When in Rome...

For the last 5 days of my parents European vacation we headed to Rome, Italy!  Yet another amazing place that I was so excited to visit!  My mom and I figured it was a pretty safe place to take my uber picky Dad since it was the birthplace of pizza : )

We stayed in a gorgeous hotel called the Rome Cavalieri which sat up on a hill over looking the entire city.  The property was peppered with olive and pomegranate trees.  If you are ever in Rome I highly recommend it!  We could see Vatican City and most of the monuments from our balconies.  Though it was quite a way outside of the city center there was a shuttle that ran every hour to get you where you needed to go.  My only complaint....they charged 22 euros a DAY for wireless access!!  Highway robbery! Needless to say we used the business center and lived without our laptops for a few day.

Yay for a king sized bed!!

View from our balcony

Fresh olives

Pomegranate tree

Chad was still in Chicago at this point and was set to join us the next day.  That evening we hopped on the hotel shuttle to find a place for dinner.  We happened to meet a couple from Meridian, MS on the bus ride over...such a small world right? 

Daddy waiting on the shuttle....he wasn't angry I just caught him off guard, haha!

Once we made it into the city we wandered around and accidentally stumbled upon the Spanish Steps.  The steps got their name from the previous location of the Spanish Embassy at the bottom.  It is the widest staircase in Europe and 138 steps to reach the top.  At the top of the steps sits the Triniti dei Monti Church while at the bottom sits the Barcaccia Fountain, the work of Pietro Bernini and his son. 

Top of the steps

Bottom of the steps

Monument with an Egyptian Obelisk in front of the church

We found a little, narrow side street and were able to get away from all the crowds of tourists and find a cute street cafe to have dinner.  The food was excellent for our first true Italian meal!!

Mom checking out the menu

 

On our walk back to the shuttle stop we made a pit stop in McDonalds to use the restroom.  It was quite possibly the nicest McDonalds I have ever seen.  It's just so funny to see places we have at home and how different they are or how they are adapted for a different culture.  But hey they still have Monopoly and the Big Mac!

For our next day in Rome my Mom had set up walking tours for the entire day.  It was really great to have someone else plan the trip for once!! Usually I get the job of travel agent : )

Lots more to come soon!

The Shparagos go to Ireland...

The morning after Jessica and Brian left my parents rolled into town.  Needless to say there was a full day of laundry, cleaning and getting ready for the next set of guests in between!

I was soooo excited to have my parents come visit. First of all, because I hadn't seen them in over 3 months and second, because neither one of my parents had ever been to Europe.  This was the perfect excuse for them to break out the passports and make the journey.  If you are wondering, Lola went to stay with her other grandparents during their trip.

Standing on our balcony....Mom looks a little more excited!

Then Daddy got into the spirit!

The next day we hopped on the train to the Jameson Distillery....yep that's twice in one week!  Oh well it's still fun to see each time.  I knew my dad would really enjoy the tour so it was well worth it.  He had a blast learning how they make whiskey and getting to sample a little at the end. 

Sitting on the train

The 3 of us outside the distillery.

After the tour was over we headed to a little cafe/pub to get some traditional Irish food.  My dad loves beef stew at home so I knew he would love the Guinness beef stew!  My mom and I had a less traditional salad which was also amazing.  

 Of course no trip with my mother would ever be complete without a trip to Starbucks.  I think we went at least 4 times during the 5 days they were in Dublin.  This woman loves her Starbucks coffee!

My mom wanted to explore a little more of Ireland so after a short day trip to Kilkenny we decided to take a tour to Belfast.  Belfast is in Northern Ireland and actually a British territory.  The city has seen a lot of turmoil (including bombings, assassinations and street violence) between the Catholics and Protestants who divided the city.   There are still large walls that the divide the city into 2 distinct neighborhoods...the gates are open during the day now but close at 9pm or if any conflict arises.

Before we made it to Belfast we stopped in Drogheda to see St. Peter's Church.  This church houses the head (yep I said head) and prison cell door of Oliver Plunkett.  He was a Catholic Archbishop of Ireland who was persecuted by the English before he was tried for treason.  He was sentenced to death by hanging then drawn and quartered.  His body was tossed into a fire and one of his followers was able to "rescue" his head.  Somehow it ended up in this church with the door to his prison cell.  Could you imagine sitting in worship with some guys head in a glass case next to you!  He was canonized in 1975 and is now considered a Saint.  Don't worry I didn't take any pictures of his head....I thought that was a little creepy!

