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Hi,
Blogger is not cooperating with me, so I've switched to Tumblr. Come to http://erinelizabeth.tumblr.com to see pictures from the Virgin Islands!

Where to next?

Hello, my four faithful readers. I promise I will put up amazing Virgin Islands pictures soon which will make you all envious and me sad that I'm not there anymore. In the meantime, let me ask you a question. Last winter I took my mom to Florida for her big 6-0. I then took a lovely work trip to Seattle where I caught up with an old high school friend. Since I rode Southwest on both these trips, I received a voucher for a free roundtrip flight in the continental US. The question is, where to? I have to use the voucher before the end of March. This is unfortunate timing, since I'm going to Denver in April for work and would just use the voucher to bring Nick along with me, but that won't work.

Any thoughts? Further south? Out west? What do you guys think?

home for a while

Got back from the Virgin Islands Friday ~ midnight. Wishing I was still there. Spent hours checking my work email yesterday and tonight. Back into the full swing of things, including trying to get the hang of my new position, starting tomorrow. Meant to go to bed early tonight, but Nick sucked me into this Redskins/Cowboys game and now he's fallen asleep on the couch next to me while I feel the need to watch the end.

Pics forthcoming from VI and Chicago. No more work travel until March, I think? Weird.

Sleepy...

So tired! I got in from Chicago around 12:30 last night and struggled in to work this morning. A very sweet man sitting next to me on the plane told me all about his trip to Australia. This made me 1) jealous of his 4-week vacations and 2) so sleepy bc I was planning on taking a little nap.

Also, I totally forgot to take my little baggie of liquid items out of my suitcase when I went through security and no one said a word. Hm.

Happy Halloween from Chicago

It is warmer here than it is in Raleigh today. This is a strange situation that is working in my favor. I have 5 and 1/2 hours until I have to be back to my hotel for a work event. I'm off to wander through Grant and Millenieum Parks, do some window shopping on The Magnificent Mile, and perhaps hop on the train and head north of downtown, where I've never been. Today is a good day to be me.

Fri

68°F | 45°F

By the way I'll have you know all this good cheer is additionally remarkable considering that I had to get up when it was pitch dark and frosty out to catch my plane.

PPG Place

PPG Place is by far the most impressive collection of buildings in Pittsburgh. However, when I took a picture (not the one shown here) a security guard informed me that "they don't like you taking pictures." I'm not sure who "they" are, but why would you build such a fairy-tale castle looking skyscraper if you didn't want people to be so impressed with it they wanted to get a picture.

Grand Concourse

One night we had dinner in Grand Concourse, a really beautiful converted train station. I had delicious oysters and halibut. As usual in my travels, I was jealous of all the train lines and old buildings.

Pittsburgh

Hm, I'm sort of conflicted on Pittsburgh. Pretty from a far, such as this picture of Mount Washington from a bridge that crosses the Monongahela River. Up close, certain parts were not so pretty. I did have an excellent sandwich at Primanti Bros at Dan's suggestion. Gotta love a sandwich where they put the french fries right in with everything else. That's good lazy people food right there.

When traveling in Europe

I would suggest possibly bringing your own hairdryer if you are particular about those sorts of things. If not, you may end up with something like this. It has no settings. Just pull the right section of tubing away from the machine and aim at your wet hair. It's less of a drying sensation and more of a gentle, warm breeze directed towards your head.

Also note the amusing purple tiles.

Gas Stations

In Cagliari, all the gas stations we saw were called Agip. Apparently the symbol for gas is a six-legged fire-breathing dragon (alternatively, a six-legged dog catching a red frisbee). Also, check out the cigarette vending machines that were all over the city like ATMs. I think the only place I've seen a cigarette vending machine over here in the last 10 years was in a bowling alley. Also, they sold in half-packs, which I've never seen.

There are little tiny cars in Italy

Look at the size of the maintenance trucks! But seriously, there were sooo many SmartCars. I kind of want one now. My Accord seemed enormous when we got back to RDU.

Psssst....

You guys... Tupac has been hiding out in Sardinia all these years.

