Quick Update!

I am sitting in a hotel in Prague right now and I am so excited to be able to use a computer while traveling. This is the first place that we have stayed at since traveling in Europe that has a free computer and internet access! The only down side is that it is a Czech computer and the keyboard is quite different. It is taking me a long time to type because some of the letters are switched around and I cannot figure out how to make a smilie face or an apostrophe, but at least it is a computer and I can give you a quick update!

The last month has been a whirlwind. We have had lots of visitors... two girls from Turkey, one of my best friends and brothers girlfriend, Chelsea, and another dear friend, Paige, who is now studying in Switzerland and will come back to visit for a little while before going back to the States. Not to mention, we had our little trip to Egypt, which we were able to share with two great friends, Kimberly and Mike. And after we were back a few days, my parents arrived! We then went to Monaco to see my dads side of the family and had a blast. It was Nates first time and he loved it. We got back Thursday night and then left for Prague yesterday morning for what seemed like the longest road trip ever. What was supposed to be a 6 hour trip, turned into over 10 hours!! But now we are happy to be here, in the city where my dad grew up. It is Nates first time, so I am excited to show him everything here. During the week, we will be meeting up with a team from the States and going to a town in the Czech Republic for a mission trip... we will be teaching English in the morning and then doing sports clinics the latter part of the day. Please pray for the weather, the team, and that God would speak to the hearts of Czech people. Check back in a little over a week for more details and pictures from all that happened over the last month!

Vernazza and The Cinque Terre

We couldn't have planned the last part of our trip any better. We spent our last two nights in The Cinque Terre, which translates to the five lands or villages. These small villages are built on top of the rocky cliffs on the Mediterranean and are within walking distance of each other. We had never even heard of The Cinque Terre before reading about it in our guidebook, but the author raves about it, so we decided to make it a part of our itinerary. We stayed in the town of Vernazza and it was absolutely picturesque. After settling in our little hotel (which we had to climb over 100 steps to get to!) we climbed more stairs to see of view of the town.

Our hotel had a little terrace with stunning views. We came here to relax every chance we could!

After having a good seafood dinner, we sat on the beach to watch the sunset. This might possibly be the best sunset we've ever seen. It was really this beautiful... I didn't edit it at all!
The next morning, we woke up to great weather for our Cinque Terre hike. Nate just loves to fit in hikes on any vacation we take :)
But before hiking, I got to sit on the terrace for a little bit...
The never-ending stairs at the beginning of the hike...

But just about instant gratification with this view of Vernazza:Looking back... you can see how far we've come
We can see the next town!
The water was really beautiful... but a little too cold to swim in!
Once we reached the next town, it was the last of the 5 towns, so we took a boat to the other end to hike back from there. The boat ride was so much fun because we could see the towns from a different angle.Hiking along more dramatic cliffs... these hikes weren't near as difficult as the first one
This is the last village we saw before going back to ours. Absolutely beautiful...

Now, THIS is a vacation:

Vernazza at night

Our last sunset in Italy... we hope you enjoyed sharing in our Italy experience!

There's No Place Like Venice

Venice... the city of canals, bridges, and romance. For me, it is one of the most fascinating cities in the world. It is so neat that the whole city is built on water. I try to imagine what it is like for those who grow up here... not ever seeing cars or dirt unless they venture outside the city!

When Nate and I arrived, we took a boat ride down the Grand Canal.

When we finally found our hotel, we were so excited to see that we had a canal view!

After quickly freshening up, we headed out to explore the city. Nate and I once stayed at The Venetian hotel in Vegas, which we thought at the time was a nice imitation of Venice, but the real thing is a million times better!

The ever-famous gondolas:

I fell in love with just about every little canal I saw!

The Grand Canal

Another view of the Grand Canal with the Rialto Bridge

Nate on the Rialto

After a tasty Italian dinner, we went to St. Mark's Square to listen to classical music and watch the tourists look silly while they dance.

Okay, okay... we decided to join in the fun and dance too!

Our hotel breakfast was nothing to write home about, but the canal view was beautiful and the coffee was as good as Starbucks!

Another view from our room. We could see St. Mark's bell tower!

The canal alongside our hotel (the dark red building) was very popular for gondola rides. There are seven in this picture! It was so peaceful to hear them go by when we were in our room and sometime they would sing beautifully!

St. Mark's Bell Tower & Basilica

The inside of the Basilica was absolutely beautiful. The decorations on the ceiling and all around us were made from the tiniest mosaics I'd ever seen. The 12 disciples at Pentecost are depicted here in the dome.
When most people think of St. Mark's square, they think of pigeons. We weren't planning on feeding them, but it looked like a lot of fun, so we thought, why not? You're probably thinking... gross... but don't worry, we washed our hands immediately! The second Nate got out some crackers, the birds came flying in.

Nate, getting attacked! When the pigeons started flapping their wings, they were hitting him in the face.. it was hilarious!

The pigeons were so nice to me at first...

But then they tried to attack me too! It was too late though... I didn't have anymore food, so they figured it out, but it took them awhile. I don't think they're the brightest animal.

The rest of the day, Nate and I continued to wander around Venice and danced in the square at night again. It was so relaxing not to have to rush around and see the sights. Just sitting and dangling our feet over a canal was a good "sight" for us. Here are two more pretty and peaceful canals...

Farewell Venice... next and last destination: the coast of Cinque Terre... coming very soon!

LOST in Egypt

In case you've wondered where we were the last two weeks, we've been lost in Egypt. Not to worry, we are safely back home and here are some of the highlights of our trip!

Saw the pyramids and rode a camel!

Cruised down the Nile River...

Visited many ancient Egyptian tombs and temples...

And swam with whale sharks in the Red Sea!

This is just a little taste of our adventure in Egypt, but first we have to conclude our Italy blog and the events in between Italy and Egypt... so be patient and you'll get to see the rest soon enough! :)