Month in Review: June, 2018

July 3, 2018

June, you were a month to remember! Our days were filled with birthday celebrations, summer festivals, a wedding, and exploring new cities. By the end of the month I felt like I needed a nice lie-in, but lazy mornings will have to be saved for a later date. Summer is the time to savor being busy and lean into new experiences. Here are a few of our favorite memories from June.

The month began getting to know our own city better. We are still new to the Milwaukee area and were excited to try out new places to dine during restaurant week. Best part – this event landed on Ian’s birthday weekend! It was the perfect excuse to get dressed up, drive downtown, and indulge in a three course meal.

Shortly after Ian’s birthday celebrations, we were packing our bags for another happy occasion – a wedding! Ian’s cousin was getting married in Scotland and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to catch up with family and toast the happy couple.

Since we were already abroad, we decided to extend our trip to explore a new city – Copenhagen! It was our first time in Scandinavia and it won’t be our last. The city was breathtaking and we fell in love with the Danish culture.

We ended our trip with a quick stop in Paris. Since Ian and I had both been to Paris multiple times, we enjoyed exploring the the quieter spots tucked away in the city. I was teary-eyed a few times during our stay since it felt surreal to share this experience with Ian.

Once back home in Wisconsin, we were thrusted into festival season. On one Saturday alone there were six festivals taking place. I was overwhelmed with our options, but decided to check out the Strawberry Festival in Cedarburg. Ian and I strolled down the the main street looking at craft stalls, eating strawberry short cake, and stopping by the winery for strawberry wine.

We ended the month back in Green Bay! We grabbed dinner with old friends, visited our favorite spots around town and reminisced about our time living in De Pere. Even though we felt like we were melting in the 96 degree heat, we had the best time walking down memory lane.

Watch the video below for a deeper look inside our month! Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/_upS_dGPheE

Paris, je t’aime

June 29, 2018June 26, 2018

If you are traveling and are not flexible with dates (for let’s say, a wedding) booking last minute flights gets tricky. Luckily, Ian is travel savvy and noticed our flights would be significantly cheaper if we flew back to the US out of Paris. Ian and I both have been to Paris multiple times, but we had never experienced the city together. So I jumped at the chance to end our whirlwind adventure in the city of love.

Over the years Ian and I had checked off the major tourist sights, but Versailles was still on his list. Gardens being one of my major weaknesses, it didn’t take much to persuade me to make another trip out to the château. Due to the late arrival of our flight, we didn’t make it out to Versailles until noon and were thrusted into a mob of tourists flocking the entrance gates. After the chaos of getting into the grounds we were able to take a breath and enjoy our surroundings. My favorite spots have been and will always be the hall of mirrors and the queen’s hamlet.

The following day we chose to keep it low-key. We started the day walking down the cobbled streets to grab a crêpe and enjoy a view of the Eiffel Tower. Even though it was early, the city was bustling with people. We were able to find a quiet bench near the Seine and took a moment to soak in our surroundings. I could have sat there all day looking at the view, but we wanted to make the most of our last day!

A quick metro ride later, we were strolling down the charming streets of Île Saint-Louis. We were told we had to try the ice cream at Berthillon Glacier and everyone was right! It was some of the best ice cream we had ever had!

Once we finished our ice cream we walked to the Jardin du Luxembourg to relax and listen to an orchestra preformance. Time slipped away from us as we sat under the trees in the garden and all of a sudden evening approached. We took the metro back to our hotel to freshen up before heading out to a cafe to eat dinner and watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle at dusk.

Paris has always held a special place in my heart and I was over the moon that I got to experience it with Ian. During my previous trips, I would daydream about returning with my future husband. Therefore, to be able to walk down the street hand in hand with Ian filled me with butterflies. Sometimes dreams really do come true.

Copenhagen

June 27, 2018June 25, 2018

One of the perks of flying abroad for a wedding is sneaking in a few excursions before heading home. At first we were overwhelmed with choosing our next destination, but the more we talked about visiting Copenhagen it became clear this had to be our next stop. I was eager to stroll down Nyhavn and gaze up at the multi-colored buildings, eat my fill in pastries, and soak in the local hygge culture. Therefore, while it was hard to say our farewells to family in Scotland, we were excited to arrive in Copenhagen and begin our next adventure.

After freshening up in our hotel, the first item on our agenda was to take the train into the city center and visit Nyhavn. The moment we turned the corner and the canal came into view my jaw dropped! I couldn’t believe my surroundings were real. It all looked like it was right out of a dream! Once I composed myself we boarded a little canal boat for an early morning tour of the city. After we winded through the waterways of the city we hurried over to Amalienborg Palace to catch the changing of the guard.

By this time Ian and I were famished and food was the number one priority. Luckily, little hot dog vendors are dotted across the city and it was easy to find a stall to grab lunch. I was told we had to try the roasted dog with “all the toppings” so that’s exactly what we did. Now that we avoided a hangery situation, we decided to walk along the waterfront on the way to the Little Mermaid statue. The statue is a big tourist attraction so it was flooded with people. I didn’t have the drive to fit through the crowd to snag a photo – but Ian didn’t mind!

Little Mermaid? Check! Next on the agenda was heading into town to get a beautiful view of the city. I heard you could go up the tower at Christiansborg Palace for free and that was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up! A short bus ride later we were standing outside the palace and made our way up the tower. The view didn’t disappoint and we even stumbled across a charming garden on our way out.

Following our stroll in the garden we went in search of pastries. I heard great things about Holms Bageri so we made our way over there. Little did I know, the bakery is in the middle of the famous pedestrian shopping district on Strøget Street. Therefore, I had no other choice but follow Ian into the Lego store after we enjoyed our pastry.

One might think that was enough sight-seeing for day one, but we knew our time was limited in the city! So instead of heading back to the hotel to rest our feet we continued on to visit Tivoli Gardens, the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. I’m not a huge fan of rides, but Tivoli drew me in with it’s charming gardens and buildings. The second we walked through the gates I was greeted with the Peacock Theater which was hosting a ballet performance. Down a twinkle light covered path sat the stunning Hotel Nimb and I was instantly in awe. We could have spent hours soaking in the beauty of this park, but after a ride on the Rutschebanen rollercoaster we were ready to get a good night’s sleep.

Our last day in Copenhagen started bright and early. We wanted to beat the crowds and walk to the top of the Rundetaarn for another gorgeous view of the city. Being close to Rosenborg Palace we decided to wander around the King’s Garden before grabbing lunch at the Torvehallerne food market.

Next on our list was to take the train over to Carlsberg brewery for a tour. Ian found the history of the brewery fascinating and enjoyed trying the local brews in the beer garden while I was more excited about the stable of horses on the property. Following the brewery tour we wandered over to Vestre Cemetery to take in the sprawling grounds and tree-covered lanes.

Our time in Copenhagen was coming to an end and we couldn’t think of a better place to spend the evening than Nyhavn. It was bittersweet as we left this view behind and headed back to the hotel to pack. As we walked back to the train station I kept turning around to get one last glimpse of all the beautiful buildings, but eventually I had to leave it all behind as we prepared for the last leg of our journey – Paris!