Today I was making key lime pies to sell at work. After an hour of serious graham crushing and filling preparation, I pulled pies one and two out of the oven, and just as I was placing (with two hands, mind you) pie number three onto the perfectly placed center rack.... the foil pan flopped in half between my fingers, sloshing the entire pie onto the oven floor and the drawer below. Disbelief, followed by violent swearing ensued. Dad and Chris mosied over to see what i was cursing about, and the three of us stood there speechless, staring cluelessly at the sizzling mess for a good thirty seconds (perhaps trying to undo it with our minds?) before anyone said anything. Dad and Chris quickly mumbled some excuse about having to pick up chris's car at the very moment and before i could even aknowledge what they said i found myself alone in the house, holding my empty pie pan staring at the dripping goop by myself. Thanks guys.
The oven floor was pretty much helpless until the oven cooled down, so i began removing the goo and lids from the drawer below. I moved half the lids to the sink still grumbling to myself about being such a klutz and when i turned back around to grab the rest, i discovered my fuzzy black little pie mopping savior. Cole to the rescue! As if she were saying "I cant beleive those big goons just left you here, to clean up all this delicious pie by your self!" her cute little head burrowed into the lid drawer and assumed a steady and enthusiastic licking motion for the next five minutes. I cleaned up the big globs and she licked small globs, I rinsed the big ligs, and she handed me the small lids (not really, but that would have been awesome!) anyway it was teamwork at it's finest, and we totally stuck it to those lame boys who stranded us, while also enjoying a tangy snack all to ourselves.
The moral of this story is that I have the best puppy in the world, who I am now tempted to bake little puppy desserts for. Also be careful with foil pie pans. They will turn on you.
Lauren
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Puppy Tales: Week One
Sunday 5/10
Mothers Day and Dad’s Birthday. Who can think of a better day to bring home a brand new bouncing, biting, licking, dirt eating puppy?! ( I for one cannot imagine a better possible scenario, however it‘s very likely that my mom could have….very easily, in fact)
Anyways here is the back-story. I have been campaigning for a new family dog/puppy for over a year now, and decided that since I have no current job prospects for the summer and Chris and I are both leaving in the fall (at which point mom (obviously but unadmittedly) will be suffering from empty nest syndrome) I deemed now the perfect time to put operation acquire a puppy into action.
I applied online for the rescue puppy (Lola, an 8-10 week old black lab mix) on Thursday, received a congratulations call on Saturday, and mom, dad and me were on our way to a foster house in Philadelphia to pick her up at 11am Sunday morning. (Talk about a last minute puppy supplies scramble!) There were 17 puppies waiting to be adopted that day from Wet Nose Rescue, all of which would have been put down had they not been adopted. “Lola” and her 3 sisters and 1 brother came up from South Carolina, where they were born from a stray dog in a woodpile. The adoption organization was great and gave us all sorts of info, supplies and samples with our new pup.
She was very well behaved on the ride home and after many name and spellings debate, we settled on calling her “Cole.” Which I had had picked out for a long time now. Cole started out a little timid but enjoyed exploring her new home. We gave her a dish soap bath (Dawn apparently kills fleas) and spent most of the day playing with her and her new yellow frog beanie on the back deck. Cole enjoyed nibbling on Mom’s tomato plant when she wasn’t looking, and often sometimes when she was looking, as well as snuggling under a big blue blanket in the backyard and sneaking under the deck whenever possible. She didn’t eat too much the first day, but she did an excellent job of sitting by the grill “assisting” dad cook dinner.
Monday 5/11
Cole went to bed around 11 and woke up around 5:30 am. We played for a little while then fell asleep on the family room floor together. Cole woke up as the rest of the family went about their routines and I continued my nap on the couch. Cole fell asleep again watching Squawk Box with dad (who wouldn’t?) and I got up around 8:30. Later on she ran around with my birthday balloon, and joined dad and I on a Petsmart trip to pick out chew toys and treats. Cole chose a minty rope toy and a snuggly little squeaky lamb. She also received several dozen belly rubs from the Petsmart employees. Upon arriving home she began chewing everything in sight except for her new toys (my left arm took the brunt of it), and also let out a little excited pee for mom when she got home. Apparently she doesn’t realize that she hasn’t completely won mom over yet and this little incident did not earn her any points. Successful second bath in the evening.
Tuesday 5/12
2&4 am wake ups, handled by dad. I woke up to a surprise shower of puppy kisses provided by Cole with the help of mom. Cole proceeded to make a startling yaking noise after this which had mom running her downstairs so fast I found myself wondering whether I had dreamed the whole thing. Cole and I ate breakfast after that and she settled down for a nap while I scooted over to Petsmart for more supplies (found a cute puppy-sized plaid collar on sale!) I took her for a walk when I got home, using her brand new red harness. We did one block and only stalled once in front of a big German Sheppard with a loud bark. Cole answered back with her own little growl once we were a safe 20 yards past the house. She sprinted the last 50 yards home. In teething puppy news, Cole’s biting force has quadrupled over night along with her hunger for human flesh, as everything from my toes to my face have come to experience. She also now has a tendency to latch onto any inch of our clothing she can and hold on for dear life.
Wednesday 5/13
4:30 and 6:30 am wake ups. Dad and I left her alone for the first time to run an errand and found she had re decorated her crate when we came back. I took her to visit mom at work later where she excitedly peed on several innocent coworkers. She was well behaved for the most part through and received several adoring belly rubs. She ventured some dangerous seat jumping on the car ride home, but passed out in the backseat shortly after. After a quick lunch we were off too the vet for Cole’s first check up! The vet technicians adored her and the vet reported that Cole was healthy with a small case of hook worms, which she received some banana flavored medicine for. Another nap on the car ride home, and another on the front lawn while I cleaned my car. Cole had an evening visit from a few of chris’ friends. She remained calm throughout the exciting visit only to explode into a fury of hyperactivity and psychotic biting after they left. Thanks guys. I blocked off the area under the computer table and side of the couch so that Cole’s secret agent tunneling into computer wire central for chew sessions would come to an end, unfortunately this has not put an end to her affection for chewing and biting everything else in site. After an unsuccessful walk attempt later on, we settled for running laps around the house practicing the “come” command which Cole has come to excel at. Some over zealous biting and jumpy later on landed Cole in her crate around 10:30.
