Isn’t Nice… Nice?!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures of Monaco! We watched the Monaco F1 qualifiers yesterday and it is so fun to see where you were just standing or sitting the week before! Looks like another day of gorgeous weather there!

While in the South of France, we stayed in Nice. It is just so beautiful!

After a wonderful breakfast in the hotel, we set off walking! The water was just so clear and blue!

We had been looking up one of the large hills and could always see a waterfall with viewing area. It was calling our names and we all set out for it! Can you see it in this picture amongst the trees?

I’m so glad we made the journey as the view was incredible! They had a playground for Lauren, and well that is all she ever asks for in life… Besides a chocolate cookie, chocolate milk and chocolate ice cream! Yikes… I think she might like chocolate more than me!

The Mediterranean Sea looked even more blue and clear from up there!

It was fun to look down on the town of Nice to see where we had walked, had dinner and in general enjoyed just being in a fabulous location!

Here is a picture of the waterfall. It was just really pretty and I’m glad we ventured up there!

You could even see the airport, which made me a bit sad thinking about our adventure ending in just a few hours!

But, we still had a bit more time to stop and smell the roses in a lovely rose garden…

… And, Lauren to ride the carousel a few more times!

Here is a picture of me and the girls waiting for our ride to the airport!

Back for reality! After this long week, it feels like years ago! But, I look at the pictures and have watched the F1 qualifiers in Monaco to realise that it really was just a week ago that I was going up to the beautiful waterfall!

Do trips ever seem like that for you? Maybe, I need to just practice more of ‘living in the present!’

Have a great Sunday!

~Karen

Money, Money, Money… Isn’t it funny…

… In a Rich Man’s World. Those are the words to an Abba song, which then goes on to say…

I must go to Las Vegas or Monaco and win a fortune in a game… My life will never be the same.

Yes, this is one of my absolute favourite songs. I did go to Monaco this weekend, but my life is still the same! No fortune was won from a monetary standpoint, but lots of rich memories were had!

My in-laws were in town and we took a weekend trip to Nice/Monaco. The flight is ~1.5 hours from London and not bad at all! We woke up Saturday morning (Bailey and I had flown in on Friday night and saw a gazillion private planes – literally – at the Nice airport. I’m sure there are lots anyway, but likely most were there for the Cannes film festival) and took the train from Nice to Monaco! It only takes about 20 minutes – max!

Upon arrival, you could instantly tell Monte-Carlo was ready for this weekend’s F1 race!

We headed down toward the Casino, which has very fond memories for me! My father and I went here for Father’s Day one year and we had just enough money left to get ice cream! We had a very fun trip… Oh so many years ago! I digress… We arrived at the casino and saw the fabulous cars parked out front. My mother and father-in-law and I went inside for a tour and it was so beautiful. I stood in awe looking at the ceiling, paintings and chandeliers. Absolutely exquisite!

Check out the casino reflection inside this mirrored water fountain.

My girls and I stopped for a photo at one of the fountains in front of the casino!

Did you see the blue stadium seats? That is for this weekend’s F1 race. They were set-up all over town along with massive TVs so that people could see the race even when not in that area.

Billy had his chance to go inside the casino, while we all went to get ice cream! It was hot that day – in the mid-70s.

Then, we hit a fork in the road… Shopping or walking the F1 track? These are tough decisions, I’m sure for someone… But not for Bailey and me! After all, do you see the shop names listed on that sign?!

We went shopping and told them that we’d catch up with them! We went shopping and sure enough caught up with them! The views were just gorgeous as we walked closer to the marina and start of Sunday’s race.

The mega-yachts were amazing! I ensured Bailey remembered our deal… I can’t wait for her to buy me that yacht so that I can just sit back and relax on it 365 days a year! The world would be at my fingertips!

You can see the palace in the background of the above picture!

Here I am putting my hand in the water… Brrrr, it was very cold!

We found the Ferrari store! Whilst here, Lauren found a bike and told us, “this is my bike… My bike.” When it was time to leave, she was not keen on leaving her bike and let it be known she wasn’t thrilled! Of course, she was also very tired!

We then headed to the train station for our journey back to Nice!

