Father's Day Wishes for my Dad...

I've always felt so very fortunate to have such a wonderful dad! The examples that he has set for me are some of the most important life lessons I have ever learned. When I was a little girl, I always looked up to my dad as my hero... And, no matter how old I get, I still view him in the same way. :) He's always there for me, to support and encourage me in whatever I do. He's taught me how to be a strong, independent, honest, hard-working, thoughtful, and sensitive person. My dad has always been there to listen to me and give advice when needed, to pick me up when I'm down, to encourage me to push myself harder, and he always knows just what to say in order to put a smile on my face when I'm feeling down. :) I feel truly blessed to have such an outstanding dad! So, I'd like to take this moment to wish my dad a very Happy Father's Day! I wish I was there to celebrate with you! Thank you for being such an amazing dad to Stacy, Jason, and I! :) I love you!!

And, to all of the other fathers out there, I hope you have a wonderful Father's Day as well! Enjoy spending the day with your families! :)

World Cup Frenzy...

Hey all! Again, many apologies for not having the Paris pictures posted yet... For some reason, the weeks have been getting busier and busier on this end... And, unfortunately the thing that suffers the most is my blog. :( My goal, however, is to get the pictures posted by this weekend... So, please just be a little more patient with me. :)

Things have been rather interesting in these parts recently. The World Cup started on Friday... And it's turned into pure soccer madness around here!! Everyone pretty much eats, breathes, and lives soccer (or should I say "fussball") nowadays!! All I see on tv is soccer and all I hear about is soccer... It's craziness!! I've literally watched more soccer within the past week than I have in my entire life! :)

Although, there is one thing that's really stuck out in my mind, amidst all of this soccer frenzy... I have seen more German flags flying in the past week than I have seen in the entire time that we've lived here! I think it's great! :) As Americans, we are a very patriotic nation and we take pride in flying our flag... I guess I just always assumed that every other country was as patriotic as us... However, I quickly realized how wrong I was after we moved to Germany! It's very seldom that you see people flying the German flag over here or even showing much patriotism for their country... I mean, based on their past history, I can understand why they might shy away from flying their flags... But, wouldn't you think that they would want to fly their flags to prove to themselves and to the world that they have moved past their history and that they're building a brighter future? I guess that must be the patriotic American in me (I thank my parents for instilling that quality into me from a very young age! :))... I think everyone should be proud of their country... In my opinion, it's what makes a country unique and successful. :) But, alas, I'm going to step down from my soapbox now. :)

Either way... The Germans are flying their flags and wearing their national colors with pride right now, and that's the most important thing! Maybe they'll continue to do so after the World Cup, and then again, maybe they won't... But, at least they're showing the world how proud they are of their country and their flag at this moment in time... And, I'm proudly flying my American and German flags right along with them! :) (And, yes, I literally mean that... We have an American flag and German flag flying out on our balcony.. yay! :))

And, as for the World Cup... All I have to say is "Go USA!!"... You'll find me in front of the tv today at 3:30, watching them play Slovenia! :) Let's hear it for the Red, White, and Blue!! :)

Lago di Garda - A Mecca for Outdoor Sports Enthusiasts

Lago di Garda was the next stop on the Italian portion of our summer vacation. Lago di Garda (i.e. Lake Garda in English) is an absolutely beautiful area in northeastern Italy. The lake is nestled in the mountains and it has an almost Mediterranean feel to it... You can find olive, orange, lemon, and palm trees there! :) The area is considered to be the windsurfing capital of Italy, as well as a mecca for outdoor sports such as hiking, rock climbing, klettersteigen, mountain biking, etc.

While we were there, we met up with some friends and camped for a few days. We spent our days rock climbing, hiking, klettersteigen, sightseeing, and shopping. It was such a great time! :) We're already planning our next trip back... Not only is it a great location for outdoor sports as well as for sightseeing, but it's only a 4 1/2 hour drive away from where we live... It's literally a perfect vacation destination for Brian and I! :)

Check out the size of that backpack! I would definitely not want to have to haul that thing up a mountain! :) Although, Brian claims that it's a backpack for carrying spouses up a mountain... Hmmm... Not a bad idea! :)

There is nothing better than Italian coffee... Delicious!! :) We had one of these every morning... YUM!!

