Jordanian Adventure

Last week I was in Jordan (hence the lack of new posts), visiting a good friend of mine from DC.  It was great to leave the cold; dump the hat, scarf and gloves and just wear a light jacket.  Or so I thought, until my third day there, when I woke up and there was SNOW on the ground.  No joke.  It hadn't snowed in Amman in like 17 years, but it had to snow when I was there.  My friend K was an awesome hostess, she drove me basically all around the country in search of good sights and American food.  I thought it was really interesting how even though the local people are a lot more different from us (meaning less western, different customs, culture, religion, language, etc.) the country itself had more western offerings than Serbia.  For example, their grocery stores carried basically everything I would want from back home, soda, cake mixes, condiments, candy.  In Serbia there are tons of things that you can't find.  Because of that, she took me to this awesome Wings and Rings place, where we had REAL buffalo wings with blue cheese dip and a awesome battered onion rings.  You might be thinking, what a waste, to go eat that in Amman, BUT, we did have real Jordanian food plenty of other times, AND this is what I really miss.  We do get hummus, falafel and middle eastern stuff in Serbia.  Hot wings and mozzarella sticks? Not so much.

The first night, K and I went to Petra, which was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I would rank it right up there with Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China.  What makes it so great, it's not just the Treasury (which is the typical Indiana Jones building that you see in brochures and pictures) but that it's a whole humongous park where you can walk for hours and explore these rocks and caves and ruins.  Plus, the landscape is completely different and cool, unless you happen to live in the desert, which after being there a week, I have no desire to do.

K admiring the treasury

The next day, coincidentally the day that snowed, we went to the Dead Sea.   That was super cool too.  It was freezing cold and I was deathly afraid to get in the water, but I felt like I had to.  After all, who knows when/if I'll ever be there again.  I walked in and it was super salty, like everyone had said and YES, you do float.  You float even when you don't want to float, making swimming incredibly difficult.  They tell you not to put your head underwater, because the salt will get in your eyes and once that happens, it stings like crazy and you can't wipe it off because your hands and clothes are all salty too.  I was lucky not to get any water in my eyes, but K did and it wasn't pretty.  I did swallow some salt, because I was trying really hard to doggy paddle further out, but you just can't, like your legs just keep afloat and won't sink enough to kick right.  After about 20 freezing minutes playing around in the water, we decided to get out.  The Jordanian side of the Dead Sea has a ton of swanky spa hotels/resorts where you can get your mud baths and pamper yourself all day long on the beach.  If it had been nicer out and I had a higher balance in my bank account I would have definitely gone for it.

On Sunday, we spent ALL day watching old FRIENDS episodes, Seasons 4-6 and working on our Pinterest boards and just fooling around.  We also made these awesome Smores cookie bars and ordered authentic food from a local place.  It was rainy and foggy and gross and there weren't really many places to visit with that type of weather.  The next day, K had to work so I went around Amman by myself.  I went up to these Roman ruins called the Amman Citadel and then walked down the hill to the markets and the downtown area of the Old City.  It was really neat to see everything in Arabic and the people running around.  Most women in Jordan don't wear a burqa or niqab, but just cover their heads with a scarf; most of them will wear the robes in neutral colors, but once in a while you'll see them in jeans and a long sleeved shirt and the scarf.  There are also a ton of "westeners" out there, so I didn't really stick out for not having my head covered.  I was determined to talk to someone because I wanted to have a buddy to help me find places and take pictures for me, especially because I didn't have a map.  I finally sort of stalked this older lady that I had seen at 3 different places, and it worked out great, because she was from Atlanta, but was going to do most of the sites I had already seen with her husband, who was in Jordan for a conference.  She was up for lots of walking and sightseeing so we made a great pair.  We went to some more ruins, which at the end of this trip I'm like, once you've seen some, you've seen them all.  I have never been to Athens, but apparently, since I've been to Italy and seen the ruins in Rome and Pompeii and now I've seen the ones in Jordan, I can skip it, which is fine by me.  I'd rather sail around the islands than deal with the madness.  So my new friend Kate and I found the Ben's Chilli Bowl of Amman, basically the most tourist packed-mentioned on every guide book-must go to place in the city.  It was good and super cheap.  We shared hummus, falafels and some bean thing that was surprisingly similar to Mexican refried beans.  Then we started just walking around and went to the Blue Mosque, which is the only one that non-Muslims are allowed to go into.  We had to wear these robes that reminded me of the grim reaper, but I was so happy to be with her because I got my picture taken.

