My hubby's family(mom, step-dad, and two sisters) came all the way out to Merry Ol' England. So we spent the first day down in London. Sadly, it was all rainy and windy, and cold. But that's ok. England is supposed to be that way, right? Ha ha!
Me and Tiff under an umbrella in London.
Alex, Sean's Mom(Carla), Tiff, Me and Sean in front of Buckingham Palace. Sadly there was no changing of the guards since it was raining.
Then we went to Ireland. The weather was mucho better there. And it was really pretty. Chris(Sean's Step-dad) got to experience driving on the left side of the road, since the car rental place wouldn't allow Sean to, as he is under 25. I think he had a lot of fun with that.
We stayed in the Bunratty Castle Hotel, and it was really really nice. We visited the St.John's Castle in Limmerick, and personally I think it was a waste of money. Then we visited the Bunratty Castle, which was totally awesome. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to take pictures in there because of my flash. But I was able to take pictures outside of the castle :)
We ate at a nice little pub called Durty Nelly's Pub...
Sean's mom got a taste of Guiness with Black Current and fell in love with it. So did Tiffany. Pretty much everyone liked the beer. I'm still a fan of Strongbow though. ;) Love me some cidery beer.
The next day we stopped by the cemetary near by to look at all the old tombstones. It was eerie and pretty all at the same time.
And then we decided to just drive to the country side and see the rolling green hills. The roads were really windy and really tiny, and I ended up getting car sick. What's new though, eh? Luckily I didn't throw up. When we stopped, we weren't really sure where we were at, so the boys pulled out a map and were trying to figure out where to go and what to see. I peered over their shoulders and saw that we were pretty clost to the ocean, so I suggested that we go see that. My idea was pretty popular, everyone was up for it.
The ocean was AMAZING. It wasn't a beach or anything. We were at the Cliffs of Moher. It was just rocky cliffs that went down into the water. It was completely stunning.
Sadly, I forgot to pack my yellow and orange sidekick, Squishy. So, he wasn't able to come to Ireland with us. Bummer :(
After Ireland we had about a day to rest back at home before we had to fly off to mainland Europe. I made extra sure to cram Squishy into my already bulging backpack. He was feeling cramped in there, so he came out to chill a little with Alex...
We landed in Barcelona. Sadly we only had a few hours there before our night train to Paris. So we didn't really get to see much, and the weather wasn't all that wonderful. Luckily it didn't rain though.
There was a really big slide that the girls and I couldn't resist going down...
It was a mistake though, because our butts got dirty going down it. And that was my only pair of jean pants that I packed :( So I walked around with a dirty bum.
The night train was definately an experience. 6 people cramped into a tiny room... It was a little hectic at times, but it was pretty cool. I made sure to sleep on the bottom bunk though, because I was scared of falling out. I broke my armpit once(yes, that's what the doctor told me, I broke my armpit, ha ha ha) because I fell out of the top bunk while sleeping.
Paris was awesome!! I always heard "Paris smells" "Paris is dirty" and things like that. But I don't think it was bad at all. I did see a homeless person though, sleeping on the corner of a busy intersection...
We saw the Cathedral of Notre Dam...
And we ate at a little cafe right next to it. Sean got the most delicious crepe our of all of us. His had banana and nutella on it. Yum yum yum. Even Squishy needed a nibble of it...
And then we headed down to the Lourve, and it was cram packed with people!!
And finally we headed to the Eifle Tower, which was actually much bigger than I had expected it to be!
The line to go up to the top of the Eifle Tower was really really long, and we didn't have much time left, so we could go up there(as much as we all really wanted to). We also went to see the Chateau, where Marie Antoinette lived. I didn't like any of the pictures I took though, because there were far too many tourists in the way of everything :(
We then caught another night train up to Hamburg Germany. We couldn't understand anything they were saying over the speakers in the train, and at one stop someone asked Tiffany what the sign said. It said Hamburg on it, so Tiffany and I decided that since we were already packed, we'd get off the train and out of that tiny compartment so the others could finish packing.
Well, that was a mistake, because before we knew it the train started moving again. Tiffany jumped on, and was yelling,"Come on Dawn! Jump!" But the train was moving too fast, and I was scared I'd fall to my death. So I was left at the wrong train station, all by myself.