Thursday 5/14
5:30am wake up to a rainy day with lots of naps. Cole has a habit of running and stretching in her sleep then accidentally rolling off her pillow. Its hilarious and adorable. When the rain cleared later, we took a field trip with dad to community park to check on Chris’ Eagle Scout project benches. Cole did some running around there, and very much enjoyed jumping off the benches and eating dirt. She looked extremely cute and hip in her new plaid collar and hot red harness. She napped some more at home and we ran laps round the house again after another unsuccessful walk attempt (what kind of Labrador is she anyways??) Well she is currently the kind of Labrador that enjoys dragging kitchen rugs over to her pillow in the family room to chew on, attempting to eat her own dog tag while its attached to her, and tunneling under the computer table to gnaw wires in peace. In other news, I trimmed Cole’s nails to avoid further scarring on my part, she is eating more and is doing very well with her house training and she is still cute as a bug. More tales to follow
Lauren
Mothers Day and Dad’s Birthday. Who can think of a better day to bring home a brand new bouncing, biting, licking, dirt eating puppy?! ( I for one cannot imagine a better possible scenario, however it‘s very likely that my mom could have….very easily, in fact)
Anyways here is the back-story. I have been campaigning for a new family dog/puppy for over a year now, and decided that since I have no current job prospects for the summer and Chris and I are both leaving in the fall (at which point mom (obviously but unadmittedly) will be suffering from empty nest syndrome) I deemed now the perfect time to put operation acquire a puppy into action.
I applied online for the rescue puppy (Lola, an 8-10 week old black lab mix) on Thursday, received a congratulations call on Saturday, and mom, dad and me were on our way to a foster house in Philadelphia to pick her up at 11am Sunday morning. (Talk about a last minute puppy supplies scramble!) There were 17 puppies waiting to be adopted that day from Wet Nose Rescue, all of which would have been put down had they not been adopted. “Lola” and her 3 sisters and 1 brother came up from South Carolina, where they were born from a stray dog in a woodpile. The adoption organization was great and gave us all sorts of info, supplies and samples with our new pup.
She was very well behaved on the ride home and after many name and spellings debate, we settled on calling her “Cole.” Which I had had picked out for a long time now. Cole started out a little timid but enjoyed exploring her new home. We gave her a dish soap bath (Dawn apparently kills fleas) and spent most of the day playing with her and her new yellow frog beanie on the back deck. Cole enjoyed nibbling on Mom’s tomato plant when she wasn’t looking, and often sometimes when she was looking, as well as snuggling under a big blue blanket in the backyard and sneaking under the deck whenever possible. She didn’t eat too much the first day, but she did an excellent job of sitting by the grill “assisting” dad cook dinner.
Monday 5/11
Cole went to bed around 11 and woke up around 5:30 am. We played for a little while then fell asleep on the family room floor together. Cole woke up as the rest of the family went about their routines and I continued my nap on the couch. Cole fell asleep again watching Squawk Box with dad (who wouldn’t?) and I got up around 8:30. Later on she ran around with my birthday balloon, and joined dad and I on a Petsmart trip to pick out chew toys and treats. Cole chose a minty rope toy and a snuggly little squeaky lamb. She also received several dozen belly rubs from the Petsmart employees. Upon arriving home she began chewing everything in sight except for her new toys (my left arm took the brunt of it), and also let out a little excited pee for mom when she got home. Apparently she doesn’t realize that she hasn’t completely won mom over yet and this little incident did not earn her any points. Successful second bath in the evening.
Tuesday 5/12
2&4 am wake ups, handled by dad. I woke up to a surprise shower of puppy kisses provided by Cole with the help of mom. Cole proceeded to make a startling yaking noise after this which had mom running her downstairs so fast I found myself wondering whether I had dreamed the whole thing. Cole and I ate breakfast after that and she settled down for a nap while I scooted over to Petsmart for more supplies (found a cute puppy-sized plaid collar on sale!) I took her for a walk when I got home, using her brand new red harness. We did one block and only stalled once in front of a big German Sheppard with a loud bark. Cole answered back with her own little growl once we were a safe 20 yards past the house. She sprinted the last 50 yards home. In teething puppy news, Cole’s biting force has quadrupled over night along with her hunger for human flesh, as everything from my toes to my face have come to experience. She also now has a tendency to latch onto any inch of our clothing she can and hold on for dear life.
Wednesday 5/13
4:30 and 6:30 am wake ups. Dad and I left her alone for the first time to run an errand and found she had re decorated her crate when we came back. I took her to visit mom at work later where she excitedly peed on several innocent coworkers. She was well behaved for the most part through and received several adoring belly rubs. She ventured some dangerous seat jumping on the car ride home, but passed out in the backseat shortly after. After a quick lunch we were off too the vet for Cole’s first check up! The vet technicians adored her and the vet reported that Cole was healthy with a small case of hook worms, which she received some banana flavored medicine for. Another nap on the car ride home, and another on the front lawn while I cleaned my car. Cole had an evening visit from a few of chris’ friends. She remained calm throughout the exciting visit only to explode into a fury of hyperactivity and psychotic biting after they left. Thanks guys. I blocked off the area under the computer table and side of the couch so that Cole’s secret agent tunneling into computer wire central for chew sessions would come to an end, unfortunately this has not put an end to her affection for chewing and biting everything else in site. After an unsuccessful walk attempt later on, we settled for running laps around the house practicing the “come” command which Cole has come to excel at. Some over zealous biting and jumpy later on landed Cole in her crate around 10:30.
Thursday 5/14
5:30am wake up to a rainy day with lots of naps. Cole has a habit of running and stretching in her sleep then accidentally rolling off her pillow. Its hilarious and adorable. When the rain cleared later, we took a field trip with dad to community park to check on Chris’ Eagle Scout project benches. Cole did some running around there, and very much enjoyed jumping off the benches and eating dirt. She looked extremely cute and hip in her new plaid collar and hot red harness. She napped some more at home and we ran laps round the house again after another unsuccessful walk attempt (what kind of Labrador is she anyways??) Well she is currently the kind of Labrador that enjoys dragging kitchen rugs over to her pillow in the family room to chew on, attempting to eat her own dog tag while its attached to her, and tunneling under the computer table to gnaw wires in peace. In other news, I trimmed Cole’s nails to avoid further scarring on my part, she is eating more and is doing very well with her house training and she is still cute as a bug. More tales to follow
Lauren
Prague Wrap Up
Saturday (4/25) was a sunny final day in pretty Prague. I walked from the Mustek metro stop over to the metronome/skate park to get a last view of the beautiful red-roofed city. I wandered around in the park area up there for a while, found a little restaurant/house place with a gorgeous view of the river and bridges outside, watched oddles of dogs frolicking about and eventually made my way back to the hostel. Later that evening Andrew, Jeremy, Terry, Gennie and I went to ordinary people for a last meal and beer. Some final packing after that (mostly watching Blakeley try to stuff 4 tons of clothing in 2 half broken suitcases) and then some thinking about home, summer plans and how this trip has changed the way I feel going back to it all. I think these past three months in Prague have changed the way I look at the world, the way I think about other people and other cultures, and most of all how I see my own culture and the things that make it home for me. I’m so grateful for the experiences I had and the lessons I’ve learned. My only wish is that my family someday have the same opportunity they gave to me .
