Flight Information

Arrival Lufthansa 438 at 2:30pm. It will probably take us 30 minutes to get through customs.

Thanks!

We're coming baaccckkkk

Well, I've clearly been negligent in the updates. I truly apologize. Barcelona was fabulous. We arrived during rush hour traffic (cause that's what we do.) Walked Las Ramblas and then went to dinner. Our second night there we went to a Flamenco show which was very cool, although I think a couple of them didn't totally enjoy it. You'll have to quiz your offspring to determine if he/she is one of the enjoyers.

The drive to Madrid nearly killed us. It was a really long day, and those bus seats stopped being comfortable in Nice.

Guess when we arrived in Madrid . . . ha. wrong. It was 6pm, but still rush hour traffic. We had dinner. (Did you know that these people don't even open their restaurants until 8pm???? What the heck. We were the only people there. When we left there was a couple with a two year old that had just arrived. I would never survive here long term.

On the way back from the restaurant, a thunderstorm hit. The kids had a great time getting TOTALLY drenched. The chaperones counted themselves grateful that the rainstorm sent us back, and the kids were willing to give us a break and stay in. We were really tired.

Today we went to Toledo, not Ohio. It was very hot and the streets were steep. Luckily we are totally in shape after two weeks of walking ourselves silly. We saw metal being shaped into swords, and then they kindly gave us the opportunity to spend money in their store. We saw the the Cathedral that is the seat of the cardinal of Spain, and then we saw a synagogue that is a museum now.

After dinner we met up for churros and chocolate. The kids had killer sugar buzzes for about half an hour, but the adults are hoping for them to "crash" soon. ; ) We are thinking the 3am wake-up call will be painful for all of us.

Thanks for following along. I'll probably add some fun pictures when I get home. Some of them are too good to leave off. See you at the airport!!

Avignon

It's Saturday, so we must be in Avignon. Can anyone say whirlwind? We stopped in 2 different towns yesterday as we made our way to Avignon, Aix en Provence and Les Baux. We had lunch in Aix en Provence which is a lovely little town (more like small city) before making our way to the medival ruins of Les Baux. It was high on a cliff and narrow steep passages with shops on both sides before we reached the top which still had the ruins from the castle that used to be there. We had great views of the countryside and olive and grape vineyards.

We reached Avignon by about 5pm because who doesn't enjoy getting to know a city by first dealing with its rush hour traffic. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant that we returned to this evening. (Of course this evening we were tucked away upstairs rather than down and in front. We do have a tendancy to get loud!)

Last night the kids went to Karoke at L'Americain Cafe. They had fun, and I think there is film footage to prove it.

Today we got up and took a trip to Arles, a small town that still has a colleseum in use today (In fact, there is a bull fight there tonight.) After that we took a ride to a Roman Aquaduct and had a picnic lunch.

We returned to Avignon this afternoon. Although once again the kids disappeared almost immediately to shop, nap and such, Rachel, Hannah P. and Caroline joined the adults in checking out the Pope's Palace from the 1300s.

Tomorrow will be another long day as we hop the bus and make our way to Spain.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I have to tell you it is far more difficult to get a few minutes to sit, download and type than you might imagine.

These kids have an inordinate amount of energy. I can't wait till they're 40!!

Thursday

Most of us are starting to lose track of time now. We are constantly on the move, but I think everyone is still having fun.

Wednesday was spent traveling. We went to Pisa and took the required photos of us holding up the tower.

We arrived in Nice in the late afternoon. That gave us time to wander down to the ocean and enjoy the feel of old town Nice.

Dinner was pot roast and pasta. The waiter was very demonstrative with Caroline while still managing to look very aloof and "french" as if we bored him to no end. Although I think she got 3 desserts out of the deal which is way better than some of the rest of us did!

After dinner, we wandered to a gelato shop (how could we resist). They had many strange and bizarre flavors including black olive, tomato basil and eggplant.

Today was a late start (I'm actually beginning to think that Kathy, our tour guide, is a night owl, cause we've had more late starts on this trip than any other. EVER.

So, we toured Nice and headed to Eze and the perfume factory Fragonard. After a tour and a little bit of shopping (everyone should come back smelling delightful), we walked up to the ruins of a castle high on a cliff and saw a cactus garden. This is a much bigger deal to people in Europe than to people from Texas. We got a lot of photos with the beautiful Cote d'Azur in the background.

We then headed to Monaco to enjoy a lovely lunch with the rich and famous. Some of us took a tour of the church in which Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly were married and are buried.

We returned to Nice in the afternoon and the kids once again spread out. Some hit the beach, others shopped, and I'd be willing to bet Ms. Toney and I were not the only ones to nap.

We walked to dinner and enjoyed our final meal in Nice of chicken, carrots and potatoes. Virginia has declared it to be the best meal of the trip, but I'm pretty certain the eclairs for dessert are what pushed it to the pole position.

The adults stopped at a cafe to get free wi-fi (well, free minus the 2 coffees and 2 sprites we got to qualify for the free wi-fi.) We will be checking the kids in for the night at about 10pm since we have to be up early in the morning to head towards Province.

Quick Note

Ok, I only bought an hour of time and I can't find my cord to plug in the phone - I'll try to add some pics to the posts and then add pics to the side as soon as I can. Jess has been taking a ton, so I'm using a lot of his, I'm just not organized this evening. Sorry : (

Tuesday

We began the day with Bernie, our local tour guide. He was totally fabulous. Very interesting and so incredibly knowledgeable. We walked to the Academia where we saw the David, looking very tall and very manly.

Bennie then took us on a city tour that ended at Santa Croce and the leather shop. We learned all about leather and how it is made etc, headed to Santa Croce and then set the kids free to run amok. Some of you might have felt a disturbance in the force as credit cards were run through machines with great frequency!!

We met for dinner at 7pm, walked to Vivoli, for our last gelato (also the most famous of gelato places in Italy), then headed over to the Pitti Palace to show the kids (at least the front) of the home of the Medici's.

Tomorrow should be another long day with a long bus drive. We will drive an hour to Pisa and then another 5 or 6 hours to Nice.

Monday

So, Monday was a day of travel. We took the bus to Assisi. I'm pretty sure everyone was in agreement that it was a beautiful little town and we wish we had more time there.

The Church is covered in frescoes, and it is quite a sight to behold.

We continued on our way to Florence and arrived by 5pm. The kids were given free time until dinner and Ty led a group to the river and the Pont di Vecchio. He has a great sense of direction, and we are all mightily impressed. Others stayed in their rooms and cleaned up. Ms. Toney and I had the world's smallest bathroom. To be specific our toilet is actually IN the shower. Some of the girls had a suite . . . We are going on strike for a bigger bathroom in the next hotel!!



We met the 9 students from San Antonio's Alamo Heights that will be with us the rest of the trip before heading out to dinner. The kids seemed to get along well, so that is a relief. This would be a lot less fun if they didn't get along!

All of Florence is in walking distance, so, of course, we walked through Piazza Signoria and on to the Ponte Vecchio for those that hadn't been yet.

The waiter at The Porcupine was great, especially since he is a huge Texas fan and he even has something on his key chain that played the UT fight song.

After dinner we walked around town a bit before setting the kids free for their 10:30pm check-in. I'm highly amused my the children's great desire to get to stay up late, especially since the adults are totally dragging and ready for bed by 9pm. They have a little sympathy when I remind them that we have to stay up an hour after they do to be sure their little heads are on the pillow . . . but given half a chance I think they would party all night ; )

Europe: Day 3 in Rome

Today, Sunday, we joined another tour group for a quick trip out to Tivoli. About an hour outside of town, it used to be the hot spot for the Popes and for Rome's richest to hang in the heat of the summer. Although our weather has been utterly fabulous, not too hot at all, we still took the trip.

Villa d'Este is fabulous and the gardens are to die for. Fountains everywhere. Kids were snapping photos right and left, so be sure to ask for detailed descriptions when they get home. We had lunch in Tivoli and then headed back to Rome.

In town our first stop was the Spanish Steps. We set everyone free to enjoy the steps, shopping and/or the beautiful day. Most chose to walk back to the hotel (which is a fairly long walk but with great sights and sounds.)

We met for dinner at 6:45 and headed to RomAntica. We arrived at 7:00pm as scheduled, but we somehow came as a surprise to the restaurant cause I'm telling you they took FOREVER to bring dinner. I thought I was going to start chewing on a chair leg. Luckily the first course arrived just in time. By the end, as always we were all rolling around and totally full. In the end, dinner was delicious and 3 courses as always. The food just keeps coming out. After dinner we strolled over to the local and famous gelato place near our hotel.

We depart in the morning at 8:00am for Assisi before heading on to Florence. It should be a long day on the bus, but we have a great hotel in the middle of things in Florence, so that will be great.

Our wake-up calls came at 7:45, and we met downstairs for our first Italian breakfast at 8:30. . . well, most of us. We had a room of girls that slept through 4 wake up phone calls but awoke sleepily to their friendly chaperones pounding on the door. Luckily they are fast dressers and were totally ready when it was time to go.

By 9:15 we were on our way to the Vatican. Our tour guide, Luca, was excellent. He gave us lots of information and spoke English very well. Poor MC was a little sickly early in the game. Not sure what was wrong, but we had scored a trash bag earlier and were prepared when things went south.

By the time we hit the map room, MC was ill again and Rachel had fallen as well. She was pale, clammy and looking to pass out. The rest of the group moved on while Perkins and Toney threw on their mama skills and took care of the girls. We moved quickly past the crowds much to their distress (Cause we were so desperate to see the Raphael room, don't cha know. We couldn't wait 15 minutes to stand in line with the crowd. ha ha. They understood once they caught sight of our patients.)

The museum guards very sweetly let us into a nurses station where we monitored the girls, got them back on their feet and joined the rest at the Sistine Chapel. Mothers: fear not, both are in good health now. They are total troopers.
As we were leaving the Vatican (Its own country for those of you that don't know) we decided to get a photo of the kids standing in two countries at once.

