childlike joy at a "grown-up" age

over memorial day weekend, i had one of the most relaxing mini-vacations i can recall having in my long history of vacations.  ocean isle beach has always had a special place in my heart but this weekend was just absolutely perfect.  we had the most ideal combination of everything i like at the beach: beach runs, good coffee, good books, great weather, delicious food, and excellent company.  i felt incredibly rejuvenated and ready to face the last 14 days of the school year with all my strength.  

while on this perfect mini-vacay, i spent a lot of time in the sand.  well duh, i was at the beach.  sunday afternoon, especially, i was sitting in the sand at the edge of the water making drippy sandcastles (you know the ones that look like la sagrada familia in barcelona) on my legs, covering myself entirely in sand and salt.  i was the most content that i have been in a very long time.  i looked over to my friend and said, "i am just having so much fun right now." and we talked about how unusual it was for me, a 25 year old with a career job, to be having such a good time playing in the sand.  i didn't fit in with the other beach-goers building sandcastles; they were 20 years younger than me.  it's rather unusual to see a 25 year old covering her legs in sand castles on purpose and loving it.  why is that?

when do we stop wanting to build sand castles?  and why?  does the decision to cease sand castle production correlate with growing up and the onset of adulthood?  and what does all that mean?  i know that being an elementary school teacher affords me many childlike privileges (such as wearing very bright non-business attire daily and telling corny jokes) but are these things actively avoided by other people my age?  i have grappled with this question before - what it means to "grow up" and to "be an adult" - but i just don't understand why a person can't have a good career job, be responsible with their finances, and know how to cook a solid meal (all qualities that i feel adults should possess) while at the same time, enjoy building sandcastles?

life isn't all work, work, work and i just don't think that everyone knows that!  especially living in the dc metro area, i can almost feel the stress vibes emanating off of a majority of the population.  if all of these adults took some time out of their stressful lives to act like children (by having simple fun, not by throwing temper tantrums), i'm pretty sure the world wouldn't stop spinning and they might remember what it feels like to not be stressed out.

i hope to never lose sight of the little things that make me smile (like a really terrible joke or blue nail polish) even as i grow into a more responsible adult (what that means, i've yet to learn...)

x!

memories of the mekong

i'm training for a (sprint) triathlon.

after my second half marathon, i decided i was up for a different kind of challenge.  in a roundabout phone conversation, my sister and i seemed to unintentionally convince each other that flying to san diego for a long weekend to compete in what will be my first triathlon was a great idea.

now don't get me wrong, i'm very excited.  i've developed a strict training regimen that involves me waking up far before the sun each morning to work out.  some mornings i cycle and other mornings i swim.  then in the afternoons i often run and do yoga.  i'm exhausted, but i'm feeling physically fit and prepared for the trio of fitness challenges that awaits me on the west coast.

the one leg of the race that i'm very nervous about, despite my preparedness, is the swim.

you may or may not know this about me.  but i'm scared of the dark.  this fear includes:

1. walking alone at night (the only legitimate part of my fear for someone my age)

2. entering a room/building when no one is home and thus, all the lights are off (i have grown to be ok with this situation in my own apartment)

3. sleeping (yes, i have a nightlight to scare away the monsters under my bed)

4. camping (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my)

5. expansive bodies of water when i cannot see the bottom

those expansive bodies of water are what concern me most right now.  to prep myself, i have been trying to recall all the times that i've swum in something dark and unfamiliar.  unfortunately, all the water we swam in during our travels last year were perfectly crystal clear, so that doesn't help my comfort level.  the atlantic ocean is cloudy but i've swum in it my whole life, making it familiar and non-threatening.  i generally tend to stay away from anything particularly murky... 

the one very fitting experience that comes to mind for comfort was last fall in thailand.  A and i were nearing the end of our SE asia adventure and had traveled with A's cousin, H, from nong khai via motorbike to a sleepy "town" on the mekong river.  by town i mean, a very small cluster of people and buildings having the most relaxed life imaginable.  we each rented a bungalow for a long weekend of reading in hammocks overlooking the vast mekong river.

to say that our setup was idyllic is an extreme understatement.  i don't know if there are even words to describe the calmness of this place.  despite the roaring mekong below us, i cannot remember a time when i have been more relaxed.

on our last night in the bungalows, we stayed up late chatting and drinking leos until the boys decided that it was time to go swimming in the mekong.  now, it was the middle of the night and we were in the middle of nowhere.  darkness surrounded us and i was terrified to begin with.  absolutely not was i going swimming in the river that RAGED below us.  had they not seen how fast it was moving?  had they not seen how wide it was?  had they not noticed that you can't the bottom?  who knows what lives in there! did they not notice that it was DARK OUTSIDE?!!  

