Halloween

Halloween in DC is such a cute and fun time. People camp out on their porches with wine and, sometimes, their laptops, and spend the whole evening socializing and handing out candy. Some streets are busier than others and by now we know which ones are which so we can strategize our walk for optimal kid cuteness.

After a quick wander we headed back to J's to toast our pumpkin seeds. J did all the carving (he says *I* am the grouchy pumpkin!) and I got all the seeds. Not a bad deal.

Um, good luck?

Last night I was unchaining my scooter after a meeting when three slightly intoxicated people approached and asked me which direction to the White House.

I was at 6th St & Indiana Ave .... a good 10-12 blocks from the White House... but they insisted that they had "a bone to pick with Obama."

So I pointed them to Pennsylvania Ave and wished them luck.

What you wanna bet they ended up disappointed with their endeavor?

Rough Game

I got invited to the Red Wings game by someone who has great seats - lower bowl, right on the red line. He has season tickets and was generous enough to take me to the only DC showdown between the Capitals and the Red Wings this season.

Both teams were undefeated (after six games) going in so it was bound to be a disappointment for whoever lost. Unfortunately, the Wings lost, and lost big. But it was still great fun to be there and I took a few interesting pictures.

My apologies for the over-representation of number five... I never know when he'll retire so I need to photograph him when I have the chance!

Home Again

I'm so thankful to be home and in one place for the next few months. I do have a few small trips planned but they're all by car and most only one or two nights.

Between Allison's wedding reception, the trip to Italy, and the trip to Miami I am about done being on an airplane for the forseeable future! I'm also a bit desperate for a regular routine without a lot of anticipation about travel logistics, expenses, and deadlines.

I like quiet and boring. I just rarely have it.

A Week in Miami

I'm heading to Miami on business next week and J is tagging along. Unfortunately American Airlines massively screwed up his flight (mine was arranged by the conference event planners) so he will be arriving approximately seven hours before me. Ugh. Thank goodness for airport restaurants - I wouldn't even begrudge him a noon glass of beer!

My speech isn't until Friday which is kind of nice but in a way I wish I were getting it over with.

I probably won't be blogging much from Florida but I'll be sure to post some photos when I get back.

Tornado!

I feel like I'm back in the midwest where tornado watches and warnings were regular occurences. But nope, I'm in Washington DC watching a massive storm system with funnel clouds move across northern Virginia towards us.

The cats are slinking around, low to the ground, trying to find their hiding places. I haven't seen Elena in a while but Natasha can't figure out what to do with herself. She probably got pushed out of the prime space by Lanie. Every cat for herself, I guess.

Nice Day

I had the day off today in honor of someone who didn't actually land in America, but oh well. I'll take it. J is in Florida working so I really did have the day to myself!




I started out by sleeping in until the luxurious hour of 8am. Then I went for a lovely run from home around the Tidal Basin. It was a little longer than I've been doing so the final stretch was a struggle but it felt good in the end. I got to see the new Martin Luther King, Jr memorial which faces the Jefferson Memorial and got buzzed by Marine One (the presidential helicopter) which was a little scary.

Then I met up with a girlfriend for some coffee and a muffin on Pennsylvania Ave. It was great to have some real catch-up time as opposed to the few minutes here and there we usually have.

Now it's almost evening and I'm just going to do some reading, get organized for tomorrow, maybe take a short walk before dinner this evening. It's been a nice day off!

A Nice Ride

This has been a picture perfect weekend. The best weather in DC is in the fall - it becomes sunny and cool and dry and the absolute best conditions for running. In order to be outside as much as possible J and I decided to take our traditional weekend roadtrip on our two-wheelers.

Can you tell which one belongs to which of us?

It's easy to avoid the freeway if you go north out of the city. There are some great winding two-lane roads with very little traffic and lots of nice little coffee shops along the way.

We made our way about 20 miles up to Great Falls and took a nice four-mile run along the canal trail before heading back the same way. The weather was perfect for a ride and there were hardly any cars on the road!

I tried!!

The Washington Monument sustained some damage from the freak earthquake we had a few months ago. (Relatedly the news obtained the security video from inside the monument when the quake hit, and it's terrifying!).

In order to survey the damage inspectors have been rapelling down the sides. The other day I took a jog down there to see for myself, but apparently they have finished up. Oh well, I tried!

Here are some photos I pulled off the web. The news anchors have been interviewing the inspectors, many of who have brought their family down to the site because it's such a unique opportunity!

Cold and Dreary!

It got cold fast - overnight! And rainy too. Our grand plans to go apple-picking and hiking on Saturday were rained out, but we took advantage of the farm's own market and came away with lots of sweet peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin-cranberry loaf, an eggplant, and a jug of apple cider.

