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Turkish/Georgian Vacation Recap – Part 2

Missed Part 1? After spending a fun afternoon in New York City, I headed back to JFK Airport for my overnight flight to Turkey.  I settled in my nice window seat, watched some good movies (Rio and the Butler), and fell asleep.  I am pretty lucky when it comes to long haul flights - I can sleep the entire plane ride! Before I knew it, I landed in Istanbul a little after 10:00am.  I went through customs (note - US…

Tasty Thursday – Georgian Edition!

My internet connection has been spotty so I thought I would share some of the delicious dishes I tried during my visit to the Republic of Georgia.  You may recall seeing pictures of some of the Turkish food I ate a couple weeks ago. I will resume my Turkish/Georgian vacation recap next week. The Republic of Georgia is located in the Caucasus; it is bordered by Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Khachapuri, oooh so yummy. It is a traditional dish…

Turkish/Georgian Vacation Recap – Part 1

A couple of weeks I was vacationing in Istanbul, Turkey and Tbilisi, Georgia.  For those unfamiliar with those two countries, they are located in Europe/Asia and border the Black Sea. Image: Google Maps Due to a combination of work, life and procrastination I did not book my airline ticket until a month prior to my trip (I know bad Jen).  I originally looked at a direct flight from DC to Istanbul (would leave after work on Friday), but in a…

Tasty Thursday – Turkish Delight

Hello from half way around the world! I thought I would share some tasty pics from my Istanbul trip (if you follow me on IG you may have seen a couple of them). Enjoy! Hot Pot Casserole with Cheese, Peppers, Tomatoes and Shrimp.  Sliced Sirloin, Rosemary Potatoes and Beets. Turkish Delight, also known as Lokum. Love me some Pistachio Baklava. Turkish Tea for Two! Traditional breakfast called Menemen which consists of egg, onion, tomato, green peppers, and spices.  Have you been to…

Healdsburg Half Marathon Race Recap-Part 3

Need to catch up? Part 1? Part 2? The 5th Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon was held on Saturday October 26, 2013.  It was a point-to-point race-which means the start and finish locations are different.  The half started at Trentadue Winery in Geyserville, CA and ended at Lake Sonoma Warm Springs Recreation Area in Healdsburg, CA (part of the Sonoma Valley).  Transportation was provided to/from the start/finish (even spectators!) at four designated locations. Race Morning After a delicious pre-race dinner…

Healdsburg Wine Country Half Race Recap- Part 2

Missed Part 1? Packet Pickup/Expo The packet pickup and expo were held at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel and Spa in Santa Rosa, CA.  Santa Rosa is a small town approximately 45-60 minutes northeast from Sonoma and Napa. The expo had a few vendors, but I was in and out in about 15 minutes-perks of running a smaller (approximately 2000+) race. Above is the technical tee we received at pickup.  The fit was nice, but I wish it was not…

Healdsburg Wine Country Half Race Recap-Part 1

As you may recall, a few weeks ago, I attended the Sonoma wedding of my two friends, Sean and Brittany.  As I was planning my trip (lesson learned from Vancouver), I had an inkling that I would not be running the NYC Marathon.  I thought.. RUNCATION….why not? I started researching and saw that the Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon would be held the morning of the wedding (this is not to be confused with the Healdsburg Half Marathon, which is…

SeaWheeze Half Marathon Race Recap-Part 3

October 3, 2013 Missed Part 1 and Part 2? Sunset at Kitsilano “Kits” Beach Pre-Race Yoga After the expo we headed to Cambie Street to see the lululemon lab-this store is only in Vancouver.  They design and sell their own exclusive line of innovative and functional clothing (think black, white, greys).  They plan on opening other lululabs in other major cities-what a cool concept! We headed to the town of Kitsilano for some dinner + yoga.  Kitsilano, once a sleepy…

SeaWheeze Half Marathon Race Recap-Part 2

Click to read Part 1! Downtown Vancouver Sightseeing Vancouver proper (the city) is approximately 44 square miles (slightly smaller than the District of Columbia).Getting around town was easy-metro (they are in the process of implementing their Compass Card system-think Smart or Metro Card), bus (only coins), taxi cabs (they take credit cards), and walking.  Here are some of my sightseeing highlights (I will address more in Part 3): GranviIle Island Public Market is north of downtown and offers visitors walking…

SeaWheeze Half Marathon Race Recap-Part 1

I LOVE to travel, so when I was finalizing my race schedule I knew I wanted to add a destination race, the question where to? This past August, I ran the second lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon in Vancouver, B.C.  It was a (long) weekend filled with sightseeing, yoga, friends, food, and running of course!  It also helped that lulu was the title sponsor (ummm..cool swag anyone?) My friend and I signed up in early February and the race of 10,000…