my first time to europe.... well really ANYWHERE actually

i just returned from a fantastic trip to europe. it was very entertaining, educating, and exhausting. in two weeks we visited london, paris, nerac, barcelona, cannes, eze, monaco, beaune and iceland. it was a whirlwind and i loved it. our first stop was london. it was EXACTLY how i pictured it. very clean, proper and rich with amazing history.

the london streets were beautiful.

megan and i explored the neighborhood around our hotel (kensington) while david visited the david bowie exhibit at a local museum.

we lucked out with such a gorgeous day. we walked over to kensignton palace.

that night, we had what was to be the first of many pretty gross meals. i didnt have good food until the second day in paris. we still had fun watching those british people properly LICK their plates clean.

the first few days of the trip it was just my aunt megan, my uncle david and me. my parents and craig staggered in throughout the following days. i had a wonderful time exploring london and paris with megan. even though at the time i wasnt too happy to see her bright and shiny face at my hotel door at 8am, ready for the day! she wasnt messing around.

we became pros with the tube (the london underground system).

our second day in london, we rode bikes in regent's park. 

a horse drawn carriage carrying old school looking people is completely normal in london.

hence their traffic lights.

buckingham palace was huuuuuge. but not the most gorgeous building i have ever seen. 

as we were walking away from the palace a legitimate horse parade came down the mall. it all looked so royal and impressive. those brits really enjoy their pomp and circumstance.

a gorgeous day in london! 

the london eye and BIG BEN. 

we went over to the borough market for lunch. im soooooooo glad we did.

it was filled with fresh produce, cheeses, meats (i saw zebra and camel meat for sale!), candies and best of all....

caaaaaaaaarbs.

the prettiest hydrangeas i have ever seen. look at those ruffled edges.

thank goodness for instagram. i had social-media'd that we were at the borough market (which was HUGE and we were overwhelmed with all the goodness) and luckily my friend kim informed us that we had to find the raclette booth. it was insane. they broil the cheese under an open flame and then scrape the bubbly cheese crust on to boiled and buttered golden potatoes. i was in freaking heaven. 

after the market, we shopped and explored more of london. megan had to get her picture taken with franklin d roosevelt and winston churchill!

after a day and a half in london, we boarded the eurostar (a super fast train that goes under the english channel!!) headed to paris!

when we arrived in paris we checked into our super chic parisian hotel. i was obsessed with the floor to ceiling toile.

the next morning the three us of headed over to montmartre, a very artsy, bohemian neighborhood in paris. these two lovers even took a ride on the carousel.

we walked over to the monmartre cemetery. it was fascinating and creepy. and after we did a little photo shoot we felt guilty for smiling and posing next to all those tombs. so we left.

then we walked down rue montorgueil, an amazing market street, and ate lunch on a little cafe table outside. we are such parisians.

then we found THE most insane ribbon store i have ever seen. it had aisles and aisles of every kind of ribbon one could ever want. 

a few stores down from the ribbon store was a sewing store that had a beautiful assortment of sequins. i wanted to buy some but had no idea what i would do with them.

then we visited notre dame.

they were having mass and the preacher (i dont know if that is his official title) was singing. it gave me goosebumps.

that night, i made us trek back over to montmartre to eat at this fondue place i had read about. unfortunately, the cheese was reeeeeally wine-y tasting and i didnt like the stuff they gave us to dip into it. but i had a good time watching megan and david eat and......

drinking out of my very own baby bottle.

before we went back to the hotel for bed we went by the arc de triomphe.

by this point i was getting pretty sick of pictures by myself. i was ready for craig to arrive!

the next morning we had breakfast in our favorite little nook under the stairs at our hotel. they have THE most amazing breakfast in france.

then we went over to laduree, a famous macaron shop in paris. the macarons were so-so (i dont think i am a fair judge thought because i dont really love macarons in the first place) and the service was ABISMAL. for the most part, i would give the europeans a B- as far as how they treated us. but at laduree: F.

that afternoon, my parents arrived in paris and went over to the louvre.

i looooooved 'the winged victory'. she was at the top of a tall staircase and was so breathtaking. the way her dress was sculpted makes the marble look so light and airy. i cant imagine thats easy to do.

then we pushed our way through the crowd to see the 'mona lisa'. pretty anti-climactic. but still interesting to see.

after the louvre, megan found this amazing cafe with great desserts and super friendly service. we loved it there.

then we walked the streets. the flowers in paris are unbelievable. 

prettiest peonies. ever.

the moulin rouge. again, pretty anti-climactic. in a pretty seedy part of town.  

that night, we went to see the eiffel tower. like my grandma said, it really is amazing to see up close. in pictures it looks to lacy and delicate, but in person it is SO big and solid. i loved it.

i loved experiencing my first time in paris with my family.

i thought i loved the eiffel tower all lit up at night. until i saw it twinkle. then i was obsessed. 

the next morning we drove down to nerac, france where my uncle's friend has a home that he let us stay in. it was the quaintest, most beautiful town. 

the stairs in the nerac home. gorgeous to look at. not so gorgeous to walk up with all your luggage.

it was david and megan's 25 anniversary so i insisted on taking a few lovey-dovey pictures of them.

i couldnt get enough of how beautiful nerac was.

more lovers portraits.

couldnt forget these lovers!

and if you could believe it (we still cannot) they let us take this little boat out (no captain or boat personnel) to ride up the river. 

take that back. we DID have a captain.

this 16th century pavilion was once used by ladies to undress for the river.... while king louis xiv watched. 

on the ride back i took a turn at the helm.

nerac had some of the best food of our trip. this was a chocolate mousse, meringue confection. amazing.

we thought this little home looked like the original gingerbread house!

