Heidelberg Weihnachtsmarkt

*I apologize for not editing my photos together to create a nicer, more balanced look but I'm pressed on time with other projects at the moment. 

Oh hello, it's been quite a while. I'll update you on the twists and turns in life later, so lets just jump in and get this show on the road shall we?!

I've been to Heidelberg at least 4 times since we've been in Germany and I simply can't get enough. This was the first time that we had the pleasure of experiencing Heidelberg's beautiful Christmas Market and I promise, it won't be the last time.

Heidelberg is already charming but it will lift you instantly into the Holiday spirit! They have 3 separate Christmas Markets. Ice Skating at one market with out of this world potato fritters, which if you're wondering going hand in hand with apple sauce, though if that is not your thing then the garlic sauce would be perfect too. Another at the Castle and another in the middle of the city. I missed the market that sold Dampfnudlen (I think someone lied because I looked all over and my dreams were crushed)...if you've never had one, well...you need to reevaluate your life choices and get one! It's that serious.

There is also a beautiful carousel and boy did my daughter have a blast riding on it! Lots of kid activities at this Market. So come, enjoy your Glühwein and let your kids have fun too. I make it a tradition to get at least one item from every market, this year I found a tent filled with the most gorgeous lights on strings and I nabbed quite a few for my home. No regrets!

While Heidelberg isn't in my top Christmas Markets, it's still a nice trip to make with family - which I did as my mother and my stepfather came out for 2 weeks and spent most of their time hogging my little one! First grandchild + living overseas = lots of time to make up. We had a blast. If you're looking for a fun market, this is one to visit!

Any other Christmas Market mug collectors out there? I MUST get Glühwein at every market and then I keep the mugs for my collection. What Weihnachtsmarkt have you visited and what items do you find that you've loved?

48 Hours in Paris!

Wondering the ins and outs if you only have 48 hours in Paris? Well, fear not. I have you covered, and it's filled with lots of delicious food, romance and many things to keep you entertained!

 Gerelynn Trisl Photography

 Gerelynn Trisl Photography

Gerelynn Trisl Photography

First things first, I do not recommend the Paris Pass, if you will not be there longer than 2 days. It was cheaper to buy all day Metro & Bus combined tickets for my husband and I. Including the tickets we bought at the Louvre. Don't waste your money unless you're going to be there for a much, longer time span.

Gerelynn Trisl Photography

Gerelynn Trisl Photography

 Frenchie to Go: 9, Rue du Nil, 75002 Paris

Metro 3, 4: Sentier, Reaumur Sebastopol

Now, lets get started!

Day 1: If you'd like to dive right in as soon as you get off the train, plane, or car, I'd highly suggest getting lunch at Frenchie to Go. This was a 5 min walk from the Montorgueil district, where we stayed in a lovely place we booked on Airbnb. You could also go to their other location called Frenchie, which is much larger, and more fine in taste, if you get what I mean. If you'd like a hip, cool spot that the locals love to frequent, with ingredients that are fresh, made right in the kitchen with a menu they try to keep farm to table....then look no further. It truly reminded me of little hole in the wall spots that I use to eat at all the time in Charleston.

We ate there, not once, not twice but 3 times on our trip. It was that good. My husband had the pulled pork and said it was the best he had ever had. Tossed in their homemade sauces, with fresh ingredients and bread, what was not to love? I got the lobster roll which was toasted, and the bread was stuffed with lobster, a creamy cheese sauce and a splash of citrus and other flavors. I will say it again, the food was so good. We also tried different things each time and I'll suggest trying : the homemade granola for breakfast, the bacon breakfast muffin, fish and chips, ruben and their delicious donuts, brownie and wild strawberry muffin.

Lively music, food made with a passion for cooking + fresh ingredients...you can't go wrong. I highly recommend picking up his cookbook as well! Lets just say, I have a lot of recipes bookmarked!

 Gerelynn Trisl Photography

After lunch, I'd suggest heading to the Notre Dame or heading to the lock bridge and either looking at the love there over many years or adding your own lock! There is a sign that says to not throw your key into the river - simple solution, make a travel frame and add the key as a piece to remember your trip by. (I'll be posting how to make them, and what you should think of including soon.)

Once you're done, you should roam your way down to Ciel Patisserie, for an out of this world angel food cake! I've had many in my day, but none as fully, airy, and delicious as theirs. It is tiny, so try to get there early if you'd also like to sit down and have them serve you tea! The flavors that stood out to be were: Sakura (Yes, the actual flower), Yuzu - which is a Japanese lemon, it does not have the tartness of lemons I am use to, and it was actually rather sweet with a soft citrus taste, Fruit Rogue - it was a angel food cake soaked in a berry mixture, with currants, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, Vanilla was a bursting with vanilla beans and flavor, and last, but not least, Matcha. All are filled with a delicious cream and filling, whether that is yuzu lemon filling for the yuzu cake, or mixed berry filling for the fruit rogue. You get the point. They have more flavors, but these are the ones I truly, went back a second time for and it was worth it. They can be found at: 3 Rue Monge, 75005 Paris. Easy trip by metro as well!

