Mom Dear Brian and Kayla, Can't wait to see you! May you have a safe and happy trip home! We love you!! Mom, Dad, and Family

marian hall Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed your travels very much.

Mom Dear Brian & Kayla, Yes, we were very happy to receive your message this morning! A red flag went up when you did not respond to my last email, and when you did not send a birthday greeting to Kevin. We thought it might be an internet problem, but we did not know for sure. Thanks to Rose, who called her cousin in Rome to inquire if you had registered at his motel; thanks to Bob for his great suggestions; thanks to Donna, Nancy, and the Rootstown gang for their interest & concern. Special thanks to Brady, for sharing Facebook pictures you had sent him. It was great to know you are OK! A picture IS worth a thousand words! You've probably heard about the protests in France. The French gov't. is scheduled to vote on raising the retirement age from 60 to 62, & on overhauling the pension system. Associated Press reports "Wildcat protests blocked train lines around Paris on Thursday. Protesters in cars & trucks blocked several highways around the country, from near Calais in the north to the Pyrenees in the south...Families are on edge over the gasoline shortages because school vacations start Friday...Toulouse city university is closed because of protests..ten other universities were blocked..& Lady Gaga cancelled two Paris concerts scheduled for Friday & Saturday, as there is no certainty the trucks can make it to the show!" Our neighbor, who is from Germany, said that all of Germany is beautiful. Benedict XVI, in an address to artists, said "What is capable of restoring enthusiasm and confidence, what can encourage the human spirit to rediscover its path, to raise its eyes to the horizon, to dream of a life worthy of its vocation - if not beauty?" Thanks for sharing with us all the beauty you are finding in nature and art. Seeing you in the pictures is beautiful, too! Love always, Mom P.S. Love and best wishes from Dad and all the family

JeanB AM enjoying the updated pics this morning.....when I left Prague I knew in my heart I now knew what old really was..and true beauty..I did take a boat cruise on that river (danube? james?) and we had a traditional Czech dinner on it. I saw the car parked in the station lot in your photos that said Europa on it..to take people to the hotel :) I thought I had seen it all..until I arrived in Vienna.....if you can take the horse drawn cart tour of the town..it was wonderful.....we did take a bus tour at night and saw all the ladies selling their "wares" in the windows in the brothel district. When I was in Vienna Elton John was on a tour there and his posters were up everywhere. We stayed up all night in Vienna, it was on a week end and the entertainers were out full force..playing their songs and dancing and eating. I see you have been made aware of the "terror alerts" I would think that would be the way all the time and never let your guard down ,and stay alert..always..everywhere. From Vienna I went to the Interlaken area and the Tyrolean alps..rode an old train up a mountain side and saw one of Hitler's many hideouts..it was cold and snowy there..in the spring... Take it all in and savor it..the memories will last a lifetime. Your eyes are seeing what many others only view in books. Love all the photos....keep it up :)

Kayla Yeah, Richard sent me a message with an article about it. Until that, I hadn't heard anything over here about it. I'm glad he sent it and I've been trying to keep track of it too now. I think there is more security in places like train stations. In Prague, there were groups of two walking around every 10 minutes. Hopefully its only a treat and no action.

Carol Giles Kayla, Did you know that Obama issued an advisory to all Americans traveling in Europe, nothing specific but be careful. Love, Aunt Carol and Uncle Tom see you soon