5.23.2011

Le Mont St. Michel

that is a church (abbey) on the top.
There is 1 road that winds up in circles around the island.
kind of like a circling staircase but cobblestone roads.
it leads all the way to the top!

So we stayed on the island!
it is quite the treat.
It was also one of our most expensive hotel rooms for the whole trip. 
top 3 - definitely.
Anyways, so we stayed in a hotel called 
Auberge St. Pierre {click to see it}
And it was literally a HIKE to get to our hotel room.
we took a video but it wont load
It was rough with all our luggage. 
 but it was so worth it!!

Here are some more pictures from and of the Abbey (church)
on top of Mont St. Michel

it was breathtaking! 





 {Shout out to TOMS}




{a little secret garden}

 {a neighboring island is through one of the horizontal openings}




 {the only road on the island. it goes around and around until you reach the top}

♥♥♥

{just a reminder- if you click a picture on any of my blog posts, it will bring it to full size, so you can see all the details}


Northern France

So spencer's mission buddy grew up in Northern France
So we met up with him in Paris 
{thank goodness... it was NUTS getting around}
He also introduced us to a cute couple that we stayed with overnight
in a little city on the coast called Ouistreham. 
They were so cute. Michel and Christine. 
they fed us dinner, showed us around the pier, 
fed us breakfast, and took us to church! 
{the Pier in Ouistreham- on our evening walk}

Church was quite the experience. 
It was all in French. 
But there were 2 sets of Missionaries.
Sisters- from Orem, and California
Elders- from Provo and somewhere foreign.
I found out one of the missionaries is friends with one of my friends
What a small world.
anyways, luckily Spencer translated for me.
i would have been so lost!
But the great thing about the gospel,
is even if you dont know what they are saying,
you can still feel the spirit and know its true.

Next up-
Omaha Beach.
dont know what it is?
Click HERE to read the quick summary.







{the white crosses in the back are graves of the approx 3500 soldiers who died}

{our grandpa was on Utah Beach on D-Day}

♥ ♥ ♥

5.22.2011

Amsterdam, Day 2

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. 
we didnt have time the morning we left amsterdam.
and havent had wifi since.
So here is {Amsterdam Day 2}

Cheers.
That is what everyone says here. As a sort of “thanks, see ya later”
We are starting to get the hang of things now.
We saw the big museums and stuff the first day.
And were getting around by tram.

We met a man that helped us when we were lost and told us
“the best way to see the city is by bike, or walking”
we thought, who would know better than a local.
We then decided to see the rest of the attractions by bike or walking
We rented a bike from Macbike also hoping we’d look more like locals.
Nope. They had a huge logo on the front.
 spencer poppin a wheelie


The man was right though, you get a better local feel.

There are bicycles EVERYWHERE.


There are way more bikes then cars.
They had bike lanes and
They even had stop lights for bikes.


Everyone rode bikes. We would see all ages.
Men and Women both.
Women with high heels.
Men with their tie flapping in the wind.
All going to their destination riding a bike.
It was a little scary though to me.
Spencer made fun of me because I would get really nervous
when people would bike SO close next to me.

Oops….
We were so tired that we ended up sleeping in until the afternoon.
It wasn’t our plan, our alarm just didn’t go off,
and we were too tired to naturally wake up early
because we had been up for a day and a half before that.
We started off the day riding around Vondelpark.



{It was so lush and green}

Next we went to the Anne Frank House. 


We took the tour that showed all the rooms and the whole house.
With movies and documents that were explaining it all.
It was very humbling.
I cannot imagine not being able to go outside and
being confined to a tiny room for 2 years.
{sorry there isnt more pictures, we got in trouble for taking this one}

Next we just wanted to bike around and go down the local streets
to get the real feel of Amsterdam before it got dark.
We found a cute restaurant, a cute pizzeria place called Le Perla.
The pizza was unbelievable. They baked it right in front of you.


{view from our table}

Our plan was to see the Red Light District at night with all the lights
 i didnt learn this until we came here....
red lights means prostitutes (prostitution is legal here)
if you look in the right window you can see an empty chair.
someone is at work.

We spent a little bit of time there, but not long.
We wanted to keep riding around until we couldn’t anymore.
We went past the Flower Market
And then back to Vondelpark to sit and relax. 
There was a lit fountain in a little pond we sat and talked in front of.

After we came to our hotel, got our chocolate milk and orange soda’s 
and relaxed in the room before bed.
This morning our breakfast was delicious!
We had fruit, bread, meat & cheese, and Croissants
Im not usually a big croissant person.
But man… [they are GOOD here]
Now we are on our way to Paris on the Thalys train.
We will be seeing the Loire Valley.

