tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19728598533334283452024-09-17T04:42:40.456+01:00bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-43815725038222766312012-08-04T23:08:00.000+01:002012-08-04T23:08:29.962+01:00

From one of the ports on Baltras, the crew from the Darwin yacht took our luggage and then us to the boat on a rubber dinghy - while we waited, we communed with the sea lions hanging out under the dock. From afar, it didn't look big enough for the 16 of us and the crew - it's on the left - but once we were actually on the boat, it looked surprisingly roomy. Well, maybe not roomy. But big

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-60060734326711467212012-07-23T16:04:00.000+01:002012-07-23T16:04:21.084+01:00

The early-morning flight from Quito stopped in Guayaquil to pick up more people and then continued, with enough time for me to finish watching a movie I started on the flight from Madrid and beat my head against the seat in front of me over a couple of tough sudoku puzzles. After they sprayed down all of our carry-on luggage to make sure we didn't bring any foreign organisms to the islands, we

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-33091507032411523742012-07-11T00:00:00.000+01:002012-07-11T00:00:40.190+01:00

Now that I have semi-reliable, semi-speedy internet again... The trip to Quito was mostly uneventful. On the bus ride from Porto to Madrid, we passed through a Spanish town that looked really beautiful - Ávila. It's now on my list of places to check out in the future. The wall around Ávila, Spain. I spent the night in a hotel near the airport, grabbing bad wine and bad garlic soup for

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-90962238674850400992012-06-20T01:32:00.000+01:002012-06-20T01:33:55.791+01:00

Darlings!  Hello.  I have been gone a long time.  Since we're old friends, let's just carry on as though we haven't spent any time apart.  Let's also pretend that the post representing my blog for more than a year wasn't about a comic that someone else wrote about ginger ale. I'm currently in Ecuador on my first ever South American adventure!  I'm planning on trying to

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-11573022069187641702011-07-24T17:09:00.002+01:002011-07-24T17:12:20.478+01:00

I'm not always a fan of The Oatmeal - sometimes he's kind of a jerk - but this comic [warning: inappropriate language!] is EXACTLY how I feel about ginger ale on planes. I thought I was the only one![Okay, okay, these days I also drink a lot of water and some orange juice on planes, but ginger ale is still my traditional plane drink, even though I don't really ever drink it on land.]

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-6019447888694425622011-06-30T19:15:00.007+01:002011-07-13T18:50:58.350+01:00

A looooong time ago, I went to Guimarães, "the city where Portugal was born" - Alfonso I, the first king of Portugal, was born there.This wall even says so ["Portugal was born here"], so it must be true.And here is the king himself!And a modern version. Looks like a cartoon to me. Not sure the king would be particularly pleased.This is where he was baptized!And this is a lone tree in his castle

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-35060598044717850612011-05-09T13:10:00.002+01:002011-05-09T14:02:09.757+01:00

[Sorry for the long break, those of you who may or may not be checking in...I've had a big project for work and in between have been living life - but the project is done now (!!!), so I have quite a bit more time now.]After one night in Aveiro recovering from the road trip, I caught a couple trains and a bus down to the Algarve, the southernmost region in Portugal known in particular for its

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-71265482303528390242011-03-23T01:20:00.001+00:002011-03-29T18:22:03.127+01:00

I've never actually seen Eurotrip, but this is a roadtrip in Europe, so...title approved, I've decided. And it's probably for the better that Tom Green wasn't involved [okay, I just looked it up, and Tom Green was actually in Road Trip, another movie I haven't seen - either way, it's still good that he wasn't involved, so I'm not retracting my statement].The point is, all the flights from

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-34762899719907078992011-03-17T20:51:00.005+00:002011-03-23T01:20:23.494+00:00

Freiburg: English-language theatre, celebrating my 25th birthday with poker one night and free ice cream at a Mexican restaurant/bar the next night, being pleased that a friend I encouraged to try OkCupid had found a nice Dutch man there, lunches with past and current bosses [both of whom had offered to let me crash for a few nights when I wasn't sure where I was going to stay - I have the best

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-60035917487813768642011-03-12T17:57:00.002+00:002011-03-12T18:15:18.261+00:00

Forgot this little episode: the last night I was there, Ali was supposed to babysit two boys, but she was a bit under the weather, so Michi and I took over.Oh man - the name "Beth" is difficult enough for a lot of non-native speakers, what with the "th" and everything, but when you're six and have no experience with English whatsoever, all you can really do when you hear it is stare and say, "Huh

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-68612371293459101402011-02-20T16:53:00.003+00:002011-02-20T18:09:50.960+00:00

Although I was in Sliema, a completely different city, it didn't take that long - a couple hours - to reach Valletta, the capital city, by foot one afternoon. That area of the island is pretty densely populated, and one city blends into the next.A lot of the pictures from the previous post were from the walk there; here are a few from Valletta itself.A lot of the churches in Malta are lined with

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-87928658671881373532011-02-20T15:56:00.003+00:002011-02-20T16:52:36.162+00:00

When my host family asked when I was going to leave Austria and what my next destination was, I just shrugged and said, "I don't know yet." And they burst out laughing and shook their heads and gave me that "oh, you" look that they tend to give me a lot. But it was true - after Austria and before Germany, I had about ten days where I had no particular plans, no one to see, nowhere to be...so I

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-25450597561193785262011-02-19T23:20:00.002+00:002011-02-19T23:52:26.297+00:00

What do you think about this comic? Let me know in the comments!

