Paris {Days 1 - 2}

Well hello all! We've been on a blogging hiatus since we've been traveling around Europe for the past 2 1/2 weeks. Much fun was had, but honestly, we're very glad to be home. Jason is happiest to have access to ice water and I'm happiest to see my pup! Without further ado - our epic European vacation!

Paris wins the award for: Most Expensive, Best Desserts

Day 1: We started our trip to Europe with a little change of plans (of course), but we made it to Paris after a brief layover in Frankfurt, Germany. We flew in a Lufthansa A380 (double-decker awesomeness) and we were BLOWN AWAY by the service. Free wine, liquor, aperitifs? No problem! There were also 2 full meals and endless choices of movies to watch! Honestly, I couldn't recommend them highly enough! (That, and they have an awesome service agreement with Southwest that made our tickets about $250 for both of us to get there.)

Mallory met us at the airport and helped us navigate our way back to Chateau de Lineberger. We took a much needed nap and ventured out to explore a little. We walked along the Seine River and crossed the Lovers Bridge (Real name? No idea.). Couples will put their padlock onto bridge and throw the key into the Seine to symbolize their eternal love. Not sure I completely understand this tradition, but it's sweet regardless. I feel like I've seen this in Florence and the Cinque Terre as well?

Lover's Bridge

All of the locks

After our little walk around the Latin Quarter, we met up with Mallory to have a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower while it *sparkled*. It started to rain, but we relocated under a tree and kept the party going! Can't go wrong with some French bread, charcuterie, cheese, and wine...Mmm!

Our picnic :)

   

            *Sparkling*                                               After the rainshower

Day 2: I started the next day with a pain au chocolat (I could eat this every day of my life) and then we ventured out to the Musee D'Orsay where I fell in love with Degas and his ballerinas. We stopped by the Notre Dame crypts-which were more like ruins of the old church below. Lunch was had at a little crepe place that caused Jason to completely change his mind about crepes. We had savory crepes, not the nutella/banana kind that you normally think of. We stopped by La Duree for the best macaroons of my life (green apple and lemon were my favs) and a pistachio eclair. For dinner, we met up with John (who had just gotten back from London for work) and had flammekueche (really thin pizza) and beer at one of their favorite local places. What a great end to our second day in Paris!

From Musee D'Orsay

Musee D'Orsay - one of the few places pictures were allowed

Crepes and cider for lunch

 Notre Dame in the rain

Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

After re-reading this, it's awesome how much I focused on the food. Yes, we essentially ate and drank our way through Europe :) Seriously though, meals just take a lot longer in Europe and occupy a large part of your day. 

Coming up next - Museums and Churches and MORE FOOD! Paris, Days 3-5!

The Bucket List

Every travel experience is amazing, but these are the experiences that we believe would be truly life-changing!

Experience Avenue of the Giants (2021)

Take a road trip along the Oregon Coast (2021)

See the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye
Stay in a Castle in the Scottish Highlands
Go on an African Safari
Visit the German Christmas Markets

Visit Machu Picchu
Vespa through the Italian Countryside
Stay in an over-water bungalow
Sit in a Jacuzzi overlooking a Santorini sunset
Take a Yangtze River Cruise
Stay in an arctic igloo in Finland to see the Northern Lights

Checked Off The List:

Sit on a beach in Thailand - 2013

See Ha Long Bay, Vietnam - 2013

Experience German Oktoberfest in Munich - 2012

See the Temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia - 2013

 Go to a Turkish Bath (Budapest) - 2012

Go to the Grand Canyon - 2012

Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL - 2013 & 2015

Visit the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM - 2013

Fly anywhere in Europe for a long weekend 

Amsterdam - 2013, London - 2016, Barcelona - 2017

Visit Mayan ruins - Tikal, Guatemala 2014 & Coba, Mexico 2018

See the temples & shrines in Kyoto - Japan 2014

Eat sushi at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo - 2014 at Sushizanmai & 2018 at Sushi Daiwa

Experience the "vortexes" in Sedona, AZ - January 2015

See whales in the wild - Maui, February 2015

See Niagara Falls - April 2015

Show Jason my favorites in Italy - August/September 2015

Sunbathe on Culebrita Beach - November 2015

Find balance in Bali - February 2016

See the ruins in Tulum, Mexico - March 2016 & January 2018

Have a pint of Guinness in Ireland - May 2016

Go to high tea - Ireland, May 2016 & London, November 2016

Go to the Christmas markets in Europe - London, England - 2016 & Barcelona, Spain - 2017

Eat dim sum in Hong Kong - May, 2017

Fly Business Class - November 2019 on Singapore Airlines (17 hours!)

Roadtrip through the English countryside - August 2017

Visit Neuschwanstein Castle - September 2017

Go paragliding & canyoning in Innsbruck - September 2017

Eat tapas and drink cava at La Boqueria in Barcelona - November 2017

Stay at a Japanese ryokan that has our own private onsen - March 2018

Drive go-karts on the streets of Tokyo - April 2018

Swim in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland - July 2018

Experience the midnight sun - July 2018

Eat Pastel (ahem Pasteis) de Nata in Portugal - March 2019

Eat at a Hawker Center in Singapore - November 2019

Visit an Elephant Sanctuary - November 2019

Visit Petra, Jordan - February 2020

Float in the Dead Sea - February 2020

See the Pyramids and Temples in Egypt - February 2020

Take a Nile River Cruise - February 2020

What's on your Bucket List?