I felt like crying, but in crisises I always hold it together until it's resolved. I went into the reception and asked if the information desk dude spoke english. He didn't. I felt completely and utterly hopeless. But I remembered that I had my ticket(thankfully I had it instead of Sean), so I showed him where I needed to go, and he nodded and said,"Sechs." Luckily, I do know how to count in German, so I knew to go to platform six. The train was already there, and I BARELY made it onto that one.
When I finally got to Hamburg Central Train Station and got off the train, I looked around in complete horror. There were soooo many people! How would I ever find Sean and his family?! I figured they were probably heading to information to try to find a train back to the station I was left at, so I looked all around there for them. I was starting to get a little frantic, and then... finally... I saw Sean hading down some stairs.
I screamed out his name a couple times, and pushed through the crowd(I hope I didn't push anyone too hard, I can't remember), and finally started to cry when we wraped our arms around eachother. They were amazed that I had even found them!!
Anywho, the little hiccup didn't stop us, and before we knew it we were on a tour bus viewing the finest sights of Hamburg. We had originally wanted to go to Berlin, but unfortunatly all the Night Trains to Berlin were booked. So we had to change our plans.
Here's a candid picture of me and Sean on the tour bus.
I liked a lot of the statues they had there. One of my favorites was a statue of Arch Angel Micheal, on a church.
Squishy liked this one of an old lady with a basket holding her hand out...
From Germany to Zurich we took another night train(and thankfully our last). I kept getting teased about making sure that I get off at the right stop. LOL.
We didn't have much time to do sight seeing in Zurich, so we just looked around at the buildings around the train station.
I had some really yummy chocolates, though one made me want to vomit because it had rum inside of it. I usually bite my chocolates in half, so that I can save the REALLY yummy halves for last. But this rum filled one spewed rum all over my hand, and got me all sticky. It wasn't fun.
Anywho, after Zurich we took a train down to Venezia(Venice). This was a day train, so we spent most of the time playing Phase 10(a card game), and listening to music.
Tiff took a few candid pictures that I just love(on the train).
Right when we got to Venezia we had to hurry and find a hotel and food before everything closed, or got booked. Luckily the first hotel we asked had rooms available. And then we went to a little pizzaria. Oh, my gosh, YUM!!!
Then we went to bed. But before bed we had to check out what the television was like. While Sean was in the shower I was watching some wierd TV Show, that I guess was like the Bachelor, but Italian. This dude would call a girl, hand her an italian flag and ask,"Will you be my Bambina?" In which she would reply,"Yes." or "Si". Little did I know, Tiffany and Alex were watching the same thing in their room. LOL. So, now I always ask Tiffany,"Will you be my Bambina?" to which she replies,"Si". Ha ha ha.
The next day we took a gondola ride, which was really awesome.
And then we walked around. I love love loved Venezia... how there are no cars, just boats and water streets. It was really cool!!
Tiffany and I got a kick out of these calendars we found. Instead of a Firefighter calendar, get one with Gondaleers and Priests. LOL!
Oh, and I got a picture of Squishy with a winged lion, which, the Gondoleer told us is the symbol of Venezia.
We ate dinner right next to the canal there. The food was pretty good. Here's a picture of me and Tiff(my Bambina).
Then we took another day train down to Roma, where we spent two nights. We saw the Colosseo, and this time I had Squishy with me(unlike the last time Sean and I went there), so I found a little crevice in the wall of the Colosseo, put Squishy in it, and took a picture.
And here's a picture of me and Sean...
And finally, we went to go see the Fontana di Trevi, which I wanted to see last time Sean and I went to Rome but didn't have time. I honestly didn't expect it to be at packed as it was. It was hard to get down there and take a picture, but Chris was able to get one of me and Sean by it.
Oh... and I also had some Gellato, which was really good... as you can see...
((Ok, I admit, that was set up. I purpously put icecream all over my face for this picture. I'm not that messy. /shiftyeyes))
Finally, we came back home. Travelling is awesome and I love it, but it's oh so sweet to get back home. Besides, I missed my kitty babies. :)
Labels: Life
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