Staycation Continued

So my Staycation 2013 continues on! This week I traveled to Beirut, Lebanon and Bombay, India, only to turn around and return to Dubai the exact same day. From what I could see out of my 10 inch by 10 inch airplane window, both places looked like lovely destinations!

Thankfully, I've had plenty of company for my days off in Dubai. My friend Paula's parents and niece are visiting this week from Scotland, so it's been fun to join them as they explore Dubai. So far we've enjoyed dinner at the Cheesecake Factory inside the Dubai Mall, hung out at the beach, and celebrated with drinks as we watched the first Scot win Wimbledon in 77 years! Twas a great day to be a Scot..or at least pretending to be one.

Dubai Mall With The Wilson's

This past week also contained one of my very favorite holidays, the 4th of July! Back in my tiny hometown, Independence Day has always been a huge celebration, so being anywhere other then White Hall, Illinois on the 4th of July is slightly depressing. Since I couldn't be in the USA for the celebration, I brought the celebration to me! More accurately, the American Business Bureau of Dubai brought the celebration to me.

Celebrating the 4th of July in Dubai With Fellow Americans

This super cool event, 4th of July Over Dubai, was held at the Meydan Horse Racing Track, and featured the Whiffenpoofs (Yale University's male choir) singing patriotic songs, an American style barbeque (hot dogs, corn bread, and ice cream cones...check, check, and check), and the local Boy Scouts conducting a flag ceremony.

Confetti and The Whiffenpoofs

The grand finally of the evening was an awesome laser and fireworks show! It was so nice to experience a little slice of home during this holiday. There was something super emotional about being thousands of miles away from my home country, and joining together with fellow Americans to celebrate the good ol U.S. of A. My apologies in advance for the super loud, off key, overly patriotic girl who was basically singing right into the microphone. Whoever she may be...

 

 

The unfortunate combination of the extreme heat in Dubai and being held as a prisoner against my will in this city for an entire week, I've been forced to officially move my running to the treadmill. This week's long run called for 10 miles AKA 16.1 kilometers. Big thanks to Biggest Loser Season 14,  the building maintenance man who every so graciously propped the gym door open in order to produce some air flow, and Gu Energy Gel for getting me through 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 21 seconds of running!

 

Treadmill With A View

   

"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."  -George William Curtis

 

Have a great week, everyone!

 

Dubai Is Hot Melbourne Is Not

Greetings Friends!

If you are like millions of people around the world who have been wondering just what in the h-e double hockey sticks Kelsey has been up to this week, then boy do I have some good news for you! The long anticipated wait is over starting right....now!

Ok nothing all that exciting has happened, however, here are a few of the highlights.

Several months ago I signed up for the Chicago Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon. When I signed up for the race, I forgot that I would need to train for said race. In the summer. In Dubai. I am an idiot.

At the risk of sounding like a small child I would just like to formally state the following.

IT'S SOOOOOOOOOO HOT!

Just to give you a little bit of an idea what kind of hot we're working with here, this past week the average high was about 105 Fahrenheit. AKA the warm setting on your crock pot. So that's fun.

In order to semi combat these insane temperatures, I've been heading out for 4:30 A.M. runs around the Dubai Marina. The jogging path leads right around the water, and has some pretty awesome architectural views, like the Infinity Building, the world's tallest twisted tower. Bet you didn't even know that record existed!

Another difficulty of running in the desert is that there's not a whole lot of shade. But who needs giant weeping willows when you have concrete overpasses like these, eh? Ahhh reminds me of my own childhood, except not at all.

So besides running, hanging out with friends...

and attempting to catch up on sleep, my reserve month days are filled with obsessively checking my online work schedule and waiting by the phone to see if today will be the day I get scheduled for a flight. Last Tuesday night, just as I was heading to bed, I received a call from our crew scheduling department that basically went like this.

