Back in the Swing of Things…
Home sweet home! Well, that’s not my home in the picture above. Nope, that’s Paris. But, I am home in Austin.
Every time I get home from a long trip overseas, I always laugh at the small things that make me feel at home. This time it was normal sized toilets, unlimited data on my phone, and the warm weather.
The past two mornings I have woken up bright and early because of jet lag, so I unpacked, got things in order, and did a little bit of spring cleaning.
Here are a few pics from the trip…
The second day I was in Scotland, my parents and I set off on a little road trip. We drove from Aberdeen, across to the west coast where we would catch a ferry to Belfast, Ireland. This is a pic of the cute little inn we stayed at the night before the ferry. The owner was so nice… he stayed up late to let us into our room and even packed up our breakfast in a cooler since we would be leaving too early to enjoy it freshly made. It was the perfect little place to stay on the Scottish coast… too bad we were only there for a few hours.
After Belfast, we made our way to Dublin where we stayed at Number 31. This is the garden/courtyard area separating the main house and the rooms. Dublin was an exciting place to visit… even moreso the weekend we were there because there was the big Ireland vs. Scotland rugby game taking place. We felt like we were back in Scotland seeing all the kilts.
Mama and I ended the road trip in Edinburgh where we stayed at Hotel Missoni (definitely our fave of the trip). One night on our walk back to the hotel, I got a chance to shoot some pictures of Edinburgh’s amazing architecture. The city is full of old buildings like this one that become mysterious and almost magical in the lights at night.
Before I came home, my parents and I spent a few days in Paris. We took advantage of the beautiful weather our first day there and walked to dinner, passing most of the major sights. Doesn’t the Louvre look beautiful lit up at night?
But, my favorite thing about Paris is not the Louvre or even (dare I say it?!) Pierre Herme macarons. Nope. My favorite thing about Paris is the street cafes. They are everywhere, inviting you to just sit on the sidewalk and sip a coffee or grab a meal. I love that all the seats are facing out towards the street, not even trying to hide the fact that the purpose is people watching. Even if you are there with someone else, you are both facing outwards to just watch. I think that’s such a peaceful thing to be able to sit down to a meal with someone and every now and then just drift off as you watch the people passing by. Oh, how I wish I could just walk down the block to a cafe and sip a coffee and just watch.
And, of course, you can’t go to Paris without a picture or two of the Eiffel Tower. I don’t know why, but I love the misty haze that was settled over Paris the day we walked past the Eiffel Tower… it’s adds a bit of mysteriousness and charm.
I had a wonderful time exploring with my parents… thanks mama and dad for the journeys!
Stay tuned for some talk about the food we ate along the way.
