Mr. Rude in Berlin...

Here he is...on his last trip to Europe in a while...he is chilling out at the Reichstag (German Parliament) and then hanging out at Checkpoint Charlie...the Checkpoint Charlie pic had to be quick cause an orange stuffed ball on a guy's shoulder in the middle of a busy touristy intersection sure sticks out...i don't quite know if the germans have a sense of humor of these things...danke...

a disastrous good time...

first on a bright note, berlin was a great place to run through...it is a surprisingly beautiful city with such great architecture...probably some of the best blends of modern architecture blended in within the years old buildings...absolutely awesome...these germans know how to roll...

on an even brighter note, the support team that came with us to watch and scream and run with us were absolutely "awesome"...we'll talk about them later...

and now onto business at hand...yeah, m and i didn't do so well...we both got injured during the race...

first about my race...i was doing great for the first 18 miles...i was on pace to meet my goal of 4:30...so, through 18 miles, i was exactly where i wanted to be...then disaster struck...my right foot slipped into this small little pothole in the road...i didn't see it because we were turning a corner and its always packs up when everyone tries to cut the corner...my heel basically stayed on the road surface, but my toes went into the pothole...i'm pretty sure it was the smallest little pothole in the world...but with my luck, i hit it...so, i stumbled out of it and bumped into a runner beside me...i regained my form and started running again...but i knew something was wrong...i felt a slight twinge in my calf and hamstring...in my head i was like "oh geez...why god why!"...so, i was hoping to run it off and that it would all go away...but by mile 20, it really started to feel sore and really tight...

and at that point, i had to walk because the pain was unbearable...i wasn't going to make my goal at that point and was pretty disappointed, but i still wanted to finish the race which seemed to be in jeopardy...so, i limped my way to mile 22 where there were massage stations...basically twenty cots along the side of the road where people were getting their legs massaged...so, i ran to an empty cot and i got worked on for about 10 minutes...but it really didn't help because it wasn't a cramp because i pretty much pulled something...the two people working on my right basically told me that i shouldn't go on anymore...but i obviously wasn't having it and just got up and limped away...my left leg felt fine...so, i still had one leg to work with...so, i was off...

so, i basically limped my way through the last 4 miles...and my finishing time was the worst time i've gotten so far...it is definitely disappointing, but that's life...live and learn i guess...will there be a next time...hmmm...based on the pain i am in right now, i would probably say "are you crazy"...but my competitive side really wants to run another one as soon as possible...just to get this awful taste out of my mouth and to reach my goal of a much better time...i still set the goal, and i haven't reached it...why give up now...so, yeah, i'm running another marathon in 2010...hopefully in the spring if i can find a good one...i'm crazy...

as for m, i guess i'll let her tell you of her experience...

here we go...

eating breakfast now in the executive lounge...other runners in here too...it will be a wild party...not a cloud in the sky today as forecasted...high of 75 degrees which is a bit on the warm side...but we will be okay...we did train our last month in humid chitown...later yo...

are we going to PR tomorrow???

PR is running talk for a Personal Record time...so, here are our times in the chicago marathons we've run...

AML - October 7, 2001 - 04:46:10

AML - October 12, 2003 - 05:14:51

i hope to beat these times...the second marathon was a disaster...lack of training...MOL actually beat me when she ran the following year!...man, i'm slow...but its been 6 years since i ran the last one...we'll see...i think i'm two age brackets higher this time around...and a few pounds heavier as well...but does being wiser help...yikes...

MOL - October 9, 2004 - 05:12:44

MOL - October 22, 2006 - 5:12:39

yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you...MOL beat her first marathon time by 5 seconds!...so, you run 26.2 miles and you end up five seconds faster...i bet that if you drove the same route home everyday, that you couldn't consistently get within 5 seconds of pulling into the garage...yet running 26.2 miles! so, we hope she beats those times as well...although it would be cool if she finished in between those times...that would be nuts.

Mr. Rude at the Berlin Marathon expo...

