Sweden

There is an excitement in the air right now because the Princess of Sweden, Princess Victoria is getting married this weekend. Sweden is part of Scandanavia but like each Scandanavian country, it has its own government. They have a Prime Minister as well as a cabinet of ministers that rule the country but they also have a Royal Family. They have a King, Queen, a Prince, and 2 Princesses. This family has no political power (they will even get in trouble if they express any opinions!) but they still have a palace,



guards, crowns, and pretty clothes! Sweden is such a beautiful country complete with windmills, old buildings, and views of the Baltic Sea (which is very cold!) We got to ride a train through Sweden and see the countryside as well as take a boat in Stockholm (Sweden's capital) to see the city by sea!

The Little Mermaid

The author of the original Little Mermaid book is Hans Christian Andersen. Hans was from right here in Copenhagen and this is where he wrote his famous fairy tales. Because of this, a statue of the Little Mermaid was commissioned to be built in 1913. Since then, the Little Mermaid has sat on her rock and people come from all over the world to see her. Including me. I have loved the Little Mermaid since I saw the Disney movie in 1989. The whole reason that we came to Copenhagen was to see her statue. I even brought my Little Mermaid shirt on the trip with me and have not worn it this whole time so that I could wear it for the first time with the statue. Unfortunately, on our train ride from the airport, I learned that the Little Mermaid was on vacation in China. I was not happy. In her place is a screen with live footage of her in China. I was pretty disappointed the whole day...until...we got to the place where she used to sit. Shawn then had a brilliant idea. He suggested that I wade out in the water and sit on her rock. So, I actually got to be the Little Mermaid. Not too many people can say that, especially since this is the first time she has ever been moved! So even though I have not actually seen the Little Mermaid statue (just live footage from China), I am still happy!

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark. Denmark is a country that attaches to Germany. It is a penninsula. Copenhagen is an island (so it is not attached to mainland Denmark) in the Baltic Sea. Denmark is also known as Viking Country since the Vikings settled here over 1000 years ago. Now Denmark is ruled by a prince and it is one of the oldest kingdoms in the world (its first king ruled in the 10th century!) People in Denmark are called Danish people and they speak Danish...but they also all speak English! Everyone here rides bikes as well so Shawn and I spent our day riding bikes through the town to see the palace where the royal family lives, the old castle where past kings and queens live, the harbor, old churches, and colorful houses.

Monte Carlo

While we were in Southern France, we got to drive over to Monte Carlo, Monaco. Monaco is a separate country from France, but it is very small. The prince of Monaco, Prince Albert, works alongside the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy when making laws for Monaco. Monte Carlo is the most famous town in Monaco because of its Formula One Grand Prix car race that is held there every year and because of its casino that is featured in James Bond movies. The famous explorer Jacques Cousteau's museum and aquarium is also in Monte Carlo and it is a big building built into the side of the mountain. Shawn was mostly excited to be able to go to Monte Carlo though to see all of the fast cars and boats!

French Riviera

We made it to the French Riviera...or the Cote d'Azur as they say here! After El Gato, my home, and my parents' houses, this is my favorite spot on earth. We are in the French Alps looking at the Mediterranean Sea with its super clear blue-green water. How can you not love this place! Thanks to a Christmas present from Dad and Tina, we are staying in a Chateau (castle) with views of everything! We are in the region of Provence with its lavender fields (you would love it, Mom!) and its tasty cuisine. We have been able to swim in the ocean as well as explore all of the little towns along the mer (sea). The town that we are staying in dates back to the Medieval times and you can see castles and buildings that once housed knights and fair ladies! We are also at the opening of one of the old Roman Roads...where the expression, "All roads lead to Rome" came from. This road was used my merchants and people to travel to Rome, Italy during the height of the Roman Empire! This is also the place where Henri Matisse, the artist, came to play. There is a chapel here in Vence that he designed!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Whoever said that traveling by trains through Eurpoe was easy is wrong. We decided that since we wanted to get from Milan, Italy to Vence, France (which is not a very far distance) we would try out these trains. First we took a metro with all of our stuff to the train station. Then we boarded a train to Vence. What they didn't tell us is that first, we would have to get off and switch trains in Ventimiglia. So, off we got with all of our stuff and climbed up and down stairs until we found our new platform. We got on this train which did not go to Nice, but to Monte Carlo...the Nice one was canceled. There, we had to get off and go up and down more stairs to get a train to Nice. There were no seats available on this train so we stood. There we had to get off and get a new ticket to Cagnes Sur Mer. There we learned that there were no trains to Vence so we would have to take a bus. Fortunatley we could not figure out the bus chart (we learned later that if we would have gotten on the bus they told us to, we would have gone back to Nice) so we took a cab to our hotel. Wow. When researching a train to our next stop, Copenhagen, we learned that it would take 30 hours and 10 different trains. We will be taking a 2 hour flight!

Unpoop!

Yay! I love the flip. I figured out how to put the "movies" on the blog...the flip software does all the work for you! So, even though I am not back in Greece (boo), I thought you might like to see the video about ancient Greece now that I know how to put it on the blog. Yay for the Flip!