while they ran down the hill and dove in, i slowly made my way behind them as their "lifeguard."  i wasn't going to completely miss out on the "fun" by sitting on the porch in the dark alone.  

well. needless to say, after a couple rounds of the boys flipping into the water and letting it carry them downstream before swimming back to the hill and climbing up, i realized that they weren't going to die.  if any scary monsters lived in the depths, they hadn't surfaced yet and i they were having so much fun!  so in i jumped.  the swift current caught me by surprise and my heart was racing (you know, because of the potential sea monsters and all the darkness) but i was swimming in the mekong!  those 15 minutes of swimming in the hugest, muddiest, fastest moving body of water that i have ever seen are something that i will never forget.

it's funny how something that encapsulates so many of my fears can be one of my greatest memories. 

so when i think about swimming in the mekong, i realize that san diego's mission bay can't possibly be that bad. 

x!

possible retraction?

i cannot believe how many things i did today!  despite the cold, rainy weather, i got up (early) and ran the GW Parkway 10 miler classic (and finished in 1:35:39!), ate a delicious brunch in del rey with M and her fam, AND met up with cousin J (who i hadn't seen since i moved here) for delicious, celebratory beers at one of my favorite spots.  that was all before 3pm.  i was exhausted.  upon returning home i took a much needed shower and nap and then was out the door for church at 5 followed directly by needtobreathe at the 930 club.

i did all of those things and i normally don't like to leave my house in the rain.

i was thinking over my day and i realized that it would be hard to accomplish such a day living anywhere else.  i also realized that i've had lots of similar days in the recent past.  in fact, my weekends have generally been incredible.  thus, i may have to retract my previous claim of having a mundane life...

x!

reunion and my second half marathon!

a week ago, i ran my second half marathon!  the plan was concocted while i was in vietnam last november.  i'm not sure where the inspiration came from but all of a sudden, i remember thinking, "i want to run another race!"  so i did a quick google search, found the rock 'n roll half marathon in DC and sent an email out to friends.  who wanted to join me?! 

since we ran the bavisela together in trieste last may, it was easy to convince V and L and the plans were set.  march 17th, 2012 = reunion half marathon + early bday celebration for me and my quarter of a century! 

so how did the training go?  well i got into really good shape in december when i wasn't working.  i was lucky to have beautiful running weather at my parents' in roanoke, and not having a job gave me plenty of time to focus on the running.  unfortunately, when i did start working again in january - things got a bit hectic.  i was stressed and with minimal daylight hours, it was difficult to find time to run outside - and who wants to do a long run on the treadmill? definitely not me.  

thankfully, living near V again gave me extra motivation.  we started running together during the weeks and doing long runs on the weekends -- it's amazing how much more fun it is to run 11 miles with a friend than by yourself.  overall, things were much easier this go around.  i knew what to expect and i was more confident in myself knowing that i had run 13 miles before.  in addition to V, i knew lots of other people in the area training for the same race or another race so there always seemed to be people doing the same thing i was.  and running through the monuments in DC isn't the worst thing ever.  

as we turned the corner to march and the weather gods decided they weren't into winter weather, things began to heat up around here.  and by that i mean, temperatures very quickly rose to mid-70s and wearing a jacket was no longer necessary.  beautiful! wonderful! excellent! i first thought.  but then i went on a run and was super sweaty and the heavy, humid air was hard to breathe and WOOF i was not trained for this. enter, nervous emotions.  

my goal for this race (the one i told other people) was to beat my time last year (2:14) but my secret goal (the one i didn't tell many people) was to break 2 hours.  i was feeling really good and the times of my long runs made me think i could do it.  alas, neither happened, officially.  my official finishing time was 2:16 but i did have a 7ish minute bathroom stop in the middle.  so, minus those 7 minutes of standing in a line, i would have finished in 2:09 and boom! met my outloud goal.  

the race was a fun one.  there were SO MANY people running and going through DC on st. patrick's day made for humorous spectator circumstances.  there were lots of encouraging signs saying things like "beer: 5 miles ahead," or "hurry up so we can drink."  there was even a make-shift service station of good samaritans passing out cups of green beer to runners.  i may have taken a cup if they hadn't been positioned right at the bottom of a big hill around mile 8...

at the end of the race, we weren't greeted with jello shots like last year (we missed you, K!) but the race did have a giant expo with lots of free swag and live music! we did our best to hoard the free swag and milk the expo for all we could.   

then we spent an excellent day hanging out in DC, catching up, refueling, and yes, drinking our share of guinness to celebrate the holiday.  the race was fun and the reunion around which the weekend was centered was even more fun. 

