There once was a decent looking princess….

…who lived high up in a beautiful castle that was built by her father. She loved her castle and rarely, if ever, wanted to leave. She enjoyed her time at the castle with her brothers and her parents-the King and Queen. They were fair and just and were loved by all the land. But one day, her parents decided that it was time the decent looking princess left home to see more of the world and to begin a search for just the right prince.

 

With a heavy heart, she saddled up her white horse and took her most prized possessions to keep her company on her long journey-her black panther-“Oreo”, her favorite red dress and her most cherished books. She knew her journey would be a long one and also brought her favorite provisions to satisfy her hunger-a side horn of coffee, several types of cheese and a few bottles of her favorite wine.

First, the decent looking princess had to cross the Great Ravine that divided her country from her neighboring country. Although the two countries were friendly, she knew that she was no longer under the protection of the King and Queen. She marched on in search of new things to see, new foods to eat and perhaps a prince worthy of the decent looking princess’ love.

After a brief bathroom break or two, and a picnic of cheese and wine, the princess made it into the neighboring country’s market place late in the evening. She saw foods never before experienced, heard dialect never before spoken, purchased fine clothing not available in her own country-and also found a great coffee shop to warm her cold hands.

While gazing upon the city, she heard soft music coming from below. She had never heard this type of music before and curiosity took hold. The decent looking princess searched the market place until she found the source of the new music. Standing before her with a sitar in hand, a crown on his head and a lovely smile, was what she knew would be her prince. For weeks, the princess enjoyed several of his musical performances throughout the city and the two quickly fell in love.

The prince and the decent looking princess were soon married and lived happily ever after. The end.

Fall time in Europe

Awhile back, Biceps and I saved our pennies and vacationed in Europe for an entire month. This morning, as I sat in my housecoat with coffee in hand, a slight rain drizzled outside. While the water splashed on my windows, I was reminded of the mornings in Europe we huddled together waiting for our train, usually snacking on some sort of pastry and wishing we had packed warmer clothes.
We wouldn’t trade those moments for the world.

This tiny little town of Hallstatt, Austria is less than 1,000 people and only accessible by boat. We flitted about in the off-season, unencumbered by the usual tourists-drinking coffee and hiking its mountains. It was quiet, to say the least-except for the occasional cow bell.

 

The path to Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss) is lined with ever changing colors-which can be seen in great depth-if one is too cheap to pay for transportation up the mountain and decides to walk the 5 million miles on foot, uphill….

 

Simple. Beautiful. Fun to climb for the first 20 minutes, then prodded on with the promise of coffee for finishing the hike by a certain someone with a name that rhymes with Ticeps.

 

I wanted to rent a house and live here forever. But then I realized I wouldn’t be able to see my parent’s or Biceps parent’s or my brothers or my cats…..needless to say, no house was rented.
We were thankful to see Europe in the fall, the colors were vibrant, the tourists were sparse and the weather just cool enough to warrant a jacket a handful of coffee.
I would love to go back soon. I hope Biceps is reading this. Hint, hint…..

Almost Death, Almost a New Year.

The moodiness and the loneliness of a Connecticut fall day called to me from inside the bus. Once the parking brake was engaged, I hopped out, climbing past the railroad tracks ahead of me.
In doing so, I tripped and scuffed my very cool boots. I stopped for a moment to survey the landscape and to say, ‘dang it’ under my breath. And then ask God to forgive me for using such foul language.

The world was quiet and cold. My boot was marred and mad. I was sorry and hungry.
Elbow on hip and with my breath held, I lowered my camera lens and waited for the moment.

Dotting the elusive horizon, islands barely large enough to cradle vacation homes, stood alone and silent. I knew what they were thinking. I felt it too.
We were all alone, but together-wishing for a brighter sky, a happier waterfront, a greener surrounding, a day off from tour (that was mostly me…).

Suddenly, a buzzing surged through the rails, tickling my booted feet.
I wondered if there could there be earthquakes happening this far north. I asked the others as they spilled out of the bus behind me. They shrugged, then went back to texting and throwing rocks at each other.
Men.

But, these train tracks were not forgotten.
In fact, they were very much in use. I thankfully watched from a safe distance as a high speed train screamed past while I was in the middle of throwing rocks at Biceps. I was either extremely lucky or I had engaged a sixth sense I didn’t know I had. It’s like when cows lay down prior to a thunderstorm.
Or like when you buy another bottle of ketchup, already thinking you have a back-up at home, but buy it anyways because you are at the store and you’ll save a trip-only to discover that when you get home, you don’t have a back-up and are so thankful you bought the ketchup earlier.
Or something like that.

Bloomin’ Bloomington, In

During the cold and burry winter, its often difficult to convince myself to leave the hotel room and play ‘tourist’. I find the trip out of doors was worth it as I peruse my new photos later that day.

We suited up for a brisk walk around Bloomington, In. Of course, this involved getting a cup of coffee first. Nothing can be done without coffee.

The town square was quaint and came complete with an old theater (still functioning), several coffee shops (thank God) and old bookstores.

Even though I spilled my coffee on my very cute homemade Sweater Mittens, I was very happy with my decision to leave the hotel room. The coffee washed out of my cute mittens, thankfully. There was a lesson learned-make dark colored mittens for coffee consumption.

Anywho, the town was preparing for Christmas with festive window displays, cinnamon latte’s and….

…twinkle lights.

Lots of lights. This town knows how to party. Too bad I’ll be sleeping when they light these suckers up. Maybe with another cup of coffee, I can stay up past my bedtime and watch the glory unfold…
Or maybe I need another cup of coffee just because. Either way, I am stimulating the Bloomington economy and there just isn’t anything wrong with that.