Want to be: In Bruges

Prison, death, it didn't matter. Because at least in prison, and at least in death, you know, I wouldn't be in fucking Bruges. But then, like a flash, it came to me, and I realized, "Fuck, man, maybe that's what Hell is. The entire rest of eternity spent in fucking Bruges!" And I really, really hoped I wouldn't die. I really, really hoped I wouldn't die.

-Ray, In Bruges, 2008

Shunning happy hour at one of my new favorite B-more haunts in favor of some lazy, antisocial time at home after finishing a busy two week anatomy and physiology course, I spent a Friday night in, folding laundry and watching one of my favorite movies of the past few years, In Bruges. For those who are not familiar with the film (to whom I recommend renting it)... two hitmen, Ray and Ken (played by a brilliantly sensitive Colin Farrell and the always incredible Brendan Gleeson, respectively), are sent by their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), to hide out in Bruges and await further instructions after a botched job in which Ray accidentally killed a little boy. Ken is eager to take in all of the historic sights of the city, while Ray is wracked by guilt and pissed off that they have been sent to Bruges, of all places. Guilt and morality, drug dealers and dwarf actors, arguments with American (or Canadian?) tourists and Hieronymous Bosch paintings come to life... bizarre hilarity naturally ensues.

Though Ray asserts that hell would be an eternity spent in Bruges, the film has put Bruges (and Belgium as a whole) on my radar, and I tend to side with Ken and Harry in falling hard for the charms of the canal-lined medieval city center- It's a fairy tale fucking town, isn't it? How can a fairy tale town not be somebody's fucking thing?

New York bagels

If there is anything guaranteed to make you feel even more gross after a day of international travel, it is schlepping your luggage through the NYC subway in the summertime. Fact.

My gracious host for the night, guest blogger and frequent travel buddy, Julie, was kind enough to point out that I didn't exactly smell like roses after my 12 hours of travel that deposited me at Columbus Circle, fresh off the 1 train. Kinder still, she let me use her shower. What a friend.

But I ask you... how many things are better than waking up to a gorgeous morning in the Big Apple, feeling surprisingly not jet-lagged (though I have a feeling I may be speaking too soon), and walking a few blocks to get a fresh bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox? Definite points for America, my friends.

I'm back in action after over two weeks in Ireland that far exceeded my (already high) expectations. Over the next couple weeks I'll be detoxing (so much meat and Guinness!) and decompressing, revisiting the trip that took me through historically significant cities and breathtaking natural wonders, as a solo journey and in the company of old and new friends. This is also exciting for me, as it is my first time traveling internationally since starting Litterulae ab Mundano a few months ago. Like always, my appetite for travel has been whetted, but my wanderlust heart is left longing for more...

j'adore: Icelandic skyr

I'm currently having a breakfast of siggi's Icelandic style skyr, a rich, creamy yogurt made from skim milk and all natural ingredients that has 0 grams of fat, low sugar, and a whopping 14 grams of protein.

Skyr is the traditional yogurt of Iceland. It is made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures. The whey, the water naturally found in milk, is then strained away to make for a much thicker, creamier, concentrated yogurt. So to make just one cup of skyr, with all that water going out, you need 3-4 times the amount of milk required to make a regular cup of yogurt. As a result of this process skyr comes out with 2-3 times the protein count of standard yogurt.

Siggi's cup design also gets points for being eco-friendly. The cup is made of nearly 50% less plastic than the typical yogurt cup and is covered by a removable (and thus recyclable) cardboard sleeve.

So if all you know about Iceland is that they have had a string of badass summertime volcano eruptions (or maybe you heard about that time their economy was in shambles), now you can say that you've heard of a really delicious, nutritious, filling yogurt that hails from the tiny island nation. Even better, you could say you've tried it. Go on. Try it. So. Freaking. Good.

Also, is Iceland Hobbiton? (via). I have to go there. Iceland, I'm officially lusting after you. But only in the summer when there is almost endless sunlight. I don't need to add travel-induced SAD to my list of random ailments. So, get your act together, volcano-wise, but maybe not financially yet. In other words, I should probably make my way there while the dollar to króna exchange rate is still so favorable.

dream destination: Antarctica

Antarctica Shoot from Matt Rutherford on Vimeo.

The biggest challenge in the quest to hit all seven continents is Antarctica.  Not only is it astronomically expensive to join a cruise to the South Pole, but the environment is so fragile that there has been talk about suspending, or at the very least significantly limiting, commercial expeditions.  I'm not sure if I'll ever get there, but that won't stop me from ogling all of the incredible photography and video footage that's out there.

My favorite part of this video is the penguin just staring at the sleeping seals (~3:00).  Whoa there, lil buddy-- let sleeping seals lie.

