Zagreb, Croatia: New footsteps!!!

Nothing bad can ever be said about sushi in Zagreb. After arriving yesterday evening, having flown from Belfast, myself, Tony, Leese and Adam had a nice dinner at Takenoko, a modern upscale, but comfortable, Japanese restaurant in the city center. I opted to not waste calories on the undesirable plane food, but instead, swapped them for the tempura-style cooked seabass topped with shredded radish and sprigs of chive, jasmine rice, a green salad and fine glass of Reisling. It was perfect! I was in good company, the setting ambient with dim lighting and the crowd mature. It was a nice start and transition from having been in the UK for nine days.

Zagreb is a first for me. I am embarrased to say that I was not familiar with the city at all and had never even heard of it. Shuttled back to the hotel from the restuarant by taxi, and with it being night, I couldn't get a true feel for what was to come the next day. It would, instead, be a surprise.

I woke to a gloomy, misty and foggy morning, thinking that the day might be a bust. After my intense workout, a first, in the state-of-the-art hotel gym, I returned to my room to see that the haze had burned off and the sky was fairly clear. I lucked up by joining the Glam team and Laura who were just starting out for a stroll. We, along with some of the video crew, followed the tram tracks to the city center. We took in the historic sights at the main square where we ate a casual lunch and had drinks at a sidewalk cafe. It was turning out to be a great day.

We wandered up a twisty side street off the main square into what was the older part of town. The street of cobblestone was cute with a few really great clothing and jewelry boutiques sprinkled along the way. We window shopped while making our way to the top. It was charming and picturesque. Some of the buildings and storefronts, that have stood for centuries, had been refaced and patched with stucco and paint, showing evidence of their history through some of the uncovered stonework peaking through, from around the window sills and door thresholds. It was all so textural and the colors muddy and subdued.

At the top of the hillside we found a cathedral with a wonderfully decorative rooftop of tile and ornate carvings, a bit further down the road led us to a sunset lit view of the city. We strolled the promenade feeling compelled to take photos along the way. The glow of light reflecting off the crumbling and weathered buildings made for a great photo shoot backdrop. It was too easy,...with the graffiti-masked facades and vine covered walls, canopy treetops sparse with leaves casting shadows in all the right places. It was a no brainer and lured us in.

With the sun starting to set we made our way back down from the top of the hill and through the city streets to the hotel.

I took an hour or so to regroup, collect myself, and felt the need to be challenged in the 7pm yoga class offered in the gym downstairs. I enjoy yoga, having been a bit dedicated to it last year. Notice,...I said, "last year", this year is another story. I've been traveling with the tour since February and this doesn't lend itself to routine activities like yoga. I tell myself to practice by watching my yoga DVD's, but for me, there's nothing like a group setting. Anyway, as I was saying, I felt the need to be challenged tonight and joined the scheduled class. I left there feeling wrecked! I am proud of myself for going, especially knowing that the class would be taught in Croatian, of which, I know none. I was already familiar with certain yoga poses, which helped, it was also easy enough to follow along by watching the instuctor and people around me. I did what I could to the best of my ability, which essentially is what yoga is about, and returned to my room before treating myself to a glass of wine with friends at the bar downstairs. In my opinion, "I'd earned it!"

As for Zagreb, I wish we had more time. It's a beautiful city, and for now, still affordable. I've heard great things about the coastal areas and would love to learn more. This might have to be a future destination for me and Mui Alto. For Europeans, it's already a great holiday getaway, but for us in America, I think it's still a hidden jewel.

Well,... until next time.........

Dublin, Ireland: Powerscourt Gardens

Today was eventful and our last full day off in Dublin, with one of three shows left to perform at the O2. We've been here almost a week now and I have yet to be fully motivated and exciteed to explore and take on the town as I normally might. The weather has been a bit overcast and grey, attributing to my mood, but that normally doesn't stop me. I was tired and a bit hung over from drinking the night before, but knew that I couldn't let the day pass without seeing something that I might not otherwise see. I didn't want to have regret.
We've been in and out of the city center for days now, I knew it only made since to venture further. The hotel promoted bus tours that traveled the north and south coast of Ireland, with stunning coastal views and castles to be seen. I talked myself, Lisa and Adam into an early morning of culture. We met in the lobby promptly at 9:20am to catch the double decker bus at 10am for the Southern Coastal Tour. We drove an hour and a half along the coast outside of Dublin, passing through interesting communities and neighborhoods, before reaching our destination stop of Powerscourt Home and Gardens, a countryside estate with immaculate gardens tucked away in the hills of Ireland. Oddly, once we arrived, expecting to see more of a castle, instead of an estate, we were dropped at the entrance for a pure showcase of "commercialism" at it's best. Immediately, there were things to buy, souvenirs, food gifts, stationary, trinkets, furnishings, etc., and we had literally only set foot off the bus. It was a bit shocking and definitely not what we had expected. We had a light lunch and snack at the restaurant cafe, then carried on walking through the gardens. There was a rose garden, traditional English gardens and a gorgeous Japanese garden that we liked the most. We followed a map leading us to each before visting the Pet Cemetary. Apparently, the priveleged family that once occupied the Estate had many pets, in particular, small breds of dogs and ponys, that had been laid to rest, with a headstone and all, in a small designated area on the property.
The gardens were undoubtedly beautiful and the views stunning, I think we were just expecting something a bit different. Nonetheless, it was a day well spent away from the city and gave me more outlook on what Ireland has to offer. It's somewhere I had never been and can now reference. See there, "you learn something new everyday". Traveling in general does that, but especially the way we do,...this definitely holds true.

