Bossy List. Is that still a thing?

Way back when in 2008, inspired by Maggie Mason's Mighty Life List, I started the Bossy List, 100 things I wanted to accomplish in the next 10 years. Over time I edited it and tweaked it and slowly (oh so slowly) actually crossed some things off the list. It's long overdue for a another tune-up, but in the meantime let me tell you about an item I crossed off this month.

February 1, fresh off my first Runner's World Run Streak followed immediately by a successful Whole 30, I was as lean and fit as I've ever been and ready to take on a new challenge, so I ran my first half-marathon. At the end of it I felt highly accomplished and simultaneously wanted to die. The next day we flew to Berlin for a week, I did not pass a pastry without cramming it into my mouth, then I was working, then I got SHINGLES (true story), and eventually I fell off the running/health wagon altogether. So what did we do? We signed up for another half marathon. For motivation! In September—so far away! So much time to train!

And we did train. We ran in hot and humid Houston, we ran in chilly and hilly San Francisco, we did another Runner's World Run Streak and even ran every day on a week-long cross-country road trip. And pretty much every long run went horribly for me. Many of them ended in tears (CM is a saint, yes I know). I knew the half marathon would be a disaster. But I kept running. Why, you ask?

Because before and after the race we would be spending the night in a castle. An actual CASTLE.

So we trained. And I ran the race. It wasn't a disaster, exactly, but it was about 6 miles longer than I wanted it to be, and I'm certainly not feeling the urge to run for 2 1/2 hours again anytime soon.

But back to the castle. It was schmancy and lovely and pretty much exactly how you'd hope it would be. But ultimately, maybe not totally our thing, as we're already contemplating a return trip to the area (the Wachau) and will probably stay somewhere more simple and cozy. But first!

88. Spend a night in a castle.

Some pictures from our weekend (some by me, some by CM—you'll be able to tell the difference):

So! Many! Runners!

Atmospheric panoramic from the starting line

BEFORE: smiling, cold

AFTER: smiling, NOT cold

Reward

Our castle room

View from our room

Spa area in the basement of the hotel. Guess who forgot her bathing suit? Sad trombone.
Luckily, there was also a sauna. And we were in Europe. No suit? No problem.

Scenic Dürnstein & the Danube

View from Dürnstein at sunset

The road Google Maps sent us down in our rental car that dead-ended at the bike path, which meant we had to turn around and drive back up through the pedestrians. Haha, Google Maps, you're hilarious.

LMB eats/Europe

You may remember that when we moved to Vienna I set the ambitious goal of eating a meal in every country in Europe (there are 45 of those, by the way). It was originally on the Bossy List, but when we came back to the States I moved it to my Life List instead, because I knew for certain that I wouldn't be getting it all done by 2018.

Since I started the project, I've eaten meals in France, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. This summer, I made some more headway.

United Kingdom

We ate many a meal in the UK this summer, including countless Glyndebourne canteen breakfasts, the best Indian food I've ever had, and one sneaky trip to Vapiano. And every Friday (just about), we ate fish and chips. I recommend it with mushy peas, which are exactly what they sound like.

Germany

During our week in Munich, we made sure to have one traditional Bavarian brunch, consisting of Weisswurst, pretzels, mustard, and (obvs) beer. In my experience, best eaten in a courtyard tucked away off the street, preferably under a sturdy umbrella to protect you when the summer rain starts falling.

Belgium

I was too embarrassed to photograph the waffles I ate EVERY DAY for breakfast at our hotel, so you will have to settle for moules frites instead. Also served with beer (sensing a summer theme here?). Note the ketchup and mayonnaise in the corner—we're basically locals.

All photos by CameraMan

Solo photo excursions

CM and I both love taking photos, particularly while traveling, so you'd think it would be a great activity for us to do together. In reality, however, it's not my favorite. Chalk it up to my own insecurities, but I get frustrated when we both photograph the same thing and his photos turn out SO MUCH BETTER. And with his amazing eye for composition, he spots photo opportunities that I would pass right by. For whatever reason, when we're together, I tend to leave my camera in its bag.

