Praha!

I have to admit, Prague is the first place we have visited where I really felt far away from the US. Untouched by any war in the past six hundred years, the architecture in the city is unlike anything you would see back home. There is so much detail in everything from the doorways, the staircases, even the streets! Everything you see is absolutely beautiful.

The owner of the room we rented ended up being a great Prague ambassador for us. I had called to ask for directions to the house from the train station the day before, when I asked how much a taxi would be, he replied "I will pick you up, no charge". So when we arrived on Monday, there was big Mikael holding a sign with my name on it.

The room was in a beautiful building on Nerudova, which to me was the prettiest street in Prague. We had a large room with rooftop views of the city....fireworks even went off randomly one night, it was awesome!

Once Mikael had checked us in, he gave us the Prague 101. "Don't go to the currency exchanges on the street because they hike up the exchange rates, go to a bank. Never get into a taxi off the street, they overcharge. If you need a cab, I will call you a good company". And then he gave us the usual speech about pickpockets, etc. Then he gave us his phone number and told us to call him if we needed anything throughout the night. In a foreign country it's good to have a go to guy like Mikael, so if you are ever headed to Prague, I highly recommend his place. Check out the website, www.roomsinprague.com. Plus, rooms are only 45 euro a night!

The location couldn't have been more perfect. Up the street from us was Prague Castle, and down the street was the Charles Bridge. I can't quite say I'm a lover of Czeck cuisine either (Goulash?), but we found a great restaurant a block away called Cafe Neruda. For Prague, the restaurant was very modern and stylish (most just look like pubs) and had a really pretty patio. We had an amazing dinner and a couple beers each for $25.

As for sightseeing, we did Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, and walking around the city centre (saw a bunch of churches, can't remember all the names). Then on our last day, I dragged Matt up a moutain to a lookout tower. You had to pay something like 3 or 4 euros to go up the tower, but it was a nice hike and a good break from the city. Here's the view from the top...

We have already been to Austria and are in Paris now, so I will try to get a post on Salzburg up tomorrow (sorry, too busy enjoying the trip!) . Hope all is well back home!

Smiling Faces in Holland

I know most people are attracted to Amsterdam for their "coffee shops", but honestly this is one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. The Dutch are such friendly people too, riding along on their bikes all day without a care in the world. If we asked anyone a question, they were so nice in going out of their way to help us. From the tram driver who announced our stop over the PA, to our bartender who wrote us out a list of things to do, these are some of the friendliest people in the world. If you're ever in the city, see Stefan's list of things to do below, so cute!

They have great food in Amsterdam too. One morning I had french bread toasted with goat cheese, thyme and honey...I will definitely try this recipe when I get home, it was so good and looked extremely easy to make. We also bought our own meat and cheeses at a grocery one night and had a picnic in the hotel room. Such a good idea if you're trying to save money while traveling. Everything was gourmet and even with a bottle of wine it ended up being under $20 total.

The cafe right next to our hotel, Onder de Ooievaar, was a cute, inexpensive cafe with a great beer selection. A great place to sit out by the canal and people watch...needless to say we spent most of our time there. Also, make sure to try Zatte if you ever see it any where. It's a local brewery in Amsterdam and is 8% alcohol and only 3.5 euro, so tasty!

For accomodation, we stayed in the Hotel Prinsenhof, which is right on a beautiful canal street. It was not expensive at all and the room was huge, I highly recommend it to anyone going there soon.

Such a relaxing couple of days, now off to Prague!

First Class Please

Last Saturday we took the train to Amsterdam. One thing we probably should have done earlier, was book our Eurostar ticket to Brussels since our rail pass did not cover it. We ended up paying $175 for the ticket! But the expensive tickets did come with some perks, including this meal...

Washed down with all the wine and champagne you could handle. The luxury was abruptly put to an end once we got on the train to Amsterdam. All I have to say is, woman with a boombox, mean Dutch Train Manager and annoying teenagers. Enough said.

