Asia So Far (KL and Singapore)

  Asia so far has been nothing short of awesome. I finally am getting to travel internationally with my boyfriend Schuyler, so that's pretty amazing. He is in Singapore for work for 3 months (Ugh) so I decided to come visit him for 2 weeks! Currently he is at work and I'm hanging at a Starbucks in Clarke Quay. I know, I know. Starbucks isn't exotic but it does have darn reliable WiFi so here I am.

I guess let's start with what I've done so far.

Wednesday: I left Raleigh for a 26+ hour journey to Singapore! The flights were relatively uneventful, but hella long. My trip happened to line up with Back to The Future Day which is pretty sweet since I traveled in time (sorta) forward 12 hours. I even watched all three Back to the Future movies on the plane.

Friday: I arrived at like 1am. Yes, I just skipped Thursday. I basically lost a whole day on the way here, haha. My super sweet boyfriend picked me up and we hopped in a taxi back to the hotel. I made a rookie error and slept the rest of the day. I know, I know. I should have got up and headed out for a run, but dude. It was not happening. I tried (5 more minutes.... ZZZZZ). I really did. Anyway, I got up in time for Sky to come home from work and we were off to go prawning with Schuyler's company. We basically sat around a concrete mini pond and stuck chicken hearts on a line and tried to catch prawns and lobster. (Not really my thing, but it was actually pretty fun!) There were a few contests for biggest catch, heaviest catch etc. We did alright, but didn't win any prizes, though Schuyler did get second with this guy:

Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn and we were off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! We caught our flight and we were off on an adventure! Schuyler's friend Chao and his girlfriend Ming (spelling?) actually offered to show us around so they picked us up at the airport. Our first stop was for food! Can we just talk about how I ate a black egg? If that's not living on the edge I don't know what is! I also even ate a bite of frog.

Next we headed to the Batu Caves. We climbed about a million stairs and passed several monkeys along the way. That was pretty much my goal when coming to Asia was to see some monkeys. Mission accomplished!

Check it out!

                               Perhaps my favorite picture of all time.

We opted not to tour the caves because the people coming out were mad filthy and I was wearing a skirt and longer WHITE shirt. I was trying to dress a little conservatively so I would respect the temples etc... turns out in general they aren't as conservative as it sounds online.

We went to several more places around the city including the two towers! We even went up to a sweet viewing platform. Side note before these pictures - there is a phenomenon known as "The Haze." Essentially Indonesia is burning land and the smoke is wafting over all of South East Asia. Thus, these pictures may make it seem like it's foggy, but in reality it's the haze.

Did you think this picture would ever happen??? No? Me neither hehehe. #HANDHEART

He must really like me :)

                       This is the Chinese Temple we also visited in KL

Schuyler is great at pointing at things.

Sunday we explored Singapore! We walked through the botanic gardens and saw the MerLion of Singapore. That's sort of a famous land mark here. The lore was hundreds of years ago a sailor supposedly spotted a lion swimming in the ocean so they made a statue. I mean, there's probably more to it than that, but ya know.

MerLion!

Schuyler pointing at the Singapore Flyer, which is like the London Eye. We opted not to go up because the Haze was pretty bad and we wouldn't be able to see much.

Some flowers from the Botanic Gardens!

I'm all about that knee brace travel life.

Monday I chilled the heck out. I took it easy and allowed myself a lazy day, but I still managed to get off my butt and go exploring. There is a Nando's (My favorite foreign restaurant) AND a Crepe stand. There are 3 malls within walking distance of our hotel, which is pretty crazy. It was fun exploring and  wandering around new cities is one of my favorite things to do.

Today I headed to Clarke Quay. I will say the train ride took longer than I thought. It doesn't seem that long of ride in theory, but I feel like the trains move slowly. I have set up camp in a Starbucks to get some things done but will be heading out to explore for a bit before heading back to meet Sky. Tonight we are going to go watch the water and light show by Marina Bay Sands, and I'm excited :)

That is a hotel with what is supposed to look like a ship on top! We are going to go up there and watch the light/water show tonight!

I'll keep you guys posted as we do more and more things. We are headed to Thailand this weekend and I have booked us an
(Humane and ethical) elephant encounter!!! I'm super excited.

Love,
Lena

Santa Fe Round Up

Santa Fe was nothing short of amazing. We were a little scared it was going to rain so we squeezed both hiking destinations into one day. It turned out to be a lot more than we bargained for, but we definitely had fun and aren't even too horrendously sore.

