I have to admit, we haven’t been up to a whole lot during this week, as the plan is for Murray to work as per normal. And he is. I’m on accommodation duty, alongside doing any additional tasks required for Murray’s work. Thus far, our next month in Ireland is completely booked. The following month in Croatia is getting close… Not quite sure where we want to stay after our sailing trip, but it’s looking like it will be Split (I’ve really got to hurry up and just pick something). And then it’ll be time to book France. Too many decisions, and Iām super indecisiveā¦bad combination!
Aside from the work related tasks, our days mostly consist of heading into the local forest for a walk (or Murray for a ride or run) and forays into the various shops for supplies. Not super exciting, but itās still a refreshing change from living at home.
Things we have noted thus far:
The wily Fantastic Mr Fox:
We have a resident red fox. Not in our back yard; I am pretty sure he/she (I’m going with “he” – that fox is too handsome to be a girl) lives somewhere on the property next door. But sometimes, if we are outside at the right time, late in the afternoon, the fox has jumped over the fence and cruised past us on his evening foray into the nearby forest. Think I scared him pretty good at least once. However, he is either very curious or very determined to get where he is going (or both). Every time he has been spotted, he stops in his tracks and backtracks for a while (whilst periodically popping his head over the fence to check on our location). Eventually he recalculates his route somewhat and goes through our yard anyway. I have dubbed him “Fantastic Mr Fox”, after Roald Dahl’s fabulous story that immensely entertained me as a child. Which brought us to the (once) ubiquitous “What does the fox say?” tune. In the interest of furthering my education, Murray played the song for me, since I had never actually heard it before (however, had seen about a million references to it). Can’t say I was missing much, although beats me how I hadn’t actually heard it until now. I wish he (Mr Fox) was slower so I could actually capture him with my crappy smartphone camera, but I’m afraid that is probably not going to happen. Maybe next week.
The mysteries of shopping:
Doing the weekly shop here has been an interesting experience. The range of fruit and vegetables seems to be more or less the same, with a few anomalies: e.g. the baby spinach is super cheap – 2.50 euro for half a kilo of spinach – and that is the smallest size you can buy. What am I supposed to do with that much spinach???
The meat variety blows ours out of the water – chicken (both hens & roosters, yellow or white, plus poussin), turkey, pheasant, duck, quail, rabbit, pork, beef & veal, bison, lamb, zebra (not kidding), & ostrich (also not kidding). Then add to that selection a range of mystery cuts we donāt have in Australia to make the selection even more exotic.
…And then there is the range of seafood – all sorts of fish and molluscs, crabs, crayfish and lobster. Many that Iāve never seen. Mussels here are ridiculously cheap (and there are heaps of brands, even home brand mussels). I paid 5 euro for 2kg of live black mussels (and that was not even close to the largest pack they sold). They were delicious (possibly more delicious because they were so cheap – my stomach and my wallet were satisfied with the outcome).
Other oddities include snails and frogs legs in the cold case, marinated/prepared and ready to cook at home. You can buy patties and āproteinā balls made out of bugs (or alternatively, as is, with some sort of spices for flavour). And pre-made Croque Monsieur, ready to grill at home (seems ridiculously unnecessary).
There is no sauces (bbq, tomato etc) aisle with marinades and other easy cook accoutrements. There is however, a whole aisle with pretty much just mayonnaise in it.
…Like the US, thus far it seems that alcoholic beverages are primarily purchased from the supermarket. It’s definitely very convenient & it gives Murray somewhere to go and ogle the beer selection while I do the food shopping (also convenient).
Multi packed products are fair game here. Anything shrink-wrapped in a multi pack you can break up and just take one of something. It’s a bit strange, and it definitely feels like incorrect behaviour, busting into a perfectly wrapped pack just to take a single item (think: breaking a 6 pack of beer or juice or water and then leaving the ruins of the packaging on the shelf). However, everyone does it, so it’s not so bad (but feels so, so wrong).
Thatās probably more than enough on the weirdness that is the weekly food shop for now, Iām sure. However, there is plenty more where that came from…
What we got up to on the weekend:
This past week we had our friend Nath come to visit us from the UK for the weekend. It’s not so far away, so, why not? We were going to see the Paris-Roubaix cycling race, so it was a good opportunity to meet up and enjoy the cycling together.
