Vacation with "Mike 'n Bef"

I thought I'd post pictures from a few months ago. Mike and Marybeth (known around here as "Mike 'n Bef") came out to visit. We scoured Europe for a few weeks and had a blast. Here's picture of the highlight of our vacation...just kidding! Sleep came in small quantities. We had to take advantage of it when the opportunity arose.We made it to several different countries, the first of which was Switzerland...my favorite. The glacier at the top of the mountain was pretty cool, as was the view from the other side of the range (the picture on the left). As we were walking some of the trails we happened upon a stray cat. Maryn was so nice to give out her sweet kisses. I was too slow to stop it, but Marybeth was quick enough to get a picture. She hasn't shown signs of any diseases yet. After Switzerland we flew to Spain and spent a few days in Barcelona. There were a few things to see and the food, I thought, was great. I've always loved walking around the crowded markets and buying fresh food. We found a little cafe on the beach and enjoyed some paella. Apparently Marybeth still hasn't grown out of playing with her food. Our final stop was in Italy. The drive down was long and exciting. First, Marybeth, who shares the same name as a felon, was banned from getting onto the military post where we wanted to do our laundry. Then, somewhere in southern Switzerland, Maryn threw up. It made the hot car smell wonderful, and I will never be able to eat sour cream and onion cheese-its again. We finally rolled into our hotel at some crazy hour of the night. The next day we took the train to Rome, which even the second time, was amazing. Maryn and I took a day just to go shopping. We walked our feet off, but Maryn got her beloved Mater and Lightening McQueen cars (of course, shown in her picture) and I got my beloved Italian shoes. Mike and Marybeth were introduced to the delicacy known as Gelato and I was served overpriced raw meat at a high-brow restaurant. It's all about the experience. There are, of course, many fountains in Rome, one of which features Marybeth showering Mike with spit. It's amazing what you can do with a camera. After Rome, Kade joined us in Pisa. We hiked a good part of the Cinque Terra, then gave up and took the boat or the train the rest of the way. The view was very beautiful and I got my quota of P.T. for the next month on that hike. We also took some time to tour around Florence and Pisa. Florence was a very pretty city with a market to spend lots of money at. I was tempted by a very nice leather jacket that was probably made just for me, but I decided that I would rather be able to buy 2 weeks worth of food instead. The leaning tower of Pisa was in fact leaning, just as it's name implies. We got a few good pictures using our illusionist skills. After Pisa, we started on our long drive back to Germany, stopping off overnight in Venice. Our time with the Sanders was busy, but we had a lot of fun. We were glad to have good company come and let us show them around our home.