Rome, Dubrovnik and Venice

Pictures from Florence and Rome

Paris pictures

Back from Europe

We are back from Europe and the thought of writing all that we saw overwhelms me! We spent 3 days in Paris, where it was beautiful and breathtaking. Austin was so tired that he didn't eat much for 3 days. Then we took a train to Florence, Italy where it was raining. We feasted on Gelato (ice cream) and went to the Academia to see the original sculputure of David created by Michaelangelo. That was amazing! To get out of the rain the next day, we took the train to Rome and explored the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and Roman Gelato. It was just as good as in Florence. We were not able to see the Sistine Chapel because it was closed (being Sunday). We also saw the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Then back on the train back to Florence for the night. The next morning we boarded another train for Venice to catch our cruise ship for the Greek Islands. We visited Bari (Italy), Olympia, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes (Greece), and Dubrovnik (Croatia), then back to Venice. The total cruise time was seven days. We ate so much food it was unreal (ice cream and pizza twice daily). The Italian women all wear bikinis and the men all wear speedos out by the pool regardless of their body style (some should be a little more modest in my opinion). Also, most of them smoke, so we are glad to be back in the clean air of America. We are also thrilled to be back in a country where everyone around us speaks the same language. We got tired of listening to everyone around us speaking another language, whether it be Spanish, French, Italian or German. The last two days we spent wandering around in Venice exploring and eating more Gelato. What a charming city! There were so many stores selling items made of Venetian glass and Carnivale masks. The Venetian people have such talent! The canals are beautiful and different than anything else we had seen in any other city. We returned home late Wednesday night exhausted, with tired legs and feet and vowing not to eat pasta for a long time.

I will post some pictures later, but will spare you all 716 that we took. I'll have to pick and choose the best ones!

Off on vacation

We leave in the morning for 16 days in Europe. We spent the weekend packing and getting the house ready. I actually cleaned the bathrooms today (my very least favorite thing to do). I have to take the kids to their first Forensic Science class in about an hour, then we get to go to TGI Friday's for dinner. Austin and I discovered the ribs there last week and can't get enough of them!

The kids are finally excited about the trip. They are planning on collecting trinkets in each place we visit.

I may or may not be able to get to a computer while we're gone, so you might just have to wait until we return to hear all about our trip.

Farwell,
Laurie

We checked out another church on Sunday and decided definately it WAS NOT for us. Too traditional and it smelled funny. So we still like Central but are leaving ourselves open.

Mandy was here with three of her kids all weekend and I didn't realize how much I had missed her! We'll definately be seeing them at Thanksgiving, we just don't know if it will be here in Austin or down in Corpus Christi.

I had my first day of bible study last Thursday and am loving being back in the Word. We are studying the Sermon on the Mount for 10 weeks. I will miss two weeks of study during our vacation, so I am trying to get ahead. It's a LOT of work...

Hailey and I start AWANA tonight. I think we are both a bit nervous being in a new place with a bit of a different format.

We leave to go to Europe next Tuesday for 16 days, so I am feeling a bit of pressure to get things done around here and start getting things together for the trip. We are going to Paris, Florence and Venice, Italy and taking a seven day cruise around the Greek islands. The kids need a little more encouragement for the trip (they don't think it's going to be any fun). I've just gotten the pantry and fridge restocked after the move and now we are working on eating up what's in the fridge before the trip! Crazy... I can't guarantee I'll be blogging while we are gone. You may have to wait until I get home to hear all about it.

Laurie