Whitstable, UK November 14th-16th, 2008

A 90 minute train ride from Victoria Station leads us to Whitstable, a small fishing town in Kent (southeast UK). We went for the weekend with Jason & Jimmy to stay with our friends Ed & Scott, who bought and renovated an old fisherman's house there about five years ago. On Friday night, we stayed in for some delicious fish pie before venturing out to The Old Neptune, a perfect seaside pub with a good mix of London-based weekenders and resentful locals who gaze contemptibly at the former.  One looked like Jesus, another Willie Nelson, and another like Merlin and one looked like they wanted to eat Erin as a late-night snack....awesome. Once the Neptune closed, we were forced on to another bar in an old factory of some kind along the water. It had a decent live band and it was connected to a club. After a few more drinks, we decided it would be a good idea to sneak into the club. Well, 5 out of 6 of us sneaked in. Erin got caught by the bouncer and was summarily kicked out. However, we quickly realized that everyone else there was under 22 so, feeling old, we decided it was best for us to crack on elsewhere. Before leaving I took a trip to the men's room to find two girls peeing backwards into one of those football-stadium-style urinal troughs. Classy. Thankfully they were so drunk that they didn't notice that I had entered the room so I was able to reverse tip-toe out without making any super-awkward eye contact. Whew!!

After a slow start on Saturday we went for a drive to Faversham to wander the market in the center of town. We had a mediocre sausage and onions (no peppers) from a vendor - not as good as Shea. After failing to find a certain pub, oddly called Mac and Ades, we decided to move on to Canterbury. The famous cathedral there is very impressive - its towers visible for miles outside the small city. No wonder the Church of England picked this as its home. We enjoyed a long lunch at The Good's Shed, an outstanding farmer's market/butcher/restaurant combo on the north side of town. On the way out we picked up food for dinner too and realized later that we had spent 10 pounds on hazelnuts, which Eric nor I actually like. Great place.

Wandering the streets of Canterbury is an odd experience. 1,000 year old churches and 500 year old slanting Tudor homes alternate lots with GAPs, Boots, and Starbucks. Sometimes the latter are located within the former. I wouldn't mind going back to explore more of the winding streets and alleyways.

Jimmy, Eric, Jason, Scott and Ed

Our evening included a quick nap, a pre-dinner pint at the Duke of Cumberland, a dinner of cheese, sausage, and "the world's best ham." No one liked it but me. Later, at the Smack Inn, we played with some stinky pub dogs and encouraged Jason to eat one of the picked eggs from the jars behind the bar.  No dice. We wandered around town a while longer before heading home. Scott and Erin slept, Jimmy and Ed blasted music, and Jason and I roasted chestnuts on the open fire (seriously).

It was brisk on Sunday morning when we walked to High Street for coffee and croissants. Then the rain started as we walked on the beach. Typical. After a hearty brunch including eggs benedict, welsh rarebit, and lots and lots of coffee, Erin and I caught the train home to London. Fun weekend.


A few pictures here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=hj0zhyv.akq8cgmj&x=0&y=-zg3htd&localeid=en_US

Edinburgh, Scotland, Oct 31 - Nov 2, 2008

The train from King's Cross Station in London to Edinburgh Waverly was a breeze. As per our usual routine, I (Eric) had perused the travel guide as we chugged along and had a general idea of what we would plan to see and do. The last hour or so of 4 1/2 hour journey goes right along the coast of England and then Scotland...a beautiful scene of harsh coastline with crashing waves on windy shores. Despite the sunny forecast offered up by the BBC's Carol Kirkwood it was, of course, raining and cold, but somehow it made the views all the more dramatic. We were traveling with Erin's parents too, but I was the only one who didn't pack rain gear....dummy.

We arrived to the station about 1:00pm and walked north until we reached our apartment. We had to wait for our "contact" Jennifer to show up and give us the keys. We opted to try out an apartment rental rather than going to a hotel. We rented a sparsely but sufficiently furnished two-bedroom through Auld Reekie located at 74 Elm Row (aka Leith Walk) near New Town. (New Town was completed about 250 years ago so it's a just a little older than the U.S.A...."new" is a relative term, I suppose.)

Making our way to Edinburgh Castle on top of the hill

We ventured out toward Princes Street and Edinburgh Castle, but stopped first at Rick's (not the American Cafe) for a quick bite. It was a recommendation from Erin's friend and colleague, Becca, who went to the University of Edinburgh. We then wandered through the West Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh (important note: burgh is pronounced like "burra" - this is the case for many cities in the UK.  Calling it "Edinberg" is like dragging your nails on chalkboard to the locals) Castle is perched atop a hill in the center of the city; it's quite a dramatic sight. The rest of the old city drapes itself on the hillsides surrounding the castle. We walked along the Royal Mile which, for being the central route for tourists, maintained a strong sense of authenticity...if you can look past the various tat shops and the odd William Wallace impersonating street performers. We wandered down through Old Town to Edinburgh University, George Heriot's School, and Grassmarket- formerly a nice gathering spot for public executions.

