Weekend Shenanigans: San Francisco

When Paul found out he would have the opportunity to attend the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, I immediately wanted to go. Paul's conference ended on a Friday, so I decided to make it a long weekend.

I have a soft spot for San Francisco. My first time visiting was in 2004. I was on a roadtrip with two friends from college. San Francisco was just one of those places I had dreamed about visiting and I had a blast making memories there. I was excited to make new memories with my best friend.

I arrived on Friday morning. It was an adventure flying solo and navigating the BART by myself. It has been a while since I had flown solo. I missed my travel buddy, but was quite proud of myself.

After I checked into the hotel I started exploring. I knew we were staying in the shopping district and if I had any desire to shop I needed to do it sans Paul. I first checked out a little cafe called Bio where I had read there was a selection of gluten free items. This place was cute and looked so European. You only had enough room to walk in choose your items from a case and walk back out. If you want to eat at Bio there were 4 little tables on the sidewalk that were situated precariously close together. I sat and ate lunch and read. Then I meandered to a coffee shop and did some more reading. After that I was in the stores for the next few hours while Paul finished his conference.

Once Paul was free errr I mean done, we were picked up by out Aunt and Uncle and enjoyed dinner with our cousin, his wife and little guy. It was a delightful time meeting the West Coast family I had yet to meet. We enjoyed a delicious Persian meal  at Maykadeh and sat around drinking chai and talking. Did I mention we ordered one of every dessert? Yes it was good! Aunt Arghavan and Uncle Mortezeh then took us on a driving tour of the city as the sun was setting. Including a drive down the crazy Lombard street!

Saturday morning Paul and I took a walk down to the waterfront. We saw the sea lions at Pier 39, meandered Fishermans Wharf, and enjoyed icecream at Ghiradelli Square. Then we got picked up by Paul's cousin Goulbou, her partner Kim and their two kiddos. We enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch at Golden Gate Park and from there took a drive to see the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a gorgeous sunny day to enjoy the city. Our little cousins took to Paul quickly and it was so cute to see him chasing after the kids in the park or playing in the dirt with them and eventually falling asleep in his arms.

Once we were dropped back at our hotel we took a few minutes to catch our breath and then we were off to the Castro District to have dinner with our friends John & Kim. They took us to a delicious Vietnamese place called Zadin that had lots of gluten free options for dinner AND dessert. Needless to say I was happy. After dinner we meandered to a local bar for a drink. And then that time came where we all looked at each other like a bunch of old people and had to call it a night!

Sunday morning called for sleeping in! Once we were up and going we walked down the street to wait in the always long line to ride the trolley. We rode it back over to the waterfront to enjoy lunch. After lunch we walked back to our hotel (with one quick fro-yo break), grabbed our bags, and headed to the airport.

San Francisco was almost as adventurous as Europe! It was great to have the time to explore the city and see our family and friends. Looking forward to getting back down there!

Here are a few photo highlights.

Aunt, Uncle, Cousins, and Lil Cousins

 Family

 Sunset. Golden Gate Bridge in the background

 Not my favorite chocolate ever, but a fun stop for an ice cream sundae (and free samples)

 Crazy Lombard Street

 Pier 39!

 The Sea Lions at Pier 39

 Paul at Fishermans Wharf

 Paul and the lil cousins

 Recognize that? Maybe you've heard of it?

Lil Cousin on the bridge

 View of the city from the bridge

Guess who!

Almost a family photo!

San Francisco Trolley

Riding the trolley. Paul is checking something out.

Traveling Thoughts: Barcelona

{5 cities, 3 countries, 2 weeks. Our most recent adventure was nothing short of epic. We left the US with three goals: 1) See Europe 2) enjoy quality time together and 3) Have fun. Mission accomplished!}

Barcelona felt like home. Sure the language and culture wasn't ours, but if felt like it could be. In many ways Barcelona reminded us of Seattle. A good size city, picturesque surroundings, perched on a sea that looked like an Ocean. The food, the wine, the sights. We were mesmerized. Did I mention how clean the city was?

When we landed in Barcelona, we decided we would keep the tradition of picnicking at lunchtime. We found a department store that had a grocery store in the basement filled with gluten free items. We were set. This way we could pick a park or destination each day to visit and have lunch. One day it was Park Guell with its sweeping views of the city. The next day it was Parc De La Ciutadella to see Barcelona's Arc De Triomf. We ate Tapas, Tapas, and more Tapas. It was so easy to stay gluten free in a world full of Tapas and Paellas. Our world traveling friend Robyn introduced us to a restaurant that quickly became our favorite. We ate all around Barcelona, but had to go back to Onofre on our last night.

While in Barcelona we took in Gaudi's work including the marvelous Sagrada Familia. We explored Picasso's museum, rambled on La Rambla, put our feet in the sand, ascended to Montjuic to see a castle, and day dreamed about living in this great city. 

We've already started talking about our plans to return to Spain.

 The Sagrada Familia

Inside the Sagrada Familia

 Walking down the stairs in one of the towers.

