Rebecca's European Adventures!

Famous Europe Quotes

2008-01-05T20:06:00.000-06:00

These have been a long time coming. Just a few of our favorite quotes which we recorded along the way...okay, not a few...a LOT! Enjoy! Oh, and if you need more explaination on any of them, just let me know.
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Late the night before, Wendy set the tone for the entire trip by realizing she didn’t have a splitter for listening to music on the PDA. We went to the store specifically to get one late the evening before our departure. Just as we were turning in, Wendy was about to pack the splitter but paused, holding it in the air…“Oh crap, I don’t have headphones.”

London

First night, very late, almost all the trains were down for the night, and we were trying to get to Paddington Station:
“Paddington? At this time of night? Good luck!” – Man who was offering directions

“Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.” - Voice over sound system in London underground

Favorite London expressions:
“Are you queueing?” (Are you in line?)
“Cheers!” (Hello!)
“Mind that child!” (Watch for children!)

While sitting in the pub that served as the lounge for our London Hostel (this was after the creepy guy kissed Rebecca’s cheek):
“These are my new friends! They are from Oklahoma!” Creepy guy
“Oklahoma? USA!!! USA!!!” – His friend

While taking a picture of a lovely home on a street of London, a local driver honked at Rebecca for being too close to the road. Wendy promptly yells, “She wasn’t even in the road.” The man, also promptly, screeches to a halt and begins to backup yelling “What did you say” out of the window we did not know was down.

Running late for the Chunnel that would take us from London to Paris:
“What number are we?” – Wendy
“#17, all the way at the other end. You better hurry. And if the train starts moving, just jump on.” – Train attendant

Walking near Big Ben:
“Will you take a picture with me?” – Rebecca, to bored looking guard
“Yes. Cheese.” – Guard, sounding more bored than he looked

Woman waiving the tripod I had just forgotten on the double-decker bus (please insert British accent):
“You forgot your thing-ay.”

Paris

While searching for the grocery store that the hostel worker said was “Just across from Bastille Metro” that was actually miles away:
“I’m looking for the super market.” – Rebecca
“Ah, super marche. Speak-uh France.” – Fruit vendor

Store near Moulin Rouge:
“Rebecca Rils – Super Marche Erotica” (use your imagination...)

While walking down Moulin Rouge trying to lose a man who was hitting on us:
“We’re married.” Wendy and Rebecca
“To each other?” Parisian Man

After walking out of the metro on our way to see the Arc De Triomphe and taking a quick glance around:
“There’s something big.” – Wendy
“That would be the arch.” – Rebecca

While searching for one of the many things we lost along the way:
“Did you look in the rubbish bin?” – Amber, the Kiwi roommate in Paris

While walking around the Eiffel Tower lawn:
“Do you speak English?” – Gypsy women that were running a scam
“No.” – Rebecca and Wendy

Rebecca, after noticing the warning label on the underground train used a cartoon rabbit instead of humans:
“Apparently they have problems with people getting their pet rabbits stuck in the door.”

Fussen

After spotting a clan of people in head-to-toe spandex:
“Must be a spandex convention.” - Wendy

Munich

A few quotes from Phil, one of the hostelers we met at the Meininger Hostel in Munich. Funny guy (keep the British accent in mind):
“What a knob!” (What an idiot!)
“I like to give it a little toot.” (I like to honk the horn.)
“Brilliant!”
“I consider myself a pretty smart guy. But I drove through the entire country of Germany seeing exit after exit that said Ausfhart. I kept thinking ‘wow, Ausfhart must be a really big place.’”
(Ausfhart is German for “Exit.”)

Rebecca while walking through the grounds of Oktoberfest:
“Beer, brats, and roller coasters. That’s a good combination.”

While doing laundry at the hostel in Munich:
“Can I have your shirt?” – Phil, our funny friend, spotting Rebecca’s Freedom rodeo shirt
“No.” - Rebecca
“I’ll trade you my ‘Bench’ shirt for it.” – Phil
“What’s a ‘Bench’ shirt?” – Wendy
“Oh, it’s a chain...” – Phil

After watching a guy pour water into the water collection reservoir of the dryer:
“Why would you put water in a dryer.” – Wendy
“Apparently, wet plus water equals dry.” – Rebecca
“What a knob.” - Phil

Salzburg

After walking all day, then sleeping in a train station while waiting for a bus to pick us up to bypass a derailed train:
“My legs feel like bologna. I mean, noodles.” - Rebecca

Our Sound of Music tour guide:
“I’m single, and looking.” – Roman the Snowman, while looking over everyone on the bus

Dachau

Walking back to train station after missing the last bus of the day by minutes:
“I would take a ride from anyone about now.” – Wendy
“Even if they had a van with no windows…and a running chainsaw.” – Rebecca

Venice

“Ooo I love me some booty. I am very hungry.”Said gondola driver while jumping up and down biting at our butts while our backs were against a bridge over the canal

"Ciao, Bella!" - Every man in Italy...not quite...but close (It means 'hello beautiful')

Rome

Walking from the Trevi Fountain on the first night in Rome:“Will you sleep both with me?” – Random guy who rounds the corner

While walking around the Trevi Fountain:
“Pizza? Pasta? Boyfriend?” – Man handing out fliers for a restaurant nearby

Man selling porn on the street corner:
“Taxi? Free taxi?”

Walking from the Colosseum at night:
“You speak English? They say it is very nice if you walk barefoot on this surface. It is very soft on the feet. Do you like to walk barefoot?” – Old man carrying brief case in a suit

Vatican Museums while staring at a completely empty room which was manned by a guard:
“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” said Becca
“It just moves me to tears,” replied Wendy
We heard the guard laugh until we moved out of ear shot.

Wendy as she stared at one of the many unclothed statues:
“I will never grow tired of looking at the naked male body.”

“Remember when we first started our travels and I used to look beggars in the eye and explain to them why we couldn’t give them money?” – Wendy
“Now, we see a man with his arm blown off and say, ‘You can do a lot of jobs with one arm.’” – Rebecca
“You can be a…doorman!” – Wendy
In Rome after passing a beggar who truly only had one arm.

Rebecca after sitting at a table in a café that was…covered in crumbs:
“You know we’ve been hostelling for too long when we sit down at a table covered in crumbs and it doesn’t faze us.”

Wendy while asking the clerk at the hostel in Rome if they had found my sunglasses:
“Have you found a pair of sunglasses? They’re black and may or may not have lenses in them.”

Walking through the Colosseum:
“Sprechen ze English?” – American tourist who mistook Wendy for a German
“Yes.” – Wendy

Same guy as above…after the tour:
“How did you know the Vatican took marble from the Colosseum?” – American tourist
“How did you not know?” - Wendy

After ordering hot chocolate from the café where we got awful calzones:
“The chocolate…is finished.” – Waiter
“No you’re finished!” – Wendy

At Trevi fountain being mauled by 3 men:
“No, we’re married.” – Wendy and Rebecca…repeatedly
“Ah, ah, ah! I see no husband. Married in America, not in Italy.” – Guys
“No, we’re married globally.” - Wendy

Walking the streets of Rome:
“Those guys didn’t even check us out!” – Wendy
“Oh, they must be gay.” – Rebecca

After seeing men riding double on scooters:
“I can just see Keith and Kyle riding on a scooter.” – Rebecca
“Yes, Kyle saying, ‘Keith, go faster’ with his head resting on Keith’s shoulders.” – Wendy

In the running for father of the year….
“Dad, what if I die?” – little boy climbing tree on Palentine Hill
“I’ll burry you in a nice place.” – his dad

Rebecca on the phone with Keith in Rome:
“Did you go to the concert?” – Keith
“What concert?” – Rebecca
“The Garth Brooks concert. He is in Rome.” - Keith

After seeing a sign that read: ‘Warning! This lift is faulty. We are not responsible for your safety if you decide to use it.’:
“The trick with the elevator is, if it gets stuck between floors, don’t force the doors open.” – Hostel clerk
“Okay, but will we plummet to the floor?” – Rebecca
“No but you could be stuck for hours.” – Hostel clerk
“Oh, we’ll take our chances.” – Rebecca

After men gawked at our blonde hair and fair skin:
“It’s just hair. Do you want to touch it?” - Rebecca

Manarola

During conversation with other American hostelers about music we like:
“I like country, like Garth Brooks.” – Wendy
“He died.” – Guy who we never knew his name
“WHAT!?!?” – Rebecca and Wendy
“Yeah, a while back.” – Guy who we never knew his name
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe Garth Brooks died!” – Rebecca and Wendy almost in tears—a lot can happen while you are overseas.
“Oh wait, he’s alive. I thought you were talking about Roy Rogers.” – Guy who we never knew his name

Pictures!

