I want to apologize on the delay of this blog. I meant to have it posted before Thanksgiving, but a family crisis occurred. I've been out of the country for almost two weeks, but am now settled back in Reykjavik. Thank you for bearing with me... it's been a crazy month already. This blog is semi long, but I encourage you to read it all the way through as there is some exciting news at the end :)

So, I've decided to continue my honeymoon blog by doing something a little different. I will do less stories and will do more facts, lists, must sees, and talk about the culture itself. I also want to keep this blog more simple and not as long as the last one.

. Taglio - Milano:

Italy is the home of espresso. They invented the beautiful little joy that most people drink on a daily basis. Whether it be a cappuccino, latte, or an espresso itself, we all have an appreciation and gratitude for Italians.

Coffee is one of our favorite parts about traveling. We love discovering those cozy, cute, delicious, third wave coffee houses. After a lot of research, we managed to find a little cafe in Milano. Mainly serving food and quick espresso to the Italian locals, there was a small coffee bar inside the shop with a list of beans and pour overs. In the back, there was a small roaster. We weren't sure how Italian culture worked just yet as most coffee shops you order at the bar, but in Italy, they come to you.

We ended up in a great conversation with the roaster and head barista. He walked us through his coffee and the beans that he currently had. We ordered an aero press and a chemex made with two different single origin beans. We didn't try their espresso but didn't really need to as their pour overs were fantastic! We ordered a bag of coffee to go so we could have some decent coffee during our travels. After talking with the barista for almost an hour, he found out Simon and I were on our honeymoon! Honored, he gave us the bag of coffee for free which was such a blessing as we were on a tight budget.

Taglio's website can be found here

. Beautiful Losers - Genova

This was my favorite restaurant in Italy. We found this place on TripAdvisor and wanted to go for lunch. Just the name alone is fantastic and the inside of this restaurant was amazing. It felt like a basement restaurant with cozy furniture and bar stools. Everyone inside was a bit classy, lots of younger people as well.

The lunch menu was very simple but was just what we wanted. You can only have so much pizza and pasta before you crave sandwiches and salad. I had a delicious tuna salad served with fresh greens, tomatoes, and a hard boiled egg. The salad was so simple yet made so well. The tuna was the best I've ever had and the greens were cooked perfectly.

We sat on some comfy couches. The antique design was great. There were old mirrors on the wall, and wall paper that you would see in a Wes Anderson film. They had live music as well on the weekends.

. Birra Leo - Chiavari

Most of our budget is based around coffee, but also craft beer. There's nothing better than trying different beers and enjoying the local craft scene. Birra Leo was one of those places we found last minute and kind of by accident. Being in Italy, we almost forgot about the beer scene seeing how cheap wine is (and how good it is). We heard that the craft scene was growing and more and that Italians were brewing their own beer at home so we were determined to find a place.

During our stay in Chiavari, we were really disappointed as the main restaurant we wanted to go to was closed for repairs and the restaurant we did fine wasn't the best. But regardless, we had enough wine to make us happy and wandered the streets of Chiavari. We wanted to find a pub of some kind to end the night, specifically beer. I quickly google "Craft Beer In Chiavari". To our surprise, the pub Birra Leo popped up. Even weirder, the pub was only two minutes away from where we were standing. It was meant to be.

We sit inside the cozy pub, order two pints. I think I had an Amber Ale. The bar staff were super friendly and spoke very good English. We chatted with one of the workers who was from Germany and she walked us through their food and dessert menu. The food looked amazing and we were so disappointed we didn't discover this place sooner as we could have enjoyed a nice meal and nice beer. I highly recommend Birra Leo if you are in Chiavari, I honestly didn't care for the little city, but this local little pub made the journey worth it.

**Don't be fooled, the coffee is crap ;)**

. Piacenza

The land of cheese and good food. This region of Italy is known for it's tremendous cuisine. Its where parmesan is made fresh and runs endlessly. I dream of exploring more of this area of Italy and making it down to Modena and Bologna, where the food is at it's best.

The city of Piacenze is a little golden gem located an hour away from Milano. Our AirBnB was pure magic. A little loft room located in an old attic. It was completely separate from the hosts home and we had our own entrance. It honestly felt like it's own apartment. The view was just fantastic as it looked over the roof tops of Piacenza. Being in that attic room really brought out the cute, rustic, and antique like feel of Southern Europe.

We wandered the streets, looking for food. There were so many restaurants to choose from including a vegan restaurant that has some of the best reviews on trip advisor. Sadly, it was closed the day we were there so we had to skip the vegan restaurant. It was ok though because we found another place called Osteria Carducci that was excellent.

Piacenza is one of those places where food and life won't disappoint. There's plenty of cafes, restaurants, and bars to choose from. It was the highlight of our trip, and I cannot wait to go back one day.

Geneva

Oh Geneva. The swiss alps, france next door, Swiss cheese and chocolate, fresh water and over priced food. Switzerland is great, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.

When we arrived in Geneva, I was hit with a reminder of Iceland. Although completely different, there was something about the cozy shops, mountains, and cool weather that made me think of Iceland.

I wish I'd had more time more time to explore Geneva and other parts of Switzerland even more, but we didn't have much time. We were attending a conference during our stay so we didn't get to explore as much as we would have liked, but our stay was amazing non the less and we had an amazing conference.

I will try to break down our Geneva trip as best as I can.

A. The Ibis Hotel
We stayed at the Ibis hotel in downtown Geneva, our first hotel of the honeymoon! The hotel was so modern with a great lounge area and decent bar. We loved our room as well, it was so comfortable and cozy with big windows which reminded us of Scandinavia. If you decide to stay at the Ibis, you MUST buy breakfast. The price of the breakfast is not too bad compared to the amount you will spend elsewhere, it's endless, and the food is amazing.

B. Coffee Scene
We had some downtime and we decided to get some lunch and coffee. Now, I always eat lunch at coffee shops if I am on a budget since bagels and pastries can be quiet cheap... but Geneva caught us off guard. We googled and found a third wave coffee chain called Boreal. We entered the cozy cafe hoping to buy a bagel... A bagel sandwich cost 13 dollars...13 dollars. That's almost 1500 ISK, and 15 Euros. We bought the half priced soup instead.

Luckily for us, the coffee wasn't too pricy and was similar to Icelandic prices. I bought an areo-press and Simon had a cappuccino. After crappy espresso in Italy, this was heaven to our taste buds. Boreal reminded us somewhat of Te Og Kaffi in Iceland. The interior is much different, but it's similar in the fact of quality.

The last coffee house we tried was, Birdie Food & Coffee. This was my favorite place during our stay in Geneva. The interior was very minimalist with wood furniture and cozy seats. It's not very big inside so finding a seat was rather difficult. The coffee though was fantastic. The food looked quite good as well, but we already had food that day so we just had coffee.

C. The History
The conference we attended was significant for historical reasons. We gathered just a few days before the 500th anniversary of the Reformation which I believe to be very symbolic. There's so much hatred and divide in Europe right now and to meet in a city of peace is very eye opening.

There are many museums in Geneva, some even free. We didn't have much time to see them all but we did get to see the reformation wall. We also walked through the old town which is something you must do. There is so much history within this city and it was truly beautiful. We were even invited inside the Cathedral of St. Pierre one night during the conference and later that evening feasted on some delicious cheese fondu which is to die for! There's a lot to see and I wish we could have seen more. The most disappointing moment during our Geneva trip was the famous fountain in the lake. We walk quite a ways to see the fountain only to find it's been shut down for maintenance the week we were there... go figure right? It was quite comical.

Most of our food was paid for during the conference which was great, but that also means I'm not sure where the cheap eats are or where to go for a nice meal. We went to a Kebab shop once and a quick burger place, but we didn't have any authentic Swiss food except for the cheese fondu night. I will say though, Switzerland is very expensive ranking the most expensive nation in the world, with Norway and Iceland close behind. If you ever find yourself in Switzerland, I would recommend staying at a hostel or AirBnB where you can cook your own meals at home. If anyone has been to Geneva and knows of some great cheap eats, please comment below. I would love to know for my next trip.

Simon and I needed that holiday. It was so good to have time to ourselves, but it was also great to see everyone in Geneva. We saw people we haven't seen in years, caught up with old friends, and celebrated our marriage with people from all over the world.

For my next post, I will be doing a guide to Reykjavik winter's and the top things to do during the Christmas season. I actually prefer Reykjavik during this season as it is so cozy and festive! So stay up to date!

BIG NEWS!

Thursday, November 16 2016,
I received my official Icelandic Residency in the mail! This residency is valid for 5 years meaning I can travel in and out of the Schengen area of Europe, and more importantly, I can get a job in Iceland! That moment was just unbelievable. No more paper work, no more fear of deportation, no more separation from my husband, no more immigration office! This is a major prayer answered, and I have the Icelandic marriage department, my husband, and honestly my community of friends and family to thank for this card. Thank you everyone who has been praying for this moment... I'm in tears, and I finally feel at peace.