House Hunter's International - Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I finally made our way back to Serbia! After a year abroad, Subotica, Serbia had become our first European "home," and the sleepy city had found a way into the repertoire of our story. Our time in Serbia changed us so much that it is hard to put the lessons into meaningful words and sentences. I know that we will always remember our time in Serbia with fondness and deep gratitude. Over one too many cups of coffee, our group of friends said goodbye to us by focusing on the memories we had created in Subotica. The year had been full of picnics on Lake Palic, themed dinner parties, football and Frisbee games, sunny bike rides, family Slavas, and cultural home-cooked dinners. When Chris and I moved to Belgium in September of 2012, we promised our Serbian family that we would come back to visit as often as work and money allowed.

The truth is, the first six months in Belgium passed quickly. Transitioning into life in Belgium took longer than I had initially expected, and Chris' job proved very busy. I still feel like I am in a state of transition here, but I'm slowly finding my place and purpose in this new world. Getting back to Serbia was like a breath of fresh air - it felt like I was going home and waiting anxiously at familiar coffee shops for friendly arms to wrap me in a warm embrace. I remembered first stepping foot on the Korzo (main walking street) in Subotica, every face was the face of a stranger and every coffee shop was unfamiliar and new. What a difference one year in a new world can make, and how easily we can adapt if we allow ourselves to live openly and transparently. 

The Paris Christmas Markets

Although the weather in Belgium has drastically changed, and I am nothing short of freezing - all of the time, - I have to say that the twinkle of the holiday season makes the chilling weather a tad bit more bearable. With the onslaught of winter come the enchanting Christmas markets that seem to suddenly spring up all over Europe. This time last year, Chris and I visited Bruges for the first time; the city sparkled and mystified me. In that instant, I told Chris that I wanted to live in Belgium, and I absolutely had to explore Bruges in every season. He smiled at the twinkle in me eyes and assured me that if ever the opportunity came up he would move me to Belgium. Little did we know that in less than a year, Chris and I would call Belgium home. 

What a year 2012 has been! 

Before heading home for the holidays, we decided to check out as many of the neighboring Christmas markets as possible, and the first festive stop on our agenda - Paris. We spent Thanksgiving weekend in "The City of Light," and below are a few pictures and details of the two markets that were open in late November.

Looking from the Louvre towards the Christmas market on Avenue des Champs-Elysees

From the Louvre, take a lovely stroll towards the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, and there you'll find the largest Christmas market within Paris's city limits. The entire street is illuminated with red and purple lights, and even in the rain, Christmas is in the air. Grab yourself a glass of vin chaud (hot wine/gluhwein) and a hand full of fried churros and perhaps do a little bit of your Christmas shopping. In my opinion, most of the stalls sell similar items: furry hats and expensive gloves, trinkets from Russia, candies and pastries, decorative Christmas ornaments, vin chaud, fried, unhealthy food, and every so often you'll get lucky and find someone selling creative, handmade items.

     - Open: November 16th, 2012 - January 6th, 2013
     - Location: Avenue des Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde
     - Closest Metro Stop: Champs Elysees-Clemenceau or Concorde.

Cinque Terre Italy

One of my favorite shots of Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre, Italy.  This is where we stayed!

Cinque Terre Italy (The Five Lands), that mythical portion of the Italian Riviera that has, for centuries, lured travelers in with the promise of fine Italian wines, charming local flare, breathtaking views, and romantic hikes uninterrupted by passing vehicles. I had a good friend who had hiked The Five Lands with his wife several years ago, and after seeing his pictures, I instantly added the destination to my "bucket list." I know it is a super "touristy" place to visit in Italy, but I am a tourist, and I want to tour as much of this amazing world as possible!

Kayla and I were blessed with fantastic weather and cheap flights in mid-September! We did book about three months ahead, so perhaps a little advance planning helped us stick to our budgets. Even with three months notice, it was a struggle to find a comfortable, budget friendly B&B with an available room. If you are planning to spend some time in Cinque Terre next summer (2013), I would suggest contacting B&Bs now! A lot of places are already booking up for June, July and August. You will need to contact most places via email when requesting a reservation. 

