Europe to China

Well our 6 weeks in Europe have already passed.  We were able to visit Prague, Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris, Zermatt, Switzerland and a few small places in Germany and Austria.  I think Brian and I agree that our road trip through the Swiss Alps up to the Matterhorn was our favorite.  It is so beautiful there, we hope we can make a trip back some day.  Thanks to Angie and Tawni we had an awesome CD to listen to.  Brian especially loved listening to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” over and over.  Actually after driving on the Autobahn I’m not sure Brian can handle going back to a regular freeway.  I think we averaged about 100 topping out at 120.
Brian says we are on a Disney tour because along with the Matterhorn we saw the Neuschwanstein castle that Disney mimicked for Sleeping Beauty in Germany.  (We took lots of pictures for Aurora.)  We went to Florence where Pinocchio was written.  We saw the Hunchback at Notre Dame. J And up next is the Great wall of China, from Mulan. 
Europe was great.  There are a few things that will not be missed such as not being able to walk 20 yards without someone blowing smoke in your face and the excess of naked women they call art, or the regular smell or B.O. when walking by groups of people. Other than that though we had such a great time and I felt like I knew how to travel anywhere, I even felt comfortable going out by myself and finding my way around.  I knew that China would be different, but I don’t think I was prepared for how different!
We have only been here 3 days so I’m sure I will get used to being here, but it is nothing like Europe and definitely not the U.S.  First off you can’t drink the water here, which is fine we have been drinking a lot of bottled water this whole trip.  (Restaurants in Europe won’t serve you tap water even though it is safe to drink.)  That’s not the worst of it though, babies are a lot more likely to get sick from the water anyway so we can’t bathe Ella in it, we have to buy water for her baths.  Luckily for us 1 liter is only 1 RMB which = about 15 cents.  We got a little tub at the store for free though.
 The closest/best place to shop is quite the adventure and the 30 kinds of dead fish just laying on the ice in the center of the store is only part of it.  Even though I have run into very few people that speak English they are all so nice and they love Ella.  Everyone one wants to get a picture of her, there hasn’t been a day yet that someone hasn’t asked to take a picture of her.  However, she is always trying to figure out what is going on and never ends up smiling for the pictures.
The adventures continue and we are loving every minute of it, our only goals for China besides exploring are to survive the heat and avoid getting sick!

P.S.  Ella is crawling all over the place!  And has 4 teeth, and I think 2 more are about to pop through.

When in Rome...

This past week we got to spend a few days in Italy, it is so fun to see the world with Brian and Ella.  We started off in Rome touring all over the city, there was so much to see.  I think we hit all the high points, Vatican City, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Fountain of Trevi, etc. Each city in Europe seems to have so much history.  Ella was such a trooper getting pushed all over in the stroller or carried in her pack.  After Rome we stopped in Florence for a day and then we were on our way to Venice before flying back to Prauge.  Venice is like no place I have ever seen.  I highly recommend each place, it was such a fun experience and Italians are so friendly.  It's crazy to think we only have a couple of weeks left in Prauge.

FYI-Things they charge you for in Europe:
The Bathroom
Grocery Carts
Grocery Bags
To Go boxes (including pizza boxes)
The Bread they bring you before your meal

A few photos

WE MADE IT!

Alright here goes my first post....
After packing and heading to the airport we realized it was going to be a nightmare traveling with enough luggage for 3 months, especially since Ella had about as much as Brian and I combined.  We flew from Arizona to Chicago (3 hrs.), Chicago to London (8 hrs.) and London to Prauge (2 hrs.).  Luckily for us Ella slept on every flight almost the whole time.  
Once in Prauge we were told we could take the train and get to our hotel/school, we quickly decided with a stroller, 4 roller suitcases and 3 bags it would be worth it to take a taxi.  2 hours and $1700 ck (about $100 USD) later we made it.  We are actually in Celakovice, it a small little country town I think about 20 miles outside of Prauge.  Really 31 km, I am still getting used to everything being in the metric system and not being able to communicate with anyone.
So our first trip to the grocery store was better than expected besides the fact that you have to pay for a shopping cart, luckily we took the stroller.  There aren't a lot of choices and I've decided food storage must be nonexistent here.  There is only one line that takes a credit card and if you want bags to carry home your items you have to bring them yourself.  Once again glad we had the stroller, and luckily it's a short walk.  
Overall everything is going great besides the fact that we are still adjusting to the time change.