Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Katelyn Jr.
Ever since my Niece Nikole was born everyone has told me she is a mini me, and if I ever wondered what my children are going to look like, just look at her. What do you think? Mini me? Good thing she is cute!
Garmish
"Rain Rain go away please come back another day" was our theme song for this trip. We rented a cabin down in Garmish which is an army resort on an army base for a weekend. We took the kids out of school on a friday and drove down and on the way stopped by the Neuschwanstein castle. When we got there it started sprinkling but we decided to go up anyways. We took the horse drawn carriage up and enjoyed walking around the castle. The enjoyment was short lived though when it started pouring rain. We all rush backed down to the car but it was too late we were all soaked and the kids were all whiny and miserable. Most sat pantless with blankets over them for the rest of the ride.
Our cabin in Garmish did not have a bathroom but it was near by. It was a little quante cabin with a tiny dining area a loft and a room with bunk beds and a queen bed. We went swimming at the resort which was right under the Alps (to bad you could not see them due to the rain). We found some microwave dinners to eat that night and all crashed. The next day it was still rainy so we ended up staying in the car most the time, and just driving around and seeing near by cities. Due to the rain we headed home earlier then planned but heard later that right after we left it cleared up.
Our cabin in Garmish did not have a bathroom but it was near by. It was a little quante cabin with a tiny dining area a loft and a room with bunk beds and a queen bed. We went swimming at the resort which was right under the Alps (to bad you could not see them due to the rain). We found some microwave dinners to eat that night and all crashed. The next day it was still rainy so we ended up staying in the car most the time, and just driving around and seeing near by cities. Due to the rain we headed home earlier then planned but heard later that right after we left it cleared up.
Adults allowed
So you know all those cool jumpy house places like Leo's place or blast off here in the states that have big slides and cool ball pits that look so fun, yet only kids are allowed so they are actually really boring just sitting there watching the kids have fun? Well in Germany it is not like that because ADULTS ARE ALLOWED, and boy did we have fun when we went to one for one of Annalee's friends daughters birthday party.
Catania/Trapani (Our seventh and eighth stop on our Taste of Italy tour)
The next morning we took an hour bus ride over to Catania. I wanted Katelyn to experience a street market so we went shopping for a tie. As expected it was busy and crowded and offered some interesting people watching with lots of yelling and interesting smells(some good and some bad). A definite advantage of being in a city that I was familiar with was I knew where to get food. We stopped by a favorite bar and got another delicious arancino as well as a gelato in a brioche(a lightly sweetened bread). Think of a fresh ice cream sandwich. Once again Sicily did not disappoint in the food department and also the food was cheaper. After waiting forever for the city bus and a long trip across the city we made it to our Hotel Sheraton. This hotel was extremely nice. We stayed there because the Stake Conference was being held there. We took a nice swim in the salt water pool that overlooked the sea and then grabbed an amazing pizza and got some groceries.
Sunday morning we got a surprisingly huge buffet breakfast from the hotel. Stake Conference was very exciting for me because it allowed me to see members from 4 branches that I served in. Fratello Pasqualino who is now the Branch President in Gela gave a wonderful talk on not getting discouraged with missionary work and always pushing forward and trusting in the Lord. After conference we found out that we would be able to ride back to Trapani on the bus that they had rented. We were very grateful for this because we had stressed a lot about how we were going to get back to Trapani in time for our flight home. The bus ride home was not a quiet ride like I expected. Someone had a brought a karaoke machine and members took turns singing, very loudly, old Sicilian songs. For some reason I had forgotten how loud Italians can be and how much fun they like to have. Oh did I mention that the A/C was not working either. That made it really fun especially because everyone was constantly complaining about it. Really it was not that bad. Nowhere near as bad of a bus ride as the one we had coming back from Chianti with the Swedish girls. I enjoyed it because it gave me an opportunity to talk with all of the members and to see how the missionary work was going there. Trapani was my last city so I had stronger relationships with these members than some of my other cities.
Sorella Cimino was gracious enough to let us stay at her house that evening when we got into Trapani. She made us a tuna pasta which was excellent. There food is always so good but also simple. The next morning her son picked us up and drove us to the airport which simplified things for us. The Trapani members saved us a ton of hassle and a good chunk of money. We then said goodbye to Italy and headed back to Germany. Our flight back to Germany lasted 2 1/2 hours and was cheaper than taking a 32 hour train ride.
