New Blog

Make way for my new and improved blog! Sorry for the lack of blog posts on this blog... but that's all about to change! i'm going to be posting at least once a day on this baby, so check it out and hope you like it :)     elizabethweinberger.blogspot.com

Home

When I left America and got on the plane that was headed straight for Europe, I was full of nerves. I knew that my life would drastically change, but I wasn't exactly sure how. I've now been here for 3 months - 3 months that have only felt like just a few days. It's amazing how fast time passes. It's almost scary! One minute you feel like you have all this time to accomplish everything you want to, and the next you almost feel rushed. In these past 3 months I've already traveled to many places, made many friends, experienced all kinds of foods, walked through mountains and streets and vineyards I had before only seen in pictures, learned valuable lessons through experiences I wouldn't have had elsewhere, and made memories that will last me a lifetime. When I first arrived here, I felt like a little fish in a big pond. With all my family and friends back being only a car ride away and the stability of every day life I had created for myself not being existent anymore, it was very difficult to adjust at first. The routine I had been used to was now transformed into a life most people would only hope for. Spending my days with 2 beautiful girls and then traveling as often as possible - how could I not start to fall in love with my life? I began to feel, just as I do now, that I really do have the world at my fingertips. Sometimes it's almost like I forget that I'm in Europe. That a 6 hour drive could take me to Paris. That an hour flight could take me to Italy, Spain, or Switzerland. I've already become used to this new way of living so much that I can't even imagine going home right now - thank goodness I still have another 6 months... but like I said before, times tends to slip through our fingers. Soon enough it will be another 3 months gone by without me noticing. And then another... and then I'll be back home. This is what scares me! Time flies by so fast that sometimes you feel like you could've spent it differently. Like you wasted some of the time you had. Already being over here in Europe, you'd think my time is always spent wisely - but sometimes it isn't! Sometimes I do get so used to things that I forget where I am and that it's only for a limited amount of time. I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity and these next 6 months I can't wait to live so greatly that when the time does come that I have to return home, I won't regret a single day spent in this lovely place I now call home.

Easter Vacay Video :)

Click Here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Vacation Stole My Heart

So... lets get started! I know I've been pretty absent (again) with my blogging, but I've been pretty busy lately! I just got back from my wonderful week vacation a couple days ago so I've still been recuperating from the long drives and fun days. Tuesday, March 26th is when we hit the road for Switzerland! We left at about 6 in the morning and got there around 3 in the afternoon! I managed to sleep most of the way there, but was awake for a bit when we got to drive through Germany! When we finally arrived, we all put our suitcases into our rooms and settled in a bit. The place we stayed in was so spectacular! First of all, the place was pretty big for my standards. And second of all, there were windows on just about every side of the house with an amazing view! It was so breathtaking. We had ourselves a hearty dinner and talked and laughed until our eyes couldn't stay open anymore - so we went to bed. The next morning we got to go skiing! This was not only so much fun but also a terribly great workout haha. But to be able to say that I skied in the Swiss Alps made it all the more worth it.

 

 



 Over the days to follow, we either skied, walked around the picture-esque village, stayed in the warm house and hung out, went out to eat and have a cup of hot chocolate, or just enjoyed the snow! That Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter, we decided that since the weather wasn't looking too good for the next couple days (rain, rain, rain) that it would be more pleasent to spend the next couple days in France... so that's exactly what we did :)

 

So, to sum up the trip and say that it was nothing short of amazingly awesome, would be absolutely perfect. I had the time of my life and made lots of memories in wonderful place with amazing people I will never forget :)

Drink Up

Yesterday my friend Petra and I decided that since it was St. Patrick's Day, what better way to spend it than to go to the Heineken Factory in Amsterdam! The "Heineken Experience", as it is called, was way more than I expected it to be! It was so cool and we had such a great time! We were there for hours just having fun with all the things they had there to do! I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Amsterdam :) Now I'm not a big drinker, but when at the Heineken factory, it's kind of a thing you have to do. So we drank, drank, drank!

Here's a video I put together of our day at the factory:

https://vimeo.com/62051996

 

 

 

Petra and I had too much fun with these face in hole picture things. We were at that place in the tour for a long time haha

 

Here we got to see how the beer is brewed! Pretty sweet

 

This guy had the most amazing mustache ever. He deserves an award for his mustache. I just had to take a picture with him.

