Europe & Zion

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Europe for three weeks on company business. It was so amazing! Besides working, I was able to visit a lot of really cool places in the regions I was at. Here are some highlights:

Netherlands:

• Tulips! Holy cow, they are so beautiful in mass quantities! I loved seeing all the colors
• Amsterdam: I was able to go through Anne Frank's house that her family hid in all those years which was a very somber experience. I also went on a canal cruise and made a very very brief visit to the red light district. Wow...that was...something. Worth seeing just because it is so bizarre, but not a place I would like to stay for longer than about .2 seconds. Eesh.
• Den Haag: I have a friend that lives here and I was able to visit with her for a night and go eat at an Indonesian (food of choice for the Dutch) restaurant. It was SO good. I need to find an Indonesian restaurant in SLC.
  

Sweden:

• Vasa Flagship Museum: This is a 400 year old ship that sunk off the coast. It sat under water for 330+ years before they decided to raise it from the dead and restore it. It is 98% original and in crazy good condition, not to mention it is huge! It was about 7 stories tall and just massive. They have to keep the building's humidity perfectly managed in order to prevent further decay of the vessel.
• Swedish Archipelago: The archipelago was still frozen, but from the air it looked amazing. There are so many islands that make up Stockholm!

Belgium:

• Grand Place in Brussels: This is an open square surrounded by some of the most intricate buildings! So impressive. The first time I visited it I arrived just as a huge rainstorm arrived and soaked me to the bone. It was still worth it. The waffles at the nearby vendor shops were also amazing.
• Burg and Markt in Bruges: I was able to climb to the top of the belfry in Bruges and see a phenomenal panorama. So much fun! I also bought some delicious Belgium chocolate to bring back home.
• Antwerp: I was only in the city for a couple of hours, but I figured I had to go since I was so close. And it truly is one of the diamond capitals of the world--there were diamond stores EVERYWHERE.

Italy

I saw so much in Italy and loved it so much I'm going to have to break it down by city...

• Rome: By FAR my favorite place I visited. I loved the old history and feel of the place. You would walk down streets and just randomly run into old ruins from 2000 years ago. You definitely don't find too many places like that these days, especially in America. I was able to see the Colosseum, Vatican, Pantheon, as well as several of the famous fountains. I could talk for hours about each of these places, so I'll just pick my favorite of all of them--St. Peter's Basilica. What a phenomenal place! I've never seen architecture on such a grand scale. It was simply breath-taking. I was able to climb to the top of the dome and get perspective on how big the building was, as well as see the beautiful Rome skyline. Loved it!
  
• Naples: Naples had amazing food, and I loved the colors of the buildings. However, it was a surprisingly dirty city and I was kind of appalled at how much desecration there was at their monuments. There was graffiti all over a 1,000 year old church. So sad! However, the pizza was indeed amazing. Yum.
  
• Pompeii: Pompeii was HUGE. It was way bigger than I expected it to be. I spent 7 hours wandering around the place and probably only saw about 25% of the buildings. It was spectacular. I had always imagined that it was at the base of Mount Vesuvius, but it is actually somewhat far away. It is frightening to me how much damage that volcano caused and can cause. Naples is in big trouble on the day that bad boy decides to erupt again...
• Florence: I took the train to Florence and it was such a beautiful ride. There were lush green mountains and beautiful vineyards. So pretty! I saw a beautiful duomo (church) while there, and once again climbed the dome. I can't get over the views! I also went to Ponte Vecchio and saw the famous bridge, and of course ate some delicious gelato. I am now addicted with no where to satisfy my cravings...
• Pordenone: I had an installation here and was able to have dinner with the branch manager and her family. What an awesome experience! They were so welcoming and fun. We had four different types of pizzas (one that I thought for sure must have been inspired by Americans---hot dog pizza!) and a whole box full of gelato with several different flavors. It was heaven! It's a good thing I don't live in Italy. I would weight 1,000 lbs.
• Venice: Other than being super frustrated at the insane quantity of stairs in the city (I had two suitcases that each weighed 50+ lbs), it was a very cool city. I LOVED looking at all the different glass sculptures. I really wish I would've had time to go see glass blowing on Murano Island, but that will give me something to look forward to next time! One thing to remember if you visit--there are little to no elevators so you will be packing your suitcases to the 4th floor of your hotel. Pack appropriately!
  

There are so many other things I did, but I won't post them all. It was amazing and I can't wait to go back. Believe it or not, I really did work quite hard while I was out there. It was very difficult to balance work and play. I managed by waking up early in the morning and sight-seeing while my American counterparts were sleeping, and then returning home in the evening and working hard while they were awake. It worked out pretty well!

After I got home and got settled back in, Jason and I took a short weekend trip to Zion. As always, it was a blast. The weather is always nicer than it is here, and it was fun to sit outside soaking up the sun while reading a good book. Jason and the boys (plus some very hardcore girls) went on a 28 mile mountain bike ride through the desert. The remaining girls stayed behind and stocked a vehicle full of snacks and drinks and met the boys at strategic stops along the trail to help them replenish their energy. It was a lot of fun. As is to be expected, I took a million pictures. I can't help it!

It looks like it is going to be a busy summer. In a couple of weeks we will be flying out to Columbus, Ohio to see Jason's brother graduate from dental school. It will be fun to see Brandon as well as Shantel and Greg. It is super convenient they live in the same town (for the next couple of weeks anyway...until Brandon moves again!). I am really looking forward to that visit.

After that, we will be heading to Lake Powell. It's been a few years since we've been and I'm excited to go back. I loooooove Lake Powell. The water is so warm and the scenery is so beautiful. And nothing beats the night sky there. You haven't seen stars until you've been there. Anyhow, the pressure is on to get in swimsuit shape by then! Wish me luck!

Jason is also doing a few races this year, which I am looking forward to. If his heel heals up soon enough, he will be running the Ragnar Relay race in SLC. It's quite a tough race and should be a lot of fun for him. There is a team from 3form that is all running it together which is nice. He is also going to do a few mountain bike races. Crazy kid! :)

Well, that's it for now. I'll post a slideshow from Europe and Zion so that you can see some of the pics.