Christmas Lights

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good drink!

Skyline and Millennium Park

I took some photos of the beautiful Chicago skyline a couple nights ago:




And then spent some time in Millennium Park:

Catching Up

Wow, it has been a long time since we've posted anything. To try and catch everyone up I thought I would post a summary of our last five-to-six weeks...nothing too in-depth and boring but hopefully enough to give you a good idea of what's been going on:

• We were invited to our ex-neighbor's new-house warming in late October.  The Telfords used to live in the condo below ours and now live in a house a couple streets over.  Their house is gorgeous, we had a great time, and found out their street has a fantastic "block party" with horses, fire trucks, and amazing food sometime in the summer.  We are currently trying to find a way to get invited or crash their next block party.
• I had double hernia surgery in early November, and yes it hurt as much as it sounds. The surgery went very well and Sara was a great nurse.  I was out of commission for pretty much two full days and then started feeling better and better with each passing day (with the help of the pain meds). I never knew coughing, sneezing, and laughing could hurt so much. I'm close to my usual 93% and have started to work out again, although only with light weights. Thankfully there are no pictures to share...
• Also in early November, Sara and I made a trip back to Muncie to see my sister (it was her birthday) and to attend my father's charity event for A Better Way, 100 Men That Cook.  On our way to Muncie we met up with my family to have lunch with my Grandma Doudt in Columbia City, IN. It was great to see her if only for a couple hours. As for the charity event, it was a huge success.  We are so happy for A Better Way and my father. It was also a lot of fun to hang out and share a table with our friends Brian and Holly Ross and David Haynes.
• The next weekend in November, Sara and I flew down to Clearwater, FL for the weekend to attend Dickie Hart's wedding (friend from college). The weather was perfect and the food at the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception was amazing (sushi and steak!!).  We were in heaven.  I got to see a bunch of college baseball buddies and reminisce about how great we were (of course).  And as usual we busted a groove on the dance floor at the reception...I'm convinced people we don't know will hire us just to dance at their reception.  We also got to hang out with our friends Zack and Carrie Roper for the day on Sunday and meet their young son, Tyler. It was a great trip and really nice to be in warm weather as winter is quickly coming to Chicago.

• For Thanksgiving we made a trip to Cedar Rapids, IA as Sara's brother and sister-in-law, Eric and Amy, were hosting the festivities...which not only included fantastic food but also charades. Of course our team won on Sara's great "charading" of the song Earth Song.  Later in the evening, Sara and I destroyed the sibling team of Eric and Katie in Euchure. Twice.  I guess Thanksgiving is the holiday of giving thanks for winning games. We also took a family photo but we all swore not to share it with a wide audience since we took it in the early morning.
• Somewhere in and around these other events Sara and I found time to hit up two concerts at Lincoln Hall, a fantastic small venue south of us in the Lakeview neighborhood.  The first concert was Youth Lagoon and then just this past Tuesday we went to see/hear Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.  Great times!

I think that about sums everything up.

Conservatory Photos

Sara and I walked around Lincoln Park for a couple hours on Saturday.  It was such a beautiful fall day but we had to cut short our walk as I wasn't feeling the best. I took some photos while we walked around inside the Conservatory.  You can see them here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajdoudt/

Fall Comes to Chicago

With Sara away in San Francisco at a conference, I went down to Lincoln Park and took some pictures of Chicago in Fall:

Up, Up and Away!

Due to an IU home football game last weekend every hotel was booked in town so we had to stay at a motel in Bedford about 30 minutes south of Bloomington. Sara was very excited about this (no joke) as this was her first time staying in a motel. And it certainly lived up (down?) to her expectations as it was a very typical motel with some questionable cleanliness, but it was a roof over our head so it did the job.  We had to meet our pilot at 7am so we got up at 5:45am, had a bite to eat of Cardamom bread (homemade by Sara) and fruit, and headed out to Bloomington.

As luck would have it the other people that were supposed to be in the same basket as us did not show up which meant more space for us.  The basket wasn't too big so I'm not sure how we would have fit two more people in with us.  The day before the pilot had taken up eight (that's right, eight) people and they actually skydived out of the basket.  Wow.  We would not be jumping out of the basket today...just a calm trip up to about 3300 feet.

We drove out to the liftoff site (an open field used for band practice) and helped get the balloon prepped for flight.  Soon enough we had liftoff...

And, yes, it was that loud (and hot) when the pilot heated up the balloon. Sara and dad then followed along in the "chase" van.  Here are some pictures from the morning:



If you want to see more pictures that I took during the flight feel free to check out my Flickr page.

Turkey Run

Sara and I made a trip down to Indiana last weekend to complete a birthday gift for my mom.  The entire family had gone in together back in June (on her actual birthday) to get mom two tickets for a hot air balloon ride, and I was lucky that my mom asked me to join her for the ride - my dad is not a fan of heights so he was all to happy to have someone else go. She then scheduled this past Sunday morning for the sunrise flight in Bloomington, Indiana.  Before the Sunday morning flight we met up at Turkey Run State Park on Saturday for a picnic and hike.  Here are some of the pictures from our hike:




After our hike we headed down towards Bloomington but made a stop at one of the covered bridges nearby:




We then enjoyed a Mexican dinner where my dad ordered "the special" that included three plates of food, and unbelievably he couldn't finish all of it.  Maybe the first time I've seen that happen.

We then hit the sack as we had an early morning ahead of us...

Bears Game

Thanks to Alan and Rhonda Wilson, Sara and I got tickets to the Bears vs Carolina Panthers game. It was awesome with all sorts of scoring and we even saw Devin Hester set an NFL record with his 11th punt return for a touchdown.  Here are a few pictures from the day:

On The Waterfront

A few photos from the Lake Michigan waterfront last night:

Visit from Dad

Because we were in Iceland over my dad's 60th birthday, we decided to invite him and his friend, Trish, up for a weekend in Chicago. They came up around noon and Saturday and we kept busy until they left the next afternoon. We showed them around the town - Grant Park, Millenium Park, took the necessary architecture tour and had a fabulous dinner (complete with Mojitos) at Mercadito -YUM!! We called it a night after that. The next morning, we couldn't let them leave without having a Chicago brunch at the Bongo Room!

More Photos of Iceland

There are always more photos. Even though we shared hundreds of photos in our massive Iceland Adventure writeup, I still have more. Some we already shared and some will be new. I've uploaded all of them to my Flickr account if you are interested.  

NYC Layover

On our way back from Iceland to Chicago we had a long layover at JFK. So we decided to take a quick trip into Manhattan.  We hit Times Square, ate some New York style pizza, and took a carriage ride around Central Park in the pouring rain. It was very romantic.

Iceland Adventure

Please excuse the massive write up....we are not only writing this up for all of you but also for ourselves to remember down the road. So this may be just a lllllllittttttttlllleeee bit detailed. We will be "summarizing" each day of the trip and then providing a slideshow of photos for that day. If you double-click on the slideshow it should take you to our Picasa page where you can then view the photos in a larger format and a map of where they were taken.  Enjoy!

Here is a basic Iceland map and some of the major landmarks of our trip by day.

