It's been awhile since our last post, we've been on island time. After the little island of Paros, we sailed to Mykonos. Our hotel was beautiful, on the other side of the island from the main town and on its own beach. We spent two days touring the town of Mykonos and relaxing on the beach. For our second day there, we rented quads (4-wheelers) with a couple of girls from our tour group to get around the island. It was amazing fun going around the narrow and windy roads and we were able to see lots of the countryside of the island. And no one got run over. We did, however, drive through an intense rain storm, pelting rain on a sunburn is very painful.
On Friday we sailed to Santorini! The most amazing part of this island is that all of the towns are up high on cliffs and they just perch up there along the rock face, making it so beautiful! Here we went on a day trip to the volcano, walking around the black lava rocked island . On that trip, they also took us to a hot spring that we swam through ocean water to get to. Not many people came from our tour group, they were scared of the cold water and of the jellyfish that we could see in the water. Although the cold ocean water made the hot springs more like warm springs, it was a very fun experience! To get back up the cliff face to the town from the ship port, there's a cable car or a donkey ride. To get the Santorini experience, we rode some stubborn donkeys up the hill, through smelly switchback paths. It was so much fun! The rest of our time in Santorini was spent shopping, on the black sand beach and exploring the town of Fira.
On Sunday afternoon, we took the 8 hour ferry ride back to Athens, where we are now. We were able to extend our stay in the hotel from our tour for 2 extra days, which was such a blessing! Now we're doing some final sightseeing here and getting the last of our shopping done. We fly out of the airport at 8am Wednesday morning, arriving in Edmonton at 1am Thursday morning. Feel free to organize a welcoming party (any volunteers?)
It's been an amazing trip and we've felt all of your love and prayers surrounding us. We're so excited to see all of you, to share the experience with you, and to catch up with what's been going on back home!
Love you all so much!
Chelsea and Lindsay

Hello All!
The traveling times went much better than we had expected. The train to the Italian port was quick (relatively) and we were surprised to find out that the "ferry" we were taking to Greece was actually like a mini-cruise ship. There was a casino, a disco, restaurants, movies to rent, a sundeck, shopping, and lots of decks to walk on. All of the little attendants on the boat had bowties and smiled at us and were very nice. Some didn't speak English but what can you do? We arrived in Patras (the port in Greece) and caught a train to Athens! We passed through Corinth which was very exciting, although we spent about 5 minutes there and took about 4 steps on the actual ground while changing trains. But Paul probably took those same steps. We arrived in Athens and checked into our hotel, ready for the bliss that someone else's trip planning would bring. It's been so nice being lead around and not having to worry about little details. We've really been enjoying it.
The hotel was very nice, we had a room all to ourselves. Athens has some amazing things to see! We went to a lookout point the first night where we could see the whole Acropolis (where the Parthenon is). It was lit up and very beautiful!
The next day (Sunday) we had a short walking tour of the city and our tour guide took us on a walking tour. We then walked up to the Acropolis.
Now we're in Paros (a greek island) and it is beautiful! The sun is shining and we're ready to hit the beach! It's such a cute and quaint little island!
Got to go take care!

Rome!
We arrived in Rome on Tuesday evening (we had our own little room on the train, just like in Harry Potter). Though we thought we had reservations somewhere, it turns out we didnt. For the first time, we had to go from hostel to hostel looking for a place to stay (some people make this a regular practice in their travels). Luckily we found a place quickly.
Rome is great! Theres so much history here and its a very lively city. On our first day we saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum (old centre of the city during Roman times), the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and did some shopping. Today we spent the day at the Vatican City and had tea with the Pope. St. Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were both amazing (we could have spent hours looking at that famous ceiling). What we may miss most here is the food! The pizza is so great, we've also been eating lots of pasta, gelato and panini (which really is just the italian word for sandwich, as we discovered at McDonalds).
Tomorrow we head off early to take a train to Bari (Italian city on the coast), a ferry to Patras, and a train from Patras to Athens. It'll be a long day and a half of traveling, so keep us in your prayers for safety and lack of boredom.
The tour of the Greek islands starts on Saturday evening and we can't believe it's actually here!
Love you all lots!

