European Wonderland July 2013~ Californian

(Continuation)
July 4th- First day of Tour. Rome
We met at one of the dining rooms , the tour was full, two coaches running parallel tours with a total of 99 passengers. Our Tour Director was John Hovath, the other tour was ran by Peter Rosenthal. We met our driver, Domenico, two days later. After the introductions, signing up for next day optional tours and dinner out of the way, we all went for a drive thru Rome, it sprinkled a little and we stopped for a quick picture in front of St. Peters.
July 5th, Second day. Rome
Early start, good breakfast, and ready on the coach by 7:45. At 8 AM the tour of the Vatican Museumn Museum and Sistine Chapel started; after we finish this optional tour, we met the rest of the group, to go inside St. Peters, view La Pieta, Bernini’s altar, etc. We walked to find souvenirs and lunch , and departed for another ride around old Rome and the Coliseum, we had a great group picture by Constantine Arch, with the Coliseum behind. We also took the tour of the Coliseum, and returned all together to the hotel. Later we left for a passegiata, starting near Trevi Fountain , continue thru Via del Corso to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and ending it at the other side of the Tiber river. We then took the coach and headed for dinner. It was the pizza night, many of the children of the group participated making dough and putting the topping. (Dinner was not great, pizza was so-so)

July 6th, Siena-Florence.
Departure at 8:30, one comfort stop, arriving at Siena about lunch time. Siena is famous for the Palio, a horse race competition between the 17 districts of the city, although only 11, I think, participate at one time, there had been two races every year , since the 1500’s, we missed both, one had just taken place, the next one a few weeks away, in August. We saw a video of the races on the coach, beautiful festivities, parades, flag throwing, and the race itself, very serious competition between the sections, many crying after the loss or crying after winning it, hard to tell. We bought sandwiches and drinks (the owner of the small deli was very proud of the homemade salami, he gave us extra slices) We walked around the campo, and the fountain, fed the birds, went behind the campo saw the beautiful Basilica, but the long lines discouraged us to go inside. We continued to Florence, arriving at Piazza Michelangelo at midafternoon, admired the view of Florence, Santa Maria di Fiori’s famous Bruneschelli Dome, the Piazza de la Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and the river from the Piazza, great photo op. Before going to the hotel we went for a walk of the city, the leather and gold shops, had some free time for gelato and Santa Croce. From the city center, we walked to the very well located Hotel Mediterraneo, our bags were in the room already, we had four beds, yeah! but a very old fashioned bathroom, it was a little bit of a challenge to use the shower without spraying water everywhere, but we managed… The rest of the hotel has been remodeled and it’s beautiful. The location is superb. Free Wi-fi, although a little slow. The included dinner that night was at local restaurant, we walked part of the way, and walked back to the hotel afterwards. (I took a taxi, long day and a glass or two of wine did not help)

July7th- Florence –Pisa, farmhouse dinner.
We and all who had signed for the Accademia and walking tour optional left at about 8:30, met the local guide and saw the main sights of Florence, went to the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David and the unfinished slaves and other work of art from the Renaissance period. We continued our walking tour, admired Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors of the Baptistery, which Michelangelo labeled “Gates of Paradise”(these are copies, the originals are in a museum) the Cathedral, Bell Tower, the Dome, the Officci buildings, Ponte Vecchio. The optional to Pisa and farmhouse was lots of fun, it takes about two hours to Pisa, and upon arriving we took a “choo-choo train” to get closer to the Field of Miracles. The local guide was a funny Italian, full of jokes; the children really took to him. We visited the Cathedral, and walked taking pictures of the tower of course, lots of vendors, everyone carrying more or less the same items, we had some gelato and got back on the coach for dinner at the farmhouse. This was near the city of Lucca. The lady of the house introduced herself, as the many products and explained the working of the farm, how to extract olive oil, etc. And then to one the many tents where dinner was served. She explained six or seven different kinds of wine, when to drink each one and us all tried them. Dinner was several courses, seven or eight, I wish I could remember all; the pasta was a lasagna type of noodle, the meat, delicious ribs, sausages, etc. We were entertained by musicians, very well done. The young people sat together and got to know each other, had a fun time. We were back to the hotel late.

