Traveling Yogini

Second Honeymoon/Babymoon

2010-09-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

We decided to go on a little get-away for a belated honeymoon by ourselves. A friend of mine recommended Block Island, RI.

What a treat it was. For $230 we got two nights accommodation at a B&B, two bike rentals for two days, and two round trip ferry tickets. Considering the bikes alone would have normally cost $180 total, we made out pretty damn well! We went midweek after Labor Day, so that's why we got such a great deal.

Leaving Port Judith

Ahhhh, nothing like the fresh ocean air......

.....and getting soaked by sea spray. I hope you appreciate the bravery it takes in posting this picture---all just to get a laugh out of you!

Gawd, is that what I really look like?

A little overcast, but lovely

This picture is of nothing special. I'm putting this up purely to gain sympathy. Do you see this monster hill I had to climb dragging my luggage in my fragile state?

What? It was a monster hill! And so what if I was all of 10 weeks pregnant. It was hard I tell you!

First meal. Yum. This is the FIRST fish and chips I've heard Paul actually compliment outside of Australia.

The view from our room. Not too shabby.

We did a lot of this during our stay.

So much so that we missed a good beach sunset.....

Paul really loved all the old houses and hotels.

....and the ice cream....

Here's my ice cream....

....and here it is again. See that big ol' booty hanging off the edge of the seat. My goodness! That is one ice-cream-alicious rump!

Oh, phew. Here's a more flattering view of me....please forget you ever saw that one of me on the boat.

Here's a cool restaurant called the Oar. Gee, I wonder where it got it's name.

We did lots of biking. We even biked to go hiking.

Seriously, after all this exercise how is it that I still have such a ample bottom?

It couldn't be all the ice-cream I've been eating these past two months, could it? Nah, don't be silly. That's not it.

Still biking. I think for a pregnant woman I held up pretty damn well, thank you.

Paul held up pretty well too. He's got a bubble booty too. Our child is destined to be very pinchable.

We got to see a lot of the lovely landscape.

And of course we had to end our journey where we began...YUM!

We really loved Block Island. We both agreed though it was great going off season and mid-week. There were so few people it was very enjoyable. As we were leaving Friday we saw the crowds pouring in--and we were happy to be going!

Honeymoon Part II

2010-08-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

My mom left Sebasco and the four of us (me, Paul, and his parents) continued on to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We went camping here:

Paul's parents are troopers. Not only did they sleep on the hard ground, but they liked it! This was around the time my picture taking was winding down, so I don't have any pictures of our campsite. We went to Acadia National Park, which was gorgeous.

Like father, like son. Paul makes friends wherever he goes....

My handsome husband. Good job, Sandy and Graham. I like your gene pool.

View of the same beach from atop the mountain.

This was a restaurant in the park where we got tea and popovers. Oh. My. Heavens. They bring them out hot with butter and jam and they just melt in your mouth.

Up in the clouds

Paul and I are a couple of weirdos.

Yup, a match made in heaven.

Give us props and a camera and this is what happens....

Downtown Bar Harbor. We were bummed because we wanted to go whale watching but it was too foggy.

I just missed a great moment with Paul and his dad here having a good laugh. There were some really sweet moments of bonding between the two of them. Actually, we all had sweet moments of bonding. This time together was a real blessing for us as a family. We went back to this pub twice because they had great seafood and beer at a great price. By the last day in Maine though I think we'd all had enough chowder, fried seafood, and lobster to last us the rest of the year!

We had to drive home all day in this. Yuck. Nine hours of rain!

But as usual, Paul's parents kept a good attitude. We got home late that night and had a relaxing day at home the next day. We had a cook out with my mom.

Next, we went to the Big Apple. Paul and his mom have been but Graham had not. Our first night there we went to a fancy French restaurant. Ooolala. It was delish. We had a fancy bottle of wine. Paul and Sandy had to hold Graham and I back from ordering another one.

I tell you, that Sandy can pass as a regular New Yorker. She does not look like a tourist at all. At least we were in Times Square where one would expect to see a tourist.

It was when we were walking through Brooklyn at midnight with all her gear strapped to her torso that I worried a bit!

We liked to tease Sandy about her constant picture taking and videography, but she knows one day we'll have to eat our words.

I made them do this. Three Australians in NYC with an UGG sign in the background? Had to be done.

Remember when I said before like father like son? Here's Graham chatting it up with our cab driver.

Now, I know people like to think New Yorkers are rude, but it's just not true. Even in Brooklyn at midnight with all the camera gear strapped on and our I-heart-NY t-shirts (we so obviously didn't belong) they were happy to point us in the right direction.....but I don't think they knew quite what to do when Graham would try to chat them up on the subway. I don't think they were completely prepared for friendliness on this level.

I just adore this picture of Sandy. So lovely.

Our last night there we went to see Chicago on Broadway. Of course I didn't want to disturb the performance, but here I am at intermission enjoying my wine. No more of that for a while. Boooo.

The next morning Paul and I dropped his parents off at the airport and we were on our way. A trip to NYC just isn't complete without a good traffic jam. We got up to 25 mph here. WhoooHoo! Way to end our vacation!

We were sad to see Paul's parents go (and I was sad to have to go back to work). We made so many great memories. Oh, and we made a baby too!

Honeymoon!! Part I

2010-08-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Since this is a travel blog and since Paul's parents, Sandy and Graham, are featured heavily in these posts I think it's worth noting that Graham has a fear of flying. After deciding to brave the long trip out to America for the wedding, his parents decided to make a whole trip of it. First, they stopped in Hawaii (lucky devils), then did a whole west-coast of America tour, followed by our wedding. They hitched along on our honeymoon (we were glad to have them), then finished off their trip in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Perth before going home to Adelaide.

I think for a man who was scared of flying he did pretty well. As they say in Australia "Good on ya, mate!"

It's a really good thing that I'm writing this because if I tried to say that out loud I would sound like THE biggest dork.

Ok, now to the honeymoon. Paul's parents and my mom headed up to Maine a few hours ahead of us. We got on our way in the early afternoon after running some errands. It was a five hour drive, so we had to find ways to amuse ourselves. Paul was super psyched to get this back as change from a toll booth.

Tootsie girls taking in the view...

Let me just say, it helps to have an Australian husband. Americans love, love, love Australians. They love all that "g'day mate" and kangaroos business. Pretty much every American I know wants to go to Australia and just adores Paul's accent. He could tell them they were a steaming pile of shit and they'd smile. Luckily he's a nice guy, so coupled with the accent he gets stuff. He gets out of speeding tickets. He gets late fees waived. He gets free upgrades. When we arrived at the resort, Sebasco we had the best room in the lighthouse! Check the view:

We just put our feet up, relaxed, and enjoyed the view.

Let me tell you what, the views at this place were beautiful.

...and so was this one.

We had a beautiful dinner our first night there (without the parents)

So, so, so romantic....

I think we had our fill of clam chowder and lobster and it all started here. YUM!

So sweet and mild mannered....and dorky in that bib!

GET IN MY BELLY!

...and back to sweet again.

The next day we enjoyed a boat tour with the parents.

They don't look like tourists at all do they?

So while we were out we saw this boat! It all happened so fast that I didn't even get to take any other pictures until it was too late....

JUST KIDDING! Hahahahahaaaa! Two different boats, two different places. I just couldn't help myself.

We were only at Sebasco a few days, but I would highly recommend it. If anything, go up for a few days to use their salt water pool, enjoy their activities, or just read a book with a beautiful view...but be sure you're there on a Wednesday.

Why Wednesday you ask? Well on Wednesdays this happens:

Lobsta bake. Yeee-freakin-haw! Hallalujah! Amen!

See how there's eggs on the lobster bake? Well here's an interesting little fact: the eggs help the chef know when the lobster is done. When the eggs are cooked, so is the lobsta!

This was for sure a highlight of our trip. I mean, the food was out of this world. They had coleslaw, potato salad, clams, corn on the cob, rolls, clam chowder, 2 free alcoholic beverages, and blueberry pie.

Excuse me a moment.....

Ok, I was salivating just thinking of it. Pull yourself together, woman!

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed myself....just take a look at this happy face:

Graham enjoyed what he came to call chow. That's Australian for Chowder. Kinda like how Paul calls Stop & Shop "Shop & Stop." Often you'd hear something along these lines:

"Sandy, you know what I like? I like that chow. That's bloody delicious! Beautiful! Kids, where can we get some chow?"

Paul: "It's chow-der, dad. Chowder. Get it right."

"I don't care what it's called. It's bloody beautiful. That's what I want for dinner."

The whole time I'd be giggling in the sidelines.

Ahhh, good times. We all enjoyed the lobsta bake.

My mother doesn't eat lobster. How do you go to Maine and not eat lobster??

