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I really feel like yearly I’m wanting ahead to the winter till it truly begins to occur. Simply as quickly as the primary actual chill units in and it’s time to transition away from mid-weight peacoats to full-on winter coats, it hits me — can I do an entire season of this?
We’re not going to Mexico this winter. We missed the cats an excessive amount of final yr, and in addition realized that it doesn’t make sense to go away in January, certainly one of our busiest work months of the yr.
As a substitute, a Prague winter. Walks via parks crammed with barren bushes. Night snuggles with kittens and cups of tea. Doing all errands by 3:30 PM because the solar is down shortly after. A wanted season of quiet.
However there isn’t any such factor as dangerous climate — solely dangerous garments. And with that, I dug out my Uniqlo thermals for the season. I’ll have purchased them for my trip to Antarctica in 2018, however they’re equally helpful when looking European Christmas markets.
And we’re already making tentative plans to go to Sicily for per week or so in February. Having a little bit of sunshine to look ahead to makes all of the distinction.
Locations Visited
Prague, Czech Republic
Lisbon and Sintra, Portugal
Studying, Beverly, Woburn, Braintree, and Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Tamworth, North Conway, Jackson, Wolfeboro, Loudon, Manchester, and Salem, New Hampshire
Highlights
A beautiful weekend getaway to Lisbon. Charlie and I made a decision to satisfy up for a number of days after his firm’s crew assembly in Sevilla and earlier than I flew to Boston. An important concept! I hadn’t been to Lisbon in about 10 years, throughout which I used to be a particularly low-budget backpacker.
It was so good spending time with my Lisbon buds, attempting out scrumptious eating places and hitting up wine bars. The climate wasn’t the best, however the metropolis was invigorating.
We additionally spent a day in Sintra — an uncharacteristically foggy afternoon in Sintra! We didn’t go all out on exploration, however wandered round and bought to see a number of of the palaces.
And I had some ideas. Lisbon and Prague have an identical price of dwelling. However I feel issues are usually extra organized and work a lot better in Prague. Then once more, Lisbon has way more sunshine. How would you worth that trade-off?
Enjoyable instances in Prague. My first-ever go to to the Narodni Museum (Nationwide Museum), and the spotlight for me was its cool assortment of rocks and minerals. And at some point the climate was fantastically sunny and foggy on the similar time, which made for uncommon photographs!
A pleasant journey residence for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see my household and have all of the meals, spend time with associates, and I bought QUITE plenty of errands performed over that weeklong journey!
My twentieth highschool reunion. 20 years!! I can not consider it’s been that lengthy. Nevertheless it was an important occasion. We had about 80 folks there, and it was nice catching up with everybody. It’s all the time a pleasing shock to learn how a lot of my classmates learn my weblog!
This was additionally my first time masking at a big indoor occasion the place just about everybody was unmasked. I didn’t need a repeat of the convention a number of months in the past the place dozens of individuals bought COVID.
My pal Beth and I have been the one ones in masks (we did take them off for photographs), and truthfully, it was no massive deal. Effectively-worth hedging towards long-term COVID injury.
A enjoyable New Hampshire day with my dad. I needed to cowl some vacation occasions this yr on the New Hampshire web site, so we attended the Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour in Jackson and the Reward of Lights in Loudon, plus gallivanting to the Moat Mountain Brewery, North Conway, Chocorua Lake, Tamworth Distilling, and Lone Wolfe Brewery (which I had lengthy needed to cowl on my New Hampshire Breweries information).
Discovering wedding ceremony footwear. I used to be dreading the marriage shoe search, since a bout with tendinitis 15 years in the past has left me needing good arch help always. And formal footwear with good arch help are robust to seek out.
Effectively, what have you learnt…I discovered a pair of gold wedges lined with rhinestones for simply $49.99 at DSW! They aren’t orthotic, however they’ll just do high-quality!
I additionally bought my wedding ceremony earrings (tremendous glamorous and dangly to go along with the Outdated Hollywood vibes), a hair comb, a beaded white purse (why not?), and Charlie and I settled on the bridesmaid colours: 5 dusty, dreamy lilacs and blues.
I did my hair and make-up trial for the Boston wedding ceremony, which I assumed was early at eight months out, till my artist informed me she has some folks do it a yr or extra out (which appears insane). I employed the identical artist who did my sister’s hair and make-up for her wedding ceremony in September. It’s so nice to have somebody who will get your imaginative and prescient and runs with it.
Challenges
Getting a chilly close to the top of my time in Massachusetts. Fortunately not COVID this time. Simply grossness.
The Reward of Lights was…odd. One of many vacation occasions in New Hampshire I needed to cowl was the Reward of Lights, a present on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. You drive onto the speedway and drive via numerous mild shows, together with tunnels.
First off, we did it within the rain, which technically might nonetheless be okay, although not optimum. Whereas this allowed us to drive via the course at a a lot quicker fee than standard, this course was extremely complicated with none drivers there! We couldn’t determine the place to show loads of the time. And the lights? They have been…high-quality. Shows within the form of Santa and stuff.
