Various and Sundry Adventures in the life of ME...

Day 5: Nesjavellir and Around

2011-08-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

Isn't Nejavellir a beautiful town?

OK...well...town is a loose definition. But there was our hotel, a power plant, and a house within sight of each other. In Iceland, outside of Reykjavic, that's as close to a town as you're going to get.

Barrett and I took the morning to walk around the most active geothermal area in the country, which just happened to be around our hotel. Iceland's hiking trails are marked like ski trails. Educational/Easy trails are green. Blue trails are moderately exhausting, and black trails make you cry for your mommy.

We stuck to greens for our first outing, but don't let that fool you. If you get off of these greens, you'll be boiled like an egg!

Hot? Cold? Both? Barrett finds a glacial stream joining thermal waters. You can tell which stream is thermal by the abundant amount of greenery growing out of it.

After trekking around our hotel the whole morning, we decided that after lunch would be a good time to visit some other "towns" that were in our guidebook. The most interesting one we happened across was picturesque Skalholt. Granted the entire town consisted of 5 church buildings and a farm, but I could almost pronounce it. Victory!

Skalholt was the religious center of Iceland for hundreds of years. It fell into ruin from multiple fires and recent preservation efforts have rebuilt the church, excavated the foundations of previous buildings, and supported the building of a small museum. The interior of the church is crowned with a multi-hued mosaic of Christ.

Also of interest on the grounds are the remains of a sod house and two stone knights (they're really Catholic Bishops), and a tunnel out of the church basement (good for passing from building to building during harsh winters and being sneaky).

On the way back to home and food we stopped to make some new friends, and then called it a night to rest up for summiting the nearby volcano and tackling some black hiking trails.

Icelandic ponies came to the island over a thousand years ago. Those same horses have evolved into today's breed without the introduction of any outside horses. Consequently, the ponies are unique. They even have an extra gait that all other horses lack. It's a speed between a trot and a canter. These ponies were all too happy to let me pet them, but I fear they were disappointed by my rude lack of carrot or apple.

Tomorrow volcanoes!

Till then dear reader...

At Long Last!

2011-07-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader I have missed you!

The internet at my house has been more unpredictable than a seven year old in the grocery store after a six-pack of Coke and three boxes of candy. Nobody move. Remain perfectly still. We're working on it...so without further ado...

Day Four: Ridin' Back

After a long day's drive out to Hofn, we had to make another long day's drive back to get Phech and Chara to Keflavik to catch their plane home. But as I'm sure you've already gathered, Iceland is just too beautiful to drive without stopping. We did manage to keep it down to only two stops. And I grabbed these sweet pics from the car.

Our first stop was Skogar Falls, known as the Black Waterfall because of the incredible basalt rock formations that it tumbles over.

There's a gorgeous park at Skogar with a great camp ground that we'd love to go back to! It's also a starting point for trips out to the glacier. A definite must on Iceland 2.0.

Our second stop was at...

...yeah well, you try to say it. Not only were there more amazing basalt rock formations, but apparently if you hang around here long enough you can hear the elves sing. Christian elves! They sing hymns!

Phech and I didn't see any elves, but we did see some very strange human looking creatures.

After we dropped our friends off at the airport, it got very quiet... Sad to say goodbye to such fine people. But we are soooo going to do this again!

Barrett and I drove to our hotel in the thriving metropolis of Nesjavallir. OK...so..."thriving metropolis" might be a bit of an overstatement. But there was our hotel, one house, and a power plant. For Iceland that's a big town!

The hotel was in a gorgeous location, so we stuffed ourselves and rested up for a couple days of hiking and sight seeing in the most active geothermal area in Iceland.

As long as the internet behaves, I'll post more soon. Till then dear reader...

Fast Forward: Day Three

2011-07-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

I have not forgotten (nor am I afraid to admit publicly) what went down between the hours of 10pm and 4 am on our second night in Reykjavik. But an adventure of such monumental proportions deserves undeniable photographic evidence of its awesomeness. I was so caught up in the awesome that I forgot to get out the camera. Thank goodness for Phech! Another set of photos is on the way. So until then...

After denying our typical geriatric state of being (I love to fall asleep at about 10 every night) getting to bed at 4am on Monday morning, we decided the best idea would be to get up early for a little drive...to the other side of the country.

Hasta la vista Reykjavik!
I have no idea how to say "see you later" in Icelandic, and it would probably take so many letters that I would run out of bit space on my blog. So Spanglish it is!

Our first stop was Skogafoss, a 62m high waterfall with a walking path behind it!

That's Barrett in the blue jacket.

As if waterfalls weren't beautiful enough to begin with, the constant sunshine created rainbows at every foss we visited. That's a word in Icelandic I can say. Hooray for multicultural me!

Next stop was halfway down the Southern coast in Vic. A place known for it's black sand beaches.

These three gigantic rock formations are called sea stacks. The local legend is that they were three trolls who were caught by the sun while pulling their boat ashore. And as everyone...yes, everyone...knows, sunlight turns trolls to stone. It's true. Read The Hobbit.

Just outside of Vic is Dyrholaey, a great place to find puffins and take in the view. We managed to find puffin, as in one singular bird. Apparently puffin mating season had just ended so all the little momma puffins were in their cliff side burrows sitting on their eggs.
Good for the eggs.
Lame for the tourists.
I mean what kind of bird digs a hole in a rock and hides! Really puffins? Really!

But all was not lost. The view was incredible. I especially enjoyed photographing the rock bridge and splashing water as the ocean pounded up the shore.

Looking below the rock bridge.

We drove on to what was possibly one of the most beautiful places I've seen in my life, Jokulsarlon (that name should include an umlaut and two accent marks, but you get the idea). Here icebergs calve from Breithamerkurjokull (right?...that's one name, and I substituted our letters for their funny d-flag letter and left out the umlaut) part of the Vatnajokull glacier (I swear the crazy names never stopped). I might not be able to pronounce any of this, but seeing these giant icebergs slowly floating out to sea was beyond words anyway.

As the sun reached its lowest point, the sky blazed pink casting purple shadows over the already surreally blue ice and water. Barrett found a small glacier of his own, and quickly learned an important scientific principle...

Ice is very cold on bare hands!

Remember that dear reader.

Staying warm,
Megan

Day Two, Part One: The Golden Circle

2011-07-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

This title might get you thinking...

Wait just a minute! What's all this part one business? Pick the good parts and get on with it lady! We haven't got all day.

The problem with picking the good parts is that there were so many of them. During this time of year the sun never really sets in Iceland. Oh sure, it goes below the mountains, but there is sunshine 24/7. And when you're in a place as gorgeous as this, you can't stay indoors or go to bed at a decent hour.

Oh. Well in that case, get on with it then!

Thank you. I will...

Day two got kicking with lots of caffeinated beverages and picking up the rental car. We were headed to The Golden Circle, a trio of Iceland's marquis natural wonders.

First on the list, Thingvellir National Park. Iceland had the world's first democratic parliament. Snore inducing? Not quite! They chose the most incredible location for tribal chieftains (aka Viking-esque men) to meet and talk a little policy, on the shores of a glacial lake where two continental plates (North America and Eurasia) are very slowly drifting apart.