i love the camaraderie of running races with friends -- luckily, i have a few more coming up!  in may, i'm doing a triathlon in san diego with my sister as well as tentatively running another half over memorial day weekend with lizzy in boston!  apparently i'm into being physically fit.  thanks to daylight savings, it's much easier to find daylight hours in which to train...  you know me, just thinking about running in the dark makes me nervous.

i'm still amazed with myself and my enthusiasm for running now as an "adult."  on every long run i took, i found myself thinking back to my high school track days and the passionate hatred i had for running the 400 meter warm-up lap that was required.... man how things change.

x!

hello, nostalgia!

just to get those memories flowing, here's a pretty cool video of trieste that a friend sent me from the internets.  it shows trieste in absolutely impeccable weather conditions (which almost never existed in my real life there) and i want to go back now. 

Trieste from Andrija Kovač on Vimeo.

x!

reentry.

i'm alive.  yes, i've been MIA from the blogosphere for quite some time now (i believe my last post was in october? oops), but i'm back now.  i've just settled into an apartment in the ballston area of arlington, va with a lovely view of interstate 66 and i start teaching 3rd grade full-time on monday.  yes, as my sister says, i'm becoming a grown-up lady (sort of).

i got back from italy in late july, 2011 and have been flitting about the globe (of course) since.  i visited some friends in new york, california and then i took a road trip through alaska and canada.  in early october, i embarked upon an epic southeast asia adventure with longtime friend, A.  i was gallivanting 12 time zones away for 6 weeks and returned just before thanksgiving.  

and i've been in the states ever since.  that means i've been in america for 62 whole days - the longest period of time without leaving the country in about a year and half.  and oh man, am i still adjusting.  here is a short list of some things i haven't quite gotten used to again in the past 62 days.

my iPhone: in italy, i had a cell phone.  but only about 10 people had my number and i worked with all of them which meant there were very few reasons to actually call or message me.  that communication situation is drastically different than my current situation where my sister sends novels via text message (complete with pictures) and my mom likes to talk on the phone once a day.  apologies abound because i'm just not used to people calling me!  also, when i do use it, my usage skills are mediocre at best.  i'm almost certain that it doesn't reach its full potential.  i did have an ipod touch in my travels last year that i used quite well but something about adding the telephone capabilities have blown my mind.  i DO, however, have a neon yellow case for my phone, which makes me love it.

grocery stores: now, i love the grocery store.  i usually take a list with me but don't consult it very often because i love to go up and down every aisle and check out the selection.  when it comes to actually putting something in my basket, however, the anxiety sets in.  WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OPTIONS?! i've started reading the ingredients in everything for comparative purposes, thus, adding to the amount of time i need on each aisle.  and it doesn't really help me choose what to buy because almost all the labels include some chemically-sounding something that i have never heard of and couldn't try to pronounce if i wanted to.  do i really want to eat that?! so i usually end up choosing something that i'm less-than-thrilled about consuming and then i'm just unhappy.  now you're probably wondering how i have time to go through this process every time i need to buy some food.  i don't!! and i'm rarely completely satisfied with something i've bought, so it's not like i have go-to items that i can run in and grab.  i just don't know what to eat anymore.  for the record, comparable anxiety hits me in similar stores such as CVS, walmart, and target. it's awful (anecdotal tangent: my first day back in america last july, i was in target trying to buy shampoo.  i left the store in tears - and without shampoo - because i got so stressed out.  very traumatic).   

driving: i'm not totally sure what the problem is here but i know that i didn't used to dislike driving as much as i do now.  i've told you before that driving is not my preferred method of long-distance travel, but now i just don't like it ever.  i'm annoyed by needing to drive my car anywhere.  if i'm going somewhere close-ish, i want to walk; but people don't do that here - everyone drives everywhere.  it's nonsense.  this is more a cause of annoyance than something i'm not good at (not to say i'm an excellent driver, let's be serious).


in the coming weeks, as i'm continuing to adjust to life in america (and so close to the nation's capital!) and settling into my pseudo-grown-up-lady life, i'm going to be updating this here blog with things i left out of my travels last fall and even last year while i was in europe.  it will be all kinds of nostalgic to reminisce about travels and life last year especially as the weather here is so, well, january.

so, get excited because it's going to be fun!

x

thoughts from cambodia

we've been in phnom penh for a week already and I'm in no hurry to leave. the city is nice, not too big- we've been able to walk most places- and not too small that we've run out of areas to explore. it's easy to navigate if you don't factor in the extremely chaotic traffic situation. the people are friendly and my very basic attempts at speaking Khmer have made them even more welcoming; it's inspiring to encounter such friendly people especially while knowing what a tumultuous past the country has had. learning about the Khmer rouge genocide while getting to know the country in it's current state has been very interesting and humbling- and the khmer optimism for the future really shows.

