Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself

So Awesome! I love me some Billy. I feel so blessed.

Billy Idol - Dancing with my self LIVE 2005

Friday night Billy performed. I was literally "dancing with myself" while the rest of the crowd stood still and starred. Austrians are a lively bunch

A Few of My Favorite Things

I feel my thoughts about Donauinselfest this past weekend are best expressed in song

Warm summer evenings with Tichy gelatto
Hasselnuss, Himbeer und Shokolade combo
The way that it tastes and the joy that it brings
These are a few of my favorite things

Open air concerts with no charge admission
Old Billy Idol, the splendid musician
He’s now in his 50’s and yet he still sings
These are a few of my favorite things

Three million tourists with pushing and shoving
Angry drunk people and PDA loving
Garbage all over that makes my nose sting
These are a few of my least favorite things

But when the beer spills
And I can’t see
And the band is bad
I simply remember I live here in Wien
And I can’t help but feel. . .
LIFE’S RAD!

Best eis in Vienna, in my opinion

Very few things in life make me happier

Cassie asked for another scoop, and the lady made her a whole new cone. Sweet Cassie just paid for both cones

Watching her trying to eat them before the melted was hysterical. We had an audience.

There is a strange trend here to buy plastic flower leis at concerts. Everyone had them and it was really amusing.

Over the course of the weekend, literally 3 million people crowded into the festival. I have never seen more people crowded together in my life. This picture doesn't even begin to describe

ROMAN HOLIDAY!!!! and other Italian adventures

So for those of you who have been deprived of the joy that is created by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in the fabulous 1953 classic film, allow me to fill you in: Beautiful princess feels suffocated by her demanding role as a royal and an International leader and desperately needs to break away, so she escapes the princess life to explore Rome and adventure ensues. Seeing the parallel here??? I desperately needed a break considering my royal training and all of the International Relations drama at the UN, so I took a page from Audrey’s book and escaped my equally demanding life and headed to Italy. Before you stop reading so you can just watch the movie version of this blog post, let me stop you and tell you that I improved Audrey’s adventures a little bit. I didn’t meet a hot Gregory Peck and have a romantic rendezvous (but let’s be honest, men like that don’t really exist and movie-type romance is over rated) but I did bring 6 other fabulous females with me AND we didn’t just stop in Rome. We continued on to Florence, Piza, Cinque Terre and Venice therefore making our Italian holiday complete. Of course in the end I had to come back to my responsibilities, but that 10 day holiday was pretty epic and filled with some movie-plot worthy stories. Here’s a peak into the adventure:

*Disclaimer: Before you ask "Where are all pictures you took of the things you actually saw in Italy?" realize that my camera was stolen during th e last few hours of our trip while we slept on the train :( My fellow travelers generously provided me with some of their pictures I was in so I could actual remember being in the country. But I assure you, I did see things while I was in Italy and it pains me that I can't share them with you. But use your imagination.


If only we knew the amount of time we would spend sitting in train stations. . .


and on trains. . . with or without seats. . .

and on buses. . .hopefully going the right direction

The Wild West resturant we ate at in Rome with a map of Utah over the entrance. The resturant was complete with covered wagons and cardboard Indians.

We are the Muses. Goddesses of the Arts and proclaimers of heros.

(I realize we are at the Roman Forum and Hercules is in Greece, but bear with me here)

Real Italian pizza. I made a point to try all of the classics and carefully documented each one. Unfortunately I no longer have my pic of my lasagna, spaghetti, calzone, pesto and gelatto (times about 10), but I think the Lasagna in Florence won.

I think we spent 4 entire days on the beach and I didn't realize how much I missed the ocean, or how much I didn't miss sunburns.

Waiting to see the Pope at Vatican City prior to the tour

Clearly, I am WAY off, but we had a grand total of 9 mins to see the tower between cities, 7 girls that need pictures and a monsoon falling from the sky, so this was as good as it was going to get.

Craziest rain of all time

The result of out 9 mins in the rain

Our tickets to the Uffizi. But the best thing we saw in Florence BY FAR was the David. Amazing

Florence dinner where The Lasagne was ordered SOOO good.

On the Bridge in lovely Florence

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

PERFECTION PERSONIFIED

Might as well JUMP!

Part of the crew.

Gondolla ride in Venice. I LOVE Venice

I told you I had more fun than Audrey.

A Night at the Opera

I would have been content to leave my “Night at the Opera” experience to the best QUEEN album ever recorded, but I decided that I would give it a try and attend an opera tonight . . . in Bratislava, Slovakia. Now, I’m all for sitting through high-culture performances everywhere in Europe, but this one just didn’t quite cut the cheese for me (even though someone in my vicinity did, several times. JOY.) The singing was great, but everything else about the production, from staging to costuming was, for lack of a better word, awkward. I couldn’t figure out what time period the “director” was trying to put it in and I had to keep my self from sort-laughing several times. It all ended with the slowest and most silent curtain call in history as the audience unenthusiastically clapped to the silence IN UNISON. So strange. At least I can say I’ve been to Slovakia.