July 8th, Classe (Ravenna)- Venice
We arrived at Classe at lunch time, visited St. Apollinaris Basilica, we didn’t have a guide tour, so we admired the mosaics without really knowing what we were looking at, I recommend to look it up before getting there, I knew a little bit about it, but not too much. We had a nice lunch, I had homemade lasagna and it was very, very good. We still had a while to get to Venice, so we rode along the coast; I think it took close to two hours. We found that our hotel had been changed, the original hotel could not handle both groups, our was great, a Best Western Quid, they gave us two rooms, probably breaking some law, we of course very happy with this arrangement. Very modern, good breakfast. Free Wi-Fi. I don’t remember now, but I think we went to Venice itself (the hotel is in the mainland) before going to the hotel, maybe after, anyway, we took the coach across the Freedom Bridge, parked, and took a boat to near Piazza San Marco, walked around, having gelato , taking pictures, and pretty soon was gondola and champagne time. Later we took a water taxi, about 9 of us in each, for a ride on the Grand Canal, beautiful, what a day! Dinner was at hotel.
July 9th Venice-Judeca-Burano
We returned to Venice, went to the glass blowing show in the island of Judeca , the children made their own masks, we all had some time for shopping . Met the local guide for the walking tour, which included the Basilica and many back streets, good tour. The optional was a trip to the island of Burano, this took almost an hour by boat, viewing a few of the many islands along the way. Lunch-dinner was great at the Raspo d’Ua restaurant. Burano is very beautiful, colorful houses, famous for the lace making, nice shops. The ride back took us along the coast and the many projects in progress to avoid floods and minimize the sinking of the city.
July 10th Verona-Engelberg
Early departure, many miles to cover today. First stop was in Verona, we walked about 15 minutes , around the Arena, many props there, since it is Opera season, and thru the beautiful upscale Via Mazzini, to view Juliet’s Balcony, we all know it is not real, but we all believe somehow it is. The busy market is one of the greatest in Europe, just loved walking around, having fresh fruits and do a little of souvenir shopping. After leaving Verona, we drove thru Brescia and Bergamo , all the time watching the movie “Letters to Juliet” , which everyone enjoyed. Before Milan, we turned north towards the lakes area and St. Gotthard, there was some delays before the 17 km tunnel, but nothing major. Everyone was taking pictures left and right of the beautiful Switzerland‘s landscape. We did have an included visit to a farm and a horse and carriage ride, early dinner consisted of the farm products, cheese and cured meats, John had purchase additional groceries in Italy to make sure we all had enough to eat. The hotel in Engelberg was the Ramada Titlis, with gorgeous views from the rooms’ balconies. Free- Wi-Fi. Perfect. The children enjoyed the pool that night and the next.

July 11th, Mt Titlis-Lucerne
Early departure again, the plan was to be at the start of the first funicular at opening time, 8:30. The place is very popular in India since many Bollywood movies have been filmed at Mt. Titlis, and we could tell because there were many Indian tourists also waiting for the first funicular. The long ride up takes three different funiculars, with two stations on the way to transfer to the next one. The last one is a revolving one, the only one in Switzerland, and the oldest in the world, great views all around, lots of snow near the top. Mt Titlis is over 10,000 feet, with an ice cave and a glacier at the top, also the tallest suspension bridge in the world. The kids had a ball throwing each other snow balls, it was a little slippery to walk in the snow, (I had taking a walking pole, still did not help me much). It was not very cold, gorgeous day, the most majestic views, another perfect day, coming back down we saw some clouds starting to form, so, I think the best time it is early in the morning, I am sure Trafalgar knows this.
Lucerne is one pretty and popular city, the Chapel Bridge dating 1000 years, hanging flowers, makes it even prettier. John gave us a map and a voucher for a free Rolex spoon at Bucherer. Lunch was another optional, The Swiss fondue lunch and show, a little in the “cheese” side, but food was good and everyone had a good time. Time for a little shopping and walking around, before the cruise around the lake, very relaxing. We tried to find the old walls of the city, but we gave up, and sat under a nice tree shade. Did I mention that we walked miles? We had dinner at the hotel.

