Eight. And Europe.

I guess I'm down to only posting once every two months now. We've been busy getting ready for the baby and trying to take advantage of our remaining free time! The countdown seems to be getting close.

The definite highlight of the last couple of months was our trip to Europe! Ever since I took Art History in college, I had been dying to visit Italy. So much time had passed since then so I was willing to go anywhere. Getting pregnant finally gave me the push I needed to make it happen.

Zach and I left the States late one night and woke up in Paris the next morning! It was a wonderful shock. Once we finally made it to our Airbnb and somewhat adjusted to the time, we were going non-stop.

Our first full day, we ventured out to Versailles where we explored the Palace and saw a contemporary Swan Lake ballet. I was super proud of myself because on the way to the ballet, I asked for directions in French! The whole time we were visiting, we found the people much more friendly than they have a reputation for. Of course we were always in the touristy areas, but it was a great discovery.

While in Paris, we attempted to visit the Louvre. We had reservations and everything, but the day we were set to go there were protests that shut the museum down. We weren't able to make it another day, but I suppose that means we will have to return to Paris someday.

Instead, we spontaneously visited the Arc de Triomphe! That was my favorite attraction in Paris.

We also visited the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't operating on the day we were in the area, but that was ok since I didn't want to pressure myself into actually going up. I realized on this trip that I had developed a fear of heights in my pregnancy.

After the Eiffel Tower, we went to Sacre Coeur for the "best view in Paris!" Unfortunately there was a basilica tower and unfortunately we decided to go up there, haha. I wish I could have appreciated the view.

Later in our trip, we walked by Notre Dame and explored the Pantheon. On our final day, we visited the Orsay Museum. What a wonderful alternative to the Louvre!

After a week in Paris, we flew to Rome. There we visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon all in one day. Everything felt much closer compared to Paris and there were much more PEOPLE!

Our Airbnb host gave us a lot of restaurant recommendations and we found our favorite pizza place thanks to him!

Because we did so much our first day, we had a relatively free itinerary the next day so we just walked around the city. We happened upon the Spanish Steps and ended up making friends with a couple from Chicago at dinner.

Our third day, we visited the Capitoline Museums. That was my favorite Rome attraction! So many amazing statues. And we briefly saw the Mouth of Truth.

We of course visited the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican Museums were SO crowded. At some areas, it really felt like we were just shuffling through the hoards of people which kind of affected our experience in the museum. I'm still very grateful we were able to finally see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel masterpiece.

Zach loved St. Peter's and I think that was his favorite part of our Rome trip, despite having to go on a guided tour. We saw the Pieta too! We had the opportunity to go up the dome, but we decided not to because once again I was getting frightened.

Our last day in Rome, we took maternity photos to commemorate our trip. And then we were off to Venice!

Instead of flying, we took advantage of the train system. I think we were both relieved to not have to fly again. On the way we made several short stops, including to Florence. I wish we had known more about Florence when we were planning our trip so we could have actually spent time there. Next time!

All the travel seemed to finally catch up to me and I think I got some weird combination of food poisoning and a cold our first night in Venice. We were only visiting for a couple days, but I spent the first day sleeping and recovering which meant we missed out on getting into St. Mark's and Doge's Palace. It got so crowded after our first day for Easter celebrations!

Once I started to feel better, we still took the opportunity to go on a gondola (we felt obligated!) and climb the St. Mark Tower. Despite my fear of heights, I felt pretty secure up there.

We also took a pasta cooking class because the couple we met in Rome had recommended it!

Finally we were in Prague, the last destination of our trip. I think we were happy to go to another country and experience something different. Italian food gets old after a while. Flying in Europe felt a lot more casual than flying in the United States. Not as much security, pregnant women seem to get priority even though priority boarding doesn't exist, and the airports felt more like shopping malls!

In Prague, we visited the Mucha Museum although we soon discovered the Slavic Epic was not included in the museum which Zach had wanted to see. (Again, next time!) We walked the Charles Bridge and attempted to explore the Astronomical Clock Tower...although I got scared on the way there so we decided no more tower climbing.

Toward the end of our trip, we were getting a little fatigued with constantly traveling and exploring. I was pregnant after all. And we are very much homebodies usually. And we had averaged walking 7-10 miles per day each day of our European adventure!

Despite that, we were still able to explore the Prague Castle, Prague Square, and listen to live classical music! I unfortunately had not been able to enjoy the food as much since my experience in Venice made me nervous and I was experiencing some heartburn. The city still felt magical though, and we were happy to be away from the crowds in Italy.

After nearly three weeks, we happily returned home. I was surprised by how much I missed the United States. Going through customs wasn't as much of a nightmare as I had been led to believe, although going through TSA again and getting out of the Denver airport was! We were grateful to finally be back home.

Only a couple weeks after that, we hosted our baby shower. Much of our family came into town - Zach's stepmom and dad, my mom and sister, and Lexi's "grammie." Not to mention some really dear friends who made long drives just to celebrate with us - all the way from Crescent City, Phoenix, and Los Angeles! We are so blessed!

I am now composing this post from North Carolina where we are visiting for a couple weeks as our last trip before we are stuck at home forever, haha. I wanted to spend a bit more time with my family and have them actually be a part of my pregnancy rather than having to give updates from afar. We've really managed to pack in a lot of catching up with family and friends in such a short amount of time.

And we celebrated Mother's Day together again this year!

In a few days, Zach and I are off to Raleigh so I can see more friends (one last time!) and attend my college reunion. Then we'll be home (and busy preparing) until the baby arrives....

I'm still figuring out where to eventually give birth so I'm seeing three doctors at the moment. Really going to focus on narrowing that down once we are back. And attending baby classes!

And Lexi's birthday! Going to make the cake again this year :)

Until next time...hopefully before Baby Zachloe's arrival!