Germany

We saw THE largest cuckoo clock in the entire world today!!!! It is on the side of this little cottage! The figures dance out of open doors and twirl around the porch. The clock itself is built into the wall. It was all very cute. =) We went into a shop that had TONS of cuckoo clocks in it! There were large, massive ones, grandfather clocks, and everything inbetween down to the tiny pocket watches. My mom bought a few cuckoo clocks as gifts for family. The shop was crazy because there were 500 millions birds chirping and little figures dancing around!!! It was very entertaining.

We also saw the Black Forest! We have and will spend the least amount of time in Germany than in any other country on this trip. Last night, we had dinner at the motel, but the motel is more like a bunk house. Some of the group went out on an adventure looking for a naked German. hahaha they ended up playing frisbee in some farmer's corn field.

We boarded the plane in Heidelburg and I felt a little sad! Adam took us to the gates and watched us all go through security. It is amazing what he did for us. He led us through the exciting, yet dangerous cities of Paris and London, the smaller towns of Switzerland and Italy, and every where in between! He taught us how to use the Tube, how to exchange our US money for pounds, euros, and franks. He kept us safe from the bad guys, showed us where to go, sent us on tours through palaces, took us to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and shared with us so many intellectual insights. I can't imagine being responsible for a bunch of dumb tourist coming from the United States and taking them through countries with people that don't speak their language. Haha, but I sure am grateful that he was brave enough to take my mom and I on an adventure of a life time!

Switzerland

Switzerland is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. I love it here. We are in Lucerne, which is a cute little city, centered around a beautiful blue lake. The mountains are huge, there is a lot of greenery, and the town is just so pleasant!!! Tonight we walked over this wooden bridge to get to the restraunt where we would have dinner. There were tons of spider webs and little creatures crawling in the top of the bridge! Dinner was a BLAST!!! We went to this cute little place with dinner and a show. It was this big open room jam packed full of long tables and tourist. As everyone was introduced, we realized that nearly all of the 500 guests were from the U.S. They had performers singing and dancing to old folk songs. And then there was yodeling!!! They called a few people out of the crowd and it was hillarious to listen to these Americans try to sound like the real deal. Then they whipped out the alcohol!!! Broc Urban raced to the stage and was pouring it down his gaping mouth. Everyone was in shock, and some started laughing. It was a good conversation between he and Mr. Davis afterwards, I am sure. haha =) The entire dinner and show was so much fun and I felt like I was yodeling in Switzerland!!!

We had some down time today, so Whitney, Nicole, and I went to the lake and tried to work on our tans. It was there that we found a whole bunch of swans that were very tame and friendly. They were all gorgeous and white! We just hung out on the steps along the water and played with the swans for about an hour.

We had more free time, so my mom, Kyle, Whitney, Nicole, and I headed back to the lake. We saw people out on little rowboats and decided that we needed to join in on the fun. =) We walked down to the other side of the lake and found a shop that rented out the boats. We got a pedal boat!!!! It was SO much fun!!! We went out on a little piece of platic that floated, and pedaled ourselves around the lake. There were some motor boats that would go flying by and make waves that sent us wobbling! We all laughed and just enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The water was beautiful and clear. The sun was shining high in the sky. It was an awesome day.

Switzerland is also known for its AMAZING chocolate. We wandered around the streets and found a chocolate shop. We all bought quite a bit of chocolate and immeditely after leaving the shop, we sat down on the curb oustide and tested the famous treat. Reputation well deserved. The chocolate was so creamy...and GOOD!!!

We also found an antique shop with a bunch of clocks, watches, music boxes, etc. My mom was in heaven as she searched the shop.

Italy

Rome, ITALY

Wow! Rome is beautiful! I like it a little more than the other cities because it is more open, and there are LOTS of trees! We saw the Colisseum today and it is amazing to think about what people did inside of it. We ate these cool "to go pizzas" and they were really good! The weather is getting warmer, too.