July 12th- Paris bound.
Long ride, long hours, couple of stops, but we did the last leg without stopping, trying to arrive early at the hotel. Due to the Bastille’s day holiday, traffic was lighter than usual and we arrived at the Novotel Eiffel Tower Hotel at midafternoon. That night was the farewell dinner, we left the hotel at about 6:15, and had the chance to go inside Notredame before dinner. A Mass was in progress, loved the signing. We walked behind and around the Cathedral to admire the flying buttress, met the group at the corner, and walked to the restaurant, this was a very old building, probably dating from the 1700, the name of the restaurant intrigued me, “Nos Ancetres Les Gaulois”, the next day I asked our local guide, she told me it was a joke, since very few people are descendants of the Gauls now, never the less, food was good, I had lamb chops, baked potato and steamed vegetables, others had lamb or beef skewers, or duck, desserts were varied also. After dinner we boarded one of the many boats for the Seine cruise, it was a very nice night, with a refreshing breeze. The description of what we were seeing was offered in several languages, and it was fun going under the many, many bridges, everyone cheering when passing under one. At ten o’clock we were near the Eiffel Tower and it started to sparkle, everyone was delighted. The ride was long, longer than I expected, getting back on the bus and driving to the tower for the next sparkling show, at 11:00 pm, all very well timed, thank you, John . A very late night, but so worth it!
July 13th, Top of Eiffel Tower-Versailles-Montmartre
Early again, we met the local tour guide; she described what we were seeing in our way to the tower. At the tower by 9 am, first on line, after the second floor landing, everyone had tickets to take the elevators to the very top, I skipped the top, relaxed a little and walked to a bakery to get lunch, the plan was to eat it at the Versailles Gardens, after the grandchildren came down, we ate it right there and soon we were on our way to Versailles, had a walk around the gardens and the tour of 17 rooms of the palace, I think a little shorter tour than in the past, but we saw the main rooms, the Hall of Mirrors, Louis XIV rooms, Marie Antoinette bedroom, etc. Short but enough to get a gist of it. We had planned to walk the Champs Elysees, but we decided to stay in the hotel until the Montmartre walk. I had stayed at the Novotel before, and I knew the area, was planning to take the kids for walk to the bridge, and see the replica of the Statue of Liberty that is there, but did I mention that we walked miles? Had to rest every chance I got.
About 6 we left for Montmartre, it was our last night in Paris and I had promised the kids we were going to have escargot that night, there was no time, since we also wanted to do the walk, John treated us to crepes, and that was dinner. Looking back, we should had skipped the walk, and had dinner, but we also enjoyed the walk, so….we also went inside Sacre Cour Basilica, took the funicular down to the lower level, walked, walked some more to the coach and good bye Paris!
July 14th- Bastille Day, sadly left Paris before the celebrations, bound for London.
The ride to Calais was uneventful, the driver slowing down around the Somme’s WW I battle’s site, some of were able to take pictures of the enormous Canadian monument in the distance. (Hope to do the WWI and WWII tour next and see all these up close)
Checking at the border took long time, we had about 10 coaches ahead of us, and barely made it to the 12:30 ferry, and we were one of the last to board it. Nice crossing, had lunch, pretty soon we were looking at the white cliffs of Dover. We said good bye there to one of the families, and kept going toward London, traffic was light since it was Sunday. Here, we, more or less separated at different hotels, ours and a few of our group, was the Thistle Marble Arch , very nice. We said good bye to John and Domenico, our driver, checked in with our vouchers, checked in at the Trafalgar desk for the included city tour, bought the afternoon City of London and the Tower afternoon tour. I had planned to take the kids to the London Eye, but they decided to do that the next day. We got dinner from a KFC nearby, ate in the room, and stayed in. Very nice room, four beds, great bathroom. Also Free Wi-Fi.
