Ok before I get into it let me just say that WE SAW LANCE ARMSTRONG!! He drove right by us on his way to championship number 7! That is the short version and the long version - basically after lots of standing and rain he flew by with the rest of them! It was very cool!
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETLY DIFFERENT!
Well we have been in Barcelona Spain for the last couple of days and it has been crazy hot! But also very relaxing and enjoyable. We have been staying with Carlo´s brother Mario and his wife Sandra. THEY ARE AWESOME! We just got back from a wonderful night of true Barcelona night life! A walk down the Ramblas (the main drag) that is always busy with people. Dinner here doesn´t really happen till around 9:30pm so it gets late. They still have a ciesta during there day! Me likey! We leave tomorrow for Italy. We fly into Pisa of the fame leaning tower and then head off to the Cinque Terra! Oh we can not wait! I would list all the things that we saw while we were here, but you probably wouldn´t know what there were. So basically we saw a lot of spanish art, amazing cathedrals, incredible architechture, hilarious people watching, tasty food, and wicked hot temperatures. Oh and as I said - tons of fun with the Furlan´s of Barcelona! We hope to keep you posted when we are in Italy, but don´t know what the internet action will be like there.
Hasta la pasta!
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Saturday, July 23, 2005
The Tour is coming...
Well today the Tour De Fance comes to an end. As I have just gotten up the day feels like a typical Seattle morning. Very overcast and a light mist! Today we are going to see Versailles, the Tour final, the Orsay museum, and actually climbing the Eiffel Tower tonight! A very full day to say the least! I don't have much time today to write, but maybe later tonight! We leave tomorrow for Barcelona Spain! Que bueno!
Bye for now!
Bye for now!
Wee or Oui or Si what country are we in again?
Ok so just in case you didn't know... Jen and I do not speak French! In fact the more we try the more we end up throwing Spanish into the mix! What is up with that? I keep saying Si [for yes] instead of Oui! And every thing I am trying to pronounce comes out sounding so WHITE! Fortunately, people have been nice to me. Jen on the other hand has had some very rude treatment! Especially at the post office. We are sending some stuff back to lighten our load [even though we followed Rick Steves packing light] and the time it took us to get all the information took f-0-r-e-v-e-r!
But we still made it to the Arc De Triomphie, climbed it, went to the museum that's inside it, took lots of pictures, and did the massive French shopping zone. Which by the way was way to crazy hectic, but still an experience.
Even the McDonalds here are "FRENCH" with a "McCafe" that served all kinds of French pastries, drinks, etc. outside in umbrella covered seats. And inside the main section was the regular McD's but with a giant video screen load rockin' American music playing and cd listening stations! By the way we didn't go there to eat! Just to get a coke and a water [or should I say Evion] to cool off and try not to spend an arm and a leg!
After spending lots of time walking and enjoying all that is France we went back to Rue Cler [where we are staying] and bought some picnic food. Wine, brie, tomatoes, grapes, pears, and bread. Then we slowly made our way to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic in the park. I must say that from a distance the tower is ok, but up close it is pretty amazing! Did you know that they paint it! It takes 50 tons of paint to do it! It was packed! Like U2 rock star concert packed, so we opted to just relax and watch the lights come on and take pictures! It is quite beautyfull and romantic! All in all it was a great day. Today we are off to who knows what! I'll tell you when we get back!
PS: By the way tomorrow the Tour De France comes to an end and we are going to go cheer on Lance Armstrong! Go USA!
But we still made it to the Arc De Triomphie, climbed it, went to the museum that's inside it, took lots of pictures, and did the massive French shopping zone. Which by the way was way to crazy hectic, but still an experience.
Even the McDonalds here are "FRENCH" with a "McCafe" that served all kinds of French pastries, drinks, etc. outside in umbrella covered seats. And inside the main section was the regular McD's but with a giant video screen load rockin' American music playing and cd listening stations! By the way we didn't go there to eat! Just to get a coke and a water [or should I say Evion] to cool off and try not to spend an arm and a leg!
After spending lots of time walking and enjoying all that is France we went back to Rue Cler [where we are staying] and bought some picnic food. Wine, brie, tomatoes, grapes, pears, and bread. Then we slowly made our way to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic in the park. I must say that from a distance the tower is ok, but up close it is pretty amazing! Did you know that they paint it! It takes 50 tons of paint to do it! It was packed! Like U2 rock star concert packed, so we opted to just relax and watch the lights come on and take pictures! It is quite beautyfull and romantic! All in all it was a great day. Today we are off to who knows what! I'll tell you when we get back!
PS: By the way tomorrow the Tour De France comes to an end and we are going to go cheer on Lance Armstrong! Go USA!
Friday, July 22, 2005
Bonjour from Paris!
We made it to Paris!
Chez jis mour jour de plats co vea sjaw oiw [this is basically what it is like to read a menu or to understand anything here] It is so weird!
Anyways! The Chunnel (super speed train as seen in the first Mission Impossible Movie) was incredible! The smoothest and fastest train I have even experienced. It also gave us some incredible views of both London and Paris! And when we got here we really for the first time felt the language barrier! Nothing was in English and it was crazy!
But we made it to our bus and got to our place by about 8pm. We are staying in a two bedroom apartment that is so gorgeous on the third floor just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. In fact we can see it from the living room. It was sparkling last night! Light a giant sparkler!
We are staying with a woman named Pam. She is so kind and generous. We were welcomed by her and it was so nice seeing someone who spoke English!
