I finally went to Portobello Market yesterday. It was much larger than some of the other markets I have visited here in London, and it was pretty cool. As usual, I got annoyed by people pushing and shoving, and coming to a complete stop right in front of me for no good reason, but other than that, it was a fantastic day. The weather was perfect… maybe just 2 degrees too hot, but sunny and breezy and beautiful. The sun definitely recharged me.
I was hoping to find an antique ring …

Well there aren’t any Cinnabons here in Europe, but we did manage to find some tasty treats near Prague on our day trip to the 14th century Karlstejn Castle. The treats are called trdelnik, a dry sweetbread covered with cinnamon, nuts and sugar. They are available all along the path to for sale by street vendors.

The castle is very majestically set on the top of the area looking down to the small village which is now filled with touristy shops and restaurants. The castle is a short and mildly steep …

So we went to Paris this weekend… it was interesting because the trip was spontaneous, so we didn’t have a lot of time to make detailed plans and itineraries, yet it was so much fun. There were a lot of highlights to the trip for me, but one of the coolest things was the catacombs.
Of course, there is a backstory. So the catacombs are the 2nd to last thing on our list of things to do in our 2 days, and we get to the line with about 90 minutes …

I am sorry that my blog postings have been too sparse for your tastes. Perhaps if you were more generous with your comments I would be inspired to make you a special post, telling all about my adventures in Europe. The End.
Love,
Jennifer

So for a little spice in our ongoing issues with money in Europe, we thought we’d throw a little more intimacy into the mix. That’s right, say hello to Mr. Pickpocket!
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Nothing like a weekend trip to Paris…

We spent our 5 year anniversary in Prague.

Prague is THE most dog friendly city I have ever visited. There are dogs on the metro, dogs in restaurants, dogs on the street (leashed and unleashed, depending on how well behaved they are), dogs on the train, dogs around the castles. We saw dogs literally everywhere. This inspired us to give the 4 dogs most prominently in our lives their Czech names, which are:
Sammy – Svetla (not really but I can’t remember right now, and I have to look it up on video)
Nika – Rodina
Ocho – Obchod
Comet – Cesky

On Sunday we ordered some ice from room service to chill our various juices and waters. Since the ice is free, we thought it would be nice to tip the person who delivered it. At this point, Michael was feeling a little generous (knowing how the Czech people value coins) and decided to give the girl a “50″ coin, thinking it was 50 Krowns ($3USD). In fact it was about 1/2 of one Krown, or about 3 cents. Oh Michael and his foreign currencies…

The Czech people are very protective of their change. Literally every time you pay for something with anything less than exact change, the “customer service clerk” gives you an exasperated look, a dramatic sigh and a slow shake of the head. They look all through their drawer, on the floor, in the safe, everywhere to find the elusive 22 crowns. And they always demand, “CHANGE?” And it is not like the coins are made out of gold or even tin! But the Czechs love their coins. Then finally, magically, just …