So our weekend in Prague has come to a close. For the late May Bank
holiday, we decided to visit Prague, the capital of the Czech
Republic. Interesting fact, most of the geography we learned in junior
high became outdated by the time we graduated high school. Prior to
1992, Czech was combined with Slovakia and was known as
Czechoslovakia. Now it is its own country again and has another twenty
years of capitalism after its separation. Sitting on the Vvalta
River, Prague is a beautiful city and its easy to understand why it
has long been the capital.
We left London early Friday morning, checking into our apartment
before noon. We ate a late lunch, took a nap and then caught up with
our good friend from college, Kate. She was in Prague for work and
hung out with us this weekend, flying back to the US the same day we
returned to London. With plenty of sun in the evening we visited Old
Towne Square and saw the astronomical clock.
The next day we started bright and early with a trip to Prague
Castle. The castle is a complex of buildings, centered around St
Vitus Cathedral. The boys enjoyed the castle grounds where they were
free to roam in the pedestrian only area. At the end of the day we
even took a horse drawn carriage around Old Towne.
For our second day, we rode on the furnicular railway, went through
the mirror maze, ate lunch on an island in the river and visited the
Spanelska synagogue. The best part of the day was the synagogue where
they had a Jewish Museum and we learned about the history of Prague's
Jewish population. It reminded me how horrible the Holocaust was and
makes me wonder how people can hate others of different faiths.
While we there, we kept ourselves fueled up with Czech cuisine like
goulash, dumplings and of course beer. We shopped a little, hunting
for Czech made marionettes, beer steins and garnets. Overall we had a
brilliant time and will have fond memories of Prague.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
How time flies
Wheww, when I finally got the chance to relax after the marathon, I
was able to reflect on how quickly the last year has passed, how
things have become usual and how other things just aren't. I feel
pretty confident with my job, enjoying the work and the people.
Weekends are time to hang out with the family and picnic at one of the
many local parks. I have not driven a car in four months and we have
our weekly grocery order delivered to the house. Jacob calls his
diapers "nappies" and Christian's household chore is to empty the
rubbish bins. Other things that still strike me as "different" are the
grocery stores ( we order ours just so I don't have to confront the
oddity"), being surrounded by lots of people who speak different
languages, and the light switches outside the bathroom, not inside.
Even with the differences, we are enjoying our time here. Cheers!
was able to reflect on how quickly the last year has passed, how
things have become usual and how other things just aren't. I feel
pretty confident with my job, enjoying the work and the people.
Weekends are time to hang out with the family and picnic at one of the
many local parks. I have not driven a car in four months and we have
our weekly grocery order delivered to the house. Jacob calls his
diapers "nappies" and Christian's household chore is to empty the
rubbish bins. Other things that still strike me as "different" are the
grocery stores ( we order ours just so I don't have to confront the
oddity"), being surrounded by lots of people who speak different
languages, and the light switches outside the bathroom, not inside.
Even with the differences, we are enjoying our time here. Cheers!
Monday, April 26, 2010
London Marathon
So I did it. I finished the London Marathon yesterday with a time of 4 hours, 30 minutes and two seconds. A personal best for me, I finished this marathon around eleven minutes faster than I finished the Walt Disney World Marathon in 2004. This PB is safe as I have no plans to ever do it again.
I started training for the marathon at the end of January. Bryan signed up to raise money for the YMCA but came to the realization that the nagging ache in his leg was a stress fracture and wasn't going to go away. I had been running a few times a week, four miles at a time, not really training for any races. He had already managed to raise half of his commitment and I did not want to disappoint those who had donated. So we contacted the YMCA and off I went.
Bryan put together a training plan for me building from a measly six miles all the way to a twenty mile run. In addition to a weekly Saturday morning long run, I fit in runs during my lunch time, before work, and even ran to work once a week. My running routes took me through Hyde Park, St James Park, Green Park, past Big Ben and Westminster, all the way to the Millenium Bridge. Even with our busy travel schedule, I still managed to run when we visited Venice (imagine running across all those bridges) and Barcelona.