After a very good breakfast, we boarded the coach with our city tour guide, and started the ride around London, with one short stop at Westminster Abbey. Next we went to the Household Calvary Museum, near St. James Palace; watching the preparations for the changing of the guards. We walked along the route , and picked a good place to watch the change of the guards. We missed the birthday of the future king by a week, too bad. The coach took us back to Trafalgar Center, we had lunch at a fast food place (Enough food to feed an elephant, the sign said) and waited for the next tour at the center. This one took us to the old city of London, visited St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. We were given a ticket to board one of the mini cruises back to Westminster, so once back there we went on the London Eye and walked a few minutes along the South Bank to where the many restaurants are, had dinner (at an Italian Restaurant!!! of all things, no fish and chips in London) took a cab back to the hotel and started packing, the ride picked us up at 6:15 am.
I have to finish this tale with the most embarrassing moment I had on all my travels: After repeatedly reminding the children about packing the Swiss army knife in the suit cases, I left my own small knife in my carry-on. Not only that, it happened to be an illegal knife in England. Who knew? I had had this particular knife for years, very handy to cut fruit, cheese, make sandwiches, etc. It was an old key chain, bought at a dime store in the States. Apparently it is known as a butterfly knife and considered a martial art weapon!!! I was detained and had to explain it to the Airport Police, I think they also found the situation ridiculous but never the less had to do their duty. It took a while to clear up but we all continued our flight home, so now I have to hear this story a million of more times, nobody will let me forget it.
This was my fourth trip with grandchildren to the old Continent, I enjoyed every one of them, but I think this one, with so many young people, was a European Wonderland July 4-16, 2013. This was “Family Experience” Tour, Great fun.

July 2nd, 2013.
My grandchildren, Jacob, Brandon and Jamilyn and I departed a day earlier, from Los Angeles to Rome, via Toronto. We used the extra day to adjust somewhat to jet lag. I had planned a couple of things before the tour. Our room (one for the four of us, since they were minors) was ready, we had a quick lunch, the kids went for a swim while I unpacked, etc. waiting to go out at a more convenient time, no reason to go out when it was too hot, the hotel, Crown Plaza St. Peters has a shuttle to the Vatican, but because it was a Papal audience day, the itinerary was different, I had planned to take it, but we took a taxi instead. The only thing we managed that day was to climb St. Peters Copula, and a quick visit to St. Peters, this took longer than expected, due to the security check long lines . The next day, before the official tour started we went for a walk, starting at the Coliseum, walked along the Forum, Piazza Venezia and ending at the Pantheon, my plan was also to go to St. Peters in Chains to show the children Michelangelo’s Moses, but we didn’t make it, after the Pantheon wanted to walk to Piazza Navona but we had enough of the heat, got some lunch and came back to the hotel to get ready for the introductory meeting and kick off party. The hotel had only ½ hour of free wi-fi, but for 15 euros we purchased service for two days, two devices.
,
July 4th- First day of Tour. Rome
We met at one of the dining rooms , the tour was full, two coaches running parallel tours with a total of 99 passengers. Our Tour Director was John Hovath, the other tour was ran by Peter Rosenthal. We met our driver, Domenico, two days later. After the introductions, signing up for next day optional tours and dinner out of the way, we all went for a drive thru Rome, it sprinkled a little and we stopped for a quick picture in front of St. Peters.
July 5th, Second day. Rome
Early start, good breakfast, and ready on the coach by 7:45. At 8 AM the tour of the Vatican Museumn Museum and Sistine Chapel started; after we finish this optional tour, we met the rest of the group, to go inside St. Peters, view La Pieta, Bernini’s altar, etc. We walked to find souvenirs and lunch , and departed for another ride around old Rome and the Coliseum, we had a great group picture by Constantine Arch, with the Coliseum behind. We also took the tour of the Coliseum, and returned all together to the hotel. Later we left for a passegiata, starting near Trevi Fountain , continue thru Via del Corso to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and ending it at the other side of the Tiber river. We then took the coach and headed for dinner. It was the pizza night, many of the children of the group participated making dough and putting the topping. (Dinner was not great, pizza was so-so)

July 6th, Siena-Florence.
