At long last, after several frustrating attempts to export this thing, here is some of our video that we shot during this trip. Enjoy!

Ryan and Jenny's 2009 Europe Trip from Ryan & Jenny James on Vimeo.

Today we are coming home! We're about to fly from Barcelona to JFK airport and will be stopping in Philadelphia for Ryan's brother-in-law's graduation and to see Ryan's family, and then back to D.C. by the end of the weekend. Thanks everyone for staying tuned in to our adventure. We're sorry that we didn't have an update every day, but some of the places we went to didn't have internet access easily available. Or we were busy eating horse meat.

Today we:

• Took a trolley car to the Mürren cable car
• Took a cable car down to Lauterbrunnen
• Took a train to Interlaken
• Took another train to Spiez
• Took another train to Brig
• Took another train to Milan Centrale Station
• Took a bus from Milan Centrale to the Milan aiport
• Took a plane to Barcelona
• Took a cab from the Barcelona airport to our hotel
• Fell asleep

Today we spent the entire day in Mürren, Switzerland. We woke up to disappointing weather, and stayed in our cozy chalet for much of the first half of the day. Once we saw some blue sky, we headed out to take two more cable cars high up to the Schilthorn summit, had lunch there, and saw a lot more mountains. We had about a half hour of clear view before snow rolled in and we couldn't see anything.

Things we learned

1. It's scary riding in a cable car that's packed shoulder to shoulder with a high school group up into the mountains.
2. If you look out your window and it's cloudy and rainy, it may actually be clear higher up.
3. Scenes from a James Bond movie were shot at the top of Shilthorn.
4. Horse meat isn't all that bad
5. There really are Swiss mountain men, and they really do fit their stereotype.

Highlights

1. Riding in a cable car packed with kids up to the Schilthorn summit
2. Viewing mountain ranges in all directions from the top of Schilthorn
3. Eating horse meat
4. Having lunch in the rotating restaurant on top of Schilthorn
5. Returning to the (only) restaurant in Mürren and hearing the phrases "It is good meal?" and "Enjoy your good meal."

Today we travelled from Florence Italy to Mürren, Switzerland. This trip took us on big fast trains, little trollies, and cable cars high up into the Swiss Alps.

Things we learned

1. The alps are breathtaking. We thought the mountains in Austria were big, but they honestly were tiny compared to what we saw in Switzerland.
2. All the trains past Interlaken are not included in our Eurail pass.
3. Swiss francs are beautiful. The US dollar is ugly.
4. We had the best hospitality, helpfulness and politeness on our trip once we entered Switzerland.
5. It seems there are almost as many British as Swiss who live up in the alps.

Highlights

1. Seeing the mountains for the first time
2. Taking the various cable cars and trollies up into the mountains to get to our little village
3. Meeting our wonderful hostess, Denise
4. Eating fondue
5. Observing rich British people (Charles, his wife and his wife's sister) planning Christmas in the Alps and how the "children would be bored stiff".

Today we spent the day in Florence, and since we covered much of this relatively small city the day before, we rested for much of the afternoon. But not after seeing Michealangelo's David.

Overall we really liked Florence.

Things we learned

1. The Academy Art Gallery in Florence is very poor, and David feels completely out of place there.
2. Despite what their website says, you CANNOT take pictures in the Academy Art Gallery, and will get shouted at or clapped at or barked at if you are seen with a camera.
3. The Academy Art Gallery lights the rooms with fluorescent light, and doesn't light individual pieces at all.
4. It must be a common lifestyle here for people to spend all of their money on clothes and food. We guess because they all live in apartments or small homes, drive bicycles, but wear $300 shoes.
5. Not all italian food is equal. We ate at a restaurant in a tourist saturated area and it wasn't nearly as good, not to mention way over-priced.
6. If you're traveling all around Europe in spring, bring allergy medicine, especially if you're going to Florence.
7. Almost all the merchandise we saw here in Florence (books, shoes, etc.) was significantly more expensive than in the states. A pair of Converse all-stars was 69 euros, which comes to $90, more than twice what you'd pay in America.

Highlights

1. Seeing Michaelangelo's David in person. His hands are disproportionately big, and some other body parts are disproportionately small.
2. Listening to a musical troupe play more Disney classics as well as the theme from Schindler's List while having dinner at Piazza della Signoria
3. Seeing artists recreate masterpieces like The Birth of Venus in chalk on the street
4. Resting all afternoon
5. Seeing some 14th century monastic art from Florence

Today we traveled from Cinque Terre Italy to Florence Italy. The train ride was pleasant and uneventful. Jenny is almost finished reading The Mysteries of Udolpho, and Ryan is almost halfway through The Brothers Karamazov. We arrived in Florence at around 1:30, checked in to our hotel, and had a nice lunch. We walked around a bunch, and basically covered a lot major sites in Florence this first day. We finished it off by a fantastic meal at an off-the-tourist-map hotspot called La Beppa Fioraia.

Things we learned

1. Florence is significantly smaller than we had thought, and we're happy for it.
2. Poker Face by Lady Gaga is huge here, and annoying.
3. You can make pretty much anything out of leather.
4. Geppetto lives here

Highlights

1. Taking a stroll in Giardino delle Rose during sunset
2. Getting our first taste of authentic italian food (it's really good)
3. Florence Cathedral
4. Palazzo Vecchio
5. Enjoying the numerous sculptures and italian renaissance art throughout the city
6. Seeing a bunch of replicas and fakes at the Piazza del Signoria