I love Munich just like I love Salzburg and nearly every other country, city, town I visit...it's the curse/blessing of being a traveler. I think I'm more in love with exploring new places than the particular traits of the places I visit, but that's okay because nearly all of my new loves are worth lusting after. Here's why Munich made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 1. Indoor landscaping that keeps the city green and sparkly even in the depths of winter.
{Fünf Höfe} 2. A ridiculous, ever-expanding Michael Jackson shrine. 3. Year round surfing. People (crazy people) actually get down in that freezing cold water and ride that wave like they're Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush. {The Eisbach River}
4. Street performers who surprise my mama and nearly make me pee my pants laughing. 5. A fireball sunset on a winter day.
6. This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy stayed home, and this little piggy got turned into pork knuckle. Not just any pork knuckle. THE pork knuckle ma mère had been talking about ordering the entire trip and finally ordered at our last dinner out. Wee wee wee!
7. The mind boggling efficiency of the German train system that got us to Munich and everywhere else our hearts desired. Merci DB Bahn!
Not a traditional list of highlights, but definitely my quirky favorites from this stop on our trip! If you're looking for more traditional Munich travel tidbits, check out the recommendations recap below.
Munich Eat, Play, Sleep Round-Up Enjoy a yummy meal at... (enjoyed all of these!) SpatenhausDer Pschorr (organic, slow food, serious miam) Weisses BrauhausPark CafeHofbrauhaus Catch some zzzz's at... Sofitel Munich BayerpostFleming's Hotel Munich City Hotel Torbrau Fun in the cityMunich Walk (we did the City Walk + English Garden tour)Radius Tours (we used this group for day trips to 2 different sites: Dachau Concentration Camp and Neuschwanstein Castle)P.S. I wouldn't share these recommendations unless I thought they were worthy, especially in regards to the hotels--I am super OCD (for reals) about where I sleep and go crazy on review websites vetting everything beforehand.
We officially started our Christmas holiday in Munich, but first I've got to tell you about the place that really made my heart sing--Salzburg. Every time I travel to a new country or city, I fall in love (remember Istanbul or more recently Nuremberg?). It's like being in second grade and having a new best friend of the moment--Salzburg is now holding that special spot in my heart. Maybe Salzburg could hold its place as my favorite city if I could circle its name in gel pen hearts and write about it in my Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper. (I still have one. It's right next to the sticker album under my bed. Don't judge.)My family and I arrived on Christmas Eve day, dropped our bags at our charming hotel (see 'Round Up' below), and made a beeline for the Christmas markets in the center of Old Town. You would have thought we'd never seen a holiday market because we nearly peed our pants with giddy excitement walking around the stalls. Within five minutes each of us was stuffing our face with something in excess of 500 calories, carrying a mug of glühwein, and holding another purchase under our arm. We were in hog heaven, literally with all of the schnitzel being sold.
We ate enough that we had to go back to the hotel for a little nappy nap time (with all that blood rushing to our stomachs who wouldn't?), but were roused for a champagne toast in the hotel lobby and got ourselves purdy for a fancy schmancy Christmas Eve dinner. We even brought along holiday poppers to pull apart pre-dessert. This long standing tradition includes wearing the contents of the popper (high fashion red paper crowns) and playing with the super expensive prizes, like faux Rolex watches, dollhouse size nail clippers, and mind-bender games, very useful things. Wearing a paper hat in a fancy restaurant is totally acceptable when you're a few champagne flutes deep.
By the time dessert came and went, my champagne buzz had worn off enough to attend midnight church service with mon mari (and without shame) at the Salzburg Cathedral. It was worth the two-hour wait through a German mass to hear the most beautiful rendition of Silent Night I've ever experienced--all the lights were turned off and only one candle burned as a small group of singers accompanied by an acoustic guitar serenaded us with this magical Christmas carol.