After soaking up some national history (and clearing myself of being a witch, they would drown you at the bottom of the falls back in the good ol' days), we headed to our second stop, Geysir.

Now Icelanders are lovely people, but as I mentioned previously, their national tongue is quite difficult. All geysers in the world are named after this one, but they say it like gay-sir. Yes I am, and proud of it! You might reply. But they're really just talking about geo-thermally heated water that turns to steam and blasts out any cooler water trapped above it, so don't get too frisky yet.

The government there is a big believer in social darwinism. While there might be paths to keep you from trampling nature, there are not any blockades or ropes to keep humans out of harm's way. The idea being that if you are dumb enough to get close to the boiling hot water then you probably need to learn a lesson and nobody is interested in paying your medical bills afterwards. We actually saw a group of kids get totally drenched (the water had cooled, so no worries) when their parents urged them to stand on the down-wind side of one of the geysers for a picture. Everyone laughed and ran away from the water without the thought of a lawsuit crossing anyone's mind. How do attorneys here stay in business?

The third and final stop on the Golden Circle tour was Gullfoss, the mother of all Icelandic waterfalls!

The dot standing on the cliff above the massive rush of water is actually Barrett. Mother Nature made us feel pretty tiny that day.

After all of our hiking, oohing, and aahing we drove an hour to what was reported to be the best lobster dinner in all of Iceland. Reports are true!

A starter of lobster bisque, 2 pounds of lobster for 3 people to share, and delicious slices of chocolate cake should have equaled a total food coma. But it was only 10pm, and the sun was still shining. Time for an hour and a half hike to a thermal river! But that is a blog for another day...

Happy Reading,
Megan

The Revenant by Sonia Gensler

2011-07-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Some Secrets Won’t Stay Buried

I just finished reading this great new YA novel from first time author Sonia Gensler. Set in Tahlequah, Oklahoma at the Cherokee School for Girls, this historical fiction novel is a great little ghost story! If you can call angry spirits, secret identities, and forbidden romances little!

I highly recommend the book and plan on purchasing copies for the Boys & Girls Club as well as getting it on the recommended reading list at my mom’s high school.

For more info on the book and Sonia (she’s a lovely person with neither angry spirit nor secret identity...that I know of...?) check out her website at soniagensler.com.

Day One: Reykjavik

2011-07-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

Day one of our vacation was technically not “day” one. It was more like “day and half” one or “thirty eight hours without real sleep” one. If you’re thinking, “Geese...Barrett looks rough without sleep. Megan really shouldn’t let him play with swords in that condition, even if he is wearing a helmet,” have no fear. Despite my sleep induced haze, I didn’t walk off with a well armed gnome or let Barrett dress for battle in the streets of Iceland’s capital. This fine fellow was keeping watch outside of one of the many tourists shops in Reykjavik.

Wondering how to say Reykjavik? Icelandic is terrifically hard to pronounce (thank the Lord they all learn English in school). It’s like this: Ray-key-ah-vick. Ray of sunshine, Key to the door. Say, “ahhhh.” Short for Victor. Names only got harder from there.

Iceland is 5 hours ahead of Oklahoma. We did our best to stay up all day so that we would adjust to the time change while we slept that first night. So when you’re incredibly tired, there’s only one thing to do in Iceland that makes any sense. WALK ALL OVER TOWN AND HIKE TO THE HIGHEST POINT YOU CAN FIND.

We got our tourist on with two of my favorite people in the world! Phech and Chara! Tried and true friends from our Boston days, who still admit to knowing us in public. Well...at least in foreign countries where they don’t know anyone.

We checked out Hallgrimskirja with a wicked viking statue of the first European to discover America, Leifur Eiriksson. This striking design is a combination of the traditional Icelandic church shape and an abstract representation of lava flow (with a generous sprinkling of steroids. This building is huge, and can be seen over 12 miles away!)

We then hiked out to a building called the “Pearl.” It houses a viking museum and rotating restaurant, but was described in our guide book as looking like one of the cups of Barbarella’s bra. Now there’s a movie that empowers women and a comparison I’m sure all Icelanders can be proud of. But really the best thing about the Pearl was the spectacular view from the roof top deck.

We ended the first day with dinner and walk along the ocean front. The Sun-Craft looks out over one the many little bays surrounding the city. If the landscape isn’t surreal enough for you, the sculpture certainly tickles the imagination.

OK...well, that last section was only partially true. I ended the day falling asleep on a park bench when I was supposed to be focused on finding a way into the spa by our hotel. After that we decided it was time to hit the hay and get ready for a big day tomorrow that would include waterfalls, continental rifts, and steaming blasts of hot water. I love it when things explode on vacation, just not the volcanoes please.

Gearing up...and immediately apologizing...

2011-07-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

I am gearing up to come back to blogger as my main site for blog publishing!

And I am apologizing that those of you who were faithful followers in the past (I hope that you will continue to be, fingers crossed) are going to get a handful of emails and updates all at once as I move some older blog posts over from my other site. Sorry! It shouldn't be a flood, but I hate to contribute to email inbox over-fillage.

The new Iceland posts will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy them and get your friends to follow along too!

Happy Reading,
Megan

New Blog

2010-07-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

As promised the first of the new blogs is up and running (complete with featured photo galleries) on my new website. The new blog is a continuation of "Various and Sundry Adventures in the Life of ME" and can be accessed through the "Living" page on the website. There is also a feature in the top right hand corner of the blog homepage where you can subscribe and then receive emails when I put up new posts. Subscribe! I would love for all my faithful readers on blogger to become faithful readers on http://www.meganbrownellis.com.

I hope everyone enjoys the new blog, and finds things to laugh about and maybe a few to think about. Leave some comments on it, and be on the look out for the next post which will be all about getting interviewed on a TV show in Spanish.

Let's just say there were definitely some...humorous...yeah, that's the right word...moments.

Happy surfing,
Megan

It's Alive!!!!!

2010-07-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

After much talking, working, and drinking caffeinated beverages the new website is up and running.

Check out http://www.meganbrownellis.com for everything you wanted to know about ME, and probably a little extra.

Stay tuned to the site (feel free to bookmark it or even make it a favorite, no really...I won't mind) for two new blogs that will be making an appearance soon. A writer's blog and a continuation of this blog. Catchy names for the blogs are also forthcoming. I'll post here when these blogs make their debut and how to subscribe to them.

Spread the word faithful readers!
Megan (brownellis.com, OK I"m done now)

Huge Relief

2010-05-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hello faithful readers,

Through the research of a fellow blogger I now know that my blogs are safe from the cyber bulldozer. ...as they say in Oklahoma...Woot!

On this happy note be prepared for future blog postings and the launch of my new website. The website is currently under construction but looking great, and, of course, it will be linked to all of my blogs. I'll say it again...Woot!

House posts are forthcoming. We're finally nearing a picture taking stage of decoration.

Third times a charm...Woot!
Megan

Home Again! Home Again!

2010-04-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Long time no write. I know! But what a to do list that has been to done.

