The Traveling Six

Heading Home

2009-08-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

7 am London time and heading (via taxi - our first since Milan) to the Victoria Train Station to catch the Gatwick Express to the airport. We are heading home after a long, extremely fun, amazing trip with our family! The morning went smooth as it could be - got to the airport with 2 hours to spare. A nice 7 hour 40 minute flight and we were home! Weary and tired - we managed to unpack (well, the bags were NOT allowed in the house since the LICE episode - so we unloaded on the porch and put all our clothes in plastic bags to wash) and got settled. Dogs happy to see us. Kids happy to have their 'space'. Back to the real world. School in 4 days. Orientation the same afternoon we arrived home. School supplies. New tennis shoes (you should see the worn and torn shoes from our travels!). Grocery store. Cook dinner? Ugh - not yet! Here we go!

The Last Day in London

2009-08-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a few minutes before we go to dinner and I thought I would share the last memorable moments of London. We had another packed day in London - There is SO much to do here and so little time. I am glad now that we had five days. We went straight to Westminster Abbey and had a guided audio tour for a few hours. Ford was given a scavenger hunt "The Children's Trail" with questions to answer...some pretty tough questions because I had to quit my audio to help him find the clues! Very interesting and fun to do! It was amazing to be in a place where people have worshipped God for the past 1000 years and where Kings and Queens have been crowned since the time of William the Conqueror and where many of them are buried - that was wild seeing all the tombs. Catherine seemed to breeze through on her own and for about 15 minutes she was 'lost' (in my mind) and I panicked - we all stopped and searched - and in the masses of people we could not find her! Finally she 'appeared' around the corner - saying 'what?' 'I was following the audio guide!' From then on we were in pairs - I just cannot deal with the MASSES of people and having my chickens get lost in the sea of them!

We finished up and Ford got a huge gold coin for finishing his 4 page paper - I wanted one too since I had to help out so much - the moms I would see helping their children would all say - 'this is hard!!'

We left there and had a 2:30 tour of Parliament with Philip which was very informative - they are only doing these tours for 2 months while everyone is on 'holiday' and we had a wonderful tour with about 15 other people. That was fascinating - we started the tour in the Robe Room where the queen gets dressed in her crown and royal robe and then proceeded to house of Lords and the house of Commons - the girls were itching to get out and shop - but faired well during the tour. Ford stuck right by the side of Philip - I think he really enjoyed it.

Finally around 4 - the boys and girls split up for 2 hours. The boys were going to the War Museum and the girls to Covent Gardens to shop the streets! The girls and I went straight to the Underground and - as we have done for the past 5 days - Taylor does not have to have a ticket and goes through the electronic gates with and adult - however, a VERY MEAN man looked at me and asked me where her ticket was and I explained that we have a week Oyster pass and she has been getting in on our pass (that is what the man who sold us the passes said - Ford and Taylor go free!) He basically yelled at me and said "SO - that is NOT THE RULE and do you know the fine for that is 50 pounds - and you better go get her a ticket" I am telling you he was R U D E...we huffed off and did not get her a ticket because I had not one pound on me and we decided we would W A L K!!! We managed - feet weary - but had fun shopping. We did get some pounds for our ride back - I was not going to take the chance of being fined - and entered into our familiar 'Covent Gardens Underground'. Before I bought a ticket - I asked a man guarding the post if she needed a ticket and he said NO. HMMMM...the other man just was having a VERY bad day! We got home and are packing - going to have our final meal and bed early - up at 6 am to get our flight at 10!!!

I praise God for the weather we have had - in 30 days - not one day of rain. London has been exceptionally COOL - they were calling for a heat wave and I went out yesterday with a sundress/bare shoulders and the high was about 78 degrees! Everyone (the Londoner's) were saying it was HOT and I was Cold!! Anyway, it has been beautiful every step of the way!

There is No Place Like Home

2009-08-18T15:37:00.001-07:00

Well, we only have one more day left of our journey! I will have to say that I could have gone on for another 9 months - Clark said that he could too - the kids however, are ready to come home...I am not sure that I could have taken on the 'home schooling' for the Around the World journey - It is difficult to keep their attention in museums and the girls are ALWAYS wanting to go to the next clothing shop - we have done well though - not indulging in trinkets, souvenirs or extra clothing! We have had a GREAT 30 days of togetherness - eating EVERY single meal together, sleeping 3 to a bed (well, up until the Number Sixteen Hotel) being together 24/7, laughing, walking everywhere we go, figuring out the Metro system for each country we have visited, eating new foods, getting lost, dealing with lice (ugh), trying to learn new languages (Ford's favorite is the English accent - he has gotten quite good at it!) experiencing the Eurail system - We get back with only a few days before our oldest begins High School, two in middle school and Ford starts Third Grade - WOW - our year begins! It makes me sad - but all day today, I was planning our next trip for The Traveling Six for next summer (I am hoping for 2 months!) I know that the girls LOVE Greystone Camp - but I just think that these years together are priceless! My idea is to explore more countries - but MOM - we can always have a family reunion in the Villa in Italy!

We had a full day today - hitting the streets around 11 am. Our first stop was H&M (original) and then we toured the entire floors of Harrods - wow - what a place! We found a cool lunch spot (kind of like a LARGE Dean and DeLuca) had a sandwich and was on our way to the London Tower. That was FUN! The CROWN JEWELS!!! Ford looked at me and asked - "How do you get that sword and that crown??" I told Clark - "I want to be the QUEEN!!" That was a sight to see all the jewels, the Star Of Africa, the crowns, the chalices - all adorned with many beautiful jewels! It was a sight! We strolled back - OH - we actually took a double decker bus back - and it was SLOW stopping at each stop. We did get a good glimpse of London but home just in time to shower, hope back on the tube and meet our old (well, she is very young) babysitter - Jasmine Stephenson - for a yummy Mexican dinner at Wahaca - It was AWESOME!!! We are home and will pack in another full day tomorrow - Westminster Abbey, The War Museum, Covent Gardens, and whatever else we can fit into the day - I probably will not blog because I will be packing - sad to say - we leave London at 6 am Thursday morning (via the tube - NOT taxi) to the airport!!!! Can't wait to see everyone!

This has been an incredible journey - please pray for safe travels as we journey home on Thursday - Blessings and LOVE to all!

2009-08-18T02:49:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist this photo! So far - we have been bug free since we got the big BUZZ! Keep praying! We set out for day three in London. Had a GREAT breakfast in 'the garden' and went to the Natural History Museum for a few hours. That was a fun adventure for us all - a little warm in the museum and a lot of people - but we managed to stroll through all the events. Left there and hopped on the Tube to Piccadilly Circus to grab our tickets for the play (we were still a bit weary about these tickets - but in the end - they were GREAT seats and it was a GREAT show!!!) We had lunch at a little sandwich shop on the way to the National Museum which I was dying to get to - AWESOME exhibition of Manet - Corot - Cezanne - Renoir - Degas - OH it was an eyeful! They had a great bookstore in the bottom of the museum where we spent some time (I bought some new art books that I can't wait to dig into). Strolled a bit on the streets of London - hopped on the Tube (we are getting to love this kind of transportation - and Taylor seems to know how to navigate us to the right line!) Got home to shower and head to the play...which was fabulous! Got back to our area around 10:30 and were all starving - so we stopped at our favorite restaurant where we had our first dinner in London - Carluccious - and had some snacks before bed! My favorite - a YUMMY mushroom risotto! It was a late night - going to bed and looking forward to day four in London - the London Tower!

London day Two

2009-08-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Woke up to continuous steps above our head – back and forth – back and forth – AH HA – We must be right below the kitchen! We were – but that did not matter – we had the most incredible nights sleep. Wonderful bed, clean, quiet (well, until this morning) and just felt great! Went and had a wonderful breakfast in the English Gardens (MOM – you would LOVE THIS PLACE!) Got out on the streets around 11:30 (running a little behind because we went to bed so late) and got on the Big Tour Bus (the only way to do London!) We were on the bus for about 3 hours (wow) you could get on and off at each stop – but we found it so fascinating since we have never been to London (well, Clark was here when he was 9) Saw museums, Big Ben, The London Bridge, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, The Financial District of London, The Aquarium, The London Tower, The Marble Arch, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and ended up in Piccadilly Circus where we got out and bought six tickets for Wicked tomorrow night! Now our bus tour guide told us that we could get tickets (half off face value) here and we walked into a very large tourist trap shop that had every kind of trinket known to man and was playing some pretty funky music to buy these tickets (there was a cardboard sign outside that said ‘Theater Tickets Here’. The place was crawling with people! We talked to a nice man in a corner booth (who was not like all the other sales people who were obviously from India – there were even a few people guarding doorways) Anyway – the ‘nice’ man assured us that these were GOOD tickets and he gave us the ‘best he had’ for $40 pounds each instead of the face value of $70 pounds…we purchased them (well we have a receipt and will go back in the morning to get the ACTUAL tickets – again, he assured us that he would be there) Clark made the comment – “yeah right we will come back and this will be a liquor store – and you will have changed your identity!” Just kidding – but we HOPE that we have tickets for tomorrow night! Blakely was her usual VERY CONCERNED self – and the guy just was laughing assuring her that she will get to see the play and that he has given us the best tickets! Stay tuned!

