#477 The Year of 50: Austin

My friend Julie turned 50 in April of 2018.  She wasn’t excited about the number, but she was excited about going on a trip to celebrate it with her friends.  After much debate and prodding to pick a date and place, she chose Austin, Texas.  And due to her roller derby conflicts during the spring/summer, we booked a weekend in September.  A nice excuse to prolong birthday celebration. 

Our cast of characters that were able to join were married couple Cathy and Herb, Lisa, Cincinnati Kathy (Lisa’s friend from, where else? Cincinnati), the birthday girl, and yours truly.  Party headquarters was a modern Airbnb house not far from downtown.  Here’s a rundown of our weekend. 

Bats.  Most of us had seen the famous Congress Bridge Bats.  I witnessed this phenomenon last spring but was hoping to see larger numbers in the fall.  On our first day the weather was chilly and rain began to fall when we reached the bridge to wait for the bats to emerge at dusk.  We waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And shivered.  And waited some more.  We watched the kayaks below.  We watched the people on the boats below.  We prayed.  Our stomachs rumbled.  No bats.  After 1 ½ hours we gave up and found food at the Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden, then continued on to Little Lucy’s Donuts for dessert.  Despite no bats, it was a fine start to the weekend.  (We tried once more on our last night to see the bats, but still nothing.  What is going on?!)

We may not have seen bats, but we saw a beautiful sunset.

Later on we saw some bat-shaped bike racks.  Does that count?  

Texas Stars.  Rain continued the next day so we toured the Texas State Capitol building.  An unusual choice.  It was really cool and we were fascinated by all of the Texas stars we saw throughout the building.  Chairs.  Light fixtures.  You name it, it had a star on it somewhere.  We needed our donut fix for the day and stopped at VooDoo Doughnut.  This place has the craziest donuts I’ve ever seen.  I’m partial to cake donuts so kept it pretty simple, but the others went all out.  Man can’t live on donuts alone, so we had pretzels and beer at Easy Tiger.  More carbs!  Any place that has Tiger in the name is good with me!   

Rotunda in the state capitol

Roller Derby.  Our main attraction for the day (heck, the weekend) was the Texas Banked Roller Derby, more specifically, the Calvello Cup, named after a well-known roller derby personality Ann Calvello.  What a night!  If you clicked on the Calvello Cup link, you saw that the dueling teams were the Rhinestone Cowgirls vs. Putas del Fuego.  (Go ahead and look up the meaning of the second name.)  Banked roller derby is a little more “show” than flat track.  They have pillow fights, and other shenanigans during breaks.  And if it’s your birthday, you can go onto the track and get spanked by the teams.  Beware – they hit HARD.  And they don’t smell like roses (in the video below you can see me holding my nose).  I guilted Julie into going onto the track since it was her birthday trip, and since my birthday was upcoming, I went with her.  I just wanted to go onto the track.  A way-cool girls band performed before the bout and during breaks.  Check out Midnight Butterfly if you get a chance. 

Calvello Cup action.

Janea.  As luck would have it, my good friend Janae lives in Austin!  We spent our day in Austin last spring with her and her friend Janna, and she was able to meet us at the derby.  And she’s the one who tipped us off on the birthday spanking ceremony.  I met Janae when I played with an Athletes In Action fall team back in 1997(?) and trained in Cincinnati, where she’s from.  She’s lived in Austin for the past several years and I’m so thankful I got to connect with her.  She’s one of those people who you don’t see for a long time, but you pick up right where you left off.  All we do is laugh together.  She’s awesome! 

San Marcos River.  The next day we took a leisurely tubing trip on the San Marcos River.  Such fun to sit back, relax and enjoy the water and scenery (including really cool tress and roots, and lots of turtles).  Fitting into a tube can be a challenge for us tall folks.  My butt sits a little lower than most, but I was still comfortable.  Give it a try! 

Lisa, Cincinnati Kathy and Julie floating down the San Marcos River 

ABGB.  After tubing we cleaned up had refreshments at the Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company.  Every Sunday they have live music and dancing.  I packed my cowboy boots just for ABGB and it didn’t disappoint.  (My packing skills were put to the test fitting size 12 cowboy boots in a carry-on bag and having room for other clothes.)  We visited ABGB last spring on a Final Four side trip and I turned down a dance offer from an older gentleman, then felt guilty.  This time around I was more receptive, and when tall Edd approached me to dance, I obliged.  What a small world it is – he went to high school in Indianapolis and I enjoyed hearing about his life path.  You can meet some really cool people if you open up a little. 

