Bell Towers

Right outside the window of our apartment we have a big bell tower.  It is beautiful.  Each hour and half hour it rings.  And at 7 a.m. we get a full on song plus 7 rings--the Doctor counted, it rings 117 times.  At noon and six, we also get a full-on song.

Why don't we have more clock towers in America?   They simply are iconic of Europe.  I am going to miss bell towers.  I hardly ever have to wear a watch or wonder what time it is.

I Love Dogs!

I Love Dogs. They are so cute.  In Italy you can take dogs to restaurants with you.  Every time we go out to eat there is a dog.  At first this seemed weird because in America dogs are not allowed inside restaurants, store, or shopping malls.  I love dogs and I love seeing dogs everywhere.  Most people keep their dogs on a leash at all times in the restaurant, but they will let me pet the dogs if  I ask.  (My mom and dad learned the word in Italian: Accarezziare). I love dogs.

- Amadeus

Pula, Croatia: Roman Empire meets Urban Sprawl

Sometimes promotional photos don't completely portray a location. We originally booked 4 days in Pula Croatia based on photos that showed it as a pristine beach community with a historic old town complete with Roman ruins. When we got there, we found a little more urban sprawl than beach beauty, though Pula certainly had some of the latter.

Pula, however, did have its high points, though not enough to spend more than a day there. The sites we thought were most worth the visit were:

1) The Roman Coliseum: A fully-intact coliseum that has its nice views. For our family of 6, it was about $20 to see it, which we thought was a good enough deal, until we went in. You can see everything inside the coliseum for free outside the coliseum.

Of course, if you pay to go in, you can climb the ruins and even act like you're watching a gladiator battle...

They also have an underground area with a very small smattering of ancient pottery and a security guard who appears to be paid to stare down visitors and make sure they're not breathing on the artifacts wrong.

2) The city ruin walk + downtown market: The more we see of Europe, the more we realize that local markets are the hidden gem. With so many diverse foods and local products, we've quite enjoyed finding markets like the one in Pula, whose market is a 10 minute walk from the coliseum through a handful of Roman ruins surrounded by business buildings.

3) The rocky sea shore. The Pula "beach" is a few minutes outside of the main city. It is surrounded by hotels, a camping area, and some areas of somewhat destitute living. The overall view was nice, but the shore was incredibly rocky. We were grateful we brought our crocks and sandals. The best part, though, was swimming with the fish. Unlike many of the beaches we've enjoyed in the US, beaches in Croatia are full of diverse fish life.

All in all, Pula was nice enough, but the real draw of being in Pula is the town 20 minutes up the coast: Rovinj (which will be the subject of another post).

Gelato: The Best Ice Cream Ever

When we travel we usually stop at some of the gelaterias that we go to. We have found many flavors that we are wanting to try again and some, not so much. Here is a list of some of our favorite flavors and where we got them:

Cannela (Cinnamon) - Cinque Terre, Monterosso

Sicilian Wedding Cake - Crespano del Grappa

Fig with Cinnamon - Crespano del Grappa

Nocciola (Hazelnut) - Practically everywhere

Pistachio - Practically everywhere
Straciatella (Cookies and cream) - Most places

Banana - Rovinj, Croatia 

Fragola (Strawberry) - Everywhere (Amadeus gives two thumbs up)

Amarena (Cherry) - 

Cremino (Hazelnut with Cream and Chocolate) - Cinque Terre, Monterosso
Meringlase (Mering)-Crespano del Grappa

Our Favorite Gelato Place (so far)

Funny what you can find in your own backyard. After traveling every weekend to a new place, we found our favorite gelato place right around the corner from us in Crespano.

This little town also happens to be the place where we like to do our drawing lessons.

Sunday Excursions

With the plethora of cultural and historic experiences available here in Europe, one of our favorites has been attending Church on Sundays. In the last 6 weeks, not only have we attended a different Ward or Branch (LDS-lingo for a congregation) each week, but we've attended in a different country each week as well.

Despite the differences in culture, language, and history of each place we have visited, the gospel message in each congregation has been the same.

It has also been fun for the boys to see that it doesn't matter where you meet, the Gospel is still the same. Some branches have met in an apartment building, others in a  business building, and very few in a stand-alone chapel.