* Note: There are some videos mixed in with the pictures; however, they won't play in the slideshow so you'll need to view them in our Picasa page.

Flight in
- Reversal of roles during the flight - I slept. Anthony did not.
- The Most Interesting Passenger Award goes to a 40 year old body-builder man dressed in regular clothes, but also wearing stilettos pushing a chain-smoking grandma in a wheelchair.
- When we arrived at Keflavik Airport we saw that Iron Maiden was in town, hence the HUGE Iron Maiden 2011 Tour plane parked right next to us at the gate.
- We had a hard time finding the car rental place at the airport. Come to find out, we have to go outside and walk about a quarter of a mile to get to it. How do people do that in the winter... with all their luggage?
- Very happy with our car. Brand new Nissan Quasqai +2, 4WD (something that you desperately need for Iceland roads) with one of those massive moon roofs - we both got excited to see the stars from the driver seat (more on this later).

Day 1 - Reykjavik
- When we checked in at our hotel, Hotel Leifur Eiriksson (how fitting? :)), the man who checked us in had the best hair plugs ever and claimed that "I know everything". We never used him as a resource.
- Our hotel was in a primo location - top of the hill on the main street, facing the famous Hallgrímskirkja church. Could easily walk to the waterfront, all sorts of shops, restaurants and bars. Room was extremely cute with quilted shams and a balcony that faced the downtown. Remember, this entire city is only 40k people - not the downtown you would think of in the states.
- Walked around Reykjavik, stopped in at several shops and got lost looking for the most famous hot dog stand in town (even Bill Clinton had a dog there), and then realizing it was right next to us. Iceland hot dogs (pylsur) are supposed to be the best in the world and stands are everywhere. They are topped with the standard ketchup, some mayo, remoulade, and fresh and crispy onions. However, I don't think either of us thought these were the best hot dogs in the world- Chicago dogs are better.
- Decided to make sure to stay up and not crash from the long flight. Headed out on the road to do the Golden Circle - the known tour of sites that are near Reykjavik. First, we drove around Pingvillavatn, a beautiful lake located on the Continental Divide, and then went on to find the Geysir (pronounced gay-zer) Strokkur. This geysir would shoot up 35 feet of water and steam every 5 minutes on the dot. It was impressive how precise mother nature can be. It was also fun to see the kids all huddled around and singing the Kesha song "It's about to blow ooh ooh oh oh oh". Next stop on the Golden Circle Tour was Gullfoss, the first of countless gorgeous waterfalls. The best part about these falls were the rainbows from every angle and how close you can get to the edge.
- On our way back to Reykjavik we stopped by one of the many horse farms to pet the Icelandic horses. So gorgeous. Although we didn't have any carrots to feed them.
- "Lack of artificial interference"- My definition of the Iceland countryside.
- Went back to our room to take a quick nap and then headed to the waterfront to snap some photos of the cool viking ship sculpture.
- Decided on Sjavargrillid (Seafood Grill) for dinner, a sorta swanky restaurant on the main drag. Anthony got the lamb and whale entree, while I chose the whale and lamb appetizer. This began the Doudt Ordering Challenge of who ordered the best meal - with Anthony winning each and every time for the entire trip.
- Our waitress forgot to charge us for the bottle of wine and yes, we contemplated not telling her. But don't worry moms, we told her and she reran the bill.
- Best thing about Iceland restaurants - you don't need to tip.
- "Cheers" in Iceland is Skal! (pronounced skowl). We perfected this at each meal and added in our own twist of the German tradition of staring at each other while saying it. It is hard to stare at someone, clink glasses, and say skowl without smiling... try it. Really. It is difficult.









Day 2 - Vik
- Breakfast at the Hotel Leifur Eiriksson was well, umm....not that fabulous and apparently is the typical Icelandic breakfast everywhere. Patte, sliced tomatoes, Melba toast, marmalade, crackers, fresh salmon, and cucumbers. Not exactly the breakfast burrito or bacon and eggs we are used to, but we made the most of it.
- Drove around all of Reykjavik picking up our sleeping bags, cooler, food, and then finding a much cheaper cooler and returning the first one. Just as we had everything in the car and were heading out for Route 1 aka The "Ring Road", we drove off from the parking lot and forgot to shut the tailgate of the car!!! Luckily, only one sleeping bag rolled out onto the street and rolled to the side. I was able to run back to grab it safely. Whew! That could have been a disastrous start to the adventure!
- We finally got out on the road around 11am and the landscape was instantly beautiful - mossy lava fields, small little farms at the bottoms of waterfalls, and sheep everywhere!!!
- First stop was Seljandsfoss and Gljufurarfoss which were both easily spotted from the Ring Road. We had a picnic lunch before hiking up and around both waterfalls. You could climb behind the falls at Seljalandsfoss, but that was nothing compared to Gljufurarfoss. Gljufurarfoss was a hidden waterfall that you could only see portions of. You either had to climb a huge boulder (something I was interested in doing but Anthony promptly, and wisely, shut it down) or the only other option was to wade in through the stream that the waterfall was producing. So, I attempted that. IT WAS SO COLD. The bottom of the stream was all rocks and it was very painful on your feet and the water came up to mid-thigh (on me). However, after I tried it once, I came back and made Anthony go with me a second time. It was sooo cool being in this little secluded waterfall area - just the two of us!!!
- After that adventure we wanted some more and surely got it...but not exactly what how we expected it. The idea was to do a 3 hour hike up and around a mountain on the interior of the island. We had been warned by people who had been to Iceland that the roads were rough, but we hadn't seen anything yet. Within 5 minutes of driving towards the hike, we quickly were on a rough gravel road. And I don't mean pebbles, it was rocks. Big rocks. We realized after about 30 minutes that our car wouldn't be able to handle this and turned around. Plus, a stream had blown out the road and we were unsure of being able to pass.
- On the way to Vik, there was a huge waterfall on the side of the road that we couldn't pass up. Skogafoss was gorgeous! We took a hike up the side of the mountain to the top of the waterfall and walked along to find several more waterfalls. It was so peaceful up there with just us and the few sheep grazing.
- We made a quick stop at Dryholaey, a coastal bird sanctuary and rock formation, and finally made it to Vik around 7pm. We grabbed a quick bite at the Hotel Lundi (again, Anthony won the order challenge) in "downtown" Vik and shared some Viking beers. We set up camp, checked out the tiny church on top of the cliff and walked along the black pebble beach with some drinks. All in all - another fabulous day!









