The New Forest

A few weekends back we set off to explore The New Forest with our friends, Julie and Michael and Katy and Marwan.  It's about a 2 hour drive southwest of London, making it the perfect last-minute weekend getaway.  The New Forest, created as a royal forest by William I in 1079 (for the royal hunt, mainly for deer), is now known for its great hiking and biking trails through the forest, and wild ponies - there were even Shetland ponies!  Speaking of Shetland ponies, you must watch this commercial...it's guaranteed to brighten even the darkest of days!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekr05T9Iaio

We stayed in the charming town of Lyndhurst - it became the natural "capital" of The New Forest when William the Conqueror established his hunting grounds here, then made our way over to the coast to explore Milford-on-Sea and Lymington.  We had spectacular weather during our stay, soaking in as much sunshine as we possibly could as we hopped from pub garden to pub garden :)

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...G's month-long stay in Oslo

Earlier this year, Grant packed up his bags for a month-long project in Oslo.  As the saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder," and two weeks in I flew out to Oslo to spend a Scandinavian weekend with G.

It brought back memories of when we first started dating...Grant living in Dallas, while I remained in Austin.  I think we managed to see each other every weekend.  Back then, the "Sunday blues" were no joke, and took on a whole new meaning.

There's also those feelings of excitement though, when you've almost reached your "meeting spot" on that Friday, and it was fun for the both of us to experience that again.  

Since Grant had already been there for two weeks, he had plenty of time to talk to the locals about what we should get up to over the weekend. Gotta love free (and local) tour guides.

It was off to the perfect start when we had the best sushi we've ever had at Alex Sushi!  Seriously, it was that good.  As I'm typing this, I'm foaming at the mouth thinking about that amazing meal.  It was so good, that we went there twice in three days.

On Saturday, we set out on a proper Norwegian adventure...cross country skiing!  Now, most of you know that I'm not the best downhill skier, so you can imagine my hesitation to try cross country skiing for the first time, in the county most famous for this sport.  I think children start their cross country training before they can even walk!  

And to make matters worse...it was VERY icy!

My favorite part of the day was skiing over the frozen lake behind us!

So, after a number of face plants and a few instances of walking with skis in hand, I survived!  In between face plants, it was fun to get into the rhythm a bit, and take in the beautiful surroundings.  Grant was a pro, of course, so I'm sure he's looking forward to doing it again sometime soon (I think I'll opt for a day at the spa next time around!).  

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to snatch up tickets to the FIS World Cup Nordic Ski Jump competition.  After seeing it live in person, I have a new found respect for ski jumpers.  I'm not sure why anyone would want to start a career in ski jumping after seeing it up close and personal, but more power to ya!  Seeing them fly through the air is an amazing sight!

Go Poland!

Representin' the American!  

The brave girl who had to ski down the ridiculously steep hill with the American flag

That small red dot is a ski jumper...fly man, fly!

Ringing in 29 Bavarian Style!

So, I'm a few months into the last year of my 20's.  Nine months left before I turn the big 3-0. 

Grant and I are all about seizing the moment these days, and immersing ourselves in the adventures that present themselves to us (Beijing!  hint, hint).  It's funny how as you grow older you realize more and more how little the number attached to your age matters.  We firmly believe that a number, and whatever social mores are attached to that number, will never dictate how we live our lives, be it 30, 50, or 80! After all, you only get one shot at this life.

So, now that I got that off my chest, here's a look back at my 29th birthday celebration in Germany/Austria!  Germany has been high on my list ever since we moved here, and G planned a wonderful weekend getaway for us.  

Munich in a nutshell:  wandering around the very walkable city center, filling our bellies with Bavarian beer, pretzels, and sausage!  That about sums up our stay in Munich :)

Marienplatz:  main square

Neo-Gothic New Town Hall

Old Town Hall

Bavarian State Opera

Loved this building (Residenzpost) - situated across from the Opera house...little did I know then, that the Louis Vuitton store was located inside...that would have been quite the birthday shopping spree!

Holy pretzel!

Hofbrauhaus!

Truly enjoyed meeting the locals, who kindly let us sit and drink with them!

  

Englischer Garten:

River surfing in the park

The Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower), which is conveniently located in the park's beer garden (second largest beer garden in Munich, to be exact)...the perfect pit stop!

This adorable dog was SO proud of his giant stick!  haha

Theatine Church

Austrian Alps:

 

Grant's highlight - driving on the autobahn! Maxing our tiny little Volkswagen Polo out at.......180 kmh

View from our balcony

Neuschwanstein Castle day trip:

Birthday dinner feast!

Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes!  Cheers to 29! 

Oh Cape Town, how I love thee...

