Tag: travel

Seven-Night European Cruise!

~ britneyshae ~ Leave a comment

Hi all! I won’t give too much introduction and just jump right into this post because I have a lot to cover. So back in May, my boyfriend and I were able to take a trip of a lifetime on board the Disney Magic (Disney Cruise). From May 28 through June 4 (seven nights!) we were on board. Our destination, you ask? Why, the Baltic Sea ports, of course!

We boarded the ship in Copenhagen, Denmark (one of my favorite cities in the world!) and proceeded as follows: Copenhagen, Denmark, Tallinn, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Russia, Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark.

This trip is hard to write a short, concise report on because it was kind of half-cruise, half-European city exploring. So, for this post, I’m just going to talk about the “Ports of Call” and maybe someday I can do a post more on the Disney Cruise part of the trip. I will say that this cruise was wonderful and magical (of course—it’s Disney!) but the downside of the trip was the fact that while we got to see A LOT in a short amount of time, we didn’t always feel as though we properly got to explore the cities as much as we would have wanted (basically it was like a “sampling”). And, on sort of the flip-side, we didn’t really get to enjoy the cruise amenities as much as we would have wanted (the temperatures stayed in the 50s and 60s, thus making the temps a little too frigid for the deck pools and the awesome looking waterslide). So, if you’re considering doing a 7-night Northern European cruise like we did, do be aware that you might feel like you don’t get the full experience—not of the city tours OR of the ship amenities.

BUT, if you want a sampling of both, this is the right cruise for you. 🙂

So, without further ado, here is a relatively quick breakdown of the trip.

Saturday, May 27, 2017

We arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark at around 9:00 in the morning. Let’s just say neither my boyfriend nor I slept at all on the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam, but then we (of course) passed out on the entirety of the short flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen. So, we were a little bit tired when we reached Copenhagen. I have to throw out that we stayed at the Tivoli Gardens Hotel and we super, super enjoyed our stay. Because they had an immediate room available if we upgraded to the sort of business class, we opted to do so. Included, we got an updated view AND access to the business lounge where we were able to grab free snacks and wine. I highly recommend both this hotel and this upgrade!

We tiredly made our way throughout Copenhagen (which is a super walkable city!) and stopped at a 1920s Café, which, wasn’t really all that 1920s… but let me tell you, the food was AMAZING. Two quick things about Copenhagen’s restaurant scene: (1) at least where we went, there were ALWAYS English menus available, which was very much appreciated and (2) THE SERVING SIZES ARE HUGE. Seriously, you can almost always share. 🙂 Both my boyfriend and I ordered this chicken sandwich, which was almost more salad than sandwich but amazing nonetheless.

Next we made our way to Rosenborg Castle, which we spent some time exploring. Then it was back to the hotel for some much needed R&R. Once we were hungry enough for dinner, we asked the concierge at the hotel (these people were very, very helpful and informative) for a place to try a “local” restaurant experience. She directed us to a “hip” area that used to be a meat market, but was now transformed into sort of mini restaurants. Think food trucks in America, only these were small restaurants. There were so many to choose from, though! We ended up at a BBQ place (I know, I know, so American but my boyfriend’s a picky eater). But seriously, the food was AMAZING. (I love Copenhagen.)

Sunday, May 28, 2017

We boarded the Disney Cruise on this day! I can’t fully remember what we did (it’s all sort of a blur, and we were definitely jet-lagged for the beginning of the trip). We walked around the ship and signed up for a lot of things that were very costly and my sweet boyfriend still wasn’t sure what was included already and what wasn’t (*cough cough* alcohol was not included and I’m not sure he knew that on this first day… or even the second). I think my boyfriend also got a beard trim on this day. He looked dashing.

