Not exactly

Well i just posted...or so i thought and now i will give it another chance

you all can first of all restrain yourselves from getting mad at me, cuz trust me, nobody is more pissed than me.

I left all of your gifts and all of my souvinirs on the stupid train from Paris. By the time that i realized it I ran back but obviously it was gone. Everything from my shotglasses and cups to my mom and grandmas rosaries. Tay and Linz i am sorry too had some pretty cool freakin gifts for you but your brother it turns out is an idiot and leaves all that cash in a bag on a stupid train. Goll dangit. I know you guys wont be mad at me at all...cept mom...but i am just totally mad cuz i know how much you would have liked what i had gotten for you. I am soooo mad at myself...cannot believe i did that...I am on my way to Kopenhagen soon on my next train and i still just cannot believe i forgot all of that stuff...hope you all forgive your idiot of a brother and i will beat myself up about it. There was so much great stuff and memories that i just left on the stupid train...IDIOT. I'm soooo sorry guys.

blake

appologies

trust me before I even write this that there is nobody more mad about what i just did than myself. We finally got outta Paris and caught a train to Berlin where we are waiting until our train for Kopenhagen leaves. Anyway I am again going to appologize because Blake it turns out is an idiot. After taking the night train to Berlin I was so happy to get off the train I failed to realize that I had left my bag full of gifts on the train. A whole bunch of moneys worth. By the time I realized and took off back to the train it was gone. I am sooooo sorry. I had planned on giving my mom and grandma both rosaries from Notre Dame and my sisters each had gifts from Paris and Rome and Paige lost another gift as well. I have made this whole trip without so much as an incident, and then when ON THE WAY HOME I lost everything that would have been givin away...all the fun stuff. Man i just feel terrible...i wanted everyone to get a gift and be so happy and then i just left that grocery bag on the train. I know half of you are reading this and can't believe I did that and i know half of you are surprised that this is the first time i forgot a bunch of stuff. The worst thing is that I was so looking forward to presenting the gifts that now it seems like I have let everyone down. I'm soooo sorry everyone I feel terrible...and I lost a bunch of money too.

fogive me

blake

having a little trouble getting out of paris

first of all the bastille day firworks under the eiffel tower were amazing but we didnt get to climb the tower because of this. sucky huh. Yeah havin some troubles typing here in france so give me a break the letters are all over. well we couldnt find a place to stay in amsterdam plus we are running slow so wanted to go to kopenhavn to be half way back...except the train was full so we are going to berlin again for a night before norway...i am really stressin out about this return trip and cant wait to get back to norzway then home..

well i a, leavin now
*
blake

In beautiful Paris

Hey i know at least one reader is jealous of this post...Linz I'm talkin to you.

I just got to Paris today after a night train from Nice...it was so sad to leave such a beautiful place. I almost could have lived on that rocky beach for the rest of my life. We went to the Louvre today and it was ridiculously packed in there so we did the touristy thing and hit the main sites and then jetted outta there. Its too bad that we weren't willing to tough out the crowds but it was insane in there. And we were there at a low time. We saw the famous Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace...and of course the very famous Mona Lisa. It was actually less impressive than the other two, and it was hard to see because of the crowds of insane tourists. We managed a few pictures then hit the road. We started the day pretty rocky though. We got here and wandered around the city looking for our Hotel and couldn't find it. We were then sent on a wild goose chase all around Montemarte looking for it. It was not a fun walk. We finally find the place which i had managed to book for last night and tonight instead of tonight and tomorrow...idiot. So we got everything all cleared up and went and ate at this classy little restaraunt down the street. The perfect French restaraunt if you can imagine one. A very friendly staff, but it was a bit overpriced. We got a hot ham and cheese with an egg on top...fantastic food. Called the Croque Madame...it had the egg...the Croque Monsieur did not.

Then we traveled by metro to Notre Dame, but not before taking a couple of wrong trains...I really suck at this train catching thing. So we got there and waited in a ridiculous line for a while but was not dissappointed upon entering the Cathedral. Amazing is all I can say. I lit a candle for Grandpa Doug there which I thought was pretty amazing in itself. It was so nice there but the south tower was getting repaired so there are some scaffolding outside that messes with the view...but still fantastic. we then hit the Louvre and walked around all over town going in small little shops before we were both beat and decided to rest at the Hotel, which is right near the famous Moulin Rouge if you can believe that. Tomorrow is Bastille Day (a day to celebrate the revolution reaching the Bastille in Paris) kinda like the fourth of July. We plan on making it to the parade tomorrow near the arch downtown. It should be fun. Then tomorrow night there is supposed to be a great fireworks show by the Eiffel tower which we havent seen yet because we wanted to see in then. Should be an unbelievable day. I hope.