It was a beautiful start to our honeymoon and we were so happy to have the time to bond as a family. I really lucked out in the parent-in-law department. They are good people and they get along ridiculously well with my mother. How often does that happen? I shudder at the horror stories I've heard about in-laws. No, we are very lucky. It's hard not to recognize that with a view like this and a belly full of lobster.

Newport, RI....who knew!?!

2009-06-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok.....so everybody knew but me. Newport is a great place to vacation. I had four days off, so Paul and I were tossing up Newport or Cape Cod. Newport won out because it seemed there was more to do than lay on the beach (of course there was rain predicted on all four of my days off-sigh).

When we got there, we went for a walk right away and, well, I just couldn't resist....

hehehehhehe Bevis they said seamen. hhehhehehhehhehhehhehhehehehe

I can't help myself. I could go on....but I shall restrain.

Here's a nice picture to get our minds off on seamen. Oh wait...this is a picture of a seaman. Ok, ok, I SWEAR that is the last I say about seamen.

Seamenseamenseamenseamenseamen. Ok, phew. That's it. I swear.

Then we went out to dinner. I got sole stuffed with this:

Lobsta. With sun dried tomato cream sauce. YUM.

Paul had stuffed shrimp for the first time. He loooooved it.

The next day we planned to go walk along the cliffs and maybe see some mansions......Paul decided to wear this: Sandy, I must apologize. Do you remember when you asked me to help you with the sunglasses situation? I just laughed and laughed.....Well I thought that was funny. This, I did not find funny. Oh. My. Goodness. In this situation, I think a picture really does say a thousand words.
It's true what they say. Karma is a bitch. And this was my payback. He actually wanted to go out in public this way and got really angry with me for telling him I would not be seen with him unless he changed.

I'm so alright with Paul being a little experimental. Funky glasses. Funky hair. But really...can you imagine walking into this place wearing the above outfit?Maybe if it were a mental asylum.

So, after a little tiff and a change of clothes we made our way to the cliff walk and saw some pretty coastline and 'cottages' as they're called.

These beautiful trees were everywhere. I think they're European Birches. I love this shot of my boy. Then I made him take a shot of me. And then he told me if I didn't stop taking pictures he would leave me. Then I took this picture and he stomped off.

On one of our walks we found this sign:
We spend so much time together that we both looked at one another and said: "I'm a laaaady" in unison. I don't expect you to get that reference so, here's a little something that will bring you a little closer into our world:

Watch the ladies

We had one good clear night without rain that we were able to go for a sailboat ride.

Dude wouldn't get his leg outta my shot!One silly pose:
And one nice pose:

Ocean sunsets on the east coast aren't too spectacular, but we enjoyed it.

The next day we toured more mansions. I expected to get sick of them real quick, but they were interesting and rich with history.
Did you know back then people didn't pay taxes? How friggin pissed are you? 30+ million of income and not a cent of taxes.

I wish you could appreciate this view, but my crap camera couldn't really capture well enough to do it justice. Imagine there are blue skies and you can see the ocean really clearly.

Imagine having this view to wake up to?? Though it would only be eight weeks a year seeing as it would just be your summer 'cottage.'

Did I mention they didn't pay taxes? Bastards.

Do you think they used this space for yoga classes? Oh how I would love to teach a class here.

See that house in the background? Yeah, Paul and I were going to buy it that weekend, but we decided it was too small for us.

....oh right, and I couldn't purchase it because I pay taxes and therefore cannot afford it.

The end.

Why I Love Australia Part Two

2009-05-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

I love the beach, but I was ready for something else. Besides, the last part of my trip was pretty chilly (in the 70s...which IS chilly for a South Australian summer).

Paul took me to his family farm in Waitpinga, SA. I was in love the moment we pulled up. It was so quiet and peaceful and open. Wide open. Something about the rolling golden hills overlooking the ocean and blue skies just makes my heart settle. How cool is this old thing?And I got to drive it! (Shhhhh....don't tell Paul's dad).How cool am I? Driving from the right side of the truck AND driving on a farm? I would have never thought this would make me feel so--at home. My favorite picture. Okay, okay...I've said that before. But seriously. The horse, the old truck, the dusty road.

Paul and I had to drive through this to get to the dam.Don't believe me?
Even the cows were like "what? are you crazy?"But yeah, we did it. Of course, I didn't get a shot of the dam, so you'll just have to believe me. It's just beyond those trees.
We set some traps and caught these little fuckers. Yabbies! We steamed those bad boys up.
Then, we sauteed them in some olive oil we got at a local winery with some fresh rosemary and garlic.
I also put that mixture on some fresh greens.
The yabbies were a little scared about the whole boiling process. I had to do some P.R. and make nice. "Look little buddy, we don't mean you no harm. "
"Aren't you a sweet little thang. Gimme some love!""Now get in my belly!" My mother tells me I'm not very sensitive to other's feelings.
Yeah, well, off with their heads! Fry those bad boys up Paul! Wow, that was a good meal. I felt like we were livin' off the land. Except for the wine we didn't press ourselves. And the olive oil. Oh, and the bread we didn't cook. Of course we didn't grow those veggies ourselves either. So, yeah. We basically just caught the yabbies. Hey, when's the last time you caught your dinner?

The next day we stopped by the shed. Paul got the bike out so we could tour de' ranch. How friggin' cute is he?Lambs. Man, do they live the good life.
So do the cows.
And the kangas.

See that ocean in the background? Here it is close up. Don't be jealous. It was freeeeezing that day.

So back to tour de' farm.

We cruised around and....um....well....we found the cows.
Hey, look, I believe being gay isn't a decision. It's the way one is born. I just didn't really think it would benefit female bovine creatures. I mean, their anatomy...it's not exactly set up for these things. And that one on bottom looks annoyed quite frankly. Well, I guess all of us bottoms have our moments. Too much information? Sorry.

Anyway, we happened upon this little beauty. I approached the wild beast carefully (see above picture).
I think she likes me.
She really likes me! Um, I think I can live without her affections. (Good GOD I look like my mother here)
Paul had to prove he was all Mr. Cattle Rancher and could tame the wild beast too. So what if she used to be a pet? I tamed her. Again.

Cows are funny creatures. It's so eerie when they surround you in the dead silence of a ranch. MMmmmmmrrrrrrooooooooo.
We said our good-byes to the ranch and headed off to big Louise's place at Cape Jervis.Just in case you needed a reminder as to why I'm here. We were the only ones on that beach and did some yoga while we were there. It's a hard life. Seriously, I don't know if I can handle this whole South Australia thing.

Further down the road...
Score! I've always wanted to buy Pony Poo!

Deep Creek National Park We met this little beauty there.
Sorry, had to do it. None of the little buggers at Paul's farm would let me this close. We had to share this beach with a surfer. What a drag. We had to watch the surfer while we drank our local wine. Total drag. Some lambs on the lam. We went to Monarto Zoological Park. This little dude shoulda been weened. He wasn't havin' it though. Little bugger had to lay down to nurse cuz he couldn't reach standing any more.Beauties. Holy cuteness. You can pay to feed the cheetas and/or lions. It's not even that expensive. Paul thought these dude's were ugly, but I loved them. I forget what they are, but they're not hyenas. And....the most beauteous of all.....
Merlin's brothers!
"I'd like to send a shout-out to my little-in-stature-but-large-at-heart brotha, Merlin. Roar, little man, raaaar."

Paul's parents, Sandy and Graham, treated me to dinner at Windy Point Restaurant, Adelaide, SA. We all got the same thing. I'm not a very fancy girl, so I can't give you all the fancy desriptions...but it was duck in a brown sauce and a ducky egg-rolly type thingy. We shared salad and mashed potato sides. It was scrumptious.

Although it was close to my last night, the waitress brought me this....A premonition for the future, perhaps?

Why I Love Australia

2009-05-11T19:26:00.001-07:00

On a bitter cold afternoon in February I crossed the Whitestone Bridge to JFK. I was on my way to the sunny shores of Australia. Little did I know of how much I would fall in love.

Other than seeing more of the world, this was my main reason for going:

Look at those eyes. Can you blame me?

The first few days we didn't do much. We stayed at Paul's sister Louise's place on the Gold Coast. It was rainy off and on so we spent a lot of time hanging out with Louie, her partner Jason, and their dog Milly. We ate lots of Paul's favorite foods. Fish. And. Chips. Then we picked up Paul's father and family friend, Louise, at the airport and headed north to Noosa where his sister Renee's wedding would be. We got to go for a walk on the beach at sunset. Ahhhhhh....how romantic.I took some pictures for Paul's mom, so I didn't get too many of the wedding for myself. I did manage to get one dorky shot of the two of us though.

In the days after the wedding we went to some local beaches. We spent time with Paul's whole family over those days. They're good people. They made me feel right at home.
The pictures don't really do the beaches justice.

Paul and I both didn't have sunglasses. He bought these. His mama didn't like them and hoped I would join her in convincing him not to buy them. I couldn't help her though because I thought they were hilarious! Even better was when he shaved to look like this:I couldn't stop laughing.

