A Short and Sweet Layover

I  guess my short commercial break was longer than I planned! My intention was to have posted all I was going to post about "the trip" by now...but alas, best laid plans...get sidetracked by the arrival of springtime and golf.  So, before I am staring summer in the face let me begin to close the loop on "the trip".

When we left Japan, we said goodbye to winter and hello to summer in Singapore, the land of perennial summer!  Allow me one more brief commercial break here...we flew via Thai Airlines from Tokyo to Bangkok to Singapore and they are the winners of the best flight experience of the trip!  First, I had no idea how far Singapore was from Tokyo, but it was about a 7 hour flight to Bangkok and then another 2 or 3 to Singapore.  Long day!  We did fly business class, and it was luxurious!  The food was amazing, especially for airplane food, the flight attendants were as gorgeous as their uniforms and so nice, the seat was comfortable and the entire experience was positive.  It took us all day to get to Singapore and by the time we landed and got a ride to our hotel it was past 8 p.m. and we were done for the day, even after all that pampering.  We got lucky here and used two free nights in a nice hotel. All thanks to TJ whose retirement job is finding ways to get free stuff using credit cards and taking advantage of the "status" he gained during all those years traveling for work.  

Lobster salad appetizer?! 
Yes, please!

Don't even ask me what flavors this was...
but dessert was lovely and tasty!

We only had one full day in Singapore and wanted to make the most of it and see as much as possible. How do you do that?  Our "go to" answer...bike tour!  We managed to survive the heat and humidity for four hours while we enjoyed seeing the many varied and interesting sights in Singapore.  For such a large city it seemed relatively accessible.  It is a place where old and new live side by side as do several different cultures and languages.  I found that I really liked Singapore, aside from the oppressive humidity.  The food was all delicious!  The shopping is never ending, a person could spend a solid week shopping here easily.  The mass transit was unbelievably efficient, clean and safe.  I was continuing to appreciate traveling in safe countries!  I also appreciated the pride the local people had when sharing about Singapore.  Made me want to love it too!

Victoria Theater and Memorial Hall

I love these moss covered trees!

Buddhist Temple

Red light district and shopping street.

Making it green!

India town, feel the vibe!

No cyclists were injured in the touring of the city!

We splurged while we were here and booked dinner at Spago at the top of the Marina Bay Sands.  It was lovely!  In addition to some delicious food and incredible views from the top, we were treated to an outside table and chairs to watch the light show below us in the Gardens by the Bay.  I gotta say, the Gardens by the Bay are not much to look at during the day, but at night during the light show they are so cool!  With the accompanying soundtrack, I was thoroughly entertained.  After the show, we went back inside and I indulged in the most delicious salted caramel souffle for dessert.  After dinner, due to our random but excellent timing, we got to walk through the Gardens and witness the second light show from the ground.  Even better!

One train ride back to our hotel and our full day in Singapore was over.  It was an excellent "layover"!

The Gardens by the Bay by day.

Marina Bay Sands by day.

Marina Bay Sands by night!

The Gardens by the Bay from above.

And from below!

Next stop New Zealand, it can't get here fast enough.  That is how I felt when we left Singapore on our hop and stop trip to get there.  The adventure continues.

It Wasn't Supposed to be This Way

 I am beginning to wonder where I actually live...and I think my friends and family are also beginning to wonder the same thing!  This year has been a series of plans made, starts, stops, plans broken, plans re-made and a lot of mending along the way.  You know what they say, "We plan,, and God laughs."  He must be cracking up this year!  I just hope the joke is over for the next month.  That fateful fall on the ski slope in February changed our year's plans which have resulted in a very busy Fall!

After our summer in Nova Scotia, TJ had planned a leaf peeping bike tour in Vermont for the group we fondly refer to as our Red Solo Cup friends.  Eight of us met in Vermont for an Inn to Inn bike tour covering over 100 miles in 4 days.  One (TJ) out of the eight of us is a cyclist!  No problem, right?!  This was going to be the first real test for my knee to see just how strong and stable it really was.  Turns out, it works just fine.  I would say the trip was a great success. Eight people, between the ages of 60 and 70, rode bicycles over 100 miles, without incident or injury and had a great time doing it!  

