Saturday evening

After a short rest at the hotel we set out towards the Champs-Elysee. The most famous street in Paris. Everything from bistros to Renault showrooms to Disney. At one end is the Arc de Triomphe. It was mind boggling to see how big it really is. The pictures just do not do it justice, but here are a few anyway.

The Castle at Versailles

Sorry I didnt get this all up earlier. A lot of slideshows to dump on you at once. I have had more trouble than I would have thought getting a plugin and internet access. So here are some shots from the castle itself. Somewhere around 7 different areas of the castle that you can tour. These were mostly from the main castle. The were cleaning the front entrance and just finishing up in the hall of mirrors. But still just incredible. Oh and they gave you audioguides that told you where you were all along the tour. Jason & Misti said it was the best 25 euro they have ever spent for a tourist area.

The fountains of Versailles

We walked forever in the gardens and none of the fountains were on. I was soo upset because I had read that the fountains were supposed to be turned on during May. As we were walking back to tour the castle we heard music start to play over the loudspeakers and as we walked up over the hill the fountains were going. What a beautiful day it turned out to be.

For Wesley & Dena

We saw these along our trip to Paris and couldn't let them go by without snapping a picture for you.

Saturday at Versialles

A gorgeous hotel in Paris

Such a beautiful hotel we were able to book in downtown Paris. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Republique. This is the view out of our room.

The "CRAZY" Schnitzel Lady

OK. This is Petra, she is one incredible lady. Explanation and embarrasment to follow. Somehow we got confused and believed that our friends Brad & Shenista were in Spangdhalem Air Force Base in Germany. When we arrived we could not find a pay phone to call them. Petra was serving up schnitzel outside the BXExtra. She started talking with us and picked up her cellphone and gave Shenista a call. She said, "This is the schnitzel lady. Your friends from America are here with me." Shenista had no idea what she was talking about. She told her to come to the BXExtra and meet us. Well it turns out they are at Rhamstein. lol. But we had such an incredible time laughing and joking with Petra we just had to add her as one of the highlights of our trip. Oh, she can make some incredible fries also. She cooked up a plate and set down and ate them with us. Thanks again schnitzel lady.

You can buy anything out of a vending machine.

Just to prove my point, here is Jason fixing to purchase a brand new iPod from a vending machine at the DFW airport. Luckily Misti stopped him before he had a chance to finish the purchase. ;)

We Made it!!!

Finally! It was touch & go for a bit. Especially sitting on the runway in DFW for over 2 hrs. while an incredible storm blew through. The view flying into Philly was a welcome sight as you can see. Thank the Lord they held our connecting flight until we arrived. Wish I had a video of all of us running all the way across the Philly airport to get to the right terminal. We did make it on in time, if only to sit for another 30 min. awaiting takeoff. So after 15 straight hours of riding in a plane we arrived in Frankfurt Germany.
More to come soon...

HOORAY! The passports are in.

That's right, today @ 10:15 the FedEx man dropped off a package at our home containing our shiny new passports. WHEW! A special thanks goes out to Roberta at congressman Thornberry's office. Did you know that one of the constituent services offered by Government officials is working with federal agencies on your behalf? It's true and thanks to them and my good friend Shad who told me about it, our passports were expedited and shipped out overnight at no extra cost to us. So the countdown to Europe continues. Hopefully the drama has ended.

Extreme Talent

I don't think I have elaborated on the caliper of folks that are traveling with us to Europe. Jason & Misti were stationed in Aviano Italy for 3 years. They have made 1/2 a dozen trips to Rome and probably a dozen trips to Venice and all points in between. They are great friends and just a blast to be around as you can tell from this video. =) btw...Sorry Jason hehe

Dream Vacation

So as you can probably tell, this is my dream vacation. No, not the one in the picture but the European vacation we are planning. I have to admit this is not Julie's dream vacation, although she is excited to go. Her dream vacation was Niagara Falls in 2002. So all the comments got me to thinking. What is your dream vacation? Where would you go? What would you do? Can't wait to see your ideas.

Basic Itinerary

Ok, this is just some basic points of interest that we will be hitting on our trip. You can double-click the markers on the Left-hand side to go to that location. You can also double-click the marker on the map to zoom in. I suggest turning on the satellite or hybrid view buttons in the upper Right-hand corner of the map to see some gorgeous imagery. Purple markers are cities we will visit and blue are points of interest. If folks enjoy this I will add more later. Have fun!

Click here

The Adventure Approaches

So it is now less than 3 weeks now till we leave for Europe. We are so excited! Everything seems to be coming together except for our passports. :( They still have not arrived and I am beginning to sweat a bit. So if you have time in your prayers please ask God to light a fire under those special government employees.