Teaching Adventures: Spring break

Showing posts with label Spring break. Show all posts

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Spring break 2015

We are coming to the end of our incredible spring break trip which we headed to Eastern Europe to tour four different countries and their capital cities. We are so very lucky to have jobs that afford us the chance to travel as we have and that we both love to explore new areas as much as we do,which means a lot of wandering around and getting a little lost-sometimes a lot lost.

Before spring break we were also lucky to have our friends Brenda and Alex come stay with us for a week. Alex taught at ACS last year and now lives in Dubai. They had two weeks for spring break so they came to us for a week before moving on. It was great to catch up with them and show their friends who came with beautiful Beirut. It really is when others visit that you remember all the great things the city has to offer.

Dinner with Margaret, Jared, Alex, Brenda, Iman, Jane and Annie.

Friday we set off on a 6 am flight through Istanbul to Prague. We landed in Prague around 2:30 pm, however my suitcase decided to take a longer route and ended up being delivered to our hotel that night at midnight, minus one wheel. Oh well, could be worse as Ryan has experienced all too often. The only minor issue was that I had packed my winter coat and Prague was cold! However, it was easy enough to catch the bus and tram to our hotel. Man, do I miss public transportation. That night we wandered around old town Prague, crossing the Charles bridge, drinking the hot mulled wine and even ran into a colleague of ours that we did t know would be there. So crazy to hear from across the street "Ryan?" We ate at an incredible vegetarian restaurant that night too, which was fun to find through the winding streets. The next day we spent hanging out at the Easter markets and went to see Swan Lake which brought back great memories of dancing when I was younger.

Easter markets with ribbons on tree. This area practices the Easter Monday tradition of boys making "whips" and hitting the girls and throwing water on them for health and beauty. They put ribbons on their "whips" for each girl. Sounds fun....

We of course had to find an Irish pub to watch Liverpool play.

The next morning we caught the train to Bratislava which was about a 4 hour train ride. Bratislava was a cool small town, but we were there over the Easter holiday so a lot of places were closed till Tuesday. No problem, we found lots to do including some great runs on the Danube, lots of green spaces to hang out in, and an incredible Mexican restaurant to eat at right next to our hotel. Our hotel was incredible and if you are ever in Bratislava I strongly recommend the Marrol boutique hotel. Small, near the river, great service, and an incredible breakfast-what more could you want. We toured two castles and went to the villages surrounding Bratislava. It was so cold there though, including one day where it actually snowed on us for a few minutes. We are weak now that we have been away from Chicago winters for two years.

Look how cold we look.

Next up Budapest!

Next we took a 2 hour train to Budapest. Taking the train is so incredibly easy, it makes me wish it was this nice in the states to travel around by train. Budapest was my favorite stop. We stayed on the Pest side of the Danube. We were near the old town and lots of fun outdoor markets. It was warmer and there were so many people hanging around outside in all the incredible parks that are around the city. We rented bikes and rode around the city which was fun, and easy due to the bike lanes everywhere. We hiked up to the citadel to get an amazing view of the whole city. We took a boat cruise on the Danube with a wine tasting. There was a great farmers market filled with fresh fruits, veggies, cheeses meats and more paprika than I have ever seen. All in all it made me miss living in a big organized city.

Hour glass.

Heroes square.

View from citadel.

Next was our overnight train to Bucharest. I was a little tentative about this 16 hour train ride but it was so fun. What our own sleeper cabin that we bought for cheap once on board complete with great bunk beds. Nothing beats seeing Ryan in a tiny bed with his long legs hanging over the edge. We saw a lot of cool villages along the way and snow!

The last stop is here in Bucharest for the night. Not sure what to see or do here but we will find out soon!

Prague airport.

Swans on the Vltava river.

Easter market in Prague.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Spring break!