Ack!  Let's just look at some photos of baby emperor penguins and call it a day.  Has anyone out there ever been to Antarctica/have any desire to go?

image via

an April trip to Cartagena with Anthropologie

all images via http://www.anthropologie.com

Anthropologie catalogs are always such a treat to longingly browse, as much for the dreamy photography as for the clothing, accessories, and homewares.  When my copy of the April catalog arrived in the mail, I flipped through the first couple of pages... and a couple more... and was it?... could it be?  Yes, it was Cartagena staring back at me, teasing me, one of my ultimate travel lust destinations paired with some of my favorite sartorial desires.  Ugh.  Yet another reason to love/hate Anthropologie (only "hate" in a jealous way, of course, for always having perfect whimsical wardrobes in the coziest homes and the most envy-inducing locations).

Ah, those colors!

Loving the feminine A-line dresses and floral caftans.

And the Spanish colonial architecture of Cartagena's Old City, of course!

 

Still magnificent in neutrals wandering the streets of this vibrant Latin American city.

And why don't we throw in the beach for good measure.  Ah, perfection.

modern architecture in San Diego

Photo credit: http://www.fiatdulcislux.com/

Driving into work this morning, due East, blinded by the sunrise piercing the open sky between imposing hospital buildings, my dad described the opposite effect that occurs every evening at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, when, facing due West, one basks in the glow of a perfect Pacific sunset through the modern buildings that disguise a world class reserach facility that five Nobel Prize winning scientists have once called home.

Being unfamiliar with the architecture of the Salk Institute, I, naturally, called upon my good friend, Google, to enlighten me: 

Jonas Salk had a distinctive vision for the creation of the Institute. In the early 1960s, he directed the world-renowned architect Louis Kahn to provide spacious, unobstructed laboratory spaces that could be adapted to the ever-changing needs of science. The building materials had to be simple, strong, durable, and as maintenance-free as possible. Salk summarized his aesthetic objectives by telling the architect to "create a facility worthy of a visit by Picasso." Kahn, who was a devoted artist before he became an architect, responded to this challenge. (via)

When it comes to architecture, I am not always a fan of the more modern (I realize that "modern" is a very, very broad term that encompasses quite a range of styles over the past century, but I'm not really qualified enough to launch into a discussion of particulars here), but I like the way that the light plays with the buildings, lending some character to the seemingly monolithic. 

Another really interesting structure nearby is the UCSD Geisel library-- and if it seems like something out of a Dr. Suess book, well, it was financed by Theodore Suess Geisel (aka Dr. Suess) and his wife. 

Photo Credit: Matt Soave via

So, it appears that my lusting for San Diego continues.  In addition to sun, friends, Pandas, and missions, there are also some funky buildings to check out.  I guess the views over the Pacific are a draw, too?

Photo Credit: AMagill via

Yup, they totally are.

places I'd rather be on this dreary day...

It's raining in Baltimore, baby...

at a rate of something like three inches an hour at its peak last night?  That's a ridiculous amount of liquid falling from the sky, no?  This would probably make for an excellent museum day, but for now I'm going to sit around feeling melancholy and long for an escape to someplace warm and sunny.

On my wish list...

Cartagena, Colombia
I've had my heart set on Cartagena ever since a visit to neighboring Panama two summers ago in which my travel buddy and I realized that had we planned for some extra time and been willing to spend a little extra money, we could have sailed from the east coast of Panama down to Cartagena, stopping in the gorgeous San Blas Islands (Panama) along the way.  The colonial walled city is a UNESCO site and gorgeous from all I can discern from several internet searches over the past couple years.  The city is also home to Gabriel Garcia Marquez and has provided the backdrop for several of his novels.  So magical realism + pura vida + frolicking in a well-preserved colonial coastal Latin city = what I want right this moment.

image courtesy of Robert Caplan for NYTimes.com

Palau
I've been lusting after this island nation in the Pacific after my diving trip in the Philippines.  It seemed as if every dive master I talked to in the Philippines either had come to the consensus that Palau had the best diving they'd ever done or had placed it at the top of their diving wish-list if they'd never been.  And that is saying a lot, because the diving in the Philippines is phenomenal.  Diving Palau is clearly a huge pipe dream, as I definitely do not have almost $2,000 to spend on airfare at the moment-- though I was actually kind of surprised to find that a flight from Baltimore to Palau wasn't more expensive.  I would love to be there right now, though in the full day of travel that it will take me to get there, maybe this nasty weather will subside.

photo courtesy of NationalGeographic.com

San Diego, California, USA

Well, come on, I can't be a huge brat all the time and expect to jet-set somewhere international at the onset of disagreeable weather!  It is currently 70 F and sunny in this southern California city, and if I leave right now for the airport, I can be in by later tonight and back for class on Monday morning.  OK, so I don't have an extra $500 to drop on a last-minute escape to the West Coast, but for a moment let me mentally vanish to the sunshine, beaches, world-famous zoo, and Spanish Mission architecture of San Diego...

 photo courtesy of NYTimes.com