Bye, Bye America!

It's the night before my departure to Manila and I'm finally blogging again!! It's been a great summer, full of awesome people and fun times. So much to blog about but I haven't gotten going on it. I will backdate some blogs soon, I promise! Next up, new adventure in Manila. I will make sure to post soon after arrival to keep everyone posted. Sorry I have been such a bad blogger. I am hoping to be better with this new excitement in my life. Love you all.
~annie

What's for Dinner?

I love LOBO spice packets - their Holy Thai Basil packet is phenomenal. I did not realize that they also make a Spaghetti Sauce and Taco Seasoning. I guess the Thais are branching out, but I think I'll stick to my Old El Paso taco seasoning and spaghetti sauce in a jar.

Interesting Menu Options

I love it when restaurants are honest about their limited selections....

One of my favorite "International Flavorities" is Filet Migong complete with Fried Friend. I didn't ask if you get to choose which friend gets fried, but I should have.

Forget red, yellow or green curry, when "rad" curry is on the menu. Vegettables and mashrooms are also delightful.

The hilarious thing about this drink menu is that if you lift the sticker that says "ain", it says "ian", which makes it actually printed as Black Russian and then fixed to say Black Russain.

I didn't get a chance to talking with Run, but I'm sure him would have introduce give for me some great food choices.

I LOVE THAILAND!

The Best Airline Ever Award Goes To....

QATAR AIRWAYS! Seriously, everyone should fly Qatar Airways at least once, just to experience the luxury of the long layover. When Julie and I booked our flights to Bangkok, we were seriously dreading the 11 hour stopover in Doha, Qatar on the way there and the 13 hour stopover on the way back. We were wrong to think that it would be terrible - in fact, it was kind of nice.

The airline provided us with meals, visa fees, hotels and transport to and from the hotels and airport. It was so easy. Upon arrival in Doha, we went to the layover desk, where we received our vouchers, popped through immigration, immediately were met by our transport driver and were whisked off to the hotel for our meals and room. Our layover on the way back was from noon to 1am, but they still hooked us up in one of the "Leading Hotels of the World". Best accommodations we had for the trip, besides maybe the resort we stayed in at the wedding beach. We got to tour around Doha, where Julie and Scott will be living next year, during the day and took glorious naps before boarding our flight back to Casa.

Normally, I check out cheap fares on Expedia or Kayak when planning travel, but I'm now finding myself looking into Qatar Airways first- because it rocks and makes plane travel so much easier. You should check it out, too! They have flights all over the world.

Nuts and Beans

In case you're hungry on a ridiculously long sky train/train/bus/ferry travel excursion, my travel buddy Krista highly recommends getting some Nuts & Beans for a snack. For those of you who are wondering what comes in the Nuts & Beans snack bag, you'll be happy to know it's just cashew nuts. And maybe some of those crazy invisible beans.

The recommendation is that you "consume after opening the package". Krista went ahead and followed those directions, even though it went against her instincts. :)

WARNING!

Apparently, my judgement has never been impaired, since I've never made out with a fish.

Beach Wedding

I'm back everyone! Planning some good posts, so here's one of the first of many more!

One of the highlights of my trip back to the Thai homeland was the beautiful beach wedding of my dear friend Julie and her new husband Scott. They decided to get married on Laguna Beach in Phuket, before the job fair craziness all began. I had the distinguished honor of being the best man while Krista was maid of honor. Another family from Casablanca American School - Lara, Paul, Kira and Kesia came too. Kira even stepped up at the last minute to be the flower girl and she was a total pro, even though it was her first time.

We all got picked up in this classy rig from our kickass hotel. I know many brides would go for a limo or pickup truck, but this van is by far the best wedding transportation I've ever seen.

Although Julie and Scott spent some time looking through the 80 or so options for their decorations and picking just the right one, they didn't actually get the one they picked. However, the heart petals and seashell arch was just the right amounts of pretty and cheesy.

The bride walked herself down the aisle to where her groom was waiting for her. She was super happy and had a totally genuine smile on her face the entire time.

"God love a wedding" was the beginning line from the minister who didn't actually speak any English. He had to bring a translator when he met with Julie and Scott ahead of time. He had a script that he read for the ceremony, although he had a hard time pronouncing the names.. There's no way to write the hilarity of the accent. Julia and S-cott Tidy-man had an awesome sense of humor about all of it.

Even when she couldn't get the ring on his finger!

The R. Fatine girls had a blast - together once again to laugh and celebrate!

