lazy days in luang prabang

After several bustling days in Thailand, Caitlin and I headed to Laos.

On tiny Laos Airlines.

On the once a day flight from Chiang Mai.

overlooking the area around Luang Prabang

We landed in Luang Prabang and were hustled into a shared taxi van off to our Villa Ban Lakkham, our home for three nights.

Like the rest of Asia, Laos was HOT.

But unlike so much of Asia, Luang Prabang was so laid back, with little for the "have to do" list.

Which was awesome.

loving the innovative planters.
#usewhatyouhave

It was so green and lush in Luang Prabang. And everyone was so friendly. And adorable.

We relaxed and wandered the town.

bamboo bridge.
we did not cross it...

We shopped. We ate. We lounged at local cafes. (Utopia does actually exist here!)

#truedat

#child labor
If you can't sell your wares, maybe your child can guilt the tourists into it. 

We watched the monks walk the street to collect alms.

#rainydays

We did venture out of town to visit the KuangSi waterfalls, but we'll have to wait for Caitlin to share some pics from her GoPro. I didn't take my camera. We knew that everything would get wet and there wouldn't be storage to keep any extra stuff safe.

Just outside of town, this was fairly common. Rubble and a food stall. 

We learned about the tradition of Laos weaving and Hmong handicrafts. Check out Ock Pop Tok and Passa Paa. I bought soooooo much stuff.

This work was amazing, but a little beyond my budget.

a local residence

We helped the local economy with all the purchases we made.

Gorgeous designs from Passa Paa. 

Found this on our first night in town and decided we wouldn't bargain with anyone.
We'd pay what they were asking. 

life in Luang Prabang

And then we met an American named Michael.

His story to come in a separate post because it led to our most favorite experience of our trip.

Traveler tips:

While in Luang Prabang, we ate here, here (more than once!), and here. And some other places too, which apparently were less than memorable. : P

We stayed at Villa Ban Lakkham, linked above. Taxi service at the airport was shared. Grab a ticket from the desk. Price was quoted then, but I can't remember when we paid.

Visas for Laos were done at the airport. We waited in one long line to hand over the forms we received on the airplane, a photo and to pay. I think it was $36 (USD). Totally random amount. Then you wait some more for your visa to be put in your passport. After you get your passport back, you wait in another line to go through passport control and have your passport stamped.

Carnevale di Venezia

Carnevale festivities kicked off this past weekend in Venice. The weeks leading up to the beginning of Lent became a time of celebration (the word's Latin origins mean 'farewell' and 'meat') until the French took over the city in 1797. Masks were very popular during this time (and eventually only allowed during these weeks) because it allowed one to avoid the caste system of the city and partake in vices not always looked highly upon. You can read more about Carnevale's origins in this Telegraph article about this year's event.

quite an elaborate mask

Until a fellow co-worker posted some pics from her day trip to Venice last year I had no idea that people wore masks and dressed up during Carnevale. It was then that I decided it was a must do while living in Europe.

We were lucky that the "acqua alta" was not an issue.
Venice, as you might guess, is prone to flooding.

Our weekend turned out pretty tame overall, but sounds like it gets crazier as Lent approaches. Because of our upcoming vacation week this was our only chance to check out Venice during this year's festival.

just the four of us...

Saturday we shopped for masks and enjoyed some pizza for lunch. We wandered around looking for an event on the official Carnevale website, but never found it. We had early dinner reservations Saturday night (traveler's tip...book a good bit in advance during Carnevale) and then checked out a few local bars. On Sunday, we planned to check out the boat parade along the Grand Canal. The website said 10:30 and also said 12:00 so we ended up having to wait quite a bit before the short parade came our way. The parade was fairly short, but made it all worthwhile. There were several boats, including a giant rat filled with balloons. We hoped they would release them at the bridge where we were standing, but no such luck.

Here are some of my favorite shots from our weekend.

beginning of the boat parade

all oars up!