At the Citadel

Markets in Amman

Ready to go in!

Blue Mosque

I forgot to mention that all throughout my trip I got about 6 marriage proposals, hundreds of "you are breaking my heart" and more flattery than I've ever had in my life since I stopped going into the DC Jail. My milkshake was definitely bringing all the Jordanians to the yard.  Damn Right.  So one of them in particular, Waleed, a cab driver by the citadel, was especially friendly.  He was all charismatic, wanting to show me the city in his cab for a "very good price" and I was like, dude, leave me alone, I WANT to walk!  But then I remembered that I had wanted to do the day trip into another city the next day and I needed someone to take me...so we talked and negotiated and he did name a good price so the next day he picked me up and took me there.  He asked that I call him on the way back so that he could take me home, but I didn't feel like calling and waiting around, so I just took a random cab that was there.

My last day, I chilled at K's house in the morning, and in the afternoon she came to pick me up to take me to Jarash, which is 45 minutes north of Amman and has tons of ruins.  We had a pretty good time planning K's friend's upcoming wedding, which we decided should be held around the ruins, and guess who we saw there?  My new friend Kate and Waleed, the cab driver, together.  So I had mentioned him to her and she decided to call him up and ask him to take her around. So I took the opportunity to ask Waleed to take me to the airport the next morning, since my flight was at 6 AM.  We got it all planned out, K and I and her friends went back to Wings and Rings for my last meal and we watched some more FRIENDS before saying good bye and going to bed.

If I hadn't shown up on time, these columns would have fallen

The next morning, Waleed picked me up and he had a present for me.  OMG.  He said, "it's so that you never forget me".  I guess I won't be forgetting him any time soon.

Waleed's present.  My name-heart-his name.

No Reservations

Since I haven't really ventured out much in the snow and the cold, I don't have any new pictures or good stories to share. Instead, I thought I would write about some of my everyday observations and experiences on one of my favorite topics, food.  Just like at home, meeting friends at restaurants/bars or cafes is definitely a huge part of the Belgrade lifestyle.  There are zillions of places to eat and drink in this city, and even though there is not a ton of variety, the food overall is of high quality and affordable.

Authentic Serbian restaurants serve heaps of sausages, steaks, chicken, lamb, veal (which I think is little cruel, but nonetheless), and two really cool, authentic Serbian specialties: the Ćevapčići (ћевапчићи) and the Pljeskavica ( Пљескавица).  I am not exactly sure of their difference in terms of seasoning, but they are both basically made out of ground beef and pork, mixed together in the form of sausage links or a giant hamburger patty, respectively.  They are both really, really good and can be served either in a sandwich or a platter, with plain yogurt or tzatziki sauce, pickled cabbage, paprika (which is what they call the red pepper flakes), and tomato, and if you go to the right place, they'll put the french fries inside the pita.  They both cost less than 5 dollars and are conveniently sold everywhere in kiosk type establishments.  (See my second post: Walk up Window).  The fancier, sit-down restaurants usually serve either traditional Serbian cuisine (let me not forget ajvar, my favorite spread of roasted red peppers, eggplant, garlic and chilli) or your typical international fare.