The train takes you by my favourite place in the whole world – Villefranche. Billy and I have talked about retiring here many times! Yep, I could get used to this view 24 hours a day!

While we walked back to the hotel, I popped into a ‘supermarche’ to pick up some supplies for a wine and cheese party. My in-laws were lucky enough to get a room that had a fabulous balcony! We all know that I’m not one to pass up a balcony party! Check out our pictures!

There was a carousel along the promenade and Lauren must have ridden it >7 times this last weekend! They gave her a ticket and she was so excited to show it off! I just love her smiles!

Back to one of my favourite songs… Had I won big, I’m not sure how my life would have been so different! I’ve always said that I’d still work – albeit, I would probably purchase a Pilates studio and teach classes! Can you fit 6 Pilates reformers on a mega-yacht? If the answer is yes, then you would probably find me on my mega-yacht, teaching Pilates all while docked at Villefranche! Oh how I love to dream… Would your life be different? I hope you are having a great week!

~Karen

It’s Tea Time!

I first have some major news… I went for a run this morning! The weather was gorgeous and the sun was out (minor detail, but I was wide awake at 6:10) and off I went!

The flowers were gorgeous in Regent’s Park

… And these doggies were having a good time! It was nice to be back out there and my hip felt some better, not great… but just fine for 3.5 miles!

Of course, I quickly got home and ready for work. But, it was a very nice start to the day. I also had a wonderful end to the day!

My parents, Lauren and I went to The Ritz for afternoon tea! We had a reservation for 5:30. As soon as my work conference call ended, we were out the door!

We walked in and everything was so beautiful and elegant. We had the 5:30 seating as I wanted to make sure Lauren was still in a good mood – 7:30 would have been miserable for all of us as that is close to bed time!

They gave us a perfect table that had a spot where Lauren could stand between my mum and me and look at herself in the mirror!

The atmosphere was very nice, elegant and fun. The pianist played requests and did an incredible job!

Our table was set up perfectly and they had a very wide range of tea selections, but bubbles was our starter!

They knew exactly how to make Lauren happy – check out this chocolate milk and cake!

She was definitely a big girl sitting in the chair!

We then moved on to the scones and sweets with our tea.

About this time, they brought out a bag for Lauren which had a very plush Ritz Teddy Bear in it – she was so happy and thrilled. As soon as she took it out, she gave him big cuddles!

I wanted to get a picture with her, but the focus was on the bear and chocolate milk! Silly girl.

Afterwards, we walked around and took a few ‘three generation’ photos. Lauren found an empty ballroom and took that as an opportunity to dance around and twirl in her dress!

I might be a bit sad tomorrow as I can guarantee you that tea time will not be anywhere near this good. Although, I will still probably be full from it! I think they needed to roll me out of there.

One more thing, I am pleased to report that Lauren was an absolute doll through the entire thing! She knew how to flirt and work the crowd, and I can guarantee there were some concerned people when we walked in and they saw a 2 year-old! But, The Ritz definitely knows how to make a kid happy! She loved the bear and chocolate milk! I better watch out as my father even pointed out that she was getting a little too cozy with these nice surroundings!

My favourite sandwich was the egg salad! What is your favourite tea time sandwich?

~Karen

A Day Trip to Switzerland

When I wasn’t doing this…

…or eating, we went to Switzerland for the day. The ferry left right from Evian and this was the view as we left.

We arrived into Lausanne and the town was very quaint. Carrie and I had a great time walking and touring.

The day was gorgeous, warm and sunny! I’m not sure you could really ask for anything more!

We wanted to make sure that we were on the 3:30 ferry, so we headed down to the ferry terminal area and decided to have a snack.

Carrie and I found a perfect spot to wait. In fact, I’m not sure we would have cared too much if we missed the ferry.

And this was our view of Lake Geneva…

We got back to the Royal Evian hotel and then went to the pool… Rough life!

Before dinner, we had a few pre-dinner drinks and snacks… So yummy!

With all of that food, I still managed to eat three courses for dinner! I had the same starter and dessert as the previous night, but this was my main meal and it was so good – chicken, potatoes and mushrooms!

This was the dessert someone at our table got and it looked so yummy! Everything was chocolate and edible!

All of this talk of food has got me starving! We are going to a friend’s house for dinner so I will write much more about our trip later!

