World Traveler

Wow!  It's been over two weeks since my last blog post.

Where have I been?

Well, I'll give you a hint:

Last year, my husband came home with news:  he had to travel to Europe on business AND he would be there on our anniversary -- our 10th anniversary.

Before I could open my mouth to say anything, he added that since his trip and hotel was totally paid for, I should go as well.  Happy anniversary to me!

Our trip started in London.  After a 9 hour flight, we walked almost 3 miles from our hotel to see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.

We also strolled around the outside of St. James Park, which is just gorgeous.  I couldn't resist a few macro shots.

The view from the park was amazing as well.

We only had a few days, but managed to make it to the British Museum and the Natural History Museum.

Of course, I couldn't resist visiting a few other museums:  the Sherlock Holmes Museum

and the museum in the Dr. Who shop.  The entrance to the museum was an actual TARDIS.

The owner of the shop was really sweet and made sure to take a picture for me.

We took the Eurostar train from London to Paris.  The train ride was one of the best parts of the trip.  The meal was amazing -- seriously amazing and the view of the French countryside was gorgeous.

My meal was gone in seconds, but my husband was snapped a photo of his meal before finishing it: salmon, potatoes, wine, and a delicious dessert.  (See that, Delta?  This is how you should feed your passengers.)

Our first day in Paris was May 1, or May Day (Labor Day in France) and almost everything was closed.

It was also rainy and cold, so not the best day.  Still, we managed to wander around, see a bit of the city and snap a few pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe -- scratch those off of my bucket list.

Maybe because Thursday was a holiday, on Friday, we found that Paris was not just the city of lights, it was the city of lines.  Everything was crowded and the wait times were several hours.

We opted to take a train to Versailles and visit the palace and the gardens.

The Gardens of Versailles are gorgeous -- and huge.  We didn't see a third of them before it started to rain.  We were both cold and wet and ended up cutting our visit shorter than we would have liked.

As we strolled along, we saw a bicycle rental station.  Had the weather been better, we would have biked around every inch of those gardens.  At least now we have a reason to return -- add one to the bucket list.  :)

The lines were shorter on Saturday and we were able to visit the Louvre and the Musée de l'Orangerie.

Interestingly enough, while we liked the Louvre and were happy to have visited, my husband and I both preferred the impressionist art at the Musée de l'Orangerie.

We also were able to walk around Notre Dame, which was beautiful inside.

I wanted to tour the towers of Notre Dame and was even willing to brave the almost 400 steps to do it, but again, the lines were longer than I wanted to wait.

Instead my husband was kind enough to walk around with me as I looked for bead stores (didn't find any) and walked in and out of various shops.

He was also a trooper in the evening and braved chilly winds with me so I could see the Eiffel Tower light up at night.

It was so pretty.

Then, the light show began.

I must have taken 100 photos of the light show, just hoping to get one good one.

Seeing the show was a fabulous way to end the trip, even if it was quite cold.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.  We missed the kiddo terribly, but we knew she was having fun with my in-laws.

She was a bit mad at us, though.  She didn't mind us being gone, I don't think.  She was made that she didn't get to go.  I  think her first words to us were:  "I missed you!  What did you bring me?  When do I get to go to Europe?"

At least "I missed you" was first, right?

Family Vacation

A few months ago, my husband decided he needed a vacation.  He kindly allowed the kiddo and I to accompany him.  :)  Actually, he decided a family vacation might be in order and the kiddo and I agreed on the spot.

We chose to visit Estes Park, Colorado.  My husband loves to hike and the scenery in Estes Park can't be beat.  We live in Kansas and while the state isn't entirely flat, cornfields are not the prettiest things to view.

Yeah, even with rain clouds in the background, mountains beat cornfields in the aesthetics department.

The kiddo was great in the airport and on the plane.  She loved that we traveled by car (to KCI), plane, train (in DIA), bus (to the rental car) and car (to Estes).

Our first day, we took a short hike to Copeland Falls.  My father in-law was kind enough to add something to his pack so the kiddo could walk hands free.

With her friend safely stowed, the kiddo was ready to go.

(Yes, those are Batman socks.  The kiddo is awesome!)

The falls were really something to see.

