I See London, I See France

I'm sorry that it has been so long since I've updated the blog. There has been alot going on in the Dyksterhouse lately, but more to come on all of that later. I still haven't finished posting about what went on with us in May.

Kathryn went as a chaperone on Susanne's Senior trip to Europe. I am going to talk about this in one post because the trip was such a whirlwind, it seems like it all could have happened in just one long day. However, be warned that it is a very length post. If you just want to scroll through and look at the pictures, I completely understand. A few days after Susanne's graduation, we left for London. I actually really loved London - it was probably my favorite city that we visited. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was sunny and gorgeous the entire time that we were there. Our tour guide, Kat, was with us for the entire 10-day trip. She is a Londoner, so she had alot of insight into this city. Some highlights from London were the Thames River, Trafalgar's Square, Covent Garden, Westminster Abby, Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, and the play Wicked. Most of this was seen in a blur from a bus, but we saw it nonetheless.

With all of these famous sites and glimpses of great history, my favorite adventure in London (and probably of the entire vacation) was actually a side-trip that was unplanned. Susanne was suffering from jet-lag and so Mom and I took her back to the hotel to get some much needed rest. While she was sleeping, we decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. While trying to find a good restaurant, we found out that St. Helen's Bishopsgate, a reformed church in the heart of London, was offering one of their mid-week lunchtime talks. It was such a great experience to sit in on a lecture by a great preacher (William Taylor) and to worship God with people from a different country. They were so friendly and the talk was very inspiring and gospel-centered. It was actually very relevant at this particular point. William talked about the spirit of God living in us and not only in the church. With all of the beautiful churches and architecture throughout Europe, people tend to worship the church and not the Creator. He said that his beautiful 13th century church is no more than a shelter from the rain. There is a sign in St. Helen's that reads "You are now entering the House of God". Sometimes it can be read as you are entering the church, but just as often they move it so that it is read as you are exiting the church. It was a great perspective as there were many beautiful "rain shelters" that we would be visiting over the next 8 days. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that we ate lunch at the restaurant next door before the talk began. It was great! Mom had fish and chips, and I had Shepherd's Pie. Perhaps the best meal of the entire vacation as well (our other meals, planned by the tour group, were very spicy Indian Food and soy burgers - yuck!)

On Wednesday morning, we boarded the Eurostar train for a 2.5 hour train ride to Paris. This train was very smooth and the trip went by very quickly. We arrived in Paris very rested and ready to begin our explorations. We began with an explanation of how the Parisian metro system operates, and then a train ride to Notre Dame. Again, we only had a few minutes, and we were starving at this point, so we went quickly through the cathedral, and then found a cafe where we had sandwiches and crepes. Very expensive (as was everything on the trip), but well worth it. After this, we left to go to the restaurant for dinner. They served us something (I don't remember the name of it) that was a pizza/pancake. Very interesting. After dinner, we went to Montmartre, a hill in north Paris where artists gather to entertain and tourists visit the "Basillica of the Sacred Heart".

The following morning, we went on a bus tour. This was, again, a whirlwind and it is very difficult to remember everything that we saw. It was a basic overview of Paris. After the bus tour, we drove about an hour to Versailles. The palace was amazing, the I definitely enjoyed the gardens more than anything else. After an afternoon in Versailles, it was back to Paris for dinner and then the Eiffel Tower, a boat ride down the Seine, and a night bus tour of Paris to see why they call it the "City of Lights".

On our last day in Paris, we went on a walking tour to see some of the fashion district. Then we went to the Louvre. We only had a couple of hours to spend in the Louvre and to eat lunch, so again, the time flew by and we didn't get to see very much. I did get to see the Mona Lisa, which was so much smaller than I had pictured. I never took art history in college, so I have yet to see the big deal about that one. There was a little excitement when we lost a couple of our group members. Since we were catching an overnight train to Florence in just a few short hours, we did panic a little. Thankfully, the two missing women were chaperones and were able to make it to the hotel to meet us before we left. We were very relieved to find them there.

