France

We are back in the states now, but I wanted to finish up my blog because it would be a shame to skip France!

We left Switzerland pretty early and headed for Beaune, France. (It was hard leaving Switzerland, as there wasn't a cloud in the sky)! Beaune is a nice little town and here we were able to go to the first Hospice, which was really interesting. After that we had our first whine tasting experience. It was a lot of fun. I definently prefer white whine! That night we went to the room early because Matt wasn't feeling well, and we wanted him all rested up for Paris!!!

The next morning we headed for Paris. As a group, we went to Notre Dame which was beautiful! It is tied for my favorite church with St. Paul's in London. We also went to the Sainte-Chapelle chapel which was just as beautiful. Unfortunately, the alter of the upper chapel is under construction from 2008 - 2013, so we didn't get to see it. However, we were still able to admire a lot of the stained glass windows, telling Bible stories.

After the two chapels we had free time. Matt and I ran back to our room, which had a view of the Eiffel Tower, and got ready for our big night out. We went to an amazing little restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. Here we met a nice lady who gave us a few menu suggestions, which were amzaing!!! After dinner, we walked to the Eiffel Tower and made our 9:30pm reservation. We went up the elevator to the second floor and took some great pictures. It was just dusk, which made the views amazing! We then got in line to the summit. The line took about 45 minutes, but we didn't mind because we got to enjoy the view the whole time. The tower even lit up for the night while we were waiting.

By the time we got to the top, it was dark out. Seeing Paris at night was great from up here! After spending some time at the summit, we took the elevator back to floor 2 and then walked down to the base. We then hung out at the park outside of the tower and waited for it to light up again at 12:00am. It was beautiful when it sparkled!

The next day we visited the Louvre with a local guide. We saw some amazing art, including the Mona Lisa. After that Matt & I walked through the park from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. After spending some time around the Arc, we walked back toward the Eiffel Tower and along the river. Here we caught a boat cruise along the Seine River. This was a great way to relax in the afternoon! After the cruise we met back with our group for a final dinner and goodbyes. We then spent our last night walking along the Seine River hand-in-hand :)

This was the most amazing trip! One we will remember for the rest of our lives!!!

Italy & Switzerland

It's been awhile since I've posted, but computers aren't as plentiful in Italy :) We've been to Rome, the Cinque Terre, and now we're in the Swiss Alps.

Rome was absolutely amazing! We went to the Colosseum, the Forum & the Pantheon. We also visited the Vatican and St. Peter's. That night, Matt and I took a night walk, and visited the Trevi fountain, where we both made a wish :) I could go on and on about all of the awesome things that we did in Rome, but I'll just wait and tell you all in person.

The Cinque Terre was also amazing, but super hot! We got up early and hiked all 5 towns. We then took the train back to Monterosso and swam in the Mediterranean Sea!

Today we took a train and gondola up to one of the peaks in the Swiss Alps and hiked around for a few hours. It was a nice day, but unfortunately a little cloudy. Oh well, we can't complain.

Tomorrow we're off to France! Only 3 days left.

Italy

Our last night in Venice was amazing! We went out for pizza and gelato. After that, we headed to St. Mark's Square where we listened to an orchestra. Matt even asked me to dance, so we danced in the square. It was very romantic :)

From there we headed to Florence. The first thing we saw here was Michelangelo's David. It was better than either Matt or I had expected. (In addition to the David, we saw a small celebrity. The fiance to Pam on the Office--the one before Jim.) We then had a 2 hour dinner with our tour group, which is how dinner is done in Italy.

This morning we had some free time, so Matt and I ventured to the leaning tower of Pisa. We took the train and spent about an hour there. We're really glad that we did! In the afternnon, we went to the Uffizi Gallery where we saw works by Leonardo, Raphael & Michelangelo to name a few. (Only Donatello was missing ;).We finished the evening with a walking tour of the city.

Tommorrow we're off to Rome!

Italy (Venice)

Yesterday we took a long bus trip through the Austrian & Italian Alps, finally arriving in Venice. It is a beautiful city. So far, we have wandered the streets--getting lost & found again. We've toured the Canals on the public bus, as well as on a romantic gondola. We splurged and did our own gondola ride. We left at dusk and finished at night. It was perfect! We saw Marco Polo's house, as well as Mozart's. We even saw where Napolion stayed here.

Today we took a tour of the city with a local guide and visted St. Mark's church. It was beautiful. We also saw a mask making demonstration and a glass blowing demonstration. We just awoke from a siesta, and we're now ready for a big night out on the town ;)

Tomorrow we're headed to Florence.