Which is why we I'm so happy we discovered a new travel activity: solo photo excursions. Some of my favorite pictures of the summer were taken during a timed 30-minute stroll in Montalcino at sunset, when we headed off with our cameras in opposite directions and met up afterwards for Negronis and shared what we'd each seen. It's a tradition I hope we'll keep on subsequent trips—I actually felt closer to CM after spending a (teeny tiny) bit of time apart.

I had plenty of time to wander alone with my camera during our 3 days in Aix-en-Provence. Poor CM was holed up in our (admittedly gorgeous) hotel room working for most of our time (despite the vacation beard, he wasn't truly on vacation). I was going stir-crazy, so I headed out to take pictures of this gorgeous city, all winding streets and outdoor cafés and rosé…so, so much rosé. I've been told that Aix is not even close to being the most scenic spot in Provence, but we sure liked it.

As ever, click on any photo to be taken into a slideshow.

All photos by LMB

Je ne parle pas français

This summer we started out our Adventures in Foreign Languages in a familiar place—Vienna—where both CM and I felt proud of how much we remembered and how easily we were able to drop back into German. Then we moved on to Italy, where we spoke serviceable Italian to waiters and post office employees. We might have gotten a little cocky. Our next stop was France, and the first French person who spoke to us got nothing but blank looks from us. It became abundantly clear: we do not speak French.

So obviously my first European gig is in Geneva, Switzerland. And it starts 6 months from now.

I'm working on it. Rosetta Stone, flash cards, this workbook and this one. I'm planning to take a class at the Alliance Française this winter, and maybe do some private tutoring as well. I'm scared.

To put it into perspective, I'm relying on stories of those much braver than I. Like Mama Bossy, who studied as a foreign exchange student in Finnland after high school, just because she wanted a challenge (her 4 years of concurrent French and Spanish classes weren't enough for her, apparently). Or CameraMan, who moved to Vienna and worked for a year in what previously had been his weakest language. Or Legs McGee, who has just moved to Moscow for a year on a Fulbright grant and is starting work at the Bolshoi (read all about her adventures here!).

After all, French is "easy."

From here

Any hot tips on learning French? I'll take them!

Museum Brandhorst, Munich

We spent a week in Munich seeing the Ring cycle, and we fell a bit in love with the city, in that kind of "Wow, we could really be happy here" kind of way that demands to be taken seriously. We're planning to stay put for a while, but Munich has definitely moved onto a short list of places we'd like to live.

One of the best things we did while we were there was visit the Museum Brandhorst, a contemporary art museum that opened in 2009. We were lucky enough to be staying with a Munich resident who told us about it; otherwise we probably would have missed it! Munich has several great museums in a big complex, all called Pinakothek this or that, and this lovely museum is tucked away behind them.

The most stunning part of the museum is the exterior.

Can you spot CM in this one?

The interior, in contrast, is very simple, just white walls and light wood. All the art housed here is given plenty of space to breathe. The museum uses all kinds of new "green" technologies to heat and cool it and to filter natural light into the space. It's a peaceful place to be.

It's not a huge collection, but it's deep in certain areas. My favorite was Cy Twombly's Lepanto series, created for the 2001 Venice Biennial. The Brandhorst has the largest collection of Twombly outside of (amazingly enough) The Menil Collection in Houston, and a special room was designed specifically for the Lepanto paintings. It's incredible, the closest thing I've found to the Water Lilies rooms in Paris.

Photo from here

We visit a lot of museums when we travel, and we particularly love museums whose architecture is as much of a draw as the art itself. Which museums do you love to visit?

All photos by LMB except the last one.

My happy place

I'm in a bit of a funk this week, having trouble remembering why I've chosen to do my work all the way over here in New York (a city that has a lot of things going for it, but a distinct lack of CameraMan). Transitions are never smooth for me, and 3 weeks in I'm still having some difficulty transitioning into Work Mode.

CM knows I've been a Grumpypants since he left, so he sent me some pictures of our time in Italy this summer. These will be my happy place for a good long while.

For best results, click any photo—you'll be taken into a slideshow (although for some reason you won't see my captions).

