Thank you dear readers for your patience and support while I took a little time off from blogging. The Complete Package and I took three weeks off to explore Europe on what could easily be classified as the “trip of a lifetime.” Wondering where we went? Okay, I’ll tell you anyway {wink}.
First, we went here:
The Peace Palace - Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands
The Hall of Knights - Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands
Inside the Hall of Knights - Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands
Then we went here:
The Hagia Sophia - Istanbul, Turkey
Inside the Blue Mosque - Istanbul, Turkey
Shopping at the ancient Spice Market - Istanbul, Turkey
And finally, we went here:
St. Nicholas Church, Bridge Tower & Castle - Prague, Czech Republic
Senate Building & Gardens - Prague, Czech Republic
A Sunset Walk below Prague Castle - Prague, Czech Republic
Prague was gorgeous. There is something lovely and ancient around every corner. I don’t think I’ve seen a better collection of fabulously ornate churches since Paris, and I’m not sure some of Prague’s aren’t better. Take the St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, for instance. Holy cow (pun intended). Words can hardly describe it, so I’ll be sharing more photos later. Lots of photos.
Speaking of photos, we took over 7,000 of them in our three weeks away. I’ll need some time to go through them all, but once I do I’ll be posting separate stories for each of the cities we visited and I’ll also be sharing my day with Claudia in Rotterdam.
Which brings me to one last point I want to share. Blogging gives me the opportunity to share some of the craziness that floats randomly through my brain, and I love that you not only allow me to do it, you seem to enjoy reading along. But my favorite thing about blogging, hands down, is the friends I’ve made along the way. You, my dear readers, are why I keep writing. I love your input, your comments and your support. So thank you for sticking with me, for allowing me to take a few weeks off to enjoy some very special time with TCP, and for coming back again and again. I love you more than chocolate. And you know how much I love chocolate.
So stay tuned, kids! I’m going through photos and trying to wrap my head around the past three weeks. Once I do, we’ll be off to the races with tons of photos and stories to share. It’s good to be back!
Inside NanaBread's Head 
Wow, your pics are always so gorgeous! I’m so glad you weren’t in Turkey during the earthquake.
Thanks, Kandi. And speaking of gorgeous, your new baby boy is a little heartbreaker! So happy to hear that all went well. Loved catching up on the photos of A.J. and his big sisters. Congrats to you, the Hubs, and the big sisters. Please give your new little bundle a joy a kiss for me. SO happy for you!
1. How insane is Turkey?!?!?!
2. I still cannot get over the fact that you are home, alive, safe and sound. It is mind boggling. We missed you SO much. I’m basically night-before-Christmas-gleeful that you have returned.
3. Let the stories and snaps begin :)
Turkey was awesome. I was so sorry to hear about the quake when we got home. We were in Prague (or on our way home anyway) when it hit. Even though it was miles and miles from where we were, I can’t help but feel for those affected. Turkey and its people were enormously friendly and inviting. We loved our week there. I also love Christmas, so your gleeful response to my return made my day. I’m working on photos, and I’m shocked at how many we (okay, mostly I) took and how long it’s going to take to go through all of them! Thank God for digital cameras. No processing, no waiting, and you can edit in a snap.
That does sound like the vacation of a life-time! I can’t wait to see more pictures. I’ve heard that Prague is gorgeous and I’ve always wanted to go.
Welcome back!
Thanks, Amy! It’s good to be back. We had a great time, but it’s good to be home. Prague really is gorgeous, and you should definitely go some day. It’s surprisingly affordable and worth every Czech koruna. Once you see the photos, you’ll definitely want to go!
I can’t wait to see more pics from your trip! Welcome back!
Thanks, Thoughtsy!
We love to travel, but it’s always good to come home.
Nothing beats sleeping in your own bed. -jeanne
What an absolutely wonderful getaway that must have been, especially with those destinations. Welcome back – glad you have safely returned – I’m looking forward to hearing more of your travels.
Thanks, Liz! It was a wonderful getaway. It started as a business trip for TCP (the week in the Netherlands), so we decided I would tag along and we’d tack on 2 more weeks to tackle to of our bucket list travel destinations. Istanbul was exotic and fabulous and Ottoman Empire-type ancient. Prague was gorgeous and eastern European and medieval-type historic. Two completely different cities, and both were stunning. I just hope the photos do them justice!
Glad you are home. The earthquake news frightened me because I wasn’t sure you were home and I thought Turkey was your last stop! By the way there was an earthquake in Texas this week too. Did you hear about it? Did Zigman survive with Kaki?
I saw in the Houston Chronicle that southern Texas had an earthquake while we were gone. I was stunned! We’ve lived here 21 years and have never seen such a thing. Did you feel it? Was it even noticeable? I’m totally bamboozled by the idea of an earth quake occurring in hurricane territory. Zig seemed to have a good time at Kamp Kaki. Callie and Buddy were there to keep him company. Callie was so sad to see him leave, she tried snuggled up with his bags when we picked him up like she wanted to come home with him. It was really cute.
Ah, the words we’ve all been waiting for! So glad to see you’re home safely and that you’ve returned to your old familiar blogging ways. I’m fastening my seatbelt as we speak because if these few photo samples are anything to go by, then we’re in for a jaw-dropping ride. Love you too, Jeanne. Rotterdam just isn’t the same without you!
Just looking through the photos from our day together made me laugh out loud. Especially the one of you stroking your herring. And for those reading this, it was not nearly as dirty as it sounds. Ha!
Can’t wait to see all of the photos! I want a dvd of my own to view over and over again, or however many dvds it will take! Glad you are home safe and sound. love ya, still jealous of the trip
You went to all of the places I WISH I went to when I was in Europe. All Of Them. I’m jealous!
I can’t wait to hear more about it, specifically the food. :)
I think I only photographed a fraction of the food we ate, but I did get some photos. All of the food was fabulous, and we tried many, many things!
Welcome home! I’m glad that you had an amazing and wonderful trip and am looking forward to seeing your posts and photos.
Thanks, Lisa! It’s good to be home. I love to travel, but I also love coming back home and sleeping in my own bed. We also couldn’t wait to see Ziggy again. We missed our sweet Boston Terrier boy. Thank God we have great friends who take fantastic care of him in when we travel. That means the world to us. More photos are coming soon, I promise.
So glad you enjoyed it all and that you made it back safe. Can’t wait for the mega slide show at Thanxmas!
Thanks, Baby Sis! I’m hoping to get the photos culled to the best of the bunch so you won’t need dinner, a sleeping bag and pancakes for the big slideshow. See you at Thanxmas!
All I could think when I saw this post a couple of days ago was “NanaBread’s back! NanaBread’s back!” I missed our daily Twitter banter, and hearing all about your days. I’m glad you had a wonderful trip. The photos are *amazing* so I can’t wait to see more! Welcome home, Jeanne.
Kirsten
Thanks, Kirsten. I missed you guys, too. It’s good to be home and getting back into the swing of things. Although it seems that going through all those photos is taking much longer than I expected. I’m spending hours a day on it, and I’ve still got hundreds if not thousands to go. I love digital photography, I really do. But the downside is having to go through all thos pics to pick out the best few afterwards. Somehow, I always seem to forget that when I’m excessively pushing that little button. (And if that’s my biggest complaint, then you know it was a great trip!)
Gorgeous pictures Jeanne! So glad you had a wonderful time….but so glad that you are back safe and sound! Looking forward to more of your great posts!