Cirque de Soleil

June 20, 2012

Tonight we went to Cirque de Soleil and I was amazed.  I have never seen such a show and how people are so flexible.  I loved every second of the show from the jump rope, standing on each other, and flipping back and forth.  It was a great evening!

Right before the picture I put in some Swiss chocolate.  Can you tell in my cheeks?

Weekend in Chicago

June 15-17, 2012

Last time I was in Chicago was for work, so I didn't get to see many fun attractions.  Keith's best friend from kindergarten happens to live in Chicago so we started planning a weekend of fun.  We had all kinds of plans, but none really went as we thought.  Keith was going to go to a place to critique his swim stroke, but the place happened to be closed this weekend.  We still cashed in some frequent flyer miles and headed for the Windy City.

When we got into town we made our way to Michigan Avenue where we would be staying.  We met up with Kenny and his girlfriend Katie at Cantina Laredo and I instantly recognized the name from Table Rock Lake.  I couldn't wait to eat dinner and it didn't let me down.

Saturday morning we got up and ran along Lake Michigan and up to Navy Pier.  We were going to go into the Sears Tower, but the line was to long so we decided to eat lunch and make our way back down Michigan Avenue shopping.  That evening we met up with about 10 people, ate dinner and went to a street festival.  We stayed close to the Drake hotel so we found ourselves checking out weddings and enjoying some of their tasty treats--well I did!

Somewhere in the course of the evening Keith tweaked his ankle.  Sunday morning was not very pleasant as he cried out in pain for his ankle.  Somehow this ended with myself going to Walgreens to get crutches, wraps, and pain medicine.  This didn't keep us down, even though we had a good laugh at how dramatic Keith was later.  We headed for Chicago Diner, which is a vegan diner, and then went to a boat cruise.  We made it to the airpot and got first class priority.  Back at home the ankle instantly felt better---it's a miracle!

Overall, it was a great weekend and I'm thankful to meet Keith's friends!

My friend Karen met us out with her husband

Paris

June 4, 2012

This was our last full day on vacation and we were bound and determined to see it all. We started by going to a perfume store where they showed us how perfume was made.  From there, we made our way to McDonalds by walking all the way from the Louvre, down the Champs Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe.  This was a long walk, but we got to see most of the sites on this trip.



Small Arc de Triomphe

Jardins (Garden)

Fountain in Devil Wears Prada

Stolen from the Eygyptians, over 3000 years old

Arc

We bought 12 metro passes between the two of us and took the metro all over town.  We started by going to Napoleon’s tomb where we learned tons of fun facts about his tomb.  You have to either bow or look up at his tomb, plus it is made with 12 different materials.  This tomb was massive for such a little guy.

Invalides--military school

From the tomb we went to the Cometombs, which I thought the Church of Monks in Rome was odd, nothing compared to stacks and stacks of bones for what seemed like miles.  We went underground and made our way through tunnels until we finally reached the end.  Pictures were allowed here.



We then took the metro to the Notre Dame where we viewed amazing stain glass artwork.  We had a quick snack (I had the best vegetable soup I’ve ever had) and back to the hotel for a quick change.

That evening we had dinner and a show at Nouvelle Eve, Parisian cabaret which is like the Moulin Rouge.  Our table was the first one off the stage and it was quite the sight.

Overall this was an amazing trip!  It was so much fun to be with Lauren for two weeks, but it seemed like 2 days.  This gives us a great idea of where to visit again.  This was a dream come true and turning 30 was all around the greatest!  I’d do this birthday again!

 

Lucerne to Paris, France

We are finally heading to our final city and it seems like yesterday that we left.  I took French in high school and again I wish I would have listened instead of do who knows what.

France is off the Seine River and is the 2^nd largest county in Europe with a strong economy.  They specialize in cars, wine, and aerospace.  Paris is the most visited city in the world. Escargot, frog legs, and crepes are very popular along with Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

The Louvre is closed on Tuesday so we rushed to try and make it before it closed.  Unfortunately we missed the Mona Lisa, but I guess that means we just need to visit again.  We started off with a bus tour around the city visiting opera houses, towers, first Chanel stores, Notre Dame, Louvre, grand palace, military fortress, and ending with the Eiffel Tower.  The Eiffel Tower was for the 100 anniversary after the French Resolution at the World’s Fair.  It was only supposed to last seven years, but they put radio antennas on it so that is why it still stands today.  It is made by ship makers so throughout the structure it is supported by rivets.