This picture expresses perfectly our Slovakian day. Sweaty hot, confusing and disappointing.

The dinner, however, was really good! I ate tuna, and DIDN'T puke! (Are you proud, parents?)

Mr. Smith went to Washington, But Miss Klemm went to Space

Well, I didn’t literally go to space, but I was as close as I have ever been. And I definitely was in a whole different world.
I’ve been considering for quite awhile now working for the UN when I grow up and, through a series of lucky circumstances, I found myself doing just that (not the growing up part, I’m still working on that, but the “working for the UN” part). I showed up on Wednesday morning at the UN headquarters here in Vienna, as I had been invited to take a tour and sit in on a conference . . . or at least I thought that was what I had been invited to do. Instead, I found myself alongside of a bunch of space law students getting registered as a member of “The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.” There was a badge and everything. Next thing I know, I’m being briefed on Austria’s opinion on all sorts of issues and I’m told to come back the next day and be prepared to sit in for Austria at the conference and report back on what goes down. What?!?
So yeah, the next afternoon I found myself in the front row of the conference behind the name plate for Austria, frantically trying to follow along as diplomats from all over the world talked in monotone voices about how to share rights to Outer Space. It was only made more confusing when I had someone translating the Arabic into my headset. It might have been the scariest/coolest/most surreal experience of my life to this point. It was the strangest combination of completely fascinating and horribly boring imaginable. Luckily, a REAL “distinguished delegate” from Austria showed up as well and they still haven’t asked for my report (good thing too, cause from my PAGES of very non-specific notes, I would have no idea what to include, and I probably missed all of the important stuff). I was also much comforted when my bishop (who is the Australian diplomat) showed up and sat right next to me (convenient that Austria and Australia are so close alphabetically). He handed me a fat rubber band and told me would give me 50 Euro to shoot it at the Chairman. I passed.
Afterwards, I found myself holding a champagne glass (filled with orange juice, thank you) in the reception hall networking with a bunch of space leaders and former astronauts while the Italians told us how awesome they were in the Outer Space department. I’m still not entirely sure how this all happened, considering I’m here studying “How to be a better tourist”, but it was AWESOME.


The Logo for CoPUOS

I kept being reminded of this scene in "The Rescuers" (Of course it always comes back to Disney for me somehow). I've had the theme song stuck in my head all week.

The UN headquarters in Vienna. I didn't take this picture, but it's much better than the one I tried to descretely take while leaving.

DO-RE- MI

Please note how we start in 3 different keys and then change keys at least another 3 times. And the guiltiest of the off key yelling of the lyrics: YOURS TRULY. Thank you years of voice lessons.

Our Dining Experience in Dorfgastein

It was only about 7pm, and these people were already celebrating, still wearing their clothes from the holiday events early. They were just the next table over, and we were a captive audience. So funny.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!!!

Our adventures in the Alps started last Wednesday at 6am as we hopped on the train to Salzburg. I was so excited to see Salzburg cause every one told me how much they loved it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much of Salzburg because the pouring rain, howling wind, thick fog and bitter cold weather clouded my view. . . and my camera died an hour in. *tear*
We got a quick tour of the city and, after reviving ourselves with hot coco, trekked up to the fortress, which was neat, but eventually we just gave up. And that was Salzburg. Then we got on the train, soaking wet, and all prayed our clothes would dry by morning, since we only packed in backpacks and had few other options. I can't remember a time when I was more wet, more cold or more tired.
Then: Dorfgastein. Oh my dear, it was like walking into Hansel and Gretel. It was the dang cutest thing I had ever seen. It was complete with holidays in lederhosen, cute summer cottages, fields of dandelions and cows with bells. Ale and I had WAY too much fun as roommates in our cute little B&B and were professional relaxers. Friday we bundled up and went to face the snow at the VERY top of the Alps for our hike. It was freeeeezing. . . for about 30 mins. Then we found this cute little lake, sang songs, ate lunch and then: THE SUN CAME OUT! Hooray! By the time our hike ended in the dandelion fields, we were hot. It was lovely, as was the rest of our stay.


Horst, our tour guide. He was 2 meters long and had that look on his face the entire time.


The most expensive golden arches in the world.
They are in fact gold. This is where we eventually took refuge from the weather


The house where Mozart was born


Hot chocolate in preparation for our hike in freezing temperatures


Imaging Sunshine


SUN!!! Halleluja!

So, somewhere I have pictures of the actually town and some awesome videos that need editing, I will get them up when I find them .