Day 7 - Travel to Venice

We took it easy this morning in preparation for our 9 hour train ride. Read a lot of whichever Twilight book I'm on (I think I'm on book 3 now -- started book 1 on the plane ride to Rome). We missed our connecting train to Venice due to some kind of delay, so we just hopped on the next one that was heading there. Apparently some are on strike. I think going to Venice was what I was most excited about for this trip, and it has certainly lived up to all my hype. It is incredible!! Love the weather, love the water, love the old buildings, just love it all, looking forward to seeing more tomorrow!

Day 6 - Zurich

We went to Blumenuhr Burkliplatz first. This was a clock made of flowers (except the hands). It was beautiful (see pics on David's FB). Then we found a little shop and chose some pastries. I didn't really like mine and I saw a Starbucks across the street and told David I was going to go get a brownie. He laughed. He thought I was kidding. Nope. So, he gave me his wallet and I headed over there and asked for a cinnamon roll. We've been so lucky, most people speak really good English (better than mine). I didn't like the hot cocoa either. Too much chocolate. So I added two packs of sugar, and all of a sudden it tasted so much better. I guess I'm a wimp when it comes to other countries' food and just like my American food the way it is! Then we went to Fraumunster, it was beautiful inside, especially the organ and all the pipes. The stained glass windows were so pretty!! Then as we were walking to Grossmunster, we noticed there was a crowd surrounding the front door. Ah! There was a wedding that just ended. The bride was beautiful, and her dress was exquisite. It looked so antique, I wonder if it had been passed on for generations. We stayed and watched as the couple released doves, so beautiful! Then we walked inside and I could see why they wanted to get married here. It was just amazing. I would love to get married there too! (David said we could renew our vows there). It was just gorgeous. Again I loved the organ and the stained glass windows. I love how high the ceilings were and how quiet it seemed. We bought a few souvenirs at a shop and then headed to Rhine Falls. It was spectacular. David said that Niagara was much bigger, but Rhine was more scenic and pretty. We walked all around the falls (across the bridge) and then had dinner at the restaurant that overlooks the Falls. Then we did a lot of walking because we missed the last train that was leaving from the station we arrived, so we had to walk about 40 minutes to the next station. David was encouraging as he told me we were walking off our dinner calories. I prayed the whole way that there was another train leaving from that station (David was never worried). I kept imagining what we would do if we were stranded. I was looking around for nice neighborhoods of people that we could ask for help. But....prayers are answered and there were trains leaving up until 3 am I think or something like that. So, we found the train back to our hotel and decided after all that walking (and all day) we were ready to relax in the hotel. Ahhh....relaxing!!

Day 5 - Zurich

Today we had a fun breakfast. We went to this little shop and picked out a variety of pastries. So yummy! I especially enjoyed this flaky pastry filled with custard. Then we (thanks to Suzan reminding me) headed to the Bern Temple since it was only 20 minutes away. It was very simple and very pretty. They had a hotel there which even served meals for those that came to visit the Temple. I couldn't help but think of Vincenzo di Francesca and How Rare A Possession since one of the last scenes is the camera zooming out away from the Temple. Then we hopped on a train to Zurich. The Zurich train station is just gorgeous!! Great place to have a big party! We had our Swiss dinner (David had Weinershnitzel and I had Smoked Sausage and Warm Potato Salad) and then walked around the city in the rain. We bought umbrellas and just refused to go back to the hotel! We were in Switzerland, so we walked around for a while and then decided it was time for hot chocolate (it was getting chilly with the rain and our short sleeves). We even found a law firm sign with our lovely name on it. Now it's time to plan in more detail our day tomorrow! I'm thinking we're going to visit some museums and then going to see the largest waterfall in Europe!

Day 4 - Jungfraujoch

There just isn't enough room on my blog to upload all the pictures we took today, so please visit David's FB. I'm running out of words to use, it seems like everything is amazing, marvelous, incredible and breathtaking, because those are the exact words I would use to describe today. It's 11,000+ miles up and just gorgeous!! There must be a God. He creates such beautiful wonders of the world. The scenery was outstanding as we took the 3 hour train ride up the mountain. (a little scary too, I might add) I love snow capped mountains, they are just the most outstanding!! Then we walked inside the Ice Palace, which has no resemblance to the stadium in Tampa. This was actually an ICE palace. It was all made of ice and we walked through it (I "skated" some of the way). They even had some ice sculptures. It was a little unnerving as I saw some of the ice melting. Yikes! We also went to the Sphinx and it was built on the side of the mountain and if you looked down through the metal platform, you could see that part of it had nothing underneath!! I probably shouldn't have looked down to see that! Well, it was everything we imagined and more!

