It Comes to an End

After 2 months and 10 days it's over . This trip as taught me manners , respect , and tolerance . It taught me to see the world outside of Germantown, Tennessee . I am a different person from September 6 to today. I have changed . I appreciate home , family ,and friends . We are a different family in whole . The last days were spent relaxing . Riding bikes around Versailles Gardens , throwing oranges at each other . Wonderful just wonderful . Going home will be sad . Wish me luck and hope to see you soon !



Rainey

Where is my tea!

It's in bloody London !I loved London ! We saw Big Ben the first day ! WOW ! The London Tower was really cool to ! This is where some kings have lived . Also it is where they executed allot of people  . There is this massive Ferris wheel thing called the Eye of London ! Imagine a cylinder with point round things on each end . Covered in with glass . Cool ! After we rode around,we got off and headed to Westminster Abbey . This is the Church that Will and Kate got married in . It is also the Church where many kings and queens are buried . The next we visited a very big and famous department stores every ! We did a old English tradition . It's called high tea . You drink tea at three . I got mint tea ! (read tittle) There's my tea ! We all loved bloody London !


Rainey       

A Week in Pizza Paradise

As I mentioned in my last blog , Naples is the pizza capital of the world! When we got to Naples from Rome we got in a taxi to go to our apartment. We loved our apartment.  It was huge and had a big terrace on the roof of the building. The fun part was that we found a soccer ball and played soccer on the roof. So fun until Peyton kicked the ball off the roof! After our fun on the terrace was our fist dinner in Napoli which is Naples in Italian.  Dinner was amazing. The pizza was great. After a great night of sleep, we went to Sorrento by boat. It was beautiful. We had lunch on a terrace that overlooked the ocean. I was right at home! We took the boat back to Naples. We went to Pompeii which is an amazing village that was near Vesuvius. About 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius exploded and demolished Pompeii. Pompeii was very neat, and it was cool to see how they lived way back then. The next day we went to and island called Capri. One of the things that it is famous for is it's blue grotto. The blue grotto was amazing. We entered by a row boat and even had to lay down in this tiny boat to get in the opening of the grotto. The grotto was the most beautiful blue that you have ever seen. The sun came in through the bottom, and it was so awesome that I wish I could live there or at the very least dive in. After the grotto, we went on a chairlift that went to the top of the island. It is a one person chair lift. It was so fun going up. We could see the whole island. When we got to the top, you could see the ocean forever. We went back to Naples and of course had a great dinner. It has been a great week. Sadly, Naples is the end of Italy. I will miss pizza and spaghetti. Now off to have some tea with the Queen in London.

Rainey

BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY  HALLOWEEN

Roma

After getting off the train from Florence to Rome, we got to the the apartment and loved it! Mom and dad had their own apartment. Us kids had the room down the hall way! Guess what, our apartment is right down the road from the Trevi Fountain! If you throw a coin in the fountain, you get to go back to Rome. It worked for mom and dad!  The next day we did a private tour of Rome . We saw Trevi Fountain, The Colosseum and The Forum. The Forum is 2,000 years old. Rome is very old. It was created before Christ. Back then they explained the sun, rain, and the oceans by saying certain people controlled them. If any one is reading or has read Percy Jackson and The Olympians they know what  I'm talking about. They believed in pagan gods . They built temples for the gods. The Forum was the piece of land they built the temples on. Many ruins remain. When visiting I picked up a rock! After visiting the Forum we went to the Colosseum. The Colosseum is called that because of a colossal statue that use to stand right next to the Colosseum. We went in to the Colosseum and saw how they used it . This is where the Gladiators fought. It was very fun!  Tuesday we went to a Church called the Pantheon. This very famous Church has a hole on top. This hole was believed to take any one who got under the hole up to the gods. Later on it was turned into a Church. On Wednesday, we went to The Vatican. This is a Church that was turned into the smallest country in the world. This is where the pope lives. Every Wednesday he goes out on his terrace and speaks to the crowd. He even speaks in English.  The Sistine Chapel is located inside The Vatican. This is where Michelangelo painted the . He painted the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He even painted The Last Judgement after the pope died. It was fun being in The Vatican. For the rest of the week we were kind of lazy. Today we got on a train that was taking us to Naples! Pizza capital of the World !   
   

Rainey

Love Italy!!

