...I've been neglecting my blog!

I've been gone almost a month!  It was a crazy trip. So much happened in one trip that its hard to even think about it as one trip!  

It was quite an undertaking with a baby and it wore me out.  I planned all these things prior to having a baby - just thinking "we'll just see how it goes!" and almost everything I've done has proved to be quite challenging - hosting family, going on vacation, traveling abroad & stateside, and coaching a swim team - with a baby.  I can only imagine how nice it'd be to live within driving distance of family.  Having help at arms reach and easy to get to would be so nice!  

I'm really glad we went, but I don't know if I'll be doing another long flight like that on my own anytime soon. There really wasn't a way around it though, with immediate family so spread out all over the US, it was the only way to introduce Emma to all of them.

I wanted to get a picture of Emma's feet in the Mediterranean Ocean while we were visiting Cinque Terre.  An incoming wave was bigger than Jason thought it'd be and this is what happened.  I thought it was pretty funny myself :)  Her face in the 3rd picture with her feet all tucked up makes me laugh.

I have to say, I wasn't as good at taking the millions of photos that I usually take this trip.  Sometimes you just don't have a free hand to hold a camera when you're juggling a baby and all the gear that a baby requires (so much stuff!).  Its probably ok though, because I might not have had time to go through millions :)  

We had to go through Munich on our way to Salzburg, so we stopped for some shopping (Jason's cousin was on a hunt for a specific Birkenstock style) and dinner.  Usually when we go to the Hofbrau House its chaotic and packed, but it was less-so this time which was a nice surprise!  

Austria was a pleasant surprise.  I didn't really expect much going into it mostly because I didn't know what to expect.  Salzburg is small enough that its very doable in a couple days, its clean, affordable, and mostly stroller friendly - not to mention the city is extremely picturesque.  We really enjoyed our 2 days here!  I wish we had time to explore further and maybe take the Sound of Music tour.  Next time!

We briefly stopped in Venice on our way from Salzburg to Tuscany.  It was right on the way and hard to pass up.  To be honest, we did it all wrong and therefore didn't have a good time.  I would strongly recommend not trying to drive to Venice.  

There's not a lot of roads into the city, so there's tons of traffic and pedestrians - all tourists with the same idea as you.  Once we entered the outskirts and were trying to park, we discovered that most of the garages pack the cars in like sardines and want you to leave your keys with them - no way!  So it took some extra time and frustration to find a garage that we could park ourselves and keep the keys.  

We then basically got on a city bus (which in Venice is a boat) and did a lap through the city.  It was cool to see the city, but (1) it was extremely hot, (2) the city bus was dirty (go figure), and since we only got off the boat briefly, we only saw the area right around a major bus stop (not pretty).  

I think taking a train in or somehow getting dropped off would have been better and then spending a little extra money on a private boat tour would have done the city a little more justice.  I definitely would go back.

Saying that Tuscany was beautiful is a gross understatement.  Tuscany is like a dream and I can't get enough of it.  I had kind of hoped for more down time during our stay - time by the pool, hanging out, relaxing, and taking in the scenery - but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate.  It was rainy a lot of our time there (through the whole trip really).  We explored San Gimignano and nearby Sienna instead.  We had lunch at a Saffron farm and a wine tasting at an organic vineyard.  

On our way from Tuscany to Lake Como, we stopped briefly in Pisa.  The sun was so intense and there isn't much shade to be found around the tower, so Emma and I hung out in the spot below.  We didn't partake in any of the goofy pictures.  The town overall was not nice.  It was cool to see the tower, but after an hour I was ready to leave.  

Cinque Terre was different than I pictured it.  I had pictured it very stacked like Positano, but it was more spread out.  One of the major highlights is hiking between the towns.  Emma and I couldn't partake, but the rest of our group did a couple of the trails between the cities and really enjoyed it.  We stayed mostly in Montorosso.  It was clean, had good shopping and a beautiful beach area.  We ate an an awesome restaurant called the Cantina.  It was some of the best food we had the whole trip.

Lake Como is definitely one of the prettiest places I've ever been to.  The pictures below just don't do it justice.  My only complaint was that the rain made it impossible for us to do as much as we wanted to, which was a bummer.  Even in the rain though, it was gorgeous.  Our hotel was pretty awesome.  It was right on the water.

After our 13 day European adventure, we are back and we are tired and cranky!  :)  All three of us, equally I think.  Jason is dealing with going back to work and a flat tire, Emma is dealing with her schedule being all out of whack and teething at the same time (sleep has been a challenge the past 3 days), and a tired me is up to my ears in laundry and spending hours rocking our girl trying to get her back on schedule and to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time.

