My Month in Europe: Lake Como

Lake Como, Italy

This is where our travels ended.

We were originally supposed to spend our last day in Europe in Cinque Terre, but it was a very rainy day and our instructor knew better than to attempt cobblestone streets and swimming in the Mediterranean on a sub-par day.

So, Lake Como it was, and Lake Como could not have been better. 

This day was bittersweet from the moment we woke up.

Everyone knew it.

The bus ride was full of jokes and laughter as usual, but there seemed to be this air of awareness over all of us that this was the last day we'd spend together traveling Europe.

But instead of getting all teary-eyed right now, let's talk about Lake Como, because it was remarkable!

We all took about an hour-long boat ride around Lake Como, but before that we naturally had to find a gelateria that was open early in the morning.
This particular gelateria had a balsamic-strawberry mascarpone gelato.
Let's just say that isn't something you can describe and effectively get the point across, so I'll just leave it to this:
It. Was. Heaven.

Our boat ride around the lake was beautiful.
We were able to drive past George Clooney's property, but we unfortunately didn't spot him or Amal (even though this was just two or three days after their wedding which shut down the entire city!).

After the boat ride we wandered around Lake Como for a bit and found a spot for lunch.
Now, I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of gnocchi, so I had yet to order it anywhere in Italy, but the place that we ate lunch had a Havarti Chickory Gnocchi that I had to try.
It did not disappoint!

It was so delicious and light, and to this day I still haven't had gnocchi anywhere else because I'm sure it won't be nearly as good!

After lunch we went back for a second round of gelato, and then just walked around the homes and piers.

Lake Como was the best way to end one amazing month. Italy, you're fantastic! #lakecomo #italy

We all kept remarking on how surreal it was that this was our last day in Europe, and that we'd soon be back in the United States with the memories we made and experiences we'd had.

When you spend a month traveling Europe with a group of people you've just met, you create a truly unique bond.

Whenever I think of the month I spent in Europe I think about more than just the places I went to and the things I saw.
I think about the friends I made, the people I met, and everything that I learned about myself as well.

So after our beautiful day in Lake Como, we took the bus back to Milan, where a group of us just couldn't resist riding the metro back to the heart of the city for yes, you guessed it, a few last scoops of gelato.

We walked around the shops and Duomo, and stumbled upon a street performer.
All of us in the group I was with looked at each other and just knew that we were all feeling the same thing.
It was one of those indescribably palpable moments - like a scene from a movie, which resulted in teary eyes from almost all of us.

I took a video, and I'm putting it below, although I'm fully aware it won't even begin to translate what that moment felt like! 

At that point we went back to the hotel to get some sleep before our early (and long) venture back to the United States!

We were exhausted, excited, sad, and already nostalgic, but most importantly, we were changed for the better as a result of every minute we had spent in Europe.
We had made it home - until next time :)

Tomorrow morning I board a plane back home, but a part of my heart will forever be in each part of Europe I have visited over the last month of my life. I have seen rolling hills and sheep in Ireland, walked the streets and fell in love with London, spent half an hour in awe of Van Gosh's Starry Night at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, came closer to God while hiking the Alps in Switzerland, was kissed twice on the hand by a completely wasted man in the famous beer hall of Germany, sampled every type of balsamic vinegar and olive oil in Austria, ate more gelato than I should have in Milan, and got lost in the squares of Venice. I have developed relationships with the people I have traveled with as well as the people I have met along the way. I have gained a deep appreciation for all cultures and the lives each individual leads, and most importantly, I have learned more about myself than I ever would have anticipated upon boarding an airplane from New York to Dublin. This has been the most spectacular month of my life, and is one I am not soon to forget. 

My Month in Europe: Milan

We started off our day in Milan with a business visit to the AC Milan soccer stadium, which was pretty impressive despite not being a big soccer fan. 

^That's the face of a girl who's spent nearly a month traveling Europe and is so brilliantly exhausted.

Afterwards, we headed downtown near the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping center for lunch and gelato!

