Hello everyone!

Just thought we'd drop you a note to let you know we are off and running. We will try to keep ya'll updated with our adventures (first one is getting there). We should be greeted by my mom in Frankfurt, Germany at 9:30 am (2:30 am here), tomorrow morning. There's some jet lag!!!

We pretty much just thought that all would want our e-mail address, so here it is. We'll write soon!!!

Love,

Steven & Ross

When we arrived in Frankfurt, mom and Kathie were there to meet us. No problems with the flight or customs. Then off to the train station where we sat on trains for about 6 hours to get to Berchtesgaden, Germany. Trains are really easy to find and get around on. After arriving, we checked in the hotel and went for something to eat. Steven and I both choose the weiner schnitzel (who knew that to us it was fried pork chops) and it was great. We came back to our hotel and the view is wonderful. We have a balcony out our back door, with a wonderful view of the Alps.

This morning Kathie, Steven, and I went for a longggggg walk (lost) to try to find the salt mines. We were within 200 meters, but with nobody knowing English we doubled back for another 1 mile walk to get a bus. However it was worth it. The mine has been in operation since the 1500's. Then we came back, got mom who slept in, and went to eat. Our next stop was to The Eagle's Nest where Hitler had his summer home. We took a cable car half way up the mountain, and thought that the tour was just down the road. It was ... 2 kilometers down the road. Mom made it, and we caught a bus to the top. It was totally worth every step. Breathtaking is not even a good word to describe what it looked like. On one side you could see all of Salzburg, Austria and on the other the little town of Berchtesgaden, Germany and Lake Konigsee. Spectacular!!!! Then we found a bus to bring us back to the train station where we gladly paid for a cab back to the hotel.

We just finished supper at a wonderful restaurant, and found a place with a computer. Tomorrow we are off to Munich and a tour of a castle (if things go good). Then Lucerne, Switzerland. We will e-mail za'll when we get a chance. (See what I mean with the y and z thing) lol.

Steven and Ross

Ross & Steve

We got here shortly after noon, and have spent the afternoon walking around town and shopping (yes Nita shopping). And they have got some of the coolest stuff. Watches and knives all over the place. However, some things look a little different. For example, their tea comes in a box. But at least it is Ice tea. (and I want everyone when they go to a restaurant to make sure you get a free refill because here there is no such thing!) Tomorrow we go on a tour to Mt. Pilatus, which overlooks the city. It will take us about 5 hours from beginning to end, via boat, cog railway, cable car, your good ol´feet, and bus. We are looking forward to this. Then a change of plans and we are off to Florence, Italy. I have chills just thinking that I can type that we are actually going there.

Any way, enough for now. Talk to you soon.

Steven and Ross

Yesterday we went to the top of Mt. Pilatus in Switzerland. We took a boat to the cog rail (that is the steepest in the world) to the top and ate a wonderful meal there as we saw the clouds roll in as we were eating. Then Steven and I went to the top of another peak with Kathie. We took some pictures and came down to get mom and get on the cable car to come down. At the midway point, Steve, Ross and Kathie took a toboggan ride that was 4500 feet long (longest in Switzerland). It was lots of fun and wish we had more time to do it again. Then we went on down, took a small walk, caught a bus and arrived back where we started. It took about 6 hours, but was fun. Then we piddled around Luzern waiting on our train to Italy.

We are now here in Italy, and are going to a couple of museums and get ready for tomorrow in Venice. Thanks for all the emails to keep us laughing. If you are making us laugh at small things, I can only imagine what our updates are doing for you.

Ciao...

Steven and Ross

Florence was great. After updating you, we went to Museum Academia to see the Statue of David. Other than the statue itself, there were some paintings that were about 500 years old. But the Statue could stand by itself. It was amazing and huge. We were not allowed to take pictures, but guess who snuck one in? Yes, Steven. Next off to the Duomo, and what a gorgeous place. It was huge.. It had the largest free standing dome in the world when it was built. Inside, we lit candles for mom and Kay Garrison (as Kathie and mom have done all over Europe). We then went to eat pizza, and went to the Mercado San Lorenzo to bargain shop. We found some real bargains and some other cool stuff (my hat that you will later see in some of the pictures). Back to the room to regroup and then off to the train station to get tickets to go to Venezia and to Roma. Now off to the Uffizzi museum where we had reservations for 4:30. We got there a bit early, and had time to look at all the jewelers on the Ponte Vecchio (a bridge lined with jewelry stores). Then back to the Uffizzi. There was alot of really old art and some neat paintings by De Vinci and Michaelangelo. We ate there in the square, found a cab, went to the room (by 6:30) and by 7pm we were asleep.