We are home now lounging in our luxurious room…getting cleaned up to go have a great dinner at an Indian Restaurant! Last nights meal was fabulous and VERY reasonable! We are still on the European budget – or trying to be! Only 3 more days L NOW I could go on for another nine months J But this has been a good end to our adventurous travels!

2009-08-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

2009-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

London is LOVELY

2009-08-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

WOW – What an incredible day we have had. The Euro star ( as I stated earlier was FANTASTIC with the Champagne and incredible meal) We arrived in London around 3:30 pm and got on the Tube to Hyde Park – that is where someone said we would find a hotel. We got to the park and did not see anything BUT my trusting daughter who needs to be a travel agent has been dying to stay at the Number Sixteen Hotel. We called and they gave us a good rate. So, we set out on foot, rolling our bags for about an hour looking for this hotel. We finally found the hotel – from the looks of it I was a bit upset (It looked small and I was not really impressed so I sent the rest of the family in to go see a room) They came out and said it was great – I followed inside and was AMAZED at the beauty and the homey feeling! We have landed in PARADISE in London – this is yet, the BEST HOTEL – you should see our rooms and the furniture – and the SPACE (it is about the size of my bedroom at home!) They even gave us a better deal because we were staying for five nights! I am GRATEFUL and THANKFUL – we have endured many nights not sleeping well – dealing with NOT the greatest of surroundings. We are now hanging up our clothes – packing them away in some beautiful pieces of antique furniture – Clark and I are putting all the kids in their room (right next door) and for the first time we will get to spend the night together! There is a drawing room, a tea room, a garden and terrace – I am not sure that I will be leaving this hotel – Sorry to go on and on about the hotel – but for the past month – I have endured some pretty rough stuff! OH I am HAPPY! Blakely just said that this makes up for our horrible train ride and that she would go on it again if we could come back here – Clark is muttering – NO WAY – that train ride was the pits and I will NEVER do that again!

On the red double decker bus tomorrow to get familiar with London – More to come!

Blessings to all!

The Eurostar (The BEST EVER with Champagne and a wonderful fresh meal!! J )

2009-08-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday – Got up early this morning and strolled my little black bag, filled with dirty laundry, down a few blocks to the laundry mat. I am getting used to doing laundry the European way! This morning took a little longer because the washers took 45 minutes in Pairs rather than the usual 30 minutes in Italy…but got it done and strolled back with clean clothes – repacked and stored our luggage while we strolled the streets of Paris one last time. We all concluded that we LOVED Paris and wished we could have stayed longer. We walked our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and Ford asked “How long does it take to get to London?” “3 Hours”, I replied. Ford responded – “Why don’t we just ‘walk’ we have walked MORE than 3 hours on this trip!” He is right – we have walked many hours – many miles!

Arrived to Gare Du Nord (train station) and worked our way to the Eurostar – through customs – through inspection – through crowds – and to our ‘Business Class” car that served us a glass of champagne and the kids a coke WITH ICE!! We arrive in London around 4:30 and will stroll our bags to a hotel of our choice – not sure yet! The ‘train stewardess’ said we could stay at her flat with one bed and 2 sofas!J

On a side note – please excuse all the mutilation of words in this blog – I mean to go back and correct my mistakes but sometimes (due to lack of WiFi) can’t do it – I am sure that you understand some of my words! The only time I have to blog is usually on a train with no WiFi and then upload late at night…stay tuned for our London adventures and then HOME on Thursday. Home Sweet Home!

From Clark - Paris is difficult to consume in just 4 days but we gave it the old college try. We made it to Musee de L’Armee (the Army museum), Versailles (which took most of our day yesterday) and had an opportunity to shop some. Our first night’s hotel Concorde Lafayette was minimally adequate given our usual accommodations during this trip. Although advertised as a 4-star, it lacked in both aesthetics and service. In other words, they talked a big game about both but Trip Advisor tells the truth on this one. One great thing was the view of the Eiffel Tower from our window (also not In walking distance to the usual tourist attractions—is more of a business man’s hotel that the Arabs have taken over!)

Versailles – what a place to live!

2009-08-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

We arrived – thank goodness we had our pass because the ticket line was incredible. We got our headphones – a little wigged out about wearing them – had to ask if they are cleaned (which they are – even the earpiece is replaced) and we set out to explore the Palace room by room. It was amazing – beautiful – gaudy – ornate – about the 20^th room I was done…too many people…way too many people! We finally weaved our way out of the sea of people and on to the beautiful gardens. Walked all the way down where you can rent little row boats (did not do this because the max people was 4 and we did not want 2 boats – but it looked fun and the price was reasonable – much better price than those gondolas in Venice!) We got a little ice cream at the bottom and geared ourselves up for the long hike back up through the gardens and to the exit! It was a great day in Versailles. As I write this – the kids are upstairs watching their first TV/movie in over three weeks (Indiana Jones) and I am out on our Terrace typing…Clark has gone to the train station to see if he can change our tickets to London (we are supposed to leave tomorrow morning) so that we can stay one more day in Paris. EVERYONE loves Paris – we went through the Musee De L’Orange but still have a few others we want to stroll through – the Louvre – we will probably do tonight since it is open late! Our journey is almost over and it has definitely been an incredible trip! Despite the LICE and all the bumps! I would not trade one moment!

Update - could not change our tickets so we leave tomorrow around 1 pm to go to London - SO SAD to leave Paris but had a GREAT dinner at the place we thought we were going to last night (steak and frites) turns out we were at the WRONG restaurant last night and this one ironically was right across the street from our OLD hotel! Le Relais De Venise - they don't bring you a menu just ask how you want your steak and bring you the best steak and frites with some famous homemade green sauce - YUMMY! They keep bringing back more food - we were stuffed! Got back on the subway - we are really getting good at the Metro system (after I said I would never set foot back on them!) and headed back to the Tuilleres - where there is a fair going on - We all hopped on the VERY LARGE ferris wheel (at 11:15 pm) and took a ride that lit up Paris! Beautiful!

We are sad that we might not make the tour of the Louvre - going to try in the morning - but I need to do some laundry! And then we are off to LONDON! Home on Thursday! Missing everyone and sending our love and blessings!

A Buzz Cut in Versailles

2009-08-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

Another day in Paris! Woke up itching! (just kidding – but did dream about it) We all got up around 9 am and started to plan our day. I sent the boys out to find a place to get Ford’s haircut and we were going to meet them at Starbucks an hour later. The girls showered and got ready for the day – trying to pick through clean clothes – believe it or not – it is time for me to do laundry AGAIN J We ventured on to Starbucks and the boys followed shortly after we arrived – NO HAIRCUT – everything was closed for the month – OR – they just did women’s hair…anyway…I was determined to get Ford’s hair cut one way or another. We got on the subway train to Versailles and got there about 30 minutes later…not a bad ride…the train was OK. We got off and starting walking (well we did not know where we were walking) but I did see a young man who spoke some English and had a NICE BUZZ cut and asked him if he knew where we could get Ford’s hair cut – He said he cut his own hair (I wanted to flash him some Euros to see if he would do Ford’s) but he directed us down the streets to a GREAT place – perfect for what I wanted done! The lady spoke absolutely NO English – and I had to show her a picture (Ford had resigned to the fact that he had to have it ALL cut off – he said “mom, I guess I really had too many bugs!”) She got the razor out and I about died! I told the girls that they were not to SAY ONE WORD – except that it looked good! He did look good! I was HAPPY! We paid and skipped on our way to get some lunch at a little sandwich shop – jambon and fromage on French bread – YUM! We headed on to the Palace.

