Our European Vacation, July 2008

Thanks for asking about our trip. It was unique, and I'll bet no one else has had some of the experiences we did- but there's no short answer, so I'll send this copy of the summary. Enjoy! BTW, be sure to check out the links, esp the ones for the monastery bells and the war animals monument.
Jill--

We had a great trip! Not the one I spent hundreds of hours planning, but one with surprises and awakenings, nonetheless. The first part of the adventure occurred at LAX where we nearly missed our connecting flight to Washington DC due to airline activity! Good thing we were traveling light....

General: I found out in Italy and France that it's a real stressor to not know the language of a country!!! I have HUGE compassion for anyone in that situation, regardless of the reason, as it doubles all the other stresses of life. While it was helpful to have a few basic phrases on paper (please, thank you, how much for ..., where is the ...) little common things you want to find out become impossible. (Incidentally, the 'where is the...' phrase isn't that useful if you don't know the names for what you want to find!) I found that just saying, "Toilet" with a questioning inflection got me pointed in the right direction anywhere. In Rome, Lisbon, London, and Edinburgh, we took open topped double decker bus tours of the city- an inexpensive way to see the most commonly visited places; I highly recommend them.You had to pay to use toilets some places in Rome & Paris- 30 -70 Euro pennies. In a number of the cities, people hang their laundry out the windows on lines or on balcony rails, etc. I think that electricity is expensive and people probably can't afford dryers.

Because we knew our UK trip would be a loop with no central base, we traveled with carry-on sized back packs which we bought on sale (http://www.ebags.com/ebags/weekender_convertible/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=15026 ). We had no problems with them in airports nor trains. They had handles on the top and side, but had semi-detachable straps which tucked into the back when you didn't want to 'pack'; that worked well for us, and when we returned home, I had clothes I had never worn. We did laundry once before leaving the ship.

Tip: before you leave home, be sure you understand how to fully charge your camera battery. I THOUGHT I knew, but even though I'd charged my battery before leaving the ship, the battery hadn't been fully charged and my camera died while we were in London! So I've had to locate many of my UK pics on the internet, for which I'm thankful. Another tip: if your cell phone doesn't work in Europe (and most don't), the clock/time won't work, either, so don't depend on your phone alarm. The places we stayed didn't have electrical converters nor adapters; if I traveled more, I'd invest in them so I could always recharge my stuff. Due to the falling value of the US dollar, we prepaid or placed deposits on as many 'firm' trips, lodging, transportation as we could. The British pound sterling was twice what the dollar was: 2 USD = 1 BPS. The comparison between the USD and the Euro was a little bit better, but we still took a bath on it. Our strategy was to try not to keep figuring how much US money things cost and just enjoy the experience.

Italy: We flew into Rome (about same latitude as Northern California) due to a misunderstanding of online cruise ship info about where the ship's departure would be and we wanted to see the Roman ruins there-- (don't rely on cruise ship companies to inform you when you are wrong!). (http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/sanpietro.htm) The Colosseum is right in the midst of Rome as are a number of ancient ruins and even current archaeological projects! Vatican city is surrounded by Rome; the Vatican is gigantic. At first it just looks really big due to surrounding buildings, etc., but when you compare the size of people to it, you really appreciate its massive size. After our NW no-spring spring, it was HOT in Rome. Rome is full of motor scooters, lots of honking, some rude gesturing, and the most 'free form' parking I've ever seen in a city. People double park, park on, parallel AND perpendicular to the curb, as well as ON the sidewalks! It's really something. When a traffic light turns red, all the motor scooters weave their ways up to the front; when the light turns green, it's like a motocross race! The Tiber River runs through Rome, and there are many houseboats. Romans LOVE plants- they grow them on their balconies, in window boxes and planters, and veggies are grown in community  gardens along the freeways, also in Spain & France. Italian trains were old, dirty and unmaintained. We took them from Rome, across the countryside to Monaco, seeing lots of beautiful countryside, but noticeably few horses. The air conditioning in our car was broken; water ran off me, dripping off my chin onto my clothes. Finally someone told us all to find an air conditioned car, which we did. About the time that my body temp had returned to normal and my clothing had dried out, the AC in that car went on the fritz- we we went to a third car. That one had AC that continued to work for the remainder of the journey.