If you aren't tired by this time I suggest a boat tour, or making your way to the Eiffel! We did a beautiful picnic and had pictures taken. This is the picnic basket we bought for the trip and it was perfect. I'll include the link for anyone interested. - Picnic basket

We did family photos with the amazing Gerelynn Trisl Photography and I have included some of them here. She is the reason I don't have many pictures from this trip, as she followed us around ALL day, and documented everything. She is an amazing person, and takes the most beautiful photos. She is heading state side for anyone interested in booking her!

I'd end the day here with a nice walk, or stroll from the Eiffel and all it's beauty as the sunsets and it lights up, giving off a really romantic vibe.

 Gerelynn Trisl Photography

Gerelynn Trisl Photography

Day: 2: I'd wake up and head straight for EXKI, which is a delicious organic place to eat, with everything made fresh, there that day or stroll down and find a cafe, eat a croissant and enjoy a nice latte with fruit! You cannot go wrong with Cafe Madame, which came as a recommendation from our Host and we truly enjoyed it!

After eating brunch, I'd make my way toward the Louvre. We saved this for the second day, as the first day was filled with lots of sight seeing, stopping by comic book stores, and food places so we wanted a bit of a slower day to relax and take the city in. No need to buy the tickets in advance on a Sunday. We went around 12pm and got in straight away and quickly acquired tickets. For those with children, you can stop by the information desk and receive a free stroller with your ticket. You only have to provide a form of identification. It made this mama happy, as I had been baby wearing my little one since day 1. We spent a good 3 1/2 hours there and still didn't even make it 25% of the way through, but it was worth what we saw and we will be back to attempt to finish it! The highlight for me, personally was seeing the mummy, the Egyptian artifacts, and mummified cats and animals!

Leaving, we decided to try Pierre Hermé. The macarons are to die for, and you'll soon figure out why. It was very different from Laduree. Pierre had very unique and out of this world flavors, that you'd have to see for yourself, and the chocolate....don't even get me started on how creamy it was, my taste buds died and went to heaven.

The macaron flavors we got were: Chocolate Passionfruit, Passionfruit Yogurt/Cream Cheese, Lime Yogurt/Cream Cheese, Rose Yogurt/Cream Cheese, Lemon, 70% Chocolate, Creme Brûlée, and Salted Caramel!

They were some of the best macarons I had ever tested. The rose and Salted Caramel, my husband and I weren't to fond of to say the least but everything else, did not disappoint! We also got to sample some of their chocolate and Chocolate with a passionfruit filling as a blast, even my daughter loved it! We also tried milk chocolate with a salted caramel filling and a few dark chocolates. Conclusion? I'll definitely be back.

And with that, we ended our day with some new comics we had acquired, a few polaroid pictures and getting food to go from Monthai Street Food, which was so good! Exhausted and defeated, we munched on our macarons, ate dinner, played with my little one, showered and hit the bed to catch our train back to Germany in the morning! It was an amazing trip. You don't have to do anything like my list, but for our family of 3, it was perfect for us! What do you have planned to see in Paris? Where are you going next?!

I'd love to hear some highlights of your trips and favorite things you've seen!

Rome - Part 2

Now, that we've went over the Roma Pass, you all should know how we made it to the Vatican + Coliseum and everywhere else. Train. It is super easy to ride the metro. Now, the Roma pass does not cover your ticket for the Vatican as it's pretty much considered it's own 'State' I'd guess, so you'll need to go online and get advance tickets or you could go with a tour for 50 euro. I don't recommend this and I'll tell you why in a moment. Here is a fun fact: things are super expensive in Rome because they pay 75% tax to the Vatican. Can you say, W O W?! (So the tour guide said anyway)

We viewed many churches while we wandered around Rome, but none took my breath away as much as going through The Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica! Now, we did not reserve tickets ahead of time as I had set up a tour through the host of our beautiful studio. I will not recommend the tour. It was about 50 euro, and it was packed with over 30+ other people, not terrible, but the tour guide talked too fast, didn't stop much to explain what was what, didn't give us enough time to look for ourselves and read things and on top of carrying a 20lb baby, that was a huge no! So, me being the rebel I am, I pretty much just ditched her and spent the time I needed reading things, and taking them truly in. It was absolutely beautiful and worth it, I regret nothing haha. The Sistine Chapel is a definite must see, though it's so crowded, I think it took away from the experience for me a bit. The paintings literally looked as if they were going to pop off the wall. Here comes an unpopular opinion: I don't think it's all it's cracked up to be, I honestly thought St. Peter's took the win and dashed away. St. Peter's almost brought tears to my eyes. It was beautiful, the way the light hit everything, seriously could have brought me to my knees...I even got to touch Holy Water! (No, Mom, I didn't burn ha, ha --inside joke--) I highly recommend not passing these up! 

