Ahoj from Prague. Apparently that’s how you say ‘hi’ in Czech. Angel could also be making sh*t up, but let’s just go with it for now 🙂
I thought I was flying to Prague on Friday, but discovered on Tuesday that I’m actually flying on Thursday. It became a bit stressful to reschedule stuff and get it all done a day before. But I managed 🙂
Shot all the stuff that needed to be shot…
I had an hair appointment for Thursday, but managed to squeeze it in on Wednesday instead. Very happy with this new blonder update 🙂
I set a limit that I can only bring 1 suitcase, so there was some last minute rearranging to fit it all…
I think Hunter knows when I’m leaving and of course we had extra cuddles and he walked me out to the Uber. Maybe he just wanted to make sure I really leave and he has the the time of his life when I’m gone…
Airport selfie before boarding…
I consider myself a pretty experienced traveller. But somehow I managed to land at Gatwick Airport in London and had to transfer to London Heathrow Airport for my connection. Nothing that an hour Uber ride couldn’t solve…
Finally landed in Prague jumped in another Uber to go to Angel’s sisters house where we are staying. All of the sudden we are pulled over by a cop and after a speeding ticket and a smoke break by the freeway, I finally arrived 🙂
Eating and catching up before crashing in bed around midnight. Slept like a baby until 9am. No time for jet lagging, just a quick coffee before heading in to the center of Prague. The city is so beautiful. Lot of parks and beautiful buildings…
Watched a bit of the Sweden – USA hockey game in a park too. I don’t really care about the results now since Finland is out 🙁
I already had marked out some coffee places that looked great and they didn’t disappoint. Tried The Miners Coffee and Dos Mundos.
And I do want to try smash burgers here next time for obvious reasons hahahaaa…
Angel & her sisters dad is in the hospital, so we popped by there too and ate ice cream with him 🙂
Then continued to some other park cause you can always see more 🙂
Angels sister is an amazing cook and dinner was some Czech smokey cheese with jam, meat a bar of chocolate 🙂
Not sure what happened to my jet-lag, but we managed to stay up until 3am and can’t say we managed anything important But we became vey knowledgeable about Inflatable Penile Prothesis’s LMAO. Don’t ask me how we got in to a conversation about these…
Anyways. Been on a dog walk this morning, Angel is napping and I’m here typing away… Tomorrow and on Tuesday we are working in Prague. I think it will be interesting shoots and BTS pics 🙂
I will continue enjoying my time here and I’ll try to write here next Saturday since my eye surgery is on Sunday, and don’t think I’ll manage to see the keyboard after that 🙂
It finally got me last week! The whatever flu that everyone seemed to be getting or have had. Didn’t feel too sick, but lost all energy for a couple of days. Rested, took baths, read, watched TV and napped with Hunter…
Then it was time to fly to Phoenix to shoot for a couple of days. The flight was so early I needed coffee as soon as I got to the airport!
I’ve heard about these self driving taxis and there were a bunch of them at the airport. So cool! Anyone ever gotten a ride in one?
Got to the location and 1st day was all about me, me, and more meeee!
When we were done shooting we were chilling in the pool with a great sunset as a backdrop and I crowned myself as the lost queen of Sweden…
When I travel and don’t know if there will be coffee, I bring these pouches of instant coffee. I get them from a specialty roaster so they taste a little bit better than the instant coffee from the grocery store…
Then Kayla came and I had to share the spotlight 🙂 We get a tad too excited at times when we work together, but we managed to pull it off before I was sent home 🙂
I also assisted Greg on a boudoir shoot here in Vegas. So much fun and I always learn a bunch from him. Since he is so nice he also came by one day to teach me some new tricks in Lightroom and how to use Evoto for editing photos.
This weekend me & a friend made a roadtrip to St George in Utah. Amazing scenery when you drive…
Got hungry and found a seafood joint called Rusty Crab Daddy. Sooo good and garlic-y 🙂
Saw a table order some desert and asked what it was. Apparently they’re called ‘Beignets’. Deep-fried pastry served hot with lots of powdered sugar. It might be one of my favorite desserts now! Holy moly they are tasty!!!!!
Rented an Airbnb on the outskirts of town and loved walking out to the trees and farm animals as neighbors!
And what do you think I had for breakfast? Tripplets of Beignets filled with different things!
And more coffee because there can never be too much caffeine…
Then drove to Pine Valley to hike a little and check the area out. One day I hope to go camping there, Quiet and tranquil.
I had some cool pose in mind, but I don’t think I nailed it hahahaa…
At a gas station there was these cute chicks for sale. Considered if Hunter would like a buddy, but I think he might use it as a toy, so no chicks for us… Other than human ones!
Heard about this pie place and since it was just across the street and I’m always down for a snack/treat, off we went. I had a raspberry/rhubarb slice and it made love to my taste buds! They had a map there where people visiting marked where they’re are from. Someone from Oulu, Finland had visited. That’s where my family is from. Very cool!
For dinner we hit their popular BBQ spot Pica Rica. A lot of stuff was already sold old, but got some tasty chicken tinga and pulled pork.
There was this funky bar called Spiritual around the corner. Finished the night off with a couple of cocktails 🙂
Awesome day all together and happy I didn’t step on this big toad when entering the house…
Packed up today and visited Snow Canyon State Park on the way to town. Great views of the red rocks and cool sand dunes…
Wanted more BBQ so went back to Pica Rica and had delicious ribs for brunch…
Only a 2h drive from Vegas and I will probably visit again 🙂 Going to look into renting an RV as I would love to camp out there…
Going to order some food and watch some TV with Hunter tonight 🙂 Next week got a couple of shoots planned and a massage so far. Got a ‘property evaluation’ too when they come and check that I haven’t torn the house down. Just saw that it’s Cinco de Mayo tomorrow. Maybe Hunter wants to celebrate since he’s Mexican after all. Will give him extra treats!