Barrett and I are back in Oklahoma and out of the boxes in our new home. Setting ourselves up against new adventures and rivals such as the dangers of lawn care and the never ending maze of appliance delivery.

I wanted to update all my faithful cross continental readers on the sad news that blogger is changing its format. That basically means that all of my blogs, including this one, will soon disappear from cyber space. Tear...

But fear not dear reader for I am already arming myself with the knowledge to create not only a blog to supply your needs for Megan-related information, but also an entire website chocked full of more information about the life of ME than you ever dreamed you could want to know!

BE ON THE LOOKOUT IN YOUR EMAIL AND ON FACEBOOK! The new website should launch sometime in the next couple of weeks. It will have an archive of all my blogs, new albums of travel pictures, and a special section just for family and friends to stay up to date on the perils of home ownership. On a side note, mulch is just evil. Part of its evil is that it looks so pretty, but trust me...after you put down 34 bags of it while your husband is at work, you'll know the evil of which I speak. End side note.

Till we meet again dear reader.

Onward and Upward,
Megan

Taking One (or four) for the Team

2010-03-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

Where to begin dear reader? Where to begin?

How about...Belgium! Home to dear friends, delicious chocolate, and really really (did I mention really) great beer.

Now if you've ever been out with me for a night on the town, you know that I am not a cheap date. I don't drink beer. I prefer a good Pinot Noir or a nice mixed drink with spanish flair: mojitos, palomas, etc... But rarely ever beer. Dear reader, I have been converted. Belgians, specifically Belgian monks, know how to do beer. Our first night at Emily and Jack's place was started off and wrapped up with a beer tasting. What I mean is we taste the whole bottle, and some of the beers (such as the blue St. Bernardus bottle) have an alcohol content of 10.5%. So after "tasting" the four beers to my immediate right in the picture, I was having a wonderful cultural experience. Another fun thing about Belgian beers is that each beer has its own special glass. Some glasses make the bubbles do certain things. Others are shaped to build the head and still others to discourage foam. There's a real art to it.

Emily and Jack live in the town of Luven, the biggest college town in Belgium, where Jack is doing his post-doctorate linguistics research. The university is the oldest Catholic university in the world, operating for the last six centuries, and the town is beautiful.

The original city hall takes Gothic decor to a whole new level. Too bad they didn't spend more time on the sculptural program of the building. There just aren't enough little statues under stone canopies for my taste.

This jaunty little fellow is a fountain whose purpose is to denounce brainwashing through education. I agree schools shouldn't brainwash their students; the monk's beer does it just fine.

The university library was bombed in WWII. School libraries from around the world donated books to restock it, and now the names of all the donating libraries are carved into the edifice of the building in fancy script.

After a couple days of relaxing and eating delicious Belgian food (steamed muscles, pork shank, and Flemish stew), we were ready for our next adventure.

Welcome to Amsterdam!

We had a great time roaming the streets and crossing the canals of the city. I checked another souvenir off the list when I bought a pair of European skinny jeans. Skinny leg jeans are in style in the US, but the Europeans take it to a whole new level. It's like the 80's when you had to sew yourself into your jeans (or so I'm told), but nowadays there are zippers on the pants legs to save sewing time.

The redlight district (sorry no pictures) sneaks up on you. At least it did on this tour group of senior citizens that stumbled into it ahead of us. We thought it was a laugh and that seeing the shops and the scantily-clad ladies in windows was a must if you were going to say you'd seen Amsterdam. I'm not sure the white-hairs would have agreed.

The highlight (read as "art historical freak out") of the trip to A'dam was a visit to the Rijks Museum. The interior of the museum is being completely overhauled, so they have a "greatest hits" show up. 12 rooms of the highlights of the Dutch Golden Age, including Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals. We got to see Rembrandt's most famous work, "The Night Watch," and a couple of my personal favorites "Syndics of the Cloth Merchants' Guild" (basically a bunch of old rich dudes in period clothing, but geese it's great) and a self portrait where I think he looks like the orneriest old man ever. Vermeer is never a let down, and I was surprised at some of the what I would consider modern aspects of Rembrandt's and Hal's use of paint. Definitely a stop worth the 12 Euro.

After a couple days in A'dam, it was back to Belgium for some low key sight seeing. The dutch countryside is gorgeous, so we headed out in the car one afternoon and ended up in the town of Namur. Our first stop was the hill top and citadel of the ancient town.

I guess every good citadel needs a creepy old archer's tunnel. While it was fun to see how this place would have been defended in the past, I couldn't believe Barrett and Emily got me to walk into this long dark tunnel of a thing. I didn't know if I should be more on the lookout for ghosts or ferrel animals.

Another gorgeous view from the top without Barrett and me in the way.

The Chateau Namur is also at the top of the hill. It's a hotel and reception hall now. Anyone else thinking of the Shining? Anyone? This place looked so haunted on a cloudy day!

We didn't stoop to McDonald's, but sometimes you just need a fast food break. So we did it dutch style and hit the Quick Burger. They're obviously modeled after Micky D's, but not quite there yet.

After a little local research we decided to ditch Brussels and visit Antwerp.

Barrett and Emily pose for a quick picture at the impressive Antwerp train station.

The original building defies categorization and the subsequent additions for high speed trains makes it truly unique. Jack said he feels likes he's in the league of extraordinary gentlemen when his train pulls into the elevated platforms. And before you ask, I have no idea what "WINKELS" are or why they were on both my left and my right.

The Antwerp cathedral is home to a famous Northern European Renaissance triptych and had a Ruben's show up, but THEY WOULDN'T LET ME IN! We arrived five minutes after the last entry time. So after the ticket taker told me what an awesome show they had, he told me to come back tomorrow, which I couldn't. The worst was that I could see part of the show through the entry way glass, AND there were still people in there milling around. It wasn't closing time. They just weren't letting more people in. Arrgghhh! Art historian torture!

Who loves a gothic portal? I do! I do!

I have no idea what this building is used for, but I thought it was pretty. The statue is some unknown to me hero killing the Antwerp giant. I guess the giant deserved it.

More beautiful buildings on the main square in Antwerp.

We had a phenomenal time hanging out with Jack and Emily and added two new countries to our list. Now it's back to Italy for a couple days of family time till we head back to the US. The final Italy post is forthcoming, and we are getting excited to head back to Oklahoma and move into our new home.

Packing up,
Megan

Not Just for Thanksgiving

2010-03-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Welcome to Istanbul!

Turkey is an amazing country. We spent two full days in the old part of Istanbul. I don't know if I've been in a more welcoming country. Not only was the customer service at the sights, restaurants, and hotels excellent, but also people on the street were just a pleasure to chat with. They were happy to help with directions and tell you about the beautiful buildings and history of their city.

The first stop for all good little art historians...the Hagia Sofia. Originally Santa Sofia, a Byzantine church built by Constantine (the man who brought you Christianity), it was converted to a mosque. The Muslim faith forbids depictions of human likenesses in places of worship, so the Byzantine mosaics were plastered over and the interior was redecorated. Bad sultan...very naughty. It was also completely sacked and looted by the Crusaders (oops...did we do that?) and burned up at one point. I'm just happy there's still something to see period. In recent times the mosque has been converted to a museum and is no longer used as a Muslim house of worship. It's always interesting to see what restoration projects turn up under the plaster. Like the angel face below the dome.

