Travel: France in Fall - sneak peek

I'm savoring every last memory, new friend, and photo from this trip. When I came back my heart was so full and my head so grounded and I really want to hold on to that for as long as possible. So I've been reminding myself of the goodness I felt every day since coming back.

One of those good things was being forced - partly by the lack of cellular, partly/gently by Sven - to unplug entirely from work and random web distractions. I still took a few snaps and shared a couple things online during the trip, but it was fairly sporadic. If you follow my Snap (heathmo.grizz) or IG (@oohheather) you may have noticed the sound of crickets. In the moments it was a combination of being too interested in the activity or company to bother, and during the lulls I was intentionally trying to break my habitual and half-hearted phone patterns. I'm trying to be more fully present in my real life by doing more outside of work, giving people and pursuits my full attention, and taking fewer meaningless photos (it just becomes mind clutter). Sometimes that means I end up not sharing anything at all (ahem, silent blog), and sometimes it means I'm sharing long after the time has passed. But in the constant struggle to re-prioritize and re-time my life, it's helping me.

But anyway, here's a smattering of photos for a sneak peek.  They're not the best photos - some are blurry and I haven't really edited them.  But I'm less concerned about that than I used to be.  The moment is shared because it was lovely and I cherished it.  And that can be enough.

Our Airbnb for the first week - a charming house in the middle of all the vineyards (and fog).

So much goodness.  And blurry, but whatev.

In Paris I couldn't resist getting a variety from the markets.  We ate it just like this - picking at it with our fingers from a towel spread on our hotel bed.  It was marvelous.  Clockwise from top - figs, semi-dried tomatoes, butter (is life), tinned octopus, bresaola (air-dried, salted beef), baguette, magret de canard (smoked Moulard duck), grapes.

Our last dinner of the trip.  Clockwise from top - foie gras, roasted peppers, chorizo, herbed goat cheese, roasted & herbed mushrooms, large shrimp (eaten peeled), small brown shrimp (eaten whole), whelks (boiled in broth and eaten by plucking meat out of the shell). Not pictured - baguette and wine!

Photo taken by our new friend Liz.  Check her out on IG @lizzylinder

Booked: Southern France

Tonight is Sven's last night in Seattle(ish) after spending 2 weeks here with Phoebe and I.  Needless to say, we've all got the feels.

But it's a little easier knowing we'll be together again next month -- in France!

We booked a 3-day cooking class/wine trip near Bordeaux last summer (which feels like a lifetime ago) and I've been anxiously awaiting its arrival.  We had no idea when we booked that we'd be living oceans apart, and the timing is kind of horrendous for work, but whatever.  I'm excited and I can't wait to cook and eat all the delicious food, drink all the wine, see the chateaus, and stumble through French words with hopeless pronunciation -- all with Steven.

Travel: Croatia - Plitvice Lakes

I've been dreaming about visiting Plitvice Lakes for 20+ years and when we went to Croatia in May I basically designed our entire trip so we could start there.  Aaaaand then I came down with a stomach bug for the first 3 days of our trip.  So we skipped about half of the park because I just couldn't deal (which turned out to be fine since half of it was closed due to flooding anyway).

Brought a packed lunch (bread, meats, and cheese) and enjoyed it on these big elevated platforms

The walkways were built to preserve the park - you can see everything without actually touching it

One of the hundreds of mini falls.

Even though we didn't see everything, it was still beautiful and I'm really pleased that we went.  Looking through my photos, I realize I was so busy ohhh-ing and ahhhh-ing that most of my memories are mental snapshots instead of digital ones.  And while that may not be very exciting for the blog, I think it's a good thing for me. ;)

Maybe one day we'll go back to see (and maybe even photograph) the rest of it...

Travel: A Day in Belgrade, Serbia

Last month, we had a long (enough) layover on in Belgrade, Serbia to venture out into the city.  We only had 6-7 hours, but it was just enough time to walk around and eat a bunch of stuff.  So it was great.

First, we started by walking around and grabbing a lite bite:

Yep.  Looks a lot like a bunch of other European cities.

The lighting was weird on patio but this Serbian sampler was just right.  There were 3 different kinds of smoked pork, local cheeses, a scoop of sour cream (SO GOOD), baked beans, and cornbread muffins (also delicious), and beeeeeer.

Then, we wandered around the Kalemegdan Citadel where they had a bunch of weapons on display (cannons, large guns, missiles, etc.)  But of course, the only photo I took was a wonky pano of the front lawn.

You can just barely see the dinosaur exhibit in the front - a worthy addition to any medieval fortress. 

Then back to another cafe for some more nibbles while we tried the local drink - quince brandy. It was served in tiny little bottles laying in a bundt(ish) pan full of ice chunks.  If you ever have the opportunity to try it - it's much stronger than it looks!

Tired but pleased.  The umbrellas were fun.

Quince brandy and more smoked meats

Aaaand that was it.  It was just enough to make us want to go back (me for the Danube, Steven for the smoked prosciutto).

Open Water Here I Come

You guyyyyyys - I am officially an Open Water Diver!

I did my certification while I was in the UAE in May.  I was a little nervous before we started, but it turned out really great!  I had such an awesome time and can't wait to go on more dives!

Travel: Abu Dhabi Days

Steve moved to Abu Dhabi in January and this trip was my first time seeing the new digs. (He did good.)  I'm still figuring out how I feel about the new city, but the water sure is pretty.

While on the trip, some of our parents asked for photos of us together...which we didn't really have/take.  Photos of ourselves have never been a priority.  But since we're living half a world away from each other, I've also started to wish we had a few more together. So we made an effort to take some photos together (which felt like a monumental effort to be honest).  But hahahaha we're not very good at it! We took about 10 photos and in nearly all of them one of us was mid-blink, or blurred, or just plain crazy-looking (>>STEVE<<). We started giggling about how terrible we are at it, and of course that turned out to be the good one (at least as good as it's gonna get).

Crazy eyes, eek-face, aaaaand giggles.  Good enough, right?

Travel: Croatia Sneak Peek

We're still in Croatia and loving every minute of it.  The water is cool and crystal clear, the sun is out and the temperature is perfect, and the people are very friendly.  We're drinking cheap beer, great wine, and eating lots of seafood, smoked ham, great pasta, and gelato.  So basically, we're in heaven.

There have been such gorgeous views that span as far as the eye can see.  I've been trying to capture the full majesty of what we're seeing, but it's hard to capture something that takes a full head span from left to right (for me anyway).  So I've been sharing a lot of Snapchat videos(heathmo.grizz), and I think I've used the Panoramic feature on my phone more in the last 2 days than in the last 5-6 years combined.

But here is a tiny sneak peek:

Driving from Split to Dubrovnik

Steven prepared breakfast on the patio in Dubrovnik (I have such an excellent husband).

That's it for now - we're off for a swim in the turquoise waters!