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-52054694441315707802011-02-17T17:38:00.005+00:002011-02-19T17:58:49.575+00:00

For those of you who don't know [and if you don't...who are you and why are you here?!? just joshin', strangers are welcome here!], I spent my junior year of high school [2001-02] with a host family in Austria. Ten years later, they're probably regretting that decision, because they can't get rid of me. Weddings, the occasional Christmas, if I hear my host mom's making my favorite meal [

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-70486166694693251142011-02-16T19:48:00.002+00:002011-02-17T17:38:17.835+00:00

After I had lost a few pounds and inches, it was off to winter - I mean, Prague. At least Czech food is perfect for cold weather. Mmmmm, goulash and dumplings [pretty sure I didn't keep those pounds and inches off for long...].Statue on the Charles Bridge.YES.And also...why?!?But mostly...YES.And also...check out that creepy face in the bottom left of the back window. Not sure what that's

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-77321822925775878692011-02-16T18:38:00.005+00:002011-02-16T19:51:48.627+00:00

Most of you have already seen me mention this on facebook, but...one day I was out on a bike ride with David, one of our local guides, and when I mentioned where I was from he said, "Oh! You know, here in southern Spain, we use Wisconsin to say that something is very far away."Example 1 [except imagine it in Spanish]: "Man, he kicked that ball all the way to Wisconsin!"Example 2: "I don't want

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-63763816786764807182011-02-15T20:30:00.003+00:002011-02-15T20:45:03.114+00:00

hike around El Torcal, an area with limestone formationsSpanish ibex!Majestic!

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-18623674266143331412011-02-15T20:11:00.004+00:002011-02-20T15:54:12.698+00:00

hike around El Chorro===bike ride around...um...another area

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-26938307626422811272011-02-10T14:39:00.005+00:002011-02-15T20:11:03.845+00:00

I may not have spent New Year's Eve with old friends, reminiscing about the good old days in accordance with Auld Lang Syne, but I really didn't mind - I was in warm, beautiful Spain, I was doing good things for my body, and new friends are nice, too. [Dear old friends - I still miss you, though, don't think I don't!]We first considered going out for dinner at another hotel or a restaurant in

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-50469144437901808882011-02-09T20:26:00.002+00:002011-02-09T20:58:55.352+00:00

The first night in Antequera, Mel drove Ajay and me [that is correct grammar, don't you even start with me!] into town so I could buy some new running shoes. On the way, we drove past a place called Krasty Burger, complete with the likeness of a clown that looked an awful lot like one that some of us might know better as Krusty...but I'm sure that's just a coincidence.As we were walking around

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-40985132733634594702011-02-08T11:22:00.004+00:002011-02-08T11:57:54.063+00:00

By the end of December 2010, I had been traveling for about nine months. During that time, I didn't have a lot of personal time or space, I wasn't always being as active as I would've liked [weather, work, and other activities got in the way of running], and I certainly wasn't eating particularly healthfully. So when I was figuring out what to do for New Year's, I decided to forego partying all

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-35324074271273568142011-01-27T12:17:00.003+00:002011-02-06T00:43:34.070+00:00

Muito muito obrigada to Miguel and his family for letting me celebrate Christmas Eve with them!It was the warmest Christmas of my life - earlier in the day, we went to a café, and do you know what we did there? We sat outside! In the sun! And it was warm! On Christmas! Holy cow! [Or, I guess, holy baby? What with it being Jesus' birthday and all.]Miguel's mom had cooked up a feast that

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-64536776108566803112011-01-25T09:54:00.002+00:002011-01-25T09:55:07.647+00:00

...you dream that the tourist information desk is in your hotel room.

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-71799403411884527642011-01-23T23:42:00.009+00:002011-01-27T12:16:14.983+00:00

Although I was still waiting for my visa, I was getting restless and didn't want to impose on Ella anymore, so I headed back to Portugal for a bit. I spent most of my time kickin' it in Aveiro, but I also went down to Lisbon to explore for a couple days.I spent a lot of the time just wandering around, kind of with a goal in mind but with no real urgency in reaching it. In my wandering, I found

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1972859853333428345.post-60586457355359364092011-01-22T12:45:00.006+00:002011-01-24T00:27:41.723+00:00

Something I really had to get used to was everyone asking me, "You alright?" In the US, you usually ask that if you think someone might not be alright. In the UK, though, it's just a "hey, how's it going?" kind of greeting. It's said in that same greeting tone, too, but the words still, for half a second, always made me wonder whether I looked particularly sad or something.===Now is the time

bahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967895520669101noreply@blogger.com0