Eid

Yesterday was the celebration of Eid, a huge holiday for the Muslims of the world. 3 million Muslims dressed in white flock to Saudi Arabia to complete a pilgrimage known as the hajj. For an in-depth look at what being at this event is like, I highly recommend this awesome documentary from the Vice Guide to travel.



It seems overwhelming! What a mass of humanity.

Naked Time

Sorry about my posting lapse- We were without internet for a week. Things will be more back to normal now. I want to talk about getting naked in Germany.

Germans have a long and glorious tradition of public nudity. Even though their once thriving naturist community is now shrinking somewhat, there are still plenty of opportunities to show off yer goods. In the Englischer Garten, (Munich's answer to Central Park) there is a nude sunbathing area. From a distance you can see middle aged men standing around with their legs spread and their hands on their hips, talking to other men doing the same. You could also see it up close...if you were brave.

So while we were in Baden-Baden, a historic playground of the rich and famous, it only seemed fitting to take part in one of their most luxurious attractions, that happened to involve nudity.

Fredrichsbad, the thermal bath house was mere steps away from our wonderful hotel's door. Since 1877, this place has been a temple to relaxation and health. You can even get a prescription to go to the baths from your doctor in Germany, for free! Also, the dress code for this experience is totally nude.

Before we went into the baths, I was very nervous! I do have a tendency to have not the greatest body image, so the prospect of just wandering around and flaunting it seemed kind of, well, crazy. I also looked back to the scenes of Munich's park. Was it just going to be me and Paul with a bunch of wide-stanced  hairy business men?

But as you enter this place you are almost transported into another plane of existence. This isn't just getting naked in public, this is like getting naked in a mansion!

As we were getting naked in the locker room, a staff person approached us and started talking quicly in fairly advanced German. It was...strange. Being naked with this prim and proper staff person, in her all white spa uniform - shoes and socks and all, explaining to us how to use the lockers. She was so totally non-plussed. But I imagine working there, seeing naked people all day long every day, you kind of lose that veneer of sensitivity about approaching somebody with no clothes on.

It helped with the anxiety of the situation that it wasn't too busy that day - I think we saw a total of about 8 other people the whole time. But even still, once you got used to the prospect that you were naked, they were naked, and it was normal, you almost forgot about it. It was relaxing, and liberating!

It's hard to explain, but it just felt natural and fun to be able to just walk around and swim and be naked and for nobody to think anything of it. And also to see the whole of other people's naked bodies, makes one's little imperfections seem like the most natural thing in the world.

Another nice things about this place is that all the water is natural mineral water, and the steam rooms are thermal, powered by the earth. It was fun to be able to open my eyes under water, and not have to smell chlorine everywhere. You feel so clean when you leave here, especially if your get the soapy scrub brush massage!

I really did enjoy it - to the point that I've been looking up clothing-optional places across the country. Maybe for our next vacation? I wouldn't be opposed! Getting naked is pretty fun!

Alles Zeit ist Brotzeit

One of my dear friends also went to Germany a few years back. When she returned, she was all about making pretzels. It was a compulsion I didn't quite understand then, but I do now.


FACT: Germans love pretzels. It is one of their big cultural icons. Germany, I think is the only place in the world where you will see a stroller with a plush toy pretzel hanging down for baby to play with (yes. I saw this.)

 FACT: Germans make the best pretzels in the world. Once you eat a pretzel in Germany- like a fresh one, right out of the oven, you will have a hard time enjoying other pretzels again. As another friend of mine, who recently returned from a historic tour of Berlin told it:

"The other day I was at the mall with my friends, and we got soft pretzels from Auntie Anne's. Seriously, afterward I was in a horrible mood. My friend was all 'what's wrong? This is so good!' Ugh. It's just not the same, we don't make good pretzels."

Now I too am spoiled. It's hard to say what makes them better. The skin is um, snappier? And the insides are softer? It's just better, ok?