2007-12-03T12:08:00.003-06:00

I have the pictures from Europe posted on my site. This is, by no means, all of my pictures...less than half...but there are still over 500! Be ready to sit awhile when you decide to look at these.
Check them out at: www.rmphotography.fototime.com

Orchestra/Singers in Zurich Train Station

2007-09-23T15:17:00.000-05:00

Human Statue in Rome

2007-09-23T15:13:00.000-05:00

Sorry this is sideways...

A man playing the glasses in Salzburg

2007-09-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

Cinque Terre

2007-09-19T16:24:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I'm home. And here is what happened on the last few days of our journey. Get ready...I'm sure this will be pretty long. You might want to read it in sections.

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Cinque Terre - Day one
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We woke up bright and early on Friday morning and got ready to leave for Rome. We stopped downstairs and had breakfast before leaving out. We slightly miscalculated our time, and showed up to the train station with only 15 minutes to spare. We hadn't gotten reservations, and were pretty sure they were compulsory. We rushed to the ticket counter only to find a long line of people. We waited...and waited...and finally got to the ticket counter at 7:35...and the train left at 7:36. I quickly asked the lady if we needed reservations to which she said no. We took off running for the platform, Wendy in the lead, and made it to the engine of the train as the conductors were getting on. They are always the last to get on the train. Wendy hesitated, and one of them said, "hurry, jump on!" She did, and I followed. As I started to step on, the train began moving. I heaved and with the help of the conductors, made it safely onto the car. One of them looked at us and with his Italian accent said, "last second." Again, we just like to live on the edge.

I know I've said this before, but Europeans are not real big on the whole bathing aspect. In fact, I would say they consider it to be optional...per week...As we made our way into the first car, we were hit with the worst smell imaginable. It was a mixture of body odor, bad breath, cigarettes, and mildew. I looked at Wendy and said, "Let's hurry through this car, it smells horrible!!!" We walked as quickly as possible but soon caught up to a woman with 3 children who was holding up our progress. I could see the door to the next car, but she and her entourage stood in the way. Thoughts of pushing them out of the way and making a run for it did cross my mind. Nevertheless, I held my breath for what seemed like an hour, I slowly followed behind. When we finally passed through both doors into the next car, I let out a sigh of relief and sucked in a deep breath...only to be paralyzed with disgust that the same smell also occupied this car. Behind me, Wendy began to gag. It was at that moment, that I realized the woman and her 3 rug rats were the source of the stench. We stopped dead in our tracks and allowed a good 3 car buffer before moving forward. Every once in awhile we would start to catch up to her again, and we would pause until we could no longer see her through the doors. You think I'm kidding...but I'm not. It was that bad.

The train ride to Cinque 5 was painless and quite beautiful. We spent most of the ride looking at the beautiful Mediterranean sea through the window. We arrived at Le Spazia around noon. The next train to Manarola, the town we were staying in, was not for another hour. Instead of waiting, we decided to hop on a train to Vernazza which is a neighboring town. The view there was breathtaking. We still had to wait about 45 minutes for the train, but we just soaked up the view while we waited.

We arrived in Manarola around 1:15pm. The directions to the hostel were pretty vague: "from the train station, go right up the hill. We are next to the church." So right we went, up the hill...which was seriously the steepest grade I've ever walked. The street was probably the equivalent of 4 city blocks in length, but it took us a good 15 minutes to walk it. By this stage in the trip, our bags were substantually heavier. I would estimate that mine was closer to 35 lbs. One we made it to the church (there is only one church), we went up two flights of stairs to reach the Ostello Hostel. It is seriously at the top of the town and had the most amazing view! At the door, we were greeted by the most unfriendly person we have met along our trip. He informed us that they were closed for cleaning. No big deal, we just wanted to drop off our bags. He didn't want us to drop it off without checking in, but did not want to check us in. I told him I would be more than happy to leave my bag on a street corner but would not be carrying it back up the hill. He was quite disgruntled, but insisted on checking us in. I wasn't kidding when I said I would leave them on the street corner, but he would not go for that. The check in was quite a harmless process and only took him 2 minutes. His complaints took longer than that.

Most hostels workers are very friendly and helpful. They give you maps and suggest places to visit, eat, and shop. Not so much here. Upon check in, we were handed a half sheet of paper that was full of hostel rules, most of which were trivial. One such rule was "the ceiling fan in your room can only be turned on if all of the occupants of that room agree to turn it on." I understand that all hostels have rules, but seriously? Rules about fans? We were also given a "shower token." This magical token allowed you 5 minutes in the shower. Need more time? Sure thing. Simply pay the kind souls at the counter .50 euro and you will receive another 5 minutes. Of course, you would have to wait for your first 5 minutes to elapse, then walk your naked soapy body out of the shower to insert the next token, and so on. You were also offered an organic breakfast (for a fee, of course), and for 4 euro, you would receive a laundry token. I felt like I was at a strict chucky cheese!

After leaving our bags and being forced to check in by the precious clerk, we felt a little uneasy about the town. We got the feeling that the natives didn't really want tourists to be there. We walked around the quaint little town trying to blend as much as possible. Of course our cameras around our necks made us a little obvious.

I really don't know how to describe Manarola. The town was absolutely amazing. It was completely surrounded by mountainside on 3 sides and dropped to the sea on the 4th. The houses began at the ledge and stacked up partially into the mountains. Similar to Venice, it had winding passageways between the buildings. Every once in awhile, the building would break leaving the passageway overlooking the side of the mountain and gave the most breathtaking views of the city and ocean. Above the houses on the mountainside were rows of crops. Every few feet up the mountain, a retaining wall was built which created about a 5 foot flat surface. This stair step went all the way up to the top. Most of the crops were grapes, but there were also lemons, limes, apples, etc. Below the town in the sea, several boats were tied to the rocks. A huge crane was used to hoist the boats in and out of the water every morning and evening. Because there was no actual "beach," a flat surface had been carved out of the rock on the North side of the town near the water, as well as steps that lead to that surface. From there, you could jump into the ocean. Many of the brave natives would climb to the top of the rock formations and take the high jump.

After exploring the very small town, we decided to go to the South side of town and climb across the rocks out to the ocean. These were giant quartz rocks that served as a barrier between the waves and the dock. Several of them had flat surfaces that were large enough for two people to lay on. Because we had dropped off our packs at the hostel (and didn't chance going back before the lock out period ended), we didn't have our bathing suits. We just laid on those rocks and took naps for close to an hour. It was heavenly.

We made the treacherous walk back up to the hostel just before 5 pm. We sat under the clock tower and observed the people of Manarola. What I loved about this town was it's lack of show. I felt like so many of the places we visited were geared towards tourists. You never saw the true culture of the area, only the culture they displayed for the visitors. Manarola was different. These people were living their lives as farmers and fishermen and continued on with their daily activities without paying much attention to the few tourists. As we sat under the clock tower, several older men gradually gathered on the benches and visited while the women sat across the square and did the same. Parents were out walking with their children, carrying baskets of fruit. It was a true immersion into their culture.

When we finally made our way back to the hostel, we were able to have a look around. Our room was on the 3rd floor (really 4th) and had 3 bunk beds. We had a great view of the town and clock tower through our window! We purchased a "laundry token" and did some much needed laundry. The hostel had a veranda on the roof where we sat and waited for the laundry to wash. Instead of paying the additional 2 euro to dry, we hung our clothes on the line on the roof. As we sat and watched the sunset, we debated on where to eat. Because the previous two outings were disappointing, we wanted to be sure to go to a good restaurant, of which the town only had 4. I decided to ask the helpful front desk people...bad idea. We waited in line for 15 minutes only to be told "I give no recommendations. I must now check in more people." Fabulous. We retreated back to the roof, met a few other hostelers, and decided to go as a group to seek out good food. We walked around, and finally settled on one that was in the center of town. I was immediately drawn to the baked lasagna with meat sauce (mainly because of the word meat). Everyone else decided on the same, and we placed our order. It arrived shortly after, and we all loved it! It was truely the best lasagna I have ever tasted. I ate as slow as I possibly could...I never wanted it to end! Do keep in mind, on top of the food, we each paid 2.5o euro just to sit at the restaurant and another 4 euro for water. We were going to make this last!

Our next stop was at the gilato stand. We struck gold. I believe we found the best gilato in all of Europe.

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Cinque Terre - Day two
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My day began with the 7 o'clock ringing of the very loud clock in the tower. I decided to get up and get coffee downstairs and sit on the veranda. I ordered my coffee and started towards the stairs but was stopped by one of the lovely lads and told that I could not take the coffee out of the breakfast room. Luckily, there is a small balcony off the breakfast room that I was able to take advantage of. Did I mention I loved that hostel? After my coffee, I went to the veranda and watched all the peoples of Manarola work in their fields. Most were picking grapes and placing them in large bins. The bins were then carried all the way down the mountainside stairs one at a time on the shoulders of the workers. It was very neat to watch!

