Venice Is For Love

February is almost over...I can't believe how time just slips away!

A couple of weeks ago, for Valentine's weekend, Regan and I took a trip to Venice, Italy! Ah it was fantastic. We had so much fun!

On Thurs, Feb 11 we drove to Frankfurt and hopped on a flight to Italy! It was only about an hour in the air!

This was at the airport. Don't you think something about this guy is a little...disturbing?

Once in Italy, we took a train for about 45 min to the house (or at least the city where the house was) of some of Regan's old friends, the Lazenby family! I was really excited to ride on the train. I love trains!

We stayed with the Lazenby's for the night and they fed us the most amazing pasta! They called it Saccetini, but in my research, I've found that it's more commonly known as Fiocchi. It's a little pouch of pasta stuffed with cheese and pear and it's amazing. I'd LOVE to get my hands on a recipe!!!

The next morning, we took a train to Venice! We didn't realize it at the time, but we took the slow train there so it ended up taking us about 1.5 hours. When we walked out of the train station, we were met with a huge open area full of people, both costumed and not! To be honest, I was expecting to see more people in costume. Carnevale was still going on, but only a very small number of people were in costume. We decided to forgo one of the many the water buses available and set off for what would be a few hours of walking to find our hotel!

This was the first major bridge we crossed after exiting the train station!

One of the MANY canal's we crossed on our journey. I was actually surprised that there were no cars on the island. I didn't realize that the city was almost entirely dependant on the canals for transportation! I always learn so much on our trips.

After probably 3 hours of walking, we finally located our hotel! The Hotel Fontana http://www.hotelfontana.it/eng/index.htm

We didn't stay long, though. We dumped our bag and set off again! We decided that Friday was going to be our 'walking-tour' day and Saturday would be our 'boat-tour' day! Walking around Venice was really fun! More than once we wandered until we were totally lost. There was so much to just soak up and enjoy - the buildings, the people, the shops, the smells (I've never smelled so many different things in such a short amount of time - it was amazing).

There were shops everywhere selling Carnevale masks. We did end up coming home with 2 masks, I'm happy to say!

This tower was one of the landmarks we used in our wanderings. We always seemed to end up near it when we got lost. Venice was full of amazing architecture - so many churches!

One of my favorite places to wander was along the waterfront! Mainly because it was so warm, but the scenery was certainly something!

I love our cat mask!

Later that night, while trying to decide what to do for dinner, we ended up in St. Mark's square! There were many people in costumes wandering around and some really interesting decor had been erected (prime example, the lion behind me). Also note the rose I'm holding: Regan was forced to buy it from a street vendor who was so persistent that he stuffed the rose into my pocket! 4 Euros! Though, it was a very lovely rose.

For dinner, we chose a random restaurant offering a very popular 'sample' menu option. Basically, you could pay a set price (usually between 15-20 Euro) and eat a 2-3 course meal. We, unfortunately, chose rather poorly. If I could remember the name of the restaurant, I'd advice against going. The food was decent, but not worth anything close to what we payed for it. The best deals are at the pizza cafes! SOOOO good and much cheaper!

That night, we went back to the hotel rather early and watched Walker, Texas Ranger in Italian (still amazing, fyi). After a long day of walking, the bed is the best place to hang out! The next morning, we got up early and enjoyed our hotel's free breakfast. Then we were off to St. Mark's square in the hopes that getting there early would help us beat the crowds! It did help us a bit, but not nearly as much as the flooded square did! Inches of water everywhere!

The flood was pretty annoying, but it did make for some pretty cool pictures!

We were able to tour St. Mark's Cathedral without having to fight any huge crowds! This photo is from the roof facing the square (which was still flooded). We spent over an hour there - it was just so beautiful and interesting! The mosaics that filled the cathedral were stunning. I can't wait to go back and see it again!

After we left St. Mark's, there was a noticeable influx of people into that general area, so we decided it would be a good time to hop on a water bus and ride out to the island of Murano!

Murano, as you may or may not know, is famous for glass making! So, naturally, we attended a glass making demonstration. It was pretty amazing, actually. It inspired us to pick up a few pieces! We hadn't really planned on it, but we found a small shop selling work done by apprentices and it was much cheaper than the master's shops.