Lauren
And now as my blogs about Prague come to a close, a new blog worthy interest has entered my life, in the form of a frisky 11 pound black lab-mix little girl puppy named Cole. Begin: The Puppy Tales
Lauren
And now as my blogs about Prague come to a close, a new blog worthy interest has entered my life, in the form of a frisky 11 pound black lab-mix little girl puppy named Cole. Begin: The Puppy Tales
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The Last Week.....
Sunday night Gennie, Jeremy and I ended up seeing Gran Torino at the Flora cinema. The movie was really good but a little bit lacking in dialogue and a little bit substituting with racial stereotyping…also fairly predictable but still a strong story. I really liked the song at the end.
Monday 4/20
Jeremy and I attempted to go to one of Prague’s better flea markets, but found it short on cool stuff and full of sunglasses, strange souvenirs and crappy clothes. Disappointing.. Off to studio after that. Last group meeting; I gave Dana my revised version of the handbook which she seemed impressed with, then some online job hunting for me while everyone else finished up their cocktail dresses. I went back to the hostel to study beekeeping after that.
Tuesday 4/21
Went for a morning run, then skyped mom and studied bees some more. We took our exam at 3:30, and Dalibor gave us our grades an hour later. I managed an A on the test which equals an A for the semester! Hooray. I fiddled around with some little fabric crafts after that then went back to the hostel to begin getting my things organized for home (holy crap!) Skyped dad there too.
Wednesday 4/22
We turned in our final fashion history papers then headed out to the castle for our cocktail dress photo shoot. We mostly just took pictures in little nooks of the town around the castle, but everywhere we went was really pretty and we had a nice (tad bit chilly) day so I think the pictures will turn out really well. Eleanor and I left together when we were done and hopped on the tram. We traveled about 50 feet before the tram stopped and kicked us out along with the passengers of 3 other stopped trams. We were not sure why this happened, but with all the confusion, scrambling, and misdirected people (including ourselves) it felt like the world was coming to an end. Eleanor and I thrust ourselves into the crowd of people moving rapidly down the hill hoping for the best. After a steady trek downhill and several crazed traffic sprints we made it to the metro station and normalcy and boarded the green line safely back to studio. I popped into the Landscape architecture open house, saw the cool stuff they have been slaving over for the last few weeks, snagged a free glass of wine and made my way back to the hostel.
Thursday 4/23
We slept in a little bit, then began preparations for our evening performance/final show. After some primping and final costume adjustments we made our way over to the small art gallery/our performance space. This was about 2pm. We ran through the play several times, began drinking, then ran through it some more. Eleanor and I took a break to go find a flower shop (for Nina) and searched the nearby streets, sketchily drinking beer out of our pockets. We were successful in our flower hunt (though we had some small communication troubles with the florist) then decided to pick up some liquor for Ladislav (he is always stealing sips of ours so we thought this would be appropriate.) We snuck successfully back into the space without being seen, and then Blakeley arrived about 15 minutes after us with another bundle of flowers for Nina (oooops!) small communication error but not a major problem. Our show went on around 5:30 in front a crowded little audience. It went pretty smoothly -only a few minor hiccups that mostly went unnoticed, then it was cocktail dress time. We did a little catwalk to Michael Jackson and we were done! Hooray! Time for wine and dinner. We lugged all of our stuff back to the studio then took a very scenic ride on Tram 22 to the Monastery where we had our first group dinner way back in January. I explored the pretty gardens and scenery outside for a bit with Fernando, Ben and John, (everything was so green and thick, and mystical feeling. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to run around like a little kid playing tag and hide and go seek till its too dark to see) then we returned inside with the others and began our evening of excellent beer and food. I had a half liter of the mixed (light and dark) beer and one of straight dark. Delicious Klaster. Also it’s worth mentioning that Lorna themed the night “Mustache Mayhem,” and so Martin (landscape professor) went around drawing exotic mustaches on everyone’s faces with Eleanor’s eyeliner (much to her dismay.) He gave me a pair of scary eyebrows, which I later wiped off in favor of a squiggly mustache. It was nice to end things where they began.
Friday 4/24
We slept in and after I did some organizing in the hostel, I made my way over to studio with Rima to clean our stuff out of there. Ladislav greeted us at the door offering champagne and shots of Beckerovka. (this was about 2pm mind you, though he had been offering them to others all morning) I cleaned up my stuff, turned in my key, then went down to the market to search for last minute souvenirs for a particular brother who has too many t shirts, for me to possibly bring him home another one. I settled on something appropriate for a graduating senior then loaded up my studio stuff and headed back to the hostel. After some more organizing and packing I got ready for the birthday dinner we had planned. I was Briand and Blakeley’s birthday with mine coming on Monday so we decided to go out to a Staropramen Restaurant with a small gang to celebrate. The restaurant was definitely on the slow side with delivering the food, but once it came the wait didn’t seem so bad. Delicious. Add in two beers and a funfetti cake from Katelyn and Jess, and I was happy (and stuffed) camper. Back To the hostel after dinner, where we decked ourselves out in our best 80’s fashions for a night of 80’s and 90’s music at the very popular Lucerna Music Bar. I rocked a side ponytail, big hoops and my newly acquired white rimmed shades. We ended the night on Billie Jean (which might as well be the theme song for the whole trip) around 2:40 am and caught the 51 tram outside just in time. Terry was proud to show us how he had sweated entirely through two layers of clothes (including a canary yellow hoodie with cut off sleeves. Viva the 80‘s!) Great last night in Prague.
Saturday 4/25
Today is a day of last minute picture taking, final packing, and final beer enjoyment. Nothing really panned other than that. Maybe one last trip to the French onion soup place around the corner (Ordinary People) for dinner. 9 am shuttle to the airport tomorrow.
Things I’ve failed to mention about Prague so far
PDA is everywhere and it’s out of control (dry humping and ear licking on public transit, On a daily basis!)
Bright colored tights are all the rage
Chips, popcorn etc. come in three main flavors: salted, paprika, bacon
They love their 80’s music here, and I love them for it :)
Lauren
Monday 4/20
Jeremy and I attempted to go to one of Prague’s better flea markets, but found it short on cool stuff and full of sunglasses, strange souvenirs and crappy clothes. Disappointing.. Off to studio after that. Last group meeting; I gave Dana my revised version of the handbook which she seemed impressed with, then some online job hunting for me while everyone else finished up their cocktail dresses. I went back to the hostel to study beekeeping after that.
Tuesday 4/21
Went for a morning run, then skyped mom and studied bees some more. We took our exam at 3:30, and Dalibor gave us our grades an hour later. I managed an A on the test which equals an A for the semester! Hooray. I fiddled around with some little fabric crafts after that then went back to the hostel to begin getting my things organized for home (holy crap!) Skyped dad there too.