We went to this "gladiator camp" today. It was so much fun! The boys were a little more into than the girls =). This amazingly beautiful young man was dressed up in a gladiator outfit and taught everyone how to sword fight. By the end, everyone was pretty good! We had these wooden swords, and learned the different "strike positions". The gladiator's name was Paola, and he was SOO muscly...sigh. =) haha

We had pasta and salad, and some kind of chicken for dinner...it was DELICIOUS! This little Arab boy was our waiter, and I noticed him watching me pretty closely. I didn't think anything of it, though. Everyone wanted ketchup, so I just went ahead and asked. He smiled and said, "NO!" Then he walked off. He came back in a few minutes and held the container out to me. When I reached for it, he pulled it back and asked what my name was!!! I smiled and said, "Heather." He said it and pronounced it, "Kether". We laughed and I said it again, "Heather." He smiled and said, "Oh, I see! Kether!" Teasha said, "No, it is H-eather!" He said Kether again and we just laughed. He smiled at me and asked if I needed anything else. Ryan asked for butter, but was ignored...haha We also had some of the famous Italian Gelato today! Basically, it is ice cream with TONS of sugar. Ryan and Broc absolutely LOVE it.

We had some time to wander and explore. I was walking around with Ryan, Kyle, and a Tennessee kid, Alex. Alex had joined us for our prayer the night before. As we were walking along a street talking, Alex asked if I believed in "destiny". I took that opportunity to tell him about the Plan of Salvation. LOL =) So I started telling him about it, and he seemed really interested. From what he had told me, he sounds like a really good kid, just someone looking for truth. Golden! =)

We also went to a leather shop and received a "demo". The man talked about their leather and then told us we were going to have a "fashion show". I was standing in the back by Andy, hoping I wouldn't have to do it. Suddenly, the man pointed to the back of the crowd, right at me, and said, "The pretty girl in the back, please come forward!" I'm sure my face turned bright red. Everyone shoved me forward and he put a black jacket on me. It was really cute, but I was SO embarrassed!!!

That night, Andy and another guy named Adam asked if I wanted to go walk around with them. I shrugged my shoulders, and they said, "Oh come on! You'll have fun with us! We'll take care of you!" This town was a lot more like home, small and more calm. The rest of the group was planning on splitting up and our guide said we would be safe, just not to be alone. So...I went with them. =) We were just wandering around town. Andy came up and put his arm around me...I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. He gave me a big grin and just kept walking. I rolled my eyes. A few seconds later, we stopped walking and Clayton stopped at some vending machine. Andy kept talking to me, and I didn't think anything of it. Suddenly, Clayton pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette! I looked at the machine and realized it was a cigarette machine!!! ah! Everyone started walking again, and acted like nothing was wrong. I was shocked! I looked at Andy and said, "You don't smoke, do you?!" He said he didn't, but had before, and thought it was nasty. I was stunned! We were all under 18! "Well, at least they didn't ask me to..."

Out of no where, this carnival showed up. There were a bunch of rides and games, and the entire thing was packed full of teenage boys. "GREAT..." I thought. Andy and Adam walked over to a punching bag thingy that measured how hard you punched. Andy put in some money and smakced it...HARD. "Wow," I thought, "I feel kind of safe with him." hahaha We kept walking around and walked into this little archade thing where tons of boys were. They all turned and looked directly at me. Andy started laughing and just walked in. Adam came over by me and whispered, "Heather, if you want, I can pretend like I'm your boyfriend." I turned to him and smiled, "I am ok, but thank you." =) All of the boys kept watching me and I felt really awkward, so I asked if we could leave, so we headed out. It was shortly after that we realized we were lost. Of course, the guys didn't want to ask for directions, so we wandered around for a while. It started to get dark, so I went into this motel and asked for directions. Within a few minutes, we were back at our motel, thank heavens!