They also have pizza everywhere; and it's good pizza, thin crust, plenty of sauce, all the toppings imaginable, including fried eggs!  Same goes for their pastas., all types of sauces, freshly made, delicious. Since the tomatoes here are just so freaking good, you can get the most generic pasta dish and it is guaranteed to be great.  One funny fact is that the Serbian word for tomato is paradajz, which is basically pronounced as paradise, which also incidentally, is EXACTLY what they taste like.  They also use prosciutto as the meat in a lot of their cream sauces, which is also an awesome thing.

I actually did find a picture of me eating some Ćevapčići

Now, eating out is one thing, but drinking is a whole other story.  Getting drinks at dinner is definitely cheaper than in the US.  You can get pretty good bottles of wine for 15-20 dollars at nice restaurants.  They carry lots of Spanish, Italian, South American and Australian wines, similar to those seen in the US.  They also have their own ones, which are really good, but not necessarily cheaper, not sure why.  Our favorite is the  Radovanović; Cabernet Sauvignon; Serbia – Krnjevo, so if anyone out there sees it in the US, definitely give it a try, you won't be disappointed.  On the other hand, rum is WAY more expensive than at home and about a thousand times more expensive than in Puerto Rico.  A Bacardi bottle goes for almost 30 bucks!  They also import more run from Cuba, which we obviously don't see at home, so that might add to the Bacardi high prices.

Most restaurants do feature full bars, but specialty drinks are not a "thing" the way they are in the US.  I have been to a few places where they do serve gimmicky and fun mixed drinks, but that is definitely not the norm.  So what do most Serbs drink?  At least the men, they drink their national liquor, a super potent concoction that can knock you out after just one shot, it's a sort of brandy made with mostly grapes or plums, Rakija. I've only had it once, ironically enough, at an embassy event when we first arrived.  I had one shot and it was intense.  The taste to me is just like pure alcohol, but it is the drink of choice and a source of pride for many Serbs and they sell it in this really neat shaped bottles, so they make nice gifts and pretty much guarantee a wild night if opened at a party.  In restaurants people will order a shot, which they don't really take as a shot, they actually sip it slowly, something I could never do, at the beginning or end of the meal. Sometimes both.  I guess it's one of those things you need to grow up with in order to really love it.   Not like my sopska salad, which I fell in love with at first bite (see old post about it here).

One thing about going out here that really frustrates me is that a lot of restaurants, even when they look empty, won't sit you without a reservation.  It seems like the hard core capitalistic mentality has not really reached restaurant owners.  For one thing, they are happy to let people sit for hours at a time just nursing a cup of coffee and a pack of cigarettes (which are conveniently sold at the restaurant/bar/coffee shop).  There is no kicking people out or quick turnaround of tables.  If you have a reservation at 8 PM, you can pretty much stay till they close, which here, is usually pretty late, like 2 in the morning.  Most Serbs will go out to eat at around 9-9:30 and even later on the weekends.  Sometimes I even feel like they don't eat at all; as it is not uncommon to see people just sipping drinks and smoking for hours and hours.  I, personally, am starving by 7, so I like going to dinner early.  Plus, that way you don't get all the smoke in your face.  You would think that this should create a win-win situation, but being the procrastinator that I am, I usually don't decide where I want to go and when until 2 hours before I want to get there.  So when I finally call or just show up to places, they are always "full", even though they're completely empty, because all tables have been reserved for later.  Many times the reservation won't be for another hour or more, but they're not used to people scarfing down food in just an hour.  So my new tactic is to outright ask for what time the tables reserved for and say, "hey, we are american, we eat super fast, we promise to leave by that time".  Which I am sure they consider weird and rude, but I definitely don't mind leaving if it means that I got to eat where I wanted.

SuperSNOW Sunday

So while everyone at home is getting ready to pig out and watch the Superbowl, we are homebound getting ready to pig out and watch movies instead.  If we were in Budapest, please KNOW that we would be attending this.

There's a bit of glare, so if you can't read it, it's UNLIMITED  food at TGI Fridays for about 40 bucks; but it starts at 10 pm, and we are 3.5 hours away.  Plus, the game won't end till like 3 AM our time.  Also, the roads are pretty dangerous right now to drive all the way there.

