TriRock Shoot

A few photos from the TriRock photoshoot on Tuesday.  

BORELLI scarf keeping me warm between takes

Marisol adding the finishing touches

What is TriRock?  Ever run a Rock n Roll Half or Full Marathon?  Similar concept.  Live bands cheering you on while you swim, bike and run, finish line is more like a red carpet celebrity party and last but not least, free beer!  Keep an eye out for the campaign next year.  

A big thank you to the team I worked with -

Tag - Design Manager, couldn't ask for a better person to dump buckets of freezing water over my head.
Felipe Loureiro - Buffest male athlete I've ever seen, and I imagine an inspiring triathlon coach.
Marisol - Make-up artist, she can work wonders with a little blush and olive oil spray.
Nils - Photographer, instantly makes you feel comfortable.

If you have 45 minutes in Munich

Typically when you book your travel through discount websites you get stuck with epic layovers.  You convince yourself that 10 hours sitting in a random airport BEFORE your 10+ hour flight home is doable.  You ignore the tiny voice in your head saying just pay the extra couple hundred dollars to re-route and you quickly hit "CHECKOUT".  I mean, you are treating yourself to a 2 week frenzy of European pastries, wandering streets older than your own country and learning how to live the good life with locals who enjoy 2+ months vacation a year. 

So, that's how my sister and I found ourselves in Munich for 6 hours.  I was just getting over the worst case of flu/food/water poisoning and desperately longed to curl up in my own king size bed.  (I love Europe and all, but they need to upgrade from the typical twin beds.)  Determined to add another country to 30 by 30 we quickly made our way to the Info desk (quickest way to find English speaking people) inquired where we could store our bags and the fastest way to get into the city center. 
The subway ride was about 45 minutes each way and we were flying international which meant we had to be back at the airport at least an hour and a half before departure.  That left us with just under an hour in the city.  Yikes!  Luckily, a new American friend I recently met on my honeymoon in Fiji (yes, I went to Fiji, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany in a span of 5 weeks, can you tell I have a problem?) was just telling me about her favorite places in Munich.  She suggested we visit the main square, Marienplatz and gave us her hidden treasure of a "biergarten" but 45 minutes forces you into tourist mode.  We went straight for the big kahuna, Hofbrauhaus and you should too.

Perfection

Beers as big as your head, should there be any other size?

Carbo load for the long trip home

Taking a moment to soak in the sunshine, it was 80* in April!

20 minutes later

30 minutes later.  Cannot waist a drop of that 7 Euro beer

"Glass" lockers for the regulars

Pause for some culture

Sis and I on Day 14, twins right?

AND more carbs . . .

How do you resist these?

One last thing, we didn't find the Germans to be the warmest people we encountered.  Out of the 11 people we met in our few hours in Munich 7 were incredibly rude.  The bakery girl flatly said as she walked away, "I don't speak English" in English, the waitress at the biergarten couldn't be more bothered by our existence and the airport employees were downright dreadful.  Once we realized none of them were warm and fuzzy we toughened up and enjoyed our little stop in Germany. 

Belgian Beer Fest

Last Saturday, a group of 6 of us trained it from Solana Beach to downtown Carlsbad for a day of beer tasting.  Not any beer tasting, BELGIAN beers, ranging from hot pink, light yellow, dark brown to electric green.  With over 120 to choose from the event satisfied all palettes.  Pizza Port Carlsbad hosted the fiesta in their "industrial" courtyard.
When your belly is full of fermentation, mosey next door for Bread Buddies (herb and salty pizza dough bites) or a Pizza Carlsbad (veggies, pesto, chicken and sundried tomatoes on a tangy just-thick-enough crust).  Then walk it all off to the train station home.  Cheers!

120 beers lined up A-Z

 Highlights included:

* Gouden Carolus Noel – Belgium – Very spicy dark ale with a malty finish - I could drink it with every dinner, reminded me of the Guinness in Ireland.

* New Belgium Eric’s Ale – USA – Sour ale blended with semi-sweet ale and peach juice - Tasty and tangy.

* Struise Black Damnation – Belgium – Strong coffee taste and color, Black Albert ale aged in very old rum barrels – CRAZY! At least try it.

* De Dolle Extra Export Stout – Belgium – Brewed with candy sugar – Sweet and refreshing

* Drie Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek – Belgium – Made with all wild Schaarbeekse cherries – Reminded me of a sour kombucha.

* Duvel – Belgium – Devil of a beer, dry and hoppy - Good beer to bring as a hostess gift. 

* Fantome Magic Ghost – Belgium – Made with green tea – My favorite of the 120!

* Pretty Things Baby Tree – USA – Brewed with California plums – All around favorite of the group. 

Sipping on my Fantome Magic Ghost

Foto of the Day - Fiji

Qamea, Fiji about 6:15pm, last sunset on our Fijimoon