European Roadtrip with Martha Part 1

October 24th - the roadtrip before school started.....hey there folks....i am back and might be soon again with this roadtrip stuff....this is part 1 of the trip martha and i took before school started for me this past august....we saw a few folks we had worked with in bucharest, and went to a wedding party for a friend of mine from high school, saw quaint little german towns, drank beer in the czech republic, wandered around salzburg at night and hung in a great town called bled in slovenia.....it was a terrific trip and we put a lot of kilometers on the car....below are pictures from the german part of the trip....the other three countries will be in the second part of the this update....

i picked martha up in munich, where our good friend susie has moved this year....we were the first folks to see her apartment, and even made it before her shipment arrived....what a cute place it is, even if there are 88 sloping stairs to the top floor spot she has....we had a tasty dinner in an italian restaurant around the corner from susie's place and hung out catching up and hearing about how susie's new school was....it was a great visit....

from susie's in munich, we headed north to the wine growing region of germany to go to my friend jimmy's wedding party with his wife ulrike....they were married in the states this past february, but many of her family and friends couldn't make it, including me, so they had this celebration before they headed off to greece for their honeymoon....the party happened in an
old post office that was converted to a restaurant and was simply charming....you can see me and the groom before the celebration begins....this was the wein castell we stayed in....very cute...

in the shot below you can see the interior of the courtyard where the festivities were held....and then dinner was hosted in what used to be the stables.....at this celebration jim, martha and i were the only native english speakers....it was cool to play the role of jim's "family" as they couldn't make it....even though it was martha's first time meeting jim....it was terrific meeting all of ulrike's friends and family and all of us were introduced by the bride and groom over tea and cakes under the trees of the courtyard....

as you can see they had flower children helping them stroll in to the celebration and jim is a very happy man....the day was beautiful and the spot was perfect....

just another picture of the happy couple....such a great place to celebrate....

one of the best things about this celebration was how close the place we were staying was - a walk away....here we are at the end of the party - i am not sure jim remembers this picture...but all three of us look great and fun was had by all in attendance!

the next day martha and i wandered up the weinstrasse or wine road to get to brady, jeanette and charlotte's house.....i was a bit nervous that sam, the dog they got in romania, would not like me, as shown in the past, but there was nothing to worry about....along the wine road, we stopped at a wine festival and wandered around a quaint town....where people really took care of their houses....too cute

and then we were in bonn, with charlotte....what a cutie....she is such a happy kid and we had a great time getting to know her and catch up with her parents and the cute place they live....this shot is from breakfast....love it!

we took a trip to another town close by that was on the river to have lunch and walk around one day.....it was the end of brady's vacation and he really wanted to get out....they were also in the process of buying a car, which was successful the day we left....yahoo....maybe they will come down and visit me!
we also walked around the part of bonn they lived in....it was also well kept and quaint....plus we had some tasty ice cream....yummy and found an amazing indian grocery store - yahoo!

i love this picture of the happy family - brady, jeanette, sam and charlotte....too cute :)

before leaving we got to have breakfast on the deck one last time....it was a fabulous visit and i hope to get there one more time before leaving this part of the world...we'll see.....here we all are celebrating the time we had together.....

and then we headed towards prague....before getting there martha and i stopped in a very cute town called bamberg, which is known for beautiful buildings, especially a fresco-ed church, and smoked beer...which we both had....very interesting....this was my favorite piece of art in this town....very cool and overlooking the river that separated the main part of the city from the old part.....it reminds me a lot of the head in krakow's main square....although this one is upright and that one is not....don't know why....it just does....

this is the church that is completely painted on the outside and located between the old part of town and the new part of town....its amazing looking and they light it up at night making it even more stunning....

after dinner we walked up to where the main government buildings are located and the main cathedral of the city....nobody was up here, which was both cool and creepy....but the buildings in this area of town were incredible....and oh so gothic :)

okay....this brings us to the end of the first part of the trip martha and i took together...in the following update we will have part two including prague, plzen, salzburg and bled....all amazing places in their own right.....until then i hope all is well with each of you and that you have a happy halloween wherever you are in the world....

sorry i have been missing for the past two months, but i have resurfaced and am trying to catch up with things....so if you wish to send an email, please do and i promise i will let people know about how the job search is going....if you hear or know of any positions you think i would be perfect for or interested in, please, please, please get in contact....thanks for all of the well wishes....and catch you on the flip side.....

Summertime Visiting 2010

October 23, 2010
Yep - time is fleeting, as they say in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (which Glee will be performing this coming week - YAY!) I just never seem to have enough time to do everything I need to and this blog always comes in last place. I am in the midst of a full-fledged job search and it is taking up much of my time. Plus I have school and have been traveling the past three weekends. Okay - the traveling was for pleasure, but it still took time. I am trying to visit one more time all of my favorites in Europe - so I hit Munich for Oktoberfest, Prague for October Break and Budapest because friends of mine were in a 10k run/walk.

But I am finally writing the blog posts from the summer....and hope to get out another update before the weekend is out and this day has ended. School is going fine - busy and crazy, per normal. Although this time it has been heightened in craziness because my 7th and 8th graders are finishing up a HUGE project about Global Warming and Climate Change. It included researching and combining information on google docs as a class, writing an essay and filming a commercial with about personal opinions and ideas of those two topics. It's been some work, but things are turning out well. We will post the commercials on blogs and I will send you addresses to view them if you so choose.

