Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some pictures!!!!!!!!!!! (but only from Cinque Terre on...)

Cinque Terre

Rome

Athens

Santorini

Patras waiting to board our ferry to VENICE!

Santorini

Sorry it's been a while... we have been traveling back and forth to the Greek Islands!

We left on Thursday afternoon for Santorini. The ferry we took didn't get in until midnight, so we took a cab to our hotel (the cab driver gave us our room keys... it was super weird!). The hotel we stayed in was adorable with the nicest owners who gave us gifts when we left.

The next morning we got up and walked to the main square of Fira (the main town on the island). Everything here is UNBELIEVABLE - by far the prettiest place any of us have ever seen! All the buildings are white with blue trimming and the people are really friendly. On Friday we explored Fira and then took a bus to Oia. We ate dinner at restaraunt that overlooked the ocean and watched the sunset... it was gorgeous!

On Saturday, we got up early and took the bus to Perivolos Beach (it's a black sand beach). There are little bars/restaurants lining the shore and they have waiters on the beach, too! We rented an umbrella and chairs to lay out in for the day. We spent the rest of the day alternating between swimming in the ocean and laying out. We took the bus back to Fira around 6:30 and grabbed dinner at a restraurant with a great view. Then we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready to go out. We walked back to the main part of town and found a really fun bar called Tropical. They played great music and we got to dance until super late!

On Sunday, we went to Perivolos Beach again and laid out/swam all day. Afterwards we went back to town and shopped a little more at the cute stores in the square. We grabbed gyros for dinner and then picked up our bags from the hotel. We had to catch an overnight ferry back to Athens at 10:35pm. We didn't have seats for the ferry and ended up sleeping on the floor with our bags in the hallway... it was very sad.

Now we are sitting in Patras, waiting for our ferry to Venice! We don't get there until Wednesday morning... it's a 32 hour ferry! :(

Miss you all!
Kiley

*just thought we would let y'all know, it is suppose to be like 30-40 degrees in Switzerland when we are there. And we have shorts.

Athens

Yasas! (i think thats how you say hello in Greek...)

We got to Athens 2 days ago after a LONG ferry ride from Italy. We should have been able to take the train from the port to Athens right away, BUT because of the strikes we ended up stuck in Patras, Greece for most of the day. It was not super exciting... and we ended up taking a bus (2 and 1/2 hours!) into Athens. But once we got there, our hostel was great! We stayed at Athens Backpackers, and our room had a great view of the Acropolis. We got in around 7pm, showered and went up to the Rooftop Bar. Then we went and watched the soccer game between Greece and Argentina (Greece lost :( ).

Yesterday, we got up and went to all the tourist/historical sites. We saw the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, the National Gardens, the Acropolis (including the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, etc. - but it was an uphill hike to get there!). We tried to see Parliament, but the street was closed because of the protesters (we avoided that area - don't worry!).

Today, we are shopping and exploring the city some more before leaving tonight on a ferry for Santorini!!

-Kiley

*Whit's phone is charged at the moment so we can recieve texts for free!! send us your love!

Rome: Part 2

We have officially left Rome... we took a train this morning to Bari, Italy (which is nothing special, trust me!) to catch a ferry to GREECE! We have a few hours before our ferry leaves so we are sitting with our bags in an internet cafe near the train station.

Yesterday was exhausting, but totally worth it! We started the day off at the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatino. We spent several hours wandering around amazed. It poured rain while we were waiting in line to get tickets, so we all got soaked. We were wearing rainjackets, but they didn't seem to help much because we were drenched. The sun did eventually come out and we dried off pretty quickly. After the Colossuem, we took the metro to Vatican City. We got to see St. Peters Basilica, but the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel was closed. (That's what we get for trying to go on a Sunday!) Afterwards, we went to eat at a pizzaria near The Spanish Steps. Then, we walked around and wound up back at Piazza Navona. We looked at the art work some more and Whitney got a pretty picture! Then we went back to the hotel and packed for our early morning today!

Miss you all,
Kiley

PS. I sent a few postcards, so be on the look out for those :) -Kiley

Rome!!

Ciào!

Today, for the second day, Brooke and I woke up for a lovely breakfast at the hotel while Kiley slept in like the lazy girl she is. We were forced to bring her breakfast in bed... what a deal. It was time to check out but it was also raining which made it a fun walk to the train station. Quite hilarious to walk behind Kiley and her rocket backpack as I like to call it.

Took a short 4 hour train to Rome and sat next to the cutest little German family with 2 boys who could not stop staring over at us. We blew a few kisses to them. We got to Rome and managed to find our hostel, The Funny Palace, where the owner showed us how to work all 5 keys on our keychain to get into the place. Free internet is included so hopefully we will be able to send a few more emails tomorrow.

