Paris

We're nearing the end of our trip, which is kind of sad. I've enjoyed recounting it. And Paris was a fun, fun place to visit. I went there 4 years ago and found it even more charming the 2nd time around, and can't wait for a 3rd visit.

Paris is so tourist friendly. The spaces are big, the crowds are controlled, the museum lines make sense and aren't ridiculously long. There are many many open spaces around and you can see major landmarks from many different vantage points. It's simply a lovely place to visit. It's also super easy to get around once you know the metro system and where you intend to go. I recommend getting a subway may with an overlay of the city so you'll know what stop to look for. There are even some fun interactive "machines" that tell you which line to take, which we found fun.

We arrived in Paris in the late afternoon with just enough time to get our hotel room keys, drop our luggage and leave for St. Chapelle. St. Chapelle is a gothic chapel built around the same time at Notre Dame with stained glass windows filling the walls all around. It is one of those amazing feats of historical architecture that today's architects and engineers still can't figure out. It was a beautiful quiet respective place. The picture of all the kids from our tour group was not posed. It was a natural picture of them enjoying the sight together.

After St. Chapelle we walked over to Notre Dame and walked through that cathedral while a mass was going on. It was much more crowded than the last time I'd been so I didn't get to take pictures. As we were leaving, however, one of our tour members took this picture of our family with Notre Dame in the background. I think it's the best one of the trip.

We had dinner with our friends at a local cafe and then headed to the Eiffel Tower. This was one of the high points of our time in Paris. Upon walking up to the tower for my second visit, I was amazed again at how big it is. We waited in line and went to the very top where it was ridiculously crowded. I urged us to go down to the 2nd observation level so that we could move around a little more and see the city layout better. We really enjoyed hanging out and looking around. I highly recommend visitors to Paris to go up the Eiffel Tower, even if the lines look daunting. You can really get an appreciation for how tall it is and understand the layout of the city even better from up high. I do think, however, that the 2nd observation level is high enough.

We left for our hotel just as it was getting dark and got to see the tower all lit up and that was really cool. WE couldn't walk 20 feet without having to turn around and look aagin at the sparkling lights. It was really quite fun.

The next morning we spent at the Louvre. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and several other famous and important works of art. Few pictures were taken because it was never really clear if picture taking was allowed. We had lunch, did some shopping and then headed back to our hotel for the afternoon. David and I had to wash clothes and we all needed a little bit of rest.

That evening was our last dinner with our group. We had a wonderful menu, terrific wine, and lots of fun conversation. It was sad saying goodbye to all our new friends from the tour, but we exchanged contact information and promised to keep in touch.

The next morning we went to the Musee D'Orsay and looked around at the art in there. I found the architecture of the building to be quite interesting. It was once a train depot, so is long with sky lights. I loved the clocks that show through to the other side. You can go on the roof and get a beautiful view of the Louvre across the river.

From here we walked down the Champs Elysees. There were crowds of people everywhere in these bright pink shirts. They even blocked intersections and sidewalks at one point. We thought there might be a protest of some sort going on, but we soon discovered it was simply Parisians out to celebrate their winning rugby team.

We finally made our destination of the Arc d'Triomphe where we admired Napolean's foresight in straightening and widening streets and building monuments to himself. I think looking at traffic navigating some of the roundabouts in Paris is also quite amazing. We took the subway back to our hotel, grabbed our bags and headed to the train station where we were going to enjoy the last leg of our trip.

As I said, I really enjoyed Paris. It's such a wonderful city for visiting. It's pretty, there are lots of things to do for people of all ages, and the food as always is terrific. If you understand and follow the important rules of French etiquette, you get along fine with the locals and can really enjoy yourself. I know I'll be back to Paris and will discover more of her secrets and charms.

Burgandy

On day 11 we left Switzerland and headed out of the country and into France. It was a very long day of driving with little mixed in for interest, but we did arrive at our charming country inn in time for some relaxation (meaning wine-drinking) before our dinner outside. The kids ran around and played with a ball and climbed trees and the adults enjoyed conversation and the lovely French wine.

