No Doubt in My Mind

When my Italy count down flipped to 11 months I was thinking about a spur of the moment trip home. Lots of reasons why: sometimes I just my mom and dad, it's baseball season, Target.com just isn't the same as a brick store, I wanted to drop off the radar for a while...you know, all typical symptoms of a few bad terrible days and my melodramatic response to it all.

I had it all planned; show up to my boss' office Monday morning, tears in my eyes, just telling him that "I really needed to go home for a while. Everyone was okay, me too, but it was just time for a re-charge." I mean, I had half the office asking me daily if everything was okay or if I wanted to talk...I totally could have sold it. It's not often that an O-6 asks over and over if I'm okay. Well, maybe some O-6s do...but that's rare form for this one...

Why am I telling you all this? 

Today was fabulous. As in one of those days where I just can't stop smiling. Today when the count down clicked down to 10 months, 10,  as in 30 days from now my months will be in single digits, Italy still makes me smile even with all of her quirks. I find it a little ironic that it's exactly 1 month from when I was ready to toss it all aside for a while. 

This morning when I woke up to 1 purring (visiting) kitty and 2 others running around (and into things) at 7 on yes gasp a week day I couldn't help but smile that today was a furlough day. No. Furloughs aren't ideal and it's really stupid that we're dealing with this, but the extra day to my weekend and the extra sleep? Totally worth the 8 hours of less pay for the week...but I digress.

Today I'm just thanking my lucky stars that I ended up in Italy where...

You can buy wine from the parking lot guy. Produce too!
Music coming from the piazza next door interrupts your movie because it's so loud.
Fireworks not only kick off and end your day, but often surprise you during the day.
You think twice about BBQing in your swimsuit until you look out and see the old men across the way (several houses down) just chilling out in their Speedos.
You can't go anywhere without being offered a shot of coffee. (No wonder I'm still awake!)

Italy is where I belong. For now.
Don't believe me? Tony (the boat guy) thought I was Italian today!

Let's Hear It For Zagreb!

Zagreb.
You know- the capitol of Croatia?

For right or wrong, for better or for worse, somehow Budapest has always been dubbed my favorite international city. Why? Maybe because in Budapest all those years ago (2006)  my sister and I had a fabulous time. Since that trip, I've been stacking up the new destination to beautiful Budapest. Even the fabulous Barcelona couldn't knock it out of it's Katie O. #1 ranking...but guess what? I'm here to say that Budapest no longer holds the #1 spot on my list....

ZAGREB does!

Zagreb because...

• I didn't see one mosquito or get bitten.
• Things are still inexpensive, for now.
• Even if rainy weather hits, there are about 100 museums you can visit and they are all housed in beautiful buildings.
• Friendly people that speak enough English to get by that are proud of their city. 
• The Museum of Broken Relationships- need I say more?
• Lots of parks and "green" spaces tend to make you forget you're in a major city.
• The whole place just feels safe & clean- cameras, guards, trashcans (that are used).
• There are a ton of dogs, but not strays! Most are enjoying a walk or hanging out in an outdoor cafe.
• Public transportation makes sense. 
• Lots of interesting history with the city. A lot of it recent history (think early 90s) that makes you impressed that much more with what the city is today. 
• The buildings are beautiful. 
• Streets are filled with outdoor seating for the restaurants and cafes lining the sides. So many options it's overwhelming! 
• It's easy to get out of the city for a day to see the national park.
• Cotton candy for 10kn? I'm sold.
• A zoo with lemurs, bats, and red pandas?!?!
• Carbs are a primary food group.
• There's just this feel, vibe, & energy pulsating through the city. 

Okay and now looking over this list, I'm seeing a lot of things that never bugged me living in Monterey (when I fell in love with Budapest), but now 2+ years in Naples maybe they're more important to me. Or maybe it's the fact that I've seen so many other places in Europe? I'm not sure.

I do know that you need to check Zagreb out.  Split and Dubrovnik always seem to be the popular cities to see, especially with the ferry from Bari, but head inland- it's worth it!  You probably don't need 3 full days there, unless you're huge museum goers in which case plan on being there Tuesday-Sunday since they are closed on Mondays and only opened until 1ish on Sunday. Fact. The Museum of Broken Relationships is open until 10pm. Just trying to assist with trip planning.

Do it.
You won't regret it.

The Museum of Broken Relationships

Every place has one. You know, the place that you hear about and decide then and there to make it a priority on your visit. Like you, I never even knew that The Museum of Broken Relationships existed. Well, that was until April when I picked up my cousin and started hearing about her amazing prior week in Croatia. I remember laughing so hard about it that tears filled my eyes as I raced around the streets of Bari as she recounted how they kept seeing advertisements for the museum but never went. They apparently opted for the Arts & Crafts Museum instead???

Like so many other attractions it was filed in the back of my mind to remain until later. For once though, it wasn't much later because, when I did my quick TripAdvisor search once Zagreb was decided, I knew it was fate that it appeared as #4 in the attractions. Yep.

