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After we climbed down into the cheese cease’s basement, we started introductions. The group was largely Americans, and largely youthful than us, as anticipated.
“…and we live in Prague,” I completed.
“You live in Prague!” exclaimed the cheese man. “So you live in one of the most popular tourism cities in the world, and you have free time, what do you do? You go to the other most popular tourism city in the world.”
I smiled. But on the within, I used to be cringing — and questioning why I used to be so bothered by his remark. Did he assume WE had been the fundamental bitches of the group?! Never touring wherever however the preferred locations? The type of people that assume Budapest is unique and Mexico is stuffed with cartels?
I do know he didn’t imply something by it. I ought to have let it roll off. But ever since, I’ve been replaying that remark in my head, and concurrently chastising myself for having the gall to be bothered by that remark within the first place.
Oh properly. This is March!
Destinations Visited
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Paris, France
Highlights
An exquisite weekend journey to Paris. Charlie needed to go to Paris for his birthday — he had by no means been earlier than — and I deliberate a enjoyable weekend for us that took in a number of cool locations.
Two actions that we particularly loved: a foodie tour of Aligre Market within the twelfth, a very great native market, and a cheese tasting expertise within the Marais, the place we realized a lot about French cheeses.
Beyond that, we ate a LOT of French meals. Everything from steak tartare to macarons to onion soup, crepes, tarte tatin, and plenty of French cheeses.
We did have a number of points with the present turmoil in Paris (extra on that under) however total, we had a superb little weekend! And now Charlie is suggesting we discover somebody with a Paris house and cats trying to do a housing trade!
Seeing King Lear in Prague. We noticed an exquisite efficiency of King Lear on the Estates Theatre in Prague. I learn King Lear in highschool however by no means noticed it carried out till now. It was excellent, begin to end.
If you get an opportunity, you need to see a present on the Estates Theatre. The theater is outfitted in robin’s egg blue, as crenellated as Prague’s buildings, and each seat above orchestra is a field seat, which feels so fancy! Oh, and it’s a fraction of what you’d pay in New York for the same seat.
Baliček the cat is again! Our pals’ cat has come to our place for an additional prolonged go to, and it’s been so good having him right here. He’s the sweetest cat. As I kind this, he simply came to visit and tapped my arm along with his paw to say, “Can I jump into your lap?” Of course I let him.
This time he and Lewis and Murray have grow to be precise pals who hang around collectively. Baliček and Murray particularly. They love romping round after one another.
The cats acquired into catnip. We needed to maintain Lewis away from catnip throughout his FIP remedy, so we by no means purchased it for the cats, however a little bit pattern got here to us this month. Murray didn’t actually get the purpose, however Lewis was ROLLING on the bottom with huge eyes, like he was at a music competition, and it was the cutest factor. Baliček loved it, too.
Picking out wedding ceremony rings. Fun! Neither may be very conventional, however they’re each cool.
Fun occasions with pals. We celebrated our little nephew’s first birthday, had an evening out at Kantyna, and my pals Mike and Anne from Honeytrek randomly dropped by Prague for a go to.
Challenges
Visiting Paris throughout some turmoil. You’ve most likely heard in regards to the protests, the trash strikes, and different goings-on in Paris as Macron overrode Parliament to lift the retirement age by two years.
The excellent news was that we barely seen something occurring; we stayed removed from the protest facilities of Opéra/Madeleine, and the trash subject was solely restricted to sure neighborhoods (fifth/sixth particularly).
The solely ache was the day of the final strike, which additionally occurred to be Charlie’s birthday. While public transportation was imagined to be working however restricted, we discovered that a number of stations had been fully closed and determined to spend the majority of the day strolling. We took a bus at one level that was rerouted and discontinued.
In brief, a little bit of a ache, however doable, and YES, it was nonetheless price visiting Paris at the moment.
Finding a piece of bone in my mouth and freaking out that I had misplaced a chunk of tooth, then going by my mouth with a fine-tooth comb to see the place it got here from. Then realizing that nothing was lacking and it most likely simply confirmed up in meals from our supply. FUN TIMES.
Blog Posts of the Month
Sicilian Food: 30 Iconic Dishes + What to Eat in Sicily — My first regional meals information I’ve ever written! Before my newest journey to Sicily, I made an enormous listing of each iconic meals I needed to strive for this information, and we really acquired our manner by it.
The Truth About Visiting Sicily in Winter (Good & Bad) — Sicily is ceaselessly really helpful as one of many warmest locations in Europe within the winter, however that doesn’t inform the entire story. There are a number of good issues about visiting Sicily within the winter — but in addition a number of dangerous issues. This is my trustworthy information.
How to Stay at an Agriturismo in Italy — I’ve needed to write down this piece eternally! Staying at an agriturismo is one thing I like to recommend to virtually everybody visiting Italy. Here’s really do it, and the way to decide on the fitting one for you.
29 Sunny Things to Do in Hvar, Croatia — Hvar is WAY greater than only a occasion island. It’s the sunniest island within the Adriatic, house to cute small cities, improbable wine, a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and lavender fields.
This Month on Patreon
On the Adventurous Kate Patreon, I publish unique content material and never-told tales you can entry for $6 per thirty days. We even have a non-public Facebook group and members get free entry to the Book Club every month.
This month I wrote an enormous submit about Paris. Paris is the vacation spot that basically kicked off my journey obsession, beginning with a college journey at age sixteen.