"Hey Kelsey, you know how you thought visions of sugar plums were going to be dancing in your head for the next eight hours? Well, how bout packing your bag for a five day trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Melbourne, Australia instead!? See ya in an hour, habibi!"

With that, I pulled on the knee highs, Aqua Netted myself silly, and headed to the airport.

I'm fairly certain that over the past two and a half years I've developed a slight disorder. I've become a travel snob. I've already been to KL and Melbourne several times, so when I found out my trip involved two repeat offenders, I was a bit disappointed. Ugh, Malaysia and Australia again?!

For the record, I'm well aware that words like these even crossing my mind is indicative that I may very well be a little thing called out of touch with reality!

And now, I will get out the world's smallest violin for the world's saddest story... One of the hardest parts of my job is the lack of a normal sleeping pattern. It's always a constant battle of knowing when to drink coffee, when to stop drinking coffee, when to take a short nap in order to wake up for a few hours and get a full night's rest, when to push myself past the 24 hour mark of being awake, and when to just crash!

Because I started this trip out sleepless in Seattle, and proceeded to bounce between six different time zones over the next five days, I was really exhausted during the majority of the trip. However, due to another disorder I struggle with, FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) I forced myself to leave my hotel room at least once everyday and embark in some form of activity. Taking the elevator to the first floor hotel spa and receiving an oil massage totally counts as an activity! Day one, done!

View Of Kuala Lumpur From My Hotel Room

The next day I worked a seven hour flight to Melbourne, where it is currently fall. I LOVE Australia for a plethora of reasons, one of the main ones being it's where some of my very favorite people in this world live or are from. My friend Jess, whom I met while working at Disney, made my week by meeting up with me for brunch. It's always so much fun to catch up with dear friends I've collected from life!

 

 

I seriously HATE when I'm walking down the street, my knees buckle, and I'm unable to move anywhere except inside the nearest bakery. And then a superhuman force takes over my body, shoves my arm into my purse, hands money over to the cashier, and before I even know what's happening, I've got a poppy seed and lemon cupcake in my hand with butter cream frosting that could have only been made my Jesus himself. So weird!

 

So after Food Fest 2013 commenced, Jess and I parted ways and I grabbed a quick snooze back in my hotel room before taking advantage of the cooler temps and completing my long run for the week. Some would say I wasn't exactly using my head when I decided to go for a nine mile run beginning at 10 P.M., but I was wearing my head warmer, so I think that kind of evens things out, no? I will say this, never underestimate the power of a homeless man whistling at you in an unlit park to make you run faster!

 

After a seven hour flight back to KL, a 24 hour uneventful layover that involved Sushi, shopping, and sleeping, another seven hour flight back to Dubai, and an afternoon nap I'm pleased to announce that I am now feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day! It's midnight.

 

Have a great week everyone!

 

"The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see." - G.K. Chesterton



Old Layover, New Baby

Do you ever get the feeling that some things in this world are just meant to be?

Mickey and Minnie. Sonny and Cher. Peanut Butter and Jelly. Kelsey and Bangkok.

No matter how much I try to stay away from this city, fate always brings us back together. Actually, Emirates' crew scheduling department usually brings us back together, but the other way sounds so much more whimsical.

After completing the first half of my fairly uneventful reserve month, I was crossing my fingers and tattooed toes for a layover in Viena, Amsterdam, Prauge, or anywhere that is in need of a tick off my ol bucket list. So naturally, when I received the news that I'd be traveling to Bangkok this week, I was slightly disappointed. However, I quickly turned that frown upside down when  I discovered my friend Dominique was also working the flight. Instantaneously my three day work trip turned into my three day vacation. Life is all about perspective people!

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

If Dom looks slightly familiar, I can almost promise you that unless you're also a 20 something net ball player from Perth, Australia, it's because she was featured in this here blog when we went backpacking in Thailand together in March.  We had such a blast during our first visit, I had no doubt that round two would be any different.

