Blog blog blog, its all so new and fun and novel....I trust my entries will be inversely proportionate to the amount of time passed since i signed up for this account.
but in the interim, just a few late night meandering thoughts coming to you direct from my humble abode in Vienna (the little disclaimer bit, the person this blog is meant to entertain most is me, hah). and i'm in pain, but not enough to stop me from typing, heehee. no, kickboxing class is not that bad, but sometimes I do wonder why I do this training and will my spinning back-kick ever improve? something to ask a magic 8 ball I guess.
but the thing that sparked my urge to write this evening....tonight the instructor said 'timing is very important in our sport..'...which means i am probably destined never to improve, as timing is not exactly a strong point in any area of my life. One of my most commonly used phrases is 'feast or famine', and there's always that tendency to wander onto U-bahn platforms just as the gruff voice announces 'zurück bleiben bitte!' and it drives off..without self. I am also the girl who manages to show up somewhere right before..or after the big event (Dublin the weekend before 17 March, for example)...and those oh-so-unseasonal rains in supposed South African summer...we normally don't get this, really...snow in Barcelona...this is the first time in 3 years, amazing! Clearly he who made that statement didn't realise who they were dealing with, teehee. and more recently, tne interruption in the mild winter in Calgary left me with the exact 3 days i was there in November dipping well into the minuses (-40) and warming right after I left.
I inherit this weather changing travel curse from my mother, who has an unerring ability to bring bad weather wherever she goes. The upcoming forecast which says our late winter comes on the day she arrives for her Viennese visit and leaves pretty much on her flight back over the Atlantic puts paid any proof to that which I've known from an early age. I'm sure the 2 of us travelling together would have the ability to bring about the next ice age to the unlucky destination. boo. I've other examples of my rubbish timing, but best not be putting those in public view....
ciao!
15 March, 2007
14 March, 2007
Prestige Status, Hurrah!
Finally, after all these years of travelling, I've made it into the frequent flyer top tier - bring on the special treatment! :-D
13 March, 2007
The Guinness Holiday Weekend
Perhaps a good way to start a soi-disant travel blog is with a travel story? Even if it is just a wee little mini break, but anything outside Vienna counts, right? right. Always necessary to get out on occasion...
One reason for this is the first thing I'll note regarding my passport control experiences:
Ireland: Upon noting the visa from my other rather recent visit, asks if I am a regular. I just laughed, and said its just the 3rd time for my whole life (which averages out to once per decade, give or take). He observes that, well, something must be bringing you back...yeah, you're a lot nicer than the Austrians, har har. Which was responded to with a smile and 'well, we try!' and off I be on my merry way to 40-some odd hours of this..yessss! 'Failte' indeed.
Austria: I think I did manage to get a grunt when handing my passport over, right before the ferocious stamping proof of entry into it. I wonder if their particular talent for conducting any manner of transaction without actually speaking is innate or learned...
OK, I digress and won't continue on this for fear of turning the blog title into '10 Things I Hate About the Locals..'..I am sure this exists elsewhere though!
Having the place score higher on the 'niceness' factor scale was a definite asset in making this weekend a perfect tonic for the über-stressy week chock full of meetings preceding it. The final bits were still there as I arrived at the guesthouse and Anssi (of Thai full moon party fame) greeted me collapsed on one side of the door frame, suitcase on the other. buuaaaah. I will also blame this for my other little technobimbo sort of mishaps at the weekend, of which Anssi had a small list...but lest we forget I am not the only one who fell off the sidewalk pre-pint consumption, thank you.
Saturday 'twas a new day! A fine start to a sunny day in Dublin (no, that was not a typo..) is always a good post breakfast visit to the Guinness Brewery! Nothing like a morning pint with a panoramic view over the city. On the practical side, i.e., not to sound like some sort of raging alcoholic it is good to arrive early to avoid the mammoth queues. Sadly, the Jameson distillery was closed, and thus ended the alcohol production tour of Dub.
so the natural next stage is the drinking alcohol side, which was the easy option of Temple Bar. Yes, yes, this is probably the most touristed part of the city, however we seemed to have built in radar to the place and kept wandering into it, as if by default.
