The Island of Cres, Croatia

May 22, 2015May 22, 2015 sofijaburtonadriatic sea, Cres, Croatia, Fish Picnic, pebble beach, travel to Europe, wildlife sanctuary4 Comments

Croatia has many islands which are easily accessible from the mainland. The island of Cres is about a 2 hour boat ride from Opatija. We docked at Beli, the oldest village on the island, that is also a wildlife sanctuary. The pebble beach was so inviting with blue water so clean and clear, we decided to right there and not hike up 15 min to the village.

Rocky sea shores, the smell of salt water, blues skies, the occasional fish (maybe a dolphin?) jumping out of the water. For lunch we had fresh fish, salad, potatoes, and local wine. All that accompanied by our host playing the accordion. Life was pretty near perfection.

Sofija

All pictures where taken by Sofija Burton with the iPad or Cannon Rebel. Except for the bird pictures, those were taken by Esther Burton. The excursion we took is called Fish Picnic, a really fun experience.

Spring Break in New Mexico

March 31, 2015April 1, 2015 sofijaburtonAlbuquerque, New Mexico TravelLeave a comment

How are you doing? Is March really over? Our March was a whirlwind with doctor appointments, another surgery (my son), school testing, a leaky roof, …my head is still spinning. Now we are on spring break and not a day too soon. Usually our spring breaks are pretty awful, windy, and cold. You know those windstorms you have seen in Western movies with tumbleweeds and sand clouds? Yup, those are for real. But this time it’s been quite warm, sunny, and all around pleasant. So I really don’t mind staying home and enjoying this week here.
Above are some pictures from recent outings. So glad our three youngest have decided they like hiking now. And what a pleasant surprise we can actually get on the trail and hiking without turning around for various reasons (like “I forgot to pee”, “I’m too cold”, to name a few). Of course we go nowhere without a five day food supply, but still it’s a huge improvement…
Fun surprise: the middle picture with the cactus was featured by Visit Albuquerque on their website stream.

Have a lovely week and a wonderful Easter!
Sofija

Winter Wonderland

March 5, 2015 sofijaburtonnew mexico, snow, snow in the desert, winterLeave a comment

Last weekend we got the most snow we had in years. The city came to a sort of standstill.

Our property backs up to open space, with a lovely path through cotton wood trees and a small creek that barely ever has water in it. It is kind of magical…

I imagine this is what Narnia might look like, all we need is a lamp post..

Now that we had our snow I look forward to spring.

-Sofija

Slow Travel: Taking the Scenic Road to Santa Fe

January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 sofijaburtonGolden, new mexico, New Mexico Travel, Santa Fe, scenic routes2 Comments

This is my favorite drive in New Mexico. If you are coming from Albuquerque, take I-40 East. Take the Cedar Crest exit, heading north on Highway 14. It takes you through Golden, New Mexico, where I usually stop at a cute little Catholic Church to take pictures. The gate was closed and the kids were freezing, so we didn’t stay long.

Another great stop is Madrid, a little Hippie Town, with cute little shops and more affordable art galleries.

If you are coming from Santa Fe, going south on I-25 take the Cerrillos exit.

Here are some more pictures of the church in the summer.

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

3rd picture from the top taken by Lucille Burton. 4th from top taken by David Burton. All others taken by Sofija Burton.

Winter in my Backyard

January 11, 2015January 13, 2015 sofijaburtonLeave a comment

Friends,

Here are some pictures I took in my backyard the other day after it snowed. So beautiful…

Our house backs up to open space. Love the view and thank God that I get to live here…

You haven’t heard from me because I have been busy taking care of my husband. A week before Christmas he slipped on some ice while cycling to work. He ended up needing hip surgery the same day. I picked him up where he fell and took him to the nearest ER. They took him from there to the hospital downtown in an ambulance. It was the first time in our marriage that he was hospitalized. Surgery was around 9pm but he didn’t come to till close to midnight. I remember driving home after midnight in a daze. The whole experience kind of left me traumatized. His recovery is going well, there have been no setbacks. Still it has messed with my sense of security and it was hard managing his recovery, Christmas preparations, and sick children at home. My oldest son Finn really held the home front together that week. He juggled school projects, finals, and sick siblings beautifully, I am so grateful for him. And to friends who brought meals, helped with driving Esther to school, etc.