Monday, May 29, 2017

This was a day at sea. I got my hair done. We did some wine tasting (we never learned the sommelier’s name, which is a shame because he was WONDERFUL). I believe we went to a couple of shows. Stuff like that.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Welcome to Tallinn, Estonia! This was a very interesting country to visit. There are still a lot of remnants of the Soviet control (which ended in 1991, I believe) and unlike the Russians, the Estonians are not afraid to share their disdain for the Soviet control. Which was incredibly interesting (and a little sad). We saw the city highlights. There’s the Old City, which is sort of medieval, and it’s really beautiful.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Welcome to St. Petersburg, Russia! I have to say, Russia was one of the reasons I most wanted to do this trip. We did an all-day tour which started with the Hermitage before it was opened (my boyfriend loved it—I was there because it was Catherine the Great’s palace and I love palaces). Next we did some sight-seeing on board a bus, which was nice because it was cold and rainy. In fact, perhaps you will remember the lyrics from Anastasia: “St. Petersburg is gloomy; St. Petersburg is bleak.” It was kind of true. But I feel bad judging it this way, since it was, well, cold and rainy.

Anyway, we stopped at a restaurant and had a traditional Russian meal, which was pretty good. It included caviar, which was not so good, except they roll it up in a crepe(?) with yogurt(?)—I’ll admit we didn’t have a lot of direction—and when it was rolled up with the crepe and yogurt, it was actually really delicious. No joke. We, of course, finished off our meal with a shot of vodka. When in Russia, right?

Next we did some more sight-seeing and stopped at a tourist shop where my boyfriend and our Canadian friend bought some… less than flattering items of the Russian dictator president. Ahem.

We finished the trip with some last-minute sight-seeing of this island where the tsars were all buried and our tour guide told us some true Anastasia stories, which I was THERE FOR.

And that about covers St. Petersburg. Barely any mention of the Soviets, unlike Estonia.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Helsinki, Finland! Now, it rained in Finland, too, so my Finnish souvenir is a cute umbrella. Unlike Estonia and St. Petersburg, we didn’t do a tour in Finland. We just kind of wandered around. The highlight for me was eating dinner at a “traditional” Finnish restaurant (it was a little touristy, but that was fine with me). I enjoyed this AMAZING potato dish and my boyfriend had reindeer soup (which was actually quite good, even though I felt bad for the reindeer!).

This was our shortest time on shore so between ducking for the rain and me wanting to shop at this cute stationary store (oh, and also me accidentally giving my boyfriend the wrong address for the zoo), we didn’t do a whole lot.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Stockholm, Sweden! It was supposed to rain in Stockholm, but of course it was incredibly sunny and gorgeous and I left my new Finnish umbrella on the bus. (We found it later at lost & found though!) We also didn’t have a tour scheduled in Stockholm, but the bus dropped us off right at all of their royal palaces and castles, so we did a tour there. Then we wandered upon a food festival and had some crepes and I had some sparkling rose-type drink that was pretty tasty. From there we wandered around a bit and stumbled upon a cute cafe that I thought might be a cat cafe, but unfortunately it wasn’t. We ate some Swedish treats and I had some tea with a lot of old people. It was pretty wonderful.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Another day at sea. Our last day. We did a couples massage and my boyfriend’s trip ended on a devastating note because he wanted to watch some Irish dancer/singers and instead a soccer game was on. Typical Europe.

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Back to Copenhagen! We were a little bit bummed because there was some holiday going on, so a lot of things were closed. We ended up finding a restaurant to eat at where the server told us he loves Americans (that’s a first, right???) and the food was soooo good. I got this brunch burger that was unlike anything I’ve had before. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. (And again, my boyfriend and I could have split it – it was huge!)

Next we went to the Carlsberg Brewery which was really, really cool. I kind of like their beer, too. But maybe I’m biased and blinded by my Copenhagen love.

We walked back to the hotel, which took forever. And that pretty much wraps my trip up. (In a nutshell – I definitely could have gone into a lot more details, but that might bore you all to sleep.)

 

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05.18.17 – Writing when your life is incredibly busy

~ britneyshae ~ Leave a comment

I’m currently in the middle of moving and exactly a week today I begin my travels for my much-awaited Disney Baltic Sea Cruise.  Boxing up all my stuff, moving it into my new apartment, and prepping for Europe in two weeks?  Plus working a full time job that’s fairly demanding?  However am I supposed to write?

