Paris, part 2 (AKA, the end)

the last day. Paris. wow.

it was a full day, but oh so fun. started out at a perfumerie for a demonstration and a chance to buy some. it was too smelly for me, and the lady talking to us talked entirely too fast with a really thick accent, most of the words i didn't comprehend at all, so i basically sat that hour out.

next, the Eiffel Tower for our optional excursion of going to the top. had to stand in the group line for a little while, then up to the second level to change lifts to go to the top. great views, but so many people. we had to wait in another line for a good while to get in the lift to go to the third level. oh, by the way, "lift" for us Americans is elevator. :-) finally we get to the top, fight the crowds for pictures, and then make our way down. by this time we'd been at the Eiffel Tower for about two and a half hours. it was now lunch time. *L* our group at this point consisted of about ten of us. we went to the snack bar to get a quick bite to eat, then took our food to the grass to eat with the Tower looming overhead. very cool.

after lunch we split off and our group of six took off for the metro to ride to Notre Dame. after a bit of a detour because of repairs on the tracks, we finally arrive and get in line to go inside. there were always lines. i guess that's the problem with touring in the summer. oh well. once inside it was always worth it and Notre Dame was no exception. big, beautiful, the most awesome stained glass ... we all just sat down for a while and took it all in. two of the girls wanted to climb up to the top of the dome, so they went to investigate it. they were told the wait in the line to go up would be about two hours, so they chose not to go up since they were staying a few extra days after the tour was over.

so we made our way over to St. Chapelle, a chapel with stunning stained glass windows, 15 in total, that all had pictures inside of each window that told the story of mankind. it cost 7.50 euros to get in. you enter the lower chapel first, which really is UNimpressive. the low, painted ceilings are unique, but overall there isn't much to see. thankfully there's an upper chapel. we climbed up the small, circular staircase. this section of the chapel is beautiful, but not worth the 7.50 euros, to be honest. the windows are beautiful, but contains so much detail it's hard to grasp what even one is trying to relay. the sun was on the right side of the chapel at this point, so those windows displayed all the beautiful colors with ease. the left side windows, however, were dark and looked dirty and unkept. there was no light shining through, so they looked like there was thick dirt covering them up, blocking the beauty that lie beneath. i'm not sure if maybe that was true, or if it really was just the sun's fault.

throughout the chapel, upper and lower, was scratched paint, dirt, and little windows that had been scratched apart. it was strange, because every other church i'd been in was so well kept and never a flaw. this was unique and interesting, but not worth the cost nor the line we had to wait in to see it.

we strolled over to the Louvre to take pictures of the outside and the pyramid, along the river, stopping at the boutiques along the way to buy a magnet and look at the art. we took our time and enjoyed the scenery along the way. and when we got to the Louvre we sat on the fountain surrounding the pyramid and rested for about 10 minutes. then we took funny pictures and formed our next game plan.

next stop, Arc de Triumph to take pictures up close and personal. while there we witnessed an odd ceremony. don't know what it was for, but it was entertaining in an humorous way. old men with flags who didn't know where to stand and couldn't even hold the flag upright. *L* army guys who didn't march very militarily. a family of tourists allowed to be in the middle of it and a tourist guy walking around taking pictures with his little digital camera. it was funny and odd, but i guess they were taking it serious. *L*

we left there and went to Sacre Couer. on the corner of the metro stop was a restaurant/bar that looked good, so we decided to eat dinner there. very pleasant atmosphere containing live music for the last half of our time there, nice staff, great food. i had sirloin steak (asked for well done, but got medium) and green beans. had a Coke to drink and a nutella & banana crepe for dessert. it was all really good, and $30 (for my meal alone) later we left.

we started walking up the hill to Sacre Couer, the church, but the girls had to stop along the way in this shop to buy a purse with Paris written on it (and i think the Eiffel Tower was on it too). that ended up taking much longer than i desired, but we finally all got on the funicular to take us up to the top where the church is (when mom and i went 15 years ago we climbed all the stairs and saw the funicular on our way down ... i didn't want to make that mistake again). by this time it was dusk. there were people, mostly locals, hanging out on the steps, just drinking and listening to live music, looking out over the city from a perfect high point. it would have been cool to join them for a while, but we didn't have time. it was dark and the girls were starting to get nervous about the area and were wanting to get to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up.

so we went inside the church and sat for a while. beautiful, somewhat simple, probably my most favorite of all. the only major thing in there was a mural of Jesus with his arms spread out wide, bright blue and white colors, really big at the front of the church, round. it's just really amazing. we left and tried to find the "i love you wall", but couldn't find it, but found a store selling wine and an ATM, and finally just got on the metro and made our way to the Eiffel Tower.

some of the group was feeling a bit tired and ready to just go home, but when we got off the metro and saw the Tower all lit up, they were re-energized and ready to go sit in the grass and drink the wine. and so we did. and at midnight twinkly lights started and went off for about 10 minutes. there were lots of people, most locals again, in the grass, eating and drinking and playing games. and there were guys walking around trying to sell wine to everyone, coming to us like twenty different times, at least. but it was worth it. the Tower is gorgeous at night. romantic at night, touristy during the day.

and now it was about 12:30 a.m. we had a full day, but it wasn't over. the group was meeting at a bar after the cabaret show (optional excursion only ten people chose to do) to have final night drinks and dancing together. so three of us six decided to go home and the other three (me included) went to the bar. when we arrived everyone was there. we got a drink and started dancing. Eelco was supposed to be there to have one last drink with me and to dance a little, but when i showed up, he was leaving. and he wouldn't stay. i was disappointed.

we danced and drank until after 3 a.m., then said goodbye to people and got a cab to the hotel. i was tired and tispy and had to get up in about two hours to start my journey home. i said goodbye to the girls i was with and went to my room to pack and rest for a couple of hours.

today was fun. it was the most relaxed, touristy day on the trip. i've had a blast, but i'm ready to go home. :-)

