Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Christmas in London
These pictures dont really do it justice. I went out walking tonight before I flew back to the states to try to snap a few photos of all the Christmas lights that are up around town. Its very beautiful!
German Christmas Markets
For the second year in a row, I travelled to Germany to experience the German Christmas Markets. My friends Cate and Kristin joined me on this mini-weekend adventure. We went to Dusseldorf and Cologne and both cities provided great shopping options and christmas culture. I came back to London with one or two new santas and one or two new ornaments! Here are jsut a few pictures - cate has most of them as she was on camera duty for the weekend.
Wet and Windy Ireland
Jason and I spent a quick three days on the west coast of Ireland in early November. We flew to Shannon, drove up to Galway, made it to the Clifs of Moher just before dark, headed down to Killarney and finished with a few beers at a castle in Limerick. The weather was typical Ireland in November - wet, windy, cold, wet windy....Good thing there is an Irish pub on every corner in Ireland. We enjoyed the Irish Coffees, the Guinness and the Cider. I love the Irish countryside and really enjoy myself everytime I visit - no matter what the weather!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Finally a Fall Day
This weekend it was cool, crisp and feeling a bit fall like in London. I spent the 2 days beginning my Christmas shopping (Harrod's Christmas World is going to be my downfall), as well as searching the city desperately for some Halloween decorations. Unfortunately, Halloween is not a very popular holiday here so my home decor will be quite limited this year. On Sunday I walked through Hyde Park (which I love) and took a few shots in the afternoon sunshine.
Birthday Tea
I spent my 31st birthday in true British style. On Saturday Jenny Dixon and Suzie Wensley took me out for brunch in St James Park and then we spent the afternoon touring Buckingham Palace and its gardens. On Sunday I met up with a group of girlfriends for a real British Tea Party. We went to Fortnum and Mason - a historic site on Piccadilly - for a lovely afternoon of champagne, tea, sandwiches and cakes. I will always remember it!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Istanbul, Turkey
Jason and I spent last weekend in Istanbul, Turkey. Another city that more than surpassed our expectations. We stayed in the main tourist area in the shadow of the Blue Mosque and from there we were able to visit all of the main sites in the heart of the city. Saturday included a run along the bank of the Bosphorus Straight, a visit to the Aya Sophia church (built in 537), shopping in the Grand Bazaar (approx 2500 shops under one roof) and a night out in Taxim (where I'm convinced that 10 million of the 12 million people that live in this capital city were out for the evening). Taxim was really insane - people everywhere - and building 5 stories tall all connected to each other lining street after street. The building has a bar or restaurant on every floor and each one was a bit different. One that we went in had a cafe on the ground floor, then a salsa club, then a live rock band, then a techno dance club on the top floor. We ended up spending about 3 hours in one place where they had live Turkish pop music which was fantastic.
Sunday was spent exploring the Hippodrome area, visiting the Blue Mosque, and taking the ferry over to the Asia side of the city to visit the other part of Istanbul. On the other bank, we walked through crowded streets of fruit stands and fish mongers, and played backgammon and drank apple tea with the locals.
Overall the city was much more westernized then i anticipated, including a Nike Town and a light rail system. The people were outgoing and friendly and the food was fresh and delicious. We enjoyed the apple tea, the meat and chicken kabobs and sandwiches, the pistachio baklava and even tried smoking the hookah (apple tobacco) to fit in with the locals. I recommend the city to all adventures and hope to go back to Turkey sometime to explore the many other interesting regions of the country.
Sunday was spent exploring the Hippodrome area, visiting the Blue Mosque, and taking the ferry over to the Asia side of the city to visit the other part of Istanbul. On the other bank, we walked through crowded streets of fruit stands and fish mongers, and played backgammon and drank apple tea with the locals.
Overall the city was much more westernized then i anticipated, including a Nike Town and a light rail system. The people were outgoing and friendly and the food was fresh and delicious. We enjoyed the apple tea, the meat and chicken kabobs and sandwiches, the pistachio baklava and even tried smoking the hookah (apple tobacco) to fit in with the locals. I recommend the city to all adventures and hope to go back to Turkey sometime to explore the many other interesting regions of the country.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Prague Sept 2008
Jason and I traveled to Eastern Europe for the first time last weekend as we visited Prague in the Czech Republic. We dined on Friday evening in a stone cellar that was built in the 12th century, then tested out the "club scene". Saturday we stumbled upon an Adidas 5k and 10k international road race and could bear to just sit and watch so we both signed up and took part. In my opinion, its tough to beat seeing the city by running through the streets at sunset. Lucky for me the women only had to run 5k, unlucky for Jason, the men's race was a 10k. We both ran well and really enjoyed seeing the city and running with such elite athletes. Dinner was in a great restaurant in the main square where a live jazz band was playing next to our table. Sunday we spent the day touring the Prague castle, the old city, the Charles Bridge and getting lost in the winding streets around the main square. We ate at a delightful Italian joint, i promise we had Czech food and drink at lunch, and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the city. I would put Prague towards the top of the list of favorite European capital cities and would definitely repeat the visit if i ever got the chance.
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Prague
Jason and I traveled to Eastern Europe for the first time last weekend as we visited Prague in the Czech Republic. We dined on Friday evening in a stone cellar that was built in the 12th century, then tested out the "club scene". Saturday we stumbled upon an Adidas 5k and 10k international road race and could bear to just sit and watch so we both signed up and took part. In my opinion, its tough to beat seeing the city by running through the streets at sunset. Lucky for me the women only had to run 5k, unlucky for Jason, the men's race was a 10k. We both ran well and really enjoyed seeing the city and running with such elite athletes. Dinner was in a great restaurant in the main square where a live jazz band was playing next to our table. Sunday we spent the day touring the Prague castle, the old city, the Charles Bridge and getting lost in the winding streets around the main square. We ate at a delightful Italian joint, i promise we had Czech food and drink at lunch, and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the city. I would put Prague towards the top of the list of favorite European capital cities and would definitely repeat the visit if i ever got the chance.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sound of Music/Sound of Mozart Weekend in Austria
For the August bank holiday weekend (a week before labor day in the states) I went with 4 girlfriends to Austria to explore Salzburg and the history of the Von Trapp family and Vienna and the history of Strauss and Mozart. We had a blast riding bicycles through the old town of Salzburg, visiting many of the famous sites from the film, all the while singing and imitating the family as much as we could. We drank good Austrian beer, ate pretzels, sausages and strudel and loved every minute of it. You will see from the photos, this was much more of a "silly" girls trip. Sunday and Monday morning we spent in Vienna - an impressive city with a proper and governmental feel - reminded me a lot of DC - just the buildings are a bit older. The city was VERY clean and the parks were quite lovely. We enjoyed the Strauss and Mozart performance on Sunday evening and had drinks at a cool bar overlooking the main square and the amazing mosaic tiled roof of the cathedral in the heart of the city.
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