Happy Christmas, Gëzuar Krishtlindjet, Frohe Weihnachten & Feliz Navidad to All!

We're feeling festive over here! With an early December snow in Vancouver (it hardly ever snows here on the West Coast) and the excitement of a baby's first Christmas, things are getting merry and bright! One particularly transient holiday season brought us to Christmas markets in four different countries. By the end of our tours we were brimming with Christmas spirit. In hopes of topping up your Christmas cup with cheer, here are a smattering of sparkly and cheerful pictures. So put on that digital fireplace, grab a hot chocolate and have a little scroll!

London, England- We went to the Fatherland (literally, my father's homeland) in late November, and along with having the most wonderful time visiting with family, hitting up some touristy spots in London (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Borough Market, Piccadilly Circus, etc. and even caught a performance of The Lion King), we delighted in the fact that everything was getting super Christmas-y and sparkly all over the city. As we tromped through London, we would come across pockets of Christmas joy and could never resist stopping for a mug of Christmas cheer or a tasty little nibble of some sort (special mention to the Yorkshire pudding wraps for bringing Christmas dinner to the streets). Enjoying the Christmas vibes so much, we dedicated one of our entire days to the Christmas market in our Uncle's town, shopping, eating, drinking and generally being 'Mary' with a gaggle of Harwoods.

                                          Happy Christmas! 

Tirana, Albania- Definitely not a Christmas market that is making waves on any of the 'top ten' lists...but we were so lucky to have such a fantastic market on our doorstep! (Generally speaking though, Albania should be on everyone's top ten European travel list.) For the two years we lived in Albania, we whole-heartedly enjoyed the Christmas market hosted at the huge Skanderbeg Square. It was delightful to see that in the second year, the market only grew to be bigger, brighter and more festive! In fact, the whole downtown core of Tirana does a great job to deck the halls and light up the dark winter nights. Having an insatiable appetite for Christmas, the market was basically our restaurant and entertainment of choice for the month of December. We spent our fair share of evenings gathered around a fire, mulling wine, and filling up on zgare (grilled meats, veggies, bread & cheese...If you have the opportunity to eat at an Albanian grill restaurant, don't pass it up!).  

                                        Gëzuar Krishtlindjet!

Vienna, Austria- Finally we were on Christmas vacation and off to spend two weeks in Spain and Morocco. But first we took advantage of a 12 hour layover in Vienna, and spent the night on a Christmas market crawl through the city. And holy Christmas crackers! If Albania was a zero on the notable Christmas Market list, Vienna's markets must be topping the charts--With Christmas markets being a tradition since the 1300's, Vienna is very merry and bright. Just as we'd finish one glühwein, the next market's lights were already twinkling in the distance. What a delight! Ice skating, carolling, manger scenes, market treasures, sweets, treats and sugar plum fairies galore! We finished our abridged tour of Vienna at the city's main and biggest market outside of City Hall. Aptly named The Viennese Dream Christmas Market, is was pure magic! With the impressive City Hall serving as the backdrop, spirits were high. A fun tidbit about City Hall (which I cannot verify because I was told this afterwards by an Austrian friend) is that the windows are used as a living advent calendar, lit up one-by-one as Christmas Eve draws near. Love the idea and I hope it's true, but again I did not notice this wonderful detail when we were there. Perhaps this hearsay is as whimsical as the whole Viennese Christmas splendour!

                                        Frohe Weihnachten!

Barcelona, Spain- Admittedly, we felt a bit spoiled for Christmas festivities at this point and weren't actively seeking any markets. As we arrived in Spain on the 24th, things were generally winding down and getting quiet. Even though we've spent our share of Christmas days away from our family, (many by choice, wanting to spend the holidays travelling), Christmas Eve is always a mixed bag of emotions. Without fail, there comes a moment on Christmas Eve of heavy sadness and homesickness, missing settling down in the cozy company of family and soaking in the magic of the holiday. Along with inevitable tears, we usually occupy ourselves by drinking, eating and generally over indulging in anything to distract ourselves. Our Christmas in Spain was no different... up until a point. Having just popped into a bodega to grab more libations, we stepped out into the square to a large crowd quietly singing Christmas carols. And oh my, oh my! My heart was aglow with warm Christmas feelings. That Christmas I got the gift of one of my most treasured travel memories 💕   

                                            Feliz Navidad!