I forgot to mention that these pretzels are also HUGE. Holding a giant beer and a giant pretzel makes you feel like a kid. Literally because you seem very small in comparison to your edibles.

Shroomin'

So I had a hard time starting up with these vacation-related blog posts, because the temptation to tell the whole tale in a linear way made me reluctant to launch into the juiciest tidbits that took place later on. But I'm going for it!

Fact: Germans LOVE Mushrooms. And more specifically, mushroom hunting. On the train, the deutsche bahn magazine had a pretty extensive article on the hippest new mushroom hunting gear. Boots, this knife:

ETC!

An even stronger indicator of this fungus lust took place one night when we were eating dinner in the Rathausglockel Hotel Restaurant. One of the other guests came in, apparently hot off mushroom collecting with an absolutely giant specimen, about the size of a basketball. She asked the kitchen to cook it up for her, and they seemed super pumped about it. Although, that all took place in German, so I could be wrong about what was actually literally said.

It's a pretty big deal there, I guess. In honor of that, I suppose it's only fitting that I cooked up a batch of my awesome mushroom soup last night. Why yes! I will share the recipe.

Ingredients:
1tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2.5 cups of chopped mushrooms (any type)
handful of flour
3 cups of broth (chicken or vegetable - your choice!)
parsley
salt and pepper

1. Combine the oil and butter in a large sauce pan.
2. Cook the garlic and onion in the buttery mixture until they are soft and transparent.
3. Add the Mushrooms and stir to coat them.
4. Turn the heat to low and cover, cook for 15 minutes.
5. Throw in the handful of flour and stir to thicken.
6. Add 1 cup of broth and stir to mix again. Once, thoroughly combined, add the rest of the broth.
7. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil for about 8 minutes.
8. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

It's a really easy recipe and really does bring out the wonderful earthy tastiness of mushrooms. The broth is really flavorful and hearty. The Deutsch would be so proud! Na Klar!

Extra Credit: Guide to Edible Mushrooms of New England

Guess who's back? Tell a Friend.

We made it back safely! Hooray! It was an awesome awesome two weeks that I will think fondly about forever. Paul and I did and saw so many cool things. I'm posting all of our pictures on facebook, but I definately plan to use my blog space to talk some about what happened. Perhaps less of a play-by-play than my posts about the mid-atlantic disaster of 2010, but more of a series of posts talking about what we saw and noticed abroad. SO THAT'S COMIN'!

As a little taste, I figured I'd start with something light. European Fashion Watch!

Everybody knows that all the hot trends of the season come from fancy pants Europe and their ability to dress nicely. I cannot tell a lie - almost everybody over there was dressed very hip, pretty much all the time. There was one big trend for ladies that I saw on women across all ages and body types:

MC Hammer/ Harem Pants!

As universally as they have been embraced by the ladies of the old world, I have to say that they were pretty much also universally not flattering at all. I am sad that this is coming across the atlantic soon......Like a horrible fashion shark of doom!

 

Embarking

Tonight we fly to Germany! One thing we are excited to see are the famous "Mad King Ludwig" castles in Bavaria. They're the architecturally lavish, fairy tale fortresses that inspired the Walt Disney Cinderella Castle.

While these are beautiful, and without a doubt a marvel, I can't help but think we won't be seeing any castles as cool as this one:

Kelburn Castle in Scotland was transformed 3 years ago into a street art masterpiece by a group of Brazillian artists, commissioned by the Earl of Glasgow's children.

The city council only allowed the Earl to make the massive mural on the condition that it would only be up for 3 years. Now time is up, and the land owner is trying to make the work permanent. Unsuprisingly, some folks have a problem with this!

The Earl'ss family have lived in the grand manor for the last 800 years. I'm of the mindset that they should be able to paint their castle any way they want - historical preservation rules be damned.

I just love the juxtaposition of stoic old money splendor and bright colorful graffiti. Very Cool.