After finishing my twenty mile run two weeks before, marathon morning dawned overcast and cool. I caught the tube to Charing Cross where I then caught a train to Greenwich. Along with a few thousand other runners, I walked up the hill in Greenwich Park and waited for an hour before getting into our corrals. Even with such a crowd, I was amazed at how patient and respectful everyone was. When we finally moved to the corrals, I was in the first corral based upon Bryan's predicted finish time of three hours (way too fast for me!).
When the race started, I got across the start line in less than a minute and took off fast. My first mile was a nine minute mile followed by another 9:30. I managed to keep the pace up and figured if I felt okay to keep on going. My pace gradually got slower after mile eight but I had banked so much time, my spirits didn't dampen. The entire route was packed both with runners and spectators. I think my second most favorite part was crossing Tower Bridge which was packed with people and is an amazing bridge. My favorite part was kissing my boys at mile 23.5. Okay, so that and crossing the finish line! Lon-DONE!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Travels to Veneto
So we are waiting in the airport, waiting for our plane back to
London. Per our usual, Bryan and I are exhausted. Not from seeing
every single square foot of Venice. No--it is because we have chased
two young boys over what felt like every single square foot.
We stayed in Venice for four days and three nights. When we arrived
in Venice we took the reasonably priced Allilaguna line from the
airport to San Marco. Its a 'bus' boat that traverses the lagoon to
the island of Venice and a few nearby places like Murano. After an
hour and a half ride, we disembarked at San Marco and then navigated
the tiny alleyways to get to our hotel.
For this trip we stayed in a one bedroom apartment near San Marco,
Corte Grimani. It was an excellent place to stay with a family sine we
prefer a fridge and a kettle and not a concierge or hotel restaurant.
Its front door was right next to a canal where you could watch the
gondoliers float by.
As far as sightseeing, we had absolutely no agenda. Our approach for
this trip as well as our other trips is to treat each trip as a chance
to see a place and scope it out for future travels. For Venice, we
spent most of the time wandering. Venice really is what you see in
pictures with labyrinth like alleyways, bridges over canals and
occasional campos or squares usually next to a church. Speaking of
churches, there seems to be more churches than Venetians. When we
weren't hunting for a mask shop or Venetian glass shop, we were
peaking in to see many of the cathedrals.
I also ran all three of the mornings we were in Venice. My routes had
to stick to mostly along the lagoon and I had to run over quite a few
steps. That kind of makes Venice like New Orleans since both are flat
and you have to consider overpasses for hillwork! The Accademia
Bridge across the Grand Canal will now be considered as part of my
London training.
As far as Venice being kid-friendly, I would have to say the people
are kid friendly but the locale is not. The stairs make a stroller
difficult (we brought the baby backpack) and the sights are not meant
for kids (though I bet going up in the various bell towers would be
fun). Kid friendly activities would be taking a vaporetto ride up the
Grand Canal, going up in the different bell towers, and eating gelato
or pizza in the neighborhood campos. All Christian could think of wad
riding in a gondola or getting a Ferrari. Jake just wanted out of the
backpack so he could stare at the window displays of Murano glass.
As far as being an American visiting Venice, I was overwhelmed by the
amount of history. Venice was established in 600-700 AD and was a
veritable marine super power. San Marco basilica had its start in the
11th century and San Giorgio in the 16th century. My goodness, my
ancestors were still back in Scotland or England at that time.
Language wise, I tried to speak Italian but most know English very
well. I felt the usual guilt of not knowing their language and tried
to make up for it by saying grazie and bonjourno. Venetians are very
patient with American tourists!
After four days of visiting Venice, its time to go home to London.
From the back of our €130 water taxi, we watched Venice disappear
into the watery horizon. It truly is a beautiful and magical place
with lots of history and charm to discover.
London. Per our usual, Bryan and I are exhausted. Not from seeing
every single square foot of Venice. No--it is because we have chased
two young boys over what felt like every single square foot.