While Nath was visiting we made an attempt to see more of the Belgian countryside, with mixed results. Since we don’t speak much French (and about zero Dutch), it has been challenging to figure out what to do sometimes. We wanted to visit a cave system where they also farm mushrooms, but apparently needed to make an appointment. Bit hard when you don’t speak enough French to call and organise it. And it didn’t help that the tourist information didn’t mention you needed an appointment, so we drove out there only to find the sign at the entrance indicating that there was no entry without prior reservation. Boooo. It seems like a lot of attractions require an appointment, or are only open sporadically (once or twice a week, for a few hours, when the moon is right)…I’m sure this will probably happen a few more times over the rest of the year. Iāve come to the conclusion that we might as well get used to it.
While exploring with Nath, we did successfully visit several…unusual…art exhibits, some of which were located in…unusual…locations:
– A church (of sorts) made out of metal girders on a hill, in an apple orchard.
– A giant peg, in a park, pinching the earth.
– A tiny brass(?) monkey adorning a building (seriously, we drove into town to see a monkey statue the size of a small cat).
– A pissing statue of a small child, right in the heart of Brussels (which apparently gets clothed repeatedly during the week, and yet we managed to visit while he was nude).
Belgium seems to have quite a few interesting things to see, but unfortunately are relatively far and few between. As a result, there are plenty of things that we wonāt get to see..
The cycling (I freely admit that reading this is probably not exciting, but here goes anyway):
Anyways, the Paris-Roubaix cycling tour was on the Sunday, and we drove out to Roubaix (in France) to catch some of the action. Initially, we headed into the Foret de Arenberg to watch the cyclists enter the forest (a very popular spot for spectators). We parked on the side of the road, a couple of kilometers away (that’s as close as we could get, with all the cars etc) and walked into the forest alongside a tonne of other people also headed in to watch the race. There were cars parked on every conceivable surface (inclusive of traffic islands and other areas clearly not intended for car parking).
We more or less got there just in time. There was enough time for us to find a vantage point to watch the race from and then the advance vehicles were already passing through announcing the approaching cyclists. The breakaway went past in a high speed blur. We had a few minutes to enjoy the spectacle of the team cars and emergency vehicles before the peloton also passed us. The speed was ridiculous. On a narrow, cobblestone path & pretty horrible cobbles, too, I might add. It seems like a tough gig. Especially for those lagging behind; those behind the peloton were forced to contend with the rearguard of team cars, on a road barely wide enough to allow a car, let alone the cyclists trying to weave around the traffic.
The atmosphere was amazing, there was so much noise and activity everywhere. There was even a barbecue set up, with a group well ensconced near the barricade with beer, snacks, and hot bbq’ed goods on the way (while queues of people trying to find a spot at the barricade were crowding them at the same time). Extra keen spectators, I guess.
After our brief time in the forest we headed in to Roubaix for the velodrome finish, and on the way were able to watch more of the race as their path was often in the fields close to the highway. People were parked on the highway shoulder everywhere, and the traffic was slowed to a crawl while rubberneckers (including us, as we were already at a crawl) watched the race whilst also driving in to town for the finish. The speed limit I think may have been 120 or 130km/h… We would have been doing maybe 20… People around here are real serious about their cycling! Too bad if you were in a rush to get somewhere.
We eventually made it into Roubaix ahead of the cyclists and watched the remainder of the race on the giant screen setĀ up at the velodrome. It was quite theĀ experience watching the cyclists approach on a screen, only to then see them enter the velodrome for the final moments of the race.Ā All in all, it was a good day, and a great end to aĀ lovely weekend out.
Next week:
More of the same during the week, followed by spending theĀ weekend off visiting Dr Mark in the Netherlands!
Ā Please note: Regarding any and all formatting that sucks: we have WordPress to thank for. Thanks again, WordPress. I thought the point of these insta-blog things was to eradicate the need for knowing any html.
Manneken Pis. Creatively named(?), but unfortunately not creatively dressed today.
Town hall, lit up like Christmas, Brussels.
It’s a clothes peg!
