HOLD IT!!

Sometimes I wish time would just stand still...
Maybe we can make a deal with Mother Nature and make Autumn last all Winter long.

Can I get an Amen?

The Perfect Remedy...

If, like me, you're faced with a day that dawns overcast, windy, and cold enough to know that winter is a comin', I highly suggest you make yourself a big pot of this:

Creamy Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

It is Deeeeeeelish. You should make it. You'll be happy you did. I promise.

Serves 4

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 small (or 1 medium) onions, chopped
1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cups broth
2 or 3 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
3/4 cup red (or pink) lentils, rinsed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Freshly-ground pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional Garnish: Paprika or smoked paprika sprinkled on each bowl

Heat the olive oil in a large-ish saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the spices and cook, stirring to make sure they don't burn, for about 1 minute.

Add the broth, sweet potatoes, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, uncovered, or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.

Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Process with a hand immersion blender right in the pot, or in a blender or food processor, until creamy.

Serve hot with paprika for a garnish.

Home Sweet Cambridge 2.0

Now that we've got all of our ducks in a row....

...yuck yuck yuck...hmm, sorry...

Here's where we live! This is Queens' College boathouse, we live in one of the apartments on the second floor. We have a balcony...except we are on the opposite side of the boathouse (e.g. not facing the river Cam).
We love where we live. There are nice footpaths that run alongside the river for miles in both directions (we've experienced a vast number of those miles first hand getting ready for our Athens Marathon on Nov. 8!!). Also, we've learned that if one was to purchase a houseboat they could live on the river Cam all year long without having to pay any kind of property tax. Evidently it's a pretty popular lifestyle choice.
Cambridge also has an abundance of huge parks (more specifically known as a Common, Piece, or Green). For example, in one direction along the river is Midsummer Common. In the other direction, we walk through Jesus Green to get to the center of town. As you can see from the number of pictures we've taken, it's pretty picturesque....(punny, I know).
Lastly, Rob wants me to document an experience we had while taking some of these pictures. This swan came swimming up the river and kept coming until it was right in front of us. Of course, I had to go be IN the picture with it to we prove how close it was. Obediently, I go sit down next to it. When I stand up I realize I've sat in a large pile of swan/duck poop. Rob thinks it was worth it for the picture (and hilarious in its own right)...I'm not so sure.

Here are some more...the slide show might take awhile to load completely...but if you have the patience to wait, enjoy!

Better late than never...Lithuania wrap-up

Well, we've arrived in Cambridge safely, and amidst all of the settling-in (e.g. figuring out how to get the internet hooked up in our flat) we haven't documented the last leg of our Baltic adventure: Lithuania!

We took the bus from Riga to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, found our way to a hostel, dropped our bags, and headed out to explore.
Vilnius used to be one of Europe's most important cities and it had the grand buildings to prove it. However, like the rest of the Baltics, the effects of multiple foreign occupations are very obvious. For instance (and humor me here b/c I think this is wild...), we saw one huge cathedral in the center of Vilnius that was founded by the Jesuits in 1604. Then, it burned down when the Russians invaded in 1655. In 1812 the French army turned it into a grain silo, destroying the altars, statues and paintings. In 1839 the Russians turned it into an Orthodox church. In 1915 the German army it into a Lutheran church for their troops. In 1963 the Soviets turned the church into a museum of atheism. And now it's back to being a Jesuit church but all of the artwork, sculptures, and artifacts have obviously been looted or destroyed.

And...I can't leave out my favorite Lithuania food experience....
GOULASH (think Will Ferrell and GOUULETT)! One afternoon in Vilnius it was cold and blustery, so we found a place to eat for some soup. I tried their goulash and we liked it so much we came back for more at dinner...mmmm

Anyway, after getting a feel for Vilnius, we took advantage of great weather and went on a day trip out to the REALLY old (we're talking 1300s) ex-capital of Lithuania, and beautiful lake town, Trakai.
Trakai's biggest attraction is a castle that sits on an island in the middle of a lake. It's been turned into a pretty interesting museum, but it was mostly fun to be out enjoying the blue sky and the quaint little town.
*Rob's doing an awesome job as travel photographer; here are some other fun pictures of the 2 cities.