Departure at 8:30, one comfort stop, arriving at Siena about lunch time. Siena is famous for the Palio, a horse race competition between the 17 districts of the city, although only 11, I think, participate at one time, there had been two races every year , since the 1500’s, we missed both, one had just taken place, the next one a few weeks away, in August. We saw a video of the races on the coach, beautiful festivities, parades, flag throwing, and the race itself, very serious competition between the sections, many crying after the loss or crying after winning it, hard to tell. We bought sandwiches and drinks (the owner of the small deli was very proud of the homemade salami, he gave us extra slices) We walked around the campo, and the fountain, fed the birds, went behind the campo saw the beautiful Basilica, but the long lines discouraged us to go inside. We continued to Florence, arriving at Piazza Michelangelo at midafternoon, admired the view of Florence, Santa Maria di Fiori’s famous Bruneschelli Dome, the Piazza de la Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and the river from the Piazza, great photo op. Before going to the hotel we went for a walk of the city, the leather and gold shops, had some free time for gelato and Santa Croce. From the city center, we walked to the very well located Hotel Mediterraneo, our bags were in the room already, we had four beds, yeah! but a very old fashioned bathroom, it was a little bit of a challenge to use the shower without spraying water everywhere, but we managed… The rest of the hotel has been remodeled and it’s beautiful. The location is superb. Free Wi-fi, although a little slow. The included dinner that night was at local restaurant, we walked part of the way, and walked back to the hotel afterwards. (I took a taxi, long day and a glass or two of wine did not help)

July7th- Florence –Pisa, farmhouse dinner.
We and all who had signed for the Accademia and walking tour optional left at about 8:30, met the local guide and saw the main sights of Florence, went to the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David and the unfinished slaves and other work of art from the Renaissance period. We continued our walking tour, admired Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors of the Baptistery, which Michelangelo labeled “Gates of Paradise”(these are copies, the originals are in a museum) the Cathedral, Bell Tower, the Dome, the Officci buildings, Ponte Vecchio. The optional to Pisa and farmhouse was lots of fun, it takes about two hours to Pisa, and upon arriving we took a “choo-choo train” to get closer to the Field of Miracles. The local guide was a funny Italian, full of jokes; the children really took to him. We visited the Cathedral, and walked taking pictures of the tower of course, lots of vendors, everyone carrying more or less the same items, we had some gelato and got back on the coach for dinner at the farmhouse. This was near the city of Lucca. The lady of the house introduced herself, as the many products and explained the working of the farm, how to extract olive oil, etc. And then to one the many tents where dinner was served. She explained six or seven different kinds of wine, when to drink each one and us all tried them. Dinner was several courses, seven or eight, I wish I could remember all; the pasta was a lasagna type of noodle, the meat, delicious ribs, sausages, etc. We were entertained by musicians, very well done. The young people sat together and got to know each other, had a fun time. We were back to the hotel late.

July 8th, Classe (Ravenna)- Venice
We arrived at Classe at lunch time, visited St. Apollinaris Basilica, we didn’t have a guide tour, so we admired the mosaics without really knowing what we were looking at, I recommend to look it up before getting there, I knew a little bit about it, but not too much. We had a nice lunch, I had homemade lasagna and it was very, very good. We still had a while to get to Venice, so we rode along the coast; I think it took close to two hours. We found that our hotel had been changed, the original hotel could not handle both groups, our was great, a Best Western Quid, they gave us two rooms, probably breaking some law, we of course very happy with this arrangement. Very modern, good breakfast. Free Wi-Fi. I don’t remember now, but I think we went to Venice itself (the hotel is in the mainland) before going to the hotel, maybe after, anyway, we took the coach across the Freedom Bridge, parked, and took a boat to near Piazza San Marco, walked around, having gelato , taking pictures, and pretty soon was gondola and champagne time. Later we took a water taxi, about 9 of us in each, for a ride on the Grand Canal, beautiful, what a day! Dinner was at hotel.
