My 26th Birthday Festivities!

Wednesday, August 24

I love birthdays!! I am one of those people who used to wear around a tiara on her birthday, unfortunately I did not have one this year. This year was a great another great one!

I started off the day with a birthday WOD at Crossfit! But before crossfit, Preston finally got to tell me my surprise birthday trip he had planned months ago. We were going to Mykonos, Greece!!! I must say, I have the best husband ever! One of the best surprise birthday gifts ever! We were going over Labor Day weekend, as it was a long weekend for both of us.

After hearing that news, nothing could ruin my birthday! Even the 26 minute AMRAP that certainly was killer couldn't get me!! This was a great way though to start off my day, as I knew I was going to be having a lot of sweets!

After the WOD I got to open some of my birthday presents! They were perfect for our upcoming trip going to the island! 

When I got to work, they had brought in some Italian pastries and brioches and a drink from Deja Brew, delicious! 

(Cards from people at work)

(Birthday outfit)

After work and the gym we had one more thing we needed to get for my birthday...my kitty!! We both decided we finally wanted to get a pet while living over here. And what better day to pick him up than on my birthday!

At first I felt so bad for him, as he was a little scared meeting new people. He was only 6 weeks old when we got to take him home.

He is the cutest and sweetest kitty ever!

I would have to say this was probably one of the best birthdays I have had in a long time! So many exciting and fun things happened all in one day. But still more birthday adventures to come in a couple weeks when we head to Mykonos, Greece! I even got my favorite ice cream cake for dessert :)

Yearly trip to Aqualandia

Sunday, August 21

Every summer we have to make a trip down to Aqualandia, a waterpark in Jesolo. I wish we went here more than once every summer, hopefully next year we will make more time to go multiple times. This year the waterpark added a new slide that I could not wait to try!

We had a small group of us all go; it ended up being a nice day to be outside, perfect weather. One thing this waterpark does, that I wish the states did, is give everyone wrist bands when they come into the park that act as a tracker, whether you are purchasing food or going on the new waterslide, it tracks your info or how much money you owe. Then when you leave for the day, you give the wristband back and they let you know how much you owe for the day. This way you don't have to go hunt down your wallet if your on the other side of the park and also have the fear of losing it or it getting soaked. So smart!

After warming up on one of our favorite racing slides it was time to try the new slide!

It made us all a little nervous at first because before you can even get in line you put your infomration in a computer and attach your email with your wristband, so every time you go down the slide the videos they take are sent to your email. After that you have to fill out a waiver form saying they are not liable if anything happens to you.

Next you go in the first line to get your back brace and life-vest to wear down the slide (sounds a little daunting?!).

Once all geared up, you are now ready to walk up to the top of the slide.

I would have to say the first round I was a little nervous to go down cause I did not know what to expect. Plus, the pool of water when you come out is not very big, so if your are on the right side coming down and don't go off straight you could really hurt yourself.

This was probably one of the most fun slides I have ever been on!! We had to have gone on it like 8 or more times in a row and then even came back to it again later that day and did another 8 or so times. I will say that if this type of slide was in the states, it would not be around for long because so many people would figure out stupid ways to hurt themselves, unfortunately.

Video of one of my runs below.

After a full day of enjoying the waterpark it was time to go home. To then enjoy a tasty sushi dinner.  

Aviano Duathlon

Saturday, August 20

I love participating in the different athletic events put on by the base. This was my second year competing in Aviano's Duathlon. I was again nervous for this race, as I had not been on the bike much, as per usual. One day I will actually train on the bike and see how well I could really do with some practice.

The race was 2 laps on the bike around base (18.5k) and then a 5k run. Some how I'm always more nervous for the things that people find easy; I'm almost always opposite of other people. I was looking more forward to the run than the bike.

It was really weird doing this race by myself this time, as Preston was coaching for the Aviano Sea Dragon swim meet that morning.

The race started off well, but still biking is definitely not my strong suit.

By the time I got to the run my legs were definitely feeling it! But somehow this is where I can catch a lot of people, gotta love that endurance from swimming all my life! :)

I ended up finishing first in my age group! The prizes keep getting better and better every time I compete in one of these races. This year I won a Bose speaker! Along with the t-shirt and the medal I got as well.

As I always say, I should at least one time try to train for one of these events and see how well I would do.

After I of course had to treat myself to a cookie dough frappe, yum!!

Lago di Santa Croce with Friends

Sunday, August 14

Today was the day Preston left on his Italian adventure with his family. I had to stay home and work so I could save up my leave for other trips we have planned. So why not hang out with my friends!

