Gene Bren

Hey-all, Sorry-about-the-dashes-we-have-a-bad-keyboard-here.--Well,-our-cruise-through-Germany-has-been-great!--We-shopped-in-the-open-markets,ate-some-of-the-best-food-yet,and-took-a-short-cruise-on-the-Rhine(only-barely-escaping-the-cry-of-Lorelie).--Anyway,we're-all-alive,except-the-GPS-that-died-yesterday.-- Love-y'all-and-see-ya-soon, Gene,Bren,andkids... read more

Hey everyone, Sorry it's been so long since we posted - we have a terrible time giving up time for internet instead of touring.....so here goes. We've been through Rome. It was hot, busy, and hard for us to get around. Brenda and Kaela really appreciated the sun. However, the sun didn't settle too well on Kaela - she apparently got some skin sensitivity from her meds and got severely burned on her hands and nose. We ended up going to a hopital in Rome where she got treated with an IV and some gellatto. Of course this cut into our tour time but we still made it to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Colloseum, Palatine Hill, and the Vatican. We had one interesting evening trying to get back to our hotel after touring around town. ... read more

Hey lit class, wow, europes amazing!!!we went to Venice, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Cinqua Terra, and my absolute favorite Rome!!!We had 2 incredibly HOTT tour guides in Rome, Brandon took us thru the colluseum and Alex took us thru the vatican which is stunning! I am already planning how to return to Rome because there is no city in the world like Rome it is by far the most beautiful city one earth! i must say thought i miss you all very much and american music is so much better the italian jibberish! hope promwas great and Janelle i miss u tons! so i'll be home on the 11th to tell u all my stories and show u amazing pictures! sorry mrs. O'Keif if my grammer rots but im in a hurry on a public computer in ... read more

Hi everyone! No, we're still not ready to come home.....Here is a bit of Brenda's journaling for today though; Our earliest morning so far…we were up, with breakfast down, day bags packed, lunches made and cameras charged and in the car by 07:50. Quite a feat, considering that only 1 person fits in the bathroom at a time, and you can only squeeze 2 in the kitchen if one person agrees to hold their breath. So, we are off, again not quite knowing what to expect. Gene managed to drive though crazy traffic with no real lanes, brave pedestrians, motorcycles that go between cars at ALL angles & streets with no name-signs. The drivers are all quite nice, but trying to follow the snooty lady on the GPS is a bit frustrating, as Italy has recently ... read more

Venice is AMAZING! We stepped out of the train station and directly onto a wide promenade that followed the water’s edge! The weather was sunny and warm with a muggy breeze and a wide blue sky. People were eating gelato, lugging suitcases and buying Murano glass from the souvenir stalls. The kids and I were surprised that the ornately decorated buildings lining the water actually as beautiful and regal as they appear in travel brochures. We just kept saying “look” and “Can you believe we made it to Venice?” Gene found a bank while I bought vaporreto tickets. We were both quite proud of ourselves, but would discover the next morning that the 24 hour vaporetto tickets were worthless as the boat-bus drivers went on strike. We were amazed at how well the kids had all ... read more

We have been doing some online research and thought you may want to see San Vincenzo, our first condo in in the Italian Riviera. We will arrive here after a few days in Venice. There are some gorgeous photos of the beach and the grounds on this web site. The planning is half the fun... Brenda San Vincenzo... read more

Exchange Students Reunite 20 Years Later As a high school student in Oregon, I was lucky enough to be in the exchange program to Germany. I went back before college & worked as a nanny in Belgium. Next, I came home, went through nursing school, married an engineer and we have 3 great kids. Now that our kids are old enough to travel easily, my husband & I are finally getting to show them some of the Europe that I fell in love with! Not only are we planning to see Europe as wide eyed tourists, we have also made plans to visit my German exchange family. All 6 of the kids have been e-mailing back and forth to each other & they seem to like having pen pals over seas. We are all very ... read more