OK, here is the post about our hike. Writing this and going through the photos again brings back so many fun memories from along the trail. This time we trekked the most northern part of the King’s Trail or Kungsleden as it’s called in Swedish.
We flew up to Kiruna at 8.25 am and it was a short flight.
From the airport we took a taxi to the Abisko Tourist Station where the trail starts. You can obviously hike it the other way around too, but we chose to start in Abisko. We had planned to eat lunch at the Tourist Station, but it was so packed and crowded with people finishing up the weeklong Fjällräven Classic. We bought a couple of sandwiches in the shop and took off…
You start by passing the Canyons which had this super clear turquoise water.
All along the trail there are meditation spots, and this one had a stone with a quote by Dag Hammarskjöld.
The sun came out and we took a short snack break. Our favorite – knäckebröd (crisp bread) with smoked reindeer spread and some salami.
Seeing the mountain cabin after a days hike is always rewarding. Even though it usually looks pretty close, it’s almost always at least an hours hike away.
This cabin had a store and even though they sold a lot of other stuff, they had a whole refrigerator dedicated to beer hahahaaa…
This mountain cabin is called Abiskojaure and us being Finns, we obviously appreciated them having a sauna! Usually the first hour is a mixed hour with men and women, then women, and lastly men. Almost everyone is naked and you chat about your day on the trail and where people are from. A lot of foreigners… They had a sandy beach and it’s perfect to cool off in between! Not a bad backdrop either…
After the sauna and dinner we pretty much crashed in bed. Great first day. First day’s stage Abisko – Abiskojaure, 15km.
Usually my sister and I are the first ones up. We usually awoke between 05.30 and 06.00. We prefer to just have a cup of coffee and then head out.
We usually hiked about 1,5 – 2 hours and then picked a spot to have breakfast at. I usually ate a porridge. You just need to boil water, pour it in the bag, let it sit for 8 min and then enjoy 🙂 It was pretty windy and sometimes a bit of a drizzle so this big boulder offered some shelter.
It was a long stretch in the valley next to this lake. The wind increased so I had to use my scarf as cover.
On this stage there is an option to take a boat on the final stretch. It cuts your hiking 4km shorter. When we reached the boat dock, it started raining pretty hard and about 6 people sat in the boat house waiting to take the boat. We decided that we’re here to hike, so that’s what we’ll do! We did question our decision a couple of times when it poured down and the wind was almost blowing us off the trail.
Here the rain and wind quieted down and we could snap a couple of beach pics hahhaaa…
Finally reached Alesjaure mountain cabin pretty soaked. But all the rooms usually have a furnace so we lit it and warmed up. Also great for drying your clothes.
This place also had a sauna by the lake- yeayyyyy! They had stairs going down to the stream below so you could go take a dip. Here we met a Japanese woman who never took a sauna before. Us Finn’s obviously gave her the run down and I took her skinny dipping in the stream too 🙂
The 2nd day’s stage was between Abiskojaure – Alesjaure, 21km. Pretty beat and hoped for better weather for the next day!
3rd day Alesjaure – Tjäktja – Sälka, 26km, We decided to do 2 stretches on our 3rd day and skip a night stay at Tjäktja. But first, quality coffee from Verve with a candle light 🙂
Beautiful morning to start our 3rd day…
It was a loooong day. We took breaks, snacked and drank coffee and hot chocolate. Finally saw some reindeers too 🙂
We passed the highest spot on Kungsleden – Tjäktjapasset, 1150 meter above sea level. It was a long stretch of stones and rocks and then a climb to get up there. We took a break at a small hut up on the top (if you look closely you can see a tiny hut in the ‘dip’ between the mountains) before hiking down to this valley that was so much prettier and greener…
I’m not going to lie, we were pretty exhausted and very happy when we finally spotted the Sälka mountain cabin!
To our surprise they had a sauna here too so we just threw in our backpacks and hit the sauna. Felt amazing after the long day.
Normally we book a room with 2 bunk beds. It was busy here so we had a bunk bed in a room with 6 bunk beds. Pretty tight, but everyone is respectful of the space, so it wasn’t a problem…
Per usual we enjoyed our coffee in the empty kitchen/common room by ourselves…
Luckily our 4th day was a shorter hike. From Sälka to Singi, 12km.
Beautiful morning and we found a great spot by the water to enjoy our breakfast at.
Even found some Cloudberries. I think I wrote about them before too. They only grow up in the north and are called ‘skogens guld’, the gold of the forest. They are so tasty and the jam made of these is expensive. Later we also found a spot with a lot of blueberries 🙂
Made it to Singi. No sauna here, but a lot of nice people that we met along the trail, so we spent the evening chatting while eating dinner and snacking,
The 5th day was also an easier day from Singi to Kebnekaise, 15km. Started our day with spotting some reindeers. Otherwise it was a pretty cold and foggy day.
We finally came down to a valley and the weather cleared up some. We found a spot and took a snack break. Pretty much had to throw our stuff back in the backpacks because 5 min after the picture was taken it rained. The weather changes fast up there…
The last stretched was mixed with some rain, wind and finally when reaching the Kebnekaise mountain cabin the sun decided to make an appearance.
Kebnekaise mountain cabin is a big place. Understandably since a lot of people come here to climb Kebnekaise. We booked dinner at the restaurant and had some wine and beer. It was a nice treat after eating freeze-dried food for five days 🙂 The risotto was delicious and I think I ate about half of a loaf of bread too hahahaa…
Checked the forecast for the next day. Some days you can’t go to the top of Kebnekaise since the weather is not permitting it. But luckily on that Tuesday when we planned to go up it looked good!
So finally on our 6th day it was time to do Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest mountain. We were ready to head out at 6am. Wanted to have plenty of time. A few others headed out too. Beautiful morning! We opted for the southern peak via the western trail. If you do the northern peak, you needed to do it with a guide.
We had to start taking clothes off and soon as the climb started. It’s “only” 8 km to the top, but it’s almost all uphill you climb on loose rocks and boulders which makes it feel a lot longer.
