Grecia

Athens, Greece

2:30 am

Well, we are in the process of packing up to leave to head back to the states... it is so crazy to think that our trip is already over! Last night was our final night on Poros Island. We enjoyed a Toga Party with our group and then departed for Athens early this morning. We took a tour of the Acropolis and I have some great pics of the mount where all the Greek gods roamed thousands of years ago! I posed in front of some of the female statues, but they had a rule that you couldn't stand next to any of them to take a photo with them... I thought it was a dumb rule.

Anyway, we spent our last night in Greece at a unique restaurant with the group, complete with music and dancing by some of the locals. A bit stinky, but still interesting to watch (haha). Time to go wake Laura up from her little "siesta" before our departure for the airport! SEE YOU ALL IN A FEW HOURS!!!! Hope you've enjoyed the blog! Besos, Leigh

(Laura & I didn't realize until after breakfast that we dressed exactly alike on our last day... down to the matching purses and tennis shoes. Exhausted much??)

Grecia

Poros Island, Greece
11:45 am

Well, from the lack of postings I'm sure you can tell how busy we've been the past few days since we left Florence. Our last morning was spent exploring the city of the Renaissance. I managed to drag Laura with me to see a few sites that we didn't see on our city tour the day before, but were places that I studied in my Italian Renaissance class (haha). We then traveled to Rome where we spent 2 nights. Our second day was spent touring the major historical sites. We tossed our coins into the Trevi Fountain (in front of which you see me posing in one of the pics with a CRAZY old man in a Roman soldier costume), walked through the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona, then made our way into the Vatican City. We took a tour of St.Peter's Basilica, where we of course saw the Sistine Chapel and all of Michelangelo's beautiful frescoes, including the Last Judgement, God's giving life to Adam (center of the ceiling), and the giving of the chapel keys to Saint Peter. My neck hurt from looking up at the ceiling after only 15 minutes, so it is hard for me to imagine the 7 years it took for Michelangelo to paint it all!

Afterwards we continued on to see the Colosseum with some of the group and went inside to see what it must have been like to be a spectator of the gladiators during Roman times. My friend Jill and I took to fighting with our invisible weapons... haha.

Next we departed for Sorrento peninsula, ate lunch in town, and relaxed by the hotel pool for the afternoon while some of our group took an excursion to the Isle of Capri. We chose to enjoy our last night in Italy at our leisure and took several pictures of the scenic cliffs and blue waters of the gulf of Naples.

The following morning we departed for Pompeii, where we had a very knowledgeable tour guide take us through the city. I could hardly believe the quality of preservation of some of the architecture and the artwork within, which were all original from 79 A.D. before the eruption of Mt.Vesuvius. After continuing to Bari Port, we boarded our overnight ship to Greece. We took some really nice pics of the sunset on the Adriatic Sea! (see below) We then landed in Patras and drove along the coastline of the Corinthian Sea across the Peloponnese Island to Galatas, where we boarded a small boat that took us to Poros. Needless to say, the scenic views have been nothing short of breathtaking. Blue-green waters (my favorite color!) matched with a rugged coastline that would be difficult to get sick of. Our hotel is located in Neorion Bay, a short 10-15 minute bike ride away from the island's downtown area. Today is our second day relaxing on the beach with the sun and, of course, an occasional Pina Colada. "When in Rome..." Well, I guess you could say we've been there and done that actually (haha!). Plenty of pictures to follow when its not costing me the equivalent of 2 or 3 US dollars every 10 minutes to write this!! Besos y abrazos from Greece!

Here is a pic of Laura & I enjoying some delicious baklava at a little bakery in Poros. I know I have quite a sweet tooth, but I could only eat one little square of that stuff.... it was just that good. (haha)

Florence, Italy
9:10 am

We left Austria Saturday for Italy and stopped just outside of Venice. Our group took a private boat over and spent the afternoon in St. Marks square admiring the architecture in the rain. We watched a demonstration at a major glass blowing factory and got to admire the fancy vases and jewelry. Our friend Tracy bought a bag of the bird food and we took several pictures of us playing with the birds.

A few of us chose to go on a gondola ride in the rain and we were lucky enough to get on the same boat with the musicians. There was one guy playing the accordian and one guy serenading us. He sang everything from Frank Sinatra to the Gypsy Kings, in addition to his personal favorite, "youre a sex bomb." Cultural experience, indeed. Then we made a stop in the famous Harrys Bar and shared a bellini with a few friends before boarding the boat to go back to the bus.

Yesterday we made a lunch stop in the small town of Chianti where some of our group opted for a wine tasting tour. Laura and I chose to walk around a local market and watch Italian ducks waddle around the creek. Laura took several pictures... and I just quacked along. I did happen to buy a bag of delicious cherries! Then we headed into Florence and had a walking tour of the citys main historical sites before joining our group for a fancy dinner. They sat us in the basement area... can we say loud Americans? So predictable. (This is me standing in front of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise on the east entrance to the Baptistry of San Giovanni! or St. John)
This morning we have time to wander around and visit museums, so we will get back to you later! Ciao!

