Bipartisan European Adventure

soon we are about to embark 

on 

a 

bipartisan european adventure

(because my dad and step mom are joining us

i titled it 

a play off my maiden name 

and 

my married name

besides we all know you have to have a good hashtag)

here's a brief synopsis of our trip

21 days

most on the road

traveling from venice

to

munich

to 

prague

to 

brussels

to 

london

to 

normandy

to

paris

to geneva

back to italy

then 

a one day laundry day

back on a train

to rome

for more travel

all with a toddler

(whose potty training/trained gasp!)

it's the last hurrah to get everything knocked off our bucket list before we move back to the states

i've planned it all

i have an itinerary

activities planned almost to the minute

after our trip

i will post all my tips

our full itinerary 

(i am not posting now because it includes dates....gotta be safe ya know!)

it will be fun

it will be trip of a lifetime!

for now i leave you with 

packing tips

because we won't be in one place longer than three days

i am packing in ziplock bags

it's easier to pull out one bag then dump out all the clothes looking for something

for the toddler

i did one outfit in a bag

socks, outfit, panties

for the adults

i bagged by item

ex socks in one bag

underwear in one bag

shirts in bags

(i know this isn't a fully packed suitcase. 

eventually it was fully packed)

you get the idea

here's to making memories

and seriously

i may put this project on my resume....

love love from aviano!

he found a wine he likes!!!!

it only took three and a half years

but

my beer only husband

finally 

found a wine he likes

and 

we found a beautiful vineyard to explore as well
our quest for this vineyard 
all started after we spotted a
50 euro
bottle of wine
at our local wine bar
why on earth was this wine 50 euro??
(note to readers, we are cheap winos
and
only spend avg 6-10 euro a bottle)
we saw the vineyard
on the label
google mapped it
realized it was only a couple of hours away
and
decided
to drive there
to try it
in 
hopes it would be cheaper there
then 
at the wine bar

enter

{santa sofia}

the drive up was gorgeous

 at the end of this tree lined road
sat the vineyard
(this picture doesn't do it justice)
the winery was founded in
1811
Giancarlo Begnoni
the head of the vineyard

was there when we came
and 
he provided us a wonderful tasting experience
without even setting up an appointment!
(perks of going mid week)
he gave us a brief history about the wine he "made"


and 
friends it is worth every penny!
it has only been made
seventeen times
in 
fifty years!
we even got to see the historical cellars
the oldest cellar
dates back to the 11th century!

it is dedicated 
to 
Santa Sofia
the newest cellars

were built in the 18th century
the tour was delightful
very informative

and the grounds were simply gorgeous

i apologize
i wish i had more
and
better pictures
but 
we had a two year old with us
and 
between 
wine tasting
chasing a two year old
and 
listening to the wealth of information from Giancarlo
(whom speaks mainly italian and i speak mainly english)
my photo opportunities were limited
but 
aviano folks 
take my word
drive the two hours 
out towards verona
and 
see this beautiful vineyard
and taste
the wine
it's extremely pleasing to the pallet
(do i sound like a wino yet)
 my beer loving husband
finally bought a case of wine

he calls
"all his"

love love
from 
aviano

the fear of color

before aviano

before a toddler

i was a professional

i wore makeup daily

rewind a few years 

prior

to 

"professional"

and 

i was a college student

who lived with a girl

who 

LOVED 

makeup 

and was GOOD at it

lucky me!

she did my make up for EVERYTHING

even my wedding!!

while i never 

loved makeup

i did enjoy it

and 

wasn't scared per say to wear it

then aviano happened

and

lack of conveniences

mixed with a toddler

made for a 

bad bad bad 

makeup situation

let me paint you a picture

first aviano's bx

carries limited amount of makeup

there's

clinique, estee lauder, lancome

and 

your main drugstore brands

covergirl, almay, revlon, maybelline, and loreal

(no neutrogena which prior to aviano is what i wore)

 and 

there are very rarely any reps to help you color match 

at 

the higher end makeup counters

so options are

the bx

a sephora 30 minutes away

or 

online

but 

when you have a two year old in tow

you don't dare walk into to sephora

trust me i have

it's a disaster!

so

i mainly dealt with the bx selection

still

with a two year old in tow

which means very very little time to look

second

time to apply makeup 

changed drastically

after having a child

(mom's you know what i am talking about)

given the circumstances

and 

the fact i wasn't a professional anymore

and 

didn't have a true need to wear makeup daily

my makeup situation

was 

well honestly

very sad.....

