Category Archives: photos

paris

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I was just so excited to have made it to Paris with no passport to speak of that I would have happily slept anywhere…especially after the cab driver was so fun and flirtatious. Have I mentioned that I love that I speak French?

However, this was not anywhere. This was by far the nicest hotel we stayed in…especially because the “triple” room was way too small, so we ended up getting two rooms. Tanya and I shared this one. It was fabulous! Holiday Inn Paris Gare de l’Est…it’s only a three-star, but I loved it…once we got the room thing figured out.

These are some random pictures I found on my camera. When I went to the embassy to get my new passport, I wasn’t sure what I would be able to take in with me, so I asked Tanya to bring my camera to me. As I sat in the embassy, waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, Tanya and Erika were doing a little sightseeing and taking some pictures. I do love the metro sign above, though. So Parisian!




I wasn’t feeling fantastic, but there was no way I wasn’t going to let that ruin my one day in Paris. So what did I have for lunch? Cheese. Yes. Cheese…and a little bit of bread, and a Sprite. And that was after I’d already had a banana and Nutella crepe for breakfast.

Don’t you judge me!
And inside the Louvre. The breakdown of my day…four hours in the embassy, an hour wandering the Tuilerie Gardens, an hour eating lunch, three hours in the Louvre, Notre Dame, dinner, and the Eiffel Tower. Yes, that’s one packed day.


Yes, that would be throngs of people crowding the Mona Lisa. I don’t seem to remember it being this crowded the last time I was there. Nor do I remember the Mona Lisa in a room all by herself (or almost). But, it was ten years ago.








So, Erika didn’t really get why Tanya wanted so badly to see the Eiffel Tower…until she got there. It’s impressive. Apparently she didn’t realize how pretty it actually is. When you think about when it was built and the craftsmanship that went into it, it’s pretty amazing!

I know there’s only on picture of food on here…(I think there are more that Tanya took), but the restaurant where we had dinner was amazing, so I wanted to be sure to share that. (I didn’t take pictures because it was one of those places where you just don’t take pictures.) Brasserie Julien is in the 10eme arrondissement (for those of you who know Paris). It was just this great French restaurant with a kind of art-deco look. The service was slow (which, had we not been in a rush to get to the Eiffel Tower, I would have actually enjoyed), but the food was absolutely delicious. I loved it!

In case you are heading to Paris anytime soon and want a great (not inexpensive) restaurant (and have three hours to enjoy), here’s the address:
16, Rue Fbg St Denis
75010 Paris, France

my five day weekend…

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I’m in Las Vegas right now with my brother, sis-in-law, and their two darling children who adore their daddy. (They love their mommy, too…but the way that my little niece waits by the door when she hears the garage open repeating “Daddy” over and over again is just precious.)

In this picture they both turned to look at me, but what I was trying to capture was the mauling that was happening in Panera as soon as my brother got there. Seriously. It was hilarious.

roma

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So, these pictures are not necessarily in order (and actually mainly in reverse order). But this is a brief photo-log of our adventures in Rome. There are a few stories to go along with pictures, so scroll down for those.



First, I love this picture with the mask. But the best part was when the little, Asian store clerk started yelling at us, “No picture! No picture!” It was seriously amusing.


So, when we arrived in Rome, we were staying at a hotel in a neighborhood that Erika wanted to stay in. It was kind of ghetto (which, interestingly enough, I am normally fine with in Europe, but something about spending Christmas there and traveling with money this time made it so I was a spoiled brat…and I wasn’t the only one).

When the taxi driver pulled to a stop in front of a nondescript building, none of us noticed the building because we were all looking at the car accident and the dead body (graphic, but true…under a sheet thank goodness) on the road. Romans driving abilities are…interesting.

Upon entering the hotel, things didn’t get worse…but they didn’t get better. First, we could barely get into it because the door was working, and while the “hotel” was clean, it felt a bit like an orphanage…a smoky orphanage. The thought of spending Christmas there started to break my heart. That night, after eating a delicious meal at midnight, we decided we couldn’t stay in the hotel and for the next several hours (we finally went to bed around 4 am) we figured out where we could stay and what we would say to get out of our current situation.

