Chicago Marathon Post Race

Since we did not arrive in Chicago until Saturday, we decided to stay until Tuesday which meant we had all day Monday to play around Chicago.

We were a little lazy in the morning and then got ready to enjoy the beautiful day around the city.

The city was closing down State Street for the Columbus Day Parade so we decided to stick around and watch it for a bit.

Waiting for the Columbus Day Parade to start

It is rare to get a daytime photo with the Chicago sign with no cars!

We just piddled around downtown. We shopped a bit and stopped for a snack along the water. We had a late lunch reservation at our favorite restaurant, the Purple Pig. We had a little extra time to kill so we decided to go to the rooftop bar in the London House Hotel. The views did not disappoint!

We both had espresso martinis!

It was a gorgeous day

So proud of this new marathoner!

Of course I was cold up there and busted out my gloves!

We enjoyed our late lunch at the Purple Pig and then walked around a bit more. We stopped off for drinks and snacks later before calling it a night with a movie and wine in our room. 

Beautiful Chicago at sunset

One of my favorite views in the city

Thanks Chicago for another amazing weekend and for the wonderful weather during the marathon! See you in 2024 for a hopeful Boston qualifying time!

Chicago Marathon 2023...

Last weekend Ken and I flew to Chicago to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. I believe it was the 5th time for me and it was Ken's first time, along with his first marathon! We ran for Team Paws which was an overall amazing experience.

At the expo

We took an Uber to Bucktown and had a great lowkey dinner at Club Lucky. It is the perfect little spot away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, plus they have amazing pasta.

It was early to bed and early to wake up for the race.

One really nice thing about fundraising for Team Paws is having the prerace breakfast and postrace party. We were staying at the Congress, which was home base for Paws. It was so nice to wait inside as long as possible since it was chilly. It was also nice to pee in a flushing toilet.

Our pre-race photo, representing Team Paws!

About to start his first marathon. He was so excited.

Ken and I parted ways as we were in different waves. I was in corral E, which was part of wave one. I hit the bathroom one last time and was lined up and ready to go.

This has always been my favorite marathon and it was no different this time. The spectators are unbelievable and the volunteers are all so amazing. The course is incredibly fast. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect. 

I finished in 3:53, which was a new PR of three minutes. 

Ken finished in 5:11. Ken also enjoyed fireball shots, mimosas, and beers on the course. He said he had a lot of fun and wants to do the race again.

Our finisher photo, thanks to Team Paws!

Germany and Italy 2023...Day 15: Traveling Home

 We woke up well-rested and were prepared for our long flight home. We had a little time before we had to go to the airport so we went for a nice run in the park. Once we arrived in the park, we both had wished we had one more day in Munich!

Long haul flight ready!

Settled in with my snack, champagne, and a movie.

My favorite part about United.

It was a nice flight home with no issues. We were excited to get to see our girl the next day!

As with previous trips, below is a compilation of short video clips from our trip. This is always fun to put together and watch.

Europe 2023

Thanks Ken for spoiling me with another wonderful trip and taking me to a place I have wanted to visit for awhile!

Germany and Italy 2023...Day 14...Back to Munich

Getting to the Amalfi Coast can be quite difficult. When I was making our travel arrangements and trying to leave Naples to fly back to the US, we would need to stop in Munich before flying home. Ken and I decided it must have been a sign and decided to spend a stopover night in Munich and get home the next day. Honestly, the connection time was going to be so tight that we decided it would relieve stress if we just planned to spend the night. That is the story of why we ended up in Munich for one more night. Honestly, we wished we would have had two. We can never get enough time in Munich.

We had our final breakfast at our beautiful hotel. We had a private car that was picking us up to take us back to Naples. If you are planning to go to the Amalfi Coast, I highly recommend a private car for transportation to and from Naples. It was hassle and stress-free. 

Our view from Villa Gianlica in Praiano. We were sad to leave.

We had a nice car ride to the Naples airport. We had an uneventful flight back to Munich and got back to our hotel. We were honestly were exhausted from traveling all day. 

We went to the Viktualienmarkt for drinks and lunch. Ken had remembered that I had wanted a biergarten frog statue from one of the stalls. We bought that and walked to the park for a bit. We ended the night stopping at the Augustiner by our hotel for Ken to enjoy and one liter and for me to have apple strudel.

Something for everyone! One liter for the gentleman and apple strudel for the lady. This is some amazing apple strudel!

We were pretty lame and went back to our hotel to watch a movie, but not before we stopped off for our traditional photo of me with the fish!

Nothing says a nice time at the Augustiner quite like me posing with the fish!

Germany and Italy 2023...Day 13: Amalfi and Praiano

For our last day in Praiano, we had plans to get to Amalfi and get up to Ravello from there to buy some local ceramics, take in the view, and just enjoy the day. 

We woke up and had our delicious breakfast at our hotel and then went for a nice stroll around Praiano. 

Our morning view that never got old!

One of the beautiful doorways we saw during our walk.

We hopped on the bus towards Amalfi. It was fun to get to see the scenary from the land that we had gotten to see the day before on the water. 

We arrived to Amalfi and it was an absolute zoo. We were trying to get on the bus to Ravello and it was insanely crowded. It was so crowded that people were fighting.  We met a nice British girl that was wanting to go to Ravello as well so we decided that we would split a cab with her. 

When we spoke to the cab driver, he was going to charge us 50 Euros a person! We decided to skip that and Ken and I thought we would just hike up to Ravello. I mean, how bad can that be. Wrong. It was bad. It was so hot. The hike is straight up which would have been fine if it was not so hot and completely in the sun. We decided to bail and turn around.

Amalfi City

The buses to get back to Praiano were equally a zoo and we decided to at least get a treat while we waited.

The only part of Amalfi that I enjoyed, my 10 Euro lemon sorbet!

We waited for at least an hour to get a bus back to Praiano. We inquired about a taxi to go 3 miles and it was 100 Euros. We decided just to wait it out and finally got on the bus back to Praiano. 

We thought we might never make it back to Praiano after our bus and another bus both met at one of the curves and our bus had to reverse to allow the other one to get by. All with scooters zooming by.

Needless to say, by the time we arrived back to our hotel, we were kind of over it. We were starving and the kitchen closes at 3:00 pm. It was 2:45 and the receptionist called the kitchen and they agreed to wait for us so that we could freshen up since we looked like we had been put through the ringer!

We ended up sitting outside and had the place to ourselves! Thomas even took us back to the kitchen to show us the mussels Ken would be having and he showed us where the tomatoes are grown on the property. It was amazing. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and a nice bottle of white wine.

My delicious past at our hotel in Praiano.

While we were eating lunch, we told Thomas that we had wanted to get to Ravello for ceramics. He told us about a place below our hotel, LizArt, that sold local ceramics. 

We finished our lunch and walked down to the LizArt.

Our lunch view and the view.

Liz Art had just opened and sweet Ana, the owner, invited us in and started giving us cookies and drinks. There was a couple from Canada there and we all sat around and talked. Sweet Ana did not speak a lot of English but she was so happy we were there. She kept feeding us and offering up the best hospitality. 

Ceramics shopping at LizArt.

We ended up buying several pieces that we shipped home. I was so excited and this was a great way to finish up our time in Praiano. We asked Ana for a picture and she thought we wanted her to take a picture of Ken and me. Her eyes lit up when I told her I wanted it to be picture of her with me.

Me with sweet Ana. She loved that we were both the same size!

The items were brought home from LizArt. The oil bottle is definitely my favorite. I smile everytime we use it.

We went back to the pool at our hotel and enjoyed limoncello spritz and some sunshine. We ended up meeting a couple from Australia that was vacationing with their two teenagers. We closed down the pool hanging out with our new friends.

Enjoying life and my limoncello sprtiz!

I wish we could say that we had an amazing last dinner overlooking the ocean, but we had too much fun at the pool and did not feel like going out. Ken ran up to the grocery store and bought us some snacks and we enjoyed a snack dinner on our balcony. We ended up turning what started as a zoo of a day into such a great final day on the Amalfi Coast.

Germany and Italy 2023...Day 12: The Amalfi Coast from the Water

This was a day that I was so excited about! We rented a private boat with a captain for the day to enjoy the Amalfi Coast from the water.

I took a lot of videos and photos during the day. As far as the video clips go, I decided to put them in a single video for viewing. It was such an amazing day, even if I got seasick!

Our charter picked us up in Praiano and we went all around the Amalfi Coast. We swam in many different spots along the coast. We stopped for an amazing lunch on a remote island. I will let most of the pictures and the videos do most of the talking.

Clips from our Amalfi Coast boat day.

Taking in all of the scenery and trying to get used to the waves!

Leaving Praiano

Positano from the water.

Positano with my love

Swimming at one of the many swim spots during our trip. Getting in the water made my nausea go away!

The view of Praiano, the village were we stayed. Our hotel is up there somewhere!

The Fiordo di Furore

Having a wonderful time

One of the gorgeous cliffside hotels

Ken's favorite photo of the day. I mean, how gorgeous is this view?

More gorgeous scenery

I took this photo not knowing that this is where I would get seasick for the very first time in my life! Ken had to hose me down with the hose on the boat. I was so sick. I rallied though. I did not want to miss out on a day on the water.

Ken enjoyed his seafood pasta and I had a very light Caprese salad. I was daring and had a little sparkling rose since I was feeling better after vomiting five times.

The view from our table at lunch.

While Ken was paying, I walked down to the water to put my feet in hoping it would cool me off enough so I would not get sick again.

Our darling little lunch spot

We rode in the little boat on the right back to our boat. 

Amalfi

Us in front of Amalfi

Atrani

Relaxing after swimming around Atrani

Minori

Maiori

More gorgeous Amalfi Coast scenery

Having the best time and no longer nauseous!

Wrapping up the best day with Sun and Sea Charters!

How cute is the Praiano Beach Club?

The entrance to our wonderful hotel.

We walked back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We found a lovely little spot a few roads above our hotel. We sat outside and enjoyed pasta and wine and of course a little limoncello. 

Limoncello to end a wonderful day.

We had an amazing day with Sun and Sea Charters. Thanks Ken for spoiling me!