9.28.2010

1 stop away

We are 2 minutes and 1 metro stop away from making it on time to catch
our train which leaves the Atoche station in 15 minutes.

I see Rodolfo checking his phone for ticket details. No biggie.
Everything is perfect until...

"Sarah! Wrong station!"

We are 2 minutes away from the wrong station. The station we need to
be at is 30 minutes away in the direction that we just came from!!!

We get to the 'other' station 5 minutes after the train has left, to
find out....

It ALSO stops at Atoche station, the station we had been heading to in
the first place!

We would have made our train if we had ignored our ticket. 3 hours and
18€ later, we've made it to Alicante Spain! Yay!!!

Grrrrr multiple train stations!
Yay beautiful southern Spain!

9.26.2010

Home. Part two.

It's a lazy Sunday morning here in Madrid Spain.

We spent the morning sipping coffees while I worked on my crepe
technique (thanks P.T.) which we ate with JAMON pate and roasted red
peppers.

Now we are laying around in our pajamas reading the New York Times
online and catching up on our Internet fixes...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. This
is life!

So I have to admit, Mission accomplished! This is what I call home!
Two weeks of having a kitchen and the same set of sheets every night
has been incredible! We got to eat leftovers a few times! I got to
make spaghetti! I even ran out to the store to buy things like milk
and lettuce! Can you believe it!?! Talk about exciting!


I know which buttons flush the toilet, how to get hot water in the
shower, where the light switches are; I have even mastered which keys
open which apartment doors! (these things may sound pathetic, but
they tend to be the most quirky parts of travel because they change in
every country!)

I know how to take the metro and I don't feel lost anymore walking
thru the streets of Madrid! We even know where to buy a small glass
of beer and a bocadilla (ham sandwich) for 2€!
What I'm surprised at is that now that we've had this incredible time
of stability and comfort, I'm getting the itch again to hit the road!
I'm ready for more!!! What's with that?

We are thinking to also settle for a while in Chile, so I can work on my
Spanish and perhaps we will both find some jobs, a little apartment,
another little spot to call home for a while!

Before Chile however, we luckily get to experience the other
definition of home, family! Yay!! First a visit to Montreal to meet
our brand new nephew, then it's off to visit our dear friends on the
East coast that have become our family, and finally, some quality time
with my fam in Minnesota!!

Sometimes it is not until after an experience that you can really
apreciate it. Now that we've had some time to chill out and just be
somewhere steadily, I feel so happy for all the great places we've
been! I can't wait for more!

9.25.2010

Important news announcement!!!

At 10:19am on Saturday September 25th, Simon Perez was born in
Montreal Quebec nice and healthy!

Rodolfo and I are now auntie and uncle! We now have to wise up and
become responsible role models for the newest little edition to the
family!

We head to Quebec soon to help out with with things like laundry and
dishes, but I selfishly can't wait to meet the little dude. I take
auntie responsibilities very seriously! This little kiddo has a great
future ahead of him!

Millions of pictures are guranteed to come once we reach Montreal!

For now, good night from Madrid!

9.23.2010

Beware of bananas

With two weeks left in Europe, it feels as if the crazy part of the
trip is coming to a close.
Here are some random thoughts that have come to mind:

In France, wifi is pronounced "wee fee", in Indonesia it's called a
'hotspot'

What are you supposed to say when a Buddhist monk sneezes? I was
stumped. Btw.. Ladies..hands off the monk! They can't touch women.

In Tanzania, you really can slip and fall on a banana peel. They
throw them out their bus windows. Look out!

In the London tube, there is a free library of magazines and
newspapers circulated daily.

In Norway a knife is pronounced "ka-nee-foe"

A hand shake in South Africa can get a bit complicated, with snaps,
twists, bumbs and wrist action. If you are a women, you get a limp
handshake and sometimes a weird look.

In Copenhagen, it is not unusual to have a picnic or exercise in a
cemetary.

Ask for Obama at a bus station in Lilongwe Malawi and you'll get a
ball of fried dough.

Your welcome in Indonesia? Sama sama!

Worst job in the whole world: being the guy in charge of the puke
bags on the vomit ferry from Zanzibar.

Favorite thing we heard someone say in Thailand? "Oh my Buddha!!!"
aka - OMG - Said by a young Thai lady to her older white male "friend"

And the plane lands... - bugle call - "you have now flown another on
time flight with Ryanair!"

