Blazin' Hot

Well, I can now say I've had the most frightening experience of my life thus far. Friday, June 8, 2007 at about 5:40 p.m., I was in my living room contemplating a furniture rearranging session and I heard a man outside yelling. I thought...here we go, another crazy dude waiting for the bus. All of a sudden I heard someone yell FIRE! I went out onto my deck to look next door (they have a few huge bbq pits that are always on...unattended) and the man yelling pointed to the 2nd floor of my building. I looked up to see smoke billowing out of the second floor apartment and then all of a sudden a huge crash....the glass blew out of the window and flames started to shoot up the side of the building. All I remember is going inside, grabbing my purse, cell phone and keys and starting to dial 911. I saw some of my other neighbors outside and we all stood their watching the fire trucks roll up. The next door neighbors along with a very brave random man had grabbed fire extinguishers and garden hoses and were attempting to put out the fire. Once the fire trucks were in place, the firefighters entered the building. Within a half hour, the flames were out. We were finally allowed to re-enter the building about 7:30. By the grace of God, nothing in my apartment was damaged, nor did anything smell like smoke. How did I get so lucky?

Big Stinking Tree!

When we were leaving Stanley Park in Vancouver, we came across a ton of wind damage from a storm last winter. Here's some pix of Geoff and I with the gigantic rootball!

Catching Up!

I'm finally home for a little while, so I figured I would upload my photos and share!

Here's the link to my Munich/Salzburg photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/elenaarosteguy/MunichSalzburg

Check out the Paris pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/elenaarosteguy/Paris

In case you missed them, here are my Amsterdam photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/elenaarosteguy/Amsterdam

One foot in front of the other

Whoa, nellie......it's finished. The last several months have been dedicated to training for this.....and I crushed it! With a finish time of 3:45:21, I stomped on my goal of 4:00:00. What a fantastic accomplishment!

I arrived at the start line about 40 minutes before the horns blew. I was giddy with excitement and terrified of standing in the wrong place and being trampled by runners. I watched the marathon walkers start their race and watched in amazement at all of the shapes and sizes. After they began their journey, the half marathoners began to line up. I kept moving back, looking at the people around me, assessing whether they were walkers or runners. I finally found a good spot and got ready.

Just as the horn blew for the race to start, I got a bit emotional and had to fight back some tears.....I was really doing this.....really.....no turning back. In the front of my mind, I knew I could do it, but in the back....was this little voice.....saying.....hey, you.......your longest walk was 9 1/2 miles......are you sure you'll make it to 13.1? It took about 5 minutes for me to actually cross the start line....and then I was off, and never looked back.

The first 6 miles were a piece of cake - there was great music along the course....at one point I almost busted out the dance moves in front of one of the music tents....instead I just shook my bootie a little. We headed into Stanley Park at about mile 5, then at the half way point, I was ready to be out of the park and at mile 9 (also the biggest hill I've EVER walked up)....I was DONE with nature - I wanted OUT of the park and to look at something other than trees. Not that trees aren't great....but GEEZ - I'm walking a freakin' half marathon, give me something to look at! Mile 10 marked the point of my body starting to wear down - my hip flexors and back started hurting and all I wanted was to be on flat ground, heading toward the finish. Geoff was a fantastic trooper, standing in the rain, waiting for me at mile 11 - and it was just what I needed to get through the last two miles....a high five and a smack on the butt.

I'm convinced that the last mile was measured in some freaky Canadian length - it HAD to have been the longest mile I've ever walked.....but it was also the greatest feeling knowing that I was about to complete a huge goal.

A flood of emotions were happening after I crossed the finish line......first and foremost being - HOLY CRAP, I JUST FINISHED A HALF MARATHON! Next, realizing how much pain I was in - my feet were throbbing, and I had some shooting pains coming from my legs into my back.....and I was convinced I would wake up Monday morning and be paralyzed. As I was ushered through the chute to get my timing chip clipped off, a "blanket" wrapped around me, water, and then waited to get into the stadium (into the airlock, waited in a mantrap, and then into the stadium - very strange....like we were entering a spaceship), it was surreal. I had done it, 13.1 miles. An amazing feeling. I was asked by several people if I was now hooked.....um, let me think about that.....no. Not hooked. At all. Who knows - I may do another one, but for now, since I've mastered horizontal, I'm going to move on to the next challenge. Vertical. :-)

And a few more.....

Left to right.....Mountain Lakes Region-Austria, Top of the Devil's Footprint steeple - Munich, Eiffel Tower - Paris, View from the top deck at the Eiffel Tower- Paris. Something got on my camera lense - hence the black dot. Not a UFO....I didn't want anyone to be alarmed. :-)

Check out my Amsterdam pics....

http://picasaweb.google.com/elenaarosteguy/Amsterdam

A few quick photos

Here's a few pictures from our adventures......

