We're Here!

Elise here - my first time posting! It's been a total whirl-wind of a week! It's past midnight here (Saturday night) and this is the first chance we've had to use internet but I'm gonna write quickly cause we need to get to bed!
Last Sunday we drove up to stay at Rol & Karen's just outside Minneapolis. They were so wonderfully hospitable (as always) and sent us off Monday morning with an amazing brunch (GREAT last meal in the states!). Rol dropped us off at the airport, and we pulled up RIGHT behind Cherise & Jenna!!! Cherise and I booked flights a month apart and unknowingly booked the same one... awesome :) We were on the same flights until Iceland and then she and Jenna went to Sweden (where we'll meet up with Cherise on the 17th) and we flew into Paris.
We spent the first 2 nights in a wonderful campground in Normandy and visited Utah & Omaha beach and several other places associated with D-Day. The very first place we stopped was a German soldier bunker/hide-out thing (I don't remember what it's called) and we were just walking back to the car when all of a sudden... BANG BANG BANG...and lots of more bangs and lots of shouting and lots of soldiers running towards us!!! I was so confused (and scared!) and pretty much just hit the deck! I can't stop laughing now when I think about how funny I must've looked :) We didn't know whether it was a re-enactment (since it was the day after D-Day we were there) or if it was military training... either way it was a pretty exciting/funny/odd way to start our trip :)
Then Thursday we drove to Calais (France) to catch a ferry to Dover (England) and then drove to Paris. Spent all day Friday seeing the sights in London - Big Ben & Parlaiment, Westminster Abbey, British Museum, Trafalgor Square, Downing Street, St. Martin in-the-fields, etc. I really enjoyed every minute of it - it's just like NYC! So much diversity - it's a people-watching paradise :) Today we went to Stonehenge and to see the Roman Baths in Bath. Another fantastic day! Tomorrow we will see the rest of the things in London that we didn't get to see yet :)
I'm super thankful that European campgrounds are amazingly CLEAN and well-kept, they're much nicer than the U.S. I'm also thankful that I can sleep in the back seat of the car - it's been too cold for me at night... I'm kind of a wuss. I'm also thankful that Brett & Dad are such fantastic drivers - the roads here are TINY and people go so fast! Plus it's really weird in England when we drive on the left side of the road. I'm also thankful for the safety we've had - I feel like God's just looking out for us and taking care of all the details :) So we're one week in and all is very well - Praise the Lord :)

elise