The Grand Finale

We've spent the last three days relaxing at our Siena villa, catching up on sleep and drinking some good Tuscan wine. We made it on a wine tour of Chianti, compliments of our awesome driver, Paulo. Today, we're off to Rome, our last stop before heading back to the states, we'll let you know how it goes!

Ciao,

Nikki and Carley

Ciao, Italia!

Well, we might not have had fireworks for the Fourth of July, but we definitely celebrated...

We did a ropes course from Murren to Gimmewald which scaled cliffs, crossed giant waterfalls, and left us both a little shaky.

Check it out at: http://www.klettersteig-muerren.ch

Luckily, one of the workers at the Mountain Hostel offered to be our guide, so we weren't alone. If it wasn't for him, I might still be frozen on the cliff! Anyway, we made it through the 3 hour course unscathed and celebrated with a beer upon our return. The next day, we departed Switzerland and headed to Italy! Unfortunately, Italy is not as organized with their train system as the other countries we've visited, and we got yelled at in some language we didn't understand and then shoved onto another train. We thought we were going to have to spend the trip sitting in between cars next to the bathroom, but luckily, a train attendent found us a place to sit. We met some fellow travelers heading to Nice who shared a few laughs with us about our travels as well. We finally made it to Venice and tried to make the most of our time there since we had less than a day to explore the city. Venice was definitely unlike anything we had ever seen, and we had the opportunity to travel along the canal and see some of the incredible sights. The next day, we departed to the Cinque Terre. We are currently staying in Riomaggiore. It is beautiful and very hot here. We are planning to spend the next few days enjoying some swimming, hiking, and good food. Well, out to enjoy the sun!

Ciao,

Nikki and Carley

4000m up, up, up!

So, we continued in Germany a few more days to meet up with some of my relatives in Nurnberg and Ingolstadt and then spent a day in Munich. A big thank you to my family for giving us place to stay and feeding us delicious food! It was so good to see you all again even if it was for just a short time. It's you're turn to come to the US! We trained, bused, and gondola-ed into Gimmewald today. It is absolutely gorgeous here. We got our first taste of rain in a while, which was refreshing. We're off for some hiking tomorrow, and maybe even a little extreme sporting...we'll see.

Nikki and Carley

loving it in Deutschland!

Yesterday we finally left Amsterdam after three days and took a train to Germany to a town called Hermesdorf where my friends live from when I was an au pair in Waldbroel. It was so great to be picked up by a familiar face and talk about the fun times we had last year. Last night we got to play 'around the bird' which is a ping pong game with all of the Germans. Our competitive side came out pretty fast, and the Germans thought that we were pretty funny. Nikki and I actually one some of the games too, so it wasn't all just a bunch of talk. We also got to sleep in a real bed, in a real room, and in a real house. It felt so comfortable that we wanted to sleep forever!

Today we are going to watch the German game against England at one of my friends house. Since USA is out as of last night, it will be fun to root for Deutschland.

We are signing off to enjoy another beautiful sunny day in Deutschaldn.

Schuss!

Carley and Nikki

Galway and Amsterdam

Hello! Sorry for the delay, we've been so busy having fun and travelling and haven't had good internet access that we haven't had time to post! Parents, we're alive and healthy, stop worrying! Galway was awesome! It was a small Irish town on the west coast filled with tourists and locals alike, all out to have a good time. We made it onto a tour bus and saw some amazing sights, like the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren hills of limestone; absolutely breathtaking! We took some beautiful photographs of the open farmland and scenery, and even caught a game of Gaelic football. It was a lot like home, being on the west coast ;) We spent a day traveling from Galway via coach to Dublin, plane to Amsterdam, and tram to our hostel, which was kind of sucky, but we made it, and instantly fell in love with the city we affectionately dubbed "The mother of Bellingham"; a laid back city, with great people, that smells like pot...all the time. Over the last two days, we went to the Van Gogh Museum (so cool!) and the Anne Frank House. We walked through the Albert Cuyp Markt and just spent some time chilling out on the grass to catch some rays (of which, Carley got a little too much). We met some fun locals, and we plan to meet up with them later tonight. We've definitely gotten used to the traveler's lifestyle, and are loving our time here!

Tot Ziens,

Nikki and Carley

a couple of Irish lassies

We arrived safely to Dublin yesterday and still have one more day in town, despite my efforts to almost get hit by cars when crossing the street (I didn't get hit, don't worry, Mom) and Carley's effort to slice open her head on the locker door (she's fine, by the way, Laurie). We checked out some of the well known sights, like Whitefriar Street Church (burial place of St. Valentine), St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College, and the Brazen Head (oldest pub in Ireland). We also spent the evening in the Temple Bar area, which was pretty crazy. We ran into a lot of drunk Europeans and an English man dressed in a woman's body suit and his friends out for his stag something or other, basically, his bachelor party. Anyway, we're off on a Dublin city tour today thanks to a really nice Norwegian guy we met in the Brazen Head who gave us his tour tickets to use since he was leaving town and couldn't use them. Tomorrow, we're heading over to Galway on the west coast of Ireland for some fresh air and biking trails. It will be a nice change of pace.

Cheers,
Nikki and Carley

so far so good.

This trip has been pretty easy so far, considering being in another country. Although the English language helps. Nikki and I have pretty much seen everything there is to see here within the last couple days. We've met a few interesting characters and made a couple friends. Nikki has adjusted easily to the time difference where as I am still waking up at noon which is hindering our plans for the day slightly. Hopefully I will transition very soon so she doesn't have to lie awake in her bed waiting for me to get up.

Nikki just declared that she has had the best yogurt of her entire life from the store across the street. Hearing that, you know that all is well. We also have gotten to display our phenomenal dance moves last night which impressed oh so many people. They knew that we were Ameican instantly. I even showed my lotion dance to one bloke.

Today we are off to Camden Town to check out some markets and diverse locals. It will be a nice change from the busy city life. Tomorrow we head out to Ireland, although have not made the actual plan to get there. I'm sure we will be fine...

Hope all is well at home and we will write when we are in Dublin.

Cheers!!
Carley and Nikki


P.S. Nana Terry and Uncle John; thank you for the pounds, they've come in handy for quick breakfasts, lunches, Travelcards, and postcards :)
-Nikki

Our first day in London

So, we got on the plane to Philadelphia, with a guy in handcuffs...and Carley's next door neighbor showered her with Seltzer...BUT we made it safely and are doing great! We spent our first day seeing some sights, and are still trying to get on European time. We haven't gotten lost, well, yet :) London is awesome and it feels a lot like home, so the transition has been easy. Hope everything is good back home!

-Carley and Nikki

The countdown

Less than 24 hours to departure, and our bags are packed...well, at least mine, Carley's still working on hers. An early rise tomorrow and a few pictures and we'll be on our way. Looking forward to a lot of plane time and layovers...just kidding! We just can't wait to get to London, so excited!!! Let the adventure begin!