Thursday, July 21, 2011

Guest Post!

June 26

Sinsheim

Women’s Fifa World Cup 2011 France vs. Nigeria

Its official, the blogger has passed on her pen to her sister. That is me! Besides, her and our mom didn’t
go to the soccer game as you read in previous post. (To tell you the truth I bet they wish they did now). Editor's note: No I don't. The bar in Sinsheim was way too awesome.Anyhow, so she begged and prayed and got down on one knee to ask her favorite only little sister if she could partake in the blog and compose a post about the soccer game. Of course, her little sister couldn’t resist, even though it has been 2 weeks since we have arrived back in the states and I am just sitting down and with all my might composing this post. Enough chat let's get to the meat of this post, the world cup game.

First off, a side note, dad and I went to technically the first game of the world cup, because the Germany
game was that night with all the opening ceremonies and such. The soccer match was set at Reinarch
Arena in Sinsheim at 3:00. Dad and I after being dropped off close to the stadium walked and arrived at
about 1:00 that day, before the stadium officials even opened up the stadium. Getting to the arena so
early, we were able to walk around and explore the outside of the arena. (Which had nothing special.)
Then officials finally let people into the arena, so dad and I joined the line to enter. After grabbing a
quick bite of lunch and taking a massive load of pictures, dad and I decided to go journey toward are
seats that were pretty good in row 7. We walked into the stadium at the perfect time, because I got to
get a couple of pictures of the French team arriving off their bus. (I thought I even got a better view of
all the cheering, waving flagged French fans that were parked outside the stadium).

Now for the kick off at 3:00 the game begins. Watching the game and being there, that is what soccer
is all about and the world cup is all about. There were no words that could describe the feeling I had
in my heart. People cheering for both teams no matter what, players getting the fans fired up and vice
versa; even the wave was started numerous time through the crowd. The first half of the game was
a battle back and forth; both France and Nigeria looked to be trying to get stuff going but then would
be stopped. The half-time whistle blew and the score was nothing but a couple of goose eggs. The
beginning of the second half seemed to be turning tides and France started to keep the pressure on
Nigeria, until finally they scored. The French broke the barrier and kept the pressure on, but couldn’t
capitalize on any other opportunities. Finally the whistle blew and the game was drawn to a close,
France had beaten Nigeria 1-0. I had experienced a true world cup game and it was everything I had ever
dreamed of and much more.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Back in Germany

25 & 26 June
We are back in Germany! You know what that means people... it's almost time to come home.
After a loooong drive to Heidelberg, we decided to  just hang out and sleep in that next morning. When I say sleep in, I mean we were all still up and at breakfast by 9. I guess early risers must be a genetic thing. We started walking towards the castle. On the way we stopped by a few stores and found a few neat things to buy. This one store we stopped in was full of neat house products, everything was so neat and clever we ended up spending an hour in there. We headed up to the castle and after a steep hike, we were rewarded with amazing views of Heidelberg. The castle is also host to the most giant wine barrel EVER. There's a dance floor built on top of it, that's how humongous this thing is. We walked back down into old town and started heading back to our hotel. After a quick nap, we headed to dinner, then went to bed.

Sunday morning, we got up and headed down to Sinsheim. For those of you who are confused, dad and Michelle got tickets to watch France vs. Nigeria in the FIFA Women's World Cup. Sinsheim had a football stadium that fits 25,000 people. After getting our bearings and checking out the stadium, we headed into down to downtown Sinsheim. We found the town square where they have a huge stage set up with tables and booths. They were selling food and beer, and all the booths had either information about the tournament, or activities for kids to do. We hung out in the square for a bit and then took dad and Michelle up to the stadium so they could walk around and watch warm-ups before the game.
Mom and I returned downtown and walked around. We found that through most of downtown Sinsheim, they had games and activities set up for kids and families. It was really neat to see how they geared this entire tournament towards kids and families instead of focusing on the drinking/partying aspect of it. Mom and I found a bar that was showing the game on TV and we sat down and ate and had a beer. Even though we had hardly any clue what we were ordering, it ended up being one of the best meals I've eaten on this trip.
We finished lunch, and after grabbing some dessert, we headed back to the main square. The stage had a screen on the back of it that they were showing the game on, and the square was packed with people watching. We think that since the Germany vs Canada game was that night, most people were claiming their spots early. We also ran into the mascot for the tournament, and after he tried to get handsy with me, I finally got a picture with him.

