And now summer is over. (without too much blogging to show for it, oops!)

I’m back in Budapest, at a new school, starting a new school year, teaching 1st and 2nd graders. The weather in Budapest is still too hot for my taste, but luckily the late summer nights have lost their edge. Our new flat–an amazing 10-minute walk from my new job–has a lovely balcony surrounded by leafy trees.

Even as I buckle down and get ready to adjust to a brand new school, and attempt to find anything in my new neighborhood, I can’t help but look back on the busy, busy summer with happiness and a bit of trailing exhaustion.

E and I are calling it the “Summer of Scenery” because, wow, did we see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! (And because we like alliteration).

We started in Romania–Transylvania, specifically–and while the towns and cities we visited we totally charming, the mountains were a real highlight of the trip.

After Romania, and a stopover in Copenhagen (and I’ll say it again, but man do I want to live there!!) we headed to Norway. It was absolutely amazing and even though we spent only three days there, I can sufficiently say we enjoyed every second of our time there.

From Norway, we flew to Los Angeles to visit family–not a part of the trip where we were thinking of the scenery. I did find some pretty flowers, though! After we visited some family near Sacramento, we were able to join some of my extended family at Clearlake–and it’s so peaceful and pretty, especially in the morning!

Then, Montana, which is always picture-perfect. My friend got married in a beautiful spot while we were there, and another old childhood friend, who recently got her pilot’s license, took me up her in plane–so I got a whole new view of my hometown! I’ve flown commercially so often that I’m starting to feel ambivalent towards planes–not as thrilled as I used to be, for sure–but it was so much fun to fly in her tiny little plane.

Thanks to our awesome parents, E and I got a free ride between Montana and Washington (where my in-laws live). The trip is long but oh-so-pretty!

My in-laws live in a lovely area of the state (you may remember their yard was where we got married, and for a good reason) and it’s always nice to be back there.

While visiting that area, we hopped down to Oregon to visit my cousin and some friends in Portland, and hit the Oregon coast on our way back to Washington.

And still, after all that breathtaking scenery, we ended with a week in one of the prettiest countries of all time, my dreamland–Ireland!

I’ll be writing more about these places soon. For now…

The summer of scenery, indeed!

Linking up with Wanderlust Wednesday.

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My name is Nathalie and I blog over at Snowflakes in California about my life in the US. It’s been almost two years since I moved from Belgium to San Diego and since Amy was kind enough to let me take over her blog for today I thought I’d show you a (tiny) bit of my adopted city. Ready?

To be honest, I had never heard of this city before I met my husband who grew up here. Everyone around the world knows Los Angeles, but San Diego seems a bit underrated next to its big sister. And for no good reason, because it has the same mild climate, (even better) beaches & waves, some of the best craft beer in the United States (although I’m not particularly fond of it) and LESS traffic. Very important.

THE CITY CENTER

Downtown vs. Old Town

So let me start with the beginning: San Diego is the first place on the West Coast where the Spanish built a settlement many centuries ago and is therefore sometimes referred to as the ‘birth place of California’. Since then it has become the second largest city in the state and the eighth largest (!!) in the country – according to dear Wiki. And even though it all started in the historic center appropriately called Old Town, you’ll find the pretty skyline Downtown.

The Convention Center

If you are short on time and want to get a first feel of the city, Downtown is definitely the place to start. The Gaslamp Quarter provides the perfect surroundings for happy hour drinks or a night out. There’s the convention center to admire – world-famous for hosting Comic-Con – and Petco Park right around the corner if you want to catch a baseball game. And don’t forget the harbor, where you’ll find the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier, now a museum.   

BALBOA PARK

The next stop for every tourist has to be Balboa Park. With 1,200 acres it is the largest urban cultural park in the US and home to 15 major museums. There’s a replica of The Old Globe for anyone who’s into theater and can’t make it to London, you can spend a day at the famous San Diego zoo or you can just wander around and enjoy the scenery and beautiful architecture. Also, as you can see from these pictures it can be pretty cloudy in San Diego. So don’t let anyone fool you, it might never rain in Southern California but that doesn’t mean it’s always sunny!

ACROSS THE BAY

The Coronado Bridge

Hotel Del 

One of my favourite things to do when I find myself Downtown is cross the Coronado Bridge and drive into the city of Coronado. Coronado beach was ranked the number 1 beach in the country only a couple of years ago (according to this list) and you can’t miss the incredible Hotel Del Coronado while you’re there. It’s the second largest wooden structure in the country and a National Historic Landmark. Like any old building in the US – this one opened in 1888 – it’s supposedly haunted, but I wouldn’t know since it’s a bit out of my price range. Nevertheless, I love the architecture and the lobby will simply take your breath away. It always makes me feel as if I stepped onto the Titanic…

THE WAVES 

Mission Beach

La Jolla Shores, Children’s Pool with seals, Torrey Pines State Beach

There is so much to say about San Diego and so little time, but one thing is for sure: there’s plenty of coastline to explore. Whether it’s a good surf spot you’re looking for or you just want to soak up some sun, don’t leave without sticking your toes in the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean. From Torrey Pines or Del Mar in the North of San Diego to the more touristic destinations of La Jolla Shores or Mission beach, there’s something for everyone. Even though I did not grow up near the beach, I don’t think I would want to miss it anymore.