Up, up and up. A lot of short breaks and pauses. After this mountain there was a steep descent down to ‘Kaffedalen’.
The weather rapidly changed and a thick fog came in. From ‘Kaffedalen’ it started to climb again. This is actually from where you start climbing Kebnekaise. The first mountain and climb is just a taste of what’s to come 🙂 We were so focused on climbing and making it up so we forgot to take pics going up here until we reached the old ‘topp stugan’ or the old safety/summit cabin. You can see how dense the fog was. We decided to pop our Champagne here 🙂
A Finnish lady entered the cabin so we got to chat some Finnish. She said it was another 20-30 min to the top, then another 50m with snow where you needed spikes for your shoes to be able to go. It was foggy up there too and no view she said. We decided this was high enough and started our descend. This was what we saw when we started our return.
But as we got further down it cleared up a bit. This here is ‘Kaffedalen’ and you’re officially down from Kebnekaise. From there you go uphill and it was pretty slow going at this point hahahaa…
But we were in good spirits and took one last break with apple crumble pie and hot chocolate to have energy for the last stretch.
It took us 5h to climb up and 7h to come down and back. It was a hard day and we’re happy we did it! We hit the sauna and showers after and then had dinner before crashing in bed. A tip might be to start the trail the other way around than we did, and be more rested before climbing Kebnekaise.
7th and last day. Hiking to Nikkaluokta, 19km. There was also an option to take a boat on this stretch too that would shorten your hike by 6km. We wanted to enjoy our last day outdoors so we hiked.
Guess how happy we wore when we found out that there was a cafe where the boat picked up and dropped off hikers? We went inside and I had a waffle with whipped cream and cloudberry jam. SOOOOO GOOOOD! The place is called Enoks and they also have reindeer and elk burgers which looked super tasty too.
The last part of the trail was super easy walking. It felt like fall was coming up in the north. It was beautiful and we finally arrived to Nikkaluokta.
From there we took the bus back to Kiruna airport and then a short flight back to Stockholm. I guess I was pretty tired hahahaaa…
A total of 128 km hikes with Kebnekaise included. My backpack weighted 10kg when we started. Most of it was food. The stores at the mountain cabins sell food, but I’m picky and want to eat good, so I brought all my food with me. I will remember this adventure with my sister forever. Thanks for the company and memories sis!
OK, that was that about the hike. And now to Vegas 🙂 I have been here for a week and one day today. Love it here so far. Hopefully I can get a post up during the week about the past week here. Hunter is very happy too 🙂 Met some friendly neighbors and signing up at a gym next week. Tomorrow I’m having coffee with a friend I knew in LA long time ago, but she also lives in Vegas now. Oh, and my birthday is on Friday too wohooo! Oh, I’ve been a week without smoking too 🙂
How was your week? Or/and got something fun happening this upcoming week?
Sorry for not being on here for 3 weeks, but Sweden got busy and I thought I’d write it each week, but then 3 weeks flew by…
OK, the biggest thing that happened during that time was the yearly hike up north in Sweden with my sister. We made it up Kebnekaise which is Sweden’s highest mountain. So cool and a bit impressed by us! A separate post about the hike and climb is coming too.
I had to take a look in my calendar to remember everything I did. I landed in Stockholm on a Friday and didn’t get my luggage when I got to Stockholm. No worries, went home and had friends over for dinner and drinks 3h later 🙂 No time to waste…
On Saturday I didn’t hear anything about my lost luggage and had a dinner and party planned so had to head out to look for an outfit. Like always when you ‘just-have-to’ find something, you find nada! I scrambled an outfit together from my sister’s closet and out we went! These people are no amateur party goers so it was a great (and late) night out 🙂
Got my bag on Sunday and jet lagged some…
During the week I met more friends, family, and recorded some more stuff for an upcoming podcast that me and Cyril recorded while we were shrooming in Jamaica. For some obvious reasons some stuff we recorded in Jamaica was a bit ‘not clear’ hahhaaaa…
Met with one of Sweden’s most beloved people – Mark Levengood. He always wears great jewelry and bling so we blinged up together. These pieces come from Pearl Octopuss.y and they have such cool pieces!
Also bought all we needed for our hike. Mostly food but also got a mosquito net for my head. Not this one as it felt a bit overkill…
After a week in Stockholm we flew up to Kiruna and hiked for a week. But like I said, more about that in the next post.
No time to rest after the hike. Had lunch with these gorgeous people and talked about maybe doing something fun together in the future. I love meeting creative people and Anna is an amazing photographer and Patricia a casting agent among other things…
Straight from there to record another podcast. After I called a friend and dragged her to one of my favorite cafes in Stockholm – Älskade Traditioner, to finally eat some meatballs. I actually ate meatballs there the next day too because you can’t get enough ‘balls”… On a side note, when my mom was alive, she always made meatballs for me as soon as I got to Sweden.
Also did a health exam in Stockholm at a place called Neko Health Center. It’s some high tech machinery that scans your whole body, other scanners for other parts, measuring different things and a blood test. Long story short, I had ‘optimal’ and ‘great’ values mostly, but obviously was told that I should quit smoking. No shit! (today is my 2nd day without cigarettes).
One of my best friends in Sweden, Linda, decided to put together a delayed 50th birthday celebration. It was held in a double decker where previously some hippies had lived. Such an amazing bus and I could totally see myself drive around in it like the Merry Pranksters in case you are familiar with them 🙂 I even have the acid! It was a 70’s themed party…
The location is a bit on the countryside so one of the guests had pigs in the woods that we went to see…
And Jorgen proudly showed off some creepy faces he bought. Things got weird hahhaaaaa….
Next day it was another of my great friends who threw a 50th birthday celebration. I’ve known Karina for over 30 years and we share a lot of fun and crazy memories together. I hope we will have another 30 years at least to make new memories even though I hope they are a bit more of a mature nature hahahaaa…
I slept over and the next day we had lunch at Elfviks Gård. Such a cool place. Like a farm with some cute stores, animals and a cafe.
