uruguay: colonia

i hadn't originally planned to go to uruguay at all this summer...everything i'd read said it is quite expensive...and it was, the prices seemed american...maybe i've just spent too much time in cheap countries...howeva, bo needed dollars to exchange for argentine pesos, and many atms in uruguay dispense uruguayan pesos and US dollars...i don't know why...anywho...miranda hooked us up with a place to stay in the capital city of montevideo, which was awesome...
we started the day in buenos aires by getting up heaps earlier than we wanted to, and taking a taxi to the port to catch our ferry...it turned out there was another strike of some sort, which messed with traffic where we needed to go, so the cab ride took longer than we anticipated...

getting through the ferry terminal onto the boat involved emigrating argentina and immigrating to uruguay...nice to do it all in one go, we didn't have to go through any queues after landing on the other side of the river:)
a smooth, three hour ride, and we docked across the river, in colonia, uruguay...the official name is longer, but i don't remember what it is...what i do remember is that we decided to spend the day in colonia because the historic center is a UNESCO sight...
walking to the historic center involved walking through a gate in the wall that goes around much of the area...quaint :)

we found the bus station in colonia, took note of departure times for buses to montevideo, and started walking toward the historic center...both of us remarked that we were too jaded to be overly impressed...it was a nice, small town though, and we enjoyed the wander...
i ended up enjoying the areas closest to the water more than the buildings and town itself...nature running wild i suppose...i liked the houses that had traditional tiles on their exteriors...
the search for postcards was not particularly fruitful...not only were the few i found rather expensive, but they all came with envelopes...argh...

we didn't find a cafe that sparked our interest, but one place had decent brownies and cookies:)...our 'real' lunch came from a small supermarket in the form of cheese, bread, crisps, and sausage...
sometime during this afternoon bo found an atm, and withdrew the dollars he would need back in argentina...we walked back to the bus station, and took the next bus to montevideo...since it was just after sunset when the bus departed, we didn't actually get to see much of the countryside...

argentina: more BA

my next day started with another morning walk...on the way to the asado I'd seen the Japanese gardens, I decided I would walk in that direction and see if there was anything to see...from what I could see from the outside, the garden isn't big...maybe I will actually enter that garden another day...
I walked backed to the flat, had lunch, then didn't do much of anything for a couple hours...since bei and Miranda are leaving buenos aires soon, they were both trying to figure out exact travel plans; it was interesting for me to listen...if I did hash tags, that conversation definitely would've fallen under firstworldproblems...

I walked with Miranda to her Spanish lesson, then wandered around the neighborhood for a while...recoleta is a well off neighborhood in general...smaller, more boutique-like stores...I visited the bakery Miranda had shown me the other day again...I thought I'd made progress in self control and portion control, but this visit was an epic fail in both of those...yummy though:)
I met up with two other girls at a bar for happy hour while Miranda and bei went to dinner with two of their other friends...this happy hour had been set up by the American embassy as a sort of 'pre 4th of July' event...of course I didn't drink, but it was fun to be there...

after happy hour we went to dinner...I think we got to a restaurant around 2130, and our food arrived at 2200...or maybe both of those times were later? Argentines eat dinner much later than any other culture I've experienced...the restaurant we chose wasn't particularly argentinean, but we enjoyed the evening...
I was expecting a friend to arrive in the early morning hours, so I slept on the sofa...unfortunately, arrival time came and went, but no friend...I ended up being in and out of sleep until 1100...Miranda was awesome, and had set up an appointment for me to get my hair cut...it was very much needed, I hadn't had a haircut since the end of last September!! A lady from Northern Ireland did the trimming, I loved it:)

When I got home from the haircut, Bo had finally arrived...he spent 4 days on a bus to get here from southern Peru!!! It was only supposed to be a two day trip, but it didn't work out that way at all...
After resting for a bit, we went to dinner at a place called la Cabrera...so good...we ate at happy hour, (1900) which gave us 40% off, woo hoo...lizette joined us near the end of the meal...then we walked to a nearby bar, the other three split a bottle of wine...from there we went to one more bar, I think the name translates to king of cups? The interior decor is supposed to be Moroccan...I had a yummy non alcoholic cocktail, the others split another bottle of wine:)