Crazy giant boat lift
Tintin!
Yep. Grilled cheese sandwich has never been easier, or less appetising.
Fantastic Mr Fox! Picture courtesy of Nath and his DSLR camera. Me and my iPhone weren’t up to the challenge.
Rosehips?
Enjoying a beverage at the famous Delirium brewery cafe.
MIffy seems to be everywhere.. Including at the cycling.
The result of paranoia when taking photos of the peloton: I get a photo of another spectator. Better than knocking someone off their bike, I guess.
Cyclist sidling past the team cars at breakneck speed. At the Foret De Arenberg.
So we escaped Atlanta on Friday afternoon and left on our way to Orlando. Since then, the last few days in the US were a bit of a blur. A lot was seen in a relatively short period of time:
Savannah & notes from the weekend:Ā
We visited Savannah and explored the town – tourism there seems to be a big thing, with trolley buses, tour buses and (from what Iāve established, it must be obligatory) ghost tours. The ghost tours were on refurbished hearses with the roof raised…and troupe seating. Made it look more like a safari through the streets and cemeteries than a regular tour. Would have loved to have gone, if only to ride around in the hearse-safari-mobile. Tourists everywhere.
The town itself was very pretty, with historical buildings, cemeteries and cobbled paths along the riverside. Plenty of entertainers on every corner singing for their supper. However, Savannah also seems to host a large number of homeless living in the area, and while exploring we spotted a shanty town of sorts near the highway. It was pretty weird to see. There was almost a tent city located in the small forest where the entry ramp met the highway. Iāve never seen a homeless encampment like that, and certainly nothing so close to a major town. Bizarre.
at the local tavern in Savannah
…We checked out the marshy wetlands (surprisingly, not stinky), complete with going on an alligator spotting mission in a nature reserve. Saw more than 40 alligators on a very slow drive through the park. Some were babies/juveniles, some were definitely adults. Neither seemed interested in us. You could get out and walk/hike the reserve at any time. So with the disinterested alligators, I guess that’s a good thing. Over the weekend apparently they were holding a turkey shoot to reduce numbers in the park (with participation aimed at school age children!), so I was expecting to see a turkey or two.. But no. Maybe they knew the school kids were coming to get them and vamoosed.
i see you!
Ā We also visited Brunswick and St Simons on our way down the coast and enjoyed some ridiculously delicious pastries and seafood (and local beer from Jacksonville, since apparently Florida sucks at craft beer). Our first look at the beach on the Florida coastline left a lot to be desired. They have got nothing on our beaches. Nothing. At. All.
Monday/Disney World:
Ā Disney World was quite the experience. So many (many, many) people. Apparently, to do Disney properly you should visit for upwards of a week. I can’t imagine spending a week in a theme park… And we certainly didn’t budget for a week (A week? Wowee kiss your wallet goodbye).Ā We elected to visit just theĀ Magic Kingdom, and only for one day. As it was, this part of Disney apparently pulls around 18 million people a year, meaning I was sharing my day with close to 50,000 other people. I can’t say that seemed inaccurate. The place was packed (and yet had enough space to be yet more packedā¦). We wandered around, did a few rides, watched a bit of the parades and other entertainment (..ate a giant turkey leg..) and at about 5pm gave up due to being wiped out (and being heartily sick of waiting 1hr in line for rides). We made our way to Disney Downtown, and enjoyed some of the entertainment on offer there before eventually making our way home. I had a great time.
finally at the castle
Ā …What did I learn from my trip? Disney is certainly an epic destination. And more than one day is definitely advisable, if only so you can bail and have a nap before braving the crowds some more. The place is open to 1am!! If only I could have been bothered making it back in there from Disney Downtown, Iām sure some of the rides would have been more accessible (and kids hopefully in bed).
Tuesday:
Our last day in the US was spent at a natural spring in Florida, where Murray went for a run and I explored the wetland trails. The place was beautiful, and I couldn’t help feeling more than a little jealous of the Floridians that get to enjoy these beautiful natural resources – there are over 1000 natural springs in Florida. Although, there are also alligators, and a baby alligator was definitely hanging out at the spring (and another on the path where Murray went running). Alligators aside, I still wanted to go swimming, but could not bring myself to dealing with wet clothes, wet hair etc and then flying. Murray did. I was jealous. I selected the “get eaten by midges” option instead (which at the time I was stoked as they were not itchy, but it later made me look like I had measles, and then became ridiculously itchy while on our flight to Paris).
