Have I Really Left CA?

I've just returned from a visit home, and this is what the Brighton beach looked like this weekend... have I truly left California???

How to combine the things I love

The Summer Term has began again at school, and instead of classes now, my time is spent on my dissertation research. Selecting a topic is often the most challenging stage for MA candidates.

Not me.

I have been waiting for the opportunity to combine my two favorite things, strength training and early modern literature, for quite some time. And now my chance has arisen with my dissertation topic. 

By September, I will have written over 15,000 words on and be an expert in depictions of Amazon women in early modern England. I love my life.

Final Destination: Vienna, Austria

Schönbrunn Palace

The final destination of my Spring trip was Vienna, Austria, the city of music. With the exception of one day, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, highlighting the beauty of the Renaissance city. 

Schonbrunn Palace Gardens

Vienna Zoo

Genuine Apple Strudel

I packed a lot into my few days there-- went to the different palaces, the zoo, the opera house, the famous cafes and restaurants, toured the gardens and museums, and "gently sampled" the local brews. 

Outside of the Royal Opera House. They showed the ballet
that was performed that evening for free outside for the
cheapies, such as myself.

Inside the Natural History Museum

Vienna Jewish Museum

At the end of my stay in Vienna, I was ready to go home to Brighton. Actually, I think I could have carried on traveling but for my inability to eat ANY MORE FOOD... 

Debrecen and Eger, Hungary

After Budapest, we headed back to Debrecen for a few days (where Ido goes to school), and from there took a day trip to Eger, a small wine town.

We got there just in time for the school's
International Food Festival

In Debrecen, we spent some time studying as well as checking out the beautiful school. I even snuck into one of Ido's pathology classes, where they were working with cadevours. The smell was incredibly unsettling, but otherwise the class was an amazing experience. There were two cadavers, one of which was being cut while I was about three feet away, and the second one, already opened, was being used by the tutors to explain and explore different diseases. I didn't risk taking pictures though.

We rented a car as well and drove to Eger, a quaint little wine town a few hours from Debrecen. Despite the gloomy weather, we had a great time eating and drinking. Well, mostly drinking :)

Eger Streets

Tea Time in Eger

MMMMMMMMMM... kurtos kalacs!

My Latest Adventures

Budapest Parliament on the Danube

I've just returned from my spring holiday travels to Hungary and Austria. I spent about two weeks between the two countries, mainly to visit my friend Ido. He's now living in Hungary, so we had some great adventures traveling through his current country. On the last leg of my trip, I took the train to Vienna for a bit of exploring on my own. Over the next few days as I load the pictures, I'll update my blog with the different places I visited. The first stop was in Budapest, and it was undoubtedly my favorite, so I'll start there...

Atop the Buda Castle 

Hungarian food!

Post tanning at the bath

Memorial along the Danube honoring the Jews
shot into the river during WW2 

Budapest was such a charming city, filled with busy tourists and loud Hungarians, as well as the most amazing treat in the world, Kürtőskalács. Ido and I spent three days touring about, checking out both the Buda and the Pest sides (the city was actually two until the 19th century, when the names were merged into Budapest), visiting the different castles, checking out some museums and monuments and the different bridges, sunbathing in an old bathhouse, and of course, sampling the cuisine. And by sampling I mean gorging out on a ton of very unhealthy foods. 

Kürtőskalács...mmmm soooooo good!

A CrossFit Update

It's been a little while since I've done a CF update. I purposefully try to minimize them on my blog, as I recognize CrossFit litters my facebook like it dominates my regular conversations, and for that matter, my general existence. However, some exciting new things have happened in my CF world that should be shared.

1. CF L1: Last month I got my Level 1 Certification with CrossFit! I am an official Level 1 Trainer, and look forward to sharing my love of CrossFit with others!

2. CF Open: The CrossFit 'Fittest on Earth' Games closed a few weeks ago, and I ended in 86th place overall in Europe. Compared to the 200's in NorCal last year, I am incredibly pleased with this placement! Unfortunately, I needed to make top 60 to move on to regionals, but I am still pleased to be considered amongst the top 100 fittest women in Europe!

The first of five workouts in the CF Open: burpees

3. Next Competition: I've just qualified for the CrossFit Central Manchester Games in Manchester, UK in June. Looking forward to another live competition with Team CrossFit Hove!

A Trip to the Seven Sisters

Spring Break Holiday began this week, and while I have term paper deadlines looming over me, my flatmates and I decided to give Spring a proper start with a trip to Seven Sisters Country Park, 7 beautiful chalk cliffs that overlook the English Channel, situated about 45 minutes east of Brighton in the South Downs National Park.

We were so incredibly lucky with the weather, as you can tell in the shots below!

Repin CA

Some of the other Sisters