The Daydream Adventures End

A year's worth of daydream adventures have come to an end--starting last March with a Caribbean cruise, followed by teaching in China in July, traveling to Germany and Hungary with conventions in August, excitement in Manila, Hong Kong, and Macau giving presentations at universities in December, and ending with teaching for three months from February to April in Utrecht, Netherlands and Pecs, Hungary with side trips to Ireland, Scotland, and England to visit the lands of our ancestors, and to Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland to show off Europe to our grandchildren.

Last Sunday was our last at church in Dutch where we had to guess every Sunday what everyone was saying in talks and lessons.


We said goodbye to Bishop Dong and the relief society president...


to the Ottos, who loaned us lots of bedding for when the grandchildren came to visit...


to the tall members...


and the shorter members...


and every other size.


We said goodbye to the young man waiting for his mission call and his tall girlfriend (there are lots of tall Dutch men and women)...


to the Africanist who has lectured at the University of Florida...


and to the ward organist who always added his long virtuoso flourish to the beginning and end of every number.


Here I am in the apartment sitting on my trunks ready to plan a new set of adventures once we get home to the USA.


Wow!! We're back home again decked out in our orange bonnets in honor of the Dutch queen's birthday.

Starting the Kannas Bike Tour

As they were leaving their magical European tour for the USA, the Wilcoxes helped us welcome Randy and Chrissy at the start of their eight week bike tour of Europe.


We said goodbye to the Wilcoxes and then took the Kannas on a typical Thompson walkabout of Utrecht and the area...


stopping to check the latest fashions...


visiting the famous Rietveld-Schroeder house that in 1924 revolutionized architecture...


eating Turkish pizza (which some say is actually Armenian)...


clomping around in wooden shoes...


before stopping to smell the lilacs...


and tulips...


and making sure we were living a good life by walking on water...


before sending them on their way five days later.

The Wilcox Whirlwind

We looked out the window and what did we see? Wilcoxes popping in the jungle-gym tree!! (Remember, you can click on a picture to enlarge it.)


They were here for the Thompson special two week tour of Europe. So we set off first to see the windmills and tulips of Holland.


Of course we had to try out the local food wherever we went...in this case Dutch Pannenkoeken


Then we hopped on the train to Brussels...


to check on the peeing boy...


before stopping off to see Paris. The Eiffel Tower sets a magical tone when it sparkles at night.


Mickey gave us a warm welcome...


but some rides were definitely scarier than the Florida version.


Some took time off to defend the universe...


so we'd be safe to stroll through the parks at Versailles...


and snuggle by the Arc de Triomphe.


We searched for Quasimodo at Notre Dame...


and compared our smiles with Mona Lisa's.


Then we searched for Lallatin ancestors in Balzholz, Germany, where they lived for a hundred years or so before joining the church and coming to the USA. We even found an oldtimer in this neighborhood who knew of some Lallatins when they lived nearby. All have left now.


We hunted for castles in the Alps...


checked the gondolas in Venice for safety violations...


noted the dress standards of the Romans (I think they need a talk with the bishop)...


craned our necks checking the ceiling paintings in the Vatican and found that God had successfully created Adam and Eve in the Sistine Chapel.


We made sure that the gladiators were no longer attacking the Christians in the Colosseum..


gave our report the next day in an audience with the pope...


and played with the birds...


before throwing coins into Trevi fountain so we'll be sure to come back some day.


Pinocchio seems to be having trouble telling the truth when he is sweet-talking pretty girls...but you know how Italian men are!!


We found Aurelia...


while on our way to keep the tower in Pisa from falling.


We spent the night with the rich and famous in Lugano, Switzerland...


before making snowmen while crossing the alps...


to hike through the glaciers at Jungfraujoch at 11,383 feet.


Does anyone look exhausted after the whirlwind Thompson special? And note that Chrissy and Randy joined us at the airport to start us on our next adventure!!