Exploring with our kayak!

We decided to go exploring with our new tender for The Perfect Temperature....it was such a gorgeous evening!

Fragola Gelato

On our secondo giorno (second day), my friends from London met us at our hostel and we all walked together to meet Ryan's family at the Arch of Constanstine (you can just see it in the back in the above photo), which is adjacent to the Colosseum and makes an excellent meeting place if you lose your group! Ryan's fam decided to join a guided tour but we opted for the cheaper and more independent "walk on our own" tour which was just as lovely! The only downside was that we lost Ryan's family but fate was with us that day and we saw them a little later as we walked around the Forum.

The Colosseum is absolutely amazing and I have a hard time not including the 800 million pictures Ryan took of it on this post but I will restrain myself! It is amazing to me that they allow so many people to tour it each day and it is still standing. Handy tip: if you go right when it opens, the crowds aren't as crazy and you can enjoy it in relative peace.









It sounds ridiculous but by the end of our trip, the Colosseum had become just another landmark in our neighborhood since we saw it more than a few times each day on our way to other attractions. That doesn't mean it became any less impressive, it just became like an old familiar friend....another reason I loved Rome so much, it felt like home after a few hours...similar to another of my favorite places, Utila.





Directly adjacent to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum or, more simply, the Forum. This used to be the center of Rome and it is where you can imagine yourself walking around, in sandals, as an Ancient Roman...well, that's what I did anyhow. It also is the home of Mussolini's summer home, pictured below.

After the Forum, we were off to the Pantheon which is a temple originally built for all the gods of Ancient Rome but was later converted by the Catholic church and is still used for Mass today. The ceiling is a massive dome with an opening to the sky called an oculus. The only sources of light in the temple are from the entrance and the oculus...they are also the only means of cooling and ventilation. When it rains, there is a drainage system beneath the floor that collects any rainwater that comes in through the oculus. Imagine your church with a giant, gaping hole in the ceiling....it does seem to work very well though and you can't help but marvel at the intelligent design.



That evening, after a day of sightseeing, I got my obligatory gelato for the day (Strawberry (fragola) and hazelnut) and then we had a casual dinner near our hostel before crashing to rest up before our next day at Vatican City!

Random Photos

The oculus

The Forum

 Inside the Colosseum

Old staircase in Colosseum

 The Forum

 Sweet tree in the Forum

Original cobblestone road leading to Rome

Benvenuti in Italia!

Alright my little adventurers, now we have entered into our favorite part of the trip: Rome! I'm not sure why Ryan and I liked Rome more (probably a mixture of warmer weather, less walking and PIZZA/GELATO) but we did. Since I am so enamored with Rome, it's going to take up a few posts :) Ryan's mom and sisters enjoyed Paris more, so it really is just a matter of opinion. My opinion is that while we were in Rome, I felt like I was living in a movie. I loved throwing open the windows of our guesthouse and letting in the sights and sounds of neighbors hanging laundry from their balconies, birds flying around like crazies and diners from the restaurants below.

The first thing we did when we arrived in Rome was....check in with our hostel! I know you were expecting me to say "EAT" because that's the kinda girl I am, but we were patient and left our luggage with the front desk of our hostel first since we were a few hours early to get into our room. Then we went and got some pizza and vino bianco at a great place called Meid in Nepols where the service was friendly and the food was delicious! For about 15 euro we shared a delicious mushroom pizza and a half liter of white wine. My Italian is pretty bad but they had an English speaker who seated us and the servers were incredibly kind and patient with us and our mangling of their language :)

After lunch, it was finally time to check in so we picked up our luggage at the hostel and headed to our guesthouse. The main hostel, The Beehive, is super amazing but we actually stayed in an offsite guesthouse they own called "Acacia" which is essentially a massive 3 bedroom apartment next to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (pictured to the right). For 80 euro/night we had a private room with a shared bathroom and living area. Since we were there for four nights, the other guests changed a few times but it was usually young couples that we only saw in passing and everyone was very quiet and respectful. I felt like a local as I used my key to slip into a nondescript door on the street, head up the tiny 2-4 person elevator and enter my temporary home.

