Hello and Good-Bye :(

Living in Europe has made my family and I realize that 4 people can share a bed, you can survive with a super small fridge, you can where clothing over and over and over again because it takes 8 hours to wash a pair of pants. You can leave off such little and its okay. When we get back home I am shoving everything into a big trash bag and throwing it away because now I know you can not have the newest Webkinz pet or the best Nintendo game but you can still live a great life. Europe also lets you explore and see things nobody has ever seen. You might think a beaded necklace is the most pretty thing in the world, then you come to Europe and see the Eiffel Tower, The London Eye, stain glass windows and then you should be impressed.  Being away from your friends might make you want to cry but, it gives you the chance to make new ones. Being the only American in the hole apartment building can be hard. The best part is being able to say things that nobody else will understand. I have thought of a really good last line here it is: believe in yourself and your tired feet will keep walking. :):):):):):):):) - Gillian

London

We boarded the plane and sat in our seats in row 17. There was a lady who came and sat next to me. She had the cross and was holding it in our hands. The flight was about an hour and a half from Munich. I almost finished my book Alone In the Ice World. At the end of the  flight the lady helped me get my coat on and she gave me a Mozart candy. She ask me how old I was and said I was tall. When we arrived in London we got the tube to our stop. Green Park. We walked to our hotel and went out to get a sandwich. London has all the sandwiches in the world and all the potato chips you can imagine. I could a Roast chicken salad sandwich and some hand made potato chips. . My mom and dad lived in London for about a year so they knew where everything was. We saw the apartment that my mom and dad lived in. We couldn't go inside because  other people lived there. We went to Buckingham palace and saw the guards with the big furry hats walk by. My favorite thing was the brass rubbing. You take something like a molded figure flat on a flat stone, and you cover it in paper. Then you take a oil pastel thing and rub it against the paper. I did Queen Elizabeth the 1st. We also saw the famous telephone booths.  We also went in the London Eye which takes 30 mins. to go around 1 time. We got really good view of Big Ben. For lunch we went to My Old Dutch. A pancake house with pancakes so huge they could barley fit on the table. There was this museum. The British Museum where we saw Rosetta Stone. There was this a long, long, long time ago and apparently he knew he was going to die so he curled up and laid in the hot sand. His body didn't turn to dust. Part of his red hair still lay on his head in a perfect condition. There is also this toy store with 8 floors. It was amazing. A boys floor, a girls floor, and all the other floors. There were bubbles and airplanes everywhere. The next day was Easter and we had so much with my moms friends family. They came over to see relatives and to visit us. 3 months went by fast and now we only have 4 days left. We aren't even packed yet. I can't wait to come back to our real home and see everyone again. But I truly feel melancholy. Enjoy the pictures of London and please comment. - Gillian :):):):)

Vienna

Hello to all. This weekend we went to Vienna. Vienna is in Austria and has a lot of pretty sights. Vienna is home for The Vienna Boys Choir who sang in such a high voice that they sound like girls. We also saw the famous horse show. The show was amazing seeing all the horses jump and balance. It was crazy! We even got stuck in an elevator for the first time ever! It was so scary. Vienna is also famous for Sacher torte. There are two places that sell them and we tried both. My favorite was the 2nd place that we went to. There was once a Emporess of Austria. Her name was Elizabeth but for short they called her SiSi. Her hair was about as long as mine. My mom said that I looked a little like her. SiSi died when a file was pushed into her heart . She was about 70 or so.We also went into a bunch of museums. Anyway please enjoy the pictures and and please comment about Vienna. - Gillian :):):):):)

Prague

This weekend we went to Prague. Prague is in Czech Republic (another country). We stayed in hotel with 5 floors and our room had steps! It had all these little hiding places which made it fun to play hide and seek. Anyway Prague has this big bridge. The Charles bridge with people selling stuff. Within every like 3 ft. there was a statue of a saint or something. The second day we went to a castle and climbed a hill so huge that it had a lift called a funicular  (said like - Fin-inc-ular) At the tip top there was a mirror maze. I walked into walls at least 5 times! We also saw a church that was so pretty and so huge.The third day we walked up an even higher hill to see a castle but, no funicular. We went with our old aupair (or babysitter) Micheala. She is Czech and could tell us a lot about the history of Czech Republic and the 20,000 castles in it. When we were with her we got big cookies! They were really good. Guess what! I got to hold an owl. He was really big and heavy but, he was really soft and really friendly. We also learned a word in Czech. Zeer- it means cheese. Anyway please enjoy the pictures and I will try to post pictures of our apartment soon. Bye! - Gillian (Please Comment)