And there was always some...er...'live entertainment' as it were...from the standard giddy afternoon debauchery through to the pimping 70's outfits, complete with extra-buffante bulbous afro wigs, a smattering of kilt-clad Scots, mustache-fixated Indian blokes, dancing kickboxers and film-noir style depressives glowering over a Guinness pint. The music was equally as random as the people and trips to the toilets for myself often included encounters with pick-up lines unsuitable for this blog as I hope to keep it at a 'general audience' rating. Also had a bit of a lark as i collected overpriced cheesy souvenirs for St. Pats..which, wrongly, i'll be back here in Vienna for.
Sunday morning brought the rain to make Ireland feel more Ireland-like and the discovery that the gravitational pull to the Temple Bar was also useful for Sunday midday lights meals, tea, coffee and lovely reads about such contrasting topics as global warming and St. Patrick's Day in Chigaco...'what a load of Blarney'. Har.
Pity I missed out on the suggestions from my Irish colleague: Killiney/Darkley for the view, with the Druid's chair pub for a pint with smelly old men and for a good pint in the city centre, McDaid's....on the list for next time I suppose! Slainte!
One reason for this is the first thing I'll note regarding my passport control experiences:
Ireland: Upon noting the visa from my other rather recent visit, asks if I am a regular. I just laughed, and said its just the 3rd time for my whole life (which averages out to once per decade, give or take). He observes that, well, something must be bringing you back...yeah, you're a lot nicer than the Austrians, har har. Which was responded to with a smile and 'well, we try!' and off I be on my merry way to 40-some odd hours of this..yessss! 'Failte' indeed.
Austria: I think I did manage to get a grunt when handing my passport over, right before the ferocious stamping proof of entry into it. I wonder if their particular talent for conducting any manner of transaction without actually speaking is innate or learned...
OK, I digress and won't continue on this for fear of turning the blog title into '10 Things I Hate About the Locals..'..I am sure this exists elsewhere though!
Having the place score higher on the 'niceness' factor scale was a definite asset in making this weekend a perfect tonic for the über-stressy week chock full of meetings preceding it. The final bits were still there as I arrived at the guesthouse and Anssi (of Thai full moon party fame) greeted me collapsed on one side of the door frame, suitcase on the other. buuaaaah. I will also blame this for my other little technobimbo sort of mishaps at the weekend, of which Anssi had a small list...but lest we forget I am not the only one who fell off the sidewalk pre-pint consumption, thank you.
Saturday 'twas a new day! A fine start to a sunny day in Dublin (no, that was not a typo..) is always a good post breakfast visit to the Guinness Brewery! Nothing like a morning pint with a panoramic view over the city. On the practical side, i.e., not to sound like some sort of raging alcoholic it is good to arrive early to avoid the mammoth queues. Sadly, the Jameson distillery was closed, and thus ended the alcohol production tour of Dub.
so the natural next stage is the drinking alcohol side, which was the easy option of Temple Bar. Yes, yes, this is probably the most touristed part of the city, however we seemed to have built in radar to the place and kept wandering into it, as if by default.
And there was always some...er...'live entertainment' as it were...from the standard giddy afternoon debauchery through to the pimping 70's outfits, complete with extra-buffante bulbous afro wigs, a smattering of kilt-clad Scots, mustache-fixated Indian blokes, dancing kickboxers and film-noir style depressives glowering over a Guinness pint. The music was equally as random as the people and trips to the toilets for myself often included encounters with pick-up lines unsuitable for this blog as I hope to keep it at a 'general audience' rating. Also had a bit of a lark as i collected overpriced cheesy souvenirs for St. Pats..which, wrongly, i'll be back here in Vienna for.
Sunday morning brought the rain to make Ireland feel more Ireland-like and the discovery that the gravitational pull to the Temple Bar was also useful for Sunday midday lights meals, tea, coffee and lovely reads about such contrasting topics as global warming and St. Patrick's Day in Chigaco...'what a load of Blarney'. Har.
Pity I missed out on the suggestions from my Irish colleague: Killiney/Darkley for the view, with the Druid's chair pub for a pint with smelly old men and for a good pint in the city centre, McDaid's....on the list for next time I suppose! Slainte!
Houston, we have lift off...
After all this time, I've finally gone digital with my diaries! Not entirely sure how entertaining this will be to anyone else, but as long as I can keep myself entertained (especially during working hours ;-) ), I'll be a happy bunny. :-D. However, any feedback on the writing is welcome!
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