Apologies that it took me so long to get these photos up here, but it’s been a little hectic recently. For those of you who haven’t heard, I (Mike) found out a week after the wedding that there was an opportunity for me to move to Munich for work and after discussing it with Katie, we took it! Though this means Katie and I are going to be located on different continents for the next few years, at least it will also mean lots of frequent flier miles and an unlimited supply of Stroopwaffels! Katie is entering her last year of law school in a week or so and upon completion this coming spring she’ll be headed out to Los Angeles to take the music industry by storm. …So, needless to say, it’s been a pretty busy summer.
But without further ado, below is a link to our web album of some of the wedding photos. Thank you Ian Grant for your amazing work!
Please stay in touch, if you’re ever around (in Philly or Germany) let us know! Thank you for all the support and good wishes, we had an amazing time on the trip and at the wedding. All the best to everyone and hopefully we’ll see you again soon!
Ah Rio, what an appropriate last stop. Beautiful beaches, beautiful people, sun, warm weather and relaxation. Rio was really a great place, we had a blast. …but I’m getting ahead of myself. Our flight to Rio was mostly uneventful, as by this time Katie and I have become expert packers, fliers and basically anything that goes into traveling. Our short stopover en route to Brazil was in Portugal, which, from our brief stay and the general demeanor of our flight attendants from TAP, seems to be very much like Spain. By that I mean one prioritizes life in the following way: 1) Partying 2) Eating and Drinking 3) Looking Good 4) Everything else 5) Working and benefiting the economy. They follow a similar schedule of 9AM – 1PM work, after that take a 2+ hour lunch and come back to work (if you feel like it). I’m not being critical, I’m just jealous. Sounds like an awesome place to be. But when we got to Rio, I saw a whole new level of lifestyle.
No matter what day of the week it is, it seems that the average ‘Rio de Janeiran’ wakes up sometime around 10, jogs along the beach, stops at one of the many pull-up bars on the beach to get jacked and tan and show off his physique, then drinks a coconut (like me) and heads onto the beach to play a game of volleyball, paddle ball or soccer (while drinking beer) until the sun sets.
He then eats (maybe his first real meal all day) and heads to the clubs until 4 AM. Rinse and repeat. Again, I’m pretty jealous. How do I know all this? This guy told me:
So with this schedule, as you can imagine, beaches and bodies are of utmost priority. As we strolled down Copa Cabana and Ipanema, we happened upon (rather happily, in my opinion) many scenes just like this one:
Unfortunately, even if most people looked like that, there are always some that look like this:
So let your eyes wander responsibly.
But Rio has much more than just beautiful beaches and (some) beautiful people, it’s an incredible city surrounded by mountains and forest directly on the ocean. We had the amazing opportunity to have our tour guide (André) all to ourselves (no one else booked a tour with him that day) as he took us all through the Tijuca Forest, up to Cristo Redentor and across the city. The forest (which is a re-planted forest!) has plants from all over the world growing side-by-side with beautiful waterfalls scattered throughout the greenery.
André was a tremendous sport when we stopped to get our photo with Christ the Redeemer. Since we were up so high, we were actually in/above the clouds.
This made for some really great photos and some spectacular shots, but it also made trying to get our perfect picture very, very frustrating.
After a few passes when Jesus looked like this:
We finally managed to get a great shot (credit to André as the photographer).
And it was with that photo that we completed our world tour. It was with a tremendous amount of relief and bittersweet accomplishment that we made our way down from the mountain. Katie and I just looked at each other shaking our heads and saying ‘wow… we really did it.’ There were times that weren’t easy, some were downright miserable, but all-in-all, I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate our wedding. When you start and end in the same place, getting to the destination means nothing – everything is about the journey… and what an unforgettable journey.
So thank you all again for all of your support, comments and love. We’ve got our wedding this Saturday and couldn’t be more excited. See you there, and thank you for sharing every flight, photo and step with us along the way.
A mere two hour train ride away from Brussels, we met up with Lars in Western Germany and spent the weekend catching up before our flight to London. For those of you who don’t know, Lars is our friend who just so happens to be a German movie star. He has been in a bunch of movies and is currently on a show called Unter Uns which is probably the equivalent of Days of Our Lives, but during prime time (people recognize him on the street). Though we had been to Germany many times, it is always nice to go back someplace where you feel comfortable and have favorite shops and restaurants. We made sure to stop at Katie’s favorite shoe store (Kämpgen – where she gets boots every winter), some of our favorite Christmas ornament stores, and of course the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral).