Now that he is getting better I am starting to make plans for this year. I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions, I just make travel plans. Or plans for visitors, which is just as exiting for me. How about you, any exiting plans for this year? I know some of you have been to Hawaii, Texas, snowy Michigan, sunny Arizona, skiing in Austria, and other places. I love following your adventures!! And some of you had stressful situations like a house fire, loosing a relative, or caring for sick loved ones. I feel for you!

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

P.S. On a lighter note: the kids love having their dad around teaching them, and they are wondering if I could go to work, so he could stay home…

Cancun Impressions

November 20, 2014January 13, 2015 sofijaburtonBeach, Cancun, Mexico, Mexico Travel2 Comments

Friends,

we celebrated our 20th anniversary in Cancun last week. It was our second time kid free for longer than an overnight in 16 years. Hurray for 20 years! We spend three full days lounging at the beach and pool, eating the best Mexican food, and shopping in the markets. One afternoon we took a boat and went snorkeling in a Coral Reef. The beaches are really fantastic, as soft as they look, and the water is pretty warm with calm waves.

Now that we are back and it is pretty chilly out I have only my fading tan lines to remind me that this was for real.

-Sofija

Bike-In-Coffee along the Bosque Trail in Albuquerque

September 17, 2014 sofijaburtonAlbuquerque, Bosque Trail, Coffee, family friendly biking, new mexico, Rio Grande, slow life albuquerque2 Comments

My favorite place to bike in Albuquerque is the Bosque Trail along the river Rio Grande, as it is the ONLY flat trail around here. 16 miles right by the river. I must add here, you don’t always get a good view of the river, because the area has been left natural and parts of it are wildlife sanctuaries. It is very family friendly, no cars in sight. Though the trail can get packed on the weekend with cyclists, runners, and the occasional inline skater.

What makes this trail even better is the fact that there is a Bike-in-Coffee easily accessible, near the southern end of the trail (Montoya st.) Bike in Coffee is a little trailer that sits on Old Town Farm. Old Town Farm also operates as a horse facility and a produce farm. You can see the stalls behind my husband and the bikes.

I’d like to add here that the food coming out of this little trailer is superb. Items on the menu are made with freshly picked ingredients from the farm. We tried the mini quiche and their and the scones, and we kept coming back for more. It was packed with flavor, melt in your mouth kind of food. I read on their website that they offer lunches, too. I can’t even imagine…

Here is a pump and repair station for your bikes. How cool is that?

There are several places to sit and eat. We sat near the vegetable garden and then later realized that there was a beautiful shaded area.

Bike in Coffee is open on the weekends and can only be accessed by bicyclist or hikers. I highly recommend this place for your next bike ride.

Have a great day,

Sofija

Bethesda Row

July 10, 2014 sofijaburtonBethesda, Bethesda Row, DC, DC Cupcakes, Drybar, Jaleo, Jose Andres, Paper Source, shopping, Tapas restuarantLeave a comment

When we visited DC we stayed in Bethesda, a northeast suburb. Our hotel was within walking distance to Bethesda Row, a popular place to eat and shop. What is more, it was within walking distance to DC Cupcakes! I went two times: the first time for us, the second time to bring lots of cup cakes home for the kiddos and our friends.

This is me grinning from ear to ear.

Here are some pictures of other places on Bethesda Row, quite the place to see and be seen. Going there on a Friday night, I felt completely underdressed. I forgot that East Cost people dress better.

The Paper Source. I went there to see if I could find a card for my friend’s wedding, but decided I liked the one I designed better. Still, this was my first visit to the Paper Source, and I could have spend hours here.

Where you get yummy Gelato. Where I went to my first Drybar. A drybar does only shampoos and blowouts, no cuts or dying. The hair style lasted me for two days. And even now I feel like my hair styles better. Even though I didn’t quiet fit in with the clientele, I had a great time, as my stylist was the manager, and she was pretty fun and easy to talk to.

Where we went for coffee every morning: Quatermaine Coffee. The service wasn’t all that exceptional, but the coffee was good. Seriously, I loved staying so close and being able to walk to get my coffee…

The last one was a fun surprise. It was on Sunday night, the husband was watching the US soccer game at a pub, and me and the girls were getting hungry. I remembered seeing a Tapas restaurant close to the hotel. I have been wanting to try one ever since I saw a Ricks Steve’s episode of Barcelona or Madrid I can’t remember. Anyway, it’s a thing you do in Spain, eat your way through Tapas bars…Little did I know that this one was started by chef José Andrés, in fact this one is the very first Tapas bar opened in the US!