Germany & Austria

After our time in the Rhine Valley, we drove to Rothenburg. This is a medieval town, and really cute! We spent most of the day walking the wall that still stands around the city. That evening we went on a Nightwatchman Tour, where a local dressed up as a night watchman and took us around the city on his rounds. We learned a lot of interesting facts, and the guide kept us very entertained!

The next day we drove down to Austria. On the way, we stopped at Dachau--a concentration camp near Munich. Walking through the camp was overwhelming and difficult. Everything you learn about what took place doesn't prepare you to see the places where such evil took place.

This morning we went from Austria back into Germany. We were able to tour two castles. First, we toured Hohenschwangau Castle, which was the boyhood home of "Mad" King Ludwig. This spectacular castle was not good enough for him, so he built another one above it. That was our second tour--Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle was amazing! It was interesting to find out that only 1/3 of the castle was completed, due to Ludwig's early death. It was also fun to find out that the Disney castle was based on this one.

Finally, we finished the day with a luge. Matt & I were able to get in a couple of good runs, and we had a blast doing it!

Once again, we have had great weather. We have been able to get some amazing views of the Alps! Tomorrow we'll wind through the Alps and arrive in Venice.

Amsterdam & Germany

Thank you everyone for all of the birthday wishes. I certainly had a great day! We started off with a tour of the Anne Frank house. It was very interesting and moving. It's hard to believe that two families lived in such confinement for so long.

Next was a walking tour of Amsterdam. The architecture there is truly amazing. We cruised the canals and even went into the North Sea! The Neatherlands is unique among European nations in that it offers a diverse selection of cuisines from around the world. We were feeling very adventurous, so we had Mexican for my birthday :)

The next day we got up early and headed towards Germany. Before crossing over, we visited the largest open-air museum in Holland. We were able to see them make paper, wash laundry, and we even saw an actual saw windmill in use. Another thing we got to see before crossing into Germany was the Flora-Holland. This is where 60% of the world's flowers are shipped from. We got to see a warehouse--about 1/3 of a mile long--full of flowers being transported in every direction. There were even people in there bidding on flowers. It was really neat.

Today was a full day in the Rhein Valley. We started with a walking tour of the city with a local guide. He was very intersting and entertaining! During the tour, he wrote our names on a piece of slate-rock, along with a heart & arrow. He told us to hang it above our bed :) We're super excited for the great keep-sake! (He even signed it, which is neat, as this is his last year being a local tour guide). After that we went into another small town and visted a castle. It was an amazing site. We had a lot of fun duck-walking through labarinth tunnels.

Lunch was at a traditional German restraunt. Matt ordered sausage & sourkraut. On our way to the Rhein River cruise, we stopped by a pastry shop for warm apple struttle. It was amazing, just like Maria said ;)

We enjoyed crusing the Rhein while taking lots of pictures of castles. When we got back to our motel, we went back out and climbed up to the castle here. We're now back and watching the German Football (soccer) game.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm sending the sun to you, as we haven't really had a day of rain yet. We can't wait to come back and share our stories & pictures with you!

London was amazing! The last few days have flown by. We took a hop-on-hop-off Bus Tour of the City. It was a great way to see all of the major sites, and enjoy the sunshine :) That night we went to Evensong at Westminster Abby.

The next day we had big plans for site-seeing, but accidently slept in. It turned out to be a good thing, though because we picked up some bread & cheese and had a wonderful picnic in Hyde Park. We ate in the Rose Garden and enjoyed a nice walk. After lunch, we did the Westminster Abby tour. We got to see the graves of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin & Charles Dickens to name a few. After that we went to the show - Jersey Boys.

Today we had a full day of London sites. We started with an audio tour of the Tower of London. The crown jewels were amazing! We then did the Tower Bridge Experience and got some great views of the city. We then walked over the Millennium bridge (3 times). We were really bummed out that St. Paul's Cathedral was closed to the public for the weekend. However, we were able to go to Evensong that evening and experience the beauty of the church. After St. Paul's, we wandered around the city and found our way to Belgo Central. Just as recommended by Brian & Lisa, we ordered the steamer clams & creme-brulee. It was super good, and a great atmosphere. Here is a big THANK YOU to Brian & Lisa for the great recommendation.

We're headed out tomorrow morning to start our tour in Amsterdam. We are excited to take a ride in a famous black London cab. (We're not too excited that the ride is at 5:30am).

We're super excited for our tour to start. Hopefully we'll be able to write again soon.