DUBAI - here I come!

Dubai i Sneska moja lepa, here I come!!!!!!!!

Aufiderzen Bec, i eto mene kod Sheika... opet kamile, i opet avantura! urraaa!!!

Dubai was about re-connecting with my good friend Snezana. We went to high-school together, and have known each other for more than 16 yrs! I think she and I are the only ones from our high-school class that now live elsewhere in the world.

Sneska and I understand each other so well - from the macro-picture life issues to the micro-picture girly stuff. We share similar experiences and were shaped by different worldly circumstances than those of our peers from back at home in Serbia, so we always enjoy seeing each other and catching up.

We mostly talked about love and meaningful relationships... about our careers... about children... and so on. Lots of good questions posed, some answered, but we would mostly always ended up a conversation laughing, hugging and celebrating to a drink and of course, a dance! We both love dancing and the visit was jam-packed with good music, fun mood, and lots of dancing!!!!!!

Sneska was off to Tokyo on her vacation, and I was off to Nepal... We will meet again in June and we hope to go to Thailand together for more fun under the sun! :))

Appreciation for flight attendants - Sneska svaka cast!

Traveling and flying all the time... 2 days in a row, no sleeping... struggling to stay awake so I could catch my connection...

I have a new, much bigger, appreciation for all flight attendants!!!! Sneska, ziva mi bila - svaka cast kako ti to svetski uradis i uspes da si uvek lepa i nasmejana! :)))

LJubim... vidimo se za koji sat. Evo pakujem se i sedam na avion za Dubai!!!!!!!!! Stizem!!! Nadam se da su Sheici spremni!! ;))))

Kisses

Moja mamica i njena pisma (My mom and her emails)...

Ja sam u Becu, mamica mi je u Beocinu, i nas dve se emailujemo! Sta cemo - ona penzionisana, uziva kuci, a ja na jednogodisnjem odmoru, uzivam u svetu!! Mama je moj epicentar za ravnotezu! ;)))

Pisemo pisma i kaze moja mama, moj prijatelj (ovo me je sacekalo u Becu!):

"Duso moja,

Gledam popis zemalja u kojima si bila i mogu ti reci da je veoma respetibilna lista!
Znam da si iz svake zemlje ponela po nesto: od kulture, jezika, obicaja, ljudi, iskustva... i srecna sam sto imas priliku da tako dopunjujes svoju licnost i cinis je bogatijom i snaznijom.
To su ovozemaljske vrednosti!!!!
Ne materijalne!
Mnogi se varaju kada misle da ce ih usreciti nova kuca, kola, namestaj, garderoba - to je nista, samo tren traje zadovoljstvo i posle - praznina u beskraj...

Ali ovo, putovanje, i to tako veliko putovanje slaze se deo po deo u slagalicu koja se zove zivot, sklapa te i cini te kompletnijom i ispunjenijom za ceo zivot.

To je bogatstvo koje ne moze da ti uzme niko, koje ne moze da porusi ni jedan zemljotres i da proguta ni jedan pozar... Bogatstvo duse je nesto sto je najvece i jedini garant za nesto sto mi zovemo sreca!

Nikada nismo, kada nas uhvate tuge i razocarenja, otisli da uzivamo u nasu PRELEPU sobu, kucu, seli u kola... NE, nego smo se osamili i sputstili se u najtananije delove nase duse, do nekih ljudi koje volimo i koji su ostali tu, negde da nam se nadju....
Spustili se do nekih dana koji su nam lepi, suncani i puni radosti, do nekih predela koji nas mame i inspirisu.
E, tu se nadje uteha, motiv i SNAGA za prevazilazenje teskoca i dalji zivot!

Zato su putovanje i nova iskustva jako, jako vazna, jer mnogo toga otpadne, kao blato sa cipela, ali zato ostaje ono dragoceno i vazno.

Putuj i uzivaj u svemu. Uci se uz put - disciplini uma, strpljenju, podnosenju, sagledavanju, hodanju po ivici provalije, preskakanjem ambisa - cak i tamo gde ti se cini da je to nemoguce, shvatis da je SVE moguce... ma, jednostavno uci se ZIVOTU!

Najbolja i najveca skola koju si mogla upisati i pohadjati!

Ides opet u nepoznate i jako drugacije krajeve i mesta! SRECNO DALJE!

Ljubi tebe tvoj prijatelj i zeli ti GOOD LUCK!

mamica

... eto, pise mama kao da ju je Seneka, stoik, rodio!! :))))

Ljubim te mamice!

Cujemo se!

Vienna, Austria

A bus ride from Split to Zagreb (10pm - 2am), was up all night (reading and writing) at Zagreb's bus stop waiting for a bus to take me to the airport at 6am. Then, a plane ride from Zagreb to Vienna, 45min of sleep finally! and here I am....

I'm in Vienna, Austria!!!!! :)))

Having lunch: coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice (grande glass!), and some home-made bread! Delicious! Check out the menu in the pic - so typical Austria, love it!!