It’s quite a hike up to the top (more than 500 steps) up a very tightly wound spire. The spiral staircase carries people both up and down so you are constantly dodging bodies as you traverse the narrow and worn stairs. Once reaching the top, however, the view is worth it. It’s a breathtaking view over a city that (except for this cathedral) has been almost completely rebuilt since WWII.
Once we climbed down we sat by the river and enjoyed the weather. …It was at this time that we realized there were about a million bachelor and bachelorette parties going on in Cologne. The brides/grooms were of all ages and levels of rowdiness, but a somewhat common ground for everyone seemed to be the Bier Bike. For those of you who have spent summers at the Jersey Shore growing up, perhaps you remember something called a Surrey. It’s basically a multi-person bike (that looks and drives like a car) that is powered by the collective effort of several people. Take the image of a Surrey, elongate it, and add kegs and kegs of beer and ta-da! You have the Bier Bike. I think it’s a pretty great idea but of course it involves drinking in public, which for some reason the US doesn’t allow (I don’t think a “Bier Bike with Brown Paper Bags” has the same effect). In any case, it was a pretty entertaining way to pass the time until dinner.
After eating at a few great restaurants (sushi one night and Thai the next) we caught the fireworks celebrating Dusseldorf’s “Japanese Day”.
Late Sunday night, after a long game of Monopoly (in German, of course), just hours before our Monday morning flight and even less time before Lars was required to be at work, Lars realized that he hadn’t reviewed his lines at all! He had 10 scenes the next day and was completely unprepared. Like any actor would want, we launched a photoshoot to capture his true feelings at this precise moment:
And it was that image of Lars that we left behind as we packed our bags and left for the airport. London was only a short flight away and there was plenty to see and do as we continued our trek around the world. Off to London Town!
So Katie and I made our way from Italy to Brussels just in time for me to be in class with my friends from Duke. Brussels is a great city – very multicultural (3 national languages of Belgium: French, Dutch and German). Of course they are known for their Beer, Chocolates and Waffles, and as expected, I am known for my tendency to over-consume everything I touch (doing the math, you can easily predict that we gained some weight during this stop of the trip).
While we were busy with school, my class made sure to take plenty of time to enjoy the local brews of Belgium. We had a tasting in this local bar and even had the opportunity to go to InBev’s headquarters and see the production lines of Stella Artois (and of course, taste some!). This is clearly proof that drinking beer in school is rather educational.
Another staple of Brussels is its chocolate. I never pass up a good praline, so here I am in Neuhaus enjoying some chocolates they graciously suggested to us. That’s our tour guide (with the beard), a true Belgian who gave us the ins and the outs of the chocolate industry. He adamantly stated that Swiss chocolates have simply copied methods from Belgium and that Neuhaus has the original praline. I can’t argue the facts, but I would like to add that all of them are simply delicious.
And so we come to the third most renowned piece of Brussels – waffles. Belgian waffles have always been a favorite of mine, usually topped with a (very) generous scoop of ice cream. We ended up grabbing waffles at many places throughout the city in attempts to find the best one, but they all seemed to be pretty similar. Nonetheless, waffles are a tremendous ’snack’ between rounds of chocolate and beer as you walk the streets of Brussels. I would recommend it to anyone.
While our stay in Brussels was the longest, I was so busy with school work that we don’t have too much to post. By the way, thank you Allison for the photos (she’s the one eating the waffle with me)!
The mornings were early (7 AM) and the nights were late (often 3+ AM) but I was extremely happy that Katie finally got to meet my friends from school whom I had talked about endlessly for months and months. I didn’t think any of my friends could handle Katie’s ‘powerful’ personality (she will criticize you until she’s blue in the face) and yet the sarcastic tone seemed to be a uniting force throughout the week.
Whenever we had time, we took short day-trips to Bruges, Antwerp and Leuven since they were all so close to Brussels and soaked in the Belgium culture as much as possible. All in all, we had an amazing week and I was so happy to share it with both Katie and my friends from school. Now fat and happy from my beer, chocolates and waffles, we head off to Germany for more European goodness. Talk to you soon!