These last couple of days has been spent well !!!!!After we got of the train from Venice to Florence,we  got in our rental car .(Not a good sign )We drove to a place called San Gigimano .This is a town on top of a hill.Literally !This town was a popular in the Medieval  ages. We drove in to the town (no one can park in town)and found a parking lot outside of town and hauled all of our baggage up the hill to our hotel.(Our hotel happened to be next to the World Champion Gelato  makers!!! )We settled in and walked around town .The next day my mother and I shopped .The boys hung around dad until they got bored .They played hide and got seek around the city.They told us about it at lunch.Dad and I decided to join in! It was so fun !The  next  we took our rental car and drove to Pisa .This is a small town with a big kick! Listen to the word. P-I-S-A .The Leaning Tower of Pisa! we walked up the Leaning Tower of  Pisa! All the way ! That was our last day in San Gigimano.In the morning we drove back to Florence to stay there for a week !We got there and stayed in until dinner.Florence is where all of the greats studied ! Micheal Angelo,Galileo,and more!We wok up and went to a cooking class so fun we made home made pasta !Fun !There is a famous statue. His name is David!The boy who beat Goliath with a stone. This is a sculpture by Micheal Angelo .We went and saw him ,it was fun ! The next day we went to the Duomo Church!We went to the Ufftiz ! Saw the Birth of Venus! The last day we did an art class with a former Disney animator . It was so fun!I love Florence and hope to go back !Now we are going to Rome! See you at the Collosseum!


Rainey


P.S. Congrats Shannon and Dan!Praying for you!

Switzerland and Venice

Switzerland

Wow! I loved Switzerland! As some of you may know I’m Swiss. My great grandfather immigrated from Switzerland to America. But, some of his family stayed behind .He had ten brothers but, only one went to America. All of his brothers had girls. I only got to meet one of the girls but, it was fun! I got to meet her husband and son! Hi Benjamin! That’s her son. We had fun meeting our foreign family! After all the fun    we got on a train that was SEVEN hours long !That train was heading to...

                          Venice

Gondolas, masks, and pizza! Venice as it all, even  water streets! Sadly each year Venice sinks lower and lower. And Venice is threatened by floods all the time. Plus its population is going down each year by thousands. Back to the happy stuff! Our apartment was amazing! Across the canal was a school there was many girls who knew English! Chancellor loved that! With only 3 days in Venice , I  officially love this new culture ! See you in Tuscany !


Rainey 

 

 

                         

 

                         

The End of Paris,Valley of the Kings ,and Switzerland!

Bye Paris!On one of the last days of us in Paris was  spent at the Eiffel Tower.At first we went to the 2nd floor. What a view!As my mom gets older, she gets more afraid of heights.The 2nd floor was almost to much for her.Then Chancellor decided to go to the top.He went up and came back down.Then said how amazing it was!I said I'm going!After I said it Peyton said I'm in and so did dad.Next mom said that we were crazy and she was going!We got in the elevator and mom started crying.We got to the top and we saw all of Paris!Notre Dome ,Louvre,and Musee D'orsay were all visible from my view!When we got down mom finally stopped crying.After our last days in Paris we were getting away from the city and visiting the King's Castles .This is an area of  France where the Kings built there  "summer castles".Gorgeous castles that were so big that I got lost five times!My personal favorite castle was a castle called Chenonceau.It was my favorite because it wasn't so big !And also it had a garden maze!It was fun ,but we only had two days to visit all of the castles . It was fun while it lasted!We got to all of the castles by a rental car. On the second day we got TWO flat tires!Again it was fun while it lasted! The next day we got up in the morning to go back to Paris on train then get another train to take us to Geneve ,Switzerland!That night (yesterday)we ate at a place mom had been dying to take me .At this restaurant they only served steak and french fries!That's right Koren!Only steak and french fries!Yummy in my Tummy!This week I'm visiting my dads relatives who still live here!See you at there house !!!!

Rainey

Part 1: Paris

Bon Jour! This week I'm in Paris! It's so amazing! My family and I are living in a two story apartment. We don't have a view of Notre Dome, but it's a few blocks from Notre Dome. We love it here! We've been to Notre Dome and Saint Chapelle. These are two historic churches. Have you ever watched The Hunchback of Notre Dome? The movie is based on this church! Saint Chapelle use to hold the Crown of Thorns. Now it is said to be in Notre Dome.  We also went to the Lourve where we saw the Mona Lisa, Athena, and the "Venus de Milo" who is really Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  We also saw "Winged Victory" a famous sculpture that is very old.  We went to a park, ate ice cream, and threw the frisbee.  Sounds just like Memphis doesn't it!  In Paris there are lots of small cafes that have beeen my families every single meal.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Eiffle tower.  I've seen it from a distance, but I can't wait to go in it.  I'm hoping to talk my family into going to the top!  Can't wait to tell you all about it in my next blog.  Au Revoir!
Rainey

