Happy 2nd Anniversary to Us!

I'm interrupting my Robison Swiss travelogue to say, happy second anniversary to us!  We've been celebrating our anniversary for several days now with different activities, which I will post about later.  Many readers of this blog knew us when we were married two years ago, but some did not.  Which means this is a great excuse to post engagement/wedding/honeymoon pictures!  Woohoo!

Darren proposed on December 5, 2008 in Seattle, WA

We were married on July 18, 2009 in the Bountiful LDS Temple

It was a scorching 100-degree day in Utah, but at least we had blue skies!

Our reception was at The Point in Salt Lake City

One of our favorites of us

Leaving our reception

Darren surprised me with a honeymoon in Fiji

Our own bure on a small island with only eight other huts in the resort

Enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the water

One of the best memories was when Darren told me on our honeymoon about how he had been referred to a position at Google and was thinking about interviewing for it when we got back.  I remember saying he should go for it and see what happens.  Who knew that two years later we would be where we were because he took that interview!

Happy anniversary Darren!  Here's to many more years of: laughing, sarcastic banter, traveling, cuddling, playing Rock Band, you making fun of me because I'm awkward, me forcing you to go on walks, watching West Wing, going to the temple, picking out dream houses on Zillow, fighting over who gets the Kindle, being loud talkers, and most importantly, supporting and encouraging each other.

Robison Family Swiss Adventure: Zurich, Colmar, Strasbourg

I'm now going to go back and blog about when my dad and step-mom were here at the end of June.  Some family members have already read about this trip on my dad's blog, but I want to have a record of it in my blog, too, so this might be a repeat for some of you.

My parents arrived Wednesday morning on June 22nd on separate flights.  Dad was coming from London and was supposed to arrive the night before, but got stuck in Frankfurt because of thunderstorms (By the way, we've been having crazy thunderstorms here all summer!  I didn't know that was common here.).  Macy and my baby sister Lauren arrived from the US around the same time.  Since everyone was tired from getting up early or from jetlag, we decided to spend our time just seeing Zürich that day.  The weather wasn't that great, but my parents, who live in Texas, were just happy it wasn't 100 degrees.  We all took the train back to my apartment to settle in and clean up.  Darren was actually out of town for a business trip at the beginning of my parents' visit, so he wasn't home.

My cute sister!  Beware, there will be a lot of pictures of her in these posts because I'm obsessed.

We started off our tour of Zürich by having lunch at Sternen Grill, which is a famous take-away food stand that has excellent sausages and roasted chicken.  My dad really likes sausages, so I had been waiting to take him here as part of his Father's Day present.  It is a very popular place and is usually crowded, but the service is quick and efficient, so we got our food in no time.  The sausages and the chicken were really delicious and warmed us right up on a cool day.  I then showed Dad and Macy the highlights of Zürich and we had fun being silly.

Dad and I at Sternen Grill

Enjoying fresh water from the fountains

Dad trying to fit in with the locals

Dad, Lauren, and me in front of St. Peter Kirche

As promised, one home-cooked meal for those who come to visit us

We all went to bed early that night because we were tired, but not too early so people could adjust to the time zone.  We got up the next morning and drove up to the Alsace region in France, which Darren and I visited in December.  If you remember, this region is on the border of France and Germany and has switched ownership many times over the centuries.  Therefore, the towns are a perfect blend of French and German culture.  This time, we stopped in the town of Colmar, which according to my guide book is "the best preserved city in Alsace".  We had lunch at a restaurant recommended by one of my friends and it was really good.  The best thing we had was a pizza-looking dish called tarte flambée, or in German, Flammenkuchen.

Dad, Lauren, and Macy at Restaurant Pfeffel

The tarte flambée, a thin crust topped with white cheese, bacon, and onions

Dad's beef stew served in a handmade Alsatian dish, I bought one of these dishes in December

The outside of the restaurant we ate at

We walked around the old part of town for a while and came across this church and saw that there was a bird's nest on top with two big storks in it!  Apparently storks are the mascot of the Alsace region.  They might have had baby storks in the nest, but we couldn't see or hear them.

A church in Colmar

The white storks in a nest on top of the church

Me and Macy (and sleepy Lauren) in Colmar

After we finished visiting Colmar, we drove another hour north to Strasbourg.  By only driving an hour north, we were able to get out of the cloud cover and get some sun!  We again walked around the old part of town and visited one of my favorite cathedrals ever, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Strasbourg.