I won't be posting for awhile! Have a great start to your September, and I'll see you on the other side!

Photoverkill

There's nothing like a little mini vacation to rejuvenate! Paul and I were lucky enough to get to spend a gorgeous day in Boston yesterday, and stay over last night at a company expensed hotel. We were in town because Paul was doing a photo shoot for an article CODE magazine was doing on his work. It was a good taste of what his new modeling career will entail, glamorous wardrobe changes (they had him model in a $1000 coat!) and hotel living. (Pics to come!)

While we were in town, we decided to spend a few hours at the New England Aquarium. It was a lot of fun! It did make me discover my newest first world problem pet peeve. People were taking way - way- way too many pictures. I know that now that everybody (except me) has an android, it's really easy to take some photos. But do you really need to seize the opportunity and take pictures of every single thing you see?

Really, when you look back on your vacation pictures, are you going to be all that excited to show your friends the 100 pictures of fish you took? Especially given that there are probably pictures of these fish that exist already, many probably better quality than yours, that you can access any time?

It also seems totally impossible to actually be appreciating and enjoying the exhibits when your primary concern is flashing pictures of every single fish in the aquarium. Give it a rest!

RANT OVER

Bathing Beauty

I'm sorry that we're going to miss this on our upcoming German jaunt.

For the next ten days, this neat floating installation will be gracing the waters of Alster Lake in Hamburg.

The sculpture is by Oliver Voss, and is 13 feet high and 98 feet long!

I find it pretty surprising that a local mayor has said that this is "sullying the beloved lake." I thought Germans were down with nudity here there and everywhere. And this nudity is merely implied! IMPLIED!

Ah well, I think its super rad and fun!

Strong is Truth

In my ever expanding catalog of things that I think about getting tattoos of, but probably won't, I've added a new category. Arms from my favorite European Places! The City of Oxford has a pretty cool crest, and a pretty awesome motto.

However, I hesitate to permanently put that scary ass beaver on my skins. I am glad that real life beavers do not resemble body builders so strongly! Yikes.

Apparently that buff rodent represented Henry Norreys of Rycote, who spent a week at Christ Church College in 1566. He was the son of the Henry Norreys who was beheaded for doing Anne Boleyn. Way to rise above that and become a green manifestation of a most industrious beast!

And Chop!

It's been about 4 months since I posted about wanting a baby's haircut, and I still haven't let a scissor touch my locks. Except, that is, to trim my own bangs. I'm still sort of itching for a new look, but perhaps something not so extreme. Maybe something like this?

Razor cuts look pretty good on me, because I've got super fine (like "dayum") hair.

BUT I've also reached that fabled point where girls start to get attached to their hairs. Now that it's 2 inches or so below shoulder length, I'm having a harder time bringing myself to cut it.

I've also been joking with Paul about waiting till we're going to Europe, and getting a pixie cut with a real long rat tail, like Obi Wan style.

1. Because it would be funny to rock a weird look amongst strangers for awhile.
2. Because somehow that seems very German to me.

Itinerary? Opine!

So, for those of you that don't know, Paul and I are planning a vacation to the European Continent this September. It will be the first time that Paul has been across the Atlantic, and my first time visiting Deutschland. I've been working on brushing up my college German, and have been pleasantly suprised by how much I still remember.

Anyway, we're starting to hammer out an itinerary for the voyage. I would really love to hear any opinions from y;all. I know that I've got quite a few friends who are world-travelers. Here's what we're thinking right now:

1.       Arrive in Munich Afternoon
2.       Munich
3.       Munich, (Castle/Monastery Side trip?)
4.       Munich,
5.       Morning Train to Baden Baden (4 hrs)
6.       Baden-Baden
7.       Morning Train to Brussels  (5-10hrs)
8.       Brussels (Cantillion Brewery)
9.       Brussels
10.   Train to Amsterdam (2 hrs)
11.   Amsterdam
12.   Amsterdam
13.   Depart

I'd love some 2 cents! I've been thinking about cutting down our time in Brussels to 1 day, because the general consensus seems to be that (as Jenny said) "Belgium is even more boring than Austria."Maybe add another day to Baden Baden, so we can spend more time hiking in the Schwarz Wald, Or another day in Munich, so we'll have more time for day trips.

