through the museum. We took the funicular back down to the lower town, wandered around some more, did a little shopping and then headed back to Zagreb.
For dinner we wanted to try one of Rick's recommendations in the Upper Town, so we took the funicular up but they did not have any availability. Darn. So back down to another Rick restaurant (and a pizzeria) where I had the gnocchi (I was trying to branch out from just having pizza). It was good, but I have had better.
Day 5
Our last day in Zagreb. And our last breakfast at the hotel (as we had booked a stinking early flight the next morning).
First on the agenda was to visit the market and do some shopping. Foremost on my list - postcards!! I had been looking and looking for postcards but had not found them anywhere (well anywhere in Zagreb - I did find some in Ljubljana). Success! I finally did find postcards along with other treasures.
Random fact - the cravat (the ancestor of the neck tie) was first invented in Croatia. So of course I had to do some tie shopping. The proprietor of the tie store was really cute and sweet and didn't speak a lot of English. And I swear he was mixing some German in with his Croatian. It was probably the most fun shopping I did.
We dropped off our packages and headed over to the Cathedral to look at it during the day before heading back up to the Upper Town to see if we could have lunch in the restaurant we were turned away from yesterday. And we could! Our waiter recommended an appetizer and it was yummy! Some sort of fried puff things with cheese. Lunch was steak with fried potatoes - yum!
On our way to the Archaeological Museum we started noticing lots and lots of people in Croatian soccer scarves, shirts, hats - you name it. Sure enough, the Croatian national team was going to be playing Turkey that night.
The Archaeological Museum was very well laid out and it had a mummy!! Which I just think is fascinating. It had been in someones collection and they decided to donate it.
Our next stop was the Old Masters Gallery which was a small museum on the top floor of a building and by the time we were done, everyone else in the building had gone home and it was very dark.
As we walked back to the main square we were seeing more and more soccer fans, some of whom were singing and carrying on.
We had dinner at the pizzeria we had eaten at the night before and this time I did have pizza - but pizza funghi! Mixing it up a little from my regular pizza margherita.
We could no longer put off the inevitable and we went back to the hotel to pack. We turned on the soccer match, which ended in a tie. But not long after the game ended we could hear singing from the main square. Guess the tie was a good thing?
So ends Part I - stay tuned for Part II where we get to eat chocolate and fries and waffles in Belgium!
Day 1
This trip did not get off to the smoothest of starts. A few hours before I was to leave I realized the spot on my camera lense wasn't just a spot but some sort of scratch. I took some test pictures and thought maybe I would be able to live with the spot but then I thought more about it and realized I wouldn't. So I jumped into the car and took off for Best Buy. I got a brand new camera in under 10 minutes. Which is a miracle in itself that I was able to decide on one in such a short amount of time. But then again, I basically chose my old camera - just a newer version. Crisis #1 averted.
And then it was time to leave for the airport. In the car I did my usual check. Passport? Yes. Credit cards? Yes. Debit card? Ye....no. No? No! What?! I don't know if I can make it through the trip without a debit card. Fortunately we hadn't been on the road too long and were able to turn around and pick up my debit card. Whew! And I still made it to the airport in plenty of time. Crisis #2 averted.
I quickly checked everything else - camera, phone & kindle. I don't have much to say about the long flight or the short flight except finally we were in Croatia. (I met up with Jana in Frankfurt.) We had a super chatty taxi driver. We got to the hotel and found out (to our dismay) there was no elevator at our hotel. Ugh. So we lugged our suitcases up the stairs. Fortunately we only had to go two flights of stairs. Other than the lack of lift (or elevator), the hotel really was great. It was in a fantastic location. And it was quite large.
We set off on a search for food as we were both starving!! I'm sure you aren't surprised we found a pizzeria. It wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, but it wasn't the worst.
To keep awake (and shake jet lag) we wandered around, looking at the Cathedral and walking through Jelacic Square. But finally we gave up the fight and went back to our hotel and went to bed, figuring a long, good night of sleep would be just the ticket.
