The Big TRIP!

 

Well I just updated our blog with our Halloween post.  You are probably thinking what else have you done. Well we have done a lot of small things.  More festivals and what not.  I really need to get the blog caught up. I am going to skip over some of it, but I will go back and add it later on.

In November we decided we wanted to get away for a short trip. We decided to head off to Italy and visit with the Z's! The kids were so excited when we told them we were going. Jackson was dying to go to Italy. I think he would have stayed if we would have let him.

The drive from our house to Italy took about 12 hours.  In the states that would have gotten us to the other side of Texas!  It was a beautiful drive down to Italy.  I love southern Germany (Bavaria) and Austria is just beautiful. I can't even describe what it looks like. I can't wait to go and explore it.  There are a ton of tunnels in Austria.  I think we went through 30 from Austria into Italy. 

When we came out of one of the tunnels this is what we saw. 

I wish it had been a better day - weather wise. I plan on going back and checking this castle out some more. Ella was so excited to see the castle.  She loves them.  She calls them 'Princess Castles'.

Snapshot of the landscape in Austria from the van.

I would love to say we made it all the way to Italy without any problems, but then it would not be a Sabroski adventure if we did.

According to our handy dandy GPS we where very close to the Z's house, and needed to get off the autobahn.  Of course the GPS could never be wrong and we did what it said.  After driving a bit we start to realize we are getting further and further way from civilization.  We are going up a mountain, and the roads are so tiny that two cars could not fit on them.  I kept thinking to myself, there would be no way Diane would live somewhere she would have to drive on roads like this.  We final turn on the road that the house is suppose to be on.  It tells us the house is on the right side of the road. Well there was nothing anywhere on this road at all.  No houses or anything.  It was like one of those horror movies. I was just waiting for someone to jump out and attacks us.  At this point, I start to panic and of course I did not put Diane's number in my cell phone. Of course I call Jenn in a panic and Jenn did not have her number. So Jenn sent a frantic  SOS message on Facebook to Diane. After a few minutes we get a call and it is Diane.  She tries her best to help us with our limited information. Between her, Mark and the GPS we were able to get on our way to the right place.   Mark has named the area we were lost in as West Virginia, Italy. We were very happy to finally get to the Z's!   We still don't know why the GPS did what it did.

The next day Diane and I got up and went to the market.  The market was wonderful. You could buy anything you need at the market.  They had clothes, fresh fruits, meats, cheese, and you could even buy a new pet.

Shot of the market.  I can't believe I did not take more.

 

After we were done at the market, Diane and I went to a little cafe to enjoy cappuccino and have breakfast.

The BEST cappuccino I have ever had and enjoyed with a GREAT friend.

We had pretty low key day. We went to Krya and Nicu's soccer game. They play on an Italian team. I got to see Nicu score his first goal before the game was rained out.

The kids put on a play for us.  They made up tickets and everything for it. I wish I would have had a video camera to record it. It was hilarious.  They did frankstien.  Kyra was the doctor and Nicu was the monster. He really got into his part.  Ryan was the stagehand and Kyra's assistant.

 

Afterwards, the adults went to to eat dinner. Diane and Dan took us to this great little restaurant where they knew the owners.  It was a place we never would have went on our own. Luckily for us  Diane and Dan speak Italian!  We had a great time an enjoyed all of the food.  I should have taken pictures!!

Stay tuned for the Venice part of our trip!