His/Hers

We had a wonderful Fourth of July.  It was a beautiful sunny day and David and I set out to explore some of our favorite spots in the city.  We went to Kerry Park, Alki Beach and Downtown Seattle.  We then met up with friends to watch Team USA play Grenada in soccer. It was exiting in many ways.  In the first 10 minutes these guys in front of us began to fight and a beer thrown at someone else somehow landed all over me.  Not fun. But USA won and our drive home took us right pass the Gasworks firework display. When we arrived home the fireworks were still going on and we found out that you can see them from our back porch!!  Party at the Richmon’s next July 4th…mark your calenders!

We love love love our new little house.  We worked very hard for the first couple of days to get settled in so that it felt like home…and it does!!  Our favorite thing about it is the location.  We are a short walk away from our Church, Greenlake, and many fun shops and restaurants.  It’s so fun to be a part of a neighborhood. Here are some pictures.

You can’t see well in this picture, but from our back porch we have a view of Greenlake and Mt Rainier.  It’s so beautiful and such a treat for us.

This is my little birdie Rocky.  He is 14 years old and lives with my parents.  He got to take a vacation at our house while their floors were being redone and we had the perfect little room for him.  In fact, I don’t think this room is meant for anything other than a bird!  We’ve loved having him but I know my parents miss his company.

I’m back blogging after a long hiatus and have many things to catch you all up on.  First, the move.  The trip was surreal and stressful and exciting.  Although we reserved a 16 foot truck, they only had a 26 foot truck.  Talk about adding to the stress of things!  It was massive especially when towing our car. By some act of God we arrived safely in Seattle three days later and were greeted by our family and the first view of our new little house.  It was emotional on many levels and very draining…but oh so wonderful.   Here are some pictures of our beautiful country from the view of the passenger seat of our giant Pensky truck.

We arrived in Seattle Tuesday night after a long, tiring and stressful 3 days of travels.  Now it’s just unpacking, settling and reconnecting with friends and family before we both start work on Monday.  More pictures and stories to come…it’s one of the many many things on my to do list.

Last night we arrived back in St Louis.  After 21 days days of traveling, what do we have to show for ourselves?  Well, we’ve gained about 100 lbs and so has our luggage, but more importantly our eyes have been opened and our hearts filled with the many delights that God has spread across this world for us to enjoy.  We feel truly blessed to have had this experience.

The next few days will be our last in St Louis.  On Sunday we pack up the truck, leave on Monday, and arrive in Seattle on Wednesday.  As we said so many times during our trip…it’s all so surreal.  We will be leaving one home to return to and rebuild another. I will miss our little apartment, our life in St Louis, our work, our school, the community we have built here.  But I am also excited for the community we will be going back to and the new life we will build. With two very strong emotions occuring at once I am left to simply feel numb.  And for that my little heart is thankful.

Please keep us in your minds and hearts this next week as we pack up in St Louis, drive across the country, and unload in Seattle.  It is a task we are not necessarily looking forward to completing as we know it may come with stresses, challenges and frustrations along the way. But the reward, returning home, is defintely worth it.  And the Richmon’s are always up for an adventure!

David’s Highlights:

1.) The Sistine Chapel was beyond brilliant, and probably my favorite tourist site of the trip. We were in there for a half-hour because it was so busy, but I could have spent the whole day looking at all the artwork–it was a visual Bible.

2.) Rome at night is the best. We hit most of the sites in the evening after dinner and this was the best way to see them, not to mention that most had the best street entertainers, especially the musicians.

3.) A little bit of indulgence, but I got an Italian pipe today! The tobacco store was snooty, but helpful, which made buying it and navigating the Cuban cigar floor fun.

Brenna’s Highlights:

1.) Stoopaging. A stoop + sitting = stoopaging.  This is one of the many words in the Richmon family language as well as one of our favorite past-times.  We have done this all trip but Rome was exceptional for stoopaging- at the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, outside the Pantheon, at Piazza Navona or on any other ancient doorstep on an ancient block throughout the ancient city.  We would sit and rest up while enjoying the city before us.  And Rome is quite the city to enjoy!

2.) Gelato!!  Gelato is another past-time (yes past-time, not food) that we have enjoyed the entire trip but no place could surpass the store we found in Rome.  Giolitti was voted best gelato in Rome in one of the guides I read and I would have to agree…even though I didn’t try any other place while we were there.  You get three huge scoops of countless flavors of delicious gelato in a chocolate dipped cone topped with fresh whipped cream.  Wow!!  Now that’s a well spent 3 bucks…each and every day!

