More Croatia Pictures

Slowly but surely going through more photos from everything this summer...Croatia is so beautiful!

Austrian Quirks and Questions

AIMS is coming to a close!  We had our farewell dinner last night, and it was - surprise! - a sausage buffet.  (Our opening, welcome dinner was schnitzel.)  I'm going to miss living in Europe, and today I was thinking about some questions I've asked myself repeatedly ever since arriving in Graz.  Here they are:

1.  How do Austrians stay thin when they appear to be constantly eating ice cream, bread, cheese, beer, sausage, schnitzel, and potatoes?  It seems miraculous, although I'm assuming the answer is walking and biking.

2.  How do their digestive systems stay, ahem...regular, on such a diet?  Where's the fiber??  This is the last question in the world that would be acceptable to ask an Austrian, I think.

3.  Why do they wait for the walk sign to cross a tiny side street when there are absolutely no cars in sight?  I walked up to a road that could be crossed in two steps and everyone was gathered around, waiting. At that moment it was easy imagine them all gasping if I were to step forward.

4.  A lot of women here dye their hair colors that would look ridiculous on people in the States.  Yet, they look good.  Natural, even!  How do they pull it off?

5.  Why do they like aperol spritzers?  This is a very popular drink, people seem to be having it all the time.  It looks like liquid orange jello, and tastes similar, except more bitter.
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Photos are from around the neighborhood during the blue hour.  (I used to say this and then one day realized it was a real term!)

xomo

Cliff Jumping in Croatia

Croatia might be the most beautiful place I've ever been!  A little group of us rented a car and drove through Slovenia (also stunning and I've never thought twice about the country until now) down to Pula, where we spent the weekend exploring different coastal areas along the Istrian peninsula.  Everywhere was a mix of white, rocky coasts, red earth, deep green pines, and the clearest blue water I've ever seen.  You can see straight to the bottom no matter how deep it is!  Because there are no sand beaches in that area, everyone suns themselves on rocky ledges and then jumps off them into the sea.  It was so funny watching little kids clamber up onto really high rocks, and just hop off without a second thought!  We saw a couple adventurous boys jump from about 50 feet, but it seemed like most stuck to around 15.  Older kids and adults will do anything (check out this video).  That's me jumping off in the pictures above!  That ledge was around 30 feet high, and that really got my heart pumping - it seems so high when you're standing up there.  We all took turns working up the courage to step off of it, and then the next day in a different area, Will did one that was closer to 45 or 50 feet high, and one of our friends jumped off one that must have been almost 60 or 70 feet!!  Wow.  

Family Photo

May is coming up on 2 months now, and growing a lot!  In the pictures I see of her, she is changing all the time.  I'm so anxious to meet her in person - skyping with Trish is great, but I want to try holding her!  I go back and look at this picture a lot; I love it so much.  Their first family photo!  right after the birth.  They all look amazing :)

Lately on Instagram

AIMS is really flying by, and I haven't posted that many photos partly because it has been busy, and mostly because I'm using photos from Will's camera on this trip, and my computer has trouble processing them without overheating because the files are so large.  (My computer has a problem with overheating anyway, but it's been really bad lately.  I bought it refurbished and it's fine except apparently this particular model had trouble with that issue.  Ahhhh.)  Anyway, my own camera is currently out of commission, so I signed up for Instagram before coming over to Austria.  Here are some recent photos!  The schedule for the orchestra at AIMS allows us to travel on weekends if we want, and I've taken trips to Venice, Croatia, and hiking in the Alps.  Everything has been stunning and wonderful - I'm really looking forward to getting this picture situation sorted out.  Also, we're currently having a heat wave here, and gelato consumption is going way up.  The ice cream here is outrageously good, which is not surprising, just delicious.  So far I've tried melon, blueberry, apricot, peach, plum, orange yogurt, cherry yogurt, ricotta blueberry, mango, mango cream, grape, lime, prosecco raspberry, pistachio, chocolate, hazelnut, and coffee.  Ahem!  I often share it with other people... :)

Life in Graz, Austria

I've been in Graz for a week!  It's a lovely city.  Before this, I've only stayed for one week in Europe, in Paris.  It's good to experience the German-speaking lands :)  This whole week I've found myself thinking, "People seem to be doing something right, here."  The overall appearance is happiness and healthiness.  You see a lot of people out and about, enjoying their city.  It's not that surprising - if every building is beautiful, almost every other storefront is a cafe beckoning you to stay awhile, and there are beautiful parks, markets, and a riverwalk, why wouldn't you be out?  Austrians seem to value time with their friends, which I love seeing.  Places for children have areas that cater to adults, too (ie, cafes in parks).  The setup of the city and its venues really support the mingling of people and families!  

We had the other day off from rehearsals and I spent it doing things I enjoy no matter what city I'm visiting: walking and jogging around, drinking coffee, people watching from a bench, laying down with a book for a couple hours.  The cup above was from a cafe on the top floor of a shopping center that had a beautiful view of the city, and the coolest furniture!  I looked up the maker, Georg Maehring, if you'd like to see his work.  Not a bad life here at AIMS...more stories to come!

xomo

Introducing...

May Kathryn Duffy!  born on Sunday the 23rd, in Cairo, Egypt, shortly before the supermoon rose into the sky.  Both she and Trish are happy and healthy.  In fact, I took this picture during our video call just 3 days after the birth, and I couldn't believe how alert May already looked!  And also Trish looked amazing, but that doesn't really surprise me :)  She said she feels "over the moon and super in love all the time!" and that birth is an indescribable, awe-inspiring experience.

Here is some video taken during May's first days, which Justin put together, if you'd like to see.  She is so beautiful!  Can't wait to meet her in person.

Much love to the new parents,
xomo

ps:  By the way, she is not normally that brilliant shade of pink; that's just something weird from the computer lighting/photo taking.

Carolyn is Married :)

Carolyn is married!  Hooray!  She and Brandon tied the knot this past weekend.  The whole celebration was wonderful, and happiness radiated out of them so strongly that guests were able to soak it up like rays of sun.  Very joyous :)  Don't they look amazing in this photo?  I'm excited to see more pictures eventually.  The many hours they put into planning everything, from the basics to creative, small details, helped their guests feel an extremely warm welcome, and were worthwhile.  But, what I loved most about the day was that their commitment to each other took center stage, and all those plans served to highlight it.  It was incredible to see how fully they grasped the vows they were making to each other...there was a very tangible feeling in the air.  It made me think, "Now that's what it means to get married!"  They are off now continuing their celebration in Belize on a two week honeymoon!  Cheers to them!

ps:  This picture was shot by a friend of Carolyn's sister named Bridget Schams, who has a lovely eye for photography :)

Summer in Austria

On July 8th Will and I are leaving to spend the rest of the summer in Graz, Austria, playing for the AIMS festival!  I'm pretty excited; everyone I know who has been to Austria talks on and on about how beautiful it is.  My dad lived there for a year abroad, and then he and my mom met there at a festival in Baden for Schubert lieder and collaborative piano.  I was looking through their photo album from that summer; it's so amazing.  The top photo is my mom exploring the Durnstein ruins (like mother like daughter), and the second is backstage before a concert.  On the back of the photo it says "Can they tell we're holding hands?"  I love it!!  I think they're really good looking :)

Shanghai Skyline at Night

From a visit to The Bund.  We were admiring the skyline when all of a sudden a giant, lit up pirate ship sailed by.  Ha!