We also hit the Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and many more (I have those photos, it wasn't awe inspiring to me, though the history is very interesting and still worth seeing! I did a romantic photoshoot for my friends there instead of take any actual pictures. Sorry!)

For all the foodies out there, I found so many shops that had truffle oil, delicious olive oil, cheese spreads and sets, chocolate spreads, teas, honey, limecello, pasta noodles ranging from flavored to different flours and the works. Lets say, we almost went over our weight limit for Ryanair because of all the goodies I decided to try to bring back. All in all, I'd do Rome again. Even after 6 wonderful days, there was still a lot I wanted to see! If you do visit, please just go explore! Get lost with a map, find their shopping district (which was awesome and had a MAC store, H&M along with much, much more awesome shopping) and just roam! You'll find many hidden gems, I promise, you won't regret it even with hurt ankles later.  I'm done rambling, now enjoy these photos!

Bucket List for 2014

 (photos taken by: Gerelynn Trisl Photography)

I'm sure this list will grow as the time goes on and I remember to place more things but for right now, this is our bucket list for 2014. I hope that we'll get to cross everything off! 4 years is a long time to be in Germany, but I want to make the most out of it every year. My wanderlust is itching to be set free from it's cage and I think I'll let it.

• Post a new blog post almost everyday.
• Bake something new once a week.
• Travel to 10 different countries
• Learn to speak 10 complete sentences in German.
• Read 10 new books.
• Try a different dishes from 10 different countries.
• Get back into exercising to get my RA under control.
• Go to a Star Wars convention
• Go to a Comic Con convention
• Go snowboarding
• Practice photography and take 1 photo a day.
• Throw 2 get togethers.
• Take a train somewhere.
• Visit 3 places while visiting The States
• Go to Ocktoberfest
• Go wine testing
• Visit 8 castles
• Start canning and making my own beef jerky
• Make 4 new friends

Let the new year roll in, our little family is ready with open arms!

Yes, we are a tad bit early but who wouldn't be excited?! 

What are some things you plan to do in 2014 and want to cross off your list?

A Chocolate Lover's Heaven

 I love Fall, and yeah, yeah..everyone says that, but I truly do. I feel anew, and since I've never seen or experienced a real Fall (Hey! I'm from South Carolina, it's warm almost all year!) the Fall I've seen here in Germany has taken my breath away. It's beautiful, the hills with colors bouncing from greens to reds and yellows...I feel like I haven't known what I've been missing.

Another thing I love about Fall? The typical, Halloween, apple cider, pumpkins, all the desserts and dinner ideas to come up with, bonfires, also last but not least hot chocolate. I still have yet to post the picture about our 2 trips to Heidelberg, the amazing castle and the things to do there but that will be another story, for another time. (Too many pictures, too much to do, my eyes are melting...JK! Haha, I'll do them soon, promise.) We traveled into town after viewing the castle and walking the yard, admiring the views and my heart came alive. I was like a kid in a candy store. I found it! I found chocolate heaven or something much, much better.

The Chocolate Company of Heidelberg (order here: chocolate heaven)that was what I found and I could not have been more ecstatic. It was an extremely cute store, where when you ordered they gave you your hotchocospoon and warm milk. They, of course had delicious chocolate cake and pastries. I must say, I was impatient to say the least but when I finally got to taste it, my taste buds were bursting.

One, having unique hot chocolate flavors is genius and two, the way that they paired them with dark, milk or white was beyond perfect. The different chocolates went so well with different things.

After leaving, I copied their website and went home. My husband and I decided to order some for Fall and well, who doesn't love hot chocolate and an excuse to indulge in lots of marshmallows?! Let me tell you what, you can order as well! They ship worldwide and they have MORE than just hotchocospoons - my chocolate lovers, they have chocolate bars with unique flavors, hotchoco fondue, hotchoco spreads, etc. The list keeps going, and my mouth keeps watering every single time I think about it.

This is not even my collection but it's a few that I truly love, the ones not pictured that we've recently ordered more of are: Brownie Walnut Vanilla, Caramel Vanilla Bourbon, and Cookie Coconut. I highly recommend checking them out when you can take a trip to Heidelberg, or to order online for those of you in The States who can't make it. No reason why you must miss out on all the fun!

This is how I spend my Fall days, with my daughter, reading her a book and sipping hot chocolate OR drinking hot chocolate cuddled up with my husband as our daughter sleeps right between us. It's the little things that count and it doesn't hurt to have a little hot chocolate to bring the evening together.

Now, to wait until my Hotchoco fondue gets here and I'll share. Maybe. Whether you're looking for a gift to a loved one,friend or just a treat for yourself, this stuff hits the spot.

What are your favorite things about Fall? Any Fall treats that are your must haves?

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall" -F. Scott Fitzgerald