An even Quicker trip to Milan

Shortly before I left for Boston, I got an email from a friend planning a day trip to Milan, Italy. It was only 15 euro for the round-trip plane ride - so... why not!? There ended up being 13 of us crazy ladies who went. We stayed in a really nice hostel that even had a private bathroom in each room (for only 25 euro each). We left at 8:30 on Tuesday night, and were home again by 1:30 on Wednesday night. We had a lot of fun. We broke off into different groups and did our own thing. The group I was with went to downtown Milan to start. We took a bus tour of the city, getting off at the Castello for lunch & requisite gelato. Wandered the streets some more, then headed back to Bergamo (the city where Ryanair flys into). We liked Bergamo more than Milan... I think we all enjoyed the laid back atmosphere better ... Above is a castle at the top of Bergamo city that we walked to ...

This (above) is a view of Bergamo from the top of the city ... Below is a picture of the Castello in Milan. We did have a fun chance to bargin for knock-off Prada purses here ...

This is the Dom in downtown Milan. It was very pretty on the outside - we didn't take time to go inside ... Gelato was calling & there were other things to see ....

Duinrell & Keukenhof

Our (at least, MY) main reason for going to the Netherlands was to go to Keukenhof and see the flowers ... they were beautiful ... They were past their prime, but there were still a lot blooming .... I think I will need to make another trip next spring ....

For better pictures, go to: http://www.keukenhof.nl/

Back in February, my friend Tawnya & I were discussing a trip to the Netherlands (Holland) to see the flowers. She knew of a place called "Duinrell" that has a little amusement park and either bungalows, camp sites, or a "hostel" to stay in. We got online and saw that you could get group rates at the hostel & thought it would be fun to have a bunch of us from church go. She and I quickly looked at our calendars and the best date we could come up with was Friday May 8-9th - right before Mother's day. We called and were able to reserve 25 spots. We then sent out an email inviting anyone to go - telling them how much per spot, etc. We quickly had all the spots filled! By the time the actual date came around, there had been changes in who could come, but we still had a fun group of 25 (actually 26, but kids under 3 are free). Devin stayed home because it was the last home soccer game. My kids already want to go back! I forgot to mention the waterpark that you also get entrance to - totally fun! (wish I had got pictures in there! go to this website and check out the video: http://www.duinrell.com/ --it's the Tiki pool)

This (above) would be the crazy American man that jumped and splatted himself against the wall in the Shadow Room ...

There was a fun playground in the middle of the amusement park. The adults loved the huge 8 person glider! It wasn't long before we realized that we were the ONLY adults in the playground ... the other adults were all sitting outside the play area on benches ... oh well.. they missed out!

Spencer ... looking extremely cool driving his bumper car ...

Spencer and Darren on the chair-pull-up-thingy ride... You sit in the chairs and pull yourself up with the rope to the top, and then glide down. (Not as hard as it sounds, and it doesn't come fast either.)

At least half this ship is people from our group ... Larry Roth, Caitlin Roth, Spencer & James Boden... Tawnya Roth .. Angie Eller & 2 of her girls ... Shelby & ME (with my hands up!) ...

Quick trip to Boston

Darren had a Radiology conference in Boston the week of May 26th-April 3rd. Since we were fortunate to have his parents still here, I got to with him and enjoy a week in the STATES and with NO kids! :) It was a fabulous break! The most exciting thing for me was literally in the back parking lot of our hotel! This is a view from our hotel window ... Can you see it? YES! It's a TARGET!!! So exciting!! There was even an Old Navy, Home Depot, Marshalls, Office Max, and Olive Garden back there! What more could a girl ask for?

Since the first day of the conference is just a check in, get your free bag and list of courses, we spent the rest of the day just moseying around Boston. We began with a Whale Watching tour ... This (above) is a view of the Boston skyline as we are riding out into the harbor.

And these? Yes, whales... though they may look like the Loch Ness, the one above is a "Minkie" whale (I've never heard of that kind either), and the one below is a Humpback whale (which you all knew, of course, by the trademark tail).

We enjoyed a week of American dining, some shopping, and even did a 2 mile "Freedom Trail" walk around Boston. We saw the North Church, 3 neat cemetaries (with famous people like Paul Revere, John Adams, John Hancock, etc. buried), Bunker hill, and other cool sites. It made me realize that I should probably brush up on my American History now that I have a good grasp on the European WWII era ...