Paris Day Two

2009-08-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Woke up ready to get out of dodge – Our hotel was the pits – we all decided that we would start a show ‘Where Not to Stay’!! We have seen it all on this trip. We got our bags packed an checked out rolling our bags to the Metro station. We had already found a great (so we thought – not bad) hotel right across from the Louvre – Le Jardin Du Saint James - when you are trying to do Europe on a budget for one month – you just cannot expect too much. The lobby of our hotel looked promising as did the patio bar/restaurant AND they had a SPA downstairs – OH how I would love a MASSAGE!!! We checked in and left our bags with them (our rooms were not ready). An overcast – cool day we left around 11 am to go get some breakfast at Starbucks – a favorite for everyone! After a small snack and a decaf Mocha – we set out to do some shopping while our Concierge got our museum tickets together (a pass for two days)…around 1 pm – we headed back to get our tickets and set out for our educational tour – first stop – Musee De Armie as promised! OK – we have one OOPS moment – We are in the lobby – Clark is getting the tickets (it is a pass for all the museums) and he says “I don’t have any money – do you?” I do – so I hand the guy my money and go about my business – Clark and Ford go to the potty before we leave – return and we are on our way to the Musee De Armies - Half way there I ask – “Do you have the tickets?” HMMMMMM – No he does not – He thought I had them – Long story short he had to trek all the way back to get them – we trekked all the way to the museum to wait for him (18 mins – we all took bets and Catherine won) and we were on our way into the Musee de Armies – Clark and Ford were psyched – the girls and I wish we were shopping!!! BUT we did tell the boys that they could have about 2 hours in there without us complaining – UNTIL I saw Ford CONTINIOUSLY SCRATCHING his head – YES they are back!!! And today with vengeance – BUGS! I cannot even begin to tell you how upset I was – Clark was cool as a cucumber as he was looking and describing to Ford all the ammunition used in WWII and the tanks…and the bombs…etc…I would find the girls off to the side inspecting each others head of hair like little monkeys picking at each other – I had had enough! I was wanting my RUBY RED SLIPPERS and wanted to GO HOME! There is NO PLACE LIKE HOME – I kept telling myself on the steps of Napoleons Tomb! I will not go into all the details – but from 5 until 8 I was washing hair and combing out bugs (Over 50 in Ford’s hair!) We did regroup – take showers and stumbled upon a great Japanese restaurant (the famous one we were hoping for – steak and frites – we arrived at the door and they were CLOSED for renovations!) AH – but we did good when we sat on a bar table top for 6 and watch the little color coded plates of sushi go by – you could just pick one out and enjoy!!! It was a great meal! We headed home walking via the Arch De Triumph and Chanse De Lyse – saw some interesting sights and getting tucked in for a good nights sleep! Tomorrow – Ford gets a BUZZ cut! Not too happy about that! Despite all our mishaps we are thankful and happy and never have laughed as much as we have – We read a devotion today about contentment – Despite of all the nasty things that try to get in our way – we are contempt with our circumstances – thankful that we can be together as a family and experience all that we have experienced…Our God is A MIGHTY God – He will go before us and show us the way! Blessings to all! J

Paris Wednesday, August 12th

2009-08-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

We arrived in the Percy Train Station around 8:30 am and debated whether or not to take a taxi to our hotel – THE GIRLS all wanted to take the Taxi – yet the “old man” wanted to take the Metro – we followed. Down MANY steps and around the corner – found the entrance to the Metro – pulled our bags along the side and let Clark try to figure out (in the long line) how to get our tickets. He arrived to the box – to purchase tickets – and some how jammed the ticket booth – hmmmmm – someone who spoke broken English sent him up and around the corner (100 meters) to the main box office to get the tickets. We stayed down guarding our luggage – was just too tired to move! 15 minutes later Clark was back with specific instructions on how to get to our hotel…we get on the subway (ugh nasty and crowded) and look up to see that our stop (according to Clark) is the VERY LAST stop! We get off after about 18 stops and realize that we are NOT in PARIS anymore but in some far out funky modern city – the outskirts of Paris or the business section! We came up for air – out of the station – look around like “where the heck are we???” Ask a few people who spoke NO ENGLISH and finally realize we got off at the WRONG stop! Some nice man who spoke a little English told us we should have gotten off several stops back – that made me feel better. I was shooting darts at Clark (again) that we had “Pricelined” our way out of Paris!!

We get back on the Metro – and got off right in front of our hotel – a VERY LARGE TALL hotel that one could not miss! We check in about 11 am and I am standing there listening to two people complain about the hotel – one lady was complaining about how she had lost (I thought I heard her say $4000 dollars or something to that effect) and the hotel people were just saying ‘sorry’!! Another man was saying that this was a 4 star hotel with a 2 star service – we were in for a treat!! We were checking in and the man directly said to us – ‘Do not touch ANYTHING from the mini bar unless you want to buy!” Apparently it is electronic and if you touch it – you are charged for it – Now for the past several weeks, Clark has been giving the kids Cokes and water from the mini bar and has replaced them with cokes and waters that he has bought for about 3-5 Euros cheaper….but this man said YOU touch YOU PAY! No replacing – YOU have to understand that the entire hotel looked as if it was run by the Mafia – NO LIE! We could not get out of there fast enough!!! We rinsed off and were out exploring on the streets of Paris hoping that our luggage was safe.

We arrived over near the Louvre and found some quaint hotels and we all agreed that we will move the next day. We walked along the streets of Paris – had a great lunch of Steak and Frites (cannot remember the name of the restaurant) toured the Eifel Tower – walked along the streets of Saint Germaine – ducked into some cute shops saw the Musee De Armies where we promised Ford we would be back first thing the next day (it was 5:30 pm and they were closing)…it was a great day! We ended up eating at a little restaurant across from the Louvre and headed back home for a hopeful good nights sleep! We had a GREAT day! A few bumps along the way – but all and all a GREAT day! It is so much fun just being with my family!

The Seven Things I Hate About This TRAIN

2009-08-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

Good Morning

2009-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see from my girls point of view – the overnight train was not the highlight of our trip. Mom agrees. Dirty, cramped, NO AC, loud, bumpy, scratchy seats, only got 5 sheets for the beds – so, got inventive and tore one in half so that we had six, little sleep, Ford fell out of the top bunk at 4 am, no shower, room right next to the bathroom so we had many smells L…but we had A LOT of laughs! I don’t think we will forget the night. In Paris and claiming that ‘This is the DAY that the LORD has made and WE ALL will rejoice and be glad in it!”

The Sleeper Train

2009-08-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

Now it is 8 PM and we are in our snug and cozy coachette for a 12 hour train ride to Paris. It has 6 beds in a 6’wide x 6’ long and 8’ high volume but the only real discomfort is a little (a lot) of complaining from those under the age of 15.

We have gone from a wonderful 5 star, luxurious hotel to a 0 star sleeper car that has itchy seats and sheets that smell like vinegar (that is a direct quote from the kids) For those of you who know my ‘roach’ phobia – Taylor just pulled a joke on me as I am writing this – she is on the top bunk that is a few inches above my head and started to freak out about seeing a roach – we all fly out the cabin and she starts to giggle – ‘Just Kidding!’ I think we are all a little claustrophobic right now and pray that we will get at least a few hours of sleep tonight – not too sure about that. We arrive in Paris at 8 am and fortunately we do have a hotel thanks to Priceline.com and my husband. I keep thinking about if we had gone around the world – right now I am not sure we could go another 9 months…this was a good ‘test’ to see what we could endure! We have endured a lot and I am proud of my kids – and me for letting go of control and walking in faith each step of the way! We have little to NO AC in our tiny cabin – so our windows are open as well as our door to the hallway and the outer window is down so that we can get a ‘CROSS BREEZE’ J We have 10 stops before we get to Paris!

Clark has made all the beds – one on top of the other – Cat and Tay called middle – Ford and I called top ( a little more room ) and Clark and B are on the bottom – it is HOT as heck in here…you get ONE ripped sheet that smells not so good and WOOL BLANKETS as your other cover – WOOL – not a cute white coverlet – WOOL and they look like they have NOT been washed! Are you imagining this – I am very quiet and silent right now – but UGH – no more over night trains for me unless it is the Orient Express! I know now I am sounding a little spoiled – I will get over it once everyone quits complaining. It’s 9:30 pm and I am closing my eyes and going to say a prayer! J

Our Last Day In Venice

2009-08-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

AHHHHH a good nights sleep! Woke up and repacked for the hmmmm – lost count – 10^th time? Stored our bags in the lobby until we had to leave at 6:30 pm and set out for the day. I am telling you again – there were SO may people in Venice – we all came to the conclusion that we did NOT like Venice – The only thing we liked is when we found a quiet alley and a good restaurant! Around 2 pm we were tired of fighting the crowds and went back to the Westin Lobby – to the sitting area – to play cards and take a catnap J We regrouped and were on our way around 3 to find a good Gelato place! Experienced more of the streets of Venice and stumbled upon the Hard Rock Café in Venice – Guess what we were all thinking – FOOD – a good place to stop for a few hours before we had to leave and we were all craving a good large coke with ICE! We got back to the hotel around 6:30 to get a ‘private’ water taxi (at the tune of 70 Euros for a 15 minute ride!!!) I refused to take the waterbus that was CRAMMED PACKED with tons of people! We are on our way to another country and another adventure! Goodbye Italy – Hello France!!!

Highlights of Italy – Rome and Armando our tour guide, Florence and Barbara – another great tour guide, being with friends in the most magical place in Tuscany, kayaking and boating around Capri, hiking to the five towns in Cinque Terre, the Margarita pizza…

2009-08-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

2009-08-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Where's Waldo In Venice

2009-08-10T15:54:00.001-07:00

I just wanted you to get an idea of how many tourists are in Venice right now! I am NOT good with crowds - hate them! It was around 12:30 pm when we ventured over the famous Rialto Bridge in Venice and I could not get out of there fast enough! Venice is charming IF you can find quiet canals and alley ways! I am very happy now that I have a place to lay my head tonight! I was checking out the alleys earlier today thinking we would have to find a clean one to lay down our heads! The kids are doing great! Better than mom - they just go with the flow! Thank goodness for cards! We played many games of Crazy Eights while we waited for Clark and B to find us a place to stay...it is a bit fancy for our adventures - but heck - I am HAPPY!