Since I'm sure we aren't going to be bringing mr. rude around during the race...here is a pic at the expo where we got our bib numbers and race souvenirs...sweet...

we are now in berlin...

its going to be a fun run.

we're baaaaack...

that's about it.

dogsitting...

so, over this labor day weekend, we dogsat bode - since my parents were at the wisconsin house and my sister was on a weekend trip to michigan...it was definitely a handful and bode is a nutty little puppy...lots of mayhem and chaos...but when they crash, they really crash hard...here is a pic of them absolutely pooped...

quick hit...

sorry for no posts lately...been very busy with settling in, but not much to write that's interesting...i just came back from my first trip out of town since returning...back to the regular grind i guess...but nothing really worth writing about...i'll write a longer status report over the much needed holiday weekend...

only a couple of weeks left until i close out this blog...the berlin marathon awaits and i'm looking forward to it...

gus meet cooper...cooper meet gus...

in another first meeting since we left london...our friends got a pug...we've met cooper (aka Mr. Cooper or the Coop) before when we visited during Xmas, but Gus has never met him...cooper is a crazy little? dude...again, an active little puppy...gus must be so tired of meeting these puppies!!! cooper is very quick, likes to do the army crawl alot, and he is a big ol' licker...i think he is a little plump, but his parents keep telling us that his head is just proportionally small...hmmm...i like to call him a pillow with legs...

gobble gobble...

i've had a turkey sandwich with muenster cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo about 6 times in the 18 days that we've been back in chicago...i probably had a turkey sandwich less than 3 times while in London because you really couldn't find it at too many places, unless it was a sunday roast type of thing...i'm sure its the brits disdain over anything that has to do with Thanksgiving...

americans do love their turkey...even after i toured a turkey production facility a couple of years ago for one of the M&A deals i worked on...i had to wear a full body suit to protect myself...i witnessed the whole live crazy turkey going into the facility...and saw the whole process until it was nicely packaged ready to be cooked to sit on your dinner table...i'll save the gory details in between for anybody that wants to ask me...

yum. yum. and yum.

welcome brits and aussies...

btw...i forgot to mention...when we shut down this blog, we plan on printing the entire thing out and binding it into a book...so, any posts and comments will be immortalized forever on our coffee table...enjoy.

good as new...

so, we are still living out of a suitcase at the moment...crashing at our wonderful friends' place...they have plenty of room, plenty of food, and plenty of entertainment...so we definitely owe them lots...

we haven't moved in because we are updating our place a little bit...with the uncertain times nowadays, we decided to pull the conservative (and smart) card and just move back to our old place rather than trying to sell it now and then saddle ourselves with a huge mortgage at another place...this way, we can live very comfortably and not have any worries...we'll move into a bigger place soon enough...our place isn't too shabby anyways and is 3 times bigger than what we had in london!

so, since we aren't upgrading to a bigger place...we decided to throw some cash at our old place...we got fancy new carpeting for both bedrooms (we still like carpet)...painted some of the walls different colors (the tenants painted the entire living room white again...snoozeville), which I've been working on almost every single night since being back here...and today we are getting the hardwood floors refinished and revarnished...after that, we'll get a few pieces of new furniture and a brand spanking new flat screen as big as we can afford to put up on the wall...

this is how our place looked before we left...we'll see how it turns out in a couple of weeks...

how much longer...hmmm???

so, this blog was initially set up by my significant other to write to my fellow americans about our misadventures, trials, and tribulations in bloody london...and it was definitely fun to write random things about random happenings...however, a couple of things have happened since then...1) my significant other stopped posting blogs many moons ago..and 2) we have moved back to chicago...

As such, the purpose of this blog has been served...so, how much longer should i keep it up? At this point, maybe I should just keep it live until our running of the Berlin Marathon. Since we will be passing through London for a few days on our way to Berlin. It definitely will not go any further than that point.

The other reason to keep it up is that we haven't invited or shown this blog to any of our London friends unless of course they wisely searched for it on their own...I plan on inviting them soon (after I read the previous blogs of course to make sure I don't offend too many of them...oh who am I kidding...who cares!)...and maybe posting a few blogs until Berlin to keep the Old World up to date of how m and I are transitioning back to Chicago and how our lives are over here...since Chicago isn't exactly first on their list of holiday destinations...

stay tuned.

dude...its freakin' hot...

so, m and i did our long run today...it was a stepback week, so we just had to run 13 miles...we definitely got used to the pleasant temps of london...anyways, we knew it was going to be a typical hot chicago summer day...so we tried to wake up early to beat the heat, but failed at that...but we still ended up getting to the lakefront trail by 9am...it didn't really matter...at 9am, the temperature was 88F/31C...not a cloud in the sky...luckily, there was at least a faint lake breeze...regardless, we were soaking in sweat after 0.2 miles of running...and had to stop several times to walk just to cool down because we were starting to see blue spots...anyways, we just jogged/walked 10 miles cause it was getting unbearable...its supposed to hit 97F/36C today...ridiculous...

