Taming the Beaded Beast

Lately, I've been packing a 'bag-o-beads' with me whenever I am away for the weekend or on vacation. I find that there is always downtime. Whether that is a lazy morning with a cup of tea or late afternoon waiting for the family to assemble for the evening. That is the perfect time for me to get lost in stitching. Just feeling the beads in my hands and relaxing.

On my recent trip to Mexico I was practicing a Cellini spiral (or as I like to call it a Bernini). There is something freeing about a stitch that has troubled you for so long; when something just clicks and it feels like you've unlocked its secrets. For this one, once I realized it was just a simple peyote stitch it no longer seemed so complicated. After I had the first couple of rows in place, I would just slip a pencil or thin pen into the center of the beadwork and follow the peyote around in a circle. 

There was one other thing that saved me many times from pulling out the beadwork. Because this is a twisted pattern (yes in oh so many ways) you can lose count on what bead size or color comes next. Just remember that the bead you are coming out of is the bead you are adding next. After that, it became a lazy stitch in my hands.

In Memoriam :: Carrie Fisher

This is a blog post from 3 years ago that I'm reposting. I think Carrie would have enjoyed this one given her sense of humor. If you want a good laugh check out a recent interview with her and her dog Gary.

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Christine's Rolling Blog Hop is, well... hopp'n! I posted two of my spools 2 weeks ago, and I was waiting for a lull to post my third spool reveal. But looks like I'm going to need to squeeze back in.

The posts are just roll'n in, and we've seen some fantastic designs! I have all the links to everyone's reveals so far at the end of this post so you can check them all out.    

For my third design, I was working with this large, more irregular shaped spool. I did struggle just a bit with it trying to figure out what direction I wanted the design of the spool to be until I remembered an image I saw of a young Native American girl. She had beautiful dark hair tied up on either side in what is called a "Squash Blossom" style. The hairstyle is a Hopi custom which represents the sign of a girl's marriageability. The young girl will twist her hair in the shape of squash blossoms, which is the sign of fertility for an unmarried girl in the tribe. 

I wanted natural colors and fibers in this piece, so I used a linen colored silk from Darn Good Yarn, a mix of seed beads, Czech beads and howlite. I am loving this howlite stone with native designs. It has subtle tan-cream veining throughout the stone, which gives it a natural look. I also stained the spool so it had a deep color. The focal is long (6 inches!) and has a good weight to it. I envision it being worn waist length.

Ok, I know this is an irreverent move on my part, but once I started putting this blog post together I simply could not get an image out of my head. Is it just me? or do those squash blossom twists remind you of Princess Leia in Star Wars... I always thought of her hair as more of a Danish pastry swirl, but maybe that is just the recollection from the Ross and Rachel scene in Friends. Once I started googling images, both the Native American girl and Princess Leia kept coming up together. It was all over for me; the image stuck. The one I can't get out of my head is Nicolas Cage dressed like Princess Leia ... that is one that cannot be unseen... Gah!

We're almost through the rolling blog hop! Check out all the links and projects already revealed. Our host: Christine (Christine's post), and all the rest of the rolling bloggers: 
Janet (Janet's post), Hope (Hope's post), Bobbie (Bobbie's post), Tanya (Tanya's post), Maryanne (Maryanne's post), Cynthia (my first post), Liz (Liz's post), Lisa (Lisa's post), Kim (Kim's post), and the bloggers still to post: Therese (Therese's post), Karin (Karin's post) and Erin (Erin's post)

One Man's Trash

Anne at Summer Camp

One man (or woman)'s trash can be another man's treasure. And so it goes with this necklace. Last summer Anne was away at camp and one of her cabin mates was about to throw out a string of wooden beads claiming "what will I do with these? no one wants these do they?" Anne jumped into action "I bet my mom could do something with those." 

That's my girl! She stuck them in her duffel and handed them to me a few weeks later. Only to sit in my stash for awhile, but then I remembered I had this amazing wooden bib piece with a hand painted henna pattern on it from Summer Wind. When I bought it I had absolutely no idea what I might do with it, but when I put the string of beads up next to it, it was as if they were made for each other. I love when that happens.