After delivering our award winning customer service for six hours, we landed safely into Bangkok at 8:00 P.M. local time. The forty five minute bus ride from the airport to our hotel provided me with the perfect opportunity to grab a quick power nap. The nap was just long enough to be considered restful, but short enough to keep the drool on my chin from dripping onto my beige jacket!

With a quick wardrobe change, Dom, four other crew members, and myself were off to a nearby Thai restaurant. I went for my standard Thai meal, Pad Thai. I always order Pad Thai in Bangkok for two reasons: it's delicious and it's the only thing on the menu I am able to pronounce.

After dinner, we hailed a cab and headed to one of my favorite streets in this whole world, Khaosan Road! Khaosan Road is basically a backpacker's paradise! The entire street is filled with young travelers, market stalls, cheap drinks, and fried scorpions on a stick! What's not to love?!

Being the responsible adult that I am, I only had one drink. Never mind the fact that my one drink was served in a sand bucket.

After a fabulous night of dancing and laughing, I retired to my bed at the crack of dawn. Going to bed when the sun is coming up is always a sign of a good night out!

No visit to Thailand would ever be complete without getting a Thai massage, so I rolled my lazy bum out of bed this afternoon and treated myself to 90 minutes in Heaven! This massage could not have come at a better time as I've actually been an 11 on the 1-10 scale of soreness this past week. Nothing in this world is ever free folks, including the free Groupon voucher my friend Paula and I cashed in last Monday for an hour long MMA fight training session. I should have ran out the door when the instructor began the "training session" with five minutes of non stop jump roping while wearing boxing gloves. I've been sore in places this week that I didn't even realize it was possible to be sore in!

So after the much needed Thai massage was completed, I enjoyed a quick lunch in the form of, you guessed it, Pad Thai from the cleanest looking street cart I could find. I then returned to my hotel room for a little pre flight nap.

Although the trip to Bangkok certainly didn't disappoint, no way is it comparable to the real highlight of my week. I'm elated to announce that I'm an auntie again! My sister gave birth to Anna Marie, a beautiful and healthy baby girl, bringing my niece/nephew count to the grand total of five! I wish I could say I love them all equally, but the oldest two girls are getting a little too lippy for my liking. Ah, who am I kidding, I taught em everything they know!

Lana, Bridget, Taylor, and Aunt Kelsey

Welcome to our posse, Anna Marie!

Have a fabulous week everyone!

 

Testing One, Two

Shalom my friends and welcome to the glorious month of June! It's officially summer! Actually, I don't think it is, but June equals summer in my book, so summer it is!

Every six months us flight attendants at Emirates take a turn being on reserve for a month, where rather than having a set schedule we serve as substitute flight attendants. June is my reserve month, and so far I've only worked two turn around trips (flights with no layovers); one to Hyderabad, India and the other to Kuwait City, Kuwait. Easy peasy!

Although the weather in Dubai has been hot with a side of really hot, it has been nice to be in the same time zone for one week straight. The highlight of this past week's stay-cation was checking out Wild Wadi Waterpark for the first time. After spending my entire summer of 2006 rescuing some of St. Louis's finest citizens from the violent tides of Raging Rivers Water Park, I vowed to never step foot in a water park again. There's something about obese African American woman, who are unable to swim, repeatedly mistaking your pony tail for the rescue tube, and physically attempting to climb on top of your head, that just forever changes a person's enjoyment level of all things waterpark. Luckily, I was able to suppress my memories for a few short hours, and enjoy the day with my friends.

This past week's lack of work came at a great time, as I really needed a few free days to do some good ol fashion, uninterrupted, nose to the grind stone studying!

When I graduated from Western Illinois University three years ago, I knew that I'd most likely end up going back to school at some point, but before I embarked on a full time career or a graduate degree, I wanted to enjoy a few years of pure fun. Hi, I'm Kelsey a former Walt Disney World employee, turned flight attendant living in the middle east who on any given week can be found jumping off bridges, riding camels, or partying on yachts. Yep, that part of life's going according to plan, if I do say so myself! As much fun as I am having, this lifestyle isn't exactly sustainable, and thus why I'm s-l-o-w-l-y starting to think about my post fun years' plan.

