Catching up Part 3 - September 2012 (Paris!)

In September we had the pleasure of going on a weekend adventure to Paris with our friends Janna Wutke and Kevin Duban. We were nervous because it was our first time in France and we heard some dreadful things about how Parisians are rude to you if you don't speak French (which we don't!).

Fortunately we only had one rude waiter at a restaurant we ate at and the rest of the people we interacted with were very pleasant.

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

Right away we walked from Gare du Nord to Sacré Coeur in Montmartre. It provides a spectacular view of Paris but also many peddlers and beggars (beware!).

The Eiffel Tower was my favorite part. It exceeded my expectations and was very romantic when the flashing lights came on after sunset.

The Gang at the top of the Eiffel Tower

We rode bicycles around the city to get places faster and it was the best decision we made! We only stayed one night so we toted our belongings in a backpack and toured the city on two wheels. It was very efficient and we saw a lot more in one day than we would have if we had walked. Our feet thanked us. :)

Nutella Crêpes and cappuccino at a café... mmmmm

The Jardin Tuileries was lovely. The old men who sit near the ponds and fountains to rent our sailboats for the children were so charming. It was a lovely day and the only thing I wish I would have heard was an accordion playing "La Vie en Rose" in the streets."

The whole time we were here I kept thinking of Sabrina saying "I found myself in Paris."

fin :)

Catching up Part 2 - July & August 2012 (Olympics!)

Just in case you were not aware... Summer 2012 in the UK was HUGE. We are incredibly blessed to have experienced it first-hand. As you know, the Diamond Jubilee took place for Queen Elizabeth's 60th year reigning as Queen of the United Kingdom. In addition to that, London hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics and we got to go to several events! You would think "Wow, how amazing! How could it get any better than that?" Well, I shall tell you. We actually got to see our dear friend Angela compete in the Sprint Kayaking races, see her qualify for finals, and become fifth in the whole world!

I have some photo documentation to prove we had an amazing time. :)

London Bridge helped the city get into the Olympic Spirit

Artistic Gymnastics! We saw the following teams compete to go to finals: Romania, Japan, and several Mixed Single groups.

A dream come true! All that was missing was my sister Rachel. We have many
childhood memories following the USA Gymnastics Team!

The Romanian Team - they ended up taking bronze in the team final

We got to see Susan Izbaşa from Romania. She ended up taking gold in singles vault!

There is always something going on during a meet!

 Sprint Kayaking at Eton-Dorney Lake:

Honorary Brits when it comes to cheering for Angela! GO TEAM GB!

  

Dorney Lake

Angela is the third girl in the boat

A roaring start!

Angela came in her full closing ceremony kit to speak at a church gathering in September (celebrity sighting!)

Bryant went to Judo with Callum (Angela's hubby). He had to do some research on the sport to learn what he was watching. Judo isn't something we know much about! :)

Front Row Seats!

Catching up Part 1 - June 2012

If you've been following our blog over the past year and a half you may have noticed a period of ... hibernation. Ever since Bryant started studying for his MBA full time I hardly had time to use the computer and when he had breaks I had completely lost my momentum of logging our adventures.

I had been thinking about starting up again recently and when I spoke to my friend Betsy on the phone the other day I was convicted to finally start up again.

I thought I would start where I left off: June 2012!

After we had the pleasure of watching the Queen parade down the Thames on the Flotilla, Bryant and I took the plunge and added to our family. We got a dog!

Meet Charlie Boy:

This is Charlie and me on my birthday

Charlie is a retired racer and we are his third home after racing (and hopefully last!). The family who had him before were starting up a bakery and couldn't keep him any more. They gave him, and all of his belongings, to us for free! It was truly a dream come true for me.

Charlie Boy is 7 years old, as of January 2013, and he is such a sweetheart. He lounges on the couch as though it's his career. In fact, he is sprawled out over the entire thing as I type. I usually have to kick him off in order to make room for me to sit. Then we do lots of cuddling together. :)

I may tell you more about Charlie another day but here is another picture of him just because. I take more pictures of his lazy little face than anything else.

I love him!

Norway Cruise Experience & Diamond Jubilee!

The Norwegian anniversary excursion was a blast!

We flew into Oslo on Saturday evening and were able to walk our luggage over the Radisson hotel across the street. We were glad for that because it was almost 11PM (and yet strangely... still pretty light out!). Earlier that day, a few minutes before we were picked up to go to the airport we discovered that there was a strike going on in Norway and our ship would not be leaving from Oslo anymore, but instead Gothenburg, Sweden.

Contrary to what you may think: Oslo is not near the Oslo airport. You take the train to get there!

Fortunately, we knew that all we had to do was get to the correct pier and busses would be taking us down to the new port. This is easier said than done! There were far more piers in Oslo than we expected. We had to catch a cab to take us to the correct one--2 km away! Let me tell you, if you ever plan on going to Norway, plan to spend quite a bit of money, especially if you want a cab. 2 km ended up costing us 269 NOK, which is about $45! Fortunately, the rest of the cruise included every other expense so we hardly spent any money at all! (A few post cards and a Christmas ornament memory excluded, of course.)

The bus ride down to Gothenburg wasn't so bad because we were just too excited to be put off by the excursion. I have become an official amateur in Bejeweled thanks to the iPad and the 3.5 hour journey.

Once we arrived to the Plan-B port, which looked a lot like a shipyard, we joined a queue and became official cruisers! We had a ton of fun exploring the ship and watching everyone slowly join the group; I was told there were about 1900 guests.

Shuffleboard is cool.

The Queue

The name of our ship

Day 2 : Gothenburg! The day after we got to the ship we got to roam around the great Swedish city of Gothenburg. We loved it! The people are so friendly and everyone speaks English! This came in handy because the only Swedish words I know are Ogren Vän = friend (Nonnie taught me that one!)

We went shopping and bought a dress!

Charming old town

Gustav Adolf

The Volvo plant right next to our Ship's pier!

 Back on the ship... we were occasionally surprised with adorable towel animals on the bed. How did they find my RayBans?

Formal night was on the day at sea between Gothenburg and Bergen, Norway. We met some friends on the cruise and they helped make the trip even more enjoyable! It's always nice to have good conversation with great food!

We all look super sharp!

We both won a Spa Raffle! I got a foot and ankle massage. :)

Ice cream was in no short supply on the ship. I frequently partook!! 

Bryggen : Wharf of Bergen. UNESCO World Heritage site

Final stop on the tour: Geiranger, Norway.

We got up early so we could watch the ship navigate through the fjord. It was amazing! There are so many waterfalls and occasionally we could see a lonely cabin on the side of the mountains. That's my kind of living! :)

brrr

A cup of coffee and brilliant scenery!

Our favorite photo. This was taken on a hike up to the Storsetter Waterfall

LONG HIKE UP! 

We made it! The foot and ankle massage will come in handy tonight!

 The end of the hike offered many rewards including homemade waffles, jam, cream and coffee, spectacular views and a visit to the local kids (goats)!

The Vision of the Seas in Geirangerfjorden!

The cruise was an incredibly romantic vacation, perfect for our anniversary celebration!

When we returned back to England on Saturday we stayed with a friend and went to London for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Flotilla! It was spectacular to see all the beautiful sights of London with all the Union Jack buntings and row boats on the Thames.

We love all the patriotism!

Excited in the rainy weather!!!

Definitely got pretty cold after a while!!!

All worth it to see the queen and her royal family!!!