We’ll still be updating here every once in awhile but be sure to follow us on Twitter @dentonmd and @andrearenee. I’m also blogging at The Flying Salmon so stop by and say hello!

Anyone have any good Seattle-based musts that we need to check out? Let us know in the comments!

Happy holidays,

Andrea and Mike

This Sunday we’ll be flying to Barcelona for the last hurrah of our trip. On Tuesday, we’ll board a flight and arrive at JFK just in time for dinner. So what then? Has our alarm clock jolted us awake and thrown us back into the “real” world? I’d like to think not. There will definitely be struggles upon our return, first and foremost, the lack of jobs, income and housing. Our bills will inevitably be where we left them, unpaid and waiting in our email inboxes. But I’m willing to bet that this next phase will be an adventure too. There may not be endless amounts of free time to stick our toes in the sand or to spend the afternoon walking around snapping pictures but there will be new streets to discover and new friends to meet. In fact, this trip has taught me something that I certainly wasn’t expecting – that there are different kinds of discovery that can only come from deep relationships and late nights over dance parties or bottles of wine or great conversation. I suppose this is something I always knew but never fully appreciated until I came half-way across the world. Above all, this trip has made me realize that no location can ever replace people. Don’t get me wrong, I most definitely love traveling, especially the way that it forces you to think about things, to take a moment to breathe, to walk in someone else’s shoes for awhile. I don’t think that there will ever be a part of me that says no to a trip but I’m excited to have a home base again, taking it day by day and working a little at a time for the next amazing adventure.

Volos, Greece is by far one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. It was previously a small seaside village with history dating back past the Byzantine Empire but has become a hip school town butting up with a bustling harbor where fisherman still bring in their daily catch to sell off the bows of their boats.

No matter where you stand you can only take in breathtaking views. You see, the city is nestled in the foothills of Mount Olympus but they can easily be considered mountains of their own. The olive tree covered mountains fall quickly into a calm sea filled with the deepest blue ocean water imaginable. Words and Pictures cannot begin to describe the beauty here, but I’ll try!

Daily we have taken 1-2 hour road trips to locations found off of sketchy dirt roads stopping quickly at a remote farm house in the mountains to ask that they fill our bottles with fresh pressed olive oil, or to stop and pick wild flowers or exotic fruits growing on the side of the road.  From the back seat of the down hill drive, it looks as though each turn is eminent death if not navigated properly. What’s the true purpose of this unique experience? A small roadless seaside village called Mikro, Greece where Andrea and I were the only two people on the beach and picked fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden to our hearts content.

…And this paradise is the setting for the past few nights’ dinners of fish, squid, octopus, lamb burgers, and finally Greek pizza.

We have been lucky enough to share the table for various meals with Angelos Bastis, the brother-in-law of my great aunt and his wife. More importantly Angelos is an award winning photographer, an educated artist, and an ouzo lover (not in that order). He is 88-years-old by his count, but not nearly as old in his heart. He relentlessly flirts with Andrea and controls the table’s conversation even though he is very limited in his ability to speak due to a vocal cord removal many years ago. The resulting sounds are what you might expect from someone with a tracheotomy, but none of the noises take away from his charisma and charm. When he cannot speak he resorts to a chicken scratch that only his wife of 47 years can decipher or drawing images and pictures to describe his thoughts. Which brings me to the REAL reason for this post. Last night, unbeknown to me, Angelos began two very quick hand sketches of my likeness while simultaneously describing the proper way to frame a good photo, eating chef salad, a margarita pizza, and finishing a bottle of white wine. At the end of the night I had to steal them from the table and he refused to dawn his signature. I can only assume it’s because he doesn’t approve of the likeness. Needless to say this man quickly became one of my heroes. But I need your opinion. What do you think?  Do they resemble me?

After sleeping in this morning, and recuperating form last night’s marathon of Bikram Yoga, Dre and I took a short walk around Weesp, a small town outside of Amsterdam that is (according to wikipedia) “famous for Van Houten chocolate, windmills, the historical centre with its canals, its Weesper porcelain and the Weesper Mop cookie. The bastion and fortifications are also famous, because they are a part of the Defense line of Amsterdam and the Dutch Water Line. They were never used, though.”

It is a small, historic and friendly town to say the least. In a word, it’s quaint. We visited a few shops and picked out a few thank you gifts before discovering a wonderful cheese shop situated with both windows facing canals.

I believe the shop is a chain, but from the inside you would never know.  The cheese selection is larger than anything I’d seen before and the aroma was indescribable. After parusing the selection and some deliberation Andrea decided on a strong munster cheese and I selected some bite sized meats from the deli counter.

Neither of us are good with temptation so it didn’t take long before we broke down and decided to have lunch.  We found a cozy bench next to a quiet pond and cracked open our goodies. The cheese was stronger than we anticipated but still very tasty. The bites of chorizo and salami were just the snack to compliment the munster and sunny afternoon. The only thing we were missing was a bottle of wine. … Maybe tomorrow.

As you may infer in the video, Andrea and I were not in prime condition to be practicing yoga in a 105 degree room for 90 minutes, but we attended after a full day of hydration.