There were funky glass sculptures all over the island!

We wandered all over Murano for a while - it was nice because there was practically no one there! It was a pretty small island, so we never got terribly lost, but it was nice to escape the crowds of Venice for a while. Eventually, our rumbling stomachs told us it was time for lunch, so we took a water bus back to Venice. The crowds there had gotten pretty intense, though.

This was the scene as we tried to walk from the water bus to our hotel to pick up our belongings! It was total insanity.

Riding on the water buses was one of my favorite things in Venice. I really like being on boats, and these boats in particular had a great view 90% of the time!

This is the Rialto Bridge. As you can see, it's totally packed out with people! We crossed it the day before, but we'd have been insane to try to do so on Saturday!

We decided to have lunch at the pizza place directly across from our hotel! The pizza was amazing (I'm drooling now just thinking about it).

After that, we were pretty much ready to go. The crowds were getting even crazier and we wanted to get back to the Lazenby's place early enough to enjoy dinner and some conversation. They fed us some AMAZING lasagna and we all stayed up too late talking. Good times.

The next morning, we went with them to church. I really enjoyed being in Sunday school and Relief Society! Simple pleasures after months in the Nursery. That night we enjoyed more Saccetini and then it was off to the train station and on to the airport!

Here we are in the airport waiting for our flight! Goodbye, Italy!

Venice was so much fun! We both agreed that we have to go back - there was still so much to do and see, we really only scratched the surface! Italy in general seems like a really great place. Everyone was so friendly and the food is SOOOOOO good! I'd like to go back when it's a little warmer, though.

Last weekend, we took a trip with our friends, the Ta's, down to Strasbourg, France! It was my first time going to France, so I was really excited! Strasbourg is less than 2 hours from here, so it's a trip we could easily make many times in the future. We met Beth and Quac at their house and drove down around 9 AM. We stayed until the cold and rain (and an expired parking meter ticket) drove us back home around 3 PM.

Regan and I in front of Strasbourg's Notre Dom Cathedral! It was a huge building! I wish we could have gone inside, but that will be an adventure for another time.

I'm not sure what was going on, but there were vendors selling carnival food everywhere! Regan couldn't resist getting some Churo's!

Those nubby trees were everywhere! We couldn't tell if they grew that way naturally, of they were trimmed to look like that. Either way - weird! As you can see, there weren't a lot of other people wandering around. It was a pretty chilly day, but it didn't really get yucky until right before we left.

Other than that, life goes on as normal. I'm on the job hunt again - working at the CDC just wasn't a good fit. I hope I find something else soon, though. The money I can bring in will really help with some of our goals for this year.

Snowing~

I don't care what anybody says, it snows a lot in Germany! Regan had a 2 hour delay for work this morning and it was nice to have him around a little longer. But then after he left I realized that the roads weren't the only things covered in snow, so I went to shovel the walk. That was the first time I've shoveled our walk. Fun.

Germans are nuts for clean sidewalks! When you drive through villages, you always see people (usually old people) out sweeping their walks. I guess if your walk is messy you can get in trouble, but people really take it seriously.

I hate to say it, but I really don't have much to update about right now. We've been up to a whole lot of nothing lately! I really...have nothing to write. hrm...

Well, This is our last full week of German classes and then we're on our own! On Saturday we're going with our German teacher for a city tour of Landstuhl and then out to eat. I'm looking forward to some schnitzel!

I guess I can go ahead and talk about some of our upcoming travel plans. For Valentine's Day, Regan and I are heading down to Venice! I'm really excited because I hear that Carnival is amazing! We also want to take our first trip to Paris in probably April - I'm so excited to hit the Sanrio and Angelic Pretty stores! Plans for our trip back in the summer are coming along slowly - it looks like we (Regan, myself, and 3 of my sisters) will most likely be going to Otakon! I'm not going to lie...that makes me super happy haha.

Well hopefully we'll have some adventures this week so that I have something to talk about next time!

A new year!

Happy 2010!! How was everyone's holiday season? Ours was great! Kind of stressful, but great. We went back to Ohio to spend the holidays with our families. The day before we left Germany, we got to see our first snow.

