This historic post marks a milestone in my blogging experiences since starting in July 2010. You are reading my 100th post in Top of the Morning to You! And to make matters even better, we recently turned this blog into my very own, dropping the “wordpress” and turning it into emilyeneurope.com. To mark my centennial celebration, I am going to take a break from my French Riviera review to share some of my favorite posts since the beginning of the blog. Be sure to check out the poll and vote for your favorite!
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First and foremost, I have to go back to the beginning to Chocolate, Waffels, and Beer, Oh My! It was my very first official blog following my first European travel experience with Matt. We had such a fantastic time in Bruges, and it still ranks at the top of my list of best vacations I’ve had with Matt. Minus the unruly train ticket-taker, we loved the waffels, the beer, the quaint restaurants, canals, sunshine, etc. And, the writing was so raw for my first post.
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August was a busy month of writing, so I have a couple from here. Firstly, my Driving Differently post conveyed my true and real European experiences in this foreign land. Matt and I thought the post was pretty funny, and it seemed as though many of you agreed. I’ve even had a friend refer to my “walk of shame” – aka, the walk around the car to pay the attendant at a toll booth.
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Next from August was my Reflections piece. It was just a simple day visiting home in Texas after moving and I couldn’t help but notice how the change was not just in the move, but in me as a person, as well.
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I have to talk about Make Your Feet Your Friend, because it was my first hiking experience in the mountains of Dublin. I felt so alive and a part of life in Ireland, seeing what Irish natives love so much about their country: the beauty. I really enjoyed writing about it. And, of course, I loved the picture with the mountain behind me.
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I’m going to bundle up all of my book reviews as one favorite, because I’ve come to enjoy reading more through getting to talk about the good and the bad of each book.
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I can’t talk about my favorite posts of all time and not mention one about my favorite holiday. In Gobble, Gobble, I tackled my first “cooking for company” experience, preparing a meal that is not historically easy to make. The preparation behind Thanksgiving easily made it the most rewarding evening as I watched our friends enjoy food and a holiday not celebrated in Ireland.
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Next up, and nearly my favorite, is Ice Cold Paradise. In this travel piece, Matt and I went on his favorite vacation so far to St. Moritz for the White Turf Horse Races. It was truly a magical vacation and we loved every second. We came away with fantastic pictures, videos, and experiences from our time in the Alps. Not to mention, I ate my weight in the most expensive fondue EVER.
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Last, and certainly not least, was Time with Family – Both Old and Present. My parents finally got to visit me in Ireland. My Mom researched and visited her ancestors, I showed them my life in Dublin, and it was one of the best weeks since I’ve been here. I chose this post, because we did a little bit of everything, from seeing Saint Oliver Plunkett, to eating the best crab claws this side of the island. Add to that a fantastic evening at our favorite Dublin restaurant and my recently published article, and it will always stick out as a great post!
And for some fun, I’d like to share a couple of blog statistics. At this point, my blog has received 8,801 views of all time. My busiest viewing day was July 28th, 2010, with the post An American in Dublin. I’ve had 184 comments total from you, my readers, so thank you! This blog has been a great way to jump start my writing career, as well as keeping you posted about life abroad. I won’t be slowing down any time soon, though, so 200 here we come!