I snapped this pick from a window on the upper arcade. It's the onion domes of Hagia Sofia with the Blue Mosque in the distance.

This gorgeous structure is the Blue Mosque. It's gorgeous inside too and is still an official house of worship. We had to remove our shoes before entering. And, if it had been prayer time, I would have needed to cover my head. I had a pashmina on hand just in case.

Muslims are called to prayer five times a day. The first of which, I'm pretty sure, is at day break. At least that's what it seemed like when the extremely loud call to prayer sounded came though our closed window sometime between 5 and 6 am in the morning. All mosques play a man singing calls to pray on loud speakers, and believers can pray at home or go to the mosque. You can't accidently miss the time for prayer, no matter where (or how asleep) you are. It was always a little weird at first then it became a surreal sound to fall back asleep to.

One of Istanbul's sultans built the uber impressive cistern below the city. I'm still not 100% sure what it was used for (I know it stored water in case of emergency, but why did it have to be so fancy), but it sure was a knockout. The medusa stones are a cool enigma to see when you're there. No one is sure why they're there or why they aren't right side up.

Sidenote, the Turkish government must think very highly of their landmarks because...holy moly...tickets to get into museums and landmarks are expensive. $15-$20/person. Thank the Lord (or should I say Allah) that the Blue Mosque was free.

Hands down favorites of everyone were the bazaars. The Grand Bazaar is the largest covered market in the world. It was a cool place to wander around, but I would recommend making purchases at the Egyptian Bazaar or the Arasta Bazaar. The Arasta was my favorite because the sales people were much more laid back, and the prices were actually reasonable. You can find pretty much anything under the sun at the bazaars. On my constant search for a good glass of tea, I was thrilled to discover Turkish tea. Consequently, I was even more thrilled to purchase some teas at the Egyptian Bazaar (also known as the Spice Bazaar). Here are some beautiful pics from my sister-in-law Christy.

I heard the term before, but was surprised to find out that "Whirling Dervishes" are actually Turkish dancers practicing a mystic religious tradition. The instrumental music and singing is sometimes lively and sometimes very meditative. Dervishes whirl to fill themselves with love, which is the essence of the divine. They spin in constant circles for about 30 minutes only stopping three or four times. There were a few times during the performance that it felt too personal and sacred to perform while people were watching and eating.

We also visited the palace of the sultans and the seat of the Ottoman empire. The interiors were lavish, but the big show was the jewelry in the treasury. And by big I mean an 8lb emerald and a diamond the size of my fist. No kidding. But of course, you can't take pictures in the treasury. Because why? I've got my own 84 carat diamond at home that I might get cut to copy yours? Really?

Barrett and I are already planning our next trip to Turkey. We would love to spend some more time outside of the tourist areas. Not this time, but hopefully next time, we'll come back with a rug as a souvenir. We couldn't convince the boys that there were really such things as flying carpets, but without a doubt some of the world's most beautiful rugs are painstakingly made here and by hand. This woman gave a quick demonstration to us and the boys on how to make a rug. To go a meter wide and a meter long takes almost a year on a fine turkish rug.

We leave tomorrow to visit friends in Belgium and Amsterdam. Maybe I should post pictures of the Venice airport??? We go there an awful lot these days.

Gooly Gooly (that's what goodbye in Turkish sounds like),
Megan

Look! It's Another Something Old!

2010-03-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

My parents have arrived (and no, that's not what I meant by "something old" in the title).

We started in Vicenza where the big ticket item is architecture by Palladio. While I'm not fainting over Paladian architecture, I did enjoy taking a pic with my pops in front of his statue.

Welcome to Verona! The city of Romeo and Juliet (and yummy gelato)!

The Piazza delle Erbe is the heart of the city, and it's easy to imagine the Montagues and Capulets here biting their thumbs at each other and drawing their swords.

This whale bone has been hanging in that pass for centuries, and it's rumored that it will fall on the first truly "just" person to walk under it. It hasn't fallen yet, which really stinks for the popes who've walked under it. Sorry popes!

This is the Loggia dei Consiglio which is considered the finest piece of Renaissance architecture in Verona.

Mom and I stop for a pic by the river to check out the Roman theatre and castle on the other side.

Dad and I found the souvenirs we want. Yes, that's a baby blue Lamborghini and a Ferrari. We tried not to touch.

We visited the fictional house of Juliet and the Capulets. This is me with Juliet. If you need a new love in your life you're supposed to touch her right breast. I'm happily married and also not up for public statue groping, so we skipped that legend. I did think the wall of love letters for luck in love was groovy, so I stopped for a pic.

Next city. Welcome to Venice!

St. Mark's is my favorite church in the world. And I've seen a lot of nice churches in my time. Notice all the different colors of marble used to decorate the church facade. Every inch of the massive five-domed ceiling is covered in gold mosaic with works from as far back as the Byzantine era up to the Renaissance.

The Pala d'Oro, an altarpiece, is one of my favorite works of art in the church. It's been embellished over the centuries by Venetian doges. And yes...all those gem stones are real...all 2,000 of them...even the ones the size of my thumb. And it's not a gold veneer, it's solid.

These horses are solid bronze and were originally stolen from Constantinople (where we're headed this weekend). They graced the front of St. Mark's for many years, now some copies hold their place while they chill in the museum. Apparently sets like these were quite the fashion hundreds of years ago, but this is the only complete "four in hand" chariot set that has survived.

Now I had visited St. Mark's before, but I didn't realize till this time that the Tetrachs were there. These four short kings are in every art history review class, are carved out of a very rare purple marble, and were, of course, looted from Constantinople. Historians don't know exactly who they are or what they're doing, but appear suspicious of something, holding each other and their swords. I was on the lookout myself.

I was super excited to visit the doge's palace, the Palazzo Ducale. This was my first time to go in, and while we couldn't use the camera inside, please trust me, the doge's pants were fancy and the dungeon was decidedly not. Here is a pic of the Venetian Gothic facade, the only one of its kind, and the Giants' Staircase. If you were a visiting royal the doge would greet you from the top of the stairs overlooking his courtyard. You should walk up, because the doge would never walk down to you.

Next stop...Rome!

Even if you've been to Rome more than once, some places always merit repeat viewings. The forum, behind the pic of my parents. The Colosseum, which I had only seen from the outside before, is always impressive. My dad snapped this great pic of the Elefantino with the Pantheon in the background. And my favorite fountain in Rome, the Barcaccia (fountain of the sinking boat) at the bottom of the Spanish Steps.

On this trip I also saw some new things (that are still actually very old). We visited the Vatican Museums...art historian drooling...and let me tell you, the only place with fancier stuff than a king's palace is the pope's palace. Check out the ceiling in one of the halls. All the ceilings are like this. And if you're a ninja turtle fan, we've managed to show my mom and dad three of them. Raphael's School of Athens (I had a minor art historian freak out over this one, picture below), Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (sorry no photos allowed), and a Leonardo da Vinci in the painting gallery.