After a second day in Florence (went to markets and saw more of the city) we headed to Venice on a morning train. Our hostel here is on a separate island from Venice, so we take ferries over to Venice. Our hostel is right on the water on the island of Guidecca (theres a canal between it and Venice) and weve seen several huge cruise ships pass by our window. We have a pass that allows us to travel between our island and also to all the surrounding islands. Weve found Venice to be very touristy, during the middle of the day the streets are packed. Theres many gondola boats all throughout the waterways always full with tourists. Sadly though, only a few of the gondola men wear the little hats. Our first day in Venice (Sunday) we went into St Marks Basilica (beautiful mosaic designs inside)and St Marks square, we went to a beach island (Lido, where we experienced an overdose of speedos), and we walked up the Venice Coastline. Today (monday) we went to a few islands around Venice. Morano is famous for its glass blowing factories, we visited one and saw the "maestros" at work. Borano, the other island we went to, has every house painted a different, vibrant colour and its famous for its lacework.
The time we have spent in Venice hasnt bee filled with too many sights (like the other cities), but we have found it to be a very relaxing time where we can just get into the culture here and leisurely see things. Our time in Venice is almost done, as tomorrow we head off to Rome! We are excited for all that there is to do and see there!
ps... Somehow we have found a room with free internet somewhere down the street from the hostel. We dont know what it is or why its here, but its free! (maybe sometimes its best to not ask questions!)
Love you all and missing you!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, we feel Gods protection and guidance in all that we do. We have now arrived safely in Florence, Italy, but first lets finish our journeys in Paris.
Last Monday, we went up the Eiffel Tower at dusk, so we saw Paris somewhat in the light, and were able to watch it become night. The city is completely different at night.
Tuesday was a good day of relaxing in Paris, its great to soak up the culture and just get to know a place. We walked up the Champs DElysees (We cant find the apostrophe on this Italian keyboard, But weve got these - òà磧°éè.) This famous street with big name expensive stores (Louis Viton) leads up to the Arc de Triomphe. Up on the top of this massive arc is a great view of the city with roads leading out from it in a star shape.
We met up with a connection in the city (friend of a friend, thanks Matt) and he took us to his favorite crepe spot in the city.
We walked around the area around the Notre Dam Cathedral which is so quaint. A French man we met recommended we do this and rumor has it that Johnny Depp has an apartment there. We bought picnic food and then went to eat on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower. And lets just say there were many people around us truly living out Paris as the city of love.
On the way back to the hostel we stopped at a busy market street of Monartre (the area of our hostel) and we visited the Sacre Coeur Basilica (which has a great view of the city and we can see this basilica from our hostel window).
Wednesday morning we caught a train to Milan and from Milan to Florence. We arrived at our hostel, which is in a 17th Century Villa. Its gorgeous with statues, high ceilings and huge windows that open into a courtyard.
Italy is beautiful. The italian accent is so much fun to listen to and lots of people here speak english since its such a tourist spot. When we cant communicate very well, it mostly makes for funny situations.
This morning we saw Michelangelos David and we spent the day on a bus tour of the city, hopping on and off as we wanted to see things. Florence has great buildings and beautiful villa filled landscape. The canal is surrounded by Gelato shops and restaurants and pizza, panini, and pasta abound! One of Florences unique attributes is the bridges that span the canal. One in particular is covered with jewelery shops, creating a unique looking bridge. Weve taken lots of pictures, but uploading them to this Blog has proven to be more trouble than its worth. We might put some up once we get home.
Tomorrow we hope to visit some outdoor markets and bike around the city.
We think of you all often and are excited to see you when we return!
Love and Prayers!

Allo!
We have arrived in Paris!
We caught an early train Sunday morning (through the chunnel, which was exciting at first until you realize its a dark tunnel...) and we arrived here in Paris at 2pm. Our welcome to the city was a torrential downpour as we tried to navigate the streets to find our hostel. We finally arrived here at Le Village Hostel. It's a very cute place, with a lounge and kitchen on the ground floor. There are also tons of Canadians staying here. Our room is on the terrace, so we walk outside to get to our room. From our balcony is a beautiful view of the Sacre Coeur Basilica. After getting to our hostel, we went to a nearby grocery store (fruit stands, cheese, wine - the typical french food) to get some dinner. We saw lots this first evening, including our very first view of the Eiffel Tower in lights! It was more beautiful than we ever imagined! We walked through the streets, saw the Latin Quarter (busy, full of life) and ate some crepes as we walked through the little streets. We traveled around with a girl, Dawn, that we met here in the hostel, she's from Vancouver. After the Eiffel Tower, we were heading back to the hostel when we met a couple on the Metro (the underground Subway here) that were headed to the Moulin Rouge. Since its in the blue light district and we might not have felt comfortable going by ourselves, we decided to go there with them. Let's just say it was an interesting area, but it was great to see the Moulin Rouge in person.
Today (Monday) we had a walking tour of the City, covering the Louvre, the Arc de triumph de carousel, the eiffel tower, Napoleon's tomb, and had lunch in a french cafe. We got to hear so much of the history of the city, mainly centering on the French Revolution.
There's also a fun street market down the street from our hostel with many storefronts and food vendors. It's a great area to stay and we're having a great time so far!
We miss you all and think of you often!

Hello All!
So much has happened since the last post! On Thursday, we traveled in a van tour through the Scottish highlands, with a crazy and exuberant guide named Michael. He told us many many stories and drove like a wildman through the countryside. We got to see so many beautiful sights, traveling all the way up to the Loch Ness (monsters??).
Friday was spent mostly on a bus traveling back to London, where we found our new hostel, located in Holland Park. It's a nice place with 12 bunks in a room, free breakfast and fun people.
Saturday we spent doing all things London. We got up early, and walked to the first stop on our "big bus company tour" (where we traveled around on a double decker tourbus with a hop on hop off pass for the whole day). We saw Westminster Abbey (and went in and looked around, it was absolutely stunning), Buckingham Palace (closed to visitors), Big Ben, Tower of London, London Bridge, the London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral. It was all absolutely amazing, and we loved every minute of it!
Tomorrow is off to Paris!