Just a few more

Here are some more photos from the last days of our trip as well as some personal favorites. 

Venice, questioning how everything just doesn't sink.

About every two minutes, you'd walk across a view like this. Beautiful.

 Our view from dinner...

...and the hotel room.

Cooling off in the grand canal. I'm unsure of the sanitary wellbeing of this body of water, but we weren't the only ones beating the heat this way.

 Another view of the grand canal.

Do you like my new look?

For men too.

An evening bike ride through town!

The love lock bridge in Paris. Lovers initial a lock and fasten it to this bridge to signify the strength of their bond.

Thanks for letting me share our trip with you. :) 

That's amore!

And fall in love I did. With each new post I feel I am expressing more fondness for a new city. If I can return to one place from our adventure, it would be Italy. The streets, the architecture, the history, the people, the food; takes my breath away. 

We arrived in Rome late in the evening and arrived to this: Trevi Bed & Breakfast and her neighbor, the delicious restaurant, Il Chianti. 

(If anyone is looking to visit Rome, I highly recommend this B&B; reasonable price, free-good-breakfast, great location, and room 206 was incredibly quiet.)

Our entryway to "home".

As her name suggests, Trevi B&B is a mere minute walk around the corner from Trevi fountain. Legend has it, a backwards coin toss, over the left shoulder, into the fountain guarantees your return.

The city center is so small, you can walk to most desired sites easily in one day. Here, the Spanish Steps.

Heaven on earth. 

The Pantheon dates back to 126 AD. It has served as a pagan temple and, later, rebuilt by Hadrian as a Christian church. It's core is as tall as it is wide, with a circular opening at the top of the inner dome. The Pantheon's preservation helps to serve as a visual for what the ruins of the Roman Forum once were. (Think Gladiator scenes)

Speaking of Gladiator . . .  I channeled my inner barbarian strength while waiting for our guided tour of the Colosseum. 

Behind us lies just a core of what once was. The stories of this structure, and the men who visited, are amazing.

Ruins of the Roman Forum, a once vibrant city center.

The Vatican and St. Peter's Square

St. Peter's Basilica

We visited early in the morning, and, in this majestic church, I could feel the warmth of His presence. 

This altar was constructed of bronze taken from the Pantheon's dome. 

On the east side of the Vatican is the museum and Sistine Chapel. In the distance you can see the dome of St. Peter's, designed by Michelangelo. 

Just one of the many spectacular corridors of the Vatican museum. 

Thanks for reading. More to come on Venice soon. 

Much love...

K + C

I love Paris in the Summer

So much has happened since I last blogged! Let me play catch up; first, with Paris.

Our week away from the Netherlands began with Paris. Everywhere I turned my jaw dropped. I thought I'd make a quick list of things I saw and learned while roaming the streets of Paris. 

1. Paris is home to some of the most (quite literally) awesome sights in the world. Here are a few that took my breath away . . . 

The Eiffel Tower:

We went to the tippy top - scary, but beautiful!

Back on solid ground.

Chad and the tower at night.

The Louvre-the building itself is stunning, even without art it is a sight to see:

Miss Mona herself

Venus

It seemed like the thing to do.

Notre Dame:

The Last Five Kilometers of the Tour de France:

 

Palace of Luxembourg gardens:

Look at the sailboats in the pond behind me. The children laughed so sweetly as they played with their "ships".

Isn't this grand?  

 

Yes, we ate macaroons in the park. :)

2. I do not like French food, except for: coffee (cafe au lait), croissants, beignets, crepes, fries (Belgium actually owns the rights to those yummies), baguettes, macaroons and... I think that's it. Breakfast and lunch is great. Dinners, on the other hand, not so great. Following a series of dry, poor tasting evening meals, we caved and ate Italian; something I vowed to wait to do until in Italy, but desperate times call for desperate measures. :) 

3. The cigarette industry will never die as long as the French still live.

4. French women are beautiful. On the same street in the same moment you will see a woman who looks as if she's just stepped off a runway; tall, slender, sleek hair, elegant heels, long legs, and a great dress, and also one who looks as though she just rolled out of bed, threw on a dress, tied her hair up, and splattered some lipstick on. They are both gorgeous. 

5. I would not survive in Paris on my current salary. Everything is just too tempting to buy, and, for the most part, comparatively too expensive. 

6. Paris has a way of romancing her visitors. I want to come back and fall in love with Paris again.

More on Rome and Venice to come.

K + C

The Old Country

Before Chad and I left Charlotte, my father, amongst many well wishes, jokingly remarked, "Say hello to the old country for me." So, to the old country we went. My father and his two sisters grew up in the small mussel fishing village of Bruinisse on the southern island of Zeeland. I've been here several times as a child and teenager, but on this visit I think I was better able to understand a bit of what my father's life might have been like. 

The mussel harbor which coincidentally hosted a mussel fest that same afternoon.

Zeeuwse Mussel pride

A bakery owned by my the father and brother of my father's childhood best friend. 

This is baker Daan (who gave us free treats!)

Sprucing up my grandmother's grave

That's a bit better. On her headstone reads (in Dutch) "My grace is sufficient for you". The same phrase-in English of course-is transcribed in my brother's headstone as well.

(foreground) my great-grandfather (back) my grandfather

The home on the right was my father's

Zierikzee, another town on Zeeland where my father went to secondary school.

Tante Tineke resting while we enjoy a cup of coffee at (formerly) Koss and Toss; a common hangout spot of my aunt and father.

Chadwick :)

Belgian Frites-which are always served with mayonnaise. Now, I am not a mayonnaise fan, but this mayonnaise tastes completely different-and better-than ours. Where can I get some?!

The oldest building in Zierikzee dating back to the 14th century.

The North Sea

The Kik family provided us with some mussels 

And here was our dinner-fresh from the sea.

Chad enjoying a classic Bruinisse meal. (I ate a sandwich.)

K + C