London 2013 and Chris’s 5th World Marathon Complete!

Oh hey there, London.

Hi friends!

Oh. My. Goodness. What a whirlwind! So Chris and I just said farewell to his parents who, luckily, we’ll be seeing again for our wedding celebration in Australia in just five months. This apartment always feels so sad and lonely when they leave.

While they were here we took a trip to London, Chris ran the marathon and we headed upstate for a little Magnanini Winery wedding celebration with my mom’s side of the family.

It was a fast and furious two weeks, to say the least!

And that’s why I’m a tad late on my London posting. Of course it’s nowhere near faded from memory yet, but I do like to get my thoughts down on the blog as soon as possible, so I don’t leave any details out.

So about that, it was late last Thursday when we left for our little journey ….

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Home Sweet Home

Hi friends!

So we’re back from our little jaunt in England. I’ll have to post later after I’ve downloaded my photos and had a chance to collect my thoughts, but overall the trip was fantastic. We saw Les Miserables at the Queen’s theater (my first time!), caught up with some of Chris’s friends from both London and Australia and had a go-round on the London Eye.

We also rented bikes with the Barclays Cycle Hire for a trip around the city on Monday and very nearly missed our flight back home because we couldn’t find a place to return them. (More on that later!)

Bis bald friends! I’ll be back soon!

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The Excitement of Upcoming Travel

Hi friends!

Well we’re firmly into the second quarter of 2013 here, and it’s time for me to start getting excited about some of the trips we have planned for the rest of the year.

So let’s see. For starters, my in-laws will be making their way to the U.S. the week after next, and Chris and I will be heading to London with them to watch Chris run the London Marathon:

^^A little flashback to when Steph and I first visited London back in 2010

Then, Chris and I booked a trip out to Arizona to visit an old friend of mine for the weekend of July 4th. Neither one of us has been before, so we’re super excited. We’re going to go camping and hiking, and visit Lake Powell and Havasu Falls:

September will be a big month for us, too. We’ll be heading to Australia to celebrate our wedding with Chris’s side of the family, and then taking a couple-day honeymoon to The Great Barrier Reef:

^^A little memory from our last trip to Australia (written about here and here). That’s Shawn the Koala, the subject of my soon-to-written children’s book series. Seriously. It’s coming.

There will be another trip in September two weekends before Australia, but that’s super secret for now, as it’s a surprise trip in honor of Chris’s 30th birthday. Let’s just say—I’m super excited about it!

And that’s about it (for now)! Bis bald, friends! I’ll catch up with you again super soon …

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Back in the Borough: A Little Bit of Munich Right Here in Manhattan

Hey ya’ll,

Just a super quick post here to let you know that last night a friend and I hit up Bierhaus in midtown, a very fun beer hall that bears an uncanny (if somewhat small) resemblance to the Hofbrau House in Munich. (Which I talk about here, and here.)

It’s essentially one huge beer hall, with live music (including a band that plays all the traditional German Oktoberfest songs), amazing pretzels and humongous beer mugs.

What you get when you accidentally order the large beer instead of the medium.

I see nothing wrong on this plate.

So if you’re ever in the area, and you need a little community beer drinking only the way Munich can do it, I would highly suggest hitting up this fun beer hall.

Bis bald, friends! Oh, and I just booked my tickets for D.C. next week. Wednesday through Sunday, five whole days with one of my best friends. The best.

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A Valentine’s Day Trip to Tarrytown

Hey friends,

Chris and I just arrived back from our Valentine’s Day trip to Tarrytown, a quaint little town about 45 minutes north of the city, and I have to say–I loved everything about it. Since it’s winter it was obviously a bit freezing outside, and some of the stores in the town and some of the historical sites were closed for the winter months, but still, we managed to have an awesome time just the same.

Here’s what we got up to.

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Rome–Our Fourth and Final Destination

Well, here we are friends. We’ve arrived, at last, at our fourth and final destination of our little European adventure from a few weeks ago–Rome.

Now, you know my love of Rome. The ancient architecture. The amazing artists. The un-replicatable (is that a word?) food. It’s all just amazing. But you know something that’s kind of even more amazing than all that? Sharing a place that you really love with someone you love.

Awwwww–aren’t I so sweet? No but really, guys–I was beyond excited to visit Rome with Chris and to see if he would fall as in love with it as I did.

And the verdict? Well of course he did!

So let’s go…back to Rome…

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Me, Dragging My Feet …

Hi friends,

Sorry it’s taking me so long to wrap up our little European adventure–you know how I feel about writing my last post about a vacation. It just makes it so real that it’s over (not that being home for the past week hasn’t made it real, as well).

Anyway, I’ve been a bit busy, but I promise, promise, promise to get to my fourth and final post–Rome! Sweet Rome!–written some time this week.
Until then, look at this pretty, pretty picture while you wait …

Who couldn’t love Rome? I mean, really …

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A Gorgeous (and Expensive) Drive Through the Alps

Hi friends,

So back to last Wednesday morning, Chris and his dad left the hotel early to pick up our rental car so that we could get on out of Munich. We would be driving about 2 hours from Munich to Salzburg to drop Chris’s parents off (it was so sad to say goodbye!), and then Chris and I would be continuing on to Venice.

We knew that we were starting off with an expensive journey, since renting a car in one country and returning it in another is, you know, not that cheap.

Little did we know that was just the beginning …

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A Hop, Skip and Jump to Munich

Hello, Munich. How I’ve missed you!

Hi friends,

So part deux of our European adventure story starts off in Munich, where we stayed at the Citadines, which are more small apartments than hotel rooms (meaning we had a little kitchen and a living room, but no one to clean the place up when we left for the day.)

The location was perfect for Oktoberfest–it was just a short walk to the grounds where the tents are. It’s not the best location if you’re in Munich mostly for the city center, though, like to visit Marienplatz or stroll through town. (For that type of trip, I’d highly recommend the hotels I stayed in during this trip to Munich a few years ago.)

Lucky for us, we were there for Oktoberfest, and our adventure began that Sunday night …

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Last Thursday, When We Were Berlin-Bound

It’s hard to believe this wall ever divided Berlin. So sad.

Hey friends! So it’s Monday, October 8th, which can only mean one thing–Chris and I are back from Europe.

Cue the violins.

Seriously though, this was one stellar, awesome, amazing trip. In what amounts to 9 full days, we managed to cover Berlin (where Chris ran a marathon), Munich (where we had so much fun at Oktoberfest!), rent a car and drive from Munich to Salzburg to Venice for more than $700 (that story will come later), see Venice in less than 24 full hours and hit up Rome for all the classics.

That’s a lot.

But despite the fact that it was a whirlwind…it really didn’t feel that way. I felt like we were able to spend a good amount of time in each place, and I actually did end up feeling rested and relaxed when we arrived back last night.

So anyway, without further ado, how about I take you on back to last Friday, when Chris and I arrived in Berlin at around 8:30 a.m…

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