Travel Dreaming: Europe

I am currently craving a trip to Europe.

Let me rephrase that. I am always craving a trip to Europe.

It has been 5 years since my last trip over there, and while my fear of flying across the Atlantic is OK with me staying in the US, my constant day dreaming about adventure is not.

Until I win the lottery, discover that I have an aunt who is a Vanderbilt (which would make Anderson Cooper a cousin, which would just make all my dreams come true), and/or I inherit loads of money, I will just have to keep daydreaming.

Here are the places to which my mind wanders the most:

Moscow / St. Petersburg

OK. I'm a little obsessed with Russia. Those Russians are just crazy geniuses. Am I right? If you're ever like, "Hey, I am dying to chat about the ups and downs, the highs and the lows, the music lineage, and/or the insane dictators and religious men of Russia," call me. I'm saving a bottle of Stolichnaya for such an occasion.

Salzburg

Yeah. I've already talked about my desire to visit Salzburg at one point on this blog. I now want to visit Salzburg if for no other reason than to get Igor back for dashing my dreams into the Austrian ground.

Berlin

Basically, I want to move to Germany so I can spend time in all areas of the country. I also want to become fluent in German. Wer mochte mit mer lernen?

Paris

It might be a cliche, and if the stories I've heard are correct, the people might be the rudest, but I don't care. I want to walk along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, and take typical pictures of the Eiffel tower, and stroll across the many bridges, and sit at a cafe and feel smarter than I really am. I can't help it. While I've been in dream-love with Paris since I was a child, I blame the 1995 version of Sabrina for making me long to snap candid photos along the Seine.

London

OK, another cliche place, but honestly, I don't care. I want to go there. And, yeah. I'll probably be one of the stupid American tourists who has to take a picture at platform 9 and 3/4. Again, I don't care. The locals can make fun of me all they want.

Rome

I've heard it's a dirty and smelly city with skeezy dudes that prowl around. I will just have to try my hardest not to focus on any of those things. I'll clutch my street map and walk with purpose. That works, right?

Prague

I'm always surprised that more people don't visit Prague. Maybe they do, and they just aren't impressed with it enough to talk about it. Who has been before? Is it worth it?

What are your favorite places to visit in Europe? What European location are you just dying to visit? Let's start planning a trip.

Who's in?

A Few Weeks In Review

We've lucked out with some glorious rainy weather. It looks like we'll be heading back to the typical 100+ weather soon. Oh, joy!

Since the Thunder made it to the Finals (still can't get over that), the University I work for had Thunder Days where the employees could dress up in Thunder gear. My co-worker and I gabbed some Westbrook/Durant frames and some official (not really) NBA microphones, and had some fun at our office press conference. We're ridiculous.

My mom and visited my grandparents in MO over this past weekend. It's always a fun time that consists of thrift store shopping, homemade ice cream eating, farm exploring, and Christmas music listening (no matter what month it is). They live next to some Amish communities, so we got to see some oats stacked the old fashioned way.
We also got to pick blackberries from my Grandpa's farm. They were delicious.

Happy Monday, everyone!

NYC Dreaming

I’ve been daydreaming about New York City recently.

Specifically, visiting NYC at Christmas.

I’ve always wanted to spend Christmas in New York. And let’s face it, Home Alone 2 probably had a lot to do with it.
I have been lucky enough to visit New York City on two occasions.

The first time I went, I was in college, and I went with Jo. The main thing I remember about that trip was Jo getting yelled at by some subway performers for videotaping their breakdance performance.

Normal.

I think we were only in the city for one whole day, but we fit in the obvious NYC attractions: Central Park, Times Square, Carnegie Hall, Battery Park at night (safe, right?), and the Seinfeld deli. It was January, and it was cold, but I remember thinking having a blas.

It was fun, right Jo?

The only downfall to the timing of this trip was that it was about 6 months before I got a digital camera.

Remember those times?

They were dark times.

I went back 4 years later with Julie, who is the best German friend ever! My friend Jenny from DC even hopped on a train to join us for a day.

(Side note, when in NYC, it is important to be very specific when telling a friend to meet you at the “Starbucks on the corner,” because there will most likely be 8 Starbucks on any given corner)

(let it be noted that Julie looks way better after spending a day in the scorching heat than I do. She is also not afraid of heights)

The temperature may have been 98 F with 95% humidity, but that did not stop us from taking in a Broadway show, trying to blend in at a Yankees game, nearly dying of fright at the top of the Empire State Building , taking the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, dreaming at Café Lalo, exploring Chinatown, devouring cannoli in Little Italy, night-walking in SoHo, strolling through Central Park while sipping a gigantic lemonade, and going to H&M as many times as we could.

