Pro Bowl Fun in the Sun

Since I work Super Bowl, I typically don't have the opportunity to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of our all-star event - the Pro Bowl.  This year, it happened to be in Arizona instead of Hawaii so I was able to enjoy it in person along with my parents.  They spent about a week with me out in Phoenix before the Super Bowl craziness really got started. They made the most of their time having fun in the sun, touring a church and historic house nearby, and catching some movies at the local theater.

On game day, they were located in the Loft section of the stadium.  The seats were awesome!  And complete with food and drinks, too.  Fortunately, I was able to visit with them for a good bit of time there.

When I wasn't visiting with them, I was overseeing one of the credential conflict resolution centers on the opposite endzone of the stadium.  It actually wasn't a terrible gig as there weren't many issues and I had a great view of the huge video board.

View from the Conflict Resolution Desk I worked during the game.

Overall, the game wasn't super exciting.  The mascots proved entertaining though.  They were quite a rowdy bunch this year!  And it was neat to see a cheerleader from each team at the event as well!

I am glad that I was able to invite my parents out for a week of Pro Bowl fun in the sun even though I was stuck in the office most of the time!

Andrea :)

Me and My Parents Return to London

We have finally made it to the last leg of our whirlwind adventure!!  Please check the beginning in London, the middle in Paris, and the (almost) end in Rome.

I left off with mom and dad anxiously awaiting my return from the Spanish Steps so we could head out to the airport.  Needless to say, we made it there with plenty of time!  This was our first Ryan Air flight of the trip...and it proved quite interesting!  They have a strict one bag only carry on policy.  It was actually pretty amazing that we were nearing the end of our trip and could still fit everything into our three backgrounds.  I was definitely impressed with our effort!  

One of my favorite pictures from the trip is one that we took after we grabbed our seats for the flight.  We were worn out, but still having a great time.  We weren't quite ready for our vacation to come to an end.

We made it to London without any problem. We took a bus from Stansted Airport to Victoria Station. Our hotel was within walking distance from Victoria Station, but we had a bit of trouble finding it.  Eventually, we arrived at the Victor Hotel and checked into our room.  Shortly after we checked in, we met up with my NFL Europa buddy, Michael Andrew.  We looked for a restaurant to grab some dinner, but the only place open was a Burger King back at Victoria Station.  We settled for burgers there.  I was able to catch up with Michael for about an hour or so before he headed home and we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.  We had one more day in London left and wanted to be ready to make the most of it!

The next morning, we packed up our stuff and made the trek over to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards ceremony.  We were not the only ones that had plans to be there that morning though.  It was completely packed by the time we arrived, but we found a decent spot up on the Victoria Memorial.  It was a perfect spot to see the two Guard groups march into the Palace area.  The ceremony was a bit long, but we enjoyed being there for it.

After the Charging of the Guards, we walked along the Jubilee Walkway from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square.  We walked through a bit of St. James Park along the way.  We also saw the Admiralty Arch just before we entered Trafalgar Square.  

We did some last minute souvenir shopping in the Trafalgar Square area.  I even got some goodies for our plane ride home in a grocery store there.  

We people watched for awhile as well.  It was interesting to watch people climb up and down to take pictures with the lions on the monument.  Mom and I both reminisced about our initial trips to Trafalgar Square.

Again, we rushed to get back to our hotel and grab our bags before jumping in a cab to scurry off to Heathrow Airport.  The cab ride cost a little more than we had left, but the driver graciously accepted all our remaining money and sent us on our way!

We all had an absolutely wonderful trip, but we were also very glad to get back to America!!

Andrea :)

Me and My Parents Meet Rome

In case you missed the first two legs of our whirlwind European adventure, you can read about London here and Paris here.  

London and Paris were great, but Rome was a first for all of us so we were beyond excited to begin checking everything out!!

Our hotel in Rome was set up a bit differently.  The main lobby where we checked in (and nightly snacks were served) wasn't where our room was located.  A hotel staff member took us across the street and up the block to the building where the rooms were located.  Then we crammed into a very small elevator, put a dime into this lever box, and up we went to our room.  We had some interesting rides in that elevator.  This was our favorite hotel on the trip.

We barely fit in the tiny elevator, but we had a great experience at this hotel!