 I AM SO EXCITED

The Three Caballeros - 1944

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, enjoy the signature number from Disney's strange celebration of Latino culture. 



Donald Duck receives a magical birthday present that transports him to an abstract plane of existence. Here, he learns all about the cultures of Mexico and Brazil in a singing, dancing tourism fiesta. That's some gift!

This film is way less racist than many of the cartoons about "the other" from this period, mostly because it's celebrating the multiculturalism and the positive aspects of these countries, not just stereotyping them through one character. It's also one of the first movies to combine cartoons and live action together.

I also like this because it focuses on bird-heroes, and the birds have awesome names. Panchito Pistoles! You can't top that.

Is it time for a Corona yet?

We'll try Again!

As I've blogged about like 10 million times, Paul and I have had some pretty sorry excuses for relaxing vacations lately. We're not going to give up though! We've started thinking about planning our next trip for the spring. We're having a hard time deciding where to go though. What do you think?

(Poll is in the sidebar, in spite of my best attempts to put the HTML in this post. Oh well!)

I'm looking forward to hearing opinions - if you pick "somewhere else" tell me where we should go in the comments!

Buffalo Gal

My dark past as a picky eater isn't really a secret. I've recently realized though that getting a late start on trying all the gastronomic masterpieces of the world has actually allowed me to enjoy new foods more. My latest favorite that I thought I hated?

Buffalo Wings!

For a while I was just intimidated by the sheer spiciness of them, and also my suspicion of blue cheeses. But this football season got me to try them with a new, more tolerant pallet. I've since discovered that they are in fact, unbe-friggin-lievable. I am now much more excited about the fact that Paul works mere foot steps away from Amherst's notorious chicken dynasty, The Hangar.

To really experience this wonderful spicy deliciousness, perhaps I should venture up to the National Buffalo Wing Festival this fall. Last year, over 70,000 people attended and devoured over 33 tons of chicken!

 It would be really cool to go, you'd get to try top-notch barbecue from over 30 restaurants from across the country. And hey, maybe I'll even throw my hat in the ring to become Ms. Buffalo Wing (a grand honor!).

One aspect of the fest that I really don't see myself joining in on though is the annual Blue Cheese Bowl, where contestants bob for wings out of a kiddie pool of blue cheese.

I think I'll just eat mine daintily, k, thanx!

Wrapping it Up

So I'm gonna try to wrap up the vacation recap in this post. Get back to posting fun stuff like recipes and music videos and stop living in the past!

The second day we were in Dover, we decided to venture out of the warm swaddling of the casino and see Dover proper. We headed into the heart of the town, away from the strip mall and into the residential area/civic center. (You may already know that) Dover was the first state in the Union, so the center of town was positively brimming with old historical buildings, including the first State House. Most of the buildings were done in a style very similar to the dorms at UMass in Central, so I got the eerie feeling I was looking up at a transplanted Butterfield Hall. The square really felt like we had wandered into Old Sturbridge Village, except that all the old houses were actually still being used as homes and businesses. It was pretty neat to see.

Strangely, the businesses that filled the old buildings seemed to be of two sorts and two sorts only. Lawyers Offices and Bail Bondsmen. Dentists : Baltimore as Bail Bondsmen and Lawyers: Dover.

From here, we decided to drive about an hour down the coast to Rehoboth Beach, a touristy boardwalk town, to worship at a beer Mecca - The original Dogfish Head Brewery and Restaurant. It was well worth the voyage, as it supplied us with the best meal we had on the trip (OMG Turkey Lentil Soup!!!). Plus: (duh) Dogfish Head Beer(!) and a brewery tour. It was neat to see that the company started out brewing in batches not much larger than the ones we make home-brewing.