Sarah, Ashley, AJ, and I went on a little adventure the next day. We found a really big market down one street. It reminded me of the Eastern Idaho State Fair because it was just a bunch of booths and stores set up on the street. We were walking by a leather stand and all of the sudden, a weird looking Asian guy cam out and grabbed Ashley' hand. He started pulling her back behind their booth and led her to the building behind!!! Naturally, I panicked!!! I looked at AJ and he was several feet away with Sarah, occupied looking at something. I yelled at him, as I headed around the corner after Ashley. I saw him look up at me, but he didn't follow. The man led Ashley into a building that had leather jackets all ove rthe window. When I walked in, he had her hand in his and he was rubbing his hand on her arm. He was telling her how beautiful she was. I thought, "Ew! What a creep! Get away, Ashley!" I wlaked up and she gave me a pleading look. I said, "Come on, Ashley, we need to go." She stepped toward me and the man grabbed her arm. He told her that she was so beautiful and so he would give her a grea tdeal on a jacket. She told him she only had 70 Euros, and he said he'd sell her a jacket for that. He found a red jacket and started putting her arms in it. As he went to zip it up, he kind of pulled her shirt up! The whole while, stroking her arm with his other hand!! CREEP! She looked at me with a sick face, and I thought, "I better go get AJ." Then she shook her head, she didn't want me to leave her. She agred to buy the stupid jacket, and just as she paid, AJ and Sarah walked in. The man went to Sarah and started touching her and pulled her over by the jackets. He said he'd sell her one for a great deal. She told him she didn't know if she had enough money on her card. He took the card from her hand and walked over to the register. He swiped the card and said it only had 10 Euros on it. She said she didn't have any other money to pay for the jacket. He said, "Well, we have charged the 10 euros to the store, so now you can get a purse or something for 10." I was appalled!!!! She said she didn't want a purse, she wanted her money back. He replied that they could not cancel the charge, the money had already been taken, did she not have more money? She opened her purse, "No, I don't have any other money." Then the creep reached in her purse!!! She didn't do anything!!! He pulled everything out and started looking at it all!!! THAT WAS IT. I had had it!!! I slapped his hand

(hard) and said, "Get out of her stuff!" He put everything back. Sarah got a really irritated, nervous voice and said, "Look, just give me the ten euros back." He replied, "Oh, I will give you 5 euros. We have a service charge for running the card, it cost us." AJ finally piped in and said, "Hey man, just give us the 10 euros, ok?" The man refused to give her 10 back, so I said (in a very irritated voice), "Do you want us to go get help from the authorities?!" He shook his head quickly and said, "No! No! No!" Sarah finally gave in and received 8 euroes, then we left. It was quite the experience.

France

Paris, France

We are now 8 hours ahead in time of the USA!!! Our sleeping schedules are completely off! (It doesn't help that we stay up all night, anyway). Everytime we travel somewhere on the bus, everyone sleeps. Today as we were touring Paris, I think nearly everyone fell asleep.

We saw the Eiffel Tower!!! It is so crazy that we are right by THE Eiffel Tower!!! It is 1, 000 feet tall and SO cool! Mom and I took a cute picture of us sitting back to back in front of it. She loves the picture! We als otourned the Louver Museum. Everything is so big and amazing. All of the painting in there were huge and there was a big glass pyramid. We saw an acient library and tons of statues. Today for lunch, everyone split up again, and my litte "group" at Chinese. =)

We were going to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower tonight, but one of the elevators were down, and there wasn't a guarentee that we'd get up because it was a 4 hour wait anyway. So...we decided to take a river boat ride that went right by the Eiffel Tower. We left before dark, but when we returned, the tower was all lit up in blue and was sparkling. The reflection in the water was beautiful and it was AWESOME!!!!

Up until this point, I was assigned to room with Kenzie and Teasha. Our new rooms only have 2 beds, so Mr. Davis figured I was flexible and put me in a room with Sarah, a girl from Tennessee!! I was really excited because I figured I'd take this as a mission learning experience. We got acquainted pretty quickly and took some fun pictures of us jumping on the bed. =) Then she wanted to go visit Andy Goodrich up in his room...haha, so I walked up with her. He was lying on his bed with his shirt off, and everyone else had left his room. She started talking to him, and I told her I'd be back in a minute. I went down to Kyle and Ryan's room and we said night prayer again. I stayed and talked for a while and then I went up to check on Sarah. Andy's roommates were back, sitting on the floor, and she was lying on the bed with shirtless Andy. We left and went back to our oom and after a few minutes, she was hungry. She wanted me to walk with her down the street a few blocks to the store. It was flipping 2 in the morning in PARIS!!!...I was NOT going out there! I had a bad feeling! I told her we should get a few boys to go so that we'd be safe. So she went up to Andy's room and she talked him and the other boys into going. That's when I said that I'd stay behind at the motel and make sure they made it back. I said that if they weren't back in half an hour, I'd have people go look for them. They laughed if off and titped downstairs and out the doors. I went into my mom and Rhonda Tolbert's room (they were still up). I left a note on our room door saying where I was, and in about 20 minutes, I heard a little knock at the door. When I opened it, Sarah's face was sheet white and she was shivering. I told my mom goodnight and we went back to our room.