We officially started the day at 8 am with our 5 minute showers. I washed my hair in the sink first, knowing that I usually take at least a 20 minute shower. No way was I giving that crazy hostel any more money to do that! We packed up our things and "checked out," again leaving our baggage in storage. We decided to take the hike from Manarola to it's Northern neighboring town, Corniglia. Because the trails are a part of a national park, you have to pay to walk them. Crazy, I know! The walk took around 30 minutes and was not so impressive. We didn't have time to hike between all 5 towns so we decided to catch a train on to Monterosso, the Northern most town in Cinque Terre.

We all know trains are fast, some reaching 200 mph. But usually they slow down as they pass through towns, except in Italy. A warning is announced on the PA system that a "train in transit will be passing on track two." This announcement really means, "brace yourself and grab any belonging that are not tied down or attached to your person because a train is about to fly through." A full length train would take about 10-20 seconds to pass. They moved so quickly that you could not count the cars.

As we waited for a train at one such station, we saw a little tiff between a few Americans and an Italian conductor. The downfall of most American's is assuming that all peoples of the world speak English. That produces the worst behavior from the French and Italians. The problem was they had not validated their tickets after purchase so the conductor would not let them on the train. Of course, they didn't know this because the conductor was explaining this in Italian. It escalated into a yelling match where the conductor was yelling "50 euro to get on" (the cost of the penalty for not validating) and the Americans pleading for an explanation. The conductor grabbed their tickets and threw them into a flower pot, boarded the train, and it pulled away. When a native explained the problem, we all quickly ran to validate our tickets!

Monterosso is the tourist town of Cinque Terre complete with resorts and streets full of Cinque Terre gift items. It is also the only town with a beach! We grabbed some gilato, walked to the beach, and scouted out our spot on the pebbles (much like cat litter). We absolutely loved baking by the sea! I got in a few times to cool off, but the closer you got to the water, the rocks became bigger and more treacherous. Native children ran circles around me as I gingerly stepped on the rocks. It was so worth it, though. The water was cold, but just perfect to counter the hot day!

Did I mention the naked people everywhere? Oh yeah. Clothing are totally optional. Topless 80 year old women and 300 pound men in speedos are something no human should have to see. As Wendy watched one such speedo clad man, she said "there he is on the prowl, looking for innocent eyes to corrupt." So true, so true.

We yet again purchased gilato and took the train back to Manarola. Our overnight train left at 7:30 and we wanted to grab our bags and be able to eat that amazing lasagna again. One waiter told us that the restaurant would open at "six half" so we decided to have desert first...another gilato...and then wait on a bench for 6:30. As we waited, an entire family passed by. Grandpa was pushing the stroller with a little girl in it while grandma and the parents followed. The little girl smiled towards us and we both waved and smiled at her. The grandparents saw the gesture and tried to get her to wave. This began a very fun conversation where we met the family and discussed Italy, Italians, and Italian food.

At 6:30, we sat down in the outside serving area and we were informed by our waiter that it would be 7 before the kitchen opened. We told him we just loved the lasagna and wanted more before we had to catch a train at 7:30. He walked back in the restaurant and came back simply saying "prego" (Welcome). He took our order, and 15 minutes later we were served. They actually opened the kitchen early just for us! We splurged and ordered the desert recommended to us by the waiter. It was a type of cookie covered in warm vanilla cream with strawberries on top. As a very kind gesture, the waiter also brought us a bunch of grapes saying "Manarola grapes." We wanted grapes so badly while we were there, but neither of the two markets sell them. I guess everyone just grows their own. We left a generous tip (at least for us) and started to leave, but an old Austria injury reared it's ugly head. My right knee started to really hurt me in Austria and continued bothering me throughout the trip. It hurt continuously, but was bearable. More than anything, it was just annoying because I had to take all stairs one at a time for lack of flexibility. The night before, another hosteler had given me a temporary wrap to use which helped some. Well, as I got up from the table to head to the train station, it locked up and I could not straighten it. This was accompanied by an acute pain like I've never felt before. I could put no weight on it whatsoever, let alone carry a 35 lb. pack. The waiter was quite concerned and looked at the train schedule to see if we would have time to make it. We had 6 minutes. Wendy grabbed her pack and threw it on her back, then grabbed my pack and put it on her front. She took off towards the station with the nearly 70 lbs of bags and said "I'll be back for you!" I slowly followed hobbling/limping through the tunnel to the train station. Wendy met me half way, helped me to the station, and then others who saw the commotion came and helped us and our bags onto the train. Another close call. We are really good at those.

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Zürich - Days 1 & 2
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We had to make 3 train changes before we got on the overnight train at 12:30 pm. We were so very tired, but slept well. We arrived in Zürich around 8:30am, hopped on the tram, and found the hostel thanks to the directions of a nice elderly gentleman. The hostel was very modern and clean. We said that we were quite glad that it was the last hostel, otherwise we would have been spoiled and disappointed with all of the others! We changed in the downstairs bathroom, stored our larger packs, and headed out to peruse the town. We started by visiting a small cafe in Altstadt (Old town). We really splurged the last few days! We each had a wonderful chicken wrap (MEAT!!!) and got some advice from the waitress. She suggested we go atop a nearby mountain (by train, of course...my knee wouldn't have it any other way). From there, we could have a great view of the city. We did so, and it was quite lovely. We still had to walk about 10 minutes and then several flights of stairs to get to the lookout, but it was worth it. We came back to our hostel, napped, then walked around a little more.

The next morning, we were up by 6 AM, packed our things, ate breakfast (COLD MILK!!!), and headed by tram to the train station. There we were able to purchase true Swiss chocolate. The stuff is not cheap if you buy the good stuff. I spent around $75-$85 US on chocolate for gifts and myself. Oh, but it's so worth it! Never have you tasted better chocolate!

We were at the airport about 1 1/2 hours early but after check-in, security, and customs, we only had about 15 minutes to spare. While boarding the plane, we had a little visit with the captain. We were very excited when he had a southern drawl and said "ya'll." We took our seats, began to taxi, and then a 1 hour delay was announced. We were quite happy when we were able to take off. Eleven and a half hours, two meals, one movie, one entire book, 45 minute nap, and several severe knee cramps later, we landed in Dallas. We could not wait to find a Dr. Pepper. We decided a Chilis was our best bet and man were we right! I think I had 6 glasses while we were there...and a cup to go!

We arrived in OKC around 8:30, went through customs, and met our family. Keith AND my dad were there to great me as were Wendy's parents. Kyle is in driving training so Wendy won't see him until this weekend. : ( My group went directly to Texas roadhouse for quite a feast. We finally rolled in to Weatherford around 11:00 making my waking hours total right at 24 hours (minus the 45 minute nap on the plane).

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Home Sweet Home
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I went back to work the next day at 8 am. I did well the whole day until about 4 pm when my body told me it was really 11 pm. Today, I'm really dragging. I'm about to go to bed for the night at it is only 7:30pm. It's definitely going to take awhile to get back to OK time!

I hope everyone has enjoyed this blog. I have loved writing to it! It's a great way for us to keep track of everything we did. I'm sure this will not be my last post...Wendy and I have written down a raft of quotes that I will surely have to post. You may not find them quite as amusing as we did, but I'll give them to you anyway. I would also like to leave you with some things we learned along the way. I just finished uploading all my pictures, over 2,000. Surprisingly less than I thought I would take! I'll post some of them as well. For tonight, this is all.

Todd, this picture is for you!

Zurich...Last full day in Europe.

2007-09-16T03:57:00.000-05:00

I am sitting in the lobby of our hostel in Zurich. I dont have much time on this machine (and the keyboard is next to impossible to use...crazy Swiss!). I just wanted to let everyone know we are here and safe. Cinque Terre was amazing. We enjoyed laying by the sea and soaking in some rays! I`ll try to find a wifi hotspot and give more details and maybe a few pictures.

I`m so sad that our time in Europe is about to end. I love it here! At the same time, I really miss Keith and my family. We met an Italian family in Manarola with a little girl named Margaret who was about 1 year old. Seeing her made me miss my nephew Cayson! I bet he`s grown like a weed while I`ve been here.

We are about to go wonder the streets of Zurich. It`s beautiful here, and not too cold. Hopefully you will hear from me one more time before I leave.

2007-09-13T08:21:00.000-05:00

I tried to put these in order, but it was taking too long. I would tell you what each one is...but that, too, would take too long. Enjoy anyway!

2007-09-13T07:52:00.000-05:00

Rome!

2007-09-13T06:17:00.000-05:00

We made it to Rome about 11:08 am on Tuesday. The train ride was so long...but we visited with an Australian couple who sat next to us for the last few hours of the ride. The were on a 6 week tour of Europe!