St. Peter's Church

Oliver Plunkett's prison cell door

Our next stop along the way was Monasterboice which was at one time a monastery and today houses a tower and 3 large celtic crosses from the 10th century.

After that we loaded back on the bus and headed for Belfast.  On our way into town we drove by a wall of murals which were painted by locals representing different causes related to the fighting in their history.  Many of the buildings on both sides of the walls were painted with murals commemorating those who lost their lives for their cause.

Oh, by the way, our tour guide was a total nut job!! This is him below and I'm pretty sure he was a former IRA member himself.  She drove like a NYC taxi driver and told crazy stories the entire tour.  Let's just say I wouldn't mess with him!

 We headed into Belfast city center and were dropped off to find some lunch.  Our guide recommended a place called Crown Bar so we decided to check it out.  He may have been a little looney but he had good taste in food.  It was excellent!  We had a little time to wander around the city before we headed on to our next stop.

Did you know that the Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland?  It was....and there is a museum there to celebrate it.  They sell t-shirts that say " Built by Irishmen, Sunk by Englishmen", haha.  We made a pit stop at the museum but didn't have time to go in.  The building is built to the size of the ships hull...pretty amazing huh?  I would at some point like to go back and see the museum.

The last stop on our tour was a megalithic portal tomb that dated back to 3000 B.C.  These 2 stones with a cap stone on top were the entrance the the tomb where neolithic people would leave the remains of their dead.  It now sits on a golf course...sort of sad. 

We survived our tour with crazy man and spent the next day exploring a little more of Dublin.  My mom has the famous "Molly Malone" as a very distant relative so we had to snap a picture of her statue in the city.

My mom also wanted to check out the Irish Jewish Museum so we walked a loooong way there to find that it was closed.  It also happened to look like more of an apartment than a museum but hey, I don't think there are very many Irish Jews.

Outside of the "museum"

The very next day we left to go to Rome for 5 days!  P.S. if you are wondering where Chad was during all of this, he left to go to Chicago after my parents 2nd day in town and then met us in Rome.

Better late than never...

I know, I know....it's been about 2 weeks since I blogged.  I'm sure my 5 readers are bored out of their minds, haha!  Anyways, I have a good excuse.  Between friends visiting, then my parents and then a trip to Rome I have barely had a chance to catch up on anything.

So, rewind a couple weeks and I will fill you in.  September 30th my very bestest friend in the the whole world came to visit.  I have known Jessica since freshman year of high school...whether we haven't talked in a month or we've been on the phone weekly, we just pick up right where we left off.  She and Brian (the boyfriend) live in NYC and were able to make the 5 hour flight over to spend 4 days in Dublin. 

They arrived in the morning and while Brian took a nap Jess and I went for a walk into town.  Luckily the weather was great while they were here and we didn't have to trudge around in too much rain. 

Jess standing near the Liffey

Their first full day here we went on the Jameson tour (I've been a few times now!) which they both enjoyed and wandered around Dublin.  Jess did some shopping...getting a Barbour Coat which I am jealous of : ) and an adorable pair of LK Bennett nude pumps just like Kate Middleton.  We dragged Brian all over creation but he was a good sport.

On their second day in Ireland we drove to Kilkenny, a small town about 1.5 hours from Dublin.  We toured Kilkenny Castle and then walked around the adorable town.  Kilkenny had just won the All-Ireland Hurling Finals and the town was decked out in black and gold in celebration.  We ate lunch in a little pub before getting back in the car to make a stop at the Kildare Village Outlet Mall....yep more shopping!

Kilkenny Castle

Go Cats!

We had a blast and I didn't take nearly enough pictures to document all we did.  Sadly, they had to go back to NYC but my parents arrived the very next morning!  More on that to come : )

Paris Finale...and it was GRAND!

For our last 2 days in Paris we were blessed to have our good friends Katie and Devon join us!  I was so excited to see them both and get to catch up on whats happening in STL.  Katie is a 5th year neurosurgery resident and Devon is the same year as Chad.  We have really been so lucky to have such great friends in Chad's program (and mine too).

After a small passport fiasco at the airport Katie and Devon made it to our hotel.  We had a little breakfast and then Katie went to take a nap while the rest of us wandered around Paris.  I wanted to see the Louvre and it's famous glass pyramid so that was our first stop.  We explored the grounds but opted not to go in.  I won't pretend to be really into art museums...while it would have been cool to say we saw the Mona Lisa in person I was ok missing it.