After we checked in and got settled, it was time for lunch.  The little restaurant next door to our hotel caught my eye.  We had pizza and Italian desserts.  Both were excellent! After lunch, we headed off to the Pantheon.  We walked to it without too much trouble.  The atmosphere in Rome was very relaxed.  

The detail on the column (upper left) was astounding.

The most interesting thing about the Pantheon was the oculus (hole in ceiling).  Raphael's tomb is also located here.  We enjoyed looking around inside and outside the Pantheon.

Next, we strolled through Piazza Navona.  It was a very artsy area with some really cool fountains. We took a gelato break on our way from Piazza Navona to the Trevi Fountain.  The gelato was so good!

We arrived at the Trevi Fountain just as the sun was setting so our pictures from there aren't that great, but we had fun spending some time in this area before dinner. We all took a turn throwing a penny over our shoulder into the Fountain.  None of us wanted to miss out on a return trip to Rome someday!

Dad wanted to have at least one meal outside in true European style so we stopped at a place nearby the Trevi Fountain on our way back to the hotel.  The food was delicious!

The next morning, we were up bright and early to head to the Vatican.  We spent basically the whole day at the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica.  There was SO much to see!  Italian sculptor Pomodoro's Sphere Within Sphere was fascinating.  You can also see the top of the dome on St. Peter's Basilica in the background of the wide shot.
 

We went on a guided tour of the Vatican Museums.  I can't imagine trying to do it any other way.  Our guide was very detailed and provided us with a very enjoyable experience. You technically aren't supposed to take any photos in the Sistine Chapel, but on this particular day the tourists weren't following the rules.  The picture on the right of Mom and Dad looking at the ceiling with Michelangelo's The Last Judgement in the background is one of my favorites.  We all enjoyed our time in this historic place!  We even got one interesting group shot with Michelangelo's ceiling panel symbolizing creation in the background.

We had a little snack before we left the Vatican to head over to St. Peter's Basilica.  These potato chips tasted pretty much the same, but I thought the packaging and name were interesting.  I have to say that the Vatican wins the prize for most effective (and creative) trash disposal system.  These machines compressed the trash as people disposed of it.  Someone was thinking when they designed this one!

After the Vatican museums, we headed over to St. Peter's Basilica.  The picture below shows a bit of St. Peter's Square as well.  There were a few fountains, but the area was mostly filled with chairs and some large screens for viewing purposes.  

Inside the Basilica, there were lots of things to see. The picture on bottom right is of Michelangelo's The Pieta which we saw upon entering the Basilica. Pictured in the background of the top photo is an ornate canopy designed by Bernini.  The tomb of St. Peter is underneath this canopy.  We looked around inside for awhile before heading outside to get a group picture before we made our way back to Rome for the evening.

One of the funniest moments on the trip occurred between St. Peter's Basilica and the Spanish Steps.  Dad was ahead of Mom and I as we headed onto the platform area of the metro station.  He got on the train that arrived and turned back to see us coming off the stairs just as the doors to the train shut.  I started yelling "Spanga...get off at Spanga" and Dad said he wondered if he would ever see us again.  The stop was Spagna, but we were reunited. We didn't stay too long at the Spanish Steps because my camera battery died and we were exhausted from a long day.  We had a delicious dinner of a variety of pastas and Caprese salad nearby our hotel.

First thing the next morning we headed off to the Colosseum. We also saw the Arch of Constantine pictured on the bottom right. We took a guided tour of the Colosseum.  The steps to the top were pretty steep, but we all made it.  We had fun taking pictures of the ruins.

After touring the Colosseum, we headed over to check out a specific area of the ruins known as the Roman Forum.  We could have really used a tour guide here, but we were a little short on time so we used the self guided method.  The picture on the upper right is of the Palantine Hill area. We had some fun taking pictures in this area. One of my favorites is the one on the bottom right looking into the Roman Forum from just beyond the arched exit.

We took a quick break for lunch at McDonald's - a staple in each city at this point on the trip!  I got mine to go and headed back to the Spanish Steps to get the pictures I missed out on the day before.

I also wanted to climb to the top.  The picture on the bottom left below is a view from about 2/3 of the way up the steps.  The picture in the middle is from the very top.  I didn't stay long, but I was so glad I went back to get some great photos.

