It all flew by so quickly. The day of the wedding I remember getting up, showering, getting my hair and nails done and then driving to the loft. The loft was gorgeous! I was completely amazed at the find. Huge 2 bedroom, living room, kitchen and most importantly a roof top access/patio. I remember getting ready with mom and Katie in the master bathroom. That was fun girl time of checking makeup, borrowing brushes and getting opinions. I didn't realize how long that whole process would take and had to scramble to get into my dress and out to the car to get to the Oxford for pictures. Passing the hotel I see Tom and all of our friends standing outside of the entrance. The car dropped me off at the other side so I walked through the hotel to meet them outside. That was embarrassing and exciting. Seeing Tom in his suit looking all dapper was great. I can't remember his face because I was probably looking down- being embarrassed by everyone looking at us. Tons of pictures in the cruise room, in the alley behind the hotel, in front of the hotel, and in the bar. Eventually I walked into the Carriage House (room of our wedding ceremony and reception) It was gorgeous. I seriously need to expand my vocabulary- gorgeous is the only word that I have to describe it. I was worried that the vision in my head wouldn't meet the reality but it was exceeded. The lights, draping, flowers and the T & S on the gate were perfect. I made my way back to the hotel and to the room that the family was waiting in (I like to think of it as the war room. Fit for a General 
). My mom and sister eventually made their way to the wedding room. It was just my dad and I- talking about Magic Jack. Erin came to find us and we took the hotel car to the back of the hotel and waited for her to open the door so I could walk down the aisle. I remember handing dad my bouquet (which he was supposed to give back before we started down the aisle) but I think nerves got the better of us. We bolted down that aisle (him holding my bouquet- such a pretty father of the bride) where Tom and I were married by Herby the Love Judge. I don't remember much of the ceremony. I do remember reciting my vows and jumping the gun on the "I do and I will" The judge liked to pause for dramatic emphasis and I didn't want Tom to think I was second guessing my decision so I jumped the gun. Oh well I figure it's better to be over zealous that appear distracted. Before we knew it we were married. 3 kisses to seal the deal and we were back down the aisle. I know Alex our guitarist was there and did a great job but I don't remember hearing the music at all. License signing, high fives all around and we joined the guests for group photo at Union Station. That was fun and gave us the perfect opportunity to get everyone out of the rooms so they can set up. We rented pedicabs for the grandparents - which was awesome btw. Tom and I had our own and Julia, the photographer, got some shots of us as we made our way down the street. Back at the Oxford our guests went up to the mezzanine for cocktails and appetizers. We did family photos out on Wazee. The families made their way into cocktail hour and Tom and I hit the cruise room. We were rock stars. We walked into the bar to applause, free drinks, high fives and congratulations. Good times. I'm definitely the wall flower but my rockstar husband was enjoying his time in the spot light. Erin came and got us and we did our formal introduction- more embarrassing for me and spot light for Tom. That man was born for the stage. I don't remember much of dinner except that it was AWESOME! Food was delicious- everyone said it was the best wedding food they had ever had. Maybe that was just lip service but I think it was tres bonne! First dance to Banana Pancakes (again wall flower Susie is embarrassed and Rockstar Tom is loving life) We totally should have practiced. He kept telling me we needed to work on our groove but there just wasn't time. Oh well. We high school swayed our way through that song (singing to each other). Then my dance with my dad (my mom insisted) it was really sweet. We danced to Frank Sinatra "The Way You Look Tonight" We mostly worked our way in a circle around the dance floor- glimpsing mom crying ever so often in the turn. Then Tom and his mom danced to Steve Wonder and Dionne Warwick "That's What Friends are For" She was crying and laughing and crying. It was really sweet. Cake cutting, cupcake eating, and table rounds for thanks and saying hi. Tom was forever the rockstar- bopping from one table to the next- being a social butterfly. The only time I remember seeing him eat was when he was eating his steak. Somehow whenever they clinked their glasses for us to kiss he was there. The man says he can't hear (too many punk rock shows) but when I needed a groom to kiss he'd coming barreling down the hall or the stairs. Good husband.