When the door was shut, Sarah jumped on a bed and started telling me about what had happened. they had gotten a few blocks out and some men were standing on the side of the street by a graffiti van. One grabbed her hand and asked where they were going. She stopped to talk to them!!! AH!!! Andy put his arm around her and kept walking. After a minute, he looked back and realized taht they were being followed. The men had gotten in the van and were driving behind them! They started walking faster and faster, heading back to the motel. Our motel was in a weird spot and the only way in is up this little alley. They got up to the doors, and they were locked!! So they started banging on them and the manager opened them just in time. They slammed the doors shut and locked them. WOW!!! One adventure was all it took to find some nasty guys on the street! Scary! While she was in the bathroom, I tiptoed up to Andy's room and thanked him for taking care of her. He gained a lot of respect from me that night because he protected Sarah.

The next day was full of awesome things again. Ryan and I had left the group and walked ahead in the Louvre Museum. We got lost...haha, it is HUGE!!!! There were hundreds and hundreds of paintings on the wall and statues. Lots of naked statues...I tried to look at the paintings where the artists appreciated clothing. haha. You always hear about the Mona Lisa. After walking through that museum, full of massive paintings all over the wall, the Mona Lisa seemed a little less impressive. We found the tiny little painting on a wall, surrounded by a big group of admirerers. Nonethless, it was cool to see just because it is so well known.

At about 7 pm, we headed for the Eiffel Tower again. This time, the elevators were fixed and we stood in line for about 2 1/2 hours. It was starting to get dark, and I was really excited to see Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower! We got to the top and it was AMAZING. So gorgeous!!! We rode in 2 see through elevators up to the very top. Going up made my stomach jump a little bit, but I loved it. We got to the top and spent about 20 minutes up there. We took lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We went to the Versaille Palace and it was BEAUTIFUL. It was absolutely huge and just amazing. We toured through and saw the enormous bedrooms, chambers, hallways, and everything else. The architecture was incredibly detailed. The palace was dripping in gold accents and fine design. It is amazing to think that people really lived like that! We walked through the Hall of Mirrors, which was also very neat. The hall was fairly empty, aside from the sparkling chandeliers, wall full of mirrors, and a few others accents. The hall was larger than a school hallway and was several hundred feet long.

We also passed by Arche de Triomph. It is an interesting location, right in the middle of a huge traffic area. The arch is one of the most famous monuments in France. It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary War. It is about 50 meters tall.

It is so much fun to be with friends and tour Europe! It is hard to believe how far away from home we are...just in the other hemisphere! We get a few opportunities to call home and email. We have to find these little cafe shops to use the internet, and time is limited because you are charged by the minute.

It is funny to watch everyone walk on the streets in the crowds. You can totally tell who the tourists are. Especially the ones in our group, because they all have a tight hold on their belongings. My mom holds her purse in the front of her (like she is supposed to) and keeps her arm tucked tightly over the top. Her whole upper body circles around that precious purse. It is just kind of funny to see my nice, sweet, innocent little mother out in the big, scary city of Paris. =)

We also went inside of the Notre Dam Cathedral. It is a Gothic, Catholic cathedral and the design is amazing. It is one of the best examples of French Gothic artchitecture. This is what the Hunchback of Notre Dam was themed after! It also houses the official chair of the Archbishop of Paris!

It is just so amazing to see the architectual differences of buildings here! They are so old and elegant!
We also had our first taste of Gelato! It is known as the best ice cream in the world. They had PISTACHIO gelato, and surprisingly, it was really, really good!

