We're pooped.

I'll have to tell you all about the last 10 days of our trip in person. Looking forward to coming home on Monday :)

Country Number 9 Tomorrow!

Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France...Luxembourg!

Crepes and Paninis :)

We certainly got spoiled with cleanliness in Switzerland. It's back to the city now that we're in Paris! The weather is much more typical "Paris weather" than the time I was here before. It has been windy, rainy, cloudy, and sunny all within 20 minutes. This cycle continues in a random pattern throughout the day. It is, however, a perfect recipe for the most beautiful rainbows you will ever see! The ominous clouds also make for great backdrops :)



We've spent much of our time here in Paris checking out the "typical" Paris sites and, naturally, filling up on crepes and paninis. Yesterday, we made our way towards Notre Dame, where both of us decided that we definitely appreciate the "back" of this monument as much more impressive (architecturally) than the front. We walked along the Seine River towards the Louvre and Les Champs Elysses. We passed through the Toulerie gardens along the way to the Champs and stopped into Angelina Cafe for a cup of their famous hot chocolate. This warm, thick sweetness is unlike any other hot chocolate. It comes with a dollop of fresh creme and a small carafe with two cups. A perfect snack to warm our tummies before venturing into the rain again.


By the time we made it to the Champs, the rain had cleared a bit, and we enjoyed strolling down this famous shopping district. We made our way down Rue S. George V towards the Eiffel Tower and had fun playing in the wind and rain. By the time we got to the Tower, it was raining really hard and it was freezing! We made it to the center of the Tower and said, "okay, we the Tower", and found shelter quickly. We waited for the sun to peek out after the rain as it had been doing all day, but apparently the sun was all done for the day. We made our way back home and took a couple shots of the Louvre lit up at night.


We will return to the Louvre for a bit tonight since students get in for free after 6pm on Fridays. Hopefully we will both be feeling well enough to also see the Tower lit up at night. It's not too fun to be out in the rain when we both are fighting colds.


This morning, we set out for Sacre Cour and Montmarte. The weather was a struggle again (which explains the lack of pictures) but we still enjoyed a couple crepes along the way and the magnificent paintings in the art district. Now, you can't go to Paris without checking out the Moulin Rouge. So, we made our way towards the Red
Light District to see Moulin Rouge (not so spectacular in daylight) and what used to be Le Chat Noir.
Enjoy the pictures...we're off to Luxembourg tomorrow!

If You're in Switzerland, is it just "_____ Cheese"?

It is a trek and a half to get into Switzerland! We left from Salzburg towards Interlaken a couple days ago and spent the majority of the day hopping from train to train. Those darn Swiss Alps just get in the way sometimes!

We arrived as the sun was setting and marveled at the breathtaking view as we stood by the bus station, surrounded by massive vertical peaks in every direction. It is an incredible feeling to be standing at the center of 13,000 feet tall mountains whose vertical ascent is within walking distance. There’s a strange feeling of being protected by the mountains in this city. The Alps seem so close that you could nearly reach up and knock some snow off the side of the peak.

We set out for a day of hiking yesterday and found our way towards Murren. We began by catching a ferry to Interlaken (we stayed in a city called Iseltwald) then taking a train up to Lauterburren. We passed several white water rafters along the way to Lauterbrunnen and caught a glimpse of a massive waterfall, cascading from a sheer vertical rock face. The beauty of our surroundings as we climbed higher and higher into the Alps was breathtaking.

Once we arrived in Lauterbrunnen, we took a 5 min cable car up a vertical face to the ne-t city. From there, we set out on a 4 mile hike to Murren. We passed through a town called Winter Egg along the way. The hike along the Alps was gorgeous. I think it would be impossible to take a lousy picture. Every ne-t corner seemed to present an even more brilliant, picturesque view of the “Top of Europe”, or “peak of Jungfrau”. In between the peaks of Jungfrau and Monch, sits the Schilthorn which was used on the James Bond “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” film set.

We reached Murren and enjoyed a bite to eat while we sat facing what seemed to be a cinematic backdrop of snowcapped mountain peaks. We made our way back down in the late afternoon and passed some cows along our hiking path. (Mom, I thought of you :))

Because of a change in our itinerary, much of the last two weeks of this trip is getting bumped up, so we only had one full day in Interlaken. Between me getting sick today and the day lost in Interlaken, we feel like we need about 5 more days in Switzerland to truly e-plore and appreciate the beauty of our surroundings.

We are in Bern, now, and heading back to Interlaken tomorrow to e-plore more of what we missed today. It’s only an hour train ride, so we’re looking forward to spending the day strolling around the city after taking it easy today.

More on Bern and our double-take on Interlaken soon!

L.A. Fair + Beer Gardens + Lederhosen = Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest really wasn't the wild and crazy event that we thought it would be. We had a great time, but we definitely e-pected it to be more out of hand than it was. We went on a Friday and the crowds were dense, but the brezen (pretzels) fresh. Oktoberfest in its most simplest e-planation is like the L.A. fair with more beer.

There are beer gardens set up all through out Oktoberfest--each tent with a different type of beer. The atmosphere inside the tents is incredible. Traditional German bands are set up in the center of the tent on a platform and long, brightly covered streamers line the ceilings of the tents. There are waitresses and waiters running around like crazy to cater to the lines of customers seated on the picnic benches that fill the tent. People with baskets full of huge brezen run through the aisles like buying peanuts at a baseball game. Each picnic bench is cluttered with huge beer steins (I don't remember the correct name)...most of which are usually close to empty. The crowd is rowdy in the tents and having a heck of a great time. The majority of Oktoberfesters are donned in Lederhosen and Dirndl and seem to come from all over Germany.

There were also LOTS of Australians and other English speakers. Instead of deep fried twinkies, there are roasted nuts and and bratwurst. Between the unhealthy typical fair food and the German language spoken all around us, I felt quite at home. :)

Pictures coming in the next few days :)

No way to upload them for now...keep checking!

Wendy´s Favorite Movie

Brent really really wanted to watch the daily showing of "The Sound of Music" at our hostel today. I tried suggesting things we could do outdoors in Salzburg, but he would have none of it. He refused to budge until we sat through the 3-hour musical with a dozen or so others from the hostel. So, I finally gave in and we spent the rainy morning inside listening to Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp children belt out those classic melodies.