Flaming Pianos and Bad Oysters

Last night was my third Eurovision - one of my favorite new "holidays" now that I live in Europe.

This year's Eurovision lacked the blatant shock value in many of the songs as previous years (such as post-apocalyptic operatic vampires or the facial hair frenzy), and also lacked some of the more rock-and-roll or fast paced dancing songs which I loved in previous years.  Rather, it focused more on the art of the ballad, appropriate, given the fact the Eurovision opened with a symphony orchestra (only in Vienna...)  But, for me, perhaps the most memorable part of the evening was the incredible stage that the host country Austria created - a stage that had the ability to incorporate amazing light effects into each of the performances, behind, on top of, and below the artists, making it a truly memorable night.

For the first time, my favorite performance took first place - a stunning performance by Sweden, which brought together simple projected two dimensional light effects with amazingly timed choreography.  It was really cool - and Europe loved it.  See for yourself.

But of course, no Eurovision is complete without some shock and awe, such as "the first straight kiss of the night" - flanked by two not so straight kisses during Lithuania's performance, and the singers from Austria, who calmly kept playing after his piano burst into flames (literally), eventually abandoning it as it becomes obvious that piano is beyond saving.

Watching the Eurovision on the BBC was also way more entertaining, given the dry sarcasm of the BBC announcer, who added his unique wit throughout the night.

For example, he commented on Azerbaijan's entry, saying "You would think they just had some bad oysters, but actually, it's choreographed".

Or, how during Georgia's performance, "No Georgian crows were harmed in the making of this costume".

He showed no reluctance to make it clear his personal favorite was Russia.   But shortly afterwards, it was abundantly clear he disliked Albania's entry, saying that's three minutes of his life he was never getting back.

Ouch.

Other performances of note were Israel, which one of my friends described as "Backstreet Boys meet Bollywood", Belgium, who used the lighting effects to create a neat black and white effect, Germany, which reminded us all of a James Bond intro, and Italy, whose operatic pop was different, refreshing, and really really good.

So, what was your favorite?

Hitting the Road - Pac-Man Style

Recently, the most awesome google April Fool's "Joke" was released - the ability to play Pac-Man on google street view.  If you haven't seen this yet, you are missing out.  Just go to maps.google.com and click on the little pac man icon on the lower left.  It's tons of fun, and I hope it never goes away!

Recently, Wired released an article that showed the "best" places to play Pac-Man.  Check it out.  Several people criticized the article (in the comments that followed) saying that the google street views were limited only to 5 cities, like New York, Boston and San Francisco.  Commenters said that "hipsters" thought that these were the only cities that they knew to exist.  Some of the maps they came up with (like Boston Commons) were pretty good.  But I knew...

... I could do better.

So, without further ado, my top 10 places to play Pac-Man on google street view.

10. Stockholm, Sweden

Some of these lanes are remarkably hard to get.

9. Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

Quick, make a decision!

8. Istanbul, Turkey
It's easy to get lost in the maze of roads in real life.  Even easier in Pac Man.

7.  New Delhi, India
The big traffic circles may be fun - but they are perfect places to get cornered by ghosts.

6. Veendam, the Netherlands
This map may, in fact, be impossible.

5.  Barcelona, Spain
You'll need some finely timed navigation skills to clear out this intricate circle.

4.  Dijon, France
That three lane traffic circle, near to the ghost-spawning grounds, is evil.  Just evil.

3. Mykonos, Greece
Those twisty, bougainvillea lined streets may be beautiful, but they are also perfect places for Pac-Man and his big, fat mouth to get stuck.

2.  Trogir, Croatia
True to past experiences, Croatia offers a challenging video gaming experience, as well as a horrifying driving experience.  The streets don't quite line up, so often you get stuck as a ghost bears down on you.  Terrifying, just like in real life.

And the Number 1 place to play PacMan....

1.  Wales
This is by far the most challenging Pac Man map.  It may not look like it - but this little area to the right of the ghost-spawning location  is nearly impossible to get.  It's mostly because the ghosts go around and around the little triangle at the top.  The only way to get in there is to either turn the ghosts blue, or wait at the traffic circle and lure them out, one by one, then go in.  I have yet to succeed.

Wanna play?  Just click on the links and give it a try.  And for anyone who can beat any of these maps - take a screenshot of your cleaned up map and I'll give you a point.  No time limit!

The Day Giant Butterflies and Orca Whales Attacked our City

One of the totally amazing things about growing up in New Mexico is that for one week every fall, the skies lit up with a rainbow of colors as literally thousands of hot air balloons take flight.  I haven't been to a Balloon Fiesta in about a decade, until this year, when I was able to check out the balloons one misty morning.

