Bust out the BIKINIS ladies!!!

That's right, go on, stop thinking about it and just do it. I dont care if you're 22, 42 or 82. If you have small boobs, big boobs, saggy boobs, perky boobs or no boobs. If your butts round, slim, J-lo style or non-existent. For goodness sakes, there have been so many lines created over the years to give you the encouragement you need... 'you go girl', 'shake what yo mamma gave ya', 'got any fries with that shake' and i will be the first to say that any good rap song is all the encouragement one should need--in fact, argueably the most famous rapper out there will tell you 'he likes big butts and he cannot lie'.

So what is stopping you? Maybe u will use the excuse:
#I am a mother now and have to start acting like one
#im too old
#im too fat
#my body doesnt look like the girls in rap videos
#my body doesnt look like a 16 yr old (hello, it shouldnt!)
#and all the other things i listed above
#blah blah blah

I went to a public bath in Budapest on Wednesday and was so proud to be a woman! there were females fitting all the above criteria and every single one rocked a 2-piece bathing suit. And let me tell you, not only were they wearing 2 pieces but mine was probably the least revealing. And the funny thing, no one seemed to notice. No one seemed to care what anyone else looked like. Everyone was just enjoying the sun and the cool water. So when you get dressed to go to the pool next time, stop being an egomaniac and throw on the smallest thing you can find...show that pasty skin what the sun looks like! And as a good friend once told me, if i am looking, it is because i like what i see. So if the men stare, it is a good thing. and if the ladies are looking, it is because they are spilling over with envy at how confident you are!

As for my trip, i will say that Budapest was unbelieveably beautiful, a sort of Paris to the East. Not overcrowded with tourists, lovely people, great sights and great food. i came back to vienna today, am going to a concert tomorrow night (mozart and strauss) then heading to Switzerland (Interlaken). It is a town of about 5700 people but highly visited for its outdoor sports activities like canyoning, hanggliding, skydiving, etc. let us see what kind of trouble i can get into there, shall we? :0)

And finally, i am sure many of you are aware that Americans dont have the best reputation overseas. We are generally referred to as being 'ignorant of the world around us', bad drunks, slutty (sorry but it does get said a lot). Later when I have more time, I will tell a story I overheard at the Bath between two British and two Australian guys that was quite funny!

But the good news is that we do have 1 positive thing going for us: dental hygene. in over 3 different countries i have been to, locals have asked if i was american before hearing me speak a word of english. when i said yes, they all said, i can always tell by the nice teeth. whew, good thing we have 1 thing going for us!

I have 3 words for you...

BOYS ARE NASTY!...

I have come to determine that all boys are, except my brother Blake of course. Everything about them either makes noises, stinks, or worst of all, both at the same time! So allow me to do a little explaining:

My last night in prague consisted of sharing a room with 2 rugby players from England and New Zealand and a guy from Germany and another from Brazil. I went to bed early because I had to check out and catch the train early the next day to Budapest. They got home pretty late but were sweet to try not and wake me, but it was all a lost cause...one of them snored like a bear all night long and then at one point, it got so loud it not only woke me up but also himself. (and i was wearing ear plugs like an old woman too) He made a loud grunt noise, followed by talking in his sleep saying something like "oh baby baby bu bu bububu bubba baby" then it was back to snoring. Of course all i could think is, if he snores and talks in his sleep he might also sleep walk, so the rest of the night i am terrified im going to open my eyes and he is going to be standing next to me. hah! The next morning when i woke up to pack and leave, they are all sound asleep but one of the rugby players is lying on top of the bed in nothing but teeny tiiiny animal print underwear...i am laughing right now just thinking about it. The other was still completely dressed, guess he couldnt be bothered to change clothes after a long night out!

