Colorado and Our First House

Listen, am I the type of man to stay on top of my blog? Do I post regularly?  No, I've been lazy.  And I wish I could tell you this blog is going to be amazing and I've been saving up all my creative energy for it, but I haven't.  I'm just lazy.  Expect some very mediocre writing, with some shameless selfies mixed in.  Maybe I'll be wearing snow pants, maybe I'll be wearing no pants. I can't really make any promises.   

For my 29th Birthday, Sarah decided to whisk me away to Colorado for a wonderful weekend snowshoeing in the mountains.  After not driving for 18 months in Europe, it felt good to get in the car and make the nine hour drive to Denver.  Crazily enough, on our first morning in Denver, our realtor/friend Fred called us to let us know our bid went through on a house!  Nothing like starting off a birthday weekend by buying a house.  Who needs money when you can spend your life savings on a house with hidden termite damage... but more on that later.

We briefly checked out the Denver Aquarium that morning, but left feeling pretty unimpressed and made our way to Frisco, as Sarah had booked an Air B&B at a little cabin style apartment.  The next morning we ventured over to Breckinridge to check out an Ice Sculpture competition, which was pretty cool... But overall I would never go back to that town.  Parking is a disaster, it's annoyingly busy and touristy, and if we are being completely honest, I generally don't enjoy rich white people.  If Ted Danson were to anonymously fund the sculpture competition, it would be Larry David's worst nightmare.

The Icy Iguana

I don't know if they designed this to look like Clifford the Big Red Dog...

After leaving Breckenridge we attempted to go snow shoe hiking, which basically involves clamping waterproof boots into gigantic metal shoes that prevent you from sinking into the snow.  It also involves being able to withstand physical activity at a high altitude, which did not work out well for me.  I don't know if you've ever experienced altitude sickness; It's brutal.  You basically have a pounding migraine, no stamina, and in my case become even whinier than usual, which quite frankly, I didn't even know was possible.  I felt really bad, because Sarah had planned out so much for this trip, but the altitude destroyed me, it was freezing outside, and I had no desire to be alive.  I was pretty much the worst travel companion alive.

Luckily, my body adjusted somewhat overnight, so I woke up feeling a lot better about life.  We were really close to the Frisco Nordic Center, which had a ton of snowshoe trails, so we decided to go for round two.  The majority of people were either skiing or snowboarding, so most of the snowshoe trails were untouched.  Thus we got to forge our own path!  Sometimes it was pretty easy to figure out where we were going and sometimes the trail signs were either buried in snow or hidden, so mostly we just wandered around aimless in wonder.

If the mountain defeats you, will you risk a more dangerous road?

I want everybody else in the world to know it.  That I ain't ever gonna let them take my life from me.

Some of us were built to roam

Finding the snowshoe trails could be difficult at times, you basically had to wonder around for 3 minutes and hope you found another one of these guys....otherwise you are lost.

I'm writing to catch you up on places I've been... Strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky are next to mountains today.  Didn't have a camera by my side this time, hoping I would see the world through both my eyes.  Maybe I'll tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way.... with words

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes.  It brought me back to life.  You'll be with me next time I go outside.  No more 3x5s....

After getting back from Colorado, we closed on our house and finally got to have a place to ourselves!  I could bore you with all the details, but instead I'll just share a bunch of photos.

Sarah told me to only bring essentials on day one.  I interpreted that to be ninja swords and a poster of Dolph Lundgren.   I'm honestly not sure what else would qualify.

Yup.  As a Vagabond I spent 83 cents on home related goods each month... Oh how the times have changed.

Our 80s kitchen with four layers of wallpaper...

Taking down wallpaper is probably one of the worst tasks ever.  Luckily that's what my mom is for.

Pink tile flooring, yellow floral wallpaper.  Fake flower baskets.  It's perfect, wouldn't change a thing.

After years of owning so little that I could fit all my possessions into two backpacks...Pretty crazy to have a house

There are many puns I could make about this cock lightswitch...but on the off chance one of my sisters reads this, I will resist.

