Thanksgiving 2013

We went to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year. Our only request was that we go directly from the airport to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Jose O’Sheas. There is nothing better than a blue plate special….mmmmmmm.

Thanksgiving day was great. We watched movies and ate delicious food made by Stacy. That night, we went to a local appliance store so Christian’s parents could pick out a new fridge. Standing in a line of 6 people is my kind of Thanksgiving shopping.

None of us felt like braving the crowds for Black Friday shopping, so waited until the late afternoon to go. And it was perfect! Christian and I found the deals we wanted from Macy’s and Gap and there was nobody around. After shopping we went downtown Denver to see the lights.

Saturday, we drove up to Boulder to go to the Celestial Seasonings Factory. We got to sample tea’s, and go in the peppermint room…it was awesome. Since the trip, I’ve now been living off of their Sugar Cookie tea and Gingerbread tea. I’d never been to Boulder, so after the factory we went to Pearl Street. We shopped a little and had dinner at a small Italian place. It was so fun. And the houses in the town are so cute. If we ever move to Colorado, my vote is for Boulder. We got to hang out Sunday and flew home Monday afternoon. It was a very fun Thanksgiving break.

Last month...

Where did September go? I can't believe summer is over.

At the end of August, Christian went to Australia for a few weeks. He is in his final year of grad school so his entire studio group went to Australia to study the health care system built for the indigenous people there. The group will apply the learned concepts as they plan and then eventually build a wellness center for a Native American tribe here in Phoenix. Typically, studio projects are hypothetical, but this one will actually be built sometime next year. It's so awesome to see Christian working as a real architect, with a real project. 

After Christian got back, we took a day trip to Sedona with his parents and the Bowen's. I love Sedona so much. It was beautiful and the weather was so cool. It's always a nice little break from Phoenix.

 

We celebrated my 25th Birthday last week. Christian spoiled me with some great gifts. For dinner, we went to Benihana with Bowen's. Other than that, our month was filled with lots of studying and tests. We are now half way through fall semester and are looking forward to the Holidays.

European Vacation part 3: Basel, Switzerland

Ahhh, Switzerland. The most beautiful place I have ever seen. Seriously. And the people bend over backwards for you. They are the nicest people I've ever met. If you can only go to one place in Europe, you should probably go to Switzerland. 

After our week in Paris, we headed to the train station to start our journey to Basel, Switzerland. I got so sick when we got to the train station, I started barfing in the parking lot. A nice French guy came over and gave me a water bottle. I wish I could have stayed awake on the train to Switzerland, but I felt so yucky, I just slept. But it was so rewarding when we arrived in Switzerland. Such a beautiful country. We can't wait to go back.

Swiss chocolate. What more can I say!?

Ronchamp, Le Corbusier, 1954

What a beautiful place. Ronchamp is a miniature community which includes a chapel, museum, and a monastery (built by Renzo Piano) for the sisters. A few of the sisters were worshiping (I believe in what they called the oratory) when we arrived. They let us sit in the room with them while they prayed.

On our last day in Switzerland, we actually went across the boarder to Germany to go to Vitra. They build a lot of Eames furniture and other top designer items. We really wanted to buy a little Eames elephant, but we wouldn't really have anyway to get it home. Nor do we even have a child to use the elephant chair. Someday we'll buy one.

I still can't believe we spent part of our summer traveling Europe. It feels like a really, really fantastic dream. Christian and I are so glad we did it. It wasn't the cheapest way to travel, but being our first international trip together, it was a good way to travel. I'm so thankful for such a great experience. It was so fun to experience other cultures and ways of thinking, living, and communicating. We can't wait to start making plans for our next big adventure. We are thinking South America if anyone would like to join.

European Vacation, Part 2: Paris, France

We spent our second week of Europe in Paris, France. First of all, Paris is really dirty. That's not how it is in the movies. But really, it was a filthy city. But it was still beautiful. And the French aren't as rude as people claim. They just mind their own business. But everyone we talked to was very helpful and tried communicating with us. And can I say how freaking good they make crepes? I'm hungry now.

Lover's Bridge:
One of my favorite memories of Paris, was the night we went to lover's bridge, also known as the lock bridge. See that gold bridge in the picture below? It's actually silver, but it looks gold because it is completely covered in locks. People in love write their names on a lock, lock it to the bridge, and toss the key in the river.

Place de Vosges:
This was just a cute little park we walked through a couple of times. This place made me feel like a real Parisian.

Maison La Roche, 1923-1925, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret:
This was a house made for a bachelor in the 1920's, but it still represents modern architecture in France.

Versailles:
HUGE is an understatement for Versailles. This place was so enormous, it would be impossible to see it all in one day. I loved seeing Marie Antionette's bedroom and her hidden escape door. She wanted to live like a country farmer so she had these massive gardens built outside of the mansion. When you exit the mansion, the gardens extend as far as you can see. We got lost and rarely saw people as we explored Versailles.

Musee de Louvre:
One of the world's biggest museums. We only had 3 hours here so we didn't see very much. When we go back someday, we need to devote an entire day to the Louvre.

 For some reason, I thought the Mona Lisa was going to be a lot bigger...guess not.

Villa Savoye, 1931, Le Corbusier:

Out of everything we saw, and everywhere we went in France, Villa Savoye was my most favorite. Villa Savoye is located in Poissy, France. It was a house built for the Savoye family between 1928-1931. It amazes me that it still looks modern, but it was built over 80 years ago. The house is open and you can access outdoor space from any room. The yard and surrounding views are beautiful. 

Centre Pompidou:

I wish we had more time at all of the awesome museums. I really liked the Andy Warhol painting. But my favorite exhibit was a room full of these praying women that were shaped from foil. 

Musee du quai Branly:
The outside of this museum was beautiful. It was covered in beautiful green plants, and the large glass piece separates the noisy street from the jungle-like surroundings of the museum. Christian loved the museum itself. It was one of his favorite places. They had a "hair" exhibit that was awesome. It showed the style and transformation of hair throughout the history of man.

 I love costumes!

 Check out the word river. The little kids would chase all the words.

  Everywhere we went, I was eating. 

This was a coffee eclair...mmmmm.

Tour Eiffel:

When you think of Paris, you automatically think of the Eiffel Tower. It was so magical to see it in real life. I also love that everywhere you go in the city, you can spot the Eiffel Tower peeking over everything. Our last night in Paris, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watched the sunset. It was so beautiful. Just as the city began to light up, we went back down to the bottom of the tower to see the "twinkle" lights on the tower. It only happens for a couple of minutes on the hour.