Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix!
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: Baguettes and Many StepsFebruary: In Like Minnesota; Out Like HawaiiMarch: Wet and WildApril: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches TooMay: Al Fresco June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine VersionsJuly: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure2. What did you learn last month?
Holy smokes, I cannot even recap this as it is so deep, so I will just say one thing that is shallow. I saw these "candy bars" in the refrigerated section of the supermarkets in the Baltics, like next to the yogurt, and I was puzzled by why they were there. So of course I had to buy several of them (for research purposes!) and see what they were all about. The translation came up as "quark bars" which I had no idea what that meant, even in English!
I tasted them and they basically tasted a little like cottage cheese or cheesecake, with a chocolate layer on the outside. Anyway, turns out that quark IS a cheese, and is something between yogurt and cottage cheese, and since I love yogurt and cottage cheese (and cheesecake), I was a big fan. I have not seen this anywhere outside the Baltics though.
Outside view
Inside view
3. What was the weather like where you are?
It rained a lot, and then it was very, very hot (95 F/35 C), and then it rained.
4. What event last month was your favorite?
I cannot choose just one, but I really enjoyed the hiking! However, I also rented a bike a couple of times and had some great rides, I swam a couple of times, I met up with people and ate and drank and was merry! It was a good month.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
Book: The Beauty of Your Face
Movie/Show: N/A
Podcast: All The Hacks: 18 Tactics for Booking Award Travel
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
In 2010 I went to Albania, and their currency is the Lek. As you do, I took out too much cash and had some left over when I left. I tried exchanging it in Montenegro, then Croatia, then Italy, but nobody wanted it. So I still had this cash, and I brought it with me on this trip so that if I went back to Albania, I could use it.
On my hiking trip, I hiked through Albania for a few days, but my plan had been to camp the entire time. However, I checked on the exchange rate, and it turns out I had about $75 worth of Lek, so I decided to go hog wild! I stopped and bought a bunch of food, had lunch in a national park, then got a room in a hut, and I still had some left over, so I bought myself three glasses of wine! It was like going on vacation! Oftentimes after 15 years, the currency will be reissued, so the old stuff will have no value (and this was true for one of the bills, which was worth about $3) and so I have lost a lot of money by not using up my cash before I leave a country! This time I was not going to let that happen again!
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
I am looking forward to learning more about the history of the Balkans, trying the food, and doing some more hiking (probably just day trips mostly). Also I have three countries coming up that I have never been to before which is exciting.
Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.
JULY:1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? 2. What did you learn last month? 3. What was the weather like where you are? 4. What event last month was your favorite?5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 6. Tell us one funny recent story.
AUGUST: 7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Bonus question! Have you ever heard of quark? Have you ever tried to use money that you had left over from traveling and they would not take it because it was too old? [FYI this has happened to me a lot!]