Since we beat Ryan's family to Rome, we were on our own that first night so we decided to go exploring! We walked down to the Colosseum which was just a short walk from our house. I got some pistacchio and coconut gelato and it was the happiest moment of all time. Handy tip I read in a guide book for choosing a good gelato place: look at the pistacchio flavor! If it's bright green RUN!! It should be a light olive color because that means they didn't add a bunch of artificial crap. Here are a few more tips for choosing a good gelateria that I wish I had read before we arrived, it also mentions choosing gelato based on natural colors.

We wandered around to a few shops on the way back to our house but with a long day of traveling behind us, we both welcomed an early bedtime so that we'd be nice and refreshed for seeing our family and friends the next day at....the Colosseum!

Jacksonville Suns Baseball

This weekend Ryan and I faced a dilemma: we had a free Sunday afternoon and a very limited amount of money in cash because both of our debit cards had to be cancelled. Why were they cancelled? Well, apparently, the privacy information was compromised somewhere in the US that Ryan used his debit card, so they froze his account when we were in Paris! Then, when we got home from Rome, I got a call that 2 transactions had been denied in Rome...even though I was no longer there.  Sigh. So, because of some crazy people trying to steal our hard earned moola, we are without debit cards for at least another 3-5 days. I don't know how people survived before debit cards...what do you do when you need money?! I guess people used to carry more cash or more places accepted checks? First world problems. 

 

Anyway, because of all of this, we decided to check out our local minor league baseball team, the Jacksonville Suns. For 2 bleacher tickets, we paid just $15! Not too shabby! After robbing our piggy bank, we even managed to do what the song says and got some: 

I have to say, Cracker Jack's are not as delicious as I remembered as a kid! Despite the tummyache from my cherry Coke and peanuts and Cracker Jack's (I wanted ice cream and cotton candy and popcorn and cappuccino too...I'm like a 3 year old), it was still a really nice afternoon enjoying America's pastime. So the next time you have a free afternoon and not a ton of cash, support your local baseball team! (Tip: If you don't mind a little walk, don't pay the $5 for parking....if it's during the weekend, parking on the street is free!)

Paris (Exclamation Point)

As mentioned in this post a while back, Ryan and I had been planning a trip to Paris and Rome since January and we finally went last week! My brain is still a bit fuzzy and overwhelmed by the awesomeness that was Europe, so I'll just stick to the highlights and tips!

Tip #1
Get a Paris Visite Pass!! This entitles you to unlimited metro rides and you can get it for 1, 2, 3 or 5 days. While it may seem expensive (We paid  43.20 in Euros for two 3 day passes as opposed to 1.50/per person/per ride) it is completely worth it! You will be walking so much in Paris because it's a huge city and a bit spread out, so save your feet when you can. Even in my most comfortable flats (I bought a pair of Sperry flats for the trip because they are super comfy and adorable) I was still hurting!

When we arrived to our friend's apartment via the metro, they had an elaborate and delicious meal waiting for us! By far the best hosts of all time. I would make that tip #2, having awesome friends, but I don't think that's really fair...especially since I don't know that anyone can top these two :)

Our first night there, France elected a new president, Francois Hollande. From inside of our friend's apartment we could hear people cheering on the streets. We were very near Place de la Bastille where people had gathered to wait for the results and then celebrated until the wee hours of morning once Hollande had been declared the new president. We walked down there around 9 or 10 and it was beautiful madness! (I'll get video up of it later!) People were chugging from champagne and beer bottles, honking their horns, chanting, singing and at least one person was cursing out Sarkozy in Arabic. The happy energy was intoxicating, even when we were being squished by the masses all trying to make it to a stage that had been set up for Hollande to give a speech later in the evening. Before we were trampled, we decided that we had had enough celebration for one evening and made our way to a little bar called Le China for one of the most delicious/hilariously named/expensive cocktails I've ever had! It was called the "Old Money Lady"...I thought it was weird that many of their drinks were in English since the rest of the menu was in French...I was told that it could be that they were trying to seem more exotic. Like when I order a "cwa sont" because I'm trying to sound worldly when we all know I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Tip #2
If you're only in Paris for a few days, pick a few "must-see" sights and take your time enjoying those...don't try to see everything in just a few days! Unless you enjoy running from place to place during your vacation, of course. The time you spend aimlessly wandering, people watching in the park, and nibbling on street crepes will be much more relaxing and will help you to fully absorb Paris, it's people and it's culture.

