Vatican City

It would be a sin to get all the way to Rome and not go to the Vatican.

Haha! Just kidding...See what I did there? But really, the Vatican isn't just home to the Pope, but also home to some of the greatest works of art in the world! Two words: Sistine Chapel. It's the smallest principality in the world, but it also contains the largest church in the world- St. Peter's Basilica.

You could spend days admiring the vast amount of art contained in the Vatican Museum; however, that wasn't in the cards for our group. We were on the super-fast track and saw the highlights of the museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's all before noon! I don't recommend speeding through, but I definitely would recommend touring as part of a group for two main reasons:

1. As a member of a tour group you get to jump the insanely long line which is known to wrap around the Vatican wall.
2. Your tour guide will give you a much better understanding of what you see and its historical importance along with fun facts, stories and an overall greater appreciation for what could be an overwhelming museum.

The line went as far as the eye could see in both directions! This was at 8am!

 Holy ceilings and tapestries! Bahaha I'm cracking myself up! I adore how so many European buildings, churches, museums, etc. have incredibly intricate ceilings. It's as if they view the ceiling as a gigantic blank canvas begging to become a beautiful masterpiece.

And then there's the mother of all ceiling masterpieces...The Sistine Chapel. Inside you aren't allowed to talk, take photos, sit down, video, eat, and so on. Basically the only thing you are allowed to do is observe.

Thankfully, our tour guide, Anna Rita, conveniently brought a poster of both The Sistine Chapel and The Last Judgment and provided insight into each of the scenes Michelangelo painted and told us what to look for prior to entering (since we weren't allowed to talk once we went inside). It took four long, back-breaking years for Michelangelo to complete this remarkable work of Biblical scenes. To think that he didn't even consider himself a painter and had no idea how to make a fresco prior to this is unbelievable! Can you imagine if painting, rather than sculpting, was his passion? Mamma Mia!

The door and the roped off area are both only reserved for one man and he goes by the name of Pope Francis.

You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate all that St. Peter's Basilica has to offer. In fact, call me crazy, but I enjoyed being there more this time than in 2008 when the Pope was there (no offense Pope Benedict!). I say that because there was a sea of people which inhibited us from being able to see the entire church. So, avoid going on a Wednesday morning if you're indifferent about seeing the Pope or make a point to go back on another day as well.

The Pieta by Michelangelo is my favorite sculpture in the world. 

A visit to the Vatican isn't complete without a witnessing a changing of the Swiss Guard. To be eligible to become a member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, you must be a male, Swiss citizen- as the name suggests, Catholic (duh), un-married, between the ages of 19-30, at least 5' 8.5" (sorry, if you're 5'8"- you're cut), successfully completed the Swiss military training with good conduct and have at least a high school degree. That's all. :)

Tschüss!

The Late Great Roman Empire

The first day of our "land and sea" adventure began with the exploration of two major icons from the late great Roman Empire: The Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

Fortunately, the hotel in the land package we booked through Norwegian Cruise Line, Grand Palatino Hotel Rome, was a quick five minute walk to the Colosseum. Unfortunately, the walk was easier for some than others in our group...where the average age was 60 (no offense Mom). Literally we weren't a block from the hotel when we already had a "faller" on our hands. Unlike our Berlin experience, this fall was unprovoked by a crazy bicyclist. Thankfully, the lady who fell (tripped over the uneven stone) was all right. Bless her heart.

As you can see by the look on the face of our sassy, little Italian tour guide, Anna Rita, our "special"
group made her work hard for every euro. She did a really great job of telling us all the background information and historical significance up front then giving us time to leisurely walk around without being herded to every single point of interest.

This was my second time to the Colosseum, but this time I actually felt like I saw the Colosseum {if that makes sense}. The first time it was rainy and I felt like our group was super rushed without even wandering entirely around the arena and going up to the second level for an even better vantage point.

