Surprise Trip

Later today, I am taking my momma (Honey) to London and Paris for 7 days!  SURPRISE!

Honey is from England (Cambridge to be exact) and I can't tell you how excited I am to take her back.  She hasn't been back to Cambridge in 12 years!  And, she's never been to Paris.

We fly out this afternoon, landing in London on Friday morning.  I've made reservations for us to have Afternoon Tea at the London Hilton hotel.  It's a Confessions of a Chocoholics tea, where everything they'll serve has chocolate in it or on it. 

Also during the trip, I want to take Honey to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Worlds greatest museum of art and design.  I love love love this museum and can't wait to see all the fashion pieces!  (Plus, it's free to visit!)

On Sunday, we'll take a day trip to Cambridge and March to visit where Honey was born as well!  Luckily, I have a friend getting his Master's degree in Cambridge, so I'm hoping we'll be able to visit over a cup of tea!

I also hope to make it to the Theater while we're there (I've heard the Book of Mormon is great), as well as one of my favorite stores, Harrods!

On Monday, we are taking the Speed Train to Paris.  I am excited about this because it goes under the English Channel---getting us to Paris in just 2 hours!

Once in Paris, I plan on showing Honey the Champs Elysees, the Museum Orsay, and one of my favorite places to view the Eiffel Tower, Trocadero.





I can't wait to share all the details with you once we return!  Au revoir!

One day during our Italy trip, we "kids" decided to go explore Siena.  Siena is only about 30 miles from Radda, but because of all the hills, twists, and turns, it took us an hour. 

Exploring this ancient city was so amazing.  Just like all the other towns, the main square is at the top of the city, so we spent a lot of time conquering hills.  (I appreciated all the hill walking because let me tell ya, that pasta was starting to get to my butt.) 

Standing outside the city gates, I had to take a picture of the skyline. 
The tall steeple is the Duomo.



The Duomo (Cathedral) in Siena is made of all marble and is in itself an amazing piece of art.  We toured it, and I want to dedicate a post soley to the Duomo.  So, all the following pictures are just snapshots of how we spent the rest of our time in Siena.



I literally had to push my way through a group of TRAVELING TOURISTS to get this shot.
I loved the Siena skyline.

The streets in Siena were incredibly steep.  Can you spot Lauren
in the background? 

Okay, so I have been keeping a secret from you.  I've been telling you about all the wonderful trips we went on in Italy, but I haven't said anything about actually getting there.  Because the trips were so hilly and twisty, I got sick on every car ride.  I would take motion sickness medicine, but it made me really drowsy.  I tried to suffer through, but I would get to a new town and feel drunk--even though I'd had nothing to drink.  So, once we got to Siena, I caved and went to a pharmacy to get better motion sickness medicine.  In the below picture, I'm really trying to play it cool, but I was feeling so sick it wasn't even funny.  Check out how pale I look!





Found the gelato.  I love how they display the cones!

My sweet Hubs enjoying some sweet sweet gelato.

We spent quite a while people watching in the Piazza del Campo.  My hubs even took a nap in the Piazza.  I had to laugh because, can you imagine napping in the center of Downtown Dallas?  How long do you think it would take for a) someone to steal your stuff or b) a cop to wake you up and tell you to move along (because you look homeless)? 

How can you not admire the Italians for their love of taking things easy?  Everyone was so relaxed just walking around the Piazza, enjoying wine (Chianti), carbs, and the company of others.

The Hubs in Piazza del Campo

Typical.  We loved all the Vespas.

Because we were there over Thanksgiving, the towns were decorating for Christmas. 
Notice all the tourists behind me?

My favorite shot of Siena.

Eating gelato....again.

We found the Futbol Stadium.  They were preparing for a big game that night.

Gosh, when can I go back?

Exporing Italy: Day 4

On day 4, we woke up bright and early, ready to start really exploring Tuscany.  My FIL and OPA decided we should head South to a small village, Montepulciano. 

The drive was beautiful, but I was completely unprepared for the beauty I was about to discover. You see, Montepulciano sits 605 meters high on a ledge, so there are spectacular views from any edge of the city.   

Many of the old villages in Tuscany are old fortresses, and Montepulciano is no different.  Also, there is no commuter driving into the town because the roads are so narrow.  To enter the town, we had to walk through this huge entry way.

Here's the view when looking through the Arch entrance.  It's hard to see here, but the roads were very steep, so to get to the center of town, we had to walk UP.