Wagrain, Austria

2:00pm

I believe we have reached the pinncale of our trip: Austria. But I'll come back to that.

Tuesday evening we were entertained at a restaurant in a tiny town just outside of Lucerne. There was a folklore show and children danced and sang along to a band of lederhosen-clad locals. They even yodeled for us... and then got us to do it with them, which then sounded more like a pack of howling dogs.

While in Munich, we stopped by the Hofbrauhaus and nibbled on pretzels that were the size of beach balls. Then we went to a restaurant for some authentic German fare and relaxed in our hotel that evening. We didn't have much time there, but it is a beautiful city.

Yesterday we spent some time in Salzburg and saw the house where Mozart was born. We climbed about 1,000 steps up a mountain to a tiny cafe overlooking the city that took my breath away (literally.. try walking up that many steps on an empty stomach!). After lunch we continued to the tiny village of Wagrain, where we are being treated to luxury at a sport hotel/spa that is nestled in the mountains. Amenities aside, this place is amazing for the view it offers. I look out my window and see a lush hillside with trees that look so perfect you'd think it was a painting. No highway sounds, techno music, or construction--all we hear are birds and the gentle rushing of a nearby creek. Well, I could go on but I am going to join Leigh in the aromatherapy room. Ciao!

Lucerne, Switzerland

11:40 am

We feel a bit nomadic moving from city to city every few days, but it is worth it. Yesterday we visited the Rhine Falls after we watched coo-coo clocks being made shortly before leaving Germany.

After leaving Amsterdam we saw a gothic cathedral in Cologne before making our stop in Heidelberg. The hotel was surprisingly modern as opposed to our "3 star" hotel here in Lucerne, where the toilet and bathroom sink are connected. For the first time, we ate bratwurst and turned our noses up at the sauerkraut. The hotel restaurant was kind enough to serve french fries to suit our "picky" taste buds.

A rather large spider wanted to share our hotel room and Wes escorted him to the trash can on a one-way paper towel ticket. At least the food is good.

We are shopping this morning and had planned to ascend Mt. Pilatus this afternoon, but the weather has other plans for us. It is snowing up there, so... more shopping! Alas, alas.

We return to Germany tomorrow (Munich) after making a stop in Liechtenstein. Hope everything is going well back home!

Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Holland
6:40pm

We didn't have easy access to the internet in Paris, so we had to wait to post until we got to Amsterdam. We spent three cramped nights in Le Petit Louvre... and it was certainly petite. The room we shared was about the size of a walk in closet (you can imagine how well we got along during that close time together). We had a hilarious tour guide as we drove around the city, she allowed us to stop every so often for a "quicky picky"(pictures). When we ended the tour at Notre Dame we actually ran into my friend Dominic--small world! The afternoon was spent at the Musee D'Orsay and, of course, the Louvre. That night we went up the Eiffel Tower and got some great pictures and saw the beautiful Paris at night from all sides.

I have to say something for the street performers in Europe. When we were in London there was a guy with an electric guitar in the tube that played Eric Clapton and yesterday in Brussels there was a Santa look-alike who played everything from Jerry Lee Lewis to a Beatles medley. Very impressive.

We only made a lunch stop in Brussels, but we had enough time to have Belgium waffles, which were quite delectable! Then we got to our hotel just north of Amsterdam which is a four-star and very nice and comfortable. We ate at an Indonesian restaurant... and probably never will eat there again, if that's any clue (but, of course, Leigh probably ate the most of anyone in our group). Today we went on a bike tour of the Dutch countryside, which was so much fun. We checked out the wooden shoe & cheese factories, which were interesting. I'll try to get pictures up on this soon--some of the computers don't allow us to upload. We're waking up early tomorrow to stop in Koeln and will stay the night in Heidelberg, Germany. We miss all of you! Aufwiedersehen!

Tracy and I trying on wooden shoes in Amsterdam.

London, UK
6:50 pm

Well, we arrived in London early yesterday (3am, our time) and got to our hotel in Bayswater, a train ride and taxi ride later. We visited a couple historic pubs and parks before retiring for a much needed night sleep.


This morning we started out on a long walking-tour of London, visiting Kensington and Hyde Park and checking out the swans (they were huge!). After walking through the beautiful gardens near Buckingham Palace, we watched the changing of the guards and ended our tour at Tower Hill. We then had free time to roam around town and Leigh & I went with a few friends to Harrods to check out floors and floors of splendor. After a pit stop by Starbucks ("home"), then we got back on the tube and headed back to our hotel. We'll be here tonight and then head to Dover in the morning and take a cruise boat over to Paris.

A house divided in London...