Me dancing with Edd.

University of Texas.  We had time before our departing flight to see the University of Texas campus.  Lunch at Fricano’s Deli and a little shopping at the University Co-op.  While at the co-op we saw a real Texas star – Hall of Fame former Lady Longhorns coach Jody Conradt.  Julie gets points for her eagle eye and stalking photography skills.  I’d never met her or played against her teams, but I played at the same time she coached and she knows my coach.  I introduced myself, telling her where I played, and she was very nice and seemed pleased to talk to me.  She looks fantastic at (then) 77-years old.  I will admit as I walked away, I was sweating a little.  She’s a legend, after all! 

"Stalking" Jody Conradt

Airport.  Austin’s airport had some fun shops that we perused before taking off.  We had a close call on our connecting flight through Atlanta.  As we landed, I checked my watch and saw that our flight home was boarding.  I ran ahead to save a spot for the others but they held the plane for us.  Again, sweating!  Whew! 

Birthday girl

Julie may not have been thrilled to turn 50, but I’m thankful she allowed me to come along for a fun weekend.  I hope she enjoyed herself – I know I did!  Yeee haw! 

#476 The Year of 50: Dungeons and Dragons

This entire trip was definitely a tale of two cities.  What a contrast between tiny Montegiove, Italy, population 95, and the bustling city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, with just under 300,000 residents. 

Ljubljana is the capital and largest city in Slovenia.  After World War II, it became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  Slovenia became an independent country in 1991 and is part of the European Union.  But enough about the history, let’s get back to the second week of the trip! 

Besides the contrast in size and inhabitants, there was quite a disparity in the temperatures.  Tucked in the mountains, Montegiove was warm during the day, but comfortably cool in the mornings and evenings.  Ljubljana was just plain hot.  Stiflingly hot.  And our hotel air conditioner didn’t work well. 

Tammy and I slept in the first morning and spent the afternoon wandering and getting a feel for the city.  Since we were trapped on a train the day before, we needed our exercise and decided to climb to the top of the hill to tour the Ljubljana Castle.  It's quite interesting with many different features:  a photography exhibit, puppets, dungeons and the castle tower, which provided a spectacular view of the city and river below.  And we quickly learned that Ljubljana is the city of dragons. 

A lovely view of the Ljubjanica River

One of the dragons at the Dragon Bridge

After a huge dinner of goulash and a side salad that could have served as a main course (I ate every bit of it), we relaxed on a boat tour of the Ljubljanica River.  We capped the night off with an Aperol Spritz at Lockal, a bar located near the Butcher’s Bridge, also called the Love Bridge.  Similar to bridges in Paris and Venice, lovers put a padlock on the bridge as a symbol of their eternal love. 

Goulash and polenta, with a "side" salad.  Delicious!

Love Bridge

The next morning we explored more of the surrounding city area by kayaking on the river for a couple hours.  It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle and see houses and gardens.  I even saw the backside of a naked older man in the distance as he worked in his garden.  You never know what you might see out in the “wild.” 

Our evening consisted of a “free” city bike tour.  We noticed the ad in our hotel and emailed to make a “reservation.”  I inquired if they had bikes big enough for Tammy (who is 6’3”) and myself.  “Of course!” we were told. 

We arrived at the instructed meeting point and met our group, consisting mainly of younger guys staying in the local hostel.  Jan, our guide, walked us to a parking garage where he kept the bikes in a locked closet.  I tried to not be a bike snob, but these bikes were less than ideal.  And not large enough for Tammy and me.  We made do on the 2 ½ hour tour.  They were rusty and had low (or even flat) tires.  As I rode along, I thought, “This is a risk-management person’s nightmare.”  No waivers.  No helmets.  I put my fears aside and enjoyed the tour.  Jan was informative and entertaining.  What a rebel I was with no helmet!  After the tour, we had a nice dinner at Most, not far from the Lock Bridge.  (This restaurant was so good, we went back again the next night.) 

Taking a break along the Ljubljanica River

Our third day was a big one – traveling almost 60 kilometers to Vintgar Gorge.  We took a taxi and arrived early to beat the crowds, and I’m thankful we did.  You can enter from either end, but after walking from one end to the other, we needed to go back from whence we came to catch our ride.  It was way more crowded on the walk back and not as peaceful.  Our walking tour took about two hours total.  We didn’t rush, but could have spent more time there if we didn’t have to catch our taxi. 