We decided to rent a car to see some stuff on our own. Since Paul is just a little baby boy it was less expensive for me to drive. And this was about how I felt driving on the left side of the road:
We went to Springbrook National Park in Queensland
Beeeeeeutiful. What's the matter? Do those mushrooms look blurry? You'd better get your eyes checked. Ok, it's not your eyes. Damn my camera! These beauties were everywhere! They weren't really cooperative with my picture taking though.Whatchu lookin' at Willis?

We drove to some other areas. Damn roundabouts got me a little flustered at times. We drove to Byron Bay in New South Wales. During the summer this area of Australia is very lush and green compared to South Australia. Oh my. Here's a fine Australian specimen. Come to mama. Oh yeah baby. It's hard to see in this picture, but there were a group of school kids doing some sort of lesson on the beach. It's a hard life those Australian kids have.
Don't know where this beach was, but it sure was pretty. We had it all to ourselves for a while. Till this little guy came along. He fascinated me. He fascinated everyone who walked by actually. Our private beach was suddenly invaded....every passerby was equally as fascinated as myself by this puffer fish. I took loads of pictures of him. Paul got bored of all my picture taking and threatened to drown himself if I didn't stop. He's threatened that more than once. I just pretended not to hear him and kept on taking pictures. Eventually he came back. A few days later Paul's mom, family friend Louise, Paul and I drove down the coast back to sister Louie's house.

We stopped at several beaches. Peregian Beach on the Sunshine CoastThis is my favorite photo. This is what happens when Paul and I get stuck in a hot car on a road tripIt ain't pretty.

We flew to Paul's home town. For all the time I've known him Paul has talked about Adelaide. Now I understand Paul. Now I understand.

Moana Beach, Adelaide
A trip to Maslin Beach, Adelaide with the beautiful Brandy.
Ohhhhh he loves his girl.
Can you blame him?
He also loves his roast chicken and chips (almost as much as fish and chips, but not quite).
So does Miss BrandyAre you gonna share Dad?
Of course he shares with his girl. I accept that I'm only second fiddle to his first love.
Us two girls get acquainted. Brandy's not so sure about me. I slather some chicken grease on my face and she decides I'm alright.
She still likes her boy better though.
My favorite shot.
No wait, this is my favorite shot.
I have a lot of favorite shots.
Another reason I love Australia. Wine.

McLaren Vale. I tried to get some good shots of the wine region, but I just wasn't able to capture the feel. This famous wine country is really far from Paul's parent's place. It took us a whole 20 minutes to get there. And, the wine tasting was really expensive. Can you believe they charged us zero Australian dollars? What a rip off.

Oh Australia. Beautiful men. Thousands of kilometers of stunning beaches. Good family. Rain forests. Crazy loyal cattle dogs. And free wine? Damn those Australians. They sure know how to woo a girl.

To be continued....

Back home

2009-01-05T18:08:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for me here or wondering where I am now.....take a look at my 'home' blog Little Yogini.

Update from London

2008-12-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a little lesson from Traveling Yogini:

When you are feeling fearful, step back and assess. Where is this fear coming from? Is it irrational fear that is holding me back? Or, is there a legitimate red flag being waved? Quietly observe and wait for your heart's answer.

I really want(ed) to move to London. I love this city. Every city has a vibe and I fell in love with London's. This is one of the friendliest cities I've been in. People will go out of their way to help you. If asking for directions, people will give detailed instructions....start to walk away.....then turn back around to be sure you are pointed in the right direction. I've had people hear me asking for help and when the person I asked couldn't help they've followed me to tap me on the shoulder and lend a hand. During my travels I've met some beautiful people, but let me tell you it is amazing here.

I've always dreamed of living overseas. How great would it be to hop on a plane and go to Denmark for the weekend? To be immersed in a different culture? I was feeling a little freaked out (another word for fearful) about the opportunity to move here. So, as you can understand from how I've been living my life the last year, I felt fearful and said 'AHA! Fear! Screw you fear! I'm going for it!!' ....and that was it. I decided just to plunge in. I sort of had to take that approach as there seems to be a lot of work coming up in January and being that it was the beginning of December I didn't have a whole lot of time.

Then I started researching how to get my cats here. I thought I could skip quarantine as long as I showed proper documentation of shots. Yes, but it is still a six month process. My fear turned into concern. I started noticing my feelings. I didn't want to leave my cats for another six months while I waited for their paperwork. I miss them. I noticed the work I was being sent on wasn't exactly ideal for me. I felt stressed out and worn out by it....and isn't that why I left my last job? When I made the decision to step down as manager I wanted to focus on yoga more. My heart tells me I still do. In fact there is a program at an ashram in India that I want to attend Oct-Jan which I'd have to start paying off debt and saving for....which leads me to finances. After accruing some debt on this trip would it be smart or safe financially to relocate? I don't know.

Meanwhile, I bought my ticket to come home for the holidays and, once again, I noticed my feelings. I am excited to come home. I am jumping out of my skin to see the ones I love. I am counting down the days. I didn't know I felt that way until I bought my ticket. Until then I was so focused on one thing: 'stay in Europe as long as possible.'

All of this lead me to hold off on any decisions. Get home first. Again, assess how I feel. Do more research. Spend time with loved ones. Breathe. Then, see how things fall into place. I may be itching to get out of Connecticut again. I may want to stay put for a while. So, keep watching to see what happens!! And remember the lesson of the day: stay tuned in to your feelings.

Speaking of being tuned in....I went to Amsterdam for a short business trip. After the assignment I had some time to look around the city. I took the tram from my assignment to the center of town and started to wander (no map-something fun and completely freeing I've learned to do--of course that was after I mastered the art of map reading).

I found myself on a very touristy road and wanted to get off of it. I stopped and looked to my left. This is what I saw:

Notice the building to the far left. Under the first set of windows it says 'The Grasshopper.' I was very drawn to this place. Everything in my being was saying GO THERE. Being that I was hungry I thought maybe it was a good place to eat. When I saw the prices I thought better of it....but remember this place for later in my story.

I saw a hostel and stopped in to ask where I could get some good food at reasonable prices. I didn't like what they suggested, so I kept walking. One turn to the left and HELLO! I was in the red light district. Boobies and booty galore. I wasn't looking to buy, so I found myself quite uncomfortable looking. I wandered some more and found some nice canals.And some nice squares With some urinals in the street? I'm glad we don't have these in America:I wandered....and wandered....and got hungrier and colder and progressively more grumpy. All of the places to eat were either full of marijuana smoke or just didn't appeal to me. Amsterdam has beautiful architecture, but from what I can tell if you're not into hookers or wacky-weed, then it ain't got much for you. I landed up seeing a new-age store and thought I could just go in for a while and warm up before continuing my food search. As I walked through the store I noticed some tables up front. Well wouldn't you know...it was a cafe too!! I started with some hot, home made, chai tea (my favorite!) while I waited for my food. Everything was insanely delicious and healthy. Just what I needed. ....and guess what?? This place was right next door to that Grasshopper restaurant! My yogi-new-age homing instincts were tuned in and guiding me to where I needed to be in this city. After sitting here till closing and going to the airport I still had 3 hours till take-off. Uuugggg.

As glamorous as it sounds to go on business to Amsterdam, I was downright exhausted. All said and done it was a 20 hour day.

Just a funny pic....Paul had to stop into the doctor to get a check up and we got bored....take a look at the green board in the background.Paul's been working, so his friend Windog and I went out for dinner and a walk one night.There was a fair going onPaul and I fly home December 23rd. I'm so looking forward to showing him where I'm from and introducing him to those of you who are able to meet him! He'll be with me in CT until February 9th (unless London calls me back unexpectedly at which point we'll come back together!)

Sending love and light to you all. Can't wait to give you a biiiiiig hug in person!

Krakow to Berlin to London to Berlin to London (don't worry, my head is spinning too)

2008-11-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, eh? Truth be told, my picture taking has slowed down to a crawl and my motivation for blogging has been nill. Have I said I'm tired at looking at buildings, churches, parks, monuments, etc. etc??? Traveling is often referred to as a 'holiday,' but if you speak to most travelers they'll tell you it's work. Now, I'm sure most of you at home are rolling your eyes, wishing for this opportunity. But, let me tell you, as amazing as it is....sight-seeing is rewarding, but exhausting. It sounds rediculous, but it's true.

