The Final Days for Tim and Michelle

This update comes a few days after the events, so hold on as we take you through Belgium and the last few days in London!

We arrived in Belgium after the night train, which was fairly good nights sleep. We were not sure where we were staying, so after visiting the information desk in the train station and getting a list of the local hostels we were ready to call them for open rooms. Luckily, the first one we called had rooms, and after a few minutes we were on our way. We decided to again tackle mass transit using the metro, and after a few stumbles we arrived at our destination. We were early for check in time, so our luggage was “securely” stored in a large storage room in the basement.

We spent the day exploring the city, tasting chocolates, eating waffles (delightfully different than expected) and planning where we would eat for the evening. We visited the main square, which is a large open place in the city, with cobblestones covering the ground and 5 story older homes all around. You feel like you are in a hidden space in the city, even though it is a huge open square. In the middle of the square there is a large flower market, as well as local artists selling their paintings. Tim and Michelle bought three small prints for their walls, and they are hoping the prints will survive the trip home.

Dinner was eaten at a local restaurant, where Michelle decided to get adventurous with her meal. Since Brussels is known for their seafood, we found a whole street full of restaurants that sold mainly seafood. She ordered a mixed seafood platter with a variety of seafood on it, only two of which she had ever eaten before (crab and lobster). She ate her way through a huge bowl of clams, muscles and calamari, and actually enjoyed it. A surprising choice, since Michelle is not known to be adventurous in her meals! (Michelle is the one writing this post, by the way, just so you don’t think others are being critical of her culinary choices!).

After dinner we went back to the main square where many locals were now laying down in small groups and looking up at the stars. It was a beautiful night. We headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep before the train ride to London.

An early morning trip back to the train station, and we were easily able to find out train and board. Since we were crossing the border into the UK we had to go through a longer checkpoint prior to boarding. We were all happy that we decided to get to the train station early for this trip.

The ride over was good, and once we arrived at the train station we split up. Duane and Brandon headed over to the Scout camp location and Michelle and Tim headed to the hotel. Since Michelle is writing this, she will let Duane and Brandon update their day in another post.

Michelle and Tim obtained a map and determine that it did not look like too great a distance to walk to their hotel. Unfortunately, the map was a basic one, without most of the minor streets on it. The major streets were there, but the scale was off from previous maps we had used. So we began a 1.5 hour walk through Westchester to the hotel. Ugh. We were both ready to set down our packs the moment we arrived. Unfortunately check in was not for another 45 minutes, so we had lunch instead at a local restaurant and then headed in. After unpacking and showers, we were ready to hit the town.

We walked around for the majority of the rest of the day, exploring China Town, the British Museum (seeing the Rosetta Stone) and the different shops there. We had dinner at a little pan-Asian restaurant, which was very good! After dinner, we saw the play “Spamalot” which is a play devoted to the Monty Python movies. A very funny play if you ever get the chance to see it. We had sore stomachs after laughing so hard. After the play, we walked back to the room and caught up with Brandon and Duane, who had arrived about an hour earlier. A good nights sleep was on the agenda, and well enjoyed.

The next morning we bought tickets for a hop-on, hop-off bus tour company, where you could listen to their audio or live tours of London, and if you wanted to get off the bus at any point to explore the area further, you could. Then you could get back on the bus at a later time or stop, and continue with it. We hopped off the bus around Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. It was an amazing scene, with hundreds and hundreds of people there. There were three groups of guards there for the changing scene: the old guards being replaced, the new replacement guards and the band that accompanied the new guards coming to the palace and the old guards leaving the palace. The entire ceremony lasted 45 minutes, and during the ceremony the band played some interesting songs. We recognized Bob Marley (No woman no cry), and the theme songs to the A-Team (a tv show that Tim loved) and Pirates of the Caribbean. An odd thing to hear a very formal band playing these types of songs!

After the ceremony, we thought about catching a tour of the palace, since the queen is not in residence during August and September, but we were not able to get tickets. Instead we went to get some lunch (fish and chips, yum!) and then headed over to the Tower of London, where some of the crown jewels are kept. We arrived 15 minutes before the last admission time, and had about 45 minutes to explore the tower and its history before the tower closed. The tower is an old city, that was founded in the time of the Romans (so you can still see some of the old Roman walls) and it was also used as a prison. A very interesting history to read if you ever have a chance!