Hope all is well at home and the calf is takin care of by mom. Oh and the raking...some bailing...not to mention the rest of your chores. I will be here in France enjoying myself...thanks mom.

bye all
blake

A long night

well I made it all the way to Nice so far and I haven't got into any trouble yet so I think that you guys can quit telling me to be safe...always my first priority over here is to not say anything to offend the locals and to not get pickpocketed. I have managed to do both thus far so maybe you guys can sleep at night and not worry.

We are off to Monaco today and to book a train to Paris. Very exciting stuff. But the night was even better. For the last few nights we have been going to this small pub called Wayne's. It is small but in the back there are a bunch of tables and things in front of a stage where live bands play every night. We ran into a friend of ours from Rome...he just happened to be staying in our hostel here in town, so we took him with us to the Pub. The band kinda stunk right away then they started to play some good old American rock like the Chili Peppers and Green Day so that was cool. Had a blast. Now I hear that Monaco is just this beautiful place with the richest people you'll ever see. Juliano told me that over there the Porche is like a Civic...to common. Hope everyone is doing fine and that the rain keeps coming when it needs to.

bye
blake

PARASAILING ROCKS

I do not even want to try to explain how great that is so we will just say that i did it and loved it. NO WORDS. the rest of the day i spent on the beach talking with bj and Megan (a girl i met from the states) we are now planning on finding someplace to eat and grab some heinickin and head to the shore...of the mediterranean. thats all for now

later
blake

workin sucks

I thought I had better post twice today...just to rub in the absolute best day of the entire trip that I have had. To sum up all I did today was relax...in the south of France...on the Mediterranean Sea...in the sun...watching girls...swimming in salt water...talk about amazing. It is kind of wierd sitting on a beach here...so much fun. The salt water was surprisingly easy to swim in. It takes half the work that a swimming pool or lake takes to swim. I can see why people do it. I havent showered yet because I am loving the fresh from the beach smell...yes just like Kramer on Seinfeld. Our hostel here is a little sketchy, but we have already met a guy from Brazil that i think may be the coolest guy I know. He, Bjorn, and I spent all day on the beach or walking the boardwalk...the whole day. It was the most relaxing and fun we have had...no schedules...no rush...just the sun and some guys hangin out. Even managed to sit under an umbrella and have a drink...just like the Corona comercials. Now I really can't wait to come home because if I am ever sitting by the lake I can say, "This is nothing like the South of France. The mediterranean sea is much better to swim in." It will be great. "Man, I remember this beach I was on in the South of France..." Never thought I would ever say that. Relaxin and swimming and hanging out with a Brazillian. Never thought I would ever do that here...and it is everything that I dreamed it could be. Anyone jealous of the sun and sea. Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I really like to hear from each of you, it is fun to know what you are all up to as well. And thanks Carol for the message.

take care
blake

Hey all...Nice is nice

terrible terrible pun i know... We just arrived here in beautiful Nice and have quickly realized we should have checked the weather station before deciding to come. Turns out that it is a rainy drizzly day here Nice...so we haven't had a chance to do any exploring or go to the beach yet. The whole plan for Nice is to sit on the beach all day and relax. We have been so busy running to all the famous sites it seems like we haven't got a chance to really sit down and say, "Hey we are on vacation in Europe." It is better than raking or putting in bin floors, but I think we really do need these days to let the trip actually sink in. We are then planning on seeing both Paris and Amsterdam, and I thought today that we definately need to see one of the most important sites in Europe...the beaches of Normandy. I have heard that the memorial there is fantastic.

We got to see quite possibly the most famous site from Roman times yesterday...the Coloseum and it was very impressive. The tour guide we had put something into perspective though, the Colloseum's diameter was shorter than the length of Saint Peters Basillica. My jaw about hit the floor. I thought the church was big, but that is just ridiculous. We also made a little mistake while trying to find a famous fountain in Rome...we threw our coins in some dinky little guy then later found the huge one and thought...oops. Only to bj and me could that happen. But we did manage to see the fountain and the Colloseum and Constantine's Arch so it was a good day.

Thanks to everyone for writing me...and Tay, rest assured that your gift is in my hands. Hope I can get it all the way home without wrecking the dang thing. Mom we went to the Vatican yesterday before we left and were planning on buying you a rosary there but for some reason they were closed. I'm so sorry. I did pick you up a little something elsewhere in Rome but the rosary would have been nicer. Devon...you think you deserve a gift huh, Yeah right. You will have to e-mail the itinerary so I know when they will be in Paris because I will be there in a few days. Hope everyone else is doing fine, and Cor I hope you at least won some blackjack to pay for your trip. I better go because this is costing me dearly so goodbye.

Blake