East Coast Trip: Top 10 List

#10 – The Leaves – We were there a little too early for the full change of the fall colors, but we did see the beginning and there were spots of color here and there. It was so beautiful, so I can only imagine how gorgeous it must be in full orange, red and yellow!

#9 – Papa Driving in NYC - We were all quite proud of his maneuvering through the crazy streets of the city. We laughed (and gasped) several times throughout the journey. The best part was when we were stopped at a light, and Sally rolled down her window and touched the truck next to us.

#8 – Empire State Building - If you didn’t see the pictures from this post, check it out. It was a crisp, clear night … the view was amazing! When I asked my friends what to do in NYC, they all agreed that I had to do the Empire State Building at night. I definitely agree.

#7 – Tea & Carriage Ride. In honor of my grandma’s birthday, we surprised her by going to tea at The Plaza Hotel and then taking a carriage ride through Central Park. It was so much fun! I absolutely loved Central Park … it’s such a beautiful, calm place.

#6 – North End: Boston’s Little Italy – LoVeD it here! I wonder why?! Mike’s Pastry was just amazing, as I already mentioned in my previous post. And Caffe Vittoria is a legit Italian bar (and by bar I mean coffee shop). My latte macchiato took me back to Venice … it was just grand!

#5 – Sea Swirl!! We were in Mystic, Connecticut (way cute little town with fun shops), and I was craving ice cream. One of the tourist guides to Mystic recommended a few ice cream places, one of which was Sea Swirl. The thing about this place that caught my eye was that Rachael Ray had eaten there on her show “$40 a Day,” and I LoVe Rachael Ray. So my quest … find Sea Swirl and have ice cream there. Well we found it, and I’m not gonna lie it wasn’t what I was expecting. It was just this little hole-in-the-wall kind of place on the side of the street. It was the kind of place where you go up to the window and order and there are picnic tables outside. I told the girl I was a big dork and I was only there because Rachael Ray had been there, haha. She had actually been there when Rachael Ray was there and she told me what she ordered – the codfish sandwich. So all this effort … and she didn’t even get the ice cream! But since I was hungry I decided to be brave and try the sandwich. Note to keep in mind: I do not like fish! Oh. my. goodness. The sandwich was InCrEdIbLe!!! In fact, it’s just before lunch as I’m writing this, and now I want one for lunch. Do you think I can make it to Connecticut and back in 1/2 an hour?!

#4 – Ear piercing! I told Heidi months ago that I wanted to get second holes in my ears. We decided we wanted to get it done on this trip if we could find a place. The process of trying to get our ears pierced was hilarious … we tried to do it our 1 night in Providence, and after 3 piercing and tattoo parlors (or is it a shop – I do not know), more lessons in piercing and gauges than I care to know, and several thoughts of “Am I going to die in here?!” … we did not get it done. In Boston, right before we had to leave (literally … I was afraid we were going to miss our plane, haha!) Heidi and I spotted a Claire’s … and we came out of there with second holes, permanent souvenirs, and a mission accomplished.

#3 – Hot cocoa and talking. On the last night of our trip (in Boston), Heidi and I really wanted some hot chocolate to drink. There was a downpour, we were soaked, we were cold … we wanted to drink warmth. We were back at our hotel, and we weren’t really sure where to go at that late hour to drink hot chocolate. So Heidi, Sally and I headed down to the “lounge” in our hotel to see if they could satisfy our craving … and sure enough, they had hot cocoa … and whipped cream! The three of us sat and talked for a long time and had great conversation. 

#2 – Story time with Papa and Grandma. There were lots of stories and fun conversations and memories throughout the trip, but the highlight was in the car driving from New York to Connecticut. Sally asked Papa and Grandma to tell us the story of their relationship. We got to hear everything from when they first met to their first date to their first kiss to their wedding to their honeymoon to their anniversaries and much, much more. So fun!

#1 – My favorite moment from my trip … the end of my plane ride to New Jersey. It was sunset … there were beautiful, huge, white, puffy clouds … there were amazing colors dancing across the sky … I was listening to the Sovereign Grace song “Glorious & Mighty.” It was one of those mountain top experiences of seeing God’s greatness through His creation and worshipping Him. He is truly amazing!

 

East Coast Trip, Pt 2

I had to dedicate a whole post to Boston, because it was my favorite part of the trip. I LoVe the city of Boston! We got into Boston on a rainy Sunday afternoon, got settled into our hotel, and then I went out with a friend from college who now lives there. I got to spend an hour and a half on a personal guided tour of the city (we drove around, because it was raining), which was awesome! I learned a lot of random facts about places and got to see all the highlights. We then met up with my grandparents and cousins at Union Oyster House - the oldest restaurant in the United States.