I highly recommend visiting the gorge.  It was wonderfully cool after a few days in the city heat.  The experience was absolutely beautiful - peaceful with the sun streaming through the rocks as it rose overhead, yet powerful with the water rushing through the jagged rocks and the roaring waterfalls. 

Our driver dropped us off at our second stop – Lake Bled, which is 6 kilometers south of the gorge.  Lake Bled is like being in a fairy tale.  Which is what Tammy said about 20 times during our afternoon there. 

We toured Bled Castle and then decided to walk all the way around the lake.  The path around the lake is approximately 7 km.  We were told it takes one and-a-half hours to walk around the lake straightaway.  We took our time, stopping to explore different sites along the way.  I didn’t realize how close to the edge of the lake the path would be, and how tourists just jumped into the lake wherever they wished.  There is a dedicated beach area, but otherwise, it’s a free-for-all.  I wish I’d worn a bathing suite under my clothes. 

Lake Bled Castle

Tammy had heard about a scenic spot at the top of a hill with an aerial view of the entire lake.  Of course, we had to see it.  There are actually two hills (Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica).  We took one of the paths and I believe we chose the former.  It took us 30 minutes to hike up and 30 more minutes to get back down.  The path is very steep in places, and very rocky.  Though strenuous, the hike was pleasant due to the cover of the trees.  Occasionally we would pass other hikers headed down the hill and ask, “How much further?” or “Is it worth it?”  We received varied answers as to the hike’s length, but everyone agreed that the hike was worth it.  So we kept on.  Then we saw this.  

I wish I had a photo of my face upon seeing these stairs. 

We conquered the stairs, but found a new challenge in that the path became more confusing and we walked around in circles a bit before finding the lookout point.  As you can see, this view was definitely worth it. 

The trip down the hill was a little more uneventful.  And even though I didn’t wear my bathing suit, I took a dip in the lake anyway.  I jumped in wearing my quick-drying hiking shorts and sports bra.  It felt amazing and I know I smelled better after the long hike. 

After that climb, we rewarded ourselves with lunch and the famous Lake Bled cream cake.  

Our last adventure of the day was taking a boat to the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary on Bled Island (could the name be any longer??).  Tammy wanted to rent a boat to row ourselves to the church.  The price was the same, but I was happy to let someone else power the boat after our  hike.  If I ever make it back there, I’d love to try the SUP to the island.  (Another risk-management nightmare – no life jackets on the boat!)

There are 99 steps from the dock of the island up to the church grounds.  You can get married at the church, and it's said that if the groom carries the bride up the 99 steps, they will have a long and happy marriage.  And the bride must remain perfectly silent.  I'm sure that's an interesting experience.  

Agh!  More steps!  These are the 99 steps at the church.

I will note here that we took a bus back to Ljubljana.  Time was not an issue on our return and it was much cheaper than a taxi. 

We spent the rest of our time in Ljubljana doing a little more biking (we rented from a hostel), checking out the market and other shops, and enjoying the city. 

My intent was to write about my trip sooner.  However, due to my lateness, I am able to share a story from a few months ago.  I attended a local travel expo and while browsing, I overheard one of the men from a travel company tell a couple, “There’s not much to do in Slovenia.”  After they finished speaking with him, I walked up behind them and admitted I had overheard what he said to them.  The man immediately said, “That’s not true!” and we laughed as we compared our visits.  

Slovenia was never on my list of places to go.  I’m thankful it was on Tammy’s radar and that I agreed to accompany her.  I would recommend it to anyone, especially first-time European travelers.  It's easy to get around in the city, with a lot to do in Ljubljana proper, and within a relatively short driving distance.  Most everyone speaks English.  All the restaurants we went to had English menus.  It may not be the easiest place to get to (from Italy anyway), but it’s well worth the effort.  Just like the fantastic view of Lake Bled. 

#475 The Year of 50: Trains, Buses and Automobiles

Sign at our hotel

After a relaxing week in Italy, Tammy and I moved on to part two of our adventure – Ljubljana, Slovenia. 