Day 2
Well, that long night of sleep turned into a very long night of sleep. We woke up with just a few minutes left before breakfast is over. We threw on clothes and went downstairs. Breakfast was good - the usual spread of meat, cheeses, rolls, yogurt and cereal. And cappuccinos!! Delicious cappuccinos!
We got ready to explore Zagreb. The funicular took us up to the Upper Town (or Gradec). I do so love funiculars! Our first view after stepping out of the funicular was the Burglars' Tower. It is from this tower a cannon is fired every day at noon. And that cannon is loud!! Next stop was the Church of St. Catherine which was absolutely beautiful on the inside. There was a panorama view of Zagreb near the church. Continuing up the street we ran into another church, the Church of St. Mark. This church had a very colorful tile roof. I can't really tell you about the inside because it wasn't open.
A block from the church was Ivan Mestrovic's former house which has been converted into a museum. I like to think of Ivan Mestrovic as a Croatian Rodin.
The City Museum was close and so it was our next stop. It was a very cool museum but it did start to drag on towards the end. Our old friend (from Vienna) Maria Theresa (of the Hapsburgs) made a few appearances. Surprise, surprise - Croatia was once part of the Hapsburg empire.
We had lunch at the self proclaimed oldest pub in Zagreb. The menu didn't seem to have any food listed but when the waiter came over he assured us they had food. In fact, he would make us a sandwich himself. It was a decent sandwich followed up by a delicious cappuccino. Have I mentioned I love drinking cappuccinos in Europe?
Our next stop was the Museum of Broken Relationships. There was a lot of funny stories (one about Frisbee was my favorite), some sad stories, and a few fairly disturbing stories about the end of relationships. It was a good museum.
We wandered around a bit more and did some shopping before heading to dinner. Our waitress was great and recommended a good wine and pepper schnapps. The pepper schnapps was quite interesting. We also split a chestnut cake for dessert.
Towards the end of our meal, two priests walked in dressed in full priest garb. (Doesn't that sound like a joke? Two priests walk into a restaurant...) We weren't sure what was going on and our waitress explained they were baptizing the new wine. It is a tradition every mid-November to bless the new wine year.
Day 3
So, we did not spend the most restful night. I don't think I slept for more than an hour at a time. Instead I got to listen to the stupid bells that seemed to go off at random times. I think I finally fell really asleep right before the alarm. Figures. Apparently that long, long, long night of sleep caught up with us. Stupid jet lag. I had a much needed cappuccino at breakfast.
We walked up to the Upper Town to the Croatian Museum of Naive Art which was a really enjoyable museum. My favorite was a portrait entitled "Cross-Eyed Steve" and sure enough it was a portrait of the artist's cross-eyed neighbor.
The next museum (Natural History Museum) was not my favorite. It seemed like a bunch of collections haphazardly thrown together. I could have done without the rooms of stuffed birds or the ginormous shark but the minerals and fossils were interesting.
The Arts & Crafts museum (in my opinion) had little to do with arts and crafts. But instead it had lots of furniture. And a room full of clocks (one of which was a hidden Mickey!). I'm all the way in Zagreb and I find a hidden Mickey!!
We walked over to the bus station to catch a bus to the neighboring town of Samobor. Once we arrived we tried to follow Rick's directions into town but they were completely useless. My theory is this was a new bus station and Rick's directions were from the old bus station. We finally made it to the main square and by that time we were starving!! It didn't help that daylight was fading fast either. So we took a few photos and looked around before finding a place to eat. I wasn't up to being adventurous so I had gnocchi, which was delicious. After dinner we walked along the river in the freezing cold towards what looked like the ruins of an old castle. We reached a little shrine to some saint and figured it was time to turn back. When we reached the main square it was definitely dessert time! We split a cream cake, which was the specialty of that area. No espresso or cappuccino for us, because unfortunately the machine was broken. So instead we tried Bermet, also a typical drink of the area - a sweet red wine. It reminded me a little of sangria.