Monaco: (http://www.visitmonaco.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=3)  As Monte Carlo (also about latitude of Southern Oregon) is known to be so EXPENSIVE, I didn't even try to find a hotel, so when we arrived at 11:30 pm, we had no place to go, and I had no contingency plan- I figured that there's always the police station.... We walked around the marina, amazed at the number of multi-million dollar yachts (http://www.monte-carlo.mc/index-photos_monaco-en.html) , finally spending the warm night IN CHAIRS at a closed outdoor cafe between the start/finish line of the Grand Prix Monaco and the marina. (Oddly, this is one of my fondest memories, I think because it's so unusual.) While there were a number of walkers and cyclists, no one bothered us, not even the police. Up at first light the following morning, we walked around town, found a bakery, and managed to communicate that we wanted to buy bread. After that, we walked around, nibbling our loaves as the city began to awaken. Monte Carlo is a beautiful city. We were out on the pier to see one of the huge yachts, some as large as our state ferries, move to make room for the approaching cruise ship. So we caught the ship there on its 2nd day of the cruise. The Onassis yacht, traditional wooden of the thirties style, I'd estimate, was anchored out there. BTW, if you're thinking about getting an apartment in Monaco, here's an online ad:

Spain: We docked in Barcelona (about the latitude of Rome). I would have enjoyed a bus tour of the city, but we had scheduled a visit to Montserrat  (serrated mountain). Those mountains, the Catalonia, I think, are very rugged and steep. I was struck by the number of  community gardens along the freeway on the way. We went to the Monastery of the Black Virgin on Montserrat (VERY steep) out of Barcelona. When the bells are chimed, it's just amazing! (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/tour/montserrat-spain.html ).  And the town below looks tiny because we were up so far above it. We were lucky to get there before a lot of other tours, so we were at the front of the line to see the statue of the Black Virgin. It's very unusual, found in a cave and taken up the mountains. When they could no longer carry it, they decided THAT must be the place she wanted to be, so the monastery was built. There were large shelved 'bins' of tall votives in jars- pick your color-  that could be bought and placed in one of hundreds of holders-- very pretty, I thought. We actually saw little of Barcelona, but it looked crowded. I would have like to have seen the modernish architecture of Antoni Gaudi (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/albums-en/gaudi-casa-batllo/index.html), but time was not on our side. There's a tall statue of C Columbus (http://columbus.vanderkrogt.net/es/barcelona.html) that can be seen from quite a distance. What really grabbed my attention, though, was a gigantic cemetery on a large hill behind the port area. From a distance, the graves looked like windows: (http://images.google.com/images?q=Montjuic+cemetery&btnG=Search+Images&um=1&hl=en&sa=2).

The Strait of Gibraltar was REALLY windy (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Strait_of_gibraltar.jpg). It was neat to be able to see a city in Morocco as we cruised by.

Portugal: As we approached Lisbon on the Rio Tejo (Tagus River), we could see a very tall statue of Christ  with outstretched arms overlooking the harbor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cristo_Rei_e_a_Cruz_Alta.JPG). A couple of harbor tugs welcomed the ship with water cannon showers, and one kept spinning on its axis so that the stern was completely under the water. Lisbon (about the latitude of Sacramento, California), historically known for its ceramic tiles, was very clean with lots of parks and every park seemed to have a statue or monument in it; unfortunately, we didn't get out into the countryside there (http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadelisboa).  Many of the buildings , walls and plazas are colorfully tiled. The overpass near the zoo has huge paintings of zoo animals on the supports. At the port dock is a long row of cafes and pubs, so you can sit out and look at fish swimming by the moored boats. Late that night as we headed for France, we ended up going back to Spain, somewhere near A Coruna, I think. A passenger had become very ill and had to hospitalized there. The next day, we were informed that he had had surgery and was recovering. That was the same day that I had a terrible head cold and spent the entire day in bed sleeping and reading, hoping it would pass  (it did) so I could go to Paris the next day.