*sigh*

I'm paying for my fabulous Italian work trip today. Working for several hours on a beautiful fall Sunday seems cruel. But a fitting tradeoff, I suppose.

Now I'm done though! Back to reading my book. Are any of you guys on Good Reads? You should be...

The discovery that made me laugh the most about Bastione San Remy is that on top of this old building was not only a cafe, but also a club! Tyra, this post is especially for you, since every time I looked at the club set up I laughed and thought about our clubbing days and heard 'Get Low' in my head.

Bastione San Remy

The building is at the top of a steep hill near the main shopping district. It offered gorgeous views out toward the gulf and back towards the mountains. We usually walked or took the bus down to this area of town, called Marina, after I got off work and would wander around and eat a late dinner.

I'm back home in Raleigh now. Sigh. I wisely took today off from work and am still recuperating.

The flights back went just as smoothly as the ones there. We got back in Raleigh at 8:30 Saturday evening, instead of the 5pm we were expecting because of a minor delay, but all in all I feel that our air travel luck is improving!

Here are a few pictures Nick took while I was at work early last week. There are two beaches close to where we stayed. Calamosca, here, was smaller and not as popular. We went to Poetto more often. Pictures to follow!

ciao

Hurray, I'm in Sardinia with a minimum amount of crises. The flights went well, aside from the child behind me from Philadelphia to Venice who alternated crying in English and Italian.
When we got in yesterday we dropped off our luggage and wandered down to the beach. It was pretty and warm, but I was a little too out of it to enjoy the experience. We'll go again later in the week.
So sleepy. Must go outside and try to wake up.

Early Birthday

I'm pretty excited because I got an early birthday present this week! Nick got me this fancy camera, since I've been going on and on for months about how I want to take photography classes. We'll no excuses now. I appreciate it even more since he had to drive all the way over to New Bern Ave in rush hour traffic to get it. It has a Mickey Mouse strap, which makes me laugh and I'm sure will REALLY help me blend in with the locals in Cagliari. I'm considering also getting a fanny pack and an around the neck passport holder. Ok, not really, but that would be great. (Aside - really, what's going on with designer fanny packs for $455. Ridiculous).

Anyhow, I am really overwhelmed by Nick's very thoughtful gift. As you all should be as well, since you'll soon be graced with professional grade photos of Mediterranean seascapes. If I could only figure out how to turn the damn thing on...

I'm headed home tomorrow morning. It's been a good trip, but I miss my own bed. We have to catch a 7am bus for the hour plus ride to Heathrow. I definitely take for granted how close we are (especially my house) to the airport in Raleigh.

My major disappointment this trip is that our plane, which usually has individual tv screens on the seat backs, was downgraded for a smaller version with just the tvs every few rows on the ceiling. Coming over it wasn't too bad - I just squinted at Ocean's 13 and went to sleep. On the way back it'll be 8+ hours of daylight and I'll want to stay up. I have a book and a half I want to finish so I'll try to knock those out.

Talk to you on the other side of the Atlantic.

Tonight we ate dinner at Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Oxford. It was good, and a really cool building, but I definitely ate too much. It was pretty relaxed and they don't take reservations - interesting for a celebrity chef's place. Nick thinks it's lame that it's named Jaimie's and I have to agree, but I suppose it makes the marketing easier.

All our meetings are going well at work and I got a full 8 hours sleep last night. That was a big improvement over Sunday night's 4. Clearly I shouldn't have napped so much after we got in on Sunday. I can't believe it's only Wednesday tomorrow; I feel like we've done so much already and am about ready to head home.

After dinner we noticed flashy lights up the street from our flat. Apparently there was a street fair going on. Basically a mini version of the State Fair. Very strange amongst these centuries-old buildings! There were rides and games and candy floss (cotton candy). I did not partake in any of these as they all looked a little shady. Also I wanted to keep down my tiramisu. Goes to show that there's a place everywhere for carnies. eek.