Our adventure in Samobor over, we took the bus back and then took our first ride on the tram back to the main square.
Day 4
I slept much better, which was good because we woke up early to catch a train to Ljubljana (in Slovenia). After breakfast at the hotel, we caught the tram (since we were now experts) to the train station. And Jana bought us tram tickets in Croatian! (Although, there really wasn't a language issue - they spoke better English, for the most part, than I did!)
This would turn out to be the day of passport stamps. Right before crossing over to Slovenia, the train stopped and Croatian officials came on the train and looked at our passports. And then right after crossing into Slovenia, Slovenian officials came on to the train and looked at our passports. When we first stopped Jana and I looked at each other. We were both thinking "did we need a visa to enter Slovenia?" But no, this was just standard border crossing.
In our train car was another woman who was Croatian and ended up getting roped into helping someone who was on the wrong train. Woman 1 (who was lost and spoke a little Italian) was trying to get to Belgrade and was going in the wrong direction. She kept asking Woman 2 (the nice Croatian who spoke a little Italian) where we were going and where we were. Woman 2 kept answering her and was very nice and very patient about it. Literally she (Woman 1) kept asking basically those same questions for an hour. Over and over and over again. The train is going to Villach, Austria. We are approaching Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was bordering on the ridiculous. Hopefully she was able to finally get where she wanted to go.
Rick's directions from the train station to the main square in Ljubljana were much better! We walked along the riverside market (which was decently active for being such a cold day) and ended up at the Dragon Bridge. I do love dragons! Another random thought - I always associate St. George and the Dragon with England but St. George is everywhere!!
We turned around and walked back along the river to a pizzeria recommended by Rick. I had - you guessed it - margherita pizza! It was much, much better pizza than what we had on the first day.
After lunch we continued our meandering with our destination being the funicular to take us up to the castle. Yay! Another funicular! There wasn't much left of the castle and the view ended up being a bust as there was this haze/fog that had settled on the city. We watched a little movie about the history (or Jana watched and I listened while closing my eyes) and went through the museum. We took the funicular back down to the lower town, wandered around some more, did a little shopping and then headed back to Zagreb.
For dinner we wanted to try one of Rick's recommendations in the Upper Town, so we took the funicular up but they did not have any availability. Darn. So back down to another Rick restaurant (and a pizzeria) where I had the gnocchi (I was trying to branch out from just having pizza). It was good, but I have had better.
Day 5
Our last day in Zagreb. And our last breakfast at the hotel (as we had booked a stinking early flight the next morning).
First on the agenda was to visit the market and do some shopping. Foremost on my list - postcards!! I had been looking and looking for postcards but had not found them anywhere (well anywhere in Zagreb - I did find some in Ljubljana). Success! I finally did find postcards along with other treasures.
Random fact - the cravat (the ancestor of the neck tie) was first invented in Croatia. So of course I had to do some tie shopping. The proprietor of the tie store was really cute and sweet and didn't speak a lot of English. And I swear he was mixing some German in with his Croatian. It was probably the most fun shopping I did.
We dropped off our packages and headed over to the Cathedral to look at it during the day before heading back up to the Upper Town to see if we could have lunch in the restaurant we were turned away from yesterday. And we could! Our waiter recommended an appetizer and it was yummy! Some sort of fried puff things with cheese. Lunch was steak with fried potatoes - yum!
On our way to the Archaeological Museum we started noticing lots and lots of people in Croatian soccer scarves, shirts, hats - you name it. Sure enough, the Croatian national team was going to be playing Turkey that night.
The Archaeological Museum was very well laid out and it had a mummy!! Which I just think is fascinating. It had been in someones collection and they decided to donate it.
Our next stop was the Old Masters Gallery which was a small museum on the top floor of a building and by the time we were done, everyone else in the building had gone home and it was very dark.
As we walked back to the main square we were seeing more and more soccer fans, some of whom were singing and carrying on.