We flew out of Orlando from the smallest international airport I have ever seen.
so pretty…
Since arriving in Europe:
We flew in from Orlando, FL to Iceland as our stopover on the way to Paris. This first flight was uneventful, although it was a bit of an experience: flying in a tiny jet from a tiny airport from a summery destination to one that was decidedly frozen. Murray and I were wearing thongs. …Murray was also wearing board shorts…Ā As you do, in -5C conditions. Thank goodness for central heating.
The second flight was a short, 3 hour affair, landing us in yet another tiny airport. …Where we discovered a distinct lack of customs. I can’t help but feel a bit like an invader, having not gone through any official process of entering the country (our entering process involved getting off the plane, getting our bags and then walking out the exit…). I guess our formal entry must have been in Iceland. There, the official in the booth next to us looked like he was on the warpath (he was a cranky-faced passport stamping machine) who ploughed through his line at least twice as fast as ours. Our official stamped our passports and waved us through. Pretty sure our complete communication consisted of a) hello & b) goodbye.
First impressions of Europe? I had no idea that there was so much countryside between towns (or that the towns would be so small and compact). We exited the airport (north of Paris) to find ourselves somewhere distinctly rural, on tiny roads leading us through tiny towns with tiny ancient-looking houses that look like they would be a historical attraction at home or in the US. Here, it’s just someone’s house.
The traffic lights and road signs are strange (the give way signs here are especially stupid), and Murray is not yet totally proficient at the driving on the right with the added joy of driving stick with the wrong hand. But so far, we have had no accidents. Huzzah (and fingers crossed for good measure).
Our first two days were spent in Le Meux, France. We did a little sightseeing in Compiegne and Pierrefonds, checking out the local Chateaux and other historical buildings. It’s like you can’t turn around without seeing something else with more history than I’m used to experiencing. We even went to a museum in Compiegne (not because we weren’t getting enough history, more because it was freezing and wet outside and we needed a break from being frozen).
Town Hall, Compiegne
Ā …I have already consumed a fair portion of my body weight in cheese. There is so much cheese and smallgoods at the supermarket, I don’t know what to do with myself. There are literally aisles upon aisles of cured meats and cheeses – it’s like going to Woolworths to find that all of the cold cases have now been relegated to just cheese and cured meats, and for good measure the fresh fruit and vegetable section were also converted. Makes for a difficult time deciding what cheese to try.
Our accommodation in Le Meux was very comfortable and convenient for a little bit of local exploration just out of Paris, however, it was also a smoking household. I never even considered investigating something like that when choosing somewhere to stay (it certainly wasnāt advertised one way or the other). Although, many people still smoke in France, so maybe I should have expected it. Currently, everything I own smells like smoke. It’s a pervasive smell that I had almost forgotten, being so spoiled in almost smoke-free Australia. Last time I smelled like this was as a uni student after a big night out prior to cigarettes being banned in nightclubs and eating establishments. I do not smell delicious (and I suspect I can kind of taste it). Yuck.
Chateau Pierrefonds
After our two days in France (we will be back there later), we headed off to Belgium:
We stayed in a hotel outside of Oudenaarde (in Belgium) for the Easter long weekend in order to catch some of the Tour De Flanders. For those who donāt follow any cycling: The Tour De Flanders is the Tour you may have seen for a minute on TV (between changing stations perhaps) where the cyclists ride the iconic cobblestone roads that feature prominently in the area. It’s nuts just to drive on, let alone ride a bike on. Apparently your arms (and then other appendages) go numb from being bounced around so much. It does not look in the least bit comfortable, and it can be slippery and muddy and generally hazardous to ride the cobbles. However, despite all that, this cobblestone thing is very popular. Murray was keen but somewhat dubious about riding it.