The next morning I slept until 0930!! That's the latest I've slept in a while...eventually everyone else got up as well, we started shopping...Miranda and bei were planning to host a goodbye party that night, Bo was going to be doing the cooking...in Argentina you don't usually get all your groceries from one location...we went to two vegetable shops, a cheese and salami shop, a pasta shop, a supermarket, and the butcher...it took hours, but I had fun taking a few photos and watching Miranda and Bo and food...Miranda and Bo are both foodies:)
After returning home, Bo started to prep...chopping and mixing and whateva else...

I ended up taking a 4hr nap, oops...I only expected to sleep an hour or two...people started arriving after 2100, and after figuring out how to lower the grill closer to the coals, the grill was started, and everyone had fun:)
I think I went to sleep around 2 in the morning?
The next morning I was up earlier than anyone else, I'm used to this...eventually Bo and I hopped on a bus so he could see la boca...the weather was completely different from when Miranda took me, but there were more people wandering around...we both took a few photos, enjoying the colour of the area...in some ways the tourism of the area ruins the awesomeness of what is there...the buildings are lovely, but the photos would be heaps better if you didn't see the souvenir shops and outdoor cafes...oh well...

There had been thoughts of going to a wine tasting that evening, but Bo's tummy was playing games, and I needed a night with a 'normal' bedtime, so we stayed in...
the next day i needed to exchange money (have i explained the blue market in argentina?) so we started the day on florida st...from there we walked to plaza de mayo, then to the congreso nacional building...in the plaza de mayo is a small tent area set up to let soldiers who faught in the falklands war hang out...the issue is still very raw for many argentineans, and you have to be very careful talking to them...

at some point as we were walking along the street between the plaza de mayo and congresso nacional, we crossed avenido 9 de julio...argentineans like to say this is the biggest street in the world...i don't know how these things are measured, but it certainly is a big street...lots of lanes...somewhere along our walking path we stopped into a small pizza place for an afternoon snack...yum...
across the street from congresso nacional was an old abandoned building that must've been amazing in it's heyday...you can still see the rundown yet amazing exterior decoration...at that point we looked at the map and realized we had a nearly straight walk home, down avenido callao...if i had been by myself, i don't think i would've walked home, as it was dark, and i didn't know what kind of area the street would go through...

that night bo and i joined lissette, rafael, bei, and miranda at a yummy italian place for dinner...
the next morning bo and i went for a morning walk, stopping first in the cemetary...bo hadn't seen it yet, and since it's huge, i was keen for another wander...after a bit of searching, we found the tomb of eva peron, who is buried under her maiden name of duarte...
after a nap back in the flat, and an afternoon snack of ice cream, bo and i hopped on a bus to get to the ferryboat office to buy tickets...it took us a while to find the building (oddly enough, lonely planet had a better map than google!) and we bought tickets for the next day...

from there we walked to the neighborhood of san telmo...it's pretty touristy, and is mentioned in the guidebook as having a street market on one day of the week...by the time we got there, the sun had gone down, the market was winding down...bo found a bookstore in which he could exchange his peru guidebook, i enjoyed looking around...no matter how convenient a kindle is, nothing will ever replace the feeling of a real book...as we walked around the neighborhood i didn't have a great time...i'm not sure what it was, but i was rather creeped out...
dinner that night was some sort of quiche...we hadn't eaten much all day, and i wasn't at all hungry, but i know better than to skip food...

