London - July 29 - Aug 1, 2011

We arrived in London late in the afternoon on Friday after taking a short 1 1/2 hour flight from Ireland. Since this is our last leg, we decided to forgo the "apartment" gigs, and hook up with a real hotel. We're staying at the Marriott in Kensington. We wandered around a bit in the neighborhood and took in a early evening dinner at a really good Thai restaurant.

The architecture has been so beautiful with each country we've visited, which is the first thing I noticed (maybe my real estate background). I really love all of the old apartment buildings. Of course, our oldest buildings back home in Denver are only from the late 1800's or early 1900's. Buildings in Europe are so much older.
We decided, since we had such a short time in London, and since we were pretty exhausted from 3 weeks of traveling, we would take the easy way of touring the city and opt for a double decker tour bus. You can get on and off all day (we bought the 2-day tour) and take in the sites at your own pace. Not to say we didn't get our walks in (still putting about 15,000 steps on the pedometer), but it was a little bit easier on our feet and we were able to cover a lot more ground. We saw Big Ben, the Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace all on the first day.

The Parliament and Big Ben!

The bus was a double decker, no driver on the top!. We went to the National Museum, amazing Renaissance Paintings!, and down to Trafalgar Square for a "take away" lunch.

We walked down to the Parliament building and Big Ben (the clock keeps good time!), and Westminster Abbey.Then, we stopped at Buckingham Palace, and walked around. We chose not to buy tickets to go in. Then, home for a quick dinner and out to the theatre.
Below is the balcony at Buckingham Palace where, Prince William and Kate Middleton, came out and waved to the crowd after their recent wedding. (not that exciting, I know, but worth noting:)London's West End is even more amazing than Times Square. Very busy, the "Tube" was quite crowded getting to Piccadilly Circle, and what a sight once we got outside. The musical, "Les Miserables", was so well done with a talented cast with awesome singers. It was more of an opera in English than a musical, for the entire story was told in song, and it was passionate and easy to follow, especially if one has read Victor Hugo's book. (When I dropped out of college the first time, I made a point to read many of the great books that I had missed). A great night!Sunday, we took our time getting out of the hotel (finally make it by 11 a.m.), decided to walk down to Kennsington & Hyde Park, and then hop on the bus. We stopped at an Italian cafe for breakfast and "americana" coffee and then a stroll through the park.

Hyde park is one of the largest parks in central London, and one of the "Royal" parks famous for it's "Speakers Corner". We did not see any major debates going on, which might be a good thing. I think Tom would have gotten into the spirit of heckling, if we did.

We did get the chance to walk through one of the many "Queens Rose gardens" which were quite beautiful.

We then hopped on the bus and took it over to the "tower" side of London, which is the original London. We visited the tower of London, the "new" London bridge, the London "eye" and took a river cruise down the Thames. The original London bridge actually did "fall down" in different periods of time, the current bridge is at least the third one in the same spot.

The London Eye - a ferris wheel type ride that takes 45 minutes for a full circle. It is 450 feet tall, has 32 capsules and each one hold 35 passengers. You can see all London for miles around.
Above is the Tower of London; An historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in Central London (Originally named Londinium by the Romans). The tower was built towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman conquest of England. The castle was used as a prison since at least 1100, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. However, it is also well known as the place where Anne Boelyn and Katherine Howard, two of Henry VIII wives, were held before being beheaded.

The London Tower bridge was also quite impressive. The bridge is so popular that some people think that it is actually London Bridge. Perhaps the most-photographed of all of London's bridges. Tower Bridge is comparatively young—it went into service in June 1894. The true London Bridge was sold to Lake Havasu, Arizona and erected in 1971.

We took a City Cruise ferry boat from the Tower back to Westminster area, Big Ben and the Parliament building. It was a great way to go, with a witty commentator giving us some local color about all of the sites. We were pretty beat by this time, starting to feel the effects of three weeks on the road, but we enjoyed the boat ride and got another view of the city. By the time we got back to the tour bus to head home, we were just a bit catatonic, and numbly listened to the prerecorded narration for the next 45 minutes!

Now out to dinner! Thanks for reading this, we love you!

This is our last blog. We leave on Monday morning (tomorrow) to return home. It has been a wonderful and exciting trip and we really enjoyed sharing it with you, our family and friends. We hope that you also enjoyed in traveling with us throughout Europe. Cheerio!

Tom & Vicki

Ireland - July 25-29, 2011

Top of the morning to you"........and your reply would be "and the balance of the day to yourself"

Hello friends and family! Greetings from Ireland. What an absolutely beautiful country this is. We've added it to our "we have to come back here and spend a couple of weeks" list. The big cities are nice and fun, but both Tom and I love the laid back peace and beauty of the countryside.