Day 3 - Glacier Hike, Lagoon, Moon, and CABIN!!
- Woke up at 5:30am the next morning so that we could drive the 1.5 hours to get to our glacier hike. When we opened up the tent the sun had already beat us up and was just peering over the mountains and lighting up half of the cliffs. Gorgeous.
- All-in-all the night sleeping in the tent wasn't too bad, but it did get very cold and sorta damp from the morning dew. The other problem was no pillows. I used a rolled up towel and Anthony used his light (smelly) jacket.
- The drive to Skaftafell National Park was one of the best drives either of us had been on. The morning sun was shining as we drove through those idyllic mossy lava fields. It felt like we were on Mars. Sooo cool. At the same time, looking to the interior of the island there is always a huge cliff that has some sort of breath-taking waterfall every 20 minutes. Then all of the sudden, EVERYTHING becomes as flat as Kansas, but rock, not fields. We learned later there was a huge flood/mudslide due to a volcanic eruption under a glacier in 1996 that flattened everything in the area. I hate to say it, but it was impressive natural damage. You can even see the damaged area if you look at it on google maps too.
- We arrive at the glacier tour center, get geared up with our helmets, crampons and axes and load up on a school bus to drive to the glacier base.
- We weren't sure what to expect on the glacier which, by the way, was on the largest volcano in Iceland. Some surprises:

1. My boots that I had rented were a 36 in euro sizes (two sizes too small which later caused my feet   and legs start to really hurt at the top of the glacier).
2. It was much, much warmer than we had expected. We were walking on ice after all. Our guides had said that the day before, and the day we did the hike, were the best two days all year - we lucked out once again!
3. Who knew ice could be so beautiful and vary so much in texture and color? The blue ice is the much thicker, compact ice. The dead ice which looked like land, but wasn't, was melting...very cool. There was also areas where ash from the volcano had mixed in with the ice making cool streaks, swirls and lines of black.
4. Glacier Mice - A glacier mouse is a round rock covered with moss on all sides. It's found on glaciers in Iceland, and not known to be found anywhere else! With time (about 50 years!) and as the rock rolls on the glaciers with wind the moss slowly grows on all the sides on the rock.They are the only living creatures found on glaciers.

- Our next stop was the Jokulsaron lagoon which has some amazing, gigantic icebergs floating in it. While we were on the boat an iceberg actually flipped - something that rarely ever happens. We were lucky enough to witness it. After it turned over, the ice was this electric, sparkly blue. So pretty.
- We went on to Hofn and had a great dinner at Hotel Hofn. I think we tied on this ordering challenge. Anthony had the langoustine pasta and I had the langoustine dinner (mini lobsters). Both very happy and full.
- At this point, the weather was getting really chilly and windy. Our plan had been to camp that night, but we realized it wasn't going to work. We quickly called several places to see if we could get in anywhere. No luck. We decided to drive up the coast a bit longer since we were awake and see if there were any open places down the road. After several more calls, Anthony finally got a hold of Binni (who was working at his side job as an air traffic controller at the Egilsstadir airport), who had an open cabin - the best news we have heard in a long time!
- We had to drive another hour or so to get to the cabin and again, it was an amazing drive. It felt similar to Highway 1 in California and I was a little nervous driving around all the corners next to cliffs of the Norwegian Sea, especially when I couldn't see where the road would lead over the hills. The joke became that I thought we would drive into the ocean... but we made it inland a ways and had to take the Ring Road, which was now gravel up a winding road over a mountain. Again, not a fan of gravel roads and driving around cliffs. I asked for Anthony to drive and we headed up over the mountain, into the clouds. it was soo cool to be under the clouds, in the clouds and then see the clouds move off over the ocean. As soon as the clouds left, the moon appeared in the rear view mirror peering over the mountains. We were in the middle of nowhere, hadn't seen another vehicle for over 45 minutes, on top of a mountain in Iceland with the clouds floating on by you. Really a cool moment.
- After we made it over the mountain, we FINALLY made it to the cabin which was this super tiny, but super cute cottage in the middle of the woods. It even had hearts cut out of the shutters AWWW! We enjoyed a few beers on our private deck and watched as the moon moved over the mountains and the fog rolled in. What an amazing day!









DAY 4 - Detiffoss and Lake Myvatn
- Relaxed in the morning, had toast and coffee on the deck.
- Headed to Detiffoss, the largest waterfall in Europe.
- Had our usual pb and j's for lunch at the top of the waterfall and then went down to check out the power. It was really amazing how much water was actually flowing through the falls.
- Drove down to Lake Myvatn and stopped at Hverir on the way. Bubbling (and stinky) mud cauldrons and steaming vents. Neat to see how much energy and heat is actually right below our feet (later we learned that over 90% of Iceland is heated via geothermal power).
- Made it to the campsite at Lake Myvatn and set up our tent in a record 9 minutes. Go Doudts!! Beautiful campsite right along the lake front.
- Went on a hike up Vindbelgjarfjall mountain which provided great views around the lake.
- Had dinner at the Vogafjos Cafe - a cute cafe on the edge of the lake, but is also on a cow farm where you can see them milking the cows right next to your table. Sounds kinda gross, but really not. There is a good division between the manure and the food. Great suggestion from Amber Brooks!
- Next Stop, nature baths - something both Anthony and I had been looking forward to. It was only about $10 for each of us to enter. Changed into our suits and went out into the cold air so we could soak in the warm water. It was the temperature of a really warm bath (except in some areas it got really really hot). The steam was rising as the sun was setting. The bottom of the bath was natural sand and rock. The ONLY negative was the smell. As with all of the water in Iceland, there is a scent of sulfur (reminded Anthony of when he was little and drinking well water or what he called "egg water"). These baths had the strongest scent. We spent a good couple of hours in the water just lounging, canoodling, and getting pruney.
- Headed back to the campsite and fell fast asleep only to awake shortly after with our tent being shaken.  We were both out of it and sort of angry thinking it was one of the many kids who were at the campsite either trying to be funny or mistakenly thinking it was a friends tent.  Nope, it was the campsite manager. We had not tagged our tent like we were supposed to.  I ran to the car (where we had left it) and we quickly got our tent tagged so we wouldn't be bothered again.
- Also, earlier in the day, after looking in several stores we finally found pillows.  Three small round Winnie the Pooh pillows...one with Pooh on it and two with Eeyore.  They were pretty sweet.









Day 5 - Caving!!
- Woke up, took down the tent in less than 5 minutes (another Doudt record) and headed to the info center to meet up with our tour guide to go caving! Unfortunatley, when we got there, steam was coming out of the engine of the car that was to take us to the cave. Our guide said we had to wait for another car to come from Akureyi so it would be another hour or so before we could leave. That was fine with us. We went to grab some breakfast (waffles and jam for me and a lamb burger for Anthony). We got back, met the rest of our group and headed out.
- Our group consisted of two sisters from South Africa and their chatty 66 year old mum, our guide and us. It was a pretty scary drive out to the lava field - our 4x4 did just fine, but there were times where we were all bobbling heads and hanging on the side of the car when we were tilted to the other side.
- We crossed over the amazing lava field that had been there for about 5000 years. In the middle of the field was a sinkhole which was about 30 feet deep. We geared up and climbed down the ladder into the cave.
- They had a door set up on the outside of the cave to keep random people from coming in and ruining the natural beauty in the cave and to control the temperature if needed.
- The first and worst obstacle was to climb through a hole the size of Anthony. We did alright and no one got stuck, but this was kinda of a big fear for Anthony (being in such a small, tight place where you can't turn around) and he was very relieved, proud, and glad he got through it with no problems. Once we were in the cave, the temp dropped quickly and of course it was quite dark.
- Our guide was awesome and knew so much about the history of the cave and how it was formed. He also shared stories of the actual ice sculptures in the cave calling them by distinct names. The coolest part was when he had us all turn off our lights and it was PITCH BLACK. You couldn't see anything, which made your other senses overreact. It was then that you noticed the drips from the ice-sickles and some crackling in the ice.
- The most fun was sliding down one of the ice ramps on our butts while hanging on to the rope...it was like repelling downward. A little scary, but so fun. And it was fun to see the 66 year old mum screaming and laughing as she did it. Something I could see Edie (Anthony's mom) enjoying as well.
- Headed to our next hotel, Hotel Gigur, which was also along Lake Myvatn. Cute hotel with a great restaurant, but the room felt like a freshman year dormitory with single beds.
- After a quick hike around some craters near our hotel, Anthony and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner and a bottle of vino with a great view of the sunset over the lake.