Chad and Devon in front of the Louvre

The famous glass pyramid is the entrance and underground lobby.

 The Louvre was originally a 12th century palace and had beautiful grounds and gardens.  This massive arch was in front of the actual museum and had a huge statue on top.

Gardens

After the Louvre we walked along the River Seine and sat in a sidewalk cafe to do a little people watching.  It was a perfect Paris afternoon!  We did stumble across Saint Louis Street on the way home. 

 Once Katie had a little nap she was ready to go!  Chad and I had made reservations for dinner at a traditional French Bistro that was recommended by our concierge.  In case any of you will be making a trip to Paris soon, you should definitely go to Le Fermette Marbouf!!!  The food was incredible and the service exceptional.  We really had the "French experience". 

Katie and Devon before dinner.

Beautiful ceiling in the restaurant

The four of us after dinner

On our walk back from dinner we stopped for a photo op in front of the Arc with the Eiffel Tower lit up in the background. 

I like this one in black in white : ) 

The next day Katie and I did what we do best together...shop!  We stopped in Louis Vuitton just to look....really!  We were not planning on making any purchases.  However, I have an AMAZING husband who wanted to get me a souvenir from Paris and Katie couldn't go home empty handed.  Look at those big smiles (below)!  We are two happy girls!  It had been raining most of the morning so our bags came with their own ponchos....which they should at that price. 

Most people know I am a bargain shopper and love a good deal!  In fact Chad says I will buy anything as long as it's cheaper today than it was yesterday.  Well, let me tell you if you want to buy a Louis then Paris is the place to do it.  With the exchange rate of the Euro and the tax back you get when you leave the country it actually turns out to be a better deal!

So if you are wondering what I got....here it is!  My Neverful MM and I LOVE HIM!  Thanks Chad!! 

So versatile!

The next day we headed back to Dublin...Chad back to work and me back to A LOT of laundry.  I can't say enough about what a great trip we had. 

Hangin' out with the royals...

On our third day in Paris we took the train to Versailles to check out what else but the Palace of Versailles.  Ok, a little history lesson....Versailles became the center of political power in France in 1682, when Louis the XIV moved there from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution.  It started out as a "modest" hunting lodge and was added to over the years to make it an enormous (I mean ridiculously huge) palace.  You know how that goes, you move into a place and think "oh I'll just add one more bedroom out back" then before you know it you have a house the size of a 4 shopping malls.  The palace has it's own chapel, opera house and multiple different "apartments" (which are really large houses) on the property.  This place was overly luxurious and somewhat gaudy from the get go.

Front gates of the palace

Painted ceiling in the Chapel of the palace

 A lot of the original furnishings have been removed and the rooms are more museum like, housing paintings and artwork from the palace.  I really like this sculpture below with a monkey riding a goat...why? I don't know it's just funny!

Ginormous paintings!

 The ceilings in most of the rooms were intricately painted with scenes depicting everything from love, war and biblical characters.  The molding was also incredibly detailed. 

Imagine how long it took to paint that ceiling.

Statue of Louis the XIV I think

One of the most famous rooms in the palace is the Hall of Mirrors. It was built in 1678 to connect 2 of the apartments. The principal feature of this famous hall is the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen windows that overlook the elaborate gardens. Each arch contains twenty-one mirrors with a total 357 mirrors in the room. 

Hall of Mirrors

View out one of the doors into the gardens

One you walked through the Hall of Mirrors you entered the Queen's apartment.  The walls were covered with fabric that matched the bed curtain and lines. Could you imagine sleeping in that bed?

My favorite part of the palace was actually the gardens out back.  Marie Antoinette, the wife of the Louis the XVI, made the gardens what they are today.  She wanted a traditional English Garden and you know, "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" so the gardens were redone.  I'm sure the upkeep of this place is budget breaking!

 

The fountain below sat just outside the back of the palace and overlooked the lawn and pool below.  When we walked passed it wasn't on yet.

 

The fountains are only on for certain periods of the day and we were lucky enough to catch them come on.  

These guys have a big job keeping everything pollinated!

After a long day of walking around Versailles we headed back to Paris.  I wanted to check out the Eiffel Tower at night all lit up so we ended the day back at the tower.  It was even more dreamy and romantic in the dark!

  

The very next day our good friends (and Chad's co-residents) Katie and Devon were set to arrive in Paris!  I was super excited since we hadn't seen either of them in over 3 months.  Katie and I are shopping partners in crime so we new some potential damage could be done seeing as that we would be in the fashion capital of the world together!