Post Europe Travelfest: AKA Weddings

After getting back from Europe, Cody and I still had a fair bit of traveling to do in the form of weddings and bike races. First up was the first high school race of the season (that he attended) for Cody. The race was in Prescott, AZ, which the Martin family is pretty smitten with. Needless to say, Fitz and I decided to tag along to escape the heat and support our guy. The kids did awesome, and Cody and I enjoyed our together time, and even celebrated our first wedding anniversary that Sunday! 

Sappy PSA: I am so incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated and hard working partner in crime. He is supportive of me when I need him, and we have the best adventures together. One year down Code, and 8 million more to go!

Back to travels! The following weekend was the wedding of Cody’s friend and groomsman Jeremy and his now wife Katya in San Ramon, CA. The wedding was on Friday, so we flew in Thursday AM for the rehearsal. Friday, as Cody had responsibilities and I had none, I went and took a Barre3 class in Danville, CA with owner, Julie, and it rocked! I got my sweat on and felt energized for the wedding! From there, I got to explore the downtown a bit before heading to get a blowout (my new favorite destination wedding habit). The ceremony was in a park like area, and it was very laid back, and very sweet. We partied hard and then left to head back to Tucson the next afternoon, leaving us with Sunday to prepare for the week! 

The last two weeks we have really been working hard to get ahead before our latest trip to Ocean Springs, MS for the wedding of another friend/groomsman of Cody’s Aaron and HIS now wife, Nicki. We handled the time table very similarly, but this time had the added bonus of spending the weekend with Mike and Kelly as well. Kelly joined me in head to Barre3 Mobile and then to Gulfport for a blow out. The wedding was fun, and Cody and I danced our tails off! 

Now that we are officially done with plane travel for the next few months, we have some serious chores to tackle. Oh, adulating.

Wish us luck,

LB

#EuMartinsPartDeux - Part T W O

After leaving Budapest, we arrived in Salzburg and found our next rental apartment which was conveniently located near the Cafe Tomaselli, the most famous cafe in Salzburg. After dropping our bags. We headed to the art museum, which has an elevator up to a restaurant that overlooks the city. We enjoyed a drink at the outlook and plotted the rest of our stay. We ate in a beer garden in one of the pavilions in town and loved every bite of it!

We started the next day at the cafe where I enjoyed a delicious latte, and we met Cody's mom and sister to visit the Salzburg Fortress. Cody and Calley really enjoyed the history and exploring the grounds. That afternoon, we went to partake in the Frauline Maria bike tour which tours Salzburg via all the Sound of Music sites all while listening the movie soundtrack. Corny and AMAZING! We saw the Abbey, the house, the gazebo and literally frolicked the hills! I can't say enough about it, I really loved every moment, except for when I ate sh*t riding my bike. We met some Canadian's on the tour who we went to dinner at Augustiner Bräu with, and who convinced Cody and I to buy lederhosen and dirndl for Oktoberfest. 

Our last Austrian morning was resolved for an brisk hike on top of the Austrian mountains. Cody wanted to take a gondola up the mountains to explore a bit, so we did just that. I did not love the gondola, but the views were well worth it. 

After our little hike about, it was time to seal the trip with a kiss, in the form of lots of beer. AKA: OKTOBERFEST!

We took the train to Munich where we met Mike and Kelly. They took us back to the apartment and we all went out to a really nice Italian dinner. We ate and drank and just laughed! We had a  plan for a Munich walking tour in the morning, followed by Oktoberfest tents. It was raining all weekend which we think worked in our favor to keep some of the crowds down. After our walking tour, we came back to the apartment and got dressed in our German gear for the festivities. We headed down and to our wet dismay, the tents all looked full. By some weird fluke, Cody saw and opening at the Schottenhamel tent (Spatenbräu). AND WE GOT IN! It was by far, one of the most fun experiences of my life. We sat with some German teens (who can legally drink) who taught us all the songs and we all danced and sang and drank beer by the litre and ate pretzels for dinner! We are still talking about it weeks later. 