They even played Johann Strauss II "Na Lepom Plavom Dunavu" ili vam "An der schönen blauen Donau" on the airplane! I loved it!! That's music, that's arts, that's culture and history.... and that is EUROPE!!! :))) With a few strokes of a violin, your heart can be filled with feelings of joy and happiness!

Hearing Johann Strauss play for Europeans is like comfort food for the Americans (accent of food!).

Ah, and the famous Christmas concert in Vienna remains my dream... :))

Wonderful people in my life...

... who are enriching my life day in and day out: my family, my friends and the new encounters, potential friendships!

My mom Sonja is amazing - I love her dearly!! Our mother-daughter relationship evolved into an extremely close, best-friends relationship a few years ago(the one Seneka talks about in his letters to Lucilius in his book "Pisma Prijatelju", to je inace our favorite book).
I just wanted to tell you mamice moja that you are awesome!! I'm fortunate to have you!

My dad Krle too!! He and I are very close and love each other in our own special way. We loved to play chess together... to go out running together... to read news or watch soccer, sit next to each other and be quiet. I loved those moments! Simply knowing that he was sitting in the same room or was around was a joy in itself! I love you tatice!

Brother Petar and my twin-sister Vera - I love you guys!!!!! You are my inspiration!

Sebastien, my special coucou, thanks for keeping me sane on my travels! You rock my world! :))

Scott, 3.14159, thanks for your support and encouragement! It means a lot!

Dejane - hvala tebi na podrsci! Sretno sa useljenjem u novi stan, sretno sa poslom, i uzivaj u zivotu i sa devojkom! :))

Skorici i Draga - divni ste!

Nikolaj - tvoje "z" me svuda prati!

Gorance - sretno na zavrsnim ispitima na Columbiji!! Bon chance!! Tuci!!

Mario - veliki pozdrav!

Jill darlingah! - you add a shade of pink to my life every day! Thank you for that!! You'll always be my disco-superstar!! Miss ya! Pat - miss ya too! :))

Sneska - my high-school buddy! Our friendship keeps growing and I love it!!

Ivana - hvala ti na nasem Novosadskom friendshipu! Sjajna si i drago mi je da se drzimo blizu!

Bojana, relative, divim ti se!! Super si!!

Bradley & Michael - it was so awesome meeting you 2! hope we keep in touch!

Nezha! - my dear accomplished friend from Morocco who's now kicking butt in the USA. You are such an inspiration! :))

Bilinc - baby girl! Luv ya and miss ya!

HIAM!!!!! - Let's meet up in Paris this summer!! I miss you lady!!!

KO - I miss you!!

Jelena, Bojana, Verice, Sanja, Vedrana, Marina, Silvana, i ostale 'nashe' lepotice iz Dallasa, sjajne ste!!

Maria & Peter-Michael - miss you guys!

Lara - my athlete junky - your envolvement in sports is inspirational! Erin, you too!

Fernardo & Francisco, great meeting you in Mexico!! hope to see you in Buenos Aires!

Art - miss you pal!

Gile - gde si bre kuco stara!! ;)

Vrtunski! pa kako bih ja bez tebe na fb pretrpela poslednje dane na poslu! Super si!

Adio Split, until we meet again...

I will have to continue my 'Moroccan essay' on the flight to Dubai... It is now time to say 'Adio' to Split!

It always feels good to be on the Adriatic Cost, where I spent most of my summers growing up, and it is always wonderful to be so close to home! Our family friends in Split are some of the best hosts and it is always a pleasure to be around them! I love them dearly!

I just got back from a nice walk/run up to the hill of Marjan, a beautiful park with awesome vistas of the city of Split and nearby islands.

Well... adio moji Splicani!! Vidimo se za koji mesec ili koju godinu!! :)))

Dangerous Adventures (cont.)

"The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort." Paulo Coelho

Here I am again... the internet signal is comme ci comme ca... it comes and it goes... I've been chasing it all around the kitchen - standing right next to the fridge, then moving to the window, and finally finding an okay signal right next to the sink!! you know the drill... when you need it, you need it! i know i'm crazy - (no wonder Sebastien calls me Coucou ;)))

but, i found it and i'm happy... happy i can share my travel-experiences with you...

so, let's continue... :))

father Nikola and I had yet another fun lunch together yesterday (2 hours long!). A shot of brandy, appetizers, a bottle of red wine, good meal...... and a rich and wonderful talk about history, arts, love and life... we started from Car Dushan and Gingis Khan and ended around WWII... who conquered what countries, why, where, how... who lived, loved, won and lost... life lessons... love lessons... listen to your mind, feel with you heart and continue to walk on! life is magical! type of a stories... of, what fun! :)))

Nikola is a highly educated man who traveled the world and accomplished much in his life. It was a real joy spending days with him in Split! He is now off to teach in the Monastery Krka for 2 days, and I am slowly wrapping up my stay in Split and am heading to Zagreb to catch a plane to fly to Dubai!