). My mom and sister eventually made their way to the wedding room. It was just my dad and I- talking about Magic Jack. Erin came to find us and we took the hotel car to the back of the hotel and waited for her to open the door so I could walk down the aisle. I remember handing dad my bouquet (which he was supposed to give back before we started down the aisle) but I think nerves got the better of us. We bolted down that aisle (him holding my bouquet- such a pretty father of the bride) where Tom and I were married by Herby the Love Judge. I don't remember much of the ceremony. I do remember reciting my vows and jumping the gun on the "I do and I will" The judge liked to pause for dramatic emphasis and I didn't want Tom to think I was second guessing my decision so I jumped the gun. Oh well I figure it's better to be over zealous that appear distracted. Before we knew it we were married. 3 kisses to seal the deal and we were back down the aisle. I know Alex our guitarist was there and did a great job but I don't remember hearing the music at all. License signing, high fives all around and we joined the guests for group photo at Union Station. That was fun and gave us the perfect opportunity to get everyone out of the rooms so they can set up. We rented pedicabs for the grandparents - which was awesome btw. Tom and I had our own and Julia, the photographer, got some shots of us as we made our way down the street. Back at the Oxford our guests went up to the mezzanine for cocktails and appetizers. We did family photos out on Wazee. The families made their way into cocktail hour and Tom and I hit the cruise room. We were rock stars. We walked into the bar to applause, free drinks, high fives and congratulations. Good times. I'm definitely the wall flower but my rockstar husband was enjoying his time in the spot light. Erin came and got us and we did our formal introduction- more embarrassing for me and spot light for Tom. That man was born for the stage. I don't remember much of dinner except that it was AWESOME! Food was delicious- everyone said it was the best wedding food they had ever had. Maybe that was just lip service but I think it was tres bonne! First dance to Banana Pancakes (again wall flower Susie is embarrassed and Rockstar Tom is loving life) We totally should have practiced. He kept telling me we needed to work on our groove but there just wasn't time. Oh well. We high school swayed our way through that song (singing to each other). Then my dance with my dad (my mom insisted) it was really sweet. We danced to Frank Sinatra "The Way You Look Tonight" We mostly worked our way in a circle around the dance floor- glimpsing mom crying ever so often in the turn. Then Tom and his mom danced to Steve Wonder and Dionne Warwick "That's What Friends are For" She was crying and laughing and crying. It was really sweet. Cake cutting, cupcake eating, and table rounds for thanks and saying hi. Tom was forever the rockstar- bopping from one table to the next- being a social butterfly. The only time I remember seeing him eat was when he was eating his steak. Somehow whenever they clinked their glasses for us to kiss he was there. The man says he can't hear (too many punk rock shows) but when I needed a groom to kiss he'd coming barreling down the hall or the stairs. Good husband. Dancing was a hit and miss. It was hot in the room but the ladies still like to dance so we would so often hit the dance floor and get our groove on. Mostly people made their way upstairs to the bar. The photobooth was a huge success right as the poor guy was about the leave we went up to take pictures and EVERYONE came upstairs. Such a nice guy from Yellowpaddle Photography. I can't wait to see all of those pics. A few "special bride" drinks (St Germaine cocktail) and the night starts to get more fuzzy. I remember that we eventually made our way back to the loft. Everyone was out on the patio having a good time. Brian C and Rita were hilarious! Oh what entertainment we had that night. Big group photo on the bed. And I passed out from exhaustion (and drink) way too early around what I think was 1-ish am. We woke up around 10- feeling giddy. It was the first good sleep I think I had had for the two weeks prior to the wedding. The stress of the trip/wedding/planning and getting everyone together had finally come to a close and we were married. Breakfast at Dixons with the friends Bryan Hartle, Emily, Katie and Brian Davey. First breakfast as a married couple. Reminiscing on everything, bloody marys and pancakes (I actually don't remember what I ate). More good times. And we're married
This is where we goofed. We decided to save money and not rent a hotel room but take a 9 hour bus ride to Paris over night. Oh man was that a mistake. Stuffy hot bus full of Parisians (no one spoke English) or wanted to let us know they could. It was uncomfortable and smelly. There was no sleeping. I managed to doze off about an hour into our trip only to be woken by the bus driver saying that we must get out our passports and exit the bus with our luggage. We all piled off the bus and were searched for a half an hour. This is both a good and bad thing- great for extra security but I was cranky and didn't really feel like going through this exercise. Again no English so I'm trying to franglaise my way through this situation. The 3 Brits on the bus were looking to me to explain it all to them. Holy daunting task. The one British woman said she had medical supplies in her backpack. I had no way to explain that situation to the French guards so they made their way into their own line and made it through fine on their own. Phew- that might have been tricky. Oh one good thing about London- we were mistaken for locals by a very lost German woman. Evidently we're not too American for England
