TGIF and Happy Halloween!
This will be my 2nd update for the day:-(. We made it to Copenhagen and internet access wasn't free so I just purchased an hour to check email, send some emails and update the blog. I ran out of time and it didn't even give me a warning it just didn't save my entry. That really bites!
Anyway, we landed in Copenhagen around 4:00. We are staying at the airport and our plans were to go downtown and see a bit of the city. We are too tired! We will just purchase some postcards. We fly out at 12:20 and arrive in Newark at 4:15. (Remember the time difference!) Our flight will be 9 hours long. I think I will just take some drugs and hopefully sleep a lot! We have a layover in NJ and leave at 8:00 getting into Knoxville at 10:18!
I am ready to get HOME. 17 days is enough. I am ready to talk on my cell phone and see my boys! I am sure Tristian and Tyler more so Tyler will have a great time tonight Trick or Treating. I hate that we are going to miss it but there will be others I'm sure.
I am going to sign off now to make sure that I don't loose this update too! I will talk to everyone soon!
Blessed!
Robin
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
It's a SMALL World After All!
NOW UPDATED WITH PICTURES AND 1 LAST PARAGRAPH*******
Hello from one tired woman!
I bet we have walked 10 miles today if we have walked 1! Traffic here is more of a mess today because of a protest that has to do with public schools becoming private or having to pay for public school and something about research funding. Anyway today 100,000 people marched from place to place all around the city so our idea of taking the bus was quickly deflated! So we walked to the Coliseum taking in all of the sites in between.
Our first stop was at the Trevi Fountain where we met a lady from Montgomery AL. We got to talking and it was amazing the things we had in common. We also met some folks from NC at the Hard Rock Cafe. So it is a small world! (Pictures at the Trevi Fountain)
Here are some sights that we saw today just to name a few: Piazza Venezia, Imperial Forums, Julius Caesar's Forum, Constantine Triumph Arch, and the Pantheon. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but trust me it is!
Constantine Triumph Arch
The Pope @ St. Peter's Square
Piazza Venezia
Pantheon
We have made a ton of pictures so I will continue to post after we get home. Just FYI, if you double click on the pictures they will enlarge. History is every where you look here. We have seen some indescribable things that are thousands of years old. Things are so massive that the pictures just don't do it justice. One fact that just amazed me is 40,000 people go through the Vatican Museum A DAY. Just imagine the wear and tear on the floors? But they are in perfect condition because they are marble.
On a side note, I find it very interesting that we have seen several posters campaigning for Obama. What does that say when all of these foreign countries want him to be our President???
Anyway, I promise pictures soon.
Blessed!
Robin
Hello from one tired woman!
I bet we have walked 10 miles today if we have walked 1! Traffic here is more of a mess today because of a protest that has to do with public schools becoming private or having to pay for public school and something about research funding. Anyway today 100,000 people marched from place to place all around the city so our idea of taking the bus was quickly deflated! So we walked to the Coliseum taking in all of the sites in between.
Our first stop was at the Trevi Fountain where we met a lady from Montgomery AL. We got to talking and it was amazing the things we had in common. We also met some folks from NC at the Hard Rock Cafe. So it is a small world! (Pictures at the Trevi Fountain)
Here are some sights that we saw today just to name a few: Piazza Venezia, Imperial Forums, Julius Caesar's Forum, Constantine Triumph Arch, and the Pantheon. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but trust me it is!
Constantine Triumph Arch
The Pope @ St. Peter's Square
Piazza Venezia
Pantheon
We have made a ton of pictures so I will continue to post after we get home. Just FYI, if you double click on the pictures they will enlarge. History is every where you look here. We have seen some indescribable things that are thousands of years old. Things are so massive that the pictures just don't do it justice. One fact that just amazed me is 40,000 people go through the Vatican Museum A DAY. Just imagine the wear and tear on the floors? But they are in perfect condition because they are marble.
On a side note, I find it very interesting that we have seen several posters campaigning for Obama. What does that say when all of these foreign countries want him to be our President???
Anyway, I promise pictures soon.
Blessed!
Robin
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
WOW!!