Now...Go slip into your best/worst Christmas sweater, get those shortbread in the oven, belt out Oh Holy Night, and from us to you, have the most wonderful holiday season!                                                                     

                                        Merry Christmas!

The Unexpected Adventure of our Lives!

Mary Tyler & More was always a way people remembered our names... the "more" being the certain je ne sais quoi we'd bring to the proverbial table. Well the figurative "more" has grown into literally more Mary and Tyler...yup, we had a baby!

If you're slightly taken aback by this revelation, don't worry, you're not alone. We ourselves were also surprised by the initial news. And then surprised again by his 6-week early arrival, and then again with how much we absolutely love this little babe. Although parenthood was not something Tyler nor I had seen for ourselves, here we are loving, learning, laughing ....and sometimes crying through it.

The beginning, middle and culmination!

Despite having made very little waves on social media (this kid has got his whole life to be an internet sensation), little babe has made big tsunami swells in our once D.I.N.K lifestyle. (If you do want some seriously adorable baby content, send us a message and we will gladly spam your inbox).

Being born early, babe spent some extra time in the hospital.
Everyday we'd have lunch on a nearby patio that faced this mural 💕 

Yes, we are up all times of the night, squeezing little babe into the cutest outfits, flashing titties, constantly wiping up vomit and currently struggling to hold our heads up without flopping over---to be honest, sounds like a pretty good pub crawl, doesn't it? And boy, we party in this house!

From the word go, we have loved sharing our lives and adventures with our little beanie baby. Watching a shadowy fleck on an ultrasound screen grow into a real-life tiny human who is experiencing everything for the first time is pretty awesome! From feeling the ocean wind on his little face, being annoyed with the snowy, cold weather (you may have been born during the hottest Vancouver summer on record...but sorry babe, you are Canadian) to being shy with his own reflection--- the first smiles and giggles, first hugs and kisses, first babbles and cries; everyday is a new adventure!

So that's what we've been up to lately!

Here We Van-Again!

You all know that we love a good recreational vehicle. From motorcycle tours in Korea, roadtripping in Australia and vanlife in the Balkans, it's our favourite way to travel. After moving back to Canada, where the national fondness for camping and outdoor living is profound, naturally we wanted to get back in the scene. We've dipped our toes, been burned and are now ready to love again. Truly, it's been a bit of a bumpy road, but the soap opera (albeit melodramatic) saga continues!  

So back in March 2020 we, along with with rest of the world, found ourselves unexpectedly grounded. Super bummed that our Spring Break in Mexico was canceled, it was the motivation we needed to start the hunt for our next rolling home. Turns out, that's what everyone else thought they'd do as well, and it was rough out there. We saw some really lived in RVs, vans and motorhomes. The characters you meet in the RV world are the real deal (ranging from Pinterest crafty bloggers all the way to modern-day draft dodgers...and to be honest, we dig all folks on the RV spectrum) The kicker was, no matter what we were looking at, the prices were absurd--toilet paper and RVs were at a premium as the world grappled with the globals crisis. 

Sometimes you gotta kiss a lot a frogs, am I right?

We had some feelers out there and got a lead on a 27 ft Class C Corsair. Admittedly a lot more real-estate than we have piloted in the past, it looked sweet, the previous owner had taken great care of it, and the price was right. So we bought it sight unseen (so to speak) as we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with an actual motor home. As evident when we were about to pull away, and the seller hesitantly asked "You ever driven something this big?" Uhhh, nope!--Our plan was to drive slow and take the corners wide!

Settling right into that RV life!

I know some of you had seen our Corsair excitement hit Instagram...and then never heard tell of it again. Well, here's a brief story of our very brief foyer into the motorhome world. 