After such a pleasant train ride from London to Paris, I was actually looking forward to the overnight train. I had visions of being lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the car. Little did I know what lay ahead of me. Six of us slept in one "room", but it could more accurately be called a closet. The two rows of chairs folded into 6 bunk beds - two sets stacked three high. OK, not ideal, but it could be cozy. Wrong! I took a middle bunk (the empty one in the picture is mine). The two on the top and the two on the bottom actually slept very peacefully. Stephanie and I (in the middle), however, did not!! There were two main problems. First, in order to feel the air in the small, congested car, we had to leave the window shade up. This didn't really affect any of the others, but anytime that we made one of our many stops, Stephanie and I would wake up to people staring right in at us. Didn't exactly give me warm, fuzzy feelings. Secondly, there was a large, hard bar running right across the spot in the bed that hit my back. I tried moving up and moving down, but couldn't seem to escape from that bar. Everytime the train "gently rocked", I was sent into the bar. On top of this awful trip, we couldn't check into our hotel in Florence until the following evening, so I walked the streets of Florence tired and with a terrible headache. I was so happy to crawl into bed that night! (OK, the ranting will now end, I promise.)

Florence and Rome were perhaps the most rushed cities that we visited. In Florence, we went on a tour of a leather factory, and then went on a walking tour of the city. That afternoon, we went by bus to Pisa. It was very fun to get to see the leaning tower in person. We all admired from a distance, though, too afraid that it would come tumbling down if we walked any nearer than we did. And, DK, you would be so proud - no one got lost here! (Although I can imagine how it could happen).

That night we had a delicious dinner - I'm convinced that there is no bad food in Italy. Then we took the graduates to the disco for a night of dancing. They had a great time, and it was fun to see them enjoying themselves so much.

The final leg of the trip was a side-venture to Assisi, and then onto Rome. While in Rome, we saw the Forum, the Colosseum, St. Peter's and the Vatican museums. After a full day, we went to bed early in anticipation of a long day traveling home.

It was a great trip, but I definitely prefer visiting fewer places and staying in those places for longer amounts of time. We took in alot of sites in a short amount of time and were very tired when we made it home. But, I now have a good idea of places that I would like to go if I ever make it back to Europe.

Class of 2008

It is hard to believe that Susanne has graduated from high school, but it happened. Almost 10 years to the day after Kathryn's graduation, we sat in the Greenwood Civic Center and watched Susanne walk down the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance and receive her diploma. It's hard to beleive that this day has already come.

Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends came from Nebraska and North and South Carolina, as well as from across Mississippi for the celebration. We had a pre-graduation party at the Sturdivants' house and a post-graduation shin-dig at the Carroll County Market where King Billy played. Susanne couldn't join us for the shin-dig because all of the graduates were taken to Jackson on an all night mystery trip.

My cousin and the lead singer of the band really hit it off, so several of us met up with the band the next night - and Susanne was able to join us. We really loved their music. They will be featured on a Great American Country (GAC) special later this year (several of our group may have even made the video).

On Saturday afternoon, Kathryn went to Thomastown, MS with the girls of the family to see her great-aunt and great-uncle. It is always such a treat to see
them, and even more of a treat when they cook for us -which they did. Good old southern cooking at it's finest!

As always, it was so much fun spending time with the whole family and celebrating such a special occasion with Susanne. Congratulations and good luck at Birmingham-Southern! We love you!

Little Does He Know...

May Flowers

I know that it has been a month since I have posted and everyone is realizing that April showers are long gone by now. May was such a busy month that I never even had the time to post an update. I have alot to catch you up on. The Focas came for a visit, most of our family on Kathryn's side came into town for Susanne's high school graduation, Kathryn went back to Europe, and we went to Kathryn's 10-year high school reunion. I plan to post one event at a time in the hopes of not completely overwhelming you.

We had so much fun with the Focas when they came to Greenwood. The girls are getting so big, so it is always fun to see how they're growing and how their personalities are developing. When Ainsley learned that Uncle Gary was moving to Mississippi to become a farmer, she decided that she wanted to be a cowgirl when she grew up - that was even her costume for Halloween. She has been reading up on farm animals and singing lots of Old McDonald. At one point, she even said that she was very glad that Uncle Gary and Aunt Kathryn were going to give her a horse that she could take back to her house with her (thankfully she had forgotten about that by the time she got here). Although she was slightly disappointed when she got to our house to see that it was not ON the farm, she accepted Deacon as a substitute for the horses and pigs that she was anticipating.

