From London!

We arrived back in London last night. Our last three days of the tour were really good. Our full day in Lauterbrunnen, we all got up and went to breakfast. Then Laura and Steph went back to bed:-) Hey, the itinerary did say "Lazy Lauterbrunnen";-) I went over to the campground reception and bought postcards. I even wrote and mailed then that morning, so some of you should get them soon. Then I posted a blog:-) Later, Laura and I walked into town to see what we could see: mostly closed shops. It's a pretty sleepy place here and most shops close in the afternoon. We got caught in a rain shower in town, so we walked quickly back... without lunch. While it poured outside, I made my 'add hot water' food for lunch and we ate. Not extravagant, but filling. Dinner that night was fondue; chicken stroganoff and rosti; and ice cream.

We spent the evening repacking and crashed about 10 or so. The next day we were off again quite early for the long drive to Paris. We arrived in Paris fairly late, but the campsite had been booked so they 'farmed us out' to a hotel closer to town. No complaints here. We knew that a long time ago, but didn't realize what a good thing it was until we'd been in other campgrounds:-) The drive to Calais was uneventful, as was the ferry crossing this time... good thing. Another 3 hours on a ferry was not something I wanted to happen. We arrived at the Royal National in London about 5.30pm. We unloaded all our stuff, then I went to inquire if anyone had turned in my hat. No luck. Oh well. It's not so sunny in the UK;-) We said our goodbyes and took a taxi to our new hotel. It's quite near Victoria station, only a few blocks walk, but the lift doesn't go directly to our room... we take it one floor up then still have a flight of stairs, but after the Contiki tour we're pretty used to no lift anyway. The room is very small, but has a double and a twin bed, cupboards, a TV, a fan, and an ensuite with a (important to Laura) bathtub. We were all very tired after the other tour, so we didn't really plan to do anything last night. In fact, it seemed that Steph was coming down with the cold/flu that was going around on tour, so she pretty much collapsed into bed and we let her sleep. She woke up later to shower, but pretty much went straight back to bed. I took the ensuite opportunity to wash some much needed laundry and my hair. It feels good to be clean:-) Laura and I decided before bed that we wouldn't try to wake up for breakfast here. It goes until 9.30 but we figured that with Steph sick, the last thing we needed to do was not get enough sleep and catch it too.

This morning we all pretty much slept in. I woke up at 8, but went back to sleep. I really missed being able to do that and Steph needed the sleep anyway. We all got up about 11 and left the hotel about 1pm. Not an extrememly productive day for us so far, but Steph still isn't feeling great. We walked to Vauxhall Bridge Road to see where we need to catch our next tour, then up to Victoria Station. We ate in the food court up top. Nothing spectacular: KFC for Laura and I and a McD's milkshake for Steph (cold protein+carbs :-) ). The station is odd. It's all undercover, but all the shops have anti-bird spikes on top. Then we went downstairs to check out the left luggage service... and discovered that there are indeed pigeons in the station. Guess the spikes aren't so odd after all. The size limit on the next leg of our trip is 15kg, so we will need to check some of our stuff. It'll be about 23BPs to store a bag for the duration of our first tour, but we don't really have much option. We'll check it at Victoria station, then pick it up on our way to Gatwick, where we will check it again to pick up on the way home. It won't be cheap, but we haven't been willing to never shop:-) The Internet cafe is across the street from the Station, so we've popped over here to get in touch. When we're done, we may take a Big Bus Tour of the city, or if Steph is spent we may head back to the hotel, at least for a bit, and maybe do some bigger washing at the nearby laundrette. Perhaps not an exciting day in London for some, but when you've been going what feels like a mile a minute for most of two weeks, doing not much really feels good, especially as we're launching into two more tours shortly. Anyway, that's about it for now. It is nice to read your comments, so feel free to add some on the blog. They don't need to really relate to anything in the post either:-) I have also been checking my email when I log on, so feel free to send me a note. It would be nice to find something other than spam in my inbox;-)

