Umbria

For the middle portion of the trip Alissa and Ryan found this great house in Umbria. We used it as a home base and then did day trips to small hilltop towns.

Our first town was Spoleto. It was a Sunday so things were kind of quiet, but we did find one restaurant open. Contrary to Taylor's expression, it had a nice terrace and great food!

Something in this photo was really old. I think it was the steps, but could have been a wall.

The Duomo.

Alissa decided to give us a sermon.

Just outside the city was an aqueduct we walked across. I didn't get any good photos of it, but the view from it was gorgeous.

The start of the aqueduct.

Lucca

2 years after the trip, and maybe I'll finish posting these photos!

After the Cinque Terra, we had a brief stop in Lucca. We rented bicycles and cruised around town. I think this was one of the highlights of the trip!

There is a bike path on top of the wall that surrounds the city. It's a nice little ride with a great view.

We went down into the city too with our bikes. It was a really charming town.

Cinque Terre

It is slightly ridiculous that it has taken me almost five months to get these photos edited, and the sad part is that I've only gotten through the first city. But I figured I would post what I have so far....





We flew into Pisa and did a very quick tour of the tower before hopping on a train to our first destination.




The grounds surrounding the tower were also really beautiful. I wish I knew what all of these buildings were for...like I said, it was a very quick side trip. And sadly I spent the majority of the time there looking for a camera shop to replace my broken filter.




The first stop on our trip was the Cinque Terre. I've been wanting to go there for ages. I'm afraid it has turned into a bit of a tourist trap (thank you Rick Steeves), but it was still gorgeous and we all had a good time. This little bridge was on the walk down from the train station.




We took Rick's advice and stayed in Vernazza. It seems a lot of other people did as well, but for good reason.




The little town had it's own harbor full of boats and sunbathers. It was really nice to go for a swim after a long, hot hike.




The first day we decided to explore Vernazza and found an amazing cemetery up in the hills. There were walls and walls of these graves.




I really loved the striped walls. I'm not sure of the significance, but we found the same stripes at other churches throughout our trip.




There were a handful of graves in the ground. What a beautiful place to be laid to rest.




This was a church we saw on our way up to the cemetery.




During our exploration we came across this tower.




What manly men they are!




Al and Ryan looking down from the top of the tower.




My favorite part of the Cinque Terre was all of the bright colors.

On the second day in the Cinque Terre we got up early to do the hike between the 5 different towns. The rest of the photos are taken during that hike.


All of the towns were covered in stairs. I can't imagine being old and living here!









Not exactly sure what Taylor is doing, but he seems to be enjoying it.









Oh Ryan.




There was a part of the trail that was called the "Via Dell'Amore" (or Lover's Walk). For a couple hundred yards there are locks everywhere, put up by couples to symbolize their love.
























The last section of our hike was really beautiful. Sadly we didn't have much time to enjoy it as it was getting late. Ryan, Al, and I ran most of it in order to make it to Vernazza in time to photograph the sunset. But I couldn't pass up this bridge.









Ryan and I didn't have tripods so we had to make due with fences, rocks, and anything else we could find. I think between the two of us we took over a hundred pictures while the sun was setting, with only a couple turning out. Next time, I guarantee we won't make that mistake again.

Year One

One year down...an eternity to go. So far, so good. Here are a few highlights from the year. (90% of the photos are from our iPhones, so please excuse the quality.)




One of the only photos from our honeymoon in Cancun. Tulum was definitely a highlight.



Our apartment is right on Central Park which we love! We try to spend as much time there as possible.



Even though we live on the park, we are technically in Harlem. We love it and hate it at the same time. This is one of the love moments....view from our balcony.



One of the other things we love is our neighbors. These three cute girls lived just upstairs for the first year. (Sad to say they all moved on...we really miss them!) Mary, Sarah and I had memberships to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens so we brought Christine along to see the roses.



For Memorial Day, I joined the three of them on a road trip in our new car. First stop...Falling Waters (Frank Lloyd Wright house), second stop....Niagra Falls, and final stop....Cooperstown. So much fun!



We are really loving our car and made good use of it this summer. We went on our first "couples trip" to Cape Cod for the 4th of July with some good friends we made in our new ward.



Taylor's hair got a bit crazy on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard.



Lunch in the Vineyard.



We brought our bikes and toured the island. One of the cutest places ever!



For lunch we apparently had the finest fish 'n chips on the Cape. We even got Emily, the vegetarian, to partake. Mmmm!



To train for our triathlon, we rode with a few of our friends to New Jersey.



Our second couples trip was to Newport, RI. The Cliffwalk is my favorite part about this quaint little town....beautiful ocean on one side, huge mansions on the other.



We did a day trip to Block Island. We brought our bikes once again and wandered the entire island.



The beach where Emily and I "frolicked." Don't you wish you could see the video?



The ferry ride home was gorgeous! Kind of makes me want to move to Newport.



During the course of the year, I saw various members of my family 12 times...pretty good for living across the country. During one of these times, I got to take Ella to the zoo for her first time. She didn't quite know what to think about it all.



Being a freelancer, I had lots of spare time and tried to put it to good use. One of my various projects was making onesies for Ella. We also made them at a baby shower for my friend Mary (see photo of Fish 'n Chips). They are really easy and tons of fun. Too bad I can't make a living at it.



Another major highlight of the year was going to Italy with Al and Ryan. The photos from the trip will be coming later, but I found this one on Taylor's iPhone. This was our attempt to make a homemade Italian meal. Would have been amazing if we had salt and olive oil.



Kimmy and her boyfriend (now fiance), Chris, came out for a weekend visit. We took a drive upstate and ended up at the Sleepy Hollow cemetery.



For our one year anniversary Taylor planned a weekend getaway to the Catskills. We stayed in this cute little cottage and went shopping at an amazing outlet mall...he knows me well.



There was a lake with a rowboat. Taylor quoted some lines from "The Notebook." It was fantastic.

The love of my life.