Monday, September 02, 2019

Labor Day Weekend

Pixlr (2)Hello September and happy Labor Day to those in the US and Canada. :) Mike and I spent the weekend in Philadelphia and only got back today. Always nice to have an extended weekend and be able to go away for 2 nights rather than just 1. 

Philly isn't my favorite city but it's relatively close (2 1/2-3 hours depending on traffic) and does have a lot of neat history. It's definitely a bit rough around the edges and I do prefer Boston, DC or NY over it. But we decided to visit with our friends Megan & Jonathan who moved down there about a year and a half ago. It was definitely nice to see them and to catch up a bit. 

We left Danbury around 8am on Saturday. Drove to our hotel (Club Quarters) and checked in. After that we headed to lunch at Iron Hill Brewery. A bit of a chain but enjoyable. The location we went to opened just under a year ago and was across the street from the Hard Rock. After lunch we walked around, took some pictures of the historic buildings in Central Philly as well as the Liberty Bell. When we were done we headed back to the hotel for a bit and then had dinner at Dandelion Pub. 

Sunday we headed down to Wilmington, DE and had breakfast at Einstein's Bagels (love that chain!!) From there we continued into rural PA for some wine tasting. The first 2 vineyards we went to (Paradocx and 1723) were really neat and we had a lot of fun tasting the various wine and hanging out. The third vineyard (Kreutz) unfortunately was a bit of a bust. Kind of too bad because they had a super cute dog and the lady running it seemed nice. But the wines just weren't our cup of tea. Oh well. Can't win them all. It was still a fun day. 

Once we returned back to Philly we headed back to the hotel briefly and then met our friends at a place called Chick's in South Philly. That was a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you're ever in the area. 

Today, Monday, we went to the Mutter Museum in the morning (what an odd place) and then had lunch at Fado Irish Pub before heading back to CT. And well here we are. It's the evening and tomorrow it's back to work and back to the grind. 

Letter/Mail Update:  Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:52 PM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, August 12, 2019

Boston Weekend

IMG_20190811_100113_747And it's Monday again. My standard opening for 90% of my blog posts I think. Last week dragged, was busy but otherwise uneventful. But the IMG_20190811_111021_116weekend was a lot of fun. :) 

Saturday morning we left Danbury around 8.30 am and headed up to Boston. Our hotel was in the Seaport district and was quite the unique experience. We stayed at a Yotel. Here's how they describe it on their website "Old England meets New England – and any tea parties will be of the entirely social sort! Inspired by Japan, defined by a Brit, YOTEL delivers ergonomically designed rooms, that optimize the available space, and make smart use of technology to save you time and money" The room was truly tiny but had everything we needed. The bed was super comfortable and the whole experience felt very futuristic. lol. Valet parking at the hotel would have been $50 (no thank you) so we parked at a nearby garage where they had a $5 weekend special so we paid just $10 for parking. Much better. 

After dropping off our bags at the hotel we walked over the bridge to the harbor area near the aquarium. Had lunch at the Legal Seafoods there. Delicious as always. After hanging out at the Legal Seafoods we intended to go to the aquarium but there was a super long line, mostly filled with families with kids in strollers. Again, no thank you. So we decided against that idea (plus admission was $31 per person - yikes) and instead walked over to the Hard Rock Cafe near Quincy Market. Looked at some shops and then had a couple of drinks at the Hard Rock. 

Afterwards we meandered our way back to the hotel via the Harborwalk which goes along the water and made for a nice walk. Stopped at the hotel for a bit to freshen up and then headed back out. The plan was to go to the Legal Seafoods in Harborside. It's a 3 story building and each floor offers a different experience. I had looked this up online and the 3rd floor looked really nice. Rooftop bar offering a limited menu with small plates and sushi. It looked like a fun place to hang out enjoying the views. Well it seemed like a good idea until we discovered they turn it into a sort of club type place with bouncers and a rope and a wait in line. We did stand in line and made our way up there but ended up not staying. Really not our scene. Too bad because the views were super pretty. Oh well. Instead we headed back downstairs and went across the street to the Legal Test Kitchen. (yes there are a bunch of Legal Seafood restaurants in Boston and the surrounding areas) Had a light dinner there and some wine before heading back to the hotel. 

