Russia #2

Here are the pic's from the second half of our trip. More Russian food, here we are in St. Petersburg - Cathedral of Spilt Blood in St. Petersburg - This is the Temple of Kazan - These are water fountains and Peter the Great's Summer Palace, they are run strictly by gravity still today - More fountains at the Summer Palace the statues you see are pure gold - This is one of the 2 Da Vinci's at the Hermitage Museum, there are only 12 in the world so apparaently its a real treat to see one - Our boat cruise in Sweden - This is just a pretty building in Sweden - I love mentos and other countries have rad flavors!

Finally...RUSSIA

So everyone can get off my back now cuz here are some pic's from our trip to Russia, Denmark, and Sweden. This is just the first half of the trip, we took so many pic's so it was hard to narrow it down. I will make another post with the rest. Ok, now for some explinations. Starting top left to right... Russian "rubles", their $$$$ - The Christus in Copenhagen Denmark. It is the plaster model, the first Christus statue ever made!!! The church actually bought the rights for this exact statue, that's why you seen it in all the temple visitor centers. - Cathedral of St. Basil, I think this is like one of the 7 world wonders or something, I don't know I just know that it is really famous! - This is another building/cathedral on Red Square, this is also the place where we saw Lenin's actual body, it was kinda creepy. - Russian food, it was edible - This is me and another lady from our group with some kids from the school for deaf and blind we visited, it was awesome to be able to help them but it was hard to see - These next 2 pic's are from a monestary enclosure. The women have to wear scarves over their heads the entire time you are in the monestary. The tower in the first picture was built by Catherine the great in the 1500's and the building in the second pic was built in the 1400's! Crazy! - The sleeper train. Oh my, what an experience that was, let me just say I am glad I came home free of disease. Sorry to bore you with all these details. Needless to say it was an incredible experience.

America the Beautiful

Well, after traveling to so many different countries it really makes you appreciate the land of the free and the home of the brave. Our trips were awesome and we had some incredible experiences...but at the end of the day I am very proud (and grateful) to be an American. Things have been crazy since we have returned but I promise some pictures in the near future!