outoftheswamlows

Author: alison

  • Chapter 33: Enchanted

    Chapter 33: Enchanted

    The two weeks we spent in Glasgow since I last wrote were nothing short of magical. We moved into our friend’s amazing apartment and all felt right in the world. To give you an idea of how low our standards have gotten, I almost cried on our first day there because she had a sharp knife and a cutting board! ?To be able to prep carrots for the first time since May was amazing! 

    I saw a post on Instagram about how Ubers need a smell rating and I think that Air BnBs need one even more! If there is anyone reading this that works for Air BnB please consider my suggestion. It would help A LOT! And, just so you know, a scented plug-in doesn’t count. We know that it is a band aid for some other underlying issue and it is your responsibility for finding and remedying it. Just saying. 

    Dave has been in a busy season with work so it was awesome that on Friday the 27th of September he took the day off and we caught the train to Edinburgh for the weekend. I am happy to report that it was as wonderful as people say it is. It definitely lived up to the hype. We arrived early in the afternoon on Friday and were able to check into our hotel early. We had never stayed at a Yotel before and it was lovely. I highly recommend it and will definitely consider staying at one again. It was also in a great location so it made it very easy to walk to all the sites. 

    The sun stayed out for us and it was luxurious. We did and saw a lot (see the copious amount of pictures shared below) and we also took our time and rested when we felt like it. And by rested I mean grabbed a pint at some of the coolest pubs we’ve visited since we’ve been in Europe. The Last Drop (1477), The White Hart Inn (1516) and Greyfriars Bobby (1873) were definitely the most noteworthy. I did a little research before we went and it felt good to just go where the spirit moved us. After we checked in on Friday, we walked Queen Street to the Royal Mile and strolled through Old Town and Grassmarket. The Castle was all booked up so we made reservations to go on Saturday. 

    Saturday we started our day in Stockbridge and had a delicious breakfast at Cafe Gallo. Then we explored a little in that area. We visited Circus Lane and Bailie Bar (1870s). Then we followed a path along the River Leith to Dean Village which was super cute! Next it was time to go to the Edinburgh Castle. The castle was nothing short of spectacular and definitely worth the visit even just for the views alone. We also really enjoyed the National War Museum. 

    After we toured the Castle we went to the Writers Museum that is crammed in a tower in Lady Stair’s Close just off the Royal Mile and celebrates the lives of three giants of Scottish Literature – Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson. After checking that out we found another cute pub called Jolly Judge which dates back to the 1600s. We finished off our Saturday with a walk past City Chambers, Holyrood Palace and a climb up the Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park to get a view of Arthur’s Seat and the town. It was VERY windy and a great way to end the day. 

    On Sunday Dave slept in while I hiked up Calton Hill which is a UNESCO World Heritage site known as “the Athens of the North”. After that I met up with Dave at the enormous National Museum where we spent hours learning about Scottish history, science, art and much much more. You could easily spend an entire day taking it all in. It was a truly wonderful weekend and nice to have that quality time together. 

    Last week in Glasgow continued its wonderfulness. I took the train to Stirling on Tuesday. Toured the Castle and the Church of the Holy Rude, saw the Old Town Jail and just enjoyed wandering around town. I accidentally got on the wrong train coming back to Glasgow and ended up in Edinburgh again!?It added about an hour and 45 minutes to my trip, and I was able to finish the book I was reading. As you have heard the Scottish Countryside is beautiful so it offered lovely views for my trip. 

    On the 5th of October we bid farewell to Glasgow. My heart was very full from our amazing stay. I am completely enchanted by Scotland and I already can’t wait to go back. Now we are in Bergen, Norway for three weeks. We got settled in our place on Saturday evening and went to the grocery store. Which was a good thing because they were all closed on Sunday. The store is only a 15 minute walk away and is about 200 steps from the street to our third floor apartment. The reward for the climb is one amazing view. 

    Sunday we made breakfast and then hiked up one of the seven main mountains that surround Bergen. They Seven Mountains are Ulriken 643 m (2110 ft), Fløyfjellet 400 m (1300 ft), Rundemanen 568 m (1684 ft), Sandviksfjellet 417 m (1368ft), Damsgårdfjellet 317 m (1040 ft), Lyderhorn 396 m (1299 ft) and Løvstakken 477 m (1565 ft). We hiked Mount Ulriken. After a hearty warm-up climb there were 1333 steps that lead to the summit. It was a rigorous hike and it was comical to have kids that didn’t even look old enough to stand pass us on the trail. I swear Norwegians are part mountain goat! It is said that Norway is one of the top 10 healthiest countries in the World and it makes sense because it is too expensive to do anything other than exercise. Dave bought himself a beer at the summit and it was $10 for less than 12 ounces of beer! To give you another example. Our weekly grocery shopping has typically been running us around $35. When we went to the store on Saturday night it cost $90! It is good motivation for us to eat and drink at home. 

    Yesterday the sun came out and so I went out and did some more exploring. I walked past Lake Tvetevannet on my way to see the incredible Fantoft Stave Church that is in an enchanted forest. The church was built in Sogn in 1170 and moved to Fantoft in 1883 and has some of the most amazing woodwork I’ve ever seen! You can read more about it here if you like. https://fantoftstavkirke.no/historie-2/   From there I walked to see Gamlehaugen Castle, which is the King’s official residence in Bergen, and saw some spectacular fall colors along Nordåsvannet Bay. The forecast for the foreseeable future is rain and we’re trying to manifest at least one clear night so that we can see the Northern Lights while we’re here. 

    Dave left for a Crypto Currency Conference in Amsterdam this morning and will be there until Friday. I’m hoping there are some breaks in the rain so that I am able to do some more exploring, and there is no bad weather just bad clothing. Amiright? Next weekend, if it is clear, our plan is to hike three more of the mountains. There is a path that leads up to Sandviksfjellet and goes over Rundemanen on the way to Floyfjellet. It takes 2-3 hours so hopefully we will be able to conquer all three. I’m also excited to be in a country of my heritage. My maternal grandmother was 100% Norwegian. We’ve never been to Norway so I’m excited to learn more about this country and its people during our time here.  

    Sending you love wherever you are!

    Alison 🙂

    The view of the castle from Queen Street Gardens in Edinburgh
    The view of the castle from Queen Street Gardens in Edinburgh
    The Royal Mile-Edinburgh
    The Royal Mile-Edinburgh
    St. Giles Cathedral-Edinburgh
    St. Giles’ Cathedral-Edinburgh
    Grassmarket Street-Edinburgh
    Grassmarket Street-Edinburgh
    A view of Tolbooth Kirk from Victoria Street in Edinburgh
    A view of Tolbooth Kirk from Victoria Street in Edinburgh
    Victoria Street-Edinburgh
    Victoria Street-Edinburgh
    Cafe Gallo-Stockbridge
    Cafe Gallo-Stockbridge
    Stockbridge Clock Tower
    Stockbridge Clock Tower
    Circus Lane Stockbridge
    Circus Lane Stockbridge
    St. Bernard's Well
    St. Bernard’s Well
    The River Leith
    The River Leith
    Dean Village
    Dean Village
    St. Cuthbert's Church with the Castle in the background-Edinburgh
    St. Cuthbert’s Church with the Castle in the background-Edinburgh
    The entrance to Edinburgh Castle flanked by William Wallace on the right, and Robert the Bruce on the left
    The entrance to Edinburgh Castle flanked by William Wallace on the right, and Robert the Bruce on the left
    Views from Edinburgh Castle
    Views from Edinburgh Castle
    Edinburgh skyline seen from Edinburgh Castle
    More views!
    National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle
    National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle
    National War Museum
    National War Museum
    St. Margaret's Chapel-Edinburgh Castle
    St. Margaret’s Chapel-Edinburgh Castle
    Scottish War Memorial on the left and the Royal Palace on the right
    Scottish War Memorial on the left and the Royal Palace on the right
    The Writers Museum
    The Writers’ Museum
    Inside the Writers Museum
    Inside the Writers’ Museum
    City Chambers
    City Chambers
    Salisbury Crags
    Salisbury Crags
    The view of Holyrood Palace from Salisbury Crags
    The view of Holyrood Palace from Salisbury Crags
    Arthur's Seat
    Arthur’s Seat
    Views from Salisbury Crags
    Views from Salisbury Crags
    Alison and Dave windswept on Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh
    Just a wee bit windy!
    More views of beautiful Edinburgh
    More views of beautiful Edinburgh
    Calton Hill
    Calton Hill
    Nelson Monument on Calton Hill
    Nelson Monument on Calton Hill
    National Monument on Calton Hill
    National Monument on Calton Hill
    Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat from Calton Hill
    Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat from Calton Hill
    Edinburgh rooftops and the Firth of Forth from Calton Hill
    There aren’t many views that I didn’t take a picture of 😉
    Dugald Stewart Monument-Calton Hill
    Dugald Stewart Monument-Calton Hill
    The National Museum-Edinburgh
    The National Museum-Edinburgh
    The Woodwrae Stone
    The Woodwrae Stone
    The tomb of Mary Queen of Scots
    The tomb of Mary Queen of Scots
    The intricate locking mechanism of a trunk from The Company of Scotland used in trade with Africa and the Indies
    The intricate locking mechanism of a trunk from The Company of Scotland used in trade with Africa and the Indies’
    The science wing of the National Museum. There is SO much to see these pictures don't even touch the vastness of it!
    The science wing of the National Museum. There is SO much to see these pictures don’t even touch the vastness of it!
    Stirling Castle in Stirling Scotland
    Stirling Castle in Stirling Scotland
    The views from Stirling Castle
    The views from Stirling Castle
    The view of the Wallace Monument from Stirling Castle
    The view of the Wallace Monument from Stirling Castle
    The Church of the Holy Rude-Stirling
    The Church of the Holy Rude-Stirling
    Beautiful stained glass window inside of the Church of the Holy Rude
    Beautiful stained glass window inside of the Church of the Holy Rude
    Stained glass window in the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling
    More beautiful stained glass
    The Old Jail-Stirling
    The Old Jail-Stirling
    The view from our apartment in Bergen, Norway
    The view from our apartment in Bergen, Norway
    The view at the beginning of Mount Ulriken-Bergen
    The view at the beginning of Mount Ulriken-Bergen
    Stone steps winding up Mount Ulriken, Bergen
    About halfway up the 1333 steps
    Bergen and its fjords seen from the summit of Mount Ulriken
    We made it to the top!
    Small house sculpture overlooking Bergen from Mount Ulriken
    It was definitely worth it!
    Bryggen UNESCO World Heritage Site-Bergen
    Bryggen UNESCO World Heritage Site-Bergen
    Sunlit beech forest near the Fantoft Stave Church, Bergen
    The forest that I entitled enchanted 🙂
    The Fantoft Stave Church
    The Fantoft Stave Church
    Early medieval stone cross from Tjora, Sola , Rogaland
    Early medieval stone cross from Tjora, Sola , Rogaland
    Inside the Fantoft Stave Church
    Inside the Fantoft Stave Church
    Carved wooden chair inside the Fantoft Stave Church, Bergen
    I was blown away by the woodwork!
    Gamlehaugen Castle
    Gamlehaugen Castle
    Nordåsvannet Bay
    Nordåsvannet Bay
  • Chapter 32: More Than a Wee Bit Grateful

    Chapter 32: More Than a Wee Bit Grateful

    Scottish people use “wee” instead of “little” and I love it so I’m trying to add it to my lexicon.

    We have been in Glasgow now for a little over a week and I couldn’t be happier! I’m so glad to not be in Cardiff anymore. With the lack of sleep that came from garages being broken into, alarms going off and extremely loud neighbors on the other side of our thin walls. Coupled with the fact that it rained for basically two weeks straight. I was happy to leave! 

    Part of this adventure is thinking about places we’d like to return to and Cardiff isn’t one of them, which is fine, now we know. Having never been to Wales before we took a chance on it being digital nomad friendly, which is was. Dave had a great colocation place that he could access 24-7. It was nice for him to not have to leave on the nights that he has to work late because they were closing. I’ve heard other parts of Wales are beautiful and I’m good for a while. 

    In spite of me feeling this way, I know through everything we’ve endured, we’ve always been taken care of and everything has worked out, and this past week was a perfect example of that. On the 13th we left Cardiff and took the train to London to spend the weekend with my good friend and her family. We were so appreciative that they opened their home to us and being with good people was definitely what we needed! It also didn’t hurt that the sun came out the day we left and truly didn’t stop shining on us until a couple days ago.

    Dave and I went out on Saturday and did some exploring around London which was fun. I hadn’t been there since 2011 so it was nice to walk around and just go where the spirit moved us. Sunday we took in the beauty of the Heath and had Sunday roast with our friends, before we went to the airport to fly to Glasgow. I was so thankful for the quality time we had with them and it was hard to say goodbye. 