We had dinner at the pizzeria we had eaten at the night before and this time I did have pizza - but pizza funghi! Mixing it up a little from my regular pizza margherita.
We could no longer put off the inevitable and we went back to the hotel to pack. We turned on the soccer match, which ended in a tie. But not long after the game ended we could hear singing from the main square. Guess the tie was a good thing?
So ends Part I - stay tuned for Part II where we get to eat chocolate and fries and waffles in Belgium!
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| Cathedral |
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| Feet picture - on the funicular |
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| View of Zagreb |
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| Church of St. Mark |
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| St. George |
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| Ad for the Zagreb marathon |
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| Hidden Mickey |
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| Samobor |
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| Market in Ljubljana |
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| Dragon Bridge |
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| Not the greatest view from the castle |
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| Jelacic Square |
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| Yummy appetizer |
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
It is a little strange actually being home for Thanksgiving. I haven't been home in years. Twelve years to be precise.
In 1999, I had just moved to Houston and wasn't sure I could swing a plane ticket home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom made the rule that I had to be home for Christmas. I'm actually not sure what I did for Thanksgiving itself. Probably nothing.
In 2000, I was in London on rotation and I went with a few other ex-pats to Simpson's in the Strand for a very interesting dinner. All the right ingredients were there (turkey, potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin) but it wasn't the same.
In 2001 and 2002, I went to Michelle and Jason's.
In 2003, I took my first overseas Thanksgiving trip to London. I didn't have to take as many vacation days due to the holiday and it wasn't as crowded! And a tradition was born.
In 2004, I went with my friend Laura to Rome, Dublin, and London.
In 2005, it was the first Thanksgiving (and first Europe trip) for me and Jana. We went to Prague and London.
In 2006, Jana and I went to Paris and Rome.
In 2007, Diane and I went to Rome, Venice, Florence and London.
In 2008, Jana and I went to Vienna and Budapest.
In 2009, I went to Dublin and London with my brother.
In 2010, Jessica, Nilufer & I went to Italy.
And in 2011 I am home (having gone on my Europe trip the week before Thanksgiving). It was a small gathering this year - just my parents, me and my brother. None of us are big on cooking (well except my brother) so we got a turkey and stuffing from Whole Foods (brilliant!) and I was in charge of the mashed sweet potatoes (via fANNEtastic food) and helped with the regular mashed potatoes. It was a nice little Thanksgiving. We also had our staple of olives. My brother loves olives! In fact, we would always bring olives to Thanksgiving (and other holidays) but we would have to bring two cans. One for my brother and one for everyone else. Things really haven't changed! :)
In 1999, I had just moved to Houston and wasn't sure I could swing a plane ticket home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom made the rule that I had to be home for Christmas. I'm actually not sure what I did for Thanksgiving itself. Probably nothing.
In 2000, I was in London on rotation and I went with a few other ex-pats to Simpson's in the Strand for a very interesting dinner. All the right ingredients were there (turkey, potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin) but it wasn't the same.
In 2001 and 2002, I went to Michelle and Jason's.
In 2003, I took my first overseas Thanksgiving trip to London. I didn't have to take as many vacation days due to the holiday and it wasn't as crowded! And a tradition was born.
In 2004, I went with my friend Laura to Rome, Dublin, and London.
In 2005, it was the first Thanksgiving (and first Europe trip) for me and Jana. We went to Prague and London.
In 2006, Jana and I went to Paris and Rome.
In 2007, Diane and I went to Rome, Venice, Florence and London.
In 2008, Jana and I went to Vienna and Budapest.
In 2009, I went to Dublin and London with my brother.
In 2010, Jessica, Nilufer & I went to Italy.
