Bad-gas time!

we weren't done with austria after salzburg, so we traveled to badgastein, a beautiful town perched in a dramatic valley with a waterfall rushing right through the middle of town. walking down the block was a serious understatement here... you think the streets are steep in San Francisco.....

on the way to our hostel , (which was more like a really cool old hotel) we stopped at a small town that was having it's summer festival! we went to their all-town-garage-sale

(actually in the town square) and picked up some outfits,

then to the little town park for oompa music and lunch!

In Badgastein we had a beautiful hike and made friends with a lovely butterfly, he took turns landing on all of us!

Then kevin took haley and brinna on a spectacular canyoning adventure. Erin and i wandered around town....

and took in an open air concert

we had such a lovely day

meanwhile the canyoners.... you know what canyoning is, right? you put on a wetsuit and p.f.d. and float the rapids! this includes waterfalls...........lots of waterfalls! the pictures in the advertisement had everyone harnessed as they were traverssing the rapids, so i said ok. apparently the harness picture is just for the mom...so she'll say ok! anyway, they had an amazing time and i swear the adrenaline was still coursing through their veins two days later! in fact, erin and i got a contact adrenaline rush, so that was nice for us. we did have to pick up a souvenir for brinna, but we managed to get the crutches in her favorite color, purple, so that's nice too!

This is St. Marks Square in Venice!