    This is our first time to Scotland and I’m completely taken by it. First, Glasgow has the nicest people that I’ve met in all of the UK. Every single person I’ve interacted with has been so friendly! Second, the sun shown all week. I know it is a rarity, and still, it makes a huge difference. I haven’t been able to do my daily walking/exploring adventures since we were in Dublin and it has felt incredible to be able to do that again. Third, there is so much too see and do!!! Even just walking down the street you can see some amazing architecture. There are tons of museums to visit-which are all free, and there are a copious amount of beautiful parks. I am definitely not lacking for things to keep me busy. Finally, new friends. Our friend’s cousin lives in Glasgow, whom I have never met before. We met up with her last Monday for dinner and formed an instant connection. It has been so wonderful to have someone to hang out with. On Wednesday, we took her adorable wee Cocker to Loch Ardinning Wildlife Reserve and saw some of the beautiful Scottish countryside. Then this past Saturday she took Dave and I out on a drive for the day. We visited the beautiful Loch Lomond on the way to Glencoe to see the incredible highlands and to Oban to see the coast. We weren’t thinking we’d be able to see any of those places because we aren’t planning on renting a car, and we were incredibly grateful. The peace I felt from being surrounded in so much beauty definitely sealed the deal on how much I love this country and I am so thankful to our friend for sharing it with us. 

    This week the Universe showed us one more way that we are being taken care of. The Air BnB we reserved here is pretty crappy. Yes, it is nice to have a laundry in the place and a grocery store near by, that is how low our standards have gotten, and there is a funk. Luckily it isn’t a mildew smell, again low standards, but after leaving Sarandë with all our clothes having a smell we are a wee bit traumatized. Well, our friend to the rescue yet again! She just so happens to be going to the states tomorrow and offered to have us stay in her amazing flat while she is gone! Thank goodness also for the cancellation policy on our Air BnB, because we were able to change our reservation without getting penalized, so now we’re going to save a bunch of money by not staying in that crappy place. And, since we’re heading to Norway after this, and we’ve heard it is very expensive there, this couldn’t have come at a better time!

    I will miss being able to hang out with our friend for the next couple weeks while we’re here, and I’m eternally grateful to her for showing up for us in this major way!!! Everything that happens is a good reminder to remain grounded in gratitude and enjoy every minute!

    This coming weekend we’ll visit Edinburgh which I’ve heard is amazing and I am excited for whatever the future has in store for us. Whatever it is we know we will get through it as long as we continue to go with the flow. The time is passing so quickly again. I can’t believe we’ll be home in just 8 weeks! 

    Sending you love wherever you are!❤️

    PS it was a busy week so there are A LOT of pictures to share! Enjoy 🙂

    Borough Market, London
    Borough Market, London
    A Taste of France. Borough Market, London
    A Taste of France. Borough Market, London
    The view of Tower Bridge from London Bridge
    The view of Tower Bridge from London Bridge
    Tower Bridge and double-decker buses
    Tower Bridge and double-decker buses
    More Tower Bridge. The view never got old
    More Tower Bridge. The view never got old 🙂
    The Tower of London
    The Tower of London
    The Tower of London
    The Tower of London
    Greenwich
    Greenwich
    The Prime Meridian Clock
    The Prime Meridian Clock
    The view from the Meridian Line
    The view from the Meridian Line
    Views from the Heath. Another beautiful day in London!
    Views from the Heath. Another beautiful day in London!
    The Burrell Collection Museum. Pollok Park. Glasgow, Scotland
    The Burrell Collection Museum. Pollok Park. Glasgow, Scotland
    This museum contains items from Sir William Burrell's private collection
    This museum contains items from Sir William Burrell’s private collection
    Sunlit library corridor at the Burrell Collection, Pollok Park, Glasgow
    It is a beautifully designed library right in the center of the park
    The Tall Ship Glenlee on the River Clyde with the Riverside Museum in the background. Glasgow
    The Tall Ship Glenlee on the River Clyde with the Riverside Museum in the background. Glasgow
    The Tall Ship Glenlee reflected in the windows of the Riverside Museum
    The Tall Ship Glenlee reflected in the windows of the Riverside Museum
    Riverside Museum
    Riverside Museum
    Riverside Museum. This part kind of reminded me of New York New York in Vegas.
    Riverside Museum. This part kind of reminded me of New York New York in Vegas.
    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Glasgow
    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Glasgow
    Cool architecture walking around downtown Glasgow
    Cool architecture walking around downtown Glasgow
    Victorian sandstone buildings and clock tower in downtown Glasgow
    The architecture tour continues
    The streets of Glasgow
    The streets of Glasgow
    Historic clock tower beside modern glass offices in Glasgow
    The incorporation of ancient and modern architecture
    George Square. Downtown Glasgow
    George Square. Downtown Glasgow
    George Square. The Cenotaph and Glasgow City Cambers
    George Square. The Cenotaph and Glasgow City Cambers
    Glasgow rooftops at night from a friend's flat
    Nighttime rooftop views from our friend’s flat
    Daytime rooftop views
    Daytime rooftop views
    Daytime rooftop views. Another beautiful day!
    Daytime rooftop views. Another beautiful day!
    Glasgow Central Station
    Glasgow Central Station
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    Glasgow Cathedral
    The Necropolis Glasgow
    The Necropolis Glasgow
    The Necropolis
    The Necropolis
    The Necropolis
    The Necropolis
    The Tolbooth Steeple
    The Tolbooth Steeple
    The Tolbooth Steeple. More cool architecture just walking around town and loving the beautiful weather.
    The Tolbooth Steeple. More cool architecture just walking around town and loving the beautiful weather.
    Queen's Park
    Queen’s Park
    Loch Ardinning Wildlife Reserve (LAWR)
    Loch Ardinning Wildlife Reserve (LAWR)
    The beautiful Scottish countryside at LAWR
    The beautiful Scottish countryside at LAWR
    LAWR
    LAWR
    LAWR
    LAWR
    Super moon over the Shawlands
    Super moon over the Shawlands
    I love cows and the Scottish Highland Cattle are probably the coolest!
    I love cows and the Scottish Highland Cattle are probably the coolest!
    Mom and baby. At Pollok Park
    Mom and baby. At Pollok Park
    Highland cow grazing in Pollok Park, Glasgow
    Love!
    Entrance to the Pollok House fairy garden
    Entrance to the Pollok House fairy garden
    Pollok House Fairy Gardent
    Pollok House Fairy Gardent
    Reminds me a little of Mrs. Frisby's house in NIMH
    Reminds me a little of Mrs. Frisby’s house in NIMH
    Pollok House Fairy Garden
    Pollok House Fairy Garden
    Pollok House
    Pollok House
    Pollok House
    Pollok House
    Glasgow Green-McLennan Arch
    Glasgow Green-McLennan Arch
    Glasgow 2014 Monument with Nelson's Monument in the background
    Glasgow 2014 Monument with Nelson’s Monument in the background
    The People's Palace at Glasgow Green
    The People’s Palace at Glasgow Green
    Collage of Glasgow mural trail street art
    Glasgow has an interactive map of all the murals around town and this doesn’t even touch it!
    Our adventure day on Saturday began with a visit to the beautiful Loch Lomond
    Our adventure day on Saturday began with a visit to the beautiful Loch Lomond
    Loch Lomond
    Loch Lomond
    Falls of Falloch
    Falls of Falloch
    Loch Bà
    Loch Bà
    Loch Bà
    Loch Bà
    I was completely blown away by the beauty of the Etive Mòr in Glencoe
    I was completely blown away by the beauty of the Etive Mòr in Glencoe
    The Highlands of Glencoe
    The Highlands of Glencoe
    The Three Sisters mountains in Glencoe, Scottish Highlands
    Absolutely spectacular!
    The River Coe
    The River Coe
    Oban Esplanade and McCaig's Folly (Tower)
    Oban Esplanade and McCaig’s Folly (Tower)
    Oban Waterfront
    Oban Waterfront
    Kilchurn Castle-Loch Awe Scotland
    Kilchurn Castle-Loch Awe Scotland
    Loch Awe-tell me about it!
    Loch Awe-tell me about it!
    Kilchurn Castle
    Kilchurn Castle
  • Chapter 31: Seasons

    Chapter 31: Seasons

    When I thought about sitting down to work on my blog this week I wasn’t sure how much I would have to say or if I was really inspired to write. I know I mentioned when I was in Dublin, that my posts often change course from what I originally thought I was going to write about, once I sit down and start writing. I feel like this chapter, albeit all over the place, is one of those posts.

    I’ve been missing my family a lot lately. I think part of it stems from my frustration that I only get about 75% of the messages everyone sends on our family group text. I am the only one in the family with a Samsung phone in a sea of iPhones and, shocker, even with all the advancements in technology they still don’t seamlessly talk to each other. I think it is also that my sister has been in a season of uncertainty that hit me a little too close to home and it has been really hard to not physically be there for her. Everything is fine and… 

    I have been missing my friends too. Every time I think about that I think of how grateful I am, to everyone in my life, who makes the time to reach out and even chat on the phone. That closeness I feel from these enduring connections, wherever we are in the world, is priceless. So, I will say I am very thankful for technological advances in that aspect of life.

    Yesterday, Dave and I met up with a friend from when I was teaching English in France in 2001-2002. I hadn’t seen him since 2011 and it was fun to reminisce about how different life was back then. I feel like I rarely talked to anyone when I was living in France and when I did I had to buy one of those cards where you had to type in no less than 1000 (only a slight exaggeration) numbers before you could actually call the number you wanted to dial, typically from a pay phone/phone booth. Anyone old enough to remember those?  I am acutely aware of what a luxury it is to now have a phone that I can send texts and emails from. Back then, if I wanted to text, I had an old school Nokia where I had to type each number several times to get the letter I wanted, and it took FOREVER! If I wanted to send an email I had to go to the internet cafe and pay to use one of the computers, and good luck if you were in a different country where the keyboard was also different. ? It is all about perspective. 

    We were also talking about how completely unorganized that experience was. I full-on moved to France with only the name and address of the school where I was teaching, Collège Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I had no clue where I was going to live, what I was going to be doing-other than it was in an elementary school, no materials, and I went. To be honest, I was looking for a way to get back to France after I graduated as I had no clue what I was going to do with my French major. It did ultimately lead to me realizing I wanted to be an ESL teacher and, my goodness, what a leap! I feel like my dad had a lot of faith in me and the fact that it would work out, it always does right? I think he was looking for an excuse to get back to France/Europe as well, and I appreciated the fact that he came over with me to make sure I got settled. I also had a very assertive French friend that I met while I was studying abroad (1999-2000) who lived in the area where I was teaching-Thonon les Bains, and he helped me figure out a lot of things, for which I am very grateful. Not all the teachers that I met during that time, who had come from other countries, were as lucky as I was.

    Reminiscing with my friend also reminded me of how bad my memory is for some things. Honestly, I always thought I had a really good memory and the details sometime seem to escape me. Obviously that is not true for other things, like the fact that I still know every single word to several songs from my youth. Someone told me once that you have to make room in your brain for new memories/learning, hence forgetting somethings in the process. I am not sure how true that is, and it is a theory. For me, I remember the emotion of my experiences. Which makes sense because now I have a word for what I am, an empath.

    I remember when I was living in France, and it still kind of rings true today, that I would always say to myself-I wish I could really realize what I was doing, how amazing the experience was, the incredible things I was seeing and awesome history I was learning about. To take in the incredible friendships I was forming from the bonding that happens when you’re all in the same boat. It makes me think of a quote I read last night from The Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. “The mix of awe and anger and the realization that the world was large, and beautiful, and sometimes so overwhelming in it’s wonder that it is impossible to drink it down all at once” That is why I try everyday to be intentional about being present and grounded in this adventure.

    For those of you who know me, you know how much I love the Minnesota State Fair! The Great Minnesota Get Together, Joy on a Stick, that last one was mine ?. The fair happens for 12 days leading up to Labor Day. So many people reached out during that time to send me pictures of their pickle pizza, and deep fried pickles (yes I love and miss pickles very much), the beer lines, the music and the seed art. The energy is palpable. If this quote from the Minnesota Star Tribune doesn’t give you an idea of how Minnesotan it is, I don’t know what will. “All told, the fair set five single-day attendance records this year — setting a high-water mark Sunday with 256,015 people and clearing out the supply of Deep-Fried Ranch.” I think that was a new food item this year that I haven’t tried. Our house in Saint Paul is only four blocks from the fair so the neighbors were also messaging me with updates about how exciting selling parking was. It is the only time of year my neighborhood is allowed to let people park on their yards because they close down one side of the street and there is never enough parking for all the attendees. Selling parking is one of the main reason I loved the fair so much because I didn’t have to use my own money to experience it fully. Which is a gift because it is EXPENSIVE! It is $18 just to get into the grounds! I missed being able to go to the fair this year AND I would still choose to be where I am. 

    This time of year evokes a lot of emotions for me. I mentioned in my post about when I was home in May, even though I consider myself a very aware individual, I was surprised by how much of a stress response the end of the school year brought up, even though I wasn’t teaching. The same thing rings true with the beginning of the school year. Many of my teacher friends began their school year in the past couple weeks and I hope they all have the best year ever. Same goes for everyone’s children! I am sending a universe of love over all of it.

    Then I heard about yet another mass school shooting that took place at Apalachee High School in Georgia and it completely annihilated my heart. Students and teachers have a right to feel safe in school. They deserve safety. There is already so much that we are all surviving. The worry of being shot in your school isn’t something that should be added to the list. What a catastrophic way to begin the year. Change NEEDS to happen! There needs to be stricter gun laws. I can’t think of a single reason why any civilian needs and AR style weapon, much less a 14 year old! Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 

    This week also marks the one year anniversary of my friend’s passing. One year. My goodness so much has happened this year. I want to be intentional about remembering her and her passion for teaching, language, life, family and travel. I do feel like I am honoring her memory with what we are doing everyday and I hope to continue to do so. 

