Stockholm

 A few weeks ago we headed over to Stockholm for the weekend. Having some Scandinavian heritage makes me genetically coded to love all things, as the brits call, "scandi". Sweden is idyllic and encompasses everything that I like, good food, good design, amazing architecture, and it isn't over crowded. Needless to say, we will definitely be going back to Sweden. We loved it so much, and I can just imagine how much fun it would be in the summer, with the long days and warmer weather. 

The first picture was taken in Old Town. Old Town, is where the palace is and it is full of shops and cafes, with beautiful building and cobblestone streets. They had just set up this giant Christmas tree in a central square. I can imagine that it would look quite stunning once it was decorated, be we enjoying looking at it all the same. 

1-up! 

I love this picture. Again this was taken in Old Town. We are looking out onto the water. 

Pretty building. One thing that we were truly amazing with was how excellent everyone's english was. We speak absolutely no Swedish but that was not even an issue. Grocery store, little boutiques, cafe's, literally everyone was talked to spoke perfect english. We did learn how to say "hello", and now we all say "Hej Hej". 

Old Parliament Building.

We didn't go into this museum, but we walked around the area and it did not disappoint. 

!! Dala Horse's!! I got two little red dala horse bowls. There were my only souvenir and I couldn't be happier with them. Next time we go to Stockholm I will pick up some little mugs, or maybe the giant mixing bowl :) 

The colors! It was so pretty. We got some pretty delicious hot cocoa in the orange building here. Also for reference we are standing by that giant Christmas tree in the first picture when taking this photo. 

Like England, there are churches everywhere. This was was beautiful, and the bells were ringing while we were walking around it.

 Yet another church. I spy a white fiat 500 also :D 

 Here we are in front of the City Hall. Props to Ben for having it look like I am holding the top of the building in my hand. 

Another angle of the Nordisk Museum. It was really a beautiful building. 

Here is another little square in Old Town. That stature is of St. George, he is the patron saint of the UK, so we thought it fitting to take a picture with it. Also the colors! Way to be Stockholm. 

Ah, last picture. Here we are about to wander down another little side street full of shops and cafe's. Till next time Sweden. 

A few days in Paris

Last week Ben had a conference in Paris. We decided to make a little vacation out of it and I am so happy we did. Turns out Paris is awesome. The weather was beautiful and the city is absolutely amazing. We only saw a fraction of the things on our list, but we were so happy with everything we did.

*Disclaimer* We ate A LOT of delicious food. I however didn't take any food pictures. I was simply to busy enjoying the food, the conversation, and the weather.

As we were there for Ben's work, we got put up in a really nice hotel. This is the view standing in front of the hotel. It was a 5 minuet walk to get to the Eiffel Tower. Convenient.

We spent the afternoon we arrived walking along the Seine. It is a beautiful walk and there is so much to see. We especially liked this bridge.

Here is the Fountain of St. Michael. It was a nice fountain.

Here is a street performer taking a smoking break. I found this pretty funny and had to jump to get my camera, but then be sneaky, so that they didn't know I was taking a photo :)

Here is a nice arch by the Louvre. Don't worry, there is a bigger arch to come.

Here is the main court yard of the Louvre. This museum is impressive from the outside. Not only is it enormous, but the architecture is simply stunning. We probably spent an hour just looking at the outside of the building. Once we got inside we spent the better part of a day looking at as much as we could. We did the obvious things and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus del Milo, but our favorites were the Napoleon apartments and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

While we were waiting to get into the Louvre we saw these police men. Yup roller police. What a great idea.

 Oh hey Notre Dame. Sadly we didn't make it inside, but the outside was quite pretty.

While Ben was in meetings one day I went off on my own little adventure. Here is a picture of the clock inside of Musee de Orsay. This museum is full of impressionist paintings and sculptures. The art was simply amazing. Sadly, you can't take pictures of the art. But as least this clock is cool. And you can see a bit of Paris from the middle of it.

Here is another picture from the roof of Musee de Orsay. What a  lovely day.

Another beautiful old church in Paris. This one is right across from the Louvre.

Here is the National Academy of Music, also known as their Opera house. It is an impressive building, with lots of gold (a general theme for old building there.)