Our Vatican tour was scheduled for 12 noon so we rushed to our hostel, dropped off our bags, and literally ran to the metro station. We had to que forever to get tickets (our English friends have taught us the word "que," which means to wait in line). The machine was broken, so we ran upstairs, bought tickets, ran back downstairs, waited for the metro, ran in the general direction of the Vatican, stopped and asked directions, ran some more...Long story short, we missed our tour. Luckily, there was no wait for the museum so we only paid the general admission charge, which was much cheaper than the tour, and walked right in. We shared an audio guide so we only listened to the things that interested us. I had no idea that the Vatican Museum had Egyptian artifacts and mummies! Very nifty. It was cool to look at things that were dated before Christ!

There were also millions of statues. When we got tired of caring, we started having a little fun. We were taking funny pictures around the different statues. We got in trouble for getting too close to one...oops! Each room had anywhere between 1 and 4 guards. They just sat in chairs...seemed real boring. But they got a real kick out of our fun pictures. A lot of the rooms were being cleaned so as you walked into them, there was nothing but white walls and a sheet covering half of the room. In one such room, we stopped dead in our tracks and I said "this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" and Wendy quickly followed with "it moves me to tears." We could still hear the guard laughing 3 rooms away.

We made our way through the museum and into the chapel. I cannot believe how huge that thing is! It was very crowded, but very amazing to see. There was a sign that said you could not take pictures...but I did anyway. Oops! Just a few...

We walked around Vatican City for a short time, just to snap some pictures and say we did. The center was full of row after row of chairs. We decided the pope must be speaking...probably not, but it sounded cool. Not to mention, there were Greyhound size buses letting off loads of polizia (police). You couldn't walk 3 feet without running into the polizia or caribeaneri (military).

That evening, we went to the Trevi fountain. As we were walking, I was saying how it's odd that some things have become so popular. A lot of things we see are no more spectacular than the next, but for some reason it is the popular one. As I am saying this, we round the corner and I stop dead in my tracks. I had no idea the fountain was so massive! It's the size of a building...a big one! With the lights and everything, it was just beautiful! We stayed for well over an hour just looking at it.

The hostel is quite nice. We are in a room with 4 other people. Two of them don't have hostel manners (not quiet and turn lights on when others are sleeping, etc.). They don't really bother me because I use ear plugs and a mask every night, but they keep waking Wendy up. We are on the 4th floor (really the 5th by US terms). They do have a "lift," but a sign on the outside tells you it is faulty and they are not responsible for your safety if you use it. The man at the reception desk said it might stick between floors, but we will not plummet to the ground. That was good enough for us! You should see the looks we get from people when we push the button to use "old faulty." We like to think we live on the wild side.

Yesterday began by visiting the Pantheon. It was so neat! Mainly because I've seen pictures of it for years. It, too, was quite busy. But we were able to see it all, take pictures, and sign the guestbook. We went next to the Spanish steps. It was one of those things you go to, look at, and say "well, okay." Nothing fancy, just steps that everyone always sits on to ponder life...supposedly.

On our way to the steps, we went through an interesting part of town. We were surrounded by designer stores: Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Channel...all of them! The people were better dressed than even in Paris. The men are all wearing suits with pants that are a little too tight, skinny fit, and very square or pointed shoes. Oh, and the big reflective cop sunglasses are all the rage here. We stuck out like a sore thumb!

We meandered through a park, then took the buss to the Colosseum. A-mazing. We had to pinch ourselves when it first came into view. We just walked around the outside and wondered through the Roman Forum. We were amazed at the ruins and how well preserved some of them were! I know the pictures will not do it justice. We decided to come early today to see the inside of the Colosseum.

Last night, we found an internet/phone place, which is where I am now, and I was finally able to connect. The phone calls to the US are only €.08 a minute! I was able to talk to Keith for more than 5 minutes for the first time since we've been in Europe. I love this adventure, but I miss him so much!!! I told him that as soon as I get home, has to take me to Texas Roadhouse for a big steak and a HUGE Dr. Pepper! I love free refills...

We also treated ourselves to some real Italian cuisine. We were so excited to eat at this little café since we had not been to a sit down restaurant since we began our journey. We both ordered ham and cheese calzones...and they were very blah. We also ordered water, and paid €3 for it! All in all, very disappointing. After that extravaganza, we went to the train station to another small café to order hot chocolate. We had been told that it was amazing and we were not misinformed! It is very thick, halfway between liquid and pudding, and you eat it with a spoon. It was unbelievable. I'm definitely doing that again!

Today began early with our trip to the Colosseum. We walked right in with no que to speak of. We opted in on the guided tour, which ended up being nothing more than an information session with Q & A following. Although it wasn't the tour we had expected, it was very interesting! We learned quite a bit. For instance: the games would last 12 hours each day for sometimes weeks and weeks. The morning games were always animals fighting animals while the afternoon games were gladiators fighting gladiators. Gladiators and animals NEVER fought each other! Someone should have told Hollywood that! Also, the Colosseum was originally built for battle reenactments, but after 15 years the bottom floor was built up and the ramps were installed and it was never used for that purpose again. Finally, most of the gladiators were prisoners of war. They had to fight at different locations and make it to Rome (much like the superbowl) to be set free. Around 80 percent of those who made it to the Colosseum were set free. And yes, the Emperor did indicate whether or not a gladiator should be killed by giving a thumb-up or thumb-down.

Our next stop was Palintine Hill and the Mamertine prison. Both very neat places! After awhile, all of the ruins started to look alike and we decided it was time to go. It is now around 1 pm here and we are about to go nap and gear up for the rest of the day. We would like to just brows the streets and look around.

I have to say, Rome is nothing like I thought it would be. It's actually a very dirty town. There is trash all along the streets, graffiti on EVERY surface, and it smells bad. We have been told to be very careful here because pickpockets run rampant. We don't take a step without looking around and clutching our backpacks which are always locked. I do have to say, I have never seen a greater Police presence in any other city. You see a policeman or woman on every street corner just about.

Tomorrow we will head to Cinque Terre! We can't wait! It's so hot here that all I want to do is jump into any body of water. Oh, and Todd...I'll be sure to post that picture in Cinque Terre of the mountainside and houses with ME in it! =)

Venice

2007-09-12T13:44:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, 9/11/07

The overnight train was pretty painless this time. We were on a Couchette instead of an actual bed and instead of having 3 people to a room, it had 6. The beds were so close together, you could not sit up in them. I was on the second tier and had a window at my feet. I left the curtain open so I could see out until I feel asleep, which wasn't very long. I slept very well and did not awaken until our "wakeup call" from the train car worker. He was, yet again, an Italian. He was older and we could hardly understand a word he said. His English was "notta so good-uh." He asked us if we wanted coffee or tea and we both opted for coffee. He brought us our coffee and left, only to return a few moments later to ask for the payment for the coffee. On our last train, the coffee was included...but apparently not on this one. It was 2.90€...each. The coffee was not THAT good! Nevertheless, he was a nice guy. He was joking with us as we waited for the train to stop. I still am not sure what he was joking with us about...but we laughed.

We didn't know what to expect in Venice. Germany and Austria were so cold! We both dressed a little warmer, but the moment we stepped of the train, we could tell it would be beautiful here! We walked first to our hotel, which was only a few Venice blocks away from the train station. We dropped off our luggage and used the restroom to change into shorts. We meandered through the streets of Venice just loving it! It was so warm that we were FINALLY able to thaw out from Germany's cold, wet weather. It was just as I thought it should be; Beautiful. You could very easily get lost in the winding passages, many of which dead ended. I laughed at people asking for directions to certain shops...there is no good way to give directions! You almost need a compass to get around there. Most of the streets are not labeled and they wind around until you don't know which way is North. We found our way to the Rialto bridge, then headed back to the hotel. We were able to check into our room at 11.

The room was so adorable! It was on the second floor (which, in the US is really the third floor). It had a double bed with side tables on either side, a small desk and chair, a sink, an armoire, and double doors that led out to a balcony overlooking an alleyway. It was beautiful! And it was so nice to have a room to ourselves for the one and only time on this trip.

We continued walking Venice and made our way to Saint Marks Square. A huge stage was being set up in the middle and we overheard someone say they were having an orchestra concert and would block of the square at 6 pm. It definitely took away from the ambiance of the place but it was still beautiful. We walked for hours and then made our way again back to the hotel. We decided that we would love to see the city at night so we napped for a few hours, and headed out again. I believe during the course of the day, we had about 3 gilatos. We couldn't help ourselves.

Our last walk was to St. Mark's Square again. We listened in on the beautiful orchestra for a bit, and then wondered our way slowly back. It was so beautiful that we didn't want to go back to the hotel!

