Arizona 2011

It all feels so "Eat, Pray, Love" which is weird because I really hated that book/movie when I first read the book and again when I tried to watch the movie. The reason why I thought the book was so annoying was because I really didn't like the main character, Liz. I felt like she was really selfish!

But, one thing I learned recently (interestingly, I heard this on the radio during a segment with the psychic, Miss Bonnie. LOL) is that when you're unhappy, you have to be a little self-ish. Not selfish, but just self-ish. But it's true. There are times when you just really have to focus on yourself. It's not being selfish, it's being self-ish. There is a difference.

So anyways, I've been doing lots of road trips which has been great, but I really wanted to do something more for myself. Something that involved flying. Soooo I'm going to visit one of my best friends (Christine) in Flagstaff, Arizona! It's going to be a short visit, but I'm really looking forward to just getting away for a little bit.

The one thing I'm worried about is this:

(The California girl in me shudders at the thought of anything colder than 60 degrees! But this won't be a repeat of my Europe trip, I'll for sure pack weather appropriate clothing.)

P.S. As I was looking up the weather forecast, Christine texted me and told me to bring an "h2o proof" jacket. We have the same thoughts at the same time... true friends. <3

Labor Day Weekend Road Trip- Day One, Part Two

We got to Santa Cruz at about lunch time. Luckily, the hotel let us check in early! I love staying at (clean) hotels!

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We rested for a few minutes and then got back in the car and drove to UC Santa Cruz! I have been on the campus twice before. It's hard to believe that the first time I was here was like 8 years ago and the last time I was here was like 5 years ago! It makes me feel old!

The campus is really beautiful with lots of trees, hills, and roads perfect for skating!



Since nothing was open on campus, we drove downtown and had lunch at a little cafe. We were super excited that they served breakfast all day, but in the end, none of us ordered any breakfast items.



We walked around and shopped downtown for a couple hours, but no one bought anything. I saw a pink Santa Cruz skateboard that I considered buying but ended up not. But I'm still thinking about buying it... hmmmm...

Then, we drove down to the boardwalk. We walked around there for a little while. We were expecting it to be in the mid-70s, but it was much colder! Brrrr.



After that, we drove back to our hotel to freshen up before dinner.

For dinner, we walked across the street to Caffe Lucio.



This restaurant has character! Lucio himself looks over every plate and you can hear him yelling at the servers in his Italian accent. Then, in the middle of our nice dinner, our waitress turns on a disco ball and then all of a sudden it was a party! There were flashing lights, a disco ball, and Black Eyed Peas blasting on the stereo!

I really like Santa Cruz! I enjoy the hippie-ness! The best thing is that it has been super easy to find good vegetarian food at every place we've been to!

Tomorrow, we're driving down to SJ to do some shopping and visit with cousins <3

Day 6

I'll do this update in two parts because I'm getting sleepy.

I started today off with breakfast at the hotel. The eggs here and in berlin are runny.



It was 39 degrees outside, and I didn't pack for cold weather. I had to put on everything warm that I had, even if it looked funny. So I wore black socks with my flats. I also wore green pants with a green jacket.



Then, at 9:00 we met in the lobby and walked over to our bus. We drove down to the castle. We had a local tour guide join us on the bus and give us information about the history of Prague.

Here are some pictures from the castle.






The Italian president (?) was in Prague today, so there were Italian flags everywhere.

We walked around to the side of the castle and we were able to see this great view of the city.



We continued on our tour, to the Charles Bridge. There is a statue of St John of Nepomuk where you can touch a certain spot and make 3 wishes. The Czechs are very supersticious! Most Czechs are not religious because they were ruled by communist for several decades. During this time, they were not allowed to practice religions.



OK, I'm going to stop here and continue updating tomorrow. I'm tired!