A Gift from Friends

I never mentioned previously that the Shepherds Moms, the daytime women's Bible study in my home church, gave me a bracelet before I left.  It was intended to be a shared gift that will be passed along amongst us as time goes by and we all go different places.  The gift was a bracelet that was engraved with words from Psalm 33:5:

The earth is full of the loving kindness of the Lord.

I've had this bracelet with me for our entire adventure.  I don't wear it every day, but I did wear it on this last trip.  I thought I would share a little story that this bracelet reminds me of.  I know that our European adventure was amazing, we got to see so many beautiful places, but there were definitely some challenging and stressful times over the course of the week. 

One of those times was when we arrived in Rome.  We had returned our rental car and were told that getting into the city was going to be challenging.  We had planned on just taking a cab, but the guys at the rental agency told us that since it was a busy time of day a cab would take too long and be too expensive.  So they suggested taking a bus.  We bought our bus tickets from a guy at the airport who said the bus was coming in 5 minutes.  About an hour later, the bus arrived....that was fun! 

Anyway, we finally made it to the City Centre and then we had to find our hotel on a map and walk to it.  So we were tired, hungry, carrying all our luggage, with 3 children, and trying to read a map in the center of Rome, not knowing how long it would take to get to our hotel.  We stopped in a plaza to look at a map and get our bearings.  A moment later a man came up to us and asked...."Do you need help?" And he spoke with an American accent!  This man and his wife were so pleasant as they tried to help us.  They really didn't have any information to help us, as they were tourists as well, visiting from Vancouver.  They mentioned how they had been in our situation in the past, traveling abroad with children. 

Though they didn't help us much, their friendliness and kindness totally turned our moods around.  God sent us someone for comfort at just the right moment....someone who we could talk to, could understand, and was genuinely nice.  We chatted for a few minutes and then wished each other well, before moving on. 

So this bracelet reminds me that there are kind people everywhere, even in places I might find scary or lonely.  Thanks so much ladies for this gift.  I can't wait to pass it along to one of you.  Miss you.

Saturday in Rome

Saturday was reserved for Vatican City.  First we went over to St. Peter's Square, and then walked over to the Vatican Museum, which consumed most of our day.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see St. Peter's Basilica.  The thing I wanted to see most was the Sistine Chapel and we managed to accomplish that at the end of our tour through the Museum.  Mission Accomplished!

The view from within Saint Peter's Square.

Waiting in line for the Vatican Museum with Alexa.

We all used an Audio Tour for the Museum.  The kids had a special one that was at their level.  They had a lot of fun trying to find the artwork on their map.

A cast of Michelangelo's Pieta, located in the Vatican museum.  The original is in Saint Peter's Basilica.

The kids really enjoyed the Egyptian portion of the museum.

On our way to the Sistine Chapel we walked through an interesting hallway of painted maps. 

I didn't take this photo of the Sistine Chapel because we weren't allowed to take pictures.  Your not allowed to talk in the Chapel either, but there was always a murmer present.  It was beautiful.  You could spend your whole day in there looking at the artwork, mainly scenes from the life of Moses and Jesus.  Unfortunately, you are encouraged to keep moving through, so we were only there for about 10 minutes.  I had to buy a book to get a better look at all the paintings.

Avery descending on the huge spiral staircase as we left the museum.

While in Italy, just about every night Mia wanted Margherita Pizza for dinner.  This night was no exception!

The next morning we got up early to fly back to England.  We packed a lot into this trip, so we were all quite exhausted and happy to get home.  The kids still had another week left of vacation, so we were looking forward to a less busy time at home.

Friday in Rome

Thursday was our driving day to Rome, and then Friday and Saturday were reserved for pure site seeing.  We went to many of the typical tourist attractions, though of course it was impossible to see it all.  Friday, we walked all over the city to see the outdoor sites...Collosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.  The Collosseum and Roman Forum were closed for unexplained reasons, which was pretty disappointing, but at least we could view them from the outside.  I was totally amazed at how much walking and waiting our children were able to do over the course of the weekend and still remain in good spirits.

 In front of the Collosseum.

 The Roman Forum, a plaza filled with ruins of the Rome marketplace where many government buildings were located. 

Inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Nova, a church near the Roman Forum where we paused to see the building and also revisit the map.

Outside the Pantheon.

In front of the Trevi Fountain.

Mia took this photo of Sean and I in front of the Trevi Fountain. Good Job Mia!

Sitting on the Spanish steps at the end of a long day.

The Spanish Steps were a resting place for many.

Alexa loves her gelato!  It was a nice treat most days in Italy.

Tuscany

On Tuesday, we drove from Innsbruck to Lucca, a drive that is definitely longer, and more stressful than I would prefer. We arrived at our hotel around 6:30, and immediately discovered one of the facts about Italians...they eat dinner late. So the restaurants don't open until 8pm, and we were famished. We got by on lollipops until dinner and then enjoyed a fabulous meal at the hotel ristaurante.

The next morning, Avery and I enjoyed a walk around the grounds of the Villa Volpe, and appreciated the views on the foggy, but comfortable morning. We then enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the hotel before venturing off to Pisa. We were anxious to get going because we had heard that shops and restaurants close down from 12:30 until 3:30.