Where was I? (htela sam da kazem Where were we? ali sir Nikolaj Olic bi rekao da prestanem da persiram sebi ;)))

I enjoy challenges... I love adventures (the more dangerous the better ;))) AND, I LOVE jigsaw puzzles!! J'adore jigsaws!! :)))

Up until I was 8 or 9 years old, I used to put those big-peace, animal design, bright colors and up to 1,000 peaces jigsaw puzzles (all we can find in former Yugoslavia)! EASY! Piece of cake! If somebody asked me to put one together blind-folded, I probably would have been able to do it. :)) And, as a kid, I was dreaming of a new challenge...!

Voila - there it was.... Our family friends from Holland, Jan & Jannie, who would come to visit and stay at our home every summer for vacation, started bringing us puzzles! Surprise surprise! One year, they brought me a few boxes of those small 3-5,000 piece jigsaws!! What a challenge that was!!!! And, what a treat!!

-- This is what MARRAKECH, Morocco, Africa was for me - visiting a new continent, different culture and religion. A bit of a challenge!

All of you have had an opportunity to put together at least 1 jigsaw together in your lifetime. And you all remember that it requires patience. Starring at little pieces that all look alike and trying to think 'how in the world am i going to conquer this... where should I begin... what is my plan of action... and how long will it take?!!!' -- it requires determination, discipline and lots of patience! Recognizing color-tones and shapes, requires detailed-oriented eye... and then, of course, more patience!

--- Where to start? ...Take a deep breath... stay Open-Minded! :)) stay Cool :)) be Patient :)) I was trying to tell myself after I landed in Morocco and was stopped at the passport control, waiting on the staff to finish chatting! I got impatient and asked someone to check our passports as we've all been waiting for 15minutes (and looking at them trying to ignore us all - i couldn't believe my eyes!!) Anyway, 3 out of 9 of them finally sat at their stations to let us through (some 50 tourists) and they moved me all the way in the back of the pack to 'pay for my arrogance for trying to push them to work' Unbelievable!!! ...

Anyway... I got to the hotel safe and sound... people in the hotel spoke French & Arabic and very minimal English, there were no phones and no computers... and I had a couple of guides waiting for me at the door (ready to take my $). I kindly refused and explained that I like to tour on my own.

---Every experienced jigsaw puzzler starts with the "frame" of the picture. Getting the frame-work going is like building a base for a house before you put the walls and the roof :)) or, like looking at a map of the city you are visiting for the first time.

Every experienced traveler starts with the map of the city and ultimately a macro-tour. If you are on a limited time, like I was in Marrakech (4 days), you'd wanna either rent a car or a scooter and check out the city from the outside and then take your time over the next couple of days to see things of personal interest up close, on foot.

Dangerous Adventures

"The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort." Paulo Coelho

Morocco was for many a 'dangerous adventure' for a single girl like me... they said "You should not go by yourself - you are tall, blonde, and you will stand out. Men will be chasing you on the street. You will not be safe." But, I wanted to go and I wanted to see this country of mystery and history as some call it :)) Was it dangerous - sure, it was. As was my entire journey through 9 different countries that I visited so far. And, as Paulo Coelho said it: The danger of an adventure was worth a thousand days of ease and comfort... and that is what it was for me.

I wanted to see Morocco for many reasons, primarily because I was already in Spain (close by), also because it was my mother's life dream to visit this country of mystery as she calls it (family interest), and lastly because a wonderful friend of mine from college, Nezha, comes from Morocco!!

.... more to come after my run... A+

Freedom

"Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose--and commit myself to--what is best for me. "

"We all have the ability…we just don't all have the courage to follow our dreams and to follow the signs."

Paulo Coelho

"Everyone’s looking for the perfect teacher, but although their teachings might be divine, teachers are all too human, and that’s something people find hard to accept. Don’t confuse the teacher with the lesson, the ritual with the ecstasy, the transmitter of the symbol with the symbol itself. The Tradition is linked to our encounter with the forces of life and not with the people who bring this about. But we are weak: we ask the Mother to send us guides, and all she sends are signs to the road we need to follow.

Pity those who seek for shepherds, instead of longing for freedom! An encounter with the superior energy is open to anyone, but remains far from those who shift responsibility onto others. Our time on this Earth is sacred, and we should celebrate every moment."

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Life is Beautiful! The Bells are Ringing!

I'm back to Split, Croatia to repack and pick up some maps and books for my adventure in the Himalayas.

Father Nikola, a dear family friend, the Orthodox priest who now lives in Split, is hosting me again. His wife Dragica is, interestingly enough, visiting my parents in Serbia right now for a few days. We have a nice exchange going :)) Nikola thinks he's winning ;)))

Split is BEAUTIFUL! It is an old historic town on the Adriatic Riviera. My room is overlooking the sea and the walls of the buildings are near by the Diocletian's Palace, that was built by the emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD.
Diocletian built the massive palace in preparation for his retirement on May 1, 305 AD. The Palace is one of the most famous and complete architectural and cultural features on the Croatian Adriatic coast. As the world's most complete remains of a Roman Palace, it holds an outstanding place in Mediterranean, European and world heritage.