The Inns were charming, as were their hosts!

We felt, at times, (or maybe it was just me) like we had been dropped into an episode of Gilmore Girls as we stayed in small towns that resembled Stars Hollow with their gazebos in the town squares and the white steeples framed by tree covered mountains.  The main streets were quaint, and each town seemed so small that you just knew everyone knew their neighbors.  It was like riding through a postcard some days.  The leaf color was not at its peak yet when we started, but by the end of the week things were getting a lot brighter. 

Here are a few scenes from along the road...

Waterfall in Brandon, VT  were it all began.

One of the many covered bridges along the way.
Who doesn't love a covered bridge!!!

Plenty of farm stands and country markets with pumpkins
and all things maple!

The British Fort at Crown Point, NY
1760

Love the mountain in the distance poking out of the clouds!
The reason for one of my many, "Photo stop!" cries along the way.

White picket fences, lots of cemeteries and the occasional fall color!

If we saw one, we saw 20, tall white steeples.

Full circle back to Brandon, VT and one of the 
cutest town squares!
Queue to town troubador!

When in Vermont....

This is what we came for!
This, and a lot of great memories with some very good friends!

Once we got back "home" to Houston we shifted gears very quickly and went to our niece's wedding in Virginia.  This wedding has been on the books for a year, so we knew what we were getting into when we scheduled the bike trip so close to the wedding weekend.  What we didn't know when we made these plans way back pre-Feb. 2nd, was that this wedding weekend would not be the end of our travel season but sandwiched between two trips that were originally scheduled 5 months apart instead of two weeks apart.  God is still laughing.  

The wedding was full of family, fun, and lots of love!  The bride and groom were glowing as they made the most of their special day.  We do love a good party, so suffice it to say by the end of the weekend our voices were cracking from all of the talking and our feet were in desperate need of some ice therapy from all of the dancing.  Weekend bonus- all seven Mahoney siblings were together at the wedding and all four of our children/adults were there too!  It was a family frenzy!

And now we are home, once again unpacking, only to repack.  It wasn't supposed to be this way, but it is.  We are finally taking the trip we planned to take last April...instead of having ACL surgery.  Talk about delayed gratification.  I must say planning this trip while doing all of my rehab gave me something to do, something to look forward to and a goal to work towards.  It has served as a giant carrot dangling in front of me, motivating me to get out there and get stronger.  I am not absolutely sure if I am there yet, I am praying for some adrenaline to kick in once we start!  Next week, we will be on the Camino de Santiago, walking our way to Santiago de Compostela.  No, we are not doing the entire Camino!  We will walk the final 100 km of the Portuguese Camino into Santiago de Compostela.  Shoot....if  I can ride a bike 100 miles I should be able to walk 100 km...right?  Stay tuned! 

Prague....Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Over a year ago we bit the bullet, along with two other couples, and made plans to go on a river cruise.  A lot of water has run under the bridge of life since we first made those plans.  It is interesting how life works out sometimes.  When we planned this trip we had no idea that our youngest daughter, the newlywed, would be living in Berlin. We had no idea that our summer shore friends would be in Prague while we were there.  We had no idea if the blue Danube would have enough water to float our ship all the way to Budapest.  We had no idea if we would even enjoy a river cruise but we planned and had faith.

Since we were already across the pond we decided to plan a little independent travel at the front end of our cruise.  We had always heard that Prague was a beautiful city so we decided to find out for ourselves.  Turns out so did about a million other people!  So many people!  Aside from all of the other tourists getting in our way we found Prague to be as beautiful as advertised.  One of the most special things about our visit was the fact that our daughter and her new husband met us there upon arrival.

Look, the astronomical clock...
and hundreds of cell phones in the air!  (guilty)

Hello, Prague!  Yes, you are beautiful!

We arrived in Prague on a Sunday morning and met our daughter and husband at our hotel.  We parked all of our bags with the staff there and headed out to brunch. That first day is always a challenge but we had a plan.  Stay awake and moving until bedtime.  Our favorite way to keep moving is to go on a bike tour.  We planned a 2 p.m. bike tour with the goals of getting an overview of an unfamiliar city, seeing some of the "must see" sights and staying awake!