A hair cut in Indonesia? $2
A hair cut in Spain? €60

Go for a walk in a park in Sweden and you are sure to find people with
ski poles in any season!

A bottle of water in Laos? .50
A bottle of water in Norway? $5

Do not. I repeat. DO NOT eat the duck in your Pho soup in Vang Viang
Laos!

Japanese is easy to read! Just get off at the station that looks like
a smiley face over the little house with a dot on top!

9.20.2010

Jamon!

People in Madrid:

1. Smell really good
2. Live outside sitting at bars sipping coffee and beer while eating tapas
3. Love playgrounds (if you have a kid)
4. Wear beautiful shoes
5. Can enjoy a good bottle of wine for less then 2€
6. Eat a big lunch at 2pm and a little dinner at ...much, much later!
7. Close their shops from 3-5...and the streets become a ghost town!
8. Have incredible locally made olive oil potato chips! (crisps for you
English folk!). You generally get these free as a tapa with your
beverage, or you can buy them for 1€ for a huge bag at any little
shop.
9. Have free access at the right times to the most beautiful art

10. Most importantly! People in Madrid love Jamon! (ham...but at an
artisional level...it's serious stuff!!!!) as well as chorizo and other forms of sausage are by
far the most popular and most apreciated form of snack/tapa/lunch/
dinner everywhere! It crosses every price range, every picnic and
every family table across the city. It has changed our lives!

 I heart Jamon!!!

9.18.2010

Happy Chilean Independence Day!






HAPPY CHILEAN INDEPENDENCE DAY!
(Says a Gringa currently residing in Madrid Spain....hmm....awkward?)

We ate at a great little Chilean churrasco/empanada place called SAN-WISH  


The particularly awesome part of the day was spending it with our great friends Cindy and Sergio with their adorable daughter Bella!  It's  an amazing thing getting to catch up with old friends and just sit and talk for hours about anything and everything!  
                                                        
We also got to enjoy a real and true pisco-sour for the first time in a long time, which was AWESOME!  Cindy even led the Chilean cheer in the restaurant!  Some day I wish I could do that!!! 


CHI CHI CHI!  LE LE LE!  VIVA CHILE!


9.14.2010

Home

Right around when we were leaving Africa, I lost it. I wanted to go home.
I was tired, I was frustrated, I didn't want to get ripped off or stared at anymore and I wanted it NOW!!!!

Well, our ticket to the States wasn't for another 2 months and of course, Rodolfo loves to TRAVEL, the trip was not over by far...and, small detail, we are homeless...lacking the home.

Being on the road so much, I think a lot about home.
The idea of what a home is, what my old apartment looked like, the traditions of my family, having a place to just stare at walls, drinking a giant cup of coffee out of my special giant coffee cup,  feeling "normal",  knowing how much an apple costs, or just buying a package of butter and getting to use it for more then one day.

So during freak out, Rodolfo asked me, what is it you miss Sarah?  Is it really the States or could we make a home anywhere?  We probably won't have an actual home for another year or so, so missing something that won't exist for a while is a bit tricky.   Could we perhaps rent a temporary home?  Find a mini quasi permanent situation?

Compromise?
We arrived today to Madrid where we will stay put for 2 WHOOOOOOOLE WEEKS in our friends parents house.  Our mini social experiment begins today!  Is it possible to make a feeling of "home" temporarily in someone else's home?

I've already taken a nap, stared at the ceiling for a while and considered cleaning my belly button!   All good signs!  I'm getting excited to buy that packet of butter already!

9.13.2010

Lemon Pie




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Why I love Rodolfo/a good travel companion

1. He will still open doors for me and carry heavy stuff....on occasion
2. He will eat anything *except cheese
3. He will try anything  *except bungee jumping
4. He has an obsession for avocados, ice cream, mango smoothies and above all, lemon pie
5. He will sleep anywhere  *although, not always well
6. He gets really excited about airplanes and airports
7. He can do a bunny dance that guarantees to make me smile....even when I don't want to
8. He has a smile that makes you want to feed him cookies
9. He listens to me whine....a lot.  (He's also the only one on the planet who can get me to stop)
10.  He has a passion for living every day to the fullest, to enjoy every moment and every sensation as much as possible.  He makes me want to try a little harder, push myself a little further, just for the slight chance to see the world thru his magnificently kind, curious and amazing eyes

I'm so lucky to have him as my travel buddy.

