Wednesday, January 30, 2013

{Montreux, Switzerland}

Before our trip to Switzerland, I’d honestly never heard of the city of Montreux. We passed through it by train on our way from Geneva to Val d’illiez and noted how beautiful it looked perched on the edge of Lake Geneva, the Alps appearing to plunge right down into its waters right before your eyes.  We were so captivated that we decided we’d day trip back to check it out. Unfortunately, had we done our research ahead of time we would’ve realized that Montreux is home to one of Switzerland’s best Christmas Markets. We were a day late, and walked through the market as all the vendors were closing up shop for the year. We were bummed we missed it, but happy we chose the day we did to visit because it was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining and it glimmered so brilliantly off the water that it really did blind you (in the best way possible). We were so enjoying the sun and our perfect walk along the Lakeside Promenade that we ended up abandoning our original plan to visit the Chateau de Chillon. I’m a little sad we didn’t make it there, but happy we spent time basking in the sun instead! The entire time we walked along the water’s edge I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing Montreux must be in the summertime. I decided right then and there we had to come back someday – hopefully when the weather was warmer!
 {Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

{Champery, Switzerland}

Champery is a small village that was located a 10-minute tram ride from the town we were staying in. It’s the quintessential Swiss ski resort town I had always imagined in my head. All the stores and restaurants with views of the Alps, everything made of wood with Swiss flags swaying every way you turned. On Christmas Eve we were feeling antsy to get out of the house so we decided to make the short trip over to walk around, ride the gondola up the mountain, have some hot chocolate, and ultimately have dinner at a cozy restaurant back in the town center. It was incredible to climb up the mountain in the gondola and come face-to-face with the peaks we had been staring up at for days from the window of our chalet. It was windy when we were up there, but it was so breathtaking we didn’t even care! We missed our families so much that day, but experiencing this awe-inspiring sunset together on top of the world definitely made us feel a little better!
 {Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

Monday, January 28, 2013

{This Weekend...}

It was so much fun to head to London for the weekend to celebrate Lauren and her twin girls!
We had a bumpy start on Friday night.. But all was well by Saturday morning.
It was a pretty low key weekend filled with girly chats and brunch dates. My idea of perfect!
I even got to take some photos for Lauren and her hubby to mark this special time in their lives. I can't wait to share! 
Sadly, I'm still sick, so I'm back to bed today. Learned my lesson last week that I won't get better unless I rest, so I'm making that a priority!
What did you do this weekend? Anything fun? Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

{Our Swiss Chalet}

Staying in a Swiss chalet was very much like my dream of staying in a Tuscan villa. So cliché, yet so necessary. When Corey and I realized we wouldn’t be making it home for Christmas we knew we had to go somewhere super awesome to help temper the sting. And we couldn’t have picked a better place to spend a week relaxing. We were in the most beautiful, tiny Swiss Alp town of Val d’illiez. There’s not much to do there except stare at the gorgeous mountains and cuddle up by the fire. Exactly what we had in mind! I started every day with a bubble bath (pure heaven!) and ended each one with a glass of wine, a cozy fire and a Christmas movie. The only thing missing was our little Henry. There will be many more posts about our trip to Switzerland to come... For now, here are a few photos from our dream Swiss chalet
 {Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

{Sister Time in Manhattan Beach}

After our two-year anniversary, I flew out to Portland the next day. I couldn’t go back to the U.S. without a visit to LA to see my sisters, so that’s exactly what I did for one weekend! I finally got to see Manhattan Beach, the adorable beach town my sister Anna lives in, and even got some pool and beach time, which is pure luxury for an Amsterdammer. One night in Manhattan Beach we saw the most beautiful sunset – it absolutely rivaled the ones I saw in Greece! It really did look like the sky was painted with watercolors. My sisters literally had to pull me away from taking photos because we were about to lose our dinner reservation! It was just so stunning. Lucky for me I just booked a trip back to see them again in May, so I’m hoping I see another amazing sunset or two!
  {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}