David and I stayed in the newly completed "sheep shed" or more interestingly called the "love shack." It was decorated with bright red paint and fabrics inside. Of course there was no AC and since it was perched on the edge of the garden there were plenty of mosquitos to keep me up all night, but I'm not complaining.

Dinner that night consisted of more wine and a buffet set up so we could eat ourselves silly on bread, salad, vegies, meat of various kinds, more vegies, more bread, and dessert. Dessert was lovely--chocolate pie that tasted something between chocolate syrup and good fudge (it was that rich) and a berry tart that was perfect in every way--especially when paired with the chocolate pie.

After breakfast the next morning (to which David and I were late because we overslept not having set our alarm!) we headed toward Paris (which will be another blog entry because there's just too much to talk about in that city). On the way we visited Guedelon, which is a 13th century castle being built using nothing but 13th century technologies and materials. They expect the castle to be completed in about 20 years. This was David's favorite part of the trip.

We also managed to get a picture with our bus driver before he left us for another tour. We loved getting to know Jean. He was a fun person and an amazing driver.

I don't really have that much to say about this area in France. We only spent the one night and it was really merely a stop over between Switzerland and Paris. I was glad to have seen Guedelon, as I thought it was a really neat concept. The country inn was wonderful, and the people running it friendly and helpful. I wouldn't mind going back to their place, though I think I would request a traditional room just to get away from the mosquitos.

Switzerland

Ah, Switzerland. If Austria was beautiful, Switzerland was more so. It was bigger, brighter and completely knocked my socks off. We woke up on Day 9 and drove from our little village in Austria to a beautiful little lake town in Germany called Lindau. There was a harbor with boats, flowers everywhere and such a charming little old town that you wanted to wander around all day. In one square (creatively enough called "Church square) there were two churches, one Catholic and one Lutheran. The Lutheran church was built during the reformation to allow for worshipers to choose which church they wanted to attend. Since the two were side-by-side neighbors could still enjoy the experience of walking to and from church together and still attend the church of thier choice. At noon, both churches ring their bells, which was such an interesting cacaphony in the middle of that square! The Catholic church was, of course, very ornate inside, while the Luteran one was not. In fact, the Lutheran church almost felt like a wedding cake, everything was so white and pastel.

We stayed in a town called Wengen, Switzerland. We drove to Lauterbrunnen where we caught the train to our village. While there were a few cars around, our big bus could not navigate the mountain UP to our village. We had dinner at the hotel that night and were surprised by an alphorn concert. The alphorn player got so excited about his instrument and all that he talked and talked and talked! And played and played and played. It was a great evening. (and btw, the food here was just "ok" though the fondue was amazing!)

The next morning was a free day, but our guides took a group of us to the top of the Schilthorn. At more than 10,000 feet, it was an amazing view before the clouds rolled in. Gondolas are a primary form of transportation in the Swiss alps. While not cheap, everyone rides them to and from villages (a group of school kids from Gimmelwald rode to Murren with us).

Once at the top of the mountain, we were amazed by this view. We also ate a dessert in the revolving restaurant. Shortly before we left, however, the clouds rolled in and we couldn't see a thing.

We went back down the mountain the way we came up (in gondolas) and walked from the town at the bottom back to Lauterbrunnen. This hike was about 6 km and gorgeous with mountains all around, cows ringing their bells while munching alphine flowers. The sky was gorgeous. It really was an amazing walk. In the middle of it all, though, we took a break for one of the highlights of our trip: Trummelbach Falls. Trummelbach Falls are inside the mountain. You walk into the cave, ride a funnicular up to the area where you can then walk, and go around and around these falls and every corner you take, every new view of the falls is a "wow" moment.

We finished our hike, had a late lunch, then rode the train back to our hotel where we rested up until dinner. We then went in search of fondue. We found out that you should order your fondue by 11am (if you're ever in Switzerland and want fondue for supper, remember this). It's not cheap, but it is delicious!

And that was our time in Switzerland. It made me desperately want to go back. If I didn't want to leave Austria (and I really didn't) I really, really didn't want to leave Switzerland. It was so beautiful and pretty and clean. The air was pure, the cows happy, and the food was pretty good--good enough to keep me fed anyway! I honestly can't wait to go back and spend lots more time there.

