London, Paris and Rome...
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Not to mention York, Drumnadrochit, Edinburgh, Gimmelwald and Cinque Terre. Five countries in 25 days in summer 2001 made for an incredible trip.
We planned the trip for over a year, and knew how exciting it would be, but until we were there, we couldn't comprehend how inspring, enriching, and life changing it could be. From staring out over the mists of Loch Ness to gazing up at the Sistine Chapel, every moment was rich with amazement. Even the less than fun occasions, like the worst train ride ever, are not something I'd trade for anything. We shopped Harrods, visited Stonehenge, saw the beheading site in the Tower of London, joined a choral evensong service in a 700 year old cathedral, explored Culloden Battlefield, listened to live music in an Edinburgh pub, cruised the River Seine, toured the Louvre, the Orsay, Versailles, hiked in the Swiss Alps, swam in the Italian Riviera, shopped a Roman flea market, ate the best food of our life and unfortunately, eventually had to come home.
Here's our itinerary
One of our many favorite things about travel is food...
 At this little pizzeria in the Cinque Terre, we had the best pizza ever. I was very interested to learn that when you order three toppings (mine were mozzarella, pesto, and tomato) you get one on each third of the pizza! The crust was the perfect combination of crispness on the outside and tenderness on the inside. I didn't have much problem putting the whole thing away! | |
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After months of swearing he would not do it, just a few days in Scotland, and there he was, forking it in! Traditionally, haggis was served still in the sheep's stomach, where the heart, liver, lungs, etc. were boiled along with some oatmeal and spices. Today, our hostess at the our bed and breakfast explained, it is a much tamer concoction. |
In general, I didn't
personally find much to say for Paris restaurant/cafe food.
But Cafe Bosquet had what has to be the most delicious blue cheese
dressing in the world. Huge crumbly chunks of blue cheese
generously cover the salad, and a creamy sauce combines to
form world class salad dressing! I didn't get a salad
the first night, but sopped up Brian's dressing with my baguette. We
went back another night specifically for the salad.
Well, you can't go to London and not eat Fish and
Chips, so Day 2 found us at Shakespeare's pub, a recommendation
made by Royston, our Big Bus tour guide. It wasn't bad with a
bit of malt vinegar poured over it, and it provided enough
sustenance for a cold rainy day of London sightseeing.
Some days were not as fun as others, but
one of my favorite quotes is "Adventure is discomfort in
retrospect
..." so with that
in mind, enjoy this day of transportation woes and a miserable attempt at
souvenier shopping in Paris and find out why we didn't go to the top of
the Eiffel Tower
>>>
| n o t e ... juding
by some rude comments I've received by email in response to the above
story, it may not be quite clear enough that I am making quite a bit of
fun of myself. I *wouldn't* rather go to Paris Las Vegas or Disneyworld as
one email suggested... actually I have been back to France twice and Paris
once since this story. So for anyone who takes things too seriously,
please note that it is meant to be *humorous* |
Finally, for what it's worth... reviews of our lodging >>>