It was nice to get out there too, because it gave us the chance to walk on the beach. It's amazing how calming the ocean can be. Looking out on the horizon at sunset was when I think I finally really felt relaxed on this vacation.

The next day, after swinging back by the terminal to pick up our vacationing luggage, we headed to our final destination, Washington DC. We ended up staying in an awesome, beautiful suite at the Capital Hilton, just two blocks from the White House, which made getting to any landmark was no sweat.

I think that being in DC was both Paul and my favorite part of the whole trip. We spent the first night walking around and seeing all the monuments. Paul's favorite was the Washington Monument, Mine was the new WWII memorial. Ihad never seen it before, but it's really cool, I love how it incorporate lots of water/ fountains. After chilling in the Lincoln Memorial, we went out to an absolutely ridic beer bar called The Churchkey, which had over 50 great beers on tap. They had 2 big refrigerated rooms in a loft that they kept their kegs in, and an elaborate pipe system to pump the beer down, along the ceiling, into the tap.

The next day we went to the Smithsonian museums. We managed to see The American History Museum, Asian Art Gallery, Air and Space Museum, and Botanic Gardens. The botanic gardens were nice to do last, because you could just sit down and chill in a beautiful tropic environment and smell the orchids after a long day of walking and seeing.

5 Favorite Things I Learned/Saw at the Smithsonian

1. That the original technology for our birth control pills was developed in Worcester MA.
2. The DARPA Car.
3. That coal tar was the key to the development of chemistry, and those that understood it lead in the print industry, and causally, weapon making.
4. Apollo Anton Ohno is also a ballroom dancer.
5. The Wright Brothers Plane.

The next day, we went home. So overall, it was a pretty cool trip. We did a lot of neat stuff we wouldn't have otherwise, and had a lot of fun. I think next time we'll be a little bit more neurotic about planning our trips though. Or at least I will be.

Next destination, Bermuda by plane?

Dover Downs

Like I said, we were flying by the seat of our pants on this vacation, trying to plan without the aid of the internet or anything. So when we found a brochure in our hotels tourism kiosk about a super room deal at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, we decided that Delaware would be the next stop on our tour. One of the main points of the brochure that convinced us, other than the low low prices, was that this hizzy had a pool.

It's kind of funny that we ended up going to Dover. Months ago, we were joking about taking a vacation to one of those weird state capitals that nobody ever thinks about. Dover was one of the ones we laughed about particularly mirthfully, right up there with Indianapolis and Boise. So it was kind of a surreal moment when we were like, "whoa, we're actually going to Delaware right now."

Though it was tucked in the cosmopolitan strip mall that is downtown Dover, Dover Downs was actually really really nice. It had a really clean, cheerful vibe that is conspicuously absent from the casinos that we've visited in Connecticut. We narrowed down why this place felt so much nicer as we whiled away the hours playing marco polo in the pool and soaking in the hot tub.

1. DD is a non-smoking casino. This makes everything smell and feel a lot cleaner. You don't have to worry about reeking when you leave the building at the end of the day.
2. Possibly because of this, they can afford to have lots of bright, open lighting, which makes the atmosphere a lot cheerier.
3. Instead of weird ambient mood music, this casino pumps in upbeat oldies hits 24/7. I can't remember the last time I heard "Splish Splash" playing in a public place.



(PS, not what I thought the guy who sang this song looked like at all)

4. Beyond Being just a casino, DD is also an all seasons race track. In the summer, they host NASCAR races, and in the winter, while we were there, they have live harness horse racing. Having this racetrack here gives the building a purpose, and makes it feel like more than just a slot machine warehouse.

Seeing the live horse racing was actually really cool. I've mentioned before how much I enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby on TV as a kid. This was the first time I got to watch horses competing right in front of me, in real time. It was also fun to do a little gambling on them, but we never picked the right horse to win. Still fun!