gus meet bode...bode meet gus...

so, even though gus flew in a week before and stayed with my parents, we forbade my sister from bringing bode over until m and i were present...cause we wanted to be there for their monumental first meet and greet...gus and bode came from the same farm and may have come from the same parents...they may be brothers or maybe in half brothers...we don't really know because m and i failed to keep track of the names of gus' parents...sorry gus...forgive us...

anyways, we landed in the US on saturday, stayed overnight at my parents place with gus...and then my sister arrived with bode during brunch the next day...here are a few pics of their encounter...we took tons of pics and videos...

here's one of bode first trying to sniff out gus...
here's another pic of them sniffing each other out...

after the initial sniffing out, a whole lot of running around ensued...leading to a lot of panting and drinking of water...so, i decided to throw them into one cage so they could calm down...and was secretly hoping for "mad-max of the thunderdome"-style...a "two dog enter, one dog leave" type of event...but nada...they were so calm and studious looking...hilarious...

it was a fun morning and both dogs are so different...because gus is 3 years old and is definitely more mature and calm and likes his space...while bode is a typical puppy (almost 8 months old) and wants to play, play, play, and constantly tries to get into gus' face...quite an annoying little brother...

thanks mom for taking care of them this week...cause m and i need time to settle in and get our chicago life in order...and my sister is heading out of town this week...meaning that both dogs have been together ever since...craziness...

back home???

weird.

cheers d-bags...

chuck james, tim tam, and geoffrey dubay...it was a pleasure...

it took only 15 minutes...

for the bright sunshine to come out...craziness...

the weather gods are angry...

that we are leaving apparently...

the entire time from 9am to noon that the packers were packing...it was unbelievable sunshine...they put all the boxes together so that they could all move it into the truck at the same time...

the minute they started to move things into the truck...the clouds rolled in and a torrential rain storm has begun...hopefully it will stop soon so they can be on their way...thankfully, they aren't moving anything in the rain...i don't really want wet boxes in storage for a couple of weeks...

anyways, i'm sure if we wait another hour, it will be completely sunny again...

seriously...so much stuff...

the packers/movers are here...here's a pic of probably just 60% of the stuff we need to ship over...after the survey guy camed a couple of weeks ago, we were given an allowance of 1,300 pounds and some number of square volume...i'm pritu sure we are going to come pritu close to that...

we came for london...

but we wished we could stay cause of the friends we've met...both old and new...good times...even though they sound kinda funny...

they're coming...

tomorrow morning to take everything...yikes.

lots of stuff...

we seriously brought a lot of stuff over here...and are bringing even more back...ugh...

happy birthday gus!!!

wish we could be there...here's a snapshot when we "talked" to him on skype today...he was trying to sit in my mom's lap until he decided to sniff the computer screen...you can see his tail moving at super sonic speed...what a little boogar...

he's baaa-aack....

safe and sound...although looking a little tired (even dogs get jet lagged i guess!).

Gus has left the building...

he's on his way now...long journey back to Chicago...definitely a sad moment but we'll see him soon enough...have a safe trip buddy...see you on the other side of the atlantic...

our ride to the countryside...

ok...so, over the weekend we drove down to kent (which isn't quite the countryside, but close enough when compared to the urban life of central london) to stay with a friend...it was definitely a quiet place which is "the country" to me...

Anyways, we rented a car to get there so we could bring Gus...we got hooked up with a car because they ran out of automatic compact cars with built-in SatNav systems when i got to the counter...so, they gave us the car to the right which was a pleasant surprise...

this was my second time driving, so i was definitely more comfortable driving on the WRONG side of the road...the roundabouts were a piece of cake, although there were moments where i probably should have waited a little longer...i was beeped at my fair share of times and i also did my fair share of beeping...i even exhibited road rage a couple of times when pedestrians would randomly cross the road in front of me or walk through the cross walk when i had a green light...profanity-laced tirades spewed from my mouth...

anyways, gus had a good ol' time in the back seat (although he never looks it!)...he hasn't truly ridden in the back seat of a car in a long time...
so, he did what he loves to do...he loves to stick his head out the window and let the wind blow his ears horizontal...its funny when i can see his head sticking out in my side view mirror...on our way home, the SatNav took us through our old neighborhood in Pimlico where we first lived for a month in corporate apartments before Gus arrived (see early blogs)...Gus had a good look at the place as we drove by...its funny how things eventually come full circle in life at unexpected times...

haven't forgotten about you...

been missing in action as of late...will post more very soon...

