Let the good times roll on

Dear family and friends,
It's been a number of days since we last blogged about our travels in Europe. It's been challenging to find the time to sit down to write so I will share some highlights of our trip thus far. It's hard to believe that tomorrow we are at the halfway point of our month long trip. We've lost track of time as each day is filled with different experiences. Here are a few highlights of what we've exerienced so far.
-We spent two days relaxing at a Protestant retreat center named Le Lazaret which is owned by the church of France in a fishing village called Sete on the Mediterranean Coast. It was a wonderful time with our good friends John and Letha Kerl.
-We then traveled to Paris and spent three days there taking in the major sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Muse D'Orsay,and the Rodin and Cluny museums and the awe inspiring Notre Dame Cathedral. We also took a twilight boat cruise down the Seine River enjoying the lights of the city at night. It's a maginificent city and we hope to go back some day.
-Friday we ventured on our own to the Cinque Terra on the French Riviera. After a long day of train travel, we were overwhelmed by the quaint and beautiful town of Vernazza. Of the five towns, we would concur with Rick Steves that it is the jewel of them all. One of our highlights was hiking between all of the towns along a steep and winding trail with pristine viewpoints. We can see why people who have visited want to return someday. Early this morning we awoke to the clanging cymbals and light show of a powerful thunder and lightening storm. We heard rain was in the forecast, but this was ridiculous. It subsided by the time we left and headed toward Florence on the train. After settling in at our Bed and Breakfast, we followed the advice from the Rick Steves Italy book and did a self guided walking tour to get accustomed to the city. Tomorrow we will take in several museums in this beautiful renaissance city and do a bit of shopping in the Market.

Having a lovely time and will now attempt to download some pictures to try and send off to you all.

Blessings from Italy,

Eric and Kathy