The Palace is built of white local limestone of high quality, most of which was from quarries on the island of Brac; tuffa taken from the nearby river beds; and brick made in Salonitan and other workshops. Some material for decoration was imported: Egyptian granite columns and sphinxes, fine marble for revetments and some capitals produced in workshops in the Proconnesos.
A monumental court, called the Perystile, formed the northern access to the imperial apartments. It also gave access to Diocletian's Mausoleum on the east, and to three temples on the west.

Pics are posted on flickr and I encourage you to read more about the history online :)) Scientia potentia est! ;)))

The early mornings in Split are amazing. I love waking up to the sound of church bells and birds' chirping! The morning breeze from the Adriatic is refreshing. The air is salty and healing.

Father Nikola and I just finished with breakfast. He is getting ready to go to the church, and I am getting ready to go on a nice run by the sea to clear up my mind! :))

Life is beautiful!

Nice couples from France

I met a very nice couple (Georges and Claudine M.) from Marseille while I was in Morocco and they invited me to their home this summer.
I also met Pierre and Marianne from Paris while I was in Mexico (we were on the same bus to Belize!) who also invited me to their villa just outside of Paris!

Tour de France!... hmmmm, it sounds like a fun summer to me...! :))) (btw, Paris has always been the city of my dreams!)


Coucou:
Georges and Claudine were on a 7 day Morocco tour: Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, and Fes... this was their 'couples-vacation' and Claudine will also be off the entire month in August so she said to come and visit them then. She will host me (you are invited too! :)) and will show us around (since you've never been to Marseille! They have 4 children - all around our age.

Sebastien & his jazz trio jammin' in Paris - tonight!!

Sebastien and his jazz band played tonight in Paris! Wish I was there to watch you play Coucou!

www.seblanson.com

check him out ladies and gents, he's actually pretty damn good ;))))) we all know he's AWESOME!! :)))

Marakesh... "100 najlepsih gradova sveta"

"Dzamija Kutubija iz XII veka nalazi se zapadno od Djema el Fne, a ona je opet delo Almohada. Minaret visok 77 metara najstariji je i najbolje ocuvani minaret te vrste, i simbol je Marakesa.

Godine 1269. vlast su u Marakesu pruzeli Merinidi, posto su 20 godina pre zauzeli Fes i prekinuli vladavinu Almohada u Maroku.

Iz tog doba potice i dragulj stare gradske arhitekture koje se nalazi na severu Medine, a to je medresa Ibn Jusuf koja stoji uz dzamiju istog imena. U XIV veku osoovao ju je merinidski sultan Abu el Hasan, a 1570. godine Sadian Abdalah El Galib ju je prosirio u najvecu islamsku teolosku skolu u Magrebu. U najuspesnijem preriod koledya navodno je u njemu zivelo cak 900 ucenika i ucitelja, u 150 zbijenih soba koje gledaju na unutrasnje dvoriste. Medresa je u poslednjim godinama obnovljena i danas posetioci mogu da vide lepo oblikovane stukature, mozaike i rezbarije.
GUELIZ, sagradjen 1916. godine za vreme francuskog protektorata, odusevljava svojim raskosnim bogatstvom palmi i suprtropskog bilja. Drvoredi narandzi i jacarandi okruzuju siroke ulice u kojima se nalaze poslovne zgrade, savremene prodavnice i ulicni kafei.

Sredinom se prostire botanicki raj sa zbunjujuce jakim bojama bugenovilija, pelargonija, hibiskusa i lokvanja. Nekada je to bio park francuskog slikara Zaka Mazoreja koji se doselio u Marakkes 1923. godine. Sagradio je vilu iz snova i zasadio suprtropsko cvece. Nakon njegove smrti 1962. godine park je bio zapusten sve dok francuski modni kreator Iv Sen Loran nije vilu pretvorio u svoje utociste. Promenio je izgled parka i prepustio ga gradu Marakesu. Danas u Mazorejovom bivsem ateljeu mozete da sedivite islamskim zanatskim proizvodima....."

Odlomak je iz knjige "100 najlepsih gradova sveta" gde je pored Marakesa opisan i Fes.

Marakes, MAROKO 2009

Pre nego sto krenem da pisem o svojim utiscima, htela sam da se javno javim svojoj predivnoj mamici, mom prijatelju, i da joj javim da sam stigla i do "njenog" Maroka!

Halam Salam - Salam Alejkum! :)))

Evo pronasla sam i tvoj email koji si mi poslala dok sam bila u Napoliju u Italiji...

