M spoiled me a little bit when he came home from work with roses, gifts, and took me out for my favorite dinner. He is the best husband ever!
Tuesday, June 12
Happy Anniversary To Us!
Yesterday we celebrated our wedding anniversary. Has it been two years already?! Although the time has flown by, it’s have been an excellent two years and I’m so grateful I married my best friend.
M spoiled me a little bit when he came home from work with roses, gifts, and took me out for my favorite dinner. He is the best husband ever!
M spoiled me a little bit when he came home from work with roses, gifts, and took me out for my favorite dinner. He is the best husband ever!
Thursday, June 7
Final Stop: Italy
We only had a few days left for our trip, so we crammed a lot in to be able to see everything we wanted to in Italy. I would love to go back and spend more time there because I really loved Italy!
Our first stop was Milan. We got there in the evening but only planned on staying the night there. We hadn’t booked a hotel in advance and had to try several before we could find one with a vacancy! After a bit of walking, we found one and luckily it turned out to be a nice one!
The next morning, we left for Venice. We were only able to stay there for a few hours but it was fun to see a city with all of its transportation being on canals!
By afternoon, it was time to take off for Florence. I loved the streets and the Italian feel.
There were also several churches that we went to see. They had such amazing architecture!
This one was M’s favorite because it looks fake in background.
We also saw lots and lots of art.
M strategically placed his head to block certain parts of the David statue…
I am pretty clueless when it comes to art, so the magnificence of Florence was kind of wasted on me. Rather than seeing the beauty in it, I just felt like there were way too many naked people {for some reason, that’s considered art... gross.} everywhere!
But Florence had plenty of other things that made it amazing. Like this bridge…
And the food was amazing. Oh I love Italian food!!
Then came the time to leave for Rome. Of the time we had allotted for Italy, we decided to spend the majority of it in Rome, and I’m so glad we did! I loved Rome!
We took a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Our main reason for signing up for the tour was so that we could skip the lines, but it turned out we had excellent guides that really made everything come to life.
Our tour was so good that we signed up for their tour of the Vatican as well! The guide we had actually works with National Geographic and knows so many fascinating facts.
The tour he gave for the Vatican was focused on Michelangelo, because the tour would be ending in the Sistine Chapel. He talked about details that blew my mind—such as the fact that Michelangelo had never painted before creating that masterpiece. Our guide pointed out obvious flaws in his work and explained how Michelangelo was an amazing creative genius, even though his actual masterpieces were lacking in true talent. {If that doesn’t make sense, come talk to me one day and I’ll show you examples. It’s truly fascinating!}
Our first stop was Milan. We got there in the evening but only planned on staying the night there. We hadn’t booked a hotel in advance and had to try several before we could find one with a vacancy! After a bit of walking, we found one and luckily it turned out to be a nice one!
The next morning, we left for Venice. We were only able to stay there for a few hours but it was fun to see a city with all of its transportation being on canals!
By afternoon, it was time to take off for Florence. I loved the streets and the Italian feel.
There were also several churches that we went to see. They had such amazing architecture!
This one was M’s favorite because it looks fake in background.
We also saw lots and lots of art.
M strategically placed his head to block certain parts of the David statue…
I am pretty clueless when it comes to art, so the magnificence of Florence was kind of wasted on me. Rather than seeing the beauty in it, I just felt like there were way too many naked people {for some reason, that’s considered art... gross.} everywhere!
But Florence had plenty of other things that made it amazing. Like this bridge…
And the food was amazing. Oh I love Italian food!!
Then came the time to leave for Rome. Of the time we had allotted for Italy, we decided to spend the majority of it in Rome, and I’m so glad we did! I loved Rome!
We took a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Our main reason for signing up for the tour was so that we could skip the lines, but it turned out we had excellent guides that really made everything come to life.
Our tour was so good that we signed up for their tour of the Vatican as well! The guide we had actually works with National Geographic and knows so many fascinating facts.
The tour he gave for the Vatican was focused on Michelangelo, because the tour would be ending in the Sistine Chapel. He talked about details that blew my mind—such as the fact that Michelangelo had never painted before creating that masterpiece. Our guide pointed out obvious flaws in his work and explained how Michelangelo was an amazing creative genius, even though his actual masterpieces were lacking in true talent. {If that doesn’t make sense, come talk to me one day and I’ll show you examples. It’s truly fascinating!}
Fifth Stop: Switzerland
Switzerland was my absolute favorite. It was amazing! Everywhere was so picturesque that it could have been a postcard.
Our first stop was in Berne so we could see another LDS temple. I love the white building – it looks so crisp and clean!
We stayed in Lauterbrunnen, a town with a population of about 2,500 people. The whole town only takes up a two-mile stretch in a little valley in the Alps, and yet that valley has over 70 waterfalls tumbling down into it.
