Bound for the Holy Land

Well, after stays in Venice, Florence, Rome, a quick stop in Greece, and a LOT of travel time... we FINALLY arrived in Jerusalem where we will be staying in the Old City for three weeks!!!!

I am incredibly excited, but as it is 2:30 in the morning and we have class in five and a half hours.... I'll have to say more later.

For now, here are the links for a few pictures from...

Florence and Venice:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025516&l=2aa86&id=65802167

Rome:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025518&l=fccc1&id=65802167

Ok, ciao!

Austrian Alps

Hello All! It's been a long, LONG time and I just wanted to say that I'm still alive! And currently in the Austrian Alps, staying in a castle. It is unbelieveably gorgeous here... and the castle we are staying at, Schloss Mittersill, is a Christian retreat/education center - just refreshing being in such a beautiful place around such incredible people!

But here are links for pictures.... so you can catch up on how our trip has been going! Sorry we haven't really had internet access at all so this is the first chance I've had to actually spend time posting pictures, etc.

Well I love and miss you all sooooo much!! The trip is flying by so I'll be home before I know it... but till then, love you all so much!


Je ne parle pas francais? Part I:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023851&l=3bde4&id=65802167

Je ne parle pas francais? Part II:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023853&l=f3174&id=65802167

France!:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024228&l=1f438&id=65802167

Caen, the beaches of Normandy, and Brugge:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024231&l=85ff7&id=65802167

The Leiden and AMsterDAM:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024387&l=1a4e4&id=65802167

Stockholm and welcome to Helsinki!:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024461&l=2785e&id=65802167

The icebar, sea castle, and other adventures in Helsinki:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024462&l=2781f&id=65802167

Berlin:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024948&l=88dee&id=65802167

Berlin/Prague/Most amazing cities ever!:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024952&l=988bb&id=65802167

Zeee krackkkow:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024958&l=7ec7a&id=65802167

A different side of Berlin/sunset over Prague:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024955&l=f274c&id=65802167

Auchwitz:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024963&l=2ff07&id=65802167

Vienna: oh the art, music, culture, history, beauty... & wild animals?:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024981&l=337bd&id=65802167

A beautiful day in Vienna...:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024982&l=88ef0&id=65802167

The hills are alive! with... the sound of music?:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024983&l=ca48e&id=65802167

whatever trevor! aka. shamiqua... ahhhhh girl!:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024965&l=4b185&id=65802167

Last one is kinda a joke... but enjoy the rest of the pictures!!!! There are sure a lot there!

Paris

After a 3 hour ride on the Chunnel, we arrived in Paris! A bit of a rainy afternoon, we relaxed and enjoyed a lunch/dinner of crepes (oh so good!). Knowing little about the city we then set out walking towards the Seine river. Passing through the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, a million Palaces and beautifully constructed buildings, museums, gardens, and quaint streets (basically everything that Paris is known for!) we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. We stood there just gazing at the tower in awe, hardly able to believe that we were actually there!

Visiting this monument, the Louvre, and just walking around the city, it was the first time it actually hit us that we're in Europe! Yes, we've been here for a few weeks, but just now we are finally entering countries where we don't speak the native language, don't know our way around (till we figure it out, of course), but where culture and history is truly different than our own. The UK was an "easy transition" to Europe because everyone speaks English there and we could always find our way around. Here, however, customs and culture, language and everyday life are unlike anything we have experienced. I am incredibly excited to be here and look forward to this next segment of our trip... in France!

Oh, and it's true, everyone in Paris is completely fashionable....
and the guys are cute? but smelly.... haha.

London still!

Wow, so the last few days have certainly been hectic!

Visiting Stonehenge and Salisbury on Saturday and Canterbury Cathedral (where we attended service) and Dover Castle (one of the most amazing places I've ever been!) on Sunday involved a LOT of driving with our hilarious and very quirky bus driver, James. Yesterday (Monday) we had class in the morning (oh, yay), then had an incredible day traveling around London to St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, The National Gallery of London, and a few other places (including a trip down to the river). After this, a few of us went to see the Phantom of the Opera and it was.... wow. Basically all I can say about it.... wow!

