The Reinvention of Me: What Comes Next

I spent a week in Oakland/Pleasanton/Dublin/San Francisco for work.  I love going there to see the team and catch up.  But after a week in London and a week in Northern California, I needed at least one day to do something for me.  No, that something wasn’t sleeping in, or even really sleeping at all.  That something was 24 hours of girl time, done as what can only be described as, the “right way” – in San Diego.

I used to make fun of girls that did girl things.  I always liked the no-nonsense, drama-free things guys would do together.  In other words, it took me a long time to find a group of girls that were no-BS, low-drama and easy enough to talk to about anything, without being judged.  I met some of these girls while living in San Diego and as such, go back as often as I can to see them.

Saturday – day

My body is used to napping at this point – it seriously has no idea what time it is.  I’ve tried to convince myself that when it’s 10pm and dark outside, regardless of time zone, I should go to sleep.  Instead, my incessant use of the iPad to play Angry Birds is a bit ridiculous.  SO… I was up at 7:30am and at breakfast with my best friend by 8am.  Now… one can tell one is getting old when one looks around the breakfast place and sees everyone with the same colored hair – silver.  Yes.  Not one hungover group in sight (probably because they were just stumbling home).  Here are two attractive ladies, out for a nice morning BREAKFAST (because I consider 8am too early to be “brunching”), looking around and going OMG… this will be US one day.  Sadly, I think we made it there 50 years too early.

By 9:15am, we were at the Catamaran Spa and relaxing in the Relaxation Lounge.  Two things: If you are going to be there half the day, bring snacks.  A bowl of whole pieces of fruit becomes less appealing, not just because it’s work to unpeel an orange or a banana, but because apples are loud and the place is supposed to be quiet.  I was very disappointed when there wasn’t a jar full of dried fruits and nuts, or something to that effect – I expressed such displeasure a few times to my best friend, only because I was hangry (if you don’t know what that is, look it up.  Not only that, but I wanted to use the word “hangry” in a sentence.)

First up at 10am – massages.  I booked us Swedish ones, mainly out of selfishness.  I spend 10 hours a day staring at computer screens and another 6 hours sleeping on a rather comfortable mattress, but one that probably provides no support whatsoever (see “napping” – might have something to do with it).  Thus, my neck and back are in a constant state of pain.  To add to the pain, I decided that further torture might solve the previous torture.  Now, I have had a lot of female masseuses work on me and I’ve never once sized them up before I go into the room.  In this case, I sort of did. A very quiet, very pleasant older lady, who is very thin (bear with me on this one), was my masseuse.  She asked if there were any areas to work on and I indicated what needed the most attention.  I also said to use medium – to – hard pressure, thinking it would be about right for her.  I am still paying for my assumption.  Not only was she freakishly strong but I suspect there was some aggression she was trying to get out (knots in my upper back excluded).  By the time I left there, I felt defeated but relaxed.  I promised to never size up another masseuse again – or stay away from the quiet ones at the very least.

Next up – my manicure.  There’s really nothing to tell there, other than by this point, the rain was coming down sideways outside, but the window box landscape they created was so peaceful, you could just as easily assume it was a warm San Diego shower and not a torrential downpour with palm tree leaves strewn everywhere (cue weatherman, giving a live report, on-location).

When I was done, I went into the dry sauna and started to doze off until…. well…

You hear horror stories of men talking about other men walking around in the buff in the locker room.  I don’t think women share them as often but what men see… maybe a pregnant-looking belly, maybe they just look “aged” in places that one shouldn’t age in,  is FAR DIFFERENT and it’s almost horrifying from what we see.  Enough said.  My time in the sauna was over and it was back to the relaxation room until my best friend was done.

Now, the last time we went to this particular spa, we went into the outdoor whirlpool and somehow, some way landed on someone’s wedding video (the whirlpool looks out to the bay, which coincidentally, is also behind the lawn where they do weddings).  This time, we look outside and no, no one was getting married, but that’s because a small hurricane was happening.  We took one look at each other, shrugged our shoulders and did a mad dash for the whirlpool.  It can only be described as awesomely fun… for 15 minutes.

After lunch, there was no time for napping – I headed straight back to my room and got ready for the evening.

Saturday Night

Saturday night… sigh.  I really don’t know how people do this every weekend – get ready, go to a club, dance all night, drink all night, go home and do it again.  At almost 34, I was “getting this out of my system” for one night.  At almost 34, I’ve also learned there is a classy way to partake in the same club activities everyone else does.