We stayed in Venice for four days and three nights. When we arrived
in Venice we took the reasonably priced Allilaguna line from the
airport to San Marco. Its a 'bus' boat that traverses the lagoon to
the island of Venice and a few nearby places like Murano. After an
hour and a half ride, we disembarked at San Marco and then navigated
the tiny alleyways to get to our hotel.
For this trip we stayed in a one bedroom apartment near San Marco,
Corte Grimani. It was an excellent place to stay with a family sine we
prefer a fridge and a kettle and not a concierge or hotel restaurant.
Its front door was right next to a canal where you could watch the
gondoliers float by.
As far as sightseeing, we had absolutely no agenda. Our approach for
this trip as well as our other trips is to treat each trip as a chance
to see a place and scope it out for future travels. For Venice, we
spent most of the time wandering. Venice really is what you see in
pictures with labyrinth like alleyways, bridges over canals and
occasional campos or squares usually next to a church. Speaking of
churches, there seems to be more churches than Venetians. When we
weren't hunting for a mask shop or Venetian glass shop, we were
peaking in to see many of the cathedrals.
I also ran all three of the mornings we were in Venice. My routes had
to stick to mostly along the lagoon and I had to run over quite a few
steps. That kind of makes Venice like New Orleans since both are flat
and you have to consider overpasses for hillwork! The Accademia
Bridge across the Grand Canal will now be considered as part of my
London training.
As far as Venice being kid-friendly, I would have to say the people
are kid friendly but the locale is not. The stairs make a stroller
difficult (we brought the baby backpack) and the sights are not meant
for kids (though I bet going up in the various bell towers would be
fun). Kid friendly activities would be taking a vaporetto ride up the
Grand Canal, going up in the different bell towers, and eating gelato
or pizza in the neighborhood campos. All Christian could think of wad
riding in a gondola or getting a Ferrari. Jake just wanted out of the
backpack so he could stare at the window displays of Murano glass.
As far as being an American visiting Venice, I was overwhelmed by the
amount of history. Venice was established in 600-700 AD and was a
veritable marine super power. San Marco basilica had its start in the
11th century and San Giorgio in the 16th century. My goodness, my
ancestors were still back in Scotland or England at that time.
Language wise, I tried to speak Italian but most know English very
well. I felt the usual guilt of not knowing their language and tried
to make up for it by saying grazie and bonjourno. Venetians are very
patient with American tourists!
After four days of visiting Venice, its time to go home to London.
From the back of our €130 water taxi, we watched Venice disappear
into the watery horizon. It truly is a beautiful and magical place
with lots of history and charm to discover.
Travels to Veneto
So we are waiting in the airport, waiting for our plane back to
London. Per our usual, Bryan and I are exhausted. Not from seeing
every single square foot of Venice. No--it is because we have chased
two young boys over what felt like every single square foot.
We stayed in Venice for four days and three nights. When we arrived
in Venice we took the reasonably priced Allilaguna line from the
airport to San Marco. Its a 'bus' boat that traverses the lagoon to
the island of Venice and a few nearby places like Murano. After an
hour and a half ride, we disembarked at San Marco and then navigated
the tiny alleyways to get to our hotel.
For this trip we stayed in a one bedroom apartment near San Marco,
Corte Grimani. It was an excellent place to stay with a family sine we
prefer a fridge and a kettle and not a concierge or hotel restaurant.
Its front door was right next to a canal where you could watch the
gondoliers float by.
As far as sightseeing, we had absolutely no agenda. Our approach for
this trip as well as our other trips is to treat each trip as a chance
to see a place and scope it out for future travels. For Venice, we
spent most of the time wandering. Venice really is what you see in
pictures with labyrinth like alleyways, bridges over canals and
occasional campos or squares usually next to a church. Speaking of
churches, there seems to be more churches than Venetians. When we
weren't hunting for a mask shop or Venetian glass shop, we were
peaking in to see many of the cathedrals.
I also ran all three of the mornings we were in Venice. My routes had
to stick to mostly along the lagoon and I had to run over quite a few
steps. That kind of makes Venice like New Orleans since both are flat
and you have to consider overpasses for hillwork! The Accademia
Bridge across the Grand Canal will now be considered as part of my
London training.