I absolutely love London, like LOVE it really! The Tube is simple enough to navigate, and makes it easy to get around town.... and of course the streets gorgeous, the history fascinating, the architecture lovely, the people different, the theatre phenomenal.... and I could go on and on, but ohhh wow I just love it! Mom and dad.... um... might not be coming home.... ever? :-) Just kidding!

I love and miss you all tons!! ;-)

Oh... and new pictures too!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023589&l=09353&id=65802167

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023590&l=14c9c&id=65802167

Photos Uploaded... finally!

Finally was able to upload photos from the trip!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023383&l=8d56c&id=65802167

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023494&l=6244e&id=65802167


Just made two albums on Facebook... seems to work best for the uploading.... enjoy!

London!!

Okay… so internet is definitely tricky to get over here! That is, if you don’t want to pay about $20 at the hotel (yeah right!). So really quick… this week has been full of travel and a little too much time on the bus! Leaving Edinburgh on Monday morning, we visited the Minster and Railway Museum in York before stopping there for the night.

The next morning it was off again, but this time getting to spend some time at Coventry Cathedral and Warwick Castle. The cathedral(s) at Coventry are both incredible in their own right (the old bombed out shell of the original cathedral is actually right next to the large, modern cathedral). The place as well as the memorials there, such as the A-bomb memorial and exhibit, were very moving. On the other hand, while Warwick castle was an amazing palace, it has been turned into more of a tourist attraction than anything. The climax of our time there was the reenactment of a trebuchet launch where they shot an impressive fireball at a tree (the best part of which was Dr. Kihlstrom’s hilarious commentary – making fun of the entire thing).

Also, in Stratford we have seen a lot of Shakespeare… stuff…. And the beautiful town surrounding the Avon river! We’ve been in London for a few days now, but traveling to towns around it every day because we have the bus until tomorrow. So we’ve been to Stonehenge, Bletchley Park, a bunch of towns around here, and British Museum, Chinatown… and loads of other places of course ☺

But Hanna and I are currently in the corner of a rather sketchy café in London and our internet time is about up… so gotta run, hope you all are well, be sure to write and tell me how things are back in the US!

Love and miss you loads!!!

Cheers! ☺

Edinburgh!

Well we arrived safely in Edinburgh yesterday afternoon (after a long day and a half of airports, security, and flights)! Of course it wasn't until this morning that our luggage finally caught up with us : ). Luckily, I had packed my tennis shoes, a spare set of clothes, etc. in my backpack so I was all set! Good a had a jacket, because it has been cloudy the entire time we've been here, and raining a good part of that time too... I know, you can't believe it! Rain? In Scotland??

Thus far, classes haven't even been thought about (they start tomorrow morning) and we've just been adventuring around and exploring this amazing city! Arthur's Seat and the Lions Head are cliffs/mountains that loom above the city (plans for a long hike are underway already). The Fringe Festival is going on right now and all along the Royal Mile there are street performers (magicians, musicians, strange acts, anything you can imagine!). We've been spending a lot of time down in that part of town and just wandering around the beautiful and old streets here.

Of course, today we went by the Gallery as well as the National Museum of Scotland and both were very interesting and fun. Lots of original art work and an absolutely incredible view of the entire city of Edinburgh from the roof of the Museum! Oh, and p.s. lots of men wandering around town in those (in)famous plaid kilts for the Festival... even some playing the bagpipes!

Just too much! And with the homework/hanging out/trying to get organized/being in Edinburgh... yep better get working. But hey, pictures will hopefully be uploaded soon! Till then, I love and miss you all soooooo much!!! Hope all is well back in the US and, as they say... cheerio!