Wednesday 4/22
We turned in our final fashion history papers then headed out to the castle for our cocktail dress photo shoot. We mostly just took pictures in little nooks of the town around the castle, but everywhere we went was really pretty and we had a nice (tad bit chilly) day so I think the pictures will turn out really well. Eleanor and I left together when we were done and hopped on the tram. We traveled about 50 feet before the tram stopped and kicked us out along with the passengers of 3 other stopped trams. We were not sure why this happened, but with all the confusion, scrambling, and misdirected people (including ourselves) it felt like the world was coming to an end. Eleanor and I thrust ourselves into the crowd of people moving rapidly down the hill hoping for the best. After a steady trek downhill and several crazed traffic sprints we made it to the metro station and normalcy and boarded the green line safely back to studio. I popped into the Landscape architecture open house, saw the cool stuff they have been slaving over for the last few weeks, snagged a free glass of wine and made my way back to the hostel.
Thursday 4/23
We slept in a little bit, then began preparations for our evening performance/final show. After some primping and final costume adjustments we made our way over to the small art gallery/our performance space. This was about 2pm. We ran through the play several times, began drinking, then ran through it some more. Eleanor and I took a break to go find a flower shop (for Nina) and searched the nearby streets, sketchily drinking beer out of our pockets. We were successful in our flower hunt (though we had some small communication troubles with the florist) then decided to pick up some liquor for Ladislav (he is always stealing sips of ours so we thought this would be appropriate.) We snuck successfully back into the space without being seen, and then Blakeley arrived about 15 minutes after us with another bundle of flowers for Nina (oooops!) small communication error but not a major problem. Our show went on around 5:30 in front a crowded little audience. It went pretty smoothly -only a few minor hiccups that mostly went unnoticed, then it was cocktail dress time. We did a little catwalk to Michael Jackson and we were done! Hooray! Time for wine and dinner. We lugged all of our stuff back to the studio then took a very scenic ride on Tram 22 to the Monastery where we had our first group dinner way back in January. I explored the pretty gardens and scenery outside for a bit with Fernando, Ben and John, (everything was so green and thick, and mystical feeling. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to run around like a little kid playing tag and hide and go seek till its too dark to see) then we returned inside with the others and began our evening of excellent beer and food. I had a half liter of the mixed (light and dark) beer and one of straight dark. Delicious Klaster. Also it’s worth mentioning that Lorna themed the night “Mustache Mayhem,” and so Martin (landscape professor) went around drawing exotic mustaches on everyone’s faces with Eleanor’s eyeliner (much to her dismay.) He gave me a pair of scary eyebrows, which I later wiped off in favor of a squiggly mustache. It was nice to end things where they began.
Friday 4/24
We slept in and after I did some organizing in the hostel, I made my way over to studio with Rima to clean our stuff out of there. Ladislav greeted us at the door offering champagne and shots of Beckerovka. (this was about 2pm mind you, though he had been offering them to others all morning) I cleaned up my stuff, turned in my key, then went down to the market to search for last minute souvenirs for a particular brother who has too many t shirts, for me to possibly bring him home another one. I settled on something appropriate for a graduating senior then loaded up my studio stuff and headed back to the hostel. After some more organizing and packing I got ready for the birthday dinner we had planned. I was Briand and Blakeley’s birthday with mine coming on Monday so we decided to go out to a Staropramen Restaurant with a small gang to celebrate. The restaurant was definitely on the slow side with delivering the food, but once it came the wait didn’t seem so bad. Delicious. Add in two beers and a funfetti cake from Katelyn and Jess, and I was happy (and stuffed) camper. Back To the hostel after dinner, where we decked ourselves out in our best 80’s fashions for a night of 80’s and 90’s music at the very popular Lucerna Music Bar. I rocked a side ponytail, big hoops and my newly acquired white rimmed shades. We ended the night on Billie Jean (which might as well be the theme song for the whole trip) around 2:40 am and caught the 51 tram outside just in time. Terry was proud to show us how he had sweated entirely through two layers of clothes (including a canary yellow hoodie with cut off sleeves. Viva the 80‘s!) Great last night in Prague.
Saturday 4/25
Today is a day of last minute picture taking, final packing, and final beer enjoyment. Nothing really panned other than that. Maybe one last trip to the French onion soup place around the corner (Ordinary People) for dinner. 9 am shuttle to the airport tomorrow.
Things I’ve failed to mention about Prague so far
PDA is everywhere and it’s out of control (dry humping and ear licking on public transit, On a daily basis!)
Bright colored tights are all the rage
Chips, popcorn etc. come in three main flavors: salted, paprika, bacon
They love their 80’s music here, and I love them for it :)
Lauren
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
In the Spirit of Heading Home Soon...
Things I’m looking forward to at home:
Cooking and baking with normal supplies
English speaking grocery store workers
A mosquito-free bedroom
Proper pedicure supplies (much needed!)
Availability and affordability of cheddar cheese
non plastic-tasting cereal bars
Smoke-free restaurants
Craft supplies (and a spacious family room to spread them out in. wink)
Using a telephone
Driving
Ma, Pa and Chris
Things I crave from home:
Red Robin crispy chicken salad
Big leafy salads of any kind
Reese’s peanut butter cups
Cookout milkshake
Italian Dressing
Herr’s sour cream and onion chips
Fresh clean t-shirts
Summer wardrobe
Flip flops
Things I will miss about Prague:
Good beer at great prices. wine too
Cobblestones
Colorful buildings
Open-ended explorations
Breathtaking views
Friends
Pubs & clubs
Public transportation
Musli granola
Lauren
Cooking and baking with normal supplies
English speaking grocery store workers
A mosquito-free bedroom
Proper pedicure supplies (much needed!)
Availability and affordability of cheddar cheese
non plastic-tasting cereal bars
Smoke-free restaurants
Craft supplies (and a spacious family room to spread them out in. wink)
Using a telephone
Driving
Ma, Pa and Chris
Things I crave from home:
Red Robin crispy chicken salad
Big leafy salads of any kind
Reese’s peanut butter cups
Cookout milkshake
Italian Dressing
Herr’s sour cream and onion chips
Fresh clean t-shirts
Summer wardrobe
Flip flops
Things I will miss about Prague:
Good beer at great prices. wine too
Cobblestones
Colorful buildings
Open-ended explorations
Breathtaking views
Friends
Pubs & clubs
Public transportation
Musli granola
Lauren
Sunday, April 19, 2009
One week to go..
Second to last week in Prague, ahhhh!
Sunday (4/12) was relaxing day on my own -a big part of our group was away on an all day philosophy field trip. I decided to explore the city area behind our hostel, but found it pretty dead with it being Easter day and all. So I came back to the hostel, gathered up our months worth of beer bottles and went to grocery store down the street to cash them in and get some lunch. The bottles earned me a 45 Koruna credit (3 Kc each!) so I picked up some cereal, milk and fruit (I’m craving the normalcies of home) and came back to eat it. After that I strolled down to a little park I found while exploring and sat in the sun for a while reading. It was very nice and there were actually quite a few people frolicking about the park. More milk and cereal for dinner (my addiction has resumed) and a pretty quiet night.