Back to stinky boys...the guy that sat next to me on the train ride for 7 hrs wasnt too shower fresh, and of course he gave me his card and asked me to call him for a drink (no thanks). I get to my hostel where i am staying in a 10 bed room and the guy i am sharing a bunk with had his sox laid out by the window and it was aweful! Then the 2 german guys in the bunk next to us seemed to have what i will politely refer to as "a liquid substance used to make cars run" but can also be referred to as "an external release of air from within the human body". It is times like this when you really miss the comfort of your own house and the few good smelling boys you know! (very few)

My last day in prague, i took a day trip to Terezin, an old WWII concentration camp about an hour north of prague. I dont have a weak stomach and dont get clostrophobic (sp?) in confined places but I could not handle visiting the small fortress where prisoners were kept. I dont have words to describe it other than to say that you could literally feel the suffering that came from the small (unbelieveably small) rooms where hundreds slept on 3 tiered bunks or the floor. As I walked into the first few rooms, I felt a sense of fear that the doors were going to clasp behind me and lock me inside. It was also so cold and smelled of years of disease. I walked with my hand over my nose and mouth the entire time. I literally felt like i was surrounded by death. After that, I walked straight back to the bus stop and caught the next bus back home. I couldnt have gotten away from there soon enough.

On the train to Budapest yesterday, the ticket master informed me my eurail pass didnt work in the Slovak Republic (10 yrs ago the 2 countries were 1--Chekleslovakia) (sp?) and that I would have to pay extra from the border of Czech Republic to Hungary (the journey thru Slovak Republic which is where we were currently passing thru). He said it was 41 Euro and I only had 50, so he said follow him to the restaurant car to get change because he didnt have any. Then he stops me between cars in a small passage when we were alone and pulls out 2 20 bill euros and 1 10 bill euro. I give him the 50, he gives me those then just takes one of my 20s and only says "dont worry" followed by putting his finger over his lips and saying "shhhh" and a smile. I smiled back. Who can blame him for wanting to make an extra buck, especially when it saved me about 20 euro myself!

I got off the train in Budapest and made my way to the metro. Things looked quite a bit more run down than the past countries i had been into and i started to wonder if i had made the right choice to come here for a few nights. The metro cars looked like something that was built during WWI and survived a few blasts from WWII. But then, I get off at my stop, walk up the stairs to street level and low and behold...the national opera house is to my left and directly in front of me are my old friends, Louis V. with Gucci. I was definitely where I needed to be!

Today I am off to explore the Buda side of the Danube River. There used to be 2 cities split by the river--Buda to the west and Pest to the east. My hostel is on the Pest side which is more commercial and business. Buda is more history and culture. After going to the Buda castle, I am going to visit one of the many popular bath houses here in Hungary to try and cool off from the heat and enjoy some sunshine.

I hope you enjoy the new pictures from Vienna and Prague and hopefully i will have some new ones from here to share soon.

final photos from Vienna and some from Prague

Ok, the highly anticipated:
1. final shot of me from my hostel view of vineyard directly in front with Vienna in the distance
2. The palace hotel next to my hostel in Vienna which I WILL be back to stay in some day!
3. Beautiful view at night of romantic lit buildings in Vienna before rain storm
4. Me running in the rain, notice how soaked I am
5. Me stopping to take a quick photo with the branch in the road
6. Hello from Prague
7. Changing of the guard at Prague Castle
8. Neon green Plum, I wasn't kidding people!

2 more things...

I forgot to mention 2 very important things:

#1 HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOODWIN!

#2 If you look at who my followers are, that handsome fellow with the beard is my grandfather, Papa Jim...Papa Jim, you look very handsome in your photo and I'm impressed you figured out how to sign up to be one of my followers! You're practically a technology wizard now! Can't wait to see you soon.

Good night everyone.

All Smiles...

I'm seriously trying to type this update but someone is blasting Tina Turner, "what's love got to do with it" from the hostel kitchen and all I can do is sing the words to the song. It could also be the 2 glasses of wine I just had at an outdoor cafe that keep me from focusing. But I'm gonna go with Tina!

So, let's see, 2 days down in Prague and I'm still having the time of my life! Yesterday I decided to wonder around without looking at a map to see if I could get myself lost and just what I'd find. I was successful at getting lost and ended up crossing the Vlatva River (sp)...
Great, now it's Enrique Iglesias "Bailamos" hahaha Holly, I am totally thinking about "I can be your hero baby" right now! Whew, ok focus.
Yeah so, I walked from Strave Mesto (old town) where my hostel is located up the hill to Prague Castle. I watched the changing of the guard, walked around, had a picnic of cheese and crackers and a nectarine then headed back. On my way, I came across this gravel road that lead into the forest from the best I could tell. I decided to see what I could find...
ok seriously, now the radio is playing a song that's chorus sings "give me give me give me a man after midnight" and I can't stop laughing! ...
I promise, no more radio song comments from now on.

