Go Ruby It's Your Birthday!

So we'll take a brief Europe hiatus to discuss this past weekends festivities!   Ruby's birthday extravaganza was a fabulous time and I have no voice and my eyes can't stay open as proof!

I had a flight down there Friday night - I met Charlotte at the airport - it was really pretty seamless.  My ride to the airport was a lil uncomfortable - there was an older man across from me on the subway and he WOULD NOT stop staring at me.  

It made me feel very creeped out, but I couldn't really do much about it, so I just decided to pretend I was sleeping.  Anyways…Charlotte and I grabbed dinner together then boarded the plane.  Basically you take off and land in like a hot second.  I'm reading Bossypants right now - if you haven't already done so - please do yourself a favor and read this book.  

I literally laughed out loud a few times, but thank God the guy next to me had already read the book, so he totally understood and didn't think I was a weirdo.  So we landed, went outside and waited for Hilary to pick us up.  We were also waiting for Amy & Coco to arrive, which worked out perfectly and they got there about 15 minutes after us!

After dropping bags off at Hilary's we headed to Ruby's.  It was a very low key night and we just caught up.  We are getting a lil old (aka Hags are here), so we try to keep Fridays low key.  Around 1 am we decided to head back to Hilary's to go to bed.  We had to split into 2 groups for cabs so Coco and I stayed behind for the next one.  As we were waiting, one pulled up and poured out this disastrous couple.  They were so bombed.  The girl literally fell out of the cab, stood to the side, spit on the ground, touched it, and then tried to stand back up.  The guy wasn't much better, but was trying to keep her in check.  It was hilarious.  Coco and I just watched in judgment. 

We got up Saturday morning, had bagels, did a crossword puzzle (again, Hags are here) and waited for Ruby.  When she finished her morning errands, we met her for lunch.  It was great - just relaxing and we all get to catch up some more.  We had to get ready so early, that after lunch, we pretty much needed to just head back to Hilary's to start getting ready.  Then our night began!

We started at Ruby's and all met up there.  A few other people joined us, including Kit!  Gang's all here!  Ruby's husband arranged for a limo to take us to dinner and the bar, so obvi we were riding in style!  The limo was so fun - we all had a great time.  We had dinner at Buddha Bar - amazing.  It was really good - I highly recommend it.  After a few pics with the Buddha, it was on to the bar!  

We headed to Napoleon - which is one of my fave bars in DC, so I was really excited.  On our way there, the limo driver stopped at a few monuments along the way.  My favorite was when he stopped at the Capitol building, we all piled out for a quick pic, next thing - pretty sure we broke out into a patriotic medley.  It was amahhhzing and prob the best part of the night!  So much fun! 

We got to the bar just as a bunch of my old co-workers were walking in.  I was more than ecstatic to see them!  It's been forever so I basically jumped them all upon walking into the bar.  We had to head to the downstairs area first, they were still serving dinner upstairs.  Downstairs is great - but its kind of like a frat house basement.  Music blasting and you sweat just by standing in one spot.  So you can imagine how this worked out for me.  Basically every 1/2 hour I went upstairs and stood outside.   BUT the music was so fun and everyone was just dancing and having a good time.  eventually we were able to head upstairs and have more "civilized" conversations.  It was just so fun to see everyone and catch up with old friends.  I hate that I don’t see their faces daily anymore and I just have so much fun with them, that it makes me wanna move back down.  But that's the fun of visiting, too, I get to see them, have a great time, and then it makes me appreciate DC that much more!

Sunday was not fun waking up at 8 am …worst!  BUT it was good to get home early and lay on the couch for the rest of the day. 

I wish you a fabulous Thanksgiving and I'll see you all back here next week!!  XOXO

European Adventures - Part 4: Spoons!

