A Tribute to Three Faves

In my family, we like to group our birthdays.  We have three in March and two in December.  Two of my friends followed that trend and have birthdays this week.  I really appreciate it because it makes it so much easier to remember.  Thanks guys!

Sara's birthday is October 12th, which unfortunately (or fortunately?) fell on Yom Kippur this year, so the day was spent fasting.  The upside of that is that Sara got to spend the evening eating lots and going to bed early.  What more could a girl want? HA!  Anyways, happy birthday to my fellow name twin and one of the funniest and most outgoing girls I know.  This girl's got enough spunk to take over all of Washington, D.C. one day, which I know will happen, so watch out.  I miss our wine drinking on the Seine and our French dinners in D.C., but I'm lucky enough to swap emails with her and get the occasional video chat in, which I'll settle for right now (only ten months until we head home, but who's counting?).   

The second birthday of the week goes to Poorna, one of my fellow Kempsville High School Yearbook survivors and my favorite Boston resident.  She's snarky and spunky enough to keep up with Mike, but fun and witty, which makes her another one of my favorite people.  We had so much fun on her visit to Turkey, even if a snow storm prevented her from leaving.  I can't wait to have her be my dentist when we're all in New England together next year and am so happy that the decision to join the yearbook staff in 10th grade gave me one of my longest lasting friendships. 

Not our best picture, but the guy in the background still makes me laugh.

And last but not least, I couldn't go this week without giving a tribute to my favorite Red Sox player and the man who embodies everything good about Boston.  While it may not be his birthday week, David Ortiz "Big Papi" has done more for Boston and the Red Sox than I can describe.  He has been the unofficial and official leader of the team, the heart and soul of the Red Sox organization, and a great representation of everything the people of Boston and New England stand for.  He was there to lead the team to their first World Series in too many years as well as bring the city together after one of the scariest tragedies.  I'll never forget after the bombings, he got on the microphone and said "This is our f****** city!"  It summed up the spirit of Boston in one sentence.  So, here's to you, Big Papi.  Thanks for all you did for the me, the Red Sox and Boston.  It didn't go unnoticed. 

Now if only l had a picture with him....

So, here's to you three! Happy birthday and thank you for being wonderful people who I'm lucky to have in my life, even if it's only on a TV screen or hundreds of rows up in the stands of Fenway!  

Mike Plays St. Andrew's!

Fifteen years ago, I was sitting in Mrs. Cooper's English class when I learned of the attacks on our country.  It would be a classroom and a moment that I would never forget.  I am so proud of our country for how we rallied and came together following that day.  I am so proud of our service members who defend our country day in and day out to make sure that we get to enjoy the freedoms that were threatened by those attacks.  As we've traveled the world this past year, I have never been more thankful for our country and the rights and privileges that come with being a citizen of the United States.  We're taking today to remember all of those who lost their lives on September 11th, in hopes that it inspires us to live a life in honor of their sacrifice.

"Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”
— President George W. Bush





After our Glenfiddich tour, we headed out to our next stop, which ended up being a cottage in the middle of nowhere.  Ha!  When Mike booked the hotel, he didn't realize quite how far away from everything it was.  Plus, there was no way of knowing that we would be the only guests staying there that night, just by chance.  Because of this, we got upgraded from a hotel room to a full cottage.  The cottage was so nice and actually perfect for that evening.  By this point in our travels/move, we were tired.  We were tired of sight seeing, tired of eating out, tired of constantly being on the go, etc. etc.  While this whole experience is not something we ever take for granted, it's exhausting.  So, when we got upgraded to the cottage, it was a blessing in disguise.  We didn't feel like we were in a hotel room, so we didn't mind just hanging out in the common area and spending the night watching a movie.  So, that's what we did. And it was wonderful.

The next day, we took our time getting up and heading out, but were on the road by mid-morning.  Our next stop was Dundee, Scotland, which is about 30 minutes outside of St. Andrew's Golf Course.  Ever since I've known Mike, he's been an avid golfer.  The opportunity to play on one of the most famous golf courses in the world (and the first golf course!) was too good to pass up, so a stop at St. Andrew's was factored into our trip.  We arrived in Dundee the night before and went downtown for dinner and a few drinks, but didn't stay out too late because Mike had to be up early to play.

In order to play at St. Andrew's as a single, you have to get up extremely early and show up in hopes of walking on to the course.  The owner of our BnB recommended 5:00am.  When Mike arrived at the golf course, there were already people there.  One guy had been there since 1:00am!  There are other courses that you can play that are supposedly better, but in order to play the Old Course, you have to get there super early.  Luckily, Mike was able to walk on with one of the first groups!

While Mike was waiting in line, I was sleeping.   I had a big breakfast at the BnB and talked to the owner for a half an hour about his month long travels in Turkey!   Luckily, it was really easy to get from Dundee to St. Andrew's via bus, so I opted for that.  Once I got there, I checked out the St. Andrew's University museum and the History of Golf museum, both of which were actually pretty interesting.   After Mike was done golfing, I met him and we went to lunch at the Dunvegan, which came highly recommended from both Mike's dad and Mike's caddy.  It didn't disappoint!

Sunrise over the water from the starter hut.  Aka super early.

Mike and his caddy

This bridge is pretty famous and apparently everyone takes their picture on it when they play the Old Course

Mike had a blast and is trying to figure out when he can go back and play again! It was worth the early morning wake up and the price (happy birthday, merry Christmas, happy Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Groundhogs Day, Mike!).  If you know a golfer heading to Scotland, I'd recommend St. Andrew's to them because as Mike said "It's like the Mecca for golfers!"

