Vienna, Austria

I've been to Paris but otherwise I've never been out of the United States (with the exception of Canada, Mexico & the Caribbean but those don't count).  What made me pick an Eastern European country for my 1st trip abroad I'll never know.  Vienna Austria is on the border, a short drive from Hungary & Slovakia.  I would have loved to explore those two places but I had only realized how close we were when the cab driver was giving us a geography lesson on the way to the airport to catch our flight home.  Lesson learned - look at a map before venturing to a new place :)

Vienna is a beautiful city - most of the buildings are made of stone or marble and most have statues on them.  On the corner of the buildings, on the top of the buildings, in front of the buildings - pretty much statues everywhere.  The statues are mainly of people (some people had tails & wings).  I don't speak German (which all the signs were in) but I read Neptune - which in Roman mythology is the god of the sea so I guess the tails made sense.  Some of the people on top of the buildings were warriors, with their charriots & horses.  Anyway lots of people statues, no gargoles. The main square is amazing - with cobblestone walks & quaint shops.  Lots of street performers (which I thought were cheesy) but they kept the kids entertained for quite a while.  Their favorite was a man who put bowls on one foot, while standing on the other & flipped the bowls onto the top of his head - he got up to about 6 bowls,  then a cup onto the bowls, then a spoon into the cup.  He made quite a bit of money while we were standing there - our kids loved putting change into his tin cup :)  Back to the city - there were water fountains & outdoor cafe's.  We walked around the main square for hours and when we got tired.  We hired a horse and carriage to take us around.  It's fun to walk around the city on foot but it's amazing to see it by horse & carriage.  Some of our favorite sights were St Stephens Catherdral; the Rose Garden (400 different varities) & the Spanish Riding School.

That night we asked the concierge if she could recommend a great Italian restaurant - I know we were in Vienna but I was in the mood for Italian.  She recommended Da Capo - only a few blocks away from our hotel.  We decided to walk & enjoy the evening.  We walk into Da Capo & here is how the conversation goes: Can I help you.  Yes - table for 4 please. Do you have a reservation?  No.  Oh...pause...um...wait right here.  She goes & gets the manager.  Can I help you.  yes - table for 4 please.  Do you have a reservation.  No.  Oh...pause....he puts his finger on his lip, with a hmmming sound & actually looks us up & down.   Okay follow me (I guess we passed inspection).  He leads us down these dark steps into the basement & I'm starting to get a little nervous.  We get to the bottom of the steps & I am actually breathless - talk about ambiance.  You can see all the old wood beams in the ceiling, the walls are old stone.  To the right there are a few tables with flowers & candles on them.  To the left you can see people cooking.  It was amazing! I ordered lasagne, the girls ordered pizza & my husband ordered chicken parmiigana.  My Mom is Italian & she makes the best lasagne ever.  I love lasagne & I've ordered it at every Italian resturant I've been in for the last 25 years.  I've never found anything even remotely close to my Mom's but this OH MY WORD - it was an explosian of flavor in your mouth that you didn't want to stop.  I tried not to moan while I ate but it was impossible.   As we walked home that night - hand in hand, as the girls ran & jumped off the sides of buildings singing & laughing.  I felt really blessed!

Day two - we walked back through the square, had breakfast at an outdoor cafe  - did some people watching.  Did some souvenior shopping - the girls found these mozart violins that they adored. Of coarse, now they want to take violin lessons & give concerts :)  Music is big here - Mozart, Shubart, Hayda, Strauss & Mahler are all composers from Austria.   We saw were Mozart played his 1st concert.  The Opera house is pretty neat - on the outside the have statue heads of all the greats. We decided to go see the Imperial Palace (where the emperor & empress used to live).  We did the grand tour & it was interesting.  Maria Theresa was empress at one time - she was Marie Antoinette's mother.  Marie Antoinette was born there & married off at age 15.  There is a statue in the garden of a man holding a womens head - not sure if that has an relevance or not.  The had a restaurant there - so we stopped to get strudel - you can't go to Austria without getting strudel.  It was very yummy!  We decided to check out the garden while we were there. So glad we did - it was our favorite part. They had a zoo, 4 mazes, a flower garden, a pond & 2 different monuments (one of which was quite a hike). 