Below are pictures from my trip to the States this past summer and many of the folks who are in these pictures have specifically asked if they would make it to the blog....so they did :) I was in the States to see family and friends and to attend an amazing conference in Boston. First stop in that part of the world was to my friends Flo & Bob's place. Interestingly enough there had been a fire right around the corner from their house and this is what happened to the vinyl fence across the street from the fire. It looks like melted chocolate....doncha think....

In this shot you see Flo & Bob - we were having the traditional New England foods of New England Clam Chowder, Lobster Rolls and Fried Clams.....it was tasty!

Lunch was a reunion for three of us from college days - Flo, Judy and me. We had done this last year too and if I go back for my excellent conference next summer we hope to do it again. It was a blast to catch up and hang out again with these gals....and don't forget watson the wonder dog...

During the conference I met up with a bunch of old friends for dinner and such. One delicious middle eastern dinner was with sarah and melissa....friends from seattle who live in boston (although sarah has moved on these days to philly)....

My partner in crime for this trip was judy...she wanted to experience the conference and boston as well...so she got to meet all of my old friends, and hang in one of my favorite cities....we had a blast....
i also met up with my old student and current friend anna....we went out to a delicious indian restaurant which i was sooo happy about....judy lived in india for 4 years and she said the food at this place we went to was perfect....that's a HUGE compliment....yummy!!!!

when we weren't in the conference, which was very little time, i wandered around the city remembering all of the good times i had there during school and taking some pictures....i know everyone has the picture you see below...but i love my camera and i think it took an amazing shot here of trinity church and the hancock building....love it....

and here's the reflection shot everyone takes while they are visiting copley square...because it is just beautiful....
another group of folks who got together during my visit were band folks...brothers and sisters we can say.....we went to the whiskey priest...my first time....what a fun place...plus, squeeze and cheap trick were playing just down the street....it felt like the late 80s all over again :)

my trip would not have been complete without visiting with the next couple....michael and lisa....we went to this tasty place just around the corner from our hotel....the coolest thing, besides hangin with them, was that the restaurant was filming a cooking show while we were there....we weren't on the set, but it was still cool to watch....

after the conference was over, i got to hang with vlad....we went to this beach party and i think we were the oldest people there....but fun was had by all and vlad was happy that he got to "ice" a few of his friends....it was terrific to see him and the new triplex he is the proud owner of....and to think....i met him when he was a mess of a kid.....ha....you've come a long way baby!

back in the philly area, i got to hang with my whale house sistahs, susie, lou and monique, down in manayunk....it was a tasty dinner and the first time in a few years the four of us had gotten together....
i also hung out with my science buddies from science explorers....tracy, jen and karen....we went to this place called lemoncello in west chester....and the bartender there was one of the only ones on the entire trip that could make me a capiroshka.....ciao bellas.....

one day of course was out at the pool with joan and kenny at old forge crossing....both of whom are enjoying their lives of leisure these days.....

and then i met folks out for drinks and again it was a reunion of sorts....its always so interesting to me to see who comes out and joins me and how they all get along....there were a few pleasant surprises that night....with one of them being kristen....a woman i played volleyball with one summer....it was way cool to see her and it had been a few years since we connected....

plus, joel and mary came by as well....we caught up on all of the newest things of their kids and life....it was great to see them as always....

and of course there was the great valley crew....the biggest surprise this time around was that eric came out to play....it was so great to see him....in this shot we have eric, me, debbie, karen, shannon and jimmy....
i also made it to nj while i was in the states....and one of the folks i saw was pat...my old science department head from my first teaching job....we realized we hadn't seen each other in a very long time, so it was great to catch up on everything that had happened from then to now....

i also got to hang with some folks from my first post teaching....richie, drew and sue....i hadn't seen drew since i left either...it was a trip catching up with him....and as always, it was terrific staying with sue and richie and hanging out with them....

jimmy and wendy also joined us for a yummy cuban dinner at cuban pete's in montclair....jimmy i know from croatia when he student taught here and wendy and i worked on the ice together....where she has just deployed to again....although this time its to the pole....you go girl!

one of my last nights in town was with shannon and joel.....i always have to have one night with the friend i have known the longest....i even got to see her dad while we were out....

i also met up with my friend laurie from BU....trying to find each other halfway from where she was to halfway from where i was, was a challenge.....but in the end it worked out and we had a delicious lunch together.....

and of course i hung with greg....what a guy and always a good time....smooches

the last few days were with my parents....as always it was wonderful to spend quality time with them and be close by for the unexpected....they are the reason i am who i am, and for that they are the most important....love ya and miss ya....

now, i realize this is not my normal last shot for a travel update, but one of my favorite stops along the way on this visit to the states was to my favorite pizza place in THE WHOLE WORLD!!!! mac 'n' manco's down in ocean city, new jersey.....i realize this sounds pretty crazy, but believe you me....they are the bestest!!!!! i had to take this shot to show you all how happy i was to be there....YUM!!!!!!!
okay....there you have it....my fast and furious trip to the east coast this past summer...thanks to all of those who made it possible, met me for food or drink, let me stay at their place and showed me a genuinely excellent time....YOU all make it worth it to come back and visit....so thanks....

the next update i hope will be coming your way today.....it will be done in two parts and is my road trip around europe with my friend martha to visit friends from bucharest and pretty places along the way....it was a fantastic end to my summer...and i can't wait to show you the pictures....

peace out and be sure to keep it real.....