Day 6 - Akuyeri and drive down west coast
- Grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and then headed out for our 45 minute drive to Akuyeri - the second largest "city" in Iceland with 17,000 people.
- Akuyeri is a cute town with shops, restaurants and cafes. The cutest thing about the town is all the hearts - it even has heart shaped stop lights!!
- It was a bit overcast so we thought we would take this time and do some shopping. But in true Doudt fashion, we didn't buy anything and instead went to eat. We grabbed lunch at Strikid, a rooftop bar that overlooks the fjord. GREAT hamburgers.
- We continued our drive down the west coast of Iceland stopping along the way to take pictures. The sun started to peak out, but unfortunately, the wind also started to pick up (at least 25-30 mph!). We were supposed to camp that night, but with the wind, we didn't feel comfortable doing so. So after calling quite a few places, we finally found a hotel with a room on the Snaefellsness peninsula (it also had a nine-hole golf course).
- The hotel was really cute and had a restaurant in it where we enjoyed another bottle of vino over a long dinner.









Day 7 - Snaefellsness, gas emergency, and back to Reykjavik
- Woke up and had another Iclandic breakfast in the hotel and headed out to drive around the rest of the Snaefellsness peninsula. We headed west towards the national park. Stopped off at a waterfall to get some really cool pictures. Had some sheep herd around our car which was a little strange. Weren't sure what they were doing...
- Stopped off to get some gas only to find that their signal had lost connection. You would think this wouldn't be that big of a deal. Just pay in cash right? Wrong. The gas stations don't take cash at all. You need to use a debit card. So we drove to the next town about 10 minutes away and find that they are having the same thing. This is where we start freaking out. We only have about 120km left in our tank and it seems that the entire peninsula's gas stations aren't working.
- We decide to keep driving and stop at the next gas station.. .again, not working. We grab our lunch of lamb-burgers and decide to call around to the gas stations in the next few miles. Luckily, a gas station that was about 40 km away had working pumps. We made it and of course celebrated when filling up our tank. Phew!!!
- We made it back to Reykjavik and stayed at the Leifur Eiriksson hotel again. Returned our backpacks and went to dinner - again sharing a bottle of wine and chatted about what an amazing week we had experienced.









Notes
- Ironic, we found it very very difficult to find ice in Iceland.
- Icelandic seafood and lamb is amazing.
- The sun is always at about a 45 degree angle in the sky. The light seems like 10am-sunlight no matter what time it is...noon, 3pm, 5pm, etc it's always at the low angle.  Very interesting and throws you off a bit.  8pm sneaks up on you quickly.
- The sun "sets" at about 9:30 or 10 but really it's still right under the horizon so you'll still see a glow for several more hours.
- We never saw the Northern Lights or stars. At night it got dark, but not dark enough to see stars (see the bullet point above). We were both a little bummed about that, but the sunny days and warm weather definitely made up for it.
- Absolutely no cops whatsoever. My lead foot was never an issue.
- Everyone speaks English, even in the small towns. And of course, everyone is super friendly and helpful.
- We loved Icelandic cheese, Skyr, that tasted sweet (almost like ice cream) and often on the desert menu.
- There are no mountain lions in Iceland. Only waterfalls. Don't ask. :)
- There may not be any mosquitoes in Iceland but there sure are plenty of gnats.

SummerFest Party

The MidWest contingent of Engelmanns, Kytes, and Doudts made a trek out to Boston for Jim & Julie Uthoff's awesome SummerFest/Oktoberfest party held annually.  The Engelmanns and Kytes both made it a road trip by driving out and stopping along the way including a stay at Niagara Falls for a night. Anthony and I flew out to Boston and then would be flying onto Iceland on Sunday, the 7th, after the big party.

We're going to recap the party bullet point style...it's much easier that way:

- The flights out were smooth and easy. Cousin Jeff picked us up at the bus depot.
- We hung out with the extended family for a bit before heading to bed. Jim and Julie were nice enough to house all 9 Engelmann/Kyte/Doudt guests for the weekend. Full house!
- We woke up early the next morning, snacked on the East Coast staple of Dunkin Donuts while the kids played in the pool, on the swingset, and on a really cool inflatable waterslide.
- The boys set up most of the tents and decor and were rocking their Uthoff SummerFest STAFF shirts that were made by Julie's uncle. Anthony was very proud to earn his shirt.
- The party started rocking around 1pm with about 45 people in total. Great drinks (freaking amazing sangria), great food (Reuben egg rolls and open-pit smoked chicken), and great fun (horseshoes, cornhole, flip cup, cake eating contest for the kids, rolling down the hill competitions, and rock climbing - Amy and I DID reach the top of the huge boulder in flip-flops :)).
- We ended the night with a fun game of cornhole with the siblings (Anthony and Jay beat Sara and Katie) and then....
- While I was trying to reach into the kiddie pool to retrieve a glow stick for the kids (with Anthony holding on so I wouldn't fall in) we saw a streak of yellow flash across our faces as Julie dove into the pool in front of us still fully dressed. A split second later Jim cannonballed into the pool with all of his clothes on. I quickly followed them into the pool. At this point Anthony was enjoying the scene from afar but he should have known better...a few seconds later Jim got out of the pool grabbed Anthony and flung them both in. Pretty soon many more were in the pool voluntarily and involuntarily, including Uncle Roy. (No electronics were hurt in the making of this pool party)
- It's a fact: the Uthoff/Engelmann/Kyte/Doudt families know how to party!! Jim & Julie have 8 million pictures to prove it - thankfully none of those will be posted here, just a few that we took. :)
- The next morning, Aunt Judi and Uncle Roy hosted everyone (and I mean everyone) at their house for a brunch feast Judi Style. There were appetizers, snacks before the appetizers, casseroles, deserts, drinks, and more snacks. Everything was beautifully laid out and of course was delicious!

Recipes we need:
- White sangria from Julie
- Reuben egg rolls from Julie's aunt...Julie can you get that for us??
- Blueberry french toast casserole from Paula
- Lobster & egg casserole from Aunt Judi

Here are a few of our pictures from the party (and the direct link to the photos):



Next stop: ICELAND!!

Paul McCartney

Marianne and Jeff took Sara and I to the Paul McCartney concert held at Wrigley Field last Monday.  It was amazing! Truly a once in a lifetime experience...especially at Wrigley Field. I grew up listening to The Beatles and could not believe I actually got to see Paul live. We loved every second of it. It took Sara and I forever to settle down after the concert and fall asleep.