Austria

On day 7 we woke up early, ate a quick breakfast and got on the bus for a long day of bus riding. David had been talking to our bus driver who recommended that we ride in the front seat for the drive from Venice to Austria. He was right. The view from the front seat of the Dolomites and northen Italy was astounding. The mountains got taller and more straight up. The valleys were greener, the trees more interesting. The sky bluer. Everything about the drive indicated clearer air, more beautiful scenery and a mountain retreat to make us very happy. And all the indications were exactly right.

Around lunch time we stopped in a town in northern Italy called Bolzano. There we went to the archeology museum and saw Otzi the ice man (found in a glacier about 10 years ago), had lunch and gelato. Bolzano was a charming town. It would have been fun to hang out there for a while.

We arrived at Gutshof zum Schluxen around 4 and had to hurriedly get some clothes on to wash, have a bath (David had a nap) and enjoy some of the local wine before dinner. And dinner was amazing. I had the veal and David had the venison. Unbelievable. And did I mention the local wine? Because it was also fabulous. During my quiet time at the bar watching the patriarch kill flies, I was seriously enjoying the relaxation of no kids, no husband and no tour buddies, when one of our guides walked by and said, "You look totally refreshed!" I said, "I had a bath in a real tub with hot water," and she was jealous.

That night after a wonderful sleep, David, Alyssa and Elizabeth went with the rest of the tour group on a hike to Neuschwanstein Castle. They took this picture of the village we stayed in along the way. I stayed back at the hotel and got our clothes on the line (which were later brought in by the hotel staff and folded when the rain storm came up. Wonderful people at Schluxen).

Neuschwanstein Casle was built by Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria but never completed. He built it because he liked the view--it was an astounding view and an extremely difficult hike. He dedicated the castle to Wagner's operas with each room "playing out" the main idea from one of the opeas. Swans also played an important role, with over 300 swans depicted in one room alone!

After Neuschwanstein, we went to the luge and had a picnic. Everybody but me rode the luge twice and found it to be quite fun. It just wasn't my thing. I did enjoy the picnic, especially the champagne.

After that we went back to our hotel where we rested up a bit from our extremely physical day. After David's nap, we hiked into the village and took a few pictures of interesting things. The village church was charming. And the cows that were being herded home by two guys on bicycles kept us laughing for quite some time.

We made it back to our hotel in time to have some of that beautiful wine at the bar before dinner (no flies this tme). Dinner that night was a buffet of all kinds of terrific food.

I did not want to leave Schluxen. It was the first place I totally relaxed on the trip, the kids had play space and enjoyed the country air. The food, if possible, was actually better than Italy. We had so much fun there. The hotel owners were extremely nice. Everything about it was perfect. Our driver spoke excitedly about Schluxen from the day he picked us up in Rome and I completely understand. He called it a "heaven on earth" where the water tastes like nothing else in the world. And he was right. Everything in Austria was perfect--the weather, the food, the activities, the smell, the atmosphere, the scenery. I cannot wait to go back to this little wonder on our earth.

Venice

We woke up on the morning of Day 5, had our wonderful Tuscan breakfast (the apricot crescent rolls were everyone's favoite) then boarded the bus for our drive to Venice. It was a long drive, but riding a bus on a tour in Europe is actually not a bad experience. The bus drivers are required by EU law to stop every 2 hours for a 20 minute break. Our driver, Jean, was amazing and always tried to stop at picturesque places when possible. Because we were still on the road during lunch time we stopped at a roadside cafeteria, where the food was not only prepared right there in front of you, but was fresh and delicious. I had shrimp and zuccini pasta and a salad.

We arrived in Venice around 2:00 and got in line for the ferry to our island. The main island is Venice and that's where the Grand Canal and all the major sights are, but Venice is made up of several smaller islands as well. Murano is known for glass making, Burano is known for lace-making. We stayed on the Lido which is a beach resort town...very cute and quaint with lots of neat little stores and restaurants and a decent beach. Locals live there, so there is also a thriving modernerity to it that's absent in the heart of Venice.