Of course, I had to get a shot of my FIL, looking dashing.

I tried to get a family shot to show persepective of just how narrow the pathways were.  From left to right, my FIL, OPA, S-i-L, B-i-L, MIL

I loved the knockers on these doors! All the doors in this town had cool details like this!

Beautiful Architecture!

The Hubs walking to see the amazing view overlooking Tuscany!

Here's the view.  Hello Heaven!

As I was window shopping, I came across this poster.  Totally excited, I ran back to my family yelling "OH MY GOSH, THEY FILMED PART OF TWILIGHT: NEW MOON HERE!"  Such an unexpected, amazing surprise!  

NEW MOON POSTER

So, I just happened to take a picture of this building in the center of town.  When I got home and googled "New Moon, Montepulciano", I found the picture 2 below, which was taken during filming of New Moon.  Wow, the red banners really bring out the beauty of this building!

Are you ready for the funniest part of our time in this village?  The picture below says it all! 

I think we all know that Europeans love to drive little cars.  Where do you think SMARTCARs came from?  Well, as the Hubs and I were wandering around, we found this car.  Yes, someone really drives this car.  I got my HOT husband to pose with it to give you perspective!  It's the length of his wing span!

I don't know why, but this is seriously one of my favorite picture from the WHOLE trip. 

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about one of the funniest things that happened on this trip.  Check back to hear all about my Father-in-Law getting stopped by a police officer in Siena!

Back to Italy- Days 2 & 3

So, back to our Italy trip! 

After we left the Alps, we made the 5 hour drive South to Tuscany.  I don't remember much of the drive because I slept for the better part of it.  (Blame it on the jet lag!)  We made it to Florence in record time, and with only 30 more minutes of the drive, my FIL triumphantly declared "We're going to be there right on time!"  Ohh, the foreshadowing of that statement is quite ironic.  What happened next was straight out of a horror movie....or Vegas Vacation. 

If you've ever driven in Italy, you know they love round-a-bouts.  And as you are going around these intersections, you are expected to find your correct exit (while going in circles) and rocket-launch out of the circle.  Well, we got lost.....very lost.  No kidding, we went round and round and round in 1 circle for a good 10 minutes while my FIL yelled "WHICH EXIT" and I kept saying "THAT ONE" to the one with the correct sign, but then he'd pass it....again...and again....and again.  Everyone else was yelling out their 2 cents and trying to keep from throwing up.  Finally, he yelled "I'm getting the hell outta here" and spun us out of the circle----in the wrong direction...which took us directly into another circle. 

In the words of Opa, "Mama Mia".  By the time we finally got back on track, it was even later...and we all had to go to the bathroom. 

Seriously, all the signs were this confusing...WHICH WAY?

Things only got worse as we continued driving through Tuscany...in the dark.  I went to look at the directions we'd printed out, and they didn't take us to the Villa.  They stopped in the town NEAR where the villa was located.  OH CRAP!  At this point, it'd been 2 hours.....2 hours when we were only 30 minutes away.

To make a long drive story short, we finally made it, 2 hours later.  Oh well, we were there and happy to finally be out of the van.  I wish I had pictures of the drive, but sorry, it was pitch black and I was dizzy from the round-abouts.  After a fantastic dinner prepared by Chefs, we all went to bed, exhausted from the journey. 

The next morning, after an amazing night's sleep, we woke up to this:

Paul in the Villa's front yard, looking out to Radda.

A close up of Paul with
Radda in the background.

Posing with the town of Radda in the background

Our Villa - simply Amazing!

We spent the rest of Day 3 exploring and enjoying the Villa.  We were expecting my sister-in-law & brother-in-law, as they flew to Italy a day after us, so we stayed close to home base and our cell phones--just in case they experienced the same "fun" we had in the round-a-bouts.  It was nice to have a day to just wander around because after several days of flights and driving and sitting, I definitely needed the exercise! 

The name of the villa was Villa Vistarenni.  It's located about 2 miles from Radda, in the Chianti region of Tuscany.  Check out more pictures of the villa here!

Tomorrow, I'll share our day 4 with you!  We went to a little town where part of the TWILIGHT series was filmed!!!!!

Ole' Miss: Hotty Toddy

Well, it's official.  The Hubs and I are now Season ticket holders for Ole' Miss' 2012 Football Season!  Oh Oxford, how we've missed you and your southern charm! 

