These pictures have been posted up here for about two weeks without any detail, so I thought I would finally post something. Brendan and I flew to Paris on Dec. 22 and were there until the 26. The weather was warm the first two days, so we were able to go all around the city and walk everywhere without being too cold. At night everything was lit up with Christmas lights, and there were lots of Christmas markets open. The last two days the weather was really cold, so we had to go in earlier in the evenings. We stayed in the Montmartre district in Paris. Many pennyless artists, including Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso lived there in late 19th/early 20th century.

On the 25th it was obviously Christmas, but also Brendan's 27th birthday. We decided to go out and celebrate by enjoying some French cuisine. We were actually really disappointed with our pricey meal that didn't taste very good and left us still hungry. We did enjoy all of the creperies that were on every street corner. The jambon et fromage (ham and cheese) was our favorite.



This is one of the little huts at a Christmas market. They had lots of breads to choose from.





The Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars . Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.


We saw the famous Mona Lisa in the Louvre and of course many other works of art.










Brendan and I went to the evening Christmas mass in the Notre Dame cathedral. We didn't stay for very long. They didn't really seem to mind that everyone just came in and walked around and took pictures during their service.

Basketball and Wet Knee

BYU Basketball is funny. Every time they play a team that is kind of good, they play at the Jazz Arena in Salt Lake City. They do have the longest running home win streak in the Marriot Center in Provo. Perhaps they do not want to take the chance of losing at home. I guess it keeps them on the map?
Well anyway, Dana and I had tickets so we went to cheer them on (Yes, I (Brendan) still cheer for BYU sports, and anyway Utah Basketball is SORRY!)

We ran into Whitney, who works up in Salt Lake. Whitney is actually serving as a missionary at Temple Square. Sister Hollingsworth is not square though, and her well rounded personality and love of the gospel is really helping her serve many people as a missionary. She is very happy and working hard!

Oh, Tannenbaum!

Well you see...

since you took the time to actually read this post and not just look at the pictures...
I will let you in on a little secret.
The tree that we cut down...
We really bought in town...
We drove it up into the canyon and took pictures, as if we actually cut it down!?!

Clever?

This Christmas Season!

Dana and I wish you all the best at this time!
May the Christmas Spirit fill your hearts and your homes!

m
erry
christm
as and a h
appy new y
ear

Don't be afraid of a Masquerade!

A little too old for tricking and treating,

we concluded upon a different meeting.
It was time to forget the goblins and ghouls
so we traded in Halloween this year for jewels.

A masquerade ball fit for a king
Was what we decided was the very best thing
Dana the princess with a long flowing gown
Was Prince Brendan's wish to the ball downtown

We drove through the ghetto of West Valley City
and all of the gangsters must of had pity
for we made it to the ball a' pimped out and cruising
without even having a drive by shooting

As we entered the palace or venue some may say
the party began and the music started to play
For the prince had arrived with his date by his side
to start this thing going with masks used to hide

We bombed out the evening taking the ball
Princess Dana did not even fall
We both took home best costume female and male
making this Halloween a true fairy tale.

The End

After our long summer trip, I was tired of blogging and had not posted anything since London, but London wasn't really our last stop. I have decided to finish blogging our final destinations. From London we flew to Calgary, Canada for Brendan's family reunion. We drove down to Mountain View with his cousins. The reunion was 4 days long with a lot of activities planned. Here are just a few of the pictures.


This is Cameron Lake. The side of the lake we were on was in Canada, and the glacier straight ahead is in Montana. We rented a canoe and rowboat and went around the lake. The water was turquoise and freezing cold.


This beautiful view is behind the famous Prince Edward Hotel.

Most of Calgary is powered by these beautiful wind mills.


There were about 30 people at the family reunion, and this was just one of the many activities we did.

London, England

London was a cool city. There was a lot to see in a short amount of time.


The Tower of London.


The Tower Bridge.
Behind us is Big Ben.
Classic red phone booths you see all over London.
Brendan, Christopher, and I are standing in front of Buckingham Palace.
I'm standing in front of the gates to Kensington Palace.

Behind us is the Kensington garden.

Stockholm, Sweden

We loved it! I don't have much time to write about it, so here are some pictures.


Brendan and Christopher on the cruise ship from Helsinki to Stockholm at sunset.


Brendan and I on our walk home from church. Behind us is the royal palace.


The Stockholm Archipelago is the biggest archipelago in Sweden, and one of the biggest archipelagos of the Baltic sea. It is made up of 30,000 islands and isles. We took an hour and a half ferry to the island of Grinda for a day trip. We hiked around the island and kayaked.


One of my favorite stores is on every corner in Sweden. H&M is actually from Stockholm.


