Message
Board
European Vacation
by
Sheila Jennings
with contributions from Danny Jennings
Saturday, June 18, 2005 6:10 pm
We started from home about 9:00 am and it did not take
us long to arrive at Joe and Christie’s. Amazingly,
everything fit in their car. We stopped in Rome (Georgia)
and had lunch. We’ve made it through all the security
at Atlanta Airport and now we’re waiting for them
to start boarding the flight. Here’s hoping our
nine-hour flight goes quickly and we are able to sleep
through most of it.
Sunday, June 19, 2005 6:53 pm
Well, we’ve managed to lose 6 hours, but we found
our hotel. We finally landed after a very long flight.
We had to show our passports in the Rome airport (We
got our first stamp!?) and then find our luggage in
baggage claim. When we arrived, we were not sure how
all of us and our luggage were going to make it to our
hotel: The Starhotel Michelangelo. After talking to
a man at an information desk, the plan was to catch
a train, then a bus, then walk more than a hundred yards
all while carrying our luggage. This didn’t seem
like the best plan, so we sought another solution. We
ended up taking a Mercedes minibus (van). It got all
of us and our luggage to the hotel for the bargain price
of 80 euros for the four of us. What surprised me was
that we made it in one piece. At several points during
our taxi ride, I wasn’t sure that would be the
case. Everybody drives like maniacs here. I’m
glad there are no SUV’s! They could do some real
damage and I feel certain we’d all be dead. The
driver cut people off, went into other’s driver’s
lanes, passed people in oncoming traffic, and drove
like he was on fire from the time we left the airport.
It was terrifying, but he was not the only crazy one.
It was complete chaos! People just parked their cars
any old way (and had dents and missing parts to prove
it). There are no lanes – which encourages the
Romans to cram as many cars and motorcycles as possible
into every square inch of road.
The hotel is great. We rested
a while and then went in search of food. We found a
place near our hotel that served nuked pizza (yuck),
but it kept us alive. Exploration of our surroundings
was our next mission. Our hotel is one block from St.
Peter’s and we “Romed” around in the
square. We saw the Papal apartments, the fountains,
and the statues. After wandering through souvenir shops,
we found a market place just outside the square. It
was about to storm and we headed back to the hotel.
Rain started coming down, but we made it back before
it started to pour. I’m still in disbelief! We
are actually in a foreign country, although it does
seem more believable when you turn the television on.
Tomorrow – Naples and Pompeii
Monday, June 20, 2005 11:53pm
Whew, this is the first time
we’ve stopped since early this morning. I did
not sleep well and look forward to a good night’s
rest tonight. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then
a taxi took us to our bus. Again, I’m amazed we
made it alive! The bus took us through Naples (Napoli
as the natives call it). The Royal Palace, an abbey
I can’t remember the name of, Mt. Vesuvius, the
Isle of Capri, and the Mediterranean Sea were among
the sights. From Naples we made our way to Pompeii and
closer to Mt. Vesuvius. We had lunch (which was wonderful)
and then toured the ruins. I was stunned by the massiveness
of the excavation. The mosaics, as well as the architecture
and ingenuity of the people from the 1st century B.C.,
were phenomenal. The shops had sliding doors. They had
running water (hot and cold) through a lead pipe system.
Amazing tables, pots, floors, paintings, sculptures,
homes, and baths are further evidence of their resourcefulness.
All of these were destroyed, but preserved by the still
active Mt. Vesuvius. It was eerie to see the casts of
its victims preserved in death. We left Pompeii a little
after five and had a couple of stops: one to pick up
more passengers and one for a bathroom break at a service
area. (Why are all the restrooms in the basement?) We
headed back to our hotel with a busload of people. We
were the next to the last passengers to be dropped off,
which was great. We got to see a lot of the city such
as: several fountains, the Republique Piazza, the Forum,
and the Coliseum, all with a giant full moon to light
it. Wow, what a view! After arriving at the hotel at
15 ‘til 10, we changed clothes and were right
back out. Dinner was our first priority. Then we walked
to St. Peter’s Square. It was beautiful at night.
Again, that full moon was an amazing backdrop. Surprisingly,
there were several people still milling about. Tomorrow
we hope to attend mass at St. Peter’s.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 11:15
am
Crap! I forgot to turn our alarm
clock on. I set it and everything. Joe and Christie’s
phone call woke us up about 10 after 8. We made it down
by 8:30 and had breakfast. We walked to the square and
attended mass at St. Peter’s. I could hardly believe
how grand everything was. It is 13 stories without the
dome. I attended mass at St. Peter’s. I’m
not even Catholic and everything was in Italian, but
it was still amazing. We had all dressed up for the
service and headed back to the hotel to change and get
something to drink. We are going to take in a few of
the sights in a while. Tonight we meet our tour guide
& group and have dinner. Ciao for now!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 9:17 pm
Wow, did we ever take in some
of the sights. Outside the Victor Emmanuel Monument,
we took pictures with Roman soldiers. They tried to
scam us out of 10 euros, but we said no way. We saw
the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain (where we threw in our
coins), and the Spanish Steps. We had lunch at the Hard
Rock Café and it was quite possibly the best
burger I’ve ever had. We walked back to the hotel
and were able to take pictures of the Castel San Angelo.
It served as a home for popes during the Renaissance.
Try to put your mind around the fact that everything
around us is 2,000 years old, give or take a hundred.
Unbelievable!
We rested in our hotel until
6:00, where we met our guide and left for dinner. The
transportation is comfortable for a change. While on
our way to the restaurant, we saw the island where Rome
was first established (which is a hospital now). We
saw the church where the Pope is also the Bishop. We
passed by the Sacred Stairs which is rumored to be where
Jesus walked up to be judged by Pilate. We also saw
a pyramid and some ruins, but I can’t remember
all the details. It seems everything we look at is a
ruin with historical significance. The architecture
just boggles the mind and it’s everywhere you
look. At dinner we had five courses, a bottomless supply
of drinks, and entertainment. It was great. I’m
glad we at least got to see St. Peter’s today
because it will be closed tomorrow. Danny and I didn’t
take pictures, but Joe and Christie did. It is closed
because the Pope will be speaking in the square and
we’ll get to see him. Our tour guide, Vanda, has
a wonderful wittiness about her.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 8:10
pm
We were awake and down to breakfast
by 6:30 and left the hotel at 7:15. Our bus driver is
Domenico. He seems to be better than the other crazy
Italian drivers. This has been the most absolutely awesome
day. We found out St. Peter’s would be closed,
but would reopen after the Pope’s appearance.