Paris, part 1

we had a long drive today ... about 8 hours or so. we had two stops and two games along the way. i was tired, so i closed my eyes a lot and listened to my iPod a lot ... much more than any other time. the first three hours everyone slept. the next three hours we played two games. one was sorta like a scavenger hunt, right and left side of the bus were different teams. Rachel would call out an object and we'd have to find it on our side of the bus, pass it back to touch the window and pass it up front to her. whoever got it up front first won a point. items were such things as a British passport, lip balm, a bra, a kiss, car keys. our team (the right side of the bus) was winning for a while, but then we got stumped on car keys and lost it from there. the winning side got a bottle of tequila to share.

the second game was a game the back of the bus came up with. Rachel has a thing called "booth of truth" for those who show up late on the bus. they're supposed to stand up front and answer any three questions we throw at them. the questions are supposed to be designed to embarrass them enough that they won't be late again. but everytime someone had to face it (three times, i think), we failed miserably at coming up with a question, so finally she gave up and if you were late you didn't have to try to face the booth of truth. so, because of our failing at coming up with a question, the back of the bus people took time to think up 17 questions and then had us ALL participate on our way to France.

most of the front of the bus weren't thrilled with this idea because we all had a basic idea of what the questions would refer to ... SEX. but we played along anyways. we were to write down three numbers next to our name, from one to 17, and then Rachel would ask us one question that corresponded to one of the numbers. as soon as it started it was a mess. and soon thereafter Rachel decided it wasn't appropriate for her to be asking the questions, so she assigned one of the girls who came up with the game to ask the questions. some people refused to even answer the question given to them. thankfully i was given an easy one ... at what age did you have your first kiss.

finally it was over. and finally we arrived in Paris. just so happens our full day in Paris was a Tuesday and the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, so as soon as we got to town we made a mad dash over to the Louvre so those who wanted to see it could quickly go in, find the main attraction (Mona Lisa), and hurry back out. in all we had about an hour in there and had to practically run through it to see Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and have a glance at some of the stuff in between.

then we went to the hotel to check in and have dinner ... tomatoes & mozzarella, pork with french fries, apple pie, bread, and water. afterward we jumped back on the coach and had a driving city tour. during the tour the back of the bus was being rude, talking and laughing enough that Rachel could hear them up front while she was talking (this was the third official time she got frustrated about it enough to stop talking). so finally Eelco grabbed the mic and told them off. basically saying if you don't want to be on the bus and hear what she has to say, get off at the picture stop and go somewhere else. they shut up after that.

we drove past all the major sites ... Arc de Triumph, the Louvre, the statues of Joan of Arc and Michael the angel, many other things, and of course the Eiffel Tower. we stopped at the Tower and walked from one end of it to the other, then got back on the coach and went back to the hotel. during all this Rachel gave us great history and fun facts about each of the stuff we were seeing.

when we got back to the hotel i got out my map and info sheet and sat with the sisters in the bar to plan our day. we got it all figured out, they had a drink, talked to Eelco and others, and finally went to bed, excited for the last day on tour, and feeling confident about tackling Paris. :-)

Lucerne, Switzerland

we travelled many hours on the coach to arrive in Lucerne very late ... we had lots of traffic, all because of a tunnel. this tunnel is 18 kilometers long and traffic is regulated. the problem before the tunnel was three lanes of traffic having to stop at a light, waiting for their turn to go into the tunnel, then having to merge into two lanes to go through it. so we sat in the jam for well over an hour. because of this jam we had to cancel our optional trip up Mt Stanserhorn.

the plan after Stanserhorn was to go into Lucerne to shop at three particular stores who were staying open especially for us, so we finally arrived around 5. the stores contained special Swiss things, like army knives, watches, and chocolate. i didn't really want to buy anything, so i wandered off toward the river, stopping at a church i found on accident and taking pictures. we were only there for maybe an hour.

after shopping was over we walked back to the coach and retrieved our overnight bags. because of the location of the hotel, the coach can't drive there, so we had to pack overnight bags and walk to the hotel. it wasn't far, just over a covered, wooden bridge and up a little ways.

the hotel we stayed at actually used to be a medium-security women's prison. our tour manager, Rachel, reminded us several times of two specific things ... 1) the hotel is "novelty", and 2) the Swiss aren't known for their food. upon arrival we learned this firsthand. i thought it was way cool to be staying in a place like this, especially when i saw our room door. i just thought it was cool and unique. the rooms were really small and only contained two twin beds, one chair, and a bathroom (thankfully). there was one window, up high, with bars on it. *L*

right after we checked in we went to dinner. salad, bread, and water was waiting for us. then came the main entree ... sausage with gravy and fried potato links. it was edible, but the texture of the sausage didn't agree with my teeth and after half of it i decided i couldn't eat anymore. dessert was a square of ice cream, vanilla on the outside and strawberry sorbet in the middle. all in all it was good, but the main entree was considered our worst meal of the trip nearly by all.
after dinner we met to walk to the lake where most people would get on a boat for the Lake Lucerne cruise. at that point several of us split off to go see the lion monument. it was getting dark by now, so we were hurried up the hill to see it. finally we arrived (because of course we got turned around and had to ask for help), just in time to see it well with our eyes, but not in time to take a decent picture.

this monument is quite moving. it's a lion carved/sculpted out of the cliff/mountain, with a pond in front and flowers around it, and trees towering all over this area, and benches to sit on. there was no one there, so it was nice and quiet and peaceful, but it started raining after we arrived. the lion itself is a memorial to Swiss guards that died while serving honorably. back during the French Revolution 700 swiss were guarding the palace of the king and his family who were palace-bound. on this one night Parisians charged the palace and killed the swiss guards who were fighting to save a family who had already snuck out the back. the swiss guards didn't know, so they followed their orders and died doing so. that's one story. the other story is that the king told the guards not to fight, so they didn't. either way, it's sad. this monument's been around since 1821.

the whole thing is a very moving place, emotionally. and it's really beautiful as far as art goes. the details of it is really amazing. his eyes are quite telling. there are two shields sculpted with the lion, a Swiss and a French, and there's a broken spear in the lion's back. if you've seen Narnia's "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe", imagine Aslan laying there when he was killed, in the form of rock on the side of a mountain and you get a good glimpse of what i saw.

when it started raining pretty good, we left and walked back to the hotel. i had a drink with Eelco in the hallway between the reception desk and the disco in the hotel, talked for a bit, then walked outside and talked for a bit more, then hugged and said goodnight. :-)

overall today was a good day with beautiful scenery, but the traffic jam really caused disappointment for several people, me included because it cut into my time in Lucerne. i had hoped to spend more time there on my own or to be able to call Susanne up and maybe meet her for drinks or something. but it just didn't work. such is life. still, i saw Switzerland again, and was reminded of a place i'd like to visit another time.