Buenos aires first days

Since I was completely confused about time, and went to sleep at 0600 my first night in buenos aires, of course I didn't sleep long...I was wide awake 4 hours later...so I putzed around for a while, reading a little, catch up a bit on email, etc...Miranda and her flattie got up around noon:)...
Miranda is a foodie...she loves good food...no matter where she goes, she finds places to get good food...we went to brunch at 3 in the afternoon (this is typical, as I found out later)  at a place that mostly caters to expats...the idea of weekend breakfast/brunch is a Canadian/American idea, most countries don't do breakfast like we do...I ended up ordering corned beef hash...it wasn't at all what I expected, but it was good:)...a friend if hers joined us, he is Canadian...good food, good people, good conversation...

Eventually we left, and ended up waking to the subway, taking that to a shopping area of town...we didn't want to shop, but this is also an area where people can change money...there is an official exchange rate, but this is not the best rate you can get...the official exchange rate is approximately one US dollar to 5.3 argentinean pesos...the current black market rate is one US dollar to 7.8 argentinean pesos...in other words, it's a very good idea to bring dollars and change them here instead of using a bank card and ATMs, which is what I usually do while traveling...counterfeit money is (unfortunately) common here, so one has to be careful when exchanging money...

After money, we went to Starbucks...I wanted hot chocolate, and Miranda needed a bathroom...I ordered a small, and tried to pay with a 100 (approx $12USD) peso note...they didn't have change!!! A 24 peso drink, they didn't have change for a 100...apparently, this is common...what is not common is what happened next: the cashier told me I would get the drink free, because she couldn't make change!!! Wow!!!
On the way home we stopped in a big grocery store, then dropped everything in the flat...then we took Miranda's dog out for a walk...I went with her, and she showed me how to get to the recoleta cemetery...she knew I would be awake earlier in the morning, so now I knew where to go to see something:)

I did wake up earlier than anyone else, it was good to know where to go...I got to the cemetary around 1040 Sunday morning...not many other people were there, I love exploring in quiet, by myself...the tombs are impressive, to say the least...big, ornate, and very crowded...Eva Peron is buried there, as are former presidents and other important historical folks...I should point out that there is no grass in this cemetery...many coffins are actually underground but that is because there are sets of stairs inside many of the tombs/mausoleums...too many fancy, ornate, overdone tombs...or maybe this is not my style...i wonder how often family and friends visit these tombs?

After the cemetery, I walked through the weekend market just outside the cemetery...lots of leather, jewelry, etc...much of it appeared to be made by the folks selling it...a touristy market, but at the same time there were many unique pieces...
I got back to Miranda's flat to find she and her flattie jast getting up:)...breakfast was at 1300, hee hee...an hour later Miranda and I were picked up to go to an asado...
Argentines have tight families and communities...it is normal to spend a weekend day with your family or group of friends, usually around a BBQ or other food...the gathering is called an asado...

we went to the flat of another friend...he is American, and has been in Argentina for 4 years...his girlfriend is Bolivian...he did all the cooking, and it was awesome...I think we arrived at 1500, started eating around 1600, and didn't stop until 2000!!! Flank steak and filet mignon, two salads, cheesecake, corn on the cob, blood sausage, chorizo...good people, good conversation, good food...needless to say, we didn't eat any more after arriving home:)
The next morning I woke up early, as usual...after hanging out a while, I went for another walk...as i mentioned earlier, no one gets up early here, so a morning walk is really quiet...

on the way home from the asado I'd seen a couple memorials/statues, I figured they might be good for photos...they were good for photos, and I found a couple more places worth walking to...I made it back to the flat in time to go with Miranda to meet a couple other ladies for lunch...we had empanadas, a typical argentinean food...(I'm pretty sure heaps of countries have a variation of this food, and they all call it traditional)...yum! Good food, good conversation...
After lunch and chatting, Miranda and I went walking...she showed me the casa rosada (pink house,) which is like the White House in the US, only the president doesn't live in the casa...she lives in a big mansion, and is flown to the casa by helicopter quite regularly...this is all paid for by tax dollars, of course...

