We are back home and all in detox -- vacation detox for us, g-parent detox for Eli and food detox for our dogs ;).
Thursday we did not make it to Tivoli Gardens. We instead spent the afternoon in Nyhavn. It's the upscale area around the port full of restaurants. We had our last dinner of another authentic Italian pizza and took in all of our surroundings.
Friday we got up early had our last lattes and sat in the middle of Stroget people watching and saying goodbye to Denmark. Our flight left at 2:20 and we spent the next 22 hours traveling home. I don't want to end on a negative note, but let me say JFK airport is one of the most poorly designed airports. We were delayed at the airport and spent almost as much time there as we did travelling over the Atlantic!
On a positive note, I am feeling abundantly blessed to have travelled overseas, be surrounded by wonderful family that is willing to take care of our son and furry babies, and return healthy and happy. Pictures to come!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
When in Rome . . . or Copenhagen
Monday night we dined at one of the oldest restaurants in Denmark, Puk. Sounds appetizing, huh? Brent had a fried fish platter and I settled for a veggie burger amongst the other pickled seafood fares. We ate outside and enjoyed the cool temperature. Sorry, my American friends.
Interesting side note -- the sun does not go down until midnight and rises at 4:30am.
4:30am is how we started our Tuesday morning -- Brent's first day of work. We scrambled around our room "What time is it?" "Does your watch say 9:30?" "It's so bright outside!" "You've missed the bus". Thank goodness for my master Google skills. A quick Google of current Copenhagen time confirmed it as 4:30am even though our inner clocks said at least 9:00am because of the sunshine.
Brent was on time for work at 7:40am and I slept a little bit more. I continued the City Bus Tour by myself, but had a few minor setbacks.
1. I'm a wimp, so I had to muster up the courage to venture out to the city by myself.
2. Communication barrier - I walked up to the bus servicing the green line but I thought he said it didn't leave until 1:00. I had 20 more minutes so I walked around the town square only to watch the bus leave a few minutes later. Maybe he was asking me if it was just one? Now I had a whole hour to kill before the next bus.
3. Hail! I got the next bus and really wanted to get off at Parliament, but the bus didn't stop. So we continued and I wanted to get off at the next stop Our Lady Church. The bus stopped, but the hail didn't. Before I even saw a rain cloud a crash of lightening hit and the it poured cats and dogs and marble size hail. It continued to rain all the way back to City Hall. I silently prayed for a break in the rain so I didn't have to walk a mile back to the hotel in the rain. God was gracious to part the clouds and I hustled back to the hotel.
The rest of the afternoon it was cold and overcast. I ended up eating alone at the hotel cafe for a late lunch. This is a big feat for me! I hate to eat alone and I have only done it once before in my LIFE. Whew, baby steps.
Tuesday night Brent got home around 6:00, we talked to Eli with the webcam - no tears from him. . . me a different story, and headed to dinner. We ate at Cafe Norden. We had a traditional Danish smorrebrod (open-faced sandwich) but opted for chicken salad and shrimp instead of pickled herring and roast beef. We then headed for IceBar. It is a bar completely made of ice -- the structure, seats, cups, everything. It was a neat experience and hard to describe. Pictures to come!
Wednesday
To make sure we did not have a Tuesday morning freak-out we set my phone alarm, a wake up call and TV timer. Sleep is very elusive over here because it stays light for so long!
Brent was off to work at 7:40am. It was to be a long day for me because he also had a business dinner afterwards.
I filled my day with lattes and shopping which was fun. I watch a few street vendors perform and navigated my way through Stroget - an outdoor shopping venue. I opted for no lunch and a big dinner, which I thought I would be dining by myself. Another FIRST!
Brent was able to come home before dinner so I asked him to join me for as long as he could. We walked to an Italian outdoor cafe. He was able to stay for the appetizer but then had to leave. I looked around and noticed multiple single person tables enjoying their meal with wine . . . so when in Rome (Copenhagen). I pushed down my insecurities and thought when will I ever be back in Europe? I ordered a drink and finished the pasta by myself. I even sat for a little while afterwards and just took it all in. I would consider this a toddler step.
Tomorrow Brent finishes early and we hope to make it to Tivoli Gardens (Google it).
Interesting side note -- the sun does not go down until midnight and rises at 4:30am.
