Europe, here we come!

Okay people. An exciting day has come!!! Today we leave for our 2 1/2 week vacation! Woohoo, woohoo, HOORAY! I will inform you of our schedule. It freakin rocks!

Tonight, Friday night that is, at 7:05 pm we hop on a train and head for London! Saturday will consist of seeing as much as we can of this grand city. There are so many activities and options at our fingertips we are overwhelmed! Sunday morning we leave for GERMANY and will be exploring Berlin for the next 3 days!!! Yes, ... sigh... it is my dream come true! :) Who would have ever thought this day would come in my life? I will be on cloud 9 for the next 30 years! Can you tell I'm excited?! At this point and time in our trip, I will be ATTEMPTING to put my seven years of German to use. It's all a little rusty and I wish I would have brought my German-English dictionary as well as my old friend Tobias with me!! I can just see it now, Brandon is going to be pushing me to speak with the locals everywhere we go... And I'll be standing there nervous, thinking through what I'm wanting to say... trying formulate the sentences and get the words out of my mouth. I have discovered that I have forgotten a lot of the vocabulary I once knew. Not to mention, that German grammar... it just kills me! Der, die, das, den, dem, diese, dieser, diesen... I mean who really knows which one to use?! Anyways, it will be interesting. It will also be fun, but zie Germans are going to be thinking... oh my, those Americans... they sure do try! Hahaha.

While in Berlin our accomodations include staying in a "JugendHerberge" (a youth hostel). Nothing but the authentic, cultural (economical) lodging choice for travelers such as us. Tuesday night we fly back to London and that's when our Contiki Tour begins! (That's the tour group for 18-35 year olds that we bought our travel package with.) This "holiday" as the Brits would say includes traveling through 10 different countries over the next 14 days. Our itinerary is as follows:

London, Amsterdam, the Rhine Valley, St. Goar, Munich, Austrian Tyrol, Venice, Rome, Florence, Lucerne, Paris, and then back to London. It's okay... I don't know where some of these places are either. We've got some England, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, and some other places in there too...

When we have completed the wonderful traveling loop and arrive back in London, Brandon and I will then spend an additional 2 days there before we make our way back to the lovely town of Harrogate. For the next 18 days my eyes will be seeing some amazing things and in turn, your eyes will see some great pictures. I CAN'T WAIT!!! It's almost too much for me to handle! I'm so excited I'm about to bust. Well, until then, I better get back to the preparation, packing and folding laundry. Pray for our safe travels and we hope to be able to post a blog or two in the days ahead. Lots of love... ~Big and Little Rigg.

P.S.- Also, if you are interested in leaving us a voicemail... you can call this number, 1-800-706-1333 and then it will prompt you to enter an account number which is: 2008231983 and you can leave us a message! We we will check our voicemail periodically. :)

...And loving it.

So as you all know that this past weekend was our anniversary. It was a great time! We spent both Saturday and Sunday exploring York. Our activities included:

1. Richard III Museum: a King of England (1483-1485).
2. A tour through one of Britain's most distinguished historical town houses, the Fairfax House.
3. The York dungeon: A weird haunted house type place that was teaching us about York history and trying to scare us at the same time. The pamphlet reads "The York Dungeon brings more than 2000 years of gruesomely authentic history vividly back to life... and death." Haha, it was different to say the least.
4. A tour of "York's friendliest and independent brewery."
5. Clifford's tower
6. A ride around the city on a bus with lots of sightseeing and commentary.
7. The York Minster.

8. AND last but not least, my personal favorite... a surprise river cruise!!! How romantic. :) It was the perfect way to end our wonderful weekend. It was a 75 minute cruise from the Lendal Bridge landing where we got on the boat to the Bishopthorpe Palace, home to the Archbishop of York.

As you can see, we had two very full, action-packed days! At the end of Sunday night, Brandon told me he wished June 6th wouldn't come... neither of us wanted our day to end.

Sorry for the sappiness, I just can't resist and HAVE to put it in. Especially since I know all of you secretly love it! ;)

P.S.- Thanks to all of you that commented! It was really good to get some responses! It was so fun to hear from some people that I had no clue were reading it. :) I will continue to write the blogs.

The York Minster, the largest medieval gothic cathedral in England that dates back to the 13th century.

Amazing stained glass windows.

Mr. and Mrs. Rigg.

We climbed 285 of these narrow spiral stairs to get to the top of a tower in the Minster. The view was worth it.

All you need is love... notice the heart shape in the window.

A cool screen.

Awesome purple dude that posed perfectly still, even in the rain. We became friends with him. :)

Clifford's Tower... Fantastic views of York and the surrounding countryside from the top.

The outer wall of the tower.

York...

Whoa, risk taker... I'm standing on the wrong side of the fence!

Sitting on the city wall pondering something very deep and intellectual.

Here comes the River Duchess, the boat we took our river cruise on.

A close up.

The interior.

The Minster lit up at night. Sooo pretty!

L&B One Year Anniversary!

You shared her with me yesterday, so close and yet so far away
It's the little things she does that magnify your grace
And your grace resonates in my soul every time I see her face
At your feet I lay her down, humbly before you I bow
She's a blessing, you've given to me, Father of light
The lines have fallen in pleasant places, Many daughters have done well
But you excel them all. Protect her and mold her with your hands
You've been good to me my sweet
And your grace resonates in my soul every time I see her face
You have been a shelter Lord, and she has been my dream
Beautiful, beautiful, I feel your grace abound on me
In the light, in the light
At your feet I lay her down, humbly before you I bow
She's the blessing, you've given to me, Father of light

Plankeye - Beautiful

Lisa, this past year with you has been the best year of my life! This song encompasses just about everything you are to me: a blessing and gift from God, my DREAM, a reflection of God's beauty, goodness, glory, and grace, etc, etc... I thank God that I get to wake up to such a wonderful, beautiful wife everyday for the rest of my life!

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
I LOVE YOU LISA RIGG!!!!!