Monday 4/13
I woke up early to go tot the fabric store before studio, but after making the long trek out there I found it closed for “Easter Monday,” which is apparently a big deal here. Went to studio after that and made the muslin of my cocktail dress. Nina and Ladislav took us to Muzeum after class to see and old dress collection/exhibit. It featured some very old and unique wedding dresses from throughout the decades. Apparently people were extremely tiny before 1920, and also wedding dresses were not so often white.
Tuesday 4/14
I took a solo trip to go see the Prague castle, since I was apparently the only one who hadn’t gone. The walk up to it was a sweaty one, but the day was beautiful and so w
ere the views of the city below. I made it there just in time for a small changing of guards on the back entrance at 11am. Inside the courtyard area I saw St. Vitus’s Cathedral and St. George’s Basilica but opted not to go inside due to the long lines and steep ticket price. I walked around the side of the complex through the Gardens on the Ramparts, which were sooo beautif
ul. Everything was in full bloom and chirping the morning away, and the view of the red-roofed town below was so pretty and peaceful. I could have stayed there for a while…but I kept moving toward the front of the castle where I witnessed the 12pm big changing of the guards -very formal and kinda boring. I saw the battling Titans on the front gate (sculpted in the 18th century) then made my way back through the inner courtyards once again and back down through the streets of Mala Strana. I made another more hopeful trip to the fabric store, and happily found it open. I picked out materials for my cocktail dress and a side project dress then made my way to the studio for beekeeping class at 2:30. Class was long and kinda dull as we learned about bee diseases and infestations (note: mites are gross and disgusting to watch videos of) I was also extremely hungry, so that made it feel a lot longer. After class I was grumpy, from having not eaten so I made some stove popcorn and headed back to the hostel to eat and de-grumpify. Jeremy and I walked around the dog park down the street later on and witnessed several psychotic dogs wrestling each other and one massive dog rape scene. I was not very pleased with a certain dog named “Humphreyyy!!” after that and so we left soon after.
Wednesday 4/15
I made my entire cocktail dress today (I was very motivated and barely took a break to use the bathroom) but I was very satisfied with the final product and myself afterwards, It feels pretty good to be done with all the work and ahead of everyone else.. Stress free :) We had our last fashion history class as well. I had chicken and rice for dinner and left for the hostel afterwards to fit in a run. Excellent night for a run; perfect weather.
Thursday 4/16
I didn’t have much to do in studio, so I wrote my final fashion history paper, then worked on revising the Prague handbook, since it is seriously lacking in useful information. After that we technically had fashion illustration but most people were in intense costume sewing mode, so it sort of got ignored. Gennie and I went for a stroll around town and bought some souvenirs, then we came back to the institute and I left after dinner again for another run.
Friday 4/17
Today was rainy for the first time in a while and chilly so it was a stay indoors kinda d
ay. I didn’t have much to do so I decided to go into studio to work on my side project dress. I finished after dinner and once again was really happy with the end product. I’m definitely understanding garment construction better than I did before this semester and I’m producing more interesting designs with slightly more complicated constructions. I feel a lot more confident in my sewing abilities and I’m very excited about it :) Leftover chicken and rice for dinner and then early night to prepare for photo shoot on Saturday.
Saturday 4/18
Arrived at studio at 9 am to get our make up done by the make up artist, then final costume checks and we
were off to the performance space for the photo shoot. Jeremy and I were the first ones to go (as Lysander and Hermia) and it was a little awkward because you never really know what to do in front of the camera, pose wise that is. But we gave it our best try and I think there were some good ones. Blakeley and Gennie joined us next and I think the pictures got a little better. After our group was done Ladislav whipped out champagne to get everyone feeling loose (a little late Ladie!!) so everyone else’s pictures went pretty smoothly and we all got a little giddy and took silly pictures of our own. We also ran through the play/performance once or twice and determined that it probably just wont look that smooth. Oh well.
We finished up around 4:00 and after a fun but long day we treked back to the studio and immediately started seeking out food. I had a chicken nugget snack then went back to the hostel to await our Thai food plans for 6:30. I went to “Orange Moon” in the flora mall with Brian, Blakeley, Eleanor, and Laura-Nelle. I ordered fried rice with chicken and vegetable and it was delicious. After dinner
we got ready to go out early because the place we were going offered a discounted cover price of 50 Koruna for arrivals before 10pm. Worth it! We went to Karlovy Lazne, the “Biggest Dance Club in Central Europe,” which has 5 floors with different dance themes and lounges. The few of us that went early bought beer and played a few drinking games up on the fifth floor while waiting for the group that just couldn’t leave that early. They arrived around 11:30pm and we all spent most of our time on the 80’s themed 3rd floor with the light up floor. As a bonus I found a cute, fun pair of white rimmed sunglasses on the ground of one of the floors which I kept as a souvenir. whoo! Jeremy and I left around 1:30 feeling severely dehydrated and stopped in Wenceslas square for some juice while we waited for the tram. Fun day and night :)
Sunday
Today I went with Terry, Jeremy and Andrew to this crazy big scenic mountain/hill that is on the way to the airport. I had been wanting to go hike around there for a while and they wanted to go too. So we used the path, which ran through a pretty field of dandelions, to climb up the smaller of the mountains then decided to climb down this mountain, in order to climb up the other one (they were not connected) it was a really fun climb down that ended in a little babbling brook. then we were on our way up, through a field of blooming pear trees and verrry steep dirt trail and finally, after a little heaving, at the top of the big mountain in the bright green grass and refreshing breeze. Aaaaah, serenity. The views all around were beautiful and it was nice to just lay there in the grass for a little while enjoying nature. After a few replenishing snacks, we spread out Jeremy’s stolen airplane blanket and played several games of hearts (which I am really beginning to enjoy.) We played 3 rounds or so and I ended up winning , having only accumulated 1 point. Andrew, who was also a beginner, came in second. Haha the novices conquer all. After that we began our climb down and back up and back down over both mountains and back to the real world where studio work awaited (but not for me!) we stopped at the mcDonalds at the bus stop for some more sustenance. I got a strawberry milkshake that didn’t compare to a Cookout milkshake, and thus gave half to Andrew. Wonderful morning and afternoon. I would love to return to that area if time allows me. Plan for tonight is movie at Flora mall (with popcorn!!)
I’ll be home in a week (…where has the semester gone?!)
Lauren
Sunday (4/12) was relaxing day on my own -a big part of our group was away on an all day philosophy field trip. I decided to explore the city area behind our hostel, but found it pretty dead with it being Easter day and all. So I came back to the hostel, gathered up our months worth of beer bottles and went to grocery store down the street to cash them in and get some lunch. The bottles earned me a 45 Koruna credit (3 Kc each!) so I picked up some cereal, milk and fruit (I’m craving the normalcies of home) and came back to eat it. After that I strolled down to a little park I found while exploring and sat in the sun for a while reading. It was very nice and there were actually quite a few people frolicking about the park. More milk and cereal for dinner (my addiction has resumed) and a pretty quiet night.