Relaxing the Soul

Sometimes you just need to sit and weave. It relaxes the soul. 

I started this pattern with a pile of blue iridescent seed beads sitting in front of me. My hands just went to work in a methodical RAW pattern. After several rows, I decided to add a band of gold, but then went back to that deep blue. Honestly I had no final piece in mind, and just let my hands work quietly.

Once I had enough for a bracelet, it sat off to the side of my bead table. It was there for several weeks before I realized ... oh this really should sit on top of a worn-in denim cuff. Then it all fell into place. 

Funny how sometimes you can get lost in the moment of life and only after letting things sit for awhile can you see from a broader perspective. From an angle that helps you see what it was meant to be. 

Stone Cabochon Series :: #8

The one thing about blogging that I always find so interesting is that it keeps me curious, and pushes me to learn something new. And so it goes with this stone. This is a banded calcite stone that I purchased from Hampton Rock Shop. I love the stripes in this piece; it reminds me of the rock formations in Monument Valley. 

When I did a little background on calcite I found out that this type of stone forms in a globular shape from a precipice where calcium-rich water is flowing. Such as inside a cavern or off a limestone cliff. Some people classify these as just 'rocks' because of the impurities that tend to get trapped in the stone such as leaves, twigs and moss. Just rocks. Well I find the impurities the most interesting part of the 'rock' design. Impurities are what make life more interesting.

A Weekend In Vienna

Rathaus at night

Ah Vienna. What a beautiful, beautiful city. Last year at this time Dave and I were traveling through central Europe and spent a weekend in Vienna. We absolutely fell in love with its old world charm, touches of Bohemia, coffee houses, architecture, glorious statues everywhere (previous post) and endless gardens. One weekend was not enough and I am sure we'll be back to visit.

We spent our first evening in the old city center at an outside film festival in the Rathaus Square. We slid in to the audience with the locals and enjoyed the city through their eyes. Something that I just love to do. 

The following day we got up early to explore the city and returned to find a jazz festival back at the gardens that surround the Rathaus. There was a light rain, but no one cared. We grabbed a late lunch and a table under an umbrella and sat back to listen and enjoy the music. We were there all afternoon and into the evening just listening to great music, sampling local food, wine and beer. One of things about the places we visited last summer was that at the heart of so many of the cities it wasn't an endless tourist trap full of souvenir shops. It was a place that the locals still enjoyed themselves. As much as I love to travel, I absolutely hate feeling like a tourist. 

Each morning we found another one of the coffee houses of Vienna to try with my favorite being Cafe Mozart. We tried the more famous Cafe Central, but it was absolutely over run with tourists. Cafe Mozart was the right blend of tradition, amazing food, perfectly steeped tea and a current newspaper in English. Exactly how I wanted to spend Sunday morning. After breakfast we took off for more walking through the side streets of Vienna. Anyone who follows me on Pinterest knows I'm slightly obsessed with doors. The older the better for me. I love how they capture history and architectural beauty. 

We ended our weekend with a walk through the gardens of Schonbrunn Park and a tour of the palace. Hard to believe anyone lived this way, but leave it to the Habsburgs. The grounds were originally created as a fenced hunting grounds, and a little hunting lodge Palace was built as an addition to the original mansion. Seriously, click the link and check out how expansive this place is. The shaded walking gardens were beautiful and a welcomed relief in the heat of summer. We spent quite a bit of time strolling through them as we waited our turn to tour the palace. It was redecorated in the 1740s in a Neoclassical style with plenty of ornate gilding. Not really my style, and I would have been happy to just keep wandering the park for the afternoon. 

We loved our time in Vienna and have since talked about returning and spending more like a month to explore the city as there is just so much to see and do in this beautiful place. For the rest of photos from the weekend you can see them over on my Pinterest.