After the ferry ride and being dropped off right at our hotel, we put our stuff away and then went into the city for some sight seeing and dinner. We rode a vaparetto (which is the equivalent of a city bus on a boat) during "rush hour" and ended up being so packed in that I thought I would have a panic attack. David and I were squished into a corner and there was a man holding onto the hand holds above me with his elbow in my eye. I was surprised I ended up without a black eye. Oh, and it was raining, so not only were we packed in, we were wet... We were supposed to ride the gondola that night, but I'll explain later what happened.

One thing our guides kept insisting about Venice is that you can't get lost. The alleyways may be confusing, but you're on an island and can't get off unless you're on a boat. So, the brattiest member of our tour group became our guide and followed the signs and walked us to St. Mark's Square. This is the square of pigeon fame. There are thousands of them everywhere and they pester the tourists who feed them and take pictures of themselves being attacked by pigeons. I think it's supposed to be quaint, but I wasn't happy.

As we were grouping up to get our directions for the walk to the gondola, this happened, so our tour guide cancelle our gondola ride that night. We walked around looking for a place to eat, but most of them were packed, except for one which was getting rained on INSIDE.

After dinner, we walked around the square a bit, then met up with our group and went back to our hotel on a much less crowded vaparetto this time.

The next morning we woke up, went into the city with our group and toured the St. Mark's Cathedral. I wish I could have taken pictures of this place because it was truly amazing. There are mosaics everywhere. Every single square inch of floor, ceiling and walls are covered in tiny glass pieces arranged to tell a story. Sparkly, pretty and wonderfully overwhelming. There was a choir in there that day and the music gave me chills. We also saw the golden altar which was quite golden and shiny. Definitely worth the Euro.fifty we spent to see it. Then we walked up the steps to see the bronze horses (which were also pretty cool) and ended up watching a military review in the square from the balcony. That was cool. Some of the frescoes were also on the outside. A picture of one.

After St. Mark's we went to the Doge's Palace. The Doge's Palace was where the doge, the equivalent of an elected king, lived and conducted politics. It's huge. The rooms are huge, the tapestries and paintings are huge. Everything is huge. The stairway below is the one that petitioners would use to enter the doge's chambers. When you enter the courtyard, this is the view you have of the staircase. Rather daunting isn't it?

The Doge's Palace was connected to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs. This picture, of course, was taken from outside, but we did walk through the bridge and back again.

After a quickly eaten lunch in the rain at a pizza bar (remember these are the stand up/take away restaurants in Italy, not alcoholic institutions) we rode the vaparetto to Murano. We had to pause for dessert becuase we were all so tired. Hot chocolate and some yummy sweets later, we walked to several showcases and admired and purchased a few pieces of Murano glassware. We also saw a demonstration of a vase being made.

Our family went back to the hotel at this point, apparently on the slow boat. We had dinner, then went back into Venice for our group's gondola ride. We had a singer and musicians, and it was quite fun overall.

That was Venice. We did a lot in a day and a half and I wished I'd had another 2 or 3 days to get "lost" on the main island. The weather was so bad while we were there that walking around and strolling weren't very much fun. I have to say that Venice is the only place in Italy where the food wasn't all that good. Our hotel, while modern and really nice, put David and me in a crummy room with no air conditioning and a flock of mosquitos. I was dive-bombed all night long. Didn't sleep well as a result. I would also have liked to have stayed on the main island. We spent a lot of time commuting and no time enjoying the beach. Finally, this was the place, where I lost it due to travel weariness. David and I got on the wrong bus on the Lido trying to get back to our hotel, and when we asked the bus driver which stop we got off of to get to our hotel, he told us we were on the wrong bus, stopped in the middle of the road, and told us to get on the bus stop across the street (which was also a 1/4 mile down the road). I cried because I was so frustrated and tired and hot and ironically wet and knew I would have to sleep in a room with mosquitos and no AC.