 

 

Just a Few Things

Hey everybody! Sorry I've been somewhat absent from my blog lately! I try to write in it and post things as much as I can, but sometimes there's just nothing to post about. I've had a lot of "normal" days lately. Since I've been feeling a lot more "at home" recently, most of the stuff I've been doing is nothing too exciting to write about - taking care of the kids, making dinner, going to my dutch lessons, catching up on some Netflix... stuff like that! But I do have a few things that are coming up that are very exciting to me!

• Heineken Factory tour tomorrow
• Switzerland in 11 days
• my birthday in a little over a month
• Germany at the beginning of May
• Sydney is coming at the end of May
• 3 day concert in June

So as you can see I've got a lot to look forward to - and a lot I have to be saving up for! So some weekends and week nights I just stay in so I don't spend money - which is completely fine by me because then I can skype and catch up on reading and watch some TV/Netflix. I'm just looking forward to everything that's coming up in the near future... INCLUDING the weather. The past couple days it hasn't necessarily been too cold - but the on again off again snow and rain plus the really strong wind makes it feel like your face is so cold it's going to break into pieces. But I've been looking at the weather forecast on my phone just about every day hoping to see a little sun icon on the horizon - and I finally see one! The end of next week should be warmer and sunnier! Fingers crossed the weather doesn't change before then! Well I hope you all are having a great spring break and enjoying your nice weather! I love you all and hope to write on the blog soon enough! Have a great St. Patricks Day tomorrow :)

xoxoxoxo

Small Town, Big People

So today I went to Madurodam with a friend. It was probably one of the coolest places I've ever been - no joke! I felt like a little kid in this place, which is pretty funny because I looked like a giant! Madurodam is this closed off place in the town Den Haag, where a bunch of buildings and cars and people and places are replicated from places around the Netherlands, and then made miniature! Everything is so tiny, I felt like Godzilla walking around all the little towns and villages. (So I had to take some Godzilla appropriate picture of course!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yummy In My Tummy

Since one of the things I do as an au pair is helping prepare dinner, I've decided to start having a little bit of fun with it! Because I was never much of a chef at home, picking what to make for dinner can sometimes be a struggle - all that would usually come to mind back home would be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a grilled cheese or a microwavable pizza - but because I'm preparing a meal for a family, I hardly think those things would be good choices! Pinterest has definitely influenced a lot, probably most, of the meals I've made! The past two days have both been recipes I chose from the website! (Which I have become addicted to. Like really. I'm addicted.) Yesterday I made stuffed bell peppers! This was definitely the most delicious meal I've prepared, and it was so pretty! AND easy to make! AND pretty cheap!

Ingredients:

• 4 medium red bell peppers cut in half (I ate two halves and was full - depends on how many people you're cooking for and how big their bellies are!)
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 box of brown rice (I ended up using about 2/3 of it)
• Mexican Blend/ Cheddar cheese
• 1 onion
• Olive Oil
• Turkey/Chicken (The recipe said turkey but I used chicken and it was great!)
• Salsa
• Scallions

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.
2. Cut your bell peppers in half. In a dish, put your peppers cut side down into the dish with a half cup of water. Place in the microwave for 1 minute. This softens up the peppers a bit. If you want to skip this step, just leave the peppers in the oven a little longer!
3. In a pan, put some olive oil in and your onions. Cook the onions until they look translucent.
4. Add the meat and cook until brown.
5. Combine above ingredients with the black beans, rice, and salsa and let cook in the pan until warm.
6. Scoop the beans, rice, salsa, meat, and onion evenly into each pepper.
7. Cover the peppers with foil and and place in the oven. Set your timer for 30 minutes.
8. Once the 30 minutes is up, take the peppers out and remove the foil. Sprinkle some cheese atop each pepper and put back in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
9. Put some scallions on top of the peppers, serve and enjoy! :)

The dish I made tonight, is a dish I probably wouldn't normally eat - Quinoa. It is defintely an acquired tasted but I added some things to liven it up a bit :)

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Quinoa
• 1 bell pepper (I used red)
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1/2 cup of cilantro
• 3/4 cup lime (I just used 2 limes)
• 1 shallot/onion finely cut (can use a food processor)
• 1 clove garlic (finely smashed)
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 avocados

 

Directions:

 

1. Cook the Quinoa and then let sit for a few hours or refridgerate so it cools down. (This is a dish served cold.)
2. Cut up the bell pepper and cucumber into small pieces, along with the cilantro which you want to cut into very small bits, and mix into the cooled down Quinoa.
3. In another bowl, add the shallot/onion, garlic, and squeeze the limes in there. Let it sit and soak for about ten minutes. Then add the extra virgin olive oil.
4. Mix the dressing you just made into your Quinoa!
5. And then you can either cut up the avocado and place on top when serving, or you can cut into small pieces and mix into the Quinoa which is what I did! Easy Peasy!! Enjoy :)

So I'm definitely having my fair share of fun in the kitchen, and I hope I can learn a lot more recipes to come so I can come home and make them all for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When In Rome...