By the time we got here and checked in, it was already 5:30 so we made our list of places to see and went on our way. We began with Piazza Navona which is a great shopping, eating and arts square. The streets were lined with local artists displaying their watercolors, oil paintings and sculptures. Live music at every corner including a classical guitar, violins, and an adorable old man lipsynching to opera. Brooke and Kiley caught the eye of a street vendor who asked them to stick out their pinkies while proceeding to loop string around their pinkies and braid a bracelet for them. We said we had no money but he insisted so we ended up getting free bracelets out of the deal... even though he asked us for €100 for each. We were starving so we decided to grab a bite at a restaurant called Caffe Domiziano and ordered pizza and calzone. You would think we would be losing weight with all of the walking but no worries, we make up for it by eating lots of pizza, pasta and gelato.

After dinner, we explored the streets stopping by the Pantheon which was completely under renovations and slightly disappointing. Also we stopped by Trevi Fountain which was extremely crowded but such a pretty view at night. Finally, we went to the Spanish Steps where we took a few pictures and sat on the steps while enjoying the beautiful streets of Rome.

After a long day, we headed home, jumped on the computer and are about to go to bed. We miss you all very much and love you all!!

A few notes to add to the last blog: Kiley also mailed stuff home, she just stuck it in my box... so no worries Cheryl, Kiley is still the same daughter you sent with us! : )

Good night All!
-Whitney

Monterosso

Ciao!

We got to Monterosso after a 19hr ferry. Our hotel is super nice... but everything here is uphill! Cinque Terre is BEAUTIFUL - words can't even describe it.

Yesterday we checked in at the hotel, then had lunch on the beach. We all had gnocchi... it was great! While we were sitting there an old italian man stopped to greet the pretty Americans and give us kisses on the cheeks. Then we went to the beach. It's not sandy at all... it is all rocks, but the view makes up for it. We laid out until 7ish and then went and showered. For dinner we went to old Monterosso and had great sea food at Ristorante Al Pazza (Brooke had to peel jumbo shrimp... it was funny!) We walked around, shopped, got gelato and went to bed!

Today, we took a short train ride to another city in Cinque Terre called Vernazza. It is mainly a fishing port, but everything is rustic and picturesque. My camera is not working at the moment (the lens won't open all the way :(... sad! I am trying to fix it) but Brooke and Whit are taking tons of pictures to make up for it.

We shipped some stuff home today so parents be watching out for that :) They said it should be there in about 4 days... one box to the Lawshes and one box to the Housers.

-Kiley

Barcelona

Hello!

We have been in Barcelona since Monday morning... we are about to leave to go to Italy. I´m sitting in the ferry port, watching the bags while Brooke and Whitney are looking at art/postcards in the market on the street. The ferry we are going to go on is HUGE - looks like a cruise ship (with a pool).

But... Barcelona was AMAZING!! Everyone is so laid back and chill here, it´s the perfect beach town.

Day 1: We took an overnight train from paris to Barcelona. There were six of us in the sleeper room... it was tiny! One of the guys was from Dallas and the other was from Australia - with a great accent. In Barcelona, we checked in and then walked up and down Las Ramblas (the main street) before eating dinner and drinking sangria. Then that night we went on a pub crawl... it was really fun! We met a lot of people and got to go dancing :)

Day 2: We woke up and went to the beach. It is sooo pretty here. But people don´t go to the beach until like 4 or 5 in the afternoon... so we ended up staying until 8pm. We drank sangria on the beach and relaxed- it was a perfect day. But we wanted to go dancing again, so we went on another pub crawl... we didn´t meet as many people, but it was still really great! We ended the night at a club that played local music - it was like techno/pop and really fun!!!

Day 3: Checked out of our hotel and I got the times for the ferry wrong, so we got here like 2 hours early. So they are shopping, while I watch the bags. That´s what I get for reading the times wrong :)

We will be in Monterosso tomorrow, probably midday... not sure if we will have internet at our hotel there, but we will try to find it.

Miss everyone!

-Kiley

Paris

Just found an internet cafe called MILK.

Paris is INCREDIBLE! we got here early friday morning and have been going strong since then.

Day 1: We went to the Eiffel Tower, but didn't go up because it was a super long wait/expensive. Then, we went to the Arc de Triomphe and watched a WWII memorial. We walked along the Champs Elysees and window-shopped. After that we went to the Louvre and explored what we could... it is HUGE!!! Then we went to an outdoor cafe at the Louvre and drank wine and ate cheese/dessert. We ordered fromage thinking it was regular cheese, and we got a yogurt-like substance with sugar. Brooke and I liked it... Whitney not so much.

Day 2: We went to Chateau de Versailles and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! So beautiful! we took the tour, then wandered the gardens (we got ice cream :) ) Back in Paris, we took a river cruise along the Seine at night. It was so pretty.... we got to see the light show of the Eiffel Tower! Then we sat at a cafe until 1am drinking wine and people watching.

Day 3: Today we are going to Notre Dame, the Pantheon and some local shopping markets. We leave for Barcelona tonight at 10pm.

*whit's phone will not charge, so we are not getting any messages/can't make any calls. Check here for updates... we will try to post every few days but don't worry if you don't hear from us between then!