On Saturday morning, we went straight to Kathryn's aunt and uncles's house so that Ainsley could see some horses. She wasn't even going to think about getting on the pony for a ride, but was very happy to stand next to him and stroke his mane. Emma was very content to just sit back and take it all in. Aunt Jan was so great with the girls and they were thrilled to get the "farm" experience with some good farm animals.

Next, we went out to Uncle Gary's farm. I have realized that it doesn't take much to entertain a 4 and 2 year old. They were probably just as happy playing in the workout room at the office as they were out on the farm. I think that Emma's favorite part was walking through the corn and looking at the ladybugs, while the highlight for Ainsley was definitely riding around with Uncle Gary in the tractor. We also got to see a pig and a snapping turtle while we were out in the field, so we got our fill of animals for the day.

Kathryn's sister had her prom on Saturday night, so Ainsley got dressed up like a princess and then went to see "Princess Susanne" before she went to the "Ball". We also had a dress for Emma, but unfortunately she turned into a pumpkin before she could make it out of the house.



It was a great visit and we will look forward to the next one once baby #3 is here. We couldn't resist getting a picture of Deacon one night after the girls had gone to bed. I think that he has finally met his match!

April Showers

Now that it's planting season, Gary is on the farm up from sunup to sundown unless it has rained. The rains are very bittersweet. We hate to see any slowed progress on the farm, but it is nice for Gary to get a few days off once in awhile. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Gary was able to get away alot in April.

I was planning a trip to Atlanta for the first week in the month to see the Galbreaths. After Shannon had their oldest child, Carter, I was able to stay with them and help out a good bit because they lived just down the road from us at the time. So, when she found out that she was pregnant with Kelsey, of course we had to keep this "tradition" alive, so I promised to come and stay to help out in whatever way I could. (To my friends in Atlanta that I didn't call when I was there, I am sorry, but it really would have defeated the purpose of giving Shannon a rest if I was off visiting other people the whole time that I was there. Hopefully we can get together next time.) Due to a big rain just before I left, Gary was able to come along.

Now, Shannon has thanked us for coming to help. However, what she may not realize is that we probably cherish this time even more than they do. Not only do we get to spend time with some of our best friends, we also get days of nothing to do but play with these precious children. There are great bonds that can be formed over days of undivided attention that you just can't get in short greetings. I loved it that some of the things that I had done with Carter from a year ago had stuck with him. (For example, I taught him how to call the neighbors dog over, and now he does that whenever I'm around - even if the dog is not.)

We were there for less than 4 days, but we were able to get alot in. We went and worked out, went to two birthday parties, Gary got to play golf with Phillip, Shannon and I went to lunch and got to go and do girly things, the guys all went to a Braves game (Carter's first!), and Phillip (with some encouragement from Gary) got a Wii - we all had fun figuring out how to play it. Probably my favorite thing from the whole trip, though, was just getting to sit and talk. It is something that we did alot when the four of us lived in Winston-Salem and when Gary and I still lived in Atlanta. We have all been friends for a long time and we miss the Galbreaths so much! We're already looking forward to the Galbreaths coming to Greenwood for a visit soon.

The week after we got home, Gary celebrated his 28th birthday. We actually celebrated a few days early by having my parents and brother over for dinner. His big present was Rock Band, and we spent most of the night playing that. As you can see from the pictures, Gary didn't get to enjoy his present much since the rest of us all wanted a turn. He has spent the last several weeks making up for the time lost that night.

On Gary's actual birthday, we went out to my sister's school to watch her in the Senior Play. The play was The Big Bad Wolf and Susanne was a "wolfette". It was a very creative spoof on the story of Little Red Riding Hood and other fairy tales involving wolves. Unfortunately, Gary was working that night and couldn't make it. I also got to see Susanne compete in her last high school dance competition a few days later. It is hard to believe that she leaves for college in just a few months.

Toward the end of the month, Gary and I went to a wine tasting. I forgot to take my camera to the actual party, but got some pictures of us when we got home (with Deacon, of course! This is what happens when you are trying to get a dog to pose for a self-timer on a camera). The proceeds went to Cancer Research. There was a great turnout for such a great cause.