And in 2011 I am home (having gone on my Europe trip the week before Thanksgiving). It was a small gathering this year - just my parents, me and my brother. None of us are big on cooking (well except my brother) so we got a turkey and stuffing from Whole Foods (brilliant!) and I was in charge of the mashed sweet potatoes (via fANNEtastic food) and helped with the regular mashed potatoes. It was a nice little Thanksgiving. We also had our staple of olives. My brother loves olives! In fact, we would always bring olives to Thanksgiving (and other holidays) but we would have to bring two cans. One for my brother and one for everyone else. Things really haven't changed! :)
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| My contribution - Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes |
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| Thanksgiving Dinner |
A Year Ago Today
A year ago today I was in Italy. We woke up early to take the train out to Cinque Terre where I was determined to hike from one town to the next, setting foot in all five towns. I had tried to do this once before but my (then) travel companions decided it was a much better idea to sit and have another glass of wine (or two or more) while overlooking the gorgeous view. Okay, so the view was incredible (as was the wine). And I never made it to all five towns. But this was my second chance!
We arrived at the furthest town (Monterosso) and went to buy our hiking pass and were informed that the trails were closed. What? Really? There had been a lot of rain and so they had decided to close the trails early. But we didn't let that stop us! (Although maybe we should have.)
Several other groups of tourists were of the same mind as us and we all set off on the "closed" trail. Which meant there was a sign on the trail head saying it was closed. We took off. We had started off doing the most challenging of the hikes and they weren't kidding when they said it was challenging. A lot of ups. A lot of downs. But the views were amazing!
We were almost to the next town when we came across a section of the trail that was washed out. We knew there had been people in front of us and since we hadn't seen them turn back, they must have made it across. There were people coming towards us, so we decided to go for it. First Jessica, who had one hand on the handrail and one hand on the stone wall. Next Nilufer, who had both hands on the stone wall. And then it was my turn.
The voice in my head was saying "Dear Emily, please sit on your bottom and scoot across." But did I listen to the little voice? No, I did not. My eyes had seen Jessica & Nilufer make it across, being very careful. So I could do that too. I had the foresight to 1) put my camera away in my bag and 2) toss my jacket over to Jessica to hold. I should have given her my bag as well.
One very carefully placed step. Two very carefully placed steps. CRACK! The handrail gave way and I went over the side. I grabbed a tree/shrub and it came out. And I kept going. A very nice tree grabbed me and I stopped sliding. For the moment. I tried to stand up and immediately started sliding again.
I heard voices yelling down to me. Nilufer, Jessica, and two other hikers who had been coming toward us. "I'm okay. I just need to sit for a minute." I collected myself and was able to find my footing and clamber up and back onto the trail. I knew immediately there was something wrong with my knee. But there wasn't much to do except continue on.
For the rest of the trip I self-medicated with lots and lots of ibuprofen. Little did I know that fall would end up impacting my life for a whole year. I would say I'm basically 100% although it still acts up now and then (especially after sitting in a movie theater or a long plane ride!).
And while I complained a lot about my knee (and I mean A LOT) I think I learned a few things - patience, listening not only to my body but also to the little voice in my head, and I started walking again (which was really how I started on this whole racing journey of mine). Patience was maybe the hardest thing. I had come so far on my running journey and here I was forced to stop. And while I'm looking forward to starting to run again, learning to appreciate the ability to run and re-discovering the joy of walking to a finish line were invaluable lessons.
Will I make it back to Cinque Terre? Who knows? I'd like to someday.
Looking back, (and in the spirit of Thanksgiving) I am extremely grateful for the tree that caught me, my guardian angel who was definitely watching over me, Jessica & Nilufer for being there and helping me, all of you who offered encouragement and support, and my chiropractor and my physical therapist for working with me to get me back to 100%. I shudder sometimes thinking back at what could have been. And one year later, I am honestly just thankful to be here.
And with that...
Happy Thanksgiving!!
We arrived at the furthest town (Monterosso) and went to buy our hiking pass and were informed that the trails were closed. What? Really? There had been a lot of rain and so they had decided to close the trails early. But we didn't let that stop us! (Although maybe we should have.)
Several other groups of tourists were of the same mind as us and we all set off on the "closed" trail. Which meant there was a sign on the trail head saying it was closed. We took off. We had started off doing the most challenging of the hikes and they weren't kidding when they said it was challenging. A lot of ups. A lot of downs. But the views were amazing!