Look at the size of that aguava plant!! Alot of tequila could be made from that I bet! :)

The castle that we hiked up to in Arco...

This was the view from the castle's courtyard...

Arco, Italy

This is the area that we camped at in Arco... The scenery in that area is absolutely breathtaking!!

Look at him go! :)

I'm so proud of him!! :) He's right back out there climbing with the rest of us again... even after his accident last year (can you believe that happened exactly one year ago this coming Sunday?!)...

The following day we went klettersteigen (i.e. assisted hiking)... It's a mix between hiking and climbing. There's a cable the runs along the entire trail, and you have to clip your two carabiners onto it throughout the hike... The route we took to the top was considered to be an easy route for beginners... It was a very fun hike, and the views were amazing! :) That's Eva in the lead and I'm following behind her...

Brian on his way up...

Making my way up... That's Arco in the distance, as well as our campground...

Eva and I taking a break...

We made it to the top!! :)

Brian and I at the top... Isn't the background gorgeous?! :)

Hiking back to our rock climbing location the following day...

On my way up the wall...

This was actually the hardest wall that I've ever done while rock climbing... But, it was so much fun! :)

And, after this wall, I was pretty much done for the day... Once your fingers and forearms get too overworked while outdoor climbing, they have a tendency to go numb... And, once they go numb, they become quite useless... So, as a preventative measure, once my fingers/forearms get to that point, I usually stop for the day... :) And, during this trip, instead of sitting around for hours waiting for everyone else to finish, Eva and I decided to do some sightseeing around the lake... Yay! :)

The view from the top...

Eva and I made a stop in Mancesine, Italy... Such a cute little town!

The view of Lago di Garda from Mancesine... Gorgeous!

And, of course, we had to stop for some Italian coffee while we were there! :) What a perfect view we had from our table!!

Eva and I in Mancesine...

Our next stop was in Limone, Italy...

And yet another spectacular view of Lago di Garda!!

Limone, Italy... :)

Venice - City of Bridges

Well, folks... We're back from our fabulous summer vacation! We had such a wonderful time and we saw so many amazing things! Each place had a certain charm and a uniqueness about it which made it that much more special (i.e. Amsterdam's bikes, Venice's canals and bridges, and Paris's Eiffel Tower and shopping districts)... I actually think I'm still in awe about the fact that we managed to visit Amsterdam, Venice, and Paris (three cities which I've always wanted to see) all in the time span of three weeks... Plus, we even found time to visit one of our favorite places (Lago di Garda) to partake in some outdoor adventures! That's just one of the many things I love about Europe... Everything is so close! :)

Now that we've been back for a few days, I figured it's time to get my butt in gear and get the pictures posted for all of you to see. :) However, with so many pictures to post, I've decided that I'll split the trip up into a few different blog entries, so as not to bombard you with too many pictures at one time! :) So, let's begin with Venice - The City of Bridges...

Venice is such a charming place to visit! We were able to spend two days exploring the city, and I have to admit that I absolutely fell in love with it! :) From its many canals to its hundreds of bridges to the many gondolas floating around the city to its quaint little side streets that oftentimes lead to nowhere to the beautiful Murano glass found there... There was literally a surprise around every corner! :)

Our first day in the city was actually quite interesting. We decided that we would take the first day to get acquainted with the city instead of running around trying to see all of the sights... Well, let's just say that Venice, with all of its bridges, canals, and dead end streets, is rather difficult to navigate! At first, we didn't really mind the fact that we were lost in the city... We simply strolled hand-in-hand through the quiet side streets while soaking up the atmosphere, and of course, taking pictures. :) However, by the time nightfall was upon us, we had managed to get ourselves so twisted and turned around that we almost missed our train back to the hotel (being that we couldn't find the train station, no matter how many times we consulted our "trusty" map)... Yikes! The only reason we ended up finding it is because we started questioning everyone in sight... And, go figure, it was one of the first times in all of our traveling abroad, that we couldn't manage to find an English speaker (or even a German speaker for that matter!)... All we came across were people who spoke Italian and French (and some random guy who was speaking his own special language! :))... We finally found a desk clerk at a hotel that spoke English, and when we asked him how to get to the train station, he looked at us in amusement, pointed to the bridge in front of the hotel, and told us to cross it... And, wouldn't you know it, after all of that panicked running around we had just done, the bridge led us directly into the train station... Nice! :)