It was already getting late so we started looking for a pub. We first tried the Royal Oak, but the local septuagenarians put Erin off a bit so we made it back to the Guildford Arms in New Town for our first pint. Despite this being a very old-school, guilded-age looking pub, it was Halloween so we drank beers with names like Spooky Stout and Skull and Bones Bitter. For dinner we ended up at Milnes on Rose Street, a pub that specialized in long spirits and karaoke...with a lesser focus on food. Needless to say, we were in and out quick after forcing down some watery soup and soggy pub grub.

Long lines scared us away,
but not before one quick pic.

On Saturday, we walked back up to the castle to find a 45 minute wait for entry, so we bypassed it in favor of the Museum of Scotland. Completed just a few years ago, it is a modern -looking building among a city of buildings built over 10 centuries ago. The exhibits inside cover all things Scottish and it is very well done. Having made it to noon, Erin and Bonnie did some shopping while Chuck and I went to "The Whiskey Experience" off Royal Mile near the castle.

In a group of about 14 people, we were treated to a short history of blended and single malt whiskeys from the four well-known whiskey making regions of Scotland: Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, and The Islands. Chuck and I decided we both liked the distinctive, bold, peaty flavors of the Island whiskeys above the others. Why? Imagine you're sitting on a beach at dusk in the winter smoking cigars with your friends, then you walk up to a peat campfire and inhale a huge breath of smoke. Well that's kind of what your first dram feels like.

Having warmed our insides, we wandered back to Princes Street to meet up with the girls before hiking Calton Hill. About a mile NE of the city center, Calton Hill provides great views of Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding city. A replica of the Athenian Parthenon (about 12% completed) sits atop the hill, a monument to Scotland's war dead. There's also a memorial to Abraham Lincoln (which we couldn't find) and Horatio Nelson (British Naval Admiral who defeated a French/Spanish combo at Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars). It looks like an inverted telescope...and sits (coincidentally?) next to an observatory.

A cold night for a kilt

After a pit stop back at the apartment, we walked about 20 minutes down to Leith, an old port town on the edge of the Firth of Forth (inlet of water from the North Sea). We had an amazing dinner at a very cozy restaurant called The Shore. Chuck and I tried our 5th and 6th drams of Scotch (two more from the Island of Islay ("Eye-Lay.")) I sampled the traditional Scottish dish called haggis, a concoction of sheep's heart, liver, and lungs mixed with oatmeal, onions, spices, and stock, then cooked in the sheep's stomach for a few hours. Whether it was the Scotch or my hunger, it actually tasted really good. Erin tried a bite and would offer a slightly different opinion on the dish. We all had fish straight out of the FoF. Three tunas and some battered haddock for Bonnie. Then we all split a slice of treacle for dessert. Delicious.

After dinner we walked back into town, made one final stop at the Royal Theatre Pub for a night cap before heading back to the apartment for bed. Our morning EasyJet flight back to London got us home by noon so we were able to enjoy Chuck and Bonnie's last night over a leisurely dinner in our flat...a relaxing finish to a great week.

E&E's pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=hj0zhyv.488y5gwb&x=0&y=-mlpvzd&localeid=en_US

Athens, Santorini, Paros, Greece August 31st - September 5th, 2008

Where to begin... Because our trip to Greece was a bit longer than all of the others, I think I will spare you all the details and just give you the good, bad, unusual, scary, weird, etc. highlights from the trip. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I know Eric would agree that we most certainly had no desire to leave and return to gray, saturated London.

Friday night - we left Heathrow on a "red-eye" flight that put us into Athens at 2:30 a.m. We stayed at a very cool boutique hotel in the center of Athens called The Classical Baby Grand. The pictures should give you an idea of how unique and boutique it really was.

Saturday

We basically did all of Athens in a day. We visited: the Agora, Parthenon, Acropolis, the 1896 Olympic Stadium, the 2004 Olympic grounds, the Olympein and Arch. The Acropolis is quite a sight and very impressive. However, aside from the popular sights, Athens is quite a dump. Outside of the main tourist areas, it is almost scary. Graffiti is everywhere (sadly, even on landmarks) and in general just appears tired and rundown. We spoke to a local who said that the city was initially reinvigorated after winning the 2004 Olympic bid, but shortly after the close of the games, the city was back to the way it was before.

For lunch we went to a recommended Taverna near the Agora called Bazante. It was the first of many grilled/fried starters, souvlaki, and greek salad meals. The Greek Salad is just what you would expect minus the lettuce and plus a cup of olive oil. Anyone who knows me, knows I love olive oil, but when the salad is swimming in it, that is another story. We were treated with a mammouth portion of Greek yogurt and honey, because we were "special guests." 5 minutes later, we saw 2 other tables getting the royal treatment and discovered we really weren't special at all.

Construction at the Pantheon

Dinner was a bit different. We tried to find another of the recommended restaurants that was provided by a local, but think we took a wrong turn somewhere. We ended up down a dark alley, with one "horror-movie like" streetlamp conveniently lighting a junkie sticking a needle into his arm. Scary. Upon seeing that, I suggested we had back to the area with the oversized menus, and pictures of each dish. We settled on a nice traditional restaurant (run by a Greek who grew up in Australia) with a view of the Agora. Eric enjoyed the traditional liquor with his meal, Ouzo, which is a clear substance, but turns cloudy when you add water and tastes like black licorice.