For locals dinner doesn't really start till about 9pm so we joined some in this little whole in the wall place. It had one long dining room table that everyone sits at. Kind of like a family and the food was great. We got the "plats de jour" which is the plate of the day (which we didn't have any idea what we were getting) but it ended up being this type of stew with fresh pasta, tomatoes, peppers, and veal! And of course incredible fresh bread! Today we are off to the Louvre and the Arc De Triomphie and maybe a little late picnic in the park at the Eiffel Tower! We love you all and will keep you in touch. We have email access through till Monday while we are hear in Paris! So send us one if you get a chance!
Much love to you all,
Rich & Jen
Chez jis mour jour de plats co vea sjaw oiw [this is basically what it is like to read a menu or to understand anything here] It is so weird!
Anyways! The Chunnel (super speed train as seen in the first Mission Impossible Movie) was incredible! The smoothest and fastest train I have even experienced. It also gave us some incredible views of both London and Paris! And when we got here we really for the first time felt the language barrier! Nothing was in English and it was crazy!
But we made it to our bus and got to our place by about 8pm. We are staying in a two bedroom apartment that is so gorgeous on the third floor just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. In fact we can see it from the living room. It was sparkling last night! Light a giant sparkler!
We are staying with a woman named Pam. She is so kind and generous. We were welcomed by her and it was so nice seeing someone who spoke English!
For locals dinner doesn't really start till about 9pm so we joined some in this little whole in the wall place. It had one long dining room table that everyone sits at. Kind of like a family and the food was great. We got the "plats de jour" which is the plate of the day (which we didn't have any idea what we were getting) but it ended up being this type of stew with fresh pasta, tomatoes, peppers, and veal! And of course incredible fresh bread! Today we are off to the Louvre and the Arc De Triomphie and maybe a little late picnic in the park at the Eiffel Tower! We love you all and will keep you in touch. We have email access through till Monday while we are hear in Paris! So send us one if you get a chance!
Much love to you all,
Rich & Jen
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Cheerio from London!
Ehllo Ladies and Gents!
So we made it to London for the beginning of the Sclafani European Adventure and what an adventure it has been! Crazy drivers, lots of fish and chips, and more. Here is a brief picture of all that we did while in London!
Rode on the "Tube" (the London subway)
Went to the...
So we made it to London for the beginning of the Sclafani European Adventure and what an adventure it has been! Crazy drivers, lots of fish and chips, and more. Here is a brief picture of all that we did while in London!
Rode on the "Tube" (the London subway)
Went to the...
- British Library
- St. Pauls
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
- Parliament
- Big Ben
- Westminster Abbey
- St James
- The London Eye
- Trafalgar Square
And we took the "Big Bus Tour" which is those double decker tour buses that take you everywhere. They have very hilarious and annimated commentators that tell you so much about the city. It was so fun and interesting! It really puts a new perspective on life and our world. We walked around sites that were built in 1064 - THAT IS OLD!
And at the British Library we saw the oldest existing copies of the Bible that was dated AD 350!!! IS THAT NOT CRAZY!! We also saw the first King James Bible from 1611. We also saw incredible works like da Vinci's notebooks, the Magna Carta, some of Shakespear's original writings and more. It was facinating!
So much it is hard to contain! We are off to Paris today! I'll let you know when we get there all about it! Hope all is well!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Fagetaboutit!
Ok so I forgot to do some blogging while in NY. Please forgive me! My trip was incredible. I love New York except for the 94 degrees and 90% humidity. The best thing about NY is time with mi familia di Sclafani. For those of you who didn't know I was out there for my cousin Melissa's wedding. I was one of the two pastors doing the wedding. What a incredible experience to ministry to my family, to share the love of Christ, and God's purposes for marriage with them. I must say east coast marriages are very different then the west coast Seattle weddings I am use to. I think the food for this wedding cost twice as much as my whole wedding budget. Not to mention the fact that there were live pure white doves!
Besides the actual wedding we celebrated the forth of July in New York which was really great and we also spent a few days out on the shore. Which is the next best things to the Hamptons. We were surrounded by multi-million dollar homes, beautiful beaches and board walks, and lots of sunshine.
Jen and I spent lots of time with Grandma Bertha and also got to see my great aunt [who is a nun] Sister Lillian Cornellious Sclafani. They tell the best stories in the world. I even got to see the original papers of my Great Grandparents wedding certificates and my Great Grandpa's papers from when he came here from Sciacca Sicily.
We celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary with an incredible night out on the town including going to a Broadway performance of Fiddler on the Roof which was so awesome!
And the best was being in New York to meet the newest of the Corriston family. Ryan and Amber had a beautiful large baby boy named Toby Patrick Corriston. He is gorgeous and weighs a ton - 9lbs 10oz! OUCH! But they all are doing wonderfully!
Friends, family, weddings, anniversaries, new babies, great stories, big cities, entertaining shows, million dollar homes, and more!
What a trip!
PS: After I figure out how to post pictures I will!
Besides the actual wedding we celebrated the forth of July in New York which was really great and we also spent a few days out on the shore. Which is the next best things to the Hamptons. We were surrounded by multi-million dollar homes, beautiful beaches and board walks, and lots of sunshine.
Jen and I spent lots of time with Grandma Bertha and also got to see my great aunt [who is a nun] Sister Lillian Cornellious Sclafani. They tell the best stories in the world. I even got to see the original papers of my Great Grandparents wedding certificates and my Great Grandpa's papers from when he came here from Sciacca Sicily.
We celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary with an incredible night out on the town including going to a Broadway performance of Fiddler on the Roof which was so awesome!
And the best was being in New York to meet the newest of the Corriston family. Ryan and Amber had a beautiful large baby boy named Toby Patrick Corriston. He is gorgeous and weighs a ton - 9lbs 10oz! OUCH! But they all are doing wonderfully!
Friends, family, weddings, anniversaries, new babies, great stories, big cities, entertaining shows, million dollar homes, and more!
What a trip!
PS: After I figure out how to post pictures I will!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)