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| An Adventure on a Ducati? Why not? |
Saturday, May 7th, 2011
Lately, I have taken to a new method of preparation for the weekend. I tend to be a planner / organizer and I used to love to having everything organized in advance. However, in order to challenge myself, I have taken to planning less or even ::dramatic pause:: not at all. I know, this is truly mind-blowing. Lol... I mention this because I want to emphasize the good things that can come, the adventures that we can experience when we don't have a plan. :-) Would you care to relive my adventure with me?
I woke up on Saturday and was laying in my bed with nothing planned for the day. Lol... Although I had made a few tentative plans with friends, nothing had been actually scheduled, so I was preparing myself for one extremely lazy Saturday. However, a knock on the door startled my musings [insert generic quote about opportunity knocking]. My next door neighbor Ryan had come to pick up my roommate Patricia for a group outing, an afternoon of visiting the embassies of the European Union. You see, Saturday was the EU Open House. I had read about it briefly in the Express and, although it had sounded fun, I was reluctant to go by myself. When Ryan asked whether I would be interested in going, I asked myself, "Why not?" [This is the perfect question to ask oneself before an adventure, by the way.] In the end, I rushed to get dressed and headed out the door with my roommate and neighbor...
We caught the Metro to Foggy Bottom where we met up with Megan, a friend of Ryan's. The first embassy that we headed into was the Embassy of Germany (technically, we were at the Chancery / Residence as construction was taking place at the Embassy). We tried to wait for the Embassy of Spain, but the line was too long; I hear that they had wine or sangria available... ;-) Anyway, on to Germany!
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| Patricia and I waiting to pass through security as we enter Germany! |
The Embassy of Germany provided us all with a quiz (note the pink sheets of paper) to encourage us to learn about their country. Surprisingly, they worked! Being a child at heart, I wanted to enter that raffle, so I was actually trying to find the answers to the quiz questions, which meant that my roommate and I were forced to read the signs, lol. We learned quite a lot about Germany along the way and realized that it was a country we would actually be interested in visiting - well-done, Germany! As the final answer to the quiz said, Do Deutsch!
However, of course, that was not all! Germany was also awesome for the free Ritter chocolate and Haribo gummy bears that they gave away, the free German lessons that taught me how to say, "Ich bin Candace. Ich comme aus New Jersey." Of course, I would not want to leave out the free samples of riesling and gewürztraminer, the additional chocolate that they gave to us on the way out, the instrumentalists, the enthusiastic man who led us all in singing and dancing to "Vinke, Vinke, Vinke!" and so much more! Overall, Germany was AWESOME! Here are some photo highlights before I move on to Sweden...
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| Musicians. |
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| Traditional German Clothing? |
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| Old World Europe, including wine samples! |
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| Farewell, Deutschland! |
As we were getting ready to leave Germany, we met up with Josh, another friend of Ryan's, who drove us back into Georgetown to check out the Embassy of Sweden! It is located on the Georgetown Waterfront with a lovely rooftop lounge that overlooks the Potomac River. On a beautiful day like Saturday, it was perfect... All of the volunteers were wearing shirts that said, "Hug A Swede," and the gentleman who was holding the door held out his arms for one. Being me, I ran the rest of the way to the door to get my free hug - I think I might like this country... :-)
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| The view from the Rooftop Lounge. |
Although they did not have a scavenger hunt type of quiz, the Swedish Embassy did have a quiz that I quickly completed. Did you know that the author of Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren, was Swedish? :-) We also enjoyed the free food that IKEA served, frisbees from the construction company Skanka, a "fishing pond" where I won a stuffed animal, a photo booth that gave you your own "passport" and tons of displays / games. The highlight for me, though, was probably the tall man who was walking around on stilts pranking people... A child after my own heart? I think so...
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| A Very Tall Man... |
After all of the fun at the German Embassy and the Swedish Embassy, we briefly stopped for a lunch break at La Madeleine on M Street. That Turkey Club was delicious and so were the leftovers later. However, for now, on to the Italian Embassy! I should note that Patty and I tried to go to the Embassy of Cyprus, but we couldn't find it and time was running out... Therefore, we kept on walking and discovered that the Italian Embassy was still letting people in! I always knew I loved Italians!
Unfortunately, as the day was winding down, there were not many activities taking place within the embassy. Additionally, similarly to the Germans and differently from the Swedish, the Italians charged for the food. If only that gelato had been FREE, I would have been in heaven... Sadly, I decided to pass in favor of my favorite Ciao Bella Gelato that I keep supplied in my own freezer [read: free - I highly recommend the blood orange flavor]. However, despite this disappointment, they did have some wonderful vehicles lined up outside for me to savor...
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| Me ... on a Ducati! |
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| And a Vespa... |
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| Patty and I at the Italian Embassy. |
Unfortunately, that is the end of our EU Open House Adventure, but we are definitely plotting to go again next year! I hear that the British Embassy gave out Union Jack bags... ;-)
As you (hopefully), prepare for your own adventures,
here is a music video to get you started,
whether you are taking an adventure to a foreign country
or just exploring your own city...