We were almost to the next town when we came across a section of the trail that was washed out. We knew there had been people in front of us and since we hadn't seen them turn back, they must have made it across. There were people coming towards us, so we decided to go for it. First Jessica, who had one hand on the handrail and one hand on the stone wall. Next Nilufer, who had both hands on the stone wall. And then it was my turn.
The voice in my head was saying "Dear Emily, please sit on your bottom and scoot across." But did I listen to the little voice? No, I did not. My eyes had seen Jessica & Nilufer make it across, being very careful. So I could do that too. I had the foresight to 1) put my camera away in my bag and 2) toss my jacket over to Jessica to hold. I should have given her my bag as well.
One very carefully placed step. Two very carefully placed steps. CRACK! The handrail gave way and I went over the side. I grabbed a tree/shrub and it came out. And I kept going. A very nice tree grabbed me and I stopped sliding. For the moment. I tried to stand up and immediately started sliding again.
I heard voices yelling down to me. Nilufer, Jessica, and two other hikers who had been coming toward us. "I'm okay. I just need to sit for a minute." I collected myself and was able to find my footing and clamber up and back onto the trail. I knew immediately there was something wrong with my knee. But there wasn't much to do except continue on.
For the rest of the trip I self-medicated with lots and lots of ibuprofen. Little did I know that fall would end up impacting my life for a whole year. I would say I'm basically 100% although it still acts up now and then (especially after sitting in a movie theater or a long plane ride!).
And while I complained a lot about my knee (and I mean A LOT) I think I learned a few things - patience, listening not only to my body but also to the little voice in my head, and I started walking again (which was really how I started on this whole racing journey of mine). Patience was maybe the hardest thing. I had come so far on my running journey and here I was forced to stop. And while I'm looking forward to starting to run again, learning to appreciate the ability to run and re-discovering the joy of walking to a finish line were invaluable lessons.
Will I make it back to Cinque Terre? Who knows? I'd like to someday.
Looking back, (and in the spirit of Thanksgiving) I am extremely grateful for the tree that caught me, my guardian angel who was definitely watching over me, Jessica & Nilufer for being there and helping me, all of you who offered encouragement and support, and my chiropractor and my physical therapist for working with me to get me back to 100%. I shudder sometimes thinking back at what could have been. And one year later, I am honestly just thankful to be here.
And with that...
Happy Thanksgiving!!
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| The beginning of our hike |
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| A long ways down |
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| A sweaty mess, but enjoying the hike & views |
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| And the cliff I fell off |
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| The view that kept me going |
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Brussels
Right out in front of our hotel they were getting ready for a Christmas market. We were about a week too early. Darn! I do enjoy the Christmas markets.
Still no gelato on this trip, but I did have plenty of croissants, waffles, fries and chocolate. And I was introduced to speculoos - gingerbread yumminess!
And now it is time to pack again. Au revoir vacation!
Sent by T-Mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Zagreb
Zagreb was cute and very cold!! Thank goodness I brought gloves, a last minute addition to my packing.
Our hotel is in a great location - right near the big square. We've seen museums and churches, walked around and shopped at the market. We also took a bus out to the neighboring town of Samobor and a train to Ljubljana (in Slovenia, so I get to cross another country off my list).
And apparently diet coke does not exist in Zagreb - all they have is coke zero. I hate to say it but it has been too cold for gelato. I know, I can't believe it either!!
Tomorrow is an early morning flight to Belgium! Whose idea was that?!
See you in Belgium!
Sent by T-Mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network
Friday, November 11, 2011
Five Senses Friday
Oh the joy of scheduling a post!! I am most likely on a plane right now, flying to Zagreb. Why Zagreb? Yeah, I'm not sure either. Someplace I haven't been to is always good! We were initially thinking Dubrovnik but somehow Dubrovnik turned into Zagreb. Followed by Brussels. Why Brussels? We've found it is good (for us anyway) to pair an Eastern European city with a Western European city. I haven't been to Brussels in probably 10 years and Jana has never been. And there were direct flights between Zagreb & Brussels for an added bonus! :)
Seeing
Hearing
Smelling
Tasting
Feeling
Thankful
That's all folks! See you in a week or so!