It started with me hiring a driver.  You can’t “catch a cab” in Pacific Beach – you can certainly call for one but then you have to compete for one on the way home – one that probably smells like vomit and is probably sticky. Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, Spring Break AND March Madness, there were too many “youngin’s” downtown for me to want to navigate my way through.  So a girlfriend of mine and I hop in the sedan and head downtown.  We’re all dressed up, at the entrance to Voyeur and thinking that this was gonna be easy -  we were put on a VIP list and therefore, we don’t have to deal with the riff raff.  Wrong.

First of all, the guy that said he put us on this list was met with two questions by security: 1) Who?  2) What list?  Awesome.  But because it was before 10:30, we were allowed right in.  We get a drink and we look around.  The music is amazing and the club even more so but in an instant, looking around carefully, the only question I could muster up to ask was, “Did I behave like this in college?”  This was followed by me gazing in the direction of a man and a woman (okay maybe all of 21 years old) doing unspeakable things that made me think, “What if her parents knew?”  Yes… this made me realize I might be over this scene.  So instead of staying amongst the quickly-filling up space, I did what anyone in my situation would do (note sarcasm) – I asked to be assigned a table.  Yes, I know what prices come with this.  But I’m also smart enough to know that when you’re wearing Gucci shoes, you don’t want to be trampled on (cue brief bout of snobbery).  That, and I didn’t want to smell like a fraternity house when I left.  After that… the night became unreal.

I’m not sure if the bouncers felt sorry for me or thought I was someone really important but they give us the best table in the place (in my opinion) – right next to the DJ booth.  The deejays there are under part of a management company that also manages Skrillex and Deadmau5 so for anyone whoknows house music, knows these guys have to be good – and they were.  By 11:30pm, two more girlfriends joined and when the first DJ’s set was over, I called it – he joined us at our table.  Next thing you know, we had a nice group of security men looking after us, even willing to escort us to the bathroom, to make sure no one bothered us. By 12:30am, they brought us a MAGNUM of Veuve.  By 1:15am, we said goodbye.  By 3:30am, I was in bed and by 7am, I was up and packing to head home. No, I still have no clue who the deejay really was.**

**Note: After much research, it was Anthony Ross, resident DJ and one of the most well-known Deejays in San Diego, along with the fact that he used to date San Diego’s “it girl”.

(Pics below)

Sunday – Not-so-Funday

Three-and-a-half hours of sleep later and I’m amazed I can walk.  I hop a flight on Virgin America to get to DC, by way of San Francisco.  If you have never flown Virgin – try it.  The plane looks like something out of a Vegas nightclub – music included.  It’s an experience.  However, the flight attendants are not.  Usually, if you have something in your lap, or on your seat (like my prized handbag I DON’T want on the floor, or crammed next to everyone else’s stuff), they ignore it and walk away.  To avoid being arrested (but after enough protesting), I handed it over to them, minus my cell phone and iPad.  When the plane was landing, I was then told (by a very insistent attendant) to stow away the items now because nothing can be in my lap.  Wow.

The second flight of FIVE hours, seemed more like 10.  It’s hard (on little sleep) to sit still for that long, or hold “it” for that long, especially when you are sitting in a window seat, with two burly men sitting next to you.  (Note to self: No more window seats on long flight, only aisles.  I’m not a kid anymore and don’t need to look out the window every five seconds to see something “cool” – there’s nothing “cool” to see at 35,000 ft.).  By the time I got home at 11:30pm, I swore up and down – no more connecting flights, no more window seats and no more sitting in rows that didn’t have under seat storage.

Still, and despite my heavy sarcasm, it was everything I wanted to accomplish in 36 hours – well minus me feeling like a zombie.  But more to the point of this incredibly long story – it’s okay to take one whole day and night where you plan out what perfection looks like for you and actually do it.  I’m glad I did because it’s now down in my book as one of my favorite stories with some of my favorite people.

There is no shortage of things to do and see in London.  Having been here a whole three days, we hadn’t really seen anything iconic yet.  So, we reserved Sunday to walk London and take in as much of the sights as we could.

True to London weather, what started out as 60 degrees and sunny on Thursday, was now in the upper 30s and rainy.  So, we bundled up and headed out.

Although London is vast, most of it is walkable – Victoria is kind of in the middle of everything.  So we didn’t take one ounce of transportation until it was time to head clear across town.  In 5 miles, here is what we covered:

 

 

At this point, we’re soaking wet and FREEZING.  Still, we had a mission to accomplish: See Abbey Road Studios.

