England

England

For our journey to England we took a taxi, plane, bus, and train! We were doing great up until out last train connection when we were told after the train was boarded that it was cancelled due to a car that was on the tracks. Everyone had to get off the train and find other means of transport! Meanwhile, Val and Dan Nelson, friends of Mike's from SC, were waiting for us at the next stop! Fortunately pay phones do work! But around half hour later we realized that we didn't have our computer bag any more! I flipped out !!!! But once Mike got me to calm down i had enough sense to ask the train manager what i should do. I told them exactly where we thought we left it and they made some phone calls....they found it!!!! They sent it on a train back to us!!! MIRACLE!!!! Thank God!!!!



Dan and Val took us to their home in Bridge, England- close to Canterbury. They have the most adorable house!!! It was so nice to stay in a home and not a hostel for a few days! We spent the next few days sightseeing, eating, visiting with one another and watching 24! Dan and Val are such a wonderful couple, we had a blast getting to hang with them and are so grateful for all their hospitality! We got to see Dover Castle, Canterbury, London- Big Ben, London Bridge, London Tower, Westminster Abbey, and we even got to Hillsong Church London!
It was a lovely visit with great homecooked food, fun company, stroops (which are amazing cookie like desert, thank God i cannot understand what a kilocal is in comparison to Calories!!!), hot coco, lots of cold wet weather but so much fun!!! Thanks Dan and Val for being amazing hosts! And even waking up at 5 am to drive us to the airport!!!!

France

France

After parting with Rod and Shelby, we headed for France (which is right over the boarder from San Sebastian where we were). Biarritz was our first stop and our favorite- it is an adorable coastal town with a relaxed feel. Only spending one night, i wished it was more.
The next stop was Bordeaux. Since our train got in when it was already dark we did not get to se much and the next day our train left at 12 we did not get to really see what Bordeaux had to offer. On the way to our next stop,La Rochelle, we experienced a HUGE student protest/riot! At one stop on our train around 100 students entered the train all at once, at first we thought it was a field trip, but once they started chanting and singing our thoughts changed...when they got to their stop, thousands more were on the train platform waiting, chanting and holding signs! They all headed out of the train station and onto the streets...it was crazy!! We asked the train ticket man what they were saying and he told us in broken English that they were protesting against the prime minister!!! We spent the night in La Rochelle, another coastal town. The next day we traveled to England!!!!

Spain

Spain

Another long day of travel for us...metro to airplane to metro then by foot. Miraculously we found the hostel fine! But the weather was the COLDEST we had yet and really wet!!! About 10 minutes after we arrived so did Rod and Shelby! We spent the day catching up and walking around Madrid.

We took a train up north to San Sebastian the next day. San Sebastian is a beautiful quaint city! I love San Sebastian! It also has the best raisin bread I have ever had! We spent the next week renting a car and going west to Santander, Santillana Del Mar, Ribadesella, Mundaka, and then back to San Sebastian. We had a lovely time touring the beautiful coastal towns, castles, beaches, and national parks with gorgeous lakes. Our accommodations were pretty much all hostels with the exception of a "bungalow" at a campsite, where we got to cook and have mexican food and cola coa (hot chocolate) !! The trip was a blast getting to experience a foreign country with friends from home! Rod and Shelby are awesome people and terrific to travel with! Mike got to celebrate his birthday in Spain (Dec 7)!!

Greece

Greece



Arriving in Greece we quickly realized the meaning "It's all Greek to me" since Greek looks nothing like English--completely different symbols!!! Lots of signs were written in Greek as well as English, but not always....To arrive to the hostel we took a bus to metro and then walked...(sounds pretty easy but when stops for the bus are written in Greek it is a bit harder! But despite the odds against us we made it!!!
Checked in, dropped out packs and then headed to out on a walking tour of Athens. The rest of the afternoon and evening we spent walking around and touring Athens with some new found friends from the walking tour! The Acropolis was SPECTACULAR! Athens is amazing to see with so many ruins in such close proximity! Greek mythology comes to life when you get to see what you have read about.


The following day we joined some others from our hostel and took a day trip to Delphi. This entailed a 3 hour bus ride there and a 3 hour bus ride back...unfortunately our camera died once we got there so there are no photos of that day...The following day we woke early to get to the airport to head off to Madrid, Spain to meet up with Rod and Shelby, friends from home who are studying abroad in Spain.

Singapore

Singapore



Due to the riots and the shutdown of the Thailand Airport the day prior to our scheduled departure to Thailand we were rerouted to Singapore with an 11 hour layover. Once we arrived in the Singapore Airport we signed up to take a free tour into the city of Singapore.

This was a pleasant surprise since we didn't think that we would even get to make it out of the airport. Singapore is a very clean city in a beautiful location! The airport was also amazing--free internet, free movie theater, free butterfly museum, gym, hotel, and lots of shopping and restaurants. We spent this layover very entertained!