Salzburg, Austria

Paris, France

Rijeka, Croatia

Rijeka, Croatia

One of our favorite experiences was in Croatia, where we attended during a fast and testimony meeting--the LDS meeting where members share their beliefs. The Branch was extremely small, but it made for an even more intimate and enjoyable experience. When the meeting started, one of the missionaries said he would translate for us if we wanted to share our testimonies. So we did. After the meeting, the missionary told us that it was the longest testimony meeting they had ever had :)

We've also enjoyed the openness of the small branches we've visited. Coming in with our party of 6  can be a sight to behold, but every time we come to a new branch, we're welcomed with open arms and accepted as part of the branch almost immediately. In fact, today we went to church in La Spezia, Italy, and one of the leaders had Parker fulfill his Bishop's messenger duty as a Deacon.

La Spezia, Italy

Triberg Water Fall: A Perfect Sunday Retreat

When we travel, we usually make sure to go to church in each area we visit. Because the weekend we spent in Black Forest coincided with LDS General Conference, we wouldn't get the chance to attend church, and without WiFi at our hotel, we also wouldn't get to watch conference live. So instead, we decided to enjoy the natural beauty of the Black Forest and have a Sunday devotional as a family. The location: the Triberg Waterfalls

It was an absolutely beautiful area, so beautiful that no one complained about the steep hikes. 

 

 

After getting some photos by the waterfalls, we hiked above the falls and found a place to stop, read the scriptures, and enjoy the atmosphere. 

We focused on Alma 30:44, where the prophet Alma says that "the Earth and all thins that are upon the face of it" are proof there is a God. Triberg was a nice backdrop to discuss that scripture. 

 

A Review of Disney Paris in the (so-called) off season

First, tour guides will tell you that Disney Paris is always packed, and there's never an off season. We visited France's Happiest Place on Earth on a Friday in September, so we were bracing for some really long lines, heavy crowds, etc. We were pleasantly surprised. Here are a few highlights:

1) Lines were easy, and even non-existent at some rides. There were  a few sets of lines in the smaller Hollywood Studios, but for the most part, we walked on nearly every ride in less than 10-15 minutes. That doesn't even happen with a Fast Pass in the U.S. anymore!

2) Some things are VERY Parisian. For example, the Autopia ride was almost an exact copy of driving in Paris. Backed-up, bumper-to-bumper traffic after only a short minute or two of free lanes (no joke, I had to get a picture to prove it!) We sat in Disney traffic for 5 minutes of the 6 minute ride! When we got off, I complained, and the ride operators said: "Do you want to go again?" Sit in traffic again? no thanks.

3) Many of the rides are better. Space Mountain is an obvious upgrade to the Cali and Flori fare. The Indiana Jones ride was a basic roller coaster in the same vein as the Mullholland Madness ride at California Adventure. Buzz Lightyear actually has the secret spots and point earning potential that the California version does (and that the Florida one lacks).  Big Thunder Mountain is just as crickity, but I'm certain it goes through an under water tunnel at one point. And the Nemo/Crush ride is above and beyond superior to the snore-fest that is the Nemo ride at Epcot.  Star Tours, however, is lame (as it's the 1980's version of the ride) and the Tea Cups they've obviously tightened the screws a bit making it nearly impossible to get the cups spinning at a nauseating rate. The Haunted Mansion was flat out lame. There weren't even any ghosts in your carriage to "follow you home"...instead we all stared at ourselves in the mirrors as we passed by them to end the ride.

4) Everything is in French. Yep, though they do translate some of it into English too.

A big highlight for our trip was getting Amadeus over his absolute fear of rides. We pushed him a little too fast a few years back in Florida, so this time around, Curls gave him some options, and he chose to go on Big Thunder Mountain. He ended up loving it.

 

French PDA's

When in Paris, we simply couldn't resist soaking in the romantic atmosphere of the city...whether at the Eiffel Tower:

ON the Eiffel Tower:

at the Lock Bridge:

Or even at the gates of Versailles (which was an awfully long train ride to get a kissing photo)

I don't know what's worse, that we took so many PDA pics, or that we had our 13 year old take them!