Happy New Year

I am the worst Blogger.

With new years, come new resolutions, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. I've told myself I'm going to keep up my blog and blog at least once per month. I have no idea if anyone actually reads this but I figure it's a good way to make myself journal and keep friends updated if they do. So here we go....

2011 was an incredible year! Together, we managed to visit 7 countries and what we feel are considered some of “Europe’s top attractions.”

February: Prague, Czech Republic
March: Rome, Naples/Sorrento/Capri/Pompeii, Italy
April: Zermatt, Switzerland
May: Zurich, Switzerland
June: (Jenn to Amsterdam with her brother)
   Vienna, Austria
July: Paris, Rouen and Etratret, France
   (Jenn solo to the USA)
August: Berlin, Germany
September: Dublin, Gallway, Killarney, Blarney
          and Cork, Ireland
   Oktoberfest (not really travel but a great    
    experience)
October: Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre and
         Venice, Italy
November: Regensburg, Germany
December: Rothenburg, Nürnberg, Füssen and Garmisch, Germany

Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do on my blogs for our travel experiences. We had such an amazing 2011 that I'm not sure we'll top it. We won't be getting engaged this year, so that may be the deciding factor. However, we have big plans for this year for seeing many countries and we're pretty excited about it! I would say that 2013 may be a letdown after these two years, but we'll be getting married so it will contend for best year ever too.

The question we're asked most is, "What is your favorite place you've visited so far?" That is a terribly difficult question to answer. Actually, it's impossible. So I will provide as brief as possible of a highlight:

-Prague was surprisingly beautiful; inexpensive; the Castle Cathedral was beautiful; it was our first trip.

-Rome, well, it's Rome; standing in front of and inside of the massive Coliseum and Roman Forum thinking about their history and the fact that they're 2000 years old; we could have spent days in the Vatican Museum.

-Naples/Capri/Sorrento/Pompeii: the pizza of Naples (I literally had it for every meal); the views of Sorrento and Capri; Pompeii's excavations and massiveness; Mt. Vesuvius.

-Zermatt was an amazing ski trip, we had so much fun and the town is adorable; Bryan's proposal, of course!

-Zurich was a relaxing trip of wondering the streets and shopping; lunch by the lake was beautiful.

-I think Amsterdam is adorable and I love the architecture; the trip was made even better that I was joined by my brother; the nightlife was great and we met really nice people; returning with Bryan in February.

-Vienna was beautiful; the Shonbrunn Palace was massive and beautiful with wonderful views; drinks overlooking the city; my family!

-Paris was even better than I expected, I really enjoyed the architecture; the views from the top of Notre Dame; croissants and wine.

-Rouen was such a peaceful portion of the trip; relaxing, ping pong, croissants and wine.

-Etratret was breathtaking; trying mussels for the first time and loving them; Bryan's mom and stepdad for all of France!

-We timed Berlin to meet up with our friend Brooks, definite highlight; the chocolate store; beach bar in between the water and the Berlin wall; the sights.

-Ireland as a whole was a great trip; Bryan’s dad joined us!; great beer; Bryan got to play golf; randomly staying in the same room as friends from UCF that we didn’t know were in Europe; everything was great...too much to keep this short, the Paddy Wagon tour contributed to this; seeing our friends Cristen and Marc in Dublin.

-I was completely blown away by Florence! What a great city; Statue of David; overlooking the city at Piazzale Michelangelo.

-The tower of Pisa in Pisa.

-Cinque Terre could possibly be my favorite spot in Italy; the 5 villages were all beautiful; hiking.

-Getting lost in Venice; sitting at San Giorgio looking across to Venice; St. Mark’s Basilica.

-Regensburg is a historical town; Thanksgiving with friends.

-Rothenburg was a very "German" city; the city wall; Christmas markets.

-Nürnberg had wonderful Christmas markets; very enjoyable to walk around; eating all of the food.

-Füssen was made even better by having a personal tour by our friend, Christoph; such a fun trip and the castles were great; Dave was here.

-Garmisch was holding a ski jump competition; Dave was here.


As for our day-to-day lives....Bryan is still working at Marriott. The family I was previously with hired an Au Pair. It's extremely cost effective if you have a spare room and don't mind someone living in your house. I still babysit for them quite often on the weekends. I'm now employed by another family, working during the week and occasional babysitting on weekends. They are a German-Austrian family with two girls, 6 and 8. Both girls attended a bi-lingual kindergarten and speak English. They hired me to ensure the girls keep their English and, of course, to take care of them. I really like my new family and it's going very well. I'm still teaching my adult English class and private tutoring.

As for the future, we're planning on returning to the States mid-November of this year. We are excited to spend the holidays with our families. I'm also looking forward to a warm, Florida winter. I know this year is going to fly by...we're already down to 10 months remaining in Munich. We haven't decided where we're going to settle or what we're going to do as occupations. For now, we're living in the present and enjoying Europe as much as possible!