Bonne soirée de la belle Paris

Hello everyone, what a few days it has been.  We have just wrapped up our last night in Paris and we are heading off to Rome tomorrow morning.  I must say Paris has really been a great experience, much better than I had anticipated.  The city is absolutely beautiful, we wrapped up our final night with a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, its quite the view from up top!

We arrived here Tuesday afternoon after a quick flight down from Edinburgh.  After taking the train to our hotel and getting settled in it was about time for dinner.  We were lucky enough to find a great restaurant called L'Ogre.  It is a meat lovers paradise.  We all had fantastic meals surrounded by the locals.  We were lucky that our hostess spoke decent english and she was able to describe everything to us.  After dinner we headed out to a local bar and had a night cap and called it a night, we had a busy next day.

We had a nice breakfast the following morning at the hotel before heading out on the town for the day.  We took one of the double decker tour busses around all day that let you get on and off all throughout the city.  We learned a lot about the city and saw all of the big attractions (Notre Dame, The Louvre, Eiffel Tower).  Towards the end of the trip we got off and walked around the shopping district.  We ended up being out around the city for a good 7-8 hours.  After the long day we came back to the hotel for a quick rest and then out for dinner to the Beer Academy in the Latin District.  This was one heck of a good meal.  Shelby and Adam had been here last time they came and were talking about it since we left.  Its a Belgian bar with tons of great beers and good food.  Shelby and Adam had muscles in curry and frites, I had a hamburger steak and frites.  Everything was amazing, I even had a few muscles and was pleasantly surprised.  We finished the night by getting a couple delicious crepes from one of the street vendors and headed back to the hotel.  

This morning we caught the train downtown and met up with a small group for a bike tour around the city.  We did the tour called "Hidden Paris" which takes you around to lots of places off the beaten path a bit.  We had a nice French girl named Claire for our guide, she took us all over the place showing you the real culture of the city.  Lots of really neat little neighborhoods with all kinds of different shops and restaurants.  This was my favorite part of the trip as I really felt like we got to see lots of the city and really see what day to day life is here for the locals.  This evening we found another great restaurant on our walk down to the Eiffel tower, had an amazing meal that was kind of a French/Italian fusion.  Following dinner we walked down to the Eiffel Tower and headed all the way up to the top.  Took us a while to get all the way to the top but it was worth it for the view.  Overall it was a great trip to Paris and I would be happy to come back here again some day.

We're off to Rome in the morning to meet up with Adam, Mark, and Ashley.  I can't wait to see what Italy has to offer.  Here are some pics from Paris.  Bonsoir!

Edinburgh days 1 and 2

--Adam

It was a quick fight from AMS to EDI and KLM has to be one of the best airlines. The Dutch are the best!

Day 1 Edinburgh we had a quick breakfast of coffee and porridge, Colin had a bacon roll which is nothing like amazing American bacon. We then explored Edinburgh castle which was a lot of fun. I haven't been here since 2007 so it was great to come back with family. High street and the castle were super fun. We just missed the Scotland military tattoo but there is another festival going all month which has the city bustling. We found a nice Italian place for dinner where we all had a great 6 wine flight. A few pub stops and some local music and it was time for bed. 

Day 2 (today) Colin played 18 holes at a local golf course. Shelby and I hiked Arthur's seat which gave us amazing 360 views of the city. It was about a 3 hour hike to the top and back but well worth it for the views. After the hike we hit up Brew Dog brewery in Edinburgh. I felt right at home with Scotland's response to the craft brew revolution.

Tonight we are doing the platinum whiskey experience tour. Should be fantastic!

Amsterdam Pics

Amsterdam Eden & Drinkeen

After a pretty easy 8 hour flight we made it to Amsterdam yesterday morning. Although all 3 of us tried taking some z-quil and vino to sleep on the flight over I think the excitement of what was to come kept us up. 

Last time Adam and I were here Amsterdam was very different as it was mid November and as I realize now not a peak tourist timeframe. This time of year Amsterdam is simply booming with visitors and all of the locals are out as well enjoying the great weather. Most of them as also on bikes! After arriving into Amsterdam airport we took the train downtown and walked to our hotel. We stayed at the Renaissance which rivaled the nicest hotel on our trip last time, so here's hoping its a sign of what's to come. :)

After dropping our stuff off at the hotel we began our short stay by sampling some cappuccinos as there truly isn't coffee this good in the US. Just as delicious as we remembered! As we wandered around the busy streets and around the canals we came across what at first looked like a huge traffic jam of boats. After talking to the locals we found out it was a music festival they do once a year right next to the canal. Some of the lucky people get tickets to park their boats closest- for everyone else it's a free for all to get a spot. Pretty fun to see everyone linking up to get as close as possible. Next we wandered through Vondel Park, which reminded me of a smaller Golden Gate Park with lots of different activities and groups of people enjoying the green space. 

On our way back to the hotel we stopped to get some of our favorite frites that come with a curry sauce- just as good as we remembered! After taking some brief power naps we headed back our to sample some if the local beers and all got the Govenours Tripple. Delicious and strong! For dinner we went to the #2 restaurant on trip advisor called Eden and Drinkken. One thing I really enjoy about dinners in Europe is that no one ever seems to be in a hurry. We lucked out as when we showed up last night some seats opened up at the bar, where we remained for the next 3 hours. We sampled a goat cheese appetizer, steak, burger royale, asparagus and mushroom risotto, and the best ending of the famous sticky toffee pie....which was one of the best desserts of all time.

After some more adult beverages it was time to hit the sack as today we are off to Edinburgh Scotland. It's been great Amsterdam! Cheers!

Shelby, Adam, and Colin  

**Will post pics later today!

Preparing for another very exciting European Adventure!

Adam and I are so excited to be heading back to Europe next week for another exciting adventure.  We feel so blessed this time that my brother, Colin, will also be joining us abroad!

A couple months ago Colin called me and asked me if we had received a wedding invitation from our good friend Russell.  I said yes as I had just received it, but that I hadn't opened it yet.  Russell is getting married to an incredible woman named Julia and I had presumed their wedding would take place in Chicago (where they live).  Colin quickly blurted out "they are getting married in Italy......in a castle!".  I should not have been surprised as these two have impeccable style.  He asked if we thought we would go and I just said YES without hesitation.  Adam and I had planned to go on some sort of an Anniversary trip and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do both.  

As we are preparing all of the final details now, the excitement for what is to come is overwhelming me.  We are so looking forward to further exploring some of the most beautiful places on the planet, with some of the very best friends and family we have.  We will be blogging again over our 2 week trip across 4 countries and will do our best to take you with us.  Here is our itinerary:

-Amsterdam
-Edinburgh
-Paris
-Rome
-Sirmione
-Milan

Cheers!

Shelby