(There’ll be more about this later). Throughout
the Vatican Museum there are the most exquisite tapestries,
mosaics, and statues. Even the bookcases are works of
art. The Sistine Chapel was the next stop. My description
here could not do it justice, so I won’t even
try. Michelangelo has a wicked sense of humor. One man
was complaining about the nakedness of the subjects
in The Last Judgment. Michelangelo put the complainer’s
face on one of the subjects in hell, gave him ass’s
ears, and used a snake to cover his nakedness. The snake
just happened to be wrapped around him and biting his
unmentionables. Ha, ha, ha! When the complainer went
to the Pope to ask him to do something about Michelangelo
and the new addition to The Last Judgment, he said,
“Sorry, if you were in purgatory I could help
you, but hell I just can’t do anything about.”
Even today that is how you will find the complainer
in the lower right-hand corner of the wall – ears,
snake, and all. At the end of the Sistine Chapel, a
door opened and we were able to get a small glimpse
of the Pope’s private quarters. The Sistine Chapel
is the room in which the cardinals elect the Pope and
the ballots are burned.
After walking down the spiral
ramp staircase thing, we walked to St. Peter’s
Square. Here we saw the Pope and were blessed by him.
How cool is that! I saw the POPE in person!! Granted,
he didn’t take an audience with me or anything,
but it was still awesome. We loaded the bus and headed
to Ancient Rome. We saw the 7 hills Rome was founded
on, the Palatine ruins, the Forum, and the Coliseum.
It was amazing to see where the gladiators entered,
where the emperor sat, and where the senators sat. The
gladiators fought wild animals in the morning and other
gladiators in the afternoon. This occurred 300 days
a year for 500 years. Just imagine the lives that were
lost while the crowds looked on and cheered. Unbelievable!
Our group arrived back at the
hotel, but we did not stay long. We went out for a quick
lunch and then back to the hotel to change clothes.
Since we had already seen most of the highlights, we
did not join the optional tour at 4:00. Instead we went
to St. Peter’s Basilica and climbed 320 steps
in 95 degree weather to the top of the dome. The trip
up the dome was miserable. It was a narrow, winding,
slanted journey and did I mention it was 95 degrees.
We also had to wear appropriate clothing for the basilica
– so we were not wearing our coolest gear. However,
the view from the top was worth my near-death experience.
I hope the panoramic pictures turn out because it was
just a stunning view. We saw the Coliseum, the Victor
Emmanuel Building, the Castel San Angelo, and our hotel.
As we came down from the dome, there was a balcony inside
which gave you a bird’s eye view of the inside
of the basilica. John Paul II and Saint Peter are entombed
in the grottoes, which is where we headed next. There
was a pretty long line and the guards rushed everyone
through, but I managed to take a couple of pictures.
We were able to wander through the basilica where they
were having mass in the main hall. We saw the see-through
glass tombs (gross!) of a couple of the former popes.
Anyway, after all this we were ready to change clothes
and eat. We went out to dinner at La Pilotta (which
is a big bowl for soup). This was our second time there
and we loved it again: good food, good attitude, and
good service. I have to quit writing so I can take a
bath and start packing. Tomorrow – ciao, Roma
and biongiorno, Firenze!
Thursday, June 23, 2005 11:00
pm
Today was another action-packed
day – up at 6:00, breakfast and luggage out by
6:30, leave by 7:30. We traveled through Tuscany with
rich farmland, olive trees, sunflowers (large, beautiful
fields full of them), abandoned farmhouses, and magnificent
cities and villages (which were centuries old and contained
an irrigation system) built right on top of hills. Vanda
explained that the farmhouses were abandoned because
the current generation and their parents felt it beneath
them to work the farm. They want initials after their
names and import Romanians to work the fields. The journey
today was truly beautiful countryside. We were near
where St. Frances was born and where the legend of Pinocchio
originated. We arrived in Florence about 11:00 am, after
stopping at a service area. The service areas are like
our rest areas, but they have a convenience store and
a gas station there, too. After eating a quick and horrid
lunch, we were able to look around a bit. Our guide
met us at The Academy of Fine Art, where we saw Michelangelo’s
David. I was once again stunned. It is absolutely magnificent.
There are details you just don’t get in the pictures.
He is 15 feet high and weighs 12, 000 pounds. And yet,
Michelangelo managed to keep him balanced perfectly.
He is shown right before his battle with Goliath, which
was revolutionary at the time. Michelangelo learned
to sculpt the human body by dissecting the human body.
Morbid? Yes, but his research is evident in the details:
veins in the neck, legs, arms, hands, and feet, tendons
in the knees, details in the fingers and toes, and the
muscles throughout the body. David’s hands are
too large to be in proportion, but Michelangelo did
that to celebrate his victory. He also felt David would
have needed big hands to use the stone and sling. From
the back, you can see David is holding the stone and
sling ready to attack. A small log is used behind his
right leg to balance the massiveness of the statue.
He is in a counter-balance stance: right side still
and left side active. The marble Michelangelo used had
been started and then rejected by 2 other sculptors.
He completed David after 2 years, when he was in his
twenties. I completely understand why it is the most
famous statue and am so thankful I had the opportunity
to see it in person.
After the Academy of Fine Arts,
we visited the Cathedral and St. John’s Baptistery.
It uses three colors of marble to represent faith, hope,
and charity. Its Gothic style is evident and it is beautiful
inside and out. We also visited St. Croce Church and
the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and
Dante. However, Dante is not buried in his. He was exiled
and later died in another town, which is where he is
buried. Evidently, the feud over the body is still going
on today, much to the Florentine’s embarrassment.
While in Florence, I was able to score an amazing, hand-stitched
leather purse and Danny picked up some Ferrari gear.
We were booted out of our hotel
in Florence (known for leather, art, and gold, but not
hospitality evidently) and headed to Montecatini. Some
big-shot fashion show and St. John’s Day had Florence
packed out and we were not impressed with Montecatini
initially. Our room was terrible with soaking wet carpet,
a leaking ceiling (through a light I might add), and
a broken air conditioner. The manager (who I will refer
to as the jerk hereafter), was terrible about the whole
thing and tried his best to ignore us. The jerk sent
a maid, but all she did was throw down some towels,
speak Italian (which I still don’t understand),
and leave. She came back, looked at it some more, and
left again. I went down to talk to the jerk who said
he could do nothing for us. I asked and finally got
Vanda’s room number. I called her, explained the
situation, and she started to work on it. In the meantime,
the jerk comes up to our room and tells us we are stuck
with the room and the room temperature is just a matter
of what you are used to. I explained our friends next
door have a room a little cooler than hell, but he still
was dismissive and left. Vanda comes in, checks out
our room, and explains she has been trying to call the
front desk. Just then the phone rings and she is yelling
this whole string of angry Italian into the phone. The
only thing I understood was, “Pronto,” which
she repeated twice and rather loudly. She then turns
to Danny and I and says to us in her British accent,
“Oh my God! What if that was an American?”
