While Looking At The Parthenon

Tags

Memories, Music, Travel

In 2006 I got the chance to study abroad in Greece, and it was truly one of the greatest times of my life. During the trip, I fell asleep almost every night to Josh Groban’s album Closer. I love assigning music to different experiences, as I can listen to the music later and be transported back to that awesome time of my life. In Athens, the place I stayed at looked straight out onto the Parthenon.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

The Parthenon has light shining on it at night, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I’d leave the curtains open at night, and fall asleep looking at the Parthenon. Amazing, right? I wish I could be transported back to those nights just for a few days. I close my eyes, listen to the music, and am transported back to a truly wonderful time of my life. I didn’t know it then, but that trip was the foundation to a lot of growth in my life, and I’m thankful for that time.

Parthenon at sunset.

As I’m sitting here in the middle of the night (just one of those nights where I’m sleepy but can’t actually sleep), I thought I’d spend a few minutes listening to the music and being consumed with those memories. I thought I’d share two of the songs that stand out to me from my time falling asleep looking at the Parthenon:

This song is “Si Volvieras A Mi”- I immediately feel like I’m looking at the Parthenon when I hear this song.

And I just love this song. I learned to play it on the piano back in high school, and every time I felt stressed or overwhelmed I’d play it- awesome stress reliever!

 Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have a song that reminds you of a great time of life? What song/experience is it?

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On The Boston Marathon

Tags

Picture, Running, Travel

HAPPY MARATHON MONDAY! Today I’m waking up early and enjoying all of the footage on the marathon. I actually have the day off work, so I can watch the marathon instead of just catching little tiny clips in between my clients. I’ll be wearing my “Boston Strong” shirt and drinking from my Boston mug. One day I’d love to be in Boston on Marathon Monday, but for today, I’ll have to celebrate from afar.

It’s weird to be watching this year, knowing that I’ve had my feet on that finish line, but also knowing that there’s likely no way that I’ll ever actually run this race. When I walked the last feet of the boston marathon race last September, I closed my eyes to take in the place, and to imagine the cheering, smiles, and tears that would fill that day in April of 2014.

Today, I also want to celebrate resiliency. Whether it’s the resiliency of each of the runner’s on the course, the resiliency of Boston, the resiliency of those wounded… the resiliency is important to acknowledge. Today is a day to remember and pray for those hurt and wounded (whether physically or emotionally) last year, and to cheer for and celebrate with those who have overcome.

And so today, I celebrate! Happy Marathon Monday!

Now it’s your turn to share! How are you celebrating Marathon Monday?

 

Staying Healthy On Vacation

Tags

Health, Travel

‘Tis the season for spring break trips, and quickly leading up to all sorts of summer vacations! Staying healthy while on vacation is something that can weigh heavily on peoples’ minds, so I thought I’d write a quick post sharing a few of the tips I use to stay healthy:

1. Walk around to people watch and explore! When I’m at the beach in Marco Island, I end up walking around 4 miles a day. I could just sit on the beach, but I get a little bit of exercise AND get to see all sorts of odd people on the beach! It’s so fun! Walking is also a great way to explore a new city!
2. Pack some healthy snacks. When I travel, I tend to bring a number of healthy snacks with me to carry in a back pack so I’m not stuck in a pinch and hungry. Of course I’ll eat local desserts, but I try to balance it with some healthy things too! Protein bars, nuts, and dried fruit are staples that I bring with me while traveling.
3. Bring a resistance band or workout DVD to use in the hotel/condo/house that you’re at! A resistance band takes almost no space but you can use it to get a little workout in if needed. DVDs are also great, or you can find workout clips on youtube!
4. Bring something fun to read! Vacation can be a great time to catch up on that book you’ve wanted to read but haven’t had time for! I tend to stock pile magazines for the 2-3 months before a beach vacation so I’ll have lots of fun reading material for the plane and the hours of sunshine!
5. Don’t be afraid to mix up your normal routine! Again, when I’m in Florida, it’s just too hot to do much in the way of running (for me at least!). To get in a few “running” workouts, I do pool running 1-2 times a week! It’s a great cardio workout, and you can do it while still spending time with friends or family in the pool! I also love hiking (if I’m somewhere where that can be done), or kayaking in Florida. Don’t be afraid to mix up your normal routine and plan and try something fun and different!
6. Stay hydrated. It’s really easy while on vacation (and out of our normal routines) to forget to drink as much as we need to. This can lead to feeling groggy, tired, and head-achy, which is exactly what we don’t want to happen on vacation! Set alarms throughout the day if you need to to remind yourself to get enough to drink!
7. JUST RELAX and be flexible! Understand that one week isn’t going to “ruin” anything, so be careful to not catastrophize. If you gain a pound or two because you really want to enjoy local pastries (that was me in Spain last year!)- oh well, the world isn’t going to end! If all you do on vacation is walk from place to place and you can’t get in any other workouts for the week- well, that’s ok, just start up again when you get home! Stressing about not being “healthy” will only lead to a bigger lack of health. Sometimes having fun, enjoying the moment, and not stressing about it is what’s the most healthy in the moment! Vacations ideally are more relaxing and stress free, so don’t stress yourself out by all the “shoulds” you give yourself.