The gondola rides were everywhere. It looked like so much fun, but the cost was not so much fun. Most of them were at least $150 US. The gondolas themselves were very pimped out, with leather seats, fringe, faux fur, and the works. The gondola drivers themselves were flirty little things. They would blow kisses at you and wave and say "Ciao, very beautiful!" We just laughed and kept on walking. We knew they really just wanted us to pay them the big bucks for a ride.

As I sit here, two Italians are amazed at my PDA and keyboard. They are talking very quickly in Italian and pointing. I just look at them and smile. We are on the train to Rome. We were able to get reservations for the Vatican tour, but they are at noon today. We had to catch the 6:38 am train to be in Rome in time for the tour. It was so sad to say goodbye to Venice...our stay was so short lived!

We overslept a bit this morning and barely got to the station in time for the train. I think we are sitting in the coach area instead of second class...I guess we will move if they tell us too. Wendy has already fallen asleep while I've been typing, and I hope to follow suit.

Ciao for now!

Munich & Dachau

2007-09-12T13:08:00.000-05:00

Monday, 9/10/07

What a day! We decided to sleep in a bit today, so we got up around 8:45. We had to go ahead and pack our things and "check out" by 10. We took our bigger backpack to luggage storage in the dungeon (apparently every hostel has one), ate our breakfast, and headed out. We started by seeing a bit of Munich. Our hostel is very near to the location of Oktoberfest. Although it doesn't start for another week or so, the preparations are well under way. They set up these HUGE tents, which are amazing. They literally construct these every year. Most of them look like true buildings from the front with walls, balconies, windows, but the sides and top are a very thick visquene. Since they were still constructing many of these tents when we went by, we were able to see how they put them together. Basically, they bring in the pieces and tons of extra 2x4s and screw it all together. A lot of them even had porches and one even brought in huge pine trees that they wedged down into the porch! I couldn't believe the work that goes into putting on Oktoberfest.

Next, we made our way to the center of town, Merienplatz. I'm sure it's usually very lively and beautiful, but we hit it at the wrong time. Because it was Sunday, almost all of the shops were closed...except, of course, American chains such as McDonalds and Starbucks. The beautiful building in the center of town with a working cuckoo clock was being worked on so it was covered in scaffolding and plastic. We were able to find gilato (ice cream) for 1€! It was so delicious!

Our final plans of the day was to go to Dachau and see the concentration camp memorial. We hopped on a train after purchasing brats in the train station and were to Dachau in less than 10 minutes. We decided to walk from the train station to the memorial...bad idea. It took us over an hour to get to it! By the time we got there, it was after 4 and the Museum closed at 5. We were able to see 1/2 of the museum. It was such an eye opening experience. I couldn't believe the amount of violence and evil that occurred there. It was so sad to walk through the very building where people were tortured to the point of death. I was so saddened by the stories of killings, hangings, gas chambers, and starvation. Some of these prisoners were literally worked to death. I'm very glad we went to the memorial. It is a reminder of what evil people are capable of. I still don't know how these things could be carried out with no remorse or guilt. Terribly sad.

We have arrived back in Munich and are waiting for 11:45 to leave on the overnight train to Venice. We walked around looking for anyone who sold Dr. Pepper...we are both having major withdrawals! A person we met in the hostel said that he had seen Dr. Pepper all over Munich but we can't find one for the life of us! Now we are sitting in the lobby of the hostel as it is much more comfortable than the train station...and much warmer! We will probably head to the train station by 9:30. I would like to go back to Coffee Fellows for WiFi connection and we really want another brat from the train station!

Salzburg!

2007-09-09T03:35:00.000-05:00

It rains...a lot...in Germany. It was raining when we got here and it is still raining. Luckily, we brought ponchos. They have been quite useful!

I have been told before that the Germans are very kind and it is so true! On our train ride to Fussen, a girl close to our age sat across the isle from us and began chatting with us. We weren't sure which platform to go to when we switched trains so she found the conductor and asked for us. The conductor did not speak much English so we would not have known without her help! She also gave us some tips on where to find the best food and beer. = ) When we got back to Munich that evening, we took the S Bahn to our train stop but weren't quite sure where to go from there. As we stood in the train station looking at our directions, a couple stopped and asked if we needed help. We showed them our directions and they told us how to get there. We got a little confused in the process, but we found the hostel nevertheless.

This hostel is different from all the others we have stayed. There were 14 people in our room and only one bathroom. The bathroom is all lumped together so if someone is brushing their teeth, you have to wait for them to finish before you can shower. Luckily, Wendy and I were able to "take over" the bathroom for about 45 minutes yesterday. Our roommates weren't so happy, but we were showered, dressed, and ready to go when we exited. The breakfast here is good; cereal, toast, yogurt, bagels, coffee, liverwerst (blech!), and the nastiest juice Wendy has ever tasted...but she kept drinking it. The milk for the cereal was room temperature, which kind of made me want to barf. But hey, it's free food!

We were finally able to do laundry when we got here. They had a small washer and dryer downstairs. They wanted to charge 5 € for one load...but you paid that when you got the detergent. We lucky souls found 3 detergent tablets by the washers and just went for it. Free wash!

Yesterday, we took the 10:30 train to Salzburg. I think I slept almost the entire 1 1/2 there. Once we got there, it was raining (of course). We went to the information desk and purchased our sound of music tour tickets. We then walked about 10 minutes to the bus stop. Once there, we saw a large crowd of people leaving a sound of music tour bus just laughing and having a grand ole time. We thought it must be our bus...but no. We were on a different bus...and had a different tour guide...and there were only 12 people on our bus...for a reason. Our tour guide would talk, then stop and say, "uh, where was I?" We would have to remind him, and then half the time he would say, "Oh, I got off track. Forget that last part." He would also answer his cell phone in the middle of talking. He was horrible! Then the bus driver didn't know where he was going so the guide would have to tell him where to turn in the middle of his "stories." We were on that bus for 4 hours...and it seemed like an eternity. We made 3 stops, one about 30 minutes away from Salzburg. The guide wanted us to go to his friends boat and take a ride and eat apple streudle (sp?) for a mere 11€ extra...we declined. Some people on the bus were suckered into it while the rest of us he made out to be fun haters. While others got on the boat, we walked the town and saw the church where the Von Trapp wedding occured. By this time, we were so tired of our annoying tour guide, we just wanted to jump on one of the busses with the happy people and try to blend. If that didn't work, a cliff would suffice. We were so happy when the tour ended. We walked around Salzburg and went to the Abbey where Maria lived. It is a beautiful town! Much easier to enjoy when you do not have an irritating, almost offensive, tour guide. Oh, did I mention he kept telling us he was badly paid and then asked for tips at the end? Obviously, we skipped out on that contribution.

While walking Salzburg, we kept trying to find a place that sold brautwursts. The one we had the day before was so good! We couldn't find a single place that sold them! We thought for sure they would be sold on every street corner in this area. We are still craving a brautwurst. We hoped to get one back in Munich at the train station.

We headed back to Munich at 8:12 pm. The train went maybe 10 miles, then stopped at a station and told us all to get off. Another train had derailed up ahead and we were to wait for a bus to pick us up and take us to the next station. We were so tired that we just wanted to get back to the hostel and sleep. One hour later, the bus arrived and took us on a 45 minute excursion. We got to the train station, hopped on, and had another 1 1/2 hour ride. By the time we got back, we were about to fall asleep standing. We got back to the hostel after midnight...our original time would have been 10:30. And still...no brautwurst. Maybe today!

While we waited for the bus, I fell asleep on a bench. A man we had been visiting with took it upon himself to video me sleeping with his cellphone. He showed it to me after words and said he would put it on YouTube. He said he would name it "First night in Germany." What a charming fellow.

Today we will go to Dachau and tour the concentration camp. Later we will come back to Munich and see a bit of the town. We leave at 11:45 on an overnight train to Venice...I hope this one goes better than the last!

I hope everyone is doing well. I can't believe it has been 9 days already. I may not be able to post in Venice, but should be able to in Rome.

Last of Paris & First of Germany

2007-09-08T03:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in Paris was so amazing, again. We had very few plans, just areas we might want to see. We had a very leisurely day. After leaving the café where I sent the last blogs, we walked down Saint Antione near our hostel and found a coat shop. It was much cooler in Paris than we had expected so we thought it might be a good idea to get a heavy jacket. Our roommate from New Zealand, Amber (when she said it, it sounded like ah-m-ba) informed us it was quite cold in Germany. We each bought a short trench style jacket (very stylish in Paris) for 25. We went on to Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. We also went to Moulin Rouge just to see the outside, and quickly vacated the area...it was a little scary!

Next, we saw the Sacré Couer, which translates in English to the Sacred Heart Church. It was on a hilltop on the less touristy Northern part of Paris. We had to walk up a gazillion stairs (that's a rough estimate) to get there. Definitely less than the Eiffel Tower, but it seemed like more because our leg muscles were so sore from all the stairs and walking we've been doing.