July 9th Venice-Judeca-Burano
We returned to Venice, went to the glass blowing show in the island of Judeca , the children made their own masks, we all had some time for shopping . Met the local guide for the walking tour, which included the Basilica and many back streets, good tour. The optional was a trip to the island of Burano, this took almost an hour by boat, viewing a few of the many islands along the way. Lunch-dinner was great at the Raspo d’Ua restaurant. Burano is very beautiful, colorful houses, famous for the lace making, nice shops. The ride back took us along the coast and the many projects in progress to avoid floods and minimize the sinking of the city.
July 10th Verona-Engelberg
Early departure, many miles to cover today. First stop was in Verona, we walked about 15 minutes , around the Arena, many props there, since it is Opera season, and thru the beautiful upscale Via Mazzini, to view Juliet’s Balcony, we all know it is not real, but we all believe somehow it is. The busy market is one of the greatest in Europe, just loved walking around, having fresh fruits and do a little of souvenir shopping. After leaving Verona, we drove thru Brescia and Bergamo , all the time watching the movie “Letters to Juliet” , which everyone enjoyed. Before Milan, we turned north towards the lakes area and St. Gotthard, there was some delays before the 17 km tunnel, but nothing major. Everyone was taking pictures left and right of the beautiful Switzerland‘s landscape. We did have an included visit to a farm and a horse and carriage ride, early dinner consisted of the farm products, cheese and cured meats, John had purchase additional groceries in Italy to make sure we all had enough to eat. The hotel in Engelberg was the Ramada Titlis, with gorgeous views from the rooms’ balconies. Free- Wi-Fi. Perfect. The children enjoyed the pool that night and the next.

July 11th, Mt Titlis-Lucerne
Early departure again, the plan was to be at the start of the first funicular at opening time, 8:30. The place is very popular in India since many Bollywood movies have been filmed at Mt. Titlis, and we could tell because there were many Indian tourists also waiting for the first funicular. The long ride up takes three different funiculars, with two stations on the way to transfer to the next one. The last one is a revolving one, the only one in Switzerland, and the oldest in the world, great views all around, lots of snow near the top. Mt Titlis is over 10,000 feet, with an ice cave and a glacier at the top, also the tallest suspension bridge in the world. The kids had a ball throwing each other snow balls, it was a little slippery to walk in the snow, (I had taking a walking pole, still did not help me much). It was not very cold, gorgeous day, the most majestic views, another perfect day, coming back down we saw some clouds starting to form, so, I think the best time it is early in the morning, I am sure Trafalgar knows this.
Lucerne is one pretty and popular city, the Chapel Bridge dating 1000 years, hanging flowers, makes it even prettier. John gave us a map and a voucher for a free Rolex spoon at Bucherer. Lunch was another optional, The Swiss fondue lunch and show, a little in the “cheese” side, but food was good and everyone had a good time. Time for a little shopping and walking around, before the cruise around the lake, very relaxing. We tried to find the old walls of the city, but we gave up, and sat under a nice tree shade. Did I mention that we walked miles? We had dinner at the hotel.

July 12th- Paris bound.
Long ride, long hours, couple of stops, but we did the last leg without stopping, trying to arrive early at the hotel. Due to the Bastille’s day holiday, traffic was lighter than usual and we arrived at the Novotel Eiffel Tower Hotel at midafternoon. That night was the farewell dinner, we left the hotel at about 6:15, and had the chance to go inside Notredame before dinner. A Mass was in progress, loved the signing. We walked behind and around the Cathedral to admire the flying buttress, met the group at the corner, and walked to the restaurant, this was a very old building, probably dating from the 1700, the name of the restaurant intrigued me, “Nos Ancetres Les Gaulois”, the next day I asked our local guide, she told me it was a joke, since very few people are descendants of the Gauls now, never the less, food was good, I had lamb chops, baked potato and steamed vegetables, others had lamb or beef skewers, or duck, desserts were varied also. After dinner we boarded one of the many boats for the Seine cruise, it was a very nice night, with a refreshing breeze. The description of what we were seeing was offered in several languages, and it was fun going under the many, many bridges, everyone cheering when passing under one. At ten o’clock we were near the Eiffel Tower and it started to sparkle, everyone was delighted. The ride was long, longer than I expected, getting back on the bus and driving to the tower for the next sparkling show, at 11:00 pm, all very well timed, thank you, John . A very late night, but so worth it!