Summer Design Series :: RAW Crystals

RAW. A stitch I don't use very often. but sometimes it can be just the right texture and rhythm for the beads. 

These are a gun metal color of crystals that I got from ZnetShows and I absolutely love them. I used a variation on the stitch to include two smaller beads (size 16) to each crystal and it created a beautiful, simple bracelet band. 

I added a slide clasp and silver charm with the tree of life. Which I think looks quite nice as the focal to the bracelet. This piece was the last one I made. And so it was just a tad late, and isn't shown in the recent Spark Magazine. But I thought you all might like to see just one more design as I finish out my Summer Design Series.

Summer Design Series :: Rustic Boho

I love this dress that Kate's wearing in this second photo session. But then I did pick it out on a recent shopping trip into NYC. She slipped it on, and It fit her perfectly. So there you go.

We were a good hour into our session, and Kate starting to wonder if I was ever going to stop asking her to put yet another pair of earrings into her ears. You'd be surprised how sore your ear can get after a few 20 times or so of this. So can't say I blame her for wanting to switch to bracelets.

After I made the multi-strand necklace I posted a few weeks back, I had just two yellow sea glass nuggets left sitting there on the bead table. I always hate to leave bead orphans in a bowl just waiting to be used in some other piece. So I went on the hunt through my stash. I've been trying very hard to use up my beads vs. running out to buy more beads. I found these sweet lotus charms and decided to pair them with more crystals and a touch of leather. The look gave me a nice, light weight rustic boho pair of earrings.

Summer Design Series :: Oranges of Summer

I love this carnelian orange color. It reminds me of those deep colors of late summer and fall. I guess some would call this 'burnt' orange, or even tangerine which is what ZnetShows calls these tube beads of sea glass.

The thing about color (at least for me) is all in how you pair it. Sometimes you need to give a vibrant color a little breathing room. So when I paired it with some hematite and gun metal colored crystals I noticed that it seemed to deepen the orange color and create a very rich combination. Where black might have been striking, the grey was rich. It does really pop paired with Kate's pale blue boho dress.

This is the last multi-strand necklace that I created for this summer design series. All of these necklaces were the same pattern, but I changed up the colors and textures between ribbon, leather and beaded accents. Funny how just a small adjustment can seemingly create a whole new look.

Summer Design Series :: Water Dance

Of all the pieces I made for this series I believe these earrings are my favorite. I have had these silver twist connectors for years, but have never been able to find the right use for them. But for some reason when I saw these gorgeous little crystals in a color called 'lake blue' I knew exactly what I was going to do! I could just see them set as cluster drops for these earrings. 

They are perfect, long and dangling earrings for summer that are feather-light to wear. They like to twist in the wind. And when the light catches them they sparkle like the sun dancing across the water. 

I made two pair of these which are both featured in the recent version of Spark Magazine. The other pair have single crystal drops vs. these that are in clusters. 

Along the Saugatuck

Saugatuck River at Westport, CT

Kate and I have been working our way through photographing my growing pile of jewelry. We took a stroll down by the Saugatuck River near the downtown area of our little New England town. There is a wonderful wooden walk way that runs out into the tall grass that grows in the upper marshes of the river. 

It was a gorgeous day, and perfect to get our photography started. I still have quite a lot to photograph, but at least we're putting a dent in it!









This photo of Kate features a piece I've already shown on the blog back in April. It's a simple long, boho necklace with a bit of leather fringe. I do so love fringe in jewelry.

Through the winter I was trying to get my mojo back and started out slowly with some classic beading stitches that just felt good in my hands. I had swatches of beaded patterns all over the place with no clasps or closure. Yes, you can read closure anyway you like here. But sometime in the late spring my mojo sheepishly arrived and I started completing one piece after another. The simplicity of the patterns and closure to the project felt good. 

But my blogging muse was still on vacation somewhere North of the border. As you can see I've got posts stacked up and rolling out at this point. Perhaps my blogging partner has also decided to arrive; even if a bit late to the party.