So, let's try this again. Walking thru the gravel road into the woods, I had no idea where I'd end up but let me just say, it's liberating when I can honestly say, I had nothing better to do and was in no hurry, whatsoever! And lucky me, I ended up at the top of the hill of Prague with the most amazing view overlooking the city (again no pictures yet but soon enough people!) I kept walking, wondering where the end of the path would take me. I felt like I was in a fairy tale with the giant trees and their limbs only allowing small splotches of sun to sneak in. It was beautiful but a little cold. Then all of a sudden, the forest opened up and spit me out into an open field of fruit trees. Thousands of them. From cherry to apple to pear to plum. Rows and rows and I was all alone except for 2 other people that looked like locals off the path picking fruit from the trees and eating it. I decided to fit in as best I could so I ate my first ever fruit right off the tree--a plum that was clearly not ripe yet. After rubbing it clean with my sleeve, i bit into purple flesh with neon green inside. It was extremely sour but I ate it anyway, feeling like I had teleported myself back into time. Then I managed to get a pear down from one of the upper branches of its tree and did the same. I called it an early night and got to my room to do some writing then met my new roommates--2 guys from Poland that were only staying one night, on their way to Bosnia to do some camping. Good thing for earplugs because one of them snored all night! Tonight I have no idea who I'll find in my room because the Polish guys left this a.m. as did the guy from Taiwan and the girl from China.

Today I did more exploring across the bridge into Mala Strana then back to the fruit tree field for a nap in the grass after another picnic. Tonight I finally had my first restaurant meal alone from my trip. An italian restaurant where I had wine and a pizza capricciosa (mushrooms, artichokes, olives--hold the ham). It is just around the corner from my hostel so I stayed a while and listened to the live jazz band. Prague is famous for live jazz just about everywhere.

Before dinner, I bought a ticket to a black light theatre show --also famous here-- and attended it at 7pm. It was called "Aspects of Alice", based on Alice in Wonderland. It was a mix of black light, theatre actors and light projection art. It was awesome, but the best way to describe it would be something like Alice in Wonderland on Acid or Absynth, which is everywhere here also. It was strange but an experience, for sure! Sorry, no photos were allowed. Guess you'll have to come to Prague to see it for yourself! (side note, Mom, remember when I did that black light dance in middle school to Elton John's Croccodile Rock? I totally thought of that, how funny! It was me, Suzanne Spain and who else? Denise Devasier?) Ok, sorry to everyone else for that side track...

Before taking my seat, I decided I'd order a drink. And most of you that know me well, know that I like to experience new things and do what the "locals do". Well, I got to the bar in the theatre to order a drink and had noticed a drink that I'd seen a number of times here...something called Campari. I could swear I'd heard of it before or had even tried it somewhere, but when I asked for it, the woman looked at me strangely (as in, no one has ordered that in 100 years). And when she came around the corner with a bottle or pink liquor that looked like it had been sitting somewhere for 100 years, I knew why. I didn't have the heart to say, "actually, I'll just have a glass of wine," afterall, I was trying to act like I knew what I was doing. If she could have seen my face after the first sip, she'd have known I was an imposter for sure! It tasted something like I'd imagine liquid-fire-gasoline to taste like! 2 sips later, I set it down somewhere and walked away, already feeling a bit buzzed.

The last thing I'll mention is that when I planned this trip, I was thinking, after Paris, when I made my way further east in Europe, I'd not be able to understand a word of what anyone said...well boy was I wrong. Spanish is taking over the world. Everyone I pass on the street is from Spain or Mexico and even a few Argentinians. (of course there are tons of English speakers as well, but the Spaniards definitely dominate). Too bad I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying after we left the theatre tonight. I was all smiles and even a few laughs out loud thinking about what I'd just watched. I remember Alice in Wonderland to be all about talking cats and queens of hearts, tea, etc. This show had giant Jewish creatures, clowns, and a "finding your womanhood" scene (too keep it politically correct). The best part was the show ended with Alice "becoming a woman": experimenting sexuality, then finding a man, getting married, having a baby, and finally dying...I don't know why but I thought that was so funny. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful, but is that really all a woman can expect???
Again, not the Alice in Wonderland I remembered.

