Day 27 - TT European Whirl (Day 10) - Paris

We had an early wake up call this morning - 5:30 am!

Tasha was up and packed and ready for breakfast on time - with no dramas and a smile on her face! 

 

As we headed off out of Lucerne we turned to see the mountains with a fresh coat of snow last night - the locals call it "sugardusted"

 

 

At about 8:30 this morning we crossed the border into France.  Mixed feelings here.  So excited to be in France but also sad as this is our last country.

 

We spent some time on the bus today filling in questionairres for Trafalgar and also looking at castles and churches along the way.  Apparently it is still possible to buy yourself a castle in France as there are many available.  There are 1000's in France.  However, the problem is that even though the castle may be affordable the maintenance and upkeep is very expensive.

 We finally made it into Paris at about 4:30 and had our first glimpse of the top of the Eiffel Tower behind office buildings.  We also had a very quick glancing view of the Arc de Triomphe.

 The kids were very excited to have a view of the top of the tower form our motel room.

The group was heading off for a cabaret trip tonight as an optional extra which was not suitable for children so instead we wandered into the shopping area to find some dinner.  After wandering around trying to find a) something we could understand and b) something vaguely french we discovered they seemed to like either Italian or Chinese.
We ended up at a pizza bar and we had a brilliant waiter.  He tolerated our ruining the french language (thanks Cass for the phrase book - it has been used a lot over the last couple of weeks).  He was very friendly and even tried to help Tasha learn French. "Trois Co-ca Sil Vous Plait"  ie three cokes please.
He even offered her a job at the end of the lesson!  Hmmmm don't know how serious he was though.

Anyway after a wonderful pizza meal we walked back to the motel.  All the streets look the same here and there is a roundabout with eight roads leading into it so of course we took the wrong road the first time.  We eventually figured it out and headed off down the right street.

Tasha is still wearing her wolf beanie that she bought in Innsbruck and it is hilarious to follow along behind her and watch the looks she gets!  Very funny.

Back in the motel we looked out the window to see the lights on the Eiffel Tower sparkling and flashing.  It was beautiful to see.

Todays Tally:
Steps:  10487
Hours on bus:  7 1/2
Countries left to visit:  This is our last one :(
Nights left of holiday:  8 nights

Day 26 - TT European Whirl (Day 9) - Lucerne

We got to sleep in this morning!  No wake up call until 6:45!

 

Then we wer edown to breakfast and on the bus at 8:15 for an orientation tour of
Lucerne.

 

I had been told before we came that the lion monument in Lucerne was a must see but I had no idea just how awesome it would be.  That this was carved out of a solid rock is amazing but the detail is just simply beautiful.

 

If you get the chance you have to go see it.

 After a drive around town we headed to the lake front for  a boat trip across the lake - unfortunately the morning fog hadn't completely lifted so some of the pics aren't the clearest but we got to see some beautiful views of the towns along the waterfront and the castles overlooking them.

 From there we headed to the cog railway to go up Mt Pilatus.  You travel up the mountain on this cog-wheel system.  It takes about 30 minutes to travel up the 2100m.  The views as you climb as gorgeous.

 But then we got to the top of the mountain and wow!  So many views in every direction.  There are also lots of great walking tracks to viewing platforms.  Kyle loved the dragon trail which follwed along the path of the legends of the dragons that lived on Mt Pilatus.

 To get down from the mountain first we all crammed into a big cable car.  It was basically like a big crowded lift by the time we all got in and took a 5 minute trip down to the next stop.
Thn we broke up into groups of 3 or 4 and got in smaller cable cars for the 10 minute trip back down to the bottom of the mountain.

After this we had free time in Lucerne.  A whole afternoon for free sightseeing, shopping, exploring etc.  How wonderful this was.  We did some souvenir shopping and (of course) bought some chocolate.  The prices in Lucerne are VERY VERY expensive! 

We explored the chapel bridge and the water tower.  They were just as gorgeous as I had hoped they would be.  I had hoped to do the walk along the waterfront up to the next wodden bridge and through the old town but Tasha had had enough of wlaking and was in such a bad mood that I decided it was easier just to head back up to the motel.