I also had my first opportunity to see St.Peter's. This place is huge! And I say that after having seen the Colosseum. All of the statues are larger than life size, and the gigantic canopy over the altar is made of bronze, which was taken and melted down from the Pantheon. I guess they thought the gods over at the Pantheon were through with it.

All in all I think my parents had a great time. We are all pretty worn out from our walking tours of these fabulous cities (12 miles in one day alone). A lot of delicious food and wine was consumed, souvenirs were purchased, and pictures were taken. It would be hard to pick a favorite moment, but I have an inkling into what they enjoyed the most. Nobody likes a good story better than my mom and Buzz Lightyear.

As they fly back home, Barrett and I head with whole Pasho clan to Istanbul, Turkey.

Bags Packed (again),
Megan

Sprichst du Englisch?

2010-03-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

My dear readers we have been on quite a cross country adventure. I've spoken so many languages in the past 3 days that my mind simply slips into "not English" mode. I've begun asking questions in German then replying to people in Spanish. And the really funny thing is that once most Italians realize I don't understand what they're saying in Italian, they begin speaking to me in German, even though I speak English to Barrett. On the other hand, I've been complimented by two Italians on how clearly I annunciate in English. They said they could understand almost everything I said. Two points for being able to speak my native tongue!

To that end our latest exploits have lent themselves to being multi-lingual.

Last weekend we travelled to an Italian antique market in Marostica, a walled castle town. You can see the wall on the hill above the town square. It circled the medieval city, which sits on the side of a hill.

This is the entrance to town. I'm not sure what the building is used for now, but it sure looks impressive.

I used my superior lack of understanding Italian to bargain for this antique bucket-of-a-thing, which was once used to carry fruits and vegetables to market. My bargaining tactic is to look at them like I have no idea what they're saying (which I don't), and then start to walk away once they say a price (I do understand Italian numbers). Once I start to turn away the price begins to drop. I continue to look confused until they start to say things like,"Regalo! Regalo!" which means, "it's like a gift at that price lady!" Barrett and I stand triumphant with our purchases (and our oldest nephew) outside the city wall.

For the last 3 days we've been in Garmisch, Bavaria, Germany staying at a NATO resort. My nephews call it "the hotel with two pools." It has an indoor pool and a gigantic outdoor hot tub. I felt like a movie star relaxing in the hot tub with the steam floating up around me as I gazed out at the Bavarian Alps. The hotel (and whole town for that matter) provides stunning views of the slopes.

One of the nifty things about driving from northern Italy, through Austria, into southern Germany, and then around Bavaria is that there are castles everywhere. They just pop up on hill tops. We made a special trip out into Bavaria to see some of the castles of Ludwig the Second. This monarch is rapidly becoming my all time favorite. He was a few french fries short of a happy meal and spent money like it grew on trees. Of course he had a hard time separating reality and fairytales, so maybe he thought it did. But thanks to him you can stumble onto views like this.

Neuschwansteim, the second castle, was dedicated to the works of Wagner. While the interior of the castle was not completed at the time of Ludwig's death (when the money tree died as well), all of the finished royal rooms are bedecked in murals depicting scenes from Wagner's operas. One room was even created to look like a cave, complete with stalagmites and stalagtites, to go with the operatic scenes in the adjoining room. Barrett says every guy needs a man cave.

On an unrelated note, this castle was the inspiration for the Disney World castle.

Getting up to see the castle required some figuring. It had snowed recently so buses weren't running. And a 40 minute uphill walk really isn't doable for a 2 and 4 year old. Clydesdales to the rescue!

Barrett and I were snug as bugs on the ride through the forest, which had views that make fairy tales seem very possible.

Too bad we already bought that other house...drat!

The view from the hotel paled in comparison to the view from the castle windows. If that doesn't make your pants fancy enough, they had even figured out how to centrally heat the whole castle. Of course Ludwig had large ceramic heaters too in all of his private rooms. Sorry. No pics of the rooms. It was not allowed. Say it in a German accent for fun. Eet vas noot aloud.

When we weren't hobnobbing with the rich, famous, and deceased, we enjoyed the simple pleasures of the Bavarian Alps. Food!

Yippee for strudel...

...and hot chocolate...

...and hot chocolate where you blow your own bubbles.

We visited the local church in Garmisch.

And wrapped up one night with schnitzel, sausages, German beer, and...

Lederhosen!

My parents arrive tomorrow for a week of sightseeing and feasting. The agenda includes Venice, Padua, Verona, and Rome. Bring on the Shakespeare!

Aufidersen,
Megan

A Day in the Life

2010-03-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

One of the things that Barrett and I enjoy most about traveling is getting to see what daily life is like in another country. We like to see museums and monuments and other touristy type things, but the problem with those spots is...well...they're full of tourists. I don't travel to other countries in order to see more Americans. This trip to Italy has been particularly nice in this respect since we're living with family (they are American, but we're not holding it against them) and getting to see what it's like to navigate the basics here in Quinto, a small city outside Vicenza, which is a small city outside Venice.

Barrett likes to give the local children reading lessons in English.

I've decided to give cooking lessons to pre-schoolers, focusing on home made pretzels.

I also had an Italian day of beauty, so...

...do you remember Mexico Megan?

...Miami Megan?

Here's Italy Megan with a fabulous new Italian do. I love it!

The majority of our time is spent eating, mainly my favorite food group. The cheese group!

Max and I picnic in the back of the van on a snowy day in Asiago.

Did I mention that the best thing about Asiago is the local cheese? This picture is for you Olivia!

A quick family pic in the heart of Asiago. This charming little hill top town has an austere church and pretty alpine buildings, which are appropriate considering the Alps are in the background.

We wrapped up the day with a great dinner out.

Tomorrow we're off to the market in Marostica. Maybe there will be more cheese!

Takin' it a day at a time,
Megan

Top Two Reasons to Visit Italy

2010-03-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

We've arrived! After sixteen hours of planes, security checkpoints, and not a lot of sleep, you start to ask yourself if it's worth the hassle. I mean Venice and Rome will be awesome. And I can't wait to see Padua and Verona. But my jet lag was so bad I felt like I'd been trampled by a herd of buffalo.

And then I saw my top two reasons for this trip and yeah...it was totally worth it.

Max and I make time for a morning snuggle before breakfast.

Uncle Barrett and Cal were cuddled at the other end of the couch.

We've also been visited by Superman, Buzz Lightyear, and Mr. Incredible. Pictures to come!

Happy Snuggling!
Megan

Things I Learned in Mexico

2010-02-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

In two days we depart for Italy. Our Mexican and Floridian adventures are behind us. One would think that after spending a month in a foreign country; living, learning, eating, and interacting with a new and different culture, that I would have discovered some deep truths about the world and myself. Maybe I did... Perhaps I could roll the experience around in my mind and type my thoughts up as an offering to the importance of international travel and cultural understanding. Perhaps...

But instead I'm going to post a selection of the funniest photos I took on the vacation!
Let's just admit that we'd all enjoy that more anyway.

