Random ramblings: catching up with an M.I.A. CrazyCris

First of all: THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the 5th Annual World Oceans Day Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! There were some wonderful entries, and I'm so glad we could get together again to share our love for the oceans in our little corner of the blog-o-sphere! :o)

But that was almost 3 months ago... where did the time go?! :o(

And thus the title of this post. So... yeah. Sorry 'bout that! I've definitely been M.I.A. since World Oceans Day, and even for a bit before that! And sadly I don't think I'll be very active in the near future... although I promise to try!

And here's why! Good things and bad things.

Remembering a Polish Easter...

Originally posted April 13th 2009. I'm reposting this now because I think it will interest some of you who didn't read it back in the day! Happy Easter to all! :o)

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All this Easter talk and reading (I've been visiting other blogs) has reminded me that I discovered some new (for me) Easter traditions when I was visiting friends on a wonderful trip to Poland several years ago and I'd like to share them (and some of my photos from the trip, click on them for bigger views) here with you.

Statue of Pope John Paul II in Warsaw

Random Sunday Ramblings

It's been a very quiet Sunday for me. Pretty much a quiet weekend (with a couple of exceptions)! Which is fine by me when a) I'm dealing with a blasted cold and b) the weather is uncharacteristically icky (grey skies and rain all weekend!). Today it's just been me, my computer, my sofa, the TV and a box of kleenex. And a bit of organising around the house just to feel productive. I was supposed to go hiking today, but it got switched to another weekend because of the weather (hiking in rainstorms here can be dangerous, not to mention it rains so rarely that most people in Alicante are a bit "allergic" to rain!). Big sigh of relief!

Do you have a "go-to" movie for when you're feeling under the weather? I've got a couple, but my favourite is definitely The Princess Bride! I don't know how many times I've seen it, but each time I enjoy it all over again. Big smiles, laughs and plenty of quoting! I've been thinking about it for over a week now, and finally popped it in the machine today! I could share oh so many clips from this... but I'll leave you with my all-time favourite cinematic duel atop the Cliffs of Insanity:

Favourite Summer Moments 2011

One thing leads to another... in this case reading a post over at Snug Harbor Bay which led me to the Outdoor Blogger Network and their Goodbye Summer photo prompt, which got me to thinking about my wonderfully busy summer this year! I was way too absent from the blog this summer thanks to / because of "real" life keeping me busy and away from my computer screen! Which resulted in a lot of photos and a lot of adventures I wanted to blog about but haven't had the time... So consider this a summertime "greatest hits" and preview to one or the other future posts. ;o)

Summer in Alicante started off as usual with the Hogueras de San Juan

"Official" Hoguera 2011 (more here)

and I got to enjoy a couple of mascletàs from real close! ;o)

Then there was the travelling...
Morocco:

crossing the Atlas mountains in July

fun with henna tattoos for a Berber wedding

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excitement of discovering Collioure, an old French town

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heading North on a train, such a comfortable way to travel!

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tough packing decisions... what to take?

Musical Lowcost Airline Rant

My mom came across this one, and it's fabulous! I've lost track of the number of times I've seen it today... such fun!!! (and sadly true... as anyone who's flown Ryanair will know)

What's your worst Lowcost episode? I've got two recent ones... and within 3 weeks of each other! They (Vueling) switched a flight on me (moved it up a day) without even informing me!!! I found out in time by pure luck. For the first flight (Paris -> Alicante on my way home from New Zealand) I managed to have them switch me to another flight a few days later and spent those days at a friend's in Paris (I couldn't have caught the earlier flight, was in the air!). The second was on my trip to Athens last month for a wedding. Ditto, flight advanced to the day before... the same time as the wedding!!! Since the only option was (again) being switched to a flight several days later... and they wouldn't pay for extra hotel nights, I ended up having it cancelled, reimbursed, and buying another ticket on a different airline (more expensive since a week before the trip... and resulted in an 8h layover in Barcelona instead of the original 2h. UGH!)

As they say: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. (but they're still bastards. grrrrrr.....)

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traditional dancing at a crazy Greek wedding!

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reflections of Ancient Greece (Parthenon carvings)

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living a childhood dream at the Acropolis

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after years of dreaming it... finally flying into Greece!

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Wintry skies over Notre Dame de Paris, France

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damage from the major Sept and Dec 2010 earthquakes in Christchurch, NZ.

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astonishing Moeraki Boulders, NZ

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Phonebooth in Dunedin, NZ.

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Waipapa Point Lighthouse, Catlins, NZ

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Weka stealing its lunch on Ulva Island, Rakiura National Park (Stewart Island), NZ.

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where the ocean meets the land... and the sky! Milford Sound, NZ.

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enjoying the sun, Lake Manapouri, NZ