Time Flies!

It seems so cliché to say but this past year sure has flown by! This time last year, Tonico was in Belgium interviewing for the job he currently holds. Now, a year later, we are preparing to leave Belgium behind and head back to CHARLOTTE! Ingersoll Rand has gone through some major restructuring and with that, a position in Davidson, NC opened up that we could not pass up. 

Now we are back to the lists upon lists of To-Do's before we make the move back (tentatively scheduled for March). Thankfully this move will be much easier as we know the culture we are coming back to! There will be no need for FBI background checks, residency requirements, apostilized documents, etc, etc. Instead it's car shopping, apartment/house hunting, job searching for me and making plans to bring our puppy back home to us!

While this time in Belgium has been tough, it has been a great year for Tonico and I to learn about a whole new culture first hand! As we begin the countdown to Charlotte, it seems only fitting that we think and reflect on the things we are going to miss once we are gone. 

If I had to make a list right now, it would be:
1. The beer - sure you can buy most in the US but it's just not the same!
2. The architecture
3. The ease of travel to so many beautiful and historic locations

..ok so I am struggling to make this list - I know there are many more things - I just cannot stop thinking about all of the things I am looking forward to back in the US. Here are just a few:

1. Seeing Tonico and Chucho reunite for the first time in a year
2. Eating Mexican food
3. Celebrating being home with our dear friends in Charlotte!
4. Getting to know my sweet Aliyah (my friend Jen's baby girl)
5. WORKING
6. Speaking English
7. Customer service
8. Friendly strangers who say please, thank you, excuse me, I'm sorry, etc
9. MEXICAN FOOD
10. Being only an hour ahead of my family instead of 7
11. Jessica & Matt's wedding
12. Brian & Andrea's wedding
13. Ryan & Katie's wedding
14. Mexican, everything from Chipotle to Cantina 1511
15. Being with family and friends for so many of the above items!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated! We have so appreciated all the thoughts, well wishes, mail and Skype dates we have had with everyone while we have been gone. We certainly did not think this move would be happening so quickly but we are so excited!

Hope everyone is doing well and sticking to their New Years Resolutions! 2014 is going to be an amazing year!

Christmas in Florence!

I forgot to post this before, but Tonico and I are FINALLY residents of Belgium! Tonico finished his process in September and I finished mine the day after I arrived back in Belgium. After 3+ hours I received my "orange card" or temporary residence card. Unfortunately, upon receipt of this document, I am not aloud to leave the Schengen Area (the countries in Europe that have gotten rid of passport control). 

Because of this, and the fact that we had just spent almost three months apart - including our second anniversary - Tonico and I decided to take a nice long vacation for the Christmas holiday. We settled on Florence, Italy and it was the best decision we could have made! We spent a whole week enjoying the sights, sounds, shopping and food of this amazing city!

This is by far, the most beautiful church I have seen in all of our European explorations. This is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore -  also known as Il Duomo. The colors to me are so stunning and timeless. I could have sat outside this building all day and just stared/took pictures of it!

We attended (partially) a mid-night Christmas Eve mass there - we had read we needed to arrive by 10:30 if we wanted a seat, so we did just that. At 11 they began a pre-mass that we stayed for, but after a long day of walking, eating and a good bit of wine, we realized making it until mid-night or later was not going to happen! It was beautiful none the less!

The church itself is one of the most empty I have ever seen. There were some beautiful artwork but that's about it. To me - that is what made it even more beautiful. This picture is what is painted inside the "duomo" or dome. 

My best friend Jessica studied abroad in Rome, Italy so before we left, we asked here if there were any "must eat/drink" suggestions. Cappuccino was #1 on her list. Jessica knows I am NOT a lover of coffee in any form, but she said I HAD to get it, so I did! And then I got it again, every morning we were there! Maybe it's just because we were in Italy but I really enjoyed it!

Tonico and I did a lot of walking while we were in Florence. I was surprised at how hilly the city actually is. One day we went to visit the Riccardi Medici Palace. The grounds were quite extensive with some of there best views atop some of the steepest hills I've climbed in a while! This picture of Tonico is actually only about halfway up the hill. 

This is the Palace from inside the grounds. The palace also housed several different museums - we visited the costume museum which showcased several influential women in the fashion world. While their style was definitely eclectic, the pieces were beautifully made. It was very surreal to see so many original Gucci, Chanel, Prada, etc. pieces.

This was by far our favorite things while we were in Italy. Panna cotta and Limoncello :o)

Another view of the Duomo just because it is THAT beautiful!

Just like this picture :o)

This was our Christmas morning/afternoon feast! We had mimosas too which is a Marin family Christmas tradition. 

This is the bell tower for the Duomo. We walked up all 414 very steep, very narrow steps. The views were breathtaking and no amount of pictures could do it justice...

...but here's one anyway!

Did I mention we did a lot of walking in Florence? On our last day in Florence we walked to Piazzale Michelangelo, which again was up a very steep hill but boasted some of the best views of the city. And they were not lying! The weather was a bit overcast and it actually started raining while we were up there, but it didn't stop us from snapping some pictures and taking in all the views.  

We did go to see the real David statue, but you are not allowed to take pictures of it, so this is a replica that is in the Piazzale Michelangelo. 

Did I mention we enjoyed limoncello? This was at a restaurant Tonico found on TripAdvisor. We ordered pizza from them the first night we were there but took it to go. We decided to go back later that week for a sit down meal and it was awesome! The waiter was so nice, read the whole menu to us in English and then treated us to these after dinner drinks! We went back again the next night and they treated us like they'd known us for years! (they even gave us one of the glasses to keep!)

Tonico and I flew to Italy via our first RyanAir flight. RyanAir is a no-frills airline that has some awesome travel deals due to the 'no frills' concept. It's a free-for-all at the airport, but you can't beat the prices. Also, the flights generally do not fly out of main airports. We flew from an airport just south of Brussels, in to Pisa - then took a train to Florence. This gave us a great opportunity to see the infamous leaning tower! 

Obligatory tourist trying to hold up the tower...

...trying to be unique with my tourist picture...didn't really work! We really wish we would have just sat back and took pictures of the ALL the tourists doing this pictures! It was hilarious!

So that was our Christmas vacation in a nutshell! It did not feel like Christmas though, as this was our first time spending the holiday away from family. Nothing can replace family...but Florence was a good attempt!