Lucerne is my “other” home!

19 May

It’s been a couple of weeks since I last checked in. Once again, I was busy.

I was off to Lucerne for a week for work. We had meetings that I needed

to be there for. It’s always a good mix of work and play. I have friends

there that I love hanging out with so it’s not exactly the worst gig

in the world.  I feel at home when I’m there.

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I arrived on a Sunday afternoon. I barely had time to sit down before I heard from

my love, Remi, to meet up for a lunch and afternoon of talking.

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There was definitely some coffee’s and laughs included.

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I figured since I visit Lucerne so often I’d include a few of my

favorite things about Lucerne.

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Pizza from Mama Leone’s. It’s so good. I love not feeling guilty eating a whole

pizza. It’s fresh. It’s delicious. And it’s gone in 10 mins or less.

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Running in Lucerne. This is a real photo. This place is real. I love

running there. As long as the weather cooperates, running around the lake

is the perfect running route for morning, afternoon or evening runs.

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Chocolate. All things swiss chocolate. Even the beverages. This is a cold chocolate

This one is from Sprungli. We also shared some chocolates before our flight.

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Coffee breaks with friends. This includes indulging in my 7th shot of espresso

for the day, playing ping-pong and enjoying the views. The views from

the roof deck at work are ridiculous. I often say it’s unfair because we don’t

have anything that beautiful in Boston.

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Celebrating with friends near and far. Once we finish meetings, we celebrate

the end of them and surviving them. I’m lucky enough to have friends all

over the world and I adore my friends in Lucerne. It’s too much fun when I

visit and then I don’t want to leave. But this time- I had to leave because…

I was going to Istanbul!

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Me and Kev on our flight to Istanbul. We were pretty wiped but excited to get there!

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Question: Where do you travel to that makes you feel at home?

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Living on the lake- Inle Lake

4 May

This is the last post on Burma. But fear not because tonight I’m leaving for

Switzerland. Yeah. I don’t take a lot of time to breathe between trips lately.

So, here it is. Inle Lake. A glorious place in the amazing Burma. So here are

some photos of my days spent basking in the sun on the lake and a acquiring

a sunburn that has it’s own category on the burn, baby, burn scale.

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I had another opportunity to see the monks. They were practicing their chanting.

It was adorable. I realize I have issues and will soon be served a restraining order

from the Buddhist Monks. All of them.

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Riding through the many villages on the lake. It was a quiet and peaceful day.

As my scalp burned and scabbed over.

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The scene of the fishermen at fork on the calm lake.

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I got all Angelina Jolie and wanted to take all of these kids home. I had the

opportunity to visit the school and hang out with them. Kids are kids.

This is something I learned. No matter where you go in the world,

kids are kids and even if you don’t speak their language, they still love to play,

laugh and be kids. No matter what.

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The beautiful scene at Indein. It was incredible. They’ve left it in it’s natural state.

There are some newer little pagodas but I was obsessed with the older folks.

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Sometimes you are so happy because you’ve been walking outside in 100 degree

heat to reach the temple. And then you do!

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I loved Inle Lake. It didn’t beat out Bagan in my heart but it was close. It’s an

amazing place and I love the locals here. They live on the lake and as

Tim Gunn says, “they make it work.” And they embrace it and love their simple lives.

I’m jealous because I often wish things could be so simple.

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After Inle Lake, I headed back to Yangon just for a day before I had to fly home.

Here are the last of the Burma photos. Enjoy!

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Ok. More monks. But they are sooooo beautiful! So peaceful looking! Such grace.

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Shwedagon pagoda at sunset. Ahhhhhmazing.

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The scene at the pagoda. A lot of visitors to engage in prayer and respect for

Buddha.

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Myanmar (Burma) changed my life. It changed me. Cambodia stole my heart but

Burma stole my soul. Corny? Maybe. True? Yes. Absolutely, YES!

GO TO MYANMAR. Make friends with the people. Let them steal you

soul. You won’t be mad but you will be sad when you leave.

I shed a tear or 5 on the plane ride to Seoul.

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Question: Has any place ever stolen your heart/soul?

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Mandalay say Hey!

28 Apr

Continuing on the journey in Burma, I headed to Mandalay just for a night.

Here are some photos of my time in Mandalay.

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This is where the largest open book in the world is held. Each “page” of the book is in

each little white building.

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Little nuns. How cute are they. These little ones started chasing the car when

I waved at them. Angels!

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The monks at the sunset on Mandalay Hill. Mandalay Hill is one of the major draws for

people visiting this city. There are over 700 steps up. Or you can take an escalator.