If you want to view the rest of my Venice pictures, you can check out my albums on Flickr.

By booking our train tickets and hotel three months ago we saved a lot of money. We were able to cover both for 72 euro per person. We stayed at Al Canal Regio in Cannaregio. It was relatively inexpensive and okay for a night.

Odds and Ends...

In Italy, there seems to be no shortage of 'off the beaten path' little gems.

For three years I've been hearing about this little shop full of leather bags, made right in the shop. And for three years I've been begging for someone to take me.

Finally, just before our Christmas holidays, Peggy agreed to that we would finally make a trip to the shop. We borrowed Maureen's GPS system and plugged in her saved directions for "Geppetto." Without those directions, finding this shop would have been impossible.

We wound around roundabouts, down several streets, and parked in a parking lot. Then we walked behind one building to another to an unmarked door. I have absolutely NO idea how to get back there again.

Pushing open the door, you find several metal shelving units covered in bags and several tables where the two men have been working on various bags and leather goods.

sheets of leather hang everywhere

Peggy said that the supply was a little lackluster this time around. It was, after all, just before the holidays.

bags on display

I, however, scored the deal of the night.

I bought a smooth and soft black leather bag. The interior label reads Epoca Uomo, which is a Japanese label. My friends asked if he had more bags like mine, and he told us only in Japan.

just a simple, black tote bag

From our conversations, it appears that this little shop constructs bags for several different designer lines around the world. When they work on orders, they sell a bag or two in their own shops.

one of the men making bags

I couldn't find the exact bag on the label's website, but a similar one was retailing for about 300 euro, and I most definitely did not pay that!

More recently in January, Men's Fashion Week rolled around. This was evidenced by a few extra well-chiseled jaw lines hopping on and off the tram.

I've always been interested in fashion and style, even though my favorite outfit is leggings and a hoodie. So, on a cold Sunday night, I wandered over to a nearby street to see what the scene was like around a big name show. The Prada show was set to take place at 6 pm, and in true Italian style, it started a bit later. But, it was fun to see various people hoping to gain entrance to the show and those that arrived who were quickly let in, often stopped by the paparazzi for a few quick photos.

the scene from the street

I recognized no one, but still enjoyed the whole scene. The show was streamed live on a website so I was able to see what was happening inside while standing on the street.

a screen shot from my phone- I found it interesting
that they steered away from a traditional straight runway.

When the show ended, everyone quickly hustled down the street looking for their appointed driver to pick them up. It was a mess of cars and taxis, in the truest Italian sense.

It was fun to observe all the action from the outside. Perhaps one day someone will get me on the inside.

But, what would I wear?

It's Not Always as it Seems

It's January, a long and cold month, which this year seems to be a little more wet than I'd care it to be.

The first week we were back was full of nights without sleep and zombie like days. Jet lag was really getting the best of most of us.

Being home over the holidays was so nice, despite my continuous illness and its related consequences. While there, I was discussing the less than glamorous moments of my expat life, like the adventures in grocery shopping. So, to reassure all my readers that not every moment living here is pretty in pink, I thought I'd give you a run down of what it's like grocery shopping in a city where you don't have a car.

Here's your scenario---

You live about a 15 minute walk from the nearest "real" grocery store and about 20 from your preferred option. There are a couple smaller shops that have some things, but they really only work for necessities. Each weekend you grab you trusty roll-y cart and head out to one of the nearby stores. Since it's January, you've been wearing all your winter gear, including a knee length quilted puffy coat with fur lined hood. Getting to the store is the easy part; just put your headphones in and enjoy the walk. Unless it's raining and you're wearing rain boots, carrying an umbrella, and dodging cars that are driving on the sidewalk. (Yep, that was this weekend...and I have the bruise to prove it.)

the necessary footwear for this season

perhaps my best purchase ever...
though lately I've been having nightmares about a wheel falling off
on my way home from the store when it's full of groceries

Anyways, at the store you stock up on necessities, just like you would in the States. But, you can only purchase what you can carry (or roll) home. It's not recommended to drink too much of the tap water here since it has extra high levels of calcium, so you buy bottled water. (I buy plenty of pineapple juice and prefer the Pepsi Light over the Coca Light. Different continents, different formulas I suppose.)