Christmas day was more of the same, except with matching pajamas, present opening, and a new restaurant venue. This time we spent the evening at enjoying a four course meal at the St. Peter Stiftskeller all the while listening to live opera! I thought the cheesiness factor was going to be through the roof at the Mozart Dinner Concert, but it turned out to be a delicious and unique experience. Who doesn't want to hear excerpts from Don Giovanni while savoring bites of chocolate shaped like musical notes? But the musical highlight of our trip would be the next morning when we all jumped in a van to take the Sound of Music tour. Be jealous because when you played Louisa in a school play in 6th grade it doesn't get much better than visiting all of the sites where the movie was filmed and SINGING ALONG THE ENTIRE TIME.
Yes, a Sound of Music sing along happened, and now the question is not "how do you solve a problem about Maria?" but how do I ever get the soundtrack out of my head. We've been back in Paris eight days and I'm still singing about a lonely goat herd and making up lists of my favorite things. The tour was silly, ridiculous, and clearly one of the best things we did our entire eleven days of traveling. Did I mention our guide also directed us where to find the best and biggest souffle? As if we needed more food... Salzburg ended with a final day of touring the city's giant castle, shopping, and a little Italian food because none of us could handle another potato ball. We left the city with a few extra pounds on our hips (maybe now I'll start training for that marathon I signed up for...), a new-found appreciation for the magic of Hollywood (not all of the Sound of Music is true, what???!!!), Mozart filling our brains, and of course one or two pretzels for the train ride back to Munich.
Phew, there ya go--our trip to Salzburg in a not so tiny nutshell, but at least I'm leaving you with an abbreviated list of the top places we ate, slept, and played in my BFF city. Scroll just below to check it out.
So long farewell auf wiedersehen adieu! And just so I'm not the only one with the Sound of Music stuck in my head, this special treat is for you. (P.S. I've tried rotating this video 3x with different programs and am obviously computer inept, so enjoy it lopsided.)
2011 you were great, really truly you were, and I can't say goodbye to your twelve months of travel, friendship, and change without a sentimental trip down memory lane. Here's to you deux mille onze!
Turkish Delights Parts I, II, and IIII'm sad to see you go 2011, but deux mille douze has that promise of a fresh start that I just can't pass up!
See you next year mes amis!
P.S. Stay tuned for a round up on our Bavarian eating bonanza--hopefully I can entice you to stick around and keep reading with some photos of King Kong sized pretzels.
If the Nuremberg Christmas Markets were any closer to resembling the North Pole, Santa would have to find new real estate for his workshop. Seriously, the Germans know how to put on an impressive display for Christmas. Mother Nature also worked her magic and ordered a sprinkling of snow for our one day whirlwind tour of the markets. And by tour, I mean we ate our weight in gingerbread and sausage and walked around in a daze of hot wine for twelve hours--we arrived at 10am and didn't head back to our home base in Munich until 10pm. It takes a lot of glühwein to stay warm that long. ..Since we had quite a few hours to get our fill of the markets, we did an initial walk through without consuming a single thing. But rounds two, three, four, five...I lost count...involved eating lebkuchen (gingerbread--the city's specialty) in all of its shapes and forms, drinking a mug of glühwein, buying an ornament (or two), and repeating the process all over again. We only mixed things up twice: around lunch time and in the evening when the red wine and rum flowing through our veins couldn't quite match the dropping temperature.
And this is what happens when you stop for lunch in a town known not only for its gingerbread, but for its little fried sausages: you get a menu with only one option and that option is SAUSAGE in quantities of 6, 8, 10, or 12. Mon mari went ahead and ordered us each a plate of 8 which means I ate 5 and he ate 11. I'm sort of proud and disgusted at the same time. Full and warm, we hit the markets again and picked up some special ornaments for our family. Amongst piles of angels, stars, and glittery globe ornaments, we found two gems--a leg of ham for my sister (the girl's first love is pork) and piece of cheese for my mom (she works at a store called The Mouse Trap). We even picked up a ceramic prune for our future Christmas trees. Delightful, right? The Nuremberg Christmas Markets are world renowned for prune people. Several market stalls displayed little figures made up of dried prunes, other fruit, and nuts. We just had to have a prune for ourselves. I'm imagining a future "find the prune" ornament hunt in our household. Prunes are the new pickles. Despite making eating the focus of our visit in Nuremberg, we did manage to peek in a few churches and walk around the castle. With the Christmas decorations and light snowfall, we really couldn't have asked for a more beautiful visit and more than once mon mari asked to stay there forever. But that may have been the sausage talking...