So when we arrived in Guadalajara it was Jan. 1. And in Mexico that means all of the Christmas decorations are still up, including a life size nativity scene in the plaza. Apparently the donkey that the Holy Family rode into Bethlehem on had a bad case of Montezuma's revenge.

One thing that you learn really quickly about Mexican happy hour is the procedure for two-for-one drinks. Be prepared to get both of your drinks at the same time. Also be prepared to ask if the margaritas are frozen or on the rocks. Barrett's pants were fancy this evening (and a little girly), but he doesn't look too bothered by it.

I don't know who this is or what he's mad about, but it's hard to take him seriously with a pigeon on his head. I don't think the statue is fulfilling its original purpose.

Barrett's parents came for a visit and were fascinated by his facial hair. The bearded Barrett was captured on film for the sake of posterity.

One day on our beach trip we were walking through town, and well... Funny things you see in Mexico.

Running through the fountains means you'll visit Guadalajara again one day. It also means you'll have one wet shoe and look like you had an accident in your pants. Praise the Lord for warm weather.

These pics are from Florida. Alicia is the bride's name. Barrett's first two friends at law school were Alicia and Dharma. We've all traveled to each other's weddings in Puerto Rico, Oklahoma, and now Miami.

After the wedding we visited friends a couple hours north of Miami in Ft. Pierce. We had time to see the county fair and watch my friend's brother compete in the regional hog showing competition. Nothing excites Barrett more than bacon on the move. I was just excited to spend time with Sarah and Freddy.

You can check out Sarah's website full of gorgeous handmade paper products at http://www.etsy.com/shop/relove. Everything on the site is made from recycled paper products, so it's unique and good for the planet.

The first two months of our extended vacation have been wonderful. Making new friends. Visiting with old friends. We're looking forward to being with Barrett's sis and our nephews in Vicenza and to posting pictures of our new house once the deal is finalized.

The next blog will be from Italy!

Packed and ready,
Megan

Life's a Beach and then You Fly

2010-02-22T08:40:00.001-08:00

It's time for the long awaited beach post. If we hadn't made you jealous before now, be prepared because I'm pulling out all the stops on this one.

First, let me tell you what I love about the beach. Most people would think that it would be the water, but actually I have very little interest in getting in the water. My favorite thing about the beach is lounge chairs and umbrellas. I can sit in the sun/under the umbrella and read for hours, which is actually what I did. That's how I finished my first totally spanish book. 504 pages, baby!

But enough with the chit-chat, let's get to the pictures.

We rolled into Sayulita in the state of Nayarit on a Tuesday. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy Tuesday, but we were still able to take a walk on the beach and stroll around the funny little town. Wednesday was a cloudy too. Fine for getting out and around, but not real lay on the beach weather. Thursday beach weather arrived and oh what a view.

Barrett and I quickly acclimated to the weather, and I began to log 3 grueling back to back 8-5 beach days. You can see the strain on our faces.

Maybe it's the beach or maybe it's my new photo editing software, but the year's melted off our faces.

Barrett got a boogie-board the last day and enjoyed the waves. And I finally got my feet wet to get a picture for the kids in Chicago.

But mostly this was the view I had. Just me, the sun, surfboards, and the sound of the ocean.

I was sad to leave Sayulita, but we happily headed to another beach town to wrap up our time in Mexico with friends. We met up with Eric and Karen in Ajijic on the shores of Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico.

Chapala has an absurdly large gringo population of retirees and snowbirds. This would be a problem except for the fact that they'll invite you over to their swanky hillside homes to watch the Superbowl. We rooted for the Saints in style at an awesome house with an awesome view.

The toughest part of leaving Mexico was saying goodbye to Karen and Eric, but we have plans to catch up with them in Peru or somewhere in South America next summer.

Stay tuned for the final Mexico post coming later this week.

Slightly tanner than before,
Megan

The Final 3

2010-02-15T05:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

We are down to our last 3 Mexico posts. Barrett and I are back in the states, currently in Ft. Pierce, Florida, but due to hectic travel schedules and questionable internet connections there are still 3 Mexico posts rattling around in my brain.

Let's get down to work, shall we?

Welcome to the beautiful town of Queretero (say it like carat-arrow but really fast)! This gorgeous colonial city is full of history and is cute as a button. Remember the sad guy with the flaming torch from the last blog? This is the town he gave his speech in, spurring the Mexicans on to fight for their independence from the Spanish. At night troupes of musicians wander the town singing, playing, and competing with other groups. During the day, you can share a glass of wine ice with your sweetie, eat gourmet food, gaze at the aqueduct, and roam the quiet streets. Here are some of our favorite pics.

This church looked beautiful from the outside, simple and timeless. But on the inside...welll...if it's not baroque, don't fix it.

How do we get ourselves into these messes? Our writer and photographer friends wrote an article for National Geographic Traveler about a B&B in Queretero called La Casa del Atrio. This article thrilled the owners who gave our friends and us free rooms for a long weekend. In addition to posh accommodations and a delicious breakfast, one of the owners is an art dealer and has a gallery in the front of the building. Ring...Ring...Heaven calling...yes this is Megan. The artist showing in the gallery was also having a big one man show in the Museum of Art across the street. Barrett and I loved what we saw, and decided to bring two pieces back to grace our new home. We are now officially art collectors!

I'm putting a red dot on the wall label for this work of art to show that it is officially purchased.

Barrett and friends also made it out to a couple of other sights. They went to see the monolith in Bernal and to check out Mexican wine country in Tequiziapan. I, of course, stayed behind to talk art with the gallery owner and couldn't have been happier.

Good times were had by all, and since we were with travel writers we got to meet some other hotel owners and get some behind the scenes looks at a new world class hotel (think $750-$1000 USD/night). Now we have many invitations to return.

Stay tuned for two more posts from Mexico. Next up, Sayulita and the beach life!

Found It!

2010-02-03T14:42:00.001-08:00

Dear Reader,

As I'm sure you are aware, some things in life just make more sense in a pair: socks, peanut butter & jelly, nerds and pocket protectors, etc...

I think I pair well with ______________.
a) Barrett
b) a nice California Pinot Noir
c) excess verbiage
d) art
e) all of the above

Obviously the answer is (b), but the subject of this post will be (d) ART!

We all knew that I was going to find a way to work art into the blog. Let's not kid ourselves. So resign yourself to learning something, sit back, and enjoy the pictures. I will only give a pop quiz if I think you aren't paying attentionl

There were 3 great Mexican muralists: Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco. Guadalajara is lousy with Orozco murals, so of course I had to check them out. Here are a couple of my favorite pics of them.

Hidalgo was a main character in the Mexican war for independence and is depicted here giving his famous speech. It takes up the whole ceiling above a large staircase, so he's two stories tall.

This is the "man on fire" which is part of a giant series that fills a giant building. The series depicts pre-colonial native practices and Spanish conquest scenes.

