ITALY

The last stop on our trip was Italy. We took an overnight train from Paris to Rome. I never want to experience that again. There were 6 girls and all of our luggage crammed into one room. To add to the crowded quarters, it was hot and noisy the entire night. We had some good laughs though. Our first day in Rome we went to see The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, & The Pantheon.

Another food collage. Gelato, gelato and more gelato. We couldn't get enough. I had to add pictures of Diet Coke. An Italian meal goes as follows: appetizer (ante'pasta), pasta dish, then the main course (meat, potatoes, & veggies), and then dessert. We went to 2 nice restaurants with our tour group and we were rolling out of there after dinner. It was so much yummy food. Of course we still ate more gelato after that. It is a good thing I walked everywhere to compensate for all the food I ate!

We went to The Vatican our 2nd day in Rome. I didn't know it was its own state, crazy! We saw St. Peter's Basilica, and to enter you have to have your shoulders and knees covered. (No problem there!) Michelangelo's Pieta is behind a glass wall because someone broke off Mary's nose already. Then we went to The Vatican Museum where I saw The Sistine Chapel. It was absolutely incredible! You are not allowed to take pictures of the chapel.

We went dancing at a bar one night in Rome and the music was horrible. We had fun anyway.

Our last day in Rome we took a day trip to Pompeii. The Romans built this incredible city and one day Mount Vesuvius erupted. It covered the city and killed everyone. The ruins have been uncovered and remarkably preserved by all the ash. There were brothels all over and "man symbols" pointed the way to the brothels so sailors could find them. Not everyone spoke the same language, so there were pictures on the wall that the men could pick which position they wanted. Look at the comfy stone bed. The Romans were so intelligent. They created the drainage system at The Roman Baths, and it still works. They added broken up marble in the road to reflect the light at night, so the road could be seen.

Our tour group went home after Rome, but we decided since we were so close to go to Florence & Venice. We only had one day in each city before our return home. Our hostel in Florence was at the top of a building and the elevator was creepy and only one of us could use it at a time with our luggage. If I ever travel to Europe, then I am only taking a backpack. And I thought I had packed light, but I got tired of lugging it around on cobblestone. I also got bedbugs at this hostel. On our flight home I started itching and then all these little red bumps started to appear on my arms & legs. Ashley didn't get any. I guess the bugs liked me better. We went to The Uffizi and saw Michelangelo's David. It is huge. We couldn't take pictures of the real one, but I took a picture of a replica outside in a square. I am eating ice cream in front of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. We also saw the Duomo & Baptistry doors. We took a train the following morning to Venice, and we almost took the wrong train. We were getting off the wrong train as the whistle was blowing for it to leave.

Venice was phenomenal! It is full of bridges that link everything together over the water. Our hostel was crazy. We got no sleep that last night because we shared a room with 20+ girls. Plus everyone else seemed to want to party to techno music the whole night. We went to Murano Island and saw glass blowing and all of the things they make with glass. I wanted to buy so many things, but then my suitcase would have brought the plane down. We saw St. Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Square, and Rialto Bridge. We also took boat taxis everywhere. It was so surreal. It was an awesome trip. I am grateful for the experiences I have had traveling over the last few years. I hope to have many more.

FRANCE

We spent 4 days in Paris and it was mostly rainy while we were there. The Eiffel Tower was absolutely incredible. It is huge! We took 1 elevator to the first level and took pictures. Then we got in a long line, took a 2nd, scary elevator ride to the 2nd level and took more pictures. At night it is lit up, and they change the color of the lights during the year. We went to Notre Dame Cathedral, but we were too late to go inside. The first night we took a cruise down the Seinne River.

This collage is all of the delicious food I ate in France. The best food during the entire trip was in France, 2nd was the food in Italy. Pastries, crepes, baguettes, and even gelato was here.

We went to many different museums while in Paris: The Louvre, The Musee d'Orsay, & Musee de l'Orangerie. I have never seen so much art in my life. I got to see the Mona Lisa, which was awesome! The Louvre was the original palace for France's Kings before Versaille was built. The pyramid was added later and looks very modern against the architecture of the museum.

This is a picture of an arc outside The Louvre and through this arc you can see a monument with a gold triangle on top. This is where Marie Antoinette was beheaded. This is the actual Arc de Triumphe. We walked THREE miles in the rain from The Louvre to see it. We didn't realize it was that far away. It made for a great adventure. We then walked to see The Sacre Cure. It is a beautiful church on the top of a hill. We climbed many, many steps to see this church. But you could see all of Paris from this hill. It was cloudy, but still a great view. We also saw the Moulin Rouge on this long walk. We did take the Metro in Paris, it was just more $$$ than the tube in London.

The Sacre Cure & the infamous Moulin Rouge

We took an hour long train ride outside Paris to go see Versaille. It was so beautiful!!! Pictures cannot even describe how lovely it is. We were there most of the day and did not have time to see all of the gardens or go see Marie Antoinette's cottage. We did get to go through the main palace of the Sun King. The Hall of Mirrors was incredible. If you haven't seen Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst then I would suggest doing so. It shows how beautiful this place is.