Gary's sister and her family are coming next weekend for their first visit to Greenwood. We are so excited to see them and I'm sure that we will have lots of pictures to post after their stay.

Our Trip to Italy - Day 2

After hitting the snooze button several times, we wake up feeling surprisingly rested. We eat breakfast in the hotel. We enjoyed pastries, toast, and granola. The coffee was very good, but we both agreed that the orange juice and water tasted a little strange (the only items of consumption that have gotten a negative review so far). After breakfast, we check out of the hotel and take our bags to the car so that we can walk around Siena for a few hours.

We plan to head from the parking garage to San Francesco, but on the way we follow a sign leading to a botanical garden. At first, it looks as though this my just be a large goldfish pond in a parking lot, but continuing around a building we find quite an impressive garden with an amazing view of a vineyard, the Siena wall, and the Italian countryside beyond. This little gem, which wasn't in any of our guidebooks, quickly becomes our favorite part of Siena. We forego San Francesco and stay in the gardens until lunchtime.

Gary and Kathryn in the Botanical Gardens

Labeled Iris Unguicuraris

Kathryn walking toward the city wall

View of the garden and the wall beyond

We went back to Il Campo for lunch. We ate prosciutto and provolone pizza at Spizzico. Then, we ate some bacio gelato (chocolate with nuts) from a gelateria also on Il Campo. It was amazing - we decided that we should probably have gelato in each town we visit.

In front of the fountain at Il Campo

Siena city view


Gate leading out of Siena

By 1:15pm, we are on the road again. Thankfully, we are as careful getting out of Siena as we were careless getting in. We made no wrong turns on the way out of the maze, and even - very surprisingly - guessed our way to the road that leads to Firenze. In fact, we made it all the way into Cinque Terre and Riomaggiore with no problems. We did have to stop a couple of times to take pictures of the breathtaking views in La Spezia - a view of the harbor with the snow-capped Apuan Alps in the background.

While in Cinque Terre (5 towns on the Ligurian Sea), we plan to hike the trail along the coast. We are staying in Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five towns. We check into our hotel in Riomaggiore, Locanda del Sole, around 4:00pm. The hotel is in the heart of Riomaggiore. Enrico, the owner/manager helps us carry our bags up the hill to our room. We immediately run down to the train station in hopes of going to Vernazza and hiking to Monterrosso (the most strenuous leg of the 6K hike). We miss the train by 5 minutes, and the next train wasn't coming along for another hour. Not wanting to hike in the dark, we decide to wait and hike the entire trail the next day. We decide to take a train to Vernazza for dinner. In the meantime, we walk down to the Riomaggiore harbor to take in the view of the sea. As it begins to rain, we thank God that His plans for us are so much better than our own. If we had caught our train, we would have been hiking in the windy cold rain. We are enjoying Plan B much more.

View from our room

Streets of Riomaggiore

Steep steps leading down to the harbor


Overlooking the Riomaggiore Harbor looking up the Cinque Terre coastline

Mural at the Riomaggiore Harbor

On the train to Vernazza, we met a couple from Chicago. The man actually sold his first car to Kathryn's uncle back when they were in college at Wheaton together. It really is a small world! We enjoyed walking around Vernazza and taking pictures of the town. Before dinner, we went to Bar Enoteca for a glass of wine, which we enjoyed as we sat on a bench outside overlooking the harbor.

Vernazza

Church at the Vernazza Harbor

View of Monterossa from Vernazza Harbor

Vernazza back alley at night

We have dinner at our third choice of restaurants, Tratoria da Sandro. Because we were there during non-tourist season, many of the locals were away on vacation themselves, and therefore, many restaurants and shops were closed. We were very pleased with choice #3. As had been recommended to us, we tried the anchovies because they are the local specialty. To our surprise, we really liked them. We also had spaghetti - you can't go to Italy and not at least tried the spaghetti! Hands down the best spaghetti either of us had ever had. Swordfish was the main course. Although we knew we were in to gain about 15 pounds on this trip, we decided that it would be worth it.

After dinner, we caught the train back to Riomaggiore and hiked up the hill to our hotel. We went to bed early in anticipation of our long hike planned for the next day.