After that (yes, the match still wasn't over) we heade up to the Auto and Technik museum. This museum is awesome. I cannot stress this enough! Firstly, it's huge. Secondly, it's any engineer's dream. IT's full of cars and airplanes. They have a concord that you get to walk up into. Although, I would not reccomment it if you are clausterphobic. Dad and Michelle were done with the match, so we didn't get to spend as much time in there as I wanted, but I could have also spent all day in there without realizing it. We are staying the night in Augsberg, then driving to Munich tomorrow to catch our flight on Tuesday morning. The past three weeks have flown by, and it's crazy to think that I have to go home and face real life in two days is daunting. I will have either MIchelle or dad do a guest post on the game and will have it posted soon. 



Friday, June 24, 2011

Nice

23 June
I am sitting on an Airbus A321 enroute from Vienna to Frankfurt. 5 minutes in the Vienna airport and I was already struggling to switch from french back to german/austrian (they sound the same people). We left Aix at about 10 am and didn't make it to Nice until about 2 pm even though it was supposed to be a two hour drive.
 Why you ask? Well, first of all, instead of taking the autoroute straight there, we took a little detour. A friend of Dad's that works in Aix told us to take this road that runs right along the Mediterranean and has amazing  views. The road was absolutely beautiful. It started at a town called Cassis and ended in Toulon (?). The road itself is only 10km long but it took us almost an hour to drive because we kept stopping to look and take pictures.

This road is awesome. It is essentially a mountain on the coast of the Mediterranean that has a bunch of hiking trails and awesome views. The cliffs also have bolts in them for climbing routes. I would love to come back and explore that place some more. We arrived in Toulon, where we were supposed to get on the autoroute again, and got lost. Then we had problems at a tollbooth. Then we got lost trying to find our hotel in Nice. I know, quite the adventure.

The rest of the day in Nice was spent finding lunch, then laying on the beach until about 6 pm. We came back, showered, then headed into old town for dinner (about a 30 min walk). This morning, I got up early and went and sat down on the beach and read my book since it was only a five minute walk from our hotel. We checked out and headed to the airport, which leads us to where I am now.
We have just started our descent into Frankfurt, where we will get a car and drive to Hiedleburg tonight. Hopefully I will get decent internet there so I can post the last three posts. Can you belive we only have 3 days, then it's Tuesday and we're flying home?!

Aix-en-Provence

22 June
Alright. If you think american toll booths are bad. French ones are way worse. One word: expensive. After a very long day in the car (8 hours), we arrived in Aix. Our hotel was right down in old town, so the night we got there, we just walked down and found a place to eat. Problem was, it was the summer solstice, and there was a huge music festival going on in Aix. There were people everywhere. The streets were blocked off and every square that we walked into, there was an artist performing. It was a combination of the street dance, and a rock concert. I thought it was neat. I was the only one who thought that. The next day was spent wandering around old town, looking at all the shops and the market that was there. We went to dinner with some of mom and dad's work friends who are there, and that was about it. We are currently on the road to Nice, where I plan to spend the entire rest of my day laying on the beach. We took a little detour on this road with awesome views and are currently lost in Toulon (which you can read about in the Nice post), but hopefully we will get back on the autoroute soon.