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one way you try to stay healthy while on vacation? 

Ellen’s Stardust Diner

Tags

Food, Travel

Back in April of 2012 I went to New York City for work (and yes- this post has been sitting in my “drafts” folder since I was in the airport on my way home), and while there I had the opportunity to go to Ellen’s Stardust Diner. I’ll come right out and say that the food, while good, was not by any means the best food that you’ll find in NYC. However- that’s not the reason to go.

Ellen’s is a 1950’s style diner, is located right on Broadway, and features live performances! The waiters and waitresses sing and dance, both while people are eating, and occasionally even when they are serving the food!

The guy in blue is dancing & singing in between tables

They sound fantastic! In fact, this diner hires people who are great singers with the hope that they will be able to use this as their springboard onto broadway itself. They get to work here to make money to pay the bills, and they carry around an extra container to donate money to help them pay for auditions, classes, etc… If I remember correctly, they said that in the previous year before I had been there either 9 or 11 of their waiters and waitresses had been cast in broadway musicals! Cool, right?

So like I said, the food there isn’t anything special, but the ambiance and entertainment is really fun! If you’re interested in broadway and musicals, and want to help others reach their dreams, then this is a place to check out!

For more on my trip to NYC, you can check out this post

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you been to any entertainment restaurants? 

 

Happy Olympics Day!!!

Tags

Travel

The Olympics are here!!! I’m writing this on Thursday night as I’m watching snowboarding and skating, and it’s getting me so excited for the next two weeks! I wrote a post the day the Olympics started in 2012 that explains why I love celebrating the Olympics so much, and those reasons hold true today.

I loved getting to visit the Olympic complex in Athens when I was there in 2006, and I loved getting to run on the Olympic track in Olympia in 2011.

I was a  figure skater back in the day (I quit to go back to dancing and also because I had badly sprained my wrist on a jump and was a little too nervous after that– but I hurt my ankles multiple times dancing and that never bothered me… hmmm…), so I really enjoy watching that. When I was younger, that was all I watched in the winter Olympics, but as I grew, so did the list of sports that I enjoyed watching.

Today I’ll pretty much watch anything except for Hockey (Even though I grew up in MN, I just can’t get into it. I know- shameful.) and Curling (I don’t get it even though I’ve read numerous articles about it, and also it just seems SO boring).

I love the idea of worldwide competition, and I love getting to see so many sports in such a short amount of time. I really hope that the situation in Russia stays safe, and the terrorist threats don’t come to pass- yikes! So here’s to a happy two weeks as we enjoy watching our countries join together and compete!

Sidenote: Think about the hunger games when you watch the opening ceremonies. Don’t they seem a little similar (minus the kids murdering each other of course!)??

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s your favorite Olympic memory or sport to watch? Do you understand or like curling?

Eating in Cuenca, Ecuador

Tags

Ecuador, Food, Travel

One thing that I really love about Cuenca, Ecuador is the food (other things include Dos Chorreras and Piedra de Agua)! In the weeks leading up to the trip I made a list of the foods that I wanted to eat most of all, and immediately went on a hunt for them as soon as I arrived. Before I talk about the “must haves” and some of my favorite foods, I thought I’d outline a typical day of eating:

• Breakfast: Fresh bread from a local bakery along with cheese, tea, and coffee. Fresh fruit was also plentiful. Once or twice we were also served oatmeal. Typically I was pretty full (and stayed full!) for a number of hours after this meal.
• Lunch: The big meal of the day. Because most people end up taking 2-3 hours off, this meal might be eaten at a restaurant or at home. My host family would typically serve the following: bread with soup (potato, pea, quinoa & chicken, etc… <-all amazing though!), a main course (rice, meat, and veggie), and a dessert. Fresh fruit juice was also plentiful.
• Dinner: Smaller than lunch, and typically eaten somewhere between 9 and 10:30 at night. We had sandwiches, hotdogs (they were mini and cooked in ketchup, coke, and carmelized onions, then put on a bun with chips on top. It was amazing), or oatmeal again. Again, all were amazing.

