We got our "Bow Chick a Wow Wow" back!

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Geo: 56.4893, 21.0116

In addition to the headache continuing, an earache has started. What's going on??? Perhaps it was Mary "accidentally" elbowing me in the head last night as we slept? Off to Liepaja. The bus stopped in a little town to pick up some more people.

It looked like some kind of county fair was taking place, but none of the rides were active. There was cheesy dance music blaring loudly - so typical of Eastern Europe! Pat and Mary Asian Circus-Sideshow Freak in the Baltics Moment #9: Like in the Axe body spray commercials, we officially have our "Bow Chick a Wow Wow" back - people are checking us out like crazy still!

We arrived in Liepaja - wow, a pretty run-down place. As we took the tram into the city centre, a local woman started asking us questions about where we were from, do we speak Latvian, do we like Latvia, etc. Not everybody treats us like complete freaks!

We got off the tram and continued walking to the hostel - the city centre is fairly nice, but it gets pretty run down as you head towards the beach. There are many abandoned and burned out houses. The hostel was pretty scary looking from the outside - until you go inside. Brand new and renovated. Until ... they took us to our room in another building - the entrance and staircase were a complete mess (unfinished renovations).

The rooms and bathrooms were actually fairly nice, though needed some finishing touches still. This should be a good hostel once it is finished. There's a big kitchen and nice common area with comfy couches, air hockey table, free internet, and a flat panel TV with DVD player.

Mary-ism #9: Mary was pretty excited to see that all the bunk beds were empty. She told me that she "had never been on top before" and "couldn't wait to try it tonight"! No complaints from me! But why wait until tonight? Why not now? Carpe diem!!!

We dropped off our stuff and had lunch at a very good restaurant (Pastnieka Maja) recommended by a hostel worker. Excellent food and a very good value. Given a chance I'd definitely return here.

Off to the beach - it was cold, rainy, and windy. On the way, we came across a metal band performing in the park. I would have liked to have stayed and listened for awhile, but I was feeling like absolute crap - the headache/earache was worsening. The beach was deserted - definitely not as nice as Parnu's. Not exactly beach-going weather right now.

Back to the hostel - it really is a run-down town, but I don't mind it. It's probably as far off the beaten path as I have been. I could definitely see this place turning into a major tourist destination in a few years.

Pat and Mary Asian Circus-Sideshow Freak in the Baltics Moment #10: Some locals stared at us as we walked by and made some kind of "freak" comment in Latvian. At least, that's what we guessed.

I drank a litre of juice and took a nap. Despite telling Mary that I was done for the night, I felt well enough to go find Mary in the main hostel building and get ready for dinner. We went in search of a restaurant but couldn't find anything good. We walked all over - most places were closed. We considered just having some waffles and dessert instead of a full-blown dinner, but the place we went to was closing in a few minutes.

We ended up back at the same restaurant where we had lunch. It was good and cheap, so why not? We noticed that their music was being played in alphabetical order, staring with songs by Nelly Furtado and then by Nelly. There was both good and bad at dinner tonight.

Mary-ism #10: Mary slept with my nuts tonight and said "Your nuts smell like onion and garlic!" Sorry, I can't help it. Earlier when I thought I was too sick to go out tonight, I left a can of macadamia nuts on her bed in case she became hungry. I hope she was referring to the macadamia nuts ... because if not, that onion and garlic smell might explain why I'm single ...

Mary-ism #11: Mary told me that I always "embezzle" her stories. I think she meant embellish, but you never know with her. Being an accountant, perhaps embezzling is the only thing she thinks about. Someone once told me that Mary's dream as a child was to one day work for Enron ...

As we lay in the bunk beds (Mary decided to go on the bottom, after all ...), somehow the subject turned to Tri and his horrid gas problems. Being a little delirious from my sickness, I told her that my gas was happy and had side effects like that of laughing gas.

Just before I dozed off, I looked deep into her eyes and asked "Wanna come get happy with me?"

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Photos

a
The restaurant was kind of run-down on the outside, so it was a bit of a shock to see how nice it was on the inside. It was pretty dead since we didn't arrive until after 3 PM.

c
After just over 2 weeks of traveling together, Mary still is in good spirits.

c2
After just over 2 weeks of traveling with Mary, I am officially in the crapper.

d
Mary had some kind of fruit smoothy. Feelling sick, I stayed away from any cider and just had some grapefruit juice.

e
Butterfish medallions wrapped in bacon. Slightly overdone, but still succulent. Too bad the bacon wasn't crisper.
The mashed potatoes with crayfish was especially good, and it was all served with a delectable tomato sauce. Squash, carrots, and really good starfruit (I remember starfruit as being pretty crappy in Canada).

f
Mary's incredibly tender pork ribs - they were the size of beef ribs. They lacked a bit of flavour but were unbelievably tender. But the ribs were a little too fatty. The potato cake was almost like a lasagna.

h
D@mn it!!! We missed the "Big F*ck Day"!!!

j
Mary Moment #37: Leaving the hostel, Mary yanked on the door too hard and somehow latched the door so that it was stuck on the outside, and we couldn't push the door inwards to get back inside.
We couldn't get it open for several moments until Mary Moment of Brilliance #2: With a little of her ingenuity, we were able to pop it back open. From that moment on, we took great care in closing the door.

k
Mary with a giant set of drums. She later confessed to me that she liked it because she likes to "bang big things".

l
Veal Goulash - an incredibly rich, flavourful red liquid filled with chunks of potato and succulent veal, finished with sour cream. Excellent, and the perfect dish for this dreary, rainy weather.
And again ... why do I always look like such a dumb@ss in my pictures???

m
The chicken broth was lacking flavour, and though it wasn't traditional Latvian food, the spring rolls were surprisingly good (unique - filled with shredded red peppers). Mary had some Marijuana tea (i.e. - Jamaican tea).

n
One of Mary's favourite sayings for the trip was "I'm always putting something in my mouth!"

p
We shared the potato pancakes - they were dripping with a disgusting amount of butter. Surprisingly bad, considering the caliber of the food up to this point. But the accompanying assorted sautéed mushroom mixture was exquisite - peppery, highlighted by shredded carrots and a dill mayo. This could've been a great dish with better pancakes, and without the oil slick of butter.

q
It's tough to see, but check out the name of our server - Santa!!!

r
Mary was doing her best Madonna impersonation and busted out the "Vogue" moves.