Salzburg, Venice and the Swiss Alps!

Well, it's been a long time since we've had internet and we've done so much! After Prague we went to Salzburg. We all wished we could've stayed there two nights. The fellow in Prague that told us there wasn't much to see must've been a big city person! It was beautiful, so we packed in as much as we could in the short time we had. We arrived about 12:30 and as soon as we checked into our hotel we booked the Sound of Music tour which started at 2pm. We were able to see all the sites where they filmed the movie in and around Salzburg. The great part was we got out to see the lakes and alps as well. We were all singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music...lalalala" (we still are!!) When we got back we wandered into the old town along the river and boy did I ever wish we were there when the shops were open!! It was a fantastic shopping town. Alot of unique stores, not the same kind you get everywhere. Oh well, probably just as well as Interlaken, Switzerland is crazy expensive!!

Our next stop after Salzburg was Venice. We spent four nights in a great apartment where we could really feel at home (and do laundry!) We even had a rooftop terrace. We had a stressful time getting there tho! When we crossed into Italy, we hit our first real toll booth. It spit out a ticket and we took it...without giving any money. We were confused, but the gate opened, so we drove through it. All was great for the next several hours, until we came to the toll booth outside Venice. It would only speak to us in robot Italian, the signage was all in Italian and no matter what card we popped into the slot, nothing was working, the gate wasn't opening and we had cars behind us...everyone had to back out and we all had to go to a different booth. Of course, we figured the booth we were at just wasn't working, but alas, it was us that had no idea what to do. I finally got out of the car and went to a car that was at the toll and watched what they did and asked a few questions. Luckily, one of the Italian fellows spoke a bit of english and told us what we had to do...remember that ticket that popped out of the first toll booth at the beginning? Turns out we had to put that ticket in first, THEN it will take your credit card or cash for however much you owe. Needless to say, when we arrived at the parking area in Venice we were a bit frazzled. We then had to walk with all our bags into the maze of cobbled pathways and somehow try to find our apartment (in 40+ degree heat!) It took awhile and when we did we were all soaking wet because it was so hot outside. A cold shower was the first order of business. Once we recovered sufficiently we did the first thing recommended by a travel writer for Venice: #1 thing to do: "get lost in Venice". We spent the next five days "getting lost". Can't stress about it because there really is no other way to see Venice than just get out there and explore and see what you come across. Every evening and morning we would awake and fall asleep to the bells tolling on the hour and half hour. We had a market in our square where there was fresh fish, vegetables, fruit and flowers sold in the mornings. The Saturday evening was a huge festival and there was a firework show that lasted over 30 minutes and we were able to watch it from our rooftop terrace! We had the perfect seats and got to avoid the huge crowds. Later on that evening in the middle of the night we were treated to an amazing thunder and lightning show. The heavens opened up and it POURED rain for a few hours. By 8am the next morning, that was a memory and the sun was shining again (but a wee bit cooler, thank goodness!) We ventured out to Lido island which has the sandy beach and huge surf and body surfed in the sea all afternoon.

Now, after Venice we are in Interlaken, Switzerland. Had an amazing day "canyoning" in the Grimsel canyon. Basically you are rapelling down 150 foot rock cliffs, jumping off waterfalls and sliding down natural waterslides in the canyon, ziplining through rock tunnels and ya...your basic full on adrenalin rush. We were supposed to go paragliding later this evening, but a huge thunder and lightning storm hit here at dinner, so we're hoping to go tomorrow morning at 9am before more thunder hits in the afternoon. Our fingers are crossed because it looks like so much fun. Paragliding over the alps...oohh yes. Hopefully! Well, it is late and everyone is snoring beside me, so I better get to bed. So much more to share and I wish I was better at posting pictures on here, but I just run out of time in the day to do all the internet stuff too! Just over a week to go on our adventure. Paris is our next and last stop. Tour de France anyone? Go Ryder Go! :)