Pays Basque

19 & 20 June
We are finally away from all the tourists! Whoooooo! We made our way from Rome to Bilbao, then by car to St. Etienne de Baigorry where our family is at. Our two days spent in the Basque Country were amazing. My mom's cousin had two guest houses built that she rents out, so we stayed there and it was awesome to have so much space to just relax. The first day we spent eating and drinking with our family. For lunch, amaitchie (grandmother in basque), who is my grandfather's sister (so my mom's aunt) came downstairs to eat with all of us at the bar. Backstory: Amaitchie and her husband owned the bar that is in the center of town. It was passed down to one of their daughters who now owns it, but they lived above it, and amatchie still does. She is 84, and can't walk, so she stays upstairs. It was an awesome thing that she agreed to be brought downstairs to eat with us.

That night, we went to dinner with the entire family, and it was so fun. They are all very close, and even though we only get to see them every few years, we still fit in seamlessly. The next day we drove to the beach at Anglet, about an hour away. We just hung out there for a few hours, then we came back to the house. That night, my mom cooked dinner for everyone, and they came up to our house to eat. I finally got to put my three years of french education to use, and although I struggled a bit, I managed to have a conversation with my cousin. We all agreed that this has been the favorite part of our trip so far, and we could have easily spent a week there, just making day trips to places like the beach, or down to Pamplona.  

Monday, June 20, 2011

Pictures

Hey guys, I finally got my act together and updated the pictures page. Check it out!

Rome

15 16 & 17 June
WARNING: Yes, this is long. It’s almost 1000 words. If you want, you can just look at the pictures, it’s ok.
Arrivaderci Italia, Hola Espana! Yes this is yet another traveling post to be put up when I finally get internet again. Come on people, you know the drill by now. I can eaily sum up Rome in one word; hot. I have the sunburn to prove it (Kendra you are going to be proud, I will be tan when I get home). Of course there are many other facets to Rome other than the weather, but the weather was a predominant factor in what we did, where we went, and how we got there.
We arrived in Rome pretty early on the 15th so we spend that day wandering around. Our hotel was two blocks from the train station, so after we figured out the metro, we rode it everywhere. Unfortunately, we didn't even think about this the first day, so we went marching off down the hill to the Colosseum. It was only a ten minute walk, but it was so hot out we were all exhausted by the time we got there. After a quick jaunt around the outside we walked down the street a bit and found that the huge park (for lack of a better word) full of remains could also only be accessed by ticket. Since tickets for that were also good for you to go into the Colosseum, we bought tickets and strolled our way back to the Colosseum since it was smaller and there was going to be more shade.

After wandering through the tour groups Colosseum, we hopped on the metro stop (conveniently located across the street) and went back to our hotel. Once it cooled down, we took the metro up to the Spanish Steps. We ate dinner in that area and walked down to the Trevi Fountain. Even at 22h, it was still completely packed. Michelle, dad and I did the typical “make a wish, throw a coin in the fountain.”

The next day we got up early in the morning and visited the park across from the Colosseum full of ruins, like Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. It’s referred to as “Ancient Rome.” It’s so neat to see all of those ruins and how they were built, and the excavations that are still going on today. The only problem was that it was hot. We had our Vatican tour that afternoon, so we were all covered up, which made it almost too hot to handle, we were constantly seeking out shade.
That afternoon, we took a tour of the Vatican Museums. Our tour guide was awesome, at least at the times when I was paying attention. I learned a ton about some of the works in the museum, including a bunch of details about Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel. I like to wander through museums at my own pace, so I didn’t always stay with the group. The Sistine Chapel was just breathtaking, except it was filled with people. I felt that many of the people there did not respect the fact that it is a sanctuary, and that they needed to be quiet and to not take pictures. For a chapel, there was a constant buzz of noise. Afterwards, we walked into St. Peter’s Basilica. Wow. Just....wow. There was mass being said in the back of the basilica, and we were privileged enough, we got to walk back and receive the Eucharist.