Behind the casa is an area of town called puerto madero...it's a new district, with new flats and restaurants...it doesn't have the soul or charm you feel in the rest of the city, it could be in any big city of the world...after walking through that area, and to the edge of an ecological reserve, we took a cab to another area called la boca...a much poorer part of town, you can really see the difference in the condition of buildings...oddly enough, la boca survives as a touristy area, despite the neighborhood all around...the area is supposed to be big on tango...the buildings are all brightly colored...there are shops selling souvenirs and a few restaurants...after walking around a bit, we found train tracks...

crossing those tracks would literally have put us on the wrong side of the tracks...you could see the stark contrast between the tourist area and the rest of the neighborhood...at times, there are police officers standing guard to make sure you don't cross the tracks!
We took a bus back to Miranda's area of town, and had dinner...well, I had dinner, she just had a bit, to tide her over until her dinner plans later in the evening...(argentineans eat dinner at 2200!!)...not that I needed it, but we stopped at a bakery on the way home...SO GOOD!!! I will definitely be back for more:)

welcome to Argentina

Landing in buenos aires, Argentina means I've now visited 6 continents...woo hoo!!! (The last continent, Antarctica, is going to take a few more years to get to, and a good amount of saving)...there is no convenient way to get from Ukraine to Argentina...:(...I flew from kyiv to Istanbul to São Paulo to buenos aires...the first and last flights were in 3 hours, but Istanbul to São Paulo was 13 hours...long...
after my first flight i had to spend the night in the Istanbul airport...there are heaps of people in that airport at all hours, and there are some benches good for sleeping...I dozed for three hours or so...not great, not awful...
Turkish airlines is a good airline...decent food, good personnel, etc...
The fun started when we landed in São Paulo...I had to stay on the plane while some passengers disembarked, and new passengers boarded for the last leg...since we bad just finished a 13hr flight, it would've been nice to wander around an airport for an hour...oh well...then we landed in buenos aires, and the captain said there were no open gates, so we had to wait...not only were there no open gates, but they didn't know when there would be an open gate...this is not what a big plane full of people wants to hear...people made their displeasure known at this announcement...we ended up having to wait an hour...
Then I got to immigration...the lady took my passport, and the form showing I had paid my reciprocity fee and disappeared for a few minutes...I guess she didn't know how to verify that confirmation? I don't know...even though she was working in one of the booths designated for international arrivals, she spoke no English...hmmm...finally, I got through...then I got to wait 3 hours for my luggage!!! 3 hours!!! (I found out later there was a short strike by baggage workers)...I took comfort when I saw that others in my flight were also waiting and waiting and waiting, but it was still frustrating, because I didn't know why we all had to wait...at various times, people pounded in windows, chanted, clapped, whistled, etc...it was fascinating to see crowd behaviour, I've never seen anything like it...lots of people, including me, sat on the conveyor belt of the baggage carousel...
Finally, our baggage came through...I bought a ticket for a service to get me to Miranda's flat, it was scheduled to leave at 0200...(my flight was originally scheduled to land at 2115...that was when the plane actually landed, but with all the waiting, I didn't get to leave the airport until 0200!!!!!)
The service delivered me to Miranda's flat at 0300...my body was confused as to what time it was, of course...Miranda was still awake, thank goodness...we ended up staying awake another 3 hours...(maybe not the smartest thing to do, but apparently it is normal for people to stay up all night:)...by the time i went to bed i was soooooo tired, i figured i would sleep for hours and hours...

Ukraine: Crimea: Sevastopol and yalta

The next weekend was also a long weekend because of another holiday...yippee!!!

I made sure to book train tickets well in advance, as I knew Crimea would be an area people want to visit, I didn't want to be stuck in kyiv with nowhere to go...

My train to Sevastopol took ages, almost 18 hours!! it wasn't expensive though...my arrival was late, but I didn't have any specific plans, so that didn't matter...I took a cab to my hotel, the driver charged me way too much...argh...he also gave me his card, and told me to call if i wanted a ride to go anywhere in sevastopol...um, NO...

After showering and getting rid of the feeling of travel, I started walking...I'd asked the hotel lady for directions, and though it took me a while to find a bus stop for the right bus, I eventually figured it out...