Obregado! Hope you're enjoying these little jaunts down memory lane! If not - just give me a few more days and they'll be over. Actually Monday (ok maybe Tuesday) will be an installment from this upcoming weekend's festivities. My very own little nugget, Ruby, is turning the big 3-0!!

 She's the baby of the group and we're heading to DC to welcome her to the "club" in style!! It's sure to bring along a few stories!! Anywho…back to Europe we go!


Day Five

We got up (late) - stupid time changes in the US really screwed up our clocks! We pretty much just ate breakfast - by the lemon trees obvi - and left. We were heading back towards Lisbon so we could fly out to Barcelona that night!! Sister number 3 was in our sights!!

Before we went to the airport, we made a quick trip to Sintra. Again - obsessed. This little coastal town was gorgeous. We had lots to do there! We started by going to the Castle of Moors. This was quite the trip. To get up there, you have to take a bus up this very long windy road…it's extremely high up. Sydney would up getting motion sickness - very badly - so that was def not a "high point". Oh I should also make a side note - every night at dinner we did "high point/low point" of the day - always got interesting. So back to motion sickness - it was really bad - but once we got off the bus - my sister helped her a bit and she was able to get back on track. We had to pretty much hike out to the Castle - it was all woodsy along a trail. Once we got there we were in awe. It was crazy that something this old would still be standing the way it was. We walked around - the view was incredible. My sister and I hiked up a bit higher in the castle to get an even better view and see the whole city/surrounding areas. It was great.  Here are a few pics:

After that we hiked back the other way up to the Pena Palace. Again - it was quite the hike - but we all made it - sweaty and tired - but we made it! Once again - took my breath away. Incredible. Here are some pics, the tile work alone is enough to make you scream!

When we finished up there we headed back to the town. After a trip back down the "mountain" with my sister sitting with Sydney "coaching" her through the bus ride (cold hands on the back of her neck) and getting stares…BUT she made it without any problems! We had lunch and shopped around a bit, then headed to the airport.

The line for security at the airport was insane in the membrane. We had plenty of time but people were getting hella crazy. It is at this time that I got into my first and only fight of the trip. I was standing in line, calmly, nothing out of the ordinary for line standing and this guy behind me was basically on top of me. At one point he was literally laying on my book bag (that was attached to my back)…basically he was my back pack. At a different point he was so close behind me with his carry on bag that basically I was holding the handle to his suitcase. Finally I had enough and asked him to please stand back. He gave me a look. Then I asked again. Then I lost my shiz. I was like ummm seriously dude you need to either back off or go in front of me…pretty sure I hate you. That was pretty much the end of him because he then saw a "hole" and ran up to the front of the line cutting everyone and his brother. Very stand up guy!

Sooo our flight to Barcelona was pretty uneventful - we didn't get in until late - like 11 pm. We pretty much just checked into the hotel and called it a night. We had sister #3 to see in the morning - I could hardly sleep - it was like Christmas!!!

Day Six

Started the day bright and early with a special delivery sister at the door and 3 amazing croissants! Just the way I like to start my days! We started out just wandering around the city, down Las Ramblas, saw the Boqueria, the Cathedral and a few other key sights. She had to head to class, so we basically just wandered on our own. We found the Port and just meandered through the city. I was in love. If you've never been to Barcelona and have the urge to visit an amazing city - I can't recommend it enough! It was incredible. Here are a few pics from the first day…

After a brief siesta, sister #3 picked us up and we headed to her "home stay". She has a house mom, who is basically amazing. I'm obsessed with her. She cooked us this amazing dinner and didn't speak a lick of English! My sister translated and I communicated the best I could based on my limited Spanish speaking abilities. But not to toot my own horn…but I was really able to hold my own…soooo TOOT TOOT!! Dinner was fabulous and very entertaining. We were telling her that Sydney says "bananas" when things are crazy or "platanos" in Spanish. She burst out laughing and said that in Spanish they yell "spoons" for things like that. So basically I'm going to start doing that. SPOONS! Awesome. Dinner lasted until about 11 pm - crazy late. We had about a 1/2 hour trip home, so we basically just passed out when we got to our hotel. We were all so excited for Day Seven…GAUDI DAY!!! More on this next week!!