We went to the most amazing gelato place, called Cioccolati Italiani!

(Side note - I just googled it for the correct spelling and the pictures made me incredibly nostalgic.)

This gelateria was incredible. 

They have chocolate fountains with three different types of chocolate, and thee best raspberry gelato my mouth has ever tasted and probably ever will!

With one bite of Italian Gelato my life was forever changed. I may have purchased gelato here three times today... #nevergoingbacktoamerica #italy #milan #gelato

Okay but really, I had 16 scoops of gelato in my 3 days spent in Italy.

I don't regret it.

After lunch and gelato (I swear, my memories of Italy revolve around when and where we got gelato) we had a business visit with World Expo 2015.
We had a beautiful view of Milan from their building and it was a really interesting visit!
It was crazy to think then that the event was still a year away, and now, as I'm writing this, we're almost a year beyond it.
Proof that I'm the most diligent blogger ever :)

From there we headed back to the main shopping area and toured the Duomo.
The Duomo is the third largest cathedral in the world, and I absolutely loved it.
It was the millionth cathedral we had seen in Europe, but easily the most impressive.

Visited the Duomo Cathedral today in Milan!

We spent the evening shopping (well, mainly window shopping), eating pizza and, you guessed it, gelato!

I bought a pair of jeans at Zara, drooled over purses at Prada, and savored every spoonful of Cioccolati Italiani gelato :)

It was a great Milano day.

My Month in Europe: From Munich to Milan

This day was our travel day to Milan!

You guys, this drive was honestly the most beautifully stunning drive of my life!

We went from Munich, Germany --> Rattenberg, Austria --> Lake Garda, Italy --> Milan, Italy.

We saw and drove through the Austrian Alps and then stopped for a while in the little Austrian town of Rattenberg. I immediately fell in love and Austria definitely made my list of places to go back to! 

Quick stop in Austria on our way from Munich to Milan! I will definitely be back to spend more time here one day. #austria

Rattenberg was so quaint and cute with the all of these amazing little shops.
One of the shops had just about every type of balsamic vinegar and olive oil you could imagine (among many other products) and I spent way too much time in there taste-testing them all!

I bought my mom blutorange (blood orange) balsamic vinegar and basilikum (basil) olive oil in these cute glass cork-top stackable jars.

I only spent a couple of hours in this charming Austrian town, but I will definitely be back to explore more of that beautiful country! #tbt #austria

I can't wait to go back to Austria some day, particularly Vienna.

From Rattenberg we traveled on to Italy.
As mentioned previously, this drive was absolutely stunning.
I was beyond exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I wouldn't let myself because the drive was just perfect.

After traveling through the Austiran Alps we started to get into the rolling hills and vineyards in Italy.
It was a foggy day with some light rain, and I'm certain that Italy could not have been more beautiful than it was on our drive that day!

For dinner that night we stopped in Lake Garda, Italy.
Unfortunately, it was pouring rain and our choice of restaurant for dinner was rather unimpressive, but we did get our first taste of gelato, and it was divine.

Once we got to Milan and checked into our hotel, Hotel Raffaello, Katy and I went just across the street and had our first Italian pizza, and it lived up to all of our expectations!

Actually, it far exceeded our expectations, and we ended up going back the next night to get the same pizza for a midnight snack :)

We were off to a great start in Italy!

Christmas in Rexburg

This year we were due for Christmas in Rexburg with my sister Jen and her family!

It snowed big, beautiful, fluffy snowflakes all day on Christmas Eve.

We spent good quality time together, and the anxiousness for Christmas morning was palpable.

Christmas Day was simply perfect.

We opened presents, played games, colored, ate delicious food, and went to bed early.

I had the best time with my niece Sophie during this trip.
She's really growing up and it was so much fun to do puzzles with her, color with her, play games, and do endless crafts with her!

I cherish trips like this when I get to spend quality time with those nieces and nephews of mine.

The next day we decided to brave the frigid Rexburg temperatures and go sledding!