All I want right now is the times when we slept on the floor.  When right here, right now was all we were living for

The wood paneling looks a little outdated in here... I guess we should take it off before painting, I mean what's the worst that could happen, right?

Well I guess maybe termites could have eaten the underlying wall, leaving the structural integrity of the property in question... But I mean, other than that, probably nothing to worry about.

In London we stored all of our random junk in a box, now we have a junk room.

If you come over for a drink, the previous owners left us plenty of coasters and a few napkins from the cheesecake factory in case you spill.

Our basement garage.  Seems necessary to have three garages since we share one car.

Who needs real furniture when you have a cooler and some lawn chairs

Probably my favourite part of our house - the front courtyard.  And yes, you know I'm really behind on my blog when it's summer and I'm posting pictures of a winter snow...

You save a lot of money doing everything yourself...but you also have to live in a mess.

But then again, your house will probably be a mess anyways if you have a niece and nephew nearby.  And lesson learned, don't waste your time cleaning before they come over...

Random GoPros

Our freshly painted kitchen!

La Casa De Seantonio

The ladies admiring the pile of wood I cut down with my ninja swords...Alright maybe I used a chainsaw

I had to chainsaw down the tree on the right...The tree on the left is next.  Maybe I'll use an axe next time, maybe I'll do it shirtless, maybe a crowd will gather, maybe my modeling career will take off again after a 24 year hiatus.  I can't predict what will happen, I can only anticipate the most likely scenario.

Our flowers and the start of our veggie garden

Sarah and Sean's Sensational Stockpile of Snappy Snaps 

Boys will be strong, yeah boys soldier on.  But boys would be gone without warmth from a woman's good, good heart

I got high on something in Colorado alright...Altitude.  This is the face of a man with no desire to live.  

My little lady, stuck in the snow

Well mama should be proud of me.  I've lived like a man and I'll die like a king...

Look at that focus.  You can't take a pano without razor sharp focus.

People always think we are crazy for all of our traveling.  But to paraphrase John Mayer, it's not the quarter life crisis, just the stirring of one's soul.

She wanted me to sweep her off her feet, instead I shoved her into the snow

I've no regrets.  I will not ask for your forgiveness.   

Couch hunting day, pretty much the most luxurious day of my life.  If I could just be brought breakfast in bed and then go lie on a couch all day... I feel like I could excel at that life

The missus and my mother eating whilst I work!!  P.S. You can play some serious Where's Waldo with our Soda Stream Maker.  It's in 3 different photos, always in a different spot.

Awww I Love U too fridge magnets... Such a positive message, who knew my blog was so inspirational

Sarah putting on the finishing touches with the world's largest roller

What's an adventurer to do, but rest his feet at home with you?

York and The Return to America

Before I dive into the last blog of our UK adventures, I have to give crazy mad props to the awesome people that helped make my year and a half in London be so awesome.  First off, I have to thank my extended family up in Huddersfield for letting me crash with them until I found a job!  Which luckily for my bank account only took a week.

When I finally moved down to London, I only had two weeks to find a place, and somehow wound up making friends for life through a Gumtree "roommate wanted" ad! I mean who else would have joined me for a spontaneous overnight bus trip to Paris?  Or would constantly feed me and show me around London?  Or secretly try to replace me with another Asian after I moved out (Though I'm not sure she was as pretty, or loved appletinis as much). And it was a ghost dangit, I never cried. Especially after watching Love Actually.  It was definitely a ghost!   Bee and Paolo, you two are legends!

