nice, france

Hello again, fellow Internetians! I'm in Nice, France right now and it is completely beautiful in every way. Beautiful landscapes and sea, beautiful buildings, beautiful people, beautiful weather. Amazing. I won a bottle of wine today! I was closets to the correct number of tunnels we traveled through today! I guessed 130. The actual was 164! And I went and gambled in Monte Carlo, Monaco! Tomorrow, I'll be on a train (pretty much all day) to Paris. I've got my (ironic) book Murder on the Orient Express, my Nintendo, lots of postcards to write, and a questionnaire to answer on the trip. The train leaves at 9 and I get to Paris around 3. Anyway, just a quick little update. Talk to you guys later. Ciao!

P.S. And a happy 22nd birthday to my brother tomorrow! How awesome is it that he's got a birthday during a vacation in Europe?! Jealousy...

week one in short

So free internet is pretty hard to come by in parts of Europe, especially Switzerland, Germany, and Austria! I thought I was going to be able to post a little more frequently, but in between getting up early, staying out late, and the scarcity of interwebs, you see what can happen. Best laid plans, my friends...

Anyway,I have a few highlights for you!


Big Ben in London, England, on a typical cloudy day

Unique cornices on houses on the canals of Amsterdam

Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. The most massive cathedral I've ever seen.

Inside one of the spires in Cologne. Yes, we hiked up 533 steps to the top of the cathedral.

Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. Ahhh I can see the Von Trapp family now...

Ok, waaaaaaay over on the left, the house with the brown roof, that was Audrey Hepburn's summer home! Yeah! This is also on Lake Lucerne.

Bluebells on Mount Pilatus in Switzerland. The first bluebells I've ever seen.

Another wildflower in the Swiss mountains. No edelweiss, however. Only in early spring.

COWS!!! From the Swiss mountains. If you look close enough, you can see their cowbells. They sound really lovely, actually. And don't worry, these are milk cows.

Venezia, Italia (Venice, Italy)!! By gondola! Favorite architecture in Europe so far.

And just look who I found when I turned around in Saint Mark's Square in Venice!!! I had no idea they were here!!!

Me and the fam. Picture taken by our awesome serenader!! Love him and his accordian buddy that made funny noises and knew he was "bravo." I love Italians...

I have some video, but I think I'm going to wait until I get home and have a proper computer to post that stuff.

Anyway, I hope I get to post again soon! Arrivederci!

london, england

EDIT: So I just noticed I uploaded the wrong video here. So I deleted it. Sorry. It was bad anyway.

'Ello, Gov'nah! This is Melissa, communicating with you from London! Wow!
I don't have the obligatory telephone booth shot yet, but it's ok, because I'll be here for one more day!

PS I totally hope to improve my terrible video communication skillz and make this way more exciting to watch, so please stay with me while I mightily attempt to surmount this obstacle!! And leave me some comments while you're at it! Love you guys!

Ski Trip!

And I thought I was already chilled to the bone here in Texas!

But I'm really looking forward to freezing my buns off for a little fun! YAY SKI VACATION!

Skiing is so much fun! I'm lucky that my parents took us on trips while we were still young and taught us early. I barely remember learning how to ski. We started off in New Mexico because the mountains are smaller, less chance of us little'uns getting lost or stolen, ya know?

But our vacations aren't just about the skiing. My mom cooks almost all the meals on the trip because food elsewhere is very expensive, so meal time because a family thing. We spend so much time together and sometimes even break out the board or card games. One time, my mom taught us how to play Hearts. Too bad I don't remember anymore. My brother isn't always playing his XBox, my dad isn't always on his Blackberry dealing with work, my mom is constantly trying to clean the house or do laundry, and I'm not always on the computer. We just get so much closer, even as close as getting under each others skins.

Here are some photos from previous years:

These were in Breckenridge, Colorado. One of my favorite trips. Colorado is one of the ultimate places to ski because of the huge open "bowls"at the tops of the mountains. You can criss-cross those things all day. The other thing about Colorado that's nice, I think, is that you can still drive there. Air travel is such a hassle now that sometimes I wish I could avoid it.

The city of Breckenridge is also, like most small ski towns, adorable. Lots of little shops and mom and pop restaurants.

And these are from Park City, Utah. This was the unfortunate trip that I nearly broke my wrist on the first day. I tried to ski the last day but I was just absolutely miserable because it was super cold and super snowy. I'm surprised I was actually smiling. The one thing I did accomplish on that trip: watched all of "The Godfather" movies. Awesome.

Apparently I hadn't discovered makeup yet. Sorry! 

Park City is also a very cool place, no pun intended. It's home to one of the major film festivals in the US, like Sundance. And again, being a seasonal place, small and cute stores everywhere. And it's also fun to fly into Salt Lake City and see that area. It's a really beautiful place. We drove by the Mormon temple last time and it is quite a site.

Hmmm... Something Didn't Happen...

on night bike tour of Paris

Well, I guess I'm kind of late for this. I wasn't really able to get around to a computer in France, so no real "up to the minute" posts were feasible. And this is the first I've been on this blog since I got back... 4 weeks ago. I'm sorry! Busy life. You know how it goes.
Anyways, I've posted my favorite/best pictures on my Facebook, so please feel free to check it out! I had such a wonderful time that I cannot wait to go back, whenever I can manage that!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

night bike tour of Paris, the Louvre

Versailles

Versailles

Sacre Coeur

The Louvre

Arc de Triomphe

Oscar Wilde's grave

Departing Soon

So I'm all packed up, suitcase stuffed, ready to leave in just about exactly 12 hours. Wow. Don't misread that period there. I really am excited. It's just that I'm pretty tired right now.

I can't wait to sleep on the plane. Yea for eye shades, travel pillows, track pants, and Benedryl.

I guess I should be getting to bed so I can wake up in time to go get mini-shampoo from HEB before I go. Personal hygiene is so much more fun in miniature...

Tomorrow/Today is going to be a long day.

And in the beginning...

Melissa created a blog. Finally. Hooray!

I'm going to Paris this spring break and I will hopefully be able to post photos and commentary everyday on this blog to keep family and friends up to date on the wonderful time that I'm having!

I'm so excited! I can't believe I leave in a week!

Superlatives:
Most anticipated destination: The Louvre or Versailles. I've dreamed of visiting the Louvre ever since I've know what it was. And Versailles. Do I really need to explain? It's probably the most famous palace in the world with sprawling gardens where kings and queens lived!
Most apprehensive about: Jet lag on the first day? As soon as we land we go straight into touring. I'm nervous that I'll be too sleep deprived to really enjoy that day.

Other things I'm looking forward to:
The Eiffel Tower
The Arc de Triomphe
Musée d'Orsay, the Impressionist museum
Notre Dame
Chartres

My first flight leaves at 1:00 PM. I'll arrive in Paris at 7:00 AM. My hotel is the Adagio Buttes-Chaumont. It's in the downtown area, which I am very excited about.

Well, I guess that's all for now!