Dateline : Venice, Italy, August 10, 2009

2009-08-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

After waking up from the first good night’s sleep in 2 days at the Carlton Grand Canal Hotel (faces the Venice Tren Stazione across the Grand Canal) around 8:45, I stumbled down to Anne’s room shared with Blakely, Cat and Tay. As promised, Anne had gotten up real early (had been gone 15 minutes according to B), to go do our laundry. We had found the Laundromat the night before on our way to dinner. I woke up the girls and my bedmate, Ford and we all headed down to a grand (canal) breakfast. The best yet with eggs and bacon and the works! Anne quickly arrived to down some herself leaving our clothes in the rinse cycle—sure that no one would want them. Of course they were safe and our assumptions proved correct.

Our second job of the day was to find our accommodations for our 2^nd and last night here in Venice as the Carlton had told us when we checked in that they could only promise our 2 rooms for one night. Our job proved to be a difficult one as it was not until about 4:30 that we secured a nice place to stay. Apparently, Venice is no secret to tourists. Despite the building panic Anne was experiencing, we were able to tour about 1/3 of the city on foot and check out the Venetian culture while stopping at every 4 star hotel we passed which were all booked. Finally, we gave up and went back to the Carlton where our luggage was stored and sat down to plot our next strategy.

The Plan

Blakely and I were to go to the nearest internet kiosk/shop and buy some internet time and do the Priceline thing that we had gotten pretty adept at during our trip. Success was achieved in about 30 minutes when we bid $275 per room for a 5-star hotel and the Westin Europa accepted the bid (darn it-should have bid $250 instead!)

This was a coo as we had to pay more for 4-star accommodations on previous nights. The Westin proved to be luxurious and even had a small workout room in which to sweat a little more. Taylor was immediately crestfallen when she examined the posted menu and saw that a grilled cheese sandwich was 20 Euros or $30.00. She almost started to cry cause she knew her dad would not be to amenable to honoring that request. As it turned out, we headed out after showering and primping to a nice inexpensive trattoria/pizzaria (Ristorante Piccolo Martini) and Tay got her favorite menu item (plain spaghetti pasta-no tomato sauce, no butter, no olive oil—I really mean plain, but she loved it.) Ford had a Fanta and after I examined the can and found out that it had more sugar and calories than a coke per ml, I realized why he was speaking intelligible fake Italian to our Bangladesh waiter who did not know Italian and told him so in broken English.

We concluded our evening with an enjoyable stroll through a magnificently well-lit San Marco Piazza where we found 3 separate symphonic musical bands playing along its long colonnades. Home to bed and a good night sleep in the 5 star Westin J

Our last day tomorrow in Venice and then on to Paris for a few days…Going to check out Priceline now for our hotels!

Venice

2009-08-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

OK we had a great 5 hour train ride. We were a bit weary waking up at 6 am - have not done that this entire trip! We had about a 3 hour train to Milan and then got off and transferred to another train (had a little delay in the SMOKEY train station – EVERYONE in Italy smokes!) and then boarded for another 2 hour ride to Venice! Again – we played cards – I blogged a bit – and then we all crashed! You should see the way we are so protective of our ‘hair’ and the seats on the train! The girls pulled out their scarves and wrapped them around to ‘protect’ themselves J The trains for the most part are pretty clean and so much fun to travel! Clark and I even got a few games of ‘Speed and Gin’ in…

Arrived in Venice – tired and sore from our day of hiking – and entered into the unfamiliar train station. NOT KNOWING WHERE TO GO! NO HOTEL – NOTHING! We started at the window for tourists and hotel reservations and a man came up to Clark asking if he needed a place to stay – Clark simply asked if he ‘represented other hotels’ and they went back and forth not quite understanding each other. Finally the man said to Clark – “You are not a nice man!” and walked off. I sat there stunned – because my opinion of Italians is that they are NOT NICE – especially to Americans – but we have put on our smiles and move on! Anyway – we walk out of the train station NOT knowing where we will go and see a bridge ( I am thinking the kind of bridge that a car can go over – SMOOTH – but NO there are a million steps!) We muster up the strength to get our bags up and over the bridge and start walking to where we think hotels will be??? Clueless! Venice is tricky – there are not straight paths! I was appalled when I walked past an alley (on the main canal) and saw a man standing there – pants unzipped (you will have to get the picture) I was SHOCKED and my girls were right there with me! When I motioned to Clark – the man disappeared! I was angry – and tired and wanted somewhere to put my bags! I WAS NOT happy with Venice at that point! We went around another corner and let Clark go and do some searching and about 10 minutes later came back with a great hotel! I think it is the best yet!!!! Our room tonight has two twin beds and a king – all the girls get to spend the night together and the boys have their room with consists of a king bed! Only one problem – they are fully booked tomorrow night – which means we will be out searching again! BUT – I am trusting a believing that we will be able to stay here! It is quite pleasant.

We got settled in and got familiar with our surroundings! We were all so tired that we came home and read and napped for about 2 hours – AHHHHH – that felt good! We got refreshed and set out on the town to find a place to eat dinner and stumbled upon a wonderful restaurant – it was packed and tucked back up in one of the narrow streets! Yummy food and we were happy! I have taken a million pictures of the boats, the canals and the quaint buildings – I CANNOT wait to come home and PAINT J This is a charming place – if you can stay away from the perverts!

Tomorrow is another day – I have found a laundry right around the corner! I will be up bright and early washing about 5 more loads of laundry! That will make me VERY happy J

It’s 6 am and we’re moving again!

2009-08-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, after a very hot night in our hotel – not sleeping so great – we got up at 6 am to catch the train to Venice. We will have to change trains in Milan – but hope to arrive sometime around 1 pm. Cinque Terre was beautiful and well worth traveling to if you do the HIKES! On to bigger and better things in Venice! I am getting VERY inspired to come home and paint once the kids go back to school!!! I cannot wait to get my hands in my paints! There will be a lot of information forth coming – but I am going to have an art show in October where 50% of the proceeds will go to The Allegro Foundation…We are going to have it in a space in Elizabeth (the new area near the Hospital) for four days. Wednesday night will be the private party for patrons (if you want to attend Wednesday night – please email me so I can put you on the list) and then will be open to the public Thursday, Friday and Saturday…Should be a great event! Stay tuned!

The Narrow Path

2009-08-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

What an incredible day hiking the five towns of Cinque Terre! This was the most incredible hike I have ever done – steep climbs up and over each mountain – each with breathtaking views of the towns and sea. I am so glad that The Traveling Six tackled this adventure. Apparently, this is some of the best coastline hiking in the world. Walking between all the villages is next to impossible in less than a day for all but experienced hikers – and I will have to say – we DID it! Our host at the hotel suggested that we take the train down to the first town – Riomaggiore – and hike the two easy trails to the next two towns – Manarola and Corniglia - and then take the train home. We opted to start out on foot from Monterossa and hike to each town – he looked at my shoes (they are the BEST hiking/walking SANDALS!!) and said ‘Take the train”. So glad we ignored his leading…we set off on foot around 11 am and arrived in the first town around 1…2 hours of rigorous uphill – steep climbing – and then rounded corners to dramatic ocean views! My kids flew up the steep parts – Clark and I would have to stop and catch our breath! It was tough but we made it to Vernazza just in time for some yummy lunch, a swim in the sea, and our usual scoop of Gelato to get us geared back up for trek number two! On we went to each town – each with their own splendor and beauty! The first two towns were the toughest to hike…the last few were simple and short!

“"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13 - 20

I thought about this all day on our hike. Our path was so narrow at times – 2 feet at the most with a sheer cliff right beside you. It was rocky…it was rough…it was at times tough to climb…and the one thing that would sustain us and keep us going was our water and the beauty that surrounded us! I thought about our faith walk…staying on the narrow path…God’s GRACE that He has for each one of us when it is rocky, tough, or uncertain. And each time I thought I could not make it, I would stop and drink water and then would round the corner to the most breathtaking view you have ever seen! God has a perfect plan for each of our lives. If we stay on His narrow path, we will look back and see His hand at work in our lives. Just like I needed the water to keep me going…we need God’s Word – His Truth – HIS power – the power of the Holy Spirit – to fill us – to sustain us as we go through our journey.

It was an INCREDIBLE day! You should have seen my feet at the end of the day! Blakely took a picture – not sure I will share! Blessings to all!