To my travel friends Ginni, Anna, and Sharon for randomly meeting up with me and introducing me to new places and new friends. To Stine for showing me the Little Mermaid statue of Copenhagen and introducing me to Smørrebrød  To my boy Peppe!  From living in hostels, to giggling in Gili T, to playing pool with Thai hookers, to crashing a moped, to having no idea what happened that New Year's Eve or why we were covered in body paint, to both ending up in London... Life is too crazy dude, I wish we could have hung out more whilst I was there.  To Cathy and Bob, for inviting us up for our Rushden weekends!  To James and Jules for joining us on our little camping adventure, complete with S'mores!  And for hosting us when we had to make our final flights back to America... And for being so nice to us all of the time! To John for constantly getting drunk with me and introducing me to Gelupo's Gelato!  And for being so god damn handsome.  To Chloe for introducing us to all the best places to eat in London and demanding I wear 'The Suit' to her wedding!

To the softball team for letting me be part of the group once I started dating Sarah.  Although Sunny was probably a little too friendly... And he was always going on about how much he loved Neal's nuts, I just don't know what all that was about...  To Ian, James and Julin - You guys saved us.  If you didn't let us stay with you for those final two months, I don't know what we would have done. I would have had to re-open GigaLowe Inc. and sell my body in the night again.  Though, to be fair, I did give you my family recipe for Seantonio noodles, so even stevens.  And lastly - to my boys at work: Rambo, Manimal aka Mr. Mantastic aka Mantasia aka the Man of my Mantasies, Abs, Slutty Steve, and Captain Phillips.  I have five brothers in the US, but as far as I'm concerned, you guys are complete ass holes.  I never would have survived without you guys, you're family.  And Man, I'm sorry you ended up in the ED the night I left, for symptoms that could only be attributed to a broken heart... Or a rufie from Ram.  There's really no way to know... Until he confesses.  But anyways, to everyone listed and to those I forgot, thanks for making my UK adventure one to remember :)

And now that my rare bout of thankfulness and gratitude is over...on to York!

One of the coolest parts of York - there is still a castle wall that still surrounds most of the city center.

We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it.  Always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it.  On and on and on we are calling out, out again.  Never looking down, I'm just in awe of what's in front of me...

Coming here was the last time we got to use our English Heritage passes!  Well worth the cost if you're into history and/or like to wander.

Technically our trip to Budapest/Lisbon was Sarah's Bday/Our Anniversary gift, but for her last weekend in the country, we figured we might as well take a cheeky last trip.  Ergo, we headed to Kings Cross one last time, so I could hop on a train that, once again, disappointingly I might add, did not leave from Platform 9 3/4... I mean J.K Rolwing literally based a character off of me.  Do you really think she came up with Seanold Weasley on her own?  You think the long, luxurious hair is just a coincidence? The hot girlfriend? The incredible skill at Wizard's Chess ( I mean, I'm Asian people).  And that's not even beginning to mention what I can do with my wand... (Don't worry if you've begun to feel titillated, it's just one of the many side effects of reading my blog).

York is kind of the atypical English city that I always imagined in my head.  It is filled with tons of little shops, big open squares, street performers, aspiring artists, pubs, a huge cathedral, and some random ruins.  I think England gets a lot prettier as you travel North, and once you hit Scotland, it's downright amazing.  If I ever move back to the UK, I would definitely live outside the hustle and bustle of London.  The nice thing about going to a place like York, is that you don't really need a plan and can see everything in a day or two.  So we wandered about, ate Indian food one last time, and randomly stumbled upon a train museum, which was actually really cool!

Fun Fact for HP nerds... This area, with all the buildings jutting out, is called The Shambles.  It is believed to be J.K. Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley! Accio Seantonio!

I'm going to miss all the old buildings in Europe.  The oldest building in Kansas City was constructed in 1850... Practically a spring chicken compared to this thing.

This owl does not look like he's having a hoot

Ahhh the good old days, when only rich people could ride the train.  It's good being better than everyone else.

After leaving York, we spent one last night in Huddersfield, so I could see my cousin, aunt and uncle one last time before coming home.  And Sarah forced me to get a haircut as a birthday gift, whilst she went out to lunch with her friends!  Uncool.  The missus flew back home a few days after we got back from York, whilst I had to wait another month, but luckily I was able to get back home before Thanksgiving and see some of my siblings!  Moving continents is always crazy, but luckily my mom was able to put us up whilst we house hunted!

