michelle my belle

mind the gap - London

my friend Leigh of Curly Girl captured a similar shot on her recent trip.
i loved it so much i had to get one for myself! thanks Leigh!

London Eye - one massive ferris wheel!

did you know you can't carry a locking pocket knife in the UK?

Big Ben and Parliament!

Houses of Parliament

ale & pie - oh my!

All Saints - and there's one coming to Seattle!

i'm truly in love with this shop!

i think i have one more London post and then i'll be moving onto more artsy things.
please bear with me!

after Italy came London

one of the first people we encountered upon entering London was a gal asking, " and WHY did you leave Italy?"

again, my husband and i had no idea what to expect.
neither of us are really the type to plan ahead and research where we're going.
at least this time traveling we(my hubs) actually booked hotels.
our trip to italy 3 years ago we totally winged it.
no hotels booked, no itinerary, no idea how to read their traffic signs.
we had about $300 in tickets arrive in the mail months later. ha!
(i wasn't laughing at the time)

i thought these CUTE taxis were just in the movies!!!
and just look at this wall of plants!

polenta chips
we scored on awesome meals.

a babaganoush burger, yum.

i have to admit, i was giddy to have a BIG cup of coffee again!

regent street

the taxis totally make this city for me.
with honorable mention going to the tube and red telephone booths.

this was in the Earls Court area where our hotel was.

have you been to London? if so, what was your favorite part?
i have a bunch more pictures to show you but i'm running out of energy.
hope you are well my friend.

last italy post - firenze!

in florence we climbed to the top of the dome to get this beautiful view.
i'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.




the infamous ponte vecchio.
"locks of love"
what a sweet way to proclaim your love in this romantic city.
travel to florence, write your names on a lock, attach it and immediately throw the key into the river.

a local artist on the river.
we just happened upon this shop that carries our clocks! you can just barely see our checkers cat clock there in the window to the far left.
goodbye italy-
i will miss you.
thank you for having us and being so kind to us as cyclists.
my belly will ache for your gelato, pizza and cappuccinos.