*My opinion on the Vatican; skip this paragraph if you might be offended in any way. You have been warned* The Vatican was my favorite place in Rome. Hands down. In the basilica, even though there was a fair amount of people in there, you can still feel that it’s a holy place. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful, like I said before. The problem is, that with the re-structuring of the Vatican Museum a few years back, in order to see the Sistine Chapel, you have to pay to enter, then walk through the entire museum. I think that this is wrong, that if myself, as a practicing Catholic, travel to the Vatican, then I should not have to pay to see someplace that is so deeply rooted in my faith. #endrant

Friday was exciting. In the morning, we had our segway tour of Rome. I had more fun riding the thing than paying attention on the tour (in case you haven’t noticed, tours aren’t exactly my cup of tea). Segways are ton of fun. If you get the change to ride one, you will have a blast. Sadly, ours had speed limits on them, so when I would get a little too excited (which happened a lot), mine would start tipping backwards, forcing me to slow down. Our tour guide, Amanda, was awesome, and we got to see some really neat places in Rome that we would have otherwise not gone to. It made going up and down hills super easy and we weren’t tired when it was over at noon. After a quick lunch, we walked over to the Pantheon and checked it out.




Overall, Rome was hot, and just packed with tourists. I know we hit pretty much all the major tourist attractions of the city, but it was just insane. I’m glad to get out of Italy and away from all the crazy tourists for a while.              

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Florence

13 & 14 June
Off to Rome! Yes, this is another train post, and if I could manage to hack the Wifi on the train, then I could post from somewhere in the middle of Italy. That's my next priority. Alright, on to Florence.
The first night we did a sunset bike tour of Florence. It was pretty awesome, we got to get out of the city center and ride around. None of us got hit/hurt/ran into someone/something/died, which I think is more of a miracle, considering the way everyone drives over here. We learned a ton of stuff about Florence, leading dad to say, "Don't stand on a marble circle in this  city. Either something gets dropped on your head, or you get dropped on your ass." The two marble circles we saw; the first was where the golden ball from the top of the Basilica fell after it got struck by lightning. The second was in the market where they publicly humiliated people if they owed money by lifting them up naked and dropping them on their ass. Crazy, I know.

The second day we were there we spend most of the day just walking around. We got up in the morning and went to the accadameia to see Michaelangelo's David.  Our hotel was right by the huge market centrale. There is a huge bulding which has all the food vendors in it, and on the outside are all the dry goods, like clothes, shoes, etc. We spent awhile just wandering around the market and found a few neat things. Dad and Michelle walked up to the Piazza d'Michaelangelo, which is a piazza on the south side of the river overlooking the city. Mom and I knew that with our knees, we would not be able to make the walk back down, so we just sat at a snack bar and had a drink. For lunch that day we found a restaurant that serves gluten-free pasta for Michelle, so she was excited that she got to eat pasta in Italy.

Oh and also, when we went to get the bike tours, we walked down a street and noticed a bunch of people crowded around this restaurant with security guards. I walked up and asked what was going on, and they said, “That’s MTV, they are filming Jersey Shore in that restaurant.” So yes, Jersey Shore was in Florence with us. If I wanted, I could have signed a waiver to eat at the restaurant and possibly be on the show. No, I did not do it. I don’t like that show, I think it’s stupid. BUT, the next day, we were walking around again and we were walking down the street where MTV had the camera set up on the boom and were getting aerial shots. So yes, I might be on Jersey Shore. Those of you that actually watch it, let me know if you see me.   

Florence wasn't as crowded as Venice was, but it was still very tourist-y. I think that it would be neat to come back and spend time in more of the museums and looking in the churches.

Venice

12 June
18 hours in Venice and we are on our way to Florence. The train is completely packed, which hasn't happened yet on our trip. Venice was very different from Munich and Innsbruck. It was packed with tourists. It took us an hour to get from our hotel, which was by the train station, to the Rialto Bridge. You almost couldn't move there were so many people out. We visited the usual sights; the Rialto Bridge and St. Marco's Square. When we got to the square, the church was closed for renovations and most of the square was blocked off.

