Europe4

10:00 A.M; just got up, already 2 hours late. As the girls run to get ready, I make it to the next level on my video game.  In the car we make it 200 feet, then u-turn. Mum forgot her glasses. Fran�oise would like new lenses from Italy.
Finally, we�re on our way.
We take Hannibal�s trail across the St. Bernard Pass where his army of elephants once traveled.  (Here is a link in case you�d like to learn about this: http://www.livius.org/ha-hd/hannibal/hannibal.html ) Luckily, the tunnel was still open.  It closes when the weather gets bad but today the weather was beautiful.
Lisa is having difficulties with the European driving on Alpine roads�Awf!  (Editors note: Lisa was dry heaving).  
No stamps in our passports at the boarder crossing unfortunately.  (Editor�s note: Lisa has not had one stamp yet!)
We arrive in Aosta, Italy at 2:30 P.M. and have lunch in a small restaurant called Ulysses. After, we have hot drinks in a chocolate bar.
We walk around town where Lisa, unknowingly expresses aloud her appreciation of a particularly attractive Italian male with �Aoummmmmm!�  I give her a quick nudge and she�s back to reality.
After picking up a few gifts and taking some pictures we eventually stop for local Christmas Ale and coffee with amaretto.
We�re relaxing at home now at 10:00 P.M. Even took a small nap in the car.   Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow.

January 5, 2005, Wednesday, 10:49 P.M.

Today was another fantastic day.  We visited the chateau de chillon in Veytaux-Montreux.  I would suggest checking out the website www.chillon.ch because my photos do not do it justice.  Castles are definitely my favorite thing to see.  We�ll be visiting a few in Budapest too this coming weekend.  It�s just so cool to walk through these ancient buildings and think about the people who lived there or were there against their will�and how long ago it was.  I can�t understand how they were able to build something so huge and with such detail and have it last for centuries.  It�s funny how tiny the people were back then.  The halls and doorways and even the bed in one of the rooms are built for very short people.  I hope the video came out ok but it was pretty dark in there.  
	After the castle we went to Montreux for a few drinks and then to dinner at �the funny farm.�  I had cashew chicken and it was of course�delish.  
	I have come to realize that the dog�s name is not Betsy, but rather Bessy.  I could have sworn Jacques wrote it with a �T� when we were instant messaging a while back.  Oh well.  Close enough.

Jacques has been taking awesome photos too and has many that I do not. Click here for his album. Click here for my photos from today of the Chateau de Chillon.
Click here for an archive of all Europe photo albums.

Thursday, January 06, 2005, 10:51 P.M.

If someone would have suggested to me that on my three week trip to Europe I would find myself one night having to choose between either dropping my pants in a public parking lot in zero degree weather and peeing on the ground (and down my legs no doubt) or holding it for almost two hours in excruciating pain�I would have thought they were nuts.  However, as it turns out�they would have been correct.   I chose to hold it and thankfully, my night in shining armour (David of course) went searching for me and found �les toilettes.� 
	We were in a practice studio listening to a band called Riffen rehearse.  ( www.riffen.ch )  One of them is a friend of David�s mom.  We didn�t drive and didn�t know the area so when the girls who were there with us told us that there was no bathroom we just took their word for it.  They offered to take me out to the parking lot to stand guard while I squatted but I declined.  I have never been a squatter and have no intention of starting.  Anyway, as I said, it turned out ok in the end.   
	Today was Three Kings Day in Europe.  It�s a catholic holiday, but I�ve never heard of it.  We ate a cake after the rehearsal and there were a plastic king & queen hidden in the pieces and whoever gets them becomes king or queen for the day and gets whatever he or she wants.  I feel jipped that Americans do not celebrate this day�or at least those in my neck of the woods.  Here is a little bit about it: http://pressroom.hallmark.com/three_kings_day_fact_sheet.html
Tomorrow we leave for Budapest in the morning.  I am really excited about it, but of course not thrilled to be getting on a plane.  We are bringing the laptop with us of course, but if we are late in posting photos or a diary update�just assume we had technical difficulties with equipment or something.  I�m not sure if we�ll have the proper adaptors for Hungary.

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Click here for band rehearsal photos.

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