Business Trip: Part 4

So, fair warning, this post has little to no reference to Paleo, besides the fact that I tried to stay Paleo while I was in Scotland. But I imagine that you might enjoy some photos...

Wednesday night after I got back from my work meetings, I signed up to go on the Rabbies: Oban, Glencoe, West Highland Lochs & Castles Day Tour on Thursday. I was debating between that one, the Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond National Park & Whisky Tour on Thursday or Friday, and Lochs, Glens, Wallace Monument & Whisky Day Tour on Friday. I ended up picking the Oban one because I figured that it would be better for me to spend the day in Glasgow on Friday since I was flying back early on Saturday, and because I've been to Stirling Castle three times already. I would have liked to go to a whisky distillery, even though I don't actually drink whisky (it's much too strong for me). I went to Oban with my choir when I was 12, as well as Loch Lomond. I've also previously driven through Glencoe when I went to Scotland with SD a couple summers ago and did the Haggis Adventures: Island Explorer tour. As a side note... apparently the restaurant at which my choir ate dinner during my first Scotland trip was burned down in a fire a couple years ago (Oban Times: McTavish's Kitchens).

The tour started at 9:00 from George Square. We stopped by Loch Lomond, the Rest and Be Thankful Stop, and Loch Fyne on the way to Inverary, where we saw the Duke of Argyll's castle.

We were supposed to go to Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe after that, but it was closed off by the police because a person had gone missing in the area and the police divers were in the Loch. Instead, the tour guide took us to St. Conan's Kirk. The Kirk was interesting because it was designed and built by Walter Douglas Campbell because his mother wanted to attend a church that was closer to her because the drive to the closest church was too far for her liking. Because Campbell designed the architecture himself, it's a bit eclectic  There's different styles combined together and there's even grape decorations on the roof of the cloister (despite the fact that grapes don't grow in the area). All I have to say for the matter is that I'm glad I don't go to church there. It was very cold inside and we could see our breath while we explored inside.

We ate a late lunch of fish and chips in Oban (so not paleo) and then stopped for a bit to take photos of Castle Stalker, which is a castle on it's own little island. We didn't stay for long because the rain was starting at that point. 

Castle Stalker

From there, we drove on/through Glencoe. Parts of Harry Potter and the recent James Bond movie were filmed in this area. I took lots of pictures of mountains during our short breaks (the rain got a bit heavier before it eventually turned into snow).

After a couple more hours of driving we got back to Glasgow around 19:00. I promptly headed back to my hotel, dropped off some things, and then went across the street from my hotel to a Wetherspoon (chain-pub/restaurant). It was jam-packed, and I realized that while I'm okay with sitting in a not so busy pub by myself, sitting alone in a very crowded pub is not my thing. So I walked over to The Piper on the Square, located at the southeast corner of Glasgow, right across the street from City Council. From what my friend told me and from what I gathered when I went there, it's a bit of a locals pub. The bartenders know the names and usual drink orders of most of the people that come in. They were hosting their first ever open mic night, which mainly consisted on one of the waitresses and one guy singing, so it was basically like karaoke. I had a couple Magners ciders there and talked to a couple people that had come in. Apparently they heard my Southern accent (yes mom and dad, according to everyone but us, I have a Southern accent) while I ordered a drink and wanted to talk to me more because I am American. Fun times.

Business Trip: Part 3

On my second full day in Glasgow, my friend asked me what I wanted to eat for lunch. I replied with “salad,” and he was at a loss for where to go to get a good salad. He even googled “Glasgow salad” to see what would pop up. The first search result was Urban Dictionary, which defined a Glasgow salad as chips (French fries for you Americans). So, we ended up going to an Italian restaurant, where I had a bowl of soup and chicken, and got worried looks by the waiters for not clearing my plate. We then took the subway from Buchanan Street to the Kelvinbridge stop, meaning we ended up in West End, the “posh” neighborhood. We went on one of the free tours of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

and walked past the University of Glasgow on the left (oh, how I wish the architecture of Georgia Tech were as cool). We ended up on Ashton Lane, where our first bar stop was Vodka Wodka, where I read truth while watching a rugby match.

We then had a few pints of cider at Ubiquitous Chip

and made a friend who was probably as in love with America as I am with Scotland. We finished up the trip to West End and Ashton Lane at The Wee Curry Shop where I ate more non-Paleo foods, and found a Glasgow specialty: Haggis Pakora.

After a stop back at the hotel, we headed to the opposite side of town to Calum’s friend’s house so that we could watch the superbowl. Yeah, apparently the Scots like some American football, too. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the couple whose house we invaded had lived in the US for a while, and Calum grew up in Texas… Anyways, we finally made it back to the city center around 4 a.m. Obviously, I had a late start the next day. We stopped at Elia Greek Restaurant for lunch, during which Calum and I continued to discuss how my diet is not well suited for Glasgow foods. Alas, it is so true. But, I’d say most of the world has not learned how to be Paleo-friendly either. So maybe we’ll call it a draw.