I learned while researching that there are a few (super expensive) hotels in Cinque Terre, but the most common thing to do is to get a room at a guest house or family run B&B. I used Trip Advisor as a reference, and decided to book four nights at Locanda Ca da Iride in Riomaggiore, the first of The Five Lands. Our little B&B was nothing spectacular, but it was clean and the family was friendly and accommodating. Riomaggiore was a great home base from which to explore all of Cinque Terre. A lot of B&Bs only accept cash payments once you check out, so as a rule of thumb, contact your accommodation several times before you arrive to make sure they indeed have your booking. 

We had such a great time in Cinque Terre, and even though I can now check it off my "bucket list," I want to get back there some day with my Hubby! Enjoy a few of our pictures and if you are interested in any of my notes from the trip, I will list them at the end of this post. 

First picture of both of us in Cinque Terre! Rocks make great tripods!

Riomaggiore - Cinque Terre, Italy.

It's really this beautiful!

You just cannot stop taking pictures of Riomaggiore, Italy!

Via dell'Amore (Walk of Love) Kayla is looking for a lover. 

Mimosas on the hike at Bar dell'Amore. 

Grapes off the vine in Groppo, Italy. 

Wine Tasting in Groppo, Italy. 

We hiked up to Corniglia, but we didn't eat or drink here. 

Entering Vernazza, Italy. This was our favorite of The Five Lands

The views of Vernazza, Italy just take your breath away!

Two girls in Vernazza with a mini bottle of wine and a lovely sunset. 

The umbrellas are the restaurant Baia Saracena where we had some great pizza. 

Our last day was stormy and we spent it in Monterosso al Mare. 

We had the best sangria at Enoteca del Eliseo in Monterosso al Mare

The owner of Enoteca del Eliseo treated us to his homemade grappa and limoncello. 

As promised, I will leave you with a list of our Cinque Terre "loves." 

Riomaggiore (Where we Stayed):

Breakfast - Every morning we picked up fruit at a local co-op (store) on the main street. We stuffed our bags with fruit and munched on it along the hike. 

Dinner - La Lanterna - A great, family run Trattoria right on the water. Great food and friendly service!

Hiking - You can start your hike from any of The Five Lands, and you will pay 5 Euro each day that you hike. The hiking fee is used to maintain the trails and is much needed after the mudslides last year. We started hiking from Riomaggiore, and whenever we didn't feel like hiking anymore, we just took the train. You can buy a daily hiking/training pass for 10 Euros. Also ask for a train schedule at any of the stations, the schedule is helpful since the times are pretty limited. 

Mimosas on a Hike?! - We hiked the romantic Via dell'Amore from Riomaggiore to Manarola, and about ten minutes into the hike, we stopped for mimosas at Bar dell'Amore. Why not?! It was a girl trip after all!

Manarola

A Little Dip - We were so hot after our (short) hike, so we walked down to the water and jumped in! There is no sand in Manarola, but stairs have been carved into the stone allowing you to easily reach the water. Once you jump in, little ladders are cleverly placed to help you get OUT of the water gracefully. 

Groppo - Manarola was pretty quiet, so we decided to take a friend's suggestion and hike up to the small hill town of Groppo. We meandered through cliff-side vineyards and grabbed handfuls of grapes as we passed. Eventually we found a place at the very top of Groppo where we could taste some wine. 

Vernazza (Our Favorite)

Picture Worthy Time/Place - Make sure to go out on the pier and get some pictures back on Vernazza as the sun is setting. This was my favorite bunch of pictures from the trip. You can also buy a half bottle (or a whole bottle) of wine at any little store and they might even offer to open the bottle and provide plastic cups so that you and a "glass" of vino can take in the majestic sunset. 