Turns out it was an American. It was Christie who just
hung up on her thinking she had dialed the wrong number.
Anyway, after that Vanda saved the day. She went downstairs
and we ended up with a new room. The jerk even helped
us move our luggage after Vanda finished with him! We
had just enough time to change clothes and go to dinner.
Dinner was wonderful and consisted
of bean & pasta soup and veal & potatoes. The
dessert was phenomenal. It was an original dessert that
demanded presentation. They turned the lights down and
strode through the entire room with this parfait dessert
in the shape of Mt. Vesuvius with sparklers and fire
coming out the top. It was quite a show and very delicious.
We strolled through the streets of Montecatini after
dinner, much as the natives do. They were strolling
about the squares and markets, sitting on benches and
sidewalk cafes, and walking the sidewalks. We found
a little carnival area where we played air hockey, saw
a beautiful carousel just sitting past the square and
took a couple of pictures in front of a fountain. This
is an amazing little town. People were out everywhere.
In the square, we sat around a few minutes just enjoying
the atmosphere and taking in all we could, then headed
for the hotel. Although it started badly, I’ve
rally enjoyed the evening and think this little town
with all its restaurants, hotels, and charm is splendid.
Tomorrow Venice.
Friday, June 24, 2005 10:00 pm
Mi amore Venezia! It’s
fabulous! We drove for about 4 hours and arrived on
the islands via a water taxi. The whole city is built
with wooden pikes driven into the ground. The first
Venetians built here to escape the barbarians. Today,
the only way to get there is still by boat. Once we
arrived, we grabbed lunch at McDonalds, which was a
welcomed sight. We met with our tour guide, Sergio,
and were rushed through a little of Venice. We used
the Whisper audio systems, which have been a neat way
to hear important information throughout our tours.
Saint Mark’s Basilica is an amazing structure
with gold everywhere, phenomenal mosaics, St. Mark’s
tomb, and uneven floors because of the settling of the
bottom of the ocean. St. Mark’s has more of a
Greek and Asian influence, but the Venetians knew they
couldn’t compete with the grand size of the other
cathedrals. Instead, they decided to compete with the
splendor. The mosaics use precious and semi-precious
stones and more gold than can be imagined.
St. Mark’s Square, Atlas, the
Bell Tower, and a glass blower’s demonstration rounded
out our tour. It’s amazing what he was able to do with
the glass, but more impressive were his clothes. Why
would that man go out in public with clothes that don’t
fit? I feel Vanda would say, “Bless him,” in this instance.
The Venetians are known for their Morano glass, hand-made
lace, and their carnival masks. We picked up a mask
and some lace. After the tour, we were free to roam
and shop until 4:30. The Bridge of Sighs is a local
sight associated with a couple of legends. It connects
Dogge’s Palace with the prison. One legend involves
Casanova and the sighs of all the disappointed wives
and lovers while he was imprisoned. The other legend
is that the sighs of the prisoners and their wives and/or
lovers could be heard as the prisoner went to face his
death. At 4:30 we met to go on our gondola serenade
through the canals of Venice. The accordion player was
hilarious and played Let it Be and Staying Alive. After
the gondola ride, we strolled through the streets a
little more, ate snacks at a sidewalk café (carefully
avoiding the blasted pigeons), listened to the orchestra
playing, and soaked in our last minutes of this wonderful,
unique city. Today was not the hustle and bustle of
a big city. There were no cars or motorcycles trying
to kill us. We were able to just wander aimlessly down
one narrow street after another. People would have steps
at the water to park their boats instead of driveways
to park their cars. As we walked back to the waterfront
there were people in masquerade costumes who stood like
statues. I hope the pictures turn out okay – I’ve been
snapping away. It was an amazing experience. Each day
is wonderful and each place we visit is so unique. I
am really overwhelmed with all we’ve experienced. I
am feeling the day and the non-stop schedule we’ve had
the last several days. Tomorrow we have a long drive
to Lucerne, Switzerland. Hopefully, we will be able
to rest on the bus. But at this time tomorrow – I’ll
be looking at the Alps.
Saturday, June 25, 2005 8:00
am
We are on the way to Switzerland. There are a few things
I want to ramble on about as we travel. Yesterday, we
saw the Adriatic Sea, which feeds the area around Venice
along with several rivers. We crossed the Po, the Tiber,
and another river I can’t remember. We stayed
in a little town outside of Venice last night. It has
statues and art everywhere. The corridor twisted and
turned, with sitting areas thrown in at various places.
We passed through the Apennine Mountains yesterday,
which were beautiful. There’s quite a bit of farmland
around with corn, tobacco, olive trees, apricot trees,
and rice. Besides the Asian countries, Italy produces
more rice than anywhere else. Other additions to the
amazing landscape were nurseries, many of which are
family run. One was owned by a rose specialist and was
absolutely gorgeous. We passed through or near many
cities and learned interesting facts and/or legends.
Parma is where true Parmesan cheese comes from and it
is made from goat milk. Also, it is where the violin
was created (by someone whose name I can’t remember)
and perfected by Stradivarius. Cremona is where true
mozzarella comes from and is made from water buffalo
milk. We passed through the town where St. Anthony ended
up. He was from Portugal and wandered around for a while
trying to bring religion to the heathens. At one point
they were not listening to his preaching and he said,
“If you won’t listen, I’ll preach
to the fish.” He then turned toward the sea and
starter preaching. Row upon row of fish stuck their
heads up and began to listen. The people of the fishing
village felt that since the fish were listening to him
he had something worth hearing. Because of his mission
of trying to save lost souls and restore lost faith,
he became the finder of lost things. Now it is more
along the lines of keys, gloves, etc. Also parts of
him are on display. For some reason, which I can’t
remember, they opened his tomb and found his tongue,
mouth area, and vocal chords still intact. They say
it is because he is so pure in thought and speech. Now,
once a year, they celebrate him and drag his bits and
pieces out and parade them around town. How utterly
bazaar! We learned the upper-class Venetians had summer
villas for the months of July and August. It was too
hot and humid for them to stay on the islands. So they
had their things shipped to the mainland. Today, as
we left our hotel, we were able to see some of these
splendid villas. It was neat to see how every home (even
the smaller ones) had shutters on the windows. They
were not just decorative either. I guess it was (is)
to fight the heat and mosquitos.
