Veni, Vedi, Veci

Not many friendships withstand the test of time, but Heather and I must be an exception!  Heather has been my bestie since 5th grade.  I was thrilled when she wanted to come out and spend a week in Europe with me.  We met Heather in Rome on a Friday and headed straight for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum. 

Nos morituri te salutant!=We, who are about to die, salute you!  It was hot and very crowded, but we survived. 

 

 

We loved the statues surrounding the House of the Vestel Virgins in the Roman Forum. 

 

Outside the Flavian Amphitheatre AKA Colosseum. 

After sight seeing and a little bit of shopping we headed back to the hotel to "freshen up" for dinner.  We had great recommendations from Chris' Italian co-workers for dinner. 

 

 

 

After a fantastic meal at a Renato e Luisa we walked to the beautiful Fontana di Trevi.  I think this was my favorite night in Rome.  I could have sat and people watched forever!  So relaxing and such good gelati! 

The next morning we headed to the Roman Pantheon now a Catholic church. 

We walked to Piazza Navona (my favorite piazza) for some lunch and some Bernini.  We had lunch just off of the piazza and then some gelati. 

While waiting for our tour of the Colosseum to start, we ran into a great tour guide for Vatican for the next afternoon.     
 

From Piazza Navona we enjoyed a beautiful walk along the river and some shopping along the way to Vatican City.  We loved every minute of the tour which focused on the art and artifacts of the Vatican Museums.  Sean, our tour guide, has a Masters in Historical Theology which made for a very intriguing visit to the Vatican and its history.

 

 

 

The School of Athens, by Raphael.  Oh, and Chris...

 

 

 

 Inside St. Peter's Basilica.  Honestly, nothing like it in the world! 

What a fantastic day!  List of everyone's favorites:

Michelle: gigantic imperial bathtub made from Egyptian red porphyry marble (more valuable than gold per ounce), Raphael rooms, Sistine Chapel, and watching Heather fall asleep on some steps. 


 

 Chris: Also liked the bathtub, the map room, and watching a couple take dumb "action" pictures outside of St. Peter's for 30 minutes. 

Heather: Sistine Chapel, all the naked male statues, and the bathtub.

 

I think we all dreamed about getting into that big bathtub to soak our aching feet!

 

 

 

The Swiss Guard:  Protecting the Pope since 1506. 

 

 

Spanish Steps at dusk.  Before another great dinner. 

On our third day in Rome we traveled to Piazza del Popolo to see the "twin churches" of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto and to travel down Via del Corso for some SHOPPING!

We took a taxi out to San Callisto Catacombs along the Appian Way. We respected the dead and didn't take any pictures. It was a "nice" way to cool off 50 feet below! We road the bus back into the city and stopped at San Giovanni in Laterano Basilica (where only the Pope can have Mass). We then had gelati...again...

 

Scala Sancta (near San Giovanni and Pope's Palace) which according to tradition are the marble steps that Jesus took to receive his death sentence by Pontius Pilate.  Brought to Rome by St. Helena in AD 400. They are covered by wood to protect the sanctity and the condition of them.  Really cool experience, but didn't know how much it would hurt our knees or how uncomfortable it would be.  Makes you think doesn't it?


 

Two of my favorite people who aren't mad when I make them take the wrong metro. 

 

 

This fountain's water was freezing cold!  Wasn't expecting that!

On our last night we went to Hard Rock Cafe.  Chris and I continuously crave hamburgers and milkshakes. 

Now on to Venice! 

Happy Tenth!

Happy 10th Anniversary to us!  Chris was able to take a couple of days off so on our actual anniversary we drove down to the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur).  We stayed in Villefranche-sur-mer which is a harbor between Monaco and Nice. 

Villefranche harbor.

That's some fresh fishies!  This was in front of hotel every morning. 


We got up early on Thursday and took a taxi up to the village of Ѐze which is a medieval walled city high on top of a hill. Chris says that it was on a trip to the south of France he took with his dad 11 years ago that he knew that he wanted to marry me. Only fitting that we went back on our tenth anniversary!

The view from the top of the Jardin botanique d'Èze which not only boasts great views, but a great variety of cactus and succulents.  View west towards Nice.

 

There is a fantastic hike from the top of Ѐze to the sea 2,300 feet below.  Well... why not?  (90 degree temps and 85% humidity was the only downside)

After our hike we went to the beach and then walked around the old town.

Fireworks for us?  Oh, thank you! 
That night we discovered someone was having a great party at one of the many water-side villas.  The music echoed around the harbor and the fireworks were great!

On Friday morning we took the train to Monaco.  The casino didn't open till 2pm so we didn't stay long.  Just long enough to admire cars, boats, jewelry and watches and grab a bite for lunch. 