Sunday we slept in which was nice. Then checked out around 10.30 and brought our bags to the car in the garage. Stopped at a neat coffee shop called Caffe Nero. Apparently an UK chain that also exists here in the US, just not in our area where we live.  Hung out there for a bit before having brunch at the Trillium Brewery. They also have a rooftop bar so we headed up there to start with but as they had no umbrellas or shade up there it was just too hot. We had a drink up there and then headed back downstairs  to eat. Delicious. Hung out for a while before eventually having to leave to had back to CT. Traffic was annoying but then nothing much else could be expected coming back on a Sunday late afternoon I suppose. We eventually made it back a little after 6pm so really not too bad. Met up with our friend John and hung out for a while. 

And well here we are. It's Monday again. Let's see what this week brings at work. Not sure I am ready for another week but ready or not it will have to be ok. Can't believe we have already made it into the middle of August. Crazy. 

Letter/Mail Update:  A letter is going out today to Lotte/Denmark. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:29 AM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, September 24, 2017

And almost time to say goodbye to Europe again

IMG_20170923_142340_730 IMG_20170923_150547_743Can't believe that I am already leaving again tomorrow. This trip has been such a whirlwind, don't even know where the last ten days have gone. It honestly does not feel like I have been here for this long. But I guess that's what happens when there is a lot going on.

The stay in Croatia was great despite the weather not being all that amazing. But managed to make the best of it and spent a decent amount of time near the sea and beach which is always nice. There is nothing more relaxing or calming to me than spending time near the ocean. Even just sitting, sipping a glass of wine while looking out at the waves - pure bliss.

The four days in Austria truly went by super fast but I suppose that was also to be expected. I managed to meet up with a few friends, some family, got my hair done and more.

Yesterday I went into Vienna for the day and had fun catching up with my friend Claudia. We met in Santa Barbara during our year there in 1998-1999. Crazy how long ago that is now as well. Claudia pointed out that next year it will be 20 years since we were there and it will be longer than we were even old at the time when we were there. So crazy. 

Hada good time in Vienna, had breakfast with Claudia and also a nice afternoon before heading back to St. Poelten later in the day. This afternoon I will need to figure out how to pack all my stuff. Always a fun adventure. I guess I will figure it out. I always do. I am catching the train from St. Poelten straight to the airport tomorrow morning.  The train leaves at 6.30am which should give me plenty of time for check in and paying for my extra luggage. 

It will be weird leaving here again tomorrow. My dad's health is still not all that great but hopefully he will manage to improve. My mom is stable but everything is just a bit too much in limbo for my taste at the moment. Guess we will see what happens. I can only encourage and hope for the best in the end. At least my aunt is here and also some family friends who are helping out so that's good. 

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Celia/MA, Eloine/NY. The European ones were mailed from Croatia. Will mail the others when I am back in the States Mon. 

Posted by Hanna at 05:46 AM in Austria , Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, September 22, 2017

Hello from Austria as my European journey continues :)

PixlrOf course this trip is flying by like crazy and I only have 3 days left. Well really more like 2 1/2. My flight leaves at 10.45am on Monday out of Vienna.  

We left Croatia on Wednesday morning and made our way to Austria via Slovenia. The weather cooperated and we only had some slight showers along the way, nothing too crazy. Stopped in Carinthia for a really delicious late lunch and eventually made it back to my parents house in Lower Austria. 

Yesterday, Thursday, I had my hair appt first thing at 8am. I wasn't a 100% sure yet what color scheme I wanted to go with but ended up with something I really like. I knew I wanted some kind of red with something else but wasn't quite sure what yet. The end result is very enjoyable :)

Didn't do too much the rest of the day. Today I went to the local grocery store and bought waaaayyy too much stuff. I wasn't even going to buy that much but somehow it's very tempting when you know that you can't get a lot of the items in the US. To be fair a lot of what I bought was also gifts for people back in the US. 

Later I will go see my great uncle and my aunt is stopping by as well. And in the evening I am going to be meeting up with my friend Anneliese and we will head into St. Poelten for dinner and some drinks. 