For those of you who are not Beatles’ fans – this place is legendary.  It is where the Beatles recorded most of their entire catalog of work.  It’s where legends still come today to record.  It is there that Paul McCartney was inside recording when we were outside snapping pictures.

What is more famous: the crosswalk, featured in that infamous Abbey Road picture (click on the link to see a live cam of people trying to imitate this).  You hear about people trying to get a still shot but having to run to the other side when cars are coming (it’s a busy road).  I managed to get some good shots of my boyfriend, as well as a group of Japanese students who managed to get the full pose in, even if it meant stopping traffic.

Still, our tour wasn’t over.  One of the most famous tour guides for Beatles-related tours, Richard Porter, also owns a small coffee shop at St. Johns Woods Underground Stop.  So we took the trek over there and almost forgot all about the coffee, instead, buying enough really cool memorabilia for a small family.  We spent some time with the two people working there and it turns out, many famous people had come into the coffee shop, over the years, and had their pictures taken.  We also learned the Paul McCartney lives nearby (note: had it not been raining, windy and cold, we might have tried to stalk him… maybe).

By 5pm, we were exhausted, wet and chilled to the bone.  We spent the rest of the night indoors, relaxing, recounting stories of the weekend (this included time spent admiring my new lunch box).

 

I’ve done the whole London and Paris trip before but my other half has not.  Thus, he was excited to visit another famous city and see another famous icon.  Although tired, we were raring to go, making sure to leave super early to get to our train.  This is when an unusual series of events unfolds…

Getting TO the train station

I took the Underground to work with no problems.  Yes, people rush to the tube like it’s the last train out of London.  However, at 6:30am on a Saturday, the sane, yet “speedy” passengers are replaced with what can only be described as drunken “riff raff” – those women who are still dressed like they came from the local street corner (more on that later in this post), trying to walk in their heels and men who look like (at any second) they will go all “southeast DC” and stab someone.  Case in point (and what can only be considered foreshadowing): The drunken Frenchman in line to buy a train ticket.  Not only was he continuously muttering to himself that he was going to “effing kill you” (to which my boyfriend promptly shoved me behind him), he almost went completely ballistic when there was no train to where he needed to go.   When we got our tickets, and went to our platform, we were then told that the Victoria line wasn’t available until the end of the weekend.  Awesome.

Now, much like our metro system, the Underground is mapped out by colors.  And, it appears as though these colors are very similar to those in our system, as one will learn, the yellow and green lines should be avoided (if at all possible).  Why?  Because going back to the previous paragraph, one would largely suspect that these two lines lead to less desirable locations, thus causing my boyfriend and I to stand “on guard” for the entire ride – SEVEN. STOPS. The good news?  We made it and were relieved to have done so.

Speeding towards the next city

The train stations in London look very similar to something out of Harry Potter – large, beautiful and old.  The last time I took the Eurostar, I remember it not having, what can only be described as, an indoor mall.  But then again, I also don’t remember the process my family and I took to get on the train.  If you have never done it, it’s an impressive process.  You are only allowed to enter the “departure lounge” about one hour before the train is set to depart.  (I put “departure lounge” in quotation marks because it looks more like a purgatory waiting room.)

Once boarded (we requested Standard Premier – which I highly suggest), we were greeted by our staff, letting us know our meals would be out in 15 minutes.  On the way there, we were served breakfast (kudos to them for having gluten-free bread and cookies) and drinks and for the next two hours, tried to relax – pretty uneventful and just what we needed.

We made it to Paris – let the adventure begin!

I should preface this section by saying that I don’t speak French – I can read enough to get around and communicate out a few things but there is no way I could have a conversation. Thus, when my girlfriend came to get us from the train station, we were highly relieved.

Our initial plan was to come to Paris for the day and through several revisions, decided to stay the night.  My girlfriend had suggested a hotel that she and some other girlfriends were staying at, and that we’d have some time with her for the day, as that evening, these girls would be going to bed early for a 1/2 marathon in the morning.  Perfect.

We get to the hotel – Hotel Balmoral.  What awaited us was both creepy and fascinating.

The Shining, Taken – I’ve seen too many scary movies

When you enter into the hotel, you’ve entered into a different world.  It’s like stepping back into the 20′s where they give you room keys that you have to return before you step out.  The walls are dark, rich colors and the lighting is low.  When you receive your room assignment (we were given the 4th floor), you have the option of a small elevator (think old school pushing the sliding door open to step inside) or taking the rickety circular stair case).