It's a Snow Globe World

It is that time of year when we dream of warm weather while staring out the window at a snow globe world.

It's snowing through much of the Eastern US including my little corner of New England. 

As pretty as the world looks covered in a blanket of white, I dread what comes next. Shoveling out.

I'm not sure exactly why but I've been quiet lately. I haven't been blogging, but I've tried to make it over to people's blogs. I think I'm in a reflective mood this year. Looking back to assess and forward to adjust. But sometimes life just happens, and all you can do is try to find the calm in the storm. I have been looking for that dead spot.

I know I haven't posted many new projects lately. That is because there isn't much jewelry making going on at my house except for this set I made for a friend who loves beach glass. She apparently is obsessed with it, and particularly multi-colored. I don't do blaring colors very well and decided to go with a classic soft green with pearl accent. I found some patterned leather that gives it a bit of flare. I hope she enjoys the set.

Dinner with a View

Karlovy Vary at dusk

Rooftop Seating at Karel IV

I have but a few pictures left to share from our trip this past summer. This set is one of my favorites. It was one of our last nights of the trip and we spent it having dinner at Karel IV, a restaurant with a view over the town of Karlovy Vary. 

This amazing little place was nestled in the rooftops just a few steps from our hotel. It had absolutely stunning views of the old architecture surrounding us.

I caught a picture of an older couple sitting off to our right who were seemingly within arms reach of the onion dome and its shingled roof next door. The closeness of the buildings was something that was just so different for me. You could tell that the layout of this town was old. Built well before you needed all that space for cars in a town center.

Local Band at Karel IV

While the food was amazing, and the views spectacular, my favorite part was the music. A local band was playing that was clearly well known .... well, to the locals. We arrived just as the sun was setting and the restaurant was nearly empty. We enjoyed a drink, listened to the band and watched the sun set. Before long we noticed the place was full and hopping with locals and travelers.

Playing classic Russian songs

Early in their set we heard the riff on the electric keyboard and looked at each other. It sounded familiar, but couldn't quite place it. A few more bars and we were humming along. Yes, it was absolutely familiar. Then when the main melody started we both said at the same time "Oh! I think this is Santana." Oh yes it was. Black Magic Woman sung with a heavy (and I mean heavy) Czech accent. It was awesomeness.

They played for hours with a mix of classic old rock to traditional Eastern European songs to ones I can only assume were classic Russian. The table next to us were clearly a group of Russian ladies who knew all the songs and were singing along quite freely. They were very intent on getting a picture with the violinist who was in the middle of one of these Russian songs. The ladies kept pulling at him to get closer. Poor guy. He was trying to sing, play the violin and appease these ladies. Bending closer, and closer ... as they tugged at him to bend down into the picture. He didn't miss a beat! 

They Are Watching

Karlovy Vary Spa, Czech Republic

Vienna City Center Skyline

Today is Friday the 13th, and a great date to post on this theme on 'the watchers.' Here is a fun fact, my mom was born on Friday the 13th, not in November, but in January. I actually never knew that until after she passed. Not sure why? But she never mentioned it. It was my dad that said something a few years ago with just a hint of a raised eyebrow as if to say 'well you know why she wouldn't want to talk about it.' Hmmm, actually I'm not in the least bit superstitious. I find the concept to be a complete waste of time. One of my girlfriends growing up had a habit of not wanting to walk on either side of a pole. So if for some reason we got out of the car and I was on one side of the parking meter with her on the other, she'd come around to my side and say 'bread and butter." Can someone please explain what exactly that corrects in the world of superstition?

So the watchers. We found statues everywhere we went in Europe, but one of the most curious places was on top of buildings? They appeared to be teetering on the edge of the roof, as though they might take one more step and come tumbling down? We saw them all throughout our trip. We saw them in every country we were in. We saw them on top of buildings, on the front of them, above the doorways, on the sides, between windows. They seem to be a very common architectural design.

