Home.

Well, I am writing to you now from the comfort of our own home in Seattle, Washington. We left London a little over one week ago with our 8 bags and boarded our one way plane.

Our last few days there were packed with errands and goodbyes. We had accounts to close and things to pack. We got our flat cleaned and gave our keys back to our landlord, and then spent two nights in the guestroom above our local pub, the Captain Cook. Our last dinner in London was at Picture restaurant in Marylebone, which is where we had one of our first dinners out when we arrived in London.

As I've said before, everything surrounding the move has been bittersweet for us. It was hard to leave so many friends and our life in Fulham. We've loved living in London and will definitely miss it, but we are excited to be home.

We are now slowly unpacking and settling into our life here - I started a new job and Aaron's gone back to the Seattle Russell office. We've moved into our Wedgwood house and met our neighbors. Life is good.

What an adventure it was for us as Newlyweds Abroad! We did and saw so much while we were there - 30 different countries and 47 trips in total, not to mention all the sightseeing we did in London.

But I must admit... it does feel good to be home : )

Oh, What a Day: Borough Market, Sky Garden and the Wham's Karaoke Leaving Do

For our last Saturday in London, we headed over to one of our favorite places: Borough Market. We walked across Tower Bridge to get there dodging tourists along the way. We love Borough Market because of the atmosphere and variety of food vendors. Almost anything you order is fresh and delicious. Plus, the free cheese, meat and bread samples are nice too : )

After Borough Market, we walked across the river towards Fenchurch street, a building nicknamed the "walking talkie". At the top of the building is the Sky Garden: the whole top floor has plants and is enclosed in glass. There's a bar and lots of seating, plus a small patio outside. We enjoyed a drink overlooking the amazing 360° views from the top.

We then headed home to continue packing and have some down time before our big leaving do: a karaoke party at one of our local pubs (the Southern Belle) with all of our friends. It was a very memorable night and we sang our heart out to all of our favorite songs. But the best part about it was that we were able to spend time with so many of the amazing people we've met in London. It's really been an incredible 2.5 years here, and we've made so many good friends along the way. It's hard to leave, but we have some great memories and "oh, what a night!"

Our Last Day(s) of Work

My last day at EuroFinance was on Thursday and my coworkers gave me a really amazing send off. Don't worry, I only teared up about five times!

Aaron's last day at the Russell London office was on Friday. I don't think he teared up, but I know that it was hard for him to leave too.

We've made such good friends at both of our offices. We've been on trips with them, had outings in London, played Dodgeball, drank countless pints together... the list goes on and on.

Tonight, we are meeting up with everyone at one of our local pubs for some karaoke and drinks. Even though we only have a few days left in London, it doesn't feel real yet. But I'm sure I'll tear up tonight too! : (

Our Last Trip Part II: Villefranche sur Mer, Monaco and Nice

The next day in France we headed to Villefranche sur Mer, a small coastal town near Nice. It is one of the deepest natural ports in the Mediterranean sea and is also where our friends are getting married this summer! We met them for breakfast and then walked to the Citadel built in 1557, Chapelle Saint-Pierre from the 16th century and the beach.

We followed the coastline walking all the way to Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. Along the way, we saw gorgeous villas overlooking the water and lots of nice cars. We stopped for a pizza lunch and drank Monacos (beer, lemonade and a splash of grenadine).

After lunch, we took the train to Monaco: the concrete mini city of money, money, money! There were massive yachts in the harbor (including the 26th largest in the world) and really expensive cars. We thought we'd seen nice cars walking along the coastline before, but they were nothing compared to the ones that were parked outside of the Monte Carlo Casino.

The Monte Carlo Casino sits above the harbor. It's actually smaller than I expected it to be and it's not like the flashy Vegas ones. It is classy, lavish and small but grand with a lot of European charm. We paid 10 euros to go inside, and then I played the slot machines once just to say that I've gambled at the casino : ) but I lost : (

While we were in Monaco, there was a short bike race on part of the Monaco Grand Prix track. We walked around the city (it is very small) and then headed back to Nice for dinner.

Up until this point, we hadn't spent much time in Nice although we were staying there. But we finally had time to explore that evening and the next day.

One of my favorite parts of the trips was once we got back, Aaron and I enjoyed a glass of wine at a beach restaurant. We sat there looking out into the vast sea realizing that it would only be a week and a half before our life would change. We enjoyed our wine and then just as it started to rain (and then pour) we met up with the group at a restaurant where I had the best Niçoise salad (my favorite!) and then we went out for a night on the town.

The next morning we walked all around Nice visiting the little shops and strolling the boardwalk. We didn't fly out until the evening so we had all day to explore. It was a gorgeous day and so many people were out rollerblading, sunbathing or just doing exactly what we were - enjoying life. Of course, it helps if there's a bottle of wine, baguette and cheese, and if you're in the south of France : )

It was a bittersweet, great last trip for the newlyweds abroad!

Our Last Trip Part I: Pétanque and Cheese in St Paul de Vence

Well, here it is. Our last trip as newlyweds abroad. Spoiler alert: it didn't disappoint!

Off we went to France on Saturday morning. We arrived into Nice, which is where we stayed and what became our jumping off point to explore the surrounding towns.

Yacine flew down with us, and we met up with a couple who recently moved to London on a similar assignment a few months ago. We hoped in a taxi and headed to St Paul de Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns near the French coastline. It is an artist's town, I think because of how picturesque it is! It sits high up on a hill overlooking the surrounding areas. On a clear, sunny day you can see for miles.