View from Papa and Grandma's hotel room - so beautiful! Heidi, Sally & I ended up with a private balcony with that view!

Enjoying our lovely seafood dinner

On Monday, we took a trolley tour around the city. The trolley stops at all the hot spots and you can get off for as long as you want and hop on another trolley when you’re ready to move on. It was a good way to get around if you’re not inclined to walk. Boston Common and Boston Gardens are beautiful! We had a lot of fun taking pictures there, and thanks to photographer Sally, we got a lot of good ones. We had a fun dinner that night with my friend and saw some more sights. Good times!

The original Cheers bar (the food smelled amazing!)

Heidi and I made a new friend, hehe

Enjoying our new friend!

So cute!!

Papa and his twins

Kisses for Papa

Heid & Han

In the gardens

On Tuesday, Papa and Grandma parted ways with us and headed up to Maine. Sally, Heidi, and I went to Harvard and walked around for a bit. Then Heidi indulged me, and the two of us went to Little Italy! We went to Mike’s Pastry, which I was told not to miss (So true - I later enjoyed the amazing creme puff I purchased there). Then we went to Caffe Vittoria, which was recommended to me, and I had a delicious iced caffe macchiato. So yummy and tasted like Italy to me. We met up with Sally and headed back to our hotel and then to the airport. We were all so sad to say goodbye and to be leaving these wonderful places we got to experience. I am so thankful for the opportunity to take this trip – it was a blessing in many ways! I will still post my “Top 10″ list … I purposely left some things out of these last 2 posts so as not to overlap too much. For now, I leave you with one final picture …

These are EvErYwHeRe and EvErYoNe loves them!!

 

East Coast Trip – Pt 1

Many of you may know that I went on a trip to the East Coast a few weeks ago. I was supposed to go on a trip to Italy, but that did not work out and the Lord had other things in store for me. There’s too much to put everything we did and all the pictures we took … but here’s an overview and lots of pics (I will try to get more pics up on Facebook for those of you who want to see more).

 On Wednesday the 23rd of September, I flew to Newark, NJ, where I met up with my grandparents. Thursday we went to New York City and saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building. I stayed in town a little longer and walked through Time Square to see the lights and the buzz.

At the Statue of Liberty with NYC in the background

My Foot Picture for the trip! Can you believe how big Lady Liberty's foot is?!

NYC was so beautiful from the top of the Empire State Building!!

Me & Grandma

Thursday night, my cousins – Heidi & Sally – flew in. The next morning, we drove into New York City (go Papa, go!). We surprised my Grandma for her birthday and took her to tea at the Plaza Hotel and then went for a carriage ride through Central Park.

Tea at the Plaza

Heidi & Me in front of the pretty bridge in Central Park!

I HaD to do a fish lips picture ... I couldn't resist!

 We then headed up to Connecticut, and Heidi & I became the official navigators, hence the picture with the map and the worried look of wondering how we were going to get from point A to point B (which I think was actually taken heading into NYC from New Jersey). We spent the night in Connecticut and spent Saturday morning at Mystic, CT. It is a beautiful area with quaint shops AND … Sea Swirl. What you might ask is Sea Swirl?! Well … it’s part of my ”10 Top Highlights from my East Coast Trip” so … you’ll have to check back and read a later post to find out!! Man, I am so mean, haha. But continuing on …  

Uh oh

Having fun, hehe

Still having fun ...

Beautiful Mystic

How cute is this place?!

 We ended up in Providence, Rhode Island that night, where Heidi and I discovered their Little Italy and the cutest cafe with the most amazing crepes!! The two of us ate there Saturday night and then made Papa and Grandma go with us for breakfast the following morning (we let Sally sleep in). I got to have one of my favorite Italian pastries – sfogliatella. It was yumm-o!

If I could remember the name of this place, I'd totally recommend it, haha!

From Providence we headed on up to Boston, Massachusetts … which I will tell about in Pt 2! Then I will post my “Top 10″ list … so stay tuned!

 

4 sermons and 3 Christmas CDs Later …

Today, I made the normally 6 hour trip back to Southern CA in over 7 hours (not as bad as I was afraid it might be). On my trip, I listened to 4 sermons and 3 Christmas CDs (in that order – my brain was on overload after the sermons). I think the last 50 miles took about an hour and 45 minutes, with the last 10 of those miles taking half an hour. Now,after fighting traffic for 7 hours … I am very tired, and I am going to bed. There will be more to come of my wonderful Thanksgiving at home with my family and friends.