Pimm's Cup

From Wikipedia:

Pimm's is a brand of alcoholic beverages now owned by Diageo. Its most popular product is Pimm's No. 1 Cup, a gin-based beverage that can be served both on ice or in cocktails. The recipe of Pimm's No. 1 Cup is secret; it has a dark tea colour with a reddish tint, and tastes subtly of spice and citrus fruit.

Pimm's is most common in Britain, particularly Southern England. It is one of the two staple drinks at Wimbledon, the Henley Royal Regatta and the Glyndebourne opera festival, the other being champagne. As a result Pimm's has the reputation of being a drink for the upper class.

Pimm's No. 1 Cup is the essential ingredient in the Pimm's Cup, which mixes one part Pimm's No.1 with three parts lemonade or lemon soda (sometimes ginger ale or Indian tonic water), ice cubes, borage leaves (nowadays a wedge of cucumber is usually substituted for this ingredient), mint leaves and slices of lemon, orange and strawberry.

I'm off to Oxford this evening, assuming Tropical Storm Hanna hasn't delayed my flight. We arrive bright and early at 6:30am Sunday and have a day to recoup before the week of meetings kicks off. I'll be back next Saturday afternoon. I'll be stocking up on tea and Pimm's. Yum. And anonymous, to address your past requests, they do sell absinthe in the States now, so you can buy that here. Anyhow, it tastes like black licorice. Yuck.

I've been slack in blogging about Boston. Here's one more before I'm on to the next trip. My aunt and uncle were on a two month long sailing trip and came into Boston to meet up with me while I was there. We hung out on their very cool sailboat, which was docked at Rowe's Wharf Marina. The entrance to the marina is this gorgeous arch here. Actually, Saturday when I took the train down to see them, there was a wedding going on right under the archway.

One night we went and ate at a great Italian restaurant in the North End. We got a table right in front near an open window and could see the St. Anthony's parade go by. The second night we ate at the Chart House. Apparently the building it is in originally housed John Hancock's offices. Historically delicious. They wanted me to sail over to Provincetown with them, but sadly I had to work. Maybe next year.

On my first night in Boston I wandered down to the Museum of Fine Arts. Wednesdays are free to the public, and open until 9:45 - way later than most museums are, so both cost and timing worked out in my favor. It was a huge and beautiful museum and the layout reminded me of the Art Institute of Chicago. There was a cool exhibit on Art Nouveau jewelery going on. I also like the ancient Egyptian mummies and tomb relics. I had probably my best meal of the trip at the museum restaurant, Bravo. It was duck confit and potato hash with a duck egg on top. So yummy. I don't think I've ever had duck egg before. Ha, and I had a delicious mojito, which I haven't had in a long time.

They had these creepy/fascinating enormous bronze or copper baby heads on each side of the entrance. I'm not sure what they're all about - but I was intrigued enough to take a picture. I poked around the MFA website, but still can't figure out what they are.

Last week I worked at a convention in Boston. The convention center is connected to the Prudential Building; the maze of a complex also houses two malls a bunch of restaurants and 2-3 hotels. It was crazy. You could just go back and forth to all these places and never go outside. Great for winter, but not so good for trying to take a break from the fluorescent lights.

Boston

Yes, I shouldn't have complained about not having my 3-day weekend because Boston is gorgeous. It took me 20 minutes to make the 10 minute drive from my house to the airport in Raleigh because it was raining so hard on Wednesday. Here is beautiful, sunny, and lovely high 70s.

Tonight I worked at the conference center all day and had a late work dinner. It was interesting to see all these different people gathered around the hotel lobby tvs to watch Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention when I came back. Dead quiet in rowdy hotel bars is a rare thing.

I'm a little cranky that in honor of Labor Day I have a 7 day work week and one day off, whereas everyone else gets a 3 day weekend. That is all.

