2011 travels

Where did we go...

January - Faro, Portugal
March - Connecticut, USA (for work!)
April - Lake District, England; Malaga, Spain; Tangier, Fez and Marrakesh, Morocco
May - Paris, France
June - Brussels and Lueven, Belgium; USA (IL, WI and MN)
July - Nice, France
August - Berlin, Germany; Cork, Youghal, and Dublin, Ireland; Edinburgh, Scotland; Copenhagen, Denmark
September - Cotswold's, England; Munchen, Germany
October - Madrid, Spain; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Prague, CR
November - Budapest, Hungary
December - Bremen and Hamburg, Germany; Cambridge, England

Can't possibly pick a favourite, they were all fab.  Here's a few words on each destination:
Faro - deserted, no one golfs in January.  Peaceful.  Best €90 lunch and Jim was allowed to smoke a cigar in the restaurant. 
Lake District - lambs, daffodils and a country cottage for Easter and we hiked a mountain.
Morocco - Took us one day to get out of Spain and on the right ferry.  Hot. Markets and souks are wild, staying in a Riad is the best way to go!  2am train in 2nd class with smoke, music, crowded with local men and no signs...adventure.
Paris - enjoyable the second time without having to hit all the museums
Belgium - Friends, incredible beer and bikes
Nice - Four days of sun and beach all summer.  Beautiful, lots of wine, romantic.
Berlin - historic, The West Side Gallery, International Beer Festival!
Ireland - kissing the Blarney stone!
Edinburgh - gorgeous city, Fringe stand-up comedy festival
Copenhagen - Harbour tour and stairway to heaven church where you walk up the steeple on the outside!
Cotswold - so old and quaint, enjoying England with the parents
Munchen - Oktoberfest opening day speaks for itself!
Madrid - tapas, rioja wine, shown a great time by friends living there
Amsterdam - enjoying the city's delights, walking the canals, going to the movies in English
Prague - like a picture book.  Hearty food.  5 story club with friends.
Budapest - thermal baths, nightlife, gorgeous river and Parliament lite up at night
Bremen - unexpectly gorgeous old city centre, authentic Christmas market.  Family.
Hamburg - lakes in the middle of the city.  Family.
Cambridge - pubs and punting!

A great year indeed.

Family both new and old

In December Jim and I traveled to Germany to visit family that I didn't know know much about but apparently have always been there.  These are our closest living relatives on my Dad's side to be exact (outside of my immediate family).  A trip like this, while it didn't have a lot of pizazz or crazy adventure, was definitely one of our most memorable.  My family was so friendly and welcoming it was hard to believe I'd never met them before.  Uli and Rebecca showed us around beautiful historic downtown Bremen (should be a tourist destination) and a TRUE German Christmas market.  Great food and gluwein.  It was especially touching to meet Hans-Peter, my 85 year old great-uncle.  At 85 years old, he took us on the bus and train to downtown Hamburg so we go on a doubledecker bus tour and pointed out sites all along the way.  He was so happy to have us living with him for a couple of days and told us all about our family tree and my "Beckmann" nose after my grandma.  It is still hard to fathom that this sweet man with tears in his eyes when he dropped us off at the airport lost an arm in Normandy on the wrong side of the war.

A new year

Finally inspired to bring the blog back.  There's been so much creativity going around lately...cupcake baking wars, Jim's YouTubing, another friend's new blog (million times better than mine coming from a Phd in Literature) but nonetheless our last London year is quickly winding down and there are a lot of adventures to record and many more to come. 

I fear I just booked one of my last European train/plane tickets as we are mostly booked for our last 7 months between visitors and tickets already in hand.  The booking addiction is going to have to end.  Ok, I'm sure with my bad influences (friends :)) and I can squeeze in at least one or two more.  The truth is I have 6 months left as an auditor and other things need to take priority.  Sounds convincing, but I'm still struggling to live this new mantra.  I still appear very committed on a daily basis like I want this job for life.  I have an idea for my next move: find a normal accounting job with a slower pace and try that out.  In California.