On our way down from the church, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around the area. What we found was the most beautiful area with corner cafés and side-by-side houses covered in ivy and flowers. The streets were all cobblestone and would only fit one lane of traffic at a time. We walked around for close to an hour just looking at the houses. We stopped at a corner café to purchase a crepe, which we had yet to experience. We shared a chocolaté crepe for 4.50. It was to die for...and entirely to small. We meandered on to a small church and had a look around. We found a small "gift" shop where I purchased a key chain and bracelet for quite cheap.

We then decided to go to Samaritine, a less expensive shopping area. We mainly walked around but we also found an H&M (often modeled in Cosmo and Glamour magazines). I got the most Parisian scarf there!

We had to pack up our things that morning and leave them in the basement of the hostel (we called it the dungeon). We headed back to get it and stopped at yet another store and purchased some jewelry. On our way to the train station, we stopped by the Eiffel Tower for one more glimpse of the light show before heading to Germany.

The overnight train was an experience and a half! First, we were in a room of three beds and the third lady was older and spoke no English. The rooms were so tiny you had to step out of the room or onto a bed to allow someone to pass. The beds were one on top of the other and there was a ladder hooked to the side for climbing to the 2nd and 3rd bed. The other woman kept trying to ask me something and I couldn't understand her. She finally got frustrated and went into the hall. When she began climbing the ladder to the top bed I finally figured out what she wanted. She wanted to trade beds with me since mine was on the bottom. Being the kind soul I am, I complied...that was my first mistake!

The shower was in the very back of the car (which was in the very back of the train). You had to brace yourself against the wall to keep from crumpling to the shower floor in a soapy, naked heap. I wondered where the "I've fallen and can't get up" button was. Apparently, it's never been enough of an issue.

I finally made my way to my top bed around midnight only to find I get very sick in the top of a hot train car with no window to see out. I spent most of the night sitting on the steps at the front of the car watching the lights go by. Believe it or not, it was quite fun. I spent quite a bit of time talking to the 1st class car worker, Givani. He was Italian and spoke 6 languages. Then an elderly English woman who was also battling with motion sickness sat and visited for awhile. Next, a Frenchman name Zohae (he had to show me his passport) sat and visited while he waited to use he shower. Did I mention he did not speak English? He would say one word such as "Direction" and I would name off where we've been and where we are going. He wanted so badly to visit that he pulled out his calendar, which had the days of the week in both French and English. He would say the French version and I would repeat, and I would say the English version and he would repeat. I have to say, he was much better at English than I was at French. I finally went to bed around 3:30am and slept about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

We missed our stop at Augsbergh, apparently they do not announce the stops. We went on to Munich and left our larger packs in a locker at the train station. We jumped right back on a train and headed to Fussen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle was amazing, but the walk to the castle was steep and took about 40 minutes. Back in Fussen, we wondered the streets and found rostbrautwerst (spelling?) for 2.30 each. We jumped right on that! It was the first meat we had since the spaghetti in London! It was so delicious! We already decided we need to have more brautwurst while we are here! Oh, and I forgot to mention...it's FREEZING here! My 1 pair of pants that I purchased in London will definitely be worn daily!

As I type, we are on a train back to Munich. We will check into our hostel and try to find a place to do laundry. We are both getting pretty smelly.

Auf Weidersehen!

(Goodbye!)

A few pictures

2007-09-06T04:45:00.000-05:00

A few pictures

2007-09-06T04:39:00.000-05:00

Wi-Fi...FINALLY!!!!

2007-09-06T03:54:00.000-05:00

We have been deprived of wi-fi in Paris. I have still been blogging, just unable to send them. We were walking down a street this morning and saw a café with Wi-Fi in the window. We entered and the owner speaks very good English and said we only need to buy something and can stay as long as we would like. Jackpot! I purchased a coffe with cream for 2.20 and Wendy got the Cappuccino for 2.50. They are tiny...and bitter...but it's worth being connected to the rest of the world. You have a lot of reading ahead of you!

The Best of Paris

2007-09-06T03:53:00.000-05:00

What an amazing day!!!!

Our first stop was the Louvre. I had no idea how huge it was! We came in on the backside and it took forever to walk to the front! The line wasn't too bad and we got in pretty quickly. We walked around completely amazed at all of the art, paintings, and sculptures. We made our way past the first two floors and were close to the Mona Lisa when an alarm sounded and they asked everyone to leave. We litterally power walked to the Mona Lisa so we could see it before we had to leave. Once we got there, the alarm quit sounding and we were able to stay. I was surprised that we were able to take pictures throughout the entire museum...including of the Mona Lisa! We walked around for about 3 hours and maybe saw an eighth of it. We were worn out and hungry, so we set out a blanket on the front lawn and had another cheese and bread sandwich.

Our next stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was free, which made it even better. It was very beautiful! The tall ceilings and huge stained glass windows were beautiful!

We headed to the train station to pick up our overnight tickets for tomorrow, then headed to the Eiffel Tower. As it came into sight, we had to pinch ourselves to be sure that it was real! It was so amazing. We actually WALKED up to the second floor...668 stairs. After already walking around London, we were very sore...and even more so after the 668 stairs. But hey! We saved about 4! The only way to get to the very top was by elevator, and we were okay with that! The view was AMAZING! We came down by elevator, and made our way to the lawn where we spread out our blanket and spent hours just looking at the tower. It was breathtaking. We had another picnic supper of peanut butter crackers and apples. Around 9, the light show on the tower began. It looked like the whole thing was sparkling!

Tomorrow will be a leisurly day of simply strolling the streets of Paris. Tomorrow night, we take an overnight train to Fussen.

Headed to Paris

2007-09-06T03:51:00.000-05:00

Last night, we went to bed around 10:30 London time. We knew we would be heading to Paris this morning so we showered last night and turned in somewhat early. I was awoken around 11:00 to banging on the front downstairs door. The windows are very thin so street and foot traffic can easily be heard. But the banging sounded like it was right next to my ear. My bed is on the front wall on the second floor, right above the door. The entire wall shook! Then I heard a woman screaming "open the bloody door!" She kept banging and hollering for several minutes until the owner ran downstairs. A few moments later, the police showed up in one of their fancy police vans, and took the woman away.

This morning, we got up around 7:30 and got ready for the day. We had done most of our packing last night so it didn't take long. We ate the provided breakfast of cereal and toast, and went on our way. We had to walk close to a mile to get to the Baker Street Underground. The only line running today was the Jubilee Line and it would take us to Waterloo. Now, yesterday was very crowded on the tube...but that was nothing compared to today. Imagine all the peoples of London trying to commute to work on ONE tube line..I had faces close enough to me that I could count their nose hairs. Luckily, we were only 4 stops away from Waterloo. Once off at Waterloo, we went to purchase Eurostar tickets for the ride to Paris. As we checked out, my card was denied. I called the credit card fraud prevention to verify that I am in Europe and they said the denial was not on their end. So we had to try to find an ATM. The first one was broken down so we went to the other end of the station and found an ATM. Then back down to get the ticketes. By that time, it was 9:55 and the train was leaving at 10:10. We hurridly purchased the tickets and went through check-in and security. We made it to the platform to find our coach was on the far end. The woman said "hurry to the end, but if the train starts moving, just jump in." To us, that meant run! We took off, heavy packs and all. Halfway to our coach, we were stopped but an elderely gent who told us we had time, just walk. He was right, and here we sit. There is not much contryside to see. Mainly just trees. This might be a good time to take a nap!

We arrived safely at Paris...It's beautiful! Our hostel is much bigger than the last. We are in a smaller room (much like a dorm) that hold 3 people. Our roommate is from New Zeland. She is very interesting!

After checking in, we took the metro to the Arc De Triomphe. Pictures do it no justice. It's enormous! There is a "turn about" around it that is 8 lanes wide. You have to go through an underground walking tunnel to get to it. We opted out of climbing to the top for price reasons, but it was still quite amazing from the bottom!

Once back to the hostel, we asked where we could find a grocery store. The lady at the counter was very confused. I continued explaining, " food, grocery, supermarket." Ah! Supermarket! She told us it was across the street from the Bastille Metro. So back on the metro we went, and hopped off at Bastille. There was definitely no supermarket across from the metro. Because the French generally do not like Americans, especially English speaking Americans, we weren't sure where to go from there. We found a little newspaper stand and decided it would be rude to ask directions without purchasing something. Luckily, they had postcards for .20 each. I bought five and said "hello, do you speak English" in French (one of the few phrases I know in French). The man said no, so I didn't continue. But he began waving his hands as if to say, "but go ahead and try." I asked again (in a lapse of memory) where the grocery store was. Blank stare. Oh, yes, the Supermarket. That he understood. He took off speaking French quickly and pointing his hands. We figured out we should go down the adjacent street and look on the left. After quite a walk, we came upon a fruit stand. We both bought apples and again, asked where the super market was. This man was very funny. He kept saying "Speak-uh Fran-say." Then he said "Soo-pear" and looked at me to repeat, so I did. Then he said "Mar-sha." I repeated. He said very happily, "Wee, Soo-pear Mar-sha! Speak-uh Fran-say." Then gave us directions in French. We walked a little farther and finally found the Super Marché. We purchased bread, cheese, chips, and cookies for around 5.25. We wanted to buy ham, but it was about 5 for two slices...that's close to $7 US! We opted out on the meat.

