Ireland over Easter: March 21 - March 25

~~Ireland: March 21 - March 25 ~~

After coming back from my interviews in Colorado, I met nate in the airport and we headed to Ireland- land of whisky, Guiness, and shades of green! We had an amazing time- we mainly drove and drove and drove- exploring castles and the fabulous hillside. We particularly loved the Dingle Peninsula and the town of Inistioge where the Circle of Friends was filmed. This country is spectacular!!! One of Nate's best friends in London, Mike, gave us all the scoop on his home country, making the trip even better!

Sheep!
Ahh... the ocean
Castle by the ocean The Jameson Distillery- Nate's heaven
Inistige- where "Circle of Friends" was filmed
Gardens
I made Nate jump at this fabulous old castle and ruins


The Dingle Peninsula- a heaven, but a windy heaven!

Stockholm, Sweden: March 1- March 4

~~Stockholm, Sweden: March 1 - March 4~~

I went to Stockholm directly from Helsinki to conduct interviews with a firm. I spent Sunday wandering around the city and taking a boat and bus tour due to the very cold weather. Stockholm is an absolutely gorgeous city- I could definitely spend more time there! I particularly loved the morning in the park as it was incredibly quiet, misty and a bit eery. Unfortunately, nothing was open, not even to grab a cup of coffee, but I prevailed and even made it through the day without one:). Stockholm is, of course, a city of water. Usually the boat tour has to break ice during the winter, but their winters are getting warmer and warmer, with very little (if any) ice.
The last picture is of the changing of the guard- I was yelled at by one of the people pictured because I apparently ventured into somewhere I shouldn't have:)! In any case, I got a front row seat:)!

The very stern looking gentlemen in the center behind the woman yelled at me!

Helsinki, Finland: February 18 - March 1

~~ Helsinki, Finland: February 18 - March 1 ~~

In late February I went to Helsinki to do 2 case studies and interact with colleges at the Helsinki University of Technology and VTT. It was wonderful to see snow again, but the locals were disappointed due to a lack of snow, which apparently helps brighten the winter. I found it an excellent location to work in, but spent one day in the city sightseeing on my own and one evening with a friend from HUT, Kirsi. I loved the church that overlooks the city (pictured immediately below). The last picture was taken from the "fish" marketplace which wasn't selling any fish! I also ventured to Vartaas with a colleague, Mervi, from VTT to do a few more interviews.

Norway

~~Norway: March 5-10 ~~

Well, we said we would start going back to fill in the missing pieces, and my parents really wanted me to do Norway, so here it is:)!
I arrived in Oslo to do a few interviews, explore the city a bit and then fly to Stavanger to meet Nate (we had not seen eachother for ~ 3 weeks). Stavanger was fantastic! We stayed in Tones house and took a ferry boat to Skudneshaven to see the place where my great-grandparents grew up- it was justs fantastic! So amazingly beautiful. Sometimes you feel like your soul is at home in a place you have never been before and we felt a bit like that. Too bad it is so bloody expensive!
We flew back to Oslo on Saturday night and spent the night and next day with Nate's friend, Andres, who he knew from Australia. On Sunday, we had lunch with my relatives (pictured in the first picture below). The last time I had seen them was when I was around 3, so it was quite a joyous reunion! Afterwards, we went to one of the biggest events of the year in Oslo-Holmenkollen ski jump. We were able to see it before it gets torn down and completely rebuilt. On Monday, I had an interview that Nate attended in an amazing home in Oslo before checking out the Viking Ship Museum to check out how I get some of my hot blooded stubbornness that got me through construction:)!

My relatives in their home in Oslo

Nate and Andres at the Ski Jump

Attempting the pose at Skudneshaven

Somewhere around my great-grandmother's old home on the North sea

Fantastic Skudneshaven

Chiang Mai

~~ Chiang Mai, Thailand: May 2-4 ~~

Chiang Mai was definitely my place of adventure and discovery on this trip! Leeches, Elephants, Motorcyles and Massages were part of the game. Brian met me at the airport and we had a wonderful Thai dinner before heading to the street market and ending with a wonderful Thai massage (combination of yoga, chiropractic and massage- not exactly relaxing but quite beneficial!)

Unfortunately, I through all of the body benefit out the window as the next day I trained to be a Mahoot, or elephant owner. Thailand's has a long relationship with the elephant- they were used for logging, transportation and war. Thailand's made political deals to avoid colonization- some of that consisted of giving land to the French and providing wood to the British. After the logging industry stopped to regain some of the 80% vegetation it lost, the elephants (and their owners) were out of a job. Due to the food consumption that an elephant requires, this meant starvation, abandonment and killing the males for the ivory. A new industry was born to accomodate and rehabilitate these elephants and keep them from destruction- tourism. So, for a day, I took care of my elephant for a day- including health inspections, bathing, scrubbing, brushing before learning commands and how to mount the elephant (via foot, trunk or laying down) and taking a long ride to a waterfall for lunch. I swam with both elephants to clean him off again before heading back. Elephants are fantastic! They are wonderfully graceful- negotiating slippery hills and small bridges with amazing ease. I felt that my elephant was protecting me by holding my legs back with his ears down the steep ravines (there was not a saddle- I was riding "bareneck":)). I went a bit overboard on the pictures..... enjoy!