One thing I didn’t get a chance to post about while we were in Rome was the Swiss Guard. For those of you who have seen them (or perhaps have read/seen Angels and Demons) you know that the Swiss Guard is one of the most elite fighting forces in the world… but they dress like… well… you be the judge. So it is with that that I would like to play a little game called “Trained Killer or Ballerina?” I’ll show you a picture and you choose whether or not it is a trained killer or a ballerina. Let’s get started.
Ok, first up we have this guy:
He doesn’t look too much like anything… So what do you think, Trained Killer or Ballerina? Ok that one was easy, he was clearly a ballerina… But now they start to get harder… Alright, let’s try once again:
He looks a lot like the first guy… He’s wearing a beret, has very puffy pants and is very skinny… maybe a court jester or something? …Nope! Trained Killer! Alright how about another:
Alright now this guy is rugged, he’s tough and it looks like he could probably do some damage (you know, for a guy wearing… that outfit). So what do you think, Trained Killer or Ballerina? …Oooh, and he’s a Ballerina. Ok, one more:
Again, this guy looks like he should be playing the fife at the Renaissance Fair, right? …WRONG! One of the world’s elite trained killers in the Swiss Guard.
So I hope the lesson learned here is that you can’t really tell the difference between a ballerina and a trained killer. Next time you walk down the street and see somebody that looks like me (on the lanky side and extremely well dressed – perhaps wearing a tremendous scarf), think twice, he may be the next Chuck Norris.
Ah Italy, a place where people eat ice cream every day, drink like fish and smoke like chimneys yet somehow manage to outlive the US – I thought I had just stepped into heaven. And our first taste of heaven was absolutely our hotel. The St. Regis Rome is, as expected, a portrait of Italian opulence so over-the-top that you continually ask yourself if you magically became royalty. It’s the type of style no one would ever want in their own house, but in a hotel it’s just enough ridiculousness that you really enjoy it. We were even upgraded to a suite so our room had a NAME!
Once we stopped laughing like giddy little children, we made our way out into the city to explore. Being that Rome is such a compact, walkable European city, even Katie’s toe didn’t slow us down too much and we were able to cover most of the city in our first full day. Our first day actually happened to be Republic Day in Italy so there were parades and all sorts of special events.
Unfortunately, this also meant that some of the icons of Rome were closed for the holiday, and significantly more depressing (for someone who will remain nameless), Gucci, Valentino, Dolce & Gabanna and other shopping icons were also closed.
Nonetheless, most of Rome is simply soaking in the beauty and impressiveness of what the Romans were able to accomplish 2000 years ago.
This entire city is basically a giant museum of beautiful art works to be enjoyed from the small cafés peppered throughout the city. It is impossible to look in any direction and not see an amazing building, sculpture or church, so as much as we would love to litter this post with a million photographs (and we do have a lot in store), it just makes more sense to see it yourself.
Our first pass through the city included the big things that no one should miss while here in Rome (also the places most crowded by tourists). The Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps and countless beautiful Piazzas throughout the city (it would take me all day to list them all). Having just read Angels & Demons, I was looking a little closer for Illuminati imagery as I was walking around (I know, huge nerd).
It was at this point that Katie and I were starting to get a little tired and just wanted to experience the Italian culture. We found a cute little café, ordered a massive gelati, two café lattes and a bottle of red wine (not all at once, this is over a few hours) and watched the people pass by. If anyone was looking for a fun past-time, watching Italian men perv the many women that pass by (for those who don’t know: perv, v.t. to stare at impertinently, flirtatiously, or amorously). It really is quite comical.
It was about this time that Katie and I made the realization (crystallized easily into a phrase by Nick – thank you) that New Jersey really does give Italians a bad name. Apologies to those of you from The Suburb State, but spending my summers at the Jersey Shore in my youth, I have my share of run-ins with people like this guy (children should not watch that video… or read this paragraph…). After speaking with a few locals (who are hard to come by in a tourist metropolis like Rome), people are very very different than the “jacked and tan” variety I grew up with. Don’t get me wrong, there are some stereotypes that are extremely true. For instance, I have seen about a hundred people just like this guy and it really is impossible to try to mock Italian by being loud, oscillating your voice and using your hands – you will just fit in. Those things said, Italian people are just awesome.
After watching the world go by for a few hours we made our way back to our opulent palace of a hotel and called it a night. The rest of Rome had to wait until tomorrow.
