Operation Debt Reduction: Possibly Delayed.

But only by a little.

I returned from my last trip to Europe and did start on my previous resolution to pay down my debt with all "extra" money that I had.
Then I got a travel special email. I think you know where this is going.
Another deal that was too good to pass up... I'm going to Italy in November!
Two of my coworkers and I will be spending a week in Venice and Florence. We are SO excited. Both Venice and Florence are on the list of cities that I want to go to, I just haven't been able to find reasonable airfare to Italy so far.
I am going to ride in a gondola, see The Birth of Venus and David. I just can't wait. November seems so far away now.

Heres a few more of the photos I love from Germany and Paris...

Germany

We arrived in Cologne Germany on a Saturday.
Finding our hostel was NOT easy, so by the time we got checked in we were already tired and grumpy, but still wanted to get out and see a little bit of the city.
First stop, a beer garden for a late lunch/early dinner and then walked to the city center from there. Without a very good map, all we had to use as a point of reference was the peaks of the cathedral.

The Dom Cathedral is beautiful, with incredibly unique architecture, and absolutely massive.
Its as beautiful at night as it is in the day time

We spent Saturday through Tuesday in Cologne and a neighboring town, Aachen.
Tuesday night we went to Paris.
There is not enough I can say about Paris. Its beautiful, and the people are wonderful. That old stereotype that the Parisiens are rude? Completely unfounded from what I experienced. Seriously, I didn't encounter anything like that at all.
I absolutely loved the city and want to go back to visit again and again and again.
I think this is my favorite photo of the entire trip.

I'm home, and...

I'm going to be an auntie