Post by perceptions_now on Jun 20th, 2012 at 5:17pm
The Trip (Part 2)
There was a very early start to Trafalgar Day 1, with a 4.15am wake up call, as we had others to pick up, at the Trafalgar London office and then had to make Dover for the first ferry of the day.
On this day London was covered in a thick pea soup fog, so there was little to no sightseeing & no views of the “white cliffs of Dover”, as the ferry pulled out. An hour & a half later, as we were docking at Calais, the fog had cleared and we got a good view of the local beaches.
After going thru Belgium, we arrived in Amsterdam, which we named the “city of bikes”, as there are some 1 million bikes in the city. We went on a cruise thru some of the many canals, had a lovely 3 course dinner next to one of the canals and had a quick visit to the red light area.
Next morning, we were up early again and onto Cologne, for a visit to their cathedral
Then, we were off for a cruise of the Rhine River, with many castles along the way, before “getting into our Frankfurt hotel.
A slightly later rise the next morning, before heading to the University City of Heidelberg, the Black Forrest & the Rhine Falls, which are quite a sight, but not on the same scope as Niagara.
That night we made Lucerne and it was 31c that afternoon, but the following morning, when we were scheduled to take the ski lift up to the top of MT Pilatus, it was around 10c, with a heavy fog and so sightseeing was very restricted. However, with the wind rising, we could have surfed down some of the waves on Lake Lucerne, as we took a boat ride back to the city. The afternoon was free to roam around & I can recommend the Jesuit church, if you are into architecture & the arts. That night, a great show at a local restaurant, featuring Swiss music, sing-along’s & YODELLING.
So, enough of Switzerland, we were off to Innsbruck in Austria next morning, after briefly passing thru Lichtenstein, via many picturesque villages and many snow capped mountains.
The next morning we were off to Venice, where we toured ST Marks square, then went on a gondola ride via the many canals, whilst being serenaded by musicians. The following day we spent the morning wandering around the city, then saw a glass blowing exhibition, before finishing off with an excellent lunch, which went until near 5 pm, at a great seafood restaurant, on Burano Island.
The next day, we were off to Rome, arriving around noon and after booking into our hotel, we were off for a guided tour with a local guide and we saw many old ruins, statues & churches. The next morning, we were away for another guided tour with our local guide, to places such as the Trevi Fountain, ST Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican & the Colosseum. The history & the architecture here are worth going a long way to see, which I suppose is what we did and to finish of a great feed at a little restaurant, just off the Piazza Navona. But, the best (perhaps) was yet to come.
The following morning, we were off to Naples, then onto Pompei for a guided tour, before meeting up with 3 smaller buses, as our big bus could not enter those narrow roads, for a drive along the Amalfi Coast to Positano. This stretch of coast has spectacular views and although the beach at Positano is pebbles only, you just have to be there to enjoy it! From there it was back to the big bus & to our hotel, which was back at Sorrento. The view from our hotel room was simply magnificent, looking back over the Bay of Naples, to the city of Naples and Mount Vesuvius behind it.
My wife & the woman next to us, spent at least 30 minutes, simply saying WOW!
Enough of that, time to leave the next day for the drive to Florence, where it rained on our parade & we were woken around 4am, by a 6.1 earthquake, which we believe was centred just to the North.
Next day, we were off to Pisa, where we wandered around the Leaning Tower and took a zillion photos, before heading out to Monaco, via Genoa and then finally on to Nice. Monaco is certainly a cut above most European cities, it obviously has enough money following thru its banks, to keep all the buildings in a good state!
We had a couple of escorted tours in Nice, one to the “walled town of ST Pauls” & the other to the Fragonard Perfumerie, which was very popular with the women, I wonder why? From there we went for lunch, to a restaurant sitting high on the hills just out of Nice, which turned out to be run by an Australian, from Perth. A great lunch!
The next morning, we left for Lyon, via Cannes. Stopping off in Cannes for quite some time, as fortunately the Film Festival was just beginning. We then stopped in at Avignon, for another bundle of photos, before finally arriving at Lyon.
Leaving Lyon, we headed for the Palace of Versailles and whilst the palace itself good, the surrounding gardens have to be seen & experienced, to be believed, they are stunning!
Ok, finally, we are entering Paris, in the afternoon, after leaving the Palace of Versailles and we take in the sights with a cruise along the Seine River, followed by dinner, then a photos opportunity, on the Seine, at 10pm, as the Eiffel Tower went into “flash mode”, the bus & all the other traffic just stopped.
The following day, we went up the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Champs Elysees, around the Arc de Triumphe (with all 12 intersecting roads) & walked around large parts of the city, before going to dinner and a show at La Nouvelle, with the Can Can, Comedians & much more.
So, we were now coming to the conclusion of part 2 of “the trip”, as we took off the following morning with a few bearing sore heads, from the night before, as we sped again towards Calais and the return ferry, back to the white cliffs of Dover.
This time, there was NO fog & the cameras again worked overtime. We all boarded another big bus, as the one we had toured Europe in, stayed in Calais for the next tour.
On arriving back at Trafalgar’s London Office, our Trafalgar tour director parred us off with another couple, who had a hotel booking in Hyde Park, which was close to where we were staying overnight, before the 3rd leg of our trip.
Ok, that’s enough for now, the 3rd & final instalment yet to come, as we meet up with our daughter, son-in-law & 1 year old grand daughter in Geneva, on the following day, bye for now.