The weather over the weekend was cold and a bit miserable, much like the last couple of days in France. Murray fully intended to ride the Sportiv held on the Saturday, alongside some 16,000 other cyclists (at least 9000 of which were Brits, apparently). However, the weather on Saturday was horrible, and he abandoned ship early (returning home mostly frozen, seriously filthy & soaking wet). Over the weekend he still managed to get a ride in on the Friday, the ill-fated Sportiv on the Saturday, and another ride on the Sunday before we left to watch the Tour. Fortunately, on Sunday the weather was beautiful: Sunny, clear skies and much warmer (didnāt even need a jacket all the time). Dr Mark and Rianne made for excellent weekend riding companions (plus impromptu Dutch translators & great company in general). While they rode, I got in some blissful time in solitude. No regrets.
On the Sunday we caught a bit of the Tour in Brakel, first waiting patiently for the women cyclists in a roadside pop-up cafe (someoneās house, re-comissioned as cafe for the day) & then from a nearby grassy hillside before relocating to the comfort of a tavern where there were many screens to watch the race. It was still very entertaining, even though the commentary was all in Dutch. Might need to organise something in future though, as the commentary is a large part of the enjoyable aspect of the sport. No commentary = š
ā¦ And that was our Easter Weekend and introduction to Europe.
So far we have found that the money situation in Belgium is a little bizarre. Amex: no. Visa? Generally, no. MasterCard? Maybe (last place wanted a 50 euro minimum charge). Any cards accepted at a restaurant? No, cash only or Belgian bankcard only. Wtf. And when we tried to get cash out, Commbank net-banking service was down for routine maintenance & the ATM was not compatible with our card.
Second time around. After spending an hour writing this post my Notes app decided to eat 99% of the drafted post. Jerks! Sometimes I really hate you, Apple. So this post will probably be shorter than originally intended due to angst:
Well. We are just about wrapping up here in Atlanta. Already. I canāt believe the time has gone so quickly. Today is our last day in the Wahoo Headquarters, before we start the trip down the east coast to Orlando, Florida. We will be visiting Savannah for the weekend, and then headed to Disney World on Monday. It may be approximately 20 years later than when I would have most preferred to see Disney World, but I figure you can never be too old to appreciate Mickey Mouse. On Tuesday afternoon we are off to Paris, via Iceland, to start our European adventure. Kicking off with staying for 2 days at a B&B where the hosts do not speak any english. As I can pretty much only say pleasantries in french, the whole situation should be interesting to say the least.
Anyway, regarding our week just gone:
The working week was much like any other. No major surprises. However, there was an in-office marathon to honour the marathon held on Sunday. Two teams were required to consistently have someone on the treadmill for the distance constituting a full marathon. The boss took his turn and then everyone went to lunch. Leaving him no tap out option until someone from the team returned to save the day. Poor Chip.
Chip. Working hard.
On a side note: The office has beer on Friday afternoons. I would like to think we could incorporate this into my pharmacy job, but I am fairly sure that there is legislation in place that would expressly forbid this.
Notes from the weekend:
Friday night: We went out to the Porter Bar, which was a lovely establishment boasting a bible-esque quantity of beverages of the beer variety either on tap or cellared. The drinks were fabulous, the food was fabulous. A great time was had. Finally got to try their infamous salt & vinegar popcorn. It nearly killed me from the fumes – every bite was risk of death by inhalation of powdered salt/vinegar flavouring. However, it was delicious, and I made it out alive. Having said that, I may have also cried and almost coughed up a lung from aspirated vinegar. What a classy snack.
Nomnomnom. Popcorn.
Not choking on the salt and vinegar popcorn.
Winning. Winning at popcorn, unlike me.
We also visited the Wrecking Bar, a bar located in a basement of an otherwise innocuous appearing establishment. It featured having their own beer, and their own beer only. I did not like their beer. Itās not often that Iād struggle through a beverage, and I tried twice and struggle-streeted it to the bottom of the glass both times. At this point we decided to visit elsewhere.