Vienna

Austrian Parliament Building

I went in search of why exactly they would be so popular. The best answer I got was that during the Middle Ages as churches were being built statuary became a popular architectural design element. They used the buildings themselves as a canvas for a range of subjects from complex theological ideas to biblical tales to whimsical creatures. And I would say we saw all of this from the building in Rothenburg with the seven deadly sins in the facade, the castles of Bavaria, many of the buildings in the old center of Vienna, to the spa in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. They were simply everywhere.

The one in Rothenburg took over the entire front of the building called Baumeisterhaus or the Master-Builder's House. The facade includes the seven virtues (kindheartedness, motherliness, gentleness, temperance, courage, justice and wisdom - yes I had to look that up) as well as the seven deadly sins (gluttony, deception, falsehood, greed, lust, sloth and vanity - yes also looked this up). Gotta love a good medieval statue series to play out a few biblical stories. Particularly when it is now on the front of a restaurant to remind you of the sin of gluttony before you walk in the front door?

Baumeisterhaus

You can see the influence of Romans and Greeks in many of the statues, particularly in Vienna. Ah, Vienna. I believe it was my favorite city of the trip. It has such style, elegance and beauty. Dave and I absolutely fell in love with this city. I captured just a small sample of all the statues like this random blue Greek God (perhaps Hercules?) on a corner building, or like the Caryatid Pillars on a side entrance of the Austrian Parliament building. Vienna is a city of statues, and they were stunning.

The picture at the top of the post is one of the 12 statues representing the months of the year, which sit on top of the Mill Colonnade in central Karlovy Vary. You can read more background on the town in one of my previous posts. So why 12 statues representing months? I have no idea. None of the history to the town told me why the architect (Josef Zitek who also designed Prague's National Theater) decided to include them. Zitek was known for his Neo-Renaissance style; popular in the 19th Century throughout Europe for important public buildings like opera houses, theaters and palaces. Sometimes my study of history gives me the answers I'm looking for, and sometimes it doesn't. I don't think I really got a straight answer on all these watchers, but I did really love seeing and photographing them.

Slovakia :: Visiting Family

Bratislavský hrad (Bratislava Castle)

One of the places that we were anxious to visit was Slovakia. My husband's father was Slovak, and so Dave grew up with stories of 'the old country.'  Above our fireplace is a hand carved panel of the Bratislava Castle that was given to him by his father. 

When Dave was in high school he toured Europe one summer with a group called People to People. They visited Slovakia that summer, and at the time the country was still communist. It was rather bleak and he was looking forward to seeing how much it had changed since the 80s.

After spending 8-9 days in Germany and then Austria, there was a very distinct difference as we drove to Bratislava. Only an hour away from Vienna mind you, but a world apart. I talked a bit about it a few posts back, how people in Vienna believe it is a waste of time to head East out of town. You could feel it on the roads. Driving in to Vienna (from Munich) the roads were packed and over run, but driving East to Bratislava the roads were nearly empty. And most of the license plates shifted to Romania, Hungry, Poland, Czech Republic and of course Slovakia. It quickly shifted from a feel of Western Europe to Eastern by driving that 1 hour East of Austria.

Bratislava, Slovak National Theatre

We absolutely loved our short time in Slovakia. Probably the best hotel we stayed at for the entire trip was in Bratislava. At a place called Marrol's. It was a beautiful old boutique hotel right in the heart of the old town. We stepped out onto the narrow, old cobble-stone streets, and it was like we had stepped back in time. It had such a different feel to it. Lots of cafes with street-side seating where locals were simply hanging out watching the day go by. It didn't have that Western tourism rush to buy every tsotski you could find. That was the other thing we realized once we were home that we had bought next to no souvenirs on our trip. Which I am completely good with --- my house is full enough. 

There was a wonderful local craftmans' area set up in stalls just in front of the National Theatre in Hlavne Namestie (or the main square). It is one of the only places I did buy something to bring home. I picked up a beautiful hand painted egg to hang on the Christmas tree and remember our trip. 

