4 Countries in a Day

Germany is so centrally located that 4 countries in a day isn't hard to achieve. Here is France, Luxembourg and Belgium (we started and finished in Germany). It ended up being a 25 hour day but it was worth it!

St. Avold Cemetery, Lorraine, France
Click here to learn about Andrew Miller

St. Avold Cemetery

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Cool terrace

Community chalkboards in Luxembourg

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels, Belgium

Manneken Pis
 Click here to learn about this little peeing man

Broken in Brussels

My luck has been bipolar lately. One minute I'll have something really great happen (like a free flight to Denver to see my family!) then someone breaks my back window and steals muh stuff! The next minute I end up making a lot more money than I expected from a work trip, then I lose my husband's car key at the gym (I'm driving his since my window is busted). We also got a notice from the IRS that we owe our entire refund from 2010...I've never felt like such an adult. I hate dealing with real life trials and especially when Corey is not here!
As a young(er) adult, I frequently experienced mini anxiety attacks whenever I would think about being an adult and surviving in the real world. The years have helped me deal with the anxiety but every now and then I revert to feeling like a helpless child. Or rather, wishing I didn't have to deal with the current crisis. Crisis meaning any obstacle in my daily life.
I'm happy to conclude this story with these feats: My window is fixed, the car key is found and we don't owe the IRS sh!t! I still have to send them proof of that, but at least we figured out what the proof is.

I parked next to a cathedral and a bank...this is what I found after 2 hours in the city!

The Belgian police hooked us up with some plastic and tape. Awesome.

ADAC breaking into Corey's car so I could get my purse and keys out. Ugh.  Sorry about your door, babe. It leaks just a little now :)

Mixed Tape

I love making mixed tapes (more recently known as playlists) and regularly dedicate hours to making the perfect ones. I have made people cry with my amazing mixed tapes! My mixed tapes could bring world peace to the 21st century. My mixed tapes are used in the finest institutions as the preferred music therapy to heal the sick. The world's most interesting man doesn't always listen to mixed tapes, but when he does, it's one of mine.
Recently I invested a fair amount of money at iTunes for a killer new workout mixed tape and I can't wait to try it out. I've been running to the same playlist for about 6 months now and it's not working anymore. I keep skipping songs and dreading the next one that I know is coming. This latest creation isn't tried and true yet, but I have a good feeling about it.
I'm not claiming that these songs are great-it's a workout playlist. However, I think they will be great for keeping me motivated on the treadmill. Here's the list and after I run to it a few times, I'll let you know if it works. (Also, I might do some song rearranging to make sure the flow is right)

Telephone-Lady Gaga
Get the Party Started-Pink (the only song of hers I like)
Hello-Martin Solveig & Dragonette
Oops!...I Did It Again-Britney Spears (Oh young Britney...you were so cute)
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)-Kelly Clarkson (Chubby Kelly motivates me to keep running)
Undo It-Carrie Underwood (Sexy Carrie also motivates me)
What the Hell-Avril Lavigne
Satellite-Lena (My favorite German Idol artist)
TiK ToK-Ke$ha (Ugh, that dollar sign S is soooooo annoying)
Firework-Katy Perry
Just A Girl-No Doubt (Just A little obsessed with Gwen)
You Make Me Feel...(feat. Sabi)-Cobra Starship (I'm the baddest baby in the atmosphere...lyrical vomit but I love it!)
Rude Boy-Rihanna (Explicit lyrics...bad words help you keep going)
Titanium (feat. Sia)-David Guetta & Sia (I've never done ecstasy but this song makes me feel like it)
Lights-Ellie Goulding
Paris (Ooh La La)-Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
That's Not My Name-The Ting Tings (I added that one to make it 60 minutes)

I tried to use only songs by female artists (there's a couple with dudes in them). That's another part of the mixed tape obsession. There are rules to follow for each tape. It's a challenge. Did I miss any on this one? I need more suggestions.