Tomorrow I am off to Vienna to meet friends and then on Sunday I will need to figure out my packing so I am ready for my flight on Monday. Going to take the train from St. Poelten to Vienna airport which seems like the smart choice on a Monday morning with rush hour traffic.  

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Celia/MA, Eloine/NY. The European ones were mailed from Croatia. Will mail the others when I am back in the States Mon. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:36 AM in Austria , Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Croatia ... already time to leave again tomorrow

IMG_20170915_141631_711 (1)

And somehow it is already time to say goodbye to Croatia tomorrow. Why does the time fly IMG_20170918_152201_269extra fast when you are away from home? The weather has cooperated sort of while here. Not really all that great but there were some sunny and dry spells in the midst of all the rain and thunderstorms so I was able to make the best of it. Today has been the only complete wash-out kind of day. Too bad really for it being our last day here but oh well. Had some nicer days and was able to walk along the seaside path into the old town and back a few times. Also found some nice cafes and bars along the way.

One day we took a trip to Vrbnik and actually had very nice weather that day which worked out for some great views. Had a really delicious lunch there before returning back. So really can't complain. Have managed to enjoy the yummy local food and wine as well as get the most time near the sea. I will miss my walks down by the sea. My parents are already talking about maybe coming back here next year in May or June so maybe I'll come here again as well. We will see how it goes and what I can figure out with my vacation time.

Tomorrow our check out time is 10am and then we're on our way to Austria. We will probably stop for lunch somewhere along the way. The ride without any stops is a little over 6 hours so not too, too terrible. Hopefully the weather cooperates. We will see how it goes. Just have to hope for the best.

On Thursday morning I have my hair appointment. Looking forward to that. Not sure what color combination I will go with this time but some sort of red will be in the mix, pretty sure about that. And on Saturday I am heading into Vienna to meet up with friends. Friday my aunt is going to stop by so that should be nice. And also want to see a few other relatives and friends while I am there.

No doubt my days in Austria will fly by like crazy as well. My return flight to New York leaves on Monday next week so less than a week to go now. Well, going to focus on making the best of it and seeing as many as people as possible and enjoying myself along the way. Then it will be time to return back to work and every day normal life after that.

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Celia/MA and Eloine/NY. The European ones were mailed yesterday, not sure yet when I will mail the US ones. Only finished those today.

Posted by Hanna at 10:08 AM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Hello from Croatia :)



IMG_20170914_182129_841Hello from Croatia :) This is already day 3 here now, where does the time even go? I left New York on Wednesday, got here Thursday and now it's Saturday already. I was lucky enough to catch my connecting flight as my flight from New York to Hamburg was delayed by 2 hours. I had a 3 hour connection in Hamburg for  IMG_20170914_181225_444my flight to Croatia and wasn't sure I would make it but luckily both I and my luggage made it ok. 

When I got to Croatia on Thursday it was a bit after noon, approx. 1pm. All went well, picked up my luggage and then we went for a delicious lunch in the old town. 

The weather has been shifty the whole time I have been here. Lots of rain and thunderstorms but I have managed to make the most of it so far. 

The hotel where we are staying is not far from the sea so I have managed to walk my share alongside the water. Yesterday I spent the afternoon walking the path alsongside the sea to the old town and back. Was able to sit outside at a cafe/bar and enjoy some wine and spagethi carbonara. 

Today my parents and I went for lunch into the old town and managed to avoid the rain for the most part as well. It's thundering and raining again now but at least it mostly stopped while we were out. We will see what the rest of the stay brings. So far I have mostly been able to avoid the weather ok. 

We are here until Wednesday. Leaving Wednesday and then in Austria until the following Monday when I fly back to New York. Time is flying by like crazy of course but oh well. What else is new? :) 

Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Celia/MA and Eloine/NY.

Posted by Hanna at 10:57 AM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

And off I go ... Europe here I come ..



Pixlr_resized_1Ok so I have been so busy and wrapped up in myself and everything that I didn't even realize I didn't make my weekly post. I usually always make it a point to post on Sundays or if not latest on Monday but now it's Wednesday and it didn't even dawn on me I didn't make my post until I arrived at the airport today and now it's 30 min prior to boarding and here I am making my post. 