Although there are aspects of my undergraduate degree in social work that I love (it's focus on social justice, human development, and social policy), for various reasons, I'm not exactly sure I would want to get my masters in the exact same disciplinary, however, I'm not completely ruling it out. When I really think about the components of social work that I'm passionate about, the area of study that seems most inclusive of my interests is law.

As cool as I think it would have been to have always known from age five that I wanted to be a firefighter, grow up, and become said firefighter for 35 years, that's just not me. My career path will probably forever be a bit of a winding path, and I'm kind of okay with that. Going to law school has been in the back of my mind for quite sometime, but I always dismissed the idea, thinking it was simply too tough for me and I wasn't smart enough.

Over the past three years I have not only had a crap ton of fun (actual amount), but along the way I've also overcame an obstacle or two, and gained a lot of self confidence. Without sounding like a complete walking motivational poster, I really have discovered that there's not a whole lot I can't do if  I really set my mind to it!

So with this mantra in mind, I signed up for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), and began studying in March. I may decide this whole law school thing isn't for me and not even apply to one single school, but I'll at least have the option available by completing the exam.

After months of studying, or perhaps more accurately, thinking about how I should be studying, I finally took the exam this morning. The entire thing was brutal, and after the four and a half hours test I walked out of the room looking like I had just left a prisoner of war camp. I have no idea how I did on it, and at this point I don't care how I did on it, I'm just happy to have it over! I'm using a trick from the U.S. Navy's deck of cards, and enacting my very own policy, Don't ask me how I did on the exam if I don't tell you first. I get my results back in July and if I did well I'll shout it from the Burj Khalifa, and if I scored lower than a mentally handicapped monkey, then we're just going to pretend like it never happened.

The only place the LSAT was being offered in the middle east was in Abu Dhabi, a city about an hour and a half away from Dubai. Thankfully my friend Sara lives in Dubai, but works in Abu Dhabi, and she graciously allowed for me to a bum a ride with her between the two cities. Sara has a super cool job in which she works for Hedayah, a global center for countering terrorism and violent extremism. Like most people do, I celebrated my completion of the LSAT by attending a farewell dinner party for a U.S. embassy official that was hosted by the C.E.O. of Hedayah. Dinner with fascinating people AND a goodie bag, don't mind if I do!

Sara, Me, My Goodie Bag

   Have a great week, everyone!






























 

When In Rome

Chow!

I've just returned from my first trip to Rome and, like most things in life, it didn't exactly go according to plan. Recently, I have been trying to improve my time management skills, as I figure out how to juggle working full time, taking an online class, training for a half marathon, AND watching seasons eight and nine of The Office! Somehow there is ALWAYS time for The Office; online class, not so much. Anywho, I had three main goals I wanted to accomplish for this Italian layover: take in the sights of the city, run six miles, and use the phrase 'When In Rome' as much as possible!

According to several different articles I found on Google, one of the first steps in time management is learning to multi task. Perhaps, the mere fact that I took the time to Google time management skills says something about my lack of time management skills.

So armed with my new found knowledge, I decided I would go for a run in the city! Three stones, one bird!?

In order to actually reach the city center, I had to take a forty minute shuttle bus ride, provided by my hotel. The majority of my fellow bus mates were seniors, and I'm not talking about high school here, who, complete with umbrellas, cameras, and maps galore, fit the stereotypical tourist description to a tee. I, on the other hand, decked out in my Saucony running shoes, headphones, and moisture wicking attire from head to toe, stepped onto the bus appearing more ready for the 2013 European Marathon Party of One, rather than a relaxed day of knee slappin', fanny packin', site seein' fun!