Greetings from London!!

Greetings from London!

Mike and I are here in the UK for a couple of weeks splitting our time between England and Scotland.  The trip all started because Mike's sister, Kelly, is getting married today (!!!), but since we knew we'd be without our furniture in Berlin, we decided to tack on an extra week in the UK and do a little tour of Scotland.  It's a rough life we live, I know ;)

We arrived in London bright and early Saturday morning and made our way straight to Kelly and Sean's flat (look at me, I'm so British calling it a "flat").  The four of us headed out shortly afterwards to pick up the rental car.  None of us expected it to take quite as long as it did to pick up the rental car, but an hour later, we were on the road with Mike and Kelly's dad heading up north to Sunderland.   Sean's father's family is from Sunderland and everyone is a huge Sunderland fan.  When we realized that they were playing at home this Sunday, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go and watch a match (there I go again, calling a game a match! So British!).

Because it took so long to pick up the car, we were cutting it close for our dinner reservation, but luckily we made it just in time. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant and it was delicious.  Sean's parents, his grandmother and two cousins joined us and we had a great time.  After dinner, we all headed to the pub for a fun Saturday night.  Sean's cousins had planned a bachelor party (sorry, stag party) for him, so eventually, Mike, Sean and the rest of the guys headed out, while Kelly, myself, Mike's dad and Sean's parents stayed at the pub. It was a fun first night in the U.K. and definitely felt authentic.

Sunday morning was a little rough for Mike and Sean, but they persevered and we headed to the pub for a quick drink (mainly of water) before heading to the match.  I've never been to a Major League Soccer match in the US, but I can't imagine it being as intense as the soccer matches here.  The fans were loud and so into the game, chanting and singing anytime anything exciting (or disappointing) happened.  Despite the fact that Sunderland lost, it was still a ton of fun.

We ended up getting stuck in major traffic on the way back from London and didn't get back home from dropping off the car until almost eleven.  We were all pretty exhausted and happy to settle into our beds (or air mattress for Mike and I).

The next day, Kelly and Sean had to work, so Mike and I set out to do some sightseeing.  Both of us had been to London before, but I'm 99% sure I had the swine flu when I was there last time circa 2009, so we figured we'd do a walking tour to see a lot of major sights in a short amount of time.

We spent the morning at the Tate Modern museum.  I know modern art isn't for everyone, but I love it and Mike can usually get on board.  We were there for two hours and only got through one floor out of six! The guide book recommended doing sight seeing and then spending the rest of your day at the museum, which probably would have been a better strategy and allowed us to see more, but oh well.  We had Indian food to eat for lunch! Since we were meeting the Sandeman's tour in Covent Garden, we found Dishoom Covent Garden for lunch.  We both thought it was delicious, although they never believe Mike when he says he wants it really spicy.

After lunch, we met Rachel, our tour guide in Covent Garden.  Our group of about 25 followed her all around London as she told us all about the kings and queens and the history of England.  She was probably the best Sandeman's tour guide we've had because she had people acting out different kings and queens and really got the crowd involved.  That being said, neither Mike nor I thought the tour itself was especially great.  We both felt the tour included a lot of walking and talking and not a lot of sight seeing, especially in the first half.  I think if I were giving advice, I'd say go with the Big Red Bus tour because you get more sights, even though you have to pay a little more.  We did manage to see a few things and the stories behind them were interesting.

Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery

Our tour guide Rachel

Buckingham Palace

The London Eye

Big Ben

Abe Lincoln?

Westminster Abbey

I don't regret doing the tour, but I'm glad that this wasn't our first time in London because it wasn't the best tour, but that's okay.  We'll be back!

We ended the night at a pub by Kelly and Sean's flat. Sean's brother, sister, sister's boyfriend and parents all joined us.  Even Giorgio, Mike's dad's dog who has come to live with Kelly and Sean, joined us!! I'd say he enjoyed his evening out, just as much as the rest of us!

Such a cute little family!

Today is the first wedding, which is the court ceremony, so I'll be back with a post about that, but now I'm off to digest the English breakfast Kelly and Sean made us!

Mike's Evacuation Experience

When I started the blog, it was just me.  Then, when we moved to Turkey, I figured I'd blog about our experiences since we'd be together and seeing all of the same things.  I never imagined that we would be separated or have different experiences, but things got a little shaken up (gotta keep us on our toes!) and we ended up spending a few months apart.  While I was doing a lot of sight seeing in Germany, Mike was still in Turkey.  I think I was the lucky one because I got to go to a new place and do a lot of sight seeing in Germany.  Mike was stuck at home going to school and dealing with trying to move us. It definitely wasn't fun and was definitely lonely, but he did manage to keep himself busy at times.  He took wind surfing lessons in Izmir and went to Cyprus while I was on the Ladies Trip.  

While he was in Cyprus and in Izmir, he went scuba diving a bunch.  These were his first dives with the GoPro he got for Christmas and the pictures turned out really cool!

scuba diver Mike

He saw some cool ship wrecks too! The one in Cyprus is supposed to be famous world wide and he said it was as cool as he had heard.

Also, happy 4th wedding anniversary to Mike and Anna Fick! I can't believe it's been four years since that coffee stained ensign was trying to win me over at Armadillo's...I guess it worked ;)  Oh, and ya know, four years since you said 'I do' and all that jazz.  We're so thankful for you guys as friends (and matchmakers)!  Have a great day celebrating! Make sure Emma gets you something nice!!