4:30am is how we started our Tuesday morning -- Brent's first day of work. We scrambled around our room "What time is it?" "Does your watch say 9:30?" "It's so bright outside!" "You've missed the bus". Thank goodness for my master Google skills. A quick Google of current Copenhagen time confirmed it as 4:30am even though our inner clocks said at least 9:00am because of the sunshine.
Brent was on time for work at 7:40am and I slept a little bit more. I continued the City Bus Tour by myself, but had a few minor setbacks.
1. I'm a wimp, so I had to muster up the courage to venture out to the city by myself.
2. Communication barrier - I walked up to the bus servicing the green line but I thought he said it didn't leave until 1:00. I had 20 more minutes so I walked around the town square only to watch the bus leave a few minutes later. Maybe he was asking me if it was just one? Now I had a whole hour to kill before the next bus.
3. Hail! I got the next bus and really wanted to get off at Parliament, but the bus didn't stop. So we continued and I wanted to get off at the next stop Our Lady Church. The bus stopped, but the hail didn't. Before I even saw a rain cloud a crash of lightening hit and the it poured cats and dogs and marble size hail. It continued to rain all the way back to City Hall. I silently prayed for a break in the rain so I didn't have to walk a mile back to the hotel in the rain. God was gracious to part the clouds and I hustled back to the hotel.
The rest of the afternoon it was cold and overcast. I ended up eating alone at the hotel cafe for a late lunch. This is a big feat for me! I hate to eat alone and I have only done it once before in my LIFE. Whew, baby steps.
Tuesday night Brent got home around 6:00, we talked to Eli with the webcam - no tears from him. . . me a different story, and headed to dinner. We ate at Cafe Norden. We had a traditional Danish smorrebrod (open-faced sandwich) but opted for chicken salad and shrimp instead of pickled herring and roast beef. We then headed for IceBar. It is a bar completely made of ice -- the structure, seats, cups, everything. It was a neat experience and hard to describe. Pictures to come!
Wednesday
To make sure we did not have a Tuesday morning freak-out we set my phone alarm, a wake up call and TV timer. Sleep is very elusive over here because it stays light for so long!
Brent was off to work at 7:40am. It was to be a long day for me because he also had a business dinner afterwards.
I filled my day with lattes and shopping which was fun. I watch a few street vendors perform and navigated my way through Stroget - an outdoor shopping venue. I opted for no lunch and a big dinner, which I thought I would be dining by myself. Another FIRST!
Brent was able to come home before dinner so I asked him to join me for as long as he could. We walked to an Italian outdoor cafe. He was able to stay for the appetizer but then had to leave. I looked around and noticed multiple single person tables enjoying their meal with wine . . . so when in Rome (Copenhagen). I pushed down my insecurities and thought when will I ever be back in Europe? I ordered a drink and finished the pasta by myself. I even sat for a little while afterwards and just took it all in. I would consider this a toddler step.
Tomorrow Brent finishes early and we hope to make it to Tivoli Gardens (Google it).
Monday, June 14, 2010
Denmark - Home of the Mini-Brents
Hello everyone. If you didn't know Brent and I travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark Saturday/Sunday. I am hoping to document our travels daily. Brent is here for work and I tagged along.
Sorry, no pictures. I forgot to pack the USB cord to transfer them from our camera. I will post them later.
Saturday - Rough Day
We left for the airport at 10:15am, 11:00am realized the wrong passport was packed for me. It was my old one that had been cancelled. Made a desperate call to Eddie (Brent's Dad) and my mom for a search, destroy the house if necessary and rescue mission. Thank the Lord it was in the right place. Whew!
Plane ride - we watched the sun set and rise. THAT'S A LONG FLIGHT! Our coach seats were no bigger than a domestic flight, sat behind two large men that fully reclined the entire flight. Brent was behind a greasy haired European (you know they don't bathe as often as Americans ;)) and I sat behind a man who's hands needed to be on the back of his headrest. Oh well, minor deterrents to an otherwise uneventful flight.
Sunday
Arrival - our baggage didn't leave Atlanta. Whaaaaaatttt? No clothes for us until Monday afternoon.
We toured Carlsberg Brewery, walked Stroget - huge pedestrian shopping center, had a coffee at an outside cafe and ate true Italian pizza for dinner. It doesn't get dark until midnight so it helps with the jetlag. We looked at Brent's watch to realize it was 11pm and passed out due to exhaustion.
