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life lately /on pursuing your hobbies
hi all, did you have a nice halloween and first week of november? this was our most low-key halloween celebration to date as we were in moravia for the big “halloweekend”, as it’s come to be known, and that meant no dressing up for us this year! that’s just how the calendar days fell. i’ve learned when you get a long weekend, you don’t take it for granted! more from moravia coming very soon – i have just been too ding dang busy this week to even think about writing more than i already have, in my last post about my first day in the czech republic. a full schedule…
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an (im)perfect arrival – the first day in the czech republic
sometimes, i think where you stay when you are traveling has a big effect on how you end up feeling about the place. ease of your arrival there can really set the tone, too. but what if your arrival just goes haywire? as we are nearing our fourth czechaversary now in a couple of weeks, it gets me thinking a lot about our arrival to prague on that cold, mid-november day. such a thrilling feeling to be on the road for months and then have a one-way ticket to a country that you don’t know when you’ll leave (as you might know, i never did). however, the arrival definitely did…
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october things + my favorite autumn breakfast (recipe)
i have been a studious, busy little bee lately now that my brain is fully embracing autumn and has already gone back to school! i’ve decided to take a less crazy schedule than i had last year because, you should’ve seen me last year – i was running around like a mad person! there is this cycle that happens to english teachers here (and maybe other places, i don’t know) where you want to get more and more lessons to fill up your schedule. you keep gathering more and more until finally, you have so many that you are starting to go crazy. you are running in and out of…
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indian summer
babí léto. altweibersommer. (both names relating to old people!) whatever you want to call it, we are experiencing one heck of an indian summer in central europe. it is now the perfect temperature for things like hiking! it occurred to me last week that i was not in a rut, per se, but forgetting that i live in europe and how much there is to explore around here. i promptly planned two local trips to celebrate st. wenceslaus day holidays that grace the end of september here in czechland. the first was finally climbing klet’ hill (last time, we took the chair-lift!) and hiking down into krumlov for some folklore festivities. what…
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how to enjoy versailles like royalty
i’m not a palace person. i’d much rather see how the peasantry or the middle-class live. real stuff, not rich peoples’ houses. but after urging from my friend monica (you need to go!) i figured on this, my third time in paris, i was ready to see the grandiose palaces of versailles. i decided to watch sofia coppola’s marie antoinette, which i had been meaning to see forever, and i fell in love. it quickly moved up the ranks to one of my favorite films that i know i can watch again and again. initially, the movie was panned for having too many costumes and not enough substance, but i…
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sublime paris + my airbnb open experience
on my fourth full day in paris, it was my mother’s birthday, so we had to go shopping in the opera district to spend two hours in the monki store and to stop by galeries lafayette to see their stunningly beautiful noel tree centerpiece. “i’ve spent four days here and still haven’t seen the eiffel tower yet!”, she told me, as we were riding the escalator to the terrace on the top floor level. “well….. look, there it is!” we didn’t have pre-sale tickets for the eiffel tower that afternoon (hot tip: buy your eiffel tower tickets as far in advance as you can! not a couple weeks, even in the off-season) but i…
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moments in paris, pt. I
the past week has not been an easy one. coming home from a dream holiday is always tough, but tougher has been coming to terms with the events of last week. however, now that the shock has started to subside, i have found solace in focusing on all of the wonderful parts of spending a glorious, warm november week in paris. #parisisaboutlife, after all, and you would be hard-pressed to find another city that is as vibrant as the city of light. i took a trip with my mother to celebrate her milestone birthday in a place she has always wanted to visit, but as i arrived first, i had…
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returning from paris
hello friends. if you’ve been following along on instagram, you will know that i was just in paris for the past week on a holiday… i opted not to blog during this time (i barely even answered emails the whole time) and to really be in the moment there. i am back safely to the czech republic, but something has really been on my mind and i can’t exactly talk about paris without referring to what happened there on friday night. before spending the past week in paris, the city to me was one of a handful of my favorites in europe, a city that i knew i would probably…
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halloween abroad, pt. IV
hello friends, i hope you had a nice halloween if you celebrate it! as it is one of my favorites, you can bet i did. it was the fourth we’ve celebrated abroad and it really came and went without too much fanfare. (below, the state of the backyard this morning) it’s been interesting talking about this holiday with the groups of teenagers i teach. usually about half the class seems interested and celebrates the holiday in some way (whether that is some activities at their school, going to a halloween party or gathering, carving a pumpkin, or even getting dressed up!), one or two are completely indifferent and don’t celebrate it,…
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the october spooky movie series
i love movies that get you in the halloween mood, so much that last year, alex (pictured above in our paris studio, 2012) and i started a spooky movie series every october sunday evening. i get to pick two, and he gets to pick two. (you can see what movies we chose for our first incarnation here)i love doing this because we get to see new films that we’ve been meaning to for awhile, it gets you in the halloween mood, and it’s such a nice way to enjoy a sunday night instead of those usual stressed “oh no, weekend is ending” feelings. here is what our series has been…