It's just been so crazy with work and trying to get everything all squared away. I know I have control issues and this job is bringing them out in full force. OCD, control, compulsive checking and knowing what is happening and all that. Yup, that's me. And it works in my favor for my current job more or less. But when I am going away for 10+ days and have to relinquish control to my coverage it wrecks havoc. It's not that I don't trust my co-workers. But I am just very particular and I am always worried that I missed something somewhere in a file and they won't know what to do. I know we have all been there and we figure it out. I have covered for numerous people and it's just a game of figuring it out and we always do. But I just want to have all of my ducks in a row and everything nice and neat so I tried my hardest. Let's see how it pans out. :) 

I am at the airport now enjoying some food and rose wine. Super expensive and inflated prices but hey it's the airport. And I want to have some nice stuff before I have to fly for a while. Flying to Hamburg with a layover and then on to Croatia from there. Meeting my parents in Croatia. Looking forward to that of course. 

So I will be sure to make another post from "the other side" once I get to Europe and get over my initial jetlag maybe. This past week didn't include too much else eventful besides trying to get ready for my vacation, both personal and work wise. :) 

Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA and Eloine/NY.

Posted by Hanna at 05:01 PM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, September 04, 2017

Labor Day, Green Day, September, ...



Pixlr (4)Happy Labor Day to all my US friends. :) Had a very nice three day weekend which is winding down now. Was nice to have the day off and still always a bit weird to me since I never had these days off during my last job. We were always open on Labor Day and Memorial Day and almost always on the 4th of July. So it's weird having three day weekends since I often worked on the Saturday before the holiday as well as the actual holiday. But no complaints of course. :)

This past Tuesday we went to see Green Day in Hartford and it was a really amazing show. They are so great live. We saw them once before on their American Idiot tour and they were just as great, if not even better, on this tour. Of course it was super late (1.30am) by the time we got home but it was worth it.

The weekend has been pretty relaxing. Saturday we had a vet appointment with Bailey and she luckily passed with flying colors. We now don't have to go back until April so that's good. After the vet appointment we set up our new DVR (we are replacing our old TiVo) and our new vacuum cleaner. Happy with the new vacuum. The one we had before we have had for about 3+ years and it really just wasn't performing properly anymore. So far the new one seems to be pretty good so fingers crossed it lasts.

Sunday the weather was cool and rainy all day so we decided to sleep in late. Then had lunch at 121 in Oxford. Stopped at the store for a bunch of errands and eventually caught up on some recorded TV. We are finally more or less caught up from last season's shows so that's good. Just in time for the new seasons to start up. 

And today we slept in and then decided to do something outdoors since the weather was a lot nicer. We had decided on a trail in Danbury but there was a lot of flooding from the rain the day before. So we decided to try a trail in Brewster instead. It wasn't anything too exciting or too long but at least we walked for a little over 2 miles and got some exercise in. So not a bad thing.

Now we are at RIzzuto's winding down and enjoying the last bits of our holiday weekend. Tomorrow it's back to work and real life. But at least's it's only a 4 day work week. And then the week after that I leave for Europe. So there is lots to take care of before then, 

Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA and Eloine/NY.

Posted by Hanna at 05:13 PM in Food and Drink, Music, Television, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 06, 2017

And it's August ...



Pixlr (4)Time really does fly it seems as it's already August. Work continues to be busy so that definitely makes the work days go by fast. I really often wish there were more hours in the day to getting everything done. :) But so far I am hanging in there and hopefully August will pass with too much of an issue. I have a vacation coming in September so there's something to look forward to with that. Going to be visiting with my parents in Europe for 10 days. Going to be flying to Croatia to meet up with them there and then head to Austria afterwards My dad has been struggling with his health a bit so I hope he continues his upward cycle and is in better shape by the time I get over there. It's definitely not easy being that far away at times. I do look forward to seeing them and to spend some time and of course to eat a lot of delicious food. Also looking forward to getting my hair done when I am in Austria. Will need to decide what color(s) I want to go with this time. 

