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how i self dj’ed my wedding
ahoj friends! with still not a whole lot of official photos of the big day this early on, i’m here to tell you how i (successfully) managed to pull off the one thing that wasn’t a guarantee and that i felt most nervous about: dj’ing my own wedding and making sure that the dance floor was hopping all evening long. as i’ve mentioned before, the very first thing alex did after we got engaged with regards to the wedding was start plotting our dance playlist. we wanted this to be the best dance party of the year, nay! the decade! i’ve spent enough time in karaoke bars to know what…
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just married
we are married! it’s true what they say about everything going so fast, even though it was an island “destination weekend” event. there was always so much to do, and when i wasn’t preparing something, i was visiting with people (of course). then there was the actual ceremony… i wasn’t nervous but i was truly trying to hold back tears the whole time! once we were married, we walked through the trellis on the beach for a few minutes before signing marriage documents and formal photographs, which was really nice. but after the ceremony, i think everyone breathed out a huge sigh of relief that we can finally just focus…
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wedding week
i had been thinking for months and months now that reacclimating to the united states would be difficult after almost three years abroad, largely spent in a non-english speaking area of europe. but you know what? it was so easy. the first couple of days weirded me out just a little bit; new doritos flavors that i’ve never heard of, way too friendly customer service types, but other than that? it’s like finding your favorite coat in the back of your closet, trying it on, and realizing that it feels really great, still looks good, and is still your style. all of that time wondering if i will remember how…
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A Local’s Guide to České Budějovice
When I moved to Budějovice (international alias, Budweis) in 2013, there was almost no information online about this place, save for an extremely scant Lonely Planet blurb (and thank goodness for that!). Moving somewhere sight-unseen without knowing any information or what is actually there is a little unsettling, which is why I have for you this “visitor’s guide to České Budějovice” (pronounced chess-kay bood-yay-yo-vit-suh), written by a “new local”. As tourists have started to discover this city, more and more info is thankfully online, but I still present to you this guide I have written and keep updated. Whether you are looking into studying here, moving here, or maybe even making…
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a montmartre story
i promised i’d tell this story about what happened to alex and myself on our final day of spending two weeks in paris during the first vagabonding part of our adventure in 2012. some old-timer readers might remember it as a mention of this exists in the archives, but it definitely is deserving of a post all on its own. we had just spent a wonderful leisurely time in the city of lights taking things very slowly. one museum that day, two park visits the next day… slow travel style (you can read my nine day itinerary i used here). but something i never got to do yet was visit the…
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thoughts on heading home
heading to my homeland, the united states, in the coming week for the first time in ALMOST THREE YEARS. this isn’t exactly weird to me, because i’ve lived it, but i can see how it would seem weird to everyone else. i suppose when your life is weird, these weird facts just grow on you! two years and nine months solely spent in europe. blam. i can’t help but wonder if i might freak out when i hear english around me all the time. or what i’m going to do to busy myself on a long-haul flight because the real last big one i took was in 2011. or if…
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kutná hora + remarkable czech churches
i’ve been meaning to go to kutná hora to visit the creepy sedlec ossuary just as long as i’ve been living here in the czech republic, but a foot injury prevented me, and plans were put on indefinite hold after we moved from prague; in the opposite direction as kutná hora. however, i am happy that we finally made it and spent a balmy spring day in this memorable little czech town about one hour east of prague. day trippin’, got to get away.. first, we ended up in sedlec, a cute little village only a kilometer or two from kutná hora, which is the sight of the famous sedlec…
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in prague: botanical garden
as a spring baby, i have developed a great love of visiting some sort of garden on my birthday. early may is usually prime time to see certain flowers in bloom and everything around looks positively lovely. so when one of my friends here in budějovice tipped me off that the butterflies are hatching from their chrysalises at a special event on the prague botanical garden in troja, i mentally made my afternoon plans. the garden isn’t located in the center but rather the far reaches of prague’s seventh district, beyond holešovice. the butterfly event goes from early april to early may (just over one month), so we were there…
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prague birthday
hi friends! i just took two full days off from doing anything except having birthday adventures, and it was quite a wise decision, really. by the time my head hit the pillow on night two, i was completely exhausted. the good kind, like you want. i spent it in prague this year and started the day with a growling stomach, so decided to finally give cantina a try. back when i was living in prague and totally broke, i would walk past this restaurant on the way home from going to the supermarket and wish that someday soon i could go here, as it has reputedly the best mexican cuisine in…
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rainy krumlov
may first in many cities across europe means an all day party in the street in celebration of european labor day. may first in czech republic, well, that is probably one of the quietest days you ever did see… probably because everyone gets a bit wild for witches’ night the night before. but of course, i am awake. me, with scheduling a lesson pre 9am and deciding to head out to krumlov for the day. the streets of budějovice , especially usually bustling lannova třída were as dead as doornails. so, krumlov: also emptier than i have ever seen it, even in the dead of winter! the atmosphere was cool and…