1 other interesting fact about Athens is that it never really rains there in the summer or fall. But...because the Wilson's were there, it sprinkled that night. It was actually so absurd, it was funny.

1896 Olympic Track was cut into a hill.
Fielding Yost must have been inspired.

Sunday

Took a really early ferry to Santorini. Although it was high-speed, it took almost 5 hours to get there.

Arrived at the port and got a taxi to our guest house called Ikies (pronounced Ee-KEY-uhs) in Oia which is on the northern end of the island and has a reputation for beautiful sunsets. Santorini, in general, is more known for their views and sunsets as opposed to beaches. The main cities are perched on cliffs and therefore beach access is restricted to only the southern coast of the island. The island itself is quite small and can be driven around in just a few hours by ATV.

The stairwell at Ikies

The views at Ikies were breathtaking. It was almost surreal how beautiful the surroundings were. It sat on the edge of Oia, overlooking the cliffs facing the Caldera. The staff could not have been more accommodating as well. We stayed there for lunch and sat buy the pool, offending the locals with our whiteness. Eventually we wandered into town, walking through the tourist-clogged walking streets. Everyone started to gather on the western-most facing cliffs to watch the sunset. Apparently this happens every night. We were still 1-2 hours away from sunset, so we walked down a steep stair path down to the water. Near the water were a few restaurants, but we decided to head back up to watch the sunset. There must have been 1,000 or so people gathered on the steep streets and when the sun went behind the clouds before reaching the horizon everyone gave a half-hearted applause. We wandered back into town and found Seagull Restaurant...long on the view, short on food and atmosphere. It overlooked three of the blue-domed churches made famous by numerous postcards.

Monday

We rented a 4-wheel ATV (aka by the locals as "quad-bikes"). We drove to the east part of the island to a beach town called Perivolas. We laid in some lounge chairs on the black sand beach all day and went for a swim or two in the sea. The most surprising thing for us was seeing so many people topless. I think it was a first for both of us. In the early evening, we explored the island on our ATV and headed to Fira for drinks and to watch the sunset. We landed at a place called Franco's which is one of the top 100 bars in the world. The drinks were ridiculously expensive so we drank (the one each that we had)slowly and quickly ate up all of the free snack mix. We chatted with a few Aussies who were on a 6 month trip around the world. It was so fascinating to hear where they were going and how they were trying to hit the big festivals in each of the countries. They had quite a trip ahead of them. I think we were a bit jealous.

Watching the sunset with thousand of others

We left Fira and headed back to Oia. We ate in town at a place called Lithos. The food was good -Eric had Moussaka (basically the Greek combo of lasagna and shepherd's pie) and I had a spinach salad. The house muzak left something to be desired. They had one playlist that included Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" as the 1st and 3rd song followed by the theme songs from Ghost, and Top Gun. We enjoyed a leisurely meal and I am pretty sure we got through at least 2 rounds of the playlist.

After dinner we strolled back to our villa. Along the way, there was a live concert taking place along the footpath by one of the churches. It was a really nice night so we ended up taking in the music for a bit.

Our last Santorini sunset from our Ikies terrace

Tuesday

The morning started with another awesome breakfast on the terrace outside our room at Ikies. Yogurt with honey, bread, fresh fruit, cheese, and cappucinos. Mmmm. Then it was off to scuba. One of the guides for our trip, Manthos, was the former equivalent of a Greek navy seal, national water polo player, etc. Needless to say, he was experiencing little fear as we raced across the Caldera in our inflatable speed boat to our dive site. I was so scared I started to cry, at which point Eric realized it wasn't quite as funny as he thought at first. But as always, once we got all our gear on and got in the water, I was fine. There wasn't a ton to see in terms of sea life, but the "new" volcano, the tip of which has only recently (10,000 years ago) started to crest out of the water in the middle of the Caldera. The second site was at the bottom of cliffs atop of which an old lighthouse sat. Again there wasn't much to see but we did navigate some very dark caves (which of course made me a little uneasy).

Following scuba, lunch was a mini-market meal on our terrace. We hung around the villa by the pool and just soaked up as much sun as possible. Dinner was at the villa, then we walked into town for some sorbet. Our final night at Ikies was in yet another room - the house of the cook. This was the best room of the 3. It was big and had our own private terrace.

Bougainvillea

Postcard shot

Wednesday

We left Santorini via ferry for Paros. The ferry was not high-speed and seemed very low rent. It was an old retired cruise ship from the 70s. I haven't been on a cruise for 9 years, but that boat was so much more luxurious than this boat ever would have been. We arrived in Paros about 4 hours later and to our hotel Stelia Mare. This was a boutique hotel about a block from a smaller inlet beach. We were starving so we wandered into Naoussa and searched for a lunch spot. Oddly, the small town seemed deserted. We settled on a place near the harbor, that was about 1000 yards from where about 3 dozen octopi hanging to dry. The rest of the day we spent reading on the small beach near our hotel. No dinner for us that night because we ate lunch so late.

Thursday

We got up early and went for a swim in the sea near the hotel. We were told by our googly-eyed hotel manager that the water is especially warm around 8 in the morning. We rented a scooter for the rest of the trip. When the bike was dropped off, the gas gauge needle was below the E, but the rep insisted we were 24K away from needing to fill the tank. How about 25 feet! I'm w were at least near the hotel when we ran out of gas! The guy came back with a liter of gas and we were on our way. First stop - petrol station! Armed with a few beach recommendations from the hotel, we scooted our way to the south side of the Island to Golden Beach. It was a really pretty beach with crystal clear water. We did some open water swimming while there and just lounged on the beach.