Left to right-

Cory and I at the Heineken Experience - Amsterdam, near the Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, bikes locked up to the railing on the canal - Amsterdam, View from the Fortress - Salzburg, Tulips - Leiden.

Welcome Home!

Well, the trip has ended. I'm back in Seattle, and am recovering from jet lag. It was an amazing time - Cory and I had so much fun. I can finally post some photos, so check out what is here and I'll post more within the week - I took about 350 pictures and Cory took about the same...yikes! Don't worry, I won't make people sit and watch the never ending slide show.....just the highlights.

I have to say that I'm glad to be home.....well, I think the truth is I'm glad to not be carrying a 45 pound pack anymore. The morning we left Paris, we were walking to the Metro at 6:30 a.m. and all I could think of was that in an hour, we'd arrive at Charles de Gaulle and I wouldn't have to carry that stinking heavy thing a moment longer! My arms are really, really strong after two weeks of lugging that thing around.....anyone want to arm wrestle? :-)

Everyone has asked what my favorite city on the trip was and I would have to say that each place had at least one standout favorite. In Amsterdam, it was riding bikes in the tulip fields, laughing so hard we had to stop. In Munich, it was the day trip to Salzburg and the Mountain Lakes region - I think my next trip is going to be Austria - it was breathtaking. In Paris, I think it was standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower and looking straight up....well that and the crepes. :-)

I enjoyed each of the different cultures - possibly incorporate some of their ways of life into mine.

I look forward to the next adventure.....two weeks until the 1/2 marathon.....I was a little nervous about going on this trip so close to the race - I kept thinking I may not get enough walking in while on the trip. I need to not think so much......I would say we probably averaged at least 6 or 7 miles of walking each day. So, I think I'm ready to take on the 13.5 mile challenge.

My mind is still a little fuzzy from travelling, so I will probably post some good stories about places on our trip in the next few days, so keep checking the site.

Vive Paris!

Paris was amazing. The grandness of the architecture, the delicious food, the air of snootiness. :-)

Our first day we tackled the Louvre (I had a minor meltdown while somewhere in the middle of the museum...trying to find a stinking sortie (exit) ).....it was worth it to see the biggies - the Mona Lisa, Venus DeMilo....etc. Other than that.....there were too many people. I'm glad I went, but won't be back anytime soon. We also saw Notre Dame (breathtaking), I lit a candle and said a prayer (my mom would be so proud), Saint Chapelle - the most amazing use of stained glass I've ever seen. The first floor is amazing and then you go upstairs and your mouth hits the floor. We rode on a Bateaux Mouche on the Seine.....saw all of the sights...including where Princess Di met her death. We also went to the archaeological crypt, the deportation memorial, point zero in front of Notre Dame, and most importantly.....had a CREPE!

The next day we meandered toward the Eiffel Tower, stopped at the Hotel des Invalides to pay our respects to Napoleon. The small man has quite the big memorial. Lots of ornateness (is that a word?) Once we arrived at the Tour, we waited over 2 hours in line.....but it was well worth the wait for the views. It was so windy and cold up at the top, we only stayed for about a half hour, but got some more amazing photos.

Our last day was spent walking the Champs Elysees - the gardens were pretty, the Arc de Triomphe fantastic....the shopping.....highly overrated. (also really, really expensive - and WAY too many people)

The b&b we stayed in was very lovely - the husband and wife, Rene and Claudine were so nice. They made us the most amazing breakfast each morning - croissants, baguettes with jam, freshly squeezed mandarin orange juice and strong coffee. Yum! Last year, Rene hiked the Pyrenees Mountain range, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in 41 days - then wrote a little book about it. Amazing - that's going on the "list". I wonder if I could take 41 days off work.....hmmmmm.

We only encountered one nasty frenchman - our waiter at a cafe - he was the stereotypical rude frenchman who looked down his nose at us. Other than that, everyone was so nice and patient while I stumbled my way through french conversation. I managed to successfully translate all of our menus that didn't come with english subtitles - so we didn't eat any mystery meals while in Paris. Just lots of great food - lamb, veal, mussels, duck....and of course.... CHEESE! We had the best cheeses every night for dessert.

Munchen....the final day.

Oh boy - our final day in Munich before heading to Paris was...well......a recovery day. We really enjoyed the Hofbraugh House....German style. We each had about 4 beers - which apparently equates to about a gallon. Geez! Cory being the trooper, was a little slow moving the next morning, but overall ready to take on the day. Me, on the other hand.....let's just say I'm glad I wasn't getting on a train until late that evening. We meandered the streets of Munich seeing the last of the sights - the Devil's Footprint church tower....86 very steep and curvy stairs (not good when you're a bit hungover) and then an elevator ride to the very tip top. It was an amazing view of the city - we took some great photos.

