Amsterdam with Shan

Shannon had never been to Amsterdam so Scott drove us there early Saturday morning so we could go to the Anne Frank House. The line was too long when we arrived so we went back later on in the day. It's a very moving experience to visit her house. We toured the Red Light District and the usual Amsterdam things. Below are a few highlights. Everyone wants their picture taken in a wooden shoe!
Proof that Scott went with us on this trip.
Shan and the canal.
This is a statue that reads:

Respect your local sex worker

A concert on the canal in front of the famed Pulitzer hotel.

Scott and I leave for vacation tomorrow so my next post will be September 3rd.
Until next time!

Milan and Lake Como, Italy

The fabulous Duomo in Milan
On the roof top of the Duomo

(gotta love the camera timer)

Lake Como, Italy

(where we saw George Clooney's house)
We finally found someone to take our picture
Our new Finnish friend who lived in South Carolina for a while.

We really couldn't decide where we wanted to spend Wednesday through Friday so we picked our all time favorite, Milan. The pictures really don't do it justice. Milan has beautiful architecture and wonderful shopping. However, this time we were only able to embrace the architecture. All of the stores were closed for the holiday (aka: vacation in Europe) Most of the stores opened up the day we left. We still had a wonderful time. Milan never gets old. We'll always return!

Athens, Greece

On our way back from Cyprus, we had a layover in Athens, Greece for 5 hours. Shannon and I had previously been to Athens for her wedding so we were familiar with the city. So we thought why not tour it again. It beat sitting in an airport and staring at each other for 5 hours. We hailed a cab and our first stop was the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. The funny thing was the cab driver didn't really know where it was and we were the ones showing him. We walked around the city a little more and then we hailed another cab to take us to the Acropolis and back to the airport. We got some great photos from our little stop over. The Acropolis

(It was way too hot to climb up to the top.)


The Temple of Zeus
Olympic Stadium

Larnaca, Cyprus

So, when I said Shannon and I were going to the beach....I actually meant we were going to Cyprus (60 miles away from Syria...yes almost the Middle East.) All the European tour books say that Cyprus has the best beaches so we were game. Not to worry though, Shannon and I researched the trip thoroughly and had it all planned out so we wouldn't be 2 American girls wondering around a strange country. Ok, we wondered a bit but Shannon's saying is "not all who wonder are lost."

Just a little background on Cyprus: it entered into the European Union in 2004, the southern part of the country is owned by Greece and the northern part is owned by Turkey. (We stayed on the southern part.)

On our first day there we had "beach day" and just hung out on the beach all day. The weather was HOT! Luckily, the water was cool so we kept hopping in there. The water was crystal clear and beautiful. We took a water tubing excursion which was the highlight of our entire trip. Ask me about it sometime...it's pretty funny. The next day we taxied into the city of Larnaca and visited the church of Lazarus. (Remember him from the Bible- he was the one who rose from the dead.) Anyway, we were able to see his tomb in the crypts of the church. The weather was even HOTTER this day but we kept trucking...into a TJIFridays that had air conditioning. We eventually cooled off long enough to see a museum, a castle, and a few souvie shops.

All in all we had a great 2 days in Cyprus. We like to describe Cyprus as Mexico Mediterranean with the Caribbean Ocean. We felt very safe there. They are trying to build up their tourism and welcome visitors!

On the rocks outside our hotel

Beach Day
Church of St. Lazarus in Larnaca
Pretty Sunset

Summer Fun

Last Sunday and Monday we visited the city of Chartres, France. It's a little city about an hour west of Paris. The European tour book I use said this city is a must see while in Paris....but I'd say it was nothing special. They are famous for there church in the picture above but it was really just like any other church here. My recommendation would be to travel to Versailles for great scenery or Rouen for a better church in the same category/level. Or just stick to Notre Dame in Paris.

The weather has been wonderful all week. In the high 70's to the low 80's yesterday. We've tried to stay out of the house as much as possible and enjoy the summer b/c we know it will quickly fade away. That be the reason my blog wasn't updated last week!

We had a great weekend this past weekend. Just strolling the back roads, sitting by the canals getting some sun, eating dinner on the outside terraces at great restaurants, being tour guide to an SA employee in town....just relaxing.

Shannon comes in town on Saturday and we're (Shannon and I) going to take off to the beach for a few days and come back and visit Amsterdam. The back half of our trip really isn't planned yet so we might end up somewhere besides Amsterdam, who knows? Then on the 21st, Scott and I leave on our summer vacation. So, I'll go ahead and warn you....the next blog post might not be until September.

I'm not telling you where Shannon and I are going nor where Scott and I are going just so you'll check back...believe me..it's going to be awesome!