We had a quiet time of a couple of hours at the motel before heading down to the lobby for dinner with all of our tour mates.  It was a very basic meal but considering the prices in Switzerland it was good to have an included dinner.

Todays tally:
Steps:  11598
Number of men who panicked in the cable car: 3
Cowbells we saw for sale:  1000's

Day 25 - TT European Whirl (Day 8) Lucerne

Yep you guessed it... Today started with a 6am wake up call!

 

We had our bags packed and outside our rooms as we prepared to say goodbye to Italy.

 

With the seat rotation we were now at the front of the bus... well kind of... The seat behind the bus driver is kept empty for the tour director to dump bits and pieces and for those not feeling too good so we were as far forward as we could go in our row!

 

I was looking forward to being down the fromt for this trip as I had heard so much about the gorgeous scenery on this drive.... Unfortunately the weather beat me!  With the fog we couldn't see far in fromt of us at all as we drove through Italy.

 

We drove past Lake Como and I waited, and waited, but no invite from George Clooney to drop in for a coffee  :(  Very disappointing!

 We drove past many familiar names - Modena... home of balsamic vinegar. 
The Ferrari factory
The town of Parma - home of parmesan cheese and proscuitto

We crossed the border into Switzerland and the south of Switzerland was cold and rainy.  I was a bit worried as we had some special outdoor plans this afternoon.  Sigi kept telling us "No, no it will be fine".  As we entered St Gottard Pass it was raining and 12 degrees.

 San Gottard pass is this amazing tunnel that goes for 17km straight through the mountain.  They have so many tunnels through Europe but this one has to be one of the longest.

 Anyway we finally come through the tunnel and what an amazing sight.  On this side of the mountan (as Sigi had told us) it was sunny and 25 degrees.  It was mind blowing to go in one side of the tunnel, and come out the other to a totally different atmosphere.  Kyle and Tasha likened it to entering Narnia.

 The chalets and mountains in this area are simply gorgeous.

We took up the optional extra of a visit to a farm via horse drawn carriage.  We were picked up in the town of Giswil and had a nice scenic tour of the town from a unique perspective of the carriage.  Tasha was excited to be given a front row seat!
We ended up at the farm house of Hans and Hermina where we were given a yummy feast of bread, cheese, cold meats, pastries, apple juice, wine and schnapps - all made there on the farm.

 Tasha was also happy to have Leona along with us on this excursion.  Leona and Tasha have shared lots of laughs and fun times on this holiday.  We only met her just over a week ago but she is a lovely lady and brought tears to my eyes the other night at dinner when she told Tash she would love to be an honorary grandmother and Tash promptly started calling her Nanna!

Todays Tally:

Steps:  3808 (lots of sitting today)
Hours on the bus:  7 hours

Day 24 - TT European Whirl (Day 7) - Florence

Wake up call at 6am this morning and we had to pack our bags and have them ready to go by 6:30.

 

Tasha was not happy this morning - she is not coping with the lack of internet services.  Most places we have stayed on this tour say they have internet but it is either very patchy or very expensive.

 

We got on the bus at 7:30 and met up with Helena outside the Vatican Museum.

 

Yet another amazing place to visit.  The old tapestries and carvings are beautiful.  What amazed we were the ceilings.  We thought the roof was carved but it was all painted.  It looked like 3D.  It was amazing and t think it was done so man y years ago. 

 

 From the Vatican Museum we went into the Sistine Chapel.  Unfortunately you are not able to take photos inside the chapel but it was amazing.  Helena was a font of information and we spent almost an hour going into the detail of the Michelangelo paintings and the stories behind them.

Then it was time get back on the bus and head to our next stop.  There was yet another car accident on the highway so we ended up losing an hour.
Tasha and I were so looking forward to Florence as Sigi had told us all along that we should wait until Florence to go shopping.
We finally made it into Florence at 3:15 and went into one of the leather factories for a demonstration before being given only one hour to go wandering.  We raced down to where the "Hole in the wall" is .... ie ATM.  to find the machine did not do withdrawals.  We were a bit disappointed with the shopping - lots of high end stores and LOTS of gold and leather shops but souvenir wise it was a little light.  We found some of the last few things we wanted to get from Italy and I splurged on myself.