Here are a few cool pics from the end of our trip to Krakow, Poland.
It was quite rainy when we were on our way to catch the bus to Berlin. Paul said I looked like a giant jelly bean. I have to say...he was right.
When we arrived to Berlin I was nervous to meet Paul's friends. What would they be like? What would Paul be like around them? Would I like them? When we got there Andrew (Windog) and Jorgen were out partying, but the next morning upon waking Paul promptly jumped into their bed and they all hugged each other. After seeing their affection toward one another I thought 'I can handle these guys.'
After a short scare of loosing my wallet, which I soon recovered, we went to the local outdoor markets....where there was (of all things) FOOD....
AND fun stuff to try on....
Other than that, we didn't do a whole lot. Hence, not many pictures. I was sooooo happy doing a whole lot of nothing. I was exhausted from all my travels. I was looking forward to a whole lot more of doing nothing....then I got an email from Oliver, an ASL interpreter who's been living in London for 6 years, saying he had work for me and could I come over? So, I hopped on a plane and off I went to London.

Oliver and I worked together on Halloween and then he graciously invited me to a dinner party. It was in this beautiful studio...His friends made a fantastic dinner.....I helped chop a LOT of shallots. No vampires bothered me that night (or many nights thereafter).

They insisted I dress up with some make-up provided in the 'staging area.' In honor of my beloved feline friends, Gabby and Merlin, I dressed up as a kitty. Meeeoooooeow. I rode the tube home like this.
The rest of these pics are totally out of order, but it was too much work arranging them all. I figured you wouldn't mind.....

One night Oliver's friend and fiance took me out for sushi (fuckin yum--it's been, like, months...imagine that Bre!). On the way to get dessert we saw fireworks...for Guy Fawkes day....a celebration I still don't understand since the dude tried to blow up the House of Parliment. Look at the end of the row of buildings and you'll see a firework. Then we went out for dessert at this very well known place in London's SOHO
We ended the night at a hole-in-the-wall/basement bar where has-been actors/musicians belt out show tunes. Great fun, great company, great entertainment.
Another night I went off exploring on my own. Here's China town:Complete with whole ducks hanging in the windowAnd SOHO....complete with drag queensAt a crossroads...how apropos
Covent Gardens, which from what I can see has no gardens--just shopping centers. The only street performer I've ever given money to:
He was playing a dog and shouting at people to take him home as they walked by. See his little 'treat' dish? How could I resist??

The flower market:
Lots of clever named joints around town:This is a leather-goods store:
British pride (turned Austin Powers-esque):The Brick Lane markets are a favorite attraction so far....food and fun artisan goods:Another day I went to a Yoga Expo. It was good....and bad. It was good because I met a girl from the friend-of-Oliver's dinner party who is super sweet. It was 'bad' because the vibe there was really weird. Very consumerist, needy, greedy, sell-me-this-crap. But I got a few free yoga classes/workshops from it and I got to connect to another really cool yogini, so it was worth the trip.

The night before I left London was election night. I was awoken by a room mate at the hostel who was leaving at 5am (12 midnight EST). I snuck downstairs to check out who won the election. As I walked down the steps of the hostel I could hear Obama's voice on the TV and I knew he'd won... as I got to the bottom of the stairs I jumped up and down. I listened to the end of his speech and cried. I was shocked by my reaction. More so, I was shocked by the reaction around the world. As Americans we don't usually follow other country's elections. But other countries follow ours.

As Americans we hear 'America is a WORLD POWER' all the time and don't really think anything of it. At least I didn't. Coming here, especially in the midst of an election, I've realized just what a world power America is. People watch. People hope. People pray for us....because ultimately our politics effect them. Here's how Brits felt the day Obama became president:I went back to Berlin the next day. Another friend of Paul's, Andrew, had arrived and these boys and I spent the next week and a half together doing a whole lotta nothin.
I cooked roast chicken for them (except Jorgen who's a vegetarian--he just ate the roasted veggies). It's Jorgen's place and he rents a room on the 5th floor of a building with a shared bathroom, kitchen, computer room. Left to Right: Paul, Jorgen, Andrew, Windog:

Da Boys:
Saying bye-bye to Berlin: Paul and I were sad to leave his friends. They're good guys. We weren't sad to leave Berlin though. It's cold and gray...not to mention the people are grumpy. The sunrise gave a gorgeous view on the way to the airport thoughWhen we got to London Paul was pretty psyched to find 'pasties' at the train station. For us Americans I translate this as a pot-pie pocket with warm goodies inside. Apparently they are very popular in Australia (which I can't understand since they're cold-weather food). So, here we are back in London....Paul trying to find work....and me....figuring out how to make the move across the Atlantic. For those of you who didn't know (me included--well I guess I've been in denial) it looks as though I'm going to be moving to London. There's work here for me and...well....how can I pass up the opportunity to live in Europe if I can actually work as an American Sign Language Interpreter here? Right now I'm in the midst of figuring out a work visa, accommodation, getting my cats here, renting out my apartment, etc. A lot of pieces have to fall into place, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Here are some pics of our sight seeing (in between job/accommodation hunting)Buckingham Palace:

Me: so excited to see Buckingham Palace I had to take Paul to the Brick Lane markets. I got a great hand made hat (seen below) with an eel skin (of all things--eel skin?) wallet that is perfect for London because it's got a place for bills, credit cards, and plenty of coin (which there is tons more of here than in the US).
The day wouldn't be complete without mulled wine
And men dancing in the street
So, my loved ones, that's where I leave you for now......more to come later on the progress of the move. I love you all. Take good care and be well.

Naples to Krakow

2008-10-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest update. After Rome, Naples didn't seem so magnificent. I didn't spend much time in the city, but went on a few great day trips. Here's a few pics from Naples.

The next day I went with a few people I met to Capri. The ferry ride at 7am:We took an hour long boat ride around the island. Here's the famous Blue Grotto. Normally you can swim in under the rocks and it's florecent blue water because of the way the sun hits it, but it was closed this day. Later (you'll see the pics of the place we swam) we found some locals and on of them brought us to something similar.

Capri is really expensive and basically for rich people. It's a beautiful island, but not so pretty on the wallet. We got sick of the touristy section real quick and went in search of something else.

Here we found a local "private" beach. Private meaning....nudist!Here's me swimming in just my undies with the people I was hanging out with Clara, Matt, and the local guy who showed us around Louis.

It was a good day....The next day we went to Pompeii. After all the ruins I've seen in Mexico, these turned out to be the best. It's a huge city pretty much completely in tact. You can still see paintings on walls and tiles.

Next, on to Florence. I met some more great girls and we were all a little sick of Italian food, so out we went to Mexican!

I couldn't take pics inside the museum, so here's proof I saw Michelangelo's David. Classy sign, eh?

Around the city

Me enjoying the David replica Day trip to Siena with Rebecca and Karen. This was the best gelato ever! Siena was a sweet little city.

Out on the town in Florence again

A big treat...desert...yum!a batchelor party that finds their way to our table

after dinner we go to this hole in the wall place for live music. This couple were terrible musicians, but great entertainment!I had to show 'em how it's doneLeaning tower....big let down

Cinque Terre National Park in Italy. A 10k walk

My dorm mates and I start off the next morning (me, Rebecca, Tyler, Richie)

You come upon 5 small cities like this one

Later, we cook a communal dinner. Delicious!

Paul hitchhiked from Berlin to meet me in Milan...there wasn't much to take pics of thereSo, on to toga parties in Venice

Venice is full of beautiful masks

And lots of sweets

And lots of bridges

Locals sitting in the square. We loved just wandering and people watching.

Venice at night was gorgeous. Next we went to Bled, Slovenia. Wow! It was so picturesque and clean. Slovenian people are really happy and friendly.

We went to Vintgar Gorge. This was a highlight. Really peaceful and beautiful.

The countryside on the bike ride back into town.

Slovenia's capitol, Ljubljana is a place I could see myself going back to or living in. The people are open and friendly, they've got yoga and natural food stores, and it's beautiful to boot.

For Matt

Budapest was a good city. It didn't inspire many pictures though. Here we are doing a traditional Hungarian dance with locals. A cool cafe

Now we're in Krakow, Poland. We went to Auschwitz which was extremely sad, but a must see. Here's the gate where so many people entered without ever exiting.

We've been couchsurfing the last few towns and this so far has been the best experience. Here are our hosts and some guests singing together. Everyone here is so welcoming and giving of their resources. There were 14 of us sqeezed in to one room last night, but it has been a wonderful experience!

There are so many other pictures that I can't even include (this has taken me about 5 hours so far). Next, on to Berlin to stay with a friend of Paul's. I'm looking forward to a few days of doing nothing but watching movies and cooking roasted chicken!

Love and light to you all!!

Romania to Roma

2008-09-24T02:53:00.000-07:00

Paul and I took a sleeper train (my first) from Istanbul to Bucharest, RomaniaI wasn't all that impressed with Bucharest (as you saw with my last post). Here's a decent pic of the city....Here's some reason why I didn't like the city. Notice the electrical lines.Now have a closer look....And the lovely city benches....And the under construction metro entrance....Another train takes us to Cluj in Northern RomaniaCute little city. Paul and I were fighting off viral infections, so it was a good thing there wasn't much to see and it rained a lot, so we got to sleep in and cuddle under the covers. Big bad scary man!! Next we took a train to Sighisoara (not this one though! haha! this is for you Eli. I miss you!)And for MattMedieval Sighisoara (you'll see more pics from the top of that tower)

climbing the clock tower (one of my favorite shots)A view from the topThis little girl is a looooong way from home.I need a little comfortingA Princess Posing What goes up... We went to Dracula's boyhood home. I had to make friends with the guard.
Next we went to Brasov. There were only two rooms for rent here and the old lady, Lucy, who takes care of the place didn't speak any English, but she sure liked to talk anyway! This is the view outside our room. Paul and I went to Bran Castle just outside of Brasov. It was cold and rainy. The castle was okay.....

