let the moving commence!

I started moving into the new apartment today. Mostly I just needed my brother's manual labor and he leaves tomorrow so we had to get a few things there today. Like the REALLY heavy TV that used to be my parents' and the boxes of furniture that I got at Ikea yesterday. Wow do I owe Pete and his friend who helped -- that stuff was heavy! Even with the hand cart that I borrowed from the UPS store, it was hard work (more for them than for me...). Tomorrow I'll go clean a bit and then, fingers crossed, Friday is the real move in. With any luck, I'll be sleeping there by Monday night!

3 notable things

(in order of importance)

1. Had to say goodbye to a good friend today. He leaves for Hong Kong tomorrow morning and will be there for a year. I'll really miss talking to him. He's a good friend. Hopefully he'll keep his blog updated (http://thefightingirishman.blogspot.com). I'm not at all worried about how he'll fare in Hong Kong thoug -- he'll be great though -- he was born for this!

2. Went to Ikea and bought furniture today. May have pulled every muscle in my upper body though in the process of getting the gigantic boxes off the shelf onto my cart and then off of my cart and into my car. I couldn't find anyone to help me though. The one person I asked couldn't help... Oh well -- I got a desk, dresser, and bookcase (to add to the bed, futon, and table I already own). Exciting! Tomorrow my brother and I will put the Ikea boxes in the apartment (Dad and I will put the furniture together on Friday), as well as the large TV that I've inherited from my parents since they upgraded to a flat screen.

3. Finally, I got a hair cut today. This isn't earth shattering news, I know, but I got about an inch and a half cut off, so it's a pretty big difference to me. I'm pretty happy with it though.

the puppy!!

So I've finally recovered from the trip (I think) and am now extremely busy trying to prepare for what one might call "real life." Haven't bought any furniture yet (hmm... should probably get on that) but have bought some clothes so that i don't have to show up to work naked (that would probably be bad for my career...). The actual move will happen over next weekend!

Until then, I'm sharing the house with two crazy dogs. Zoe, our 3 year old and Zeke, the new puppy (both golden retrievers). He's adorable! In fact, both dogs are so cute that I just have to share some pictures!

ZOE

ZEKE

Another one of ZEKE

home again!

Finally, back in the chicago area! Got into Boston on Weds night, spent all day yesterday moving out, and then got home LATE last night. The whole family came to pick me up at the airport, including both dogs which was pretty cute. Zeke is ADORABLE!

Anyway, VERY glad to be home. Will be moving downtown sometime in the next week or so :)

lisbon

Final stop on the trip! hard to believe that it's almost over, but really, I'm quite ready to come home. 4 weeks is a really long trip!
Lisbon has been good so far. Today we went out to Sintra (about 45 min away) and pretty much climbed mountains and went to castles. Really pretty. Tomorrow we'll walk around the city itself.
Very much looking forward to coming home. Head back to Boston on Weds and then move out of my apartment on Thursday and fly home Thursday night. Can't wait to see everyone (and meet Zeke!). Yes, we finally got the new puppy (of course while I wasn't home).
Talk to you from the states!

españa

Another quick note to let anyone who might be reading this know that I´m still alive! Since the last post, I´ve been to Nice, Monaco, Barcelona, and am now in Madrid.
Nice (which is on the French Riviera) was like a little piece of heaven. I spent almost my entire day lying on the shores of the Mediterranean. Only downside is taht the beaches are stone, not sand, but I had a chair/lounge thing so it was fine.
Monaco (which we did as a side trip from Nice) was also REALLY cool! We saw the church where Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly were married (and are now buried), saw Prince Albert II´s palace, and then went to Monte Carlo, where I didn´t gamble (I´m not enough of a high roller to be able to afford any of the tables or slots!)but still had a lot of fun admirign all of the people and cars.
Barcelona was neat but extremely crowded! So many people out! Seeing the Gaudi architecture, however, was well worth the trip. Fascinating that anyone woudl ever think that those buildigns were attractive!
Now we´re in Madrid. Today we´ll go to the Prado in the morning and head out to Toledo in the afternoon. Tour ends tonight, but we have another day in Madrid to walk around and really see the city. Then we head to Lisbon! And then I come home :) And, the good news is that I can now bring my iPod on the plane with me, even through London, so I will survive the plane ride after all!

Florence

Quick update to let you know that I'm still alive! I'm now in Florence, having also spent time in Venice since the last update. Still loving the trip, though I'm reaching a point where I could really use some personal time. I'm not used to getting zero time to myself for weeks on end! Anyway, things are going well and I've seen some truly spectacular things. Between the ancient Roman ruins, the Vatican, and Michelangelo's David (not to mention everything I saw in France and will see in Spain) I think I'm getting enough "culture" to last quite a while! It will be nice to have a relaxing day in Nice on Monday!!
Not a lot else to report. Not looking forward to flying home 8 hours without my iPod, but if that's the world we live in, there's not a lot I can do about it (and as a frequentish flyer, I'd MUCH prefer they be too strict than too lax -- I'll be nervous enough about flying from Heathrow as it is!). Hope everyone who reads this is doing well! I get home 12 days from today.

Rome!