I have always wanted a pandora bracelet and today I bought one as a memory of this trip.  I have charms from the places we have visited... ie a double decker bus from London, Collosseum, etc

Then we met up in the square and were introduced to Patrizia our local tour guide in Florence for a walking tour of Florence.  We saw so much and it is a tour you just have to do.  We walked through the streets and alleys as Patrizia explained life in Florence in years gone by.  We saw statues and carvings but the thing that blew me away was the cathedral.

It was massive - literally a city block - and made completely of marble in three different colours.  White, green and pink.  It was beautiful and everyone in our group was just walking around going "Wow"

Then it was back to the hotel for a buffet dinner which was very average - there were 3 different options for food and it was very plain. 
We are only here one night - Tomorrow we head to Switzerland which I am so looking forward to!

Todays tally:
Steps:  14514

Day 23 - TT European Whirl (Day 6) - Rome

Another awesome day today.

 

Nice leisurely morning - still had a 6am wake up call but we are staying in Rome for two nights so no madly packing suitcases this morning just dress and head down to breakfast.  You have no idea how much you appreciate that small fact after days of moving from place to place.

 

Have washing hanging off every available space in both rooms - as we arrived on a weekend there is no laundry service and we desperately needed to wash clothes so the bathtub and sink came in handy!

 

We got on the bus at 7:45 to explore Rome a bit more.  Our Rome tour guide Helena met us outside St Peters Basilica and gave us so much information about what we would see.

 

No words can describe this place.  The marble and the size and the amazing pictures that are actually mosaics.  Wow.

The most mind blowing thing, however, was the fact that we were there on a Sunday morning as mass started.  There was one area roped off for church goers but we could hear the service start.  Also as you walked around there were small services going on in some of the little alcoves.

We couldn't stay for the whole service but it was such an awesome experience just standing there.

 The photos really do not do it justice.

Tasha loved the spanish guards - they have guarded the pope for over 500 years and the poor guys still have to turn up to work in the traditional uniforms!

 From there we headed to the colosseum.  Seeing the colosseum was part of the tour but as an optional extra you could enter the colosseum and walk around.  Why would you go this far and not want to look around?  Once again an awesome sight.  Sadly most of the marble has been taken for other buildings.  Could you imagine a stadium that seats 200,000 people.  It really is mind blowing. 

Our guide Helena was brilliant and explained the logistics of how the coloseeum worked in great detail.  Sadly we only had abou 30 minutes free time to look around.

 From there we had another optional extra.  This was a special one that isn't always offered but because we were in Rome on a Sunday when most shops are shut our tour guide thought this might interest us. 

I am so glad we did this.

Ostia Antica is a town on the coast about 30 minutes from Rome.  They liken it to Pompeii, nothing to do with volcanoes but because it is an entire roman town that has been preserved.  Yes some of the buildings are missing bits but you literally get to walk along the original paved road into town and then down the main street.  You see the theatre, the forum, the justice area, the homes, the shops.

Brilliant.

 We got back to the motel about 3:45 and had 90 minutes to relax and recover before heading down to the lobby.  Trafalgar had changed our hotel in Rome at the last minute due to a booking conflict so to say sorry for the inconvenience they shouted us all a drink in the hotel bar.

 From there we headed out to an included Roman dinner.

It was amazing.  The food was beautiful - we had 5 courses.  Bruschetta, Spaghetti, Ravioli, Salmon and ice cream.  The waiters were so much fun.  They serenaded the ladies, gave out hugs and kisses and even singled some ladies out for special treatment!!

I love the look on Tasha's face (and yes she did blush... a lot) when the Italian waiter gave her a kiss on each cheek and presented her with a red rose.

 But the night was not over there.  For those of us who still felt like walking we made the trip to the Trevi Fountain.  It was so busy but Kyle and I made our way to the front.  I had so much trouble with pictures but it was awesome to stand there in front of the fountain.

 From there we went to the Spanish Steps.  Wow it was busy!  People everywhere.

One of the hardest things about walking around Rome is avoiding the street sellers.  They get very very pushy and literally shove their products into your hands.

All in all a brilliant day.  A long and exhausting day but I wouldn't want to miss any of it.