You can't make this stuff up.


But then again, you hope that some of this stuff was made up. The whole premise of the museum is based on people donating items that either held sentimental value in the relationship or breakup in the effort to let go and move on. In no particular order here are a few of the displays that in one way or another got to me:

The Object: A mini lint roller
The Story: Man had 2 cats. Girlfriend brought roller over so her clothes didn't have at hair on her (that should have been a sign it wouldn't work out). Relationship ends. Girlfriend moves out. Leaves lint roller. I kid you not, a few hairs remained.

The Object: A hand written letter
The Story: In 1992 when things were a little hectic in this part of the world, the 11 year old boy wrote a note to the girl his age traveling with her family in a car near theirs. Apparently everyone was prevented from leaving and in this time span of a few days he developed a crush on the little girl and decided to give her some music. Unfortunately but this time the cars were moving out and he never made the delivery of the music and letter, and he never saw her again.

The Object: Clock face of "We Broke Up on Skype" (picture above)
The Story: Girl in San Fran. Guy in Italy. Always looking at the clock to add those (pesky) hours to figure out when they could chat. Lots of time spent on flights back and forth. Finally it all ended...via Skype.

The Object: A bottle opener shaped like an old key
The Story: You said you loved me. You didn't sleep with me. It wasn't until you died of AIDS did I realize how just how much you loved me. 

The Objects: A collection of air sickness bags
The Story: Another long distance relationship. Every time a new airline was flown, a bag was collected.

The Object: An axe
The Story: Couple living together. Man goes out of town for new job, she can't follow. He gets back, she notifies him about her new lover and goes on trip, but leaves her things in the house. He gets mad. Goes and buys an axe. Chops up one of the pieces of furniture. Can't stop with just one. By the time she returns he belongings are in nice stacks of wood fragments.

I could leave Zagreb happy now, I'm not going to...but I could. For less than $5 I found myself some seriously good entertainment this evening. Granted, I found it, evaluated it, then opted for another walk around the block before actually going in...but it was the place to be! Now, I'm just searching my memory banks for items I could/would donated if I ever wanted to get in on this fabulous idea...

Run Katie, Run

25 Days until I'm at the starting line of the Dublin Half Marathon and well, my training is...um how should I say it? Not quite on track? I actually moved my body 5 miles today. It wasn't a run. It wasn't a jog. It wasn't a walk. It was more of a "jowalk" that felt like a waddle. You know, one of those outings where you're fighting with your brain to "just keep running to that next tree" yet somehow your body pulls the emergency brake and you've stopped to a walk and not sure how it's happened? Yeah. One of those days.

After my 3rd or maybe 4th stop during the first 2 miles I figured it was time to start reminding myself just why I was out there in the heat, drenched in sweat, still shuffling my feet forward, talking to myself because that's what happens when I'm out there solo.

I run...

...for new shoes & clothes.
...to register for races that require travel.
...because it's better for me than a pint of ice cream after a crappy day.
...for the bling.
...because the sound of my footsteps with my heart racing is better than any beat found on    my iPod. (The only exception may be "Evacuate the Dance Floor" remixed.)
...to turn heads. As in the "who is that girl?" kind, but I'll take the "is she crazy?" ones as well.
...for the stress release.
...because I live above a pizza shop that's open 6 days a week, until late.
...to keep Stanley happy.
...for that fabulous shower afterwards.
...because sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day in a windowless building is depressing.
...to make my fat cells cry.
...for that sense of accomplishment when that last mile marker beeps on my watch.
...to feel the sunshine and breathe the fresh air.
...because one day I won't be able to.
...for me.

Bucharest According to Irma

Alright, so I already shared with you how my Bucharest turned into a group event. You even already read traveler #3's take on the trip. Well, here's traveler #2, Irma's, answers to the same questions previously answered by her teenage daughter.

Katie: What 3 words describe Bucharest?
Irma: Diverse, sad, food

Katie: What is the strangest thing you experienced on the trip?
Irma: I think the strangest thing I experienced was the statue outside the Modern Art Museum.  I’m not really sure what was going on with the naked man holding a wolf with a snake sticking out from somewhere.

Katie: Describe your trip in 30 seconds please.
Irma: Trip started in a small elevator for two, continued to a missed bus stop and a check by the metro police (for payment), which eventually led us the travel agency before closing time-barely.  After that, public transportation went well, no major catastrophes.  The trip to Transylvania was interesting, but would have been more interesting if it was Vlad “the Impaler(’s)” castle, but it was still nice to visit (in the rain).  I really enjoyed all the different ethnic restaurants we were able to enjoy, including the stop at Chocolat to warm us and experience death by chocolate. Great trip!


Katie: Any words about the weather?
Irma: The weather was very interesting.  It did give us an opportunity to spend time with the homeless man in a wheel chair under an alcove.  I’m still not sure if maybe would should have paid him for sharing the space with him.