When you head onto your floor, there are no lights in the hallway.  Even more creepy – the double doors.  There are two panels that swing open to get to the ornate french doors that lead to your room.  Once inside, it’s everything people think of when they want “French charm”.  The chandelier was tilted a little to one side and although the light switches were updated, it looked as though the lights might go out at a moment’s notice.

On either side of the king-sized platform bed, there were two doors – one that led to a closet (that looked like it had a false panel – cue “Haunted Honeymoon”) and one that led to a very modern (and surprising) bathroom.  To the left of us was a mini bar and small flat screen and to the right of us were french doors that led to a Romeo and Juliet balcony, looking into other people’s rooms (if you have seen “Taken”, you will remember the girl looking across the other window, to see her friend being kidnapped) and straight down to a courtyard.

It was very cool to see but also gave you this feeling that when it gets dark out, you might be sleeping with the lights on.  Sooo…

We were so tired from all the travel that we took a nap – a two-hour nap at that.  When we woke, we found out that we had whole day to ourselves so we got freshened up and headed out on our journey to see the Eiffel Tower.  When we left the room and locked the door – we looked down the hall to where the elevator is and it’s completely dark – no lights in the hallway (cue twins from “The Shining”).  So we decided to take the stairs all the way to the lobby and out the front door.

Ah, Paris.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice…

Now, I didn’t like Paris the first time I went.  To be completely honest, I don’t find it to be romantic – I find it to be dirty.  The first time I went was awful – it was 95 degrees, no air conditioning and the place was completely trashed (France had won the World Cup and had so much fun, they forgot to clean up).  This time, I’m with someone whom I love – and my thought was that this time, it would be different.

The funny thing… you learn a lot about someone when you travel with them.  In some cases, you learn that the two of you are probably not meant to last long-term.  In our case, I’d rather only travel WITH him.  As we’re walking down the streets (rues as they are called), he kept commenting on how dirty it was, how rude people were being and how it just didn’t look like Paris was safe to walk through at night.  Had he been up for the entire night, I would have kept my mouth shut, letting him take in the experience.  However, being that we’re a perfect match, I felt comfortable enough saying the following, “You know, while you were napping, I was thinking that maybe we should head back tonight.”  It was met with eyes as big as Christmas morning.  So, we decided to speed up our trip to the Eiffel Tower and take a taxi.  (Cue circus piano music while “The Fastest Trip to Paris and Back” is set in fast forward.)  We make it to the Eiffel Tower, we take some pictures, we grab a taxi back to the hotel and we re-pack the bag.  We grab another taxi and head back to the train station.  Two words: Anxiety and relief.

The last time I made this trip with my family, I remember feeling overwhelmed and freaked out.  I spent a few months, after returning to the States, being grateful that I lived here.  In our case, I was incredibly grateful to go back to London – a place we were a little nervous to explore and now heading back to, feeling like we were meant to live there.

So we hop on the train, have a light meal and instead of being exhausted – we giggled the entire time back, swearing this would make a great story – $650 on train tickets and a $190 hotel – Just to spend 5 hours (1 was getting to/from the hotel, 3 for napping and 1 for walking around aimlessly until we got a taxi to see the famed Parisian icon), realizing France was a place we were positive we’d never visit again.

Redeeming Ourselves

When we made it back to London, I was ready to kiss the dirty platform we were on.  All of a sudden, what seemed scary in London, seemed perfectly normal.

We all of a sudden had no problem getting around and were energized for a night out.  So we changed and headed back out in Victoria.

We started at a pub called The Elusive Camel.  I love the name, but I loved our bartender even more – she was giving us free drinks because we were tipping her (something that rarely happens in Europe).  What was also great – the people watching.  It seems that this pub is a starting point for younger people before they head out to something else.  It was at this point that I felt old, spending much of my time commenting on UK style.  (See beginning paragraph about dressing for a street corner.)  Women go out in one of three things they shouldn’t here: short shorts with tights/or not, skin-tight, up-to-there dresses, and spandex leggings – all of them not properly covering “assests” they should.  I now understood why common UK fashion was taking a beating.

So when the crowd of “kids” left, we headed out to get some food.  Right next door, a favorite of mine – Nando’s Peri-Peri.  Although there is one in DC, my boyfriend has never eaten at one.  I’m pretty sure that if there was one near Tysons, we’d be eating there every night.

When we were done with our meal, we headed back to get enough rest for our next adventure.

Fact:  There is no shortage of things to do in this city.  Fact: People love their happy hours more than they do in the states.

After a long day of work, it was time to meet up with an old acquaintance I hadn’t see in almost a year-and-a-half.  She lives very close to where my boyfriend and I were staying and she knows almost all of London very well.