Enjoying some sunshine in Strasbourg

Me and Lauren, I promise I'm not torturing her even if her face looks like it

Dad and I trying to decide where to go, Lauren relaxing in the stroller

Dad and I being silly in Strasbourg

Amazing pictures Macy took of the cathedral

A great close-up shot by Macy

I wanted to have dinner in Strasbourg so we wouldn't have to worry about eating when we got back to Zürich.  Without any recommendations, we just walked around and tried to find something that looked good.  We eventually settled on an outdoor restaurant with a beautiful setting near the river and under large, verdant trees.  We all tried some Spätzle, which is an Alpine-region traditional entree made of funny-shaped egg noodles.

Where we ate dinner in Strasbourg

In my opinion, I think Strasbourg is much more interesting than Colmar and is worth the extra hour-drive to get there from Zürich.  The old part of town is bigger and prettier, and the main cathedral is breathtaking.  After dinner we drove back home through Germany where there were no speed limits (on some part of the highway, not all)!  It was a breath of fresh air to be able to drive as fast as you want when typical speed limits on Swiss highways are 50 or 62 mph!

Paris: Monday

For our last day in Paris, we started off at the Louvre.  We finally beat those crowds by using our museum pass.  Fifteen minutes after the Louvre opened, the line was already an hour long, but we got right in through the museum pass line!  The Louvre was already very crowded, though, but you just had to deal with it.  One of the best things about the Louvre is that you can take pictures!  If the Louvre, one of the most famous museums, allows you to take pictures, then why can't the other museums?  Below are some highlights we saw at the Lovure.

Winged Victory of Samothrace, more commonly known as the statue of Nike

The Winged Victory of Samothrace is the highlight of the Louvre for me.  When my dad took my brother and I to Paris nine years ago, I wasn't that interested in art and didn't know much about it.  But when I saw this, I just loved it.  The statue is the winged goddess of victory, called Nike, in the form of a woman standing at the front of a ship with the wind whipping past her.  The statue was probably built on the island of Samothrace to commemorate a naval victory.  The sculptor is unknown, but it was made some time around 200 B.C.  The picture below really shows off the detail in the wings and the sculpted folds of the dress fluttering in the wind.  Even though it would be great to see the statue in its complete form, this version is fascinating all on its own.

My favorite statue, so well displayed in the Louvre

The famous Mona Lisa, behind protective glass

The tourists swarming around the Mona Lisa

Famous depiction of the Paris uprising in 1830, also the cover of a Coldplay album

Best picture of the trip ("Hey dum-dum! You give me gum-gum!")

Venus de Milo, another famous statue from 200 B.C. with an unknown artist

Cute cow sculptures from ancient Egypt!

The apartments of Napoleon III

Outside the Louvre

We did enjoy the Louvre, but were disappointed by the lack of signs in any other language besides French.  Some of the famous pieces would have pamphlets next to them in many languages, but of course, all the English ones were gone, so we couldn't learn about any of the pieces until we got home (sometimes we ended up reading about things in German).  This made it so that we could get through the museum quicker since we weren't doing any reading, but it made the visit less educational. 

And Darren and I must regrettably admit that we are getting some Europe fatigue, or at least European museum fatigue.  We've seen so many Italian, Flemish, Dutch, and French paintings over the past months, they are all starting to blend together.  We have seen some British, Spanish, and German paintings, but they aren't as common, and any other group is highly underrepresented.  On the plus side, I can most often identify the century and region of origin of most paintings I see without ever having read an art history textbook.  This is the best way to get an art education. :)

Walking across the Seine, looking towards the Ile de Cité

After the Louvre, we headed across the river back to the Ile de la Cité for some much-needed crêpes for lunch.  We had both sweet and savory crepes at two different places near the Notre-Dame and they were delicious!  What a great quick meal!  After our short lunch break, we took the metro out to Montmartre, the famous artistic district in Paris.  The main part of the district sits on top of a large hill where the Sacré-Coeur Basilica is located.  This church was was built at the end and the beginning of the 19th and 20th centuries, so it is relatively new.  I think the stone is turning black in some places because of oxidation, but I could be wrong.  The church was pretty inside, but, as usual, was mobbed with tourists.

The Sacré-Coeur basilica in Montmartre

The main street of Montmartre filled with artists selling their great paintings

After visiting Montmartre, we had some extra time before we needed to head out to the airport, so we decided to head back out towards the Eiffel Tower again.  Most famous pictures of the Eiffel Tower are taken from the Palais de Chaillot's elevated pavilion, which is across the Seine and in front of the Trocadéro Gardens, so we were trying to find that area.  Darren successfully navigated to it and the views were, as promised, spectacular on the clear Parisian day.

Darren in front  of the Eiffel Tower

Darren's great shot of the Eiffel Tower

Us in front of the Eiffel Tower

Crowds waiting in line

A view of the crowds on the second deck

After that, we headed to the airport and went home.  We're happy we'll be home for a while before more adventures begin when the Bakers arrive in August!