new york, new york:)

I had those most wonderful time in New York this past week.... I fell in love up there... Here is a little taste of my trip! :)

everyday pretty.....

Ahhh....

I love traveling...

I love finding beauty in everyday things.....

They make pretty pictures...

a must read!

I am currently reading "Guests of the Sheik" by Elizabeth Warnock
Fernea. For all of you out there who have interest in North African
and/or Middle Eastern culture, you would love this book!

This book is a journal written by the wife of a newlywed american
couple who moved to Iraq in the 1950's. She writes about all her
experiences living in this unfamiliar culture... about her
relationships with the Muslim women, trying to adapt to being a new
wife, cultural mistakes she makes along the way, etc.

It's honest, entertaining, informative and very well written. I highly
recommend it to anyone who has visited or plans to visit that part of
the world!

Fantastic read.

just for laughs and memories :)

The ride of delirium! Me and my pea, Jenni on the way back to the US!

November 6, 2008

I took a quick weekend trip to Barcelona! The first night I went to see the Magic Fountain (as we called it) and it was amazing!!!! I think it was my favorite part of Barcelona... The fountain is HUGE and has lights that change the colors of the water and the fountain is timed to music... it is so awesome. If you are ever in Barcelona you MUST go to the fountain at night... I could have sat there and watched it all night. 

We took a bus tour around Barcelona and saw pretty much all of the city. It was a good way to see the city when you do not have that much time. Along the way I saw the most beautiful wall with its paint pealing and some amateur graffiti on it.. it was art within itself. It was quite a treat to see!

We came across an older man sitting in the park, set up with his chess board as if he was challenging anyone who was brave enough to try and defeat him. One of my friends did challenge him... and to no surprise, he won. 

Barcelona is a nice city. I hope to make it back to Spain again one day!

November 1, 2008

Yes, it is true! My parents traveled all the way from Alabama to see me in Italy! It was so good to finally be able to show my parents where I have been living for the last 3 months! We had such a good time together.

I joined my parents in taking an Italian cooking class! It was so much fun! We all learned a lot that we did not know before. We had a great teacher/chef named Roberto. Now I feel like I have a few cooking tricks up my sleeve... but I guess we will see!

We also went to the Chianti Region of Italy to Castello del Trebbio, a family run castle. They produce and bottle their own wine and olive oil. The family actually lives in the castle and we got to take a tour of where they live and taste their wine and olive oil. I loved the way it was decorated. It was an old beautiful castle but it was decorated with contemporary furnishings. There were great big sofas and several beautiful oriental style rugs. Although it was a big castle it still had a cozy and homey feeling. I loved it. The castle sits in between the Tuscan hills and has the most breathtaking views. 

Along with the castle came the game keeper... and he was absolutely adorable. He was dressed in his uniform and has been working at the castle as the game keeper everyday for over 50 years... well, he took 10 days off of work for his honeymoon! He is 81 years old now and when you look at him and see his smile stretch across his wrinkled skin, you almost wonder if every one of those wrinkles has a story to tell. I feel honored to have met him. I don’t even know his name but he was precious.

October 29, 2008

Well, at first, I was a little worried about my trip to Ireland.. because it was freezing and raining!!! As I was walking through the cold rain, I said over and over to myself that I will never live somewhere cold and rainy!! a.k.a. Ireland! BUT then we had the most wonderful weather the very next day.... it was still cold and windy but the sun was shining and it was absolutely gorgeous.. I could not have asked the Lord for a more beautiful day! 

We took a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher and it was so much fun! We had a wonderful guide and saw some of the most beautiful landscapes throughout the countryside. It was an artists dream... well at least for me it was..... 

Ireland is a very colorful country.. and the grass is so green!!! I loved the buildings. They are all very colorful and when I looked over the city, it looked like a painters palette. It was almost like it was God’s palette that he used to paint the beautiful rainbow we saw.... It was amazing.

October 23, 2008

Germany... I don’t even know where to start!

I had the most wonderful time in Germany!! I felt like I was home.. and it was probably because i was staying in the german countryside and it looked a lot like home to me but mainly because I stayed with an incredible German family!! The sweet family took us into their home in the breathtaking countryside. The Village we stayed in is about an hour and a half outside of Berlin. 

Our 6 days there were packed with trips to Hannover, Berlin, and exploring the countryside. I relearned a lot of history that I have forgotten over the years. We went and walked along part of the Berlin Wall that separated West Berlin from East Berlin. When the wall was taken down, artists came and used the parts that were still up as their canvas. The wall now tells stories about what the wall stood for, how people felt when they were stuck on one side of the wall and how they feel now that it is down. It was an amazing site for me to see. 

One day while exploring the countryside, this older man yelled “Hallo!” along with other German words that we did not know. He had the biggest grin on his face and he motioned for us to come over. He asked if we spoke German (Well, we think) and we said no... but that did not stop him. We had no clue what was coming out of his mouth but we knew he was telling us a story and he wanted to show us something and we knew it had something to do with hunting because he made a shooting motion and wanted us to follow him. So, we did! He took us to the back of his house into this other little house that was filled with all of the game he has shot! All I could think about while I was in there was, “My brothers and dad would love this!” This cute german man told us stories about all the different animals in his little house and then took us to the main house and showed us more and told us more stories. Keep in mind, he spoke zero English and we understand only a few german words, but it was so awesome. I felt like I knew every word he was saying. I loved it. 

Germany was an incredible country and I am happy to say that I have another trip planned before I leave to go home to the USA. I am very excited!