tourists in london...not!!!

so, m and i have been all over europe in our travels both together and apart...have been to some of the coolest places and sights in europe...visited more famous museums and cathedrals that we've completely lost count...

the irony to all this is...we've been to almost zero museums and cathedrals here in london!

for example, we work right near St. Paul's Cathedral (the cathedral dome is basically in every london skyline photo) and have never taken a tour of the place...the only time i've ever been inside was to pay for my parents tickets so they could take a tour...

the only museum i could think of that i've been to in London was the National Maritime Museum!!! hahaha...and i don't know anybody that has ever been there or let alone has even heard of it...the only reason i entered was because i was taking my parents around Greenwich and we started wandering and just ran into it...so, may as well enter since most of the museums in London are absolutely free...and it was a cool place! As far as I know, the only place m's ever been to is the National Gallery...

so, we work across from the famous Tate Modern...but never been inside...and we keep hearing about the wonderful British Museum, but still haven't made our way over there...even though its just a short walk from everywhere...never been inside Westminster Abbey...

its sunday night here and we had a free weekend to wander and visit these places...but NAH! TOO MANY TOURISTS! instead, we just enjoyed relaxing at home...playing video games...catching up with friends here and back in chicago...watching TV...doing our marathon training runs...and of course hanging out and walking Gus in the park...

so, i can honestly say that I haven't properly toured london like I have every other city in Europe that I've visited...but that's okay and perfectly fine...i haven't taken london for granted at all...i've just enjoyed the city as a resident...visiting places and experiencing things that tourists don't have time to do...because after our short stint here, we'll never be able to call this place home again...and since we plan on coming back to london many more times in the future, then at that point we can be proper tourists!

the long runs...

so, the marathon training long runs are in full swing now...last weekend, i ran 6 miles on sat and then 14 miles on sunday...this weekend, its 7 miles today then 15 miles tomorrow...hopefully, my knees will hold up...

patring pet care center...huh???

ok...my dad is pretty bored at home...with my mom being in PI for the past 1.5 months...anyways, they are both very excited about having two dogs in the house very soon...so, my dad, being very bored at home, sent the following e-mail out to the family...what a big lu-zer.

----------------------

The grand opening of PATRING PET CARE CENTER, LLC will be on July 20, 2009.

The Center is a gratis & non-profit care center. Pets will be treated with love & care. The facilities will provide: clean painted 2 door steel cage, 144 square feet of fully fenced playground, toys, background music and a spacious sleeping bed. Upon request, we will provide shower & walk out exercise. Water will be provided, but due to swine & bird flu and possibly diarrhea, food & treats not included.

Reservation in advance is mandatory.

Best Regards,

Tootsie

Pooh Collector

Patring Pet Care Center, LLC

getting into the swing of things...

so, me and ab were so inspired by wimbledon that we decided to play tennis ourselves...so, we booked a one hour reservation at the hyde park tennis center...i brought all my tennis gear over from the States and never used them...so, may as well! other than the extreme heat (it was in the high 80s)...and the fact that we didn't play like they do on TV (the first half hour was not pretty)...it was a lot of fun and a really cool experience to be able to say we played tennis in london just a few miles away from where the wimbledon courts were packed with players...

the pet kingdom...

so, me and ab went to one of the most famous department stores in the world today...the department store name starts with an H and ends with an arrods! anyways, this place was as advertised...gigantic and sold every high end thing known to man...and the food hall was pretty cool...

one of the departments we visited was called the Pet Kingdom looking for stuff for Gus and Bode...the place was definitely posh...here are a few pics of the pet beds that they sold...each one was at least $500 to $800 each...more than people sized furniture!!! ridiculous!

our last month...

for our avid readers out there, here is a quick blog to keep you entertained...here are two pics i took messing around with the point-n-shoot camera which i am in charge of, while m is in charge of the fancy DSLR camera...i'm certainly not the photographer in the family but i do know my way around the point-n-shoot...and it does some cool things that you wouldn't expect...like focusing on the flower below (you can make out my finger in both pics holding on to this flower...which is actually an offshoot of a weed i found in the grass)...this was taken in a popular residential block in amsterdam where we chose just to hang out for a while to rest...

heat wave???

apparently, we are experiencing a heat wave in london...one of the hottest stretches in years...in years! its was the hottest day of the year if not in several years today...32 degrees Celsius = 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit...