In Pisa, we enjoyed the views of the tower, and surrounding buildings. The kids wanted to climb to the top, but unfortunately children under 8 are not allowed. So we just stayed outside and enjoyed the shopping and sunshine instead.

We then decided to drive west to see the beach and swim in the mediterranean. We drove west to Viareggio and found the only restaurant open at 2:00 in the afternoon....McDonalds. On a side note, it has been interesting to see how McDonalds changes in each country we're in. When you're doing a lot of driving, it's always a safe place for a bathroom break. Austria's McDonalds was really nice with fresh roses on the tables and a fancier menu.  Italy's McDonalds near the beach served beer! 

We spent an hour or so at the beach. The water wasn't too cold, so everyone (except me) went swimming. We then returned to our villa and the kids went swimming again, this time in the pool, while Sean and I enjoyed a glass of wine.

Finally, for dinner we decided to visit downtown Lucca, a very old city, enclosed by a wall. There we experienced what was becoming a familiar feeling in Tuscany...HUNGER. I never thought that finding a place to sit and have a meal would be so challenging. We eventually found a pizza place that would serve us at around 7:30 and then afterwards we found a lone gelato shop to get a little cone for our walk back to the car.

Lucca was a very interesting city, founded as a Roman Colony in 180 BC, and is enclosed by a wall, as seen in the picture above.  Lucca has narrow streets and buildings forming what feels like a labyrinth of high-end shops, cafes, and restaurants. We did get lost a few times, but were able to find our way back to the car, which is most important.

Neuschwanstein castle

On Monday we drove back into Germany to visit Neuschwanstein Castle nestled in the Alps.  It was another beautiful sunny day, perfect for taking in the mountain views during our drive.

I was amazed at the beauty of Neuschwanstein and also saddened by the story behind this castle, which even today is an unfinished work of art. This castle is known by many as "the Fairytale Castle", built by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, and is rumored to have been the inspiration for Walt Disney's Castles.

It was about a half hour hike up the mountain from the village of Hohenschwangau to the entrance of the castle. As our tour began, we learned that only 16 of the rooms out of 80 were completed in this castle, due to the fact that Ludwig the II died young at the age of 41, probably 7-8 years before the castle would have been finished.

Ludwig built this castle as his escape from reality. The walls of the rooms are painted with scenes from his friend Richard Wagner's opera's. The design of the castle itself is inspired by Ludwig's romantic vision of the medieval knights, the byzantine motif, and Wagner's musical dramas.

Building of the castle began in 1869. Disappointing military failures in Ludwig's reign a few years prior caused Ludwig to withdraw from society. He began to focus his life on the building and design of multiple castles and palaces. As the years go by, he became increasingly in debt, as he did not use State funds to purchase his architectural projects.

On June 10th, 1886, in his bedroom at Neuschwanstein, Ludwig was declared insane, arrested, and moved to Berg Palace on Lake Starnberg. Ludwig's uncle immediately took over the regency. Two days later, Ludwig and the psychiatrist who declared him insane were found dead in the lake in 1 meter of water....both were said to be good swimmers. Ludwig's death is still considered to be mysterious. Five weeks after his death, the royal family began selling tickets and opened Neuschwanstein Castle to the public.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photographs inside the castle rooms, so I can't show you how beautiful it was.  We all enjoyed to tour and then walked back down the hill to do some shopping in the village.

 On our way home we stopped at a restaurant that had a nice view and experienced our first dining experience where the waitress didn't speak any english.  We managed to order a nice meal and relaxed a bit before driving back to Innsbruck.

Alexa was a little surprised to see her hot dogs, not on buns and connected together!

Mia, being the Macaroni and Cheese Conoseur, got some of the best cheesy penne she's ever had.

Innsbruck Austria

We flew into Munich, Germany Sunday morning and then drove South into the Alps to Innsbruck, Austria. It was a gorgeous, sunny day to enjoy the views and walk around the city, nestled at the base of a mountain. Walking through the city, I really for the first time felt like I was in Europe...you know, the romantic European atmosphere portrayed in movies with the cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, etc..

It felt really wrong to me, to enjoy our first meal in Austria at an Italian restaurant. But the kids really wanted pizza, and the name of the restaurant was "Mama Mia's." We had a cheese pizza, a calzone and a salad....and it was delicious!

 Sean enjoying his dark German beer.

Alexa enjoying her foamy hot "kakao".

Afternoon in London

Since last Sunday we were flying out of the London Stanted airport for our European vacation, we drove down towards London and caught a train into London for the afternoon.  The first thing we saw when we left the train station was the Clock Tower that holds Big Ben, part of the House of Parliament.

Then we wandered over to the London Eye, and were happy to have our Merlin Passes with us so we could skip the ticket line and ride for "free".  The London Eye is a gigantic ferris wheel that has enclosed glass capsules for people to stand in.

We grabbed some food and then went to the Aquarium, another place included on our Merlin Passes.  The aquarium was a very dark place, so not many of my pictures came out good.  We had a great time there, especially seeing the sharks, turtles, sting rays, and penguins.

Later, we rode a very crowded subway and then a train back to our hotel...early to bed so we could get up early for our Germany flight!  Many more sites to see in London, so we'll have to return.