That afternoon, I checked into a new hotel, Radisson Blu, and then walked back toward Glasgow Cathedral to visit the Necropolis. I walked around taking photos there for a couple hours before heading back to my hotel.

On my way back to the hotel, it started sleeting on me. Since I walked around constantly with my winter ski jacket, I survived just fine, but it was a bit of a shock to my Texas system. After changing shoes at the hotel, I walked back to George Square through the snow and had a pint at The Piper on the Square (go there!), before walking down the street and eating dinner at Jamie’s Italian.

The snow!

After dinner, I walked outside to more snow. And I finished up the evening going over notes for my meeting the following morning.

Business Trip - Part 2

Before I start in on Glasgow again, I just want to point out that in the first 48 hours of not watching Netflix, I read two books (the first book I read was ~300 pages and the second is ~350 pages), reorganized my closet by color and sleeve length, and played with my hair, eventually giving myself blue hair. Well, blue streaks in my hair. I also went to crew practice, met up with a friend for a few hours to discuss upcoming travel plans, took a nap, went to a horse race, and went for drinks with friends twice. This past weekend I also went to a Flogging Molly concert. It was incredible. Go if you have the chance!

Speaking of Celtic things... back to Glasgow!

My flight to Heathrow arrived at 7:35 a.m. on Saturday, Feb 2, which gave me an hour and a half to make my way through customs and through security, and get to the next gate before that took off at 8:55. Again, a bright side of flying business class is that your ticket gets a "FastTrack" note which means you get to skip the giant lines. For those of you who have missed connecting flights because of a late arrival of the first leg of your journey, you know what a blessing this is. Anyways, I got through with enough time to wander around the massive Terminal 5. Weird thing about the UK: When you buy anything (water, newspaper, candy) from one of the stores, you have to give them your ticket/flight number. Strange.

The flight from London to Glasgow is pretty short, so we landed in Glasgow around 10:20 a.m. British Airways did provide us with breakfast of sliced bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and a roll.  Overall, a pretty greasy breakfast, but hey, it's better than a pack of peanuts or pretzels. Even though I was tired, I was planning on dropping off my stuff at Millennium Hotel...

... and then heading out for some sightseeing before my friend Calum arrived in town to show me around the city where he went to university. Unfortunately, by the time I checked into my hotel around 11, I was exhausted. So, I ended up sleeping for 2.5 hours. It took a while to get moving again, so it was 2:30 p.m. by the time I left the hotel and walked the half-mile to Glasgow Cathedral.

After spending an hour or so looking around, I walked back to my hotel just in time for my friend to meet up with me there. We had an early dinner at The Living Room, where I had the special: Teriyaki Salmon, which did come with some greens. After dinner, I went skipping down the street (because I was excited about being in Glasgow), while Calum rolled his eyes at me. We took a taxi from Central Station to McPhabbs, where Calum's uni friend, Colin, works. There, I got to indulge in my favorite cider (Kopparberg), and share a plate of haggis, neeps, and tatties. Haggis is yummy, but I recommend not looking into the ingredients if you really want to enjoy it. Also... not Paleo thanks to the oatmeal that it contains. After a little while, we walked over to The Park Bar, where we chatted with Calum's cousin Calum... about his uncle Calum, while drinking cider. Anyone else recognize a common theme here?

If you go to Glasgow, I strongly recommend going to The Park Bar. There's live music (including bagpipes and accordian) and friendly patrons.

We ended the evening with a munchy box, which is apparently a popular late-night post-drinking snack in Glasgow. And yes, it was actually called a "Munchy Box." Not Paleo-friendly, except for maybe the meat, but even that is a stretch. I ate part of it anyways. Because nothing's worse than waking up on vacation hungover, and getting some food into your system is a good idea.

Let me summarize:

Breakfast - somewhat Paleo

Lunch - what lunch? oh, you mean sleep... yeah, that was Paleo

Dinner - partially Paleo

post-Dinner haggis - maybe Paleo

post-drinking snack - definitely not Paleo

Paleo fail. Of my food choices, I went for the most reasonable Paleo option without being super demanding of hold this and that... And really, all you can ask for when you're traveling Paleo is to do your best. Now, if you're celiac or have a food allergy, obviously you can find stuff because you'll be much more careful, but for me, I figured, while in Rome Glasgow... So, with the happiness from being in Scotland, I tolerated my gluten headaches and upset stomach from dairy.

