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!