Italy, part 3

next stop Florence. we arrived around lunch time, a little later, but we left early so we only ended up with about three hours or so. the moment we arrived we walked to a main plaza and took the group photo. then we walked to a leather shop and saw a demonstration. then we had about half an hour or so to meander until meeting for our guided tour.

this tour was just as good as the Rome one, but we didn't see as much stuff. but the guide was nice and she stuck around to receive a tip afterward. it ended at the Duomo, so i went in. no cost to get in, but if you wanted to climb to the top of the dome or tower, you had to pay. i didn't need to do that. the Duomo was big and pretty, as usual (unfortunately i didn't write down any details about this place in my journal, and now i can't remember what it looked like).

after that i walked back to the main square, stopping to window shop along the way. i went inside Santa Croce, paying five euros to get in. the main altar area was, of course, covered up in scaffolding. just my luck. but inside this church are buried a bunch of people including Michaelangelo and Galileo, so i saw that and then left to meet the group to leave.

we drove to the hotel (Best Western), checked in, and cleaned up and dressed for dinner and disco. we drove through the some Tuscan hills to our optional Tuscan dinner. it was beautiful and up high and there were lots of groups there. we were given a welcome cocktail and let to our tables. we were entertained with piano and accordian music as well as a female opera singer. there was even a little bit of dancing, during which i was being encouraged to go ask Eelco to dance with me, but i didn't. i wasn't drunk enough. *L* he and Rachel were sitting in the back of the restaurant with the other tour group leaders, so had i gone over to their table and asked it would have been pretty obvious.

anyways, the food was really good. a four-course meal and wine. appetizers were buffet-style, but the rest was served to us. lots of appetizers to choose from, all very tasty. then out came the second course, strips of steak with lettuce. third course was lasagna and penne pasta. (dessert was something i can't remember now. :-( but it was GOOD!) there was champagne, as well. and eventually we left to go to the disco.

our admission included a free drink (i guess i should admit now that i drank my yearly quotient of alcohol in a matter of days, but remember everything and was responsible through it all). we started out in the karaoke bar and then went upstairs to the regular dance club part. a couple more drinks and a lot of dancing later we left. but not before an interesting encounter with a very forward Italian man...

so i'm dancing, everything is going well, a man shows up and starts dancing with me and twirling me around. he talks to me, asks my name, we converse, etc., all while dancing. but a bit later he leaves to get a drink or something. a bit later another guy shows up. we dance a bit and then he leaves. and then, a cute guy walks by and i make the mistake of saying, "ooo, ciao!" well, a bit later he comes back and grabs hold of me. we dance very tightly together for a bit, all the while i'm trying to put a little space between us but he's not having it. eventually he starts kissing my neck and working his way up. oh my! after several successful attempts to keep him from locking lips, i finally give in. i thought, "well, this could be the only chance i get to kiss an Italian man, i might as well take it!" *L* so we kiss for a few seconds and then i push him away. i was getting tired and ready to go anyways, so i chose to go downstairs and pay my bill so i didn't drink anymore. paid and went back upstairs to get my taxi group. started dancing some more with the same guy and kissed him some more. why not? and then we all left. overall, it was a really fun night. :-)

Italy, part 2, Rome 2

Rome is crazy busy and HOT. it's so old and historic and very cool to see in person, but i'm exhausted and stressed and totally tired of the hectic life of thousands of people in my personal space.

we got up this morning and took a chartered bus (it's supposed to be Eelco's day off) to the metro stop. we all then had to fight a hundred other people to get on the metro train. impossible to do on the first one so we wait for the second one. when it finally arrives we are literally PUSHED into the train. there were so many people pushing me forward i didn't even have to use my feet. i'm serious. it was crazy. in one car was me and Dave, a guy from Salt Lake City. the rest of our group was someplace else. there was no way to keep up with everyone, so we just assumed we all got on this train and got off at the right stop.

when we got off, we made our way to the Vatican to join the line of thousands of other people. i went looking for our group in the line in front of us, but didn't find them. so a few minutes later i went behind us and finally found them and told them we were ahead of them. i talked with the girls about me and Eelco and then Rachel asked me about it. i told her how i was feeling awkward about it. she said it was ok to go for it if i wanted to, if i liked him, but if i felt uncomfortable and wanted her to talk to him for me, she would. so that was nice. but i still didn't know what to do about our 5 o'clock plan to meet.

anyways, we waited in the line for an hour and then got into the Vatican Museum. it cost 13 euros and was HUGE. lots of paintings, sculptures, gold, and people. too many things to look at. it was all amazing, but i was feeling really overwhelmed. finally got to the Sistine Chapel, but there were so many people in there, so many distractions, and so much paint to look at, i don't think i did it justice at all ... i could have stayed in there for hours and still not have looked at it all. and the people in there ... all of them were snapping pictures and all the cops would say was, "no foto!" there were chairs on the sides to sit in, but otherwise everyone was standing and it was hot and crowded and hearing "shhhhhh!" everyone 10 seconds was really getting to me. i finally just had to leave.

walked through the tombs of previous popes. not all that interesting, but i saw the last pope's tomb. went inside St. Peter's Basilica ... this place was huge too. everything in Rome is HUGE. but once again, a place that was just too overwhelming with stuff to look at inside that i just walked around feeling ... almost depressed ... and saying "wow". it was a lot darker inside than i expected, but beautiful and amazing. mosaics everywhere and a side chapel set apart for prayer. one of the girls said later that there wasn't any candles to light like in most churches, but i didn't notice. this was free to go in, by the way, but you could climb to the top for views of the city for a cost, but i didn't have time to do that.