The thing I like about Orozco and these particular works is that (to me personally) he's not preaching any particular belief or "ism." He seems to be focused only on the humanity of these situations. How are the people affected? The worth of any idea or belief (Christianity, fascism, communism, ancient tribal custom) is directly connected to how it affects real people. Any idea or belief that is used as an excuse to control or hurt others is portrayed as disfiguring or disgusting, no matter how good the people's intentions were, native or European. Moral: Be a decent person or Orozco will fill a building with paintings blaspheming you, no matter what you said you stood for.

On a lighter note...here's a Mexican fairytale. A group of wizards were all in love with the same mortal woman and fought over her. Unfortunately for them, she didn't want a magical boyfriend. After she rejected them all, they turned themselves into different pieces of furniture in her house just to be near to her. And each piece of furniture was supposed to meet a different need that she might have: one to listen to her, one to hug her and hold her when she needed it, one to offer wisdom, one to offer love, etc. Can you tell which chairs were for which purpose.

My teacher told me that this one was obviously love because he was trying to get her out of her pants. Giggle

I'm discussing with one wizard how there has to be a better way to get a girl.

Look out for the squid people. AAAAHHHHH! Totally different museum and sculpture series, but I dig 'em.

To end on a serious note...I'm not nuts about this one visually, but the words at the bottom are awesome.

"THE STRONG DO NOT KILL"

Peace, kindness, and great art to you all,
Megan

As promised...

2010-01-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

I deliver unto thee, as promised, pictures from our previous weekend's excursion to the beautiful "puebla magica" of Tapalpa. Tapalpa is high in the mountains outside or Guadalajara. And, as I'm sure you'll agree with me after viewing the pictures, "puebla magica" is the spanish way of saying "really stinkin' cute little town."

Photo credits go to my suegra (mom-in-law) for her fantastic photographic eye!

Welcome to Tapalpa! As you can see "stinkin' cute" is a fitting description. The best things to do in Tapalpa are wander, relax, eat, and stroll with your man.

Our hotel was beautiful in it's own right. It had a gorgeous courtyard, modern bathrooms, and a man whose job it was to come to your room on request build a fire in the fireplace to keep you warm on a chilly mountain night.

My new fave photo. Thanks mom2.0!

Mary (mom-in-law) and I had a lot fun searching for handmade artisan pieces. I bought a basket from this little woman, and we both bought blankets from Graciela. You know something is handmade when you ask, "how did you make this?" and the answer begins with "well...first you take a sheep."

The town and hotel were even beautiful at night!

We ventured out to see the unusual rock formations outside of town and were equally amazed by the size of the cactus trees.

On our way back we stopped to capture the view of the valley below. It was a splendidly sunny day.

All is well here in Mexico. Barrett and I have eaten enough food from the local market that our stomachs are bullet proof. No longer do we fear the Mexican weight loss program known as Montezuma's revenge. For this weekend, we've lined up a soccer match, museum visits here in Guadalajara (I'm so excited!...giggle, snort...push up glasses...check pocket protector), and a hiking trip to see the world's only round pyramids.

Till then dear friends.

Traveling On,
Megan

We're Not Dead Yet...

2010-01-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

Life is difficult my friends. Life is difficult.

I continue to be amazed that we can hold up under the burdens we bear. We've been subjected to both beautiful scenery and gracious hospitality. The most onerous of duties has been drinking well-made and finely-aged tequila. Somehow...we carry on.

I've started taking private spanish lessons in addition to my classes. Barrett's parents were here last weekend too, so we are staying muy busy. Oh yeah...rockin' the spanglish. Here are some pics of our recent excursions. Feel free to send me your questions about the production methods of tequila, because yes, I am now an expert in both production and consumption!

Our School Sponsored (that's right, Mexico rocks) trip to the town of Tequila.

The beautiful landscape of the town of Tequila. We visited an agave farm and a distillery. Both were just outside of town.

A gorgeous little chapel at the distillery we visited.

All tequila is made from blue agave grown in only five states in Mexico. Anywhere else or any other type of agave and all you've got is Mezcal.

Megan and the jimador. Jimadors harvest the mature agave pinas (the hearts are called pinas, spanish for pineapples, because that's what they look like with the leaves cut off). Agave must be harvested by hand, but be careful! These plants are very spiky and prickly.

Cooking the agave in clay ovens.

Tasting cooked agave. Yum...tastes like sweet potatoes!

After the juice from the cooked agaves is squeezed out, fermented and double distilled, it is aged. Tequila is aged in white oak barrels. All tequila is clear until it's aged, then it slowly gets darker the longer it's in the barrel. This distillery was very environmentally conscious, so they keep the aging room cool and at the right humidity by letting trees grow through the building.

Of course we're smiling. There's tequila in them bags!

We ate lunch overlooking the beginning of the San Andres fault line.

We've also found a beautiful little suburb outside of Guadalajara called Tlaquepaque (try saying that three times fast). It's become one of our favorite places to go to get away from the busy city.

Obviously we are suffering greatly, but we've decided to tough it out and have even extended our trip until February 9th. I'll post pictures of our mountain top "Puebla Magica" trip with Barrett's folks very soon. I have a lot of pictures to go through thanks to the keen eye of my mother-in-law. She likes taking photos like some people like breathing.

Until then dear friends Barrett and I will continue to be brave and not shirk our responsibilities. The weather this week is supposed to be in the 80's. Oh...the responsibility!

Carrying on,
Megan

Revenge of the Late Night Taco

2010-01-07T17:52:00.001-08:00

After a short hiatus caused by a malevolent taco, I am back on track. How could our young heroine be taken in by a nefarious latin sandwich? This particular taco temptress was drenched in my new favorite sauce, barbacoa. Trust me my friends, if God eats tacos, they are covered in barbacoa sauce. The Lord Almighty, however, had nothing to do with the three tacos I purchased from a restaurant on Juarez street on Monday night...

Let us pause for a moment and consider some of the basic facts here. Juarez Street is the main street in historic Guadalajara. This is not a shady place. It makes no sense that I would get sick from these tacos, when just two nights before I ate tacos from the Mercado Liberdad. Seriously?! Even the Mexicans here say not to eat at the Mercado! I eat there. No problemo. I go to a real restaurant and I can't get out of bed for a day! Really? Really!

...although I did spend a great deal of time praying while laying in bed all day Wednesday.

But that's all behind me now thanks to my caring hubby and and infinite amount of water and chicken soup. Spanish classes continue to go well. I missed the field trip, but Barrett and I had plans to go to that town together again anyway. We got out for some sight seeing today, and I've had a lot of requests for pics, so here's a quick tour of the historic center.

The main landmark is the cathedral. It's very pretty and ornate on the inside. It is clear from the time you walk in the doors that people take great care and pride in every aspect of the church. Some things might seem garish to our American eyes, but the devotion of the people cannot be questioned.

The holy item not to miss is definitely Santa Inocencia (Saint Innocent). The relics are the hands and blood of a child saint. According to the posted texts. This young girl was one of the first martyrs during a time of Catholic persecution in Mexico. You have to wait if you want a close look because she is always surrounded by people. Now...I've studied my fair share of relics as an art historian, but no matter how many I've seen in pictures, the real life ones can still give me the willies. If you look closely in this snapshot, you can see that people have brought pictures of their children to place with the relic.

