Ciao Milano!

We made it to Milan on Friday afternoon. Sunny and about 70 degrees! As soon as we landed at the airport Scott realized he needed a cool fidore and gold rimmed sunglasses at all times to feel Italian. We found our hostel and then went out to see the city. A place we had read about was Il Duomo, the oldest gothic cathedral in Milan, so we set out to find it.  On the way we walked through a park called Giardini Indro Montanelli, saw La Scala (supposed to be the most famous opera house in the world), and walked through the high-end shopping area called Quadrilatero D'oro since Milan is best known for its fashion. We finally made it to this amazing cathedral (see pic) and forgot that you had to wear long pants so we could not go inside (we did go back on Saturday waering long pants and it was quite beautiful - see other pic).

After all that we were heading out to another neighborhood but when we walked past a mob of people at a Dolce and Gabbana store we decided to stop. There were security personnel lined up around the store directing people to keep walking by and they would not allow people in the store.  We decided to stand across from the store on the sidewalk and wait for whatever it was that was supposed to happen.  Brooke wanted to leave, but Scott could not possibly miss an opportunity to see a model! Haha. After seeing 2 weirdos try to run into the store (see pic) and a mob of animal protesters show up, the music started which let us know something was about to happen. To George Michael's 'Freedom' we watched a stream of limos and fancy cars pull up. I could not believe it when Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova all stepped out and also male models Noah Mills and Tyson. Actually, we could not really tell which models they were so we looked it up online today. Anyway, after pictures were taken of the models they opened the doors for spectators to enter the store so we joined. Everyone was running around the store trying to find a place to stand where they could view the models ... it was quite entertaining for us to watch. On Saturday we explored more of the neighborhoods and sites. Tomorrow we are leaving early on a train for Munich ... we're very excited about Oktoberfest! Should be a blast. Ciao for now!

Weirdos trying to get in the store got dragged out by security.

Naomi, Claudia, and Eva getting out of the limo (not a great picture of the backs of their heads, but its them!)

Farewell to the Emerald Isle...Hola Espana!!!

We're back!  Scott and I didn't intend to go over a week without an update, but sometimes internet access in the hostels and hotels we've been staying at just hasn't worked out.  We are now in Spain, actually off the coast on an island called Ibiza.  We left Ireland on Friday (9/18) after going from Dingle to Galway and back to Dublin to fly to Barcelona.  On our way to Galway, we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher, which is one of the biggest tourist attactions in Ireland.  Once again, very beautiful views!  I would now like to introduce a special guest we have along with us, Flat Stanley.  (See picture of Flat Stanley at the Cliffs of Moher).  My niece, Lily, asked if we would take along Flat Stanley as part of her school project - very nice coloring job by the way!  Flat Stanley really enjoyed his time spent at the cliffs.  The day before we left Ireland, we went north and drove through the Connemara Mountains.  In the evening we caught a futbol game at the King's Head pub...don't worry, Flat Stanley didn't have any beer!  We very much enjoyed Ireland and were fortunate to only have 2 days of rain/clouds, every other day was sunny and beautiful. 

We arrived in Barcelona around 11:30 pm and found our way to our hostel...not exactly easy but we managed.  Wow!  This city is alive!  Scott has already been here before and wanted to show me just how awesome it is.  We walked through the streets on our way to the hostel and came across concerts in the park, street performers, more concerts, and heard people speaking in all different languages.  It took us an hour to find the hostel, but the walk around town was well worth it.  After we dropped off our bags, we wanted to grab a bite to eat (tapas) and see more of the city since we were only going to be here for 2 days.  We found ourselves in a restaurant owned by a Peruvian man, Omar, and sat and chatted with him and the other workers one who was also Peruvian and another Colombian.  There was another patron, Jose, who lives in Los Angeles and he helped translate for us.    What a time we had sharing stories and they even fixed us Sushi rolls and dessert all on the house!  By the end of our time there, Omar had declared to us that  mi casa es su casa!  On Saturday we went out to explore the city more and see some sites.  Scott wanted to show me a church that he had previously visited called the Cathedral de la Sacrada Familia.  This church is huge and one of the biggest tourist attractions in Barcelona.  What is also unique about this church is that construction was started in 1882 and the church is still being worked on.  It is expected to be completed in 2025!