Our bike tour in Prague may have covered the most miles we have ever done on a bike tour.  I'm guessing it was between 8 and 10 miles.  Of those miles, over half of them were over cobblestones.  There was no risk whatsoever of us dozing off!  I remembered that ride for days...every time I sat down.  Cobblestones are unforgiving!  The tour itself was very good!  I love getting to see so much of a city in a few hours plus the benefit of being outside.  We saw a secret courtyard, one of the coolest cemeteries I've ever seen, the famous Dancing Houses, a few churches, we learned some history and climbed up to one of the best views of the city on our ride.

Inside the secret garden is a wall
that looks like the inside of  a cave.

Never would have found this without a guide!

The John Lennon wall...it's a thing.

The point in the tour where Lisa gets distracted by a lovely view.

Giant Bronze alien babies.....

and Dancing Houses....Fred and Ginger!

Made it to the top and staying awake!

Husband and wife gravestone....Here's looking at you kid

A beautiful and interesting cemetery.
Alfons Mucha is buried here.

After all that biking on cobblestones we have earned our refreshments!

Thanks to our bike tour guide's suggestion, we planned to tour Prague Castle bright and early the next day and beat all of the selfie stick toting tour groups.  Our plan worked and we patted ourselves on our backs for being ahead of the masses.  Prague Castle was definitely worth the early departure!

St. Vitus Cathedral is massive!

The stained glass windows are amazing!

The Golden Lane inside the castle, housed goldsmiths in the 17th century,
 now houses souvenir shops...riches to ruins some might say.

Franz Kafka sculpture, interesting artist!

Jewish cemetery, unfortunately closed due the the
Jewish holiday.

One of the coolest things I've ever seen!
So glad we were able to find it!
Watch the transformation here:
Franz Kafka Metalmorphosis

Lunch turned out to be a yummy and unique experience.  Kantyna is a must if you visit Prague.  The bone gives the menu away, nothing but meat....and potato pancakes and deliciousness. 

TJ playing with our order markers.

When was the last time you saw grilled bone marrow on a menu?
Would you order it if you did?  I did....it reminded me of my grandmother's cooking!
It was decadent and delicious!

Wine or beer?  Both!

 Later that same day, after following Kelly and I around to all of our "must see" locations, TJ added his "must see" and asked if we could just stop walking for a while and find a nice wine bar to sit and relax.  We followed our trusty smart phones to one wine bar and decided immediately it was a "no".  TJ was beginning to get hangry...or maybe he was thangry, needless to say I needed to find a decent place and fast.  We ended up at a lovely wine bar, very near our hotel.  We walked in and there were two guys at the bar...they were the only customers.  We stood in the entrance area assessing the situation and one of them turned around and what happened next will go down as one of the best moments in Prague.  One of the guys' faces totally lit up and his mouth dropped wide open and he shouted, "Kelly Mahoney!?!!!".  There were hugs, introductions, mouths agape and two bottles of wine later we had learned more about our daughter's college days than we knew before we went into that wine bar.  They had worked together at the admissions office in college long ago and far away. He had run the Berlin marathon and was on holiday with his partner for the next week.  The world is definitely getting smaller!

Our second small world experience happened only an hour later but we knew it was coming.  We had a lovely dinner with our friends from the shore who also happened to be in Prague... after running the Berlin marathon.  All these healthy, fit people we know!  Dinner was great fun and Prague is now our favorite small town in Europe.  It's where everybody knows your name!

You never know who you are going to run into in Prague!
A big "quack out" to our Canadian travel expert for the
Blue Duckling 2 recommendation!

Our two days in Prague were all we had hoped for and a little more.  We strolled along the river and across the Charles Bridge after dinner and took in the views.  Prague really is as beautiful as everyone says.  I could definitely go back and explore in more depth.  The architecture is stunning, the history in fascinating and the food, wine and beer are delicious.  If you go, keep your eyes open because you never know who will be around the next corner!

A little evening eye candy.

The same building all lit up!

Up next, Nuremberg....and that cruise.