After a pretty tough day at the beach, we scooted to a recommended fishing village for some dinner, but alas this restaurant was out of fish. Whoops. Eric got the largest plate of lightly fried calamari either of us had ever seen and I had chicken souvlaki. It was good, but we were hoping for some really fresh fish.

We headed back into Naoussa for a drink and a bit of shopping. This time of night the place was packed with people. It must have been nap time when we first ventured into town on Wednesday afternoon.

Friday

Hiding from pirates in Lefkes

Following a hearty hotel buffet breakfast (that had everything you could hope for including spinach pie!!), we took the scooter and headed south again. This time, we made a pitstop at a small town called Lefkes. It was a hill-top town in the center of the island built to insulate itself from pirate attacks. There were quite a few windy streets, making it easy to get lost - which we did. We spent the rest of the day again at Christi Aki (The Golden Beach). This time we had some totally naked sunbathers was even more of a shock. They were male, which made naked paddleball quite a spectacle.

On our way back to Naoussa, we stopped at a roadside bakery so that Eric could get some baklava. It was the biggest piece of baklava I have ever seen, but Eric had no problem taking it down.

Lunch was at Meltami once again. Not sure why we didn't try anywhere else. I guess we just liked the food and knew what we were going to get. Or maybe because there was something on the starter menu called "Strange" and we were determined to try it. Just kidding, we didn't actually try it. That will continue to be a mystery.

Our trip was coming to an end, sadly. We boarded an even more disgusting ferry to head back to Athens that evening. It took about 5 hours ,and we were insanely bored. We picked up some bread, cheese, and meet and some really disgusting wine for dinner on board. We tried to sleep, but were sat upright in some dirty chairs on the upper deck of the boat. When we were able to get a few winks, we were soon woken up by cigarette smoke being blown in our faces. Needless to say, we couldn't wait to get back to Athens.

Once back in Athens, around midnight, we took a taxi to our last hotel for the trip. We booked the cheapest hotel we could find - The Best Western. It was exactly what you would expect and what Eric and I were looking for - a somewhat clean bed to sleep in. We left around 6 the next morning and headed to the airport for our flight back to dreary, damp England. Greece=best trip yet. We can't wait to go back. Anyone care to join??

Eric accessorizes: hat, shirt, bike.

Our pictures from the trip can be seen here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.adb7qqzf&x=0&y=-s0bk0s&localeid=en_US

Amsterdam, Netherlands August 22nd - August 25th, 2008

My lovely sisters (I always wanted sisters and never got my wish so now that I have them by marriage, I refuse to call them "in-laws"), were very generous in their wedding/Christmas gifts to us and gave us flights to Amsterdam and tickets to the Van Gogh museum (one of Eric and my favorite artists.) We decided to go over the English bank holiday weekend at the end of August, at a time when the weather was hopefully going to be decent.

Part of the Red Light District at night

We arrived on Friday night, quite late from the London City airport (very convenient, little airport right in the heart of London proper - you basically go from entrance to gate in under 10 minutes.) We took the train into the city and then walked under some sketchy bridges to our hotel - The Movenpick (like the ice cream company). It was situated at the North End of the city a bit out of town. But, it was built just two years prior, was in supreme condition and a great value. I didn't feel all that well so (the old lady in me) decided to head to bed. Poor Eric wanted so badly to go out and explore the city and he didn't let my illness stop him. He wandered around the city for about an hour and a half all by himself.

Saturday

I woke up feeling like I had been hanging upside down and shaken by giant until my brain rattled around in my skull, but knowing we only had a short time in the city, I pushed through the pain in my head. We rented bikes beneath our hotel (because Eric is obsessed with riding bikes and Amsterdam is notorious for its cyclers) from a very nice Dutch man who looked and talked just like Goldmember from Austin Powers. Our breakfast at Bagels & Beans was so good, a perfect start to the day before heading to the Van Gogh museum. The most fascinating part about the museum was seeing the progression of Van Gogh's work and each of the stages he went through during his career. A few months experimenting with colors, a year with different brush stroke techniques, a year of drinking Absenth and cutting of body parts, etc. He is a popular artist to the Dutch and the city's visitors as evidenced by the huge crowds that visited his museum to view his works. Upon leaving the museum, Eric and I mounted our bikes and explored the streets of the Canal District and the Jordaan all whilst "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry ran on repeat in my head.

Indonesian cuisine is supposedly highly rated in Amsterdam, so our first proper meal was lunch at an Indonesian restaurant. I can't remember the name of it, but it doesn't matter because it was just not good. Eric liked his spicy beef, but my dish was quite a weird combination of random veggies (green beans, zucchini, bean sprouts, and pea pods) swimming in a sweet peanut sauce. I got a little ill just thinking about it now. Following lunch, we headed back to the hotel so that I could rest and get ready for our big night out at SupperClub. Eric left me at the hotel and went exploring further on his bike. He went to see the giant windmill and road around a few of the other parts of town.