The crown jewels were wonderful, and huge, especially the crowns that are on display. I am sure that these are not all of the royal jewels, but even these are overwhelming. Jewels that are bigger than a softball. Just amazing. Of course Michelle was more impressed with all of this than the guys, but they hung in there.

After the Tower of London we headed back into the city and tried to catch the Thames river cruise, but we were about an hour too late. We headed back into the central London area, and were able to catch a showing of Les Miserables. Michelle was ecstatic, as this is her favorite play, and reading the book in Junior High is what sparked her interest in the French language. It was a good performance, and again, the guys endured it quite well. :)

After the play it was a quick trip home for Michelle and Tim to pack and get ready for the plane ride home the next day. A great last day in Europe!

On the following day (Wednesday morning) the alarm went off at 5:45AM. Tim, Michelle and Duane headed over to the tube station to see how they could get out to Heathrow airport. Once directions were established a quick prayer was said for safe travels and we were off leaving Duane to go back to bed. The tube ride took a full hour to get out to the airport, which was good, since we had heard it took a while and factored that into our timetable. We arrived on time, and were about to check into the plane without too many troubles. The only real issue was that Heathrow only allows you to take 1 carry on bag per person, which is different than the two that are allowed from US airports. Since we were planning on bringing many of our fragile items on the plane as carry on bags, we were frantically trying to make 4 bags into 2. We also did not allow enough time to comfortably get on the plane because of this. Instead of being there 2 hours before, I would suggest at least 3, which means (Duane) you need to leave 4 hours before your flight for the airport. Ah, the joys of airplane travel.

The first flight was uneventful, although we will say that if you ever have the chance to fly on Air Canada, do it, as their staff is wonderful, they give you actual food on the planes and the leg room allowance was perfect. Especially if you have to fly for 13 hours, Air Canada is the company to do it with.

Our second flight had a bit more drama to it. We had 2 hours to get off the plane in Montreal, get through the Canadian customs, collect all of our checked baggage, stand in line to get through US customs, check the bags in again for the second flight, and make it to our gate. Yes, only 2 hours! We were doing fine on time until we arrived at the US customs area. We went through the first long line and the usual customs interview. Then, because we had been in the UK (with all of the disease scares going on) we had to have another interview by security personnel, not to mention another line to get to the interview. Once this was finished, we had 15 minutes to check our bags and get to the gate. We ran, as fast as our poor tired feet could carry us, all the way to the gate. Now mind you, we had been carrying our backpacks on our back for about 1.5 hours, and they were not light in the least. So when I say our poor tired feet, this is an understatement. I am sure that the people in the airport had a good chuckle at our attempt to run. But when we arrived at the gate and saw that the plane was still there, we were overjoyed.

Another plane flight, which was fine, and a quick pick up by Tim’s parents at the airport brought us to their house and an wonderful home cooked meal. At 8 we headed home, bone tired but desperately wanting to sleep in our own bed. We arrived home at 9:45, unloaded our bag from the car, and dropped into bed. A great ending to a wonderful adventure. Ahhhhh.

Some things that we are excited about upon our return to the US:
At restaurants - Bottomless drinks, not paying for condiments, water, and the seat you sit in for dinner.
At home – our washer/dryer, our own bed, and our kitty Lizzy, who was very excited to see us when we came home,
In general – not having a language barrier, knowing what to expect wherever you go, being able to read the local newspaper, getting life back to normal

Some things we will miss from Europe:
All of the great food, and the adventure at trying something new when you have no clue what it is and what it is made out of.
Meeting numerous helpful people who go out of their way to make sure you are on the right path.
Experiencing different cultures and seeing different trends - like the grandmothers with the purple and pink hair.
The sense of time and history that comes with just being in the different cities, since they are all so much older and sometimes grander than places in the US.

Duane and Brandon are continuing their adventure, and will come home in another couple of days. They have access to the site, and we hope that they will continue to update it as they are able. Thank you to all who have been reading this so far. It was a great trip, and one we hope to repeat someday, although with a bit more time taken in each city. This was definitely an whirlwind adventure!

Arrivederci, Ciao, Na shledanou, Auf Wiedersehen, Dag, Au revoir, Cheers, Goodbye!!