My daughter’s friend got some chicken fritters (croquetas de pollos) served in a glass shoe. This was probably the most kid friendly dish.

My daughter tried this salad (pictured below). Looks better than it tasted. She was a trooper and ate it all. I got one of Jose’s creations and it was pretty good. Huevo frito con caviar. A fried organic egg topped with white sturgeon caviar. I highly recommend it. Sorry, I don’t have a picture to show.

All tapas plates are small in size. The idea is that you try a variety of dishes. However with our plates ranging from $8-16 we called it good and shared one dessert. It tasted as good as it looks.

Have you been to a Tapas restaurant? Or tried DC cupcakes? Are food places on your must see list when you visit a new city? I have a list of places to try next time I go to California…

Have a great day,

Sofija

Biking Through the National Mall in DC

July 1, 2014 sofijaburtonbike in DC, Capital Bike Share, Family Travel, Monuments, US Travel, Washington DC, White HouseLeave a comment

If you have been to DC you know that, even though a lot of the tourist spots are in one area, there is a lot of walking involved. I mean a LOT of walking. Especially if you plan on seeing the White House and all the monuments and memorials in one day, as we decided to do. So when friends told us about Capital Bikeshare, we jumped on it. The idea is that you can pick up a bike at any given station, use it for how ever long you need it, and then drop it off at your station of choice. Renting a bike for one day is $7, but we decided to go with option of renting the bikes for free, as long as you check them in every half an hour. Not sure if I would do that again, since it is quite a headache keeping track of the time, and figuring out which station is the closest and has enough open slots (we had four bikes). My husband downloaded the Spotcycle App, which helps you find docking stations and shows how many bikes there are.He did an amazing job navigating. Here he is checking out the bikes near the Metro Center station.

From here we rode our bikes to the White House. This was the scariest part as we were driving on the streets. Once we got to the White House we mostly rode on bike paths in the parks under shaded trees.

Next is the Washington Monument.

From there we rode to the World War II monument. Built more recently in 2004 I didn’t even know it existed. I really liked lingering there by the fountain. You have a great view of both the Washington and Lincoln memorials.

But my favorite was the Lincoln Memorial. The statue is just so impressive. And you have a great view from the top.

Next we went to the Vietnam Memorial, the most sobering of all the ones I have seen. It was a wall full with inscribed names of soldiers who lost their lives. You walk alongside the wall and read the names. I didn’t take pictures here, because it felt disrespectful.
From there we went to the Roosevelt Memorial. A totally different experience. You walk along this path with quotes and water falls, all very secluded and quiet.

Lastly we went to the Jefferson Memorial. A lot like the Lincoln.

By then we had biking and touring for over three hours in 80 F plus humidity, and we had checked our bikes in and out 9 times. I was done!
I was glad we had our 13 year old and her friend with us (who did great), and no younger children.

All in all it was a great way experience. Like I mentioned earlier the only thing I would do different is paying the $7 for the whole day and not worry about the half hour limit.
Sofija

Washington DC

June 25, 2014January 13, 2015 sofijaburtonArchitecture, Capitol, DC, Library of Congress, Maryland, Washington, White HouseLeave a comment

My next few posts will be all about DC and the surrounding area. You are either going to love it or get really tired of it.

This post is for all you history buffs. Lets see if you recognize all of these buildings without looking at the bottom. I had to ask the name of the first building myself.

And the last one is pretty self evident, number 4. However, do you know which is the front and which is the back?

Seeing the pictures together it is probably more obvious. But when we came to the White House on Sunday, we came to the back and wondered why we couldn’t get closer. The next day our GPS directed us to the front, where the gate is much closer. Here are some pictures of Pennsylvania avenue and nearby.

We did this tour the lazy way. David drove the car from building to building and circled around until I was done taking pictures.

Lets see if you guessed right:

1. Library of Congress

2. U.S. Capitol

3. Supreme Court

4. White House

-Sofija

Teach Where You Live

Where homeschooling, style, and life intersect, here and around the world

Travel

The Island of Cres, Croatia

Spring Break in New Mexico

Winter Wonderland

Slow Travel: Taking the Scenic Road to Santa Fe

Winter in my Backyard

Cancun Impressions

Bike-In-Coffee along the Bosque Trail in Albuquerque

Bethesda Row

Washington DC