We just left another of the service
areas, (rest stops) which was our last stop in Italy.
The service areas have the squirreliest set-up. You
find what you want at the counter, go to the cashier,
and stand in line to pay for it. Then you go back to
the counter to pick it up. If they were to do it cafeteria
style it would be so much less Italian. We passed Brescia,
where Beretta handguns are made. We’ve had a history
lesson on funeral practices. Most Italians do not bury
their dead, but entomb instead. Because they are running
out of room, the government is now paying for them to
cremate their loved ones. The Italians place a picture
and eternal flame where their dead are stored. In Naples,
the funeral is quite elaborate. They have a black funeral
carriage with black horses which have large plumes.
The family walks behind the carriage and everyone who
sees the funeral passing stops and gives the sign of
the cross. They then bury them for one year, bring them
back up, pray, and cleanse them. They place them in
a non-permanent dove-coat for a year, repeat the cleansing
and praying, and then put them in a permanent dove-coat.
Can you imagine? That is just nuts.
We passed through Milan, which
is a huge business city with many factories. Fashion
shows are held here and Da Vinci’s The Last Supper
is here. However, you would have to have a reservation
at least a year in advance to view it. They are building
Milan II just for residences because there are so many
people who work in Milan, but they are running out of
room for homes. We also passed Lake Como in Italy and
crossed into Switzerland at Chiasso. We are at Lake
Lugano where, even though it is in the Alps, it never
freezes. There are tropical flowers and palm trees along
with the beauty of the Alps. It’s amazing to see
the infamous Swiss banks. We were able to walk around
a bit and saw some antique shops and art galleries.
We ate at Burger King for a quick lunch so we could
walk along the lake. It was nice to not have to worry
about being killed by a crazy Italian driver. Vanda
explained the Swiss always follow the laws and take
care of their own. There’s no unemployment because
they feel everyone can contribute something and are
paid a decent wage for it. No unemployment means no
crime because there’s no poverty. They leave their
bikes unchained and everything. They will not do menial
work like wait tables. They allow foreigners to do the
jobs they don’t want and only let you live here
if you have money. It is very clean and everything is
well-manicured. That’s just how the Swiss are.
While waiting for Domenico, a
storm blew in from nowhere and we had barely made it
onto the coach when the heavens opened up. I’m
kind of glad it rained because we got a view of Switzerland
and her Alps that not everyone sees. The rain created
waterfalls all over the mountains. We made it through
the frightening switchbacks of St. Gottard’s Pass
and made a pit stop. We saw and heard the cows with
their bells on the mountains. The men’s restroom
was weird, with just holes in the floor. Dave (of lost
luggage fame) showed it to us and said he didn’t
think he was backwards enough to use that one. I made
some comment about being a baby and told him to use
the women’s restroom, which he did. This was quite
a change because we’ve used the men’s restrooms
in several circumstances.
We traveled through the longest
road tunnel (10 ½ miles) in the world. It seemed
most of our travel through the Alps wasn’t actually
road, but one long bridge. While at St. Gottard’s
we were able to see snow on the mountain. Past a certain
elevation there is a permanent snow cap. It was still
storming at our rest stop and lightning struck a flag
pole near where many of us were standing. I felt a weird
static and my hair stood straight up. It was crazy!
We saw azaleas still in bloom and learned there are
not trees past 4500 feet. The air and water are fresh
here because there are not many factories, but there
are a lot of dairy farms. The Swiss are known for their
chocolate, water, knives, and timepieces. The chocolate
is awesome because the cows graze the mountains where
there’s little pollution. The grass is unpolluted.
The cow’s milk is unpolluted. This makes for some
amazing chocolate.
We’ve arrived in the German-speaking
Swiss town, Lucerne. We checked in quickly and ran back
down for a walking tour. There is a HUGE festival going
on to celebrate summer and raise money for the less
fortunate. It’s a big deal around here with a
parade and everything. There is period dress which varies
greatly – from medieval to nerdy (with knickers
and beanies). On our walking tour, we began at the Lion
Monument. It is heartbreaking. It’s carved out
of a rock in the mountain with a little park area around
it. It is dedicated to the Swiss Guards who were killed
defending King Louis XVI. They were ordered to lay down
their arms, which they did. However, they were sworn
to protect the king and they did . . . while he ran
out the back door. To add to the history a bit though,
the sculptor did not get paid the full amount from the
Swiss government and he went back to make a few alterations.
It now looks like the lion is in the belly of a pig.
The wooden bridge which leads to the Jesuit Church is
near our hotel and leads us to the center of the city.
We came back to the hotel for dinner, which sucked.
We had fish, but you could not read the menu so you
had no idea what it was until it arrived. When I saw
it was fish, I did not take a plate from the server.
Evidently this was a big deal because the barely English-speaking
Asian woman (remember this job is beneath the Swiss)
who’s the manager, comes out to try to talk to
me. I tried to explain it was not a big deal. In the
end, I ate crappy spaghetti, but avoided an international
incident. I sure miss the Italian meals, but the dessert
was a streudel which was pretty good. Vanda warned us
about the food saying, “It will keep you alive,
but barely.”
After dinner, we went back out
to enjoy the festival. People were everywhere, music
was everywhere. You turn corner after corner and get
a new surprise. It’s just amazing what timing
we’ve had on this trip. The festival had a lot
of music, which was mostly American. It was weird to
hear the introduction and not understand a word. Then
they break loose with Bryan Adams, The Beach Boys, The
Eagles, Journey, etc. It seems some folks had a bit
too much fun. They were falling down drunk in the streets
or being carried by some friends who could barely walk
themselves. Again this was a unique view of Switzerland.
Beer bottles thrown on the ground, music, food, drunken
German-speaking Swiss – what an experience. We
sat by the lake and watched the people and the swans
for a while. We told a few ghost stories and talked
about the legends associated with Mt. Pilatus. Tomorrow
– a close-up view of the Alps.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Yeah! We got to sleep an extra
hour. The breakfast was better than I thought it would
be after last night’s fiasco. While traveling
to Mount Pilatus, we noticed the streets were completely
clean. Thousands of people and tons of trash just a
few hours earlier, is now gone and the whole town is
squeaky clean again. This just amazed me. There is a
legend that says dragons live on Mt. Pilatus along with
the ghost of Pilate. However, we did not see either.