We learned that upon completion in 80 AD, Emperor Titus celebrated with 100 days of games. Typically this involved fighting animals in the morning and gladiator battles in the afternoon. It was free to attend and the government even provided food! Before you start saying, "Wow! What a nice guy that Emperor Titus is!" It wasn't the kindness of his heart that provided food and sport to the people of Rome. Rather he wisely surmised that if the people have full bellies and occupied eyes, they won't complain about what he did in and around the Roman Empire. Pretty brilliant, right? Hmm... sounds sort of familiar though. OK, I won't go there. #Obamaphone


After {briefly} losing two of our group members and warning others about the uneven terrain in the Forum, several couples decided it was better to return to the hotel. See what I mean about our special group? Mamma Mia.

In the feisty words of Anna Rita- Andiamo! {It means let's go!}

I must say that the while the Forum was intrinsically interesting, I appreciated it much more after taking three years of Latin. My high school Latin teach, Magister Kelsh, did a fantastic job of making history come to life especially as it pertained to ancient Rome and Greece. Ten years later {omg, I'm feeling old} I still remember stories about Roman/Greek gods and goddesses, the duty of the Vestal Virgins, plus I can still read a lot of Latin! In vino veritas, anyone? Anyone?

The statues above are some of the MVPs of the Vestal Virgins. To become a Vestal Virgin you were chosen from an important family under the age of 10 and vowed to remain celibate and tend the the eternal flame located in the temple (above with the columns). As you can imagine, it was a very big honor to be chosen for such an important task. The eternal flame was equated to the success of the the Empire and its military endeavors. Sound glamorous? I'm sure it was right until one of the virgins decided to break rule number one. The accused VV was publicly humiliated and buried alive. No means no? Yikes.

Before you know it it's lunchtime and what do you want for lunch when in Rome? Pizza, obviously.

So delicious! 

After an afternoon siesta, Richard and I set out to see the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain {which turned out to be under renovation}. It's amazing the things you stumble upon in such an ancient city.

Top: Italians call it "The Wedding Cake." | Left: Colosseum | Middle: Marcus Aurelius Column |
Right: A question from every Latin test: What does SPQR mean? Senatus Populusque Romanus. Boom. 

The Pantheon

The Trevi  Fountain... sort of

Don't worry, we still threw coins in the proper way {right hand over the left shoulder} to ensure another visit to Rome. Hopefully next time the Trevi will  be as impressive and enchanting as the first time I saw it six years ago.

'Til then.

Tschüss!

Mediterranean Cruising...Wonderfully Exhausting!

The word "vacation" in my book is typically synonymous with images of relaxing somewhere tropical under an umbrella or palm tree after waking up around 10am with the most difficult decision being should we go to the beach first or the pool.

This was not one of those vacations.

In fact, this vacation needed to be followed by a vacation similar to the one I just mentioned. This vacation was a gloriously incredible yet exhausting vacation.

Last October, Richard and I decided that we wanted to go on a Mediterranean cruise so we did some research and chose Norwegian Cruise Line's 11-day Rome and the Vatican Cruisetour. This itinerary allowed us to spend some extra time in Rome first (since Richard had never been to Italy before) followed by a week on the Norwegian Epic (a ship we fell in love with in the Caribbean for our first anniversary trip).

We also stayed two extra nights in Rome (good decision) after the cruise to see more of the city on our own before making the two-hour flight home (yay for not having to cross an ocean and having no jet lag!). This also allowed more time for gelato and pizza! #priorities

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Here was our itinerary & some highlights:

Day One | Arrive in Rome

Dinner in Roma!

 Day Two | Tour Ancient Rome

Colosseum

Roman Forum

Day Three | Vatican Tour

St. Peter's Basilica

 Day Four | Embark Ship

Norwegian Epic

Day Five | Florence/Pisa, Italy 

Florence Duomo

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Day Six | Cannes, France 

Nice, France

Monaco

 Day Seven | Palma de Majorca, Spain

Beach day! Finally!

 Day Eight | Barcelona, Spain

 La Sagrada Familia

 

Day Nine | At Sea

 

 Day Ten | Naples, Italy

Pompeii

Sorrento

 Day Eleven | Disembark in Rome

Castles and gelato. Need I say more?

I can't wait to share more about our experiences in each of these magnificent cities and all the historical icons and awe-inspiring works of art we got to see!

Have you been to any of these destinations? If so, which ones? What was your favorite city?

Tschüss!

Why Wouldn't You Get Married in Switzerland??

