Summertime and the living's not easy...

Well this has been a very challenging summer to say the least. Instead of going into detail (which might take months to do), I've set up a simple, straight forward outline.

May- Alice turns two. :)
-Unappreciated at work. :(
-Derek Graduates from U of I with a Bachelor's in Poly Sci. :)
- Watch my first class graduate from high school. :)

June- (WORST MONTH EVER)
- Get a new(er) car :)
-Derek passes away after a 19 month battle with cancer :(
- Summer school in Moscow for a month :/
- Hotel room floods :(
- First 4th of July without Brian and Alice :(

July- Return home from summer school :)
-Marriage on the rocks :(
- Weight loss challenge is over (lose 35lbs) :)
- Brian gets a full-time job :)
- High School reunion :)

August- 6 year anniversary (marriage on the mend and feeling great) :)
- Alice goes to daycare. :(
- Get back to the gym :)
-Prepping for school. :/

As of now I am challenging myself not to dwell on the past. I want to focus on the future while living for today.

Day 9

Day Nine: Wednesday, March 30^th.

We woke up bright and dearly today to get on the bus to take us to the glorious city of Toledo. Everyone was still exhausted and the 2 hour drive only aided our sleepiness, but nonetheless when we arrived we were all excited. Before we began our walking tour, we took a quick photo stop over looking part of the city and some ancient ruins (possibly Roman Baths).
We first stopped for a sword making presentation. It was really exciting to see the whole process. Afterward we went down to the gift shop area and once again did some souvenir shopping.
We then began our walk through the city with the most wonderful guide, Carlos. He gave us a personal connection to Toledo (he lives in town) as well as a great, historical information. Toledo is meant to be walked and we headed into the upper part of the city by taking an incredibly large (and expensive-2 million dollar to build) escalator.
We also visited Santa María la Blanca, an old Synagogue that was built by Muslims that is now a Christian church (talk about Holy Toledo). :) We visited oldest churches in Toledo, Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo. They say it took over 200 years to complete. And we were even able to view the original The Burial of the Count Orgaz by El Greco. Crazy.
We split into groups and we walked around the city for lunch and some final Toledo souvenir shopping.
Brian and I both fell in love with the city. We want to move there and live there forever!
We loaded back on the bus and headed back into Madrid.
We were a pretty tight schedule so when we arrived back in Madrid we headed straight for the Carrol de la Moreria to watch a live Flamenco Performance. We arrived with some time to spare so Brian and I went to look for a coffee, a bar/cafe had the most AMAZING cinnamon cappuccino in the world and I savored every second if it.
Finally the time for flamenco had arrived. We had been warned about the sweaty dancers and small stage, but none of that mattered. The performance was awesome. The dancers were phenomenal and the atmosphere was perfect. We later found out that this place has hosted it's fair share of celebrities including Natalie Portman, Mariah Carey, Samuel L Jackson, and Jude law. Fancy fancy.
The last stop was dinner. We drove back into the more centralized part of Madrid and walked around town until it was time for dinner. We ate at a very "popular in Spain" place called the Museo del Jamon. This place is a freaking meat museum, not vegetarian friendly might I add. The smell alone caused my body to tighten up, but luckily we were downstairs and the air was not as pungent. After trying to feed me ham twice they finally brought me an interesting egg dish. Weird, but tasty. I have chosen to forget/block out most of the Museo del Jamon experience.

After dinner it was obvious we all needed to get back to the hotel and get some sleep. So we all went to bed preparing our bodies for the 18 hours of travel ahead...

Day Eight

Day Eight: Tuesday, March 29^th.

Today we arrived in Spain! We woke up to the gentle rocking (ok maybe not so gentle) of the train as we were about an hour outside of Madrid. The train supplied each guest with a breakfast box (doughnut, apple, plain yogurt and a juice box) and we all managed to get dressed, washed up and prepared for our day in Madrid.

We pulled into the train station, gathered all our kids and luggage and made way for the hotel. The hotel located just above the train station in Spain. It was by far the best hotel we stayed in. It was a four star hotel with great service, beautiful décor, and a great vibe. We all quickly changed, cleaned up and once again gathered onto a bus for our very first city tour of Madrid.