France: The country between Le Havre (our guide pronounced it 'leh HAHV-ruh') and Paris  (located near the 49th latitude degree, about the same as the border between WA & British Columbia, Canada) looks a lot like here- many of the same plants and trees, but the architecture is distinctive. Houses have a tall look about them with tall, narrow windows and roofs I can't describe.  One of the first glimpses of the Eiffel Tower is with a replica Statue of Liberty on an island in the Seine River (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Paris-eiffel-liberty.JPG). The base of the Eiffel Tower is HUGE- seeing it was amazing! Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to wait in lines to go up the tower. (http://www.excelloz.com/imagedata/Travel_guide/ma070400041.jp) Traffic was better regulated than in Italy, but they were setting up for their national celebration and there were barricades everywhere, making getting from here to there longer and more complicated. The Louvre, which began as a fortress, takes up several city blocks (http://www.louvre.fr/llv/pratique/venir.jsp), so it's very impressive just from that standpoint. The Paris skyline is very impressive with so many old buildings, most quite ornate.

United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales): First of all, even after paring down our UK places to see (we decided not to go into the Scottish Highlands nor through inland Wales), we didn't have nearly enough time, so for the most part, we SAW things. For example, even though we saw several castles, it didn't work out that we actually got to go INTO one. In the UK, we stayed at bed & breakfasts to save time and money. People there have pork n beans-type beans and tomatoes, not oranges, for breakfast, and toast is served dry in vertical racks; butter, jam, etc. are on the side. Blood pudding (it's black and more solid than U.S. pudding) and kippers are both, in my opinion, acquired tastes. Butterfly bushes grow wild everywhere in UK.

England:  Our port was DOVER. It was a gray, overcast day, low dark clouds... The white cliffs looked more grayed, but one could imagine how they must gleam in the sunlight (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-thewhitecliffsofdover/w-thewhitecliffs-history.htm).  Again, we were welcomed by a water cannon on a port tug. Above the bay is the imposing Dover Castle (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14571). If I'd have been an attacker, I think I would have found its presence very daunting. When we got off the ship, we were considerably farther from town than I had planned and I wasn't sure how to get where we needed to be, so I asked a white haired gentleman in an official vest. He asked where I wanted to go; I answered, London. Then he asked how I wanted to get there. I just looked at him blankly and answered, "I don't know...." He got a twinkle in his eye which seemed either to indicate, "Ah, a fellow adventurer" OR alternatively, "Another dingbat". Then he explained the options and we got to the train station where we exchanged our money for BPS and caught the train for London.

Before we left the US, we bought BritRail passes; at this site you can see why the passes were so flexible (http://www.infotransport.co.uk/trains/index.php). I highly recommend that method of travel, very inexpensive compared to single tickets.The rail system is AMAZING- smooth (no spilt tea), fast, on-time, and available to many, many towns.

LONDON is about the same latitude as Saskatoon, Alberta, Canada. They are having another very cool summer, lots of coats. We were fortunate- only one day with brief showers; that was the day we went to New Southgate and visited the resting place of the Beloved Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, Shoghi Effendi (http://www.uga.edu/bahai/guardian.shtml). Otherwise cloudy or overcast weather. We stayed at a B&B only a few blocks from a main London train & tube (subway) station (http://www.georgianhousehotel.co.uk/full_english_breakfast.htm).  Of the many sites & monuments we saw on our city tour, the most touching was a memorial to animals used in war (http://mylondonyourlondon.com/?p=38). In conjunction with our city bus tour, we took a boat tour of the Thames from which we could see many sites, among them Westminster Palace & Big Ben (http://www.boloji.com/photoessays/monuments/010.htm) and a newer building the locals call the Gherkin (http://www.copyright-free-pictures.org.uk/london-england/11-gherkin.htm). We also rode the London Eye, a huge bicycle wheel-inspired Ferris wheel (http://www.londoneye.com/ExploreTheLondonEye). From the train on our way north to Scotland, I saw a number of thatched roofs on buildings, esp. in the country; I had read that thatchers are becoming rare, but that a well-done thatched roof will last for 50 yrs. Here's a very interesting & informative site about it (http://www.assetsure.com/thatched-c.htm). Never in my life have I seen so many sheep or stone structures. 