We ended up at the Central Park Marriott. It was incredible. Our room was a) not in the orphanage style and b) had an amazing balcony with a perfect view of St. Peter’s and Vatican City. The photo above is the view from our patio. Christmas was absolutely perfect!

Christmas Eve and an American gospel choir was singing on the Spanish Steps. It was one of those perfectly serendipitous moments…it felt like Christmas.

We were in Vatican City on Christmas Eve and the paparazzi were setting there cameras up…anxiously anticipating a view of the Pope. We, however, did not stick around long enough to have that experience ourselves.

My darling cousin with the cutest little restaurant manager ever. Ever. He joked with us about Governor Schwarzenegger (my cousin, like me originally, is from California). It was pretty much hilarious. It was not the pizzeria I was hoping to find (my friend, Kyle, recommended Buffeto’s off of the Piazza Navona…but I couldn’t remember the name), but it was pretty dang good, nonetheless.



The delicious gelato (the best in Rome according to my friend, Brian) that I happily ate even though it was pretty freaking cold outside. And I have to say, it’s the best gelato I can remember ever having.
These last three pictures are of our delicious Christmas dinner experience. Again, a restaurant manager/owner enamored by my lovely cousin. It was hilarious. First of all, he lured us into the restaurant with his fabulous Italian charm, then he made recommendations, with stories about how his wife makes the pasta fresh, and at the end of the meal we had racked up a bill worthy of dinner and a show.

The good news is, we got the show. Mr. Owner was absolutely hilarious. (And yes, Tanya and I are have a sword fight with bread sticks…because we’re mature.)

While I can’t say that Rome is my favorite city in the world, it is definitely worth visiting. And considering that I didn’t get to do the shopping I was hoping to do (Christmas Eve and Christmas can really cramp a shopaholic’s style), I will be going back someday…hopefully when it’s just a little warmer.

Yes, this post is mainly about food…but I’m me and it was Italy, so it all makes perfect sense.

and the trip to europe begins…

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For those of you who haven’t checked my other blog at all, I got to go to Europe over the break with my sister, Erika, and my cousin, Tanya. The plan was London, Rome, Berlin, Paris, and back to London.
Let me just say that it was FABULOUS (even with all the baggage stuff to deal with). I don’t want to bore everyone with the travelogue play-by-play, so I won’t. I’m just going to highlight some of my favorite parts and share some of the interesting/funny/ridiculous experiences we had. The pictures above are from our first stop in London. We made multiple stops at Harrod’s. For those of you who have been to London, you know that Harrod’s is kind of cliche…but I love it! Seriously…I love shopping…and food…and Harrod’s combines the two beautifully. Day 1 we stopped just for fun, day 2 it was because Erika needed new shoes (she’s never traveled like this before and didn’t realize just how uncomfortable her normally comfortable shoes would be when walking all day long).

A quick run down…Harrod’s, Hyde Park, Les Miserables, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and the London Eye. We had a fabulous time. It was fun to be back in Europe with my sister and cousin, neither of whom had been before. I really appreciated a) how lucky I am to have spent so many trips/months over there and b) how amazing Europe truly is.

And in case you were wondering, I’ve decided that somehow I’m going to live in London for at least a year. I don’t know how…but I’m going to make it happen.

a bbq

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l-r Allison, Michelle, Mathew, Oliver, and me

Here is my committee from the Opening Social. This is why I was able to look so on top of things; a team of incredibly reliable individuals. I trusted them. They delivered. How nice is that?

The Opening Social went off without a hitch. We were left with a few too many buns (better than not enough), but only three hamburgers and maybe 10 hot dogs. I consider that pretty good planning. I have no idea how many people were there, but they ate just under 500 hamburgers and hot dogs. We had six grills going. It was crazy and fantastic.

And best of all, we came in under budget thanks to the help of Mathew’s fabulous wife, Monica, who did the price checking and purchasing at Sam’s Club, after I did the price checking at Costco. Yes, it took a little extra time, but by purchasing things at both locations, we managed to save around $50. On a tight budget, that’s a big deal.