Feeling slightly uncomfortable and out of place, I sat down in a seat towards the front and reminded myself that in just a few short minutes I'd be out on a run in a major international city, and "my people" would be there as well. Sure, we don't always know each other or speak the same language, but we're runners, we're in the same club.  We pass by one another with ear buds attached to the sides of our head and share a nod. The nod always translates in every language to mean, "Hey, good to see ya, buddy ol pal! Nice work! Keep it up!"

Forty minutes later, the bus pulls up a few blocks short of the Coliseum, AKA the tourist capitol of the world. I jump off the bus eager to get my run on, and immediately I feel like I'm a subject on Sesame Street's segment of One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other....and I'm the other!

As I attempted to bob and weave on cobblestone streets through never ending guided tour groups, it was made very apparent early on that running six miles in these highly congested areas just wasn't gonna happen! With no running buddies in sight, I resolved to just chill the heck out and walked a few blocks until I reached the famous Coliseum.

The entire structure was incredible! I would have loved to have taken the guided tour that included access to the inside of the amphitheater, but unfortunately traveling the globe, seeing cities 24 hours at a time doesn't always allow for the guided tour option. Instead, I walked around the edge of the building a few times, stole peaks inside, and determined, that yes, it did indeed look old. Before I left the grounds, I shamelessly asked another non camera stealing looking tourist to snap a selfie for me.

In Case You Can't Find The Coliseum, I Took The Liberty of Pointing It Out For You

After studying a souvenir shop map that I was pretending to be contemplating purchasing, I discovered that Villa Borghese Garden was close by and contained several jogging paths. Exiting the store, I set out for run attempt two. My timing was obviously impeccable as thirty seconds into the run the skies opened up and a torrential down poor occurred! Naturally, I had to seek shelter from the rain. The first form of shelter I found just so happened to be an authentic pizzeria. Ok, maybe it was the third form of shelter I found, but who's counting?

Clearly, after downing this entire fungi and sausage pizza, I was in no condition for running, thus I finally threw in the towel and decided to scratch any running plans for the rest of the day. While I tossed my running plans, unfortunately I was stuck with the running clothes. You think I'm being slightly dramatic about NO ONE else in the entire city wearing similar attire? The Italian waiter even made the effort to make fun of my large Garmin watch through broken English, "You are able to speak to the men in the outer space with this?"

Hardy Haaaaaar Haaaaaar Har

The shuttle back to the hotel departed every two hours, and since my late unplanned lunch lasted longer than unexpected, I missed my bus, and had an hour and a half left in the city.

Life as a flight attendant is weird for 105,304 reasons, but one of the strangest things is randomly bumping into your co workers all over the world. Just as I was leaving the pizzeria, I spotted Charlotte, a co worker from France who I had flown with before, standing on a street corner taking pictures of an ancient building. Since we were both catching the same bus back to the hotel, we decided to wander the streets together, and had a great afternoon talking and walking down the side streets of Rome.


Streets of Rome



Before heading back to the bus we stumbled upon an outdoor café. This place served every type of pastry imaginable, and I'm fairly certain I consumed well over 500 calories by just smelling them!

Pastries. Yes, please!

In Italy, it's illegal to enter into a pastry shop and not buy something (at least those are the rules I chose to follow), so I settled on a lemon tart topped with blueberries and a Caffe Americano! It was healthy. Because it had blueberries. Blueberries are a fruit. Fruit equals healthy! It does, ok ?!?!

While I was slightly disappointed I didn't get my run in, actually I was more disappointed I didn't get to listen to my sweet playlist I titled Running In Rome, complete with Dean Martin's That's Amore and Mambo Italiano, it was still a pretty cool trip. However, if I continue this practice of replacing six mile training runs with trips to the pizzeria, I may be in trouble, but hey, when in Rome....

"When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie, that's amore..."

Good luck getting THAT one out of your head! =)

Have a good one everybody!




  

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!