Stop one was Bandelier National Park! It was truly beautiful and we had an absolute blast. Though the signage was horrendous (we wound up trying to figure out where to park and where to pay for parking for something like 20 minutes, but we got there eventually!) Once we got started we got to witness some pretty beautiful views. We got to climb straight up the side of a canyon using these crazy ladders and super narrow trails. It was a little scary, but really, really cool. We got to see how people lived hundreds of years ago.

Then we even decided to tackle the water fall trail. Due to construction (which we had no idea was gonig to be in our way) it took us an extra mile to even reach the trail head turning a 3 mile hike into a 5 mile hike. Yeesh! It was totally worth it though. The trail was very different than the others, it felt less traveled and more like you were actually in the wild.

We were meant to grab lunch in between hiking destinations, but Arby's betrayed us! Again, terrible signage got the better of us. We failed to locate said Arby's and mistakenly assumed another fast food establishment would pop up along the freeway before we reached the Tent Rocks. WRONG. We wound up eating trail mix for lunch (not ideal) and arrived a little tired, but excited. Tent rocks are these interesting  rock formations where a harder rock is sitting on top of softer rocks that have worn away so it looks like a boulder sitting on top of a small pillar. That hike was intense! It started off not too bad, the whole thing was only 3.2 miles, but man! A chunk of it was straight up. We had to climb over boulders and make our way through narrow passages, but the view from the top was spectacular. You could see for miles and miles. It was exhilarating! The drop off was literally right next to the trail. Talk about a rush! No worries, we made it back down safely.

We finished out the trail with only the occasional snake sighting (NO THANK YOU) and made our way back to town. We definitely stopped and ate a HUGE meaal at... Arby's. No shame. We had earned it!


The next day was our museum day! We essentially spent the day looking at Folk Art, History and an old beautiful church called San Miguel. The museums were very interesting and we had a great time! It was nice to sit down and admire the galleries (we were definitely tired from yesterday's hike!). I even bought a beautiful turquoise ring made by a Native American. I actually got to meet the artist and it was just a great experience. We finished out the day at a restaurant recommended to us by Schuyler's sister. It was called Santa Fe Bite and the burgers were delicious! We called it a night and were asleep by 9pm. Bliss.

Today we departed Santa Fe and took the quick route back to Albuquerque. We bopped around Old Town, had lunch at a local favorite (and had us a lunch time adult beverage because vacation), and did a little bit of light shopping. I found a New Mexican book store and bought a little souveneir. Surprise, surprise I bought a book.

We then headed over to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History and took a look around. It was intense, sad, scary and fascinating all at the same time. It was pretty incredible to get a look at what we, as a race, are capable of.

Then we headed to meet up with Schuyler's family and get the guys fitted for their tuxes so we are all ready for the wedding! We went out to a Thai restaurant and are now relaxing at the house we are staying at.

Tomorrow we are taking on our big hike! La Luz Trail is around 8 miles, uphill. Let's do this!!

Malena

Raleigh to Dallas to Albuquerque to Santa Fe All in One Day

This week is a very exciting week for Schuyler and I. We are taking a week long vacation in New Mexico before finishing out the week celebrating his sister's wedding. We left home this morning at 3:30am to catch our early morning flight to Dallas. After a brief and uneventful layover (my favorite kind of layover) we were on our way to New Mexico!

Upon arrival we picked out our rental car (which I can totally drive now #RealGrownUp) and headed to meet up with Schuyler's sister and her soon-to-be-husband for a nice lunch. They gave us some tips and what to see and then we were on our way! We decided to take the scenic route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, AKA the turquoise trail. We kicked off our mini road trip on route 66! We even got to go over the singing highway which was cool, but not quite as big as we thought it would be. We ran over the rumble strips and heard America The Beautiful, so that was neat.

We made a few pit stops along the way, but stopped to walk around properly in a little town called Madrid. No, not that one. This one is actually pronounced Mah-dread. It drives me nuts, I'm not going to lie. The emphasis goes on the first syllable.
Anyway, moving past the pronunciation, the town was super hippie and artsy. There was a store with a zebra on the roof that sold a 4 stringed instrument made from a cake pan cut and shaped to look like a moon (definitely almost bought it). It was phenomenal. I picked up a little $1 knick knack box as a momento. Oh and we definitely got to witness a random customer talk about how he played the saw. Yes, the saw. He convinced the shop keeper to lend him her saw and did a demonstration right there in the middle of the tiny shop. An awesome experience.