The View of Barcelona from the Sagrada

The Columbus Monument at the Waterfront

Being silly on the waterfront

Sunset in Barcelona

Arc De Tromf

 View of Barcelona from Parc Guell

Playing at a castle

 View from Montjuic

Traveling Thoughts: Venice

{5 cities, 3 countries, 2 weeks. Our most recent adventure was nothing short of epic. We left the US with three goals: 1) See Europe 2) enjoy quality time together and 3) Have fun. Mission accomplished!}

From Rome, we hopped on a train to travel to the other side of Italy to Venice. The first steps out of the train station were breathtaking. You are greeted with water, boats, bridges and a picturesque city. Once we landed at our hotel we set out to get lost. We meandered down narrow alley ways, walked over little bridges that cross over quaint canals. This was our time to slow down and soak in the beauty of this romantic setting.  

Venice was a mixed bag for us. On one hand beautiful and dreamy. On the other hand, crowded with cruise ships that pull up and let people pour onto the island. When you walk far enough away from the tourist spots you begin to feel like you’re the only one on the island. My favorite activity (other than finding new bridges to walk over) was to pack a lunch and head to the park for a picnic. At the park we could people watch, ponder island life, or just stare at the water. It was peaceful and romantic.   

First Look at Venice

Traversing narrow walkways

 View from the Bell Tower

 St. Mark's 

 Scenic Venice

 Romantic Dinner View

               

Traveling Thoughts: Rome

{5 cities, 3 countries, 2 weeks. Our most recent adventure was nothing short of epic. We left the US with three goals: 1) See Europe 2) enjoy quality time together and 3) Have fun. Mission accomplished!}

From Amsterdam we moved onward to Rome. And though there was no one to greet us at the airport, we made our way quickly to our hotel to drop our bags. Immediately we were out the door for a quick bite and then to start exploring. 

Rome is a beautiful city. Each nook and cranny offers some historical perspective. For me, it rivaled the beauty of Paris. The history amazed me. We walked where people have walked for thousands of years. We saw sites that just take your breath away. My personal favorites were St. Peter’s Basilica and the Coliseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill. We explored ornate piazzas. We saw funny street performers, crossed beautiful bridges, and ate delicious gelato (and a lot of it). We drank wine, listened to beautiful music, dined at hidden restaurants and sipped cappuccinos.  Rome was delightful and romantic.

I love knowing that I didn’t see everything there is to see so I have more to look forward on our next trip and what we left unexplored. Here are some highlights!

 Piazza Navona

  Piazza Navona

 Statue on a Bridge

St. Peter's

St. Peter's

View of Rome from St. Peter's

Cappuccino Time 

Coliseum 

 Taking in the Coliseum view.

Roman Forum

Sipping wine at Campo De Fiori

Traveling Thoughts: Den Haag & Amsterdam

5 cities, 3 countries, 2 weeks. Our most recent adventure was nothing short of epic. We left the US with three goals: 1) See Europe 2) enjoy quality time together and 3) have fun.

Mission accomplished!

On Sunday April 7^th we landed in Amsterdam. It was so nice to walk out of the airport and be greeted by our dear friend Peter and his oldest daughter Jasmijn. I wish we could have someone greet us in every country. It makes being in a foreign country feel a little less... foreign.

We had a warm reception at Peter and Natalie’s home. The reception was made even more special by having a gluten free cake served with sweetened creme fraiche and espresso waiting for us. I didn’t want to leave!

The next few days were spent exploring Den Haag and Amsterdam. We walked over canals, visited the Anne Frank Museum, saw a canal performer, and made it an art to not get run over by bicyclists. We traversed beaches with friends and collected shells with the kiddos. We took a tour of Madurodam, a museum of miniaturized Holland – what a great way to get acclimated to a country. This was the part of our trip that we planned the least and yet enjoyed so thoroughly. We left with much more to explore but also knowing we’d be back to see our friends.

Here are a few highlights.

Collecting shells on the beach

Parliament in the background

Cool looking building.

A wonderful dinner with dear friends!

Canal in Amsterdam

Canal Performer

Next up: Rome!

Hope(ful)

When I wrote this blog post about our miscarriage experiences I shared that while in the midst of our second miscarriage I would not lose faith. To be honest I did not lose faith this last year, I never stopped believing in God. However my heart grew distant from God and I did lose sight of hope. I felt betrayed and I couldn’t help but ask the “Why me?” question. In a previous post I have shared that though I aspire to suffer well. I lack trust during the stormy seasons.

 

Throughout this last year and a half, God has continued to extend grace to me even though I did not ask for it and I did not deserve it. I did not wake up one day to realize I had hope again. Instead it came about slowly as God pursued my heart and as Paul continued to encourage me and point me towards the cross.

I do feel hopeful again and in a way that feels more grounded. I do not feel hopeful that we will get pregnant and have a child. I am hopeful though that God will grow our family and I strive to stay open to what that could look like.

Over the last few months, I have had a song stuck in my head. Some mornings I wake up singing bits and pieces. Other days I catch myself humming the tune as I walk to the bus stop or stand in line at Starbucks. On one hand the lyrics are a good synopsis of the Gospel, on the other hand it is a simple reminder that in Christ alone my hope is found – Christ my cornerstone and my comforter.

Here is the song in its entirety.

In Christ Alone
(Keith Getty & Stuart Townend)

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

I will stand, I will stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I stand