Usually, I’d be so down with hiking up this hill but time is money (or time in my case)

and I didn’t have a moment to spare so we went the quick way up.

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This peach. How cute is she?

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Another beautiful place we visited. This was relocated from its former location

and good thing since it otherwise would had been ruined!

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The sunset on the hill. It was a good site for my tired eyes.

Mandalay was great but it wasn’t my favorite part of the trip. Maybe because

I didn’t have a ton of time there but nothing could really live up to Bagan in my eyes.

Inle Lake was a close second though…

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Question: Is there somewhere for you that couldn’t live up to the hype for you?

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Let Bagan be Bagan’s.

23 Apr

I’m backkkkkkkkk! Ok- So I’ve been back. But, as most of you know, last week

was kind of crazy in Boston. It was a scary week but it made me even more

proud to live in this amazingly strong city. Everything really gets put into

prospective during these times. But this city really came together and pushed

onward. Amazing.

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Let’s talk Myanmar. I spent a glorious week in Myanmar traveling from city to city.

Who is Myanmar? It’s Burma! With just a new and improved attitude.

I flew into Yangon late on Friday evening. I barely had time to enjoy anything there

because it was so late and I was heading to Bagan the next morning at 6:30am.

I got on the flight and arrived. To this.

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oh and this.

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Bagan was my favorite part of the trip. Here are a few more reasons why.

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I love little monks.

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Sunset over Bagan. This one is burned into my brain.

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Biking in Bagan is a must.

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Visiting a farm. I did not come into contact with any livestock on this trip. (sorry

TSA)

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My new hard-working friends that invited me into their home. We couldn’t even

communicate but they welcomed me in to look at pictures of their family.

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This is how they make their traditional face wear. It’s a sign of beauty and

they believe it protects them from the sun. I wore a little the first day and it was

kind of cool.

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I leave you with this guy. My best friend from Bagan. He was too cute and too cool

for school. All I had was banana. He broke up with me right quick.

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Be back soon with more of Myanmer (Burma).

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Question: Where is your favorite place you’ve traveled to?!

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All the adjectives in the world can’t describe Vietnam

8 Apr

This trip has been a whirlwind. I don’t know what day or time it is now.

I’ve arrived in Myanmar and it’s amazing. But I wanted to finish up with

‘Nam before I head into the current part of the trip. When I last left you,

I was enjoying the beautiful city of Hoi An. I headed to Hue for just one night

after to enjoy some serious pagoda’s.

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The drive was just amazing. The mist rose through the mountains and almost

blanketed the valley so perfectly.

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We visited temples, shrines and palaces that barely survived the wars. They

are now being restored by UNESCO. They are doing a pretty good job.

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These are a few good men located at the tombs. They were located right outside

of Hue. Once we finished with the tombs we were on our way to Hanoi.

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Hanoi. The place where Ho Chi Minh declared independence for Vietnam.

This is his resting place. His body is still preserved. It was a little frightening

to look at. I felt he might open his eyes at any moment.

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Hanoi is also the land of really good Vietnamese food. Including the rice noodles

stuffed with mushrooms and your meat choice. Oh boy. I was in heaven. I also

ordered chicken satay and brown rice with sesame seeds and coconut. Holy hell. That

was the best rice I’ve ever tasted. I need to recreate.

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My trip in Vietnam finished with Ha Long Bay. Which translates to: Descending

Dragons. I’m pretty sure there a ride that has this name at Funtown/Splashtown in

Maine. Am I right?! Well. It was a great way to the end the trip. The place is so beautiful

that it’s hard to imagine anything like this can exist naturally. I will express some

disappointment as it was really crowded. I mean really crowded. There are so many boats

that it almost ruined the relaxation part of the trip. It was noisy and there was trash floating

in the water. It was a little sad to see. But alas, it looks like they are trying to clean it up

and really preserve it. Which makes this girl happy.

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Ha Long Bay is definitely a must see. It’s beautiful and it’s peaceful at night right

before the sun sets. It’s just magical. I took advantage of this by doing some kayaking

at night when the sun was setting.

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I love Vietnam. And when my plane took off from Hanoi to Yangon, I shed a tear.

I know, I know. I’m a baby. But really, just sentimental about things. I really

enjoyed my time in Vietnam. I love the people, the places, the sounds, the food and

the history. The people have such resilience and have survived hundreds of years

of wars, starvation and political corruption. But they have persevered.

Vietnam is wonderful. Alive. Beautiful. And more. There aren’t enough adjectives

to describe my love for their country. And their coffee.