our week here has been unlike any travel experience I've had before. we've only done a few things you would find in a guidebook and have been doing more wandering and discovering things on our own. also, because the country is developing, there are numerous NGOs in the area and through a friend of a friend I've been able to explore what people are doing to help and I got to spend a few days working with Khmer children, which I loved. getting to know a city and its people slowly has given me more time to absorb all the new things that I'm seeing and learning. I can tell that I'll leave here with a higher appreciation for where I've been then I have had after previous trips.

on that note, I'm grateful to be traveling with A, who has really forced me out of my comfort zone. although I may not seem happy about it at the time, I know being uncomfortable and trying (really) new things has helped me to see and do things that I never would have otherwise [thanks!].

so, to sum up these very brief thoughts, even though each day is hotter than the hottest day of a Virginia summer, I'm having an amazing time.

what's next, you ask? this weekend we go to kep, a beach on cambodia's southern coast and next week we'll get over to ho chi minh city at some point. after spending some time in vietnam, we'll go to northern thailand to laze along the mekong with A's cousin. then it's back to the states just in time for turkey and stuffing.

x!

i'm going to alaska.

so a while ago, i gave you all a preview about what i was up to this fall.  then i got busy actually doing it all and haven't shared an update.  sorry about that.

today i leave for alaska, my first major adventure of the fall.  the current plan is to fly to anchorage and in a few days, hop in a car with my friend, S, and drive back to virginia.  but that's not all - S wants to go ALL the way down to new orleans and THEN back up.  now, i'm not sure how your US + canada geography is but canada is huge and alaska is very very far away.  this endeavor will involve driving almost all the way across canada and reentering the usa around north dakota.  let's just glance at this map over here to the left. see alaska, obviously top left and then north dakota is in the middle (it's a green state) and virginia, way east (yellow).   last night, S said the total mileage estimate was some enormous number like 6,000.

so. yeah.  S has recognized that i have never driven in a car longer than 6 hours and even that wasn't all that recently -- he's worried about me.  i've put it out there that i may want to be dropped off at a major airport along the way to jump ship.  then S will have to continue on his own and that will be sad, but i just might not be able to handle it. 

i am feeling incredibly unprepared for this trip and i can't pinpoint why although there are many factors that could be contributing.  first of all, we'll be camping in the canadian wilderness for about a week; i've been camping before and i've spent lots of time in the snow, but i have not done both of these things together.  do i have the right clothes? am i going to be freezing? i'm fully prepared to wear every article of clothing in my backpack while sleeping in a tent.  but still, i'm nervous.  the nerves i have are very different than any i had before unplanned trips last year, in fact, i was always more excited for unplanned things last year, but those trips were predictable.

it could also be that i've never done anything like this (camp in canada OR drive across the country) and it's just so vastly unknown that i can't wrap my brain around it.  everyone has been telling me that this will be an amazing experience - a cross country road trip! when else will i have the chance?! and apparently we'll be "chasing autumn south," and fall is my favorite season, chasing it could be fun.  my friend, A, told me yesterday that there's just something about a road trip that can't be described adequately; the passing views create a gorgeous panorama that you can't possibly recreate, you only know how beautiful it is if you're there, looking out the window (i wish i remembered exactly how eloquently he said that) -- and we all know how i feel about a good bella vista.  

it's not that i'm not excited, because i am.  i know it will be an incredible experience that i might not ever get the chance to have again and that's exciting.

stay tuned, hopefully i'll be able to update along the way.  i can tell you how cold i am, how beautiful the sights are, and how excited i am for a shower.   

x!

L.I.Z.s from the road: episode 3

since the last update, we've spent approximately 19 hours on trains, buses and boats but have made it to hvar island in croatia!  our perch on top of a hill looking out over the adriatic sea is definitely the most beautiful place we've been to on this trip.

to backtrack a little bit... during the first part of our trip, the weather was uncharacteristically COLD.  i say "uncharacteristically" because it was late june, i'm actually not sure what the weather is normally like at this time of year in prague, budapest, or belgrade.  i just know that it was june and i was cold and not happy about it.  not being the only l.i.z. to feel this way, we were all three incredibly anxious to get to the coast.

so, the other day (i'm so lost as to what today's date is, what day of the week it is, or how quickly time is passing) we got on a train in belgrade heading to bar, montenegro.  after something insane like 11 hours, we made it to bar and then took a taxi (with a hilarious woman that kept trying to chat with us despite the fact that we had no common language) to budva, the "montenegrin miami," where we stayed for a couple nights.  even at night, it was much warmer in montenegro and we were excited. that is, until we woke up the following morning to an overcast sky.  luckily, the weather cleared up and we were able to enjoy some blue skies and a good number of beach hours for our two full days there.

