Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Zurich, Switzerland



This is the five star hotel we stayed in. Stein's is part of a preferred hotel group so we are able to get smokin' deals all over the world!!!


This is our amazing view from our hotels outdoor cafe. Not too shabby.



One of the many amazing cathedrals in the city. On Sunday, all the churches ring their bells for what seemed like an hour our so at two different times throughout the day. The combined sound of the bells was very impressive.



Yet another cathedral.











More gorgeous pics of the beautiful city and the River Limmat.









The architecture, history, and culture throughout Europe is something we are both very passionate about.


Zurich was our final destination. We chose this as our opportunity to relax before we headed home to reality. It rained most the time we were there. It even flooded the train station during a heavy storm but it didn't pose as an inconvenience. We had the most amazing trip!!! We enjoyed all the culture and cuisine of each country had to offer, we saw some of the most beautiful scenery that exists on earth, we were surrounded by history, explored museums, took advantage of the most amazing rail system, saw numerous castles, and ate lots and lots of chocolate!!! What more could you want.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Austria - Our first stop on our European adventure!!!

Rob and I had the most amazing opportunity to take a trip to Europe this last Spring! We visited Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Some of the most beautiful places on earth! We were fortunate enough to aquire buddy passes on Delta from a friend. For those of you who have traveled this way, you understand there is never a dull moment but somehow you always find a way to get there and back. We have so many pictures of these incredible places it will be hard to narrow it down. We'll give it our best shot. This was definitely one of the best trips we've ever had!!!

This was one of our first sights! Not too shabby eh? We walked from the tiny town of Giessenbach, where we stayed for 7 nights, to Sharnitz.











This pic was taken in Innbruck, Austria. It turned out to be one of our favorite cities. It had such breathtaking surroundings and so much charm. Another incredible aspect is the age of these buildings. We were seeing structures built in the 1200's.

This is old town of Innsbruck. Our favorite part! The architecture and colors were so fun and inviting. We also fell in love with the cafes where you could stop in the afternoon to enjoy a pastry and a cappucino. Every time I go to Europe it reminds me to slow down life a little and "smell the roses".













Another taste of Innsbruck. All the decortations were gearing up for a world soccor event. (I don't remember which one).


These pictures are of a place called Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal World). It was a huge display where nearly everything was made of crystals with the exception of the randon dancing pants. The top picture is a jellyfish. The middle is a huge caleidoscope you walk through where you could see thousands of mirror images of yourself while the colors changed. If you stood in the very middle, your voice would echo loudly throughout by bouncing off all the walls. I found it very entertaining to make funny ghost sounds and laugh at myself while Rob walked the other way shaking his head. The third image is the randon dancing pants that were choreographed to music. They also had a cool fountain outside made of shrubbs with the waterfall spewing out the mouth and the big crystal eyes changed color. Just like Disneyland, at the end of the tour it led you into a huge outlet store. I got a beautiful necklace and earings.

















Friday, January 18, 2008

More Disneyland!







Our various forms of headwear.

Theme park fun!

All of us looking styley at the Muppets 3D show. One of our favorites!!


John was a good sport with the "BIG" rides but in the end his favorite was the "intense" Winnie the Pooh ride.



This is John's first "fun" experience on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It is "The Happiest Place on Earth" after all.......... c'mon, just look at him.

Pacific Ocean: Newport Beach




It was the boys first experience with the ocean. They had very different ideas of how to spend their time. The waves were a little to big for John but Colin had no fear.


California 2007



We had an awesome trip to Disneyland with the boys and two of our nieces Connor and Jorden. It was a theme park MARATHON!!! We went to parks five days in a row during one of the busiest weeks of the season (good call)! We had three days at Disneyland and California Adventure, one at Sea World, and one day at Universal Studios. We also managed to make it to the beach for our last day.