By far my favorite part of the wedding was the Love Tree Planting. No one is quite sure where the Thai wedding planners got the idea that planting a love tree in the sand needed to be a part of a Western weddin ceremony - but I'm sure glad they did. After using their love shovel and love watering can to plant their love tree, Julie and Scott moved on to their next activity, while the wedding planner's staff uprooted the tree from the sand and threw it back in the truck for the next wedding. Not sure what that symbolizes...

And then there were fire balloons - and Julie was a bit nervous about the giant ball of fire she was supposed to hold. Bride and groom let three balloons of fire float into the air and off towards the sunset.

Here's a wedding tradition I recognized - champagne! The adults each had a glass before taking more pictures and then heading off to dinner on the beach.

Julie and Scott's day was so special, so I highly recommend it to you adventurous folks out there who want something less traditional for a wedding. There were plenty of laughs and tons of good times, as well as a perfectly legal union of these two wonderful people. Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Tidy-man!

The Tour Bus with EVERYTHING!!

Here's the tour bus that has it all: Anti-lock Brakes, DVD player, Air Conditioning, Reclining Seats, Individual Lights, and a BAR!!

I particularly love that the advertising goes in this order:

1- DVD Player,

2- BAR

3- Air Conditioning

4 -Reclining Seats

5- Anti-Lock Brake System

6- Individual Lights

Somebody clearly has their priorities straight - bar and DVDs way before anti-lock brake system and air conditioning! Clearly, SAFETY FIRST! :)

Ice Bar

It's getting much chillier here in Morocco, which reminded me about this spectacular experience I got to share with my parents and cousins Jeff & Tina - ABSOLUT ICEBAR!

The Ice Bar is no joke - they import ice from Northern Sweden and carve it into furniture and other decorations. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Get outfitted with your beautiful blue cape. This metallic masterpiece not only comes with a fur-lined hood, but it also has gloves attached.

Step 2: Step into the freezing ice bar, where if you're a real man, you'll kick it in shorts like cousin Jeff. Who needs long pants when you're in freezing temperatures?

Step 3: Head to the bar and order a drink made with Absolut Vodka (you are in the Absolut Ice Bar after all and there are a variety of options to meet your tastes). Doesn't my mom look cute in her fur lined cape? Kind of reminiscent of her wedding dress, eh?
Step 4: Make sure to put on your gloves first, then take your ice cup from the bartender and sip your fruity or spicy vodka cocktail. If you're still thirsty when you're done, just suck on your cup of ice. It will eventually melt in your mouth.
Step 5: Cosy up for warmth in a beautiful ice throne. This picture totally doesn't do the intricate carving justice. It rocks in real life.
Step 6: Leave before your whole body goes numb. When you buy your ticket for the ice bar, you only get to go in for 45 minutes. Sure that doesn't sound like a lot of time - until you're in there. We lasted 30, I think. It's pretty cold, like freezing.

Return Trip: When you return to the ICEBAR, there will be a new setup. They like to change up the decor pretty often so people keep coming back. Maybe next summer, I'll check out the updated look, but for now, I'm fine with freezing in my own home.

Hot Manse Post for Brooke

What girl doesn't want to be a princess living in a fairy tale castle? While is Lisbon, we had the opportunity to travel out to visit the Palacio de Pena, a beautiful castle in Sintra, Portugal. If you're ever in Lisbon, you should definitely check it out.

My dear friend Brooke loves to post about hot mansions all over the world. (Check out her blog by following the link on the side of the page.) This trip to Sintra totally reminded me of her hot manse posts. Who doesn't love a palace on a hill?

Even better - you get to feel like a real princess, climbing towers and peeping over the turrets. Here's Mom and I taking in a gorgeous view. I was looking out for my Prince Charming, but alas, there were no white horses to be seen.

The Palacio de Pena was originally built by Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, husband of Queen Maria II in the 1840s and was the home of the royal family until 1910, when they fleed from Portugal. The palace was left as it was when they lived there, so the inside is lavishly decorated as only historical palaces can be. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos inside, but we did get plenty of photos of the beautiful outside of the palace.

Check out this kickass archway. The dude on top of it is some kind of sea creature guarding the castle. He doesn't look very comfortable, or happy.

Here's a picture of one of the outdoor courtyards with spectacular views of land and sea. Sintra is a beautifully wooded area with lavish estates, castles, palaces and a view of the ocean. I'd live there, I guess. :)

This little tower totally made me feel like Rapunzel and the view was spectacular. If I lived here, I would totally put a comfy chair right in the middle of the tower and use it as a reading corner/book nook.

Aims and Performances

There's something about a bathroom sign that always makes me laugh, so I make sure to have my camera with me in case something hilarious is posted. This one was discovered in the Rib City bathroom in Colorado.