A hot air balloon, dissolving into mist

Sometimes a low flying balloon can surprise drivers, making a beautiful road hazard.

Some special shapes begin to take flight.  This one is an accurate representation on how I feel on a Monday morning.

The airspace begins to get crowded.

Helicopters get a pretty good view.  They just have to watch where they are going.

More balloons into the clouds.

Watching the balloons with my mom and dad!

A giant orca whale attacks the city.

Followed by this sperm whale, moments before he crashes into the Earth.  In this picture, he's contemplating if the ground will be his friend (the answer is no).  A point if you can name the other object that is falling with the whale.

Gigantic frightening butterfly.

You know something sinister lies behind those big doe eyes...

A truly angry bird.

What is that weird shape?  It's a basket ball in a hoop!

Watching the balloons.

This balloon would have been so much better if the cat was alive on the other side....

On the Open Ocean and Other Tales of Peril

Heading further down the coast, we ended up in Split, where we rented kayaks and paddled out around a peninsula that is one of the big parks in the city.

Take to the sea!

Sea kayaking is one of my favorite things.  There is nothing like just a thin slab of plastic between you and the watery deep, paddling furiously to orient yourself so your boat doesn't flip in the wake of a larger and more motorized boat, and starting a friendly argument with your husband on what is the most effective paddling technique.

Our first stop was a small isolated sandy beach.

Here we stopped for a snorkeling break!  Even though the water was filled with life, few of them were photogenic enough to actually be caught on camera.  But there were a few photogenic creatures.
A sea cucumber, nestled among the rocks.  There were hundreds of them!

Some weird tubular thing.

A point if you can name it.

Next, back in the kayak and continued to paddle around the peninsula.  Our guide leads us around some steep rocky cliffs.

An old fortress on the cliffs.

A beautiful cliff... so beautiful, my husband is not happy just to look at it...

Rather, he wants to climb it!  He swims on over...

And begins to climb (even with wet tennis shoes and clothes!)

Go Bram go!  This was one of the items on Bram's bucket list - deep water soloing (climbing without a rope over water, so if you fall, you land in the water).  

Many people asked: did he fall?  Here's your answer:

splash!

But he's not easily discouraged, and he's back on the rock.

Then we got back in the kayaks and headed into the main port of Split.  It was really something to kayak next to cruise boats!  Ieee!

Our first view of downtown Split - approaching it from the water - the way it should be.  :-)

Chasing Waterfalls

There really are mystical places in this world.

Welcome to Plitvička Jezera, the place with the highest waterfall density in the world (or at least close!) and one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Entering the park

Plitvička Jezera is a park with beautiful green and blue lakes and literally thousands of waterfalls. This is the view that first greets us.  Amazing!

The geology of this region is really interesting.  Geologically speaking, the area is young (only about 15,000 years old).  Plitvička Jezera is made up of 16 lakes, all at different levels.

The lakes are formed when carbonic acid, formed naturally from carbon dioxide and rain, slowly dissolves the limestone in the canyon, creating deep lakes.  In this chemical reaction, chalk is formed, which is then deposited in various locations.  Currently, the deep lakes at various levels are separated by high "pillars" of chalk, naturally holding in the lakes on various levels, and creating waterfalls between them.

Cross section of the lakes.
Thanks to: "Plitvice Lakes System" by Raffaello - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plitvice_Lakes_System.png#mediaviewer/File:Plitvice_Lakes_System.png

Because of this dynamic process, the layout of the lakes and waterfalls is constantly changing and is never the same.

The water is also amazingly pure and clear.  

Look!  Fish!

Another neat thing about the park is that most of the paths throughout the park are boardwalks. These boardwalks let you walk right above the lakes and the waterfalls.  Sometimes, the boardwalks are just barely above the waterfalls, causing them to become quite wet!

Boardwalks through the forest.

Boardwalks over the marsh.

And more boardwalks over waterfalls.

The chemical dissolution of the rock also cause the formation of several caves in the area.

This cave is the cave "without a roof or a floor".

It is said that the color of the water is constantly changing, depending on the vegetation in the water. When we were there, the color ranged from a light, foamy turquoise, to a deep dark blue.

Here you can easily see the lake in between the canyon walls.

Walking next to the waterfalls.

How often can you get a selfie with fish?

Croatia is one of the few places in Europe that is still "wild".  We even saw some wildlife in the park.

You can hike in the park, but sometimes, the way is cut off by deep water and steep cliffs.  In that case, you have to resort to taking the boat!

This brought us to a particularly mossy area with a huge waterfall density.

It sort of looks like some mythical place, like Naboo or Rivendell.

Looking back down on the park at the end of the day: here you can see several of the lakes at different levels with waterfalls joining them, and a serpentine boardwalk with one lone tourist finishing his late afternoon hike.