Since it was still nice out we wanted to either go to the beach or a lake. The 3 of us decided to go to Lago di Santa Croce, which is only about 30-40 minutes from where I live, as my friend Paige said she heard it was really nice there. They both also brought their doggies with them. It made me really want a pet so bad! And also, my friend, Ashley, her dog made me miss my husky so bad and want another one!

When you get there it is very easy to find parking lots, the only hard thing is trying to find an open spot. We were lucky and found one pretty quick. Depending on which lot you park in also you might have to walk a little further.

The place was beautiful! The lake was right in the middle of the mountains, giving you an amazing 360° view!

(Main area to layout)

If you wanted to, you could even rent a paddleboard or kite surf in the water. I will definitely have to go back again another time and paddleboard in this lake.

Since we had the doggies we wanted to try and find a less crowded quieter place for them to run around. Good thing, because we found a nice area if you walk further down the path that nobody was at yet.

After playing around and enjoying the views, we needed to find something to eat first before heading back home. The one thing I will say is if we do go back, I need to make sure to bring euro! All the places by the water are cash only. Luckily, there was a place up the road walking to that had an ATM where we could get money out so we could eat there.

We sat outside so we could still enjoy the perfect day out. We all ended up getting toast (basically like a grilled cheese, slice of prosciutto and cheese). Theirs was huge! Never seen toast that big, but it was still really good.

Today was a nice relaxing girls day! Can't wait to do it again!




Address:
Lago di Santa Croce, Farra d'Alpago, Province of Belluno

Wolter Family Vacation (London, Venice, & Caorle)

Tuesday, August 9

Today was the day we fly out to London to meet Preston's family. He was beyond excited! It had been over a year since he had seen his family. I was lucky and actually got to see them recently when I went home for my work trip.

Preston and I's flight got in before his parents did so that gave us plenty of time to enough a nice "normal" breakfast.

Once his parents arrived we all headed over to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Mayfair. Which ended up being the perfect location for us as the metro was just a block away for us.

Today was going to be a pretty chill day for all of us. Just wandering around the city, eating in a pub...

and then at night a Jack the Ripper tour, which was actually pretty interesting. We got to learn why the still mysterious murderer was named Jack the Ripper, see where some of the murders took place and walk in there footsteps and even see some of the gruesome pictures from the murders. Very interesting tour and especially if you want to know more of the spookier/gruesome side of London.

After this tour it was time to get some sleep before our full day of touring tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 10

Today we did not have anything planned for the morning, but we did have our Harry Potter tour booked for the afternoon. Which I was beyond excited for! So this morning was for exploring around London on our own.

First we hopped on the tube right by our apartment to bring us a little closer to Buckingham Palace. Once getting off we walked through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace. Very peaceful in this park.

(Princess Diana Memorial Walk)

 Now of course to take pictures in front of Buckingham Palace.

Then we got to see some of the guards riding down Constitution Hill or "The Mall" towards Buckingham Palace.

Along with some other monuments along the way.

We walked down The Mall up to Trafalgar Square where we saw Nelson's Column.

And then of course had to stop and take pictures with the infamous red phone booths!

Then we continued down Whitehall Street to see The Women of World War II memorial, then a little further down to Big Ben and a statue of Winston Churchill.

This brought us down to the River Thames, where we would hop on a river boat to take it up and down the seeing all the sights along the river. Across the river where we got on the river boat you could see the London Eye; we did not go on that this time but Preston and I did the first time we came to London and it was very pretty at night!

Very relaxing to just sit and enjoy the views going down the river.

(Bridge in Harry Potter)

(London Bridge)

We went all the way down to the Tower of London and then turned around and went back to our starting point. This is a great way to see a lot of sights if you don't have time, plus it's very relaxing. Right by Big Ben there are so many different companies you can purchase tickets from for tours up and down the Thames River, all with varying prices depending on what you want to see.

(Entry to the Traitors Gate)

(The Tower of London)

(Cleopatra's Needle)

After the river boat cruise, we still had some time left until we had to meet for our Harry Potter tour. So we headed over to see the Westminster Abbey.

Then off to find a quick lunch before the tour!

Time to hop on Hogwarts Express to the Warner Bros Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter! The bus ride was about an hour away from London. But while on the bus you got to watch one of the Harry Potter movies to keep you occupied.

You can tell how beyond excited we were when we got there!

The lobby of the Studio.

(First movie)

(Last movie)

There are many different time slots you can go into the Studio; we had one of the last time slots for the day, which for our day was 4pm. Some days are different with their last tour times. Which made it nice since we did not have hundreds of people coming in behind us getting in our way.

I felt like a little kid again walking into the world of Harry Potter and seeing all of the props used in the movies!

(The Sorting Hat)

(Weasley's House)

Of course when we got to the food I had to try their Butterbeer. Definitely different than the one I had in Universal Studios in Florida, not as sweet.