We spent three hours wit our guide Jorge. He took us all around Madrid. We stopped at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu where Real Madrid play for a photo shoot and then ventured over to the Royal Palace. The only problem I had with visiting these beautiful palaces was that you are not allowed to take pictures. We got off the bus and walked to the Royal Palace, it was here Brian and I realized we had left our money on the bus (it was safe, just inconvenient). I was grumpy and without caffeine so I took it out on him, but lucky for me he loves me in spite of my faults. ;) The Royal Palace was beautiful and just a bit above the city that you had a spectacular view. We had a great tour inside and even walked trough the Throne Room (which was used to host a visit from Prince Charles and Camilla Parker the very next day).

After the royal Palace we all headed to the Puerto del Sol to do some shopping. Spain is amazing. Everything slows down. People are calm and chill and it’s as if time doesn’t really matter. They sleep in, takes naps after lunch, eat late late dinners and literally dance the night away. I love Spain. One we wondered around the Puerto del Sol we set off for the Plaza Mayor. It was beautiful too. There were street performers everywhere. We saw Dora the Explore, Mickey Mouse, an invisible man Chewbacca, a storm trooper and many others. All this was in addition to the amazing shops, coffee and pastries that Madrid had to offer.

My favorite thing about Europe is if I want to eat or drink I do, no regrets!

We finally left the Puerto del Sol and made our way to dinner at a buffet called Fres Co. I

tried a dish called paella and fell in LOVE. Now if only I can recreate it at home.

After dinner we were able to let anyone call home with the help of Google talk and Brian’s netbook. Calls were made, kids cried (I did too), everyone showered, relaxed and went to bed.

It was a great day to be in Spain.

Day Seven

Day Seven: Monday, March 28.

Today was our last day in Paris and even though I had a great time I was excited to move on and see Spain. We started the day at Norte Dame. We made it a point to not go inside yesterday because we knew we would be back today, but this also gave a slight advantage to head to the Latin Quarter since we didn’t need to take so many outside pictures. ;) Once again I had already been inside and instead of dealing with crowds I decided to go look around while Brian and the crew at a look inside. When Brain was done e and I headed to the Latin Quarter where we saw a Banksy, souvenir shopped, saw more of the cool mosaic art that is around town and ate the BEST CREPES EVER!!! (lime and sugar who would have thought?)

After Norte Dame we all headed to the Centre Pompidou. It was this crazy building that was designed inside out. It is some sort of museum, but the whole building is crazy. WE grabbed some food, sat down and ate, we walked around a bit and grabbed some coffee. It was a nice little break.

We then headed to Père Lachaise cemetery. This is to the graves of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Edith Piaf, Sarah Bernard, Marcel Proust, Colette, Maria Callas, Modigliani and the famous lover/seducer Casanova. It was breath-taking and haunting. The tombs, vaults, and sculptures were all so amazing. It was a great way to end our stay in Paris.

From here we went back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, grabbed some snacks from a local grocery store and proceeded on toward the train station where we waited for the train we would spend the next 14 hours of our lives on.

At the train station Brian and I enjoyed some coffee and tiramisu, and everyone ate a boxed dinner consisting of a pesto pasta and a doughnut. Brian and I shared a couchette with Denise and Shani, and even thought it had its awkward moments it wasn’t too bad. We watched a movie on the netbook, enjoyed some French cheeses and snacks, read a little and attempted to get a good eight hours of sleep.

Day Six

Day Six- Sunday, March 27^th.

Today we woke up bright and early to an amazing breakfast buffet full of cheese and eggs, pastries, and meats for the carnivores., but for some reason it was one of the only meals I forgot to take pictures of, but it was delicious.

We then all loaded onto yet another bus to have a nice little city tour of Paris. We picked up our tour guide (Valerie), which whom I was not impressed, and took a drive around the City of Lights. We saw everything it seemed: The Bastille, Tour Eiffel, Norte Dame, ect. We then stopped by the Palace of the Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb (turns out the French still really love him).

After a quick look around and a coffee break, we fought of some aggressive North African salesmen and loaded back onto the bus (they are EVERWHERE in Paris). From here we headed to the Louvre. Our tour guide told us that if you spent three minutes looking at every piece inside the Louvre it would take you over three months to get through everything. Wow! SO Brian and I knew our time was limited. We had 2 ½ hours to go through the Louvre and to eat lunch so we definitely had to hustle. Brian really didn’t want to see the Mona Lisa (weirdo) and since I have seen her we went to all the exhibits that he wanted to. Brian wanted to see mostly see sculpture and so we spend a couple hours wandering the sculptures exhibits and we saw some amazing pieces. And it was perfect being able to walk around the Louvre with my soul mate. The last time I was there it was great, but there is something to be said about being there with him and seeing his excitement and appreciation for all the art. After a slight communication error and losing Brian for 15 minutes we found each other and headed upstairs for lunch. The Louvre has some pretty spending vendors, but we managed to find a slightly less expensive place and picked up a quick bite.

Our 2 ½ hours was up and the whole group met back up in front of the Louvre. From here we split up into two groups. The main group went to the Montparnasse Tour, since the Eiffel Tour takes so long to get into (it took me 2 hours last time) Daz decided that this was another great option. The tour is 689 feet tall and as an amazing view of all of Paris. Brian didn’t especially want to go so he volunteered to stay behind with anyone else who didn’t want to go. Four kids chose not to go and so Brian and I both stayed behind and the six of us went on a little adventure. We wanted to check out the Latin Quarter and Norte Dame and find some crepes.

We walked toward Norte Dame and on the way found a little crepe stand so we veered off course and ordered some amazingly delicious crepes. From there we continued to walk to Norte Dame. We stopped to take pictures of Sainte-Chapelle, said to house the Crown of Thorns, and then we continued on to Norte Dame. We didn’t want to go in becausee we knew we would do that tomorrow, but we took some pictures, and walked around the cathedral. We only had a couple of hours to spend exploring before we needed to meet everyone for dinner, but it was a great little adventure.

We met the group back at a little restaurant on the Rue de Gobelin (awesome name) and sat down for dinner. Dinner was okay. The food was a little bland, but we were able to enjoy a nice meal as the only group in the place. We even were able to sing for Denise (it was her 63 birthday). Even though the food was bland the chocolate moose we had for dessert was not and it might have made up for the dinner. ;)

After dinner we took a boat cruise on the Seine River. We were lucky enough to get seats on the outer back deck of the boat (last time I was there I was inside in and a little jealous). It was beautiful, and once again such a wonderful thing to be able to do with Brian. By the end of the tour it started to rain, but most of us just popped out the umbrellas and toughed it out. It was too beautiful to go inside.

The boat cruise was over and everyone went out and wandered around as we waited for the Tour Eiffel to light up. At 8:00 it lights up and then at 9:00 for 5 minute it twinkles. Beautiful.

Day Five

Day Five (Saturday, March 26th)- Today we arrived in Paris. We woke up early and had a boxed breakfast (which was horrible. Warm milk and corn flakes and orange juice) so we could get to the train station in time. We arrived on time, made it through customs, grabbed a better breakfast and headed towards France. The train was nice, comfortable, and clean, but we ended up having a 45 minute delay due to an accident on the tracks. All in all it wasn't too bad.

When we finally reached Paris we all left the station and headed toward the bus. The train station is located in a very sketchy part of Paris and the kids first impression was the smell of B.O. and urine and a man peeing on the wall. As we loaded onto the bus I promised Paris would get better.
About 45 minute later we were at the hotel (Mercure). The train delay actually worked in our favor because most of the rooms were ready for check-in when we arrived. (Europe doesn't really do early check-ins).
The kids got into their rooms , showered, changed and met back up downstairs. We then hopped on the RER (the metro line that goes outside of town) and made our way to the Champs-Elysees. The RER was disgusting. London's subway system was so much cleaner, but we toughed it out. :) As we walked out of the metro station we were met by a beautiful view of the Arc de Triomphe. The group then split up and we were allowed to go shopping and sightseeing within the area for the next 2 1/2 hours. Within 5 minutes of splitting up one of my chaperone was almost hit by two motorcyclists due to looking both ways before crossing the street, we were harassed by a Gypsy and a student was already suckered into buying a knock-off purse. We then spilt up even more and continued to walk down the Champs-Elysees. We stopped by Louis Vuitton, some souvenir shops and the Disney Store. Normally I wouldn't have gone in, but I was hoping they might have something Alicey that I haven't seen. They did and I bought it!!! It is the cutest little Alice doll ever and I know my Alice is going to love it. After a couple hours the group was all supposed to meet at the Adidas shop located at the end of the Champs-Elysees right before a nice little park. When the time arrived that we all were told to meet we were missing two students. This was not the first time our group was late and I doubt it would be the last, but I began to worry more and more. As we stood there waiting clouds filled the sky and it began to pour. The two girls that were late are usually very punctual and trustworthy. So the fact that they were 20 minutes late began to worry me even more. The more I worried the more rain began to pour and the more I started to freak out.
Finally we sent the group off to dinner and one of the other chaperons and myself waited behind for the girls. We started to fear the worst and began thinking about call the police and US embassy and whatnot when we found the two girls walking toward us. It turns out they hadn't listened carefully to the instructions for meeting up and instead of meeting at the Adidas store they waited under an Adidas display two blocks away. Once we found them my stress level died down, but I was soaked all the way through my jacket, my sweater, shirt and under shirt.