(let it also be noted that this is my cheesey/talking through my teeth grin. I try not to look this ridiculous on a daily basis)Ummm, yeah. I want to go back.
Who has been to NYC? What areas/locations are a must-see?

Travel Dreaming: USA

Usually around this time of year I start compiling all of the places that I'll visit during the upcoming summer months. Since the farthest place I'll probably travel this summer is Stillwater, OK, I figured I'd compile my dream vacation list.

In no particular order:

Savannah, GA

I mean. How could you not want to go there? The South. History. Food. Spanish moss. I dream of leisurely walking along Oak-lined streets and sipping sweet tea on a rickety front porch.

The Grand Canyon

Some of you may ask why someone who is deathly afraid of heights would want to visit the grand canyon. To them I would say, I'll look from a safe distance.

Seattle, WA

A super chill city where everyone is addicted to coffee? Yeah, I'll visit that place. I'd also like to thank "Sleepless in Seattle" for making me want to visit this city long before I truly understood why I wanted to visit this city.

Denali National Park - Alaska

I want to see all of Alaska. All of it. But since that is probably not going to be an option any time soon (or ever) I will settle for Denali National Park. Mountains, lakes, and hopefully grizzly bears. You heard me.

New Orleans, LA

This is the only location on this list that I have previously visited. I want to eat more beignets while overlooking the Mississippi. Next time I go, I will be taking a swamp tour on one of those crazy boats. I can only hope that my tour guide's name will be Jimmy Bob and that he will only have two teeth.

Yellowstone National Park

I can only hope that I would see a grizzly bear attack something

(hopefully not me or another human (unless they were a bad guy))

San Francisco, CA

Duh. I mean, duh.

I've been to San Diego and L.A., but never San Fran, and that needs to be remedied. And, yes. I will sing the Full House theme song while driving over the Golden Gate bridge.

Las Vegas, NV

Cliche? Probably. Trashy? Most definitely. Necessary? I think so.

Bryce Canyon National Park

So gorgeous. Rumor has it that there are horseback rides you can take through the park. Ummm. Yep. Going to do that.

Everglades National Park

Any place that has a road called Alligator Alley is definitely on my "to visit" list.

There you have it. My current dream US destinations. Have you all been to any of these places? Where should I go next? Who's going with me?!

Europe On My Mind

I've been missing Europe quite a bit lately.

Not that I was there for an extended period of time, but I have been there twice in real life (and millions of times in my head).


Whenever people tell me that they are planning a trip to Europe or that they just got back from one, I'll always smile and be excited for them, but there is always a twinge of jealousy in me.
I just love Europe. A lot.


I mean, how could you not? Have you seen what it looks like over there?

On the first trip, we had a driver named Igor. He was supposed to take us to Salzburg. We reminded him we wanted to go there every 5 minutes. And we would make comments like, "I can't wait to see Salzburg!" And then we'd ask what our E.T.A was to Salzburg. I think it was pretty clear we all wanted to visit Salzburg.

And then Igor told us that we passed Salzburg about 30 minutes ago.


And then my heart broke into a million pieces.

But then we stopped and ate a huge piece of lasagna, so there's that.

One day I will make it to Salzburg, and I'll say, "Take that, Igor!"

I'm being serious.

Also, I want to see this sign on the way to work.

Let's all go to Europe, OK?

In Which I Talk About Cafe Good Stuff

Remember that one time I told you how I visited this girl in DC? Well, I wish I could visit her in DC every single day. In fact, sometimes I really just wish I lived there. I mean, she gets to walk by this beautiful building every single day. It might be about .01% cooler than the car dealerships I pass during my morning commute.

I am by no means an expert of the city, but due to my adventurous spirit (?) and the fact that I have to entertain myself while my hard-working friend is running The Hill during the day, I've had many wonderful experiences in DC.

I know you've all heard about all of the historic areas to visit in DC (The Mall, the museums, the memorials), but has anyone ever told you about Good Stuff Eatery? If they have, you can attest to the fact that your life has been changed for the better. If, however, nobody has told you about this wonderful place (which I will forever refer to as "Cafe Good Stuff"), I'm afraid your life has been left wanting and you don't even know it. And you might need new friends. In case you need convincing of the powers of Cafe Good Stuff, just look at this burger. Yeah, I'd vote for that. But it's not just the burgers, folks. It's also the shakes. Oh, the shakes.

When you do finally make it to Cafe Good Stuff, do not be deterred by the line of people snaking out the door, because there will most certainly be a line. Just use that moment to Facebook and Tweet about how your life is about the be changed. The people will thank you.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is - you need to eat here. If you're currently planning a trip to NY. Stop. Go to DC instead. Going to Seattle? No you're not. You can get coffee in DC after your Cafe Good Stuff order has settled.

Would these faces lie to you?