    I’m not going to say too much about what we did our second week in Dungarvan and our first week in Cardiff Wales, where we are til Friday. I’ll share some pictures of the highlights and leave you with this; reach out to the people you love, give them a hug if you are able, tell them you love them and how grateful you are to have them in your life. I love and appreciate you all very much! My community. My circle. Take care of each other. Kindness is free and goes a long way! 

    Mahon Falls, near Dungarvan Ireland, and a fun game I came up with called sheep or rock
    Mahon Falls, near Dungarvan Ireland, and a fun game I came up with called sheep or rock?
    Mahon Falls walk. County Waterford
    Mahon Falls walk. County Waterford
    Mahon Falls. When the sun comes out in Ireland you take advantage of it and this was a beautiful day!
    Mahon Falls. When the sun comes out in Ireland you take advantage of it and this was a beautiful day!
    Getting a closer look at Mahon Falls
    Getting a closer look at Mahon Falls
    The walk back to the car. Gorgeous!
    The walk back to the car. Gorgeous!
    St. Mary's Collegiate Church-Youghal Ireland
    St. Mary’s Collegiate Church-Youghal Ireland
    View from the old city walls-Youghal Irealand
    View from the old city walls-Youghal Irealand
    Youghal Beach
    Youghal Beach
    Youghal Lighthouse. Sunshine makes all the difference!
    Youghal Lighthouse. Sunshine makes all the difference!
    Ardmore Ireland
    Ardmore Ireland
    Ardmore Beach
    Ardmore Beach
    Ardmore Beach
    Ardmore Beach
    Declan's Hermitage-The Cliff Walk-Ardmore Ireland
    Declan’s Hermitage-The Cliff Walk-Ardmore Ireland
    The Cliff Walk-Ardmore
    The Cliff Walk-Ardmore
    Ardmore Castle. I visited Youghal and Ardmore on the same day and walked over 25,000 steps!
    Ardmore Castle. I visited Youghal and Ardmore on the same day and walked over 25,000 steps!
    The Bay-Cardiff Wales
    The Bay-Cardiff Wales
    Cardiff Castle
    Cardiff Castle
    Cardiff Castle and Stadium
    Cardiff Castle and Stadium
    Cardiff Castle Library
    Cardiff Castle Library
    Sculptured mural in the Cardiff Castle Museum
    Sculptured mural in the Cardiff Castle Museum
    Roath Park-Taking advantage of the sunshine. If you can't tell there has been A LOT of days with rain
    Roath Park-Taking advantage of the sunshine. If you can’t tell there has been A LOT of days with rain 🙂
    Lisvane Resevoir-Cardiff
    Lisvane Resevoir-Cardiff
    Llanishen Resevoir-Cardiff
    Llanishen Resevoir-Cardiff
    A 2300 million years old piece of Stromatolite in Banded Iron Formation from Minnesota in The National Museum in Cardiff
    A 2300 million years old piece of Stromatolite in Banded Iron Formation from Minnesota in The National Museum in Cardiff
    Giant Deer-National Museum Cardiff
    Giant Deer-National Museum Cardiff
    Woolly Mammoth-National Museum-Cardiff
    Woolly Mammoth-National Museum-Cardiff
    Richard Deacon's Empirical Jungle-National Museum Cardiff
    Richard Deacon’s Empirical Jungle-National Museum Cardiff
    Rouen Cathedral: Setting Sun by Claude Monet-National Museum Cardiff
    Rouen Cathedral: Setting Sun by Claude Monet-National Museum Cardiff
    Glory Glory by Laura Ford-National Museum Cardiff
    Glory Glory by Laura Ford-National Museum Cardiff
    Brecon Beacons Pen y Fan Hike
    Brecon Beacons Pen y Fan Hike
    Pen y Fan Summit. Hiking in the rain is definitely all part of the adventure!
    Pen y Fan Summit. Hiking in the rain is definitely all part of the adventure! I’m told that if you’re not hiking in the rain you’re not hiking in Wales.
    Valley view through parting clouds from Pen y Fan, Brecon Beacons
    And then the clouds parted and gave us a glimpse of the incredible view!
    It's called manifesting. Look it up! Anna Przy
    “It’s called manifesting. Look it up!” Anna Przy
    Pen y Fan on the way back to the car park. Definitely worth the trip!
    Pen y Fan on the way back to the car park. Definitely worth the trip!
  • Chapter 30: Dave’s Year in Review

    Chapter 30: Dave’s Year in Review

    It’s crazy how fast a year passes.   A lot of miles traveled and a lot of places visited.   To help reflect on everything, I put together some spreadsheets.  This blog post attempts to use those spreadsheets to summarize our travels.   A lot of this data was compiled from memory and digital records (my phone).  Some data may be missing, some of the dates may be incorrect, but this is mostly accurate.

    (The graphs may appear to be pretty small, you you open the images in a new window or tab and see the larger image)

    Here we go…

    Steps

    Our phones collect a fair amount of data about ourselves.  Luckily, this helped create my first couple graphs.   This data was downloaded from the Samsung Health App.   It has been keeping track of all my steps, distance and speed.  These graphs show the daily values and the line down the middle is the average value over time.

    Charts of Dave's daily steps, distance and speed over our first year of travel

    Miles

    Our feet were not the only ones putting on some miles.  Our Honda Civic also put on some miles.   The distances recorded were taken from city to city where we stayed, and so this is more of an estimate than actual values.   In hindsight, it would have been fun to capture actual miles and time spent in the car.

    This first graph shows the total miles traveled from place to place.  These are only miles that we encountered while traveling from one stay to another, and it does not include miles traveled within the cities that we stayed in.

    Chart of cumulative miles driven during our first year of travel

    I also thought it would be interesting if there was any correlation between the number of miles traveled and the number of states, and so here is the next graph.

    Chart of miles traveled per segment and states passed through

    Speaking of states… We traveled through 35 unique states, 3 Canadian Provinces, and 8 (including airport layovers) European countries.

    Places

    Curious about where we stayed?  Part of the data gathered was where we stayed and the type of rental.  This next graph shows a breakdown of the types of places we stayed.

    Pie chart of the types of places we stayed in our first year

    Co-working

    While we stayed at these places I was working as well.   Some of these places were not as ergonomic as one would hope for or the internet was not that great.  Co-working places to the rescue.  Going to a co-working place also gave me the opportunity to see part of the city and sometimes meet new people.   This next graph shows the number of unique co-working places as well as the total count for each place we stayed.

    Bar chart of co-working places Dave used in each city

    Casinos

    It wasn’t all work though, I was able to visit some casinos along the way as well.  Some cities were better than others.   I had met up with some friends in Las Vegas, and to be honest, I am not sure if I got all the counts correct in this city.  This is a graph similar to the co-working one, but with casinos.

    Bar chart of casino visits by city

    People

    By now you are probably wanting more bar graphs.  This next graph is a horizontal stacked bar graph that should help meet the needs for those looking for more bar graphs!   This one describes the counts of people that we had seen along the way.   It gets difficult to count all the people especially when we were back in Saint Paul – I already know I didn’t count a few people in the twin cities.  And so, I counted only people that I had spent more than one hour with.  At any rate, here is are the counts (knowing that the Saint Paul location is under counted by a little bit)

    Stacked bar chart of people we saw in each place

    People

    By now you are probably wanting more bar graphs.  This next graph is a horizontal stacked bar graph that should help meet the needs for those looking for more bar graphs!   This one describes the counts of people that we had seen along the way.   It gets difficult to count all the people especially when we were back in Saint Paul – I already know I didn’t count a few people in the twin cities.  And so, I counted only people that I had spent more than one hour with.  At any rate, here is are the counts (knowing that the Saint Paul location is under counted by a little bit)

    Sunburst chart of people we saw by region during our first year

    This second picture shows the North American (labeled as N_AMERS) portion of the sunburst chart:

    Sunburst chart of people we saw in North America

    Finally, this third picture shows the European portion

    Sunburst chart of people we saw in Europe
  • Chapter 29: One Year (The Adventure Continues)

    Chapter 29: One Year (The Adventure Continues)

    The adventure has definitely continued since I last wrote. After all the “firsts” that I reported in my last update I was surprised that there were still quite a few more of them that I experienced during our last week in Dublin. On Monday, I visited Kilmainham Gaol (jail). I didn’t realize that I probably should have booked a tour in advance before I walked the 30 minutes over there.  Upon arrival I was very fortunate that they were offering an abridged version of the tour, for free, in about 10 minutes that I was able to join. I visited the very well curated museum while I waited and I am so glad that I made the trip. It was fascinating to see and learn about the deep history of the jail. Especially around the Easter Sunday Rising of 1916. After my visit I walked over to Phoenix Park and visited the Dublin Zoo. That too ended up being a serendipitous arrival time because just 15 minutes after my arrival admission was half price! It was a bigger zoo than I imagined and you could feel that it was well cared for. I enjoyed walking around and see the giraffes, rhinos, orangutans and of course the ELEPHANTS!

    Tuesday morning before Dave started work, he starts later on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we went inside Christ Church Cathedral together for the first time and that was cool to see. I feel like the timing worked out perfectly with that visit as well because we were able to participate in the morning prayer which was a special thing to do, especially that week. We’ve had several close friends and family members that have been needing some extra prayers lately so it felt good to send them their way. 

    On Wednesday, I went back to Gravediggers Pub, which wasn’t the first, but I did have coddle for the first time. It was pretty special to eat the same meal, at the same place, prepared by the same Chef that Anthony Bourdain did back in 2006. I still miss that legend of a man. I feel like this is an appropriate time to honor him with one of my favorite quotes of his. “Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar, go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride” He, albeit had his ghosts, was truly an inspiration for a very full life well lived and traveled.

    On Thursday I did another thing that wasn’t my first, but that I was very happy to revisit, which was the Long Room of the Library at Trinity College. I remember back in 2016 being in awe of its spectacular majesty and it did not disappoint. It was too bad there were so many books absent from the shelves because of an enormous preservation process that was taking place. They did add some other cool touches like the massive rotating globe and a separate Book of Kells experience that I’m glad I was able to see for the first time. After Trinity I met up with Dave’s Aunt, Cousin and her daughter for lunch which was absolutely lovely. That time with family is truly special and I enjoyed every minute. 

    One revelation we had while we were in Dublin was in regards to the burnt breakfast smell that wafted into the apartment all day long. We realized, not until the third week we were there, that it comes from Guinness roasting its grains right up the street.  All in all we enjoyed our time in Dublin and we were ready to have a new adventure outside of the busy city when we left. 

    Since we left Dublin on the 17th we have definitely had several opportunities that demonstrated how much we’ve grown over the past year. It has been interesting to experience situations where we are much better at adapting to our environment and going with the flow. 

    The way the adventure has continued is almost comical. We reserved this Air BnB back in April when we were visiting Dave’s family. We knew that we wanted to come to this area of Ireland because we hadn’t spent as much time here as other areas. It looked really nice and picturesque and we didn’t really think much more about it. That was until we had dinner with our friends in Dublin a week before coming here. They asked us about it because they actually have close friends that live in this area. Only then did we realize the entirety of the situation, and by then there really weren’t any other options. The first thing that we realized is that it wasn’t exactly “in” Dungarvan as advertised by the name of the Air BnB “Rental unit in Dungarvan.” It is actually about 10 km from Dungarvan, and we weren’t planning on renting a car. I figured, I like to walk, or we’ll figure out the bus, or any number of justifications; whatever the case is, we’ll make it work. Then, we also realized that, in spite of learning very early on in this adventure we really need to only reserve places that have a clothes washer, this place had none. Finally, we thought, well at least there might be a store nearby so I can get some groceries? NOPE, the closest store is an hour walk away and it is a glorified 7 Eleven known as the Spar in Europe. To be fair, the host did pick us up from the bus station when we arrived in Dungarvan and was gracious enough to run us by the grocery store. And, we have ensured that all of our future places have a washer, or at least a laundromat and shop, closer than a walk and a bus ride away.

    So the first week in Dungarvan was an adventure, to say the least. 

    AND

    It is beautiful! You can see the Irish Sea from our window. There are rolling hills and fields. The air is fresh even though it smells like the cows that are definitely more populous than the people. And it is all part of the adventure.

    Our route to Dungarvan consists of a 40 minute walk  down hill to catch the nearest bus. That is followed by a 25 minute ride into town. Dungarvan is cute. It has some shops, restaurants, pubs, a tiny port and a castle. I also found the library and spent some time reading there last week. I can go to the grocery store in town but can’t buy anything that needs to be in the fridge or the freezer because of the amount of time it takes to get it home. 

    Oh, I forgot to mention the adventure we experienced when we arrived on the 17th, when we took the bus from Dublin to Dungarvan. It was supposed to take about three hours but there was an accident on the highway that closed it completely! The entire four lanes had to funnel into a one lane exit and round about. The trip took three and half hours LONGER than it was supposed to and we were drastically unprepared. The bathroom on the bus didn’t have any TP or water. We were rushed leaving our apartment and getting to the bus because breakfast took FOREVER so we didn’t have any water with us, and the bus was FREEZING!