We walked around Barcelona for most of the day.  One thing we're really impressed with is all the great architecture and how ornate all the buildings are.  We walked through parks and little neighborhoods having festivals and concerts.  We even found a friend for Julie and Jeremy's English Bulldog, Gus! (see picture below) 

We left Barcelona on Sunday and arrived in Ibiza on Monday. We are staying in a town called Es Canar.  We arrived hoping for some time lounging in the sun on the beach, but unfortunately it has rained since we got here. :(  We are here until Friday, so we are crossing our fingers that tomorrow will be sunny.  The good thing is that the rain has allowed us to plan out some more of our trip.  We think the next few weeks will look something like this, though it is very subject to change:

- Leave Ibiza on Friday (9/25) and fly to Milan 

- Milan 9/25 - 9/27  (just in time for the kick-off of fashion week, yay)

- Munich 9/27 - 9/30 (Oktoberfest)

- Salzburg 9/30 - 10/4

- Budapest 10/4 - 10/7

- Prague 10/7 - 10/11

Things we've learned:

- So far, at the restaurants we've eaten at have served salad with all the meals as a side

- Most public bathrooms don't have paper towels for drying your hands, only hand dryers

- Planning out our travel too far in advance is not worth it so now we're going to try and be more flexible

- There are a lot more 'old people' in Ibiza than expected (its known to be a party island)

- Skype is a wonderful way to communicate with people back home (set up an account and we'll call!)

American Wedding Crashers in Ireland!

Amazing scenery!  That's the best way to describe the past 3 days.  Scott and I will try to summarize as best we can without every little detail.  Saturday morning we drove from Waterford to our next destination, Cork, and had lunch in a park in the middle of the city.  Outside of Cork is Blarney so we went to the Blarney Castle and yes, we kissed the Blarney Stone!  It is supposed to mean we have eloquence now but we don't really like that.  Instead we prefer to have good luck, so in our minds we now have good luck!  The area surrounding the castle was absolutely beautiful and walking around was very tranquil. 

That evening we went to dinner and when we came back to our hotel bar, we started talking to 2 Irish guys.  We found out that one of the guys, Jason, has a brother that lives in Quincy, MA (outside of Boston) so we instantaneously became friends!  Jason also happened to be at the hotel because his cousin had gotten married that day and he was there for the reception.  This is when we became American wedding crashers in Ireland!  Indeed we went to the reception, dressed in our finest North Face clothing nonetheless!  We met our new friend Jason's parents, had some Guinness, and came very close to getting out on the dance but realized how blatantly out of place we looked, so we didn't.  Before too long, Jason wondered off and Scott and I were sitting by ourselves.  Scott felt compelled to tell a stranger why we were there.  I started thinking this was all a big scheme somehow and was convinced they were robbing our hotel room (yes, I'm paranoid about getting robbed!)  We left after an hour or so and found our belongings perfectly safe in the room.  One thing we did learn from all this was that Irish wedding-goers also like to 'Do the Twist' as much as we do!

On Sunday we went on a drive south to Kinsale, which is near the coast.  We had lunch by the marina, walked around the little town, and visited Dresmond Castle (thanks for the rec Aunt Debbie).  Then we decided to drive toward the coast.  We had no idea what was there but when we arrived at an area called the Old Head of Kinsale we were shocked to find one of the most amazing golf couses that we've ever heard of, let alone seen.  Surrounding this golf couse were 300 ft. shear cliffs on every side as well as the narrow strip leading up to the course which jutted out into the Atlantic.  Brooke was amazed at how green it was!

Today we headed towards our next town, Dingle, on the Dingle Peninsula.  On the way, we stopped in Killarney for lunch and then went to Killarney National Park.  We hiked a small mountain and took in the great views.  Now we are in Dingle, which also rests on the coast.  We drove out to watch the sunset at the end of the peninsula where there are islands off the coast.  Wow!  I must say this area is absolutely breathtaking.  I can't wait to explore more tomorrow! 