I wove in a number of tales of Paris journeys previous and current, making connections through the years. Including that first journey, what it was like to go to Paris proper earlier than 9/11 (and the context afterward), and everybody eager to know what “President Boosh” was like.
Book Club This Month
Our subsequent ebook membership will happen on Sunday, April 16, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. (FYI, today occurs to be Orthodox Easter.) We will probably be studying The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Afghan-American creator Jamil Jan Kochai.
“Pen/Hemingway finalist Jamil Jan Kochai breathes life into his contemporary Afghan characters, moving between modern-day Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora in America. In these arresting stories verging on both comedy and tragedy, often starring young characters whose bravado is matched by their tenderness, Kochai once again captures “a singular, resonant voice, an American teenager raised by Old World Afghan storytellers.”
In “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain,” a younger man’s online game expertise turns right into a surreal exploration on his personal father’s reminiscences of battle and occupation. Set in Kabul, “Return to Sender” follows two married medical doctors pushed by guilt to go away the US and care for his or her fellow Afghans, even when their very own son disappears. A school scholar within the US in “Hungry Ricky Daddy” starves himself in protest of Israeli violence in opposition to Palestine. And within the title story, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak,” we study the story of a person codenamed Hajji, from the angle of a authorities surveillance employee, who turns into entrenched within the immigrant household’s life.
The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories is a transferring exploration of characters grappling with the ghosts of battle and displacement—and one which speaks to the instant political panorama we reckon with right this moment.”
You can join the ebook membership right here. Patreon members have their very own sign-up within the Patreon.
Side Projects Update
So what went on in my companies behind the scenes? I added a printable itinerary to a weblog submit, I didn’t announce it wherever, and it offered three copies with none effort. Fun!
Numerous my journey blogger pals already do that, and it was good to see for myself that it really works. More of these will probably be on the way in which.
As for the opposite websites — it’s been a bit quiet on New Hampshire Way and the opposite web site as I work on tweaking the writing back-end. I did publish a brand new submit on Things to Do in Meredith, NH, my favourite city on Lake Winnipesaukee.
This is my first 12 months with first rate site visitors on the New Hampshire web site, so it’s good to watch the site visitors slowly ramping up. Spring is mud season in New Hampshire, and never the most effective time to go to, however individuals are beginning to plan their summer time journeys now!
What I Listened To This Month
This month, I’ve been super-engrossed in a podcast referred to as Dead Eyes. It has nothing to do with homicide — it’s really about an actor named Connor Ratcliff who was fired from a small function in Band of Brothers as a result of apparently Tom Hanks thought he had useless eyes. That expertise has haunted him for twenty years since; he even give up performing for awhile due to it.
So this podcast has been an train in attending to the underside of what really occurred that day — wouldn’t you be devastated if Tom Hanks thought you had useless eyes?! — but in addition speaking to a wide range of actors about their greatest highs and lows in present enterprise and maintain going.
It is a improbable pay attention about vulnerability and the leisure trade, and an amazing episodic podcast if, like me, you need to sink right into a long-form story that isn’t about homicide.
There are 30 episodes that includes stars like Seth Rogen, Aimee Mann, Jon Hamm, and tons of comedians — and within the closing episode, they really acquired Tom Hanks to come back on and speak to Connor about what really occurred on Band of Brothers. I haven’t gotten to that one but however I’m so trying ahead to it!
What I Watched This Month
This month I made a decision to lastly watch The Leftovers, a three-season HBO drama I had been wanting to observe for a while — and WHAT A SHOW IT WAS. I learn the ebook when it got here out in 2011, however by no means made it to the collection.
The Leftovers begins three years after the Sudden Departure — an unexplained occasion when 2% of the world’s inhabitants vanished into skinny air, evenly distributed the world over, no rhyme or purpose. This plunges the world into chaos, and cults spring up in every single place.
The first season, which follows the ebook, focuses on individuals in a suburban city in New York, together with the police chief attempting to maintain the city collectively and a lady who misplaced her husband and two youngsters within the Departure.
The first season is nice. But the second and third seasons are magnificent. The present strikes to a brand new location — Jarden, Texas, the world’s largest city that didn’t lose a single individual within the Departure. The present turns into extra non secular. Reza Aslan turned an government producer, and every episode was crammed with layers and layers of spiritual iconography that you simply gained’t even discover until you undergo the episode posts on Reddit.
There’s an episode within the second season referred to as International Assassin that’s nothing wanting a masterpiece.
Finally, Justin Theroux may be probably the most lovely man on display since Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley. You stare at him in marvel, pondering, “HOW the HELL is a human this good-looking?!”
Besides The Leftovers, I watched The Last of Us this month (nice watch, Bella Ramsey is improbable, and I lastly get why everyone seems to be obsessive about Pedro Pascal). And Yellowjackets simply began up once more and is SO SO SO GOOD! But I’ll get extra into that subsequent month…
What I Read This Month
I didn’t learn something this month. YIKES.
Coming Up in April 2023
I’m really not going wherever in April or May. For good causes — Charlie and I are within the house stretch as we put together to get married! Everything goes to be a blur of working with distributors and serving to our visitors with their journeys to Prague.
In the meantime, I’m actually trying ahead to springtime in Prague, which is probably the most lovely time of 12 months right here. It doesn’t fairly really feel like spring but, however I’m assured will probably be beautiful by the tip of the month!
You might need discover that I’ve by no means written any designated Prague weblog posts right here (!) however I’m making {that a} precedence in April, publishing some guides that will probably be useful for our wedding ceremony visitors coming to Prague.
What are you getting as much as this month? Share away!