Ah Paris, Paris, Je t'adore! (I love you)

So we have finished with Paris, which seems so crazy since we were only there for 2 days. We came in on Friday morning after a tearful good by from Marnia, her mom Renata and her sister Bettina. We are sure we have just misspelled their names, but since we misspelled Michelle sisters name already with the different keyboards we have been using, please forgive us! We took a night train from Munich to Germany, which was a good trip. In contrast to our night train from Prague to Munich, there were only 4 of us in the sleeper car, which gave us an added feeling of security. We were able to use the door lock, which was good as at some point during the night the door was opened. We think it was from the 5-6 high school students that were on their holiday and who had been messing around all evening. But we arrived safe and with all of our possessions. Since the packs are beginning to get heavy now, I am sure we would have been willing to part with some of our lesser used items! Next time, we come with 1/2 the things we have now!

In Paris we checked our bags into our room, and met the owner, Mr. Moreau, who spoke a bit of English, but preferred French. It was not until the last day we were there that he began to smile, and when we left he said that Michelle's French was good. Michelle knows that he was being VERY kind, as it has been 8 years since she has studied, and many of the words and verb conjugations are forgotten. But she was flattered all the same.

We left our things in the hotel and headed out. But not to any ordinary destination, no we headed straight over to the Louvre. We waited in a short line, as we were there at 8:30 and it opened at 9:00. Once the tickets were purchased, we went to visit HER. Yes, the Mona Lisa, which is smaller than you would think, and now has an entire security wall with protective glass devoted to her. When Michelle was here 13 years ago, she was on a plain wall with other art pieces, and you could not take any pictures of her as the flash and exposure over time would wear away at the painting. Now only 3 guards kept watch over her, and none stopped the 50 or so people snapping pictures. She is quite a sight to behold.

We spent the next 3 hours strolling through most of the gallery, specifically the paintings from the Itailian, Duch and French masters. We all wished we had payed a bit more attention in our art history classes, because there is so much to see and so many nuances that we could have picked up from each painting. There was an audioguide for the Louvre, but we knew that there was no way we could sit through all that information, so we did not even try. There is one thing to say for the managers of the gallery, they have chairs everywhere! This is something we all have been thinking would be a good idea, because no matter how many paintings you have, if your guests feet hurt, they won't stay to see them and they might not even pay to go in. It was a relief on all our feet.

We left the Louve, with the intent of returning after lunch and officially checking into our room. We had lunch at a little cafe near the Louvre. Since Jenifer requested to know some of the food things we are eating, here goes! Michelle had a roast beef sandwich on a baguette with spicy mustard, Brandon had an omelet to eat with fries and a salad (an interesting combination!), Tim tried a mixed sandwich, with ham and cheese on a baguette and Duane had his first crepe. The crepe was less than good for Duane, as he was expecting a dessert crepe and this was more of a breakfast one, that was completely cooked brown and crispy on the outside. We made a note to add in more crepes while we were there.

We walked the distance back to our room, unpacked a bit and took showers, then met up again to finish the Louvre. For the second visit we focused on the lower floors with the various statues, and tablets, plus other artifacts from antiquity. It was amazing to see how detailed the design work was on some of the statues, bowls and goblets. We also saw the crown jewels from the last French king and queen. Such beautiful jewelry, and the case that was guarding it was like a fortress. If it was disturbed, the entire case would descend to the floor to protect it. Amazing!

After the Louvre we decided to hit as many of the other sights as we could, beginning with the Notre Dame. We walked through it and saw all of the amazing stained glass. Again, another church where you think, how can you build so high, and have such beautiful art pieces and stained glass in a church that is hundreds of years old. How can you get all that stone on top of the church without a huge industrial sized crane!

After the Notre Dame we walked over to l'Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top of it. After 253 stairs you were rewarded with the most beautiful view of the city. Since the day was clear, we were able to take pictures from every angle. The Arc is at the center of a large roundabout, and there are 6-8 streets that all originate from the monument and span out into the city. So you have a great view from all directions.

We realized that it was about 10:30 pm at this time, and if we hurried we might be able to get into the Eiffel Tower before it closed at 12:00 (last ticket given at 11:00). We hustled over there, to find the line for the elevator impossibly long. We decided to go to the line for the stairs. No one counted how many we went up, but we reached a height of 668, which we assume means 668 feet, but we are not sure. It was a long walk, trust us! But again, the view was worth it, especially at night. We spent about 30 minutes taking pictures and admiring the view. We descended and waited in a nearby park because at 12:00 the lights would go on all over the tower. There were many other parisians in the park, and they had brought along their wine, cheese, candles and blankets to sit in the park and enjoy the evening. This is something we must do if we are ever back, as to sit and relax would have been so nice after a long day!