We're getting ready to head back to good old Paris now, but since I'm sort of dreading the end of Christmas fun, there are going to be a few more holidayish posts. I just can't quit Christmas cold turkey! P.S. How can you not love a city with not one, but five Santas?!
All kinds of Turkey have come and gone this November. The fig and foie gras stuffed Thanksgiving turkey was gobbled up last weekend and it's been nearly a month since our trip to Cappadocia and Istanbul, but I have top-notch souvenirs from both occasions--a Turkey Day place card masterpiece and authentic Turkish cooking ingredients courtesy of Eveline and Chef Feyzi, the culinary wizards behind Cooking Alaturka. Even before our Turkey trip was finalized, I'd booked a cuisine class for two at Cooking Alaturka. I couldn't wait to get in the kitchen and was thanking the blog gods for bringing Ann Mah's NY Times article to my attention. Ann got to travel the globe researching cooking schools in some of the world's top tourist destinations and highlighted Istanbul's Cooking Alaturka in her October 2011 piece. Working alongside the school's founder, Eveline and her co-chef Feyzi, we prepared a Turkish meal fit for a sultan. With the help of four other students (and the expertise of our instructors of course!), mon mari and I dished up zeytinyağlı taze fasulye (green beans), ezogelin corbası (red lentil & bulgur soup), kabak mücveri (zucchini pancakes), and hünkar beğendili kuzu (lamb stew). For a sweet ending, we stuffed figs with walnuts and soaked them in a clove infused syrup. It was a simple, easy, and delicious way to cap off our hearty menu. After whipping up our culinary creations, we sat down to enjoy our feast and each others' company. The highlight of the evening was sharing the meal with fellow students and hearing their stories. Matt from Chicago, the couple from Vancouver--everyone had a different reason for visiting Turkey. Better yet, each guest had an Istanbul tip or recommendation to share which we made good use of the rest of our stay in the city.
My fingers reeked of garlic for days afterward despite dousing them in lemon juice, but the lingering stink was worth the reward of learning how to create Turkish dishes in our own kitchens someday. Unsure of what I'd be able to find make in Paris, I purchased the more exotic spices and pastes directly from Cooking Alaturka. Now I just have to find time to prepare a proper Turkish dinner for my friends in Paris!
Soon. The Turkey posts will end soon....that's only a promise, if I can stop obsessing over Christmas crafts, ripping pages from old magazines to use as wrapping paper, and eating my weight in candy. I know Halloween has come and gone, but the candy craving monster that lives in my belly (or is it brain?) has reared its ugly head again, and I'm on a Haribo binge that has my hand permanently shoved in a bowl of golden bears. It's things like this that prevent me from using my fingers to type. But, I knocked out DIY holiday project #1 last night, don't have the materials for #2, and already finished whatever candy was left in the apartment so I'm ready to rock and roll with Turkey post #3.
My heart was smitten with Istanbul before we even got off the plane. You could say it was love at first read. The first book I read that was set in Istanbul had me completely mesmerized. Ever since then I've been gobbling up Istanbul books like they're candy. Actually getting to visit the city was like stepping into one of my favorite novels, and there is no better way to win me over. But, my love affair nearly ended in tragedy before even getting off to decent, romantic start--our taxi driver thought it would be fun to make our lives flash before our eyes driving from the airport to our hotel. I have never in my life seen anything like the traffic in Istanbul. The only word that describes it is chaos. Total chaos that makes drivers think they're Hollywood stuntmen who can cut across six lanes of traffic, tail tractor trailers, and chase ambulances without consequences. We basically got in two accidents and kept on speeding along praying we didn't plunge into the Bosphorus. Three words: near death experience. Whatever happened the rest of our stay in Istanbul, I was counting my lucky stars to be alive and said at least a dozen prayers in both Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
Since I scored a sweet hotel deal on Luxury Link, we lived the life of the rich and famous at the A'jia Hotel on the Asian side of Istanbul. But despite our spa worthy bathroom and bedroom balcony, the A'jia couldn't compare to our hotel in Cappadocia. There's no better luxury than personal attention and the A'jia missed the mark on this one. The daily dessert plate and waterfall showerhead almost won me over, but the staff couldn't quite figure out how to cater to guests who weren't interested in visiting the high-end shopping mall or renting a private yacht. You could tell we weren't their typical clientele and they struggled to answer our questions that didn't involve expensive restaurants and designer shopping excursions. Thankfully we had more than enough recommendations from friends to get a feel for the "real" Istanbul. Our sightseeing agenda had us hitting all of the major tourist destinations in the city with a few side stops along the way. These semi-off-beaten-track excursions turned out to be my favorite part of the trip. Eating Kanlica yogurt piled high with powered sugar, cruising the Bosphorus to the mouth of the Black Sea, making friends with wild pups, and strolling the parks in Bebek gave us a taste of what life is like in Istanbul and inspired dreams of owning a mansion with a view of the Marmara.