After the Vatican and lunch, we headed towards the Coliseum. It is still there. And still huge. We proceeded to walk over to the forum. Besides enjoying the ruins, the kids took time to jump for joy at being in Rome and to reinact the death of Julius Caesar. Are your kids this much fun at home? Cause y'all are totally going to miss them when they are gone to college.

Leaving the Forum, we moved toward the Pantheon.

By this time, Perkins was quite desperate for a gelato so emergency food needs were cared for as everyone scattered before meeting back up and heading towards Piazza Navona and the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

There are many Romans making their living doing street "work" (tap dancers, mimes, statues of liberty such.) The silver drunk statue came awake for coins and gave Audrey a fist thump hello.


Dinner was lovely affair of pizza and salad. We ATE IT UP. So very good.

After dinner we made a stop at the Trevi fountain. Coins were flying through the air as wishes were made. Girls were cautioned against three coins, since that means that they would return to Rome and marry a Roman. We thought a nice Texas boy would be better for all ; )

By 10pm, it looked like everyone was about to fall over (including the chaperones) so we returned to the hotel to get some rest before another big day tomorrow.

Before bed checks were done, the sleep-in girls were sure to invite Perkins over for a demonstration of their phones. Although the bathroom phone rang loudly, with the door shut it was hardly audible, and the bedroom phone rang not at all. They were promised a Perkins special wake-up call which includes singing and usually something being thrown at Perkins. But, I'm a giver, so I'm doing it anyway.

In the meantime, Jess was hard at work going through his 600 pictures taken in two days, but the boys promised to go to bed soon.

Traveling Day

Sitting at the gate I worked a good 15 minutes trying to get Internet without having to pay T-mobile 8 bucks. THAT didn’t work, so no posts until now. Sorry.

Malcolm remarked early on that the terminal was a hot bed of excitement. . . ok, so we started slowly to allow the energy to build ; )

I twittered a little about our time on the runway. Apparently, the brakes were too hot and that is not ok. So, we got to sit as the brakes cooled off. We just sat, and sat and sat.

After a nine hour flight, we arrived in Frankfurt. I did a quick survey and very few of us were able to sleep on the plane. The seats were uncomfortable and the plane was a bit chilly. Most of us are walking around like zombies at the moment. We sat around for a while before landing in Rome. But you knew that.

What you didn’t know is . . .

Our pilot was a chatty fellow to say the least. He droned on for ages in German and then switched to English. He told us about how long the trip would be, and the different parts of the United States that we would fly over (and I mean he was very specific about exactly what we would be flying over). He told us about the 3 hours over the Atlantic, and he told us about our flying over the island of England.Most of this was almost impossible to understand even after he had switched to English.

Upon landing in Rome we were greeted by our tour guide, Kathy, and our bus driver, Antonio. They took us to the hotel first thing.

We regrouped and headed out to St. John Lateran and the Scala Santa . The kids then had a little bit of free time to wander to another church, see a park and grab some gelato.

We are meeting for dinner at 7:00pm in the hotel, and then we'll head out for the evening's entertainment. (if you are a better, place money on the "going out for more gelato" option!)

(There are photos which I will hopefully get posted later tonight.)

Perkins

ARRIVAL AT THE AIRPORT

Remember, we all need to arrive at the airport by 1:30!

See you there!

What we'll be doing on Friday...

Once we arrive at the hotel (Hotel President) we take the subway to the city center, taking a stroll of the Basilica of St. John in Lateran.

Be sure to pack your arrival gear either on top or in a carry on. Also be ready with some comfy shoes.

Hotel Info...

Accommodations
Friday, June 5  Hotel President
- Monday, June 8 Via Emanuele Filberto, 173
   Rome 00185 Italy
   Telephone (011 39) 06 770121

Monday, June 8 Hotel Le Due Fontane
- Wed, June 10 Piazza SS. Annunziata, 14
   Florence 50122 Italy
   Telephone (011 39) 055 210185

Wed, June 10  Hotel De Flore
- Friday, June 12 2, rue Maccarani
   Nice 06000 France
   Telephone (011 33 4) 92 14 40 20

Friday, June 12 Hotel De L’Horloge
- Sunday, June 14 1-3, rue Felicien David, Place De L’Horloge
   Avignon 84000 France
   Telephone (011 33 4) 90 16 42 00

Sunday, June 14 Hotel Montblanc
- Tuesday, June 16 Via Laietana, 61
   Barcelona 08003 Spain
   Telephone (011 34) 93 343 55 55

Tuesday, June 16 Puerta De Toledo
- Thursday, June 18 Glorieta Puerta de Toledo 4 Madrid
   Madrid 28005 Spain
   Telephone (011 34) 91 474 71 00

Flight Info.

Flight
Thursday, June 4 Lufthansa 439 DFW 16:20  Frankfurt 09:15
Friday, June 5  Lufthansa 3844 Frankfurt 12:20 Rome (Fiumicino) 14:05

Flight
Thursday, June 18 Lufthansa 4417 Madrid 06:20  Frankfurt 08:55
Thursday, June 18 Lufthansa 438 Frankfurt 10:40 DFW 14:30