this is certainly not hot for chicago standards...far from it...but for london, the city with very little residential and public transport air conditioning...its freakin' hot...its an absolute roast in our flat right now...no air conditioning generally exists in homes across london...cause there is no point as it stays in the very comfortable 70s most summers...on the tube which has no airconditioning of course, i think the air temperature hits over the 110s on the lines furthest underground...you step in and the dead stale heat just hits you...like stepping into a dry, smelly sauna...its worse during rush hour because its packed and everyone is wearing professional attire...resulting in lots of sweaty professionals arriving in the office...there is nothing better than showering to go to work, then sweating profusely before you even sit at your desk...the heat on the tube has led me to do away with the obligatory white undershirt...just go skin to collared shirt...commando baby!

poor gus though...he is overheating as i type this at almost midnight here...doesn't know what to do with himself...if only fur could sweat.

Mr. Rude in Amsterdam...

okay...so, this food apparently originated in belgium (we had our fair share when we visited belgium)...but belgium and the netherlands are basically the same thing!!! anyways, this is apparently the national snack...FRENCH FRIES WITH MAYO! check out the size of the large order we purchased at this store window (basically, the size of a bouquet of flowers)...it's absolutely ridiculous...and yes, that is a whole lot of mayo...kinda gross actually...i had to dump out some mayo cause we couldn't even get to the fries!

anyways, this is what wonderful wiki says...is this really true? if so, then i never knew!

"A Belgian legend claims that the term "French" was introduced when British or American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I, and consequently tasted Belgian fries. They supposedly called them "French", as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time. Whether or not Belgians invented them, "frites" became the national snack, making the Belgians their largest per capita consumers in Europe and their "symbolic" creators."

ultimately, this is the only "tame" picture I could take of Mr. Rude in Amsterdam...cause if you know anything about Amsterdam, then you know that nothing there is PG-13...actually, nothing there is even rated below R either...

droopy-eyed high...

say that three times fast...tongue twister yo.

hi from amsterdam...

we are all here...logging into the free hotel computer in the executive lounge.

hi pa!

the day we hit THE Queue...

apparently, its the self-proclaimed, most famous queue (that's what they call a waiting line here in the sporting world...the wimbledon queue...okay...you can view the wimbledon website to read all about The Queue...its massive...its so structured that they actually hand out a fancy brochure when you get in line on how to queue in The Queue...

if you don't already know, getting tickets to wimbledon is pretty tough...they don't really go on sale on line...you basically have to write in about 8 months in advance to join this lottery to have the opportunity to buy tickets...which we joined 8 months ago, but obviously did not win...

so, we queued it up biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiatch!!!

Basically, every single day during the tournament, you are able to stand in line to get either premium tickets (centre, #1, #2 courts) or ground tickets...the fact that Wimbledon offers this led to many crazies waiting in line overnight in unorganized fashion to get first dibs on this tickets...at which point Wimbledon (many many years ago) decided to get it all organized so that it was all polite and proper, in that british sort of way...

so, they only offer 500 premium tickets to the first 500 people in line...meaning you have to be there personally to gain entry...therefore, understandably, more than 500 people camp out overnight in appointed grounds to get these tickets...every single day for the better part of two weeks this occurs (we definitely saw a good amount of people brushing their teeth in the morning and with bed head...and smelled them too)...

anyways, premium tickets...nah...we weren't this crazy...

we just wanted ground tickets which they offer to the first 5,000 people...after the first 5,000, entry is given only on a "one person leaves, one person enters" basis...ground tickets basically give you access to courts 3 through 19...which is fine because there are obviously many good players and matches to see...

tickets didn't go on sale until 930am...so, since the tube wasn't running to wimbledon until 530...we decided to just go at that time (we were a little late of course) cause taking a cab would be too much...we got to The Queue at approximately 615am...at which point they give you a Queue Card which establishes your place in line...so that there are no line jumpers/cutters...if you don't have a Queue Card, you can't buy tickets...simple as that...so, you can't save anybody a place in line or anything...gotta wake up!

now, here is a picture of my queue card...look at the number...number 2,066! so, at 615 in the morning, there were already 2,065 people in front of me in line...but we were well within the 5,000...so, we definitely got in...however, by the time 930 rolled around, there had to be way way more than 5,000 people in line...cause the end of the line never stopped growing since we arrived...it was certainly a long day...we got there at 615am...play didn't start until NOON!!! but it was well worth it in the end (despite the three of us all getting sunburn...who knew that it would be an absolutely sunny hot day here in london!) anyways, we were able to push our way into SECOND ROW seats on court 3...right behind the players chairs!!! we stayed there for a women's and a men's match...pretty good players...then we started wandering around the grounds to check out other matches...have some grub...have some pimms and lemonade...have some strawberries and cream (wimbledon specialty) an d of course by souvenirs...

it was a great day and i am beat...

btw...i ran 5 miles when we got back home tonight...gotta keep up with marathon training...booya!

one...

so, today is our one year anniversary here in london...the pics are from my work permit page...i have no clue why the work permit has "xes" printed on it four times...is that really necessary?