We ventured back down that way to explore some of the other tents like Paulaner and Haufbräu Haus, which were beautiful, but not as much fun as our magic night. Soon it was time for us to part ways for our travel back to the US. 

Truly a magical trip, I am already plotting my return. 

Until then, PROST!

LB

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#EuMartinsPartDeux - Part O N E

Prague: We arrived in Prague Thursday afternoon and spent the afternoon getting a brief tour from Cody's uncle, Bryson. We went up to the monastery and walked along the Charles Bridge before heading back to Bryson's house for dinner with his wife Svetlana. Bryson set up some tours around the city for us the next day and we were able to walk and see even more of downtown Prague, while learning the history of the country. Cody and I had a little time in the early afternoon to do our own exploring, and try Trvdelnik, the local dessert. It was really gross, so I finished the whole thing so as not to subject Cody to the horror (insert laugh/cry emoji). His mom and sister landed in the evening, and we met up with them, Bryson, Svetlana and her daughter Olga and her son Nicholaus for beer at the local pub. The next day, we all did a long walking tour of the Prague Castle where we saw the Kafka house, some amazing churches, and ended our day at Ufleku, a popular restaurant/bar downtown. The Czech food was REALLY yummy, and not at all what I was expecting, really flavorful, and not super heavy.

Day three in Prague was a tour of Charles Castle, and lunch at Kozel brewery with a tour of the house that Bryson and Svetlana are building. The castle was big and impressive, the beer good, and the company the best. 

 That night we went downtown to a beer garden for a showing of American Sniper (oh, the irony) before Cody and I took a night train to Budapest. According to Bryson, Prague has a decent expat population in the 20-30 year old range that really enjoys outdoor movies, and the beer gardens have started showing them at night in the summer. It was really a big turnout, not surprising considering how delicious (and cheap) the beer was!

Budapest: We arrived late morning in Budapest and both Cody and I were beat from all the exploring we had done in Prague. In attempting to make a game plan, it became pretty apparent that the best thing to do was going to be a trip the mineral springs. The Széchenyi Baths were our spot of choice and we decided to semi- wing it. We showed up, rented lockers and went exploring. It's a series of different temperature pools with saunas and steam rooms which were perfect to sooth our traveled bones. We played the hot-cold-steam repeat game and moved between the indoor and outdoor pools in an attempt to see it all! It was truly a unique experience and left us feeling ready to keep exploring!

Our apartment was on this amazing street near the basilica, and it was super scenic! And so many bikes! It made it a perfect spot for exploring. That night, we ate a kabob place suggested by our Airbnb host and went to check out the Ruins bars. In a series of unfortunate events that included me being A. overtired, and B. wearing non-walking shoes, we didn't end up staying long, but the bar was really incredible and worth a second trip. They are big warehouses with multiple bars within them and decorated with all sorts of junk in just a way to make it feel like an adult amusement park! 

Hungary day two was an exploration of Buda Castle, and Castle hill on the Buda side of the river. You guys, Hungary is GORGEOUS. Everything is beautiful, and clean, and amazing. Cody and I agreed it was our trip dark horse. 

Before we left to head to Salzburg, we stopped at the market and saw the most delicious looking fruit, and amazing meats. It was like the best farmers market!

Trip blog continues in Part Deux.

LB

Topping off July

I wish I had something exciting to discuss, but alas, no excitement til September. Most of July was cuddling with Fitz, although not exciting, his cuddles are very satisfying. 

Barre3 Tucson celebrated a bridal shower for our 2 lovely brides, Kate and MacKenna with a yummy brunch at Commoner & Co. 

Cody and I had some laughs at breakfast at the new Prep & Pastry, and shopping at Target. We also had 2016 family photos done with Fitz, which turned out very well if I do say so myself (watch for your Christmas cards people). 

I also got very organized with the help of the Container Store, and an Oh Joy! Instagram post. That's all our excitement here. I know, contain yourselves.

LB