Next morning at 5 am, Steven began getting everyone up and ready for Venezia. After a 3 hour train ride, sometimes you are not really ready to do alot, but you are when you arrive in Venezia. The first thing that you see as you walk out the station is the grand canal. It is so pretty. Just like the pictures but better... we were really there. Anyway, the water busses we had planned on taking were on strike till 4pm, so we walked for about an hour window shopping until we finally reached Piazza San Marco (St. Marks Square). With pigeons all over the place, we went to get in line to get inside the Basilica. I had bought a scarf to wrap around me to get in because you have to have your shoulders covered, and something longer than your knees (you'll see in some of the pictures). The inside - priceless treasures that were brought by the Venetians to pay tribute to St. Mark who is buried inside the church. We saw his tomb and so many other things, that I can't tell you all of them right now.

Now off to eat in a cute restaurant, where I accidentally dropped a glass and broke it (guess I was mad since the USA lost to Germany). The water busses were off strike, we floated the grand canal and did a little more shopping (yes we bought some Venetian glass) and back to the 3 hour train ride to Florence for the night. When we got to the room, the desk clerk recommended a place to stay here in Roma and called 3 times for us to get to see the place and if we wanted to stay there. He was very nice and helpful.

This morning we got up and walked to the train station with all of our luggage (about 6 blocks with 6 bags) and waited to catch our train. We ate breakfast at McDonalds (can you believe it?), and off to Roma. Once we arrived in Roma, we stored our luggage and got in line to get our reservations to sleep to Nice on Tuesday night. Kathie stayed in line while Steven and I went to check out the hotel. It was nice and close so we took it and hurried back, to find Kathie in line. We got our reservations, checked in the hotel, and were off to see some of Roma.

First, booked a visit to Pompeii for Monday. Next, got tickets, caught the subway and went to see the Spanish Steps. They were cool and we saw 2 newlyweds walk down them for their pictures, as we ate in a cute 2nd story tea room at the base of the steps. We walked to the top, took some more pictures, and was off..... to the COLISEUM!!!

The Coliseum is huge. It stands out like the caps I spelled it with. How beautiful and breath taking. To think of the history of such a place as you walk through it. It was built around 80 AD. That makes it only 1925 years old. Wow!!! From there we walked across to the Forum ruins, and it was absolutely more than I could ever imagine. For the people like us who love the History channel, this was totally worth the entire trip. Standing in the middle of the Roman Empire and where leaders 2000 years ago made laws, and the decisions of life and death are almost overwhelming. If there is some extra time we are going back there and get a guided tour. (See our diary online when we get home of some of the history that we did learn with pictures).

Back to the hotel we went, changed, and tried to find a club that Kathie had heard about on the travel channel. Couldn't find it so we ate across the way from the station. It was good. Now we are typing this, fixing to go back to the room to get rested since tomorrow we are to go to the Vatican and at 10:30 am (3:30 am there) the Pope is supposed to come out and bless the crowd. Guess He knows that we need it.

This has been long winded, so I will go. We have done alot since we all talked last, so I want to make sure that for all of you it is as fun as it is for us (ha ha that's impossible). Again thanks for all the e-mails.

Ciao

Steven and Ross

We then caught a subway and went to eat at Hard Rock Cafe of Roma. Finally, some tea with ice and refills. I drank 4 glasses of tea right off. Don't know if it was thirst, or if it was just because I could, but I did. It was really good and everyone spoke ENGLISH!!!! Then of to more sights.