    After that experience, and the knowledge that there is no laundry nor shop nearby, we decided to rent a car for the second week of our stay. We also decided that we can’t run the risk of what happened on our way here happening again on our way back because we have a flight to Wales to catch. So we’re going to eat the cost of our return bus ticket and drive back to Dublin on the 31st. It will be nice to have the flexibility to stop and get essentials, use the toilet or just basically have control over our destiny unlike we did on the bus. And, we are thankful to the Universe for keeping us safe. ?

    On Saturday the 24th, we celebrated one year of this amazing adventure. The plan was to take the bus to Dungarvan, rent e-bikes, and ride the Greenway all the way to Waterford and pick up our rental car for the week. We decided to rent a car there instead of in Dungarvan because a) the car rental place isn’t open on the weekends and b) if you rent it from Dungarvan you have to return it there and we will be returning ours in Dublin. WELP, we didn’t reserve the e-bikes in advance, and it just so happened to be the most glorious day since we’ve been in Ireland, and low and behold all the e-bikes were rented. Waterford is 55 km away so there was no way I was going to ride a bike all the way there without some pedal assist. We pivoted and ended up taking the bus. If I never have to take a massive bus filled with people again, it will be too soon, and it was only seven euros per person instead of a hundred that it would’ve cost to take a taxi, so there you have it. 

    Luckily the bus dropped us off not too far from where we had to pick up the car and that went pretty smoothly. Also, fortunate for us and our multiple experiences renting cars in Europe, we knew well enough to get full coverage! Especially since we’re in Ireland, driving on the other side of the road, with a manual. I feel like it was a no-brainer, in spite of the high cost. This experience came to our benefit when, after we had explored Waterford a little bit we promptly hit a curb and got a flat tire! By the grace of God, there was a tire place that was open for a half hour longer on a Saturday, and we were able to get in, get a new tire, and be on our way within 15 minutes at no extra cost.

    Did our one year celebration go as planned, no. Were we safe and everything still worked out, yes. And that is all that matters.

    After we got our new tire we visited the beach in Dunmore East where our friends hope to be moving after their time in Dubai. It is a super cute little town and a music festival was happening so we were able to enjoy that a little bit. It started raining pretty hard because, Ireland, and we got to see a double rainbow.

    We continued from Dunmore East back toward Dungarvan via the Copper Coast and saw some of the most beautiful coastline I’ve seen. It rivals California for its beauty, cliffs and beaches. All in all it ended up being a lovely day and what an amazing place to be celebrating it.

    On Sunday,  we were able to experience e-biking on the Greenway. We only went as far as Kilmacthomas (30 km) and back and it was perfect. We finished off the day with a visit to the cute little town of Lismore. I ended up revisiting Lismore yesterday because the weather was supposed to be not raining in the morning and visited the castle gardens and hiked up to the Ballysaggartmore Towers which were truly spectacular.

    This week, now that we have a car, I get to do exciting things like grocery shopping and laundry. It is funny to miss basic things like that. This area of Ireland is truly beautiful and I’m looking forward to exploring more of it. 

    I hope that you are happy and well wherever you are!

    Love, Alison 

    Kilmainham Gaol-Dublin
    Kilmainham Gaol-Dublin
    The old cells in Kilmainham Gaol
    The old cells in Kilmainham Gaol
    Kilmainham Gaol
    Kilmainham Gaol
    Giraffes at the Dublin Zoo
    Giraffes at the Dublin Zoo
    Rhinos AKA Chubby Unicorns
    Rhinos AKA Chubby Unicorns 🙂
    Orangutan-My dad's favorite animal
    Orangutan-My dad’s favorite animal
    ELEPHANTS!
    ELEPHANTS!
    Christ Church Cathedral-Dublin
    Christ Church Cathedral-Dublin
    Christ Church Cathedral
    Christ Church Cathedral
    Christ Church Cathedral-I'm kinda obsessed with this amazing podium and tiled floor!
    Christ Church Cathedral-I’m kinda obsessed with this amazing podium and tiled floor!
    Coddle at Gravediggers Pub
    Coddle at Gravediggers Pub
    Coddle and Chef Ciaran Kavanagh
    Coddle and Chef Ciaran Kavanagh
    In memory of Anthony Bourdain
    In memory of Anthony Bourdain
    The Long Room in Trinity College Library-Dublin
    The Long Room in Trinity College Library-Dublin
    Trinity College Library
    Trinity College Library
    The Globe
    The Globe
    The view from our Air BnB in Lagnagoushee (not Dungarvan)
    The view from our Air BnB in Lagnagoushee (not Dungarvan:)
    Coastline and bay seen on our walk to the bus near Dungarvan, Ireland
    The view on our walk to the bus
    Black and white cow in a green field near Dungarvan
    Irish cows make the best butter around!
    Cows grazing in a field near Dungarvan with a hill view
    More cows with the best view!
    The tiny port in Dungarvan
    The tiny port in Dungarvan
    The Irish Museum of Time-Waterford
    The Irish Museum of Time-Waterford
    Christ Church Cathedral-Waterford
    Christ Church Cathedral-Waterford
    Large mural of a face painted on a building in Waterford, Ireland
    Waterford had some very cool murals!
    Viking Triangle- Waterford
    “Viking Triangle”- Waterford
    Dunmore East
    Dunmore East
    Liquid sunshine and a double rainbow in Dunmore East
    Liquid sunshine and a double rainbow in Dunmore East
    Copper Coast and more beautiful rainbows
    Copper Coast and more beautiful rainbows
    Copper Coast
    Copper Coast
    Copper Coast
    Copper Coast
    Copper Coast
    Copper Coast
    The beginning of our Greenway adventure
    The beginning of our Greenway adventure
    Greenway art near the Coach House coffee stand
    Greenway art near the Coach House coffee stand
    Coach House restaurant in Kilmacthomas
    Coach House restaurant in Kilmacthomas
    Greenway Tunnel
    Greenway Tunnel
    Greenway fairies
    Greenway fairies
    Clonea Beach
    Clonea Beach
    Lismore fountain
    Lismore fountain
    Lismore Castle
    Lismore Castle
    Lismore Castle Gardens
    Lismore Castle Gardens
    Lismore
    Lismore
    Ballysaggartmore Towers-about a 45 minute hike from the town of Lismore
    Ballysaggartmore Towers-about a 45 minute hike from the town of Lismore
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
    Ballysaggartmore Towers
  • Chapter 28: Firsts

    Chapter 28: Firsts

    Even though I arrived in Dublin with some trepidation about what I was going to do for three weeks, It has been nice to take a step back from doing all the things. To relax in our comfortable apartment, have long slow mornings in bed drinking coffee. and going where the spirit leads me. It has provided a great opportunity to remind myself, wherever we are, to save something for next time. To go with the flow. It has been a welcomed recharge. 

    We have been here for two weeks and I am excited about all the things that I have been able to do for the first time. They are:

    Table of Dublin recommendations: places, sites, distilleries, food, pubs and music

    On August 3rd we were able to visit our old backyard neighbors who moved to Dublin 12 years ago. They bought land and built a house in Naul which is about 40 minutes outside of Dublin. It was lovely to see their passion project first hand and get to spend some extra quality time with them. We had a pint at Killian’s in town and had our first Mexican food of our trip at La Cocina Cuevas and it was spectacularly delicious! That Saturday, before we went to visit our friends, we walked up to the National Botanical Garden and explored and then visited the Gravediggers Pub for one of the best pints of Guinness.

    The next day we went and visited the town of Malahide which is on the coast. We walked the beach and saw the castle and then met up with Dave’s aunt and uncle for a coffee before we caught the train to Howth. It was a bank holiday weekend so Howth was very busy. We had oysters, walked the pier, saw the lighthouse and cliffs and even caught an impromptu penny whistle concert. The weekend was a fun adventure.

    Last weekend we stayed around Dublin which was nice. Friday we ate delicious pizza at Bo-Co and then wandered around and listened to live music at the Cobblestone and Ned O’Sheas. Saturday we went to Sophie’s at the Dean Hotel for brunch and took in the beautiful rooftop view. From there we walked around Iveagh Gardens, St. Stephen’s Green and Trinity College before we met up with a childhood friend and her husband for dinner at Bull and Castle. . They had been living in Luxembourg for several years and then moved to Dubai last summer. Her husband is Irish so typically they alternate between visiting the US and Ireland in the summers and we got lucky enough to have our time overlap while they were here.  I will say I don’t eat a ton of red meat but the steak at Bull and Castle was delicious! 

    Sunday we went to the Pearse Lyons Distillery. It is a really cool place located inside an old church with a rich history, much like many places in Dublin. You can read more about it here if you are interested. https://pearselyonsdistillery.com/about-us/  After that we walked around Temple Bar and I checked out Lucy Lounge which is a super cool vintage store that is only open on weekends. Their tagline is “fighting bland since 1982.” I met a man named Rudy there who was working on his own creations while people were shopping and it was fun to chat with him and even buy one of his unique pieces. There are actually several cool vintage shops in the Temple Bar area that are worth checking out if you’re into that kind of thing.

    With one week left I’m thinking about what else I’d like to do. Today there was a welcome back street party for the Irish Olympic Athletes near the General Post Office that I did end up attending. The Paris Olympics was the most successful one for Ireland since they joined the Olympics 100 years ago with seven medals. Four gold and three bronze.

    When we were walking around Trinity College on Saturday I remembered how much I loved seeing the inside of the historic library there, which you can only see if you book the Book of Kells tour, so I will do that again even though I’ve seen it before. I was thinking about visiting the Dublin Zoo in Phoenix park. I enjoyed walking around Phoenix Park last week and I’ve heard good things about the zoo which was established in 1830! We still need to go inside Christ Church Cathedral (more formally the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity) for the first time, hopefully tomorrow. And I also still need to try the fish and chips at Leo Burdock’s which I’m told is the best in Dublin. If the weather stays as nice as it has been I’ll probably revisit the National Botanical Garden as well and then try the famous Coddle at Gravediggers Pub. Chef Ciaran Kavanagh served Anthony Bourdain this dish when he was in Dublin while filming No Reservations back in 2006. Coddle is “an Irish dish which is often made to use up leftovers. It most commonly consists of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers with chunky potatoes, sliced onion, salt, pepper, and herbs.” I have never tried it and to eat one so special would be a real treat!

    That’s my update from Dublin. We’re only 12 days from being on this adventure for one year which is kind of mind blowing! We’ll be in Dungarvan Ireland celebrating that milestone. I hope that everyone is doing well. As always, I am sending you love wherever you are!

    National Botanical Garden
    National Botanical Garden
    Botanical Garden (This orchid was one of the flowers we had at our wedding reception.)
    Botanical Garden (This orchid was one of the flowers we had at our wedding reception. Inspired by an amazing brunch we had after getting engaged in China)
    Botanical Garden
    Botanical Garden
    John Kavanagh The Gravediggers
    John Kavanagh The Gravediggers
    Malahide Beach
    Malahide Beach
    Malahide Castle
    Malahide Castle
    Malahide Shore Path Art
    Malahide Shore Path Art
    Howth Pier
    Howth Pier
    Howth Shoreline
    Howth Shoreline
    Howth Shoreline
    Howth Shoreline
    Chester Beatty Museum-One of my favorite places to read
    Chester Beatty Museum-One of my favorite places to read
    The Diving Bell
    The Diving Bell
    The Dublin Portal to NYC
    The Dublin Portal to NYC
    BO-CO (best pizza in Dublin)
    BO-CO (best pizza in Dublin)
    The Cobblestone (When there isn't live music)
    The Cobblestone (When there isn’t live music)
    Live music at Ned O'Sheas
    Live music at Ned O’Sheas
    The view from Sophie's
    The view from Sophie’s
    More view from Sophie's
    More view from Sophie’s
    Iveagh Gardens Waterfall
    Iveagh Gardens Waterfall
    Iveagh Gardens
    Iveagh Gardens
    Pearse Lyons Distillery
    Pearse Lyons Distillery
    Pearse Lyons Distillery
    Pearse Lyons Distillery
    Pearse Lyons Distillery
    Pearse Lyons Distillery
    The Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park
    The Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park
  • Chapter 27: Respite

    Chapter 27: Respite

    Respite, “A short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant.” 

    I have used this word several times in conversations over the past couple months. I didn’t really think about it until Dave said to me, “I’m not sure if that word translates into…Greek, Albanian, Croatian or Czech”, depending on where we were. It got me thinking about using words, without thinking about the meaning, mainly because of how hot it has been the past two months since we’ve been in Europe. As an EL teacher I think about language a lot and I found it interesting to reflect upon how many words I use, assuming people know what they mean, without thinking about it. That, and the fact that most of those exchanges were a one off unless it was with someone that I had taken time to get to know. With multiple interactions and exchanges you’re given the chance to ask questions and clarify if there has been a misunderstanding. Which makes me think about the book The Little Prince and being “tamed.” There haven’t been a lot of chances to be “tamed” on this adventure and I think that is why we have a greater appreciation for the places that we stay in longer than a week. It creates more opportunities to cultivate a situation where one can be “tamed.” If you don’t know the story of The Little Prince, definitely check it out. It is one of my favorites and there are a lot of words of wisdom, which my French teacher in high school called “WOWs”, that are applicable at any point in your life.  

    I can’t believe that we have been in Europe two months already! It seems to have passed so quickly. We’ve done and seen so many amazing things. Last week we were in Prague and while we were there I got to spend an amazing two and a half days with my dear friend who extended her time in Europe just to visit us. Being with her was good for the soul. I do truly love my solo adventures and what a gift to have someone to share them with! We did a lot of walking and saw several of the incredible things there are to see in Prague. The Astronomical Clock, Church of Our Lady before Tyn on Old Town Square, we did the Pilsner Urquell tour,  Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral (which reminded me of Notre Dame in Paris), Strahov Monastery and Brewery, Petřín Lookout Tower, Letná Park, the Metronome and Lookout Beer Garden, Frank Kafka Museum, The Lennon Wall, Lesser Town and Saint Charles Bridge and much much more. We even went on a Ghost Tour one night, which Dave had been talking about wanting to do since we were in Charleston, and it was fun to learn more about the city in a unique way.

    During our time together I was thinking about the things that I missed about home, besides my friends and family. The things that came to mind were, in no particular order, chip n dip, dill pickles, Target, anything that doesn’t smell-specifically like mildew, a clothes dryer, Mac n Cheese and Diet Coke-especially from McDonalds! It doesn’t exist people! Initially I thought that my blog would be about these things and then I changed course because, a) sometimes that is what happens when I start writing and b) I thought it was silly to focus on what I missed. I feel like it takes away from all the joy and that isn’t what this adventure is about. 

    In spite of the heat, funk and discomfort, we had an amazing week in Prague. I even gave myself what I needed by taking an overnight in Český Krumlov which was absolutely spectacular. My dad and I had visited this magical place 23 years ago but only for a day and it was wonderful to go back and spend more time there exploring. It was also incredible, even though I would’ve loved to have Dave along with me, to sleep in a comfortable bed that didn’t smell like mildew! ? I took the bus there on Thursday and arrived around 11am. I walked over 18,000 steps the first day and saw many beautiful things. I think the part I liked best was walking along the river. I don’t remember doing that the last time I was there and it was a nice respite from the crowded streets of Prague. 

    Saturday night we began our three weeks in Dublin. We had a later flight leaving Prague and our luggage missed the connection in Amsterdam but I remembered my supplies this time. We spent the good part of Sunday waiting for our luggage to be delivered to our Air bnb but then we were able to go to Dave’s “Aunt’s” house in Leixlip, about 25 minutes outside of Dublin, for a meal and it was absolutely lovely. By the way, Aunt is in quotation marks because she is actually the sister of his Aunt who we spent two weeks with in San Pedro, CA back in the end of February beginning of March. We met her and her husband for the first time eight years ago when we joined his Aunt and Uncle at their house to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. Having time with family and eating a home cooked meal is also something that we have been missing and we left our gathering with very full bellies and hearts. 

    This is my fifth time in Dublin and I’m looking forward to exploring places that I haven’t explored before. Dave’s family gave me lots of recommendations and insider tips last night so once again I’m excited to see what our time here has in store for us. We chose to come here for this amount of time because Dave has several coworkers in Dublin. He is definitely looking forward to being able to collaborate with them in person. 

    Here are a few things, besides our time with family, that are already bringing me joy a little over 24hrs in. Our place is a lovely one bedroom with a space for Dave to work, a balcony, and it is in a great location near the Brazen Head. Which is the oldest pub in Dublin. The bed is comfortable, the sheets and towels don’t smell like mildew, and the French Press is big enough to make several full cups of coffee! Oh and the forecast! See attached. Now that I think about it, maybe this post should have been entitled “relief” instead. ?

    I am extremely grateful for all these things and I am aware everyday just how fortunate I am. Even though I wish we were together I’m thankful to you for coming alongside me throughout this adventure. Sending you love wherever you are! ♥️

    A very full moon rising the first night in Prague
    A very full moon rising the first night in Prague
    Church of Our Lady before Tyn on Old Town Square
    Church of Our Lady before Tyn on Old Town Square
    The Astronomical Clock
    The Astronomical Clock
    The Pilsner Urquell Tour
    The Pilsner Urquell Tour
    The back of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle
    The back of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle
    The front of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle
    The front of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle
    The Lennon Wall (Peace)
    The Lennon Wall (Peace)
    The view of Saint Charles Bridge from the Old Town Bridge Tower in Lesser Town Prague
    The view of Saint Charles Bridge from the Old Town Bridge Tower in Lesser Town Prague
    The view of St. Nicholas Church and Prague Castle from Old Town Bridge Tower
    The view of St. Nicholas Church and Prague Castle from Old Town Bridge Tower
    Strahov Monastery
    Strahov Monastery
    Petřín Lookout Tower
    Petřín Lookout Tower
    Kafka Museum
    Kafka Museum
    Old Town Bridge Tower on the right with a view of St. Nicholas Church inbetween
    Old Town Bridge Tower on the right with a view of St. Nicholas Church inbetween
    Letná Park Metronome
    Letná Park Metronome
    Lookout Beer Garden at Letná Park
    Lookout Beer Garden at Letná Park
    The view from Lookout Beer Garden
    The view from Lookout Beer Garden
    The view of the Castle Tower from the courtyard of my hotel in Český Krumlov
    The view of the Castle Tower from the courtyard of my hotel in Český Krumlov
    Český Krumlov
    Český Krumlov
    Church of St. Vitus-Český Krumlov
    Church of St. Vitus-Český Krumlov
    Český Krumlov Castle
    Český Krumlov Castle
    Český Krumlov Castle
    Český Krumlov Castle
    River views
    River views
    Castle views
    Castle views
    Bears on the moat of the Castle
    Bears on the moat of the Castle
    More Castle views. Obviously I couldn't get enough
    More Castle views. Obviously I couldn’t get enough 🙂
    Svornosti Square
    Svornosti Square
    Forecast for Dublin-No more 90 degree weather for a while! Respite!
    Forecast for Dublin-No more 90 degree weather for a while! Respite!
    The view from the balcony of our Air Bnb in Dublin
    The view from the balcony of our Air Bnb in Dublin
  • Chapter 26: Heat

    Chapter 26: Heat

    It is the beginning of our second week in Zagreb and, in spite of the heat, we are loving it so far. As previously mentioned, we haven’t stopped sweating since we arrived in Athens on June 2nd. I keep telling myself that when it gets down into the 80s next week in Prague, I’ll be so acclimated to the heat,  I may have to wear a sweater! ?

    Since you last heard from me, we finished off our wonderful week in Split with a fun date night. We found the Markus Winery tasting room, which had only opened a month prior to us being there, near the steps to Marjan Hill, and basically had the place to ourselves. After that we went to dinner at Bokamorra, which was recommended by Google, Youtube and Rick Steves for being the best pizza in Split, and it was tasty. After dinner we walked up Marjan Hill together. It was fun going back and to be able to see the gorgeous view in a different light. We finished the night in Old Town and enjoyed blue hour. Which, for those of you who aren’t married to a photography buff, is “the period of twilight when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon. During this time, the remaining sunlight takes on a mostly blue shade.”

    On July 5th we rented a car and made our way to Plitvice (pronounced PLEET-veet-seh) Lakes National Park. After the shower situation in Albania and Split we welcomed the seemingly gigantic shower of our lovely B&B called Imperial House. We had a big comfortable bed, a delicious breakfast each morning and it didn’t smell. We highly recommend it and would definitely stay there again. 

    It was about a 2 ½ hour drive from Split to our B&B. It was beautiful through the mountains and fun to see another area of Croatia. After the 14,000 miles we drove during our time in the US and Canada I didn’t think I’d ever say “I can’t wait to get in the car again” and it felt good to not have to rely on anyone else’s schedule to get to where we were going.  We stopped at a beach bar on the way for lunch and by the time we arrived at the Imperial house it was almost time for dinner.  The first night we decided to take a walk after being in the car and walked the 35 mins to entrance number two. It was too late to go in so we walked back through the village and found a place for dinner. 

    When visiting Plitvice we heard that you should get up early to beat the tour buses so that is what we did the next day. We ate breakfast around 7am and then got to the park around 8am. It wasn’t too crowded yet which was nice. We started at entrance number one where the path begins with a spectacular view of The Veliki Slap (Great Waterfall) which is the highest waterfall in Croatia at 87 meters (285.4 feet) . I took 125 photos at this amazing park so there is no way that I could share them all here. I chose to share the view of Veliki Slap in the morning and afternoon to show you a comparison of how different it looks depending on what time of day you go. If you haven’t already noticed, and you would like to see more pictures from this incredible park, on the homepage of my blog website there is an Instagram tab at the top. If you click on it and scroll a little you can see the reel that I created from our day at the park. I am thankful to Dave for doing research on this place and the fact that we made an effort to go on our way to Zagreb. It was truly spectacular and I highly recommend it! 

    We picked Zagreb for our next destination because it is a metropolitan city that is also digital nomad friendly. One thing we found interesting before we arrived was that everytime we mentioned to someone in Split that we were coming to Zagreb for two weeks, they responded with a resounding, why? It concerned us a little bit, but then when we realized that there is a football rivalry between Split and Zagreb that dates back to 1950, we understood the sentiment better. You can see the year spray painted all over Split and on the road all the way to Zagreb. Needless to say, in spite of the people’s reactions, we have absolutely love it here. Our apartment is very nice, it has a separate work area for Dave, it is in a great location in Lowertown that makes it easy to walk everywhere, and it doesn’t smell. ?The only downfall is that there isn’t A/C so sleeping has been a little difficult, especially on nights when it is still 90 degrees at 11pm, and thank goodness we have a couple fans that make a huge difference! 

    One day last week I paid 15 Euros to use a pool at a hostel. It was one of the two outdoor pools I could find in the city and, even though it was only four feet by 12 feet, it offered some relief.  Another day I went to the manmade Lake Jarun which is a beautiful park that had shade. The lake was very warm though and I found the rinse off showers more refreshing. ?. There is a public pool here but it was closed last week for a water polo tournament. I may give it a try this week and it doesn’t have very good reviews so we’ll see. 

    Zagreb is another city that has a good mixture of old and modern. It has several squares. Jelačić which is probably the biggest one where they had a big screen setup for watching the Euro Cup like most of the other cities we’ve visited. Saint Mark’s which has the church with the most amazing roof, in my opinion. Lots of pedestrian streets with tons of bars, restaurants and shops. Ulica Ivana Tkalčića is probably the most popular and the one that we have frequented several times.  There are also several parks like Trg Kralja Tomislava. Rick Steves called this area the “green horseshoe” which has several museums around it.  There are quite a few amazing museums in Zagreb. We visited the Zagreb City Museum (together), the Archaeological Museum (me), the Museum of Broken Relationships (me), the Nikola Tesla Museum (Dave), and the Museum of Hangovers (together), which we were not hungover for or from by the way. 

    This list doesn’t even touch what Zagreb has to offer. The only unfortunate thing is that a lot of the churches, museums and galleries are closed because they are under construction. We haven’t been able to go inside of the Zagreb Cathedral, Saint Mark’s, the Church of St. Catherine, or many of the art galleries around town. You can see from several of my pictures that there is scaffolding all over the city. We learned that this is because, four years ago an earthquake happened, which according to Wikipedia “had a magnitude of 5.3 and a seven kilometer (4.3 mi) epicenter north of the city center.” With it taking place during the pandemic and having construction on ancient buildings take a long time everywhere in the world, they still haven’t re-opened.

    We have still had a good time exploring the town by foot and learning about the historical differences of the two main areas, Gradec and Kaptol. We learned that, as relayed from Google,  “Zagreb’s old town consists of two medieval settlements on the hill: Grič, the civil settlement, which was renamed Gradec (“Fortress”) when it was encircled by walls that were built to defend against the Mongols in the 13th century; and Kaptol, the ecclesiastical settlement, which was fortified in the 16th century.” There is also a ton of awesome street art to be seen. We have noticed that graffiti is not as frowned upon in Croatia and is actually celebrated.

    Last weekend we did some more exploring around Zagreb on Saturday and then on Sunday, since it felt like 102 degrees in Zagreb, we decided to go up Mount Sljeme to try to get a little respite from the heat. It was a nice experience with some cooler weather and the views were spectacular!

    Yesterday I took the train to Ljubljana for the day. I had never been to Slovenia and it didn’t disappoint. I haven’t ridden the train since I lived in France and it was just like riding a bike. I did some research beforehand about train times and where to buy my tickets and that all went pretty smoothly. One thing I noticed is that the time schedule, at least the arrival time, is only a suggestion. It might have been because we were crossing a border, as we stopped before it for at least a half hour both ways. I also thought it was interesting that when we were on our way back to Zagreb that the train actually waited a half hour for passengers arriving from Ljubljana to join us. In my recollection, if you missed the train, it sucked to be you, and Croatia is its own country. ?