On the way home we found a great little Salvadoran place for lunch (I love pupusas). The whole experience was great - we were the only people there and the owner herself waited on us with her two young (and attentive!) daughters in tow.

I had chicken tacos and a pupusa and J had the winner of the afternoon - cubes of pork lightly fried with a plantain-garlic-spice mixture lightly fried. It was a great find!

I think we have one more warm-up coming this week before it starts getting cold for good. It's never too cold in this house what with two cats constantly on top of me (especially in bed... which is amazingly toasty...) but I have the flannel sheets in the dryer anyway and all ready for tonight!

Never a dull moment

On my way home from work I thought I was going to have to call the office for some help.

I was at an intersection on my scooter (so I could see/hear everything) and I saw that a guy walking his dog had just put a plastic bag of dog poop in a woman's trash can that was on the curb.The woman came running out of her house and yelled at the guy to take the bag of poop out. He started yelling back and insulting her, she was having none of it. It was getting pretty heated.

The woman was in her mid-60's, guy in his mid 20's.

Eventually he came and dumped the trash can over (the poop was the only thing in it) and picked up the bag and walked away, but for a moment there I honestly though it was going to get physical!

I can sort of see both sides - he obviously didn't want the poop in his trash or he would have taken it home, so why would she want it in hers? Then again, it's the trash, it will get picked up - it's not like it was going to go inside her home at any time.

Never a dull moment in the city. People are always negotiating the fine line between anonymity and communal living.

Silence

It's so odd to have silence. On a number of levels.

From the moment I wake up, or from the moment anyone wakes up really, everything is noisy. We turn on the news, we go out to our cars to drive to work with the engine humming and radio going (or we take noisy public transportation), at work we have ringing phones, people talking, the TV on, after work more TV or running through the city with sirens and horns. In the evening more TV or at least conversation. Maybe music. But some kind of noise.

To just turn everything off and sit and read in silence is disconcerting. It's startling to have silence; the very fact underlying how much noise we tolerate in our daily lives.

I try to make a point of having at least an hour of pure silence in the evenings. Reading without music, a little bit of yoga, a crossword puzzle.

No music, no TV. If I'm lucky no sirens or helicopters. Just a slow, quiet hour, a short segment but a very large contrast to the rest of the day.

Feeling Better

After yesterday's disorientation I am feeling great about being home. I missed the comfortable weight of a purring cat on my feet and my own coffee pot, my own books, my own shower, my amazing view of the Capitol dome.





I'm ready to jump back into my routine Monday morning. A detox from red meat, sweets, and alcohol is necessary and will be started this week!

Home!

Well. We are home. And it feels good, but honestly I'm not sure what to do with myself. The first few minutes were spent running around checking the cats' food and water, putting milk in the fridge, throwing all the laundry in, vacuuming the piles of cat hair on my sofa and comforter.

Now I finally have a second to sit down and I feel out of sorts. I feel lonely (which is weird) and not sure what to do with myself. I know I'm still high on adrenaline from the flight, all the logistics, getting home, my body feeling that it's midnight rather than 6:30pm.

But still. It's good to come home but it takes a while to adjust to a new routine - even if the new routine has been in place years longer than the travel routine.

So for tonight I'm just going to put the laundry away, clean up, unwind with some TV, and concentrate on getting back onto a normal sleep schedule.

Kobenhavn!

Copenhagen is great. We don't have nearly enough time to spend here but have already decided to come back.

After resting for a bit we wandered down to Tivoli, a year-round small amusement park/outdoor concert space/garden/lightshow/restaurant row. It's really fun and not at all cheesy. Lots of Danes there with family!

Then we took a ride on the swings and got a great aerial view of the city. Unfortunately I couldn't bring my camera up. But it was fun. This is what it looked like.

That's my attempt at a time-exposure photograph without a tripod. Not the best.

Then we got hungry and lucked out with a great meal. For an appetizer I had smoked salmon with sun-dried cherry tomatoes and fresh asparagus. J had traditional pickled herring and a glass of vodka. We both had a half-liter of Carlsberg on draft.

Then I had fried Camembert with black currants and a glass of black currant vodka. J had this thing called lobscourse which is a traditional sailor's dish made from cured salt beef, potatotoes, and something else all fried up together in a hash. It was good, actually!

For dessert we had a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream and some fresh fruit.

By then we were ready for a short walk and to head back to the hotel. It had been a long, albeit easy day. Still long though.

Tomorrow we fly home.

We're in Denmark!

I don't want to jinx anything but we just had some of the smoothest travel ever.

And we were due it from the hellish ordeal we endured getting here.

First, we were a five-minute walk from a water stop in Venice that was the last before the ferry set out for the airport. So we hopped right on and since it was a boat there was no traffic. We were at the airport after a really nice 30-minute trip on the water.