These two pictures were taken from our window in Stockholm. We stayed in old town, where we had a view overlooking the water and the city. It was just down the road from the royal palace.

Nordic Pride

Where the Helsinki does Santa Clause live?
Well according to many people in Europe, Russia and other regions, he lives in the north of Finland. Hearing this I can only guess that he has a small modern house completely outfitted in boxy IKEA style furniture, talks on a Nokia phone and has a sauna in his back yard. His kids are probably all tow headed hockey players and Mrs. Clause is a beautiful Nordic Model. Lastly, I thank all that is good that the Russians never took Finland or the communists would have burned Santa or sent him to Siberia.
Well, if he really lives in Finland he sure chose beautiful surroundings to live in and he must be filthy rich with the cost of feeding a thousand elves and the price of the euro...

We thought Moscow was expensive, but Helsinki is outrageous. Brendan and I needed something sweet after dinner (which consisted of a loaf of bread and cheese from the grocery store) one night. Something fruity like a jamba juice sounded good. We finally found a place that sold smoothies.

We were very disappointed with the small portion we downed in 60 seconds. $8 later, we were still in need of something sweet. We decided to go somewhere we could depend on.

McDonald's sundaes hit the spot for only $1.50 each. Brendan and I can't even remember the last time we went to McDonald's in the states, but we have been three times on our trip already.

We took a ferry to Suomenlinna island and fortress. Brendan is standing next to the submarine we toured.


Every city we went to on our trip had outdoor markets with fresh fruits and vegetables. You could smell the sweet strawberries from a distance away.


While we were in Senate square, the national defense band played and did a parade downtown.

(Although we were being a bit sarcastic, we did love Helsinki. It was just very expensive.)

The Charming States

Sandwiched between western Europe and Russia are the beautiful Baltic States. Thousand year old castles, rolling green hills and thick forests make up most of these small countries. Hundreds of years of wars, divisions in power, oppression and history have shaped theses countries and this land into what it is today. Beautiful languages vary from areas just 100 miles apart, though cultures and architecture seem a lot alike. However, even though there may be a common feel in the culture between theses three countries, each and every one has its own special charm and individual feel.

Formally controlled by the USSR, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, recently gained their independence in the early nineties. Since this time they have grown and maintained their cultures. In the times of communism and control by the USSR, schools taught Russian as the main language. All of the Baltic States have since joined the European Union.

We fell in love with the treasures which we discovered in the Baltic states. Although not commonly visited by tourists to Europe, we consider it a must see.

The first Baltic state we visited was Vilnius, Lithuania. We hiked up to the hill of three crosses to get a great overlook of the city.

Musicians played as we walked down the cute cobble stone streets lined with shops and restaurants.

We took a 30 minute bus from Vilnius to Trakai. We learned that the Trakai castle is the only castle in Europe built on an island. The water seemed a little scary to me, but we rented a paddle boat and Brendan and Christopher went swimming.

Our next stop was Riga, Latvia. Behind us is one of the squares in old town.

The weather wasn't the greatest in Riga. It rained on and off throughout the day. We stayed right down the street from where I'm at. It was a great location in the heart of old town.

Our walk home from church.


The last Baltic state we visited was Estonia.



We hiked up 350 stairs to the top of St. Olaf's Cathedral (tallest cathedral in Tallinn) dating back to the 11th century.

The cliffs at Paldiski on the Baltic Sea. It is about an hour long train ride from Tallinn.

Kaliningrad

The last city we visited in Russia was Kaliningrad. It actually isn't connected to Russia. It is on the Baltic sea and borders Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania. Kaliningrad is an old German town originally called Konigsburg. After losing World War II, Germany gave up Kinigsburg to Russia so there are German buildings that have been restored and also blown up buildings from the war. To get there, we took a two hour flight from St. Petersburg. We went on a Russian airline and the airport was kind of interesting. To board the plane everyone gets on a big shuttle bus that takes you to the plane. When it was time to board, everyone just crammed their way through the doors. There was no lining up by numbers in an organized way. When we got on the plane someone was in my assigned seat and it was kind of like tough luck find an open seat.

In Kaliningrad we visited with the Tyazhlova family. They were helpful in finding an apartment for us to rent for the night. We went to Svetlagorsk, which is a town on the coast of the Baltic Sea. We planned on swimming, but it was a little overcast and it rained on and off throughout the day. We went with Anya Tyazhlova and Anya Olyampiav.

Brendan and I in the Renok (market).

The beach town of Svetlagorsk on the Baltic Sea.

A cute restored German house.

Konigsburg was the birthplace of philopher Immanuel Kant. His tomb was the reason an eleventh century German palace was not destroyed by the communists.