There was a very early start to Trafalgar Day 1, with a 4.15am wake up call, as we had others to pick up, at the Trafalgar London office and then had to make Dover for the first ferry of the day.
On this day London was covered in a thick pea soup fog, so there was little to no sightseeing & no views of the “white cliffs of Dover”, as the ferry pulled out. An hour & a half later, as we were docking at Calais, the fog had cleared and we got a good view of the local beaches.
After going thru Belgium, we arrived in Amsterdam, which we named the “city of bikes”, as there are some 1 million bikes in the city. We went on a cruise thru some of the many canals, had a lovely 3 course dinner next to one of the canals and had a quick visit to the red light area.
Next morning, we were up early again and onto Cologne, for a visit to their cathedral
Then, we were off for a cruise of the Rhine River, with many castles along the way, before “getting into our Frankfurt hotel.
A slightly later rise the next morning, before heading to the University City of Heidelberg, the Black Forrest & the Rhine Falls, which are quite a sight, but not on the same scope as Niagara.
That night we made Lucerne and it was 31c that afternoon, but the following morning, when we were scheduled to take the ski lift up to the top of MT Pilatus, it was around 10c, with a heavy fog and so sightseeing was very restricted. However, with the wind rising, we could have surfed down some of the waves on Lake Lucerne, as we took a boat ride back to the city. The afternoon was free to roam around & I can recommend the Jesuit church, if you are into architecture & the arts. That night, a great show at a local restaurant, featuring Swiss music, sing-along’s & YODELLING.
So, enough of Switzerland, we were off to Innsbruck in Austria next morning, after briefly passing thru Lichtenstein, via many picturesque villages and many snow capped mountains.
The next morning we were off to Venice, where we toured ST Marks square, then went on a gondola ride via the many canals, whilst being serenaded by musicians. The following day we spent the morning wandering around the city, then saw a glass blowing exhibition, before finishing off with an excellent lunch, which went until near 5 pm, at a great seafood restaurant, on Burano Island.
The next day, we were off to Rome, arriving around noon and after booking into our hotel, we were off for a guided tour with a local guide and we saw many old ruins, statues & churches. The next morning, we were away for another guided tour with our local guide, to places such as the Trevi Fountain, ST Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican & the Colosseum. The history & the architecture here are worth going a long way to see, which I suppose is what we did and to finish of a great feed at a little restaurant, just off the Piazza Navona. But, the best (perhaps) was yet to come.
The following morning, we were off to Naples, then onto Pompei for a guided tour, before meeting up with 3 smaller buses, as our big bus could not enter those narrow roads, for a drive along the Amalfi Coast to Positano. This stretch of coast has spectacular views and although the beach at Positano is pebbles only, you just have to be there to enjoy it! From there it was back to the big bus & to our hotel, which was back at Sorrento. The view from our hotel room was simply magnificent, looking back over the Bay of Naples, to the city of Naples and Mount Vesuvius behind it.
My wife & the woman next to us, spent at least 30 minutes, simply saying WOW!
Enough of that, time to leave the next day for the drive to Florence, where it rained on our parade & we were woken around 4am, by a 6.1 earthquake, which we believe was centred just to the North.
Next day, we were off to Pisa, where we wandered around the Leaning Tower and took a zillion photos, before heading out to Monaco, via Genoa and then finally on to Nice. Monaco is certainly a cut above most European cities, it obviously has enough money following thru its banks, to keep all the buildings in a good state!
We had a couple of escorted tours in Nice, one to the “walled town of ST Pauls” & the other to the Fragonard Perfumerie, which was very popular with the women, I wonder why? From there we went for lunch, to a restaurant sitting high on the hills just out of Nice, which turned out to be run by an Australian, from Perth. A great lunch!
The next morning, we left for Lyon, via Cannes. Stopping off in Cannes for quite some time, as fortunately the Film Festival was just beginning. We then stopped in at Avignon, for another bundle of photos, before finally arriving at Lyon.
Leaving Lyon, we headed for the Palace of Versailles and whilst the palace itself good, the surrounding gardens have to be seen & experienced, to be believed, they are stunning!
Ok, finally, we are entering Paris, in the afternoon, after leaving the Palace of Versailles and we take in the sights with a cruise along the Seine River, followed by dinner, then a photos opportunity, on the Seine, at 10pm, as the Eiffel Tower went into “flash mode”, the bus & all the other traffic just stopped.
The following day, we went up the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Champs Elysees, around the Arc de Triumphe (with all 12 intersecting roads) & walked around large parts of the city, before going to dinner and a show at La Nouvelle, with the Can Can, Comedians & much more.
So, we were now coming to the conclusion of part 2 of “the trip”, as we took off the following morning with a few bearing sore heads, from the night before, as we sped again towards Calais and the return ferry, back to the white cliffs of Dover.
This time, there was NO fog & the cameras again worked overtime. We all boarded another big bus, as the one we had toured Europe in, stayed in Calais for the next tour.
On arriving back at Trafalgar’s London Office, our Trafalgar tour director parred us off with another couple, who had a hotel booking in Hyde Park, which was close to where we were staying overnight, before the 3rd leg of our trip.
Ok, that’s enough for now, the 3rd & final instalment yet to come, as we meet up with our daughter, son-in-law & 1 year old grand daughter in Geneva, on the following day, bye for now.