What I did on my summer vacation ....

It's hard to believe that my trip to Europe is over! The two weeks went by much too quickly. I had a bit of trouble getting there (an unscheduled overnight in Boston after possible engine problems with our plane), but from then on it was great. Lots of long days on the bus and quick rest and lunch stops along the highway, but that's a small price to pay for all the places we saw.

Here are a few highlights. Hope you enjoy! (I've also posted some of my black & white photos on my other blog, JillBlogz - click on the link at the right under "Favorite Links" if you're interested.)

The Famous Sights













London: Tower Bridge; Big Ben and the London Eye



Lucerne, Switzerland - the anguish in the face of the lion is heart-wrenching (it's a memorial to a battle in which a large number of Swiss soldiers lost their lives)





Rome - Roman ruins everywhere! (who'd'a thunk?!)










Yes, it really does lean!












Nice - the Promenade des Anglais





Paris - the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, of course! And signs for the Metro.

























Other places: the castle and town of Heidelberg; Florence - the Duomo and a tour of a leather workshop, where I got to model a 290 Euro jacket (Needless to say, I didn't buy it!); Avignon's beautiful palace of the popes; St. Paul-de-Vence, a medieval town perched high up on a hill - lovely buildings and views and some very nice shops; Monte Carlo - the Casino (which you have to pay to go into! people lining up outside it to see if anyone famous goes in; I went to a different Casino and actually won 10 Euros) and the course that the Formula One cars run!

Food

Let's see: croissants and butter and jam for breakfast; gelato; Belgian waffles; pizza - heaven! (Luckily I walked a lot, too, so I didn't gain any weight. But I won't be getting my cholesterol checked for a while!)

















Cruising

I didn't have enough time in London to do a Thames cruise, but still had plenty of time on the water. There was a ferry crossing from Dover to Calais.

A short cruise along the Rhine in Germany, with beautiful views of hills, castles, and small towns. Not to mention bratwurst and fries (keeping up the healthy eating theme that you've probably noticed already)!







A cruise on Lake Lucerne.






And, oh yes, a gondola ride in Venice! (Corny and touristy, yes; but cool!!)






Shopping!!

I bought some great clothes (t-shirts and pants) for 3 Euros (about $5) each! And some fabrics and lavender from France. I also picked up a few French magazines - quilting and scrapbooking. Looking at the pictures is fun and, who knows, I might even be able to understand some of it!


This is a market in Florence - purses (cheap imitation Guccis) everywhere. I resisted temptation here, but did buy a nice purse in Paris. One of the markets there was amazing - several blocks of stalls (mostly produce, but also some clothes) tucked under the Metro and packed with people.







People

Lots of great people on the tour, mostly from Australia and New Zealand. Here are a few of my new friends:



Anne & Darryl (from Australia) and Murray, who I sat with on the bus (he's from New Zealand). Such nice people!





Bev and Laura (we called ourselves the 3 Amigos!) - sisters from Australia. We had a wonderful time wandering around Rome and Avignon and Nice and shopping and eating and talking!





Scenic views!



Paris from the second level of the Eiffer Tower.





We also took a beautiful drive along the Corniche roads, high above the Mediterranean. The water was so blue!! Lovely towns nestled into the hills along the way. I could live there!

Windows and Flowerboxes

Last but not least, a small selection of photographs of beautiful windows and flowerboxes. My motto was: let no windowbox go un-photographed!



























Well, that's a small sampler of my trip. So many other memories: beautiful scenery in Tuscany and the Black Forest; paying for toilets!; beautiful architecture - I wish I knew enough to be able to identify the different styles - a little different in each country;



markets and flower stands (this one was in Paris);












and beautiful tree-lined streets (I think this one was in Avignon. Or maybe Versailles. Well, you get the idea!)








So has this trip cured me of my desire to travel? Probably not!! I'd still like to see more of France (I really loved Paris), and maybe a bit of Tuscany, and Britain and Ireland (I enjoyed being a tourist in a country where I could speak the language!). On the other hand, I've been lucky enough to see pretty much all the places I wanted to see and, if I never go back again, that will be enough.