In the NEXT year...

Exciting news in the non-rev world. Jason is a rockstar and won Internal Audit employee of the quarter. Along with the title comes...2 GOLD TICKETS! (I'm feeling a little like Charlie.) Gold tickets mean that it's a guaranteed spot! What do you mean Christy? You don't have to get to the airport at 4am to catch the earliest flight? Or sit in the middle seat because you're boarding last? You get a boarding pass the NIGHT BEFORE? Madness! With our impending Euro trip and my new job, I don't have any remaining vacation this year, but we will definitely put that to good use.

So, you guys have read where we've BEEN in my last post, now look where we're (tentatively) going! As always in the world of standby, these things can change. On our list for Jason's 2nd year at SWA (mid 2012 - mid 2013):

Euro Trip with John and Mal: Tickets have been purchased and it's insane how cheap they were. Thanks to airline partnerships, they were only $240/person roundtrip! We ARE paying for some airfare around Europe, but the prices were really good (Like $40 a person good)!

France (Paris, Normandy, and Burgundy)

Switzerland (Geneva)

Hungary (Budapest)

Germany (Munich...for Oktoberfest!)

Austria (Salzburg)

Czech Republic (Prague)

Weekend Trips - still up in the air:

New Orleans, LA

Boston, MA

Portland, OR

Boise, ID

Reno/Tahoe, NV

And the part I'm jumping for joy at...2 weeks of backpacking through Southeast Asia! I convinced Jason to go with me on the condition that I plan everything. What's new? Ha. 

Places we'd like to go:

Thailand (Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang Mai)

Laos (Luang Prabang)

Cambodia (Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat)

Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

Singapore

We also have a 3 year plan that includes Australia/New Zealand/Bora Bora, going back to Hawaii (Big Island, Molokai), and another couple of trips back to Europe (England, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, Turkey, Croatia, Greece). Gotta get while the getting's good, right? Cheap flights can't be beat (except by free ones), and the only responsibilities we have involve our pup.

OH! And a big thanks to Southwest Airlines for providing Jason and I with over $5,500 (!!) worth of free travel so far. After our Europe and SE Asia trips, that number is sure to skyrocket.

Stay tuned for more travel adventures :)

Traveling Personalities

Jason and I are not the same types of travelers. We make a great team, but I'm usually the catalyst with a travel wishlist a mile long. I want to experience as many different cultures, food, and religions as authentically as I can. See places that have lots of historical significance. Understand art in the context in which it was created. Basically, travel is what makes my heart beat faster.

Jason wants to be outside in nature. See natural wonders. Go to places with beautiful beaches and spend all of his time outdoors. He likes to go with the flow when he travels and likes other people to plan for him.

Where we converge is that we are NOT "relax at the beach/pool" types of people. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) We constantly want to be experiencing something new. We're both problem solvers and don't get ruffled when things don't go our way. Balance is the key for us with regard to activities. Also, Jason lets me plan. This works out great for me because I generally have a pretty specific idea of what I want to accomplish everywhere I go. As long as I include some outdoorsy things, Jason is a happy camper.

We both took this quiz a while back that describes each of us pretty well. It also lists travel destinations that would be ideal for each personality type.

I'm a Mid-Venturer. Jason is a Mid-Authentic.

What type of traveler are you?

http://besttripchoices.com/travel-personalities/quiz/

Chicago, IL, Minneapolis, MN and Las Vegas, NV

Jason and I have been doing a bit of travel separately due to work. I was in Chicago for 5 weeks and got the chance to explore the northern suburbs (haha) and I ventured into Chicago a few times - once to go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field with my coworkers! That was a lot of fun - the stadium is SO TINY!

For my last travel adventure for work, I went for a week-long trip to Las Vegas! This was a really great way to end my time with Protiviti AND I got to meet up with some high-school friends that I hadn't seen in ages. I'm not a big gambler, but it was fun to watch and absorb the Vegas lifestyle. Of course I did a little shopping there though! "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", so I'll just leave it with the fact that I had a great time!

For my last trip, I went to Minneapolis to have a fun girl's weekend! What was great about this trip is that we all got there for FREE! Thanks to Jason's buddy passes, the girls were able to fly standby as well. We woke up and set off to kayak in the lake system near Emily and Jake's place. We just had a great day exploring the area that they live in. We also go to meet some neighbors that supplied us with a DELICIOUS meal full of homemade pizza and LOTS of wine :) We had much to celebrate: Rebekah's upcoming wedding, Brittany's move to OKC and house purchase, Emily's promotion, and my new job!

The next day, we went to brunch and walked around a little festival that was taking place. Everyone here seems to always be outside when the weather is nice (which is definitely was - especially compared to Texas!). After this, we ventured to Mall of America. That place was insane! Brittany and I rode a rollercoaster - in a MALL! I can imagine how useful it is to have an indoor mall of that magnitude when it's literally -20 degrees outside.

Stolen from Brittany's Blog :)

http://kbmccalltx.wordpress.com/

Overall, it was a really great trip and I'm so glad we all got to make it there for nothing!