We've hit a few delays trying to schedule our honeymoon to Italy. It was first planned for the spring of 2019, just a few months after our wedding so that we had some breathing space to plan it after all that craze. However, when we learned about the two weddings planned in the summer, we decided to pause that honeymoon budget (and PTO time) so that we could come back to St Louis again instead. So, we decided it would be nice to do a first anniversary honeymoon instead, and seeing as how first anniversary gifts are "paper" we thought that giving each other the honeymoon plane tickets would be perfect. However, once again fate was not on our side! Following the flights home from the weddings we were due to renew our British visas. We weren't allowed to leave the UK while that application process was pending, but since it was late June at the time we assumed it would be completed well ahead of September 21 for us to plan the honeymoon on our anniversary. We were wrong! As the weeks passed, it became clear that we wouldn't be taking the honeymoon we'd dreamed of in 2019. After that initial disappointment, and acceptance that we were stuck in the UK, we rescheduled Italy for May 2020 (stay tuned for that blog post!) and instead spent a romantic anniversary weekend in Bamburgh. 

So, we took a morning bus from Newcastle out to the historic costal town of Bamburgh, where we were met with unexpected sunshine and the fresh smell of saltwater. First stop was brunch at The Copper Kettle Tearoom, a quiet little cafe in the middle of town. Then we went to tour the historic Bamburgh castle which overlooked the town. And unsurprisingly for a costal castle of that age, it had a unobscured, breathtaking view of the sea too.

After the castle tour, we stopped into a biergarten to enjoy every drop of rare sunlight on that warm September day. We finished that afternoon with a walk together along the beach, reminiscing our first year married.

We would be staying that night in the Victoria Hotel, in a beautiful castle-view suite. We had decided on the slightly fancier room to help us get over the initial disappointment of a second honeymoon delay; and it worked! It was a lovely room that felt very special for us. Lastly, we treated ourselves to a fantastic Michelin dinner at the Potted Lobster, arguably the most remarkable dinner either of us had ever had. Which meant that Ron was none too pleased about having to wait for my food photos before digging in!

We arrived back in Newcastle from our USA visit just in time for the fourth of July. Having missed the opportunity to celebrate at home, we threw an independence party on the roof of our British apartment building! Complete with burgers, hot dogs, watermelon, cookies, cole slaw, red solo cups, plenty of booze, and friends decked out in their best red, white and blue. Sergio the duck kindly served as an ice bucket, naturally. 

This year's summer vacation was a visit back home to St. Louis for not only my brother's wedding, but also for my best friend's wedding the following weekend! On the journey over, we had also scheduled for a long layover in Cincinnati so that we could squeeze in some time to see Ron's Ohio family as well. After a quick catchup and some Skyline chili, we flew onward to St Louis, where our first chore was to get some Taco Bell. Ron also decided to re-take his driver's test, as his license had expired while we'd been away. Yes, he passed :) 

That night was Matthew and Brittney's wedding rehearsal! My sister and I were both scripture readers for the ceremony, so after some practice and instruction, everyone headed off to the rehearsal dinner together. And before we knew it, the wedding day was upon us! It was so beautiful to be there, seeing Matthew beam with happiness on his big day.

Since this was also my first time being home for Father's Day in 2 years, we surprised dad with a breakfast in bed the next morning (complete with waffles and a blended piña colada). Ron and I also decided to eat our leftover wedding cake topper from last September, since we wouldn't be home again for the 1-year anniversary when we'd traditionally enjoy it. (I think mom ended up eating most of it anyway!) And finally, I was so thrilled to squeeze in a visit with my friend Gina and her beautiful new baby, CJ!

With wedding #1 in the books, we headed off to Columbia to visit with Ron's family for a few days! We spent a day golfing (correction: they golfed. I supervised over a bloody mary), laid by the pool, BBQ'd, had a lovely Pierce family photoshoot, and also went out for dinner together to celebrate Ron's sister's birthday.

Finally, it was time to head back to St. Louis and prepare for wedding #2! This time I was a bridesmaid, so I was on duty for all the pre-wedding festivities: a final bachelorette dinner, the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding-morning prep, the ceremony, reception, and of course all of the group photos! It was an absolutely perfect and stunning day (despite a drizzly good-luck start!) and I was so so honored to be there beside my best friend on her big day. My heart was full!!

Ron's parents arrived in Newcastle exhausted but excited for this year's annual visit! We took it easy for the first few days, catching up and enjoying a few traditional pub meals in town. On Friday night, after Ron and I finished with work, we all caught a train up to the northernmost English town of Berwick upon Tweed, sitting on the coast just two miles from the Scottish border. We had passed through this charming town on the train many times on the way to Scotland before, and had always wanted to stop for a visit. 

After touring around a bit (and accidentally getting too drunk with the locals on Friday night), we caught a bus ​from our Berwick hotel over to Holy Island in Lindisfarne, which is only accessible by road twice a day due to the changing tides. We arrived to Manor House Hotel, a little bed and breakfast with a beautiful view overlooking the island's 16th century castle, and promptly had to go over to take a tour! 

That night, we had local island fare at the Ship Inn, in the center of the small island town. In the morning, we toured the medieval priory & monastery ruins, overlooking the famous St Cuthbert's Island.

Here was the moment when Teresa asked for American cheese with her full-English breakfast: 

After the Holy Island visit, next up was the historic golf city of St. Andrews up in Scotland. Not only did we have the famous golf course to see, but also the local castle and priory ruins as well. 

And nearing the end of our visit together, we couldn't let them get away without a waffle dinner at Kaspas... !