Cinque Terre, We Love You!

 we arrived in cinque terre by train and what a beautiful train ride it was. i have to say we loved training from city to city. it was so easy & efficient and such a great way to see the country side of italy. 

 cinque terre is exactly what jeff and i needed. after traveling for about three weeks, in and out of airports and foreign countries, we were in need of some serious relaxation. the main goal for the next two days was to do absolutely nothing but relax on those warm mediterranean beaches!
 (do nothing except...
lay on the beach and stuff our faces with pasta and gelato, of course!) 

^^ because pesto and focaccia bread originated here, 

it was only fitting to combine the two for our first meal. 

mmm, so good! ^^

we stayed in the charming town of vernazza.

cinque terre is made up of five small towns.

in order to get to the beaches of Monterosso, one of the five towns, we took a fun 10 minute boat ride!

^^ look at that bright blue water. ^^

^^ melon gelato, hit the spot every time. ^^

^^ i secretly took this shot of jeffrey, with my zoom lens, on the back of the boat. 

he had no idea.

i couldn't resist, he's too cute! :)

below are some beautiful views from our bed and breakfast.

^^ breathtaking!! ^^

we took a short fifteen minute hike out of vernazza to get this view.

it was worth every step. there is no better view in my mind!

i counted and we walked up and down 182 steps every time we went to our room.

pesto pasta!

our second day in cinque terre was filled with more beach time, more pasta & gelato and exploring the other four towns by boat! 

^^ i loved this scene as we were leaving the dock. ^^

^^cornelia^^

^^riomaggiore^^

we couldn't get enough of these bright colored little towns.
the locals were incredibly charming and the food was perfection.
cinque terre is a must see, and it exceeded our expectations in every way!

San Fran, I Love You.

 just recently, i visited my sister jamie and little nephew august in san francisco. 

we spent a lot of time at the beach, over looking the beautiful golden gate bridge.

we frequented multiple parks and played for hours.

swim class was too much fun with august in a bright pink swim suit.

we spent an afternoon at the farmers market, enjoying lunch and delicious produce.

i discovered my love for bi-rite ice-cream and proved it by eating a scoop (or two) everyday!

jamie took me to ragazza every other day because it's the best pizza we've ever had.

my good friend amanda stayed with us for a few days and we loved having her.

we went on a long bike ride through golden gate park in the pouring rain.

(manda is up for anything, i love it!)

jamie was the best host and showed us all around town.

i have to say my favorite part of the trip was spending time with my nephew, 

who i swear is the cutest little 1 year old i've ever known. 

it was a wonderful week and i'm missing them so much.

i'm already scheming a plan to visit again soon!