Strasbourg Christmas Markets

The Christmas markets have only been open in Europe for less than a week and I can confirm that I have been drawn in, hook, line and sinker. I'll admit, I had been skeptical of the Christmas markets. Mainly because it means it's winter in Europe and absolutely freezing and my little Australian body just can't cope with it. But, they truly are a magical experience. All I can say is WOW! (DISCLAIMER: please excuse the abhorrent amount of images about to fill your screen)

Postcards From Sagrada Familia And Parc Guell

I don't think I was quite prepared for how blown away I was going to be when I visited Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. This was definitely the highlight of our trip on the tourist trail.

Beautiful Barcelona

In early July after a 10 year hiatus, we found ourselves on a plane; it was time to revisit Barth-e-lona! Now, I know how much I go on about France and how amazing it is. But I have to tell you, Spain is closing in fast and hot on the heels of France in terms of the coveted "my favourite country in the world" title. Sun, sea, sand, incredible food, delicious wine and cava, history, architecture, culture, the language....

Life Lately.....

It's been a while since I've actually sat down and had the opportunity to reflect on our life in Deutschland. With all the travel we've been doing over the past few months, our lives have been pretty chaotic at best and it's so nice to be back in Frankfurt for the majority of the month before hopping on a plane again.

Palmengarten Rosen And Licht Festival

In June, Frankfurt hosted it's annual Licht and Rosen (rose and light) Festival at the Palmengarten. A friend had invited us along and to be honest I wasn't really too sure what to expect, but don't you find that the nights where you go without any expectations are the most fun?

Remembering Dad

Since starting this blog, I haven't taken the opportunity to write about my feelings on matters that are really close to my heart. People read all the stories and see the images of the fun travels were are experiencing over here, but that's really just one aspect of my life. Today is a bit of a different story as I wanted to put some pictures together in remembrance of it being two years since my Dad's passing.

A Day Boating On The Amalfi Coast With Peter

You know when you stumble across this great experience and you love it so much you want to keep it a secret because it's so good and you don't want it to become over populated? Well, that's kind of how I feel about this trip with Peter. But....that wouldn't be right, would it?! We found out about his day trips via a friend and it's always nice to share the love!

Ciao Positano!

I've been muchos excited to write about this little piece of heaven in Italy. It's been a long, hard road to select the images that have been included in this post, I do apologise in advance if it's a bit OTT. Where do I begin? You know when you visit one of those towns where it's just a complete sensory overload, from the moment you get there? You don't know where to look in terms of the landscape, because everything is just so flipping stunning. The food is amazing. Don't even get me started on the buffalo mozzarella. The smells coming from the restaurants are.....yep, amazing. The local wine is delicious. The locals are friendly. The vibe of the town is chilled. There's just too many adjectives to use to describe this town. But one thing's for sure.....I'm in L.O.V.E.

Snapshots From The French Riviera

Our next stop on our tour around France was Nice. And no trip to France is complete without a visit to the French Riviera, right? Azure blue water, balmy nights, alfresco dining, Provence rose, what more could you possibly want? We caught the train from Avignon down to Nice where we witnessed some spectacular scenery on the way down.

Quaffing in Provence

After an initial 7 hour train journey that turned into an 8 hour journey due to signal failure and multiple glasses of Rose.....by ten pm I had finally made it to Avignon to meet up with Mum and Sue to continue our travel hopping through France and Italy. I've decided to refrain from having a moan about the delay as I'm aware that I have mentioned in a previous post how much I enjoy train travel.....

Our Apartment, Before And After Shots

I know I've been promising you all these images for quite some time now. Initially, we were still purchasing bits and pieces for the house and I wasn't quite ready to showcase the apartment. Then life got busy and in between visitors and travelling and wanting "the perfect light" for the photos (the photographer in me coming out), here we are.....six months later. The light might not be right, but eh. I'm over caring now! So without further adieu, here is our apartment, before and after!

Alcudia, Spain For Ironman 70.3

This trip feels like it was a life time ago, it's strange to think that seven weeks have passed and that Mum and Sue are now back home in Australia. 

I was pretty excited about going to the Balearic Islands of Spain. The last time I had visited Spain was ten years ago, when I was nineteen and on a shoe string budget. It also involved Barcelona, Pamplona, camping and using my clothes as a mattress (luckily, I had enough sense to be in possession of a sleeping bag). Not exactly luxurious. But I digress. I was very excited about this trip as my Mumma was in tow and we were off to enjoy the sun, sand and most importantly, cheer Chris on in his first European 70.3 Ironman event. What I wasn't so excited about was the three-thirty am start that Thursday. However, when we arrived at our destination later that morning, it all seemed worth it.....

That One Time I Got Naked With Some Germans (A Recap From February)

My Mum will be horrified that I’m writing about this. My friends will either laugh or be shaking their heads in disbelief that this event took place as I’m a prude, and anyone that knows me well will vouch for this.

But……

Positano Dreaming.....(And An Apology!)

One week today, we will be arriving at the Jewel of the Amalfi Coast, Positano. To say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement.

This will be my first trip back to Italy in a decade and the first time Chris and I will have travelled there together which will be really special. Having Mum and Sue along for the ride will also be lots of fun, if their behaviour in Spain is anything to go by!

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France Driving Adventures #2 – Easter in Strasbourg

France is always a good idea, especially when you have a new set of wheels that need to be run in on the autobahn and you have friends visiting from England. So on Good Friday, that’s exactly what we did.

A quick two hours later we found ourselves immersed in a rather cold, but gorgeous Strasbourg, a large town in the Alsace region of France. By now, you all know how much I love France, how inspiring I find it, blah, blah, blah (yes, I know that's what you're all thinking). So I'm just going to let the images speak for themselves! 

Our Wedding Day....One Year On

Wow! I keep pinching myself at times wondering, "Was it all a dream? Did Chris and I really get married a whole year ago?". When I think about all the big changes in our lives that have happened since then, it all seems a little crazy. Without realising it, upon signing the marriage certificate we had also signed an invisible contract, known as the "let's see how many stressful scenarios you can be committed to over the next eight months of your lives". Within days of being married, we'd made the decision to move to Germany and after a hectic six weeks in Melbourne which consisted of me resigning from my job, us packing up our entire life and having a very random garage sale (which I won't be doing again in a hurry), we were both back in Perth before Chris started six months of living  & working between Germany and Australia. Add on us buying a house in record speed and a few holidays before the move and here we are. Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. 

France Driving Adventures #1 - Ribeauville & Colmar

On our journey home, we decided to divert via Ribeauville and Colmar.

Ribeauville is approximately four kilometres from Riquewihr and whilst it is more of a town as opposed to a village, it is just as pretty as Riquewihr and has it’s own unique charm. Sitting high above the town lie the ruins of three fortified castles, which are accessible by hiking path.

France Driving Adventures #1 - Riquewihr

Knowing that we were preparing ourselves for lots of visitors over the coming months, we felt it would be a good idea to build up a reserve of some delicious European wine. Whilst we’ve tasted some nice German wines, France was the obvious place to visit.

Alsace is the closest wine region to us in Frankfurt, being three and a half hours away by car. As we were leaving after Chris finished work on the Friday, we felt it was best to stay a bit closer to home.  Riquewihr was our destination, one of France’s top 10 prettiest villages.

Life In Germany So Far, What I’m Loving And Not So Much Loving; Part 1.....

Well…It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve now been living here for three months. We’re settled, the house is 95% complete and we’re back in a routine which for us, after six months of living apart in different countries is heaven.

Knowing that my blog has been in the pipeline for some time, I’ve slowly been writing about previous trips and the long awaited ‘this is our new home’ blog post. In all honesty, I’ve been holding off on writing this post purely because, as time goes on it’s funny how as you adjust to living in a new culture and get used to things.

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Welcome to Frankfurt

Well, this is quite a momentous occasion for me. The first post on my blog!I truly hope you enjoy the stories and pictures I have to share of our time here, and that it makes us feel a little closer to you at home. We've been here almost three months and time has just flown by. We've been lucky enough to have a very mild winter and an early start to spring, this city really comes to life when the sun is out and the weather is warm. Locals waiting in loooong queues to eat 'eiscream', the grassed embankment of main (pronounced mine) river covered with a sea of people on the weekend drinking steins and hugo's (more on this drink to come) and cooking on their BBQ's grills. So here is a little taste of our lovely neighbourhood, Sachsenhausen.

The view from our street down towards Schweizer Strasse