Todays tally:

Steps:  19412.   Wow!
Level of awesomeness:  off the chart

Day 22 - TT European Whirl (Day 5) - Rome

Yes, yes the alarm went off at 6am again this morning!

 

This morning was particularly hard - Tasha has not coped well with the internet not being available at most of the places we are staying in Europe and we are all tired from the long busy days so there were some dramas this morning.

 

 

Anyway - the world keeps going so at 7:35 we were on the bus and on our way.  As we left Venezia we saw the amazing sight of fields of hot air balloons taking off.  Someone else on the bus counted and they got up to over 30.  It was a magnificent sight.

 

We stopped for a quick rest stop but the place was so busy there was no way I could get a coffee so it was back on the bus without  :(

 

 After a 45 minute lunch stop at Autogrill we finally made it into Rome at about 4pm.  What a welcome into Rome.  The first two things I see are a soccer game and a Lamborghini dealer!

 We went straight into the city and got out the bus to do our optional extra - a walking tour introduction to Rome.  I am so glad we did this.  Our first stop was the Pantheon.  The architecture and the detail in the buildings in Italy are just amazing and this is no exception.

 From there we had some free time in the Piazza Navone (about 1 hour) to get some food and just look around.  The piazza is surrounded by these gorgeous buildings and is full of the bustle and busyness that I have always pictured when I think of Italy.  Sidewalk cafes, people drinking coffee, chatting and the artists..... artists everywhere selling their paintings!

 We headed down one of the little alleyways and decided "When in Rome....."
So we had pasta, pizza and gelato for dinner!

 Then we joined up again and the group headed off to visit some of the sights of ancient Rome.  There are very few ruins of Rome left.  For two reasons.
1)  The Rome of today is actually built on top of ancient Rome.  Literally.  In some places you can see under buildings to where the old buildings still exist.
2)  The anceint Romans did not really care about history and buildings and would literally use the old buildings as a junk yard for supplies for new buildings.  This is why in particular most places such as the colosseum have been stripped of all their marble.  Much easier to slavage it from old places than get it from the quarries!

Having said this we did getto see some ruins and lots of amazing sights in Rome.  Sigi is a great tour guide and a font of information.  She has a love for the places we visit that is infectious.

By the time we got back to our motel it was about 9 o'clock and we were exhausted.  What a big day.

Todays tally.
Steps:  10318
Hours on bus: 8 hours
Hours up :  6am - 10pm
Would I do it again:  Definately!

Day 21 - TT European Whirl (Day 4) Venezia

Today was amazing.

 

It started (unfortunately) yet again with that dreaded 6am wake up call.  Getting up at 6am isn't too bad.  It's the getting two teenagers up and packed and have bags outside rooms and down to breakfast by 6:30 that is a challenge.  Especially this morning as Tasha has a runny nose and slight temperature!

 

Our tour guide Sigi asked the rest of the tour if they had anything on them for Tasha to take and let me tell you... between the people on that bus we could have stocked a small pharmacy!  What amazed me was the over the counter medication that is available in some countries!

 

 

Anyway at 7:30 we were on the bus and headed over the Brenner Pass saying a sad farewell to Austria, which I have fallen in love with.

 

At 9:20 we stopped for a short rest break in the middle of some gorgeous country covered in vineyards and hills

 

Then at 11:45 we stopped for lunch - we had a good 45 minute break which was great.  We have been stopping at these roadhouses called Autogrill.  They are great - there is a sandwich counter and a self service area.  We chose to head to the self service as it was much easier.  You pick what you want, point and go line up and pay.

 

In most food places in Italy it can be confusing. They find it rude to have the same person handling the food and dealing with the money.   First you go to the counter and pick what you want.  Then you have to go to the cashier and pay for it (remembering the Italian name for it).  Then the cashier gives you a ticket that you take to the counter and the person behind the counter gets your food.

 

 

Anyway back on the bus and of to Venezia.  I am so excited.  Venice is a place I have wanted to visit since I was a little girl but one that I didn't think I would ever actually see.

 

We got off the bus on the mainland just before 2:00 and got on a private boat to head out to Venice.

Now I had been warned by others that I may be disappointed by Venice - be aware it smells and it is dirty.