Spring Break 2009 -- DAY 10 & 11 ... the END

We woke in the morning ... before our guide/drivers/cooks ... around 6 (the time we were told we would be leaving and heading back to Cairo) ... After a scanty breakfast of bread, honey, jam, oranges, and water ... we explore while the guide/drivers/body gaurd pack up ... The night before, I had seen a desert fox peek around the rugs while we were playing cards waiting for dinner... In the morning, during our explorations, grandpa found a den with 3 foxes... We all got to walk over and see them in their den ...

There's one to the left and one on the right of the den ...

peeking up over the sand at us ....

kids climbing on the sand formations ...

Our line of tents ... can you see the hanging rugs?

Yes, more sand ... we must bury another person ...

trekking out to see the foxes ...

(below) - a view of our camp from on top a sand formation ...

then... back to the jeeps! crazy ride back to the oasis (complete with mini sand storm, and our driver pulling another jeep out of the sand), use the good bathroom before hitting the road, load the van, and d-r-i-v-e back to Cairo ... I'm not sure if we ate lunch ... I know we didn't care, we just wanted a SHOWER ... especially since we had spent the day in Luxor, gone to the market, ridden the train, drove to the desert, camped, and drove back since our last shower ...

We spent our last night in Cairo at the same hotel we started our trip at - the Grand Pyramid. The kids were happy to see the pool. They changed in the public bathroom of the hotel (leaving a little sand pile- oops!) and headed for the pool while the adults finished checking in, and saying goodbye to our driver (TIP) and guide (TIP). Darren & Bryan left the hotel (much to the dismay of hotel personnel), and caught a taxi to a nearby McDonalds. They loaded the contra-band food into backpacks and smuggled it back to the rest of us starving (but freshly showered!) people! No outside food is permitted in the hotel (they want you to pay 4 times as much for food that they kids don't like).

Bry & Ann-Marie left for the airport in the middle of the night (midnightish), Will came to the hotel to drop off Cartouse necklaces (THANKS AGAIN Will!!), and then we all crashed! We got another shower in the morning. :)The girls were kind enough to make sure we were up and to breakfast by 7:30 (would have been nice to sleep in, since we could have!).. Then check out, and meet a new person to escort us to the airport ... (TIP for the driver and bell boys).. and we have lunch at the airport and then load a plane... Arriving back home in Germany around 11pm Sunday.... What a trip!! (and only a few cases of "Pharoah's revenge" - I won't bore you with the details ...)

Spring Break 2009 -- DAY 9

After visting the two temples on Thursday night, we got to experience the Luxor market for an hour. Our guide coached us on keeping together, please only an hour, I will be right here, if you have a problem this is my cell phone number, remember it is best to stay as a group ... It was definitely an experience ....

Then, it was to the train station. Catch the 8 pm train back to Cairo, dinner at 8pm .... Oh, and breakfast this time will also be on the train (assortment of bread again) - but at 4 am!!After we eat our 4am breakfast- we leave the train around 5:30am. (Apparently we did better tipping this time, we were not followed down the sidewalk ...) Here we are loaded into another bus (another new driver and body guard), but this time, we say farwell to Mostafa ... He was an awesome guide and very patient for putting up with all of us! (He got a nice tip!) Our new guide was Mohammed (different from our friend Mohammed earlier in the trip) ... He would make us long for Mostafa and marvel anew at Mostafa's command of the english language ...

So, the drive begins ... We drive from the Cairo train station out to an "Oasis" town of Bahariya. Not what I pictured an oasis to be ... The drive was l-o-n-g and just sand ... The one pit stop was the pits! There was no one at the bathroom to demand tip for 4 squares of toilet paper (we brought our own anyway), but soon we saw why ... There was one toilet for the three stalls. It hadn't functioned for some time ... the other two stalls ... well... there is a hole in the floor for you to hover over, and then a bucket for you to fill and "flush" with ... nasty!! I'll hold it, thanks!

A couple hours later we arrive in Bahariya. I guess it really was an oasis... just not what I imagined... I thought of palm trees, surrounding a pond of clear water, and grass huts here and there ... Instead ... an oasis is literally a town in the middle of a desert. So, we drive for hours through sand, and come to a town. The town is sandy, but there are trees and vegetation... and... a "clean" (it's all relative at this point!) bathroom!! yeah!! A quick potty break, unload the luggage, and we're off!

to see more "temples" ... yeah... see how enthused we are ... We went to a "museum" (not the demonstration type, but more like a warehouse with guards) to see the golden mummies, then to a couple more temple sites...