I do know loads of NH folks love taking their children to Reward of Lights yearly. If that’s your factor, go for it! For me? I’d reasonably drive to a elaborate neighborhood that goes all out on decorations.
Weblog Posts of the Month
Are the Vök Baths Iceland’s Best Geothermal Spa? — The Vök Baths have been my favourite thermal spa in Iceland! This place remains to be fairly new, so I extremely suggest checking it out in case you’re driving the Ring Street.
24 Fabulous Things to Do in Sayulita, Mexico — I really like the get together seaside city of Sayulita, and I feel it’s an particularly good vacation spot for elder millennials! Right here’s why it makes an important place to go to over the winter.
A Guide to the Gorgeous Tröllaskagi Peninsula, North Iceland — Need a actually spectacular detour from the Ring Street? Take a look at Tröllaskagi, a peninsula lined with jagged mountains, lovable small cities, a wonderful swimming pool overlooking a fjord, and maybe the most effective museum in Iceland, the Herring Period Museum.
This Month on Patreon
On the Adventurous Kate Patreon, I publish unique content material and never-told tales you could entry for $6 per thirty days. We even have a personal Fb group and members get free entry to the Guide Membership every month.
So…this month, would you prefer to see some wedding ceremony attire? You’ll see some wedding ceremony attire!
I didn’t put up my precise wedding ceremony gown, however I wrote a put up sharing a number of of the marriage attire I attempted on that DID NOT make the minimize for varied causes. A number of the wacky ones from BHLDN.
Guide Membership This Month
I’m holding off on the following e-book membership till late January, attributable to everybody having busy vacation schedules. I’ll let you already know once we’re able to go.
New Hampshire Approach Replace
I anticipated that this could be a gradual month on New Hampshire Way, my New Hampshire journey web site, and for probably the most half this was correct. Foliage season resulted in mid-October, and November is form of the center floor earlier than the vacations kick into gear.
Overlaying vacation actions is an enormous precedence of mine, for each advert causes (highest advert charges of the yr are in December) and since so a lot of New Hampshire’s greatest vacation occasions have scant on-line protection at greatest.
So I printed my guide to Christmas activities in New Hampshire in 2022, and proper now it’s the highest put up on New Hampshire Approach and ranks #1 on Google for “Christmas in New Hampshire”!
Two new posts this month that you could be take pleasure in: 27 Incredible New Hampshire Cabins with Hot Tubs (sure, we went via the listing rigorously to verify every of those cabins truly has a great scorching tub) and Best Bakeries in Portsmouth, NH (together with certainly one of my favorites, Popovers on the Sq.).
However you already know what’s going wild? My guide to New Hampshire water parks. As a result of actually everyone seems to be googling “indoor water parks in New Hampshire” proper now!
And I’m excited that my subsequent fee from Mediavine, the January fee, will embrace New Hampshire Approach income for the primary time!
What I Listened To This Month
I like Leslie Jones — and he or she now has a podcast! It’s referred to as The Fckry (The Fuckery) and it’s fabulous; the podcast format was made for her.
And the episode that she did with the Pod Save America guys proper earlier than the midterms might be the toughest I’ve ever laughed at a podcast. I used to be the weirdo strolling across the neighborhood and randomly bursting into laughter ever few steps.
I received’t give something away, but it surely’s effectively value a hear, even post-midterms!
What I Watched This Month
The Crown. Not fairly completed with the season but, but it surely’s all the time unbelievable. The brand new solid is nice, however Dominic West is WAY too scorching to credibly play Prince Charles (and truthfully, Charles will get fairly a optimistic edit this season).
The episode about Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend made me sob. They beloved one another a lot, might by no means be collectively, and by no means stopped loving one another, even of their remaining years.
And this month I used to be launched to Beneath Deck. My fiancé Charlie can’t stand actuality TV…however he out of the blue bought massively into this actuality present concerning the crew who work on luxurious constitution yachts, and bought me to look at it with him. Apparently there are 1,000,000 totally different spin-offs around the globe.
I completely love all the small print of the background work the crew do for visitors, each the fantastic visitors and the troublesome ones. Not a lot into the interpersonal drama. However I’m positive we are going to proceed following way more of this actuality present!
What I Learn This Month
We’re coming to the conclusion of my slowest studying yr up to now decade, I’m sorry to say. At first I wasn’t positive the way to cope with this, however now I’m way more at peace with it contemplating that I’ve used the spare time to construct a complete new web site (New Hampshire Approach). Right here’s what I learn this month:
A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney (2022) — Comic Rob Delaney’s two-year-old son Henry died of a mind tumor a number of years in the past. That is the story of Henry’s life, his sickness, and the which means of all of it. And that is in contrast to any grief memoir you’ve ever learn. It tells Henry’s story in a round narrative and is commonly laugh-out-loud humorous, stuffed with rage, and quietly devastating, usually all on the similar time.
