Long Weekend in the Big Apple

We spent Memorial Day weekend in New York City for a family wedding.  Kevin and I have vowed that we have to make the trip more often.  It's so close and there is still so much we have to see (and eat!), so hopefully there will be many more long weekends taken there in the future.  The wedding itself took place at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  It was beautiful, and boy was a good time had by all.  I have never been to a wedding where the dancing started before dinner was served (and between the courses)-- and I wouldn't have expected anything less from the amazing couple.

 {Nha Khanh Hydrangea Dream Sheath Dress via Rent the Runway |  JCrew Factory necklace | Steve Madden shoes | Franchi White Maya Clutch via Rent the Runway}

Besides the delicious food and desserts at the wedding, we pretty much ate our way through this trip, as we do most of our vacations.  

The day after the wedding, we spent some family time in Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).  We rode the carousel, snacked on whoopie pies, then rounded out the day at the New York Transit Museum so our nieces could see the trains.  It was a great family-friendly tour of Brooklyn.  Dumbo is a great little area of parks, food, and some great shopping. 

So long for now, New York.  We'll be back soon!

Where we stayed: 
Sheraton Brooklyn- bonus: our room had a view of the Statue of Liberty!

Where we ate:
Empellon
The Clover Club
Hunter's
Spice Thai
Junior's- famous cheesecake spot just around the corner from our hotel
One Girl Cookies  
Shake Shack

 

Weekend Brunch

This very special edition of weekend brunch is brought to you from The Big Easy. 

Beignets and cafe au lait from Cafe du Monde. Pure powdered sugar-covered heaven.

To Paris, With Love

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share some of the romance of our trip to Paris back in September.  It really is a city filled with love and lovers alike.  A place for people to fall in love all over again-- with each other and with the city.  I know what you're thinking...

{via}

And you're totally right.  This list is as cliche as they come, but it's because these things are all so totally worth it!  Things become cliche for a reason you know.  Like eating a lobster roll in New England.  Or drinking champagne on New Year's Eve.  So here are the top five most romantic things that we did in Paris that I am recommending to all of you out there. 

1. Visit the Eiffel Tower at night
Holding hands and waiting for that magic moment when the light show begins can't really be explained.  You have to experience it for yourself.

 2. Browse the goods at patisseries and chocolate shops.  
Nothing is more romantic than indulging your sweet tooth with a macaron or truffle!

3.  Eat a late dinner at an outdoor cafe.

4. Splurge on some fancy food.
This french toast from Bistrotters was worth every penny and calorie!

5. Put a lock on the "Love Lock Bridge" and throw away the key.
To see how many other couples have also left their mark on this place is nothing short of magical.
 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

Boston Love

Today I am guest posting over on Stamp In My Passport about being a tourist in my own town of Boston.  It's something that I've discussed a few times here and here, but I put a new spin on it, so go check it out.  In keeping with that theme, I thought I'd post a few of my favorite pictures that we've taken over the years since we've lived here including some of our engagement photos that were taken around town.  Enjoy!

 

 *The last five pictures from our engagement session are by John Lo Photography

The Creepiest Thing I've Ever Done

Creepier than that time that we went to a haunted house in a cave.  Creepier than the horror movie that a group of us shot back in 7th grade.  Any guesses?

 ________

I have been slow to share anything about our recent trip to Paris because there are just too many pictures.  Most of them are of the Eiffel Tower.  But plenty of them are of skulls--so I figured today was the perfect day to share a first glimpse of our time in Paris because Halloween is really the only appropriate day to write an entire post about skulls.

On our last day in Paris, we visited the Catacombs.  It's an underground burial site that is hundreds of years old.  The line gets crazy long for this attraction, so get there early if it's on your itinerary!  We went the day prior at around 10:30am and realized that we were going to miss our lunch reservation if we waited around, so we went back the next day about an hour before it opened.  We stopped at the nearby Paul for coffee and pastries and stuck it out in the cold until the doors opened. 

I didn't really know what to expect but it was darker and creepier than I initially thought it would be.  It was a labyrinth at first with narrow tunnels and passageways, but then it opened up into bigger rooms with neatly stacked bones in some of the craziest designs.

And some of the most beautiful stonework that we saw in all of Europe. 
 

It's safe to say that Halloween definitely has me thinking back to this haunting experience from last month.  I don't do scary and really have never been a fan of Halloween, but The Catacombs really gets you thinking about death.  There are so many bodies there that it's impossible not to think of your own mortality.  It's incredible that they have turned this into a tourist attraction without losing sight of the sacredness of this place.  I highly recommend going the next time your find yourself in Paris.  Now, I leave you with this spooktacular picture.

Nice and Monaco: Sights and Bites

    We left Cinque Terre by train and rode along the Mediterranean coastline for 6 gorgeous hours.  I'm sure that I will never take a more beautiful train ride.  If you are ever so inclined to take a train from Italy to France along the coast, be sure to note that you may stop through several towns that are notable enough to stop.  We stopped through Carrara and Pisa and had I known this would be the case, I may have made a plan to stop there for some marble gazing and to take our turns holding up the Leaning Tower.  You also pass through Monaco, which we did take the time to visit.

    Nice was beautiful.  We loved it, and it offered great downtime after a little too much go, go, go-but it was also the portion of our trip where I got a bit sick, so we did a little less sightseeing and eating than I had planned.

{View from our hotel}

The first night, we walked the Promenade and grabbed dinner on the outdoor patio of Les Jardins du Capitole, a sidewalk restaurant facing the water.  This is where we had the best French Onion Soup of the trip!

Our main day in Nice we spent at one of the private beaches.  We took a dip in the Mediterranean (colder and saltier than we expected) and ordered lunch and drinks.  I had my first Croque Monsieur and Kevin had a hamburger.  Oh, and here you drink rose wine.

Then we checked out Old Town.  It's so cool.  The buildings are beautiful and historic but are now inhabited by high end shops and boutiques.

The next day, we took a brief trip to Monaco.  It's about a 20 minute train ride and well worth the 10 Euros.  First we checked out the marina.

Took in the beautiful scenery.

Took some necessary tourist photos.

And found a few places that we would love to check out again one day.  

Where we stayed: Hotel Magnan

Top things to do: visit Old Town, walk the Promenade, go to the beach, take a side trip to Monaco

Where we ate: Les Jardins du Capitole, Chez Freddy

Best thing we ate: Our entire meal at Les Jardins du Capitole: caprese salad, French onion soup, steak and lamb frites, creme brulee, and chocolate mousse.