European Adventures - Part 3: Obregado & Suuurrrprise!

First things first - Obregado means "thank you" in Portuguese - this is one of our new fave phrases. 

Day/Night Three/Four

Seriously guys - you don’t understand the "show" that ensued this night.  I'm going to try my best to describe the epic-ness that was this night. 

So we sit down for dinner and our waiter comes over.  He seems fine - pretty nice.  We give him our wine orders and he leaves.  A few minutes later he comes back with our drinks, pours for my sister and I and then looks at Sydney with a bottle in hand (towel over it), pulls the towel down and yells "SUUUUPPPRRRISE"!  

The accent, the timing, the actions, impeccable.  I thought Sydney was going to fall off her chair.  From this point on - we knew we were in love.  This phrase "surprise" would later be used throughout the rest of our trip - it definitely summed the whole thing up.  We proceeded to have a great dinner - I had mussels which were amaze, the wine was great, everything was good.  We were telling our waiter how much we loved Cascais, oh what you say you love it, no worries he then brought each of us a hard covered book about the town.  NBD. 

During our dinner a family sat down behind us.  Now originally we were all "its so late why are children out", etc.  But then - I became enamored.  The mom had dropped a glass by accident and this is what originated our conversations.  She was apologetic and very sweet.  Her little girl kept staring at me so I said "hi".  Turns out she spoke Russian, Portuguese, but very little English.  However, the mother translated.  Well we got into a huge conversation, totally love this little one, and her sister (equally as adorable).  They 3.8 years old - that's what she told me and 2.4 years old (that is what the sister was).  She kept asking if we knew Shrek - love her - obvi since we live in the US we'd know him.  Her and I just chatted away - she totally got me - and her mom had to translate everything.  The little girl kept forgetting I didn't speak her language and just looked at me like - come on lady I asked you a question!  I wanted to just put her in my pocket and take her home with me.  She even asked her mom if when I came to Russia if I could stay with her.  Don’t think I didn't get a card from the mom's BFF so I can email them when I'm in town - don’t worry about it.  The mom & dad were so sweet - because we "entertained" their children - they sent us over a round of port - only the "best" - she said and thanked us.  Too kind. 

As we were downing our amazing Port - I was obsessed - our waiter informed us that downstairs was "getting started".  He told us he'd make the DJ play anything we wanted.  So we told him that we'd finish up and to save us a spot.   Well he did just that …and some!  We get downstairs to find a table - right in front of the DJ booth with a "Reserved" sign on it - yup gold plated "Reserved" sign - just for us!  

We sit down and the fun begins.  Within like 2 seconds Bruno (the manager from earlier) flies at us and wants to be sure everything was ok and "good" - he then jumps in one of our pictures and insists I send him a copy (he gave me his card - NBD).  We were like royalty!

We also noticed that our BFF's from dinner had since dropped the kids off and were "out" for the night.  Trying to be gracious - we decided that as a "thank you" for the Port - we'd send them a round of what they were drinking.  Well this started an all out "Drink War" - like nothing I've ever been involved in.  Let's just say bottles of champagne were received which were countered with shots which were countered with shots of fire.  I repeat - I took a "FIRE SHOT".  Let me break this down for you: you get liquid/liquor (no idea what it was) they set it on fire, you drink it, then they turn a glass upside down with the fire inside it and you take a straw and suck it out.  It was insane and nothing I'd ever like to do again.  Following this craziness we had to call a truce.   Game over.  Literally. 