Before I list out some ideas on how to sneak in a few words despite a busy schedule, I do have to admit that sometimes I do “writing activities” that aren’t actually writing but make me feel like I’m being productive.  I’ll touch base with fellow writers on Scribophile and do some critiques of other writer’s works there.  I’ll hash out some ideas with friends while we’re hanging out or via email.  And I’ll complain about writing to my boyfriend even though I’m not actually writing (that’s productive, right?).  Even 15 minutes of critiquing someone else’s work on Scribophile helps me earn points (or “karma” as it’s called on Scribophile) which allows me to later post my work for critiquing.  So ultimately it’s still about my work.

Anyway, without further ado, here are a few of my personal tips for getting some words written despite a crazily busy schedule.

(1) Utilize that lunch break.  Get an hour for lunch?  That’s an hour you can be writing.  Or even thirty minutes you can be writing.  Or, heck, fifteen minutes.  Whatever you can squeeze in.  I pack my lunch every day and once the noon bell rings I eat at my desk and pull up my manuscript.  My productivity level varies, but I will tell you that I was averaging 1000 – 3000 words on my lunch break during NaNoWriMo.  Not too shabby.  Bonus points?  Your boss might assume you’re working.

(2.) Skip the TV watching.  I know, I know, it’s great to just get home from a long day at work and mindlessly watch some TV.  My guilty pleasure is The Bachelor (not afraid to admit it).  But the Bachelor is only on Monday nights (starting next week yay!) so what’s my excuse for the rest of the nights?  Instead of watching an hour of mindless TV, limit yourself.  Don’t Netflix binge.  Watch one episode or even a half of an episode.  Or write during commercial breaks.

(3.) The Self-Control App.  Have you ever found yourself without wifi connectivity on your laptop and discovered that you’re actually way more productive without the interwebs at your fingertips?  The Self-Control App works the same way, while allowing you to use Spotify or Pandora, which are websites I use for some inspiring music while writing.  I had a roommate during law school who used this app when she was studying for tests or finals, and I used it daily while studying for the Bar Exam.  It’s helpful not only in that it blocks out your distractions (which you can set yourself to create the ultimate distraction-free setup) but also, for me, acts as a timer and lets me know when I can take a break.  For example, during my study sessions for the Bar Exam, I set the Self-Control App at 2 hours.  I would study nonstop for those 2 hours and as soon as the time was up and my web applications were unlocked, I took a fifteen minute break to check my email and browse through social media and what have you.  It works that way for writing, too—only got an hour to write?  Set that Self-Control app up for an hour to keep yourself on schedule.

(4.) Leave your house.  Guys, I cannot tell you how many times leaving my house has increased my productivity levels.  When I’m home, all of a sudden I’m looking for any excuse to do anything other than write.  Oh, does the whole house need to be clean?  I’ll start cleaning.  Oh, there’s the TV glaring at me.  I’ll just watch one show.  Just one.  Etc. etc. etc.  When I’m home, there are distractions all around me.  Family members, boyfriends, roommates, etc. etc. etc.  I know this list is full of tips on how to write when you’re insanely busy and it’s hard to find time to leave the house, but if you have an hour free, it’s an easy way to practically ensure you won’t spend that hour watching TV or cleaning out the fridge (that can always be done later, trust me).  Plus, if I’ve gone to Starbucks, or Panera, or Barnes & Noble’s café (my personal favorite but their internet is always sluggish), that means I’ve spent some money on some drink.  I don’t want to feel like I’ve not only wasted my time but also wasted money.  So it’s an extra incentive to get to work.

(5.) Reward yourself.  I don’t actually do this, but I’ve heard it said time and time again that if you know you’ll get a reward, you’re more than likely to want to earn that reward.  Set up a reward system.  Maybe you treat yourself to a writing session at Starbucks after you’ve written a certain amount of words where you’ll get that venti iced chai tea latte with soy (my go-to).  Making goals and rewarding yourself isn’t just about the rewards—it’s also about the goals.  Just setting up a list of goals in and of itself helps you see your project big-picture and see where you need to go.  Write it out.  Then you can see how far you have to go but also see your progress.  And progress is rewarding in itself, am I right?

And there you have it.  My tips to being productive and getting some writing done even when you’re insanely busy.  I will make a confession though: other than the writing on my lunch break thing, I haven’t been utilizing any of these tips.  But making this list helped remind me that it’s important to be productive, and while it’s hard to start now with a vacation looming over my head, I can’t wait to get a fresh start in June!

Happy writing!