My Europe Adventure

Well, I just got back from my trip to Europe a couple of days ago. I had my doubts about the trip before I left because I have not gone on this type of trip with my nanny family before. I thought it was just going to be a lot of work and I would not have time to enjoy my surroundings. Boy was I wrong.
I hardly felt like I was working the whole time! That kind of made me feel bad but what can I do. I sat by myself in a total different are of the plane. So I just kind of did whatever I wanted to do. Did not have to worry about watching Hunter. I sat by this older woman who did not speak a lick of English and I don’t speak any Italian. So it was pretty quite between us. But there was what looked like a group of high school aged boys coming back home that were not quite at all.

ROME: This was the first stop on my trip. Im glad we stayed here longer because it gave us a chance to get over jet lag.The hotel we stayed in in Rome was pretty darn fancy. I had my own little sleeping area and was glad for that. Rome was really amazing to see. Just for the fact that it’s so old. They have been trying to build a subway system there for years but every time they dig they find ruins and can't did anymore.There is so much history to see there. All the stuff you see you remember seeing in your history books while in school so that made it that much more exciting. We did go to a muse called, “Galleria Borghese” It was actually the Villa of the Borghese family. I would not have mind living there if I did not have to clean it and there was air conditioning. It really sank in here, in Rome, that I really was in Europe.We were here for just over 3 days.

FLORENCE: was fun because it reminded me a lot of Venice. Just without all the water. We had a tour guide walk us all over. She was excellent and somehow started talking about the church. Thats always scary but a good thing i guess. For lunch we ate at Napoleon’s sister’s house. It was gorgeous! The food was ok but that did not even matter cause of where we were eating. We also took a tour of a Jewish Temple, sense everyone I was with is Jewish. It’s so interesting and different to be around them cause we believe in something very opposite then they do. They do not believe that they killed Christ and that’s the opposite of what I believe. So I always feel kind of like im the bad guy thats blaming them when they talk about it. Someone in the group actually brought that up and my hart skipped a beat. They were talking about all the hard times and persecution they have gone through. Someone brought me into the conversation saying that me, being mormon understands this because we went through the same thing. The persecution and what not. It made me feel a lot better that I was looking less like the bag guy for believing what I do cause the mormons had to go through the same type thing.


POROFINO: Cute little fishing village. It looked liked it belonged in Disney Land. It was picture perfect. We just did some shopping for a couple of hours then headed back to the ship. The weather was fantastic and the water was such a bright blue. This is the first place we had to take a tender from the cruse ship to the dock. That was a wild boat ride. Whats weird is that i think i do better on small boats that make it a rough ride then big ships were you can feel the gentel rocking that eventually makes you dizzy and a little sick. Humm..

CORSICA: Is in France. Just in case you needed a brush up on your geography. There was nothing particularly amazing about this town. It’s part of the French Rivera. It’s the birth place of Napoleon. That was actually kind of funny. This town had his pictures everywhere! Statues in every store. It’s like the one thing this town has to make it stand out to tourism and they milk it for everything they got. We did go swimming at a topless beach. Its not like we looked for it but I’m pretty sure you won’t find one in France that’s not. That was way different then what I’m used to.haha. The water was amazing. Cristal clear, and the perfect temperature. I did not get attacked by any jelly fish or sharks so it made it even move wonderful..haha

MALLORCA & BARCELONA: This is Spain, just fyi. We did not do a lot in Mallorca. We did some shopping. But I really can’t afford the places they shop, so I do a lot of window shopping. We went to a food store that was really cool cause I recognized a lot of the things but everything was in Spanish. And I just enjoy shopping for food. Well, it was cool for me to see. Im not sure other poeple would be excited about it. Barcelona was one of my favorite places. I loved how they mix there History with so much modern stuff. I felt like I could maybe live there. And they speak spanish there and that reminded me of home. There is an artist/architect that’s lived there named Gaudi and his work was incredible. He designed random buildings around town and this amazing park. His buildings there were so cohesive with nature. The curves of his building and the colors. It was really neat. He also did a cathedral there that was like none I’ve ever seen. It kind of reminded me of the Wizard of Oz for some reason. Maybe it’s because it looks like it was melting. Gaudi was hit by a train and died before he was able to finish it. So they are still working on it today. It’s all being payed for by the local towns people and tourists who come and see it.