I promised a bigger arch and here it is, the Arc de Triomphe. It is huge. If we had been in Paris one extra day we could have seen the finish of the Tour de France race around here...I guess that will have to wait for another year.

As part of Ben's conference there was a dinner cruise of the Seine. It was really neat to see how many people congregate around the river in the evening.  The river side is full of little outdoor restaurants and cafe's. Here a bunch of people are simply enjoying the evening.

 And finally, no trip to Paris is complete without seeing the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night. This video was taken while we were on our dinner cruise for Ben's work. Pretty much a perfect way to finish an evening.

Bath

A few weeks ago Ben and I headed to Bath for a two day getaway. This ancient town boasts a robust history, having been around long before the rise of the Roman empire. It's natural hot springs, and close proximity to the river Avon makes it an idyllic town and a nice break from the hustle and bustle from London. The architecture here is amazing, and there were breathtaking views in every direction. This first photo is the view from the balcony that we ate lunch on. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed soaking up the sun. 

This is another view from the balcony we had lunch on. See how happy I am to be outside eating lunch! 

I love all the old buildings around the town. This was a Circulating Library and Reading Room. Now it hosts offices and a clothing store. 

Royal Crescent. Jane Austen anyone? This is a beautiful row of houses that overlooks an impressive park. 

Here is the park that Royal Crescent overlooks. It was so pretty, and as you can see we really had amazing weather during our little trip. We pretty much had our sunglasses on all day. 

Ah, how many Jane Austen books talk about going to bath to "take the waters". Here you can try the water and also have a nice view of the roman baths. 

Bath Abbey is located right next to the roman baths and the pump room. This impressive church is another excellent example of Bath's architectural  delights. 

Here was the water that was waiting for us in our hotel room. I am glad that the local businesses have a good sense of humor about the name of their town. 

Here is the river Avon as seen from a park near Bath Abbey. 

A cute pub right around the corner from the hotel we stayed at. I especially love the blinds on the windows. 

And here is me sitting by the statue of a man and a pig. Not really sure what it was all about, but hey why not. 

Cute little alley way. Bath is full of there. We walked down several and they were all cute and full of flowers. 

A selection of deserts at a cafe we had lunch at. Yum. 

Here is a view from the top of a hill down to central bath. You can see Bath Abbey in the distance. 

And now for the Roman baths. Ben and I are sitting in front of the main Roman bath. This pool is still being fed from the hot spring, and the overflow drains into the Avon. The Roman baths in Bath are the best preserved ancient baths in the world.

Here is the bath that was made around the spring. You can't see it in this photo, but you can see the water bubbling up. 

A lot of the architecture has been preserved, and some is still in pretty decent condition. These roman baths were not just a bathing house, but also housed steam rooms, locker rooms, and a temple with alter. We were able to walk through several steam rooms, as well as a wishing well and other ancient rooms. However, the lighting was pretty bad inside, so the pictures didn't really turn out to well. 

This is the facade to the lunar side of the temple. There was also a solar side, but that sadly was not preserved. All in all it is definitely worth seeing the Roman baths. Ben and I didn't really know what to expect, but we were very pleased with what we saw. I would put this on a must see if you are close enough to go. 

Here is another example of the charing bath architecture. 

And finally, a statue outside of Bath Abbey. I love the saying at the bottom "Water is Best". An excellent sentiment. 

Wedding Pictures

We were sent some photos from Ben's cousin's wedding so I thought I would post some :) This first one is of all the family that came to the wedding and the wedding lunch.

Why yes I am drinking orange juice out of a fancy glass.

Here are Ben and I before the ceremony. Fun!

Here is a photo of all the "youth" at the wedding. Is is Ben and me (left...obviously) next to Sandra's siblings. Then Dani and Sandra are in the middle, then right of them are more of Sandra's siblings, followed by Ben's cousin and Dani's sister Katrin, and her boyfriend Andre. Aww..

Here is a photo that was taken in-between courses at lunch. There was a LOT of food. And I mean a lot.

And finally, here is a photo of everyone right after Dani and Sanrda got married. We are standing on the steps of the Rathaus. Which is the equivalent of the city and country building...but nicer.