took pictures and made my way to the meeting place at 12:30, grabbing a sandwich on the way. ate the sandwich while waiting for our group to rejoin and time to leave. we all walked to the bus stop and rode to the meeting place for our guided tour. i was so tired and hot and done, by this point, that i just wanted to get this tour over with and go back to the hotel to go swimming. as did several others of us. and believe me, this reaction was quite a surprise to me. but i think the heat and the crowds and the busyness were finally getting to me.

at the tour meeting point i asked Rachel to call Eelco and tell him i would be leaving town early and wouldn't meet him at 5. she said he was already in town, but that she would send him a message and for me not to worry about it or how he would feel. and so i left her to catch up with the guided tour and tried not to worry.

the tour was great, really, but so hot. we should have had it earlier in the day, but that was impossible since we did the Vatican in the morning. but our guide was a funny Roman lady who tried to find us shade to stop in to talk to us about what we were seeing. we walked around Imperial Rome, which is the ancient city, walking through the ruins that had been dug up of what the Romans of old saw every day. at the end we walked around the Colosseum and then our guide ran off without time to give her a tip. it was amazing and i was so glad i endured the heat for it. very well worth it indeed.

we formed our group of 9 who wanted to go back to the hotel and made our plan. we all got on the metro and rode up to the Spanish Steps, wanting to see it since it's supposed to be special, but when we got there and saw the steps we were all rather disappointed. they were just steps with a fountain in front. we took pictures and i decided i should climb up to at least the halfway point to make sure there wasn't something we were missing. there wasn't, so i went back down and we left. (had i walked up all the way i would have found a church to check out, but i counted 71 stairs and my legs were tired and i was only half way up, so i turned around and went back down so we could get on with it. oh well.)

we stopped at the pizzeria to get take-away and the gelateria to get something cold to help us make it the rest of the trip. some got gelato, some got an strawberry icy drink. then back on the metro to ride out to our bus stop. we found the bus stop with the bus we need to take to the hotel and wait 15 minutes for the bus to come. some of us were unsure if it was the right one, so we ask the driver. he says, "other side". so, we go to the other side to the other bus stop and wait another 15 minutes for another bus. we ask that driver and he, too, says, "other side". frustrated, tired, and hot, we all cross the street and wait at the original stop yet another 15 minutes for the final bus. i say to the group, "i'm getting on the bus, no matter what, and i'll figure it out later." and so, when the bus finally arrived, we all jump on and ride out of town, in the right direction, and finally get near the hotel. when the bus stops, Dave goes up to the front and asks the driver when we're supposed to get off to get to our hotel. this driver is actually helpful and says, "next stop." and so we all got off at the next stop and hurried to our hotel, all with high hopes of swimming.

we'd been told that there was a pool, but it closes at 6. it's now 5:30, so about four of us hurry into our suits and rush out there to jump in and cool off, only to find that they want four euros from hotel guests to go swimming for 20 minutes. what?! we were SO disappointed and irritated about that. after complaining a bit, we all dispersed to take cold showers and rest in our rooms. i couldn't believe it. all afternoon all we wanted to do was get back to the hotel, swim and relax by the pool doing nothing, but it took us nearly 2 hours to get homem and then we would have had to pay four euros to jump in the pool for only a few minutes. ridiculous.

a couple of hours later i went down to the bar to get a soda and sit with a couple of girls to just sit and chill. i took my book and read a little, but as time went by more people showed up and i ended up talking instead of reading. but while the three of us were sitting there drinking a soda a couple of Italian workers came in and talked with me in broken Italian and Spanish and then bought us all another soda. that was kinda cool. :-)

the next several hours were spent on the couch talking with our group and Eelco. he came in, i was nervous about us NOT meeting earlier, but once we came over and had the chance to actually talk to me personally, he said it was all ok and we talked just like normal the rest of the night. no alcohol and no affection.

Italy, part 2, Rome 1

today we're off to Rome. early morning, lots of sunshine, about six hour's drive from Venice, lots of crops and sunflowers! most of the flowers were droopy, but occasionally you'd pass a field bright yellow with perky flowers just waiting for their picture to be taken, but unfortunately driving by at 100 kph i couldn't really capture them. but the moment i realized what those droopy fields were, i got SO excited ... i've always associated Italy with sunflowers, so this was the moment i was convinced i was in Italy.

we got to Rome and did a driving tour of the city ... it was short, but we saw a few of the most important things by bus. then we made a drop off and did a walking tour. we saw the Pantheon, Trevvi Fountain, and one of the main plazas. then we walked to a "ristotheatre" for dinner. this place was nice and we had it to ourselves. really cool bathrooms. we didn't actually witness the theater part of this restaurant, but the dinner part was really good ... starters of pasta salad and little ham & cheese sandwiches; main entree of chicken and bowtie pasta; and dessert of tiramasu and something sorta like flan maybe?

then we walked back to the coach and went to the hotel to finally check in. at some point during the day Eelco asked me to have a drink with him at the hotel, so after finding my room and dropping my stuff, i went down to the bar to join everyone for a social beverage. some of the girls didn't like the hotel and were feeling a bit disgusted by it, so they came down and had drinks too. for the record, this wasn't the nicest hotel we stayed in, but livable.

so we all had drinks and a pleasant time. Eelco was pretty much only interested in talking with me and it was quite obvious. so now is when others started noticing and giving me a "hard" time about it all. you know, teasing and such. it was fun though. eventually most everyone left to go out or went to bed, leaving Eelco and me with some privacy. we walked outside so he could check the coach and before coming back inside we hugged. during the hug he said to me, "if i'd had one more beer i would've kissed you." i don't remember what i said, but we walked back into the hotel and said goodnight with another hug and a kiss on the cheek.

we drunkily made plans to meet tomorrow at the Pantheon at 5 p.m., but now i'm not so sure about that idea now. i'm feeling a little awkward about it all. he's a really nice guy and i enjoy talking with him and sharing smiles on the coach, but ultimately he's our driver and i'm a client and i'm not so sure it's a wise idea. we'll see how i feel tomorrow.

