Grazie per Gelato

Brother and Sister Tiki with mighty Marinda backpacking and Eurailing 12 cities in 15 days...the Amazing Race...Tiki style! Frankfurt ... Bern ... Genève ... Milano ... Roma ... Venezia ... Ravenna ... Pisa ... Firenze ... München (Neuschwanstein) ... København ... Berlin ... Frankfurt (Freidrichdorf) ... aaahh! Of course the trip was all about Rome. We did spend 2 1/2 days there. Yes there were eye-popping sites, marginal transportation (transit strike...yikes!), wonderful gelato, and "real" pizza (nothing to write home about). Now I can say, "been there, done that."

When folks ask, "what was the best part of your trip?"

I can say two things, "Ah, yes. There was plenty of eye-candy. But the spiritual side far outweighed it all."

We went to the Bern Switzerland Temple in Zollikofen. We stayed in the temple accommodations which are comfortable but not lavish. Marinda got to do some baptisms for the dead with Italian kids and Lynette and I went through an Italian endowment session. It was a wonderful experience. I so love the saints wherever we go.

Missionaries...missionaries...missionaries. In Rome, angels to guide us to the chapel, Elder Mondragon and Elder Hartsock. Some more elders in Ravenna. Lots more in Frankfurt.

Why Copengagen? The temple of course. This was ended up more as a day trip since we could not get a night train to Berlin. We ended up walking to the temple and met an angel, Charlotte Fredricksen. She was recently called to serve a mission in western Switzerland and southern Germany. No trip to Copenhagen is complete without a visit to Vor Frue Kirke (Copenhagen Cathedral) to see the original Thorvaldsen statue of the Christus.

The best was in the Frankfurt Temple as we mingled with saints from the stakes in Munich and Dortmund. We also stayed in temple accommodations there for 2 nights thanks to another angel, Silvia, the receptionist. Talking, eating, serving with faithful members of the church was exhilarating!

When we got back to the Salt Lake Airport, we were greeted by President Uchtdorf (not really...but sounds good). He was there greeting a relative but I said, "hi." And introduced Marinda to him.

Ciao, tschüss, au revoir!

Cheerio...and not the Cereal!

Yes...I am bad at posting. I would rather write in my journal.

Sister Tiki and I went to London for our 27th anniversary. We have been trying to do something fun each year...so why not London?

We flew on Northwest Airlines (carrier of choice) into Gatwick. Gatwick is only about 8 miles from the London Temple. So after we rented our car, we drove over to the London Temple. We knew it would be closed but had to fulfill a dream. The London Temple will be having its 50th anniversary in March so they were closed for renovations. A nice security guy (Rob Ainke) let us use the loo, and use the phone to call the Preston Temple.

Well driving on the left is a trip! Not too bad but the steering wheel is on the right but the gear shifting pattern is not reversed so it takes some practice. The motorways are wonderful. Most tourist won't brave England traffic but it was fun...

We stayed at the Preston Temple for 2 nights. We did some temple work, had laughs, and I was mistaken for Uncle Jeff again. Preston is north of Birmingham and Manchester about 4-5 hours away.

We enjoyed Stonehenge but it was raining kitties and puppies! As no one really wants to stand around in the rain, we stayed only about an hour. Stonehenge is about 1 1/2 hours west of London...geographical London is huge. It was incredible though.

We went to church in Slough (rhymes with cow) and enjoyed their little ward while we received numerous invitations to move in. I got some great material for a talk from one of the speakers. Slough is only a couple of miles from Windsor Castle so we drove by.

We drove down to Dover and climbed around the white cliffs of Dover. The rain let up long enough for a comfortable walk. It was foggy enough that we could not see the coastline of France 30 miles away.

We lodged at the Holiday Inn Express in Croyden (suburban London) and took the train in a couple of days to see the sites. We rode the "tube" and "minded the gap." We took a romantic, yet chilly, walk along the Thames. We saw the Clock Tower (Big Ben is housed there), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (changing of the guard), Baker Street ("elementary my dear Watson"), St. Paul's Cathedral, Temple Church (yikes...closed on Tuesdays), London Tower, and Tower Bridge. We rode the London Eye (a 40-story ferris wheel on the Thames).

And we tasted the cuisine including bangers and mash, (not-so yummy), multiple fish and chips (yummy), scones and clotted cream (yummier), and gelato at Harrod's (yummiest). I amazed Sister Tiki by not going to one McDonald's...not even to the restroom. She did want to try Wimpie Burgers...nothing to write home about.

The best part of the trip, you ask? ...being with my eternal companion, my helpmeet, my wife (it was pretty crowded with all 4 of us...haha).