2009-08-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Cinque Terre

2009-08-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well another exciting day! We checked out of our hotel in Florence around 10 am trying to catch the 10:27 train…we settled on catching the 10:57 train to Monterosso and got on the ‘free train’ as Ford put it – just like the ‘free beach’! We have been accustomed to traveling on the fast trains all over Italy – nice – AC – food cart (well crackers and hot coke) and a nice ‘toliet’…this car/train we got on with seconds to spare was the older trains that we would see at the station and thankful that we did not have to travel on those – ha – today – we were right there HOPPING on that train! Barely making it! We board to a packed train and NO AC! I was shooting DARTS with my eyes! We could have taken one of our normal nice fast trains an hour later – but Clark wanted to take the ‘free train’ !!! J

We had three hours to go and I was not going to stay on the car with NO AC – I stepped on and immediately thought I was in a sauna room! So, I took my bag and strolled through cars until I found the first class car (that is what our eurail pass was for – first class! Ha! Can you imagine us going around the world in first class I don’t think that would have happened) Taylor went with me and, as the train was moving, (quite fast) we were going from car to car trying to find where we should sit, with our black bags in tow – looking for cool cars! We finally found a car (it happened to be the first car right behind the conductor) and we went back (about 20 cars) to get the others to come on to the cool!!! Can’t you see us – the six of us – black bags in tow – walking from car to car (SCARRY!) So, we got some cool air – and the entire car to ourselves for 2 hours…there was NO food cart…and the toilet as Ford quotes was “nasty”! We read, played A LOT of cards and tried to figure out where we were going to stay!

We made it to Monterosso just fine – so glad that we took the train instead of the car. Found a great hotel (well, great for some tired travelers) took a stroll to the main town, kayaked for 2 hours (that was tons of fun) and then had dinner, gelato and going to bed!

Our hotel is quite the site! You should check out the picture of Clark in the shower! I know now (despite the train) that we could have traveled around the world!

Tomorrow we hike the five towns and train back to Monterosso! That should be tons of fun!

We leave Sunday and then head to Venice for three days…stay tuned!

What a Day!

2009-08-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

We left our villa around noon heading to Cinque Terre which is only about an hour away. Once again, were on the plan of NO PLAN…I was told to NOT take a car to Cinque Terre – but we thought we could do it (Or Clark thought he could do it!) (for those going there – DO NOT TAKE A CAR!!) Let me give you the brief break down of our day. We arrive in La Spezia which is the town before you go up the mountain to Cinque Terre. We drove around a bit trying to get oriented and then followed the signs up to Cinque Terre. There are 5 small towns that are built on the mountain cliff and really the only way to get there is by train – or HIKE – and our plan was to just go to the first town and get a place to spend the night – wake up the next morning – take the train to Monterosso – and hike down to the bottom town. Blakely found a hotel in the first town and we plugged it into the GPS and followed the directions. 20 minutes later we were back in the town of La Spezia (the opposite direction of where we wanted to go – but Oh Well!) The day was ticking away and we finally got to the first town – but there was a problem – NO PARKING!!! Clark let Blakely, Ford and myself out to go find the hotel while he took the other two up the mountain to park the car and take the bus down. (Sound confusing? It was!) We (Blakley, Ford and I) went all the way down the mountain (TINY little village) looking for a hotel and NOTHING! We kept walking to the water and saw a family that looked VERY familiar! I went up to them and said I know that you are from Charlotte, NC – can’t remember their names – but they were a family of six who were from Charlotte and she said she had a painting of mine!! NO LIE – SMALL WORLD - a little angel who crossed our paths. We got the scoop from them about where to stay and how to get there – and got the same response – DON’T take a car! We hiked back up the MOUNTAIN to go find Clark and the girls and they were getting off the bus with their luggage! I told them ‘get back on – we are going back up – no place to stay here!!’ J So, we all got on the bus to get back to our car… and headed back down the mountain. It was getting late! Still no one complained – just giggled a little. I was PETRIFIED of driving around this mountain – my photos will not do it justice!

OK – we are making the bend when we see an Italian police car put out a stop sign and motioned for us to pull over – HMMM – we were not speeding because I made Clark go way under the speed limit – so we pull over and two Italian police guards – one with a machine gun – wants our passports and Clark’s international license. I was thinking we were getting ready to be ‘TAKEN”…a few minutes passed – we all prayed – and they released us to go down the mountain. We have decided to go turn our car in Florence tonight…spend the night in our favorite city – FLORENCE – and get on the train back to Cinque Terre tomorrow and start all over!!! Whew – what a day! The drive back to Florence through the countryside was beautiful. It was worth the trip!

More to follow on Cinque Terre! IT is absolutely stunning!

OK we made it back to our faithful hotel The Executive Hotel who has the nicest person at the front desk! He welcomed us back and gave us a great deal on a room for the night! Also – gave us free WiFi! We had a GREAT dinner – the best pizza ever (Except Luisa’s in Charlotte – Ford reminded us) we are happy and going to bed! Tomorrow is another adventure!

Buona Sera J

Paradise

2009-08-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we arrived at our villa (visiting friends) and the beauty was amazing. We stayed in a ‘cottage’, which consisted of four bedrooms upstairs and downstairs was the large kitchen and family area. HUGE doors that you kept open at all time – the cool cross breeze through the villa – incredible views every where you turned around. I cannot begin to describe the beauty on this piece of land – there was even a chapel right across the gardens and main villa. Whew – we just had the best time relaxing by the pool, reading, napping, eating (there was a cook each night that cooked the most amazing meals) the kids had fun running around – having tons of SPACE – going on scavenger hunts all around the grounds, making silly movies – just breathing in the Italian air! It was hard to pack up and hit the road again today! It was a blessing all around and we are grateful for our friends to include us in another little slice of paradise for the past 48 hours!

Off to the country side

2009-08-04T03:59:00.000-07:00

I have to share our devotion for the day – so beautiful!

Hold My Hand, and walk joyously with Me through this day. Together we will savor the pleasures and endure the difficulties it brings. Be on the lookout for everything I have prepared for you: stunning scenery, bracing winds of adventure, cozy nooks for resting when you are weary, and much more. I am your Guide, as well as your constant Companion. I know every step of the journey ahead of you, all the way to heaven. You don’t have to choose between staying close to Me and staying on course. Since I AM THE WAY, staying close to me is staying on course. As you focus your thoughts on Me, I will guide you carefully along today’s journey. Don’t worry what is around the next bend. Just concentrate of enjoying MY presence and staying in step with Me. John 14:6 Colossians 4:12

We read this with everyone this morning – you see today we are renting a car for the first time and heading to out into the country about an hour from Florence. I think we will have lots of cozy nooks and I know we are going to enjoy the scenery as we drive! God is so good! I know He will go before us and continue to guide each step we take!

We are sitting in the rental car – with a cool breeze – waiting for Clark to return from the train station (which is a few blocks away) to see about getting us to Paris…we are not quite sure how we are going to get there or when…Right now our plan is to be in the country for two days, Cinque Terre for a few days, head over to Venice and try to be in Paris by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. We will keep you updated but will probably not have internet until Venice! Blakely – my internet guru – hacked into an unlocked internet while we were in the car – that only lasted a few minutes! Our journey continues!

On The Train Again

2009-08-04T03:57:00.000-07:00

We left Capri around 9 am this morning, caught the ferry which was on time and we arrived in Naples no problem. Hailed a cab (that would fit six – cabs are tiny over there!) and arrived at the train station in plenty of time for our 11:55 am train to Florence. We have to always get our seat assignments when we get on each train – even though we have a Eurail Pass – and the lines were SO LONG at the Naples station! We got to the window at 11:52 am and the man said we had time (train left at 11:54) and gave us our seats. We RAN to the train – which was a few steps away – and it was pulling out! MISSED IT! The people stamping tickets told us we could get on the next one in an hour and they would give us new seats! SO, we went to McDonalds – got FREE WiFi – and played cards! No big deal…we got settled on the next train and off we went – back to Florence for the night.

We are getting used to this type of travel – off the train – we rolled our bags to the local laundry mat – nice and clean – and proceeded to do about 3 loads of laundry. Blakely and I stayed behind this time to do the laundry and Clark and the rest of them rolled their bags about 15 minutes away to our hotel. VERY CONTEMPORAY! They came back with empty bags just about the time that B and I were folding our last bit of laundry and we packed up and were on our way!

We will blog about our hotels in another blog – they deserve their own blog…this one we stayed in was way too funky and far out! Priceline.com – you got to love it! We only paid $114 US dollars – loving this budget travel!

We showered and went back to our favorite restaurant – Mama Gina’s – had another GREAT meal – I love the way the Italians eat around the table – they don’t want you to leave! We have had some good quality time with the kids at dinner – they can’t inhale their dinner and get up and leave! Will miss that!

This is the Day the Lord has made…Let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it!

2009-08-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

Our view is amazing. Woke up to a beautiful morning. We went up to the pool for the breakfast, which was bread, some more bread, some rolls and even more rolls! Oh, we did get coffee and hot chocolate! After breakfast we walked down to the Marina Grand to rent a boat (with a captain) to cruise around Capri for the day. We packed some sandwiches that we bought at the local market (more yummy bread!) and boarded our Gozzi boat. Antonio was our captain and we were set. The sight is amazing – Capri is BEAUTIFUL. The seas were a bit rough on some sides of the island and the cokes that were in our back pack were getting tossed around. We did not really realize this but when Catherine went to open a coke – it exploded and went everywhere. Antonio was furious (it was an accident) but he grabbed the coke out of Catherine’s hands and threw it in the trashcan – then threw his hands up – ANGRY Italian! (Don’t worry – be happy!) He spoke very little English and Clark kept asking him questions – I think that was irritating him even more! I just silently prayed for the man – seemed awfully uptight and angry. Well, despite Antonio – we put our smiles on and had a wonderful day swimming, having our picnic and boating around the island.