Here are some more random pictures of the city:





♥ ♥ ♥ 

{check Day 1 –previous post- … I added photos}

5.19.2011

Amsterdam, day 1

It has been quite the adventure so far
our first flight was delayed, 
so we BARELY made our second one from NJ to Amsterdam.
Then there was another delay before we actually left 
so we ended up getting here around 8:30 am.

We got directions from a lady in the airport who told us one thing
we could find it, turns out it doesnt exist.
So we got lost for 2 hours!! 
wandering around like idiot tourists. haha.

Once we found our way we got to our hotel,
which is AMAZING.
click HERE to see it.
my dad helped us out so we are platinum elite members
and are getting treated like royalty. 
free stuff.
upgraded room.
free treats and fruit brought to our room.
Here are some views of and from our room:

{sorry we already made ourselves at home}
 {our treat when we arrived}
 {view from the window}
{video of Amsterdam from the Tram}


So today was more just a site seeing day. 
We saw the famous Rijksmuseum 


We saw the famous Vincent Van Gogh museum
We had a blast riding the Tram all over Amsterdam.
we would jump from one to another.
sometimes on purpose. 
sometimes because we were going the wrong way.

We got a 24 hour tram pass (tomorrow is bike day!)
We tried to make it to the Gardens, but was 5 min late. so tomorrow.
Then we took an hour boat tour around the canals of Amsterdam
 we saw all the famous sites, houses, etc. from the water.
it was gorgeous.
Some pics from the boat:



We were starving by this time, it was about 8:45 by then.
We heard about this cute place and wanted to go.
Oh we got lost again. no big deal.
we are both great with directions....
everything is just in Dutch. 
Gets a little confusing.
Anyways, we finally found it,
its a cute a place called The Pancake Bakery 
They were Crepes that were filled on top with
ice cream, fruit, syrup, etc. 
Now we are back at the hotel and are gonna pass out

We have been awake for a day and half- straight. 
EXHAUSTED.
Well thats it for today. 
we still have a fulllll day tomorrow too.
much more to come.
more stuff being more activities,
and PICTURES!
get excited.
we are.

♥♥♥


{the darker colors are links you can click on}

5.18.2011

The day has come!

It is finally here!
We are sitting at the SLC airport waiting to board.
Our flight is an hour delayed, and we got here 2 hours early.
so its a lot of sitting for us, oh well.
We do have a stop over in New Jersey
{Fist pump} 
so hopefully this delay here doesn't affect our flight to Amsterdam

We are set to depart at 10:00 am from SLC 
and arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow at 7:50 am.
Hopefully we can sleep. 
Actually we HAVE to sleep because
 we will have a WHOLE day of exploring right when we get there!
WOO WOO! 

We will be posting daily/every other day
about our travels overseas.
If you would like to follow we would love the support!
Also if anyone has an ideas of things we cannot miss, let us know!

♥♥♥

5.11.2011

162 hours

DAYS LEFT

I cant believe it is almost here!
it doesnt seem like it should be yet.
I am sooo excited......
 and a little nervous to be honest.
i am just afraid i will forget something,
or forget to do something before we leave. 

The most amazing part is....
that we actually got it all put together!
Hahaha. as lame as that sounds.
but planning is SOOO MUCH work.
I never even knew.
Thanks to do my Dad
{who is a  frequent traveller, total PRO!}
he saved us. 

I am lucky to have the family that i have.
They are so supportive of us and everything we want to do.
I want to give a special thanks to:
 My parents {Joseph and Laura}
Spencer's Parents {Max and Laura}
My Aunt and Uncle {Paul and Bonnie}
They are a big part of making this trip happen.
and i want to express how grateful i am for them.
I love you all with all my heart! 
And I'm so glad to be in your family!

BAHHHHHH its almost here!!!!!!!!!! 
YAY! :) :) :)
if you have any suggestions of places to go,
let us know

♥♥♥

5.09.2011

mama... dada.... { baby }



First grandbaby for my parents!
Sorry it is not me, 
but it is my BEAUTIFUL sister and her hubby
{Sarah and Andy Stucki}
I have known since the beginning 
but have had to keep it a secret until ...NOW!
honestly, its been one of the hardest things for me

She is 14 weeks along (beginning of her 2nd trimester)
with a healthy baby!
The baby is currently only half an inch long.
And already has all of its organs, 
can make facial expressions, 
and even has fingerprints!
...i cannot hold my excitement in...
I am going to be an AUNT!


:)

Congrats again Sarah and Andy! 
♥♥♥