All that bad-luck aside, I loved Venice. It charmed me like I hoped it would. It was one of the places that I couldn't wait to go see and was so excited that it was on our tour because who can imagine what a city built in the water looks like? It reminded me a bit of New Orleans--decadent, expensive, hustlers everywhere--but like New Orleans it captivated me and made me not care that I'd just spent too much money on a crappy piece of pizza. It's fun and has a great history. It is definitely one of those places where I'd like to sit and stay awhile.

Tuscany and Florence

On day 3 of our trip we left Rome after lunch and drove about 4 hours into the heart of the Tuscan hill. We passed charming hill towns along the way. Tuscany is a pretty countryside that reminded me of the Texas hill country with Italian villages instead of Texan small towns. Olive trees, wine and other agricultural pursuits are the main economic drivers outside of tourism.

The hotel where we stayed was called Il Croccichio and had the best breakfast of our entire trip. After arriving at our hotel, David and I washed clothes and rested while the girls went swimming. Dinner that night was at the hotel and was a Tuscan feast. We had Italian peasant bread, salad, sausage and cheese, and dessert.

Day 4 dawned bright and early and we boarded the bus for our trip into Florence. Florence is a mecca for art lovers, and I can only wish we had had more time there. I think I could have fallen in love with the city. As it was, it was extremely crowded, pushy and otherwise not the best of experiences.

Our first stop in Florence was the Academia to see Michelangelo's David. I took this picture before I realized you weren't supposed to. The hallway leading up to David has several of Michelangelo's "prisoners." Sculptures that he bagan and worked on at various stages during his life but never finished. I thought the prisoners were very thought provoking.

After the Academia we met our tour guide, Valentina, and walked to the main square in the city where the Duomo stands. Duomo is Italian for "cathedral." The Florentine Duomo is the 4th largest in the world, made of green and white marble striped for effect. The dome was designed by Brunellesci and is the model for most domes created afterwards, including the one in the US Capilol Building. While I really wanted to go inside the church, the lines were too long and we didn't have time.

From here we walked along through the old town to an open air market where a statue of a boar sits. You rub his nose and drop a penny into the grate for good luck and a return trip to Florence. Finally we made it to the Uffizi to find out that the air conditioning was broken in the building and they were only letting a few people in at a time. We waited for over an hour to get in and then toured the famous paintings and other works of art in the Uffizi. These included the Birth of Venus, Michelangelo's painting of the saints including a frame he carved out of wood (which was super interesting), Bottecelli's "Spring" and many others. Pictures weren't allowed, so I don't have any.

After the Uffizi, David went to the Science and Technology museum, and Alyssa, Elizabeth and I went with our friends the Peterson's for pizza. After pizza we shopped and bought a few things. On our way out of town, we stopped at a scenic overlook and got some greats shots of Florence. you can see how the duomo dominates the city.

Then we returned to our hotel for another fabulous afternoon of swimming, recreation and another Tuscan feast! This time I had eggplant (so yummy) and gelato for dessert.

I loved Florence and would have been so happy had it just been me and about 200 other people in the city. Instead it was overwhelmingly crowded and our "true Italian" experience consisted of fighting our way into the Uffizi, literally blocking pushy tour groups from getting passed us in line. While I would have liked to have had the time and space to experience Florence for all she's got to offer, I was glad to leave. This isn't to say I'm not interested in going back, I just think it would be wise to do so in November when the tourist crowds aren't so bad.

Another thing I learned to appreciate in this part of our trip was that being a part of a tour group gets you access quicker and easier to places than you would if you weren't. Because of the AC problems, only tour groups were allowed access to the Uffizi. We would have waited for hours only to find out that we couldn't go. That would have been horribly disappointing. The "power tours" of the highlights seemed worth it at that point.

I think that Tuscany is one of those charming areas of the world that has held onto its charm because of economic hard times. It sort of "froze" expansion and development and has become an interesting place for tourism because no other place in the world exists quite like it. I definitely want to go back on my own and explore the hill towns, talk to the people, taste the crops fresh out of the fields. And I would love the opportunity to take lots and lots of pictures. It's such a beautiful landscape that it begs for photos, and driving by in a bus just doesn't provide those opportunities.