Unusual Friday

So...yesterday started off like any other Friday. Was at work and quite excited for my weekend in Frankurt. Fast forward 11 hours and I'm leaving the hospital still feeling shaky and being driven home by my boss. What happened? Good question....here's what I remember. I am sitting at my desk doing work, now I am on the floor looking up at Sheena (the floor admin) wondering what is happening and why I can't remember the answers to questions they're asking. How old are you? Emergency contact? The next thing I remember is being outside and being put into an ambulance with Sam Davis who was going to accompany me to the hospital. Fast forward a bit again and I'm getting blood drawn but not sure where I am....I also get a CAT scan. After several more hours later, I see the dr who informs me that they found nothing wrong in my blood tests, nothing too unusual in the scan and that this could have been a once in a lifetime thing that happened to me. I will have to go back this week for a follow up with a specialist who will give me an MRI to ensure that nothing is wrong with my brain. Good times! Anyhow, at the end of the day work, my family and friends have been great through this and I appreciate all of the support. Work actually even offered to pay for Rachael to come and be with me so she's here within 24 hours of this happening. Pretty impressive. Stay tuned for more.......

Cheerio

Another week in the books! I finished up work on Friday and went to meet up with a NY co workers friend who just moved to London. I went over to the Bank St area and met Jen at this place called Bluu. We had a Pimms, which is quite nice on a hot day, and chatted. We decided to make a move...this is when I knew Jen and I were destined to be friends...she grabbed her flip flops out of her bag and put them on before we left. I, of course, had just done the same thing. We ended up at a cool little pub down the road and got some snacks and enjoyed the beautiful evening in LN!

On Sat, I went with Lynette and Carolyn down to the beach. Keep in mind that this is no ordinary beach...it has pebbles instead of sand! huh? It's the most bizarre thing you've ever seen (pics to follow). We enjoyed a nice walk, fresh air, hanging on the beach and a very yummy lunch. This adventure made me realize that while the US and England are very different, when it's sunny they are IDENTICAL. Literally, the train could not have fit 1 more person if they tried. It felt like a long weekend on the shore if the NJ turnpike had been shut down. Upon arrival back into London, we went to a pub to watch the Germany match. We found this cute spot just down the street from my apt that has a really nice backyard and a cozy dining area. They had a big screen tv showing the game, so it ended up being a good time.

Sunday ended up being a brunch/random shop/attempted but failed nail day. Carolyn and I went to Orange for coffee and then this cute store/restaurant for brunch. Everything was from farm to table which was amazing. Afterwards, we went down Kings Road to check out the shops. I found a Kiehls and was hoping they had the pear lotion I have been dying for since I purchased it a year and a half ago in LA. No such luck! Ended the day at the pub to watch the Spain match....once again, awesome weekend in LN :-)

It's been a while!

I went to Budapest for work a couple of weeks ago. Upon arriving at Heathrow I discovered that there isn't an international standard for allowable liquid size. Really?!? Why isn't that standard? So I say to the screener, but this is TSA approved. Response: who is the TSA? OMG. I arrive in Budapest and am amazed at how modern some parts of the city are and others look like you've gone back in time to 1980. After work, I went with the girls to dinner and enjoyed some Hungarian specialties- goulash, wine (who knew?). I decided to walk back to the hotel which was along the Danube and came upon fireworks over the river/castle. After a busy day at work, Carela, her Mom and I headed off for Vienna! The train station was interesting...again, from Communist times...but we got on a headed off. No more then 10 minutes out, the train suddenly stops. Given that none of us speak Hungarian, we had no idea what was going on. We eventually find out that we lost power. 100 minutes later, we were off.

Upon arrival, we head to the hotel and grab a quick drink/some food at the hotel and go upstairs to pass out. Saturday - we went to the Grand Opera House which was beautiful and had some very interesting artwork inside. Such a civilized event. You could reserve a table in this stunning marble room where they serve you wine and cheese.

Sunday started with us trying to seek out what I was told were "posh horses". Who knew that posh horses could charge 26 euros and that they were on such a tight schedule. We passed that up and wandered through some gardens where we saw thousands of roses. We then went into a cafe to have pastries, random meats and some wine/fab coffee. Overall, it was a great trip!