From there it was a short drive to Ellery Beach House where we checked in. We did the same thing last year. Heated outdoor pools, saunas, swimming in the ocean and finishing off with a 3-course dinner. There might of been a couple of cocktails and wine too…. And my favorite, breakfast buffet in the morning!
The room was a bit tight and we joked that one could get stuck between the bed and the wall. I shot a little video clip and when I’m going to wiggle myself out of there I somehow fall sideways on the floor. And would’ve been stuck unless Karina hadn’t pulled me up while laughing her ass off! This could’ve resulted in a lawsuit in the US LOL 😉
After checking out we drove to her horse to check on him. Karina and I met when we were hanging at the stables as youngsters. I really love being around horses…
From there we headed into town where I had to find an outfit for the next days’ party which was a restaurant opening for a friend. The theme was pink party. Luckily I have a friend who designs great outfits for events, artists, etc. and he helped me. I like the purple one and had to try it on even though it’s not pink. I ended up with the first dress but asked them to make it shorter and less ladylike hahahaaa…
Got my hair washed and blown out the day of the party.
In Mexico I became friends with a Swedish artist, Sanna Fried and she has moved out of Mexico too and back to Sweden. Took her to my go to cafe in Stockholm – Lisas Grabb. Always get some fat & carbs in you before a party!
The party the next day was so much fun! If you are in Stockholm and need a great place to eat, try Restaurang Art. Cool artsy interior design, great food and drinks.
I had to give-up early since I had an Uber booked for 03.45am the next morning. This was because I decided spontaneously I should live in Las Vegas. Lease signed, virtual tour, and as of yesterday I live in Vegas 🙂 Viva Las Vegas! A friend drove and Hunter was a bit stressed at first, but then chilled the rest of the trip 🙂
I really like our new place. My goal was to find a furnished place with outdoor access for Hunter. Will show some pics later when I manage to put some stuff away 🙂
Now heading to get groceries, then probably a nap and maaaaybe I can unpack 1 suitcase. Just maybe though… Here’s some leftovers from Sweden and a couple of days in Utah before Vegas…
Happy Labor Day tomorrow to all the gringos, and to the rest, enjoy your Monday 🙂
Puh, finally got a bit settled in in Utah. Last days in Mexico consisted of packing, seeing friends, selling and giving away the last furniture and other things. Also stored 5 boxes at a friends house of stuff I wasn’t ready to part with. So much for clearing out hahhaaa…
Squeezed in some more Botox in face too…
Some last minute shooting that needed to be done. I painted this skirt which I think is awesome! Might be a tad much to wear in public though or what do you think?
Only had left over clothing to wear the last days so my outfits were very fashionable and coordinated! Should’ve just worn the penis skirt hahhaaa….
Hit the gym cause hauling boxes takes some strength.
Had a class of lighting and how to adjust focal points and depth of field with various techniques. I’m going to miss Leo’s classes!
Barbacoa lunch with Angel and his bf and amazing sushi & sake with Milla.
The last minute packing was no joke. I had planned to bring 4 suitcases, but the day before I realized I needed a fifth suitcase. Hunter was as always involved and supervising hahhaaaa…
Julieta who is Hunter’s extra mom when I travel came by and said bye too 🙂
The day before my departure someone picked up the bed and I camped out on the floor like the queen that I am 😉
I got to say that I was pretty nervous about flying with Hunter. I had created scenarios in my head where he escapes and runs around at the airport or in the plane. But I should’ve known better. He was nervous, but behaved so good 🙂
I had read that cats can overheat and you can cool them down with a wet cloth. I had a wet t-shirt and I put on him when he was panting. He also wore a calming collar.
On the plane he stayed in his bag and at the airport he came out and walked around and wondered what’s next…
It was a long day and I’m so happy all went well! Yesterday and today we explored the grounds of our new crib…
Waiting on a French Press from Amazon so been popping by Alpha Coffee for my caffeine. They got such good coffee and a great place to work at too…
Was going to hit the gym today, but the weather was perfect for some outdoor exercise. Went to this beautiful park and ran around bit and threw in some push ups and jump squats too.
That’s what I managed so far. Can’t wait to go hiking. Got a 4th of July party happening this week and friends from San Francisco visiting… How about you? Got some vacation coming up or already on it?
Last week on Wednesday I took an Uber at 02.00 am to the airport. Tried to sneak out without waking Hunter up, but no luck with that. When I grabbed my bags and was ready to head downstairs, he came out stretching and yawning and walked me to the door.
Sooo tired and happy when it was about time to finally board the plane. I find out that the flight to Houston is being cancelled because the plane is broken. Or I guess in less dramatic terms, has technical issues. Ugh!
There are not many options for flying from Mexico to Jamaica. They tried to find options, but all of them meant staying somewhere overnight and continuing tomorrow. I finally got the brilliant idea to look for a flight to Kingston in Jamaica instead. It wasn’t guaranteed I’d get on it though because it was overbooked. I thought some good thoughts, crossed some fingers, and at 08.40 am I flew to Atlanta instead. Pretty much passed out as soon as I sat down on the plane.
In Atlanta the pIane was overbooked and they started offering money to people to fly the next day instead. Luckily enough people took the offer and at 5.59 pm we took off to Jamaica finally! I think the Atlanta airport had very interesting artwork. Or is just me that has a dirty mind?
Got to the villa around 22.30 and met everyone. Chuck who I met last year from the US. So great seeing him again! Cyril from Sweden. More about him later. Dev from Australia, Alex who is Armenian, Derryck from USA (but grew up in South Africa and lived in Russia among other places) and Rob from South Africa but came from Cayman Islands the next day.
Thursday
Slept good and woke up at 7.30am. I always get excited if I have a pool or access to a beach and feel the need to get in instantly. Afterwards I had coffee and mingling while having a light breakfast.