Family Plot Borský Svätý Jur, Slovakia

After our stay in Bratislava we headed North toward Prague. But stopped off in a small, very small little town along the main highway. The town of Borský Svätý Jur. A small village where my father-in-law's family is from. Thank God for GPS, or we would never have found this place. The village dates back to the 1300s, established around a church built in the main square. 

Borský Svätý Jur Medieval Cross

It was in disrepair, and a new one has replaced it. A highlight (as strange as this sounds) was the graveyard. You can see the medieval influences in the gravestones and statuary. It is central to town, just off the main square. And holds the stories of the families who lived in Borsky Svaty Jur through the ages. My husband was wandering through the rows, and stumbled upon the family plot. There was much excitement and snapping of pictures. The headstone is actually the plural of the family name (the ending "ovi") since husband and wife are buried here. 

I think one of the coolest things was hearing locals pronounce our last name. It has been anglicized through the generations and is no longer pronounced in the Slovak way. And while my brother-in-laws will swear it is pronounce in a guttural way (saying that is the 'old country' pronunciation), they are wrong. It actually has a much softer sound when pronounced by a local. And it was fun to see their face light up when they saw our last name on the registry, asking "oh, you are a Slovak?" You just don't get asked that every day in the US. All the rest of the Slovakia pictures are over on Pinterest including the hand painted egg.

Behind the Lens :: Hidden Architecture

Church of St. Joseph

I just could not get enough of the architecture on our trip. The buildings are magnificent. Big or small they all have so much craftsmanship packed into their design. While we spent much of our day in Prague around the main town square of the old town, we managed to wander off down some side streets and stumble upon a few hidden treasures. 

A few posts back I showed you a picture of the amazing metal door of the Church of St. Joseph decorated with filigree. This is the front of that church. Just another church, down just another side road. 

Church of St. Joseph Skylight

It was hot while we were there. Really hot. Mid to high 90s and no A/C. 

But the second I pushed open the door to the church I felt a waft of cool air rush across my face that just drew me in. 

It was a small chapel. Nothing special, no ornate alter or huge crucifix hanging from the wall. Just a simple place to find some reprieve and quiet solitude. I sat in a pew and cooled off. Looking up all I could see was this beam of soft light coming in from the narrow sky light at the top of the dome. I was truly lost in my own space and time that I didn't notice the small face a few rows up intensely staring at me. I was a complete curiosity to the young girl. I guess just as much as this old church was to me. Funny how that happens sometimes when you are so intent on things going on in your own little world that you forget to notice the effect you have on the world around you.

Slovakia :: Street Art

Cumil: The Watcher

Bratislava was a surprise for me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had heard for years how Slovakia had been depressed by Soviet control. My husband is Slovak, and visited when he was young while it was still communist. And he had painted a rather bleak view of the place.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a rather wonderful revitalization of an old world city. The split from Soviet Rule was in 1989 and called the Velvet Revolution (so named due to its peaceful separation). Four years later Czechoslovakia split again into separate countries, also known as the Velvet Divorce: where Slovakia and the Czech Republic went their separate ways. 

In the years that followed, Prague was an up and coming tourist destination and Western influence flooded into the country. Not so for Slovakia, still considered an off-the-beaten track destination. While we were in Vienna our hotel concierge gave us a quizzical look when we told him we were heading for Bratislava next. His reply was, "it'll be quick, you can see it all inside of 2 hours." I disagree, and wish we had more time while we were there. It was charming and still had its authentic character in much of the old town, the people and the shops we visited. One of the things I loved were all the quirky statues about town. There seems to have been a revival in the old town (called Korzo) to shed the greyness of the Communist era by repainting buildings and enlivening the old town with interesting sculptures.

Papparazzi

Schoner Naci

Cumil is one of the bronze statues in a series called 'Men at Work.' He is known by several names like the plumber or the watcher. The locals say that he is a symbol of a good man who is spending his time watching people and the life of Korzo. Others have more mischievous things to say about him like that he is looking up the women's skirts.