on monday, july 4th (the only date i will remember from the whole trip), we took another 10 hour bus ride from budva to split, croatia!  after the bus, we took a ferry across the sea to hvar island and have 3 more nights in this incredibly gorgeous haven.  dubbed "the sunniest place in europe" by wikipedia, we are optimistic for the weather.

today, other liz and i rented mopeds and drove them all over the island -- we passed lavender fields (the smell was amazing!), bopped around the old town, stari grad, and stumbled upon a secluded beach cove for a late-afternoon swim.  it was a pretty excellent first day on the island.

tomorrow, V comes to join us!  we have a long list of things we still want to do on the island including hiking up to the old fortress, going to the beach club in the woods?, finding other secluded beaches, taking a taxi boat across to a smaller island for a sandy beach day, etc. etc. 

x!

moving away from my old plan-every-detail-too-far-in-advance ways

K said to me on monday morning, "you didn't call me all weekend, what did you do!?" and i actually couldn't remember calling anyone all weekend.  i spent the weekend as a follower.  V was making plans and i was just joining in at the last minute -- it was quite the role reversal, actually. 

and tomorrow marks the beginning of my spring break trip and i still don't know when i'm leaving.  i might leave in the afternoon, might take an overnight train, or i might wait until monday.  i only have beds to sleep in booked for half of the week.  i haven't checked the weather for any of my destinations so i absolutely haven't packed nor have i composed a packing list.  for the last 2 hours, instead of doing any of these things, i skyped with friends and painted my nails big apple red in preparation for the beaches of malta (even though i haven't checked that the weather will allow for beaching). 

and now, i'm going to watch the newest episode of glee and go to bed early. when will i pack? when will i plan? meh, i'll do it sometime. 

some people may see this as irresponsible, but i see it as moves in the right direction. as K and V said, "this is big for you!" 

we'll see how things play out....

xo!

finally loving trieste.

remember that goal i made a few weeks ago?

well. obviously, i've done a terrible job. but it's for wonderful reasons! since then, i've spontaneously been to croatia twice, had drinks with friends after work lots, gone on multiple long runs in the beautiful sunshine, entertained visitors, and many other things.

the end is quickly approaching, and i am all-too-conscious of it.  this coming week is spring break and i'm going with V to cinque terre and malta (with some stops in parma in the middle).  when we return, we will have 7 weeks of school left. ONLY 7 WEEKS!

so. instead of blogging everyday, i'm going to live life and enjoy trieste now that the bora has gone for the summer.

i'll talk to you when it rains.

xo!

marymom and daddyjohn take on trieste and the trifecta.

playing tourguide is incredibly exhausting. my parents arrived in trieste last friday evening and left for venice this morning.  despite having a day off from work on tuesday, this week has crawled along slower than so many others.  it could be the fact that spring break is now only a week away and i am dying for its swift arrival, but it could also be that i have been entertaining 24/7 since last friday.  don't get me wrong, i loved having my parents here (i've said before how we love visitors) but man, i am tired.

my parents came to visit me in 2008 when i was living in siena and they still talk about what an amazing vacation they had, mostly in part to my impeccable planning for them.  before their arrival, i had concocted a detailed itinerary with times and locations for meeting as well as set them up with things to do on their own while i was in class.

this time around, however, i tried my hardest to have them plan their own itinerary.  weeks (months? maybe too soon?) in advance i began sending them emails including links of things to check out and suggestions of what they could do while they were in the area.  neither of them had been to this edge of western europe before so i knew it was necessary to include the "trifecta," as V has aptly named the combination of venice, slovenia, and croatia, into our plans for their time in trieste.

it can't stop with simply, "include the trifecta," though.  there are so many things in slovenia that i am only just discovering myself, venice can be done in a day or a week - what were their priorities? - and not even i had been to croatia yet! oh! and i have a full time job with AND am training for a half-marathon that will be run in a month... this visit would be slightly different from tuscany in 2008 when i was going to a class or two a day (i believe that i easily understand my exhaustion now).

so! as i mentioned, i did my best to shove them in the planning direction by providing suggestion upon suggestion for their visit.  however, two days before their arrival, i realized they had no plans and i caved by quickly concocting the following itinerary which we followed very closely during their stay.

friday: you arrive. i pick you up with no major problems (hopefully). we arrive back at your hotel/my apartment around 730/8. you all spend a brief amount of time getting settled and we go to my 2 favorite spots for drinks and dinner (delish burgers) 

saturday: spend the day lounging. the weather will be beautiful and warm -- we should go to barcola and through the city. wander for a bit, stop for drinks, repeat. 
- osmiza for dinner!