It was awesome to see Marianne break it down...she was like a little school girl:

Here are some more photos from the concert:

My First Paying Gig!

Sorry for the double blog post today but this is too exciting to not share.

My friend and condo neighbor, Adam, is selling some great shirts to promote his company and website, and the really exciting thing is that I got the pleasure of taking the product photos! My first paying gig! Okay, so maybe the actual "payment" was two free t-shirts (one for me and one for Sara), but you have to start somewhere, right? And I do love a good t-shirt, so this was a perfect situation for me.

Check out the merchandise (the shirts are really high quality if you're interested) - http://store.walkjogrun.net/pr​oducts/tech-tees and the home page of Adam's WalkJogRun website - http://www.walkjogrun.net/

Almost August Already?

How is it the end of July? Wow.

Sara and I have been busy with friends visiting the great city of Chicago over the past couple weeks. We first had two of my college baseball buddies visit from Florida: Zack and Carrie Roper; Dickie Hart and his fiancee, Maria Henderson; and their friends Brian and Shelly Riley. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know the Rileys. We baked in the sun at a Cubs game on Friday afternoon where both Dickie and Brian got a baseball during batting practice, and Zack got an injured finger while trying to wrestle away a ball from Brian. All of us claimed we didn't care about getting a baseball since we had all played professionally but as soon as a ball headed our way we all crushed each other trying to get it. Competitiveness dies hard I guess. On Saturday the Florida crew went to a Second City comedy show...they raved about it and said it was hilarious, and the best thing they've ever seen. Dickie and Zack immediately wanted to go again. I guess Sara and I need to make sure and go to a show sometime. We then met them out at Hub51 for a fantastic sushi dinner.  Great times.

A photo of the Kernels crew - Zack, me, Molly, and Sara (we were all in Cedar Rapids at the same time back in the day)

The next weekend Sara's old Raleigh roommate, Allie, and her husband, Mike Hartnett visited. We enjoyed two fantastic dinners with them - one at a Peruvian place and the other at the Weber Grill - and got caught up on all the Raleigh goings-on. We also spent some time at the Wit, a rooftop bar in downtown Chicago. It was great hanging with the Hartnetts if only for a little bit.

At the Wit - Mike, Allie, Sara, me, and Fransisco

It was a busy couple of weeks, but we've got a lot coming up too. We are headed back to Davenport, IA, this weekend for our Niece Elise's birthday party. On Monday, Marianne (Sara's mom for those that don't know) and Jeff are coming to Chicago and taking Sara and I to a Paul McCartney concert in Wrigley Field! How awesome is that?!  Being a lifelong huge Beatles fan, this is going to be a highlight for me.

And then next weekend starts our crazy-awesome travel adventure to Iceland!  We will first head to Boston to spend time with Sara's family at her cousin Jim's Oktoberfest party.  Then on Sunday, we fly out to Reykjavik, Iceland for a week-long trip around the island nation. We will be camping some of the time (this is basically the first time we've camped so we are officially crazy) and staying in hotels some of the time. We are so excited for the trip and can't wait.

As far as recent pictures are concerned, I didn't quite complete the 30 day photo challenge. With all of the stuff going on I couldn't keep up with the daily photos. It was a lot of fun though and I'm really glad my cousin Matt invited me to take part.  It looks like we are going to continue as a group and try different assignments/challenges but in a more relaxed way - no daily photos but maybe weekly or monthly.  Here is the Flickr set if you're interested. I've also added a couple other sets recently - some Muncie train tracks and some puddle reflections around our condo.  Check them out here.

Day 15 Silhouette-006.jpg

Day 15 Silhouette-006.jpg a photo by ajdoudt on Flickr.

Day 15 Silhouette-007.jpg

Day 15 Silhouette-007.jpg a photo by ajdoudt on Flickr.

More Photos

Check out the latest photos for the challenge.

Some pictures to represent childhood memories...baseball of course

I took some photos down around Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park the other night as well:

Photo Challenge Update

I've added more photos to Flickr for the 30 Day Photo Challenge:



Here are some extra photos of Sara:



And some extra photos from another day (low angle):

Fireworks

Sara and I spent the 4th of July weekend at my Aunt Betty and Uncle Franc's cottage in Michigan with the Doudts, Zollars, and Brooks. It was a great time filled with food, swimming, reading, hammocking, and more food (I love me some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins).

On Sunday night we all drove over to South Haven (which is right on Lake Michigan) for their fireworks. It was quite a show:

30 Day Photo Challenge

I am participating with about 20 others on facebook in a 30 day photo challenge. For the month of July each day has a specific subject that I will be taking a picture of and posting. I have added a set to my Flickr account to collect all my images. I'll post the final collection at the end of July but if you want to keep up with photos throughout the month you can check here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajdoudt/sets/72157627092376170/

Lightning!

We had an amazing lightning show tonight right before a hail storm:

California Dreaming

The travels of Sara and Anthony continue...

After our trip to Europe we had one weekend of downtime (which we enjoyed doing very little) and then the travels started back up:
- We made a quick weekend trip to Davenport, IA, for a bridal shower (for Sara's cousin's fiancee) and an Engelmann family picnic-brunch...where the food was amazing and seconds or thirds are encouraged.
- We then flew out to San Diego Monday night where Sara attended a work conference and I worked from the hotel room (I worked really remotely last week). We then stayed through the weekend for a little extra vacation time.
- In July we are headed to Michigan to spend some time with my side of the family (Doudts, Brooks, and Zollars). Later in the month we've got several friends visiting Chicago
- In August we are headed to Boston with the Engelmann's for an Oktoberfest party (this will be our second time attending the great Jim and Julie Oktoberfest extravaganza!). From Boston, Sara and I then fly to Iceland for a week. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves...

Southern California - The first thing that stands out to me about San Diego (other than the great food) was the amazing weather. 70 and sunny with no humidity. It's warm in the sunshine and breezy and comfortable in the shade. The other odd weather bit was that every morning started cloudy, by noon or 1pm the skies cleared to a bright sunny day, and then the clouds rolled back in by 6pm. This meant beautiful days but no great sunsets. We were there for 6 days and the weather was the same every day.

Tuesday through Thursday was filled with typical work days for me (although since I was working on Eastern time I was up way too early), while Sara was very busy with the conference and all the prep, setup, managing, and tear-down that comes with it. Sara was thiiiiiis close to meeting Arianna Huffington (of Huffington Post fame) and getting a book signed, but Arianna had to leave for a flight (Sara should be getting a signed book in the mail though). We also had the fortunate coincidence of being in San Diego at the same time as Gina Behrman who was in town for a different conference. So after staying with Gina in Paris a couple weeks back we got to see and hang out with her again in San Diego...crazy!

On Friday we mostly just relaxed by the pool and took naps. A much needed day of nothingness. In the evening, we headed to the Hotel Del Coronado for a walk on the beach and a fantastic dinner at the Sheerwater restaurant - we had great food all week long (seafood, steaks, sushi, and Ghirardelli!).

Saturday we rented a car and drove up the coast to La Jolla (pronounced HOY-ya, although I kept jokingly saying La Holla and ended up confusing myself) and spent some time on the beach. After walking around some of the La Jolla cliffs we drove down to the Mission Bay area to check out some of its beaches.  Finally, as the sun (and now clouds) was beginning to set we headed to Sunset Cliffs, CA, for some beautiful views of the Pacific.

