Braid, Horn, Toast, Fries, Manicure, Onion Dip, Kiss, Twist, Etc.

Bonjour! Or, more accurately said with my American accent, bo sure!

I've just returned from my very first trip to Paris, the city of love, and am happy to report I did in fact find love...in the form of a strawberry and Nutella filled crepe!

This was not only my first trip to Paris, but also my first trip to France. I was eager to see the sights, and after a quick hotel snooze, I split a cab with three other flight attendants and headed into the city. One of the first things I noticed during the 20 minutes cab ride was the lack of English signage. Props to the French for fully embracing their own language, but I was just surprised by this, considering how cosmopolitan the city it.

Our first stop of the day was the Eiffel Tower. The structure itself was amazing to see and being next to this landmark was definitely one of those pinch me I feel like I'm in a movie moments! After taking the obligatory cheese ball Eiffel Tower  pictures, I bid farewell to the other flight attendants and set out for my afternoon adventure, solo style!

As much as I do like the company of others, there's something equally enjoyable about being able to discover a new city at my own pace. With frequent bathroom breaks, slow walkers, and stopping for photos every 30 seconds, sightseeing with other flight attendants frequently turns into being one Lisa Frank lunchbox short of a fieldtrip!

My main objective for the afternoon was to just wander! With the famous quote in mind...a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single bite of Nutella....or something like that, I grabbed a delicious crepe and a coffee latte from an outdoor café. Sitting on a set of concrete steps and divulging in my afternoon snack while taking in the views of the Seine River to my left and the Eiffel Tower to my right, was beyond peaceful. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world! Not even for the plain white tee shirt I used to own, before I spilled chocolate crap crepe down the front of it.

The rest of my afternoon was spent moseying down European side streets, ducking in and out of small art galleries, and even catching an intense neighborhood game of pétanque (pronounced pa tonk.... rhymes with honkey tonk badonk a donk), a traditional French game in which the objective is to throw large balls closest to one small ball. What can I say, I'm a sucker for hunky jocks!

No matter how amazing a city may be, what really makes a layover awesome is being able to meet up with a friend while I'm there. Luckily, I knew just the girl in Paris; one of my sister's best friends, Karen!

My sister, Genny, and Karen met during their freshman year of college and have remained close friends ever since. Over the past 13 years, Karen and I have spent time together, and I think it's safe to say we are also friends. That's what Facebook considers us anyways. Karen is currently living in Paris and working in the student ministries field. I was elated when Karen and her fluent French speaking skills agreed to meet up with me.

The two of us met at a prearranged time underneath the Eiffel Tower...so romantic. We jumped on the metro and headed to the famous Notre Dam Cathedral. Unfortunately, we didn't see any hunchbacks.

Karen and I in front of Notre Dame

The next stop on our tour de Paris was for dinner at a traditional French restaurant with a fun outside seating area. Like the public signage, the menu was completely written in French. As much as I do enjoy making a fool out of myself, I decided to let Karen handle the ordering portion of our dinner. The huge seafood salad, fresh bread, and red wine all lived up to my very high expectations as to what my very first French meal should be like. So perfect!

After dinner, Karen was gracious enough to escort me to the correct train that eventually led me safely back to my hotel. A quick seven hour snooze, a seven hour flight, and here I be!

Because of our crazy schedules, my roommate, Maggie, and I had not seen each other for about three weeks, so it was a fun surprise to walk into my apartment tonight and see her cute, little self sitting on the couch. We celebrated our reunion with a little 10 P.M. P.P.P.....that's Poolside Pizza Party for all you non cool kids out there!

And on that slap happy produced joke, I'm off to bed!

Ever been to Paris? If so, what was your favorite part?

"A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life."
                                                                                                                      -Thomas Jefferson
 



 

China: Round Two

Do you ever have those moments where you're laying in bed and in reality your alarm is ringing, but in your semi conscious state you're not actually 100% sure if your 6:00 A.M. alarm is going off, or if your second grade teacher won't stop calling your Uncle Paul's cell phone to let him know that you've made the varsity cheerleading squad (yes, that is an actual dream I had)? Well that's the kind of the sleep deprivised state I'm working with right now. It's currently 5:30 P.M. in Dubai, and I'm trying really hard to talk myself into staying up until 8:00...the talk is not going real well.

So this week's sleep depriving culprit? Beijing, China; or as I like to call it, A Repeat Offender!

With my job, I don't actually get to pick my exact schedule, but I can put in preferences about what dates I wish to have off and which destinations I would like to visit.

Although China has been on my must see list for quite sometime, the reason I chose to visit this month in particular was because of my friend Steve.

Halloween 2007

Steve and I met during our sophomore year of college. We were both resident assistants (RAs) in the same building, and quickly became friends. I know all the lame connotations that come with being an RA, but if receiving free room and board is cool, then consider us Miles Davis (Billy Maddison, anyone). Although we've been out of school and living many miles apart during the past three years, we've been able to keep in touch and remain good friends.

