{Italy: The Bad & The Ugly}

I debated for a few hours if I should first tell you about the awesome 24 hours I had in Italy, or if I should first tell you about the 48+ hours that followed that were pretty much my worst nightmare come to life…

I decided I’d start with the bad, so I could get it in my past as soon as possible, and make it stay there forever.

Long story short, I got a bad case of food poisoning on our awesome blogger blate in Italy. Most of you will wonder what I ate that made me so sick.. I wish it was something more cool and obvious, but it was a nectarine (of all things!) I bought at a super tiny, crappy little convenience store in Florence. It had clearly been cross contaminated with some nasty bacteria because it didn’t take long for me to get sick. 

Poor Megan and Lauren had to endure me upchucking all over Florence (in bathrooms, on the street, on the side of the highway…) and then throughout the night and even into the next day at our lovely villa outside of Lucca. That felt like the longest night of my life. I swore I was dying and I needed a hospital. It was awful. Only made more awful by the fact that my body was so torn apart and depleted that even when the throwing up had stopped, I was too weak to go anywhere or do anything for the entire rest of the trip.

There are so many other awful details, but for now I’d rather just focus on the fact that I’m slowly but surely getting my strength back, I’m back in my bed in Amsterdam and that Megan, Lauren and their guys (and of course Corey!) were the sweetest and best caretakers. It could’ve been really terrible and awkward to be sick around people I didn’t know very well, but they made me feel so comfortable, and I’m forever grateful for that.

So for all of you who have ever read my blog and felt even in a twinge of jealousy… here you go. Crappy things happen on awesome travel adventures, too! And I’m here to report back on those as your loyal travel blogger :) I’ll be sharing the few photos I have from our Italian getaway just as soon as I’m feeling up for it. Hopefully soon!

P.S. Thanks for all of your thoughtful and concerned comments and tweets on Instagram & Twitter – they kept me great company while I was up in the middle of the night!

{you can always rely on bloggers to document everything, even me being sick on the couch! Thanks for the photo Lauren :) }

{Have an Amazing Weekend!}

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, or you read Megan or Lauren’s blogs, you probably already know that as we speak I am on an epic blate (blog+date) in Tuscany with the two of them! It’s just us girls for now, lounging by the pool of our Tuscan villa, but the boys are joining us this weekend! I’m excited for good wine, girl talk and some sun! I’ll be back here on Tuesday. Until then, have a fabulous weekend!

 {photo credit}

{Versailles: Part II}

As promised, here are some photos from Marie Antoinette's Estate & the Palace of Versailles.

 {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Gardens of Versailles}

I decided to take a quick break from posting photos from my trip home to catch up on some European travel posts. This one is way overdue – from April!

Right after my mom left, we hopped a plane for a quick weekend in Paris with a family friend. You may remember – that’s when we made our wish on the lock bridge.

We also had the opportunity to go to Versailles on this trip. It was even more gorgeous and awe-inspiring than I thought it would be. I can’t believe we waited until our third trip to Paris to go to Versailles – big mistake! If you’re ever there, you must make time to see it. You truly feel like you’ve been transported to a time long, long ago. It’s a powerful, grand place that lives up to all the hype.

Here are some photos from the Gardens of Versailles… Tomorrow I’m sharing photos from Marie Antoinette’s Estate and the Palace of Versailles – enjoy!

 {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Cooper Mountain Nature Park}

I'm a walker. My mom loves to walk. Corey loves to walk. My in-laws love to walk. We're just a walkin' family. So, needless to say, there was a lot of walking done while I was home for a month. One of my favorite places to go for a stroll was through Cooper Mountain Nature Park. It's this gorgeous nature park 1 mile from my in-laws and 3 miles from my Mom (they live 2 miles apart - how awesome is that?!). It's a peaceful place with gorgeous views and a few great trails. If you happen to live in the area and haven't checked it out - you must go! 

P.S. Wouldn't it be a gorgeous location for a photography session?!

P.P.S. I'm guest posting over on Betsy Transatlantically today - check it out!

And one from Instagram :)

 {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Wine Tasting + Picnic at David Hill}

Things got so busy right before our trip to Portland I didn’t even get to blog about our two-year wedding anniversary. It fell on a work night, the day before I was leaving for home, so to be honest it wasn’t the most incredible anniversary ever. But we did make time to go out for an amazing meal (in a greenhouse!) and for some quality time together before I left Corey for two weeks (torture!).

When we were home, partly as a little celebration and partly just because we hadn’t been back since our wedding day, we went out to the winery where we tied the knot. Corey’s parents and my mom joined as we did a little wine tasting, then enjoyed a picnic among the vines enjoying a fantastic pinot noir. Being back was so special – the place hadn’t changed a bit.  

**Update! Apparently you guys like my dress ;) Thanks! It's from Zara. Unfortunately I got it on super sale while I was in Bruges with my sis, and I don't see it online.

  {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}