After catching up at the hotel bar, she took us to a chic spot in Sloane Square (another haunt of the famous Middleton sisters) called The Botanist (try the passion fruit martini). We casually chatted with a few of the other people there and then made our way to our next stop: food.

My boyfriend and I parted ways with our friend and decided on a small Brazilian Steakhouse called Preto.  It was inexpensive and very authentic (by authentic, the “salad bar” is traditional Brazilian and British fare).  The meat selection is fantastic but as we discovered, we’re pretty sure the meats are soaked in salt for a few weeks.

Then, it was back to the hotel for an early night, since we were leaving for Paris in the morning.

A huge “shout out” goes to Konstantia Mamada for catching up and being our Friday night guide around town

Many of you who read this post already know your way around London (I’m sure of it).  But if not, don’t be embarrassed because the last time I was here, I was 20.  Thus, the ginormous amount of preparation that went into the logistics of transportation took a lot of time, mainly because the fact remains that my boyfriend and I were heading to a foreign country, in which maps and directions are helpful, but walking around with them is so not chic

Getting from Heathrow to anywhere in Central London

There are many, many options to get anywhere but I looked at comfort vs. price vs. fastest way to our hotel.  After all, it was after midnight (UK time) when we arrived.  I found that our best option was to purchase  “Return tickets” on Heathrow Express (68 pounds for two people + FREE WI-FI!).  In 15 minutes, you get from Heathrow to Paddington Station (cue Sherlock Holmes and as a side note, there is a hotel called Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes).  (For architecture buffs, once you get past all of the trains, the station itself is so beautiful.  It’s what you come to expect from an old train station.)

Once we got to the station, we could have taken the Underground (tube) but it seems this place comes alive almost every night, which means big suitcases, plus two tired travelers, equals an unpleasant experience.  So, we took a taxi.  If you are heading to Victoria, it’s a little under 17 pounds.  (Hint: If you took a taxi from Heathrow to Victoria and then back again, it would have been 77 pounds each way so, so far, we spent 85 pounds total.)

The ride there was sort of surreal.  So many beautiful mansions in the middle of the town, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Bentley dealerships with store front displays, as though you might be walking by a clothing boutique; a ton of chic restaurants, a ton of chic, upscale people walking around town (many of them in Louboutins), walking  from bar to bar; and hotels with people dressed in tuxes, pouring out of them.  THEN there were the store fronts for Christian Dior, Lanvin and the list goes on… for MILES.  It’s the sort of upscale life most dream to live and few are privileged to, and I sat in that Taxi with huge eyes and a huge grin, so excited to be here.

When we got to our hotel (Park Plaza Victoria), we were met with a very chic lobby… and a bar that was open until 2am.  Since we were just shy of 1am, we decided to have a drink before grabbing some dinner (note: EVERYTHING is open late!).  Given the time difference, we didn’t fall asleep until 3:30am.

Using the Tube… for Work

Yeah… anyone in DC, or any area with a subway system of sorts, is rolling their eyes at me right now.  Well, I work from home and even when I didn’t I was always lucky enough to work outside of DC and be able to drive.  (Writers’ note: I would rather drive and be able to listen to music in my own car, than be packed into a hot, crowded metro any day!)  SO, when the time came for me to use the tube to get to Oxford Circus, I was a little freaked out.  It’s a different process here.  They have these brilliant things called Oyster Cards (much like SmartTrip cards) but if you aren’t staying for a long length of time, or won’t be using it that much, you have to wait in line at the ticket offices to get your fare card.  What makes it easy: You tell them where you are going and if you are returning and they give you the amount – no guessing.  But what fascinates me… the SPEED at which people get to the trains.  In DC, you get mowed over from time to time and in some cases, you get a quick apology.  Here, it’s every man for him/herself.  People always seem to be in a bigger hurry to get in and out of the tube than any other transit system I’ve seen, so far, in the world.  Still, I made it and was quite proud of myself for the self-navigation

Oxford Circus – Better than Georgetown Shopping

Oxford Circus has one long road, called Oxford Rd. that stretches for miles.  Imagine my delight when I get off the tube and see Zara, Uniqlo, Top Shop, H&M, and the list goes on (both Pippa and Kate have been seen around there, shopping).  It’s also lined with little cafes and a Starbucks every third block.  It’s brilliant.  What’s interesting – the fashion style changes from town to town.  The people were less well-dressed and more “punkish” but the closer you got to where my office was, it was definitely more business attire.  What was also interesting – no one wears sunglasses – ever.  I commented on this to one of my co-workers – I wear them outside all the time (okay, I’m obsessed with not having eye wrinkles but still).