MONTI CARLO: Is in Monaco which is like the second smallest country in Europe. The smallest would be Lichtenstein and I have been there to prove it. This is the cleanest place I have ever been to in Europe. It was almost like being in a hospital. I think all the wealthy people in the world live here or vacation here. Everything is over the top fancy. I have never seen so many nice cars all at the same time in my life! I could not afford to do any shopping here but we did look around. We went inside this shopping mall with a grand marble staircase and chandeliers handing from the ceiling. Insane. We stopped by the famous casino and took some pictures. They filmed the last James Bond movie there and I’m sure many others have been.

AMSTERDAM: So this was a surprise trip for me. I was no a different flight coming home then my nanny family. I was supposed to switch plans in Amsterdam but my plane leaving France was late so I missed my connecting flight in Amsterdam. The next flight was not tell the next day. So I was all by myself in Amsterdam and I loved it! I was on my own schedule and could do whatever I wanted to do. So I took a bus to my hotel to get my room and to see what it looked like. I asked the girls at the front deck where I should go if I only have one night. They showed me where I should go and how to get there. I took the bus back to the airport so that I could get on a train to get into town. I was trying to figure out how to buy a train ticket at this machine when these two guys came up to me and asked if I spoke English. I said yes and we all got to talking and to make a long but amazing story short, I hung out with them all night long. It was the most amazing night ever! We did not do much but walk around, see the town, go out to dinner but it was still so much fun. I got back to my hotel around 2am. It was a grand 8 hours of my life.
I did finely make it back home after a canceled flight and switching airlines. I can’t say the same for my luggage. Half of it made it back with me and the other came 2 days later. It was a great trip and one I will remember forever. I will also never forget my one unexpected night in Amsterdam. A bad situation turned into a great adventure.

Pens and Needles

This is where George Washington did the crossing at the Delaware
Friday..Alana and I along with one of her nanny kids drove to Pennsylvania to visit some museums and the George Washington Crossing at the Delaware River. It was a really neat experience. Standing on the same ground where the first president of the United States had been standing (he has the fist..right?). I love learning about our history. In any way, shape, or form I love it! We took a tour and let me fell you something..I think that a tour guide makes al the difference in making it fun. Ours had done the tour one to many times. He was kind of dull and did not seem to have the passion in history to make it a fantastic tour. So the tour itself kind of felt like I was in school and there was going to be test after. But it was still amazing to be there and see everything.

This is the picture of them crossing the Delaware River

So after all his touring was over, we worked up quite an appetite so we drove about 9 miles to this town called New Hope. It was such a pretty drive. The whole time I kept thinking to myself how much my mom would love this area. It was green and the homes were beautiful. I’m taking a wild guess and am going to say that it was horse country cause they were everywhere. It was like looking through a magazine. We ended the day eating at this place called, “Cock n’ Bull” it was really yummo. I cant wait to have the chance to eat there again. It was a great day and another great experience to remember.

This is Georgies boat that he used to cross the Delaware River

My 4th of July weekend

So, It was my first holiday away from home. It went pretty darn good considering I was working. I spent the weekend at my nanny families beach house. That was kind of cool. So I woke up Friday morning at 7:30. The first thing I do every morning there is walk over to my window, pull the blinds up and open my window. In the morning it is so peaceful and serene. The sand has been washed clean of all the foot prints. The water is the prettiest color of pale blue, with light shimmer across the top from the sun. There’s a light blanket of mist floating everywhere and it makes you feel like you are in an enchanted land. So anyways..haha..as I was looking out the window taking everything in I saw a couple of dolphins swimming by. Not more than 100 yards from my window. It was the coolest thing ever!

