I'm Back!

It is SO great to be home! Troy and I had a wonderful time. It is hard to put into words all the amazing things we saw. I have never been outside the states, so this was like a whole new world for me. Everything was so old and had so much history. In Germany the views were beautiful. Everywhere you looked you saw vineyards. They were on very steep hills that looked like they touched the sky. We walked to the top of one and the view was breathtaking. I had to keep reminding myself to stay in the moment, because I knew it would be over before I knew it :) We were treated like like Kings and Queens in Germany. We went to the best restaurants and everyone was so kind. We did get many second glances though. Everyone knew we were Americans instantly. They said we stuck out because of how we were dressed and just how we looked. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but we felt very welcomed.

In Paris we stayed at an adorable little hotel. It was small, but perfect for us. It was nestled by a cobblestone street with little shops and cafes. We walked there to get our fresh danishes and croissants in the morning. We walked everywhere in Paris. We saw all the tourist attraction of Paris. We saw Notre Dame, the Louve, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, and more. We didn't want to over schedule our trip. We wanted to walk and stop where ever we wanted. My favorite part of the trip was our dinner in front of the Eiffel tower. We got a pizza to go and a bottle of wine and headed for the Eiffel Tower. This was a very popular place to just sit in the grass and look at the Tower. The Eiffel Tower is amazing. I could have just stared at it for hours. We ate our pizza, drank our wine, and just gazed upon the beautiful sight.

The Louve is hard to put into words. The art that is in the museum is very old. We saw a hand that was from a statue that was dated 192 BC. It is so hard to believe that things from that long ago still exist. It thought this was old, but I have now learned there are items in the Louve that are 3000 BC. We also were able to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. It was unbelievable to see such important parts of art history. The museum it huge. I think we walked around for 2 hours and only saw an 1/8 of the building.

I was absolutely amazed by the buildings in Paris. No matter where you wandered everything was so detailed and extravagant. The bridges and building had statues and gold everywhere. It was a beautiful city :) We felt very safe everywhere we went. Not everyone liked "Americans" but no one was out right rude to us. We got many stares and some words were lost in translation. Many of the store owners and restaurants spoke English. Some even had an American meanu.

As wonderful as the trip was, it is great to be home. I missed my girls, family, friends. I really missed my routine and that familiar feeling. It is amazing how after you are away for awhile, you appreciate what you have. I love where we live. It is nice to have new experiences and see new things, but nothing compares to home.