After leaving Rothenburg, Germany (see the amazing medieval cuteness here.) We headed south through the German countryside to Switzerland, which honestly ended up being one of our favorites spots of the entire trip. If you are considering a trip to Switzerland, just do it!! It is absolutely incredible. I planned the entire trip based off of recommendations from a few friends and family, but mostly through the Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook!! (If you don't know who Rick Steves is, read more about him here!! He is worth knowing about if you are traveling around Europe!! )
So unlike the rest of the trip where we moved from city to city, we decided to settle down in the charming village of Murren in the Berner Oberland Region overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. If you are familiar with Switzerland, then we were really close to Interlaken. We stayed at Hotel Alpina for 4 nights and 5 days!! Would highly recommend that hotel! The views were absolutely incredible of the Swiss Alps. We arrived later Thursday night with just enough time to check in and grab dinner!!
Read moreOur first day in Germany after we traveled to Kierspe (see more on Kierspe here.) We arrived in Cochem late that night after driving through lots of winding mountain backroads. One of the main reason's I picked the Mosel River Valley over the roaring Rhine River Valley was that it was closest to the Burg Eltz Castle that we wanted to visit, (to see all of its medieval glory click here. :) And also because it was less touristy and quieter. It casually has its own small castle on the top of the hill. Cochem is known for its wineries and because of that most of the wine is local! Its half-timbered traditional German architecture was incredibly quaint and beautiful and completely stole my heart! We woke up the next morning from our lovely hotel, Pension Gunter to head to the Burg Eltz Castle. After we returned we walked around Cochem and had a dinner & gelato date. Here are some of my favorites from our day in Cochem :)
Read moreTo say all of my medieval castle finding dreams came true once we visited the Burg Eltz would be an understatement. Burg Eltz, an over 850-year-old intact castle just outside of Cochem, Germany, was like stepping into a medieval movie, but in real life. Somehow since 1157 AD, this castle has remained untouched by wars and stayed within the same family for over 800 years!! CRAZINESS! Surrounded by forests that feel enchanted, and far away from any major city or roads, it is the real deal. I only wish I could show you pictures of the inside (photography wasn't allowed on the tour.) so you could see the grandeur and how crazy it was that everything was still intact. Chase and I hiked down the hill to see this glorious view of the Burg Eltz peeking through the trees. I definitely squealed multiple times just wondering how this place even existed still! Here are a few of my favorites.
Read moreHey you! If you are reading this then you are most likely coming to Tampa for the National Championship Game (or here already in which case Welcome :)) where Clemson University and some other team that will not be named are playing :) Let me just say we are so excited about that! YAYYYYY!!! When Clemson beat Ohio State last week we were ecstatic! Then we were even more excited when we realized that all our Clemson Tiger family will be heading to Tampa where we have lived for the past 2 and a half years !! Chase and I are hosting our parents, brother, grandmother, in-laws, and two other couple friends in our small rental home, which will be a little cray cray but also an absolute blast!! I know that this upcoming weekend will be jammed packed, and I would love to show each of you around individually, but think of this post as a "virtual tour" of things you should check out and restaurant recommendations just because I want you to get the most out of your experience in Tampa, and I know I always appreciate a good recommendation! :) Without further adieu, here are some of Chase and my favorite things to do in Tampa:
Read moreOnce we arrived in Florence we quickly realized that we were not in small quaint town anymore, but in fact in a huge city with lots of cars and people. One of my first memories of Florence was walking up to the Duomo (the main cathothic church of Florence) and just being in awe of how massive and beautiful it is. The Duomo is located right in the heart of the city and can be seen from any street corner. That night before dinner we did a Rick Steves audio tour of Florence, grabbed dinner, and had some amazing gelato afterwards while seeing the Duomo lit up at night.
Read moreOn our second day in Venice, we woke up to the sound of rain at first of course was a little bummed. But by the time we ate breakfast and put on our rain jacket and walked outside the rain has stopped and it became a really pretty day. We navigated our way through that narrow streets of Venice and followed the signs that said "to Saint Marco Square". We stopped for a quick lunch then toured the Doge's Palace which was where the Venetian government was held and full of so much history. We walked around a little bit more and then finally went on the Grand Canal cruise at sunset. This is one my favorite memory from Venice! We got front row seats on vaporetti and took so many pictures. We ended the night with dinner along the river and amazing gelati! Here are some of my favorite images below!!
Read moreHey guys! I am so excited to finally be able to share images from our trip to Italy last month. It's crazy how personal images get pushed to the back, as your clients images obviously come first!! I've had so many people ask about our trip, and all I can say is it really was a trip of a lifetime. It was definitely more of an adventure, versus a relaxing, chill by the pool, kind of vacation, but we absolutely loved every jammed packed second. We spent 16 days exploring 6 different cities, and 2 countries including Venice, Florence, San Gimignano, Rome, Positano & the Amalfi Coast, as well as Paris. It was my first time to Europe and now I definitely have the travel bug even more. My photographer heart was in heaven because every single place you turned was picturesque. From the culture, to the history, to the people, you could see so much beauty in God's creation everywhere you went.
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