Ryan and I left last Friday for our first spring break trip ever. For the last ten years we both have had to coach during spring break so we were never able to go. Well, we made up for those years this week. We left Friday early morning and had a few hours in Cairo before landing in Brussels. Ryan's cousin Christi and her husband picked us up from the airport and we were off. We got to their amazing house in this great neighborhood in Brussels, near shops, markets and a great hill to run on. We then went with the boys, Marshall and John, to see their school, ISB. This campus is incredible. There is so much green space around the school. It was cool to see where they go to school and compare it to our experiences at ACS. That night we went out in the Grand Place a square full of bars and restaurants. We had a good time people watching and catching up. We also went to a Lebanese falafel place and talked to the guys about living in Beirut. In true Lebanese hospitality they gave me a free falafel.

The next morning we had a great run through the neighborhood followed by a trip to the Saturday outdoor market. This market was incredible and a definite must do if you live here. Then we were off to the train station to make our way to Paris.

The train was really easy to take and fast as well. We headed to the 3rd arrondissement to our hotel. After checking in, we wandered around, which is pretty much what we did all week. Some highlights of Paris were walking the Promenade Plantee, which is like the New York high line park, eating and drinking in parks, seeing the city on a river cruise, and the Louvre-through the side entrance skipping the line because we're in the know. We went out for a run on the Sunday of Easter and happened past Notre Dame during mass and without a huge line in front, so we went in and walked around and heard some of the mass in French. Pretty much the entire trip I spent trying to remember my French, which I was ok at, and as the week went on I think I was better or maybe it was the great french wine-not sure that my French teacher Madame Bald would have been impressed or not.

We of course went to the Eiffel Tower but did not want to wait in line to go up. Ryan loved the park in front of the Eiffel Tower for his favorite highlight, and since he has only written one blog post I guess I'll write about his favorite-also to see if he actually reads what I write. We walked the Champs élysées at sunset, which Ryan took some great pictures. Another night we had the chance to eat dinner with Margaret, a wonderful woman we teach with in Beirut who is from the Northwest, and her sister which was really nice. After that dinner, Ryan and I were sitting in the garden at our hotel and two little kids were playing hide and seek. They were speaking Spanish so we were testing our Spanish skills. We may have helped the little girl cheat as well always telling her where the little boy was hiding. They came over and talked to us for a while. He was from Miami, and her family from Venezuela. It was interesting and so funny to watch them. It was hilarious, until I somehow made the little girl upset, probably because my spanish was not good enough to understand her, and she ran away crying. Pretty classic Becky/random child interaction.

Next up, the train to Amsterdam. We stayed near the Central Station neighborhood and just really enjoyed more green spaces. After being in Beirut for 8 months I have really found an appreciation for parks and even just grass. It was great to picnic in Vondelpark and Rembrandtpark. The people watching was fantastic there as well. Although with all the bikes, I did want to pull a little Big Daddy action and lay a big stick in the road, but I didn't, perhaps next time. We did the most important spots in Amsterdam, like the cheese museum, and the Heineken tour, were cultured like that.

After a few days there, we were back to Brussels via train to hang out a little more with Christi and the boys. We got a chance to go to a favorite local Italian place and enjoyed a late dinner. It stays sunny there well past nine, so it feels earlier than it is actually. John did get his family some hot oil, thanks to the inattentiveness of the less than polite waiter, so that was a big score.
The flight back left a lot to be desired, note to anyone reading EgyptAir, not a great airline. There were so many kids running up and down the aisle of the plane, laying down on the floor and crying, it was insane. Not to mention they asked us to change seats 3 times because others didn't like their seats. Oh, and the small matter of a woman and man fighting on the plane because he reclined his seat, which was in front of her. I was on her side on this one, he was reclined really far back, and that just isn't right. It was getting pretty sketchy, so I flagged down the flight attendant, who had to stop it. However, I never laughed so hard at a border stop then when we landed in Beirut and went through customs to get back in to Beirut. The customs guy was cracking jokes-sort of, or I took them as jokes. At one point I think he asked if we were CIA, so I told him yes. He asked where we live, and I told him the airport, and he then proceeded to invite us to live with him, and told me he wanted to drink Coronas with us. Seems totally normal.

It was a really relaxing vacation, which we needed to rest up for this upcoming week. Thursday we head off to Nepal with 65 students. Should be quite the adventure.