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Lauren and I have been on a quest to find the most comfortable, warm walking shoes for our trip. We've tried on tons...Merrell's, Privo, Puma, etc., etc. Last weekend Lauren bought some cute black Merrell's from Dillards. Then the next day, she wore them out and about...and after only 2 hours, her feet were already hurting. Crap!
So...all this to say, I have found the perfect shoe for winter comfort (not so much fashion, mind you...but hey...walking in the cold in a foreign city ALL day long...I think I'll take comfort, thank you!). What are these mystical shoes, you ask?
Well...they are the Troika Crocs...don't laugh...they are the most comfortable shoes EVER. I love my Crocs...I know they are not the fashion forward shoe of choice...but man, you can't beat the comfort.
I became a believer in Crocs at Disney World this last year. Since we went twice, I wore mine both times...and they were great! We were literally walking from 7:00am to 1:00am most days, and my feet didn't hurt. Even when wearing the most comfy tennis shoes at DW...my feet and legs usually start hurting by noon. Crocs were my saving grace. (And I even convinced Colby to wear them too...he now loves his too, although he's cautious about where he wears them) haha
Colby and I like ours so much, that we got my dad some for Christmas (Dallas Cowboy ones, of course...knowing that IF he would ever be caught dead in Crocs...these would be the only ones he would consider). We thought he could wear them out to the ER at night, or up to the hospital on the weekends to make rounds, etc.
Well, last night, he told me on the phone that he thinks Crocs are the best "travel" shoe! (they just got back from a trip to Ruidoso)
Me: "What do you mean by "travel shoe", dad?"
Dad: "Well, your feet stay so comfortable while you're driving...and with the little holes, your feet don't get hot"
Me: "You know dad, that translates to walking too..."
Dad: "Well, I haven't worked up to wearing them out of the house in public yet...besides taking the trash out..."
I love my dad! :) He, by the way, is very fashion conscious...he's even broken out his old aviator sunglasses, because he noticed they were back in style!
Anyway...I digress...
The Troika's don't look like you're average Croc. They are much more winterized...suede on the top, no vent holes, higher in the back so that rain and snow don't get in, etc. They honestly just look like any other boots or clogs when you wear them with jeans...Observe:
My wonderful in-laws got these brown ones for me for Christmas, and I just ordered the black ones yesterday (thanks to a generous offer from dad to buy them as a "travel present"). I think I'm all set! :) Thanks Dad!!!
I now know that I will be able to confidently walk all over London and Paris without pain, agony or blisters! While I may get a few odd looks...at least I will be a happy girl at the end of every day.
In case some of you don't know...we're taking a trip to London and Paris in a little over a week!! I am very excited about it, and kind of getting a little nervous...just because I still have so much to do, and in case you didn't know...I'm kind of an over-obsessive planner. I've tried really hard with this trip to just do minimal planning and let the rest fall into place. And it's been pretty easy, because I've never been to either of these destinations before...so I know nothing about them...except for what I've seen in movies, read in books, and learned about in my college Art and Architectural History.
My sister, however...who will be accompanying us on this trip...has been to both places (during college). So, thankfully, she has been able to guide and tell us what's important not to miss, and what can be skipped the first time around.
Jamie, the other guy going with us, has been too...several years ago. So, he'll be able to help us figure it all out too...I cannot wait. So, our travel group will consist of me, my husband Colby, my sister Lauren and our friend Jamie (Lauren knows Jamie from Chicago, but now he lives in New Jersey...so it will be SO fun traveling all together, since we haven't seen him in forever!)
I think I'm going to start thinking about packing tonight. I know, I know...it's really early, but you can never be too prepared, right? I mean...ask Colby, the curse of the Mangold's is that we ALWAYS forget something. But, I'm bound and determined not to forget anything on this trip! I also need to figure out what suitcases we're taking. Europe for 10 days in the middle of winter is not "light" packing...throw in the fact that we have to change hotels right in the middle...and that makes for some interesting packing. My SIL and BIL got me an early birthday present night before last that will tremendously help with the organization issue! It is a set of Eagle Creak packing cubes/folders, that I'm really excited about!!
I think they will make packing/unpacking/changing hotels, etc. much easier! Thank you Mandy and Trent!! :)
I've still got so much to do before we leave!! I've GOT to figure out our cell phone situation. I've found a place online that we can rent international cell phones from, and the price really isn't that bad. Our cell carrier, Alltel, doesn't have service in England or France...so we're out of luck there. Our only other option is to just buy cheap ones there and do a "pay as you go" method...or rent them. I want us to at least have one in case of emergencies, if we get separated, etc., etc.
I've also got to figure out what I'm going to do about our camera. It decided to quit working the day I left for Houston...convenient! (Girls, I still need pictures from the weekend!!!! :)) Lauren got a brand new Nikon Coolpix camera for Christmas that will take awesome shots...but I really want us to have our own camera too...so we may have to cave in and get a new one before we leave. DARN!! :)
Well, I guess I'm going to sign off for now. See, I told you there would be lots of lame, meaningless chatter...and here is your first dose of it!
We're going to the Tech men's b-ball game tonight...so I better get going.
Au Revoir (figure I better start practicing my French!) :)
So...after a year or more of being harassed (I use this term lightly) by friends to join myspace, and bravely holding out...I've finally decided to start a blog. A happy medium I think. Apparently, it's not nearly as hard (or as time consuming) as I thought it would be...so, today...January 22, 2008...I, Allison Lee, have joined the online revolution of blogging.
In this blog you will more than likely read about lots of things...our upcoming trip to London and Paris will monopolize much of the next month, I'm sure...but also mine and Colby's attempt to start a family sometime this year, and inevitably some lame, meaningless chatter to fill in the gaps...but hey, isn't that what blogging is all about?? :)