We left Istanbul totally in love with Turkey and stocked with enough evil eyes to last us until our next trip. We also brought back all of the spices needed to recreate the recipes we made at our Cooking Alaturka class. Get ready for a post on that! Hoşça kal for now!
Why is it taking me so long to blog about Turkey? Because I decided to make this ornament wreath I found on Pinterest. An ornament wreath that was supposed to take an hour--just one hour. I'm now on hour four, have glue gun burns on my fingers, and band aid worthy cuts from trying to rip off ornament tops. I needed a break from that bologna so the Turkey talk is back on. I said it here and I'll say it again. We stayed at an AWESOME hotel in Cappadocia. Okan, the hotel manager at Aravan Evi, acted like our personal guide. Every morning Okan sat down with us and laid out options for the day. He suggested sites to visit, drew us maps, rented us a car, and hooked us up with a great tour experience. Based on his rock star recommendation, we rented a car for the first two days of our stay. We zipped around the countryside, watching potato field after potato field fly by, enjoying the blue sky of Central Anatolia. After being cooped up like pigeons in Paris, we felt like happy puppies with our heads out the window driving on wide-open highway. Our first stop on the Okan's itinerary was the underground city of Kaymakli. 8 stories deep, a giant city lies under the earth. Christians used the thousands of rooms and tunnels to hid during times of presecution. Deep within one of the zillion tunnels, we found a tour guide willing to show us around for a few liras and snap some silly shots of us pushing the giant stone door. It's definitely worth having someone show you around because the information provided by the site is limited, plus it's dark and guides have flash lights! You also get to look possessed with beady red eyes! After drinking apple tea and surviving our first carpet spiel, we left Kaymakli rug-less and ready to be out in the sunlight. We drove to Sognali--a small town known for its incredible cave churches dating from 4th century AD. Out of our whole trip in Turkey this was my favorite experience. With no other tourists milling around, I felt like I was Indiana Jones exploring a historical gold mine. Except I was acting more like a five year crawling around a giant cave/church playground. It was here that the magic of a higher being filled mon mari's iPhone and captured this awesome, unintended religious looking photo. Standing there felt as incredible as it looks. I was beaming pure sunshine!
With just a sliver of sunshine left, we hopped in the car and went to an archeological dig that Okan put on our list. Just some site totally unguarded, totally available for any Joe Schmo to walk around and explore--that's what you get in central Turkey and it's like finding hidden treasure. Without Okan's directions we never would have found the site and since sites in Turkey are still relatively unregulated, we had the entire place totally to ourselves. We just tip toed around oohing and aahing.
The next day we hopped back in our sweet ride and headed to the Ihlara Valley (the Grand Canyon of Turkey) for hiking / a workout (I could already feel Okan's mom's cooking going to straight to my sides). Once again we were just a pair on the path and had the southern half of the valley trek to ourselves. Waterfalls and cave churches peppered the route and provided a nice change of scenery from gray Paris sidewalks. Yay for nature and peace and quiet!
