Mommy- daughter bonding in Paris

Kayden and I headed down to Paris for an overnight mommy daughter bonding trip. My good friend Claire was in town with her son so we were able to have some wonderful hang out time. It was refreshing to be with an old friend who is in a similar place in life (has a toddler, pregnant, husband is deployed, used to live in France, now lives where we did in NY). We wandered the streets, braved the Metro with a stroller (NO esculators or elevators), shopped, picnic in the park and amazing ice cream.

Blowing kisses to dada before getting on the train in Lille

Our garden picnic in Tivoli Gardens by the Louvre

Not allowed to play on the grass!!!! Rip off!!!

Theo and Kayden needing moral support from each other during shoe shopping

Splashing in the fountain at Centre Pompidou

Ice cream break!

Pretty sure the hotel had Kayen sleep in the linen cart

Our morning walk to the Arc de Triumph

Place de Concord

Kayden crying in our final Metro station because A) The wheel fell off the stroller B) the train was so crowded we had to wait for the next one C) French BO is HORRIBLE!! D) She did not want to say good bye to her buddy Theo

Too cool for the car

On our trip to Chievre for groceris, Kayden thought she was super cool with her glasses.

A little Silly

Bath time silliness

Eastern Europe

We took Eastern Europe by storm with a 2 week road trip through the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. The trip was amazing, despite dealing with floods, hurricane winds, torrential down pours, horrible maps and wrong turns and a cooped up cranky toddler. Here are some pictures to show the journey.

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic- the main square. Love the colorfulness

Incredible dessert made by wrapping dough around a metal looking rolling pin and roasting it over a fire. Yum yum.

View from church tower in Czesky Krumlov

The castle gardens, beautiful in spite of the rain

View of Czesky Krumlov

Outside of our B and B

Budapest, Hungary- a gorgeous city!

The boat ride we took on the Danube River- great way to see the sites and stay dry in the horrible rain!

View of the bridge in Budapest from our hotel window

Budapest, Hungary

Date night! We hired a baby sitter through the hotel and had a night out to ourselves. It was WONDERFUL!

Looking down from the cathedral steps in Budapest

Steps up to the castle in Krakow, Poland

Main square in Krakow- notice we are always under gray skies with rain galore!

FLOODS!!!! Krakow was under a lot of water with bridges shut down and roads completely submerged under merky, muddy flood waters

Jewish area in Krakow

Random pianos on display throughout Krakow

Castle in Krakow

FINALLY sun in Prague!! In the main Old Town Square, a giant TV screen was set up to broadcast the hockey championships.

Prauge- view of the castle from across the river

Always active! Castle entrance in Prague

The buildings in Prague were incredible, pictures do not do them justice

Crossing over the Charles Bridge in Prague

More Prague- loving the sun!

The little fam

We were so lucky to meet up with Shane's sister in Prague. Her college choir was on tour in Prague, so we saw them sing and were able to spend some free time with Melissa. Kayden loved hanging out with her "MiMi"

Italy 2010

For our Easter vacation, we took a 10 day trip to Italy, exploring Rome, Florence and Venice. It had been a dream for the both of us to see Italy, something we had talked about even before we were married. Having Kayden along made it a bit less romantic, but wonderful none the less!!

In Rome, our hotel was at the top of the Spanish steps, allowing for easy access to the rest of the city. We took Rome by storm, hitting up the Vatican, Colleseum, the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon as well as other famous sights. We were both amazed at how integrated the ancient ruins were into the modern city. You turn a corner and then, boom, right in front of your face, lay a structure that had been around for 1000's of years. Incredible. And, of course, we had to have gelato every day and try as many flavors as our stomach's would allow. My favorite turned out to be kiwi. Yummy.

Florence was our next stop on our Italy 2010 tour. It had a completely different feel than Rome, with smaller winding streets, CROWDS galore, and quaint shuttered windows. We loved the river and the gorgeous bridges that linked the 2 sides of Florence. Our favorite day of our whole trip was in Florence. We wandered the streets, getting lost in the back allies and then headed up to a park with a look out point over the entire city. From there, we found a random path that took us into the hills of Tuscany. Amazing views and a fantastic time in nature. The day was finished with an INCREDIBLE dinner at "Il Latini", Rachael Ray's favorite restaurant in the whole world. (yes, I know, I am a dork for knowing this). All the food of our 5 course meal came from the owners farm, tasting fresh and fantastic. When can I go back??

Venice was our last stop. Our hotel was tucked away in the North East corner of Venice, among the locals. We loved this escape from the crowds and it allowed us to get a small taste of the non tourist part of Venice. Everywhere we walked seemed to be a photo op. We were both in awe of the place, a city that was built on mud 100's of years ago and still thriving today. Highlights included a gondola ride and a water bus ride down the main canal. I think I could have cruised the canals all day!!

We came away from the trip more in love with the Italian culture and food than ever before. The language is beautiful, the scenery amazing and the people were super friendly. Kayden was a rock star in the Italian's eyes- Old and young alike always stopped to pat her on the head, chat or wave, saying "Ciao Bella". She of course worked it, blowing kisses, waving hi and goodbye. This earned her free cookies, ice cream and candies.

Venice- Rialto Bridge

View from our "bus" ride

Gondola ride. Sadly, they do not sing anymore!

Kayden in "guck" heaven

St Marco Square

Canal by our hotel

Square in Florence

Dinner at Il Latini- Can you tell what animal Shane ate??

View from the park over looking Florence

Junk galore to purchase

Colleseum

Standing on the steps of St Peter overlooking the Vatican

Roman Forum

First glimpses of the Roman Forum

Piazza Navona