Several months ago, Steve informed me that he was planning a trip to Beijing in May to visit his brother Brian, who lives and works in the city as a journalist. Like any sane person would do, I invited myself to join his trip for a day. After six years of friendship you are required to hang out with a person, weather you like them or not, so reluctantly, Steve and Brian spent yesterday with me, and I personally had an awesome time!

Our first stop was the Beijing Zoo, where we specifically visited to see the giant pandas! This was my first encounter with a giant panda, and they definitely won some cuteness points in my heart.

Although the pandas did live up to my cuteness expectations, I was slightly disappointed with their Mandarin to English translating skills. Unless, of course, they did mean 'Lift me up, you will know how weight 1 A.M.' In which case, I stand corrected!

After our morning at the zoo, we grabbed a quick lunch at an Aussie owned meat pie shop, Two Guys And A Pie. I devoured a mushroom and beef briquette pie, with mashed potatoes and gravy on top. This traditional Australian treat was not exactly the meal I was anticipating in China, but Brian recommended it, and it was delish!

After lunch, we wondered through a mall like market that sells everything fake you can imagine, except teeth...and they might even sell those! I may or may not be the proud, new owner of a pair of Ray-Band shades, not to be confused with the ever so popular brand, Ray-Ban!

Decked out in my new specks, we headed to a quainter area of Beijing to see Hutongs, traditional Chinese neighborhoods. Hutongs are made up of very narrow streets, and in this particular area those streets were lined with small shops and boutiques. My coolest find of the day was handmade leather bound journal. Steve not only purchased the journal as a really sweet gift for me, but also wrote me some well wishes on the last page AND stood patiently as I had the shop owner write my name on the first page using Chinese characters. What a good guy!

Hutongs

After our leisurely afternoon, we headed to a lovely Chinese restaurant that is well known for its excellent Peking Duck, a national dish of China. Besides our delicious fried duck, we enjoyed a spicy chicken and noodle dish, syrup covered pineapple, braised eggplant, and sliced cucumbers. We did, however, pass up the Chef's Special #8...friend pigeon with garlic.

Now that Steve and I are 25, have real jobs, and live independently we have mastered maturity. Not once did either of us pick up the split in half duck head and make inappropriate quacking noises. Ok, fine we did! 

Peking Duck

With full bellies and happy hearts, we went our separate ways after dinner. It was a great day, and I am soooooo thrilled times a million that I was able to spend some time with one of my favorite guys! And the fact that I was able to meet his brother and spend the day with him as well, was just Peachy :)

Side note: On the flight from Beijing to Dubai this morning, I started chatting with a fairly tall Canadian/British dude in the galley. We introduced ourselves to one another and during our conversation he ended up mentioning he was involved with professional level volleyball. I asked if he meant professional as in the Olympics, and as he stammered around answering my question, I blurted out, "I'll just Google you."

To which he seemed creeped out by! Well, news flash, I'm creepy! So, naturally, I googled him http://www.teamgb.com/athletes/jason-haldane, AND he was totally in the 2012 Olympics for UK men's volleyball. Not that I'm super into UK men's volleyball, but still a real life Olympian was in my presence.

An important lesson here folks, when in doubt ALWAYS ask for an autograph!

Later Slater!


 

Wedding and Wingdings On Water

Greetings Friends and Foes!

This past week's travels  didn't exactly lead me to a new or foreign land, but I did get to spend time with some very unique individuals who are more exotic than even some of the craziest places I've ever been.

My three crazy nieces and I getting ready for a little hotel pool party action

I traveled to Washington DC where I was able to spend a long weekend with some of my very favorite people in this world for my cousin Bryce's wedding. I was able to spend time with my entire immediate family, as well as two of my mom's siblings and their families, BONUS! The outside wedding took place on a Virginia Farm, and was absolutely gorgeous! It almost made me feel like putting aside my bitter ways and begin dreaming of my own big day. Almost.

Photo Courtesy of Melina Buck

 The reception was also held in the same location, with the dancing, eating, and drinking being semi contained in an awesomely decorated barn. As per usual, I shared a few songs with my favorite dancing partner!

While most of my family departed Virginia on Sunday, my flight for Dubai didn't leave until Tuesday, so I was able to spend a few extra days being a bum at my aunt and uncle's house. As much as I do enjoy my adventures, there's something ubber nice about just getting to experience a few days of normalcy. I read in their hammock that overlooks a lake, went on runs through the Virginia hills, ate burgers on the grill, and spent time talking about love, life, and the pursuit of happiness with my mom's only sister.

 During one such afternoon chat, we were both discussing....ok I was bawling...about how much we missed my mom and grandma's presence at this weekend's festivities. Just as I was continuing on with my typical woe is me tale, my aunt interrupted and told me to look behind me. Right outside the living room picture window, bluebirds and redbirds (my mom and grandma's favorite birds respectively), were chirping loudly, flying back and forth, and basically preforming dive bombs
just a few feet from where we were sitting. It felt like the Look Up Here scene from Steve Martin's movie The Three Amigos! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, do yourself a favor and youtube that shiznat!

