Christmas in Paris...

So I'm a little behind, but here are some pictures from Christmas in Paris. We left on Christmas Eve and stayed only for a few days, and boy was it a whirlwind! We had a well planned itinerary and stuck to it, which enabled us to see all the main sights in Paris and then some. On Christmas Eve, we headed over to Notre Dame at 10:00 for midnight mass. We arrived and didn't have to stand in line at all, and walked right into the church. Of course it was packed, with standing room only. We found a little corner to hang out in and stayed for the three hour mass. I have to say, it was one of the most phenomenal things we've ever seen. The choir was beautiful and the service was very emotional. We were lucky to have gone when we did, because when we came out there were a million people waiting in line to get in! On Christmas day, we walked all around the city. The Eiffel tower was our first stop, and we waited in a short line and went right up. Even though it's touristy, I loved every minute of it! It really is an awe-inspiring sight to see, and the view from the top is breath-taking. The next day we headed over to the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay. I'll tell you, if you ever want to see Paris and bypass all the tourist crowds, bundle up and head over during Christmas! We got up early and headed over to the Louvre, and there wasn't a soul in sight. While there were plenty of people inside, we had free reign to roam around at our own leisure. The Musee d'Orsay was filled with wonderful art, especially impressionist pieces, which was our favorite. All in all, we had an amazing trip to Paris. The food and wine was excellent and the people were extremely friendly. We were a little nervous because we don't speak a single word of french, but were pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of the locals. We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back one day! We hope you enjoy the pictures!

Notre Dame at Night, Christmas Eve

Inside the church, looking at the altar

It's hard to see in this picture, but this is the mass of people in line outside of Notre Dame

The Eiffel Tower at night, lit up in blue!

My personal favorite part of Paris...I dreamt about seeing the Eiffel tower since I was a little girl, and once I finally got to see it, I couldn't get enough!!

View from the top

Overlooking the city

Paris at night







Sacre Coeur





The back of Sacre Coeur

Arc De Triomphe

Quiet Paris streets on Christmas day

Along the Seine

Along the Jardin Des Tuileries, walking towards the Louvre

Christmas markets!

The Louvre

Jason and the Pyramids!

Not a soul in sight, in front of I.M. Pei's Masterpiece

Mona. Yes, she is small and a little overestimated, but still an amazing work of art

The Catacombs. Due to the overcrowding of Paris's cemeteries in the late 18th century, the bones of the dead were relocated to the underground abandoned quarries in the outer city. The path we walked was about a mile long and only about 5 ft tall. Skulls, tibias and femurs lined the limestone walls, in no particular organization. By the time the bones were all relocated in 1860, an estimated 5 to 6 million bones were moved underground. Talk about creepy.

The famous clock at the Musee d'Orsay

Inside the Musee. This art museum was a former railway station.

A walk in the park

Dublin!

Here are our pictures from our recent trip to Dublin! We left on a Friday and stayed for 3 nights, and had the BEST time! Dublin is a huge, bustling city with tons to see and do. We spent all day and night touring around the sights, enjoying this lively city during the holiday season. Of course the weather was frigid and a little rainy, but that didn't stop us from roaming around. Being here reminded us of cold winters in Chicago, when we would bundle ourselves up with hot coffee in hand, and wander the city! The food here was great, the Guinness of course was the best, and the people were the friendliest I've ever met throughout Europe. We highly recommend making a trip here, and we definitely plan on coming back to Ireland to see the countryside!

This means "town of the hurdled ford." Not sure what that really means, but the sign is modern Irish for "Ireland"!!!

O'Connell street at night

The Liffey Bridge

Grafton Street

Dublin Castle...dates back to Medieval times

Christ Church

St. Ann's Parish. This is the church where Bram Stoker was baptized and married.

St. Patrick's cathedral

A part of Trinity College

The very famous statue of Molly Malone. "Molly Malone" is Dublin city's national anthem, and the song is about a girl who was a fishmonger by day and part-time prostitute by night. Although there is no proof of her existence, Molly has become the most photographed sight in Dublin.