One thing I really wish I did while walking through the Studio is the flying on a broomstick. I'm so upset I didn't get to do it, but the line was super long and plus we still had the whole studio to walk through and we were a part of the last group to go through, so did not want to spend my whole time waiting in line there. Maybe another time :)

This tour is definitely worth it! If you like or even love Harry Potter, try and make your way over to do this Studio Tour.

By the time we were finishing it was dark out and time to catch the bus back to London.

Thursday, August 11

Today was our guided morning tour around a few parts of London. Our tour departed from Victoria Coach Station, which is generally where most bus tours leave out of.

The first part was driving us around to see some of the major sites in London, such as Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, and then driving down the by The River Thames to get to our first hop-off location, The Tower of London.

At The Tower of London we had a guided tour with a Beefeater, which they are technically called Yeoman Warders. They are the guards of The Tower of London. Our tour guide kept it interesting and did not make it boring for us, he was also pretty funny. He told us about the history at The Tower of London, some of the different tortures and murders that happened here, along with some of the items they have on display for us to go see.

(Tower of London)

(Tower where the boys were supposedly murdered)

(Place where multiple people had their heads chopped off at)

Next on the agenda was to hop on a river boat again down the River Thames to make our way to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. But first we got to go by St. Paul's Cathedral, see Shakespeare's Globe, and then onto see Westminster Abbey before hoping off.

(Boat ride down the Thames River)

After watching the Changing of the Guard, we decided to leave our morning group tour to find somewhere to eat for lunch, as the only stop left of the tour was just to see Buckingham Palace, which we had already seen the day before.

We ended up going to Hard Rock London, which is actually the first and oldest Hard Rock in the world; it was opened on June 14, 1971. It's always really cool to see whose items of clothing or instruments they have displayed on the wall.

(Jim Morrison jacket & Jon Anderson harp)

(Eric Clapton guitar)

(George Harrison,  Paul McCartney & John Lennon shirts)

(John Bonham's drums from Led Zeppelin)

(Jimi Hendrix outfit and guitar)

Lunch...

Plus, at this location if you go in their gift shop next door they have a special private room downstairs you can ask to go see some more belongings from famous artists and musicians.

(Red Hot Chili Peppers)

(Jimi Hendrix)

(Jeff Beck)

(Madonna)

(Sting)

(David Bowie)

(Duane Allman)

(Adam Clayton)

(Bob Dylan)

(B.B. King)

(Black Sabbath)

(Elton John)

(Bruce Kulick)

After this it was time to go back to the hotel to get all of our stuff ready, as our flight left later that evening to go back to Italy.

Friday, August 12

Even though we just got back from London late the night before, there was no time to relax, not if Preston's family wanted to be able to do everything they had wanted to. So this morning we hopped on a train down to Venice.

Instead of taking the boat down to the main square, Piazza San Marco, we all decided to just wander through the city and eventually find our way there. And along the way we had to stop and take a gondola ride. Every time I go on a gondola ride there always seems to be a big group, 6 to be exact, so it is always very funny to see our boat go by as it is usually lower than most hehe

I always enjoy the views through the city on a gondola, so pretty!

Next stop was to Piazza San Marco. Always a very lively square!

Then to take a picture in the same spot Preston and I did the first time we came down to Venice.

(Same spot we took our first picture in Venice)

We then found a place by the water to eat lunch. Which ended up being pretty good!

Then time to wander back to the train station. 

But first, gelato!

Saturday, August 13

Beach day!! Another reason why I love Italy and summer. There are beaches within an hour of base, can't beat that!

We decided to take Preston's family to Caorle beach, as this is one of our favorite beaches to go to. Only about an hour away and there's so much space that it never feels crowded. Plus, there is more room to lay out your own towels, instead of having the for rent beach chairs all the way up to the water like at some beaches.

After setting all of our stuff down and relaxing for a little, we decided to rent 2 paddleboats and 2 paddleboards for all of us. This was probably one of the best times I have ever had at the beaches here! We were all just playing around, having fun going down the slides and watching his family try to paddleboard.

Today was fun and relaxing day!

When we got back we had to take his family to one of our favorite places to get gelato sundaes before they continue their European adventure; as tomorrow is when Preston and his family do an Italian tour through Italy. Unfortunately I could not go and had to work because I needed to save up my leave anyway.

Recommendations

Hotel: 
Holiday Inn Mayfair
3 Berkeley St, Mayfair, London W1J 8NE, UK

Tours:
Premium Tours - Royal London Morning Tour
https://www.premiumtours.co.uk

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Harry Potter Tour
https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/

Jack the Ripper Tour