My muscles are flexed 99.9 percent of the time, probably even while I sleep. I get antsy when I wait. I don’t walk up stairs, I run, for no reason. I walk as if I’m being chased, as if what I’ve got to do must be so important. It’s not. I respond without thinking sometimes and if I find that I’ve got an extra minute, an hour or more in a day by God I will find some way to fill it. My life runs on the same clock as everyone else’s, but for some reason I’m built to think I don’t ever have much time.

That’s my ordinary life.

I like to travel because it doesn’t just take me away from my surroundings, it takes me away from my habits and it forces me to adapt to a lifestyle that just isn’t a part of my DNA.

In Budapest, I got to slow down. Yes, it was because I was “on vacation” but it was also because of the place. Mike and I learned that while the city is huge and bustling, there is no need to rush. We learned that fine lesson over the course of a few restaurant visits. What we at first misconstrued as a very busy waiter at our first stop, we came to realize that in Budapest, if you want your check you have to ask for it, every time. And it wasn’t a bad thing. It was a given that we were there to get away, to step away from our routines and who is anyone to rush us through that?

After our four hour art nouveau architecture tour we settled into Hadik Kávéház, or Hadik Coffee House, which is one of the city’s legendary grand cafes. It was originally opened in 1911 and was visited by famous writers and journalists. We sat upstairs, melted into a couple of comfy chairs and relaxed for four long hours…

We enjoyed a few local beers, I enjoyed this mound of heaven – chicken, cream cheese, noodles and Tabasco sauce…

…while Mike savored a wiener schnitzel.

Thankfully, I have these photos to remind myself to slow down when I get a little crazy.

How do make yourself slow down?

In Budapest our instincts were to follow the advice of the great Rick Steves. So, a few days before our trip we emailed Elemer Boreczky, a semi-retired professor that leads culture and architecture tours on the side. Before we knew it, we had four and a half hours of our Sunday booked to explore the many art nouveau buildings that cover the city.

I learned a lot on the tour. For example, “art nouveau” is French for “new art” and in German it’s known as “jugendstil.” Here’s a German take on this style….

I also learned that many Budapest architects only practiced in Hungary and their work is scattered all over the city. Emil Vidor is one of them. This is the Bedo Haz Museum, or the House of Hungarian Art Nouveau, which we went back and visited on a later day.

This is his family’s house, which he designed himself. The house was funded by his mother – and an inheritance – who wanted to show off the abilities of her son, then, a struggling young architect.

We also visited the Post Office Savings Bank, which was designed by Ödön Lechner.

It wasn’t until after the tour when I read Rick Steve’s actual recommendation – yes, I blindly took his word for it – in which he stated: “Elemer is ideal if you want a walking graduate-level seminar…”

Suffice it to say, during this very scholarly tour Mike was in his element. I was not.

But even though I struggled to comprehend, while appreciating, admiring and committing Elemer’s insightful and observant comments to memory all at the same time, I really enjoyed it and I’m glad we did it.

We had the opportunity to spend a half a day with a local that knows the city of Budapest inside and out. Elemer has an appreciation for the Budapest of his childhood, with little anecdotes that made even a quick tram ride more endearing, to the Budapest of today, whose buildings boldly look to the future while never shedding the reality of their past.

What I liked most about our walk with Elemer was that he not only shared Budapest’s distinct art and architecture, he used these structures to dot the milestones of the city’s past – some happy, most sad.

The tour provided context for me and it served as the foundation for most of our trip.

The truth was, I had thought about it, but every time I placed a memory into a bucket it came spilling out with the tip of a new experience.

Budapest for me was hard to digest. It still is. I went with not much expectation and I came back with more than I could have imagined. Rick Steves - whom we could not have done Budapest without – says that “Budapest feels more grandiose than the capital of a relatively small country.” There’s reason for that. Some say it’s the Paris of the East, or more technically, Central Europe, and they’re not kidding either.

There’s something comfortable about Budapest, to me at least, in that it plain and simply feels like Europe. But there’s also something about Budapest that makes you feel like you’re a world away from home.

The buildings seem old, but most of them aren’t because they were bombed by the Soviets. They’re just replicas of what once was.

And then there’s the little reminders that beyond the history, the blending of cultures from East and West and the memories of war, there’s people focusing on the now and the future.

If there’s one thing Budapest did for me, it was put things into perspective. It helped open my eyes to our massive world and realize just how grand it is…

But in a week I hope to have a lot more content to work with.

Hope you’re all having lovely weeks!

I still have this tiny little Christmas card, which is blank and addressed to no one, as a wonderful little reminder of my trip.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Holidays!