We did see a flock of alphorn blowers and a pair of
flag throwers. It was all very impressive. To get to
an elevation of 7,000 feet, we had to ride a cable car
that would hold 4 people. I couldn’t believe the
view and the natural beauty that surrounded us. We then
got on a group cable car that was supposed to hold 41,
but I’m convinced had 102 people on it. Yikes,
I like the people I’m traveling with, but this
was too close for comfort. Dave (who still doesn’t
have his luggage, but we do have a pool going) said,
“I usually by a girl a drink before I get this
close.” I made some smart remark back and we finally
found our way through the 300 people (okay, maybe I’m
exaggerating a little) and were out on the observation
level. There were Coca-Cola lounge chairs and steps
to higher vantage points. We climbed up and there are
no words to describe the view that was before us. It’s
the kind of view that makes you want to cry because
you know God’s work is all around you. We were
able to take in part of a church service on top of the
mountain, which included several alphorn blowers. They
played three or four songs and then we wandered around
the gift shop. I bought a Swiss watch and then we traveled
by cog train down the other side of the Alps. On the
way up we saw huge trees, lakes, pasture land, and cows.
On the way down was a very different view of the Alps.
We then traveled by coach back to town and hopped off.
We walked to what looked like a hole-in-the-wall, but
turned out to be a restaurant. It was a bit cramped,
but it was nice inside. It was larger than it looked
with two huge rooms to seat people. This was a folk
lore lunch in a family-owned business. All of them played
multiple instruments including dulcimer, spoons, piano,
alphorn, and broom, very unique. They allowed different
people from the audience to try the alphorn. Lee from
Texas was chosen and did a pretty good job. All the
others did not have such an easy time. The lady on stage
gave introductions in English and German. The English
version always started, “And now ladies and gentlemen
we will . . .,” with a very heavy German accent.
The meal was bad, but it didn’t matter much anyway.
I was pulled up on stage to YODEL in SWITZERLAND in
front of two rooms full of people. I knew I was going
to be picked because while she was singing, she was
looking around the room and looked me right in the eye.
When the song stopped, I looked down hoping that avoiding
eye contact would be enough to keep me off stage. No
such luck. I didn’t want to be the only pud to
not go on stage. So far, everyone picked had gone on
stage. I thought, “Oh well, I won’t ever
see these people again anyway.” So I went and
we began by all yodeling together. Then came the kicker
– I yodeled solo. I think I did alright, but I
don’t think the Swiss are going to be asking me
to cut a yodeling record anytime soon. Dave and Mike
from our tour group were also chosen. We laughed and
had a great time. We clapped along with each solo yodeler
to offer encouragement. The lady did not understand
personal space. As our turn arrived, we all went forward
for our solo and immediately started backing away from
her. After all the masterful solos, a huge (bigger than
my head and 6 inches deep) cup of beer came up on stage.
We all could drink as much as we wanted. I was the second
one to drink (thank God). They did wipe it off after
each drink, but I was still happy to be early in the
line-up. I took a drink and thought I would croak. It
was so heavy it felt like syrup going down. Yuck! Mike
from Kentucky was able to handle it better than the
rest of us. I left the stage and ate my dessert (my
entrée, thankfully, had been disposed of).
We returned to our hotel and
took a nap and a shower. We left the hotel for Giswil
and our horse-drawn carriage ride. It is a family-operated
business with a man, his son and grandson, and his wife.
She served us homemade pastries and fresh cheese, along
with homemade apple juice, at a chalet from the 1600’s.
It was amazing. Peter was our driver and his English
was broken, but he tried hard to communicate with us
and make sure we understood the history of the area.
He was very gentle with the horses and I loved to hear
him soothing and directing them in this softer version
of German. In the chalet we explored and put a pin in
the map to indicate where we were from. As we rode back
toward the coach, we saw a small family-owned cheese
factory (which just looked like a smoke house) and the
village school (which was pretty good size and looked
a lot like our schools). Domenico traveled on the horses
with us and we all just had the best time. The laid
back, beautiful scenery of Switzerland had rejuvenated
us. We laughed a lot and clapped a lot. We were once
again dropped off in town and, because of my past experience
with Swiss food, we went to McDonald’s. We walked
around in a sort of underground mall. Almost all the
shops were closed because it was Sunday. We found one
that was open and Danny went there to get a Swiss Army
knife. We bought one for Donnie, Dad, and Danny’s
dad as well. Tomorrow – Paris.
Monday, June 27, 2005
There is still no word on Dave’s luggage, but
he seems to be having better luck at finding clothes
now that we are out of Italy. After a wake-up call at
6:00, breakfast at 6:30, and leaving about 7:30, we
are on our way. In Lucerne, it was strange to hear and
see the German language everywhere. Also, it amazes
me how many people are at least bi-lingual in the countries
we’ve visited. I am very thankful they have learned
our language. I might stand a chance with Italian and
French, but with German I was completely lost.
While going up Mt. Pilatus, the
silence was amazing. You heard cow bells and birds singing,
but not much else. Flowers, which are not found anywhere
else in the world, were also part of the view at Mt.
Pilatus. Christie, Joe, Danny, and I had an ongoing
joke about the SNL skit with Christopher Walken and
Will Ferrell. “I just gotta have more cow bell!”
We crossed the Rhine River, whose fish (all of them)
were killed by the pharmaceutical chemicals being dumped.
They’ve reintroduced Salmon and are hoping for
the best. The company was heavily fined for the pollution,
thankfully. When we passed the border into France, there
was absolutely no one there to man the station. Something
else I’ve learned is that the British use Mr.
and Mrs. Bloggs like we use Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
We are just about 1 ½
to 2 hours from Paris now. We have passed the beautiful
countryside with wheat, vineyards, hills, and farms.
We stopped and had lunch at one of the service areas.
I had French fries in France. How cool! We’ve
paid for our optional excursions and slept on the coach
today. I am happy to leave the Hotel Astoria. It was
small and stark and you had to transfer elevators to
get anywhere. The bed was weird too. You had to practically
make your own bed because of this down comforter thing
that they piled on your bed. I hope the hotel in Paris
is better.
We made it to Paris and we got
our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from the coach.
Our hotel is nice enough, but small. We had singles
again. I moved the whole room around to put the beds
together. The hotel itself is huge. We waited for our
luggage so we could change shoes. Joe and Christie went
out on their own. Once we had our tennis shoes, Danny
and I traveled by Metro (subway) to the Louvre. We asked
a lady at the metro which line took us to the Louvre
and she said, “Do you speak French?” After
our no she replied, “Then I don’t speak
English.” What a witch! She didn’t even
have an accent. However, she was having some gender
identity issues. We had a quick lunch on the way, came
across Notre Dame, and snapped a few pictures. Once
we arrived at the Louvre, we discovered it was closed.
