I Heart Rick Steves!

On Sunday, I got to see Rick Steves in person. Wow! What a great experience! Unfortunately for me, there are quite a number of Rick Steves fans...there were a few hundred fanpeople packed into the second floor of Bookpeople in Austin, Texas. Rick played it all cool, making jokes and smalltalk before the presentation got started.

While he was scheduled to start speaking at 1, you could tell he saw the audience was eager and there wasn't a place for other people coming in to sit (although they conveniently just stood in front of you and blocked people's view. I know it's probably the stun of seeing a travel icon and hero right there...but come on, move your ass!). So, he started early at 12:45. Rocking!

I have a feeling that Rick doesn't suffer from speaking fatigue. There are some presenters who jump right into auto-pilot and repeat the same scoop, word for word, they've been hawking for some time. I know I used to struggle with that as a trainer and try to keep each experience fresh and nuanced. It's really, really tough and made more difficult by the expectations of the audience.



The presentation moved from learning about how Rick got started in the travel guide and tour business, amazing information about this trip to Iran (coming to a PBS station near you), how Americans are perceived by other countries, and how he views travelers as ambassadors representing their own country. This last bit struck home, since during our 2006 trip to Germany we really struggled when talking about where we were from: the last place you want to be from is Texas. It inspired "George Bush this, George Bush that" but our thin American skin couldn't see past that they weren't dissing Texas or dissing us, they were simply giving their political point of view and we were making the assumptions.



I did not get a book signed or shake his hand, there were MOBS of people. He did graciously speak for about 2 1/2 hours and reiterates why he's a hero of mine - he chose to be entrepreneurial about something he's passionate about and truly sees the whole picture. And if he's got missing pieces in that puzzle, fine, he's got missing pieces. That's a part of the deal.

My next task in preparing for our trip (which is just over a week away) is to rip up my travel guides (mostly Rick Steves books) and take the cities that we're visiting with me. Exciting!

Tschüß!

"Surely no dude'll be left over hungry"

In Slovenia, they eat horseburgers. Really, they do. While that doesn't quite shock me ("Due to exclusively vegetarian feeding horse meat is the least exposed to food manipulation."), I was bowled over by the website for "Hot Horse" a sort-of local burger chain.

It is a great paradox when you look at the actual words within "Kentucky Fried Chicken". No diff between that and "Hot Horse" right? Where you can get a nice Colt Steak Burger. Because, as the website says, "I dash a natural, juicy, properly thick steak of colt meat, which I've roasted quickly, into a fresh roll and fill it up all together with all the supplement your hart wishes for." Sounds great! I'll have that!

Enjoy the website...I look forward to the nacho, cabbage, and ajvar supplements the most!

http://www.hot-horse.si/en/index.html

p.s. We've confirmed our private tour in Ljubljana with one of Rick Steve's tour guides...I'm super excited for that! Speaking of, we're off to get ready for his talk at BookPeople in Austin.

Tschüß!

OMG RICK STEVES!

Rick Steves is coming to Austin in November!! As some of you know, I am a Rick Steves nut - I love him, I love his show, I love his sense of humor, I love his guidebooks, I love his blog, etc. etc. etc. I really do think he's part of that traveling spirit that Ryan and I try to embody - go local, be an explorer, and budget doesn't mean staying in a hostel. It's about being smart and balancing priorities.

He's coming to Austin, TX and will be at Bookpeople on November 16th. This is so great! How neat!!

Tschüß!

Rick Steves Travel Brochure

Dinner last night was awesome -- the Lasagna Rolls turned out ok (note to self -- don't use Black Forest smoked proscuitto) but we made the Dr. Oeteker "Lava" cakes which are little cupcake-sized chocolate cakes with chocolate inside. Awesome! After consuming plenty of vino (we actually drank ever bottle of red left in the house), we walked over to the Horseshoe Lounge for a beer.

It's a divey bar with shuffleboard, beer, and plenty of interesting characters. One old-timer packs a lunch and keeps a bottle of whiskey in there too. My favorite moment was when a lady ran around frantically, "Fire marshall is comin', put out your cigarettes," and I suddenly felt like I was in a speakeasy. When the jukebox held the silence too long between songs, I even held my breath. A couple uniformed guys come in, look around, then walked out. Moments later, with a blissful smile, the lady runs around with a freshly-lit one in her hands and said, "OK, ya'll can smoke again!" Classic Austin.

Yesterday in the mail I received my Rick Steves Tour Guide Brochure!! I admit, I don't really want to go on a tour since I like researching myself and like the freedom of Ryan and I making our way alone. But, Rick Steves has a beautiful ethos about him and I really look up to him as an entrepreneur who is dedicated and passionate about what he loves! I hope to meet him someday. I read through it this morning and am in bliss.

I'm sad that we won't likely go to Europe this year...but we're in an investment phase of our life that will make future trips much easier, especially a little later in life. I find it strange how quickly priorities shift and how open we are to them -- has the culture of multitasking made us this way? I listened to my SWR2 podcast (all in german, which means I barely understood it) about multitasking and its impact on us. We're both super good about adopting change and are open about taking a look at "today" and changing the goal for "tomorrow" in a split-second.

Speaking of goals...we should get ready for the day and do something. Haha! Oscars are tonight, we are going to Melissa's house to watch them. Yay!

Tschüß!!

I Heart Rick Steves

The last thing we needed was another Germany guidebook. Or a discounted one from Costco (discounted because it’s the 2007 edition...the 2008 one will be out this fall). And how do I know this? Because I’m tracking Rick’s 100-day summer trip through Europe to update his guidebooks.

I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed, yet (I don’t, like, leave comments on his blog), but I have a strong appreciation for him. Both of us do -- we’ve bought his DVDs, read information online, purchased items from his website before our trip, and watched his PBS specials for years.

It’s just hilarious that we now own our 4th guidebook to Germany and I am so going to relish every page of it.

Why not check out his blog? You’ll love it!

Tschüss!