Tomorrow we will visit the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower!

Eventful day 2

2007-09-06T03:50:00.000-05:00

What a day...both good and bad. I'll give you the bad first. We had some time left on the hop-on hop-off busses and decided to take one to the London Tower this morning. We planned to tour the inside. We "hopped off" only to find that I had left my tripod on the bus. As the bus drove by, a woman was waving it at me saying "you forgot your thingey." So we took off running hoping we would be able to catch them at a stop light. We ran a few blocks until we couldn't see them anymore. We went back and waited for the next bus hoping that they would leave it with one of the attendants at the on/off locations. The bus driver radioed to the other busses to ask if the tripod had been turned in, but it hadn't. We rode through until the route ended and it still had not been turned in. I guess the woman figured out that the "thingey" was a tripod and decided to keep it for herself. Europe - 1; us - 0

The tour ended in Picadilly Circus which is quite a ways away from the London Tower and our hostel. We walked around a little longer and even found a China town. After eating the smallest ice cream I've seen (and i it was about $3 US), we decided to try to get back on the bus and make our way back to the tower. The attendant told us the "Gold" line would take us right to the tower. We hopped on and after about 45 minutes, we still were not there. We finally asked the guide how long it would be and he said, "oh, another hour." We explained to him that we had been told we would go straight there and he said we had been "misinformed." We apparently should have gotten on the "Green" line. By that time, we could not catch the green line and by the time the gold line got there, the Tower would be closed. So, we decided to hop of the next stop and just make our way back towards the hostel. We found an underground station and hopped on the tube...just in time for rush hour traffic. We were literally sandwiched...I have never been so crowded in all of my life...and at every stop, more people piled in. Luckily, no one around me had bad breath or smelly arm pits.

We got to Earl's Court Station only to find that the next tube we needed to take was not running due to a union strike...and Earl's Court is further away than our original location of Picadilly Circus. So our options were to pay even more money and jump on a bus that we hoped would take us there, or walk. I nice "civil police man" helped us with directions to walk back and warned us of the long walk. We had already walked quite a ways, but we thought we would just try it. On our way, we walked past Kennsington Palace. Almost the entire length of the front rod iron fence was covered in flowers, photos, poems, and posters in remembrance of Princess Diana's death 10 years ago.

We continued walking for what seemed like 20 miles...but was closer to 5. At one point I stopped to take a picture of a garden and house and stepped into the parallel parking area. A man driving a Mercedes honked at me as if I was in his way and Wendy looked at the car and said, "she's not even in the road." The next sound we heard was screeching tires and the man rolled down his window and said, "what did you say?" We both ignored him and he drove away...then we almost fell over laughing. I told Wend that she needed to be sure there were witnesses before she yelled at a passer-by again...just in case. :-)

Now, the best part of our day was definitely our tour of Westminster Abbey. It was breath taking! I was slightly creaped out that we were literally walking on tombs, but I was amazing nonetheless. I can't even explain the intricate detail carved in the stone walls, floors, and ceiling. My neck ached by the time we left from looking up. Once we entered the Nave, there was a stand that would hold hundreds of tea candles. A not on the stand invited you to say a prayer for your family, friends, and country and light a candle. How could we resist? In fact...we came back and lit another one, just because we can. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures, but take my word for it, it was magnificent!

We also walked around St. Paul's Cathedral. It, too, was beautiful. Riding in the tour bus, we were able to learn little tid-bits about the area that we would not have known otherwise. Such as, there is a Texas Embassy with the flag flying and all. But, it's a steak house. It is there because it was the location that the documents were signed to give Texas independence from England.

All in all, we still had a great day. We have been laughing the whole time I wrote this blog just thinking about how our day went. What a crazy day!

Well, tomorrow we will head to Paris! We are very excited...but unsure of how we will get to Waterloo station because of the strike. I guess we will worry about that tomorrow.

Cheerio!

London - Day 1

2007-09-02T15:07:00.001-05:00

Well, folks. We have officially tackled London. Here's what's
happened thus far:

After getting to bed after 1:30 London Time, despite being completely
exhausted, I could not sleep. I have what seems to be a cold and
could not breath out of my nose. I woke up every 15-30 minutes
gasping for air. The provided pillow was a little flat so I had to
prop myself up with my neck pillow and bed roll to keep from drowning.
All of this had to be done very quietly so as not to wake my
"roommates."

The hostel is quite nice and safe. You have to have a key card to
enter the stairwell to the hostel, and also into the rooms. It has a
little pub downstairs that also serves as the lounge for the hostel.
That is where I am sitting right now. I'm surrounded by some people
who are very intently watching a "football" game (soccer). It's very
relaxed and there is no smoking, which makes it even nicer.

This morning, we awoke about 8:30-9 and showered and headed on our
way. My entire body felt fatigued and I wasn't sure how far I would
make it...Until I walked out the door around 10:30 am. We were in
LONDON! We meandered along the streets and tried to soak it all in.
Wendy said it right when she said we were experiencing "sensory
overload." We walked through Hyde Park and picked a perfect piece of
grass to sit and eat our breakfast of crackers and peanut butter. We
dipped our feet in the water monument for Princes Diana, walked around
Oxford Street, and listed to "propaganda" on speakers corner. Around
2 we hopped on a double decker tour and saw pretty much everything
else London has to offer: Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower
Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big
Ben, Picadilly Circus (adequately named...it was a circus of people!),
and much more. We also took our ride in the Eye of London.

It is very hard to get used to the cars driving on the wrong side of
the road. Apparently, I'm not the only one who gets confused. If you
are about to cross an intersection, you can look down and there is an
arrow with either "look left" or "look right." Quite helpful!

I got a picture with one of the guards by Westminster Abbey...He
looked at the camera and with his Brittish accent and absolutely no
expression said "cheese." I laughed for 10 minutes.

I hope all of you are doing well. Hopefully you will hear from me tomorrow.

Day 1 - London

2007-09-02T15:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday marked my 24th birthday and one week until our trip. I
spent the day packing my backpack and cleaning. Believe it or not, I
actually enjoyed it. It felt so good to get the packing taken care
of. In the back of my mind, I worried about how heavy the pack would
be and if everything would fit. After packing everything (except for
my tooth brush...I will probably use it between now and then), I
weighed the backpack and day pack. Together, they are exactly 25
pounds. I was shooting for less than 30 so that will work!

I was quite happy with my birthday presents yesterday! Most of it was
money for the trip, but I also got a travel tripod, a quick release
attachment for the tripod, and another 8 GB memory card for my camera.
I now have the capacity to store around 6,500 pictures, and I
wouldn't be surprised if I take that many. My creative senses will be
on overdrive!

Last night, Keith and I watched "The Sound of Music." I thought I had
better brush up since we will be visiting Salzburg. It is such a
great movie!

After watching the movie last night and seeing the beauty of the
surroundings and architecture, I couldn't help but be gleeful. This
morning in church we sang "Thank you, Lord" and our music leader,
Tony, invited us to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God. I realized
that I have been so busy preparing for the trip that I haven't stopped
to thank God for this amazing opportunity. His hand has been so
obviously directed us in every step of the planning:
-Wendy and I have opposite "busy times" at work. It worked out that
there was a little over a two week gap between the end of the Yard
Dawgz season and the first event in our recruiting year.
-When we finally decided to go this year, Wendy was a little nervous
to ask off of work for such a long time. Her procrastination about
drove me crazy. While I waited on her, the original flight I had
wanted completely booked. She finally swore to me she would ask off,
and when she finally did, that night we found a flight that left out
of OKC and flew into London and out of Zurich for $1,000 cheaper per
person than before.
-Our husbands are letting us go!
-We have the means to go thanks to saving up for quite some time and
the generousity of friends and family for graduation and birthdas.

I am so thankful to God for how he has prepared us for this trip.
People are always telling us how brave we are for "going it alone."
So many family members, co-workers, and friends are worried about us
two girls backpacking across foreign countries. My standard response
is to tell them we are smart girls and will be careful and we won't
"walk down a dark alley in the middle of the night to ask a guy with a
knife where a bathroom is." All humor aside, I ask that you turn your
worries over to God. He has led us and directed us thus far and I
know that will not stop when we get on that plane. Ask Him for health
and safety for us, and that we have the time of our lives.

Europe or Bust!

