NYLON...In Heels!

43. Climb to the top of the dome at St. Paul's

It’s London’s most iconic building, and an important landmark in religious history. And yet every day, millions of people take it for granted.  In fact for over two years I have shared this city with St Paul’s, making frequent trips past it on the way out for drinks or with friends passing through London, but I’d never been inside it.

My brother Chase, and his girlfriend Dani, came to London and agreed to help me check off this important icon from my list.  The morning they landed, off we went (what can I say, they are super travel troopers!)

The climb is divided into three parts:

1. The first section gets you to the whispering gallery which is to the interior of the dome where you can whisper on one side and the acoustics take it to the other side. 
2. The second part of the climb is 119 steps to the outside of the dome - and to some pretty sweet views of the City. 
3. Finally, there are 152 more spiraling stairs up the interior of the dome to the tippy top...but boy was view was worth the effort!

 The dome at St. Paul's has to be the greatest view the city that I've experienced thus far!  Infact, you don't just enjoy the view across town, but there is a small window that looks all the way down to the Cathedral floor!

There is a story that Christopher Wren sat up on Parliament Hill (#38.  Take in the view from Parliment Hill) to watch the removal of the scaffolding around St Paul’s dome – the second largest in the world after St Peter’s. If it collapsed, as many said it would, he had a carriage waiting to take him to the Channel. It didn’t, and now London has an amazing iconic Cathedral to admire no matter if it's from the top of the Dome or the top of the Hill.

A gold star to Dani, Chase and Mike for taking the St. Paul stair challenge with me!

22. Go to Edinburgh!

 
Ah Bonny Scotland!  Edinburgh has been on my "List" for way too long!  For the past two years, it's been waiting patiently on my travel wish list just waiting to be booked and subsequently explored.

When the parents-in-law wanted to hit up the UK before we dashed out of town, it just made sense to meet them in this festive city to kick off their trip.

Settling in at the historic Scotsman Hotel- former home to the Scotsman Newspaper for more than a century - we were well placed to explore Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile.  Lucky for us, the weekend we were there was the Scottish "Gathering" - a unique two-day event which is chance for Scots everywhere to celebrate their roots and one of Scotland's greatest traditions, Highland Games.

After finding the Lindsay clan, we "gathered" with our Anthony clan and had a delious dinner at the Witchery before watching the Clan Parade.  Sunday was spent exploring the Edinburgh Castle and the gardens (oh and snappin' up a pair of shoes for Mike) before trainin' it back to London.

Unlisted. Visit Rome, Sweet Rome.

 
Before we get too deep in posting about all the fun things being completed on "The List"... Let's pause for a quick minute to give Rome a shout out and thank that wonderful city for hosting Mike and I for a weekend early in July. 

To be fair, Rome needs much more than the two days we gave it to give it justice, but alas it was all we had to "rome" and eat our way thru this historical mecca.  Our base for the weekend was the ALEPH - a fab hotel that was converted from an old bank.

Our Birkenstock's were burnin' up the pavement covering the Vatican, St. Peter's, Sistine Chapel, The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, The Spainish Steps and the Trevi fountain eating no less than at least five pizzas and ten gelati's along the way.

Don't worry, we know we didn't see it all... we're savin' some for later!

Hot & Spicy in Spain...and DC!

Our weekend jaunt to Madrid this weekend was filled with gorgeous food and delicious drink and lots OF SUN!  Mike and I may have a complete love affiar with each other, but we also have some room in the relationship for a continued love for Spain.  We spent the weekend eating churros (like the ones we served at our wedding!), drinking sangria, and eating manchengo, iberian jamon, and croquetas and exploring the city from the Palace Hotel.

The spicy Spanish fare reminded me of some exciting news that I wanted to share - the saucy Latin restruarant chain Cuba Libreexpanding to DC!  The new digs will be located in a U.S. Mint building on the corner of 9th & H streetsin the Penn quarter neighborhood near the Verizon Center and Washington D.C.’s new convention center, and offer open-air tropical ambiance, Latin rhythms and extensive selection of tropical cocktails and tantalizing fare.  