Monday 4/13
I woke up early to go tot the fabric store before studio, but after making the long trek out there I found it closed for “Easter Monday,” which is apparently a big deal here. Went to studio after that and made the muslin of my cocktail dress. Nina and Ladislav took us to Muzeum after class to see and old dress collection/exhibit. It featured some very old and unique wedding dresses from throughout the decades. Apparently people were extremely tiny before 1920, and also wedding dresses were not so often white.
Tuesday 4/14
I took a solo trip to go see the Prague castle, since I was apparently the only one who hadn’t gone. The walk up to it was a sweaty one, but the day was beautiful and so w
ere the views of the city below. I made it there just in time for a small changing of guards on the back entrance at 11am. Inside the courtyard area I saw St. Vitus’s Cathedral and St. George’s Basilica but opted not to go inside due to the long lines and steep ticket price. I walked around the side of the complex through the Gardens on the Ramparts, which were sooo beautif
ul. Everything was in full bloom and chirping the morning away, and the view of the red-roofed town below was so pretty and peaceful. I could have stayed there for a while…but I kept moving toward the front of the castle where I witnessed the 12pm big changing of the guards -very formal and kinda boring. I saw the battling Titans on the front gate (sculpted in the 18th century) then made my way back through the inner courtyards once again and back down through the streets of Mala Strana. I made another more hopeful trip to the fabric store, and happily found it open. I picked out materials for my cocktail dress and a side project dress then made my way to the studio for beekeeping class at 2:30. Class was long and kinda dull as we learned about bee diseases and infestations (note: mites are gross and disgusting to watch videos of) I was also extremely hungry, so that made it feel a lot longer. After class I was grumpy, from having not eaten so I made some stove popcorn and headed back to the hostel to eat and de-grumpify. Jeremy and I walked around the dog park down the street later on and witnessed several psychotic dogs wrestling each other and one massive dog rape scene. I was not very pleased with a certain dog named “Humphreyyy!!” after that and so we left soon after.Wednesday 4/15
I made my entire cocktail dress today (I was very motivated and barely took a break to use the bathroom) but I was very satisfied with the final product and myself afterwards, It feels pretty good to be done with all the work and ahead of everyone else.. Stress free :) We had our last fashion history class as well. I had chicken and rice for dinner and left for the hostel afterwards to fit in a run. Excellent night for a run; perfect weather.
Thursday 4/16
I didn’t have much to do in studio, so I wrote my final fashion history paper, then worked on revising the Prague handbook, since it is seriously lacking in useful information. After that we technically had fashion illustration but most people were in intense costume sewing mode, so it sort of got ignored. Gennie and I went for a stroll around town and bought some souvenirs, then we came back to the institute and I left after dinner again for another run.
Friday 4/17
Today was rainy for the first time in a while and chilly so it was a stay indoors kinda d
ay. I didn’t have much to do so I decided to go into studio to work on my side project dress. I finished after dinner and once again was really happy with the end product. I’m definitely understanding garment construction better than I did before this semester and I’m producing more interesting designs with slightly more complicated constructions. I feel a lot more confident in my sewing abilities and I’m very excited about it :) Leftover chicken and rice for dinner and then early night to prepare for photo shoot on Saturday.Saturday 4/18
Arrived at studio at 9 am to get our make up done by the make up artist, then final costume checks and we
were off to the performance space for the photo shoot. Jeremy and I were the first ones to go (as Lysander and Hermia) and it was a little awkward because you never really know what to do in front of the camera, pose wise that is. But we gave it our best try and I think there were some good ones. Blakeley and Gennie joined us next and I think the pictures got a little better. After our group was done Ladislav whipped out champagne to get everyone feeling loose (a little late Ladie!!) so everyone else’s pictures went pretty smoothly and we all got a little giddy and took silly pictures of our own. We also ran through the play/performance once or twice and determined that it probably just wont look that smooth. Oh well.We finished up around 4:00 and after a fun but long day we treked back to the studio and immediately started seeking out food. I had a chicken nugget snack then went back to the hostel to await our Thai food plans for 6:30. I went to “Orange Moon” in the flora mall with Brian, Blakeley, Eleanor, and Laura-Nelle. I ordered fried rice with chicken and vegetable and it was delicious. After dinner
we got ready to go out early because the place we were going offered a discounted cover price of 50 Koruna for arrivals before 10pm. Worth it! We went to Karlovy Lazne, the “Biggest Dance Club in Central Europe,” which has 5 floors with different dance themes and lounges. The few of us that went early bought beer and played a few drinking games up on the fifth floor while waiting for the group that just couldn’t leave that early. They arrived around 11:30pm and we all spent most of our time on the 80’s themed 3rd floor with the light up floor. As a bonus I found a cute, fun pair of white rimmed sunglasses on the ground of one of the floors which I kept as a souvenir. whoo! Jeremy and I left around 1:30 feeling severely dehydrated and stopped in Wenceslas square for some juice while we waited for the tram. Fun day and night :)Sunday
Today I went with Terry, Jeremy and Andrew to this crazy big scenic mountain/hill that is on the way to the airport. I had been wanting to go hike around there for a while and they wanted to go too. So we used the path, which ran through a pretty field of dandelions, to climb up the smaller of the mountains then decided to climb down this mountain, in order to climb up the other one (they were not connected) it was a really fun climb down that ended in a little babbling brook. then we were on our way up, through a field of blooming pear trees and verrry steep dirt trail and finally, after a little heaving, at the top of the big mountain in the bright green grass and refreshing breeze. Aaaaah, serenity. The views all around were beautiful and it was nice to just lay there in the grass for a little while enjoying nature. After a few replenishing snacks, we spread out Jeremy’s stolen airplane blanket and played several games of hearts (which I am really beginning to enjoy.) We played 3 rounds or so and I ended up winning , having only accumulated 1 point. Andrew, who was also a beginner, came in second. Haha the novices conquer all. After that we began our climb down and back up and back down over both mountains and back to the real world where studio work awaited (but not for me!) we stopped at the mcDonalds at the bus stop for some more sustenance. I got a strawberry milkshake that didn’t compare to a Cookout milkshake, and thus gave half to Andrew. Wonderful morning and afternoon. I would love to return to that area if time allows me. Plan for tonight is movie at Flora mall (with popcorn!!)
I’ll be home in a week (…where has the semester gone?!)
Lauren
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter!
Week recap
Monday
Sunny run, studio, I finished the script for our midsummer night’s dream performance, worked on costume, made chocolate chip cookies which were very successful.