    I’m glad I took advantage of the proximity and went to Ljubljana. It is a small and beautiful European city with the Ljubljanica river running through it. There are several bridges that traverse the river the most noteworthy are the Dragon Bridge and the Tromostovje (triple Bridge). I went to the Metelkova area and saw some crazy cool street art. I saw the Franciscan Church (pink church) and the Preseren Square in front of it. I strolled the main pedestrian street, Slovenska Cesta, and window shopped. I had lunch at the Central Market. Then I climbed the hill to the Ljubljana Castle and took in the beautiful view. It was a lovely and full day.  

    I feel like I have mentioned Rick Steves a lot in this post. He is on my mind because it would’ve been incredible to visit Lake Bled and the Vintgar Gorge while I was in Slovenia. There is so much more that I want to see and do. And, I learned at a very young age, from watching Europe Through the Back Door with my dad, that you should always save something for next time. I know we’ll be back. 

    With only four days left in Zagreb and the forecast remaining in the 90s I think I’m going to take it easy. I want to visit the The Naive Museum which has naive art, which I learned means art made by “peasants” (if that term is even PC anymore), mainly from Croatia.  I have thought about maybe taking a bus to Rijeka, a beautiful coastal town in Croatia, and we’ll see. It is nice to have slow easy days as well. I have bought a couple books by Croatian authors so maybe I’ll try and find an air conditioned space to finish reading them. Not constantly going is one of the luxuries of my role on this adventure and I definitely do not take it for granted. I am thankful for everyday and I’m thankful to you for being on this journey with me. I hope that you all are well and are staying cool wherever you are!

    With love, Alison

    Bokamorra Pizza-Split
    Bokamorra Pizza-Split
    View from Marjan Hill-Split
    View from Marjan Hill-Split
    Blue hour in old town-Split
    Blue hour in old town-Split
    Beach Bar view on the way to Plitvice
    Beach Bar view on the way to Plitvice
    Veliki Slap-Plitvice (morning)
    Veliki Slap-Plitvice (morning)
    Veliki Slap-Plitvice (Afternoon)
    Veliki Slap-Plitvice (Afternoon)
    Croatian association of fine artists near our house in Zagreb.
    Croatian association of fine artists near our house in Zagreb. This building is from the 1930s. It was a Mosque before the Nazis removed them in 1941.
    Jelačić Square-Zagreb
    Jelačić Square-Zagreb
    Jelačić Square
    Jelačić Square
    St. Mark's Church-Zagreb
    St. Mark’s Church-Zagreb
    Tkalciceva Street
    Tkalciceva Street
    Trg Kralja Tomislava-The Green Horseshoe
    Trg Kralja Tomislava-“The Green Horseshoe”
    Croatian National Theater-Trg Kralja Tomislava
    Croatian National Theater-Trg Kralja Tomislava
    Statue of Kralja Tomislava-Trg Kralja Tomislava
    Statue of Kralja Tomislava-Trg Kralja Tomislava
    Zagreb City Museum-Statues from when they remodeled St. Mark's Cathedral
    Zagreb City Museum-Statues from when they “remodeled” St. Mark’s Cathedral
    Zagreb City Museum-private collection/amazing woodwork!
    Zagreb City Museum-private collection/amazing woodwork!
    Zagreb City Museum-terrifying perm machine
    Zagreb City Museum-terrifying perm machine
    Museum of Hangovers
    Museum of Hangovers
    Museum of Hangovers-Never heard of a basket man before
    Museum of Hangovers-Never heard of a “basket man” before 🙂
    One of the many churches is the Kaptol area of Zagreb
    One of the many churches is the Kaptol area of Zagreb
    Zagreb Cathedral
    Zagreb Cathedral
    Construction and art around St. Catherine's Church
    Construction and art around St. Catherine’s Church
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb Street Art
    Zagreb TV Tower-Mount Sljeme
    Zagreb TV Tower-Mount Sljeme
    One of the view from Mount Sljeme
    One of the view from Mount Sljeme
    Mount Sljeme
    Mount Sljeme
    Metelkova Ljubljana
    Metelkova Ljubljana
    Metelkova Ljubljana
    Metelkova Ljubljana
    Dragon Bridge with Central Market in the background-Ljubljana
    Dragon Bridge with Central Market in the background-Ljubljana
    Ljubljanica River
    Ljubljanica River
    Tromostovje (The Triple Bridge) Surprisingly hard to take a picture of
    Tromostovje (The Triple Bridge) Surprisingly hard to take a picture of 🙂
    Franciscan Church and Prešernov Square
    Franciscan Church and Prešernov Square
    Slovenska Cesta-Pedestrian street in Ljubljana
    Slovenska Cesta-Pedestrian street in Ljubljana
    Ljubljana Castle
    Ljubljana Castle
    The view from Ljubljana Castle
    The view from Ljubljana Castle
    Ljubljana's red rooftops and church spire from Ljubljana Castle
    More incredible views! <3
  • Chapter 25: The Learning Curve

    Chapter 25: The Learning Curve

    Traveling gives you perspective. It is one of my favorite things about it. You have an opportunity to see worlds very different from the one you live. It forces you to step outside of your comfort zone. It helps you to grow and change in ways that you never thought possible. It is hard to do these things when every day is the same. You get comfortable and complacent.

    I know that we learned a lot during our eight months in the US and Canada and you can never be prepared for every scenario. That is the fun of it right? We’ve been in Europe for a month now and I am realizing that there are some of the things that I have remembered from my time living here before and some of the things I have learned and others I now appreciate in a way I never thought about before. Below are some of these observations I have made thus far. Let’s just say the learning curve has been very steep. 

    1. Drinking tap water. We have not been able to drink the tap water since we were in Athens and some people said we shouldn’t have even done it there. While we were in Santorini and then for the three weeks we were in Albania we had to use bottled water for drinking, teeth brushing and washing of produce. In Albania we had to haul our groceries and seven-liter jugs of water up 167 steps, from the market to the road that lead to our third floor apt. Now you understand why we had such a gorgeous view.  We have only been in Split, Croatia for three days and I cannot tell you how happy I am that we can drink the tap water!
    2. Toilet paper. I don’t even mind that it might now be as soft as the stuff we used to buy at home. Split is the first place that we’ve been able to flush it in over a month and I forgot what a luxury that is!
    3. Recycling. We have yet to be in an Air BnB that recycles. And when you’re having to use plastic bottles for your water it feels pretty crappy to throw it away. 
    4. Smells. Now, just so you know, I am not talking about any of the cities we’ve visited. All cities have a smell, see the NYC Subway, I’m talking about just general travel funk. It happens when you’re living out of a suitcase. I brought Febreze to help with some of this and I feel like sometimes you just can’t get that super fresh smell after washing your clothes. Part of it is maybe the lack of a dryer. Some of it is the smell in the air. Some of it is Lord knows what, it’s just a thing. Having such a sensitive sniffer, as I do, it can become annoying at times.
    5. Laundry machines. So far, we have been smart enough to reserve Air BnBs that have a washing machine so we don’t have to go to the laundromat. The one we had in Albania was pretty straight forward, once we were able to translate the different options, thank you Google Lens, and figured out how to not have it take three hours for one load. Our machine in Split offered another course of learning that we weren’t prepared for. Did you know that in Split there is a hose on the back of the washer that needs to be put in the tub while using the machine? Neither did I! So, my first night of doing a load of laundry was spent using every towel we had in our apartment, which turns out to be four big bath towels, mopping up the flood I created on the bathroom floor! Good thing there is a drain in the floor, so I didn’t have to worry about flooding the downstairs neighbor’s apartment as well. See: steep learning curve.
    6. Showers, or lack thereof. In Albania we had a shower, albeit one foot square. It was also pretty straight forward. Minus the fact that you needed to turn on the water heater at least an hour before your shower, if you didn’t want it to be freezing. In Split, I am brought back to my years studying abroad and teaching in France. There is a hose that comes off the tap, but it isn’t positioned above your head, so you sit in the tub to wash. I’m not a big bath person and I feel like I want to be conscientious about my water consumption, so it is the Military way for me.
    7. Packing. I was very proud of myself for narrowing down my packing to one big suitcase and two smaller backpacks. We are gone for six-months, and are planning on being in many different climates, so I wanted to be prepared for anything. It has been in the 90s pretty much since we left Minnesota and I have worn about one-sixteenth of the clothes that I have brought. We’re hoping to visit South America after we are home for the holidays, so I will be doing a better job of researching what the weather will be like in each place we plan to go, so that I can do a better job of packing. My hope is to get it down to one big backpack and one small backpack. Fingers crossed.
    8. Making coffee. I have learned/been reminded that it is very American to have a big pot of coffee, in the morning/everyday. We had a pot in Santorini but otherwise it has been French press, stove-top espresso or Turkish coffee-which I have yet to learn how to make. What grounds to buy is also another feat. Luckily, at the copious amounts of cafes, the coffee is delicious and cheap, and I miss nuzzling a big old mug of it in the morning.

    Since I last wrote we had two more weeks in Sarandë, Albania and they were lovely. We did end up taking a boat trip on the 22nd and were able to visit some of the beaches that you can only get to by boat. We visited Kakome and Krorëza beaches, and to say that the water is some of the bluest I’ve ever seen, would be an understatement. It was gorgeous. It was kind of a long day being on the boat and in the sun, but it was worth it. Then the next day, since it was our last weekend in town, we went back to Ksamil and had an incredible time. We found a different beach club than the one we visited before called 3 Ishujt Restaurant and Lounge. It had a bigger beach and a view of the three islands, one that we could practically wade to. It was fun too because they had a delicious restaurant with a view where if you spent a certain amount of money, you got the money back for what you paid for two chairs and an umbrella, so we took full advantage of that! Ksamil is beautiful and I am so thankful we made an effort to go one more time together.

    We said goodbye to Sarandë on the 29th. The third and final week we were in town, we saw Albania play in the Euro Cup from the big screen TV in the port, we celebrated 10 months of travel, and our 15th wedding anniversary. What a beautiful place to do it! To celebrate we discovered a restaurant called Manxurane right at the bottom of our stairs and had a delicious meal overlooking the water with a view of the sunset. We liked it so much we went back for breakfast the next morning before we began our three and a half hour car ride to Tirana. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to all the friends that we made during our time in Sarandë. It was awesome to be able to experience a culture so different from our own and I know we will be back some day.

    To get to Split we had to fly from Tirana and change planes in Vienna, Austria. It was a long day as we didn’t get to our Air Bnb until almost midnight and it all worked out! Our luggage was one of the first pieces to arrive  and Split has Uber so getting from the airport to our place was a breeze. I haven’t been to Vienna since I was living in France, and I remembered a funny anecdote from when my dad and I were there. In Vienna the city name is written Wien as that is how it is spelled in Austrian. I remember the first night that we were in town we were looking for a place to eat and came across a restaurant called Wienerwald that had a big chicken on their sign. I recall us finding it funny that a restaurant with the name Wienerwald didn’t have any sausages on the menu. Then we learned that Vienna is Wien and it probably served traditional food. Learning is fun!

    Sunday was our first full day in Split and we went out and discovered it. Our Air Bnb is about a 35 minute walk to old town and to be honest it feels good to be doing a bunch of walking again. Sarandë was pretty small so the most I did there was climb the stairs multiple times a day.  Which is great exercise just different from walking. Most of the history of Split can be found in and around Diocletian’s Palace which was completed in 305 AD. The statues, towers, vestibule, sphinx, the cellars underneath the castle, the tiles and mosaics, all of it is truly a sight to behold. Wandering around the tiny streets of the palace is fun and getting lost is encouraged. There are so many cute shops, cafes, restaurants and squares, you could spend hours there, which we did. Split also has a beautiful port are with the grand Riva to stroll along. Yesterday Dave had to work so I went and explored Marjan Hill and climbed to the highest viewpoint on the peninsula. It was beautiful. As you know I just love the combination of mountains and water and Split does not disappoint. I’m excited to do more exploring around Old Town with Dave before we leave.

    Today I am thinking about how I will miss celebrating the Fourth of July and my nephew’s 16th birthday, on Thursday with my family. My sister and brother-in-law always throw an amazing party and I know everyone will be there. And, I am very thankful for this time. Croatia has been on our list for years and it is wonderful to finally be here. Unfortunately, we’re only in Split for the week and I’m excited to see more of the country. This weekend we rented a car and will be driving to Plitvic Lakes National Park. The pictures of the waterfalls there look incredible, and I cannot wait to explore it! Then on Sunday we’ll drive to Zagreb for two weeks. We picked Zagreb because it was one of the cities that was listed as being digital nomad friendly. Google says “it offers a combination of colorful architecture, vibrant local life, lush parks and plenty of entertainment.” I can’t wait to see the cathedral and explore other amazing sights that Rick Steves has recommended. ?

    I hope that everyone is happy, safe and well wherever you are! Alison ?