When in Rome... you must record the places you go and things you see to make a video of your trip! :)  So, here it is!

Divertimento a Roma

My Roman Holiday

Today I had to say Arrivederci to Rome and be on my way back to Holland. It was a very bittersweet goodbye! There's no way I can put into words how amazingly wonderful Rome was, but I will definitely try my hardest to paint a picture for you!

Day 1:

Our flight took off around 11:30, so we didn't land into Rome until 2:30ish. I can't believe I managed to sleep at all on the flight there because I was beyond excited! When we landed, we waited for a bus to take us into the heart of Rome so we could find our hotel! The best way I can describe the bus ride is like a rollercoaster. The feeling you get when you're chugging up to the tippy top of the hump - the nervous/butterflies in your stomach/so excited you're about to scream kind of feeling.. well that's the feeling I had the whole time on the bus. And then everytime we saw something huge, like the Colosseum or a ginormous beautiful church - that's when the "drop" happened. I honestly squealed with excitement a bunch of times. :) Once we got to our hotel (which was very nice compared to the last hostel I stayed in) we put our things down and hit the road!

By the time we left the hotel, it was already dark outside! Our first stop was the Santa Maria Church since it was the closest thing to us!

 

Then, after the Church, we made our way to the Spanish Steps, Fontana di Trevi (where we had ourselves some AMAZING pizza and delicious gelato), and then to the Colosseum! We decided that although it was night time, it was our first day there so we still wanted to see as much as possible! And even though we would go to these places again the next day or two, now we could see them at night as well :)

 

 

And by the time we walked to all those places, our feet were so tired and it was pretty late so we headed back to our hostel, all ready to go to bed so we could get started on our first full day in Rome!

 

 

Day 2:

We started off our Saturday morning with some nice hot chocolate and chocolate croissants before heading out on our adventure! The first thing on our agenda was Vatican City!! On our way to the underground Metro, we walked by the Santa Maria Church again, and boy... it was more beautiful in the day light!

 

We took the metro to Vatican City and went to the Vatican Museum. The line was extremely long. I'm pretty sure we were in line for an hour - so you can imagine how anxious we were!

 

We finally went in and it was soooooo beautiful. Every room was just out of this world spectacular. If we had more time, we could've spent hours and hourse there just staring at the ceilings!

 

At the end of the museum tour, we got to walk through the Sistine Chapel. I almost cried. I've seen so many pictures of the iconic ceiling... but to see it in person - there are no words. I was upset we couldn't take any pictures, but the memory is embedded in my brain. We just stood and looked up for such a long time - I didn't even want to leave! It was unreal. After we left there, we made our way over to Sant'Angelo's castle! It was so beautiful, I can't believe someone actually lived here!

 

And THEN we went to St. Peter's Basilica which was beyond amazing. Looking at it from the outside is one thing, but being on the inside is a totally different world. The ceilings, the walls, the floors - I definitely think this was my favorite place. There was one part that was closed off to visitors from taking pictures so people could actually go in there and pray - I asked if it was okay if I went in to pray and the guy who was guarding the area let me. We sat there in silence for a good amount of time just admiring everything around us, and then of course I said a couple prayers for some people close to me who may have needed it. The feeling of being inside there was just astounding. It was amazing.

The rest of the day was left for us to do basically what we wanted! So we walked the streets of Rome until our feet were so tired we wanted to fall over and die. It was so amazing though. Painful, but worth every step!

 

Day 3:



We reserved our last day in Rome for, of course, the Colosseum. I can't believe I got to see it and touch it and be in it. The feeling was so surreal I couldn't even believe where I was. I'm glad we saved this for the last day because it was the cherry on top of a great big delicious gelato :)

 

So... overall, I'd say my trip to Rome was awesome, and since I threw a coin (make that 3) into the Fontana di Trevi, my chances of coming back to this lovely place are so high I know it will happen again. Until next time, Arrivederci Rome :)