Monday, August 13, 2007

Mini moon # 1 (May 18th)

"Hey Hannah, what do you want to do for dinner tonight?"

"I don't know, I kind of feel like Mexican food." (shocker!)

"How would you feel about Trudy's?"

"Trudy's? In Austin?"



And just like that, our summer of non rev travel began. On our way to the airport I gave Kenny a call to see what he was up to for the weekend. He agreed to pick us up from the airport and said we could crash at his place.

From the airport we headed to Trudy's with Kenny to meet Hannah's friend Australia Michelle (above) and her husband Matt. We had a few beers while waiting for our table, I miss $2 beers. We kept the night going with a few mexican martinis and some queso especial. After 1.5 martinis, I quickly realized my tolerance had slid since my days at UT. It is 12:30 and Hannah is still awake. Time to capitalize on the night's momentum and head to Paradise Cafe on 6th street. Once again, it is clear that we are old as everyone in the bar looks like they are 17. Actually we are just old.

Saturday morning started off great with breakfast at Whataburger. We drove around town for a bit looking at all of the new developments around town. Seeing as how it had been 2.5 hours since we last ate, it was time to get some food. Hmmm....what should we eat? Mexican food anybody? A quick bite at El Arroyo and it was time to head back to the airport to catch our flight back to the ATL.

Our first return trip and we got to sit up in first class! This was a great way to start off our summer of mini moons and we can't wait for more to come.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Team Hartin goes to Foggy London Town (August 3-5)

Look kids, Big Ben! Parliament!



This marks the beginning of our last major trip of the summer. It was no easy task, but after 11 weeks I finally got my passport and was ready to cross the ocean.


With a certified copy of her birth certificate, driver's license, marriage license, retina scan, and passport with her maiden name, Hannah was along for the ride too!



Not to sound spoiled, but I don't know if flying business class on my first trip across the pond is a good thing. I guess I will just have to work for an airline forever or just never take a flight longer than 3 hrs. We were so excited to be sitting up front, I forgot how crucial sleep would be in our quest to conquer London in a mere 22 hrs. After a five course meal, a glass of champagne, several glasses of wine, and an ice cream sundae (lay off me, I'm starving!) we watched movie after movie, tv show after tv show until Hannah finally dozed off. A little bit later I was finally able to get to sleep for a bit only to wake up to some crazy lady sitting next to me reaching for my water. Her husband was a pilot and she was meeting him in London. We made the mistake of making small talk with her, only to be barraged by her commentary on how we should get around the city.



We landed around 630 am , and by the time we made it through customs and caught a train to the city it was 845. Our tour hadn't even begun and we could barely keep our eyes open. Let's get some breakfast. Ill spare you the details, but this picture best sums up how I felt.




Really? You can't make bacon and eggs without screwing it up?!?

We started off by walking by Big Ben and Parliament and from there headed to the River Thames. We must have walked 5 miles all day long, but took a ride on the London Eye where we had a great view of the entire city. From there we walked along the river and had a delicious lunch at Wagamama. Good call, Micah! After lunch, we continued our hike and found a nice green spot behind the Tate Modern Museum to get a quick 1 hr nap.

Feeling recharged we headed to the London Bridge, the Tower of London, and the Globe Theatre. We figured we had seen enough and were ready to meet up with our friend Ilan from UT and Atlanta. His friends, Brock & Sherry (recently married to each other) and Orville (works with Sherry who is married to Brock who works with Ilan who went to UT and used to live in the ATL, ya follow?) were grilling out. Ilan made some damn good gazpacho, followed by some grilled salmon, prawns, and squid that Brock grilled up. After a feast like that along with a few beers, it was going to be a challenge getting Mrs. Hart out to a pub that night.

After relaxing at Ilan's for a quick bit, we headed out to the Queen's Head Pub. The night started off pretty slow, but as the beers and vodka tonics continued to flow and the DJ started playing some good tunes it picked up. Even though there is no photo evidence, I danced. Trust me, it was pretty awesome. After a late night drinking we headed around the corner to get some lamb kabob gyros and french fries. Mmm mmm! I love me some late night grub. After a quick shower and what felt like a 30 minute nap we were back on our way to Gatwick. Thankfully we got seats in first class and toasted each other with mimosas right before takeoff! After failed attempts to watch the Namesake I was sleeping like a baby.

It will be hard to top our first international trip together, but who knows, maybe next time we'll get to stay for a while!