Monday
Today we desperately tried to figure out our luggage, but stress and promptness must be an American thing.
So, we ate a huge breakfast and started a city tour. We saw all the major sites today. Words do not do it justice, so you will have to wait until pictures. Just as a teaser - we saw a beautiful church, two castles, harbour, tons of statues and Christianhavn - a hippie shanty town.
We took a break during the tour to watch the Denmark World Cup soccer game with approxiamently 3000 Danes on the harbour. A movie-screen was setup outside for people to gather. Soccer is huge over here so it was pretty fun to be immearse in the crowd cheering them on. Brent blended right in.
We have skyped with my mom Sunday and today was the first day with the webcam. It did not go well with Eli. As soon as he saw us he started to cry, which in turn made me cry :(. Our voices are okay, but faces not. At least we can see him.
Now, we are getting ready for dinner and who knows what else! To be continued . . .
Sorry, no pictures. I forgot to pack the USB cord to transfer them from our camera. I will post them later.
Saturday - Rough Day
We left for the airport at 10:15am, 11:00am realized the wrong passport was packed for me. It was my old one that had been cancelled. Made a desperate call to Eddie (Brent's Dad) and my mom for a search, destroy the house if necessary and rescue mission. Thank the Lord it was in the right place. Whew!
Plane ride - we watched the sun set and rise. THAT'S A LONG FLIGHT! Our coach seats were no bigger than a domestic flight, sat behind two large men that fully reclined the entire flight. Brent was behind a greasy haired European (you know they don't bathe as often as Americans ;)) and I sat behind a man who's hands needed to be on the back of his headrest. Oh well, minor deterrents to an otherwise uneventful flight.
Sunday
Arrival - our baggage didn't leave Atlanta. Whaaaaaatttt? No clothes for us until Monday afternoon.
We toured Carlsberg Brewery, walked Stroget - huge pedestrian shopping center, had a coffee at an outside cafe and ate true Italian pizza for dinner. It doesn't get dark until midnight so it helps with the jetlag. We looked at Brent's watch to realize it was 11pm and passed out due to exhaustion.
Monday
Today we desperately tried to figure out our luggage, but stress and promptness must be an American thing.
So, we ate a huge breakfast and started a city tour. We saw all the major sites today. Words do not do it justice, so you will have to wait until pictures. Just as a teaser - we saw a beautiful church, two castles, harbour, tons of statues and Christianhavn - a hippie shanty town.
We took a break during the tour to watch the Denmark World Cup soccer game with approxiamently 3000 Danes on the harbour. A movie-screen was setup outside for people to gather. Soccer is huge over here so it was pretty fun to be immearse in the crowd cheering them on. Brent blended right in.
We have skyped with my mom Sunday and today was the first day with the webcam. It did not go well with Eli. As soon as he saw us he started to cry, which in turn made me cry :(. Our voices are okay, but faces not. At least we can see him.
Now, we are getting ready for dinner and who knows what else! To be continued . . .
Monday, June 7, 2010
Garage Sale
One man's junk is another man's treasure. We had our bi-annual neighborhood garage sale Saturday and it was HOTTTTT! We started at 7:30am and ended at 11:00am.
We didn't have much, but sold alot of clothes, 2 TVs and random "treasures". Eli did a great job in the early morning hanging out in his playard and negotiating with customers. He drives a hard bargain.
Getting ready that morning. We have figured out sunscreen is the best hair gel.
Our loot
Eli cruising the street for deals.
We didn't have much, but sold alot of clothes, 2 TVs and random "treasures". Eli did a great job in the early morning hanging out in his playard and negotiating with customers. He drives a hard bargain.
Getting ready that morning. We have figured out sunscreen is the best hair gel.
Our loot
Eli cruising the street for deals.
Working the crowd!
And . . . just because he's cute!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A Boy and His Dog
I can see the beginning of a beautiful friendship. One night Tawny randomly brought a toy to Eli for him to play tug of war. It is very unusual for her. She usually runs when Eli looks at her.
Tawny won and E was not happy about it.
The next morning Tawny came in for some lovin' from Eli. She let him pet her and even tolerated a few hair grabs and pinches.
There are no pictures of Jewels because she still refuses to accept him into her pack.
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