As I have been enjoying the last few weeks of summer, I have not been diligent about keeping up with documenting my shenanigans. I passed my 6 month mark and the feeling seems to have shifted now to time ticking down toward the end of my UK stay. I have focused on seeing more than the inside of the office and have managed to keep myself out of trouble in the process.
I returned safely from my Belgian adventure the first weekend in August and can say that Belgium has left a much better impression than my first visit and experience many years ago. Considering my first trip in college left me and my friends camping out in a train station overnight to catch a flight from a sketchy airport due to some poor travel planning (sorry Mom and Dad but I never told you that story for a reason), I knew anything would be an improvement over that experience. After my work meeting finished up I started a few days of relaxation with a shopping trip to Longchamp in order to treat myself and celebrate a successful work meeting. Nothing says “that girl is a fabulous project manager” better than a new tote bag. With my new handbag in tow, I took the train to Bruges and spent the weekend working through my “Around Bruges in 80 beers” guidebook. I am quite proud of the ground I covered. A few of the places were no longer there, some had changed names and some required too many euros for me to enjoy, but overall I covered visiting 15 locations and sampling 8 different brews. Not bad for a day and a half effort and the fact that I have become even more of a light weight and some of the beers had a double digit %. I made sure to add a brewery tour to my itinerary so that I could add some education to my drinking and limit the beer samples in order to find my way safely back to my hotel. Between beer stops I also made a trip to the frite and chocolates museums to soak up some carbs and knowledge on the other famous Belgian specialties. Any museum that spells like french fries as you are walking through is worth a visit. I learned quite a few interesting facts about the potato. In addition to being a delicious side dish, the potato is also a natural antibiotic, can help relieve stomach aches, heartburn, gout, arthritis, diabetes and even relieve dark under eye circles. It's like science and nature want me to eat fries.
This past weekend I made the trip to Jamie Oliver’s Recipease school to flex my culinary muscles. I was torn on what to wear and finding a balance between something functional for a two hour class, and also trendy in the event that Mr. Oliver rolled through the door. Sadly, he was not on site but one can never be too prepared. My coworker Josie joined me and we succeeded in preparing a delicious pea and mint risotto. I loved the class and had a fantastic time but have to be honest and admit the biggest lesson learned from it all was the reminder that you can save the risotto for when you order out and leave all that endless stirring to a real chef – preferably Jamie Oliver.
The best update to provide is that some Smalley sisters will be arriving next week for a visit. After selling my soul and wiping out my gold status, I was able to get Hope and Hollee flights. I can’t be certain that Delta isn’t storing them with the luggage during the flight, but they will be here in a week and I am beyond thrilled to have my first visitors. I have been planning out our itineraries and will be escaping from work to lead them around and play a little bit of the tourist role myself. It will be fun see how the United Kingdom handles three Smalley girls at once.
I continue to receive updates on the hot weather back in Philly, but the summer season here his coming to an end. The short weeks of hazy heat we experienced have faded and the first signs of fall have started to show. This is always my favorite time of year and reminds me of how things can subtly change around you. For some reason this time of year always makes me evaluate life and things around me. I suppose because there is some sense that I have time to make changes or accomplish goals before the year is through. This year is different for me for obvious reasons, but I still have some of those same feelings. I hope to use the rest of this year to explore some more, spend time with my favorite people a little bit more when I have the opportunity, pause to appreciate the places and people in my life, slow down instead of rushing by and focus on keeping both of my shoes on in the process.