As far as Venice being kid-friendly, I would have to say the people
are kid friendly but the locale is not. The stairs make a stroller
difficult (we brought the baby backpack) and the sights are not meant
for kids (though I bet going up in the various bell towers would be
fun). Kid friendly activities would be taking a vaporetto ride up the
Grand Canal, going up in the different bell towers, and eating gelato
or pizza in the neighborhood campos. All Christian could think of wad
riding in a gondola or getting a Ferrari. Jake just wanted out of the
backpack so he could stare at the window displays of Murano glass.
As far as being an American visiting Venice, I was overwhelmed by the
amount of history. Venice was established in 600-700 AD and was a
veritable marine super power. San Marco basilica had its start in the
11th century and San Giorgio in the 16th century. My goodness, my
ancestors were still back in Scotland or England at that time.
Language wise, I tried to speak Italian but most know English very
well. I felt the usual guilt of not knowing their language and tried
to make up for it by saying grazie and bonjourno. Venetians are very
patient with American tourists!
After four days of visiting Venice, its time to go home to London.
From the back of our €130 water taxi, we watched Venice disappear
into the watery horizon. It truly is a beautiful and magical place
with lots of history and charm to discover.
London. Per our usual, Bryan and I are exhausted. Not from seeing
every single square foot of Venice. No--it is because we have chased
two young boys over what felt like every single square foot.
We stayed in Venice for four days and three nights. When we arrived
in Venice we took the reasonably priced Allilaguna line from the
airport to San Marco. Its a 'bus' boat that traverses the lagoon to
the island of Venice and a few nearby places like Murano. After an
hour and a half ride, we disembarked at San Marco and then navigated
the tiny alleyways to get to our hotel.
For this trip we stayed in a one bedroom apartment near San Marco,
Corte Grimani. It was an excellent place to stay with a family sine we
prefer a fridge and a kettle and not a concierge or hotel restaurant.
Its front door was right next to a canal where you could watch the
gondoliers float by.
As far as sightseeing, we had absolutely no agenda. Our approach for
this trip as well as our other trips is to treat each trip as a chance
to see a place and scope it out for future travels. For Venice, we
spent most of the time wandering. Venice really is what you see in
pictures with labyrinth like alleyways, bridges over canals and
occasional campos or squares usually next to a church. Speaking of
churches, there seems to be more churches than Venetians. When we
weren't hunting for a mask shop or Venetian glass shop, we were
peaking in to see many of the cathedrals.
I also ran all three of the mornings we were in Venice. My routes had
to stick to mostly along the lagoon and I had to run over quite a few
steps. That kind of makes Venice like New Orleans since both are flat
and you have to consider overpasses for hillwork! The Accademia
Bridge across the Grand Canal will now be considered as part of my
London training.
As far as Venice being kid-friendly, I would have to say the people
are kid friendly but the locale is not. The stairs make a stroller
difficult (we brought the baby backpack) and the sights are not meant
for kids (though I bet going up in the various bell towers would be
fun). Kid friendly activities would be taking a vaporetto ride up the
Grand Canal, going up in the different bell towers, and eating gelato
or pizza in the neighborhood campos. All Christian could think of wad
riding in a gondola or getting a Ferrari. Jake just wanted out of the
backpack so he could stare at the window displays of Murano glass.
As far as being an American visiting Venice, I was overwhelmed by the
amount of history. Venice was established in 600-700 AD and was a
veritable marine super power. San Marco basilica had its start in the
11th century and San Giorgio in the 16th century. My goodness, my
ancestors were still back in Scotland or England at that time.
Language wise, I tried to speak Italian but most know English very
well. I felt the usual guilt of not knowing their language and tried
to make up for it by saying grazie and bonjourno. Venetians are very
patient with American tourists!
After four days of visiting Venice, its time to go home to London.
From the back of our €130 water taxi, we watched Venice disappear
into the watery horizon. It truly is a beautiful and magical place
with lots of history and charm to discover.
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