After all the worry and anticipation, we not only survived but couldn’t stop talking about it for weeks. That is why this afternoon, Andrea and I are headed to Bikram Yoga Amsterdam to contribute to the Michael Matthews Video series “Bikram Yoga vs. Chipotle,” subtitled “The International Bikram Experience”

Going into this, our concerns include:

1. Will the classes/instructions be in English or Dutch?

2. Does a Dutchman/woman sweat more or less than the average New York Bikramist (sp?)

3. Without the support of Matthews and Summer, will we be able to handle the intensity that is Bikram Yoga?

Please, wish us LUCK!

Follow up video to come…

More than a few months back, Tom Fletcher answered my desperate plea for musical enlightenment.  When Dre and I first started dating, I was indie rock ignorant. Other than the few bands that came across my Pandora, I was unable to hold a musical conversation with Andrea and her friends. (Specifically Schwa) Tom provided me with a proverbial sample platter of bands new in old in many genre’s. Most of these songs are on the HSPL, but some of our favs are below.

Arctic Monkeys

Black Kids

Brazilian Girls

Hot Chip

Les Savy Fav

MGMT

Modest Mouse

Q-Tip

Ra Ra Riot

Reefer

TV on the Radio

From the vast expanse that is Andrea’s music collection, she has introduced me to the below additions to the ever growing HSPL. Additionally, she has agreed to “pay forward” the Fletcher favor and burn some music for Esmeralda (my dutch cousin). A link to this playlist is coming soon.

Joni Mitchell

New Pornographers

Pela

M Ward

Ryan Adams

Bloc Party

Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst)

My 1990’s additions include…

Cake

Soul Coughing

After a re-route from Washington D.C. to Chicago, we arrived in Amsterdam around 9:30AM. Unfortunately, I’ve fallen a bit under the weather in the last 36 hours but I’m stocking up on liquids (tea and Vitamin C) and spending my first foreign night tucked under the covers at our gracious host’s house. Upon arrival we met Dmitri and Alex, Michael’s cousins, who have opened their homes to us without hesitation. A big shout out to them for their hospitality!

First impressions of Weesp, the town we’ll be staying in for our Amsterdam adventures:

We’ve only been here a few hours so stay tuned for more!

Next up: Downtown Amsterdam and a family reunion…

A few formalities:

Adios! See you soon!

Mike wrote a post a few weeks back on what he was going to miss about the city but I think it took me leaving to fully realize my list:

1. Taco Truck: This Astoria gem quickly became one of my favorites when I moved to 30th Avenue last year and remained a staple of my weekly diet until the end. In fact, it was my last meal in New York and will be on my list of musts every time I go back. Needless to say, I’ve craved it multiple times. (El Rey Del Taco is located @ 30th Ave and 33rd St. in Astoria. The truck is there Tuesday – Sunday from about 7PM – 3AM)

2. Amazing Local Music: Every night in NYC, hundreds of unknown artists take the stage all around the city for the chance to pick up a few new fans. At Rockwood Music Hall, a new musician goes on every hour and while the audience might not love every band, chances are they’ll at least like one or two of them. You might be thinking, “Unknown bands play in my hometown all the time. What’s the big deal?” The difference is that you rarely discover your next great obsession at the neighborhood bar. In New York, your new obsession is right around the corner, any night of the week. (Listen to my latest and most persistent musical obsession, Railbird)

3. Hidden Deliciousness: Just as easily as you can find new music in New York, you can also find unassuming incredible food. Taco truck was definitely one of those unassuming finds and so are places like Oasis, La Sirene and Ali’s Kabob Cafe. Obviously there are thousands of restaurants in New York that deserve this title and that’s the whole point. You never know where you’re going to stumble into and to me, that’s better than the convenience of an Applebee’s anyday. Even if you have a bad experience, it’s still going to be an experience!

4. Novelty Food Stores: This is the last food related one, I promise! Because of the sheer number of people in NYC, restaurants are able to focus on one thing, do it well and succeed. My favorites are Pomme Frites and S’Mac. If you have the chance to check out either, I highly recommend doing so. Because they only have one specialty, they’ve perfected it and it shows.

5. Weird Stuff: New York is home to a bunch of weirdos. Whether it’s crazies on the train or experimental art, things in New York need to be outrageous to get anyone else’s attention. The weirdness isn’t for everyone but it’s part of what makes New York feel special to me. It’s also nice that no one cares how you walk out of your front door on a hungover Sunday morning. That sense of anonymity will definitely be missed.

6. Our Friends: Above all, I’m really missing the insanely awesome friends that I’ve made in New York. They’re my lifeline and I’ve left a piece of myself with each and every one of them. I can’t thank them enough for every experience we’ve had together and I hope they know that I can’t wait to see them again.

Have you ever moved from a city you love? What do you miss most?

WHO: Anyone who wants to say goodbye

WHEN: TONIGHT! 10:00pm-?

WHERE: Fontana’s Bar 150 Eldridge St. (map)

IF YOU’RE NOT BUSY TONIGHT, PLEASE COME DOWN TO FONTANA’S AND HAVE A DRINK WITH US. You can view the ping invite here and RSVP if you feel so inclined.