Brugge

Greetings from Brugge. This town is absolutely beautiful, it really seems like I'm saying that a lot. Koln, Germany was fun. Conors wedding was very cool and very intimate, with only 80 people in attendance. Antje, conors wife, did everything and designed everything since she is a designer of sorts and an artist. We took tons of pics, you will be impressed. Koln was not a particularly beautiful or excitig city, but Marie and I had our biggest adventures there. We didrent a car and travelled to Manciou, a very cool, bevarian-type city 2 hours away. Upon our return, our gps went out, which led to a very unique, very frustrati g evening. At least we got to do 180kph on the autobahn-type highway. That was marie's idea and I take no responsibiliylty whatsoever. Oh, our wine tour through the Chianti region of Italy was excellent. It also included a lunch at a private vineyard, very cool. Onto Brugge: this city might be our favorite, edging Florence, barely. Very old city with waterways running throught everything and the city built around them. We took a boat tour on the canals...magical. Tomorrow it's onto Brussels and then home. We are happy to see family, and this includes the pugs.

We left Rome bright and early after dinner and some drinks with Adam and Jenna. It was great to see them and share stories about our travels. We arrived in Florence yesterday morning and hit the ground running we walked roughly ten miles, tool a bus around the city, and went into the royal palace and saw the acres and acres of beautiful gardens. Marie and I both agree that FLORENCE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY WE HAVE EVER SEEN! And that's saying something because Marie is well-travelled. The city has a slower pace to it and is not nearly as crowded as the other cities we've been to. Outside of the cities incredible buildings and apartments are breathtaking villas on the countryside that overlook the city. The city is surrounded by big hills with a river running through the middle. There is no "bad" part of the city in regards to both appearence and safety. Today Marie and I are taking a 7 hour Tuscany wine and cheese tour through the city of Chianti (yes, the wine) and other smaller cities. We are thrilled! Tomorrow it's off to Germany! Ciao.

Last night in rome

Well, arome has bee great and we are sad to leave tomorrow, but we are also excited for Florence. We received an email from Adam last night and he is in town so we are all going to have dinner tomorrow night around the Pantheon and then go out to an Italian bar afterwards. Interesting news, we were at Trevi Fountain last night and an old man, about 70, tried to pickpocket Marie! Very sly, sat next to her in an incredibly crowded area and draped his coat over his lap, with a small piece touching Marie. He then tried to go into her front pocket for cash. Of course she wasn't keeping anything in there. We did t realize what he was trying to do until later. At the time, Marie felt something brush her and she turned away from him and towards me, then he got up and moved. After that encounter, we hopped on a bus and spent the night looking at St. peters cathedral at night all lit up, then finished it off with a desert cannoli and gelato. Ciao!

Roma

Greetings from Rome! Marie and I have been here for a little more than two days now, and we love it! I have to make this brief, because we are starving. Our hostel is in the new part of rome, but everything is accessible because we bought a pass that allows us to use the sub system, any bus and the hop on hop off tour bus, which goes to all the major sites, and there are billions of them! We have been walking 10 miles a day or more, not rushing anywhere but since we are taking few breaks, we are seeing everything. Pantheon, St. Vincent and the Vatican City, along with the museum, which has the sisteen (sp?) chapel. Amazing...simply amazing. breathtaking. Words cannot do Rome justice. We were well aware of the items and artifacts and sites in Rome, but this is just incredible. Way more than people in America think. Our favorite part so far was the Colliseum, wow. Seated 70,000 and construction started in 54 AD! ridiculous. The Vatican museum was breathtaking. We are eating great food too! with that, we are off...Ciao!

Madrid, Sevilla and Cadiz

Tuesday, August 2
We arrived in Madrid today at 11:30 am. Kristen met us at the airport and we then headed down to the subway to catch a train to her apartment. Kristen lives smack dab in the middle of Madrid and her apartment is on the top floor, floor 7, in a large building. Since it´s the top floor, she has a terrace from which you can see quite a ways around. It is not quite high enough for great views, but it is lovely to spend time out there at night. We spent our first three days in Madrid walking around and seeing the entirety of the city. . Some buildings and parks were cool, but the market was the best. it was great to see Kristen. On Friday night, Jeff came into Madrid. We all went out to the bars and clubs and stayed out until 5:00 am. Spaniards don´t sleep! At night we would sit out on the terrace and eat cheese, that was magical! On Friday, we all boarded a high speed train to SBevilla. The train ride was unimpressive, it reminded me of the ride from Seattle to Spokane.

Friday, August 5
We stopped over in Sevilla for about 3 hours and wow, what a difference from Madrid! This is a very cultured, old town with absolutely stunning buildings and a really cool, very old cathedral. We took tons of pictures and I will attempt to upload them at a later time. All buildings are very tall and very old, so much character. After touring the city, we boarded a slower train to Cadiz, which is where we are now. This city is amazing! It truly is everything Marie had set it out to be. Very old, friendly people, tons to do. It is currently Sunday, August 7. We have seen most of the city. There are two sections, old and new. We are in the old section. The cathedral is very old and in one of the main squares. However, there are several squares throughout the city. Yesterday we spent the entire day at the beach. The water is warm and the sand is soft...life is tough. We all got burned a little bit with the exception of Jeff, who looks like a walking lobster. Poor Jeff. Last night, Saturday night, there was a beach party and we stayed out until 6:00 am. There were thousands of poeple and it looked like we were the first to leave, if you can believe that. We routinely stay up until 2:00 am and we are definitely not the last ones to bed, this includes several kids below the age of 6 who remain up playing in the streets.

All of the buildings are so tall and the streets so narrow that it is very easy to lose track of where you are, it´s tough to get your barrings straight.

FOOD
The main dish here in spain seems to be ¨tortillas.¨ However, these are nothing like the tortillas in the states. They are like a calzone filled with potatoes and eggs, except the outside is made of egg, which is cooked to resemble pizza dough. That´s the best i can do to explain them. They are magically good. But my favorite food here is the ¨kabobs,¨which again are nothing like the kabobs in the states. They are like an evolved form of Gyros, man, they are awesome!

RANDOM TID BITS
We are having such a great time. Travelling with Jeff and Kristen has been a ton of fun. With Marie and Kristen navigating and talking, we truly are emersing ourselves in the true culture of Spain. It´s truly wonderful. The temp here has been near 100, with cooler breezes coming off of the ocean in Cadiz. A few more days and then Marie and I are breaking off and heading to Rome. Shortly, we are all heading out for ice cream (helado) and the most popular drink (tinto de verano), which is wine with a lemon soda, essentially. Very good. We will try to update this every few days, maybe longer, so tune in! We love you guys!