enter

morgan

from 

{face on face off}

 

 

  isn't she adorable!!

and

she's an okie!

not just any okie 

but

she's an okie 

that through multiple people

knows me

and 

my family 

she was one of the

"lucky" 

ones to be transplanted to aviano

and 

she is a licensed make up artist!!!

i proposed 

because i knew my sad makeup situation

and 

was kinda sacred to buy the wrong color

that we do 

a bx make up makeover

(thinking this professional make up artist would LAUGH in my face)

she agreed!!! 

and it made shopping so much easier

i took care of the kid

she grabbed a few colors

asked what i liked and then we checked out

went back to her place

and 

she demonstrated on half my face how to apply

then 

let me apply

but i am getting ahead of myself

so 

first here are the contents of my make up bag before our shopping spree

 

i know 

it's sad

AND 

the foundation bottle is empty

the fact is 

i had not bought any makeup 

since christmas 2013.

the lipstick was from christmas party 2011

the rest of the makeup 

well 

i really don't want to date it....

so

morgan had her hands full

or 

a blank slate

however you want to look at it

she asked me

"what look do you want to go with"

i said

"easy" 

haha

but after 3 minutes with my wonderfully energetic daughter 

she understood!

we grabbed some more foundation

then headed to the drug store side

after asking my budget

she started to grab

she would bring two or three colors 

of one product 

such as eye makeup 

to me 

while i was entertaining my tot

and 

she would explain why she picked each one

then

i made the decision which to keep

or 

to keep them all

we left with my make up bag filled with these wonderful products!

 it is exactly what i need 

to have a 

day look

and a 

night look

that i can transition to easily

and quickly

and it's a wonderful foundation

for me to start building back my inventory

when we get back to the states

and

i have more choices

the best part though

was having her show me

how to put on the make up

while it sounds silly

shouldn't i 

a thirty year old woman

know how to put on makeup?

yes

i do

know the basics

but

despite the lessons on pinterest

i wanted to know a few tricks/tips/etc

and she walked me through everything

even while my toddler was tormenting her house and her cute dog blondie

(again, morgan, i apologize for that!) 

so without further adieu

a before and after pic

 

i can not tell you how the couple of hours spent with her

boosted my confidence in trying new colors

(like coral on the lips or gold on the eyes)

and 

gave me confidence in application techniques in general

knowing i will reenter the professional world soon

i feel that i will go with a fresh look

and

one that i can manage 

every day!

in fact i was able to put on make up today and feel comforatable with it!

aviano folks take advantage of having her here!!!

even if you don't have a special event to go to

she can teach you SO much!!

 

 

and hurlburt field folks...

you are lucky to get her! 

thank you morgan!!!

love love from aviano! 

 

a view only God could design

We decided to get away to Cinque Terre this past break

many speak of the beauty of cinque terre

but 

until you see it 

you really don't understand 

how beautiful it really is

cinque terre is a group of five cities

along 

the italian rivera 

the cities are

Monterossor al Mare

Vernazza

Cornigilia

Manarola

and

Riomaggiore 

We stayed at Riomaggiore

 at

{Locanda Del Sole} 

the best thing about this hotel 

is 

FREE SECURE PARKING!!

the hike back from the shore to the hotel

made for a wonderful workout 

Upon check-in

we learned that two of the major hiking paths

via dell amore

and 

the path from manarola to vernazza

were closed

because of mud slides

so

we took the boat

from riomaggiore 

coast at riomaggorie

to

monterossor al mare

to enjoy the view of the coast

and

of course let the little one enjoy the boat

***travel tip***

if you want to go primarily for the beach

stay at monterossor 

at monterossor we took the train to vernazza

when in vernazza stop here 

 

{gelateria vernazza} 

was amazing

and 

had an abundance of flavors 

next 

we hiked 

oh boy did we hike

from 

vernazza to corniglia

this was a 4 km hike

with 36 pounds of toddler 

on my husbands back

 he's a trooper

at the halfway point 

we caught a breeze

and a nice little pit stop 

created by a local 

  

(there were quite a few four legged kiddos on the hike!)