Italy, part 1

in the morning

we are officially in Italy! it's really warm and beautiful. there are green mountains/hills everywhere and an occasional river, lots of houses and castles and churches. it's wonderful. we just stopped for a rest and lunch ... i ate gnocchi for the first time ... very good and filling. a bit sticky and dry, but cheesy and tasty.

Italy has interesting door handles on the bathrooms and this service stop had toilets with a spring seat. you put it down and sit down quickly, when you stand it springs back up. spring or not, i was thankful, because Italy is not one to have seats at all, so we'll see what future bathrooms bring.

Italian is fun ... very animated. lots of orange tile roofs. and now there are no more mountains. lots of crops though ... grapes, corn, wheat, peaches, apples, and something green. we went through a toll booth and got stopped by immigration. the guard came on board the coach and looked at all our passports. it's a lot more "trashy" now, for lack of a better word ... lots of run-down buildings, businesses, trash piles, graffiti, and flat land. much different the more south we go, but still very cool.

in the evening

we're in Venice ... amazing, beautiful, and picturesque Venice. i was so excited to have arrived, finally, in a place i was so looking forward to. it's perfect and just like all the pictures and all that you've ever imagined. we boated in, then had a glass-blowing demonstration. for the first time i actually got to watch someone make an animal (in addition to a vase). it was very fast and probably wasn't perfect quality, but still really cool. then they showed us their shop and tried to sell us stuff.

at that point i left and went to St. Mark's Church (Basilica San Marco). long line, but it moved quickly. it's amazing, as usual, but overwhelming. too much to look at and remember. really amazing and full and had a tons of people to distract you from the important stuff. there were mosaics everywhere, including the floor. plus, the floor was warped from it being on top of water, so you had to watch your step.

after that i walked around the city and got lost. well, i walked around a section of the city and got lost. there was no way to see all the city in only a couple of hours. there were TONS of tourists and shopping to manuveur through, but the maze of narrow streets were cool to traverse. it was just so amazing and i loved it. i saw the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, ate gelato, and took lots of pictures.

met the group to walk to our gondola ride spot. carefully got in the boat with five other people and took off. two bottles of wine and 45 minutes later we got out and parted ways. but during the ride, it was quiet, peaceful, and slow. in a gondola you grasp what Venice used to be like before tourists took over. *L* but the driver didn't sing, so we were a little disappointed. i guess we should have slipped him some money and then maybe he would have.

a lot of the group went to the Venetian optional dinner, but i'd read it wasn't worth it so i parted from the group at that point and walked to see more city and eat dinner on my own. i just walked around feeling shocked that i was actually there. it sorta felt unreal, kinda like i was at Disneyworld and in a mock-Venice or something. i found pizza on the street and more gelati and just ate sitting on a bridge watching the people pass by. i don't know that the pizza was the BESt pizza i've eaten, as one might expect you would get in Italy, but it was really good. just a cheese pizza with a thin crust and no sauce, fold it up and eat it as you go. the cheese was really chewy and salty and greasy and good, i know that. :-)

eventually i made my way back to the meeting place and we all boated back to the bus and then drove to the hotel. our hotel is situated about 45 minutes away from Venice, which is why we went to town first. by the time we got back to the hotel it was nearly time to go to bed, which is what i did. it's really hot here in Italy, which is a welcome change from the last week (chilly and rainy), but it's exhausting.

Austria

got up at 7:30 a.m. to drive to Austria. beautiful drive, again, most of which everyone else missed. me and my alert eyes saw tons of stuff and thoroughly enjoyed the mountains, river, lake, castles, trees, and crops.

first stop today is for most of the group to go white water rafting. i chose not to do this, so me and about 10 others waited at the end point. a nice little area, but not much to do so i went for a walk to the village nearby and found nice houses to take pictures of, a pretty church, a cemetery around the church, lots of flowers, and even a snail. i don't think i've ever seen a complete and moving snail before, so i was pretty excited. :-) beautiful shell, moving slowly on the sidewalk, rain pounding down on it. went back to the end point and ate a hot dog. by this time the rafters had returned and were eating lunch as well. then we all piled in the coach and drove to the Swarovski Crystal World.

this place is weird. can't really explain it, but a cool place. it's sorta like modern art made out of crystals, but not. there were 13 different rooms with stuff to watch, listen to, see, and smell. and of course, at the end, was a gift shop where you could buy a crystal vase for 4,500 euros.

since we're in Austria, as we drove down the rode we listened to "The Sound of Music" soundtrack. we were supposed to sing along and really get into it, but we have a dud group, unless they're drunk and partying, so it didn't work. only a couple of us sang along to "Do Re Mi' with Rachel. she was disappointed, but oh well.

we drove to a little ski village to hang out before we checked into the hotel. we were early and couldn't check in until after 6 p.m. and the hotel was in a location where there was nothing to do, so we went to this little village to shop and hang out for an hour.

went to hotel, which was a mountain chalet. beautiful and fun and ideallic Austrian. the river was nearby and a church was next door. otherwise there really wasn't anything to do or see. had dinner served to us at the hotel. soup, salad, chicken & rice, and red currant cake. all was good. Eelco, our bus driver, came over after dinner and talked to us (mostly me) for a while. actually he talked to me a lot today. i think he might like me. he's a nice guy, very funny and sociable, but a little dorky-looking. still, very nice and fun to talk with.

Munich

got up at 6:30 this morning and had breakfast. bread, cereal, wet eggs, deli-style meat and cheese. after breakfast we went around the corner to the beerstein store and learned about how they're made and then had a chance to shop at their store, the cuckoo clock store, and the Birkenstock shoe store (all these stores were closed last night when we arrived).

the countryside is hilly and beautiful, along the river, and filled with lots of castles and churches quickly passing by. lots of grapes growing on the hillsides, as well as other crops.

arrived in Munich late this afternoon. checked into the Holiday Inn, got back on a bus and hour later, and went to the middle of town. saw the Glockenspiel, but it was all covered up in scaffolding. a very nice girl, Nancy, hitched herself to me. she wanted to shop for a dress and i wanted to walk around and see things. it was good that she was with me because she's quite insecure and probably wouldn't have seen much on her own, but for me it was a little annoying because literally every step i took she followed. but walked around on our own for the next five hours or so. saw couple of nice churches and somewhat scary church, ate some pizza, went to a giant store (like a mall, but just one store). after we were finished we went to the famous beerhall, Haufbrau Haus, where we picked up three other people and walked to the English Gardens in the dark, then took the subway home and went to bed.