my parents and david and megan.

even though the residents of nerac didnt really appreciate our late night stroll though the streets (one by one they closed up their shutters. how rude!) we loved every second of it.

the next morning we drove over to barcelona to see the city and pick up craig from the airport (finally). this is the famous sagrada familia in barcelona. it was designed by antoni gaudi (who died in 1926) and is STILL not finished. the builders are working off of his plans. it is soooooooo ugly. looked like a sand castle a cat puked on. 

the inside was a little better but lets just put it this way, gaudi (where the term 'gaudy' comes from) didnt know the meaning of 'less is more'.

the morning after we picked up craig from the airport we started heading east towards monaco. the weather was perfect and we stopped off in cannes, hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. it was the cannes film festival.

no celebrity sightings. but we did see roberto cavalli's yacht and loved seeing all the people/boats.

and then megan made craig and me hop on this little dinghy to take a picture. our dream yacht!

after cannes, we drove up to our hotel in eze. the hotel is a converted monastery with pebbled walkways linking the rooms and areas of the hotel. 

the first night we were there it was a little rainy but we just bundled up and explored the cobbled streets.

the next morning, the clouds had cleared and this was our view!

on our way to breakfast we found this cat sun bathing. i just couldnt resist.

a kitty after my own heart.

breakfast over the mediterranean.

after breakfast we took advantage of the gorgeous pool.

outside our room. i seriously loved this place.

our hotel up on the cliff.

more of the chateau chevre d'or.

on our way down to dinner craig admired the cars.

during dinner we watched as the cars made their way to the grand prix in monaco. so interesting.

group shot after dinner. we sure did love eze.

the following day we stopped by monaco to see the casino but everything was shut down because of the grand prix. we  heard the cars (so loud!) and saw the blur of colors as they raced by. so fun. after monaco, we started our drive back up to paris. it was such a long drive we stopped half way to spend the night. i am SO glad we did. we found this provincial town, beaune, that we all fell in love with. great shopping, food, and history. 

all of beaune's hotels were filled so i got on my phone and searched for the closest hotel with vacancy. we lucked out. i found a 17th century wine grower's house that had been converted into a bed and breakfast two minutes from town. it was amazing. 

hotel villa louise. go there.

craig's favorite part of the trip? the breakfast at villa louise. fresh croissants (that my dad saw delivered from a local baker early that morning) real french hot chocolate, baked pears...... i mean i could go on forever. it was the best breakfast i have ever had in my life.

after breakfast, we finished the drive back up to paris. and in less than 24 hours i showed craig the highlights: notre dame, arc de triomphe, the seine, eiffel tower, and the outside of the louvre. i was glad craig got a little time in paris before we headed off to...

iceland! we had a day and a half layover in iceland before going home and boy, was it fun. the morning after we arrived we hooked up with a tour guide my brother knew and he (gummi, pronounced 'goomie') took us on a 6+ hour drive around iceland. it was fascinating. the landscape was unreal.

one of our favorite parts of the day was getting to see the geysir (the word 'geyser' comes from the icelandic verb, geysa "to gush"). this was geysir before it was about to blow.

right as it started to blow (look at how crystal blue that water is!)

geysir!

then gummi took us to these fantastic waterfalls. 

cold but fun.

i asked gummi to stop the van and let me take pictures of the wildlife but i think he was too excited to show us ALL of iceland that i had to get what i could as we were flying by. in iceland, they have horses but they are all miniature. so dang adorable.

icelandic sheep at 60 miles per hour.

crazy people scuba dive in this water. gummi said that a couple he drove around the day before had been scuba diving in this river and said that they couldnt feel their legs for hours after they got out. it so dang clear but so dang cold.

reykjavik's most famous restaurant is a hotdog stand. so naturally, craig had to try it. i couldnt bring myself to taking a bite. iceland's preferred meat is lamb.

i know it doesnt make sense. but we did more damage in iceland than in paris. the shopping was unique and amazing. and i fell in love with my blue fox! cool your jets peta.

that evening, we had amazing fish and chips and walked around downtown reykjavik. 

the next morning, on our way to the airport, gummi took us to the blue lagoon. that's gummi in the blue jacket. we love him!

the blue lagoon is a geothermal spa and the water is heated from ground. the warm water has silica and sulphur in it and people believe it can cure skin diseases. 

i dont know about curing anything. but it sure was fun to swim in.

i cannot wait to go back.

i did feel like we were on mars though. so weird. 

especially when it got a little colder and the water started steaming. you literally couldnt see two feet in front of you.

after the blue lagoon, we boarded our plane to head back home. it was such an amazing trip. my favorite parts were the eze, beaune, and iceland. and coming home to tagg and sully.

mamma's hands auction

last weekend was the mamma's hands auction. our friends, the rands, host this auction every year to help struggling single moms in the seattle area. we love to support those women and our friends. the auction is held at the newcastle county club which has the best view of seattle. ever. it really did look like the emerald city (seattle's nickname) that night. 

britney, me and denise.

the food was pretty great and the company at our table, even better! becky and jon (rands) and my mom and dad.

at the auction they have a dessert dash. each table donates towards mamma's hands and the table that donates the most gets first dibs on the desserts. my aunt megan and i have figured out the formula to making the most desirable desserts (because we just want to win!): chocolate+height+chocolate+gaudy+CHOCOLATE! hence my creation for this year: chocolate caramel pretzel crunch cake.

for the pretzel crunch part i crushed up pretzels, tossed them with melted butter, sugar, and powdered milk. then baked the mixture in the oven until it was toasty. it was insane. and my cake went before megan's. so it was a success!

we loved helping those in need AND having a wonderful night with family and friends (all feels a little ironic.....).