We left Paris and made it to Fontainebleau!

We left Paris and its hustle and bustle behind us and have made it to the mecca of bouldering/rock climbing...Fontainebleau. This is yet another amazing place, actually the last place, we have scheduled for our honeymoon. We had a great time seeing all of the sights in Paris...the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Rodin's Museum, Napoleon's grave, Saint Chapelle, Champs Elysees, Arch de Triomphe, and some of the best croissants you'll ever put in your mouth! The hotel left a little to be desired, but that's what I've heard about all of the hotels in Paris. We have added some pictures to the slideshow, so make sure to check them out. The city was beautiful, and Katy really enjoyed herself, but I love the country side and forests of Fontainebleau, and can't wait to get some climbing in. We rented a car and arrived here today around 4:30pm. We took a quick break to get our bearings and headed out to the nearest bouldering area, Buthiers. I was so proud of Katy! She hasn't been doing as much climbing lately, but you couldn't tell from how she climbed today! She was a little hesitant, at first, to try some of the problems...but when she did, she looked like a pro! We will hopefully get to climb at 2 different spots tomorrow and see some of the classics that helped make bouldering a worldwide phenomenon.

We made it to Paris

We have made it to Paris, but we can not get internet access in our room:( So we will try to call everyone and let them know that we are safe when we get a chance. Until then...we love y'all!

Canyoning on Katy's Birthday!!!

Today was an incredible day! For Katy's birthday, after one of the best hotel breakfasts in the world, we went canyoning with the best company in Switzerland, "Alpin Raft"...which involved sliding down waterfalls and chutes, jumping into big pools of water, rappelling off into waterfalls, and other crazy canyon stuff! We were expecting it to warm up today, but it was still down in the 60's...and the water wasnt much warmer. After a fun morning in the Saxeten canyon, we came back to the hotel and took a nice warm nap. We were so stiff and sore when we woke up from the nap that we took it easy for the rest of the day. After some real swiss cheese sandwiches, we took an easy hour and a half long stroll up and down the river that flows through the Lauterbrunnen Valley. When we got back, Katy had a great birthday surprise from the hotel...a bottle of champagne and some fresh wildflowers. The Hotel Staubbach rocks! Now we're enjoying the champagne and a couple beers on the balcony. Tonight we plan on having a nice big birthday dinner and crashing hard in the bed after:) We posted some more pictures of Switzerland and more importantly pictures from canyoning on the slideshow...SO DONT MISS THEM!!! Tomorrow we are going to rent some mountain bikes and see the mountain tops and the valley in a different, fun way.

Today in Lauterbrunnen

Today it was raining off and on, from the time we got up, until we got back from our hike...but it didnt stop us from having one of the most awesome days of our honeymoon! We started out with a great breakfast at the hotel and then set out on our adventure for the day. We took a cable car up about 2000 ft to a place called Grutschalp. From there, we hiked about an hour to Murren. Along the way, we passed through incredible high alpine forests with tons of beautiful wildflowers, and it began to snow. About half way through the hike, we went through a gate and into someone's pasture. Up ahead we heard a bunch of bells ringing and continued to find that each bell was around a cows neck. We were hiking right in the middle of about 50 cows grazing on the hillside. They would stop and look at us like we were crazy for not grabbing a bite to eat with them:) We uploaded a video of the first cows we encountered to the slideshow, so check it out. We stopped along the way at Winteregg to dry off for a second, and contined to Murren and had a bite to eat for lunch. After we left Murren, we hiked to the next village called Gimmelwald. After hiking in the higher mountains for a couple of hours, it began to rain so at Gimmelwald we took the cable car down the mountain instead of hiking down. We ended the cable car trip in the village below called Stechelberg. From here, we hiked to an amazing set of 10 waterfalls that were inside of the mountain called Trummelbach. The giant mountains above us are the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau and the glaciers from these mountains all drain into this incredible set of caves and chutes within the mountain. We took a funicular inside the mountain, towards the top of Trummelbach. We had to hike up a long series of stairs to see the top sets of falls and chutes. The incredible amount of rushing water was deafening and it shook the mountain as we were walking along. We took some pictures and a few videos, that we put on the slideshow, to show everyone how amazing this part of our day was. At this point, we were so tired and worn out that we hiked the last 2km back to our town, Lauterbrunnen, picked up some groceries and headed back to the hotel to eat dinner. Even though its only 8pm right now, we are ready to collapse and go to bed.

Tomorrow is a big day, as you all know...our beloved Katy is having her 32nd BIRTHDAY!!! I'm so excited that we can spend it here in one of the most beautiful places we've ever been! We have another fun and adventurous day planned and cant wait to share it with you when we get back afterwards!

When you watch the videos, if you have a high speed connection, click on "view HQ video" above the upper right hand corner of the video to see a clearer and better picture quality.

We Made it Switzerland!

With Italy, and the terrible heat rash I got from the salt water and hot weather, behind us, we arrived in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland last night around 7:30. OH MY GOD...THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!! We went from 90' weather in Italy, to a cool 65' here in Switzerland. From incredibly beautiful seaside villages where everyone is in a swimsuit, to people bundled up for warmth in a true alpine village stuck right in the middle of some of the biggest mountains I've ever seen...this aint no Gatlinberg:) We can look out of our hotel window and see a 900 ft waterfall with a 10,000 ft snow covered mountain in the background...absolutely breathtaking! We hiked up to the base of Staubbach Falls last night, before it became dark, and then went to the local pub for dinner and a drink. It rained for much of the night, but the sky has just broke and we are getting ready for a hike to see some more waterfalls and mountaintops. We'll post again soon to tell everyone what we are up to, but until then...here is a picture from our room for everyone to enjoy!

ps...we also added some more pictures of Italy and I think a few from Switzerland to the slideshow. Once again, click on the slideshow and it will take you to the photo album. If you click "view all", it might be easier to go past the old photos and click on the newer ones. Enjoy!

Made it to Cinque Terre

We made it to Cinque Terre (and our little village, Manarola) yesterday, after a long day of traveling. Just when we thought we had endured the worst of it, the last 10 minute train ride to Manarola was delayed in a dark tunnel, with us in it, for almost 45 minutes. It was like seeing our dinner at the counter, but no one would deliver it to the table:) Today we had a nice lazy day hiking between Manarola and the next village over, Riomaggiore, as well as, lounging on the rocky "beach" in our village. This place is incredible! I was a little nervous when we were in Milan...it was a real dump compared to what I was expecting. But Manarola has outdone itself! Here is a picture of our village for everyone to enjoy.

Packed up and heading to Italy in the morning

Well, our time in Lisbon is almost at an end:( We are packed and ready for an early rise and plane ride to Italy at 8:30 tomorrow morning. We are going from Lisbon to Madrid, then a connecting flight to Milan. From Milan, we are going to have to catch a couple of train rides to our village in Cinque Terre. We will be in the village of Manarola until the 21st, when we take a train (or two) to Interlaken, Switzerland. Unfortunately, we wont have internet access while we are staying in Italy, but we will post a blog and call everyone as soon as we arrive in Interlaken the evening of the 21st. We love and miss you all!