On to Paris!

Things nobody warned us about.....

Seriously - when you book a two person sleeper car on a train, bring a shoe horn. Neither of us had any idea what to expect, so when we boarded the train and found our room, we were quite shocked! I wasn't expecting a palace, but at least something that had enough room for us both to stand at the same time! It was hysterical....and now we know.

In our hotel in Munich - in order to get any of the lights to turn on, you must insert your room card into this weird little slot (for which there are no directions). I think it took us about 15 minutes of brainstorming before we gave up and found the maid (who was of no help either). Finally there was light! These Germans are quite efficient.

In order to use the bathroom at most places, you have to pay! Not pay in the door, you have to pay a little old woman who sits by the door. Hmmm. What a job!

Everything else has pretty much been as expected, although we've eaten two mystery meals.

Munchen

It's hard to believe that we've been here for three days and are about to take off for Paris. Munich has been really warm and there's been a lot to see. We arrived really early on Sunday and took a guided tour of Dachau, the concentration camp memorial. The history of the site is amazing and shocking. Dachau was the first, but not the most infamous. What a way to start this leg of the trip.

Monday we ventured out to Salzburg - and to the Sound of Music! The hills were really alive on Monday - the tour bus guided us into the Alps and the Lake Region. I was disappointed that our tour guide didn't dress as Maria, nor were there any Maria characters along the way. We visited the houses where they filmed, the gazebo, the church and we stopped at the most beautiful photo spot on the side of the road. It overlooked a large lake, to the left a huge mountain and to the right another that had people paragliding.

Yesterday we meandered around the Englischer Garten to the Chinese Pagoda and beergarden...what a combo! Along the path to the pagoda, we encountered some very interesting sights.....many naked old men. Yikes! We also ventured into the Hofbrauhaus and had quite a few beers. We made some new friends - Michael from somewhere in Germany - he wasn't a very good communicator (he was probably in his mid 40's and dressed like a lumberjack), and we also met a man and his son from Seattle.

Today we are recovering and taking in some last sights before heading out tonight on the train to Paris. The devil's footprint church, and a few other tall pointy places are on the list.

Ciao!

Leiden!

I can't post any pictures today, which makes me so very sad. Today was the most fun we've had. We got an early start, headed to Leiden on the train and then on a bus to the tulips. We arrived at this huge park that is basically Disneyland for tulips! Before we went in, we went on the adventure of a lifetime! We rented bikes and began the 10 km trek around the fields. It took about 10 minutes of hysterical laughter before we were fully functioning biking locals. The fields are quite impressive; however, the directions on the map we were given were not. Our 10 km trip turned out to be several more km, but all worth it. Tulip Disneyland was cool as well. There was a working windmill, and a ton of sculptures.

Tomorrow is our last day here - we're off to Munich in the early pm. I'll say farewell for a few days, off to dinner...Indonesian food tonight!

Love - E

Let's back up a little....

Alright, last night when I posted, I was VERY short on time - so we'll go back to the beginning...
The plane ride from Seattle was actually very pleasant....except the woman sitting to the left of me across the aisle....she had a CAT! Enough said.
We arrived in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning - bright and early. After successfully navigating the airport and transportation system, we were deposited in the heart of it all. A short walk to the Maes B&B to meet Ken and Vlad - the two very nice men who were renting us an apartment. (they also run 2 very smartly decorated B&B's) Our apartment is centrally located to everything - a 5 minute walk to the Dam, 10 minutes to the Red Light, 7 minutes to the yummy bakery.
The Rijksmuseum was great - all of the Rembrandts next to each other - it was glorious! Off to the Van Gogh - I almost wept when I saw the sunflowers. It's so amazing to get close to the art that was created so long ago. Anne Frank was last night - I can't wait to get home to re-read the book. It was quite a somber tour, but so worth it. Last night we ate tapas outside along a canal while the sun went down - what a way to spend a vacation!!!!

Amsterdam

Amsterdam has been really exciting so far - we've seen all of the major museums, had the heineken experience and a canal ride. Everyone is really nice - but some are very smelly. The weather has been great, nice and warm during the day. Today we went to the R museum and the Van Gogh museum - very impressive. We're off to the tulip fields tomorrow - stay tuned for our bike riding adventures!

The final countdown!

Bags packed - check! Desk cleaned off - check! All carry on liquids (all under 3 oz. of course) placed in a resealable quart size container - check!

Rock and Roll!

Tomorrow is the big day - I'm so excited I may burst. Stay tuned for the crazy adventures of Elena and Cory. The plan is to stay out of trouble (mostly), see all of the great sights, and come back with fantastic stories and photos.

I'm going to try to post photos as we go, we'll see how successful that is. At least you'll be able to check in and see what we've been up to.

Take care - the next time you hear from me, I'll be strolling along the canals of Amsterdam.