"World's Largest Frying Pan" or "The Wonders of Small Town NC"

This is not a work-related traveling story, but I will share it nonetheless. On Wednesday my sister and I took a day trip down to Wrightsville Beach where my mom and aunt are spending the week. After a relaxing day of sitting on the beach and swimming, we headed back towards Raleigh. Well pulled off the exit to Magnolia/Kenansville to follow the signs toward the "food" part of "Food/Gas." After a couple of miles we found ourselves at the Small Town gas station (seriously, that was the name), which is connected to the Small Town Car Wash and Small Town Laundrymat. I guess the Small Town convenience store was the "food" the sign on I-40 referred to. Anywho, we go inside, don't actually see anything we want and head back out to the car. And it doesn't start. AT ALL. I have had this car for less than 2 months. It turned out fine, some very nice good ol' boys gave us a jump and I did not turn off my car until I was safe at home. Driving out of Magnolia we passed through Rose Hill, the proud home of the world's largest frying pan! So I guess the detour was worth it after all. (Picture from this website)

So my last trip in May was to Boston - and so is the next one at the end of August. I was born in Boston and lived there till I was 4, but don't know too much about it. I was looking forward to this trip because I was going to go sailing with my aunt, who lives out towards Cape Cod. That sadly got cancelled because I have to get back to NC before my next trip. Any tips for Boston trips? I know some of you have been there! I only stayed for 2 nights in May, but wandered around a bit. My hotel was near Boston Common and the Public Garden which were really nice to walk through. I browsed around the shops at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market and felt slightly intimidated to go in the little boutiques on Newbury St. I've got to stop that. Or just stop wanting to look at clothes I know I can't afford.

I end up eating Thai food almost everywhere I go because I'm obsessed with red curry, and I know it'll be pretty good. The last two places I got it, however, were kind of disappointing. There was a place in DC where the potato wasn't cooked all the way through and tasted like an apple (serves me right for branching out and trying yellow curry) and a place in Boston called ChilliDuck, that was just alright. I will do some research before I go next time. So far a restaurant in Oxford and in London win for best curry. I did have a great meal in Boston, proving that researching before I travel is key. It was called Myers + Chang. I had read a review in Food & Wine about it and it was so delicious and reasonably priced. I sat at the little food bar where you can watch the chefs cooking. A good place to eat by yourself and read your book because the waitstaff doesn't feel the need to make conversation. That is another discussion for another day. Anyhow the scallion pancakes were really good. It's a little out of the way, but I might stop there again.

calm before the storm

Not much to report right now. I'm still on my summer vacation with no traveling. I last went out of town (for work) at the end of May. This may be the longest I've ever gone without traveling in the past 2 1/2 years. It's good timing since I can take advantage of summer hours at work (off at 1pm, hehe). On the other hand, I'm getting a little antsy sitting at my computer all day long. The back to back to back trips are looming though... Boston, Oxford, Sardinia, (Nags Head), Pittsburgh, DC, Chicago, and St. John from the week of Labor Day through mid- November. Perhaps I shall calculate the mileage at some point. Maybe I'll rack up enough frequent flyer miles in the next 3 months to book us another trip to the Caribbean.

I know you guys are all wondering what type of fun weekend activities happen when you're on a super-tight budget. Here's a visual representation.

PS - I lost at 90s trivial pursuit after a 5-pie lead and am still upset about it.
PPS - Note how Nick is working the multiple patterns trend you may have read about in InStyle.

$41.78 at the grocery store last night. I'm pretty proud. We did cheat a little bit. We bought $20 worth of wine and beer this weekend to celebrate Nick's week off from school, so technically we should've only spend $30. Then we splurged some and bought peaches for peach pie and a bottle of wine. I feel slightly guilty, but think the extra $11.78 was worth it. I ate some peach pie for breakfast and Nick will use some wine cooking short ribs tonight. Yum.

More Chicago

I haven't had the chance to eat any good pizza in Chicago, but hope to next time. November seems like a good time to sit in a cozy restaurant and have a slice. Apparently the original Pizzeria Uno is the big deal pizza. It usually has like a 1-2 hour wait though. I might seek out something a little more laid back.

I forgot to mention that the first time I went to Chicago it was February and I could only spend so much time wandering around outside before my southern-transplanted toes felt like they would fall off. Chicago has a lot of theater, so I ended up seeing Wicked at the beautifully renovated Oriental Theater. I'm not a huge musical fan generally, but I had read the book (by a native of my hometown of Albany, Gregory Maguire) so I figured I'd take a chance. It was really enjoyable. I was a bit annoyed by the parts they left out, but I suppose there's only so much you can cram into a few hours on a stage. I was a tiny bit disappointed because the wicked witch was originally played by Ana Gasteyer from Saturday Night Live, but I had just missed her run.