We came to find out that we had chosen a very bad day to come to Venice. It was some sort of holiday and they had the Regatta (a crew race) that day. We happened to walk into the square during the middle of it. Needless to say, we got out of there pretty quickly. It was very hot and we wanted to get out of the sun and get some food. We wandered back to our hotel (Venice is such a confusing ciy, all you can do is wander) and got a recommendation for a place to eat away from all the crazy tours. When we were going over one of the bridges, there was a lady who was trying to get a stroller up the stairs so mom went to help her. The lady had another little boy that, when he realized we were Americans, said, “You English?!” Mom replies, “Yes I speak english.” The boy’s mother says (in italian), “show them that you can count.” The boy goes, “One, two, three, four, six...” So adorable.
The restaurant that was recommended to us was excellent. It was not very expensive, the food was good, and the staff was beyond awesome. They would come by and laugh and joke with us. They closed the restaurant and there was no hurry to get us to leave. When we went up to get us to settle the bill, one of the waiters handed us glasses with some lemon liqueur in it. After downing the thing, it was essentially lemon everclear. It was ridiculously strong.
This morning, our train did not leave until 11:30 so I got up early and wandered around Venice by myself for a bit. There was hardly anyone out and about, so I took a different route and made it to the Rialto Bridge in 30 minutes. It was great to be able to stand up there and watch the canal and everyone getting ready for the day without feeling like I'm going to get shoved out of the way because there's a line of three people behind me waiting to get a picture.

Overall, my impression of Venice is that, although it's an amazing city, and at one time it might have been seen as very romantic, it has just become a tourist trap. If you go, you only need to spend a day, maybe two there. But it is a place that is very unique and neat and you should see it at least once in your life.  

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Austria

June 10 & 11
Innsbruck, Austria
We are now in Italy! As I write this, we are on the train that left Innsbruck, Austria this morning and is making its way to Verona, Italy. We will switch trains and be in Venice late this afternoon. The Alps fly by at a speed too fast for us to truly appreciate their beauty. Even though we live in a state where we wake up and see the mountains everyday, the beauty and majesty of these mountains is truly breathtaking. But back to the main subject: Austria.
Wow, that's all I can say. I can already tell that this is going to be one of my favorite places that we visited. Innsbruck is in a valley in the Alps and it is beautiful. It was host to two previous Winter Olympics. The first day we were there, we spend most of the day wandering around "old town," where the famous (?) Golden Dacht, or Golden Roof is. I honestly don't know what is so famous about the thing, but whatever. We ate dinner at a local bar, where we were joined by a bachelorette party.

This is Monica. She was getting married the next morning. We learned that in Austria, the bride-to-be has to wear a ridiculous costume, and she is given a basket filled with alcohol and other items and she has to go around and sell them all before she can "take off this ridiculous costume, and have a drink." We bought a baby bottle of vodka off of her.
We were unlucky in the fact that the weather has not been very good the past couple of days. It was overcast and rainy both days we were in Innsbruck. This means that we did not have the opportunity to actually see the high peaks of the Alps that surrounded us. The mountain on the North side of Innsbruck has a Gondola that will take you to the top of the Mountain and there you have access to hiking and mountain bike trails, as well as ski/heliski routes and other outdoor activities. We took a trip up to the top on the second say we were there and, although the weather was clear for a while, when we got to the very top, it was raining and windy, and we could see this huge rain cloud moving right at us up the mountain. Part of our gondola trip down the mountain consisted of going straight through the rain cloud. The view from the top was just incredible. On a clear day, it would be absolutely amazing. I'd love to go back just so I could spend a week on the mountain climbing, hiking, and biking.


