Europe Revisited: Rome

And you thought I was done?


well, almost.

Rome is absolutely fascinating!  Everywhere you look is a ruin- some proof that people were here thousands of years ago.  It still blows my mind, two years later.  And it's still standing. Dang.


We tried to plan our course as best as possible to hit all the major tourist spots.  The Colosseum, Fontana di Trevi, the Vatican.... we missed so much.

 

I tried.

The Colosseum is intense.

Such a bustling city.  So much to see. I so want to go back!

French Toast

As you can tell by many of my food postings, I like Breakfast.  I have such a sweet tooth, which makes eating lots of sweet things at the start of the day very appealing.  I find days when I don't eat breakfast to be unsettling and frantic at times.


There have been posts about waffles and a country breakfast bowl, but now my favorite and easiest to make: French Toast!


The dish was designed to make the best of stale bread.  The stiffness of the bread keeps it from getting mushy and falling all over the place in the egg mixture.  I always try to use stale bread, bread from the freezer, or one with a dense crumb.
This time I used Panera's Cinnamon Raisin Bread, because, well, I work there. And it's delicious.

The recipe is fairly basic: eggs, milk or cream, then flavorings like cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg.

I normally do not use measurements, but instead crack an egg in a shallow bowl and beat in some milk until it looks right, but here is a simple recipe from allrecipes that includes measurements:

 
Ingredients:

6 thick slices bread
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
salt to taste

For me the biggest thing is getting the bread equally saturated on both sides.  For God's sake, please don't let it soak, unless you are planning on baking it in a casserole dish...

Then just fry it up until the sides are golden and delicious!

Windy Hill Orchard

 

Yesterday we took advantage of Fall break and jumped in the car.

The final destination was Charlotte, NC for some shopping.  The in-between was Windy Hill Orchard.

A quaint little orchard in York, South Carolina, Windy Hill was to play host to a Fall Apple Festival, which we missed by one day.... 


We had every intention to pick our own apples, but instead became side tracked by the hard cider and apple butter that was offered.


We also made the mistake of feeding the roosters.

It was a short drive from Columbia with beautiful scenery.  Maybe next time we will actually make the Fall Festival.

Upcoming review of CSN

I'm taking a small pause to prep you guys for an upcoming review I'm doing for CSN.

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need, whether it be a stylish handbag, a chic bar stool or even cute cookware!  

Right now I'm totally in love with their AllModern site.  Someday I'll be able to afford to buy furniture . . . someday.  

It's on it's way, so get excited!

In the meantime, this is how I spent my day off: 

Europe Revisited: Paris

Ahhhhhh, Paris.........

Notre Dame is such an iconic church.  So massive, intricate, and steeped in history.  Also the setting of my favorite Victor Hugo novel.  I loved all of the stained glass.  So impressive and worthy of awe.

 

 Sacré-Coeur Basilica

It is so easy to fall in love with this city.  And the pastries. 

Europe Revisited: Salzkammergut

The Salzkammergut is a beautiful lake region outside of Salzburg, Austria.  A short bus ride to the Alps and we lake hopped from city to city.  It rained all day, which made beautifully overcast pictures.

We went through the towns of Mondsee, St. Gilgensee, Wolfgangsee, and Hallein.

Each town was more beautiful than the last...

Europe Revisited: Venice

 

Such a wonderful city!  Only two days are required to see it, since it is so small and contained, but every corner speaks of something to see.  So much to see in Piazza San Marco alone.

So many town squares just to sit and observe.  And to think, people have been doing the exact same thing in these squares for hundreds of years...

 

The mosaics of San Marco Basilica are fantastically inspiring.  The photo is high contrast so you can see all of the intricacies.

 There are cats all over Italy.  I caught this one sneaking in.

Alleyway after alleyway.  Thank God we had a map.