Katie: What was your highlight of the trip? You know, the thing you will forever associate Bucharest with.
Irma: The highlight of the trip for me was the trip to the Natural History Museum where we experienced the Human Body Expo, that was a very interesting exhibit.  Another highlight for me was the pure goodness of the hollow bread cylinder called kurtos.

Katie: Would you go again?
Irma: No, but that’s because I like to experience new places.

Bucharest According to Taylor

My solo trip to Bucharest, Romania turned out to be Katie + 2!
How? Well, from what I hear it went something like this:

Irma (my coworker) to her husband: Katie is going all alone to Bucharest this weekend. Isn't that terrible? She says it's okay if I want to join her, and I do because I don't think she should go alone. 

The response? You can go, but take Taylor. 

I love this family! I'm not sure if it's because their last name also starts with "O", when I sit at their dinner table I feel like I'm reliving chats with my family, or the fact that I get along with them so well. Irma and I have traveled together (although there would be no blog post to link as reference, trust me, we marched all over Munich) and more importantly, we traveled well together. Our trip went fabulously- well we had a few minor mishaps, but that's all part of the traveling adventure.

Taylor, the daughter, is my second interviewee turned blog post. Shoot, I don't even know if she wanted to go to Bucharest and was just thrown in the deal or what? What I do know? Her love for bread, easy going nature, and facial expressions made our trip even more memorable for me. Here's her summary, the short form, after all- she is on summer vacation!

Katie: What was your highlight of the trip? You know, the thing you will forever associate Bucharest with.

"The Potato on a Stick"

Taylor: The potato on a stick statue made me laugh every time you guys said it so I'll probably remember that.

Katie: What 3 words describe Bucharest?
Taylor: Loud, Historical, Surprising.

Katie: That is the strangest thing you experienced on the trip?
Taylor: Strangest thing was hiding out under that arch during the rain with the homeless man.
(Make sure you read my version here.)

Katie: Describe your trip in 30 seconds/100 words, please.
Taylor: There was a lot to see in Bucharest. Our trip seemed kind of relaxed, because we had listed what we definitely wanted to see and were able to stop at a lot on the way there. The tours we took to the castles and around the city were very informative. The weather was crazy, but bearable. I liked the wide variety of food, that was available even though it took us a long time to choose, each time. Bucharest had a really interesting history, which was actually kind of fun to learn about. So all in all, I actually enjoyed the trip very much, although I did freak out in the beginning because I thought we were going to be kidnapped and forced into prostitution like all the movies and stories you read about.

Katie: Any words about the weather?
Taylor: Bipolar

Katie: Would you go again?
Taylor: Probably not to Bucharest, because like the site (or whatever it was) said, you can practically see everything in 2 days. I felt like we were seeing things over and over near the end of the time we were there.

Katie: Anything else you'd like to add/put on the record?
Taylor: Make sure you don't end up riding to the very end on the bus.

Rainy in Romania

When traveling I really do try to "unplug" from the computer. The lack of smart phone sure assists with this task but when traveling in slightly shadier places...say Romania, the check in factor with friends and family sort of becomes important. When my travel companions offered the use of their technology, I sent a few emails off relaying the events of the day.

Well, there were two versions. Yes, there are always at least 2 versions. Here's the hybrid between the two and those who I sent these to, hope you don't mind that I'm sharing my words with others but it's way easier than creating a new post.
- - - - - - - - - -
In Romania and visited two museums today, and got stuck in the rain after each. This apparently is one of the of the countries where you can be drenched in your own sweat one minute, and drenched in rain the next. Luckily the thunder alerts you and the homeless man let us share his alcove when the trees weren't cutting in on round 2. This was after a man with mic and camera crew asked me some question at a craft market and I had to "decline comment" because I had no idea what he was asking.

Yes, homeless man.
Yes, let me back up and explain a tad more. 

Leaving the Peasant Museum cafe (beer break) after I sat on the floor of the gift shop searching out the perfect painted eggs, we realized the sky was about to dump every ounce of water it had absorbed in the previous hours. We found a great tree (previous rain avoidance tool) and huddled under it.

Wind starts making the rain attack us. No, I'm not made of sugar but that doesn't mean I like being drenched in rain. So we sprint across a way to an alcove/driveway to and share it with a homeless man in a wheel chair. 2 minutes pass and we move because the rain drainage is like a small creek taking over our feet.

Thunder.

Lightning.

Wind.

Hail.

Yes, the day started off at 80F and 100% humidity. My umbrella was in the apt for the sunscreen bottle to fit in my purse.

As soon as the rain slowed, we went back to our tree. Then the front of the museum, where there were several people and 4 dogs. Slowly we made our way over to the metro. At our stop we decided the rain had passed, so we marched on to St. Nicolas Catherdral and then in what felt like a terribly long march, but I think that's because my sandal wearing feet were gritty with dirt and my feet were still sliding around them due to the rain and slick roads? 

Needless to say we were laughing about it by the time we plopped down for dinner and made our break for the dessert place prior to the 3rd downpour of the day. And yes, we packed our umbrellas the next day. Of course it didn't rain!