Around 11am Mama Orah came over to give us a yoga session. If you read my blog last year you already know I love Mama Orah. I believe she’s past 70 years old and she just radiates compassion and you want to hug her which I obviously did 🙂 While the rest of us are in the shade yoga-ing she’s in the sun like it’s nothing! I’m guessing it was about 31 Celsius!
After that it was time for lunch and Marcel was the chef this time too. He cooks the best food and is a sweetheart!
What I like about this retreat is that there’s no stress. You have time to relax on your own or with the group. I love meeting new people, and we were a great group with a lot of interesting stories and experiences on why we all came here. Cyril is a writer/journalist from Sweden who I had only been in contact with on Instagram a couple of times. About a month ago he posted about psilocybin on his feed. I sent him a DM that I had micro-dosed and asked him if he didn’t want to come to Jamaica on a retreat with me. Cyril had been traveling for work and rerouted his return by Jamaica so here we were meeting for the first time.
Around 4pm we were on a private beach for our 1st mushroom dose. A lighter dose and I took 2 grams in a gummy and 1 gram of chocolate.
We all were swimming and a rainbow appears. So cool. I didn’t expect to feel as much as I did, but I had a lot of visuals. The clouds were in 3D layers and I saw geometrical patterns when I closed my eyes. Felt a bit restless and lied down on a towel on my own and let go… When I felt that I was coming out of it I started listening to my music and dancing. Damn, I love dancing when ending my trip. It’s like I release all of the built up and leftover energy. I feel so free and great after… We also had a beautiful sunset on the beach before packing up and headed back to the villa.
Marcel had cooked us dinner and we sat talking about how our trips had been. Cyril and I sat up until midnight because he just has the craziest stories to tell about people he interviewed, wild parties, and wars in Syria and Ukraine he’d reported from.
Friday
The day started with coffee, chilling in the pool, breakfast and then another yoga session with Mama Orah.
After lunch we had individual sessions with Stacey who was our facilitator. She is from Jamaica and very calm and wise. We talked about my intention for the upcoming journey and how much mushrooms I was going to take. There will be a longer and separate post about this because this was probably my most powerful trip ever in so many ways. I finally understand the meaning of “The mushrooms give you what you need, not what you want” and it was so true for me on this trip. This is us getting to ready to take off…
The night ended with Cyril and I sitting up talking about our experiences until 2am. I felt elated and drained after and still had some visions when I went to bed and closed my eyes…
Saturday
One of my favorite things form last year is when we all shared about our trips. This morning was no different. Everyone was curious about each others journeys. Seemed like everyone had a powerful one. Stacey was also around to answer questions and listen to us sharing…
At 4pm it was time to head to another beach for our last dose. I only took 2 grams and felt it in my body, but didn’t really have any visuals. It also started raining so we had to take shelter and it’s different when you are interacting with other people versus just lying down and letting go. I also believe the mushrooms felt I’d received what I needed the night before so now it was mostly relaxing. Witnessed a beautiful sunset before heading back to the villa to chill…
On Sunday we packed up and checked in and Sand & Tan where I stayed last year too after the retreat. It’s a simple hotel right on the beach and it felt good to reflect on the past few days.
My favorite was to just walk out from my balcony and go swim first thing in the morning. There was barely any other people there so we were just journaling, talking, eating and hanging out. I went paddle boarding every day and just laid on the board. Was even able to get one sunset on the water on the board.
Lunch with gang. Anyone else think this sign is funny?
Dinner at the hotel…
Pulled myself together and worked a little. Can’t really say it feels like work when you’re on the beach in yet another beautiful sunset 🙂
Met this artist at the hotel and he painted this mural. I suspect he even might of planted this weed plant next to it 🙂
On the last night the last stragglers visited a strip club. I love visiting strip clubs in different countries. We had a couple of drinks and watched some great pole tricks before leaving and crashing in bed.
My flight was not until 2.30pm on Wednesday so I had time to swim and have breakfast with Troy and John who runs the retreat and Cyril.
The guy who runs Sand & Tan buys fresh caught fish every day from the fishermen…
Had to stop for some great jerk chicken on the way to the airport too…
Made it home and I feel much more relaxed. Something I’ve taken home is to feel more present. Be in the moment. I sometimes do 5 things at the same time, but I think I’m a bit more focused now and able to concentrate on only 1 (or 2) things at the time.
Hunter was very happy about me coming home and talked a lot before he slept glued to my side the whole night 🙂
I think I will have some other exciting news to share in the next few days 🙂 Just finalizing details now wohooo 🙂
The next retreat in Mycelia is June 23 – June 27 and there are a couple of spots left. If you’ve ever been thinking of going to a retreat, I can’t recommend Mycelia enough! Here is how our itinerary looked for the days we were there.
Hope you all will have a great weekend! Got plans? I’m going to polish my notes about the big trip experience and hopefully post it tomorrow. Hopefully getting together with Dayana today before she leaves for her summer travels. Tomorrow I’m helping Astrid with some computer stuff, but will read and relax too 🙂
I loved being in San Francisco! Familiar places, friends, a wedding. I want to live in Marin County! Took an early flight last Friday so I could squeeze in as many things as possible while there. I was doing well with my healthy eating the week before SF. No chips, refined sugars, or treats at coffee shops. That all blew out of the window as soon as I got to SF. I love clam chowder and a shrimp sandwich to top it off. Salad with that? No thanks, give me fries, hahahaaa….
A common sight in the Bay Area is self driving cars. Next to my Uber this car was just driving itself…
Tried a new coffee spot RÉVEILLE. Pretty good…
I had booked a Genius Bar appointment beforehand. My Mac was overheating and the battery lasted like 5 min. Turns out the battery was pretty much done. Ended up walking out with a new Mac and will use the old one as a back-up 🙂
Then went to my friends house and was served Espresso martinis 5 minutes after I walked through the door. That’s what I call hospitality 🙂 I love coffee cocktails! My night ended with more martinis and we ordered Indian food for dinner.
