Passed through Kansas city yesterday after leaving our Family Reunion in Kansas. Didn't plan on stopping but wanted to drive through the town just to see what it was like. Part way down Broadway - windows up, vent open, the car is filled with the most amazing aroma of coffee. Finally found a place to park and began walking up and down streets to find the source.
Finally discovered a huge white building - the roasting house for Folgers (did you know that they make Dunkin Donuts coffee?)
Unfortunately, since it was memorial day - nothing was open (in the whole city it seemed - but this was esp. tragic) we peered longingly through the windows and basked in the amazing smell of fresh roasted coffee. Coffee aside, Kansas City seemed a neat place.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Getting Old
Finally finished packing for the trip at 12:30 am and cleaning house for the housesitter.
Woke up to get dressed and catch a taxi to the airport at 3:40 am. A good thing Alister's Alarm worked because mine (set for 3:30am- and yes the taxi had been waiting 5 minutes before we got down so we could have used the 10 minutes) - ended up being set for pm instead of AM. How accurate can you be at that time of morning with only 5 hours of sleep the night before and an action packed day full of preparations before departure?
Flight was great - we booked with KLM who coded the flight to Air France who apparently did a seat share with Ukrainian international. Amazing that the cheapest ticket was available with a company who we didn't even see the entire flight.
We flew to Paris. The flight was not full so Alister and I had a seat between us. Somehow - I can curl onto 1 or 2 seats like I used to. The short haul of luggage (50 lb, 48lb, 18lb, 12 lb, and whatever alister's weighed)- was exhausting - and I didn't even have to carry half of it! Nothing like the trip as a single woman from Osijek to Budapest - by train with 175 lbs of luggage that I lugged about the city by myself. (not recommended - Budapest has no elevators and lots of stairs). But somehow - this packing trip was much more exhausting then all of that. I don't know if it is having to worry about packing for another person - or just getting old.
Had a 4 hour layover in France. Terminal B isn't much to speak of, and wouldn't be a comfortable place to crash in - but Terminal E was luxurious - in fact a but TOO luxurious - The food court had 4 gourmet styled restaurants serving from a cafeteria style layout - a bottle of water cost 2.10 euro and the cheapest thing you could find to eat that was 150g. (a sandwich) cost 5.20 euro. One of the places sold Lebanese food and it was ridiculous what they wanted for a small potion of hummus (3.75) bread (1.75) and a roll of something the size of your pinky was being sold for 2 euro something. A Chinese portion of meat/veggie combo was 5.8 and then another 1.75 was asked for a portion of rice. Portions were not generous but adequate for 1. With no alternative - we got a sandwich and spent the rest of our meal watching the shocked reaction of the other patrons who wandered in - circling the place in disbelief over the prices. You could spot the Business people - they shook their heads at the prices and then filled up their plates with a decent meal anyway. We decided it must be the expense accounts.
Fell asleep in the lounge even after a coffee - woke up unable to feel my right side and with fuzziness engulfing me we stumbled to the gate - only to discover that Alister had not reset his clock so we were an hour early - better than an hour late.
Ever since personal entertainment centers have been installed on Aircraft - flying has become way more comfortable - but even without that i highly recommend AIR FRANCE - they give you a face mask, ear plugs, head phones, a yummy and generous meal - three passes through for beverages and then a "self-serve" invite for the back of the plane - and just excellent service. Fly Air France.
And while complementing France - Alister and I watched a comedy Envoyés très spéciaux on the plane. It was absolutely hilarious. LOL. Its about these journalists who are supposed to report on Iraq but get stuck in Paris - so they pretend they are in Iraq but are broadcasting from Paris. The plot thickens in the relationship between the two journalists - one who unknowingly slept with the other man's wife who then left him the day that he got sent to "Iraq" Clever, original, and just plain great - of especial note is the celebrity fundraising satire.
Woke up to get dressed and catch a taxi to the airport at 3:40 am. A good thing Alister's Alarm worked because mine (set for 3:30am- and yes the taxi had been waiting 5 minutes before we got down so we could have used the 10 minutes) - ended up being set for pm instead of AM. How accurate can you be at that time of morning with only 5 hours of sleep the night before and an action packed day full of preparations before departure?
Flight was great - we booked with KLM who coded the flight to Air France who apparently did a seat share with Ukrainian international. Amazing that the cheapest ticket was available with a company who we didn't even see the entire flight.
We flew to Paris. The flight was not full so Alister and I had a seat between us. Somehow - I can curl onto 1 or 2 seats like I used to. The short haul of luggage (50 lb, 48lb, 18lb, 12 lb, and whatever alister's weighed)- was exhausting - and I didn't even have to carry half of it! Nothing like the trip as a single woman from Osijek to Budapest - by train with 175 lbs of luggage that I lugged about the city by myself. (not recommended - Budapest has no elevators and lots of stairs). But somehow - this packing trip was much more exhausting then all of that. I don't know if it is having to worry about packing for another person - or just getting old.