* Special thanks to Allie Hartnett for all the San Diego/Southern California trip ideas.



More photos at my Flickr account.

Oh-Duh-Lay-He-Whooooooo

Switzerland - The land of chocolate, cheese, cows (and cowbells), the Alps, rules, and precision timing.

Day 1, Basel: We arrived in Basel at around 6pm and our friend, Martin Telko, was there to meet us at the train station. We drop off our bags at his apartment and take a walk through the town to the tallest building in the city. It has 32 floors. That doesn't sound too impressive until you realize none of the other buildings in Basel go beyond 4 or 5 floors, so in comparison this building seems huge. We headed to Bar Rouge on the top floor for a quick drink and a great view of Basel, France, and Germany (we were also treated to a beautiful rainbow welcoming us). The city is located in the corner of Switzerland where all three countries meet.

As a side note, Basel is near the Alsace Lorraine territory that has changed hands many times over the years (from France to Germany and back again several times) and is also where the Doudt ancestors are from.

After a wonderful dinner prepared by Martin of fresh bread, cheese, pickles, asparagus, lychee (a Chinese tropical fruit that was really good), tomatoes, and black forest ham we met up with his friend, Marcus, and headed out for a night on the town. We met up with several others and it turned into a version of the UN...two people were from Poland, one from Germany, one from Belgium, two Americans, and we were surrounded by the Swiss. We bar hopped getting a feel for different places and the Basel late-night scene and then ended the night at Paddy's, an Irish dance club that felt very American. It reminded us of a college atmosphere. It was a great night but we had to get home to get our rest as the next day we were planning to head to the middle of the country for some hiking in the Alps!

Day 2, Grindelwald (the Alps) and Bern: After a quick trip to Germany (on the other side of the Rhine river) for a car wash, Martin drove us South through the beautiful countryside and under the Jura mountain range. In about an hour and a half we arrived in Grindelwald which is close to Interlaken, the two lakes Thunersee and Brienzersee, and of course the Alps. Our great luck with the weather continued, it was a beautiful warm day with very few clouds.

From Grindelwald, with an elevation of 1050m (3444 ft), we took a ski-lift cable car to First, with an elevation of 2168m (7112 ft). The air was much cooler at this elevation. We then set out on an hour hike to Bachalpsee where there is a beautiful little lake. The hike was only moderately steep; however, Sara and I were not used to the elevation and our breathing quickly became labored and audible. It almost seemed like we were hyperventilating. We had to stop a couple times to catch our breath but then we passed a grandma coming down the mountain and thought if she can do it we certainly can. We hope. We then passed a couple going up the mountain with the woman wearing heels. Crazy! By this time our bodies had adjusted somewhat to the elevation and we were making better progress. We then arrived at Bachalpsee, with an elevation of 2265m (7431 ft). The view was spectacular. The pictures simply do not do it justice. The lake reflecting the blue sky and snow capped Schreckhorn mountain was amazing. It was breathtaking (or was that due to the elevation?).

We took many pictures, ate a snack of Gummy Bears (so good) and chocolate (also good), and then decided to head down the mountain on a different path. Martin had not taken this path before but it did point the way to Bort which is where we needed to be so we gave it try. A few minutes into the hike we become a little concerned for two reasons:

1. We weren't sure how long the hike would take and we needed to get to Bort before the cable cars stopped running or we would have to hike down all the way to Grindelwald (that would be a long hike). 
2. We weren't sure what kind of trail this was and if we would be encountering large streams, mud, or difficult rocky terrain (we were all wearing tennis shoes and not hiking boots).

Our minds weren't eased any when several German expert-looking hikers passed us going in the same direction all decked out in waterproof hiking gear walking right through streams and mud. One guy was practically running down the mountain. As we continued down picking our way along the trail, going around the mud when we could and hopping across rocks in the streams, we had some competing thoughts and feelings...The view was unbelievable, but you couldn't really look up too much as you needed to concentrate on where you were stepping. The hike was exhilarating and fun but also felt a little risky since we were unfamiliar with it and did not have the right gear. We kept going though. Finally we saw a sign that said we were still on the right trail for Bort, and even more comforting we heard the sounds of the cowbells. Sara and I loved the leisurely dinging of the bells from the distant cows wondering around the hillsides. It was somehow reassuring (we loved it so much we ended up buying a cowbell that now hangs on our front door). We could now see the cable car station but it was still well below us...looking much closer than reality. This is where the trail split - we could take the longer (1.5 hours) and easier descent path or we could take the shorter (40 minutes) and much steeper path. We took the shorter path and after 40 minutes of climbing down several hundred meters all of our legs were shaking and very tired. It ended up taking us 2.5 hours to hike down the 700 meters (2300 ft) in elevation. We made it just in time to grab one of the last cable cars down to Grindelwald where we enjoyed some great Swiss food and a round of "stungers" (a 25 cl of the house beer, pronounced "shtungga"). The hike ended up being a true highlight of our trip. Thanks to Martin for suggesting it and guiding us along the way!

Since it was on the way back to Basel, we decided to stop off for a brief tour of Bern. What a charming and beautiful little city (or as Marcus and Martin put it, "Bern is just so, awww cute."). They even have their own family of bears as city mascots. They live along the river's edge and seem quite content. Walking around the old city was a great way to keep the legs moving after the hike and learn more about Switzerland - Martin is an amazing tour guide, he's like a walking Wikipedia page. We only stayed in Bern for a couple hours but it was well worth it.

Day 3, Basel: First on the agenda was a long walking tour of the city. Again Martin played a wonderful guide full of knowledge. After a great lunch at a Turkish restaurant we then enjoyed a traditional warm Sunday Basel afternoon by hanging out on the banks of the Rhine and floating down the river to cool off. The Basel-ites will bring a specific bag where they will place all of their belongings, wrap it up, and then use the bag as a floatation device as they use the current to drift down the river. We didn't have those bags, so Sara and I walked up stream a ways, slowly made our way into the refreshing (read: Cold) waters and then drifted down the Rhine to where Martin had saved our spot. It was a lot of fun and felt nice after laying in the hot sun. It was a much needed relaxing afternoon and we felt like true Basel-ites!

Day 4, Luzern (Lucerne) and Zurich: Martin dropped us off at the train station in the morning to catch the 9:02 train to Luzern. And when the schedule says 9:02, that is precisely when the doors close and the train heads out, even if there is a family standing just beyond the doors and about to step on. The train waits for nobody.

Luzern is a beautiful old city situated on Lake Luzern near Mount Pilatus. Again we had a beautiful sunny day - we had such great luck with weather the entire trip. We walked around the city for several hours and enjoyed a nice lunch near the lakeside. We then hopped on a short boat tour around the lake. At one stop on the boat tour about 25 seven-year-olds piled onto the boat which made for an interesting rest of the trip. Once the boat docked, Sara and I headed for the train station and as luck would have it a train was leaving for Zurich in 3 minutes. We hustled to the correct track and got on just in time.