With this weekend's double wammy of Mother's Day and a family function where my mom's blaring absence was almost tangible, it was fun to have yet another reminder from the other side that she's ALWAYS with us!

After returning to Dubai on Wednesday, I did one days worth of work, which was more than enough for me, before returning back to play. Yesterday, I spent my afternoon aboard my very own...rented yacht for my friend's birthday. It's a rough life, but someone's gotta live it!

Part of the crew in front of The Burj Al Arab

"Life's a garden. Dig it!" -Joe Dirt
 

The Great Wall and The Mediocre Blog

Ni Hao (Mandarin Chinese word for hello, pronounced knee how) my faithful readers!

I just finished a delicious bowl of room service Wonton Noodle Soup here in my Beijing hotel room, and decided that while this communist country may be able to block my beloved social media network, AKA Facebook, they can't take away my blog! So here I am, writing this post and simultaneously sticking it to the man...whoever the man may be.

Several weeks ago, after I finished my half marathon, I emailed one of my favorite fitness bloggers and thanked her for writing daily running posts that were filled with useful information for a newbie half marathoner, like myself. I didn't even expect a response from her, I just genuinely appreciated all of her running advice and wanted to thank her. Keep in mind, I was raised by a woman who wrote notes of gratitude to her former teachers, thank you poems to the UPS man, and once, a heartfelt letter of appreciation to her very favorite sock manufacturer! Cray cray is in my blood!

So it was much to my surprise when Sarah, from www.skinnyrunner.com, not only replied back to my email, but asked me to write a guest post for her blog! This was quite an honor for me because 1- SR is a well known blog in the running community 2- Sarah basically holds celebrity status in my mind! Not only has she ran nearly 50 marathons, but I'm also fairly certain she has more solid muscle in one square inch of her calf than I do throughout my entire body!

I finally decided it stop being Polly Procrastinator, and wrote the article this week, which SR posted yesterday. You can check it out here http://skinnyrunner.com/2013/05/07/running-around-the-globe/

With the article, I also shared a link to my blog, so if you're a new reader I'd just like to say WELCOME and I'm sorry, as this blog is a complete and utter mess! It's disorganized, it lacks general direction, and I have no clue what I'm doing with it half the time. I mean the name if the blog (Schutz and Scores) doesn't even match the blog address (booingboring), who does that?! I've seriously considering revamping the whole thing about a million times, but I actually find it to be a bit symbolic, as my life is also disorganized, lacking general direction, and I have no idea what I'm doing with it, WELL OVER half the time!

I started my blog three years ago this month (buy me some presents folks, I think we've got a birthday). At the time I was just getting ready to graduate from Western Illinois University with my degree in Social Work. I thought this blog would be a cool way to communicate with the world, and by the world I do mean my mom, about my adventures in Orlando as I interned with Walt Disney World.

My Parent's Visiting Me During My 2010 Disney Internship

Throughout the last three years, one adventure has just led to another and I've continued blogging about it all. Unfortunately, the blog ended up boring my main reader to death (pun intended), but a few of you seem to enjoy my weekly rambles, and so I just keep writing!

So yes, writing about my adventures....

While last week's layover activity left my legs quivering from fear, this week's quivering was brought on by a whole other experience. I finally accomplished my lifelong dream of making out with Channing Tatum!

PSYCH!

I visited the Great Wall of China and climbed to the top of one of the peaks. For a person who considers my self to be in fairly descent physical condition, I could not believe the muscle spasm party my legs were throwing by the time I reached the top!

Sweet mother of pearl, that was a lot of stairs! In the end, the climb was definitely worth it, as the view was absolutely gorgeous!

The view, the climb, and the history were all pretty amazing, but my favorite part of the visit was the way in which we came back down: toboggans! Basically, a metal slide winds all the way through the mountain. Visitors sit on what is essentially a scooter with a brake, and fly down to the bottom of the hill. Had those steps been a little less treacherous, I definitely would have tobogganed again!


Myself and The Crew Getting Ready to Taboggan

After visiting the Great Wall, my fellow cabin crew members and I visited the Forbidden Temple. Personally, I didn't quite understand what was so forbidden about the place, as it was seriously crowded and they seemed to be letting everyone and their dog inside! None the less, it was still an interesting historical place, and provided me with the opportunity to take cliche touristy pictures.

Interesting fact that I learned after posing for this pic, bowing is uncommon in modern day China. It is typically only used when greeting royalty or the elderly. Unlike the Japanese style, Chinese Bowing is done primarily from the shoulders up. Hmmmm, and now I know.

I'd love to share more Chinese history tidbits I learned today, but unfortunately I've got a bit of a mystery on my hands that I need to tend to. This......

just showed up in my room and I have NO IDEA how it got here! Weird.

Have a great week, everyone!