Prague

What do you think of when you think of Prague?


Do you think of beer?


Or maybe drinking beer at an outside cafe?

Or perhaps stag do's/bachelor parties? (this guy wasn't allowed to leave until 10 women had written their phone numbers on his back. Don't worry - we didn't use the country code)

Maybe you think of tourists when you think of Prague? There are certainly quite a few.

Or perhaps funny art? Like this fountain of two gentlemen writing their names in the water.

This might be a better night view. By the way, they are standing in a fountain shaped like the Czech Republic.

Or maybe you think of weird museums to see when in Prague?

Well if so - you would be correct. There is an amazing amount of beer, an inordinate amount of bachelor parties, lots of tourists (I have to admit, the Americans were really annoying me) and several creative monuments and museums.

However, Prague is also home to some amazing monuments....

Fantastic sculptures......

Outstanding views......

It has a rich history....

Gorgeous architecture....

and plenty of pathways, restaurants and streets to explore.

All in all, I had a wonderful weekend trip to Prague. So good in fact that I'll probably get five blog posts as I took a bazillion pictures. Thus - be prepared for more from my lovely weekend.

Swim Training

Still wonderful weather here in England. As a matter of fact, we haven't had rain in so long it is starting to look a little bit like the Central Valley in California. What's that like? Brown. That one word says it all.

To beat the heat, Tucker has been practicing his swimming skills. It still takes him a few minutes of paddling around AND drinking the water at the same time for him to realize that it is probably not a good idea to do both at the same time. Here Tucker is practicing his water entry - he's racing Gibson for the coveted stick trophy.

Tucker apparently overshoots the stick and is diverted. He might have been following the house boat hoping for some snacks. Good news is he turns around and races back toward the prize.

Success! A couple of times. So the pictures aren't necessarily in sequence but it is the best I can do. Big thanks to Nick who took care of Tucker while I was away and the pictures. Tucker came back from summer camp a happy dog. Now why can't I spend my days walking in the woods and swimming in the river?

Crowd Reaction

That didn't last long. I've already gotten feedback over my most recent post. My nephew seems to be telling me that it stinks.

I'm sure it is better now with pictures of the little guy. I do have to admit, my brother turned out a cute little bably. Not quite sure how that happened....

Seriously adorable. Aunt Lynda can't wait to spoil him. And then return him to his parents. Mwwaahhaaahhhaahhhaaa.!!!! (evil laugh)

Slowing Down for Summer

We are having record breaking lovely weather here in England and thus, I've been spending the time relaxing and taking Tucker out for long walks and swims. His swimming is getting so much better! Mine, on the other hand, is still quite atrocious. I think I am getting faster these days though - it's all about survival. There is a male swan who has been pestering the swimmers at the lake recently since he has a baby (cygnet). So needless to say, I'm desperately trying not to be the last one in the group!

The nice, long summer evenings make for week day evenings at the pub. Here we celebrated Darran's birthday. (I'm hiding in the back right)

I also have to share my new flowers. So cheerful. I think the heat is making me lazy, this post really is about nothing, isn't it? Good news dear readers, my good friend Beth arrived from Cali this morning and we are off to Prague for the weekend. What better place to spend Independence Day? Happy 4th of July!

First Time Aunt

I'm an Aunt! Congratulations to my brother Bob and wife Tara on the birth of their beautiful baby boy - Tague Sullivan Hart.


Here my dad shows off the little cutie pie. I'm afraid all the good pics are on Facebook and I haven't stolen any yet. I'll try to get some soon.

Here my father is already teaching Tague how to take a nap like a champ. Maybe I should send Tucker to nap with him too?

As for me, I am trying to find the perfect gift for my new nephew. I'm not sure if I can get this across the pond though. I just had to give this guy a hug to try him out. ;o)

World Cup Fever

First off, it is a gorgeous day here in England. Whoever says the weather here is always bad must only bring the rain with them. Absolutely a brilliant day. Anyway, I wanted to try and convey the World Cup fever that has gripped the country but I haven't taken enough pictures to do so. It's like a town is ready for the Super Bowl, but instead it is the whole country. It's amazing and inspiring. I have a feeling the same sort of country pride is not happening back in the States.
I noticed the change a couple of weeks ago when red and white England flags started appearing everywhere. On houses, from flag poles, on cars, draped around statues - I even saw a giant dinosaur wearing an England flag as a cape and with two flags in his little T-Rex hands. Unfortunately, I was on my bike so no picture.

Every pub has flags for all nations to try and encourage you to come in and watch. They usually let you know who they are rooting for however.

I can't even tell you the number of cars I've seen with the flags flying. It seriously is like Da Bears at Super Bowl time of year.

And I had to share one of my favorites, colleagues Annette and Debbie. If you haven't figured it out, Annette is from Germany and Debbie from England. A friendly rivalry. Speaking of friendly rivarly, I've been swimming in the mornings with Tom - who is from Germany, Phillipa - from South Africa and Clark - from England. Add my U.S. nationality to the mix and we've had some fun interactions discussing World Cup group play. That's what is great about being here. It is an absolute melting pot of nations. We quite enjoy taking the mickey out of the bloody Germans, funny accented South Africans and stiff upper lip Brits. Of course, there is nothing to make fun of the Americans about..... Kidding!!! ;o)

Team Spirit

I have to say, I highly recommend joining a club or team. Not only do you get to meet people, but you don't have to race alone if you don't want to (and when I mean 'race', I really mean 'participate'). You can generally find someone else in the race to share rides with, whine with or just be happy you aren't miserable by yourself.

This weekend was the Windosr triathlon. A pretty big event and since it is held locally, the Berkshire Tri Squad (BTS) is out in force either racing or spectating. Again, against my better judgement, I'm including more race photos of my self. This was an Olympic distance triathlon that started out with a swim in the river Thames. Nothing like dodging some swan poo to start your morning.

Darran was camera man extraordinaire taking lots of great photos of the participants and spectators. This was no small feat as the Sprint distance triathletes started at 6:00AM! My wave didn't start until 6:20AM, which had me finishing at 9AM. I took 7 minutes off of last year's overall time (good) but none of the run (bad). Here's a pretty decent photo of our great fans on the left and me smiling on the right. I'm only smiling because there are people I know there. Otherwise, definitely in pain.

Louise wasn't racing this morning so Hironymous got to spectate as well. Tucker had to stay home though.

Two of my favorite people, smug marrieds Tim and Shannon Phillis, occasional Tucker sitters. Shannon did amazingly well for her first race since Ironman New Zealand over two years ago. Well, she did just have a baby so we will give her that. Tim is flashing us his gang sign as he runs by.

Michael, David and Tom cheer us on. Tom finished the sprint and then hung around to 'cheer' us on. And by 'cheer', I mean say annoying things like 'pick up those legs!'. Funny how he did the sprint distance and not the Olympic, eh?


Ian enjoys post race coffee after finishing the Sprint distance. We were happy to see him racing after recovering from a nasty chest infection. Do you think that is a water bottle in his pocket or is he happy to see everyone?

Here I try to sneak by on the other side of the street. I've got both feet in the air (good) but my arms are still way out of control (bad).

I like this picture of Sarah cutting through the pack. She and Gemma did amazingly well after their fab showing in Austria two weeks before. Go ladies!

I think Paul is giving us the 'I'm bored now' sign.

My counterpart - Men's Captain Guy Middelton races by our cheering crowd (isn't everyone in the States excited to see pictures of my partners in crime who you don't even know? Sorry, I just had to share)

I thought Darran took a great photo here. Jo, Jo, Helen, Michael and Dave eagerly await the next person to cheer on. I have to say, it was fantastic seeing these guys. Although, we did go by three times so not much opportunity to slack off in between visits.

Beth Booker looks great in the Sprint. Another wonderful Tucker sitter.

Her husband John Booker (also my racing nemesis) seems to be celebrating his victory. Yes, he beat me again. And by how much you ask? 8 minutes. I tell you, karma just comes back to bite you in the rear end, doesn't it? Congrats to John for a phenomenal bike. I'm no longer competing with this almost 50 year old man. I'm tired of losing when it involves swimming and flat bike courses. :o)

A last picture of a few of the specatators. More were out and about but I can only fit so many pictures on the blog of people you may not know. Thanks to everyone who came out that morning.

Lastly, what else are teammates for but a little friendly competition? I LOVE this photo from the race photographer of German Tom 'helping' Tim Phillis out of his wetsuit. See why it is so much better to race with friends than to race alone?