It was the part of the vacation that (Paul and I both agreed) should have come first. Mindless gambling, eating delicious food, and lots of time relaxing in the pool. I found a new favorite slot machine too: Kitty Glitter. I mostly just like it because of the really judgmental kitty on the logo:

mrow, yes I see you there throwing away your life savings, mrow

Pssst...Baltimore Sucks

On our second day in Baltimore, we had a whole handful of interesting things we thought we could do. There was an exhibition of Andy Warhol paintings at the gallery up the street, a pop art/toy museum, The Baltimore Basilica (Americas First Cathedral), IMax movies at the Science center, Various Baseball museums at Camden Yard. We were pretty excited.

That is until we realized that ALL of the above choices, except the Basilica, were closed on Mondays. Pretty much everything fun was closed on Mondays. It was frustrating and bizarre, but it made sense. We were November tourists in a town that really only got visitors in the Summer.


But, in the true spirit of the trip, we made the most of it and decided to go on the tour of the Basilica. It was really neat, a monument to the true development of freedom of religion in America. It has a neo-classical look that was totally unheard of in catholic buildings, specifically designed to make it a distinctly American church. Our tour guide was this really irreverent quintessential New Yorker who seemed really "so over" the religious propriety of working in a Cathedral. In fact, the Cathedral itself in some ways, seemed tired of maintaining pomp and circumstance. The Sacristy had the usual holy cabinet dead center, but if you looked to either side, somebody was totally using it as an office, computers and all.

A few of my favorite quotes from our guide:

"This is a painting of the Baby Jesus. They say, he's blessing you, but I think he's just waving hi."
"This Bell is one of the official artifacts that make this building a Basilica. They're only allowed to ring it when the Pope is coming. Last time he was here was 50 years ago, so they're still waiting on that."
"Here's a picture of the Pope praying at this alter. He was probably thinking 'Boy this place is a dump, I can't wait to get out of here'"

She even let us touch the old vestments they had on display, which every museum worker knows is a huge no no. But an awesome no no for the inquisitive visitor.

It was a really cool building though, and it had lots of neat artifacts in it's museum, like letters from George Washington and Jewel encrusted talismans from Constantinople. My favorite part was the crypt, it was recently redone and totally architecturally awesome. Spooky!


After our cool historical tour, we were at a loss for things to do. We wandered around the city a bit, and noticed that the not-so-nice part of town creeps up surprisingly close to the nice part. It was clear that the recession had been really really unkind to this city. We also noticed that there was at a subway restaurant and at least 2 dentists offices on every block. No doctors, Baltimore only has dentists. They even have a Dentistry Museum, which was naturally closed on Mondays. Wandering around, I couldn't help but lean over and whisper to Paul "hey, Baltimore sucks."

So by 2:30, we found ourselves chillin' back in our hotel room, drinking Yuengling and watching high school kids smoke weed on the roof across the street from us.


It's so strange that you can't get Yuengling in MA. I remember the first time my New Jersey Roomate heard I didn't know Yuengling, she nearly exploded with disbelief. The next time she went home on break, she brought me a bottle. It was a nice gesture. It's a nice beer too. Pretty average!

Fish are Friends, not Food.

On our first day in Baltimore, we went to the national aquarium. It really is a world-class museum. The exhibits went beyond being just informative, they were visually stunning and some were just plain innovative. They had a few that were like walking into a giant terrarium, incorporating native plants, animals and birds into the habitat. They even adjusted the climate of these exhibits, to make you feel totally immersed in the environment.

It was a fun way to spend the day. My favorites were the lion fish, the dolphin tank, and the seahorses. I had least favorites too....

3 Scariest Creatures at the National Aquarium

1. Southern Stingrays, 6 feet long. Totally thought the people swimming in the tank were going to get Irwined.



2. Blind Tetras. Little fish that are born with eyes but lose them weeks into life.


3. Mud-skippers, evolution's most indecisive freak.

If you are ever in Baltimore, I would say that this is the best thing to see. We spent the whole day there and enjoyed it greatly.