    Summer Solstice in Sarandë
    Summer Solstice in Sarandë
    Kakome, Sarandë
    Kakome, Sarandë
    Kakome, Sarandë
    Kakome, Sarandë
    Krorëza Beach, Sarandë
    Krorëza Beach, Sarandë
    Krorëza Beach, Sarandë
    Krorëza Beach, Sarandë
    Krorëza Beach, Sarandë
    Krorëza Beach, Sarandë
    Ksamil (Three Islands)
    Ksamil (Three Islands)
    Ksamil
    Ksamil
    The view from 3 Ishujt Restaurant and Lounge, Ksamil
    The view from 3 Ishujt Restaurant and Lounge, Ksamil
    3 Ishujt Restaurant and Lounge, Ksamil
    3 Ishujt Restaurant and Lounge, Ksamil
    Watching Albania play in the Euro Cup, Sarandë
    Watching Albania play in the Euro Cup, Sarandë
    One more for the road. The view from our apartment the last full day in Sarandë
    One more for the road. The view from our apartment the last full day in Sarandë
    Last day in Sarandë
    Last day in Sarandë
    The Port in Sarandë
    The Port in Sarandë
    15th Anniversary Observed
    15th Anniversary Observed
    Manxurane, Sarandë
    Manxurane, Sarandë
    Manxurane, Sarandë
    Manxurane, Sarandë
    Pan seared vegetables
    Pan seared vegetables
    Handmade pasta with shrimp at Manxurane, Sarandë
    Handmade pasta with shrimp (insert drool face here)
    Mom's homemade baklava
    “Mom’s” homemade baklava
    Saying goodbye to our favorite bar, Caffe Italia, with the best view and even better servers-George and Enrico!
    Saying goodbye to our favorite bar, Caffe Italia, with the best view and even better servers-George and Enrico!
    Breakfast at Manxurane, Sarandë
    Breakfast at Manxurane, Sarandë
    The BEST breakfast! Fried eggs with pesto, feta and tomato. More drool faces please!
    The BEST breakfast! Fried eggs with pesto, feta and tomato. More drool faces please!
    Wienerwald Logo
    Wienerwald Logo 🙂
    Statue of Grgur Ninski, created by Ivan Mestrovic, who is one of the most famous
    Statue of Grgur Ninski, created by Ivan Mestrovic, who is one of the most famous and prolific figurative sculptors of the 20th century. Outside Diocletian’s Palace. Split, Croatia
    Grgur Ninski's lucky big toe. Split, Croatia
    Grgur Ninski’s “lucky” big toe. Split, Croatia
    Diocletian's Palace
    Diocletian’s Palace
    The sphinx and the tower at Diocletian's Palace
    The sphinx and the tower at Diocletian’s Palace
    The vestibule at Diocletian's Palace
    The vestibule at Diocletian’s Palace
    Diocletian's Palace
    Diocletian’s Palace
    Getting lost in Old Town Split
    Getting lost in Old Town Split
    Cool doorways and mosaics at Diocletian's Palace
    Cool doorways and mosaics at Diocletian’s Palace
    Old Town Split
    Old Town Split
    Radić Brothers Square. Old Town Split
    Radić Brothers Square. Old Town Split
    The port and the Riva and the tower, oh my!
    The port and the Riva and the tower, oh my!
    Church and Monastery of St. Frances. Split
    Church and Monastery of St. Frances. Split
    It got pretty hot so it was a perfect time to visit the Diocletian's Cellars
    It got pretty hot so it was a perfect time to visit the Diocletian’s Cellars
    Diocletian's Cellars
    Diocletian’s Cellars
    Diocletian's Cellars
    Diocletian’s Cellars
    Diocletian's Cellars
    Diocletian’s Cellars
    Marjan Hill
    Marjan Hill
    View of the port from Marjan Hill
    View of the port from Marjan Hill
    More view and giant agave. Marjan Hill
    More view and giant agave. Marjan Hill
    Poljud Stadium
    Poljud Stadium

    Domnius Bell Tower
    Domnius Bell Tower
  • Chapter 24: dashuri nga Shqiperia (love from Albania)

    Chapter 24: dashuri nga Shqiperia (love from Albania)

    It has been a little over two weeks since we left Minnesota and they have been packed with love and adventure!

    On May 31st we flew on Aer Lingus from MSP to Dublin where we changed planes for Amsterdam. The first leg of our journey went pretty well,  in spite of a kid kicking my chair for seven hours straight,  but our connection was pretty tight, so our luggage didn’t make it.  Luckily we have a little experience with travel so we had the essentials with us and we were able to pick up our luggage the next day when we returned to the airport to catch our flight to Athens. We hadn’t been to Amsterdam since New Years 2020 and it was nice to have a night to visit the neighborhood we stayed in during that time. We were even able to go to Cafe Oslo, one of our favorite places,  for breakfast before we returned to the airport in the morning.

    I feel like it is worth mentioning that in all the times we have traveled to Europe, together and apart, this was the least stressful experience I’ve ever had! We were prepared,  we had time, and we were in the zone.  My learning has taught me that worrying about things I can’t control serves zero purpose and with faith everything will work out,  and it did.

    We had two hot and incredible days in Athens.  I haven’t been to Athens since 2006 and Dave had never been so it was really fun to explore together! It was in the upper 90s both days and we took advantage of every minute. We hadn’t had much time to research Athens before our arrival because May was so crazy, so we were very thankful for our incredible driver that gave us many amazing recommendations on the way to our hotel from the airport. Getting recommendations from locals is one of our favorite things to do while traveling and he did not disappoint. I think my favorite recommendation was to “eat all the balls!” He was obviously talking about the many delicious fried balls that Greece has to offer, and we ate them all! Zucchini,  tomato, cheese,  meat,  and the most delicious donut balls I’ve ever had! They tasted like a bite of the top of fried ice cream with cinnamon and honey.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  All the food in Greece was incredible and I am happy to report that I turned into a Greek salad just like I had hoped.

    During our two days in Athens we also saw many amazing sites. We visited the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Agora-where we saw some artifacts that were from 3200 BCE, which is difficult to wrap your brain around, Hadrian’s Library, Parliament,  the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology Kotsanas and much much more. I love Athens.  It is a bustling metropolis that does an incredible job of mixing ancient and modern.  I’m so glad we made time to spend there and Dave did a great job finding a hotel in the perfect area that made it easy to walk everywhere we wanted to go. We will definitely be back!

    After two wonderful days in Athens we returned to the airport to catch our flight to Santorini, one of the most visited Greek islands, where we would be meeting ten of my family members to spend five glorious days together. Nine actually because my oldest nephew joined us a few days later.  This trip had been planned for over a year and is the reason Europe became the next leg of our adventure.

    I had been to Santorini one time before,  again back in 2006, and it was as beautiful as I remember and a lot more busy! Especially Oia (pronounced E-ah). The day we hiked there the streets were so crowded you could barely walk. We took advantage of our limited time together and explored Fira, and went to the Museum of Prehistoric Thera,  did some delicious wine tastings, and took an awe inspiring sunset cruise around the Caldera the night before we left, which really was the cherry on top of the whole experience! I’m beyond grateful for my dad who made the trip possible, my sister who is an incredible planner and for the time I had with my wonderful family! I miss them very much already and I’m glad that I know I get to see them when we’re home in November.

    On the 10th of June Dave and I made our way from Santorini to Sarandë, Albania via a flight to Athens then Corfu and then a ferry to Sarandë. It took the whole day and allowed us to explore Corfu for a few hours before we caught our ferry which was fun.  Corfu is a beautiful historic town with a fort on the hill overlooking the city and many winding streets in Old Town. I hope to explore more of Corfu some day.

    We chose Albania as our next destination for a few reasons.  First of all we needed more countries in the non-schengen zone of Europe.  We didn’t get a formal visa for these six months and you can only be in the Schengen zone for 90 days of 180 days. Another reason was that our friends, who we visited in Eugene, recommended it as they heard the beaches are beautiful,  which they are- some of the bluest water in the world,  and that it is inexpensive,  which it is.  I’ll share a picture of the view from our apartment which is only $500 a week! I can’t even imagine what it would cost in the US. The last reason is that it is a great place for digital nomads which it needs to be since Dave is working while we’re here.  Our apartment has great reception and plenty of space for Dave to comfortably do his thing and for us to not have to feel like we’re on top of each other, see “more than one door to close” from my previous posts.

    I love it here! It is beautiful,  the people are incredibly gracious and it has a relaxed vibe.  It has been great reconnecting with Dave after the craziness of May and I feel more in love than ever! I’m so grateful for Dave and the life we’re choosing to create together and am enjoying every minute of it!

    I’m also thankful for the extended time we have here so we don’t feel rushed to cram it all in in the one day of the one weekend where Dave doesn’t have to work, like we experienced several times when we were traveling in the US and Canada.  We knew we wanted that for this part of the adventure and I’m so grateful for the learning our experience has given us.

    We have been here for one week of three and have already seen many incredible things.  On top of exploring around Sarandë we’ve taken the bus to Ksamil (pronounced sa-meel)- a gorgeous beach town about 29min away where the beaches have white sand, unlike in Sarandë where they are more rocky, and the water is crystal-clear. Another day we took the bus to Butrint-UNESCO World Heritage Site, which from Google “Butrint was an important stop along a major trade route in the eighth century and was controlled by various empires, including the Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, and Ottomans. Butrint’s archaeological remains reflect the diversity of the different cultures who built, lived and worked in the settlement.”

    Yesterday we hired a driver who brought us to Gjirokastër which is also  UNESCO site and “is the birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha, and author Ismail Kadar” Communism in Albania fell in 1991. It is crazy to think of how recent that feels.  We also visited the Blue Eye which is in another National Park. From Wikipedia ” The blue eye is a water spring And natural phenomenon. Occurring in the village of Muzinë in Finiq Municipality, southern Albania. A popular tourist attraction, the clear blue water of the river can be seen from a depth of more than 50 meters. Divers have descended to 50 m, but it is unclear of what the actual depth of the karst hole is. “https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Eye,_Albania#cite_note-Gloyer2008-4 It was AWESOME and crowded.

    We finished our excursion with a visit to the Kantina e Verës winery in Isak. This 50 hectares farm and winery makes wine, Raki- which is an Albanian digestif, olive oil,  it has a large organic greenhouse where it grows several different kinds of vegetables that it sells to the people of the town,  grocery stores and restaurants.  It also has horses, chickens,  turkeys and geese. I learned that you can eat turkey eggs, which is what they keep them for, I had never heard of that before. It was a lovely way to end the day!

    Before we leave we hope to go back to Ksamil at some point and plan on taking a boat trip next weekend to some of the destinations you can only get to by boat- Kakome, Krorez and the islands around Ksamil.  I’m grateful that we have two more weeks here and we’re already talking about how we can come back!

    I hope this finds everyone well. Wherever you are I’m sending you love!❤️

    Cafe Oslo-Amsterdam
    Cafe Oslo-Amsterdam
    The Parthenon at the Acropolis-Athens
    The Parthenon at the Acropolis-Athens
    Temple of Olympian Zeus-Athens
    Temple of Olympian Zeus-Athens
    Hadrian's Library-Athens
    Hadrian’s Library-Athens
    Ancient Agora-Athens
    Ancient Agora-Athens
    The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology Kotsanas-Athens
    The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology Kotsanas-Athens
    The Acropolis Museum-Athens
    The Acropolis Museum-Athens
    Parliment-Athens (Changing of the Guard)
    Parliment-Athens (Changing of the Guard)
    One of the many delicious Greek salads I enjoyed at Kalamaki Bar in Athens
    One of the many delicious Greek salads I enjoyed at Kalamaki Bar in Athens
    Cheese Balls! (I dare say they rival our beloved Midwest cheese curds)
    Cheese Balls! (I dare say they rival our beloved Midwest cheese curds 😉
    Exploring Fira-Santorini, Greece
    Exploring Fira-Santorini, Greece
    Fira-Santorini
    Fira-Santorini
    Museum of Prehistoric Thera. Fresco salvaged from the volcanic eruption in Akrotiri, Santorini
    Museum of Prehistoric Thera. Fresco salvaged from the volcanic eruption in Akrotiri, Santorini
    Argyros Winery-Santorini
    Argyros Winery-Santorini
    Santos Winery-Santorini
    Santos Winery-Santorini
    Hike to Oia-Santorini
    Hike to Oia-Santorini
    Hike to Oia
    Hike to Oia
    Hike to Oia
    Hike to Oia
    Hike to Oia
    Hike to Oia
    Anhydrous Winery-Santorini
    Anhydrous Winery-Santorini
    Hatzidakis Winery-Santorini
    Hatzidakis Winery-Santorini
    Hatzidakis Winery-Santorini
    Hatzidakis Winery-Santorini
    Sunset at Santos Winery
    Sunset at Santos Winery
    Beginning point of our Caldera boat tour-Santorini
    Beginning point of our Caldera boat tour-Santorini
    Caldera boat tour
    Caldera boat tour
    Akrotiri Lighthouse
    Akrotiri Lighthouse
    The rocks of the Caldera (I thought this one looked like the Western side of Montana)
    The rocks of the Caldera (I thought this one looked like the Western side of Montana 🙂
    Sunset on the Caldera
    Sunset on the Caldera
    The Old Fortress. Corfu, Greece
    The Old Fortress. Corfu, Greece
    Old Town, Corfu
    Old Town, Corfu
    Clock Tower. Old Town, Corfu
    Clock Tower. Old Town, Corfu
    Greek Orthodox Church, Corfu
    Greek Orthodox Church, Corfu
    The view from our apartment in Sarandë, Albania
    The view from our apartment in Sarandë, Albania
    The port in Sarandë
    The port in Sarandë
    Sarandë
    Sarandë
    Sarandë
    Sarandë
    Ksamil, Albania
    Ksamil, Albania
    Ksamil, Albania
    Ksamil, Albania
    Ancient Roman Theater-Butrint, Albania
    Ancient Roman Theater-Butrint, Albania
    The Gymnasium, Butrint
    The Gymnasium, Butrint
    Baptistery, Butrint
    Baptistery, Butrint
    The Great Basilica, Butrint
    The Great Basilica, Butrint
    The view from the Venetian Castle, Butrint
    The view from the Venetian Castle, Butrint
    Gjirokastër, Albania
    Gjirokastër, Albania
    Gjirokastër Castle
    Gjirokastër Castle
    Gjirokastër Castle
    Gjirokastër Castle
    Gjirokastër Clock Tower
    Gjirokastër Clock Tower
    The Blue Eye
    The Blue Eye
    The Blue Eye
    The Blue Eye
    The Blue Eye
    The Blue Eye
    Kantina e Verës ISAK winery
    Kantina e Verës ISAK winery
    Kantina e Verës ISAK (this is only a fraction of what we were given for 15 Euro)
    Kantina e Verës ISAK (this is only a fraction of what we were given for 15 Euro)
    Kantina e Verës ISAK, organic green house
    Kantina e Verës ISAK, organic green house
    Kantina e Verës ISAK, views and horses
    Kantina e Verës ISAK, views and horses
    Kantina e Verës ISAK vines
    Kantina e Verës ISAK vines
  • Chapter 23: Europe Bound