Mr. Rude in Edinburgh...

this is mr. rude with a "wee taste of haggis"...that's what it actually said on the menu...it was an appetizer in this nice ol' pub in edinburgh...none of us were adventurous enough to try the full main haggis dish so we chickened out and just had the taster to share...it tasted alright actually...but a wee lil' taste was enough for me...

this is what wiki says about haggis..."Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours."

yum yum yummy in my tum tum tummy...

let there be light!!!

ok...a little dramatic...anyways, i'm sure i wrote about this before...but its pretty cool how late the sun goes down here...for those that don't know, london is actually further north than the tip of Maine...so, although it blows in the winter time when the sun goes down before 4pm...its absolutely awesome in the summer when the sun doesn't set until around 1030pm...i was walking home today at 1015, and just looked up and just saw the light blue haze on the horizon...pretty sweet...

when we were in edinburgh last weekend, which is 5 hours train ride north of here, the sun went down well past 11pm...and it never actually seemed to go down...because the sky just had that light blue haze on it the whole time...until it came back up at like 4am...so, it really just stayed under the horizon...

i can't imagine being up in scandinavia where the sun apparently stays up until the wee hours of the morning...or further north where its always sunny around the clock...granted, it stinks when its always dark around the clock in the winter season...but, let's not think about that...

great cookies...

i was looking through some pics and ran into this one that i've forgotten about...when we were in madrid, we remembered to get these cookies that a friend of ours bought us on a visit to spain a long time ago...apparently, these cookies are pretty popular over there...they come in a few flavors...they are shaped like mini donuts...so, i went into a grocery store in madrid, and whaddayaknow, they are prominently displayed in the cookie aisle...so, if anybody has seen these sold anywhere else other than in spain (cause i've never seen them in the motherland)...do let me know!

thanks mr and mrs plate eyes for visiting...

we really enjoyed having you guys over...
p.s. i don't think sunglasses are supposed to cover your eyebrows like that...

heading back from edinburgh...

on the train...4.5 hour ride...about 2 hours into it right now...free wi-fi on the national express...pretty sweet...the countryside is absolutely beautiful...especially when we were heading from edinburgh to newcastle as we were right along the seaside...the train was right along the cliffs...very picturesque...pretty weird seeing herds of sheep in fields right along the cliffs...one wrong step, and your donzo sheepos...too bad pictures from the train ain't so great...plus, m was snoozing, so i didn't have her expertise with the nice camera...

anyways, short post here, but i promise to post more this week as i know i didn't post much last week...

run forrest...run...

so, i did my long run for the week today...since we are heading to edinburgh this weekend and i can't guarantee having enough time to run 10 miles...since the tube is in strike, i decided to kill two birds with one stone and ran home from work...it alleviates having to take the packed bus and saves time going home and changing...

so, i brought my running clothes to work...changed...and off i went...the trip home is just under 5.5 miles and i have to run through the west end...it is pretty weird running home because i pass by so many sights...ran along the thames...passed the london eye, big ben, parliament, then ran up and passed buckingham palace...and ran through st. james park, green park, hyde park, and finally kensington gardens...its definitely a surreal experience despite living here for a year now...i'll definitely miss this place...

the Geri-Vest phenomenon...

you are probably wondering what i'm talking about...well, after going on all these trips in europe, i've found this piece of clothing that every senior citizen seems to own...i call it the Geri-Vest (if you don't know why I call it that, then please add a "atric" after Geri)...anyways, as you can see, its this khaki vest that appears to be a fisherman's vest that has all these pockets...which is exactly what the elderly tourist needs...it keeps you warm...its versatile...somewhat stylish looking...it matches everything in the wardrobe...and there you have it...THE GERI-VEST...

anyways, i took all eight of those shots above spending about 45 total minutes actively looking for the Geri-Vest while in Prague...they are absolutely everywhere...but primarily in large, slow-walking tourist groups...i remember being in other cities and just seeing Geri-Vests lining the streets as far as the eye can see...

