A taste of Heaven!

I know... you all are probably in SHOCK right now... a REAL picture of us!!!

Right now we are in Lagos, Portugal. Otherwise known as heaven. Don't believe me? Look at this picture taken today:We had to duck into this cave behind us to get into this awesome cavern...ahhh...

These past weeks have gone by so fast. We have enjoyed ourselves so much it is all bittersweet that the time has passed by so quickly. On Saturday, we went to the temple in Madrid. It showed me how much our Father in Heaven is so concerned with every little detail of our lives. As I walked into the temple, I saw a dear friend of mine who happened to be getting married and going in the same time as I was. It was such a blessing and I was so happy to be there for the wedding! What a surprise!

After Madrid, as beautiful as Spain was, we were getting super antsy to get to Portugal. We decided to just go, and leave the rest of Spain for another time. We took a night train to Braga and surprised everyone at church in Braga. I was home.

In one of our first posts, Christie wrote about how her nephew diagnosed her as having no heart, and she concluded that it was because she lost her heart in Portugal and she was going to get it back for a few weeks. Well, I think I needed one of those check-ups too...I feel like I am alive again here. I feel happiness more than I can even express, and I feel like I am home. So of course when you ask us what the best part of the experience was, you will know what we will say. There is only one other place than Utah in the world that makes me feel this way.

AMAMOS PORTUGAL!

Italia

Ciao Bellas!
We caught a glimpse of him standing across the piazza della signoria...his lovely locks, voluptuous lips and his rock hard physique melted each of us quicker than a gelato on a hot sunny day. David, everyone calls him. Now we can believe in love at first sight.
Or love at second sight!! Folks, the ice cream here is what has really taken our hearts!! We started our Italian adventures in Venice, where we walked most of the city and saw many cool buildings, etc. etc. We also had fantastic gelatos!! From there we trained down to Florence, where our hostel had a SWIMMING POOL! Yipee! Florence is where we did all our shopping, haggling all the pushy salesmen in the market for cheaper prices on incredible knick knacks and such.
BUT, the most important part about Florence is not our shopping. The best part is actually a small, cold place, called Gelaterria di Medici, the home of the world's best ice cream. We owe all of our happiness to Emily's friend, Lizzie Jones, for granting us that piece of heaven. If any of you chance to visit Florence, make SURE you get the Creme di Medici (sorry for spelling errors), that is the BEST thing you can do for yourself!!
We also made a new Scottish friend (in Florence, weird, we know!) who is one crazy pal! Tom, one of our hostel roommates had a handful of entertaining stories about Florence and other adventures!!
From Florence we left for Fiesole (again, sorry for the incorrect spelling) and watched the sunset behind a fantastic view of Tuscany, lighting the sky with too many colors to even describe.
We left Florence for Siena, where we saw much of the town just by walking and basking in in the ambiance, then trained down to ROME!!
The Vatican was almost unreal, actually seeing the Sistine chapel was unreal!
We ate dinner at a sit down restaurant 300 yards in front of the Coliseum, between the three of us we had legitimate, Italian spaghetti, pizza, and ravioli. What a treat!
Due to some travelling and direction difficulties, we caught the tail end of church yesterday, but were able to study together and enjoy the spirit of being in a church building.
Today, Monday September...7th? Who keeps track of time when on vacation?? Obviously not me!! We leave for the leaning tower of Pisa and onto Cinque Terre!!
On our next entry we will backtrack a little and let all you chums know how Austria went!

ITALIA

Sorry to be so brief but we have been in Austria for the last bit, and we are now in Florence, ITALY!!! WAHOO!!! Details will be coming as soon as we find cheaper internet!!