We are pretty awful at the whole not traveling thing, so before we knew it we were already off to Connecticut to spend Christmas with Sarah's family.  We even took a trip into New York City on Christmas day!  Sarah's sister, Candice, and her boyfriend Eric, also came to visit us the following weekend to celebrate New Year's, so moving back definitely didn't put a damper on the chaos maelstrom that is our lives...And things were only going to get crazier as we hunted for our first house, but that's a story for another blog....

Random GoPros

York Minster in all it's GoPro glory

Apparently putting a super creepy baby doll in the train makes for a better exhibition.

You might sail across the sea, set up camp beneath this tree. Or climb a mountain, spend your time in heavenly surroundings watching down.  And my heart keeps beating and I'm still dreaming of me and you, me and you.  Well my heart keeps beating and I'm still dreaming of you...

 Sarah and Sean's Sensational Stockpile of Snappy Snaps

I walked accross an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.  I felt the earth beneath my feet, sat by the river and it made me complete.  And if you have a minute, why don't we go somewhere only we know. Somewhere only we know...

Go home into your blue jeans, have some chicken and some baked beans.  Pick a backyard football team and not do much of anything.  That's what I love about Sundays...

I miss Costa!  It's completely ruined Starbucks for me.  Don't even get me started on a cheeky Nando's....

And all the things we did still fill me up with butterflies.  Cus I still flatter, I still shine, whenever I remember your sweet smile.  My heart keeps beating and I'm still dreaming of me and you, me and you. Well my heart keeps beating and I'm still dreaming of you...

Budapest, Lisbon, and the End of Europe

Our work experience in the UK was far from great (That's the nicest way I can describe it), so I figured we should do something special to celebrate Sarah's last day and the start of our Brexit!  Therefore, on the Thursday before her final day, I said eff it, and booked flights to the two cities highest on our European travel list.  I even splurged on actual hotel rooms!  So after wrapping things up on Friday, we caught a flight to Budapest!  I've been waiting over two years to use those lyrics in my blog!  Finally!

Budapest used to be two cities, Buda and Pest.  Kind of like Sarah and I, one of us is calm and Asian like a Buddha and the other is a bit of a pest.  Just saying.  We didn't get in until 1 AM, so night one consisted of getting to the hotel and passing out.  Day two started with breakfast, and let me tell you about what a man orders at breakfast.  A man doesn't start his day with coffee or juice or a protein shake, he drinks a liter of beer.  I mean, that's probably how alcoholics start their day as well, but I'll reflect on that later.  

Our hotel was on the Pest side of the river, so we decided to wander up to the Parliament building since that is the big tourist thing to do.  Along the way we found the typical European city stuff; the winding alleyways full of restaurants and bars, the opera house, and the giant church (St. Stephen's Basilica).  However once you cross a bridge over to the Buda (Sean) side, things become a little more unique, and a whole lot more handsome.  There is a gigantic castle area that sits atop a hill and for a few quid you can actually pick up a bow and start shooting arrows at stuff!  How cool is that?  Going to an actual castle and practicing your archery... There is so much cool stuff do in this world.  A few miles outside the castle, you can also hike up through a wooded area to get to a place called Gellert Hill which probably has the best 360 views of the city.

My house in Budapest, my-my hidden treasure chest, golden grand piano, my beautiful castillo, you-oo, you-oo, I'd leave it all.

My acres of land that I've achieved, it may be hard for you to stop and believe, but for you-oo. you-oo I'd leave it all.  Oh for you-oo, you-oo I'd leave it all

Oh give me one good reason why I should never make a change...Baby if you hold me then all of this will go away

My many artifacts, the list goes on.  If you just say the words, I'll, I'll up and run.  Oh to you-oo, you-oo, I'd leave it all.  Oh for you-oo, you-oo, I'd leave it all.