Tuesday
Double beekeeping (9-12, 2-5) Dalibor wore a “Time is Honey” t-shirt. In the second session we hollowed out egg shells and used bee’s wax to draw designs on them, then painted over it in bright colors and peeled off the wax. These painted Easter eggs are a big Czech tradition. (my eggs have been hidden on my desk, as my poor attempts would probably insult this tradition more than celebrate it)
Wednesday
Studio, then visited the space where we will put on our performance/fashion show. It looks really cool and has some old Greek statues in it (very appropriate for the play.) I walked around old town square after that, (in the bright warm sunshine!!) and perused some of the shops they have set up there. I finished my costume later on and made some more cookies.
Thursday
Studio, then Fashion History where we studied 1900-1950. I spent most of the day making a dress (that actually turned out really well!) out of some leftover material I had. When I got back to the penzion, I decided I could go for a beer. I drank about ¾ of the bottle then passed out on my bed… in all my clothes (this was about 10pm mind you, and yes I am aware of how pathetic that is) I woke up about an hour later a little bewildered and decided since everyone else was going out (and I was clearly not in the condition to do so) that I would sew some pockets on my dress. Good decision, they look pretty cute.
Friday
Zoo Praha! Awoken to another gorgeous sunny 67 degree day in Prague, we continued with our plans to visit the city zoo. After a metro ride and a bus ride packed with mini zoo-goers in strollers, (we made friends with a few leg pokers) we got to the zoo around 10:15. We saw the usual boring
bird exhibits, lots of goat/yak creatures, and lots of deer/elks. We saw the lions, tigers, hippos, flamingos etc. But the highlights for me were definitely the adorable sea otters splashing around, the pokey elephants, and the GIRAFFES! They were far way from everything else but it was so peaceful to watch them roam around in their big field, occasionally creeping close to us. Down inside the building there, they had more giraffes that were cooped up inside a glass pen. It was really cool to see them so close up but it made me sad because there were five of them all penned up in this small circular room, with barely anywhere to move. Hopefully they don’t leave them in there too long. There was a baby in there that was adorable, and in the pen over there was a huge giraffe laying down that we were pretty sure was Preggers. They were all so pretty and majestic, I could have sat and watched them all day. Another highlight w
as watching a brigade of long-tailed moneys prowl over to a gathering of ducks and chase them off their turf. They were very sneaky and funny. We also saw a polar bear who may have lost his mind. He was pacing back and forth at the top of his exhibit and kept banging on a steel door there. I thought he was just waiting for food, but this went on for several hours, because we kept passing it. So either someone forgot to feed him or the poor thing just lost it. I sort of forget how depressing zoo’s can be. It was still a nice day outside with nature though.
We left around 3:30 and Jessica Eleanor and I headed to Mala Strana to check our Petrin Hill. We began our hike up the cobblestones, and quickly realized that this hill was less hill, more mountain, so we stopped at a little market for some sustenance. We stopped
on a little grassy knoll to munch on our grapes and Tostitos, met hairy dog with a butterfly clip on its head, then continued our trek upwards. We tackled a lot of steps on our way up, but the view of the city was so beautiful as we went that I thought it was more than worth it (plus I really enjoyed the exercise.) We made it to the top, (hooray!) and were greeted with a bustling little green of activities. We ended up right under the observation tower, which was modeled after the Eiffel tower in Paris (though only ¼ it’s height). To our right was a beer garden, to the 
left was the Strahov Monastery, the Church of St. Lawrence and a Mirror maze. We snapped a few pictures of everything then had a go at the mirror maze. Turns out, the maze part was pretty easy, but it was still cool to walk around and take pictures with all the mirrors. We saw a historic painting in the next room then got to the fun house mirrors. We probably spent the most time here, as we found the simple distortions of our bodies immensely amusing. Snapped some funny pictures there, then walked through an arch in what we think was the Hunger Wall, to the other side of the hill. There was a nice green lawn here, ideal for cart-wheeling (which I quickly learned was not even a little bit feasible in the dress I was wearing, Eleanor unfortunately has evidence) We ran into Terry and Blakely here (apparently my incidental flashing alerted them to our presence) and told them to go do the mirror maze. Jess, Eleanor and I sat and played “Lime” in the grass for a little while, then move
d along. We found where the rose garden would be, if there had been roses, and took silly pictures under a tree blooming with pretty white flowers. We copped a few flowers from the tree and the many forsythia bushes for our hair, then made our way down the hill via The Funicular Tram (which we failed to notice on our way up.) we hopped a city tram home after that and got some Gelato at the tram stop. A wonderful day in Prague altogether, but then any day that ends in ice cream is hard to beat.
After a much needed shower and nap, we did a little boozing and headed to a music bar (club) that Ben picked out called Futurum. We had some minor trouble finding it, but the fact that it was 80’s night quickly made up for this. I arrived home to chirping birds at 3:30 am. Tough day to beat.
Saturday
Woke up and began making plans for dinner on the River. After sifting though several bank breaking restaurants. I made a reservation at Hergatova Cihelna. After that I set out on a lone advent
ure through Mala Strana (Little Quarter) which has become one of my favorite areas of Prague. I wondered a bit and perused a few shops then walked right through my destination of Kampa Island without realizing it. I checked out another Island called Streleky Ostrov which had a great few of the Charles bridge, then headed back to Kampa Park for a nap in the sun. It was nice to lay in the sun for a little while and just people watch. There was a little kid who rolled around in circles on the ground, yelling in Czech for about 15 minutes who I found pretty entertaining. After a “poke check” of my skin returned positive for sun exposure I made my way back to the metro. I got off a mustek for a brief flip flop hunt, that ended unsuccessfully, then went back to the penzion to shower and spiff up for dinner.
Our restaurant was in Mala Strana as well, right next to the Franz Kafka museum, and the infamous peeing statue/fountain outside of it. (apparently you can send a text message to some number and the statue will pee/spell out your message in the water…) anyways we were seated on the terrace, as requested, and the view wa
s phenomenal, the lights shining off the river and the Charles bridges ½ a mile away. Sighhh. The menu was a little expensive, but nothing compared to the other places we looked out, and with the wonderful atmosphere it was worth it. We had a candlelit dinner, with snuggly blankets provided, though they were hardly needed; it was a gorgeous night. Our waitress was super nice and the food and wine was delicious. I had red wine with Pasta Amatriciana. It was a great night. We ventured across the Charles bridge after dinner to cream and dream, a gelato place, then home to the penzion. Terry and I sat out on the penzion balcony for a long time. The lights of the city below were so pretty and there was a full yellow moon. The air was also just so nice I didn’t want to go inside…But I did eventually and I passed out in my clothes on my bed again. (to be fair, I had several glasses of wine at dinner and a full day in the sun, but yes its still pretty pathetic) I woke up at 1am, bewildered again, brushed my teeth, changed into pj’s and went back to sleep. Another great day enjoying Prague :)
Lauren
Monday
Sunny run, studio, I finished the script for our midsummer night’s dream performance, worked on costume, made chocolate chip cookies which were very successful.