Munich was a very nice city. quite modern looking and busy, but not as busy as other cities. still big enough to have plenty of choices and lots of cool stuff to see. overall five hours was enough for me here.

Rhine Valley, Germany

we got on the coach at 12:45 in Amsterdam and started our journey to the Rhine Valley area of Germany to a little village called St. Goar. during the ride Rachel, our tour manager, talked to us about the optional excursions. she did a great job at selling the stuff, but i didn't give in on a couple of things.

a couple of hours later we stopped at a service area ... clean bathrooms, nice restaurant with fresh, buffet-style food (freshly prepared though), and a convenience store. the bathrooms here in europe you have to pay for though. sometimes you have to pay a certain amount and other times you just put down 20 cents or something. most times it was 50 cents or 1 euro. there was usually a person standing there with a tray to collect it, but other times, like in Amsterdam, you had to put your money in a machine that allowed you through a turnstyle. needless to say, most of us really monitored how much we drank in order to make sure we didn't have to go on the coach (which was frowned upon unless it was an emergency), or made sure we had money if we had to go at the services. basically, it's a sticky position to be in. especially for those who didn't have any euros yet.

anyways... once we got into Germany the scenery became really beautiful and fun to look at. there were mountains, the Rhine River below, castles everywhere, lots of green. it was fun and exciting and somewhat surprising to most of us that Germany was such a beautiful country. i think the whole Nazi thing put a negative spin on our ideas of Germany as a whole.

we arrived at our hotel in St. Goar about an hour before dinner. this little quaint and peaceful village (and the Rhine Valley area) is famous for beersteins, wine, teddy bears, cuckoo clocks, and Birkenstock shoes. we dropped our stuff in our hotel and then went for a walk around the village. had dinner in the hotel which was served to us as three courses. chicken broth with rice and carrots in the bottom. then an entree of a yellow spaghetti-like noodle, pork, and peas & carrots. then dessert was a chocolate cherry cake. it was all fairly good.

afterward we went for wine tasting in an actual undersground wine cellar. it was dark and a little chilly, but very cool. we got a shot glass (but bigger than a normal glass) as a suvenier and four wines to taste ... one red and three white. it went from dry to sweet to sweeter. all very good and tasty with some cheese and bread to nibble on as well. then at the end you could taste a wine called "ice wine" if you wanted. it was REALLY sweet and is meant to be drunk as a dessert and very cold. ours wasn't that cold and we only got a little taste cuz the wine is expensive to make and expensive to buy. but the evening as a whole was a lot of fun and after all that wine i was feeling pretty good, to be quite honest. :-)

we strolled around the village and by the lake, then went to bed. the room was nice, but on the fourth level with no "lift" (elevator). not a problem for me since i bought a special suitcase i could just strap to my back and take off, but those with huge wheely cases had a bit of a struggle.

Amsterdam

July 22

we arrived at the hotel ... very nice place, far better than London. it's outside of town near the airport, has escalators and a diner, and buffet-style dinner for us. several different choices and good food for the most part. went to town and got on the boat for our canal cruise. learned earlier that Amsterdam has more canals than Venice and after seeing the map i believe it. our cruise included drinks and cheese, rock music, and funny guides who didn't really guide us so much as drive us. but it was really fun and relaxing and beautiful. Amsterdam really is a beautiful city, though the Red Light District gives it a bad rap. we didn't see much as it wasn't dark yet, but we did see the "coffeehouse" sign ... we were told the different between a coffeehouse and a cafe. a cafe is where you'd go to socialize over a cup of coffee and some nibblies. a coffeehouse, on the other hand, is a drug house. a place you go to legally buy drugs, smoke or shoot them up, and maybe do other things i would know nothing about.

lots of skinny houses ... they used to have to pay tax on the amount of space the house took up on the canal, so the Dutch got smart and built deep and tall instead of wide, so all the houses are skinny, but big. there are TONS of bikes. i mean, TONS. everyone has a bike. and they're all like "mary poppins" bikes ... just the old style and upright. everyone rides with straight backs. it's funny. there was actually a parking garage FULL of bikes ... amazing. in the chain of transportation here, cars and buses are first, then bikes, and then pedestrians. so if you're walking the street and a bike or a car is coming, they are VERY unlikely to stop for you. and we saw proof of that when waiting in like at Anne Frank's house. a girl seriously got hit by a bike. she was ok, but it scared her enough to stay on the sidewalk from now on.

speaking of which ... the next morning we got up and went to town at 8:30 a.m. and had our free time. a bunch of us went to see Anne Frank's house. got there and waited in line for 1.25 hours. the house/museum was interesting, humbling, and took a while to go through. there were snippits from her diary on walls throughout. you enter nextdoor and eventually end up in the house. we all took our time and enjoyed it, but a couple of times i almost started crying. hard not to in a place with such sad history.

afterward we walked around, got some lunch, and made our way back to our pickup spot by 12:45. not a whole lot of time to do other things like the Van Gogh museum, for example, but still it was nice to have time this morning to do things in town.

i really liked this city and would have liked to spend more time here, especially if sex and drugs weren't so prevalent.

tour beginnings

July 21, 2007; 11:15 a.m.

on the tour now, crossing the English Channel on the ferry. before you get on the ferry you have to go through customs, so i got a french stamp. while on the ferry you have to get out of your car and go upstairs to one of three very nice levels. they have several food choices, including a breakfast buffet, bars, an arcade, slot machines, stores, and comfy chairs to lounge in. i can see the white cliffs of Dover ... they are nice, but not as spectacular as they make them out to be. it's raining and cloudy, of course. :-)

the tour so far is good. nice driver and guide. driver is Dutch, the guide is Welsh. our group consists mostly of Americans, but also Aussies, New Zealand, Britain, Brazil, Paraguay, and one girl who lives in the States but is from Iran. my roommate is a girl from Maryland. she's a bit odd, 25, and is supposedly a structural engineer. by talking to her you wouldn't believe it though. we saw the Dover Castle from the road. and from England, on a clear day, you can see France ... though it's cloudy, we could see a little of it.