What an unimaginable e-book — my favourite of the yr. Rob is likely one of the creators and writers of Disaster, and in case you’ve seen it, you already know that he’s a grasp of blending comedy with darkish, far-too-real relationship moments. This e-book is trustworthy and visceral in a approach that I discovered really comforting.
I’m grateful to Rob, and grateful to Henry. They’ve left a mark upon me without end.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) — This post-apocalyptic novel opens 20 years after a pandemic killed off 99.9% of the inhabitants. Kirsten is a performer with the Touring Symphony, a gaggle that performs Shakespeare and classical music to settlements scattered across the Nice Lakes area. Quickly they encounter a harmful prophet. The story flips forwards and backwards in time, connecting a string of characters.
A number of post-apocalyptic books scare and upset me (none extra so than Cormac McCarthy’s The Street), however this e-book was so totally different. It was uplifting. It was mild. It left me hopeful, even within the face of a lot horror. You understand an writer is presented when she’s in a position to try this!
I’m so excited to dive into extra of Emily St. John Mandel’s books and even completed Sea of Tranquility in early December. And Station Eleven has turn into a miniseries on HBO. I’m excited to dive into that, too.
An Ocean Apart by Sarah Lee (2022) — The yr is 1954 and sisters Connie and Ruby have set out on a steamship from Barbados to England, the place they’ll prepare to be nurses for the newly shaped NHS. Along with their pal Billie, newly arrived from Jamaica, the younger ladies leap headfirst into their new lives.
My pal Sarah wrote this e-book, and I’m so comfortable for her! She primarily based a lot of the e-book on her mom’s migration from Barbados to England. This time interval known as the Windrush Technology, the mid-century time interval when many Caribbeans immigrated to Britain to rebuild following World Warfare II.
I beloved these three ladies and their tales as they wrestle with work, love, and acclimating to a very new nation — and I knew nothing about this era and second in time. It was so good to spend time with them.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (2022) — The world knew that Matthew Perry struggled with habit for a lot of his time on Buddies — however the fact was a lot darker. On this memoir, he tells a narrative of his lifelong loneliness that led to alcohol and prescription drug abuse, resulting in detox after detox and rehab after rehab.
Okay. This e-book bought loads of press, not all of it optimistic. Right here’s what I feel: you’ll end this e-book realizing that habit is a illness and a few folks, like him, are predisposed to a horrible, terrible model of it. I really feel for him.
And the dangerous. Sure, he wished the beloved Keanu Reeves was useless as an alternative of River Phoenix, which was crude and extremely ill-advised, contemplating how shut Keanu and River have been and the way destroyed Keanu was by his loss of life. I significantly surprise how an editor allowed that to occur.
However past that, I hated how Perry talked about ladies. He noticed each girl as a possible conquest. They have been all the time heart-stoppingly lovely, they usually wouldn’t give him the time of day, and he could be upset. I feel the one time he stated one thing a few girl that wasn’t about her seems was when he briefly talked about that Lisa Kudrow was “good.” That was it.
This was most likely the only most bitter e-book I’ve learn. He claims to be sober now. Greater than something, I need him to be. However I’m not satisfied he’s.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (2022) — Alice is about to show 40 and is feeling mediocre about her life — her relationship is a dud, her job is a dead-end, and her father is ailing within the hospital. However on the night time of her birthday, she finds herself transported again to her sixteenth birthday, alongside her vibrant 40-something father, and he or she realizes she has the prospect to do issues over.
I loved this e-book. As a lot because it’s a time journey fantasy, it’s actually extra about Alice’s relationship together with her father and the issues she learns by touring in time (many times). And it is a GREAT e-book about New York Metropolis. Alice’s childhood house is on Pomander Stroll, this beautiful little pedestrian-only avenue on the Higher West Facet lined with fascinating houses.
Coming Up in December 2022
It’s Christmas market time! You guys know I’m nuts for Christmas in Europe, at the same time as somebody who’s not too into Christmas in America. It’s simply 1,000,000 instances higher right here. Gluhwein, sausage, gingerbread, and good cheer with out the strain to spend numerous cash
And lots of cities haven’t had Christmas markets since 2019. Markets within the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany all closed on the final minute in 2021 attributable to Omicron (although I did squeeze in a go to to the Budapest Christmas Markets, which stayed open). And naturally, every part was closed in 2020.
So I’m excited to get all Christmassy once more. Charlie and I are planning a weekend prepare journey to Vienna, a metropolis we’ve each visited many instances, however by no means for Christmas. Vienna has a few of the greatest Christmas markets in Europe.
Past that, I’d squeeze in a day journey to Dresden or an in a single day journey to Nuremburg, two of the most effective German Christmas markets. That’s an enormous perhaps, however who is aware of? And, in fact, the Prague Christmas markets are again!
We plan to rejoice Friendsmas in model at our favourite restaurant and residential away from residence, Kantyna, at certainly one of their decadent Dinner Off the Bone occasions. This yr Charlie and I will probably be spending the precise Christmas vacation in London together with his household, then coming residence for New 12 months’s.
What are you as much as this month? Share away!
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