i just got back from austria!!! well actually i just got back from nine at nine, and we got back from austria right before nine at nine. tonight we just shared stories about our travels over the past two weeks and prayed and sang songs. so our austria trip was... fun and relaxing and i liked it alot!! it was also way crazy on so many different levels! to start, we missed our train thursday morning out of oxford. we thought we were going to have to buy new tickets and that we were going to miss our flight out of stansted. but we didnt! it was amazing!!! a man at the train station told us which train to get on and when we got off that train, we stepped right onto the next train that took us to london paddington, and then from that we took the subway to the other side of london(and our train tickets worked for the subway!) and then we got off the subway and took another train to stansted(which we barely caught), where we went to our gate, with like twenty minutes to spare. then we had a two hour flight to austria where i completely finished the book(shopaholic abroad, the sequel to the last book i read) that was supposed to last me til the train back to oxford... you would think i know that i read fast and that i would bring another book with me... whatever. so we got to austria and went through passport control and then we got our luggage. then the airport took us to the train station for free and it was absolutely deserted. so we took the train to salzburg which was about an hour and a half. on the train sarah and courtney talked to a nice older lady and a nice older man and the man said he would take us to the bus station. and when we got off the train the lady said we had to meet her husband bc he was the assistant director for the sound of music!! so we definitely got a picture! then the man took us to the bus stop and said he would meet us when we got off the bus so he could take us to our hostel. so while we were on the bus a guy came over and asked if we needed a hostel and we told him where we were staying and he said he was staying there too and that he would take us to it. so we met the old man at our stop and told him this other guy would take us. so then we got to our hostel and checked in and then we went to dinner. and it was SO SO good!!! i had chicken cordon blue and then for dessert i had chocolate cake! yum yum! then we went back to the hostel and me and courtney grabbed some snacks and we went downstairs and talked and laughed. then the next day sarah travis caryn and brent went on the sound of music tour while me coutrney and bethann slept and got ready. then we ate lunch at the hostel which was really good. then we went on the sound of music tour which was cool. oh but heres the beginning of our crazy story: the tour company picked us up from the hostel and then the guy said we had to pick up some other people as well. so we did. it was a family of four, mom dad and seven year old twin girls. so we went on the tour and the family sat behind us. and we talked to them kind of alot. then after the tour we met the others and went to dinner. and it was SO SO SO good!!!!!!!! i got grilled chicken with fresh vegetables and rice and me and courtney split potato and bacon soup. i have never had a meal so wonderful!!!!!!! then me and courtney split a chocolate cake that had lots of chocolate syrup and fruit!!!!!! and then brent bethann travis me and courtney got a raspberry souffle to split and it almost made me puke!!! i had half a bite and that was it, its so wet.... yuck! bethann called it calf slobber... DISGUSTING!!!!! then we went back to the hostel and me and courtney stayed downstairs again and laughed and laughed. so heres a funny story: we went to the bar to order hot chocolate and i thought i would see if i could get something close to a mocha frappucino. so i asked the guy if i could get coffee with something mocha and he goes "mocha?" and i was like "yeah mocha" so he was like "no we dont have mocha coffee... umm i dont really know what youre talking about..." and so i was like "no no its ok" and he turns around and picks up a chocolate bar that says "milka" on it and asks me if that is what i want. lol me and courtney started cracking up!!! and i could hardly squeak out a no. so we had our late night chat and then we went to bed. then the next morning sarah travis brent and caryn went on some cable car ride up a mountain. me courtney and beth ann again slept later and got ready and then we went into town to get some lunch and go shopping : ) well heres more of the crazy story: we ran into the family from the tour again! they were having cappucinos and muffins at a little cafe on the side of the street. so we went over and said hi and the dad invited us to sit with them and have coffee and muffins also. we politely refused but he insisted so we sat. and talked. and learned they are loaded! they were talking about their trips to spain and kenya and how they stayed at the plaza when they went to new york... as if all this was ordinary! but they are so nice and generous! then after we had ice cream and hot chocolate, we were going to go eat lunch when they invited us to have lunch with them!!!! we