Day #1 of our August vacation in Italy

It’s all in the family: The story of my grandpa, the photographer (who worked with Ansel Adams!)

One day I will get back to crafting as I do miss it so!

It has been a while since my last post, and I just want to sincerely thank you guys for your well wishes and support for me and my family. Seriously. You made my day/week/month. Things were hard, but have since gotten better, so hopefully I can start blogging regularly again.

Along with the sad events that life has brought, there have also been some exciting events recently too. May has been a month of “firsts” for me, most of which have kept me away from writing. I went to the first funeral that I was old enough to remember attending. I held my first stamp class (more on that soon!). And… for the first time ever, I was a second shooter for a wedding. On Sunday, I visited Palmdale, California with my talented friend and budding photographer, Phoebe Joy, to shoot Jenny and Gustavo’s wedding. Gosh, I have so much to say about that experience. But, for now, I’ll just share that I had a blast, despite the fact that my muscles are achingly SORE from lugging around loads of equipment. I had a ton of  fun, realized that photography is something I want to explore, and confirmed that I have MUCH to learn. I feel very, very blessed and grateful that I can pursue this wonderful, intimidating craft with a friend.

Congrats to Jenny and Gustavo! And to Phoebe, thanks for letting this inexperienced gal tag along with you.

To here:

Back to here (funeral #2):

Needless to say, it has been a long and hard few weeks. I hope to update soon. Miss you all.

-Kel

Our hotel was conveniently located in Madrid’s center.  We walked through this bustling city shopping plaza every day.

Inside a cafe, I ordered a tasty cup of coffee and breakfast. Yum!

The Hubs wanted to play photographer, so I begrudgingly posed.

The architecture in Madrid is beautiful.

Views from our hotel. I kept the shutter open for 10 seconds on this one. And timed the shot with the green traffic lights.

In Spain, when one orders a tortilla, an omelette is served. Tasty.

Lots of cheap clothes on sale everywhere. Although, when we visited, the dollar was weak, so the clothes were not so inexpensive.

Last night in Madrid. The skies really looked like this every night.

Off to the train station to head towards Barcelona.

Hubs the tourist.

Our trusty Rick Steves guide took us everywhere.

The high speed trains.

All aboard! Next stop: Barcelona!

Speaking of vacations, Madrid is a wonderful city to visit. Despite the fact that Hubs had major jet lag and spent the daylight hours sleeping in our hotel room, I had a great time and managed to take some pretty pictures while I waited for my husband to awake from his slumber.

At the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris grabbing breakfast before flying to Madrid. Even McDonalds tastes better in Europe. What the heck.

I was amused to find this ad on the back of my airplane magazine. I wish I had a chance to see Tila Tequila dubbed in Spanish. Wait, no I don’t. But it would’ve been HI-LAR-I-OUS.

I love airports. Madrid’s is especially pretty.

While Hubs was jetlagged and snoozing in our hotel room, I pulled out my tripod and took photos off the balcony.

We eventually got out to see the city sites. Madrid, like all European cities, is filled with gorgeous architecture.

The Royal Palace of Madrid was one of our first tourist stops. It’s the largest palace in western Europe, although only a handful of rooms are open to visitors.

Obligatory jumping picture.

After day one in Madrid, Hubs was still exhausted. So, he napped while I climbed onto the balcony to take night shots. I got lots of practice playing with long shutter speeds.

Madrid is gorgeous!

Hubs and I were extremely lucky; we did not pay for a single day of lodging during our Euro trip. The hotel that we booked for our wedding gave Hubs and me a free one-week stay at any of their hotels across the world. We booked a week in Spain with their offer. Then, I used my Amex Starwood points to book another week in Paris. (Side note: my Starwood Amex is the best credit card I own. The rewards points accumulate fast and the hotels are super fabulous.)

Our vacation went like this: we landed in Paris first, spent two nights there, flew to Madrid for three nights, took the train to Barcelona where we stayed for four nights, then flew back to Paris for another four nights. Of the three cities, Paris and Barcelona were my favorites! I loved the museums and culture of Paris and all the Gothic architecture in Barcelona. I definitely plan on returning soon.

No, we’re not tourists… not at all!

On the first day we got to Paris, we ran into a glamorous photo shoot in the Place de la Concord.

We also witnessed a bride and groom heading to their wedding.

L’Arc de Triomphe

Juxtaposition

Underneath la Tour d’Eiffel. It was lit up in blue to commemorate France’s presidency of the EU.

Across the street from the tower

Hubs, inside the Louvre… He brought that flip cam everywhere.

Inside the Red Room

In this photo, I was thinking, “Wow, I must be refined and cultured since I’m in this fancy museum!”

Scary statue reminding us to behave inside respected museum property… OR ELSE.

Now, tell me something… does life imitate art?

Or does art imitate life?

Gosh, I can’t believe how mature we are.

Not very, apparently!

“I pledge allegiance to the flag…”

Two goofballs who obviously can’t appreciate culture.

The lovely streets of Paris

Drinking the evil juice (there are no Peet’s in Paris)

Underneath l’Arc de Triomphe

Au Champs-Elysee…. The one song I remember from French class.

Hubs waiting in a metro tunnel

Reflections

Walking (or jumping) in the Jardin des Tuileries

Outside the Louvre

The Louvre! I love this museum. It’s GORGEOUS.

Inside the Louvre, looking out.

I don’t want to overload ya’ll with pictures, so I’ll stop here. Next up: Madrid!

And now, onto the pictures!

These pictures along the copper wall were taken at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.

Once we finished at the de Young, we wandered into the botanical gardens.

Hubs took this one in front of the tree.

By this time, it was very dark and I was in need of an expensive flash unit that I don’t own yet. I’d better stop spending so much on stamps so I can pick one up soon!

Lil Bro also loves photography and he took some shots of me and the Hubs during the shoot too. I’ll get around to posting some of those one day soon!

I really enjoy playing photographer, although it takes me a billion shots to get a good one. I’d love to learn more. Taking a photography course is definitely on my list of priorities for this year.

Hubs and I went to our friends’ wedding on Saturday and we had such a blast. Although I’ve been married for almost a year already, I never get tired of weddings. They are such a testament of a couple’s personality. Whether the event is simple and sweet, or luxurious and grand, I always have fun at weddings.

Of course, I made a card for the newlyweds with some new stamps and supplies from my recent SU order.

Card Recipe: SU Upsy Daisy & Best Yet stamp sets, SU pink pirouette, chocolate chip, and kiwi kiss paper, PTI ribbon, Heidi Swapp flower, SU corner rounder punch (to make the border), K & Co pearl brads.

And below, just a few pictures of the happy couple:

Scott prepares to feed his bride.

Cheers!

Congratulations, Scott & Sareen! Welcome to the married club!