I had been to Zurich several years ago when I visited my friends Alan and Rhonda when they briefly lived there for a summer, and it was as beautiful and busy as I remembered. We walked the shopping district a bit and then went up to the top of the Grossmunster (large church). The views were amazing and since it was a clear day you could actually see the Alps way off in the distance (I'm not sure if you can quite make them out in the pictures). We then enjoyed quite the mixture of food within a couple hours - ice cream, parmesan cheese pretzel, sushi, and Mexican. We call that a "Lindsay Koriath" because one day last summer when hanging out with Lindsay we ate all sorts of food within a couple hours time...we food hopped from place to place eating a little something at each stop. It is outstanding! Once we were fully stuffed we got on a train back to Basel and made it to bed by midnight.

The final day of Switzerland and our vacation: We woke up bright and early and caught a 6:40am train to the Zurich airport. We were sad to leave but the trip was tiring and once we were home it was a nice feeling of comfort to be back in the great city of Chicago, and in our own bed. We slept well that night.

Flickr Photos

I've added some more photos from London and Paris to my Flickr account if you are interested.

Paris - Ooh La La!

For some reason, taking the Chunnel from London to Paris has been something that I have really looked forward to. Taking a fast train from one foreign land to another and under a huge body of water with my husband. I thought this trek would be exciting and a little bit romantic. As we stepped on the train and sat down into our seats to relax, about 2 dozen 14 year-olds followed us into our car. Anthony and I both looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Instead of a relaxing train ride through the French countryside, both Anthony and I couldn’t help but be annoyed by the screaming and throwing of trash around the car. It was utterly annoying...I guess we're getting old.

We were both relieved to get off the train and meet up with Neil and his two adorable children, Isabelle and Charlie, at the train station. Neil and the kids led us through the mass of rushing people from train to train, finally arriving at Chatou/Croissy – their stop. Their home was just a block or so away and was spectacular - modern and with enough space for Anthony and I to have our own room upstairs in the “tree house.”

That night, after Gina made it home from work, Anthony and I decided to venture out into the city to try and get some good nighttime shots and enjoy our first Parisian dinner. Before we could get out of the subway station we had to swipe our metro tickets but Sara's wasn't working for some reason.  A woman tried to hold the turn-style but a kid said, "In Paris we jump!" So, Sara jumped over the turn-style to the applause of the people around us.  She was a true Parisian!  As we walked up the stairs from the subway and got our first glimpse of Paris near the Arch de Triomphe - I don’t know how else to describe it - but I was taken aback by its bustle and charm. From all the movies you see growing up, it is everything stereotypical French: gorgeous detailed homes, tree-lined streets with cafes, men in suits buzzing by on vespas, and gorgeous women walking in killer heels. We were in PARIS!!

Since it was 9pm (the sun doesn’t set until 10pm) we decided to grab dinner at a restaurant with a direct view of the Arch de Triomphe. Our dinner was delicious (Anthony had lasagna and I had the salmon) and so was the bottle of wine. Funny story: they set my side of the table with what I thought was a butter knife. I thought “oh, he didn’t realize he gave me a butter knife instead of a real one.” I ask our waiter for something other than a butter knife, and he tells me that is a fish knife for my salmon. Woops – yes, I am not that cultured.

After dinner we decided to go up in the Arch de Triomphe - climbing the 150 or so stairs to the top - and it was so worth it. The view from the top shows you Paris in every direction. There are 12 avenues that jut out from the Arch’s circle, one being the Champs-Elysees. The sky was turning dark and was perfect for pictures. The Eiffel Tower was lit up and had the rotating spotlight that made for some really cool shots. Romance was in the air as you can tell from all of our pictures of us making out. We cap off the night by grabbing dessert at a café along the Champs-Elysees.

The next morning we woke up around 8am, grabbed some coffee and chocolate croissants with Neil and hopped on the train to check out some sites before the French Open. First stop: Tower de Eiffel. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Eiffel Tower, but for some reason, I didn’t expect to be awed by it. We live in Chicago. We see big buildings every day. What does this stack of metal have on the Willis Tower or Hancock Building? But as we came around the bend and crossed the Seine River, there it was in all of its glory. Gorgeous. Impressive. We walked around the Champ de Mars and made our way over to Les Invalides, Napoleon’s burial site and now the home of the French military museum.

Next stop: Roland Garros, the park of the French Open. It was a very busy park – lots of people wearing La Coste cable knit sweaters and white pants. Very preppy – what else would I expect? We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed into the main court to check out the action. We first saw the women play – Sherapova vs. Lucic – with Sherapova winning. Then came the match between Nadal and Isner (an American). For me, I knew who both were, but of course not nearly as much as Neil or Anthony. It was really interesting to see something that you see on TV all the time in person. It IS as quiet as it is on TV, but the stadium is much smaller than it seems on TV. We all had fun watching the ball boys pass the balls around the court by running until they are about 4 feet apart, and then whipping the balls as hard as they can to the next person. It was pretty entertaining. Isner lost the first set, then won the next two sets, before Nadal won the final two sets and the match. It would be the only time in the 2011 French Open that Nadal, who would go on to win the tournament, was taken to five sets.

After the French Open, Anthony and I decided to head to Montmartre, which is a hill on the north side of Paris with a beautiful white basilica on top called Sacré Cœur. It had amazing views of the city and of course the Basilica was nothing to sneeze at. We shared a baguette (butter, cheese, and prosciutto - one of our favorites) on the hill and just watched the city as the sun went down. Later on, we decided to head to the artist district on the hill and get a nutella crepe and a few beers. However, since we wanted to get some night shots of the Basilica and forgot the sun didn’t go down for another few hours we decided to get some more food (why not?) and grabbed some cheese, bread and wine and then some more wine to kill some time. After getting a little toasty, we ended up getting some great shots of it at night.

We weren’t as tired as we thought we would be, so we decided to hit up the Louvre that night. Of course, after a bottle of wine, I realize a little too late that I have to use the restroom. Right as we got to the Louvre, I shot to the nearest restaurant to try and find a bathroom as Anthony headed to the plaza to get some shots of the glass pyramids. After three restaurants I finally found one that would allow me to use the restroom. I met back up with Anthony near the pyramids and we just relaxed by the fountains and snuggled.

The next morning we got up around 10am and headed to Notre Dame which is situated in the center of Paris right along the Seine. When we first got to the front entrance, we weren’t that impressed. But as you got closer, you found the beauty in the details. Everything had intricate cuts and multiple materials on each surface. Walking around inside, seeing the height of the columns, the stained glass and so many elaborate details you become more and more impressed. Really amazing architecture. We then went across the river and relaxed along the Seine for a while.

We decided to head back to Neil and Gina’s for a quick nap and then headed back to the Eiffel Tower area to share a romantic dinner just a few blocks away with a view of the tower from our seats. After a delicious dinner of duck, lamb, wine, and of course, french onion soup, we went to see the Eiffel Tower in all of its glory. But this time it was all lit up and looked even better than our first time. We took the tram/elevator to the top of the tower and looked out all around the city in amazement. It really was a stunning view from every point.