It snowed A LOT on Thursday night and the ground is pretty much frozen.  Phil and I were smart to follow a colleague's advice and buy ourselves some Yak Trax, which I highly recommend to anyone who goes out in the snow and ice.  So when we went out walking yesterday, we didn't fall down, which is amazing considering that when we were in Montreal 3 years ago, we each hit the floor at least twice in three days.

This is what Belgrade is looking like these days:

We made a pit stop at Phil's favorite place (take a wild guess!)

Let's just say this place is way classier than at home

and on the way back we found this near the market, a real Serbian snowman/woman!

Снешко белић

Foxxy, the dog that we owned for one night

How awesome is it that on the last Friday of every month, the Canadian Embassy opens up their back bar to the public for the "Canadian Club Happy Hour".  Seriously.  They have a real bar with a pool table, two dart boards, and an outside deck right on the premises.  Not to mention the disco ball and the great prices.  Plus, it's non-smoking and  it's the sort of place that you can just show up alone because you know that SOMEONE is bound to be there that you can talk to- so it's a pretty much a guaranteed good time.  This month, Phil and I stayed until closing time, just hanging out with some of the folks that we hadn't seen since before the holidays.  As we are leaving, we see this super cute, pink-nosed, bright eyed dog just sitting by the exit waiting.  She's all friendly and wagging her tail so we pet her for a bit and all that, and then we start walking home.  The dog starts following us, and we are like, "oh, she's so cute", "she's so sweet", "look at that pink nose", "poor baby must be so cold" (there's snow on the ground still and it must have been like 20 degrees by then), so we decide that if she came all the way home with us, then we would keep her.  We walked the good 30 minutes up hill to our apartment and she' was still right behind us, happy as a clam.  Once we were home, she was hesitant to get on the elevator, so I took the stairs with her and we brought her in and Phil's like, "we cannot let her sleep in here without a bath", because she was pretty stinky. (and  because Phil is pretty anal about cleanliness).  So we put her in the tub and Phil gave her a full-on scrub.  That water was running and it was sooo dirty, I don't think she'd been bathed in awhile. We tried to give her some food, but all we had was cat food and by then it was too late to get anything else.  She didn't eat anything, but instead happily plopped herself on our couch and went straight to sleep.

We went to bed and woke up the next morning, to the idea of what owning a dog meant: the walking, the cleaning, the bathing, the vet, the moving around. But we went to the living room, and there she was cute as ever, sleeping soundly.  So we figured we had to get a leash and take her to the vet and all that.  As we're getting ready, she's right by the door, letting out these little howls, I assumed that she really had to use the bathroom, after all it was like 11 AM.  I figured I could just take her out to this little dog park that is about 3 blocks away, and I tell Phil to meet us there.  And then it all happened way too fast... we went downstairs, opened the building's front door, I blink, open my eyes, and she's running, literally running out the door.  So I go behind her, calling after her, "Foxxy, Foxxy, come here girl, nena"..and she's so fast, and so happy and confident.  She's a whole different dog than the sweet little thing that woke up on the couch. I try to catch up with her, but the faster I go, the faster she goes, and she is definitely not going the way of the dog park, but down the street.  I keep walking after her, but she's about half a block in front of me and the street is crowded and I am still yelling and people are noticing her and I just can't catch up and I wanna yell "stop that dog"  but I don't know the words in Serbian, and I didn't want people to think I was crazy.  Even though I know I was acting crazy.  Then, Foxxy started jaywalking on me and crossing the street and I kept crossing after her, but there was one time, when a car had to literally break two inches in front of her, so I didn't want to startle her more and make her run into the street, and I definitely did not want to witness her getting run over, since by then we were on a heavy trafficked strip right where all the buses run. So at a point, after a good chase, I thought to myself,  ok, I just need to turn around and let her go.  So I did.  I saw her turn a corner unto another street and I went home.