So our plan was to update the RV (falling into the Pinterest-ish camp of RVers) and fully move into it after a month when we would continue to teach online and enjoy some of the freedoms of remote teaching. Everyday we'd finish our day of Zoom classes, head on over to the Walmart parking lot (in North America, Walmart parking lots are free and clear for overnight camping...just to add to the overall ambiance), and start renovating. I'm sure when Walmart opened their parking lots up to overnight camping they exactly envisioned people parking for 3+ weeks and gutting their RVs. We basically slapped white paint on everything, tiled the kitchen and replaced the shag. We had a blast doing it, and were pretty happy with the way it was all shaping up. As the pandemic continued to unfold, the snowbirds whom we were housesitting for were unable to get back to Canada, so we had some unexpected bonus time before moving into the RV. We thought we'd use the gift of time to update the bedroom too. First thing Tyler did was unscrew the headboard from the wall...which was apparently integral to the entire structure of the back of the RV, because Whoa! Two words-- water damage. Two more words--- broken hearts. And just like that our RV dream was drown. The more we tore away at the soddened walls, floor and ceiling, the more dampened our spirits got. Recognizing this was a job that was definitely beyond our construction capabilities, let alone possible to be done in the Walmart parking lot with our most basic of tools, we decided to let it go. In the end, we sold it for what we bought it for, occupied our time during covid lockdown and learned a couple things, so really no harm, no foul. The only legacy the Corsair leaves behind is a new family catch phrase "They've got water damage"every time we see a RV cruise on by.

Before, during and after!

My fave part of the whole reno was the tiled kitchen!

Annnddd this is as far as we got with the bedroom 😳

Ok, so fast forward a year and a half later. Our recreational vehicle dream has never and will never die. Although the past year has thrown us some curveballs (pandemic, broken foot, an unplanned pregnancy resulting in the sweetest little toddle-baby) we have always kept our eyes, ears and hearts open for the right little gem to pop up. We knew we did not want to get into a RV again (the rot was just too much for our hearts to handle), and now that we have a babe who requires a carseat, we need something with at least one seat in the back. So we've waited for something right, and we've found her! ---Well actually, we can take none of the credit. Tyler's brother Micah found the van, did all the wheelings and dealings and deserves huge kudos---And a big bottle of whiskey for his troubles-- So we're back in the business of a van build!! So so excited to start planning and converting the new rig, as well as share the van lifestyle with our baby and explore on four wheels once again!

Photo cred goes out to the shop in Edmonton!...That's as specific as I can be.

** Update: Van life has been stalled once more, as the mountain highways that connect Vancouver to the rest of the country have been washed out by devastating floods and mudslides. Why does this affect our van viability? Well, as mentioned Tyler's brother found us the van. Micah and the van live in Edmonton,  which is 13 hours and a couple mountain ranges away from Vancouver. So that's where the van will remain until...well, who knows!

Revelstoke Roadie

Circa November 2020~ If you've been following our travels for a while, you may have noticed that we never share much about our Canadian adventures--Our time at home always feels quite personal, relatively mundane and so familiar, that it's hard to imagine that anyone would want to read (and in my case write) about our comings and goings in the Great White North. But alas, we haven't travelled anywhere outside of Canada since November 2019 (WILD), and I'm finding myself with more time to write these days (shoutout to the unemployed👐) so let's crack into some homegrown travel stories.

I often get thinking about timelines and where we were and what we were doing at this time a year ago (5 years ago, 10 years ago, etc.) Let's take it back to exactly one year ago. We were still strongly discouraged to travel outside of our province (let alone internationally), but were really feeling the need to stretch our wings beyond the city limits. Working within pandemic parameters, we decided to strike out on a 10 day road trip, looping through the mountains on the hunt for some hot springs and big vista views. Luckily, around every corner in British Columbia is another stunning panorama and the impressive peaks are endless--not a lot of planing was needed!

Turns out November has always been a good travel month for us!

....But first wine (always). Breezing through B.C's biggest wine region --Kelowna/Okanagan Valley-- for a couple nights, we reunited with friends from university, and checked out the city. This area is busting full of wineries and vineyards, lakes and mountains (basically a bachelorette party haven). 

From Kelowna we meandered towards Nelson

Literally overnight we went from sunny, crisp autumn to a dreamy, white winter wonderland. As we rolled into Fairmont Hot Springs, as far as I could tell it is a stop on the highway that includes a couple of hotels, a mini mall, a population of less than 500 people...and of course, its namesake and raison d'etre, hot springs! We arrived just as the snow began to fall, and it was absolutely mountain magic! 