but without the hike

we would have never seen these views

 

 once we reached corniligia 

we took the train

to manarola

 

 where i got to tote 36 pounds of pure cuteness

outside manarola 

about 30 minutes uphill

in groppo 

is the

{wine co-op}

you can buy all your wine here!!

cinque terre is known for 

sciacchetra

a very sweet white wine

it will run about 30-40 euro a bottle

they have other whites and reds 

that are in the 6-15 euro range as well

after manarola 

we headed back to 

riomaggiore

to enjoy a wonderful dinner

where i enjoyed

the traditional

trofie al pesto

it was delicious!

then the next day we headed to 

carrara 

to see the marble quaries that michelangelo used!

but that will have to wait!

until next time

love love 

from aviano

hurry up hurry up hurry up and WAIT

well

i thought I would be updating y'all in june

but

we got orders!!! 

 {pic credit plus a great article!}

ken will be making his way to 

greenland

come early next year

since this is a remote

meaning he will be going alone

to sit on the big ol' ice cube

emerson and i

well

we wait

until 

approximately 120 days from our deros

(ie sometime between august and september)

to find where we are going

hurry up 

hurry up

hurry up 

and 

wait......

so while we wait

i googled some fun facts about greenland

the average daily tempature

averages

−8 to 7 °C (18 to 45 °F)

brrrrr

that is where i stopped

 again 

brrrrr

love love 

from aviano

 

milano in a day

this past easter weekend we went to milan!

i was so excited because it was one city in italy 

i didn't see twelve years ago when i visited as a high school senior 

so

is it possible to go to milan in one day?

YES

but i highly recommend more than one

because 

let's be honest

you need at least a day to shop

we took the train to milan

it's an easy train ride from aviano 

and the most gorgeous site welcomes you when you get off the train

the train station itself!

it is gorgeous

{picture credit: blog eurorail}

the prettiest train station i've been in so far!

when you exited the train station 

another gorgeous site 

welcomes you

the duomo

the duomo is a key building in milan
it is the fifth largest duomo's in europe
and 
the seat to the archbishop of Milan

 i could write a short paper on the importance of it 

but 

i encourage you to 

{click here} 

and 

{here} 

but know this

do not miss it!

go inside because inside you will find

 some of the prettiest stain glass i've ever seen

it is at moments like this that i wish i was a better photographer

and  

 

another look

but i can not take pictures

so to tease you more

  {picture credit: the roaming lama}

**travel tip: while entering the duomo is free

 it cost two euro to take pictures inside the duomo! 

you pay at the booth that greets you when entering**

next to the duomo is the infamous 

{galleria vittorio emanuale II}

aka "the mall" 

where prada and louis are neighbors

and

swarovski lives across the street

it really is a wonderful world

while in milan 

you must see 

leonardo da vinchi's 

"last supper"

the "last supper" is hidden inside

the ordinary looking church 

in the

refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie 

i was expecting an extremely small painting

similar to the mona lisa

but

"the last supper"

does not disappoint

it is an extremely large painting

and 

while the tour is brief
(you only get 15 minutes to look at the painting, 

seriously only 15, 

they will kick you out)

the painting is stunning

 {picture credit}

and 

don't forget to take in

Giovanni Donato da Montorfano 

fresco

"The Crucifixion"

{picture credit}

more information about "the last supper" can be found

{here}

finally we stopped at 

{castello sforzesco}

{picture credit-mighty mac}

the castle is extremely impressive

it is almost all intact

and

covers a mass amount of ground

by the time we arrived at the castle

we had a very tired toddler

so we 

didn't venture on the tour

(again why you should do milan in two days not one) 

other highlights of milan

chocolate!!!! 

Monte Bloc Gourmet writes a great blog piece about chocolate in milan

read it 

{here} 

and of course buy some chocolate!!

throughout milan there were wonderful statues and art pieces

below are a few we found

disclaimer:

most of the following pictures are straight from my iphone 

so i apologize for quality

and

since i was totting a toddler i only saw bits and pieces

in between goldfish and juice boxes 

i know very little about what i saw

except it was appeasing to the eye

and finally

the coolest way to order at a mcdonalds yet

 we had never seen something like this before

call us sheltered

but we were thoroughly entertained

by

such technology

milan was doable in a day 

from 

aviano

however

i recommend

two days

especially if you have a kiddo in tow!

it is a gorgeous city

and

a perfect combination of

art, history, and modern

love love 

from aviano