I had to come home and tell Phil I had lost her.  He was a little mad, but not too much. We went back to where I last saw her and to another park near the Sava Church, (see post #2), called her name some more, but nothing.  She was long gone. I wish it'd been Phil who took her out instead of me. But I guess she didn't really want to stay and it wasn't really my fault. You'd think that after a bath and all she would have been a bit more grateful, but no, we were used.  Although, we also think that Mami and Angie probably had a little bit of a talk with her during the night, something like, "Listen up, Foxxy, you have 24 hours to hit the road or the claws are coming out".   If that's the case, I don't blame her one bit for leaving.

Foxxy taking her bath

Mami, supervising the whole thing

Road trip: Euro style

My birthday was last week and I turned 33 years old.  When and how exactly I got old I'm not sure.  But it clearly happened.  To celebrate, Phil took me to Budapest for the weekend.  I was really excited because this was our first European road trip.   Saturday morning we packed our bags and hit the road with our newly acquired Garmin Euro maps edition and headed for Budapest.  First thing I noticed is how the roads are so much emptier, then we painfully found out why when we filled up with gas and paid 80 Euro at the pump on the way back!  I couldn't believe it!  We have friends with Navigators who don't pay as much.  Welcome to non-subsidized "petrol".  Anyway, I didn't do any of the driving, but I totally could have because it was a pretty easy drive.  Once we got out of Belgrade, there wasn't anything.  I mean NOTHING.  Open fields, grass, that's it.  Yes, it was beautiful, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if your car breaks down.  We hardly saw any other cars, let alone any policemen.  About 1.5 hours later we crossed the border into Hungary and were able to bypass the line using our Diplomatic passports.  That was pretty sweet.  Except it felt kind of weird, because we were definitely dressed down.  Like Phil was wearing a moose hat and I had my "homeless chic" outfit.  Diplomats? More like slackers wanna be hipsters.  But hey, they waved us on down, no questions asked.  That black passport is pretty powerful.

The trip took about 3.5 hours.  Our first stop was IKEA, aka, the greatest place on Earth.  We got a couple of things, but decided against eating in there because it was a MOB scene.  Definitely the most crowded place I've seen since we moved.  Those Swedish meatballs are clearly an international hit.  I almost expected the store to be different from the ones at home, but no, it was exactly the same.  Same lamps, bed covers, cheap glassware, as always.  This was both comforting and disappointing at the same time.  The only thing I did notice was that in the posters section, they didn't have all the NYC skyline ones.  Or maybe they were sold out.

The whole weekend was very relaxing and great.  It felt a bit like being back home.  We went to what people at the Embassy call the only authentic Mexican food place east of Berlin.  This little place called Iguana, which is conveniently located across the street from the American Embassy there.  It was pretty good, but nothing to write home about if it were in the US.  The whole weekend we totally pigged out, we went to McDonald's, Burger King AND KFC.  So wrong!  We also went to the movies and did a little shopping.

Which brings me to the sad truth. I couldn't do it.  I had vowed not to buy ANY new clothes for at least a year, but I caved in.  First in Madrid, I bought what I know call "the birthday dress".  Ever since I turned 30,  I have tried to get a cute dress to wear on my bday, so I wasn't going to count that one.  But once we were in the pedestrian shopping street in Budapest,  I couldn't help myself.  I only got two shirts, but they are cute and good for work and a steal!  Only 7 dollars each!

One funny thing I noticed trying on clothes here is how shirts don't have the ugly white deodorant marks that 70% of shirts I try on in the US have.  I had totally forgotten about this, but here, they don't sell that kind of deodorant.  Well, they do in some places, but it's super expensive.  It seems that most people use the spray or the old school roll-on, not the typical thick white bar, therefore, all their clothes are clean and spot free.  Which is not how I left the stuff I tried on.  Oops.