2007-09-02T13:38:00.001-05:00

I wrote this yesterday throughout the day but was unable to connect until now. Enjoy!

We are finally taking off! The process was a little frantic, to say the least. First of all, I was supposed to bring a splitter for my pda headphone jack so Wendy could listen with me. I completely forgot, so we made a quick run to Walmart last night to pick one up. No problem, right? Then we were packing our last minute odds and ends when Wendy held up the splitter and started laughing. I think her exact words were, "I don't have any headphones." I looked at her with a "you're kidding, right?" look on my face...but she wasn't. So we decided we would pick some up on th way to the airport if we had time. We went to bed around 11:30, although we had both said we would be in bed early.

Three AM came quite early today. After showering and quizzing each other for the 37th time about having everything we needed, we made our way to the airport. We decided to hold off on the headphones until we got to Chicago. Once at the airport, I have to admit...there were some tears. Seventeen days is the longest I have been away from Keith since we started dating over 5 years ago. No matter how excited I am to do go to Europe, I will still miss him very much. Poor Wendy and Kyle will not see each other for 21 days! Kyle will be in Burns Flat doing driving training for the NPD Academy for the week after Wendy and I return.

Once checked in and through security (where I was scolded for not having my sunscreen in a plastic bag), we made our first international call. We had to confirm our reservations with the hostel in London. The chap on the end of the line was quite chipper and hummed as he confirmed our reservations. Of course, it was almost noon in London. He gave me directions to the hostel (which we already have), but due to his absolutely perfect English accent, I only caught a few words such as "tube" and "Bakerloo Line."

Well, we are now in Chicago about to board our flight. By 4:30 CST we will be in London! Yipee!!!

----------------------------------

I was unable to send this in Chicago...almost missed our flight trying to! We are safe in London and turning in for the night. It is 1:30 am here...7:3Opm in ok! But we are very tired. More to come tomorrow.

One Week Away

2007-08-26T19:09:00.001-05:00

Yesterday marked my 24th birthday and one week until our trip. I spent the day packing my backpack and cleaning. It felt so good to get the packing taken care of. In the back of my mind, I worried about how heavy the pack would be and if everything would fit. After packing everything (except for my tooth brush...I will probably use it between now and then), I weighed the backpack and day pack. Together, they are exactly 25 pounds. I was shooting for less than 30 so that will work!

I was quite happy with my birthday presents yesterday! Most of it was money for the trip, but I also got a travel tripod, a quick release attachment for the tripod, and another 8 GB memory card for my camera. I now have the capacity to store around 6,500 pictures, and I wouldn't be surprised if I take that many. My creative senses will be on overdrive!

Last night, Keith and I watched "The Sound of Music." I thought I had better brush up since we will be visiting Salzburg. It is such a great movie!

After watching the movie last night and seeing the beauty of the surroundings and architecture, I couldn't help but be gleeful. This morning in church we sang "Thank you, Lord" and our music leader, Tony, invited us to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God. I realized that I have been so busy preparing for the trip that I haven't stopped to thank God for this amazing opportunity. His hand has been so obviously directing us in every step of the planning:
-Wendy and I have opposite "busy times" at work. It worked out that there was a little over a two week gap between the end of the Yard Dawgz season and the first event in our recruiting year.
-When we finally decided to go this year, Wendy was a little nervous to ask off of work for such a long time. Her procrastination about drove me crazy. While I waited on her, the original flight I had wanted completely booked. She finally swore to me she would ask off, and when she finally did, that night we found a flight for $1,000 cheaper per person than before.
-Our husbands are letting us go!
-We have the means to go thanks to saving up for quite some time and the generosity of friends and family for graduation and birthdays.

I am so thankful to God for how he has prepared us for this trip. People are always telling us how brave we are for "going it alone." So many family members, co-workers, and friends are worried about us two girls backpacking across foreign countries. My standard response is to tell them we are smart girls and will be careful and we won't "walk down a dark alley in the middle of the night to ask a guy with a knife where a bathroom is." All humor aside, I ask that you turn your worries over to God. He has led us and directed us thus far and I know that will not stop when we get on that plane. Ask Him for health and safety for us...and that we have the time of our lives!

Cinque Terre

2007-08-11T11:08:00.001-05:00

It took months for me to figure out how to pronounce this quaint area that consists of five viliages off the West coast of Italy. Cink tear, Cink tear-uh, CinkQ tear-uh...I had no clue. Turns out, I was way off (Swammy...Swommy...Sampsonite!). It is pronounced Cheen Kway Ter Ray (thank you washingtonpost.com). Good to know, folks.

The more I researched this area, the more I fell in love with it. It is absolutely beautiful! The colorfull buildings are set on a hillside that drops into the ocean. There are very few roads but mostly narrow walkways between the tall villas (if you can call them that). After falling in love with the pictures, we decided instead of making Cinque Terre a day trip, we would stay the night there. I began looking for accommodations and found that it is a lot harder than most places. Hostelworld.com was of little help. This area has very few hotels and hostels but instead, bed and breakfasts. Most of these are actually a room that is rented out of an Italian household. I've heard before that if you contact one place and they do not have accommodations, they will refer you to "cousin Tony." And that they do. I have probably corresponded with over 30 people about a place to stay. Each one regretfully informs me that there is no vacancy but I can "contact _______ and ask refer my name _______. Maybe discount?" (Their broken English is quite amusing) I have finally struck gold in a few places. One hostel, one B&B (traditional), and one travel agent with several places to offer. Progress!

We now think we might want to stay for two nights, but by doing this will have to cut out another stop. How do you say, "We will skip _______(insert any place in Europe)." Right now, it looks like Heidelberg is on the chopping block. We both want to see it, but think we mmight rather spend an extra night in Cinque Terre. This may all depend on whether there are accommodations for an extra night in Cinque Terre.

So I will await another email using broken English telling me "this is my web for check the room" and requesting my surname.

PS-This is also a test for using my pda and compact keyboard for posting. If you are reading this, it must have worked!

Hostels and Route

2007-08-08T16:04:00.001-05:00

Wendy came over last night to work on some final planning for our trip. It was so good to see her! We accomplished a lot but still have a lot to do. We were very excited when we made reservations for our hostel in London. We are staying at the Journeys Paddington which is very central to Buckingham Palace, Waterloo station, The London Eye, etc. It's a new hostel and it's cheap. Our first hiccup was realized after we made the reservation. Because we made the reservation using a debit card, we are required to call ahead and confirm our reservation by 1200 hours the day of check in. Luckily, due to the time change (they are 6 hours ahead of us), we will be able to call before heading to the airport to confirm.

We also decided on a hostel for Paris: the Auberge International Jeunes. We are supposed to fax our reservation but I have sent an email asking about the possibility of emailing our reservation. If I haven't heard from them by tomorrow, I guess I will be making an international fax. Good thing I already have an international calling card!

There are a few things we are try to nail down with the itinerary. We can't decide whether we want to make Heidelberg a day trip and continue on to Munich that evening, or spend the night in Heidelberg and day trip to Fussen on the way to Munich. We are leaning towards the second scenario. We found a cute hostel in Heidleberg that was fairly inexpensive but has no air conditioning...You win some, you lose some.

Our next steps are to finalize route, decide on hostels, and make reservations. Hopefully by the end of this week, all of those things will have happened.

While reading up on Rome in a guidebook, I found an amazing site that we must go see. The Mamertine Prison is where the apostles Paul and Peter were held before there execution. It will be so amazing to walk on the same floors that Biblical characters once did.

Okay, I'll stop day dreaming and end this post.

The Mamertine Prison

The Planning Phase

2007-08-06T11:14:00.001-05:00

I decided to start this blog so everyone can keep up with Wendy and I as we travel through Europe. Hopefully, I'll be able to update it every few days with our new location, adventures, pictures, etc.

I checked the mySpace counter and we are 25 days from lift off. I am so excited! I've started to get nervous, but not in a bad way. I'm more nervous about finishing all the last minute planning and packing. Wendy is comming to Weatherford on Tuesday night to finish up the planning. We have chosen our route, but still need to finalize what we want to do in each location as well as where we plan to stay. We will go ahead and make reservations for the first few nights in London and possibly Paris. We don't want to be tied down to a specific itinerary but don't want to show up and there be "no room in the inn."

Side note: Keith seriously cracks me up. He asked me yesterday where we will take showers. I was a little confused as to why he was asking but told him that we would take showers in the hostels. He acted surprised that they would have showers and said "I thought they were like caves or grass huts or something and you'd sleep on the floor." I laughed for 20 minutes. He was just kidding, of course, but it was still funny. He really didn't know what the hostels would be like so I had to tell him all about them.

Anywho, keep checking this blog and I'll keep you updated on the who, what, when, and wheres of the trip. I grant you permission to live vicariously through this blog. :-)