I wear my black northface vest a lot when i go on trips...which makes me believe i am well on my way to wearing a Geri-Vest when i pass the ripe ol' age of 60...

Pa, do you want one then? hahahahahaha...

immature fun with german...

i just couldn't help myself...i took pictures of the following signs in a 10 minute time span while walking in vienna...

he makes complete sense...oddly enough...

so, i was flipping through the pages of the paper recently and came across this article about this guy that is on a mission to visit every Starbucks in the world. Apparently, he has been doing this for years and is very well-known in coffee drinking circles (I don't drink coffee so never heard of him) and has been chronicled in various documentaries and articles in the past...

anyways, he has visited over 9,000 stores in the past dozen years...spending an absolute fortune on travel. The article was basically stating how Starbucks has begun shutting stores down over the last couple of years...which has clearly put a huge obstacle to this guy's mission. If he hears of a store closing, he apparently books a ticket immediately to visit it (on weekends or vacations of course because he has a real job as a software programmer)...

he was quoted as saying "if the store closed before I visited, I would lose another piece of my soul"...clearly, this statement makes one believe that he is absolutely bonkers. They say he has "mildly" obsessive-compulsive tendencies and has a "mild" addition to coffee...uhm...YA THINK!

anyways, this is where the guy makes complete sense to me...when people (including his parents) question him on why he is wasting his time doing this...he stated...

"People should be out doing something rather than just existing and surviving. Even if you think that what I'm doing is meaningless, it is a purpose, at least."

i'd be interested to sit down for a cup of coffee with this guy...

Mr. Rude in Prague...

on the Charles Bridge looking across the Vltava River towards Prague Castle...

Mr. Rude in Vienna...

at the popular Demel Cafe enjoying a traditional viennese cake and tea...
overlooking the gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace...

Mr. Rude in Budapest...

sitting in Buda Castle looking across the Danube river towards Parliament in Pest...

THE Vienna Opera House...

this is where some of the most famous classical musicians made their mark…such as Beethoven and Mozart…but particularly Mozart who basically owns Vienna...we’ve never been to a true opera before…so, it was cool that our virgin performance was at arguably one of the most famous opera halls in the history of the world...

m and I were able to get dirt cheap standing room tickets (3 euros each!!!)…cause they offer about 500 standing room tickets each night about 90 minutes before the performance...well, since operatic performances are rarely in English, it was cool that they had this digital screen in front of each section which translated everything (since this performance was in french)…but this didn’t help because the opera was so over the top with regards to dialogue that I cringed when I read it…everyone was so OA with regards to proclamations of love and despair and every other emotion…and transitions from scene to scene were just non-existent...apparently, we were told by a couple near us that it was “operatic license”...and there was no point to try to rationalize what was going on…operas are apparently meant to be dramatic, irrational, and nonsensical!…luckily, we left in the middle of the second act as we had dinner reservations (gotta have my wiener schnitzel)…if we didn’t leave, I was ready to run down to the stage to lightly slap (back of hand of course) every overacting singer in the mouth…

but it was a cool experience nonetheless…and experiencing new and different things is what life all about…but opera is definitely not for me…opera = snoozevillenationburg…

Wiener Schnitzel extravaganza in Vienna…

So, we just got back from our week long trip to central europe...i've got a bunch of blogs to post on random things...so, this is one of my favorite foods…cause it’s the schnitz...when I went snowboarding in Austria earlier in the year, I basically had it for every meal which I probably talked about earlier in this blog…and this short two day stay in Vienna was no different…German speaking countries know how to eat...and I definitely packed on the pounds from these heavy meals…

I even got M to order it…however, her proclamation that...

“isn’t this just fried, breaded meat (note: traditionally veal…although pork is often used now)?”

was quite insulting in a blasphemous sense…and then she stated...

“its just served dry?…with no sauce?…its just breaded meat on a plate?”

at that point, I fell out of my chair…

thanks lola...

we love you.

just arrived in prague...

well...i'll definitely post more later on budapest and vienna...but now, we just arrived at our last destination...prague...just chillin' in the executive lounge using this free computer...having a czech beer...later gators...

in vienna...

was able to log on to the hotel lobby computer...the keyboard is all weird...that is all...gotta go...

quick hit from budapest...

just a quick post while i'm on the computer before we head out to dinner...today was nice...a hot sunny day...we went to this place called hero's square...and then went to this famous turkish bath...apparently one of the largest baths in europe...anyways, it was a weird experience...first of all, there were a lot of people there...and this is a friday midday as well...and i would say 60% were probably locals and the remaining were tourists...