The next day, my husband and father in-law started at the same trail and went several miles further to Bluebird Lake.  They passed the Calypso Cascades

and even managed to make a friend.

My mother in-law, the kiddo and I went shopping instead.  We paid a visit to the Estes Ark and picked up a new friend for the kiddo.  We also stopped at the Red Rose Rock Shop.  Both the kiddo and I picked up a few shiny things.

The kiddo picked up some honey quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite (the dark blue), beryl, rose quartz and a pretty pink striped glass shard.

Of course, I picked up a few things for myself.

Above are thin slaps of blue jasper, crazy lace agate and Brazilian agate.  They are thin and light enough that I could try some bead embroidery with them.

I also picked up a few stones:  labradorite, lepidolite and blue lace agate.  These are a bit thicker, but would work with a bead or wire bezel.

I couldn't resist the copper flecks or heavy copper slugs.

I also had to restrain myself and buy only two of these fabulous stone buttons.  I adore these.

After we finished shopping, the kiddo and I treated ourselves to our first ever mother/daughter pedicure.

Seriously, how cute is it that the kiddo's skirt matched her flip flops?

Later that day, we drove out to the Alluvial Fan.  My husband said the Alluvial Fan was a nice waterfall with some rocks to play on.  I was in no way prepared for this:

Oh .. and by the way, see that red arrow?  The kiddo climbed to there.  She wanted to go to the top, but my husband (wisely) told her that might not be such a good idea.

The next morning, we rented a paddleboat (for me and my mother in-law) and a kayak (for my husband and father in-law).  As it turns out, the paddle boat was too slow for the kiddo and she wanted to try the kayak.

My husband was more than pleased to take her for a ride.  I don't think she really wanted to stop.

We also drove to Loveland later in the day.  We made a point to visit the Benson Sculpture Garden while there.  The Benson Sculpture Garden is a park that provides a home to over 100 sculptures.

We didn't get to see nearly all the sculptures, but I was taken by "Evening Jazz" by Warren Cullar.  I love the soft colors Warren used.  The pieces just takes you right into to the mood.

I also loved "Storm's Brewing" by Jeannine Young.  My father is a fan of old Westerns and I watched more than one growing up.  This sculpture brought to mind Clint Eastwood and the Man with No Name.  I love the detail on this sculpture.

Since Ft. Collins is only a short drive from Loveland, I asked my husband to drive a bit further.  He and my in-laws took the kiddo for ice cream while I paid a visit to the Bead Cache.

The Bead Cache had a marvelous selection of seed beads.

I found a few colors of delicas I hadn't seen before.

I also picked up a few odds and ends.  I love the ribbon in the background.  The teal and brown pearls have large holes (perfect to string on leather).  I treated myself to some bone circles, a bone spacer, some Czech lentil drop beads and those awesome black and white beads in the front.

On our last day, we did a bit more sightseeing.

We also managed to visit Fun City.  This place certainly lives up to its name.  The kiddo and I started out on the giant slide.

Of course, she wanted to try on her own, so I watched her climb the mountain of stairs and slide down, laughing all the way.

I took the kiddo on the bumper cars and go karts.  Her favorite, however, was the bungee trampoline.

I have never seen a smile so big on anyone's face.

In case you are wondering, I did get some beading in while on vacation.

I didn't do as much as I had hoped, but I got most of the components finished for Josephine's Collar, designed by Jill Devon and published in the June 2012 issue of Beadwork Magazine.

This necklace is one of the projects for our Beading Babes group.  You can find out more about the projects in this round here.

We had a good time on vacation, but it is always nice to be home.  It will be nice to get back into our usual routine this week.

With packing, vacation and unpacking, I missed a few too many karate classes and I need to get back before I forget everything.

The kiddo is gearing up for kindergarten and it's only a short few weeks until school starts.  I think we can make it until then.  :)

i heart macro Sunday

We spent last week in Estes Park, Colorado on a family vacation.  We live in Kansas, so staying so close to Rocky Mountain National Park was a treat.  (Don't worry, I'll have a full recap for you soon.)

We took a small hike to Copeland Falls on the first day of our vacation.  We didn't see any wildlife, but we did see a few wild flowers.

The kiddo had fun, but I think her friend was tired from climbing.

For more macro goodness, check out Studio Waterstone