This first one, we had to walk down some stairs ...

Through a cubby hole ...

And once inside ... There were some amazing hyroglyphics! They had beautiful color! Yes, you may take a picture (now, where's my tip?)

After leaving here, we went to the temple of Alexander the great ... It was more of a ruins ... not very exciting after what we have seen the past 8 days ... and we just want to go camp in the desert now ...

So, we get into our jeeps and head to the desert ... After driving through the "black" desert (some black bits over regular sand), we come to a little place for our lunch break. Our guide and drivers (and, yes, new body gaurd - this one with an even more impressive gun) fix us lunch of bread, some sort of cheese? and tomato spread, chips, and tuna ... thank goodness our friends had encouraged us to pack lots of snacks!

Then we are off again ... to the "white desert" with it's sand sculptures made from the wind ... The kids are just happy to get out of the jeeps (our drivers are CRAZY!!) and play in the sand ...

gotta be buried in the sand....

a stop at Crystal mountain before heading to the camping area ... the kids loved all the crystals just literally laying around ...

A view of the four jeeps ... for our group of 15... plus four drivers ... plus our guide ... plus our body gaurd ... we were cozy ...

hanging out in the cyrstal rock ...

ahh... sand ....

I didn't get the picture of Spencer. I looked out the door of my jeep and saw Spencer making a "sand angel"! Of course, my response was, "Is that Spencer making a sand angel? Tell Darren to take a picture and then yell at him ..." We gave up on the sand issue ... It serves me right. When we were packing for the trip, I told the kids they would only need 3 pairs of pants for the trip ... after all... "it's not like we will be rolling down sand dunes".... silly me ....

I have to admit the sand sculptures were beautiful ....

And, it was an amazing sunset ...

Finally we arrive at camp.... Our own little spot in the desert... And one of the coolest things on our whole trip! They pick a spot by some sculptures, but away from other groups. Then park the jeeps in a U shape. The trucks are used to hang the rugs from... then little tables and mats to sit on... It was neat!

Dinner being prepared ... It was a delious meal!! unfortunately, it was at 9:30 at night ... and since the kids had been awake since our 4am breakfast ... I think they all slept through dinner, and barely made it into a tent!

Spring Break 2009 -- DAY 8

Last night was our last night on the boat ... There was a belly dancer ... So, we went -- but no one was too impressed ... we only stayed about 10 minutes, enough to make Mostafa happy ... We had breakfast in the morning, and then had to have our bags out of the room by 9am. We had the morning to do as we liked. The Shirley's chose to go to the Luxor museum- a short walk from the boat. It was really impressive. It was MUCH smaller than the museum in Cairo, but much better laid out with nice descriptions. Shelby was followed by a group of school boys trying to get a picture of her hair... Then, about 2, Mostafa picked us up for a quick lunch at Pizza Hut - then on to the Karnak and Luxor Temples. These temples were really neat. Incredible to believe that they were covered in sand! One temple (Karnak, I think), even had a Mosque that had been built on top of it, not knowing the huge expanse of a temple that lay underneath in the sand! This is a group of school girls that wanted a picture of the American group - so, Darren and the rest of the men posed for them, and then they got a picture of the girls ... The Egyptian children were always so friendly and cute! All wanting to say Hello ... The group below was a group of children leaving a temple as we were arriving. They were very excited to shout hello - what you can't see in the picture is their teacher telling them to stop ...

Arabic pepsi bottle from our lunch at Pizzza Hut ... complete with Beef pepperoni, since they don't eat pork in this country ... I miss bacon ....

One of the Rams at the Karnak temple ... is this where the name Ramses came from?

This is the layout of the Karnak temple. It is a huge complex (I think he said 2 square miles?). It was part of Queen Hatchepsut stuff. Her step-son tried to scratch her name off the obelisk, but was not successful...

This (below) is the entrance to the temple of Luxor. You may notice that there is only one Obelisk, and the Egyptian temples all had two, for symmetry... The second is in a museum in New York. A gift from Eypt for help excavating the site.

Sitting outside the Luxor temple ...

A king in the making ... notice the left foot forward as a sign of power ...

This is the Obelisk that the step son tried to destroy... You can see that it was just too tall! In fact, the top of the obelisk is a different color because it was sticking out of the sand for years. I think that may be how they found the temple ...

Happy family by one of the Sphinx in a row that leads up to the entrance of the Luxor temple.