Mission Beach

Europe!

We made it back safely from our trip to Europe last Thursday nite (8/16). We left on August 2nd, and it was a wonderful whirlwind of a trip! I had hoped to post updates in route, but internet access over there was expensive and slow, and we rarely had a spare minute on our tour, which I should have expected given our ambitious itinerary...below is a brief written summary of what we did. Sarah and I will be working on adding pictures as we get them organized.

Day 1 - Aug 2 - Flight to London

Our friend Sue drove us to LAX - 5pm flight
We flew Air New Zealand direct to London Heathrow
Flight time - 9.5 hrs, good food and service

We are really doing it!

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Day 2 - Aug 3 - London

Landed about 11am England time
Took the Underground train to our hotel
Went on an "open top" bus tour - saw most of the landmarks
Met our Contiki tour group and got departure time
Enjoyed a view of the sunset from our hotel
Finally, sleep in a bed!

Where do we go now?

Big Ben

The view from our room at the Imperial Hotel

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Day 3 - Aug 4 - Amsterdam

Left London @ 6:45 am
Took ferry from Dover, England to Calais, France across English Channel
Drove through France and Belgium on way to Amsterdam
Ate at hotel
Took a canal cruise through downtown Amsterdam
Walked around downtown, taking in sights and sounds
Missed last train to hotel by 5 minutes, had to take a cab

Amsterdam


My Dream Home

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Day 4 - Aug 5 - Amsterdam/St. Goar, Germany

On bus at 8 am to go to Ann Frank's hideout in Amsterdam
Toured Heineken museum/factory
Accidentaly used public trains for free
Back on bus at 12:30 pm
Drove to Rhine Valley in Germany, specifically St. Goar
Saw lots of vineyards and castles
Ate dinner at hotel - good bland German food
Went to a winetasting in an old cellar - specialized in "ice wine"
Back to hotel early for a good nite's sleep

Anne Frank's Annex Museum

Shawn learning how to make the Heineken Perfect Pour at the Brewery

Our home on the road for 13 days!

Wine Cellar in St. Goar with Nadia and Tony

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Day 5 - Aug 6 - Munich

Short drive (relatively) to Munich Holiday Inn
Took bike tour of city - afternoon/evening
Finished at oldest beer-hall in the world - 1589
Went home in Mercedes-Benz taxis

Munich, Germany on my Cali Cruiser enjoying the sights

A surfer on a man made wave in the river

The oldest beer-hall in the world (Hitler spoke here before WWII, he was ambushed and jailed)

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Day 6 - Aug 7 - Austria

Up early and headed for Austria
Went white-water rafting in the coldest water I've ever been in
Stopped at Swarosky crystal factory/museum
Drove on through the Austrian Tyrol region - beautiful country
Good nite's sleep in ancient hotel

Swarovski Crystal Headquarters in Austria

Austria is beautiful!

Our hotel in Austria...it was as old as dirt!

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Day 7 - Aug 8 - Venice

Up early for drive to Venice
Took chartered boat to island
Wandered the tiny streets, saw the sites
Took gondola ride - they don't sing in Venice!
Dinner with new friends at a small restaurant
Back to the boat - our hotel was on the mainland

Glassblowing demonstration

Narrow roads in Venice

Our gondola ride with Nadia, Tony, Jennifer, and Peter

____________________________________________________________________ Day 8 - Aug 9 - Rome

Up early for drive to Rome
Tour leader walked us to 4 main spots:
Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, National Monument, Pantheon
Ate dinner at nice restaurant with group - lotza pasta!
Walked past Colosseum, took bus back to hotel

The Spanish Steps

The Trevi Fountain

The Colusseum

____________________________________________________________________ Day 9 - Aug 10 - Rome

Driver day off - took train to Rome
Waited in line to see Vatican & Sistine Chapel
Walked through Colusseum
Walked through unearthed portion of ancient Rome
Walked around some more - our feet were killing!
Ate in town and then took taxi back to hotel - red lights mean yield in Italy!

The Vatican

St. Peter's Square

The Colusseum

____________________________________________________________________ Day 10 - Aug 11 - Florence

Up early for drive to Florence
Took guided tour through monuments and huge church
No time to visit various museums
Ate dinner with group at a monastery in the Tuscan hills
Went to discotec with group
Taxi back with friends later

The David (a replica outside the museum with the real one)

The Old Bridge (only one not bombed during WWII)

Our Tuscan Dinner

____________________________________________________________________ Day 11 - Aug 12 - Lucerne, Switzerland

All day drive
Arrived at hotel for quick meal
Took boat cruise of Lake Lucerne
Ate fondu to sample the Swiss chocolate
Slept the night in a converted prison

A beautiful lake bordering Italy and Switzerland (George Clooney has a home here)

This is what we used each day to figure out "The Plan"

Fondue Night

Our Jail for the night

____________________________________________________________________ Day 12 - Aug 13 - Paris

Travel day - made it to Paris around 4pm
Ran through the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa before closing
Drove around Paris in the coach to see the main sites
Checked into hotel
Took train down to Eiffel tower to see light show
Cabbed it back to hotel

The CRAZY TRAFFIC in Paris (this is a typical intersection)

The Mona Lisa at The Lourve

Can you guess what this is?

My Romeo

____________________________________________________________________ Day 13 - Aug 14 - Paris

Up early to take bus to Eiffel tower to stand in line
Top was closed so we only went halfway up
Took river cruise of Paris
Met back with group at hotel
Went to cabaret show with group
Last official day of trip...

Lovers Park

Shawn and the Lourve Museum

The Notre Dame

Paris+Picnic+Park=Perfect

My Favorite!

Our last night as we hang out with the greatest tour manager ever

____________________________________________________________________ Day 14 - Aug 15 - London

Left hotel @ 7:45 am for London
Crossed English channel again
Arrived back at London around 5pm
Met with group one last time for dinner
Back to hotel for much-needed sleep

Our favorite weed (aka Chris)

____________________________________________________________________ Day 15 - Aug 15 - Los Angeles

Took Underground back to Heathrow
Flew to LAX
Our friend Joey came and picked us up
Back to Palm Springs at 11:30 pm
Crashed.....off to work tomorrow!

London's famous phone booth

Our favorite subway


Shawn hold'n on during our last Underground ride to the airport
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Our tour leader gave us a good motto - Don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened!