Quick Notes (not very quick this time) 1. To begin we would like to point out that our blog allows you to leave us comments. We highly encourage this and will be awarding "Europe" points to those who entertain us through your comments. At the end, the person with the most Europe points will get a gift from Europe from US! Jon Lim is currently in the lead. 2. Many people have commented on the speed with which we are conquering Europe. 21 days and 7 countries down. No, this is not the American tourist version of Blitzkrieg. It was necessary in order to get to Tuscany by late September. We assure you that our pace will slow down. But as of right now the score is Pearsons 1, Europe 0. 3. Cultural observations we would ... read more

Quick Notes: 1. Tuscany is a must for anybody traveling to Europe (but you better like Chianti). 2. I still haven't figured out: a. how Tuscans get anything done b. how they are not all 300 pounds. They take a two hour break in the afternoon and then kick off work at five. Then they do whatever until 9PM when it is time to eat, eat, eat. They typically have four courses and then dessert. I'm usually waving the white flag after two courses and I'm sleeping at the dinner table. But not the Tuscans. As we leave the restaurant on a Thursday at 11PM, they are still walking in. We stopped in Bologna for the night so we would be closer to Tuscany. Matt's former boss had rented a villa in Tuscany for 2 weeks ... read more

Quick Notes: 1. In Switzerland you have four languages from which to choose. Only problem is that we don't speak any of them well. 2. I've realized that my conversational skills have dropped tremendously, but my communication skills have advanced greatly. This point was driven home as I tried to explain to our Spanish friends the difference between goats and sheeps. "Baaaahhhh" or "Baaaahhh (with me pulling at my beard to resemble a goat). 3. We found a way around having to use the gross campground bathrooms: Cheese Fondue! Switzerland is the most beautiful country ever. seriously. the first day we pulled into lucerne was beautiful, but it was later in the afternoon so we decided to catch up on our housecleaning and did some laundry. that was dumb because it rained straight the next 2 ... read more

Quick Notes: 1. Amsterdam is like going to the biggest PHISH concert - hippies, weed, drug deals, and bad hippy music. 2. The nice parts are great, but don't spend too much time in the areas Amsterdam is really known for. 3. They don't believe in zoning in Amsterdam. This makes for some ackward situations i.e. walking out of the Anne Frank musuem and seeing a "coffee house" with lots of teenagers smoking up. Or walking by a McDonalds that is right next to a sex house. I guess the idea is to stasify all urges at once. 4. They say you should eat a "space cake" and then go to the Van Gogh museum. WRONG!!! If you are the type that would indulge, the Heineken tour is much weirder. Christina and I were sober as ... read more

Overview comments 1. The Belgium police like to Blame The Victim. We found this out first hand when the cop asked us "Why did you park on a busy street in the middle of the day on a Sunday in downtown Brussels" Silly us. 2. Brussels was nice, but Ive come to the conclusion that all major cities in Europe should be skipped. Or, if you really, really, want to do it, just go for one day and get out as soon as possible and move on to the countryside where the people are nicer, things are cheaper, and it feels more "European". Day 5: Woke up, went into town and took a walking tour of Brussels, courtesy of my parent's 1965 "Walking tours of European Cities" book. It was great, although many streets and "old ... read more