Saturday, June 14, 2008
Better late than never...
Just saw these photos as I was going through our albums to do the Cape Cod post. These were from a month or two ago when Craig, Ellen and Moritz were all in town and we decided to check out the bars of Notting Hill. Brimmer is in fine form as always.
Cape Cod and Portland
A couple weeks ago we took our first trip in a while to go see my good friends Craig and Kristin get married in Chatham, which is a town in Cape Cod. The weather was supposed to be pretty bad but it turned out great - it was sunny and warm for most of the long weekend, so we got to spend a lot of quality time walking around and hanging out outside. The wedding itself was really fun - right on the beach in a really nice club with plenty of dancing and good times (I even did the Rain Bird, and Casie got out there once or twice).
From there we went to Portland, where we spent a frantic 2 days checking out wedding locations. We decided on the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, which is in SE Portland really close to my old house. We saw it on a sunny day with all the rhody's in bloom and it was really amazing. Should be a great venue.
Lastly we rolled through Seattle en route to a 10 hour flight back to London. It was great fun catching up with everyone and having some good BBQ. Casie's parents and sister Jessie came out to visit us (and repaint Grandma Millie's house) and it was great to see them. Hopefully they'll make it across the Atlantic sometime soon!
From there we went to Portland, where we spent a frantic 2 days checking out wedding locations. We decided on the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, which is in SE Portland really close to my old house. We saw it on a sunny day with all the rhody's in bloom and it was really amazing. Should be a great venue.
Lastly we rolled through Seattle en route to a 10 hour flight back to London. It was great fun catching up with everyone and having some good BBQ. Casie's parents and sister Jessie came out to visit us (and repaint Grandma Millie's house) and it was great to see them. Hopefully they'll make it across the Atlantic sometime soon!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Switzerland - Day #3
Day #3 consisted of a drive to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, to the northern tip of Lake Geneva. Just behind the three of us is France. We spent a few hours touring through the castle behind Moritz, which was almost more centuries old than I have fingers.
Thanks again to our host. We had such a great time and can't wait to come back for some more!
Switzerland - Day #2
Day #2 in Switzerland began with beautiful blue skies, so we seized the opportunity to head to the Swiss Alps to check out the mountains and views they provide. Our goal was the Schilthorn which stands at 10,000 feet and is the home of a rotating restaurant that affords 360 degree views of breathtaking mountains and was used in one of the first 007 films a couple of decades ago. The trip to the top consisted of taking no less than 4 gondolas similar to the one below up about 2 or 3 thousand feet at a time.
I was so amazed by the beauty that I had to call Kelly to tell her about it (not caring that it was 3am her time).
Moritz, Chris and I were lucky enough to have enjoyed the views before sitting down to eat, because as we did, a number of clouds rolled in and the mountains across the valleys disappeared in no time.
As if visiting the Swiss Alps wasn't enough for one day, Moritz was also able to secure us some tickets to see his home football team, the Young Boys.
The YBs were down the entire match until the last 15 minutes, when they scored 3 points to win it. Although extremely cold, the crowd, in all its drunken glory, was enough to keep the stadium warm. The best part was their favorite cheer, which we were able to catch part of on video while we were on the bus after the game.
The cheer went like this:
"We love you, we love you, we love you,
and where you go we'll follow, we'll follow, we'll follow
cause we support the Young Boys, the Young Boys, the Young Boys,
Now that's the way we like it, we like it, we like it
whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh-oh"
I was so amazed by the beauty that I had to call Kelly to tell her about it (not caring that it was 3am her time).
Moritz, Chris and I were lucky enough to have enjoyed the views before sitting down to eat, because as we did, a number of clouds rolled in and the mountains across the valleys disappeared in no time.
As if visiting the Swiss Alps wasn't enough for one day, Moritz was also able to secure us some tickets to see his home football team, the Young Boys.
The YBs were down the entire match until the last 15 minutes, when they scored 3 points to win it. Although extremely cold, the crowd, in all its drunken glory, was enough to keep the stadium warm. The best part was their favorite cheer, which we were able to catch part of on video while we were on the bus after the game.