The first thing we noticed after spending several days in Paris, was the difference in the people. The Irish are truly kind, warm, welcoming and lovely. They greet you with open arms and are happy you have taken the time to visit their country (not the Parisians - they are rude and cold and would really prefer that all Americans went home, I can't count how many times I was shunned for doing something they perceived as wrong - like not weighing the bananas!).

After renting a car in Dublin and making a very "white knuckled" trip to Killarney (about 4 hours) we arrived at our destination. The lovely B & B called Ross Castle Lodge.
Tom did a fairly good job (better than I could have done) driving on the left side of the road and only had a couple of "mishaps" (we'll leave that alone!!) Of course, I wasn't helping much as a passenger on the left hand side of the car.....all I could say way "wall....pole....bike.....curb....watch out!!!" Not sure who was "white knuckling" it, passengers seem to have a harder time than drivers, seeing trees and walls whipping by them on the left, all I had to do was try to stay closer to the white line in the middle!

It was an interesting ride to say the least.....day 2 & 3 have been much better. I do believe Tom has gotten the hang of it! By Thursday, it has been 3 days of driving, we both are getting better. On Friday, we have another 4 hour drive back to Dublin airport, but that is on highways (the M7), and they are wide enough. The roundabouts/rotaries are a challenge, keep going left! I love left turns, but there is no "Left on Red" rule.

On our first full day in Ireland we rented bikes and explored the Killarney National Forest. We rode around lakes (about 12 kilometers) and up into the forest. We had afternoon "tea" at the top of the lake, complete with a silver tea service. The ride was great, and the bikes were more like mountain street bikes, about 18 gears, with cross tires. We had a few hills to do, but we got up them. It was a bit strange riding without helmets or bike shorts, and on the left hand side of the road, but we would have been the weirdos if we had them, lol.

The lake, the forest, the fields of green are all so beautiful.Everyone we met on the way was quite welcoming, and offered to take our pictures together, even before we asked them!

This is a deserted Abbey along one of the paths established around 1450 - about 600 years old. They were only here for about 75 years, a "Franciscan Friary", and they were quite strict. Cromwell's people came in and disbanded them in about 1642. It is in very good shape, we could climb all up into it, and the graveyard in the back is quite popular, with headstones from 1850 to 2010 (Kennedy is quite a popular name in this area)We then rode up to the "Torc waterfall" (Vicki loves waterfalls, and she freaked out when I went bounding out on some rocks so she could take a picture! Sometimes I do these things just to get a rise out of her) and then on to visit the Muckross House built by architect William Burn, in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert and his wife, Mary Balfour Herbert. With sixty-five rooms, it was built in the tudor style. After Mary died her husband and in-laws donated the land and gardens to Ireland to establish the Killarney National Forest, the first National forest of Ireland.There are horse drawn carriages throughout the area, called "Jaunting cars". If you get behind one of them on the road, be prepared to wait it out because the roads aren't wide enough to pass safely. The grounds are so beautiful and peaceful. Many folks bring a picnic out here, and the grass is perfectly landscaped. It was a picture perfect day, unusual for Ireland in terms of weather.

Wednesday we took a ride around the "Ring of Kerry". The route covers 179 kilometers (111 miles) starting from Killarney and looping around to the southwestern edge of Ireland. We stopped along the way in little towns called Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen and Rossbeigh Beach. All very quaint, friendly, and craic (means fun - pronounced crack). More adventures in driving, but I was starting to get the hang of it. The roads were quite narrow in some places, and we had a car that is not quite an SUV by US standards, but larger than the average car here. The beach was awesome! A French family took off their shoes and went wading, and I, of course, followed suit. It wasn't exactly beach weather, but it was like New England in the fall. Much of Ireland reminds my of my Massachusetts/Rhode Island roots: Rocky beaches, rising hills just off the shore: a real rugged, beautiful place.

We stopped in the little town of Cahersiveen for lunch and had to try their "Bangers and Mash" - not bad at all. Basically, sausages and good onions with gravy, poured over mashed potatoes, Awesome!

The Daniel O'Connell Memorial Church: Huge and beautiful was the only catholic church to ever be named after a lay person. He was a freedom fighter and an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, believed to have saved the lives of over 4,000 Jews, anti-Fascists and Prisoners of War while serving in the Vatican during World War II, is buried there, along with a series of priests and nuns (except the nuns only had one plaque with all their names on it, while each priest had his own headstone).
We stopped in Sneem for ice cream and some shopping, great little spot! We drove on from there, winding through more narrow roads and near misses, all to the tune of some amazing scenery. We passed back into the Killarney National Forest from the other (south) side, and stopped at another awesome lake and another couple offered to take our picture!

