Our European Adventures

Settling into our new homes in the U.S., we have a few thoughts to share to sum up our adventure together!: 40 days, 8 countries, 29 cities Amsterdam•Brussels•Bruges•Athens•Mykonos•Santorini•Palermo•Agrigento•Syracuse•Taormina•Positano•Pompeii•Rome•Florence•Pisa•CinqueTerre•Venice•Nice•Marseille•AixenProvence•Avignon•Barcelona•Madrid•Toledo•Lisbon•Sintra•Porto•Dublin•Galway Superlatives: Worst travel situation: getting to the Belgium airport Best gelato:  Ai Tre Tartufi in Rome Best transportation: biking in Amsterdam and ATVing in Mykonos Best day trip: Sintra outside Lisbon Worst day trip: Toledo (bad planning on our part, the city is very nice) Best free tour: Madrid Best paid tour: Uffizi Gallery Best sangria: rooftop bar in Lisbon Best drink: Tinto de Verano Best recommendation given to us: rooftop bar in Barcelona with a great view of the Sagrada Familia Worst fad we’ve seen in Europe: popped collars Country with the nicest peo...

Iceland (6/30-7/8) Landed in Iceland with Grace and had to sadly say goodbye to her by her gate for her flight to Los Angeles. It was sad leaving my travel buddy since we have been with each other 24/7 for the past 5.5 weeks. Couldn’t have done this with trip anyone else. Day 1 (6/30) I met up with my parents (Lisa and John) outside the airport. They had already picked up the rental car and tablet which would be our guide. The planned route was a circle around Iceland starting in southern Iceland.  We set off for the famous Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon been here since 1226 but was built into the facilities it is today in 1980s. The water is warmed from the center of the earth and cools as it rises. At the surface it was 100 degrees. Iceland has tons of geothermic activity with steam venting from various areas all over the south west region. At the Blue Lagoon we enjoyed the warm waters and two different special face masks from the silica and algae found in ...