3.) Throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain with David- hopefully we will return to Rome someday.

David’s Highlights:

1.) I found a leather messenger’s bag. I’ve been looking for awhile and hadn’t found the right one. But Florence is famed for its leather work and I was able to track down just the thing I was looking for.

2.) We stopped by Dante’s house. Yeah, the guy who wrote the Inferno. It’s surreal to be able to trace the footsteps of people and places that you’ve only read about or seen in books.

3.) Our bike tour of Tuscany was lots of fun. Neither Brenna or I are expert bikers, but the terrain was fairly level and the scenery was spectacular.

Brenna’s Highlights:

1.) The Mercato Centrale- an indoor market with everything you can imagine.  Italians just grocery shop for one day at a time and it was so fun watching them come and go, gathering food for that night’s dinner. We grabbed some rosemary foccacia and prosciutto for a perfect picnic lunch to eat on the front steps of an ancient apartment building.

2.) We did wine and olive oil tasting at a 12th century castle in the Chianti region of Tuscany.  It was beautiful and wonderful and very surreal.  We even saw the Countess who lives at the castle drive by in her little Smart Car.  The Count drives a Porsche.

3.) Climbing to the top of Giotto’s Tower at the Duomo was wonderful.  We were able to see the entire beautiful city and the Tuscan countryside in the near distance. 

David’s Highlights:

1.) Walking along the vineyards overlooking Manarola–gorgeous!

2.) Climbing on the seaside rocks.

3.) The fish we ate at Trattoria dal Billy.

Brenna’s Highlights:

1.) There is a hike along the coast that connects the five towns that make up Cinque Terre.  It is beautiful and challenging and very rewarding. It was a fun change from the museums and other tourist attractions we left behind us in the bigger cities.

2.)  Pesto, pesto, pesto! If you like pesto, this is the region to visit.  I made sure to have it everyday…on pizza, foccacia, or on the local noodle called trofie.  I would have probably eaten it plain if I could!

3.) We had one amazing evening in the small town of Manarola.  The sun set over the water making the sky explode with colors.  We ate our favorite meal yet on a porch overlooking the city and the ocean below us.  Alas, my camera had run out of batteries so I was left with only the pictures etched in my mind.  Let me assure you, they are the best pictures I have ever taken in my life.  After the meal we ate gelato while watching the sun continue it’s nightly descent as we strolled along the Via dell’Amore…the walk of love!

David’s Highlights:

1.) Swimming in the Mediterranean was awesome–the bluest water I’ve ever seen. Lots of fun jumping in the waves.

2.) I found a tobacco shop at the end of our Paris trip. I bought some Cubans and enjoyed one on the terrace with some nice Bordeaux–Brenna read.

3.) Yesterday we packed a picnic and climbed up to the remnants of a castle that overlooks the inlet. We were pleasantly serenaded by an accordion player who played while we ate.

Brenna’s Highlights:

1.) Every morning there is a market selling flowers, produce, meats, cheeses, breads and olives.  In the evening it turns into an arts and crafts market.  It is possible to stay entertained all day long on one little street!

2.) Today we rented bikes and road along the 4 mile boardwalk.  With the wind in our face it was the perfect way to stay cool and enjoy the scenery.  I am practicing for our Tuscan bike tour which I feel completely unprepared for…but today helped.

3.) As always, the food was a huge highlight!  I love Mediterranean cuisine and Nice has the perfect mix of French and Italian.  My favorite has been the Salade Nicoise (mixed greens with tuna, olives, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, egg, radishes and topped with oil and vinegar.)  It is so refreshing-and a nice change from the bread, meat, cheese and pastry diet we’ve been consuming (not that I’m complaining about that diet, but variety is good.  So are vegetables).

David’s Highlights:

1.) Notre Dame was amazing–so was the view from the top.

2.) Walking along the Seine. Lots of book vendors on the banks with everything you could imagine (mostly in French) for sale.

3.) All of the food shops: boulangeries (bread and pasteries), boucher and charcuteries (meats), plus cheese and fish stands–very fun.

Brenna’s Highlights:

1.) Desserts…many many desserts.  Crepes, croissants, chocolates, tarts, ice cream and much much more.  We had an amazing dessert at the Laduree Tea Salon. David basically had to roll me onto the plane for Nice! 

2.) Picnics…many many picnics.  Bread + Cheese + Meat + Wine + Fruit + a beautiful city = two very happy Richmons. 

3.) Walking around the city of love with my love.