We were second in line to check our bags at the counter and then we discovered a security line with no one - no one - in it. AND in Europe you don't have to take your shoes off!! We zipped through thinking this was too good to be true.

We had one last binge at the airport - a prosciutto and mozzarella panini and two pastries - before boarding.

The flight to Italy was amazing - clear as day over the Alps, and very smooth.

Since we were in the fourth row on the airplane we were off in no time.

Now, since we have an 18-hour layover and only one night in town, we didn't want to lug our bags. But right after grabbing them and walking upstairs, we checked in for the next leg of our flight and walked straight up to the baggage counter to check our bags through to Washington, DC.

A very nice man helped us get train tickets to Copenhagen City Center and we almost walked onto the wrong train but I know my Swedish geography (Hi Nicky!) and knew that Malmo and Ystad were in the wrong country, so we easily got on the right train.

Thirty minutes from stepping off the flight we were on the train , twelve minutes later we were in town center, ten minutes later we were at our hotel, and currently I am sipping a Carlsberg from the FREE minibar and using the FREE internet and we are about to have a great end to our amazing trip.

I just can't believe how fortuitous this leg of the trip has been. But we deserve it.

Venetian Dinner

We got a recommendation from our hotel for a small restaurant just down the street - the 40 Thieves (I can't remember the name in Italian). It was the perfect way to end our time in Italy. We had the garden almost to ourselves and indulged in some traditional Venetian fare - a seafood risotto, jumbo grilled shrimp (with the heads on!) and spaghetti with meat sauce along with a really nice bottle of merlot.

The restaurant had two small kittens running around, the orange one of whom actually untied J's shoe :)

Then we came back to our hotel for a nightcap - our hotel is actually very nice, right on the canal, a lovely breeze and the water rippling. We can see the shimmering reflection of the water on our hotel room's ceiling, but right now we are outside, long sleeves, enjoying the quiet of the Venetian night.

This is what I've looked like every night, blogging away.

Venice Day Two

We walked Venice top to bottom today! It was great. A perfect combination of getting lost and following signs. Since Venice is on several small islands you really can't get too lost, but the streets are truly maze-like and the maps are not good. But you just need to go with it... there's a jewel around every corner. And you can always find your way to some big square in order to orient yourself.

We took the water bus all the way around to Piazza San Marco, the main square in Venice, and paid a hefty price for entrance into the basilica and museums which really ended up worth it. To wander through the Senate chambers, the courtrooms, and the prisons (which are so dark and damp you feel you must be underground but really you're on the second floor!) was fun.

From there we just walked.

We found ourselves at one point in a big piazza, San Polo, where I found a guy blowing huge bubbles for kids. I took full advantage of this priceless photographic opportunity!

I also photographed a policeman walking across the square, and a homeless woman.

It was a day of photographing people, but I enjoy that! I did snap a shot of someone's private water entrance. Can you imagine using a boat every time you have to enter or leave your home??

Tomorrow we have a short time in the morning to enjoy the sights before we fly off to Copenhagen for one overnight. It's a long layover, 22 hours, so we're sending our bags on to DC but leaving the airport for an evening and morning in Denmark!

Venezia!

Oh Venice how I love you! Your gently burbling canals, quaint iron-wrought bridges, your winding streets and narrow, dark alleys that come out onto wide squares. Your apartment building lapped by the water with overflowing window boxes. The mountains in the distance.

Venice was the city I was most worried about logistically (no cars... you have to get everywhere by water taxi or water bus! How does that work??) But ironically, we had the least amount of trouble finding our way of any city so far.

We walked out of the train station (train from Florence was right on time, no issues there) into mayhem. All kinds of water transportation, all kinds of ticket lines. So we set our GPS to "walking" and were at our hotel in about thirteen minutes, no wrong turns, nada. The bridges you take to cross the canals have steps so it's not ideal for suitcases (or strollers, as I've seen), but we're able-bodied so no problems there.

Our hotel is in a really lovely part of town well away from the main square in what used to be the Jewish Ghetto. We're right on a canal (not the Grand Canal) in a real neighborhood where people are jogging and walking their dogs, yet it's a short walk back to the main areas of town.

We wandered around and saw the sights at will today. J, a sailor, is having a great time watching the gondoliers and water taxi drivers maneuver around the small canals (and around each other!)

Now we're sitting by a narrow canal enjoying a bottle of wine by candlelight as the sun goes down. Tomorrow we'll try to devise a more concrete plan as we have to make the most of our time.

Some photos.

Who's Watching Whom?

We were in the town of Castellina in Chianti when J noticed a stereotypical Italian phenomenon - old men watching the parade of (attractive) young women walking by. Admiring the ones who are admiring their town.

He captured this image rather cleverly... and without me knowing.