2:20 p.m.
people are sleeping. i don't understand how you can drive through a new place, a beautiful place, and sleep all the way through it. but whatever. we're driving through Belgium on our way to Holland. it's quite flat, green, lots of trees, cows, brick houses, and when passing cities you can see lots of steeples. i wish we could stop.

no windmills yet, but we passed quickly by a huge field of colorful flowers. tulips, maybe? oh, McDonald's is everywhere, driving is 'normal', and there are tour buses all the time.

where do i begin?

July 20

roommate came home after midnight and left at 6. i didn't meet her. i was sleeping, or at least trying to. it rained during the night and when i woke up it was nothing but clouds, rain, wind, and slightly cold. i thought, "oh, that figures, the day i plan to do a lot of walking!" oh well. me and my rain jacket went discovering anyways.

first stop, the Imperial Hotel to check in. for whatever reason i had to change hotels for one night. i knew this, but had forgotten until last night as i was walking home from dinner. dropped off my bag in my room and hit the Tube.

second stop, Horse Guard change. i was running late, or so i thought, and was frustrated with the lateness and the rain and the cold ... but then i looked ahead and saw horses coming down the street! wow, what great timing! it was so cool to have them right there beside me, walking down the same street, basically to myself. there were hardly any people around. they made their way to the building they guard (the name i can't remember right this minute) where they met up with the "red" guards who were already there and standing in place.

the black guards rode in and got in line opposite the red. then five black guards rode off thru the arch to the opposite side. i stood there for a while to see what would happen, but nothing. and then it started raining a bit more, so i decided to go into the arch and to the other side to check it out (or at least hide for cover). good thinking on my part, cuz i got a first-hand view of the actual changing of the horse guard, which everyone else missed because they were busy watching the rest of the horse guards stand out back. wow, talk about a site. i mean, these guards in their beautiful uniforms on these gorgeous, big, black horses, riding so astutely and taking their position so seriously, moving only on command, and the horses doing exactly what they were born to do (these particular horses i mean). it was simply amazing. really.

so there i was, taking pictures of the horse guard standing in his arch when two red guards and a guard on foot coming walking out of the side of the building. the two horse guards line up behind each black one while the man on foot walks through the main gate and into the street. at his one swift command, the two black guards walk out of the archway, turn into each other, and then face the gate side by side. as soon as they moved out, the red guards moved into their arches and stopped still. then, on the foot guard's command, the black guards walked through the main gate with the foot guard following behind and off to the right through a doorway. a bit later they all three rode out, met up with their troop out back, then the red guards rode off (going to Buckingham Palace) and the black guards went back into the back of the building. it was over. and i saw it. i was right in the middle when they changed. the one horse guard actually walked around me to get to his position. i could have touched the horse i was so close. and there were only about five people around who saw it. it was the coolest thing i think i've seen as far as royalty and ritual goes.

ok, enough of that...

then i went to Westminster Abbey to go to St. Margaret's Chapel (it's next to Westminster and is free, but i didn't do it the other day), but today there was a service when i got there so i couldn't go in. but i saw it from the front door and it looked pretty, just as so many other churches do. :-)

got on the Tube and rode toward Kensington Palace. when i got up to the street it was REALLY raining, so i pulled up my hood and took off walking, hoping i was going in the right direction. came across Kensington Gardens and walked through. rain stopped. took pics of the Palace. pretty, but nothing spectactular. red brick. square. the gates were actually prettier than the house itself. but still, it's famous, so.... walked on towards Notting Hill. just cuz. mostly cuz i enjoyed the movie so much and wanted to see if it looked like it did in the movie. but it didn't. *L*

got back on the Tube and rode towards Harrods. this is THE place to shop and THE place to spend the most money. it's amazing. for some reason the inside kinda reminded me of something you'd find in Vegas. not sure why, still processing that. but the stores themselves. they were all run together, kinda like all one store (well, i guess it kinda is ... HARRODS). the clerks are all dressed prim and proper in their suits, the merchandise is set up just so, the price tags are all printed with high numbers. *L* you can buy anything you need or want here. from the finest of wine from France, the best chocolate, the best suit, or a toothbrush. grapes were 5 pounds per kilo. the most expensive slab of meat i saw was 35 pounds per kilo and that was on sale! i bought two little pieces of chocolate (truffles) for 99 pence. they were delicious. :-)

got back on the Tube and rode to Waterloo, the train station. wanted to see if i could buy a ticket to the airport ahead of time for when i'm on my way home so i didn't waste more time that morning. but i couldn't figure it out and didn't want to stand in line at the person-to-person ticket sales. i'll just deal with it later i guess.

Tubed up to my internet hang out area and ate lunch/dinner at Pizza Hut (mom, is that a surprise? *L*). it's good and cheaper than regular places, and nearby, so why not? i got four slices of garlic bread, a personal pan pizza, dessert, and unliminted soda for 8.75 pounds. that's a pretty good deal, lemme tell ya.

checked my e-mail. then Tubed to the hotel for the tour meeting at 6. that took about 20 minutes of my time. i was early and sat at a table with four chairs and took out my book. i'm such a hermit. no one sat next to me. whatever. when that was over i went to the bank and changed my money to Euros. for whatever reason they changed it to Pounds first, then to Euros. i don't know if this was just the way it's done or if it's because of the kind of service they are ... but my $700 turned out to be only $430 euros. OUCH!

came back to the internet cafe to blog the rest of my London trip and to say bye for now. i don't know if i'll be back online before i get home or not, since i don't really know how this tour will work. so, if you don't see anything beyond this post, fear not, you will upon my arrival back to the States. ;-)

