Photo of the Day - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Photo was taken from Granville Island, looking out on False Creek during a 2010 Winter Games press trip to British Columbia.

Mile-High City

Greetings from lovely Colorado. Walked through Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs yesterday (photo), then had some authentic Mexican food at a local hole-in-the-wall spot with killer margaritas. Today's game plan: Working out at Red Rocks, hitting up the Denver Art Museum, shopping downtown, followed by a pre-wedding BBQ in Boulder.

More photos to come!

Welcome to Miami

Each year, my childhood friends and I get together for a girls' weekend reunion. Our friends travel to one location from North Carolina, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. This year's reunion was set in gorgeous Miami, Florida. My childhood friend's sister's fiance's family (yes...I'm sure you had to read that a few times to grasp the connection) has a huge condo right on Miami Beach and they offered it to us for a long weekend. I was shocked when we arrived -- the place was enormous and spotless and they even left us keys to their Prius!

This was the view from the balcony:

The first day was cloudy and chilly, so we made the most of our (rare) quality time together by whipping up some spicy Mexican food and catching up each others' lives.

We stopped by and wandered around the new Fontainebleau Hotel, which was a convenient six blocks from our home for the weekend. Even on a Sunday evening, the Blue Bar and LIV Nightclub were packed. What do these people do for a living? Nobody has to work on a Monday?

We headed to South Beach to explore for a day and, at the recommendation of my sister-in-law, we stopped by beachside bar "Wet Willie's" to check out the impressive selection of frozen drinks:

Such a great, relaxing trip. Over the course of the four days, I was able to catch up with old friends, explore a new city and complete an entire novel. What more can you ask for in a girls' getaway?

Family Fiascos: Germany - Part III

I arrived in Germany with a VERY limited, VERY rusty German vocabulary learned at the Stoll residence over the years. Their family used to speak in German with the Au Pair du jour at the dinner table and I'd picked up a couple of key phrases over the years. However, I quickly learned that almost everyone in Germany speaks English.

[And when in doubt...throw in a "Prost!"]

After three hours reading about technology and science at the bland Deutsches Museum, Craig and I decided it was time to check out the world-famous beer hall, Hofbrauhaus.







Over the course of our time in the beer hall, we sat with Germans from Colon (who, despite a severe language barrier, taught us their national anthem and declared that I was destined to marry their son), two ladies from Southern Spain who told me I spoke flawless Castillian Spanish (!!!) and a spirited group of American backpackers who invited us back to their hostel bar for after-hours.



Apparently, I caught the eye of an older gentleman from Istanbul who asked me to dance. He spun me around to the cheers of the band and the bar patrons, then sat me back down, providing me with an "open invitation to visit Istanbul."


The following night, we asked a local waitress for nightlife recommendations. After some thinking, she gave us directions to Milchbar in Kunstpark Ost (an open park, formerly a factory ground, in the middle of nowhere that is home to about 30 different nightclubs). This dance club was seriously embracing the 80's, and I felt right at home. We danced until dawn and then enjoyed some freshly-baked bavarian pretzels in the market near our hotel.

Always smart to ask the locals.

Family Fiascos: Germany - Part II

We ran across the airport, [politely] cut the entire line at security and delivered ourselves to the terminal with two minutes to spare...only to find out that the flight was delayed by an hour. Well, at least we got a workout.

And what does one do with an hour to kill at 6am in Barajas Airport? Duty-free shopping, of course. I decided I wanted a new perfume. Totally reasonable thought for a Friday morning at dawn. Craig and I ran around the store, testing out each and every scent they had to offer (the employees must have loved us). Around 6:25 a.m., I settled on a classic: Prada. I pretended that the numbers shown were U.S. dollars, not Euros, and handed over my American Express.

Finally, we boarded the plane and arrived in Munich just a couple of hours later -- famished and in need of a serious nap. We collapsed into chairs at a cafe across from our hotel and I inhaled a rich bowl of cream of asparagus soup and half a basket of Bavarian pretzels with mustard.

After lunch and a quick power nap, we left the hotel to wander around Munich.

[of course, more to come...]