This is a street in our village! Winter wonderland!

Regan and I built a snow man in our front yard!

The next morning, we got up around 5 AM and hit the road to the Frankfurt airport! We got stuck in traffic and got to the airport only an hour before our flight. When we got up to the ticket counter to get our boarding passes, the woman working said "You're on the flight for Atlanta? Ah...you're too late" - not a happy moment. She gave us our boarding passes anyway, though and told us to hurry. By the time we finally made it through all of the security, it was about 30 minutes until take off...and there was still a huge line waiting to board. Stupid lady stressed us out for nothing! Unfortunately, our feeling of relief was fleeting. Before we even made it to our seats on the plane, Regan realized his wallet wasn't in his pocket anymore. He told the flight staff and they went to check at security, where we assumed it had fallen out. When they came back empty handed, we really got worried. I was convinced it had been stolen. Regan acted very chill, but I spent the entire 9 hour flight to Atlanta completely stressed out of my mind! Our two hour layover in Atlanta mostly consisted of us running from one Delta-related office to another with no luck on contacting Frankfurt. Finally the woman at the ticket counter (where we had to go to get a new boarding pass - security right off the plane in Atlanta was crazy) gave us a number to call the lost and found at Frankfurt, which we decided to do after we got to Dayton.

Regan's parents and my family were waiting for us in Dayton! It was a happy reunion! We all went out for pizza, too! Very good night. Well, except for the missing wallet still hanging over our heads. The happy ending is that the next morning we called Frankfurt and *ta da* the wallet had been found, completely intact! Amazing! A miracle!!

Most of our first week home was spent bumming around Regan's parent's house during the day and hanging out with my family at night. I was able to get in touch with a few friends, but it seemed like a lot of people were really busy with the holiday season, so I was only able to actually meet up with a couple of my best friends. We were also able to go out to lunch with some people from Regan's old office and spend time with some of his friends as well.

Laly and I at a midnight waffle house meetup! Just like old times!

Junko Sato and I at Abuelo's = pretty much the best lunch ever!

This is at my parent's house...and it's pretty much my favorite photo of the trip. My sister put the sign above the tub. It reads "Do NOT turn on water for cats" and yet, someone obviously did. And even my darling Ziva joined in?? Well, she better not get used to it because that's not how we roll at my house!

The weekend after we got to Ohio, my brother, sister, and her husband arrived from Utah! After that, there was a lot of quality time spent with my entire family, including a family photo, a trip to the temple, and dinner at the Golden Trough (Golden Corral).

The happy oinkers!! Gotta love over-eating!

Christmas Eve is when Regan's family gets together. It can get pretty wild, but it's always a good time! The adults play a white elephant game and this year I was extremely excited with the gift I ended up with!

Waffle maker, yes! And it's one of those cool flippy ones like I always see at hotels! I'm very excited to use this thing!

Regan and I were up until about 4 AM Christmas Eve. That made things a little difficult Christmas morning because we were supposed to be at my parent's house around 6:30 AM! My family still likes to get up crazy early and open gifts one at a time - it usually takes a few hours!

Happy Christmas, Harvey house!

This is my 2nd favorite picture of the week! Soooooo good. My dad and sister are pretty much amazing.

Christmas dinner, which we ate around 2 PM, was also sooooooooo good. I love love love stuffing. I love it.

Sadly, my sister and her husband had to leave shortly after dinner. So we all waved a white sock and said our goodbyes! Shortly after Christmas, Regan got some family news that caused he and his parents to drive to Maryland. I stayed behind in Ohio to finish getting things ready for our cats to move to Germany and also trying to push our flight back a few days - I was able to push it back only one day. The 29th was my mom's birthday! We celebrated with a little family party complete with cake and gifts!

She looks pretty good for being 82 years old, I think.

The 31st came too quickly and it was back home to Germany for us! The cats were all taken care of, but it was still really hard for me to hand their cage off to the airport security guys. I was so worried about them!

Regan and his parents at the airport.

Me and my family at the airport!

We made our way through security and turned to see a great multitude of white sock waving people! We felt so loved.

My poor little kitty cats in their cage. I know they must have been scared out of their brains.