Hello Everyone,
Tonight's update will be a quick one I think! I am "dog" tired! We got up at 6:00 had breakfast at 7:00 got on a bus at 8:00 and returned back to the hotel at 6:30 tonight. We walked miles today and saw so much my mind can hardly take it all in. It is now 11:00 p.m. here and we just got back to our room from going on a little adventure to retrieve our camera (that's another story) and we grabbed some dinner while out.
We have met some wonderful people. Today we met folks from CO, TX, VA, AL and Australia and that was just the people we could understand. Oh, and while eating dinner tonight we met a wonderful couple from.............SWEDEN! I now have a collection of email address so we can stay connected. Technology is amazing.
Today we covered a lot of ground and I have a blister on my big toe to prove it. We started off with the Vatican museum at Vatican City continued to the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Square (where we saw the Pope as he gave a message and blessing) and made some other stops. This afternoon the main attraction was the Catacombs. Everywhere you look there is history. With things dating back to 600BC it is just amazing!
I will have Dennis post some pictures in the morning. We only have 1 day left so we will hit the ground running tomorrow. There is a 95% chance of rain tomorrow so please pray for good weather.
Happy Birthday Daddy!
Love you,
Blessed,
Robin
Tonight's update will be a quick one I think! I am "dog" tired! We got up at 6:00 had breakfast at 7:00 got on a bus at 8:00 and returned back to the hotel at 6:30 tonight. We walked miles today and saw so much my mind can hardly take it all in. It is now 11:00 p.m. here and we just got back to our room from going on a little adventure to retrieve our camera (that's another story) and we grabbed some dinner while out.
We have met some wonderful people. Today we met folks from CO, TX, VA, AL and Australia and that was just the people we could understand. Oh, and while eating dinner tonight we met a wonderful couple from.............SWEDEN! I now have a collection of email address so we can stay connected. Technology is amazing.
Today we covered a lot of ground and I have a blister on my big toe to prove it. We started off with the Vatican museum at Vatican City continued to the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Square (where we saw the Pope as he gave a message and blessing) and made some other stops. This afternoon the main attraction was the Catacombs. Everywhere you look there is history. With things dating back to 600BC it is just amazing!
I will have Dennis post some pictures in the morning. We only have 1 day left so we will hit the ground running tomorrow. There is a 95% chance of rain tomorrow so please pray for good weather.
Happy Birthday Daddy!
Love you,
Blessed,
Robin
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
When in Rome...............
Hello From Rome,
I can tell you right off the bat that this is one place I could never live! Traffic oh my! New York has nothing on this city! I don't think there is enough drugs or money for me to drive in this city! Even Dennis feels the same way! On our way from the airport to our hotel it was so amazing that Dennis actually got out the video camera and filmed some of it.
Our driver said that the saying is there are 3 million people in cars and another million on cycles and I think they were all on our route to the hotel. It is hard to explain, they just drive everywhere. They pass you on the left side driving right into oncoming traffic, they pass you on the right, they cut in front of your car, you name it and they do it. They are OUT of CONTROL! They basically do what they want and drive where ever they want. Anyway maybe you get the picture???
Our flight was on time but it took us FOREVER to get our luggage! Then the ride to the hotel so it was after 3:15 before we ever made it to our room. I was going on a banana and a croissant roll from 6:15 this morning so I was starving. We hit a pizza place just up the street. Making sure to watch out for traffic on the sidewalk as we went along. I'm telling you I was almost afraid to cross the street! No joke! My nerves were shot! Anyway the food was great. We caught a buffet before they closed so we got to try several different things.
It is now pouring down rain and we are wiped out. We are going to book a couple of tours for tomorrow for Vatican City and some other places. That will take up most of the day. I have tried to check email but evidently aol is down. I will try again later.
Happy Birthday to Jason today. And I had intended to wish Alta a happy birthday yesterday but forgot so here is your 1 minute of fame! This is the official birthday week in my family.
Love and miss everyone!
Check back later for pictures!
Blessed!
Robin
I can tell you right off the bat that this is one place I could never live! Traffic oh my! New York has nothing on this city! I don't think there is enough drugs or money for me to drive in this city! Even Dennis feels the same way! On our way from the airport to our hotel it was so amazing that Dennis actually got out the video camera and filmed some of it.