Sunday morning we got a surprisingly huge buffet breakfast from the hotel. Stake Conference was very exciting for me because it allowed me to see members from 4 branches that I served in. Fratello Pasqualino who is now the Branch President in Gela gave a wonderful talk on not getting discouraged with missionary work and always pushing forward and trusting in the Lord. After conference we found out that we would be able to ride back to Trapani on the bus that they had rented. We were very grateful for this because we had stressed a lot about how we were going to get back to Trapani in time for our flight home. The bus ride home was not a quiet ride like I expected. Someone had a brought a karaoke machine and members took turns singing, very loudly, old Sicilian songs. For some reason I had forgotten how loud Italians can be and how much fun they like to have. Oh did I mention that the A/C was not working either. That made it really fun especially because everyone was constantly complaining about it. Really it was not that bad. Nowhere near as bad of a bus ride as the one we had coming back from Chianti with the Swedish girls. I enjoyed it because it gave me an opportunity to talk with all of the members and to see how the missionary work was going there. Trapani was my last city so I had stronger relationships with these members than some of my other cities.
Sorella Cimino was gracious enough to let us stay at her house that evening when we got into Trapani. She made us a tuna pasta which was excellent. There food is always so good but also simple. The next morning her son picked us up and drove us to the airport which simplified things for us. The Trapani members saved us a ton of hassle and a good chunk of money. We then said goodbye to Italy and headed back to Germany. Our flight back to Germany lasted 2 1/2 hours and was cheaper than taking a 32 hour train ride.
Paris
Paris was a quick trip for us due to train scheduling. The train ride from Heidelberg to Paris was only 4 hours but when we arrived we went to book our tickets home the next afternoon which was wednesday only to find out we could not use our Eurorail passes until Saturday, or we could buy a full priced ticket. One lady suggested we ask the train manager the next day if he would let us on. So we decided not to worry about it and went on our way. Our hotel was a little bit scary and small with the smallest bathroom I have ever seen with no towels. We started off the day with the Arc of Triumph and then headed over to the Eiffel Tower. Kevin's first words upon seeing the Eiffel tower were its not as shiny as I thought it would be, and its really metally. But he seemed to get more impressed when we finally made it to the top. The line was of course long so we spent quite some time waiting in line and watch the street sellers run away from cops. We rode the elevator up the whole way and as always really enjoy the view of the city. I also finally got my kiss on the Eiffel Tower. We spent quite a bit of time on top and then headed down to go catch a boat tour.
Before our boat tour we attempted to find some dinner. We were however on the wrong part of town for cheap food and could only find really expensive restaurants. When we finally found a pizza place that was decent priced and you could take away we bought it. Yes we ate Italian food in France but it was all we could find. We then made it over to the boat where we boarded and enjoyed a relaxing sorta cold really beautiful tour of Paris. The tour took us up and down the Seine river that flows through Paris and told you all about all the historical sites.
After the boat tour we enjoyed viewing the Eiffel tower at night with all the lights. We also got to see the light show which was really cool. While watch the light show we got a kick out of all the police officers with there phones out recording it. We attempted to take a picture of us and the light show. A police officer saw us struggling and asked if we wanted him to take the picture. The other officers were teasing him and pushing his arms as they took the pictures. It was quite entertaining.
The next day we woke up and headed to the train station to see about our tickets. They told us we could go home friday now instead of saturday which was an improvement. They then suggested trying to get on a German train because they are more relaxed at letting people on then French trains. After leaving the train station we went to the Notre Dame did some shopping and then went and looked at the Louve. We did not have time to go in because we had to go try and Catch the German train. The German train manager was nice and let us on with a reservation fee but it was still a lot cheaper then buying a full priced ticket.
Paris was beautiful and very relaxed. They had great city transportation which can really make or break a trip. A little more time would have been nice but overall it was a great quick trip.
Before our boat tour we attempted to find some dinner. We were however on the wrong part of town for cheap food and could only find really expensive restaurants. When we finally found a pizza place that was decent priced and you could take away we bought it. Yes we ate Italian food in France but it was all we could find. We then made it over to the boat where we boarded and enjoyed a relaxing sorta cold really beautiful tour of Paris. The tour took us up and down the Seine river that flows through Paris and told you all about all the historical sites.
After the boat tour we enjoyed viewing the Eiffel tower at night with all the lights. We also got to see the light show which was really cool. While watch the light show we got a kick out of all the police officers with there phones out recording it. We attempted to take a picture of us and the light show. A police officer saw us struggling and asked if we wanted him to take the picture. The other officers were teasing him and pushing his arms as they took the pictures. It was quite entertaining.
The next day we woke up and headed to the train station to see about our tickets. They told us we could go home friday now instead of saturday which was an improvement. They then suggested trying to get on a German train because they are more relaxed at letting people on then French trains. After leaving the train station we went to the Notre Dame did some shopping and then went and looked at the Louve. We did not have time to go in because we had to go try and Catch the German train. The German train manager was nice and let us on with a reservation fee but it was still a lot cheaper then buying a full priced ticket.
Paris was beautiful and very relaxed. They had great city transportation which can really make or break a trip. A little more time would have been nice but overall it was a great quick trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)