After dropping off Katie with Afton in West Jordan on Friday afternoon and a long but fun overnight flight from SLC, we had a 7-hour layover in Amsterdam on Saturday. We walked around a little, had some European treats, then rented two tandem-style bikes and biked around the city! It was a little crazy but great fun!
We flew into Rome late that night and met up with Grandma and Grandpa Perkins and Eric, Debbie, Hannah, and Will. On Sunday morning we saw the Trevi Fountain (one of Megan's favorite things in Rome!) on the way to the Termini station. We had a long walk because most of the public transportation was stopped for the Rome Marathon! We took the metro plus had a nice walk and met another couple on our way to church. That afternoon we explored the Roman Forum and relaxed at the apartment.
Monday morning we went to the Colosseum (one of Jacob's favorites!) then caught a train for the 2-hour ride to Orvieto. We took a tram up the hill to the old town then a mini bus through the charming narrow streets to our apartment! We enjoyed dinner that night at Charlie's. Jacob and I really loved the pizza--his with no cheese and mine a traditional margherita! Grandma Perkins' spaghetti was also really good and taught us the true meaning of al dente--still chewy!
We spent Tuesday walking around Orvieto and enjoying the quaint town and beautiful views from the hilltop! Jon caught a spotted lizard outside the well. That night Grandma and Grandpa hosted a Pinocchio party for the kids and Eric, Debbie, Jon and I went out for some true Italian pasta!
Wednesday morning we hiked down from the town to the train stop and rode back to Rome to see the Vatican Museum. So much history! Then we enjoyed our last Italian meal and crammed into a taxi and headed to the airport for our flight to Athens, Greece!
Our apartment in Athens was an old yoga studio, a little interesting but in a great location to explore the sites! We enjoyed Nutella (and other flavored) crepes Thursday morning then walked around the flea market and the Ancient Agora. I got stung by a Greek bee near the fruit stands and my finger swelled so much that I couldn't bend it for two days! Jacob spotted a turtle by the Temple of Hephaestus (of course!). After the Agora we hiked up to Mars Hill (where Paul preached the sermon of the unknown god). Then we enjoyed a true Greek lunch with Greek Salad, Gyros, and lots of pita bread. Later Debbie and I went shopping with Megan and Hannah while the others explored a trail around the city. Megan found a Greek dress that she loved for her souvenir of the trip.
Friday morning we started out with the Rick Steves audio tour of the Acropolis. Then we spent some more time walking around the city. We found a place with lots of cats and passed someone making huge bubbles in the street. Megan and Jacob did so great walking and walking and walking!
We said goodbye to Eric and Debbie and their kids (they went off to Turkey) and headed out early Saturday morning for our flight to Helsinki. We spend a few cold hours there walking around the city then had a 2-hour late-night cruise to Tallin.
We spent that night at the Radisson Olumpia and met back up with Grandma and Grandpa Perkins then took the bus/walked to church Sunday morning. It was so fun to see Siim Schneider, Sister Jaar, and others that Jon knew from his mission or that we had met a couple years ago on our trip to Estonia. Megan got to go to Primary and have the Sister Missionaries translate for her! We walked through Old Town after church then made one of Jon's favorite missionary meals for dinner at our new apartment there (burritoes with homemade tortillas and European sour cream and cheese!) That night Jon and I went to the Jaar's apartment and I got to meet Rimo, who was one of Jon's favorite people there on his mission. It was such a wonderful evening listening to Jon and the Jaars chat in Estonian and enjoying their company.
Monday was really cold, but we bundled up the best we could and explored Old Town anyway. We tried their "hot chocolate," which was a very small cup filled with thick chocolate sauce! We went back to the apartment to warm up and the kids planned a party for us while the adults took a nap! Grandma also read aloud from Pinocchio. Later we tried "a decent bowl of elk soup" (which was really good!) and pickles speared by the kids. Then we rented Segways and even the kids got to drive them around the big plaza. They loved it! That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Olde Hansa Restaurant.
Tuesday morning we got up really early to make it to the airport for our flights home. We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa then spend the rest of the day in airplanes and airports. We finally made it to West Jordan and got to pick up Katie! We sure missed her! Here are some pictures from her time with Afton.
Whew, what an adventure! It is good to be home and back together :) Now we are preparing for our next big adventure--moving to NY! We had 4 offers on our house while we were gone and are working on getting it sold and finalizing plans for our move in a little over a month!
Amazing, Amazing! What an awesome experience for you and your kids. I can't "love" this enough!
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ReplyDeleteAwesome! What an incredible time with your oldest kids. :) I love all the pictures, and it was super sweet having Katie with us. I loved getting to know her.
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