Big steamy pools at Fairmont Hot Spring Resort

We first hit up the natural hot springs (opposed to the hotel pools where they pipe the water in). We trudged through the snow in our winter boots, bikini bottoms and parkas, equipped with a soggy box of wine, eager to sit in a puddle of tepid water that smells like farts...Screams winter magic, doesn't it? Given this was a random weekday in November with sub-zero temps, we had those puddles all to ourselves! It was magical in that silence that comes when the snow falls all around you. It really felt like we were the only people in existence. After being sufficiently soused, we sprinted back to the quintessential mountain lodge to adorn ourselves with robes, before our evening soak in the steaming pools at the hotel. Then came our morning soak, midday soak, afternoons soak, and again, evening soak. Honestly, basing any holiday around sitting in the tub for hours is, in my opinion, the way to go. So after a couple days, us pruned raisins reluctantly put our pants back on and continued the drive, heading straight through the rockies.

After driving through some pretty big mountain passes, and thanking our lucky stars we had a clear blue day for the drive, we arrived in Revelstoke. To our delight, we woke up the next morning to LOTS of big fluffy snow! The first big snow of the season is always so exciting (ask us how we feel about snow in March after sloshing around in it for 4 months). After a day of reveling in the winter wonderland and frolicking around town, we started to think about the coming day's drive. Would our all-season tires guide us safely home through the snowy mountains? (In Canada our cars wear their winter boots too--Tires get switched over to a more grippier winter version for safety reasons.) In true Mary and Tyler fashion, we started calling around in a slight panic, asking if there was any way we could 1)buy winter tires, and 2)could they be put on...like today. When we got a resounding "No" (nothing available for 6+weeks), we then followed-up with question #3 "Do you think our all-season tires will make it through the mountains?" With notable hesitation from everyone we asked, we knew we had to make a new plan. You see, the problem was that the fastest, most direct route back to Vancouver was up and over the Coquihalla highway mountain pass...which has some pretty unpredictable weather and frequently gets shut down in the winter. Enough so that the highway has inspired a TV show called Highway Thru Hell, where they chronicle the driving adventures of trucks going over the mountain in the winter. Needless to say, we did not want to make our reality show debut, and needed a different route home. We ended up taking a slightly longer, less snowy, death-defying highway home that turned out to be a really beautiful drive...and we arrived safe and sound--Win, win!!

....Oh! And a year later, we still don't have winter tires.

Not no snow, but decidedly way less snow.

As we settled back into the monotony of pandemic lockdown life, we knew we'd likely be sticking close to home for awhile.... Little did we know the next big adventure was already underway!

Euro-Birthday Bus Trip

Circa Summer 2019~ Having a July birthday as a teacher has its benefits--Mainly, I always have the day off and the freedom to celebrate in whatever big or small fashion I'd like. Although I'm not someone who likes to celebrate my birthday with a great deal of fanfare, I do generally like to mark the day with a trip or an adventure. Keeping with tradition, we began looking around the internet for a fun birthday Euro-romp. Without digging too deep, we found a one-way flight deal that would take us from Montenegro to Poland...and how we'd get back to Albania, well that would be a problem for an older and wiser Mary. 

After driving to Montenegro, and leaving the old girl (our '91 VW van) tucked safely away in trustworthy-looking folks' backyard, we flew off to Warsaw, Poland. Although Poland was never at the top of our travel list, we were excited for some vodka, pirogies and...whatever else Poland had in store (again, just a destination of opportunity, not a lot of background knowledge). Once arriving in Warsaw we struck out to check out the (new) Old Town (having been reduced to a pile of rubble in WWII, the Old Town was meticulously rebuilt and is oh so charming!), Łazienki Park (a place to while away the hours with palaces, odes to Frédéric Chopin, pavilions, promenades, and lush greenery), the Warsaw Uprising Museum (to get a little WWII context), the phalic Palace of Culture and Science (a Stalinist complex that was a ‘gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland). Generally we walked around, fuelled by vodka and an open-mind about a country we had no preconceived notions about. I will say, Warsaw was amazing, and would love to explore more of the country! 