Our driver said that the saying is there are 3 million people in cars and another million on cycles and I think they were all on our route to the hotel. It is hard to explain, they just drive everywhere. They pass you on the left side driving right into oncoming traffic, they pass you on the right, they cut in front of your car, you name it and they do it. They are OUT of CONTROL! They basically do what they want and drive where ever they want. Anyway maybe you get the picture???
Our flight was on time but it took us FOREVER to get our luggage! Then the ride to the hotel so it was after 3:15 before we ever made it to our room. I was going on a banana and a croissant roll from 6:15 this morning so I was starving. We hit a pizza place just up the street. Making sure to watch out for traffic on the sidewalk as we went along. I'm telling you I was almost afraid to cross the street! No joke! My nerves were shot! Anyway the food was great. We caught a buffet before they closed so we got to try several different things.
It is now pouring down rain and we are wiped out. We are going to book a couple of tours for tomorrow for Vatican City and some other places. That will take up most of the day. I have tried to check email but evidently aol is down. I will try again later.
Happy Birthday to Jason today. And I had intended to wish Alta a happy birthday yesterday but forgot so here is your 1 minute of fame! This is the official birthday week in my family.
Love and miss everyone!
Check back later for pictures!
Blessed!
Robin
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday Monday!
Hey Everybody!
We have arrived at our final destination here in Sweden. We made it back to the big city of Gothenberg and the Volvo Factory Delivery Center. We only made 1 detour today so that was wonderful! Tonights stay is AMAZING! It is a modern spa resort. We have a terrace and a view of the city.
It is such a nice place the Taxi Driver said to Dennis that only high roller and tycoons stay here! Dennis laughed and told me that we were neither. I have a massage scheduled for 6:40 and we Dennis and I are going to get in the 7 different spas after that.
It has been a long day! Dennis is snoring away right now. We leave for the airport at 5:00 in the morning. So hopefully I will get a good nights sleep.
We got a text message from Jessica last night and Tristian now has 2 teeth! He will have a mouth full by the time we get home! Well I guess the next time we "talk" it will be from Rome. Take care and I hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Blessed!
Robin
We have arrived at our final destination here in Sweden. We made it back to the big city of Gothenberg and the Volvo Factory Delivery Center. We only made 1 detour today so that was wonderful! Tonights stay is AMAZING! It is a modern spa resort. We have a terrace and a view of the city.
It is such a nice place the Taxi Driver said to Dennis that only high roller and tycoons stay here! Dennis laughed and told me that we were neither. I have a massage scheduled for 6:40 and we Dennis and I are going to get in the 7 different spas after that.
It has been a long day! Dennis is snoring away right now. We leave for the airport at 5:00 in the morning. So hopefully I will get a good nights sleep.
We got a text message from Jessica last night and Tristian now has 2 teeth! He will have a mouth full by the time we get home! Well I guess the next time we "talk" it will be from Rome. Take care and I hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Blessed!
Robin
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A Rainy Sunday!
Today is Sunday and it was a rainy gray day as far as the weather was concerned. We did get an extra hour of sleep so now we are only 5 hours ahead of you unless you are on Alabama time and then it is 6! Speaking of ALABAMA all I have to say is ROLL TIDE! We didn't listen to any of the game. I woke up at 12:45 Knoxville time and knew that the game was over and I just decided to go back to sleep as it would be time to get up shortly. When it was time to get up I checked the score 1st thing. What can I say except for I think our season basketball tickets should arrive any day now! Bruce Pearl should be even more excited because I think most of his games should be sellouts now!
Anyway enough of sports talk. Dennis added a better picture of the hotel that we stayed at last night. It was in Kalmar which is a nice town by the Baltic Sea. Our hotel was 300 meters for a great castle with a moat, draw bridge and all! It is called none other than Kalmar Castle. We had to leave before the gift shop opened but we took some pictures out side before we froze to death! It was raining and the wind was blowing in right off the sea.
The above picture was taken in the center court yard it really was a massive place. After we walked around and got wet we drove around to the other side of the "block" so that we could get this picture.