Wow.

But we did finally make it to the restaurant (Flam's) and had a nice little pizza meal in a very cool hole in the wall type if setting. They brought down lots of varieties in pizza and even ended with a couple of dessert pizzas too.

After dinner we spent some more time looking around at shops in hopes of finding a pastry shop and once we did we headed back toward the metro line so we could get back to the hotel. We got lost and all of the chaperones had a different idea of what to do, but finally we made it back. We all went into our rooms and passed out.

What a day.

Day Four

Day Four (Friday, March 25^th): Today we had an early start. Breakfast was opened early for our group because our bus needed to leave at 8:00 to take us to Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford. We all gathered downstairs and went straight for the food. It turns out yesterday's full English buffet was a fluke. Today they were ready for us and we had a very simple buffet:cereal, yogurt, toast and coffee/tea. I took a little bit of everything. (Hey, why not?) We finished breakfast and loaded up onto the bus. Suddenly we realized that we were missing a student. Her roommates had left her in the room (while she was showering) and so she didn't realize that it was time to go (although we told every student the leave time the night before.)

Once everyone was in the bus we set off for Stratford-upon-Avon. We first needed to drop off a small group from the Colorado folks who weren't coming and pick up our guide for the day (Barry). This turned out to be a two hour trip, and Barry, while enthusiastic, is not exactly our students' “cup of tea” if you will. I slept most of the ride but when we were just outside of Anne Hathaway's cottage I had no problem getting up. :)

Anne Hathaway's cottage was beautiful and from here we went straight to Shakespeare's birthplace. Once again neither place would allow us to take photos inside, but I sat in seats Will may have sat in and touch things he may have touch. That was good enough for me. We left the home he was born in and then ran to the church he was buried in. Out of all 48 travelers only Brian, Mayren, Karyne and I were able to see it. Wow! We then grabbed a quick bite at a little cafe' called The Food of Love. Brian had a sausage roll(sausage rolled in a pastry). Brian says it is a big pig in a blanket. I had a delicious little spinach and goat cheese pastry and a small mochachino. The group met back at the meeting point (and for the second time so far our Caldwell group was on time) and we drove for 30 minutes to Oxford.

Oxford was beautiful. The idea of the colleges, history and libraries was enough to make me weak in the knees. We walked past places the help mold the minds of William Golding (Lord of the Flies), Graham Greene (The Destructors),J.R.R Tolkien, C.S Lewis and Lewis Carroll (woot!)

As we were walking down these cobbled alleyways, through chapels, and corridors I realized that one of our chaperons was missing. She had left to go to the rest room and she told a parent from the other group, but no one she actually knew. So I spent a good 20 mins looking for her before we gave up. And soon enough she walks up like it wasn't even an issue. In addition to this I was told that I needed to tip the bus driver form yesterday in addition the the city guide ( I was told I didn't need to tip bus drivers until Spain) and, of course, he was upset. So I started to cry. Brian calmed me down, I bought a super cute Banksy shirt and as we all gathered to get back on the bus we realized we were missing the other female chaperon from Caldwell. The group all walked to the bus and Brian, Daz and I stayed behind ot find her. Well it turns out a student who was counted for had decided to go back to a store and luckily we saw her or we would have left her behind too. Finally the other chaperon showed up and she had been confused about the meeting time. This was the third time today that someone was late or missing from the high school group and the second time it was a chaperon. I have not been this disappointed in people in a long time. This is only day four. I still have six days of this!?!?! Oh Dear. I honestly don't know if I can do this anymore.

At least the food was good, I had a vegetarian Mousaka with salad and rice. Yummmmmmmm. For dessert we had the most AMAZING slice of Banafy (probably spelled wrong). It was light and creamy and fluffy and chocolaty and bananay and awesome. :)