Brunch in Lyon


We stayed in Lyon with Rodolfo's amazing friend Sepu!
He introduced us to the world of Lyon's small shops and fresh markets, aka, real LIVING!
Boulangeries, Fromageries, ohmygod-eries!  There is a specific shop for every type of mouth watering food!

The melon, fresh eggs and  almond stuffed olives were purchased in the street market that morning, to the sounds of a French brass band across the street.

The pastry of pure love displayed in the center was found at Sepu's favorite Patisserie ...it consists of a croissant stuffed with chocolate and toasted sliced almonds on top.  Every biteful was buttery bliss!

Something the French are extremely good at is eating well!  The food that we have eaten in Paris, Clement and Lyon we will never forget!  Particularly the bakery and cheese!  My life (and hips) will never be the same!

9.12.2010

Clermont-Ferrand France


The alleyways and small streets of this old lava rock stone town are gorgeous!  You can look in any direction and see rolling green hills and take a tour of the 25 or so water fountains!
Two grown up ugly ducklings enjoying grass together in a Clermont park.

Saritah and Laurita strolling along.  We got to stay with one of Rodolfo's good friends from Chile.  Laura was his incredibly adorable daughter who talks about herself in 3rd person and loves parks and princesses.




9.09.2010

The future.....

Where are we going to live?

What are we going to do?

When are we going to have babies?

Are we going to buy a house?  Rent an apartment?

What language will we speak?

It's like a looming cloud full of question marks and no answers....
We are at that age where people do these types of things and whether it's the weather or some ticking genetic/reproductive/cranial time bomb, the cloud is getting closer and the question marks are getting bigger!

The funny thing is that when I was working a steady job and living in a steady apartment, I also had the same questions....what is the right thing to do?

We don't know.  *Cue scary horror movie music and women running thru the streets!  AHHHH!!!!!!!
Oops.  time to go walk thru a small quaint French town for a morning stroll and eat some baguette...oh, the stress!  What am I complaining about anyways?



9.05.2010

Les morts de Paris

Guess whose bones are buried here?!?

We have decided:

We would rather not be buried in a cemetary to get forgotten about and moldy for 100's of years...eww. Exceptions: We saved the world from Martian attacks, wrote "the" book or compose a generation anthem... then our grave might be actually cleaned in the future

It really sucks to be the dead guy used as a bench next to the other more famous dead guy. Legend says that people have sex next to Jim Morrison's grave. Imagine cleaning up the graves nearby... super eww

Proust has an extremely boring tombstone, so he's probably a bit jealous of Oscar Wilde around the corner, getting kissed all the time...

I felt a bit like dead people paparazzi searching around for famous people in a cemetary *flash - click* ok Rodolfo, where's the next one? (and we weren't alone!) Although, I have to admit, as a free activity in Paris, pretty interesting stuff!
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Tar Tar



Our friends took us to a true Parisian restaurant to experience real Parisian French food!

I ordered Tar Tar with looks of praise at my adventurousness not really knowing what I was in for, but promised that if I didn't like it, one of them would eat it for me!

What is Tar Tar?
Raw ground beef with raw egg and delicious seasonings!
Everything my mother has told me not to eat!
I absolutely loved every bite full inbetween fried bites of polenta!

Rodolfo went for the Foie Gras goose burger!
What is this?
The goose is fed yummy things so it gets nice and fat...and that fat...it's like eating heaven!

Best food of our lives!


9.02.2010

Bon Pain - The Baguette test!

Here's a fact I just learned from a real live Parisian!!!!

If you want to buy a truly authentic Parisian pastry/bread/anything you see in a window that you would sell your first born for...you have to check the quality of the baguette first!

1.  Does it have a floury crust?
2.  Does it have pointy ends?

If the answer is yes to both, you are now allowed to purchase pastry from a baker who makes good quality pastry every day himself!!!

If not?  They're a fraud selling frozen - thawed  - and thrown in the oven -  non fresh crappy bread unworthy of your highly sophisticated Parisian pallete.

I feel SO COOL knowing this!!!!!!

Oslo Norway

We spent a rainy day walking the city streets of Oslo last week. We visited a park full of naked people statues, a fort, city hall and saw many beautiful steeples. Gorgeous town! We arrived in Paris yesterday....speaking of gorgeous towns! We've already eaten pan du chocolat and some delicious cheese!!!
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Gratitude day 2

Penny cuddles  Working remotely and sleeping right up to 9am after a bad nights sleep A wife who reads instructions allowed while I throw IK...