We wandered around the winding stone streets and perused the local shops. After stopping for a bottle of wine at a restaurant overlooking the view, we met up with our other friends and their family. We ended up playing pétanque for a few hours with everyone which is basically French bocce ball. All the little towns have pétanque terrains that are free to use.

Afterwards, we headed to our friend's aunt's house for some wine and cheese (see photo below ). Did I mention that there was cheese? There was every single kind imaginable and it was all delicious. We laughed, talked and enjoyed each other's company until the late evening when we got picked up and headed back to Nice. There was much more fun in store the next day!

A Moving Day: Views and Music at St Paul's Cathedral

This post has two parts because Monday of last week was a moving day- both physically and emotionally.

The movers arrived at 9am. They packed up the majority of our flat leaving only some clothes and our must-pack items. It took them two hours and then they left with our life packed up in boxes.

My mom was still there and Aaron and I had taken the day off work, so we decided not to waste the half day in London that we had. One of the touristy things we have not done in London yet was visit the church that dominates the city skyline, St Paul's Cathedral. With only a few days left to explore, we headed there to check it out.

The church sits on the highest point of the city, which isn't saying much because the city is pretty flat! There's been a church onsite since AD604, but the current one dates from the 17th century. It's been partially destroyed three times by fires, but has continued to be rebuilt and remains an important part of British history. It is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married, Sir Winston Churchill's funeral services were held, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee service took place.

The downstairs part of the church is a crypt with tombs and memorials. The ground floor consists of a beautiful, high-ceiling dome with ornate artwork depicting the life of St Paul; a choir section lined with wooden benches; and a high alter area decorated with mosaics. Overlooking down into the dome 100 feet up is the whispering gallery. And the brave can continue climbing the stairs farther up until they reach the outside of the dome. This provides a spectacular 360° view from the center of London. It is one of the most amazing views of the city because you can just see everything.

After touring through the cathedral, we attended the choral evensong which is a nightly service. We sat in the choir section and listened to the choir sing; their beautiful voices echoing off the high dome walls.

Then we headed to Sushi Samba,  a restaurant located in one of the tallest towers in London. We had a great dinner with our last visitor (my mom- she was also our first visitor!) and had another amazing view of this incredible city.

Now that our flat is nearly empty and there's nothing on the walls anymore, it's all starting to feel real. We are eating off paper plates and using plastic utensils, just like we did when we first arrived. Remember my wine bottle post? Well, I did not make that mistake twice. This time I saved a wine opener just in case : )

Port Tasting in Porto

One of our favorite trips over here has been to Portugal, so this past weekend we flew with my mom to Porto!

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and home to delicious Port wine. It's a coastal town in the Northwest part of the country with narrow, cobblestone streets and lots of hills. The area has two sides: Porto which consists of the old town with many restaurants, cathedrals, shops and bars, and Gaia on the other side of the river where many of the famous port wineries lie.

We were staying on the old town (Porto) side, so we arrived to our guest house and went to grab lunch. Then we walked down towards the waterfront where we stopped for a small taste of Port out of a chocolate cup (delicious). After, we walked across the Luís I Bridge from which there are stunning views of both sides of the river as you cross it.

We made our way to the riverfront on the Gaia side and grabbed a drink overlooking the beautiful Porto side. We had roasted chestnuts from a local vendor and then did a Porto tour at Cálem. Many of the port wineries have production facilities and tasting rooms staggered along the riverfront. They have huge signs with just their title name spelled out in letters that can be seen from the Porto side.

Founded in 1859, Cálem was recommended to us by our guesthouse because they have a tour of the facility with a tasting while listening to the traditional Portuguese music, Fado. On the tour, we learned about the three main types of Port: tawny, ruby and white. We actually had no idea that there was white port until our tour, but it makes sense since there's white wine! And it was delicious. The whole experience of being in a cave-like setting listening to beautiful Fado music and sipping our different port wines was very serene.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the Porto side and found dinner along the waterfront. We dropped my mom off at the guesthouse and Aaron and I went out for a nightcap. We had heard that Porto was like Spain- people wouldn't go out until 11pm and bars were open until 4am, clubs were open until 2am. Still, Aaron and I went out at 10pm. The popular street for bars that our guesthouse recommended was empty when we went. But when we left at about midnight, it was packed by then!

The next day, we got up and walked to the train station and bookstore, which were both places that inspired JK Rowling for the Harry Potter books. The bookstore has a crazy, intricate staircase that loops into itself and looks like part of it is almost floating. It just feels 'magical' and I can see how it would be an inspiration for Diagon Alley, Oliver's Wand Shop or the moving staircases at Hogwarts.

Then we went to Palácio da Bolsa also known as the stock exchange palace. In 1850 the Palace was built to house the commercial association of Portugal and impress those that saw it. My favorite areas were the grand staircase leading up to the second floor (with huge chandeliers and impressive marble) and the Arab room which is a beautiful, detailed, ornate room. It's hard to describe and my pictures don't do it justice, but it really was breathtaking.

We finished touring the palace and walked back to the waterfront for a glass of Port. Then we headed to a local shop that had a port tasting and went for tapas that night.

We left the next morning to head back for a full day of packing. Our movers were coming the next day, so we had a lot to do before then! This was our second to last trip before moving home, and after two trips to this country, we've decided we love Portugal!