Hello, there!
It's been a while since I have updated my blog. The past two months have been so full! It started back in October with a trip to Florida to help family with the process of moving. Florida is so nice that time of year, not too hot, but you can still dive into the ocean! Since we drove down there we got to check off visiting several new states. Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. That puts my number of states visited at 33! The thing that surprised me the most was how beautiful Virginia and West Virginia are. I really didn't have a visual in my head, but wow! Driving through those valleys in the fall is a real treat. I would love to stay longer next time.
One week after getting home from Florida, Todd and I hopped on a plane to Switzerland for a 3 week trip we planned in Europe! This is the first time either of us had been back since 2019. We had tried to plan a trip to Scotland in May of 2020, but that was canceled of course. This trip was special because it was to celebrate Todd's graduation from law school! After 7 years of schooling he finally made it to the finish line.
The highlights of our trip were as follows.
We spent a few nights in Rome before traveling to Greece. Greece has been on my bucket list since I was a teenager, so I was especially excited to see it all. Our favorite island was Corfu, which was surprising because it is not the first island anyone would think of when it comes to Greece!
After Greece we went back to Italy to visit Florence and the Amalfi Coast. We had a lovely tour guide that took us around Positano and I fell in love with Italian ceramics! While in Italy I ate just enough pistachio, coconut, and raspberry gelato. And by "just enough" I mean way too much.
The next leg of our trip was to Spain. Todd lived in Spain for two years and speaks the language fluently. We decided to show his parents a little bit of where he lived and what life was like, since they had never been before. It was so fun to share the experience with other people! One of the highlights were tickets to a flamenco show. I had never been to one before, but had heard so many good things. I have to say it was very inspiring and I would now recommend it to anyone!
The second highlight was going to Toledo and visiting the artisan shop where got to watch artisans make damascene jewelry by hand. I ended up buying a brooch from here which I cherish very much.
The last two days of our trip were spent in Portugal. Portugal is currently one of my favorite European countries to visit. The food, the tiles, the ocean. There is so much to love about it! Not to mention that every local was so nice to us and readily gave us recommendations on where to eat and what to do. I felt like we made a new friend every time we stopped to talk!
We stayed at the an adorable hotel overlooking a park and skyline of Lisbon. We were able to walk to all the places we wanted to go. There was even a small flea market in the park where we found some tiny treasures to take home.
My favorite part of the trip was to the National Tile Museum. If only I could learn to make my own tiles now!
By the time we got home is was nearly Thanksgiving which meant that we had four days at home before taking ANOTHER flight to Arizona! Oof. We feel so blessed and thankful, but we're ready to rest now.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures and seeing all the pretty pictures along the way. As always, thank you for your continued interest and support in my art! Because of you I was able to work from home doing what I love while putting Todd through graduate school. Sometimes I can't even believe it. Thank you, thank you!
I have another fun blog post for December. Be sure to check into Instagram to see when it is posted!
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