We also had some fun looking at all the funky jewelry and I even bought a pair of really pretty earrings! After a quick perusal of a chocolate shop with unique flavors (and the owner was rocking a raven's jersey and had articles from the Baltimore Sun on the wall!) we were off towards Santa Fe! We made a few stops at scenic pull offs to enjoy the view before arriving at our  hotel.

We basically then just planned out our day tomorrow because it's supposed to rain on Tuesday which messes up our hiking plans. Let's just say tomorrow is going to be intense. I. Can't. Wait.

I'll keep you posted as I can!

Malena

Women's World Cup 2015

It is finally time! The Women's World Cup is here! Canada, Netherlands, Norway and Germany have started out with a win and USA plays Australia tonight.

I'm definitely rooting for the USA, but I also have high hopes for the Netherlands. I think Germany will be a really strong contender (obviously - they're ranked #1 so they should be good!) as well.

I'm a little surprised by Canada's performance. I thought they would have come out a little stronger against China considering they have home field advantage and they are ranked 8 places higher. They got a Penalty Kick in stoppage time and didn't waste it. I always root for the home team, so I'm glad they managed to start the tournament off well. It's possible that as the tournament progresses they will get more confident and be able to make something of their opportunities.

Netherlands didn't come out as strong as I had hoped. I thought they were going to blow New Zealand out of the water and they only managed to put away one goal! Similarly to Canada, I think they were just getting their feet under them. It's a new atmosphere and there is a ton of pressure on the players. Keep in mind, I grew up in Holland so I have a bit of a soft spot for the dutch - but I really do think they'll do well!

As for Norway and Germany, no surprises there. They annihilated Thailand and the Ivory coast, respectively. Germany perhaps put away more goals than is typically tasteful (there's sort of an unspoken rule that good sportsmanship dictates you stop at 9 goals), but it is the world cup and goal differential could conceivably be a factor in their tournament progression. It would be strategically advantageous to wrack up those points while they can.

I went on News Radio 680 WPTF today to talk about my thoughts on the Women's World Cup so far.

I'll be on again tomorrow around mid-day to talk about the USA's performance in tonight's game.

Who do you think will win the 2015 Women's World Cup?

Malena

My Favorite Places in Barcelona

I have been spending quite a bit of time in Barcelona as of late. I feel like I’ve really come to learn the city. I know where things like the grocery stores and Laundromats are and I have favorite hot spots and restaurants. I really feel like I know if better than I know Baltimore or DC which Iived 30/45 minutes outside of for almost 10 years!

I can list off the best tourist sites and the slightly hidden gems. I know the best fresh juice stand at La Boqueria (open air market of La Rambla) and which one over charges you. I can get around the metro like its my job (it kind of is haha) and I just feel comfortable. I can understand super basic catalan signs and speak well enough Spanish to make dinner reservations and coordinate with bus drivers and soccer team facility managers. I have picked up tickets for concerts, tours and soccer games in various locations around the city. I know which streets are a bit dodgy at night and which sections aren’t so bad. It’s a really cool feeling to have a city so far from home that I feel so comfortable in.

Some of my absolute must see spots are:

La Sagrada Familia – The massive church a little ways outside the city designed by Gaudi (Who tragically died when he was hit by a tram on one of his daily walks. They thought he was a homeless person for a few days before he was identified as the city’s greatest artist). It’s beautiful beyond all belief and MASSIVE. It’s still under construction and won’t be finished for another ten years or so.

FC Barcelona’s Stadium Camp Nou – I love this stadium. I love this team. Let’s go Barca! So much passion and history behind this awesome place. Definitely a must see museum/tour. And holy gift shop! Three floors!

Park Guell – Another Gaudi influence. This park is so pretty with tons of trails that you can hike for free. You can enter the main sector for a small fee and the view is breathtaking! Though the line can be long so buy tickets ahead of time!

La Boqueria – This is the open air market off La Rambla (often referred to as Las Ramblas by the locals). It is so neat! There are tons of fresh fruits, juices and candies. It’s also right next to La Rambla which has some neat shops, street vendors and of course Crepes! The Crepes on La Rambla are probably my favorite crepes I’ve ever had.

There’s so many sights worth seeing but those are probably my top 4!