after getting on with our adventure a bit later than we had hoped, we made our way to the carso to find an osmiza.  i went to an osmiza during one of my first weekends here in the fall and immediately knew that my parents would love the experience.  

to find an osmiza, you must drive and drive into the carso until you see signs and the osmiza branches directing you where to go

we finally found one!

and ate loads. 

after osmiza #1, we resumed the hunt and went to a 2nd one with a totally different vibe.  at osmiza #2 we sat near a birthday party that involved guitar playing and boys pulling their pants down..... so, that was an experience. 

sunday: croatia. spend the day at some fabulous beachy/port city. drive up the coast. 
check, check, and check.  we headed straight to porec (got 3 passport stamps along the way), wandered around the town for a bit and then drove back north along the coast toward italy.

the coastal drive was incredible.  it reminded me of driving on the big island in hawaii -- the road was a bit away from the water but the way the surrounding land sloped, you could see down to the sparkling adriatic and it was just the most beautiful view. 

we stopped along the way at roadside stands and bought dried fruit and unidentifiable bean pods (that i later found out were carob and is used as a chocolate substitute?)

and then, i ate this incredible piatto di frutti di mare. the octopus hidden in the middle underneath all the shellfish was my favorite. 

monday: you all wander around trieste, walk along the water, visit the castle, etc. take the tram up or drive the car up to my school around lunchtime, come eat lunch with me at school and spend some time letting me show you off (as you desire) and then there are things you can do (beautiful overlooks, etc.) in opicina until school is out and then i usually have italian class at bar vatta (drinks near school) which could be fun for you all to come to! or we could just go down into town after school. 

-campanon for pizza dinner! 

after enduring an exciting morning on trieste trasporti in part due to my poor directions and in part due to the failure of the tram to be run regularly, my parents made it to opicina and school.  they hung out at lunch and recess, heard all about my students and met pretty much everyone i work with.  we rendezvoused a bar vatta per il mio lezione d'italiano.  

then! we drove down the hill and went to wander around the gardens at castello di miramare.  it was just before sunset and the weather was beautiful.  all the spring flowers had popped, making the gardens just breathtaking.  thus began the repeated phrase, "you live in such a beautiful city!"

it's true. i do live in a beautiful city. 

tuesday: my day off. SLOVENIA! we can do lake bled, possible lake bohinj, the predjama castle (google these things, if interested -- they're all awesome), and ljubljana. there are some delish thai/mexican/indian restaurants in ljubljana that we could patronize for dinner if you all were up for it. it stays light so late here now (730 at least) that we could wander until dark and then eat dinner and head back to trieste after dinner (ljubljana is about an hour away, so that's not even getting back that late)

i have done this slovenia day before so it was easily a success -- we made it to the predjama castle for a quick stop before heading past ljubljana to lake bled.

in bled, the sun was warm and the breeze was crisp, perfect for a stroll around the lake with the sneaky alps poking out underneath the light cloud cover.  

we had some lunch in bled and then went back south to ljubljana for the late afternoon and evening where we wandered the old town and marymom and i got some stranded tulips at the end of the farmer's market.

wednesday: you all wander, do whatever while i'm at work. pick me up at school? 

-pizza night at my apartment!

before pizza night could really get started, this happened. he took it like a champ (as you can see)

as you can see, we had so many of the bases covered (numerous bottles of wine, trieste-style deviled eggs, pimento cheese, and freshly rolled out pizza dough)

this bbq chicken pizza was incredible -- thanks for the bbq sauce, america!

being forced (hahaha yeah they had to twist my arm) to show my parents around the trifecta of my current home, gave me the opportunity to explore some myself -- sunday was my first time in croatia!  showing them where i live and what i do here really helped me to appreciate my life (the amazing weather didn't hurt, either).  

as much as i have complained about trieste and the bora and work and everything else i've complained about this year (when did i grow to be so negative?), i can fully recognize now that life is good, here. 

spring has sprung, the surrounding bella vistas are out of control and time is flying.  next week we enter the final quarter and have only 8 weeks of school to go.  spring break is around the corner and my departure date is very quickly approaching.  i'm just not ready to leave yet....


x!

stramilano: my first 10k!

i just got back from a wonderful 8-mile run along the adriatic sea so it feels rather appropriate to post about the stramilano in milan on march 27th! 

me and my roommates are running in the bavisela half-marathon here in treiste on may 8th!  march 27th was around the halfway point in our training so V and i decided to sign up for and run the stramilano 10k in milan as well! 

