The day after Christmas

The day after Christmas we went to Pompeii and Sorrento. Our first stop was Pompeii. It is a really neat ruin that sits at the bottom of Mt. Vesuvius. Around 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius erupted and now more than 1900 years later there is still much of the city that remains buried. One of the most amazing things was how some of the people who did not escape before the ash and debris settled were preserved. Some are covering their noses and others are laying on their stomachs to escape the ash. Enough on the background, some pics are below..... The day was really windy and cold! Burr!

The original cobblestone streets.

And on to Sorrento we went. We drove along the coast with awesome views! Sorrento is beautiful. The town is very clean and is a tourist spot during the spring and summer months. We stopped along the way to take a pic.

Downtown on the water

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day in Rome. We went to the Papal Blessing in the morning and a tour of the city in the afternoon. Rome is a beautiful city!

Look at all the people!

Coliseum

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

Christmas Eve

After we left Pisa, we went to Rome. What a beautiful city! There is so much to see and do. We definitely didn't have enough time to see everything we wanted. Christmas Eve dinner was at an Italian (bet you couldn't have guessed that one) Restaurant. The food and wine were great! We were serenaded at dinner by 2 opera singers and piano music. After dinner we headed over to St. Peter's Square for Mid-Night Mass. Words cannot describe how awesome St. Peter's Square & the Basilica are. Pictures don't even get close to doing it justice.

Brian and I in St. Peter's Square

The Nativity Scene. This picture doesn't show beautiful it really is.

The 2 opera singers from dinner. The guy was singing right in my ear. Yep, my ear drums were ringing after wards. They both had beautiful voices.

The Basilica

Our Christmas

Brian and I went to Italy for Christmas! The trip was awesome! We visited Pisa, Florence, Rome, Sorrento &Pompeii. I think we need a vacation from our vacation! We definitely missed our family and friends during the holiday season. It just wasn't the same! View of the Swiss Alps on the way there.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Our first stop was at The Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was a very foggy morning, as you can see from the pics.

And...We're off!

to Rome! We are so excited and thankful that we get to spend Christmas in Rome! As Christmas is getting closer, we miss family and friends more & more! We love and miss you all! We wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt

Brian and I went with some friends to the Christmas Market in downtown Stuttgart on Monday night. It was really cold, so we drank some Glühwein. Glühwein is usually prepared from red wine, heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, cloves, citrus and sugar. It's a Christmas tradition in Germany. It's pretty good and makes you feel a lot warmer :)

Esslingen Christmas Market

Today was my Christmas Party for work. We went to an awesome restaurant in Esslingen. After lunch we went to the Esslingen Christmas Market. There were so many neat authentic things here, I don't know where to begin. The market had a medieval section where you could throw a bow and arrow & ax's. Yes, you get to throw an ax at a target with crowds watching at a minimal distance! So if you miss, not good. I had a great time!

Chillin' at the entrance...

This is an incense holder. The smoke comes out of the computer.

: Yes, they have mimes here too! I caught him on break :)

The Ferris Wheel. Yep, no motor.

Snow!

It has been snowing since yesterday morning. It is really beautiful down our street. I took the train to work and brought the camera along. The weather is predicting 4-6" by Friday. That would be great! We love snow!!!

The Big Move

Sunday was our first night at the apartment. We spent the afternoon cleaning, went grocery shopping and did some much needed laundry. Dinner was none the less Pizza! We slept on the camping air mattress. We expected the movers between 11 & 1, so at 10:45 we were wondering if they were going to be on time. Brian looked at his watch and we realized that it was an hour too early. I set the alarm clock an hour earlier than I should have! So, we took a nap. The movers showed up at 11 sharp. Brian stood outside in the cold for 3 hours while I watched the door to the apartment. The move went well, EXCEPT when the mattress was coming in they drug it across the floor!!! I saw it happen and looked at the floor right away. So, I told the crew that they scratched the floor and showed them. They looked at me like I was crazy! They kept telling me no, no, no. I said "new floor", no scratches. Then they said yah, shook their heads, and looked at the swiviling trail from the front door to the bedroom as I showed them. They knew they made a big boo boo once they got down and felt it. After all furniture and boxes were in the apartment, the "lead" of the move came to take a look at the floor. He told us that a mattress would not have done this. Well it did!!! I watched it happen. When he finally realized that the floor was new, the floor in the rest of the apartment had no scratches, dents etc., we started the damage claim paperwork. He turned to the crew, exchanged a couple of words in a not so nice tone and the crew left. We told our landlord and he was to say the least, not very happy. I wonder why?? Well on the bright side, nothing (that we have unpacked so far) was broken.

Yeah!

It was was wonderful to sleep in our bed last night!

Now on to Christmas decorating!

Below are pics of our place without furniture.

The LAST night in the hotel, after 2 months

Our last night in the hotel was Saturday! We packed up all of our stuff on Sunday morning and headed to the apartment. All of our junk filled the Jetta to the brim. Thank goodness we didn't have much more or we would have to make 2 trips to the apartment. We decided to take a picture of the room before we left. It looks a lot bigger in the picture than it actually was. The picture was taken from standing outside the bathroom door. Yep, you guessed it very small.

The Hair Cut

I have had many questions about the hair cut. There wasn't actually a drastic change. Long and short of it, I got my hair trimmed about 3 inches. I was scared that it would be short to my shoulders or something.

Trip to the German Hairdresser

Today I went on my first adventure to a German hair stylist. A lady I work with gets her hair done at Hair & More and she called to make an appointment for me. I will admit I was telling her that I might just want to get a cut and wait on the color. I was thinking of every possible scenario of hair gone bad! So I decided to go through with it. My appointment was at 5:45. I arrived at the mall around 5. There was NO parking anywhere! After I found a spot, off I went. I arrived at the salon and was greeted with a smile. I was seated and offered some drinks. Nicole, the hair dresser, came to speak with me about my hair. She told me that her English isn't the best. She spoke excellent English! I did the best I could to speak in German. So, she colored and cut my hair. Right after she rinsed the hair out I told her the color looked great, and it did. I figured if this was the part to get right it was the cut. All went well. I will be going back to see her.

Recent Times

Just wanted to give everyone an update....Jessica started her new job on Monday and likes it. Brian is doing well at work. We are enjoying Germany!!! More to come soon....We move into the apartment on Saturday! We can't wait!!!