But it did snow while we were there, so I had to buy a beanie and gloves to keep warm! Normally, I hate being cold. But it was so pretty and serene that I didn’t even mind!
There were also rivers and lakes all around, where the water from the waterfalls ran into.
The water was crystal clear and looked so gorgeous!
We took a cable car to see some of the nearby towns – and one of them was the cable car used in a James Bond movie!
And I made friends with the locals… or at least the local horses!
Lauterbrunnen is part of the Jungfrau region. That might not mean anything to you {because I’d never heard of it before going on this trip either!} but the Jungfrau region is famous for a train line they built in the early 1900s that goes up to one of the peaks in the Alps, making it the highest elevation you can reach by train in all of Europe.
There was a section indoors that was entirely ice! {You guessed it... I was freezing.}
And at the of the ice section, we were outside – literally up in the Alps! From here, we could see France and Germany. It was crazy!
Our last day in Switzerland, we went to Lucerne and took a boat across the lake. Have I mentioned that everything in Switzerland looks immaculate? Because it is. The views from the lake were amazing everywhere we looked!
And finally, we went to Lugano for the afternoon. Even though we were still in Switzerland, it was amazing how Italian this city was. Things like gelato stands and pizza shops everywhere {I’m not complaining!} and people were speaking Italian instead of German.
And one of the best part of Switzerland... the chocolate! Yes, those are sheets of pure Swiss chocolate. YUM!
Our first stop was in Berne so we could see another LDS temple. I love the white building – it looks so crisp and clean!
We stayed in Lauterbrunnen, a town with a population of about 2,500 people. The whole town only takes up a two-mile stretch in a little valley in the Alps, and yet that valley has over 70 waterfalls tumbling down into it.
But it did snow while we were there, so I had to buy a beanie and gloves to keep warm! Normally, I hate being cold. But it was so pretty and serene that I didn’t even mind!
There were also rivers and lakes all around, where the water from the waterfalls ran into.
The water was crystal clear and looked so gorgeous!
We took a cable car to see some of the nearby towns – and one of them was the cable car used in a James Bond movie!
And I made friends with the locals… or at least the local horses!
Lauterbrunnen is part of the Jungfrau region. That might not mean anything to you {because I’d never heard of it before going on this trip either!} but the Jungfrau region is famous for a train line they built in the early 1900s that goes up to one of the peaks in the Alps, making it the highest elevation you can reach by train in all of Europe.
There was a section indoors that was entirely ice! {You guessed it... I was freezing.}
And at the of the ice section, we were outside – literally up in the Alps! From here, we could see France and Germany. It was crazy!
Our last day in Switzerland, we went to Lucerne and took a boat across the lake. Have I mentioned that everything in Switzerland looks immaculate? Because it is. The views from the lake were amazing everywhere we looked!
And finally, we went to Lugano for the afternoon. Even though we were still in Switzerland, it was amazing how Italian this city was. Things like gelato stands and pizza shops everywhere {I’m not complaining!} and people were speaking Italian instead of German.
And one of the best part of Switzerland... the chocolate! Yes, those are sheets of pure Swiss chocolate. YUM!
Fourth Stop: France
France was another country we were just kind of squeezing into the schedule as we passed through. We only spent a day in France and, of course, picked Paris as the city to spend the time in. I hadn’t really heard a whole lot of good things about Paris from friends that had been before, so I wasn’t really expecting much. But was pleasantly surprised! I really liked Paris.
We took the Channel Tunnel from London to France. Right after we got off the train, we found a laundromat so we stopped to wash the contents of our backpacks so that we could be good-to-go for another week.
Once we got that done, we then went sightseeing!
First, we went to Notre Dame.
Next, we went to Sainte Chappelle. This place is absolutely stunning. Each pane of the stained glass windows depict an individual Bible story. And the entire chapel is filled with these window panes. It’s unbelievable!
We went to the Eiffel Tower, of course. We were looking around for someone we could ask to take our photo… when we saw one of my friends from work! It was so random but they took some great photos for us.
We got dinner near the Eiffel Tower and then waited for the sun to set. It was such a pretty area and neat to watch the tower light up.
Even though we only spent a day in Paris, we had a great time!
We took the Channel Tunnel from London to France. Right after we got off the train, we found a laundromat so we stopped to wash the contents of our backpacks so that we could be good-to-go for another week.
Once we got that done, we then went sightseeing!
First, we went to Notre Dame.
Next, we went to Sainte Chappelle. This place is absolutely stunning. Each pane of the stained glass windows depict an individual Bible story. And the entire chapel is filled with these window panes. It’s unbelievable!
We went to the Eiffel Tower, of course. We were looking around for someone we could ask to take our photo… when we saw one of my friends from work! It was so random but they took some great photos for us.
We got dinner near the Eiffel Tower and then waited for the sun to set. It was such a pretty area and neat to watch the tower light up.
Even though we only spent a day in Paris, we had a great time!
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