Our first order of business was readying the apartment for our departure.  The instructions requested that we leave nothing in the refrigerator.  I hate to waste food, and even though we had a smorgasbord for dinner the night before and had a hearty breakfast the morning of our departure, we still didn’t consume everything.  We stuffed cereal, bread, prosciutto, cheese, fruit and vegetables in our bags for the long train ride, and gave the milk and extra yogurt to Mara (not only did she make our splendid Italian feast, but she showed up to clean the place too). 

We dropped the rental car off in Chiusi and caught a train to Trieste, a seaport town in the far northeastern corner of Italy.  The trip was over six hours and we realized about an hour in that there was no food or drink service on the train.  It was a regional train and apparently we were the only crazy people to stay on it that long.  Thank goodness for our bags of food!  I rationed my water for the duration of the trip.  I was tempted to hop off during one of the many stops along the way and get water, but didn’t want to get left behind. 

After arriving in Trieste we found a great restaurant, Ciò Là - Emporio del Gusto.  Good food and a friendly owner.  The calm before the storm. 

I bought a Flixbus tickets from Trieste to Ljubljana ahead of time, so we just had to find the bus.  How hard could it be?  (Never ask that question.)  We found the bus station, but no one could tell us where the bus to Ljubljana would be.  The bus station board didn’t show it.  We wandered back and forth asking everyone, finally finding a young woman and her mother from Finland waiting for the same bus.  They mentioned that the bus that took them from Ljubljana to Trieste that morning was two hours late.  Things were not looking good.   

Our bus was supposed to leave at 8:45 p.m.  One bus did arrive, but all hope was shattered when we realized it wasn’t ours.  We pleaded with them to let us on, as it, too, was headed to Ljubljana, but we were denied.  They also couldn’t tell us where the other bus was or when it would arrive.  At 9:45 p.m., still no bus.  Would this bus be two hours late?  Or more?  We didn’t want to take the chance, so Tammy sprang into action and found a taxi to drive us.  It was around two hours and we paid a total of 160 euros.  Luckily, the Finnish women agreed go with us and we split the cost four ways.  We arrived at our hotel by 11:30 p.m.  Mamma mia! 

Our hotel was nice enough, but what a shock to go from a spacious, three-bedroom apartment to a cramped hotel room.  We were spoiled!  I fell into bed, thankful again that I had made it, but missing the swimming pool. 

#474 The Year of 50: Mamma Mia!

Last year, my friend Tammy had  talked for months about renting a castle for her 50^th birthday and inviting various friends.  Initially she looked at a location in France, but decided on a fabulous place in Italy – Castello di Montegiove, located in the Umbria region halfway between Florence and Rome. 

I flew into Rome and met Tammy and her friend Jenny at the airport.  They both teach at the International School in Moscow.  We rented cars and drove two hours to the castle.  After stopping in Fabro for groceries and gelato, we made it to the castle, which is nestled in the commune of Montegiove. 

I had seen photos of the castle, grounds and surrounding countryside before I arrived.  It was one of those situations where you see it online, and it looks amazing, and you hope it’s that amazing when you get there.  I’ve heard the stories where it’s not.  As we approached the castle on the winding roads, our eyes got bigger and bigger, and our mouths might have even dropped open a bit.  Everything I had seen online was just as incredible in person. 

The castle and our apartment (circled)

  

Looking out from the castle grounds.  

Sunset through one of  the Il Maraiolo windows.  

Castello di Montegiove is a family-owned property with a castle, rental properties, farm and vineyard.  Owners Lorenzo Misciattelli and his wife, Rikke, live in the actual castle.  They moved to the property from Denmark in 2002.  Lorenzo’s great grandfather owned the castle and Lorenzo would visit him over the summer as a child.  It’s quite the estate. 

Tammy booked Il Maraiolo, the largest of the apartments (converted from olive mills), hoping more of her friends could make it.  It sleeps six, so with only the three of us able to go (and two more arriving later in the week), we each had our own room for most of the week. 

The first day traveling to Europe is always exhausting.  My flight took off in the evening and after the overnight flight, I arrived at 9 a.m. the next day.  I never sleep well on a plane.  Supposedly the best way to overcome jet lag is to immediately conform to the time zone to which you just arrived and go to bed at your usual time.  No naps.  Difficult to do, but it works.  For this trip I got a little boost from the infinity pool.  Italy is oppressively hot in the summer.  Heat and fatigue are a powerful combination.  We took a dip at around 5 p.m. and the cool, refreshing water revived my body and spirit enough to stay up until dark. 

