I'm Back!

I'm back!  We just spent the last two and a half weeks traveling around Europe on vacation!  I long overdue time off from work (last PTO day was around Christmas)... and the trip was exhausting...  I just didn't want to stop seeing and experiencing... and eating... 

The next couple posts won't be recipes, since I haven't been cooking, I'm still trying to adjust back to non-vacay mode, and the next two weeks will be super busy and will only involve super quick cooking.  I'll be sharing some about the food we ate (which I'll try to recreate and post recipes later), some tips for traveling in Europe, and a review or two.  But before that!  Here is a little summary of our vacation with a few (or more) of my favorite photos.

Our first stop was Rome!  Everywhere you turn there is some structure or column from thousands of years ago.  It's hard to believe people were able to build these architectural feats without modern cranes or trucks.  We stayed close to the Pantheon and saw it every day... and every time... I just looked at it in awe.  The food was delicious, of course.  And then the country within the city, the Vatican, was decked out floor to ceiling with art from famous painters, sculptors, and other artists... just amazing!

 

 

 

Next on our trip was Switzerland.  We spent a night in Zurich and two days in Lucern.  While Zurich has a lot of modern vibes, Lucern is almost the opposite, seemingly stuck in the Renaissance period which made it seem fairytale-like.  We got on a ferry and then on an old cog train to the top of Mount Pilatus... the views of the Swiss Alps were breath-taking.

 

 

Of course the City of Light was on our vacation agenda.  It was pretty neat to use the Eiffel Tower as our landmark to know which way was "home" since we were staying only two blocks away from it.  We went to the Louvre and probably walked 10 miles inside the building (phew).  Fashion Night Out was happening, so of course we joined in and saw French models and some designers in the streets of Paris and purchased some wearable souvenirs!

 

 

London was our final destination and we had lots planned!  We went to a couple of Jamie Oliver's restaurants.  We saw a Comedy of Errors at the third Globe theater (the first two burned down centuries ago), two shows at London Fashion Week, and an English Premiere League football match (Tottenham verses West Brom).  The weather was actually nice and mostly warm, which we hear is rare there.

 

Certainly more to come and recipes and menus will return soon!