Thirty-Onederful

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a pretty low-key day but it was so nice to receive birthday wishes from so many friends and family.
The best part of the day may have been when my aunt thought I was only turning 28. That's right, she's my new favorite person! I love you Deb.

Shady Hotel??

As we're looking forward to our trip to Europe this summer, we are trying to decide where to stay.
I've stayed in some shady hotels before- the Best Western in a shady neighborhood in L.A., the Motel without locking doors that led directly to our ground level parking lot room in Newark, NJ, etc.
But now we're trying to decide what is a acceptable as far as European rooms. I'm not expecting American standards but I do expect some things (Listen I'm not a barbarian, I don't want to share a bathroom with a whole floor of strangers!)
So, I need some opinions. Is it acceptable to book a 1 star hotel that is in a great location, has a private bathroom, and has raving reviews on tripadvisor, for about $100 less than anything else in Florence? The drawback: no air-conditioning in the middle of June and did I mention it's only a 1 star???
HELP!

Europe 2011

Last summer on our road trip to Vegas, we decided to save up our cash and celebrate our friend Carlee's 30th birthday in Europe.

Fast forward almost a year and now it's official!! We bought our plane tickets a few weeks ago and we will be spending two and a half weeks in England, France, and Italy this June.

I'm dusting off my passport in preparation to see places like: The Tower of London, the Arc de Triumph, Big Ben, and enjoying a stunning gondola ride.

I knew 5 years ago when I tossed my coin in the Trevi Fountain, I would be back to the Eternal City!

And one of the things I am MOST excited about is this...

THE EFFEL TOWER!!!

So now the countdown begins...13 weeks from yesterday. I guess I should brush up on my French and Italian (or at least learn how to say "Where's the bathroom?")