The Irony of Wishing...

Now that I have a fan base, (which is AWESOME by the way) I feel more compelled to write often! I got to Praha (Prague) yesterday via an old, slow, unairconditioned, muggy train. It took about 5.5 hrs total. At 7pm, after being lost for a moment with my heavy backpack crushing my shoulders, I stayed cool calm and collected and finally found my way to Tyn Hostel in the heart of the Strave Mesto (Old Town). Another foreign language and another currency...

BUT before I start on my first few hours in the Czech Republic, my last day in Vienna was quite eventful. Matt and I met up in the afternoon and rented bikes to ride to an area in town less inhibited with tourists, across the Danube to the north east. We rode along the riverbank and passed a number of parks with locals hanging out. We were on the hunt for a waterpark to try and beat the heat. We passed some rough locals along the way which gave me a chance to see a different side of the city. Most of the locals were on their way to the river bank to take a swim. We didnt find the waterpark (or rather we did but it was just a park called "water park") but it was already 8pm and had cooled off considerably.

So we made our way back to the film festival for dinner and a beer. We got lost on the way and found ourselves in the upper crust of the city with high end stores, restaurants and bars. Good thing I didn't find it earlier because there were way too many stores I could have caused damage at! We ended up walking past the National Archeology museum, Spanish horse stables palace and into a large garden we had visited during the day with museums around it. But we had never seen it at night with the lights showing how truly Grandioso it is. (pictures to follow at another time)

There were groups of 10-20 people parties having picnics and wine along with couples snugged up on the vast grass area. The concert for the film festival had aready begun and it was an opera that was close enough to be heard loudly. In the distance, heat lightening ran across the sky. There couldn't have been more romantic scene for all the lovebirds in the area.

The festival was already packed so we went straight to the line for food. I had the same asian veggie dish as the first night--carrots, zucchini, noodles, etc with steamed white rice but this time I added some salmon. I was starving from the day so a few minutes later, it was gone! And good thing...just as I had finished, it seemed that what originally appeared to be non-obtrusive heat lightening quickly turned into a serious threat.

We were luckily already under an awning, shielded from the monsoon that fell within seconds. But when hundreds of others attempt to join for shelter, then the wind and flooding take over, there was really no hope in staying dry. Oh an did I mention the awning was metal??? No a good combo with lightening. After the hope of the rain passing faded into a flood,we had to make a run for it...but where to? There were hundreds of others already under he only bus stops near by. Th U-Bahn (metro) was a good mile away...I guess after complaining all day about the heat and unsuccessfully looking for a "water hole", we were granted our wish!

Running through water on the streets up to my shins, the sun dress I had on was completely soaked inside and out. But I was definitely not the only one. There were girls in white shirts, tops and one unfortunate soul in white linnen pants that opened the windows to their private fortresses for all the world to see!
The wind was so strong, we passed a few tree limbs obstrcting the roads on our way to the U-Bahn. (also a picture to come) Finally we got to our hostel at midnight, freezing!...funny how things can change on the drop of a dime. That's life and may we never forget it!

Now, I was sweating like an 80s rockstar on the train from Vienna to Prague. I sat next to a Russian interpretive dancer who was without a doubt the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life--her face was flawless. She reminded me of Natalie Portman but much prettier.

I got settled into my hostel and went for a walk to the town square, had a beer and sat next to a guy from Belgium and a girl from here. We spoke in Spanish and English and talked about Cuba--which they visited while studying in Costa Rica. Hmm, I feel a Latin American sebatical coming in the future! :0)

more photos: last day in France & Vienna in all its glory

Here they are... sorry i posted them backwards so france is last and austria first...

1. imax screen for film fest against city hall bldg

2. mozart statue in a park with lovely flower, music note design

3. half of my tangerine...have i mentioned the fruit here is like nothing we have ever tasted in the states!!! pesticides are a serious problem people.

4. view from my hostel in vienna...like i said before, amazing!

5. bike tour of Versailles in France

6. picnic on the bike tour with me petting-feeding-getting bitten by the swans. they are really soft by the way but it almost took my middle finger off.