again said it was quite alright but they insisted! so we had a free lunch! it was the best pizza ive had since in europe! and they ordered garlic bread for all of us to share, which was made with real garlic! and when it came out hannah, one of the twins, reached for a piece and her dad told her that "her friends" should go first. and of course we said it was completely fine for her to take a piece(i mean shes only seven!) but he told us that they teach their children that guests always get the first and the best. he said that you treat your best friends like family and if you dont treat them like family then they are only acquaintances. isnt that so sweet?!?! i mean its true, but its also really sweet!! so yeah we had a great lunch and they told us all about themselves. the mom is from egypt and teaches the girls arabic and the dad is from england and they live in london. and they have two sons, one is 32 and the other is 29. the dad hunts pheasants and they have traveled all over the world and eaten millions of types of meats(like giraffe and crocodile and frog and camel!--the girls told us camel was good, that it tasted like lamb but that giraffe was quite chewy(all in a cute little british accent!!) oh and they say horrid! lol) but then a little bit after we were finished eating bethann started feeling sick so we had to leave and they asked if we would like them to call a taxi and said we would be fine. and then the dad gave us his business card and told us to call if we needed anything for the rest of our trip in salzburg and to call them if we were ever in london!! courtney swears they said we could stay at their house! so yeah that was really cool! so we went back to the hostel and made sure bethann was ok staying there by herself and then me and courtney went out again. we walked around a little bit then had dessert at this little cafe. then we went to a candy store and bought real austrian chocolate. oh and we also went into hermes... oh how i wish i could have bought something! then here is the rest of our crazy story: we ran into hannah and her dad!!!!! insane! they were out shopping for boots : ) so we talked for a few minutes and told them bethann was ok and joked that we might run into each other yet again before our flight out the next day. so then we went to the mirabell gardens and to this terrace that is from the sound of music. it was all really pretty! but a funny story: we had to take an elevator up to the terrace. so we get on the elevator from one side and then when we got to the top we got out on the opposite side. ok so all is cool. well on the way back down we got on and i walked straight to the opposite side and leaned against the "wall." well the doors/my wall opened and i almost fell flat on my face!!! lol it was really funny, me and courtney were laughing so hard after that! : ) so then we went back to the hostel to meet everyone for dinner and to check on bethann. we ended up eating at a pizza and pasta place. i had penne with pasta sauce, cream of broccoli soup and breadsticks with garlic! oh and chocolate mousse for dessert!!!!!!! it was so good!!! then when we got back bethann joined me and courtney in our late night chat in the lobby of the hostel. we had a good time telling stories and laughing. then sunday we pretty much traveled the whole day... yuck! me and courtney had some amazing chinese food. i hate chinese food by the way. lol but i had beef and broccoli and white rice. and i finished off courtneys cashew beef : ) then we had nine at nine and thats about it. oh, so while we were in the airport, me and courtney listened to courtneys ipod. here are a few of the songs that got stuck in my head because of that : )

take my hand, take my whole life too
for i cant help falling in love with you -elvis

there will never be a minute of the day
i wont think of you
my feelings are so strong inside
i feel it through and through
there will never be a night thats so dark
that we wont shine
or a dream that we lost that we cant find
youll always be the one for me
i think of you from time to time and in between -rascal flatts

tell me that you live for love
that forever is never enough
that youve waited all your life to see
that you want so badly to believe
tell me that its not just me -rascal flatts

when i saw my reflection in her eyes
thats when i knew that it was time
and i leaned over and kissed her cheek
and softly whispered my goodbyes
against the glass i heaved a sigh
followed the fading of its lights
watched the plane begin its flight
with my eyes into the night
and with miles between us
how could love have seen us
and given us this chance
and i hear it whisper
could you not have kissed her
and shown her youre man
who wants nothing more in life
than for her to be your wife
and i know that im a coward
who couldnt even tell her
as she begged me with those eyes
give her a reason not to fly
and it haunts me on the highway
heading back to my place
singing why why oh why
and with miles between us
how could love have seen us
and given us this chance
and i hear it whisper
could you not have kissed her
and shown her youre man
who wants nothing more in life
than for her to be your wife -tj mccloud