On to London...

We flew from Dublin to London last Thursday. We found a place in the Southwest corner of Hyde Park, The Astor Hyde Park. The hostel was in a beautiful, old building on a street lined with mansions. Pictures of the street included below.



The rooms were small and completely bare, so we quickly realized we were paying for the location. We were completely surrounded by embassy mansions and literally every where you looked on the street there was a Rolls Royce or Bentley passing by. I've never seen a city with so much money!

Since both of us have never been to London before, we did all the usual tourist stops. We started the day late because we were booking our train tickets for Amestdam, but we were still able to catch the end of the Changing of the Guards ceremony (kind of glad because I heard it can get boring). Then we headed over to see Big Ben, ate lunch in Trafalgar Square and went to the National Gallery.



Although London accomodation and food is outrageously expensive, their museums and parks make up for it since most addmission is free. Their parks are soooo pretty too, and have lawn chairs decorated throughout them...I have a feeling if we tried to do something like that at home, they would be stolen in a matter of minutes ha!

Sorry this post isn't very exciting since you probably all have already been to London and seen all of this before. Amsterdam's up next though, which I think you might enjoy a little more.

Seeing Green

We arrived safely in Dublin on Tuesday morning after a horrible flight....Matt even took an ambien and managed NOT to fall asleep. We spent yesterday day walking around, saw Trinity College, which is probably the most beautiful campus I have ever seen in my life. Then today we visited St. Stephen's Green, the Dublin Castle and the Guinness Brewery. I was hesitant to take the brewery tour because I thought it might be cheesy, but had a friend who had raved about it so we took the chance. The tour actually turned out to be pretty interesting, and at the end you get a free pint at their Gravity Bar which has 360 views of the city, absolutely gorgeous!

Moving on to London tomorrow. I'll write more before the weekend.

St. James Gate at the Guinness Brewery

View from the Gravity Bar

Weekend in the Big Apple...

We're wrapping up the weekend in NY and getting ready to cross the pond tonight. We had a great visit with my best friend, Bea, filled with amazing food, a picnic in Central Park and a day shopping in Soho.

The highlight of the trip had to be our visit to Barbuto, Jonathan Waxman's restaurant in the West Village. Matt and I became big fans of the chef since his latest stint on the last season of Top Chef Masters. And since the restaurant is only four blocks from Bea's apartment, we had to make the visit. The food was amazing and we were even able to snag a couple minutes of the Chef's time for a pic and a little conversation.

Time to go to the airport. Next up- Dublin!

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

Have to make this one short because we're literally walking out the door. Headed to NYC for the weekend to kickoff the trip with my best friend, Bea, and her boyfriend Jay...couldn't think of a better way to start the trip. SO EXCITED!!!

Have to admit, it was kind of bittersweet saying goodbye to our parents this morning. Thank you so much for putting up with us the past months. We'll miss you all so much, please book a ticket to meet us somewhere!!!

Alright, heading out the door! I'll post something on Monday before we leave for Dublin.

Have a great weekend!

Congrats are in Order!

Congratulations to Matt on being voted Best Chef of the Triad Area!! Of course his family and friends already knew this was true, but this certainly solidifies the fact. Matt has been head chef at Mozelle's in downtown Winston Salem for the past year and has done some amazing work there. The restaurant also won the category for best service, second place for best lunch and an honorable mention for the best fine dining restaurant. We couldn't be more proud!!

Check out the link below (you need to scroll down a bit to get to the restaurant categories).

http://www.smittysnotes.com/best-of-winston-salem_2010.asp

The scallops dish is my favorite. Mmmmm...

{Photos by Newell Clark}

Happy 4th of July!!

{Angniks}

Finally done with work!!! Matt and I are headed to the coast for the holiday weekend. We'll be at my grandparents house in Oriental, NC....possibly one of the quietest places on earth. I plan to doing nothing but lay on the beach and sleep....maybe play with some fireworks.

Drink up! Happy 4th!