And so we made it to India! Being that this was my second time, I knew what to expect. Katie, however, despite my attempts to warn her that we were not going to be staying in the St. Regis and strolling among Valentino, Chanel and Versace, was not quite prepared for the culture shock that any first trip to India brings. I suppose it all started off with our trek from the Delhi airport to our hotel in Sohna-Gurgaon. We arrived into Delhi airport around midnight after an 8-hour flight from Seoul (our connection from Beijing) then had approximately a 2-hour drive to Sonha-Gurgaon. After a broken conversation with the “Tourism Police” (the only people in India who don’t speak English – go figure), our car finally arrived and we began driving toward the boondocks of Northern-Central India. As evident by the “road” we are driving on (below), I will use that term loosely to describe the state of pavement upon which much of our driving took place.
We passed buses packed to the brim such that numerous passengers were sitting on the roof,
people living in straw and cow-dung huts along the side of the road,
and of course, the obligatory street scammers who rushed our vehicle and tried to open every door, break the windows and do anything to get to us when our driver got out to pay a toll
(they look friendly here, but this actually gave Katie several nights of nightmares as they really did try to open every single door on our vehicle and tried to break the windows). Needless to say, Katie basically had the shakes anytime we ventured out of our hotel compound. But of course, there is a lot to see in India and we weren’t going to let a little fear get in the way of our next world wonder. After a day of R&R to sleep off some jet lag, eat some food and try to decompress from our shaky arrival, Katie and I hired a car and a guide to take us to Agra for the day. The trip to Agra was only about 170 km (~105 miles) but it took us around 3-4 hours due to the poor state of the roads en route. After traversing “highways” with speed bumps, cows and wild dogs, we found ourselves in the former capital of India with plenty of culture to soak in.
The first and most obvious stop in Agra is the Taj Mahal. A 75 meter tall architectural work of art built by Shah Jahan for his “favorite wife” (I sure wonder which one my favorite will be… just kidding!!!). Upon hearing of the story of the Taj, Katie promptly asked me when I would build her a similar monument. The answer was easy, “have 14 kids, die, and then I’ll think about it” (Mumtaz Mahal died while having her 14th child and this was her tomb).
There’s no way to drive directly to the Taj due to pollution restrictions, so once you get within a mile or so, you need to drive a horse the last little bit. Though I may have an equestrian or two in my family (Gen – page 13 – top center), I seem not to know the first thing about horses. Katie however, clearly showing her inner “Western Pennsylvanian” seemed to fare quite well.
After a few wild and crazy maneuvers with Katie behind the reigns (just kidding, she was extremely safe), we pulled up to the Taj Mahal. After paying our “Foreigner Admission Price” of 750 Rs (the Indian price is 20 Rs) we crossed into the courtyard and were astonished by what lie ahead.
Though pictures truly don’t do it justice, the Indian white marble glistens beautifully in the light making the entire monument look like a surreal Hollywood backdrop. Apparently when it was built (before the pollution, wear and tear) the Indian marble reflected 100% of the light shone upon it. Unlike Italian marble (which is softer and porous) Indian marble is crystalline and much harder. …I know, I’m a nerd for enjoying the geology but I thought it was interesting). Evidently the best time to visit the Taj is on a full moon (the only time it is open at night) because the glow of the moon illuminates the marble in the darkness of its surroundings.
After making complete fools of ourselves in our wedding garb, Katie and I wanted to scream TOURISTS even louder: we decided to get the famed “holding the tip of the Taj” picture. We took our turn (apparently everyone takes this picture), and once we were thoroughly pleased being ridiculous tourists, we decided to take a walk inside to see more of the incredible craftsmanship. Since the Taj Mahal is a sacred Islamic building, we were required to either remove our shoes or wear these little shoe-covers (incredibly stylish, don’t you think?) out of respect.
We happened to notice the inlaid gems in the many reliefs along the walls. We’ll talk more about them in a minute.
After an awesome 80’s jump-high-five celebrating yet another world wonder conquered by the Wedding of Wonders, Katie and I left the Taj to see the rest that Agra has to offer. We stopped by a Mughal rug manufacturer and learned all you would ever want to know about Mughal rugs. They’re really quite amazing and very affordable! Katie and I will without a doubt be placing a special order for one once we know where we’ll be living a year from now and what our apartment will look like (or at least the very small percentage of our apartment that isn’t covered with designer shoes and handbags).