Business Trip - Part one - Flying

Last week I was on a business trip to Glasgow, Scotland. I had meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I flew out early and stayed late in order to do some sightseeing while in Glasgow. Anyways, let me give you the timeline of the past month. The week after I got back from Jamaica, one of the engineers that I work with suggested that I go with him to Glasgow for a meeting. He had seen my comments/questions on one of the sets of documents and thought it would be beneficial for me to go talk to our vendor in person. Early the next week (Jan 15) I sent in my travel authorization request form and waited to see if it would get approved, though I was not expecting that it would.

On the afternoon of Monday, January 28th, my supervisor told me that my travel authorization was going to be approved. By mid-morning on Tuesday, I got the official approved travel authorization saying that I would leave on Sunday, Feb 3, and return on Thursday, Feb 7. My company's travel agent started getting my travel plans made, but on Wednesday afternoon, one of the women handling my trip arrangements asked why I wasn't extending my trip to do sightseeing. So, I asked if I could extend the trip, leaving on Friday, Feb 1, and return on Saturday, Feb 9, and of course paying for myself on those days that I had extended the trip. On Thursday morning, the travel agent booked the flights and made hotel reservations for me. On Thursday afternoon, the updated travel authorization was approved.

On Friday afternoon, I got on a flight to Heathrow. My company has a policy that if your flight is more than 10 hours long, you fly business class. Fortunately, my flight time was close to 12 hours total. What this means, is that I got to sit in the British Airways lounge before my first flight (which comes equipped with chips, cookies, small sandwiches, beer, wine, and other spirits and mixers). This also means that my seat on the plane was one of those flat bed types. It was AWESOME! I was seated toward the center of the plane and my seat faced backward. The aisle seats faced forward and the window and center seats faced backward, which means that I actually had a seat buddy. He was originally from Amsterdam and was very interesting to talk to. And boy was he a talker! We talked for about 5 hours about engineering and shipping before I finally said that I needed to get some sleep. After less than two hours of sleep I was awake again, though I managed to sleep through breakfast.

Saturday morning UK time, I arrived in London, rushed through customs, and hopped on a plane to Glasgow. Another benefit of traveling business class is that you get to use the Fast Track lane. I landed in Glasgow around 10:20 am (6:20 am CST), and headed off to my first hotel, the Millennium Hotel, located on George Square (toward the center of town).

One thing that wasn't so great about traveling business class though is that it was difficult to stay Paleo. The foods that were available in the lounge at the airport were primarily breads and pastas, though they did have some celery and carrots that I managed to get (the gentlemen sitting in a chair across from me commented on how I made him feel bad about his food choices because he went for the pastas and cookies, while I chowed down on "rabbit food"). Also, the food on the plane came with bread, creamy sauces, and cheese. I ate around these non-Paleo choices as much as I could, but I can guarantee you that the oils that they used for cooking were not Paleo. Also, when you're traveling and tired, it's very difficult to have the will power to make those healthy food choices.

So, what I recommend for you travelers out there, is to come prepared with snacks (I had mixed up a Ziploc bag of pistachios, coconut flakes, raw cashews, raw almonds, and walnuts to hold off my food cravings). Also, if you're traveling on a flight where you will be served a meal, get onto the airline's website and see if you can request a special meal. British Airways does have options for gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, kosher, Muslim, etc. meals, though for this particular flight, I did not have the option to order a gluten-free meal. Staying Paleo while traveling is all about being prepared. It's tough though, and I admit that I didn't stay strong for the entire time I was in Scotland, but that will come later...

Whole 30 - Thanksgiving

So my family really likes Crock-pots. We're from the Midwest... it's a thing. We love us some Crock-pots.

And here's my Thanksgiving plate: Turkey, ham, mashed cauliflower, and roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon. And I drank chamomile tea almost constantly for the last few days.

Shortly after eating, my cold took over and I fell asleep on the couch, with my head on my father's shoulder while watching a football game. He fell asleep, too. And his snoring woke me up. Thanksgiving Day was not a good one for my cold. But tea made my throat feel better.

On Friday, my family celebrates Christmas (a.k.a. Thankmas). My uncle's family (kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren) all gather for Thanksgiving, and it makes more sense for them to celebrate Christmas at the same time so that they don't have to travel to the same place twice within a month. Starting Thursday night, Thanksgiving decorations start getting switched out for Christmas ones. And on Friday, we go for Scandinavian foods, like pickled herring and Swedish meatballs. Though I didn't eat the meatballs, because they come in a cream-based sauce. It was killing me, trust me. I love Swedish meatballs. They're delicious!