Dinner #1 - As the sun was setting, we had dinner on the pier at a little Pizzeria called Baia Saracena. The pizzas were good and the wine was cheap! What more do you need when in Italy?! We even made some local friends who invited us out for post dinner drinks. Salute!

Dinner #2 - We liked Vernazza so much that we decided to do dinner there a second night. It was a stormy evening, so we were forced to sit inside at Ristorante Pizzeria Bar "Vulnetia." The interior is very cozy with exposed brick walls and high, wooden ceilings. We had pizza and while it was good, we quite preferred our first dinner at Baia Saracena. 

Monterosso al Mare - (The Town with the Beach)

The BEST Sangria! - Kayla and I fell in love with the little bar called Enoteca del Eliseo in Monterosso! You will have to wind through lovely little streets to find this place, but once you get there, the cinnamon and clove Sangria is well worth the trip!

Take a Hike - Hike up the hill and get a view of Monterosso. The cemetery for all five towns is located at the highest point of the city. Random little fact. 

Lunch With a View - We had caprese salads for lunch right on the water at Nuovo Eden Bar and Gelateria. The food was nothing to write home about, but the setting was worth every single Euro penny!

I know that there is so much that we did not see and experience, so I will have to drag Hubby along for a second Cinque Terre adventure in the near future! As always, thanks for reading!

Cinque Terre on Dwellable

Pictures of Paris

The Eiffel Tower at night is a sight worth hanging around for!

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” - Aldous Huxley

I seem to have used that quote in so many conversations; and I've seen it prove true time and time again. It makes me glow inside when stereotypes are shattered. After all, aren't we all just people trying to make our place in this big, scary world? The only differences may be the color of our skin, our religious choices, the language we grew up speaking, and the color of our passport. 

Now that Chris and I live in Belgium, an obvious weekend jaunt would take us to Paris, France in under three hours. This is absolutely terrible, but I have to admit that I was less than thrilled to spend time in France, and not because of my own experiences, but because of tales I had heard from others. "Ohhhh, France this, and France that. The French can understand English, but they won't speak with you unless you speak French. Lana, Make sure you have a map because you may not find anyone who will help you navigate the city. . . " One stereotype after another. You would think that I would have learned to ignore such negative talk after spending a wonderful year in Serbia.

My magical weekend in Paris made me anxious to return to France and explore every single corner of the country! In fact, I am already researching the Bordeaux region. There are a lot of Bordeaux wines for sale in Belgium, and I am starting to get "acquainted" with as many of them as possible. 

My dear friend (and bridesmaid), Kayla, flew into Charles De Gaulle to spend ten fun-filled days with me and Chris in Europe. The cheapest flight took her into Paris, so naturally, we decided to spend two days exploring the city. Chris had to stay in Belgium, so Kayla and I booked a room a little out of the center at the Mercure Paris La Defense 5 Hotel. Reasonable lodging is really pricey in Paris, so we chose to stay close to the La Defense metro line and made sure that the hotel offered free shuttle service to and from the metro. One night we got in too late and had to walk from La Defense to the hotel and it took under 15 minutes. 

I cannot say enough about Paris! It is absolutely dreamy! You must go see it for yourself and leave all pre-conceived notions behind. If you are loving life, then life will love you back! 

Great staff (and great prices) at Le Bourbon in the St-Michel area.  That's my friend, Kayla!

The beautiful Notre Dame!

Love that I captured the leaning guy in this picture!

Paris -  the city known for the Love Lock bridges. 

Our first view of the Eiffel Tower at dusk. 

Dancing with a Tower view! Makes me want to get my Hubby here for a dance or two! 

Breakfast at Hemingway's hangout  - Les Deux Margots. 

We met up with one of my college buddies! It was wonderful to see you, Grant! Let's meet again!

The cafe was crowded but cozy and well worth the trip!

This taxidermie store, Deyrolle, is in the movie "Midnight in Paris." 

The mini Arc de Triomphe right before you enter the Louvre.  

The Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace has always been my favorite statue.  She's in the Louvre!

Checking out the Mona Lisa . . . with about 500 other tourists!

Amazing art structure as you leave the Louvre. 

The Arc de Triomphe. 

Exploring Paris!

Window shopping at Christian Louboutin. One pair for me, and one for Kayla.  Dreaming!

We said farewell to Paris with a bottle of Bordeaux, and the Eiffel Tower sparkled her approval! 

"Toute chose appartient a qui sait en jouir." - Andre' Gide

("Everything belongs to those who can appreciate it.")

Paradise Found - Nocelle and Positano, Italy

From Nocelle looking back on Positano, Italy. This is the stuff dreams are made of. 

Summer traveling in Italy. Oh where to begin?! No matter how thoroughly planned your vacation, the Italian summer has a way of reminding you to relax, be patient and enjoy a glass of wine along the way. It doesn't matter that you carry a shiny Capitol One credit card (no international transaction fees - yes please); you'll still find yourself scurrying to the nearest ATM when the tour company discovers their credit card machine mysteriously "broken," or your B&B simple doesn't even have said machine.

Lucky for my organized-type-A-self, a sweet girl friend in Rome warned me to hold my schedule "loosely" while exploring Italy. Heather said something to the extent of, "In the summer, you can expect train strikes; sometimes you'll be warned and sometimes you'll be caught off guard. Oh yeah, and often public transportation is late or just doesn't show up at all. That's totally normal. You have to just enjoy the country and don't have too many concrete plans while in Italy. If you can relax and drink up the culture (and some wine and lemoncello), you'll love every second in Italy."

I met my best friend from Kentucky, Lindsay, and her Hubby, Evan, in Rome (blog to come), and the three of us made our way towards the Amalfi Coast. Heather had warned us of a 8:30am train strike the day we were leaving Rome, so we caught an earlier train out of the busy city. Once in Naples, we were met with one of those surprise strikes that Heather had warned us of. There was nothing we could do but wait around for three hours and finally push our way onto an overcrowded, un-airconditioned commuter train bound for Sorrento. From Sorrento, we took an hour long bus ride to Positano, and then our final leg was a 20-minute bus ride through narrow, cliff side roads wide enough for only one vehicle.

Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got off the bus. Our six hour journey had turned into more of an 11-hour-trek, and I could not help but remind myself of Heather's wise words. Just enjoy the journey, Lana. . . .

In the next moment, I turned around - and gasped! Evening rays kissed the landscape, and the view from Nocelle back on the hillside town of Positano was simply breathtaking. As we walked towards our B&B, I couldn't stop taking pictures. We arrived at Villa Sofia  and were warmly greeted by Luciana and her brother Raffaele. Raffaele showed us to the poolside terrace where he treated us to homemade lemoncello. We relaxed as the sun slowly slipped into the ocean. The moment was worth 11 hours of traveling and every stressful leg of the journey from Rome-> Nocelle. I have to give Evan mad props for picking Villa Sofia.

Had Lindsay, Evan and I just discovered paradise?!

Lemoncello on the terrace at Villa Sofia in Nocelle, Italy. 

Lindsay and me on our terrace overlooking Nocelle.

Evan and Lindsay - Starting our hike down 2000 stairs. 

Beauty everywhere you look. 

Small little beach we found at the bottom of  our 2000 step hike.

Entering the dreamy town of Positano, Italy. 

View from the main beach in Positano, Italy. 

Italian coursed dinner recommended by Villa Sofia.

So much dessert!

How we ended the night - with the owner, his son and a HUGE bottle of lemoncello! Fun memories. 

Goodbye Nocelle, Positano and Villa Sofia. You're in my soul and I will visit again!

Heather was right, if you can see Italy at a leisurely pace, you'll fall head over heals for her beauty. I cannot wait to get back to Amalfi with Chris, and Villa Sofia has so be on my itinerary.

This may be the closest to heaven that I have ever been. Seriously!