England 12 November 2009

It was another work day, but we made a stop at Orford Castle - near the SE coast of England. It isn't the nicest...or largest...castle I've ever seen, but it had its own chapel as well as a small jail. I wonder why those rooms are no longer included in homes???

I walked to the top and was rewarded with a great view.

We also stopped at the site of Sutton Hoo, but the buildings were closed so there wasn't anything to see.

Sutton Hoo, according to Wikipedia; is site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries of the 5th century and early 6th century, one of which contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of artifacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance.

England has really, really old stuff. I am always reminded when I am here how young my own country really is.

Paris for my 35th birthday

Before getting to Paris, we (DH now, but this was before we were married) went to London first. And....before London, we changed planes in Iceland. I am counting it as a country I've visited even though I never left the airport.

We spent a few days in London, doing the typical touristy stuff. And actually... we didn't see anything that I haven't already blogged about, so now to Paris.

There were three highlights from this trip, all in the "book":

1. Mont-Saint-Michel - we drove to Normandy and spent the night on this little island in a building that was like 400 years old. We first spent the day wandering around the town, and visiting the abbey.

I love the ocean, so this was a huge treat. The views were amazing and I spent a little time in the water checking out the local mussel populations. It was very peaceful - especially at night when the island "closes" and the day tourists leave.

2. Taillevent - this is a restaurant in Paris and it was amazing. It was the best restaurant I had ever been to, and I have to admit I felt a little out of place. I probably wasn't as dressed up as I could be, and my French is not very good. The waiters were nice though - not snotty. It did help tremendously that DH's French is quite good.

3. Chateau de Versailles - don't all girls love an amazing castle? It is incredibly beautiful. The gardens were awesome. Sometimes I am very easily impressed, and this is one example of that.

We also visited the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and some of the other places I have already mentioned in other blog posts.

I did not go to Paris for my 40th birthday - as planned - but I went on a cruise and it was awesome. That will be a future blog post.

UK January 1989

I can't believe it has been 20 years since my first trip outside of the US. I went with 19 other girls (strangers) on a college trip during J-term. We spent the whole month of January in the UK.




Sadly, I flew to London one week after Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Scotland. Yep, I was scared, but I still went.

Here are the highlights of what I can remember

First week was spent in London; weeks two and three in Leicester; and 4th week back in London.

First meal was horrible - fried veal patty and peas. (What is with their obsession with peas? There are like 10 other vegetables that I actually like - peas is not one of them.) I didn't eat again for 2 days - when I found a KFC.

We went as a group to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels, to Buckingham Palace, to watch Les Miserables, and to Windsor Castle. (All places in "the book" are colored.)

We took a bus from London to Warwick Castle, to Oxford and then to Stratford-upon-Avon. A cute, ancient man took us on a tour of the oldest library in the world at Oxford. We saw Shakespeare's wife's home in Stratford and then watched the Tempest at Shakespeare's theatre. I also saw his grave.

I vaguely remember stopping at other places too - like the place where Lady Godiva rode naked on her horse.

We then spent two weeks in Leicester - this was the real learnin' part of the trip. All 20 of us girls were placed in the local schools and we lived with local families. I really liked my family. I got to be friends with another girl (Belle) who was placed in the same school and lived with a family on the same street.

I remember taking a tour of a local radio station. They even interviewed a few of the girls. (Not me - I am too shy.) Our radio station guide played a song for us and said the "singers" were going to be HUGE in the US in the next 6 months. It was Milli Vanilli. He was right - they were huge - but we all know how that ends.

I spent one weekend in York. I only remember going to the Railway museum.

I spent the next weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland (new country). That was an interesting experience for a college-aged girl from the US. We arrived before noon on Saturday. There were already lots of drunk men wearing skirts (kilts) who were more than happy to show us young American girls what they had - or didn't have - under their kilts. We stayed at the local youth hostel - another first for me - and last. I did visit Edinburgh Castle.

And we looked for the Loch Ness monster.

I don't remember much about the last week in London. I was pretty homesick by this time. I took the tube (subway) to Wimbledon, but was disappointed when I couldn't see anything from the station.

I have no idea where to find my pictures from this trip.

Europe 2009

These are the places from "1,000 places to see before you die" that we visited on this trip.

London
The Connaught Hotel
Tea at the Ritz
Paris
Hotel de Crillon
Cathedrale Notre Dame de Chartres
Biarritz
The Dordogne
St Emillion
Madrid
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
San Sebastian
La Cathedral de Toledo
Catalan National Art Museum
La Sagrada Familia
Figueres

Castles and Cathedrals

Europe has lots of both. The US doesn't. I was in college when I first toured England. I saw several castles and cathedrals and did not really appreciate them. My teenagers have grown very tired of visiting castles and cathedrals. I am slightly amused by their reaction, because I remember my own first visit. I hope they will appreciate their grandeur and beauty later in their life.

Chartres and the Loire Valley

We started this rainy day by driving out of Paris to Chartres. Driving in, near or around Paris is stressful - add in some rain, and a lack of experience driving a manual transmission and you have a recipe for a bad Monday morning.

The rain had mostly stopped by the time we arrived in Chartres. We visited the cathedral and ate lunch at a local sandwich place. Both were very nice.

We then drove to Amboise to visit Chateau Du Clos Luce - Parc Leonardo Da Vinci. This is the house where Da Vinci died after living here for the last few years of his life. I really like the house, and the grounds and garden are beautiful.

Next stop - Château de Chenonceau. This beautiful Loire Valley castle is built over a river.

We drove back to Amboise to walk around the castle here.

Checking off my list from "the book:"
Loire Valley

California 2004 - LA

We went to LA with my brother, Bruce, and his wife, Jodi. It was Jodi's first trip to CA, and Bruce's first trip since he was 8-years-old.

Highlights:
Santa Monica Pier - saw dolphins
Universal Studios
Sitting in traffic
Pacific Coast Highway
Chinatown
Tar pits (remember seeing a guy with an NRA cap sitting on a bench "reading" Playboy)
Beverly Hills
Hollywood
Mulholland Drive

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

San Simeon - Hearst castle

We went to Mr. Chow's again. I remember the food this time, and it was fabulous. Jason Bateman was leaving as we arrived. The best part of the night was when Stevie Wonder and his family was seated next to us. It was everything I could do to keep my SIL from jumping over the table and accosting this poor man. We also saw Robert DeNiro and Denis Leary.