Now that we’re back and fully rested from our Christmas holidays, we wanted to recount some of the highlights for everyone.

We began the trip in Amsterdam and absolutely loved the city, especially the pace of life there. The human-scale of the streets, the human-speed of the bikes, the humanity of the markets, all intoxicated us and left us longing for more time in Amsterdam. We visited with some colleagues at W+K Amsterdam and had fantastic restaurant recommendations in warm, cozy bistros. No matter what people say, the food in Holland is actually good.

We took an overnight train to Munich next. The train trip was fun, but Munich wasn’t our favorite stop on the trip. We had enough gluwein to keep us happy and warm, but the frigid temperatures kept us indoors most of the time.

Zurich was a great introduction to Switzerland, a country that we’re happily jumping on the bandwagon of Swiss-lovers. The food was devilishly good, the people were nice and despite the drop in mercury, we enjoyed walking around the cobblestone streets. Not exactly known as a budget travel destination, we quickly stopped caring about the large hole in our wallets and embraced what the fuss was about.

And while Zurich was a tasty appetizer to Switzerland, our time in Zermatt was the apex — both literally and emotionally — of the entire trip. I mentioned in the last post that a more beautiful place doesn’t exist and I thoroughly believe that. You feel as if you’re in a painting, a place you’re afraid to stop staring out the window, in case it disappears. We spent a day skiing and a day wandering around the town, fortifying ourselves with fondue and more gluwein, and spent a Sunday morning in a little chapel perched above the village with a few other people.

On our way to Paris, we stopped in Lyon — a medieval French town that’s considered the culinary heart of the country. Our best meal happened there, in a little brasserie called Lyon de Lyon.

Paris was our final and longest stop. Bryan’s parents, sister and sister’s husband met us there and we spent 10 total days enjoying the city, family and the crisp Christmas air. We saw the classic sights, but also spent a lot of time eating and exploring our neighborhood (the 17th arrondissment).  Our friends, the Mironescos, were incredibly kind and hospitable for allowing us to stay with them in Paris, which only added to our enjoyment of one of our favorite cities in the world.

Overall, we feel incredibly blessed to have had such a great trip and relaxing vacation. We’re back in Portland and ready for 2011.