Europe Extraveganza! Florence edition

Florence is the most beautiful and charming city I have ever been too. Learning about this hiand seeing the art and architecture story of this city really touched me and made me fall in love with this city. And the food!!! Lordt!! The food was amazing. Pasta, pizza and sea food!! And the gelato? I’ve never tasted anything like it. Our host was amazing and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of crepes and coffee on her balcony. I definitely have to visit Florence again. I hope these photos give you a little taste of Florence and you get to visit this amazing city. 

View alongside Arno River

Arno River and view of Florence

Ruth and I biking alongside Arno River

Piazza Della Repubblica

Piazza Della Repubblica

Church and Museum of Orsanmichael

Church and Museum of Orsanmichele

Italian wine is a must

Cheers!!

Lovely dinner in Florence

Galleria dell’Accademia

Street art replica of “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer

Gelato!!!

Ruth and I outside of Santa Maria Novella

Santa Maria Novella

Palazzo Strozzi

Palazzo Strozzi

Calzone!!

Basilica di San Lorenzo

Basilica di San Lorenzo

Cathedrals di Santa Maria del Flore (Florence Cathedral)

Florence Cathedral

Florence Cathedral

Galleria dell’Accademia

Ponte Vecchio

More Pasta!!!

More Gelato!!

Europe Extravaganza: Barcelona Edition

Next stop was Barcelona, Spain. It was my first time visiting Barcelona and although it is a popular European city, I didn’t know what to expect. I must say I was blown away. This city is gorgeous! This history, architecture, food and weather were fabulous! We had the privilege of going on two walking tours during our stay. I learned so much about the history and architecture of the city and it is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been.  

The Gothic Quarter

Piccasso in Barcelona

King Martin’s Watchtower

King Martin’s Watchtower

Barcelona Cathedral

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The Gothic Quarter

The Gothic Quarter

The Gothic Quarter

Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona

The Gothic Quarter

Sculture dedicated to the Castellers at the Plaza Saint Miguel

Santa Maria Del Mar

El Born District

El Born District

Palau de la Musica Catalana designed by Lluis Domenech. Moderisme Style

Mosaic on Palau de la Musica Catalana

Tiles designed by Antoni Gaudi

Street Bench Designed by Gaudi

Casa Amatiler designed by Joseph Puig. Modernisme Style

Casa Batilo- Designed by Antoni Gaudi and located on the Passeig De Garcia. Modernisme Style

Casa Mila (La Pedrera) designed by Antoni Gaudi. Modernisme Style

Sagrada Familia

Ruth and I in front of Sagrada Familia

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The Beach

 

Europe Extraveganza: Paris edition

As you know, my best friend and I took a trip to Europe to celebrate our 30th birthday. We visited Paris, Barcelona, Florence and London. I am just now getting a chance to post pictures for you as when I got back, I started a new job and life happened. But I did not forget about you. Overall the trip was purely amazing!! It was great to be able to see 4 wonderful cities in 10 days. Although I was exhausted by the end, it was an energizing experience and I can’t wait for my next Europe excursion. I will post pictures from each city starting with Paris. The City of Lights has so much history and it was amazing to be able to see so much in so little time. The tour guide we had was great and really dove into the history and culture of the city. You definitely need to spend a week in Paris alone to even scratch the surface but we did our best. 

Stairs leading to Sacre-Coeur Basilica

Street Art

 

View of Paris atop the hill at Sacre-Coeur

 

Sacre-Coeur Basilica

Moulin Rouge

Place de Saint Michel

Cathedral de Notre Dame

Pont Neuf

Statue o King Henry IV of France. “The Good King”

Musee du Louvre

 

Musee du Louvre

Arc de Triomphe de Carrousel

Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden)

Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garde) headed toward Place de la Concorde

La Seine

 

Ruth and Notre Dame Cathedral

Saint Therese (inside Notre Dame Catherdral

Saint Joan of Arc (inside Notre Dame Cathedral)

Our Lady of Guadelupe

Travel Beauty Budget Tip

I will be the first to tell you that I am usually on the budget struggle bus. I will be the first person to spend $30 on a Dior lipstick (more than once). But when it came to planning and preparing for this trip to Europe, I had to figure out how I could best step off that 8 hour flight feeling and looking so fresh and so clean and not break the bank. And it hit me one day when I was cleaning my apartment and I discovered a bag full of samples from old Birchboxes. Samples! I need a bunch of samples. What a great way to 1) consolidate my beauty products, 2) have everything I need on the plane and 3) get through TSA without getting anything tossed. I also wanted to avoid that wallet trap in line at Sephora. You know they put all the travel size products in the front so while you are waiting in line, you can tack on another $30 to your total. Sephora wasn’t going to bambozzle me. 

Now I only had a few samples that would be useful on my trip so I decided to go to Sephora, Nordstrom and Lush to pick up a couple samples of various products. I also asked for a few empty containers to fill with products that I already had at home.

  
These samples are perfect for my long 8 hour flight. I have face wash, moisturizing cream for my body and face (can’t be ashy), tinted moisturizer for when I land and eye cream. I labeled the samples using colored stickers that I had left over. I am all set! 

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to survive a long flight and save some $$$$. 

I will be sharing how I am packing for this trip and what I am taking in my carry on. Stay tuned! 

Do you know what today is?

Its not my anniversary…BUT today marks exactly 30 days from my trip to Europe!!! YAAAYYYYY! I cannot even explain with words how excited I am for this trip. I am literally so excited I have already started packing my suitcase. This trip is EVERYTHING. My bff Ruth and I have solidified all our plans, from flights, lodging, tours, and shopping. We are set! In addition, I have been watching all the YouTube videos on traveling tips and travel beauty essentials that will have be getting off the plan in paris looking fresh and fabulous. SN: I will be sharing my new found knowledge in the days leading up to the trip as well.

Now the main point of this post is not to brag about how amaze-balls this trip is going to be but to share with you how we are counting down to May 1. We decided to partake in the Whole 30 diet in the 30 days leading up to our departure. Now the abridged version of the plan is super duper strict Paleo (no sugar, grains, dairy and legumes). Some of you may remember that I embarked on the Paleo diet due to lupus and the fact that the Paleo diet is great for those with auto-immune diseases. It was great for a while and I really saw a difference in the way I felt. But then at some point, bread came back into my life and it was down hill ever since. I am hoping that by participating in the Whole 30, I will reset my system, improve my health and fitness, and be able to continue with the Paleo diet after the trip (grant it after eating all the pizza, baguettes and gelato in Europe I may have to do another 30 days of Whole 30 but I think it will be worth it).

I will be sharing recipes, tips, and observations in the 30 days and hopefully some encouragement as well for those of you who want to try the Whole 30 in the future or who are currently participating. And since today was day 1, my first observation is that cutting out sugar cold turkey sucks sooooooooooo bad. Especially after lunch. Maybe it was a little more difficult for me because I was eating whatever I wanted this past week (literally all the Reeses and I love me some Reeses). I have truly realized that what they say about sugar is true…its like a drug to your system. I was literally going through a chocolate junkie withdrawal. But I made it through day 1 without a slip #winning.

I pray that the Lord will keep me strong and keep the devil at bay when he puts chocolate in my face and beacons me to partake. #jesusbeafence