May 31, 2016

St. Peter's Basilica

May 31, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Enveloped within Rome is the world's smallest country - Vatican City, officially called the Holy See. Any trip to Rome, especially if you're Catholic, would be incomplete without a visit to the home of the Pope. On Sunday morning, Aaron and I decided that we would celebrate Mass at St. Peter's cathedral. I have to say, this wasn't originally on our bucket list, but it should have been. The church itself if beautiful and it was so special to be able to attend Mass here.

May 27, 2016

Walking Tours and the Best Pizzeria in Rome

May 27, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Not sure if you knew this or not, but Rome is huge. Like, mind-boggling huge. And it has an absolute plethora of things to see and do in the city. The city itself is best described as an open air museum. It is one of the few, if not only, cities in the world to be inhabitant for 3000 years, you can bet there is something exciting around ever corner. The problem is, unless you are an expert in Roman history, or really into Italy, a lot of the sites have little meaning without context. And this is where a handy free walking tour (or 3) comes in.

May 24, 2016

Visiting The Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums

May 24, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Ask anyone what to see in Rome, and the Sistine Chapel will most definitely be on every list. In a city that is practically an open air museum and beautiful art is found in even the smallest of churches, the Sistine Chapel may seem to be just another historic piece of art. And it is, but there is also a reason it's on every single "Things to See in Rome" list - it's breathtaking. To see the place where popes are made, and avoid the hoards of tourists, we opted to pay for the Pristine Sistine tour offered by Walks of Italy. It granted us access an hour before it opened to the general public and it was totally worth it.

April 26, 2016

The Fountains of Rome

April 26, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Rome is known for it's fountains. Nearly all of the most popular tourist sites in this ancient city have fountains. They are found in nearly every piazza and were historically used to supply drinking water to the residents of the city (and the water is still drinkable). Some, like Trevi Fountain, are more elaborate than others, but many of the fountains have been designed my masters of art and architecture: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Giacomo della Porta, Nicola Salvi, among others. What's even more impressive is that all of the fountains are gravity fed.

April 19, 2016

Photo Diary: Bruges

April 19, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Bruges is a gorgeous city. Everything about Bruges is so incredibly picturesque - from the architecture to the canals to the small details on just about every single building. A new photo is just begging to be taken every few steps. And we did. We completely indulged in the stunning details and sights we saw and took way too many pictures. If you're in Belgium, definitely make sure you visit this beautiful city. And, do yourself a HUGE favor and spend more than a day there.

April 14, 2016

6 Things to do in Bruges, Belgium

April 14, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Bruges, a small, midevil city in Belgium, not far from the North Atlantic, is a charming little city to spend a weekend in. There are canals, reminiscent of the ones in Amsterdam, that run through the city, a stunning center square watched over by a giant clock tower, twisting and winding cobblestone streets lined with houses hundreds of years old, lots of old, beautiful churches. All of this is accented with hundreds of chocolate shops, small cafes serving waffles or french fries (or both!), and pubs where the bar is lined with taps pouring fresh, but strong, Belgian beer.

April 01, 2016

Applying for an Infant Passport

April 01, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Less than 6 weeks after Evelyn was born, Aaron and I had a big trip back to the US scheduled. Tickets were bought months before she was born in order to take her back to meet her grandparents, aunts, and uncle for the first time, and to be baptized. But, in order for her to actually travel, she first needed a US passport. And, since she was born in Germany, we needed to first establish that she was a US citizen. Thankfully, it ended up being a fairly simple process, but as with anything involving the government, it didn't appear that way at first. Here, we will take you through the forms and process to apply for citizenship and a passport for a baby born outside of the US.