Oh give me one good reason why I should never make a change...Baby if you hold me then all of this will go away
Oh give me one good reason why I should never make a change...Baby if you hold me then all of this will go away

My friends and family, they don't understand.  They fear they'll lose so much if you take my hand, but for you-oo, you-oo I'd lose it all.  Oh for you-oo, you-oo I'd lose it all.

After spending all day wandering around the city and climbing up too many hills and steps, we decided to take it easy and do a night time cruise along the River Danube.  The cruises range from high end ships featuring live bands and five course meals to party boats featuring unlimited beer and pizza.  We went somewhere in the middle with one free drink and a buffet dinner.  We have seen a lot of cities at night, but Budapest is definitely one of the more memorable because of the way all the buildings are lit up.  On one side is the giant castle and on the other is one of Europe's largest parliament buildings, so it makes for some pretty cool views.

Now, when I hit a buffet, I'm going to eat some of everything.  Sarah just eats enough to get full, which I openly mock her for, I mean, it's an all you can eat buffet.  Why would you not eat until you reach an uncomfortable level of full?  However, based on the 16 hours that followed that gluttonous rampage and the total evacuation of my bowels, I learned that I should probably listen to her (I won't though).  After exiting the boat, it was a race against time to get back to the hotel before I pooped my pants.  Now normally you either go number one or number two, but I found a third option that night - Satan's Apocalypse.   I literally spent the entire night alternating between number three, crying in the fetal position, and wanting my life to end.  

The Parliament building lit up at night

We couldn't figure out if it was birds or bats flying around the building...If you ever go to Budapest, let me know what you think.

I wasn't in the best shape the next morning, so we decided to stick to indoor places that had toilets nearby!  After purchasing a gatorade and crescent to get some energy, we went to the Hungarian National Museum, which was conveniently located around the corner from our hotel!  The museum was actually pretty cool and I was feeling a little better, so we decided to eat lunch before making our way to the airport to catch a flight to our next country: Portugal.  

Sarah had been wanting to go to Lisbon because they have one of the highest rated aquariums in the world.  The Oceanario de Lisboa has one massive central tank, with a ton of smaller tanks and outdoor exhibits encircling it.  So you literally spend the entire time circling one massive tank...And we were there for nearly two hours if that gives you an idea of how huge it is!  They also had a special pool for two otters, which were probably the funnest animals to watch!  It's definitely the most impressive aquarium I've ever been too and I reckon it's the best place to visit if you're in Lisbon for a day.

Do you know why fish don't like soccer?  Because they're afraid of nets!  Bahaha, there's more where that came from.

Look at this little jerk flipperin me off.

Much like me, this otter is annoyingly adorable.

How does a fish bathe you ask?  Well this guy swims to the surface of the water and then lays flat on it's side so it can sunbathe.  Thus he is called a Sunfish.  That's right, I explained how a fish bathes, and I didn't even need to use a sponge.  I'm that good.

Probably one of Sarah's best shots to date.  A close up of this colorful little guy

After leaving the aquarium, we decided to head into the city center to see what cool touristy stuff there was to do, but literally everything was closed!  If you're ever planning a visit to Lisbon, don't go on a Monday, because nothing is open.  We were, however, able to find a little boat/pop up bar along the pier, so I grabbed some beer, Sarah grabbed some wine, and we chilled out whilst watching the sunset.  Not a bad way to live life.

After the sun went down, we climbed up a huge hill and found a cool little restaurant area, but the place we wanted to eat at had a two hour wait!  Based on the menu and the amount of people trying to get in, we figured it had to be amazing and decided to wait it out.  Luckily it was in a fun part of town, so we were able to wander around whilst killing time and even found the oldest bookstore in Europe!  The wait was definitely worth it, as our dinner spot was effing delicious.  Everything was ordered as Tapas style sharing platters, but the portions were massive.  If we ever make it back to Lisbon, we're definitely wandering the alleyways until we find that place again!

Jeronimos Monastery.  It was closed.

Belem Tower.  It was closed.

Praca do Comercio. There was nothing to close (Otherwise they would have).