I want to blather on about caves and churches, but that wreath ordeal made me sleepy and I got hooked on Game of Thrones (ugh another addictive show!). I'm in this Turkey business for the long haul so there will be another post with jet-setter worthy boat rides in Istanbul and pics of best yogurt I've ever eaten. Soon we'll be back to regular ol' Paris programming. If you missed Turkish Delights Part I, check it out here. See you soon!
After getting back to real life with one train strike, two hours of French class, three days of work, a four hour long raclette party, five hours of Christmas crafting, and over a dozen homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, I'm ready to chat about Turkey. Turkey with a capital T that is. It's almost time for the gobble gobble kind, but not quite yet. Give me a week then I'll bust out some turkey hand print and feather goodies.
It's actually quite appropriate that Turkey's name is synonymous with a major meat product because all we did in Turkey was eat. We dipped into the piggy pudding every chance we had. The food was so amazing I think I said, "This could be my last meal and I'd die happy." So that's where we'll start--with breakfast on day one. Warm rolls, fresh honeycomb, cheese, jams, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, pastrami, eggs, and helva formed the base of our first Turkish meal. Maybe I was lightheaded from the early AM hot air balloon ride we'd just taken, but I'm pretty certain I counted fifteen different plates of food making up our breakfast spread--fifteen different plates of food all grown or produced within a mile radius. Every-single-thing. At first we thought another couple was joining us for breakfast, but no. All the food was for us so we made like good little hotel guests and ate our faces off. Waste not and don't eat lunch was our motto for our stay in Cappadocia, the first stop on our Turkey adventure. Like every meal we'd enjoy in Cappadocia, this grand feast was prepared by the mother and sister of our hotel manager at Aravan Evi. We'd arrived at Aravan Evi, a small three room boutique hotel located in a tiny village in Central Anatolia late the night before. (By tiny I mean there were more cats than people roaming the semi-paved street.) The young manager named Okan greeted us warmly and told us to hit the hay because we had a 5:00am start the next day. Wake up call on vacation? C'est vrai! Okan organized a hot air balloon ride for us--the first of many amazing things he would help us do and see during our visit. A little less than bright eyed and bushy tailed, we woke up before the roosters (literally) and were hustled out to meet the shuttle that would take us to our balloon lift-off. We careened around curvy roads in the dark picking up passengers at other hotels, but got to the lift-off site with enough time to see the balloons getting ready for departure. While I don't like saying it, watching the huge balloons expand and glow in the early morning darkness was more exciting than the actual ride in the balloon. Lame, right? Mon mari and I were totally underwhelmed by our balloon experience. Maybe our expectations had been too high, but weren't blown away, figuratively or literally. We barely got any air compared to the other balloons and the sun wasn't shining quite as much as we wanted which made for mediocre photo opportunities. Plus someone brought a baby in our quadrant of the basket--a 6 month old baby! We worried the entire ride that one of us would accidentally bump into the mom and send that baby flying over the side. Not exactly what you want to be thinking about when trying to enjoy Cappadocia's fairy chimneys and cave formations. While I wouldn't go hot air ballooning again, I still think it's something worth experiencing, but know that coordinating the perfect weather with the perfect pilot and the perfect basket buddies is like hitting a magical travel trifecta. Now you know why I started off with breakfast versus our fly in the sky--I was more impressed with the homemade goat's cheese than my view from 300 feet above. I could write a War & Peace long novel about Turkey so this puppy's going to be broken into a few parts. There's food talk and endless Turkish adventures to come, including channeling Jesus and making friends with wild dogs--clearly not to be missed! In the meantime, if you're hankering for a visit to the land of lokum, here are the resources we used to prepare for our trip. I'd also be super excited to answer any questions you have about planning a trip to Turkey. There's so much I'd love to share and recommend! Guides & MoreLonely Planet TurkeyRick Steves IstanbulNY Times 36 hours in IstanbulNY Times In Transit BlogGrantourismo! Istanbul Take Homes: A Guide to Shopping in the Grand BazaarGrantourismo! Local Knowledge: Ayse from IstanbulGrantourismo! Spices, Pickles, Sweets, & other Delights Istanbul's MarketsPre-trip Reading List Museum of Innocence by Orhan PamukSnow by Orhan Pamuk Birds without Wings by Louis de BernieresThe Flea Palace by Elif ShafakPortrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga
As I sit here spooning Nutella into my mouth, I want to share an opportunity for you to eat Nutella in the land of baguettes. Sounds yummy, right? Earlier this summer AnyTrip.com contacted me about being part of their "Love Paris" campaign. Starting September 1st the website will be showcasing the City of Light by sharing contributions from bloggers (even me, eeek!) on Paris's food, culture, romance, and even outdoorsy side. In addition to smothering Paris with love the entire month of September, AnyTrip will be hosting four chances to win a perfect Paris vacation. Winners will receive a 2 night stay at a hotel, an activity, and $150 in travel vouchers. Oh la la! To enter the giveaway: Like AnyTrip on Facebook and enter the challenge set every Monday on their wall. A winner will be announced on the Friday of the same week. Here is the running order of competitions: - Food Week: 5th - 9th September
- Culture Week: 12th - 16th September
- Outdoors Week: 19th - 23rd September
- Romance Week: 26th - 30th September
I hope you enjoy the Paris love fest on AnyTrip and that you get to cross the pond and come to Paris! I'm rooting for you! Come visit me so that I don't eat a whole jar of Nutella by myself!
One more post about vacation fun and then back to our regularly scheduled Paris programming. While I'm firmly planted in Paris, my brain is still in the U.S. and it's slowing making its way across the Atlantic one lobe at a time. Re-entry is a painful process, but more on that later...for now it's one last post about peeing on the side of a river and that sort of thing. Since I couldn't find one picture of an outhouse pre-trip, I knew I needed to post a lowdown on the Moose River and what a girl needs to reign in this not so raging river.
Where the heck is the Moose River?
It's in the middle of nowhere. That's the important thing to remember because if you find yourself in trouble on the river you'll need to run as fast as you can to get help. You get negative cell phone service up there and can only hear the cry of the loon, not cries of human panic so get your running legs ready. For real though, the Moose River is located in northwest Maine very close to the Canadian border. Despite there being a location on the map called Moose River, it is not the Moose River of family vacation infamy. The Moose River makes its path around Holeb Pond and Attean Pond (see below).
What's to do on the Moose River?Most folks venture to the Moose River to get close to nature--the tree kind and the human kind. The Moose River offers itself up for canoeing and kayaking trips that usually span three or four days. This river is an especially good choice if you're not ready to tackle the bigger Allagash River a bit further north. Depending on a few logistical decisions, you can spread out your longer paddling days and work in sufficient time to enjoy the scenic campsites, but the trip will still be a solid workout. If you're not up for doing the trip solo or don't have your own equipment, you can hire a guide and all of your supplies through one of the local outfitters. We rented our equipment through Cry of the Loon Outdoor Adventures. Andy the owner was extremely helpful in getting us prepared for the trip and even invited us back to his house to taste some moose meat that his eleven year old son "acquired" during hunting season. We passed...but mon mari was a bit disappointed. I was a little sad to see Andy go at the start of our journey as I can imagine where an experienced guide would have come in handy! Where do you stay?
During the trip you rest your weary arms, back, and bum in campsites along the river. While all of the campsites are sufficient for a good night's sleep, there are a few that stand out for their views of the river and ponds. It's easy enough to ask your tour outfitter which few he or she recommends as everyone has their favorites. Some of the campsites hug the shore while a few are above the river bank. The ones along the river are a bit easier to get around especially if you have the amount of stuff we did. If you're hauling a zillion pounds of camping gear up a hill from your canoes it can get a bit tiresome as we quickly discovered. Most campsites can accommodate more than one group, but we found it helpful to plan out where we going to set up each night and steer clear of other groups on the river. The scenery is so beautiful that you wouldn't want a rowdy crew disturbing your evening campfire or your personal star show.