My first stop was a set mod Genoese ruins called chersonese/kersonese...the ruins aren't well protected, people walk everywhere...the ruins weren't super impressive, but I loved the view of the water...blue water going all the way to the horizon...I had fun taking photos and watching people...is it really necessary to take glamour shots next to ancient ruins? there are small rock beaches, and a few people in the water...my favourite part of the ruins was the huge number of red flowers all over...they are beautiful, but if they are not taken care of, they will destroy the ruins...

I took the same bus back into the city centre, then kept walking...as it was a holiday weekend, there were people out everywhere...I watched part of a concert by retired Russian sailors...it was the first time i've experienced such russian patriotism...there were plenty of cars driving through the city, honking and waving russian flags...
i noticed that the ice cream i often buy in kyiv costs twice as much here!!
wandering up this street gave me views of some of the russian ships in the port, and a couple memorials...i don't know what/who was being memorialized...

i had dinner at a bistro...(this is not a french word, though many people think so...it's a russian word that means fast, which is why bistros all over the world serve food quickly)...the food would've been awesome if it hadn't had so much mayonnaise slathered all over...
instead of grabbing a bus to get back to my hotel, i walked...it was long, but nice:)
the only problem with going to bed early is that you tend to wake up early as well...really early...which is not a great thing when you are on holiday, and want to have a lay in!! the price of my hotel included breakfast at a cafe next to the hotel...this was unexpected, but nice, of course...

i took a marshrutka to the town of balaklava...you have probably heard the name referring to the 'mask' some people wear while skiing, (or in cold climates during winter) and this town is where they were invented...little old ladies made them for soldiers fighting in wars in cold climates...i wasn't sure where to get off the marshrutka, so i got off when a heap of others got off...(i figured out later i could've stayed on a bit longer, but oh well)...
i walked for a while, not entirely sure i was going in the right direction, and eventually saw the entrance i was looking for...visitors go to balaklava mostly to see the former (secret, i think?) russian submarine base that is built into a hill...

it wasn't warm inside the tunnels of this base...quite chilly, actually...the sailors who stayed there must've worn warm clothes all the time, even in the middle of summer...the tunnels and various rooms had displays, with some of the signage in english...one docent kind of guy spoke a little english, and was eager to show me around...
on the other side of the bay (balaklava is built around a bay) are some ruins...the only way for me to get to the ruins was to walk all the way around the bay...there is no bridge across the water...
the other side of the bay was much more touristy...there were souvenir stalls the whole way along the water...i admit to giving in and buying a mug...(i'm always thrilled when i find something without english)...

i climbed up the hill to the ruins...they weren't anything special, but i did enjoy the views of the water on the other side...there was also a nice view over the entire bay...it turned out the climb up the hill was easier than the way back down...i slid quite a bit on the way down, falling on my bum a couple times...ooops...
i caught the marshrutka back to a station of sorts, and changed to another that took me to a place called cape fiolent...it's pretty, and the views of the water are nice...there are 700+ steps down to a small beach, which i opted not to do...not because the exercise would be too much, but because the beach was so very small, and i didnt think i would be able to see more from the bottom...there is a lovely monastery at the top of the hill...i wouldn't mind living there, just for the view alone:)
at the marshrutka station i bought a donut (well, sortof) and hopped on a marshrutka headed to the center of sevastopol...i walked back to my hotel and realized i was quite sunburned...ooops...

the next morning i didn't get out the door of my hotel nearly as fast as i should have...i ended up having to wait until 11 for a bus to yalta...i think the ride was around two hours, which meant i didn't arrive until 1300 or so...then it took me quite a while to find my hostel...the google map i'd printed had the wrong address marked, it was very wrong...i ended up walking quite a ways...it turned out not to be a normal hostel...i think it was a teaching hostel, if that makes any sense? hard to explain, but it definitely wasn't the normal hostel i expected...there was only one plug in a room with 14 beds! there was no communal room, no computers, etc...i was able to schedule dinner, which was nice...the bed was okay, i slept well...being so far from the city centre meant it was very quiet...