Stayed at another friends house in Mountain View. In the morning I need coffee like pretty much right away. I threw on my sneakers and walked to my old coffee shop Red Rock Coffee. So beautiful walking through the neighbourhood. So green and everything was in bloom. OK, a little overkill with all the rose photos, but they were so big and beautiful. (I have like 20 more if someone has a rose fetish lol).
After the coffee I painted my face and then drove out to Turlock. It’s 2h outside the city, in the middle of farm lands for almonds and apples. Then you turn in on a small road and arrive at a lavender farm where the wedding was held. It was like a green oasis in the middle of nowhere…
In the beginning of the ceremony the person marrying the couple asked everyone to put down their phones and to actually participate fully in the moment instead of taking pics or videos. I thought that was a really nice initiative. When Salma & Jared finally stood by the altar, the person said, ‘OK, I know you all want that one pic for Instagram, so here is your moment.’ Hilarious! phones came out so fast, including mine, and everyone got their shot hahhaaaa… It was a great wedding as they are one of the nicest people I know and I got to know when living in Mountain View. Here’s a photo of me looking like I’m dressed for a S&M party, and I snapped this pic of S & J when they where taking some wedding photos in the sunset.
Spent the night at an Airbnb in Turlock. On Sunday day I wanted to check out Marin County. First stop was Larkspur. Wow, what a cute little village! Bonus that they had an Equator Coffee there too AND a Swedish cardamom bun that I just haaaaad to have!
From there I drove through Corte Madera to Tiburon. Such a beautiful drive with houses by the water and so green and lush…
Had lunch with friends, pictured here is gorgeous Romina with Lucy, and the view from the restaurant…
I could easily see myself living somewhere in these hoods! Drove over the Golden Gate bridge back to Mountain View…
It was a fast and great trip over all. Almost forgot to show you this cool hat I found while shopping. Obviously had to have it!
On Thursday I visited Tatiana to laser off some sunspots skin bumps or whatever they’re called on my face & neck. I look like I have some skin condition, but doesn’t stop me from going out and it’s healing nicely 🙂
While on the laser topic, I went and injected and lasered my spider veins yesterday. They require constant maintenance and this Dr is super good and my legs look a lot better than before…
Feels good to be back at the gym. Been doing longer and more cardio based workouts. I like switching up my exercises and I hope I will feel more comfortable with running soon. Running is my least favorite thing with burpee broad jumps!
Did some ‘artistic’ work as well 🙂
And as usual Hunter is close by, but he doesn’t care about being in front of the camera as much as I do hahhaaa… He counts the seconds until I release him from my grip!
While on the topic Hunter. Milla came visiting and Hunter was quick to lay next to her and get scratches 🙂
There was a bazar the week before last and I had some stuff for sale. This Day Tripper jacket from Psychonaut Explorer among other things 🙂
I had a friend who had some surgery done and I went to a checkup with her. As you can see I’m great at support taking selfies instead hahahaa…
Other than that I’ve been to school and tomorrow I have the studio booked and I’m going to practice lighting on Ximena. Then me drinking coffee and and a couple of cute doggies I ran into 🙂
Popped a microdose yesterday and was smart and baked cookies before incase I would get cravings 🙂
That about concludes what I’ve been up to. Plan to bake my paleo bread today and maybe visit Milla because she got one of those hairless cats.
It’s good to be back, but damn, the jet lag is rough! Been to the gym twice and it feels like it’s the first time ever hahahah… Note to self: don’t skip the gym on holidays! Good to have Hunter jet lag with me, and he likes the Japanese cat treats I bought him 🙂
Anyways, here comes the rest of my Japan trip. Before heading to Kyoto I had breakfast with some people still left in town from the wedding. Not your usual eggs & bacon…
Then jumped on the bullet train that took a little bit more than 2h straight to Kyoto. Not a problem when you bring a few(?) snacks. The breakfast didn’t quite hit the spot.
Guess train rides build an appetite so I got a Wagyu burger for my dinner in Kyoto. Super tasty and it was nice to have something else besides sushi and yakiniku.
Strolled around after and checked out Nishiki Market at closing time. The market is packed with food stalls and other little stores.
Straight for coffee the next morning and starting with Goodman Roaster. Thumbs up!
Then walking in the rain and checking out what Kyoto has to offer. Everyone was on the look out for cherry blossoms. Wherever they were there were always people taking pics. Why should I be any different 😉
Then more coffee and tried Okaffe Roasting Park. Here they don’t rush to make your coffee. It was almost like an art form and there was always some latte art in the milk. Another superb coffee spot!
After a nap I headed back to Nishiki Market to eat dinner. WOW, the amount of people! It came to a total stand-still at moments. Tried some different seafoods and it was amazing!
Finished off with some sake at the room 🙂 Iit’s party-o’clock somewhere in the world, right?
Headed to the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine the next morning. I knew there would be people and I think half of Kyoto was there at 8am in the morning! Still a beautiful hike up and and lit a candle for family & friends who have passed at the top 🙂
And some things that caught my eye on the walk back…
All the fresh air, the climb, and heat made it necessary for a coffee stop and then a sugary waffle-thingy on top of that…
Walked by a place called Skål which means ‘cheers’ in Swedish. Nothing Swedish about the place. Had to go in and check to make sure. Looked like they had good food so I decided to try it. The portions were really small, and super good, so I ordered a 2nd plate. The guy that took my order and payment looked impressed 🙂
Also found Stumptown coffee at a beautiful outdoor mall, bought a new perfume after a lot of testing, impressed by the selection of kimchi and noodles at the grocery store, bought a seal-vibrator at a sex shop, ate more yakiniku saw more shrines… And bought this superb second hand kimono for $15.
I loved all the great coffee places in Kyoto. For me it was the wrong time to be there as I think it was too many tourists. It was hard to get a table at restaurants at night because everyone was fully booked. I see the charm with the small alleys and maybe I would’ve liked it more if I visited another time…
Decided to check out Hakone on the way back to Tokyo. Wow, this was my spot! This is right after getting off the train and going to my Airbnb.