Gardens in front of the Grande Casino of Monte Carlo

In front of the Monte Carlo Casino. Well, sort of... Chris' Italian wasn't good enough to get the Italian tourist to point the camera in the right direction.

Who wants to play "one of these things is not like the other"?  Who knew that there were 1987 Lincoln Towncars in Monte Carlo?

Several interesting and beautiful cars: an original Mercedes SL, an AMG customized SLR, and an Audi R10 with a dumb, mirrored body kit... Clearly taste is not a prerequisite to having money.

In the afternoon we took the train to Nice to walk the Promenade des Anglais and have a little retail therapy in celebration of my birthday! 

Outside of the Hotel Negresco.


Saturday we took a drive to Saint-Paul de Vence which is another medieval village atop a hill.  The village specializes in art and most of the apartments have been converted into galleries and some studios. 

The village was immaculate and the smell of fresh oil paint that permeated through the walk ways was quite an experience. 

 

Saint-Paul de Vence

From there we drove to Cannes and decided to drive along the coast the rest of the way back to Villefranche.  I'm so glad we did!  It was such a beautiful and relaxing drive. 

We stopped at a look out and noticed that there was a much larger yacht than we had seen in the past several days.  Looking at the name of the boat, Eclipse, we came to find out that this is the largest (and most expensive) private yacht ever commissioned.  You can charter the Eclipse for $2 million/week.  Worth it?  It does come with 2 helicopters and a submarine! 

We enjoyed the rest of the day by relaxing on the beach with a picnic dinner. 

Goodbye Villefranche!

Since Sunday was such a gorgeous day to be driving back we decided to forgo the tunnel and take the Gottard Pass instead.  Good choice!

Part of the winding road up and over the mountains. 

We are both so happy with the choice we made to get hitched such a "long" time ago!  Life doesn't get much better than this! (unless a super yacht gets chartered for our 20th)

Love Parades?

20 Years of Love, Freedom, Tolerance and Respect was the theme for this years Zürich Street Parade.  Chris informed me that the guy that started it was a mathematics major who now works in corporate finance.  Look at what he started...

Expecting 600,000 to 'rave' from 1pm till midnight. 
So clubs around the city have "moving clubs" on the back of semi-trucks which makes up the parade that lasts from 3pm to 10pm. 

 It was love at first sight with these two...

 A lovely family outing...

These guys dressed up like dorky police in rollerblades.  Oh wait, they ARE police. 

Always make new friends!

Mainau

My friend and fellow expat, Alicia, and I have been dying to go to Insel Mainau.  Which is a beautiful island renowned for its gardens and flowers. 

I wonder if my dad could pull this off?

Gorgeous Italian waterfall flowers.

Inside the butterfly house which boasts 80 different species. 

Thank you Penelope for taking a great picture of your mom and me outside of the castle!

Penelope with a goat in the petting zoo.  I'm not sure if this is the one we let escape out of the pen.  Whoops!  Nobody seemed to care, but as soon as that goat got out it was GONE.  Probably headed to some of the best tasting plants.   

Here are some of my favorite flowers:

Lantana camara or Spanish Flag

Hibiscus schizopetalus or Japanese Lantern

Justicia brandegeana or shrimp plant. 

So an Ogre, a Monk and a Virgin walk into a bar...

I've been so excited to see the Jungfrau (virgin) mountain and Grindelwald region of Switzerland and it did not disappoint!  We drove early Monday morning since Chris had the day off for Swiss National Day to Lauterbrunnen train station. We jumped on the "Jungfrau Express" and started our 1.5 hour train ride to the "Top of Europe". 

This is the North Face of the Eiger (Ogre) from the Kleine Scheidegg train station.  I didn't get great pictures in the morning and the afternoon was too cloudy hence the b&w. 



Kleine Scheidegg bahnhoff between Grindelwald and Wengen/Lauterbrunnen.

So this is a glacier!  It is viewed from Eismeer (sea of ice) Station between the Eiger and Mönch (Monk). 

 As you ascend in a cog-wheel train through the interior of the Eiger and Mönch to Jungfraujoch there are two stops and view points.  The Eiger Wall Station is directly on the north face and is an escape route for climbers in danger.  It is also where rescue missions depart.  The second stop is at 10,364 feet at Eismeer.

 

 

Inside the Sphinx observation deck.  The complex also has a high altitude research station.
 

Spot the helicopter?  Just a little perspective...

Top of Europe and the Mönch.  Fantastic views in every direction.  Got a little freaked out when I walked across a metal grate and looked down only to see nothing for 1000 ft. 

View of Aletsch Glacier and tent camp from Sphinx. 

On the glacier throwing snow balls at each other. 

Inside the Ice Palace. 

Chris and Jungfrau in the distance back at Kleine Scheidegg. 

Tell me again where happy cows come from?