Oman

After Bahrain, we flew to Salalah, Oman, picked up our sweet Land Cruiser (I now want another SUV more than a baby) and drove an hour through the effing craziest 2 lane winding mountain road to Thumrait. We worked there for a few days and tried to hang out in Salalah most of the time. Here are the things I noticed about Oman:

• Super nice people
• Women cover their entire face...they don't even show their eyes
• Men wear the cutest little hats
• Frankincense & Myrrh
• Date trees everywhere
• Really cheap gas
• Beautiful beaches
• HOT!
• Camels crossing the freeway

Bahrain

I lucked out and was selected to go on my shop's annual Bahrain/Oman trip. I'm in Bahrain this week and will be heading to Oman next. So, if you don't know where these countries are (I didn't really even know if they were cities, countries or amusement parks) here is a little help from our friend, a map.

Bahrain is a really small island in the Persian gulf and Oman is the bigger green country. Ironic because there is nothing green here...at all. I haven't and won't really do much here due to civil unrest and cops beating people in the streets. Just the usual. However, Bahrain is pretty cool and I would like to explore it a little. It is the pearl capital of the world and there are boat excursions you can take to go pearl farming and get your own little gem from the sea. I thought about it and decided I'd rather not be thrown into a pile of burning tires just to get my own pearl. Also, there is a nasty sand storm going on right now and it is not pretty. 

View from my hotel (before the sand storm)

I have been exploring Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian peninsula online (a safer method of travel) and found that the more adventurous Arabian people are really into driving on two wheels. They start swerving their vehicles violently and roll onto two wheels and then they show off their skills by changing a tire, smoking some huka, checking the engine. Hilarious! Check out this video:

Italy & France

We met Sarah & Devin in Florence and started our Prius journey through Italia and into France. It was so much fun having friends from home here to hang out with. Plus, Sarah has been to Europe several times and Devin speaks fluent French so we had some experienced travelers to help us out. I felt really confident in Italy since Italian is so close to Portuguese and I think it's my favorite country in Europe so far. Mainly because I understood what was going on. They are pretty bastardly drivers though. The tolls in Italy are also outrageous so I think we'll take a train next time or just fly in. I have some plans for the Amalfi coast. Here are some pictures from our trip...

Florence, Italy

Siena, Italy

Cinque Terre, Italy

Group shot! Stranger in the background.

Lemonade on the top of a mountain!

Halfway on our first hike. I was fueled by the thousands of carbs I ate in Italy.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Devin & Sarah

I loved all the colors. 

This bird stared right into my soul.

Terrifying and magnificent all at the same time.

He couldn't maintain the stare.

Maybe my favorite shot from the trip.

One of the Cinque Terre cities.

Nice, France

Flower market in Nice. It was nice ;)

French soap! 

I just sent my measurements to France ya'll!!! (quote from Bridesmaids)

The French Riviera...don't come here to lay out.

Until now, I'd only heard about the French Riviera from a Paula Abdul song.

Sarah looking oh so French in her cute shirt and glasses!

Nice, France

Les French Kiss!

A super rich hotel we tried to sneak into to see a museum. We did not succeed.

Nederland

It's warming up so travel season has begun! I've always been in love with tulips so naturally I couldn't wait to get to Holland and see rows and rows of flowers. I really wanted to ride a bike wearing wooden clogs, traditional milk maid attire, with a basket full of flowers through every field in Holland but no one else was really into it so we walked around the Keukenhof instead. Boring, I know, but I had a great time and loved the Netherlands.
I know it's cliche, but the second we crossed the border we saw about 8 people riding bikes. No one had wooden clogs on but I found it entertaining. Holland is the land of bicycles and rascals. I'm serious. There is at least one rascal for every 6 bicycles on the road.
We stayed with some friends in Brunssom and saw the tulips, went to a cheese farm, bought a lot of cheese, went to Amsterdam, the Rijks Museum, the Heineken Brewery and walked all over the city. It was beautiful and I loved it and can't wait to go back.

Tulips!

Amsterdam

The Milk Maid

Windmill!

Amsterdam

More tulips!

The Keukenhof

Rembrant at the Rijks Museum

Canal in Amsterdam