we got our tickets, then went to the locker rooms...which was weird trying to find your way around cause there are these different sections and areas to go to...finding a locker...finding towels...very interesting when dealing with non-english speakers...

anyways, we walk into the first areas, which were all the hot medicinal baths...all in doors...just these different sized pools in this high ceiling halls...some domes...with these people (mainly people over 50 to 80 years old) just chilling out...sitting there relaxing...then there are these saunas on the side...where each sauna room has a different temperature...going from hot to hotter to very hot rooms...again different...

after winding through these inner rooms of hot pools and saunas, we hit the outside pools (regular swimming pools)...which was a huge area (i'll post a picture later when we get home)...anyways, this area had a better mix of people...from families to young people to definitely a good amount of seniors in bathing suits!!! ahhh...and remember, the europeans wear bikini briefs...even the 70 year olds...yikes!!! this outside area was basically a few hundred year old version of wisconsin dells (sans water slides)...just people having fun in the water...relaxing...getting some rays...so, we did the same...just chilled there in the water...hung along the sides...sat on the steps...getting sun and enjoying people watching...good times.

sleeping in buda and visiting pest...

so, we arrived in budapest today...start of our three city/country tour...hitting budapest followed by vienna then ending with prague...

its 11pm here and we are tired...had to wake up at 5am to catch an early morning flight so we could take advantage of the day here...its pretty nice...our hotel is pretty sweet and a very very central location...we got upgraded to the executive floor so its unlimited food and drinks for us (it helps to be a high ranking member...staying at this chain over 200+ nights certainly does it)...plus, free internet access in the executive business lounge here...so, may as well throw a quick post (i don't even know if i've ever posted while on holiday)...anyways, we are right of the danube river and its very pretty...they say budapest is the paris of eastern europe...i don't know about that, but its certainly got its own charm...

first time i've worn shorts this year...hit mid-80s here and sunny...so very nice...tomorrow, we are planning on hitting various sights and this popular turkish bath to take in the "medicinal" hot springs...should be very interesting...apparently, hanging out at these turkish baths is the thing to do here...later gators...

Mr. Rude in Paris...

so, the first time we went to Paris last thanksgiving, we didn't have mr. rude yet...so, this time with the rents, we brought him along...

here's Mr. Rude being displayed on his own pedestal at the Louvre...
and Mr. Rude on top of the Arc de Triomphe overlooking the Eiffel Tower...

and Mr. Rude chilling out on the steps overlooking the gardens of the Palace of Versailles

raise the roof!!!

So, m and i went to one of the coolest sporting events i've ever been to...the event was titled "A Centre Court Celebration" - the first tennis matches played under Wimbledon's new Centre Court roof...i was able to get tickets a few months ago...the tickets sold out within five minutes, and i was able to get sweet sweet tickets within three minutes at a very very "cheap" face value price compared to everything else around here...we were 13 rows from the court perfectly in line with the baseline...getting tickets to any wimbledon centre court event is basically impossible...you either have to know someone or win this lottery to even have a chance to buy them...the chances of winning the lottery is basically nil...so, when this event popped up, i jumped on it to make sure i was ready for the online ticket sales...

and when are you ever able to get a chance to see the greatest married couple to ever step foot onto a tennis court play doubles together...if you don't know, its steffi graf and andre agassi...they apparently rarely play tennis together, let alone in a semi-competitive environment...they said they practiced for a few months just to get ready for this exhibition to not embarrass themselves...graf is without a doubt one of the greatest women's tennis player of all time having won 22 grand slams and retiring at a point where she was still playing at a high level...agassi on the other hand is agassi...winner of all four majors...and definitely one of the hardest hitters to ever play the game...they played against kim clijsters and tim henman, the hometown favorite...so, it was one set of mixed doubles...then the men played one singles set...followed by the women...

anyways, despite these players being retired and past their primes, they were playing at still such a high level of tennis...everyone was still absolutely amazed...especially with agassi...he hits so freakin' hard...an absolute laser...he's added so much meat to his upper body so he probably hits even harder than he ever did...but obviously he is slow slow slow due to age now...but man, i don't have a clue how he hits so hard...his swing is so compact with barely any back swing but the ball comes out angry...
it was so entertaining and an absolute pleasure to watch them all play...especially on centre court at wimbledon!!! besides that, there were three famous british musical acts, and then guest appearances from boris becker and andy murray (and some other tennis greats i've never heard of before)...so, pretty good for a 35 quid ticket...