I hate that the light pole had to be in the picture but we just couldn't get around it :-) You can tell from this picture just how grey of a day we had.
We then when to two glass factories. The last one was Kosta and it so reminded me of how the original Boaz Outlets started out. We saw some absolutely beautiful pieces! We shopped for a couple of hours and then we headed off to our destination of Toftaholm Harrgard. Since we where short an hour of daylight and it was raining it was very dark when we arrive. We think it is a great place since we have an ice machine right outside our door! The kitchen was closed but they had a cold plate waiting for us.
It was really good. We have re-organized our luggage getting ready for our plane travel again. Tuesday morning will start EARLY as our plane leaves at 7:30 on our way to ROME. We are getting pretty excited about what should be better /warmer weather. And yes, we have had the top down on my car. Several times in fact! We had to put a large suitcase in the back seat so we had to put the top down just to get in in!
Well, I am going to sign off for tonight. It is only 9:00 p.m. but it feels like it is midnight! We head back to Gothenburg tomorrow (2 hour drive). We will drop my car off and then have them take us to the resort. I think a swedish massage is in my near future! I hope everyone has a great Monday and we will check in tomorrow.
Blessed!
Robin
Anyway enough of sports talk. Dennis added a better picture of the hotel that we stayed at last night. It was in Kalmar which is a nice town by the Baltic Sea. Our hotel was 300 meters for a great castle with a moat, draw bridge and all! It is called none other than Kalmar Castle. We had to leave before the gift shop opened but we took some pictures out side before we froze to death! It was raining and the wind was blowing in right off the sea.
The above picture was taken in the center court yard it really was a massive place. After we walked around and got wet we drove around to the other side of the "block" so that we could get this picture.
I hate that the light pole had to be in the picture but we just couldn't get around it :-) You can tell from this picture just how grey of a day we had.
We then when to two glass factories. The last one was Kosta and it so reminded me of how the original Boaz Outlets started out. We saw some absolutely beautiful pieces! We shopped for a couple of hours and then we headed off to our destination of Toftaholm Harrgard. Since we where short an hour of daylight and it was raining it was very dark when we arrive. We think it is a great place since we have an ice machine right outside our door! The kitchen was closed but they had a cold plate waiting for us.
It was really good. We have re-organized our luggage getting ready for our plane travel again. Tuesday morning will start EARLY as our plane leaves at 7:30 on our way to ROME. We are getting pretty excited about what should be better /warmer weather. And yes, we have had the top down on my car. Several times in fact! We had to put a large suitcase in the back seat so we had to put the top down just to get in in!
Well, I am going to sign off for tonight. It is only 9:00 p.m. but it feels like it is midnight! We head back to Gothenburg tomorrow (2 hour drive). We will drop my car off and then have them take us to the resort. I think a swedish massage is in my near future! I hope everyone has a great Monday and we will check in tomorrow.
Blessed!
Robin
Saturday, October 25, 2008
It's Saturday!
Hey There Everyone,
Let me start this update with some pictures from Friday.
The above is the "main house" where we checked in and breakfast and dinner was served. This is the house where our suite was.
And here we are at dinner last night. I think I have already talked about the meal. It was good!
Today we have spent a LOT of time in the car! It's a good thing we started out earlier this morning because we didn't get to the 1st glass area until 3:00. Things close at 4:00. We made one stop and looked at a couple of stores and then we headed off to our final destination of Kalmar. It is a nice little town. We are 300 meters from a huge castle. It was too dark when we got out so we will add pictures tomorrow. We are staying in the Slott Hotel tonight. It is nice and small. The bathroom is like a small closet but hey we could have had bigger but it was on the 3rd floor and there is no elevator so we chose the 1st floor! Here is a beautiful piece of art we did manage to see. And then there is the hotel.
Tonight we are on our own for dinner so we walked to the town square and found a nice little Italian restaurant. I had lasagna and Dennis had spaghetti with mussels, shrimp and some other seafood. It was all very good.
I must say that one of the hard things about this trip is missing football games on tv! Especially today when Alabama will play Tennessee tonight at 7:45 which is 1:45 A.M. here! I haven't been getting the greatest sleep so who knows I may just have to listen over the internet. Another thing that has really surprised us has been all of the interest in the election over here. I actually saw a guy with a Obama button on the other day. It is in all of the headlines and on the BBC news almost constantley. Early voting and the whole nine yards.