We were at the top for quite a while and weren’t watching the time. The last train back to Neil and Gina’s ended around 12:15am and we had about 20 minutes to get there. No problem, except everyone else was leaving at the same time. We had to wait in line for what seemed like forever, finally got on the tram down, raced to the train station, up, down, up, down stairs (with me taking a wrong turn down an escalator and having to run back up it – not easy) and we finally made it to the train on time….however, the train wasn’t going all the way to our stop - one stop short of where we needed to go. UGH!

So we decided to take the train as far as we could and have Neil pick us up –THANKS SOOO MUCH NEIL!!

The next morning, we were a little slow getting up, but luckily Neil offered to drive us to Versailles – much easier and faster than taking the train. Again, THANKS NEIL! From what we have heard from others, Versailles was a must see and we would be amazed by its massive beauty. As we stood in front of the palace (I hate to say this) it wasn’t all that impressive. Yes, it had the gold gates, but other than that…it is what I would expect out of a palace. We waited in line for a good 40 minutes, and as we entered the first hall of the palace… our opinions quickly changed. I don’t know how else to describe it, but pure opulence. Every surface was covered in gold or marble or some detailed tapestry. It was a little frustrating touring the interior because most of the areas were small and it seemed every tourist in the world was at Versailles that day. So we grabbed a quick lunch and decided to check out the gardens where there would be more space.

You step out into the "gardens" and it just goes on fooooreeeeeevvvvvvveeeerr. Fountains, gardens, walkways, flowers, more fountains and a lake and then more gardens… it was a sight. Everything was perfectly manicured and it was easy to imagine the royalty back in the day deciding they wanted to take a walk in their garden for the afternoon. It was easy to get lost in the gardens with the high trees and bushes and had a hard time figuring out where we were on the map.

We found our way down to Marie Antoinette’s palace (much, much smaller than the main palace, but still impressive). It seems her gardens were less manicured and more natural. We took a stroll back behind her palace and found the cutest little lagoon with just a few other people there. We sat down in the grass and it was sooo comfortable just lying in the grass that I fell asleep. It was so lovely.

Oooh, I forgot to mention the best, and most romantic part. In between our stroll through the gardens and taking a nap in the meadow, Anthony took me rowing out in the lake. This was definitely a time when I enjoyed being a woman. It was so nice getting rowed around the lake, complete with swans and ducklings.

We were pretty tired from the all-day tour at Versailles, but we kept pushing. We quickly ran back to Neil and Gina’s to get a few items and do our initial packing (we were leaving for Switzerland the next day) and then again, took the train down to the Eiffel Tower to take a night time cruise along the Seine. Again, what a romantic night.

Thanks again Neil, Gina, Charlie and Isabelle for being such wonderful hosts! 

Next stop… Switzerland!

London Calling

There are few things better than a non-stop direct flight especially when traveling overseas. So even though we were sitting in cramped economy seats for 7 hours the red-eye flight from Chicago to London seemed to go pretty quickly. And when we arrived we were blessed with something that just doesn't happen in England...good weather. And not just one day but all three days in London were beautiful and sunny. Amazing. Even though we were very tired from not sleeping much on the flight we tried to stay up and active to get on London time. So we walked around the Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye (a huge Ferris wheel) and along the Thames enjoying all the street performers and people watching. We then enjoyed a nice dinner (Sara had salmon while I enjoyed the traditional fish n' chips) and a pint of ale in a quintessential London pub, complete with cracked walls and ceiling and very little seating. It was perfect.

When we walked around London (and Paris and Switzerland for that matter) we liked to play the "Tourist or Native" game where just by looking at what the person is wearing we try and figure out where they're from. Americans are easy to spot (including me with my white sneakers). Sara found it amazing how many women wear high heels, especially on the cobblestone walkways and streets. High heels were also on display late one night when we shared a subway car with what appeared to be four prostitutes - we weren't sure but you know what they say, if it dresses like a duck and quacks like a duck it's probably a prostitute.

On Sunday the 22nd, my birthday, we started the day with a fantastic hearty traditional English breakfast - grilled tomato, beans, bangers (sausage), eggs, toast, and coffee. We then headed over to Hyde Park near the Palace and ran right into a massive crowd. We had no idea what was going on and Sara's first thought was, "Are William and Kate returning from their honeymoon?" It turns out it was just the changing of the guard...we had no idea it was such a spectacle. After a nice picnic in the park we made our way to a Tube station (the nickname for London's subway system) and headed to Tottenham, a northern borough of London, for my birthday present - attending an English Premiere League (EPL) Football match! Tottennham vs. Birmingham. The tickets were very difficult to get, but thanks to our friend Francis, and his friend Ogango in London, we scored amazing seats - 3rd row right behind one of the goals! These are season ticket holder seats (we were given credit card-like passes) which allowed us to get into a private pub near the stadium before the match. The door man asked for ID but he didn't care about our age, he was just asking to see our season ticket passes. 

Here are some important things to know about attending an EPL match:

1. The stadium does not serve any food or drinks. And nobody leaves their seats until halftime.
2. The stadium does not play music or manufacture any noise. The only noise is fan created and organized.
3. There is only a small "away" section in the stadium...if you're sitting anywhere else you need to root for the home team. 
4. Not all the cheers have anything to do with the game. Some of the cheering is for other hated teams in the league losing in their game (when the other game scores are shown on the scoreboard). There was one bloke who even brought his old-timey transistor radio with him to listen to the other matches (I think we have a picture of it).
5. Know your team songs and chants:

•  "When the Spurs Go Marching in" (you start the song very slowly and then speed up as you go)
• "Come on you Spurs" (to the tune of Goonies' "Heeeey yoouuu guuuuuyssss")
• "We are Tottenham"
• And another song that ends with something about a Camel's behind.
• You can listen to these Tottenham songs (and others) here.

Tottenham pulled out a 2-1 win with a very late goal (the game ended pretty much right after the goal). Due to this loss (and how other matches ended) Birmingham got "relegated" which means they finished in the bottom three of the league standings and are no longer in the EPL. You could tell the Birmingham fans and players were crushed. The Tottenham fans then thanked and applauded the Birmingham fans and I think even sang one of their team's songs to show their respect. Kind of amazing since most of the game we were worried a fight would breakout near the visitor seats (and riot police surrounded the area). 

We had so much fun at the match. What a great experience. You could feel the fan intensity. I don't believe there is anything like it in American sports.

We finished up my awesome birthday by walking around the London and Tower Bridges and then ate at a spot that allowed for a great view of the Tower Bridge. Just a great day

On Monday we checked out of our hotel, hopped on the Chunnel, and headed to our next destination...Paris!

Here are just a few of the many pictures Sara and I took in London (I'll be uploading more of mine on my Flickr account soon)...

Back in Chicago

After 10 amazing, romantic, lucky (great weather everywhere), sorta scary (hiking down a mountain in the Alps), and tiring days in Europe (London - Paris - Basel) Sara and I have returned to Chicago safe and sound. Today is our re-entry into "normal" life as we try and get back on Central time and caught up at work. We have many pictures to go through and post along with a summary of what the trip was all about. Hopefully we'll be able to post more about our trip soon...stay tuned!

Time and Turbines

More pictures...time ticking away and some more wind turbines.