.....but this was the highlight of my day. I couldn't stop laughing at Paul in this (and I'm still not really sure why they were selling wigs outside of a castle).

Back in Brasov....no city is complete without out of work musicians Paul soon found out that somehow I always manage to spill... All in all I really liked BrasovOur final stop was in Sinaia....where the people were rude and there wasn't much to do. We had this whole building to ourselves...no kidding! (it's a ski resort)The weather was crap, so we did a lot of TV watching....but one day we did something most tourists don't get to do...I kicked Paul's ass the first game. Wish I could say the same for the rest.This was definately a highlight of Romania. Peles Castle, home of King Carol I. Unfortunately the fee for taking photos inside was too much to pay, but I've never seen anything like it in my life. There were weapon collections, art, stained glass that looked like photographs, gorgeous artwork, over the top furniture and upholstery. Really magnificent. Paul got to calling me his little turtle because my bag looks so big on me. So, here is a rare treat: the Romanian blue and black spotted turtle.Paul and I went back to Bucharest to spend the night before heading our separate ways...there are sad pics taken from the taxi to the airport, but I'll spare you the puppy dog eyes. While I feel confident traveling on my own, I miss Paul's company a great deal.

In Europe it's easy to get around. Hop on a two hour flight and poof! Roma!

First stop, ColossumNext, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
That night I met up with a great group of English kids. We spend the next few days wandering around the city together. They were a blast. (L to R) Rich, Tom, me, Paul, Hannah. Here we are at Trevi Fountain.
The Pantheon was one of my favorite sights in Rome. Pictures just can't do the interior justice.

And what would any city be without some flying rats?

A little mid afternoon gelato pick me up

Every major city has a few main characters. First you've got the 'performance artists'

There are always a few nuns and touristsStatues are a must (this one happens to be on the bridge of angels)beggars
bikes...

Throw in a few crazies and viola! Roma! Cool pic

I had to show the young ones I could keep up...

Vatican City....NO I didn't burn it down upon entering! In the museum some of my favorites were the modern art. Here's a little Salvador Dali

Just a few other peices....I took a lot of pics...

Finally, got a train to Naples and here's the first thing I did!

As you can see, I'm having a blast! As always, love and miss you all!!

Plans

2008-09-07T07:25:00.001-07:00

Paul and I are in Northern Romania now...a place called Cluj. We're going to work our way south through the mountains and end back in Bucharest. We fly our separate ways on September the 19th. I'll be going to Rome and he's heading to Berlin. Flights are booked already, so no turning back!

So far Northern Romania is gorgeous! So beautiful and picturesque. I haven't taken many pics yet, but will post some as soon as I get the chance. I'm looking forward to exploring this part of the world over the next few weeks!

Pics part two

2008-09-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

Here ya go....just the highlights again. Finally I found a good internet cafe with a decent internet speed. They're few and far between believe it or not. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors....I can't be bothered to fix them up!!

Me hiking the Samaria Gorge in Crete, Greece. It was 18k=approx 11miles. Yeah, I was hurting for a few days after that! Happy 31st birthday! In Paleohora, Crete. I got up early and did yoga on a beach chair and meditated. Birthday cake! I was really sick of Greek food...all of the menus were the same and there's just a ton of heavy food. The bakeries were out of this world though. Paul and I tried to rent another scooter for the day, but that didn't work out so well...we had to drive it back and keep stopping so it wouldn't overheat. Paul, the brave soul, tried snails. Blech. He got through about six (more than i could ever even think about) and then ate the rest of my dinner that I couldn't finish. I went swimming in a rocky area and fucked up my feet pretty badly. Sharp rocks!! My feet healed up in a few days though. These are the two worst cuts. Our favorite restaurant. We ate here every day in Paleohora. Paul and I went our separate ways....he was off to Istanbul, and I joined two girls I had met at a hostel in Santorini. I met them in Stalida, Crete....nothing to report there. It was terribly touristy. My least favorite spot thus far. This is the only worthwhile pic...me relaxing on a hammock chair. I had planned to arrange a trip to Italy while I was in Stalida, but decided to join the girls to Eastern Europe instead....starting with Istanbul. I was quite ready to get out of Greece and see something new. We took an overnight ferry from Crete to Athens, then a 22 hour bus to Istanbul.

As you know, Paul was in Istanbul and we landed up meeting up again. We like traveling so much together that he was sweet enough to hang around Istanbul a few more days to wait for me so I could join him to Romania. A little smoke from the hookahThe view from atop the hostel. Me in front of the Blue Mosque. I took a ferry down the Bosphorus which opens up to the Black Sea.I'm all shiny clean after my first Turkish Bath. First you sit in a sauna. Then they bring you to lay on a slab of marble (nude) and they exfoliate you, then scrub you down and massage you with tons of soapy suds. Then rinse, dry, tea....and poof! Good as new. More mosquesThe Grand BazaarHonestly, I wasn't as impressed with the Grand Bazaar as I had hoped. After a short while all the stalls started to look the same.....Turkish people are lovely. They all want to chat with you and know where you are from. They're really helpful, too. Istanbul was a bit more expensive than I had expected as well.

After a 22 hour train ride from Istanbul I'm in Bucharest, Romania.
So far from what I've seen of Bucharest....well, we won't be staying long. It's not very beautiful and there are tons of stray dogs roaming around....100,000 in fact. You can always hear them barking and cats fighting....and men yelling loudly in the streets outside the hostel. There are people walking around huffing chemicals from bags. We're headed off to the historical section now...hoping to see something redeaming. Next we'll be off to the Transylvania area to spend some time in the Carpathian Mountains.

Love to you all!!

Pics...for real!

2008-08-20T03:39:00.001-07:00

Here we go folks....It's taken me so long just to add the basics here....I didn't put up a lot of my more "artsy" pics. Now I've been here so long, I can't give but the bare minimum for explainations...enjoy.

My first view of Europe

Me waiting for Paul at the airport

Ancient Agora
Me at guess where.....yep, Parthenonview of Athens from the Parthenon

Random pics from around AthensGreece has lots of playgrounds
Temple of Zeus Loads of mini-markets, not many grocery storesThis one's for you, MattOld Olympic stadium (from the 1800's I believe??)National Museum of Archeology....not the best museum I've ever been to. My favorite piece of the whole place
Me having a drink in the national gardens
Lots of Grecian graffiti

Delphi

The view from our hotel outside of Meteora (atop of those big rocks sit 24 monestaries. Beautiful)
Nightlife in small town northern Greece
Monestary in Meteora
My first experience with one of these.....interesting.On to something more pleasant....
My first ever big boat ride....an overnighter with a cabin from Athens to Santorini Me and my afternoon wine overlooking the ocean in Santorini
Me and Pip splitting Thai food at the hostel (I'm so over Greek food....very heavy)
The boat Paul and I rode on our day trip around Santorini
Me at the top of the "volcano"....it wasn't much but it was beautiful up thereNext we went to an island off Santorini...See that winding white thing? That's the sidewalk I walked all the way to the top Had to get out of the way for the donkeys
Behind me in the distance are the sulfer hot springs...I jumped off the side of the boat and swam over....a great triumph considering I'm afraid of the ocean
Last we stopped in Oia for sunset....the town was beautiful, but the sunset that day wasn't great.

So the next morning I woke up with some of the girls for sunrise

Me, Sally, Rhiannon, and Sarah....all of them traveling alone...a great inspiration to me since I'll be one of them soon enough!
Paul and I rented a scooter for a day around the island. It was SO much fun! Look mom, I'm wearing my helmet!
We went to the beach and lounged around until sunset.....sunrise and sunset in Santorini. Not a bad life.

I'm in Crete now...here are the first pics taken in Hania, Crete

Octopus hanging to dry

....plenty more pics taken, but don't know when I'll get to post them. I'll try my best to get pics posted every few weeks. It's tough and takes a lot of time.

Miss you all!!

Pics!

2008-08-16T04:24:00.000-07:00

Well folks, sorry to say that this is it.....I have been here for almost an hour trying to upload pictures to no avail. This one of me on the plane where I got to sprawl out and sleep in my own row is all I was able to get posted. I'll keep trying each new place I go.