Capri is beautiful but it is EXPENSIVE! Every time you turn around you are spilling out Euros. Another funny story – today – towards the end of our boat journey – Antonio brings us to the Blue Grotto – a cave that reflects the water and the color inside the cave is stunning. Well, you have to get on a smaller boat (row boat) to get inside the cave to see the water. All these rowboats are in this cove; they come up to your boat to see if you want the go. The ‘main boat’ is a little bigger and has all the prices for the ‘trip’ into the Grotto on a sign – boat trip 4 Euros then Tax 6.5 Euros We were adding this up in our heads and knew that we weren’t all going into the cave for a 30 second view for over 60 Euros. So we decided that the girls would go and Clark reluctantly gave the rowboat man 50 Euros (ridiculous!) Antonio and the boat guy were talking in Italian (I know it was about us) and seemed a little disgusted! Oh well – we don’t know what we did wrong but it was not worth $71 US dollars! When we came out of the cave (2 minutes later) the man took us back to the boat and he and Antonio spoke again (in Italian – about us!) and Antonio handed him a nice cold water bottle (not once during the day did he offer us a water bottle which was supposed to be included in our journey). Oh well! Don’t worry! Be Happy! J

It was a GREAT day! I will keep praying for Antonio!

Naples – UH Nasty!

2009-08-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday 1 pm

Well, our train ride to Naples from Florence was pleasant – we caught up on some reading, some card games (crazy eights, gin, the matching up game) went over the map and where we would go from Capri…was served some HOT coke (no ice!) and arrived 3 hours later…Coming into the station in Naples we were all shocked! We got off the train and walked towards – well, we did not know where we were going! The people were all around us, ‘Taxi, Taxi, Taxi” Now, the European Taxi’s are SMALL – which means that a family of six would have to take two and there was NO WAY that I was going to separate from my family. We had this one persistent person who said he would take us to the Ferry for 20 Euros (we were planning on taking a bus) but thought if he could take us all then it would be OK. We started to walk out of the train station – and the sight was horrific! I can’t imagine us walking to the bus to get to the ferry! Our cab driver did not speak a lick of English but turned out very nice and got us where we needed to be! I was praying all the way! We got to the ferry safe and sound.

The Ferry – we pay, we roll our bags to station 5 and we board the Fast Boat to Capri (departing at 6:55 pm and arriving 45 minutes later) The boat ride was exciting. There is something about water that I just LOVE!

We arrived in Capri about 7:40 pm and Blakely had a list of hotels of which we were going to go and find – the first on her list was the JW Marriott.

As we got off the boat in Capri – looking a little frazzled – we saw a man holding a sign for JW Marriott and we asked him if he could give us a ride (he was waiting for a private boat to arrive) we really did not know where we were going – but saw him and thought we would give it a shot. He called the hotel to see if they had room and directed us up to the hotel. There are NO cars that go up the mountain – so the “Marriott Man” would just walk you up the mountain! It was a mountainous climb!! First you get on this Trolley that climbs part of the mountain – we thought we were going on a roller coaster ride! Then when you get off the Trolley you start walking through the town – all six of us rolling our bags. The streets are narrow and steep! We finally found the Marriott and Clark was working a deal – but they would only let 2 people stay in a room. We were tired, sweaty, hungry – but happy! Everyone had smiles on their faces! They directed us to another hotel - the Villa Brunelli – that I found to have the BEST views and I was very happy! Our motto for this entire adventure – “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” I was HAPPY!

We ordered room service – a bit of a stretch – budget wise – but it was 10 pm and we were starving!– pasta, French fries, bread, bruschetta and wine plus the most romantic view of the moon and the sea – of course Ford said – ‘this is not romantic – this is cool!’

We are happy to be here. I am still shocked and proud of my kids strolling their luggage ALL OVER THE PLACE without complaining once!

We are excited about Capri!!!

Stay tuned!

Capri – Here we come!

2009-08-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

OK…Saturday morning. We all slept til 9:30 am and got up ready for our adventure ‘de journo’. Clark and Ford went to conquer the laundry (still making sure we are rid of BUGS) and the girls and I tried to figure out where we wanted to go – Venice (which would be North) Cinque Terre (west) or Capri (which would be a 3 hour train ride south) We decided on Capri. We needed a rest from history, walking, touring and we are heading to the water! We have NO hotel reservations but have a cute family who will hopefully win favor on some Italians! We do have a list of hotels that have availability and we are hoping for a POOL to dip into! Our plan is to stay here for 2-3 nights and then head back up North to Venice or Cinque Terre. All we know is that we have to be in Paris to go to London on the 15^th of August…so, now we just keep on moving forward. My prayer is that the Lord would go before every move we make. Keep praying for protection – wisdom and guidance!

A Day In Florence

2009-08-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 31^st

We got up just in time to have the ‘free’ buffet breakfast J It was good – we all agreed that our other hotel in Rome had a better breakfast…but it got us going for the morning – well, some of us. Blakely woke up not feeling so great but we all encouraged her that she needed to get out and walk. The heat – lack of water – walking finally got to her and she turned GREEN! We immediately started to head back to our hotel to get her to the bathroom – and – well – she DID NOT MAKE IT! I will not gross you out with all the details but we were on a side street of Florence and don’t think that we drew any attention. We also had a bottle of water to wash away any evidence! (By the way – the streets are not pristine clean streets – they are pretty nasty and the other night I saw the biggest RAT running into its hole – just had to give you that side note!) UGH – THE LICE – ANOTHER BUG – we were under attack! We got back to the hotel and sat in the lobby while Blakely rested. We had lined up a tour guide for 1:30 to walk the streets of Florence and I was going to let Clark and the other kids go because there was no way I could reach her to cancel (it was 12:45) We waited – I PRAYED – and Blakely came back to life!

Barbara arrived promptly at 1:30 and we decided that we could all go on the tour. She was charming and amazing with a wealth of knowledge. She sat us all down in the cool lobby and gave us a brief history lesson of Florence, how small it once was, the Medici Family, that it was the center of the Renaissance. She told us about the artists Giotto, Masaccio, Ghiberti, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Michelangelo. Whew – a ton of information.

Then we set out on the streets of Florence for the tour. Our first stop - the church Santa Maria Novella – Gothic style built in the 1200’s. In the chapel of this church was a fresco done by Ghirlandaio and Michelangelo was his assistant at the age of 13. She pointed out two figures in the fresco that Ghirlandaio let Michelangelo paint – his first paintings. Fascinating. From there we went to the famous Duomo (the amazing dome that no one knows how it was supported while it was being constructed) – the famous Door (each panel took 25 years for a total of 50 years of his life) and the famous David that took your breath away. The sad thing we learned about Michelangelo was that he hated his mother because she died when he was six years old…he never married…no kids…a frustrated person who spent all his time with a hammer and a chisel (except when he took a little time off and painted some ceiling in Rome!). He was 26 when he started the David and it took him 3 years. It truly was an amazing sight in person.

After three hours with Barbara – our brains were full of history, art and architecture (she really made it exciting and knew how to keep everyone’s attention) and our feet were tired!

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the streets of Florence and looking for a craftsman who could build a special frame for my art – a mission…I want to come back with a good Italian frame!

We arrived back to our hotel to rinse off and head to dinner. We found a great spot near the hotel – MASO Pizzeria - and had another yummy dinner! Time for bed!

We went to bed not knowing where we were going on the next day of our journey! The adventure continues with the Neilson’s.

Getting Rid of Lice!

2009-07-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Catherine's comment: "I look like a lunch lady - just with a better figure!"

This is what we have to do each night - according to Dr. Beth Bowen - to hopefully keep the lice away! We bought a rather large bottle of olive oil and lathered their hair!

First Night In Florence

2009-07-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Our first night in Florence and we met up with our good friends Susan and Alex McAlister and their 3 children - Worth, Gordon, and Anna...what a great evening! We met them at their hotel (Lungarno Hotel) and had a drink in their bar overlooking the Arno (beautiful sight) and then had a YUMMY dinner at a great restaurant - Trattoria Mama Gina - that our friend Paul Fletcher recommended. It was GREAT! Good food, good wine, good company! The kids had a great time as well as the adults!

More history tomorrow! Florence is beautiful so far!

2009-07-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

Ancient Rome and the LONGEST day EVER!

