AK Monthly Recap: July 2023

Looking again at July 2023, I’m in disbelief. How did this a lot stuff occur in a single month? This a lot journey?!

This was the most important month I’ve had in a while, starting with our Boston marriage ceremony on July 2, and taking me to seven international locations in whole (!), most for only a few days.

Let’s have a look — the very best of July 2023!

Destinations Visited

• Boston, Beverly, and Gloucester, Massachusetts
• London, Abbots Langley, Watford, and Bushey, England
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Mondsee, Salzburg, and Sankt Johann in Tirol, Austria
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Čilipi, Croatia
• Žabljak, Durmitor National Park, Bitine, Dabojevići, Podgorica, Perast, and Kotor, Montenegro

WHEW.

Highlights

Our Boston marriage ceremony! (I do know, I do know, you’re sick of listening to about marriage ceremony stuff — THIS IS THE LAST WEDDING IN A MONTHLY RECAP.) We knew we needed to have a Boston marriage ceremony for my household that couldn’t make it to Prague, and initially assumed it could be a small affair, possibly one thing at a restaurant.

Then it rapidly snowballed into a marriage of round 60 — and become a superb occasion.

It rained fairly arduous that day, however Charlie and I bought married in Boston Public Garden surrounded by our mates in umbrellas, and our bridesmaids in rain-soaked pastel attire! (And due to the rain, no person else was within the park!! What a bonus to a downpour.)

We had our reception at Bostonia Public House within the Financial District, which had SO a lot good meals and placed on a terrific occasion for us all. We completed with an after-party on the tiki bar subsequent door.

The day earlier than, the marriage, my bridesmaids and I went for afternoon tea on the Boston Public Library, and that night, everybody was invited to a get-to-know-the-guests gathering at NightShift Brewing. Both tremendous enjoyable occasions.

Overall — the Boston marriage ceremony was largely for my household and mates who couldn’t make Prague, although Charlie had a handful of “his people” there too, and it was SO good to rejoice with everybody from my household to my school mates to journey blogger buds. And to have the ceremony within the Public Garden, a spot I’ve cherished since I used to be eight, made it all of the extra particular.

And our officiant canceled on us on the final minute — however Charlie and I requested our pal Chris to step in on the final minute, and he did SO AMAZINGLY with a significant ceremony.

The skilled marriage ceremony pictures are by Joe Gonzalez-Dufresne, who did a FANTASTIC job with essentially the most ethereal wet pictures, and we will’t wait to see the remainder of them!

Beyond the marriage, in Boston we went to a Red Sox recreation, visited my dad’s new rental on the North Shore, and spent a day hanging out in Gloucester, the place I hadn’t been in awhile (extremely suggest the Azorean Restaurant should you’re on the town).

A pleasant few days within the UK. And now to see the British facet of the household! Charlie’s sister placed on a celebration for us to rejoice with some family members who couldn’t make any of the weddings. It was so good seeing them (and having fun with his sister’s pizza shack within the yard).

Additionally, I at all times attempt to do one thing new every time I’m in London, and this time it was the Jurassic Afternoon Tea on the Ampersand Hotel. This is a dinosaur-themed afternoon tea — equally enjoyable for teenagers and adults, and the meals is so good! You can see my Reel about it right here.

Barbie film mania! My pal Klara and I dressed up in our Barbie finest, we went with Charlie and our pal Nick, and we LAUGHED OUR ASSES OFF. I didn’t count on the film to be that hilarious — I feel it’s the toughest I’ve laughed in a theater for the reason that ending of The Hangover!

We went to a brand new Sichuan/Chongqing restaurant in Prague beforehand, Nali, and the spotlight was shrimp and pork dumplings swimming in pulsatingly scorching chili oil.

French market in Prague! This is one in all my favourite meals festivals of the 12 months, going down the week of Bastille Day. They have now moved the pageant from the Mala Strana finish of the Charles Bridge to Troja Chateau, which is a much more airier and fewer touristy location, making it extra of a neighborhood occasion.

A pleasant weekend in Austria. Charlie had an appointment within the Austrian city of Sankt Johann in Tirol on a Monday morning, so we determined to make a weekend of it and drive all the way down to Salzburg beforehand.

This was my first time in Salzburg in additional than a decade, and it was good to revisit town — and ensure that the Salzburg Card is the very best metropolis card in Europe. We every paid 30 EUR for a 24-hour card and bought greater than 120 EUR worth with out an excessive amount of effort. I’ll be going into that in a put up!

We additionally briefly stopped by Mondsee to see the brilliant teal lake, and Sankt Johann in Tirol was a stunning little city the place we loved an evening out at a brewery overlooking the mountains.

A stunning few days in Copenhagen. Charlie had a enterprise journey, and I tagged alongside for the weekend earlier than. It had been awhile since my final Copenhagen go to, and it’s such a stately, cool metropolis.

Some of the highlights have been taking a very nice guided tour on our first morning, hanging with my Copenhagen pal Alex, revisiting my favourite Copenhagen restaurant Høst, having fun with excellent cocktails at Pluto, and at last visiting Tivoli Gardens, the amusement park proper within the coronary heart of town.

