Day 17

Leaving at dawn we headed out via Eurail to Amsterdam. We arrived around 11AM and were able to drop our bags off at our Hostel and make it back to the Visitors Center to meet a group that was doing free walking tours of the city.
Here is the Anne Frank house, Ashley went here last time she visited Amsterdam, but with a line that stretched down the street and around the corner. So, we decided that the Van Gogh museum was more our style.

Here is an underground Catholic Church that seats 300 people and is home to one of the worlds largest organs. When Catholicism was banned in Amsterdam, more than 300 people would attend this church and shortly after hymns would be blaring into the streets.
The police, not being idiots and good Christians, would not work on the Sabbath. So complaints were filed on many Sundays, but not looked into until Monday came around. Which as we all know, there were no Catholics at mass still so the church remained "hidden."
Another beautiful and surprisingly not smelly canal.
Tulips! We did find some but the fields had not yet bloomed so we did not get to experience the fields of rainbow colors.

Day 13 Easter Sunday

Wanting to go to Easter Mass at Notre Dame de Paris was on our list of things to do for our trip. So we chose to stay with Mary and Brent even though a floor spot was all that was open at their place. We woke up and readied for mass getting to the Cathedral 45 minutes early to stand in line our odds looked good. With 15 minutes left till the start of mass we were close but then for some reason it looked like 4 or 5 other lines had started and were prepared to enter for mass in front of us. So sadly, since we did not embrace the French way of not waiting in lines and just cutting to the front we were denied entry. After much consideration we chose to walk back home and see a few sites on the way.
Hotel De Ville, Paris' city hall and the center of all things political in Paris.
Centre Pompidou, a modern art museum with a very unique exterior. The building was created to be inside-out. Meaning that all the duct work, electricity, and utilities are on the exterior of the building instead of the inside hidden within the walls.

Near where Mary and Brent live in Paris there is a square and Metro station stop called Place de la République, this is where the Statue of Marianne is located.

Marianne is to the French as the Statue of Liberty is to the United States, but theirs is not surrounded by water. "Why is this an important fact to point out?", you ask. because this is where many of the protests begin in Paris and once they have gained mass and strength they typically march to Place de la Nation. Everyone remembers this past year when the french went on multiple strikes, and large protests were occurring.

Day 12

Travel day included an early morning wake-up with a train leaving at 7:05AM.


Once making it from Interlaken our train took us to Bern, where we switched to the TGV, the fast trains in Europe. From Bern we took off to Paris to stay with Ashley's friends Mary Clare and Brent, that are also from the great state of Nebraska.
That evening we went to check out the Eiffel tower. It was lit up for the evening and each hour it sparkles. We stayed the evening and planned on going to Notre Dame in the morning for Easter Mass.

Day 8

This was the last day at our Bed and Breakfast so we enjoyed a nice long French breakfast and enjoyed the morning views from the garden at our B&B. Also, I would like to note that as usual we ended up playing ping pong and let it be put on record that I beat Dustin (probably for the first time) in an amazing match of outdoor ping pong. He may try to claim unfair advantage due playing on foreign soil (we were keeping score in french) but, I won fair and square!

We thanked Marc the owner of the B&B for an amazing time and headed off to Avignon to leave for la Suisse (Switzerland). We wanted to post some pictures of our Bed and Breakfast because it was absolutely gorgeous and we had an amazing time here.

We spent the rest of the day traveling to Switzerland, anxiously anticipaiting the Swiss Alps!

Day 5 to Provence

Woke up bright and early for our train which left at 7:00...8 hours and 3 connections later we finally arrived in Provence. Dustin is now an expert at public transportation and no travel day would be complete without a side stop in Lyon for cafe at a nice outdoor sidewalk cafe.

Arriving in Avignon we lost no time picking up our rental car and headed to the Pont du Gard, an ancient aqueduct built by the Romans a very long long time ago.

After seeing this french monument I believe now I'll be a better french teacher. Then we headed to our B&B. Provence is gorgeous there are vineyards and orchards everywhere admist rolling hills. We got to our B&B frenchly late. It was absolutely gorgeous we were both blown away.