Louvre Courtyard

Grand Palace

I felt the most unsafe in Paris and I think most of that went to the fact that we had five kids try pick pocketing our tour group and got busted by undercover cops.  We had to stay extra so we could get testimonies and go through the entire police process.  From that point on I was always on high alert. 



Florence to Lucerne, Switzerland

June 3, 2012

Today was the only day we had bad weather and it was only just a drizzle, but it did cancel our trip up the Swiss Alps in a cable car.  Therefore, we had extra time to shop around in the Swiss army stores and to buy chocolate.  I ended up eating all my chocolate in one setting and had to go back for more!  Oops.

Switzerland is known for the Swiss Alps as 60% of the country is in the mountains.  This means they have a lot of alpine climates and love alpine sports.  The Rhine River runs through this country and it is the richest of all of Europe.  The unemployment is less than 4% and they have very low taxes, but high costs of living.  Swatch, Nestle, and the UN are all headquartered here.  The Swiss guard the Pope because they are known for being neutral.  Every male must be apart of the army until they are 65 years old.  They are famous for fondue and Swiss chocolate.  That evening we stayed in a hotel that was previously a jail.  It actually was one of the most comfortable places we stayed.  That evening we look a boat cruise around Lake Lucerne.

Carved into the mountain

Wooden Chapel Bridge

Lake Lucerne

Rome to Florence, Italy

June 2, 2012

Florence was a city of retired Roman soldiers so Florence has a lot of money.  This was considered the Tuscan area and many famous individuals grew up in this area including Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Galileo.  The best pieces of art are found in Florence, the city of flowers.

We started off by overlooking Florence in Michelangelo’s Square.  There was a huge bronze sculpture of David in the middle of this square and the view of the city was amazing.  There is a famous bridge which is called Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) and you can clearly see it from this overlook point.

Old Bridge

Leather is very popular in Florence so we went to a leather demonstration to find out what was real versus fake leather.  After we finished we headed for a walking tour and learned about the old town hall where the original David stood.  In order to see the original David it would of taken hours, so we decided to tour around by ourselves.  We saw statues of Pegasus with the head of Medusa, Hercules, and Neptune.  We went to the old bridge followed by the Bishop’s church and house.  The statue of David was going to go on a terrace at the Bishop’s house, but it was such a huge hit it stayed outside the town hall.  We finished Florence with going into Santa Croce church where Michelangelo and Galileo are buried.

Santa Croce Church

Where the original once stood

Shops on the Old Bridge

Where David was Supposed to Go

That evening we headed to the Space Disco after the best Tuscan meal.  We had tons of potatoes and pasta for dinner and then danced the night away. This was the same disco that Jersey Shore got kicked out, so everyone was excited to go!

Rome

June 1, 2012

After leaving the Vatican City we stopped to get a new SIM card and ate a sandwich for lunch.  Lauren and I did a great job of navigating around the city by the metro.  We went to the Coliseum and paid to take a group tour that was only supposed to last 45 minutes, but lasted a lot longer.  We learned about where the gladiators would enter the arena, what kinds of animals they would use, and where the emperor/women/and peasants sat.  Tickets were free for anyone, so this was the event to be at.

Emperor would Sit at the Cross

Where the Animals were kept

After leaving the Coliseum tour, the Roman Ruins was also included with our ticket.  We got to see what was left of Julius Caesar’s palace and where he was stabbed, but didn’t die in his own house.  We learned about the street that went through town all the way to the Senate, the temples they use to have, and the first basilica.  Mussolini had a summer house in the ruins and also Dmitri’s palace walls still stood.  You could see where they used to have chariot races at his palace.

Palace Walls

Small chariot race

After leaving the ruins we headed for St. Peters in Chains church where we saw the chains that hung St. Peter.  Then we headed to the Church of the Monks which was quite disturbing at the time until we went to Paris.  No photos were allowed, but they made artwork out of the bones of the monks.  Some of the bones still had flesh on them.  Finally, we made it to the Spanish steps where we enjoyed pineapple and strawberry gelato.

Lauren and I wanted to end Rome with the best meal ever.  We went a little bit off the main area and ate at Numbs. It was the BEST pesto sauce I’ve ever had. I overate and wanted more, but we decided we better start heading back!  We took the train back and missed our bus.  We found a nice quiet restaurant to help us get a taxi back to our hotel.  That could of been trouble, but thankfully we had a lot of prayers of protection.