Whole 30 - Traveling

Today was an exceptionally early start for me, with not a lot of sleep on top of that. This morning, my alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. Even for me that's an early wake-up call. But I needed that time in order to get showered, dressed, and well-fed before heading off to the airport. In the past, when I traveled early in the morning, I would skip breakfast at home and just grab something at the airport. However, with Paleo, airport food isn't always an option. Travel can be a daunting task for Paleo-ites. As I sit at my gate waiting for my flight, I see a wall of sugary processed foods at the nearby news stand, a Starbucks full of sugary drinks and grain-based snacks, and a Proof-of-the-Pudding full of to-go wraps, yogurts, bags of chips, and salads with lots of cheesy toppings. But what are most prevalent at airports? Fast-food restaurants - a Paleo nightmare.

The Atlanta airport is a rockin' airport. It's massive and if you have the time, you can check out the different terminals for their food options. I had an almost 4-hour layover today, so I came into Terminal B, walked the entire terminal, then walked to C and walked up and down that terminal before proceeding to Terminal F (the airport's new international terminal) and walking both levels of that as well. I then walked back to D, walked around D, and came back to B for lunch.

Here's a couple shots of Terminal F: 

Here's some of the places to eat at the various terminals: Terminal has a TGIF and Cafe Intermezzo. Terminal D is undergoing some construction. Terminal E has fast-foot restaurants as well as a fancier-looking restaurant with a sushi bar. Terminal F has a Pei Wei, El Taco, The Varsity, and Pecan Grille. (For the life of me I can't remember what was at Terminal C.) Of these, I recommend Cafe Intermezzo. I got an Almond Avocado Salad ("avocados, mandarin oranges, diced cucumbers, red peppers and toasted almonds on mixed greens with orange vinaigrette dressing").

The key to Paleo traveling is being prepared. Most airports have the available dining options posted online so you can check out what will work for you. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int'l Airport has this site which lets you search by terminal. And if you know you won't have time while you're at the airport to grab something, prep some snacks or a meal the day before. For instance, last night I mixed up a Ziploc bag of raw almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and hazelnuts as a snack if I needed it. I also brought along two apples, a banana, and Lärabars. I ended up not needing it while traveling, but at least I came with food so that I didn't have to resort to going hungry or succumbing to unhealthy airport fares. And the nuts came in handy for adding some more variety to my salad during dinner with the family.

The Return of the Gitta

I've managed to escape the clutches of my parents and the city of Portland. In other words, I was on vacation last week to the city of Portland. My dad was in Portland for a National Academy of Kinesiology conference, so my mom and I tagged along to see a new city and do some sightseeing. (Kinesiology is the basically study of human movement, in case you were wondering.)

So I'm sure you've been wondering what happened to me... I'm usually so good about posting each weekday, and I failed that pretty badly this past week. I guess could have posted using my handy-dandy smart phone app, but texting a post using my thumbs didn't appeal to me. I type much faster. So here's a brief start to my Portland trip...

On my way to the airport, I got stuck behind a truck with the bumper sticker: Please drive naked. I found it amusing. Maybe you don't. Either way, I don't suggest trying that anytime soon.

My airplane snack food/lunch consisted of beef jerky, which is always a handy stand-by when you're Paleo-on-the-go. I fell asleep for take-off. This ended up being a good thing, because I slept through the ear pain that I usually get from airplane take-offs and landings. watched Battleship on the plane and studied for the FE exam. Studying = un-fun. On the happy side, we made it to Portland in one piece!

We stayed at the Hotel Monaco, which wins points for leaving a teddy bear in the room (see below). They also get points because they host a daily happy hour with free wine and beer tasting, which my parents and I hit up before we even went into our hotel room. They set up a Wii for people to play Mario Kart, as well as an easel and paint for attendees to explore they're more creative side. We were there for four nights and I was the only person who made use of the painting or the Wii. So what, I played video games like a kid while drinking wine. I'm cool with it. And do you want to know what's even better than all that? They host a Thursday morning run at 6am! Not many hotels do that. So I woke up at 5:45am on Thursday, stumbled into my workout clothes and running shoes, and made my way to the front desk where I was greeted by my running guide/chief engineer of the hotel. It was about 50F outside for our run, and it was a bit of a shock from the Texas heat that I'm used to, but vastly preferred. We ran down to the river front, along the river, and then across one of the numerous bridges to check out the other side, before looping back to make up a 3.7-mile loop. It felt good (I haven't been doing more than 2.5 miles without taking a break - I blame the 90-degree heat)! My hamstrings didn't quite agree that it felt good, but  it was a great way to start the day off before walking lots and lots while sight-seeing.

Picture taken while standing in our sitting room!

Nick at the front desk recommended that we try out Jake's Grill (park of McCormick and Schmick's) for a good steak, so that's where we went our first night so I could get: The Queen Bee (made with lemon and honey) and steak. Yum.

The Queen Bee