This is the start of my 4th of July weekend. So I get dressed and after making the beds in the house and making sure it’s all picked up I head down to breakfast. They made French toast with is like one of my favorite breakfast foods ever! So my day is going really good. I have never eaten so much food in my life. Usually with my family we eat at like 2 or 3 and then you just eat the leftovers throughout the day, but not this family. Anyways, I clean up after that. For lunch they grilled hot dogs and hamburgers with the most delicious pickles in the world and coleslaw. Then I cleaned up after lunch. After lunch a bunch of us when down to the beach to take a dip in the big blue. I then watched a Christmas movie cause it was on tv. Why not ya know?

Ok, now its time for dinner. I was in charge of making the salad. So I made a salad that I made at my old work all the time with mango, strawberries, asparagus, and sliced almonds with a raspberry vin. It turned out fantastic which made me really happy. They grilled New York strip steak and shrimp(I ate it all, even the shrimp) baked sweet and russet potatoes and an array of different grilled veggies. The day was scrumptious to say the least. The best of the day was the end. We drove to the bay side of the island to watch the fireworks. I have never been to a show that they did in water. It was really neat to see that. There were hundreds of boats in the water waiting to see the fireworks. I was worried that there was going to be a traffic jam ! I left before so there very well could have been. Well.. this was my 4th of July holiday:)

New York Adventures

When I moved to the East coast my goal was to be in New York or as close it as I possibly could. So the first chance I was able to see it I was so ecstatic! On Saturday Jun 14th, my friend Alana and I made our way to the BIG APPLE! We had such an amazing time there. Wondering the streets, trying to figure out the subway system. Which I think is crazy! Im not sure how people understand what train goes where? Shopping in China town was..well.. im lost of words. So many “name brand” items I did not know what to do..but buy everything!! Haha. We saw the Empire State building and took a free ferry to Staten Island..manly so we could get good pictures of the Statue if liberty and such. We had lunch at a little place in Soho called, Soho grill (creative right?). It was pretty good food.

While we were eating dinner it stated pouring rain. Not little tiny rain drops or something, these were like the master of all rain drops!! Then the thunder started. I have never heard anything like this in my life. It seriously echoed through the streets. It was so loud. Right then and there I fell in love with thunder storms. Which if you know me is a pretty big thing cause I’m not a fan of them. Nor am I a fan of monsters and sleeping in the dark..but that’s a whole other topic for a different day. Oh yes, when we were at Ground Zero we ran into a group in missionaries. We stopped them and talked for a couple then asked to take there picture. It made me feel right at home in this busy chaotic city. When the day ended I had blisters the size of milk duds and my back and legs were killing me. But all in all it was a great trip that I will be doing again soon I’m sure.

A New Start

So, this is all new to me but I decided that I would give it I try. Thanks to the nudge of a sister-in-law. I’m glad she did. I have been curious about this whole blogging thing and with her help I’m doing it.

On May 29th I moved from my nice comfortable haven. A place where is was in my own routine everyday. It may not have been an exciting one , but it was comfortable. I would go to work, come home and chill with my niece Shandi and my nephew Shane tell my friend Joe was ready to play. Or I should say “hang out” for himJ We would rent movies and come up with some sort of new food dish. We are both pretty amazing cooks if I may say so. I had my family close by whenever I needed them.

Now I am living on the opposite side of the country, Princeton NJ. as a nanny. I am totally out of my comfort zone in every way possible but I am learning to love it out here. The area is sooo beautiful! Everywhere you look as green. But with green comes the bugs..that’s not fun. I have net some great people out here and I know will be amazing friends in the end. My nanny family is so nice in so many ways. But there are something’s I’m still trying to get used to with them. I think over time that I will love it even more here. So my end goal is to make this my second comfortable haven and make a new routine here. I believe I am about half way there now.