Hanging Out With Donna: June 2014

Friday, 27 June 2014

Days 25 thru 27

Day 25

Had the scariest thrill ride ever. Took a Paris cab to the train station so we could head to London. Very frightening. Even worse than our Rome cab ride. We survived and took the Eurostar to London thru the Chunnel. Does it fly. We shoot by cars on a highway doing at least 100 km/hr as if they were standing still. Once in London we got it Tube, bus, and train passes and took the Tube to he closest tube station to our hotel. We climb 69 steps in the hotel to get to our room.

Headed out and checked out Big Ben etc. had dinner and then went to the a Theatre. Saw a great musical, The Comittments.

Day 26

Another day of old churches etc. we toured Westminster Abbey. It is basically a place to bury your famous dead and have a royal coronation or two in. After lunch saw the best thing yet the Cabinet War Rooms. Basically the war ended and they left them as they were. A museum dedicated to Churchill showing how he directed the war from these rooms.

In the evening we did a walking tour of "The City". Thru narrow alleys in the heart of hype financial district.

Day 27

This morning we watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace before having tea with the Queen. After lunch we did our own walking tour following Rick Steve's directions of the West end. The theatre district S well as slummy areas and then Regent street the high end shopping. We walked thru Hamleys a 7 level toy store. Unbelievable. This evening we did the London Eye, the huge Ferris wheel thingy that gives you trejo undoes views.

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Day 21 thru 24

I don't know if anyone is paying any attention to this but if there is I apologize for being tardy. We headed for Paris today and arrived at out hotel around noon. We are a hop skip and a jump from the Arc d' Triomphe. We had lunch at the typical Paris cafe. We then jumped on the Metro and headed out. We checked out Notre Dame Cathedral to make sure the hunchback was still there. He is. Next to the Sainte Chappelle, famous for its stained glas. After that we were on our own. We headed into the Latin Quarter with Jack and Jane. As it turned out today, June 21 was a special holiday being the first day of summer. You could not walk half a block without running into musical entertainment. The Latin Quarter is the university area and it was going wild. We eventually made it to the Luxembourg Gardens. As in all parks Parisens were kicking back and having a good time. What a great day.

Day 22

The morning was spent in the Lourve. Mona is still there as is Venus. What a monstrous Museum. The afternoon we strolled towards the hotel thru parks and up the Champs E'lysee. To much to see to get in here. That night we had our last group dinner. We then strolled towards the Eiffel Tower. Had a group hug and split up. A bunch of us went to the Tower, walked around it. The lineups to go up were huge. We instead took a boat trip down The Seine.

Day 23

Our first real day on our own. We jumped on a bus the tours Paris and allows you to get on and off as you please. We got off in the Montmartre area. A large hill in North Paris. Of course a big church at the top but surrounded by quite a neighbourhood. Lots of artists etc. we continued the bus tour visiting all the famous neighbourhoods of Paris.

Day 24

Took the Metro this morning to the Militiary Museum. While Craig found this the best Museum of all Donna struggled to stay awake. We only spent 4 hours there. We then got back on the touring bus. Later we were back in the Latin Quarter for dinner and then a walk along the Seine. We took the metro to the Arc d'Tiomphee and climbed to the top for some great views. It is quite a scene to watch all the traffic from 12 roads converge on the Arc and jostle as they drive around. Tomorrow we head for London

Friday, 20 June 2014

Day 20 To France

Today we headed for France and the town of Beaune in the Burgundy region. The usual bus ride complete with potty stops and lunch at a Mall for lunch. We spent the afternoon exploring Beaune. The usual old Churches and narrow cobblestones streets of shops. Of course here every second shop is a wine store. Tonight was dinner as a group checking out the local cuisine. Tomorrow we head to Paris.

Thursday, 19 June 2014

Day 19 Switzerland

Today was unbelievable. By the time we were done we would take 5 gondolas and 2 narrow gauge trains as we moved in and around these mountains. At one point we were at 10,000 ft. It took 4 separate gondolas to get there. Apparently a James bond movie was shot up here and we found a James Bond a museum.

Despite the altitude there was little towns and cows up here. We hiked for about 4km and had lunch somewhere. During the day we had beautiful sunshine, rain and snow and then sunshine again. Tomorrow we head for Francend Burgundy a major wine region. Just can't wait.

Day 18 to Switzerland

We seemed to have run into technical difficulties. We are no longer able to download pictures to the ipad. Of course that means until we figure out why're have no pictures to share with you. So let me regale you with some word pictures.

We left the Cinque Terre this morning really wishing we could stay. What a great place to wander thru quaint little Italian villages and then lay out on the beach. Craig just had to go for a swim in the Mediteranean Sea. Little did we know that we would soon be 10,000 ft up in the Swiss alps.

When you go to Switzerland you are leaving the EU. Still the bus was waived they the border. We did have to get some Swiss Francs. As it turns out Switzerland will be the most expensive stop on the tour. Now let me tell you about the roads. We literally went straight up the Alps thru the Sustenpass at 8,000 ft. We stopped and had a snowball fight. At least the Canadians did.

The roads would make the Top Gear guys jealous. Long narrow and steep and all about the switchbacks. It is hard to believetheycan build roads here but they do. We got to Interlaken mid afternoon and stood around with our mouths open. Those of us use to Banff had some feel for the place but it was still awe inspiring. We then headed up a narrow valley to the hamlet of Stechelberg. Cows sheep and goats contentedly grazing up and down thes valleys. Our little hotel is very quaint.For some reason we got one of the few rooms with its own bathroom and shower. After dinner and a walk in some very fresh air we hit the sack knowing tomorrow we would be hiking in these mountains.