heros in a half shell

Picture it: our last night in Europe. Lee goes to take money out from an ATM on the Champs-
Elysse in Paris. Suddenly she is inundated by small children with magazines trying to block the screen and press buttons. D'Arc and I stood dumbfounded and were only pulled from our reverie when we heard a thud (none of us are sure whether it was Lee's arm or somebody's head) and Lee screaming "what are they doing!!" as she started throwing elbows. Luckily we were able to shoo them away and we all emerged un-pickpocketed. I am sure those of you who know Leah would have paid big money to witness her cracking the skulls of street urchins!!! It was a priceless end to the trip!

By the way, we did manage to see a few things in Firenze (despite all the gelato and vino!). I also had some quiet time at the Casa di Dante, learning about the inspirations for the Divine Comedy and we went on a hunt for the statue of Pope Joan in the Basilica in Siena (unfortunately a lot of the popes looked a little feminine so we are still in disagreement as to whether we found her or not). Venice was absolutely magical; the water sparkled and even the air was romantic!

And then (making up for our lethargy in Italy) we had two action packed days in Paris which included Napoleon's obscenely huge Arc, the fantastically gothic Notre Dame (complete with gargoyles sticking their tongues out at me), the Eiffel Tower (with its heart pounding elevator), and of course the utterly astounding Louvre (in which I could have happily spent four or five years in the Mesopotamia area alone). And with our viewing of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, we completed a full tour of all the major works of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo (the party dude). Oh yeah, I know all about fine art!

I am currently in Zurich awaiting my flight to see my brothers and new niece, Shannon in Bangkok. So, thus ends the public record of my travels. It has been a friggin' whirlwind from train wrecks to Star Wars to Ninja Turtles. Thank you all for reading.

Love,

Jen