it took me a while to find the correct marshrutka to take me to the cable car at ay petri...last year, when i visited crimea, taking a ride on this cable car was something i missed, and really wanted to do during this trip...i was surprised at the price (60 grivna each way i think?) and i wasn't thrilled with the experience...maybe because i didnt give myself much time...if i had had more time i would've been able to hike/walk around the area up top, and explore more...the area just outside where you get off the cable car is filled with souvenir stalls...some with knickknacks, some with food...i walked through the area, then took the cable car back down...the skies were clear, but the views weren't as awesome as i had expected...

i caught the next marshrutka to a place called alupka...i don't know if it is a town or village or something along those lines?
i walked through a park to vorontsov palace...since i like to see historical places, i really wanted to see this palace...this was another place i'd missed during my first crimea visit...churchill and his delegation stayed here during the yalta conference of WWII...i liked this palace in that i was able to wander around on my own, i wasn't stuck taking a tour in a language i didn't understand...each room had a sign with information (in english and russian!) about the room...one of the rooms were more interesting than others, one was an indoor garden...i guess that was quite the rage when the palace was built...

there was haze, so i wasn't able to see the water; the palace is built in gardens that overlook the water...if i had had more time, i would've followed a trail that goes for several kilometers along the water...(my next visit to crimea will be planned better, with more attention paid to timing)...
when i got back to my hostel, the lady got my dinner ready, it was tasty:)
after dinner i walked into town to use the free wifi of mcdonalds...there was another chick in my room, already asleep...
the next morning i woke up before my alarm went off...the other chick was still asleep! i walked to the bus station, and bought an orange dreamsicle for breakfast...healthy, i know:)...it was at this bus station that i finally found postcards for sevastopol...why was i unable to find these in sevastopol itself?

on my bus to simferopol the lady sitting next to me seemed put out that i wanted to put my own bag under my feet, and she had to move her bag...did she think i would keep my bag on my lap while her bag was under my feet? this bus took me straight to the simferopol train station, which was a relief...not all the buses from yalta to simferopol do so, i wasn't keen to figure out how to get from the city centre to the train station...
in my coupe car back to kyiv there were three others, i think they'd been camping for days...based on how they smelled, i don't think they had showered for days...yuck...at least the train back to kyiv went on time...

Running Geneva

While looking at a calendar of holidays and running races, I realized I had a long weekend at the same time as Geneva would host a marathon...I also realized cloe lives only 20km west of Geneva, just over the French border...it was the perfect chance to see a great friend and run a race...after the ridiculously unorganized race I'd run the weekend before in kyiv, I was super excited about 'Swiss efficiency'...
I flew into Geneva, transiting through Brussels...(that airport does not have free wifi, how annoying)...after landing, I took the free (!!!) train into the city centre, then walked to my hostel...it's been a while since I've stayed in a dorm room of a hostel...

One of my students last year in kyiv has been living in Geneva this year with his mom while she attends school...while getting ready for this trip I made plans to get together with them, just for a catch up...I was able to find their flat, it was nice to hang out and chat for a couple hours...
The next morning took full advantage of the giant breakfast included in the price of my hostel...nothing is cheap in Switzerland, so 'free' breakfast is a great thing...food was served in a large room, filled with people...the hostel houses a lot of people, many more than I thought...there were several floors of dorm rooms...

I replaced my stuff, then found my way to the hotel I'd booked for my next night...finding and getting to that hotel took longer than expected, but I had time...then I went back to the main train station and met Bo as his train arrived...(he'd just spent a few days in garmischers after finishing his job)...
We dropped off his stuff, then used the free public transport for a day passes provided by our hotel to go back into the city centre...Geneva is a financial centre, a classic town, but it isn't particularly picturesque...there are no scenes that make you think wow, Geneva...but it was still nice to walk around...

we picked up dinner from a supermarket, and ate while sitting on a bench near a tree...after more walking we found the chocolate section of a big supermarket...apparently a lot of people buy heaps of chocolate to bring home with them...we saw numerous people with bags and bags of chocolate...I like Swiss chocolate, buuuuuuut...
The next morning Bo and I visited another supermarket to get breakfast...bakeries in Switzerland are soooooo much better than what I've seen in Ukraine...properly baked items...good bread...lovely cream...lots of variety...heaven...

