Amsterdam

Well, things have really changed, globally, since this trip. Going through photos and souvenirs from old trips are making me feel a little better about all the adventures I'm missing out on because of this pandemic. But ultimately, I'm so thankful for my health and safety right now! So anyway, here are some photos from last year's trip to Amsterdam, that I never shared... 

Amsterdam. There is something special about this city. The pace is different. The people are happy. Life moves faster and slower at the same time. It's exponentially faster to walk or bike somewhere than it is to drive. Some cities have a personality and Amsterdam and I just clicked immediately.

London and the Flower Show

Wow... so it's 2020 now. Not sure how that happened but here we are. I would love to do a better job of sharing my adventures this year and so I think I'll start by sharing some of the trips I didn't get to sharing last year!

So last May I took a girl's trip with my mom, my aunt, and my cousin and we had the most amazing time! We went to London and Amsterdam and I took so many pictures that I haven't even made it through all of them yet... and that was LAST YEAR. So I'm going to try to do better and I'm starting now, by sharing our trip to London!

For me, London was a lot like New York, only much much older... I love a good city, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's hard not to feel like a tourist because there are SO many historic and iconic things you want to see. (I acknowledge that I literally am a tourist but I usually try to avoid the obvious tourist-trap attractions, if I can).  So this is me playing tourist in London, Big Bus Tour and all! It was a blast and I can't imagine sharing the experience with anyone else than these wild ladies! 

The Scottish Highlands

Hello my friends!!

Keaton and I ventured to the UK this May for our EIGHTH (!!!!) anniversary and we spent most of our time in Scotland. It was everything I hoped it would be. It was green, the weather was amazing, and the sheep had babies- so everything was perfect!

We ended up flying into Glasgow, renting a car (it's own adventure) and driving, straight to the Isle of Skye. Skye was absolute magic. Don't go to Scotland without seeing this incredible place.

While we spent most of our time on Skye, we also spent a little time in Inverness where we did do a little Nessy hunting... ;)

As always, I'll share some of my favorite spots at the end!

Barcelona

The final installment of photos from our trip to Spain. It always really feels like it's over once I've finished editing the photos.

That's the awesome thing about photographing your adventures, you get to re-live that moment whenever you want and really extend the vacation (which, let's be honest, we all want vacation to last as long as possible!).

Anyway, Barcelona was sort of cold and rainy while we were there and it was still magical! If you're planning a visit, I suggest avoiding most of the commercialized tourist traps (La Rambla for example, what a nightmare...) and stick to the historic sites.

The old stuff is where it's at!

Girona

I've actually been avoiding this post because I know I'm not articulate enough to describe how much I loved this city... but here we go!

Girona was sort of a random pick for us. We had already booked our trip to Barcelona but I wanted to explore a little more of Catalonia and Girona just looked like it was in a good spot to see other things. We ended up spending most of our time in the city instead of exploring elsewhere because it was seriously so cute!

This place has it all! You're near the mountains, you're near the coast, and the city itself is historic, colorful, and absolutely walkable!

If you're a big Game of Thrones nut you'll also dig this place because a lot of the show was filmed in Girona. It's got that awesome medieval "Westeros" vibe to it.

Honestly, no matter what you like I promise you'll love Girona.

Cadaques

Cadaques is where the artist Dali lived. Unfortunately, because of the time of year, most of the museums (and really everything except a few restaurants) were closed.

This was still my favorite day of the trip though...

Who would have thought that visiting a beach town in February would be one of my favorite days on the trip! It was freezing and windy but there's something about driving around the Mediterranean that makes you feel like you're in a movie.

While everyone had lunch I took some time to wander the side streets of Cadaques. That's honestly my favorite part of being in a new city. There are so many little scenes you'd never see if you stuck to the main roads. The little details (like random squid street art!) you find are so fun!

We drove north along the coast and hit France just as the sun set. Then we turned around and drove back to Girona. It was simple and perfect.

It's a day I'll always remember and those are the experiences you hope to have when you travel.

Montserrat

As you may know,  we recently took a trip with our friends Justin and Rachel to Catalonia (see video here)! While I'm making my way through our Spain photos I figured I'd take a whole post to share one of my favorite spots from the trip, Montserrat!

Once we decided to visit Catalonia, Montserrat was the first big stop I added to my "must see" list and once you see it, you'll understand why. 

Montserrat roughly translates to "serrated mountains". The jagged sedimentary peaks draw your eye from the minute they enter into view. It's unlike any mountain range I've ever seen. The drive up the mountain is worth the trip, alone!

Nestled at the top of the mountain is the sweetest 10th century Benedictine Abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. You could hike all day and grab a bite at one of the local cafeterias or spend hours milling about the Abbey and museums. If you're planning a visit, the climbing is also supposed to be EPIC! 

It's a truly breathtaking place and I'm so thankful to have gotten to experience it! 

Shadecation 2018: Catalonia

This month we took a trip to Spain with our dear friends Justin and Rachel.

As I'm going through the squillion photos I took I thought it'd be fun to throw together some of the little videos I (and Keaton) took on the trip.

We spent most of our time in Barcelona and Girona but did a little day trip to Cadaques.

I'd challenge you to show me a better way to spend your birthday ;)

Greece!

Y'all, I've been dreading this post because it's the end of my Europe pictures!
Oh well! On to the next adventure I suppose...

GREECE.
IS.
AMAZING!!!!!

The people are legitimately the friendliest we met abroad. We gave up our seats up for an elderly couple on the train and then they were trying to give their seats to another older couple and it lead to the most polite greek argument I've ever seen :)

We stayed in Athens. Our Airbnb was extra amazing. We were literally at the bottom of the Acropolis. The food was unreal.

I don't think it could have been more perfect! We took a day trip to Hydra (because y'all know I can't stay out of the sea) and the Greek islands are even more beautiful than the pictures!

We were really just blown away. I think I've said this every time but I really can't wait to go back!

The City of Love

Y'all. Let's talk about Paris.

To be honest, I was expecting to be disappointed by Paris, which I realize sounds really stupid but let me explain.

Everyone talks about Paris like it's the most magical thing in the world, like a heaven on Earth, the greatest city in the world, etc, etc. So I was thinking "there's no way Paris can actually live up to the hype".

Welp. I was wrong. It's all that and more.

I really didn't take a lot of pictures while we were in Paris. I think it's because I was too busy being in total awe of literally every thing. We stayed in the 6th arrondissement and could walk to basically everything! I will definitely be seeing Paris again, it's just a matter of when. :)

The French Riviera

Our anniversary trip to Europe was a really big deal! I had been saving for the trip basically since we got married so I wanted to taste as much as I could! The first stop on our trip was the French Riviera. We flew into Nice and spent the night, then we took a train south to Marseille, where we stayed for 4 days.

The focus of this trip was to stay around the Mediterranean! Neither of us had ever been to Europe but the beach bum in me wanted to stay near the water.

Here are a select few (I took A LOT of pictures) of the photos from that leg of the trip!

That Time We Went to Europe...

Hey y'all! It's me, the stranger that never blogs...
I'm working on it!!
There have been a ton of things changing in my life lately BUT I wanted to take some time to share a video I made of mine and Keaton's 5th (FIVE YEARS!!!!) anniversary trip to Europe!

I will be sharing lots (like more than you want, probably) of photos soon!

Anywho. It was magical and the best thing I've ever done or whatever...
Stay tuned for pictures ;)