Scotland: At about the same latitude as the northern area of  British Columbia, Edinburgh (http://www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com) is a world financial center. In its center is the Edinburgh Castle (http://www.infotransport.co.uk/trains/index.php) built on an extinct volcanic cone; we anticipated visiting it on Sunday. Unfortunately, the B&B we stayed at  (http://www.highfield-h.co.uk/bed-breakfast-lodgings.html) was on the west side of Edinburgh, and there was no early  train TO Edinburgh, so by the time we got there, we hadn't time to tour the castle, but instead boarded the train for the long ride to Swansea, Wales. The countryside between Scotland and Wales is beautiful, more hilly, even some low mountains with lots and lots of sheep.

Wales: One thing I noticed about Welsh housing is that, while England used a lot of red brick and stone and Scotland used lots of stone, Wales generally used brick, but often either a brown, grey, or lighter red brick. Arrived at SWANSEA about midnight. Fortunately, our hotel (http://www.thegrandhotelswansea.co.uk/default.asp) which had a breakfast option, was just across the street from the station, and we were beat. The next day, Monday, we walked through Swansea down to the marina where we wanted to go through the Museum of Wales  Maritime Museum (http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/swansea); the Dylan Thomas center was closed, revealing another glitch similar to the train on Sunday problem in Edinburgh: the museums were not open on Mondays! Oh well... it was a nice walk anyway.

As we were drinking coffee across the street from an old castle ruins (the nearest we physically got to any castles on this trip), there appeared a young couple (20s); she was shouting and screaming at him, pummeling him and trying to hit him in the face. His response was only to block the blows and to repeatedly refute her accusations about his lying to her. Everyone was looking at them. Finally some guy went up to them and quietly talked to them, then walked away. The young woman stopped for a moment, then continued her physical and verbal assault. Then that same guy went up to them, but this time I could hear part of what he said, something to the effect that they needed to stop, that it was too loud, and that he'd already warned them and if they didn't comply, there would be consequences. Now, I don't know if that guy was a plain clothed cop or what, but the young couple quieted down and walked away together. I was impressed, though, with the guy- he spoke quietly, used no confrontational behavior, and when he'd said his piece, he just walked away. Very effective. Perhaps ten minutes later as we walked back toward the train station, we passed the couple at a bus stop, and I'll tell you what- they should've got a room!  :-)   We picked up our packs from the hotel and boarded the train for Cardiff where there is yet another castle.

CARDIFF, Wales (http://usa.visitwales.com/server.php?show=nav.8881): We got into Cardiff and discovered that on the station listings, we couldn't find the name of the station our B&B was near. We climbed on a train and  when the ticket checker came through, I asked if this train went to Radyr. It didn't; it went out to the coast somewhere! Fortunately, we could get off at the next stop and catch the correct train. Well, there went time for the castle visit (http://www.cardiffcastle.com)....

.... When we got off the correct train, we weren't sure which way to go. Our B&B directions said it was about a 15 min. walk. We played a hunch that took us to a  foot bridge that crossed the River Taff.Then we knew we were on the right path. I later saw that COMPLETE directions were on the paper I held, but they were hidden below the fold!  We stayed at a B&B that was older than the USA; it was built in 1574 and had walls as thick as my forearm, Gelynis Farm (http://www.gelynisfarm.co.uk/index.php). They grow strawberries up on a frame in bags of steer manure or some enriched soil. It is located about a mile from the mythical mountain in "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Down a Mountain". That site actually does have ancient burials. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Hill). There are pics on the website. We ate a delicious dinner at the Tynant Inn; it was built around 1815 as the T?-yn-y-Nant (Welsh for House by the brook.  (http://www.pub-explorer.com/southwales/pub/tynantmorganstown.htm)

Our last day, we got up early, picked up the sack breakfast left for us, and hiked back to the train station. Later, we ate a train breakfast. They get your order, and when you begin eating, they keep coming to ask you if you was more or anything else. It's all freshly cooked! Had an uneventful trip to Heathrow, which is a remarkably well-organized airport.

On the flight home, we could clearly see Iceland, Greenland and hundreds of miles of floating ice plates. We also saw Manitoba and North Dakota, both of which have more lakes than I realized. Manitoba has two really large lakes that probably have their own tides, like the Great Lakes! And I got the window seat! (I did offer to trade, though.No, really, I did!)

So, that's our trip- in a nutshell. Probably due only to the fact that we spent more time in London, we enjoyed it more, but we found people everywhere to be friendly and willing to help or try to. What a stimulating and memorable adventure!  :-D

Jill