Tomorrow we will head out "early" to make the most of the 3 glass factory stops. I have talked with the lady at the front desk and she has given me the scoop. The first one opens at 10:00 and it is about 40 minutes away. Tomorrow night we are still traveling south (I think) and we should wind up in Thofoholm. On Monday we will travel back to Gothenburg where we will drop our luggage off at the SPA and then drop my car off at the factory. They will then bring us back to the spa. I think a swedish massage might just be in my future!
Anyway, I need to run for now. I need to check in with the front desk because earlier she thought that the time was to change tonight. If so we get an extra hour of sleep! Dennis has had no problem sleeping on this trip! He is laying on the bed now just snoring away! Anyway, thanks for all of your prayers as we have been away. If you don't mind, please add Tristians childcare to the list. Jessica found out yesterday that his current sitter will only be keeping him until November 7th. So we need to find other care. Child care is such an issue with Jessica's schedule she only needs care on M, T (10ish to 6ish) and Friday 9ish to 6ish. She is off on Wed and Thursday and Jimmy picks the kids up when he gets off work. At daycare centers part-time schedules don't exist that we can find because they have to "hold" a spot open for him when he is there. So if you don't mind to make this a matter of prayer we would greatly apprecitate it!
Go BAMA!
Blessed!
Robin
Let me start this update with some pictures from Friday.
The above is the "main house" where we checked in and breakfast and dinner was served. This is the house where our suite was.
And here we are at dinner last night. I think I have already talked about the meal. It was good!
Today we have spent a LOT of time in the car! It's a good thing we started out earlier this morning because we didn't get to the 1st glass area until 3:00. Things close at 4:00. We made one stop and looked at a couple of stores and then we headed off to our final destination of Kalmar. It is a nice little town. We are 300 meters from a huge castle. It was too dark when we got out so we will add pictures tomorrow. We are staying in the Slott Hotel tonight. It is nice and small. The bathroom is like a small closet but hey we could have had bigger but it was on the 3rd floor and there is no elevator so we chose the 1st floor! Here is a beautiful piece of art we did manage to see. And then there is the hotel.
Tonight we are on our own for dinner so we walked to the town square and found a nice little Italian restaurant. I had lasagna and Dennis had spaghetti with mussels, shrimp and some other seafood. It was all very good.
I must say that one of the hard things about this trip is missing football games on tv! Especially today when Alabama will play Tennessee tonight at 7:45 which is 1:45 A.M. here! I haven't been getting the greatest sleep so who knows I may just have to listen over the internet. Another thing that has really surprised us has been all of the interest in the election over here. I actually saw a guy with a Obama button on the other day. It is in all of the headlines and on the BBC news almost constantley. Early voting and the whole nine yards.
Tomorrow we will head out "early" to make the most of the 3 glass factory stops. I have talked with the lady at the front desk and she has given me the scoop. The first one opens at 10:00 and it is about 40 minutes away. Tomorrow night we are still traveling south (I think) and we should wind up in Thofoholm. On Monday we will travel back to Gothenburg where we will drop our luggage off at the SPA and then drop my car off at the factory. They will then bring us back to the spa. I think a swedish massage might just be in my future!
Anyway, I need to run for now. I need to check in with the front desk because earlier she thought that the time was to change tonight. If so we get an extra hour of sleep! Dennis has had no problem sleeping on this trip! He is laying on the bed now just snoring away! Anyway, thanks for all of your prayers as we have been away. If you don't mind, please add Tristians childcare to the list. Jessica found out yesterday that his current sitter will only be keeping him until November 7th. So we need to find other care. Child care is such an issue with Jessica's schedule she only needs care on M, T (10ish to 6ish) and Friday 9ish to 6ish. She is off on Wed and Thursday and Jimmy picks the kids up when he gets off work. At daycare centers part-time schedules don't exist that we can find because they have to "hold" a spot open for him when he is there. So if you don't mind to make this a matter of prayer we would greatly apprecitate it!
Go BAMA!
Blessed!
Robin
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