I briefly mentioned it earlier, but we were really amazed by the of gem inlay utilized in the marble reliefs scattered throughout the Taj. It turns out that this work was contracted by Shah Jahan out of a small village in Persia and has since been kept within a single family of craftsmen.
We had the opportunity to visit the training facility (and of course, storefront) of this family (now somewhat large at 400 people) and saw firsthand the incredible dexterity required to produce such Lapidary art. We also learned that allegedly, the largest ever Taj Mahal-style building in the world is about to be constructed somewhere in (you’d never guess) New Jersey, and that 150 of the 400 people in the world skilled at this art will be in the US for 7 months performing all of the stone inlay work.
After a long, exhausting day in 100+ degree heat, Katie and I were fried and ready for our air-conditioned ride back to Sohna-Gurgaon. Again, peering out the window we reflected on just how different India is from anywhere we’ve ever been. We had just witnessed the Taj Mahal, one of the cleanest, most opulent monuments in the world, then directly outside its gates, people struggling to eat each day. The drive to our hotel passed through some very rural areas in India far poorer than anything I had seen in Delhi. Though the pictures don’t capture anything near what we had seen, India really is a conundrum. We wondered how a place so chaotic and without order, can have such content, happy people. It seems that the intense spiritual nature of Indian culture creates a sense of calm confidence that supersedes anything material. …Maybe that’s a little too Eckhart Toll, but almost everyone in India is incredibly happy and very proud.
In any event, India was a great stop along our journey and we look forward to our next one. See you at the Pyramids!!!
Once the weather finally broke, Katie and I were ready to go take on Sydney. It really is a beautiful city – very clean, very organized, very walkable – overall, an extremely livable place. People here seem very nice and the diverse makeup of the population results in a great array of different restaurants. Having such great food options at our fingertips, Katie and I just can’t resist. We had been on the wait list for Tetsuya’s for quite some time (we had just missed their 2 calendar month reservation date) but we were able to secure a reservation at Quay, a beautiful restaurant literally on Circular Quay. We were seated in a circular glass room on the top floor of the building overlooking the Sydney Harbour, and were dazzled by the chef’s signature degustation menu. He had gracefully incorporated everything from ‘pearls of the ocean’ (various seafood in spherical shape) to an incredible mud crab soup to seared pork belly that would just about make anyone’s mouth water. It was an excellent dinner to start our experience in Sydney.
The next morning, we were ready to get our signature Sydney wedding pictures in front of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We scouted out a few great locations but found eventually that Mrs. Macquarie’s Point (named after Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair) was the perfect destination. At each location we take a few different shots, some conventional, some kissing and some just being silly. At this location, we were going for a jumping photo. Being that Katie has a broken toe (and has been limping like a poor crippled old lady), she would not be doing much jumping so it was left to me to do enough jumping for both of us. Now I know what you’re thinking, why would they chose a jumping picture if Katie has a broken toe? Great question, I was wondering the same myself but it was Katie’s idea, and I’ll never turn down an opportunity to be ridiculous, so I was in. Again, after some ill-timed jumps on our own (and again causing a complete scene), a friendly Aussie offered to take a photo of us and things turned out perfectly.
We then took a drive to nearby Sydney Harbour National Park and checked out the view from Bluefin Lookout Point. It’s a great spot to look back at all of Sydney from afar and see the entire harbor. There were sailing classes in the foreground, cruise ships in the background, and a beautiful scene for a picnic (of course, the eco-friendly Aussies even had a special trash can entitled ‘Picnic Rubbish’ to accompany the usual glass, plastic, cans, paper and trash receptacles). There were also about a million signs informing us that going any faster than 10 kmph would result in the unsightly and untimely death of bandicoots. As a point of reference, only 1 bandicoot has succumed to the perils of the road in 2009. Yosemite, on the other hand, puts up a sign in the park for each bear killed by a car – in 2008 there were 24.
As the evening drew nearer, we thought it would be grand to cruise through the Harbour around sunset and have a look at the sights all lit up. Accompanied by a group of about 25 Japanese tourists, we set out on a ‘cocktail cruise’. It was a very pleasant route through the harbor and truly a great way to see Sydney at night (since it’s winter, the sun set sometime around 5:00 PM).
So it is after a great overall experience that we say goodbye to Sydney. We’ll certainly be back to Australia soon, but staying much longer and exploring the entire country (hopefully when Katie doesn’t have a broken toe). We’re off to China on a flight much longer than I had thought (12 hours of flying from Sydney to Beijing). Talk to you all then!
