Merritts in America

We're alive!! We're well!! We're just really freaking busy.

Sorry for the lack of posts and updates, but things have been pretty crazy this last week. Toby and I are down in Corpus loving our new house while Brian is over on the East coast for work.

Brian and I will meet up in California at the end of the week to kick off our Christmas celebrations. I promise to get a fun post up soon.

Until then...keep on truckin'!

So Long, Farewell...

Today Toby and I are boarding a plane and flying back to the ol' US of A...for good.

I am SO excited to come back to the States for many reason, but mainly because it's home. And home is such a wonderfully familiar and comfortable place.

As excited as I am to return Stateside, I definitely feel tinges of sadness about leaving Germany. It's been a lovely place to spend the last year and I have mountains of memories to feed my travel bug...if he ever wakes up from the travel-induced coma he's in right now.

For now, let's just admire the beautiful (and chilly!) winter wonderland we're leaving:

Thank you, Germany!
We've loved your beer, amazing comfort food, fun-loving people, and of course...
your pretzel rolls.

And a big thanks to all of our readers. We hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as we have. Luckily, it's not over quite yet. We have some more fun stuff to blog about before shut 'er down.

Stay tuned for a few more posts!!

Photo Essay: Brian's Boss' Promotion Ceremony

It was a great ceremony and Brian was honored to have been asked to read for it.

Our Tuscan Thanksgiving: Dievole, The Finale

On our last full day in Tuscany, following the advice of Justin and Marisa, we visited a local Chianti winery, Dievole. We were greeted by our extremely knowledgeable, charismatic, and entertaining tour guide, Dario. Dario took us, and 4 others, on an hour long walking (and drinking!) tour of the winery. It was, hands down, the best winery tour we've ever had. We not only learned about the Chianti Region and wine (made mostly of Sangiovese grapes), but we also learned some history of the land and the people (the Florentines and the Sienese dislike each other, but not nearly as much as they both dislike Pisans).

Here's a peek at the awesome Dievole tour:

Fun fact: You know that classic Chianti wine bottle, with a basket-weave bottom...? Well that was invented by none other than Leonardo da Vinci when he was about 13 years old and it is called a fiasco.

If you ever find yourself in Tuscany, please, pleeeease make a stop in Vagliagli at the Dievole winery. Their wine is delicious and the people are very warm and welcoming!

That wraps it up for our time in Tuscany. The tastes, people, and ambiance of Tuscany will definitely lure us back at some point!

If you'd like to view all of our photos from our visit from Tuscany, please click on this link:

Tuscany Photos

Our Tuscan Thanksgiving: Siena

Since Casale San Lorenzo is only 20 minutes from Siena and because we've gotten rave reviews (Thanks, Joanie!) about the city, we knew we'd have to make a day-trip while in Tuscany. The Friday after Thanksgiving provided us with that opportunity.

We followed Rick Steves' trusty guidebook and parked outside of the city. As we made our way closer to the city center we were mesmerized by the stunning view of the cityscape:

We walked up and down the narrow Sienese streets and were just about to consult the guidebook again when we stumbled upon the magnificent Il Campo town square:

Rick Steves calls it "The Best Square in Italy" and I agree! You have to see it to appreciate the size, but Il Campo is HUGE and is lined with charming restaurants and shops. We also learned that there is a horse race through Il Campo twice a year called Palio di Siena. They fill Il Campo with a layer of dirt and riders, dressed in medieval garb, race around the square three times. It looks (and sounds) crazy!

After we took in the beauty of the square we wandered the streets peeking in different quaint Italian shops. After some window shopping we made our way over to the Duomo di Siena. Immediately the exterior of the Duomo captivated us:

We were eager to get inside and see what this beauty had to offer. Weren't we delightfully surprised when we walked in and saw these striking scenes:

The Duomo di Siena is officially our favorite European cathedral. We loved the uniqueness of the black and white stones, the intricate floor mosaics, and the celestial dome interior. We meandered, mouths agape, through the Duomo until our rumbling bellies got the best of us.

We found a cozy restaurant on the Il Campo and hunkered down for a warm and dry lunch. It started to pour a few minutes after we sat down inside! We ate some pizza, drank some red wine, and soaked up the Sienese ambiance.

After lunch we rolled our full bellies back to the car for the quick trip home.
Thanks for the wonderful day, Siena...We love you!!

Up next: Dievole, The Finale

Our Tuscan Thanksgiving: The Feast

Armed with two (although we actually used only one) tiny kitchens in our respective villas, we managed to pull-off a delicious American Thanksgiving meal!

Here's the full spread:

Let's break 'er down...

Erin's phenomenal stuffing:


My (and by "my" I mean Emeril's) bacon braised green beans:

B's roasted garlic mashed potatoes:

My classic cranberry compote:

Erin's fabulous roasted turkey (this was the juiciest bird we'd ever had...the secret is a roaster...you can see in the picture the meat is so tender it's falling right off of the bone!):


And last, but certainly not least, Andrew's pumpkin pie with buttered walnut topping:


Not only was there food, but there was fun, too!
Erin found a cute turkey-making kit and brought it along to feed our creative hunger:

We had an awesome time sharing our Thanksgiving feast with the Baughmans!

Up next: Siena