So if I can't make it to Spain, or Cuba, then I'll definitely be looking to hit up this muy caliente restuarant chain back in the US of A.

Sizzling Summer Travel Plans

You didn't think The Hubby and I could stay in London all summer did you?  We've got the travel itch and just booked flights to Madrid & Rome (on British Air, not Air France, just to be safe). 

More details to come once I'm back from Copenhagen for work next week...Any travel tidbits welcome for any of these three chic cities.

 Let the summer Jet-Set begin!

NYLON in Heels on Honeymoon: Chillaxin in the Seychelles

After rising at 5:00 AM for photo-hunting for four days straight, Mike knew we would be exhilerated but pooped, so the Happymoon organiser extroidinaire booked us in for our final week of holiday on the private island of Sainte Anne in the Seychelles.

We flew out of the bush via private jet to Johannesburg where we had an 8-hour layover before our overnight flight into the Indian Ocean followed by a 30 minute boat transfer to Sainte Anne.  The Seychelles are known for their exquisite ribbons of white sand lapped by topaz waters and backed by lush hills and big boulders with no crowds (or even many people!) insight.

The five days we were there were spent laying by our private villas pool, bike riding around the island (no cars allowed), enjoying couples massages in the Clarin's spa, snorkling in the crytal clear waters, and eating by candle light on the beach or at the island's Swiss Family Robinson style restuarant.  It was without a doubt pure-bliss and the perfect way to end our Happymoon before coming back to Londontown for one last wedding celebration.

VIEWING TIP: Click on the right hand corner to see the video in full screen. Also it may be helpful to hit pause and let it load (let the red line fill all the way to the right) if you are having trouble with interruptions.

NYLON in Heels on Honeymoon: Into the Bush

You would think that we would be tired of travelling, but when you've come this far, you've got to go by bus, train, and even Cessna Plane to get to where you need to go.

With Mike as our co-pilot, we left Nelspruit in a "Bush Taxi" plane for Londolozi, our game reserve in the Sabi Sands region of Kruger National Park.  There we met Jess, our ranger, and Jeff, our tracker - whose keen eyes can spot a leopard print on the roadside from a moving jeep at sundown and hear bones-crunching from bushes half a mile away.  They lead us on our morning and evening drives, helping us to discover the wildlife of Sabi Sand.

Since the animals are no longer hunted they are generally tolerant of human presence - so you can get right up (still in the jeep of course) and observe for as long as they let you.  The Londolozi leopords (of which we saw 5!) let you come in relatively close for a photo with hardly a reaction.  A pride of lions ambled by one day looking so cool and cuddly that you want to hug it - but of course you won't. 

 A baby elephant with its herd of 100 swung by on our last day to say "good-bye", sloshing down the river bed in the heat.  Zebras struck serene poses, and not to mention the graceful giraffes, sculptural rhinos, various specious of antelopes whose patterned face make them living artworks, drifting submarines that turn out to be ponds full of hippos, and birds that could have inspired the cubist movement.

The beauty of the widlife was only complemented by our beautiful Lodge, hospitable hosts, gorgeous food, sundowners on the Savannah, and visits to the local village (including songs from the children) only made us fall further in love with each other and with Londolozi - it's a special place and we'll certainly be back.  Ask us more next time you see us - there's just too much to tell here!

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NYLON in Heels on Honeymoon: First stop, Cape Town & Franschhoek

After a 10,000 mile journey and 18 months of planning what else would you want to do on your honeymoon but sleep with the waves lapping outside your window, eat amazing food, and drink first-class wine?  That is exactly what we did in Cape Town at The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay and the rest of the Western Cape.