now, you might be wondering, "uh liz...i thought you hated running?" yep. i did too. it's true what they say about the bora here in trieste, it makes you crazy. and during this past winter - it was not hard at all to convince me to register for both of these races (we signed up in late january).  feeling lethargic and just BLAH after a winter of being trapped indoors due to the bora and suffocating downpours, it was exciting to think about getting outside and running.  

however, the beginning of our training (really, the entire month of february) was sort of fake because the weather still ha fatto schifo.  but after returning from february break, when march was in full swing, we began running.  it was slow and hard - we ran before, during, and after school - and i definitely was slacking off during every single run.  there is no way i could have even pretended to successfully run these races without the pump-up spirit of V! 

so! we made it to milan on march 26th, had a lovely day of sightseeing and carb-loading and then ran the race sunday morning!  we ran together the whole time and it was hysterical.  thankfully, V had her camera with her during the run....  

me and V before the race in front of the duomo a milano

throughout the race there were signs counting down the kilometers - i got excited at every sign. eventually, we began making up songs to go with each countdown. 

among our fellow runners were: pink afro, rollerbladers, and multiple young children. [not pictured: men smoking during race and men entering cafe during race to get coffees]

finished! me insanely red faced, per usual. 

so now, here we are. 5 weeks until the half-marathon, training has become legit (thanks to the very welcome spring weather!), and i just ran 8 miles along the adriatic sea.  it's exciting to think that each of my long runs (each week going up a mile) will be the longest i've ever run!  today -- it was hard making it to barcola (the strip of boardwalk along the water) but once i did, i inhaled the most amazing sea air and was revitalized!  even though today was a bit gray, the beginning traces of sunset along the water were still magical.  as i turned around to begin the 2nd half of my run, staring back at the city where i live, i couldn't help but smile while thinking, "i live here!" 

x!

manu chao!: first stop on his april balkan tour

manu chao in ljubljana? hell yes, please. 

i believe we've discussed my minor obsession with slovenia, especially ljubljana, and also the fact that i'm starving for some culture in the form of live music in trieste.  these factors combined made this weekend somewhat ideal.  add: incredible springtime weather, good friends and the most amazing falafel in the entire world and i was pretty much in heaven.  

i was just introduced to the excellence that is manu chao last december during a somewhat lengthy car ride to the dolomiti with friends.  and why i had never heard his hot jams before makes me upset with everyone who had and didn't spread the love my way.  

when browsing the book "1001 songs you must hear before you die" from our school library last week, i discovered that his 2001 release, "clandestino" was chosen as one of these songs.  (by noting some of the other songs that had been selected, i would make this fact less interesting and exciting, so i won't.)  

in the book, for each of the songs chosen as all important, the authors tell a bit about the song, its release and the artist.  in manu chao's brief bio was the following: 

"chao escaped celebrity by returning to travel.  "i have what the spanish call 'a worried ass,' he explained.  "i literally cannot stay in one place too long."

welp, i guess i now know my malady, i have a "worried ass." 

posters advertising the concert all over LJ.

and yes, the concert was excellent. he played a 2.5 hour set, which included an hour's worth of encore songs and oh man, he was just cool.  he's off to other really cool places in the balkans for the rest of the month and YOU should go.

x!

goals getting squashed by the rain

over the weekend, i made a list of all the posts i want to make and the list is rather lengthy.  so! i made a goal of blogging once every week day, monday through friday, starting today.  in addition to the list of overdue posts, things happen around here on a very regular basis that i also like to keep you all updated on (all 5 of you who read regularly), which means my list of "things i need to post" will only be growing.  i needed to create some sort of schedule to keep me on point.

however, today il tempo fa schifo (the weather sucks).  it's one of those rainy, colder-than-you-thought-when-you-were-getting-dressed, foggy days that makes you just want to curl up in bed with a good book (we all know how i feel about the rain and unanticipated temperature fluctuations).  i had the following conversation with my lizzy about the weather while i was doing laundry (another thing that makes me go "ugh"):

me: ugh
lizzy: yeah this weather sucks.  but today is supposed to be the worst of it.... bora might come later this week.
me: ughhhhhhh bora is coming?!
lizzy: yeah i think so, someone told me that it was coming
me: it sounds like the bora is a dreaded relative coming to visit
lizzy: i don't think it's going to be bitter cold, i think it will be more like the bora that just blows all these clouds away.
me: oh! we like that bora!
lizzy: yeah! so it's like that cousin that your hot and cold with instead of the always dreadful relative.

so, there you have it. we're preparing for the arrival of our sometimes dreaded cousin to hopefully clear out these clouds and just jump ahead from april showers to may flowers.

all is not lost, though, on this rainy monday -- thanks to daylight savings time, it's not dark yet AND before checking the weather forecast we made plans for a fajita dinner.  what it does mean is that this non-planned blog post will be today's and i won't be checking anything off my list (unless i add this to my list so that i can check something off - something i'm not above doing).

see you tomorrow when (hopefully) the clouds are gone and i'm full of a delicious mexican dinner.

x!