Finally, we visited Twainās, and this was our last port of call for the evening. A combination bar/pool hall, it featured some other games, one of which was Shuffleboard. Having never seen this before, and having mistaken it for an oversized air hockey table, we made friends with some random locals to show us what it was all about. Nothing like boning in on someone elseās game of shuffleboard. It was very educational. You basically slide a weight down the length of the table, aiming to land your weight in various point scoring zones. The table is slick and finely dusted with sand. Your weight more or less takes off like it was ejected from hell. Much more slippery than I would have ever guessed. So slippery that the weight doesnāt even disturb the sand as it flies across the surface (into the gutter, mostly). It was fun. If we come across one of these things again, Iād definitely have a go.
Saturday we made a trip out to Springer Mountain with a friend from Wahoo. He took us bush bashing the trails up the mountain in his 4×4. At breakneck speed. Thank goodness for good traction (and seat belts). We followed up by doing several small hikes (2-3 miles) to see some of the more accessible attractions along the start of the Appalachian Trail. The scenery was beautiful, even this time of year when most of the trees are still decidedly nude. It helped that the weather was amazing. Fresh & cool but 100% sunny skies.
We passed quite a few avid trekkers beginning their journey to Maine (the trail terminus). I canāt say that I envied them. It apparently takes 3-4 months to hike the Appalachian Trail. That is approximately 3-4 months more trekking than Iām keen to undertake. Maybe a few days to a week, that seems acceptable (maybe even a few weeks, if the weather was acceptable). Hiking for months? That sounds like plan for ages, quit your job and hope you are fit enough (so you donāt die) material.
Sunday was not so great in the weather department. It was rainy and miserable, and no fun to be outdoors. We decided to take this opportunity to try to get a laptop case for my 11ā MacBook Air. That turned into a far bigger mission than anticipated. We turned up at the shopping mall at 11am. It wasnāt open. A couple of department stores were open, but all the other retail outlets were all undertaking staff meetings etc. Signs of life, but definitely NOT open. We checked out the department stores that were open and they had nothing. 11.30am came and went and the shops still werenāt open so we abandoned ship. What is with Sunday trading in Atlanta??? When were they planning on opening??? Tried a few other department stores (seems outside the mall, trading hours are normal), similar situation. No love. Iāve come to the conclusion that this is the result of not shopping online.
On our search we decided to visit a pet store, and were wowed by rabbits, puppies, budgies and all manner of fluffy/furry/super cute randomness. The highlight (wish I got a photo) was getting asked by a stranger about a shopping cart that was left in the aisle. It contained cat food, a few other random pet accoutrements, and a puppy dog. An unattended shopping cart, containing a puppy. Like you might have picked it up off the shelf and put it in your shopping cart on your way to the register. Iāve since been informed that someone was buying it. But still. The puppies were behind glass, but most of the other animals you could just walk over an pick up (and put in your shopping cart, I guess). Too strange.
Wednesday night we were offered box tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at the Phillips Arena. Having decided that we shouldnāt miss (reasonable) opportunities when they are presented, we made our way there and may have missed a small portion due to being hopelessly lost while trying to find the correct parking lot. But after actually making it to said venue, we had a great time. The concert was amazing, and the stadium was packed to the rafters (Iāve never been to a concert with so many people). I canāt say Iāve ever had a desire to see Fleetwood Mac, but they are certainly an enduring band with a massive fan following. Ā They have so many hit songs, even I can appreciate that they have some serious talent. And theyāre still going strong, some 40+ years on. Good grief, half the band members are in their 70ās! Saying that Iām impressed does not cover how impressed I am. We had a great night, and Iām certainly glad we went. Iām surprised to say that this was by far the loudest concert Iāve ever been to (and I have been to a respectable number of concerts). I may be slightly deaf today, but it was worth it.
At Fleetwood Mac
Thursday night we went out for dinner and drinks at Taco Mac with some of the crew from Wahoo. Followed it up with more beverages at the Painted Pin, where we played Giant Jenga and had a crack at something called Skittles. Was a great time, and I’m more than a little disappointed that it took us until our last night in Atlanta to hang out with the Wahoo headquarters staff. Next time, I hope we make a better effort to socialise.
Until next time! It’s time to head off on our road trip to Savannah….
So, already we are more than 2 weeks into our trip to Atlanta. Itās not all that much longer before we head off to Belgium! How time flies!
