Honeymoon!

On Sunday, Emily left to return home and I met up with Ben in the Heathrow arrivals section and we started our honeymoon 23 days after we were married! We are currently spending a few days in Brugge, Belgium (where we got engaged) before heading off to the Conrad Resort in Maldives for a week!

Quick Update #2

Guten Tag from Switzerland!

The last two weeks have flown by with one adventure after another, which unfortunately leaves no time to blog (and internet access was no longer free).

After Zaclyn left Paris, Emily, Heather, Matt and I continued to explore the districts and see the major sites (Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, Sacre Coer, Versailles, the Louve, etc.). We got a morning train that took us to Koln for the day. Even though is was cold and rainy, Emily and I braved the weather and took a walking tour of the old city and saw the Rhine river!
The next day we took another morning train to Frankfurt, where we said auf wiedersehen to Heather and Matt as they left to return home to the States, and we picked up our car (a nice Mercedes B-class) and started our driving adventure through the German countryside. The few days were filled with cute medieval villages and castles, including the famous Neuenstain by King Ludwig II (Sleeping Beauty's castle is based on this).

We returned the car in Munich and spent a few days exploring the city and also took a day trip to Dachau, the first concentration camp in Germany. It was a work camp and it was shocking and sad to see what happened there. Even though it was a hard tour to do, I am glad I did it. It is a good reminder. Before we left Germany, we made sure to stop in a bierhaus for one more yummy, cheap meal of sausage and beer.

A long morning train was catched to take us from Munich to Zurich, and we filled the time watching the nice scenery and playing a few games of Skip-Bo! We arrived in Zurich during a big rain storm and had no hostel reservation. We fought the weather, figured out their tram system, and made our way across town to book some beds for the next two nights. Zurich was a nice city, but very expensive. We did enjoy some good swiss chocolate though! There wasn't much to do in the evenings, so we saw some movies (in Switzerland they don't dub, only add subtitles in Germand and French). Keeping with the theme of the trip, we saw "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "27 Dresses". On the way to Bern, we stopped in Lucerne for the day, a town I liked alot better (even though their museums are way too expensive). Lucerne was very quaint, surrounded by the snow covered Alps and filled with friendly people. Here we got to enjoy the very Swiss meal of cheese fondue!

Then on the way back to Paris (and eventually London), we stopped for a day in Bern (home of the Bear Pits) and will spend tomorrow in Geneva. No trip without Switzerland would be complete without snow and this morning Emily even got to experience snow flurries for the first time in Bern!

I have just a few more days left with Emily before she returns to the States and I meet up with Ben in London!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Quick Update

Bonjour from Paris!

It has been a crazy 2.5 weeks, here is a quick recap while I have internet access...

Ben and I flew to Italy via London and met up with his parents for 3 days in Rome! He has all the pictures on his camera, but here is one of the few shots I had on mine. Then we headed off to Florence via the train through the gorgeous countryside to spend 3 quiet days together enjoying the cute Tuscan city and some very yummy gelato.

Then it was off to Aberdeen via Rome and London to collect our shipments before driving down to Edinburgh to collect cars and people, and then caravaning 2 hours to Hoscote House outside of Hawick (yep even I drove!). Tuesday through Thursday was spent hanging out with family and friends while running errands for the wedding, including picking up the very important Marriage Schedule (aka License) at the Hawick Town Hall.

Friday, the 29th of February, we took the leap and got hitched (ok so that is a totally cheezy line, but I had to do it!) on a VERY stormy day. We braved the weather and drove into Edinburgh to stay at the Caledonian Hilton that night, who upgraded our room for free to a gorgeous room with a view of Edinburgh Castle. Saturday was spent recovering at pubs with Jesse, Meghan, and Zaclyn and attempting to take professional pictures around town (again unsuccessful do to the massive amounts of rain).

We made our way to London via Aberdeen (had to ship all the stuff back home) and stayed at the Hyde Park Hilton, a very fancy hotel where we ordered room service for dinner and just relaxed in the posh room. Monday morning Ben left early to fly back to the States. I packed my backpack and took the tube down to the Earl's Court area to meet up with my family for 2 days in London together. Most of the sites I had already seen with Jesse and Ben back in 2004, but it was fun to be in the city and experience it with the family!

On Wednesday Rachel flew back to the States, and Emily, Heather, Matt and I took the train to Paris (my parents stayed in London for a few more days). Here we met up with Zaclyn and have been busy seeing the sites and eating too many crepes at the little cafes!

We are in Paris for 5 more days and then off to Germany!
Au revoir!