Fresh fruit market

Fruits are plentiful in Ecuador, and there are so many more varieties of fruits compared to what we get in the U.S. If you ever go to Ecuador, make sure you eat as many fruits as you can, along with the delicious fruit juices (I forgot to take any pictures of the juices 😦 ).

This is what the guaba fruit looks like from the outside

This is guaba fruit (note: this is different than guava). The fruit is somewhat fuzzy and you suck the outside off, and a large black seed (the size of a cockroach) is left behind. It’s delicious and I wish I could get them at home.

This is guinea pig (cuy) and I did NOT try it. I’m opposed to eating any animal that I’ve cuddled at some point (and I had guinea pigs when I was little).

French onion soup at Piedra de Agua

Potato soup at Dos Chorreras

Soups are my favorite, and potato soup is an absolute MUST HAVE in Ecuador. They have different potatoes and a different oil (can also come in a powder form) that makes it a little more orange. It’s usually served with a slice of avocado, and it’s amazing.

Every day you’re in Ecuador you need to find a fresh little bakery and try all sorts of breads! They have dessert and sweet breads (covered in sugar, filled with jam, rolled with chocolate, etc…) as well as typical breads and rolls that you’d eat at a meal.

Make sure you try the delicious coffee at a few different cafes. This is outside of Un Buen, which was delicious! I also brought coffee home with me.

And finally- you need to try Inca Cola. People have very mixed opinions (it sort of tastes like Bubble Gum I think), but it’s part of the cultural experience.

This is by no means the extent of the foods that I ate, but are the things that I tend to look forward to each time I head down to Ecuador. The foods are delicious, and I can’t wait to go back and get my favorites once again!

Now it’s your turn to share! What are some of your favorite foods you’ve had while traveling?

Dos Chorreras and Cajas National Park

Tags

Ecuador, Travel

One of my favorite places to visit while in Cuenca, Ecuador is Dos Chorreras, which is up in Cajas National Park (in the Andes Mountains). (sidenote: another of my favorite places in the area is Piedra de Agua, where I got a massage in a cave in the side of a volcano!) Dos Chorreras is a trout farm, and provides absolutely amazing views on the property and from their restaurant. Their restaurant is built right into the rock and forest in the side of the mountain, and it’s absolutely beautiful!

Beautiful, right?

This is the view you’re met with driving up to the restaurant. Once you park, you’ll walk into a restaurant and pass this:

Looks fake, right? IT’S NOT

Two pictures in and I hope you’re getting the idea that this place is absolutely gorgeous! You’ll then be taken in and given a seat. We were in one of the rooms upstairs, and this is what it looked like:

The walls are either glass or made up of plants from the mountain, and it’s absolutely amazing.

If you walk around outside a bit (and I encourage you to look all around the property!), this is the view you’ll see on the path above the restaurant (again- can you say AMAZING?!). It’s absolutely breath taking. The property also has horses, and you can sign up for a horse back ride in the Andes.

One more shot of the Andes because it’s just beautiful. This is also where the horses head up the mountain.

If you’re in the area, a trip up to Dos Chorreras and Cajas is an absolute MUST. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the food is fantastic, and it’s well worth your time and money!

Thankful Thursday

Tags

Thankful, Travel

Happy Thursday! Thursdays seem almost like Fridays to me, so they’re sort of confusing days to me 🙂 I’m still trying to get my life back to an organized state after traveling for Christmas and then leaving almost immediately for my trip to Ecuador. Here’s what I’m thankful for right now:

I’m thankful for my trip to Ecuador. Almost every week since I was last there I’ve thought about wanting to go back again. Being back was a dream come true for me, and I was so excited to see some of my old friends, eat foods I love that I can only get there, and see the city once again!

I’m thankful for the massage I got in the side of a volcano. Beyond it being a seriously neat experience, I had been having back pain since my drive home in a crazy winter storm after Christmas. Traveling for about 24 hours down to Ecuador certainly didn’t help, and having that massage was fantastic! It’ll always be a great memory.

I’m thankful that I got randomly bumped up to first class.  I have absolutely no idea what led to me getting bumped up to first class (I very rarely even fly on this specific airlines), but when I checked in for my flight in Quito, they printed out a first class ticket for me! I enjoyed a nice meal, wide seat, and great amount of leg room for my overseas flight, and I was pretty thankful for that. I even had a chance to doze on and off for a bit of time which was really nice!