We came back to a good dusting of snow in Belgrade.  It's really pretty outside, but definitely slippery and slushy.  I hate that the holidays are so early in the winter season.  By now, I am kind of sick of the cold, and technically, winter JUST started. It's going to be a long wait till May... 

Istanbul and Madrid

One of the best things about Belgrade is how easy and convenient it is to go to other places.  I have been really lucky to have already taken two trips since January 1st.  So basically, 2012 is getting off to a GREAT start!  First, I went to Istanbul with Phil and my parents.  There, we met up with our BFFs (Best friends forever) Jamie and Shannon, who we hadn't seen since we left DC.  Mind you, Shan and I ate lunch together EVERY SINGLE DAY for over a year, and Jamie and I have been joined at the hip since the first day at TFA Institute in 2003; so to say I missed them terribly is an understatement.  Istanbul was great. We had awesome weather, great food, saw crazy beautiful sights and had a blast together like old times.  I definitely recommend it as a family/joint venture destination because it has stuff for everyone.  The shopaholics can go crazy at the Grand Bazaar, there's history, nature, relaxation (the baths!) and just of tons of things to see and do.  My parents were loving on all the mosques and old forts and just walking around the city.  We did the Biosphorus cruise that takes you between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, saw a dance show, and rode the typical Double-Decker bus, which was freezing, but definitely worth it.

This is a pic of the Blue Mosque at night, I could have stared at it forever.

So after coming back from Istanbul, I went to Madrid.  Now this was a pretty big deal because it was the first trip I have ever taken that was utterly, 100% alone.  I wasn't visiting friends or meeting anyone there or going with a tour.  It was just me, my carry-on, and endless possibilities.  Now, in my fantasies, I would just have gone to the airport with no plans and picked a flight in that moment.  But since I AM over 30 and a bit less laid back than I wish I was, I did buy my tickets and book my hostel a week before going.  Doing this did save me a lot of money and probably prevented any sort of eyebrow raising at the airport.  I am not even sure if you can actually show up and buy an international ticket on the spot. Maybe next time.

Regardless, I LOVED Madrid. I really liked Istanbul, but have no desire to live there; I enjoyed being a tourist and doing touristy stuff; whereas  in Madrid I was trying to go native.  I had some insider tips from two friends that went to grad school there, and I took advantage of those, and of what felt so liberating-but we always take for granted--speaking the language.  It was so nice to be able to read everything, to see the street names and understand not only the alphabet, but the words and meaning, to be able to ask directions, find them on a map and read street signs.  I was so happy to go to restaurants and be able to read the entire menu without having to ask for help.  To sit next to people on the metro and to overhear their conversations, to eavesdrop on kids on field trips and all those little things that give context to what the daily lives of the people who live there are like.

Travelling alone definitely had some perks and some not so great things.  First of all, my pictures are B-O-R-I-N-G.  I didn't have anyone to joke around with or take silly pictures of.  I don't even have any pics of myself; I have no proof that I was actually there!  BUT, you do get to go at your own pace, see what you want to see and move on.  Given that I am a bit on the eccentric side, and not exactly a slow poke, I basically saw everything on the first day.  I must have walked like 12 hours straight. I was so tired and my feet hurt like crazy, but I was in love with the city.  NOT the touristy stuff (El Prado--too religious for my taste), Plaza Mayor (eh, seen better in other cities, not green enough), but loving the way of life and the personality of the Spaniards.  People yelling and cussing out of their cars, teenagers with their hair half long, half shaved off, people drinking and having fun at lunchtime.  I became obsessed with this market, Mercado San Miguel, that my friend recommended and went back two more times, for little tapas--stuffed olives, chorizo & cheese squewers, sangria by the glass. I loved the big park, Parque del Retiro, and the little streets downtown and the metro.  It felt a bit like NYC, where you can find a treasure behind any corner, where you can't judge by the facades, and where things are always happening.  I spent 4 days in Madrid, including a day trip to Toledo, which was cool, but again, one of those touristy places you should only go to once.  I did meet some girls at the hostel and ended up going to, of all places, an Irish Pub.  I guess that's what happens when you pay 14 Euro a night for your dorm bed.  But I love the spirit and experience of the hostels, not knowing who you might meet, listening to others' travels and adventures.  My roommate who took me to the pub was actually living there while she found an apartment in the city.  On my last night, she cooked me some risotto and told me about growing up in Ireland.  You don't really get that at a nice hotel.  Plus, the money I saved on lodging, I spent on this...

