Big changes!

I have an incredibly legitimate reason for being absent! WE’RE MOVING! So long Florida, hellloooooooo California!

Hubs has accepted a killer job offer in San Francisco and we couldn’t be happier. I’m staying super positive and trying to not pull my hair out. He’s shipping off without me and the kids to start work and we’re tasked with getting the house packed up and ready to rent/sell. Deep breaths! I feel like singing, “We Shall Overcome”! Seriously though, it will be a trying month-ish, but I’m ready to take on the adventure of moving cross country to a hugely diverse, amazing city.

So! All you people snooping around, share your favorite San Francisco tips! We’re house hunting in east bay to give the kids a yard (something they’ve never had), but plan on exploring everything. I’ve got my fingers crossed for comments, don’t disappoint!

Italia! Part 1

I haven’t abandoned this blog, yet. I promise. We’re back in the US, but there are still updates that need to be made!

So, August 10 we packed up to head to Rome, Italy! Whoohoo! The boys were super excited that we got to walk on the tarmac to head to the plane. The flight was super short, only 1.5 hours to get to Italy. We saw the Swiss Alps from the window and it was breathtaking!

We landed in Rome and holy moly, was it hot! We hadn’t had that sort of humidity and heat since we left Florida. We took a bus from the airport to Termini train station. We were a little discouraged when we got to Termini though. Our hotel was only 200m from the station so we figured we’d walk. Only we had no map. We were given wrong directions from some rude cabbies and one offered to take us to the hotel for $20. We passed seeing as though we were only 3 blocks away! Nice try buddy! We arrived at the hotel and it was really nice. There was an old Italian man at the desk and our room was very nice. He gave us a map and circled all the “must-dos” for our first time in Rome, gave us directions to the Vatican (with the helpful tip of which metro stop to use to avoid crowding), and a recommendation for dinner.

We went to the dinner spot he suggested and it was super busy with tourists. We didn’t mind because we knew that meant we would be fine getting help in English. Food was good and we had a great time. We got gelato after dinner (another must) and it was a great night.

The next morning we went to the Vatican and it was AMAZING. The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel were just so beautiful and St. Peter’s Basilica was just so ornate. It was really one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Even James was in awe.

The next day we did the big “ancient Rome” sights. The Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Nate LOVED these sights! We took photos with “gladiators” outside of the Colosseum and the guys were really funny. We found a great book that had pictures of all the ruines/sites and then it had overlays for the pictures so that you could see what things looked like during the height of the Roman empire. It made it even more special for him. We tried explaining how old things were and he thought it was super cool. At the Forum you could touch and climb on a lot of the ruins and Nate wanted to touch as many as the old structures as possible. It was cool trying to imagine how things used to be there.

Low Key Week

It is our last full week in Germany and we’re pretty sad about it. We’ve had such a great time in Karlsruhe and beyond! This week we went to the park (as usual), and had a really great playdate with some friends 🙂 We also got to borrow a bike from the friends with an attached trailer to haul Nate around in…he LOVES that thing. Too bad Florida is so stinking hot, or we would be purchasing bikes ASAP when we get back!

We’ve been trying to think of things to bring back to the states that we can’t get there…as well as gifts for everyone. It’s so hard thinking of things! I can assure you we will be loading up on tasty gummy bears, though.

The rest of the week should be fun. Dinner with friends tomorrow and Saturday we’re going to Munich! I’ve been teasing James about getting some lederhosen when we go to Bavaria 🙂

Strasbourg, France -As told by Nate

Nate wanted to write in the blog, so I told him that I would type whatever he wanted to tell us about our most recent trip to France. Enjoy 🙂

All us were on a train and us went on a train journey to Wisemburg. Then I had a lot of fun. We got some baguettes and a ham sandwich. Jambon is how you say ham in French. Then we hopped on a train and we went to a town called Strasbourg and we got beignets! Beignets look like hamburger buns, they are squishy and sweet like donuts and they have sugar crystals all over them. We ate a lot a lot of the beignets and got some to eat on the train home.

We went to a big, big church and I had to be very quiet in there. There was a big clock and a skeleton rode around and hit bells on top of it. There were very cool statues, too. There was a lot a lot of people in there. Then we went out of the church and I got to eat more beignets ‘cause I like them.

We went to La Petite France. That means Small France. I got to play in a park there. Some kid was trying to talk to me, but I don’t know what he was saying. We had dinner in a restaurant and I had a yummy sausage and some French fries and some ice cream.

Then we hopped on another train and go home. The end.

James and complimentary prosecco.

You too, can dine with 1920s Italians!

my caprese

he was wayyy to happy for this

my pasta

tiramisu for the grown ups

inside the eiscafe

Pistachio angel!

Food Post!

James’ post about the pizza reminded me to post pictures from our super tasty Italian dinner! We are big fans of Groupon.com and we landed an AMAZING deal…19 euro for a 3 course meal at a super trendy Italian place in town with complimentary proseccco. We went and it was awesome! James had a green salad and pizza, I had caprese and rigatoni with beef, ham and tomato-cream sauce. Nate shared with both of us (portions were gigantic). We finished off dinner with tiramisu…Nate wasn’t a fan, so we promised him a trip to the eiscafe (ice cream shop) for a sundae. He got a pistachio angel sundae while we sipped on coffee.

James and complimentary prosecco.

You too, can dine with 1920s Italians!

my caprese

So let me tell you about pizza delivery in Germany….

If the title isn’t obvious enough, I, James, have decided to write my first entry here 🙂

First, how many pizza places do you know who would accept your order 3 minutes before close? And then get it to you in under 1/2 an hour, with the pizza still piping hot(on a Bike from across town at that)! All this at nearly midnight on a Sunday(I know in the US this isn’t a big deal but here nothing is open on Sundays much less at midnight).

I know by now you much be thinking ‘that pizza place must be…’

A) Gross… Wrong it was Delicious but you would have to take my word for it.

or

B) Expensive…. Wrong… extra large cheese pizza delivered with tax $10 US.

Needless to say it has me wondering… Pizza delivery is an American thing right? How did the Germans get pizza so Right??

Just in case your mind wanders like mine does, then you have to concern yourself with the business practices. But here the law mandates they treat their employees well. Thats right, the pizza delivery boy has full health insurance with no co pays, unlimited sick time, and paid vacation! No wonder he is so chipper to deliver pizzas at all hours of the night 🙂

Wisemburg 3

Wisemburg Part 2

To Wisemburg!

capoiera group

eclair

Wisemburg Part 1