I’m thankful that I didn’t get sick on my trip! Traveling, especially to a foreign country, means an increased risk of getting sick (my last overseas trip I ended up with food poisoning). While I try to be smart (drink bottled or boiled water, don’t eat food off carts on the side of the road, etc…) it’s hard when you’re eating in kitchens and restaurants with different food standards. My stomach hurt just a little bit my last day, but that’s it and I’m thankful!

I’m thankful I have a job I’m excited to go back to. A little “fun fact”- I haven’t been in to my office in almost a month! We were closed for a little over two weeks for Christmas, and then opened up right as I went to Ecuador. While it was nice to have so much time off, I’m so excited to head back to work again! Even more exciting- seeing my co-workers! I’ve missed them quite a bit.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? 

Piedra de Agua

Tags

Ecuador, Self Care, Travel

One of my favorite things I did while in Ecuador was spend an afternoon at Piedra de Agua, right outside of Cuenca. My host family was spending the afternoon, and I was invited to go along.

We first had lunch at the restaurant that is right there at the spa, and it was delicious! I started out with some french onion soup, and while it certainly looks different than when I’ve had it in the U.S., it was wonderful! I followed this up with some garlic chicken and tea.

Following the lunch, the others in my group went through all the steps in their relaxation package (it looks amazing, doesn’t it?), which took maybe 3-4 hours. While they were doing that, I ended up getting a half hour massage (that’s all the time they had free since I hadn’t made an appointment ahead of time).

Such a cool setting!

The massage was a bit different than any I had received before. First of all, the massages took place in a cave in the side of a volcano. Amazing, right? The setting alone made the money and trip there worth it. When I walked in, the massage therapist stayed in the room as I undressed, which is something I have never experienced before in the U.S. It was a little strange, but it was fine. The massage itself was good, and the entire experience was a lot of fun!

After the massage I spent about 30 minutes laying out by the pool in the sunshine. The view looks up at the Andes Mountains, and it’s gorgeous. I then walked around the facilities for about an hour or hour and a half and just enjoyed the view. Once my host family was done with their package, they invited me to join them for their fruit and chocolate platter, which was amazing!

The Red and Blue Mud Pools

The entire experience from the time we left Cuenca until the time we returned was about 5 hours, but of course it wouldn’t need to be that long if you were to just go for a meal or a massage. The trip is well worth it, and the setting is gorgeous.

Cuenca, Ecuador

Tags

Ecuador, Picture, Travel

So, I kept a tiny little secret from you all for the last few weeks. Since January 3rd I’ve been in Cuenca, Ecuador for a mix of work and fun, and just got home on Saturday. I had a really fantastic time, and I can’t wait to share some of my experiences with you all!

I flew into Quito, arriving just before midnight. Since I had to fly on one of Ecuador’s airlines, I had to wait until the morning to leave. I stayed at the Garden Hotel San Jose, and found it to be a great place to stay!

The hotel was on a cute little compound with a spa, and beautiful lawns and gardens.

The next morning I flew to Cuenca, Ecuador where I stayed for the week. I gave four hours of lectures while there , and enjoyed meeting with students and faculty members. The rest of the time was spent getting to know people in the city, spending time with people I already knew who live in the city, and touring around. And eating. Lots and lots and lots of eating. Enough eating that I’ll do an entire post just on the amazing food that was put in front of me almost every hour of the day.

One of my favorite things to do while in Cuenca is to walk around the old city. The tiny shops, women and men in traditional dress, and the cobblestone streets create a quaint and authentic experience.

The New Cathedral (made to be a duplicate of the Vatican)- if you ever go to Cuenca, make sure to walk up to the top of one of the towers. You’ll get a great view of the city, and an up close view of the domes!

Nativity display set up in the New Cathedral. They had Christmas songs playing via recording, and when I took this picture “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” was playing. Yes. Seriously.

Cute little signs on the bathroom doors

Women at the market. From what I could understand, they would hit the various plants on little children as they would say something specific. Some parents bring their children regularly for this experience.

The San Francisco market. There is a long row with maybe 12-15 of these little shops. It’s the perfect little place to buy souvenirs, especially scarves. I get a few scarves every time I go to Ecuador!

Outside a cute little cafe (called Un Buen) on “the porch of Cuenca”

Sunset in Cuenca over the Andes Mountains.

So there’s a quick little snapshot of my time in Cuenca. I’ll be doing a few specific posts about different events and things that happened while there!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever been to Ecuador? Where’s your favorite place to travel?