EUROPE

Our trip was amazing. What a whirlwind of events. We saw so many things and traversed many miles over the 8 days we were gone.

We spent approximately 48 of those hours crossing the Atlantic back and forth. And as we made our way through London, Paris and Rome we walked many miles and also spent time on the bus (my favorite) metro (subway), train, and the "night train" which was 17 hours to Rome.


There were 24 of us in our tour group. 7 Adults and the rest were kids 20 and under. We did very well as a whole acclimating to the experience and staying mostly on time and together.

The experience included some things we weren't used to. Here are the few I remember.

****the bathrooms.... not very clean or available... the potties on the night train were a nightmare (: and many toilets were pay toilets.

****the drivers..... thankfully we never had to drive in those countries... I could never pass a driver's test in Paris or in Rome. Oh wait, maybe I could considering the Romans drive much worse than me!

****the milk... mostly served warm

****the men.... all wear scarves!?

****the soda.... All Coke products. No Dr. Pepper. I told our waiter in Rome that he was missing out on the nectar of the Gods.

****the crowds

***the electrical outlets... Yes I should have read the directions in the adapter package as I blew up the hair dryer we were using and also blew the fuse. Two hotel rooms were without lights for several hours. My bad (:


***the jet lag... Apparently at over 40 I'm not such a pro at this.

***the pickpockets.... we were constantly warned about this issue and the group was extra vigilant about their money and belongings.

****the lack of ice in drinks... I guess ice is an American thing

***the overall friendliness. I was shocked at how welcoming most people were. England was great and Rome was so welcoming. Paris was actually better than I remembered at friendliness or at least indifference/




None of these things got us down however, they were just different.

We saw some of the world's most beautiful scenery. In London we went to Windsor Castle, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Covent Gardens, the London Eye and St. Paul's Cathedral. In Paris we visited the Louvre, the Champs Elysee, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame (20 minutes after the suicide),and took a boat cruise past all the beautiful bridges of Paris and all the notable monuments.

Rome was by far my favorite. We visited the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain. The food was incredible. We ate some magnificent pasta, pizza and gelato. I think the kids were eating gelato 4 times a day at one point.

Our tour guide was a wonderful lady from Rome name Pamela. She really engaged the kids and kept us all laughing.
She facilitated us flowing smoothly from one situation to the next and recommended extra things we did like a tour of Jack the Ripper history in London.

Because I traveled with my best friend, I spent most of the time laughing and pinching her when something would strike us as funny. It was a real comfort for me to be with her.

I also enjoyed having my kids with me. Hailey and Shelby traveled so well and made the most of it all. They had great attitudes and made me so proud. My nephew also was with us. He was also a trooper. By the time the trip was over he was friends with everyone. He is such a great kid. Shelby's friends, 3 other Seniors, were also traveling companions and they took a jumping picture in front of every big piece of scenery. It was kind of their Senior trip.

Jana's daughter Sabrina photo documented everything about the trip! I'm so glad she came with us!

While on the trip I didn't worry about any of my to do lists at home. I just enjoyed life!

Out of all the things I've done in my life.. travel has been my favorite. To let our kids travel and to travel ourselves we've had to sacrifice things. I honestly don't own any furniture that is worth anything. Most of it is from a yard sale or handed down. But it's okay. The memories we've made on the trips like this make it worth it.