Someone asked me what my most memorable moment of the trip was.  There were so many.  The one that immediately springs to mind is that first day in the pool, arms folded on the infinity edge, looking out over the rolling countryside, thinking, “Ahhhhh.  I made it!” 

The pool was on the opposite side of the grounds from our apartment.  What a view!

During the next week at the castle, we fell into a routine of a leisurely breakfast, yoga, walks, pool time, reading, writing, and visits to the local wine bar, La Bottega di Memmo e Gilda.  The only places within a short walking distance from our apartment were a church and the wine bar.  We heard the church bells constantly and frequented the wine bar for dinner multiple times. 

We had dinners in and out, with our most memorable being a traditional Italian dinner of lasagna, chicken, zucchini and eggplant, and salad made in our kitchen by Mara, a local from the commune.  For dessert?  A pan of tiramisu with a candle that played, “Happy Birthday” when you lit it (for Tammy). 

Buon Compleanno Tammy!

Our evenings were low key.  One night we watched Under The Tuscan Sun (Tammy had never seen it!).  The other nights we played games.   I brought UNO and Spot It.  Laughter rang through the apartment each night.  Tammy’s friend Jenny, and later joining us, Dana and her son, Benjamin, were so much fun.  You’d think a 13-year-old boy would be bored hanging out with not only his mom, but three other “older” women.  He is a delightful kid and seemed to have a great time with us.  He isn’t your “typical” teenage boy though – he and Dana currently live in Kenya.  I sent him home with my Spot It game and he was so appreciative.  “But you love this game!” he told me.  Yes, but I can easily get another game at Target.  It’s a little more difficult to order one from Amazon to be delivered to Kenya. 

As lovely as the castle and grounds were, we did get out and see other sites in the area.   

Fonteverde spa in San Casciano dei Bagni.  Tammy wanted to get a massage, so who was I to argue?  We each had a separate, hour-long massage and then lounged in the thermal pools, which were wonderful.  Check out the website for the incredible scenery. 

Day trip to Lake Trasimeno.  We heard that Colin Firth has a house on/near the lake.  We walked along a paved bike trail and saw sunflowers as far as the eye could see.  Next time I would love to explore some of the towns around the lake. 

Day trip to Orvieto.  It’s a walled city with a beautiful duomo in the center.  Along with strolling through the streets, we took in a panoramic view of the city and surrounding countryside from the top of the Torre del Moro. 

Hike to Greppolischieto.  We chose one of the shorter trails from the castle and hiked a couple hours to this tiny village.  We saw a few cars and motorcycles while walking on the dirt road, but once we got to the village, we saw no one.  From what I can tell, it’s a place full of rentals and no one actually lives there.  It was cool to look across the hills and see the castle from whence we came. 

La Scarzuola.  This unique site is right down the road from the castle/village.  We took a tour and it is a fascinating place!  I’ve never seen anything like it.  The tour guide was quite entertaining as well. 

Some funny happenings in Italy – Each night before going to sleep, I read in bed.  One night, I saw something crawl on the floor out from under my bed.  It was a SCORPION.  

I promptly grabbed my flip flop and pounded it to death.  This was at around 10 p.m.  Rikke had told us to be on the lookout for scorpions, but let us know they weren’t poisonous.  Still, it was startling to actually see one that close.  The next morning I told Jenny and Tammy, and Jenny asked, “Is that what I heard last night?”  Some have asked me how I went to sleep after that happened.  I shone my flashlight under the bed and all around the room, saw nothing, and fell fast asleep. 

The second time we visited the wine bar, Tammy walked through the door in front of me.  The owner’s mother was inside with two of her friends.  She saw Tammy and her eyes travelled from Tammy’s feet up to her head and her eyes grew large.  As I walked in behind Tammy, her eyes got even bigger and she exclaimed, “Mamma mia!”  We all burst out laughing.  Tammy speaks a little Italian so she conversed with the ladies a bit, but our communication mostly consisted of laughter. 

On our last night, Tammy and I moved the patio chairs so we could lounge and watch the Blood Moon lunar eclipse.  It was very cool and we were lucky to see it, as it wasn’t visible in North America.  What a way to end our first week of her birthday celebration. 

The moon is right in the center.  This wasn't the closest moon photo, but I liked the trees.

Along with wanting to stay in a castle, Tammy wanted to visit Slovenia.  She’d heard so many good things about it, so I agreed to accompany her for a second week of adventure.   And what an adventure it was!