La Jolla Shores/ The Pier

And if you’re lucky you get to see some rain!

San Diego is a fun and laid back city where you can pretty much wear whatever you want wherever you want. I’ve had some of the best food in my life here and my favourite is still the obligatory California breakfast burrito or the fish tacos. You pick. Beer enthusiasts can tour the many breweries and wine lovers definitely have to take a trip to Temecula. Bored of the beach? Then there are plenty of beautiful hikes to do. My only advice would be to remember it cools off quickly at night and it can be pretty cloudy near the coast – especially at this time of year – so don’t be me and bring some extra sweaters on that first visit!

Have you ever been to San Diego? 

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Whew.

1. It’s been a whirlwind last few weeks. My emotions are all over the place, and we have kind of been all over the place. Like Seattle and Olympia, Washington:

2. And Oregon:

3. And even California!

4. No matter how many times I go abroad, I never seem to get more efficient at packing. Or timely! We leave alarmingly soon and I still have clothes scattered all over the place. It also never seems to get easier to decide what to pack. It is for a year, but I also have to remind myself that we will be able to find, most likely, whatever we need in Prague. But what can I say…I’ve never been there before and I like to be prepared. Like, any-illness-any-weather-any-occasion-any-mood kind of prepared. Which is not conducive to the small amount of luggage we are bringing!

5. It’s just hitting me that I’ve said goodbye to all of my stateside family and friends for the foreseeable future (well, at least six months until a possible visitor!) and my emotions are going out of the control. I think I’m really, really fun to be around right now! Hopefully my blog will also be more fun to read in a week or so, too ;).

Linking up with Lauren!

Catch ya from PRAGUE!

The post The Next Time I Blog… appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

I’m a woman of contradictions, what can I say?

The game was alive and well when we visited Napa Valley last fall. I would live there in a heartbeat, especially on some land with a few vines: it’s so gorgeous.

I do have a confession, though: before going to Napa, I didn’t love wine.

(Just like before all the beer in Belgium, I didn’t love beer, and before the scotch tour in Scotland, I didn’t love whisky…there’s a definite pattern here.)

Sure, I liked wine, and I enjoyed a glass with dinner, but I tended to prefer the fruity, lighter ones. You know, the pink ones you drink out of a box.

Classy, right?

Yet, I couldn’t wait to try as much wine in Napa as possible, because, why  not?

Due to several recommendations, we hopped on a tour with Platypus. Although we were by far the youngest on the tour, it was great to have a ride, some snacks, and easy access to smaller, more intimate vineyards.

The tour consisted of four different tastings at Arger-Martucci Vineyards (which are now closed, as the families wanted to retire), Hopper Creek Vineyard & Winery, Razi Winery and Whetstone Wine Cellars. I think my favorite part of the tour was how different each winery was. At Arger-Martucci, we sat in their pretty backyard by the pool and talked with the wise yet hilarious owner; at Hopper Creek, we hung out in their winery, played with their dog, and watched the tour guide drink Coors Light in between sips of wine; at Razi we sat in a bar-like setting with a beautiful view; and at Whetstone, we visited a gorgeous old winery that looked like it came out of Italy. I would recommend Platypus for the variety of experience, as well as the delicious cheese plate and the handy ride all over the Valley.

Be warned: you WILL want to buy all of the wine you taste. We miraculously only came away with two bottles, mostly because E can keep his cool even after countless bottles tastes of wine (unlike me, I discovered). We also really didn’t want to ship wine (or so we decided before the tours) and I really wanted to ship it all back after several tastes, but E is responsible and we only took what we could squeeze into our bags.

The wine was amazing, of course, but so was the scenery. Likely why I really was enchanted.

We met a friend of mine, Karly, for delicious French food at Bistro Jeanty (get the cream of tomato soup!) in Yountville after our full day, and treated ourselves to more wine with dinner.

Yep, I would definitely live in Napa…maybe one day, when all of my dreams have come true and I grown tired of the vagabond lifestyle.

And now?

I do love wine.

^the river that runs through the valley.

^the view from Arger-Martucci.

^to have the wine, you must grow the grapes!

^when my dreams do come true and I move to Napa, I will for sure have a winery dog.

^this man might be the reason we ended up buying two bottles of wine at Razi!

^a happy, happy girl.

^just us being adorable in a vineyard.

^sipping it in at Whetstone.

^see what I mean about Whetstone looking like it belongs in Italy?

^we had a convertible in California. Cliche? Oh yes. Worth it? OH YES.

^hello beautiful!

Can you believe it’s already letter W for the A to Z Challenge??

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