Little did I know three years ago as I attended a weekly Bachelor/Bachelorette watching girls night group that I would meet a friend, Amanda, whom I would later have the opportunity to watch walk down the aisle... Four thousand miles away in beautiful Zürich, Switzerland.

It's not a secret that Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Anyone who has been there or seen pictures can attest to the raw splendor of the snow-capped Swiss Alps, the lush green countryside and don't get me started on the crystal-clear lakes laden with swans. These reasons alone make it an easy sell for any destination wedding seekers.

However, couple that with family ties {Amanda's mothers' family is from Switzerland} and it's a no-brainer! Obviously, the question becomes why wouldn't you get married in Switzerland?!

Have you ever been to a hotel that doesn't allow cars? As in you have to park at the bottom of the mountain, hike part of the way {with luggage in hand because the path is gravel}, board a train which departs every 30-minutes to take you most of the way up and lastly hike another 15 minutes before ever checking in. No valet. No door-to-door golf carts.

Americans think this sounds crazy, right? I kept thinking as we were going up the mountain: 1) I shouldn't have packed so much 2) I'm glad I do Crossfit 3) I hope I have enough time to shower before dinner 4) Please don't make me do this in heels.

I must say this view from our room made the unexpected hike worth it! We stayed at the Uto Kulm Hotel located on the Uetliberg Mountain Top and location of the wedding reception and where the majority of the guests were also staying.
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After a quick shower {yay!} we were dressed and ready to go back down the mountain to downtown Zurich for the Rehearsal Dinner at Restaurant Orangerie Zurich. Before dinner began, Richard and I met the groom- Patrick- for the first time. As a Naval Academy grad, Patrick and his Navy buddies easily outnumbered my USAFA hubby, although that didn't stop him from saying "Sink Navy!" or "Go Air Force!" at any opportune moment.

By the end of the night, we felt like we had known this group of friends for years instead of hours!

Can you tell we were having fun?

Sadly, it took going to Switzerland to meet some great people we once unknowingly lived close to in Norfolk, Va. The best part of military life is having friends all over the world and that proves true once again!

My Groom plus the Bride & Groom! 

In true stereotypical fashion, it being the 4th of July and all, our group of loud and proud Americans {I mean they are military} decided to serenade the train passengers on our way up the mountain...

'Murica.

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We woke up Saturday morning to fog. Lots of fog. As in zero visibility. My heart immediately started aching for Amanda as I thought about her waking up on her Wedding Day in Switzerland and being literally surrounded by clouds. More like in a cloud.

I started praying the Lord would clear it up so Patrick and Amanda could have a perfect wedding day and little by little God answered! So much so, the sunset that evening was one of the prettiest I've ever seen!

"Welcome back to the Navy" smack! Gotta love military arch traditions!

After the ceremony, the guests got to go on an hour-long bus tour of Zurich before we headed back to the hotel for the reception. If you're a cheese addict like me, you would have loved what we had for hors d'oeuvres... traditional Swiss cheese fondue! I was in heaven!

Gorgeous sunset, right??

We had so much fun celebrating such a fun couple and being able to be a part of their Big Day! The dancing  lasted until 1am even after the bride and groom left. When it's 2014 and you get to do the Macarena, Electric Slide, Wobble, Cotten-eyed Joe and other old-school dances- you know it's going to be a good time!

 

 
Patrick & Amanda, the way you look at each other speaks volumes about your love and admiration for the other. It was a pleasure to be a part of your wedding!

Tschüss!

A Royal Girls Weekend in London | Red Coats, Towers & Muggles

Sunday was no exception to the picture perfect weather we enjoyed the two previous days. We knew going into the day it would be busy and full of walking (i.e. choose your shoes wisely). Out the door by slightly after 10am, Ali and I made our way to Buckingham Palace for the super touristy tradition called Changing of the Guard.

Perhaps, I naively had no idea there would be a million people there or simply the fact that we didn't plan in advance to camp-out in order to have a front row view, but either way I was overwhelmed and not in a good way.

 As we tried to cross the street toward the Palace, we heard and saw the entourage of horses and soldiers marching down the red-tinted road.  I {foolishly} asked a policeman who was wrangling spectators onto the sidewalk what exactly was going on. His response? "It's just the Changing of the Guard! I've seen it hundreds of times." Clearly he wasn't impressed either. Or perhaps he was upset that he wasn't chosen to wear the famous fluffy, black hat and participate in the parade. 