So anyway… I’m walking down Great Titchfield to get to the office and there it is on the corner – a big, shiny boutique named Reiss.  Yes, the frenzy that Princess Kate caused with her love of this boutique, is now staring me right in the face.  Unluckily (but not for my credit card), I was late to work and needed to keep moving (I do have to come back tomorrow).

Celebrity Run-ins

By lunch, I’m so excited to be working in a different office, with a team I never get to see so imagine my immense excitement when our office location is explained to me.  It’s located in what is called “Media Village“.  This area is named for all of the radio stations and TV stations in the area – including BBC.  I was told that celebrities are constantly coming in and out of this one building, as we are on our way to lunch (which by the way, The Villandry is a GREAT place for lunch!).  No sooner was this shared, than we round the corner and there are a pack of photogs waiting to snap the celebrity coming out.  After doing some digging online, I found out it was Rihanna!!!    Honestly, if I lived here, this is how I’d spend my lunch everyday – waiting to see who arrived/left.

Nightlife

As I’m leaving work for the day (it’s a little after 5pm), every few yards there is another pub, restaurant or other establishment, that serves alcohol, with people spilling out to the curb.  People absolutely, 100%, love their happy hours.  According to my coworker, the nicer the weather gets, the more people you will see out and about.  Maybe it’s because London is bigger, but I’ve never seen so many people – it puts DC to shame.

When I arrived back at the hotel, my boyfriend and I decided to head to Brown’s Bar and Brasserie.  It’s located next to the most magnificent Microsoft Building (at Cardinal Place)  I’ve ever seen and underneath this glass overhang that houses so many different restaurants and shops.

Browns, like many restaurants in DC, is an upscale place, known for its  international beer/cider collection and its really great British food.   It was here I had, what I’d consider, the “champagne of ciders”.  It’s called Rekorderlig and it’s from Sweden – served over ice, it’s amazing.

 

I have never had more beautiful scenery, upon descent, than I did flying into Salt Lake!

 

 

 

 

 

As I’ve said in my other two Belgium posts, it’s been 13 years, since I’ve been to Europe.  Lucky for me, I finally had a chance to return.  From September 1-6, my friends and I traveled around Belgium to take in all of its beauty, many of the towns, the languages and definitely some of the food and drink.  This travel itinerary will come in three posts: Brussels, Mons and Bruges, as there is just way too much to share!  Many, MANY thanks to the Smith Family for hosting us!!!!

Words cannot even describe how amazing Bruges is.  Imagine the perfect fall day with the perfect air temperature, the leaves rustling and it being just crisp enough that you want to stroll around the canals, the alleyways, the streets and the square with a cappuccino in your hand and take it all in.  There’s a reason it is called “The Venice of Belgium”.  It’s beautiful, it’s quaint and it’s romantic.  It is the one place in Belgium I am definitely returning to, to spend at least four days taking it in.

The pictures below don’t do it justice.  Since it was a Sunday, most everything was closed (other places close at 6 pm).  Thus, we missed the Michelangelo sighting, the Salvador Dali exhibit, the chocolate museum, a peek into numerous historical buildings, the horse carriage ride and the canal ride (hence why I need to return). Still, we happened to stumble upon the only thing going on that day -  a cheese festival (amazing) – and learned that no matter how many people pack into an area, it’s one of the safest towns in Belgium.

Shopping and Dining

Bruges is a hub of both common shops and boutique shopping, as well as home to many delicious cafes. We started our day with a wonderful cafe lunch at Cafe Francois, which sits inside of the Burg Square.  Our view allowed us to take in a beautiful view of City Hall, as well as the carriage tours, which started there.

The interesting thing about this restaurant, as well as most of the city, is that the primary language is Flemish.  However, almost all menus (and servers for that matter) can be found in English.  Needless to say, it made our dining experience the best yet.

When we were done, we headed down the main shopping corridor to just sort of wander around.  (I bought a beautiful black Chantilly lace Chinese fan).  From this point on, it was an incredible experience of stumbling upon more and more beauty at every turn.

As I said in my post about Brussels, it’s been 13 years, since I’ve been to Europe.  Lucky for me, I finally had a chance to return.  From September 1-6, my friends and I traveled around Belgium to take in all of its beauty, many of the towns, the languages and definitely some of the food and drink.  This travel itinerary will come in three posts: Brussels, Mons and Bruges, as there is just way too much to share!  Many, MANY thanks to the Smith Family for hosting us!!!!

