{"id":1475,"date":"2011-05-08T09:17:06","date_gmt":"2011-05-08T16:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=1475"},"modified":"2011-05-08T09:17:07","modified_gmt":"2011-05-08T16:17:07","slug":"spring-forward-day-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-50\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

<\/a>Vilnius\/Trakai
\nMay 1, 2011\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Distance Traveled Today:\u00a0 40 miles<\/h3>\n

Total Distance Traveled:\u00a0 8899<\/h3>\n

\"outrageous_church\"<\/a>Vilnius feels like a stimulating marriage of ancient and very modern.\u00a0 Everyone seems to speak English, which is a blessing, as Lithuanian is baffling.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of those orphan languages, not really related to any modern European language.\u00a0 Its roots are in Sanskrit.\u00a0 Yeah, Sanskrit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About the only bad thing I can say about Lithuania is that there are no good looking men here.\u00a0 It\u2019s a national tragedy.\u00a0 I\u2019m actually very surprised.\u00a0 John and Milana assure me that it\u2019s just a Lithuania thing; that Russia and Estonia won\u2019t be this way.\u00a0 There are plenty of attractive women, however.\u00a0 Whenever you see a couple walking, you think, \u201cDude.\u00a0 No WAY would you be able to get her any place but here.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>
My cousin John, his wife Milana and their daughter Vivienne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sunday was a great day.\u00a0 We jumped in the car and took a short drive to Trakai, which has two main attractions : A famous local pastry called kibinai, <\/em>, and the ridiculously photogenic \u00a015th<\/sup> Century Trakai Castle, perched like a jewel in the middle of Lake Galve.\u00a0 On John\u2019s orders I tried another famous dish:\u00a0 a bacon and cabbage soup served in a black bread bowl.\u00a0 It was a tranformative experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

John and Milana understand and respect my trademark directive to go the movies and to find Mexican food in every foreign place I visit.\u00a0 Today we accomplished both.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Trakai<\/a>
Trakai Castle, Lithuania<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We went to the local multiplex and saw, alas, Water For Elephants<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 While its setting should be irresistable \u2013 a circus during the depression \u2013 the movie falls pretty flat.\u00a0 Its biggest problem is the lead, Robert Pattinson of Twilight<\/em><\/strong> fame.\u00a0 He is nice enough looking but has zero charisma and only the most basic acting chops.\u00a0 How, I wonder, did he get past the tough gatekeepers of show business?\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t seem in any way special to me.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t even follow the Ray and Tayler rule \u2013 meaning he didn\u2019t get in shape even though he was playing the \u201chunky\u201d young lead in an A picture.\u00a0 Shame on his charisma-free self.<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
I didn't take this picture, but I just had to show you the ultracool bell tower of the Vilnius Cathedral.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, the movie doesn\u2019t provide a good role for my beloved Reese Witherspoon.\u00a0 She is way too short and stubby a body to look good in circus clothes.\u00a0 It\u2019s just very unfortunate.\u00a0 It\u2019s also not an interesting role.\u00a0 She seems to have the Oscar curse almost as bad as Adrien Brody.\u00a0 I hope she works through it and gets herself into some good movies soon.<\/p>\n

The one only two things the movie has going for it are 1) the performance by the dazzling Christoph Walz as the circus boss, and 2) the framing device with Hal Halbrook and the very handsome and very underrated Paul Schneider.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All in all, quite a disappointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how much longer John and Milana will stay in Vilnius.\u00a0 They\u2019re eager to make a change, either to the States or to Milana\u2019s native Prague.\u00a0 I\u2019m very glad I had the opportunity to visit them while I was here. John is going to try to meet me for my short stay in St. Petersburg at the end of the month, and Milana might try to meet me in Tallinn.\u00a0 Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve now been on the road for over seven weeks.\u00a0 I\u2019m having a great time but I\u2019m definitely homesick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today I fly to Berlin and I\u2019m quite excited about the prospect of six days in a city I\u2019ve long wanted to visit!<\/p>\n

Favorite Reese Witherspoon Movies<\/h4>\n
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  • Freeway<\/li>\n
  • Legally Blonde<\/li>\n
  • Walk the Line<\/li>\n
  • Pleasantville<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Average Rating: 4.7<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 227<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

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