"Mila moja,

Juce sam kupila jednu knjigu "Ljubav u Maroku" Isidore Bjelice, jedne nase spisateljice.
Danas je citam i mislim na tebe.

"Ne smete nikada reci da ste prvi put u nekoj africkoj zemlji....Kada vec niste njihov, morate slagati da se tu vracate.
Povratnik je onaj u koga Arapi imaju poverenje, on je putnik koga Marokanci prihvataju kao svog, onog koji bar delimično vlada pravilima i obicajima sredine...Onaj koji prvi put dolazi moze biti neko ko se vise nkikada nece vrattiti i ko ce zaboraviti ili prodati tajne sveta u koji je slučajem dosao...Prema onima koji prvi put dolaze Marokanci su nepoverljivi i rezervisani, prema povratnicima otvoreni i topli, kao i drugi narodi severne Afrike... To je prosto i normalno."

---- "Kazablanka je magican grad, kroz koji turisti brzo prolaze i jos brze beze iz njega, nespremni za velike tajne i istinske osecaje. Budala ce vam reci da u Kazablanki nema nicega osim grandiozne dzamije Hasana II, a tamo je odgovor na svaku tajnu koju trazite. Oni koji ne traze nista, nista i ne nadju... Oni prolaze i ne vide... Ako trazite pravi Maroko, naci cete ga samo u Kazablanki... ne u usminkanom i strancima nakrcanom crvenom Marakesu ni uglancanom Rabatu... Ni u blestavom Agadiru..."

To je tek pocetak jedne, izgleda dobre putopisne knjige! Moja zelja - nedostizna - je da vidim FES! No, nikada se ne zna. Sve ono sto se jako zeli - to se i ostvari......

Uzivaj u Italiji! To je zemlja sunca i mora - LEPOTE!....

Ljubim te i grlim, mamac

Samantha WON in Liverpool!!!

Way to go, Sam!!! 1 down 2 more to go!!!

Samantha is determined to represent Great Britain in Serbia this Summer, says Max, her dad.

Keep it up girl!

Farewell Europe... Hello Africa!!!!!

First of all, Happy Easter to my fellow Orthodox Christians!!!

HRISTOS VASKRSE! VAISTINU VASKRSE!!!

My dear nephews Zare and Lola are getting ready for a fun Easter egg-hunt! Lucky them!!! :))) I hope you find a lot of colorful eggs and some cool presents :))) I love and miss you guys!

I am on my way to Marrakech, Morocco...:))))

Samantha (Sam) Coleby, GB's #1 junior runner is running today!!! May the wind be at your back, Sam!!!!!!!!!!
(Her parents, Max and Julie, emailed me last night to let me know she was going to be running today.)


Have a lovely Sunday all!!! Hakuna Matata!

Félicitations papa!! Cestitam tata!!! :)))

Belgrade Marathon, Belgrade Serbia, April 18, 2009.

Cestitam tata na pretrcanom maratonu!!! Svaka cast!!! Tako sam srecna sto si uspesno presao i sto ti je bilo suncano.

Mamice, hvala na izvestaju! Super sto si i ti uzivala, a kako ne bi, Beograd je divan (a tata jos divniji ;))) Oprema vam je strava :)))

Volim vas, i jos jednom - cestitke od srca!

Micka maratonka


Mamin (email) izvestaj:

Dragi moji,
Samo da vam javim da smo stigli kuci, da je tata USPESNO pretrcao polumaraton, da je trcao minut bolje od novosadskog i da se oseca ODLICNO.
Maraton je bio divan, masovan, onako svetski, puno ucesnika, startovalo se tu ispred Skupstine, malo vise skoro ispred crkve Sv.Marka i stvarno sam uzivala kao tatina pratnja danas! Dan fantastican! Startovali su po divnom, mirnom suncanom jutru i temperatura oko 16 stepeni, a vec sat kasnije je bila dvadeset i neki stepen.
Cilj je ispred hotela Moskva i to je jako lepo mesto. Ma, sve je bilo super, cak i nas sklembavi, putnicki voz ranom zorom i popodne!
Samo kada smo stigli kuci! Tata je zadovoljan, puno, puno vas pozdravlja, a ja vas ljubim i grlim, mama

Pablo Picasso Home / Museum, Malaga 2009

I am on my way to visit Pablo Picasso's home in Malaga!

Happy Saturday everybody!

Trade offs ... life is full of them!

It is Friday night. The girls in the apartment are talking making plans to go out tonight. Naturally! ;)) It is still early, around 5:30pm, and I really wanted to go get a full body massage. I was thinking, if I were to go out, I would probably spent the equivalent (40 euros or more to have fun with the girls)... Since I was a workout maniac this week, it was only natural to schedule a full body massage at the end of the week! :)) running every day, swimming tue and fri, and hiking on wed - mia was training full blast. and so she should. the Everest marathon is in 6 weeks.

so.... i opted to go get a massage and call it a night.