Things that we've learned:

- They say that kissing the Blarney stone makes you eloquent.  (We politely informed them that they are incorrect.  It gives you good luck)

 - Bjork is "crazier than a box of frogs"

 - Kinsale is host to more ice cream cone eaters in one place than we've ever seen in our entire lives. (My oh my there were a ton of people eating ice cream cones - including Scott!)

- Restaurants close by 9:30 here (note - bars stay open much later)

- Irish wedding receptions include all the same boogying music as ours do.

Sidenote: As we've been writing this thing it has come to our attention that beautiful, breathtaking and like adjectives are almost too easy to use.  So easy that it almost takes away from how amazing some of the beautiful and breathtaking things are.  So if you're reading this you'll just have to keep this in mind.     

 Sunset off the coast of the Dingle Peninsula

Dublin to Waterford

Brooke and I arrived in Dublin at 7am on Thursday.  We picked up our rental car and drove into the city to the Temple Bar neighborhood where our hostel was.  This all took about 4 1/2 hours!  We probably could have walked from the airport faster than driving.  This merited a beer...or 12.  Naturally, Guinness was our beer of choice.  They were so happy to see us that they gave them to us for free.  Next, we grabbed lunch and headed over to the Guinness brewery.  The top of the brewery overlooked Dublin so we got to see great views of the city.  In the evening we went to the bar that was connected to our hostel to listen to traditional irish music.  It was fantastic!

Today we headed south from Dublin to Kilkenny.  We stopped to see the Kilkenny Castle and walk around the town.  I think Brooke commented on how beautiful and green Ireland is at least 15 times.  Now we are in Waterford for the night.  Our agenda for the rest of our time in Dublin is as follows:

9/12-9/14 - Cork/Kinsale

9/14-9/16 - Killarney/Kerry/Dingle

9/16-9/18- Galway

9/18 - Back to Dublin and fly to Barcelona

Things we've learned so far:

 - Guinness is 250 years old

 - Driving on the opposite side of the road isn't as difficult as I thought it would be

 - Ireland is very green

 - The lease on the Guinness brewery only costs 45 pounds and it is good for the next 8,750 years

 - Irish folks like Elvis and Johnny Cash 

Brooke would like to send out birthday wishes to her niece, Ivy, who turned 7 years old today.  (Kool Aid Man sends birthday wishes, too.)

How It All Began...

Welcome to our travel blog!  It's been a long time coming, but its finally here...yes, we're finally leaving the good ole USA today!!!  It's kinda crazy to think back to how this whole traveling around the world thing started.  Scott thought that he was going to be laid off from his job and with the finance market being so grim decided that traveling for a while would be the better option.  Somehow he got me on board with this lavish idea, so I quit my job and we started planning our trip.  We were supposed to leave 2 months ago but life dealt us some tough losses.  My father passed away at the beginning of August after battling lung cancer.  I was so fortunate to have been able to spend his last few weeks with him and to have been there with my family.  I know he's in a better place now which has helped comfort me during this difficult time.  We started planning our trip again shortly after and were set to leave on August 30th.  Then we received the news that Scott's brother, Ryan, died tragically while vacationing in Hawaii.  Obviously, this loss is devastating for the Strawn family.  The services were held 2 weeks ago to celebrate Ryan's life.  It was amazing to see how many lives he touched.  Ryan was very excited for our trip and would have wanted us to continue on our journey abroad.  So that's we're doing.  We are begining our travele in Europe as the starting point for our trip around the world.  We plan to return to the US in mid-November for the holidays and will stay until sometime in January.  Our next continent will then be South America, then Australia and New Zealand, Asia, and Africa.  Our journey should end by June/July...or whenever the money runs out!  Let us know if you would like to join us along the way.  Company is welcome!

Right now we are sitting at Logan International Airport waiting for our flight to Dublin.  Will post again once we arrive in Ireland.  Wooohooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!