My girls and I were all matching! :)

Sophie and I had a snowball fight, Sam and I tried desperately to make a snowman with the dry snow, and we did quite a bit of sledding!

I haven't played in the snow like that since our Minnesota and Illinois days, and it was so much fun!

It was a simple, perfect, and spectacular Christmas.

Las Vegas Bowl

My dad and I were casually discussing the BYU bowl game over Thanksgiving and talking about whether or not they would end up in Vegas.

We were 99% positive they would, and decided that if they ended up playing Utah we had to be there.

My oldest sister was already going to be there with her family for a vacation, so before Utah was announced as BYU's opponent we got tickets.

Good thing we did because tickets sold out pretty dang quick once Utah was announced.

We got in the night of the pep rally held down on Fremont Street.

For this being my first time to Vegas, I was less than impressed, and couldn't wrap my head around the appeal of Vegas from what I had seen.

                                 

                                  

The pep rally was fun, but we were hungry and anxious to get to dinner!

We ended up at the Wynn and had the most delicious dinner!

                                 

                                  

We ordered three mini desserts and it was brought out on this cute little tray with orange flavored cotton candy.

The desserts were warm cookies and mint milk, creme brulee, and a decadent orange mousse cake.

The entire dinner was absolutely incredible, but the desserts were definitely the icing on the cake!

I've never tasted cotton candy like that in my life.

Not only was it orange flavored, but you couldn't taste the chunky sugar at all.

We even asked if we could take it to go because we were going to be meeting up with my niece and nephew, but the waiter told us it would disintegrate by then anyway!

                                 

                                  

We walked around the displays and shops (PRADA, anyone?!) at the Wynn and then headed to our hotel for bed.

I woke up the next morning so nervous, and let's just say the day didn't start off too great.

My mom had a migraine and stayed at the hotel, the parking situation at the stadium was an absolute nightmare, we barely made it for kickoff, and then within the first seven minutes of play time Utah was up by five touchdowns.

It was rough.

BUT...

It turned into a game and I could not have been happier with how BYU played from then on out!

Utah fans got quiet real quick and (in my humble opinion) if BYU would have gone for an onside kick in the fourth I think they easily could have tied it.

After the kind of start that they had, I was proud and happy in the end!

The entertainment was great, as to be expected from Vegas.

Before kickoff, Nellis AFB did a flyover and it was deafeningly spectacular! 

That's one way to get a crowd riled up for a game!

They also had some of the cast from Cirque du Soleil perform during halftime.

After the game we met up with my sister and her family and headed out to explore some of the resorts. 

                                 

                                  

That was the Vegas I expected!

All of those hotels are incredible.

We ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and then headed over to the High Roller to see Vegas from the sky!

                                  

Vegas redeemed itself a little bit, although I do have to say that I swear I just saw dollar signs everywhere I went.

That entire city just screams money.

The next morning before leaving to head back home we went to brunch at a french restaurant in the Venetian (I know, it didn't make sense to me either ;) ).

It was so good and made me seriously miss the food in France.

We walked around some shops, including Louboutin...

                                 

...had some gelato (nothing like the real stuff!), and then headed home.

It was a great quick trip with some of my favorite people!

Thanksgiving in Park City

Thanksgiving this year was particularly perfect!

My parents rented a house in Park City for all of us to stay for the long weekend.

I kicked off the weekend by taking and conquering the GRE, scoring one point above my goal.

I was so relieved and so drained from months of constant stress and non-stop school, work, and studying, that I quickly found a couch and a cute niece and nephew to crash with for a while.

Thanksgiving day was great!
We had my grandparents up to the house to join us for dinner.
As usual, my mom put on an incredible feast!

The rest of the weekend was filled with game playing, coloring (I haven't colored in ages!), ice skating, hot tubbing, and really great company.

It was such a picturesque weekend, and it was so hard to leave when it was over.

It was the perfect getaway and perfect Thanksgiving with my favorite people.