 

I have to say it met my childhood dreams and much more.  I loved it!

 

We saw the Bridge of Sighs - so named as it linked the jail to the courts and quite often prisoners would have the last view of their familiy from the windows of that bridge on their way to prison after being sentenced.

 Doges palace was simply beautiful and the pictures do not do it justice.

 We went and saw a glass blowing demonstration by some of the Mureno glass factories which was amazing to watch.  Then we had free time.... to wander Venice....  Oh I loved it.
We wandered through shops, walked along streets and canals and took oh so many photos. 

 Then we met up with our group just after 5 and were split into groups of 6 for a gondola ride through the canals of Venice.  Don't know that you could call it romantic but it was wonderful to just sit and listen to the gondoliers singing as we waved to people walking over bridges and checked out buildings and bridges we would not have seen on foot. 

What an experience - one I will remember forever. 

We had Deana and Leona on our gondola with us and they were so funny to be with - Tasha was in hysterics and still laughs about some of the things Leona said.

 Alas our gondola ride was over way too quick - it took about 1/2 an hour.  So we then boarded yet another mode of transport - water taxi for a trip along the grand canal to look at the 1000 palaces. 

How I wish we could have stayed there for days and I hope to be back again one day.  It is a beautiful place.  I loved having the free time this afternoon to just wander and explore.  Oh and shop.

Miss Jane, you will be pleased to know that as per tradition  I bought myself a bag from Venice.  We saw a bride ( well two actually) and, of course, we had ice cream!

There is no way to describe today - if you get a chance you HAVE to do it.

Today tally

Steps  11701
Modes of water transport used:  3
Hours on bus: 6 hours

Day 20 - TT European Whirl (day 3) - Innsbruck

We started today with another 6am wake up call!  Then a mad dash to get ourselves dressed and nags (*ooops bags) packed and outside bedroom doors by 6:30 to head down for breakfast.

 

At 7:20 we were on the bus and off for another destination. 

About 1 hour out of Mannheim we were stopped by the polizei (police) for a routine check and our driver Jorgi passed everything with flying colours.



 

 

We booked and paid for our optional extras as explained yesterday by Sigi - All up for the four of us it cost an extra $1855.00 Euro as we wanted to do all the extras in Italy.

We stopped for a brief comfort stop at 10:45 and were making good time on our way to Austria when all of a sudden the traffic stopped.  Luckily for Tasha it was our turn on the backseat and so she spent the time stopped making friends with other motorists and after seeing the drivers names in the front windows of the trucks she set to writing notes for them and holding them up at the back window.......  She now has a new best friend..... a truck driver called Robert!

 

 We finally got moving again and we passed the cause of the hold up - a horrible car accident.  Cars completely mangled.
We travelled into the area of Bavaria - lots of spruce trees reminiscent of the Black Forests of Germany.
We finally made it into Munich for a late lunch.  I have always loved pictures of the glockenspiel and the marienplatz in Munich but pictures really do not do it justice!  Unfortunately we missed the glockenspiel playing but just standing in that square was wonderful.

 We headed over to the grill - specialatzen (not sure about spelling) for a traditional german sausage forr lunch.  However sauerkraut was not on the menu - not good on a bus full of people!

 

We got back on the bus and headed off again - into the gorgeous Austrian Alps.  And yes of course I spent the afternoon singing the Sound of Music soundtrack in my head!  Beautiful scenery - and even some fresh snow in the distance!

 

 Our motel in Innsbruck has gorgeous views of the alps from our rooms.

At 6:30 we went into the town of Innsbruck - I completely fell in love with old Innsbruck. It was so gorgeous.  We wandered the old shops - had some strudel (of course).  I wish we had more than one night here as I could have spent so long just wandering around.

 We did some souvenir shopping - Tasha found herself a wolf beanie with attached mittens which she has now worn EVERYWHERE.  Oh.... and we had gelato!   And what gelato it was.  Lovely flavours but even the presentation for a simple cone of gelato was spectacular.

 Then on to the first of our optional extras..... a tyrolean evening.  What fun it was!  There was traditional dances, yodelling, alpine horns, cowbells and lots and lots of laughs!