There was definitely no mistaking us for locals in Paris. Back on the bus we enter the chunnel. They load the bus onto a car. Shut the big metal doors are we're lock in. Of course the bus shuts off so now the stuffy become sweltering and we're sweating. No sleeping. Tired and feeling not too well. Also I don't think people flush toilets on buses- EVER! I went to pee and when I opened the door discovered that the contents had sloshed everywhere. I needed a shower after that experience! So gross it makes me cringe thinking about it. We arrive safely about a hour outside of Paris in a dodgy neighborhood. Find the Metro and get tickets. Luckily we had exchanged money in London and got coins because we couldn't find a ticket counter that took plastic. Its amazing how coin reliant Europe is- especially France. We hit the rush hour crowd on the Metro and squeezed into the train car with all of our luggage. Paranoid that we're going to get jacked I'm clutching my purse like there is no tomorrow. It has our passports, camera and money so if we lose it we're le screwed. We find our stop (after changing trains 3 times- again poor Tom is lugging the duffle bag up and down stairs) Severes-Babyone is our destination. It's 8am in Paris we haven't slept since the plane ride (24 hours previous) and that was spotty to say the least. We find the nearest cafe and crash. Our waiter brings us coffee and croissant. The croissant makes the whole trip almost seem worth it. That crunchy goodness outside with soft buttery inside. OMG I was in love with a pastry. Tom's not feeling too hot at this point. I can't find the number for Jacque. I try to find a calling card to make a call to Katie to see if she would open my email and give me the number. I can't find a place to buy a calling card (tobacco stations is where you want to go - or Tobac in French) Then I'm trying to find a place to change our pounds to Euro so we can pay for the loft when I finally find a calling card to call the guy. I finally give up. We have 250 euro (need 250 more which we had in American) I sit at the cafe while Tom tries to find somewhere to exchange money. Jacque shows up and spots us immediately. He's such a cheery Parisian it makes me feel better instantly. We drop off our luggage at the loft, change clothing, and hit the streets (had to be out of the room for an hour while Caroline can clean the place) Caroline was a crack up. This explosive Parisian woman who spoke french and spanish. Both dialects she rattles of at machine gun pace. I have no clue what she's saying- my franglaise isn't that advanced. We work out that we come back in an hour. We find another cafe and order sandwiches. I have the traditional french baguette with ham and butter. So good. Red wine so good. Cafe avec creme so good. Tom has this club sandwich - also so good. The only thing we had issue with was the waiter wasn't too friendly. He brought us this ashtray looking thing that had the recept. We thought it was an ash tray and so it was used as such. When he came back he wasn't too pleased. I guess in France they'd rather you throw your butts on the street. It seems pretty typical that people just throw trash in the street. Nothings dirty or unclean- we saw 50 trash collectors/cleaners that keep the streets all beautified. When we asked for water he brought us a carafe with a bug in it. We poured it out and asked for more. Stupid waiter. Then we also discovered a bug in the mustard pot (which neither of us used thankfully) It makes me wonder about the deliciousness of our sandwiches but I suppose the extra bug protein can't kill us. I'm all for out of sight out of mind. Back to the loft where we crashed - hard! Funny thing about Paris is that their toilet paper is all pink. That too is very fitting to the location. Our loft was more like a room. One tiny, tiny room. Very cute and great location but one tiny room. It was probably the size of our kitchen. It had a bed, small kitchenette and the worlds smallest bathroom. The stove was by far my favorite part of the loft. It was a touch panel that heated water to a boil in an instant. Amazing. We bought groceries at the local store and snacked most of the time. Tom was starting to feel sick. His tickle in his throat was developing into a cough and eventually a wheeze which thankfully didn't go into a full blown asthma attack. Vicodin was key! Also we discovered that the bedding at the loft was all goose down and feathers. Tom's allergic to all of that which didn't help the cold situation. The poor man, on his honeymoon, had to sleep on the floor on the tiny mat the previous people left behind. He used a sheet and the travel blanket my mom gave me at the bridal shower. Our Paris trip was becoming le bummer quickly. Tom's cold made it's attack on my immune system and I was sick shortly after him. This cold put us out of commission for the majority of our trip in Paris. We made it to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower was a happy accident. We decided to venture out of our sick den for the day and get some fresh air and exercise. We started walking down the Boulevard des Invalides and saw that tip of the Tower poking out in the horizon. Tom was amazing at directions in Paris and guided us there. We turned the corner on to the Parc du Champs de Mars and there it was bigger than life the Eiffel freaking Tower. I actually got tears in my eyes. That was a moment I will never forget. At that exact moment, paused on the street taking in our find, we were accosted by a gypsy. Jacque warned us about the homeless people that they call "gypsies". Trying to be funny I told Jacque not to worry we have Hippies back home. The joke was returned with blank stares. The gypsy "picked" a ring up from off the ground and proceeded to bargain with Tom on it's value. He said something to the effect of it being a token of love and that we should give him money for his "gift" to us. Two euros later we finally got away from this man with a "gold" ring that I'm pretty sure is brass. I later read in Rick Steves Paris book that this is a common scam in tourist spots. We wandered the park, took pictures and marveled at the Tower of awesomeness. The terror alerts had us a little wary. I don't know if you're aware but there were tons of warnings for American tourists in France and England right at the time of our trip. Men with Famas guns were patrolling the area around the tower which was slightly assuring and scary at the same time. We wandered back to the tower at night so we could see it sparkle and were again inundated by gypsies trying to sell flowers and goodness knows what else. Oh and the rats by the Eiffel Tower at night were gianormous. Our intention was to catch a twilight boat tour of the seine but we missed them. Our time in Paris was pretty low key. We cooked in our tiny room and went to cafes for coffee. We walked everywhere and were blown away by the beauty of the city. My favorite time of day in Paris was around 8 am. The light was rosy pink and everything was quiet and beautiful. Our final day in Paris we went to the Louvre with intentions of seeing the Notre Dame afterwards but half way through the museum, after the Mona Lisa, we both starting feeling sick again. We managed to get back to the apartment and slept for the rest of the day. I enjoyed Paris but we need to go back to see all of the sights that we missed. Another trip to Paris...twist my arm...
We had intended on driving through the Burgundy region of France and then over to the Normandy Beaches but this cold seriously put a damper on our plans. The thought of navigating unfamiliar highways in an unfamiliar country while sick and going from hotel to hotel was too much for us. We ended up canceling the rest of our France trip and took the train from Paris to Amsterdam. We arrived in Amsterdam in the afternoon on a Friday and the central area was ready to party. Still feeling sick we wandered the canal streets trying to find our hotel. I found this hotel online and remember the listings saying that it was a random location- no sign just a hand written note that said to ring the buzzer. We finally found it sandwiched between the Marijuana Museum and a storefront displaying the *ahem* ladys of the night and their wares. Watching a woman flat iron her hair while topless and negotiating her price was an interesting sight. The room was gianormous compared to our Paris apartment and actually had a shower that I could stand up in. That night we went out into the crowds to find dinner. In central Amsterdam all we could find were pizza and chinese food restaurants. The food was kind of similar but different enough for it to be slightly weird. (like pizza with salami instead of pepperoni) We were not in partying condition so back to the room to try to kick this wicked European bug. Since our stay in the Red Light District was only a night we had to navigate our way to the Plantage area. It's east of the central Red Light area and is residential and quiet- complete 180 to our first night stay in Amsterdam. We got lost on our way to the new place and some nice local stopped while we were staring at the maps with what must have been the worlds most confused faces. He said we looked lost and helped us get back on the right street. Such a nice man! Everyone we met in Amsterdam was really nice. Hotel Alfa was quaint. We were on the 4th floor and the elevator was the tiniest I've ever seen. It took 5 minutes to climb the 4 flights (or at least it felt that way) and you could hear people in their rooms on your ride up. We explored the local area, found a laundry mat and Tom made friends with a guy from Argentina. Polpaulo. He was going to school there. Tom makes friends with everyone and anyone where ever we go. We found a bar that was playing the NFL games so we went out to the bars and met some transplants. That was fun! Tom made more friends and was convinced, by the transplants, that we could easily move to Amsterdam. Our final four days in Amsterdam we stayed in a houseboat. That was the best time! I felt like I was on a boat for a week afterwards but it was worth it. We had such a great time in Amsterdam (once the cold started to lift). We saw Rembrandt house, Rembrandt Museum, Heineken Museum, Red Light District, boat tour, Ajax game, EURO cup qualifier at the bars with locals and met some interesting people. We didn't know that Holland was playing Sweden in a EURO qualifier until we started seeing all of these Sweds all over the place. Boy are those people tall and big! Three of them tried to pick a fight when we were watching the NFL games at the bar. They said football was a "sissy sport". (Of course they were staunch rugby fans) Silly drunken Sweds. We went to Rembrandt square to see all of the Holland supports out there in their day glow orange before the match. Cafe Monaco was the place to be. Huge groups of people singing and chanting in circles. A nice loud chorus of "Sex on Fire" sung in dutch by a group of drunken Holland fans was awesome! AJAX game was great! It was such a good time! Even thought we were sick it was still amazing. We can't wait to go back and have other adventures!
Now we're married and back to normal life. I got my application in to CU Denver for the masters program and am waiting to hear on the status. Fingers crossed I'm accepted. Tom thinks he might go to the store in Westminster which would be funny because it's in the same parking lot that Bennigans used to be in. When we moved to Colorado in 2002 we lived in Westminster and Bennigans was Tom's first job here. It would be kind of like completing the circle. So we planning on moving in January. I'm excited and apprehensive. Change is always scary but we're up for the challenge.
Until next time...love from the Hackers
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