There are several other statues in the series called the Papparazzi and Schoner Naci. This last statue is the only one with a Bratislava legend. He is said to be a man named Ignac Lamar, son of a shoemaker. He was known as a gentleman wearing a black suit with tails and a top hat. He was smooth with the ladies greeting them with "I kiss your hand" in German, Hungarian and Slovak.

The thing that strikes me most about this quirky statue series is that it is a celebration of the common people who represent the country. Usually the statues are of the dictators, the scholars, the famous composers or memorials of some horror. But here in Bratislava it is the celebration of the people. And that in my book makes it unique and down right fun. I was taken with the response I saw on Lonely Planet from a local called Peter who took the time to translate and explain the meaning behind these statues. His final words were "Thank you for visiting our country." I found Bratislava to be a very friendly place to visit and worth the diversion off the beaten track.

Karlovy Vary :: The Original Spa Town

Karlovy Vary

Tepla River

I'm not sure where to start with blogging about our recent trip. I have piles of pictures and quite a few stories.

These posts are not likely to be in any sort of order, and I suspect they will not be your typical (obligatory) travel post. You all know me by now, and assume you'd be disappointed if I didn't give you a crazy side story or random musing careful observation about the places we visited. So I'll take my time and work my way through all the notes I took on the trip.

Mill Colonnade (Hubby just walking away)

Let's begin, shall we, at the end of our trip. We finished up our road trip extravaganza in a very old world, spa town called Karlovy Vary, a town known by the Germans as Karlsbad. 

The town is just over the Czech-German border in the Northwestern part of the Czech Republic in an area called Bohemia. The town was built up around a natural thermal hot springs where the Ohre and Tepla rivers come together. 

It is old, very old; founded in 1370 by the King of Bohemia and is everything Calastoga, CA hopes to be when it grows up. We used to go to Calastoga all the time when we lived in California. I loved it. We would rent a little cottage, get a massage, have a nice dinner and swim in the pool heated by the hot springs. 

But here is the thing, Calastoga will likely never hold the charm of this wonderful old world gem. Karlovy Vary is built as an original walking city like so much of the old towns we visited through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The streets are cobble stone, and cars have a very hard time navigating most places (if they are allowed). And that makes for a wonderful, leisurely place to stroll along the water, stop into shops, sample some street cafe food (or better a glass of something local). Most of California is designed to get into your car and drive off to the next destination, and you just don't get the same feel for a place unless you're elbow to elbow with the locals.

Griffin Statue

The hot springs are the main attraction and have several long colonnades built up around the springs. There is the old structure, the new one (or Mill Colonnade) and even a park colonnade that was built in the 1800s and has a Victorian feel. I spent hours walking around snapping pictures of all these Corinthian columns, to the point where you can see my husband just walking away. 

In the main building is the geyser and a row of 'taps' for people to sample the mineral water. Or as they say "drinking cures," which there are various ones depending on which source and temperature of the water you choose. Prolonged use of the cure is not recommended, and suggested that you speak with the spa doctor. Yeah, I wasn't so interested in water that needed a doctor's approval.

Karlovy Vary Cups

The ceiling over the geyser has a 'look out' to the sky above. I wonder if the geyser gushed if it would just come right out the top of the ceiling? They enclosed a room around the main geyser. It was a hot August day when we were there (at least 95 degrees) and it felt like about 115 inside. Holy cats! I just wanted someone to open a window ... please. Everyone else seemed preoccupied with taking a sip of the mineral water in these funny little tea-pot like cups. I wasn't buying. They look like some random tschotske from my grandmother's cupboard sitting next to the porcelain thimble collection. I just couldn't see bringing one of these babies home with me. But everyone else had one. We saw all kinds of people strolling around town slowing sipping on these cups as they sat on park benches or popped into one of the shops. 

We didn't see any American tourists (that we were aware of), not even British. This was an off the beaten track kind of place. Which I loved. Most of the tourists were German, Russian and local Czechs up for a few days from Prague. I felt like I really got away from all that I know back home. That is what travel means to me. Pure bliss.