2012 Recap

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a fun and safe NYE, and I wish everyone a happy & healthy 2013! It's hard to believe that another year has gone by so quickly. 2012 was one hell of a year! As we begin another year, wipe the slate clean and make unrealistic resolutions, here's a recap of one of the most eventful years of my life...


January: 1 year ago we rang in the New Year in Breckenridge, CO, I made President's Club at my company for the previous year, and the ball started rolling for the rest of the action-packed year when I found out my boyfriend received and accepted his job offer in Dublin.

Breckenridge, CO

February: We decided to move and get married before our larger ceremony this summer, and I experienced sporadic panic attacks while holding in my giant secret until I finally put in my 1 month notice at work.

3.17.12 :)

March: This was arguably THE biggest month of my life to date, including a much needed girls trip to Scottsdale before the insanity to follow... engagement, marriage, resignation from work, goodbyes to friends and family, and a move to Dublin, Ireland! This was a month that will be hard, likely impossible, to top!

DUBLIN

April: After arriving in Dublin and briefly acquainting ourselves with the city, we took a mini honeymoon around Ireland, spent Easter in Barcelona, I started looking for a job, and we found and moved into our Dublin apartment.

Aran Islands - Ireland

May: As we started adjusting to life in Dublin and meeting new people, we took a lovely weekend trip to Paris, and I went through the interview circuit, culminating in my acceptance of a great job offer. 

Paris

June: After accepting the job offer, I began my now infamous work permit process, blissfully naive and unaware of what I was in for at the time. We also traveled to Italy twice, taking back-to-back weekend trips to Venice and Rome!

Rome

July: We traveled to Amsterdam, went home to the U.S. to be in a good friend's wedding, started planning our 2013 wedding, and I received the unfortunate news that my first work permit application had been denied.

Fellow Bridesmaid and Maid of Honor in our upcoming wedding!

August: We took a memorable road trip through Belgium, my previously anticipated employer reapplied for my second permit, and I decided to take advantage of my involuntary sabbatical and ventured out on my first solo trip to the gorgeous beach towns of San Sebastian, Spain and Biarritz, France.

San Sebastián

September: September was the month of visitors! Friends came for the American Invasion, otherwise known as the Notre Dame vs. Navy game in Dublin, and my parents came to visit for about 2 weeks. B and I traveled with them to Northern Ireland, and I took a trip with them back to the southwest of Ireland. At the same time, another Chicago friend visited. The month ended with my 2nd permit denial and my starting back at square one after 6 months here.

Malinhead - Northern most point in Ireland

October: After some soul-searching, I started my job search all over again, then achieved a personal milestone when I started this blog. My In-Laws came to visit us in Ireland, and the 4 of us traveled to Munich for Oktoberfest and Madrid in back-to-back weekends. AND... more Chicago friends came in to complete another month of visitors!

Madrid

November: The month started off well, as I accepted a new job and turned in my third permit application, hoping that the third time was the charm! We traveled to London for a weekend, and met friends in Lisbon for Thanksgiving.

Lisbon

December: We traveled to London again to see friends, took a short weekend trip to Belfast, and went home to the States (Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati in 1 week!) for Christmas. We returned back just in time to spend our first New Year's in Ireland....

NYE 2012 - Dublin

Now, that may or may not sound like a lot, but it is the abridged version to me. I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions and experiences over the past year, so it feels like much longer than a year (or maybe a dog year!). In retrospect, I'd probably choose to delete the recurring theme of work permit trials & tribulations, but this seemingly never-ending saga has made me a much stronger person. I'm of course hoping that 2013 will bring a less bumpy road, but I'm grateful for what I have here and now and, whatever comes next, I'm ready for one unforgettable ride!

Venice Itinerary

As I wrote this post and added a link from my Travel page (check it out for my posts on our trip to Venice and others!), I realized I'm really starting to like the look of it. I have 6 of our recent trips included, and there are many more to catch you up on! I feel so lucky that I've been able to do this and share in the excitement with my husband.