Reality Check-In~ All the while, we got a call from a school in Canada, offering a job interview for both Tyler and I. While we had planned on taking an extended summer holiday, cruising around in our van until November when we were due back for a teaching contract in Toronto, we thought, why not do the interviews? So we ended up completing our interviews in the lobby of our hotel, and from there things moved quickly. Suddenly we were both employed and needed to speed up our leisurely summer+ plans. We needed to gear up to pack-up and get back to Canada ASAP. This meant getting back to Albania on a quicker timeline than previously expected....bbbuuttt we still did want to see a few things along the way (don't ever try and rush us while on vacation!). So we opted to do some overnight buses and stop in a few cities before arriving back in Albania. 

Spending the night on a bus and being unceremoniously dumped in a new city at 6am can be a bit jarring-Where's the Tim Horton's, guys? No worries! We'd head to the hotel, take a little nap and be fresh to begin to explore Prague!

...ohhh wait. We're not in S.E Asia anymore, where hospitality is paramount, rules are mere guidelines, and an unannounced 7am check-in request is met with a smile and an invitation to check-out the breakfast buffet. Instead we were reminded of the rigid and unwavering hotel policies that we agreed to when reserving our over-priced 2-star hotel room. 

So how do you kill the better part of a day before you can finally lay your head down for a cat-nap? Why not a free walking tour! Checking out the sights of the Old Town and Jewish Quarter, and hearing a series of historical tidbits and humorous antidotes was a perfect way to ride out our exhaustion and make the most of the time we had in Prague. Capping off the morning with a riverside picnic, we finally tucked ourselves into bed for a quick kip before continuing on with the (now self-guided) tour. Take it from us, Prague is super charming at any hour of the day...The bridges, the castles, the quirky statues. Prague is the perfect city to wander, perch and explore. 

After a couple of nights, we boarded the bus again for a quick jog down the road to Budapest---Which we were super excited about as it is, in our limited opinion, one of the best cities in Europe! Having visited Budapest before, we weren't as inclined to hit up the biggest landmarks and sights. We did spend the next couple days wandering around Margaret Island, (an island city park on the Danube River), catching sunsets along the river and popping into the occasional ruin bar (bars housed in the abandoned buildings of the Jewish Quarter as a result of WWII). And of course, the food!! Hungarian food really hits all the high marks for us--soups, peanutty sauces, cheese, sour cream, bacon, fried dough, I mean come-on! Despite it being 40 degrees, we just couldn't pass up multiple bowls of goulash. As a very serious side-note--does anyone have a killer recipe for paprika chicken they'd like to pass along?

Next we made the quick little hop, skip and a jump down to Belgrade, and were feeling good to be back in the Balkans! In contrast to our previous city-stops, Belgrade was roasting! Being so hot, we hit up Ada Ciganlija, or the 'Seaside of Belgrade', an artificial lake and beachside just outside the centre of the city. The lake was a hive of summertime activity! We spent the day hopping on and off the tourist train or walking to the next beach, where we would find a different vibe. This lake is a serious gem! From family picnics, water skiing, tikki bars, or full-on day-clubbing scenes, this lake has something for everyone. Unbeknownst to us, while sitting on a relatively quiet stretch of beach, we even found ourselves being propositioned by a curious individual who kept asking us, "Should we Shwing? Us, we shwing?" Although flattered--"No sir, please move along." Again, something at the lake for everyone.

Spent my birthday perched on the walls of Belgrade Fortress and sampling the local raki

For the final push back to Albania, we boarded an overnight bus towards Montenegro to retrieve our sweet rolling home. Since we had left Montenegro 10 days ago, our life plans had changed, and we were now looking to sell the van. First things first, we stopped in at a gas station, filled up the beauty and posted her for sale. Well then, it was as if the old girl had felt the sting of abandonment and immediately acted out. Just over the Albanian border we heard that gut wrenching clunk that's usually accompanied by various degrees of heartbreak (and smoke). We got her pulled over, and eventually a 'tow truck' came (Mercedes station wagon hauling a homemade flatbed juusssst big enough for the van), where the guy looked under the hood and quite simply said 'kaput'. A universal word needing no explanation. So she got taken to a garage/junkyard, where Tyler and a couple of boys pushed her into her final resting spot, while I looked on with the bossman, and cried like a baby. 

R.I.P sweet girl--Thanks for the adventures 💕

And just like that, our Albanian chapter was coming to an end...