Well my and the girls were feeling quite good at this point!  I had managed to strike up a conversation with a cute Portuguese guy named "Gino"…at least I think that was his name and that's what we're going with!  Turns out him and our waiter were boys.  He asked us to come to this bar with him and it was supposed to be really fun.   We obliged - especially since our waiter was going to meet us after - obvi we felt safe - so we went down the street to the bar.  Walk in - completely empty.  Like not one person in there - except this random Greek guy that Sydney took a liking to.  We stayed there for a bit - Gino wanted us to come to this other party, which I wasn't feeling, so  he shadily left without as much as a goodbye!  I mean I guess goodbyes are just too hard for two people in love.  Sigh. 

NBD just a lil Kelly & Dylan action

We realized it was about 2/3 am and prob time for us to head home.  We had a huge day planned for the next day.  Our waiter - nice as ever - walked us out and put us in a cab.  We got back to our hotel and I immediately felt the need to order Dominos.  Whoops - we couldn't - wahh.  We all went right to bed - only to encounter the next day.

Day Four

I woke up at 5 am with an excruciating migraine.  Next thing I know my sister gets up and says its 11 am - I'm throwing up from my headache and Sydney can't move.  Let me preface that we were supposed to be up and out of the door by 8 am.  We were a mess.  My sister called downstairs and they gave us a late check out.  Sydney and my sister left me to try to conquer this headache and they went out to get breakfast/beverages.  I managed to stay in the shower for a solid 45 minutes and they came home to find my pitiful little head peaking from behind the shower curtain.  My headache subsided a bit and I felt ok enough to get myself moving.  Sydney felt 100% better and claims it was the "Portuguese Air".  She told me my sister put her on a bench by the water and gave her a Coke and made it all better.  I later learned that the "bench" was a plastic "pod-like" stool and it was outside a beauty salon.   And they each sat there and stared at the water - not able to really talk much.  So when they got back they brought me a ton of things to try to help…not so much…got sick again…but determined to not let it get me down - I packed my things up and we left.

We headed back to the Boca do Inferno - we wanted one more look on a sunny day.  There I got an ice pop and it made me feel a million times better.  After some good deep breathes of "Portuguese Air" I was feeling back to myself.  So we got in the car and headed to Evora - a little town in wine country. 

It was about 2 hours away and we did get lost at one point.  Sydney and I got out again and tried to get directions from this man at a car dealership.  He didn't speak a lick of English - but we were able to communicate on the minimal Spanish that I know.  Bottom line - we got to where we needed to go. 

We pulled up to our Pousada (hotel) and it was amazing.  

The town was adorable, too.  As we were checking in our bellhop took us to our room and got us set up.  At the point he was leaving, Sydney, accidentally yells, "Good bye, Obregado, I love you"…she professed her love to him.  Hilar. 

We decided to walk around the town - which turned out to be the most frustrating experience of the whole trip.  The town was about one inch big, yet no one knew where they were.  For example - we were trying to find a restaurant that was recommended for dinner and we could not find it for our lives.  We went into numerous shops, with a map, asked just where we were - like what street were we on - not ONE PERSON could answer us.  

Not because of  the language barrier - but because they simply had no idea.  How do you not know a) where you are and b) where you work?!  Craziness. We finally gave up, headed back and had dinner at the Pousada.  It turned out to be delightful and we fully enjoyed our meal.

After dinner I insisted on watching a "program" to wind down.  The only thing that was in English was a show about Universal Studios in Japan - obvi I was hooked.  We all watched and went to bed early - we were still recovering from the night before!

European Adventures - Part 2: The Start of Things "Taking My Breath Away"

Ok - so back to the trip a trip trip!

Day Three

We got up and had an annoying breakfast (it was included, but it was kinda gross).  We then headed out to the Elevator - seriously - sounds dumb - but it was amazing.  You take this old school elevator up to the top and it overlooks the city of Lisbon.  Here are some pics:

After that we headed back to the airport to pick up our car.  We got there and our tiny lil guy was waiting for us.  We had a silver Fiat - pretty much amazing.  We named him Jorge.  My sister used to drive a stick, so thankfully, it was like riding a bike.  She jumped right back on that horse! 