We did get to go under the glass pyramids and inside
the lobby. We hopped back on the metro to the hotel.
Tomorrow the Eiffel Tower!
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 9:00 pm
Today started at 6:30. We had
breakfast at 7:30 and were supposed to leave at 8:00.
It was moved to 8:30 because of the late night some
of the people had and still there were several people
late. We finally moved out at almost 9:00. We saw a
lot on our drive to the Eiffel Tower. We were not allowed
to stop because it is illegal for buses to stop in Paris
(What do you expect? They’re French). We love
Domenico and do not want him to receive a fine, so we
looked from the coach.
While driving around, we saw the prison where Marie
Antoinette was held the last few days of her life. Her
ten year old son was in the first prison with her, but
he died there. Even though she and Louis XVI had 4 children,
he had no male descendants to take over the thrown.
Only 1 daughter survived. We saw the square where Marie
Antoinette was beheaded and very near there, the square
where Louis XVI was beheaded. Louis XIV did not like
Paris. His father, the king, died when he was five.
Since he was so young, his mother, Ann of Austria, and
her appointed minister, Mazarin of Italy, ruled for
him until he was 24. This did not sit well with the
Parisians. Louis was the king and they wanted to rid
themselves of him, his mother, and her minister. They
tried to kill him several times, which, of course, created
mistrust and dislike. That’s why he built the
palace in Versailles, where his father had a hunting
lodge.
After a dinner invitation to
one of his minister’s homes, he became jealous
of its lavishness. He realized the minister had stolen
state funds and was arrested. He set out to build a
grand palace, but he kept the hunting lodge for sentimental
reasons. The irony of that is – it is rumored
that Louis XIII was not even his father. His mother
had a long-term affair with Mazarin (her appointed minister)
and Louis XIV is rumored to be the result of that affair.
Anyway, Louis XIV saw himself as the sun, which was
believed to be the center of the universe at the time.
His symbol is seen everywhere in the palace and the
drives are like rays of sun to the palace. He did not
want to live where the previous royalty had lived. The
Louvre had been built for someone else and was not good
enough for him. Today the Louvre is the largest museum
in the world and is home to the Mona Lisa. During the
reign of the Louises, royalty, as well as ministers
and government officials, lived at Versailles. People
still live in the buildings surrounding Versailles.
Louis XIV did not want people living behind him (remember
he had trust issues), so he had the town in the front
and the gardens behind the palace. The Sun King decreed
that no building in Versailles would be taller than
the palace because no one was more important than the
king. He did allow the chapel to be taller because God
was a little more important than the king.
Versailles was stormed by the
people of France during the French Revolution. The people
were starving and all the money was held by a very small
percentage of the aristocracy. It resulted in the temporary
end to the monarchy (death of Marie Antoinette and Louis
XVI) and the establishment of the first republic. The
Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors
at the end of World War I. It has 17 windows facing
17 mirrors. Each room has an elaborate ceiling with
a Greek or Roman god. Louis XIV, of course, identified
himself with Apollo, the sun god. Bernini (from Trevi
fountain fame) made a statue of Louis XIV, which he
hated and put far, far away at the end of the gardens.
We saw the most famous painting of Louis XIV in his
bedroom. All the French history books have it in it.
It shows off his legs, which he was very proud of. He
took dance lessons and showed them (and his legs) off
every chance he got. We saw Marie Antoinette’s
bedroom, where she gave birth to her four children.
She had to do so in a room full of people as witnesses
to make sure there was no baby switching. She had ostrich
feathers representing her and a beautiful silk flower
print on the walls. There was a door connecting her
room to the king’s, but she was never allowed
to go to him. During this time, cleanliness was not
very important. As a matter of fact, the French invented
perfume to cover the stench of their body odor. They
believed the dirt kept out disease. The palace had only
three bathrooms, but had urns set up behind strategically
placed trees on the inside of the palace for the people
to use. Can you imagine how awful it must have smelled?
No air conditioning, no bathrooms, no showers –
Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! I think some of the French still believe
in the no shower thing ?. Louis XIV lived into his 70’s
and we saw the bedroom where his body was laid out for
the people to see.
The gardens around the palace
have fountains everywhere with lakes, flowers, walkways,
and shrubs. It is really beautiful. Earlier in the day,
we saw the prettiest bridge in Paris, across the River
Seine. It has two columns with statues at either end
and various decorations across it. We drove through
the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed at the 13th
pillar. We saw Les Invalides (built as a veterans hospital),
which is where Napoleon is buried. We learned he was
crowned at Notre Dame, but he was not crowned by the
pope, as kings past. He said he had the people to thank
not God and took the crown from the pope and crowned
himself. He then crowned his wife, Josephine. We all
know how that turned out for him. We saw an obelisk,
which was a gift from Egypt to Paris. It is about 3,300
years old. In Europe, they use a comma where we use
a decimal and a decimal where we use a comma. In Europe
$4,257.99 is written €4.257,99. It’s the
strangest thing. We saw the hotel where Michael Jackson
stays when he comes to Paris. We also saw Maxims, a
lavish restaurant owned by Pierre Cardin. We saw the
Arc de Triumph, the miniature Statue of Liberty, and
the statue of Dirty Henry VIII. It is said he had lice
under his arms, even. No wonder his wife wasn’t
faithful.
We unloaded the bus near the
Paris Opera House and ate lunch. We had Pizza Hut, which
was awesome. I was wished Bon Appetite in Paris. That
is so cool. The best part of the day came before noon.
We went up the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing! We rode
an elevator to the second floor, which is not like a
normal second floor. You were able to see forever. I
can’t believe I have been up the Eiffel Tower.
It was erected for a world exhibition. They have a special
color called Eiffel brown and it is repainted every
few years. They tried other colors, but decided the
Eiffel brown was the only way to go. The tower was designed
by a man who like the science of building and built
the tower with the thought it would be used for science
experiments (and it has been). Our tour guide Katrine,
told us that several people have committed suicide from
the tower. One lady jumped from the first floor and
landed on a taxi. The driver went every day to see her
at the hospital and she fell for him. Get it? She fell
for him? Yeah, we groaned too. Katrine even knew it
was bad and apologized for subjecting us to the terrible
story. At the Eiffel Tower we bought some stamps and
sent some post cards from the post office that is located
in the tower. It has its own post office. We walked
down the more than 700 steps from the 2nd floor and
loaded the bus.