It was quite a trip - filled with beautiful places, good company and good food.  We drove from Wiesbaden, stopped in Munich for dinner, then went on to Salzburg, Austria for two days.  Then headed to Venice for an afternoon on our way to San Gimignano, Tuscany for three days.  After Tuscany we departed for Cinque Terre, stopping in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower on the way.  After three days in Cinque Terre we drove north and spent our final three days on Lake Como in the town of Bellagio.  On Monday we left Lake Como and drove through Switzerland on our way back home to Wiesbaden.  

The trip came with challenges - being a tourist with a baby is not an easy task.  There was a lot that I couldn't do or that was difficult for me to do with her and there were some moments where I had to throw in the towel and just go back to the hotel room for some quiet time.  We did well overall though - didn't forget anything major, the travel crib that I carefully picked out worked great and fit in every tiny European hotel room just fine, all our stuff (which doubled with Emma) fit in the car, we didn't get too lost ever, meltdowns among all were limited, and no major incidents to report.  

Overall it will be a trip to remember and one that we'll call upon when Emma is grown and wanting us to fund a trip to Italy - we'll point to the pictures and say "but you've already been there!  doesn't Florida sound like fun instead?" ;)

I've uploaded all my photos, but still have to sort through them, so more to come!  Here's some cuteness to tide you over though.

Some pictures from our weekend

It was quite a day!  I did a lot of stuff around the house, including washing General in the bathtub, and now my lower back is getting its revenge.  

I didn't want to give General a bath in the bath tub.  At home I either had the vet wash him or I took him to one of those do-it-yourself places so the mess was never in my house.  General sheds A LOT and with me being pregnant trying to wash him wasn't high on my list.  BUT, he needed it and I still haven't found a good place here so it had to be done.  

Our house here is 4 stories total (basement, ground, and 2 levels above).  Our only tub is on the 2nd floor.  General is scared of stairs period, but ours are made of wood planks and are the kind you can see through.  He doesn't even recognize them as steps.  So he stays on the 1st floor, which is ok.  There's plenty of room down there and it confines the hair, which I like.  

Jason had to carry him up to the second floor today though.  It looked like he was carrying a baby calf!  When we got up there General was completely freaked out, like he was on roller skates.  I don't know what his deal was - maybe he was still confused about how he got up there and where he was - this magical place above the floating wood planks?  It was a little funny but I also felt bad for him.  He would have preferred not to have a bath as well.  

A couple hours later though (I had to completely dry him too with my hair dryer so it took forever - spoiled dog!) he smelled like oatmeal, happily back on the ground floor and my bathroom was back in one piece and hair free.

On another note, we went back to what is quickly becoming our favorite little bar in Wiesbaden - the Belgian beer bar called La Petit Belge.  When we went to Belgium I was told about how I needed to try Speculoos.  I didn't see any  while we were there and therefore didn't try any, but continued to hear people rave about it.  

Well they had some for sale last night and its awesome.  It tastes like gingerbread cookies ground up in a peanut butter like paste.  Its better than Nutella in my opinion, but I'm partial to anything gingerbread.  

Last, we have had three friends this week give birth to three beautiful healthy babies and I'm just so happy for them all and thankful that everything went well for each.  Each one of these friends has their own unique path they had to weather in order to get to this day and I couldn't be happier for them. 

Welcome to the world Paul, Colette, & Audrey!  Can't wait to meet you in person!  

Berlin was freezing, but beautiful.  The city was really cool to walk around and would be so beautiful in the summer!  I was surprised by all the parks and wide sidewalks.  There wasn't even much traffic.

So the Canary Islands were a little different than I had expected them to be.  Our hotel and our view of the Los Gigantes (the huge rock jutting out into the water) were amazing.  The smell of fresh air coming off the ocean, one of my favorite parts of beach vacationing after living in Kuwait and learning what a lack of fresh air is like, did not disappoint.  However, one step out of the hotel and the area was kind of slummy.  So we stuck to our little resort clad corner for the most part and hung out with our friends.  Hanging out with them was the whole point of the trip anyways - not to see the Canary Islands - so because of that it was an amazing trip.  This family is welcoming a new family member in less than 10 weeks, so it was good to see them beforehand and hope to see them soon after their new little friend arrives as well!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Jason and I have a little tradition of celebrating our anniversary on the beach.  Our anniversary is right before Thanksgiving.  Four years ago we celebrated on our honeymoon in Mexico, Three years ago we celebrated on the cliffs of Santorini, and next week we'll be doing it for a third time.  I can call it a tradition if we've done it three times, right?  We'll be toasting from this view in the Canary Islands next week.  

I can't wait!!  
The 10 year old inside of me wants to pack my bags tonight out of excitement!

We did a quick trip to Brussels last weekend.  I had a swim meet that I was coaching there and Jason drove up with me and spent the night.  We only spent one evening in the city, but really want to go back. 

We stopped at the Delerium Cafe, saw the Grand Place (above), and bought some Belgian chocolate.

Next time it'd be nice to take the train there so we didn't have the stress of driving.  Its about a 4 hour trip from us.