Nonetheless, we made the LONG walk back home. To give you a sense of it, the walk from the Eiffel Tower began at 12:15, and we arrived back in the room around 1:45. A long walk to be sure. If you measure activity by counting your daily steps taken, 10,000 steps will replace 30 minutes of exercise. On this day, we walked 46,000 steps. So yes, a long full day, but we were all excited to have seen all that we did.

The next morning we awoke early to catch the train to Versailles, which was a palace of the kings and queens of France. We needed to take the urban metro to the suburban RER trains, which was a bit interesting. We finally arrived at 11:00, along with the rest of the world (no joke!) and tried to determine which of the 5 lines we needed to get into. At 11:30 we had our tickets, and were off. We opted for the full pass, which gave us access to every room that was open, as well as the gardens, Marie Antoinettes estate and audio guides for the buildings. It was an amazing sight to see, so much opulence and grandeur. It was nice to have the audio guides, as all of the descriptions were in French, and Michelle's French is only good for questions and answers with real people! We saw the main apartments of the kings and queens, then the apartments for the dauphan (the future king) and his family, as well as the apartments for the current kings children. It is a huge building, but when you think of the number of people who could have actually live there, it seems a bit more realistic. Because for all of the royal family that would live there, you also needed to house the servants and the royal guards.

We toured the gardens and ate panini's in the park while we watched the water show in the small amount of shade we could find. It was a relaxing time after all that walking. The $5 small coke we bought was refreshing to the body, but not to the pocketbook!

We left the castle and returned on the RER train. It was surprisingly easier the second time around to get back to the city center. Since we were back early, we toured the Rodin gardens, and Brandon and Duane managed to get into the temporary and private exhibits for free as they are a student and a teacher. Michelle and Tim settled with peeking in through the windows.

After the Rodin gardens we decided to make an early night of it by taking the Metro (read into this, our feet hurt so bad we were willing to spend $1.5 each to ride back home!) and we found a place selling crepes along the way. Michelle had one with sugar (YUM!) Tim tried one with bananas (would have been better with bananas and sugar), Brandon had one with Nutella (which he is seriously addicted to now!) and Duane had one with a few different toppings. No one is exactly sure what it was, but they were all very good and cooked to order.

Dinner was eaten at a restaurant called Page 35, which served meals with a fixed price (i.e. there were three tiers, you could choose one item from each tier). The waiter spoke a bit of english, and we all managed to find something that we liked. Duane and Michelle had a beef stew, which was tender and yummy. Brandon had the most awesome chicken you could ever imagine. This makes up for the nasty pesto he had in Florence. Tim had a steak, which originally came out still mooing. He likes them medium rare, but this steak looked like it was lightly seared on each side, instead of fully cooked. Deserts were also enjoyed, and we headed home for an "early" night. I think we all got to bed around 1 am.

We took an early morning train to Belgium, which is where we are writing this update. Tomorrow we head up in the morning to England via the chunnel, where Tim and Michelle will spend their last 2 days and Brandon and Duane will spend their last 5. Belgium has been the land of chocolate for us so far, with us indulging at a few different places and relaxing after a stressful Paris. We will try to continue updating the blog once we are at London, but know that we are safe and still having a blast exploring this part of the world.

Hugs and kisses to all.

A quick update!

We have all spent a great 4 days in Munich with Marina and her family. It has been so lovely that we have all seriously considered moving to Munich. Then we realized that we speak very poor German, and that we cannot stay with the Schwabs for ever, else they get sick and tired of their new American friends. So tonight we are off to the train station yet again to catch a night train to Paris. So let´s update you on the Munich leg of our trip.

Yesterday we were off to Dachau to see the concentration camp and the memorial sight there. It was an amazing experience that none of us are soon to forget. We arranged for a tour of the site, and the tour guide spoke great English. It was wonderful to hear the story of the camp, what it was originally intended for and how it turned out over the course of WWII.

On the way back Brandon, Duane and Marina stopped over at a corn maze, while Tim and Michelle went to the grocery store. We all met up at the Schwab house for some amazing BBQ. The highlights were seeing how Germans start their BBQs. Their coal is not fast acting, or at least the coal we had, so there were some starter logs involved and then, the piece de resistance, a haridryer. Yes a hairdryer to push the air into the coals. The BBQ was enjoyed by all and we had great conversation over candlelight in the back yard garden.

Today we spent the day touring the rest of Munich and picking up some gifts for our loved ones. All in all it was a restful and relaxing day.

Well, we will need to regail you with more stories once we get to France. We are off to catch a train. Running as always!