It is also interesting to watch the people in France. Most speak fluent English, as a second language. It makes me think that America is behind the times. Few people speak more than one language. I love listening to people argue on the streets in their heavy French accents. BONJOUR!!!

England

July 8, 2008 Day 1 London, England

Well, first of all, we had to travel to get here!!! :) Sunday night, my mom, Kenzie Hill, and I drove up to Brigham City and stayed at my uncle's house. Monday morning, Uncle Mike drove us to Salt Lake and dropped us off at the airport. Everyone in our group met there, loaded the luggage, and set off on the 2 hour flight to Dallas, Texas. We grabbed a quick snack and then boarded the plane to London! It was a 9 hour flight and we didn't even leave Dallas until 5 pm, so when we reached London, it was 7 or 8 am here! WOW!

We picked up our luggage and then dropped it off in our motel. We then exchanged our US money for pounds! What a crazy experience that was! It is so strange to think that there are so many different money systems in this world. We learned how to ride the "Tube", pronounced "chube". It is an underground railroad that could take us anywhere in town, pretty much. We went to the world famous shopping store "Harrod's" and saw some monuments. The streets were so different, but fascinating! They were all laid out of stone. All of the buildings looked so different as well! A lot of white proper looking apartments stacked on top of each other...
Dinner was awesome! Then we went to the Globe Theatre! For some weird reason, it wasn't a Shakespeare play, like usual. It was...well, definitely an experience. Within the first 20 minutes, I had heard the F word about 30 times. I felt the sting in my heart and thought about leaving. I leaned over and asked mom if we could leave. She just kind of brushed it off and figured the play was going somewhere. A few more minutes went by and the F word kept going, and then something extremely crude and inappropriate was said. I felt the Spirit leave me and I felt horrible! ryan Petersen was sitting next to me and we both had our heads hanging down. I was trying to zone out and then mom nudged me and said we could leave. I leaned over and told Ryan that we were leaving and I hoped with all of my heart taht he would come with us. He did, and I felt so relieved. When we got outside, I turned around and saw that about 10 other people had come, too. I felt happy about that, but my heart still hurt that I hadn't left the first time I felt prompted.

That night, I asked ryan and Kyle if they wanted to have bedtime prayer. Kenzie, Teasha, Kyle, Ryan, and I all knelt down around a bed and said a prayer. I am soooo excited to be here! I kind of mentally prepared for this like a mission. Saying good bye to everyone was really hard. I kind of had an anxiety attack, haha, I guess it is better to have thsoe now, than when the real time comes. This is my first time away from home for so long! I am so grateful to be here and I am really happy my mom was able to come as well. I'm sure that this will change my life forever and I will learn so much! Woohoo! =)
London, England Day 2

Today was AWESOME!!!! We had time to cruise London and see a lot of cool things. We went to "The Tower of London", which is an old palace. We climbed up a few towers, saw a bunch of displays of swords and guns, and we saw all of the crown jewels. It was so neat! We started buying souvenirs today. I got a sweatshirt and key ring, and mom got some things for our family. She is also going to collect spoons on this trip.

While walking around ,we saw BIG BEN and that was cool! It is a huge clock up on a tower. I really liked it. All of the people were really nice, too! I LOVE their British accents. Our tour guide's name is Adam. The Idaho group is about 23 people, and the Tennessee group has a bout 4 people-1 student, 1 graduate, and 2 adults.

Things are still a little scary right now because we, Americans, have no idea where we are. London is a pretty big city and we grew up in Driggs, Idaho (not too big of a town). We are constantly reminded to be on our guard and to hold onto our possesssions.