From the airport we drove out to Belem.  This was one of my favorite little towns.  Parking was super annoying and this guy was trying to "direct" us.  We thought he worked there.  So we get out and ask how much the parking is, he tells us "its free, you just have to give me tip".  Ummm, what?!  Why would we just have to tip you, but everything is free?!  Kinda shady - but we threw him a few Euros and off we went (hoping that it would prevent him from breaking into our car full of all our belongings).  We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the Cathedral.  This was one of my first "take your breath away" experiences.  It was gorgeous.  Here are a few pics:

After that I had my next "take your breath away" experience - only this time with pastries.  We went to the famous shop in Belem - seriously kids - it did not disappoint.  I was in a sugary heaven.  This is what I ate:

1 custard delishousness and 1 chocolate croissant of amazingness.  Seriously - if you ever find yourself in Portugal - this is a MUST.

After we licked our plates clean, we headed to the Carriage Museum.  This is exactly what it sounds like.  It is a museum of all the baller rides from back in the day.  These carriages were off the chain - unreal.  The craftsmanship (sorry for the nerd alert words/statements) is not to be believed. 

When we finished up ooohing and ahhhing over these said carriages it was time to head to the coast! Luckily our car was still there and off we went.  The drive up was gorgeous - all along the water - beautiful.  We reached Cascais (my favorite town).  On our way to the hotel, we made a brief (we'd stay longer the next day) stop at the "Boca do Inferno" - meaning "Devil's Mouth".  This was awesome.  Basically it's a "nature made" thing and over the years all the waves have carved out this little cave-like structure.  So when the waves come crashing through - it looks like they are coming through the "mouth" and it's insane.  Here's a few pics: 

We then checked into the hotel and my sister wanted to take a quick nap.  Sydney and I decided to get massages, perfect for our post plane ride!  We had to go one at a time because there was only one masseuse, but it wasn't that big of a deal.  This woman was worth the wait.  As Sydney said "it was like a slip & slide in there".  She was all over your back and did a fabulous job!  Now that we were thoroughly relaxed, we took it to the next level of relaxation and grabbed a drink at the bar.  We were the only ones there and Sydney fell in love with our bartender.  She actually told him this statement - after he made us the most delicious drinks you could ever taste…"I think that in my previous life I was a Moor and I used to fish at the Boca do Inferno".  He laughed so hard.  Then he gave us a recommendation for dinner that night.  He told us to go to The Palm.  So we headed back to the room. Got dressed and headed out for a night on the "town".  They called us a cab and our cab driver was crazy.  He was telling us all about the "discotechas".  We reached "downtown" and began to look for this place, The Palm.  It was a little annoying because all the servers stand outside their restaurants and try to get you to come eat - so they yell to you and say things to you - it's really annoying.  But we knew we'd loved The Palm when we walked up, the manager (who would later become our BFF Bruno) came out and simply said "here's the menu, if you like, you come in".  LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. 

Little did we know that this evening was going to take on a life of its own.  Seriously things got crayzay.  BUT it'll have to wait until tomorrow!!!  It's worth the wait - I promise!

European Adventures - Part 1: Take Off

Guess who's back?!  It's me - it's me!!  Hello everybody (said with the accent of Aunt Bethany from Christmas Vacation).  

Soooo my European travels were of they hizzy!  I can't even express how obsessed I am.  Fully admit - I was ready to come back to the good 'ol U S of A, but I would go back in a blink and I loved all of it!  I'm def gonna have to break this down into a few entries because things got rull over there.  I'll start you at the beginning and then bring it on home!  You'll just have to bare with me because I'm also in piles of work (worst part of being out for 10 days), sooo it might just take me a few days - but hang in there - it's worth it!!!