That night, we drove out to the Broadway Diner for dinner - featured on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives"



We got an unbelievable amount of delicious food for cheap. The portions are huge, and it made me sad we didn't have a fridge in our hotel room. It's a neat place, an intersection of fine dining and greasy diner in a surprisingly complimentary way.

Clearly I will go Sailing no more...

Paul and I got back from our trip earlier this eve. We saw the ocean, gambled in casinos, sat in a tropical orchid garden, ate many nice meals and visited new places. All without ever setting foot on the cruise ship we originally planned to vacation on.

Long story short, there was a mix up with our reservation and we never made it on to the ship's manifest. The Bermudan getaway we were set to embark on was happening on the same ship, port, day, and time in the year 2011. Even though from the start there was zero likelihood that we were going to travel on the boat, we spent 4.5 hours in the terminal being told by employees that we were "all set" and they were just finding a nicer room to upgrade us to. That's 10:30 to 3:00 with no food, spare a piece of cake we snatched from the welcome aboard reception, and little acknowledgment from the crew about what the status of our situation was. Oh, PS- they made us sit that whole time in the area they were holding people to be tested for symptoms of swine flu. Awesome.

We weren't the only ones who were unable to board. Some people were denied vacations for having a hospital birth certificates instead of a state issued one. They offered us their cabins, since they would be allowed to go, but the guest services guy told us that since we weren't on the manifest we wouldn't be allowed on board. Mind you, this was in the fourth hour of us sitting there with luxury upgrades being hinted at. If they had just told us that in the first place, it would have been a lot easier to handle. We wouldn't have wasted our day at the pier, and we could have retrieved our luggage, which sailed away without us.

We were actually very lucky though. Some people, like I mentioned, were barred from boarding, and their luggage was set to sail away with their life-saving medications or their passports in them. One family even had 6 young children let on board with both parents obstructed from entry. And because of the our real reservation was a year away, we were actually able to get a full refund, which nobody else could say, really.

I really did feel like I was in a Randy Newman song though...

So there we were, down in Baltimore with a week of vacation days, one set of clothes each, and a non-refundable two night stay in Washington DC booked for 5 days in the future. Faced with the prospect of trusting Royal Caribbean to ship our bags back (and also the prospect of them charging us a huge fee for the pleasure), and in spite of the strong urge to cut our losses and flee home for a stay-cation, we decided to make our most of our time down in the mid-Atlantic. We wanted to get our bags in person when the boat came back to port.

It made for a very unorthodox and random vacation to places we never would have gone otherwise. It was quite an adventure planning travel without a computer or the internet. And despite the bad beginning, it did turn out to be a pretty fun trip. Like I said, we did all the things that a cruise vacation invokes, just in a different place entirely.

I'll be blogging a little bit of what we ended up doing over the next few days. Like this trip, I ended up not taking pictures. It's strange when that happens.

Bodliean Baby

I've been reminiscing a fair bit about Oxford lately. It might just be because I'm about to travel again, and my mind is drifting back to other places I've been. I missed it so much I even watched the terrible Elijah Wood mystery movie, "Oxford Murders" (2008) just to see the scenery. Seriously, don't ever watch it. It's awful.


This was the view from the bed in my dorm room. I always knew what time it was.


One of the Oldest and most complete libraries in Great Britain...


The world coolest Natural History Museum...


Or maybe its the impending Harry Potter film that's got me thinking of Oxford. I got to see a lot of the places they filmed there, including the cloisters at New College, where Draco Malfoy gets his from Mad-eye Mooney. Though I suppose this last film won't really show much of Hogwarts...

PS, while we're on the topic - When did Neville Longbottom get so f-ing handsome? I'm very impressed with this!
Can't wait to see the film when we get back from our trip!