We have been in Italy for maybe an hour, and I am already in awe. I look out either side of the train and all I see is rows and rows of grape vines. It's an incredible sight. We are only going to be in Venice for approximately 18 hours, so I will write another post tomorrow on the train as we head to Florence.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Munich

Munich
9 June
Alright- We made it. Obviously.  I am currently sitting in our hotel room in Munich and there is no internet service in our rooms so I am writing this in Microsoft Word and I am going to copy and paste it whenever we can get internet on this laptop. Today in Munich was fun. After getting lost and subsequently finding our hotel, we got some lunch and settled in for small naps and much-needed showers, then headed out to explore the city. We walked east into the city center and meandered around. After taking a look at some of the old cathedrals and the opera house/palace, we headed to the Hofbrӓuhaus for dinner. That place, although really cool, is a total tourist trap. The beers there (which is what they are famous for) come in small and large. We were told we could only order larges. The large size was a liter of beer, so mom and I split one (see pics for how big that is). The only way to describe this place is a combination of a dining hall and a bar. It’s loud, you just find a spot at a table, often with people you don’t know, there’s music, and it’s pretty awesome. We ended up sitting at a table with some women that work in Munich. They showed us some really cool places to explore in the city next time we come back. We also got some pictures with a mime that was really cool. Check out the pictures tab for more!

 My first (legal) beer


One word: hilarious

Thursday, June 9, 2011

We Made It!

We made it! We are currently sitting in the hotel in Munich after getting lost not printing the directions to the hotel and opting to have an adventure instead. More later.

Steph

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

One more day

We are at T-23 hours. School is done, my suitcase is packed.... who am I kidding? Neither one of those things are done. About the only thing I have accomplished today is laundry, and that's not saying much. Dave, Ann, and Michelle are safely on their way to Billings to spend the night before their 6 am MST departure tomorrow. Me, I am staring a closet full of clothes, wondering how long I can put off packing for. I know, I should be on top of that stuff, but I just don't feel like it. All I want to do is go lay out at the pool with my roommate Zach, and have my suitcase magically pack itself and school just be over with. Since I am not taking my laptop with me, this will be the last time I get to write you all before I leave. Next time you hear from me, I will be in Munich with the rest of the family. 

I am now charged with the task of leaving you with a new farewell. Apparently quoting the greatest movie ever is unacceptable. To quote my roommate Kelsey... "Did you really just end your blog post with may the force be with you? I'm slapping you through facebook." So with that, I bid thee adieu.


Steph
(See Kels... I didn't even put anything there :p)

Monday, June 6, 2011

Old Family Vacations

We are now only two days away from the trip. All I can say is "ahhhhhh!!!!" If you're wondering, that's an "I have so much to do still" ahhhhh, not an "I'm so excited" ahhhhh. But in the spirit of procrastination, instead of school (again), I am going to share the joys of Brown family vacations past. Enjoy!

Our first adventure in France
The Eiffel Tower, Paris, March 2000 
Stephanie- 8, Michelle- 6 

Our second European vacation
San Sebastian, Spain, June 2003 

 Dave's 50th Birthday
Parasailing in Florida, December 2008 

 Yellowstone
June 2010

Alright, time to go do school (yuck!)
May the force be with you,
Steph

Sunday, May 22, 2011

2.5 Weeks Out

Hey Gang!

With only 2.5 weeks to go, we have the itinerary finalized, and we're wrapping up some last minute details before the big trip. I (Steph) have created this blog in an attempt to procrastinate from the endless hours of Economics lectures I have to watch for my summer class (I've been watching them for three days straight- I deserve a break). Michelle is still in school, she isn't done with her junior year until June 3rd. Mom and Dad are working hard in an attempt to get ready to go. I have yet to receive my official email with my official packing and "to do" lists, but that should be coming any day now. I will attempt to update this thing every 2-3 days while we are traveling. That way, you all know that we are alive, and you can get stories as they happen, and don't have to listen to 3 weeks worth of rambling from us when we get home.

Edit: Yes that's my twitter off to your right. I'm horribly boring, don't worry.

May the force be with you,
Steph