We took the overnight Vienna-Florence train again. And guess what I'm wearing?

The Arno

Waiting for our favorite coffee shop to open.
I didn't even realize this was me when I first looked at it. I'm a brunette!

Arms-length self portrait—our fave photography method

The view from our Montalcino hotel room

Watching the old Montalcinesi navigating the steep alleys of the city made us feel like wusses.

I'd like a vacation apartment right…there.

Friendly Montalcino street cat

Or maybe there.

View of the Tuscan countryside

The bottom of a Negroni

Santa Margherita di Ligure, the overnight stop on our road trip
along the Riviera from Montalcino to Aix-en-Provence

Beach changing rooms in Santa Margherita di Ligure

He ain't called CameraMan for nothing, folks.

Cure for the common jet lag

A colleague of mine got back recently from a long trip in Australia. Sydney is 14 hours ahead of New York, so he was looking pretty bleary-eyed for a few days. He absolutely swears by the Argonne Anti-Jet Lag Diet, though, and I think I might try it for my next trip. Have you heard of it? It gives you a strict regimen of feast and fast days beginning 4 days before you fly, and limits caffeine consumption to certain times of day. I'm intrigued.

Also by this iPhone app, which prompts you to apply pressure to certain points on your body to reset your inner clock. I'm a skeptic, but for $2.99 I would try it.

I certainly haven't found any magic bullet for avoiding jet lag, but here's what tends to help me (not that I always follow my own instructions).

• Drink LOTS of water on the plane, and only water. Bring a bottle and ask the flight attendant to fill it. Take a cup of water every time they offer one.
• Don't feel the need to eat absolutely every meal they bring around, especially things that you know just by looking will probably wreak havoc with your digestion. Better to be a bit hungry when you arrive.
• Try to sleep on the plane, but only if it's nighttime at your destination. If not, stay awake.
• Once you arrive, go outside! Sunlight is so important to let your body know what time it is. Physical activity outdoors is a good thing, too.
• Resist all urges to nap when you arrive. I always forget this one on purpose because I'm so tired—don't be like me.
• Stay up as late as you can. We usually aim for 9pm bedtime after a long trip.
• Have something planned for the morning after you arrive (or the day of, if you're ambitious), preferably a business meeting of some kind. The best jet lag cure I know is not having the option to laze around the house.

What works for you? Any special jet lag tips to share? I'm collecting them.

The most relaxing place in the world (for us)

Here's what I know (so far) about traveling together. We're not beach people; we're pool people. Road trips in foreign countries can be dicey. Rent the GPS unit. Bring Pringles and gummy bears. Have a restaurant in mind before we get there. We will probably like anything that describes itself as a 4-star design hotel. All suitcases should have 4 wheels, not 2. Train travel is far superior to plane travel. Strong wifi is non-negotiable. Sometimes 30 minutes alone with our cameras is all we need to cure grumpiness. These other things.

And Montalcino, Italy is the most relaxing place in the world (for us).

During our honeymoon, we went to Montalcino three times while staying at the Bossy Castle near Siena. First, for dinner at Taverna Grappolo Blu on a tip from Rick Steves. Charmed, we went back for an overnight stay (and dinner again at Taverna Grappolo Blu). Then back the next day when a certain newly-married CM realized he'd left his wedding ring on the bedside table in the hotel.

This year, we went on purpose. Three nights at the Hotel Dei Capitani, and next time I think we'll make it a week.

Here's what we do in Montalcino. Eat delicious breakfast at our hotel, outside overlooking the Tuscan countryside. Take walks meandering through tiny village streets, knowing we can't possibly get lost. Pet street cats and talk to them. Drink cappuccini at the Caffé Fiaschetteria Italiana. Take a dip in the pool. Read on lounge chairs under a giant umbrella. Eat hot pecorino cheese. Taste Brunellos. Nap. Emerge from the hotel when the light is just getting pretty. Take pictures. Drink Negronis and snack on potato chips. Eat pici at Taverna Grappolo Blu. Look at the moon. Sleep.

It's heaven, truly.

Here's proof. Click on any picture, and you can see them as a pretty slideshow on a black background. All photos by LMB.