2009-07-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

OK – this day was QUITE LONG so I am going to give you a breakdown of each part of the day. By the way – we are on the train to Florence – can’t wait for NEW SCENERY!
Wednesday morning 9am…met Armando in our lobby for a tour of Ancient Rome. What an incredible experience! We started our tour of the Colosseum and spent about an hour and half there getting all the scoop. Here are the Fun Facts we learn about the Colossom:
Clark – Much of the marble that was used in the construction was pillaged for other religious buildings commissioned by the Popes. It was FREE to get in for all the people. Crowd participation was encouraged – interactive to determine death. No evidence that Christians were martyred there. There is a great ongoing exhibit dedicated to the emperor who commissioned the colosseum.
Anne – That Jewish slaves built the colosseum. The amazing structure of the building – they put much detail in the brick pattern and then cover the walls with plaster. The entire structure is completely amazing. 1/3 of the building was left standing for the religious processions that took place along the road.
Catherine – The gladiators were prisoners. The amazing awning that they constructed. There were these pilings that went around the entire colosseum and they were ropes tied to them and you would pull on the ropes and this awning would cover the colosseum.
Taylor – The Gladiator got its name from the sword. The statue of the part of a horse that stands in the entrance was found last year when they were excavating a road nearby.
Blakely – They are still finding artifacts around there. They ruined architecture to build St. Peter’s.
Ford – The Gladiators were mostly slaves and prisoners and the people would determine whether or not to let them live. There were trap doors that the animals could come up through. There was an entrance for the chariots and opposite was the door they took the dead people out of.
It was truly amazing to get all that information – never knew!
From there we had about another 1 and half of touring the ancient ruins of Rome – I am sure I got some of that in my History classes – but that was not my strong subject in high school! It was good to have Armando there giving us a ton of INFORMATION – so glad we decided to do the tour.
1 PM: Armando gave us directions to go to the beach for the afternoon so we were all heading back to the hotel to grab our suits and go when all of a sudden – on the streets of Rome – Catherine tells me she saw something in Fords hair. FREAKED out about LICE – we rushed home to check everyone and found out that he did not have any signs of it BUT Taylor DID!!! Now, I have NEVER had to deal with this at home and always thought that I would freak out if it ever came near us – but I will say – I was very calm – went straight to the pharmacy to get the comb and shampoo – spent about an hour getting EVERY strand (so I thought) of hair combed out – loaded up all our laundry – the clothes that we were all in contact with – stripped ALL the linens/towels (luckily we were in a hotel and I did not have to wash all of that!!) and the six of us strolled our bags down to the local laundry mat – spent 21 Euros and cleaned our clothes…I thought I had to stay there with my clothes, so I sent Clark, Catherine, Taylor and Ford on to the beach while Blakely and I stayed back. When the lady came out and told me she would dry and fold my clothes, Blakely and I decided we would take and adventure and go and meet them at the beach. Now this meant that we would have to take 2 trains (did not realize that these trains had NO A/C and it was in the HEAT of the day!) We got ourselves a ticket and boarded the first train (Metro) UGH – hot and CROWDED! We got off and boarded the second train – we did get a seat on this one BUT it was still HOT and we were not even sure where we were going or IF we would even find Clark and the kids. I was praying for many ANGELS to surround us! We arrived 45 minutes later and started walking towards the beach. Let me just say that it was NOT Ponte Vedra nor DeBordieu nor Kiawah!!! We walked through some entrance and to a ‘HUT’ where a man (who spoke little English) asked me if he could help me – we told him we were looking for my husband and three kids – ‘AH, man in white shirt? He at the FREE beach right next door!’ Where Blakely and I were standing – there were a few people there – lounging in their chairs…to the right with some construction type fencing – was the FREE beach SLAMMED with people!!!! It reminded me of the book ‘Where’s Waldo’ – ugh and as we worked our way to the FREE beach we saw Catherine and Ford in the water. YEAH – we found them!!! Catherine comes immediately out of the water (wide eyed) exclaiming ‘MOM – some people do not have tops on!!!’ I told Ford to look at his toes and explained to them that we were in Europe and that is just the way it is! We were there for oh about 20 minutes when we decided that we had had enough and time to go home!
On the train again – HOT and SWEATY – I don’t think I sweat this much when I exercise! I guess this is what Hot Yoga is like – never tried that but think I experienced that on the train yesterday!
Home to shower – check hair – go have dinner. We finally sat down to dinner at 10:30 pm…Hard Rock Café in Rome – long day – long night – but everyone stayed HAPPY! Blakely was the happiest because she got a drink with tons of ICE – she didn’t even have to ask for it! We all got a pitcher of water (with ice) without having to pay for it!!!

We are almost in Florence – hoping for a new adventure!
Update on Taylor – we cut out (we hope) all the nits in her hair…last night we lathered olive oil all over – wrapped up in plastic and put her to bed. This morning, we packed up and I took her down the block to the Chinese Barber to get her hair cut!! That was another experience – but will not bore you with the details – you can ONLY imagine! We ALL have NEW brushes, NEW ponytail holders. We are PRAYING that we have that behind us! Would love your prayers as well that it will NOT spread!
I am proud of my kids – they have really been troopers in all our travels! You should see them rolling their bags all over the streets of Rome!

Lice!

2009-07-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!
Ok this is Blakely because my mom is washing Taylors hair with LICE soap! I nor anyone in my family has ever had lice... until now. I hope I don't get it because if I do I'm going to die! This has been one of my greatest fears I almost brought the package of RID we keep at our house just in case! Like that was on my list of things to bring BUT first it never got put in and I already had so much stuff. I really hope I don't get lice! I don't know how we figured this all out but all I remember is at the end of our tour I hear, "Ford I think you have lice."-Catherine. Then we got home and found out Taylor had it too! Oh my gosh! So much for our beach trip! Going on to what the Neilson's did today, other than pick out lice. We met Armando and went to the Colosseum after that we went to the Forum! We learned a lot! Ok well my mom will probably blog tonight but our WIFI is really weird because sometimes we can get on a free network then 30 minutes they lock it. When they lock it we have to get a code and get on another network and pay like 10 euros, if you wanted to know! We have stripped every sheet, taken down all the towels, and all are clothes are on there way to the wash!

2009-07-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

A Perfect Ending to a Great Day

2009-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

What a great few hours we spent on our Rood Top Restaurant and Bar - Watched an incredible sunset overlooking a beautiful city - drank a glass of wine - played some games of Crazy Eight - just enjoyed the cool breeze of the night! Oh yeah - we broke down and had ANOTHER Margarita Pizza! These photos do not do any justice to the sunset but it was beautiful!!!

A Day at the Vatican

2009-07-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

We started our day out right this morning - ate a great breakfast at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel - so quaint and nice! Then we met Armando - our tour guide for the Vatican around 10 am. I said that I would not get back on the Metro - but we did! We felt a little more in control of our surroundings following a true Italian! We arrived around 10:30 and had an amazing tour of the Vatican, The Sistine Chapel, St. Peters and the grounds of the Vatican - Armando was GREAT in telling us (in 3 short hours) all that he knew about the art, sculpture, architecture, the burial of Peter - WOW - what a wealth of information. In a few minutes the kids are going to be given a 'test' on all that they learned this morning :) It was massive but so glad that we had Armando walking us through. OK here are the few things that everyone learned today: Ford - the 'tapestries' and specifically the one with King Herod killing all the baby boys. Catherine - That the Church was named after Peter - that he was the first 'Pope". Taylor - That Peter was buried 7 meters below the center of the Church. Blakely - was most impressed with the ancient architecture. Clark - when Michalangelo first started painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - (on his back) - he did not realize that he painted the people in the first portion too small - he realized this when they took the scaffold away - the next portion he painted fewer people and made them larger. Anne - I loved everything that had to do with the ART - and the SCULPTURE! WOW - amazing! It was a great tour!
We then had lunch - I think everyone is getting tired of pizza - we tried to have Mexican last night - but everyone was complaining about the small portions and that you had to pay 5 euros for a small plate of chips! We like Cantina where they give you way too many chips before dinner! I liked the spot - it was charming!

After lunch today, we walked home and stopped at a local grocery store (it is NOT the Teeter!!!) but we got some good eats for the night and hopefully a good bottle of wine! We are going to hang out and get ready for a full day tomorrow with Armando taking us to the Colosseum - The Pantheon - The Forum. Then we are done with Rome and traveling to Florence! I think THREE days max in Rome with kids - oops my mistake - but we are still having fun!

Side note for Mrs. Boline - there is NO ice in Italy!! None! And if you ask them for some - they will bring you two cubes in a small glass! NOT GOOD :)

We miss you all!

Day Three In Rome

2009-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

We had another great day on the streets of Rome. It is - however - VERY HOT!!! As we walk the streets from sight to sight - we are just dripping wet! Tank tops - and airy skirts - glad we packed those! I am so surprised that I have not seen anyone lounge in the ice cold fountains...they look so refreshing!

Blakely has been dying to ride the Metro system - so we conquered that this morning - very dirty and hopefully our last trip on the Metro. We started out this morning touring around the Circo Massimo - hot and a lot of dirt - and worked our way towards the water. We were refreshed by some juicy slices of fresh watermelon (Beth - not sure what farm it came from - but it was good!) We walked along the water to the Isola Tiberina - pretty cool little island that had a hospital on it - and right next to the famous neighborhood Trastevere (never made it over there). We walked away from the water to the Piazza Navona where we wandered around and finally sat down for lunch (it was around 2:30 pm and we were starving!) After lunch we made our way back to the Vittorio Emanuele and climbed to the top! What a sight! By this time, everyone was hot, sweaty, tired, thirsty, and ready to head home...the kids have done a great job of going with the flow - I think the heat got me the most today! UGH! WATER - I need to be around water! Rome is great (It might be even better in October when it is not so HOT!) - I do think that it is a lot better if you have a guide (especially with children) to get you to all the major sights. We have lined up a tour guide this Wednesday for 3 hours and hope to pack some good history in! Tomorrow - Tuesday - we plan to take the train down to Pompeii and and have a full day there!