I think I speak for G as well when I say that I truly feel blessed to be living here in London - not only because of the traveling, having the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the European culture, etc., but because of the lifelong friendships we're making along the way.  When we first arrived, we were lucky to befriend a couple from South Africa - here temporarily, just like us.  After getting to know them, and learning about their beloved home country, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit them (and have our very own personal tour guides throughout the trip!).  Andy and Jade - we're so thankful to have met you two, and will never forget our amazing adventure throughout Cape Town.  Two other friends joined us as well - Vic (Brit) and Karol (Polish)...I think it's safe to say that the six of us experienced what felt like a once in a lifetime holiday together!  Although, I do hope that we make it back there sometime in the near future :)

Before I dive right in, check out the beautiful views from the villa in Camps Bay that we called home for a week!

 

View of Camps Bay from our balcony

Looking out onto Lion's Head

G playing with Jack (short for Jackpot, which is what we named him)...he would come visit us every now and then from a neighboring villa :)

Our welcome to Cape Town:

Our "welcome" shot...the first of many caramel vodka shots throughout the trip

The boys in front of Table Mountain

Celebrating our arrival!

First up was a private tour throughout South Africa's popular wine country.  Basically, 99.9% of the restaurants in Cape Town allow you to bring your own wine when you dine (so supportive of their wineries!), so the best part of this experience was picking out wines from each of the wineries, knowing that we would enjoy them together as the week went on.  We visited Fairview, La Petite Ferme, and Graff Estates.  All were lovely!

Fairview:

La Petite Ferme:

Tasting straight from the barrel!

Graff Estates:

Our view during lunch...absolutely incredible!

Sipping my cuppa while overlooking the beautiful scenery...

duunnn dunnn...duuuunnnn duun...duuuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn (here comes Jaws!).

Yes, we went shark cage diving, and it was amazing!!!!!!  Jade and I were a bit skeptical at first, but I am SO glad we ended up going through with it, and didn't chicken out in the end.  To see such a powerful, feared creature up close and personal like that, in its natural habitat, was pretty incredible.  All six of us were able to go into the cage at once, and our group witnessed the biggest shark of the day - over 13 feet long!

Lookin' gooooood in our wetsuits

No turning back now!

This one got a little too close for my comfort...

Shark week!

Shots from the underwater camera:

During our drive back from the shark cage diving, we made a pit stop in Hermanus - the spot for whale and seal watching from the coast.  We spotted a number of Southern right whales and adorable seals just a few feet from the coast!

Since we all survived to tell the tale of our brush with death from a shark attack, we decided to test our fate once again, by spending the day out on a safari at Aquila Game Reserve.  We saw, up close and personal, the Big 5 (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, and buffalo), and a number of other animals as well.  I was most excited to see the giraffe (who doesn't love giraffes?!), but it just so happens that the giraffe was lost - missing for 3 days now.  Um, did you just say you lost a giraffe??  How in the world do you lose a giraffe?  They're pretty damn tall!

Oh, hey there Buffalo...don't mind us, we're just passing by...

Yea...he didn't like that too much.  This is a glimpse of the Buffalo CHARGING our vehicle!  It was exciting terrifying!  A few inches closer, and his horns would have pierced the side of the vehicle (which is made out of canvas...not gonna do much against the horns of a buffalo!).

This guy was pretty close to charging us as well!

Heeeere kitty, kitty, kitty...

Blue Wildebeest

Champagne break!

Hippos!  Apparently the #1 killer in Africa - who knew?

Eland

Springbok

Sleepy leopard

This guy sure knows how to capture your attention...

Next up, a day trip out to Boulder Beach to see the African Penguins, Cape Point, and the Cape of Good Hope.  

Boulder Beach:

Boys being boys...jumping from boulder to boulder

Cuddling - so sweet!

A group of penguins sunbathing on the boulder...

Apparently some of the penguins are well-known for trying to hitch a ride :)

Cape Point:

On our way from Cape Point over to Cape Hope, we were told to keep an eye out for the Baboons!  We spotted a troop of about 20...  

Cape of Good Hope:

Cape Town from atop Table Mountain...

Life's a Beach...

Our afternoon at Clifton Beach:

Camps Bay:

Cape Town Nights...

Catching the sunset over the 12 Apostles of Table Mountain:

Karol teaching me how to salsa :)

Supporting Andy's Springboks (South African Rugby team)

Fantastic dinner at La Colombe - one of the top-rated restaurants in Cape Town

Long Street

G and me hiking up Lion's Head...

Scaaaary part - using chains to scale the side of the cliff...

We made it to the top!!

Robben Island

G and me at the V&A Waterfront...

At Willoughby & Co - the BEST sushi we've ever had!  And yes, it's a restaurant inside a shopping mall!  haha  We liked it so much that we actually ate here on two separate occasions :)

Saying a tearful goodbye to Cape Town...

One last stop at our favorite bar - it's basically a pop-up bar on the side of a Cricket Field (they're playing a game in the background) - the field has Table Mountain as a backdrop, and overlooks the Camps Bay Beach...not too shabby!