You can see for yourself in the slideshow below, but Cape Town quickly became one of our favorite cities in the world with it's beautiful beaches, stunning skyline, living history, and first rate restuarants.  From our boat trip to Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was held and released less than 20 years ago) and the Jackass Penguins now reside, to climbing rocks on the beach, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, and dining on a seven course wine and food pairing at La Colombe - despite the fog from the Cape "Table Cloth" it was a fantastic five days down under.

Just outside of Cape Town lies the Wine Valley of Franschhoek.  With 43 wine farms, it is the place to go for some of South Africa's top wines.  Franschhoek's finer tastes don't end with wine. The picturesque valley also offers some of South Africa's most acclaimed restaurants and with everything from delicious Cape country fare to sublime French cuisine. 

As we were passing through, it happened to be the weekend of the South African Cheese Festival.  It's not surprising that the area if known as the "Wine and Food Capital of the Cape" and that it was a perfect match for our palates.  The award winning wine farms we visited including Vrede en Lust and L’Ormarins and restaurants Reuben's and The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais were some of the best we've ever experienced!

VIEWING TIP:  Click on the right hand corner to see the video in full screen.  Also it may be helpful to hit pause and let it load (let the red line fill all the way to the right) if you are having trouble with interruptions.

Mr. & Mrs. NYLON Honeymoon in Africa

One of the best things about getting married is going away with the love of your life for the first time as Mr. & Mrs.  Taking on a UK tradition, Mike took to the helm of the honeymoon planning process and surprised me at my bridal shower with the announcement of a trip to South Africa.

So, the day after we got hitched in Baltimore, we boarded BA for an overnight flight back to London.  Landing on Tuesday, we snuck back to our flat, switched out our suitcases, took a nap, then headed back to Heathrow to board a flight to Paris, then a flight to Johannesburg, then to Capetown.  Sound exhausting?  Actually we were so thrilled to be on our "happy-moon" that we were running on adrenaline and who's stressed about sleeping when you have 18 days of relaxing to look forward to?

So journey with us down to Africa...and keep checking back, this may take a few posts!

VIEWING TIP:  Click on the right hand corner to see the video in full screen.  Also it may be helpful to hit pause and let it load (let the red line fill all the way to the right) if you are having trouble with interruptions.

An American (and her fav LONs) Girl in Paris

  A few weeks ago, my LON girlfriends surprised me with a trip to Paris.  I know, right? I still can't believe it myself!  But it was truly and wonderfully fabulous and I'm so thankful to them for it.

So how did it all go down you may ask?  Well the girls told me that the weekend was going to be my London Hen weekend - basically a bachelorette party English style.   They kicked off the weekend with a pink champagne cocktail hour, a NY Style Italian Dinner Party (or the LAST SUPPER as they called it),  Lorna's Magnolia  Bakery Cupcakes and Cosmo's.  After a round of fun and laugh out loud pressies, they put on a Sex and the City DVD and preceded to pause it on the "An American Girl in Paris" intro - I cant not tell  you HOW surprised I was when they told me we were going to Paris on the EuroStar the next morning.  So awesome.

The next day, the seven of us convened at St. Pancreas, boarded the Eurostar and they produced croissants, strawberries, crepes and other yummy breakfast goodies for the trip down.  They also revealed "The Map" - a highly creative and detailed go-to guide of everything we were going to do for the day.  Once at Gare du Nord,  they announced I was going to "twist" all over Gay Paris.  Only the snaps (links below) do this nonsense justice. 

After a day of touring and eating, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower for some more Twister and a  photo shoot (with a veil of course!).  Finally, off to KONG for cocktails before heading back to Gare du Nord where we drank bottles of champagne and ate strawberries the LON ladies had stored at the station.  The night finished off back in London at the HEM with some nice hot Thai and some good ole fashioned girl chat.

A huge shout out to Lorna, Kate, Jenny, Clare, Hannah, and Tamsin for a fabulous NYLON does Paris Hen Do!  For now snaps can be found at these links:

• Paris, Album 1
• Paris, Album 2

I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love. And I don't think that love is here in this expensive suite in this lovely hotel in Paris. - Carrie, SATC