After an aperitif, provided by our lovely hosts we headed to the nearby town of Roussillon and had dinner at Restaurant David. The views were gorgeous and dinner was incredible. We had several courses and every single one was an adventure. It was the perfect way to start off our vacation in southern France.

Day 1

I have finally made it to Europe without any problems or delays! I found Ashley waiting for me at the terminal and we both hurried to get on a train into Paris.

Here we are on the metro heading out of Charles De Gaulle. Our train from Paris to Troyes was not till 12:13 so we went across the street and had some coffee and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Once back in Troyes we headed to Ashley's apartment to drop off my bags then out to see the beautiful town of Troyes. I forgot to grab the camera on the way out the door to buy food but I'm sure I will get some more pictures tomorrow when Ashley is at class or when we explore even more.

So a quick update on the paper chain Ashley made....

IT IS DONE! I ripped the last one down she did not have time the in the morning before she came to get me from the airport to get it so I thought I would take the liberty to get it down.

Tonight we are having a 5 course meal prepared by the hostess with the mostest Miss Ashley Brown! I will let her take a quick break from preparing food to explain each course.

1.Apéritif- The french start off their meal with a drink...due to my location I choose a delicious bottle of one of my favorite Champagnes.

2. Entrée- Appetizer Tomato Mozzarella Salad paired with a Riesling from Alsace.

3. Plat Principal- Main Course Lamb with Potatoes and Green Beans paired with a red wine from Bordeaux.

4. Fromage- Cheese Course! Comte and Chaource with a fresh baguette. Which Dustin almost ate on the way back home and almost had to use it as a weapon on a cyclist coming full steam at us but the cyclist chose well and went into the street before being baguetted (Only Dustin uses it as a verb).

5.Dessert- Pastries that we bought from my favorite boulangerie/patisserie Gérard

getting close....

Right now I'm sitting in O'hare waiting for the flight to Paris, it looks to be on time and if all goes well I should be in France and with Ashley in less than 9 hours! It really does not seem possible but very soon I will be able to be with the most amazing girl I have ever met (I still think you are amazing mom!) 7 months seemed like an eternity but know its finally over I do not even know how to react!

Stay in touch more to come as we venture across western europe together!

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Eurail Pass

Today I bought the Eurail Passes for our adventure! Im really excited to get outta here! This past Friday I got my International Driving Permit, it basically looks like a cheap passport and translates your American Drivers License into 11 different Languages.

Plane Ticket Booked!

The past 4 months I have been looking at plane tickets using Cheapoair. It has worked really well and from Sunday until yesterday they dropped almost $200! Tickets were looking to be around $950 then yesterday they were down to $750 not sure why they dropped but I took advantage of this and called a travel agency back in Grand Island to do the actual booking, called First Holiday Tour and Travel.
Since this is such a big trip for me and I really don't want to have to deal with anything going wrong. I paid a little bit higher price but their insurance plan has everything I could possibly need in it, they really make sure if any unforeseen circumstances occur they can help you out. So if you ever have any traveling needs let them know I highly recommend them!
Keep Ashley's family in your prayers as they try to get to France, their flights got canceled yesterday and they had to make some alternative travel plans and can hopefully get to Ashley and spend Christmas how it should be spent, with family!

Troyes

Troyes is the town in France where Ashley is currently living. It is just southeast of Paris and is about a hour and a half train ride. It is one of the historic capitals of the Champagne region. Troyes is also one of the best places to see how Europe looked back in the days of the Three Musketeers. There are many cathedrals that still stand near the town center, or centre as they say in French. When I arrive in France I will grab a train, with the help of some of Ashley's American friends who live in Paris, to Troyes. She will still have to teach for a couple of days so we will stay in Troyes and I will get a better sense of the culture that she has been experiencing for the past 6 months.
Ashley is really excited for the upcoming Christmas holiday, she loves to decorate for it, and will be able to share it with her family. Her parents, David and Jane, and sister, Cassie will be heading to Europe over the holiday season to do some traveling.
The city of Troyes has erected a large Christmas Tree in the center along with a small forest of Christmas trees to accompany it. This along with garland and lights throughout the town have really brightened her often gloomy rainy weeks during the winter. As soon as she sends me pictures of her "Christmas tree forest" I will post them for all to enjoy.