I’m sure you are getting the hint that all I did was eat on this trip!!! At one point, I thought I probably should have had a different starter or dessert… But, I kept to what I know that I like! Do you ever go someplace and get the same thing each time?

~Karen

The Food, The Views, The Company… Oh where to begin!

I have actually no idea where to begin this blog! Everything has been fabulous. I guess let’s go from the arrival in Geneva!

The flight to Geneva was incredibly quick! Our luggage was promptly waiting and we were whisked away. This was my second time in Geneva and I’d always wanted to see the water spout in Lake Geneva. Luckily, our route to Evian took us right by it.

When we checked in, I was thrilled to hear that our room was ready. Check out our view – so pretty! This is a pitch and putt course that they have on the grounds.

Billy and I were starving, so off we went to Tony’s Bar where we sat on the patio and enjoyed the sun and heat! I had a wonderful club sandwich.

Afterwards, we were off to tour the grounds and swim in the infinity pool overlooking Lake Geneva!

It is so gorgeous to see Lake Geneva to your right and snow capped mountains to your left while sitting outside drinking clean water! They have Evian bottles everywhere on the grounds!

In fact, I only had 1.5 Coca-Cola Lights yesterday and 1 the previous day!

Dinner was absolutely fabulous! We are on the half board plan and I have to say that you can get a lot of food for €63 per person!

I started off with the Alaskan King Crab salad with avocados. Very good! My main meal was cod with chorizo and the the Mille-Feuille for dessert. I cleaned all 3 plates!

And that… All occurred in Day 1! I do my best to maximise vacation time!

~Karen

Someone Had A Birthday!

Yes, someone had their 15th birthday at our house! It was quite a busy day for her so the celebrations actually covered a few days – we call them birthday months in our house!

On her actual birthday, we bought 24 cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery for her to take to school and share with friends/teachers. If you haven’t tried their cupcakes, I HIGHLY recommend them. And… I just might have a massive amount of experience taste testing cupcakes!

The next day, my parents arrived back in London and we were thrilled to see them! They went with Billy to pick Lauren up from school and she was elated to see them.

In fact, she is “Star of the Week” in school this week. As part of her honour, she gets to be line leader, take out the compost after snack time and feed the goldfish! Here is Lauren’s picture with the star badge.

We had a lovely 15th birthday celebration for Bailey at her favourite restaurant Inamo. You order and do literally everything with a touchscreen/interactive table!

Billy, my mom and Lauren were checking out the menu…

We started with appetizers of edamamae and pork ribs – so yummy!

Here is my father checking out the menu.

He and Billy ordered the same thing, except my father had fish and Billy had beef. They bring a hot plate to your table and Cook everything right there in front of you. It lets off a lovely aroma and it is really delicious.

My mother and I had the same thing – a lovely piece of salmon!

We are in the Star Alliance airport lounge right now and preparing for our flight to Geneva. Thank you mom and dad… We don’t quite know what to do with ourselves with all of this quiet time! I just finished my breakfast here in the lounge – my favourite… Bacon, poached eggs and toast!

We are off to the land of Evian, France. When you see a bottle of Evian water this weekend, think of us! I’m sure many more pictures will follow soon!

Have a lovely weekend!

~Karen

Three Letter Acronym

At work, I live in a world of three letter acronyms. Everything seems to have a three letter acronym and was so confusing when I first joined.

I now have a thee letter acronym at home! My parents brought it over from the US (speaking of parents, they get off their cruise tomorrow!).

My new acronym is TRX or this nice little torture contraption!

I can do all sorts of things with this – planks, rows, one-legged lunges, squats, etc. You get the drift! The TRX stands for Total body Resistance eXercise (if I remember correctly!).

Here is my work out for tonight!

It is great for the core and doesn’t hurt my oh so fragile knees. Although, I’m still having hip issues – so, I’ve learned to modify where I need to. Don’t let this little thing deceive you, it is a REALLY great workout!

If you will excuse me, I’ve got to get back to my TRX and kettlebell!

Do you often use a three letter acronym?

Oh and happy birthday to Bailey! She turned 15 today with our big celebration tomorrow since she had something for school this evening!

~Karen