Mons is where our friends live.  It’s a quaint town with lots of open fields and farms.  According to Wikipedia, “The first signs of activity in the region of Mons can be found at Spiennes, where some of the best flint tools in Europe were found dating from the Neolithic period. When Julius Caesar arrived in the region in the 1st century BC, the region was settled by the Nervii. A castrum was built in Roman times, giving the settlement its first Latin name Castrilocus; the name was later changed into Montes for the hills on which the castrum was built.“

Like all other towns in Europe, it too boasts a market square, which includes a belfry, Town Hall, shopping and many cafes. However, it’s history is much more dark and ridden with peril along the way, including an arson in the 1990′s.   It’s also much more expansive than Grand Place in Belgium.

Dining

On our first night in Mons, we ate at Le Saint-Germain Cafe – also known for their mussels.  The view of the market square, from our outdoor seats, included the local street bands, the fountains and of course, the belfry.

On our last night in Mons, we headed to a hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant, named Ashok’s.  It’s a beautifully decorated, authentic Indian cuisine spot that sits on the side of a quiet road, boasting breath-taking chateaus.  Definitely a must-eat place if you ever visit this little town!

Shopping

There is a ton of shopping, right off of Market Square.  I popped into a store called Jacqueline Riu, which carries affordable French fashions.  I scored a brand new outfit for about 82 Euros – picture to follow tomorrow.

Le Chateau d’Havre

Just outside of Mons in a town called Havre, sits a once elegant castle, which now stands in ruins.  Le Chateau d’Havre has had a lot of unfortunate luck, over the centuries, and the families that once were responsible for its upkeep have now abandoned efforts to restore it and looters had set in to remove artifacts.  Thus, it now serves as a public park and a site for events.

Although we didn’t spend a ton of time exploring Mons, we felt we got the true experience of such a quaint town.  Next time, I’m popping into a few chateaus for tea

Stay tuned for my next most on Bruges!

It’s been 13 years, since I’ve been to Europe.  Lucky for me, I finally had a chance to return.  From September 1-6, my friends and I traveled around Belgium to take in all of its beauty, many of the towns, the languages and definitely some of the food and drink.  This travel itinerary will come in three posts: Brussels, Mons and Bruges, as there is just way too much to share!  Many, MANY thanks to the Smith Family for hosting us!!!!

Best Posh Cafe in Brussels

Our trip started at  Wittamer Cafe in downtown Brussels (Bruxelles to the natives).  According to sources, this is the “creme de la creme” of places to take a leisurely coffee break.  It’s known for its decadent desserts and pastries, as well as amazing cappuccinos and hot chocolates!  Sitting outdoors affords you the opportunity to run into Belgian celebrities and sports figures, none of which I’d ever be able to pick out of a lineup.  Still, a great way to start the trip!

Grand Place Downtown Brussels

After our two-hour break, we decided to go explore downtown Brussels.  After taking several twists and turns down streets/alleyways, lined with chocolate shops, we made it to the Grand Place (pronounced plats).  As most European travelers know, almost every town has one – it’s just a big town square where people congregate.  (Click here for the complete history.)  In this particular case, it’s a famous one, as it started construction in the 1100s and boasts influences from the Medieval times, as well as Louis XIV.  On our first day there, we happened to stumble upon two things: 1) A meeting of princes at the Royal Windsor Hotel, where I could have stayed for the next hour or so to snag one ; but 2) a setup for one of the world’s largest beer festivals to celebrate the Manneken-Pis – more on that later.

Grand Prix Exhibition Race

Our first full day took us out to the former World’s Fair site, Expo 58,  for the Grand Prix Historical Exhibition race.  It was a day for car enthusiasts, allowing VIP ticket holders to race historical Grand Prix cars for 10 laps, as well as chance for spectators to see historical Grand Prix cars in motion from the 60s – 90s.  Check out my videos and pictures below.

Festival of Mannequin-Pis

As previously introduced, this same weekend that we’re here, the big Manneken-Pis beer festival was also going on, complete with parade (which we happened to stumble upon).  Thousands of people were jammed-packed into a roped-off, tented area to sample hundreds of beers from across Belgium, France and Germany.

Dining and Drinking

Our time in Brussels couldn’t be complete without tasting some of the local cuisine and hitting up one of the most infamous bars.  We started at a place called Chez Leon’s, which is known for their mussels (yes, I made that Mussels from Brussels joke about a half dozen times) and then headed to Delirium – a massive, world-reknown bar that brews its own beer, now found in the United States.  Given that I cannot drink beer, I was lucky to be able to try some Belgium pear cider, called Stassen.