Mom and Dad were anxiously waiting for me in our hotel lobby when I returned from my Spanish Steps excursion.  They were worried we would miss our flight if I didn't get back soon.  Based on my stop for the gelato pictured above, I wasn't in too much of a hurry.  I attempted to save some for Mom and Dad to try, but most of it had melted by the time I got back.  Our taxi to the airport awaited...

Andrea :)

Me and My Parents Meet Paris

When I left off last week, we had just spent a couple of days seeing some of the sights in London.  Check out that post here to read all about the first leg of our whirlwind adventure!!

The next morning, we walked down to the St. Pancras International station and boarded our Eurostar train for Paris.  All Aboard!!

After just a few short hours, we were in Paris and ready to go.  There was no customs process here.  We just walked off the train and right into the metro station.  We found a ticket booth and quickly bought struggled through buying some metro tickets before heading to Mary (my trusty travel companion for Dublin and Edinburgh) and Dave's apartment.  The metro stop closest to their apartment was Etienne Marcel.

We arrived to a yummy spaghetti lunch!  After we ate and settled in a bit, we headed off to the Louvre.  We saw tons of paintings and sculptures, but the most famous were the Winged Victory, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo.  The group picture was taken inside the glass pyramid before we left the museum.

After leaving the Louvre we took a stroll along the Siene River.  We could barely see the Eiffle Tower in the distance as we walked toward Notre Dame.  There was a bit of a struggle in locating it, but once we found it we enjoyed looking around both inside and outside.  It is an extraordinary place.

The detail on the outside of Notre Dame is simply incredible.  The interior is full of massive stained glass windows. We were looking around during a service which was interesting.  The picture in the bottom middle is a little blurry, but gives an idea of the structure of the building from the side as well.

Mary and Dave met us for dinner at a little crepe restaurant nearby Notre Dame.  The crepes were delicious. We all had one dinner crepe and one dessert crepe.  This was one of our favorite meals of the entire trip.

After dinner, we took an impromptu boat ride on the Siene.  We were all sitting on the uncovered top of the boat to begin, but after we passed by the lit up Eiffel Tower, Dad and I moved inside the bottom of the boat.  It wasn't as windy and chilly there, but due to a noisy school group we missed most of the commentary from the tour guide.  Mom tried to fill us in on the way back to Mary and Dave's apartment.

The next morning, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower.  After quite a long wait we were FINALLY able to go to the very tip top of the Tower.  The views were stunning!  We just couldn't take enough pictures once we made it to the top.  I think we were so excited that we were able to make it up there that we just didn't want to come down.  I took several pictures that had the shadow of the Tower in them, but the two below are my favorites!

After the Eiffel Tower adventure, we headed off to Versailles for the rest of the day.  Upon arrival, we made a stop at McDonald's.  Between the strange ordering system and the language barrier Mom and I struggled to get everything ordered, but Dad loved it! We toured the palace of Versailles for most of the afternoon.  We didn't make it outside to check out the gardens before closing time, but I included a picture of the part of them we saw looking out of a window in the palace.  One of our favorite spots was the Hall of Mirrors (middle top picture below).  We had the best time trying to get a good picture here.  At one point, we were laughing so uncontrollably that I almost peed my pants!

Before the trip, a friend recommended getting hot chocolate from Angelina's so when I saw one inside the Palace, I knew it was meant to be for me to try it.  It was like drinking a melted chocolate bar - very thick and rich.  We couldn't even finish it all between the three of us.

That evening, we met Mary and Dave at the Arc de Triomphe.  We were able to check out the evening traffic on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and take a few pictures from across the street as well as underneath the Arc.  Mary and I were the only ones to venture to the top of the Arc.  We climbed over 280 steps to get there with much of those arranged in a spiral pattern.  The view was definitely worth it though.  We made it to the top just in time for the hourly sparkling Eiffel Tower display.  Amazing view of the city!

Mary and Dave were not only kind enough to host us for a couple of days, but also prepared us a homecooked meal on our last evening in Paris and topped it off with Laduree macaroons for dessert! YUM!!

We had a great time visiting with Mary and Dave.  So grateful for their hospitality and friendship!!  We left their apartment before the sun came up to catch our flight to Rome.  Luckily, we were able to flag down a cab to get to the airport.  More fun was just around the corner....

PS - If I should ever happen to visit Paris with Christopher, I would like to partake in the tradition of placing a lock on a bridge there.  Not entirely sure why, but I just love the whole concept of it.  Until then...

Linking up with Helene today!

Andrea :)