Ah, the power of a full body massage :))))))))))))

It's been a while since I've experience a massage at a real sports-medical place. Nothing like it! No fluffy pillows and scented candles and mood colors or grapes and cheese and girly magazines in the changing room... no, this wasn't a spa place ;)) this was the real thing. the minute i walked in they asked "what sport?" and told me to take my clothes off. si senorita, pronto, i responded (with a smile).

Letting her know that I was a runner, Ilda knew exactly what muscles to torture!!! And so she did! Hello IT band... hello my stinky feet! and, hello buttocks :)))
It was so painful yet so satisfying! 40min. on my legs and 40min on my back and then you get 15min of electricity shocking your lower back and shoulders.

HEAVEN!!!

And, I was happy.


...... I received an email from Sebastien later that evening saying that he was having fun with his friends in the countryside (outside of Paris) and that he won 40 euros playing poker! ha, I said: Harmony! I just spent 40 euros on a full body massage! We would have made a great couple ;))) He laughed. :))))

p.s. ...Say 'hello' to Malo and Julien for me, coucou!

Belgrade Marathon, Good Luck, tata!!! :)))

Tatice moje lepi,

Srecno na maratonu u Beogradu!!! Znaj da mislim na tebe i trcim sa tobom!!! Dok ti trcis Beogradski, mamica ce setati Knez Mihajlovom, ja cu ti trcati po ulicama Maroka! Haarmonija bez prekida ;)))

Volim te i ljubim, hrabro napred!

tvoja Micka maratonka

learning Spanish... Hola, que tal?!

Hola chicos!

Como estas?!

Me llamo Mia, soy Estadounidensa (o, Americana de Norte), y tengo treinta y uno anos. Soy de San Francisco, una ciudad muy bonita del oeste de Estados Unidos. Soy analista financiera.
Soy estudiante de Espanol en la universidad de Benalmadena, Costa del Sol. Estudio espanol para hablar con mis amigas. Tengo dos amigas Suecas. Ellas son de Estocolmo (Stockholm), tambien yo tengo un bueno amigo frances que se llama Seb. El de Francia.

Besos y hasta pronto,
Mia

Extra Inspiration!!!!!

-- the other twin-sisters from my highschool class - Snezana & Jelena Keco - had a wonderful day today!
JELENA gave birth to a baby boy!!! mali Dusan!!! CONGRATULATIONS, Jelo!!!!!! Divno! Sjajno! Neka je ziv i zdrav. Ljubim vas!! :))))

-- DEJAN Petrovic (Wentworth '09 student), my serbian friend from Boston, says: HE GOT THE JOB, AND, he got Who is Who Among Students at American Colleges and Universities Award, Edward T. Kirkpatrick Cooperative Education Award and President's Award for being the best student in his major!!!!!!!!!
Way to go, Dejane!!!!!!! So inspiring and so awesome! Cestitam ti od sveg srca!!!

-- My relative, Bojana Basta Damjanovic, recently opened a language school in Belgrade. Congrats!! www.itakastudio.rs

-- My dad is running the Belgrade Marathon this Sunday!! Woohoo! Go dad! Mom will be there to support and cheer!

-- Sebastien is working on his new CD and a theatre-play with Malo!

-- Jill, my roommate in San Fran, is getting ready for her Special Birthday Extravaganza marathon celebration jam-packed with fun!!!!

-- Ivana Babic, my friend from Novi Sad, is celebrating! I think she passed all of her exams for this year!!! Congrats!!!

-- Most everybody else I know is healthy and well :))

-- Oh, and Nicolas is happy with the progress he's making on his new home! bebe Jacque is healthy. Work is good. And the sun is out - means, he will be riding his bike soon! ;)))

Life is good. Enjoy the rest of the week, all!!

Hasta luego!

... I am off to Morocco this weekend!!

Planning ahead... NEPAL... United Arab Emirates, DUBAI

To keep myself sane, and all of you who read my blog informed, I will post my travel schedule for the month of May:

- Friday afternoon, Tarifa (Spain), and from there I will venture down to Morocco, Marrakech, until Thursday.

- April 29th, flight to Dubai. Stopping by Snezana's apt to say 'Ciao' and to drop off a backpack w/summer clothes.

- May 2nd, flight Dubai - Kathmandu.

- June 6th, flight Kathmandu - Dubai.


May 3rd - May 14th, partial Annapurna trek

May 15th, I start trekking in Kathmandu with the 'marathoners' to acclimatize and reach the Base Camp of the Himalayas where the marathon begins.

May 29th, Tenzing Hillary Marathon, the highest marathon in the World.

SHOULD BE A BLAST!

After Nepal, I go back to DUBAI to have fun in the SUN with my lovely high-school buddy Snezana, for a few weeks!!! I can't wait to see you Sneska!! :)))

Busy busy busy... but, good busy!

4 hours of class in the morning (intensive class, only 20min break in between 2 classes), cooking, dancing, and training keeps me very busy in Benalmadena, Spain. It is GREAT busy, I would say :)) There's just enough time to check mail, run quick errands (mail postcards, or go grocery shopping), read news highlights, check in with my roommates, and go to sleep.