Tuesday
Double beekeeping (9-12, 2-5) Dalibor wore a “Time is Honey” t-shirt. In the second session we hollowed out egg shells and used bee’s wax to draw designs on them, then painted over it in bright colors and peeled off the wax. These painted Easter eggs are a big Czech tradition. (my eggs have been hidden on my desk, as my poor attempts would probably insult this tradition more than celebrate it)
Wednesday
Studio, then visited the space where we will put on our performance/fashion show. It looks really cool and has some old Greek statues in it (very appropriate for the play.) I walked around old town square after that, (in the bright warm sunshine!!) and perused some of the shops they have set up there. I finished my costume later on and made some more cookies.
Thursday
Studio, then Fashion History where we studied 1900-1950. I spent most of the day making a dress (that actually turned out really well!) out of some leftover material I had. When I got back to the penzion, I decided I could go for a beer. I drank about ¾ of the bottle then passed out on my bed… in all my clothes (this was about 10pm mind you, and yes I am aware of how pathetic that is) I woke up about an hour later a little bewildered and decided since everyone else was going out (and I was clearly not in the condition to do so) that I would sew some pockets on my dress. Good decision, they look pretty cute.
Friday
Zoo Praha! Awoken to another gorgeous sunny 67 degree day in Prague, we continued with our plans to visit the city zoo. After a metro ride and a bus ride packed with mini zoo-goers in strollers, (we made friends with a few leg pokers) we got to the zoo around 10:15. We saw the usual boring
bird exhibits, lots of goat/yak creatures, and lots of deer/elks. We saw the lions, tigers, hippos, flamingos etc. But the highlights for me were definitely the adorable sea otters splashing around, the pokey elephants, and the GIRAFFES! They were far way from everything else but it was so peaceful to watch them roam around in their big field, occasionally creeping close to us. Down inside the building there, they had more giraffes that were cooped up inside a glass pen. It was really cool to see them so close up but it made me sad because there were five of them all penned up in this small circular room, with barely anywhere to move. Hopefully they don’t leave them in there too long. There was a baby in there that was adorable, and in the pen over there was a huge giraffe laying down that we were pretty sure was Preggers. They were all so pretty and majestic, I could have sat and watched them all day. Another highlight w
as watching a brigade of long-tailed moneys prowl over to a gathering of ducks and chase them off their turf. They were very sneaky and funny. We also saw a polar bear who may have lost his mind. He was pacing back and forth at the top of his exhibit and kept banging on a steel door there. I thought he was just waiting for food, but this went on for several hours, because we kept passing it. So either someone forgot to feed him or the poor thing just lost it. I sort of forget how depressing zoo’s can be. It was still a nice day outside with nature though.We left around 3:30 and Jessica Eleanor and I headed to Mala Strana to check our Petrin Hill. We began our hike up the cobblestones, and quickly realized that this hill was less hill, more mountain, so we stopped at a little market for some sustenance. We stopped
on a little grassy knoll to munch on our grapes and Tostitos, met hairy dog with a butterfly clip on its head, then continued our trek upwards. We tackled a lot of steps on our way up, but the view of the city was so beautiful as we went that I thought it was more than worth it (plus I really enjoyed the exercise.) We made it to the top, (hooray!) and were greeted with a bustling little green of activities. We ended up right under the observation tower, which was modeled after the Eiffel tower in Paris (though only ¼ it’s height). To our right was a beer garden, to the 
left was the Strahov Monastery, the Church of St. Lawrence and a Mirror maze. We snapped a few pictures of everything then had a go at the mirror maze. Turns out, the maze part was pretty easy, but it was still cool to walk around and take pictures with all the mirrors. We saw a historic painting in the next room then got to the fun house mirrors. We probably spent the most time here, as we found the simple distortions of our bodies immensely amusing. Snapped some funny pictures there, then walked through an arch in what we think was the Hunger Wall, to the other side of the hill. There was a nice green lawn here, ideal for cart-wheeling (which I quickly learned was not even a little bit feasible in the dress I was wearing, Eleanor unfortunately has evidence) We ran into Terry and Blakely here (apparently my incidental flashing alerted them to our presence) and told them to go do the mirror maze. Jess, Eleanor and I sat and played “Lime” in the grass for a little while, then move
d along. We found where the rose garden would be, if there had been roses, and took silly pictures under a tree blooming with pretty white flowers. We copped a few flowers from the tree and the many forsythia bushes for our hair, then made our way down the hill via The Funicular Tram (which we failed to notice on our way up.) we hopped a city tram home after that and got some Gelato at the tram stop. A wonderful day in Prague altogether, but then any day that ends in ice cream is hard to beat.After a much needed shower and nap, we did a little boozing and headed to a music bar (club) that Ben picked out called Futurum. We had some minor trouble finding it, but the fact that it was 80’s night quickly made up for this. I arrived home to chirping birds at 3:30 am. Tough day to beat.
Saturday
Woke up and began making plans for dinner on the River. After sifting though several bank breaking restaurants. I made a reservation at Hergatova Cihelna. After that I set out on a lone advent
ure through Mala Strana (Little Quarter) which has become one of my favorite areas of Prague. I wondered a bit and perused a few shops then walked right through my destination of Kampa Island without realizing it. I checked out another Island called Streleky Ostrov which had a great few of the Charles bridge, then headed back to Kampa Park for a nap in the sun. It was nice to lay in the sun for a little while and just people watch. There was a little kid who rolled around in circles on the ground, yelling in Czech for about 15 minutes who I found pretty entertaining. After a “poke check” of my skin returned positive for sun exposure I made my way back to the metro. I got off a mustek for a brief flip flop hunt, that ended unsuccessfully, then went back to the penzion to shower and spiff up for dinner.Our restaurant was in Mala Strana as well, right next to the Franz Kafka museum, and the infamous peeing statue/fountain outside of it. (apparently you can send a text message to some number and the statue will pee/spell out your message in the water…) anyways we were seated on the terrace, as requested, and the view wa
s phenomenal, the lights shining off the river and the Charles bridges ½ a mile away. Sighhh. The menu was a little expensive, but nothing compared to the other places we looked out, and with the wonderful atmosphere it was worth it. We had a candlelit dinner, with snuggly blankets provided, though they were hardly needed; it was a gorgeous night. Our waitress was super nice and the food and wine was delicious. I had red wine with Pasta Amatriciana. It was a great night. We ventured across the Charles bridge after dinner to cream and dream, a gelato place, then home to the penzion. Terry and I sat out on the penzion balcony for a long time. The lights of the city below were so pretty and there was a full yellow moon. The air was also just so nice I didn’t want to go inside…But I did eventually and I passed out in my clothes on my bed again. (to be fair, I had several glasses of wine at dinner and a full day in the sun, but yes its still pretty pathetic) I woke up at 1am, bewildered again, brushed my teeth, changed into pj’s and went back to sleep. Another great day enjoying Prague :)Lauren
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