Supper Club...we're early, but it's all lit up

Early evening came, and we dressed in the funkiest outfits that we had (read: you know we are not funky people at all so this proved difficult). The theme for the evening at SupperClub http://supperclub.com/ was Sunglasses at Night. Let me just mention that we don't usually go to places that have a set theme, so we knew we were in for something special. Seeing as my illness was slowly taking over my entire body, I knew that in order to get through the night (at a themed venue no less), I was going to have to numb the pain. We headed to a bar (as the rain sprinkled down) and began the mission. Three vodka diet cokes later, I was ready to take on SupperClub. The place is down a non-descript alley and if you don't have address in hand and bifocals, you would miss the entrance. I really don't want to give too much away (just in case anyone decides to experience the mayhem - Heather and Russell are currently heading there this week). Therefore, all I will say is that the experience involved: dining on 5 courses, in a bed, sans shoes, with entertainment by 5 waitresses in beaters and tighty whiteys, 3 DJs and 1 burlesque dancer named, Trixy. The pictures should help fill in some of the gaps. With so much sensory stimulation it would be easy for them to serve mediocre food but it turned out to be delicious (especially the halibut served to us in the dog food dishes )and the liquor was my saving grace - mission accomplished. I forgot all about my illness and we headed home around 1:30 (which is late for us when we are travelling!)

Sunday

Lots of Cheese.  Seriously, that's the name of the place.

I bet you are thinking that I would be ridiculously hungover seeing as my mission was to essentially drink away the pain, but it seems that the pain of the illness made any impending hangover non-existent! It was (in a way) fantastic! We left the hotel late morning and biked our way to breakfast at The Letting in the Jordaan. A fried breakfast was all we needed to get us through the afternoon. We tooled around on our bikes and eventually made our way to Anne Frank's house. She was an extraordinary girl, and we left her house enlightened and inspired by what she was able to do given the situation. Eric and I both had read her diaries in school at one point, but it really helped to see the enclosure in which they lived and hear more about the others involved in the hiding and the cover-up.

I had heard from my parents that cheese was something readily available in Amsterdam, and since I can never have enough cheese, we set off to find some lunch of our own making. I had spotted a shop along the route to the Anne Frank house called "Lots of Cheese." My kind of place. We picked out an Amsterdamy cheese and a safe alternative chevre and headed to the supermarket next store. The remaining lunch items (salami, strawberries, bread and the crucial dark chocolate dessert) were purchased, and we headed to the edge of the canal for lunch.

Of course once lunch ended and my stomach was full, my illness was back in full force. We cycled back to the hotel so that I could rest. This time, Eric joined me. For dinner that night, we went to a TimeOut recommended cafe in the Red Light District called Cafe Bern. We ordered the fondue and a salad that had a really good garlic dressing. Following dinner we walked around the Red Light District, which was such a fascinating experience. My expectation was to see really good looking girls in the windows, but honestly there were girls of all types for every type of fantasy that one could have. It was like a drug, I wanted more but at the same time my head was telling me, this is so weird and wrong! Once the addiction subsided, we headed to a coffeeshop, because when in Rome... The coffee shop was aptly named 4:20 Cafe.

Rows and rows and rows of houses like these line the canals

Monday

Eric headed back on his bike to Bagels and Beans on Monday morning to get some take-out breakfast. I stayed in bed to try and fight the illness a little longer. When Eric returned we had breakfast and checked out of our hotel. We spent the first few hours of the afternoon aboard a canal boat which took us on a historical tour of the canal district. SNOOZBOX! It was quite boring and not something I would recommend doing. The rest of the afternoon we spent walking the streets to do a little shopping. Our last meal was again a brown bag on the side of the canal. This time though we swapped the strawberries for some raspberries.

Check out our pictures here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.2ggs08gr&x=0&y=-vonofr&localeid=en_US

Stockholm, Sweden August 1st - 4th, 2008

We planned a quick weekend trip to Stockholm, as it was one of the cities that had come highly recommended, especially in the summer. We armed ourselves with a guidebook and as many recommendations from friends and acquaintances as possible. As par for the course, we arrived late on Friday night and brought the wet weather with us as we have been doing lately on our short weekend trips.

The night we arrived, it was quite late so we hopped in a taxi and headed to our hotel in Sodermalm, which is south of the main city. We stayed at a guesthouse called The Columbus Hotel. It had a lovely courtyard with tables out front, and was quite cosy when you first walked in. Our room was a decent size, but the furniture was minimal, it was stifling, and had two twin beds. The biggest surprise was the bathroom and shower. They were communal and down the hall from the room. After having a good laugh at our surroundings, we went to bed to the sweet sounds of teenagers yelling and laughing outside of our window.

We were on the top floor of our hotel and it was very hot when we arrived. 

We got up the next morning and went for a run along the river. Eric and I like doing this so that we can see more of the city in a short amount of time. The run was a bit hilly, but nice. The breakfast that was waiting was a welcome reward for the run. It was phenomenal. We had a choice of meats, cheeses, muesli, bread, cereal, the works. It was really good and set us up for a great day of sightseeing.