The campsites are BASIC e.g. no cabins, running water, or 21st century amenities that most of us have come to know and love. There's flat ground for setting up your tent, a fire pit, and some sort of outhouse or out "box." The bathroom situation was of the most interest to me. I'd never really camped and wanted to be as prepared as possible, but I couldn't find one darn picture of what the bathrooms before getting on the river. So here's one in all its glory: This was a quality one. We had one other outhouse like this and then the next campsite it was a box about 25 meters back in the woods with a toilet seat attached (but who sits?!). You had to straddle your feet on two rocks and do your business in the box all the time fearing a raccoon was going to sneak up on you. At night when it's dark with a capital D, you stay near the campsite and pop a squat. There's no going in the woods. But your biggest concern at the campsites shouldn't be the toilet, but rather the mosquitoes that will be biting your behind as you try to use it. Being trapped in a stinky outhouse without a breeze is mosquito heaven. Get it over with fast and get out.
Will I get eaten by a bear?
Probably not...but if you're me this was still a giant worry. (You won't get me to grizzly bear country anytime soon.) Maine has black bears, but they keep to themselves. I still made us pack up our food and cooking gear every night in dry sacs and store them far away from the campsite. More than anything this was to keep the raccoons away. Other wildlife concerns? Ticks? Mosquitoes? Black flies? Yes. Yes. And yes. Although I never saw a tick, I was very conscientious of covering myself in serious bug repellent and wearing a hat at all times. I also took care to cover up in long pants, a long sleeve shirt, socks, and sneakers as this provided protection from mosquitoes too.
You'd think with a name like the Moose River you'd get to see a moose or two. Unfortunately, we did not and I'm still kind of bitter about it. We just weren't quiet enough or in the right spots at the right times. We did however see two bald eagles (woohoo!), a beaver, baby ducks, and a river otter.
What should I pack? Here's my personal list of "gear" for 4 days on the Moose River. I used a hiking backpack (which I ♡) as my suitcase and stored it in a dry sac while on the water. Quality water shoes like these (to wear on the river)Cheap flip flops (wrapped up in a grocery store plastic bag so if they got icky they wouldn't get the rest of my stuff dirty)2 pairs of athletic shorts 1 pair of zip away pants like these4 T-shirts (cheap Fruit of the Loom sleeveless undershirts and v-neck undershirts) 4 pairs of ankle socks1 pair of super warm wool socks like these for sleeping1 pair of long underwear for sleeping2 sports bras5 pairs of underwear1 bathing suit (that you don't mind getting gross)1 towel like this one1 rain jacket with hood1 quart sized Ziploc bag with: unscented deodorant, travel toothbrush, travel toothpaste, a small package of face wipes (which could also work as body wipes), face lotion and sunscreen transferred from a bigger bottles to a travel size ones, and a small vitamin pack that stored ibuprofen and medications 1 quart sized Ziploc bag with: Jungle Juice, bug repellent bracelets, anti-bite/pain relief, and band aids 1 roll of biodegradable toilet paper 1 small travel hairbrush (the folding kind) with hair ties and bobby pins attached1 hat1 headlamp1 water bottle 1 travel pillow1 sleeping bag (I'm in love with mine.)1 bookBefore the trip I packed each day's outfit and my pajamas in separate Ziploc bags. The Ziploc bag included the shirt, shorts, underwear, and socks for that day or just the shirt, underwear, and socks if I was rotating the shorts and the bras I was wearing. I highly recommend this method of packing! It forces you to bring only what you need, keeps you organized, and gives you a place to store your dirty laundry. At the end of each day, I'd stuff my dirty clothes back in the Ziploc bag and transfer it to the bottom of my backpack. My gear list does not include everything we brought on the trip. Other family members were responsible for bringing a first aid kit, toilet paper, cooking supplies, etc. In terms of food, I recommend keeping it simple. We ate like kings on the trip, but that's because we brought everything but the kitchen sink. I suggest storing snacks in Ziploc bags for easy access on the river and then preparing easy meals for dinner (e.g. ones that only need boiling water and keep clean up minimal). Many camping stores sell meal kits that are pretty tasty! Phew! A picture of the Moose River is going to wrap up this vacation series bonanza! I'm ready to get back to my regular posts about croissants and how to not to get fat eating them! As much as I hate to say it, adieu summer! C'est la rentrée and I need to get on with life in Paris.
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