I'm in Santorini now and so far have just laid on the beach. The sand is black and hot like asphalt. We're pretty far out from the main town. We're staying only about a 5 minute walk to the beach. This has been my first experience in a hostel and so far so good. This one is clean and the people are great. There's a bunch of other women traveling alone. Since I'll be doing that quite soon I'm glad to have met them and gotten some inspiration, pointers, and good company.

Tommorow I'll be doing a tour of the volcano, sulfer springs, and the main town. I'm....I'll write more later once I've done more than just lay around and when I've planned where to go next.

Athens

2008-08-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Greece! Athens is HOT! I've been sweating like crazy, but I love it. Sorry for the let down folks, but once again I haven't been able to find internet where I can post pics.

I got in on Friday and pretty much just settled in, ate dinner, and went to bed. Yesterday (8/9) Paul and I visited the Parthenon and ancient Agora. That was pretty spectacular, as was the view of the city. We walked all around the city. It's not as dirty as I was expecting and it's really quiet right now because there's a national holiday going on. That's actually been really nice. People have been really helpful and most everyone speaks English.

Sunday (8/10) was a lazy day....reading books and getting rested. We went to a few other landmarks like the Temple of Zeus and an Olympic Stadium built in the 1800s. Then we wandered other areas of the city.

This morning (8/11) we basically made preparations for the next few days. We'll be here until Wednesday, then we take a tour to Meteora and Delphi. We come back to Athens Thursday evening and take a sleeper boat to the island of Santorini.

Hopefully I'll be able to find a place to post pics soon!!

The Next Adventure

2008-07-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

That's right, I'm unpacking and packing up again! I'm going to Europe baby! I leave August 7th to arrive on August 8th in Athens, Greece. 24 more days. Paul lands 2 hours after I do...then the adventure begins.

I've got the hotel reserved for Athens, but beyond that not much is planned other than going to the Greek islands, hugging the coastline until it cools off, then going inland to Eastern Europe where it's cheap until we finally make our way to Berlin.

Yes, it's a little scary. It's a big adventure with a lot of unknowns. It's got me all wound up and unable to sleep....but in a good way. It's exciting and no matter what happens I know I'll walk away with a lot of stories and a lot of life lessons.

So, stay tuned...you'll see more posting come August!

End of the Road....well sort of

2008-06-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

6/13/08: We take a bus to Flores, Guatemala. This bus was a little cramped....and no ACThe country side was really lush and beautifulSome of the houses were pretty run downSome weren't so bad
We were on dirt road for a looooong timeOne more reason I don't eat beef
Guatamalen's love their beef. There were a ton of cows around.We get to Flores in the early afternoon. It was a cute little city...apparently lots of gangsters though Somehow I don't think this is the gangsta's rideThis restaurant wasn't that great. The food was alright, but we waited forever and the power went out! But....nice view, eh?For dinner Paul, Mindy, Peter and I went to a much nicer place Yes, another door ;-)

After dinner we did some shopping. Mindy modeled...she and Paul each bought one of these.
Don't worry....I didn't buy this! And I didn't really smoke this Cuban cigar...but I did drink a lot of Mezcal that night6/14/08: The next day we headed to Tikal. At this point I was pretty sick of looking at ruins. But I still took some pics for my fans.
A Tucan took a bite!After I got sick of picture taking Paul kept me company in the shade. I like this view.

We didn't get to see many monkeys cuz we're all a buncha loud mouthes and scared them away, but here's a little one....Then we all went and hung in the trees for a while. Fun!
Flores is actually and island on lake Lago Petén Itzágotta get the feet in there
6/14/08 we take an overnight bus (hell)
to Antigua (heaven). Antigua was one of my favorite places for sure. I wish I had more time there.

We arrive at 6am and our rooms weren't ready yet, so we go for a walk to get breakfast. This is our hotel's courtyard. Pretty.One of my favorite shotsSo this is me getting my first good cup of tea in weeks....and chai latte at that! Look at the happy princess!
Oh what a pretty fountain....
With naked ladiesHere's a fancy smancy hotel that wouldn't let us in the gate. Freakin' cool doorPaul, Catherine and I went out for an evening stroll.

This was destroyed in an earthquake. I forget what type of building it used to be, but they keep it lit up and it's purty.

Here it is from a different angle. One of my favorite shots.

Downtown

Another favorite

We all stopped for a cocktail. Another favorite picture. Awwwww...

6/16/08: We get up at 6am to drive to an active volcano, Pacaya, about an hour and a half from Antigua

Hauling my ass up that mountain I felt like one of these....mooooo

But it was worth it for the view

That's a big pile of lava rock behind us

Just me and my shadow.Psssssttt I'm on fi-ya baby
Hot molten lavaPaul...the Pied Piper of stray dogs. He had a close call with one of them nipping him while taking food from his hand (it's very dangerous to have an animal bite in a place like this). Luckily it was just a surface wound. What's that saying about don't bite the hand that feeds you? I guess that doesn't apply to a starving animal who nobody feeds.

Last Supper
And, of course, drinks afterwards

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

To be continued in Europe. Stay tuned.

La Isla Bonita

2008-06-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is totally out of order, but since I'm going to Europe with Paul for an indefinite amount of time, many of you are asking to see pictures.....so here you go. This is us in Antigua.

Now, on to the chronological order of things....

Have I said there's a lot of waiting for transportation during this trip? Well, we get a little bored. Here's Catherine (our token Brit...no offense Catherine....I was the token Gringo) balancing a fake apple on her head as we wait for our (terrible, awful) bus to Belize. 6/11/08:

We eventually catch a bus to Belize City, then a speed boat to Caye Caulker.

Paul likes to listen to his music whenever he can....or more like whenever I'm not talking his ear off.

Me looking silly in my headband, but my hair is outta my face and I can pose with Mindy. It was about a 45 minute boat ride.

We arrive to Caye Caulker and it's gorgeous.

How did they know I was coming????

Again, how did they know I was coming??

I woke up the next morning 6/12/08 (at what I thought was 7am, but was really 6am) and went out to the dock to meditate.

Everyone on the island was really friendly. This dude wandered up beside me as I was meditating and nuzzled me. He kept me company the rest of the time....
Waiting for our boat to shark and stingray alley....very different from our bust station hang outs, this is a wait I can totally handle.

I'm too sexy for my shirt too sexy for my shirt
So sexy it hurts
And I'm too sexy for Milan too sexy for Milan
New York and Japan
....yeah, not so much in this gear.

Hmmmmm.....wonder why we didn't see any sharks. Could it be the same reason we didn't see many monkeys in the forest? Little bit of traffic jam....
Cool pic! Guess who that is in the background......
Me very happy after swimming in the ocean with sting rays. That stupid Crocodile Hunter. What did he do wrong? Stingrays are very peaceful creatures. They freaked me out like crazy when they swam under me, but I still liked them a lot.

Side note...isn't Trish a hot mamma?

This would be my pouty face after Sylvia told me she saw dolphins and I missed them. Princess no like. She no happy.

Just another day waiting for princess's lunch

Yeah....So....Most places have a REAL safe. At our hotel in Caye Caulker I asked the guy for a safe and he wrapped my travel wallet in masking tape and put my room number on it (that says C up....as in C second floor) to go in his personal safe since he lived on site. Interestingly enough, I trusted him more than I trusted other people I left all my cash with.

On the way to dinner this guy stopped me and made me this hat. He cracked me up....or was it that he was on crack? Either way....

Me and my buddy Sylvia....lovely lady that she is.
We're both a little sun kissed.

BEACH!!

2008-06-24T23:16:00.001-07:00

A little Nutella never hurt anyone....especially on a bus trip. 6/7/08 after Chichen Itza we head to Cancun. We went out to this world renowned club, Coco Bongo. It was a blast, but I don't have pictures at the moment. My roomie, Mel, is going to send some to me. 6/8/08 We take a ferry to Isla Mujeres
Ahhhhh.......just what I needed at this point
I slept, read, and played frisbee in the ocean all day.
did I say ahhhh???
6/9/08 We take a bus to Playa del Mar....here's what I also saw a lot of on the bus. Mel sleeping. That girl could sleep all day on a bus.
The weather wasn't great in Playa del Mar and honestly....I hated it there. It was like being in America....a cheapy crappy touristy spot in America.
HA! I finally caught a good picture of this guy. The girl behind him is Paulina...she was guiding another tour that was basically following us. 6/10/08 we catch a bus to Talum
Lots of iguanas!

These ruins were on the ocean. BEEE-U-TE-FUL!

There was one spot where we all could go swimming, but I didn't get any pics. It was amazing to swim there, but there were a ton of people and it wasn't worth getting the camera out.

Chichen Itza

2008-06-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's something we did a lot of...waiting at bus stations. 6/7/08 we get on a bus for Chichen Itza on our way to Cancun.It was a very cold bus ride and the emergency blanket that my brother gave me finally came in handy. I felt like a dork, but I was warm!
more ruins....

WATCH OUT! The monster is gonna eat you!!

