" 'Tis Grand to See the Old World..."

(Warning: this is long and poorly written; read at your own risk.)

I finally did it. Three weeks ago my wonderful, loving husband allowed/encouraged/supported me going to Europe. I took a two week European vacation with my sister Katherine. I have tried going over to Europe MANY times but it just never worked out, until now. Katherine was working over in Spain for 6 weeks and invited me to meet her over there and travel around a bit before she came home. Thanks to my wonderful parents for supplying air-miles (and babysitting), and a generous and supportive husband, I ventured across the Atlantic.

This was my very first view of Europe:

Now how do I go about writing about a two week adventure in Europe? I guess I have to sum it up. If you'd like the longer account then I guess you'll have to call or write to me. :) So, briefly: I met Katherine in Madrid and she showed me around that night. EARLY the next morning we flew to Paris where we visited: the Louvre (HUGE museum; loved it), the Rodin museum (posed with The Thinker, saw the Gates of Hell), Napoleon's Tomb (he really did have a complex), the Arc de Triomphe, and (da da da da) the Eiffel Tower (very awesome; it lit up with twinkly lights just for us :) ). The next day we went to Versailles. Louis XIV was way over the top and so self-loving it was nauseating. There were AT LEAST three pictures/sculptures of himself in every room, and pictures of other people had to be holding or looking at a picture of him. Barf. Wouldn't you get tired of looking at yourself all day? I mean really. I did enjoy Marie-Antoinette's estate, and the gardens and fountains. After arriving back in Paris by train we caught the tail end of the Tour de France from across the river. Nice timing.:) We went to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, a gleaming white cathedral overlooking Paris. Our last stop was the Notre Dame cathedral. I LOVED it. This was one of my favorite things to see because it was decorated with such detail - in STONE. It was AWESOME.

Next stop was Rome: a church that contained THE manger... yes, the one Jesus was laid in for the first time...... how do they know that??? Hmmm... The church also had 4th CENTURY (yes, that is 300-400 A.D.) mosaics; another church had Michelangelo's Moses; the Colosseum (did you know it is made of small bricks? I thought they used big stones); Roman Forums; ate our first gelato (yes it's as good as everyone says). The second day was Vatican City - St. Peter's Basilica (we climbed to the TOP of the dome, A LOT of steps but absolutely worth it). Inside the basilica in an alcove in the floor, under a HUGE altar, behind a mosaic of Christ are Peter's bones; Michelangelo's Pieta (the statue of Mary holding Jesus' body) is also in the basilica (we almost missed it walking out!!). The Vatican Museum was a collection of amazing proportions. There was so much... stuff, including paintings by Raphael. All of which you had to look at before getting to the Sistine Chapel. It was worth it. Though smaller than I expected I was still amazed. I enjoyed just sitting and taking it in. Back in Rome we checked out the "mouth of truth," in which you stick your hand in and liars get their hand chopped/bitten off. We still have ours. :) We also went to the Borghese Gallery, another one I really liked. I loved the sculptures by Bernini. Next was a train to Venice. We chose to walk from the train station to St. Mark's Square instead of taking a boat taxi. That was a really good choice because we got to walk through little alleyways, along other canals, and among beautiful open air markets. I honestly think that was my favorite part of Venice. :) We ate on the square, went into St. Mark's basilica (yes, this is where Mark is "buried"), and took a boat to the island of Murano (famous for glass blowing). We did take a gondola ride; very nice and quiet. At the end of the day we taxied over to Lido and went swimming in the Adriatic Sea. :) It was amazingly pleasant, the perfect temperature. While in the water we watched the sun set on our last night in Italy.

Then we flew to London and met our mom there. She flew in to be with us for this leg of the trip. (Jeremy flew to Tucson to be with Isis when grandma left. :) ) The first day in London was the British Museum and that night the musical "Wicked" in London's West End. I LOVE this musical! One of my absolute favorites. :) On Saturday morning we checked out the Portabello Market full of wonderful odds and ends and antiques. Then came my next favorite part of my Europe trip, Westminster Abbey. It is an OLD beautiful church with SO much history. And we had the best tour guide: Verger Benjamin. He was enthusiastic about his job and the history, had a love of the abbey, and had a fun sense of humor. In the abbey I saw the graves of Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Handel. Pretty neat. Yeah, Westminster was one of my favorite visits. We took a "flight" on the London Eye, walked to the gates of Buckingham Palace, and walked through Hyde Park (I LOVED all the green!). The next day my mom ventured to drive on the wrong side of the road with the steering wheel on the wrong side too! Yikes! But we made it to little Burbage, where my great-great-great grandmother came from (a beautiful little town with thatched roof homes), and then on to Stonehenge. On the last day we saw London Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe theatre, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London (had another FUN tour guide (a Yeoman), saw the very impressive and dazzling Crown Jewels, and the head chopping block). I really enjoyed the Tower of London too. And our last and final sight... Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station (yes, I'm a Harry Potter nerd).

PHEW!!! And that was our trip. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! (That really was a summary... I'll have to put in fun stories at random.) I am very grateful for the opportunity for this trip. I loved being able to go with my sister and with my mom. It was absolutely amazing. I still have so much more to say but no time right now. :) So more later...