Meson del Champinon--super yummy stuffed mushrooms with Manchego and Chorizo

Salud!

  

A Serbian Christmas

In Serbia, Chritsmas was celebrated on January 7th.  This was really convenient for us since we are not religious or anything, we had plenty of time to walk around the city and have fun on the days leading up to New Year's.  December 24-25 were absolutely normal days, people were out and about and things were open like usual.  My parents were here for a long time and having them here really helped me get out every day and see more of the city and explore different places to eat and visit.  Every day consisted of more or less the same routine; getting ready, head to the market, eat lunch, go sightseeing, come home, mull some wine, have dinner, watch movie.  All in all, it was GREAT.

We also did a lot of random walking (getting lost) and window shopping.  Like I've said before, the prices here are RIDICULOUS!  Everything is marked up at least 20% from what it would be at home.  So if I really wanted to go shopping- I could, but it wouldn't be very cost effective.  There are tons of the European chain stores at the mall and at this really cute pedestrian strip.  They have Mango, Zara, United Colors of Benetton, GAP, Sephora, Levis, etc.  But you cannot find jeans for less than 70-80 dollars...unless you go to the chinese market...and that requires a whole other post.  

I did enjoy the spending the holidays in the city and saw some interesting and cool stuff.
such as this pretty outrageous underwear (yes, it is a bunny!)

I really wished I could have bought a pair for Phil, as I think this is awesome, but I don't think he would have appreciated the gesture.

I also discovered what will become my substitute for 5 Guys, for those who don't know, Phil and I were OBSESSED with this burger chain out in DC called 5 guys.  We used to go at least once a week.  So know, we will have what we call "church at Goldy's"

Outdoor seating.  Less than 3 dollars. FRIES INSIDE YOUR BURGER.  Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!  oh, and they serve beer too AND it's cheaper than the soft drinks.

Another thing was that one of our cats became obsessed with my dad. She was physically and emotionally unable to separate herself from him.  My family has never been too keen on cats and I was brought up to think they were slightly evil and double crossing.  It was Phil who changed my mind about kitties and now I am cat lady to the max.  Well, Mami (the cat in the pic) was doing a really good job getting my dad's attention by sitting on his laptop or interrupting his Sudoku puzzles.  By the way, she is NOT allowed on the dining room table, but like all grandparents, my dad just let her do as she pleased.

This was also the first year we ever put up a real Christmas tree.  Or a real Christmas tree that happened to be fake.  I mean real as in not a miniature one that's pre-loaded with ornaments like our sorry ass tree in DC.  The picture didn't come out to show how pretty it looked.  Unfortunately, Santa didn't come to our house.  He either got confused by the change of address from the USPS or we were really, really bad this year.

Finally, I posted this picture as a testament of my mom and I's unfortunate Odyssey to the Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art, which we never found.  First we took a bus that had to take a detour. So we got off after 25 minutes and took another bus that I thought would take us nearby.  We clearly got off way too late and proceeded to walk back for over an hour through this park that might as well be the back woods of Belgrade, complete with stray dogs and all.  When we finally made it back to civilization, we asked around and found the building, but the museum seems to be closed for renovation.

It was certainly NOT open, as the swigs and grass were up to my knees and the windows were in pretty bad shape, not to mention the 5 + dogs that had made their home in their parking lot.  I still don't understand where the actual artwork is, since if you click on their link there are exhibitions being advertised for these dates.  It's all a big mystery.  At least we got to see some nice greenery, exercise and have lunch at the food court at the mall.