We’ve made it to Sydney! Normally the biggest challenge crossing the Pacific Ocean and the Equator simultaneously is simply the flight time, but in true Katie and Mike fashion, we decided to make it a little more difficult on ourselves. For those of you wanting to travel to Australia from the US, you do, in fact, need a visa. In all of the planning and preparation, I had thought I had everything under control and we were completely prepared to enter every country on the list — but apparently I hadn’t been completely thorough. I had entirely forgotten to get Katie and I Australian visas and there we were, standing at the United check-in line without permission to enter the country we had tickets to fly to… yep, really smart of me…
Fortunately for us, we had the most helpful airline attendant EVER, Colette Wallace (if you’re reading this, thank you so much!), who quickly managed to get us visas as we were standing there about to check in. We then realized that US Airways (again, the worst airline ever) booked Katie’s entire ticket (all 16 flights) under the wrong name. Needless to say, without Colette’s help, we probably would not have made it.
But we’re here, and extremely excited for our first international destination of this trip! The flight (albeit long) was actually quite pleasant and relaxing, and everyone we have met here have been tremendously kind. My only complaint thus far has been the weather — it is pretty rainy — but we have a fabulous room that overlooks the Opera House and every once and again a break in the weather gives way to a beautiful rainbow.
Regrettably, we have suffered our second injury on this trip: Katie’s left foot. After traversing the treacherous Yosemite trails completely unscathed, the perils of a suitcase holder in our hotel room got the best of Katie. She accidentally kicked the luggage holder when walking and as a result, has a broken and bruised pinkie-toe. Fortunately we still have the ace bandages from my arm wrap so we’re prepared, and we’ll use this rainy weather as an excuse to rest, recover and for me to take my finals for this term at Duke.
As you could probably guess from Katie’s French Laundry post, the following morning we woke up with one of the worst food-hangovers we’ve ever had. You know that feeling that you don’t want to eat ever again? That was basically us (though I must admit, sometime around 2 PM I broke down and started eating the shortbread cookies and chocolates that TFL had packed up for us — what can I say? Fat kid). After we packed up (which included our extremely disgusting clothes from Yosemite), we headed out to see the sights of The Bay Area and grab a few beautiful pictures along the way.
While still in the Napa Valley, we wanted to duck into a nearby vineyard and grab that classic Northern California wedding shot in front of rows and rows of grapevines. I don’t think I will ever get tired of the sight of vineyards, rolling hills and beautiful mansions – wine country is really an amazing place to be. The rustic feel of farming but with the class of fine wine and cheese – a great balance for us city kids.
As we headed south, I thought it would be really nice to stop by Muir Woods, a beautiful forest reserve named after the first president of the Sierra Club, John Muir. With trees over 250 feet tall, 14 feet wide and 1000 years old, it’s a pretty humbling place.
And last but not least, what would the San Francisco area be without its most famous landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge? Certainly an icon we wanted to capture, Katie and I parked near one of the vista points, grabbed our tripod and set off to get the perfect photo. Now, one important thing to note about these photos is that we are limited in the distance and obstacles that I am able to cover between the time I push the button on the camera and when I am standing next to Katie (I have a 10 second fuse). So far there have been a few long runs (Mono Lake and even Muir Woods), but never one with an obstacle. You can’t see it here, but Katie and I are actually standing on a bench that is behind a railing – which meant that I needed to sprint, jump the railing, land on the bench, turn and pose all in 10 seconds. Now, since I’m much more like Jason Wade than Angelo Taylor, this isn’t exactly the easiest feat. Being that we were in a fairly touristy location, we had an audience of people, watching and laughing as I was tripping, falling and looking like a complete idiot trying to get into position in time. After a few minutes, a very nice couple of German tourists offered to help us out and take the photos for us. Vielen Dank, Fritz! You saved me from what would have been yet another Wedding of Wonders injury!
We drove from the bridge to the airport as the sun was setting, reminiscing on our wonderful 4 days spent in California. We saw everything from the desert to the mountains, ocean to forests, 100-degree heat to snow, and small towns with only 150 people to the diverse city of San Francisco. California is a huge state with something for just about everyone. We’ll miss you California, but we’re off to see the world! Talk to you from Sydney!