Dublin, Ireland: Guinness Brewery

Well, it's been six days since our last show, so I think the majority of us are ready for a work day. As the saying goes, "idle hands are the devils workshop". We arrived in Dublin a couple of days early due to the Paris shows being postponed. I didn't have plans for Dublin, but I knew that I didn't want to spend my days drinking in the local pubs every night. Instead, I opted to go straight to the source, the Guinness Brewery. No, honestly, beer is not my alcoholic beverage of choice, I'd much rather a fine bottle of red or something bubbly, but, seeing as how I'm in Dublin, it made since to do as the Irish and "throw back a chilled pint", plus,... it was one of the highlighted stops on the city bus tour. Yep, I and my buddies were tourist for a day making all of the pertinent stops around town, while riding on the open air bus. I've learned not to criticize "those" people anymore,... yes, the person in town for a day or two, walking aimlessly with their head held high and cocked at a 45 degree angle observing any and everything above eye level, a Canon camera dangling from around their neck and a paper map at their disposal. I find that "occasionally", I AM "those" people and that's okay.













The bus pick up location was at a nearby intersection, it was from that point that we made a loop around the city all the while listening to the automated explanation and commentary for the historic landmarks we saw. Most interesting to me was learning of Trinity College of Dublin, founded in 1592, the Book of Kells, Ireland's most coveted manuscript and seeing the birth place of renowned playwright, poet and author Oscar Wilde.
Once at the Guinness Brewery, which, might as well have been called the "Guinness Brewery Magnet and Tourist Depot", we skipped the tour and headed straight to the top to The Gravity Bar. A bar with an endless supply of Guinness and a 360 degree view of the city. Being a Guinness "newbie", I did my best to get through my pint with a little help from my friends. We laughed and cheered with a few toasts, before leaving to go to Grafton Street for some window shopping.








The streets were full with the "hustle and bustle" of people seemingly moving fast, but going nowhere. It was now late in the day, the stores were soon closing and we had finally worked up an appetite. Unanimously, we decided on Wagamama, a favorite. Being back in Europe and the UK, it was only a matter of time before we'd seize the chance for the "Asian persuasion." For anyone not familiar, Wagamama is an easy modern dining experience of pan-Asian cuisine that taste very fresh and flavorful. As for the US, there are only locations in Boston and DC, so I get my fix whenever I'm in Europe. We worked off our meal by walking a good distance back to the tram stop that would take us to the Gibson, our home away from home. In all, it was a day well spent. Now,... what to do with the rest of my days off!?....

Oslo, Norway: The Nobel Peace Center

We arrived in Oslo on a Friday afternoon in October. Eager with anticipation, I dropped my bags in my room, and walked aimlessly around the neighborhood, expecting to take a stroll, or maybe grab dinner. I started out toward the waterfront, figuring that that would be as good a place as any, I could at least take in the view. As it was, I was chasing daylight, it was already close to 5pm. Unknowingly, I came across the Noble Peace Center. Perfect!!! I was familiar with Alfred Nobel, and knew that the Peace Prize was awarded in Oslo in his honor, but I did not know of the museum and hadn't thought to ask. Many times when I'm in a new city I often look to see if there are art exhibits or galleries that interest me. In this instance, the featured exhibit was Strengths and Convictions: The life and times of the South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. I wasted no time proceeding to see what it was all about.
I found it to be a very compelling show of work documenting and highlighting the past decades and struggles of South Africa's fight for freedom and democracy. Featured are the four South African Peace Prize Laureates to whom much credit is given--Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk and Albert Luthuli, the latter two, of whom I was not familiar.
The artwork of varied mediums captures the emotional distress and suffering of the peoples of South Africa and photographic images display the turbulence, violence, despair, perseverance and will of a country. It was a great treat to see this exhibit in such an appropriate venue.
Upstairs on the second level is an additional room that displays a field of LED lights that fade in and out, showing recurring biographies and headshots of all the awarded laureates throughout the years. I was proud to see President Obama among them.


After leaving the Nobel Center, I found a great pizza restaurant near the waterfront called Eataly. I sat solo and treated myself to a wonderful pizza dinner with caprese and wine. It was an almost perfect ending, to a perfect afternoon. The only thing missing was Mui Alto.

Brussels, Belgium: Moules et Frites

Here's a look at our time spent in Brussels, while on our way to Dublin. Having only nine hours to spare, myself and my friends started out to Le Grand Place, a popular square in the city, for photo ops, then had dinner at Le Petit Bruxelles, a restaurant located along one of the small corridors off the square. We enjoyed a candlelight setting, while dining on fresh mussels, assorted shellfish, fries and LOTS of wine. Bon appetit!!!
We carried on to a local pub in the area drinking even more wine and "Kwak", a distinct Belgian beer served in its signature hour-glass shaped glass and held upright in a wooden stand. When in Belgium, drink Belgian, why not! There's rarely a time when we're out socially that we don't have a blast, and this was yet another.