Europe and Scandinavia 2025

We have just had five magical days in Park City in the Salt Lake City area in Utah celebrating the wedding of our special friends Rick and Beth's daughter. Congratulations Molly and Chase, we couldn't have enjoyed ourselves more.
We picked up our hire car at the airport and drove approximately 45 minutes to Park City and checked into our hotel. A couple of fun facts about Park City. It is located at an elevation of approximately 2800 meters above sea level so we were at high altitude all week. Also, the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City and many of the events were held at Utah Olympic Park in Park City. They are currently gearing up for the 2034 Winter Olympics. Apparently it snows in Park City for at least 8 months of the year but it really is a beautiful city and I would love to come back sometime and see the landscape in the winter time.
Wedding events started off on Friday morning with a hike along the Stewart Falls track from Sundance Resort, an approximately 5 km in-and-out hike to a scenic waterfall. Although we started off around 9.30 am, the temperatures were very hot even at that time of the day. Unfortunately I had a wee slip on the gravel on our way down and had to seek assistance from the medical staff once we were back at the resort. I have ended up with a rather large contusion on my left lower leg 😕, but it is not impeding my ability to take part in the planned activities.
On Friday night we went to a Welcome Party for all wedding guests that was held among the aspens at Rotary Park in Park City. It was great to catch up with everyone and to meet friends old and new.
The day of the wedding dawned and we rocked on up to the wedding venue to help with the setting up. It was a lovely outdoor setting at Chase's childhood home, owned by his parents Luanne and John, and with a lovely mountain backdrop. Once the set-up was complete we headed off for lunch and then back to our respective hotels/airbnbs to get ready. Five o'clock came round and the celebrations began. Oh what a night!! We had laughter, we had tears, we had good food, we had good company, we had dancing, we had fireworks, the list goes on. Even the weather was perfect although it did get a little cooler in the evening. There were so many highlights, too many to mention, but an enduring memory would have to be seeing Beth, the mother of the bride, walking down the aisle aided by her son Ian. Beth has been unwell and it was touch and go whether she would even make it to the wedding so to see her looking so beautiful and to see her determination was simply the best. Beth, if you are reading this, just know how proud we are of you. Thank you Molly and Chase for such a memorable day.
The celebrations continued into the next day when we met at Chase's parents' home to pack and tidy things up and to have lunch together. Aren't leftovers great! Then it was time for a nana nap (or a nappy-poo as it is commonly referred to in the USA 🤭) before reconvening at the place Rick and Beth were staying, for drinks and pizza. Another fun fact: you cannot buy wine on a Sunday in Utah! It was another night filled with fun and laughter but it was with much sadness that we eventually had to say goodbye to Rick and Beth, Molly and Chase and all our friends. I had not been looking forward to this part of the weekend one little bit but it had to be done. So emotional 😢 😢.
The next day Neil and I drove up to Olympic Park for a look around. What an interesting place. It's the school holidays in the US and there were quite a few kids practicing their ski jumps into a pool of water (see video), plus some older guys practicing their freestyle jumps onto a big-air jump. Pretty cool to watch. We then drove back into Salt Lake City to see the Salt Lake and to check out Antelope Island, which is accessed by a causeway. We were hoping to see antelopes and bisons but unfortunately we were disappointed. We saw no antelopes and the bisons were in a herd down by the water so it was difficult to see them. There are lots of hiking tracks on the island though and there were some good views of Salt Lake. There was also lots of bird life on the island.
After a very eventful few days it was time to pack up and leave Park City to catch out flight to New York. We hope to be back sometime!Meer informatie