We had a few interesting experiences on the Tube today! During lunch and right when everyone gets done with owrk, things get pretty crazy. There are tons of people hustling on and off. The doors stay open for about 1 minute or less, then a beeping goes off for 3 seconds, and the automatic doors slam shut. When I say slam, I mean SLAM shut! So today, we were scurrying through the crowd, all trying to load up on the Tube. All of the people coming out got out slowly, only leavign about 20 seconds for TONS of people to load. The majority of our group got on, but Broc Urban and Teasha Tolbert and our guide, Adam, were stuck behind a big crowd. Time was running out, so Teasha and Broc took off for another door to get in. All of the sudden, Teasha's flip flop fell off and she stopped running to reach down and grab it. Adam had gotten on and was watching anxiously out the door, ready to jump out if they didn't make it on. Suddenly, the beeping of the doors started. Broc's face looked petrified, as he realized they might get lelft behind and didn't know where we were going. He grabbed Teasha's hand, put his hands on her back, and literally shoved her through the air while he sprinted. They jumped into the Tube and with not a split second to spare, the doors slammed shut. All of us were laughing because it was quite the thing to observe. I think Broc's face was the funniest of all because he realized what missing the ride meant, Teasha didn't look like she had a clue. She was just worried about her shoe. =)

I had a weird experience tonight...It was rush hour traffic and we were on our way to dinner. Our group was filing onto the Tube with TONS of other people. I was in the back of the line, and when the seconds were ticking down, people cram into that thing like sardines. Suddenly, I was getting shoved in with a group of big, big, scary looking black guys. I thought to myself, "Ok, Heather. It is all ok!!! They can't do anything to you! This is a public place and your group is...somewhere in this sardine can. Just tough it out. It is ok!" I could feel their eyes shifting down at me and staring. I felt so awkward and uncomfortable, but I kept telling myself that nothing could happen to me. All of the sudden, I hear Adam's voice yelling with a sharp tone, "Heather!!! Heather!!!" My heart jumped. The urgency in his voice made me worry. What was going on? I thought I was okay, but I didn't have a good feeling either. His voice went off again, but this time I could see his face several feet away. "HEATHER! Get over here! RIGHT NOW!" The tube suddenly flew around a corner and I saw everyone's bodies get thrust to the other side of the tube. NOT ME! I was so stuffed in between those guys that I didn't move an inch.

Suddenly, Adam's voice was right next to me and I felt a hand grab me from outside of the little huddle. I got yanked out. Mr. Davis had a hold of me, and Adam rushed over. "Heather! Are you alright?!" I said I was. Adam asked, "Did they touch you?!" Good grief, well, if full body contact on ALL sides of my body counts, then YES, they touched me! I just replied, "I'm ok. Thank you for getting me out of there."

Yuck, the entire rest of the ride, the black guys stared at me and Iwas SOOO happy to be out of there! What an experience! I wonder if something was going on that I didn't know about because Adam's voice was so urgent. I wonder if he heard some of the men whispering or something. I knew that nothing had been stolen because I was clasping my purse with a death grip. Who knows! =) It was a good learning experience.

That night, I was playing games with Kenzie, Teasha, Ryan, and Kyle in the guy's room. At about 2 am, AJ walks into the room, swaying like a tree in the wind. "You guys better not tell anyone how late I was out! I am NOT drunk!" he proclaimed. His eyes rolled back and he leaned up against the wall. Haha, we all looked at each other and burst into laughter. He walked over to Kenzie and slapped her bum! She turned, gave him a dirty look, and asked what he had been doing. I asked Ryan to "escort" us back to our room, and we left.

One thing that I found interesting in London was that the Queen was a big thing, all over town. But hey, I guess she IS the Queen! =) Her face is on the money and she looks very pretty! We had the opportunity to watch the guards change shifts. At about 11:00 am, all of the guards lined up and a new group walked in to take over. All of this was on horse back. SO COOL!!! =) It was like a parade, and it happens every day. We got to walk right by Buckingham Palace. WOW! It was a great day!

On our way to FRANCE!...our 3rd night in Europe, we are riding in a train. Overnight, to Paris, France!!! We loaded up all of our luggage onto the train and then loaded ourselves in. I am going to TRY and paint a picture of how this all looked.

Imagine a tiny room, about 12X6 feet. Maybe. The two benches became the 2 bottom bunks. Then out of the wall, unfolded 4 other beds. So there were 3 beds on both sides of the "room" all stacked up on top of each other. 6 beds total in this TINY room. The beds were pretty much slabs hanging off of the wall, barely big enough for a body and the bed above you is about 2 feet above your head. A little claustrophobic!!! =) I was on the bottom bunk, and I managed. At first, I had to take a deep breath.