The well known Temple Bar

Hanging out in the Temple Bar district

The coziest, cutest little French cafe we've ever been in. We warmed up in here after being out in the rain and helped ourselves to a few treats :)

Yum.

And last but not least, the main reason for us going to Dublin. Seriously :)

CHEERS!!!

Happy Anniversary To Us!

We survived 2 years! Here's a pic of us blowing out our "2" year candle on our anniversary doughnut. We are too cool :) Now we get to go to Tuscany this weekend to celebrate!

Lazy Sunday in Procida...

Last Sunday we spent a day with our friends and took a boat out to the island of Procida. M.T.'s parents were in visiting and they were nice enough to invite us along...we had a relaxing day cruising around and laying out in the sun. Here are some pics!

Mediterranean Cruise!

Hi everyone! Here are the pictures from our Western Mediterranean cruise we took in July with our friend Matt from Arizona. It was a 10 day Holland America cruise that sailed to Livorno (Italy), Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Malta (South of Sicily), Tunisia (Northeast Africa), Palermo (Sicily) and back to Naples. Not only did we have a wonderful time seeing all the sites, but we had TONS of fun on the ship! The food was out of this world and the service was 1st class. There were always entertaining things to do, and we got plenty of sun laying out on deck. And of course, we spent every single night in the casino! While I am known for winning on cruises, I only won a little bit of money this time :) Jason and I had so much fun though playing poker, roulette and my new favorite game, black jack. We were so sad to leave the ship, and we are already planning our next cruise!

The Noordam

Jim and Marty, the wonderful couple at our dinner table

Jason holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa...its a good thing he works on those guns!

I love being a tourist!

Pisa

The tower was more impressive in person than I thought!

A Tunisian Marketplace






The Zooks on a tunisian rooftop

The Bardo Museum in La Goulette, Tunisia

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo, where the rich and famous live!






The church where Princess Grace is buried









Overlooking Monte Carlo

I should have a yacht here, don't you think??!!!

The famous casino in Monaco...it's a good thing Jason didn't let me get inside, I might never have left!

Barcelona, Spain!!!

La Rambla, the main street in Barcelona

Mi Amor!

Downtown Barcelona

The Gaudi Museum

We had heard that sailing into Malta was one of the most beautiful sights to see, and we were lucky enough to witness it. We woke up around 5:30 to get on deck and watch the ship pull in. Seeing Malta from this perspective was unbelievable...it is truly one of the most breathtaking sights.

The outer walls of Malta

The cathedral in Valletta, Malta. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful and impressive churches we've ever seen.

The lovebirds in Malta

Palermo! Here we took an organized tour of the Capuchin catacombs. The catacombs, which housed a few thousand corpses, was perhaps the most unique sight we've ever seen. The catacombs date back to 1599 and the mummified corpses are lined along the walls for all to see. Some of the corpses still have their flesh, hair and eyes, and are still wearing their own clothes! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, but here is a picture I found from another website. If you want to learn more about the crypts or see more photos, just google "Palermo catacombs!"

After the cruise, we spent a day in Rome before coming home...here's another pic of us lovebirds in front of Trevi fountain!

Piazza Navona...Ciao Tutti!

Venezia!

So here are some pictures from our trip to Venice with our friends and neighbors, Jenny and Allen. Venice was absolutely beautiful and extremely hot...in fact, I think you can find me still complaining about how hot it was over there! Nonetheless, we had a great time in Venice and Murano! Enjoy the pics!

The lovebirds on the Rialto Bridge

The lovely Burketts on the Rialto Bridge, or as Allen calls it, the Risotto Bridge!

Jenny and Allen in the gondola

Us on our gondola ride!

The Grand Canal

Our view from the house we stayed in at night time

Saint Mark's Square

Jason's Promotion

Here's a few pictures from Jason's promotion ceremony to Lieutenant Commander...I was so proud of him and even got to help pin on his bars! It was a great ceremony and I couldn't have been more happy for my adorable hubby :)

His partner, M.T., performing the ceremony

So exciting!

M.T. and Jason