Had a 4 hour layover in France. Terminal B isn't much to speak of, and wouldn't be a comfortable place to crash in - but Terminal E was luxurious - in fact a but TOO luxurious - The food court had 4 gourmet styled restaurants serving from a cafeteria style layout - a bottle of water cost 2.10 euro and the cheapest thing you could find to eat that was 150g. (a sandwich) cost 5.20 euro. One of the places sold Lebanese food and it was ridiculous what they wanted for a small potion of hummus (3.75) bread (1.75) and a roll of something the size of your pinky was being sold for 2 euro something. A Chinese portion of meat/veggie combo was 5.8 and then another 1.75 was asked for a portion of rice. Portions were not generous but adequate for 1. With no alternative - we got a sandwich and spent the rest of our meal watching the shocked reaction of the other patrons who wandered in - circling the place in disbelief over the prices. You could spot the Business people - they shook their heads at the prices and then filled up their plates with a decent meal anyway. We decided it must be the expense accounts.
Fell asleep in the lounge even after a coffee - woke up unable to feel my right side and with fuzziness engulfing me we stumbled to the gate - only to discover that Alister had not reset his clock so we were an hour early - better than an hour late.
Ever since personal entertainment centers have been installed on Aircraft - flying has become way more comfortable - but even without that i highly recommend AIR FRANCE - they give you a face mask, ear plugs, head phones, a yummy and generous meal - three passes through for beverages and then a "self-serve" invite for the back of the plane - and just excellent service. Fly Air France.
And while complementing France - Alister and I watched a comedy Envoyés très spéciaux on the plane. It was absolutely hilarious. LOL. Its about these journalists who are supposed to report on Iraq but get stuck in Paris - so they pretend they are in Iraq but are broadcasting from Paris. The plot thickens in the relationship between the two journalists - one who unknowingly slept with the other man's wife who then left him the day that he got sent to "Iraq" Clever, original, and just plain great - of especial note is the celebrity fundraising satire.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Busy
It has been pretty crazy the last few weeks trying to take care of everything before leaving for the states (BTW - We're here! - more on that later)
As if things weren't hectic enough, we decided to follow up an invitation from a reformed church in Ivano Frankovsk (western Ukraine) and go visit and share about our church with them as well. The town was lovely and it was great to hear about their church and learn about the social activities the church and Pastor are involved in (HIV/ AIDS education and anti-prejudice campaigns.
No pictures at the moment but we got to go through the countryside as well - stopping at the Pysanky Museum (where I saw some of my teacher's eggs), trying local cheese, and going through the tourist markets where Yushenko (president Ukraine) shops (at least there was a picture of him at the restaurant). No wonder though - as all the souvenirs really come from western Ukraine and they are WAY cheaper (10-15 uah before bargaining) than in Kiev. Also - here - national costumes were not only in supply - but in abundance and there many differnt styles and patterns that in kiev you just don't see (in kieve its like a standard shirt - one pattern suites all) Not that we bought national costumes - but it was great to see the variety and innovation. We also learned that all these crafts were mostly instigated by the Hutsul people.
Also - I gleaned the most amazing recipe for pickled tomatoes. I know, you are wondering how pickled tomatoes can be amazing - well you have to trust me - once we get back to Ukraine (in tomato season) I will mix up a batch and see if I can duplicate the results and share it with you. (really I just didn't bring the recipe with me)
As if things weren't hectic enough, we decided to follow up an invitation from a reformed church in Ivano Frankovsk (western Ukraine) and go visit and share about our church with them as well. The town was lovely and it was great to hear about their church and learn about the social activities the church and Pastor are involved in (HIV/ AIDS education and anti-prejudice campaigns.
No pictures at the moment but we got to go through the countryside as well - stopping at the Pysanky Museum (where I saw some of my teacher's eggs), trying local cheese, and going through the tourist markets where Yushenko (president Ukraine) shops (at least there was a picture of him at the restaurant). No wonder though - as all the souvenirs really come from western Ukraine and they are WAY cheaper (10-15 uah before bargaining) than in Kiev. Also - here - national costumes were not only in supply - but in abundance and there many differnt styles and patterns that in kiev you just don't see (in kieve its like a standard shirt - one pattern suites all) Not that we bought national costumes - but it was great to see the variety and innovation. We also learned that all these crafts were mostly instigated by the Hutsul people.
Also - I gleaned the most amazing recipe for pickled tomatoes. I know, you are wondering how pickled tomatoes can be amazing - well you have to trust me - once we get back to Ukraine (in tomato season) I will mix up a batch and see if I can duplicate the results and share it with you. (really I just didn't bring the recipe with me)
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