We have now left Paris and are in Italy, Rome to be exact. We got in LATE last night (well after midnight by the time we had our luggage) and walked half a mile to our hotel. This morning we had to transfer hotels because our tour starts tonight! Excited but a little nervous that it will be all annoying american tourists who are much older but even if it is, I've got Silpa :)
Today we had free, so we spent the afternoon going to some of the big sights, including the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain (where I did toss in a coin) and the Spanish Steps. So far, this trip has been amazing and I've got another couple of weeks to go!! Hard to believe that 2 weeks ago today I was taking the bar exam!!
OK, internet time is almost up. Hope everyone stateside is doing well!

More Paris!

 

Friday

Didn't do much exciting today because Silpa was a bit jet lagged (understandably).  So good to have company (and someone else to speak to in English besides myself!).  The one notable thing we did do was have the most amazing hot chocolate that I've ever had.  MMMM.

 

Saturday

Museum day!!  We started the day with Musee d'Orsay and did the Louvre in the afternoon.  I don't know what to write about these except to say that they were both truly amazing and that everyone should go at some point in their lives. 
 

Short post, I know, but I don't have much time at the internet cafe.  Tomorrow we're going to Versailles.

had an extra few minutes at another internet cafe b/c i forgot to do something at the other (namely check silpa's flight time) and thought i'd post a few thoughts.

 

1: Paris is amazing

2: we have such a warped sense of history living in the US.  At home, we think 200 years is ancient history yet here you are in buildings that have existed since the 1200s or earlier!  truly amazing!

3: restaurants here sell wine in such a better fashion than in the US. (yes, I managed to go to an actual sit-down restaurant and order!).  At home, it's generally either a glass or a whole bottle.  Here, there are a lot more sizes to choose from.  Whatever amount it was that I ordered, it amounted to two and a half glasses -- perfect!

4: I mapped my walk today on my favorite website (www.usatf.org/routes) and it turns out I walked over 11 miles! 

Arrived in Paris

I've done a lot since the last post...  I did safely make it to Paris and have been here about 24 hours now.  Here's a brief synopsis:

Wednesday
Took the Eurostar train from London to Paris.  The train itself was really nice.  Even the food was pretty good (and since it was included in the ticket price, even better!).  Got to Paris and got on the Metro to get to the hotel.  We're staying in the 13th Arr.  which isn't really near anything except for the national library but isn't terribly far from anything either.  Checked in at the hotel with much difficulty as the man at the desk didn't speak english and I don't speak a word of french...  Hotel is perfectly nice though (but small.  and -- despite the fact that i reserved a room with twin beds, they were out of those so Silpa and I will be sharing a bed when she gets here.  Not a huge deal).  Put down my stuff and went for a walk to get my bearings.  I was completely overwhelmed being in a strange city where I knew no one and couldn't communicate with anyone.  The hardest part of the evening was ordering dinner.  I finally found a little japanese place near the hotel (I guess Chinatown is near the hotel) and had a bit of food but was so stressed that I could barely eat.  Went back to the hotel to plan Thursday.

Thursday
I woke up this morning and it was too cold and rainy to run.  I started walking from the hotel at around 9.  I went up Bvd. St. Michel, through the Latin Quarter (so called for its scholars -- not Latin as in Latin American) and to the Seine.  I walked along the Seine until about 11 when I finally reached the Eiffel Tower.  I decided not to go up it because it was raining. 
Hopped on the Metro and went to the Arc de Triomphe.  From there, I walked down Champs Elyèes which was pretty cool.  Only did a little shopping :)  I went into the Sephora store and thought I'd walked into heaven.  It's their flagship and it is HUGE -- seriously three or four times the size of a normal Sephora.  Didn't buy anything there though.  Grabbed lunch at a little sandwich place (brie and butter on a baguette -- mmm) and kept walking.  Walked down Rue Rivoli on the right bank (goes next to the tuilleries and the louvre) and did a little more window shopping.
Then I went to Notre Dame.  Wow.  I only had to wait in line for about 20 minutes and then went all the way to the top.  Not only is the cathedral a beautiful building, but the views were incredible!  I didn't actually get to go into the downstairs of the cathedral (that part is free and the line would have been 2 hours) but that's ok. 
Now I'm slowly making my way back to the hotel.  I think I'm still over 30 minutes away walking.  I have walked a LOT today and will sleep well tonight!

Hope everyone who reads this is well.  I'm doing ok.  Was definitely overwhelmed yesterday but am feeling better today.  Still, I'll be very relieved when Silpa gets here tomorrow!  It'll be nice to have someone to talk to besides myself :) 

So I'm still in England right now and I head for France tomorrow
morning. A little update on what I've been up to for the past few
days:

Sunday was nice. We went to a really nice lunch at a country
restaurant and didn't do much of anything else (given that lunch
lasted from 2:30-5!).

Yesterday, Monday, I took the train into London and spent my day
walking around the city. I went to Hyde Park and St. James Park,
which is where Buckingham Palace is. I accidentally happened upon the
changing of the guard, so I stayed to watch. I walked by Parliament
and Big Ben and then walked along the river to Covent Garden, over to
Picadilly Circus and then back up to the train station via Bond St
(where all the really high end stores are). I was EXHAUSTED from
walking all day (especially since I'd gone for a run in the morning).
I got back on t he commuter train to come out to the country and the
train was delayed for a while. Luckily, I had a mobile phone with me
to call someone to let them know I'd be late.

Today I went into London briefly this morning. I hung out in the St.
John's Wood area for about an hour and a half. Now I'm back in the
country and this afternoon we'll drive some more to go pick the
children up from their sailing lessons and go get dinner. It's been
pretty neat to get to see so much of the countryside around here!

Tomorrow -- Paris!