    Chapter 23: Europe Bound

    I can’t believe how fast our month in the Midwest went! As anticipated it was very busy and good. I feel like I have had the opportunity to do a lot of reflecting during our time here. Especially since we leave today for Europe. I am sure that you aren’t going to be surprised to hear how the theme “multiple things can exist at the same time” has continued to ring true. Busy, fantastic, challenging, stressful and wonderful. All the things. We had quality time with family and friends, several doctors appointments, a tenant change and sold our Civic. It was a lot and it was great. I’m already looking forward to the next time we’re home, and to having time here without so many of the other things. I look forward to just truly enjoying uninterrupted quality time with our loved ones. 

    I will say with how busy it has been I found myself missing Dave. The beginning of the month was so busy that It went from just us all the time to basically being two ships passing in the night for over a week. He was working while we were home and I’m so happy that he had so much time with his friends too, especially since he didn’t get much of that the eight months prior to our visit. 

    It was interesting to be home in May, in a way that I wasn’t expecting it to be. This is the first time in 17 years that I am not physically experiencing the stress around the end of the school year and I’m still feeling it. Typically this time of year is very chaotic. I think Dave could attest to how the end of the year feels like survival mode. The brain is interesting. It likes to stick with what it knows. It becomes ingrained and enters default mode. I think that is why unlearning is so hard. 

    Also, I think being in a place that I have lived the past 27 years, and not staying in our house,  makes it hard to not feel all the things that have happened over the years. Obviously there has been a lot of joy along with some challenging times and I am thankful for everything that I have been through because I feel a lot of positive things and growth has come from it. 

    Fortunately our Air bnb was lovely. It was in a great area of Saint Paul and it was easy to walk to the Selby, Dale, Victoria and Grand Avenue areas. It was very spacious and updated. I think we may stay here again when we return. 

    All of that to say, I am very much looking forward to the next phase of our adventure. We’re off to Europe today! We’ll be gone for six months and have planned through August so far. We’ll have some time with my dad, sisters, and their families in Greece. After Greece we head to Albania for three weeks, then Croatia for three weeks, Prague for a week and then Ireland for five weeks. It is going to be different than when we were in the US and Canada. I had times planned when I was going to see family and friends. And now I won’t see my mom and stepdad nor the majority of my friends until November. And my sisters too once we say goodbye in Greece on the 10th. And this is all a part of it. I’m excited to go to some places I haven’t been before and reconnect with Dave after this whirlwind of a month. I’m thankful for it all and can’t wait to see what the future has in store! 

    Sending you love wherever you are! <3

  • Chapter 22: May in the Midwest

    Chapter 22: May in the Midwest

    We have been in Saint Paul for six days and I have already done no less than 30 different things! ? It has been wonderful to see so many friends and family members already, my heart is very full, and it is quite a change from the past eight months. Before the pandemic it was “normal” practice for me to triple book my life. I was mindlessly subscribing to grind culture. This has been nothing compared to that. Everything I have done since I have been home has been things that I have either wanted (connecting with friends and family) or needed (doctors appointments and car check-ups) to do. I feel in the past when I triple booked my life it wasn’t always filled with things that brought me joy and filled me up. Hence the reason I decided, four years ago, that it  was time to make a change. When I decided to make that significant change from what I considered my “normal” way of life, I created a calendar reminder to repeat every Saturday. It read “Reprioritization, down size, couch time, make time for you, don’t triple book, you matter” and it is still there as an important reminder. Another significant difference is the people I am sharing my time with. Every single person has shown up and has been intentional about being a key player. My goodness am I fortunate to have so many people in my life that know my heart! We’ve cultivated a space where we can be unapologetically ourselves together. I am eternally grateful for them!

    I know that I expressed a little trepidation before I came home about how busy it would be, and then I reminded myself that it is important for me to show up for my people the same way they have shown up for me. I know that I can’t do that if I am not 100% so I feel like this month is going to be about finding that balance. I want to be intentional about giving myself what I need because that is what is best for everyone. Wish me luck! ?

    It feels weird that it has been a little over three weeks since I have written. I am not sure if you noticed that over the past eight months I tried to write about every two weeks. I guess three weeks isn’t too much of a difference. When we are in Europe we’re going to try and be in locations for a longer period of time in an effort to experience more “being” rather than “doing.” We want to really be able to immerse ourselves in the different cultures and places that we haven’t been before and learn more about the ones we have.  Either way I am sure it’ll be different and I’m looking forward to it.

    SO, since I last updated you, we were getting ready to leave Vancouver. The first week after we left we were in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a long two day drive with one overnight in Boise, ID. I know the map only says 15 hours but when you add in stops for food, gas, construction and for Dave to do work, everything takes longer than you can even plan for.  I think that I mentioned that I had only been to the airport in Salt Lake City prior to our visit. It wasn’t really on my radar because I associated it with winter/snow activities which, even though I’ve lived in Minnesota for 27 years, I don’t participate in. I am so glad that through Dave’s analysis of the best route to get back to MN he found SLC. My goodness I was blown away by what a fantastic week it was! 

    My brother-in-law’s sister used to live in Salt Lake City for a long time, so when we decided that was going to be our first stop on our trip home, I reached out to her for suggestions. She sure did deliver! We stayed in the 9th and 9th area just outside of downtown and it was perfect.  Lots of shops, parks and restaurants to walk to and a great location to drive to all the amazing hikes that she recommended. I also can’t forget to mention how amazing the mountains are in SLC!!!! It is almost a 360 degree spectacular view everywhere you look.

    I was chatting with my friend who used to live in Colorado about this and she shared a theory with me that I didn’t even think of. The mountains in Utah, compared to the mountains in Colorado, look so spectacular because there are no foothills like in Colorado. They just rise straight up from the water so they look significantly bigger. She even said that she checked the elevation and they aren’t as high in Utah. I thought that was fascinating and made sense.

    The weather was gorgeous almost everyday that week and so I was able to do a ton of incredible hikes and do a lot of solo exploring. I hiked the Pipeline trail at Millcreek Canyon, some of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, City Creek Canyon and Ensign Park which offered fantastic views of the city and of course the mountains! I also was able to visit the Great Lake State Park and was awestruck by the beauty of Antelope Island State Park. The bugs there kinda ruined my last attempt to walk a path along the shore and the Buffalo Point Trail was spectacular!

    After we left Salt Lake City we made our way to Omaha, NE. Since it was another two day drive we did an overnight in Fort Collins, CO which was super fun. When we’ve had to do long weekend drives previously we usually didn’t roll into our place until very late which didn’t allow for much exploring. So this time we made sure we arrived early enough to experience it and I’m glad we did. I finally got to meet some of the amazing women at Kansas City Kitty which is a wonderful shop that I’ve been following on Instagram for the past couple years. We also went to Odell Brewing, listened to a lot of live music going on that weekend for FoCoMX, and we had a lovely dinner at Union Bar. 

    In Omaha we stayed with one of Dave’s closest friends from college. We hadn’t ever had that extended time with him, his wife and children and it was really special. We were very thankful to them for opening their home to us. To be honest there aren’t a ton of things to do in Omaha and I made the most of my days out of the house while they worked in our bedroom. ? I went to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium which really was spectacular! Their aquarium is amazing and I got to see several baby elephants which are my FAVORITE! I also visited the Fontenelle Forest and Nature Center which has a raptor center and tons of paths through the forest with views of the Missouri River. Since we were last there, three years ago for their wedding, they re-did the waterfront so we went down to the Gene Leahy Mall one evening to explore and it was pretty cool. They built a really beautiful area with fountains, parks, an infinity bridge and waterfront walk. I even got a couple hikes in at Zorinsky Lake and the Chalco Hills. 

    We ended up leaving Omaha a day early because there were tornadoes in the forecast for Friday. It was a blessing that we did because they ended up getting hit pretty severely right around the time that we were planning on getting on the road. Our friends fortunately were not impacted by the storm and we made it safely to Oconomowoc, WI, Dave’s hometown and where his parents still live, around 12: 30 in the morning on Friday, April 26th. It was nice to have a full day before Dave’s parents hosted a family gathering on Saturday.  It was wonderful to have that time in Oconomowoc and to see so many of Dave’s relatives that live in the area. The weather continued to be gorgeous the rest of the week so I was able to walk around Fowler Lake several times and even had an opportunity to explore Lapham Peak for the first time. We were very grateful to his parents for hosting us.

    During our week in Wisconsin I was also able to see friends in Madison and Milwaukee. It was so fun to connect with them an do some things we haven’t done before/for a long time. In Madison I walked around State Street and Campus and visited the Chazen Museum of Art. I also got to have an amazing belated birthday dinner with a friend at the Harvey House which was delicious! It was so fun to make it there for my first time especially after seeing the Top Chef contestants go there.

    It is surreal to be back in Saint Paul and it is also like we never left. Except we’re in an Air bnb and not in our house. I am happy to report that our Air bnb is 100% better than the one we were in when we first moved out of our house back in August. I am grateful to have this time to see people in the Midwest. It is my intention to stay present and grounded in that during our time here and throughout all seasons of this wonderful adventure! ❤️

    Ensign Peak: Salt Lake City, Utah
    Ensign Peak: Salt Lake City, Utah
    Ensign Peak
    Ensign Peak
    Bonneville Shoreline Path: Salt Lake City
    Bonneville Shoreline Path: Salt Lake City
    City Canyon: Salt Lake City
    City Canyon: Salt Lake City
    Great Salt Lake Park: Salt Lake City
    Great Salt Lake Park: Salt Lake City
    Great Salt Lake Park
    Great Salt Lake Park
    Pipeline Trail at Millcreek Canyon: Salt Lake City
    Pipeline Trail at Millcreek Canyon: Salt Lake City
    Pipeline Trail
    Pipeline Trail
    Pipeline Trail
    Pipeline Trail
    Pipeline Trail
    Pipeline Trail
    Pipeline trail
    Pipeline trail
    Antelope Island State Park
    Antelope Island State Park
    Antelope Island: Buffalo Ridge Trail
    Antelope Island: Buffalo Ridge Trail
    Antelope Island
    Antelope Island
    Antelope Island, where the buffalo roam
    Antelope Island, where the buffalo roam 🙂
    Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium Omaha, NE
    Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium Omaha, NE
    Omaha Zoo Aquarium
    Omaha Zoo Aquarium
    Omaha Zoo Aquarium
    Omaha Zoo Aquarium
    Omaha Zoo Aquarium
    Omaha Zoo Aquarium
    BABY ELEPHANTS!!!!!
    BABY ELEPHANTS!!!!!
    MORE PLEASE!!!!
    MORE PLEASE!!!!
    YOU'RE WELCOME!
    YOU’RE WELCOME! 🙂
    Fontenelle Forest: Omaha, NE
    Fontenelle Forest: Omaha, NE
    Frontenelle Forest Raptor Center
    Frontenelle Forest Raptor Center
    Frontenelle Forest
    Frontenelle Forest
    Frontenelle Forest: Missouri River
    Frontenelle Forest: Missouri River
    Gene Leahy Mall at The RiverFront: Omaha, NE
    Gene Leahy Mall at The RiverFront: Omaha, NE
    Gene Leahy Mall
    Gene Leahy Mall
    Bridge to Infinity
    Bridge to Infinity
    Waterfront walk: Omaha, NE
    Waterfront walk: Omaha, NE
    Lake Fowler: Oconomowoc, WI
    Lake Fowler: Oconomowoc, WI
    Lapham Peak Observation Tower: Delafield, WI
    Lapham Peak Observation Tower: Delafield, WI
    The view from Lapham Peak
    The view from Lapham Peak
    Lapham Peak State Park
    Lapham Peak State Park