May December: August 2010

Trek Travel - Prague to Vienna, August '10

I'm just back from Trek Travel's Prague to Vienna bicycle trip. I'm exhausted, but I had a blast.

Here are some highlights...

We kicked off the trip by taking a private tour of the Ceske Budejovice brewery (the original Budweiser factory). Longtime readers know of my strong aversion to beer, but when in Rome:

That was the second sip of beer I've had in 30 years. Ick, I'm sticking to wine and/or cocktails in the future.

We biked around Bohemia for the first two days. The roads are hilly (very hilly in certain spots), quiet, and filled with farmland:

Cobblestone streets and red tiled roofs abound:

It was quite a climb up the hill to Rozmberks nad Vitavou, but this view was worth it:

Happy cyclist taking a break (...you know you love that 80s style sweatband I'm sporting):

UNESCO world heritage site Cesky Krumlov, our home base while in the Czech Republic:

I ate this dessert three nights in a row:

Pureed and sweetened raspberries, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream. Scrumptious.

We crossed over the border to Austria on day 3. One foot in Austria, one foot in Czech Republic:

My trusty steed for the week, a Trek Madone 5.2:

I ride a Look 566 at home so I'm used to/spoiled by the comfort and responsiveness of an all carbon bike. Trek's Madones are a pleasure to ride - smooth and fast, and they've got a triple for those killer climbs.

The countryside villages of Austria were colorful, clean, and charming. An afternoon stop in Weitra:

My room at the Schloss Durnstein, my favorite hotel of the trip:

Modeling Bushtukah armwarmers with Dave one chilly morning:

Wouldn't you hire us for a catalogue shoot?

A private wine tasting in the distillery of Domane Wachau:

Oh Gruner Veltliner, how I love thee.

The Danube -- which is actually more brown than blue in person, but either way it's very pretty:

There were an awful lot of these signs in Austria:

Super steep! They don't make 'em like that in Connecticut.

High atop one of the wine-making towns of the Wachau:

All total I rode 300+km this trip -- not bad for 5 days worth of work.

I'll post about my time in Prague and Vienna before and after the cycling. Stay tuned...

Monty Monday - New Canaan's Dog Days of Summer

Yesterday Monty and I went to New Canaan's Dog Days of Summer event. It was the perfect afternoon outing for pets and their owners.

New Canaan closed off a section of its downtown and set up booths, activities, and all kinds of dog-centric stuff:

Monty and I checked out the action on the avenue:

We said hello to our buddies Beth and Alissa from Aetheria Spa, a co-chair of the day's festivities:

We met some friendly local children:

And we met some other adorable dogs from New Canaan:

It was 90+ degrees outside and everyone was warm. There were little cooling pools and drinking stations set up for the dogs. Monty took full advantage:

There were contests running throughout the day like which dog was the fastest eater, etc. Monty and I entered the 'family resemblance' -- which canine looks most similar to their owner -- contest.

Here we are parading around the show ring. I am doing my best to make my nose look bigger and my legs look skinnier. Think we look alike?:

Unfortunately we didn't win. Actually we didn't even place -- I think we were robbed!

The winner was this lovely woman and her sweet Pomeranian. She and her dog had the same hairstyle and hair color(!):

It was stiff competition. Monty and I will be better prepared next year.

All smiles after lots of activity, lots of treats, and lots of meeting and greeting:

New Canaan Dog Days of Summer.

Gone Fishin'

Monty Monday - Cove Island Park

Yesterday we took Monty to Cove Island Park, a pretty little space with walking trails and beaches on the Long Island Sound.

Monty testing the waters: