Flying to Rome...

My good friend and Laguna Beach neighbor, Annie, is coming to visit me in Europe.  I have had a countdown and finally the day has arrived.  I am meeting her at the airport and we are heading directly to Rome...  We have been invited to a Vineyard in Tuscany.  This is the wine harvest season in Italy and we have been asked to attend the Harvest Party for one of the vineyards!  I do not know how I end up in these situations but all I can say is Thank You Dear God!!!  So, we arrive in Rome - are picked up by locals who will drive us to Tuscany where we will stay at the Vineyard.  

Check out the place... it looks amazing http://www.salcheto.it/

To a good time in Italy.  Returning to a country I love.  :-)

Stay tuned as I will post some proper photos of the Salcheto Vineyard Harvest Party...  

Now - off to packing... what to wear, what to wear?!?  :):)

Canals and Prosecco

Venice, Italy - my favorite spot on the entire globe!  

I have been to this city 4 times and every time I fall in love all over again. This visit was one of the best! Lonnie and Cindy (Laguna Beach-ers) came and I met them. We had so much fun. The Seide's are amazing!  Not kidding, they have a way of creating community that I love. When I arrived they had already gotten the hook-ups for private parties and gondola rides.  

Our trip was based on great food, great prosecco, great pictures, and laughter.

We ate gelato and cannolis for lunch.  Drank Prosecco like water.  And took over 500 photos of canals!!! Seriously not sure what our obsession was with canals but we have the pictures to prove it.

Went to a party hosted by a local Venetian restaurant owner - listened to live jazz and danced the night away.  It was such a fun weekend.  I miss my CA friends and having 2 come and visit was priceless.

Sometimes I feel like I am living a dream.  Yeah, I have days where all I want to do is cry or days where life is tough but I try my hardest to look at the good.  The more gratitude I give - the more blessings that come my way.  I am incredibly grateful for this season in my life.

To Venice Italy.  To Canals and Prosecco.  :-)

Creating the Space

I tend to teach a more advanced yoga known as Vinyasa Flow.  Let's just say it's not your grandma's yoga, nor your mom's for that matter.  I also love and have trained in Power Yoga, and I enjoy the basics of Hatha Yoga.  Depending on the class, my style changes.  This morning as I went to teach, I was surprised... peacefully perplexed... because you never know who is going to show up.  Today I had an older woman who is new to yoga, the studio owner who is highly advanced, your mid-range students, and then a man who studies yoga in India 5 months every year!  Are you kidding me!!!  Talk about skills and your variety of levels... and I had to teach to all of them in the same class.  Throw beginners, intermediate, and advanced right out the window.  Soooo, my format and my game plan quickly changed.  The whole class I was thinking "Dear God..."  90 minutes and several downward dogs later, I led them into final relaxation.  When the class was finished I received such great comments.  They all loved the class; said it was great.  When I asked for any suggestions for improvement or ways to make it better, they said it was perfect.  And, all kept thinking was, "Katie, you know your teaching ability and today you sucked!  But smile to your students and say thank you."  

It's funny how we are so hard on ourselves.  I am a recovering perfectionist.  :-)  

It's also funny how we think we have to perform.  Often all we need to do is create space for people.  Hold the space.  And allow the rest to flow and unfold... 

Laguna Beach hits Venice - ITALY that is...

Two of my clients from Laguna Beach are coming to Europe.  Saturday I hop on a flight to Venice, Italy to meet Lonnie and Cindy... I can not wait.  The Seide's are wonderful people who I met when I was their spin instructor.  Now, they are friends.  Italy - here we come!!!

Venice is one of my favorite cities... and as Cindy pointed out, it's where Prosecco was made... my favorite drink of choice.  It's this Italian wine - a dry sparking wine that tastes like Champagne.  And, it's made right outside of Venice.  Who knew??? 

So, here is to a good time with friends - in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  The Seide's are bringing me a new pair of spin shoes, but something tells me I won't be putting them on this weekend.  :-)

Yoga Praxis = Yoga Practice

I have been very fortunate to meet some great yogi's and teach at some amazing studios in Vienna.  I am in awe sometimes of how it happens.  One of the studios I work at is called Yoga Praxis; translated into English as Yoga Practice.  It's a great center with lovely people.  The focus is different than most studios making it very successful.  They give special attention to total well-being focusing on Ayurveda from doctors, to massage therapists, yoga classes, even to an on-site Ayurveda cook... this place offers so much.  And not only is this lady a cook, she wrote the book on Ayurveda cooking!  I am not kidding, just today after my class I found that she was indeed the author.  She makes wonderful, healthy food with so much flavor.  I ate with her on Monday after yoga class and it was incredible.  This morning when I arrived at the studio to teach, I opened the door and could already smell the goodness she was preparing for the day.
So, what is Ayurveda?  Translated from Sanskrit as "Knowledge of Life" it's alternative medicine that emphasizes re-establishing balance in the body through diet, lifestyle, exercise, and detoxing.  It looks at the total person focusing on the health of the mind, body, and spirit.
I like working with some of Vienna's finest... I'm learning a lot.  

Getting on Track

The Daily OM is a book I like to read.  Full of lovely, powerful, peaceful insights.  This morning when I got up, coffee cup in hand - I sat down, opened the book and this is what I found:
"Trains Are Like People - The rails that crisscross the countryside and cut through cities have long captured people's imaginations.  Just the idea of taking a ride on a luxury train, on an express commuter line, or in a cargo car can evoke a sense of freedom, adventure, romance.
Trains are like people in that they must inevitably arrive at their destinations.  They make scheduled and unscheduled stops along the way and move at different speeds.  Some can travel for hours and are mindful of only a single destination; others meander from busy station to busy station.  The route and purpose of any train may change as the years go by.  Our lives stretch out in front of us and behind us like railroad tracks; and we are the train, its passengers, and the engineer.
The way you choose to live your life and the goals you are working toward are the route and destinations you have chosen.  Like a rider on a train, you have the choice to get on and off, find new routes, pick unknown places to visit, or just stop and enjoy the view for a while. Perhaps you like to move quickly through life as if you were an express train.  Or maybe you are like a commuter passenger, taking the same routes over and over.  You might even want to stop just riding along and choose a different direction for your life to take.
If you have examined the tracks of your life and are feeling unsatisfied, you may want to explore the changes you can make to find a more fulfilling path to follow.  Perhaps you would like to slow down a little and take a windier path rather than just traveling down the straight and narrow.  Or maybe you would prefer to experience your life as more of an adventure as opposed to just a ride that gets you where you need to go.  Changing your route can sometimes give you a chance to "get on the right track."  You may even discover that the something new you have been waiting for is just around the bend."
My train is rolling through the tracks of Europe at this season in my life.  I am stopping to enjoy the view for a while... to enjoy the adventure...

Night of Museums

There have been many moments when I've wanted to pull my hair out moving to a new country; but, this weekend was not one of them.  This weekend was filled with friends, laughter, fun outtings, amazing art, and great food.  

For the first time since I've moved to Europe - I have been over-booked.  So much going on.  So many invitations.  It felt like my life in Laguna Beach, yet European style. 
Here is a little taste of my fun-filled weekend:
 - First, I worked alllll week.
 - Yoga class on Friday evening
 - Met my friend Karin (who is an Austrian actress) to see a movie.  I love movies and this is the first time I've been in a theater in over 2 months.  Loved it.
 - Went shopping on Saturday.
 - Met friends Saturday night (Stephanie from Paris and Sarah the poet and author).  We went to the night of museums.  Vienna holds this amazing event twice a year.  64 museums in total.  Open all night.  You can get into to all the places on just the cost of one ticket.  The pictures you see uploaded are from the museum night.  It was amazing!  Picasso's work was my favorite.
- Sunday = church at VCC where I've met some really cool people.  They had an African celebration in honor of Nigeria's Independece Day and it was breath-taking.  I felt like I was in Africa again, yet I was in downtown Vienna.  An unforgettable occasion. 
 - Went to an artists house for lunch...  She is a cook and poet.  Ate her food - smiled.  Read her poetry - cried.
 - Met with friends Roland and Connie for an afternoon at the park,
 - Cooked dinner for my friends Fipps, Katha, Phillip, and Sebastian.

 A full weekend.  A fun weekend.  I am grateful.