Europe Trip 2010

Finally, I am writing about our trip to Europe. I will upload a video of pictures to go along with my commentary. The pictures should be a lot more fun, but here goes. . .
Norm and I took three students from the Navajo rez with us to Europe. We left on June 9th, drove to Albuquerque and flew out the next morning to Rome. We spent two days in Rome. We stayed in a nice hotel just outside of the city. The food was awesome and the sightseeing was amazing. It was pretty hot. The highlight of Rome was running into a friend on our last night there. On of my friends from my mission, Virginia Cruz was visiting from Madrid. I hadn't been able to contact her, but as we walked around the Pantheon, Norm saw her sitting with her friends. It was so fun to see her there. We only spent a few minutes together, but we knew we would meet up again in Madrid.
We then traveled to Assissi, a small village on a hill where St. Francis of Assissi established a Monk sanctuary. We also watched a pasta making demonstration and visited Pisa.
The next few days we visited Florence, Italy. I enjoyed hiking the hills, walking along the river and hearing about Michaelangelo and the Medici family. Our tour guide there was excellent. We didn't see the "real" David, because it was a Monday and the museums were closed, but luckily we had already seen it on an earlier visit in 1998.
After Italy we traveled through the Italian Alps into Switzerland. We stayed in a beautiful little village near Lucerne. It was so beautiful there, so green. The food at the hotel was really good. They fed us family style in several courses. One night the appetizer was a freshly cut grapefruit, I was in heaven. The lemon sorbet for dessert was divine. I really liked the hotel, it was roomy with a balcony to help us dry out our clothes.
We took a day to drive from Lucerne to Paris. It was a really long drive, but we really enjoyed playing games with students from Indianapolis. They were really fun. It was so much easier riding while enjoying each other's company.
We stayed in Paris for three nights. I was able to meet up with my friends from Portugal, the Alves Family. We ate together and went to the Pompidou museum. I really struggled with my Portuguese. I really need practice. That night we climbed the Eiffel tower and enjoyed a boat cruise on the Seine. I loved it! I snuck over to London by way of train and the chunnel. I enjoyed a day with Sarah and her family. I loved seeing the way she lived and I especially enjoyed my niece and nephew's accent. I really enjoyed my time with them, it was so fast. When I got back to Paris I found out that Norm and our students had been "jumped" on the subway and the little gypsy girls who did it got away with one of the girl's wallets, it was depressing. Everyone was angry. They just about got a hold of Norm's wallet. We were ready to leave Paris, too bad it was on a sad note, we really love the city of Paris.
Next was absolutely my favorite night. We rode a night train to Madrid. I watched the sunset near Paris, France while riding in our little train car. Norm and I had a nice little room with fold down beds, a little sink and closet. I loved laying on my bed and watching the scenery go by. I just love that feeling. I woke up just outside of Madrid. It looked a lot like Utah and Arizona. I watched the sunrise and enjoyed an excellent breakfast on the train. I love trains.
We stayed in Madrid for two days. I was able to spend some time with Virginia. One of my favorite foods while there was at a chocolateria, we ate thick hot chocolate and churros. Madrid is a really modern city. Norm and I were able to see where Virginia lived and we came back to our hotel to find hundreds of teens having a big party out on the street just below our hotel. We left for Washington D.C. the next day. This was June 22nd, our LONGEST day of the year. We are finally recovering from the jet lag, I think.
I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity. Norm put the whole trip together. The students really had a life changing experience!