"sLOVEnia, you guys!!"

as i've referenced here and here, slovenia is an incredible country and i'm obsessed.  i'm so glad that being here in trieste has given me the opportunity to explore the country -- i'm not sure i would have made the time to visit otherwise.

for example: this is at the bus stop near where i tutor on thursday afternoons. that blue road sign says "slovenia" with an arrow.  how cool is it that slovenia is so close, there are road signs directing you. to ANOTHER COUNTRY!

a few weekends ago brought beautiful weather and with friends visiting, i was forced (ha) to make moves to some beautiful sights.  with a macchina that we rented, it was easy to hit some major attractions nearby.

we went to ljubljana, which i love - as you've heard before.  it's the capital of slovenia and there's a large student population there.  we ate amazing indian food (YUM, anything but pasta really gets me going at this point) and then had a night out on the town that can be summarized pretty completely by the photo to the right

needless to say, this brunch (see below) was very necessary. not quite as good as boylan's brunch, but it was pretty damn good.  and it was in slovenia.

also con la macchina, we stopped at a little castle called predjama castle just outside of the postonja caves 

and i mean, if you can't tell, this castle is literally carved out of the side of this rockface. seriously!? INSANE.

seeing the sunset at lake bled was pretty gorgeous. we all know how i feel about the sun setting; i kind of like the bella vistas. and the views around bled were much better than the first time i went when it was a bit overcast. 

the best thing about all of these hidden gems in slovenia, is that they're SO CLOSE to trieste!  on sunday, when i met up with a friend in venice and was sharing stories from my weekend, she said, "hold on, you were in slovenia yesterday?!" yep, it's only a stone's throw away. and yesterday, i was exploring the beautiful coastal town of piran.  piran (or pirano, in italiano) has been rightfully dubbed the "dubrovnik of the north adriatic" -- it was gorgeous.  

after some wandering, a little coffee/postcard break (stamps in slovenia are still relatively inexpensive to the states)

and watching the sunset (of course) by the seaside while posing for perfectly balanced photographs.

so, hopefully i've effectively explained the wonders of slovenia so that you will be interested in visiting this little hidden treat of a country.  i know that personally, i would have never added slovenia to my bucket list and so, as i said, i'm very glad that it was somewhat forced upon me.  

x

freckles! it's about time.

today has been the best day. the weather is amazing! like, sunshine ALL DAY. went for an amazing run (in preparation for my 10k a milano this weekend) -- note: i accidentally typed "fun" instead of "run" in the past sentence. freudian slip? -- and played lots of soccer with the boys in my class (i scored a goal! they were impressed)

and then, i had the following conversation with a friend which made me laugh about the bora: 

Katie:  im so jealous you have good weather.

 me:  it's amazing

the weather gods OWE me, though

 Katie:  uh oh why?

 me:  it rained all fall here. i mean like months in a row. AND the bora exists

 Katie:  wtf is the bora?

 me:  funny you should ask!

per bien's request, i blogged about it

 Katie:  hahaha perfect

 Katie:  so funny

mostly about the crane

 me:  yeah that was hilarious

i mean a giant crane

just blew away

 Katie:  i mean that's a costly expense

   also a good lie for homework

"it blew away"

a likely story

 me:  hahaha

 Katie:  and then the kid could respond "remember when the bora blew away a crane?...it's definitely possible to blow away my homework"

 me:  hahahahahahahaha

Katie:  im laughing out loud because that would be so clutch

me:  definitely a "pro" to the bora's existence

and then she proceeded to tell me that she and her soon-to-be-groom are buying a house, much like my other close married friends. and this sent me back into fits if indecision about life like that day i entered into my quarter-life crisis. but then she said the following: 

Katie:  so you can come visit me and stay in a guest room!!!

 me:  you're a grown up

OMG

you're going to have a  guest room?!

 Katie:  its sort of exciting that my friends could bring someone home if they visited me

and i laughed. and the day was good again. 

and THEN, i went to a student's house (that was on the side of a mountain and had amazing vistas of the city and sea) and learned how to make meringes! AND i ate amazing homemade italian food, drank delicious vino e prosecco, was told that my italian pronunciation is "perfetto" (which i'm not sure is true but, boh), AND walked in on my students (about 8 boys and girls who were there) playing truth or dare and talking about jabas. mamma mia, to be 10 years old again. 

spring is here! 

x