First we ended up on a wrong drop off, but it dumped us of in front of the Victor Emmanual II monument It was a monument built to honor the reunification of Italy in the 1800's. It is just a baby compared to the rest of the stuff around here, it definitely makes all of our monuments look small. The craftsmanship is out of this world like everything else here, and inside is a museum honoring the military services of Italy. Half way up the steps is Italy's tomb of the Unknown Soldier guarded by 3 guards. In the middle of the monument is a 30 x 36 foot bronze statue of a horse and general. (I knew I liked this place, all the horses are studs!!) Then we walked to Trevi Fountain, and oh my gosh. It is in this little square where nothing should be, but a work of art found its place. The fountain is beautiful, and we all tossed in a coin to put down our deposit on coming back again (note: anyone wanting to come over here, plan around our schedule and we will happy to come with you as tour guides!!) Now we are back at the train station on our way to the room and to get ready for tomorrow's trip to Pompeii. Bus leaves at 7 am, so we need to get some sleep.

Ciao,

Steven and Ross

After a driving tour of Naples, we stopped at a cameo shop and was shown how cameos were made. Of course there was stuff to buy, and of course we did. Then on to lunch that was a 5 course meal. It started with bread, then pasta, meat, potatoes, and dessert. All delicious. Now off to the ancient city of Pompeii.

We had 2 hours to tour the city, and the guide that we had was really good. He told us about Mt. Vesuvius (which we also got to see) and how it covered up the city in 79 AD (almost 2000 years ago). The city was then forgotten until about 200 years ago, and really not until the last century did they start a scientific excavation. Don't worry, we took 50 pictures today, so you will get to see everything that we did (almost). Everything was incredible standing in a city that was started over 2700 years ago. The city was actually 700 years old when it was destroyed. More details later on our diary.

We are running short of time. So much to type, and fingers so tired. Till next time...

Steven and Ross

Today, we got up around 9 and took our time getting ready to hit the streets. The next two nights we are to spend on trains getting to Paris, so we thought that we would get as much rest as possible. (Odd for us). Our first adventure began looking for the post office to mail home clothes and other stuff. It only took us about 4 hours to get this done. By the time we were sent on about 3 wild goose chases, my temper was running thin. But we finally found one and got the stuff sent home. Only one catch, it probably will not be home for 20 days.

Next, we went to the Sistine Chapel. This made up for the slow start. What incredible work my Michaelangelo. Again, no pictures, but why would Steven go by the rules. We did get some pictures, and all of them came out good. We also went through the Vatican museum, and saw tapestries that were over 500 years old. The entire experience was incredible. We mailed some post cards from the Vatican post office (that would not mail our packages), and decided that at 3 pm we should eat.

We caught a cab and went to Piazza Navaro (?). It was a beautiful square. Steve says it was his favorite. We ate a nice late lunch and watched the clouds come in but it never rained. We then went to the Pantheon. How amazing. It is huge... it is a perfect square. As tall as it is wide. There are several famous kings and queens and a painter buried inside. Steven and I then went down a side road and I bought a couple of pair of Italian shoes. They are really cute, and Italian. We then went back to the square and sat in front of the Pantheon, drank a coke, and enjoyed about an hour of leisure.

We walked to the nearest bus stop, and came back to the train station where we got in line for 2 hours to make tomorrow nights train reservations. Did I mention that we were in line for 2 hours. The big deal about this is after the 2 hours, we were told he could not help us and to move on. We were not happy. We went and got our luggage,and came back to get in line at the info center. Now while I am typing this update, Steven is back in the big line to get the reservations for tomorrow night (I hope).

Well, here it is 10:10 pm and our train does not leave until 11:30 pm, so we have some time to kill. I have been told that Nice does not have a large station, so your next update might be from Paris (our second to last stop before home).

Ciao,

Steven and Ross

We then walked to the Monte Carlo Casino. WOW!!!!! In front were 2 Ferraris, and 2 Lambourghinis (one was yellow with black leather seats with yellow stitching - my dream car). Of course we got a picture of it, and one with me in it (the picture that is). We went inside where they allow the lower citizens, promptly lost $20, and left. How fun. Just like Tunica (some of you know what I am talking about). Next we walked along the coastline looking into the Mediteranean Sea. Water as you can see and it is relatively clean and clear. The water was a bit choppy, but it still looked cool. We walked down to the beach, and yes for those of you who are worried, Steven and I held hands and walked in the water (our romantic moment). It was at this point that I realized that the beach was a mostly topless beach and then I began to gock... more than Steven was. Some of these women need to realize that at 70 years old, you don't go topless. Oh well. We still had a great time.