I buy 2L of water for Euro .18-- pretty cheap, I think,
compared to the cost of bottled water in the US

one of my faves...my mom is even a fan;
Santa brought her two boxes this year!

When you're looking for your milk, you have refrigerated options and long lasting options. (At first I wasn't interested in the milk that didn't need any refrigeration. It totally freaked me out, but now it's just so much easier to keep some on hand since the refrigerated milk only lasts a few days.) Oh, the eggs aren't refrigerated either. Hmmmm...

the not refrigerated section of milk-
whole milk is blue, skim is green, part skim is pink

my preferred choice of milk (not refrigerated) but it's
only sold consistently at one of the three stores I frequent

You always pack your roll-y cart from the heaviest to the lightest items, so all those liquids go in first and then you meander around for the other odds and ends you need. Each store carries only some things, so maybe a 2nd trip will be needed later in the week to a different store. Over in the fruit and veggies section you must don a plastic glove and use that to bag any of your purchases. Don't forget to weigh and label those purchases though.

directions reminding you to use a glove and then weigh your purchases;
each item has a number that you press on the scale for the correct price

now, lest you think the whole experience is bad...
this whole aisle on the right is full of wine, sold by region of Italy,
and is generally 5 euro or less

Off to the cashier, which is pretty standard, except for the fact that you must bag your groceries. This would totally be no big deal in the US. Americans, for the most part, are surprisingly patient in comparison to many Italians. When you are bagging your groceries, the next person in line is practically pushing you out of the way so they can get started. And, of course, you must put the heaviest stuff in first again or everything will get squished.

here's one load up the stairs...two more to go

Finally, it's time to walk home. Now you're lugging the cart full of water, juice, milk and food for a week, maybe carrying a bag on your shoulder. You walk the 15 to 20 minutes home while starting to sweat, drag the cart to the base of the stairs to your apartment, and proceed to empty some of the groceries into a smaller bag. See, you can't carry the whole roll-y cart up the stairs at once. You unload the first load, rip off your coat and hat, and go back for more. So three separate trip up 28 stairs and finally your "trip to the grocery" is over.

Phew...until the next week.

Have a great expat grocery store experience? If you're American, have you ever considered leaving the car at home and doing your weekly grocery shopping on foot? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments!

The Fiera. It's a Monstrous Thing.

I heard about the Fiera when first moving to Milan. I was told it was a big festival filled with food and gifts from all over the world.

I was thinking something along the lines of Christmas Made in the South, but I was really not even close.

You have to multiply that by 10-- and then you might have the right idea.

The Fiera is held just outside of Milan in Rho for 10 days right at the beginning of December. It's convenient that you can take the red Metro line straight out there. But, beware, a regular urban ticket won't cut it! You must buy the ticket for Rho, and it's €2.50 each way.

This year I was able to go twice. Caitlin and I went once mainly to eat and snack on delicious foods that are difficult to find here on a regular basis. We had a dinner of German pretzels and beer and snacked on English cheddar cheese. Mmmmmmmm....

Yum!

Cheddar cheese: does not exist in Italy.

I went again on Saturday with the intent of doing a little shopping. The venue gets so crowded that you really have to map out a plan and strategy to avoid being overwhelmed. The last two years I've learned that the European and Italian sections have the best stuff. There is a US section, which seems to indicate that every American is a cowboy and most of the Asian and African stuff is cheap and doesn't feel well made.

But there is good food to be had and fun presents to be bought. Many people come with a suitcase or trolley cart to load up all their purchases. And this year they sold a trolley for €3. It's really unbelievable. There's also live music in different halls.

a Scottish band that was pretty great!

beer garden

salsiccia!

pretzel and strudel

the Hungarian section