My suggestion is to either go all out and make the Changing of the Guard a priority meaning get there very early or don't bother. Either it is important enough to you to carve out the time necessary to be able to actually see it or else you're in a sea of people all holding up their cameras/phones acting like they can see it. 

Next up {and honestly, I wish we went there instead of CotG}, we ventured to the legendary Tower of London. Best known for being the home of the Crown Jewels, I was so impressed and frankly surprised at how much I liked the Tower of London even without seeing the jewels {an unfortunate consequence of having a busy day booked}. You could literally spend the entire day inside the walls exploring all the areas open to the public. 

The the 1000 year lifetime of the Tower of London, includes being a royal residence, prison, armory, treasury, menagerie, Royal Mint, public records office and, as mentioned earlier, location of the Crown Jewels. Despite its infamous reputation of torture and death, there were "only" seven executions held within the walls before WWI & WWII. However, one of most notable executions within the walls was former Queen of England and ex-wife to King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn. Outside the walls on Tower Hill was a different and much bloodier story. In a 400 year period, there were 112 executions on the Hill. Yikes!

To maximize our time at the Tower, Ali wisely suggested we take the one-hour Yeoman Warder tour offered every half hour by the legendary tour guides aka "Beefeaters." Back in the day, a Beefeater's original purpose was to guard the Tower and the English monarch. So, why are they called Beefeaters? Supposedly, it's because they were allowed to eat as much beef as they wanted at the king's table. A relatively small price for such an important job, dontcha think? 

So, what does it take to become a Beefeater? I'm glad you asked! Not just anyone can apply and get hired for such an iconic position. For starters, you must have served at least 22 honorable years in the British armed services. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a very loud voice and a witty personality to enhance the storytelling of both the Tower's history and the gruesome stories said to have taken place within its walls. Our Beefeater was fabulous and packed a lot into an hour even a few friendly jabs at Americans.

TIP: If you plan to visit the Tower of London, I would recommend purchasing your tickets online the day before to save £1.10 { hey, every little bit helps especially with the conversion rate right now!}

Once the tour was over, we quickly grabbed some fish & chips to eat on our speed-walk over London Bridge {So British right? Fish & chips AND London Bridge all in one!} to meet up for adventure #3 of the day... Harry Potter Muggle Tour! 

The only way the Muggle Tour could have been better {besides obviously meeting the trio} would have been if we actually got to dress up and walk around London in Gryffindor quidditch attire. I knew it was going to be amazing when our tour guide introduced herself as "Gretta Granger" and said she had a theatre background. She was super animated and made the two-hour tour feel like 30 minutes. Here are a few highlights! Maybe you can appreciate the locations too!?

Top Left: Entrance to the Leaky Cauldron | Bottom Left: Where Ron, Harry & Hermione use the poly juice potion in Deathly Hallows I to get infiltrate the Ministry of Magic | Right: JK's inspiration for the Durmstrang Ship which goes underwater in The Goblet of Fire

Top Left: No. 12 Grimmauld Place aka Order of the Phoenix headquarters | Top Center: J.K's inspiration for Azkaban Prison | Top Right: JK's inspiration for Knockturn Alley | Bottom: JK's inspiration for Diagon Alley

Looking back, I wish we had taken a picture with Gretta {our tour guide} and I wish we went to Platform 9 3/4. Overall though, if you're a Harry Potter fan, you'd very much enjoy the Muggle Tour!

After all that walking, Ali and I were ready to sit down and re-hydrate at one of her favorite spots on the Thames, Tattershall Castle. Can't beat the view on a beautiful London summer evening!

Despite being in London and having countless options of new and fun places to eat, the inner-American in me came out in full force demanding a burger. Germany does plenty of things right, but let me tell you... burgers are not one of them! So, when given the option to sink my teeth into my personal favorite burger, I opted for comfort food: Five Guys.

Sometimes contentment looks like a deliciously greasy cheeseburger with Cajun fries, free ketchup in a pump, 100+ choices of Coke products and ICE! Hallelujah! Five Guys for the win! 

Tschüss!