 

My Vacation!

I returned to Italy on Tuesday, after spending several wonderful days in France and Geneva, Switzerland with the Glass family! I had the most awesome time! I was amazed at the beauty of Switzerland and France – wow! The colors of the trees, the Alps, Lake Geneva … so breathtakingly beautiful! I took a ton of pictures of everything I saw … but unfortunately I don’t have them to share with you. My last night there, I accidentally deleted all my pictures. L All I have to say is, God knows exactly what tools we need to sanctify us. J I will try my best to make things interesting without pictures – maybe my thousand words can be worth a picture? J

First of all, here’s the Glass family – James (13, even though he’s gigantically tall!), Meg, and John. They have two other kids who are away at school – Kimberly is attending a missionary high school in Germany and John William is at Masters.

I arrived in Geneva, Switzerland around 5 in the afternoon on Thursday, after a 7 hour train ride. Meg Glass picked me up and we crossed the border into France and went to their home. They literally live like 7 minutes from the Swiss border, and their church and ministry are in Geneva.

 It was so cool to see their home and ministry, after having a class with John at TMC entitled “Missionary Life and Experience,” when they were home on furlough last year. I’ve heard so much about their church and the work they’re doing! John is the chaplain for Geneva’s hockey team, and I got to go to a hockey game on Thursday night! That was so fun! For several years, I’ve actually wanted to go to a hockey game, so it was pretty cool to go to my first game in Geneva! Hockey is different here than in the States – they are not allowed to fight as much here. During the game, several pucks went out of the rink (I don’t know hockey terminology – is it called a rink? Because it’s not a field, is it?) and the Glass’ son, James, got me one! Here’s a picture of it (the logo got warn off from being played with):

On Friday, Meg took me to Calvin’s Cathedral and the Reformation Wall – so cool! Ok, so Calvin’s Cathedral was a Catholic Church. But then the people decided to do away with Catholicism and bring in Protestantism. So Switzerland is a “Protestant” country. When they kicked the Catholics out, this cathedral became a protestant church, and John Calvin became the pastor. There’s also a little chapel nearby in which John Calvin taught theology. There is a plaque in the cathedral commemorating the Protestants kicking the Catholics out. This plaque is in Latin and there is another plaque underneath it which is an explanation in French. The French one is not a translation of the Latin one though. The Latin one actually calls Catholics the anti-Christ! Guess you can understand why it’s not translated! It was amazing to see this and think of the history of our faith which took place there! The Reformation Wall is a huge wall on one end of a park, not too far from Calvin’s Cathedral. It gives a timeline of the events of the Reformation and shows how it spread throughout the world. I wish I could give better details, but I don’t remember it all. I took pictures, but I don’t have those to show you and help me remember things. J If you want to see pictures, check out this website for Calvin’s Cathedral: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/switzerland/geneva-cathedral.htm. For the Reformation Wall, check this out: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/switzerland/geneva-reformation-monument.htm. Also a highlight of this day: Starbucks!!!When I stepped off the train in Geneva, I saw a couple guys with clear cups and green straws and I thought to myself, “Self, could this really be? Could they really be drinking Starbucks?!” And sure enough … I asked the Glass’ if there was Starbucks here and they said there were 3! So I enjoyed a tall double mocha macchiato for about $6 (yes, you thought Starbucks was expensive in the States? Think again!). It was heavenly. J

Saturday we hung out at home and I helped John and James with yard work. It was pretty fun (and funny!). Sunday there was a Bible Study at the Glass’ home. They are in the process of starting a new church, which officially starts meeting next Sunday, so I missed it my one week. This Bible Study was awesome though! Everyone was so welcoming and kind. Lots of people spoke English, which was great. I was quite lost though in the French service. J I loved getting to meet these people and see the Glass’ church! So exciting! Afterward we had a potluck, which was a lot of fun.

On Monday, John dropped me off at the tram and I went into Geneva and toured around. I had a blast doing this! I walked around downtown Geneva and Lake Geneva. I enjoyed “shopping” – everything is very expensive so I didn’t buy much! I enjoyed one more Starbucks – a grande extra hot caramel macchiato – oh so good!

And then came Tuesday, time for me to return. I think I shared the main highlights of my trip. Oh, I forgot one. On the train to Geneva, I sat near a Brazilian man who spoke some English and I got to witness a little to him. He agreed to read whatever part of the Bible I recommended to him and asked for my e-mail address to e-mail me when he’d read it! Pray that he will read God’s Word and that the Lord would begin to work in his heart!

Here’s one final picture – it’s the view from the room I stayed in. So beautiful!