Daylight savings has kicked in, and now 7.30am is…Dark. I think they may have jumped the gun on starting daylight savings a wee bit. On the upside, itās still sunshine after 7pm. Why canāt Queensland do the daylight savings thing? Itās totally worth it.
What have we been up to? Well, unsurprisingly, mostly work. Itās a work trip (for Murray at least)ā¦ However, we have been making an effort to see more of Atlanta this time around. Murray has been here many times and still hasnāt seen many of the local attractions, and since if Iām here, Iām here with him, I havenāt seen many either.
So this weekend just gone:
Saturday kicked off by visiting an outlet mall in the north of Georgia, ostensibly to buy some shoes for Europe. Given that my current footwear consists of thongs or sneakers (home: thongs, out: thongs, hiking: thongs, maybe sneakers). Itās plenty comprehensive for Brisbane, but for Europe? Maybe not. Murray was also on the shoe bandwagon. His Nike runners need to be retired. Like last week. Our experience shopping? I still hate shopping. Online shopping FTW. Shopping at the mall sucks.
We also drove aimlessly around the northern Georgian countryside. Why not. Spring has definitely sprung by now, so the landscape has been steadily improving from the stick-like wasteland of dead/dormant trees and frostbitten grass. Daffodils and other spring bulbs are popping up on every corner, in ditches and in fields and in general in any and every Atlantan garden. Trees have gone from dead twiggy branches to flush with spring growth or blooms with the speed of what seems to be overnight or very nearly so. Itās shaping up to be a beautiful spring.
daffodils. just some of very, very many.
Finally: The squirrels are out in force. Clearly it was just too cold the first week we were here (well, admittedly, it did snowā¦a little bit). Now their neurotic shenanigans are on display pretty much everywhere (much like the daffodil situation). Huzzah, squirrels!
In terms of other Americana wildlife, Iāve now seen two groundhogs and a white tailed bunny rabbit. Never seen a groundhog before..And both were more or less trundling along the side of the road. Presumably foraging for something good to eat. Not that I imagine there would be more more than roadkill and rubbish in the ditch by the roadā¦Nutritious.
On Saturday we were also invited to check out a Roller Derby match over in Rome, Georgia. Having never seen this particular illustrious sport before, we decided to go along. Iāve heard of Roller Derby, and I had a vague idea of what was involved (namely roller skating, girls and possibly high testosterone levels), but having never actually seen itā¦ Well it was worth a look in. The girls looked glorious hooning around the rink. It seems to be a fast-paced contact sport that would take some real skill on the skates to be good at. I would most definitely suck at it. Kudos to derby girls everywhere with their mad skater skills!
Roller Derby! Badly captured for posterity.
Sunday we ventured out again to tick off another yet unvisited Atlantan attraction. Todayās task: Stone Mountain.
Can’t complain about the view from the top.
Cherokee walking trail, apparently the trail less travelled around Stone Mountain
It’s not such a long way to the top…
Ā Stone mountain, like it soundsā¦ Is a great big stone mountain. Made of granite. I guess itās similar to Ayers Rock, being a giant mass of stone. Nowhere near as massive, of course, but still plenty big enough to call it a mountain. We drove around the base, and then walked some of the Cherokee trail (more or less in solitude) before taking the main drag up the mountain with the rest of the avid Sunday walkers. It was a mild walk in what is definitely very mild (almost hot) spring weather. Still, it took me ages. I may or may not have mentioned that I was sick for most of the week with food poisoning (or maybe a virus, but my money is on something dodgy in the food Iād eaten since we are eating out so much)ā¦ So this walk was a bit of a challenge, but I thought Iād risk it. Doing a 6km walk up a mountain with gastro, having eaten almost no food for 5 days, well, lets say I have been in better form. Murray was also running on empty having backed up the walk after a 10km run and a diet shake. Hungry, hungry hippos about sums it up. But then we got distracted on the drive home by a beautiful temple and the necessity of doing a food shop. Lunchtime ended up being some time after 4pm. And that was our weekend.
Notice my distinct lack of enthusiasm? Probably due to borderline coma blood sugar. And I am channelling beetroot. Why can’t I sweat like a normal person…
It’s a temple of epicness! …Directly across the road from Publix (the local supermarket).
