Prague, Praha, Prag, Praga part two

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, (yes, that is the real name) dominates your view in Old Town Square in Prague. Definitely not the most beautiful interior on the trip, but it still got high ranks in my book.

A meridian that runs through Old Town Square. It's said to be good luck to walk from one end to the other in the Square. I did it, of course.

An accidental snap with my 55-200 mm Nikor lens from across the street that turned out rather adorable, don't you think?

One of my favorite parts of Europe as a whole? Tons of adorable little cafes with bountiful outdoor seating. We made it a point to eat at as many of these as possible.

Beautiful views of the Moldau River as well as Prague Castle (the largest castle in the world) from the Charles Bridge.

Beautifully ornate statues like this one line the Charles Bridge.

Touching this statue is said to be good luck, and a guarantee that you'll return to Prague one day. I touched it on my first two trips before this one to Prague. Evidently, it works ;)

The last photo in this too-long-of-a-post, a man with a fake monkey and an organ on the Charles Bridge. Thanks for reading!

moving on out

I move in on Monday. Monday. Guys, it’s finally here! I’m starting my new life in Chicago on MONDAY! Everything is perfect. I’ve got the dream apartment, the dream school, dream jobs and even a fantastic roommate, Christine! My first roommate fell through, but I got hooked up with Christine through mutual friends and voila! She’s a super sweet and fun Rhode Island girl who is attending the Pritzker School of Medicine at The University of Chicago (she's also an Alpha Phi!). Things couldn’t be better! I’m so happy! Now to unpack all these boxes…

jumping on the bandwagon

Following the crowd can't always be bad, right? Right. I must admit that I had never heard of the Urban Decay Naked Palette before the last few months when several blogs I follow including ChicToria and Floral Frocks blogged about it on their Blogger/Tumblr, as well as seeing many pretty pictures of it on my Tumblr feed. I started seeing it more and more and started admiring the colors and pretty soon I became obsessed with the idea of having it. I just got it in the mail yesterday and I've already spent quite a bit of time playing around with colors and watching make up tutorials on youtube, which is incredibly counterproductive considering I only have half of my stuff packed for the first haul to Chicago on Monday!

I absolutely love the names for colors UD uses for their products! What could be cooler than Virgin, Sin, Naked, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Hustle and Creep?! None of that Bubble Gum or Pink Rose stuff for me ;)

In addition to the palette, I was running out of mascara. Diorshow Mascara by Dior has been my go to tube since high school. It gives you long looking, super dark lashes that I love!

Yay for online shopping with Sephora! They offer you 3 free samples with every order!

Prague, Praha, Prag, Praga part one

Prague has always been one of my favorite European cities-- from the largest and one of the oldest castles in the world to the modern graffiti and flashy advertisements, you can find anything and everything for anybody! Although the Czech people have a perpetual frown on their faces (it's not because they're sad, they actually have lots to be happy about) they are incredibly welcoming and friendly. For example: our hotel, less than average by American standards, with hard beds, old towels and a lingering unidentifiable smell was nonetheless quite charming and quaint. It had a spacious floor plan for our room (unfortunately, it was old and most rooms were tiny and cramped, we were lucky) and gigantic windows that let in lots of sunlight and air looking over a street with an opera house and beautiful old buildings on the other side. It was owned and operated around the clock by four generations of blonde, Czech women that catered to our every whim for breakfast, dinner and every hour in between. It was super cool to see "Minnesota Nice" even in the Czech Republic.

Our hotel in the Florenc neighborhood of Prague, oh so fittingly named Hotel Florenc.

  One thing I love about Europe-- they know how to do their breakfasts! Every morning we received bountiful amounts of cheeses, meats, breads and eggs in every variety!

Tons of posters advertising everything from websites to concerts decorate empty walls on streets in Prague. it reminds me a lot of NYC... minus the fact that they're in Czech, of course.

Old Town square at the center of Prague. An easy, ten minute walk from our hotel.

The astronomical clock in Old Town square.

Tour guides hold up objects so they can be easily identified in big crowds. Ours held up umbrellas, this woman chose orchids. Good choice, if I do say so myself!

i love Ellie Goulding

 

Ellie Goulding, Your Biggest Mistake

Leaving our hotel in Budapest on Thursday morning at 3AM, I heard Ellie Goulding's single Lights in the elevator. I was half asleep, tired as hell and the catchy beat ad lyrics got me excited for the journey ahead and happy about our experiences in Europe. I had heard Lights and Starry Eyed before and even knew that she sang exclusively at the royal wedding reception, but never really caught on to the hype. The next thing I knew, however, I was downloading her debut album in the lobby of the hotel. I've obsessed ever since! Favorite songs on Lights include: Lights, Starry Eyed, This Love (Will Be Your Downfall), The Writer, Your Biggest Mistake and Your Song. Check Ellie out on iTunes!

Minneapolis to Prague

Thus begins a seemingly endless posting of pictures from my trip to eastern Europe last week. Somehow I have to condense 1,300 into a few pictures per post! I'll be posting more often on blogger now. I think I'm going to make this my personal blog, and my Tumblr just a photo blog, but we'll see. Here are a few shots from MSP International to Prague!

If you've never flown United, they have a fabulous feature called Economy Plus. The same room as 1st class, with more comfy seating than coach and for only $50 more!

A quick dinner at O'Hare before our flight at 8:30. I've never loved Manchu Wok, (LeAnn Chin is much better) but I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of food and the portions at O'Hare!

The German version of Orange Crush at Frankfurt International, where John got stopped for being suspicious (really?) and got "slapped and tickled" as our tour guide called it at the customs checkpoint.

Northern Czech Republic from the air. Luckily, one of the women in our tour group let me switch seats with her so I could take some shots from the air.

 First views of Prague looking down the street from our hotel.

congrats, dave and joyce: 60 years of love

I'm back from a wonderful and refreshing trip to eastern Europe! I walked along the Prague meridian in Prague for good luck, got a facial in the spa town of Karlovy Vary, shopped at Valentino in Vienna, was reminded of pure atrocities at Mathausen Labor Camp and took a cruise along the "not-so-blue" Danube in Budapest; but the thing I gained most from this trip was falling even further into an irrevocable, reach-for-the-stars kind of love. I've blogged numerous times about my relationship on my Tumblr, and how wonderful it is. I've been the happiest I've ever been over the past 10 months (is it really almost a year, already?) and this trip reconfirmed what I've known all along: how wonderful John is, and how badly I want to spend forever with him.

I just returned from my grandparent's (left) 60th anniversary luncheon (an extreme feat in this day and age) at Forepaugh's in Saint Paul and it couldn't have been more beautiful! Little tea lights with their wedding date and place engraved on them neatly lined tables, as well as little match boxes with "Dave and Joyce, married 60 years" printed in cursive. Vases of orchids and lilies centered the 14 tables and my grandmother's wedding dress and bridesmaid's gown that she hand made herself were on display in the corner.

My grandparents experienced a beautiful romance and lifetime together that I can only hope to emulate. She cut the his sandwiches diagonally, and he gave her a charm for her charm bracelet she received from him when they got married every year for Christmas. They had 3 successful, wonderful children and 2 grandchildren. They were "snowbirds" in Texas every winter. They slipped me money when my parents weren't looking and let me have an extra ice cream sandwich after my first. And now they're both 80+, and she can't see, and he has severe Parkinson's disease and can barely talk, but they still love each other and look after one another. After 60 years. I want that... more than anything.