Here's a good idea of what the archeologists find and have to put back together. Basically a pile of rubble.
This was a building dedicated to the God (or Godess) of fertility. They say if you stand near it you can get pregnant. I took about 10 steps back. Yep, that's a penis
And a vagina

There were a ton of pillars
It was muy caliente' (freakin hot)
Ernesto said Chichen Itza is the doorway to GringoLand. He was right. It was really touristy....there were even dancers that went around from spot to spot (carrying their whole boom box set with them on a tray).
Say NOT to drugs...another grammatically incorrect sign
And off we go to the real GringoLand....Cancun

Merida

2008-06-24T18:05:00.001-07:00

6/5/08: we took a bus from Palenque to Merida. In case you're wondering what my view was on all those bus trips this would be it...book, handbag, usually something covering my legs, and some snacks strewn about. Ernesto trying to get some zzzzzz
Crappy shot, but my first view of the ocean!
We arrive to Merida at 5pm, but since happy hour doesn't start till 6pm we walk around a bit. Merida was definatley more commercialized...as you can see by the Burger King. There were lots of "we speak English" signs and sinage that was in Spanish and English. Once it hit 6pm, we went to Happy Hour.....
And stayed the rest of the night....
The food at this place was really amazing and after dinner this guy made flaming coffee

And Trish enjoyed it
Some of us went out for an evening stroll...

The next day we did some more touring of the city

There were lots of carraiges to rent, but the horses looked in such bad shape I couldn't bear to go for a ride.
We went to a museum. Did you know that the Mayans used jade for dentistry? See the green flecks?

They also practiced body modification. Apparently having a funny shaped head was hot back then.... I've actually seen babies recently with helmets because their heads have flattened out due to only sleeping on their backs. Apparently flat heads aren't hot any more...
I got through the museum pretty quickly and sat outside to wait for the others
Mel joined me and we decided to take a rest together
This one's for my bro....there were bugs everywhere, man!

Derek having some quiet time with God
An art exhibit outside the church
A nice door at the government building
Lots of cool art there
Peter admiring the art work

Something I saw a lot of.....Mel taking self portraits.
We headed toward another public market. It started to rain and the smell from the hot streets was foul. I wished I had just gone back toward the hotel. Some things at the market were beautiful though
It was so hot near this machine that makes fresh tortillas. I can't imagine working here.

This may be one reason the markets stink to high hell. They leave meat out everywhere. Yuck.

Lots of mangy stray dogs around. Poor pups.
Me, Derek, and Mel bought tickets for a ballet show that was accompanied by a symphony.
We got balcony seating, dead center, for $8 US

The ballernias weren't really great, but the symphony was nice
Going to the ballet is an every day thang for Mr. Derek I could show those ballerinas how it's done....

Puebla to Palenque

2008-06-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

5/29/08: From Mexico City we took a two hour bus ride (that was nuthin) to Puebla. After getting ready to leave my job the week before, I felt like the city was the last thing I needed so this was a nice change.

Looking out our hotel window. I spent a lot of time out in the courtyard reading and journaling (I had had a bit too much tequila the night before). What you can't see are the 3 or 4 couples that parked their asses on benches and made out for hours.

This is inside someone's home...imagine?

This was Derek's dinner. Pretty, isn't it?

I tried some of his cacutus.

Ernesto has a hard time taking a nice photo ;-)
They had a live band where we had dinner and this song (played behind the guitarist's head) was dedicated to our table!
5/30/08: A four hour bus ride brings us to Oaxaca. Almost as soon as we started our city tour a group of kids spotted us as tourists and came up, hands out, asking for pesos. Peter, gave in and handed out 10 pesos a piece ($1 US). They pegged him for a sucker and brought over their baby brother.

More churches The market here wasn't quite as smelly as in Mexico City....
.....but they did have a local delicacy...grasshoppers. Yum. Very fiberous.

Trish is adverterous and tries one.

....then Peter. After that face can you blame me for not trying one?

5/31/08: The ruins, Monte Alban

Lunch after our visit to the ruins was YUMMY!
For a good part of my trip I didn't have much of an appetite. I only landed up eating half of this delicious soup....but I managed to get down two beers, so don't worry, my caloric intake was enough to keep my weight on.
I just liked this guys shirt against color of the wall.

We took an overnight bus to San Cristobal on 5/31. It rained all night, was foggy, and the roads were really windy. I didn't get much sleep that night. We got to San Cristobal around 9a.m. We had brunch and took the public transport (which were basically junky vans) to Chamula.

See my little friend?
There weren't any more pics of Chamula. Why you ask? Well, upon arrival our guide explained that the town was run by 'local authorities' and that pictures are not advisable. Basically the Mexican government has been known to send people in as 'tourists' to take pictures of the local authorities and then have them killed. It's too bad because they had a very interesting church there unlike any other. It hasn't had a priest for many years and local healers come and sit in front of statues of saints to pray. Fireworks are set off to let the locals know that the healers are in town and at church.

That night we went out to a bar and I salsa danced all night.

The next day we had a free day and that was when I took the yoga class and met up with that teacher I may go down and sub for. Couldn't you see me living in this little town?

I just had to take a picture of Peter's Subway sandwich because they don't make 'em that pretty in the states!

6/3/08: On our way to Panlenque we stopped at Agua Azul (Blue Water) which weren't very blue because of all the rain the region had been experiencing.
I also started taking pictures of grammatically incorrect signage (there was a lot of it).

Next we stopped at Misol Ha, which was even more stunning. Here's a random abandoned pizza joint on the walk to the falls

I was able to walk on a path behind these falls. Wow, it was such a phenominal experience to feel the power of the water. Needless to say I got soaked.
This was a really good restaurant. We landed up going back for dinner the next night and breakfast the next morning!
Just a pretty picture of raindrops in the pool.
Random shots from around town....

6/4/08: Palenque Ruins. I really liked this place.....

This little boy spoke 5 languages (English was not one of them). He helped out our guide on our tour for 2 hours pointing out things and giving information only in hopes to sell us some cheesy necklaces for 10 pesos. Of course, we all bought one.

Look closely and you can see the outline of someone being sacrificed....

Derek is so silly....

We went on a walk through the surrounding forest.
This is called a tourist tree....because it's reddish and peels. Hehe
We had to cross a small river a few times

Those Keen sandals and my quick drying pants really came in handy.

So at the end of our little jungle walk I saw this sign which basically says "Restricted zone. Do not pass."

After the ruins I tried to go into town to make a call home (unsuccessfully) and on the way back to the hotel it started to downpour. I was (again) drenched. It was actually really fun walking back in the rain. When I came back I found Mel and Derek in their swimmies playing frisbee.

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of me on the whole trip...and one of my favorite memories.
My purse and wallet were damp for days, but it was worth it.

Stay tuned...we're about half way through the pictures. I'll get more up when I can!!

Another Day in Mexico City

2008-06-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

A walking tour of Mexico City 5/28/08The center of the city (yes, another church)
See the stone roads?
Out for a beer while the boys watch soccer (aka football). So, here's a story I haven't told my mother....our guide, Ernesto, told us that there are two religions in Mexico: Catholicism and football. He was right. And unfortunatly in this bar he was the only one rooting for his team. He was (stupidly) quite vocal about it and quickly drew the attention of everyone else in the bar. It wasn't long before a goal was scored by the other team and about 20 Mexicans felt the need to rub Ernesto's face in it--literally. They all rushed toward us and screamed at Ernesto what I would interpret as "your team sucks, our team rules. Who's your daddy?" One guy was literally rubbing his team's jersey in Ernesto's face. Nobody came after us girls, but I was sitting right next to Ernesto with no way of escaping these crazy people they call fans. The bartenders got them back in their seats, after which they proceded to throw limes and ice at Ernesto.

After the game was over (it was a tie) all the drunken Mexicans came up and apologized for being so very 'passionate' about their sports....oh, and "Welcome to Mexico" they said.

Above is the entrance to the first smelly market we went to. When we got off the subway I was gagging. I didn't take many pictures becuase I just wanted to get out of there. Besides being smelly it made me claustrophobic because the isle ways were so narrow and the goods being sold were stacked up to the ceiling. Not to mention it was just a bunch of junk as far as I could see.
Derek, Peter, Mel, and I decided to go on a gondola ride. A few people had gone the day before and said it was worth while. Well, this our day to get fleeced in Mexico. The gondolas charge a flat rate, but these guys decided to charge us per person (I think it's called a stupid-gringo fee or something like that). We thought something didn't seem right, but went ahead and paid. As we were leaving we saw the big signs everywhere (in Spanish, but still clear as day) stating that there was not a per person fee.

Derek (left) and Peter (right)
My roommate, Mel.

Would it surprise you to know that after she did this and got some of that water on her hands she got deathly ill for three days?