In Paris, we’ve gotten
an eyeful. The windows are open a lot because evidently
people don’t believe in air conditioning. Today
we walked by an office with all the windows open and
all the people just pecking away at their computers.
It was almost 100 degrees today. I could not live like
this! Anyway, it seems they are not modest and do not
care who sees what. I’m just going to leave it
at that. Also, they must not believe in 2 liters. The
biggest we’ve found is a 1.5 liter. They use Celcius
for temperature, military time, commas for decimals,
and they don’t have the metric system or air conditioning.
Boy do I feel like we are in an alien land. Danny and
I ordered Royals with cheese (just like in Pulp Fiction)
because they don’t call them Quarter Pounders.
After Versailles and the crazy heat, we came back to
the hotel. Later we ate at KFC. The sides are very different
– no mashed potatoes with gravy and coleslaw with
a biscuit. They serve French Fries with everything here.
After KFC, we walked around the corner to a little bakery
and bought a pastry, which was delicious. While roaming
around Paris, we traveled the Boulevard de Saint Germain,
which is the street where Johnny Depp lives. Very cool.
We came back to the hotel because it was sprinkling
some. It is still light outside and it’s 9:48
pm. I don’t think I would like the very short
days they have in the winter. They seem short enough
back home. Tomorrow, we are on a fast train to London.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 8:45
pm (London time)
Today has been a pretty laid-back day. We left the hotel
and headed for the Eurostar station. Along the way,
we exchanged addresses and read Vanda’s poem.
Dave got up and said a few words about the support he
received from all of us and his wife, Randi. She sang
a song, Help me, Vanda to the tune of Help me, Rhonda.
We passed the Moroccan district and their market. They
had a little bit of everything. The districts start
in the center and move out in circles like a snail.
At the place where we unload our luggage, I hugged Domenico
goodbye. He had to go to Frankfurt for another tour.
A car was coming my way and he pulled me out of the
way, probably saving me from being run over by a crazy
Parisian. We had to “move a bit sharpish”
to board the train because we were running a little
behind. The traffic was crazy and Vanda was not sure
how long the transfer and inspection of luggage would
take. We practically ran the whole way and boarded the
Eurostar. All this sharpish moving was for naught. We
stayed put for an hour because of technical difficulties
and finally changed trains. The Eurostar travels 185
mph through the Chunnel, under the English Channel,
and through the beautiful countryside of jolly old England.
We finally made it to Waterloo International, took a
group shot, and then made our way to the bus. We had
to have our passports out at the London station, even
though we had gone through 2 passport checks at the
Paris station (How ironic - there wasn’t anyone
at the border when we entered France, but to exit we
showed our passports twice. These people are insane!)
A guy in front of us was pulled to the side and had
to show his passport, but we were not stopped.
We were not able to shop like
we had planned. The shortcut to Harrod’s through
Hyde Park was fenced off for an upcoming concert, Live
8. There are 200,000 tickets for sale to Saturday’s
concert. It will be cool to catch some of it on TV.
We checked into our hotel, hugged Vanda goodbye, and
went for something to eat. Vanda said we were one of
her favorite groups. We were a friendly bunch and that’s
not always the case. In fact, she said her last group
did not talk to her or to each other. They came miserable.
They left miserable. I don’t understand that at
all. We have all become very close and we look out for
each other. We are mixed and mingled all the time and
it would be awful to sit there in silence. Besides,
I’m genuinely curious about the people, where
they live, what they do, etc. It was sad saying goodbye
to Vanda and I know it will be different to board the
plane without my other 40 travel buddies. She wished
us all a safe flight and we headed out for something
to eat.
We ate at an English Pub at Vanda’s
suggestion. It was more like a restaurant, but without
the high prices Vanda said we would find. We got some
pounds from an ATM, which made our third type of currency.
We’ve also experienced three different languages
(besides English) and it is nice to be able to understand
the menus and signs. The driving on the wrong side thing
is blowing my mind. We even loaded the bus from the
wrong side. They do have suggestions on the streets
at crosswalks: LOOK LEFT or LOOK RIGHT. We traveled
around quite a bit today in Oxford Park, which is the
shopping district. Our hotel is located near there and
the Marble Arch. We saw a lot of Muslims while walking
around. I think one of their churches is around here
close. They were smoking something out of an elaborate
urn-looking thing. While riding through London to our
hotel, we saw the Millennium Wheel (or ferris wheel
build for the millennium celebration). It is also called
the London Eye and takes thirty minutes to make a full
rotation and there is very little sensation of movement.
The pods are even rented out for weddings. We also saw
Big Ben, the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the Tower
of London, an animal statue (dedicated to the animals
who sacrificed during wars), and Parliament.
The hotel is huge and very art
deco. It’s the nicest room we’ve had. It
had great linens, a large bathroom with a shower and
a tub, an iron and ironing board, and washcloths. It’s
the only one that’s had washcloths. I still can’t
get used to the light switches. They are different everywhere
we’ve stayed. Also, no two toilets or sinks have
worked the same way anywhere in Europe. Something else
that is different is the restrooms are found downstairs
from the main floor in many cases. They are sometimes
upstairs, but very rarely on the main floor. What we
refer to as the first floor is 0 here in Europe. It
took us a couple of elevator rides to commit that to
memory. While wandering around this afternoon, I found
that London is a city with CHARACTER. I love it. I love
the crowds and the accent. I love the red phone booths,
the old-fashioned black taxis, and the double-decker
buses. I love the architecture and the parks, the monuments
and history. It is an amazing city and I can’t
wait to explore more of it tomorrow. Tomorrow night
– Phantom of the Opera! ?
Thursday, June 30, 2005
We were up at 7:00, eating at 7:30, and leaving at about
8:00. Today was our tour of London. We really took a
lot in and I hope I remember most of it. We passed Notting
Hill and Hyde Park. The fountain in Hyde Park is seen
in the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary. We saw where
the Roman walls used to be. Where the gates of the city
were, is marked with a dragon, the symbol of London.
We saw the Prince Albert Memorial, which was 22k gold
leaf. He was Queen Victoria’s husband. We saw
where JFK lived while his father was an ambassador.
The Wellington Arch represents Wellington defeating
Napoleon and France at Waterloo. The theater district
is called Piccadilly Circus (circus means circle). Her
Majesty’s Theater is here, where we’ll see
Phantom tonight. There is an Eros (Cupid) Statue here
which is a meeting place for people and has been since
WWI. Trafalgar Square commemorates Nelson’s naval
victory over Napoleon. He was not buried at sea like
most navy men. Instead, since he was short enough, they
were able to fit him in a whiskey barrel. He was essentially
pickled for transport. We passed by the courts and learned
the judges and barristers still wear wigs and royal
coats. The old London is referred to by Londoners as
The Square Mile.