Day 3 - Travel

Here's a picture of us as we had dinner at a very nice restaurant (I know I'm lame because I can't remember the name), the tortellini I ordered was delicioso!!! It was made with veal. David had the filet mignon and liked it as well! Yes, we pale Floridians got a bit of sun walking all around Rome.

We did something grand this morning, we allowed ourselves to sleep in!!! It was wonderful. Then we packed up all our stuff and headed to the train station for our trip to Bern, Switzerland. It was a very easy train ride. Our legs and feet needed the 9 hour break to recover from all the walking. David and I read our books a lot, which helped to pass the time. The scenery was magnificent. The mountains, the lakes, the expensive homes right on the cliffs!! I loved the snow capped mountains, they are my favorite of the day! We are now downtown in Bern, relaxing in the hotel and tomorrow we are headed to Jungfraujoch!!!! Oh, and did I mention we're watching Seinfeld dubbed in German right now?! Fun!!

Day 2 - Roma

Yes, we've been in Roma 2 days and we're already fluent in the language, but I'll still do this in English so that you can understand. :) We started with the hotel breakfast which was pretty good, we mostly had these custard filled croissants. Then we headed out to the Vatican. I felt humbled when I try to even think of words to describe this holy place. It is just incredible. Everywhere was statute after statue, painting after painting, the surreality (is that a word?) just didn't stop. The Sistine Chapel was more than you can even imagine. I would love to go in there by myself and just sit for hours and marvel at all the magnificent art. It was truly amazing. You just can't fathom how much time and effort it must have taken for all this work to be done. And the stories behind each of the many paintings. I think David took about 300 pictures (literally). He just kept snapping the camera because they just kept coming one after another. I'm beginning to fully comprehend the "Rome wasn't built in a day" phrase. Then we went to the Spanish Steps. Steps are always beautiful in my opinion, especially when they're old and lots of them! Then on to the Parthenon, I'm not sure if this was my favorite of the day because later we went to the Mouth of Truth! The Parthenon was gorgeous though, it was big and beautiful and just makes your mind wander as to how it was used thousands of years ago. But I will have to finish the day later because there are still pics on the camera of what we did this evening. Also, we are unsure whether we will have internet access at our next hotel because it's not the Hilton, so you may not hear from us for a while :( If you want to see all the pics, check out David's FB.

Day 1 - Rome

It's funny because Paula and I were talking about how the flight would probably be the 2nd hardest thing for me about the trip (you all know the #1 hardest thing). I'm a bit claustrophic and the thought of not being able to get off that plane for 9 hours was a bit unnerving. Wow, it was a terrific flight, I read some Twilight, ate, and then slept the rest of the way. Every time I woke up, I convinced myself to just go back to sleep. Very pleasant flight. I think I'm still in disbelief that I'm actually sitting in a hotel room in Italy. Yes, there are Italian flags everywhere, and yes, most people are speaking Italian (I am surprised how many are speaking English though -- we even met someone from NC), but it's still unbelievable. It almost feels like a dream, a good one though. We checked into the hotel, took a tiny nap (jet lag), and headed out to Rome. We started at the Colosseum, which was breathtaking. I loved the Roman Numerals on the outside. It was just surreal. Then we walked passed the Forum, which was quite fascinating as well. We ate dinner a little cafe outside (like you're supposed to) and then figured we still had some strength left, so we headed to Trevi Fountain. It was incredible, my favorite part of the trip so far. I just marveled at the time, dedication and thought that was put into this structure. It was mind boggling. The detail leaves you speechless. I wish I could sit down with the artist and listen to him explain all that he was thinking as it was designed. Next we found the President's Palace which was also beautiful (and well secured). There were tons of steps, so you know I had to do the Rocky dance once I made it to the top. Yes, we walked everywhere in Rome. That pioneer song comes to my head "and walked and walked AND walked". If you don't see a "Day 2" in my blog, it's probably because the soreness kept me in the hotel :) What an amazing day!! David took over 80 pictures, and it's just the first day, there is so much more to see. I'm especially looking forward to Zurich!

07/12/09 #2

7/12/09

Happy Independence/Freedom Day!!

Sitting on Daddy's bed, reading Daddy's book, waiting for Daddy to come home in 2 hours!!

Paula's Pool Pics