Colegio Maravillas is a small, private school that offers classes to all levels, ages and stages of learners. There's a group of teenagers (Quebec and Great Britain) and a group of retirees (from all around the world), and then a group of us in the 20's and 30's, with only 3-5 students per class. Teachers only speak Spanish and they are quite entertaining!

All in all, I feel like I'm learning a lot, and I enjoy it! The great thing is that we can immediately go out on the street and practice what we've learned in class. It's awesome!! :))

mmm... TAPAS... crazy little things called

SNACK! :)))

Eat little and often, claimed Alfonso X, and you will live longer! I could not agree more!

Yet another reason why I fit into the whole Spanish culture --- TAPAS! Those who know me, know that I am 'a muncher or a snacker´what I call myself.

TAPAS - they are those delicious morsels that appear magically next to you be it in a bar, or at a house party, or at an office event!

Spanish bars are, before anything else, inviting! Their sophistication lies in the ability to produce and serve an entire range of fine dishes - from soothing comfort food to exacting haute cuisine. The "local" in Spain is a bar where you can have a quick breakfast on the way to work, or a couple of drinks with friends after work on your way home.

The vast variety of tapas dishes means there is always something for everyone, and they also have a mellowing effect on all of us who enjoy alcohol :))

There are many theories as to the origin of tapas. Some say that Alfonso X (the Wise - king of Castille and Leon) invented this small yet tasty dish. The story goes that the king successfully healed his daily exhaustion with tapas and a small glass of wine, hence the saying "Eat little and often, he commanded, and you will live longer."

Another theory claims that the origin of tapas is the Spanish verb tapar - meaning, to cover. Slices of ham or cheese were used to cover the "potes" (clay wine cups), ostensibly to keep out the flies. From this, one can see that small pieces of food are ´covering´either a piece of tortilla or other pieces of food... key word is ´covering´...

Tapas come in a variety of different forms and can be anything from a handful of stuffed olives to a crisp deep-fried artichoke to a gently simmering chorizo stew!!

My favorite breakfast tapas is Flamenco Omlette and Tortilla de Espinacas!!!


Happy Monday!!

Inspiration... Samantha Coleby

April 12th, Sunday morning. For some, it is Easter time. For others, like my roomies, it is sleepy time (Matilda and Sophia were out until 4am:)). And, for me, it is 'track' time!

I was up at 8am, had my coffee, spent some time on the internet and was at the Costa Del Sol stadium by 10am.

Surprise surprise! The Stadium was full of junior athletes from northern Europe (Great Britain, Norway, and Finland) who came down to Spain to train for the European championship that is coming up. As I try to make my way through the sporty-chaos, I got stopped by one of the coaches from G. Britain, Travis.

He asked me to stay in iether lane #1 or #6 since one of his runners is running #4 with hurdles. Unless, he said, you want to run hurdles with her! Ha ha ha I just smiled and said #6 looks Grrrreat to me :))

One lap around the track and he starts stopping me on and off to ask if I was a runner and where I came from and so on... One thing led to another and I found out he's coaching Great Britain's #1 junior girl in 400m with hurdles!!! Holy cow, I said!

...I watched her run, in awe!! She was awesome! and, I asked Travis if I could meet her! And so I did...

Her name is: Samantha Coleby. She is 18 years old, Great Britain's #1 junior - and still, so humble and shy. Her parents, Max and Julie, were there as well, both marathon runners. I spent some 30 min chatting with them about different sports events, people we knew, and among others, we talked about Jeff Galloway! They knew him.
(And for all of you who do not know Jeff Galloway - he run on the same team with Steve Prefontain (and,"Pre" is Michael Jordan for runners)! Jeff and Steve were buddies... Jeff Galloway is a US Olympian runner).

www.jeffgalloway.com

I had an opportunity to run the Athens Marathon in 2007 in Greece with Jeff Galloway and his wife Barbara!! Along with my dad, of course :)))


Anyway, it turns out that if Samantha wins a local British event end of April, she will represent GB in Novi Sad, Serbia this July at a Junior Championship for Europe!!

We exchanged emails and promised to keep in contact... we might actually see each other again in Serbia in July! They asked if they could visit my home and meet my parents (see Novi Sad with us) and I said 'but of course! it will be our pleasure!'
I also got invited to stay (and train with them) in London! :))

Both of her parents are well recognized and experienced marathon runners. Her mother was one of the first women to run the Big City marathons when they started popping up in the 70's... Greece, Tokyo, U.S.A., GB.

AND, this is exactly what is so GREAT about traveling (and why I love it so much!) -- there's nothing like connecting with people from around the world through common interests and feeling that you are a part of a bigger place and not just the city you currently live in (or, the city you are from).