ENGLAND

Ashley & I met with a tour group in London. We took an overnight bus from Scotland, and it was not the best of our ideas (but cheap)! We spent our first day in London walking all over. We found platform 9 & 3/4 at the train station. We went to the Florence Nightingale museum, go Nurses! We then saw Big Ben, the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, the National Art Museum, and Westminster Abbey. That afternoon we met our troup group and went to see Wicked that night for 25 pounds ($50). We also rode the "tube" that night for the first time. Taking public transportaion was a different and fun thing to experience during my trip. It was an exciting 1st day in England!

We were lucky enough to see two broadway shows while we were in London. We saw Phantom of the Opera our 2nd night. I had to get a classic picture in the red telephone booth. We had some ice cream that had a chocolate flake on the top, I guess this is a English thing. We rode the underground and walked a ton! We had to get a picture of a smart care because they are everywhere, though I have started seeing them at home.

These pictures are from our cruise down the Thames River, London Tower (Castle), and the Tower Bridge, which I always thought was London Bridge. London Bridge is actually a very plain, normal looking bridge. There is also a picture of Picadilly Circus, Abbey Road, Buckingham Palace, and Ashley and I on the tube.

These pictures are from Bath & Stonehenge. We took a day trip outside of London to see the Roman Baths & Stonehenge. I am a huge Jane Austen fan, so I was looking forward to see Bath. This city is featured in some of her books: Northanger Abbey & Persuasion. She lived here in the later part of her life also. We saw Bennett Street and The Circus. We drank warm water from the baths. The Romans and English believe it has healing powers. The water wasn't as nasty as I thought it was going to be. Stonehenge was super windy. There is a rope surrounding stonehenge so you can't get close. It is amazing that they made this structure so long ago!

SCOTLAND

Scotland was our second stop on the trip. Edinburgh was my favorite place the entire trip. The city is old and has a great historical feel. We only spent like 36 hours of our entire trip here, so we had to make the most of it. I had to stop in Scotland because this is where my Grandma Helen is from. I want to go back and spend time in England and Scotlands' countryside when I have more time and $$$. We found the best hat shop. I wanted to buy the one I am wearing in the picture, but where would I wear it back home. We also found the Elephant House (by total luck). This is where J.K. Rowling started to write Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. It was close to the castle, and I can just imagine the influence that Edinburgh Castle had on her book.

We spent hours at Edinburgh castle. It is bigger than you can imagine. They built it on a rocky hill overlooking the entire city. It is quite the fortress! When we walked in they were taking down a ton of bleachers from some event. The great hall totally reminded me of Harry Potter and the hat sorting scene, the floating candles and all the crazy food they eat in the dining hall at Hogwarts.

This was my favorite
hostel the entire trip because it was the nicest. And we had our own room, but it was at the top of the hostel. So like in Vietnam, we had to climb a ton of stairs and carry our heavy luggage. (Ashley has video of me doing this.) Our room was decorated and had Ikea sheets. There was also a common room that had a million couches from Ikea. The bathroom was the best part. We had to share with the "Gents" to shower and use the toilets, but it really wasn't that bad. Look at the door carefully, I didn't even realize it until the 2nd day.

We took a day trip out to see Rosslyn Chapel. I was so excited, did anyone see The Davinici Code or read the book? It turns out that Rosslyn Chapel has nothing to do with the Knights Templar, they just used it in the book/movie. The chapel has also had a tent cover over it since 1996. The stone has been so wet over the years that algae was growing on the inside of the roof. This tent is helping the stone dry out. So, in the movie they had to use a mini model for the aerial shots. I couldn't take pictures of the inside, but the symbloism and all the carved stone was incredible! (The Davinci Code also had me excited to see The Louvre in Paris!)

IRELAND

In May & June I got the wonderful oppurtunity to go to Europe with my friend Ashley. We work together & our manager could only give us 2 1/2 weeks off work, so in 19 days we went to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, & Italy. It was an awesome trip. I got to see so many historical sites. I also have never walked so much in my life, luckily I took good shoes. We also rode tons of buses and subway systems. Europeans live so differently than we do. I am so used to hoping in my car and going wherever I want to. They walk everywhere!!! I also got to eat some really yummy food: baguettes, crepes, gelato, and authentic pasta & pizza. I hope I can go back some day and spend more time in each country. This first picture is in Dublin Castle. Have you ever seen such a big lamp? The other picture is outside Dublin Castle.

This is Temple Bar, it is the most popular bar in Dublin, Ireland. Of course we had to check it out. It was so crowded! We pretty much walked in, walked around and then walked right back out.

We went on a day trip to Cork. We went with a tour group called Paddywagon Tours. Our tour guide had an awesome accent! Gotta love cute buys with accents. We got to see a lot of the countryside covered in sheep. We went to the Cliffs of Moher. It was incredibly windy but had breathtaking views. In the one picture I got a wee bit close to the edge. Ashley & I actually crossed the path that said "do not cross." I'm such a rebel! We stayed in 2 different hostels in Ireland. The first was excellent. We shared a room with a mother & daughter. The second hostel was in a bar. We got Diet Cokes in glass bottles, which I totally brought home! Great souvenir. The 2nd night in our bar hostel we shared a room with 2 girls from London. They strolled in around 3 AM & with a boy. The 2nd night we shared a room with 2 naked Germans. Hostels are cheap and you come home with some great stories!