We walked into town and made our way to the marina where we had hoped to catch a boat to one of the 20,000 Archipelago Islands that make up the country of Sweden. The next boat to Fjaderholmarna was a half hour later, so we decided to stroll through the old city - Gamla Stan and explore the narrow cobblestone streets. At noon, and as the rain poured down, we boarded the boat. We arrived on Fjaderholmarna about 25 minutes later.

The island was really cute and would have been a perfect place for lunch on a sunny day. There were a few little shops and restaurants dotting the island. Alongside the commercial posts were pieces of history (an old machine gun, a touret, and chain anchors embedded in the side of bunkers.) An even stranger sight was three old women skinny dipping in the rain in the freezing water. After a quick tour around the island (in the pouring rain) we grabbed some ice cream and boarded the boat back to Stockholm. The skinny dippers ladies were on our boat too. They were throwing back a bottle of shared whiskey. I think I would have needed the whiskey before jumping into the water (with or without a swim suit), but I supposed it helped to warm them up quickly.

Wandering Gamla stan with the Lees 

After disembarking the boat, we saw the main street lined with spectators. We couldn't quite figure out what was going on, so we decided to join the crowd and await whatever was to come around the corner.  About 10 minutes later, amid rainbow flags and whistles emerged a sea of Euro Pride members and supporters. The costumes were hilarious. From really tame (men dressed as women) to Adam and Steve and leather and straps. It was definitely a sight.

Once we'd seen enough, we made our way back to Gamla Stan and to one of the recommended restaurants, Kryp In. A tiny place, it's translation is something like "Trip In." We tried a few traditional dishes and they both turned out to be really good. Some friends who lived in NY and swam with us at NYAC are now living in Stockholm and met us at the end of lunch. We spent some time catching up with Jeff, Asa and their 6 month old baby Kasper. Following lunch, we braved the weather and took a walk down one of the main shopping streets in Gamla Stan.

Jeff, Casper and Asa

The view from the park next to the Vasa Museum.

On Sunday, we headed out for brunch with Jeff, Asa and Kasper. The brunch was amazing! The chorizo/potato and onion mixture with an omelette and salad was delicious. After such a heavy breakfast, we decided to go for a long walk to the Kungsholmen (King's Island). The weather was much better so we spent as much time as possible outside. One of our stops was to the City Hall (where the Nobel Prize dinner is held). Then, we made our way down to the Vasa Museum which houses an old war ship that sank about 100 yards from the harbor on its maiden voyage in the late 1600s. It wasn't until 333 years later that it was pulled from the sea floor and restored to its original condition. It looks just like something Disney would copy for the filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The museum is built around the boat and gives a very detailed history of the materials used in the building, the purpose of the boat and even so much as the people on board. Apparently, the boat was too top heavy and keeled over in a light breeze. That point marked the beginning of the decline of the Swedish kingdom in the Nordics and what is now Germany.

Multiple ways to take your pickled herring.

Jeff and Asa were great tour guides. They took us all around the city pointing out the main buildings and sights. After a few hours, we took a bus to their apartment up in Vasastaden where we were going to stay for the night. Around 8, Jeff, Eric and I headed to another recommended restaurant, The Grodan (The Frog). We tried pickled herring and a few other traditional dishes and caught up with Jeff. We had a really nice time.


Jeff, Asa and Kasper left us after the museum and headed back to her parent's summer house a few hours south. We went next door to another recommended drink place called Josefina's. It was a really cool outdoor space in a rather odd area. We relaxed with a drink and a brownie and enjoyed the setting. The sun finally poked through the clouds as we looked across the water at Gamla Stan.

Our flight was later that night, so Eric and I just spent the late afternoon roaming the city. We stopped at a cafe on the way back to Jeff and Asa's and people-watched. I have never seen so many blondes in one place before. Not only were they tall and beautiful, but they were all seemed so fit and happy.

We had a really great trip and would definitely recommend Stockholm as a quick weekend trip. The weather could have been better, but we made the best of it.

For pictures - click here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.3jxyamur&x=0&y=-8zx6sx&localeid=en_US

Cleveland, Ohio, USA July 6th - July 12th, 2008

Following the wedding festivities, Eric and I headed to Cleveland to spend the week with my family. Thanks to Scott and Sara, we were able to get a lift back to Ohio as they made their way back to New York.

We spent the week catching up with family, playing lots of tennis, golf, and eating really well. It was nice to be back home again and kind of revert back to being a kid. It is tough only seeing the family every once in awhile now, especially as my niece continues to get older and even more fun to spend time with.

I was also able to spend an evening catching up with my childhood friend, Lisa and her boyfriend John. Even though, we don't get to see each other too often anymore, we picked up where we left off the last time we saw each other. Those are the friendships I know I am lucky to have.

The week went by all too quickly and with teeth polished, eyes checked, a new haircut, and plenty of Target treasures, we headed back to London on the red-eye Saturday night.

We had a great trip, and I was reminded once again, how much I love going back to visit 608 Rutland Drive.

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA July 3-6, 2008

There's no place better to celebrate the 4th of July than the land of corn fields and drive-way basketball. We flew back on Thursday night to join a gathering of many of our closest friends who had gathered in Indianapolis for the wedding of Marisa Meyer and Josh Peters.

We met Marisa in New York when she subleased a room in our apartment at Beta West for a summer (of 2004?) At the time she was a friend of Hopwood's from Palo Alto, CA. Marisa and Josh were introduced at our engagement party and the rest is history.

It was an outstanding weekend. We would have traveled twice the distance if necessary in order to attend.

Pictures from our trip to Indianapolis for the wedding of Marisa and Josh Peters.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.3yvwem0r&x=0&y=-ym0ype&localeid=en_US

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 17th, 2008

The worlds tallest building, the Burj Dubai

Unfortunately this was just a work trip for me (Eric), so Erin wasn't able to tag along. Further, I was only in Dubai from 8am Tuesday to 2am Wednesday so my stay was brief. However, my friend and colleague Jason and I had a three hour break between our morning and afternoon meetings. On most business trips, I probably would have used the down time for a nap or to catch up on email. But this is Dubai, and in the middle of the desert there's only one way to spend three spare hours...skiing!



Ski Dubai is for Experts Only



Jason and I took a taxi from our hotel to the indoor mall where Ski Dubai is located. 15 minutes after walking in the front doors by food court, we were decked out in our standard issue ski pants and jacket (a necessity - who in Dubai would own ski gear?!?), skis, boots, and poles. Off we went up the lift. It was actually a very impressive operation. The snow was decent, the slopes were longer, steeper, and less crowded than I expected, and they even had a ski lodge half way up the mountain. We did about 12 runs in one or two hours (longer slopes than expected, but still not THAT long).



Indoor skiing with Jason between meetings



Another taxi then took us to Burj al Arab hotel, the world's first 7-star hotel - the one shaped like a sail perched on the edge of the Persian Gulf. As we should have known, not just anyone can enter a 7-star hotel...at least not for free. The 70 Dirham ($20) "entry fee" seemed both frustrating and intriguing. If they can charge $20 just to walk through the lobby, it MUST be worth seeing. However, we decided against it as our evening meeting was rapidly approaching and "sight seeing" is not usually an acceptable excuse for tardiness with clients. The driver took us to a public beach next to the hotel so we could snap some photos.

One thing you'll notice in the pictures is the poor air quality. Apparently it is a combo of humidity, heat mirage (it was 115 degrees), pollution, and a sand storm. I noticed that as our plane landing that morning. As most of the other business travelers wisely slept, I was the dork sitting awake with my camera hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the famous Dubai development. No such luck. Too hazy.

Dubai is a very interesting place. They've definitely adopted the Sino/American philosophy of bigger is better over the current European preference for understatement and charm. (I guess it's natural to flaunt what you got.) What seems like hundreds of sky scrapers shoot up from the desert in all directions; half complete, half under construction. The architecture is all safely described as "modern." For example, the 38-story Dubai World Trade Center building was the city's tallest when it was completed in 1979. Now it's ranked #59. For the sake of comparison, the Empire State Building was New York City's tallest when it was completed in 1931 and it's still the tallest today. Even if the WTC towers were still standing the Empire State Building would be 3rd...not 59th.



View from my hotel



The roads are always jammed with cars (a side effect of cheap oil). There is a subway system under construction, but the jury is out on how many riders will take advantage. Any tasks that involve walking in the open air are not perceived favorably.

It also seems extremely diverse in terms of culture, race, religion, ethnicity, dress, economic status, and language. Though everyone that I spoke to used flawless English. The scenery altered between perfectly manicured landscaping and sand or dust. The Saudi clients we met were delightful, as eager to learn about us as we were to learn about them.

I'd go back in a heart beat...especially since there is NO WAY Dubai is going to exist in its current state 20 years from now. It's either going to be thriving in a state closer to "complete" than "in progress." Or it's going to go completely bust because the region's economies simply do not have the fundamental infrastructure to support the boom-style building that's going on right now. Either way, it will be something to watch.

Click the link for my pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.c86ymi03&x=0&y=-b8ss29&localeid=en_US

Barcelona, Spain June 14th-16th 2008



 

For Eric's 28th birthday, it was my duty to surprise him with something fun and unexpected. I am not very good at keeping surprises underwraps, but I was pretty proud of myself for keeping it a surprise until the week before especially since Eric was trying to plan a work trip that left from "secret birthday place."

Eric is usually the planner when we go away for trips, but this time it was my turn to make all the arrangements (including having a plan for when we got there). As it goes, I bought a guide book and tried to map out a plan including recommendations from colleagues, and friends.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and easily boarded the train into the center of town. The stop turned out to be a bit of a hike from the hotel in the Eiaxample district only because we got lost - because of me. Good start to the trip. Found the hotel - nice 4 star which was a steal - Acevi Villaroel. Dropped our bags and headed off to explore. As it turns out my plan included very little. And soon enough, we reverted back to our old role of Eric leading/navigating and me just enjoying the surroundings.

Las Ramblas

We made our way to Las Ramblas which is a very hectic pedestrian street filled with street performers/human statue art, poultry for sale (yeah, weird), flower stalls, tourist souvenirs and the usual crap. We walked the entire length of it to the end where the Christopher Columbus welcomes one to the Port. The harbor was lovely in the early evening. It was starting to buzz while we were down there especially along Rambla La Mar which is a wooden walkway leading to a separate part of town along the water with restaurants, a mall, and an IMAX.