Brian and I eating our Thai lunch in banana leaves

After swimming with the elephants

Feeding and getting to know one another time

My, you are dirty!!

Lets go!

Apparently I took too long with the first bath, so Brian had to help!

Thailand

~~ Thailand: April 22- May 8 ~~

The Grand Palace

I love these flowers!

Wat Pho- The largest reclining Buddha

Ahh....Thailand- for me this was a place to recover, write a conference paper and get a bit caught up (but that is never truly possible- too many ambitious goals for myself!)

In addition to working, on Wednesday and Thursday I spent some time exploring the area surrounding Brian's, my uncle-in-law, apartment which I am staying in and saw some of the malls, which are apparently a major attraction due to air conditioning! On Friday, I went to the river to catch a boat to visit the temples, or Wats, as they are called. I started at the Grand Palace, which seemed to be neverending, filled with sparkling gold and buddhas. The Emerald Buddha is located here- he is actually carved out of green jade and was discvoered in Chiang Rai in 1434. It made a few travels before arriving at the current destination at Wat Phra Kaew. I also saw the largest reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, and took a river taxi to visit Wat Arun on the other side. By this time I was utterly dehydrated and sampled some of the amazing Thai food. I love it so much that I decided to enroll in a 1/2 day Thai cooking class! On Saturday I went to the large and overwhelming weekend market where I got lost quite a few times! Besides my cooking class, I mainly worked, slept, and ate (I discoverd the wonderful dessert of Mango and sticky coconut rice!! Mangos are in high season here!) before heading to Chiang Mai to visit Brian over May 2-4.

Cooking with Fresh Coconut - Yum!

The food we picked up at the market

Chennai, India: April 15 through April 22

~ Chennai, India: April 15-22 ~

Bhavani and me at Mahabalipuram

Coconut Juice and Yummy Coconut Insides- A great treat to beat the heat!

After a 27 hour layover in Doha, Qatar (fascinating place, I would like to go back), I landed in Chennai, India at 3 AM. Of course, by this time I was already panicking. After having decided not to take my malaria pills (a combination of forgetting to take them during relaxing Greece and being afraid to take them due to the side effects), I promptly sprayed myself with 99% DEET, starting my malaria paranoia and my soon to come rash:)! I don't think that my ratings of India are particularly fair as I landed with a sinus infection and never fully recovered. Regardless, I had great accomodations in IIT's Madras campus (thanks to Ashwin, a Professor there) and interviews with a company all day Friday and Saturday (yes, I am thankful to usually have Saturdays off in the US after travelling to all of these places!).

On Sunday, I was able to hire a car to see Mahabalipuram- a World Heritage site filled with fascinating sculptures and architectural monuments and shrines located ~60km South of Chennai along the Bay of Bengal coast in the state of Tamil Nadu. One of my gracious hosts and friends, Bhavani, came with me to fill me in on the history. We also stopped at DakshinaChitra, a place that showcases some of the different cultures and heritage in South India, covering Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh. Finally, Bhavani humored me and took me to one of the most famous silk shops in India that was absolutely filled with locals buying sarees and other attire. The next day I gave a talk at IIT, met Ashwin's lovely family and had a farewell dinner in the City. I even survived crossing the street, which Ashwin assured me I can tell my kids about:)!

Some of my memories of India, in addition to the fabulous welcome I received at IIT Madras and the company, will include: Constant Car Honking, Crowds of People, Yummy Coconut Juice direct from the source, Cows in the Street, Ox pulling loads, the beautiful attire of the local population, the unique head nod, fabulous food (although, I must admit that I was not ready for the food in the AM- where was black filter coffee and a pastry?:)), the HEAT and humidity- Boy, was it hot!- frizz hair!, fabulous sweet lime juice, eating with your hands- as I learned, naan and other indian breads are to eat the food, not separate from the food! I couldn't eat with my hands much here though- remember, I was malaria paranoid and had DEET all over my hands:)- and therefore was obviously not from there, relying on a spoon!

Greece: April 6 through April 15

~GREECE : April 6-15~

Tara next to the Parthenon

The View from our Balcony overlooking the Volcano

(Below): Tara in the SMART car

Everything blends in Santorini!

Ok, ok! It has been forever since we published a post, and the thought of getting up to date all at once has overwhelmed me enough that I end up never posting! So, I thought I would start in Greece and eventually work my way both forwards and backwards to cover our journey.