-Kiley

Day 4: London

Dear Loyal Followers,

Since I am in charge of the alarm clock and waking us up.. we decided to sleep in today and it was wonderful. We met our lovely roommate last night when we came in late after playing cards and she was already asleep. We attempted to be quiet but it was hard when all of us are less than 5 feet away from her. This morning (afternoon) after we got up we didn't get our daily shower in because the hostel was having water issues and the hot water was turned off all day until 5PM. I attempted to take one when I got up but I didn't like the way it felt when ice cubes are shooting out at me.

For lunch, B&K wanted to get traditional fish and chips so we decided to go to Sherlock Holmes Pub which they had seen yesterday on our bus tour. Wanting to try something traditional as well, I got Steak and Mushroom in Ale Pie. Lunch was probably 1000 calories but well worth it! With the walking, we will work it off (we hope!). After lunch we wandered the streets in search of Oxford street because we were told it had great shopping. I asked several people on the way how to get there and one special friend grabbed my hand while looking at B&K and said: I like your Mum, is this your Mum? B&K thought this was quite humorous while I... did not.

We found cute shopping along Regent St. and turned onto Carnaby Street which was amazing. We were wondering where the great shopping was all week and we finally find it... the day before we leave. After our feet were about to fall off, we made our way to the tube and went to the Kings Cross Station to visit Platform 9-3/4 as seen in Harry Potter. We stood in line with several other people and took pictures and then went back to the hostel.

Now, we are in the computer room checking on FB and having a drink. We'll probably go to bed early since we have to wake up in the middle of the night to catch our train to Paris! Our new roomie will LOVE us.

Love you all very much and miss you!
Whitney

Day 2 & 3: London

Day 2:
On Tuesday, we got up early(ish) and ate breakfast at the hostel (for free!). Then we went to Knightsbridge to shop. The area is really cute... it's got Harrods, Harvey Nichols, H&M and Topshop, plus a bunch of other little boutiques. We shopped for a while and bought a lot of really cute stuff (Topshop and H&M).

After shopping, we went and got on a double decker bus tour that went all of over the city. The tour guide, Ben, was really funny and gave tons of random facts. The tour was great and we can use the buses tomorrow, too! We didn't get off at any major stops (it was raining and we are going to go back tomorrow for up close looks).

For dinner, we ate in Leicester Square at a great Italian place. Then we walked around and windowshopped before going to see Sex and the City 2. The movie theaters here are super nice... but super expensive!

Day 3:
Today, we went back on the double decker bus and got off at all the major stops. We saw the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace (really long...but the band played good music!), Parliament (which was closed for a political debate), Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (beautiful. and we took pictures standing inside our maps, like Joey on friends!), Tower Bridge, Tower of London (it was huge... but so cool! they have everything set up like it would have been hundreds of years ago.) We walked through Hyde Park and Green Park, until the rain started again.

We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe - it's the original one. (they also have the original Imagine lyrics that John Lennon wrote)

We are about to go get drinks... thinking about going to Stonehenge or Greenwich tomorrow.

*We got a 4th roommate! We haven't met her yet, but when we came back her stuff was in the room. Scary!

-Kiley
*tried to upload pictures but it won't let us!

Day One: London

We got here safe! We arrived in London after a 12 hour plane ride... it was exhausting! But completely worth it.

We checked in at our hostel, which is surprisingly nice because I was worried. There are 4 beds in the room, but no one else is in our room yet.

Today we went to the National Gallery and walked around looking at all the amazing art. Then we walked around central London, around Piccadilly Circus and window shopped. We ate dinner at St. James Tavern, a really cute little pub. Whitney got fish and chips!

We are about to go to happy hour at the hostel and probably go to bed early so we can get up in the morning for a full day of exploring.

-Kiley

The Night Before We Leave...

It's finally here! We have been planning for this for what seems like forever and we officially leave tomorrow at 6:15 p.m.



We had all been out of town for a while and hadn't seen each other in nearly 2 weeks. I went to the lake with my entire family - children and all - and just got back today. Brooke was in Colorado until a few days ago. And Whitney went with her family and boyfriend, Austin, to Hilton Head, SC and her flight got in late this afternoon. Needless to say - I began to panic earlier today. I finished packing a week and a half ago because I am OCD. Brooke started packing this morning and finished most of it by this afternoon.



And then there's Whit... she got in from Hilton Head and called us to come over under the premise of helping her pack, around 6 p.m. When Brooke and I get there, Whitney wants to take pictures.

So we take some pictures...It's business as usual, UNTIL...
WHITNEY GOT ENGAGED!!
He gets 3 wives for the price of 1.
Brooke and I were super emotional. It took us 30 minutes to stop crying/gaping at the ring. So instead of packing Whitney, we went for dinner and drinks to CELEBRATE!
We are so happy that Austin is officially joining our family!

We are so excited to celebrate with everyone when we get back... but for now we have one last hooray, just the 3 of us.

-Kiley

*We did eventually get Whitney packed... or at least on the right track.