At St. Paul’s Cathedral,
we unloaded the bus and got to explore. It was designed
by Christopher Wren who did not use stained glass in
his designs. It is the 2nd largest cathedral in Europe,
behind St. Peter’s. The cathedral was damaged
twice: first by the great fire of London and then by
bombs during WWII. During WWII, the people endured 90
straight nights of heavy bombing. They sought shelter
in the cathedral. Night after night it remained unscathed
as more and more of the city was destroyed around them.
The people of London felt that if the cathedral could
stand, they could stand. This cathedral on the hill
gave them hope. It continued to withstand through the
heavy bombing, but later the east wing (behind the dome)
was badly damaged. Instead of building it back exactly
as it was, they built a memorial to the Americans who
lost their lives on English soil during WWII. It is
a beautiful chapel and the only place in the cathedral
with stained glass. There are 2 crossed swords upon
entrance and an eagle watching over the 28,000 names
in the book. It was truly an awesome experience to be
able to see it first hand. This is the cathedral where
Charles and Diana were married, where Churchill’s
funeral was held, and where the Duke of Wellington is
encrypted. There is an amazing area (all wood) for the
choir. There’s also a whisper circle just like
the one in the Capitol in Washington, DC. Saint Paul
was never in London, but was adopted as their patron
saint. After the great fire of 1666, the king said all
buildings must be built of something besides wood. There
are only 2 wooden homes that survived and we passed
by one of them.
We saw where Toni Blair lives,
which officially is 10 Downing Street. However, he actually
lives at 11 Downing Street because 10 is too small for
all of his family (he has 4 kids). We saw Westminster
Abby where coronations and some funerals are held. Chaucer,
Dickens, and Newton are entombed here as well. We unloaded
the bus and perched ourselves near the parade route
for the changing of the guards. There were mounted guards
and bobbies (yes they wore the weird little hats). The
band came right by us as did the queen’s official
cars and carriages. They send these to pick up officials,
ambassadors, etc. for meetings with the queen. The guards
are on duty for 24 hours – 2 hours on and 4 hours
off. It was awesome to see! I can’t believe they
go through all this every 24 hours. It rained on and
off today, but it never rained really hard while we
were out.
We went back to the hotel, grabbed
a quick lunch, got a few things ready for tonight, and
then left for the Tower of London. The only prisoners
who remain at the Tower are the ravens. Legend has it
that if they were to ever leave, the Tower would fall
and a great disaster would befall England. The Beefeaters
were there standing guard. They got their name from
the buffetiers, who were in charge of guarding the king’s
food. Later, they guarded the king himself and through
the years the name evolved. The blue uniform has E.R.
on it for Elizabeth Regina (Regina means queen). The
Tower of London is built right on the Thames with a
moat and several towers, despite what its name indicates.
You can see London Bridge from the site, as well as
the Tower Bridge. Today, within its walls you find:
an armor collection, a small arms collection, a knife
collection, the queen’s house, and the crown jewels.
You can see the spot where 6 people lost their heads,
3 of which were queens of England, Anne Boleyn among
them. Most people were beheaded outside the walls for
the public to see. Anne Boleyn paid for a French swordsman
to behead her because the English executioners were
often drunk and took several tries to hack all the way
through.
The Tower was a prison and its
prisoners left on a barge for trial. The axe would point
away from them as they left to demonstrate their innocence.
However, most were found guilty of treason and the ride
back to the tower had the axe pointed toward the prisoner.
This served to tell the people along the river of the
upcoming execution they could witness. William the Conqueror
was the first king to live in the Tower of London. King
Henry VIII was another famous king to live inside the
walls of this fortress. Kind Edward, upon his death,
left 2 young sons. Edward and Richard lived inside the
walls of the Tower under the care of their Uncle Richard.
Before little Edward saw the throne as King of England,
he and his little brother came up missing. Their uncle
became King Richard III and there was much speculation
over the disappearances. There were several people who
stood to gain with the two little princes out of the
picture. Later, when renovating one of the walls, they
found stones that were looser than the rest. They moved
them and found the remains of the 2 princes. It is still
a mystery who ordered their murders. We climbed the
stairs to the White Tower, which was the first tower
built. We saw the weapons and armor collection. We rode
a moving walkway to get a view of the Crown Jewels.
After the Tower of London, we
rushed around and got ready for Phantom of the Opera
at Her Majesty’s Theatre. We caught a cab outside
our hotel and got our tickets at the box office upon
arrival. There were signs everywhere announcing it was
sold out, so I am glad Joe ordered ours online. We walked
to a nearby restaurant for dinner and then headed to
the theatre. Our seats were good and the show was absolutely
phenomenal. The effects were unbelievable. The mirror
trick and the chandelier started it off right. The phantom
would appear in unexpected places and disappear right
before our eyes. The candles and gondola were a spectacular
part of the whole underground river setting. The costumes
were beautiful and there was even an electric guitar
in the pit to accompany the rest of the orchestra. After
the play, we hailed another taxi. They are really cool
and all the official ones look the same. We have packing
to do and tomorrow we are back in the good Ol’
U.S. of A.
Friday, July 1, 2005
Our trip home was uneventful
and I happy to be back on home soil. We were up at about
4:00 am, ate (or looked at doubtfully) the bag –o-
breakfast left for us, and left the hotel for the airport.
I don’t think any of us got much sleep last night.
We were up pretty late packing and planning for departure.
At the airport, we were asked the normal questions:
Did anybody give you anything? Are you transporting
bombs, money, food, goats? Would you be willing to take
a later flight? We answered no to all of the above and
were on our way to our gate. We ate breakfast at an
airport restaurant, did some last minute shopping, and
loaded our plane. We had all slept on the taxi ride
to the airport, but that did not stop us from sleeping
some more on the plane. This plane was more comfortable
than the one we took across the big pond to Europe.
We finally arrived in Atlanta,
but it seemed to take forever. We had to get our luggage,
go through a customs check, an interrogation, a passport
check, a metal detector, a shoe investigation, and then
dump our luggage again. I’m not sure what they
did to our luggage from that point, but once we finally
saw it again it was a bit more beat up. We were not
complaining too much though. We did have our luggage
and we were on our way. We found Joe and Christie’s
car and amazingly enough everything fit into their car,
again. We stopped at their house, transferred our luggage
to our car, and headed for Clinton. We have made it
home and tomorrow we’ll pick Doc up from the kennel.
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