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They really do have the best coffee in the world.

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Question: Where is your favorite cup of coffee from?

Mine is definitely from Cambodia but Vietnam is a close second.

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Goooooood morning, Vietnam!

31 Mar

Greetings from the spectacular Vietnam. It’s so beautiful here. It’s almost stupid.

It’s hard to pick a favorite part/place of this trip because everything

has been amazing. The sites. The sounds. The smells… of fresh mango salad.

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The food is definitely a highlight for me. Everything is fresh and delicious. It’s hard

to pick a favorite! But I will because it’s fresh mango. I just peeled and ate one

in my hotel room at 9pm. It’s never too late for a mango.

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I started this little trip to Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. Or Saigon to some.

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We visited the Notre Dame of HCMC. It was pretty cool. I saw a few different

major sites in the city. Enjoyed rooftop cocktails. And visited the Cu Chi Tunnels.

They were fantastic. It was a story of resilience by the Vietnamese people who were

survivors against all odds. Digging tunnels to simply live. IMG_4410

Here I am going into the tunnels. It was a crawl space. And did I mention

it was about 95 degrees out with high humidity levels? So it was basically

an underground sauna. I’m happy to report that my skin is radiant here

due to the heat and humidity. So nice in fact that multiple Vietnamese

women have told me how much they love my skin. And then they tell me that

it’s because I’m so pale. Yeah. Today I got- “I love you skin. It’s so beautiful. I can

see through it.” Nice. So to all the tan girls- they aren’t jealous of you over here.

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Now I’ve made it to Hoi An enjoying these views. The beach is ridiculous.

It’s unfair that I wasn’t aware of the beauty of these beaches until recently.

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I took advantage of a sunrise walk around 6:30 this morning. The fishermen were

getting their nets ready to cast out. It was the perfect way to start a day that

including a cooking class.

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We walked through the local market to scope out ingredients. Lots of cool things.

Lots of uncool smells of fish and raw meat. Yum. After we finished, we

headed to the cooking class to try our hand at Vietnamese cooking. I have to say,

I’m pretty good. I might do some when I get home. Or maybe not. Hard to say.

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We started with a delicious soup that included spring rolls made with cabbage

and shrimp. We made a local pancake, chicken skewer and a green mango

salad. All was delicious. I did a swell job.

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I was super stuffed after and wanted to come back to the beach front hotel

and relax while I had time to. I found some iced coffee then was convinced

I should get a pedicure. So I did. For $4. Then I figured why not get a massage.

For $25. Yeah. I’m living it up and treating myself while I can. I might just

get myself a couple more massages and facials while I’m here. You know… for my

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But who knows. I might be too busy getting photo bombed by the locals.

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Cambodia in pictures

26 Mar

Greetings from Cambodia! It’s after 10pm here. 11 hours ahead of my

home in Boston. I’m writing from the future. It’s pretty grand. I figure

I could post some unreal photos to show how truly amazing this country is.

It’s almost unfair how beautiful it is. And the people are kind and smiling.

Especially when they ask me to buy an arms length of postcards. But I don’t

mind.

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Because if this is the view I get in the morning. People could beat me up

for all I care.

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We trekked into the jungle to see Ta Prohm. Commonly known as the Tomb Raider

site. Remember it from the movie? It’s even better in person! Bone crushing

trees surround the sight and soar into the sky above.

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And these ladies are everywhere just trying to have a good time. They just want

to dance.

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All roads lead to Cambodia. Or they should anyways.

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Everybody loves to smile here. Smiling is their favorite. Even this guy

at Angkor Thom. Happiness is a disease. Catch it if you can.

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This place is incredible. There is no where on planet earth that is

like this. I will warn you- the heat is freaking brutal. I’m talking

3 showers a day..at least. There is no point in wearing make up here, ladies.

It will melt off your face faster than you can say “I’m hot.” And clothes-

they should be optional. It’s scortching. It’s after 10pm here and still close to 90

out here. I should shower before I even think of getting into bed.

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You can’t come here all crabby about the weather. You come in knowing it’s

going to be hot. You will look terrible. You will sweat from places you didn’t

know possible. But… you’ll be moved by the sights and sounds of Siem Reap.

You’ll be challenged  by the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat to think back to a

time when technology was an ax and elephant. Your imagination  will be

tested to find the space between real and what once was. It’s a special

place to me. The kind of place where I long to come back when ever I can.

(you know..and money allows it because it’s not cheap!)

It’s the kind of place that tugs at your heart strings and makes you

think about the spiritual unknown and beyond. (Did I convince you

to come yet?!)

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