Day 3 -  it's a short day today, as we have to fly home so we decided to do some fun kid stuff.  We found a place that was a cross between a local carnival & a theme park.  The 1st ride we picked was a roller coaster - we strapped in & off we went.  As I came to the 1st corner & thought we were going to fly off to our deaths - I thought to myself....i wonder if they have the same safety rules as the US? maybe I should of checked that before I strapped in! I pretty much screamed the entire time.  My throat was raw by the time the ride was over.  From then on - we stuck to the ferris wheel, pony rides & candy floss (that's cotton candy to all you Americans :)   They did have Madam Tussads wax museum there and although I thought it would be boring we decided to go. We sat on Sigmund Freud's couch, we sat at Obama's desk, we got pictures with Will Smith - it ended up being a lot of fun.    As the day was coming to an end  we decided to go back to Da Capo one more time.  We got the same treatment by the same host & manager but they seated us just the same & I ordered the same thing & was awed by it a second time.  Perfect ending to a perfect trip. Gute Wien Bye! Danke fur ein tolles Wochenende!

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS - OH MY!

I grew up watching the Wizard of Oz.  My sister loved it & every year, no matter what - we had to watch it.  When I found out Wicked was playing at the theater in London - I knew I had to go.  The big night arrives & I spend an hour doing my hair & changing my clothes. I was very excited, it was my 1st trip to the London theater. We get there about 15 minutes early & decide to get a drink from the bar.  As we are waiting in a crazy long line, I'm looking at all the bottles lined up on the shelf.  Everything is elegant & classy - then as I get closer I see something amazing..........a slush puppy machine!  For all of you who knew me as a kid - I loved slush puppies.  One summer they had a promotion, for every slush puppy you drank you got a paw print & with so many paw prints you could get a shirt. By the end of the summer - my friend, my cousin & my sisters all proudly wore our slush puppy shirts. So - there I stand 25 years later, all dressed up in the London theater - sipping my strawberry slush puppy. We had fantastic seats - middle section, towards the front.  The show starts & I have no idea what to expect - oh my word.............the music, the costumes, the singing & dancing...all amazing!  They showed you how the tin man, the scarecrow & the cowardly lion all came to be and I absolutely loved that the wicked witch of the west ......wait for it.......wasn't really wicked!    That's right folks - everything we believed about her was just a misconception :)  All in all - it was a fantastic evening that I won't soon forget.

8 lane highways

I'm driving down the M25 today (that's a 8 lane divided highway), when my car starts gradually slowing down until it comes to a complete stop.  Thankfully, I was able to pull it over to the side of the road.  I try to turn the car over & it does nothing. I can't believe it - I just bought a new car & it's a lemon. I'm really frustrated - then I notice the gas gage looks really low.  Now I'm thinking, please please let my car be a lemon.  How could I forget to check the gas gage - dumb dumb dumb, I remember my Dad teaching me how to drive  - seat belt, mirrors, gages (argh).  Okay - I start frantically searching my purse, hoping that I brought my cell phone with me (I tend to forget it alot).  The joy of finding my phone is short lived as I notice I am almost out of battery.  What to do - What to do..........I don't know where I am exactly. I don't know anyone. I don't even know if they have a 911 equivilant. My girls are in the back seat & Lauren is getting really upset. hmm - I could do a search on my phone for a tow truck company but then I might run out of power before I can make the call....hmmm what to do what to do.  John is on an airplane...hmmmm, I'm searching my phone to see if there is anyone I could call.  I come across Victor's name/number. Victor is a driver for a car service that drove me to Wimbledon last month.  With no other options, I called Victor - he answered on the 1st ring, remembered me & figured out where I was.  He showed up about an hour later - boy was I happy to see him. He brought gas for the car & water for the girls.  Then he followed us to make sure we got home okay.  Sorry Dad for forgetting one of the golden rules to always check the gages.  Sorry girls for making you sit on the side of a highway for an hour.  Sorry John for the huge tip your going to have to give Victor.  Thank you Thank you Victor - for coming to our rescue!  

Hard Rock Calling 2011

Hard Rock Calling is a big music festival at Hyde Park in London. It's a 3 day event with about 50 different bands - the Kills, the Killers, Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, Mike & the Mechanics, Bare Naked Ladies, Kaiser Chiefs to name a few. 
I wanted to see Bon Jovi - he was supposed to start at 7:15 pm.  We left the house at 5:20 pm - thinking we would have plenty of time but due to unforseen circumstances we were running late.  Thankfully, there was someone waiting at the gate with our tickets & VIP badges.  Someone who was large & tall - who in his former years was a bouncer!  Why was I thankful - because there were 65,000 fans already in the park and we had to weave thru them to get to the front.  This was my 1st real concert & my 1st thought was this is not for the meek or clausterphobic :)  We finally make it to the barricade and he says we get to go infront of the barricade - 65,000 people smashed like sardines & we get to be in our own section right in front with a few hundres people (very cool).  Then he continues to take us behind stage - where the have the vip station set up.  Okay - this was amazing.  They have an outside bar, tables & chairs and a huge screen - so you can relax & watch the show.  They have a tent - when you walk in, it looks like anything but a tent - there are tables & a bar & a stage (where the kills had just performed a private show), the have food & desserts & tv's and chandeliers.  We hadn't eaten all day - so we sat down & ordered (everything is on the house).  I look up & we are sitting next to the kills on one side & the local band that opend for bon jovi are 2 tables over (super cool).  I decided to go to the bathroom - yes, you guessed it.....private bathrooms - clean, they flush, there is a sink & a mirror.  Do you need more - they have a spa area where you can go & get a massage (free).  you can get your picture taken (free)  They gave out t-shirts & bandana's (free).  Okay - so after all of that we finally go out to see Bon Jovi.  It was crazy fun - a sea of people singing together, jumping up & down. The energy is contagious & before you know it I'm singing & jumping & having a fantastic time.  They went 3 hours straight - their words were "we are going to play until the police drag us off".   It was an amazing show & I had a brilliant time!  I can't wait to do it again :)