OK - that is all for now! We miss our family and friends and send love and blessings to all!

2009-07-26T15:54:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009-07-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thank Goodness For Fountains in Rome!!

2009-07-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

WOW - it is HOT is ROME - Thank goodness for all the many fountains around the city! Fountains that people splash COLD water on themselves and then fill up their empty water bottles to drink - UGH - that is what I would have thought a week ago - but a friend said that after spending 4 euros for each bottle of water and walking miles and miles through the HOT city - you finally do as the ROMANS do and drink the water!

We had a another GREAT day - I think it was a little better because most of us got about 12 hours of good sleep! We hit the streets of Rome today traveling on foot to all the sights - Trevi Fountain (ugh the masses of people! But we found a good photo spot!) - Victor Emmanuel - The Spanish Steps - The Pantheon and many many more! We walked and walked and walked - for about 12 hours today! Well, around 5:30 pm we did stop and rented 2 golf carts for an hour and toured some of the side streets and sights we had seen throughout the day - that was FUN! Except for the Italian lady that blessed me out for being in the taxi lane - whoa - I thought I had a temper! CRAZY! We ended up having a great dinner at a restaurant - Aroma Ristorante. Heading home - everyone was happy! Until our tour guide (Clark) took us in a 3o minute loop heading in the wrong direction - tired feet - tired chicks - BUT we did find some Gelato and were feeling much better! Got home about 10:30 pm and are heading to bed! What a great day! I am proud of all my precious children who endured much walking today! There is more to come!

Our First Day in Rome

2009-07-26T01:21:00.000-07:00

We arrived yesterday to our hotel in Rome - Mecenate Palace Hotel. The reservation desk took one look at our family and shook his head - "Rooms too small for your family". We sat there for a few minutes looking frazzled (a little hot and sweaty after walking ten minutes from the train station pulling all our bags - we are getting good at this!) Anyway - after telling us that the hotel was pretty much booked (and we did not want any of our children in a room by themselves) he told us that the Hotel had an 'apartment' that was not being used this week and he would put us over there for an upgrade of 60 euros...still not a bad deal since we had used Priceline and gotten such a good price on our hotel rooms. The apartment is very spacious - a little dated - but great! Yet another blessing on this trip! Also included in our deal is a wonderful breakfast served on the rooftop overlooking Rome - couldn't ask for anything better!

We got settled in yesterday and hit the streets to find a place to eat - stumbling across a great local restaurant L'Archetto Cavour. Had a wonderful lunch there and then set off to the Colosseum where we walked around for about an hour. It was now approaching 6 pm and everyone was hitting a wall. We strolled back to our hotel - got a GREAT gelato ice cream right downstairs from our apartment - checked out the roof top scenery and headed in for bed. Everyone was tucked in around 9 pm and got a GREAT night sleep! Each in their own bed.

It's Sunday morning and we just had a great breakfast on the roof top of the hotel...everyone is rested and ready to tour Rome. Will try to post more photos...Love and blessings to all!

ROME - Saturday

2009-07-26T00:26:00.000-07:00

It’s 4 am and we can’t sleep...

2009-07-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Funny things said:

At dinner the first night “I can’t believe this is the same day – I think this is the longest day ever!” Ford

at 6 am “Can we go eat dinner?” Taylor

eating a gelato cone – “This cone tastes like wood” Ford

on the train heading to Rome – Clark and I discussing more of our trip and the costs – “AWWH Let’s not use all our Euros” Ford (funnier when it was just said!)

OK I am dying laughing here – we are on the train (heading to Rome) – I am doing a major people watching as we pull into Bologna and new people are getting on the train – Ford looks at me and says “Are you trying to greet people with your EYES?”

Well, we had a fun filled day in Milan and fell asleep around 10 pm. Around 3:30 am my bed fellows (Ford and Blakely) started stirring. After a while we all were wide awake and eating leftover pizza – you will have to see the video! We tried to go back to sleep and finally decided to get up for good around 5:30 am to start our day to Rome. On our train now and will update later! C packs come in handy on this trip!

A GREAT day in Milan

2009-07-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

WEll, it is 3:30pm Charlotte time and we are about to go to sleep - for the second time today! We arrived Milan safe and sound at 6:15 am and boarded a taxi that took us straight to our Hotel. Arrived at the Hotel around 7:30 am and were hoping and praying that we would be able to get into our room - which, after about 30 minutes at the desk and figuring out passports - we had two rooms ready! Yet - another blessing on this trip! We dropped our bags and hit the streets of Milan! GREAT day - touring - some of us (Catherine and Blakely) took 'cat naps' on the tour bus :) Exhausted, we came back to our hotel room around noon and took a 5 hour nap! Ford woke up and thought it was the next day! He could not understand the JET LAG! Boy are we all experiencing that! Taylor this morning (6:30 am) asked 'Can we go have dinner now?' We got ourselves pulled back together around 6 pm and set out for the evening. Had a great dinner at Ristorante Maruzella Pizzeria - Great local pizza/pasta joint! Going to bed now! Will update again soon...Blessings and love to all.

You can view our pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/40831703@N08/3753229010/

"This is the longest day EVER!" - Ford

2009-07-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHHH….

What a day (and night). The morning started off a bit hectic. I had a few loose ends to tie up this morning leaving around nine and entrusting my children to get their bags together and tidy up a bit before we left. I got home an hour later to find them lounging in front of the TV…NOTHING done! This did not set a sweet tone with me…and to add fuel to my fire…Catherine comes down with her suitcase packed with too many clothes – bulging – not sure it was going to fit in the overhead. PACK light was my motto all week and I was furious! We did not have time to repack so we were one our way – scowls and all. (the scowls finally melted away when all of our bags passed the carry on baggage rule AND all our liquids remained intact) Our flight from Charlotte to Philadelphia gave us only 50 minutes to connect to our overseas flight to Milan. NOT GOOD especially when they told us we were going to have about a 45 minute delay in Charlotte. We arrived Philly and sprinted to gate A19 – a man on the plane told us that it was a far walk and that we should get a people mover to get us there faster – well there was no people mover in sight – just the 5 of us slightly jogging through the airport – yes only 5 because we lost Clark in the midst – he was still looking for a people mover. We made it to the gate and found out that there was a slight delay – mechanical problems (whatever – my fear of flying is way in the past!) BUT a huge blessing for us because as soon as Clark showed up – they had fixed the problem and we were boarding!

The kids were GREAT on the almost 8 hour flight…we had an OK meal, a movie (Duplicity) that we could not follow with all the interruptions– will rent it when we get home, got some sleep not much – the plane was half full so we all got somewhat of our own 2 – 3 seats…AHHHH….our journey continues…we have an hour before we land!

We are on our way...

2009-07-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I saw a family of six being interviewed while they were traveling around the world and homeschooling their children for a year. What an incredible experience and I thought that our family of six could take on this adventure - however - I did not get quite the response from my family that I had hoped for. After many years of trying to convince that it would be a good thing for our family - they finally were giving in to the idea and that it might not be a bad one. Especially after pouring over all the blogging content that is out there and all the many other families who have taken this leap of faith and left the material things of this world behind, packed the bare minimum and set off for the journey of a lifetime. Last May (2008) we finally thought that it could be possible to plan and execute our dreams. For the past year, we have planned, hoped, prayed that we were doing the right thing. My 8 year old son packed his bags one day and told us he was 'running away' because he did not want to have to get all the shots. He was back in 10 minutes and in the end we did not have to get any shots. The only way that we could have taken off for a year and taken on this adventure, was to have rented our home fully furnished. We gave ourselves a date of June 2009 - and if we did not rent we would not to take off. We prayed for wisdom, discernment and guidance. I did not want to take one step ahead of God's plans for our lives. It is so easy to get caught up in what we want in our lives and take our eyes off on the ONE who sees all - who knows all - the Almighty! His word tells us that if we 'seek first HIS kingdom and righteousness, then all else will fall into place". I truly believe that he put this desire into my adventurous heart - but it is not the time to take 10 months off. My art business is booming with business and I am humbled to say that Prince Albert II of Monaco, The Ambassador Giles Noches and the Counselor Lorenzo Ravano were all presented with paintings from the Angel Series last week.

SO - we are not taking 10 months off - we are going to take 1 month off and travel in Europe with our precious children. This will be a great opportunity for us all to regroup, knit together as a family and just enjoy part of our Around the World trip. Each of our children is going to be posting blogs of where they have been and their favorite part of the trip. I will be taking thousands of photos to come home and PAINT and gear up for the Fall and the shows that will be. Clark will hopefully just relax and know that we serve a GOD who is in control of ALL things and in the end He is Jehovah Jira - our provider!

We leave July 23rd and start in Milan, Italy...we return August 20th out of London....Stay tuned!