Across the Great Plains

Greg and I went on a great road trip to Kansas City, Missouri, last weekend. I really didn't know what to expect, but ended up loving it there. We stayed in a nice pedestrian-friendly part of the city and ate tons of good food! The main reason we went was to see one of our favorite musicians, Sufjan Stevens. Greg and I have been listening to him since around the time we met in college. He is one of my inspirations to keep working at the guitar, so it was a special trip for me.


Greg and I spent an afternoon at the Liberty Memorial and National World War 1 museum. We had a great view of the city.



The enormous tower commemorating the fallen soldiers of World War 1. This was built in 1921 after the war.



A glass bridge at the entrance of the museum brought my focus down to the thousands of poppies planted below. I found out later that each poppy represents 1,000 men who died during the war.




From the top of the tower.



Our concert was at a historic old theater that was built in the 1920's. I just learned that Bob Hope was one of the first acts there, before he was famous.



Sufjan Stevens!



This was about two hours after the concert was over. We hung around with about 20 people to get the chance to meet him. He finally came out for a 2:00am bike ride and we actually got a chance to chat with him and get this picture! And yes, I do realize we are a little crazy :)

A trip to the mountains

Right outside of Red River, NM, there is an awesome rock formation called the Palisades.





















We enjoyed this band, led by Dulcimer Dan. He played a lot of traditional instruments and explained the history of how they were brought out west.









I had to try horse shoes and calf roping... wasn't very good at either :)

A Week in South Padre

Everyone seemed to like this picture the best, so I thought I'd share it with you. Greg caught this the first night we were in South Padre. We went on a walk with Laura and had some fun trying to catch these.
My camera was fogging up, but I still think this is a cute picture of Dad, Greg and Luli playing in the sand.
One of my favorite things we got to see were all of the pelicans!
We got to go deep sea fishing, and even though I got pretty motion sick, it was still a fun experience. We caught a red snapper and had it for dinner that night!
Little Sofia just can't wait to eat crab legs like Erik did!

More Photos

This is the arena in Verona, Italy. The same type of things went on here as they did in the Colosseum in Rome.
This museum was inside of a castle in Verona. It had all sorts of examples of helmets, armor and weapons.
A beautiful castle in Lugano, Switzerland.


There were a lot of cool cars in Europe. I think I like that green one the best.

We're Home!

Well, we've been gone for a whole month and it feels pretty good to be back home in Texas. That was the best vacation that Greg and I have been on and we have so many fun memories! I'm going to keep this blog going so I can share a few more pictures from our trip and just because I've enjoyed blogging. We actually have a short vacation coming up next week with my family. We are all going to South Padre for a few days, so I will have one more vacation to share with you. Thanks for reading the blog and keeping up with me!

A Day at the Beach

Today was one of my favorite days on our trip so far. We took the subway and then a train for about 20 minutes to some ancient Roman ruins near the beach. We weren't really sure what to expect, but it ended up being an actual old Roman town that used to be a major port. A lot of the buildings were pretty well preserved and we walked on the original Roman road through the town. There were a lot of statues and mosaics that were still in pretty good condition. The ancient town had a theatre, temples, houses, shops and some tombs. It was pretty cool to get a better idea of what an ancient Roman town might have been like.

After walking around the ruins, we had a quick lunch and then took the train a little bit further and arrived at a really nice beach. We have been so busy on our trip, that it was really nice to just have an afternoon to be lazy on the beach. The mediterranean sea beach was a little different than beaches in America. The sand looked darker and there really weren't big waves, which made it more peaceful to float around in. It was a hot day, so swimming was just what we needed. (:

The Colosseum

This was our first sight of the Colosseum and we were really blown away!

Here is a good view from inside. The part in the middle where all of the action took place used to be covered with wood and a layer of sand. The part you can see now was hallways and corridors complete with trap doors so that wild animals could be suddenly brought into the arena from below.

A real gladiator helmet!

A little taste of Florence in pictures

The famous bridge in Florence, called the Ponte Vecchio, which is filled with little jewelry stores all the way along the bridge. It looked especially awesome during the sunset!









This is the cathedral in Florence that was really impressive from the outside.











Greg and I went to an overlook of the city called Piazza Michelangelo. It was a long walk but had a really good view of the cathedral and the bridge.

Just Left Florence

Florence was my favorite stop on our trip so far! It was a bigger city than Verona, so it was always busy and exciting. We were staying right in the city center near the famous cathedral. During our stay in Florence we got to see a lot of famous paintings and sculptures. My students would have loved the museums, because a lot of the artwork I saw had to do with Greek and Roman mythology. One of my favorite paintings was Caravaggio's depiction of Medusa. We did a LOT of walking everywhere and climbed 414 steps up to the top of Giotto's tower. That was a big challenge but the view from the top was amazing. I really didn't want to leave but we just arrived in Rome and I think this city will be just as exciting. I will hopefully have a chance to upload some more pictures and let you know how Rome is.

First Stop in Italy!

Switzerland was wonderful and we were sad to leave, but so far Italy has been really enjoyable. We took a train to Verona a couple of days ago. That was an adventure because the train was really late and not marked, so we felt like we were getting on the wrong train to who knows where. No one spoke English on the train either so that made it even worse. But we made it ok. (: Verona has been a really pretty place with a lot of impressive castles, churches and Roman ruins. It seems like every narrow street you walk down has something exciting to discover. And of course some gelato (Italian icecream) which we now have to have twice a day! We are leaving tomorrow for Florence. It won't be as peaceful of a place as Verona, but I'm sure we will love it!

Pictures from Switzerland

This is one of the beautiful views of the Alps we had during a hike.















Our balcony in Lauterbrunnen. It had a great view of the mountains and a waterfall!

Ahhhh!

Here is a little proof that I actually went hang gliding in Interlaken!

Hang Gliding!

I went hang gliding yesterday, and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever done! Before taking off I have to admit that I was very nervous. The instructor, Bernie, who went with me made sure that I did not have much time to worry. We got up to the take off point and all I had to do was run with him and hold on! As soon as we took off, I had an awesome view of the valley down below and a beautiful emerald lake. Once we had been in the air for a while, he asked me if I wanted to do some tricks. Of course I had to say yes (: We then started to do dives towards the landing field. We even did a dive right towards Greg so he got it on film! Bernie gave me pictures and a short video in flight for me to take home. As soon as I have better computer access I will upload some funny pictures of me up in the sky. I will post again soon. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

We Are Here!

Hey everyone! Greg and I have been in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland for 3 days now and are loving it here. We are right in the middle of the Alps with cascading waterfalls all around us. Yesterday, we went hiking through the Lauterbrunnen valley and took a cable car up to the top of the valley to the small village of Gimmelwald. I wish I could share some pictures with you but I will have to wait until we get to Lugano, Switzerland in a few days, where I will have more computer access. In just two days, I will be hang gliding in the Alps! I cannot wait to share that experience with you. That is all for now and I will update as soon as I can (:

Buon Giorno!

Hey everyone! We are just 5 days away from arriving in Switzerland. My goal is to keep this blog as a journal of our travels along the way. I hope you enjoy our adventures!

Before our trip, I thought you may be interested in where exactly we are going to be traveling. We start out in the small town of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland for a week. Then we move onto Lugano, Switzerland briefly before crossing over into Italy. We will get to spend about 3 weeks in Italy, starting in Verona, then Florence, and then Rome.

Next time I write, will probably be from an internet cafe in Switzerland. Until then, I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Take Care!