We took the bus into the city centre, and found the English gardens, where the marathon village had been set up...I love this part of a marathon...at an expo you get to see different races, products, gear, etc...and of course the important part of picking up my race shirt and number...the race in kyiv didn't have anything other than race numbers and tshirts, and even that was amazingly unorganized, so I loved Geneva even more...I realized I'd forgotten my running hat, so I bought a hat to wear during the race...(useful both for keeping the sun and sweat out of my face...since I'd signed up for this race a month in advance, my name was printed on my bib number!! :)

We picked up our stuff from the hotel, then went to the train station to meet cloe...we ended up waiting longer than expected, as cloe was coming with her boyfriend, and he was having issues at work...anywho, they rolled up, cloe and I were super excited to see each other again...it had been almost a year since she left kyiv...
Victor drove to Cloe's flat, we got the grand tour, then we had some snacks and chatted...mostly in English, but a few phrases in French, Russian, and Portuguese...good times:)
We walked to the town bakery the next morning for breakfast, cloe lives in a very small town...not surprisingly, my eyes are much bigger than my tummy...oops...anywho, so good...eventually we hopped back in the car, and went to the supermarket...cloe hadn't been in her flat in over a week, so she had very little food...plus, Bo said he would cook dinner that night so he needed ingredients...it was awesome to be in a supermarket with so many choices, and so many products I haven't seen in a while...

Later that afternoon cloe took Bo and I to see the school where she has been teaching this year...fun:)...across the street from the school is a park with a nice walking trail...Bo and I went for a walk, as the weather was lovely...
Dinner by Bo, yum!!
The next morning everyone was up early, we left the flat around 0700...I wanted to arrive 30 minutes before race time and google maps said it would take 30 minutes...we added in extra time in case of detours or getting lost, hee hee...we arrived just when I wanted to arrive:)...I had run half marathons previously, so I knew what was happening...Bo used to race bicycles, but hasn't run distance races...victor and cloe had never seen this sort of event up close...I love the energy during prerace time...some people talk with friends, others stretch...some people do warmups, I just make sure my number is pinned on securely...(ive always hated warmups, even when i was a swimmer...why would you want to use all that energy before the event that counts????)

the race was organized to start in waves, i started out in E section...race time came, the crowd slowly moved forward...I started the GPS/distance gizmo on my iPod nano...eventually I crossed the start line, people spread out a little, the race started and I settled into a good pace...(I hadn't trained at all, so I knew not to go as fast as would have felt okay at the begging of the race)...the course was lovely...half countryside, half city...I got to see fields of bright yellow flowers and a few small villages...everything was well marked, and there were people out cheering everywhere...I loved hearing my name, from people who didn't know me at all!!

Not surprisingly, the last few kilometers were tough...my legs weren't happy, but I still finished with a good kick...the finish was at one end of a bridge, so there is a nice straightaway that is great for trying to sprint the finish...it's also great for people gathered on each side of the street...lots of cheering...awesome...
I saw cloe, Bo, and victor at the beginning if the race, another time in the middle, and again at the finish line...awesome!! They held my bag during the race, and watched all the runners while drinking wine and eating cheese ( cloe is French, after all)...I grabbed treats at the finish line, as well as a couple bottles of water, then walked back to the marathon village with cloe, Bo, and victor...we walked slowly, but I made sure to keep moving the entire time, so my legs didn't tighten up...
After walking around a while, we got back in the car and drive back to Cloe's flat...Bo and I both fell asleep in the back seat, cloe was nice enough to document that with photos of us looking awful:)
After relaxing for a while back in the flat, Bo cooked dinner again...yum, of course...
The next morning cloe had to go back to teaching, Bo came with me to the hospital...I loved the efficiency of checkin and security, I was sad to leave...