The highlight of the evening was the finale where they called out different nationalities and if there was anyone in the audience from that country you had to stand up and they sang a song from that country.  It was amazing to see how many countries were represented in that hall - by the end they had about 23 flags hanging at the front of the podium!

Tally for today:

Steps:  6495  - again a low step day!
Time on bus:  8 1/2 hours
Internet access:  none again today - Tasha having serious withdrawals!

Tomorrow we head to Venice..... I have dreamt of seeing Venice since I was a little girl.  I never thought it would happen!

Day 19 - TT European Whirl (Day 2) - Mannheim

**  Have had no internet for a couple of days so this post was delayed **

 

 

Another very busy day today!

 

Thankfully wake up call was not until 6am!  Then we had to shower/dress and have our bags outside our room doors by 6:30 and head down to breakfast.  What a rush this was!

 

Anyway we made it - luckily it turns out as Tasha LOVED the dutch pancakes that were offered on the breakfast buffet.

 

At 7:20 we were on the bus and off on our way.  Our tour guide, Sigi (from Austria) spent some time going through the optional excursions offered over the trip and we stopped in Germany for a rest stop at 9:15 and were back on the bus 1/2 an hour later.

 

I am still getting used to:  1)  Learning new phrases each day for the country we are in

2)  Remembering to keep spare change on us at all times for the bathroom!

 

At 11:00 we stopped in the gorgeous town of Cologne (Koln) and spent some time admiring the amazing gothic cathedral.  I took so many photos but I couldn't help thinking "I wish Matt Allan was here - he would spend all day here and not get tired of it!"

 

We had lunch in the town of Cologne which consisted basically of going into a bakery/sandwich shop and pointing and with lots of yes,yes or no,no,no and nodding and shaking we eventually got our desired lunches

 

 At 12:25 we were back on the bus and off again.  Our tour guide organised a hidden treasure for us - a short diversion into the town of Rhens for a 10 minute photo stop.  What a gorgeous little town.  I loved the ratshaus (town hall) - it was built a long time ago and the floors and walls are not straight but it is still used today!

 Then it was back on the bus and we headed for the town of Boppard - stopping briefly for another photo op - this time of Marksberg Castle.

 As we drove down to the village of Boppard we were amazed by the vineyards - not just how many of them there were but the slopes they were grown on.  Apparently if you grow grapes on the steep hills you get a subsidy from the government (seems like you would need the danger money - some of those hills were very steep).

 In the town of Boppard we had the opportunity to get a family shot thanks to one of the other people on our tour - not easy as there is usually one of us behind the camera.

 Then we climbed onto our cruise boat for a trip upstream along the Rhine River.  What gorgeous scenery we saw - and many castles!  I don't know exactly what I expected from Germany but I do know that I was so surprised by how beautiful it is!

 We saw lots of little towns along the river - with the church on the top of the pic below standing out..... you see you have to enter through the pub which has been built onto the front of the church to get into the church itself.  And then on the way out the pastor usually pours the beers behind the bar!

 Then it was back on the bus at the town of St Goar for a trip through some of the gorgeous little towns along the riverfront before heading back to the highway.  Most of these towns are unchanged from many centuries ago and are simply lovely.

We drove past Mannheim to Heidelberg Castle for another quick 10 minute stop before heading back to Mannheim to check in to our motel.

At 7:30 we all met in the restaurant of our hotel for a german dinner of Broccoli Soup... Pork .... and ice cream.

Thoughts of today:
As I said before I have found Germany to be a beautiful country to travel through.

Although the bathrooms are interesting!  The public toilets in some places are clear glass - once you are in and lock the door the glass turns opaque and you can't be seen but it is hard to relax!  Also at our hotel the bathroom door is clear glass - which some of the couples on our trip found confronting.... let alone our two poor teenagers!

The people on our tour are lovely and we are slowly meeting each of them although as most seating for meals is done at tables of four it can be quite isolating as a family.  It has also been hard for the kids as they are the youngest by far in our group - unfortunately we picked a tour with no other families with children.

Tomorrow seat rotation starts on the bus so hopefully this will give us a chance to mix more with other people on the tour.

Todays tally:

Steps:  6339
Time on bus:  7 hours
Time on cruise:  1 1/2 hours