If you notice, I didn’t say anything about chocolate yet.  That’s because the entire first day, just the smell alone fills you up but don’t worry, I didn’t leave Belgium without some

Stay tuned for my next most on Mons!

I LOVE travel – the ability to experience new cultures, speak new languages and otherwise detach myself from everyday life.

From August 21 – 25, myself and two of my wonderful friends headed to Cancun or rather, Isla Mujeres – the island off of Cancun’s mainland.  Below is a recap of our awesome vacation, including where we stayed, what we did and what I bought!

Accomodations

It’s off season in Cancun right now so packaged all-inclusive deals are CHEAP!  After much research, we selected three-year-old Privliges Aluxes Isla Mjueres resort.  It’s situated towards the west end of the six-mile island with beautiful blue water and plenty of white sand.  Upon arrival (think two airplane rides, a shuttle, a ferry and walking two blocks to get there), we were greeted with champagne and… UPGRADES!  Our friend Michael was upgraded to a beautiful Premium room, complete with three-person jacuzzi tub on his balcony.  Kate and I were upgraded to a Deluxe Suite (almost 1000 sq. ft.), with an expansive living room, full kitchen and gorgeous spa bathroom.  Our view was just as amazing.

Restaurants

There are three restaurants on the property.  Since it’s all-inclusive, we had our choice of those three options, room service and of course, all we could drink as well.  We found Sabor to be best for desserts and breakfast, as they had a great buffet, as well as dinner.  Cafe de la Mer, which sat directly on the beach was great for lunch (think awesome guacamole) and day drinks (as was the swim up bar).  The other option, Satay, was Asian fusion and not very good.  This was the only restaurant that took reservations and we were far from impressed.  My suggestion, at least have lunch off-property at some of the amazing restaurants this island has to offer!

What we Did

Watched Incredible Sunsets

I’ve seen some beautiful sunsets in my day but to see such a large, red fireball dip into the ocean never gets old.  It also makes for some great lighting, during an impromptu photo shoot

Visiting the Mayan Ruins

More than plenty of time was spent by/in the pool, over the course of our time there.  However, our second full day in and we made some new friends.  We agreed that we needed to go explore and thus decided to take a taxi cab ride to the other end of the island to go find the Mayan ruins.  As it turns out, the ruins are a bit harder to find and they are significantly less impressive than those you see in other parts of Mexico.  The site we ended up visiting was Goddess of Ixchel.  It looked more like a fort than anything else.  Thus, Michael and I took to an impromptu photo shoot while our friends visited the gift shop.

Turning into Nocturnal Amphibious Creatures

After a long day out with our friends and dinner, we all agreed that a night swim in the ocean would be perfect.  It’s something I’ve never done before, mostly out of fear of getting “nipped” and not seeing what did it.  Yet, that night, it was so perfect – the water so warm (and yes, I survived without a single scrape).  This was followed by “sneaking” into one of the massive hidden hot tubs to relax before turning in for the night.

A Day in the Town

One of things I love best about Isla Mujeres is that it is not commercialized.  You can’t find a single Starbucks, Burger King or other fast food/dining establishment.  The closest thing to it was the 7-11 on one of the corners.  In addition, most of the people can speak (broken) English but it gave me a chance to use the Spanish I know to get around.  Kate, myself and our new friends set off, in search of food and after speaking with their diving instructors, were given a recommendation to try El Poc Chuc.  This is definitely a must-eat.  Everything down to the corn tortillas was hand-made.  The food was so delicious that we wish we had tried it sooner.

After we ate, we decided to do a little shopping/haggling (something else I don’t get to practice much).  After visiting MANY jewelry and specialty stores, I settled on a place called Paw-Pao for a commissioned pendant.  I fell in love with the intricacies of the Aztec calendar and found many sterling silver pendants, encased in gold plating.  After a lot of negotiating, I had them encase the pendant in 14K gold instead.  It’s such a beautiful piece.  To read more about the Aztec calendar, click here.

The shopping wasn’t complete though – I also bought an abalone Mayan mask.  According to history, these masks represented functional and ceremonial purposes, such as protection in battle, weddings and birth celebrations.

My final purchase: a marble jewelry box that when opened, features two kissing seals.

Adios Mexico

Four nights and four days is plenty of time to do what you want on the island.  It was an amazing vacation with some incredible people!  Check out some more photos below.