sweden: karlstad, sunne, family

i was always told that i had swedish relatives...i remember hearing about the swedish relatives as a child, and i've heard about them as an adult too...i was told that i met many of them when i was just 9 months old, but of course i don't remember any of that...that introduction was during a visit to sweden, of course i don't remember that either...
in the middle of winter this year, my dad mentioned to me that he would be traveling to sweden for a conference, and planned to stay an extra few days to see the relatives...he said it would be great if i could join up for the family visit...i looked at a calendar, didn't see any conflicts, and booked the tickets...

i landed late on a thursday afternoon...i made the mistake of not eating earlier in the day, and flew a budget airline, which didn't feed me during the flight...by the time i got off the plane i had a horrible headache...the kind that makes me nauseous, the kind that makes it painful to think...i knew i needed food and water immediately, even though the thought of chewing and swallowing wasn't particularly appetizing...dad got me some food, and about 20 minutes later i felt a lot better...
two of our relatives picked us up at the airport, then we drove drove drove...i think the drive was about 3 hours in total, i'm not sure...we stopped for dinner at some point, at a swedish fast food place...

eventually we rolled into a city called karlstad...one of the relatives lives in an apartment complex here, the others were able to book the guest flat in the complex for dad and i that night...
the next morning we went to the flat of our relative for breakfast and chatting...thank goodness most swedes speak a fair amount of english...plus, dad has visited these relatives several times previously, so there was an easy flow to conversation...
after a couple hours, the ladies we'd driven with last night came and picked us up, and the four of us went to lunch in the city centre...the building in which we had lunch had historical significance...it's where a document was signed which split sweden and norway into two countries...we all had the same meal: fish, mashed potatoes and lingon berries...a very traditional swedish meal...

they took us to a hospital to visit with another relative...as we were hanging out there, we met an american couple originally from minnesota...totally awesome!! they'd met in japan, and since moved to sweden...while we were visiting with the relative, the ladies were meeting with his doctor...
next up was taking dad and i to a hotel...the flat we'd stayed in the night before was booked for this night, so they'd made reservations for us at a hotel...the hotel used to be a prison!!! is this where i get to make the joke about how much the swedish branch of the family thinks of us? hee hee...the hotel price included breakfast and dinner, so they agreed to come back after a couple hours for dinner...

great dinner...a lot of food...good people and good conversation:)
the next morning dad and i were up early and went for a walk...karlstad isn't exactly picturesque, but it was nice...plus, the weather was great...chilly, but sunny...breakfast afterward was lovely...
the family picked us up, and we picked up another relative at the train station...of course, this meant a packed car, but it was still fun...we drove to a town called sunne, i think it's about an hour from karlstad? after stopping for a coffee, we continued to a very small area...not even a village...this is where my great grandfather lived before he emigrated to the states...the cabin in which he lived still stands, and is still owned by the family...

there is no running water, no electricity...somehow, it's still awesome to see...the family let it out, so we weren't able to go inside, but i was content to wander around outdoors...the relative who lived there worked at a mill just down the hill, so we walked to see the remains of that...after all the years of hearing about this guy, and his life before emigration, it was really really nifty to see it...it was really muddy, but i'm glad we saw the area...
on the way from sunne back to karlstad, we stopped at the home of a swedish writer...she won a nobel prize in literature...her home has been turned into a museum at which one of my relatives used to be a tour guide...she still remembers a lot of random information:)

the night we had dinner at the first flat we'd visited in karlstad...homecooked by the ladies...a lovely evening...we took a family photo just before leaving...we went back to the hospital to get a family photo with that relative as well...
the next morning the ladies picked up dad and i to drive back to stockholm, and the airport...it was a quick weekend, but i'm glad i finally got to meet some of my swedish relatives:)