We left to come back to Nice to look around kill a couple of hours before catching the train to Paris. We should wake up there about 8am. Yes, last night we also spent on the train. This is a new concept of getting where you want to go!! And for those of you who remember last nights fiascos on the tickets, we were able to get to get them with no problem once we got into France. The only problem with last night's train ride (or maybe it wasn't) was that we folded the top bunk up when we first got on the train, and could not figure out how to get it down when it was time to go to sleep (not even the engineer - Steven - could figure it out). We had to share a bunk the size of a small twin bed.

Anyway, all is well and we are having a great time. Time for us to sign off and go get our last look at the Mediterranean before going to Paris and cramming a week's worth of stuff in 3 days. Saturday, Mom and Kathie will be coming home, and Sunday Steven and I will be home. We can't wait to see everyone and bore you to tears with the 400+ pictures that we will have taken.

Till next time,

Steven and Ross

This is day two for us in Paris. Things started out a little rocky yesterday, but are better now... Kathie had her passport, etc. stolen on the Metro going to the hotel, so we spend the first 4 hours at the US Consulate getting her a new passport, etc. After that, we had lunch and headed for the Louvre. There we saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and other beautiful art. From the Louvre, we went down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and then rode the metro to the Eiffel Tower. Everything in Paris is so beautiful (except for the keyboards, which are scrambled). Last night, we took a cruise down the Seine to see Paris after dark. WOW!! No wonder its called the city of lights. Today we have visited Notre Dame and ate at Hard Rock Cafe. When I finish pecking out this update, we are heading to the Palace of Versailles (no, I cant spell either).

Talk to you all later...

Steven & Ross

When we last updated everyone, we were heading to Versaille. It was awesome. The palace is huge and is very extravagantly decorated. Behind the palace were the gardens... over 240 acres with 1400 fountains, lots of statues, and everything manacured and landscaped beyond belief. It was beautiful. We then took the train back to Paris and headed back to the hotel for the evening so Sue and Kathie could get everything packed up to leave early in the morning.

Our last full day in Paris we got up late and decided to just walk around the city rather than getting another metro ticket. The only thing left on our checklist was the Hotel de Invalides which is where Napoleon is burried. We left the hotel around 10am, walked to the Hotel de Invalides to see it. After touring it, we headed to the Parc de Champ du Mars (a large park next to the Effiel Tower, where we sat for a while and watched the people. We then walked by the tower and to a restaurant next to the Seine for lunch.

After lunch, we walked along the river where we came by a small ticket office. We asked what it was for and found out it was for tours of the Paris sewer system. Since Steve works for the DEQ in water and wastewater, we decided it would be interesting and took the tour. It actually was pretty interesting to learn how the city developed and how the water supply and wastewater systems grew with the city. We then crossed the river and headed to the Champs Elysees, where we walked along the parks there towards the Louvre before heading back to the hotel. Along the way we stopped and shopped at some of the little stores along the way. Later, we went out to a cafe near the hotel for dinner and then went back to the hotel to get things packed up and ready for the trip home.

The flight home was uneventful except that we had not quite an hour to make our connection in Houston. During that time we had to make it through passport control, claim our bags, go through customs, re-check our bags for the flight to OKC, then figure out which terminal we were to leave from. They had changed our flight number for the Houston-OKC flight, so that added a little interest, but we made it okay with about 3 minutes to spare.

Sue met us at the airport and our first stop was our favorite Mexican food restaurant for fajitas and iced tea! It was an awesome vacation that we will never forget, but its also great to be home and sleep in your own bed. We're already looking forward to our next opportunity to return to Europe!

Hope you all enjoyed hearing about our trip. We took about 450 pictures and a few video clips. We can't put near all of them online, but we planning on putting some of them up after we get a chance to go through them. We'll send out another email when everything is ready. Thanks to all of you who sent emails for us to read while we were gone. We enjoyed hearing from you.

Later... Steven & Ross