Day 10

Guten morgen, we're here in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland today. We arrvived last night about 7.30pm and had burgers and fries for dinner. Reallz authentic cuisine:) This morning we got to sleep in as breakfast wasn't until 8.00. Definitely not what I would call a sleep in at home, but it is on this trip. After a much more traditional breakfast... well, at least it included Muesli, I don't know how traditional pancakes with 'maple' syrup and bread with peanut butter are... Steph and Laura went back to bed and I went to wander the campsite. It's really beautiful here. While our room is pretty basic: bunkbeds, lockers, desk, and sink, the view out the window is stunning. We can sit at the desk and look at the cold, quickrunning river that runs between our chalet and the rest of the campground, the cute little cabins in the rest of the campground, and the mountain and its waterfall in the background. Supposedly they turn off the waterfall at about 10.00 each night to divert the water to a hydro dam, but it certainly didn't stop suddenlz at 10.00 last night, and we didn't stay up to watch it end. The 'optional' trip for todaz was to take a cog train up to Jungfraujoch, basicallz a 4Km mountin, but it was expensive (125SF), it's slightly overcast so you probably can't see much, and we have mountains and snow at home. The weather here is great, much better than in Italy. It was 30+ there, but here I actually used mz fleece sleeping bag, wore my jacket, and dug out my jeans. I think I will definitely have to come back to Switzerland.

Yesterday we were in Florence. It's a very beautiful city. While we didn't get into the Uffizi museum or get to see the real statue of 'David', we did see the outside of the museum and a couple replicas of the statue. When we arrived in town yesterday afternoon, we walked from the bus up to Piazza Santa Croce and looked at the church. It's really neat. After being in Rom where everything is made out of white (or dark polluted) Travertine, it was a real shock to see the white, pink, and green exterior on the churches here. Then we had some free time so a group of us wandered through the market stalls, went to the 'piglet' market... and had more gelati. I think I will have to visit Mario's when I get back home, as the gelati there was so good that I don't think ice cream will quite cut it anymore:) Then we all met in Piazza della Signoria and went on a walking tour of the city sights. Simona, our guide looked familiar. I think she was maybe on the David Rocco cooking show once as that's based in Florence too. She told us about the town hall first. It has a replica of the David statue in front as thez moved the original into the museum. The statue was first put there after the Florentines got rid of the Medicis to represent their 'liberation', then when one of them came back into power he erected a statue right next to it to represent how they had returned to power. We also saw the statues outside the Uffizi, so I have some pictures of famous dead Italians:) We saw the bridge of Sighs too, before heading to see the Baptistry and the the big church beside it. More coloured marble.

The day before in Rome, we also went on a walking tour around the Colosseum and through the Forum. I got way too many pictures, but I figure I can use them when I teach 'Julius Caesar':)

Tomorrow, we are off again. This time to Paris. Finally a country where I'll be able to understand people again:) I may go walk to see Strangbach falls as they're not far away, so I'll have even more pictures to show you all when I return. Love to all. Ciao.

Day 7?

Okay, so I cannot remember how many days we have been on tour, or find the apostrophe key. I am writing from Rome. It is our second day here. Yesterday, we arrived in the evening, saw the Trevi Fountain (yes, we all tossed coins, but only 1 each), the Pantheon, and Piazza Novona. We ate dinner near there and had great gelati. I will miss that when we leave Italy. Anyway, our cabins here are very small and the toilets and showers are up a long flight of stairs, but I slept well last night so I guess it did not matter. Today we came into Rome and went on a guided walking tour of the Colosseum (outside only) and the Forum for 90 minutes. It was really cool. I bought a book outside the Colosseum that shows what is there now and overlays what used to be there, so you can see the difference. Then we took a bus to the Vatican. We ate pizza for lunch (priced by the 100g), got more $ from the Bancomat, and went to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel. It is all very cool, but my batteries in my camera died partway through, so I had to buy AAs and now I am trying to save power because I know they will not last long. My good batteries are in my backpack, but I was trying to travel light today and forgot to move them into my fanny pack. Oh well. Anyway, then as we were walking to the Metro to come to the Internet Café we found a streetside sale and all bought some really cheap clothes. Fun!

Tomorrow we head off back up to Florence for one night before we venture into Switzerland. We will be "camping" there too, but it is supposed to be a really nice place to stay. Best on the circuit as our bus drivers says.

Recap.... if this is redundant it is because I cannot remember what I have already posted:)
Our stay in Munich was short, only about 2 hours in town to look around, but we went to a beerhall that night which was cool. Laura actually ate a pork knuckle! I have pictures to prove it. After, Steph and Laura went out with the rest of the group and I went back to the hostel to crash. On the way though, our driver and I saw some fireworks which were really cool... but I think I have already told you that. Oh well.