Day One

This first day I'll start off from when I woke up.  I decided to not go into work - just had too much to do/think about.  I got a mani and ran around doing last minute things.  I left with plenty of time to get the train station, good thing because they were shooting Batman and traffic was off the chain (this will also re-surface on my way home - they moved locations).  Eventually I got to the train to take to Newark Airport which is where I was meeting Sydney (my sister flew out of Boston, so was going to meet us in Lisbon).  She arrived a few minutes after me and we were on our way!  We both were having panic attacks about our bag weight, but we made it in just shy of a few pounds!  We got through security and everything without a hitch and had plenty of time to spare.  We decided to grab dinner and just relax until it was time to board. 

After dinner and we got our water/magazines/rations, we headed over to the gate.  We both needed to charge our phones and get all set for the flight.  We found an area to set up shop.  Sydney plugged her phone in first (another guy was using the second one) and then ran to the bathroom.  I was sitting there alone when this woman comes flying through like a bat outa hell.  She was all disheveled and her glasses were askew and hair all over.  She walked over to our outlet, looked around (while she is doing this the guy sharing our outlet is staring at me and me at him making a "what's she doing" kinda face). She then proceeds to attempt to take one of our plugs out so she can plug in her own phone.  The guy was like…umm I don’t think that's a good idea.  She then was miffed and sat down in a huff.  She then goes into one of her bags and pulls out 2 huge Crumbs cupcakes - which are ginorm and devours both of them.  

Like face in icing, done and done.  What is going on?!  This all while Sydney is in the bathroom and missing it all!  I couldn't handle it.  All I kept thinking was if this lunatic is sitting next to me for this flight, I might just not go.  Luckily she wasn't.  Once Sydney got back, I quickly switched out our phones, fearful that she was somehow try to swoop in.  A short time later - we were boarding! 

Our flight was as if you took every annoying person and put them in one condensed area.  People were talking (loudly) when they should have been sleeping, people would body check you on their way to/from the bathroom (I had an aisle), the couple sitting next to me had an all out fight - she sobbed for about 3 hours (no joke) and faced me so she didn’t have to see him, basically I got no rest/sleep.  I was so exhausted.  But we were starting vacation so I was also really excited!

Day Two

We arrived in Lisbon and had to take a bus to the terminal.  Got through customs, got our bags, and we were good to go!  We grabbed a cab to the hotel, which we later found out that he charged us basically triple what he should have and we even gave him a tip!  Womp womp!  We got to the hotel and the woman checking us in was bizarre.  They had no information for us for places to have breakfast - oh I should mention it was 8 am.  So Sydney and I wandered into town and searched for food.  We came across "our café" and instantly fell in love.  We were obsessed.  We got croissants and café con leche. Amazing.  Oh and Sydney got a Coke (which she would proceed to get at every single meal of our trip).  After we finished up we decided to wander around the city.  We found the shopping area, a beautiful monument and a few other "spots" we needed to go back to.  By 10:30 we were spent.  The 2 of us had hit the proverbial wall.  We walked back to the hotel and told them we'd be sitting in the lobby when our room was ready, they could get us.  We sat on the couch and both basically fell asleep.  

They took one look our way and low and behold our room was ready!  We grabbed our bags and headed up.  We walked in and were hit by this God awful smell, or as Sydney calls it "a man whore's cologne".  I was so tired I just fell into bed and didn't breath through my nose.  About a 1/2 hour later a knock on the door - it was my sister!!!  She arrived!  She had the same reaction we did to the room, but again, was so tired she couldn't deal.  We all took a nap and then were ready to see the sites!

First up - a trolley ride to the Castle of São Jorge.  

This was gorg - the views from the top were amazing.  And I loved the trolley ride.  We even had lunch up there which was great.  We were all pretty exhausted still, so after we finished up there, we headed back to get ready for dinner.  We had a great dinner with amazing wine in the Barrio Alto area of the city.  It was a fabulous way to kick off our vacation!