A return to Montenegro! For my birthday this 12 months, I wished to be in Montenegro. We began out by driving from Dubrovnik to the spectacular landscapes of Durmitor National Park. After a full day there, we headed all the way down to Ostrog Monastery, Podgorica (LOL) after which the stunning village of Perast on the Bay of Kotor.

Perast is one in all my new favourite locations. This beautiful village has a inhabitants of 300 and simply sufficient amenities for every thing you want. And whereas Kotor has turn into massively overtouristed up to now decade, Perast has not. Not but, at the least.

Challenges

Oh boy, there have been plenty of snafus with the Boston marriage ceremony. I suppose we have been due some points after two excellent weddings. The rain, the cancelled officiant, lacking flower baskets for the youngsters, and some different issues. But it’s okay. We had enjoyable with our family members, and that’s the essential half.

Many pillow debacles. I’ve talked earlier than about how I’m having rising bother utilizing a pillow that isn’t a contour pillow. I’ve been touring with a bit of contour pillow once I can, however I didn’t this month, and right here’s what went flawed:

In Boston, the unsupportive pillows left my complete physique in ache for days and made me notice I REALLY must journey with a contour pillow any more, no exceptions.

In Salzburg, I by chance left my full-sized pillow behind within the lodge (although bought it on the best way again from Sankt Johann the following day).

In Copenhagen, I didn’t have room in my carry-on for the pillow, and each pillow within the room was so unhealthy that I ended up downstairs on the entrance desk at 2 AM, begging for every other sort of pillow. And regardless of this being a fairly upscale lodge, they’d ZERO different pillow sorts.

They promised to get me one other one from a unique lodge the following day. They lastly did…and it was the SAME pillow squished right into a pillowcase half the dimensions, making it virtually spherical.

So I ended up working out to Jysk the following day, which seems to be a Danish firm (who knew?), and grabbed a couple of nicer contour pillows for me and Charlie. We nonetheless have them right here in Croatia as I sort this.

Charlie flew with the pillows from Copenhagen to Dubrovnik, so I missed them for one night time. But you already know what works in a pinch should you’re like me? A rolled-up towel in your neck. That was the very best out of a number of unhealthy choices.

The worst sushi ever in Podgorica. Well, the worst sushi ever that didn’t make us sick! How does a restaurant have pictures of sushi on their menu but put together sushi that appears nothing prefer it?!

(Why eat sushi in Montenegro? After a couple of days of Balkan meat platters, you’ll be craving anything.)

The Bay of Kotor follies. On our first day in Perast, I wished to get pictures of Budva and Sveti Stefan within the morning gentle. I headed out on the bus to Kotor very first thing within the morning, having purchased my bus ticket from Kotor to Sveti Stefan on-line prematurely. That bus was packed like sardines.

When I bought to the bus station, the road snaked across the nook. My bus confirmed up, I confirmed them my ticket, and so they WOULD NOT LET ME ON as a result of it wasn’t printed out (!!). Apparently you’re supposed to attend in that super-long line for the station to print it out for you.

I regarded to get a cab to Budva. There aren’t any ride-sharing apps in Montenegro, and the cabs quoted me 50 euros. Which is INSANE. When did Montenegro get this costly?! On precept, I gave up and headed again to Perast to relax.

Missing my kittens rather a lot. This month we left them with two totally different live-in cat sitters, each of whom love them and so they love, however I really feel unhealthy being away from them a lot.

Blog Posts of the Month

Yeah, not a variety of time to weblog this month.

Solo Female Travel in Portland, Oregon — Is it Safe? — I invite visitor author Susan to jot down about her beloved city of Portland, and what makes it so superior for solo ladies vacationers!

Book Club This Month

Our subsequent guide membership will on Sunday, August 13, at 7:00 PM ET. We can be studying In the Shadow of the Mountain by Peruvian writer and adventurer Silvia Vasquez-Lavado.

“Endless ice. Thin air. The risk of dropping into nothingness hundreds of toes under. This is the climb Silvia Vasquez-Lavado braves in her page-turning, pulse-raising memoir chronicling her journey to Mount Everest.

A Latina hero within the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, privately, she was hanging by a thread. Deep within the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her household, and repressing the abuse she’d suffered as a toddler, she began climbing. Something concerning the brute power required for the ascent—the chance and spirit and sheer measurement of the mountains and loss of life’s shut proximity—woke her up. She then took her largest ache as a survivor to the most important mountain: Everest.

‘The Mother of the World,’ because it’s recognized in Nepal, permits few to achieve her summit, however Silvia didn’t go alone. She gathered a gaggle of younger feminine survivors and led them to base camp alongside her. It was by no means simple. At occasions hair-raising, nerve-racking, and at all times difficult, Silvia remembers the acute anxiousness of main a gaggle of novice climbers to Everest’s base, all of the whereas coping along with her personal nerves of summiting. But, there have been additionally moments of peace, pleasure, and therapeutic with the power of her fellow survivors and neighborhood propelling her ahead.

In the Shadow of the Mountain is a exceptional story of heroism, one which awakens in all of us a lust for journey, an urge for food for danger, and religion in our personal resilience.”

You can study extra concerning the guide and purchase it right here.