Deciding that we were both quite hungry (seeing as now it was pushing 9:30), we set off to find one of the recommended restaurants. We stumbled upon it in the El Born region - El Xampanyet. It is a very local, tapas/wine bar with few seated tables and few high tables. It is run by the same family since 1930 and is apparently truly authentic. It was so crowded, and I was cranky so we decided to find someplace else. After what seemed like a good hour, and after browsing many menus, we stumbled into a place called Con K. It was a small, modern looking place that didn't have any tables available until 10:30. So we put our name in and went to a shady-looking bar next door. It was really big, and really empty and the child behind the bar didn't really speak English. But, luckily her mom did and made us a really great liter of Sangria - complete with a Tang like substance. I was desperate for the snacks that they had in a few glass jars behind the bar, but didn't dare ask. I just stared angrily at the couple sitting next to us who were able to ask for them in Spanish.

Around 10:30, we went back to Con K, and ended up having a fabulous meal that was a really great value. Looking back, we both agree that that was by far the best meal we had, and best of all, we just happened upon it! I think the most surprising thing of all was that throughout the meal, about a dozen "parties" were turned away up until 12:30 when we left. People actually were going to sit down for dinner at 12:30!! Eric and I were ready for bed at that point.

Day 2

Nice bike

One of the other parts of the trip that I actually planned ahead for was the Fat Tire Bike Tour. Eric has an obsession with renting bikes when we travel, and each and every time, I have basically said no. Not sure if it is because I am just being a pain or I am scared to get hit by a car. But, on this occasion because it was his birthday and it was an organized tour, I went for it. The tour, we found out, was actually a spinoff of Mike's Bikes which Eric did in Germany back in the summer of 2002. It was a very informative and fun tour that took us to the major sites of the city. Our guide was a laid back "ex Californian" who screamed "surfer." He came to do a 3 month Spanish intensive in the city, but ended up staying because of how much he fell in love with it. Sam, as our guide was called, made the 4 hour trip entertaining as well as educational. We felt like we really got a taste of the history and larger sites . I definitely recommend it to anyone with a short stay in Barcelona who want to see the main attractions and learn a little bit of their background.



Sagrada Familia - still under construction



After the bike tour, we made our way up to the old Olympic park to see the Stadium, the diving and competition pool, and the surrounding structures that were built specifically for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. It seemed a bit more dilapatated than I expected seeing as it was only 16 years prior, but still just like in Munich, it was really cool just being there and envisioning what it was like to be walk through the facilities while the competitions were taking place.

1992 Olympic Diving Venue.

We had been out wandering for most of the afternoon following the bike tour and I was a bit tired so we walked back to the hotel and rested for a bit. Around 8:30 we set off for dinner. We had asked Sam what his favorite local restaurant was and decided to check it out. He made sure to point out that it was not fancy, pretty cheap but really good food. To me, that meant - greasy spoon and probably really dirty. Turns out, that is exactly what it was. It was proper Spanish food. I had sole which was pretty good and Eric had a pork leg, which was a proper huge leg that you would see at a fun fair and probably what the cavemen ate. It was an experience and one that I more than fine to see end.

After dinner we headed to the Palau National (national palace) to see the Font Màgica (Magic Fountain) which puts on a spectacular light/sound show with the water moving to the music. The music ran the gamet from classical to the Backstreet Boys. The colors and the movement of the water was cool, but the music left something to be desired. Following the water show, Eric wanted to "get one for the road"so we wandered back towards the hotel, taking a detour to see one of Gaudi's most famous buildings on Passeig de Gracia - Casa Batillo. It is an eerie sight when it is illuminated at night. All Gaudi’s favourite materials are used here, such as ceramic tiles (on the roof) and mosaic (on the façade). In search of ice cream, we ended up a a bar/tapas place. Eric got his beer, and I, the Chocolate Prohibito. Basically the densest, chocolatiest creation ever topped with full on whipping cream. Then off to bed with a brick in the stomach.

Day 3

Gaudi's work in Parc Guell

On the 3rd day, we headed out for a run up to Parc Guell. It was pretty much up hill for 2.5 miles from our hotel. This is one of Barcelona's largest urban parks, originally intended to be an English style garden city. Gaudi's name is written all of this park. It reminded me a little bit of Candyland with the random colorful structures that dotted the interior of the park. It had a great view over the city that extended to the sea.

We made our way back to the hotel, checked out and then headed to the market for our last meal. The market was off of Las Ramblas and it was here that we pieced together a nice haphazard lunch with salami, manchego, fresh fruit, and chocolate covered good-ness. We sat on a planter, enjoyed people watching and buying some kleenex from a lovely middle-aged woman for 50 pence.

Fully stuffed, we made our way back to the hotel using the Metro system (which is very easy and very user-friendly), grabbed our bags and went to to the airport. Eric was flying to Dubai that night so he had to catch an earlier flight than originally planned.

If I had to choose, I would say that this was one of my favorite trips so far. I don't really even feel like we scratched the surface with things to see and do in the city. Next time, I would love to try a good authentic tapas restaurant, spend a little more time at the beach, and continue to drink the amazing Sangria.
Happy Birthday Er, you old 28 year old man.
To see the pictures from our trip. Click here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.2yl7d0cj&x=0&y=-j183kx&localeid=en_US