We managed to get our bearings by the second day though, and the rest of the trip went quite smoothly. Although, I have to admit, some of my favorite memories of Venice are of those quaint little side streets we wandered down while we were lost... They were removed from all of the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas and you were able to get a feel for the actual city... Being able to see that side of Venice, definitely made getting lost worth it! :)

So, without further ado, here's a glimpse into the charming city of Venice... Enjoy! :)

This was one of our first views of Venice as we stepped out of the train station... I was completely awestruck! It literally looks exactly the way it's always portrayed in pictures... only even more beautiful! :)

Look how narrow some of the side streets are! :)

Santa Maria della Salute... We came around the corner and this was what greeted us... Stunning!!

Venice at night...

You see the boat moorings everywhere (Actually, I kept calling them "peppermint sticks" while Brian referred to them as "the barber shop poles"... :)) Can you see where the water level has increased? There used to be a small staircase leading to the doorway... We read that the city is sinking at a rate of 2 1/2 inches a decade... So, in reality, Venice may not exist at some point in the future... So sad... :(

We spent an evening in Piazza San Marco and enjoyed the music...

The Rialto Bridge...

(I'm told by Brian that this is much more impressive than the replica they have in Vegas! :))

Standing on one of the many bridges in Venice... It's a picture perfect view wherever you are in that city! :)

The view from the Rialto Bridge... Gorgeous!!

San Marco's Cathedral...

The Astronomical Clock...

Look at all of the tourists!! This is a typical scene from any large city in Europe during the summer... Lots and lots of people!!

Brian and I amongst the crowds of tourists... Oh joy! We actually asked a random American tourist to take a picture with San Marco's Cathedral as the background... This is what he managed to take a picture of... Somehow, instead of having the cathedral as the backdrop, we now have a whole bunch of tourists as the background... Isn't that just lovely?!

Down one of the many side streets... This is such a typical Italian scene... I love it! :)

This is when we decided to get away from all of the tourist areas and wander around through all of the quiet little side streets... We found some pretty little canals and buildings along the way... :)

For some reason, I really liked this house! :)

A typical scene from Venice...

There were so many gondolas!! We actually contemplated taking a ride in one... However, we found out that it would cost us $60 for a half hour ride... Yikes!! We opted for a nice dinner instead! :)

So pretty!

The doors were so old and worn... Which makes the city that much more charming. :)

Notice how crooked that tower is?? :)

A view from the Ponte dell' Accademia...

My adorable hubby! :)

We came across this scene and couldn't quite figure it out... This statue is located on the Dogana da Mar and during the day it's guarded by an armed guard, and it's encased at night... The statue is of a naked boy holding a frog... Considering how much effort they go to to keep this statue safe, it must be a pretty big deal... Either way, I still don't get it! :)

Being that we opted out of taking a ride in a gondola... We decided to pose for pictures by them instead... :)

Inside the Santa Maria della Salute...

This was one of the very few cathedrals we were able to go into... First of all, there were very few tourists so we didn't have a huge line to wait in. Secondly, Brian was able to take pictures in this cathedral, unlike the others. And finally, the dress code was less strict here... I was allowed in even though I was wearing shorts. (Just an FYI... Italy is very strict about dress codes when visiting their cathedrals. Shorts, bare arms and shoulders, and skirts above the knee are strictly prohibited!)

We saw so many doors like this... The water level rises every year and it typically floods parts of the city every winter/spring... Houses closer to the canals have to deal with it on a yearly basis, resulting in alot of water damage. As a result of the increasing water level, we noticed that many of the houses in the city have the first floor boarded up and they are no longer in use.

I can honestly say, I simply love the Italian vibe... I think I'm Italian at heart! :)

A Venetian sunset...