I was so worried that the cats would be distant and sad, but they adjusted to their new home almost immediately! See Choco playing so well with Daddy?

That trip feels like it was so long ago, even though we've only been home for a little over a week! Now it's back to the grind. I'm trying to get all of my paperwork in for my new job and it's taking a lot longer than I would like. Regan and I started taking a German language class on base every Monday and Wednesday night. We both really enjoy it! We've already learned how to say a lot of useful phrases, but for some reason when we go out to dinner I still feel like I can't say anything except 'danke' to the waitress! I am determined, though! I WILL be confident!

It's been snowing a lot here lately. When we moved here, everyone told us that it doesn't snow much, but I really think it's been snowing off and on since we got back from our trip. It's snowing right now, too. I should probably go shovel the walk...

A Very Thankful Week!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone! This year, it was just Regan and I in our little pre-furnished apartment. It was really weird to be away from family. My family drives to Vermont for Thanksgiving every year and it was really hard for me to be away from them. It ended up being a pretty good Thanksgiving anyway, though! There was a lot of food to make, so Regan and I made the pumpkin pie the night before.

It was fun to make it together! We don't cook together very often because I usually monopolize the kitchen haha.

Thanksgiving morning, Regan went to play football with some guys from church and I stayed home to cook! I was kind of nervous about doing the turkey since I'd never really done anything like it before, but it turned out to be pretty easy! The hardest part was putting the seasoning under the skin. It was gross. We also had green bean casserole (my personal favorite), mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry salad, and some rolls that Regan picked up from the bakery down the street! Quite the feast!

Check out that spread! Not bad, right?

We even got all dressed up to eat, just like we do at home!

Regan carved the turkey with a bread knife, because that's all we had haha. He did a really good job, though!

Here I am enjoying the feast!

Regan being a caveman! Meat off the bone!

The day after Thanksgiving, we did not go shopping at 4 AM. Black Friday doesn't exist in Germany. Some of Regan's co-worker-types were going to Cologne to visit the Christmas markets, so we decided to go, too! Pretty much every major village and city in Germany has a Christmas market, and I'd heard that Cologne's (they have 4) are some of the best! Plus, Cologne is supposed to be a cool place to hang out.

We visited all 4 of the Christmas markets. The first one was in front of the chocolate museum, and it was tiny tiny. I did pick up a pair of fur ear muffs there, though. My ears were so cold I couldn't take it! Plus they were cute. Then we bought a 5 Euro ticket for a train that went to all 3 of the other markets. Much better than walking! The 2nd market seemed to be in the middle of a major shopping area.

I don't know what this building is, but it had a giant ice cream cone on it! How cool is that? haha

These bread men are popping up all over the place! I'm assuming they're a Christmas related thing. They're yummy, that's for sure. When we got off the train at the 2nd market, there was a bakery selling them for only 1 Euro!

Regan and I at the 2nd Christmas markets in Cologne!

When the train stopped for the 3rd Christmas market, I got out and was shocked to see the Dom just ahead on the road! I was completly blown away by the size of it and the way it just popped up out of nowhere! I couldn't stop staring at it!

We all decided to go tour the Dom! The inside was just as amazing as the outside. I definitely felt something in there - kind of like the reaction I have to a really beautiful song. It was amazing.

When the sun started to set, it hit the Dom and just lit it up! So beautiful!

The Christmas market was right next to the Dom! I actually got some Christmas gifts at this market!

The 4th Christmas market was also my favorite! It was dark by this point so the whole place was lit up with Christmas lights! We also got some hot chocolate there that was absolutely amazing! From what I've been told, pretty much every Christmas market has their own 'mug' or something that you can buy a drink in and either return for money or keep as a souvenir. We ended up with 2 mugs from our day in Cologne!

this is the Christmas market train we rode! It was so cold out, I was very very grateful for the ride!

The next day, Saturday the 28th, we went to the temple! This was our first time doing a German session and wearing the headphones. It was... different, that's for sure. Outside of the temple there was this cute little nativity set up!

Today we're moving into our new house (FINALLY!!) and I don't think we'll have internet for a few days. I'm just so excited to get my stuff back, I don't even care. Our next big adventure: CHRISTMAS!!! YAY!!!!!