So, here's another itinerary for the list. Having spent a holiday weekend in romantic Venice, these are our tips...

When to visit: 

I don't usually include this in my itineraries, but thought it was important to touch on briefly. I'd recommend spring or early summer (we went in early June and it was perfect), or early fall. You'll still run into quite a few tourists during these times, but it won't be overwhelmingly hot and/or smelly, or flooding ("high water" season is Oct-Jan).

Where to stay:

This is pretty subjective in Venice, so I'll just say what we did. When we travel, we like to be somewhat close to the touristy areas (easy transit ride or walk), but far enough away in a more quiet neighborhood with a local ambiance. Our hotel was the Residenza Cannaregio in Cannaregio, the "Jewish Ghetto." I would recommend it, but have also heard Dorsoduro is a nice neighborhood too. Personally, I wouldn't want to stay in the heart of the craziness near Piazza San Marco, especially since the city is easy to navigate -- which leads me to....

Getting Around:

First of all, I'd recommend walking a lot to get a feel for the different areas of the city. One of the best parts about visiting Venice is getting lost in the maze and stumbling upon cool little squares, restaurants, shops, markets, etc. Aside from that, you can take the Vaporetto (water bus) or Water Taxis. Taxis are the fastest, but more expensive, so I'd go for a Vaporetto pass (from 12 hr passes to 7-day passes).

Gondolas:  These wouldn't be used for practical transportation, but I would absolutely encourage taking a ride. Gondolas are pricey, but well worth it! They are often cheaper with more people (up to 6) vs. a private ride, and you can always try to strike a deal with your Gondolier (extra if they sing to you, so up to you if you want it - I would just listen to the singing another time and save yourself the $$). Don't go on Grand Canal, but go on the smaller canals for a less crowded, more intimate experience. Go at sunset and take your camera (and a bottle of wine if you want!).

What to see:

Grand Canal/Canals/Gondoliers

Piazza San Marco: Basilica di San Marco, Campanile di San Marco (bell tower), Torre dell'Orologio

Rialto Bridge/Market

Museums: Many to see, but St. Mark’s Square Museums grants access to the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of Biblioteca Marciana on one pass. Also, the Peggy Guggenheim has been recommended to us!

Churches - plenty of gorgeous churches to check out!

Piazza San Marco

Last, but not least, take the Vaporetto for a day trip to the Lagoon Islands. Murano is famous for its glass, Burano for its lace and colorful buildings, and Torcello for its ancient ruins and tranquility. 

Burano

Restaurants/Venetian Cuisine:

It's Venice... there are tons of great places, so I'll just include 3 favorites:

Antica Trattoria Poste Vecio - we stumbled on this gem and later found out it's the oldest restaurant in Venice - I had amazing Lobster Gnocchi here (seafood is a big part of Venetian cuisine)

Vini da Gigio - restaurant in Cannaregio - excellent food, wine, and service!

Al Bottegon (also known as Cantinone Gia Schavi) - great lunch spot - cheap and delicious cicheti (little bites) and you can get wine to go (where we got our bottle of Prosecco for our gondola ride)

Venetian Lagoon Islands (Venice part 2)

As I mentioned in my post about our Venice trip, we spent our second day touring a few of the Venetian Lagoon islands: Murano, Burano, and Torcello. If you have a few days in Venice, I would recommend checking these out! We set out mid morning, spent a couple hours in each place, and were back to the mainland in time for dinner reservations. 

In order to get to the islands, we boarded the Vaporetto - the waterbus that serves as Venice's public transportation. It's very easy to use, that is unless you take it to the opposite end of the line and add almost an hour to your trip back to the city center... but who would do that? Yep, this girl. Oh well, the inevitable mishaps always make for better stories!

Leaving the center on the Vaporetto...

