written on the evening of November 27, 2009
As I write this, wanda is laughing hysterically and erin is enjoying the music selections of our current ICE train…sounds likes a little opera or perhaps it was jazz…it’s difficult to tell through the ear phones. Mo is sleeping once again; how I have envied her ability to fall asleep anywhere on this trip…such a wonderful skill. I am saying good-bye to Germany …we have just stopped at the last German station and are now moving into French territory once again. I know that I do not need to state the obvious but alas, still I will…we are heading west…WEST! This would indicate that perhaps we are making our way home and it is indeed true. Thus, it is a mix of emotions that accompanies me on this late night journey. I have enjoyed and experienced more than I could expect on this trip and I am sad to leave the continent that has been the site for so much learning, fun, growth, and stuff I can’t really even explain. I am sad to say goodbye to the wonderful people we have met …there are still such kind people in this world and I am thankful , so thankful for that. If I haven’t said it before, I will say it now, this trip has taught me what it is to be truly hospitable. Something I do not take lightly. Yet, as I reflect on the wonderful things that these last three months have been I cannot help but feel crazy excitement for if it truly has been three months then that means that so soon will I be home!!! HOME!!!! I have always had a deep love for my family but I have never appreciated and missed them as much as I have over these last three months. There is a reason why God gave us family. I am sooo thrilled to see them again; to be there in body, not just in spirit. I am also so excited to find my way back into a community once again. As much as I have enjoyed wandering wherever the train takes us, I will admit that I am actually looking forward to being in one place for an extended amount of time. A place where I can continue in friendships that will last longer than most of our two day hostel stays. All this awaits us but there is much we have to say goodbye to as well. Just a bit of what is running through my mind tonight. We are heading to Paris, but this trip will be much quicker than our last. We are just stopping there to sleep and we will be off tomorrow morning to the port which will take us back to the UK. This is where we will once again visit some of the sweetest people: John and Sue (we can’t wait to see you again!!) We hope to visit London once more before we fly away…see it in a different light…these being Christmas lights! Pardon the pun, Erin and Wanda are rubbing off on me. So, I will now return to the company of my great friends (Wanda is teaching Erin a little sign language…we’re all about education here) So soon will we be in Canada once again and I can tell you that all four of us are very excited to see our great land , perhaps covered in a bit of snow. See you soon!!!
Mel
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Its been a long, long time...
Okay, so what to write… for me (Monique) this is the first time writing, and we have less than two weeks left, weird, and sad.
We have not written in a long time, but yet have done so much; I hate to bore you with all the details, so here is just a little catch-up blog to inform our followers what we have recently, or not so recently, encountered.
So what I know is that we have last blogged on the 20th of October in which we were in Madrid. Sorry if some details are vague, but remember that this is to just give you a general idea of where we have been, to know more details, you have to talk to us personally. So starting on October 20th, in which we traveled to Barcelona, after spending time in Madrid. Barcelona has a beautiful beach, but the weather was not accommodating to our desire to be sunburned. Instead it rained, or yet, poured. It rained so hard that there was a river in the middle of the road, yet we were still out there wandering the streets looking for the sights to see.
After Barcelona we crossed the border into France again, to the town of Nice, which is very nice. Nothing to exciting happened here, we went to church, went to the beach, swam, walked around, about the usual activities that we embark on a daily basis.
Next on the list of countries was Italy. We based ourselves out of Pisa, where the leaning tower is, and took day trips to Florence (Firenze) and Cinque Terre. Italy is a so beautiful, the colours and the scenery is so nice and beautiful. Anyone ever planning on going make sure you take the time to do Cinque Terre, it is beautiful and worth the 6 hours of hiking. Before leaving Italy we had to make sure that we got to the ‘sinking’ city, Venice. Venice’s main mode of transportation is by boat and by foot. It is made up of over 400 canals and 114 bridges. It is beautiful city as well and was very intriguing to walk around and get lost. When in Italy you cannot forget about Rome, which is the next city in which was on our agenda. Here there is a lot of historic activities to embark on. We conquered the Coliseum, Palintino Hill, Tervi Fountain, Pantheon, and Vatican City. Things we have eaten a lot of here are pizza, pasta, and gelato! (SO GOOD)
In Rome we had rain, so next was a spot where sun would be more prominent: GREECE! Traveling from Rome to Athens was a good thirty hours of travel where we took all modes of transportation: bus, boat, and train. Athens is a pretty dingy city and not to exciting, but we had a great time here yet. We walked the streets where the markets were on and that became dangerous fast. After doubling our pack sizes we thought we should leave Athens, but not after visiting Korinth, if you want to know, ask us about it. One thing to add before I end in Athens is that we got CHEAP calling cards and got to call people from home and school which was SOOO fun and exciting! Foods we have enjoyed cheaply are: Greek salad, souvlaki pitas, and half-eaten sandwich we found in the garbage
Island hopping is more conducive to the summer, but we thought we would try it anyway. We started with going to Crete, where we swam and went to the beach. Then we went to Santorini in which we did not go swimming but we did rent ATV’s and ripped around the island for a day. We went from tip to tip and had a roaring time! We then headed back to the mainland to continue our journeys.