We also stopped at Staigue Fort near Caherdaniel, one of the largest ring forts in Ireland. It had a one lane road, about 4 km off of the road (the longest 4 km ever!). When another car came from the opposite direction, Katy bar the door! One person had to back up, or find refuge in the side of the road. When we got there, it was very interesting. Not a lot is known about the reason for it, best guess is that a nobleman owned it 2000 years ago and needed protection against enemies. The moat was missing, but you could see the outline of it.On our last full day in Ireland, we started with our traditional breakfast at the B & B, 8:45 a.m sharpe - such nice people the proprietors are - Denis and Roselean O'Leary. We then took a 10 minute walk to visit the Ross Castle. It is located on the edge of Lough Leane, in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. It was built in the late 15th century.

We took our final ride through the Dingle bay area where we explored a few more towns and seaports.

Tomorrow morning on to London and then home on Monday. We have to say goodbye and drop off! Until we meet in London, we hope you enjoy.

Paris - July 20-25th, 2011

Bonjour from Paris! We arrived in Paris about 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening the 20^th. We settled in by 10 and started planning our next few days. The apartment is so-so, acceptable, but not great. It is close to Notre Dame and the neighborhood seems accessible to most sites. Rome has been our favorite digs so far.

Vicki had to try out the French wine and we picked up some bread and cheese for a late night snack.

We don't seem to get out of the house much before 11 or so, but then spend the next 8 or 9 hours touring the area. We're probably getting the most out of our time, and we're getting plenty of exercise. On Thursday, we decided to take one of Rick Steve's walking tours (http://www.ricksteves.com/images/france/historic_paris.pdf). We started at Notre Dame and ended by Sainte-Chapelle church. Notre Dame is amazing, both inside and out.

Can't you picture the movie "Hunchback of Notre Dame" in these towers?Once again, I (Tom here) failed to make confession, despite numerous opportunities! There was a noon mass going on, featuring a priest from Brooklyn, complete with the accent. We didn't partake, simply observed. The artwork in the small chapels is outstanding. The church was started in 1163, completed in 1345 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_de_Paris), completed mostly by free labor of the devout citizens of Paris, still in the funk of the dark ages.

We then went outside, and found "Point Zero", which was once the geographical center of the Franco-Germanic Empire. A group of teenaged Americans were there, and teacher Tom explained some of the history to them, and we took a photo of all of the feet.

Behind the church, another young American group was playing music, what looked like a High School Band. While I thought about sitting in on drums, I thought it best to let the young man continue, he was doing just fine. We passed the Pont des Arts "love locks", and saw this lovely bride getting a professional photo. The story goes - if you "lock your love" on the rail, throw the key in the Seine, your love will last forever!

We continued our walk into the older parts of Paris, on the "Left Bank" (La Rive Gauche) of the Seine, past the booksellers and posters. I especially liked this group of posters, reminded me of my old Aspen buddies (pay attention, Joe) ....Hippies use Backdoor!

The day continued with a stroll down the Seine river. About 7 o'clock we thought we had hit the wall of exhaustion. But, we took a few minutes to sit and people watch along the Tuileries Gardens and decided we probably could make it to the Eiffel Tower. Once you see it towering over the trees, its a must see attraction. The lines weren't too long (about an hour) and it was great to see it all lit up at night.

The views from above were incredible. You could see all of Paris and down the Seine River for miles.

The Louvre is an all day affair, actually an "all week" affair if you have the time. We spent all day on Friday and didn't even make a dent. It is an AMAZING museum. The artwork, the sculptures, the glassware....and on and on....it is so beautiful and majestic. A must see if you ever get the chance. Here are a few of the pieces we enjoyed.....Venus de Milo

Of course, the much recognized "Mona Lisa"......much smaller than I expected it to be!

A piece by Raphel

We were able to visit with Donna a friend from Aspen who lives in Paris. She was a wonderful host and took us up to see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica where we had a late night dinner and a great time to visit. She also packed us a wonderful picnic lunch the next day and we sat along the Seine before going out to see the American movie "Midnight in Paris". Thanks Donna! We finished our Paris trip with a day of the "Tour de France". We left early in the morning and arrived at the Champs-Élysées area around 10:30. The race didn't come through until about 4:30, so we had a long day of waiting. We passed the time by people watching, playing cards, and visiting with other people. The crowds were great. We took turns saving each others place, but mostly just hung out. It was great to watch all the riders as they passed us again, and again. The yellow jersey went to Cadel Evans from Austrailia and the green jersey went to Mark Cavendish from Great Britain.

Ou revoir - see you in Ireland!