Ryan and I did our best to balance aimless wandering with structured sight seeing with his family and I think we did a pretty good job! There were a few hunger/pain/exhaustion induced mental break downs on my part but that's mostly because I'm a baby and I tried to get over it pretty quickly :)

Tip #3
Stay hydrated, rested and well fed! Even if this means just having some trail mix and a bottle of water in your bag and stopping to sit on a bench every few hours. If you decide to ignore my advice about leisurely taking in the sights, you need to remember to take care of yourself because hunger/thirst/exhaustion only leads to the mental breakdowns mentioned above. You don't want to spend your precious vacation time cranky and yelling at your husband...not that I would ever do that....

My favorite things in Paris:

*Velib Bike Rentals! <---As stated in this article, if you're coming from the US your credit card/debit card will not work in their machines because it is missing a micro chip that EU cards have. According to this site though, you can purchase tickets on the web to use this service which is similar to ZipCar in the US. Our friends have an account with Velib and so we were able to use their account to get bikes for all of us to cycle around Paris like locals. It was by far one of the coolest things we did, if not a little scary when having to mix in with cars at roundabouts! They have designated bike lanes that are usually shared with taxi's but you have plenty of room and drivers seemed to be paying a bit more attention in Paris than they do in the US. If you're cautious, you will have a great and safe time!

*Our host's cooking...seriously, I felt bad for Ryan because as soon as we got home, he had to eat my crappy food. As soon as I get the recipes (and permission to post them) for the tomato and mustard tart and the Moroccan meatballs, I'll get them up here!

*Chateau de Versailles, which was absolutely breathtaking.... I hate to use that word because it's so douchey but it's true. The palace itself is gorgeous and then you enter the gardens....and holy crap they're massive. Marie Antoinette's estate is back there and so is the Grand Trianon which is basically a fancy house that wasn't quite as fancy as the main palace and where Louis XIV could get it on with his mistress. You can rent a boat to row around the Grand Canal or rent a bike to see the grounds in style. There is a lovely place by Marie Antoinette's estate where you can get an overpriced latte that is worth every penny because it gives you a chance to relax and enjoy the view.

*The smell of crepes....the taste is wonderful as well but the smell just makes you happy. Oh and looking in the windows of Parisian boulangeries-patisseries. Such beautiful little desserts and bread and oh wait, I'm drooling and now I have to buy something because of the shame.




*Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Luxembourg: these are the places to sit, watch children race sailboats in a fountain, watch the ducks, finches and pigeons, and best of all: watch the people! Bring a picnic and you may never leave :)

*Finches eating bread out of my hand at Notre Dame. They're already my favorite birds because so they're so tiny and wonderful but now they also perch on my hand to delicately nibble at a baguette?!!?! Thank you tiny finches for making me feel like Snow White and like you actually wanted to be my friend.

*Putting a lock on Pont des Arts with Ryan. The story goes that if you put your initials on a lock and lock it to the bridge and throw the key into the Seine River below, the only way to break the seal of your love is to find the key and unlock the lock. Since there are many keys thrown into that river, it seems that many heartbroken people come back with bolt cutters to remove the lock! There is another lock bridge in Paris, but that one is for lovers while the Pont des Arts is for committed love.

Random Photos

 

 

 

Heading to Europe on Saturday!!

This will be my (Brandy's) first trip to Europe and I can't wait :) Ryan has been a few times but he's pretty excited too. I promise to post about it when we get back! We'll also have a few crafty guest posts from the very talented Daniella in the coming weeks. Awesome!

Happy early Cinco de Mayo everybody! Ryan is already scouting out Mexican restaurants in the JFK Airport since we have a layover there Saturday evening before heading to Heathrow and finally....PARIS. I wonder how many sombreros we can fit in our carry ons?

How do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Let us know in the comments!