The first stop was Murano, which dates back to 1291 and is known for Murano glass. As you get off the boat, there's someone strategically planted there to usher you into the glassblowing factory where a presentation is done and you can browse the gift shop afterward. While it's quite touristy, the presentation is brief and very entertaining... and it produced the result they were looking for, as we were enticed into buying a beautiful little glass gondola as a souvenir (even though there are plenty of shops throughout Murano and Venice to purchase Murano glass as well!).

After the glassblowing factory, we walked around the island canals to explore the center, see the glass garden and sculptures, and grab a local beer before moving on to the next...

Yes, that is glass!

Stop #2, and my favorite, was Burano, known for its lace and brightly-colored buildings. Here we simply wandered through the streets and shops, and stopped to take in the scenery over some of the best pizza I've ever had at a spot next to Trattoria da Primo on Via Galuppi. Seriously, I'd go back just for that!

Stop #3 was Torcello, located near Burano. Unlike Murano and Burano, Torcello is relatively uninhabited and contains ancient archeological remains. A favorite of Hemingway's, this rustic island's beauty is best observed in the grass-covered Piazza Torcello, where we saw the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Church of Santa Fosca, and surrounding greenery. 

We didn't allot as much time here because we wanted to return for dinner (and we barely did after the afore mentioned waterbus detour!)... but I would definitely consider staying on one of these islands next time, in order to see what they look like after the masses depart on the last Vaporetto for the evening. In any case, I hope to return some day!

First Trip to Italy: Venice

Bank holiday #3... Venice! As the June holiday quickly approached, we still hadn't decided where we wanted to go until 3 or 4 days beforehand. So, I searched RyanAir for cheap flights and we settled on Venice.

I have wanted to go to Italy for as long as I can remember. If you were to ask me before we moved here, "what country in Europe would you visit first?" I would have answered Spain or Italy. I suppose I've always wanted to experience the culture, the food, the beautiful architecture and beautiful people, the weather, etc., all there is to offer! Venice was just the beginning of many trips I intend to take to Italy while we're here...

Grand Canal

I've heard people say that they don't like Venice -- that it's smelly, dirty, or not that pretty. I couldn't disagree more! It may be worse in the summer, but early June was a fantastic time to visit. Venice is unlike any place I've ever seen before... a city built entirely on water. When we first arrived in the city center, we made the amateur move of walking up to a taxi and giving the address for our hotel (again, I don't know Italian, aside from my choice Mario Bros phrases picked up from the Nintendo years, so it was a nice challenge). He just shook his head knowingly and said "no," then explained we needed to take a water taxi or walk because there are no roads. Good to know! We then proceeded to drag our luggage and get lost several times on the walk to our hotel, ha.

Venice is divided into six "Sestieri" or neighborhoods, each with their own character. We stayed in Sestiere Cannaregio, a lovely neighborhood that is close to all the tourist sites, but also more quiet and residential.

Our second day was spent visiting the nearby islands in the Venetian lagoon (which I'll cover in a separate post), but the other two were spent getting happily lost in the maze of canals and alleys, sipping prosecco in the various squares, and visiting some of the main tourist spots, i.e. Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, etc.

Rialto Bridge

Piazza San Marco

We also took a private Gondola ride on the canals, which I absolutely recommend! It's pricey, but worth it. Venice is an incredibly romantic city, and there's no better way to experience it than riding in a gondola with a bottle of wine!

Port where we hired our Gondola, near Piazza San Marco

Along with sightseeing, we had amazing Italian food. The pictures below are a few standouts from the trip... fresh caprese salad, fettucine with duck ragu, lobster gnocchi (mouth watering yet?)... and of course, gelato!! I can't get enough gelato. What's the saying? A gelato a day keeps the doctor away... busy? Ha. All bets are off on vacation!

Lastly, one of the best parts was seeing Venice at night. It's stunning! 

Such a beautiful city and also one of my favorite trips we've taken. A definite "must see" on any trip to Northern Italy.

Grand Canal at night

Ciao Venezia!