Vienna was totally awesome, but WAY too hot. Though still cooler than Italy. We even climbed the 300 stairs to the top of the South tower of the bit church (name escaping me now). The views were okay, but almost all the tower is being restored so we saw lots of scaffolding. We also shopped a bit and our group drove around the ring road so we could see the most famous sights. We wanted to go to the art museum but it was closed that day, so we hung out in the shade next to it and wrote postcards. People will get them eventually:)

Venice was also very cool... but hot. The first night, we arrived at the campsite in the evening and settled in to camp. For some reason, everyone was exhausted and the heat did not help, especially after the a\c in the bus. The next morning we took a boat into Venice itself. First we toured the Murano glass blowing factory\store, then we went to a lace making demonstration. That is a craft I will definitely never do. Way too detailed even for me:) Then, we wandered all around and shopped. We went to the Rialto markets. I bought a mask and something else, but I cannot remember what. We had panini for lunch, then when and saw the Basilica. Everything in there is gold. It is really opulent. Next we all went on a gondola ride. It was okay, but we did not see anything really great from the boat. Our gondolier, however, did let one of our friends from tour try steering the boat, so that made it more fun. Then we took the boat back to the campsite and had, guess what... spaghetti for dinner! Haha! It had to happen, right? Anyway, the next morning we left for Rome, and here we are.

That is it for now. We need to go meet Steph so we can catch the Metro and train back to catch our bus back to the campsite... obviously we are not staying very close to town:) Anyway, love to all. I will type more later when I finally return to an English keyboard:)

Day 5

We#re in Vienna now. Just had schnitzel for dinner. Yum. Zesterdaz we went to a beerhall for dinner. Laura ate a pork knuckle! I have the picture to prove it. Then everzone but me went to go pubbing. One the way back to the olzmpic hostel we saw fireworks. People were lining the streets to watch. I got some great pics with the firework setting on mz camera. If anzone knows what the fireworks were for, email me.
This morning we headed off from Munich. We stopped this afternoon at Mauthausen concentration camp. It was extremely depressing, but I'm glad I actually got to see one. Tomorrow we have the day in Vienna, so Iäm sure I will see lots of stuff. Iäve alreadz seen the house where Mozart composed one of his songs. Got to go know as folks are waiting for me to finish. TTFN.

Day 4 again

Will try again. My time ran out and I lost my post. No grammar allowed anymore;-) good flight, got to hotel okay, problem with room, but fixed. 6am start next day... think I left my hat there:-( will find out later. Ferry to Calais twice as long due to fog, so only saw teeny bit of Dover cliffs. Drove to Belgium, then Netherlands. Got picture of Dutch McDonald's;-) Hotel first, then find dinner in Amsterdam, then canal cruise. Great views and pictures. Red light district walking tour. Fairly boring... like Victoria's Secret show at night:-) Then hotel for not enough sleep. Good breakfast today. Into town. Walked to Rijksmuseum. Got in free for some reason... museum having an anniversary? Neat stuff, but smaller than I expected. Tram to Anne Frank's House. Really long line but got pictures. Ate waffles. Yummy! Dashed back to bus, which was late:-( On the road into Germany. Stopped at truck stop. You get very clean automatic washrooms for 0.50:-) Stuck in a "shtall" for 45 minutes on the autobahn, but finally at St. Goar for dinnner. Some pics of castles and grape vines on the way. Dinner okay. Sauerbraten with spaetzle and Black forest cake. Wilkommen to Deutschland! :-) Will be leaving for hotel in 25 minutes. Hope to get more sleep tonight. Tomorrow we will see beer steins and head into Munich for 1 night, then on to Vienna. That's it for now. Stay tuned. Auf wiedershein.

Take-off -9 hours

Howdy All,
Welcome to my blog! Well I was up far too late last night trying to
finish packing. Hearing the paper arrive, the birds singing, and dawn
creeping through the window is never really a good sign. Anyway, I did
get some sleep and I've finished packing my suitcase/backpack. It
doesn't have any extra room left which is what I was really hoping for,
but it does contain a well squished sleeping bag, my runners, and a
bunch of stuff I won't be bringing home like toilet paper and
Kleenex:-) Hopefully that will all compensate for the stuff I'll be
buying. Oh yeah, and I've packed an extra bag too, so all should be
good. I don't care if I have to pay extra to bring stuff home, I just
don't want to start with extra.
Mom went out and got me money... awww... but I paid her back:-) Now I
just need to finish packing my 'carryon' which means figuring out my
'listening devices' and my paperwork. It may take awhile though, so
I'll sign off now. Who knows, if I actually get ready with time to
spare I may post again:-)
Cheerio!