I'm pretty pleased with myself for doing so much in Chicago. Usually I don't have so much free time and spend most of the day standing around under fluorescent lights in the basement of a hotel or in a conference center. Next time I go I want to try out the CTA trains. The complexity of public transportation systems in large cities fascinates me. I am also very disappointed at the unavailability of feasible public transportation in Raleigh. And if anyone should be able to make our bus system work, it should be me...

Chicago

My sister is headed to Chicago in a few weeks so I thought I'd put up a few pictures. I really loved Chicago both times I've been. Come to think about it, I did spend 2 days there in college as well, but that doesn't really count. I'll go back again in November, but my favorite trip was last August. It was so green and vibrant.

The city has a great history of art and architecture. I've been able to hit both the Art Institute and the Field Museum of Natural History, but would love to spend more time at both.

The outdoor artwork is amazing as well. Millennium Park (the two middle pics) is very cool and just put me in a happy mood wandering around it. Seriously, if you can stand in front of an enormous reflective bean without smiling you have no soul.

I like going to tall buildings in big cities. I chose the Hancock Building over the Sears Tower here after reading some reviews. It was still overpriced (as all tourist attractions are) but offers a nice perspective of the city and the lake. In the summers there are fireworks over Lake Michigan, so I trekked down to Navy Pier to get a good view. Navy Pier reminds me of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Very touristy and reminded me of the fair. I think they were actually selling funnel cakes. I wouldn't recommend it and actually ended up leaving before the fireworks started.

I'm working on eating at unique and tasty restaurants when I travel instead of giving into the laziness of ordering a $30 crappy burger from room service. Last year I went to a fancy-ish work dinner at Blackbird. I got to pick out the restaurant and was really happy. It had great food in a relaxed setting.

Well, I'm struggling a little with this budget thing this week. It's hard to do anything, with anyone, without spending money. Twice this week already I had meals with co-workers. It was fun, and not that expensive, but I cringed a little at paying for food when I have plenty at home. I want to meet friends for beers, go to the movies, etc, but I feel like I shouldn't. Nick has a week off from classes next week, so we might expand the budget a little for fun activities.

The Isle of Sardinia

I recently got the great news that I am being sent to Sardinia, off the coast of Italy, for a work conference. I had quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) hoped that this would happen since I found out about the possibility last fall. I'm really excited - I mean, look at the place! However, this comes at an inconvenient time. I know, poor me, right. I just bought a car and used most of my savings to do so. Not to mention, Nick and I have already booked a week vacation in the Virgin Islands this November. Yes, I'm sure I'm racking up the sympathy points now. But seriously, we're really having to scrape to save up the money for him to come with me and be able to pay our bills and have spending money in November.

Here's part of the plan for saving money - we're only allowed to spend $50 a week at the grocery store. That's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... and beverages (gasp). We've done it for the past two weeks and have plenty of food. It's really all about planning and I credit Nick for doing most of it - and doing amazing things with chicken (it's way cheaper than anything else). Honestly, it's the beverages that are killing me. Having a glass of wine after work or some beers at a pool takes on a different meaning when you know you're not allowed to run out to the store and buy more when you're out. I don't know if this is good or bad, but we have started breaking into the bottles of liquor that have been gathering dust on top of our fridge in the years since we've retired from our heavy drinking/late nights habits. I'm currently drinking a lemonade & vodka when what I really want is a glass of shiraz. Maybe I'd feel better if I drank it out of a wine glass?

I've taken inspiration from Natalie's blog (actually, from Tiffany's inspiration from Natalie's blog) and thought I'd start my own. I am fortunate enough to travel cool places fairly often, but the pictures and whatnot usually just sit on my computer. I thought I'd give this a try as an outlet to share my photos and thoughts about different cities.