A Little Bit of Lithuania

It has been two and a half months now, but I’m dreaming of going somewhere else again (I don’t know where…I just want to go), so I have been looking through my pictures of Lithuania. I was so blessed to go on this trip with my husband and others from our church. Lithuania was so much more to me than I imagined. We got to see a good portion of the country, and I absolutely loved it. I honestly can’t give a definite reason as to why…it just captured me. The people, the history, the landscapes, the architecture. It was all so intriguing. Inviting in an uninviting way. I want to explore the world. I want to see everything. All cultures, histories, lands, waters. A lot of these, I think I will be happy to see once. But some I will want to revisit. Lithuania is one of those. Here’s part of the reason why…

The Vilnius Cathedral is beautiful inside and out.

The Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania is one of the most unique places I’ve ever been.

Black swan at Belmontas

My husband and my cookie in Old Town (Vilnius)

It was so neat to explore Trakai Castle and the vendors right off the island the castle rests on.

Tulips and pansies EVERYWHERE

I was fascinated with the little town of Trakai, especially all the colorful buildings and houses.

(Side note: This picture is featured on Sticky 9’s blog. I won a free set of their large magnets by entering a contest on Instagram! I already have 3 sets of the medium magnets and love them. I’m hoping to fill up the side of my refrigerator eventually!)

We climbed to the top of Gediminas’ Tower of the Upper Castle in Vilnius to experience the history there and some amazing city views.

The churches…there were so many exquisite churches throughout Old Town. Notice the canon holes at the top of the church in the second picture and the art depicting three monks (above the door) who can be seen preserved in a glass case inside the church in the last picture.

Antique things – an old Soviet car and posters in a small flea market

Nida, located in the Curonian Spit, is the westernmost point in Lithuania and quite close to Russia.

We saw the Baltic Sea in 40 degree weather. It was cold and stunning.

On the way back to Vilnius from Nida, we stopped in Kaunas. We were there just long enough to walk some of the streets while we waited for a delicious dinner (including some of the best soup I’ve ever had) at a local restaurant (pictured), but I loved this small town (and the chocolate)!

 

New York City

I went to New York City for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

I loved it.

Here are some pictures and such.

Day 1 – January 7, 2014 aka the coldest day of my life. A wind chill of -12° F literally causes pain in your gloved fingertips. But we braved the cold to shop, visit the Rockefeller Center, freeze our butts off on top of the Rock, and see Newsies on Broadway (loved it!).

5am airport call in New Orleans

Times Square

Leftover Christmas around the Rockefeller Center

View of Central Park from the top of the Rock

Top of the Rock

Rockefeller Center

Day 2 – I rode the subway for the first time. Went to the Empire State Building. Shopped at Macy’s. Walked by the New York Public Library. Went to Grand Central Station. And walked the longest block of my life in the jewelry district or something like that.

Made it to our first stop via the subway

Empire State Building

Top of Empire State Building

View

City pigeon (missing a “toe”)
…and a leg, but I think he might’ve just been keeping it warm

C-O-L-D

M
A
C
Y
S

New (tall) World Trade Center building and Statue of Liberty in distance

Grand Central Station

Day 3 – One of the best vacation days ever. We woke up early to hop on the subway to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty for which we had 9:30am tickets to tour. After that, we went to the 9/11 Memorial. We shopped a little more that afternoon and went to see The Lion King on Broadway that night. Perfect day.

Icy waters

Icy ferry ride

The staircase to Lady Liberty’s crown…my FIL and I determined the down portion should be a slide!

I laid down to take a picture. I didn’t want to get back up.

Family

9/11 Memorial, South Pool

One of the new World Trade Center buildings

North Pool

NYC Pizzzzzzzzza!

Next time (there will be a next time), my husband and I plan on going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, perusing through Central Park, shopping a little more (when I don’t have so many layers to take off in order to try on something), and seeing a few more Broadway shows. I’d also love to hit up some locale cuisine.

Special thanks to my in-laws for this awesome Christmas gift and fun memories made!