A Trip To Strasbourg To See Radiohead

A Meat, Potatoes & Beer Kinda Trip

Back in March, for Kyle's birthday, I got tickets to see Kyle's favorite band Radiohead in Strasbourg. It ended up being the perfect destination for a Kyle gift because it was right up his alley... Lots of good beer (since Strasbourg is just near the border of Germany), slow cooked meat in sauce, charming little village, friendly people and an awesome concert. Just right!

Our friend Aldo had an "American friends, meet French friends" party the night before we left (that consisted of champagne and jello shots, eek), which made waking up at 6:00 am for our train a little bit of a struggle. However, our nearly comatose state the first day made for a ton of good laughs. I can't remember the last time I laughed til I cried 15 times in one day! 

Do not accidentally order the kidneys in Strasbourg. You will regret it.

 Happy again :)

 The cathedral is crazy. So detailed, you don't know what to look at.

 Nothing like a bowla joe to perk you up

 14th century wine cellar in the basement of a hospital

 Oldest bottle of wine in the world - from 1472

 I think he was trying to get out of the way, but I made him look like he was modeling

 Big tree.

 Adorable

 Schooling Kyle at dominoes 

 Interesting shoe choice for touring around a medieval cobblestoned city

 Beer, beer & more beer. Thank goodness we were only there for a few days, I couldn't have kept up much longer. Such a lightweight when it comes to heavy beer these days! I felt like my stomach was going to explode.

People of Strasbourg

I'm not sure if there was some sort of amazing hair convention going on while we were there, but there were some fabulous people there...

Seriously, I love them

And of Course, The Main Event...
The Radiohead show was unbelievable! I like Radiohead, but I've never been a listen-to-song-after-song kind of fan. That's Kyle. He's seen them live several times, but it was a first for me. I knew they would be really good, but I totally wasn't expecting the show to be so awesome. Kyle said it was the best he's seen. 
They had these TV screens that moved around and had different effects for each song. They were showing live shots of each band member on different screens like they normally do at concerts, but they were showing it like documentary style or something - so cool. 

 Singing his little heart out

Bisous!
Maygan

A Surprise Visit & A Proposal!

The Curveball
A couple weeks ago, we were lucky enough to be a part of a big surprise and even bigger moment in our friends' lives. Kyle's good buddy Michael (from here on he will be referred to as Karka, his last name, because I feel funny calling him Michael) wanted to surprise his girlfriend, Amanda, with a trip to Paris. 
He recently accepted a job in Miami and is in the midst of making the move there. Amanda was flying out to help him set up his apartment, pick out furniture, get to know the city, etc. At least, that was the ruse. 
Hurdle #1 - We knew that Amanda would pack summery clothes for Miami, duh, but needed to have Fall attire for Paris. 
Hurdle #2 - Why would Amanda bring her passport to Miami? Karka needed to insure it was with her somehow.
Hurdle #3 - Keeping it all a surprise until just before their departure.
Solution #1 - Karka told Amanda that it gets chilly at night, especially on the water. Good try, but when Amanda landed in Florida at midnight it was 90 degrees. Naturally, it only irritated her that she'd taken up space in her suitcase with blazers and cardigans that she would get no use out of.
Solution #2 - Karka made a special trip to Houston a few weeks prior to their visit, specifically to nab her passport from her house. Luckily, she had it out on her desk to remind herself to renew it (it expires this month! phew) so Karka was able to locate and make off with it easily. 
Solution #3 - Karka planned a pedicure and massage for Amanda to get her out of the house the morning of their flight so he could prepare everything. Good thing, because as soon as she arrived the night before she unpacked her entire suitcase and he had to get it all repacked haha :)
He then made his big announcement over lunch at a French restaurant. He slid the plane tickets across the table and Amanda cried with excitement. Did I mention that their flight left in less than three hours?? So. Darn. Sweet.  
They arrived at our apartment at 10:00 am the next morning and we were bursting at the seems to find out how it all went down. So exciting! Then, we had to keep quiet all weekend about another surprise we were in on... The upcoming proposal! 
Amanda and Karka were such troopers. They had a very short amount of time in Paris, just Saturday through Monday, and it was their first time here. They had a lot to enjoy, so we hit the ground running and never stopped.

Day One

A walk around the Champs de Mars

 Then along the Seine

 Through Jardin des Tuileries 

 Visiting the Louvre

 Wine tasting at O Chateau 

 Hotel de Ville

 Gorgeous Notre Dame

 Day Two

A trip out to Versailles. First stop, the amazing open air market for picnic goods.

 Our favorite wine man, Guillaume, treating us to to some tastings and great vin rouge

 Royal Gardens of Versailles

 Back in Paris for a sunset trip up the Eiffel Tower. A first for Kyle and I!

 Superguide, Greg

 My favorite time of day in Paris, Magic Hour

 Day Three

Fresh off the proposal! They look so happy :) And check out that gorgeous ring!!

 Celebratory champagne

We could not be happier for these two. It is clear how much they care about each other. Amanda is the perfect fit for Karka and he obviously cherishes her. Love it. 

The Proposal
Karka chose the fountain in front of Saint Sulpice, one of the most beautiful churches in Paris, as the location to pop the question. They spent the day walking around and sightseeing together and ended up at Saint Sulpice just after sunset. The rain luckily held off all day and just after Karka proposed Amanda said it started sprinkling and it was just perfect and romantic. Lovely :)
They went for a nice dinner together and we joined after to toast the happy couple. Well done, Karka.
Congrats you guys!!!!!!!!!!

Saint Sulpice
The weather was absolutely perfect last weekend, so Kyle and I walked over to Saint Sulpice to take some photos for them to show their family and friends... 

 My artsy attempt. We can all be sure I have no future in photography ha!

Off topic - the Paris episodes of Sex and the City have been on while I've been typing this. I still can't believe we live here sometimes! We are constantly pinching ourselves. 
Bisous!
Maygan