During long flights, my brain wanders and I get to thinking about lots of random things. One of those things on my travels over to Europe was the game of football. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it on the blog before, but I grew up in a football family. My dad has been a high school athletic director and football coach my entire life, my brothers played football, and one of them now coaches as well. I was a competitive cheerleader growing up, and cheered at football games from the age of 7 up to 17. So while I get that a lot of women have no interest in football, I not only understand the game, I love it. With football season officially underway, here are some reasons why I’m digging the sport right now: Funday Sunday…and Monday: NFL football makes Sunday and Monday nights (and ... [Read More]
Archives for September 2013
Memorable Vegetarian Eats & Drinks in Amsterdam
My days in Amsterdam this time around have come and gone. I had a great time there for work, but I was excited to leave the city and start my European vacation! My hubby and I spent some time in Cologne (more on that later!), and now we're rolling through the German countryside on the train en route to Austria. But today I'm sharing my eats and drinks from my time in Amsterdam. A lot of my eats were at the city's convention center where my work event was, looking mostly like this... ...but I also had some fun foodie experiences. Here are my top 3: 1.) TerraZen Cafe: I talked about this Japanese/Caribbean fusion vegan eatery last year, and this year I went back to the restaurant - twice actually! It's completely hippy-ish & not in the least bit a formal eatery...and the ... [Read More]
Amsterdam’s House of Bols
Since I've been to Amsterdam a couple of times before, I've already experienced some of the big attractions in the city (including the Anne Frank House, which I've gone to and cried at twice). This time around, I wanted to see something new. In my online research, I wound up discovering the House of Bols. Established in Amsterdam in 1575, Bols is the world's oldest spirit brand. They make 38 liqueurs, including a Dutch spirit Genever. The interactive tour at House of Bols includes learning about the history of the brand and exploring different ways to test your senses...plus you get to choose a cocktail at the end. :) I thought it sounded like a fun activity, and it totally wound up being just that! House of Bols is located about 2 miles from my hotel, so I decided to let my iPhone ... [Read More]
Snapshots of Amsterdam 2013
Hallo! When I woke up from my nap in my comfy hotel bed yesterday to the sound of rain, I thought Bummer! I wanted to walk around the city and explore a bit, but didn't particularly feel like walking around cold in the rain. After a few minutes of groggily debating, I forced myself up out of bed, grabbed my camera and went outside. After all, it's not every day I'm in Amsterdam! First, I found a fresh juice stand and ordered an all-natural fruity juice to pep me up a bit... The fresh air and juice made me feel so much better, and I'm so happy that I got up instead of pulling over the covers - The rain stopped and it wound up being really nice outside, and I had a good time getting lost a bit walking around the city and soaking it all up. Here are some shots I snapped from around ... [Read More]
Travel Snacks & A Rowing Workout
Hello from Amsterdam! After a long trip - one that included traffic, a layover, an overnight flight with hardly any sleep, missed trains, and getting lost trying to find my hotel - I made it to my hotel this morning and had a chance to enjoy this lovely city. Let me back up though, and share with you a post I wrote en route to Chicago yesterday (I had to pause and figure out if it was technically earlier today, yesterday or two days ago - that's what travel and no sleep will do to ya ;-) ). Remembering 9/11 Though I don’t want to get too into it and freak myself out on a day when I’m flying, I want to at least recognize that it’s 9/11. I can’t believe it has been 12 years already since that horrible day that has forever impacted America. Like most people, I’ll never forget ... [Read More]
My New Favorite Juice: Minty Green Monster Lemonade
Hello, hello! You know when you're about to go on a trip and you have about 27 things to do before you leave the next morning? Yup, that's me right now. This trip is more complicated than usual ones in that I'll be heading to Amsterdam first for work (which leaves me busy with getting things done for that), then heading to three different countries for vacation. I'm very excited! But instead of being productive with that stuff, for the next few moments I'm taking a breather and chatting with you all. Forewarning though, this post may be a bit like my brain right now - all over the place and going a mile a minute! Bear with me my friends. Even though all of the places I'm going in Europe will have people who speak at least some English, it'd be nice to know the basics of the local ... [Read More]