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Thursday, February 26, 2015

30th Birthday Vacation - Greek Islands Part 1: Mykonos & Folegandros

Last September for my 30th birthday Kevin and I spent 10 days exploring the Greek islands.  I was around 7 weeks pregnant at the time and was hoping I'd be one of the lucky ones who escapes the usual first trimester fun, but alas I had no such luck.  A day or two into the trip those lovely pregnancy symptoms began to set in - nausea, food aversions, and utter exhaustion.  I was so bummed because I normally love Greek food, but unfortunately the smell of grilled meat made me feel to vomit all over Kevin's face.  Not the best food aversion to have while visiting a country where the scent of grilled meat wafts through the streets and permeates the air.  Despite the joys of early pregnancy, I managed to have an amazing time on our trip.  I mean how could you not surrounded by such prettiness?  The first night we stayed on the island of Mykonos.

Mykonos
We stayed at Christina Studios.  Wasn't anything fancy, but was in a great location.  We only had one day on the island and we spent it walking around and eating.
We arrived in the evening and spent our first night enjoying some dinner by the sea.
For breakfast we found a super cute cafe called Lile Bistro-Cafe.

The waitress showed us how Greek coffee is made.
For pre-lunch drinks (i.e. sparkling waters) we walked up to a hotel bar (La Veranda) with fabulous views of the island.
Views from La Veranda



Stroll Around Town












Folegandros
Day 2 of our vacation we took a ferry over to the island of Folegandros.  Lucky birthday girl that I was, Kevin had planned the entire trip by himself.  So I didn't have to struggle through figuring out which ferries to book.  If you plan on visiting the Greek Islands you have to make ferry reservations in advance at seajets.gr and apparently it's a bit confusing and frustrating.  So thanks Kev!

The landscape of Folegandros is very different from Mykonos.  It was much more arid and desert like, but no less beautiful.  We stayed two nights in the village Chora at a gorgeous hotel called Anemomilos Apartments.  I highly recommend staying here for its spectacular views, pool, and scenic breakfast served on your balcony.  We had a lovely time exploring the island.  We took the bus over to Angali Beach to take a swim, meandered around the villages of Chora and Ano Meria, and walked up to the Church of Panagia for sunset views.

Anemomilos Apartments



Our balcony overlooking the pool and sea
Sunset from our balcony

Church of Panagia


The church
Poor Mya puppy donkey had his legs tied together so he could't run away from the church :(


Sunset from the church

Village Explorations - Chora








Angali Beach
Was so nice taking a swim in this gorgeous water.





Village Explorations - Ano Meria
This village was way more local than Chora.








Sunday, February 22, 2015

Florence Fairytale Wedding

Last August we spent a weekend in Florence for our friends Victoria & Jonathan's destination Trini/Italian wedding.  They are not only one of the sweetest cutest couples ever, but their wedding was one of the most gorgeous we've ever been to.  The reception was held in a fairytale castle set among the Tuscan hills.  So stunning that it was even featured on Brides.com (click here to check out the article).  Seriously beautiful.

The day we arrived, Victoria & Jonathan had organized a welcome wine tasting and dinner at a private vineyard.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to partake in the wine tasting.  The day before we left Zürich I had a sneaking suspicion I might be pregnant.  So just to make sure I didn't get wasted at a wedding while with child, I took a home pregnancy test.  Low and behold it turned out my intuition was spot on, and I had to fake drink the entire weekend while Kevin drank for two.  The sacrifices he makes for us is simply inspirational.
Welcome Wine Tasting





The day before the wedding we wandered around Florence enjoying the beauty of the city and the fantastic weather.
Florence Wanderings











We found a "beach" in the middle of the city.



"Lamp post gets skinny at the top"


The Wedding
The wedding was of course beautiful, but also super fun.  They had flown in a fantastic DJ from Trinidad who made sure the party was slammin'.  Even sober Jen had a blast.  Operation Hide Pregnancy/Fake Drink was a success.  I only had one close call.  I was sick of holding wine I couldn't drink, and I just really wanted a water.  Kevin told me, "You should hold a wine too or people will be suspicious."  I was like, "Oh my God come on.  I can't just hold a glass of water for 5 seconds?  Please.  No one one will notice."  Then Gary came up and right away called me out on my water and accused me of being pregnant.  I am a horrible liar, and just looked at Kevin for help while I looked panicked stricken and began stuttering "Umm...Well, I...".  Kevin appalled by my lack of smoothness covered for me and said, "Well I hope not, after all she drank at the wine tasting on Friday."  Gary seemed satisfied with Kevin's explanation so I ran to the bathroom to avoid any further interrogation.  Seriously, a girl can't drink one glass of water without accusations being thrown her way?  Operation Hide Pregnancy/Fake Drink only lasted one more week.  I couldn't hack it.  Anyways, the wedding was amazing and we're so grateful to Victoria & Jonathan for letting us be a part of their special day.  Check out the beautifulness...