The cheer went like this:
"We love you, we love you, we love you,
and where you go we'll follow, we'll follow, we'll follow
cause we support the Young Boys, the Young Boys, the Young Boys,
Now that's the way we like it, we like it, we like it
whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh-oh"
Switzerland - Day #1
First and foremost, we would like to thank our extremely gracious, knowledgeable, local host Moritz for all of his hospitality and taking so much time to show us all there is to see in Bern and the surrounding areas in a 4 day trip.
We started out the long weekend with a hearty traditional breakfast on the top of this hill, having arrived there via tram. Although it was extremely snowy, we could still catch glimpses of a great view of Bern.
Once we were well fed, we were given Moritz's famous city tour, complete with local history and the opportunity to feed the Bern bears. These guys love fruit and at least one of them is willing to work a little for it. They were hilarious, and a huge hit will all of the tourists.
Just as you would imagine, there are plenty of pubs with local brews. This one was near the bear pit and brewed their own delicious micros.
We started out the long weekend with a hearty traditional breakfast on the top of this hill, having arrived there via tram. Although it was extremely snowy, we could still catch glimpses of a great view of Bern.
Once we were well fed, we were given Moritz's famous city tour, complete with local history and the opportunity to feed the Bern bears. These guys love fruit and at least one of them is willing to work a little for it. They were hilarious, and a huge hit will all of the tourists.
Just as you would imagine, there are plenty of pubs with local brews. This one was near the bear pit and brewed their own delicious micros.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Galway Ireland
We finally made it to Casie's 50% ancestral homeland of Ireland (the other 50% being Germany which we'll visit for Oktoberfest). We arranged to do a 'flat swap' with my godmother Anne who lives in Galway, so while we were staying in her townhouse, she was staying in our place with her fiance. Not a bad deal if I say so myself!
We flew in to Shannon and rented a car to drive up to Galway. Driving on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road wasn't quite as bad as I thought but still pretty terrifying. The biggest problem were the roundabouts, which are very confusing and reminded me of National Lampoon's European Vacation. Getting to Galway was great though - it is a beautiful town right on a huge bay with a great nightlife.
We spent quite a bit of the weekend in pubs but also made it to the Cliffs of Moher and a traditional Irish folk concert. We also caught some St. Paddy's Day parades (including the University of Illinois marching band??). It was a great 4 days but we definitely want to go back to see some of the rest of the country.
We flew in to Shannon and rented a car to drive up to Galway. Driving on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road wasn't quite as bad as I thought but still pretty terrifying. The biggest problem were the roundabouts, which are very confusing and reminded me of National Lampoon's European Vacation. Getting to Galway was great though - it is a beautiful town right on a huge bay with a great nightlife.
We spent quite a bit of the weekend in pubs but also made it to the Cliffs of Moher and a traditional Irish folk concert. We also caught some St. Paddy's Day parades (including the University of Illinois marching band??). It was a great 4 days but we definitely want to go back to see some of the rest of the country.
The Proposal
As some of you know, I proposed to Casie while we were in Ireland over St. Patrick's Day weekend. Fortunately she said yes so now we're all set to get 'er done and be married at some point in the not too distant future (more details to come). We got engaged in the Burren region of Ireland which is on its western coast south of Galway. We were on our way to the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced 'more', not 'mohair' as Casie thought) and I had a ring burning a hole in my pocket the whole way! We got out en route to walk around a particularly amazing set of cliffs and the moment struck me so I proposed. I wasn't nearly as eloquent as I had planned on being but Casie assures me that I gave a decent speech.
The ring is an antique from a market here in London. It is from the Edwardian period - roughly the 1920's - and is platinum with a bead design along the edges and a floral design through the middle. We were extremely lucky that it fit Casie without any re-sizing - pretty good since I was going on guesswork!
Casie and I are both very excited about this new chapter in our lives and look forward to catching up with all of you soon.
The ring is an antique from a market here in London. It is from the Edwardian period - roughly the 1920's - and is platinum with a bead design along the edges and a floral design through the middle. We were extremely lucky that it fit Casie without any re-sizing - pretty good since I was going on guesswork!
Casie and I are both very excited about this new chapter in our lives and look forward to catching up with all of you soon.
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