All in all, a good time....and lots of interesting stories to tell. I liked Mexico City in some ways, but we were there three nights and I would have rather that be just one night and stayed two extra nights somewhere else...stay tuned for more pictures and you'll see why!!

The Beginning

2008-06-19T00:32:00.001-07:00

Here I am starting out my trip at 4:30am at Bradley International Airport 5/26/08My first margarita with the group
5/27/08: These ruins, El Ateloco, were right in down town Mexico City. If you look hard enough you can see the condos in the background!

This is where my door fetish began. I've got lots of pictures of doors....but don't worry, I won't post them all.
I have a picture just like this of a church in Boston
There was a huge church (imagine that....a church in Mexico) called the Basilica de Guadalupe. It's had up to 40,000 people there at a time. There were beautiful gardens surrounding it.

These are the first ruins we visited called Teotihuacan. It was super hot (again, big surprise for Mexico, huh?). I was disappointed that most of the ruins we visited, including this one, were mostly reconstructed by archeologists and is mostly just guess work. Still, they were pretty amazing. I enjoyed the stone carvings the most as they were the closest thing to authentic you could see.
I'm about to go for a climb!!
Mountain pose at the top of the pyramid.
Another theme begins....you'll see lots of pictures of my feet ;-)
You can see some of the original colors on these beams.
Cool, huh?
I took lots more pictures, but I picked the ones I like most...

It's a long process to upload them, so I'll be doing a few days worth at a time, so keep checking for more!

Don't worry Mom, I'm alive....

2008-06-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

But I can't say much.....I'm on an island in Belize called Caye Caulker with THE slowest internet connection yet.

Sorry for the cliffhanger....more later.

Hot and Sleepy in Merida

2008-06-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

San Cristobal was lovely....except that it started to rain. At first it was okay-a nice break from the heat. The first night there we went out to eat and salsa dancing. That was a blast. The next day we could have gone horseback riding or for a speed boat tour through a river/rainforest, but with the weather we all decided to do a bit of exploring. That turned out fine because I landed up finding a yoga studio and taking a class.

The teacher is originally from Louisiana, but relocated to San Cristobal 5 years ago. It was so amazing to practice yoga with these women. We partnered up and did an assisted cobra with each other. My partner was pregnant and had to use props. The OM we shared at the end of practice was strong and beautiful.

After class I asked the teacher out to lunch. She and I had a lovely time chatting at an organic vegetarian cafe. Come to find out, she has a friend who is building a health and well being center with a yoga studio. She plans to dedicate more time to teaching yoga, but was worried about having to leave the studio without classes for six weeks while she travels at the end of this year. I told her I might know someone who would be interested in coming to stay for a month and sub her classes!!! Me, me, me!!!

When we were done I overheard someone talking about massage and asked if they could recommend someone. She did and later that day I came back for a delightful one hour massage...for $20!! I do believe that was one of my best days yet...magical.

The next morning (still raining) we were on a bus to Palenque. On the way we stopped at 2 waterfalls. Normally they are blue and we would have been able to swim, but because of the rain they were brown and crazy strong. Foiled by the rain again. But, I was able to walk out underneath and behind one of the waterfalls (another amazing experience).

We arrived at Palenque and had a fabulous dinner (the place was so good we went back for dinner the next night and for breakfast the next day). Then we all hung out under the covered patio drinking, chatting, playing Yatzee, and eating delivery pizza (still raining).

The next morning gave us a slight reprieve from the rain as we went to my favorite ruins yet. These were set in the rainforest. I wish I could put up pictures. This little boy followed us around the whole time helping out the guide just so we would buy his necklaces afterward for $1. After lunch and a swim I went with a friend into town to make a call (you cannot call international from a hotel phone) and on the way back it poured. I mean it realllllly poured. We landed up completely soaked and when we got back two of our other friends were playing frisbie, so we joined in. That was another favorite memory thus far.

Yesterday we boarded a bus for NINE hours to Merida. Nine freakin hours. The good news is that it was happy hour and we got 2 for 1 cocktails near the hotel. Today we spent the day exploring the city and except for two quick downpours it has been hot and sunny. Thankfully!! Tonight myself and a few of the others are going to a ballet and symphony performance at a beautiful theater.....after the 2 for 1 happy hour of course.

Some more fun observations:

*there are old school VW bugs everywhere throughout Mexico. Everywhere.
*Mayans used to use Jade as fillings for their teeth.
*I saw huge live beetles decorated in jewels.
*The public markets stink no matter what city you are in. I am still gagging over here.
*Mexican signs printed in English are very often slightly grammatically incorrect. Ex: Please dont put the paper on the toilet OR Dangerous not to swim.
*the average and acceptable tip here is 10%....and the service is not great. Typically half of our food comes out at once and the other half of our food comes out about 15 minutes later. The waiter can almost never remember who ordered what and is always giving us someone elses order.
*The damn keyboards here are all screwy. Its hard to figure out how to get to an apostrophe for example.

Adios for now....Im off to get ready for happy hour!!

Greetings from San Cristobal

2008-06-01T07:29:00.001-07:00

It's hard finding time to blog between sightseeing, resting, and beers....I've given up on the idea of uploading photos. The technology here is way behind (I guess that's not a big surprise). I've gotten some amazing shots though and will dedicate a whole blog entry of pics when I get back into the US.

It's kind of hard to write about places without accompanying photos. Since I last wrote, I've really settled in and actually feel like I'm on vacation. I think the hussle and bussle of Mexico City kept me kind of wound up when what I really needed was to relax. Now that we've been in other cities that are more relaxed, I'm feeling so much better. Pueblo was a beautiful city with beautiful architecture, but I spent a good portion of my time there sitting on a bench people watching, reading, and writing in my journal.

We spent the last day and a half in Oaxaca, which was also beautiful. The landscape was stunning, but the architecture was better in Pueblo. Oaxaca was full of beggers. Mostly, they were little kids (they spotted us right off and came up hands out asking for pesos), old women, and handicapped people. Guess what we saw? More churches. I thought New England had a lot, but Mexico wins the prize on that front.

We went to a market where some people in our group tasted a local delicacy...grasshoppers. I didn't. My nose has been super sensitive here causing me to gag at times, so I didn't intend on taking that chance. Instead I tasted a local treat of Mezcal (similar to tequilla). We also went to more ruins. About 90% of the ruins have been reconstructed, so it's hard to know exactly how accurate they are, but the stone carvings are really amazing. After that I spent the day at the pool (you guessed it...drinking beers). There was a group of preteens that were there from Mexico City on vacation and they sang Beetles and Madonna songs to us and then practiced their English with us. That was sweet.

Last night I spent the night curled up on a bus. Now I'm here in San Cristobal and we'll be exploring here for 2 days. I'm going to go hoarseback riding and on a speedboat tour. The weather here is much more damp and cool (so far).

Just a few fun details:

*I'm not at all hungry (can you imagine?)
*No tummy rumblings yet, but my roommate, Mel, wasn't so lucky
*Meals and drinks are a little more expensive than I thought they would be, but I think it might be due to the fact that Ernesto, our guide, is bringing us to all the safe Westerner friendly places so that we don't get sick.
*There are tons of people just hanging around the ruins selling junk to tourists. I don't know how they support themselves on this as I haven't seen one person sell anything yet

That's about it for now...gotta run to meet the group for breakfast! Adios!!!

hola!

2008-05-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well, unfortunately, I´m unable to figure out how to upload photos from this internet cafe...even if I could I probably wouldn´t because the internet connection is so slow I´d be here all day....

So far, the trip has been amazing, beautiful, nerve wracking, exciting, and exhausting!

Silly tourist mistake numero uno: when going to the bank to exchange dollars for pesos, I thought I was being safe by putting most of my money and my passport under my dress, so if I was mugged I wouldn´t loose much. Well, to my embarassment I was asked for my passport. In front of a room full of elderly Mexicans and a male teller I had to explain that I needed a bathroom because it was up my dress.....I´m sure that teller had a good laugh with his buddies over a beer over that.

Mexico City had lots of beautiful sights. It was also extremely smelly. I literally dry heaved a few times. There was a whole lot of poverty...even in the business districts most people seemed either very poor or fairly poor.
We went to some ruins, a museum, and toured all over the city (man, there are a lot of churches....and a lot of couples making out all over the place).

Oh...and all of my travelmates are great! 2 couples, a pair of friends, and 4 of us single travelers. The tour guide is fantastic and so far I´m super glad I´ve gone through this company (many thanks to Debbie). All of the details are taken care of and it´s been great not having to worry about anything.

Now we´re in Pueblo (about 2 hours south of Mexico City). It´s much more relaxed here...and much less smelly. The city is very beautiful. There seems to be a middle class here as well. I was asked to talk to a group of school girls so they could practice their English. Now, I´m going out to explore more!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts...

2008-05-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Four more days and I'll be on a plane to Me-hi-co. For those of you who haven't seen my trip yet, click here.

Stay tuned for pictures and postings from random internet cafes....