BTW ... the Prius cars are popular here. :-D

more hustle and bustle

July 19

another very long day, as well as overwhelming. last night there was a party going on nextdoor to my room. VERY loud and VERY obnoxious and VERY rude, until about 11:30 when they all finally decided they better go to bed if they were gonna get up at 5 a.m. to leave for their tour. i didn't have a roommate last night, thankfully, so after the party quieted the place i actually slept pretty good.

got up and left the hotel about 9. joined the bus tour at the nearest stop to the hotel. the driver was a cute and flirty guy ... he gave me his number, in fact. :-) told me he got off at 5:30 and to give him a call, we could get a drink or something. (i didn't, but it was nice to be asked.) traffic was ridiculous, so it seemed we didn't get anywhere fast the entire day ... well, until i wanted us to go slow in order to get a picture, then we zoomed by at an incredibly fast speed (probably only 15 mph, but still!). i got off near St James Park and walked through to Buckingham Palace, my first stop of the day, to see the changing of the guard. i got there around 10:45, maybe. the change takes place at 11:30. all the spots in the middle of the gates were taken, of course, so i found an empty spot over to the right and parked my butt.

a little before 11 a.m. the horse guards made their way past the palace. very, very cool. big horses. all black. really something. then at 11:30 you could hear the band coming. couldn't see anything, cuz of all the people, but you could hear them. they made their way into the palace gates and stood way over to the side where i couldn't see anything. for a long time nothing happened. finally they all moved over to the right and changed the guard. there was a lot of standing around waiting. the entire process took over an hour. and turns out, the actual changing of the guard was the same as what i saw the day (or two?) before, just the color of the guard was different. first stood a "black" guard and he was replaced by a "red" guard (uniform color). the previous time i saw it by accident, a black replaced a black. basically it was all the same except for the addition of the reds, the band, and the horse guards ... oh, and a thousand more people.

all in all, it was cool to see, but...

got back on the bus and didn't get off for a long time. i actually rode the entire tour around and then got off at St Paul's Cathedral the second time around. during this ride i saw Tower Bridge. that is just as cool as the pictures i've seen. it's very big and very castle-like. St Paul's is beautiful. i got there at almost 5, just in time for the Evensong to start. i listened to the choir sing a Psalm or something. when they moved down front to do something else, i left. i was tired and i still needed to go back to Tower Bridge and get off to take pictures. but the church ... it's beautiful, just as any other church i've seen is. BUT, the difference is that THIS church is where a couple of special people got married (you might have heard of them, Charles and Dianna?). it's also where the "Feed the Birds" scene for Mary Poppins was filmed.

oh, speaking of which, also on the tour i saw the group of houses that the Banks family "lived" at in the same movie.

anyhoo .... after the cathedral i went back to Tower Bridge and took a ton of pictures. also saw London Tower, the only castle in London. it's cool, but doesn't look like much of a castle, honestly. more like a fortress. there used to be a moat, but they drained it years ago so now it's just a big grassy ditch around it. you can go in, but i didn't. i didn't have time to go into everything!

rode the bus a long time more in order to get to the closest stop to the hotel as possible w/o having to buy a Tube ticket for the day (which i succeeded in). walked a ways and found a restaurant to have fish and chips in. served with green peas of all things. it was all good, but cost me 11.50 pounds, approx.

now i'm at home and planning tomorrow. i have a roommate, but she hasn't emerged yet. she's from australia, yes, another one. seems everyone is from australia. not true, but seems like it.

wow!

ok, i may have gotten a late start today, but i still had a completely full day.

i made my way down to the river area to ride the London Eye. well, me and my directions i took the "scenic" route from the Tube station to the Eye itself. *rolls eyes* found it and found the line ... very long, but quite efficient. i don't know how long i waited and walked around like a snake, but it didn't seem as long as it probably was. the things you ride in are like giant pods or something. they're big and you can walk around or sit down in the middle on a bench. there were probably 15 or 20 of us in this thing and off it goes. very slowly. all around in a circle like a ferris wheel.

it wasn't worth it at all. it was cool and everything, yes, but i couldn't see as much as i thought i would. the best thing you could see was Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. otherwise it all looked the same, small and crammed together. i was slightly disappointed, but whatever. it cost me 15 pounds, so over $30 ... a bit of a waste, honestly, but so be it.

once i was done there i went to a chinese buffet restaurant and had lunch. it was ok. that plus a bottle of water cost me 8 pounds and some change. that wasn't worth the money either, but it filled me up for the rest of the day.

then i started walking. i went to Westminster Abbey, paid 10 pounds to get in, and toured around on my own. they have audio tours, but they weren't working today or something. anyways, the only word that can some up this place is "WOW". it really is amazing and words can't even begin to describe it. i was in there for a long time walking around amazed at the beauty, detail, and royalness of it all. it really was quite something. only problem is that they don't allow you to take pictures inside, so i had to buy a couple of postcards in order to remember the inside.

then i started walking ... i found the Guards Museum, St James Park, and eventually i found Buckingham Palace. yes, it's as big and wonderful as you would imagine a palace being. outside were four guards, two each at two different stations in front of the palace. every couple of minutes they changed the position of their guns. and then, as if i had actually planned it, they changed guards. now, seeing as how i've never seen the actual "changing of the guard", i doubt it was the thing that happens at 11 a.m. every day, but still, it WAS a change and it WAS quite official. my opinion ... they march weird. but they stand there all day and don't even scratch their noses, so you have to respect them even if they crawled. *L* i got video of it, but the video filled up my memory card ... luckily i have two cards.

then i walked to the nearest Tube station, which was still quite a hike, and rode almost home. i stopped off to blog and get breakfast for in the morning. now i'm going to go back to the hotel and rest. my feet and legs are VERY tired. and i need to focus on my day tomorrow. the plan is to ride the bus all around the city and hopefully see the official changing on the guard at 11 a.m. but i have to plan it all out carefully or else i'll mess up and miss it completely.

anyways...

this is a pretty cool place, but oh my, i can't imagine living here. it's so busy and bustling all the time. i guess i wouldn't make it in NYC either then. well, ya never know. :-)