Seeing
- Christmas (or Holiday) Lights
Hearing
- Leaves crunching underneath my feet
Smelling
- Plum lotion
Tasting
- I'm looking forward to tasting yummy cappuccinos! Why do they taste so much better in Europe? Oh and Belgium chocolate!! I'm also looking forward to that!
Feeling
- Do you ever have those weeks where you feel the need to tell yourself "I love my job, I love my job"? Yeah, it's been one of those weeks.
Thankful
- That I'm going to Europe with my BFF Jana!!
That's all folks! See you in a week or so!
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Twelve by 2012 Check In
Brrr!! I enjoyed my extra hour this morning by freezing on my seven mile walk. It took forever for my fingers to warm up!! The several comments I got from other runners/walkers were all about how cold it was. My car temperature read 29 degrees when I got. I still feel cold....
But enough about that - let's see what I've been up to with my Twelve by 2012 list.
1. Close unused checking account. Done!! It was actually quite easy - called up the bank and asked them to close it.
3. Hold a plank position for 1 minute. In progress
6. Attend yoga at least twice a week. Week One - success!! Made it to yoga Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
8. Catch up and finish reading my bible in one year plan. In progress
9. Decide if I'm wearing a costume for the Tinker Bell & Princess Half Marathons (and order them!). In progress - ordered my costume for the Princess Half, still trying to figure out Tinker Bell.
12. Take the stairs to work at least twice a week. Week one - success!! Took the stairs Wednesday and Friday. Wow, it has been a long time since I've taken the stairs...
Okay, not bad. Definitely some progress made!! Hopefully I can keep up the momentum!
But enough about that - let's see what I've been up to with my Twelve by 2012 list.
1. Close unused checking account. Done!! It was actually quite easy - called up the bank and asked them to close it.
3. Hold a plank position for 1 minute. In progress
6. Attend yoga at least twice a week. Week One - success!! Made it to yoga Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
8. Catch up and finish reading my bible in one year plan. In progress
9. Decide if I'm wearing a costume for the Tinker Bell & Princess Half Marathons (and order them!). In progress - ordered my costume for the Princess Half, still trying to figure out Tinker Bell.
12. Take the stairs to work at least twice a week. Week one - success!! Took the stairs Wednesday and Friday. Wow, it has been a long time since I've taken the stairs...
Okay, not bad. Definitely some progress made!! Hopefully I can keep up the momentum!
Friday, November 04, 2011
Five Senses Friday
Already at the end of another week? How time flies!!
Seeing
Smelling
Hearing
Tasting
Feeling
And P.S. Today is the last day to tell me if you want me to send you a postcard from my upcoming travels.
And P.P.S. I forgot I was going to add a new section to Five Senses since it is November and Thanksgiving.
Thankful
Seeing
- Red Christmas cups are back at Starbucks!! Even though I would prefer for Thanksgiving to have come and gone before getting super excited for Christmas - I do love the red cups! They just make me happy!!
Smelling
- Apple Cider
Hearing
- Is it bad I'm still listening to my Mickey's Not So Scary CD even though Halloween is over?
Tasting
- Milk - I'm trying to better about drinking milk (it does a body good, you know!)
Feeling
- Hungry!! So I rejoined Weight Watchers (which is probably another topic for another post) and now I have the mindset of I can't eat (which isn't the case) and so I feel starving all the time. Which I'm not.
And P.S. Today is the last day to tell me if you want me to send you a postcard from my upcoming travels.
And P.P.S. I forgot I was going to add a new section to Five Senses since it is November and Thanksgiving.
Thankful
- For Daylight Savings so it won't be quite so dark in the mornings!
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