happy birthday, eiffel tower.

thanks for letting us visit you last summer. 

hopefully we'll see you again sometime soon.

#instaeurope

Just a few (instagram) photos of our trip this summer, friends.

I'm sorry for the delay for those of you who have been asking for these for months.

I promise, there are more to come.

This one we took moments before we boarded our flight from NYC to Dublin.

(We'd been traveling since 7am that morning, been through three flights, and because one of them had been majorly delayed, we thought for sure there was no way we'd catch this flight. We were so happy when we found the plane with a three leaf clover hadn't left without us. Lucky.)

This one we took during our day in Dublin. 

Goodness, we were tired.

The view from our window in charming Luton, England (about an hour outside of London). 

We stayed here overnight with the sweetest people I've ever met in my life. 

From Luton, we took a bus into central London, 

and from there we spent a few hours getting lost in the city. 

London was Gideon's favorite. 

He couldn't get enough of the history.

The plane ride from England into France. 

…and the view (day and night) from our stay in Paris.

The tower was visible from our bedroom, the kitchen and the shower. 

The SHOWER!

The screen at the airport in France that told us our

 flight to Rome was delayed yet another hour due to the pouring rain. 

We didn't land until 1am, but when we finally got to our apartment, it was all worth it. 

Especially the view that morning.

This is my sweet Gideon with gelato in front of the iconic Trevi fountain.

While we were in Italy, we ate Gelato each meal. I'm not exaggerating. 

Gideon was sick of it after the second day. Weirdo.

After Rome, we got on an overnight train car (that we shared with two turkish students, and one drunk italian who was super excited to tell us all about elton john after he found out we were american. Gideon was sweet to keep the conversation going with him long after I fell asleep). 

Next time, we'll splurge and get our own train car. 

But the view was pretty incredible when we did wake up.

Venice was lovely, although I have to say we were exhausted and quite ready to come home. 

This one we took by the bridge of sighs.

This, the view from our Venice apartment.

You guessed it. More gelato.

The view from our plane back to America. 

The other night I sighed to Gideon and said, "Remember the time we went to Europe?"

Being silly, he said something along the lines of, 

"Europe? No, I don't remember that. When did we do that?"

I guess that means we need to go again, don't you think friends? 

That's all for today, friends! 

Hope you enjoyed.

lock on a bridge

dear rain, 

We woke up to your dreariness on our last day in paris. And while

the white covers of our warm bed begged us to stay, 

there was just one more thing I really wanted to do before we left the city of lights. 

I knew a thousand other people would be doing the same thing, and that we probably wouldn't be able to get in even one decent picture, but I knew I'd regret it if we didn't at least try. 

Your morning drizzle was hardly noticeable until it transformed into an afternoon downpour as we got on the bus to our destination. I tried to think of you as romantic ("paris in the rain" swoon), but inwardly I scowled, wishing you would have come the day after, when we would be gone. The usually crowded streets emptied- tourists and locals dodging into shops and cafes to avoid you.

When we got off of the bus, you were still determined. It was cold, and so wet. My feet and lower legs were completely drenched; I might as well have been playing in a splash park in february. But after we got off, and began walking the 2 minute journey to the bridge, we realized your downpour had dissolved into a much friendlier sprinkle. 

You had softened, but the normal crowds had completely vanished. 

With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 couples, the bridge was exclusively ours. 

I like to think that you brought yourself just for us, rain. That you intentionally came on our last day in a heavy downpour so that for just a few minutes, we could create memories that would last the rest of our lives with a small amount of privacy.

I know the love lock bridge is a tourist trap, and the notion of a rainy day in paris probably sounds horribly cliche and overly romantic to a lot of people. 

But I'll never forget it as long as I live. 

And I think it was you that made it the perfect day, rain. (Well, you and the fact that we were in paris…) 

So thank you. 

Sorry I ever doubted you. 

ps- here's a link to a short video I made of our time on the bridge friends. xo