This is the inside of the Palacio Municipal (City Hall), a really beautiful building with a super scary mural of the founding of Guadalajara. Apparently if a guy named "Bloody Guzman" is the founder of your city, it is no bueno to be a native.

This beautiful place is not a landing spot for an alien spaceship. It's a monument to the illustrious sons and daughters of Jalisco (the Mexican state that we are currently residing in).

This is the regional museum. I can't wait to go in there! Nerd attack...giggle, snort, push up glasses...

This is the fountain in the Plaza de la Liberation and the gorgeous Teatro Degollado. Barr and I are hoping to get tickets to the Philharmonic there. The Teatro was recently spruced up, and the inside is supposed to be absolutely opulent.

There are lots of places to stroll, shop, and lounge in the city. You can't throw a stick and not a hit a gurgling fountain of some kind once you're in this area.

Believe it or not, Barrett and I have managed to make friends of some fellow travelers (a photographer and a writer, go figure), so the weekend promises fun in the form of salsa dance lessons, dinner with new friends, and a trip to the town of Tequila.

Let me leave you with some well thought out medical advice: If you believe yourself to be suffering from a stomach ailment caused by a type of bacteria or "bug," the most direct way to kill said bug and sanitize your stomach is to pour tequila directly into the affected area. We've done a survey, and nine out of ten margarita drinkers believe this statement to be both correct and medically sound. We'll let you know how the field study progresses.

Cheers,
Megan

PS Here's a photo of the duck that bit me. Que pato malo!

Beware of the Guard Goose!

2010-01-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

After three days and two nights in Guadalajara, we don't have much to say for ourselves. It has been a harrowing adventure my friends, harrowing.

We checked into the hotel Friday afternoon. Our room is clean and spacious, and there is always a movie dubbed in Spanish playing on one of our 7 cable channels. That evening we ate a large meal in the plaza that sits in the shadow of the town's enormous cathedral. Christmas decorations were still up everywhere, and we were feeling quite pleased with ourselves.

That night it began to rain...

The rain continued all through the next day, and I mean ALL through the next day. But being the intrepid pair we are, we made it out for 3 fine meals. There is a pasteleria just down from our hotel and the bakery for it is just next door. So every time we leave the hotel in the morning it smells like fresh baked sweets. Barrett walked us over a mile to a Tortas Ahogadas stand (have you ever been splashed by a car with Mexican rain water? I have...thanks Barr...thanks) that was barely more than an open air one-car garage. But, oh my goodness, the "drowned sandwich" of Guadalajara is so good. It's a pork filled baguette covered in spicy red sauce. I ordered mine mild, but accidentally picked up Barrett's plate when we went to the table. My lips tingled for over an hour after only one bite! That's the only thing this place serves, but you can get it with avocado and squeeze limes over it. Truly delicioso! For dinner we found a taco stand in the market that will serve you up a taco made from just about any part of an animal you can think of. We played it pretty safe, but I've got my eye on a "head meat" aka brain taco.

It rained all that day so we were wet, full to the brim, and sleepy. We crashed after watching Alien 3 in spanish and were ready to go at it again today even though it was supposed to rain again...

but then, there was sun...

And lots of it, today has been a beautiful 75 and sunny. We walked through the big Parque Aqua Azul, which is the premier park in Guadalajara. It's verdant and serene. You might never know you were in the big city. People were there with workout groups or strolling with their families. There's a large butterfly dome and a bird house. But beware of the guardian goose! Upon entering the birdhouse you can easily become distracted by the colorful parrots and showy peacock, but don't take your eyes off the one scraggly goose that hisses, follows you around, and ultimately bites blonde tourists on the ankle! Muy mal pavo! Muy mal! That's one very bad goose!

But now that I've recovered from the trauma, had a delicious torta from the bakery down the street, and am lounging in the sunny green courtyard of our hotel, it doesn't seem so bad.

Till next time,
Megan

On again...Off again

2009-12-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

What's the natural next step for a couple with two Ivy League graduate degrees and power-house resumes? Well...apparently it's moving back in with your parents.

The first phase of our move is complete. Mother Nature was not on our side despite my honest efforts to donate and recycle all that I could. But we carried on like postal employees loading, driving, and unloading through rain, sleet, and snow. We were very lucky to have good friends and obligated (they want a grandkid) family to help us through. I think at one point I promised someone a kidney to help us move. I'm sure if they need it later on they'll remind me.

Barrett and I have discovered several interesting facts during our move and short stay thus far in Oklahoma.

Fact: A person should cultivate a certain type of friend base in case of future furniture moves.

The optimal friend in a move is one who can bench press at least 150 lbs and is trained in a scientific field that requires them to understand complex systems.
For example: My dear friend Phech. He can bench press over 200lbs and is earning a PhD from MIT. This is the type of man you need as a friend when you have a large couch and tiny winding stair cases.

Fact: Even if you have cultivated the appropriate friend base, the best strategy for moving difficult furniture can still be "push it as hard as you can and see what happens."

Fact: Thanks for the sentiment Mr. Crosby, but we are not dreaming of a white Christmas.

As Chicago began to be covered in gorgeous white Christmas flakes on the 22nd, I marveled at the beauty of the pristine little snowflakes gathering on my windshield. You could see the facets of the ice in each tiny snowflake. I was almost inspired to write an email to a researcher friend of mine and discuss how beatiful they were before deconstructive metamorphism set in. Dramatic pause to push up my glasses and check my pocket protector. But after half a day of loading furniture in the snow and another day and a half driving in the rain, I was ready for some of that balmy 50 degree weather I'd heard about in Oklahoma. We unloaded all our furniture into storage at my grandmother's on the 23rd as a cold front was moving in. By the middle of the day on the 24th, the news informed us that we were in the Oklahoma Blizzard of '09 (it already has its own facebook group). By evening, every major interstate and turnpike in Oklahoma had been shut down. People abandoned their cars on the interstates and off ramps. We've been snowed in for two days.

Fact: Anyone in Oklahoma who is caught singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" will be immediately punched in the nose.

Anticipated high for our first day in Mexico, sunny and 78!

Till then dear friends...
Megan

This could be the moment we've been waiting for...

2009-12-07T17:49:00.001-08:00

Have you ever thought to yourself..."man, I just don't get enough Megan in my life."

Well put on your hallelujah skirt because your prayers have just been answered.

In an effort to stay in touch with friends in various and sundry places, I'm starting this blog to chronicle my adventures in moving to Oklahoma and the settling therein. I will also post stories and pics from our travel destinations along the way. I hope that this site can be a little more personal than facebook and a little less work than trying to email everyone I want to stay in touch with (because trust me dear friends, I'm fortunate enough that there are a lot of you).

So...if you'd like to stay in touch during my many adventures the next few months, subscribe to the blog, and it will let you know when I post something new. I wish it could warn you if the post is interesting or not, but, as modern technology hasn't developed anything that can do that yet, you'll just have to take your chances and have a little faith (you did put your hallelujah skirt on, right?).

Here and There,
ME