July 13th, Top of Eiffel Tower-Versailles-Montmartre
Early again, we met the local tour guide; she described what we were seeing in our way to the tower. At the tower by 9 am, first on line, after the second floor landing, everyone had tickets to take the elevators to the very top, I skipped the top, relaxed a little and walked to a bakery to get lunch, the plan was to eat it at the Versailles Gardens, after the grandchildren came down, we ate it right there and soon we were on our way to Versailles, had a walk around the gardens and the tour of 17 rooms of the palace, I think a little shorter tour than in the past, but we saw the main rooms, the Hall of Mirrors, Louis XIV rooms, Marie Antoinette bedroom, etc. Short but enough to get a gist of it. We had planned to walk the Champs Elysees, but we decided to stay in the hotel until the Montmartre walk. I had stayed at the Novotel before, and I knew the area, was planning to take the kids for walk to the bridge, and see the replica of the Statue of Liberty that is there, but did I mention that we walked miles? Had to rest every chance I got.
About 6 we left for Montmartre, it was our last night in Paris and I had promised the kids we were going to have escargot that night, there was no time, since we also wanted to do the walk, John treated us to crepes, and that was dinner. Looking back, we should had skipped the walk, and had dinner, but we also enjoyed the walk, so….we also went inside Sacre Cour Basilica, took the funicular down to the lower level, walked, walked some more to the coach and good bye Paris!
July 14th- Bastille Day, sadly left Paris before the celebrations, bound for London.
The ride to Calais was uneventful, the driver slowing down around the Somme’s WW I battle’s site, some of were able to take pictures of the enormous Canadian monument in the distance. (Hope to do the WWI and WWII tour next and see all these up close)
Checking at the border took long time, we had about 10 coaches ahead of us, and barely made it to the 12:30 ferry, and we were one of the last to board it. Nice crossing, had lunch, pretty soon we were looking at the white cliffs of Dover. We said good bye there to one of the families, and kept going toward London, traffic was light since it was Sunday. Here, we, more or less separated at different hotels, ours and a few of our group, was the Thistle Marble Arch , very nice. We said good bye to John and Domenico, our driver, checked in with our vouchers, checked in at the Trafalgar desk for the included city tour, bought the afternoon City of London and the Tower afternoon tour. I had planned to take the kids to the London Eye, but they decided to do that the next day. We got dinner from a KFC nearby, ate in the room, and stayed in. Very nice room, four beds, great bathroom. Also Free Wi-Fi.
After a very good breakfast, we boarded the coach with our city tour guide, and started the ride around London, with one short stop at Westminster Abbey. Next we went to the Household Calvary Museum, near St. James Palace; watching the preparations for the changing of the guards. We walked along the route , and picked a good place to watch the change of the guards. We missed the birthday of the future king by a week, too bad. The coach took us back to Trafalgar Center, we had lunch at a fast food place (Enough food to feed an elephant, the sign said) and waited for the next tour at the center. This one took us to the old city of London, visited St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. We were given a ticket to board one of the mini cruises back to Westminster, so once back there we went on the London Eye and walked a few minutes along the South Bank to where the many restaurants are, had dinner (at an Italian Restaurant!!! of all things, no fish and chips in London) took a cab back to the hotel and started packing, the ride picked us up at 6:15 am.
I have to finish this tale with the most embarrassing moment I had on all my travels: After repeatedly reminding the children about packing the Swiss army knife in the suit cases, I left my own small knife in my carry-on. Not only that, it happened to be an illegal knife in England. Who knew? I had had this particular knife for years, very handy to cut fruit, cheese, make sandwiches, etc. It was an old key chain, bought at a dime store in the States. Apparently it is known as a butterfly knife and considered a martial art weapon!!! I was detained and had to explain it to the Airport Police, I think they also found the situation ridiculous but never the less had to do their duty. It took a while to clear up but we all continued our flight home, so now I have to hear this story a million of more times, nobody will let me forget it.
This was my fourth trip with grandchildren to the old Continent, I enjoyed every one of them, but I think this one, with so many young people, was a lot more fun.