A'Dam

About a month after our Rome trip, we took a trip to Amsterdam. One of the many perks of living here is that my husband occasionally travels for work and we often try to make it into a trip. So, B planned some work travel in Amsterdam and I flew over on a Friday and we made a weekend out of it. 

For many people, Amsterdam is synonymous with the coffee shop culture. While it may be a large part of the tourist attraction, there is much more to the city. One of the few cities referred to as "Venice of the North," Amsterdam is home to over 100km of canals! These canals, along with Dutch Renaissance architecture, intriguing museums, diverse cuisine, and laid-back culture, make this city one of my favorites.

 I met B at Schipol Airport and we took the train to Amsterdam Central Station. We split some Vlaamse Frites (fries!) in the bustling Dam Square, then wandered the canals in the Nieuwmarkt en Lastage and De Wallen neighborhoods. 

De Wallen is the infamous "Red Light District," where you'll find streets lined with scantily clad prostitutes (they're legal there) beckoning from windows, sex shops, and advertisements for "adult" shows. It's unlike anything I'd ever seen! Just a tip: don't try to take pictures of the prostitutes... they'll bang on the windows. Not speaking from experience or anything... Anyway, we got a beer and people-watched at dusk in Nieuwmarkt, then turned in for the evening.

de Dam / Dam Square

Red Light District

Canals at dusk / Central Station in the background

The next day, we walked around Jordaan (the charming neighborhood where we stayed), along Singel Canal for the Flower Market, and over to Museumplein (plein = square) and the Van Gogh Museum. Very cool!

We also met up with a coworker from B's office, who was extremely helpful and showed us around more of the city and invited us out to a party (it's always so nice to get the local perspective). In fact, she has since moved to Dublin and become a good friend!

Museumplein / Museum Square

That evening, we also went to an amazing Indonesian restaurant -- the tasty result of Indonesia having been a Dutch colony for more than 300 years. After checking out a local party, we made our way to Leidseplein for a fun night!

Leidseplein

Our final day, we saw the Anne Frank House... a somber, but very interesting experience. Then, we enjoyed the only sunshine on our trip (we brought Dublin rain with us!) and strolled through Vondelpark, Amsterdam's "Central Park."

It was a great trip and I'd love to convince my husband to book another work trip... until then, it's another check in our ever-growing European Bucket List!

Wedding Planning... from Ireland

As most people know, I got hitched on St. Patrick's Day of this year. When my boyfriend-at-the-time found out he received his position in Dublin, we decided to get married. It was a simple decision -- there was no doubt that we were going to be together forever (to be honest, I knew before I agreed to date him) and he let me know that he had already been planning to propose soon. It just sped up the process a bit!

Being the good girl that I am, I was a little unsure about veering from the traditional route. I try not to plan out my life, but I definitely admit I had the idea that we would be engaged for a little while (or at least longer than 3 days!) and, like most girls, I wanted the proposal to be a surprise. 

Well, even though I sort of knew it was coming, it made zero difference. It was wonderfully surreal and romantic, and just perfect. I still cried like a baby when it happened, again when I retold the story... oh, and again at the ceremony...

Now, I love our unique tale. It's the best of both worlds. We got to have a fun, quick ceremony (literally 1-2 minutes!) and day of celebration in Chicago with family, but we're still planning a traditional wedding for the summer. It took the stress away from the moment and let us just focus on committing our lives to one another.

NOW comes the stress. Whether you've planned a wedding or not, anyone can agree it can be a major production. I know everyone says this, but I'm really not the girl that has imagined her wedding since she was little. I don't care much about invitations, flowers, programs... all the things you don't think about until you're forced. Thank god for Pinterest!

And if you think planning alone is difficult, try doing it from another country! I'm trying to schedule fittings and tastings while I'm home for 1 week over the holidays, when all I really want to do is kick back with family and enjoy those activities at a separate time. I can't just fly home and meet with people, and will probably not be home again until a week before the wedding. I'm reduced to Skype calls and e-mail contacts in the meantime. It's a challenge!

Luckily, I have family and friends that are more than willing to go out of their way and make our lives easier in all of this. To those people, I'm so appreciative! 

Quite frankly, I sometimes think we did it right the first time around -- cheap and painless! However, I know it will be worth it when the day comes. I can't wait to walk down the aisle with my Dad, stand with my best friends at my side, have my first dance with my husband, and, of course, dance my ass off at the reception! Most importantly, we'll get to share our happiness with all our loved ones. 

For now, I'll do my best to relax and enjoy the planning process! I'll keep you all posted on how that goes...

Rome pt. 2

Part 2 of our Rome trip (see Part 1) was equally eventful and amazing. We spent the first half of our second day touring the impressive Colosseum and the Roman Forum. 

It's mind-blowing to think the Colosseum was built by hand in 70-80 AD, and that people used to lose their lives in that arena for the sake of amusement. When we were inside, I couldn't help myself from repeating one of my favorite Gladiator lines, "Are you not entertained?!"

View of Colosseum from Palatine Hill

Next to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum, an area that was once the center of ancient Rome, now filled with countless ruins of important government buildings, temples, statues, etc. In some instances, a single pillar is all that is left of a massive structure. One can only imagine what the forum looked like in all its glory!

After we explored the Forum and the inside of the Colosseum, we met my friend Kate (who we joined for Thanksgiving in Portugal), who had taken the train up from Naples to visit for the day. It had been 5 years since we'd seen each other, so it was great to catch up and meet her gorgeous little one! The 4 of us had a late lunch and visited another incredibly old but well-preserved building, the Pantheon (built in 126 AD as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome).

At a cafe for lunch

 Sadly, Kate had to catch the train back home, so we parted ways and got ready for our last night out on the town. Again, we met up with our friend, Gina, and shared a bottle of Prosecco on the rooftop terrace of her hotel, Intercontinental De La Ville Roma (beautiful!). We toasted to our last night in Rome, overlooking the tops of enormous cathedrals as the city lights began to twinkle. 

To top it all off, a dinner recommendation led us to the lively little neighborhood of Trastevere, where I had the most authentic, fresh, and unbelievably scrumptious pasta I've ever had in my life at Hostaria La Botticella. On the advice of a local, we continued on to Testaccio for a taste of the Roman nightlife... leading to a late night!

The next day, we did our last bit of sightseeing, then relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine-filled piazzas and got our final fix of pizza and gelato before heading back to Ireland. As legend has it, I tossed a coin over my shoulder into Trevi Fountain, so hopefully I'll return to Rome again some day!