To stay with the travel theme for a minute - I can't wait for my trip with Mike to the Azores in November. I think I wrote about this on here when we booked it but now I can't quite remember if I did or not. We found a great deal for a package that included the flight and hotel and afterwards we also found a good deal on a rental car so we are all set now. It's over Thanksgiving week so still some time away but I am definitely looking forward to going. 

Mike's on his way back from L.A. tonight. He was originally supposed to come back yesterday but American ended up changing his flight. They did give him a night in a hotel and also a $400 travel voucher. So maybe we'll be able to use that to go somewhere fun during the winter, maybe in January or February when it's cold out. Would be nice to go somewhere warm then. We will have to ponder. Ideas right now are Santa Fe, New Mexico or Mexico City. We'll see what we decide.

The week has been ok otherwise. I managed to catch up on my mail so that's good. Was getting pretty behind and managed to get 7 letters done during this week and weekend. Also been reading and watching a few movies (watched 'Basketball Diaries" and "Cafe Society") Been a relatively relaxing week and weekend. Today Kristina (my sis-in-law) and I went to Panera Bread. Haven't been there in ages so it was nice to go, sit outside and take advantage of the cooler/non-humid weather. During the week we got Thai food delivered. Oh and also yummy breakfast food from a local diner. Definitely ready for Mike to be back though now. It gets lonely sleeping in the bed by myself. Well, the cats kept me company of course but that's still not quite the same. :)

Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written and already went out or are going out on Monday to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Eloine/NY, Michele/CA, Carmen/Malta, Kimber/Canada and Nina/WA.

Posted by Hanna at 06:41 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Vermont Easter Weekend

IMG_20170415_093757_559 IMG_20170415_152328_998 IMG_20170416_123426_177A little behind with my updating but here's a quick recap from our weekend in Vermont over Easter. :) 

Went into work at 7am on Good Friday so I was able to leave at 11am (only 1/2 day for us) Once I was out of work we drove up to Vermont. About a 4 1/2 hour drive. We were slowed down by some construction work so I think it took us about 5 hours but still not too terrible. 

Once we made it to Burlington we checked in at our hotel. We had booked a neat boutique hotel in South Burlington (Green Mountain Suites Hotel) Our room had a cozy fireplace and a nice layout overall. After freshening up a bit we went to check out a store called 'Wine and Cheese Traders". Really neat store. Vermont definitely seems to be all about the cheese. Not a bad thing in my eyes. :)

Afterwards we headed into downtown Burlington. Walked around for a bit and ended up having dinner at the Vermont Pub & Brewery. Pretty neat place. Then on Saturday we headed out of the city to go wine tasting. It turned out to be a really nice day even if it didn't start off that way initially. On our way up from CT the day before we had gotten a tire pressure warning in the car. We checked on the tires but they didn't seem to have any real issues. The next day we put some air into the front tire and that made the warning go away (well for a bit anyway) Once we got to the first winery we checked the tire again and by that point it had really gotten low so clearly something was off. At that point it was Saturday mid morning on Easter weekend. We called around and luckily found a tire repair shop some miles away. And by some miracle we managed to limp to that place without getting stranded on the side of the road. They couldn't fix the tire (there was a screw in it) but they had a compatible tire at least. Fixed us up and we were on our way to continue the wine tasting for real this time. Stopped at two wineries and were able to sit outside, enjoy a cheese platter & drink some wine. Very enjoyable way to spend the day. 

Once we got back into Burlington we had dinner at Citizen Cider. Neat to be able to taste various ciders while also having yummy food. And well Sunday it was already time to head back. We had breakfast and stopped at the Ben & Jerry's Factory on the way home which was fun. Got to taste some ice cream and break up the drive home a bit. Yesterday, Monday, it was back to work. Lots of Europe had Monday off for Easter Monday so my communication with any European offices was slowed down quite a bit. We will see what today and the rest of the week brings. The weather is very up and down in typical April fashion. Can't complain too much I guess.  

Letter/Mail Update:Letters went out yesterday to: Bianca/Germany, Eloine/NY, Nina/WA and Eunice/Malta. 

Posted by Hanna at 07:39 AM in Food and Drink, Outdoors, Travel, Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)