I tend to avoid ‘bucket lists’ or setting ‘travel goals.’ They add anxiety to my already wound up existence and I can’t take the pressure imposed upon myself despite the fact that I’m driven by discipline and goals. I just can’t bring that dark side of me to my travels. [Yes, that's a taste of what it's like to be in my head, have I scared you off yet?]

If I had to name one ‘soft’ goal, though, it would be going on a whale watch in the Bay of Fundy. The opportunity to see such a diversity of creatures and hopefully, right whales, is something that has always been in the back of my mind. Sadly, we didn’t see any right whales, but that doesn’t mean I look back on my trip with dismay. We saw whales and had an amazing experience. Plus, the New England Aquarium does a good job of providing me updates on what’s going on up there with their Right Whale Research Blog, so that sometimes makes up for it. Check that out, you’ll be blown away by some breathtaking photos and videos.

For the trip, we chose the Fundy Tide Runners because they take you out on a zodiac, a speedy raft that would bring us up close and personal with the whales. Also, it’s what they use in Whale Wars to pester the Japanese whaling fleet and I’ve always wondered what that’s like (disclaimer: we didn’t pester Japanese whaling fleets on this tour).

Fundy Tide Runners also have you wear a full blown life jacket that will make anyone look badass, which my father accomplished quite successfully with his token Bruins hat and sunglasses. His sarcasm coupled with his Boston accent and banter with Dave, our witty captain who had a love/hate relationship with Boston, also helped.

Once we got out onto the water it became clear that the Bay of Fundy is a special place. I’ve been on a lot of boats, swam and paddled through many bays, but there was something about this place that I’m having a hard time pinpointing. The smell was different, it was fresh and crisp. I’ve never seen such a boldness of color in the blueness of the ocean and the dark green trees hugging the bay. The water at times, looked like glass.

At one point during the trip, we even had a little biology lesson. David’s little girl (who was about ten, very talkative and absolutely adorable), spotted krill in the water and snatched it up so we all could take a close look.

Obviously, I couldn’t get my camera to focus on the right thing here, but you get the idea.

After a series of communication with some of the other whale watching boats out in the bay, we began tracking signs for a good sighting. What was great about being in a zodiac was our ability to speed to wherever the last spotting was to catch a glimpse of a whale before they departed.

I didn’t take many photos because I’m not very good at catching a moving target, especially while I’m moving. So I kept my camera on video mode hoping that I would capture something. In this video I found a whale that had sadly lost part of its dorsal fin.

Have you ever gone whale watching in the Bay of Fundy?

We stayed at the Seaside Beach Resort, which was right on the water. We loved it because we could make ourselves right at home. We were exhausted from our travels and in St. Andrew’s we got the chance to slip back into a routine we find ourselves in back home, except with better scenery. After our whale watch, we decided to take advantage of our view, and our charcoal grill. We picked up some wine, steaks and of course,  potatoes, and just relaxed before making the trek back to Boston. It was the perfect way to end our trip.

First, Nissan is giving away an entire road trip. What’s more, it’s a road trip that you get to create yourself. The contest is called My Versa Road Trip. To enter, first you have to create your own virtual road trip using Google Maps and Facebook. Then, Nissan will choose five participants who get to bring their friends on an all expense paid road trip. On-board cameras will document their journey, footage will be turned into a short film and a winner will be picked as a grand prize winner who wins a Nissan Versa and more! The Contest began on September 15, 2011 at 12:00:00 A.M. ET and ends January 20, 2012. You can find the rest of the rules here and in this here video..

So when my journey with Wholly Guacamole and Austin Andrews would allow me to branch out and catch up with the rest of the country on what it means to bowl, I jumped at the chance. Last night, I visited AMF Bowling in Georgia with Jennifer, Austin and Taylor – a fellow New Englander who was also knocking down those giant pins for the very first time.

To begin, I’m not very good at candlepin so my hopes weren’t high for traditional bowling either. Luckily, Jennifer – who was practically a pro – gave us some pointers.

Taylor and I joked in the beginning of the night that we could be the dark horses. Candlepin is known for being more challenging because you have to hit smaller pins with a smaller ball. After a serious rough patch, we did definitely got the hang of it.

So what do you prefer? Candlepin or “big ball” bowling?

You may have noticed that the reason for my travel has overtaken my Twitter feed a bit. I’m on the road with Wholly Guacamole on the Check Your Choice tour with Austin Andrews, a recent finalist on The Biggest Loser. For this campaign, we’re visiting schools and communities across the east coast talking about making healthier choices.

To actually get a better idea of where I’ll be, you can follow our travels on our blog. But until next week, I’ll be swimming in guacamole (can’t complain about that!).

See you on the other side…

——

Disclaimer: Wholly Guacamole is a client of my employer, PAN Communications.