Spanish Food

The longer I’ve stayed in Spain the more I’m learning that my dislike of all seafood can be quite bothersome in this country. They throw tuna in everything! Order a garden salad? TUNA. (No mention of the pesky fish on the menu of course. Just lettuce, tomato etc.)

What about potatoe salad with breadsticks (what.) TUNA. Why? Or at least notify me of the tuna –ness. As it is I’m lucky I’m not allergic and just am not a fan. It pops up in the most unlikely places!

Same with Paella. Even if it says chicken Paella, you can bet they will likely throw in some sort of seafood… often with no warning.

They are also rather fond of calamari, though I have less issue with that particular dish because it is typically rather well marked.

Enough with the negatives – I have discovered the beauty that is a croquette. SO GOOD. Think mozzarella stick, but more bread than cheese, usually with some chicken, ham or (sigh) tuna thrown in. They are delicious! My one complain (completely on me, not Spain) is that if you order a sampler plate you never know which is which so there is always the lurking possibility that I could accidentally bite into a tuna croquette!

Also, it would be remiss to not mention Haribo. Yes, like the gummy bear. I swear they are so much better in Europe. Haribo is native to Germany and I guess because Spain/England/Ireland are so much closer to Germany than the US that the quality here is vastly improved. They are so so good. I’m not a huge gummy bear person at home, I mean I enjoy one every now and then, but I’m not drawn to them. Here I’m all about them! I’ve tried the variety sampler packs, the strawberries, the sour packs and of course plenty of the classic gummy bears too.

Overall I have had a wonderful time abroad and I’ve done rather well eating wise. I’ve made a point to sample the local cuisine but I could definitely go for a Mountain Dew and some Doritos right about now!

The Beautiful Game - Live!

Over the course of my trip I have been lucky enough to see 5 live matches including seeing FC Barcelona 3 times, Manchester City twice and Real Madrid twice! I even got to watch El Clasico live! SO COOL.

I think some of my favorite things are the songs and the craziness of the crowds. There is one section devoted to the super fans and they have so much fun throughout the match. There is usually a leader who calls out the cheers and he usually spends majority of the match with his back to the pitch! Apparently his priority is directing his “choir” haha!

Some of my favorites include what appears to be wordless chanting to the tune of the theme song from Pippi Longstocking, I kid you not. It is so entertaining! That and at the English match when the opposing team section (who is blocked off separately – more on this later) left early the  whole stadium started singing “IS THERE A FIRE DRILL?” It was such an experience!!

As mentioned previously, the away team fan section is completely separate from the rest of the stadium. And when I say completely separate, I mean completely separate. They are sometimes put in what actually looks like a cage! In every instance they are put in a specific block and surrounded by neon security guards! They even have to stay seated until all the home team fans have left the stadium.

El Clasico was far and away the coolest match I got to witness – Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona at Camp Nou (FC Barcelona’s home stadium). Prior to the game I got to witness my first riot of sorts. It looked sort of controlled but there were definitely flares and chanting and loud bangs which I can only hope were more fireworks rather than gun shots. But oh the spirit! I love Europe and their enthusiasm for the beautiful game! In the US, even if the National Team were to win the World Cup I don’t think you would see such passion.

At several games I saw full grown men jump up and down and hug and kiss each other after a goal was scored. One fellow was so invested in the match that when the opposing team was awarded a PK he actually left the section. He couldn’t stand to witness an opposing goal. He literally was openly crying when Barca won.

In another instance I got to witness a man and his son have the absolute time of their lives. If it hadn’t been for their appearances it would be hard to distinguish adult from child just by their mannerisms. Both yelled and sang and cheered with unabashed passion.

I love the beautiful game and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. Women’s World Cup coming this summer. LET’S GO!

I Have a Thing for Bookstores

Everywhere I go I find myself being drawn to bookshops. I can't help myself - if I see a cute shop or I hear of a unique bookstore I have to find it and go in. Here are some of my favorites:

This picture I am literally planning on putting on a canvas to hang in my house. I just absolutely love it. It's rustic and authentic and represents an amazing memory.

This first three pictures in this post are from Aqua Alta Book Store in Venice. It's off the beaten path but someone I met at the hostel  tipped me off about it. It was so totally worth the venture out past the tourist stops in Venice near St. Mark's Basilica.

This is from a library museum in Venice!

I stumbled on this beautiful little shop in the middle of a walking lane. I love little gems like this. 

That tiny bookshop had books that were hundreds of years old. 

There's beauty everywhere you look, you just need to keep your eyes open.

Malena