Wimbledon 2011

I've never been to Wimbledon or any professional tennis match for that matter. I was excited but had no idea what to expect.  The event we were attending was being held at a home directly across from the Wimbledon gate. Stan Smith & John Loyd (past winners) were their to greet us & give us their insight about the upcoming matches.  After a fabulous brunch, we walked over to the park - it was spotless & beautiful.  There were purple & green flowers every where (wimbledon colors).  The Queen was there but I didn't run into her :)  We had tickets to court 1 - currently playing was Anderson & Djokovic.  The energy & excitment of the crowd was tangible - it only took a few minutes before I was totally hooked!  Djokovic is a very fun player to watch.  In basketball we'd say he was scrappy.  He literally goes for everything - twisting & throwing his body.  I didn't want it to end! Day two -we had tickets for Center court.  It was bigger & more impressive than court 1 but not nearly as intimate. I got to see Roddick & Lopez play.  I was routing for Roddick (being American & all) but I have to say - I was not impressed.  He has a terrible attitude and by the 2nd set - I was routing for Lopez (who was giving everything he had & wiping the court with Roddick). This is one sport where being there in person makes a huge difference. If you get a chance to go - I would highly reccomend it. I had a brilliant time and can't wait to go back next year!

1st train ride into London!

There is a train station right across the street from my neighborhood.  We (myself, my husband & 2 daughters) decided to ride into London & visit the aquarium. Tickets were very easy to buy. Train was on time.  It was pretty full but after walking a bit we found 4 seats together.  There was trash all over the floor - evidently someone had a party the previous night & forgot to toss out their empty champagne bottles & snack wrappers.  We got off at the Waterloo East stop - it was fun, I've never been in a train station before.  There were people, trains & shops every where. The London Eye & the SeaLife Aquarium are both right down by the water front.  It was a short walk from the train station.  Once there - we took pictures of the bridge, eye, big ben etc...  The line to the aquarium was quite long unless you had bought tickets online (which we hadn't), so we jumped in line & enjoyed the sun.  Then the sun went away & it started raining - now let me tell you, this isn't Seattle misty rain.  I'm talking real rain.  I had 2 umbrellas for us to share, unfortunately one had broke.  By the time I got coats on everyone & the umbrellas out - I was soaked.  I was standing there with wet, wind blown hair. Water running down my sunglasses, holding a floral umbrella that was floppy on one side.  I look up & my husband is just laughing - he takes out his camera & takes a photo. Thanks honey! The aquarium itself was pretty standard with the exception of the penguins.  I've never been to an aquarium that had penquins before -very cool.  I would like to go back during feeding time, I bet that would be even better.  We pretty much closed the aquarium down & headed back to the train.  We grabbed sandwiches from one of the vendors - ham & fresh mozzarella on a baguette, super yummy.  I sat on the train - my shoes squishy with water, eating my fabulous sandwich, thinking I couldn't of had a better day out with my family :)

Doors & Steps; Steps & Doors

Day 2 - I spent most of the day unpacking and cleaning.

I found out a couple of things. The English like doors,  I have 23 and I'm not even counting closets.  You have to go thru a door to get into every room.  We also have a lot of steps -  63 to be exact.  By the end of the day even my 6 year old was complaining her legs were tired. 

I also found that no matter what country you live in the cable guy is going to be late.  He was supposed to be here between 10 am - 1pm, he arrived at 2:30 pm.  I now have internet & tv, although he wasn't able to get to the phone - so hopefully he'll be back tomorrow.

I drove a little more today, I did okay but I'm still pretty nervouse.  I just went to the grocery store - it's only about 7 minutes away.  Well - that's about it for the day, hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting.