London (Day 2)

So in my last post, I mentioned that the night before we didn't get back to the hotel until 11:15pm. I don't think we ended up actually falling asleep until 1am though. As a result we did not wake up until 10:15am. All I can say is that is very late for me to sleep in so it felt weird losing so many hours out of the morning.
Anyway, we had tentatively planned our day and wanted to see Notting Hill, Abbey Road and the London Bridge as the main part of our sightseeing.

We knew the train to Notting Hill was the best option for transportation from where we were, and it really wasn't that long of a ride from our hotel. Maybe twenty minutes at the most.
I was pretty excited when we got off the train and started making our way down Portobello Road. I have seen the movie Notting Hill many times, and it is one of my favorites! So of course I knew a little what to expect, but real life is usually never like the movies. And I will be totally honest, I was a tiny bit disappointed at first.

I mean the market is there of course, and I couldn't help thinking it didn't look like what I expected at all. But that's movies for you.
And the address of William's travel bookshop from the movie was there, but it's now just one of those touristy shops selling knick knacks. The name of the store is still over it though. And from what I have read, the actual interior of the shop from the movie was shot in another location around the corner.
Anyway, once we really started looking around and exploring and took the whole "how it was in the movies" idea out of it, I really started to love it!

I mean there were a lot of people there, but it wasn't overly crowded on a Friday. And if we would have had room in our suitcases or the ability to send things home to the States, I probably would have purchased quite a few things.

We had lunch at a little restaurant called Luna Rosa that served pizza and pasta one street over from Portobello road. The pizza was good, but I wouldn't recommend the salad. Basically just lettuce and a vinaigrette dressing.
While we were eating I looked up another address from the movie Notting Hill.I wanted to find the house with the blue door that William Thacker lives in located "just around the corner" from his bookshop. It's at 280 Westbourne Park Road, which was actually right up the street and around the corner from where we were having lunch.

Looking a little run down, but cool all the same.

Afterwards, we just had fun wandering the neighborhood checking out the colorful, pretty houses lining the streets which is one of the things Notting Hill is famous for.

 (an often used photo found on the internet)

And we were able to get our own picture of the very same street. One of the houses is blue now which I actually like better. And of course - scaffolding. But it was still fun seeing something in person I've only seen on my computer screen till now!

One of my favorite parts of Notting Hill was seeing the little houses that lined the alleys known as Mews. These buildings were originally used as stables where the horses and carriages were kept and are located behind the bigger Victorian and Georgian style houses. Now they are actual homes and I thought they were so pretty and unique.

I loved that blue house. So pretty next to the lovely yellow one.

Just the two of us - Notting Hill, Friday July 28th, 2017

I loved the way some of the streets just curved around with the houses following along.
I'm so glad I didn't let first impressions ruin things. We really enjoyed exploring Notting Hill and I think in part it was because we were exploring together.

By this point we had seen enough though and were ready to move on to Abbey Road. The train ride was a little long so we decided to get a ride through Uber.

The actual studios...

And the famous intersection used in the Beatles album cover! It's a little different now because there are less trees in the background and some crazy zig zag lines painted down the street. But still amazing to be there.

View of the Studios from the intersection.

We had a lot of fun taking photos of each other and making a video of Mike as we crossed over a few times. We did hear the locals aren't thrilled about it, but there were a ton of people also taking photos as they crossed. I thought everyone was pretty good about waiting till traffic had passed.

Just the two of us - Abbey Road, August 28, 2017

Next we took the Underground to the London Bridge. Pretty amazing in person.

Just the two of us - London Bridge, August 28, 2017

After the bridge we took another Uber back to our hotel and decided to go see a play in the West End on our last night there. We debated between Phantom of the Opera and Evita. Since we had seen Phantom twice in the states and never been to a performance of Evita, we decided to give it a try.

Walking back to the hotel after the play though we did pass Her Majesty's Theater where Phantom of the Opera has been playing for ages. We also found a great little bakery called Patisserie Valerie that was open late and bought some little cakes that we brought back to the hotel to eat.

Only two days and nights in London, but we managed to see and do so much!
I know there was so much more we could have experienced, but we hope to return some day with a new bucket list.

Coming up in my next post: Day One - Amsterdam

London Here We Come! (Day 1)

I'm finally ready to start sharing the story of our trip!
(And just a note, all photos were taken by us unless otherwise noted.)

So we left on the last Wednesday in July, taking a 1pm flight to Washington, D.C. From there we had a 6:15pm trip to London that was actually only six hours and fifteen minutes. When the pilot announced the trip time, Mike and I looked at each other because we knew we weren't going to get very much sleep on this flight like we had planned. It was just too early to go to sleep. And by the time we did feel tired, there probably wouldn't be much time left.

We arrived in London at 6:08 am their time and took the Underground from Heathrow airport to Central London via the Piccadilly Line. Most of our traveling within the cities over in Europe was done on the Underground/train, Uber or just plain walking.

It was a short walk from the train station to our hotel and this was the first real view we had of it! We had seen photos on line and knew it was right by a park on the river, but it looked pretty amazing in person.

The main entrance was around back and thankfully even though we were super early, they had a room ready for us. Being so tired we were grateful we could at least get settled in our room and change clothes before heading out again. One thing we were prepared for and had heard was that hotel rooms in Europe can be small. This one was definitely smaller than we were used to, but it was fine for just the two of us. The bathroom was updated, but the shower head was terrible.

So by the time we got to the hotel, checked in dropped off our things and changed clothes, it was 9am. We realized how hungry we were and headed out to find some breakfast. Luckily Mike had unlimited cellular thanks to our phone plan over there and we were able to research places to go and transportation pretty easily.
Just a side note, he did most of the transportation and hotel planning while I did most of the activities and places to visit planning. Restaurants we did together. Although I did find a few recommendations for food before hand.
Anyway, our google search led us to this restaurant located about a 10-15 minute walk away in Soho...

(photo courtesy of google)

I had a Ham and Cheese Omelet and it was Berry pancakes for Mike. Definitely a good way to start off the trip!

But our walk to the restaurant took us through Trafalgar Square 

We were only there long enough to snap a few photos, but we did walk through it quite a few times in the two days we were there heading to other places!

After breakfast we set off walking through the West End towards Buckingham Palace

And as we were walking it hit us that we were in London! Look a red double decker bus!

And a red phone booth! Really they aren't all they are cracked up to be. Of course they are not functional and quite disgusting inside lol. But when in London, you just have to check one out!

The Mall heading towards Buckingham Palace.

There were crowds of people lined up all around the perimeter of the street and circle there. We weren't sure if it was always like that or something special going on. Later someone mentioned there was an announcement that Prince Philip was retiring so they were preparing for a parade.

I have to say it was amazing being there, but really we hung out for a bit and then just moved on to St. James Park.

It really was pretty there.

The next stop on our walking tour was...

Big Ben. You can't go to London and not see Big Ben!

It had some scaffolding around it, but that's pretty par for the course with us and monuments and tourist stops. 

Washington Monument 2013 

The view from Big Ben to the London Eye across the Thames River.

Our hotel was a few blocks right down the road on the river, so we decided to walk back and rest. 

We ended up taking a three or so hour nap and then hung out at the hotel until around 6pm

We then decided to walk back towards Soho and the West End stopping to get a few appetizers at a Tapas place called Barrafina. It was ok, nothing special that I would recommend.

We set off walking again and ended up at the...

The Lego Store! We just had to go in to get some photos for the kids, right? 

This was the photo we sent the kids! I liked this phone booth much better. Definitely cleaner!

Then since everyone else seemed to be doing it, we stopped at this cute little pub so Mike could get a beer.

One of my favorite things about this trip is how relaxed we were about pretty much everything.

Next we wandered through Carnaby Street but didn't do any shopping. It was pretty late by then.
So we started looking for a place to have dinner.

We settled on Dirty Bones which was located in the coolest little restaurant setup called Kingly Court. If you are ever in that area, I would definitely check it out.

(photo from google)

It looks like you are just walking through the entrance of a building, but when you get inside you find this...

Just really amazing how many restaurants they are able to fit in there! I really liked it and wish we would have had more time to try a some of the other places to eat.

Anyway, Mike had a mac and cheese burger and I had the fish tacos for dinner. He liked his a lot. Mine was pretty good, but a little spicy.

Next stop, back to Big Ben to see it at night.

And a walk around Westminster Abbey

By then we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel around 11:15pm. It had been a long day but so fun. And according to my fitbit, I had walked 25,956 steps and 11.13 miles!

Stay tuned for the next post - Day 2 in London at Notting Hill, Abbey Road, and the London Bridge!

What to Wear in Europe

I am still working on getting my photos edited and organized from our trip, but I am almost there!
I can't wait to share our European Adventure!

In the meantime, I thought I would share a post about what I packed to bring with me as far as clothing and shoes.
Since we were going to four different countries in 11 days, I knew we would be doing a lot of traveling from place to place only staying two or three nights in a hotel at a time. This really encouraged me to try and pack lighter using more of a capsule wardrobe.

I ended up bringing one roller suitcase with four wheels that I checked for each flight and a backpack with essentials that I carried on the plane. Our flight to London was six hours and our flight home from Switzerland was nine and a half hours. So for those two long flights it was great to have my backpack stocked with essentials like a scarf that could double as a blanket, my little neck pillow, a snack, a book to read, an extra change of clothes and a small bag of toiletries to freshen up if necessary.

My first concern for the trip was finding comfortable shoes that were cute, too. Not always an easy trick, but I think I accomplished it. These were the three main pairs of shoes I wore on the trip...

Brooks running shoes

I didn't wear these as much as I thought I would. Mostly just on the shorter travel days like the train ride from Brussels to Zurich. But I had another pair of Brooks running shoes in the past that were really comfortable, so I knew these would be a good choice.

Gold Born Sandals

Even though I knew it wouldn't be super warm in London and possibly Amsterdam, I still wanted a pair of sandals that I could wear to dress things up a bit. I researched online and these seemed like the best option. Thankfully, I found them at Nordstrom and was able to actually go try them on in person! I wore them one whole day in Amsterdam and they didn't hurt my feet one bit! They were super comfortable. I will admit the day I wore them in Brussels, I started to develop a little blister on the top of one toe. But I think that was because it was a little hillier there and the angle I was walking made my shoe start to rub on my foot a bit. Mike and I stopped in a pharmacy, and found some clear gel band aids that didn't show and did the trick. Never felt a thing after that.

Roxy Slip on Sneakers

These were my absolute favorite pair of shoes I wore over there. I was looking for something like an Espadrille slip on flat or some Toms. But I found these at DSW shoes and when I tried them on I decided to go for it! I'm glad I did, because I wore these the most including the day we walked 26000 steps in London. I also wore them to both of the U2 concerts! Definitely love these shoes!

In addition to those three pairs, I brought a pair of black ankle boots that I only wore once to dinner, a pair of flip flops that I didn't use at all and a pair of ballerina flats that I wore on the flight from the States to London.That makes six pairs of shoes total, but I don't think I wore the flip flops at all. Most of the "what to pack" capsule wardrobes I pinned on pinterest suggested only three pairs of shoes, and I actually probably could have done the same.

As for clothing, I really only shop for clothes once or twice a year and not always even that. But I've been trying to invest in a few good classic pieces that will last, as well as a some trendy, fun items for the season. Nordstrom was having their big semi annual sale right before our trip. So I called up to make an appointment with a personal stylist. I have used their personal stylists in the past to find dresses for weddings and school functions. It's a free service and I have always found their assistance and expertise extremely helpful even if just consulting about what looks good for your body type! So I figured why not get some help finding some things to wear on the trip, especially with the sale going on!

 

Before my appointment, I went on their website and started pinning items to Pinterest that matched what I was looking for.

Since the weather was running anywhere from the low 60's to mid 80's, I knew I wanted some versatile jackets to throw over short sleeve tops if necessary. In total, I brought three. First was my light black hooded windbreaker that I like to wear while traveling on planes, trains or automobiles. :)

And my stylist brought me this one on my shopping trip...

Denim jacket

I can wear it with anything from summery dresses to shorts and tees to more fall type weather!

I also decided I wanted a Cargo type jacket but feminine looking. So I was happy my stylist found the one you see in these photos.

I don't have a link because I haven't been able to find it online, but I did buy it at Nordstrom.  

I kept a daily journal while we were over there so I would remember the details of our days. And I actually wish I would have included a note about what I wore each day. But while writing this post, I had fun just going back through the photos and making a list of my daily outfits.

On the first day of travel I wore khaki capris, a three quarter sleeve coral sweater, my tan ballerina flats and had my black windbreaker in my backpack. I was pretty comfortable on the plane but didn't get much sleep. 

We left St. Louis at 1:30pm on Wednesday and didn't arrive to London until 6:15am their time. So I was definitely ready to change clothes before going out to explore.

My outfit for that day was a long sleeve floral top with ankle length gray capris, my black slip on sneakers and the same windbreaker.

The second day of walking around London, I was wearing the outfit in the photos above - black t-shirt with a small ruffle at the neck from The Loft, my cargo jacket, jeans from the Gap, and my black slip ons. That was the day we walked 26,000 steps! 

Later that night we went to see Evita in the West End and I changed into a dressier outfit. That was the one night I wore my high heel black booties because I didn't have to do as much walking.

While traveling to Amsterdam the next morning, I wore a mint green t-shirt with gray cardigan, blue jeans and my black slip on sneakers. That night for the U2 concert, I wore the same jeans, a U2 tour shirt, my cargo jacket and black slip ons.

 

The next day, all day long, I wore this shirt from The LOFT...

Navy shirt

with white capri pants and my gold sandals.

I love this shirt, but I don't wear it so far off the shoulder. And sometimes I even pull it all the way up over my shoulders.

On our third day in Amsterdam, we went for a long bike ride in the countryside, so I threw on my second pair of jeans and my U2 concert shirt with my running shoes to be more comfortable.

 

On to Brussels! I cannot remember at all what I wore on the train to get from Amsterdam to Brussels. But I do know for the U2 show that night, I had on a red v-neck t-shirt, black capris and my denim jacket. I did buy a Noel Gallagher t-shirt (because I love him and he was the opening act) and threw it on over my other shirt.

The next day we did a lot of sightseeing, and I wore my coral three quarter length sleeve sweater again with some khaki shorts, the denim jacket and gold sandals. At this point, Mike was wanting to do some some laundry, so we found a laundromat and washed some of our clothes. While we waited, we went to a little restaurant down the road and had drinks and appetizers in between washing and drying.

So with some of my clothes clean, I was able to wear the black t-shirt and jeans I wore our second day in London, along with my running shoes and black windbreaker again because we were going to be flying to Switzerland.

Zurich was the warmest of all the cities we visited and the day we arrived it had actually reached 90 degrees F.

The next day was still pretty warm, so I wore an outfit inspired by this image I had pinned on Pinterest awhile back!

I didn't have a scarf, but I wore this tank...

 Black tank

(which I had actually pinned in red. Nordstrom only had it in black when I was in, but I'm kind of glad they didn't have the red! I ended up liking black better.) I also wore a shorter pair of khaki shorts than the ones I wore in Brussels, my gold sandals, sunglasses and the diamond earrings Mike gave me for our anniversary two years back. I didn't wear a watch like in the photo, but I did wear my fitbit the entire trip. And for my birthday, I really wanted a new purse that would work better for the trip than the ones I already have. I like Fossil bags, but don't really buy new purses new often. It's usually Mike who has bought me a new one every few years on my birthday. And for this birthday, I picked out this one...

Fossil purse

It seemed a little pricey at first, but like I said I don't buy purses very often. I have a cute fabric Fossil print one I usually use spring and summer, and a black leather one for fall and winter. But I noticed the print one is looking a little worn. Ok a lot worn, so I invested in this one and it was perfect. Not too big, lightweight, with lots of great pockets.

Unfortunately, the next day I got super sick and didn't get out of my pj's the entire day. But on the plane ride home the following day I wore black capris, my black slip on sneakers, my denim jacket, and this shirt...

It's another shirt I had pinned on Pinterest before going in for my Nordstrom appointment, and they actually did have it in the store in that color. Very comfy for the long ride home!

 

Long post I know, but it gives you an idea of what worked for me.

In total, for 11 days I had:

3 jackets (which I wore at least one almost every day at some point)

6 short sleeve shirts (not including the one bought at concert)

5 long or 3/4 sleeve shirts

1 gray cardigan

2 pairs of blue jeans

1 pair black denim skinny stretch pants

5 pairs of capris (two worn on long flight travel days)

3 pairs of shorts (2 khaki and one white, but only wore two)

2 yoga capri pants (which roll up small and are great for lounging at the hotel and naps!)

1 work out outfit (that I did not use or need because we walked (12,000-26,000 steps daily)

1 tank top to wear under another shirt

1 sundress (that I didn't end up using but wish I had the last night in Brussels)

2 pairs of pajamas

5 pairs of shoes.

I would say 39 items for 11 days isn't too bad at all!

And I never felt like I didn't have enough to wear. :)

 

Hello!

Well I took a month long break from the blog after doing such a good job of trying to post at least once a week.
But I have a good reason!
Mike and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in October and felt we needed to do something really, really special this year.

Back in January he started talking about the possibility of going to Europe this summer to see a few U2 concerts. Just the two of us.
Then on Valentine's Day he made it official! We had tickets to see U2 in Amsterdam and Brussels as well as the plane tickets to get over there.
Basically we were going to fly to London and spend two nights there. Then fly to Amsterdam to see U2 and have three nights there. Next up was a train ride and two nights in Brussels with another U2 concert. And last but not least, Zurich, Switzerland. I have always wanted to go to Switzerland so it was probably the place I was looking forward to visiting the most. London was a close second.

So I was beyond excited even though it seemed as if the trip was a long way off back then. But before I knew it, summer came and then I had a whole lot of prepping to do to get the kids ready for their trip with their grandparents in addition to making sure I was ready to go overseas for 11 days.
But honestly it wasn't as stressful as you would think. The hardest part for me actually was finding shoes that would be comfortable for all the walking I knew we would be doing, but a little stylish and cute at the same time.
 

I'm just going to say, it was worth it! Here we are in Zurich, the last country we visited on our trip. I have so many photos and stories I want to share about this trip. It was some much needed time for the two of us to get away and just have fun together. And except for the very last day in Zurich when I got super sick, it was exactly what I had hoped it would be for the most part. And as someone who needs "alone" time or just time to myself at some point every day, I realized on day seven of the trip that we had pretty much been together the entire time. And I hadn't missed my alone time at all!

Anyway, just like I did with our Ireland trip back in 2009, I plan to have several blog posts covering the trip. I'm not sure yet if I am going to do it by city or day. I'm thinking city, but I don't want the posts to get too long. I think I might even do a separate post for the U2 concerts!
I just want to get all the photos in one place and go through them to decide which ones I am actually going to share. Honestly, between coming back to regular life, jet lag, getting things organized around here again and back to school prep, I haven't had a lot of time to do much else. But now that school has started, I have more time to go through photos and my journal. So look for those posts coming soon!!