.....I also wanted to share a couple of articles by Kenny Moore (Sports Illustrated) that was recommended to me by Max (who actually knows Kenny Moore!):
It made my day!!! Thank you, Max!!!

http://www.kennymoore.us/kcmarticles/Chasing%20Justice.pdf

Learning... Studying... Evolving... Benalmadena, SPAIN

Hola espanola! :))

I am studying Spanish in the morning, am learning how to cook Spanish dishes in the afternoon, and am taking flamenco dance classes in the evening!!! The next 2 weeks will be awesome!! I look forward to it!

Benalmadena, a city by the sea, close to Malaga, is yellow - white - and blue... different from Seville but very nice nonetheless.

I am rooming with 2 Swedish girls in a spacious 5 bedroom apartment overlooking the water on one side and the hills on the other. There are also 16 students from Quebec and 6 from England. Makes for a fun group ;))

Hasta luego...

Quotes... thoughts...

I've been "busy" enjoying beautiful cities of Europe and I skipped blogging :)) so, here I am just for a few minutes this morning. Wanted to wish everybody a Happy Friday (Holy Friday for all the Catholic people) and wish you all a nice weekend (and Happy Easter!).

And, here's a quote along with my happy thoughts and wishes:

"It's not so much what happens to us but how we deal with what happens to us."
— James E. Faust

SEVILLE "Elegance, Tradition, Passion", Spain 2009

Andalusia was occupied by Moors for about 800 years and today Moorish influence is architectonically most evident. The fertility of this land and its favorised climate with mild winters and about 3000 hours of sun per year made Phoenicians and Carthaginians settle here. Later came Romans, like almost to any place in Europe, and two of their emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, in fact were born here.

Also later on Seville was the home of famous and infamous figures of history, the legendary "Don Juan" started from here to conquer the hearts of women across all Europe, while Columbus started from a port close to Seville to discover a new world. Prosper Merimée's "Carmen", who couldn't make her decision between the officer Don José and the bullfighter Escamillo - the consequences you can watch still today in opera houses - was a worker in Seville's old tobacco factory. By the way, this factory serves today as a University, that may give you a glimpse on Andalusian talent for improvisation :))

When you visit Seville, you are in the very heart of Andalusian culture, THE CENTER OF BULLFIGHTING AND FLAMENCO MUSIC!

Charm, joy, beauty... flamenco, elegance, tradition, fiestas and folklore... stunning people... beautiful architecture... gastronomy... and rich history... that is Seville!

I wish I could live here! :))

Spring in Paris with Sebastien!

Paris was always the city of my dreams... ever since I was little I wanted to be in Paris! Here I am... and the dream continues!!

SEBASTIEN: You were wonderful, my Coucou! Thank you for the extravagantly romantic time in the City of Light (and we both know you didn't have to try hard other than to put me on a scooter and take me around hahahaha jk).
p.s. The time spent with you in Paris was an unexpected dream come true! :)) It made my heart blossom.

Spring in PARIS.... PARIS in Spring!

Evo dosla sam i do Pariza - moga grada snova :)) Od kako sam progovorila , pricala sam kako je odlazak i obilazak Pariza moj san... Prvi put sam ga posetila u 2005 godini.

Sebastien, moj prijatelj iz skole, me je sacekao na aerodromu na njegovom skuteru i tu je avantura odpocela. Nas dvoje se nismo videli nekih 4-5 godina, i we had a lot of catching up to do - sto smo uradili u osuncanom Luxemburskom parku!! Fantazija kako je park savrseno skladan i lep. Sebastien inace zivi u prelepom stanu bas pored parka, blago meni ;))

Juce smo svratili do jednog njegovog druga iz detinjstva Pierre-a koji je otvorio wine-cafe sa hranom. Super smo se proveli - Pierre je simpatican i veoma veoma komican (smejali smo se nekih 2 sata sa njim i ostalim ljudima koji su bili na rucku). Seb i ja smo shvatili da je proslo 10 godina od kako se poznajemo i onda smo proslavili i tu frienship godisnjicu :))

Posle rucka smo otisli na Bikram Yogu (od svih stvari u Parizu), sto je meni izuzetno prijalo da opustim malo misice posle maratona (i naravno silnog pica i jela u Italiji i Srbiji :))))

Uvece smo se nasli sa njegovim drugarima umetnicima (glumci i direktori filmova) na sangriji i posle vecere smo Seb i ja otisli u avanturu "Skuterom po Parizu u ponoc" !!! Pomislila sam kako je samo lako muskarcima u Parizu na date-ovima! Dovoljno je da izvedu devojku do reke Sene i da prisetaju, da pogledaju svu tu grandioznu arhitekturu i to je to! ;))) Cudo jedno koliko je Pariz mocno/pompezno romantican.

Rim je romantican, ali je vise cozy romantican. Pariz je grandiozno romantican!! Pompezija prava...

Dan je bio kao iz snova... i san se nastavlja.... odosmo da doruckujemo i onda u svrljanje...