Thanks for the specific, posted objective, Rib City! I like that you have high expectations and communicate them clearly and effectively. (I do love teacher talk.) :)

Well Hung & Tender

This restaurant is so clever. They knew that there's a big demand out there for "well hung and tender". Check out the sign outside.

My parents, Jeff, Tina and I thought it was so hilarious that we all stopped to pose for photos. British advertisements never cease to amaze me.

Apology

Dear Loyal Blog Followers,

With the start of my online Master's degree program on October 12th came the unfortunate lack of motivation to spend additional time online blogging. I had lost that bloggin' feelin'. Now that things are a bit more under control and I have a new travel experience or two under my belt, I'm coming back. Stay tuned for more London, a few oldies from the spring, and trips to Oualydia and Florence. My upcoming trip to Lisbon should also give me some new, fresh material. Sorry that it's been over a month - time has just flown by! Keep readin'!

~annie

Westminster Delight

Anyone who has a pea-sized bladder like I do would be happy to see this sign in London...

Really? A phone number that connects you to the nearest public toilet? Awesome, since receipts required McDos are no longer a sure thing for a free, clean public restroom! Forget the golden arches - keep an eye out for the stick figures doing the potty dance!

The Climb

I realize that you probably all got sick of my Kili pics because of the many posts, but just in case you didn't get enough - check out this video. I put it together to show mountains and what climbing a mountain is like to use in Julie's class for her unit on Landforms. Please excuse the music choice - I figured I'd get the kids to pay attention if I used something by Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana.

Name That Building

5 points AND a gold star to anyone who can correctly guess the function of this beautiful building....

Correct Answer: Royal Courts of Justice. You may have guessed "Church", but you would be wrong. The architect was pretty upset that he wasn't getting jobs for churches because Christopher Wren was the "in thing" back in those days and he was getting all the church jobs. So, he decided to make the Royal Courts just like the church he had planned.

If you ever get a chance, I do recommend a trip to the Royal Courts of Justice. Mum (she lives in England, so I can't call her "Mom") took me on a walking tour one day and we decided to check out the Royal Courts. You can't take pictures inside (and it is gorgeous inside), but you can go to a variety of legal preceedings and sit in the back. They're all public trials. Unfortunately, we went in September, which is vacation month for judges so it was pretty quiet. Fortunately, that means another trip to London!

What to Do With All Those Cannons?

England has spent many years warring with other nations. Not only did they gain a few colonies and such, but they also ended up with tons of cast-iron cannons, like this one in "Gunpowder Square". (Yup - that's actually the name of the street)

These days, there's all sorts of opportunities to recycle and organic, biodegradable stuff is all the rage. Cannons don't fit into the biodegradable category, so the Brits had to figure out a way to recycle them.

So...they decided to dismantle them, paint them, and use them as barriers and decor throughout the city.

These ones are my fave - they look so....British! :)

The Best Things in Life Are Free

It's true. The best things in life are in fact, free. Like Free Hugs, for example. We found this guy at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, just giving out hugs - for free. No strings attached.

So of course I took him up on his offer.
And he gave me his card so that I could send him the pic for his website. Check it out at: http://www.freelondonevents.co.uk/free_hugs.htm What a fantastic way to spread love throughout a big city!

I really love Stuart's business card - Vat is actually included in the free hug price. No need to fill out forms and spend a bunch of time at the airport trying to get the tax back!

Chilled Liquor and Hot Liquor

While in London, Mum, Jeff, Tina and I all took a trip to Turnham Green to check out the Griffin brewery where they make Fuller's London Pride beer.

We got to check out all sorts of awesome modern machinery like these giant kettles, but we also saw the old stuff they used to use way back in the day. Well, not way back in the day - the place has only been a dry brewery (no drinking on the job) since 1993. Up until that point, workers got beer tokens with their wages and they could use them on the job. People with icky jobs like shovelling grain out of mashtuns got more beer tokens, so those jobs were actually quite popular. Now they've got fancy shmancy machines to do those jobs, so only the tour guides and the tasters get to drink during the work day.
I was surprised to find all sorts of signs, pipes and machines that referred to "hot liquor" or "chilled liquor", but our tour guide explained....(and I double checked with Oxford Dictionary and Webster's Dictionary)
If you look up "liquor" in the Webster's Dictionary (for Americans), you get this definition: a usually distilled rather than fermented alcoholic beverage. So why do they have all sorts of liquor in a brewery?
The answer can be found in the Oxford Dictionary (for Brits). One of the definitions: water used in brewing. That's why you find pipes and storage tanks full of chilled liquor - it's just brewing water, not something you mix into a Cosmo or a daiquiri.
Did anybody who knows more about brewing than me know this already? I was happy to add it to my list of useless, but somewhat interesting facts.