Last Stop

The last two weeks have been a wake up call.Yes,this is real.No you're not dreaming.This is just some of the things i've said to myself! Philly was the last stop of the 2 weeks. The Philly cheese steaks were great. The city was wonderful, and so were the people of Philadelphia. Sad to say somewhere in the chaos of these past 2 weeks, I've gotten home sick. I miss my dog Samson. I miss my friends, and I miss my house. You can't predict the future, you can't predict life, and you can't predict my family! I've 2 days to get ready for Paris. Crazy huh? And, I can't wait to get to Europe! I'll meet you in Paris on Sunday!

Rainey

I visit Obama!

This week I visited Washington.The first thing we did was the White House.After that we visited the Capital building.  We watched the house and the senate in action.  the next day we went to the National Archives.  We saw all the important documents of our country.  After that we went to the Smithsonian's museum of Natural History.  There was even an ocean room on one floor.  That was my favorite.  We went to the International Spy Museum where we even got our own spy name.  It was way cool!  The next day we went back to the Smithsonian's Museum of American History where we saw the first dumbo from the Disneyland ride and.......Dorothy's ruby slippers.  We rode around Washington on a red double decker bus and saw all the monuments of Washington.  The Lincoln monument was my favorite!  We also went to the Arlington Cemetery where we some the tomb of the unknown soldier and John F. Kennedy's grave.  It was really neat walking through Arlington.  Washington was very exciting.  My family had a great time.  On the train to Philly!  See you there!

Rainey

New York, New York

Hi everyone!I'm in New York this week.We're staying at the Double Tree on the 40th floor.We came to New York by train .When we got to our hotel ,we turned on the TV.My mom loves tennis.The US Open was this week. She watched in Boston .The finals for the men was the day we came from Boston .Mom said we should go .She said this at 3:30.The finals started at 4:00! We jumped on a subway and got there with no ticket .When we were trying to find tickets  a man screamed tickets,tickets.Ran up to him and got the tickets.The seats were okay.The match was amazing .We came back to the hotel and SLEPT.The next morning we went to the top of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal .It was amazing . Next on to Ellis Island.My Great Grandfather was Swiss and came to America .We looked him up on the web search there.We saw the boat he came on and saw his signature.It was .....words can't describe how I felt .After that we went to Dylan's Candy Bar!  Candy,Candy,and CANDY!!!!!!!  After Dylan's candy bar, we walked to our hotel.  We went to dinner at a Cuban restaurant and then went to the Fox News headquarters and saw the Hannity show being filmed live.  Daddy got to meet us at Fox news.  After a long day, we finally went back to our hotel in Times Square and went to bed.  Off to Washington now.  See you at the white house!

Rainey

The Boston Tale

Hello everybody!  As some of you know I went to Boston this week.  This is where our country started.  From Paul Revere's house to the Old South Meeting House, history is on every corner.  The South End and the North End are filled with history.  My family and I took three 90 minute walking tours and even met a pirate named Nate.  The aquarium was amazing.  There was an 85 year old green sea turtle named Myrtle.  We ate at the oldest restaurant in America.  I even visited where the "shot that was heard around the world" was fired.  From the Old North Church to the Boston Tea Party site, I've seen it all.  Now I'm off to New York!  See you there!

Rainey

p.s.  Mary Kate, I had the best seafood chowda (not mispelled, that's how they say it)!

Setting Sail

          Hello I'm Rainey.My Family and I are going on a adventure.We're taking a year off our regular life and traveling.First stop east coast.Boston,New York ,Washington,and Philly.We go to Boston on Sep. 6 th.After east coast , on to Europe. We're going to France ,Rome ,all of Italy ,and more .I have two annoying older brothers.Peyton (12) and Chancellor (16) they think we're going to get lost.Thankfully my parents have been before but, us kids haven't been to Europe.After Europe,it's on to the west coast.We're doing all of the west coast.We spend my birthday in Hawaii.My birthday is Feb. 2nd.After that our trip comes to an end.This is a trip of a lifetime .Hope you come along with me on it.


                                                                      Your Friend the World Traveler

                                                                   Rainey 




                    P.S. Off to Boston Tuesday