I left London in the snow, and Londoners are not used to snow, nor due they know how to drive in the snow. My taxi ride to the train station was a bit comical. Anyhow, after a cancelled flight (no, I was not in BA Terminal 5), I made it to lovely Greece. What a welcome warmth after the fairly cold destinations of the past! I had a wonderful time interviewing a company here and then my dear friend Tara Carney from work visited! Well, actually she started her visit in London and then met me later in Athens. We were able to see the amazing and fascinating history that Athens offered (did you know that they had potty trainers in the 4th century BC???) and wonder how people can smoke so much, everywhere- I can't even remember when people were smoking in restaurants! - before heading via ferry to beautiful Santorini. It was early season (thank heavens), so we were able to meander at a fairly relaxed pace and enjoy the breathtaking views of the volcano and surrounding island. Brave Tara volunteered to drive a car (a SMART car!) and we went around the island, stopping at Oia, a winery, beaches (not sure if I would call them "beaches" per se) and a light house. The next day we hiked for about 7 miles from Fira to Oia (yes, we are from Colorado!), enjoying the views, but also realizing that we should have listened to the elderly lady and left early to avoid the heat (we thought for sure she must have meant in August:)). The following day we went on a boat cruise to hike the volcano and swim in the hot springs (note to future Santorini travelers- these "hot" springs are luke warm and require a hearty swim through freezing cold water). It was a fabulous time!

Small World

This weekend we met up with our Australian friend Mick and his girlfriend from New Zealand Sarah. They are currently living in Amsterdam, so it was a little bit shorter flight than from the southern hemisphere!

We pretty much spent the entire weekend on a gastro tour of London. We walked through Soho and Covent garden, stopping in for a coffee here, hitting a pub there and enjoying the balmy spring like weather and had lunch at a place devoted to bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes). We ended up in Brick Lane for killer Indian and entertainement from all the shop keepers trying to get us to come in.

Today we met up with some of Sarah and Micks friends and had lunch at a tiny Brazilian restaurant and the food was out of this world!

That is the great thing about London, there is so much fantastic ethnic food... Still on the quest for an authentic Mexican restaurant though!

Quick Blog Note

Tip from our friends: You can enlarge any picture by double clicking on it!

Feb. 3: Leeds, Canterbury and Dover

On Feb. 2 we spent the day running through Regents Park, enjoyed reading a paper over coffee and a pastry, and had a fabulous supper with Nate's family friends, the Fischers. At night, we went to a local pub and discovered a new favorite beer, "London Pride".

Feb. 3 began with an early start as we had booked a tour (we needed a weekend of non-driving:)!)! It was an incredibly cold day, but we were able to see, at our leisure, Leeds Castle -the exterior is magnificent! and an American heiress lived in the castle before donating it to be a "working castle"-, the town and Cathedral at Canterbury, and the Cliffs of Dover. All of the sites were brilliant (wow, I'm saying that a lot lately!). We also had an incredible Moroccan meal in Canterbury- Nate had pork belly, roasted peppers in sauce, potatoes and salad and I had chicken skewers, vegetables and couscous in two sauces. It was one of the best meals we have ever had (I didn't think I would be saying that while in Britain)!

Happy Chinese New Year to all our friends! May the year of the Rat be good to you!

Weekend in the Cotswolds Jan 25-Jan 27

Wow! What an absolutely amazing weekend... this weekend made our entire journey to Enlgand! We had high expectations and they were all fulfilled! We rented a car, which was more than a little hairy in London- other side of the road, horrible signage, night time, crazy drivers, no map. Yikes! We finally made it to our amazing Bed & Breakfast, Nineveh Farm, http://www.ninevehfarm.co.uk/ . It was simply amazing and in the morning we awoke to fantastic views!

On Saturday, we had a very big, English Breakfast at the B&B, went to Chipping Campden (where we previously got lost), Broadway and Winchcombe. They are amazing, quaint villages and we absolutely loved Broadway, where we enjoyed tea in a tea room. In the late afternoon we went through Stratford Upon Avon to Warwick. We then had one of the most amazing experiences- after dinner, we went to a play at Warwick Castle in the Great Room! Being in a castle with about 40 other people in the evening was definitely spectacularly spooky! We toured the castle and dungeon, enjoyed drinks and appetizers and watched Marlow's Edward II, which took place around us in the Great Room. It was chilling to know that Edward II was killed on the grounds.

After another full breakfast on Sunday, we got to enjoy yet more! We went to an antique shop, Stow-on-the-Wold (whose church bells rang throughout our time there), took a hike between upper and lower Slaughter (definitely a highlight), Bourton-on-the-Water, Northleach, and then the amazing town of Bibury, whose large trout farm and river really made the journey. Then we ventured home for more driving adventures and gulp, paid over $120 for a tank of gas!!! Large props to Nate for his amazing driving skills!