Journal

Europe 2008 - Our Grand Tour - Berlin

stacie — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:54:29 +0000

Apartment

September 21, 2008…We’ve been in Berlin now for 24 hours. We are in Prenzlauerberg, a bohemian, former East Berlin area that defines the word hip. We walked for hours today trying to get a feel for our “berg”. Tomorrow we will rent bikes and get a better idea of how Berlin is situated. We really felt the seasonal shift today - it was actually chilly. So, scarf around neck and wool sweater on, we made our way two doors down from our apartment to a pasta restaurant called Tiegwaren. (Didn’t sound Italian to me, either, but the food was outstanding.) The menu was in German, the waiter spoke no English so we pointed to words we thought sounded somewhat familiar and voila! Wait, I mean verhing! Delish! We then went directly next door to a very eclectic, sort of second-hand-store chic, bar named Rote Lotte and chatted with Sven, the bartender. I say he’s gay but definitely into me. Tom said he was most certainly gay and most certainly into him. Whatever. He was a delight and even taught us some German.

Listen - http://tts.imtranslator.net/1iC3

Europe 2008 - Our Grand Tour - Amsterdam

stacie — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:47:56 +0000

September 13, 2008…This day, the day I was wary of, was nothing but a smashing success. We got up on time, caught the train “a Paris”, fought our way through the metro to the Gare du Nord, jumped on the Thalys to Amsterdam and dead reckoned our way to our apartment in the hipster Jordaan section of this amazing city. Take a peek at our digs…

We arrived mid-afternoon. The sun was shining and the temperature was about 65 degrees. Perfect. I was ready to get out and explore. Tom? Well, he was very cranky and beyond tired. He was down right hostile. I said, “I got to go!” And without waiting for his response I was down the stairs and on the street looking for the nearest market. I found the Dutch version of a Saturday farmers market. (landbouwers markt) It was wondrous. I got cheeses, bread, cream, vegetables, fruits, meat and vino. Oh, and some fresh chocolat for Tomas. I heard street musicians playing traditional Dutch tunes. I walked the streets for hours, my jaw dropping lower each corner I turned. Like Venice, I do believe this is a city everyone must visit in her lifetime, it is that unique. We’ve got seven more days here so I’m sure we’ll find some trouble our way…

The view

My Bike

Amsterdam at Street Level

Europe 2008 - Our Grand Tour - France

stacie — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:39:23 +0000

September 6, 2008…We made it to St Malo! We flew out of Dublin to Rennes, hitched a ride to the Rennes train station and caught the 6:30 train to the lovely, walled city of St Malo, Bretagne, France. It wasn’t quite as simple as all that but I’ll get to that tomorrow. I’m far too tired to continue right now. Au revoir.

St Malo

Fort National

Street Artist

Store in St Malo

Europe 2008 - Our Grand Tour - Northern Ireland

stacie — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:34:11 +0000

August 30, 2008…We begin our trek to Northern Ireland today. We’ll be seven days on the road and end the Ireland portion of our trip in Dublin. Today, if all goes well, we’ll be in Donegal Town by mid-day lounging in our new accommodation. Take a look…

Lough Eske Castle

Europe 2008 - Our Grand Tour - Ireland

stacie — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:03:26 +0000

August 2, 2008, Mulranny, Ireland…We made it! It was an unbelievably easy, uneventful flight to Dublin. No, really. The car rental experience was touch-and-go but Tom pulled through in the end without hurting the agent and we set out for the west coast with a 5 hour drive on the narrow, rural roads for which Ireland is famous. With no sleep under his belt, two-way, narrow, rock-lined roads and a minimum 120 km/h, Tom had a meltdown so I had to take the wheel. Sure it may have been all of 15 minutes most of which was in stand-still traffic, but Tom got his 90 second nap and was back behind the wheel speeding toward our home on the North Atlantic and I saved the day. Now then, after a very restful night of sleep, here I sit, looking out at the calm waters of Clew Bay, Croagh Patrick in the distance, a warm cup o’ joe in hand, writing this journal.

The house

The view

Irish door

FRANCE 2007

stacie — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:28:08 +0000

“I’ll go to Iceland on one condition, Tom, we go to France in April,” I repined last August. Well, I went to Iceland. (Actually, it was quite wonderful.) But it’s April now and I want to go to France! So, we leave tomorrow at daybreak for almost three weeks of Paris, Alsace, the French Alps, Provence and a quick trip on the ‘bullet-fast’ train TGV to Brussels, Belgium. As usual I will be posting images and words of our exploits. Stay tuned…

ICELAND 2006

stacie — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:35:57 +0000

August 16…Why, oh why, am I going to Iceland? Mostly because Tom wanted to, but after I agreed to go (on the condition we go to France in April) I started researching the island and am utterly intrigued by what I’ve read. I can’t wait to get this trip started. We depart at noon today flying on Icelandic Air which, by the way, allows carry-on luggage so my laptop separation anxiety has waned. An apocryphal tale to get the trip started…An Icelandic magistrate discovered that the Arctic Circle ran right through his house. He decided that it not only bisected his bedroom, it bisected his bed: the magistrate slept on one side of the Arctic Circle, his wife on the other and rarely did either cross the great divide.

Ireland 2006

stacie — Thu, 18 May 2006 10:48:51 +0000

May 18…Who chose this flight? It’s three-thirty in the morning and I’ve got to get ready to hop on a plane departing at 6:00 a.m. for Shannon, Ireland. A 10:00 a.m. flight would have been pleasant. Alas, it’s time to get out of Phoenix for a while. It’s already 80 degrees in the moonlight.

Santa Barbara 2006

stacie — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 04:55:48 +0000

March 27…Lush, sun-drenched, relaxed and nestled seductively between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Santa Barbara IS the American Riviera. As I sit at the West Beach Inn, just steps from the largest of the world’s oceans, the Pacific, I can’t help but wonder where that sun-drenched weather is. It’s 53 degrees and raining. I can’t see the ocean for the clouds so I might as well find a cozy restaurant to eat and drink my rainy day blues away. Later that evening…Sitting right next door to the hotel is a quaint Italian joint named Emilio’s. I wandered in solo and asked for a table in a dark corner-they obliged. It was the perfect night for a glass of Pinot Noir and a bowl of butternut squash soup so I ordered both-they obliged. By the way, did you know the word soup originates from the Teutonic word suppa, which refers to a Medieval dish consisting of a thick stew poured on slices of bread, called sop, used to soak up the liquid-interesting, yes? Anyway, the soup was very medieval-thick, creamy and full o’ flavor. The organic greens salad with gorgonzola, candied walnuts and apple slices was a delightful contrast to the hearty soup. I left the restaurant wholly satisfied.

Central Europe 2005

stacie — Tue, 17 May 2005 16:17:45 +0000

May 17…We departed Phoenix at 9:00 a.m. for our central European adventure. We fly to Denver then Frankfurt, Germany and finally Prague, Czech Republic. In the Denver Airport the wait is interminable. In 9 hours we’ll be in Frankfurt then one hour to Prague. We just witnessed a herd of Lufthansa stewardi huddling and crafting the game plan for our momentous flight. If the enthusiasm of the meeting is any indication this flight should be more fun than…??!#8**