I was so excited to get a bedroom with the Japanese style where you just unfold a mattress on top of these mats. I sleep better on hard surfaces so this was perfect for me. I had to google about this and supposedly it’s a better way of sleeping for your body and posture. Maybe my future bedroom 🙂
Hakone is famous for their onsens. They are bath houses with hot springs. After I checked in I went straight to one called Tenzan. Wow, it was so nice and I liked it since they had baths outdoors. You put your clothes in a locker. No swimwear needed or allowed. Then you wash yourself and visit the different pools and saunas. It was so relaxing and it only cost $10. No photos allowed from inside so got these from their website. There were more pools, but my favorite was sitting inside the cave 🙂
Starving afterwards and decided to grab food at the restaurant there. I saw there was raw horse meat on the menu and went for the safe bet ordering fish, shrimp and veggies. The shrimps were tiny little things with shell, head, and everything. The fish was tiny too, but good. Maybe not my best meal of the trip but I had some chips and cookies from 7-Eleven after hahahha…
Was supposed to head out and see The Hakone Open Air Museum the next day. While I was having coffee I discovered there were hikes in the area. Opted for a 3 hour hike instead and it was a really nice trail along Lake Ashi.
When finishing I went straight back to the same onsen as the day before. Perfect after a day out sitting in the hot water just relaxing…
I wish I would’ve had more days in Hakone. Smaller and more chill than Kyoto. Not as crowded and there were more things I would’ve wanted to check out. I would’ve done hot springs every day! One can always hope to visit again 🙂 Took the bullet train back to Tokyo while snacking on chocolate shroomies 🙂
Dropped my bags off at the hotel and headed straight to brunch with friends from the wedding… I think I visited the dessert table like 4 times 🙂
The next day I went to a micro pig cafe. They have so many different animal cafes in Tokyo with owls, hedgehogs, capybaras and snakes for example. I started wondering if Hunter would accept a micro pig as a buddy, but I think he’s happy being the only one getting attention so it’s a no 😉 But they were very cute…
A photographer wrote me on IG and asked if I wanted to shoot while in Japan. Why not? Got to put in a little bit of work while travelling 🙂 I wanted to shoot at a love hotel. Basically a hotel where couples can go and hang out, (and more), away from home as many live with their parents. They have them here in Mexico too. You book them per hour. So after cuddling with the piggies I met the photographer at Lapia Hotel and booked a room. You get free popcorn and can pick a costume to wear too. There are vending machines for lingerie and toys too. Very cool! It was a great shoot and the photographer was great. Here are a couple of behind the scenes pics and a couple of shots I put on IG. More coming 🙂
I had initially planned to go to a snake cafe after, but opted to join some friends at a Muscle Girl Bar instead. It is just what it sounds like, a bar with muscular girls. You get a protein shot when you came in and for about $30 USD you could drink as much as you wanted. The girls danced, poured shots in peoples mouths for tips, did pole tricks and pull-ups. There was a whole menu for what you could buy for tips, butt kicking, face slaps, being sandwich between 2 girls (only for girls though) etc… It was a fun experience and the girls were fun.
I was pretty beat and a bit drunk when I made it back to the hotel. Put on a face mask and my April fools joke was that I had adopted this bird I found. I actually found it while shopping for fun stuff for my shoot and thought this birdie would look good on my head 🙂
The last day in Tokyo was spent walking around and I bought some gifts. Walked by the famous Shibuya Crossing, the iconic intersection. Traffic is stopped in all directions where everyone can cross in all directions…
Coffee break and spotted some cherry blossoms…
I got an reservation at Sushi Nakamura for my last dinner in Tokyo. A friend who spends a lot of time in Tokyo and loves sushi recommended the place. It was Omikase style with sake pairing. It was definitely in the top 5 of food experiences in my life! The sushi melted in my mouth. Also the first time I tried uni, but not my favorite. There was so much food ands sake I rolled/wobbled out of there hahahaa…
Needed a boost of coffee before heading to the airport so I relented and made a cup of instant coffee, having to use the free toothbrushes the hotel offered to stir it with. Very classy…
Took the train to the airport and the flight home felt super fast since I slept most of the way 🙂
It was a great trip. I’m amazed how clean everything is. Even the public bathrooms are spotless! No smell, no paper on the floor or drops of whatever (most likely piss on the floor)… And I love the toilets that wash all your holes, fan that dries you and some even had music that you could play for privacy! Also something I’d like for my home! A picture of one of the toilets where the water was filling up from the top after flushing. Or was it for washing your hands? LOL
The train and subways was the same way. No litter or stained seats. People stand aside orderly when you exit and even if it’s crowded there’s no pushing. Maybe due to all the signs they have up…
There’s also no smoking on the streets. There are designated areas, street corners or smoke rooms at hotels and malls. There was a lady who used clothing rollers to clean up the entrance mat at the hotel…
Here comes the usual leftover pics…
Such a beautiful wedding and great to see friends I don’t get to see often. I loved Hakone and hope to explore more of Japan one day.
Hitting the gym in a bit and got Lesha coming over later to teach me some more Photoshop and Lightroom. Got a lighting class this week too and hope my sleep will be back to normal any day now!
Japan is very cool with a lot of differences compared to other countries. I’m rubbernecking, people watching, eating delicious food, walking and looki-looing, drinking, shopping and I feel like I would need a month here to have the time to and see do everything I want.
Let’s start from the beginning. The flight was on a Tuesday a week and a half ago at 00.50. In my head that meant Tuesday night, before becoming Wednesday morning. Luckily someone who understands time better than me pointed out that it actually means the night of Monday. I found this out 24 hours before my flight. No stress though, and Hunter and I enjoyed coffee & milk in bed before he did his best to help me pack…
The flight was delayed so I grabbed some wine while waiting…
It was perfect to take a red-eye flight, and I arrived at 7am the next morning. Super smooth to grab the bus right outside the terminal into the city. Just checked the bags at the hotel and headed out. Had a Verve Coffee right by the hotel. I used to drink Verve when living in California.