We only plan on going to the Texas and Texas A&M games this year, so if you want to buy tickets for the other 5 games, let me know!

You know what this means now.  I need to go shopping for my Football game wardrobe! 

Italia, The ALPS

So, for the first part of our Italian vacation, we flew from Houston to Newark and then Newark to Munich, Germany.  From there, we rented a van and drove 3 hours South, into the Italian Alps, to San Vigilio for a night's stay at the beautiful Hotel Condor.  You see, my father-in-law's mother (my husband's grandmother "OMA"), was born in this small village and lived there until she married OPA and moved to the USA. 

Because the Alps had not yet received any snow, they were
busy making fake snow in order to be ready for the upcoming ski season.

My FIL's aunts and cousins still live there and own the Hotel Condor, which is a ski lodge.  When we arrived, the hotel had not yet opened for the season, so we were the ONLY ones staying there!  It was super cool and scary all at the same time!  The hallways were all dark and cold, but our room was nice and toasty.  The first thing I did was take a bath--which I needed after our long journey to Italy! 

San Vigilio is an incredibly charming town!  In this village, they speak German, Italian, and Ladinish.  (Ladinish is only spoken by about 30,000 people in just a few Northern Italian villages.)  So, when the hubs and I went to the local pub for a glass of vino, we used a lot of hand signs.

Since we landed in San Vigilio on Saturday night, we were able to go to Mass Sunday morning.  I was in awe of the beauty of the town's Chapel.  The service was delivered in Ladinish, so us Americans just spend our time trying not to look lost or fall asleep.  I wish I'd taken pictures of the church, but I decided against it....out of respect for God I guess.

After church, we went back to the Hotel Condor and enjoyed amazing lasagna while we visited with the family.  The family spoke in German (my FIL would translate for us), so I spent a lot of time drinking my wine and talking to the Hubs....and trying to figure out what everyone else was talking about.  I could say I spend 95% of the time doing this since English isn't widely spoken where we were.

My FIL and his cousin Conrad.
Conrad owns the Hotel Condor and will probably
answer the phone when you call!

After church and a quick lunch, we set off on our adventure to TUSCANY!  (Tomorrow, I will tell you all about our drive....it's quite the story!)

A Castle in Heaven

Sweet friends, as you know, we are headed to Italy soon with my MIL & FIL, SIL & BIL, Opa (Grandpa), and 4 cousins who currently live in the Italian Alps.  I am BEYOND excited.  Like, I am practically so giddy that I've increased my consumption of vino in preparation.  It's my favorite place (hello PASTA, PIZZA and WINE) ever.  It's magical and glorious and beautiful.   

For the past month, we have been in full planning mode for this trip.  As you can imagine, getting 7 people over to Italy from America and then meeting up with 4 Italians was quite a challenge.  (Heck, now I know why travel agents still exist!)  But, once the flights were booked, we quickly turned our attention to a bigger question:

"Where the heck are all 11 of us going to stay?" 

After going 'round and 'round (get me off this carousel) searching for a villa that could accommodate all of us, my FIL just booked this beauty!  Yes, a Castle in Heaven!

Holy goodness--this castle/mansion/hopefully my future residence is a FAR cry from the dumps hostels I stayed at my first time in Italy.  I mean, really, look at this place!



I imagine as soon as I get there, I'll sprint to the top of those stairs (catch my breath) and start singing "The hills are alive, with the sound of music" as I hold out my arms (palms up to the sky) sweeping the landscape....

Oh wait, that song is referring to Austria.  What.ever.

Situated in the Chianti region, this villa has some breathtaking real estate (and some mind boggling wine).  I'm positive I'll get to explore most of the land on my daily runs (gotta try to keep those carbs & wine from going straight to my thighs).  There is also a tennis court, and I imagine we'll have one or two "friendly games" of tennis.  (We are all pretty good at tennis and anytime we get together, we do play.)  Most of the time, us "kids" get beat by my MIL & FIL.  Somehow, they manage to win even though my FIL is smoking a cigar...the whole time.  I gotta hand it to the old man---that's talent.  (Opps, forgot he might read this....let the "friendly" trash-talking begin.)    

Anyway, we have this bad boy for 7 days, which will give us just enough time to NOT WANT TO LEAVE.  It's centrally located so that we can take day trips and always return back to "home base".  I'll leave you now with a few more pictures of the beautiful villa........