We then flew to the cheapest spot we could find, which turned out to be…..
VIANNA (WEIN)
Wow, this is where we are leaving from as I write this, crazy. Vienna was good to us, upon arrival we decided to walk toward the centre of the city where we found the Christmas market. Christmas was in the air as we were here. Again we based ourselves here, so we spent 5 nights here, but only one actual day in Vienna. Our day trips included: Budapest, Hungary; Salzburg, Austria; and Prague, Chez Republic. We have spent a lot of time on the train lately, traveling to and from these places, but the scenery is great and we see so much in a day. We have become the people that get up at 5:00 am to see the sights.
As I write we are traveling to Zurich, Switzerland in which we will see the Alps, and then off to Germany after that again. Out time is coming to an end, which is sad, but it will be good not to smell all the time.
There are so many little details, but this is just a general update on where we have been the past month and what we have been up to. Sorry that it has taken so long to update this, but it gets put to the back-burner and then forgotten sometimes. You can take it as a good sign because we have been enjoying ourselves with the adventures we have been having! Thanks for reading!
PS. just remember that I am not good at english and i am sorry it is written in horrible english, but it is how i write and think... SORRY.
We have not written in a long time, but yet have done so much; I hate to bore you with all the details, so here is just a little catch-up blog to inform our followers what we have recently, or not so recently, encountered.
So what I know is that we have last blogged on the 20th of October in which we were in Madrid. Sorry if some details are vague, but remember that this is to just give you a general idea of where we have been, to know more details, you have to talk to us personally. So starting on October 20th, in which we traveled to Barcelona, after spending time in Madrid. Barcelona has a beautiful beach, but the weather was not accommodating to our desire to be sunburned. Instead it rained, or yet, poured. It rained so hard that there was a river in the middle of the road, yet we were still out there wandering the streets looking for the sights to see.
After Barcelona we crossed the border into France again, to the town of Nice, which is very nice. Nothing to exciting happened here, we went to church, went to the beach, swam, walked around, about the usual activities that we embark on a daily basis.
Next on the list of countries was Italy. We based ourselves out of Pisa, where the leaning tower is, and took day trips to Florence (Firenze) and Cinque Terre. Italy is a so beautiful, the colours and the scenery is so nice and beautiful. Anyone ever planning on going make sure you take the time to do Cinque Terre, it is beautiful and worth the 6 hours of hiking. Before leaving Italy we had to make sure that we got to the ‘sinking’ city, Venice. Venice’s main mode of transportation is by boat and by foot. It is made up of over 400 canals and 114 bridges. It is beautiful city as well and was very intriguing to walk around and get lost. When in Italy you cannot forget about Rome, which is the next city in which was on our agenda. Here there is a lot of historic activities to embark on. We conquered the Coliseum, Palintino Hill, Tervi Fountain, Pantheon, and Vatican City. Things we have eaten a lot of here are pizza, pasta, and gelato! (SO GOOD)
In Rome we had rain, so next was a spot where sun would be more prominent: GREECE! Traveling from Rome to Athens was a good thirty hours of travel where we took all modes of transportation: bus, boat, and train. Athens is a pretty dingy city and not to exciting, but we had a great time here yet. We walked the streets where the markets were on and that became dangerous fast. After doubling our pack sizes we thought we should leave Athens, but not after visiting Korinth, if you want to know, ask us about it. One thing to add before I end in Athens is that we got CHEAP calling cards and got to call people from home and school which was SOOO fun and exciting! Foods we have enjoyed cheaply are: Greek salad, souvlaki pitas, and half-eaten sandwich we found in the garbage
Island hopping is more conducive to the summer, but we thought we would try it anyway. We started with going to Crete, where we swam and went to the beach. Then we went to Santorini in which we did not go swimming but we did rent ATV’s and ripped around the island for a day. We went from tip to tip and had a roaring time! We then headed back to the mainland to continue our journeys.
We then flew to the cheapest spot we could find, which turned out to be…..
VIANNA (WEIN)
Wow, this is where we are leaving from as I write this, crazy. Vienna was good to us, upon arrival we decided to walk toward the centre of the city where we found the Christmas market. Christmas was in the air as we were here. Again we based ourselves here, so we spent 5 nights here, but only one actual day in Vienna. Our day trips included: Budapest, Hungary; Salzburg, Austria; and Prague, Chez Republic. We have spent a lot of time on the train lately, traveling to and from these places, but the scenery is great and we see so much in a day. We have become the people that get up at 5:00 am to see the sights.
As I write we are traveling to Zurich, Switzerland in which we will see the Alps, and then off to Germany after that again. Out time is coming to an end, which is sad, but it will be good not to smell all the time.
There are so many little details, but this is just a general update on where we have been the past month and what we have been up to. Sorry that it has taken so long to update this, but it gets put to the back-burner and then forgotten sometimes. You can take it as a good sign because we have been enjoying ourselves with the adventures we have been having! Thanks for reading!
PS. just remember that I am not good at english and i am sorry it is written in horrible english, but it is how i write and think... SORRY.
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