We weren't really that impressed with Lisbon, so instead of spending another day there, Sarah grabbed some travel pamphlets and suggested we go to a place called Sintra.  It was only a 40 minute train out of the city, so we figured it was worth a shot.  We didn't really know what to expect, but knew it was going to be awesome when we arrived and saw a massive castle sitting atop a hill.  I'm not one to pass up on a castle, mostly because I like to see how people way poorer than me live.  Until you live in a palace, you're not really someone that I would want to associate with.

The majority of the castle was in ruins, so we were mostly just walking along a perimeter wall, but the views from the top were wicked.  Our castle ticket also got us into a palace that was only about a mile away, so we decided to hike over and check it out even though we weren't really expecting much.  However, once we got there, we realized that place is straight out of a Disney movie.  It's a massive, multi-colored palace with crazy sculptures, winding ramps, huge outdoor balconies, and insane views of the surrounding countryside.  I would go as far as saying it's my favorite palace in Europe, both because it was unexpected and because it wasn't ostentatious in design.  It wasn't meant to be imposing and impressive, it was just awesome.  Colorful, friendly, inviting.  It felt like the owners created a palace that they would love, not caring about making something that would impress others.

This would be the castle that you signed up to guard back in the day.  I mean who the hell is going to attack you?  That's just free money.

Pena Palace - This place was incredible, way cooler than the monochrome castles we've seen in other cities.

It looked pretty average from afar, but once you get closer, you realize how massive it is (Not unlike a certain part of my body... Wow I was talking about my biceps.  Get your mind out of the gutter.  I mean really, this is a classy blog.  I can't believe you'd even go there.)

If I end up looking like this guy when I get old, I will be very happy.  And Sarah will be so lucky, especially when I do my Saturday morning wake up dances

I had to keep working in the UK for a few weeks longer than Sarah, so unfortunately our trip had to end so we could fly back to London.  We did end up taking one final UK trip so Sarah could see York before coming home to the U.S., but that's a story for another blog...


Random GoPros

St. Stephen's Basilica

Buda Castle Gardens

The Castle of the Moors

I love the clouds in this photo.  I would honestly rather sit outside and watch the clouds for an hour than watch Netflix.  I love - love, love, love this world.  

The walls are boring me, paint it like you always dreamed it'd be.  Throw like Pollock.  Fuck the apartment. Oh paint it like you always dreamed it'd be...

A rainbow kitchen floor, you're laughing like you always dreamed you'd be. Handprints on the ceiling where our dreams will reach.  And I don't know what you wish... But if you want it, you can have it, every color that you see, see, see-ee. 

 Sarah and Sean's Sensational Stockpile of Snappy Snaps

I knocked out our one good photo of the trip on day one, so I could ruin all the photos on subsequent days....

I wish you could have seen where this arrow went... We are lucky she didn't impale someone

Food poisoned yet again.  Luckily I was able to harness the power of the spirit animal on my shirt to overcome it.

I don't know how she's so oblivious to me taking these photos...

I'll wake you up with some breakfast in bed, I'll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head.  I'll take the kids to school, wave them goodbye.  And I'll thank my lucky stars for that night... When you looked over your shoulder, for a minute I forget that I'm older.  I want to dance with you right now. And you look as beautiful as ever, and I swear that every day you get better.  You make me feel this way somehow.

Our last mainland Europe adventure.... For now ;)

I've been really trying baby.  Trying to hold back these feelings for soooo long.  And if you feel, like I feel baby, c'mon.  Ohh, c'mon.  Let's get it on.  Ahhh Babe. Let's get it on.  Sugar!  Sugar!  Let's get it on.  Sugar.  Let's get it on! (Listen to James Arthur's cover... So good)

Life is crazy and hectic at times, but there's always something to smile about :)

My house in Budapest, my-my hidden treasure chest, golden grand piano, my beautiful castillo, you-oo, you-oo, I'd leave it all.  Oh for you-oo, you-oo, I'd leave it all....