Checked out Cat Street and molested a competing Puma 😉
This was an awesome coffee place – Coffee Mameya. It was a high-end coffee shop that only offered pour overs from different roasters around the world. You got a chart, your barista talked about the different options, and then made you your coffee pour over style.
There was also some sushi and pancakes before a ‘yakiniku’ dinner at Kokokara. Soooo good. Kind of like Korean BBQ where you cook your own meat and pickled veggies.
The next day I had a local guy take me shopping. There is a lot of options here and so many secondhand stores for luxury items. I was mostly amazed they have my size in bras here so bought some.
I then headed out on my own to the Harajuku area and walked around. So much fun and and packed with people!
Another yakiniku dinner… I could eat this stuff every day. I love the small spots with just room for like 10 people. I’m getting hungry just writing this…
Started Friday with coffee from Streamer Coffee Company. They have this seasonal special called Sakura Latte (for the pink flowers called Sakura or cherry blossom) with some pink sprinkle on it and I could’ve had a liter of it!
Then finally met up with some friends and Annie, the bride to be, and catched-up over lunch. I look like a pink panther next to Annie who’s always dressed like a supermodel!
More coffee and walked through Yoyogi Park. I thought there would be cherry blossom everywhere, but only spotted a tree or two here and there. People said it has been too cold and wet so they are late. Someone actually wrote me on IG yesterday and said that they are supposed to start blooming NOW. They better hurry up because I only have a few days left hahahaa…
When walking I came across a store with a Finnish name – Hyvää Matkaa. It means ‘have a good trip’. Obviously I had to go in and check it out. They even sold ‘vihta’ which is the dried branches of a special tree that you soak up before hitting your back with it. The best part was the chocolates, and I couldn’t resist buying some and ate them in 3 minutes!
Fancy sushi tasting menu for dinner. Luckily they were showing pics on an iPad of what we were eating because it was all in Japanese.
On Saturday while running around town I suddenly hear someone yell Puma. It was Mar who I met at the psychedelic retreat in Mexico in November last year. So crazy, what are the odds!
At night it was the wedding rehearsal and I got to meet almost all of the other wedding guests who were from all over the world. Went to a bar after and I had some tasty Espresso Martinis…
Then finally the big day for Annie and Nick’s wedding! I found a makeup artist on Instagram and Hanna was great.
The wedding was amazing! Short ceremony, photos after, and then a delicious dinner! I could consider getting married in this style LOL… Naaah, won’t be walking down any aisles and making lifetime commitments anytime soon 🙂
The day after the wedding I took the bullet train to Kyoto. Love the efficiency here, no f*cking around. Train leaves and arrives on time. I will write another post about Kyoto. Now I’m in Hakone and this might be my favorite spot here so far. Well, I’ve only been here less than 24h so far, but the Onsen (hot spring baths) last night was the best and I plan to go back tonight 🙂 Tomorrow heading back to Tokyo and have a shoot planned, visit a mini pig cafe, and a snake cafe too!
Happy Easter by the way and wish you a fabulous weekend. 🙂
Happy being back to blonde. Angel came over and decolored the yellow out of my hair and fixed the roots.
On Tuesday I finally had my class in lighting. The school has a smaller studio where we practiced. Started basic and then got to experiment a little. Scheduled another class for lighting when I’m back from Japan 🙂
Then experimented some more at home. Not really, I just have crappy lights for my homemade content hahhaaaa…
Saw Tatiana on Thursday for my second session of NCTF. When I’m there waiting for the numbing cream to kick in, hugging the support piggy and complaining about my under-eye wrinkles, she goes to her cabinet and pulls out a package. It’s called Aqu Lift and one of these packages has 5 needles with threads. I had one package done for each eye. Crazy looking and thank god for the numbing cream!!!
I had to film it because I thought it was so freaky looking, so if you have a needle fetish, here you go 🙂
To top it all off she did the NCTF using my face like a punchingbag for needles and covering my face in a blood red mask hahhaaaa…
I also had the permanent cap put in by the dentist. If you ever consider dentistry work or injections, come to Mexico. It’s so much cheaper and as long as you go to a well reviewed place, you can save a lot of dinero! If I move back to USA, I will come back here and fix everything that’s broken 🙂
Now you’re going to get my best tip of the week – fast and delicious apple pie. I made it twice this week and I changed out the brown sugar to coconut sugar. It’s so delicious, you only need the ready pastry dough, apples, sugar, cinnamon, butter and egg. It doesn’t look so good here in the pic, but trust me, make double portions right away 🙂 You’ll find the recipe and instructions here – https://natashaskitchen.com/apple-cinnamon-slab-pie/
Too much apple pie and Dayana convinced me to go out to Santa Fe on Friday and do a class of booty & abs with her at the Commando gym. Checking the results after. Dayana passes but I need like 100 more booty classes!
A very cool barista I know here got this awesome tattoo because she also loves magical mushrooms!
Hunter says hi and has found his new spot. Can you find him?
I’ve cleared that spot for him now, and of course he hasn’t used it since. Maybe it was more comfortable with all the chargers and cables there…
Here we compete for the title ‘Best Double Chin” in this pic… He loves half-laying on my belly when we go to bed, then he starts to fall asleep and sliding down. By some automatic reaction his claws come out to try to hold him in place. Worst idea ever, but what Hunter wants, Hunter gets.
I just finished shooting my Swedish friend Sanna who’s an artist. We got to use a studio and I got to practice my photography skills. We shot a lot of cool stuff. Just have to go through them before I show you 🙂 Here’s just a screenshot of from my IG story.
By accident this morning, I realized that my flight to Japan is tomorrow night and not on Tuesday night! Got to head home and wash & pack. Julieta is coming over to live with Hunter and make sure his needs are catered for like the king he believes he is hahahahaa..
